Sue Holland - December 2003/January 2004 - Old Key West Resort

Time of Year: Holiday
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: OKWR
Accommodations: Standard
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran, DVC Member
Comments: Sue once again proves she is braver than me by going anywhere near Walt Disney World on New Year's Eve (despite her repeated assurances that the last time would be the last time she'd do that). Of course, with Sue, being anywhere near Disney World doesn't necessarily mean being inside the parks so maybe it isn't so bad after all.

Sue Holland -- December 2003/January 2004 – Walt Disney World (OKWR)

Note: As Sue spent time at Pleasure Island and in other adult venues on this trip, this report has some information that may not be appropriate for young readers.

Sue Holland has written more trip reports for MousePlanet than any other person. You can find a list here.

Who/When/Where

Who

Sue (me), DVC member
Appearances by:

Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Darla, DVC Afghan creator & fellow DVC points collector from OH
Deb, Darla's twin sister
Steven & Leeanne, Darla's son & Deb's daughter
Patty, Patron of the Arts
Pat & Cara, DVC mom & daughter from MD
John, my hunky boyfriend, his wife Maria & kids Christina & Alex from NJ
Dates: December 29, 2003 - January 2, 2004

INTRODUCTION

Three years ago I spent this same week at WDW along with my friends Larry from Scotland & family, and Tom/Leanne & family. While I enjoyed spending the time with them, the crowds in the parks were horrendous and I left swearing I'd NEVER ever come at this time of year again. Last year I was back - so much for never ever <g>. This time I wanted to join friends Maria & John and Kevin & Cheryl for New Year's Eve, and it makes no sense to come up for a single night so I booked a few nights. I don't remember much about that trip, other than having a lot of fun despite the torrential downpour on 12/31, and I'm sure I swore that was my final New Year's week visit! However, here I am again. I guess the lesson is don't pay any attention to me when I start swearing I'm never going to do something again <g>.

This time there are 2 reasons for my trip. Greg (formerly of the Comedy Warehouse) and some of the others from there were performing in a show 2 nights ago just down the road (almost) from my home, and he was planning to be in Orlando for the next week to hopefully work some nights at CW. Originally they only gave him Sunday night, which sucked for me since I was planning to arrive Tuesday and couldn't possibly arrive sooner than Monday! However, at the last minute they added him to Monday night, which was great news to me. Also, my friends Maria & John would be back again this year, and we made plans to spend another New Year's eve together. Maria is getting over a cold, so instead of her hugging & kissing me, she's planning to have John (he's a good sport) take care of that for her - now THAT is a good friend, lol! Another of our friends (Pat) will be joining us, so it should be a fun evening. Pat & I have had many of our trips overlap here & at Hilton Head, and I always enjoy her company, and her daughter Cara (dang, I'm putting my reputation as a child-hater on the line here, but she really is a nice kid/young lady).

My OKW studio reservation begins Tuesday night. I waited until 7 months to book, hoping to get a studio at Boardwalk or Beach Club, specifically to be able to walk home from dinner & champagne on New Year's Eve. Nothing was available, though! I went on the waitlist everywhere except Wilderness Lodge, and eventually I was able to get all 3 nights at OKW. Adding Monday was fairly last-minute, and Darla offered me the sleep sofa in her 2br OKW villa. It will be very convenient to check in to my own studio the next morning, and it'll be nice to spend some time with Darla & her gang again.

The only real plans I've made for this trip are nights at Comedy Warehouse - I think I'm meeting one or several friends there every night. I won't be there 12/31, since I can't see paying extra to be surrounded by big crowds - instead I'll be sharing champagne & having dinner at the Flying Fish with friends. Thursday the New Year's eve group is meeting for lunch at LeCellier - it just isn't a trip without a meal there! I'm assuming the parks will be so crowded my skin will be crawling by 10am, so unless I enter one with other friends I'll probably just skip them this trip. Hopefully I'll spend some time with Patty when she's not working. The weather looks good, so perhaps I'll head to whichever water park is open - although I really don't like Blizzard Beach nearly as much as Typhoon Lagoon, and I think BB is the only one open.

The plans (subject to change) so far...

Mon 12/29: Work, Comedy Warehouse
Tue 12/30: Possibly some park w/Darla & gang, Move to OKW studio, Comedy Warehouse
Wed 12/31: Possible water park, Flying Fish dinner
Thu 1/1: Lunch at LeCellier, Comedy Warehouse
Fri 1/2: Drive home

DAY 1 MONDAY DECEMBER 29, 2003:

Who: Sue, DVC Member
Darla, DVC Afghan creator & fellow DVC points collector from OH
Deb, Darla's twin sister
Steven & Leeanne, Darla's son & Deb's daughter
Patty, Patron of the Arts
Pat & Cara, DVC mom & daughter from MD
Matt, Greg's friend from NYC

Plan: Work, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: I left work at 2pm as planned, and with no traffic to speak of, arrived at OKW before 5. The security guard was really nice - he loved my license plate (GO 2 WDW), and gave me a hearty Welcome Home when I told him I was checking in tomorrow. I gave him Darla's name, and he lifted the gate for me. Darla's got a 2 bedroom villa, but unfortunately it's a smoking optional unit. I couldn't stay here for a whole trip, but for overnight it's not too bad. Plus, I brought candles to burn later.

I sat around talking with Darla & Deb for a while, then Patty called to report she was too sick to come out tonight. Hopefully she'll feel better after a good night's sleep! Deb took Steven & Leeanne to the pool, while Darla & I went to Olivia's to meet a couple of dvc friends for dinner. Barb (dizyworld), her daughter Jackie, and Jan (poohjan) were already waiting, and we were seated right away.

