Sam Price - November/December 2002 - All Star Movies, Wilderness Lodge

Time of Year: Holiday Season
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: ASMoR, WL
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent
Comments: Sam and his wife always planned to honeymoon at Disney World, it just took eight years to get there. But get there they did and had a wonderful time, though a pregnancy added an unexpected element.

Sam Price -- November/December 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASMoR, WL)

November 26 - December 10, 2002

CAST

Sam (30) - the Planner, (1985,1987,2000) Trip # 4
Angie (30) - Eeyore nut and researcher, (2000) Trip # 2
Samantha (3.75) (2000) Trip # 2
Pre-trip:

We planned on having our honeymoon at Disney. Eight years later, we finally had the opportunity. I found out after the trip that Angie wasn’t as excited about it as I was. She told me that she worried that we were spending too much for an amusement park. But when she saw the castle for the first time, she knew that this was much more than an amusement park. Our 2000 trip awoke in me an obsession about Disney. It ignited a dream to work for the company. After all, I’m and engineer, and I have imagination. I know that I’d be a great Imagineer. I’ll just submit my resume along with the other 75,000/yr hopefuls. You know what Disney says you need to be an Imagineer? Imagination, (and some contacts, and it sure helps if you already live in Orlando, and that they are hiring, and that you are very lucky.) Sorry, we got sidetracked there, and so soon too.

It was hard to leave the world in 2000. To console ourselves we began planning our next trip for the fall of 2002. That would be autumn, not the defeat of 2002. <Ahem>. Which brings us up to date. So far we’ve learned, we love Disney, want to go back, and I’m easily sidetracked talking about myself or being goofy.

Officially, Angie is the Internet aficionado, the trip report reader, tip finder, poster of posts. She has become a full Disney nut convert. She even at times manages to surpass my love (and obsessions for) WDW (but just barely). She is also very patient indulging my various plans, countdowns and musings. Our first trip could easily be described as two wide-eyed novices with a guidebook. We had a great time but missed a lot of things we wanted to see, either because we didn’t know about it or didn’t have time with an almost two-year-old. Accordingly, my goals for this trip are to see more of the parks, and to avoid heat, hurricanes and crowds. After 9/11 I also added to defy those who’d makes us afraid to travel. Take that you terrorists…we’re going to Disney.

We decided we really liked the autumn weather in Florida. I can’t imagine being in the Magic Kingdom packed like a sardine in the middle of the summer.

Sweat dripping down your back, “come on guys if we ride “Small World” again we can grab a few precious minutes of cool breathable air”.

I’m convinced that part of the success of indoor rides is the excitement of being out of the weather.

“Man it sure is cool in here. It feels good to be alive. Oooh look! Black lights make my socks glow. This ride is awesome!”

I decided that I also wanted to see what Disney did for Christmas decorations. Disney’s reputation for detail and a few trip reports I read made me really excited to see what the fuss was all about. According to various Internet sources, the week after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the lowest attendance times, has pleasant weather, and Christmas decorations. We bought it. And I booked the All-Star Movies (ASMo) resort for 11/30-12/8.

Well, Angie wanted a full weekend, so I added a couple of days to the end. Then, my company announced it was going to be closed the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Instead of visiting family, we decided to brave the crowds and start our trip earlier. Yea! This meant, however, we would be spending Thanksgiving at Disney. I’m not so sure our family was crazy about this plan, but they were good sports.

I love the Wilderness Lodge (WL). I think it is all the wood. We wanted to stay there but spending that kind of money seemed foolish. Especially given the amount of time we would be in the hotel (excuse me resort). However, we could swing it for a few days. And it would be a great way to celebrate Angie’s birthday. Who knows when we will come back? After rationalizing splitting up our stay. I booked ASMo from 11/28 to 12/4 and the WL from 12/4 to 12/9. Ah, now we have added balance to our Chi.

We decided to purchase Annual Passes (AP’s). Because, somewhere around 7-8 days it is cheaper to get AP’s than it is to do the length of stay passes (UPH to you). I was also hoping this would be a good excuse for another trip in 2003.

Then some great WL rates came out for Disney Club members that let us upgrade our room, save money, and add a day at the Lodge. In the end, we settled on 11/28-12/3 ASMo (Toy Story or Dalmatians) followed by 12/3-12/9 Wilderness Lodge (Courtyard view, MK side).

We went to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party on our last trip and had a great time despite the oppressive crowds that night, and the missed MNSSHP T-shirts. For some reason we were really miffed about the T-shirts. Putting that aside, we decided to take the high road and attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I purchased the tickets the day they went on sale just in case it was a sell-out. Expecting to get ahead of the hordes, we made a priority seating (PS) for Liberty Tree Tavern just before the party started.

<I like to call this section: planner goes mad with too much time between trips. Here is where I describe all the various places we made PS’s. >

We also decided to do a dinner package for the Candlelight Processional at Le Cellier.

At exactly 120 days (at the crack of dawn) we made the following PS’s: Chef Mickey’s (traditional first meal), Princesses breakfast at Epcot, Coral Reef Lunch (we wanted to eat there on our last trip but were too exhausted to make the PS), 1900 Park Fare dinner (Tigger and Eeyore!), ‘Ohana’s dinner, Rainforest Café (big hit from last trip), Nine Dragons, Chef Mickey’s breakfast for Angie’s birthday, Wonderland Tea Party for Samantha, Hollywood and Vine, Whispering Canyon, Donald’s Breakfastasaurus, and 50’s Prime Time Cafe. I may have broken the redial on our phone, but I hope it will hold out because the 60 day PS’s were rapidly approaching: Cinderella’s Royal Table (CRT) breakfast, Tony’s Town Square for Angie’s birthday lunch, and a newly decided upon traditional CRT farewell lunch. The original plan was one PS per day, which would be 11 total. However we added two dinner packages and a princess breakfast and a CRT lunch that we just couldn’t live without. Angie really likes Chef Mickey’s so I added that PS to her birthday. Then, I think we just went nuts because the count is now 19! Most days are pretty good. We have lots of digesting time between PS’s. However, there are a couple of days where I wonder if we’ll hold to my ambitious eating plans. We certainly didn’t on our last trip, but I suspect we’ll cancel less this time around. I am fighting the commando in me. But I think I’m losing.

As far as touring goes, the general plan is to take it easy but minimize traveling around the property. We hopped around on our first adventure and felt we lost a lot of valuable time. The elimination of early entry has simplified our planning. Our touring follows our priority seatings and our anticipation of the crowd levels. We’ve identified the special events we want to go to and when we want to go to them and set our PS around those days. (Shortly after I wrote this Disney decided to revive early entry (EE) and of course gave it a new, Disney-fied name, Extra Magic Hour. I don’t think that EMH is magical enough. It doesn’t convey the magnitude of the magic. How about Super-cali-fragi-listic-Magic Hour or Walt’s Extra Magic Hour of Dreams? Anyway, this caused us to shuffle a few days and PS’s around to allow us to attend as many EE days as we wanted. We really took advantage of EE on our last trip, but I’m wondering if we’ll need it for this one? It is value season after all.

All the planning took most of two years; we filled in the time with some Play Station Disney World Driving, and with various countdowns. I decided to start a collection of some sort while we were on our trip, but I couldn’t decide between books about Disney and Disney’s theme parks or imagineering or collecting pieces of the monorail train that I can put up around the house. So I did neither, but that’s later. In retrospect I should have done both.

THE TRIP

The interesting thing about life is that life is an interesting thing. OR: So you’re going to be pregnant at Disney.

Let me start off by saying: we were so exhausted from our trip, that the thought of writing a trip report brought tears to my eyes. But now that I am planning our next trip, and the exhaustion has worn off, the old Disney mania has returned - with fangs.

I learned a few things; some of which I knew some of which I could’ve prevented…some things you just have to experience. Part of our problem, (see how easy it is to spread the blame) was the countdown and buildup to the trip. I love countdowns, and planning and dreaming. Staring at the maps and imagining all the fun we were to have, was…well…fun, and helped the time pass. However, things didn’t always go as I had thought. Having a pregnant wife was an interesting wild card. Early in the first trimester is prime time for nausea, food aversions, and fatigue, and that was just me. Ok, she did fine, but in hindsight we’d been better off later on in the pregnancy. I’m digressing here, but one of the fun things we did on the 20-hour drive was to discus baby names. I kept trying to work in a Disney World themed name, but none of the ones I came up with were even given a second thought. I did get some looks and a few “boos”, though. We didn’t decide on a name then, even though Tigger Walter Price would’ve been a great name. We could have called him TW. The best days of our trip, were those that we didn’t plan. We went with the flow. We didn’t necessarily do less, but we did it at our pace. The less enjoyable days were those that we forced the plan. Ah, but this was Disney, even the worst of days is better than best at work (unless you work at Disney).

THE DRIVING DAYS

There is something special about the adventure of driving to your vacation. We drove last time, and it was fun. I’ve flown post 9/11, but my wife hasn’t. She never liked flying anyway, which gave us an additional excuse to drive again. As far as I was concerned once we parked at the hotel, I wasn’t driving again until we left. I like the Disney transportation. It feels better just saying it. Hello, I’m Sam and I’ve liked Disney’s transportation from the start. Hi Sam. Welcome to DT Anonymous. I like not having to look for your car or fight traffic when you’re bone tired from the parks. Nothings perfect, and it works well most of the time. Back to our story.

Our journey took us through Dallas stopping in Shreveport, Tallahassee, and finally ASMo.

My wife had been planning and purchasing items for a cool princess (of course) backpack jammed with toys and games and coloring books. She even made an alphabet-coloring book complete with Disney characters for each letter (Even X, eXpotition). We gave the backpack to Samantha on the day we left. It was a great surprise, and she had lots of things to do on the drive. The key to successful road trips however is the TV/VCR. I’m not the one responsible for packing. I mean I’ve packed before, and I could pack again. I am capable of packing. Somehow, in my marriage, my role in packing has been delegated to loading the car, and staying out of the way. I am, however, responsible for helping Samantha choose (from an embarrassing large collection of Disney tapes) which tapes to take. She puts her choices, on by one, into a stack until she has every single tape in a teetering tower of death. I try to whittle her down to six or eight good choices (that my wife and I can stand to listen to repeatedly) and keep the tower from toppling on us both. (It’s the home version of Tower of Terror.) The tapes selected and the car was skillfully loaded. We pulled out with first tape playing in the VCR. There was blissful silence from the back seat. Then about an hour into the trip the little LCD TV dies, and cannot be revived! Luckily, we found a Target nearby. We couldn’t find a TV/VCR that we liked (and that they had in stock) but we did find a TV/DVD player there. Oh well, we have been slowly replacing our Disney tapes with DVD’s anyway. So, we picked up the DVD player and a Rollie Pollie Ollie DVD. Now, we were sitting in the parking lot of Target trying to figure out how to install and operate this new contraption. Obviously people could see us in our car struggling with boxes and Styrofoam and an English/Japanese manual flying about. Some jerk decided to park an empty shopping cart just behind our new car. Who does that? I of course don’t see it and hit the cart. AAARRGH! Luckily there was no damage, but what the…of all the…AAARRGH! I wish I could roar like a lion. Wouldn’t that be cool? When you really got mad at someone you could utter a terrifying loud ROARrr. Birds in nearby trees would take flight. And the targets of your anger would wet themselves in fear. Too intense? You’re probably right.

I had planned to drive through Dallas prior to rush hour. But, two hours later (and several hundred dollars poorer), we were headed toward Dallas, staring down the barrel of rush hour traffic. I hate driving through Dallas with all the odd construction, and traffic, and rubber-neckers. Normally, it should’ve taken us an hour to pass through the metropolis. Two-and-a-half mind-numbing hours later we escaped gridlock. Samantha kept us entertained with Rollie Pollie Ollie and the Great Defenders of Fun again, and again and again. My daughter loved this movie, and was very content to just watch it even when she had other choices. Why take six movies when one will do? Our woes didn’t stop there. About a half-hour from our hotel the semi in front of us blew out a tire which came apart and hit us. We arrived in Shreveport tired and sick of being in the car. We unloaded and inspected the vehicle. Yea! There was no damage from the truck tire. We climbed into bed while visions of oranges and Disney danced in our heads.

We were practically popsicles by morning. Somehow instead of turning the heat down, I turned it off. After shivering all night at the nice Courtyard by Marriott, the drive to Tallahassee was without adventure. We stopped for lunches and dinners at McDonald’s or Burger King’s with indoor playgrounds to help us blow off some steam. Stayed in an OK-but-we-will-never-stay-here-again Hampton Inn off of I10 in Tallahassee. There was a TV Guide listing with an advertisement for Pizza Hut hanging from the door to our room. When Samantha saw this she declared, “I don’t want to stay in the pizza room”.

