Bill Sears - June 7-14, 1997 - Offsite

[Trip Reports]

Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: Offsite, Offsite
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Bill provides a very detailed report on a week long trip with his daughter Cacie. In addition to the three major parks, the twosome visited Pleasure Island and several of the resorts. Bill's report also provides some insight in visiting WDW from a wheelchair. This is an excellent report, one of the best I've read in a long time!
Pre-Trip and Travel

Where-

Stayed off-site at the Econolodge Maingate Hawaiian and drove our rental car to the parks.

Cast-

Bill- me a 38 year old Computer Programmer, who is a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair.

Cacie- my 13 year old daughter, fresh out of 9th grade, who attends a performing arts magnet high school and who is the proud parent of a Tamagotchi (kept alive all the way through our trip)

Cacie and I went to WDW in June of 96 with 16 other members of our family. This trip allowed us 8 days in the park so I bought us regular APs(no water parks). We had a great time of course and this plus the APs weighed heavily on my mind during the winter months. I decided on March 10th(my birthday) to make reservations for WDW before our passes expired.

I had been surfing the web for travel deals and found one at the South West Airlines site. It was for airfare for 2 from BWI, rental car for a week from Alamo, and a room at the Econolodge Maingate Hawaiian for 7 nights(6/15-6/22), total of $714. I thought this sounded great since our admission was already covered. This would be our first Off-Site trip. I hadn't discovered RADP yet so I had no idea if there was any problems with any of these options.

Eventually I found RADP and started hearing rumors about On-Site vs. Off-Site, Alamo and even the Econolodge. But I decided that the price was too good to pass up and this was an unplanned trip, so I kept the arrangements.

Of course once everything was set up things had to change. My daughter's school didn't use all of their snow days and was closing a week early. As soon as I heard this I called up Southwest to change the days of our trip. After some finagling with the hotel and rental car(hand controls and wheelchair room needed) everything was changed to June 7th-15th ( 8 nights now for a total of $764). Then a couple of days later I find out that June 7th is Gay Day at the MK and the crowds would be worse than if I had just gone on the original dates. Next time I'll look before I leap.

The days seemed to pass so slowly. I passed the time by making dining reservations, reading RADP and watching that Disney Time clock tick down. But eventually the day did arrive. We awoke at 4:30 AM and were out the door at 5:00 AM for our 7:00 AM flight out of BWI.

My mother lives near the airport and she offered to drop us off. We arrived on time and checked our luggage. I let SWA know that I would be gate checking my wheelchair and that I might need an aisle chair to board. I found out that I could get my wheelchair right next to the first seat so no aisle chair was needed.

Our flight left on time and was very pleasant. I've flown with SWA before and I recommend them to anyone for short flights. We sat in the seats that sit backward during this trip, so we got to speak with the people around us. There was a man and a woman in the seats facing us. The man had planned on flying into MCO the day before but had fallen asleep on the plane, by the time he had awakened he was on his way to Baltimore. SWA had put him up in a hotel room for the night and was sending him back to MCO. Eventually I found out that he was heading to WDW for Gay Day and was going to skip the MK for the day since he was arriving late. He was still planning on going to the Studios party that night though. I hope he had a good time even though he missed out on part of his trip.

As we approached MCO I was busy looking for Spaceship Earth. I saw a building that looked like the Contemporary, but I thought that shouldn't be the building I recognized first. Then I saw this pink blob next to it and a big white hill. I knew then that I had caught my first glimpse of the Cakestle and Space Mountain. I never did see Spaceship earth though.

We exited the plane without mishap(I always worry about having my wheelchair lost in transit) and got our luggage. I called the Alamo office to request a wheelchair lift bus, they told me it would be there in 15 mins. but it was there in 9. We arrived at the Alamo office and walked right up to the counter to be served.

Here is the first problem I ran into. I had reserved a 2-door Chevy Cavalier(the same car I drive at home), but Alamo had been "nice" to me and upgraded it to a 4-door Chevy Corsica. This is a problem for me since I can put my wheelchair into the back seat myself if it's a 2-door, but not if it's a 4-door. The manager was called over and he explained that Alamo will often upgrade cars since only 7% of their fleet is 2-door and if I really wanted him to he would have the hand-controls switched to a 2-door car. He said this would take about 45 mins. Cacie said she was in a big hurry and didn't want to wait. She promised that she would handle getting the wheelchair in and out of the car so that we could save the 45 mins. She stuck to this promise but was really tired of doing it by the end of our trip.

We loaded up the car and were on our way to the motel to check-in. I had no trouble find the Econolodge, it was on 192 just a few hundred yards from the exit to WDW. We arrived at the motel around 11:00 AM. Problem number 2, I was told that they had no wheelchair accessible rooms with 2 double beds. I ordered a rollaway bed(at $10 per night) so Cacie wouldn't have to sleep with her father and walked over to the room.

While we were getting our luggage out of the car problem number 3 occurred. I ran over a piece of glass with my wheelchair and punctured my left front tire. I had been wise on this trip, I had brought a spare(so I thought). We made it to our room where I found out that problem number 2 had disappeared. Our room was a wheelchair accessible room with grab bars in the tub, wide doors into the bathroom, a handicapped parking space right out side the door and 2 DOUBLE BEDS! I called the front desk and cancelled the rollaway.

I started fixing my flat tire and I found out that the spare I packed was also flat and I didn't have a tube repair kit :-(. So off to the front desk to find a bike repair shop. I got directions to one on Main St. in Kissammee and we headed down 192. On the way I noticed the Wal-Mart superstore. Great we could get water and a tube repair kit. We stopped and got what we needed. Then we rushed off to EPCOT!

Sorry this is so long. I just wanted to write about everything, I'm going to put this report in my photo album and keep it along with the pictures and memories.

Day 1 - Saturday 6/7 - EPCOT

We're finally here!!! We passed through the arch welcoming us to WDW and we're there! It was about a 15-min trip from the Econolodge Maingate Hawaiian to reach EPCOT and we pulled into our parking space at 1:45. It took me about 15 minutes to fix the flat on my wheelchair and we were off.

We made it through the gates without a problem with the AP biometrics. I didn't have a single problem all trip and Cacie only had a couple, this was much better than June 96.

We walked through Future World on our way to Norway. Passed by the Jamitors (are these guys always playing?) and since the Fountain wasn't doing a show we made it by without stopping. We reached Norway and were immediately seated for lunch at Akershus. This is Cacie's favorite restaurant and since we were in EPCOT and really hungry (hadn't eaten at all yet today) we felt this was a perfect starting point. Our waitress was a little slow, but overall it was an excellent meal.

