Janice O'Hanley - October 2003 - Caribbean Beach Resort

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: CBR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group:Infrequent, Veteran
Comments: It has been a long time since Janice and her sister had gone on a trip together and they figured it was time. Using some of her cast member benefits put a trip to Disney World within reach of the two and their oldest daughters. There was some frustration when the FCC decided that the air was too crowded with planes, but as always (almost), it was a wonderful trip in the end.


Janice O'Hanley -- October 2003 -- Walt Disney World (CBR)

Janice has written three previous trip reports:

August 2002
March 2003
June 2003
Sister and Cousins First WDW Trip Together – October 16th through October 21st, 2003

Cast

Janice – 48, Author of trip report, Disney Store Cast Member, Lover of Disney
Joyce – 45, Sister, Enjoying Disney more and more
Michelle – 25, Daughter, Likes Disney but not as much as Mom.
Stacey – 23, Niece, Loves, Florida, sunshine and enjoys thrill rides.
Preparation before our trip
This trip has been planned for about a year. My sister and I haven’t been on vacation together since our kids were very young and we went as a group out to San Diego for my cousins’ wedding. We decided to go together with our oldest (both girls and around the same age). I wanted to take my sister to show her how I have a great time in Disney World. She was very excited and wanted to experience it through my eyes and since I’m a Disney Store Cast Member, it would be even more enjoyable. In January I called CRO and booked a room at the Caribbean Beach Resort. I’ve never stayed there before and have heard such great things about it that I was anxious to experience this resort. We got a decent flight on American out of Boston. My mom had miles so she offered them to my sister for a free flight. So our hotel and airfare were settled and as soon as I heard when the tickets for the Halloween Party were on sale I got those too.

So on Oct. 13th I sent my faxed request to the resort asking, if at all possible, to stay in the Martinique building. I really wanted to be close to the food court and this building was highly recommended.

Last on my list of important calls was to reconfirm my flights. Well good thing I did this, because this almost became a nightmare! I called two days before my trip and found out that the FCC had canceled my outgoing flight due to the fact that they had too many planes in the air at that time?? They said that they had tried calling me to change things but couldn’t get through. Well I never received a single phone call. They then told me that I had called them on a certain date in September and that I changed my flight. No way did I do that! I haven’t talked to the airlines since my original phone call back in January. They insisted that the call was made and that it was in their computer system. I couldn’t believe this! They were saying that my new flights weren’t leaving until 3 PM that day and after a transfer to Miami, I would finally land in Orlando at 8 PM. My original flights had us leaving at 10 AM, flying straight through and landing in Orlando at around 2 PM. I did not like this and neither did my sister. She called up again and got a supervisor (who told her that my phone number was different in their computer, so maybe that’s why I didn’t get any phone calls about the change. I believe that the person in charge of calling me just gave up and changed the flights saying that I ok’ed it to get themselves off the hook) who had our flights changed again so that we left Boston at 7 AM going to LGA in NYC and then fly out of there around 9 AM to Orlando and arrive around 1 PM. This sounded fine with us and we prepared for our earlier flight.

Thursday, October 16, 2003
I decided to stay over my sister’s house the night before so that we could all drive in together. We got up around 4 AM and were ready to leave in about 30 mins. There wasn’t much traffic to get to the airport. My sister had passes for free parking but once we got into the airport parking garage we realized that the passes were for an outside parking facility with a shuttle to the terminals. Oh well, I was already in the garage and I didn’t want to waste too much time looking for this parking facility outside of the airport so I decided to put the parking fee on my charge and my sister and I would split it. We parked close to the elevators that would take us to the terminal for ticketing and gates. (This parking space would be a blessing when we returned home which I’ll describe later in this report.)

The line at the counter wasn’t too long and before long we were heading towards security. Michelle had on clogs, thinking that they would be easy to slip off if she had to and she needed to because her clogs had some piece of metal in the toe and she had to go thru the wand procedure. It didn’t take too long and we were off to our gate and boarded our plane shortly after that. This flight was quick and painless. It was a little funny because Stacey sat by herself and hoped to have the seat next to her empty. Not to be. At the last minute a strange looking guy came and sat next to her and she made a face and we all just starting laughing. Joyce had a hard time controlling her giggles. It took about 5 minutes at least for us to settle down.

I think we were all so giddy from lack of sleep. Before we knew it we landed and headed over to the other gate for our 9 AM take-off for Orlando. We boarded the plane and sat and waited for over an hour at the gate because they had to fix something on the right landing gear. I’m all for fixing problems like these but wouldn’t you think that this would have been taken care of before loading the plane? If there was a problem with the landing gear, I’m sure they would have noticed it when it landed from the previous trip. So we are an hour behind our plans but still better off than 8 PM arrival that they wanted us to have.

Finally we landed in Orlando and by the time we got over to baggage claim, it was within minutes that our bags came out. We hopped over to Mears (I had a $3.00 off coupon good for each traveler) and we waited maybe about 15 – 20 minutes for our Mears shuttle to come. It was so nice to be out in the beautiful warm sun with short sleeves on. (Someday I will move down here because I’m not a winter person and I hate the cold. I’d rather be too hot than too cold.) We found out that our resort was going to be the first to be dropped off. A father and a 4 yr. old little girl sat next to me in the van. She was so cute and smart. She had just completed her first year of Spanish and knew so many words in that language. We were all amazed because of her age. I gave her a pen with Belle on it that I had in my purse. Shortly we were at our destination, the Custom House and a bell captain was taking our luggage and holding it until we checked in. We were in line for about 15 minutes. I was hoping that my request for Martinique would be met. When we got to a Cast Member, she let us know that our building was number 24 in Martinique, room 2411 on the first level. This seemed perfect, a short distance to the food court, bus stop and the small pool.

I love the colorful buildings and rooms. I thought the set up in the room was fine for our needs. The curtained-off sink area worked great for the early risers. We quickly changed into shorts and headed straight to the food court to get lunch (we were starving) and our refillable mugs. I got the chicken strips with fries and they were the best I’ve had in a long while. After lunch we just walked around the resort, exploring the area and then relaxing on the beach on the lounge chairs and hammocks. We had no real plans for the parks today, just wanted to enjoy the resort. We were thinking about going to Pleasure Island in the evening but that plan changed when we decided to watch the baseball play-off game between the Red Sox and the Yankees (game 7). We walked over to the Banana Cabana for Pina Coladas and watched some of the game from there. Also saw the fireworks from Epcot. You can only see some of the display at the beach and it was nice to see every night at 9 PM. Since the game went into extra innings and it ended late (with the Sox losing – boo hoo!), we never ended up going to Pleasure Island. Maybe tomorrow night. By midnight, we were really exhausted. It had been a really long day so we made plans for Animal Kingdom for the next day and then headed to bed.

