Bill Nuzzo - December 2002 - All Star Sports, Coronado Springs Resort

Time of Year: Holiday Season
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: ASSR, CSR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Teenager, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent, Veteran
Comments: Following his one-day trip in November, Bill had a scheduled trip with his kids in December. A 10-day road trip to Disney World from New York provided. Particularly interesting in this report is a tale of teenagers run amok.


Bill Nuzzo -- December 2002 - Walt Disney World (ASSR, CSR)

Day 1, Saturday 12/7/02

Hello all,

This trip was planned a while back for early December for several reasons. First of all, early Dec is my favorite time at WDW, due to the holidays and light crowds. 2nd, the RADP folks are around this time of year, and lastly, the room discounts are fantastic. My wife was unable to get time off due to staff shortages at her job, and my other daughter Janine just was down in September with me, so they stayed home for this trip. Jenn & Joe hadn't been to WDW since 12/00, and were ready to go. I bought an AP for Joe, and since Jenn didn't make up her mind until a few days beforehand, I made plans to buy her AP when we arrived at WDW,

The plan was to drive down, leaving upstate NY Friday afternoon 12/6, stopping somewhere along the way depending on when I felt tired, and then arriving sometime in the afternoon Saturday 12/7. I had booked All Star Sports for the 10 night stay, at the AP rate of $49 a night, which was tough to pass up. I'd prefer to stay at a moderate or deluxe, but Jenn & Joe wanted the All Stars, which they seem to like more than the nicer resorts. So for the total of $549 for 10 nights ( tax included), it was foolish to pass up that deal. As it turned out, we ended up moving to Coronado after 5 nights, but you'll have to read the TR to find out about that.

As luck would have it, their school was closed 12/6 due to ice that morning. That meant we were able to be on the road by 11am, with no problems. Other than some sluggish traffic through the Baltimore area, and also northern Virginia, it was pretty smooth sailing. We made it Savannah, Ga at about 1am, and stopped at a Hampton Inn at Exit 109 on I-95. I got a rate of $69 with my AAA, and the room was nice and clean. We got up around 6am, hit the free breakfast bar, and were on the road around 7:30am. We pulled into WDW at 12:40pm with no problems. We drove straight to All Star Sports, and checked in. There was no line, and we were checked-in within five minutes of arriving, and our room(7254, Touchdown Bldg 7) was ready. We loaded our luggage into the room, which was clean, but spartan. I noticed that the closet area was tiny, and rather than a clothes rod, they had a cheap white coated metal rack for the clothes. It struck me as really chintzy for a Disney resort. I don't think a proper shelf and metal rod would have cost them that much more, and would have looked much better. The sink area was also minuscule, especially compared to our last stay at Port Orleans with the double sinks. The room was on the end of the 2nd floor, on the end near the baseball building bleachers. It seemed like a nice quiet location, as All Star rooms go, but we were to find out this wasn't the case.

After getting our stuff put away, the kids wanted to chow down at ESPN for lunch. We drove over to the BW and parked at 2pm. We walked over to ESPN, and were seated after a five minute wait. We recognized a waiter that Jenn thought was cute back when she was younger, on her 1998 trip. I was surprised he was still there four years later. We were given one of the tables by the window, and had a nice view of the water and the Y&BC Resort. We ordered a bucket o' wings, an order of nacho's, and 3 cokes. The wings were awful when they arrived, dried out and no zing to them at all. While there were quite a few wings in the bucket, I doubt we ate one third of them. We love to eat wings too, and we were all hungry, but these wings were downright awful. The only thing they had going for them was that they were large wings, but extremely dry and bland. The nacho's were very good, and it's a good thing we had ordered them, as it made up for the wings. The total tab for the victuals came to $34.80, plus a $7 tip. I probably should have complained about the wings, but I was in too good a mood at being at WDW.

After we had enough, we walked over to the International Gateway entrance to Epcot. I bought Jenn's AP, and we all entered Epcot. We walked over through the UK and Canada, just looking but not really stopping for anything. We continued on to Future World, and went into Mousegear. I had to make sure they had 2003 calendars, and saw they had plenty. we then hoofed to Test track, and got Fast Passes for 6:30pm. We then walked thru Innoventions East, which seemed exceptionally dull for some reason. The next stop was Pin central, where I bought 2 Epcot Christmas pins. We then checked out the Art Of Disney store, and browsed a bit, but didn't purchase anything. Next up was Spaceship Earth, with no wait. We enjoyed the ride, and it made me feel great to be back at Epcot again. We then walked over to Innoventions West, where we saw the IBM display, I believe it was called "The Thingamajig". It was basically a group video game. Joe wanted to try it, so I decided to get on line too. The funny thing was, I haven't played any video games in years, and ended up with the 2nd highest score of the day, and crushed him, although he ended up with the 3rd highest score of the day. After that we walked outside and over to Living Seas. We skipped the movie, and went straight to the hydrolators, which magically deposited us in the gift shop. Thats probably the reason they eliminated the Sea Cab ride, since the Sea Cabs didn't drop you off at the gift shop if I recall correctly. We checked out the manatees, but it must have been nappy-poo time, as they were pretty sluggish ( more so than usual). The jellyfish display was very good, and the seahorses were fun to watch. We spent about 30 minutes or so in there.

We then walked over to the Land Pavilion, but saw that Living With The Land had a 30 minute wait, which is ridiculous. Since this ride went to a FP, we have only rode it once , and we spend a lot of time at Epcot. I think it was a big mistake to make this ride a FP, as it discourages walkups, and is not really worth wasting a FP on.

We then wandered over to the Imagination Institute, but Figment was closed. We then went to Fountain View Bakery, and Jenn got a coffee, as it was a bit chilly. We then walked thru Ice Station Cool, but skipped the Beverly. We then walked back to World Showcase, via the Mexico side. We walked past Mexico, Norway, and China, just looking around but not really in depth. We checked out the temporary Spain booths, which seemed mighty dull. They had one booth devoted to Olive Oil, and one devoted to Sherry. I hope that if they do a permanent pavilion they pick something more interesting to focus on. We then walked to Germany, and browsed the shops. I got a brewski and a pretzel, at the booth in by restaurant entrance. We then walked on to Italy, and saw the Living Statue was performing there, not in France. We continued over to the USA, and watched the end of the early Candlelight show, with Marlee Matlin narrating. I was enjoying the atmosphere of Epcot, and the Christmas decorations throughout the park. We continued around the rest of WS, and headed back to Test track to use our Fast Pass. However, after the lengthy trek, we found out TT was down. We decided to go back to the room and get some warmer clothes, as it was getting quite chilly. We walked out the International gateway, and back to BW. We got the van, and headed back to the hotel. After a quick change, we caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom, arriving at 8:30pm. We bought hot dogs at Casey's ( I think it's the 1st time we ever had them, they were OK), and we caught the end of SpectroMagic by Pecos Bills. We then wandered over to Liberty Square, and caught Fantasy In The Sky at 9pm. After that was finished, we walked to Space Mtn, and rode it with a 10 minute wait, which is pretty good for a Saturday night. We rode the right side, in the rear car. We then saw the Astro Orbiter had no wait at all, so we rode that. We then walked back to the Castle forecourt area, and found good spots for the 10pm Spectro. We caught the entire parade, then hit the Main St Bakery after the parade, and got Joe a cherry turnover. We then caught the bus back to All Stars, browsed the gift shop for a while, where Jenn got some postcards, and were in the room by 11:45pm.

