bartsfam
01-19-2008, 06:43 PM
DATES: December 07-December 14, 2007
FAMILY: Jim (Dad); 42 (9 times)
Joann (Mom); 39 (8 times)
Brian; (Son); 9 (2 times)
Reagan; (Daughter); 5 (1st time!!)
Uncle Bob; 51 (3rd time)
RESORT: Port Orleans; Riverside; Third Time Staying
EXTRAS: Park Hopper Passes, Dining Plan, Magical Express
DINNER SHOWS/CHARACTER MEALS: Crystal Palace, The Garden Grill, and
Hoop-De-Do!
This is my first time ever submitting a trip report, but am an avid reader of past trip reports. I know this is quite long and wordy, but as I remembered the trip, more and more ideas came out. I hope that it is not too long and boring.
This is my wife’s and my 9th visit to WDW since 1979! Our last visit was November of 2000! We waited until the children were old enough to appreciate and remember the trip.
Joann’s Uncle Bob was joining us, as he has always wanted to see WDW through the eyes of a child. He and his wife go frequently, but never with children. He also wanted to help out by letting us ride the adult rides, while he watched the children. He also wanted to ride them too, so we would be switching off quite often. He would only be with us for 3 days, and then he had to continue on for business in South America.
Friday December 7, 2007:
Our flight left Providence Airport at 6:30 am. We had to be at the airport two hours in advance, which meant waking the kids up at 3:00 am. You know what, they didn’t care!! My daughter kept on quoting the Disney World commercial, “I’m too excited to sleep!” and was up and ready to go. We traveled one hour from Central Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island. Parked out car at the Thrifty Car Rental and took the shuttle to the airport, with plenty of time to spare. We checked our bags, and one bag was literally 49.5 pounds. The ticket agent said that I only had a half a pound to spare. I said, “You really take that 50 pound thing seriously?” And he said, “You bet we do. We would have charged you extra for the heavy bag.” I had checked in via my computer 24 hours in advance in order to get a decent boarding pass, as Southwest Airlines does not have assigned seating. We had the “A” boarding pass, and off we went, nonstop, to Orlando International Airport. Our plane took off at 7:30 am, and we arrived at 10:30 am.
My first experience with Disney’s Magical Express was excellent, although trying to find it from the landing gate was somewhat confusing, and I did have to stop at the information desk for directions. Once we found the area, a cast member directed us to the Port Orleans Riverside bus and off we went. We made several stops at the Vacation Club Resorts first, and we were last to be dropped off at POR.
Even though we were there at 12:00 pm, I could not believe that our room was ready upon check in. We had the standard room, while Uncle Bob had the “river view.” Uncle Bob’s room was not ready, in fact his was not ready until after 3:30 pm, go figure.
My wife mentioned that it was my daughter Reagan’s birthday this week, and upon check-in she received a Birthday Pin to wear during our visit, and the cast member said that perhaps something special would happen!
I had requested Alligator Bayou, Building #18, based on previous trips, when I made the reservation in August. Joann wanted Building #18 because it is close to the “quiet pool.” Upon check-in we received Building #14, Room #1440. We balked, but soon realized we were as close as possible to the food court. Uncle Bob ultimately received a room on the other side of Building #14 over looking the “river,” while we were looking out over the parking lot.
My initial reaction to POR was somewhat disappointed. The flowers looked droopy, and colorless. There were plenty of dead leaves on the ground and in the walkways. Then I realized, wait a minute, it’s December you idiot! It’s not always summer in Florida. You just left behind sub zero weather at home! I hope this explains the lackluster landscaping around POR. Maybe it is always this way in December in Florida. I have never been at this time of year before.
Upon entering our room, it was not as I remembered on my last visit to POR, (1998). I don’t mean to be negative, but I took a good close look at the room. The bathroom was clean, but well worn. The grout around some of the tiling was turning brown. My son looked under the bed and found a couple of pretzels and a small G.I. Joe action figure. That is something I definitely don’t expect from Disney. There was also a stain on the front of the TV stand that looked like barbecue sauce. Not a good start to our vacation, but I didn’t let it ruin anything. The kids and I wanted to hit the parks now, but Mom prevailed and we went to the POR food court for a little nourishment.
We did have the dining plan, but the Hoop-De-Do cost two table service allotments, and I wanted to make sure my counter service entitlements lasted the week, so I paid cash for our first meal. The total for four burgers and drinks was $36.00. And the burgers were not even fresh, but warmed over under the heating lamp. I could not wait for the DP to kick in, and maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much. Before heading to the Magic Kingdom, we went back to the room and found our luggage there, within three hours of arriving. A very good thing.
We went and waited for the bus to the MK. My daughter’s first ever visit to the Magic Kingdom was about to take place. She had been wishing and hoping for three years for this trip, and I could not wait to see the look on her face when she was marching down Main St., for the first time. As we approached the gate, my daughter Reagan was giggling with anticipation. Upon entering Main St., she looked at me with a huge smile and a grin. If my trip ended right now it would have been worth it. We marched toward Cinderella’s Castle, hand in hand. She could not believe that she was finally here. I asked her what her first ride was going to be in the MK? She replied, “The Haunted Mansion.” It was not what I expected, but to the mansion we went. By the time we reached the mansion, my wife probably took twenty pictures of Reagan and her brother Brian.
The Haunted Mansion was great with the new enhancements. My children were fascinated with the special effects, especially the hitchhiking ghosts. We did break down inside the ride for a good five minutes, which somewhat took away from the overall experience, but the kids were excited nonetheless. From the mansion, we then rode Thunder Mountain, which soon became the family favorite. My two children easily picked this ride out as their favorite ride in all four parks. We then rode Splash Mountain, which was second favorite. There was only a ten-minute wait for Splash and Thunder. We then came through Adventure Land, and tried Pirates of the Caribbean, which was met with mixed reviews. I am a traditionalist, and the Johnny Depp figure rubbed me the wrong way. I also thought the volume on the ride was way too low. My daughter was having a ball, but my 9-year-old son turned to me and said, “Anymore thrill rides?” This became a reoccurring theme throughout our trip. Regan, five years old, wanted traditional Disney rides, Pooh, the Carousel, Peter Pan, Snow White, etc.. My nine-year-old son grew bored with these rides and wanted “THRILL!!” Mostly we stayed together as a family, but sometimes my wife and I split up to accommodate each child’s wishes for rides.
I said to my son, ”So, you want a thrill ride? Let’s go hit Space Mountain.” Brian meekly agreed to try it, but he was not too sure. We then proceeded to Future World. Joann said, “Maybe we shouldn’t, let’s not scare them right off of the bat so they won’t go on any other rides.” Reagan is the dare devil, and I knew if I could get her to try it, then Brian would have to try it too. He couldn’t let his little sister show him up. We all decided to go as a family. The wait said 20 minutes, but we decided to go anyway. The kids loved the entrance to the ride, and I showed them how the big asteroids projected on the ceiling looked like big chocolate chip cookies. We then boarded. Reagan was in the first car. She started off yelling, “Woo woo woo!!” with her arms in the air. Halfway down though, she turned to me and said “Daddy, is it almost over?” I said that it was, and it was soon over. We got off of the ride. We asked Reagan how she liked it. She looked at me with very sad eyes and said, “I wanted to cry, but I didn’t.” I told her that she wouldn’t have to go on any more scary rides like that. She said that it wasn’t so bad, and maybe she would try later in the week.
We now meandered around the park, enjoying the Christmas lights that were coming on, and the wintery icy lights of Cinderella’s Castle. There was also short waits for Snow White, and Winnie the Pooh, which we rode to my daughter’s delight.
It was now approaching 7:00 pm, and it was time to end our first day in Disney World. The kids, and adults had been up since 3:00 am. We took the long bus ride back to POR, and had dinner in the food court. Joann and Uncle Bob had the Chicken Caesar Salad, which is made to order, your way, while you wait. They raved about that salad all week. I settled on the make it your way pasta, and had the Fettuccini Alfredo with Shrimp. The children had chicken fingers and mac and cheese. One quick note about the children’s choices of food at the food court. There are no kid’s size burgers on the child’s menu. I even asked for a child’s hamburger and they told me that there is not one. Most of the kid’s menu is fried. My son hates fried foods, and this did pose a problem. Thank goodness for the fresh fruit and carrots though. My son lived on grapes, fruit bowls, carrots and applesauce for a good portion of the week. He ate all that, until the concierge let me in on a little Dining Plan secret, which I did not know about, and will share with you later.
We were all in bed by 9:30 pm.
Saturday December 8, 2007:
Ahhhh, the excitement of Disney World. 6:00 a.m., and the children are up and ready to go! “Take us swimming!” they cried. We left Massachusetts with freezing temperatures, and the kids wanted to say that they went swimming in December. We waited until 7:00 am, and hit the quiet pool by Building #18. The kids swam for an hour, and the five of us went for breakfast. The kids had the kid’s Mickey Waffles Platter, while Joann and I had coffee with bagels. Uncle Bob had the make it your way omelet.
The plan for today was the Animal Kingdom. Since Uncle Bob was only with us for three days, he wanted to be sure and ride Expedition Everest. We took the bus over to AK, and began our day.
First off, the day was very hot. Probably in the low 80’s. They said that it was unusual for this time of year. All week long, we had 80-degree weather, and no rain. It was exceptionally warm, but no humidity. Secondly, this was the end of the Pop Warner championship, and some type of cheerleading championship. There were tween cheerleaders everywhere in AK. They cheered getting on a ride, they cheered in the middle of the ride, and they cheered again getting off of the ride. They cheered in front of the bathrooms, and in the bathrooms. They cheered in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. They cheered and marched and sang songs about V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. By the end of the day, we were hot, wet, tired, and had headaches.
First ride of the day was adult’s choice. We all raced over to Expedition Everest. Uncle Bob and Joann tried it first with no wait. While they were on the ride, I watched the kids, and took everyone’s tickets and got five fast passes for 10:30 am, in case the whole family wanted to try it again. Uncle Bob and Joann got off the ride. Joann’s hands were literally trembling. She found the ride exciting, but very exhilarating. She could not stop her hands from shaking. Uncle Bob loved it, and thought it was more intense then Rock and Rollercoaster. Now it was Uncle Bob’s and my turn. Again there was little wait. I liked it, and had a blast, but did not think that the dips, height, and speed were any worse then any other Disney coaster. I still hate the last dip of Splash Mountain, and think that is the most intense drop of all. I have been on other coasters that go backwards, so I kind of knew what to expect. Uncle Bob did not like the pressure on his neck, when he goes backwards. After we rode, I asked Uncle Bob how he liked the animatronic Yeti? He said, “What Yeti?” Joann and I said, “The big huge beast that hangs over the coaster and threatens to derail it!” Uncle Bob said, ”There really was a Yeti? I guess I had my eyes closed during that part.” He rode the ride twice, and never even saw the beast. We decided that the ride was way too intense for the entire family, and I gave away the fast passes to a family of five that was waiting to ride.
Next up the Kali River Rapids. Again, not too intense, but man, way too wet! Reagan and I got drenched. Good thing that there were numerous cheerleaders on our raft to keep our spirits up. Even though it was getting hot, it was too early to be this wet. We now went to Dinosaur! Another ride that was way too intense for Reagan. Brian loved it, but this ride is way too loud!! Talk about going all the way up to 11. They have to turn it down a bit.
Time for lunch. It was my choice, and I have always wanted to try the Flaming Tree Barbecue. Joann ordered the Caesar Salad. (She liked the POR food court salad better. Not enough dressing on the Flaming Tree salad.) Uncle Bob had the pulled pork sandwich. Regan had the chicken fingers from the kid's menu. Again, there was nothing that Brian liked from the kid's menu, so he ate the extras that no one wanted like my beans, and his sister's carrots and applesauce. I chose the ribs. I ate ribs three times during our visit to WDW. These were the worst of the three. I thought they were very dry, and I did not realize that the barbecue sauce was at the condiment stand. I thought that was the way the ribs were. Finally Uncle Bob said that the sauce was at the stand, so I did have some sauce for my last few ribs. They were still dry, even with the sauce. A bus boy also spoke us to for feeding the birds. They definitely frown upon feeding the birds. I guess they get too aggressive. He asked us nicely to not feed them, and then gave us a card with Timon and Pumba reminding us not to feed the animals.