Friday – October 17, 2003
So I figured we would go to Animal Kingdom for half a day then head over to Epcot for our priority seating at Restaurant Marrakesh for 3:15 PM. A very late lunch for us today. We planned on getting to AK for early entry but didn’t make it until about 8:50 AM. While on the way to the park on the bus my sister, who is very jumpy and doesn’t care for thrill rides, saw something on the floor of the bus around her feet and she thought it was some kind of insect. She screamed so loud and made the whole bus jump. It turned out to be an acorn rolling around the floor. She felt so embarrassed but everyone just got a big laugh out of it. We teased her all weekend long about the acorns.

After entering the park we headed towards the Dinosaur ride. I wasn’t sure if Joyce would even go on this ride but we described what the ride was like and she said she would try it. At this time of the day the attraction was a walk on and we boarded our jeep in a matter of minutes. Surprisingly enough Joyce really enjoyed the ride and Stacey liked it too. This was a great start to our park touring. We headed over to the Primeval Whirl ride. Michelle, Stacey and I decided to ride this and Joyce just looked on. She wasn’t too sure about this one. (My sister use to get dizzy from "Ring around the Rosie" when we were little, so she is very apprehensive about any motion rides.) When we got off, Joyce asked how it was and we told her that to us it was very mild but a lot of fun. Well she decided to try it. She was getting more daring than I’ve ever seen before. So all four of us got into a car and when she saw the little hill that the car goes down, she had second thoughts. Too late now, she would have to bite the bullet and get through the ride. Afterwards she wished that she had begged off but still thought that it wasn’t too bad. We are letting her make her own decisions as to whether or not she wants to try the rides. I remember one time when I was around 16 and she was 13 and we went to the amusement park with two of our boy cousins. My cousins and I tricked my sister into riding a small roller coaster, saying that everyone had to have a partner to ride. She felt guilty and reluctantly rode with my cousin. Boy was she mad when she found out that what we said wasn’t true. She has never gone on a roller coaster ever again since then.

At this time we decided to head over to the Tusker House for some breakfast. The park was getting quite busy and the villages were wall-to-wall people and hard to walk through. Stacey and Michelle were getting anxious to park hop but wanted to do one more thing – It’s Tough To Be A Bug. On our way back to this show I saw DeVine and my sister and niece were amazed to see her. I took a few more pictures and ended up getting an awesome pic of her face close up. I try to find her almost every time I come to this park. She is one of the little Disney magic that I love.

Onto ITTBAB and the line for this was very long and it took us at least 15 mins. before we reached the lobby of the show. This would be another first for Joyce and Stacey. We sat in the second row and I don’t think that the 3-D effect is as clear from this point of view. Other than that, Joyce and Stacey reacted to the interactive features and it was very funny.

The girls decided to head over to Epcot and we would meet them after we saw the Festival of the Lion King. This was my first time seeing the show since they did the rehab and enclosed it. Joyce enjoyed this show very much. Time for us to head over to Epcot to meet Michelle and Stacey. Michelle had taken Stacey into Ice Cool Station and had her try the Beverly drink. I got the impression that she made quite the face. When we met them we headed towards Test Track but at this time the stand by line was already 60 mins. and the fast passes were set for late in the evening and we didn’t think that we would be in the park tonight. We planned on coming back a couple of times to Epcot over the next few days, so I’m sure we will get a ride on Test Track eventually.

We decided to head over to Mission Space. Now Michelle and I have ridden this two times before last month and loved it. But I admit it’s not for everyone. Stacey couldn’t wait to try it and Joyce was back and forth, deciding whether or not if she should ride it. She really wanted to experience it but was a bit scared. Well Michelle and I explained to her everything that happens and what she might feel afterwards, including possible nausea and lightheadedness. Well she made the decision to try it. When you walk through the queue, there are plenty of warnings to give you a chance to bow out. Well she didn’t chicken out and she probably should have. She did say that she was glad she did it and liked it but just felt really funny for a long while afterwards. I think this finally convinced her to take the rest of the trip a little easier. I am so glad that I have a stronger stomach for thrill rides. I hope to keep riding them for the rest of my life. They keep me young! BTW, Stacey loved it and hoped to get the chance to ride it again before we leave WDW.

We slowly walked over to the World Showcase and onto Morocco for our priority seating. We were a little early but had no problem getting seated right away. Joyce thought that once she had some water and something to eat she would feel better. Well this was the best thing we did so far. The meal was fantastic!

Stacey got the Lemon Chicken w/couscous and the rest of us had Roast Lamb w/rice pilaf. Michelle and I also ordered the Moroccan Mint Ice Tea. Very refreshing! We wished that our meal was never ending, it was so delicious. While we were eating the belly dancer came out to perform and she was fun to watch. We also decided to share two crepe desserts. Ours was the Crepes Atlas that consisted of apples and ice cream and almond slivers. It was so good!

After that marvelous meal, feeling very full, we decided we needed to walk it off a little. We headed past more countries and during our walk I spotted my fellow cast member from the store, Kerry with her granddaughter Madyson. They were staying at the Boardwalk Inn and Kerry and Maddie were in the need of an afternoon stroll. We chatted for a few minutes and exchanged room numbers in case we wanted to get in touch with each during the rest of our trip. We then kept on walking and eventually stopped in France and watched the show that was going on. A pantomime and a guy balancing himself on top of a tower of chairs. I wish we had seen it from the beginning but what we saw was quite enjoyable. Over the International bridge we traveled and through the United Kingdom and Canada areas. Back into Future World and we went into Mouse Gears to get ideas and maybe buy something. After that we headed over to the Living Seas. Michelle wanted to buy something from their gift shop for a friend who works as an intern at the New England Aquarium. We ended up going thru the aquarium and got a chance to watch the Manatees for a while. There was one that had a really damaged tail and I felt so bad for it. They really seem to have so much intelligence and seemed to react to us by waving to us. Who knows if that is what was really happening but it was fun to think that that was the case. We did see the diver demonstration, which was interesting and then decided to head out of the park since it was around 5:30 PM.