Day 2, Sunday, 12/8/02

We woke up at 9:20am on Sunday. Jenn and Joe wanted to do their homework and get it over with, so they were going to stay at the hotel. After getting dressed, I caught a bus to Animal Kingdom, arriving at 10:30am. I walked through the Africa section, then took the back path to Flame Tree Barbecue, arriving there around 11:15am for lunch. I bought a meal deal voucher, and had the 1/2 chicken lunch and a coke. After eating my repast, I headed over to Festival of the Lion King, which I had never seen before. I arrived in time for the noon show. There was a large crowd waiting, but it turned out there was plenty of room inside. The show was much better than I expected, with nice effects and very good singing. I don't know what the trampoline type stuff had to do with the Lion King, but overall it was a fun show, and I would highly recommend it. There does not appear to be any bad seats in the house, as the theater is divided into four sections of bleachers. After the FOTLK, I headed over to Kilimanjaro Safaris, and got myself a fastpass for 1:20pm. Since I had some time to kill, I did the Gorilla Trail walk. It was a very good decision, because when I got to the observation window at the gorilla's area, the large male was right at the window, checking us out. In addition, the baby gorilla was also at the window, observing the weird creatures on our side of the glass. I stayed there for about 10 minutes, and got a real close-up of the two of them. I don't think I've ever seen the large male near the window before.

After the gorilla trail , I turned in my Fast pass and rode the safari. There was plenty of animal movement going on out there today. The cheetah was up and about, and the white rhinos were meandering all over the place. After the safari was over, I hoofed it over to Asia, and found a CM with some CM lanyard series pins on her lanyard. I traded for a Pixie Power and a USA pin with her. I then did the Tiger Trek, and got lucky again, catching the large tiger right at the window, no doubt trying to figure out how to get through the window to chow down on us. After the Tiger Trek, I decided to walk over to the DinoRama area. It was extremely crowded, and there was nothing there worth waiting on, so I left. I decided to catch It's Tough To Be A Bug, since I hadn't seen it in a few years, and there was no wait. It was fun, and I knew enough to lean forward during the stinging scene. After ITTBAB it was time to head out, so I caught a bus back to the hotel, leaving at 3:25pm.

I met up with Jenn & Joe at the hotel, and they told me they had gone to DD to do some shopping. We got changed, and drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge at 4:30pm, for our 5:05pm Boma dinner. One of my co-workers was also arriving at AKL that day, for a one week stay with his family. He had called to let us know they had checked-in, and we met them in the lobby at AKL. He had not been to WDW since 1990, and his kids had never been there before. I had helped him with the trip planning, and helped him snag the $109 AKL rate. They were extremely impressed with the Lodge, and we all wandered around observing the Savannah's and Gift Shop. We did have one piece of business to attend to. We had another co-worker of ours who had transferred to a different station last year, and before he left, we had taken his personal fan, and sent it on a cross country tour with other members of NYSP, where it has been posed for photos. Needless to say, Sean had brought the fan, with it's attached label reading "Scarselli's Fan" and we sought out a CM to pose with the fan. We managed to find one in a dashiki with a large drum, who seemed perfect. He thought the idea of it was hilarious, and told a few other CM's. We got a nice pic of the fan with him and us by the AKL Christmas tree for our troubles. After the photo op, I went to Boma with Jenn & Joe, while he got settled in to the resort with his family.

We went downstairs to Boma, and I had the chicken pepperpot soup, the seafood gumbo soup, the prime rib, Durban chicken, and salad greens, potatoes with Afritude, and of course, my favorite PB&J quarters. We also hit the dessert bar pretty good, getting a good variety, including the mini pineapple cheesecakes. The total for the three of us came to $76, plus $15 tip. I also had asked if they had fr'unch, which they did, and had that with my dinner. It was an excellent meal once again. After dinner we went up to the lobby, and met with Sean and his family. We all had tickets for MVMCP that evening, except Jenn since she decided so late to come on the trip.. We went to the bus stop, and caught a bus to MK. Our first stop was the ticket window outside the MK, where I picked up the ticket I had ordered for Jenn, and then we went inside. Once inside, we hit the Emporium, and bought the MVMCP pin of the night. We then went to Adventureland, and rode the Flying Carpets, with no wait. We then stopped in the Adventureland Verandah for our complimentary hot chocolate, which was nice on a chilly night. We then went to POTC, and rode it. Sean wanted to ride it a 2nd time, so we got our free picture taken while they rode again. They had the photo setup right in the alcove of POTC, so it worked out pretty good, except for the trashy group in front of us, who tried to get multiple pictures, while dressed in their finest wife-beaters and borderline obscene t-shirts. They were very abusive to the CM's when told they could get one picture, but have it mailed to separate addresses. They wanted multiple pictures, mailed to multiple addresses, and didn't care about the large crowd behind them. Finally they got with the program, and left . If I worked for the photographer, you can bet their pics would have magically had some major flaw when they were developed. After that was done, Sean and his family wanted to hit the Swiss family Treehouse, so we walked over with them. They did it, while we waited outside of it. Jenn saw a nice Mickey Ears Santa cap, so she bought it while we waited. After they climbed down from the tree, we all walked over to the Haunted Mansion,and rode it. Sean rode it a 2nd time with his younger son, and we waited outside. After that, we headed over to Fantasyland, and rode Peter Pan, with a minimal wait. Then Sean wanted to subject his family to It's A Small World, so we waited outside rather than sit through that again. It had a line too, which is kind of unusual. After IASW, it was time for the Fantasy In The Sky Fireworks, MVMCP version. This version includes a huge, 360 degree fireworks finale which is much better than the regular FITS. We all watched it from the area in front of the former Lion King theater, and had a great view. We then all walked over to Toontown, where we were able to purchase pins from the prior evenings MVMCP set. We then walked the back path, along the WDWRR tracks, to Tomorrowland. We got on line for Buzz Lightyear, and were on in less than 5 minutes. I finished up with a score of 200,000, while Joe scored a measly 170,000. We then went to Space Mtn, while Sean and his family did Buzz a 2nd time. We rode the left side of SpaceMtn, and it seemed better to me then the right side, although I always thought the right side was better before. After we rode, we met up with Sean and his crew, and headed to the Castle Forecourt area, to wait for the Christmas Parade. We found a great spot right in front of the Castle, and watched the parade. The Christmas parade was excellent as always. After the parade was over, we all hit the Bakery for a quick snack. We got 2 apple turnovers, and a piece of punkin' pie, for a total of $7.49. After eating that, and moseying down Main St, we all boarded the bus back to AKL. The bus was totally packed, in fact I was the last one on, and was pretty much unable to move at all. We got off the bus at AKL, said goodnight to Sean and his family, and drove our van back to the All Star Sports, arriving at 12:15am.

