TRIP REPORT

Wilderness Lodge, Jan 29 – Feb 08 2008. First time visit to the world. Pre-planning included reading everything I could on this site, extensive use of TGM tips, and the Unofficial Guide. Booked in June at ordinary rate, but swapped over to an AP rate ($175 plus taxes = $193 /$220 Aus) in November. I made ADRs ahead of time but have ended up swapping most of them on arrival because the times were wrong (when I made them, didn’t really know what I was doing) and the only one I missed out on was the Fantasmic package.


DAY ONE: Tuesday 29 Jan - AK: The whole day has a slightly surreal tint to it; I can’t quite believe I am actually here, typing in my room listening to the ferry horns (so loud – I imagine I am going to either grow very tired or totally oblivious, very quickly).

Had to get up at 3.30 this morning to finish packing and check out and get to JFK; the concierge had told me that it would only take 30 minutes at that time of morning but as it turned out, it only took 15 minutes. So I had an hour to play around with the free wireless at the airport (I Love Jetblue – a big thumbs up from me; the plane was new and fabulous with the most space I have ever seen outside of business class, the staff were incredibly friendly, they brought me tea and brownies, and I got to watch 2 espisodes of charmed - And all for $69 – how on earth do they do it?). We arrived 40 minutes early, at 9.20 am which was a lovely gift. The Sunray driver turned up just as I was pulling my luggage of the carousel – which was pretty amazing given the early arrival. We stopped off at a publix supermarket so I could quickly buy some snacks and arrived at the WL at 10.40. Amazing – I was just bowled over by the foyer. Then the next gift for the day – a lovely upgrade! We had booked a standard view and the lovely CM checking us in noted that we had been given a 5th floor room standard view which should have an ok view of the fireworks. I pulled out my trusty room map and asked whether there was anything available the next wing over (woods view) – I was very nice about it, and so was she. She went and asked her manager who played around on the computer for a bit and then gave us a lovely room – we are right down the end in 5010 –so have a view out front of the lake (hence the noise from the ferrys) and the trees, and a side view of the Otter Pond – no trucks or rubbish bins, which is what I was afraid off. It was not ready yet, so we left our luggage with the bellboys and sat in the lobby for a bit to gather our thoughts, and then decided to get on with thing. First call was back with the bellboys – it was fairly hot and I needed to change my sneakers for sandals. Once we got organised it was on the bus for AK. The bus came along in 5 minutes and we were walking in the turnstiles at midday. A quick walk to Everest to pick up fast passes (standby was 40 minutes, return time was 2.25) and then it was lunchtime – starving!!! We went to pizzafari for lunch but as soon as we got our food and sat down, I read the entertainment schedule and realised that we could make the 1pm showing of the FOTLK if we hurried, so we bolted down our pizza and made it to the theatre in time. After FOTLK we walked over to discovery island and visited ITTBAB, and then it was time to ride EE. By now the standby line was only 20 minutes so we decided to do that first – it was actually only 5 minutes to the front of the line, and we were back out again in 12 minutes. So then we used our FPs and rode again – the first time we sat right up the front, second time right at the back, the experience is much more powerful right at the back – it actually gave me a bit of a headache. By now I was feeling exhausted, but decided to push on; we made our way to Dinoland and went to the 3.15 Nemo musical – LOVED it. So sweet. It finished just before 4pm, so we hurried off and found a spot to watch the Jammin parade – wasn’ that fussed but glad we got to see it. Then off to the bus stop – this time we had to wait 2 whole minutes for a bus, and we were back home by 4.45pm.

Went and got our room number. The first trek down the corridor had me wondering if it was a wise move to request the upgrade, (long long walk!) but now I realise that the lift down to the pool and Roaring Fork is only at the end of this corridor which is not nearly so bad.

Bell services arrived with our bags (and our garden grocer delivery) 5 minutes later. I was glad we went with this after checking the room service menu - $5 for a bowl of cereal, $2 for a banana and $4.50 for a pot of yoghurt – much better to order our own. After unpacking that lot, it was off to the pool for a lovely swim – very relaxing. Ducks and ducklings in amongst us. The pool is a lot smaller than it looks in photos but nonetheless is very enjoyable. We picked up sandwiches at roaring forks but I was not impressed (threw most of mine away) – well, at least we know now. Did pick up the refillable mugs and had a lovely hot chocolate on the balcony while waiting for the P&PP fireworks at 9.45. I had promised myself to get an early night, but I was still awake when the electrical parade floated by, so got up and watched the fireworks – amazing. Great view of the fireworks from our balcony = you can see them through the trees, which is actually really cool. As I write this, I am sitting at the desk sipping hot chocolate and waiting for tonights fireworks…

Thoughts for the day: amazed at how swift and efficient the transport was today – taxi, plane, towncar and bus all incredibly fast and fantastic. Hoping for better food tomorrow….


DAY TWO – Wed 30 January – MK/HS: Awoke at 7am to the wake up call; just as well I thought to book it before we went to bed – so much for excitement being all the wake up call I need. The plan for today was to head to MK for rope drop and then leave for HS around 1pm. The whole day was smooth as butter. There were quite a few people in the park but we didn’t spend more than 2 minutes in a queue anywhere. We caught the 8.30am boat from the WL dock – how convenient is that?? The whole thing took about 7 minutes and we were through security and turnstiles by 8.45. We started off on Space Mountain – we were in the second ride vehicle to leave the dock. I love the queue space, its much better than the DLR version, all those holograms and dark places – it would have been great to actually slow down and appreciate it, but we were through that whole thing in about 2 minutes. The ride, I hated. Won’t be doing that again; it reminded me of what the DLR ride used to be like, so jerky it hurt my neck and I just kept my eyes closed and prayed for the finishing line for most of it. From there I really wanted to head to the Speedway despite objections; I was coddled to and it really paid off! Speedway itself is boring – no where near as much fun as the DLR version with all these cool things to look at, and the little off-road adventure (child at heart!) – but because it meant that we were 15 minutes later to Buzz than we would have been, we arrived just as the dreamteam were setting up shop; we scored dream fastpasses!!! They really do change the way you think about your day – you can leave all the scheming and arguing about who is the volunteer and so on, and just do what you choose. I was stoked.