We headed back to our resort and knowing from reading the schedules before I left, that tonight there was going to be a 7:30 PM SpectroMagic Parade at the Magic Kingdom. Tomorrow night there was going to be two more parades but I figured the MK might be busier for this so I was determined to go see it tonight, even if I went by myself. Also I had planned on seeing Fantasmic tomorrow night at MGM, so tonight really was my only chance. When we got back I announced my decision and Joyce said that she wanted to come with me. I wanted to know if she was still planning on going to Pleasure Island later tonight and she said she was and was willing to "go the distance". Michelle was done for the night and Stacey was resting before going to PI with us. Joyce and I quickly changed into jeans and headed directly to the bus stop. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a Magic Kingdom bus, so we ended up getting there about 7:10 PM. Already the parade route was packed. I noticed when we entered the park that a sign was up stating that they have added another parade and that the park closing time was 11 PM instead of 10 PM. I didn’t think we were going to get a decent spot for viewing but after going up top of the railroad station, Joyce saw a spot in front of a trash container and we headed down towards it. Sure enough we were able to sit on the curb but not next to each other. I really wanted Joyce to see this parade so I sat behind her and could still see just fine. It was located directly across from the railroad station, a very good view. The parade did not disappoint us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I was planning on going back to the resort but surprisingly enough Joyce wanted to stay a little while longer. We thought we would stay until 9 – 9:15 PM and be able to go out to PI for about 10:30 PM. We headed into Tomorrowland and got on the TTA (People Mover) for a relaxing ride above Tomorrowland. After this we headed into the Carousel of Progress. Another first for Joyce and it has been a long time for me since I’ve seen this. It seems that it hasn’t been open during my last 4 visits and I was anxious to see it again. Once we finished this attraction, it was close to 9 PM, so we decided to head back knowing full well that getting a bus could take a little while.

When we got back, Stacey was all ready to go. Joyce and I took a little bit of time to get ready and then we were off for Pleasure Island. We didn’t have to wait too long for a Downtown Disney bus but it seemed to take the "long" way to our destination. Finally got dropped off at PI and got our wristbands. Our first stop was 8-Traks. This is probably my favorite club here in Pleasure Island. We entered the club and headed straight for the dance floor. Stayed for about 45 minutes, a little tired and hot. We walked down towards the Beach Club and climbed the steps into the club. We stayed upstairs and just sat and watched the people on the dance floor. There must have been a bachelorette party going on (a girl with a white veil on gave us the clue). They were dancing and doing some strange moves that even Stacey thought were weird. After about 20 minutes we headed out of the club and over towards Mannequins. They checked our i.d.’s (no matter how old you are this club always checks) and we went in by means of the elevator up to the second floor. We headed directly downstairs and gently headed onto the dance floor. If you’ve never been to this club, I have to tell you that the dance floor isn’t typical. It is a revolving floor and it feels like you are trying to go onto a roller rink with skates on for the first time. It takes a little balancing at first but once you are on you get use to it. We didn’t last too long on this floor because Joyce was getting a little dizzy. Getting off the floor is also a challenge but we managed it. Next on the list was a quick stop in the Adventurer’s Club so that they could see it. They didn’t seem interested in staying (even though I wouldn’t have minded, I think it’s fun) so we headed out and watched the band playing outside and saw that we would not be able to make the final show for the Comedy Club. The line was long and already starting to go in and I could tell that they weren’t letting anyone else in. We then headed out of PI and towards the West Side. I was starving since I really didn’t have anything for dinner. We went to Wetzel’s and I got a large pretzel. Joyce and Stacey wanted ice cream from Hagan Daaz. After curbing our appetites we walked over to the Magnetron store and then walked down into Virgin MegaStore for Stacey. She needed a new Walkman. At this point we were exhausted and headed back to the room. We finally got into bed about 1 AM. No plans to get up early because we have only a lunch p.s. at MGM. Anytime we get there in the morning is fine with us.

Saturday – October 18, 2003
We got up around 9ish and took our time getting ready. (I forgot to mention that we received towel animals for our toothbrushes. This is the first time I’ve had towel animals after all the times I’ve stayed onsite. I was tickled pink and even took pictures of them. Later in the week we also got a Halloween ghost, a dog and an elephant. Michelle had bought a Mickey Teddy Bear last time we were here and brought it down with her. The housekeepers had the bear sitting in the window with the other towel animals and it just looked so cute.) Back to our day. We arrived at MGM around 11:30 AM and thought we would have time to at least get a fast pass for Tower of Terror and maybe go on Rock n’ Roller Coaster before our 12:30 p.s. at 50’s Prime Time Café. We got down to the end of Sunset Blvd. and saw that the time for TOT was up to 90 mins. and that the fast passes were for 6:30 – 7:30 PM. That means if we got the fast passes we would probably miss getting a seat for Fantasmic. I knew we would be back on both Monday and Tuesday, so we hoped to ride TOT then. We headed over to R n RC and ended up getting fast passes for it for after our lunch. The line for this was too long to wait before our lunch.

It was a little past noon so we decided to go ahead and not wait for 12:30 PM; there really was no need because they were not crowed in the "living room". It wasn’t long before we were called into lunch and seated at Auntie Arianna’s section. She was a cute petite waitress with a strong Brazilian accent. She was so much fun to interact with. We all seemed to get in trouble for something, whether it be that we asked a question without a "please and thank-you", not finishing everything on our plate or we ate sort of "messy". After our lunch we split the Smore’s, very messy but good. All in all it was a good time and good food had by all.

We walked slowly towards the R n RC for our fast passes and got an additional fast pass for later before getting in our short line. This is Stacey’s favorite ride and Michelle and I also enjoy this ride since we are coaster enthusiasts. Joyce, for obvious reasons, waited outside people watching. On this first trip we sat in the back of the coaster. This was a first for me and I liked it. It takes an extra second or two to take-off but it is still a lot of fun. Actually the best part of this ride was seeing Stacey’s hair "glow" at the end. She had dyed it blonder just recently and it looked really cool in the black light. The picture came out pretty good, so we bought it. This way Joyce could see it too and I will make a copy for them when I get back home. Our second fast pass window wasn’t open for another hour and a half so we headed towards the Great Movie Ride. This was relaxing due to the fact that we were off our feet and in an air condition building. To me this is a must-do attraction because I love the movies. Can’t wait until they do the changes and upgrade it a bit. Not sure when that is scheduled though. We went over to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and were told that the next show was in about 45 mins. While we were at the fast pass machine the red phone on the wall rang. The cast member picked it up and handed it to me. I was the “phone a stranger” for the show that was going on at this time. I was a little nervous, especially knowing that my voice was being heard in the studio. The question was for $500,000.00. No pressure at all, huh? It had to do with 4 different dates of when the Spanish Barbie doll was created. Now I collect Barbie’s but this question was way too hard and I just gave them a guess. Unfortunately, the person in the hot seat must have used up all his lifelines because he took my answer and it was wrong. I felt so bad, but they only give you 30 seconds to answer and half of that time is hearing the question read to you. It was fun though. We decided to go into the behind the scene tour of "The Making of the Haunted Mansion – The Movie". This was very interesting and fun to see the set for the entryway and ballroom for the movie. We got out of the tour just in time for our Millionaire seating.