The next day we left for Disney. It seems to me that there is some kind of time continuum problem from Gainesville to WDW. One hour outside the continuum is one hour. But inside it, it’s more like three or four hours. Years later…I really liked the billboards advertising Disney, and the orange groves along Florida’s Turnpike on the way to I4. We finally arrived on property. The fact that we were back didn’t hit me until we walked into the lobby of ASMo. There was just something about the aroma of the lobby that brought back sentimental memories of our first trip. I am slightly embarrassed to admit it, but tears came to our eyes.

I as the man was relegated to checking in. With my wife by my side I could demonstrate my manly ability to correctly say “Reservation for Price”. Ooooh! Aaaah! Hey, where’d she go? Where’s my daughter? Hello! This is a family vacation; everyone has to suffer through check-in together. Apparently, while I was struggling to understand why we were stuck in Fantasia (room 5928) after being assured and reassured that a preferred building is any building near the pool and lobby, my wife took Samantha to explore. I was also told that they were oversold for the two buildings we requested by fax and on our reservations. Therefore, we couldn’t have them even at the “preferred” rate. Why is Fantasia so preferred? Many of the Toy Story and 101 Dalmatians rooms are closer to the pool and lobby than many of the Fantasia rooms. It makes no sense to have an upgrade option like this at this hotel. Well, except that I was suckered into paying $10 extra per night for “preferred”. The I-told-you-so from my wife was a little hard to take. I swore that I would never be duped again by “preferred view”. In the end, we liked the location of the room. It was as close to the parking lot, as it was to the bus stops. And it was quiet. As I was finishing up the check-in seminar my wife and daughter reappear. There is a pretty good view of the Fantasia swimming pool from the backside of the lobby. When Samantha saw the pool, complete with water shooting sorcerer Mickey, she asked her Mommy “What is that?” with wide-eyed wonder. Of course she also wanted to go swimming. Now I know that there must have been a pixie or a fairy nearby. Even though we had been here before, Samantha remembered little, and I don’t think she was as excited yet about the vacation as my wife or me. However, the genuine look of awe, and her unabashed excitement were really a major part of why we went to Disney. I’ve read many trip reports, and the arguments for and against bringing pre-schoolers, toddlers, and infants to Disney. While I respect the opinions of others, I disagree with those who are annoyed by children at WDW, or think they should wait until they are older to “fully appreciate it”. Will Samantha remember this trip or our first trip when she was almost two? I could care less. If she does, that would be wonderful. Her mom and I however, will never forget. Lighten up! Ok, enough of that.

Our room is already ready. Time to unpack the car. Last time we were here, I completely missed that you can borrow luggage carts (with your room key or credit card?) to haul stuff to and from your car. That was a miserable experience, back and forth and back and forth with the bags. I was sure to get a cart this time. However, they gave me a dire warning about returning it in an hour or we’ll be charged $200 automatically. This freaked me out. It took us about 45 minutes to unload the car and transport our junk to the room. I was panting and sweating when I showed up to return the cart. Then there were no CM’s. The clock is ticking and where were all the people? When a CM showed up, she helped the people who were ahead of me! First! Of all the bad luck, having to wait my turn. Didn’t she know that there was money on the line? I didn’t care that the family was checking out and that they were having trouble finding or moving the luggage in the luggage room. I just wanted my receipt torn up, now! I know they probably don’t actually charge you at the one-hour mark, but I wouldn’t know until it was too late. A few excruciating minutes later I returned the cart without penalty.

All that exhausting lugging of the luggage made us hungry. To the food court! Angie had a chicken sandwich and a salad. It was quesadillas for me, and grilled cheese for Samantha. Since we accidentally forgot our refillable mugs on purpose, we bought new mugs. We were worried about a rumored new barcode scanning mug system thingy. So we decided to leave the old ones behind – accidentally – on purpose. The mugs make nice souvenirs even if they are a little cabinet space consuming. After lunch, Samantha and I headed to the playground while Mom snuck over to the gift shop to buy a surprise autograph book, and a character friendly mega-pen. Honestly, the pen is too large for any human to use except in a costumed fist. It’s even bigger than the dreaded large pencils they made me use in the 1st grade. Do they still make Big Chief tablets? The playground was a hit. I got some good pictures, and some video of Samantha playing in the sand, and making some new friends. We wandered over to the Toy Story buildings to pose with RC, Woody and Buzz. We explored the rest of the resort, then rested in our room until 5pm.

Our plan was to check in, eat lunch, rest, exchange our AP voucher’s for honest to goodness AP’s, Chef Mickey’s for Thanksgiving (and traditional first) dinner at WDW, then maybe a little monorail touring - so far, so good. We headed out to exchange our passes, stomping up and down the sorcerer’s hat and the fire hydrant staircases on our way. We decided on EPCOT by the tried and true whichever-bus-shows-up-first method. Samantha declared “This is great” on our bus ride over. The AP exchange went smoothly. My pass had Goofy on it. Angie showed it to Samantha who said “Its Daddy!” Everyone’s a comedian. Angie thought it was hilarious and whenever we saw Goofy or a picture of Goofy she’d say, “Look there’s Daddy”. After some laughs at my expense, we decided to take the express monorail to the TTC. Transfer to the resort monorail to travel to the Contemporary for our PS at Chef Mickey’s. I was hoping that we would loop over Future World on our way to the TTC. It was obvious that I didn’t know what I was doing because we sped away from EPCOT without looping Spaceship Earth. While walking to the resort monorail, I spied the ferry to the MK. We’ve never been on the ferry and thought it would be fun. If you ever have the chance to take it to the MK at night, I would take that chance like it was the last lifeboat on the Titanic. You don’t really notice the castle at first. I think the launch is at an angle, but when the boat turns…Bam! There is the castle lit up in all its soft glowing glory. The castle was slowly changing colors and growing larger as we approached the dock. Of course that is what Angie told us. Samantha and I had only glimpses of it as we huddled behind the bridge for protection from the wind. It was neat, and well worth the cold and wind. Plus you get some great views of the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian.

We decided to take the monorail from the MK to the Contemporary. Although we could’ve walked, it was cold and the ride was nice and it is so cool to ride the monorail into a hotel. We got a great view of Chef Mickey’s, and pointed this out to Samantha from the platform. We shopped a little, and Samantha bought a princess hat, Eeyore ribbon wand, and a silver glitter Mickey icon headband. We decided to check in about a half-hour early for our PS, and were seated right away across from the buffet. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with delicious pecan pie. Dale and Mickey came by, and we caught Donald holding court. Samantha was very cute with the autograph book, and really liked getting it ready for the characters. I like the festive atmosphere, the napkin waving, and the very good character interaction. The food is good, but it is hard to get your food, eat, take pictures and video, and interact with the characters at the same time. However, this is our traditional way to kick off our WDW vacation, and we always have had a great time.

We decided to head over to the MK for Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks. It was clear by this point that Samantha and I were not dressed for the weather. We used this excuse to purchase new sweatshirts before we left the Contemporary. My wife was looking for an Eeyore watch. She is crazy about him and was trying to find just the right one. I slyly deflected her attempts by suggesting that we’d find something better at Downtown Disney. Little did she know what I had planned for her on her birthday in a few days. We took the monorail back to the MK, and expected a lot of people on Thanksgiving night. However, the park was empty. Samantha had fallen asleep, but woke up with a gasp at Tinkerbell’s flight. She was loudly calling for Cinderella to come out of her castle - very sweet. Then after every explosion she screamed (in successfully louder and higher pitched screams) “WOW”. After the fireworks we rode It’s a Small World, and our first (and probably last) trip to The Haunted Mansion. Angie and Samantha did not like this ride. Samantha was a little spooked, but she was very brave. The little flashlight she had helped. Angie doesn’t like creepy stuff anyway. I really liked this ride when I was a teenager, but it seemed more grotesque than I remembered. After the HM we were in a great spot to watch Spectromagic. Angie grabbed us delicious popcorn and sodas to chase the spooks away. No one was even near us for the parade. The closest people were twenty feet away! It was really fun when a couple of the seven dwarves stopped to spend time with Samantha. The look on her face, and her excitement was very cool. Pour out the magic tonight! I felt like we were in one of the commercials for the parks. Angie really liked this parade. I thought some of the white-faced characters were a little bizarre, and I missed the Main Street Electrical Parade. I liked Spectromagic, but I was nostalgic about MSEP. We decided to ride Dumbo (Samantha had a lot of fun, “Lets go ride another one!”), and the Mad Teacups (Angie sat out as she was already feeling nauseous). Then onto our first ever trip on Buzz Lightyear (Sam: 37400, Angie: 32800, Samantha: 2300). I rode by myself and was a little lonely, but I had fun trying to catch the girls on video, shoot, and steer simultaneously. We stayed for the goodnight kiss and slowly worked our way back to ASMo. We were all pretty cold and tired after the long day, but we were excited at how empty the park was, and how much fun we’d already had.

Highs: Returning home to ASMo, Chef Mickey’s, Ferryboat surprise, ASMo staircases and playground, no crowds at the MK, Spectromagic, Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, and Cinderella’s Castle.
Lows: TV/VCR disaster, Dallas, Hampton Inn Tallahassee, Preferred View mishap, Luggage cart rally, Haunted Mansion spook level.

Tips Learned: The express monorail does not loop through FW from EPCOT. Preferred view at ASM is the Fantasia buildings. Take the Ferry from the TTC to MK at night. Have more than one movie to watch on a twenty-hour drive.

Day 1, November, 29th mid 60s
The Princess’ Princess
Plan: Princess’ Storybook Breakfast, Coral Reef Lunch, and Tapestry of Dreams and Illuminations

We rode the bus from ASMo to EPCOT. Crossed Future world like we owned the place and presented our names to the CM guarding the rope for our PS at the Princess Story Book Breakfast. I don’t know about you, but I felt like I was doing something wrong. I had this fear that our names wouldn’t be on the list, and we would be escorted to Disney jail for trying to sneak in early. The CM scrutinized our PS number, and scanned her printout. Looked at us…Looked at the list…Looked at us again…smiled and…unclipped the rope. Whew!

It was cool being in World Showcase with very few people around. We looked through the shops in Norway, and took a few pictures while waiting for our page. The breakfast at Akershaus was very good. Served family style, we had scrambled eggs, cheesy spuds, bacon, sausage, French toast, red grapes, cantaloupe, blueberry muffins, and cinnamon rolls.

But we weren’t here for the food. Bring on the princesses! Samantha was stunned to meet Mulan, Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty (who had on a horrible wig), and Belle. We had warned her that Cinderella only appears at her castle. However, she made a surprise appearance this morning! Just for us! Samantha cleaned her hands and face, primped and waited patiently for her favorite princess. Afterward, we asked her what she thought about meeting Cinderella, “That was cool” was her animated reply. She hadn’t been eating very well with all the excitement. When we told her to eat she would stir the food a little with her fork. But when Belle told her to eat her breakfast so she can grow up and be a beautiful princess, she wolfed it down. This is a much more relaxed breakfast compared to Cinderella’s Royal Table. We will do this again. It was a blast. By the way, Belle was right. She is growing up to be a beautiful princess, even if it is too fast for me.

Since we were there, we decided to ride Malestrom after breakfast. Everyone liked this one. Post trolls, we ran into a Character Caravan at showcase plaza (luckily no one was hurt) and met Santa Goofy, Pluto, Dopey, and Minnie.

Next we rode Figment which we all liked, but I thought it was missing something. Grabbed a fast pass for Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Well, Samantha and I were sitting by the famous jumping fountains at the exit to HISTA, while Angie got the passes. Really not much grabbing involved, but it doesn’t have the same oomph. We went next door to The Land and saw Food Rocks. It was cute if not a little corny (Ha, pun intended!). Take your time in The Land. Look up at the balloons. Sit by the fountain. Breathe. Then go to HISTA.

Made it to the queue for HISTA. It was hot in line. The wait was long. The pre-show was too long. (Why do we need a pre-show? Let us sit down already!) Samantha was thirsty and started crying. We were trapped, and encouraged to squish together even more. Now we were trying desperately to calm her down. People were pressing in on us, and the doors still don’t open. Some of the people are glaring at us for scaring the wits out of a poor child. She wasn’t scared! You were breathing all her fresh air, and polluting what’s left of it with your unique scent. Can’t you quit staring? Look over there, its Kodak tugging at your heartstrings. What?!? What does the pre-show have to do with HISTA? When they finally opened the doors we continued across and out of the theater. Glad to be in the fresh air again.

We headed to the Rose and Crown for some food and refreshment skipping our Coral Reef PS’s again. (TIP: Pregnant wife plus seafood (or the thought of) equals sick pregnant wife). I will not make a PS at the CR again. We aren’t big seafood eaters anyway, and I just wanted to see what it was like to dine next to a giant aquarium. Anyway, It was a nice day, so we elected to sit outside next to the water. We ordered a curry chicken salad for Angie and I to share, and Mac & Cheese for Samantha. Samantha was freaked out about some birds and started crying again. Mommy lectured Samantha about not crying to which Samantha tearfully replied, “That’s just what kids do.”

At this point we planned on heading back to ASMo (the long way) for some rest. We took the friendship launch to the International Gateway. Then strolled around outside the Yacht and Beach Club. We will have to stay here sometime. Storm-along Bay looked like a lot of fun.