From Buzz we walked in front of the castle to frontierland and rode BTMRR; there was no one there – we walked straight on and were accommodated when we asked to sit up the back. I think I like this version better than DLR = I love the fact that you are straight into the ride and I think its smoother – but I did miss the goat. I hope he is back by next weekend! We did BTMRR twice just because we could, and then moved on. First was Pirates – definitely not nearly as good as DLR; where are the treasure rooms? And all the details = this one seemed really sparse and lacking in all those fascinating nooks and crannies that I am used to. From there we went to HM = this was fantastic. I can’t say how it compares because we haven’t been able to visit HM since its renovations a couple of years ago. Since we were in the vicinity and it was only 10.30, we decided to ride the Liberty Bell (lovely ship, not as much to look at as DLR) and then went to the Hall of Presidents, which I found pretty interesting. Did GWB really speak those lines? How many takes do you think it took? By now it was 11.30 and we were both snackish, so we munched from our backpacks (thanks JetBlue – those cookies and cashews came in handy!) for a few minutes and then headed to fantasyland. This is where the dream FPs came in handy because FL was packed but it did not affect us. We grabbed ordinary FPs for Peter Pan and rode that (I loved it – all the little moving cars were cute, BUT I missed the little stars and didn’t think the little scene islands were as effective as the big versions at DL. From PP we headed next door to the Philharmagic (walked right in as the doors were about to close) which I loved. From there we crossed to IASW and again were on our way in less than five minutes, in spite of what looked to be a big crowd. DL wins hands down here on this too. Then back to PP to use that second FP – love it love it love it. Then over to Winnie the Pooh, which I think is much better here than at DL, the figures seem much more realistic, the bumpy bit is cool, and the hot/cold/windy effects were great. It was now 1pm so we followed the family parade down main street and were out of the park and on the monorail to the TTC by 1.15; we had to wait 5 minutes at the TTC for a bus to HS and were inside the studios by 1.45. We had an ADR for Mama Melrose at 2.20pm, so it was off to ride the ToT and collect a RnRC FP for later; ToT was awesome! Loved the whole corridor effect and the many drops. Screamed myself silly. We then headed off to MM which, as it turns out, could not have been further away if we had tried, but we made it there by 2.10 and were seated by 2.15. As vegetarians there was not a lot of choice if you didn’t want 4 kinds of cheese, so we both had the gazpacho soup (yummy!!!) and the pesto, tomato and goats cheese flatbread – which was totally scrummy. Service was great, and we had dined, rested and rehydrated and were back outside by 3pm in time for the parade. Unfortunately so was everyone else and I couldn’t see very much so we decided to do that again another time and be better prepared (ie waiting on the path 20 minutes beforehand). So it was off to RnRC which he loved and I, not so much. It was very short and very exhilarating – that second corkscrew where you loop out instead of just around was pretty hairy. When we got out they had opened the theatre for Beauty and the Beast so we bought mickey icecream bars (yummy chocolate!) and went and found seats. I wondered how they could show this story in 30 minutes and now I know – they don’t – they just leave huge bits out. I didn’t think it worked at all – if you hadn’t seen the movie there would be no way it would make sense. Aladdin is much better at keeping the theme IMHO. From there we went to ToT and used our second FPs (still loving it), and then headed to the animation courtyard. Sat through the Little Mermaid (all the same objections as B&B apply, but I love it anyway - under the sea is SUCH a good song. We had planned on the animation experience but it was now almost 5pm and my feet were registering the fact that we had been standing on them since 8am, so we dropped that and headed to the Great Movie Ride for the last show. I loved all the old movie clips at the beginning and the end, but the ride in between was fairly lame. It was now 5.30 and we had been planning to have dinner at Beaches and Cream but we were both exhausted so we headed off to the bus – longest wait of the trip so far, 7 minutes. Home by 6pm and totally lucked out because there was one spare table available at the Whispering Canyon in the next couple of hours. Lovely Californian chardonnay and really good vege enchiladas. Mmmmm. Also, they served cornbread which was the weirdest substitute I have ever experienced; it was exactly like a dense sponge cake and at home I would happily have served it up with strawberry jam and cream for afternoon tea. Here they serve it with butter as bread. Go America!

After dinner we had a lovely swim in the misty pool – it was dark by now so no ducks tonight, and then upstairs with hot chocolate in time for the fireworks.

Thoughts for the day: so far our luck has held out and transport has been a breeze! Haven’t had to wait for anything for even 10 minutes despite all the people that are everywhere. How long can this hold out?


DAY THREE: Thur 31st – Epcot/MK: This mornings wake up call was not such a shock – getting into the Disney groove at last! Yesterday I discovered that the first buses do not leave until 30 minutes prior to park opening (there is an earlier bus that ferries around the resorts to get to early ADRs but that didn’t sound all that convenient) and our TGM rules say to be at the turnstiles by 8.40, so I figured the buses were not the way to go, so we caught the 8am ferry to the Contemporary, transferred to the TTC and then to the Epcot monorail – we were at the turnstiles by 8.30am because of great timing – the TTC monorail turned up after 3 minutes and the Epcot monorail was just turning the corner as we made it up the ramp – but I can see how the whole thing could take an hour if the timing was not great – too much faffing about.

Anyway, following our TGM rules closely we positioned ourselves on the right at rope drop and were rewarded with handshakes and high fives with the chipmonks, goofy, pluto and mickey – and a full hug and a smoochy kiss from Minnie – such a great way to start the day! We walked with purpose to Soarin, got a FP and then rode in the first wave. – we were out by 9.20am. Next up was the 10am showing of Turtle Talk with Crush so we watched the fish and got front row (behind the kids) for the show – how hilarious that is! Loved it. From there we made our way to Test Track, got FPs and then rode twice in a row – there was no one there and we did both rides in less than 15 minutes. From there it was over to Mission Space – green. What a great ride – but even with the green version, I felt a bit disoriented for ten minutes or so afterwards. From there we walked to Canada and watched the O Canada film, which I loved. It was time to check in for our lunch at Rose and Crown – we were a bit early so they gave us a pager and we wandered around – I bought a teapot and had it sent to the WL. Lunch was yummy – we shared an appetiser of samosas, and then I had a green salad and DH had the indian curry. We were stuffed afterwards – I don’t know how anyone on the dining plan does it – we have yet to actually finish a main course, let alone attempt dessert and this was the first time we have had an appetiser. By 12.45 lunch was done and we had FPs for Soarin, TT and MS in hand, but we had also agreed to leave the park at 2pm for a rest, so re-prioritising was called for. We headed back to Soarin, and then rode the Living with the Land boatride, which I found really interesting – those giant vegetables are amazing!! It was now 1.30 so we made our way toward the entrance and the Spaceship Earth ride only had a 5 minute wait (actually, 4 minutes) so we rode that – again, I really enjoyed it, although I thought the video component at the end was a bit lame. But I would not mind doing the ride again – some of the scenes were really interesting. Definitely a nice relaxing way to end a visit. By the time we got out it was 1.55 so we headed out the gates and were on a monorail by 2.05pm; we transferred this time to the MK and caught the ferry back to the lodge, arriving by 2.45pm. We were going to have a swim because its quite muggy outside, but by the time we got up to the room I didn’t have the energy to change into my togs, so settled for a nice nap. About 5.30 we left the room and caught a boat to the MK; arrived on Main St just on 6pm; we were all set up to walk up to frontierland to find a place to watch the parade, but right at the bottom of main st there were still a couple of spots left on the edge of the footpath, so made an instantaneous decision to watch the parade from there; seemed like a good way to be positioned by the flagpole for the fireworks and a quick escape at the end of the evening. So plonked down the towels we had brought from the hotel and whiled away the hour talking to the very pleasant family on one side, and listening/watching a british family in melt down on the other side; their small child was totally hyper active and we were just waiting for the crash; it came just as the parade arrived, and the husband was pissed off because ‘all we have done all is week is wait’… not well prepared then. Spectro was fabulous, got lots of great photos. Once that ended we waited a couple of minutes while everyone further down from us surged up toward the castle, then we sidled down and found a place to stand right in front of the flagpole up on the raised bed; I could see over everyones heads right over to the castle. Great location! Fireworks were beautiful (I do love that song), and from there we were ideally positioned to walk with purpose out the gates at the end, and managed to get on the first boat leaving for the WL; we were home by 8.45 and back in the room in time to watch Lost. LOVE it when a plan comes together…

Thoughts for the day:
The character interactions this morning were a fabulous way to start the day; transport involved a bit of faffing around today but again, it all went very smoothly and we had no waits longer than about 5 minutes. Tipping works!!! Today I remembered to leave money in our specially printed mousesavers ‘mousekeepers’ envelopes (yesterday I forgot all about it) and the room was decorated – a cute little towel creature than a special arrangement of our pillows, lots of soaps and toiletries, and flannels in patterns in the bathrooms, plus she tidied up after us; yesterday there was nothing except to replace the towels and pull the bedclothes up. Lesson learned!!

