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Thread: Mickey Birt - November 1999 - Dixie Landing

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    Mickey Birt - November 1999 - Dixie Landing

    Nov 15-19, 1999

    The Case of the Missing Grandma

    Cast: Me- 39- confirmed disneyphile Larry- 39- AKA hubby, DH, and Dad Jessica-8-AKA Jessie the Ham Charlotte- age classified- CM and Grandma

    Day 1- Monday November 15,1999

    0700- The alarm goes off, jangling like some demented wind-chime invading the quiet of morning. My family, excited about the trip, pop out of their bedrooms like prairie dogs popping up from their dens. All except me- I've been up since 6! Unable to sleep, I have already showered, dressed, loaded the car, and checked all the appliances, windows, and doors. Our dog, Sugar, went to spend the week with friends yesterday so as soon as I can get them dressed and coifed, we're outa here!

    The weather all week was sunny and in the 70's- heavenly. On Friday it did sprinkle off and on all day, but I'll get to that later. We piled into our old, beat-up, but dependable Dodge, scooted through the Dunkin' Donuts drive through and headed east. Grandma, recently a CM and staying with us this time, got us a GREAT deal on our resort and was meeting us there at 9am for pre-check in. All was right with the world.

    Just past Plant City on I-4 is the only rest stop between Tampa and WDW. It is a family ritual to stop there-our bladders are trained for it- so we did. I picked up the rest of the discount booklets I promised to Fab and WDW4Christmas so I will finally be sending them to you- I know you think I forgot. :-) Refreshed, we continued on- next stop- DISNEY WORLD!!!

    We listened to Radio Disney on the way over until it faded out and then the Tarzan soundtrack. That put us even more in the mood- a task I didn't think possible. Finally, there it was- our favorite landmark- the Mickey shaped electric pole at the WDW transformer station-we're on property!! Wahoo- only 2 exits to go!

    Finally, we arrive at Dixie Landings. It seemed like forever but actually was only 1.5 hours! We are 30 minute early for our rendezvous with Grandma so we shop at Fulton's General Store ( where I got my Tinkerbelle Pin) and go to the food court and buy our refillable mugs. We also got Mickey Mouse straws and promptly filled up with Coke. We go back to the lobby- it's 9am but no Grandma. Larry and Jessie go out back to check out the grounds and I go out front to watch, wait, and fret. I'm a worry wart. I might as well say it. I'm also terminally early. I ABHOR being late. Perhaps I should see a shrink about this but at this point all I could do was vacillate between scared and mad. Scared that something happened to her to make her late, and mad that something didn't happen and she was just- late. We couldn't check in without Grandma. We couldn't buy e-nights tickets without checking in. We didn't want to go buy passes and go to a park without her. 9:15- no Grandma- did she wreck her car? 9:30- Did she go have a leisurely breakfast? My DH ventured- "Maybe she went to the wrong hotel?". I gave him a cold look and assured him that since I had reminded her myself on Saturday, a mere 2 days ago, when and where to meet us, AND as a woman I was sure she wouldn't forget (dh has a bad memory I have always blamed on his y chromosome), that couldn't possibly be the problem. Sufficiently chastised for his lapse in judgment , DH took our daughter to the game room to wait. 9:40- Grandma finally drives up. Where was she- Port Orleans. GASP- GAG Oh NO!!! You mean all this time my DH's bad memory was inherited? UGH-well, I had to tell Larry why his mother was late and eat some crow (yuck, poo, nasty). Mystery solved and crow eaten, we got checked in, got our e-night tix and headed over to Epcot on the bus. BTW- we had great luck with the busses and never waited more than 10 minutes for one- even that was rare. We had to stand once in 5 days and then only as far as the first stop- not bad. All of our bus drivers were pleasant, too.

    The only bad thing about our stay was that our room was in the boonies. It was a 1/2 mile walk to everything! This was not the fault of the room assigner though. A friend of mine decided to come up at the last minute and told the room assigner that I wanted my room to be next to hers (not at ALL true). We were originally assigned Alligator Bayou Lodge 14, ground floor- heavenly. But my friend had us changed to Parterre Place on the second floor!! DH, Grandma, and I all suffer from arthritis in the knees and can't climb stairs well so we were, needless to say, unhappy. I explained to the clerk that this was not to our liking and we did not authorize this person to speak for us- could we please have a ground floor room in Alligator Bayou? Lodge 34 was the best she could do. Oh well- she did try to fix it and she was very nice about it. On check out we found that they didn't charge us for the trundle bed- though we did use it. I thought it was very nice of them.