After lunch we did the safari, and the walk-through animal trails. The safari is always different; sometimes I see more then other times. I guess it depends on the time of day. We also saw the Tree of Life, and it’s Tough to be a Bug, which the kid’s loved.
Has anyone ever seen the woman who is in camouflage and on stilts, and dresses like a tree? She was hugging a tree in the AK, and blended right in. Only when she separated from the tree did you see that it was an actual person, and not a branch. She was pretty amazing.
By 4:00 PM, we were done. We wanted to catch Illuminations at Epcot, but needed something to eat first. We were all very tired, and tonight we wanted to cash in with our first table service meal from the meal plan. The Rainforest Café did not accept the meal plan, so we went back to POR for our meal. At 4:00 pm, I had no problems making a reservation at for Boatwright Hall for 5:15 pm. Unfortunately, this was the worst table service meal that we encountered.
I had the Jumbalaya, and the kid’s had pizza and a hamburger. Taking full advantage of the meal plan, Joann ordered the Filet Mignon with a crayfish hollandaise sauce. Uncle Bob ordered the prime rib. The Jumbalaya was very bland, and was not spicy as I like it. The chicken was chicken thighs, which I have never been served in a restaurant before. Joann’s filet was tough as leather and the crayfish hollandaise was just not a nice compliment to the filet. Uncle Bob did enjoy his prime rib though. Reagan had a small pizza, and Brian had a burger. Not a very good start for the sit down portion of our meal plan.
At 6:30 pm, we hopped the bus to Epcot. The last time we were in the World, was November 2000. Brian was only 2 at the time, and we could never stay out late enough to see Illuminations.
We arrived at Epcot which was mobbed! Joann approached people leaving Epcot, and scored a free double stroller from a nice man who was returning his stroller. Joann offered him $5, but he politely declined and told us to enjoy.
I told the children that Epcot was always my favorite. I told them how I loved the futuristic approach to everything, and how much I enjoyed visiting the countries. I told them that it had changed a lot, and how much I missed the older rides like Horizons, and the History of Transportation. Illuminations did not start until 9:30, so I told them we could go on some rides before that. Boy, was I wrong!
Spaceship Earth; closed for refurbishment.. Ellen’s Universe of Energy; closed for the evening. Wait, I know, we’ll go to Norway for the Maelstrom. Ooops, that’s closed too! Test Track; 50-minute wait. Soarin’; 90 minute wait. It was only 8:00 pm, and there was really nothing to do with children until Illuminations. We scoped out an excellent viewing area near Germany and waited and waited for Illuminations to start. The five layered frozen margaritas from Mexico made the wait even better.
While waiting for the Margaritas, I did have my New England Patriots pullover on, as it was a little cool. I received endless comments about the Patriots, and they were not positive comments. I guess the rest of the country does not feel as I do about my beloved New England Patriots.
Illuminations began, and it was excellent. It was very loud, and we could feel the heat from the controlled fire. Reagan did not like how loud it was and had to cover her ears for the entire performance. After it was over, we knew the crowds would be horrible, so we meandered in the opposite direction of the crowds going counter clockwise though the countries. It didn’t make a difference. POR bus stop was still packed. And again, we still ended up standing the entire ride home carrying one exhausted five-year-old.
I don’t know if it was just POR that was crowded, because the other resort bus stops just did not seem to have the crowds our bus stop continually had. It was very late by the time we got back to the hotel, and we all just crashed.
Sunday, December 9th, 2007:
After last night’s late fireworks, we were pretty tired, but it was Uncle Bob’s last day with us, so on we went. After our morning routine of a swim at 7:00 am, and then breakfast, we now went to Disney Studios for a quick morning, and then off to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. The purpose of hitting the studios today was so that Joann and I could hit the adult rides, while Uncle Bob watched the kids. We would then switch off, so Uncle Bob could enjoy them too. But, out first stop ended up being the Beauty and the Beast Stage Show for the 9:30 performance. I could not believe how much energy the cast had so early in the morning. We all enjoyed it, even my 9-year-old son.
Joann and I then rode the Tower of Terror, while Uncle Bob watched the tykes. I sat next to a 70 year old lady who asked me if I ever road it before. I assured her that I had plenty of times. She then said, “Good. I didn’t want you to spoil my ride as it is my favorite, and I didn’t want you screaming in my ear.”
After the TOT, we deftly avoided the High School Musical 2 stage show in front of the Great Movie Ride, (good thing that my kids really don’t care.) The whole family then rode The Great Movie Ride. I cannot believe that the script has not changed one iota since I’ve been going to the studios. My wife and I always debate; didn’t the Bubsby Berkley dancers used to spin around some time ago? The kids enjoyed the ride, and Reagan only cringed a little when the alien came.
Well, we had dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom for 12:00 pm, so we made a quick exit to the bus service out in front of the studios. This was another long wait for a bus to the Magic Kingdom. There was a long line of people waiting for the bus, and the gentleman in front of me in line stated that he had already been waiting for over 25 minutes. After another 15 minutes, one bus arrived, and the entire line crammed onto the bus. Maybe it was a slow time of day for people to transfer from the Studios to the MK, but it was still quite a long wait.
Nonetheless, we still made it in plenty of time for our 12-noon reservation at the Crystal Palace for the Buffet with Winnie the Pooh and Friends. We checked in, and then waited for half and hour for our table. My daughter had her birthday pin on, but our server did not notice. Halfway through our meal, the hostess came to our table, and said to the server, “Did you know that it’s Reagan’s Birthday today?” He responded, “Err..no I didn’t.” The hostess then threw mouse eared shaped confetti on our table, as well as silver and red ribbon, and wished Reagan a happy birthday. It was if she was scolding our server for not noticing. Anyway, the buffet was good, not great. There were carving stations with pork, and flank steak. There were numerous cold salads, breads, hot vegetables, (I really liked the broccoli,) as well as mac and cheese and chicken fingers for the kids. There was also a desert bar with a make your own sundae, as well as cookies, and small servings of pie.
Winnie the Pooh, Eyore, Piglet, and Tigger made the rounds quite often, and during the course of our meal, they visited our table twice. Approximately once an hour, Pooh leads a parade around the restaurant, and all the children can join in and wave their napkins while they march. Overall, this was a good time, and the kids loved it! We took numerous pictures of the kids with the various characters.
After lunch, we hit the MK hard. We rode the family favorite, Thunder Mountain numerous times. We also rode Pooh, It’s a Small World, and Splash Mountain. The only ride we could never seem to get on was Peter Pan’s Flight. The line was always too long, or the Fast Passes were done for the day. We never could get on that ride just yet….
Uncle Bob then offered to buy the kids Mickey Mouse watches for an early Christmas present. Brian ended up with a boy’s Mickey Mouse watch that you can change the outside rim of with four different colors. Reagan opted for the Minnie Mouse digital watch that you can change the outside cover with different Minnie Mouse scenes. Brian’s watch was $29, and I have to say, it is very disappointing. The first watch he had, all of the numbers on the rim wore off within 2 days. We exchanged it with no problem, but the same thing happened with the second watch. The watch also says that it is water resistant, but that does not include the shower or the pool. Each time that he wore it in the shower or pool, the inside would fog up! You would think for $29, you could at least take a shower with a watch on. Oh well, he loves the watch, and is just very careful not to sneeze on it!
We stayed for the lighting of the castle, and the fireworks again. We did not eat dinner in the parks because we were still too full from the buffet. We headed back to the motel, and ate at the POR food court. Again, Joann and Uncle Bob had the salads again, and I had the Fettucini Alfredo with shrimp, which I split with Brian. Reagan had the chicken fingers.
We then returned to our room, and Uncle Bob left us for his next flight out of Orlando, to continue his business trip. We were sorry to see him go. Not only does he spoil the children, but he helped us, and made sure that Joann and I could go on all of the adult rides without having to worry about the kids. For the rest of the vacation, we could all concentrate on family fun for all!
Monday December 10, 2007:
With Uncle Bob gone, it was now time to back track to previous parks, and go through them slowly, and thoroughly. Today was Epcot day. Again, the usual routine, a swim at 7:00 am, and then breakfast. We then took the bus to Epcot. We had dinner reservations for 4:00 pm in Mexico, so it was just a matter of hitting the attractions, and making sure that we were in Mexico by 4:00 pm.
We entered the park, and immediately made our way to Soarin’. The Land pavilion was already mobbed, but the wait was not too bad first thing in the morning. I had heard that Soarin’ got crowded fast and early so, before entering the ride, I got four fast passes to return at 10:30 am. The ride was excellent, the kids really got a kick out of it, although Reagan was concerned that she going to lose her rubber shoe on the floor. For the next ride we secured it down below in the netting below the seat. We also took the new and improved boat ride in the Land, and saw all of the amazing vegetables and fish that grow there. I cannot believe the beautiful tomato plants. I grow tomatoes, and every year fight blight and rot of the plants. Never mind the tomatoes, even the plants were lush, green and beautiful. There was not a rotten leave to be found. The Mickey Mouse Cinderella pumpkins were also very ingenious.
While we were in this area of Future World, we decided to go to the Imagination Pavilion. Of course we rode the ride with Figment. I cannot say that I enjoy this ride. Five minutes after leaving the ride, I could not tell you what it was about. The only thing that I remember was a loud unexpected explosion near the end of the ride that freaked my daughter out. She was enjoying herself up to that point.
After the ride, at the exhibit at the end, I found it funny that at the kiosks to send a picture of yourself via email, all of the keyboards on the computers were so worn out you could not see any letters. You had to type email addresses guessing where the letters were on the keyboard. I was having flashbacks back to high school typing class, when they wouldn’t let you look at the keyboard! I also noticed that the computers were running Windows 2000. So much for futuristic high technology in Future World!
Reagan was getting tired, so we decided to rent a single stroller in the front of the park. As we passed Spaceship Earth, were my eyes deceiving me? No! They were letting people on. We quickly got in line, and I explained to the kids that this was a soft opening, and we were pretty much guinea pigs to see how the new ride worked, and how we liked it.
I could not believe our good fortune to get a chance to ride the new Spaceship Earth, when it wasn’t even supposed to open until February. The ride started off. At the beginning of the ride, they took our picture. Then we began down a long black tunnel. I could see a caveman in the distance. And then….nothing. The ride broke down. We were not moving. Brian was with me, and he asked what was the problem. I said, “Ahh nothing, they probably blew a fuse. It should only be a couple of minutes.” I checked my watch. A couple of minutes turned into 13 minutes. A voice came over the loud speaker and said to remain in the vehicles. The voice actually said, “The ride will resume if and when we fix the problem.” Brian began to panic. We were in pitch black. I pointed out the stairs off to our right, and he calmed down a bit. Then the ride started. Then it stopped again. All told, the ride system broke down three times, so I really lost the continuity of the story.
However, everything looked spiffed up, and there were a couple of new scenes added. The ride back down was o.k., although I thought the cartoons showing our future was a bit under whelming. I have now heard that your head from the picture that they took at the beginning is now put on the characters. Due to the technical difficulties with the ride system, I cannot say for sure how I liked it. There were too many interruptions. Oh well, maybe next time I can experience the full experience.
We then went and saw “Honey I Shrunk the Audience.” The kids got a kick out of it, but again, Reagan said that it was too loud, and she had to cover her ears a few times.
We then crossed Future World and rode Test Track. Another family favorite. We rode this ride day and night, as many times as we could. We also saw Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which is in dire need of updating. My kids did say though, “Is that the voice of Dory?” We then crossed back to use our Soarin’ fast passes.