DAY FOUR – Friday 1st Feb: SEGWAY tour/DTD: Up early this morning to get to Epcot by 7.30 for the Segway tour; wow, this was SO MUCH fun. All the others had already done it before, so I was the newbie and a bit nervous I would hold others back, but its just like skiing – exactly the same sensation for turning, balance etc – once you get going, its easy, and so much fun. I want one to take home!! It was a bit of a pain being so constricted – of course, I totally understand why, but I really just wanted to be free to explore. However, as it was, it was a great introduction to world showcase and I am looking forward to checking that out tomorrow afternoon/evening. We finished just before 10am and I was starving – wasn’t really hungry at 6am when we had cereal, but by 10 – famished, so we headed to The Land and had breakfast at sunshine something or other, and then just because we were close, went on the Nemo ride at the Seas. I thought maybe we could squeeze in another go on Spaceship Earth on our way out, but it was down. So we left, caught a bus to Saratoga Springs and a connection to DTD. Where I spent even more money …. Great shops. We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich (which I had too high expectations of because of all the rave reviews – it really wasn’t all that great as far as I was concerned, although the brownie ice cream sandwich was yummy. By now it had started raining so we caught a bus back and have been reading and relaxing. I was going to go for a bike ride, but the rain put paid to that, or a swim but its quite cold, so maybe I will go try out the spa. Or just have a look around. Ok, more later…

I really enjoyed reading your report!

I have never been there so it's great to read a report from a first-timer.

I'm absolutely loving your report! I can't believe how organized you are for a first timer, your planning must be paying off!! I agree about the Segway tour, a lot of fun. I can't believe you still have another week - enjoy!

Can't wait to read more, I'm off to bed to dream of hot chocolate on a WL balcony with the fireworks going off through the trees :)

Oh, Emmah! I'm so excited to have a "real time" trip report. I know how much research you did and how prepared you were. CONGRATS!

Glad to hear that JetBlue was so wonderful. I know a few people said it wasn't going to be. I've never flown them as they're not here in Minnesota.

Sounds like your queue times are non-existent. I can't believe how well the timing is for all of your rides and transportation! It must be the PERFECT time of year to be there. So excited to read the next installment.

Enjoy every minute! We're enjoying reading about every minute!

Great report! We'll have a short first time trip to the World in March. I'm paying attention to your plans! :) Keep it coming...

nvmom

We had planned to go for a bike ride, but the rain put paid to that, so we had some lovely grown up time in our room, and then headed down for a swim around 5.30; it was lovely and warm under the water, but cold out, so it was a short swim. Then we spent some time poking around the lobby and the merchantile, where I totally fell in love with the chenille robes they have for sale and spent some time trying to convince DH that he needs one but he is wise to my manouvering; he would never actually get to wear it… I may just leave that to stew for a few more days… had dinner via WCC and back to the room with hot chocolate in time to watch the fireworks (never grows old). Then made the MOST exciting discovering; a brand new episode of Friday Night Lights on tv! Since this does not show in Australia and we only ever get to watch it online on tiny little screens, it was very cool to see it in real time.

DAY FIVE – Saturday 2nd: Animal Kingdom/Epcot: wake up call at 6.45 this morning because we wanted to catch the first bus to AK which leaves at 8.15. got to the bus stop to encounter a large family (group of families?) from Brazil – there are south americans all over the place, with their beautiful skin and their shiny dark hair! We used the rain forest café turnstile trick and it worked so perfectly I can not understand why everyone does not do it; we were the first through and we were actually on the BRIDGE when we heard the main entrance crowd chanting down from ten. Got to the rope drop easily 5 minutes before anyone else. The opening ceremony was really lovely and then they did a very cool thing; they had a family with 3 small children carry the rope all the way to the Safari entrance. Since the kids were aged between 6 – 3 the pace was slow, and because they were small children, there was no pushing and shoving – it was a really civilised start to the day. The CMs swooped in there at the end and got the youngest boy and the rope out of the way and we were off. The plan today was to ride Safari and other things we had not done on Tuesday - we had already experienced the shows and the parade on Tuesday so today was a half day. We grabbed FPs for the Safari and then made our way through Asia to Dinoland, and rode Primeval Whirl twice – they let us stay on because there was no one there – that ride is a lot of fun and loads better than Mulholland Madness. From there we headed to Dinosaur which I thought was pretty lame – I miss Indy, it’s my favorite ride. By now it was time to ride the Safari so we headed back to Asia, picked up FPs for EE and then through to Africa where we rode the safari; saw all sorts of animals. I was really curious about why they would not eat each other if they really were free to roam anywhere as our guide insisted, so afterwards we stopped off at Ratafiki’s and asked a keeper; they are kept in their respective areas by electronic invisible fences – so it’s not nearly as ‘free’ as it seems. (I am not a fan of zoos at all, although I do appreciate the conservation work they are doing here). From there we headed to Everest, picked up a 2nd FP and rode with the ones we got earlier. by then it was almost 11am and I was starving. I had read that there were vege burgers in Dinoland so we headed back that way and went to restaurantasaurus – lovely soya burgers with a fantastic salad bar; yummy! It was now 11.15 and we were going to head back to EE, but as we came out of the restaurant we saw two dream teamers lurking around by the dumbo/dinosaur ride and we wanted to see what they were up to so we lingered and ended up riding it just to see what they were doing. We think it was a major prize – they were looking at a particular ride vehicle and obviously waiting for a particular time – in the end we decided whatever it was we were not going to see it, so we headed on over to EE and rode again – love love love that ride. It was now 11.50 and the plan called for us to leave around midday so we headed on out – and on the way decided that since we were leaving, we may as well experience Kali River Rapids – it was quite warm by then so we thought why not? We got totally soaked – completely and utterly drenched (except for our shoes – we read that hint about keeping your feet up on the bar and it seemed to work). The ride itself was waaaaay short – about half as long as GRR – but still a lot of fun. We exited via rain forest café again and as we got in sight of the bus terminal saw the WL bus so we sprinted the final 100 metres and got on just as the driver was preparing to leave – great timing! On the way I got to witness a phenomenon I had read about but never actually seen before; NYC mommy on holiday with her nanny. Her adorable daughter sat on her nanny's knee and made goo-goo eyes at us while her mother talked business on the phone: I sat, transfixed by the rings on her fingers; on her dress finger was a ring so big that it had to be real – the centre stone must have been 4 carats and it was surrounded by 8 x 1 carat diamonds on a band as wide as both of mine, and her engagement ring must have been at least half that big = totally amazing. That whole scene is very very not-australian so it was fascinating to watch! They were going to the grand floridean and as we pulled into the driveway of the WL she started interrogating us as to where we were and wasn’t the steak house supposed to be decent? (I am not sure she was NYC - that was just a nanny-diaries assumption - her accent may have been Texan - it was hard to tell but it was one of those big voices - fantastic experience!!!). Anyway, back to our room by 12.30 to discover that the fabulous Marisol had been our mousekeeper again = (yesterday it was the other woman, who not only didn’t replenish anything but the towels, and dragged the bedspread out of the wardrobe and put it on the bed (pretty passive aggressive I think), but actually left our little tip envelope behind, which I think is kind of rude. Marisol left us a little note, a gorgeous towel swan, lots of toiletries and turned the bathmat into a really lovely fan. We like her the best! So now we have the afternoon off to swim and relax and around 5pm we are heading to Epcot to explore WS, have dinner in Morocco and watch Illuminations at last. More in a few days when we decide to splurge for the internet again… : )

We used the rain forest café turnstile trick Could you explain this please? or tell me where to search for it here?