I love this game and usually Michelle and I do pretty well. It was a full house and the questions weren’t too difficult. Michelle and I got on the "top ten" board several times and much to Joyce’s surprise; she made it once on the board. Joyce loved playing and wanted to come back later for another go round. We headed back to R n RC for our second ride. Always a blast!

As we left R n RC and headed back up Sunset Blvd. we saw the Streetmosphere Players doing a skit in the middle of the street. It was a version of "The Dating Game". They had selected a female player from the crowd and sat her down in a director’s chair. From behind her came out the three eligible bachelors: a nerdy security guard, a slick gangster-type and another goody security guard. This is something that really has to be seen to appreciate the show. It was extremely entertaining and so funny that we couldn't stop laughing. I wish I had a video camera to capture this skit. It was very well done and I hope when I come back down at the end of March that my friends and I can catch this skit.

Stacey was ready to head back to the resort to lie out in the sun. We sent her on her way with specific instructions on which bus to take and what building to get off of. The three of us headed back towards Millionaire again and got our fast pass for the next show. We walked around the park and decided to head into Drew Carey’s Sounds Dangerous. This is another good spot for relaxing and cooling off. Joyce enjoyed the show and then afterwards we played with the interactive games before walking towards WWTBAM. We sat through the game again both Michelle and I got on the board, actually #1 and #2 for two times in a row (Michelle being #1) but time ran out before she could get into the hot seat. Maybe next time….

At this time we decided to head toward the Fantasmic theatre to get our seats. It was about 45 mins. until showtime. Joyce and I just sat and talked while Michelle read a book that she happened to bring along. We participated in "the wave" as the usual pre-show. Before we knew it, it was time for the show. This is probably one of my favorite shows of all the parks. I love the music (I bought the CD last March and play it often at home) and love seeing all of the characters. There was actually one funny moment during the show that wasn’t supposed to be part of it that happened. During the Pocahontas scene, the three canoes paddled out across the water and the third canoe kind of kept going off track. It seemed like their first time in a canoe. Almost like they were drunk, which I’m sure was not the case. They kept bumping into things and it took them at least an additional 5 – 7 mins. to finally paddle out and get behind backstage. Joyce, Michelle and I couldn’t stop laughing and I’m sure they must have gotten spoken to when they got out of their canoe. As always the show was terrific and I look forward to the next time I see it.

We headed back to the room and we went directly down to the food court cause we were starving. After our meal, Joyce and I were up for another trip to the Magic Kingdom. We certainly weren’t tired yet since we slept in. When we got to the park I guess we had just missed the second parade of the night, which was fine by us. We wanted to see how many rides we could get in before the 11 PM closing. We had a little over an hour; so first on our line-up was the Jungle Cruise. This is the best time to ride this attraction, when it is dark. We walked right on and had a great skipper. She was funny and made the ride enjoyable. Next on our list was Pirates of the Caribbean, always a good ride. We headed to the Haunted Mansion and took our ride on the doombuggy. I pointed out the Hidden Mickey and Hidden Donald to Joyce. It was about 10:55 PM and we quickly got in line for Peter Pan’s Flight. Standing in line behind us was a Scottish family who just got on-site tonight and quickly headed over to the MK. They had been in transit for a day and a half but were too wound up to go to sleep yet. They were worried that we wouldn’t get our ride because it was closing time but I told them that Walt Disney made it a rule that whoever is in line for a ride, gets to ride it even it the park is closed. True to this saying we got to ride our flying ship and then headed out to the buses and back home. It didn’t take too long, considering it was closing time, to get a bus. We were in bed by midnight. I set the alarm for an early wake-up because we were eating breakfast with Pooh and Friends at the Crystal Palace.

Sunday – October 19, 2003
This was going to be another very busy day. We had to get up extra early so that we could get the early Character Breakfast bus for the Magic Kingdom. We had an 8:05 AM priority seating for the Crystal Palace, so we couldn’t take our time getting ready. Stacey bowed out of going. She’s not a morning person or a big breakfast lover so we let her sleep in and she would meet us later in the day. I was told by a front desk cast member that the buses started at 7:15 AM, so we arrived at the bus stop at 7:10 AM and saw quite a few buses for Animal Kingdom, Epcot, MGM and even an internal bus for the resort. Finally at 7:40 AM a bus for the Magic Kingdom came and we made it to the park by 8:00 AM. Well as in previous trips when I’ve had early priority seatings, I would go over to the far left of the turnstiles and check in for my p.s. So that’s where we headed, cutting through all of the other guests that was there for early entry. I asked the cast member who I thought was checking p.s. guests in and they told me just to go get in line. What happened to the special check-in sheet? I thought that we would be able to go down Main Street before the crowds! Never heard that they changed this perk but then again things seem to change at a moments notice at Disney anymore. Oh well, we certainly won't be in time for our ressie. It seemed to take forever for them to open the park. 8:00 AM already came and passed and finally they had the "opening family" do their thing. Well by the time we got to the Crystal Palace it was 8:10 AM and we still had to go to the "window" and check-in, then wait to be called. It wasn’t too bad but I was just a little disappointed in the new procedure. I wanted my sister to experience the walk down Main St. without anyone else around. Just seemed like a little bit of the magic was taken away. Oh well, onto our breakfast, which was delicious! We were seated by a window, which gave us a castle view. Besides all of the usual breakfast items, they had the breakfast lasagna (which I loved and had two helpings of). This was a great buffet and I think worth the money. Of course we got visits from Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore and saw Pooh leading the children’s parade around the room. I’ve also heard that the lunch and dinner buffets are excellent too and someday would like to try them also.