I got the small field greens salad, Darla got the jumbo shrimp alfredo, and the others each had a club sandwich (not on the menu for dinner, but the kitchen prepared them upon request). We noticed all of the photos of members had been removed from the walls. In their place the walls had been painted & ordinary paintings/décor had been put up - what's up with that?? It looked nice, it just was strange to have that tradition ended. After dinner we said goodbye to Barb, Jan & Jackie, and drove back to the villa. Everyone was there - omigod, I don't know how Darla manages to stay sane traveling as a party of 6! They're all great, but there's so much activity it would wear me out, lol! Her Dad was nicely trying to question me about how early I get up in the morning - bottom line, he's used to coming out to make coffee at 6am (yikes) but I assured him that wouldn't bother me at all. Darla later suggested when he comes out I should yell "Hey old man, why don't you use the coffee maker in your own room", but I think I'll just pretend to be nice instead <g>.

Deb was taking Steven to Epcot for Mission Space, Darla's parents were staying home with Leeanne (she's only 3), so it was just Darla & me for Comedy Warehouse. My usual lot was full, the next one over was full, but finally I found spaces in one of the furthest rows out from Planet Hollywood. It really wasn't a bad walk, though. I remembered with my Disney Dining Experience I could get a half-price ticket for Darla, so that's what we did. Neither of us were asked for our id when entering PI, so I guess we both look like we're at least 21!

The line at CW was already very long, and it wasn't even 8 pm yet! Jose was working the line, and I enjoyed seeing him again. Pat & Cara came up while I was talking to Jose, and finally got to meet Darla.

Carol Stein was on the keys tonight. The 8:15 cast was Matt, Joy, Brian, Greg & Jake. They opened with the poem "Kiss Tom, it's his birthday". Next Matt rang the bell in Should Have Said, with Joy creating a scene where she was wanting to kiss a frog. Jake came in as a frog gigger (I'd never heard of that, but he wanted to jab his stick thru the frog), and ended up hitting Joy instead. She died after kissing the frog, and Brian came in as Jake's gay prince (the former frog). It was a short scene, but pretty funny.

Matt & Greg created a ballad called Cream Cheese. Greg was a lactose intolerant person in Wisconsin, and Matt was a cheesemaker. It was cute, with both men doing a very clever job with the lyrics. The highlight of the show was Cliché, with Brian being tortured. He had to guess he was on Lexington Avenue in NYC, and the saying was "Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe." It went a bit long, but wasn't boring at all - Brian was truly suffering trying to figure it out. They gave the clues in a manner that he had the sound, but not the actual words, which makes it tougher. He thought "many" was 2 words - man and "e", and even as one word he kept thinking manny or money. He said many, but didn't seem to make the connection, which made guessing "few" tougher than it needed to be. The clue for that was "fuel", which later broke into few and the first syllable of always. The other actors took a break - Matt pretended to nap, Greg & Jake played a game with their hands - just passing the time while Brian tried over and over to figure it out. When he finally did, and Greg came out to set up the closing number, Greg commented that he didn't think that was ever going to end <g>. They closed with a song about nail biting, which was somewhat gross, but pretty good. Overall it was an excellent show!

I talked to Greg after the show, then went outside to meet Matt and introduce him to the others. The 9:15 cast was Greg, Steve, Brian, Jake & Joy. Brian led the Song Cue structure, where Steve & Joy were doctor & patient. Steve did an excellent job keeping this moving, and interjecting some bizarre stuff. Joy was the sister of his ex-wife, and was pregnant with his child - conceived by his donor sperm. He earns $45,000 per week donating sperm to the sperm bank, which gave him the money to buy his medical practice. It was somewhat strange, but also very funny. They did an "emotional music" song called "Is it mine, Sarah?" - this one was my least favorite, and it involved Steve crying through it. They did a christian song called "We should be an us", which was very funny. The third song was a blues number called "Aren't we feeling the feeling."

Schmeopardy was next, hosted by Steve. Brian was his little boy character Skippy, who was a professional bug killer. He was hysterical to watch, squirming around like a little boy, and saying goofy things. I'm not sure if Darla had seen him work before, but she came away impressed with how funny he is. Greg was a one-armed juggler at Gatorland named Lefty - also funny. Jake did his Decklin character, who tonight worked at the Circle D Ranch as an anesthesiologist putting the free range chickens under anesthesia before they were slaughtered - he was very funny as well! They closed the show with a song about a guy who'd gotten a blank check from his mother to go get his tooth filled, and instead used it to buy a used car.

Pat & Cara left after this show, and we hung around talking to some of the others in the cast. It was nice seeing Steve back again. The long break until the next show passed quickly since we were talking, and soon we were back inside.

The 10:30 cast was Greg, Steve, Matt, Joy & John. Greg opened with the phone, which was grabbed by a teen girl seated behind the people next to the phone. She turned out to be an amazing teen, and Greg began teasing her about being an over achiever. She's a great student, plans to study medicine in college, is involved in dozens of clubs (real smart stuff), swims, and doesn't work but volunteers at Sloan-Kettering doing research! She had a sister with a really bizarre name (Trawlsey), and their last name was also the subject of some of the jokes - it was a great opening song (one of the best I've seen).

Most of the rest of the show was Conducted Story, led by Joy. That left the 4 men to tell the story, which was titled "Koalas are pretty." They did a great job - the story itself was very funny, and it took a long time for the first death because the men were all doing so well. They worked the over-achiever's (from the phone) family into the story, which was hysterical - they kept making jabs at them the entire show! John died first, but honestly I thought the audience was just ready to kill - he really didn't mess up, but he had to die anyway. He died by a thimble while playing a washboard in a short but cute scene. Steve died next, on the day in history when the toothbrush was invented. Greg died in the style of rap, in a computer lab in Silicon Valley. Usually the deaths are my favorite part of Conducted Story, but tonight the opposite was true, although overall I enjoyed the entire structure.

They closed the show with a song about a woman who was visiting Denver and urinated outside the Capitol building, only to have a bicycle cop approach her afterwards to tell her she'd been videotaped the entire time! That's definitely embarrassing, but if you're stupid enough to do that, then I don't have much sympathy for the person, lol.

