Kim Gouge – September/October 2003 - All Star Sports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle
Resort: ASSR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Rookie, Infrequent
Comments: For her first trip in four years, Kim planned everything for six people from two families. She learned some lessons (3:30 is awfully early to get up for a plane) and some values (meal vouchers off eBay aren't) and they all had a great time.

Kim Gouge -- September/October 2003 -- Walt Disney World (ASSR)

Cast of Characters:

ME (Kim) – 37, previous WDW trips – 1981 (my high school band performed in the Magic Kingdom parade),1989, Thanksgiving 1999, Christmas 1999
SHAUNA – 17, my daughter, previous WDW trips – 1989, Thanksgiving 1999 (she was an All-Star cheerleader in the MK parade on Thanksgiving Day)
MARCUS – 10, my son, previous trip – Thanksgiving 1999
TAMMY – 34, my niece, previous trip – 1981 (she was also in the band)
RICK – 35, Tammy’s husband, along for the ride, WDW ROOKIE
JOSHUA – 6, Tammy’s & Rick’s son, my great-nephew, the family crackerjack, WDW ROOKIE
PLANNING

Sometime in late April the Disney bug hit me. I started thinking about a spring trip for 2004 but was worried about how crowded it would be. Then I noticed the schools here were having a week-long fall break and Bingo! That was perfect. I mentioned to Tammy that we might go. She said they were planning on going to the beach that week, but would rather go to Disneyworld.

Original plan was 4 or 5 nights at an All-Stars and I was going to also pay for a room for my other daughter, Stephanie (19), her boyfriend and his son. But Daniel didn’t want to take Timothy (Tigger) until he’s old enough to remember it (he’s only 2). Original plans also included Joe, my SO. However, we lost him along the way (more on that later).

Since I would only be paying for one room we thought about maybe staying at Caribbean Beach Resort or Coronado Springs. Thought the kids would really enjoy the pools and playgrounds there. Then the Fairytale Package came out. Woohoo! We could stay for a whole week with UPH passes! We finally decided on the All-Stars as this would give us more money to spend on food and souvenirs. So in late May, we made our reservations. Wanted to try for AS Movies but it was booked. We got two rooms in AS Sports which was fine. I had stayed there in ’99 and thought it was nice.

Now, how were we going to get there? We all have older cars and Tammy & Rick said no way were they going to start out in one of theirs. They would rent a car here and drive down. I didn’t want to drive my gas-hog for 12-13 hours either. Eventually, we decided to fly. Rick and I were the only ones who had ever flown and we thought the kids would really enjoy it. Well, this is where we lost Joe. He did not want to be stuck down there without a car. No one else saw this as a problem but we couldn’t convince him. After checking prices several times a day, debating different airports and missing out on $ 179 fares from USAir, we bought our tickets from Delta’s website - $ 250 per person roundtrip from Tri-Cities (TN) to MCO. The times were perfect, we would arrive at MCO at 10:14 am (giving us most of the day Saturday) and leaving MCO at 4:10 pm (meaning we could spend some time in a park that morning). The only thing I was worried about was the fact that we only had 36 minutes to make our connection in Atlanta. The lady at Delta said, “Honey, don’t worry about it. People do it everyday.” Then she checked to see what gates we would be using and her exact words were “Well, you might have to grab the little one and hoof it a little bit.” Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. I can see us racing through the airport ala Home Alone and realizing that we left somebody behind.

I also made a reservation with YourRide for a van to pick us up. Cost after DDL discount $ 77 roundtrip. Thom at YourRide confirmed my reservation and said the driver would have a sign with my last name on it. I called and asked him if he could put both last names and we would make a contest for the kids to look for him. Thom said he could put their first names on the sign. How cool is that? Now the sign will read Joshua and Marcus. Also requested a grocery stop.

I made several PS arrangements – Rose & Crown (hopefully we can get a patio table for Illuminations), Breakfastasaurus, Boma (breakfast & dinner), Sci-Fi, Whispering Canyon, Kona Cafe and Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic package. Tried to talk the boys into the Pirate Cruise but Marcus didn’t want anything to do with it.

I bought some meal vouchers from Connections and on EBay which I probably shouldn’t have done. More on that later. I also ordered tickets for the first night of MNSSHP on Friday, October 3.

We thought the kids might like to do the pin trading so I ordered the assortment from CheapPins. Cost was about $ 22.00 plus shipping for 13 pins. Marcus did not want to do the autograph book so I bought him a plain orange t-shirt for the characters to sign and got Timothy an orange hat.

SATURDAY, September 27, 2003

PLAN: Flight leaves at 7:00 am (ugh), check-in to All-Star Sports, Magic Kingdom to catch Spectromagic

ACTUAL: Set my alarm for 3:50 am (whose idea was it to take this early flight anyway – oh, that would be me – the wonderful trip planner). Showered and then woke everyone else about 4:30. Shauna’s boyfriend, Andy had spent the night so he took some of the luggage in his car and Shauna and Stephanie rode with him to the airport. Marcus and I took my car to pick up Tammy, Rick and Joshua at 5:00. We got to the airport about 5:30 and carried all of our luggage in. Between the six of us, we had 8 suitcases that we checked plus five backpacks and three purses that we carried on the plane. Andy and Shauna said their goodbyes in the parking lot and Stephanie took my car back home.

There was no line at the Delta counter. No problems with check-in and we still had some time to kill. We grabbed some breakfast in the airport cafeteria before going through security to the gate. Rick has metal plates in his back and says that he always sets off the beeper. This time he didn’t, though. Joshua told the security guy, “Please don’t take my daddy. We’re going to Disneyworld.” The security guy asked if he could come with us and Joshua said, “When you get off work.”

When I picked the seats, I had put Marcus, Joshua and Shauna by the windows with Rick, Tammy and I in the aisle seats. Marcus kept saying, “I can’t do this, Mom, I can’t do this!” When we started taxiing down the runway, Joshua starts hollering, “I’m going to die! Marcus, I’m going to die first!” Marcus grabs my arm and I could feel him shaking and I was really afraid he would be sick. Then about 10 seconds later he’s like, “Wow, this is great!”

We arrived early in Atlanta and went to the first bathroom we came to before going down the escalator to get on the tram. As were heading to the escalator, I looked back and realized Shauna wasn’t behind me. Rick said she saw somebody she knew. Sure enough, she was talking to her friend, Joelle, who was on her way back from Las Vegas. Only Shauna would run into somebody she knows in the Atlanta airport. We were departing from Gate E12 and it was the first gate when we came back up the escalator. They were already boarding and we just walked straight onto the plane. Okay, so I was worried for nothing.