After breakfast we headed off to do some rides. First up was Pirates, since Michelle wasn’t with us last night and it’s one of the attractions that she likes to do. We walked past Splash Mountain because it’s too early to hit a water ride; I need to be hot to want to cool off by getting wet. Traveled on through Frontierland and Liberty Square and headed up into Fantasyland. Now this area was mobbed with people and we wanted to do Mickey’s PhilharMagic but decided to wait until it was a little less crowded, maybe tonight at the Halloween Party. We did however get in line for Winnie the Pooh and waited maybe 5 mins. Michelle loves the bouncing Tigger part and Joyce thought it was adorable. Next we walked over to Tomorrowland and decided to try our skills at Buzz Lightyear. This is another first for Joyce. She thought this was a lot of fun and had a better score than me. Michelle did pretty well but just couldn’t beat Joyce this go around so we had to ride again. Michelle’s score on this turn proved more to her liking and she beat both her mother and aunt by a good amount.

Michelle wanted to go into the Carousel of Progress, because Joyce and I had been in it on Friday night we weren’t too keen to see it again so soon but figured it was another way to sit, relax and cool off. I did have the song stuck in my head for a while after we left the attraction. At this time we were planning on leaving this park and heading to another but couldn’t decide which one. We almost headed to Animal Kingdom but changed our minds and made the decision to go over to Epcot again. I suggested we try one of the Innoventions buildings. We went into the West Side and got in line for the "House of Innoventions" tour. I’ve never seen this before so it was nice to do something new but the wait in line for the tour to begin took a lot longer than I thought. Once the tour started it was very interesting and full of fun things of the future to see. We walked through each room of the house looking at the future of home products and gadgets, which included a hot tub with a video screen, a computer on the door of the refrigerator and a new kind of wheelchair that can go up and down stairs. It was a very informative demonstration and I’m glad we did it despite the long wait in line.

Since the Food and Wine Festival opened yesterday, we decided to walk on over and try out a few tidbits from the booths. At this point we were dying of thirst so our first stop was the booth for Mexico to order a glass each of the Watermelon Juice. Michelle and I remembered this from last year and loved it! If only they could bottle it and distribute it throughout the supermarkets. We got our beverages and headed into the Mexican pavilion and went directly on to the El Rio del Tiempo boat ride. This is a nice ride and I do enjoy the scene with the fireworks in the sky. We were ready for another booth offering so we went to the Scandinavian booth and I got a Rice Cream and we each took spoonfuls. On to another boat ride in the Norway pavilion. We got in the short line for Maelstrom and were in our boat before we knew it. This ride is a lot more fun than the one in Mexico. It was fun to watch the expression of my sister when she thought we might be going over the edge backwards. There was also a small dip that she handled like a pro. We skipped the movie at the end and walked through some of the shops. We headed onto Morocco because Joyce was hoping that the booth would have the Roast Lamb again. Well it didn’t but she decided to buy the helping of Hummus for us to try. I had never tried this before even though I knew it was made of chickpeas, not something that I thought I would like. We all tried it and it is something that was interesting but not something that I would order again myself. Joyce and Michelle enjoyed it, so I was glad we got it and that I got a chance to try it anyway. After all that is what these booths are all about. Getting a chance to try foods from other countries that you may never have the opportunity to try. On that note, heading towards France, Joyce and I decided to try the Frogs Legs Chowder. This time Michelle bowed out and she headed for the pasty shop for some Chocolate Mousse. Joyce and I got the chowder and met Michelle and we had a little smorgasbord. Maybe not a great combination but it didn’t matter to me. The chowder tasted great and being the chocolate lover that I am, the mousse was out of this world.

Time to go back to the resort and rest a little before coming back to the MK for the Halloween Party. We all took a nap for about an hour and then got changed for the party. We didn’t really dress up much for this; I’ve never been much for costumes but did bring a Pittsburgh Pirate baseball shirt and cap to wear just to have something different. My sister bought a Halloween T-shirt and socks for the occasion. The girls didn’t bother to wear anything special, especially since they weren’t planning on staying for very long. I do enjoy seeing other people dress up in costumes. Some people have great imaginations and are very crafty. I give them a lot of credit.

We got on the bus around 7 PM and it was full of excited princesses, scary creatures and Disney characters. When we arrived at the park, we could see something set up outside of the railroad station. It was a giant balloon that looked like Madame Leota in the crystal ball from the Haunted Mansion. It was so cool! They had the music from the mansion being piped in. We went through security and then were handed trick or treat bags. We walked into Town Square and everything was transformed. It was all decorated with pumpkins, haystacks and giant orange pumpkin balloons on top of the buildings. Spotlights with pumpkin faces and bats were in the sky. Just spooky enough without being too scary for the young ones. We decided to head towards Tomorrowland to have our free photos taken. On top of the Timekeeper building was a giant spider and also on top of the Alien Encounter building was a giant blown-up Stitch. We realized that the photos were being taken inside the AE building, so we got in line and within a few minutes we were done and heading out to have some fun! This process was quick and painless and we hope to get our pictures within the month. We headed towards Buzz so that Stacey could get the chance to ride this. This was her first time and boy did she have beginner’s luck! I’ve tried at least a dozen times to hit the back of the arm of the big orange robot but could never hit the target. Here we stopped in this area for about 30 seconds and Stacey must have hit the arm 3 times. Here I am trying my hardest and not making contact at all. At this point she already had at least 300,000 points and we still had a few more rooms to score points in. As par for the course, I had a pitiful score that I must have completely blocked out. Joyce and Michelle did fairly well but still couldn’t come close to Stacey’s score. Woo Hoo for Stacey! Our pics at the end of the ride were cute but I didn’t care to purchase them. We then saw the first "Trick or Treat" station and went through the line to get our candy. Heading towards Space Mountain we saw a sign for "Fortune Telling". We thought this would be fun. Well we never did get our readings because the 3 psychics took way too long with each client. We didn’t want to waste too much time just sitting for this so we decided to leave this area and move on. Space Mountain was next and I been anxious to ride it, especially since last time at Disneyland; Space Mountain was closed for a long rehab. Since this was another coaster, Joyce happily sat this attraction out. So the two girls and I headed up the ramp into the "mountain" and got to our rocket on the right side in record time. Stacey was in front of Michelle and me and this was cool because we would get to see Stacey’s hair "glow" again at the end of the ride. As we exited the ride, Stacey and I decided to go again so we basically ran right back in. The cast member just let us go right on in and then about half way up I realized that we were in the fast pass lane. Well since there weren’t many people in the stand-by line, I didn’t feel that there would be a problem. Wrong! The cast member at the top thought otherwise. She raised her voice and told us to go back to the beginning. Reluctantly we did but like I said there was hardly any line and I think this cast member was being a little too strict. We finally made it back to the top. This time we went on the left side and I think that this side is a little "wilder" but still fun just the same. Michelle was hungry, so we went to Cosmic Rays and she got something to eat. At this time Stacey and Michelle wanted to head back to the resort. (They had other plans in mind for the rest of the evening). So the two "big kids", my sister and I, continued on our merry way collecting candy and going on rides. We headed into Toontown, which was nicely decorated, and just walked through taking pictures. It was quite crowded in this section and not worth standing in line for anything. Next we headed into Fantasyland and decided to ride Snow White’s Scary Adventures with no wait in line. Then we went to the area behind the castle where they had Cinderella’s coach displayed. It was beautiful! I had to have my picture taken in front of it. I went around to the back of it where there was no line and had my sister snap a photo. Michelle missed out on this (she is an avid Cinderella fan), oh well! Now was my chance to see Mickey’s PhilharMagic. This is the one "new" attraction that I was dying to see. Joyce and I headed into the outer room and picked up our 3-D glasses and waited a few minutes before we were able to go into the auditorium to sit down for the show. I had read a preview on this show, so I had an idea of what to expect. Well this show is better than I anticipated! Maybe it’s the themeing and characters used, but I think it’s the best 3-D show on Disney property. I couldn’t wait to see this show again but it would have to wait until tomorrow. I was sure the girls would like to see it too.

