Trip Reports
02-20-2007, 10:21 PM
Joe Hamblin - August 2003 - Contemporary Resort
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: CR
Accommodations: Standard
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Senior
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent, Veteran
Comments: Joe doesn't feel we have enough trip reports giving the "senior" experience. And with a self-starting attitude we have to admire, he sets out to change that. In this report, Joe and his wife take the grandkids to Disney World for a week and a great time is had.
Joe Hamblin -- August 2003 -- Walt Disney World (CR)
TRIP REPORT –August 7 through August 14, 2003
CAST
Myself-Joe, AKA granddad—65 year old Disney enthusiast. Veteran of an estimated 12 WDW trips.
Wife-Pat, AKA grammaw—60 year old Disney enthusiast and my wonderful wife of 42 years. Also veteran of 12 WDW trips.
Michael John- 11 (almost 12) year old grandson-2nd WDW trip, loves all thrill rides.
Josh- 9 year old grandson-also 2nd WDW trip, loves grammaw.
LOCATION
Contemporary for first 5 nights, Port Orleans Riverside for last two nights.
As retired military we would have stayed at Shades of Green but with the construction presently underway we had an opportunity to stay at the Contemporary-right on the Monorail-for a very reasonable rate. As this was our second trip this year (May 27 to June 4) Pat and I purchased annual passes prior to that trip. The annual pass discount also lowered the price. We had initially planned to stay just the 5 nights at the Contemporary but a couple of months prior to going thought why not stay a couple of more nights. We agreed and I was able to get very good rates at Riverside through a code from Mousesavers.com
STYLE
While I admire the detail some people are able to put in their report my report will not be that detailed. I made brief notes at the end of each day and my report will be done from those notes, generally in a brief summary style. My main reason for doing the report is the general absence of reports from more ‘senior’ members. I read reports where Grandparents are part of the group but don’t remember any from the Grandparents themselves.
DEPART/ARRIVAL
An early departure out of Omaha so Michael and Josh sleep at our house. Load vehicle and head to airport, Michael and Josh are up and excited but barely awake. Getting into the car Pat notices she has hit her arm causing an enormous ‘bump’ and bruise. We put a cool wet cloth on it but that doesn’t help much. (The bump went down after a couple of days but she had a terrible bruised arm for the duration)
Traffic is light and we are at the airport and through the very thorough check in with plenty of time. We board and depart on time. Our route is rather different, Omaha to Newark, NJ then nonstop to Orlando. The Omaha to Newark leg is smooth and on time but after getting off toward Orlando from Newark we have almost an hour delay holding for thunderstorms before descent into Orlando.
After landing luggage goes well but there’s a long line for the car rental at Alamo. I get a pretty good deal on an upgrade from a mid-size to Premium-Pontiac GP to Chrysler Concorde-and take it, we quickly load and we’re off to see Mickey!
Check in at the Contemporary goes well, the ‘Shades of Green’ rooms are in the North Garden wing. We’re on the third floor, very nice room with an excellent water view. Also just down the hall from the Shades of Green ticket sales office. The room is large with two king beds a nice couch that can be made into a bed. Also a nice easy chair and ottoman, table, dresser and lots of storage space, TV hutch, roomy bathroom with separate commode stall with door. Quite a bit more room than our last stay at All Star Music.
Due to our delays the Shades of Green ticket office is closed for the day so after a brief check of the room and dropping off our bags we head to Disney Village, always good atmosphere and fun.
It’s still threatening to rain but we do a brief tour around Disney Village and decide we are all hungry-the airline pretzels only go so far. The area is fairly crowded. We’ve done the Rainforest Café after arriving before so we try that. We find out the wait is two hours and discuss alternates, the fairly new McDonalds is close so we go there, it is packed! No wait for the ordering lines but after we get our food we have trouble finding tables. We get two tables fairly close together and use those. I do like the themeing used in McDonalds here, lots of variety and lots of color.
It’s still raining lightly after dinner. We shop some at the Lego store, convince Michael and Josh that they can have small items, not the large and expensive items they first think they want. Then we decide to get ice cream at Geridelli’s. It’s crowded too but Michael and I get our order while Pat and Josh get a table. The treat is excellent and the street atmosphere wonderful—a great way to let it soak in that we are finally here! Then it’s back to the Contemp. and to bed.
8 August FIRST DAY
We end up sleeping a little later than planned. We are all very tired and I goofed on setting the room clock radio and it doesn’t go off. But it’s a good reminder to us that we are on vacation and taking it easy is a part of vacation too. Very good nights sleep, the mattress is great!
I make a coffee run to the Contemp. food court for Pat and I with the re-fillable mugs we’d bought last night. It’s a short walk. I’d gone down to the back lobby door to enter which I thought was the closest, while I’m pouring the coffee a nice young lady comes up and excusing herself tells me of a shorter way through the side door-nice start to the day, that cooperative attitude among the visitors at WDW very much in evidence. I get our e-tickets for the night while I’m on the coffee run, at the desk in the main lobby, just around the corner from the food court.
After taking Pat’s coffee to her I go down the hall to the Shades of Green office and purchase 5 day plus passes for Michael and Josh. I also buy the tickets for the Pirate Adventure we have reservations for on the 11th.
We all finally get out the door and over to the Contemp. for a quick food court breakfast then our first big deal with staying at the Contemp.—the Monorail ride to MK! It’s so neat just to be able to go directly on the monorail from the hotel-saves bunches of time and hassle! It was probably the biggest feature (to us) of staying at the Contemporary. The entry to MK is packed but it moves smoothly and swiftly, bag check then the turnstiles and we’re there! Main street USA always looks, smells, and feels like the wonderland it is!
A double decker bus is waiting at the circle so we board and enjoy the trip down Main street.
Michael wants to do Space Mt. And Josh wants to do POC so we split up for a couple of hours. Michael and I wander over to the SM area, I’m still trying to absorb that we’re really there! There’s a pretty long line so we get fast passes. I tell Michael the old ‘WedWay’ is fun so we get on and take the tour of Tomorrowland. The walkie-talkie we have seems to be dead and of course I don’t have the AAA batteries needed so we set out to locate those. We’re wandering in one store and one of the management (tie people) staff sees us ‘looking‘ and immediately points us to another store where they have them.
It’s been threatening to rain all morning but never too seriously. Michael wants to ride the ‘Space Jets’, I try to convenience him there is a LONG wait but his heart is set on it, he says he can ride it by himself. I reluctantly agree and he gets in line-in less than 2 minutes up walks Pat and Josh and I find out pretty quickly that I need to ride with him. I’m pretty uncomfortable with heights and on this ride you sit right out in the open and although you start high it goes even higher. Of course Michael keeps us as high as possible the whole time. I kind of hold my breath and hope it’s over soon!
We walk across the park and all ride POC-one of my very favorites-with very little wait.
We’re getting hungry and Pecos’ is near so we head for it. Pretty crowded but we find a table and get our food fairly quick. We take our time as we need the break.
After lunch Michael wants to look at a cart he saw on the way in so we go there. He’s fascinated by some knives and daggers they have but I’m sure we’d have trouble getting them back on the plane, so I tell him he can get one it has to be one that he vendor will mail back for us. The vendor is happy to do that so it works out fine.
We walk over to SM to get fast passes for later, but decide we’ll just wait and ride it tonight, then up stairs and board the train and take it to Toontown where we get off. Josh wants to look around there some and Michael and I go to get on SM as our ‘window’ is open. It shuts down just after we get in line! Pat and Josh come up so we decide to do Carousel as it is near and open. It’s a good break and always enjoyable. After COP we try to decide what to do and after milling around a little SM reopens and we get right on! Michael enjoys the ride and so do I. I find Michael is VERY vocal on thrill rides and he screams and shouts his way through the ride.
We all get back together and head over to the main exit as we want to go back to the Contemp. for awhile as we are coming back for e-ticket night. It’s just time for the distribution of the wrist bands so we get them near City Hall as we go out.
We catch the monorail back to the Contemp.-sure is fast and convenient!
We have a nice break, our first chance to check out the Contemp. pools. Very nice. Great slide-even I try it! Not very crowded at this time of day.
After our break we decide to take the walking path to Magic Kingdom, a nice walk.
We’re hungry and don’t really want Pecos again and don’t want to take the time (or the cost) of a sit down meal. I think of the one over by the Haunted Mansion-Colombia House so we head for that. It isn’t too crowded and offers a pretty good choice of items reasonably. After we eat it’s almost time for Spectromagic so we decide to stake out a viewing spot. Pat is very good at this type of thing so I let her lead. We take up a spot by the ‘sketching’ area. There’s a walk-through that they keep open ‘till just before the parade gets there then as it closes we should be able to get a great spot. It works very nicely, Michael and Josh end up right in the front row and Pat and I a little back but with about the best position we’ve ever had for Spectro. It’s a great parade and the Mountain/Monster ‘opens’ right in front of us! The battery on the camcorder runs out before I get all the parade but I get some of it.