Arrived in Orlando on time. Jim, our driver, was waiting at the bottom of the escalator for us with the sign that said Joshua and Marcus. Joshua ran right over to him and said, “Hi, I’m Joshua!” We gathered all of our luggage and waited outside while Jim went to get the van. Well, the van turned out to be a beautiful white Excursion, leather seats and all. Very nice! Rick was in love – with the car, not Jim. Jim was great, though. He found out we were from Tennessee and told Jeff Foxworthy “redneck” jokes. I had asked for a grocery stop and when I realized we were approaching Disney property, I asked Jim if we were going to get to stop. He said no one told him anything about it. We said that was okay and maybe he could make it up to us and pick us up next Saturday in a limo.

We arrived at All-Star Sports about 11:30. Bell services loaded our luggage on a cart and gave us a ticket. Jim said he would see us next Saturday at 2:00. The line was very short to check in and of course, our rooms weren’t ready.

We went to the food court to get some lunch. Shauna had a Philly cheesesteak, fries and a coke. Marcus had macaroni & cheese and I had a kid’s pasta meal. The total was $ 33.71 including a refillable mug for Marcus. I had brought two mugs from our previous trip. Shauna and I used the old mugs all week and no one ever said anything to us.

After eating we alternated between the pool, the playground and the arcade until our rooms were finally ready a little after 4:00. When we stayed here in 1999, we were in one of the tennis buildings and the only thing we were close to was the parking lot. This time we were in Touchdown Building 10, Room 0310 and Tammy & Rick were in Room 0309 (right under the Gators pennant – yuck!). We were very close to the main building, bus stop and the baseball pool. I had faxed a request asking for either this building or one of the baseball buildings and adjoining rooms. After seeing the baseball buildings, I am glad we didn’t get one of them. They have these huge racks of spotlights on top of each building and I don’t know what time or if they even did turn them off at night. I guess they are to illuminate the pool area but I couldn’t imagine trying to sleep with all that light outside.

The rooms are on the small side but they were fine for the three of us. I think it would be really crowded with four, though. The dresser is pretty good-sized with six drawers – two for each of us. The bathroom and vanity area is really small. There was an iron and ironing board in the room. This must be something new because I don’t think there was one when we stayed here in 1999.

After unpacking and resting for a very short while, we were on a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Tonight was the only night during our stay that Spectromagic would be running and I wanted the others to see it. The crowds were already lining up for the 8:00 parade and we fought our way to Tomorrowland. Went straight to Buzz Lightyear to get a FastPass and then went to Cosmic Rays to eat. Shauna had the Philly cheesesteak (do you see a pattern forming here?), vegetable soup, Coke and a Nestle Toll House Cookie Ice Cream. I had the Stack Sandwich (very good), vegetable soup, coke and the Ice Cream Cookie. We used vouchers for these. Marcus had a grilled cheese which took forever and turned out to be two pieces of melted cheese on a hamburger bun and a Coke. His meal came to $7.76 including tax (and he didn’t even get fries).

We waddled out and rode Buzz Lightyear with our FastPasses. This was the first time we had ridden this ride. It turned out to be a favorite. I got a measly 2500, Marcus had 11,800 and Shauna had 32,400. We were standing in the store looking at our pictures and Shauna felt somebody playing with her Eeyore belly button ring. She thought it was Joshua but finally looked down and it was some other little boy. We all thought it was funny but she was not amused.

After Buzz, we got in the standby line for Space Mountain. Marcus kept saying he wasn’t going to ride but being the “bad mother” that I am, I made him ride it anyway with the understanding that if he rode it, he could chicken out on one ride later in the week. When we got off the ride, he yelled, “Awesome! Let’s go ride it again!”

We then made our way to the circle on Main Street to watch the 10:00 parade. I thought the second parade was supposed to be less crowded. But it was still wall to wall people. Or maybe everyone was just trying to crowd into the front of the park like us. The parade was as good as ever. We made the first bus back to ASSR. I filled our mugs and got some Nesquik for Marcus and some moleskin for Shauna from the Gift shop. Total was $ 6.73. We were in bed by 11:50. Wow, I’ve been up for 20 hours straight.

SUNDAY, September 28, 2003

PLAN: Epcot, Dinner at Rose & Crown – 7:30

ACTUAL: Wakeup call at 7:12. Shauna answered and it was Mickey! Left the room at 8:15 and got to EPCOT before rope drop. Bag check was quick and we went to rent a stroller for Joshua. The photographers were taking pictures at the front of the park. We had one made of all of us and then one of the three kids. This must be a new way for Disney to make money. At every park as soon as you enter, there they are wanting to take your picture which you can buy later.

Got FastPasses for Test Track with return time of 9:51. The standby line was only 20 minutes so we jumped in line. While we were waiting, the ride was broken down for several minutes but we decided to wait. This is a great ride and was Joshua’s favorite. By the time we finished our first ride, it was time for our FastPasses. So we walked straight on through the FP line. This picture turned out better than the first one so Tammy bought it. The total was $ 13.80 for one 5 x 7 and we had it sent to the hotel.

It was 10:30 and we were starting to get hungry since we hadn’t eaten any breakfast. Stopped at the Electric Umbrella and had to wait a few minutes for them to start serving lunch. Shauna ordered a double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a Coke and Marcus had macaroni and cheese (can you see another pattern forming here?) and Nesquik. Just a note here, chocolate milk is the only thing Marcus ever drinks. Once in awhile, he’ll drink iced tea but that’s it. I ate one of the patties off of Shauna’s cheeseburger and some stuff off the topping bar. The total was $ 15.62.

On our way to the other side of Future World, we stopped by Ice Station Cool. Wow, that Beverly is really nasty. Tammy got Rick to try it. The look on his face was great. I liked the Vegi-Beta best and Tammy liked the Watermelon and the Kinley Lemon. I think the Kinley tastes like Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine.

We went to get FastPasses for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience but there was no wait and we walked right in. Joshua didn’t like the snake but everyone else liked this movie.

We then went to the Land and saw Circle of Life. I had never seen it. The scenes at the beginning are breathtaking and I just love the music from the Lion King movie. I told the kids I want the Lion King soundtrack for Christmas. The standby line for Living with the Land was only 15 minutes so we got in line for that. Actual wait was about 8 minutes. Rick and Tammy really enjoyed this and talked about how much Tammy’s dad would like it. (He’s into gardening.) We browsed in the Green Thumb Emporium and Shauna bought a stuffed Eeyore with her money. Total was $ 8.52.