After our second ride on Soarin’ it was time for lunch. We ate in the mobbed Land food court. Using our dining plan, I had the ˝ rotisserie chicken dinner. Reagan had the PB&J, Joann had another grilled chicken salad, (she still liked the POR food court salad the best!), and Brian could not find anything he liked, so he ate his sister’s grapes, my cornbread, and some left over apple sauce. For desert, we got carrot cake, a sugar cookie, and a Rice Krispy Treat. Without a doubt, it was the worst Rice Krispy Treat ever. Maybe that is the way some people make them, but it was totally greasy on the bottom, and that made for a greasy texture in your mouth. We could not even finish it, and threw away the treat!
For the rest of the afternoon, we meandered through the countries. We rode the Norway ride, the Maelstrom, and skipped the movie at the end. Mexico was beautiful as always, but man, the boat ride, in my opinion, has taken a turn for the worse. That was once my son’s favorite when he was 2. Not it is unrecognizable and very disappointing. The old song was memorable, kind of like “It’s a Small World.” In the old ride, I thought the ending was excellent with the fiber optic fireworks and the carousel of dancing puppets. They removed the carousel, and replaced it with a large screen television with Donald Duck and friends on it? That’s a finale? No thanks!
Now it was time for our meal in The San Angel Inn in Mexico. We were seated promptly. I had not eaten here since my honeymoon in 1991. At the time I thought it was too expensive and the portions way too small. Now with the meal plan, it was worth a visit. For appetizers we had the nachos, which the whole family enjoyed. For entrees, I had the surf and turf, which was basically spicy shrimp and beef. Joan had some type of beef. Brian had the children’s quesadilla, and Reagan had chicken fingers. On whole the meal was filling and good, not great. But, the atmosphere of the town and the volcano can’t be beat. We were also serenaded by a mariachi band playing Christmas carols. Again, it’s a lot less painless to eat in certain restaurants when you are on a discounted meal plan.
After dinner, there were two things that Brian, my young scientist wanted to do after reading the Unofficial Disney Guide. According to the guide, we could go to China and buy Chinese fans for $4, and they would inscribe your name in Chinese on the fan. The other thing that he wanted to do was go to Japan and buy an oyster that would guarantee a pearl inside. First stop was China.
We found the fans outside in the covered market place just as advertised in the book. We bought the $4 fans, but the girl would not write their names in Chinese on them. She said that they stopped doing that, because it was too hard to write on the material. She said that if we bought the more expensive parasols, she would write their names on those. Of course, the more expensive item. We declined, but bought the fans anyway.
Hopefully we would have better luck in Japan. And we did. Brian purchased the oyster for $15. When the girl opened up the oyster, she found two! They made quite a big deal out of it and began banging a drum, and everyone around clapped. The girl stated that less then 10% have double pearls. She also measured them and told us that the pearls were very large, and some of the largest ones that she had seen today. So, the oyster thing was a big hit.
On the way back to Future World, we stopped in the bathrooms on the left hand side of the old Odyssey restaurant. The bathrooms were as quiet as ever, but very well worn. I also noticed that the Odyssey is in rough shape. All of the outside windows were covered in cobwebs and very dirty. Earlier in the day I peeked in and saw a private function happening in the front of the restaurant. That place has not changed in years. I wish they would do something positive with it.
We then rode Test Track again after a five-minute wait, and then called it a night. Even though we left early, at around 7:00 pm, we still had the longest bus wait out of all of the resorts, and the most people, and we had to stand all the way back to the hotel yet again.
Tuesday December 11, 2007:
Today, we were going to rest up a bit and go slow, and try not to hit the parks until 12 noon. We tried to sleep late a little, but of course the kids wanted no part of that. We had breakfast, and then decided to lie by the pool as it was such a hot sunny day, and back home in Massachusetts an impending snowstorm was fast approaching. Joann laid by the adult pool, and I took the kids over to the fun pool over at Old Man Island. This pool had a water slide, and the kid’s rode down it, over and over again, for 2 hours. It was quite a mix, listening to Christmas carols over the sound system, and swimming outdoors in a pool in 80 degree weather. They finally got out, and it was time for a quick lunch before our day in the parks.
Unfortunately after being here for five days, with only 2 days left, our concierge let me in on a secret that I wished I had known earlier. My son Brian is a very picky eater. So far, there was a limited children’s menu at all of the counter service meals. He cannot stand fried foods. This resulted in him skipping meals, and eating our leftovers, such as our fruit, soups, or various sides. I went to the concierge to pick up our Hoop-De Do tickets for tomorrow night, and I requested my balance left on my counter service meals. I wanted to know how many adult counter service meals, and how many children counter service meals that I had left. The concierge advised that they do not keep track of adult and children counter service meals. He then went on to advise that children could get an adult counter service meal. He said the policy was only strictly enforced at the table service meal, where he would have to order from the children’s menu. He said that, at this time, a counter service meal can be anything and does not have to come from the children’s menu. Great. Now they tell me. All week long we Brian had been eating scraps, and the adults had been sharing their meals with him. He discovered a penchant for my Fettucini Alfredo with shrimp.
Before heading out to the Studios, we now had lunch in the food court. Brian had himself a heaping helping of the aforementioned Fettucini Alfredo with Shrimp. The rest of us had the burgers, as tonight we had an early reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine In. At approximately 12:30 PM we were in the Studios. We wanted to ride the rides that we had missed earlier with Uncle Bob, and then have dinner and go home early.
The Studios were not that crowded, and we had a minimum wait on Muppetvision 3-D, and Star Tours. Star Tours is getting old, but the kids love the movies, and only partially enjoyed the ride. They appreciated the indoor and outdoor sets more then the ride.
We did however thoroughly enjoy the show outside of Star Tours, the Jedi Training Academy. If you are not familiar with it, they pick approximately 12 children out of the crowd, and then bring them up on stage to “train” with a Jedi master using plastic light sabers. After a few quick, humorous lessons, Darth Vader comes out, and the “younglings” have a battle with Darth Vader and two Imperial Stormtroopers. During the show, they use real Star Wars sound effects, and background music. The real Darth Vader voice also speaks. The young Jedi’s defeat Vader and the stormtroopers, and then receive certificates for their training. It was very fun to watch, and my daughter was dying to be in it, but we were never in front of the stage at the right time to be chosen.
After this we took a walking tour of the New York and San Francisco back drops, and saw Kim Possible standing on the side of the street all alone. No one was having their picture taken with her. She looked awfully lonely.
Reagan wanted her face painted, and they offered it on the New York City Street. So, for $15, she had her face painted like Tinker Bell. She liked the idea of it, but found the face paint very heavy, and she was afraid to talk for fear of cracking the paint.
Next we saw “Lights Camera Stunts.” This show was very entertaining, and the kids had been begging to see it all week. The only problem was that it was scheduled to end at the precise time of our dinner reservation at Sci-Fi Dine In. So, we had to leave the stunt show a little early, and miss the grand finale. What a bummer! Such is the price one pays with all of this discounted dining plan being offered and all of these reservations made six months in advance.
I had not eaten in the Sci-Fi since my honeymoon in 1991. I remembered a lot of atmosphere, with lousy food. This time however, the kids loved sitting in the front seat of the convertible by themselves, and the food was quite good. This was my second time having ribs in the world, and they tasted better to me then the ribs at the Flaming Tree. Joann had the steak, and the kids had a hamburger and a hotdog. I also had the Vanilla shake which was thick and delicious, and the chili for my appetizer. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
After dinner it was dark out, so we went and saw the Osborne Lights. Out of all of the Christmas lights on display, all over the world, these lights were by far, our favorite. They were breathtaking in their beauty. Combined with the music, and the “snow”, this was our family’s favorite Christmas display in WDW.
Before we left, we had one more ride on the Great Movie Ride. This time we had the gangster hijack our car, rather then the cowboy we always seem to get. We left the park, and waited for a bus, and stood the entire time back to our hotel, yet again.
It was a relatively early night, but we all turned in. Tomorrow was going to be a late night with the Hoop De Do Revue.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007:
We had started a routine lately of going to the parks later in the day, and relaxing in the pools in the morning. Tonight we had the Hoop-De-Do and MK was open until 9:00 pm, so we took our time going to the MK today.
Reagan wore her Minnie Mouse costume to the park in hopes of meeting Minnie Mouse. Right before entering the park, I saw a cast security member carrying a huge black snake toward the boat ramp at the entrance to the park. I guess it was trying to enter the MK. I don’t know what kind of snake it was, but the cast member didn’t seem to care. He picked it up and carried over to the boat ramp area and let it go over the fence. The snake then slithered down into the water.
We had to be at Pioneer Hall for the Hoop De Do for 5:00 pm, and the man at the boat ramp said to be back for the 4:00 boat, no later. He said that they don’t fool around over there, and if you are not there for check in, they will give your reservation to someone else.
We now went and hit all of the rides we could before the 4:00 pm boat to Fort Wilderness. First, we went to Fantasy Land, and still could not get on that dang Peter Pan ride. The line was 50 minutes, and the fast passes were for after 5:00 PM already. We did go on Pooh again.
Reagan really wanted to meet Minnie Mouse, so we went to Toon Town, to the character meet to see who was available. There were two lines. One for the Disney princesses, and the other for Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto. The wait was for 30 minutes, while the princesses was only for 10 minutes. But Reagan wanted Minnie, so Joann and Reagan waited for them. Reagan finally got to meet Minnie Mouse. They looked very cute in their matching dresses. Joann took several pictures, and the Disney Pass people did too. We later bought a picture on line when we got home. Brian and I hung around Toon Town, while Reagan was meeting Minnie.
We then went through the castle, and Joann and Reagan stuck their heads in the Bibbidi-Bobbity-Boutique, to ask about prices for future visits. When Joann got the pamphlet, the cast member at the podium asked, “May I?’ and then sprinkled pixie dust over Reagan’s head! She was shimmering and sparkling for a couple of days after that.
It was time for lunch, and I always wanted to try the Columbia House, as I don’t think that I ever tried it before. Again, it was fried food heaven, but we were in the mood for fish and chips, so we all got an order, except for Brian. The food was adequate; I don’t think I would go there again unless I had to.
We then went to the Hall of Presidents, so Reagan could try for a quick nap. We then saw the Disney Dreams Parade. It was good, and the stupid song was catchy and the kids and I still sing it almost one month later.
We then went to the boat launch for the 4:00 pm boat to Fort Wilderness. Do you ever go away on vacation, and see someone that you know? I’m from Massachusetts, but I always run into someone I know when I’m at the World. On this trip it was a slight variation on running into some I know. It happened on the boat to Fort Wilderness. A lady sitting next to me turned to us and said, “I know that accent anywhere, you guys are from Massachusetts.” She asked where we were from, and I said a small town near Worcester. She then said, “That’s where I grew up, but moved away a long time ago. I still have family and friends there.” She asked me the small town, and when I said it she yelled, “My sister-in-law is an elementary school teacher there.” Sure enough, I had her sister-in-law many years ago in elementary school. My town is only 7,000 people, yet here was a link back home. She then called her sister-in-law on her cell phone from the boat to tell her whom she was sitting next to. What a small world.
I have not been to Fort Wilderness and Pioneer Hall since 1979 with my parents to see the Hoop De Do. For years I have been begging my wife, and the various people I have been to WDW with to go to the Hoop-De-Do. No one ever would. Everyone thought that it would be corny and a waste of money. But with the meal plan, and now we had children, I finally got my way.
Brian asked what the show was going to be like. I told him that there would be signing and dancing, and lot’s of joke telling. He rolled his eyes, and looked at me and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” My wife also thought it was a bad idea. All I remembered was how much I loved it when I was twelve, and the entire family had a ball!