From Norway we decided to walk around the world. Our first stop was at China for the Pu Yang Acrobats. These kids looked to be about 6-9 years old but were very serious about their craft. It was a really hot day(or maybe I just hadn't gotten used to the heat) and these kids were out there doing amazing stunts. I would have been impressed if adults were doing this, I was doubly so with these young acrobats.

We continued onward window shopping and sightseeing through the Outpost, Germany and Italy. We made it to the American Adventure just as a show was starting. The downstairs waiting room was closed off for a private party. Someone had reserved the room for a wedding reception(that must really nice to do).

Up to this point I was feeling let down by this trip, nothing seemed really special. Usually I visit the MK on my first day and just the trip on the ferry gets me in the mood for WDW. But with the MK being so crowded we decided to do EPCOT first and I hadn't experienced any real WDW magic. The American Adventure changed all that. I've seen this show many times before and it never fails to move me. I came out of this show with that special magic feeling. It was truly the beginning of my WDW trip.

After exiting the American Adventure we walked right into a character meet and greet. Mickey, Minnie, and Dale were there. Cacie and I got into an argument about whether it was Chip or Dale. She was right it was Dale. It was great hugging the characters(yes I'm a 38 year old male who hugs Mickey) and getting pictures. I had to walk half way around the world before I got my first magic moment but the second was only a few feet away.

We hit Japan next and split one of those wonderful Honeydew Melon Snowcones. Cacie watched them make candy outside, while I checked out the museum and store. Cacie eventually joined me in the shop where she shopped and shopped and shopped. Cacie really isn't that bad about shopping, it's just that she really loves some of this Japanese stuff. I gave here some spending money at this point and it really worked out well. I could see that she was going to be asking me for things all during this trip, but by giving her some cash ahead of time, she didn't need to keep asking and I didn't need to keep saying no ;-). This cash lasted her to the very last day and was a great investment.

I know I mentioned that Cacie has a Tamagotchi and she kept it with her throughout this trip. A Tamagotchi is a Japanese electronic toy. It's a pet alien, who you raise from an egg and keep it alive by feeding it, giving it medicine, playing with it and cleaning up after it. All through this trip Cacie was being asked about her Tamagotchi. Here in Japan she got into a long discussion with one of the shopkeepers about her pet and the fad.

Morocco had a troupe of adult male acrobats performing. It was very different from the Chinese acrobats but was very good.

France was one of Cacie's favorite places. She had just completed French 2 and was ready to enjoy her language skills. I went to see the movie (it was OK but not great) while Cacie talked to the shopkeepers. Cacie was watching the Statues when I caught up with her and she wanted to go to Canada. I planned on catching the Statues later, but the timing never worked out.

We breezed through the UK and were in Canada in no time. I bought a beavertail (very good!) and Cacie shopped (but didn't buy) at the leather bracelet cart. She wanted to replace the one she had left at our Orlando friend's house last year. While in Canada I asked about Carolyn Dam, Trent had posted to RADP to say hi from him. She wasn't on duty so I left the message with a Canadian CM.

About this time it was getting close to the time for the Cirikli(Stilt Birds) show and I wanted to get a good seat. So back to Japan. We showed up at 7:50 for the 8:30 show and no one was there. The guide rope for the show was set up at 8:00 and people started gathering around 8:15. The show was good, but they seemed to be having a problem with the music. The music kept cutting out and skipping to the wrong part of the show. The show didn't seem to have a real ending, but I think it was just the music.

It was time(past time) to get ready for IllumiNations 25. So we rushed over to the UK to see if any wheelchair spots were still available. We lucked out, I sat behind someone else but was able to see just fine.

IllumiNations 25 was a bit of a disappointment. I was at a spot where I could hear the music, see the screens and was not downwind. I saw the tie-ins to Future World on the screens and saw the lighting of the different countries, but I didn't come away with that special feeling that I usually got from IllumiNations. Maybe they'll continue to improve it, I've heard it's much better now than it was before.

After the IllumiNations 25 we wandered back to the parking lot and drove back to our motel. It didn't take us long to get there (about 20 mins). The worst part of the trip was the road just before 192. Just past the gates to WDW the road changes from 3 lanes to 2. They are working to expand it, but I remember this construction from June 1996 and I don't see that much has changed in the past year.

Day 2 - Sunday 6/8 - Magic Kingdom

We're not early risers, so we usually arrived late to the parks. Today was no exception. We began the day by eating at the motel restaurant. It was a pretty average breakfast buffet, nothing special nothing bad. Our waiter gave me a jokingly hard time about ordering coffee and how it was bad for you. I had it anyway ;-). The total for this buffet was $10, including tax , tip and drinks. Kids eat free here.

We arrived at our parking space at the MK at 10:15. Walked to the ferry and rode it over to the MK. This ride was fantastic. We watched the MK getting closer and closer, it really built up our anticipation.

Main Street was like coming home. We walked down it toward the Cakestle. You know it doesn't look too bad, we both actually like it. I think it was a good idea for the 25th anniversary but wouldn't like it to be this way forever. We walked through the hub over to Adventureland and to the Pirates of the Caribbean. We waited about 15 minutes and had a great ride. This is usually the ride I ride first at WDW, it was still fun on day 2 instead of day 1.

From the Pirates we walked into the Tiki Birds. I haven't seen this show since 1981, but I had to see it since it's closing for rehab in September. I liked it, not the best show in the park but worth watching. However at least 20 people left during the show, just getting up and walking out. I guess some people were really disappointed.

Next was BTMR, a walk/wheel through the exit for me. We both had fun on this ride, but even without a wait we didn't come back during this trip.

We then saw the Country Bear Jamboree. Great show as usual and a marvelous performance by Big Al. Wheelchair seating for this ride is the very front row and the past few times I've been here I've sat in the center. This is a great seat except for the part where the singer is lowered from the ceiling, then all you see is a bare bear behind. We looked around the shops for a little bit, but postponed buying for now.

Hit the Haunted Mansion next, the line stretched out of the gate so we waited in line until we reached the gate and then were escorted through the exit. I see the enter through the exit rule as the way that WDW doesn't have to make there lines wheelchair accessible, I try to wait in line for the parts that are accessible, but I admit I don't always. This ride is always good. Cacie and I started our running joke for the trip here. There is a bride who has glowing organs showing through her dress. Cacie has never liked this part and she calls her ET's mother. When she said "Here comes ET's mother" I responded in a pitiful ET impression "Why don't you ever phone home?". We both got a real kick out of that and it seems like we'd bring it up a few times a day with each other.

We continued on around the park to It's A Small World. I rode it even though it's the scariest ride at WDW (the song, not the song again). This is another through the exit ride, where I waited about 10 minutes for a boat that my wheelchair could roll onto. I read somewhere that someone thought the dolls were getting a little ragged, the costumes looked to be in good shape to me.