Joyce and I were ready to leave Fantasyland and needed our Haunted Mansion fix. We were hoping that the mansion would be decorated a little more for the event but actually the attraction didn’t seem any different to me, even though still enjoyable.

It was almost time for the 10:00 PM parade. I was so excited to see this, knowing that we would get the chance to see the "headless horseman" ride in front of the parade. Joyce and I were trying to find a good viewing spot. We were walking over the Sleepy Hollow Bridge and saw a cast member pulling a dolly with ice cream sandwiches on it. Behind her was the Queen of Hearts. The Queen was playing around with the cast member and pushed the dolly with her foot to "make the cast member move faster". This upset the dolly and all the ice cream fell on the bridge. The Queen quickly bent down and tried to help pick them up and then all of a sudden she saw us looking at her laughing. If you’ve seen the Queen before, you know that the look on her face in kind of scary/mad. Well when she saw us she got up and started to chase us. It was all in fun but it seemed like she wanted to say "off with their heads"! LOL! I just wish we had a video camera of this but Joyce did get a picture of the Queen’s face right before she ran after us. It was a hysterical encounter and one that we will be talking about for a long time.

We found a space on the curb across from the bridge and since I only had a few pictures left on my roll of film, I wanted to finish it up and then put in a new roll for the parade. I put in the new roll and soon after the headless horseman came galloping along and I thought I got a good pic of him. Then after a few minutes the parade came with all of it’s finery. The floats were great and the costumes were exceptional. I took pic after pic of each float and was thoroughly impressed with the parade. After the parade we decided to get in line for the Haunted Storytelling on the Riverboat. While standing in line I noticed that my film was not put in correctly (this is what happened when I don’t have my glasses and it is dark out – LOL!) So all of those photos of the parade that I was so excited in getting, never will be. What a disappointment! I’m not even sure if I will be coming back next year for this event, so I was quite upset with myself but there was nothing I could do about it now. Maybe Joyce got a few pictures that I could get copies of. Back to the riverboat ride, we are standing in line for this waiting to board the riverboat talking to others in line and we all agreed that it seemed like we were waiting an awful long time. Someone decided to ask what the hold up was and it seems that on the previous trip out, someone got sick and they had to clean it up. This ended up taking a little longer than anticipated, so they cancelled this trip. We could have waited for the last go-round that was to happen around 11:20 PM but we were getting hungry and tired, so we decided not to. We walked into Frontierland and into Pecos Bill’s. Luckily we were able to order burgers and fries right before they were closing. This was one of the best burgers we have had in a long time. Good thing they still had the "fixin’s" out. I smothered my burger with mushrooms and Joyce had the "works". We left feeling very satisfied and decided to head back to the resort. We’ve had quite a few long days, so things were starting to catch up with us. The park was still open for another half-hour, so getting a bus wasn’t too bad. We were back to our room and into bed by midnight.

Monday - October 20, 2003
This morning we didn’t wake up too early. Joyce and I headed for the food court to have breakfast. I was determined to try the Banana Stuffed French Toast. I am so glad I did, it was delicious but very filling. I probably could have split it with my sister. She ended up getting a Western Omelet. We thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely breakfast. Stacey met us about halfway through our meal. When we got back to the room Michelle was just finishing up getting ready, so I told her she could get something at the food court in The Land at Epcot. Joyce and Stacey had never been on Test Track before and I knew that Joyce could handle it. We were able to get a fast pass from a nice older cast member for in an hour’s time. We walked over to Journey Into Your Imagination and took the tour with Figment. When we exited we ended up emailing my other two nieces from the interactive booths. We walked over to The Land and sat in the food court where Michelle got something to eat. It was almost time to use our fast pass so we crossed over to Test Track and walked into the fast pass lane. While in line a father and his 6 or 7 yr. old son in front of us were struggling with each other. The boy clearly didn’t want to go on the ride and he was holding on to the railing for dear life. The father kept on pulling him away and moving along in line. Finally when we got to the point where you go into the debriefing room the father gave in and let the boy run back to his mother. I don't understand why some parents insist! Back to our ride. We got into our car and since we had two empty seats, two single riders sat with us. They were two young gentlemen (in there late 20’s –early 30’s). The guy sitting next to me asked if I would hold his hand if he got nervous. I laughed and told him sure, no problem. It was their first ride of their trip and they had never been on this ride before. I also told them to make sure they stop off at Mission Space. Our ride in the car was great as usual and Joyce actually wished that it were a longer trip around the outside. She loved the top speeding part the best. So did the rest of us.

We went over to Mission Space for one last trip into space. Joyce sat outside (are you surprised?) and the two girls and I were in the stand-by line for about 40 mins. A little long but definitely worth it. Another mother with her two young boys was in line near us and she was a little nervous going on the ride. Her boys have been on before and love it and wanted her to go on so she didn’t want to disappoint them. Once again I explained what to expect and eased her mind as best as I could. Once the ride was over she thanked me and said that it wasn’t as bad for her as she thought it would be. During the ride, I spotted a Hidden Mickey. If you look at your screen before the take off (if I remember correctly) there is a trim along the inside of the screen. At each of the top corners is a Mickey head. Stacey also so them, so I don’t think I imagined them. If anyone else has seen them, please email and let me know. After departing this ride we decided to hop over to MGM.

Yes we were going back again because we were determined to get on Tower of Terror at least once. The stand-by time for this ride has been anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes every time we’ve checked it out. The Tower has been down completely for the past week and just reopened one side on Sunday, so I think that this has contributed to the long wait time.