We arrived in plenty of time, and checked in with the staff. We then walked to the petting zoo, next to Pioneer Hall. There were little white ponies with the most piercing blue eyes that were at the rails. The signs said, “Do not pet.” We didn’t, but we were dying to. And the ponies kept on nudging us to be petted, but we were very good, and did not pet them. The next day, we saw these very same ponies pulling Cinderella’s coach in the Christmas Night Time Parade, at the Mickey Christmas Party.
Prior to being seated for the Hoop-De-Do, an “a capella” singing group of all Golden Age women sang Christmas carols on the front steps of Pioneer Hall. I do not recall their names, but they were very good, and handed each child in the audience a small bell to play along with the songs. Again, it was very strange to be sweating with Christmas songs playing in the background.
At last, it was time to enter. We were seated the furthest away you could possibly be from the stage. We were on the balcony in the rear corner. Even though we were far away, we could still see and hear everything just fine. The cast members came up during the show on numerous occasions to interact with us.
Now for the food. I told you that I had ribs three times at the World. These were the best ribs that I ate. The chicken was also delicious, very juicy. I had heard that the food at Pioneer Hall was not so good, but we found it delightful. The meal also included cornbread, mashed potatoes, and Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. Beer and wine was also included. I ordered a Bud Light draft, which our server returned with, and then brought over a pitcher of Bud Light just for me! My wife ordered red wine. He also brought over a glass and a small pitcher of red wine for her! Plenty to eat and drink, and it was all included for two meals off of the meal plan total.
As for the show. We all loved it! It was the kid’s favorite entertainment that we saw at the World. They laughed out loud. They yelled, sang, and clapped. At the end, they got to play a washboard. Joann and I enjoyed it, just seeing what a great time the kid’s were having. I videotaped small portions of the show, and my kid’s love watching the Hoop-De-Do the most when we watch vacation videos. This show was the highlight of the trip.
After the show, we took the boat back to the MK, which was open until 9:00 pm tonight. We pretty much had the entire park to ourselves tonight, and rode Thunder Mountain over and over again. I usually love this ride, but I had a full belly of all the chicken, ribs, beer, and mash potatoes that I could eat! After the fourth consecutive ride, I was done. The Spectro Magic Parade was coming through, and Brian begged me to take him on Splash Mountain, while Reagan and Joann watched the parade. We rode Splash Mountain twice, and then we all watched the fireworks from in front of Splash Mountain.
We then stood on the crowded bus back to POR.
Thursday, December 13, 2007:
Our last day in the parks. We had a full day in front of us, which if everything went as allowed, we would be leaving the MK at 12-midnight after the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. So, we started off slow in the morning, with breakfast and a swim. Our first stop was to be Epcot, to finish up any rides that we missed earlier, and to have lunch at the Grill with Chip and Dale.
Epcot was mobbed! I thought the first two weeks in December were supposed to be the quietest of the year! Spaceship Earth was opened to cast members only. Soarin’ already had a 90 minute wait, and the fast passes were already for late afternoon. We went to the Living Seas, and rode the new Nemo ride, and went inside and saw all of the fish in the tanks.
The Nemo ride was a lot longer then I expected. I thought that they just took the old Sea cab ride, and added Nemo too it. The old Sea Cab ride was very short, but the Nemo ride was very long. I kept expecting it to end at the next corner, but it kept on going and going. Inside, the rooms surrounding the tanks are all “Nemo-ized.” Again, I am a traditionalist. I loved the Seas the way they were. I missed the old elevators that made you feel like you were being transported to an undersea lab. The entire presentation made me feel like I was on a deep sea diving expedition. Now, I was taking a comical picture of my daughter in Bruce, the big shark’s, mouth. Oh well.
We wanted to see the American Adventure, but the start time conflicted with our lunch reservation. Another miss due to a dining reservation. We had reservations for the Garden Grill restaurant with Chip and Dale. This was our second favorite meal and dining experience after the Hoop-De-Do. The Land Pavilion was mobbed, and noisy. This restaurant was quiet and peaceful. We loved the rotating restaurant, and the view of the old farmhouse and buffalo from the Land boat ride. Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Farmer Mickey Mouse visited us during the meal.
I asked the server how we could tell Chip from Dale? I didn’t expect him to know the answer, but he answered without hesitation that Chip had the black nose, (chocolate chip, get it?) and Dale had the red nose. He then went on to describe the differences in their teeth. Pluto was very spirited today. He had us laughing by sniffing my son’s under arms, and waving his hand in front of his nose to wave away the odor. He then took two serving trays and put them on the side of his head and pretended he was Mickey Mouse. The entire side of the restaurant was laughing out loud. The kid’s really got into the character visit today. Brian, who usually wants nothing to do with characters, kept on looking out for who was coming next to visit, and then announcing who it was, and actually smiling for the pictures.
And the food was pretty decent. It was all you could eat, flank steak in a Merlot sauce, fried catfish, turkey with cranberry relish, and various grilled vegetables. The kids had mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets, and picked from the grown up choices. For desert, we had a delicious hot apple crisp, while the kids had a build your own cupcake.
After lunch, all of the rides were mobbed, and we decided to head over to the MK, for our final assault on the parks. While I was leaving Epcot, I longed for the old days of Epcot, before it became so Disney-fied. I longed for that first visit, back in 1985, when I first rode Horizons, World of Motion, explored the Seas and had burgers at the Odyssey restaurant. It was educational, adult, and down right awesome. Now it seemed somewhat cheapened and too cute.
Anyways, on to the MK. This was our last hurrah, so we had to ride our favorites one last time, because who knew when we were coming back to WDW. This posed a problem. Brian wanted thrill rides, while Reagan wanted fantasy rides. So several times we rode together, or broke up with Joan taking Reagan on the fantasy rides, while I took Brian on the “thrill rides.”
As a family, we rode Space Mountain one last time. Reagan sat in the back this time, and liked it much better. We also rode Buzz Lightyear as a family. I looked across the way, and what did my eyes see? The Carousel of Progress, and it was open! I grabbed the family, and we headed over. We walked right in, and sat down. I told my kids about the history and tradition of this ride, and all that it meant to Walt Disney, and that this was how the whole thing started. They looked at me and mouthed ,”blah, blah, blah…” But, when the show started, they were transfixed. They enjoyed seeing how progress was made, from generation to generation in each scene. Later, when we returned home, I heard my son repeating to my daughter the history of Carousel of Progress, and how Walt Disney himself worked on the show, and how it was his favorite. See, they did listen. I videotaped the entire show, and I still see them watching it, in full, on the vacation videos.
While we were watching the Carousel, a woman with a small child got up and exited the theater out of the rear door. Soon an alarm was sounding, and a cast member was screaming over the loud speaker to remain seated, and do not leave the theater. We were stuck in a scene, and had to watch it twice. The cast member screamed into the loud speaker, “Don’t anyone leave, or you’ll have to watch the scene again!” She was yelling so loud, we didn’t dare move.
Joann and Regan rode Cinderella’s Carousel a few times. We also rode Pooh again. And we still didn’t ride Peter Pan because the fast passes were done for the day, and the wait was still one hour. We rode the Haunted Mansion again, and also Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. We saw the Dreams parade again. We then waited in line for our Very Merry Christmas Party wristbands.
The kids were getting tired and cranky. They finally hit the wall. We started to argue and could not agree on anything such as rides, or dinner. The kids were just plain tired out!
The crowds began to change. The day crowd was leaving, and the night crowd was beginning to arrive. We were walking by Fantasy Land, and lo and behold, there was no wait for Peter Pan. We walked right on, after days and days of trying to ride that ride. Joann and I decided that each of us had not ridden that ride since the 1970’s. It was very good, and the effect of feeling like you are in the sky was as how I remembered.
I still had two counter service meals apiece, so we looked for a place to have dinner. One thing that I did not know, and they don’t really tell you, is that the majority of the restaurants were closed for the Very Merry Party. The ones that were open, served only the free hot chocolate and cookies. We hit the Columbia House for those rare free treats, and skipped dinner for now.
Numerous times, while walking through the park, we were asked to show our bracelets to prove that we paid for the Very Merry Party. The crowds were not so bad, and we could have gone on any ride that we wanted.
Again, this being our final day, so we split up so that each child could get in the ride they wanted most. For Reagan, this meant the little kid fantasy rides, while Brian and I hit Thunder Mountain, yet again.
We watched the Christmas Parade, and saw the ponies from yesterday at the petting zoo at Fort Wilderness. We were all starving at this point. The only restaurant that I knew of serving food was in Tommorowland at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. We all got burgers, with that wonderful fixing bar, and watched the fireworks on the outside deck overlooking the water and the castle.
And then, it was over. Both kids said they just could not go on any further. It was only 9:30 pm, and we could have stayed until midnight, and rode any ride that we wanted, but they said that they had enough. They wanted to go back to the motel, and just sleep. They did not even want to ride one more ride, before we left.
Sadly, we walked down a snow-flurried Main St. I took one last look back at the ice covered Cinderella’s castle, and we left the park, not knowing when we will return. Hopefully sooner then the seven years that it took us to come back.
So for the cost of four Very Merry tickets, (almost $200) we lasted only 2 ˝ hours. Even if we stayed the full 5 hours, I do not think that I would do it again. For the regular price of admission I saw snow at the Osborne Lights. We rode all of the rides with no lines when the MK stayed open until 9:00 PM on a regular night. So for $200, we got cocoa, limited dining options, mostly closed restaurants, different fireworks, and a Christmas Parade, which I understand was running for day guests later in the season.
Even though we left early, so did a lot of other people going to our resort. Again, we waited for a second bus, and then stood all the way back to the resort. I don’t think I sat once riding back to my resort at the end of a day.
Once back at the hotel, we all crashed as soon as we entered the room.
Friday, December 14, 2007;
Travel day, time to go home. Checkout was not until 11:00, so we decided to make the most of one last swim. Yesterday, back home in Massachusetts, they received 8” of snow. The kids and I wanted to say that in one day we swam in an outdoor pool, and had a snowball fight all in one day. I was not looking forward to returning home and snow blowing out the driveway tonight.
We ate one last breakfast and used up all of my remaining counter service allotments and snacks.
We swam in the pools one last time.
I had to carry my own luggage, because for some reason, Southwest Airlines does not participate in the Magical Express Service.
As we were waiting for the Magical Express Bus, a cast member, I will not name, or identify where we were, saw my New England Patriots shirt. He then said something very un-Disney like. He said that he didn’t like the Pats, but hoped they won the Super Bowl. I asked why? He said, “I’ve got $500 on the Pats to win the whole thing.” I hope they win too.
We went to the airport, and Brian picked up two ornamental orange trees to grow back home. My luggage was four pounds under this time, and off we went to Providence, R.I.
Goodbye 80-degree weather, hello freezing cold and 10 inches of snow. We retrieved our luggage with no problem. The Thrifty shuttle van was waiting at curbside, and my car was warmed up and waiting for me in the Thrifty driveway. The car was there for the week for a very reasonable $60.
While driving back to Rutland, we chastised ourselves for not asking one of our neighbors to snow blow the driveway. We made a plan to just drive through the drift, and worry about getting the car unstuck tomorrow.
There was no need. Our neighbors had the driveway cleaned out. And with that, we were home.
TRIP SUMMARY:
Rating the Barbecue Ribs in the World:
#1; Hoop-De-Do
#2; Sci-Fi Dine In
#3; Flaming Tree
Entertainment or Character Dining with the Kids;
#1; Hoop-De-Do
#2; The Garden Grill
#3; Crystal Palace
Worst Over-All Meal:
-Boat Wright Hall
Best Overall Meal:
-Garden Grill & Hoop-De-Do (TIE)
Dining Plan Tip(s);
Don’t forget that children can order from the ‘adult’ counter service meals, and are not limited to the children’s meals at the counter service restaurants. However, table service meals, must be ordered from the appropriate menu.
For some reason, most of the coffee stands in Epcot DO NOT accept the dining plan for snacks. I could get a coffee to go in a lot of places, but for some reason, not at the outside coffee stands in Epcot. Perhaps they are owned by an outside company?