It was close to our 2:00 Crystal Palace lunchtime so we went over for our priority seating. We walked right past a lot of people waiting for an opening and were seated with 10 mins. Our table had just missed Eyore and we were told that it takes the characters about 1 ½ hours to visit all of the tables. So it was going to be a long wait for Eyore. Our lunch buffet was pretty good, I really liked the Caesar Chicken pasta. After about 45 minutes we had pretty much finished all we wanted at the buffet and we still hadn't seen a single character. Then Tigger showed up. He wasn't as bouncy as I've heard from others, he just pretty much signed and posed, no pranks. 10 minutes later Pooh showed up and we each got a nice bear hug and pictures. By now we knew we had ½ hour wait for Eyore and really wanted to get back to the park. We left disappointed but still happy. ($30, including tax & tip) Next time I think I'll do the character breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, it's much smaller and I think the characters will interact more. YMMV

We left the Crystal Palace and caught almost all of the Remember the Magic parade from the walkway connecting the hub and Adventureland. It was pretty good from what we could see.

Back to Adventureland for the Adventureland Treasure Hunt. Cacie and I found 2 clues and were looking for the 3rd when the Idol was found. A team who had already done the hunt 3 times earlier that day found it. I think that with all that experience it was no surprise that they had won. But we still had a good time.

It was getting pretty hot so we went over to the Hall of Presidents. The show was OK, but I really didn't like Maya Angelou, I think the voice for any narration should be easily understood by all people.

Went over to Fantasyland next to ride Peter Pan and Snow White. Both of these rides are enter through the exit rides. But they are also a major pain in the butt for me to get into and out of. I had a great time on both though and they were well worth the trouble.

Cacie wanted to play in the water at Ariel's Grotto, so she played while I waited in line for Ariel. Meeting Ariel was fun, we both got pictures and Cacie added another signature to her book. I wonder how many different ways Ariel can do her makeup during an average day. She looked different than she did on the Remember the Magic parade, which looked different that the Spectromagic parade and different than the Voyage of the little Mermaid. An amazing amount of running around for someone without feet ;-).

Toad's was next, with the quest to find the naked lady. I found her but Cacie missed her this time. She sure is naked, about as far as you can get on Disney property. This ride is another fun little trip, I'd hate to see them decide to revamp Fantasyland and lose all of these cute fun rides.

We still hadn't seen Alice yet (One of Cacie's quest) so I asked the CM, who was busy telling everyone that the character greeting near the 20K entrance was not a ride, where we could find her. She called the hot line, who said that she's not usually in the MK (not true) and the best place to find her was at the Grand Floridian breakfast or in the UK. CM Jessica gets points for trying real hard but she still gave us the wrong advice.

I decided that I was feeling spry enough to try the Mad Tea Party, so we went on over. This ride is really hard to get on if you can't walk. I managed to transfer (lift myself from spot to spot only using my arms) in with a fair amount of trouble. Getting out was twice as hard. Once the cups stop there is no guarantee that the opening will be anywhere near a spot that your wheelchair can reach. So it was drag myself out of the cup and around till I could reach my wheelchair. After this I was really worn out.

We walked over to Cosmic Rays for a drink and some grapes. I've heard about this restaurant from RADP but had never been here before. Sunny Eclipse was really good at telling bad jokes. Cacie and I both loved it.

Timekeeper was next with a walk-on. Nice show and great animatronics. This makes 2 places to catch Robin Williams and 2 Places to catch Jeremy Irons. Anyone else know of multiple appearances of celebrities?

We went to Take Flight next. The CM said that it would be closing in November, but didn't know what was taking its place. I wasn't impressed with this ride and can't wait to see what comes next.

Just as we were leaving TF, a show was starting in the in the Galaxy Palace Theatre. It was called Galaxy Search and starred Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip & Dale. A cute show and worth watching.

Carousel of Progress was a walk on. Nice show, old animatronics but still very good.

Alien Encounter was a 6 min wait at 8:00. Cacie and I both love SIR. Tim Curry's voice is perfect in this part. Cacie bought a Skippy backpack after this show and she received many comments about it the rest of the week.

We had priority seating at 9:00 for Cinderella's Royal Table. We asked for good seats for the fireworks, but wheelchair seating is only on the upper level, they said they would see what they could do. We went into the downstairs room to wait and saw Cinderella here (surprise, surprise). Cacie and I both talked to her and got pictures. There was a line, but after a bit she had seen everyone in line. Then Cindy got up and walked over to talk with us some more. We had a great time and afterward Cacie said I was flirting. I of course denied this, after all I know she is a married woman and 20 years younger than I am ;-). We were eventually called for our table, it was right up against the rail as close to the windows as you can get and still be on the top level. This was the best spot on the top level for fireworks, thanks CMs. Our meal was good but expensive ($72, tax, tip, non-alcoholic bev and desert). We watched a couple who had a table right next to the window get up and leave at 9:45. I guess it pays to know what's going on around you. At 10:00 the lights were turned off and the music was piped in, it was great. This meal was the highlight of a great day.

After our meal we still had 45 minutes before the park closed. We rushed over to the Jungle Cruise, no line at all. This was the first time I've ridden it at night. I'm not sure which I prefer, day or night, they're both fantastic.

We decided to catch Splash Mountain next and were in the last group allowed into the line. This is not an enter through the exit ride, so it was really nice to have it as a walk on. I had a good time on this ride, but Cacie doesn't like the theme or the drop.

We took the ferry back to the TTC and sat in the back looking at the MK. I knew that we would be back on Tuesday, but I still didn't want to leave.

It took us about 25 minutes to get from the TTC to our Motel.

There was still traffic at the lane reduction just before 192. I had some misgivings about staying off-site, but travel to and from the parks was really pretty easy for me. (remember though that I park in the Handicapped Parking)

Day 3 - Monday 6/9 - The Studios

Cacie says that MGM is cursed. It seems that every time we go to MGM it rains. This time was no exception. We woke up early for us and were at the gate at 9:40. Just after we entered it started to drizzle.

We went shopping on Sunset Blvd. to get out of the rain.

My mother requested that we pick up a necklace for her. The CM in the shop told me that they no longer carried it, but that the jewelry shop on Main Street had it. I saw something that I thought was it, but he told me that no, it was a different necklace and I should go to Uptown Jewelers. Cacie fell in love with the hand painted watches, but they were $250 so she could love them from a distance.

The rain had stopped while we shopped. We walked over to Star Tours next, it wasn't very crowded and we pretty much had a walk-on. It's a nice ride but I think the themeing in the queue and outside are the best parts.