So we got to MGM around 10:30 AM and went straight down to TOT and yes it was at 60 mins already. Even the fast passes were gone! So Michelle, Stacey and I (not Joyce obviously, she sat and people watched) got in line and waited for a long 75 mins. This is the longest wait I have ever stood in line for any ride but I was not going home without riding this. Usually I get to ride it at least 4 or 5 times a trip. When we were close to the hotel standing in the fast pass lane was a newlywed couple and coming behind them were two bellhops carrying suitcases. They were pretending that the couple was checking into the hotel. It was a nice magical touch to entertain us while we were standing in the long line. Standing in front of us was a little girl and her mother from England, I believe. She was so cute, but by the time we finally made it to the hotel doors she had to go to the bathroom. The poor little thing was dying to go but didn’t want to leave and lose her place in line since we were close to the entrance to the library. Well she made it to the elevator and was able to "hold it" until after the ride. Good for her! On the other hand a group of teenage girls were also in the elevator with us and during the ride, one of them was screaming her head off! She was still screaming hysterically even after the ride was over and I thought she was going to freak out! We quickly checked out our picture and then went to look for Joyce. As we rounded the corner, there she was sitting in the store "lobby" waiting for us with fast passes in hand for us for R n RC. Wasn’t that thoughtful of her? She somehow talked her way into getting three passes with only one hopper. This time when we got into the fast past lane we had to wait for about 15 mins. due to "technical difficulties in the recording studio with Aerosmith". Soon after we were in our limo zooming through L.A. and watching Stacey’s hair glow in the black light. Another great ride!

I had booked the Sci-Fi Drive In for Tuesday as our last thing to do before going home but we decided to change it to this afternoon instead. So that’s where we were headed. I had eaten here before and if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have made ressies for this restaurant but Joyce wanted to eat here. The atmosphere here is great and that part is worth it, but I don’t think that the food is worth the price. We were not able to even sit in a car but had to sit at a picnic bench with an umbrella over it. We saw plenty of cars unoccupied and were told that none were available for the rest of the day. So this didn’t sit well with us either. We finished up here and headed down to Millionaire again. When we walked into the building we were given special tickets to sit in the fastest finger seats. This was so cool! I always wondered how those people got into those seats, so now I know. Joyce said that she had a feeling that Michelle was going to do good this time around. We shall see. I was seated directly behind the "Regis" of the day, so you could see me on the screen every time they focused on him. Once again Michelle and I did well with the questions. Well Joyce’s premonition came true. Michelle was first on the board when the person in the hot seat got the wrong answer. She was completely surprised because she has been in the number 1 spot a few other times but either the person was still winning or time ran out for the show. One year she was in the number 1 position during one of the soap opera editions and if the show hadn’t been over at the time, she would have been able to play the game in the hot seat with Michael Knight who plays Tad Martin on All My Children. It was such a disappointment for us but we were not disappointed today! I was so proud of my daughter and I’m sure my face was beaming. She did very well and got to the $125,000 question before guessing the wrong answer with no more lifelines left. This brought her back down to a respectable $32,000 level. She won about 10 commemorative pins, a lanyard, a millionaire baseball cap stating that she was at level $1,000 and a short sleeve polo shirt stating that she was at the $32,000 level. After she left the hot seat she was escorted to the backstage and they had to take down her information and put it in their computer. I guess that morning on the first show they had a million-dollar winner (they actually won the 4-day Disney cruise to the Bahamas). Michelle was told that she couldn’t sit in the hot seat again until 30 days were up. This event was one of the most exciting things to happen to us in a long time. I am so glad that I didn’t make it to the number 1 spot in the same manner as Michelle because I would have had to decline due to the fact that I work for the company at the Disney Store an I am considered a cast member.

We headed over to the Magic Kingdom again so that the girls could experience Mickey’s PhilharMagic. After going through security again we entered the park and headed straight back to Fantasyland. We walked right into the outer room of the show and I was standing next to a young mother with her 3-yr.old son. She asked me if I thought that her son would enjoy this show because he was a little scared of the one in the Animal Kingdom. I explained to her what to expect in this show and told her that I thought her son would love it and that I thought it would keep his attention (he was a very active little boy). They ended up sitting next to us and I enjoyed the show even more just watching this little boy try to touch all of the 3-D pictures. Both of the girls also loved the show and were glad that we made the effort to come back over to the MK for it. (This is the most times that I’ve been the to MK in one trip!) We stopped in the store that was outside of the show and I picked up a pin to bring home for my collection. I try to get a pin from each attraction in each park but I realized after returning home that I forgot one from Mission Space. I will have to make sure that I get that pin when I come in March.

We headed down the lane towards the Haunted Mansion. Michelle and Stacey had yet to ride this attraction for this trip. Joyce sat this one out this time and ended up sitting in one of the rocking chairs outside of one of the candy shops. I showed Stacey the Madame Leota cemetery stone with her eyes opening and closing. While we were watching for the eyes to open the cast member opened the doors and let everyone in. He stood right behind Stacey and made her jump. Then he commented on her necklace and stated that the type of necklace that it was had a history. He was walking her into the mansion and had to stop talking to her once we were in the stretching room. I kept my eyes on him because I knew that he was going to come up behind her again and sure enough when the lights came back on he was right next to her. I enjoy watching this happen to unsuspecting visitors. Once again he talked about her necklace but I think that he was just interested in her. We walked to our doom buggies and I let the girls ride in front of me together, I sat in one by myself. All of a sudden I saw another male cast member walk past the girls and then he cut in front of my doombuggy and poked his head on the other side of the girls and spooked them. It was another funny moment and the girls said that they jumped a mile when he did that.

The park was closing soon so it was time for one more ride. Since it was getting dark, the Jungle Cruise was our choice. Joyce and I were hoping to get another good skipper like the other night but this one was terrible. She missed most of the jokes and was just blah sounding. I was not impressed with her at all and she didn’t make the ride very enjoyable. Oh well, maybe it had been a long day for her.

We left the park and planned on going to Downtown Disney. Michelle opted out and headed back to the resort. We got on the resort monorail and got off at the Polynesian. We looked around the resort for a few minutes and then headed out to their bus stop and waited about 20 mins. for a DTD bus. This bus also stopped off at the Grand Floridian and the bus was quite crowded. It seemed to take forever to get to our destination but finally we made it. We got off at the Marketplace and went first to Disney at Home to just look around. Then popped into the Pooh Corner shop. Next we stopped in Team Mickey and Joyce bought something. Lastly we went into the World of Disney and both Joyce and Stacey did a little damage. We were in there for about 45 mins. and by this time we were ready to head back to our room. We didn’t have to wait too long for our bus and we were back at the resort by 11 PM. Tomorrow is our last day. We will have to be ready by 2 PM for Mears to pick us up. I was able to get a late check out so we won’t be rushing in the morning. Time for bed.