FAMILY: Jim (Dad); 42 (9 times)
Joann (Mom); 39 (8 times)
Brian; (Son); 9 (2 times)
Reagan; (Daughter); 5 (1st time!!)
Uncle Bob; 51 (3rd time)
RESORT: Port Orleans; Riverside; Third Time Staying
EXTRAS: Park Hopper Passes, Dining Plan, Magical Express
DINNER SHOWS/CHARACTER MEALS: Crystal Palace, The Garden Grill, and
Hoop-De-Do!
This is my first time ever submitting a trip report, but am an avid reader of past trip reports. I know this is quite long and wordy, but as I remembered the trip, more and more ideas came out. I hope that it is not too long and boring.
This is my wife’s and my 9th visit to WDW since 1979! Our last visit was November of 2000! We waited until the children were old enough to appreciate and remember the trip.
Joann’s Uncle Bob was joining us, as he has always wanted to see WDW through the eyes of a child. He and his wife go frequently, but never with children. He also wanted to help out by letting us ride the adult rides, while he watched the children. He also wanted to ride them too, so we would be switching off quite often. He would only be with us for 3 days, and then he had to continue on for business in South America.
Friday December 7, 2007:
Our flight left Providence Airport at 6:30 am. We had to be at the airport two hours in advance, which meant waking the kids up at 3:00 am. You know what, they didn’t care!! My daughter kept on quoting the Disney World commercial, “I’m too excited to sleep!” and was up and ready to go. We traveled one hour from Central Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island. Parked out car at the Thrifty Car Rental and took the shuttle to the airport, with plenty of time to spare. We checked our bags, and one bag was literally 49.5 pounds. The ticket agent said that I only had a half a pound to spare. I said, “You really take that 50 pound thing seriously?” And he said, “You bet we do. We would have charged you extra for the heavy bag.” I had checked in via my computer 24 hours in advance in order to get a decent boarding pass, as Southwest Airlines does not have assigned seating. We had the “A” boarding pass, and off we went, nonstop, to Orlando International Airport. Our plane took off at 7:30 am, and we arrived at 10:30 am.
My first experience with Disney’s Magical Express was excellent, although trying to find it from the landing gate was somewhat confusing, and I did have to stop at the information desk for directions. Once we found the area, a cast member directed us to the Port Orleans Riverside bus and off we went. We made several stops at the Vacation Club Resorts first, and we were last to be dropped off at POR.
Even though we were there at 12:00 pm, I could not believe that our room was ready upon check in. We had the standard room, while Uncle Bob had the “river view.” Uncle Bob’s room was not ready, in fact his was not ready until after 3:30 pm, go figure.
My wife mentioned that it was my daughter Reagan’s birthday this week, and upon check-in she received a Birthday Pin to wear during our visit, and the cast member said that perhaps something special would happen!
I had requested Alligator Bayou, Building #18, based on previous trips, when I made the reservation in August. Joann wanted Building #18 because it is close to the “quiet pool.” Upon check-in we received Building #14, Room #1440. We balked, but soon realized we were as close as possible to the food court. Uncle Bob ultimately received a room on the other side of Building #14 over looking the “river,” while we were looking out over the parking lot.
My initial reaction to POR was somewhat disappointed. The flowers looked droopy, and colorless. There were plenty of dead leaves on the ground and in the walkways. Then I realized, wait a minute, it’s December you idiot! It’s not always summer in Florida. You just left behind sub zero weather at home! I hope this explains the lackluster landscaping around POR. Maybe it is always this way in December in Florida. I have never been at this time of year before.
Upon entering our room, it was not as I remembered on my last visit to POR, (1998). I don’t mean to be negative, but I took a good close look at the room. The bathroom was clean, but well worn. The grout around some of the tiling was turning brown. My son looked under the bed and found a couple of pretzels and a small G.I. Joe action figure. That is something I definitely don’t expect from Disney. There was also a stain on the front of the TV stand that looked like barbecue sauce. Not a good start to our vacation, but I didn’t let it ruin anything. The kids and I wanted to hit the parks now, but Mom prevailed and we went to the POR food court for a little nourishment.
We did have the dining plan, but the Hoop-De-Do cost two table service allotments, and I wanted to make sure my counter service entitlements lasted the week, so I paid cash for our first meal. The total for four burgers and drinks was $36.00. And the burgers were not even fresh, but warmed over under the heating lamp. I could not wait for the DP to kick in, and maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much. Before heading to the Magic Kingdom, we went back to the room and found our luggage there, within three hours of arriving. A very good thing.
We went and waited for the bus to the MK. My daughter’s first ever visit to the Magic Kingdom was about to take place. She had been wishing and hoping for three years for this trip, and I could not wait to see the look on her face when she was marching down Main St., for the first time. As we approached the gate, my daughter Reagan was giggling with anticipation. Upon entering Main St., she looked at me with a huge smile and a grin. If my trip ended right now it would have been worth it. We marched toward Cinderella’s Castle, hand in hand. She could not believe that she was finally here. I asked her what her first ride was going to be in the MK? She replied, “The Haunted Mansion.” It was not what I expected, but to the mansion we went. By the time we reached the mansion, my wife probably took twenty pictures of Reagan and her brother Brian.
The Haunted Mansion was great with the new enhancements. My children were fascinated with the special effects, especially the hitchhiking ghosts. We did break down inside the ride for a good five minutes, which somewhat took away from the overall experience, but the kids were excited nonetheless. From the mansion, we then rode Thunder Mountain, which soon became the family favorite. My two children easily picked this ride out as their favorite ride in all four parks. We then rode Splash Mountain, which was second favorite. There was only a ten-minute wait for Splash and Thunder. We then came through Adventure Land, and tried Pirates of the Caribbean, which was met with mixed reviews. I am a traditionalist, and the Johnny Depp figure rubbed me the wrong way. I also thought the volume on the ride was way too low. My daughter was having a ball, but my 9-year-old son turned to me and said, “Anymore thrill rides?” This became a reoccurring theme throughout our trip. Regan, five years old, wanted traditional Disney rides, Pooh, the Carousel, Peter Pan, Snow White, etc.. My nine-year-old son grew bored with these rides and wanted “THRILL!!” Mostly we stayed together as a family, but sometimes my wife and I split up to accommodate each child’s wishes for rides.
I said to my son, ”So, you want a thrill ride? Let’s go hit Space Mountain.” Brian meekly agreed to try it, but he was not too sure. We then proceeded to Future World. Joann said, “Maybe we shouldn’t, let’s not scare them right off of the bat so they won’t go on any other rides.” Reagan is the dare devil, and I knew if I could get her to try it, then Brian would have to try it too. He couldn’t let his little sister show him up. We all decided to go as a family. The wait said 20 minutes, but we decided to go anyway. The kids loved the entrance to the ride, and I showed them how the big asteroids projected on the ceiling looked like big chocolate chip cookies. We then boarded. Reagan was in the first car. She started off yelling, “Woo woo woo!!” with her arms in the air. Halfway down though, she turned to me and said “Daddy, is it almost over?” I said that it was, and it was soon over. We got off of the ride. We asked Reagan how she liked it. She looked at me with very sad eyes and said, “I wanted to cry, but I didn’t.” I told her that she wouldn’t have to go on any more scary rides like that. She said that it wasn’t so bad, and maybe she would try later in the week.
We now meandered around the park, enjoying the Christmas lights that were coming on, and the wintery icy lights of Cinderella’s Castle. There was also short waits for Snow White, and Winnie the Pooh, which we rode to my daughter’s delight.
It was now approaching 7:00 pm, and it was time to end our first day in Disney World. The kids, and adults had been up since 3:00 am. We took the long bus ride back to POR, and had dinner in the food court. Joann and Uncle Bob had the Chicken Caesar Salad, which is made to order, your way, while you wait. They raved about that salad all week. I settled on the make it your way pasta, and had the Fettuccini Alfredo with Shrimp. The children had chicken fingers and mac and cheese. One quick note about the children’s choices of food at the food court. There are no kid’s size burgers on the child’s menu. I even asked for a child’s hamburger and they told me that there is not one. Most of the kid’s menu is fried. My son hates fried foods, and this did pose a problem. Thank goodness for the fresh fruit and carrots though. My son lived on grapes, fruit bowls, carrots and applesauce for a good portion of the week. He ate all that, until the concierge let me in on a little Dining Plan secret, which I did not know about, and will share with you later.
We were all in bed by 9:30 pm.
Saturday December 8, 2007:
Ahhhh, the excitement of Disney World. 6:00 a.m., and the children are up and ready to go! “Take us swimming!” they cried. We left Massachusetts with freezing temperatures, and the kids wanted to say that they went swimming in December. We waited until 7:00 am, and hit the quiet pool by Building #18. The kids swam for an hour, and the five of us went for breakfast. The kids had the kid’s Mickey Waffles Platter, while Joann and I had coffee with bagels. Uncle Bob had the make it your way omelet.
The plan for today was the Animal Kingdom. Since Uncle Bob was only with us for three days, he wanted to be sure and ride Expedition Everest. We took the bus over to AK, and began our day.
First off, the day was very hot. Probably in the low 80’s. They said that it was unusual for this time of year. All week long, we had 80-degree weather, and no rain. It was exceptionally warm, but no humidity. Secondly, this was the end of the Pop Warner championship, and some type of cheerleading championship. There were tween cheerleaders everywhere in AK. They cheered getting on a ride, they cheered in the middle of the ride, and they cheered again getting off of the ride. They cheered in front of the bathrooms, and in the bathrooms. They cheered in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. They cheered and marched and sang songs about V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. By the end of the day, we were hot, wet, tired, and had headaches.
First ride of the day was adult’s choice. We all raced over to Expedition Everest. Uncle Bob and Joann tried it first with no wait. While they were on the ride, I watched the kids, and took everyone’s tickets and got five fast passes for 10:30 am, in case the whole family wanted to try it again. Uncle Bob and Joann got off the ride. Joann’s hands were literally trembling. She found the ride exciting, but very exhilarating. She could not stop her hands from shaking. Uncle Bob loved it, and thought it was more intense then Rock and Rollercoaster. Now it was Uncle Bob’s and my turn. Again there was little wait. I liked it, and had a blast, but did not think that the dips, height, and speed were any worse then any other Disney coaster. I still hate the last dip of Splash Mountain, and think that is the most intense drop of all. I have been on other coasters that go backwards, so I kind of knew what to expect. Uncle Bob did not like the pressure on his neck, when he goes backwards. After we rode, I asked Uncle Bob how he liked the animatronic Yeti? He said, “What Yeti?” Joann and I said, “The big huge beast that hangs over the coaster and threatens to derail it!” Uncle Bob said, ”There really was a Yeti? I guess I had my eyes closed during that part.” He rode the ride twice, and never even saw the beast. We decided that the ride was way too intense for the entire family, and I gave away the fast passes to a family of five that was waiting to ride.
Next up the Kali River Rapids. Again, not too intense, but man, way too wet! Reagan and I got drenched. Good thing that there were numerous cheerleaders on our raft to keep our spirits up. Even though it was getting hot, it was too early to be this wet. We now went to Dinosaur! Another ride that was way too intense for Reagan. Brian loved it, but this ride is way too loud!! Talk about going all the way up to 11. They have to turn it down a bit.
Time for lunch. It was my choice, and I have always wanted to try the Flaming Tree Barbecue. Joann ordered the Caesar Salad. (She liked the POR food court salad better. Not enough dressing on the Flaming Tree salad.) Uncle Bob had the pulled pork sandwich. Regan had the chicken fingers from the kid's menu. Again, there was nothing that Brian liked from the kid's menu, so he ate the extras that no one wanted like my beans, and his sister's carrots and applesauce. I chose the ribs. I ate ribs three times during our visit to WDW. These were the worst of the three. I thought they were very dry, and I did not realize that the barbecue sauce was at the condiment stand. I thought that was the way the ribs were. Finally Uncle Bob said that the sauce was at the stand, so I did have some sauce for my last few ribs. They were still dry, even with the sauce. A bus boy also spoke us to for feeding the birds. They definitely frown upon feeding the birds. I guess they get too aggressive. He asked us nicely to not feed them, and then gave us a card with Timon and Pumba reminding us not to feed the animals.