Next was Muppets 4-D. I'm used to just walking in the entrance for this show, but they had us go through a long line around the building, where we got to see all sorts of Muppet movie posters. It was a cute trip but since no one was waiting it seemed like a waste of time. The Muppets was a great show as always. I like this one much better than HISTA.

I wanted to see the first HoND show of the day but we still had some time, so we went over to the Backlot Tour. It was OK but pretty much the same stuff as last year. I like the custom parking spaces, there was one with Hercules' chariot. We didn't stop to look at the American Film Institute Showcase after the tour, I wanted to get over to HoND. I promised Cacie we would come back.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, wow what a show. I saw this show last year on the weekend it opened. I hadn't seen the movie yet, I was seated way, way, way in the back and I couldn't hear much. Boy what a difference a year makes. This was the best show I saw at WDW. The actors are miked and performed all of the songs live. It was fantastic! Oh yea, Matt the Juggler opened for this show. I'd say he was great except he's got a lot of tough competition that follows him. Still I enjoyed his show too.

It was getting late (1:00) and neither Cacie or I had eaten yet. We decided to try Pizza Planet. We've always walked by this place and really thought the pizza smelled good. So we thought it was time to try it. Of course so did everyone else. The line stretched out the door and I waited about 10 minutes before giving up on it. Instead we went to Mama Melroses, it only had a 10-min wait. It was a nice restaurant, I loved the bread and the Caesar salad. When the bread arrived I picked up my knife to cut it, I waitress almost had a heart attack ;-). She made sure that I knew that you tear the bread, not cut it. The bread with olive oil and fresh ground parmesan cheese was so good I bought myself a cheese grinder and some olive oil for at home.

We rode the Great Movie Ride next. I looked but didn't see the hidden Mickeys. I'll find them someday. It had started raining while we were inside. The MGM curse again and we don't do rain ponchos (we do now).

We walked over to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We waited for a bit out of the rain and then were admitted. This is another great show. I love the special effects, especially when we go under water. I do have a pet peeve that I noticed in this show. A few people were video taping this show and they had small TVs as viewfinders. The light they gave off was very annoying to me. It's not as bad as flash photography but it was a bother in the spots where everything is dark.

It was raining even harder after VotLM, so we dashed over to the animation tour. We got to talk to an animator during this tour. He gave us a demonstration on how to draw Meg. It's amazing to me that you can start with just a few circles, add some lines and you have a character.

Still raining after the Animation Tour. Cacie loved Evita, so off to the Making of Evita. I thought this was pretty boring, but Cacie liked it. I guess if you really like the movie it's worth doing.

Evita was good for at least one thing, it stopped the rain.

We had reservations for the Sci-Fi Dine-In and it was almost time. We were seated after a short wait. This was my first time at the SFDI. Cacie had the Caesar Salad, again. I had the burger. Both of us enjoyed our food. The movie clips were fun, but I think it could get old fast. I wonder how often the reel is changed. I'd hate to eat here twice during a trip and have the same film each time.

After Dinner we shopped a bit. The fireworks would be starting soon and I wanted to make sure we got a good spot. We went to our favorite spot at about 8:15. Our spot is just in front of the Chinese Theatre, on the right as you face it, near the arch that goes to the VotLM show. We were right up next to the rope and had a great view. I started listening to the people next to us, they had a great Scottish accent. Eventually we were talking to them and having another of those wonderful conversations that you have at WDW while waiting for something.

The fireworks at MGM are my favorite. I really like going to WDW in June, just so I can see these fireworks. I've been at other times and I always seem to miss them. In June they have them every night.

We made it back to the motel around 10:00. We've been here 3 days and been to 3 different parks. We slept well that night.

Day 4 - Tuesday 6/10 - Back to the Magic Kingdom

We slept in again and arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 11:35. We rode the monorail over to the MK today. I prefer the ferry from the TTC but Cacie has to get her WDW monorail fix. I understand her viewpoint, there is something special about hearing the "Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor mon~... err whatever".

Our first stop today was at the Main Street Bake Shop. I think this is a great place to pick up a quick, easy, cheap and good breakfast. I was getting tired of the all you can eat deals and having just a bagel and a cup of coffee was just what I needed. Although I do think it would be nice if they could toast the bagel.

While on Main Street we stopped at Uptown Jewelers to pick up the necklace my mother wanted. A CM in MGM had told us that this was the only store that carried it now. The CMs here didn't know what I was talking about. We eventually figured out that the necklace I wanted was the one I had seen at MGM the previous day.

We then wandered a bit taking in the atmosphere and I stopped at the information kiosk nest to the Tea Cup ride. I asked if Alice would be available anytime in the park today and was told she would be in Toontown for another half hour. Meeting Alice was one of Cacie's must do items, so off we went. While in Toontown we saw Alice, Belle, Mary Poppins, Prince John and the Sheriff of Notingham. This was my first trip to Mickey's Toontown Fair and I liked it. It was a bit crowded but since it was in the middle of the day that would be expected.

We boarded the Walt Disney World Railroad at the Toontown station and road it all the way around the park. I hadn't ridden this in a long time, and the trip was a nice relaxing ride. While riding Splash Mountain on Sunday I had notice some sort of ride passing over us when we had reached the Laughing Place. I found out on this trip that it's the Railroad going through the ride.

We shopped a bit in and around Cinderella Castle and then saw the Lion King Show. This was another good show. I enjoyed it but it's not my favorite. I spoke to a CM who seemed very knowledgeable, he said all rumor to the contrary the Lion King is not being replaced any time in the foreseeable future.

In the gift shop next to the exit of the Lion King show was a pressed quarter machine. It had the 25th Anniversary design with Mickey on it. I had found a silver quarter and was saving it for just this occasion, but what quarter slot was the one that would be pressed? None of the CMs in the shop knew the answer so we experimented. We marked a quarter with a magic marker and eventually we determined the slot on the far left was the one that got pressed. So I inserted my silver quarter and pressed it. However it turned out different than the others. It was rolled backward. By this I mean that all of the other quarters I had rolled turned out to roll so that that were curved away from the embossing, the silver quarter was curved toward the embossing. I still don't know why this happened, any ideas out there?

It was now time to head over to Fort Wilderness for our 5:00 Hoop-De-Due Revue show. We took the launch over to Fort Wilderness. I noticed a sign that said something about the launches are not guaranteed to be wheelchair accessible due to the changing water levels in the lagoon. I managed to get on with no trouble, but had some difficulty getting off at FW. The dock at FW was about 3 inches higher than the boat floor, which wasn't much of a problem but there was also a cleat right in front of the door, which I had to wheel over. A nice guy who was also getting off at FW offered to help and his help made it a lot easier to roll over the cleat.