    How Many Characters Can You Greet in One Day?

    We could have seen and done more but Jessie wanted to collect autographs and get her picture taken with as many characters as she could so we spent lots of time in character lines. The only good thing about this is if there are benched around- mom, dad, and grandma can take turns in line and resting. Between this and her Passport (very nifty and highly recommended) we spent LOTS of time in the WS- 9 hours, in fact. We still missed stuff...BUT...that's what passes are for! We must go back! :-)

    Our first stop was guest services to buy the passes. We thought you could buy them at the resort but she said you had to have your picture made and be finger printed so they didn't sell them at the hotel. Well- guess what- you don't. All we had to do was shoe ID to prove we were Florida residents and that was it. Oh yeah- we had to give them money as well. We got a MKC discount and the total for 2 adults and 1 child came to $478- or there about. I don't remember exactly and DH has the receipt in his pocket (at work right now) but it was less than $500 and more than$450. Anyway- we thought it was a bargain. Passes in hand, we head for the gates and got our picture made in front of SE just as we got in. They came out great and we bought them. I know some of you love the monument idea out in front but we were appalled. The pictures look like cartoons and are very small. The big granite monuments look like tombstones- really- I heard someone remark that he felt like he was walking through a cemetery while we were looking at them. My whole family's opinion on this one- a resounding yuck. We quickly high-tailed it back to the WS and Canada. We were too early for Off Kilter and the bagpipers but we did see the movie "O Canada" and it was great.

    Next, we went to Millennium Village. We all like this. My favorite part was the coffee ceremony in Eritrea. It was very personal and very culturally interesting- much like a Japanese tea ceremony. We have nothing this...pretty... and formal for simply making someone feel welcome in the USA and I really liked it. Larry and Jessie loved playing golf in Scotland and Grandma like the whole thing and couldn't decide. We ate lunch here- an activity I highly recommend. First- there are lots of goodies from different countries to choose from. Second- they are not expensive. Third- the lines are MUCH shorter than at the kiosks outside! Each of us got something different and shared. Our vote for the best thing was the chicken empanada from Argentina followed closely by the seasoned ground meat with flat bread from Africa. YUMMY!!! We each got 1 or two things and a drink for a total of $28/4 people. We had plenty to eat and threw some away! I have heard some say that the shopping area was reasonably priced but I didn't find this to be true. I looked at a little plastic box in the Korea section and they wanted $16 for it- whew!! Needless to say- they still have their box.

    In the UK- Jessie started getting autographs and photos. She got Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Captain Hook (who fenced her with his rapier against her pen- and lost!!), Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, and last but not least- the British Invasion. She took several pix of them and we all loved their concert. They stood around her for a group picture when the concert was over and all signed her book- she was in heaven! We stopped at the chrysalis box on the way out and saw two new butterflies enter the world. One sat on my hubby to dry out. He just stood there for about 10 minutes until it could flutter it's wings, then gently lifted it off and set on a bush. This is a testament to how much he likes wildlife because he HATES to have his picture taken and about 50 people took a picture of him with that butterfly on his arm- and he never flinched, just stood and smiled so that little butterfly wouldnt be disturbed. Sigh- my hubby- I think I'll keep him. :-)

    On the hill to the back entrance was a WHOLE BUNCH of characters so we spent about an hour here for Jessie to collect her autographs. She got J, Worthington Foulfellow, Mr. Smee, Snow White's Witch, Rafiki, Goofy, Belle, the Beast, and Tweedle Dum and Dee. They were fighting and Grandma (being a character greeter) shook her finger at them and told them to stop or she would let the crow have their rattle- they acted all afraid and stopped while the audience laughed and cheered. Of course, Grandma ate this up! She loves her job so much she does it even when she's off duty!