After lunch we did the safari, and the walk-through animal trails. The safari is always different; sometimes I see more then other times. I guess it depends on the time of day. We also saw the Tree of Life, and it’s Tough to be a Bug, which the kid’s loved.
Has anyone ever seen the woman who is in camouflage and on stilts, and dresses like a tree? She was hugging a tree in the AK, and blended right in. Only when she separated from the tree did you see that it was an actual person, and not a branch. She was pretty amazing.
By 4:00 PM, we were done. We wanted to catch Illuminations at Epcot, but needed something to eat first. We were all very tired, and tonight we wanted to cash in with our first table service meal from the meal plan. The Rainforest Café did not accept the meal plan, so we went back to POR for our meal. At 4:00 pm, I had no problems making a reservation at for Boatwright Hall for 5:15 pm. Unfortunately, this was the worst table service meal that we encountered.
I had the Jumbalaya, and the kid’s had pizza and a hamburger. Taking full advantage of the meal plan, Joann ordered the Filet Mignon with a crayfish hollandaise sauce. Uncle Bob ordered the prime rib. The Jumbalaya was very bland, and was not spicy as I like it. The chicken was chicken thighs, which I have never been served in a restaurant before. Joann’s filet was tough as leather and the crayfish hollandaise was just not a nice compliment to the filet. Uncle Bob did enjoy his prime rib though. Reagan had a small pizza, and Brian had a burger. Not a very good start for the sit down portion of our meal plan.
At 6:30 pm, we hopped the bus to Epcot. The last time we were in the World, was November 2000. Brian was only 2 at the time, and we could never stay out late enough to see Illuminations.
We arrived at Epcot which was mobbed! Joann approached people leaving Epcot, and scored a free double stroller from a nice man who was returning his stroller. Joann offered him $5, but he politely declined and told us to enjoy.
I told the children that Epcot was always my favorite. I told them how I loved the futuristic approach to everything, and how much I enjoyed visiting the countries. I told them that it had changed a lot, and how much I missed the older rides like Horizons, and the History of Transportation. Illuminations did not start until 9:30, so I told them we could go on some rides before that. Boy, was I wrong!
Spaceship Earth; closed for refurbishment.. Ellen’s Universe of Energy; closed for the evening. Wait, I know, we’ll go to Norway for the Maelstrom. Ooops, that’s closed too! Test Track; 50-minute wait. Soarin’; 90 minute wait. It was only 8:00 pm, and there was really nothing to do with children until Illuminations. We scoped out an excellent viewing area near Germany and waited and waited for Illuminations to start. The five layered frozen margaritas from Mexico made the wait even better.
While waiting for the Margaritas, I did have my New England Patriots pullover on, as it was a little cool. I received endless comments about the Patriots, and they were not positive comments. I guess the rest of the country does not feel as I do about my beloved New England Patriots.
Illuminations began, and it was excellent. It was very loud, and we could feel the heat from the controlled fire. Reagan did not like how loud it was and had to cover her ears for the entire performance. After it was over, we knew the crowds would be horrible, so we meandered in the opposite direction of the crowds going counter clockwise though the countries. It didn’t make a difference. POR bus stop was still packed. And again, we still ended up standing the entire ride home carrying one exhausted five-year-old.
I don’t know if it was just POR that was crowded, because the other resort bus stops just did not seem to have the crowds our bus stop continually had. It was very late by the time we got back to the hotel, and we all just crashed.
Sunday, December 9th, 2007:
After last night’s late fireworks, we were pretty tired, but it was Uncle Bob’s last day with us, so on we went. After our morning routine of a swim at 7:00 am, and then breakfast, we now went to Disney Studios for a quick morning, and then off to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. The purpose of hitting the studios today was so that Joann and I could hit the adult rides, while Uncle Bob watched the kids. We would then switch off, so Uncle Bob could enjoy them too. But, out first stop ended up being the Beauty and the Beast Stage Show for the 9:30 performance. I could not believe how much energy the cast had so early in the morning. We all enjoyed it, even my 9-year-old son.
Joann and I then rode the Tower of Terror, while Uncle Bob watched the tykes. I sat next to a 70 year old lady who asked me if I ever road it before. I assured her that I had plenty of times. She then said, “Good. I didn’t want you to spoil my ride as it is my favorite, and I didn’t want you screaming in my ear.”
After the TOT, we deftly avoided the High School Musical 2 stage show in front of the Great Movie Ride, (good thing that my kids really don’t care.) The whole family then rode The Great Movie Ride. I cannot believe that the script has not changed one iota since I’ve been going to the studios. My wife and I always debate; didn’t the Bubsby Berkley dancers used to spin around some time ago? The kids enjoyed the ride, and Reagan only cringed a little when the alien came.
Well, we had dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom for 12:00 pm, so we made a quick exit to the bus service out in front of the studios. This was another long wait for a bus to the Magic Kingdom. There was a long line of people waiting for the bus, and the gentleman in front of me in line stated that he had already been waiting for over 25 minutes. After another 15 minutes, one bus arrived, and the entire line crammed onto the bus. Maybe it was a slow time of day for people to transfer from the Studios to the MK, but it was still quite a long wait.
Nonetheless, we still made it in plenty of time for our 12-noon reservation at the Crystal Palace for the Buffet with Winnie the Pooh and Friends. We checked in, and then waited for half and hour for our table. My daughter had her birthday pin on, but our server did not notice. Halfway through our meal, the hostess came to our table, and said to the server, “Did you know that it’s Reagan’s Birthday today?” He responded, “Err..no I didn’t.” The hostess then threw mouse eared shaped confetti on our table, as well as silver and red ribbon, and wished Reagan a happy birthday. It was if she was scolding our server for not noticing. Anyway, the buffet was good, not great. There were carving stations with pork, and flank steak. There were numerous cold salads, breads, hot vegetables, (I really liked the broccoli,) as well as mac and cheese and chicken fingers for the kids. There was also a desert bar with a make your own sundae, as well as cookies, and small servings of pie.
Winnie the Pooh, Eyore, Piglet, and Tigger made the rounds quite often, and during the course of our meal, they visited our table twice. Approximately once an hour, Pooh leads a parade around the restaurant, and all the children can join in and wave their napkins while they march. Overall, this was a good time, and the kids loved it! We took numerous pictures of the kids with the various characters.
After lunch, we hit the MK hard. We rode the family favorite, Thunder Mountain numerous times. We also rode Pooh, It’s a Small World, and Splash Mountain. The only ride we could never seem to get on was Peter Pan’s Flight. The line was always too long, or the Fast Passes were done for the day. We never could get on that ride just yet….
Uncle Bob then offered to buy the kids Mickey Mouse watches for an early Christmas present. Brian ended up with a boy’s Mickey Mouse watch that you can change the outside rim of with four different colors. Reagan opted for the Minnie Mouse digital watch that you can change the outside cover with different Minnie Mouse scenes. Brian’s watch was $29, and I have to say, it is very disappointing. The first watch he had, all of the numbers on the rim wore off within 2 days. We exchanged it with no problem, but the same thing happened with the second watch. The watch also says that it is water resistant, but that does not include the shower or the pool. Each time that he wore it in the shower or pool, the inside would fog up! You would think for $29, you could at least take a shower with a watch on. Oh well, he loves the watch, and is just very careful not to sneeze on it!
We stayed for the lighting of the castle, and the fireworks again. We did not eat dinner in the parks because we were still too full from the buffet. We headed back to the motel, and ate at the POR food court. Again, Joann and Uncle Bob had the salads again, and I had the Fettucini Alfredo with shrimp, which I split with Brian. Reagan had the chicken fingers.
We then returned to our room, and Uncle Bob left us for his next flight out of Orlando, to continue his business trip. We were sorry to see him go. Not only does he spoil the children, but he helped us, and made sure that Joann and I could go on all of the adult rides without having to worry about the kids. For the rest of the vacation, we could all concentrate on family fun for all!
Monday December 10, 2007:
With Uncle Bob gone, it was now time to back track to previous parks, and go through them slowly, and thoroughly. Today was Epcot day. Again, the usual routine, a swim at 7:00 am, and then breakfast. We then took the bus to Epcot. We had dinner reservations for 4:00 pm in Mexico, so it was just a matter of hitting the attractions, and making sure that we were in Mexico by 4:00 pm.
We entered the park, and immediately made our way to Soarin’. The Land pavilion was already mobbed, but the wait was not too bad first thing in the morning. I had heard that Soarin’ got crowded fast and early so, before entering the ride, I got four fast passes to return at 10:30 am. The ride was excellent, the kids really got a kick out of it, although Reagan was concerned that she going to lose her rubber shoe on the floor. For the next ride we secured it down below in the netting below the seat. We also took the new and improved boat ride in the Land, and saw all of the amazing vegetables and fish that grow there. I cannot believe the beautiful tomato plants. I grow tomatoes, and every year fight blight and rot of the plants. Never mind the tomatoes, even the plants were lush, green and beautiful. There was not a rotten leave to be found. The Mickey Mouse Cinderella pumpkins were also very ingenious.
While we were in this area of Future World, we decided to go to the Imagination Pavilion. Of course we rode the ride with Figment. I cannot say that I enjoy this ride. Five minutes after leaving the ride, I could not tell you what it was about. The only thing that I remember was a loud unexpected explosion near the end of the ride that freaked my daughter out. She was enjoying herself up to that point.
After the ride, at the exhibit at the end, I found it funny that at the kiosks to send a picture of yourself via email, all of the keyboards on the computers were so worn out you could not see any letters. You had to type email addresses guessing where the letters were on the keyboard. I was having flashbacks back to high school typing class, when they wouldn’t let you look at the keyboard! I also noticed that the computers were running Windows 2000. So much for futuristic high technology in Future World!
Reagan was getting tired, so we decided to rent a single stroller in the front of the park. As we passed Spaceship Earth, were my eyes deceiving me? No! They were letting people on. We quickly got in line, and I explained to the kids that this was a soft opening, and we were pretty much guinea pigs to see how the new ride worked, and how we liked it.
I could not believe our good fortune to get a chance to ride the new Spaceship Earth, when it wasn’t even supposed to open until February. The ride started off. At the beginning of the ride, they took our picture. Then we began down a long black tunnel. I could see a caveman in the distance. And then….nothing. The ride broke down. We were not moving. Brian was with me, and he asked what was the problem. I said, “Ahh nothing, they probably blew a fuse. It should only be a couple of minutes.” I checked my watch. A couple of minutes turned into 13 minutes. A voice came over the loud speaker and said to remain in the vehicles. The voice actually said, “The ride will resume if and when we fix the problem.” Brian began to panic. We were in pitch black. I pointed out the stairs off to our right, and he calmed down a bit. Then the ride started. Then it stopped again. All told, the ride system broke down three times, so I really lost the continuity of the story.
However, everything looked spiffed up, and there were a couple of new scenes added. The ride back down was o.k., although I thought the cartoons showing our future was a bit under whelming. I have now heard that your head from the picture that they took at the beginning is now put on the characters. Due to the technical difficulties with the ride system, I cannot say for sure how I liked it. There were too many interruptions. Oh well, maybe next time I can experience the full experience.
We then went and saw “Honey I Shrunk the Audience.” The kids got a kick out of it, but again, Reagan said that it was too loud, and she had to cover her ears a few times.
We then crossed Future World and rode Test Track. Another family favorite. We rode this ride day and night, as many times as we could. We also saw Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which is in dire need of updating. My kids did say though, “Is that the voice of Dory?” We then crossed back to use our Soarin’ fast passes.