When the show ended we introduced Darla to Greg. She was so funny - she wanted to meet him, since he's a celebrity to her since she saw the wedding planner show. I know she's seen him at CW, since she recognized him on the wedding show, but I guess it's a being on tv thing <g>. I said goodbye to Greg, possibly for the last time this trip (unless they call him in Tues or Thurs), then walked out with Matt while the cast went to their meeting. It was a great evening - I enjoyed spending some time with Matt, the shows were all very good, and it's always fun having Darla & Pat around.

Darla & I drove back to OKW, and found everyone was in their bedroom asleep. She brought me the pillows and blanket for the sleep sofa, and I nearly killed myself opening it. That sucker is so heavy, I'd pull it up a little, then it would fall back down and drag me with it, lol! I think it weighs more than me - so it kept winning until I hurled myself at it. Darla went to bed, and I finished up the report and got it posted before heading to the sleep sofa for some sleep before her dad's coffee making was due to begin <g>. It's amazing how much noise there is from the major road we overlook - building 41 isn't exactly a prime spot! It's probably not bad from the master bedroom though, and it won't keep me from sleeping either.

DAY 2 TUESDAY DECEMBER 30, 2003:

Who: Sue, DVC Member
Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Darla, DVC Afghan creator & fellow DVC points collector from OH
Deb, Darla's twin sister
Steven & Leeanne, Darla's son & Deb's daughter

Plan: Possibly some park w/Darla & gang, Move to OKW studio, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: The sleep sofa was very comfortable, but I didn't really sleep for some reason. It was still dark when coffee and bacon & eggs was being made in my "bedroom" - lol, it smelled great, and I don't ever smell that stuff at home since there's no cooking going on there <g>. I got up, so Darla's parents didn't feel like they had to be quiet. The sleep sofa was a nightmare to close, requiring Darla's dad to help me. I showered, and decided to stick with cappuccino & biscotti for breakfast rather than a bacon, egg & cheese sandwich, but it was certainly nice of them to offer to make me breakfast!

When Steven learned Epcot opened at 8, he frantically rushed Darla to get dressed so they could go there for a Mission Space fastpass. Last night the line was too long, so he still hasn't ridden. He & Darla went to catch the bus, and I joined Deb & Leeanne to drive over to Epcot a little later. The parents were headed to a gambling ship for the day again today.

Heading out of OKW I missed the exit from the rotary/circle, so we circled around a couple of times laughing. The Epcot bus was at the bus stop, and we spotted Steven on the bus. I stopped the car & beeped the horn, and Darla & Steven both came rushing off the bus to get in the car. We stopped at the main building, where I checked in without a wait. The studio wasn't ready, of course - but at least the checking in process was out of the way without waiting in any lines. The cm did tell me I had been pre-assigned a room since I'd requested non-smoking, and I was in building 47 or 48 in SouthPoint - a great location. He offered me other locations, but this one was fine with me.

We drove to Epcot and parked not too far away - close enough that we decided to walk in. We headed to Mission Space first, and at 8:30 in the morning the standby wait was an hour! We got 4 fastpasses (return time 11-12ish), then went to Test Track to get a fastpass there for Steven. This wait was over an hour now, and was at 120 minutes before 9am. The single rider line was 35 minutes so he decided to do that instead. We left him there, and went over to Imagination and walked right onto that ride. Only 1 of the other 3 cars had people in it - it was that deserted! Afterwards, Deb & Leeanne went off to do toddler stuff, while Darla & I went back to Test Track to wait for Steven.

The 35 minute posted time ended up being an hour, but it'll be much worse later. When Steven got back, we split up - they were looking at the cars and then would go to Mission Space for their fastpass time. It was 10am and World Showcase had just opened, so I enjoyed an uncrowded walk around the countries. I was able to walk right on the ride, but when I got off it had a line. When I finished my walk I decided to leave Epcot and head back to the resort. The crowds coming in were amazing - incredibly massive! The cars entering were bumper to bumper and backed up in every single lane almost back to the parking booth. I've never seen it like this, and frankly I hope to never see it again!

Deb & Leeanne were in the villa when I returned, and after a snack/lunch they went to the swimming pool. Since I'd already showered, I didn't feel like going in the pool. I updated the trip report, and got ready to go to the Marketplace to use my Rainforest Café birthday certificate since it was expiring soon. I did call to check on the studio, but they told me it would be 4pm before it would be ready because they were cleaning the carpet.

I planned to drive, but once getting into the car I decided to take Disney transportation instead. I got on the first bus to arrive, and got off at the Hospitality House, planning to take the Trumbo Ferry to Downtown Disney. There were already more people waiting for the first boat than the boat would hold, so I went back to the bus stop just as the Downtown Disney bus arrived. While on the bus I checked my wallet and found I'd left my Safari Club card at home, and the $5 certificate I planned to use clearly stated I had to have my card with me. I would have asked them at the podium, but the line at Rainforest Café was pretty long - so I decided Wolfgang Puck's was a better choice for today!

After walking over to the West Side I was seated at a table out back on the patio with no wait. It was a beautiful day, and I had a nice view of Saratoga Springs. I ordered a glass of the riesling I like, and the toybox tomato salad - both were excellent, as always! Patty - we have to get back over here soon - a little wine, good food, a little more wine = lots of laughs & a great deal of fun! I talked to Leesa on the phone while waiting for the food to arrive, and confirmed she'd be at Comedy Warehouse tonight and Thursday.

After lunch I walked back to the Marketplace and boarded the waiting Trumbo Ferry for the ride back to OKW. I love this boat ride - it's so relaxing! At Conch Flats I checked in Community Hall and saw the afghan Darla made, and found my picture from a dvc ladies' trip was still hanging just to its left. Darla, Deb & the kids were back at the villa when I returned. Darla was on her laptop on the chair/ottoman in her bedroom, so I sprawled across the bed and we chatted for a while. Later I updated the report again, then watched General Hospital (nodding off frequently - I was tired) in Darla's room while waiting for my studio to be ready. Darla was in her usual spot out on the porch, everyone else was napping.