The walk must have done the trick because everyone was feeling a lot better. So we decided to go to MGM and watch Playhouse Disney Live instead of heading back to the hotel. We walked down the pier with the lighthouse and took a boat to MGM. The ride was fun, if a little time consuming. Angie got us FP to Little Mermaid, and we stood in line for thirty minutes (our longest wait so far) to see Bear and friends. We sat close to the stage on the right hand side. It was a mistake. The stage is too high to sit that close. You could only see the tops of the character’s heads. Samantha wide-eyed said, “I didn’t know that they were real”, and had a great time despite the view. She shrieked with joy when Pip and Pop popped out (and pipped out?) right in front of her. This is why we come to Disney. Walt had it right. Create an immersive experience that temporarily blots out the rest of the world. There you can enjoy bits of fantasy without concern for anything else. That’s the magic of Disney, it makes the real world disappear.

After the show we turned in our fast passes and enjoyed Little Mermaid. I thought it was neat how the story was told with water and puppets. The transitions with the video clips seemed a little cheesy, but this was still a good show.

Next, we were going to ride the Great Movie Ride, but the line was too long. So, we decided to have dinner at Pizza Planet instead. We enjoyed some mediocre individual pizzas, got more souvenir mugs, and played some video games. I was a little confused. I expected it to look more like the restaurant in Toy Story. Or maybe it did, and I had it just didn’t match my memory? Wouldn’t that be cool though? To have a restaurant that duplicated the one in the movie??? Oh well, it was still fun, and the restrooms were clean and neat, and not busy.

We got our special angel viewing glasses and walked up NY Street in the “snow” heading toward the Osbourne lights. I tried filming the effect of the glasses with the camcorder. It didn’t work at all, and I almost stepped on my child. It was crazy busy, and we gave up at the entrance. I thought this was supposed to be the slow season? It was Friday night after Thanksgiving after all, and the lights do attract crowds. We were getting cold so we finally headed back to ASMo.

After we changed, we decided to head right back out to the MK. Nope, no commandos here. No way. Huh uh. We were just having fun! We rode IASW, and dined on a turkey sandwich and hot dogs at Pinocchio’s. I really liked getting a table with a window view of the IASW loading area. It was fun for Samantha and I to wave maniacally at the people in the boats. We got some interesting reactions. She was a little hurt if the people didn’t wave back. “Humph!” she declared.

After we ate, we decided our digestion needed a little help from the Mad Hatter’s Teacups. It was nearing time for the fireworks, so we grabbed some seats in Fantasyland (which was deserted). We kept watching the castle, and waiting…and watching…and waiting. It wasn’t until we heard the first explosion behind us that we turned around. We got a very good show from here, and we weren’t the only ones looking the wrong way. We all had a laugh at ourselves. However, without the castle in the foreground, the fireworks weren’t as special.

Samantha and I rode Dumbo, and had a great time. Angie sat this one out due to pregnancy induced indigestion. After the ride, Samantha and Angie shared a cookie and hot chocolate from Ms. Potts Cupboard while I went and bought Samantha a surprise stuffed mini-Minnie Mouse. We finished the park by shopping at the art gallery next to City Hall where we grabbed a great poster of a blue print of the castle. Exhausted we crashed at ASMo.

Highs: Princess’ Storybook breakfast, Dumbo, Little Mermaid, and snow on Main street.
Lows: Dehydrating our child. Crowds at Osbourne lights. Long pre-show for HISTA

Tips Learned: (or relearned) Take a break during the day. Go to the Princess’ storybook breakfast with your little princesses. You can wave to the people from Pinocchio's. Fireworks are launched from Toon Town. Save the seafood for post pardem. Sit about halfway back from the stage at Playhouse Disney, Live! Avoid the Osbourne lights the Friday after Thanksgiving. Hydrate children before HISTA.

We did buy the photo to compare it to the one from two years ago. I’m wearing the same shorts from last time. I didn’t even notice until Angie pointed it out to me.

Day 2, Saturday November, 30th 2002
“Not Too Wet”
Weather: Scattered Clouds with highs in the low 70’s
Plan: Sleep in, Downtown Disney, and 1900 Park Fare

We decided after the late night that we needed to take it easy. Plus we’d heard horror stories about the MK the weekend after Thanksgiving. I was reminded of salmon swimming upstream during spawning season. Not wanting to get eaten by a hungry bear or die from exhaustion we decided to skip it, and go to Downtown Disney instead. After all Eisner and gang didn’t have enough of our money already.

We started out at the crack of noon, and headed out for an All-American lunch at McDonald’s. You know the one that is just outside of the All-Stars. It has the giant Ronald, Grimace, and a giant order of fries (which by the way you can’t order, don’t even try.). Some low cal foods later…we posed for photos (like we were tourists) with the giant Ronald and friends.

We had no trouble finding a parking spot. But many other people were circling the lot like vultures looking for the ideal spot near the front. Stalking shoppers on the way to their cars. Waiting for their chance to pounce.

Our first stop was the World of Disney. We bought a lot of stuff. It is a big place. I liked all of the Disney characters over head. Did you know that they sell macaroni in the shape of Mickey’s Head here? With babies on our minds, we went “Gwarsh, how cute!” over the baby clothes, bibs and hats. Speaking of hats, we bought fun hats here to wear at MVMCP: Goofy Santa hat for (who else) me, an Eeyore lighted reindeer ear headband for Angie, and a Minnie-Mouse Christmas headband for Samantha. We looked cool. These silly headpieces always look better at Disney than they do anywhere else. Angie says people will wear anything at Disney no matter how silly or tacky.

Angie sent us to the Lego Playground while she paid. Isn’t she great? Samantha played in the playhouse, which for some puzzling reason had the slides blocked. A little girl playing with her declared that the living room was a mess, and that the “kids” better clean up their stuff if they knew what was good for them. Samantha looked a little confused, but began to pick up the Legos on the ground. Her brother then came over and started playing with some of the blocks. He dropped a few on the ground setting the little girl off. She started lecturing him about his toys when Angie returned. Mom announced an ice cream break, which freed Samantha from her “chores”.

We tried Ghirardelli’s, but the wait was too long. We settled on a Mickey Bars and sodas by the water. Samantha spotted a woman who had a tiny dog in her purse and wanted one herself. So, we got her a purse. No not really, but she did want a tiny dog that you could carry in a purse. While eating we asked Samantha if she was having fun, and what she thought about DTD. Forever captured on film is her pretending to die, and shouting “Pee”. Didn’t she know we were looking for something cute to memorialize our shopping spree? This was a trend for the vacation. When the camera was off she’d do cute things. Turn the camera on she’d do obnoxious things. Giving up for now, we finished our snacks and headed to Once Upon a Toy for some Christmas shopping.

We played with some toys. I like toys. I like giving toys to children, especially my own, which explains why Christmas 2002 was a very good Christmas for us. Our first stop was to admire the toy monorail and the many add-ons available. I had planned on buying this, but when I saw it I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money. Sometimes I wish I had. I had envisioned an elaborate monorail system encircling the living room ceiling complete with tunnels to and from the master bedroom. My grand plan was to build scale models of the resorts and theme park icons near the monorail. Angie was lukewarm to say the best about the idea. I did however want (for Samantha of course) the Wilderness Lodge Lincoln Log set and the Haunted Mansion version of Clue! We played with the make your own Lincoln Log kits before a little girl who wasn’t sharing so well chased us off. Then we played with the build your own Potato Head complete with Disney themed parts and pieces. To distract Samantha, we let her use some of her money to buy a baby doll backpack and a light up Cinderella necklace while Angie purchased several Christmas prizes.

With our bags in hand we visited Pooh Corner and shopped. We were a little disappointed with the selection but managed to spend even more money. We snapped photos outside the shop of Samantha posing with the Tigger artwork.

We decided it was becoming too difficult to carry our many bags and keep their contents secret. Angie elected to take them back to the car while Samantha and I rode the carousel. She didn’t even make it halfway to the car. The sacks were cutting into her fingers when she decided to turn back. Halfway through our second ride she returned. I needed a break, especially after we negotiated the Christmas store with many large heavy bags and an almost four year old. Could there be a little more glass in here? Hey, let’s get two or three hundred more people inside the store, I can almost move my left foot. Samantha, don’t touch that. Samantha and I left. We sat at a fountain outside the shop while Angie bought an ornament for our Christmas tree.

Let’s see…shopping, water, and a four-year-old…this is a recipe for a wet kid. It started off in the usual way. We were watching other people’s kids get wet and cold. I was smugly thinking, “There is no way I’d let my kid get that wet. It is too cold today”.

Samantha: Daddy can I go over there? (Pointing to the water shooting out of the ground.)
Me: No lets stay here and rest. It’s too cold today.
(A little while later) :
Samantha: Daddy can I go over there? (Looking at me with the biggest most gorgeous brown eyes.)
Daddy: (doing a double take) Oookay, but don’t get too wet. You’ll get cold and we don’t have any clothes for you. I think, “We’re on vacation. A little water is no big deal.”

I’m not sure what “not too wet” means to you, but to Samantha it means wetter than a trout. Mom stops by in the early stages of the fountain, and I assure her that Samantha promised to “not get too wet” and that I took her shoes and socks off just to be sure. She is appropriately concerned. And apparently, so are some people sitting by me because they keep making snide comments. “Mind your own business”, I mutter under my breath.

Angie decides to not watch the screaming spectacle that is our child and gets some scrapbooking supplies at the 2 R’s. While she’s gone she also visits a disappointing Disney at Home store. When she returns, she declares that the child must have dry clothes. Off she goes to find a sweatshirt and sweatpants for the now shivering (but doesn’t know or care) Samantha. Victorious Angie returns and pronounces my punishment. (Hey! I told her “don’t get too wet”.) My punishment was to change her clothes in the Men’s room while not letting her or her clothes touch anything in the Men’s room. You ever change a slippery cold preschooler? Ever done it while holding her, her dry clothes and not dropping anything? It can be done. But I don’t recommend it. I got a little wet. But it’s a sacrifice I was happy to make. She had fun, and I will never forget the look of joy on her face. If I do, I can always watch the video.

It was time to leave Marketplace and get cleaned up for our PS at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. We took a bus to Epcot, a monorail to the TTC, and then the resort monorail to the GF. I like the monorail. It is one of my favorite memories from my trips to WDW as a teenager. Samantha loved it. It was her favorite ride of the day.

Samantha was wearing an Eeyore hair thing. Ok, I don’t know the correct terminology, but its one of those loops that you use to put hair in a ponytail and it had Eeyore’s head on it. Her new Cinderella light-up necklace was around her neck. This thing fascinated me. It had two little magnetic clasps. When you closed it on one clasp the necklace would glow in a soft blue. If you closed it on the other clasp, it wouldn’t glow at all. She didn’t share very well. So, I gave up and let her play with her toy.

We arrived and had to wait about 30 minutes for our table. But it was worth the wait. The GF was breathtaking, and it takes a lot to stop me from breathing. As you enter the lobby, you are hit by a wonderful smell of fresh baked goods. You are blinded from the lights by what little you can see of what must be a giant Christmas tree. Two smaller trees flank the entry. These trees would be huge in my house but are dwarfed by the monster in the center of the lobby. There is lighted garland everywhere. Poinsettias cover the check in counters, and a pianist is softly playing music in a corner of the lobby. The tree is at least five stories tall. There is a gingerbread house in the far corner, which houses a small candy counter.

From our video I got the recipe if you want to make your own at home:
530 lbs. Chocolate
1050 lbs. Sugar
800 lbs. Flour
600 lbs. Powdered Sugar
180 lbs. of ??? Glaze
140 lbs. of Egg Whites
35 lbs. of Spices

5055 Shingles

Tons of Creativity, Disney Magic, and Pixie Dust.

840 hours…I think it was to bake, but I can’t make it out.

Disney claims that the house is 100% edible. It is impressive, and it smells fantastic.

Samantha climbed up and down the main staircase with her Tigger backpack (that is almost as big as she is). I chased her while Angie did a video tour of the grounds for our neighbors. We worked up quite an appetite while dashing up and down those stairs. I got a little annoyed actually and kept trying to divert Samantha elsewhere. Once up and down is cute, twice is fun, three times is a joy, four times is stimulating, five times is routine, six times is mundane, seven times is dull, and eight times is exhausting. But she was almost four, and it kept her entertained and out of trouble.

We talked with Piglet a bit in the lobby before our pager went off. We were seated in the first room against the wall. Eeyore visited us first. Angie said something to him about running away together, and he gave her a kiss and a big hug. Watch it Donkey Boy! I’m going to have to keep my eye on that one. Eeyore made her day. Tigger came by next, and spotted Samantha’s backpack. He applauded her taste, and bounced with her awhile. Pooh came by, and she got his autograph. They posed for a picture together, and a small boy ran up to Pooh. Not a big deal, Pooh politely got the child to move. Angie tried again, here comes the small boy this time his Dad is filming him. Still not a big deal, but it is obvious that Pooh, his handler, and my wife are trying to keep the boy out of the shot. The boy tries again, and Dad does nothing. I’m annoyed now. That is three times and the Dad is doing nothing. Its not like Pooh isn’t coming to everyone’s table. What happened to common courtesy, waiting your turn, and watching your children? Angie snapped a picture, and let Pooh move on. We also ate dinner from the buffet: Jamaican jerked pork, lasagna, turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potatoes, and for desert strawberry soup and tarts.