I love your report, practically in real time! lol :)

nvmom

NV--I was trying to figure out the same thing. I think she means she went THROUGH RFC and exited through their back door into AK. I had never thought of doing that, but I bet it really can help you get a jump on the others if you're there at rope drop.

Em--Funny hearing about the Nanny Diaries lady. I cannot imagine having that kind of money and even if I did, I certainly couldn't have a nanny do my mommy-ing EVEN at WDW. What an experience to see that!

BTW, I LOVE Friday Night Lights. I think you and I are the only two watching it. Critics love it; not too many people watch it. I hope it doesn't get canceled at the end of this season. It's not just about football, people! GREAT acting and Kyle Chandler is YUMMY!

Glad you have been able to find some veg. alternatives. Sounds like you're having a wonderful time. Looking forward to the next internet day!

DAY FIVE con't: Spent the afternoon down at the pool – lovely sunny afternoon, such a pleasant way to spend a few hours with a book, I really love this resort and feel very much at home here. At 5pm we got changed and headed for the bus – took 10 minutes to arrive, and then it went via Wilderness Resort so this was the longest trip yet = we arrived at Epcot just before 6pm. Walked straight to World Showcase. Wandered around France for a while (all the crap they are selling as French stuff – totally hilarious and unbelievably expensive for what it is. Actually, Morocco was the worst for that – hideous machine made polycotton rugs that they are selling for twice as much as you pay for handknotted wool rugs in Marrakesh, and cheap pots that must be made for the American market because even the cheapest pots in Morocco are not that cheap and nasty looking. Anyway!) = the plan was café Tangierine for dinner because I had seen falafel on the menu so that is where we went. BIG big big huge mistake – simply the most inedible disgusting fare; if there were any chickpeas anywhere near the patties they called falafel I would be amazed. I took two bites (just to be sure) and ended up throwing my meal away. We did however enjoy the mimosa which we wandered around Japan with; the shopping there looked much more the thing and as I have to buy small gifts for a few people, that is where I plan to go back. From there to Italy and here was my downfall; they had a selection of beautiful mardi gras masks. When I first went to Venice as a recently graduated student, I had no money and made do with a plain mask for mardi gras – I think it cost 1500 lira (about $10 as I recall). But I longed for one of the fancy ones that my best friend bought… I bought a beautiful mask surrounded by red feathers, and DH a red velvet joker – they were about $300 each which is pretty much what I would have expected to pay in Venice so why not. Can’t wait to get home and hang those on the wall! By now it was 8pm and completely dark. We walked next door to Germany and found a spare bench facing the water, and sat with drinks waiting for Illuminations. Which was fabulous – I loved the whole thing, the sound track, the fireworks, the globe. I’d have liked to be on the other side of the lake to see the globe better but everything I have read suggests that it’s a mad house over there – certainly there was no crush where we were. The plan had been to exit at the international gateway and catch a taxi back, but the crowds we had been expecting just did not seem that bad. We just went with the flow and strolled along past Mexico and Test Track and out the gate – everyone was pretty relaxed and it was much less of a stress than leaving after the fireworks at DLR. One thing I am glad about is that the WL bus shelter is the first one you come to – having to walk all the way along to the shelters for the All Star Resorts at the end of a late night would really suck. There was already a decent line waiting for the bus and I was resigned to having to wait for the second bus but as it happened, when the first bus arrived, we got right up to the door behind a family with 2 tween-aged kids. There was only standing room and the kids and the mother were whining (and I use that word advisedly) that they didn’t want to stand and wanted to wait for the next bus – the driver was indicating that there was room for a couple more so we were all ‘we’re happy to stand’ but the Dad really wanted to go and was suggesting to his wife that they go, or he’d go and they could wait without him. It was going to get ugly any minute so we just slipped around them and onto the bus and left them to it. The way we saw it, we’d have to be standing while we waited for the next bus so where was the saving? We were home by 10pm, pleasantly exhausted, and my guess is that they were still at the bus stop waiting for the next bus!

DAY SIX - Sunday 3rd: day off/MK EMH: we were supposed to get up and go to Epcot this morning but when I woke up at 7.30 I just wanted to lie here and not move, so that is what we did. We finally dragged ourselves out of bed at 10am and by 11am were on our way to Epcot; we walked straight through FW to Mexico and rode Gran Fiesta (walkon) – I thought it was really lame. From Mexico to Norway where I had the MOST delicious cinnamon bun for ‘brunch’ = man-o-man, that was amazing. It was also, believe it or not, our first snack of the trip. The meals here are so huge that we have not had room for snacks, but by now it was almost midday and my cereal and banana had disappeared, and I was determined to finally make it to Beaches and Cream for a meal so… scrummy bun from the Norwegian bakery. Would definitely like to go back there. Maelstorm was ok – actually, I really liked it and then it just ended – very abruptly! The bit where you go backwards toward what looks like a big drop was completely alarming – was not prepared for that at all! From Norway we checked out China and were waiting for the film to begin when I sat down and read the entertainment schedule and saw that Miyaki had a show in Japan at 12.55. I had read about her and seen some of the photos here, so really wanted to check her out, so we ditched the film and made our way to Japan, getting there about 12.45, which was early enough to get front row standing position; there were about a dozen people who obviously go to watch her all the time. the first candy art was a really cool parrot. She next made a monkey for an old(er) woman, then a pink unicorn for a little girl, an orange lizard for the father of the first little girl, and finally she picked me! And made a beautiful silver koala bear, clutching a green eucalypt leaf and sitting on a branch. What a special treat that was!! By now it was 1.20 and it was so hot! The sun was really beating down overhead, so we made our way out the international gateway and to the beach club to Beaches and Cream. Stormalong Bay is cool but this hotel too, like the others we have seen, is so spread out – I really love the compact feel of the WL, I really think we picked the perfect place for us. B&C was nice – we were happy to sit at the counter so we were able to be seated immediately, and had vege burgers with fresh fruit. Once again, however, we were foiled in our plans to have icecream – neither of us had room after our burgers. I had had big plans to have a fudge brownie with icecream – it sounded amazing! But no room; so at some point in the next couple of days we have to end up there when we have already had lunch or dinner but are not completely bloated. I am going to have to work out exactly how to accomplish this!!

From there we caught a bus back to the MK and a connecting bus to WL, arriving home by 3pm. So now we have a few hours to swim and relax before heading to the MK for Wishes at 8pm and EMH – the park is open until midnight and I am counting on the superbowl to mean that it won’t be totally crowded… : ).