After the parade we walk up to the first bridge and decide we’ll view the fireworks from there. The ‘crush’ of all those leaving makes staying in position difficult. Our position isn’t as good as we’d thought as some tall trees partially obstruct our view. Of course we don’t know this until the fireworks start. We still enjoy them-Pat concludes that the best place to watch the fireworks is mainstreet-I agree as we’ve had our view partially blocked from trying other vantage points too.
After the fireworks we went back over and all rode HM. Neither of the boys remembered riding it, I rode with Michael and Pat rode with Josh. It was fun as always, I still notice additional detail after having ridden it dozens of times. Michael asked how they did several things and we talked about how well it was all done. Josh wanted to do POC again so he and Pat went to do that while Michael and I rode TMR. Michael really enjoyed it (me too!). He whooped and hollered all through the ride. We called Pat and Josh on the walkie-talkies and found they were just about to go into Country Bears, we hurried and got in just before they closed the doors. CB is personally one of my favorites but we all enjoyed it, first time we’d sat in the 2nd row. After CB we hurried over to Buzz Lightyear and rode it twice, Josh surprised us by getting the 2nd highest score!
Michael had asked several times about Alien Encounter so I told him if he wanted I would go on it with him. I’d done it once before and don’t really care for the ‘scary’ aspect of it. I thought maybe all I’d told him about how scary it was he wouldn’t want to ride, but of course he did. We just had a short wait before entering and sat on the front row. It was as scary as before but I sat forward at a couple of crucial times so it wasn’t too bad. I hope the new version with Stitch is a little more lighthearted.
It’s amazing how quickly the time flies on an e-night but it was already time to go. We did stop on the corner for a great ice cream! Not on Pat and my diet but after all it is vacation. It’s such a nice stop on the corner late like that when the crowds are thinning!
I think e-ticket night is one of the best things going. Enough people are there to retain the atmosphere but not so many that you can’t get a lot of rides in.
We caught the monorail back to Contemp all tired but happy from all the busy, fun day we’d enjoyed.
9th August
This morning we have PS for the AK ‘Breakfasaurous’ so we take the car. Our PS is at 0920 and we arrive about 0910. After a short wait we are taken to our table. As a coincidence it is the SAME table we ate at when we ate a noon meal here on our May-June trip! We all head for the buffet line and get our first plates. There are good fresh choices of just about everything. Pat and I are doing the ‘South Beach’ diet and are trying to stay fairly close to it even on vacation. But there’s plenty of eggs and meat plus we both have some fresh fruit so we enjoy our meal. Donald, Pluto and Goofy come by before long, not all at the same time but spaced out. Of course the unprepared Granddad has the 35mm SLR but not a flash and it’s loaded with 200 film. I valiantly take pictures anyway hoping they’ll turn out (most of them don’t). Our waiter is a real nice guy and very attentive, his accent sounds familiar and I found out he’s from Kentucky-just like me! I left there a loooooong time ago but on some words the accent just never leaves (oil is the worst for me). Not long before we leave the big man himself-Mickey-comes by. All in all it was a very good experience, good food and good company!
We go over in the ‘carnival’ area and Michael, Josh and I get in line for Primal-whirl. I assume my food is settled enough and hope theirs is! We have about a 10 minute line before we’re off. I like the ride and the boys do too. Quite a lot has been said about the themeing of this area, I think it’s OK-actually a fun area. I LOVE the bluegrass music they play for the Triceritop Spin! I told Pat I knew the song they were playing and not many people would know it, she then named it exactly. She’s not a bluegrass fan and I was surprised but then I realized she has heard me play it many times on the harmonica.
Since we’re close to the Dinosaur ride we-Michael and I-decide to go on that. We get in line, not a real long one, expecting maybe a 15 minute wait but after about 5 minutes we are told it is down so we leave the line and meet back up with Pat and Josh. We plan to come back later but actually never do get to ride it on this trip.
We head back out of Dinosaur country and see there’s a short wait for ‘It’s Tough to BAB’ and get in the winding line for it. It’s probably a 15 wait/line and we get in near the back of the theater. Michael and Josh have not done it before and I’m anxious to see there reactions. Michael thinks it’s great but Josh gets scared about ¾ through and wants to leave. Gram maw Pat consoles him and helps him get through the rest of the ride. We enjoy it and Josh isn’t too shook-up once we get out into the sunlight-which turns to ‘liquid sunshine‘ just after we’re out. We-and lots of others-head to the store that’s at the end of the exit path and take refuge there. It rains very hard for awhile. We have pancos but of course left them in the room. After 15 or 20 minutes I purchase 4 more for us, we suit up and leave, now it’s raining fairly lightly. We cut through the Rainforest Café and shop a little there before heading back to the Contemp.
Pat thinks we should take the monorail to Epcot for the afternoon and evening so we get on at the Contemp. and change at the Ticket center. It’s still raining on an off but not bad. When we get off at Epcot the line for Spaceship Earth is short so we all go on it. The boys don’t remember it (when your 9 and 11 four years before probably seems like ages) and we all enjoy it. We spend some time in the activity area after we get off then head over to the Energy/Space/Test Track side.
The walk up to the Space area is great the themeing is so new and special. I think it’s just open to look around the outside but as we get closer find that it is in fact up and running! Michael, Josh and I waste no time getting in line. Pat considers it but decides to wait for my report. The waiting line inside is just great-except we’re whisked along so fast we can’t take it all in! We three have a four person ‘capsule’ and before we know it we’re strapped in and the count down begins. It’s great, it’s breathtaking, it’s very realistic, it’s fun! As a retired Air Force pilot with several thousand flying hours I can vouch for the reality of the ride-I think it’s the best simulation I’ve ever been on/in and that includes AF motion flight simulators. They really got this one right! Returning to earth a little shaky we try to tell Pat how great it is, she really wanted to ride it and I want ed her to. But then she asked me if I think it might bring on her tacacardia(sp) (runaway heart beat) that she’s on medicine for and I realize I honestly think it might be too much for her.
On the way out Michael wants to be a crew member on the ‘space race’ and I get one of the consoles for the ground crew. It’s fun too with a lot of group effort. After we get through with that and get back with Pat and Josh. Pat wants me to go help a lady who’s having trouble breathing-by now the WDW rescue crew has arrived and have the situation well in hand but the lady doesn’t look well at all. Apparently she has a heart condition and riding Space has caused problems-makes me glad I didn’t encourage Pat to ride it!
We went over to check Test Track but the wait was 60 min. and fast passes were all gone for the day. We retraced our steps and did the Energy ride-it was a walk-on. The boys enjoyed it and Pat and I did also.
We were getting hungry as it was late after noon. Pat wanted to try Mexico, we checked but the wait for walk-in was 2 hours! One trip, several years ago, we had luck with a late walk-in at China’s Nine Dragons so we went to check. We got right in with no wait at all. It’s a large restaurant and usually seems to have room. We had an excellent meal, the boys enjoyed trying to eat with chopsticks, and the service was good. We were seated right by the entry to the kitchen and had the hustle and bustle of the staff going to and fro but overall it was a very good experience. I don’t remember the exact cost –around $70 I think. Not bad for a nice meal for four, in nice surroundings.
We shopped for awhile in China, they usually have real bargains on harmonicas but I couldn’t find any this trip. We strolled on down to Italy and America and decide we should start getting a place for Illuminations. I have to make a bathroom run with Michael and just after we get back Josh decides he needs to go. I believe on this trip I saw the inside of more bathrooms than on any trip before! On the way back on my second trip I stop at the coffee stand just off to the side from the American pavilion and get Pat and I each a coffee-the addition of several coffee places around Epcot is fairly new but the coffee was usually pretty good.
We had an excellent spot for Illuminations, the show was great! We walked to the exit via France/England/Canada, up to the monorail back to TC, then the Contemporary. It wasn’t too late when we got back so we stopped in the food court for soft ice cream/yogurt, then to bed.
As you’ve noticed, if you’ve stayed with us this far, this trip wasn’t planned down to a tight schedule. We’ve done the detailed planning route in the past but now just make a few PS where we want to and decide the rest as we go. Seems to work well for us.
10 August-early delays
Slept in a little later, looks like a rainy day. I get dressed and am off for our morning coffee while Pat is getting the boys up and moving.