This was my first time seeing the HDD. I loved it! I had been to the Polynesian Luau 3 times before, but had never been able to get reservations for the HDD ( I always called too late). This show was great fun and the food was pretty good. I had been looking forward to the Sangria I had been told about by a friend, but it's not served anymore. Instead they had White Zinfandel, my enjoyment of the wine may have added greatly to my enjoyment of the show. Either way both Cacie and I had a great time. I feel that if you can you should see this show at least once.

The launch from FW to the MK dropped us off at 7:15 (I had no problems with cleats this trip). We went over to Alien Encounter (for Cacie) and had about a 15 minute wait.

I decided it was time to get seats for SpectroMagic. So we went off to the hub to try out the handicapped seating there. There were plenty of seats left at this point, around 8:15. We sat and waited, watching the handicapped seating fill to overflowing. I had bought a roll of 800 speed film for this trip and I was ready to take pictures of SpectroMagic. I found out that with my camera and 800 speed film, that the pictures I took without a flash looked OK, but the pictures I took with the flash looked great. SpectroMagic is absolutely fantastic! This is a must not miss event.

After SpectroMagic we went over toward Tomorrowland to get a good view of the Fireworks. It was a perfect spot. On the walkway between the hub and Tomorrowland near the Topiary of Mickey and I think Minnie. Cacie ran off to get some grapes from Cosmic Rays to munch on. Then Tink did her thing and I was off in neverland again. I think the fireworks at MGM are better, but there is definitely something about watching the fireworks in the MK with Tinkerbell and the Castle.

We still had a bit of time before the park closed so we decided to do Space Mountain. A line was beginning to form here, but we expected that since the fireworks had just ended. What I didn't expect was that the line would be stopped for about 20 minutes while they reconfigured the lines for boarding. We were told that this needed to be done to handle the larger line that formed after the fireworks. Why this wasn't done during the fireworks I'll never know.

After SM Cacie wanted to ride Alien Encounter again. So she got in line while I went to take pictures of the Cakestle. I finished getting pictures and was back at AE before Cacie's group had entered. The line was a walk on at this point so I joined Cacie's group. This was our last ride of the night and we made our way back to the motel after this.

Day 5 - Wednesday 6/11 - EPCOT

Today I had scheduled an early morning character breakfast at the Cape May Café. We had a 9:00 AM priority seating arranged, we showed up at 8:55 and were told there would be a 15-minute wait. We took a walk around the Yacht and Beach Clubs. Got a nice Tinkerbell 25th anniversary pressed quarter. Watched the ducklings swimming in Stormalong Bay and made it back just in time to be seated. I really like these hotels and their location. Someday when I'm doing a first class trip, I hope to stay here.

The Cape May Café was closed for renovations so we got to eat in Ariel's. I was glad we were able to eat here. I had never eaten here before and it was nice to be able to eat at the location of Ariel's even if I didn't get the Ariel's menu. The characters for this meal were Goofy, Chip, Dale and Donald. Chip and Dale really had some fun with us and especially with the waitresses. Dale collected a waitress uniform, one piece at a time, from one of the waitresses and was busy going from table to table taking orders. It was a great meal and experience.

We walked over to EPCOT from the Yacht Club. It was nice getting to enter through the International Gateway and to walk around part of the World Showcase before it opened.

Our first stop in Future World was Ellen's Energy Adventure. A nice show, I really liked Bill Nye's part. The animatronic Ellen looked pretty fake to me, but it was a cute touch.

Horizons was a must see this trip, since it's going away. There was no line at all for this ride. I guess the public does vote with its feet in this instance. I liked the ride, but not enough to want to stop a new ride from replacing it.

I had promised Cacie a long time at the Wonders of Life pavilion, so we went there next. We saw Cranium Command. A must see for our family! We just love this show and recommend everyone see it. Cacie and I wandered around doing all of the hands on stuff. I registered us for the Met Life souvenir. We saw the Making of Me, a cute movie. And pretty much just had a good time fooling around.

We went over to Spaceship Earth next. My favorite part of this ride is when you're looking at the top of the sphere and the stars are all around you. Before we rode we had wandered around the Global Neighborhood. I tried out the wheelchair accessible virtual reality ride. It was OK but nothing special. Cacie made some phone calls to her friends from one of the story rooms. We pretended it was the Haunted Mansion and the friends were suitably impressed.

We visited the land next. Cacie had a special treat of corn on the cob, from the cart in front of the land. Cacie has braces and isn't allowed to eat corn on the cob, but since she was going to visit the dentist the day after we returned from WDW and we were on vacation I allowed her to eat it. She was careful and had no problem with the corn.

Our first ride here was Living With the Land. During the ride we were told about the Behind the Seeds tour. We signed up for it and had a good time. It was nice to be able to sign up for an impromptu tour. The price was $6 per person and it lasted about an hour.

Food Rocks was next. We got autographs from Timone and Rafiki. Food Rocks was lots of fun, cute songs and a neat idea. While we were in the Land we decided to get a late lunch early dinner. I love the food court here, it has reasonable prices and lots of variety.

We wandered over to check out the line for HISTA. It was pretty long so we went on Journey Into Imagination. JII was a walk on, but since only one disabled passenger is allowed to ride at a time I had a 15-minute wait. Again this was a nice ride, but I think it is time to update it in some way. I don't want DreamFinder or Figment to go away, just for them to take us on a new Journey. We played around in the Image Works. This is always a lot of fun. Cacie loves doing the hands on stuff .

We got in line for HISTA. It was still pretty long, as I was asking a CM how long the wait would be he said "About 30-minutes, but you may use the wheelchair entrance on the side.". I had been by this ride 3 times today waiting for a short line and all I had to do was ask about the wheelchair entrance. This show has some great 3d effects and I love hearing the screams when the mice get lose.

We had skipped Body Wars earlier because the line was too long. So it was back to the Wonders of Life to try again. We stopped at the talking fountain on the way over and we were caught by the Fountain show that was playing as we tried to pass. I can never get past the Fountain while it's dancing. Body Wars had a 45-minute wait so we got in line and waited about 40-minutes. Cacie noticed that it was Elisabeth Shue who played the doctor who gets swept away.

After Body Wars we headed towards the World Showcase. As we passed the Odyssey restaurant we saw a great rainbow in the sky. We spent about 10-minutes watching it and taking pictures. This was a big magic moment for us. We'll look at rainbows any time, but this was the first time I had seen one at WDW.