We got to the MK via boat at 6.30 and were quickly through the turnstiles and collected our wristbands; main street was packed as expected so we passed through and on up to BTMRR but the FP machines were covered up and the standby line was 50 minutes so we meandered down to frontierland and decided to cross Country Bear Jamboree off our list of things to see – I thought it was a lot of fun, although the lyrics of those songs were not really very child-friendly! Blood on the saddle!!! By the time we got out, that whole thoroughfare was packed with people waiting for Spectromagic (it was 7.05 by this time) and we couldn’t find a decent place to stand so decided that this would be a good time to have dinner; went to the Colombia Habour House where I really enjoyed a half hummus and broccoli-slaw sandwich with a bowl of chilli – yummy!! Definitely a whole lot better than vege burger and fries… from there we jumped on Haunted Mansion which was a walk on, and when we got out it was 7.50 so we decided to find a place to watch the fireworks – in fact we walked right through fantasyland to the bridge to the side of the castle and watched from there – Tink flew right overhead which was cool, but the fireworks were too the side and low – blocked by some trees – so while it was fantastic, we know that next time we need to be further back and further to the centre. After the fireworks we headed into tomorrowland to cross more things off our list; first up was the peoplemover (TTA) which was all that I expected from the things I had read – I loved it and can’t wait to ride it again; we would have but it was not open for EMH so we just squeezed on before it shut. Then to the Carousel of Progress which was another big winner – I didn’t know what to expect but this was fabulous and I want to do it again! From there to the Monsters Inc laugh floor which was really cute!! By now it was around 9.30 and as we walked into fantasyland it was packed but on the positive side, the FP machines were working again, so we picked up FPs for Winnie the Pooh and then walked over to Small World and rode that, and then Cinderella’s carousel; by then we were able to pick up a FP for Peter Pan, so we did that and then headed back to frontierland – no luck at BTMRR – the standby line was still 50 minutes long and we were not eligible for a FP, so we consoled ourselves with icecream (those mickey bars are soooo good!) and went back to the HM which only had a 10 minute wait. By now it was 11pm so we headed back to FL and rode Winnie, buying my soon-to-be niece/nephew a winnie the pooh one-piece in bright gender neutral yellow, and by then we were able to use our PP FPs so we did; the standby for that ranged from between 90-50 minutes all night – I can not understand why anyone would stand in a line that long when with FP you don’t have to wait at all. We got out at 11.30 and made our weary way back main street, stopping to get some beautiful photos of the castle on the way. It is amazing how fast 5 hours can disappear without complaint or a desire to head back to the pool. I have decided its because during the day it just gets hotter and stickier and brighter, while in the evening it just slowly gets cooler and more pleasant. The queue at the boatdock was pretty long and when the first boat came and didn’t make a dent, we realised we would be at least two boats back so we ducked out of the queue and made for the bus stop; when we got within view we realised that there was a bus at the stop so we sprinted and just made it before it took off (thus getting some cardio for the day) and actually made it home just as the people from that first boat were walking up from the dock. It's always hard to change your mind once you are in a queue and committed, especially if you have already waited 5-10 minutes for a boat, but being flexible seems to be the way to go - anyway, I think we made a good decision!

So, today is Monday and we are not rope-dropping anything!! I did get up at 7.30 to bung a load of laundry in a washing machine and have a swim in the mist - it was really foggy this morning. there were tiny ducklings in the water with me which was really really cool. I also got video footage of the pool and the ponds etc in the fog, and the geyser going off at 8am. collected tea in our mugs (they have proved to be very worthwhile even though neither of us drink fizzy drinks - just tea and hot chocolate once a day and they have paid for themselves). DH is still sleeping while I sit on the balcony enjoying the sunshine. after lunch we are going to head to epcot to check out the new American Adventure which reopens today, and also try to catch that film in China that we gave up yesterday for the candy lady. from there we are heading to HS in the late afternoon to collect some FPs and have a CS dinner somewhere, before getting in line for Fantasmic. Its EMH hours there tonight, so we hope to take advantage of that.

In answer to the question above about the entrance to AK - yes, its the special entrance they have (the restaurant opens into the park) - we were literally the only ones there and they opened it, as it turns out, a couple of minutes before the main gate - a huge advantage. but don't go telling everyone!!! I LOVE FNL - I have to admit I am a Tim Riggins fan myself - don't you just want to give him a hug, a haircut and a clean shirt???

OK, off to enjoy some more magic,

emma

DAY 7: Monday 4th: Epcot/HS: The plan was to take today off and head into HS for EMH this evening and that is almost what happened. We finally got moving just after 12.30pm, heading to Epcot via bus. We actually caught the friendship boat across the lake from the front of Showcase to Germany – that was pretty cool and not just a good way to avoid working up a sweat in the heat. We walked straight to America and were in time to hear a costumed a cappella choir singing in the round – lovely experience. From there up to the show – I am afraid to say that I appear to have dozed through the middle portion of it, but the bits I saw were pretty impressive (Americans know how to breast-beat better than any other nation on earth – coming from a combined heritage of Scots/English/NZ where we do anything but sing our own praises, its an interesting phenomenon to watch). We then walked up to France and went to the Patisserie – yummy!!! I had the vegetarian quiche, DH had the cheese plate. We also bought pastries to go – an apple tart and a pain au chocolat – which we got to eat while waiting for fantasmic, we walked down to the international gateway and caught the boat to HS, arriving around 4pm. We walked over to RnRC but it was out of FPs and the standby was 90 minutes, so we picked up FPs for ToT and then walked over to the animation courtyard – that was so much fun. Are they real animators or actors acting? I am most like Belle, and we learned how to draw a credible Pooh. By the time we got out of there, we were able to pick up another FP so we went back to ToT and picked up those, then headed to the Indy stunt show – that was fun! I guessed half way through that Gerard was a cast member and was very proud of myself (usually I am the most gullible member of the audience). That got out at 5.45 so we headed back to Sunset Boulevard and they had opened the gates for Fantasmic by the time we got there – we scored great seats 3 rows down on the edge on the Scar section. We got to use the hour productively by planning what to do with our remaining time here. We wrote a list of all the things we still have not done (considering that we have had 7 days of pretty organised touring, the list is pretty long) and the things we want to do again. We decided that tomorrow morning we will head to Epcot and then back to HS in time for the parade and the Lights Action car stunt show with the evening free. Wednesday we are heading to Universal Studios for the day and on Thursday we are going back to the MK first thing, and then back in the late afternoon; maybe renting a boat or bikes in the morning. We probably won’t head back to AK. By 6.30 it was PACKED and people were pouring in from all over the place. About 6.45 the people who were just arriving were getting really cranky because those of us sitting could not accommodate them; it seems a bit unfair to turn up that late and expect a seat. The staircase was packed with people sitting and the poor security guards kept telling them they couldn’t stay there but they would stand up, and then sit down again when she left. I couldn’t understand why because I knew they would have to move and sure enough, just before 7pm cast members swept in and made them all move to the standing room, which by that time was packed too. The whole place is crawling with people from Louisiana – at the Indy show one of the volunteers said he was from LSU and the whole audience erupted in cheers. Fantasmic was lovely although I was amazed and perturbed by the large number of people who got up and pushed through the rows to get out as soon as Mickey vanquished the baddies without waiting for the finale. It seems so disrespectful of the cast, and very rude to the audience members, and how much time does it really save? Anyway, because I was so well prepared, we were in the perfect place to make a speedy getaway when it was over and we headed straight to RnRC – there were still no FPs but the standby queue was only 20 minutes so for the first time in 7 days we decided to stand in a queue! The 20 minutes went pretty quickly and I was glad we got in so fast – by the time we were about to head inside the queue was hundreds of people long, all winding through the metal chains. We were in a limo full of LSU’ers – they were so much fun! We were in and out by 8pm, and headed over to ToT. We were also amazed by the number of people in the line to get their bracelets for EMH – the line went from the entrance to RnRC all the way to ToT and then down the street. People are so disorganised; that line was not going anywhere anytime soon. We then rode ToT using our two fastpasses- I just love that ride!!! We had planned to do the Muppets and Star Tours but it was 8.30 and I had had enough so we caught a bus back to the lodge, making it in time to go and collect our mugs to get hot chocolate and head down to the docks to watch the electrical parade. A lovely swim ended the day… : )

The trip just sounds wonderful so far!! Thanks for ongoing posts, I'm just loving it :D

Good luck on getting back to Beaches and Cream for the brownie sundae. I also love the hummus sandwich at Columbia Harbour House, yum!