We’ve decided on MGM pretty much for the day as we have plans for Fantasmic tonight, so we drive over. We have a problem at the entry as Michael seems to have lost his pass. He’d wanted to carry it but apparently it had been left when we checked in the day before or had fallen out of his billfold/pocket. We decide to buy a one day pass and hope he left it back in the room. I mention the situation to the Castmember in the ticketbooth and he says we shouldn’t have to buy a ticket but get a reissue, he can’t do that but sends me over to the customer service window. Of course there’s a very slow line but after about 15 minutes waiting I find since I got the ticket at the Shade of Green ticket office only they can handle it. I go ahead and get Michael a one day MGM ticket and the guy says he’ll code it so the ticket will indicate it’s a replacement (this gets even more convoluted later!). So finally we go into the park. Michael has been complaining about his feet/legs hurting, he hurt his knee in football last year and has a pretty bad cut on one foot from cutting it the week before. He thinks he needs a wheelchair, I don’t necessarily agree and tend to think he’s ‘sandbagging’ but Gram maw thinks he needs one –so we get one!
We head right for RR Coaster as I’ve got Michael all ‘pumped’ for it. The wait is 45 minutes so we get a fast pass. He’s also dying to ride ToTerror and the line isn’t long for that. I try to convince Pat and Josh that they should at least walk through and take the ‘chicken’ exit but they decide to just enjoy the atmosphere around the RRRC and ToT area. We leave the wheelchair with them and get in the very short ToT line. It moves quickly and soon we’re boarding-all the seats now have seatbelt vs. the bar(at least in our ‘elevator’). Then we’re off! GREAT RIDE!! Michael again is very vocal and even grabs my hand at one point-I love it! Afterwards he wants to know how it all works but I have to confess I don’t know. He’s satisfied with discussing how it might work. We find Josh and Pat after a couple of calls on out walkie talkies. We discuss our ToT experience with them, I get a couple of cups of ice cream from across from the ToT entry which we share.
Then it’s within the Fastpass window for Michael and I at RRRC. Pat and Josh plan to meet us in the RRRC store when we exit. The fastpass line is fairly short ands moves along fairly good. It slows inside which allows us to enjoy the themeing. I’ve told Michael a little about the ride-that it starts fast and that it has one loop, a little under the reality of the ride but Grampaws are allowed to stretch things a little. He asks when we’re seated in the car if we should take our glasses off and I agree it’s a good idea------and WE’RE OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!! He really gets into it and thinks it’s fantastic! We radio Pat when we get into the RRRC store and she and Josh join us. Our oldest daughter, Mary, who came with us on the May-June trip wanted to get a RRRC t-shirt when we were down but didn’t, so she asked us to pick her up one. I find one that Pat likes too and we find one in the correct size.
We head down to Muppet Vision, stopping at the ‘commissary’ for a light snack and a short break. We get to MV just in time to walk in to the next show. Since Michael is in the wheel chair we get in that area. They aren’t very good seats, off to the side and way in back. The show is good as always and we all enjoy it.
Back up on the hill the line for Star Tours isn’t long so Michael and I ride it. With the wheel chair you are routed around most of the themeing and soon we’re waiting for the next ‘flight’. A nice castmember gives us a hand, we get right on the front row as the crewmember wheels Michael right through, he gets out and she says the chair will be right outside. Michael is making a bigger deal than necessary about his ‘mobility’ status! We enjoy the flight to Endor and back, making it safely once again.
It’s time to head up to the Hollywood and Vine for or PS/Fantasmic package. On the way we talk about doing the Indiana Jones show, which we could walk right into, but the boys seem to have a mini meltdown and can’t agree. So we go on to H&V waiting about 15 min for our PS.
We did the Hollywood and Vine/Fantasmic combo this May for the first time and liked it well enough we did it again this trip. It’s a nice buffet, nice surroundings, and reasonable (WDW type reasonable) price. You get a ticket that you present up by the service station for your easy entry into Fantasmic, avoiding most of the crowd/crush. I think you can do the meal/Fantasmic with Mama Melrose’s and the Brown Derby too. We haven’t tried those but H and V works well.
After the buffet Patricia wanted to do the Backlot tour. We hadn’t done that in several years and thought the boys would like it. It’s location wasn’t too well marked but we finally found it. It’s a real nice tour of the ‘backlot’ area and a chance to see where apparently the proposed ‘thrill show’ is being located. the boys were fairly surprised by the ‘Catrosphe canyon’ fire and water and enjoyed the rest of the tour also. During the crewmember’s spiel for the tour he just said the construction in the area was for a future ‘unknown’ show. I asked him privately after the tour and he said they’d all heard the new show was going to be the vehicle thrill show.
It was getting about time to head for the entry to Fantasmic. We knew we’d be a little early but wanted to get a good seat and Michael was still in the wheelchair which made moving around slower. We got into the stadium ‘plenty’ early and had pretty much our choice of seats in the Ursla area. We sat on the front row as there was little or no wind and we didn’t think we’d get wet. The place filled up in a hurry and the time passed quickly-of course Michael had to go to the bathroom after we got seated so I got to see another clean restroom. The worst part of it was going against all the people coming in! They did a challenge and response password when we left the Ursla area, gave the password as we went out and asked for the response when we came back. I suppose to prevent people from spreading into the ‘reserved’ area. The stadium was absolutely packed by about half an hour before the show. The show started exactly on time and was wonderful! Our seats were just about the best in the house.
We had a pretty good crowd going out at the same time we were so it was interesting getting the chair through the crowd. After dropping off the chair and a short tram ride we were in our car and after another full day headed back to the Contemp. for a good nights sleep.
11 August
I woke up this morning with a very sore throat, I’d felt I was getting a cold for a couple of days but tried to ignore it, but now it was uncomfortable and difficult to ignore.
Made the run to get our early coffee and were out in a short while. We had a fairly leisurely breakfast in the food court. I had told Michael shortly after we arrived that one day while we were there we’d rent a ‘water mouse’ and we’d decided today we’d do that in the AM. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him so early in the trip ‘cause he had brought it up ‘dozens’ of times since then.
As I mentioned earlier Michael is 11, almost 12 so I planned to let him drive the boat. When we rented the boat they only gave me a wristband but I thought nothing of it. Michael got behind the wheel, the dock hand covered the operation with us and we were off. We putted around ‘till Michael got familiar with the handling then took a pretty good tour of the lake the Contemporary is located on. There are ski boats all around to help if you need it, just flag one down. They are always ‘zipping’ around. After 20 to 25 minutes Michael and I waved to one as he went by but then he slowed and came over to where we were. He asked Michael to raise his arms (later I realized he was seeing if Michael had a wrist band). Then he asked how old Michael was and informed us you had to be 16 to drive the boat. Duly chastised we began to switch seats and the ski boat driver came close to help if we needed it. With the situation corrected the ski boat charged off. We felt like we’d been caught trying to cheat the system or guilty of some other crime. Michael kept saying he was ‘almost 12’. Seems like they should have made more of the age criteria back during rental or the instruction phase. We did enjoy our ‘watermouse’ time even with the ‘scolding’.
We met back up with Josh and Pat and made our way up to the level to board the Monorail for the Magic Kingdom, to enjoy the convenience for one of the last times as this was our last day at the Contemp.
Main Street was busy, bright and beautiful as it always seems to be—it’s such a very nice entryway into MK! We stopped and got our picture taken by one of the street photogs-later bought the picture as it turned out well. We were all hungry and headed to the Pinocchio Haus directly behind the castle. You can usually find seat there and the food is pretty good. It was very crowded but we finally did find a table.
We headed over to Adventureland with a plan to ride Jungle Cruise if the line wasn’t too long. The line was manageable and the themeing in the line kept the boys entertained. After about a 10 to 15 min. wait we boarded. Our skipper seemed more lackadaisical than most but it was a pleasant ride. We had decided to go to Tom Sawyer island next, boarded our raft and there we were! We thought Michael and Josh would be off on their own exploring but we all stuck fairly close together and explored. We covered the island and fort pretty well then headed back to the ‘mainland’. Josh wanted to PiratesoC again so I told Pat Michael and I would wait for them by the Flying Carpet ride (very close to the Dole stand too!). Michael was doing the wheelchair again so I put him by a bench and got in the slow moving line. It was one of those lines that look small but other people in the family ahead kept coming up and increasing their order. The icecream/sherbert was well worth the wait, one of my favorite WDW treats. We’d almost finished when Pat and Josh joined us and helped us finish.
As our special treat of the Pirate dinner show was tonight it was time to go back to the Contemp. get ready and pick up the car, it was a surprise for the boys and would be a first time experience for Pat and I too. I’d got directions from the front desk so we had no trouble finding the place, it’s near Wet and Wild. I produced the card they’d given me at the Shades of Green ticket hut and we went right in. Our first few minutes there gave a bit of a negative impression-it seemed to be overly commercialized. The boys wanted everything in sight! We got a handle on that in a little while and did let them get their faces painted. There was a snack type chip and dip line and after a short while some minor entertainment in the waiting area. They seated you by ‘colors’ they had assigned you, so fairly soon our color was called-‘blue’. Somehow we got into the ‘red’ line but a patient pirate got us headed into the correct area. The place is in an amphitheater type arrangement with bench/tables set so that everyone has a good to great seat.