None of us had ever seen Food Rocks and the wait was only a couple of minutes so we decided to do it. It was a very cute show. The Refrigerator Police were my favorite. I know the music went right over the kid’s heads but us “old” folks enjoyed hearing the old tunes even though the words were different.

We moved on to the Living Seas. I find this attraction very boring but the kids love the aquariums. Shauna wanted to see the dolphins but we didn’t find any.

After this we were through in Future World and headed for World Showcase. We started in Mexico and decided to get pressed pennies from each country and a picture of the kids wearing different hats. We rode the boat ride and then I took the kids to make a picture of them in hats. I was trying to get Marcus to wear the fancy black one with gold and silver trim and I heard this lady laughing and telling her husband to look. I turned around and Joshua had put a huge pink sombrero on. All you could see was this little body and the sombrero. Marcus and Joshua started their masks here and Marcus bought a Jacob’s Ladder toy with his money. Total was $ 3.73.

Rick bought a margarita and we moved on to Norway. The only hats we could find here were sort of like toboggans and the boys didn’t want to put them on. We finally got a picture but the pressed penny machine was broken. Marcus and Joshua got their masks stamped and Shauna traded for a Tigger pin. We rode Maelstrom with about a 5 minute wait and then stopped in the Kringla Bakerie. Marcus and I split a pretzel. Total was $ 3.19. Tammy and Shauna split an almond pretzel and Rick had the Lefsa.

After our snack, we headed to China. The kids got their masks stamped and then it started raining. Out came the $ .87 Wal-Mart ponchos and we made our way to Germany. The kids got their masks stamped and got pressed pennies. Then I took Joshua and Marcus to look at the train display while Tammy & Rick browsed some. Joshua’s favorite thing is trains and he would have stayed here all day.

We browsed through Italy and the US and got the pressed pennies and got the masks stamped. I also bought Marcus a wider lanyard for his pins. I had bought him a very narrow one at the Dollar Store and it kept getting twisted. Parents be forewarned, if your kids are going to trade pins, make sure they are going to wear the lanyard. I ended up wearing Marcus’ and it was not very comfortable. Shauna had stuck her pins on her purse strap and then Tammy did the same with Joshua’s.

In Japan, the kids got their masks stamped and we bought Kaki Goris. Shauna and Marcus each got the Rainbow – Total for two was $ 4.50. I got to finish off Marcus’. Yum! We browsed our way through the Mitsukoshi store and watched the “pearl thing”. I don’t know what the CM at the pearls had for breakfast but I wish I had some. She was way overdoing the friendly thing. We asked where the pressed penny machine was and another CM told us that it was back at the beginning of World Showcase next to Mexico. Ok, that makes sense. Why didn’t I think of that?

In Morocco, we did the mask and penny thing. While we were at the penny machine, Rick happened to look into another room and there was Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie. Marcus got his T-shirt and Timothy’s hat autographed and then we got a picture. The Genie was a real hoot. In Joshua’s picture, I swear his head is lying right on Jasmine’s “chest”. Hmm, wonder if Rick was giving him pointers? The kids got their masks stamped and got pressed pennies in France.

In the United Kingdom, the kids got their masks stamped and then while we were getting the pennies, Tigger and Pooh came out. Tigger laid Marcus’ shirt on Pooh’s head to sign it and then Pooh laid it on Tigger’s head and signed. They signed the hat and we got pictures. The CM said that Eeyore and Piglet would be out next. Eeyore is Shauna’s favorite (remember the belly button ring) so we had to wait for them, too. Got autographs and pictures.

In Canada, we watched a few minutes of Off Kilter. Wow, they are really good. The kids got their masks stamped and we got a picture of the boys in coonskin caps. Joshua bought one of the coonskin caps. We then watched most of the next set of Off Kilter. Shauna moved up close to get a picture and Jamie gave her a thumbs up.

We checked in at 7:20 for our 7:30 PS at Rose and Crown and asked for a patio table. Waited about 10 minutes and then got seated inside. The CM who seated us said that our server would show us where we could watch Illuminations later. Becca was our server and she was great. I love to listen to the English accents. I had the English Pie Sampler and water. Shauna had the Bangers and Mash and Coke. Marcus had the kid’s Roasted Chicken and Tea. Rick had the Imperial Sampler (five different kinds of ale), steak and prawns and water. Tammy had salmon and tea. Joshua had the kid’s pasta and Sprite. You should have seen the look on Shauna’s face when they brought out the Bangers and Mash. I won’t go into detail but we did get pics to embarrass her later. Joshua also got a picture of Becca, our server and I think it embarrassed her a little. He was playing with Shauna’s camera and she told Tammy it was okay because she had turned it off. Then Joshua snapped Becca’s picture and Shauna said, “Okay, I just thought I turned it off.” I think it embarrassed Becca a little bit.

By the time we finished eating, it was almost time for Illuminations and Becca told us to leave our stuff and come outside. She took us down to the edge of the patio. We had a very good view as we were right at the wall along the edge of the lagoon. And Joshua had the best view of all – on top of Rick’s shoulders. Tammy and Rick were really impressed with the show. After going back inside, we decided to have dessert and let most of the crowd get out. Shauna and I split the Apple Crumble, Rick had the Sticky Pudding and Tammy had the Crème Brulee’. We all sampled each other’s desserts and Tammy declared hers to be the best. My bill was $ 48.42 plus tip and Tammy’s was about $67.00. Our table was right by the rope that divides the restaurant from the pub and Joshua started playing with the rope. He would open it for people going back and forth. One man tipped him a $ 1.00 as he came back through the second time. Tammy tried to get him to take it back but he was laughing and wouldn’t.

By this time, Tammy and I were getting pretty silly after being up 20 hours yesterday, only seven hours of sleep and then 13 + hours in Epcot today. We had bad cases of the giggles and Shauna disowned us. We laughed and carried on all the way to Future World. I noticed that Rick was staying a good distance away from us, too. Stopped at the Camera Center and bought the picture of the kids that they made when we first came in this morning. I bought the 5 x 7 with 4 wallets. Total was $ 18.06. We got back to ASSR about 11:00 and then realized – Hey, we opened and closed EPCOT. I refilled our mugs and got two bottles of Nesquik and two of the pressed penny books – total was $17.10.

MONDAY – September 29, 2003

PLAN: Animal Kingdom Early Entry, 8:10 PS for Donald’s Breakfastasaurus, 6:20 PS for dinner at Boma

ACTUAL: Arrived at Animal Kingdom about 7:50. We went through the special line for Breakfast PS’s and straight back to breakfast. I had read several bad reviews of this breakfast but we thought it was great. The breakfast pizza was very good. Donald and Goofy came around first. Goofy acted like he got mad when we told him Rick didn’t wear his Goofy hat today. Goofy is Rick’s favorite character. Then Goofy kept tickling Shauna every time he walked by her. Mickey and Pluto came out after that. My bill was about $ 50.00 but I had vouchers for ours that I had bought off EBay.