(And to Tina too, there are at least 3 of us watching Friday Night Lights -- Emmah I laughed out loud and your Riggins comment, so true!)

DAY EIGHT – 5 Feb – MK: Well, our plans changed several times during this day. We had planned last night to head to Epcot this morning but when we read our TGM hints we saw that this was a no-go day so we headed to MK instead. We had also planned to head to HS after lunch but it was so hot today (82 and muggy) that the thought of walking out of the park and onto a bus and vice versa just did not appeal, so mid morning we changed plans and decided to stay at the MK to watch the parade which we had not yet seen, and then head out afterwards. We ALSO made a spontaneous decision to abandon our plans to head to Universal Studios tomorrow – really surprising ourselves. We still have 2 days left on our 10 day passes, and there is still lots we have not done, including having not spent enough time laxing out by the pool here at the WL, so Universal can wait…

So, our day at MK: first up the boat was late which meant that we only just made it to park opening – the characters were doing their thing up by the railroad as the boat pulled up at the dock, but by dint of walking with purpose we made it to rope drop at TL. I had no desire to do Space Mountain again so left him to do that on his own while I headed to Buzz – I did it three times in a row but have to admit that I am lousy at this game; my highest score was 62,000. From this we headed to BTMRR via Pooh which was a walk on (and where I bought myself Thumper PJs – so cute!) and Peter Pan where we picked up FPs for later because there was a 30 minute wait. When we made it to the mountain, it was walk on, so we did it three times in a row and decided not to bother waiting another ten minutes to get a FP for later. I think this BTMRR is better than DL – I love the detail at the back – that man in the bathtub and the dog – so cute. We then made it to Adventureland and had our first proper look around – what amazing theming! We picked up FPs for Jungle Cruise and rode the Magic Carpets – great views from up there. We also walked the Swiss Family Robinson but I hated that because it was bum to bum people – couldn’t stop to look around, just had to keep walking. From there we walked over to HM (walk on), and from there to FL where we picked up another PP FP and used our first ones. Then it was back to TL where we rode the TTA (love it love it love it – why can’t we have it at DL?) and went to the Carousel of Progress again (liked it just as much the second time around, and now find myself bursting into song at odd moments). We then did Stitch just to see if it was as lame as everyone says it is and it was, truly tedious (plus horribly smelly). By now it was 12.45 so we headed back to Columbia Harbour House for lunch – I had the chilli and coleslaw sandwich again, just as yummy as the other night. We got out of there by about 1.30 and rode PP again, then headed back to Adventureland for the Jungle Cruise (hilarious – I like this one better than DL version), and then as we walked by we saw that the Tiki Room was going to start in 2 minutes so we checked that out – I don’t like the new management!!! When we got out of that, it was 2.10 so we headed to Frontierland and found seats on the porch just in front of Peco Bills, out of the sunshine thank goodness, and waited there for the parade. Lots of lovely people to talk to, and a school marching band to watch before the parade (we have seen those on TV shows so it was fun to see one in real life). The parade was lovely, and because we were right at the beginning, it was over by 3.15. We then walked up to the railroad and there was a train waiting. More to look at on the train here than DL – it was fun. As we pulled up at the main street station we saw our boat loading, so rather than wait for the next one we headed to the bus station and only had to wait 2 minutes for a bus. So, here we are, 4.30 and no plans for the evening, I am about to head to the pool to cool down and read my book (I have made no progress over the past fortnight – a pitiful 4 chapters!!!).

So, we still have two whole days of park entry and now it feels like time to push the limits… tomorrow we are going to head back to MK for RD to redo the things we love and collect some FPs for the evening, and then head to HS around midday because he wants to the do the Lights Action Motor stunt show and I want to do the studio tour; as long as its not too hot we will stay for the parade at 3pm. Then hopefully after a swim and a break we will feel up to heading back to MK for Wishes. Thursday we will head to Epcot (we still have those films in China and France to see, and I want to do Spaceship Earth again (every time we have been past it since that first day, the line has been enormous), and he wants to do MS and TT again – we just made a reservation for Chefs de France for lunch – and then maybe AK in the late afteroon for a couple of hours. Well, that is what I am thinking at the moment but I am loving the flexibility thing…. Ok, we have to watch last weeks House before this weeks House, and then it will be time for the P&P fireworks… ☺

DAY NINE – 6 Feb - MK/HS/MK; decided not to take any chances with a late boat this morning so we were at the boat dock just after 8am planning to take a boat to the contemporary but as it happened, a boat being used to train CMs agreed to use us as a test audience. So we arrived at the gates with plenty of time to spare and were hugely entertained by the wonderful CM keeping the crowd under control – she had an amazing soprano voice and sang for us. We headed straight to FL and walked onto Peter Pan and Pooh and then headed to TL where we played on Buzz for 4 goes. I finally found those hints from TGM and put them into practice and they really worked – I took my highest score from 60,300 to 366,100!!! I am now a space ace. Hurruh! After Buzz we walked through to Frontierland and walked through to BTMRR and collected FPs for later. We then visited the ghosts at HM and just made it in time for the 10.30 show of American Presidents; this time around I noticed that all the figures actually move around quite realistically during the speech – its very impressive. Back to TL to ride the TTA and then we walked along the train track to ToonTown and rode the train back to the main gate. By 11.30 we were on the monorail to the TTC and we arrived at HS by midday. There things fell off the rails temporarily because the first 3 places we went to, didn’t have anything we could both eat – the counter service places at HS are not very vege friendly and if the one dish they have is something you can’t eat there is trouble (I am allergic to raw carrot and it seems to come on all their salads even when its not listed). In the end I almost had a melt down at the Backlot Express and a lovely CM made me a special southwest salad without carrot (thank you thank you thank you). It was delicious and very filling, and I topped it off with the strawberry parfait (yum!); DH had the grilled vege sandwich which he was very happy with. From there it was a quick trot to the Lights Motors Action show which was pretty cool – I love learning how they do that stuff. Next was the studio tour which was over too quickly – that was way cool. I loved seeing WD’s personal plane, and some of the costumes from Enchanted, and stuff from Star Wars – and the canyon scene was fun too. And then there were all the costumes in the AFI afterwards – neat stuff. By now it was almost 3pm and we headed out, just avoiding the parade and arriving home by 3.30. this evening we are heading back to the MK – we have FPs for Pooh, PP and BTMRR and the aim of watching the fireworks from the correct bridge this time! right now it is off to the pool - it is really hot today with a weird sky - half of it is dark grey like a rain cloud, the other is bright blue. this morning a CM said we were supposed to hit a record 86 today but it doesn't feel as bad as that because there is a lovely breeze.