At 4 I tried again, and was happy to learn the studio was finally ready! I thanked Darla for her hospitality, said goodbye to everyone, and drove my stuff over to building 48. The studio is in a great spot, with a nice view of the golf course. The carpet is still wet, so I'll wear sandals until it dries. After unpacking I waited for the local news to catch the weather forecast before deciding to drive over to Premium Outlets. Once I left Disney property however, I realized what a bad idea this was. Traffic was backed up worse than I'd ever seen it, so I looped around Vistana Resort and entered WDW property at the OKW I-4 exit. Part of me felt bad for the tens of thousands of poor slobs staying offsite who had to drive in this awful traffic, but another part of me just wanted to say to them "what the hell were you thinking??" It's bad enough for Disney resort guests - I cannot imagine being offsite scum <g> this week!

Tonight parking was easier, perhaps because it was only 6 pm. I called Leesa and we agreed to meet a little later. I spent the next hour over at the Marketplace browsing in some of the shops and doing some people watching. I met Leesa shortly after 7, and we spent some time sitting upstairs at the Adventurer's Club until it was time to get over to Comedy Warehouse. DeeDee from the AOL boards came downstairs to introduce herself, and it was nice meeting her (although she looks way too young to have teenagers <g>).

Once inside we talked with Jim Roberts and then took our seats. A man came over to ask about my camera, saying he likes the photos I take but hasn't had luck getting any good shots himself. We talked digital cameras briefly, and then he left without my getting his name. Nice guy, though - hope his next pictures come out better!

The 8:15 cast was Karl, Matt, Steve, Jake & Joy. Karl opened the show with the phone interview but got a guy from Montreal with a heavy French accent. It went on way too long, partly due to the communication difficulty, but the song was good. Jake sang his verse in French, but I only understood a couple of words (& he may not have been really speaking French at all - it just sounded French to me). Steve & Matt did a Fill in the Blank scene using the entire audience. Matt was Steve's wife Margaret, from the old country. Steve promised Matt's father 4 goats in exchange for his daughter, who then became interested in Jake as the neighbor who had 7 goats. It was an excellent scene, and lots of fun.

They did Up Your Alley about restoring cars. Joy was host Dixie B Cup, and did a good job with this character - she was somewhat brassy & it seemed to work well. A guy from the audience was one of the contestants, along with Karl as Jim Thompson from Cheap Cars Restoration and Jake as a funny gay guy named Thurwell. They closed the show with a song about the pet peeve of hair on soap. Overall it was a very good show. We talked to Steve after the show, and I got an update on a friend's cold/flu from him.

The 9:15 cast was Matt, Philip, Joy, Karl & Jake. DeeDee was seated down below us, and I enjoyed talking to her & her friend Cheryl before the show. Turns out we're all from Massachusetts (small world). Anyway, I'm glad we got to meet in person! After the opening number they did Emotions, which I almost always like a lot. Philip & Karl were 2 brothers getting ready to go on a Star Trek cruise, and Philip was hilarious. It's got to be difficult keeping up with him, but Karl did a good job of it. Next Matt sang a song about food & overeating during the holidays, which was ok. They did Actor's Nightmare next, with it being Jake's nightmare. He had to improvise his lines and make sense of the lines read by the others from different scripts, and he did a great job creating the scene. It moved quickly and was quite funny! Jake was in an ice fishing house and Joy was the wife he hated so much he wanted her dead - and she did die, but her spirit was still there haunting him. They closed the show with a story about a lady who got seasick and threw up into the wind - gross but the song was very funny! It was another great show.

The 10:30 cast was Steve, Philip, Lisa, Karl & Matt. Karl directed a scene where Lisa & Matt were in a pet store in Indiana, interrupting several times to get an audience suggestion before the scene could continue. Lisa owned the pet store & Matt was a customer who was buying a cat so he could kill it for having peed on him earlier. Lisa was horrified and agreed to go out on a date with him to save the cat's life. Matt turned out to really be a secret agent, as was Philip who came in as Lisa's female roommate. Eventually a cat peed on everyone on the stage, in this very bizarre but very funny scene!

Next was Hot Seat, with Karl as the criminal being interrogated by Steve & Philip - talk about funny! Karl had French kissed a nun at a donkey hall in Tijuana because he drank too much tequila. It was hysterical, and I really like this structure! They closed with a song about a lady who over watered her Christmas tree and flooded out her entire living room & dining room, plus the ceiling & light fixtures of the floor below. I don't think anyone there understood exactly how anyone can water a Christmas tree to that extent, and her only explanation was "I thought the tree was drinking the water". Duh moment for sure, but it made for a funny closing song!

I thought about staying for the last show, and had told Leesa earlier in the evening that I was going to try to do it. However, I really hate that it's so late and although the shows had all been good tonight I need a really good reason to stick around for a midnight show - and didn't have one tonight. I walked out of CW with Leesa and told her I'd see her next year, on Thursday <g>. I left PI and was just walking into the parking lot when I heard the public address system paging some poor person - someone with my exact name, from my town! It was me! I didn't hear what I was supposed to do, but I clearly heard my name/town a couple of times, and rushed back to the turnstile. A security cm was standing there waiting for me, and took me aside - last time security needed to talk to me was when I was here over the holidays 6 years ago and my mother died suddenly. This time nobody was dead, but (my son) Chris had been taken to the ER with chest pains & breathing difficulty. Tim had called the cell phone, but with the ringer turned off because I was in the CW shows I had no idea the messages were there yet. It was scary - Tim got to Chris' workplace around 10 or so to find him on the ground in pain & unable to move - so he rushed him to the nearest hospital. While there Chris started feeling better, until finally they left after midnight - no longer needing to continue waiting for a doctor at that point. To be safe, Chris will spend the night at Tim's tonight - if whatever this was happens again, he won't be home alone. I talked to Chris on the phone, then finished up the report and thought about calling it a night!

Today was a busy day, moving from Darla's villa to my studio, braving horrendous crowds at Epcot, enjoying a wonderful lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Café, 3 great comedy shows with Leesa, and then the scare with Chris. I could have done without the last part <g> - but I'm relieved he seems to be ok now.