    Next we went to France where I found my new favorite perfume (Escada) and hinted to Dh how it would be nice to find some under the Christmas tree...AND I managed to avoid the pastry shop! This is very hard for me to do. All you Disney Dieters out there take note- so far I had a bagel for breakfast, two iced teas without sugar and bottled water. At lunch, besides my 1/4 of each item, I had one bite of cake that Grandma bought, and later, we all 4 shared a small popcorn. I was very proud of myself for continuing to stay mostly on my diet and avoiding the pastry! Grazing on junk food all day at WDW is SO easy! After Impressions de France (beautiful) we went outside to find the living statue playing with 2 Japanese ladies by stealing their purses. Jessie was fascinated and kept edging closer until...SNATCH.. the statue had her by the ponytail!! Jessies eyes got as big as saucers! :-D The statue lifted up a bit and Jessie followed- now she was on TIP TOE!! She tippy toed in a circle looking for us to rescue her but we were too busy laughing. She ended up doing a lovely little pirouette and the statue let go. She ran to Grandma- who was laughing so hard she could barely breathe- and tried to make us all believe she was mad at us for laughing but that was pretty hard since she was laughing, too!

    It was off to Morocco where we missed the show but Jessie got Jafar's autograph. She was miffed because he wouldn't let her hug him. We had to re-explain the concept of "bad guys".

    Next came Japan and strawberry Kaki- Goris all around. I passed up the pastry but I was thirsty so I rationalized in a Kaki-Gori. I'd been pretty good and I was on vacation. Sigh- oh well. Here, when Jessie got her passport stamped, the lady made her an origami swan. It was quite pretty. DH was fascinated by the drums- they gave me a headache, so I walked ahead to the USA.

    At this pavilion, we saw a performance of the fife and drum corps and heard the Voices of Liberty. Both outstanding performances. We didn't go to the show because we wanted to catch Nova Era- but we'll be back. ;-)

    On to Italy where we heard Nova Era. I could listen to them all day. I tried to buy their CD but it isn't out yet. Curses!! Foiled again!! Oh well- the masqerade ball attendees were all out and Jessie got her picture and autograph with Elizabeth the First- en masque, of course.

    Germany was next. My husband fell in love with a beer stein and Grandma drooled over the dolls. Jessie got the autographs and pix of Doc and Snow White- then the characters went in.

    A short trip across the bridge (where I am SURE I caught a glimpse of Trimobia over my shoulder) and we were in China. This is always the best part of WS for our family because we love the acrobats and the gardens here. We caught the acrobats (such cute little kids)- Jessie is sure she can do this if we would just let her try. Then she ran up on the railing and promptly fell off before we could get to her. Luckily, just her ego was bruised and she changed her mind about being an acrobat. We went into the temple to wait for the movie and were entertained by two ladies playing Chinese instruments. One was the Chinese version of my favorite instrument- the hammered dulcimer, and the other was a mandolin looking thing called a 'pipa'. The music was wonderful. Then they had 4 children come up to play a song with them. Jessie got to play the hammered dulcimer. They played "Pop Goes the Weasel"- it was adorable. Jessie bowed after the performance- she's such a ham! After the movie- we went shopping and I bought a beautiful little clay pot for my teapot collection and Jessie bought a big pink flamingo puppet. SHAN YU tried to steal it when she got his picture and autograph. She ran to her daddy who gave Shan Yu the evil eye. HE acted scared and ran off! It was pretty funny but I guess you had to be there.

    After China, it was getting late and we were getting tired. We peeked in the stave church and rode the Maelstrom where we ran into a really nasty man. He was smoking a cigar and when the CM told him he couldn't, he put it out on the floor and then made rude comments the rest of the ride. What I wouldn't have done for a paraprod! We left Norway right after the ride and headed to Mexico.

    In Mexico, we were all but done in so we did not take the Paragon challenge- hope you weren't there, Mighty P. I assured Larry that you were probably off that night. We did see the Aztec dancers, though. Wahoo!! Good looking men in loin cloths! As an apprentice LIB inspector, I gave them an 8/10 as a whole. One guy had a little paunch on him, but the rest were hotties! Funny thing- I caught Grandma inching closer and closer to the stage...

    After the dancers were done, we headed to our room. We were pooped and ready to call it a night. We got some food at the food court (Jessie and I shared and individual pizza and I ate a few of DH's fries) and went to bed. Aside from being too far from the food court and pool, our room was pretty and comfortable and QUIET. We all fell to sleep right away.

    Best thing- Larry and the Butterfly Worst thing- The guy in the Maelstrom Quote of the day- Grandma Charlotte to the Tweedles- "Stop fighting and stand still for these children or I'll let the crow have your rattle!!"

    Day 2- Tuesday November 16,1999

    Diet? What Diet?