While I was taking care of the bill Samantha and Angie went to the waiting area of the restaurant. Samantha had some extended time with Piglet all by herself. They watched a little TV, shared a few hugs, and Piglet played with her hair. I missed most of it, and since I had all the cameras we didn’t get it on tape either. But the girls told me all about it. Samantha fell in love with Piglet. He was now her favorite Pooh character. Was Walt smiling down on us? It was really neat to have that kind of interaction.

Full and filled with 100-acre fun we headed back to the monorail. We were the only ones there. The CM kept looking at me like he was expecting me to say something. Why does he keep looking at me like that? Five minutes later another family shows up, and asks the CM if they can ride up front. Doh! Why didn’t I think of that? The CM looks at me, and radios the monorail. They could indeed ride up front. There was nothing I could do. The excitement of the other family was even more tortuous. I couldn’t bear it. It would’ve been better if there was no room up front. Oh the injustice, oh the humanity. Oh well, it was quickly forgotten by the time we got our seats.

To the MK. We rode Snow White for the first time ever. Here is where the brilliance of the Cinderella necklace struck me. Samantha had forgotten it. To keep it from getting lost, I had put it in my pocket. We had no wait to get on the ride so there wasn’t time for her to get scared. She was however, worried about the dark forest. Whipping out the necklace, I told her that this light would help her. It wasn’t bright, but it chased her fears away. It worked better than the flashlight, which was too bright and sometimes she’d shine it in our eyes or somewhere else inappropriate.

We rode Pooh after waiting five minutes and Peter Pan after fifteen to twenty minutes.

It was time to see Spectromagic again. Angie loves this parade. You know how one or two little things will remind you of a particular vacation. For her it was the music from this parade.

We let the crowd thin and enjoyed popcorn and sodas on the way out. Then we made the purchase. That’s right, a Tinkerbell balloon. This thing was huge. I thought the Mickey head balloons were big. It would take two of those to make one Tink. When Samantha first asked for one, I was thinking of diversionary tactics and excuses why we couldn’t get one. I needed rational reasons to leave it here in the MK. I was too slow. Mommy said OK, and bought one while I was standing there stammering

I thought the other guest would kill us for bringing this monster on board the bus for ASMo. No one complained, and it helped that the bus wasn’t at capacity. However, our purchase would haunt us later in our trip.

We had a great day, and quickly nodded off to sleep.

Highs: Spending money at Marketplace, Samantha in the fountain, Eeyore, Spectromagic, riding the monorail
Lows: Inconsiderate quests, not riding up front on the monorail.

Tips Learned: We took mini breaks at Marketplace that helped us stay happy, and keep going. Have a plan for a wet child, but go with the moment. Discuss balloon purchases in advance. The MK wasn’t as crowded as we feared, but we didn’t go until late.


Day 3, Sunday December, 1st 2002
Lucky Hat.
Weather: Very Nice, high 60’s
Plan: Animal Kingdom, Rainforest Café, and O’Hanas

Despite Mickey’s urging about “big doings going on” we slept past our 7am wake-up. However, we made it to the 9am opening of AK despite ourselves. On our last trip (on advice to arrive first at KS or risk missing it) we stiff-legged-it to the safari. Our poacher hunt and capture was less than impressive. We were left wondering what was the big deal was about KS. Angie swore she would never again race to an attraction.

Which explains why we strolled to the Legend of the Lion King, stopped to take pictures of the “Alligator Rock” waterfall, Daisy leading some scouts, and Mickey and friends fishing. The LotLK theater was already seating people.

If you have not been to LotLK, you sit in one of four areas, Elephants, Lions, Giraffes and that other one. (I think its Warthogs). As part of your audience participation, you are requested to make the sound of your particular section. They ask for audience volunteers to lead the section, and demonstrate the sound. Usually this person looks real silly (or cute) trying to make the animal sounds. And everyone has a good laugh. Its fun, but I’m suspicious about the Warthog sound. I’m not sure it’s very Pumbaa-esq.

I picked the first section on your left as you enter. Angie said we’d be in the giraffe section, but I remembered this as the elephant section. Giraffes were way on the other side. I didn’t want to be a giraffe, or an elephant. I wanted to be a lion (ROAR!), but that section was full. Samantha now noticed that this was a theater, and not a ride. She loudly announced that she didn’t want to see ANY shows. We forced her to stay by making idle threats through our gritted teeth. “You will have fun young lady even if we had to make you.” We chose seats near the front of the section hoping Samantha would be chosen to lead our group.

As it turns out my wife was correct, again. We were giraffes. And, to add insult to injury, Samantha was NOT chosen because we made room for other guests as instructed by the CM’s. She was disappointed, but interested in the show now. The little girl that they did choose was sitting very close to our original spot, but they ignored the instructions to move down. (Grrr!) What sound does a giraffe make? I know, but I’m not telling you. Here’s a Hint: It doesn’t sound like a lion with laryngitis.

We called the animals, and were treated to a fun show of singing dancing, acrobatics, and fire. Ooohhh, fire! We all had fun, even Samantha. See parents do know what they are doing.

Exiting the theater, we stopped by Camp Minnie-Mickey. We met Suzy mouse, who is larger in person than I expected Daisy and Minnie. I liked this a lot better than I thought I would. To me standing in line to get autographs and pictures with the characters sounded like a poor use of our time, and a little boring. I consented because it would be fun for Samantha, and she’d be cute interacting with the characters. The part I was dreading, waiting in line, was quick and efficient. Plus the characters were out for only a short period of time (about 20-30 minutes). That forced us to pick wisely. And when they left, we moved on too. There were a few people who were very gung-ho about meeting ALL the characters. Apparently you need several people to stand in various lines, walkie-talkies, hand signals, GPS system, and a professional photographer. I actually heard one Dad yelling: “Go! Go! Go! Suzy mouse has no line. I repeat, Suzy mouse has no line.”

We took a long stroll to KS. We waited about five minutes, and had a much-improved ride. It was great. The water was going, and the bridge worked, and the animals were out. But I think what made the biggest difference was our guide. The CM didn’t hurry us through, and this gave us a lot of opportunities to see more animals. I can almost believe these animals are free to come and go as they please. It could use a little more excitement at the end, but it’s still a great ride.

Next, we walked through the nearby Pangani Forest Trail. I like animals, and these were very accessible. The only problem I had with this is the guests were in way too big of a hurry. I felt like I was being rushed. I was also a little concerned about the aviary. Birds shouldn’t be allowed to fly over people without teeny-tiny birdy diapers. The gorillas and meerkats were fantastic, and so close. The lake was a neat effect because you could see surface and shore, as well as underwater views of the turtles and fish. When we finished the trail, it was nearing our noon PS for the Rainforest café.

I was really impressed on our first visit to the Rainforest in 2000. I think the fish tanks archways are mesmerizing. The thunderstorm and audio-animatronic animal performances are cool. We found out later that this is a chain restaurant. There is one in Dallas where my sister-in-law lives. Whenever we’d visit her we’d go for a quick WDW fix.

Back to WDW 2002: For Christmas, the elephants and gorillas were wearing comical Santa hats. The food is good, but the volcano desert is better. We had quesadillas, Bamba chicken wraps, and a Samantha’s cheeseburger. I decided I wanted a T-shirt, and Samantha and I shopped a little. We decided to pick something up when we were leaving.

Back into the AK, we decided to see ITTBAB with some trepidation. We had read that this show could be intense for some pre-schoolers. I thought it would be Ok because the insects were more cartoon-like than realistic. That, and the fact that Samantha isn’t afraid of many bugs. We watched the show, and for some reason Samantha sat on Mommy’s lap. I thought I understood why after the effects started. I didn’t realize I was being set-up. Let’s just say, I was surprised in the “end”. I looked at my wife and daughter in shock and realized that they were watching me, and laughing. I’d say we liked the show, but it wasn’t one of our favorites. I think Hopper could be a little too menacing for some children, and Angie was a little freaked out by the spiders. Overall, it was not scary at all, and we had a good laugh at my expense.

It was time to treat Samantha to the Boneyard. I will always remember this. Samantha had a wonderful time climbing and sliding and running around. Overprotective Dad was only steps away, always with one-eye on his child. She scurried across and up a net ladder that was twenty feet off the ground with no troubles. The second time through, some bigger kids accidentally bounced her, and she froze in terror. I coaxed her off, and thought I had convinced her to go a different way. This is when I learned that my dear daughter will tell me what I want to hear, and then do whatever she wants to do. Before I could catch her, she got stuck again, and this time was screaming and crying hysterically. Now I’m trying to help her. First, I try to talk her down. Then, I try to rescue her, but I can’t get to her without some other kid getting in the way. The final straw was when Helpful Stranger shows up, and tries to rescue my kid for me. Suddenly I am separated from my poor terrified daughter by every child at Disney and this trying-to-be-helpful woman. Finally, I was able to squeeze past the mob, scoop her up and carry her down. I was doing a great job consoling her when Very Angry Mom shows up to whisk Samantha away. Of course I feel like a heel, the worst Dad ever, I deserved Angie’s wrath. But what could I have done differently? Maybe I should’ve tried harder to keep her away from the nets? Could I really not let her try? This incident put a damper on our afternoon.

Samantha and Angie went to ride Triceratops spin. I followed glumly behind. We all rode together. Well in a manner of speaking, Mom and Samantha were in the front. However, It was safer for everyone to have Loser Dad in the back seat where he can’t hurt anyone. We slowly erased the bad memories of the Boneyard with some ice cream, and some carnival games. I think the stuffed snake I won Samantha at the basketball toss finally did the trick. She loved this toy, and it is still one of her favorites. Mom seemed to finally forgive me. We were all in a better mood when we headed to the parade route stopping in a few shops (chocolate crayons) along the way.

Before we made it to the parade we stopped at the Discovery Island Character trails and met Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, and Pooh. Samantha loves Piglet, and all because of their special time together at 1900 Park Fare last night. She waved at him, and he came over and gave her a hug and kiss.

We were lucky enough to have a bench of our own. Everyone was thirsty; so we got various frozen drinks. We ended up sharing the bench with an Asian woman before a spilled drink made us rethink our spot. We moved across the street, and found a shady place underneath a tree. It was just big enough for the three of us. We had a great time with the other families near us. We enjoyed the company of a little girl about Samantha’s age. The two girls were cute, blonde, and standing next to each other. This ought to be the right combination to attract some parade magic. It did. It was like a moth to the flame.

Ever conscious to “stay behind the white line” the two girls would stand side by side and wave. Samantha had developed this shy little wave. She’d hold her hand up next to her cheek, and open and shut it as the characters passed. Dale and Brer Rabbit came up and gave her hugs while many others were content with high fives, and handshakes.

Samantha attracted playful Disney characters; I attracted pooping birds. The lady next to me said that in her country it was considered lucky to have a bird poop on your hat. I told her she could have it then. She, however, must have had all the luck she needed because I still have the hat. Apparently, bird poop isn’t as desirable as she claimed.

While Angie stood in the huge line and purchased the family picture with Tigger, Samantha and I picked out goodies from the Rainforest Café. I bought the T-shirt I had been eyeing, and Samantha got a stuffed mommy and baby monkey toy. We waited outside the park, watched the waterfall from the Rainforest Café, and helped take some pictures for a couple of newly weds.

Samantha fell asleep on the bus back to ASMo. So, we decided to reschedule O’Hana’s for Saturday. I did some laundry and enjoyed a beer by the pool while the girls relaxed and rested in the room.

When Samantha woke up we had dinner at the food court: taco salad, pepperoni pizza, and mac and cheese. We had M&M cookies and brownies for desert.

Samantha and I walked around while Angie snuck out to buy the huge Cinderella’s castle play-set from the hotel gift shop. This was one of Samantha’s Christmas presents. She also grabbed a copy of the Spectromagic music, All-Stars Resort magnet, Mickey Mouse stencil set and a magnetic bumper sticker. Why this is important, I don’t know but it was on my receipt.

When Samantha and I got back, I found out (through hand gestures) that it was my job to disguise the behemoth box hidden in the shower. I performed another amazing bathroom trick, and wrapped the monster in two huge WDW resort bags. Samantha kept knocking on the door asking if I was all right.

Me: “Of course I am, (I had to lie) I’m just going potty. It’s real stinky so, STAY AWAY!” This worked for a little while, but her curiosity got the best of her.

Samantha: “Why is it so stinky Daddy?” I was not prepared for an elaborate discussion about my make believe body functions.