We hadn't ridden the River of Time yet this trip. So we went to Mexico. I love the indoor market here. The shops don't really sell anything I really want, but the atmosphere is fantastic. The RoT has a wheelchair accessible boat, where you can roll your wheelchair right onto the boat. The CM running this boat told me that I should board this boat by rolling my chair on backwards. I knew that what she was worried about was that I would flip over forward when my front wheels hit the bottom of the ramp, but I knew that if I did that I'd end up flipping over when my back wheels hit the bottom. When the boat pulled up I just popped a wheelie so my front wheels were in the air and rolled down the ramp to the boat. The CM looked as if she was going to have a heart attack(she was in here early 20s so I wasn't really worried about that), I guess they don't have many daredevil wheelchair users in Mexico ;-).

While we made our way over to the International Gateway, I stopped at Canada to say hi to Carolyn Dam from Trent. She was really excited about getting the message, and I felt good about delivering some magic to a CM.

I enjoyed the walk back to the YBC parking lot. I really want to do a split hotel trip some day. The Beach Club for the days when we visit EPCOT and the Studios and the Polynesian for the days we visit the Magic Kingdom. Hey I can dream can't I? ;-)

We made it back to the Motel around 9:00 and Cacie swam in the pool while I did laundry. I hate doing laundry during vacation, but I hate packing enough clothes so that I don't have to do it even more.

Day 6 - Thursday 6/12 - Disney Market Village & Pleasure Island

Cacie and I slept in really late today and we took our time getting ready. We finally made it to the DMV at 12:30. Our plan was to see the DMV, meet some friends for dinner and to just relax until Pleasure Island was open.

We hadn't eaten yet so our first stop was Planet Hollywood for lunch. I thought the food was pretty good, I had a burger and Cacie had here usual Caeser salad. I don't think I'll be going back to PH for a while. I really didn't like how dark it was; the lights were turned down every few minutes so people could watch what was playing on the movie screens. The darkness made it hard to view the movie props that were displayed around the room. I also thought that the sound for the movies was much too loud. And most important of all I hated how commercial the place was. Everyone seemed to be pushing Planet Hollywood merchandise. I like to shop as much as most people, but when the hostess and the waitress point out that we can order any merchandise from the conveniently placed order forms on our table, I think it's gone overboard.

Since the AMC theaters are right next to PH we decided to see what was showing. We had just missed the beginning of some movie we both wanted to see, so Cacie asked if we could see "Buddy" instead. I was flexible on this so that's what we saw. I really liked these theaters even during the rehab. I was sorry I had eaten so much at PH, this was the only theater I know of that has the butter for the popcorn as self serve. The movie was pretty much what I expected it to be, which is not my type of movie. Cacie really was surprised at it. I think she ended up liking it.

One of the nice advantages to seeing the movie was that you can get a discount admission to PI. If you have a movie stub for that day, admission is only $11.95. I tried to buy the tickets in advance at Music Legends but they only sell full price tickets in advance.

We wandered a lot around the Market Place. Shopping for souvenirs for everyone. I love getting the 10% MKC discount here. I even found the necklace I had been searching for, for my mother.

We were supposed to meet our friends for dinner at the Rainforest Café at 6:30. Around 4:30 I went over to the Rainforest Café to make reservations for 6 people. I was told the wait would be about 45-minutes, since 5:15 was too early I decided to come back and try again later. I went back at around 5:10 and was told the wait would be 2 hours and 10 minutes. Oh well I guess I should have been back at 4:55. ;-)

After putting our name on the list, we shopped some more. Both Cacie and I loved the animation art store next to the Rainforest Café. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the DMV. I bought a couple of posters here for me and friends and I also bought Cacie a paint-a-cell kit. I'd love to buy some of the cells, but most of the really good ones cost more than our trip to WDW.

We met up with our friends Louis, Linda and their sons David and Danny. They had brought along their au pair (sorry I forgot her name) so we added a seventh person to our dinning request and we didn't have any problems doing so. We finally were seated around 7:15. I really liked this place. It was much better than Planet Hollywood IMHO. The themeing was great; I loved the thunderstorms, the elephants and pretty much everything else. I had the Chicken Monsoon, grilled cajun chicken served on linguine. I forget what Cacie had for dinner, but for dessert she had the Monkey Business. She didn't finish her dessert, so I got to finish it off. This was absolute heaven, a coconut bread pudding that was the highlight of the meal for me. Next time I'll make sure to save room for this dessert.

After dinner, Linda and Louis had to leave. It was great seeing them again and we made plans to meet in the MK for dinner on Saturday. It was around 8:30, so we headed off to Pleasure Island. I found out for certain that the movie discount was better than the AP or MKC and we bought our tickets.

I really wanted to make it to the 9:00 Comedy Warehouse show. When we arrived at 8:55. The line hadn't been let into the theater yet, but we were told that it was too close to show time to get wheelchair seating. The CM (from my home state of Maryland) who wanted to do it was really nice about it, but his boss said, no. So I decided I'd try again later.

The Adventurers Club was one of the things I really wanted to do, so we went adventuring. We got to see Babylonia, Madame err... something or another, the initiation ceremony and the balderdash competition. I had a Kungaloosh and participated in the beer tasting contest. The Kungaloosh was great! I wish we had spent more time here, maybe the next time I visit WDW off-season we can visit PI 3 or 4 nights.

We left the Adventurers Club just in time to miss the 10:00 Comedy Warehouse show. I said hi to the nice CM from Maryland and told him we'd be back after the fireworks. We wandered around the shops a bit; Cacie fell in love with the psychedelic Alice in Wonderland poster that was on sale. They had just sold their last one but said we should be able to get one at MGM.

Around 11:15 we went over to the Westend Stage and got lined up front and center. We talked a bit to the people around us and then it was showtime. Metamorphosis had some great dancers. I really wished I had been able to see some of their earlier shows. The fireworks were just OK, but it was nice to be able to see all 4 fireworks shows in one trip.

Immediately after the fireworks stopped we rushed over to the Comedy Warehouse. The nice CM from Maryland was there and he was determined to get us into the show this time. I finally found out why wheelchair users need to be early for this show. The wheelchair entrance way around the side of the building all the way at the bottom of a long, long ramp. We were seated in the front row all the way down at the bottom. The show was well worth the wait. Cacie and I both loved it. I got off unscathed, but Cacie did have one embarrassing moment, which I won't tell the details of here (If you ever see her just mention Einrich Eine and watch her blush).

After the Comedy Warehouse we headed back to our motel. We got back at around 1:30. I really had a nice day, even if we didn't go to any of the big 3 parks that day.

As an aside, I want you to notice that it's real easy to enjoy yourself at Pleasure Island, without drinking or dancing and some children have a great time at Pleasure Island without spoiling the fun of others.