DAY 3 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31, 2003:

Who: Sue, DVC Member
Pat & Cara, DVC mom & daughter from MD
John, my hunky boyfriend, his wife Maria & kids Christina & Alex from NJ

Plan: Possible water park, Flying Fish dinner

Actual: I figured the crowds at Blizzard Beach would be no less awful than the crowds in the other parks, and since I don't really care for that water park nearly as much as Typhoon Lagoon (which is closed for refurb now), I decided to cancel any water park plans for today. The weather is calling for mostly cloudy conditions today anyway, which is even more reason to change the plan. With no place I needed to be before late afternoon, I didn't worry about what time I went to bed last night or got up this morning. Eventually I got up just before 9, although I was awake a while before that. The night was uneventful for Chris, which was good news!

I showered and got dressed, had a cup of cappuccino, and thought about what to do with the day. My carpet was finally dry, so I no longer had to walk around wearing sandals! There were people pressure washing my end of the building (a message had been left about this yesterday), so my porch is soaked right now but should be dry later. I caught up with some emails and decided to drive over to Pop Century around 11 to check it out. Nancy popped up online just as I was leaving, so I knew I wouldn't be seeing her there today.

Pop Century is very similar to All Stars - and the buildings appear to be identical except for being 4 stories instead of 3, and having different icons plastered to the sides of them. I don't care for the stupid sayings running along the roofline - to me they're just plain tacky and cheap-looking, rather than whimsical. The lobby was attractive, but huge - I shudder to think about checking in here next month! The shop looked very nice - it was bright, and things weren't crammed in like they are in some of the other shops. The food court also was very nice - definitely a step above All Stars in my opinion. The pools were ok - nothing thrilling at all, and not even themed as well as the All Stars in my opinion. In any event, I'll be here for 2 nights in January and then again for 1 night in February, and don't regret those reservations at all. However, I was REALLY happy to return to my beautiful OKW - there just isn't any comparison.

I picked up a thai chicken wrap from the cooler in the food court, and after picking up a pin my friend Cheryl wanted I drove back to OKW. The wrap was excellent - the spicy sesame sauce really enhanced it nicely. I ate half, and put the other half in the fridge for some other time. Maria called to invite me to join her & Pat wandering Epcot, but since I'll be heading over to see them later I decided to stay here at OKW rather than fight the mobs in a park! After eating and watching the noon news, I changed into my swimsuit and went to the SouthPoint pool to do some reading. It's a perfect weather day!

The pool was busier than I've ever seen it, with very few empty chairs. Normally there's hardly anyone here. Thank goodness there were no noisy children or people smoking - it was very pleasant despite the big crowd. What kids were there were just having fun playing without the shrieking and constant shouting to their parents <g>. Around 2:30 I walked back to the studio and relaxed for a while. General Hospital came on at 3, but it was one of those weird episodes they do every so often, so I wouldn't have missed anything if I'd just skipped it. After about 15 minutes I shut it off - they were doing a silent movie-type thing, and frankly I prefer my regular soap. Maybe I'm just not "artsy" or something <g>. An ambulance came racing into the parking lot with siren blaring, so some family here was not having the vacation of their dreams. Hopefully it's not anything too serious.

At 3:30 I realized I'd never chilled the champagne, so I shoved them both into the freezer! They were packaged so nicely in my tote bag, I guess I was going to show up with room-temperature champagne tonight, in a big "DUH" moment (perhaps Pop Century has rubbed off on me?). I sat out on the porch reading for a while, until it was time to drive over to the Swan.

Maria had given me the room number earlier, so I went directly upstairs. It was wonderful seeing her and her family again. Her son Alex is adorable - a miniature of his dad, and her daughter has grown into a beautiful young lady since last year. Hubby John - what can I say, that man is DAMN CUTE!! He was feeling miserable, being at the worst part of the flu, while Maria & Alex were further along towards being well again. I'd brought Maria some cookies I'd baked, and she brought me some as well - including homemade biscotti! Pretty soon Pat & Cara arrived, toting a bottle of chilled sparkling cider for the kids.

We walked over to Flying Fish for dinner, and were seated pretty quickly. This was my first time here, and I really loved the room - it was very attractive and comfortable. I don't like seafood, so there's really not much on the menu I'll eat, but thankfully I don't eat much anyway! I kept a copy of the menu, so I'll be able to accurately list what everyone had - for the foodies out there. Chris was our waiter, and he did a great job. Everything anyone ordered was excellent, and he took my Disney Dining Experience card for all 7 of us, which saved us $53 on the check.

Alex & Cara ordered from the kids' menu - Alex had the Mickey pasta and Cara the steak dinner. They also had the Disney version of Shirley Temples, while Christina had pink lemonade. The adults ordered wine - Maria & I each had the Conundrum, which I'd seen on the last Disney cruise but didn't try. It's a bit expensive ($11.75/glass), but good. It wasn't so great I'd order it again, unless there was nothing else available that I liked. John & Christina started with the caesar salad, and that's what I had as my meal (surprise, surprise). It was delicious, and more than enough for me. The parmigiano-reggiano crisp on top was excellent! Maria & Pat started with the Poached Maine Lobster Salad - cara cara oranges, endive, sunchokes, shaved fennel, brown butter vinaigrette. I know what oranges and lobster are, but the rest of the stuff was a mystery to me <g>.

For the main course Pat had another appetizer - the Sauteed Foie Gras, which was onion and pear tartlette with red wine cranberry jus. Christina had the potato wrapped red snapper, creamy leek fondue w/red wine reduction. Maria had the Coriander Crusted Yellowfin Tuna - spicy cabbage, mushroom-foie gras dumplings, red wine-licorice sauce. John had the Cabernet Braised Veal Cheeks w/celery root puree, shiitake mushrooms, roasted shallots, and orange jus. Everything was presented nicely, as it should be - it was a great meal.