The food and the show were very good to excellent, we’d recommend it to others. Josh is a ‘pirate fanatic’ and he was in his glory the whole time. So after a rather bad first impression the evening ended up being a great success!
12 August
As this was the day we were checking out of the Contemp. and moving to Port Orleans/Riverside Pat and I had been discussing what activities we’d try to do. We’d talked about doing one of the water parks but kind of decided to take it easy all day. We slept in a little later than normal, I checked us out at the front desk when I went over to get our morning coffee-just a few dollars for phone calls as I’d paid cash for our stay when we checked in. We had decided to wait and eat breakfast at the Riverside food court. We parked in the Riverside lot and went directly to the food court to eat. The lobby area has such an open, authentic old style and has such a friendly atmosphere. We both really like the themeing at Riverside and especially the food court. We think it’s perhaps our favorite in WDW. The boys had eaten there once before but didn’t remember so it was new and great to them. After we ate we went to check in. After only a very short wait a nice castmember checked us in and said our room was ready, then just as I turned to go she mentioned the room was in Magnolia Bend, I’d asked for Alligator Bayou in our reservations, I almost left the counter but thought ‘no I requested AB’, so I went back and said I’d requested AB and could we get something there. She was very polite and found a couple of possibilities which she showed the locations to me on the map. I picked one that was a little farther away from the food court area but looked like a nicer location. Of course that room wasn’t ready and she asked us to check back later.
We’d seen the surrey bikes before and thought they’ be fun to ride so we decided to do that. It was a pleasant day, not too hot, and the bike ride was fun. You ride on a nice walking/bike path that goes around the inner part by both Alligator Alley and Magnolia Bend. It’s mostly level with just a couple of hill to make you work a little. After the bike ride our room still wasn’t ready. Michael had noticed they had fishing advertised at the place we’d rented bikes and he wanted to do that. We went back to the bike rental area but found you actually got the fishing gear and fished over by the main pool, so we went there. The cane pole fishing is about the best deal going, nice pretty, quiet place to fish and VERY reasonable cost for nice bait and a pole, even a fresh terry towel to clean your hands, and umbrellas all around the area so you didn’t have to fish in the hot sun. Proves something I’ve always thought about Disney, why it’s all so great, they get the details right. I didn’t fish just kept Michael company. He fishes a lot so he felt right at home, even caught a small one. I stood in the shade and took it all in, finally got my harmonica out and played some, the setting seemed perfect for Suwannee River, Oh Susanna, Shenandoah ect! A Dad fishing with his boys seemed to take quite an interest in my playing and before they left came over and complimented me.
We went back to the lobby area and connected again with Pat and Josh. Our room was ready now so we drove to the nearest parking lot and moved our stuff in. Neat location, and neat room! We were in room 2505 in building 25. The room was on the lower level on an inside corner, just across the footpath from the nice shady pool that served our unit and some others. It didn’t take us long to get dressed and to the pool! We ate lunch in there somewhere but I honestly don’t remember when and where(?) We had another surprise tonight for the boys. Not more than a month before our trip I’d talked to Pat about doing the Hoop-tee-do Review, she agreed but the only booking I could get was the 930 pm one. About 815 we started out, I’d got directions at the desk-go to the Wilderness campground parking lot then take a bus down to the Lodge. It worked fairly well, the directions weren’t as accurate as I’d expected(or I got them wrong) but we got to the parking lot OK. We went to wait for the bus but the first one that came wasn’t the number we’d specifically been asked to wait for. The driver said they all went to the same place so it worked out. After the short bus ride about the first thing was the mandatory ‘picture taking’. There were several leather good, silver ect. stands and for some reason Michael just decided he HAD to have SOMETHING. He didn’t seem to have anything particular in mind, he’d just grab something up and state he wanted it. We didn’t get anything and he fussed and fumed for quite awhile. Pat and Josh had wandered off and found some nice rocking chairs on the porch to enjoy. So it wasn’t a very good start to our night with Michael in a lousy mood. We went right in on time and were seated at the very front, right side almost a part of the musical duo. The entertainment is fun, if a little hokey, the food is good and plenty of it. We were fairly cramped up by the musicians but they were friendly-and VERY talented! The boys initially didn’t think they wanted anything to eat but the chicken legs. Our waiter noticed and brought out 4 more legs just for them. They did eat some but not much. The boys just didn’t seem to get ‘into’ it, we think doing Pirates one night and this the next was just a little too much ‘night life’ for them and they were overloaded. Took the bus back up to the Fort Wilderness parking but then from there proceeded to get lost and drove around the whole back area for 30 to 45 minutes. Finally pulled into a gated area to ask for directions and found it was the Riverside gate! Went right to bed as everybody was tired from the long day and night.
13 August-last full day!
We didn’t get up real early after our late night but had an enjoyable breakfast in the food court area before heading to Epcot.
We went in through the Boardwalk entry on just a beautiful Florida morning for our last day.
We did Imagination first, good ride but I still think the original was better. Went into ‘Honey I Shrunk the Audience’ with only a short wait. Josh didn’t like the ‘mice’ around his feet but overall we enjoyed it. We went the Land and did Circle of Life, first time we’d done that, it was very good. Went across to the Life the boys did some of the machines and exhibits and we did Cranium Command, always a good experience! With Michael getting close to ‘that’ age it hit a little closer to home. It was getting close to the PS for lunch at 1:30 I’d made for Mexico so we headed there. We were seated in about 5 minutes, not the best table in the place but OK. Our waiter was attentive and prompt. We enjoyed a very good meal in the very nice atmosphere. Michael had been wanting to ride Test Track and we’d found it too backed up before so he and I left Pat and Josh in Mexico and went to check. The line was over an hour long so I explained the singles line to Michael and told him that was about the only way we could ride it. He wasn’t real happy about being separated but agreed. We were together in line until just before the boarding area so it worked out OK. The car I got in had a faulty seat belt so we got out and re-boarded, bit of a hassle but nice to know they check things. The ride was as great as I remembered, met up with Michael immediately and he was very excited about his ride! Michael and I spent some time in the new car section-took each others picture in the Hummer. After some confusion and lack of contact over our radios Michael and I met back up with Pat and Josh. We decided to walk around the countries and look in the shops. Pat and I find Epcot is our overall favorite park and the boys liked it too. We did Germany and Japan, the got to America just as the singers pre-show was starting-a great job by the singers! And then on to the theater-the show was great-Pat and I have seen it dozens of times but it still is a favorite. Michael thought he wanted a sketch done as we went by France but didn’t push it too hard. I tried to talk Pat into checking the pastries in France but she didn’t think they were on our diet. We checked the shops in the England area-that area is so pleasant! We exited back through the board walk area. I planned to go over to the Beaches and Cream shop for dessert so we walked on down that way. There was some refurbishing being done in the area and it took us quite a while to locate B&C, when we got there it was VERY crowded. I asked about a table anyway but it was a 55 minute wait. I walked on away but Pat thought we should get something from the take-out counter and find a table on the porch. That’s what we did with me generally waiting in the 20+ minute line. Michael was there some but when I ordered I had misunderstood his sundae order so he stormed off mad-leaving me to wonder how I was going to carry everything. Pat came in just as I was starting to carry it all out so it all worked out OK, a table was very close by too. Michael had calmed down and enjoyed his sundae. It was a hassle but the desserts really hit the spot. As busy as B&C always seems to be I’m surprised it hasn’t been enlarged. Fully fortified we headed off through the boardwalk area to our car. The boys, Pat and I enjoyed the pool the rest of the afternoon and early evening. We went over to the main pool for awhile but it was so crowded we had trouble keeping sight of Josh and Michael so we went back to ‘our’ smaller pool. I walked down to the food court later and got us all some food which was very good as we were all hungry. A nice slow and easy ending to our last full day.
14 August-farewell!
We woke up to a rather rainy morning and packed the car. We drove to the food court for our last meal. Our final bill was on the door, I’d given them a credit card so it was just a reminder of the charges. We’d kind of wanted to go by Disney Village for some last minute shopping but there wasn’t really enough time. Our flight out was a little earlier than we normally leave and the check in sometimes are very slow. We refueled the car to avoid the very high prices therental company charges for refills and headed out to the airport.
Check in proceeded normally, departure and flight back to Omaha and the ‘real world’ went OK.
SUMMARY
A wonderful trip, weather was overall very good, costs were well within what we had planned. Josh and Michael were much better than we’d expected and really enjoyed everything. We were really impressed by the Riverside/Alligator Bayou area and will plan to stay there again. It really has the feeling of an out of the way place, very rustic and isolated—but yet has all the trappings of a great resort too!