Day 3, Monday, 12/9/02

Monday we awoke at 10:00am, a bit late but that's what vacations are for. It was raining steadily outside, and the forecast was not promising. We got moving, and were on a bus to the MK by 11:00am. I wanted to get my haircut, which I always try to do at the MK when on vacation. We went in and found that there was about a 90 minute wait for a haircut. We decided to try later, and walked to the Expo Hall, to seek out Scoop Sanderson for his pin seminars. Unfortunately we had missed Scoop, but I did find a CM with a Hercules lanyard series pin, and traded for that. Since it was raining heavily, and the kids wanted to eat, we decided to move on. They wanted to visit the Golden Corral on 192, which they enjoyed when they were youngsters. We caught the bus back to the hotel, then got in the van, and drove off property. We hit the Golden Corral, and I doubt after the poor selection and dried out offerings, they will think back to the Golden Corral with fond memories on future trips. The only redeeming factor was a miserly $25 tab for our lunch. We then went up 192 to WalMart, and got some things we needed. After WalMart, we went to the Character Outlet at the new outlet center, which is off of 535. I got a nice windbreaker type Mickey coat, a bathrobe for the missus, and 3 mugs, for a grand total of $88. We then drove back to the mighty All Stars, and put away our loot.

Our plan for the day had been to hit Epcot for the Candlelight Processional, with our favorite narrator, James Avery. We called Sean, and they were still up for it, a little torrential downpour notwithstanding. Sean drove to All Stars, and picked us up, and the 7 of us drove to BW in his van. We walked to the International Gateway in the pouring rain, and went straight to the USA area once inside of Epcot. The park was empty, no doubt due to the frigid temps and driving rain. But we were determined to catch James Avery, and we certainly did, along with about 20 other people. I have never seen such a sparsely attended CP. It was worth it though, as he put on an exceptionally strong presentation, enough to make me forget that it felt like my feet were submerged in a bucket of water. The new windbreaker coat held up very well, except for the torrents of water running into the pockets. After the CP, we decided enough was enough, and left Epcot. The rain showed no signs of easing up, so Sean dropped us off at All Stars, and he went back to AKL with his family.

Since we had nothing else to do that evening, it seemed a good time to do laundry. We gathered our stuff up, and hit the laundry room by the main pool. We weren't the only ones with the same idea, and it seemed every dryer was full of sneakers. We did manage to get a couple of machines with no problem though, and took turns watching the machines, while the others hit the arcade in the main building. We each got small things to eat, I had a pizza, they had cheesesteaks, while in the food court area. The food is typical foodcourt junk, and nothing to write home about. This did not shape up to be a good eating day at WDW, between Golden Corral and the All Star Foodcourt. We noticed the arcade was packed with very unruly kids, including a few who seemed intent on stealing other's tickets, and perhaps quarters. It was a real unsavory crowd inside there, not like anything I have ever experienced at WDW before. They were really running wild, and the CM's did not seem to be putting a stop to any of it. There were also numerous machines out of service that evening too. We called it an early night when the laundry was done, and went back to the room. Little did I know ( or if I had checked the resort map), that there was actually another laundry room right outside our end of the building, under the baseball pool bleachers.

Day 4, Tuesday, 12/10/02

Today we got up at 9:30am, had breakfast at the All Stars Foodcourt, and were at MGM by 10:30am, which is pretty good for us. We met up with Sean and his family inside MGM, and our first stop was the Rock & Roller Coaster. We got the front car, and rode with no wait. We then went and did Tower of Terror, again with no wait. They wanted to catch Indiana Jones, so we went our way and they went theirs, planning to meet up later. We then walked up Sunset Blvd, and I dropped my Disney watch off at the watch shop to have a battery replaced. We all headed over to the Big Hat, and I checked for new pins, but there was nothing special available. We headed over to Millionaire just as they were letting people in for a show, so we went on inside. I have had good luck with Millionaire, being picked for the hot seat 5 times now, and once making it to the final question in May, before I bombed. I was on a roll again today, and after the first contestant bombed out , I was the high score in the audience, so to the hot seat I went. Unfortunately, the new grand prize of a Disney Cruise was not to be mine today. At the 8,000 level, the question was what does the "M" key on a calculator stand for. The choices were memory, median, multiplication, and million. I never use a calculator, and had no clue. I had already used the audience poll on a prior question, and didn't want to waste the 50-50 since I had no idea no matter what the two choices remaining would be. I ended up going with the wrong choice, and was escorted back to the prize room for my trinkets, the set of pins and the baseball cap, to go with the others at home. Maybe next trip, oh well.

After Millionaire we hit One Man's dream, which put me back in good spirits. We followed that up with the Great Movie Ride, getting the Western scene. After TGMR, we went back to Sunset Blvd, and retrieved my watch. We then met up with Sean outside of Beauty & The Beast, and we all went inside. We got there early enough to catch Four For A Dollar performing, and they were very good. The Beauty show then came on, and was nicely performed, although I miss the dove release at the end of the show, which they no longer do.

When that was over, we all headed back to Millionaire, as Sean and his family wanted to see it. I managed to get to #1 on the board again at the 32,000 level , but promptly got the next question wrong, so it didn't become an issue if I got selected for the hot seat again. For those of you who don't know, they instituted a rule a while back, barring hot seat contestants from returning to the hot seat for a 30 day period. So if I had stayed at #1, when the prior contestant bombed out, I would have had to decline the hot seat and pass it on to whoever was #2 in the audience scores. But by getting a question wrong, it made it a moot point dropping me off the audience scoreboard.