John went back to the Swan to go to bed, and the rest of us stuck around for dessert. Alex had the House Made Sorbet, which had 3 different kinds - raspberry-passion fruit, d'anjou pear, and cassis. Christina had the Ginger Cake with poached pear, chantilly crème and huckleberry jus. Maria had the chocolate & vanilla napoleon with pistachio sauce. Pat & I shared the Valrhona Chocolate Souffle with Frangelico sabayon. WOW, was that good! It was way too much for 1 person to eat though, so I was very glad to have someone to share it with. I think it was a little better than the chocolate souffle at Palo on the Disney cruise ships, which is pretty amazing! The total check was about $265 for the 7 of us, which included 2 kids meals and me just having an appetizer. For 7 adults eating full meals it would probably be at least $325 or so, but it was worth the money for such a nice meal/experience.

We walked back to the Swan and got John to pop open a bottle of the champagne. He & Maria get 2 rooms when they travel, so the kids are not in their bedroom. After all, what kind of vacation can it be with your kids sleeping in the next bed <g>?? It worked out especially well this trip, since John was so sick. He was able to go to bed and we all hung out in the other room. The Heavenly Beds here at the Swan really are nice! The kids watched the Disney Channel on tv, while the moms chatted over champagne. Maria & I were sprawled out on one bed with Christina, and it was so soft & comfortable! I'd brought chambord to mix with the champagne, making kir royals for Pat & me.

Around 11 we walked over to the Dolphin, since we had a secret spot where we'd be able to see the fireworks from Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Pleasure Island. It was one of the roof areas, but unfortunately a security officer found us and told us we couldn't be out there. He was very nice, and we went back inside until 11:40 when Illuminations was due to start. We went back and this time stood at the open doorway, which we didn't realize was sounding an alarm down where security was. The same guard came back up, this time with back-up and told us we couldn't be there, either! Maria wanted to see the MK fireworks most of all, while I didn't really care one way or the other if I saw any fireworks (kind of a been there, done that thing for me). We went downstairs and out to the walkway between Swan & Dolphin, where we saw the fireworks from Epcot & MGM. At almost midnight I decided to get out of there before the traffic hit, and the others went back up to Pat's room to watch the MK fireworks from the window in her room.

Leaving the Swan, they had traffic cones everywhere and weren't permitting people to turn left onto the main road to head back towards OKW. I had to go right, then at the next light pulled an illegal u-turn to head back. Traffic cones forced all of the traffic into 1 lane, so the other 2 lanes were free for the cars that would soon be exiting the parks. I imagine it was a total zoo once that started - I remember Larry's family being on the first bus leaving MGM for Animal Kingdom Lodge 2 years ago and it took 90 minutes for them to get there! I was relieved and happy to avoid that mess, and was back at OKW in no time at all.

Once there I made a cup of cappuccino and finished up the report, deciding to skip getting online until morning. It was a very nice New Year's Eve, and spending it with Maria & Pat, who I've been friends with for years, made it special. My only regret is the hunky John being under the weather - sigh. I never made it into any park today, but I enjoyed seeing Pop Century and then relaxing by my pool since the weather was so nice.

DAY 4 THURSDAY JANUARY 1, 2004:

Who: Sue, DVC Member
Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Pat & Cara, DVC mom & daughter from MD
John, my hunky boyfriend, his wife Maria & kids Christina & Alex from NJ

Plan: Lunch at LeCellier, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: Today I was up by 8, showered and had a piece of Maria's biscotti with my cappuccino. Chris needed something from Character Premiere, so I drove over there to arrive before the stores opened at 10. There was no traffic this morning, thank goodness! I picked up what he needed, then drove to the Beach Club Villas. It's so warm it really feels more like early November than early January, and it felt wrong somehow that the Food & Wine Festival booths wouldn't be there!

I walked into Epcot and went to the pin store behind Spaceship Earth to look for Cheryl's other pins. The New Year's Eve was sold out, but I got the NY Day and Kwanzaa pins for her. Spaceship Earth had a long line, but the posted wait was only 10 minutes so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. I didn't time it, but since the line moved steadily it wasn't too bad of a wait. After the ride I went to Innoventions and sent a postcard to Larry in Scotland - since it's New Year's Day, he should have been here - or at least waiting to surprise us at LeCellier with some Christmas Crackers!

After the ride I had time for a brisk walk around World Showcase, and then met the others at LeCellier. We had a short wait for our table, and then asked to be moved because they had 7 of us seated at a table for 6. They moved us to 2 tables along the wall, so we gave the kids their own table. It was fairly busy in there, even though the restaurant had just opened.

I ordered my usual riesling and the cheese soup. I thought the wine tasted a little different than I remembered (less "crisp"), but I figured it was just me until I saw on the bill that the price was different. The waitress confirmed that she brought me something else by mistake, so she got the price adjusted. The soup was perfect! Cara & Alex got the Northern Reflection, which is soda with a scoop of ice cream and a glow cube. Christina got a regular soda, being more mature than the "kids" <g>. She and Alex just had soup for lunch. Cara had the soup and a chicken sandwich, Maria had soup and field greens salad, John had soup and the french dip sandwich, and Pat had the soup and the salmon cakes appetizer. The salmon is the newest item on the menu, and she said it was very well done. Maria's field greens looked great, but it was huge - surprising us all. Everything was very good, and we were way too full to consider any desserts. The kids left after eating to use their fastpasses at Mission Space, while the adults lingered a bit long.

Eventually we left, John went back to the Swan, and the women wandered along the path where all the roses are growing. It sure smells good in there, but I'd never have the patience or discipline to plant & grow roses at home. We shopped in Mouse Gear, then met the kids in the exit area at Mission Space. We ended up playing the space game they have there, and it was a lot of fun. After that it felt more crowded, but probably just because of the area we were in. Christina left to return to the Swan and the others decided to brave the Magic Kingdom even though they didn't expect to get on much there. I walked back to Beach Club Villas and drove back to OKW around 3.