Me: “I don’t know. Ask your Mom.” I’ve discovered this little gem by accident. It works pretty well, but it can backfire so beware.

Mommy: “Because Daddy is a stinky boy. Shoo whee. Stinky.”

Me: (announcing my departure from the bathroom) “I’m opening the door.”

I hid the wrapped package on the shelf for your luggage. She never even noticed. I wonder how long will be able to keep fooling her before she catches on. Samantha finally notices I’m out of the bathroom.

Samantha: (Pointing to me and laughing) “It’s the stinky boy!”
To which I think to myself: “I hope it’s a long time before you change your mind about boys.”

We turned in soon after that because Cinderella was expecting us for breakfast tomorrow.

Highs: FotLK, winning a stuffed snake, and the Jammin’ Jungle Parade.
Lows: The Boneyard, Pooping Birds.

Tips Learned: Find a parade spot that is protected from people pushing in on you, but stay away from bird prone areas. Kids will do what they want, and require constant vigilance, gentle guidance, and you to let go just a little every once in a while. Giraffes were on the left. My wife is often correct. Character trails aren’t as bad as I thought.


Day 4, Monday, December 2nd, 2002
Pirate’s Princess
Weather: Sunshine and 70’s
Plan: CRT breakfast and the MK, Rainforest lunch, Fantasmic

We had a pre-opening PS for CRT. We took the bus from ASMo to the MK. When we arrived they were letting people in but keeping them from going under the bridge onto Main Street. Naturally, we choose the closest entrance, expecting to encounter a CM at a rope who would let us through for our PS. Nope, we found out that we had to be on the list. But the list wasn’t here. It was at the far entrance, and we couldn’t get there from here. Ok, we’ll just exit and enter over there. Not so fast, we can’t let you do that either. Why didn’t we read the teeny-tiny sign obscured behind fencing and other people? It would’ve been so simple if you’d just followed directions. My perfect plan was failing, and to top it off we might miss our hard-won CRT PS! The CM was too busy preventing people from entering early to help us, but a security guard did. After some proof of identity, he escorted us to the check-in CM, and everything was good.

I love being on Main Street without any other guests. We were invited to ride on the buggy to the castle. Main Street was decorated for Christmas, complete with carols playing softly in the background. We shot some great video, took several pictures of the castle, and of Walt and Mickey before we went to breakfast.

Just a side note, there were garlands strung across the street between the buildings. It made for a very festive atmosphere, but it obscured the view of the castle. It lessened the impact of arriving on Main Street USA. Oh well, it was minor.

The castle at the MK in WDW is an icon recognized worldwide. Tourists flock to it each year by the millions. Disney faithful honor it as a shrine to all that is magical about WDW. It is difficult to describe the experience of dining here. Sunlight streams in through the stained glass in the morning, and you can see the early morning activity in Fantasyland. Shields, standards, and regal trappings decorate the dining room upstairs. Guests are greeted as my Lord or my Lady and are seated in high-backed chairs. The atmosphere is lively and a bit harried. Princesses (and sometimes Aladdin) make the rounds of the tables. The food comes quickly and it seems that there is some pressure to get ‘em in and get ‘em out by the servers.

The princesses were fun for my daughter, but no better than at the Storybook breakfast. The food is good, but it seemed a little inconvenient for the server to get refills and seconds. This is a traditional meal for us, if we can get it, even though it isn’t as relaxed as I’d like. We’ve talked about having lunch or dinner here, and that may be an option if we can’t get the breakfast. Samantha posed with Cinderella (her favorite character), Sleeping Beauty (Bad Wig), Snow White (great voice), Mary Poppins (a princess??), and Belle. She posed with the Fairy Godmother downstairs after we finished our meal.

The park had just opened, and we were in Fantasyland, and it was empty just like I planned. (Rubbing hands with glee) What do you do in a deserted Fantasyland? Ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh of course! On our way, we spent about five minutes with Bert and he asked us if we had seen Mary Poppins at breakfast! Samantha and he chatted and joked, and I didn’t get any of it on film. I was having so much fun watching them that I forgot my solemn duties as Captain Camcorder. I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t always like being Captain Camcorder. I feel like an outsider. No adult wants to be on video, and I can’t enjoy what I’m filming because I worry about what and how I’m filming. But I don’t want to be on video. And if I have the camera, I have the power. Except, I shouldn’t talk while shooting. I always end up saying something Goofy. Oh well…

(At this point I’ve decided to embellish about pirates. My wife pointed out to me that we weren’t really looking for pirates. But you have to admit that it must have been subconscious because, well you’ll see…)

Pooh was a bouncing good time, and whetted our appetites for pirates. After our flight with Pan we grabbed FP for later, and headed to Adventureland and the Magic Carpets. The Genie was riding and hamming it up when we walked up. Wouldn’t it be fun to ride with Genie, we thought as we jealously eyed the lucky family? He started to leave, but when he saw Samantha he decided to ride with us! Or should I say me. She was terrified of the big blue guy. She and Mom rode in the back, while I tired to make small talk with the eight-foot Genie up front. That was great, but we wished Samantha wasn’t so scared of him. She never did warm up to Aladdin’s magical friend.

She liked the ride, but we still wanted pirates! Nothing to do but say hello to the PoTC. This is one of my favorite rides in the MK. I was worried that it might be too dark for Samantha, but she did fine with her Cinderella necklace to brighten things up. A pirate’s life is thirsty work. No ale afoot, we headed to Pinocchio’s for some downtime and soda.

Our mortal thirst quenched, we still needed some FP raucous pirate action. Peter Pan again saved Wendy and left poor Hook stranded with the hungry croc. Aarrhh! A celebration is at hand! We crashed Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration where the Beast got the biggest applause from the smallest of us.

Our appetite for pirates satisfied, Samantha and I took a tour around the “small small world afterall” while Angie snagged FP’s for Pooh. Samantha needed pink Mickey Ears, and a bag of polished rocks from the Snow White shop. Luckily, our purchases didn’t blow away on the windy Pooh ride. Gotta love those FP’s.

Needing a boost of Goof, we headed to Toon Town and rode the Barnstormer for the first and second times. I don’t know how Goofy does it because it was a tight squeeze for Samantha and 6’2” me. Mom rode the second time whilst I filmed them. Samantha screamed through both rides. The wait was very short, like the ride. It was a lot of fun. While Samantha and I were riding, Angie bought Samantha a few surprises: Piglet necklace (because of 1900 Park Fare), Cinderella T-shirt, and magnet footed Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald.

We toured Minnie’s house, which was a little crowded. I thought it was a little strange since Minnie was not at home. I guess she’s better than I am. I wouldn’t let a bunch of strangers wander through my house unattended. We took the train to Main Street and grabbed our favorite spot for the parade.

We had hot dogs and sodas from Casey’s while sitting on the curb. It was dry and shady when the memory in the camera decided to die. We lost many pictures. Luckily, (?) I was able to purchase more memory from the Town Hall after two tries. I bought the wrong kind and had to return it. They were very understanding. Kudos to the CMs, they saved the moment for me. When I returned to Angie and Samantha, some mysterious drainage had appeared, and the street right at our feet was wet. This would’ve been tolerable if the boy next to me didn’t keep jumping in it. His parents tried lamely to stop him. I think it was a deliberate strategy to squeeze in on our turf.

Samantha was pulled into the parade twice. The first time, Bashful and Snow White invited her to dance. Splashy, the puddle stomping kid, asked his Mom how come all the cute blonde girls always got to be in the parade. Of course, now I felt a little better about being splashed, and a little sorry for him because he wanted to be in the parade, and didn’t get to. Next Cinderella’s maids in waiting pulled Samantha out to wave at all the princesses (but especially Cinderella). The girl took my child around the back of the float. I was starting to get worried when they didn’t come right back. I had decided to go for a look when they finally came around the far side of the float. Whew. I really like that kid. I don’t want to lose her. Angie thought I was over reacting. Well, so! Robin Hood shook her hand, and she hid from the villains.

After the parade we headed to Tomorrowland for dessert. Apparently, Samantha had a major meltdown. I vaguely remember some ugliness, but I can’t remember about what or why. Angie reminded me that we bought her the ice cream we had promised her. She didn’t want it. We ended up calling it a day at that point. If you’re upset about eating ice cream at Disney World, its time to go. Awful parents, buying ice cream, how could we? We snapped some pictures on the way to the bus back to ASMo.

Samantha fell asleep on the bus and slept till 7pm. We had dinner at the food court (Philly Steak, spicy chicken, supreme pizza, and a chocolate chip cookie.)

We check out of ASMo tomorrow. Wilderness Lodge here we come! One day left till the Birthday Surprise.

Highs: Buggy down deserted Main Street, CRT, Genie, and Samantha in the Parade, Barnstormer, Pirates, Robin Hood and Bert.
Lows: Splashy, camera memory failure, and last night at ASMo

Tips Learned: Be careful with your digital camera memory, Fast Passes save time, Crying over ice cream means we’ve had enough.

Day 5, Tuesday December, 3rd 2002
The Balloon that Ate Manhattan, or Flush, Gurgle, WHOOSH.
Weather: Beautiful. High 70’s with scattered clouds.
Plan: Check out ASMo, Check In WL, LTT dinner and MVMCP!

Today, after many, many months of wishing and dreaming, we checked into the Wilderness Lodge. Samantha didn’t understand why Mom and Dad acted so “Goofy” all morning long. Of course she hadn’t been planning and dreaming about it since our last trip.

Unfortunately, we had to check out of ASMo first. This is always a little somber. ASMo has a special place in our hearts. It was the first Disney Resort we ever stayed at on our first-ever family trip. I suppose everyone has a special attachment to his or her first, and we are no exception. We spent some time walking around the resort and taking some great pictures of Samantha with Donald and Daisy in the Fantasia area.

We spent the majority of the morning packing our things. As the luggage and packages were piling up by the door, I was getting increasingly worried that we could cram all this junk into our car and take Samantha with us. Angie reassured me that everything would be fine, so off I went to borrow a luggage cart. The CM’s reminded me about the time limit and the hefty fine for violators. Egad! I wondered if we could move our things in the narrow time limit. It took two cartloads, plus a few more trips without. (I panicked about what the Mouse might do, and returned the cart a little early. It’s best not to tick off the big cheese.) When we left Oklahoma the car was loaded down. Now we had twice as much stuff. We were in trouble, or at least in for a very uncomfortable ride.

Despite the poor packing by me somehow it all fit even Samantha. At least I thought she was in there, but I couldn’t see her because of all the bags. Angie was fighting it out with the ridiculously huge Tinkerbell balloon (unofficially known as the balloon that ate Manhattan) shoved at her feet. It was comical. I felt a little like the Clampett’s come to Floridee for some fancy doin’s.

“Samantha? Are you back there?” Angie asked.
“Yes,” came her muffled reply.
“Moving out! Wayward Ho!” I shouted. Finally we were off to the Lodge. Please, keep your spurs and chaps inside the wagon at all times.

The drive over was memorable, and lest we forget it was immortalized on film by my lovely bride, complete with commentary. The turn onto Timberline Drive immediately transports you into the great Northwest. Towering pines block out all signs of Florida. It was so convincing to Samantha that she told me to watch out for bears because bears are mean. Rounding the last turn the Lodge leaps into view, and exorts praise from the crew. A large wreath centered over the valet parking area hinted to what awaited us inside. We park in the parking lot while we check-in.

It was only a short hike to the unbelievable lobby. An immense Christmas tree dominated the lobby just in front of the check-in desk. It was large (and in charge) but still maintained the intimate feeling of the soaring entry. Check-in was slow but friendly, and we were too excited to notice. I checked on being a flag family, but everyday was booked until after we left. Our room wasn’t ready, so we took our welcome package and headed out to the courtyard area, filming and snapping pictures like crazed tourists.

Returning inside we decided to grab lunch at the Roaring Forks. I have no idea what we had to eat, but we did buy refillable mugs, the small ones. Apparently, we saved every stinking receipt but this one. I hoped I liked what I ate, because I sure don’t remember it.

When we finish lunch it was about time for the geyser to erupt.
We wandered out past the pools and caught the start. Every eruption is slightly different. This one was a long, slow bubbling. Angie was filming the Geyser on our new expensive digital camcorder…downwind.

“Honey, you’re going to get wet.” I explain.
“Hmm?”
“Uh, move down this way.” She moves a little. I give up.

After about five minutes, I was thinking boy this geyser thing sure is a dud. Then whoosh, a fine misty column of water shot in the air. The spray got me, Samantha, and Angie a little wet. Angie moves. Then there was this sound like an underground toilet flushing, and even more water shot up to new heights. Now this was cool, and we all moved farther upwind of the geyser. The geyser erupts every hour on the hour, and if you listen carefully you can hear it inside the resort. At least we could from our courtyard room. It was never a problem, but faintly in the background…flush, gurgle, whoosh, and then sometimes the scream of someone getting doused.

