Christopher Strange - June 9-14, 1997 - Old Key West Resort

[Trip Reports]

Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Train
Resort: OKWR
Accommodations: Studio
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Rookie
Comments: Chris and his parents took to the rails to get to WDW for their early-June trip. This is a short report, but gives a good idea about conditions in early June (crowds, weather) and includes several useful hints and tips.

This is my trip report of my trip to WDW from June .

Getting there, as it is said, is half the fun. Well, it was in this case. We left Maine on June 8 to grab a train in Boston, MA. Got on the train and had a lot of fun. Then in New York got on the Silver Meteor for the trip South. The Amtrak people were great. But, if you can't go to sleep in a chair never choose coach. We were scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 3:54pm on the 9. The train ran about 5 minutes late. After getting the rental car after a delay, we got to Disney World around 6:30 pm. We stayed that the Old Key West Resort. After the train trip I was too tired to go anywhere.

DAY ONE:

Got up at 6:30 am and had food in the room. Got to the bus stop at 7:30 for the trip over to the Magic Kingdom. Got over at 8:00 and the park wasn't open yet. At 8:30 they opened the gates and I went to the rope barrier In Tomorrowland and precisely at 9 am sprinted to Alien Encounter and got on that immediately. This was the attraction that scared me to death. After that went on Space Mountain with about a 10 minute delay. Then went on the Transit Authority.

I left Tomorrowland and went to Liberty square and got there just as a showing of the Hall of Presidents started. This I loved and had a lot of fun. Then left the Hall of Presidents and went on the Haunted Mansion with a little delay. After that I tried to go on both Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, but the lines looked very long so I thought why not have lunch? But the lunch lines were also long. So I decided to leave and went back to my room via the bus.

Later in the day me and my mother and father decided to go over to the marketplace which we did. The bus service was very good the whole week. After that I separated and decided to go resort hopping and went on the bus to the Boardwalk. This bus also stops by the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. Got off the bus at Boardwalk and went over to the ESPN club and looked around. Then went back to OKW via the Magic Kingdom.

DAY TWO:

The next day got up and I originally was going over to Epcot, but I decided to go back to MK and do Splash and Big Thunder. Instead of walking, I took the train around the park. This worked excellently.

I'd riden both of them by 10 am at which time I decided to go over to Epcot would be a mistake. The crowds were too big, so I headed back. On the way, I got some advice from the bus driver which was to go back between 2 and 4 pm.

I returned, as suggested, and rode Horizons, Universe of Energy and the Living Seas without a delay. I liked all of these attractions.

Then I went back to OKW and after a thunderstorm returned to Epcot with my family and went to World Showcase. I went into the countries of Norway and Mexico. Returned to OKW about 9 pm.

DAY THREE:

I got up at 6:30 and headed over to the studios and the studios wasn't scheduled to open until 9 am, but it opened at 8:30 and went it did sprinted over to ToT. Went on that and had a lot of fun. After that went on the Great Movie Ride. Liked this one as well. Then went on Star Tours which was a blast.

Then I took the Studios Backlot Tour with no delay. The Animation Tour had a thirty minutes delay. Both of the tours were disappointing. I thought we would see more of the studios.

After that went back to OKW. Then around three me and my mother went over to Epcot and went around all of World Showcase. This was fun just to see all of the countries and it was hot and I would advise to have a water bottle with you. Went back to OKW around seven.

DAY FOUR:

This was Friday and I took advantage of early entry at Epcot. This was great because I got to see Spaceship Earth, living to the land, and Journey into Imagination all without delay. After that had fun in Innoventions until 10:30.

Then just when I was going to leave for the RADP meet at the studios. The rains came down. After the rain stopped my family went over to Pleasure Island to pick up out Planet Hollywood T-shirts. This was a part of our flex package. Then went back and prepared for the return train trip.

DAYS FIVE and SIX:

Went on the train at 12:51 out of Orlando and everything went fine until Philadelphia where the electrical system. Arrived and hour and 21 minutes late for New York. Another 20 minutes late to get to Boston. Then home fine.

TIPS and INFORMATION:

Go to parks early and then leave until 2 pm when crowds are lighter
Have a water bottle with you.
The land on Vista Blvd. around Ft. Wilderness that was cleared is not for a hotel, but for agriculture it was re-zoned according to one of my bus drivers.
Use the bus system it seemed to be very effective.
Use the fast food outlets to save yourself money.
Finally, just have fun!!!!
Chris Strange