Joe Hamblin
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: CR
Accommodations: Standard
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Senior
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent, Veteran
Comments: Joe doesn't feel we have enough trip reports giving the "senior" experience. And with a self-starting attitude we have to admire, he sets out to change that. In this report, Joe and his wife take the grandkids to Disney World for a week and a great time is had.
Joe Hamblin -- August 2003 -- Walt Disney World (CR)
TRIP REPORT –August 7 through August 14, 2003
CAST
Myself-Joe, AKA granddad—65 year old Disney enthusiast. Veteran of an estimated 12 WDW trips.
Wife-Pat, AKA grammaw—60 year old Disney enthusiast and my wonderful wife of 42 years. Also veteran of 12 WDW trips.
Michael John- 11 (almost 12) year old grandson-2nd WDW trip, loves all thrill rides.
Josh- 9 year old grandson-also 2nd WDW trip, loves grammaw.
LOCATION
Contemporary for first 5 nights, Port Orleans Riverside for last two nights.
As retired military we would have stayed at Shades of Green but with the construction presently underway we had an opportunity to stay at the Contemporary-right on the Monorail-for a very reasonable rate. As this was our second trip this year (May 27 to June 4) Pat and I purchased annual passes prior to that trip. The annual pass discount also lowered the price. We had initially planned to stay just the 5 nights at the Contemporary but a couple of months prior to going thought why not stay a couple of more nights. We agreed and I was able to get very good rates at Riverside through a code from Mousesavers.com
STYLE
While I admire the detail some people are able to put in their report my report will not be that detailed. I made brief notes at the end of each day and my report will be done from those notes, generally in a brief summary style. My main reason for doing the report is the general absence of reports from more ‘senior’ members. I read reports where Grandparents are part of the group but don’t remember any from the Grandparents themselves.
DEPART/ARRIVAL
An early departure out of Omaha so Michael and Josh sleep at our house. Load vehicle and head to airport, Michael and Josh are up and excited but barely awake. Getting into the car Pat notices she has hit her arm causing an enormous ‘bump’ and bruise. We put a cool wet cloth on it but that doesn’t help much. (The bump went down after a couple of days but she had a terrible bruised arm for the duration)
Traffic is light and we are at the airport and through the very thorough check in with plenty of time. We board and depart on time. Our route is rather different, Omaha to Newark, NJ then nonstop to Orlando. The Omaha to Newark leg is smooth and on time but after getting off toward Orlando from Newark we have almost an hour delay holding for thunderstorms before descent into Orlando.
After landing luggage goes well but there’s a long line for the car rental at Alamo. I get a pretty good deal on an upgrade from a mid-size to Premium-Pontiac GP to Chrysler Concorde-and take it, we quickly load and we’re off to see Mickey!
Check in at the Contemporary goes well, the ‘Shades of Green’ rooms are in the North Garden wing. We’re on the third floor, very nice room with an excellent water view. Also just down the hall from the Shades of Green ticket sales office. The room is large with two king beds a nice couch that can be made into a bed. Also a nice easy chair and ottoman, table, dresser and lots of storage space, TV hutch, roomy bathroom with separate commode stall with door. Quite a bit more room than our last stay at All Star Music.
Due to our delays the Shades of Green ticket office is closed for the day so after a brief check of the room and dropping off our bags we head to Disney Village, always good atmosphere and fun.
It’s still threatening to rain but we do a brief tour around Disney Village and decide we are all hungry-the airline pretzels only go so far. The area is fairly crowded. We’ve done the Rainforest Café after arriving before so we try that. We find out the wait is two hours and discuss alternates, the fairly new McDonalds is close so we go there, it is packed! No wait for the ordering lines but after we get our food we have trouble finding tables. We get two tables fairly close together and use those. I do like the themeing used in McDonalds here, lots of variety and lots of color.
It’s still raining lightly after dinner. We shop some at the Lego store, convince Michael and Josh that they can have small items, not the large and expensive items they first think they want. Then we decide to get ice cream at Geridelli’s. It’s crowded too but Michael and I get our order while Pat and Josh get a table. The treat is excellent and the street atmosphere wonderful—a great way to let it soak in that we are finally here! Then it’s back to the Contemp. and to bed.
8 August FIRST DAY
We end up sleeping a little later than planned. We are all very tired and I goofed on setting the room clock radio and it doesn’t go off. But it’s a good reminder to us that we are on vacation and taking it easy is a part of vacation too. Very good nights sleep, the mattress is great!
I make a coffee run to the Contemp. food court for Pat and I with the re-fillable mugs we’d bought last night. It’s a short walk. I’d gone down to the back lobby door to enter which I thought was the closest, while I’m pouring the coffee a nice young lady comes up and excusing herself tells me of a shorter way through the side door-nice start to the day, that cooperative attitude among the visitors at WDW very much in evidence. I get our e-tickets for the night while I’m on the coffee run, at the desk in the main lobby, just around the corner from the food court.
After taking Pat’s coffee to her I go down the hall to the Shades of Green office and purchase 5 day plus passes for Michael and Josh. I also buy the tickets for the Pirate Adventure we have reservations for on the 11th.
We all finally get out the door and over to the Contemp. for a quick food court breakfast then our first big deal with staying at the Contemp.—the Monorail ride to MK! It’s so neat just to be able to go directly on the monorail from the hotel-saves bunches of time and hassle! It was probably the biggest feature (to us) of staying at the Contemporary. The entry to MK is packed but it moves smoothly and swiftly, bag check then the turnstiles and we’re there! Main street USA always looks, smells, and feels like the wonderland it is!
A double decker bus is waiting at the circle so we board and enjoy the trip down Main street.
Michael wants to do Space Mt. And Josh wants to do POC so we split up for a couple of hours. Michael and I wander over to the SM area, I’m still trying to absorb that we’re really there! There’s a pretty long line so we get fast passes. I tell Michael the old ‘WedWay’ is fun so we get on and take the tour of Tomorrowland. The walkie-talkie we have seems to be dead and of course I don’t have the AAA batteries needed so we set out to locate those. We’re wandering in one store and one of the management (tie people) staff sees us ‘looking‘ and immediately points us to another store where they have them.
It’s been threatening to rain all morning but never too seriously. Michael wants to ride the ‘Space Jets’, I try to convenience him there is a LONG wait but his heart is set on it, he says he can ride it by himself. I reluctantly agree and he gets in line-in less than 2 minutes up walks Pat and Josh and I find out pretty quickly that I need to ride with him. I’m pretty uncomfortable with heights and on this ride you sit right out in the open and although you start high it goes even higher. Of course Michael keeps us as high as possible the whole time. I kind of hold my breath and hope it’s over soon!
We walk across the park and all ride POC-one of my very favorites-with very little wait.
We’re getting hungry and Pecos’ is near so we head for it. Pretty crowded but we find a table and get our food fairly quick. We take our time as we need the break.
After lunch Michael wants to look at a cart he saw on the way in so we go there. He’s fascinated by some knives and daggers they have but I’m sure we’d have trouble getting them back on the plane, so I tell him he can get one it has to be one that he vendor will mail back for us. The vendor is happy to do that so it works out fine.
We walk over to SM to get fast passes for later, but decide we’ll just wait and ride it tonight, then up stairs and board the train and take it to Toontown where we get off. Josh wants to look around there some and Michael and I go to get on SM as our ‘window’ is open. It shuts down just after we get in line! Pat and Josh come up so we decide to do Carousel as it is near and open. It’s a good break and always enjoyable. After COP we try to decide what to do and after milling around a little SM reopens and we get right on! Michael enjoys the ride and so do I. I find Michael is VERY vocal on thrill rides and he screams and shouts his way through the ride.
We all get back together and head over to the main exit as we want to go back to the Contemp. for awhile as we are coming back for e-ticket night. It’s just time for the distribution of the wrist bands so we get them near City Hall as we go out.
We catch the monorail back to the Contemp.-sure is fast and convenient!
We have a nice break, our first chance to check out the Contemp. pools. Very nice. Great slide-even I try it! Not very crowded at this time of day.
After our break we decide to take the walking path to Magic Kingdom, a nice walk.
We’re hungry and don’t really want Pecos again and don’t want to take the time (or the cost) of a sit down meal. I think of the one over by the Haunted Mansion-Colombia House so we head for that. It isn’t too crowded and offers a pretty good choice of items reasonably. After we eat it’s almost time for Spectromagic so we decide to stake out a viewing spot. Pat is very good at this type of thing so I let her lead. We take up a spot by the ‘sketching’ area. There’s a walk-through that they keep open ‘till just before the parade gets there then as it closes we should be able to get a great spot. It works very nicely, Michael and Josh end up right in the front row and Pat and I a little back but with about the best position we’ve ever had for Spectro. It’s a great parade and the Mountain/Monster ‘opens’ right in front of us! The battery on the camcorder runs out before I get all the parade but I get some of it.