Tuesday – October 21, 2003
Well it’s the last time waking up in Orlando for about 5 months. Unfortunately our final day is here and I had a few things I wanted to accomplish before we left Disney property. We did most of our packing last night so all that was left were last minute stuff. After eating breakfast at the food court I wanted to go to MGM again and head toward the Tower of Terror to purchase slippers for Michelle at the attraction’s store.

Joyce and I went to the food court for our final breakfast and I was trying the Chocolate Chip Pancakes (they were alright but I wish that they had put the chips in the batter instead of just putting chips on top of the pancakes). Joyce tried the Banana-Stuffed French Toast because after seeing me have it yesterday she was dying for it. I will miss these breakfasts with my sister. We get a chance to chitchat about our families and our home situations on a quiet level. We will definitely have to schedule another sister trip sometime in the future.

Went back to the room to get Michelle. We got the bus for MGM arriving there by 10 AM. My mission was to get Michelle a pair of slippers from the TOT store (she wanted Tigger slippers but they didn’t have them anywhere on property this year.) and while we were there, hopefully take a ride in the elevator. Forget about the ride, the stand-by time was at 60 mins. We don’t have that much time to waste today, unfortunately. After buying the slippers, Michelle needed something for breakfast so we went to Starring Rolls and she got Apple Danish. Joyce and I chatted and people watched while Michelle went through the long line. I was just soaking up as much sun as I could get just knowing full well that we were leaving it shortly.

Well we had time for one more thing. Can you guess what we did? It’s one of Joyce’s favorite things to do at MGM. Yes, we went to Millionaire again. Once again we were asked to sit in the fastest finger seats. Michelle felt funny because of what happened the last time but I knew that she would probably not answer the questions as fast as she would normally. We had another enjoyable time but as soon as the show was over we bolted out of the park and onto the bus. I silently said good-bye to my favorite park and you could tell from my face that depression was starting to set in. LOL!

It was about 12 PM and the bell captain was coming to pick up our luggage around 12:45 PM. I made sure that everything was packed and that we didn’t leave the room in a mess. Joyce and Stacey took one last stroll by the beach and Michelle and I waited for the bell captain. The luggage was on its way to the Custom House and we had a little time to spare before our Mears bus came. After one last walk around we made our way to where the bus would pick us up and waited a few short minutes for it to arrive. This is the worst part of the trip, leaving the paradise behind. The weather for this trip was fantastic! Not a drop of rain in site and the temperature was in the low 80’s just about the whole time. I couldn’t have picked better weather. October is one of the best months to come down.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our 5:15 PM flight. Check-in was all right except that they are quite strict with the weight of luggage (I never seem to have to deal with this at Logan in Boston or T. F. Green in Providence). My suitcase, they say, was 5 pounds overweight. All I bought was a T-shirt from my resort and a Mickey backscratcher. She told me to be careful next time and let me go. I think they are too picky about the weight but I bet my suitcase would be o.k. to board the plane if I wanted to pay the $25.00 fee!

On to security and the long lines. Every time I get into one of these I silently pray that I will be able to go through easily. Well this time it was Joyce’s time to be pulled out. She went through the whole spiel and had the wand test and they searched her purse completely. Who knows why they pick out who they pick out but I’m sure my turn will happen someday in the future. Onward to our gate and this first leg of our trip home went fine. It was a short flight to Miami.

Here we have made a nice safe landing in Miami and we are taxing towards the gate. All of a sudden I notice that we have gone way past our gate number (the flight attendants had told us what gate we would come in at and then what gates to go to for those of us making connections). Then we hear an announcement from the pilot saying that we can’t pull up to our gate due to the fact that another plane has to be towed away from it. After about 30 minutes the pilot announces that the plane is still there because the towing unit is towing yet another airplane from somewhere else on the field. They don’t know for sure when we will move to the gate. A lot of the passengers are concerned that they will not make their connections (including us). Finally we start moving after another 20 minutes. They let those who had connections disembark from the plane first. We saw an airline employee inside of the gate telling everyone where to make his or her connections. We asked about our connection and they sent us half way across the airport. We are walking as fast as we could so that we wouldn’t miss our flight. Finally we arrived at the gate and guess what? They changed the gate and the new gate is back in the opposite direction past the gate that we got off the plane from. We were livid! On we went as fast as we could afraid that we were going to miss this flight for sure. Thank goodness we made it just in time before they started calling the sections for loading. The girls had just enough time to make a quick trip to the ladies room. Finally at 7:15 PM we took off for home, it has been a really long day so far.

We landed in Boston at 11 PM and didn’t have to wait too long for our baggage (which thankfully all arrived). My brother-in-law was picking up Joyce and Stacey, so we said our good-byes and promised to get together to look at our pictures. Michelle and I took the walk towards the elevators that would bring us to the central parking garage for our car. Remember way back at the beginning of this report I told you that it was a good thing that I parked close to the elevators? Well here is why this was a good thing. When we got to the car I noticed that the light was not on when I opened my trunk to put the suitcases in. Then I went to get inside the car and there were no lights on at all. My battery was dead! Someone didn’t close one of the car doors all the way, which drained the battery. This is not what I wanted to deal with at 11:30 PM. Especially since I have to go to work the next morning. I walked towards the elevator and saw a button that said "for emergencies". I pressed the button and talked to security that ended up sending a garage tow to jump my car, free of charge. We were paying for the parking fee by 11:50 PM and on our way home finally. We walked into our house by 12:30 AM and barely unpacked what we needed to get to bed with. It took about a half-hour before I finally fell asleep.

All in all we had a great trip, with perfect weather, a beautiful resort and a lot of fun. Of course our flights could have been better but you can’t expect everything to go smoothly. My sister and niece seemed to have had a good time and I know that Michelle and I enjoyed visiting Disney again. I’d go back in a heartbeat next week if I could afford it. I guess I will just have to wait until the end of March for my birthday trip with the girls (fellow cast members) from the store that I work with. We are already making plans and getting excited. I hope that anyone, who read through my whole report, enjoyed it and I welcome any questions or comments through email. Just put the words "trip report" in the subject line. Thanks for reading!

Janice O'Hanley