: )

At 6.30 we headed back via boat, arriving just on 7pm; we jumped on the train and headed to frontierland, where we used our FPs for BTMRR; wow, its cool after dark!! We got to see all sorts of new detail – like the men silhouetted in the saloon - fabulous. From there we went to Peco Bills for dinner – vege burgers and apple slices. I was disappointed that the peanut brownie mousse was not on the menu (but not that surprised – the menus on mouseplanet are from 18 months ago). At 7.35 we hustled over to Peter Pan and used those FPs (we got a funny CM who looked at our return times (10.05am) and did a double take and then said “where the heck you been???” – and from there to Pooh. At 7.50 we did the quickstep down to the tomorrowland bridge and just kept walking – we ended up right in front of the castle! I videoed parts of the show and it came out really well so I was stoked. It was mayhem afterwards but we took a page from TGM and just took 5 steps to the centre and found a bench, plonked ourselves down and had a fun time watching a little 2 year old girl who is learning to sign, going through her alphabet. She was not deaf but maybe someone in her family is – either way she was hilarious; they went through the signs for every animal anyone could think of and she made the noises. By the time we looked up 15 minutes later the crowd had completed dissipated and we wandered down main street. The queue for the boat was insane so we walked to the bus stop and were initially horrified because the queue for the bus looked even longer – but after standing there for a couple of minutes I noticed that the front line of our queue was empty, so I started asking people where they were staying and in fact it was the saratoga springs queue which had just overtaken ours – so we (and the man who was standing behind us) were the only ones waiting for the bus which came 60 seconds later – we were home before 9pm.

DAY TEN: 7 Feb – MK/Epcot/MK: I got up early this morning because we had to check out and then back in again, but as it turned out it would have been better if we had asked last week for them to roll both reservations into one, which is what they did. Initially we couldn’t get the AP rate for all ten nights so we had one reservation for the first 9, and one for the last. But then our TA managed to get the 10th night on the AP rate and we were ‘owed’ a credit of $90 being the difference between the two. To cut a long story short, the new AP rate was not showing on the 2nd reservation but rather than making us call the TA and getting her to sort it out, they just extended our first reservation at the same rate and transferred the 2nd deposit over. Easy!

Anyway, after that I kissed DH goodbye as he took off for London, and I headed off to EMH at the MK. I arrived at 7.45 (went via the Contemporary and the monorail) and it was an awesome morning. I headed straight to FL and did PP and Pooh and the Carousel, and then headed to TL and rode Buzz 3 times (Space Ace again!) and then did the Astro Blaster just to see the view from up there – cool! After that I rode the TTA – it was now 8.50 and it was time to pick up another FP! So I headed to Frontierland, riding the Magic Carpets on the way, and picked up a FP for BTMRR – the standby line was already 30 minutes long so I headed to HM and played with the ghosts, and then Rode Small World (finally remembering to take a video of the kangaroos and koalas) and then Philharmagic. I then went back to BTMRR and picked up another FP and jumped on the train and go the heck out of dodge; it was now 10.30 and by the time we pulled into Main Street Station it was 10.45 and people were POURING in the gates – I do not understand it at all. I jumped on a monorail and headed to Epcot, arriving just before 11.30. I picked up a FP for TT and then jumped on the friendship boat and headed to France for my ADR at Chefs de France. Where I had the BEST MEAL OF THE TRIP. Oh my! I had the leek and potato soup with a glass of pinot blanc, (both sublime), and then the MOST amazing salad I have had in months. Rocket, endive, green grapes, cherry tomatoes, walnuts and two perfectly baked warm disks of goats cheese. Just amazing combination, can’t wait to go home and make it myself. Was way too full for dessert so settled for a nice cup of tea and was out just after 1pm. I wanted to see the film which was on at 1.30 and I was soooo full, and it was soooo hot, that I decided to wait the 30 minutes inside – plonked myself on one of those cast iron benches and just rested. I was so sleepy! I loved the film (although it was obviously filmed back in the 70s and they need to update parts of it). After that I stopped off in the Gerlain shop and bought some wonderful blue khol and fell in love with a new perfume (Ysatis, which I will definitely have to look out for in duty free when I get home). As I came out of the shop I saw the friendship boat coming along so trotted over to Morocco and jumped on board – fortuitous as it turned out, because when we arrived at Showcase Plaza there was a dream team handing out those YOAMD mouse ears which I have been lusting after the past year. So – two (minor) dreams in ten days, first and last day – that seems fair! I had wanted to ride Maelstrom again but there was a 20 minute wait and it was just too hot, so I headed over to TT and rode that, then walked on to MS Green. It was now 3pm and my plan had been to ride Ellen’s energy thingy, but the door was shut and the man said it would open in ten minutes – but there was no shade and I would have burned in that time so I thought I would find shade and come back, but instead was distracted by the Club Cool which I had not visited yet; Israel was my favourite, followed by Germany, not that keen on the others. I thought I could now fit in an ice cream sundae so I went to the place next door, but I stood in the queue for ten minutes and it was going nowhere and I figured it would be half an hour before it was my turn and I didn’t want one that badly, so I headed to Spaceship Earth. At 11.30 the queue had been 50 minutes, but now it was a walk on, so I enjoyed that one last time. I was on the monorail home by 4pm but made the mistake – as we came through I saw the boat at the WL dock so assumed it would be on its way by the time we got to MK, so I went the boat route. First, a group of very rude people cut in line which was a bit stressful, and the boat took an age to arrive, and then when it did it offloaded its passengers and announced that we would have to wait for the next because it had to be serviced. So we waited another 15 minutes for a little boat and now the people who cut in line became relevant because I was not inside the 29 people cut-off (and neither was the lovely lady and her daughter who I was next to), so I asked them if they were aware that they had cut in line and they were so rude I was amazed – they had actually jumped in front of about a dozen of us so they were all nodding etc, but they just refused to look at us. Oh well, have a magical day people. Anyway, finally home for a break (sadly, very short) and then out the door again at 6.30. Great timing – ferry arrived within 2 minutes and I made the last train of the night by 90 seconds. Used my BTMRR fastpass and when I came out at 7.20 Spectromagic was just making its way up along the water so watched that while I walked along the boardwalk path, then used my PP FP and walked to Tomorrowland – had dinner at Cosmic Rays (yet another vege burger and apple slices – getting very tired of that meal, although I do like the fact that you can help yourself to salad fixings. Watched the fireworks from the Tomorrowland bridge, and made my way out using that trick of walking through the stores. Caught the bus again (yet again, no one in the queue) and made it home in time to watch Lost and then have a late night swim. Decided that since I am on my own I can have room service for breakfast tomorrow – since I’ve been in the US for a fortnight and not yet had pancakes, it seems like the right moment to do so!! Stopped to pick up my parcels from the mercantile and bought the dressing gown (even though I was given strict instructions not to go wild on my way home!). So now I have to pack. Yuck!!