    Today Mickey Mouse woke us up at 6am for EE to Epcot. We were disappointed to find the only things open were Test Track, Wonders of Life and Ellen's Energy Adventure. We avoided Test Track because of the already huge line and went in EEA. We loved it as usual. Next we went to the Wonders of Life where outside in the pond we saw a mother duck with 9 little fussy babies! They were so cute. Jessie just had to take their picture but without a zoom, she ended up with a picture of the water. Oh well- she knows the ducklings are there! Inside we did Cranium Command- always hilarious. We played with some of the interactive stuff and lastly took in the Making of Me movie. I highly recommend this to all parents of curious children (and the children, of course). It is exceptionally well done. We had already had this discussion with Jessica , however, and were mortified when , during the part where Martin Short refers to being "so close that the sperm and egg can get together", my Jessica loudly asks- "does he mean sex?". I looked around, but there were no rocks to hide under. :-) After this- we went across the compound to the Living Seas.

    I don't know if living in Florida has jaded us or if we've just seen it so often it doesn't hold our interest anymore, but we didn't stay here long. I remember being in awe of it when it opened. I really didn't find anything particularly different so maybe it IS just us but even the manatees seemed bored. We buzzed around and saw everything in about 15 minutes and left. At least there was no line to get in.

    Next we went into the Land Pavilion. We had lunch here. Grandma and I had soup and salad. I HIGHLY recommend the chicken soup here. It was chock full of veggies and spices- definitely not out of a can. Hubby got a BBQ sandwich which he pronounced 'fine', and Jessie got Mickey pasta and cheese which came with a chocolate chip cookie. She loved it and ate every bite. We did the boat ride through the hydroponics greenhouse and saw the "miniaturized" alligators. We then did Food Rocks where Grandma and I had fun identifying the 'real' singers imitated by the food. The line to Circle of Life was too long so it went on our 'next time' list. We found hidden Mickeys on the wall for the boat ride queue and read all the quotes. Jessie was impressed that some of them were from children and has resolved to get her name on that wall some day.

    The lines at JTYI , HISTA, and Innoventions were also too long so they went on the 'next time' list and we decided to go back to the hotel for swimming and hot tub time.

    Ol' Man Island is great. They have a fishin' hole, and a HUGE heated pool. Apparently, the slide is pretty neat , too, because when Jessie discovered it, she spent an hour making the circuit from pool to stairs to slide. We went to the pool at Port Orleans later in the week and their slide looks pretty cool but ours was longer an had twists an turns so Jessie pronounced it the best. At 5pm we got dressed and went to MK for dinner at Crystal Palace and E-Night. We exchanged our cards for armbands with smiley faces on them and checked in at Crystal Palace. Boy- what a delicious smell emanated form that place!! We sat on the porch with a French-Canadian family who had a son the same age as Jessie. They took turns showing off until Jon-Mark decided to jump from the porch to the walkway- OVER the stairs. I took Jessie aside and asked her if she would like to spend the rest of her vacation in a cast with a broken leg. She decided this wouldn't be fun so she told Jon-Mark that it was dumb to jump that far and refused to do it. WHEW! Jon-Marks father, with a wink at me, asked him the dame question I asked Jessie-lo and behold Jon-Mark decided it was dumb, too. The spent the rest of the wait sliding down the banister. If you haven't done this, you check in and wait on the porch until they call your name. For us it took about 20 minutes, not long and we enjoyed visiting with the others on the porch. The wait-staff comes out of a door near where we were sitting and calls for a family. This one waitress kept getting names with a 'bir' sound at the beginning. We would jump to our feet only to hear "Birch" or "Birkhead". We'd snap our fingers and say darn or shucks and sit back down. It got to be pretty funny, especially when the waitress, by now familiar with our name, would duck her head and look sad when she came out with a name other than ours! Finally she stops and tells us that we are next!! We are already standing and ready when the next waitress comes out- she was quite confused, having no idea why we were ready for her! :-) We played with Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, and Piglet and stuffed ourselves silly! The food was absolutely fantastic! The carved roast beef was literally the best I've ever had- it tasted like it had beet spit roasted- YUMMY. I admit it- all thoughts of my diet left me and I pigged out. My second favorite thing was the southwestern cheese corn- YUM. The only thing I would change is that I would waddle on back to the hotel afterwards- instead we went to E-night. That wasn't so bad, I guess, I did walk off some of my naughty indulgence.