After Millionaire we went to Star Tours, and rode it without a wait. We then left the park, heading back to the hotel as Jenn wanted to hit PI that evening, and Joe & I planned on returning to Epcot to try Candlelight with James Avery under better weather conditions. We grabbed dinner at the food court, trying the family chicken dinner, which claims it will feed four with chicken, stuffing, spuds, veggies, for $19.99. We received two chicken halves, and a tub o' spuds, and some green beans for the meal. It was really very small, and just barely fed the three of us. I noticed again that there were numerous unsupervised kids running around the main building, and the arcade seemed to be worse than a mall arcade with some rowdy behavior going on in there. After eating, I dropped Jenn off at PI, after buying her the 1 day pass with the 5 day add on. It came to about $24 for 6 days, not a bad deal. Joe & I then drove to BW, and parked. We walked in to Epcot via the International Gate, and headed towards USA. We caught the tail end of Tapestry before hitting America Gardens Theater. The weather was beautiful this evening, almost 70 degrees, and no wind. What a difference from the night before. We caught the 6:45pm CP show, and James Avery was outstanding once again. We have managed to catch him the last three years, and have never had a weak performance from him. The funny thing is, before we first saw him three years ago, I had no clue who he even was, not watching much network TV at home. After CP, we caught the 7:45pm Tapestry from Germany near the glass etching booth. I wanted to see CP one more time, and Joe wanted to see Innoventions, so we went our separate ways. I caught the 8:15pm CP show, snagging a great seat in the middle. The show was excellent again, and the weather made it even more enjoyable. After the CP, I walked back to Germany, and met Joe there at 9:15pm. We then waited for the Illuminations at 9:30pm, and caught it from Germany. After it was over, we walked back out the IG, browsed the BW shops, and drove the van back to the hotel. We were in the room at 11:00pm. It turned out that sleep wasn't easy to come by that evening, as for most of the night large groups of teens were running wild throughout the resort, yelling, screaming, pounding on doors, and so on. This continued into the wee hours, and was extremely annoying.

Day 5, Wednesday, 12/11/02

Wednesday found us getting up after a lousy nights sleep, due to the all night rowdiness going on at the hotel. We dressed, and hit the food court for breakfast. Usually on my trip reports I put some detail into all the meals, plus the prices. However, it seems like there was nothing special about the meals at the All Star food court that I wrote down in my notes. We usually had generic pancakes and sausages most mornings, at about $5 a pop. We used our refillable mug for beverages so that wasn't a factor in meal prices.

After eating, it was off in the van to the Polynesian. I wanted to see if they had a pin I had been told was only at that location, but it turned out they didn't have it. We then hopped on the monorail to the MK, arriving at 11:45am. We went straight to the Barber Shop, and found it was a 90 min wait once again. There was only 1 barber working today, which accounted for the delay. I was getting a bit scruffy, so I decided to wait. We (Joe & I ) finally got our buzz cuts, which she charged us $11 each for, instead of the usual $15. Seems reasonable since the buzz cuts only take about two minutes each. We left her a nice tip, and she left me with a nice sprinkling of pixie dust in my (now very short) hair. We then crossed over to Expo Hall, and it was just in time for the Scoop Sanderson pin seminar. If you are a beginner to pin trading, or even an old hand, you should make it a point to catch Scoop at one of his seminars. He is a great CM, and is very informative about pins. On our last trip I gave him a WWWD pin, which he seemed to genuinely appreciate. I tried posting a write up about the pin I gave him to the WWWD website, but it's been three months and still nothing. Scoop recognized me from past trips, although he couldn't recall my name. After the seminar he gave me a nice Tinkerbell pin, which was very nice of him. We bid him adieu, and headed out for tacos, as that's what Joe wanted.

We strolled down Main St, and turned left at Caseys. We cut through Adventureland, and went to the Pirate & the Parrot. We ordered two orders of tacos, and a large coke, with the total coming to $12.65. We enjoyed the lunch, and tried to decide what to do next. We hadn't seen the Hall of Presidents in ages, so we made that our next stop. We caught the 4:30 show. The theater was about a quarter full, and we got good center seats without having to stop a line of people in doing so. After the show ended, we walked towards the Castle, and ran into Sean and his family. He was impressed with not only my haircut, but the little sparkly Mickeys strewn about my noggin. He offered to take a picture to show at work, but I decided it was time to put my chapeau on. We all watched the end of the Castle forecourt show, and then we headed out. We had to monorail back to the Polynesian to get the van, and then drove back to the All Stars.

The kids wanted to eat at the food court again, so we went down there. Tonight they had the family meal deal with turkey, for $19.99. I asked how much turkey was included, because I didn't want to get a measly couple of slices after yesterdays portion of chicken. The CM told me it was done by weight, and he couldn't predict how many slices we would get, but he assured me it would be enough for the three of us. How right he was! When he finished, he had a platter sized plate covered in sliced turkey breast. There must have been 25-30 large slices of turkey, enough to feed half the food court. I don't know if that's the correct amount for the meal deal, but it sure made up for yesterdays minuscule portion of chicken. We ended up eating less than half of it, plus the spuds and veggies.

After dinner, Joe wanted to stay at the hotel, and I went to PI with Jenn. I bought my 1 day pass with the 5 day add on, and got an AP discount too, so the total for 6 days came to $21, not bad at all. Our first stop was the Adventurers Clubs. The night got off to a great start when Graves noticed my two pin lanyards, and went and got me an AC member pin, which I promptly put on my lanyard, and also wore the rest of the trip. It was an honor to get it, especially when he told me they usually charge two clams for them!!

The plan for tonight was to catch as many Comedy Warehouse shows as I could, so we made it over for the 1st show at 8:15. The crowd was sparse, but they still had a show. The cast for this show was Krista, Jen, Mary, Joy, and Todd. A good crew in my opinion. Krista did the opening phone call, unfortunately I didn't write down what it was about so thats all you'll get on that. They followed up the phone call opening song with the suggest a scene, involving a used car. Again, my notes are rather lame, so I don't recall anything else about it. Sorry, maybe I should enlist Sue Holland to be my scribe when I go to CW shows, she seems to take much better notes than I do. The next improv was a song based on "Cold Dog" sung by Todd. It was OK, but nothing spectacular. They followed that with the letter to the editor, with the subject being a lost wallet. Krista was writing for Cosmo, Jen for Martha Stewart, and Mary for TV Guide. This was nicely done, with three outstanding performers. They ended the show with a song based on "No Questions Please", which also was very nice. No obnoxious drunks or idiotic comments to ruin the show either.

We wandered around for a while out in the chilly night, then went back for the 9:15pm show. The cast consisted of Joy, Jen, Todd, Eddie, and Mary. They opened with a poem/song about Jambo, no phone call this show. They followed that up with This Is Your Life, using a woman named Lea from Iowa.The next skit was Up Your Alley, with Eddie as the host, and the subject being scrapbooking. It was kind of a lame subject, but they did what they could with it. The cast was Mary, Todd, and Jenn, which helped to make it better. They followed that with the most embarrassing story, and some woman told one about getting her head stuck in the car window. Once again, no drunks or lowlifes screaming out stupid things to ruin the night.