After the parade we walk up to the first bridge and decide we’ll view the fireworks from there. The ‘crush’ of all those leaving makes staying in position difficult. Our position isn’t as good as we’d thought as some tall trees partially obstruct our view. Of course we don’t know this until the fireworks start. We still enjoy them-Pat concludes that the best place to watch the fireworks is mainstreet-I agree as we’ve had our view partially blocked from trying other vantage points too.
After the fireworks we went back over and all rode HM. Neither of the boys remembered riding it, I rode with Michael and Pat rode with Josh. It was fun as always, I still notice additional detail after having ridden it dozens of times. Michael asked how they did several things and we talked about how well it was all done. Josh wanted to do POC again so he and Pat went to do that while Michael and I rode TMR. Michael really enjoyed it (me too!). He whooped and hollered all through the ride. We called Pat and Josh on the walkie-talkies and found they were just about to go into Country Bears, we hurried and got in just before they closed the doors. CB is personally one of my favorites but we all enjoyed it, first time we’d sat in the 2nd row. After CB we hurried over to Buzz Lightyear and rode it twice, Josh surprised us by getting the 2nd highest score!
Michael had asked several times about Alien Encounter so I told him if he wanted I would go on it with him. I’d done it once before and don’t really care for the ‘scary’ aspect of it. I thought maybe all I’d told him about how scary it was he wouldn’t want to ride, but of course he did. We just had a short wait before entering and sat on the front row. It was as scary as before but I sat forward at a couple of crucial times so it wasn’t too bad. I hope the new version with Stitch is a little more lighthearted.
It’s amazing how quickly the time flies on an e-night but it was already time to go. We did stop on the corner for a great ice cream! Not on Pat and my diet but after all it is vacation. It’s such a nice stop on the corner late like that when the crowds are thinning!
I think e-ticket night is one of the best things going. Enough people are there to retain the atmosphere but not so many that you can’t get a lot of rides in.
We caught the monorail back to Contemp all tired but happy from all the busy, fun day we’d enjoyed.
9th August
This morning we have PS for the AK ‘Breakfasaurous’ so we take the car. Our PS is at 0920 and we arrive about 0910. After a short wait we are taken to our table. As a coincidence it is the SAME table we ate at when we ate a noon meal here on our May-June trip! We all head for the buffet line and get our first plates. There are good fresh choices of just about everything. Pat and I are doing the ‘South Beach’ diet and are trying to stay fairly close to it even on vacation. But there’s plenty of eggs and meat plus we both have some fresh fruit so we enjoy our meal. Donald, Pluto and Goofy come by before long, not all at the same time but spaced out. Of course the unprepared Granddad has the 35mm SLR but not a flash and it’s loaded with 200 film. I valiantly take pictures anyway hoping they’ll turn out (most of them don’t). Our waiter is a real nice guy and very attentive, his accent sounds familiar and I found out he’s from Kentucky-just like me! I left there a loooooong time ago but on some words the accent just never leaves (oil is the worst for me). Not long before we leave the big man himself-Mickey-comes by. All in all it was a very good experience, good food and good company!
We go over in the ‘carnival’ area and Michael, Josh and I get in line for Primal-whirl. I assume my food is settled enough and hope theirs is! We have about a 10 minute line before we’re off. I like the ride and the boys do too. Quite a lot has been said about the themeing of this area, I think it’s OK-actually a fun area. I LOVE the bluegrass music they play for the Triceritop Spin! I told Pat I knew the song they were playing and not many people would know it, she then named it exactly. She’s not a bluegrass fan and I was surprised but then I realized she has heard me play it many times on the harmonica.
Since we’re close to the Dinosaur ride we-Michael and I-decide to go on that. We get in line, not a real long one, expecting maybe a 15 minute wait but after about 5 minutes we are told it is down so we leave the line and meet back up with Pat and Josh. We plan to come back later but actually never do get to ride it on this trip.
We head back out of Dinosaur country and see there’s a short wait for ‘It’s Tough to BAB’ and get in the winding line for it. It’s probably a 15 wait/line and we get in near the back of the theater. Michael and Josh have not done it before and I’m anxious to see there reactions. Michael thinks it’s great but Josh gets scared about ¾ through and wants to leave. Gram maw Pat consoles him and helps him get through the rest of the ride. We enjoy it and Josh isn’t too shook-up once we get out into the sunlight-which turns to ‘liquid sunshine‘ just after we’re out. We-and lots of others-head to the store that’s at the end of the exit path and take refuge there. It rains very hard for awhile. We have pancos but of course left them in the room. After 15 or 20 minutes I purchase 4 more for us, we suit up and leave, now it’s raining fairly lightly. We cut through the Rainforest Café and shop a little there before heading back to the Contemp.
Pat thinks we should take the monorail to Epcot for the afternoon and evening so we get on at the Contemp. and change at the Ticket center. It’s still raining on an off but not bad. When we get off at Epcot the line for Spaceship Earth is short so we all go on it. The boys don’t remember it (when your 9 and 11 four years before probably seems like ages) and we all enjoy it. We spend some time in the activity area after we get off then head over to the Energy/Space/Test Track side.
The walk up to the Space area is great the themeing is so new and special. I think it’s just open to look around the outside but as we get closer find that it is in fact up and running! Michael, Josh and I waste no time getting in line. Pat considers it but decides to wait for my report. The waiting line inside is just great-except we’re whisked along so fast we can’t take it all in! We three have a four person ‘capsule’ and before we know it we’re strapped in and the count down begins. It’s great, it’s breathtaking, it’s very realistic, it’s fun! As a retired Air Force pilot with several thousand flying hours I can vouch for the reality of the ride-I think it’s the best simulation I’ve ever been on/in and that includes AF motion flight simulators. They really got this one right! Returning to earth a little shaky we try to tell Pat how great it is, she really wanted to ride it and I want ed her to. But then she asked me if I think it might bring on her tacacardia(sp) (runaway heart beat) that she’s on medicine for and I realize I honestly think it might be too much for her.
On the way out Michael wants to be a crew member on the ‘space race’ and I get one of the consoles for the ground crew. It’s fun too with a lot of group effort. After we get through with that and get back with Pat and Josh. Pat wants me to go help a lady who’s having trouble breathing-by now the WDW rescue crew has arrived and have the situation well in hand but the lady doesn’t look well at all. Apparently she has a heart condition and riding Space has caused problems-makes me glad I didn’t encourage Pat to ride it!
We went over to check Test Track but the wait was 60 min. and fast passes were all gone for the day. We retraced our steps and did the Energy ride-it was a walk-on. The boys enjoyed it and Pat and I did also.
We were getting hungry as it was late after noon. Pat wanted to try Mexico, we checked but the wait for walk-in was 2 hours! One trip, several years ago, we had luck with a late walk-in at China’s Nine Dragons so we went to check. We got right in with no wait at all. It’s a large restaurant and usually seems to have room. We had an excellent meal, the boys enjoyed trying to eat with chopsticks, and the service was good. We were seated right by the entry to the kitchen and had the hustle and bustle of the staff going to and fro but overall it was a very good experience. I don’t remember the exact cost –around $70 I think. Not bad for a nice meal for four, in nice surroundings.
We shopped for awhile in China, they usually have real bargains on harmonicas but I couldn’t find any this trip. We strolled on down to Italy and America and decide we should start getting a place for Illuminations. I have to make a bathroom run with Michael and just after we get back Josh decides he needs to go. I believe on this trip I saw the inside of more bathrooms than on any trip before! On the way back on my second trip I stop at the coffee stand just off to the side from the American pavilion and get Pat and I each a coffee-the addition of several coffee places around Epcot is fairly new but the coffee was usually pretty good.
We had an excellent spot for Illuminations, the show was great! We walked to the exit via France/England/Canada, up to the monorail back to TC, then the Contemporary. It wasn’t too late when we got back so we stopped in the food court for soft ice cream/yogurt, then to bed.
As you’ve noticed, if you’ve stayed with us this far, this trip wasn’t planned down to a tight schedule. We’ve done the detailed planning route in the past but now just make a few PS where we want to and decide the rest as we go. Seems to work well for us.
10 August-early delays
Slept in a little later, looks like a rainy day. I get dressed and am off for our morning coffee while Pat is getting the boys up and moving.