    I LOVE E-night!!! We rode everything twice except Alien Encounters. Jessie decided it was too scary this time so we didn't repeat it. Instead, we went on Buzz Lightyear 3 times. I love this ride. It is a great replacement for If You Had Wings. I did, however, keep getting the defective trigger gun. My scores shall remain classified information...After this, we went back to the hotel to crash and burn. What a great day!

    Best thing- Dinner at Crystal Palace Worst thing- my score on Buzz Lightyear

    Quote of the day- "Does he mean sex?"

    Day 3- Wednesday November 17,1999

    Dough With Which I Buy My Beer...

    When we returned to our room after E-night, we found all Jessies toys arranged as if they were having a party. Some were hanging off the bed posts, some in dancing positions, one holding the remote and one sitting on the phone. All I can say is it was enchanting and I highly recommend tipping your maid daily. Jessie decorated envelopes for this very purpose before we left, hoping for this kind of magic and we weren't disappointed!

    Wednesday Am arrived and Mickey Mouse once again woke us up for our day at Animal Kingdom. We were going to do MGM but decided on AK as we had never been there before and were itching to go. Itineraries were made to be changed, right?

    We LOVED AK. The Tree of Life is nothing short of amazing. We were in drop-jawed awe of it! This was our first time to use fast pass as well- on the Safari. I can't say enough good things about this program. I abhor waiting in line longer than 15 minutes and will almost never do it. Sometimes I miss neat things but I get claustrophobic when people crowd up against me so 15 minutes is my limit. We saw a long line, got our passes and went to "It's Tough To Be A Bug". We all enjoyed this but were aware of the bee sting and leaned forward and missed it. The stink bug, however, PEEUUUU!!! My eyes watered!! After this we walked right on the Safari. I'm in the "leave out the poachers" camp on this one. This tour can easily stand on it's own without the theatrics. We got some good pix of the Okapi and Giraffes and saw a good many others, including 2 Cheetah- beautiful!

    We also saw the Bird Show- loved it, and rode the Kali river rapids. Grandma and I cheated and wore our ponchos (G)- we got teased but our clothes stayed mostly dry. Even the people manning the elephants missed us! We loved the Conservation Station, all except the petting zoo. There are only goats and sheep out in the petting pen, everything else is penned out of reach. Well, for those of us who are fairly country, goats and sheep are nothing new so we didn't spend much time here. Next we went to CTX which was a walk-on!! What a blast- it IS a little jerky but quite a rush. Even Jessie loved it- as long as she could hang on to her Daddy.

    The walking tours were thronging with people so we elected to come back to this park another day- that's what passes are for! Besides, we were quite tired still from E-night so we went back to the hotel for a nap and some pool time. I think my daughter was a fish in another life!

    We went back to the room after the pool and collectively fell asleep- OOPS. Larry and I overslept and missed our date with Bruce and Marta!! It was after 7 when we woke up and we were supposed to meet them at 7:30! there was no way we could let them know we wouldn't be there, either. We felt bad but there wasn't anything we could do about it so we went ahead and changed clothes and caught the boat to DD. We got there about 8: and MIGHT have met up with them late except ...well...we were ignorant!! We didn't know there were 2 Wolfgang Puck's Express restaurants so when we got off the boat, instead of walking a few yards up to the restaurant, we took the launch to the West Side and THAT Express. Guess what? Bruce and Marta weren't there! Thinking that they had gotten tired of waiting for us and left, we went on into PI and had some chicken fingers and fries while we waited for Adventurer's Club to open. Grandma and Jessie went to Ft. Wilderness to the Campfire Program.

    Once inside AC, we got drinks and went to the mask room to wait for the other RADPer's sure to be at the meet Scoutmom had set up. Soom, Bruce and Marta come in. Still ignorant of the second restaurant and embarrassed that we had overslept, we just said that we had stayed overlong where we were and had no way to tell them we would be late and apologized for missing them. They were quite gracious and terribly sweet about it ( sorry again, Zazu) and we liked them right off the bat. We hope the feeling was mutual. Anyway, in the course of the conversation, Marta tells me that they went ahead in the restaurant and ate when it looked like we weren't going to be there. ??? We didn't see them...is there more than one? (I said to myself- not wanting to look stupid)- well, as you all know, there is and we found it on our last day when we went to DD to buy souvenirs. Boy did we feel dumb. We promise not to make that mistake again, guys if you'll let us have a next-time. :-)