We then did another lap around PI, with me seeking out elusive lanyard series pins. We came back to CW for the 10:30pm show, again the crowd was rather light. The cast was Eddie, Krista, Mary, Joy, and Kristine. They opened with a phone call, to Chris from Rhode Island. Once again my note taking leaves much to be desired, so thats about all I have on the phone call. They followed that with a skit on emotions, with the subject of raising corn. That was done by Kristine and Mary, and was nicely done. That was followed by a crowd suggestion, which became Hard Table. This was done by Eddie & Krista, and sad to say, even with Krista, it was incredibly dull. They followed that with the freeze scene skit, which went from beach, to volleyball, to punching out horses, to beer. It was excellent, and had the crowd rolling with laughter. They ended up with the embarrassing story, which involved a phone operator falling asleep while on the line.

We then hit the Adventurers Club for the 11:15pm new member ceremony, which I already had my member pin (!) so I didn't have to be a run of the mill new member. When that ended, we exited the club, and found that the NYE festivities had been canceled, allegedly due to high winds. They must have meant high, like five miles high, because there was no wind at our level.

We then went back to CW for the 12:05am show. This time the cast was Todd, Christine, Mary, Krista, and Eddie. They opened with a phone call to Sherry from Idaho. They followed up with ring the bell, which revolved around being lost at sea, and was very funny. Next up was a song based on a suggestion, which was roller coaster. Again, this was very nicely done. Then it was time for a story based on a call-out, and the choice was fuzzy egg. This was done by Mary & Christine. They ended with a Chicago Blues style song to a guest called Norm, called "Do I Know You", which was outstanding. A very good night of shows, with no jerks, drunks, or stupid suggestions all night long. We definitely enjoyed the night, and I especially enjoy shows with Krista & Mary, they are some of my favorite CW performers.

We then went back to the hotel, and what we saw there was unbelievable. It was after 1am, and there were large hordes of teens running amuck, at least 40-50 in one group alone. They were yelling, screaming, kicking doors, throwing things, and all sorts of wild behavior. When we got to the room, Joe said he had called the desk twice to complain, and on the 2nd call he had been told the police had been called and were responding. This rampaging went on for another hour or so, and we called down again to complain. I have no idea where these idiots parents or chaperones were, but I think the whole bunch should have been evicted. The kids appeared to be part of the Pop Warner football teams, and were just downright out of control. This is not the usual kids horsing around, this was loud cursing, vandalism, and screaming throughout the night, and this was the second night in a row. I told the kids I would go to the front desk 1st thing in the morning, and talk to a manager about this behavior. At no time did I ever see security, CM's, or police there to control these jerks. I don't know what time we finally got to sleep, but it was very late.

Day 6, Thursday , 12/12/02

We awoke Thursday morn, once again after a lousy nights sleep. I also received a wakeup call at about 4:30am, and assumed it was Sean pranking me, setting up the call, because we had discussed doing this to each other before the trip. I had answered the call on the first ring, and I don't think the kids even heard it. It really didn't help after the late night, and the rampaging teens all night. Anyway, we hit the foodcourt for another generic pancakes and sausage breakfast. After that was finished, I went to the desk area, and asked for a manager. They went to the office, and a woman named Sabine came out. I explained to her about our problems the last two nights, in a very nice tone of voice. I told her I wanted to change resorts, and I didn't mind paying a different price, as long as I received a similar discount, as the AP rate I had at All Stars. I did not want to go to a moderate or deluxe and pay full rate. She asked if I would like to go to Coronado, and when I said yes, she made a quick call there. She then told me that I was all set, and that my $49 rate would carry over to Coronado. I was very pleased with this, and let her know that. This all took about 5 minutes. When she asked me how long it would take us to get ready to pack and move, I assured her for $49 a night at Coronado we would be packed, moved, and re-settled within minutes. We then went back to the room, did the world's quickest packing, and headed over to Coronado, after a quick stop on 192 for gas for the van. We checked in and our room, in Casitas 3316, was ready. It was 1:30pm at that time, and things were looking up. The room and resort are very nice, and it was very close to the main building, and had a nice courtyard view. The lake was right around the corner, and it seemed all was well at WDW that day. I made a vow to myself that I would never be seduced by a cheap rate at the All Stars again, sticking with moderates or deluxes for future. The difference is too great to quibble over a few bucks, and thats the point of vacation. I had stayed at Coronado a year earlier, and enjoyed it then, so it was not my first time there. I have stayed at all the moderates except for Caribbean Beach, which I'll hit someday, in addition to several stays at deluxe resorts. We had stayed at All Stars once before, getting two connecting rooms, but this trip I just never felt comfortable there, I don't know if it's from being spoiled with better resorts, or just the crowds from the football teams. After putting our luggage away, we toured the grounds, checking out the main building, the Pepper Market, the Dig Site, the lake, etc. It was starting to rain lightly, and we decided to hit MGM. We rode the bus, and were there in a few minutes. We went on RnRC, and got the front seat again with a minimal wait. Jenn & I then did TOT, Joe didn't want to go on it. We found they had the new effects working on the drops, and it was a nice addition to the ride. We then walked down Sunset Blvd, and stopped at the sweet shop, because Jenn wanted a MM Rice Krispie thing. That cost $2.50, and looked delicious. We then walked back to the backlot tour area. We were picked to be the volunteers for the pre-show ship thing. We were taken to the prep area, and dressed in rain gear and boots. It was fun doing the boat show, Joe was in the engine room, and Jenn & I were deck swabbies, while some other kid was the skipper on deck. We got a bit wet, but nothing too bad. I wish we had someone take our pictures, but the CM's said they couldn't do it. Reminds me of the time I got a pie in the face in the 3 Stooges set during Superstar TV a few years back, and thought my wife was taping it. Unfortunately, she was told to stop taping by a CM, so I took a pie in the face for nothing. After the tour, we hit Pizza Planet for a quick break, splitting a meal deal, which consists of a small pizza, a salad, and soda. This cost $9.50, and was enough to tide us over. After Pizza Planet, we browsed some of the local shops, and then caught Muppet Vision 3D. The theater was about a third full, so we had no trouble getting great seats. After 3D, it was just in time for the Osborne Spectacle of Lights to start. They did away with the pre show stuff, and just did a recorded announcement, then hit the lights. The glasses this year showed a dove on the lights, which was a nice touch. The crowds weren't too bad, probably due to the weather. We made a lap around the block, ooohed and aahhed like everyone else, and then headed towards the park exit as the rain started to pick up. We then caught a bus back to Coronado, which was a much nicer feeling than going back to All Stars. Jenn wasn't hungry, so she hit the room. Joe & I hit the Pepper Market for chow, I got the tuna steak, and he got the bourbon chicken. We had already bought a refillable mug when we checked in, so the dinner only came to $26 for the two of us. This is not your typical food court, you have several different stations, ranging from a grill for steaks, burgers, chicken; to a Chinese station; to a Mexican station; to an Italian station; a bakery, etc. There are some very good choices available, and daily specials. You are given a card when you are seated, you go to the stations, make your choice, and your card is marked. You pay as you exit, with a 10% service charge, which was not onerous at all considering the beverage service, which was very attentive. After dinner, Jenn & Joey wanted to stay in the room and hang out, so I went to Pleasure Island once more.