Went to Primeval Whirl but Joshua wasn’t tall enough to ride. I thought that was pretty crazy. He can ride Space Mountain and Tower of Terror but not Primeval Whirl! Go figure! We rode Triceratops Spin and then Dinosaur. This ride is really, really dark. Browsed in the shop. Marcus bought a pencil and Joshua got one of the laminated cards that hang on a lanyard. Did I mention that Dinosaur was very DARK?

The boys wanted to find the place where you dig (The Boneyard). CM Jim was very friendly. He asked where we were from. Tammy told him Tennessee and he said, “Oh, let me rephrase that. Where ya’ll from?” It was very hard to get the boys out of here. Digging is their favorite pastime (my yard is full of holes). It’s a good thing there weren’t any water hoses around the Boneyard or it would have been full of watering holes.

We finally made our way to the Safari. The standby line was posted at 10 minutes. While we were waiting, there was an announcement that the wildebeest were migrating and there would be a short delay. Actual wait was about 20 minutes. We saw lots of animals – wildebeest, hippos, elephants, lions and more that I can’t remember. I really wanted to see the giraffes on the move but the two we saw were just standing under the trees. After we saved Little Red, we walked the Pangani trail and saw the gorillas.

Joshua got a talking crocodile painted on his face for $ 10.00. Marcus and Shauna got two dill pickles - $ 2.54. I got to finish Shauna’s. They were very salty. We then went to Pizzafari and got two of the kid’s meal plus vouchers. Shauna and Marcus got the kid’s cheese pizzas with drinks and I got an extra Coke. Total was $ 14.88.

We walked into the 1:00 show of Festival of the Lion King. This was another one that I had never seen and it is now my favorite. This show is awesome and should not be missed. The stilt walkers are amazing and I love Timon. He is hilarious. There aren’t really any bad seats in this theater since it is “in the round”. Do not miss this show!

After the Lion King, we walked into It’s Tough to be a Bug. I can’t get over how many rides we have just walked straight on and how short the lines have been. At the end, when the bugs leave the auditorium, Shauna and Tammy had raised their feet because they remembered the mice from Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. All of a sudden, Shauna jumped up and yelled, “What the …..!” It was pretty funny.

After the show, Shauna got a Coke with her meal coupon and Marcus got a strawberry juice bar. Tammy got a chocolate covered banana which resulted in some teasing especially from Shauna. Then we walked on to Kali River Rapids. (I wish we hadn’t.) Rick, Joshua, Marcus and I got soaked. Note: If you go backwards up the big hill, you WILL get soaked. Tammy had brought Joshua some extra shorts and went to change him in the bathroom. She came out mad because she dropped the dry shorts in the toilet. Rick took them and dried them under the hand dryer and put them on him.

Since Joshua likes trains, we rode the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. The kids spent time in the petting area. Rafiki, Pocahontas and Stanley were signing autographs. We got pictures and then rode the train back to Africa just in time to see Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade. This is a really cute parade. Try to see it if time allows. We followed the parade to the front of the park and took a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Hmm, we opened and closed Animal Kingdom today. Is this what they call “commando”?

Our PS at Boma was for 6:20 but we got there about 5:00 and were seated right away. I don’t think any of us were really impressed. The prime rib was very good. Marcus filled up on macaroni and cheese. The dessert bar did make up for the rest of it. The Zebra Domes and the cheesecake thingies were absolute heaven. I even asked our server, Paul, if you could pay a reduced price and just eat off the dessert bar. Sadly, he said no, they couldn’t do that. It was good to try something different but I don’t think it’s something I care about doing again. Total for 4 adults and 2 kids was $123.48 plus tip.

I bought a Pooh & Tigger t-shirt for Timothy at the Zawadi Marketplace – total $15.98. It’s really cute with Pooh looking through a magnifying glass at a real tiger and at the top it says Tigger, Is That You? (Tigger is Timothy’s nickname). I had lost a pin back and the CM (I failed to write down her name) found me an extra one. We took a bus to EPCOT and walked all the way across the parking lot and then realized we were supposed to be on the side we started from. We had to walk all the way back across the lot to catch a bus. And who’s the navigator here?

Got back to ASSR about 7:30. I went to the gift shop and picked up our packages and the free print from the Fairytale Package. How am I going to get that big thing back home? We thought it would be a little 8 x 10, definitely not this big. Refilled my mug and went to the Baseball Pool. The kids were already in the pool. I had just gotten settled in a lounge chair with my book when it started to rain, so we went to our rooms and then I had to go back to the gift shop for baby powder (don’t ask), Doritos and Nesquik. Total was $ 8.17. Tammy picked up her print and dental floss. Shauna went to the food court and got a Philly cheesesteak and fries – total $ 7.13. We refilled our mugs again and then back to the rooms. I worked on my trip notes while Shauna called Andy. Tomorrow is our sleep-in day. Shauna told Andy, “Thank God I can sleep late tomorrow! They’ve gotten me up at the a**-crack of dawn for three days in a row.” In bed by 10:30.

TUESDAY, September 30, 2003

PLAN: Breakfast PS @ Boma – 10:00, Typhoon Lagoon, PS @ Whispering Canyon – 7:30

ACTUAL: I had told Tammy last night that I would probably go start laundry about 9:00 and if I hadn’t heard from her by 9:30 I would wake her up. Well, she woke me up at 9:20 to see if I was ready to do laundry. Went down to the laundry next to the baseball building and loaded up two machines. Cost is $ 2.00 a load to wash and $ 2.00 a load to dry. I had brought laundry tablets and Bounce from home.

While we were doing laundry, Rick and the kids went to the arcade. Marcus already has 1100 tickets and Shauna has about 900. That’s a lot of quarters.

About 1:00, we decided to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then ride the monorail to EPCOT and catch the things we missed on Sunday. Joshua, Tammy, Rick and Shauna got to ride in the front of the monorail. Got to EPCOT about 2:15.

The CM at Spaceship Earth said there was no wait. We decided to go ahead and ride it since this was something I had never done either. It was an okay ride, not something to do every trip. We called my Mom from one of the big “family phones” in the exhibit area. We could all talk to her at once and I don’t think she really knew what was going on when we called her.