    At the RADP meet we met quite a few nice people, mostly men this time, surprisingly, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't write down names, BUT- aside from Bruce and Marta, I remember Briar Rose (who made a big impression on the masks!), Jeff, Scoutmom (late to her own meet-heehee), and Dillon and Carol Pyron (Pryon?). We had a good time but I was disappointed to find the fellow playing Hathaway Brown was older and less...'buff' than the last one I had seen. In fact, I had spent a good deal of time telling Marta how she should not miss the Balderdash Cup in the Library because of the very interesting way Hathaway arrived. We went in the library, all set to ogle Hathaway's hiney when this old guy comes out in Hathaway's clothes. Well, all I can say is, whomever is playing Hathaway should not be sporting a baggy seat in his pants when he slides down the ladder!! Sigh, poor Marta, what a let-down!!

    After 3 large drinks and a long day at AK, I became rather too silly for public consumption so my hubby poured me into the bus and we went home to our room at DxL. Grandma and Jessie were already back from their night out and fast asleep- we weren't far behind! Another great day!

    Best thing- Fast Pass!! Worst Thing- Missed dinner with Bruce and Marta. ;-(

    Quote of the day- from Jessie, at the top of her lungs, in "It's Tough to be a Bug"- " Oh no, mommy- that bug is going to pooty on us!!!"

    Day 4- Thursday November 18,1999

    Magic Kingdom Redux

    Yesterday, the maid built a pool and slide out of TP, towels and a plastic bag in our window and we returned to find the blinds open just far enough for us to be greeted by this display while still outside the room. It was so cleverly arranged that Jessie was enchanted with it and we had to take pictures before she would move any of it so the maids could do something else the next day!

    This morning we got up with 6am call from Mickey Mouse so we could do EE at MK. We had already done E-night and we had a 1040am breakfast ressie so we decided to go early to avoid the crowds.

    First we went to Fantasy land and rode Pooh, Snow White, and the Tea Cups. Pooh is cute but strictly a kiddie ride IMO and we probably will avoid it in the future. Even Jessie was kind of bored. Larry and she rode the tea cups while Grandma and I waited this one out, each of us aware that Larry would spin that cup as fast as he possibly could- he did. They were whizzing around faster than anyone else and when they got off, Jessie was all wobbly and asked her dad to stop spinning the ground around! After this we went to Toon Town so Jessie could get some more autographs and ride the Barnstormer. Minnie's house was new to us and we liked it very much, especially the interactive kitchen. My personal favorite was the "palm" tree...

    Next we went to see himself, Mickey Mouse. While we were in line, this woman and her little girl kept butting ahead (no, they weren't Brazilian- just rude). When they got to us, I stood in such a way as to block their progress and said gently but firmly to the little girl (about 10 or so)- "Butting the line is rude, dear. You mustn't do it." Her mom took a deep breath and started sputtering a bit so I continued to her-"Is this the example you want to set for her?" With that, she took her daughter by the hand and left in a big huff. It's a shame, but my daughter waited her turn and I wasn't about to allow someone to jump ahead of her, any more than I would allow her to butt ahead of someone else. There was a lady behind us with 3 kids who were all on the verge of crying when the other woman pushed ahead of them and she thanked me. You know, It's one thing when someone who is not aware of the cultural custom of waiting your turn pushes ahead- they may not realize they were rude- but it is another thing entirely when a grown person, well aware of the customs and courtesies of this country engages in rude behavior, especially in front of her child. Heck, this lady was TEACHING her child to act that way! Honestly!! We continued on and spent our 45 seconds with Mickey Mouse and then went and caught the train around front and then the monorail to GF for our breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.

    About this breakfast- MUST DO , GANG!!! The food and atmosphere are excellent and once again we stuffed ourselves silly. Jessie got to do the ladybug release, too. She didn't like it , though. When she opened her box, 6 little bugs flew immediately out and onto her head! Larry and I thought it was pretty funny but Jessie was not amused. Then we waddled around the lobby and looked at the Christmas tree and watched them assemble a huge (big enough to walk through) Gingerbread house. What a surprise- it was actually made of gingerbread and royal icing!! Magical!! We also saw par t of a wedding with Mickey and Minnie as best man and maid of honor. It was a young Japanese couple. After their wedding, they left the GF in the Cinderella couch with a footman in a periwig and the whole schmear! Sigh- it was very romantic! Oh well- back to MK and Adventureland!