By the time I hit PI, it was raining pretty hard. I got in for the 8:15pm CW show, as the doors were already open. The cast for this show was Brian, Jake , Krista, Mary, and Christine, a good cast all around. They opened with a phone call to Sharon from Pontiac, and the appropriate song to follow. They then did an improv based on a suggested topic, which was Brown Cow, done by Jake & Krista, two excellent performers. Next up was Mary singing a song about a camera. They followed this with Torture the Actor, where a saying is done out of earshot of the actor, who has to guess the saying. The saying was "She's a D Cup, in B Cup Clothing", and Brian was the performer. I took a while, but he finally got it, and it was very funny all along. They did a final song called Quiet Down to end the show, which was a very good show. I exited the club, hit AC for a few minutes to escape the rain, and then came back for the 9:15pm show. This time the cast was Jake, Mary, Christine, Carl, & Matt. They made a phone call, and the guy who answered, Barry from Maine, was a totally arrogant jerk. He was arguing with Christine, and being very sarcastic, like this was all beneath him. I'm surprised his wife didn't slug him, and I'm really surprised that the cast was able to keep their cool. He was just a total , well, since this a family type newsgroup I won't say, but he really was a total, and I do mean total, jerk. If through some stroke of luck he reads this, I want to emphasize again, Barry from Maine, you are a total jerk devoid of a sense of humor. Don't go to a comedy club if you are going to harass the cast. May a lobster pinch him where it hurts next time he is in the water in Maine. Anyway, the cast still managed to come through, despite Barry's efforts to derail them, and they did a nice song putting him in his place, but much nicer than I and most of the audience) would have preferred. They followed this up with the conducted story, with Mary as the host. The topic was Choirmaster, and Matt ended up the winner. It lasted quite some time, and in fact took up almost the whole show, leaving just enough time for the finale, a bluesy style song about squeezing the toothpaste tube, called "Not There" The show was actually very good, although I think Barry should have been either cut off on the phone or ejected. Perhaps some food would have calmed him down, a nice knuckle sandwich is what he needed. The sad thing is he wasn't drunk, he was just arrogant and obnoxious. Sorry to keep pushing the point, but if you get stuck answering the phone, and it's not your cup of tea, don't take it out on the cast, either hang it up, or pass it to someone else.Christine would ask the usual questions of him, as they do of anyone who answers the phone, such as where are you from, what do you do, who are you with. This idiot would respond with things like " What the hell business is it of yours?", or 'It's none of your GD business", or " I make more than you people ever will". Those were the nicer things he said, like I said before, Barry from Maine you are a total loser!!!! And he proved one thing, while he might make more money than the CM's, it just shows money can't buy class, which those CM's have in abundance over him.

After the show, I did another lap of the shops, and came back for the 10:30pm show, but since I was pretty wet, and it was late, I didn't take any notes. So sorry about that, but I will let you know that the loser Barry, from Maine, was nowhere to be found in that show!!!

I headed back to the hotel after that show, and called it a night.

Day 7, Friday, 12/13/02

Friday dawned early, but not bright. It was still pouring rain, but I had an appointment to make, the RADP Kilimanjaro Safari meet at AK, at 9:00am. Your intrepid scribe made it there with time to spare, and even had time to seek out lanyard pins from CM's. It turned out that Deb Wills had canceled the meet due to the rain, but since I'm not near a computer while at WDW, I was out of the loop. Anyway, a small group of hardy explorers, including but not limited to me, Bruce & Marta Metcalf, Dave Marx , Randy Berbaum, Sean & Pamela Rouse, and a few others made it for the meet. Sorry for those I neglected to name, but I didn't keep good notes. We had a CM snap a picture of us, and off we went to the Safari. The rain and cold did wonders, getting the animals up and about. The male lion even got up and shook it's mane off as we went by, a very impressive sight. After the safari, it was time for a quick walk through the gorilla trail. There was a male in the window area, and a bunch of the young'uns frolicking in the clearing area. After the gorilla trail it was off to DinoLand for the Chester & Hester RADP meet. There were about 8 or so there, including Sean & Pam, and a few others. We rode the ride with minimal wait, and had a good time. After that, I went to Dinosaur ( which sounded much better as Countdown to Extinction) by myself, and rode that . I always enjoy that ride, and today was no exception.

After Dinosaur, I was hungry, so I went to Flame Tree BBQ, and got another meal deal voucher. I had the BBQ chicken again, which was very good. After my repast, it was off to the Tiger Trek, and I was rewarded with 3 tigers right by the observation window. After that, I wandered around for a bit, looking for pins. I got an ice cream cone with my voucher coupon, and then a bottle of soda with my last voucher coupon, and left the park. The rain had stopped by that point.

Joe had gone to Disney Quest for the day, and Jenn was at the health club at Coronado. I went back to the hotel, and got Jenn from the health club. She had bought a membership that cost $25 for the length of stay, and felt it was a very good deal. We drove to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. We hit World of Disney, and picked up some items, including a calendar, and some other small trinkets, but nothing major. We browsed some of the other shops, such as the new toy shop, and the pin traders shop, but didn't buy anything there. We then drove back to Coronado, and took a bus from there to Epcot. We still had our old FP's from a few days earlier, and the CM allowed us to use them. We had been told by a CM that the Teddy Bear & Doll show was in progress, so we tried to find it. We assumed it was at the Millennium Village building, and asked at the info booth. A CM told us it near Germany, which didn't make any sense to me. We walked past the old Millenium Village, and there was nothing open there that we could see. We ended up walking the entire WS, and found nothing. We did make a stop at the UK on our journey around the world, and Jenn bought a ceramic Beatles keepsake box for her cousin, who is a big Beatles fan. We asked another CM, who also told us it was in progress, but he didn't know where. We finally found a manager, who made a phone call, and found it was in the Millenium Village building, but was not open to the public until Sunday. Oh well, there's worse things to do than take an extra lap around World Showcase. Jenn wanted to eat at Beaches & Cream, so we exited the IG exit, and walked over to the Beach Club. We had a short wait to be seated, and killed some time in the arcade next to the restaurant. When we were seated, I ordered the prime rib sandwich, and chocolate malt, while Jenn had the grilled chicken sandwich. The tab came to $30, plus tip. We then caught a bus from Beach Club to PI. It was very chilly at that point, and I was beginning to think I might have to find a warmer jacket. We arrived at PI in time for me to catch the 7:30pm CW show. The cast was Carl, Matt, Christine, Todd, and Gregg. They opened with a phone call, followed that with a fill in the blanks skit, after which came a song styled on Doo Wah Diddy. They did the freeze frame improv after that, and finished up with the finale song, sung to the tune of All Right Now, but called Cat Pee On Sofa. Unfortunately, my note taking leaves alot to be desired, so thats why you are getting the rather abbreviated cliff notes version of the show.