There was no wait at Mission: Space so Tammy, Rick and Shauna rode it. I got FastPasses for everybody for Test Track – return time 3:30 and then took the boys to Ice Station Cool to wait for the “astronauts”. While I filled up on Vegi-Beta, Joshua struck up a conversation with a CM from New Jersey. That child will talk to anybody.

Met up with Tammy, Rick and Shauna outside Ice Station Cool. They declared that Mission: Space was great. Watched Kristos perform and got some pictures. This show is amazing. I was in terrible pain just watching them. We rode Test Track with our FastPasses. Marcus bought a Hummer in the gift shop ($12.78) and Joshua got a Test Track playset. We had both items sent back to the hotel and then headed for World Showcase.

Tammy got a ring with Joshua’s name engraved on it at the little cart next to the margarita stand. Marcus got nachos at La Cantina San Angel. Total was $ 7.24. Everyone else wanted Chinese so we went to the Lotus Blossom Café. Shauna got the Shanghai Chicken Bowl and a Coke. I got a Coke and shared the nachos and chicken. Total at Lotus Blossom was $ 11.37.

On the way to Canada, I stopped and got a kiwi margarita but it just wasn’t as good as Rick’s tasted Sunday. In Canada, I bought Off Kilter’s CD, Celtic Armadillo at the Northwest Mercantile ($ 21.30) and got a maple beavertail. While Tammy went in search of a bathroom, the rest of us got seats for Off Kilter’s 5:45 set. They are so good. I was really impressed that whenever the guys saw someone taking a picture they always tried to pose even while they were singing. Shauna got up close to the stage to take pictures and Tammy sent Joshua with her camera. Joshua took one picture of the band and then turned around and started taking pictures of the audience. Everybody was laughing but Tammy was not amused. After the show, I talked Shauna into taking the CD up to the stage and asking the guys to autograph it. She asked Jamie and he put his hands on his hips and said, “NO”. But then he started laughing and reached for the CD. All of them signed the insert and then posed for pictures with the kids. We kept telling Joshua to hurry and he said he wanted his own family picture. Tammy said, “Joshua, Marcus and Shauna are your family. They’re your cousins.” But he still wanted a picture by himself with the band.

We left EPCOT and rode the monorail back to MK. Marcus and I rode up front and got our co-pilot’s license. I gave Joshua mine since the driver this morning didn’t give them one. Caught a launch to the Wilderness Lodge. Wow, this place is beautiful. This is where I want to live.

Checked in at Whispering Canyon Café about 7:20. We finally got seated about 8:00. GRIPE – The CM called “Gouge party of 6” and someone named Oliver jumped up and took our table. I didn’t know what was going on until Shauna came over and told me. I checked and sure enough Oliver’s card was still on the podium and ours was gone. If you’re reading this, I hope your dinner gave you the “runs” – END OF GRIPE.

Debbie was our server and she seemed a little rushed. Otherwise we really enjoyed the atmosphere. Rick got wings and a Coke. Tammy had nachos and tea. Joshua had the kid’s triple decker PB&J with chips and Sprite. I’m not sure how much their bill was. I had the nachos and tea. Shauna had the pork chops (which she said were very good) and Coke and Marcus had macaroni & cheese (duh) and Coke (wow, no Nesquik). My bill was $ 43.07 including tip.

Joshua did the stick pony races and they made all of the little boys come and sing Happy Birthday to a little girl of about 8. We ended up with 14 bottles of ketchup on our table and unloaded them on someone else before we left. Joshua asked CM Jess if he was a real cowboy. Jess told him he was and Joshua wanted to know where his boots were. Jess said he left them at home because he got something on them. Joshua said, “I bet it was horse doo-doo!” Jess made the kids some hats out of napkins and straws. We got pressed pennies and took some pictures in the lobby before catching a bus to Downtown Disney and then another bus to ASSR.

I refilled our mugs and got Marcus a Nesquik. We were in bed by 11:30.

WEDNESDAY, October 1, 2003

PLAN: Breakfast PS @ Kona Café – 9:10, Magic Kingdom

ACTUAL: Wakeup call at 7:30. Honestly, I didn’t go back to sleep but the next time I looked at the clock, it was 8:05. We’re really having a hard time with these breakfast PS’s. Showered and worked on trip notes while everyone else was getting ready.

We got to Magic Kingdom about 10:30. The line for stroller rental was very long but we finally got one and headed for Pecos Bills to get something to eat. Shauna had a cheeseburger, fries, chocolate pie and a Coke. I had the same. Total was $ 29.72 paid for with two meal vouchers. I shared mine with Marcus.

After we ate, we went back to Adventureland and there was no wait for the Tiki Birds. We did that and then rode Magic Carpets and of course the camel spit on us. We walked straight on Pirates of the Caribbean. Browsed in the gift shop and got pressed pennies. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were in the breezeway beside the shop and we got their autographs and pictures.

We got in line for the Jungle Cruise and Marcus got to carry the lanyard that they use to time the lines. The posted time was 5 minutes but we really walked straight on.

I wanted to try the Dole pineapple whips but on our way to the stand, we passed Rafiki and Timon and got their autographs and pictures. Rafiki picked a leaf off a tree and followed Shauna to give it to her. Marcus got a vanilla ice cream and Shauna got a pineapple float. Total was $ 5.95.

We moved to Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion. Again a very short line. About a 5 minute wait. The Madame Leota tombstone is really weird. I saw the hidden Mickey in the dining room. If you want to know where it is, e-mail me. After the ride, Joshua told everyone the ghost was his grandfather who died in the Civil War. We have no idea where he got that.

Moved to Fantasyland. The wait time for Peter Pan’s Flight was posted at 45 minutes so we got FastPasses and got in the standby line for It’s a Small World. Shauna begged us not to make her ride it because the song would be stuck in her head. We told her she could ride or wait by herself. She rode with her hands over her ears. That song is really annoying. Reminds me of a Rodney Carrington CD. He said he didn’t know what Walt Disney was thinking when he came up with that song but he would like to dig him up and beat the crap out of him for it.

After Small World, we rode the Carousel and then walked into the new Mickey’s Philharmagic. Right when we sat down, they announced they were having technical difficulties. Almost everyone left but we decided to stay. After about 5 minutes they were ready to go. This show is really good. I think it was my favorite of the 3D movies. And of course, they have to get the water thing in.

We used our FastPasses to ride Peter Pan’s Flight. This is a really cute ride but there is no way I would ever wait 45 minutes to ride. We then rode Snow White with no wait and got in the standby line for Winnie-the-Pooh. It was posted at 10 minutes but it was more like 30 minutes. This was the only long line we waited in all week. After Pooh, Marcus wanted to ride the Teacups. He and I rode in one cup and Tammy and Joshua in another. Shauna and Rick skipped this ride. They were the smart ones. Tammy and I both declared never again. I kept trying to keep my eyes closed but it didn’t help at all. It must be age creeping up on me, things like that didn’t used to bother me.