After our second ride on Soarin’ it was time for lunch. We ate in the mobbed Land food court. Using our dining plan, I had the ˝ rotisserie chicken dinner. Reagan had the PB&J, Joann had another grilled chicken salad, (she still liked the POR food court salad the best!), and Brian could not find anything he liked, so he ate his sister’s grapes, my cornbread, and some left over apple sauce. For desert, we got carrot cake, a sugar cookie, and a Rice Krispy Treat. Without a doubt, it was the worst Rice Krispy Treat ever. Maybe that is the way some people make them, but it was totally greasy on the bottom, and that made for a greasy texture in your mouth. We could not even finish it, and threw away the treat!
For the rest of the afternoon, we meandered through the countries. We rode the Norway ride, the Maelstrom, and skipped the movie at the end. Mexico was beautiful as always, but man, the boat ride, in my opinion, has taken a turn for the worse. That was once my son’s favorite when he was 2. Not it is unrecognizable and very disappointing. The old song was memorable, kind of like “It’s a Small World.” In the old ride, I thought the ending was excellent with the fiber optic fireworks and the carousel of dancing puppets. They removed the carousel, and replaced it with a large screen television with Donald Duck and friends on it? That’s a finale? No thanks!
Now it was time for our meal in The San Angel Inn in Mexico. We were seated promptly. I had not eaten here since my honeymoon in 1991. At the time I thought it was too expensive and the portions way too small. Now with the meal plan, it was worth a visit. For appetizers we had the nachos, which the whole family enjoyed. For entrees, I had the surf and turf, which was basically spicy shrimp and beef. Joan had some type of beef. Brian had the children’s quesadilla, and Reagan had chicken fingers. On whole the meal was filling and good, not great. But, the atmosphere of the town and the volcano can’t be beat. We were also serenaded by a mariachi band playing Christmas carols. Again, it’s a lot less painless to eat in certain restaurants when you are on a discounted meal plan.
After dinner, there were two things that Brian, my young scientist wanted to do after reading the Unofficial Disney Guide. According to the guide, we could go to China and buy Chinese fans for $4, and they would inscribe your name in Chinese on the fan. The other thing that he wanted to do was go to Japan and buy an oyster that would guarantee a pearl inside. First stop was China.
We found the fans outside in the covered market place just as advertised in the book. We bought the $4 fans, but the girl would not write their names in Chinese on them. She said that they stopped doing that, because it was too hard to write on the material. She said that if we bought the more expensive parasols, she would write their names on those. Of course, the more expensive item. We declined, but bought the fans anyway.
Hopefully we would have better luck in Japan. And we did. Brian purchased the oyster for $15. When the girl opened up the oyster, she found two! They made quite a big deal out of it and began banging a drum, and everyone around clapped. The girl stated that less then 10% have double pearls. She also measured them and told us that the pearls were very large, and some of the largest ones that she had seen today. So, the oyster thing was a big hit.
On the way back to Future World, we stopped in the bathrooms on the left hand side of the old Odyssey restaurant. The bathrooms were as quiet as ever, but very well worn. I also noticed that the Odyssey is in rough shape. All of the outside windows were covered in cobwebs and very dirty. Earlier in the day I peeked in and saw a private function happening in the front of the restaurant. That place has not changed in years. I wish they would do something positive with it.
We then rode Test Track again after a five-minute wait, and then called it a night. Even though we left early, at around 7:00 pm, we still had the longest bus wait out of all of the resorts, and the most people, and we had to stand all the way back to the hotel yet again.
Tuesday December 11, 2007:
Today, we were going to rest up a bit and go slow, and try not to hit the parks until 12 noon. We tried to sleep late a little, but of course the kids wanted no part of that. We had breakfast, and then decided to lie by the pool as it was such a hot sunny day, and back home in Massachusetts an impending snowstorm was fast approaching. Joann laid by the adult pool, and I took the kids over to the fun pool over at Old Man Island. This pool had a water slide, and the kid’s rode down it, over and over again, for 2 hours. It was quite a mix, listening to Christmas carols over the sound system, and swimming outdoors in a pool in 80 degree weather. They finally got out, and it was time for a quick lunch before our day in the parks.
Unfortunately after being here for five days, with only 2 days left, our concierge let me in on a secret that I wished I had known earlier. My son Brian is a very picky eater. So far, there was a limited children’s menu at all of the counter service meals. He cannot stand fried foods. This resulted in him skipping meals, and eating our leftovers, such as our fruit, soups, or various sides. I went to the concierge to pick up our Hoop-De Do tickets for tomorrow night, and I requested my balance left on my counter service meals. I wanted to know how many adult counter service meals, and how many children counter service meals that I had left. The concierge advised that they do not keep track of adult and children counter service meals. He then went on to advise that children could get an adult counter service meal. He said the policy was only strictly enforced at the table service meal, where he would have to order from the children’s menu. He said that, at this time, a counter service meal can be anything and does not have to come from the children’s menu. Great. Now they tell me. All week long we Brian had been eating scraps, and the adults had been sharing their meals with him. He discovered a penchant for my Fettucini Alfredo with shrimp.
Before heading out to the Studios, we now had lunch in the food court. Brian had himself a heaping helping of the aforementioned Fettucini Alfredo with Shrimp. The rest of us had the burgers, as tonight we had an early reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine In. At approximately 12:30 PM we were in the Studios. We wanted to ride the rides that we had missed earlier with Uncle Bob, and then have dinner and go home early.
The Studios were not that crowded, and we had a minimum wait on Muppetvision 3-D, and Star Tours. Star Tours is getting old, but the kids love the movies, and only partially enjoyed the ride. They appreciated the indoor and outdoor sets more then the ride.
We did however thoroughly enjoy the show outside of Star Tours, the Jedi Training Academy. If you are not familiar with it, they pick approximately 12 children out of the crowd, and then bring them up on stage to “train” with a Jedi master using plastic light sabers. After a few quick, humorous lessons, Darth Vader comes out, and the “younglings” have a battle with Darth Vader and two Imperial Stormtroopers. During the show, they use real Star Wars sound effects, and background music. The real Darth Vader voice also speaks. The young Jedi’s defeat Vader and the stormtroopers, and then receive certificates for their training. It was very fun to watch, and my daughter was dying to be in it, but we were never in front of the stage at the right time to be chosen.
After this we took a walking tour of the New York and San Francisco back drops, and saw Kim Possible standing on the side of the street all alone. No one was having their picture taken with her. She looked awfully lonely.
Reagan wanted her face painted, and they offered it on the New York City Street. So, for $15, she had her face painted like Tinker Bell. She liked the idea of it, but found the face paint very heavy, and she was afraid to talk for fear of cracking the paint.
Next we saw “Lights Camera Stunts.” This show was very entertaining, and the kids had been begging to see it all week. The only problem was that it was scheduled to end at the precise time of our dinner reservation at Sci-Fi Dine In. So, we had to leave the stunt show a little early, and miss the grand finale. What a bummer! Such is the price one pays with all of this discounted dining plan being offered and all of these reservations made six months in advance.
I had not eaten in the Sci-Fi since my honeymoon in 1991. I remembered a lot of atmosphere, with lousy food. This time however, the kids loved sitting in the front seat of the convertible by themselves, and the food was quite good. This was my second time having ribs in the world, and they tasted better to me then the ribs at the Flaming Tree. Joann had the steak, and the kids had a hamburger and a hotdog. I also had the Vanilla shake which was thick and delicious, and the chili for my appetizer. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
After dinner it was dark out, so we went and saw the Osborne Lights. Out of all of the Christmas lights on display, all over the world, these lights were by far, our favorite. They were breathtaking in their beauty. Combined with the music, and the “snow”, this was our family’s favorite Christmas display in WDW.
Before we left, we had one more ride on the Great Movie Ride. This time we had the gangster hijack our car, rather then the cowboy we always seem to get. We left the park, and waited for a bus, and stood the entire time back to our hotel, yet again.
It was a relatively early night, but we all turned in. Tomorrow was going to be a late night with the Hoop De Do Revue.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007:
We had started a routine lately of going to the parks later in the day, and relaxing in the pools in the morning. Tonight we had the Hoop-De-Do and MK was open until 9:00 pm, so we took our time going to the MK today.
Reagan wore her Minnie Mouse costume to the park in hopes of meeting Minnie Mouse. Right before entering the park, I saw a cast security member carrying a huge black snake toward the boat ramp at the entrance to the park. I guess it was trying to enter the MK. I don’t know what kind of snake it was, but the cast member didn’t seem to care. He picked it up and carried over to the boat ramp area and let it go over the fence. The snake then slithered down into the water.
We had to be at Pioneer Hall for the Hoop De Do for 5:00 pm, and the man at the boat ramp said to be back for the 4:00 boat, no later. He said that they don’t fool around over there, and if you are not there for check in, they will give your reservation to someone else.
We now went and hit all of the rides we could before the 4:00 pm boat to Fort Wilderness. First, we went to Fantasy Land, and still could not get on that dang Peter Pan ride. The line was 50 minutes, and the fast passes were for after 5:00 PM already. We did go on Pooh again.
Reagan really wanted to meet Minnie Mouse, so we went to Toon Town, to the character meet to see who was available. There were two lines. One for the Disney princesses, and the other for Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto. The wait was for 30 minutes, while the princesses was only for 10 minutes. But Reagan wanted Minnie, so Joann and Reagan waited for them. Reagan finally got to meet Minnie Mouse. They looked very cute in their matching dresses. Joann took several pictures, and the Disney Pass people did too. We later bought a picture on line when we got home. Brian and I hung around Toon Town, while Reagan was meeting Minnie.
We then went through the castle, and Joann and Reagan stuck their heads in the Bibbidi-Bobbity-Boutique, to ask about prices for future visits. When Joann got the pamphlet, the cast member at the podium asked, “May I?’ and then sprinkled pixie dust over Reagan’s head! She was shimmering and sparkling for a couple of days after that.
It was time for lunch, and I always wanted to try the Columbia House, as I don’t think that I ever tried it before. Again, it was fried food heaven, but we were in the mood for fish and chips, so we all got an order, except for Brian. The food was adequate; I don’t think I would go there again unless I had to.
We then went to the Hall of Presidents, so Reagan could try for a quick nap. We then saw the Disney Dreams Parade. It was good, and the stupid song was catchy and the kids and I still sing it almost one month later.
We then went to the boat launch for the 4:00 pm boat to Fort Wilderness. Do you ever go away on vacation, and see someone that you know? I’m from Massachusetts, but I always run into someone I know when I’m at the World. On this trip it was a slight variation on running into some I know. It happened on the boat to Fort Wilderness. A lady sitting next to me turned to us and said, “I know that accent anywhere, you guys are from Massachusetts.” She asked where we were from, and I said a small town near Worcester. She then said, “That’s where I grew up, but moved away a long time ago. I still have family and friends there.” She asked me the small town, and when I said it she yelled, “My sister-in-law is an elementary school teacher there.” Sure enough, I had her sister-in-law many years ago in elementary school. My town is only 7,000 people, yet here was a link back home. She then called her sister-in-law on her cell phone from the boat to tell her whom she was sitting next to. What a small world.
I have not been to Fort Wilderness and Pioneer Hall since 1979 with my parents to see the Hoop De Do. For years I have been begging my wife, and the various people I have been to WDW with to go to the Hoop-De-Do. No one ever would. Everyone thought that it would be corny and a waste of money. But with the meal plan, and now we had children, I finally got my way.
Brian asked what the show was going to be like. I told him that there would be signing and dancing, and lot’s of joke telling. He rolled his eyes, and looked at me and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” My wife also thought it was a bad idea. All I remembered was how much I loved it when I was twelve, and the entire family had a ball!