    In Adventureland, we first went to POC- NO LINE!!! yay!!!! Then I screwed my courage to the sticking place and ventured into....THE TIKI ROOM!!! From the very firs time I ever went in this some 20 odd years ago, I have never liked it. But- it's supposed to be new and improved so...throwing caution to the wind- I went in. Well- I didn't die. But I probably won't go back. Funny thing- everyone else in my family liked it! OK- I didn't hate it, but all that clicking when the animatronic birds and flowers are singing just gets on my last nerve. Also, Iago had a worn out place on his side and I could see the metal works through a hole under his wing. He was supposed to be new but he looked old- disappointing. Sorry , Ronnie- I tried. After this we all went on the Jungle Cruise (still silly but fun) and then shared a dole whip. Disney Dieters tip- if you want to indulge in your favorite treats but don't want to over eat- share. I got three or four bites of this treat and my family ate the rest. Craving satisfied without killing the diet.

    Next we strolled back down main street and stopped in to have Jessie's silhouette done. This is neat and inexpensive. You get 2 matted copies for about $8 when they are through. We put them into cute little textured black frames with gold trim that we got at Wal-Mart for $2 each. They turned out to be quite nice looking little gifts. We kept one and Grandma gets one for Christmas. At around $6 total each, it's quite a bargain!

    We were getting tired and MK was getting crowded so we went back to the hotel. Jessie wanted to try the pool at PO so off we went. She pronounced the water slide neater to look at but not as fun a ride as at DxL. The food court was good but the selection was much more limited that at DxL, too. We were please to find 10 shrimp on our shrimp platters, though- we expected about 6. We went back to the hotel, showered off the chlorine and went back to the camp fire program. Larry and I had not been and Jessie wanted to go again so we did. Take the bus. Do not attempt to drive here- it isn't pretty. The sing-along was fun BUT be warned. If you can't deal with a lot of "child" noise- don't go. The little critters are everywhere! We roasted (read burned) a few marshmallows and then left to go to the Poly for the Electrical Water Pageant. They have a free movie after the sing along but it was the Goofy Movie and we had seen it many times so we gave it a miss. On the way out, we saw 3 deer, very close to the road and got their pictures. Then they leaped the fence and ran into the woods- NEAT!!

    At the Poly, we went out to the dock to watch the pageant and there was almost no one there. We had a great view. There are a dozen or so animated, light up floats that move in time to the music. After the pageant we went home to our room one last time. Interestingly, the pier that the water mice are tied to at the Poly seems to be Duck central at night. There were at least 50 male mallards roosting there when we left. Batchelor quarters?

    When we got to our room, we found the maid (we always had a late maid) had spelled out "By-by" with towels on the bed and arranged the toys so they were waving from various points on the letters. It was just precious- and sad, sigh.

    Best thing- Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare & Lady Bug Release Worst thing- the lady at Mickey Mouse's house.

    Quote of the day- Larry to the ginger bread house builders- "Need a taste tester?"

    Day 5- Friday November 19,1999

    What A Fantasmic! Trip!!!

    Well, at 7am, Mickey Mouse woke us up for the last time. Sniff, sniff. We buzzed around and packed, then put it all in the car and drove to the lobby to check out. We went to breakfast in the food court (yummy cinnamon rolls) and headed off the "studios".

    Tip- Friday is THE day to go to MGM. We arrived about 9am to find we were parked in the first lot and it was only half full. Once inside, we strolled down toward TOT and spent a lot of time shopping the Villains Store. Nifty little place. I bought a Maleficent pin and a few postcards.

    Next- TOT. We had never been on this, so I was very excited. There was no wait and we walked right into the library. This place is so neat. Next stop- the basement and the elevator. We were dropped so many times we lost count!! What a blast!!! Move over Slash- this is my new favorite ride!

    Nest we went to RnRC which had a 15 minute wait. HORRORS! (heehee) We got a fast pass and went to the BatB show. This was a wonderful production. My only complaint - they shortened the Gaston song- my favorite song. The a cappella group that sang for the pre-show was fantastic. Wish I had written down their name-my memory can be like a steel sieve at times! Back to RnRC.