I spent the afternoon online catching up with email, and then ate the other half of the thai chicken wrap from Pop Century. It wasn't soggy at all from sitting overnight, which was a pleasant surprise! I wasn't really hungry, but I figured I would be later, and I'm thinking I might try staying for the late show. Oh, who am I kidding - it's possible, but most likely I'll bail out after the 10:30 <g>. I heard from Greg saying he's working at CW Saturday night - I'll miss him, but hopefully Adie & Lisa will get to see him that night. I also heard from friends Dann & Josh, who I didn't realize were here now, so hopefully we'll see each other at PI tonight. I also made plans to have lunch with Adie & Lisa tomorrow. I packed up most of my stuff, and headed to Downtown Disney shortly after 6, figuring I'd wander around one last time this trip.

Once again parking was a nightmare, and I ended up over by Planet Hollywood but in the very last row near the main road. The crowds walking around were also unbelievable - huge! I really need to make this my last trip at this time of year, because it's just not fun to have the parking difficulties and constant mobs of people everywhere. I'm looking forward to coming back when the crowds have left! At the Marketplace I picked up a sample in Ghiradelli (the line of people waiting to buy stuff was the longest I've ever seen) and then found the New Year's Eve pin Cheryl wanted at the pin store. I really never expected to find it, so that was a pleasant surprise.

At 7 I was waiting in line at the Jazz Club entrance to PI, and Leesa called from the entrance at the other end. It's so aggravating when they open only 1 turnstile to start! They've got a huge bottleneck of people waiting for the 7pm opening, you'd think they'd have each cast member man an open turnstile to help get everyone through! Eventually they opened up 2 more, otherwise I wouldn't have made it to Comedy Warehouse by 7:20, and Leesa was worried at her end also. I got in first so I let Susan know we would be there, and Leesa arrived in time for the show. Carol Stein was on the keys tonight.

The 7:20 cast was Mark, Chris, Joy, Lisa & Brian. They did Fill in the Blank with 2 audience volunteers, in a scene were Joy & Chris were a mother/daughter farming family. Brian & Mark came in as 2 guys who threatened to report them to the law for making illegal white lightning, so Joy agreed to have sex with Brian in exchange for their silence. Next Mark created a funny blues song about annoying someone. They did Actor's Nightmare, with it being Brian's nightmare. He was an obnoxious teen working at a Blockbuster, and Mark came in as a freaky customer. Lisa was Brian's co-worker. There were several funny lines, and the exchanges between Mark & Brian were really great at times, but overall I thought the show really struggled. They closed with a blues song about a guy waiting for his divorce, and they were not very flattering towards him since he was here with his girlfriend. Personally, I don't see the problem, but maybe I just missed the humor in it. We talked to Brian after the show for a while.

The 8:15 cast was Chris, Joy, Lisa, Mark & John. They did Song Cue, where Joy & Mark were students in a martial arts class. Mark was incredibly pathetic, having been at the same beginner level for 4 years, and was about to be thrown out for not progressing. John came in as the instructor. They did an 80's style song called "Do the move I showed ya", a jazz song called "I'm completely paralyzed", and a funny country song called "You are now the Sensay". Letters to the Editor was next, and this dragged tonight. The topic was jam, which isn't particularly funny to start with, and none of the magazines had much potential either. Chris wrote to Maxim, pretending to be a gorgeous young blonde Jam Queen wanting to be featured on the cover of the magazine. Lisa wrote to Entertainment Weekly, and John did a good job as a kid writing to Mad Magazine. The closing number was about a pet peeve of drivers who leave too big of a space in front of their cars. We talked to Mark after the show - nice to see him working this trip!

The 9:15 cast was Mark, Lisa, Brian, Chris & Karl. They opened with a poem called "Buried in the sand with Santa." Brian rang the bell in Should Have Said, where Karl was in prehistoric times as a caveman, and Chris was his woman Oola. Mark was the caveman Oola used to be with. Overall it was just ok. Forgotten Songs was next, and things started looking up. Lisa & Brian sang "Withering Heights", as a married couple. Brian had tables strapped under his shoes, to make the height difference even greater. Mark & Chris were funny as Tiffany & Britney, 2 Disney cast members dressed like cheerleaders singing "Out of the way alloway". Karl was good singing a ballad called "The Mask of Zero", wearing a Zorro mask. Zero fights for oppressed people of New Jersey.

They also played Schmeopardy, hosted by Mark as Hans Alloverme, lol! Brian was a preacher named Father Love, with the Universalist One Life Center of Energy Church. Lisa was Tiffany, a slutty dumb blonde who dresses like a nurse and is hired by old men. Christine was a holistic physical therapist named Celeste Il Seasonings. This was a good Schmeopardy! They ended the show with a blues song about smoking.

The 10:30 cast was Brian, Chris, Joy, Karl & John. Most of the show was Conducted Story, tonight called "There's water near my kilt". They very cleverly included jabs at the family who got the phone interview earlier, which made parts of the story funnier. John died by a toothpick, working as a waiter. Chris's death was great - she died in a banana processing plant and the entire cast played a part. She & Joy were working the line, John was the supervisor, and Brian came in as an ape. Eventually she was killed when Karl was the tarantula that climbed out of the "nanner" (bananas were called nanners, to Chris' extreme irritation). That left Brian & Karl, and Karl was given the style of music to continue the story. Omigod - he cringed when Joy told him he had to continue in that style, and it was painful to watch when he'd try to sing his part of the story. Finally on the 3rd or 4th turn he yelled out "Somebody PLEASE kill me", lol - so he died by a toy fire truck. Brian did an excellent job wrapping up the story. He narrated, and had Joy & Karl act out what he was saying. He even included a guy from the front row, but the guy refused to make love with Karl. It was a very funny ending to the story! They closed with a song about the pet peeve of teeth scraping on a fork when the person eats. Here again, Brian was hysterical - with several oral sex innuendoes that the audience loved <g>.