We arrived in plenty of time, and checked in with the staff. We then walked to the petting zoo, next to Pioneer Hall. There were little white ponies with the most piercing blue eyes that were at the rails. The signs said, “Do not pet.” We didn’t, but we were dying to. And the ponies kept on nudging us to be petted, but we were very good, and did not pet them. The next day, we saw these very same ponies pulling Cinderella’s coach in the Christmas Night Time Parade, at the Mickey Christmas Party.
Prior to being seated for the Hoop-De-Do, an “a capella” singing group of all Golden Age women sang Christmas carols on the front steps of Pioneer Hall. I do not recall their names, but they were very good, and handed each child in the audience a small bell to play along with the songs. Again, it was very strange to be sweating with Christmas songs playing in the background.
At last, it was time to enter. We were seated the furthest away you could possibly be from the stage. We were on the balcony in the rear corner. Even though we were far away, we could still see and hear everything just fine. The cast members came up during the show on numerous occasions to interact with us.
Now for the food. I told you that I had ribs three times at the World. These were the best ribs that I ate. The chicken was also delicious, very juicy. I had heard that the food at Pioneer Hall was not so good, but we found it delightful. The meal also included cornbread, mashed potatoes, and Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. Beer and wine was also included. I ordered a Bud Light draft, which our server returned with, and then brought over a pitcher of Bud Light just for me! My wife ordered red wine. He also brought over a glass and a small pitcher of red wine for her! Plenty to eat and drink, and it was all included for two meals off of the meal plan total.
As for the show. We all loved it! It was the kid’s favorite entertainment that we saw at the World. They laughed out loud. They yelled, sang, and clapped. At the end, they got to play a washboard. Joann and I enjoyed it, just seeing what a great time the kid’s were having. I videotaped small portions of the show, and my kid’s love watching the Hoop-De-Do the most when we watch vacation videos. This show was the highlight of the trip.
After the show, we took the boat back to the MK, which was open until 9:00 pm tonight. We pretty much had the entire park to ourselves tonight, and rode Thunder Mountain over and over again. I usually love this ride, but I had a full belly of all the chicken, ribs, beer, and mash potatoes that I could eat! After the fourth consecutive ride, I was done. The Spectro Magic Parade was coming through, and Brian begged me to take him on Splash Mountain, while Reagan and Joann watched the parade. We rode Splash Mountain twice, and then we all watched the fireworks from in front of Splash Mountain.
We then stood on the crowded bus back to POR.
Thursday, December 13, 2007:
Our last day in the parks. We had a full day in front of us, which if everything went as allowed, we would be leaving the MK at 12-midnight after the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. So, we started off slow in the morning, with breakfast and a swim. Our first stop was to be Epcot, to finish up any rides that we missed earlier, and to have lunch at the Grill with Chip and Dale.
Epcot was mobbed! I thought the first two weeks in December were supposed to be the quietest of the year! Spaceship Earth was opened to cast members only. Soarin’ already had a 90 minute wait, and the fast passes were already for late afternoon. We went to the Living Seas, and rode the new Nemo ride, and went inside and saw all of the fish in the tanks.
The Nemo ride was a lot longer then I expected. I thought that they just took the old Sea cab ride, and added Nemo too it. The old Sea Cab ride was very short, but the Nemo ride was very long. I kept expecting it to end at the next corner, but it kept on going and going. Inside, the rooms surrounding the tanks are all “Nemo-ized.” Again, I am a traditionalist. I loved the Seas the way they were. I missed the old elevators that made you feel like you were being transported to an undersea lab. The entire presentation made me feel like I was on a deep sea diving expedition. Now, I was taking a comical picture of my daughter in Bruce, the big shark’s, mouth. Oh well.
We wanted to see the American Adventure, but the start time conflicted with our lunch reservation. Another miss due to a dining reservation. We had reservations for the Garden Grill restaurant with Chip and Dale. This was our second favorite meal and dining experience after the Hoop-De-Do. The Land Pavilion was mobbed, and noisy. This restaurant was quiet and peaceful. We loved the rotating restaurant, and the view of the old farmhouse and buffalo from the Land boat ride. Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Farmer Mickey Mouse visited us during the meal.
I asked the server how we could tell Chip from Dale? I didn’t expect him to know the answer, but he answered without hesitation that Chip had the black nose, (chocolate chip, get it?) and Dale had the red nose. He then went on to describe the differences in their teeth. Pluto was very spirited today. He had us laughing by sniffing my son’s under arms, and waving his hand in front of his nose to wave away the odor. He then took two serving trays and put them on the side of his head and pretended he was Mickey Mouse. The entire side of the restaurant was laughing out loud. The kid’s really got into the character visit today. Brian, who usually wants nothing to do with characters, kept on looking out for who was coming next to visit, and then announcing who it was, and actually smiling for the pictures.
And the food was pretty decent. It was all you could eat, flank steak in a Merlot sauce, fried catfish, turkey with cranberry relish, and various grilled vegetables. The kids had mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets, and picked from the grown up choices. For desert, we had a delicious hot apple crisp, while the kids had a build your own cupcake.
After lunch, all of the rides were mobbed, and we decided to head over to the MK, for our final assault on the parks. While I was leaving Epcot, I longed for the old days of Epcot, before it became so Disney-fied. I longed for that first visit, back in 1985, when I first rode Horizons, World of Motion, explored the Seas and had burgers at the Odyssey restaurant. It was educational, adult, and down right awesome. Now it seemed somewhat cheapened and too cute.
Anyways, on to the MK. This was our last hurrah, so we had to ride our favorites one last time, because who knew when we were coming back to WDW. This posed a problem. Brian wanted thrill rides, while Reagan wanted fantasy rides. So several times we rode together, or broke up with Joan taking Reagan on the fantasy rides, while I took Brian on the “thrill rides.”
As a family, we rode Space Mountain one last time. Reagan sat in the back this time, and liked it much better. We also rode Buzz Lightyear as a family. I looked across the way, and what did my eyes see? The Carousel of Progress, and it was open! I grabbed the family, and we headed over. We walked right in, and sat down. I told my kids about the history and tradition of this ride, and all that it meant to Walt Disney, and that this was how the whole thing started. They looked at me and mouthed ,”blah, blah, blah…” But, when the show started, they were transfixed. They enjoyed seeing how progress was made, from generation to generation in each scene. Later, when we returned home, I heard my son repeating to my daughter the history of Carousel of Progress, and how Walt Disney himself worked on the show, and how it was his favorite. See, they did listen. I videotaped the entire show, and I still see them watching it, in full, on the vacation videos.
While we were watching the Carousel, a woman with a small child got up and exited the theater out of the rear door. Soon an alarm was sounding, and a cast member was screaming over the loud speaker to remain seated, and do not leave the theater. We were stuck in a scene, and had to watch it twice. The cast member screamed into the loud speaker, “Don’t anyone leave, or you’ll have to watch the scene again!” She was yelling so loud, we didn’t dare move.
Joann and Regan rode Cinderella’s Carousel a few times. We also rode Pooh again. And we still didn’t ride Peter Pan because the fast passes were done for the day, and the wait was still one hour. We rode the Haunted Mansion again, and also Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain. We saw the Dreams parade again. We then waited in line for our Very Merry Christmas Party wristbands.
The kids were getting tired and cranky. They finally hit the wall. We started to argue and could not agree on anything such as rides, or dinner. The kids were just plain tired out!
The crowds began to change. The day crowd was leaving, and the night crowd was beginning to arrive. We were walking by Fantasy Land, and lo and behold, there was no wait for Peter Pan. We walked right on, after days and days of trying to ride that ride. Joann and I decided that each of us had not ridden that ride since the 1970’s. It was very good, and the effect of feeling like you are in the sky was as how I remembered.
I still had two counter service meals apiece, so we looked for a place to have dinner. One thing that I did not know, and they don’t really tell you, is that the majority of the restaurants were closed for the Very Merry Party. The ones that were open, served only the free hot chocolate and cookies. We hit the Columbia House for those rare free treats, and skipped dinner for now.
Numerous times, while walking through the park, we were asked to show our bracelets to prove that we paid for the Very Merry Party. The crowds were not so bad, and we could have gone on any ride that we wanted.
Again, this being our final day, so we split up so that each child could get in the ride they wanted most. For Reagan, this meant the little kid fantasy rides, while Brian and I hit Thunder Mountain, yet again.
We watched the Christmas Parade, and saw the ponies from yesterday at the petting zoo at Fort Wilderness. We were all starving at this point. The only restaurant that I knew of serving food was in Tommorowland at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. We all got burgers, with that wonderful fixing bar, and watched the fireworks on the outside deck overlooking the water and the castle.
And then, it was over. Both kids said they just could not go on any further. It was only 9:30 pm, and we could have stayed until midnight, and rode any ride that we wanted, but they said that they had enough. They wanted to go back to the motel, and just sleep. They did not even want to ride one more ride, before we left.
Sadly, we walked down a snow-flurried Main St. I took one last look back at the ice covered Cinderella’s castle, and we left the park, not knowing when we will return. Hopefully sooner then the seven years that it took us to come back.
So for the cost of four Very Merry tickets, (almost $200) we lasted only 2 ˝ hours. Even if we stayed the full 5 hours, I do not think that I would do it again. For the regular price of admission I saw snow at the Osborne Lights. We rode all of the rides with no lines when the MK stayed open until 9:00 PM on a regular night. So for $200, we got cocoa, limited dining options, mostly closed restaurants, different fireworks, and a Christmas Parade, which I understand was running for day guests later in the season.
Even though we left early, so did a lot of other people going to our resort. Again, we waited for a second bus, and then stood all the way back to the resort. I don’t think I sat once riding back to my resort at the end of a day.
Once back at the hotel, we all crashed as soon as we entered the room.
Friday, December 14, 2007;
Travel day, time to go home. Checkout was not until 11:00, so we decided to make the most of one last swim. Yesterday, back home in Massachusetts, they received 8” of snow. The kids and I wanted to say that in one day we swam in an outdoor pool, and had a snowball fight all in one day. I was not looking forward to returning home and snow blowing out the driveway tonight.
We ate one last breakfast and used up all of my remaining counter service allotments and snacks.
We swam in the pools one last time.
I had to carry my own luggage, because for some reason, Southwest Airlines does not participate in the Magical Express Service.
As we were waiting for the Magical Express Bus, a cast member, I will not name, or identify where we were, saw my New England Patriots shirt. He then said something very un-Disney like. He said that he didn’t like the Pats, but hoped they won the Super Bowl. I asked why? He said, “I’ve got $500 on the Pats to win the whole thing.” I hope they win too.
We went to the airport, and Brian picked up two ornamental orange trees to grow back home. My luggage was four pounds under this time, and off we went to Providence, R.I.
Goodbye 80-degree weather, hello freezing cold and 10 inches of snow. We retrieved our luggage with no problem. The Thrifty shuttle van was waiting at curbside, and my car was warmed up and waiting for me in the Thrifty driveway. The car was there for the week for a very reasonable $60.
While driving back to Rutland, we chastised ourselves for not asking one of our neighbors to snow blow the driveway. We made a plan to just drive through the drift, and worry about getting the car unstuck tomorrow.
There was no need. Our neighbors had the driveway cleaned out. And with that, we were home.
TRIP SUMMARY:
Rating the Barbecue Ribs in the World:
#1; Hoop-De-Do
#2; Sci-Fi Dine In
#3; Flaming Tree
Entertainment or Character Dining with the Kids;
#1; Hoop-De-Do
#2; The Garden Grill
#3; Crystal Palace
Worst Over-All Meal:
-Boat Wright Hall
Best Overall Meal:
-Garden Grill & Hoop-De-Do (TIE)
Dining Plan Tip(s);
Don’t forget that children can order from the ‘adult’ counter service meals, and are not limited to the children’s meals at the counter service restaurants. However, table service meals, must be ordered from the appropriate menu.
For some reason, most of the coffee stands in Epcot DO NOT accept the dining plan for snacks. I could get a coffee to go in a lot of places, but for some reason, not at the outside coffee stands in Epcot. Perhaps they are owned by an outside company?