It was warm, and Angie took Samantha to change into her swimming suit. I got some libations from the poolside bar, and we thoroughly enjoyed the sun and our daughter enjoying the water. The kiddie pool is only a foot and a half deep. Toddlers, babies, and a parent or two were playing in the water. Water was splashed. Let me repeat..water was splashed. This was a novel concept to some of the folks at the pool. Toddlers plus water equals splashing. It’s a law of nature, an unrefutable fact. Now, was the splashing malicious or intentional? Nope. Just walking around and falling down splashes. I guess some parents have to complain about something. Here’s an idea: if you don’t want Jr. to get wet, then keep them on dry land.

Finally our room, 4015, was ready. I found out from Angie as we were opening the door that another bird had pooped on my back. Again!? What did I do to them? Why didn’t you tell me before?? Crazy birds. Leave me alone! I’m not wearing the lucky hat! As I was cleaning up, and we were waiting for our luggage to arrive, Angie did a video tour of our new digs. Samantha loved the balcony and the sliding glass doors. Angie was nuts about the ceiling fan. I was happy to get the bird *!?$ off my shirt. Angie did an interview wiht Samantha and her opinion of the resort.

“How do you like the Wilderness Lodge?” Mommy asks.
“Pee! I’m going to pee off the balcony.” Samantha replies.

This was a trend the whole trip. She was in this phase of talking about poop and pee. We thought it would be cute to get her reaction to things on video. The most we usually got was a poop or a pee. So there ya go...our little princess the potty mouth. I was so proud. Sniff. It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.

Samantha gave us a good scare. She snatched up a room key and was playing with it on the balcony. I could just see it sailing over the edge to be lost in the bushes below. I wrestled the key away from her just as the bellhop arrived with our luggage. They did a great job of getting our stuff in one trip. I was going to tip him handsomely. But somehow, I forgot how do to math, and with the pressure of him holding his hand out, I didn’t give him a big enough tip. He didn’t complain, but I knew he would complain to all his buddies about what cheapskates we were.

The ugly incidence forgotten, we prepared to head out LTT PS and MVMCP. Donning our silly hats (Santa Goofy for Dad, Christmas Eeyore headband for Mom, and Christmas Minnie headband for Samantha) we walked to the boat launch. An attack duck blocked our path and eyed us malevolently. It watched us with beady black eyes and quacked its razor sharp bill menacingly. At least that’s what Samantha thought; she was terrified of the little fella. After escaping from “When Ducks Attack” we safely boarded the ferry. During our ride over we were treated to fireworks from the MK.

Wiser in the ways of checking in for off-hour PS’s, we entered the LTT unscathed. What can I say about this character meal? It was crowded. It took a long time to get our table. The characters were there, somewhere, just not with us. The food was edible. In fact, the whole thing was remarkably forgettable. It did meet its intended purposes. 1. Filling our bellies, and 2. Getting us in ahead of the party crowd.

Here’s a tip for MNSSHP and MVMCP: to avoid crowds, go during the week, avoid the weekend or near the weekend, and don’t go the first or last nights.

After eating, we got our free picture and our party T-shirts. Then we rode some rides: Small World, Peter Pan twice, Pooh, Dumbo complete with Santa Hat, Buzz, and Astro-Orbiter.

Astro-Orbiter left Angie pale, and I have to admit it went a little higher and faster than I was prepared for. The girls rode in one orbiter, while I was alone in another. As was relayed to me:

“Oh $%&!#$%^” Mommy exclaimed.
“We don’t say that.” Admonished Samantha.
“Sometimes you just have to.” Mommy retorted.

I interviewed them both after the ride.

“What did you think of Astro Orbiter?” I asked.
“Not when you’re pregnant.” Angie remarked.
“Pee!”

Upon watching this interview Angie’s sister asked her “What the Hell do you have on your head?” You’d be surprised the things you’d wear on vacation.

We grabbed some cookies and watched the special party fireworks from the rose garden by the bridge to Tomorrowland. This is one of my favorite places for fireworks. It’s not too crowded, and there are no trees blocking your view. Mommy was interviewing Samantha again.

“Are you having a good time?”
“Poop!”
“Samantha, we don’t talk like that!”
“I said Pooh, not poop! I was talking about Pooh!”
“Nice try.”

Samantha punctuated every explosion with a scream of delight. At the end of the regular fireworks out pops Santa Goofy to announce Rudolph’s flight. Samantha was amazed to see this and said “Wow” every time they shot the 360-degree fireworks. It was a good show.

After the fireworks it was time for the “Celebrate the Season” show on the forecourt stage. We picked a good spot being careful not to stand in front of anyone who might not get to see with Samantha on our shoulders. We were not rewarded with the same thoughtfulness. A few parents in the front decided to wait until the show started to hoist their kids up, blocking our view. Despite this inconvenience Samantha was entranced, and she and Mommy were singing along to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The show ended with snow falling on the audience.

We watched the Christmas parade from our favorite spot in Liberty Square. Samantha fell asleep. I tried to wake her, but she didn’t want to be awake. I moved back to let some other people see better. It was a shame that she missed it. The parade was one of the best ones I have seen at WDW, and I’m not wild about parades. She was pooped, and so were we. It snowed on us as we strolled down Main Street. We boarded the ferry back to the resort after a long long wait.

No one was too excited about tomorrow but me. It was Angie’s Birthday, and I had been planning a surprise for her for over a year. Would forces conspire against my well made plans??

Highs: Wilderness Lodge, MVMCP.
Lows: Pooping Birds, Astro-Orbiter (but it was still fun), thoughtless people
Tips: Watch out for Birds, Stand upwind from the Geyser, go to the special parties on a weekday.

Day 6, Wednesday December, 4th 2002
The O’Bother Event
Weather: Beautiful. High 70’s with scattered clouds.
Plan: Angie’s Birthday B’fast at Chef Mickey’s, Angie’s Birthday Surprise, Angie’s Birthday Lunch, Angie’s Birthday Dinner.

Midnight the night before:
The girls are tired. Angie wants to be asleep, Samantha already is.

“How about 7?” I say as I’m setting the clock
“AM?”
“The PS at Chef Mickey’s is at 8:30.”
“Why don’t we skip it, and sleep in?”
“We need to be in the MK by 10. So we’d have to get up anyway.”
“Fine.” She was too tired to even ask why. Yea!

But things were not fine. I could tell. Mostly because I’ve heard that particular “fine” from her before, and it didn’t bode well for me or the surprise. I started to panic and when I panic I plan. Ok, plan A: No Chef Mickey’s, we’re out the door at 9:15 for the Magic Kingdom. I’m no dummy. I’ve seen plenty of A-Team episodes to know that plan A never works, always have a plan B. Ok plan B: If plan A fails, spill the beans.

The next morning:
I was tired, and I was thinking that my wife is a lot smarter than I am. But I got up anyway. I tried to wake her.

“Happy Birthday.” I whispered. She pretended to be asleep. I took a shower, and got dressed. I tried again by making a lot of unnecessary noise. Still pretending. I tried to wake Samantha who was also pretending. No luck here either. I tried to wake them both by tossing our daughter in bed with my wife. Angie stopped pretending and in no uncertain terms told me she was tired, didn’t feel good, and that she could hurt me.

“Happy Birthday?” I offered. I was really worried. She had been experiencing a little pregnancy-induced nausea the last several days. I hoped it would pass quickly because we had to be in the Magic Kingdom this morning. Time was rapidly slipping away. Somehow, I got the crew going. I’m not sure how I did it, but maybe it went something like this:

“We’re going to miss our time for Chef Mickey’s if you don’t get up soon.” I announced.
“Chef Mickey’s? For Breakfast?” Samantha said waking up.
“Yep.”
“Woo Hoo! Come on Mommy lets get dressed.” Samantha was raring to go.

But it didn’t go like that at all. I have been reminded that I had nothing to do with it. We have a tradition of starting every WDW vacation at Chef Mickey’s and getting the group photo. We missed the opportunity on our first night, and had to get it today. That’s what got her going, not me or Samantha, but a tradition that we’ve been doing now for a grand total of once. Also Chef Mickey’s had Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

We were out the door and at the boat launch in no time, no attack duck. The docks were safe! Everyone was smiling, except Angie. I was feeling a little guilty and apprehensive about this whole adventure. She didn’t look happy, and we were not talking to each other. We boarded the boat for the contemporary. The ride was brisk and fun for all, except for Angie who was looking a little green. An early morning boat ride will NOT cure morning sickness. She was not feeling good at all. I was beginning to worry that the surprise wasn’t going to be good enough to offset the way things were starting.

Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s was not as crowded as our dinners have been. It was brighter, and felt less like a party than the evening meal does. The guests and staff were doing the slow morning shuffle. I’m not a breakfast person, and I don’t see much use in it. Rarely am I hungry when I wake up. But this was Angie’s birthday and she wanted to start it at this restaurant. I like Chef Mickey’s, but I was worried about my wife. Fortunately, she started feeling better about half way through breakfast. We got some good pictures and had some good food. Pluto licked me!

When I made the PS’s for this day I let everyone know that it was my wife’s birthday. I had to. I wanted her birthday to be special and I didn’t know when we’d ever have another chance like that. To their credit the CM’s knew it was someone’s birthday. Ironically, they assumed it was my daughter’s despite the button that Angie was wearing. Angie was feeling a little juvenile and tried to take off the button. I convinced her to keep it on.

Breakfast securely tucked in our tummies we boarded the monorail for the MK. As we walked up Main Street about 10 am I was looking for someone looking for me. I had set this up, but I didn’t know what was going to happen. We made our way to the pre-designated meeting point, the wishing well behind the castle. I had not contrived an excuse to get the crew there, and subsequently thwarted various plans to do other things by proclaiming that I wanted to see the wishing well. My wife was getting suspicious. She wanted to know why.

“Because that’s where your birthday present is.” I told her.
“I thought the WL was my present.” She was puzzled.
“No.” I reply.
“Being at WDW on my birthday is all the present I need.” I thought this was the sweetest.
“Nope.”
“What is it?” She asks as we arrive at the well.

I whipped out the camcorder as she looked around the well. She didn’t find anything at first. I was starting to worry. Maybe we were too early. Ah ha! Hidden, in plain sight on the well was the start of the Oh Bother event. Basically, it was a scavenger hunt with presents, and clues at various places in the Magic Kingdom. She was blown away. I was amazed at her reaction. She was so excited and shocked that I had pulled it off without her knowing. Mainly because 1. I’m lousy at keeping secrets from her and 2. She handles all the money.

She loves Eeyore. Which was good because my plan for this day was Eeyore and Fireworks, another favorite. I thought it would be so cool to have Eeyore give her a birthday present. But, it turned out that Eeyore’s time was very valuable, too valuable for normal citizens like us. Discouraged, but not defeated, I decided to give Gifts of a Lifetime a try. They do unique things for Birthdays, Anniversaries, or any sort of special event that you want to celebrate or remember. They can even make a video for you to remember your day. You provide specific information about the event, and they customize an experience for you. I filled out a form, which included things like favorite Disney movies, (Beauty and the Beast), characters (Eeyore), and so on, telling Jane at Gifts of a Lifetime about Angie, and what sort of event I wanted. Thus the Oh Bother Event was born.

From Jane at Gifts of a Lifetime:
Oh Bother:
In this event you bring Angela to the location we set up with you and there Angela will find a note addressed to her. It seems that Eeyore is all gloomy over her birthday because he has lost her birthday gift and now no one can celebrate because it is lost somewhere. There will be clues leading all of you around the park in search of the gift. There will be four to five Eeyore themed clues. The gift can be something you choose at home or something for us to get for you from WDW.

They requested photos of each of us, and I picked out a gift in advance. The problem was I didn’t have any good pictures of us to send to her. So I made up some lame reason, and took our pictures. I thought the whole thing was very transparent, but Angie never suspected a thing. I decided on 10:15 AM at the wishing well in the Magic Kingdom. I could reschedule up to one or two days before the event. But, I had no way of contacting them because they were on a cruise and wouldn’t be back until the third. We had to be there or there would be no birthday presents!

Ok back to the birthday surprise.

She found a laminated note. We were excited. Here is the first note:

Angela,
Oh Bother!
Eeyore is all gloomy over your birthday and has ambled away your gift!
Now we can’t celebrate until it’s found, so you better grab Samantha’s hand and start looking.
Let’s start by not being gloomy, take a trip on Pooh’s ride and then seek a clue by the biggest cuddly Eeyore in the store.

Not a problem, we walked really fast and rode Pooh. Bouncing away, it was probably one of the few times that we couldn’t wait for the ride to be over. After a brief search she found the Eeyore, and Angie gave it a hug. Tied to a Pooh and Friends jell-mug was the next clue. I didn’t know that there would be additional gifts. This was so cool! This was what we were to do (after we rode Pooh again of course):

After giving Eeyore a big hug and gathering your clue, seek something small in the bushes outside Tinkebell’s ToyShop.

Seasoned from the first search it was easy to find an Eeyore key chain in the bushes and the next clue:

To get over his gloom Eeyore decided to celebrate Christmas a little early.
See what’s hiding in the sleigh at the Christmas Shoppe.