We’ve decided on MGM pretty much for the day as we have plans for Fantasmic tonight, so we drive over. We have a problem at the entry as Michael seems to have lost his pass. He’d wanted to carry it but apparently it had been left when we checked in the day before or had fallen out of his billfold/pocket. We decide to buy a one day pass and hope he left it back in the room. I mention the situation to the Castmember in the ticketbooth and he says we shouldn’t have to buy a ticket but get a reissue, he can’t do that but sends me over to the customer service window. Of course there’s a very slow line but after about 15 minutes waiting I find since I got the ticket at the Shade of Green ticket office only they can handle it. I go ahead and get Michael a one day MGM ticket and the guy says he’ll code it so the ticket will indicate it’s a replacement (this gets even more convoluted later!). So finally we go into the park. Michael has been complaining about his feet/legs hurting, he hurt his knee in football last year and has a pretty bad cut on one foot from cutting it the week before. He thinks he needs a wheelchair, I don’t necessarily agree and tend to think he’s ‘sandbagging’ but Gram maw thinks he needs one –so we get one!
We head right for RR Coaster as I’ve got Michael all ‘pumped’ for it. The wait is 45 minutes so we get a fast pass. He’s also dying to ride ToTerror and the line isn’t long for that. I try to convince Pat and Josh that they should at least walk through and take the ‘chicken’ exit but they decide to just enjoy the atmosphere around the RRRC and ToT area. We leave the wheelchair with them and get in the very short ToT line. It moves quickly and soon we’re boarding-all the seats now have seatbelt vs. the bar(at least in our ‘elevator’). Then we’re off! GREAT RIDE!! Michael again is very vocal and even grabs my hand at one point-I love it! Afterwards he wants to know how it all works but I have to confess I don’t know. He’s satisfied with discussing how it might work. We find Josh and Pat after a couple of calls on out walkie talkies. We discuss our ToT experience with them, I get a couple of cups of ice cream from across from the ToT entry which we share.
Then it’s within the Fastpass window for Michael and I at RRRC. Pat and Josh plan to meet us in the RRRC store when we exit. The fastpass line is fairly short ands moves along fairly good. It slows inside which allows us to enjoy the themeing. I’ve told Michael a little about the ride-that it starts fast and that it has one loop, a little under the reality of the ride but Grampaws are allowed to stretch things a little. He asks when we’re seated in the car if we should take our glasses off and I agree it’s a good idea------and WE’RE OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!! He really gets into it and thinks it’s fantastic! We radio Pat when we get into the RRRC store and she and Josh join us. Our oldest daughter, Mary, who came with us on the May-June trip wanted to get a RRRC t-shirt when we were down but didn’t, so she asked us to pick her up one. I find one that Pat likes too and we find one in the correct size.
We head down to Muppet Vision, stopping at the ‘commissary’ for a light snack and a short break. We get to MV just in time to walk in to the next show. Since Michael is in the wheel chair we get in that area. They aren’t very good seats, off to the side and way in back. The show is good as always and we all enjoy it.
Back up on the hill the line for Star Tours isn’t long so Michael and I ride it. With the wheel chair you are routed around most of the themeing and soon we’re waiting for the next ‘flight’. A nice castmember gives us a hand, we get right on the front row as the crewmember wheels Michael right through, he gets out and she says the chair will be right outside. Michael is making a bigger deal than necessary about his ‘mobility’ status! We enjoy the flight to Endor and back, making it safely once again.
It’s time to head up to the Hollywood and Vine for or PS/Fantasmic package. On the way we talk about doing the Indiana Jones show, which we could walk right into, but the boys seem to have a mini meltdown and can’t agree. So we go on to H&V waiting about 15 min for our PS.
We did the Hollywood and Vine/Fantasmic combo this May for the first time and liked it well enough we did it again this trip. It’s a nice buffet, nice surroundings, and reasonable (WDW type reasonable) price. You get a ticket that you present up by the service station for your easy entry into Fantasmic, avoiding most of the crowd/crush. I think you can do the meal/Fantasmic with Mama Melrose’s and the Brown Derby too. We haven’t tried those but H and V works well.
After the buffet Patricia wanted to do the Backlot tour. We hadn’t done that in several years and thought the boys would like it. It’s location wasn’t too well marked but we finally found it. It’s a real nice tour of the ‘backlot’ area and a chance to see where apparently the proposed ‘thrill show’ is being located. the boys were fairly surprised by the ‘Catrosphe canyon’ fire and water and enjoyed the rest of the tour also. During the crewmember’s spiel for the tour he just said the construction in the area was for a future ‘unknown’ show. I asked him privately after the tour and he said they’d all heard the new show was going to be the vehicle thrill show.
It was getting about time to head for the entry to Fantasmic. We knew we’d be a little early but wanted to get a good seat and Michael was still in the wheelchair which made moving around slower. We got into the stadium ‘plenty’ early and had pretty much our choice of seats in the Ursla area. We sat on the front row as there was little or no wind and we didn’t think we’d get wet. The place filled up in a hurry and the time passed quickly-of course Michael had to go to the bathroom after we got seated so I got to see another clean restroom. The worst part of it was going against all the people coming in! They did a challenge and response password when we left the Ursla area, gave the password as we went out and asked for the response when we came back. I suppose to prevent people from spreading into the ‘reserved’ area. The stadium was absolutely packed by about half an hour before the show. The show started exactly on time and was wonderful! Our seats were just about the best in the house.
We had a pretty good crowd going out at the same time we were so it was interesting getting the chair through the crowd. After dropping off the chair and a short tram ride we were in our car and after another full day headed back to the Contemp. for a good nights sleep.
11 August
I woke up this morning with a very sore throat, I’d felt I was getting a cold for a couple of days but tried to ignore it, but now it was uncomfortable and difficult to ignore.
Made the run to get our early coffee and were out in a short while. We had a fairly leisurely breakfast in the food court. I had told Michael shortly after we arrived that one day while we were there we’d rent a ‘water mouse’ and we’d decided today we’d do that in the AM. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him so early in the trip ‘cause he had brought it up ‘dozens’ of times since then.
As I mentioned earlier Michael is 11, almost 12 so I planned to let him drive the boat. When we rented the boat they only gave me a wristband but I thought nothing of it. Michael got behind the wheel, the dock hand covered the operation with us and we were off. We putted around ‘till Michael got familiar with the handling then took a pretty good tour of the lake the Contemporary is located on. There are ski boats all around to help if you need it, just flag one down. They are always ‘zipping’ around. After 20 to 25 minutes Michael and I waved to one as he went by but then he slowed and came over to where we were. He asked Michael to raise his arms (later I realized he was seeing if Michael had a wrist band). Then he asked how old Michael was and informed us you had to be 16 to drive the boat. Duly chastised we began to switch seats and the ski boat driver came close to help if we needed it. With the situation corrected the ski boat charged off. We felt like we’d been caught trying to cheat the system or guilty of some other crime. Michael kept saying he was ‘almost 12’. Seems like they should have made more of the age criteria back during rental or the instruction phase. We did enjoy our ‘watermouse’ time even with the ‘scolding’.
We met back up with Josh and Pat and made our way up to the level to board the Monorail for the Magic Kingdom, to enjoy the convenience for one of the last times as this was our last day at the Contemp.
Main Street was busy, bright and beautiful as it always seems to be—it’s such a very nice entryway into MK! We stopped and got our picture taken by one of the street photogs-later bought the picture as it turned out well. We were all hungry and headed to the Pinocchio Haus directly behind the castle. You can usually find seat there and the food is pretty good. It was very crowded but we finally did find a table.
We headed over to Adventureland with a plan to ride Jungle Cruise if the line wasn’t too long. The line was manageable and the themeing in the line kept the boys entertained. After about a 10 to 15 min. wait we boarded. Our skipper seemed more lackadaisical than most but it was a pleasant ride. We had decided to go to Tom Sawyer island next, boarded our raft and there we were! We thought Michael and Josh would be off on their own exploring but we all stuck fairly close together and explored. We covered the island and fort pretty well then headed back to the ‘mainland’. Josh wanted to PiratesoC again so I told Pat Michael and I would wait for them by the Flying Carpet ride (very close to the Dole stand too!). Michael was doing the wheelchair again so I put him by a bench and got in the slow moving line. It was one of those lines that look small but other people in the family ahead kept coming up and increasing their order. The icecream/sherbert was well worth the wait, one of my favorite WDW treats. We’d almost finished when Pat and Josh joined us and helped us finish.
As our special treat of the Pirate dinner show was tonight it was time to go back to the Contemp. get ready and pick up the car, it was a surprise for the boys and would be a first time experience for Pat and I too. I’d got directions from the front desk so we had no trouble finding the place, it’s near Wet and Wild. I produced the card they’d given me at the Shades of Green ticket hut and we went right in. Our first few minutes there gave a bit of a negative impression-it seemed to be overly commercialized. The boys wanted everything in sight! We got a handle on that in a little while and did let them get their faces painted. There was a snack type chip and dip line and after a short while some minor entertainment in the waiting area. They seated you by ‘colors’ they had assigned you, so fairly soon our color was called-‘blue’. Somehow we got into the ‘red’ line but a patient pirate got us headed into the correct area. The place is in an amphitheater type arrangement with bench/tables set so that everyone has a good to great seat.