Day 7 - Friday 6/13 - Friday the 13th at the Studios and the Friday the 13th RADP meet.

Today was the day! The RADP Friday the 13th meet at the Tower of Terror. I had been looking forward to this meeting all week, although I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.

We arrived at the Studios at 10:45 and went to Planet Pizza for breakfast/lunch. I've always wanted to eat here. Every time we would pass this restaurant the wonderful smell of fresh baked pizza would waft out. We had tried to eat here earlier in the week and the line was so long we gave up. This time at 11:00 there was no line at all. Unfortunately the food did not quite meet my over inflated expectations. The pizza was just average, nothing great, not bad.

After lunch we headed over to the Backstage Pass to 101 Dalmatians. I hadn't seen the movie, but the tour was fun. The highlight for me had nothing to do with 101 Dalmatians. During the tour in the area where they show how some of the animatronic characters work. In this room just above the entrance are "Tiktoc" and the "Tin Woodsman" from the movie "Return to Oz". Cacie and I both got a big kick out of seeing them. This had been one of our favorite movies when Cacie was younger and seeing them was a special treat for us.

The Studios curse hit while we were in 101 Dalmatians (it always rains when we visit the Studios). It was of course raining. Actually pouring. So for the first time in all of my trips to WDW I bought the yellow ponchos. I'm sorry I hadn't done this earlier. Usually I just get wet and live with it. The yellow ponchos kept us pretty dry and I didn't even have any trouble with the poncho getting tangled in my wheels.

We wandered over to Sunset Blvd to see if anyone was there yet for the RADP meet. I recognized Barb from one of the picture from the previous RADP meets on Deb Wills' sight. She was under an umbrella with a small group of people. Within a few minutes of our arrival many other RADPers showed up. Wow, so many people from the newsgroup were here. Barb, her 2 daughters, Kenny, Sam the bartender, Brian Pastor, GenieFL, Michele (TDC Pooh Peon), her husband Andy, Rhona Grumet, Rhona's son and daughter, Chris Caines, Aaron and Brian43 (I apologize if I missed anyone).

The TOT was shut down because of the storm. We waited a while and soon it re-opened. All of us got in line. (I have a great picture of all of us in line) It was one of the best waits for a ride I've ever had. It was really fun getting to talk to all of these people. I had been wondering how this meet would be, would we be uncomfortable, would we just stand around ignoring each other, would these people be a bunch of weirdoes? This meet surpassed all of my expectations. I felt a feeling of family from these people. It was probably just that we all share a love of WDW, but I would be happy to spend a day in the parks with any of them.

Cacie had decided not to ride the TOT. So she, Barb and Barb's oldest daughter took the easy way out. The rest of us piled into the elevator. Pictures of this drop and the next one are at Deb Wills' web site (http://www.wdn.com/dwills/).

It was a great ride! This ride may not be for everyone, but I liked it. I just wish the ride prior to the drop were longer. I'd like to go through a nice long buildup before we do the drop.

After the ride, while I bought the picture, Barb was talked into doing the TOT. She and most of the group from the original drop went to do it again. Cacie and I wanted to see the last Beauty and the Beast show of the day. So we made plans to meet everyone at the 5:35 Hunchback show.

Cacie and I went to the Beauty and the Beast show. Four for a Dollar were the warm-up group. Everytime I see BatB, these guys do the preshow, just like Matt always seems to do HoND. Four for a Dollar were great. The BatB show was a disappointment. I guess the HoND show has spoiled me. Last year I saw BatB and really liked it, this year I just compared it to HoND and knew it could have been done much better.

We still had some time before the 5:35 HoND show, so we went over to the Great Movie Ride. I had heard some great things about the Hunchback ice cream bars at WDW, so I decided to try one while waiting in line. First it was no longer a Hunchback bar, it was a Hercules bar. Second it takes some time to eat one of these. They are frozen solid when you get them, so don't expect to be able to just bite right into it. The ice cream was pretty good, but not my favorite snack. The Great Movie Ride was "great" of course. I still haven't found the hidden Mickeys yet. I really like this ride and hope to someday ride on the gangster side (right now the wheelchair accessible cars only do the cowboy side).

We shopped a bit. I bought Cacie her psychedelic Alice in Wonderland poster. I then made a trip to the car to drop off our packages.

We showed up way early for the HoND show and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Most of the original TOT group attended this performance and Barb and I exercised our amazing powers (handicapped seating) and we were sitting right up front. The show started a bit late and Matt had to cut short his act. We were let in earlier than we should have been and we got to see why it was late. They were filming interviews with some of the performers from the show. The HoND show was fantastic of course. Barb said this was a stand-in for one of the regular Quasimodos and that he had a lot of energy, which seemed to inspire the rest of the cast even more than usual. In any case it was excellent!

After the HoND, we all wandered over to Pizza Planet, some to eat, some to just sit around and talk and some (Sam for one) to get something to drink. We had a nice time talking while Cacie and I ate our dinner.

Star Tours was next for our group, some decided to skip this and wait for us. We were able to bypass most of the line (wheelchair again). Most of the group opted to ride in the back row, saying the ride was rougher back there. I've always ridden in the front row (only row available for wheelchairs) and I think that's plenty rough enough for me.

It was getting close to time to line up for the fireworks. I'm glad to know that the spot I always have seen the MGM fireworks show from, is the same spot that all of the locals picked to watch them from. (Near the gate that leads to the Little Mermaid show, on the side of the Great Movie Ride). We arrived and lined up right at the rope.

Some disc jockey was playing songs and making some lame comments that were supposed to inspire the crowd. It was pretty bad until he played the Time Warp. Then it was a lot of fun watching Cacie, Barb and Michele doing the Time Warp. I've even got a couple of pictures of this trio dancing.

Eventually Elvira showed up. She wasn't an improvement on the DJ. Cacie moved toward the stage so that she could see her better. She came back with the opinion that Elvira was acting like a stuck-up bimbo. I had to agree. She sounded really dumb. I hope it was just an act.

Barb found out that she had to leave early and Kenny and Sam decided that even though the Studios fireworks were the best, the MK fireworks when combined with SpectroMagic were better. All of those who had to leave early were missed. On the other hand the fireworks were great!

Our much-diminished group each went their own way after the fireworks. Cacie and I headed back to our motel. We only had one more day left at WDW and I was missing it already.

Day 8 - Saturday 6/14 - Our last day at WDW, we spent the morning at EPCOT and the afternoon and evening at the MK.

Well it's our last day at WDW. Darn, I just don't know what to say about that. After all, what more can you say. You've all been there. You want to get everything done before you have to leave. You're already missing WDW. I can go on, but you know how bittersweet the last day is.