We wandered around after the show, saw a few RADP'ers at AC, and then came back for the 8:15pm show, The cast was Carl, Matt, Todd, Krista, and Christine. They opened with a poem song based on a name, and followed that with a story based on a shouted subject suggestion, 'Grow Quietly". It was dull as can be, and mercifully ended quickly. Next up was this is your life. They picked a woman from the crowd, Rita, who was a former nun, and now is a teacher. This improv was superb, she really gave them some great stuff to work with, and it was extremely funny. She was a very good sport about it too. They finished up the show with a song based on snoring parents, which was also pretty good.

After the 2nd CW show, it was back to the Adventurers Club, and the RADP folks. There was a very good turnout there, and we had a great time interacting with the cast. We stayed till around 11pm, and then headed back to the hotel to catch some sleep.

Day 8, Saturday, 12/14/02

We got started late on Saturday, and were in no particular rush. We eventually made our way to the Pepper Market, and had lunch there. I had the Buffalo Chicken sandwich, Joe had the Burrito plate, and Jenn had the Fajita plate. It came to around $30 , and all three dishes were very nice. We then caught a bus to Epcot, and while Jenn & Joe wandered around, I ambled on over to the International Gate to meet the folks from RADP, for the Big Meet & Greet that was scheduled for 1:00pm. When I arrived there was a good sized group there, but not nearly as large as last year. The weather obviously kept the crowds down, as it was still very chilly out. I said hello to those I already knew, and posed for pictures with the group. I stayed there until about 2:00pm, then headed back into Epcot, where I had planned on meeting Jenn & Joe at Pin Central at 2:15pm. I found them waiting for me at Pin Central, and we then exited the park, and caught a monorail to the TTC. We lucked out and got the front cabin for the ride to TTC, and it was a very pleasant trip. Once we arrived at the TTC, we caught the resort monorail, and got off at the Grand Floridian. We took a few pictures of the Christmas decorations, and checked out the various shops. We then made our way to the Guest Services area, and made dinner reservations for 1900 Park Faire for that evening , getting an 8:30pm seating. We had never eaten there before, and had heard good things about it.

We then caught the monorail and rode to the Magic Kingdom. It was very crowded in the MK, which is usually the case on Saturdays. We immediately went to the Haunted Mansion, and secured FP's for 5:00pm. We then wandered around, eventually making it to Tomorrowland. We were able to get another round of FP's for Buzz Lightyear, good for 5:40pm. We then stopped at the Main St Bakery, where the Dapper Dans dropped in for a performance while we were waiting in line. We wound our way through the line, and had a couple of apple turnovers and a chocolate croissant. As soon as we finished, we headed back to the Haunted Mansion, and rode using our FP's, although it didn't really seem to save much time from the standby line. We had a good 15-20 minute wait in line on the FP line, which is kind of unusual. After we rode HM, we walked back to Tomorrowland, and rode Buzz using our FP's. We were then given another set of FP's from some people who didn't want to use theirs, and rode it a 2nd time. We then decided to head over to the area in front of the Hall of Presidents, and await the 7:00pm SpectroMagic parade. We had a good spot right in front of the Hall, and enjoyed the parade without any problems, even with the large crowds present. After Spectro finished up, we walked back to the front of the park, browsing the shops on Main St, then exited the park. We caught the monorail to the Grand Floridian, and went to 1900 Park Faire for our chowdown.

At 1900 PF, we checked in at 8:20pm, and were seated promptly at 8:30pm. The buffet has some very nice selections, and I enjoyed Caesar Salad, Cajun cod, Jamaican Jerk Pork, chicken Picatta ( which was sort of dry), and Prime rib with horseradish sauce. I followed it all up with a linzer torte and a cupcake for dessert. Jenn & Joe were very happy with the choices available also, and the characters, including Tigger and Pooh were plentiful. The tab came to $76, plus tip of $15, for a total of $91. After dinner, Jenn & Joe wanted to go back to Coronado, so they caught a monorail to MK, then took a bus to Coronado. I took the GF bus to Pleasure Island. It was very cold that evening, more so than the previous few nights.

I arrived at Pleasure Island, and my first stop was the Adventurers Club, where the crew from RADP was. I hung out inside until almost 10:30pm, and then went to the CW. I lucked out, and was able to get the last available seat for the show. The cast was Joy, Christine, Philip, Carl, and Matt. They opened with a phone call to Deni from Maine, who thankfully was nothing like the idiot from the Maine two nights before. They followed that up with Freeze. After that, they did Ring The Bell, and they closed out the show with a song about South of the Border, based on an audience tale of a woman who not only stayed at the SOTB Motel, but for some reason thought the windows were one way, and got undressed in front of the window, to the delight of the workers at SOTB. It was quite funny. After that show, I went back to AC, and hung out with the RADP group for awhile, finally calling it a night at about 12:30am, and heading back to the hotel.

Day 9, Sunday, 12/15/02

Sun got off to a late start, as we slept in. We finally got ready, and headed down to the Pepper Market for lunch. Lunch consisted of a combo Tuna//Shrimp salad sandwich for me, a pizza for Joe, and a chicken sandwich for Jenn. The tab came to $31.71, including tip and tax. The tuna/shrimp salad combo was very good. We then caught a bus to Epcot, and headed in. Today was the public day for the Teddy Bear & Doll show, so we wanted to make our way over there. We entered the park, and of course the first stop was Pin Central, where I didn't buy anything for a change. We then walked over to Test track to get Fast Passes. They had some sort of bonus, giving an extra FP for Honey, I Shrunk The Audience with our regular TT FP. That was a nice feature. FP's in hand, we then headed out to World Showcase. Our first stop at WS was in Canada, where we caught Off Kilter. After there set was over, I spoke with Randy, the guitar player. On my May trip, we had spoken about different songs, and Whiskey in the Jar came up. He had told me that they were planning on adding it to their setlist, and I offered to send him a CD with some different versions of the song, most notably by the Grateful Dead, among others. He told me that he had received the disc, and that the song was now part of their repertoire. He told me to come back for the next set, and they would make sure they played it. The kids and I then walked to the old Millenium Village building, which is where the Teddy Bear show was being held. I found a nice bear with a hidden Mickey, for $25, and bought that for my mother as a Christmas gift. I also got a few Teddy Bear & Doll show pins, for $22. We then took a walk to France, as Jenn & Joe wanted pastries. We bought a few pastries in the pastry shop ($9), and headed back to Canada for the next Off Kilter set at 2:30pm. As Randy had said earlier, they did Whiskey in the Jar as the 2nd song in the set, doing a very nice version of it.