    WAAAHOOO!!! I was wrong before- THIS is my favorite ride!!!! All that and 2 bags of chips! Awesome!! Did I say I liked it? This middle aged mom (who vividly remembers going to see Aero Smith in concert in the '70's) was seriously impressed. I loved everything about it. My favorite part? The line was short and I got to ride it twice in a row! Our whole family has now declared MGM our favorite park. It has the best rides and the best shows and it's small enough to see in one day. The shops are way more interesting than average, too.

    After the RnRC, we went to the 50's Prime Time Cafe for lunch. What a hoot! We got Uncle Glen and the first thing he said was "the girls are on vacation, Skippy. Set the table!" and tossed a basket of silverware and napkins Larry. He gave me a raised eyebrow look and his mother and I started giggling. He dutifully set the table, giving me the evil eye the whole time. Then Uncle Glen came back and teased with Jessie about her elbows on the table and just generally treated us like visiting family by gossiping about other family and really doing a good job of staying in character. We really enjoyed ourselves. Jessie drew him a picture which he promptly put on the wall and had everyone applaud. The food here is excellent and plentiful but pricey. Those on a budget might be happy to know that the portions are so huge, two can generally eat and be satisfied by sharing, and the appetizers are large and reasonably priced. Our ham sandwiches were 4 inches thick and came with home made potato chips- half a plate full! I couldn't eat all mine and shared with Grandma and Larry. He has a huge appetite and even he said it was more than he could eat in one sitting. The dessert menu is presented in a Viewmaster- cute. We shared a S'more between the 4 of us - good thing because the thing was literally the size of the plate! Yummy, though!.

    After this was Great Movie ride (cowboys), Star Tours, and Muppets 4D. We like the Muppets the best of all the3d shows. Jessie wanted to get Sweetums' autograph but they wouldn't let us. Next we went and got seats on the porch of the "Doug" show and watched the Mulan Parade. Those floats are gorgeous- but why is Shan Yu so big? It seemed out of place. The "Doug" show was fantastic. I was amazed at how well the actors matched the cartoons physically. I had no trouble believing that I was looking at Doug and Patti.

    Next, we argued about going to see Hunchback or doing the Backlot tour and I lost. Tour here we come. When we got there, the CM told us that if we wanted to see Fantasmic!, we should skip this and go to the show. It was only 4:45!!! Larry was going to chance it but I vetoed him and we went to get a seat. Good thing- the entire middle section was already full. We sat in the middle/right, bottom most bench. We THOUGHT we had good seats. WE did- for everything except for getting out of the amphitheater!! Lesson learned, here's a tip. This show is so popular that is fills up completely by 6pm, even on slow days. There are circulating CMs selling food and drinks and souvenirs from 4:30 on and they don't mind if you bring food in with you, so you don't have to miss a meal or go to a restaurant for a reserve seat. Also, they will let you leave one of your party to save a seat, and the rest can go on another ride or shop, etc. and come back later (we did this). Last, if you sit up front like we did- bring your rain poncho. Every time the breeze shifts, the mist screens will mist you. I can't say enough about this show. My 8 year old sat perfectly still throughout the whole thing! It has everything- comedy, excitement, drama, pathos, boats, floats, water effects, movies, live actors, animatronics, Mickey Mouse, and the most awesome dragon in the known world. It appears to be about 2 stories high, it's eyes glow, it breathes fire, and it has lightening dancing on it's wings- it is horribly beautiful to behold . I actually felt like I was physically in the presence of a real, life sized, dragon. What a feeling for someone whose favorite thing is dragons!! It was very easy for me to forget reality and accept that dragon for what it was supposed to be. I was just slack jawed with awe throughout the whole show but the finale was just amazing. If the California version is indeed better, it must be out of this world!

    Well, we were now tired, and happy, and finally had magic oozing out of every pore. It was time to go home. We stopped at DD before we left to buy souvenirs because they honor MKC cards for the discount. We picked out things we wanted all week in the parks and then found them at DD on the way home and bought them. This I will do a gain because we saved quite a nice hunk of change this way.

    We got home about 1am, crashed and burned. It was a great vacation. Can't wait to go again!

    Mickey Birt

    mickeymom@earthlink.net

    You just read a trip report that was originally published in our MousePlanet Trip Reports column.

    Reader-submitted trip reports have always been an extremely popular feature here at MousePlanet. In order to improve the search functionality and shorten the time from when you submit a trip report and the report gets published, you can now post your trip reports directly to our Trip Report forums. The forums are moderated, but reports should become available for reading very quickly.

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