Leesa was staying for the late show, but I just wasn't really into it enough to stick around that late. While the last couple of shows had been good, I wasn't confident the next one would be worth the wait for me, particularly since the college program kids were out in full force now. I left, but went out my usual exit before I realized the car was way down the other end. It was still very crowded, with a huge line of people at every turnstile coming in.

Beginning next weekend, there will no longer be any 7:20 shows at Comedy Warehouse. Instead, they'll do a 1:00 am seating for a 1:10 am show on Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights. I'll miss the early show, and may be more likely to just plain skip PI on the weekends, since the 1am show does nothing for me. Disney claims this is a test, but we'll see how it goes <g>.

I drove back to OKW and finished up the report. Today was a fun day, and I enjoyed spending it with the friends who were here. We've been really lucky with the weather, and today was another perfect Florida day. The only negative is the big crowds, although Epcot was much better today than earlier in the week.

DAY 5 FRIDAY JANUARY 2, 2004:

Who: Sue, DVC Member
Adie & Lisa, Timberland fashion consultants & biscotti deliverers

Plan: Drive home

Actual: After being up late the night before I decided there wasn't any need to rush off to a park this morning. I can wait until mid-January, when the crowds will be much lighter. I was up around 8 again this morning, and had another piece of Maria's biscotti for breakfast with my cappuccino. There wasn't any express checkout bill on my door, so I called the front desk and was told I didn't have any charges, so there was no bill <g>. Gotta love this dvc stuff!

After semi-watching some of the dregs of our society on morning television, I'd had enough - and decided it was time to go ANYWHERE rather than be subjected to these people - yikes! How can people watch these shows?? I put my stuff in the car and decided to see which bus would come first. Even if I don't ride anything, I can still wander around for a little while since I had over 2 hours before Adie & Lisa would be here. The first bus to arrive was for Animal Kingdom, so I hopped on and soon changed my mind about going there. At the Hospitality House I got off and waited for the Magic Kingdom bus. I thought I might have time to get to Wilderness Lodge and rent a bike for an hour to ride through Ft Wilderness, but I soon realized I didn't have enough time at all.

At the Magic Kingdom I got on the waiting boat to Ft Wilderness & Wilderness Lodge, figuring I could at least wander around for a while or take a walk. The boat goes to Ft Wilderness first, and Adie & Lisa called while I was headed there to report they were running ahead of schedule. I ended up staying on the boat until after it made the 2 stops and returned to the Magic Kingdom, but it was a pleasant ride even though it wasn't very productive!

At the MK I waited forever (30-40 minutes) for a damn OKW bus, and then the driver came over from the other side to get me. Turns out the dispatch person sent him to the wrong spot and it was easier for him to walk over and get me instead of moving the bus! At OKW I got off at the first stop and walked over to the Hospitality House. Adie & Lisa were next in line to be checked in, so after finally noticing them there I went in to join them. At first I didn't see them, because Adie was completely hidden by a woman waiting behind them. They were kind enough to serve as biscotti broker, buying up 2 boxes of my favorite biscotti from the wonderful Doris' Italian Market down in their area and delivering it to me here. It will tide me over until I get to the Doris' in Miami next month!

After they checked in we went over to Olivia's Café for lunch and ate outside on the porch. It was a great lunch - both the food and the company. I got the tomato mozzarella salad, Adie got a triple salad plate (egg salad, tuna, & maybe chicken or potato salad), and Lisa got the bbq pork sandwich. We talked about future trips, and they laughed at me when I said after my Feb 4th single night at Pop Century I wouldn't be back at WDW until mid May. They'll be watching and counting to see how many trips I add, lol.

After lunch they went to their room, since it was ready. I stopped for a hug from Angelo and talked to him briefly, then walked back to my building. A guy on a golf cart stopped and offered me a ride, but I was enjoying the walk. It's really nice of them to ask, though. For some reason it was harder than normal to leave this time. This morning a fellow OKW friend IMed and asked if after all my trips, was OKW still my favorite - and the answer is YES!! Without a doubt, I love staying here at OKW and it's still as wonderful as it was on my very first visit many years ago. I'm so happy I have 38 years left to "live" here while I'm at WDW.

The drive home was easy - although people going the other direction had some fairly major traffic jams. After I got home and unpacked I decided to start "training" for the 2005 half marathon. I thought about the 5-mile route I used to rollerblade daily, but luckily changed my mind to a 2-mile route. I tried jogging, and while I didn't think I was going to die, I was ready to start hoping for a quick & painless death to put me out of my misery! Why do people do this???? Jogging is not fun - at least not the first time out. I did the 2 miles, but it was jog then walk then jog, etc. I'm sure it'll get easier with time, assuming I stick with it.

After that, I called Disney and booked 2 more short weekend trips before mid-May <g>. Adie & Lisa were right!

SUMMARY:
I really enjoyed myself this trip, despite the big crowds making the parks a place to avoid. The weather was perfect, and much nicer than normal for this time of year. I had several great meals, either solo or with friends - Olivia's Café 2x, Wolfgang Puck's Café, LeCellier, Flying Fish - they were all terrific. I especially enjoyed spending time with the many friends who were there, particularly the ones I see infrequently. Darla was great to offer me her couch, and I enjoyed hanging out with her & her family at the beginning of the trip. The time with Maria's and Pat's families was a lot of fun too, and the kids were all great. I did miss some of my local friends, but hopefully I'll see them on the next trips.

Comedy Warehouse was really good for the most part, except for part of the last night. It was great getting to see Greg, Steve and Mark working during my short trip! I wish I was still up there, but I can use the time at home this weekend.

My next trips are all fairly short & come up rapidly. Next weekend a college friend is running the marathon (after my jog today I have enormous respect for her, lol) so I'm going up for a couple of nights but will be staying with friends who live in the area. There won't be a trip report, since it's more of a personal trip than a Disney trip. I'll be writing about the following weekend, which is the Martin Luther King holiday, since I'll be spending 2 nights at Pop Century followed by 2 nights at Old Key West.

Until next time - Happy New Year!

Sue Holland