The food and the show were very good to excellent, we’d recommend it to others. Josh is a ‘pirate fanatic’ and he was in his glory the whole time. So after a rather bad first impression the evening ended up being a great success!
12 August
As this was the day we were checking out of the Contemp. and moving to Port Orleans/Riverside Pat and I had been discussing what activities we’d try to do. We’d talked about doing one of the water parks but kind of decided to take it easy all day. We slept in a little later than normal, I checked us out at the front desk when I went over to get our morning coffee-just a few dollars for phone calls as I’d paid cash for our stay when we checked in. We had decided to wait and eat breakfast at the Riverside food court. We parked in the Riverside lot and went directly to the food court to eat. The lobby area has such an open, authentic old style and has such a friendly atmosphere. We both really like the themeing at Riverside and especially the food court. We think it’s perhaps our favorite in WDW. The boys had eaten there once before but didn’t remember so it was new and great to them. After we ate we went to check in. After only a very short wait a nice castmember checked us in and said our room was ready, then just as I turned to go she mentioned the room was in Magnolia Bend, I’d asked for Alligator Bayou in our reservations, I almost left the counter but thought ‘no I requested AB’, so I went back and said I’d requested AB and could we get something there. She was very polite and found a couple of possibilities which she showed the locations to me on the map. I picked one that was a little farther away from the food court area but looked like a nicer location. Of course that room wasn’t ready and she asked us to check back later.
We’d seen the surrey bikes before and thought they’ be fun to ride so we decided to do that. It was a pleasant day, not too hot, and the bike ride was fun. You ride on a nice walking/bike path that goes around the inner part by both Alligator Alley and Magnolia Bend. It’s mostly level with just a couple of hill to make you work a little. After the bike ride our room still wasn’t ready. Michael had noticed they had fishing advertised at the place we’d rented bikes and he wanted to do that. We went back to the bike rental area but found you actually got the fishing gear and fished over by the main pool, so we went there. The cane pole fishing is about the best deal going, nice pretty, quiet place to fish and VERY reasonable cost for nice bait and a pole, even a fresh terry towel to clean your hands, and umbrellas all around the area so you didn’t have to fish in the hot sun. Proves something I’ve always thought about Disney, why it’s all so great, they get the details right. I didn’t fish just kept Michael company. He fishes a lot so he felt right at home, even caught a small one. I stood in the shade and took it all in, finally got my harmonica out and played some, the setting seemed perfect for Suwannee River, Oh Susanna, Shenandoah ect! A Dad fishing with his boys seemed to take quite an interest in my playing and before they left came over and complimented me.
We went back to the lobby area and connected again with Pat and Josh. Our room was ready now so we drove to the nearest parking lot and moved our stuff in. Neat location, and neat room! We were in room 2505 in building 25. The room was on the lower level on an inside corner, just across the footpath from the nice shady pool that served our unit and some others. It didn’t take us long to get dressed and to the pool! We ate lunch in there somewhere but I honestly don’t remember when and where(?) We had another surprise tonight for the boys. Not more than a month before our trip I’d talked to Pat about doing the Hoop-tee-do Review, she agreed but the only booking I could get was the 930 pm one. About 815 we started out, I’d got directions at the desk-go to the Wilderness campground parking lot then take a bus down to the Lodge. It worked fairly well, the directions weren’t as accurate as I’d expected(or I got them wrong) but we got to the parking lot OK. We went to wait for the bus but the first one that came wasn’t the number we’d specifically been asked to wait for. The driver said they all went to the same place so it worked out. After the short bus ride about the first thing was the mandatory ‘picture taking’. There were several leather good, silver ect. stands and for some reason Michael just decided he HAD to have SOMETHING. He didn’t seem to have anything particular in mind, he’d just grab something up and state he wanted it. We didn’t get anything and he fussed and fumed for quite awhile. Pat and Josh had wandered off and found some nice rocking chairs on the porch to enjoy. So it wasn’t a very good start to our night with Michael in a lousy mood. We went right in on time and were seated at the very front, right side almost a part of the musical duo. The entertainment is fun, if a little hokey, the food is good and plenty of it. We were fairly cramped up by the musicians but they were friendly-and VERY talented! The boys initially didn’t think they wanted anything to eat but the chicken legs. Our waiter noticed and brought out 4 more legs just for them. They did eat some but not much. The boys just didn’t seem to get ‘into’ it, we think doing Pirates one night and this the next was just a little too much ‘night life’ for them and they were overloaded. Took the bus back up to the Fort Wilderness parking but then from there proceeded to get lost and drove around the whole back area for 30 to 45 minutes. Finally pulled into a gated area to ask for directions and found it was the Riverside gate! Went right to bed as everybody was tired from the long day and night.
13 August-last full day!
We didn’t get up real early after our late night but had an enjoyable breakfast in the food court area before heading to Epcot.
We went in through the Boardwalk entry on just a beautiful Florida morning for our last day.
We did Imagination first, good ride but I still think the original was better. Went into ‘Honey I Shrunk the Audience’ with only a short wait. Josh didn’t like the ‘mice’ around his feet but overall we enjoyed it. We went the Land and did Circle of Life, first time we’d done that, it was very good. Went across to the Life the boys did some of the machines and exhibits and we did Cranium Command, always a good experience! With Michael getting close to ‘that’ age it hit a little closer to home. It was getting close to the PS for lunch at 1:30 I’d made for Mexico so we headed there. We were seated in about 5 minutes, not the best table in the place but OK. Our waiter was attentive and prompt. We enjoyed a very good meal in the very nice atmosphere. Michael had been wanting to ride Test Track and we’d found it too backed up before so he and I left Pat and Josh in Mexico and went to check. The line was over an hour long so I explained the singles line to Michael and told him that was about the only way we could ride it. He wasn’t real happy about being separated but agreed. We were together in line until just before the boarding area so it worked out OK. The car I got in had a faulty seat belt so we got out and re-boarded, bit of a hassle but nice to know they check things. The ride was as great as I remembered, met up with Michael immediately and he was very excited about his ride! Michael and I spent some time in the new car section-took each others picture in the Hummer. After some confusion and lack of contact over our radios Michael and I met back up with Pat and Josh. We decided to walk around the countries and look in the shops. Pat and I find Epcot is our overall favorite park and the boys liked it too. We did Germany and Japan, the got to America just as the singers pre-show was starting-a great job by the singers! And then on to the theater-the show was great-Pat and I have seen it dozens of times but it still is a favorite. Michael thought he wanted a sketch done as we went by France but didn’t push it too hard. I tried to talk Pat into checking the pastries in France but she didn’t think they were on our diet. We checked the shops in the England area-that area is so pleasant! We exited back through the board walk area. I planned to go over to the Beaches and Cream shop for dessert so we walked on down that way. There was some refurbishing being done in the area and it took us quite a while to locate B&C, when we got there it was VERY crowded. I asked about a table anyway but it was a 55 minute wait. I walked on away but Pat thought we should get something from the take-out counter and find a table on the porch. That’s what we did with me generally waiting in the 20+ minute line. Michael was there some but when I ordered I had misunderstood his sundae order so he stormed off mad-leaving me to wonder how I was going to carry everything. Pat came in just as I was starting to carry it all out so it all worked out OK, a table was very close by too. Michael had calmed down and enjoyed his sundae. It was a hassle but the desserts really hit the spot. As busy as B&C always seems to be I’m surprised it hasn’t been enlarged. Fully fortified we headed off through the boardwalk area to our car. The boys, Pat and I enjoyed the pool the rest of the afternoon and early evening. We went over to the main pool for awhile but it was so crowded we had trouble keeping sight of Josh and Michael so we went back to ‘our’ smaller pool. I walked down to the food court later and got us all some food which was very good as we were all hungry. A nice slow and easy ending to our last full day.
14 August-farewell!
We woke up to a rather rainy morning and packed the car. We drove to the food court for our last meal. Our final bill was on the door, I’d given them a credit card so it was just a reminder of the charges. We’d kind of wanted to go by Disney Village for some last minute shopping but there wasn’t really enough time. Our flight out was a little earlier than we normally leave and the check in sometimes are very slow. We refueled the car to avoid the very high prices therental company charges for refills and headed out to the airport.
Check in proceeded normally, departure and flight back to Omaha and the ‘real world’ went OK.
SUMMARY
A wonderful trip, weather was overall very good, costs were well within what we had planned. Josh and Michael were much better than we’d expected and really enjoyed everything. We were really impressed by the Riverside/Alligator Bayou area and will plan to stay there again. It really has the feeling of an out of the way place, very rustic and isolated—but yet has all the trappings of a great resort too!
Joe Hamblin