After Off Kilters set, we took a walk to the USA, as I wanted to catch the Voices of Liberty. They were already performing when we arrived, and we caught the rest of their set. They performed all Christmas songs, which was very appropriate. After they finished, we left the pavilion, and headed over to Germany, where we ordered some etched mugs , and I got some Goebel stuff for my mother. One of the Goebel artists, I think it was Randy Goebel, was in the pavilion, autographing purchase. He signed a calendar and some other trinkets I bought for my mother. All in all, it ended up costing me $39.75 at the glass booth, and another $58 at the Goebel store. We then continued around WS, and finally made it back to Future World. We went and used our FP's for HISTA, which wasn't too crowded. After HISTA, we then walked to Test Track, and rode it using our FP's. We also used the single rider line, and rode it a 2nd time with a minimal wait.

After finishing at TT, Jen wanted to return to Coronado and hit the health club, so she left and caught a bus. Joe & I went to Guest relations to see if any good PS's were available that evening at Epcot. There wasn't anything that agreed with us, but Joe wanted to hit Garden Grille the following night, so we made a PS for 6:30pm on Monday there. We then went and rode Spaceship Earth, with no wait at all. We then exited Epcot, and caught a bus back to Coronado.

At Coronado, Joe & I hit the Pepper Market again, we each had a beef fajita, and he also had a churro. The total came to $26. After eating, Joe wanted to hang out in the resort, so he went back to the room. I grabbed the van, and drove to Pleasure Island, to catch a few more CW shows. When I got Downtown, I decided to hit the Marketplace first, and went to the DTD Pin shop. I found someone to trade one of my extra lanyard pins for an Ariel Topiary pin, and I also got a Daisy Duck lanyard pin that I hadn't seen before. I then went to WOD, and bought a Mouse Ear pin bag for my wife, a Grumpy coffee mug for Jenn, and some candy for the secretaries at work. The total came to $65.73, with the DC 10% discount.

I then put the purchases in the van, and walked to Pleasure Island. I found a CM with a Donald Duck lanyard pin, and traded for that. I then stopped in at the Adventurers Club, and said hello to Graves, proudly sporting my AC members button. At 8:15pm, it was time for the Comedy Warehouse, and as I was heading in, Jenn came over and joined me. There was a very small crowd, less than 1/3 full. The cast consisted of Christine, Brian, Matt, Joy, and Gregg. They opened with a phone call to Jimmy from Philly in the crowd, which was ok. Then Matt & Joy did a song based on audience suggestions, including a steel factory, a spanking machine, and a Christmas tree that fell down. Next up was the letter to the editor, and the finale was based on a family that always interrupted each other. It was a decent show, but it must have been hard to playing to an almost empty house.

We then waited for the 9:15 show, and this time the place was half-full. This time the cast was Brian, Matt, Phillip, Christine, and Joy. The skits consisted of an opening song, called the Genuflect Song ( no phone call). They then did This is Your Life, based on crowd member Alison. It was very nicely done. They followed this with Shmeopardy, and finished up with the grand finale "Stinky Feet".

After that show, we hit the Adventurers Club, and settled in for a while. We ran into Dave Marx & Jenn Watson, of Passporter fame, and chatted with them for awhile. Jenn & I went to leave for the 10:30pm CW show, and Dave joined us. This time the crowd was a bit larger, but still not a full house. The cast consisted of Phillip, Matt, Brian, Jen, and Gregg. They opened with a phone call to Guy, a Trooper from Indiana. He was a pretty good sport, and they did a nice job with it. They followed with a song, "Emotions", by Gregg & Matt. Next up was an audience suggest story, about Stolen Egg Nog, done by Phillip & Brian. They next did Freeze Frame, using the topics of puppy, Ferrari, sleep, and heart monitor. The finale was an embarrassing audience story, about falling asleep nude in a parked car while drunk. It was ok, but sort of a stupid topic if you ask me. After that show was finished, we left PI, and drove back to Coronado at 11:15pm.

Next up, Day 10.

Day 10, Monday, 12/16/02 & wrap-up

Todays TR segment is going to be brief, as your intrepid scribe failed to take any notes for some reason. I'll have to go by memory (which isn't a good thing at my age), and my resort receipts.

Anyway, this was to be our last full day on this trip, and I always make a point to finish the trip at Epcot, for Illuminations. First stop was AK for Joe & I, and at Island Mercantile I bought a pin for myself. We then moseyed around, and hit Flame Tree BBQ shortly after they opened. We got two of the meal vouchers, which came to $25.42. We each had the BBQ chicken plate and a soda. We ate overlooking the Discovery River, and after finishing up, walked the park some more, hitting Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur,and the Primeval Whirl, and also taking a quick walk through the Gorilla Trek and the Tiger Trek. We actually covered a lot in a short time, and the crowds were very small. We used our ice cream coupons while walking around, and used our soda coupons from the voucher as we left the park. We then caught a bus to CS, and met up with Jenn. The three of us then drove to Boardwalk, and parked there. We strolled the Boardwalk, and eventually made our way to Epcot, through the International Gate. Our first stop was France, where pastries were the order of the day again, this time setting me back $14.04. We enjoyed them in the outdoor seating area, and then headed over to Japan. Joe & Jenn saw some Japanese ceramic cats, that the CM's would inscribe with their name in Japanese, so I bought 3 of those, for $25. We continued around WS, but didn't stop for any shows, just took it easy and enjoyed the sights and sounds. We made it to World Showcase, and again, checked out shops, but didn't really do any rides. Eventually it was dinner time, and we made it Garden Grille, for our 6:30pm PS. Dinner there was very tasty as usual, I really like the fried catfish and sliced steak there, along with the salad. The dinner total came to $82.93 for the three of us. After dinner, we went back to World Showcase, where I ordered a frosty Ringnes brew from Norway , which came to $4.65. We then made it to Germany, and Joe bought an etched glass mug, which came to $15.37. These are a very good deal, and a nice, relatively inexpensive souvenir. We also walked over to the USA pavilion, and I bought the Voices of Liberty CD, along with a few other things for the kids, and the total came to $37.05. We wandered back to Germany for Illuminations, and ended our last night at WDW with a nice evening of fireworks and music. After Illuminations, it was back to the van, and our return to Coronado. We made it back, and began the sad task of packing up.

We awoke the next morning, loaded up the van, and after a few pictures of the resort, were on our way home. We made a stop at Waffle House on 535, which the kids wanted to hit. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a seat, but finally got to eat. After finishing up, it was in the van, and I drove straight through to NY, over 17 hours later pulling into the snow covered driveway at about 4am.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!!!!!

Take care,

Bill Nuzzo