We moved on to Tomorrowland and the wait for the Tommorowland Indy Speedway was only 10 minutes. This is the shortest line I have ever seen for this ride. After driving the cars, we made our way to Toontown Fair and rode Goofy’s Barnstormer. When the car braked at the end, Tammy said “Is that it?” That’s exactly the way I felt. Very, very short ride. The kids wanted to see who was in the Toontown Hall of Fame. The line for Cinderella and Perla was very long so we decided to get Minnie Mouse. Also got another picture with Goofy.

The kids wanted to do Splash Mountain but Rick did not want to get wet and he sat out. The ride was a walk-on. I didn’t want to get wet either so I rode in the back and put my head down. Tammy sat on the front right side and she got the wettest. We were all pretty tired so we left the stroller in Frontierland and rode the train back to Main Street and made our way to the bus stop.

Got back to ASSR about 5:00 and stopped in the Gift Shop to pick up our packages from EPCOT. Took those to the room and then back to the Food Court. I had an individual supreme pizza, salad, brownie and a Coke. Total was $ 14.09. Shauna had a Philly cheesesteak, chips, Coke and cheesecake. Total was $ 14.41. We used vouchers for these two meals. Marcus had a kid’s macaroni & cheese and Jello. Total was $ 5.55. Went back to the Gift Shop for Nyquil and Nesquik – total was $ 10.13. Then played in the arcade before going back to the room and in bed by 10:00.

THURSDAY, October 2, 2003

PLAN: MGM, PS at Sci-Fi – 11:05, Fantasmic Dinner PS at Hollywood & Vine – 4:20

ACTUAL: Up at 7:30. At 8:30, I took the kids to the Food Court while Tammy & Rick finished getting ready. We had a muffin, two boxes of cereal, 2 milks and 1 Nesquik – Total was $ 11.18.

We missed one bus to MGM and had to wait for about 15 minutes. Joshua decided we should play Simon Says and he would be Simon. So if you saw a bunch of people hopping around on one foot and clapping their hands at the bus stop, that was us. Finally got to MGM about 9:30 and rented a stroller before making our way down Sunset Boulevard.

Joshua wasn’t tall enough to ride Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, so I sat out with the kids and got FastPasses for Tower of Terror while Tammy & Rick rode. They loved it. Then Shauna and I rode. This is one of my favorite rides. The launch is out of this world. I thought I had lost a contact at the end but it finally moved back around. I let Marcus use his “one free chicken pass” on this ride (remember Space Mountain). We took some pictures in front of the big guitar before going to ride Tower of Terror.

This was all we had heard from Joshua all week – “When are we going to ride Tower of Terror?” But we just about lost him on this one. Rick said the first time the car came back up where it was light enough to see, he looked over and Joshua didn’t look so good. I think it’s pretty cool. After a couple of drops, you can’t even tell if you’re going up or down. This is Marcus’ favorite ride and he bought a T-shirt and a magnet in the gift shop. Total was $ 24.50.

It was time for our PS at Sci-Fi. I had the map and after I took us on a few wrong turns, we finally made it and they were just starting to seat people. I love the theming here. We were in a car that seated six right in front of the screen. I do think they could make it just a little bit lighter. You sit two to a seat and there is a small light in front of each seat. I had to hold my menu down to the light and it was still hard to read it. Again, maybe that could just be age creeping up on me. Marcus had the Space Mush (mac & cheese) and a vanilla shake. Shauna had the All-American burger, fries and a Coke and I had onion rings, a Caesar salad and tea. Total was $ 38.36 plus $ 5.00 tip. Tammy had the Reuben and Diet Coke. Rick had the chili (very good) and Coke and Joshua had a corn dog and Coke. I’m not sure what their total was.

After eating, we looked through the Writer’s Stop and Joshua bought some stickers. Then we went to Muppetvision 3-D. I had never seen this show either. It is very good. Rick said that he may be crazy but he has liked all the 3-D movies. Shauna looked in the gift shop for a Bean Rabbit doll. Andy’s last name is Bean and she wanted to get him one. The CM said they used to have some but they were sold out.

Buzz, Woody and Jessie were in front of Al’s Toy Barn. We got autographs and pictures. Buzz danced with Shauna and then kissed her hand and Jessie kissed Marcus on top of the head. Boy, did he turn red. He still does whenever we tell anybody about it. He told Andy it wasn’t a real kiss because she had plastic lips.

We rode Star Tours with about a 15 minute wait. It was okay – not as rough as some of the reviews I had read. The boys played in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground and then we went to Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I got to #5 on the leader board and then missed a question. We did the Great Movie Ride and when we came out everyone was lining up for the 4:30 parade.

We made our way to Hollywood & Vine for our 4:20 PS. This was an okay meal. Marcus filled up on his usual macaroni & cheese. Rick said the Seafood Pasta was very good. Total for two adults and one child was $ 53.22 plus tip and we got our voucher for reserved seating at Fantasmic.

After eating, we went to the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost. One of the guys I work with wanted some figures. I got him two of the Indiana Jones 3” figures for $ 17.21 total and had them sent back to the hotel. Then we went to the 5:45 show of Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Rob from Memphis was one of the audience members chosen for the show. He was very funny. When the CM asked if anyone else was from Tennessee, we were the only ones in the whole place that cheered. And I guess I was the only one in the whole bunch that still didn’t understand that the guy in the pink shirt was actually a CM and not really from the audience.

Next we did Sounds Dangerous with about a 10 minute wait. This was okay but I wouldn’t care about doing it again. What’s with the water? They always have to get you a little bit wet.

A bunch of characters were out in front of the BAH. We got Chip and Dale’s autograph and pictures and then checked out the pin center under the BAH before working our way down to Oscar’s and the “secret” entrance to Fantasmic.

We were on the end of a row in the Ursula section. I had bought glow sticks at the Dollar Tree before leaving home – six sticks in a pack for $ 1.00 with connectors. So I pulled those out when the boys started wanting the ones they were selling. Then they came around selling drinks with the glo-cubes in them - $ 10.00. Marcus and Joshua both ended up with one and the glo-cubes never worked again after that night. Fantasmic is really amazing but we left as the fireworks started and got the first bus back to ASSR.