I am writing this from the Orlando airport; Sunray picked me up at 11.30 (my flight is at 1.30) and it took 25 minutes to get here and another 20 minutes to get through security – all up, much better than I expected. Delighted to find a power point station outside my gate so I can charge up the laptop before the flight. Packing was not sooooo bad although I did have to unpack and remove 4 pounds from one bag at the resort check in. I may be speaking too soon (one of the check in guys did not like me so I may well arrive in LA to discover my bags didn’t make the trip) but that check in at the resort is cool. I called for bell services and they dragged my bags to the check in and now I don’t have to see them til LA = that is very cool. Of course, I will have to deal with them then, but that is a problem for later today. I left Melbourne with 17 kilos and am now up to 40! Anyway, the lovely Marisol came knocking before I was done, so I followed her down the hall and gave her a wee gesture of appreciation – didn’t want to risk one of the not-nice mousekeepers (one of them removed our towel animals! She brought them all back the next day) getting it instead. And that, my friends, is my trip report! Later tonight, all going according to plan, I will be Anaheim for the weekend – I will report in on the DL portion of my trip on the DL trip report pages…

THINGS I AM GLAD WE DID:
• Staying at the Wilderness Lodge – we loved loved loved it. All of it.
• Used the Garden Grocer; we went through 2 x 36 500 ml bottles of water. They cost 25 cents each, compared to $2 each at the resorts; I make that a massive saving of $120! It was also fantastic having cereal, yoghurt and fruit to have breakfast every morning, and some snacks to come home to. Much better than having to deal with those annoying little pottles down in the café (and much cheaper I am guessing).
• TourguideMike; his tips and plans were invaluable. I felt so in control and knowledgable. His Red/Green days thing was amazing and even when we ignored his strictures (eg this morning he said no way no go for the EMH at MK) our days went brilliantly because we followed his rules. This morning, getting out of dodge at 10.30 and watching all those people pouring into MK when it was already crowded – I felt so sorry for them.
• Those resort mugs – great idea, they paid for themselves a couple of times over over the last 10 days and we don’t drink soft drinks, it was just morning tea and evening hot chocolate and the odd coffee.
• Sunray transport – I am now sure that the magical express is efficient and relatively speedy but for my money it was fantastic to be picked up by a lovely man in a lovely clean car, who dealt with my luggage and got me to and from the airport in 25 minutes each way (not counting the grocery stop – we did that just to pick up a few bottles of wine and so I could shop for crest toothpaste and a few other brands which garden grocer didn’t have online. All up, including tips, it cost $98 return and it was both peaceful and private – much better than sitting on a bus collecting other passengers. I get why its not for everyone, but it was perfect for us,

THINGS I LEARNED ALONG THE WAY:
• Being flexible about transport options is a great way to go; many times we switched routes (eg heading to the Contemporary and catching the monorail to the MK rather than waiting for the boat, or heading for the bus at MK instead of the boat) at the last minute and saved literally hours of frustrated waiting.
• It’s a cashless holiday! If I had known that we could charge literally everything (even ice creams!) to our room key, it would have saved me the hassle of making sure we had travellers cheques (I always have them in case I lose my wallet – I once had to spend 4 days in London with no cash, awful).
• If we ever get to WDW again I would buy theme park tickets for less days than we are going to be there so that we have legitimate days not to go to the parks. We really wanted a good couple of days where we could head out of the world, lie by the pool, not get out of bed etc but we ended up going each day, even though we took off time every day and had a couple of mornings and evenings at home… If you change your mind its totally easy to extend your pass anyway, so leaving the days empty seems like a good way to go.
• Bring your own beach towel – the towels are useless, these little narrow things that aren’t big enough to lie on or to keep you dry/warm.
• When you get your pre-holiday pedicure before heading off to WDW, don’t let her take any of the hard skin off your heels; that is the way to blisters on the soles of your feet, and untold discomfort. Moleskin can provide relief but can not cure your poor feet.




:~D

I've loved reading your report -- hope the flight to LA was smooth.

I completely agree with you about Chefs de France, I LOVE it!! I also get a bit tired of the vegie burgers by the end of a Disney trip, but at least they have them as an option pretty much everywhere. It's getting much easier to be a vegetarian at WDW and DL than it used to be, seems we find new options everytime we go. Your report also made me want to stay at WL again. We've only stayed there once way back when it first opened and it just sounded so nice in your report.

Wow, now on to DL! I'll look for your continued report "over there"!

emmah - thanks, that was fun to share your trip with you. But you are very naughty... I have thus far avoided the urge to dip into TGM because of the price and stuck with Touring Plans (great bargain) - however, you may have sucked me in to wondering what it's all about as I still have months to kill....

(And to Tina too, there are at least 3 of us watching Friday Night Lights -- Emmah I laughed out loud and your Riggins comment, so true!)

How old is that guy??? I feel a little guilty thinking "Timmy" is hot.....The storylines are GREAT.

BTW, loving the trip report, Emmah. Sounds absolutely perfect!

How old is that guy??? I feel a little guilty thinking "Timmy" is hot.....The storylines are GREAT.


:eek: Who me?!? I didn't say he was hot :eek:

I actually have kids older than he is!! I'm sticking with the mom in me wants to give him a hug, a haircut and a shirt :p

emmah - thanks, that was fun to share your trip with you. But you are very naughty... I have thus far avoided the urge to dip into TGM because of the price and stuck with Touring Plans (great bargain) - however, you may have sucked me in to wondering what it's all about as I still have months to kill....

Exactly what I was thinking. As "learned" as I am about WDW, I certainly ran into more lines, waiting, etc. than Emmah did. Info in the Unofficial Guide was helpful, but not flawless when it came to crowd size, etc. I'll have to check TourGuideMike out!

I loved your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

Ellen

Hi everyone, thanks for the comments! I arrived home in Melbourne this morning and have spent the day doing a ton of laundry (all my lovely new ralph lauren towels and donna karan bedding care of that day in Bloomingdales in NYC at the start of the trip). I was upgraded to business class on the way home - hurruh! it makes such a difference to have a bed to sleep on and proper meals and total peace and quiet rather than the mayhem that is cattle class. picked up the cat on the way back from the airport - he has been the perfect pest all day, wanting to be outside AND inside as close to me as possible all at the same time, so he begs to be let out and then 2 minutes later begs to be let in. the mardi gras masks look amazing on the wall of our sitting room!! I finished the DLR trip report on the plane and will load that on the DL trip report page later (probably tomorrow, I am beginning to crash at last). Just to say, all my luggage arrived, and so did I!

also, TGM is definitely worth every single penny (its only about $20 I think) - you get sooooooo much invaluable advice about everything from what to shoot at in Buzz, to which path to take between lands. His green/yellow/red days are awesome and they must be the reason that we kept hearing people around us complaining about how busy the parks were, when we were not held up at all, for the whole trip. It was like the parting of the seas - we just glided through the mayhem. the difference between TGM and the unofficial guide (which I am a big fan of for DLR) is that TGM tells you why he makes the calls he makes so that if you need to make a decision on your own if your plans change mid day, you have the fundamentals at hand to help. There is a LOT of information there, so my advice would be to sign up early and read often; I only found him a month out from the trip and had to completely reorganise our schedule because of his green/red days advice, which meant we had to change almost all of our ADRs. and as well as informative, its also fun!

ok, i have to hit the sack!

Welcome home! Thanks for the info on TGM. I think I will definitely check it out for my next trip. I have a few days before and after MF to do whatever I want and I want to maximize my time. Sounds like $20 well-spent!

After you get all readjusted, are you going to write up your DLR trip?

hi there, the DLR portion of the trip is now sitting in the DLR trip report section...

I think you would find TGM really helpful!

emma

Thanks and thanks!