This took us a while. I guess the earlier success went to our heads. We found a sleigh with no problem, but there was no clue. Someone was sitting in the sleigh in fact, having a snack. Did he take the clue? I gave him a look you’d give a suspicious character. He noticed, and seemed annoyed. Undaunted we searched inside the store, perhaps it was in a different sleigh? Finally a Pixie from Gifts of a Lifetime had to help us along. I was so surprised when she whispered to me to open the back of the sleigh. I never saw anyone following us, and even after I knew whom to look for, I still didn’t see anyone. I’d make one lousy spy. Opening the box we found an Eeyore headband for Samantha and the next clue.

Eeyore’s friend Piglet is so small he barely takes up any space at all. So he hid his toy with a clue:
Take Samantha and have a carpet ride. Then find the box of snakes to find your next clue.

Samantha did not want to ride the carpets. I think she was afraid the Genie might be there. It wasn’t her birthday, so…we made her go. Luckily the Genie wasn’t there, and we flew in great sweeping circles over Agrabah. We found the box of snakes after a few false starts. Inside the box was an Eeyore pin and the last clue.

In the ‘Hundred Acre Woods’ Eeyore and his friends believe that all is well that ends…well, a well.

Back to the well! There wrapped up in the arms of a stuffed Eeyore was her final birthday gift, a new Eeyore watch. She put it on immediately, and declared that this was the best birthday present ever. She called her Mom, and told her what I had done. She said I would never be able to top this. She’s probably right, but I’ll continue to try.

Jane was great she patiently answered my many emails and phone calls. I highly recommend Gifts of a Lifetime for a unique way to celebrate that special occasion. We had a fantastic time.

We rode IASW, and sang along, quietly. Mom opted to get FP’s for Pan while Samantha and I whirled around holding our magic feather high above us on Dumbo. Momentarily, at a loss on what to do we decided to try Jungle Cruise.

This was a first for Angie and Samantha, it was one of my favorites from when I was younger. They were not giving out FP’s, but the standby line didn’t look too bad. Look being the operative word. It was a long and winding road. It didn’t bother me. I enjoyed the puns, fake announcements, and themeing of the queue. I wasn’t pregnant either. The line was miserable for my wife. It was a good thirty or forty minutes with no breeze, and high humidity. Plus, there was the issue of personal space and hygiene. Too many people too close together some of which were starting to smell. Did you know that pregnant women have a heightened sense of smell? Ooh did you also know that normally benign smells could be adverse? I do…now.

Speaking of smells, this is something I wrote for my daughter:
Snails smell well other Swell Smelly Snails

Back to the cruise…Once we are on the ride, everyone has a good time. However, not good enough to endure the line ever again. No FP’s – no Jungle Cruise.

We survived the expedition (unlike the previous crew) and found ourselves near the Tiki room. Who can pass up the Tiki Room when they are that close? Well, a bunch of people apparently because there was no line. We enjoyed the “Tiki Tiki Tiki Room” as always, even with Iago. My daughter thinks he is hilarious. He does get hurt often, and I enjoy slapstick. So, Iago is all right with me too. We helped perform a little magic and off we went, “Hi Ho, Hi Ho”, to save Wendy from that dastardly pirate, Cap’n Hook.

Three hours or so after the end of the Oh Bother event we were ready for lunch. Which was bad because our PS for Tony’s Town Square wasn’t for another thirty minutes. We wanted a seat on the patio, and thought it was a good idea to head over early. I had planned for 2:30 so that we’d be able to see the parade while we ate. Originally we were going to dine at the Crystal Palace to see Eeyore, but it was being refurbished. Instead Eeyore and friends would be at Tony’s. This turned out to be a really good thing because we wouldn’t have eaten there otherwise.

I politely checked in, apologizing that we were early, and asked if it wasn’t too much to sit on the patio. We didn’t mind waiting. I was told, “not a problem”. A few minutes later we were led to a table indoors, not on the patio.

“Uh, would it be OK if we waited for a table on the patio? It would make my wife’s birthday even more special.” I pleaded.
“Not a problem.”

Ok, I played up the birthday a little much, and they knew it. But when we were seated at our excellent patio table I was pleased. Angie had spaghetti and meatball, not meatballs, just one huge meatball. I even took a picture of it. I had something good, and so did Samantha. Tigger and then Pooh came over to our table. Eeyore was still inside. Pooh came back, still no Eeyore. In fact, it looked like he wasn’t coming out. This would not do. Eeyore did come to our table, saving the best for last. It was worth the wait. The smile on my wife’s face was incredible.

The CM’s again thought it was Samantha’s birthday (and Angie let them and took off the birthday button ?) and brought her a special cupcake. The CM sprinkled the table with Mickey Head confetti, and it made Samantha’s day. The CM gave her extra confetti to take home, and instructed her to sprinkle it whenever she needed a little magic (which was two minutes later). It was a nice surprise. What a great CM!

As we started desert the parade came by. We watched most of it from our table. Everyone enjoyed the desert except me. I chose the Tiramisu without knowing anything about it except that it was supposed to be the best desert at Tony’s. It was probably delicious. I just couldn’t choke down more than a few forkfuls. I don’t like coffee. To remember the day Angie bought an Eeyore T-shirt, a very blustery day.

We peeked into Space Mountain on a ride of the TTA. Buzz beckoned and I won even while steering, shooting and video taping at the same time. Samantha decided to buy an Ion Blaster thing to take home.

We finished up the MK with popcorn and snacks in the Rose Garden while watching the evening fireworks.
We had planned to go to Epcot, but instead we headed back to the WL. I took Samantha swimming while Angie vegetated and watched the Electric Water Pageant from our balcony.

Samantha and I were rebellious, we went down the slide together. Of course we were admonished not to do it again. Only one at a time please. We splashed in the big pool, and shivering dashed to the kiddie pool. Then to mix it up, we splashed in the big pool again. It was cool, but the water was warm. Just don’t get out of the water…ok lets stay in the kiddie pool instead. Wet and tired we finally found our way to our room.

There is no better way to cap off a birthday like a little laundry. It was late, and it was busy, and it was a bunch of laundry, a gaggle of laundry, a pod of laundry. It was a lot. Laundry was laundry, but I was surprised at how small and unkempt the laundry room was at the WL. It took too long and the dryers didn’t work very well. It was just like any other crummy Laundromat I have ever been to. There should’ve been something unique about it. Couldn’t the washers sing harmony? Each one adding a different note or rhythm so that when they were all going it would be a Disney song. The dryers flashing with fiberoptics could advertise attractions, parks, or shows. Couldn’t it be?

It was a great day, and tomorrow we were excited about the famous cheese soup and the Candlelight Processional.

Highs: Oh Bother Event, Tony’s Town Square.
Lows: Morning sickness, Laundry.
Tips: Gifts of a Lifetime is fantastically fun, Tony’s Town Square at 2:30 is a great place to watch the parade, only one on the slide and they mean it! Bring your own laundry supplies.

Day 7, Thursday December, 5th 2002
Candlelight, rain and Hot Cocoa
Weather: Cool and Wet.
Plan: Epcot, LE Cellier Candlelight Processional DP, and Illuminations

We slept in. Angie’s condition hadn’t improved much because thankfully she was still pregnant. So instead of hitting the parks, we hung around the hotel. We had lunch in the room from the roaring forks, 2 cheeseburgers and a PB&J sandwich. Later that afternoon we ventured forth to film a little of the Lodge decked out in its Christmas glory. Apart from the large tree dominating the entrance there were many normal sized trees dotted throughout the various levels of the lobby. Groups of trees bordered both sides of the bridge spanning Silver Springs Creek. Lighted garland and wreaths were hung from every conceivable overhang and railing inside and out. Poinsettias filled in the areas in between the Christmas trees. It was nicely done, not overstated, just right for the space.

We caught the bus to EPCOT and rode SE upon arrival. I loved this ride, and so did Samantha. My favorite part was when you reach the top. I also liked the lights and displays on the way down. Next we headed over to Innoventions West to send a few digital postcards. We stopped to dance on and gawk at the illuminated sidewalks. I’d love to have these at my house. I’ve been told that it is around ten thousand dollars per square!? Yikes! We sent the postcards to some friends and family and halfheartedly looked around before heading to Canada.

Our mission was the famous cheese soup and breads of Le Cellier. The weather was cool and cloudy when we checked in much as it had been all day. We received our ‘tickets’ for the 8:15 PM Candlelight Processional, and proceeded to wait for our pager to flash.

After a longish wait we were seated in the darkened dining area. The waiter did a great job of recommending things to try, and we asked a number of questions about what was on which and what came with what. Samantha not wanting to be left out, asked our waiter if the cheeseburger came with cheese. She also wanted to know if this is where Beauty and the Beast lived. The CP dinner package was a fixed price based on the restaurant “tier”. It came with a good selection of entrees and included an appetizer and dessert. We were stuffed, and it was delicious, but I don’t remember anything but the breads, which I remember to taste exactly, like bread. Nothing spectacular, but it was good, and fresh, and at our table. This is where notes would come in handy. Angie and I had fillets, but they where different. Hers was better. Samantha had the cheeseburger with cheese of course.

We stood and watched the O’ Canada movie, and it was neat, but it was a little long especially when holding a little one. Samantha thought she was moving and would lean when the camera did. I liked the waterfall and the themeing around the area a lot better than the movie. I‘ll skip it next time. More cheese soup please!
Not only was it colder, but it had started to lightly rain when we left Canada. Then it started raining harder, leaving us in desperate need of ponchos. We ducked under cover outside some shops in England. While the girls went inside to buy ponchos, I waited guarding our stuff from a very shifty looking grandmother and toddler. In this weather they looked liked a seasoned pair of con men waiting to prey on the unwary. Ha! I had their number. They shifted to the far side of the vestibule giving me a cautious eye and a wide berth. Inside Samantha and Angie met two more nefarious characters, Tigger and Pooh. Angie said it was great. They were all alone with the infamous duo and they played and poised for pictures for several minutes until other people started to show up. They ran out of adult Mickey ponchos, so with 2 blank yellow and 1 child Mickey ponchos in covering the stroller and our daughter we decide to brave the weather and stand in line for our “reserved” seating.

It was a good thing we did because the line was already long. Several people tried to edge in front of us, but we redirected them to the end. We found out that some of the seats were under cover, but were first-come, first-serve. It was down to the last two rows, we were going to make it. A CM stopped me as I was entering with the stroller. I couldn’t bring it in. I was a little torqued at first, but Angie took Samantha and saved some seats while I parked. Whew! We made it. It rained the whole performance. I was surprise by how many stayed and sat in the rain to watch. Samantha enjoyed it so much, she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

Marlee Matlin was our narrator and performed with sign language. It was a very moving experience. The music was inspiring. The vocals were outstanding. One girl collapsed and had to be escorted off stage. I hoped she was OK. I’ve heard that at every show, at least one or two of the kids have to leave during the performance for health reasons. It’s a little hard to believe, but I guess its possible. The finale was grand, and by this point it was obvious that the singers had formed a living Christmas tree. This is a popular show, and for good reason.

It has stopped raining, but it was still damp and cold. We watched illuminations near England with nary a soul in sight. That was unique. Samantha slept through it all somehow.

We shopped in Mouse Gear on our way out. Bought a cool pooh clock, a princess Barbie for Samantha’s Christmas, and a 4-park/1-mouse souvenir.

We had a light snack at roaring forks back at the WL, and called it a day. Despite the rain it was a very nice evening.

Highs: Le Cellier, Candlelight Processional
Lows: Morning sickness, cold rain.
Tips: The CP dinner package got us out of the rain, and into a wonderful dining experience. Stay when it rains because no one else does.

Day 8, Friday December, 6th 2002
What goes up must go down face first
Weather: Cool and Slightly sunny
Plan: AK and Donald’s Breakfastasaurus, Wonderland Tea party, and Whispering Canyons

The alarm clock went off and was silenced with a mighty smack of the snooze. The wake up call came, “There’s Big Doin’s…” Click. Not this morning, there was no “doin’s” going on unless you counted sleeping. The alarm clock went off again, and then was silenced evermore.

We didn’t make it to Donald’s Breakfastasaurus and for those of you expecting a fun report of this popular breakfast in the Animal Kingdom. Don’t be disappointed I’m sure somewhere someone has gone, and has written about it in their trip report. I imagine they had a frolicking good time with the characters, and the food was good, but not great. Dear friends search out and satisfy your curiosity, ‘cause we were more curious about the inside of our eyelids than Donald.

Eventually, hunger got us moving and I ran downstairs to Roaring Forks, and back returning with a couple of cheeseburgers, cereal and some stuff to drink in our refillable mugs. According to my receipt it was 11:22 am. We were due at the GF for a Wonderland Tea Party at 1:30pm.