The kids got in the baseball pool for awhile. I refilled my mug and sat in a lounge chair to finish the book I had brought with me. Stephanie called on my cell phone and I ended up talking to her for about 30 minutes. We got the kids back to the rooms and in the showers and then Tammy and I went to the pool bar. I had a Home Run Cooler and Tammy had a Strawberry Daiquiri. Total was $ 13.00. We sat at a table by the Surfboard Pool. It was nice to have a few quiet minutes with no kids around. We decided that a pizza sounded good and ordered a large pepperoni – total was $ 16.46. Went to the Gift Shop and I bought a ‘Roo pin for Shauna and Nesquik – total was $ 9.09. Picked up the pizza and took it back to the room.

I called Joe and he said the temperature was supposed to get down to 38 degrees at home tonight. I don’t want to go home! Waah! We were in bed by 12:00. It had been a long day and I think we were getting a little too much “togetherness”.

FRIDAY – October 3, 2003

PLAN: Breakfast PS at Boma – 10:15, Downtown Disney, MNSSHP

ACTUAL: Up at 9:00 – I don’t want to go home tomorrow! Rick and Joshua decided to hang around the hotel while the rest of us went to Downtown Disney. Stopped at the Pin Trading Center in the Marketplace. Tammy found three more of the Dwarf pins that Joshua is trying to collect. I bought Marcus a large Pumbaa pin - $ 6.93. Shauna bought Kanga, Rabbit & Owl to complete her Winnie-the-Pooh characters – total was $ 20.77.

We ate at McDonalds. I had a Big Mac and Vanilla Shake. Marcus had a cheeseburger Happy Meal and Shauna had the two cheeseburger Value Meal. Total was $ 13.81. Shauna’s meal was $ 5.39. Wow, at home that meal is $2.99.

After lunch, we walked to the far end of the WestSide to House of Blues. I bought Stephanie and Daniel each a T-shirt (they were 2/$30.00). Marcus got his dad a bottle of A** in the Tub hot sauce and I got a bottle of Louisiana Cajun Sauce for my boss. (The Cajun sauce didn’t make it home in one piece. It got busted in my suitcase.)

Stopped in the Candy Cauldron and bought taffy and jellybeans. I don’t think I could work in this store. The sweet smell just overpowers you as soon as you walk in the door.

I needed to stop at Planet Hollywood Superstore. Stephanie wanted a shirt from here, too. They had a special if you spent $ 40.00 you got a free Planet Hollywood logo tee. I got Stephanie and Shauna each a shirt and the free one for Marcus. Total was $ 52.14 after a $ 5.00 Entertainment Book coupon.

Then it was time for serious shopping – World of Disney. We spent over an hour just in this store. I bought a Tinkerbell candle for a girl I work with, a Cinderella’s castle magnet for my mom, a Tigger picture frame for Stephanie, a princess bib for Sara, my great-niece and a Buzz Lightyear fork and spoon for Jacob, my other great-nephew. I also got Shauna an Eeyore snowglobe and Marcus got his teacher a Tigger snowglobe – total was $ 71.35. Shauna also bought gifts for some of her friends.

Now Marcus was ready to hit Once Upon a Toy. He went straight to the Tonka toys and picked out a road construction set. The sticker said $ 25.00 but it only rang up $ 10.00. Then we saw the Lincoln Log display – all the Lincoln Logs you can fit in the box for $ 16.00. We filled up one box but the CM said it was too full and that the box had to close flat. We started all over and finally got one that a different CM let us keep. I could kick my own butt for not getting three or four boxes. Oh well, I’ll just have to go back soon.

Shauna stopped in the Rainforest Café and got her friend a T-shirt and we looked in the Christmas Store before heading for the bus stop. Got back to ASSR about 3:45. Rick and Joshua were in the gift shop. Rick said that 2 CM’s – 1 from Laos and 1 from Puerto Rico- were talking to Joshua and gave him a pin.

We left ASSR about 6:20 for MK and MNSSHP. I thought we could use the meal vouchers at Captain Cooks at the Poly so we hopped on the resort monorail. After we got off at the Poly, I realized we couldn’t use them there but we still looked around the resort. I agree with Robin Goble, it is beautiful and I would love to stay here someday.

We got back to the MK a few minutes after 7:00 and they were giving out free strollers for the night. Yay! We went straight to Cosmic Ray’s to eat. Shauna had a bacon cheeseburger, fries, ice cream cookie and Coke - $ 12.21. I had the Philly cheesesteak, fries, ice cream cookie and Coke - $ 14.34. We used vouchers for these. Marcus had a hot dog and Coke - $ 6.16. There was a guy sitting in the floor at Cosmic Ray’s making balloon animals and Joshua asked for a Schnauzer but got a Dalmation instead.

We went to Buzz Lightyear and rode three times in a row with absolutely no wait. I really suck at this game. I only broke 10,000 one time out of all the times we rode it this week. Tammy and Rick were way up in the 100,000 range.

We wanted to ride Space Mountain but it was down so I told Tammy, Rick and Shauna to go ride Alien Encounter and I took the boys on Tommorowland Transit Authority. We rode it twice and Joshua wanted to go again but I saw Rick sitting by the stroller. I was carrying Joshua down the “moving platform” and he was hanging over my shoulder telling the people behind us “no walking on the moving platform, no walking on the moving platform”. Tammy and Shauna kept trying to get me to go back and do Alien Encounter with them. But I wasn’t about to. They later admitted that they were both screaming like babies and just wanted to get me on there and scare me, too.

We went to Liberty Square to do the Haunted Mansion. 5 minute wait. Joshua and Rick didn’t ride. I kept scaring Tammy and Shauna. I reached up and tapped on the back of their doom buggy and Tammy thought it was tearing up. After the ride, we watched the parade from Liberty Square. I wanted to see the Headless Horseman but either we missed him or he never came through. The parade was really cute, though.

After the parade, we went to Splash Mountain. We rode it twice in a row with no wait. It is really pretty after dark. When you come to the drop, you can see all the lights all over the park. If you’ve never ridden it, try to ride it first during the day to get the suspense out of the way. Then ride it again at night. It’s a whole different experience. You could tell it was a really slow night. As we went through the Gift Shop after the ride, about five or six CM’s were lined up on both sides giving us High Fives as we went by. Rick never did get wet. We put him in the front and then in the back and he still didn’t get wet.

Went back toward Tomorrowland and the Pooh characters were in Fantasyland. Shauna got her picture made with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. We still had about 15 minutes before closing and managed to get two more rides in on Buzz Lightyear before the party was over. Back to ASSR and in bed by 1:30.