We arrived via monorail. We always take the monorail to the GF. Some of you, unfamiliar with WDW may be asking yourself, “You can get to the GF from the WL by monorail?”. To which I would answer no. We took the boat to the MK and then the resort monorail over to the GF. Of course you may be wondering what the heck is GF, WL, and MK. Well, after reading, and typing Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, and Magic Kingdom over and over again you’ll appreciate these abbreviations. It seems annoying at first, but you’ll probably fall in line with the rest of us sheep. BAAAA. I’m even warming up to the DD, DH, DW nonsense because it’s so darn easy, and everybody understands the relationships between the people in the reports. Enough! We made it to check in for the Tea Party.

I feel obligated, for some strange reason, to describe the Tea Party. Its for children only, they spend an hour with Alice and the Mad Hatter and make some snacks, eat them and well I don’t know what else because it’s a big stinkin’ secret. They line the children up at the doors to 1900 Park Fare, and admonish the parents not to peek, and to keep out. Samantha was closed mouth about the whole thing. She wouldn’t tell us anything except that she had fun.

Ok, back to the story. They lined the kids up, warned the spying parents, and then opened the doors. We were told not to go in, but a few adults did anyway. Samantha climbed up in her chair, turned around, and then did a slow motion face plant into the carpet. As usual I was operating the camcorder during the carpet dive, which prevented me from reacting as quickly as Mom. Angie rushed in and consoled our upset child. It didn’t help that the clueless were here and made a comment about children crying already. Why they felt it was their duty to make any comment confounds me. Oh yeah, they were clueless, and thoughtless. I’ve never seen a problem solved or a situation improved by a snide comment from a stranger. What are you going to do? Angie did the right thing and comforted our child. Her pride restored, and no physical damage Samantha enjoyed the Tea Party while Mom and I explored the lobby. A couple of parents decided to peek anyway, and were sharply reprimanded by the CM’s and then by all the children in unison. “NO PEEKING!”.

According to the receipt we removed some cash from the ATM in the lobby at exactly 1:42 PM. I participated in a popular GF activity, dozing on a sofa until it was time to pick up Samantha. The lights were off, but the children were all inside with their heads on the table. They were sleeping. The CM invited the Moms to come stand behind their child very quietly. All of a sudden, “SURPRISE!” yelled the kids. Laughing they gave their mothers flowers. It was very cute. They were so excited about the surprise.

The Magic Kingdom was only a monorail ride away. We totally blew an opportunity to ride up front. We were there first, and were all alone. The CM kept looking at us like he was expecting me to say something. I didn’t, and it didn’t dawn on me until someone else asked him if they could ride up front. Doh!

Samantha and I rode Dumbo together while Angie grabbed some Caramel popcorn and a sprite from Scuttle’s Landing. It was 3:08 PM. This was my favorite video from the trip. I held the camcorder up and filmed us flying around Fantasyland. Even though Dumbo doesn’t go up very high, you can still get some great shots of the castle, and the surrounding areas. But this wasn’t the best part of the film. It was the audio that I liked the most. Over the soft whir of machinery was Samantha’s unabashed joy and laughter. “Higher, Higher, up, up, up, way high” she giggled. If I were a poet I could sum up the magic of WDW in this one small moment. Suffice to say it is more than the joy of my children. Rarely as an adult do I get so wrapped up in anything that I forget about everything else. As I child, I can remember playing in my backyard and being so absorbed into what I was doing that it seemed real until someone broke the illusion. The toy cars were actually cars being pursued by the police doing crazy jumps ala “Dukes of Hazzard”. Its only at WDW that I cease to care if there is even a world outside let alone what is going on in it. Whatever it may be, it was magic to me.

Next we climbed aboard the carousel, and twirled our way to happiness. What’s more happy than “It’s a Small World?” I don’t know, and neither did Samantha. She sang along with the music.

It was a MVMCP night, and since we didn’t have tickets were unceremoniously escorted from the park. I felt they were a little cruel to the day guests. But they did have to clear the place out for the partygoers. We had originally planned on eating at the Whispering Canyon, but decided we were not in the mood for a sit down meal.

We were, however, in the mood for EPCOT. We headed directly for the community of tomorrow and had enough time to do the Living Seas before they closed Future World. It was pathetic. Perhaps the late hour had an impact. But there was no marine life, no manatees, no dolphins, and only a few small schools of fish. The place was deserted, and since they had nothing to see we were in and out in a few minutes.

At 6:42 PM we slurped two cokes and lemonade from Sandwich/Soup/Salad. I’m guessing that this was in the Land. We wandered over to the WS and finally had a beaver tail. It was good, but I was expecting something awesome. I’ll have to try this again sometime.

Still hungry we made our way to the Liberty Inn. It was warm inside, which was good because it was getting cold, and windy outside. Dined on chicken tenders, cheeseburger and a turkey club with two delicious Cokes and one Sprite at 7:13 pm.

The evening parade was to start soon. We lined up across for the American Gardens Theater and listened to the end of a Candlelight Processional program while we waited. ToD was ToN except with fewer “floats” and less inspiring music. It was good, and I like the big puppets, but it just didn’t impact me like the original. It seemed redundant and thin in several places. Samantha liked it. She clapped and said hello to a puppet that bent down to her.

To warm up and because we were close and had never done it before we watched the American Adventure. It was moving, and the “spirits” of America that border the theater were an interesting touch.

Outside of Morocco we guarded a spot along a wall to view Illuminations. Angie chased down some delicious hot cocoa for us. We hunkered down behind the wall to stay out of the wind until the show started. The music is EPCOT, and the show will always bring back the warm memories and feelings of this park. Cold, but happy we headed back to the WL.

Highs: Wonderland Tea Party, Dumbo
Lows: Being too cold
Tips: The Wonderland Tea Party is a lot of fun for children, Don’t forget to ask if you can sit up front on the monorail (say please).

Day 9, Saturday December, 7th 2002
Fantasmical
Weather: Sunny, cool in the evening
Plan: MGM and Hollywood and Vine, Fantasmic

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I don’t have any trip notes for the last few days. This is based on my memories, photos, videotapes, and embellishments.

Our original plan was to go to MGM for EE and then have lunch at Hollywood and Vine. This was just not meant to be. We were exhausted from our previous eight days and of course the best remedy for exhaustion is sleep and carbo-loading.
So that’s what we did. After a healthy breakfast of cupcakes and chocolate ice cream we moseyed down to MGM. Somewhere along the way, either the cupcake or the ice cream founds its way down the front of Samantha’s shirt. Being the Dad I immediately took charge, and declared it to be “no big deal”. This is exactly why I am not the Mommy. The correct answer according to the child’s Mother was to purchase a new T-shirt. Being the Dad I immediately took action and did as I was told. Being stripped of decision-making authority I was regulated to watching the chocolate stained princess while the competent parent located a 100 years of Magic shirt. In reality she knew that I could never be trusted to buy clothes for anyone. The choices are too overwhelming, and I don’t even know what size I wear let alone my daughter. Its pathetic I know, but I am comfortable with my limitations. It’s not that I don’t try to participate. They just don’t appreciate my tastes.

We were a little early for our high noon luncheon at the Hollywood and Vine character meal. So we relaxed under an umbrella on the patio until our name was called. After we were seated, and had picked over the buffet, the characters came slowly by. Pluto licked me, and posed with Samantha. Dale stopped by for a photo and an autograph. Minnie came next, and posed with Samantha and her hotdog and Mac and Cheese lunch. Chip hugged Samantha while some guy in the background stared grumpily at us. Goofy was there, but never came to our table. Goofy and Minnie did a little show at the front of the restaurant where Samantha and some other kids danced. We had a fun, but not fantastic time at Hollywood and Vine. The food was just Ok, and the characters were too slow to come around.

Angie loves the Beauty and the Beast movie, so of course that’s what we did first thing after lunch. The show was good as always, but it was a little different from the last time we saw it. It was still a nice show with all of our favorite songs.

Next was our first ever adventure on the Great Movie Ride. It was neat, but it won’t be one of my favorites. Perhaps it was the deadpan guide, or the weird hi-jacking by the gangster that threw me off. The sets were neat, but didn’t really look realistic. Maybe it was indigestion. Some of the animatronics were outstanding, however. Some were not. Was it the inconsistency that was bugging me? We will ride it again, but I was expecting more, especially with a name like “The GREAT Movie Ride”. Shouldn’t it be GREAT and not just OK?

Following our journey through the movies we caught a family favorite, Playhouse Disney. After yet another uncomfortably long wait for this show, we were blessed with much better seats. I seem to be on a negative rant here, please don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I mind waiting. After all this is a popular show. However, it is hot even on a cool day because of the lack of a breeze. Children normally confined to strollers drive their parents nuts with their new found freedom. Tensions are high. Ugh it’s miserable. There is a sort of euphoria when you finally enter the cool dark theater. Again, do not sit in front if you want to see what is on the stage! Samantha danced, clapped and popped bubbles with joyful abandonment. It’s a fun show. While the children are small we will keep coming back. It was worth the wait. However, I am excited about FP for this show. I’ve heard it will start in October 2004. Woo-Hoo!

Speaking of FP, we didn’t need one for the Little Mermaid next door. I really like this show. I find it ironic how they pack the pre-show area like sardines, but it really isn’t that bad. After our undersea adventure we did a little shopping. Samantha used her own money to buy a Snow White miniature play set.

It was close to the parade starting time, so we grabbed a spot and waited. It turns out that we were invisible, at least that’s what it felt like with all the pushing. Why doesn’t anyone say, “excuse me” any more? The minor annoyance was quickly forgotten during the pre-parade. It was a funny (in a corny way) trivia game. The winners were awarded with a Lilo and Stitch DVD. The parade was…well it was like watching a bunch of slow moving cars drive down the road. All that I really remember is that Samantha was mad at her new friend Alice (of “in Wonderland”) because she didn’t stop and say hi. After all the time they spent together at the Tea Party the day before. Humph! If you love parades you’ll like this one. If you like parades this is Ok. If you tolerate parades for your family, like me, your time would be better spent doing something else. I was hoping for some magical interaction with Samantha, ala Share a Dream Come True, or some memorable music ala Spectromagic or TON. It has neither. Cute but once is enough.

We went to the theater and secured seats for Fantasmic. We had some snacks, and made some new friends. They were from Florida, and spent a lot of time in WDW, but this was their first visit to Fantasmic! We couldn’t believe it. I can’t tell you how glad we were that Samantha had bought a toy earlier. She and a little boy behind us played with it until just before the show started. It was fantastical. It was pretty windy that night causing the water screens to be a little blurry. The transitions between film and live action, music and pyrotechnics were very entertaining. We will see it again. It must have been a slow day because the theater didn’t fill all the way up. Leaving was a nightmare; it was difficult to retrieve our stroller. Be prepared to wait, and realize that leaving is tough and you’ll have a better time than some of the grumps around us.

We browsed a little, and took some photos, and we were suckered into buying the souvenir photo from Cover Story.

When we returned to the lodge we had a mini-shopping spree. Which included our traditional snow globe commemorating our trip. In 2000 it was Pooh and Friends in A very Blustery Day. This year it was the Wilderness Lodge. Samantha selected a Minnie Mouse watch with changeable clothing and a new autograph book. Angie picked up some WL postcards, WL magnet and some potato head hats (Mickey ears and Sorcer Mickey Ears) for Christmas presents. All I got was a lousy WL T-shirt. All kidding aside I finally found THE T-shirt for the Lodge. I was quite happy.

We finished off the day with another low carb meal of Cheeseburgers and Chicken strips at Roaring Forks.

Highs: Fantasmic, Playhouse Disney
Lows: Pushy Parade Patrons, Grumps at Fantasmic
Tips: Take a mid-day break to keep the exhaustion away, do not sit close to the stage at Playhouse Disney, you don’t need the Fantasmic DP in early December.

Day 10, Sunday December, 8th 2002
A day without a plan
Weather: Who cares we’re leaving tomorrow. ?
Plan: None, nada, nyet, nothing

The last day is always bittersweet. We were excited that we were still at WDW, but we knew that tomorrow we would have to leave. Reality begins to encroach on the fringes of the mind making the magic a little fuzzy and frayed at times. The last day for me was magical once I forgot that we would be leaving all too soon.

It funny how traditions start. We have a tradition of going to Chef Mickey’s first thing after checking in at our resort. And according to our traditions, the MK is the first park we enter. It is also the last. We must visit Epcot on our final day for one last voyage on Spaceship Earth. These are sacred and time honored having been developed over a single previous trip. We dare not challenge our longstanding practices. Who knows what lurks on such a dangerous path? These are but a few of our many varied and splendid ways that we made up out of thin air.

It was a good thing that we had established these traditions though, because I couldn’t remember what we did without them (and our video of course ;) ). We started the day at Epcot after another breakfast of champions, which included 6 donuts and a wonderball with milk at 10:05 am.

Our sugar rush gave us plenty of stamina for the surprisingly funny ride on Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I had a lot of fun, but boy is that a looong show. The girls were hungry and thirsty so we had some snacks before riding on Spaceship Earth. This was Samantha’s favorite attraction in Epcot. I tried to film the darn thing, but it so dark that the auto-focus on