SATURDAY – October 4, 2003

PLAN: Each to his own, Jim picks us up at 2:00, flight leaves at 4:10

ACTUAL: Wake up call at 8:00. Shauna said she was sleeping in and Tammy and Rick were going to Downtown Disney. I wanted to play Who Wants to be A Millionaire some more so Marcus and I got to MGM about 8:50. Marcus bought some pins under the BAH – an Arkansas state pin with Pumbaa on it, a Timon and a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad pin to trade to Joshua for a Pumbaa one. Total was $ 22.37. Marcus ended up with eight Pumbaa pins and one Timon. Shauna ended up with all the different characters from Winnie-the-Pooh.

Shauna wanted me to get Andy a beer mug from Rock ‘n Roller Coaster so we made our way down Sunset Boulevard. The mug was $ 14.91 with tax. I tried to talk Marcus into riding RNRC with me, but he gave me a sly look and said, “I thought you wanted to play Millionaire.”

We found out the first show of Millionaire wasn’t until 11:25 and decided not to chance it since we needed to be back at the hotel by 12:30 at the latest. We waited for about 10 minutes at the bus stop and then a CM in a van came and said he would take us. He had to stop at Downtown Disney Westside first to let a lady and two kids off. They were going to DisneyQuest and Marcus said he wanted to try it out. We got off there, too and guess what? It’s 10:30 and DisneyQuest doesn’t open until 11:30. Had to walk to Pleasure Island to the bus stop and got back to ASSR about 10:50. It is very hot today. We put our jeans on this morning because we know it’s going to be cool when we get home tonight.

Shauna was just getting out of the shower when we got back to the room. After she got dressed, we went down to the food court. Shauna had a bacon cheeseburger, fries, cheesecake and a Coke ($ 12.49). Marcus had a cheese pizza, salad, Jello and a Coke ($ 11.41). I had stuffed shells, breadsticks, fruit and a Coke ($ 13.97). We used three of the vouchers for these.

After eating, I went to the lobby and checked us out. Then we went back to the room and got our luggage together. All the bags are packed full. We went back to the arcade. Shauna has been trying to get 3000 tickets to get Andy a lava lamp shaped like a football. I finally put some quarters in the Color-Ama game and won enough tickets for her to get it. Now I can give the beer mug to Joe.

I stopped in the gift shop and got myself a Tinkerbell keychain, a scrapbook kit and a monorail pin for Timothy. Total was $ 23.52. Marcus got his stepmom a keychain - $ 6.42. Tammy and Rick were still shopping so we went out front and there was Jim with a beautiful white stretch limo. Of course, we had to take pictures otherwise no one at home would believe us.

Joshua came out the door and said, “Now that’s what I call a limo!” We finally loaded up and were on our way. Joshua kept calling Jim, “Mr. Limo”. We got to MCO about 2:30 and checked our luggage at the curb. YourRide worked really well for us and we will definitely use them again.

Made bathroom stops and got some magazines before heading to the security line about 3:30. The girl at the security check pulled Shauna’s backpack out and ran it back through the x-ray machine. I could see her looking around for another security person. He came over and picked up Shauna’s backpack and asked whose it was. We had to go over to another table and he opened it and started going through it. The football lamp must have looked odd on the x-ray. He took it out of the box and everything before he let us go. That lamp has been a lot of trouble. I hope Andy likes it.

Our flight left on time and landed in Atlanta early but there was a plane at the gate that we were supposed to pull into. While we were sitting on the tarmac waiting, Shauna’s cell phone beeped. This was about 5:30. It was Shoney’s (that’s where she works). She used my phone to call them back and Danielle asked her if she could come into work. Shauna said, “We just landed in ATLANTA!” and Danielle asked her if she could be there by 10:00. Wow, that’s even worse than my boss – I have to be at work at 9:00 tomorrow morning. We finally pulled around to another gate to unload.

Our flight for TRI left on time and was not even half full. Andy, Stephanie, Daniel, Timothy, Tarah and Jacob and Daniel’s cousin, Keith were all there waiting for us.

Loaded up the luggage and we were on our way home. I have gotten spoiled. I wanted somebody to drive me home, but I had to drive.

We got home about 8:30 and Tammy called to ask me if I ended up with their duffel bag which I didn’t. Rick called the airport and sure enough, we had left it sitting on the curb. So he had to make a trip back to the airport. They were just glad somebody had turned it into security.

I unpacked, did two loads of laundry and watched Tennessee get beat by Auburn before heading to bed about 11:00. I want to go back! When can I go back?

CONCLUSIONS

This was the perfect time of year to go. The crowds were minimal. No lines. Almost all of the rides were walk-ons. The only wait over 15 minutes was for Winnie-the-Pooh.

The weather was great. It was hot but I’m sure it’s much hotter in July and August. The only rain we got was the day we arrived while we were waiting for our room and again on Sunday afternoon while we were at EPCOT.

All-Star Sports worked out great for us. The rooms were small but there was just three of us in the room and we weren’t in it that much anyway. I would love to stay at the Wilderness Lodge or the Polynesian but unless I win the lottery or someone else is paying I’d rather save the extra money to spend for food and souvenirs.

It was kind of aggravating to not have a car. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t have any problems with Disney transportation. We never had to wait more than just a few minutes for a bus. The only rough part was having to make two transfers to get back to the hotel when we ate at another hotel. Next time I may rent a car if I can get one as cheap as what we paid for YourRide to pick us up.

Meals - The vouchers weren’t really worth it. You get a lot of food with them and we usually couldn’t eat it all. They might work if you order a meal and share with someone else. I probably broke even with the Breakfast Vouchers. Our bill at Donald’s Breakfastasaurus was $49.97 without tax and tip. I paid $52.00 for the vouchers. Our favorite restaurant was Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. But my favorite food was the dessert bar at Boma. Cosmic Ray’s was pretty good for fast food and the food court at All-Star Sports was okay, too.

My favorite new thing (that I had never done before) was a tossup between Buzz Lightyear and the Festival of the Lion King. But my favorite ride is Rock ‘n Roller Coaster. Marcus’ favorites were Tower of Terror and Test Track and Shauna’s fave was Festival of the Lion King.

All in all, it was a great trip and we are ready to go back probably in 2005. Maybe we can round up some more rookies to take with us.

THINGS TO DO NEXT TIME

UNIVERSE OF ENERGY – I’ve never done this one
MISSION: SPACE – I missed it this time but Tammy, Rick and Shauna said it was great
TARZAN ROCKS – It was closed the day we went to Animal Kingdom
MAGIC MOMENTS & STARS AND MOTORCARS PARADES – We managed to miss these somehow
BREAKFAST AT BOMA – I made two PS’s just in case we missed the first one and we ended up missing both of them
CHEF MICKEY’S & ‘OHANA – I would like to try both of these
Kim Gouge