We started our day by driving to the MK. We parked there, walked to the TTC and took the monorail over to EPCOT. We had pretty much done everything we wanted to do in Future World, so we walked to Norway.

We rode the Maelstrom. Nice ride, but I won't want to have to wait a long time for it.

It was lunchtime for us and we were at Norway so, of course, we ate at the Akershus. We walked in with no priority seating and did not have any problems getting seated. Mary was behind the front counter. I thought she looked familiar when we were here last Saturday, so I asked her about it. In June 1996 we had talked to someone who I thought looked just like her. Her sister had also been here last June. I talked it over with Mary and yes, she was the same person. I guess she's another one of those people who always seem to be on duty and who really add to the magic.

We started to walk around the world and it started pouring when we reached China. So we went in to the movie. It's a nice movie and just like almost all of the movies, it makes me want to visit the country it shows. It was still pouring after the movie, so we shopped a bit. Finally the rain showed down and we continued our walk around the world.

We stopped here and there. Doing nothing special except enjoying ourselves. When we reached the UK the rain started again. This time we rushed onward to go see "O Canada". This is our favorite movie in the World Showcase. I really love that song.

We had finished up most of EPCOT and it was time to move onto the MK. As we were getting close to Innoventions it started raining again. We hadn't been to Innoventions yet this trip, so in we went. We split up and played around a bit. The rain seemed to be keeping most people away from the park and there were even some open machines available. I have a hard time spending time here when there is so much more to do at WDW. We probably only spent about a ½ hour here, just enough time so that Cacie and I got to see pretty much all we wanted and not so much time that I felt cheated out of other things.

We rode the Monorail back to the TTC and then switched trains and rode to the MK. Cacie had really wanted to ride the monorail with the salmon (CM says it's coral) colored stripe, but I didn't want to wait for it. By the time we reached the MK it had completely stopped raining and the sun was out.

We had made plans to meet with some friends for dinner at 6:00. Originally Cacie and I had priority seating requests for Tony's Town Square. However when I tried to increase the number of people to 6, I wasn't able to. So we had decided to all meet at Cosmic Rays.

We had a couple of hours before dinner. Cacie really wanted to get a leather bracelet from Frontierland and this was our first stop. While Cacie picked out a really good bracelet and had it engraved, I bought some film. I had run out earlier that day (I had already used 8 rolls this trip) and I wasn't done taking pictures. I think I paid about $9.00 for a 36 exposure roll of 100-speed film. Expensive, but worth it considering I wouldn't have the pictures if I didn't buy it.

I wanted to see the last Disneymania show of the day, so we went over to the front of Cinderella Castle. The Kids of the Kingdom put on a great show. They had an amazing amount of energy considering that it was their last show, they were performing in the sun and it was about 90 degrees. It always amazes me how many different things there are to do at WDW besides the rides. Especially during the day when the lines are the longest.

It was just about 6:00 and time to meet up with Linda and Louis. We walked right by Linda at Cosmic Rays, but she didn't let us get away ;-). They had made arrangements for us to have dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. It seems that on their way to Cosmic Rays, they stopped in the castle and just asked. No priority seating, no checking in first thing in the morning, they just walked right up and got a table for 6. Wow, it impressed me.

While waiting for our seating, we got to visit with Cinderella and Prince Charming. It was pretty crowded downstairs, so we didn't get to spend much time with the characters, I didn't get to "flirt" with Cindy this time. Dinner here is really special and not that good. I love the décor, the view, the people, the bread, the full body Mickey butter, the side dishes and the deserts. I just wish they would serve a reasonable main course. I was really in the mood for chicken, but I was sure I wouldn't like it the way it was described on the menu. Instead I had the prime rib, there was nothing special about it and I even left a bit on my plate. Danny and David (Louis and Linda's sons) were getting tired, so they all decided to go home after dinner. It was a small visit with them but we did get to talk a bit.

We went over to the Haunted Mansion after dinner. Another must do ride. We had ridden it earlier this trip, but some things are worth doing at least twice.

Speaking of doing things twice, it was time for SpectroMagic. We watched it from Liberty Square this time. Another great show. I never get tired of seeing this show and I understand Kenny and Sam's preference for this parade combined with the MK fireworks versus the MGM fireworks. While waiting for the parade to start we talked to the people next to us. This was a grandmother with her granddaughter, Nicole. We found out that they live about 20 miles from our house. It is a small world, soon to be smaller. We invited them over to see the fireworks with us. They were looking for a good spot to see them from.

We watched the fireworks from our favorite spot again...Near the hub on the right hand side, on the walkway that leads to Futureworld. Cacie and her new friend, Nicole went off to get some grapes from Cosmic Rays (just like the last time we saw the fireworks). Tink did her thing again and the fireworks began. These fireworks were great as usual. I think I got spoiled by all of the fireworks at WDW, because when Independence Day arrived I wasn't really impressed with the fireworks I saw. They just didn't seem to be as well done as WDWs.

Just after the fireworks ended, Cacie heard her name called. It seems we were standing right next to one of Cacie's friends from school. See it really really is a small world. Leslie's family had also been at WDW for a week and they were also leaving very early the next morning. Neither one of them had know of the others plans, but what a coincidence.

We still had over an hour left before the park closed so we went on Alien Encounter. We were joined by Nicole, but not her grandmother. I think I like the pre-show better than the show itself.

Nicole and her grandmother (I just can't remember her name, parents will understand that sometime it's more important to remember the kid's name than the adults) went back to their hotel room after AE. Cacie and I went over to see who was in Toontown.

Toontown is great at 11:00. It took more time to walk through the empty queues than it took to wait at the end. We walked through Mickey's house and garden and right into the Judges tent. Mickey was absolutely fantastic. Cacie got a great big kiss from Mickey; I just shook his hand. Boy was it great not feeling rushed here. We also got to go through Minnie's house and play with all of the neat gadgets without having to fight a crowd. The famous faces/princesses line was closed. But Mickey's friends and the villains lines were open. In villains we got to see the Sheriff of Notingham, Jafar, Captain Hook and Brer Fox. In Mickey's friends were Minnie, Pluto and Goofy.

After we had explored Toontown, Cacie wanted to ride Dumbo. I decided to skip it. It was 11:35, we had been at WDW for 8 straight days and I was getting tired. I regretted not riding, but I still had a nice time waiting. Cacie had about a 15-minute wait. While waiting I got a good look at this ride. It's absolutely beautiful. It's not just your standard cars that go around and up and down ride. The decorations are as decorative as an ornate carousel. If you get a chance take a close look at this ride.

We were leaving the MK, but we still had to do some shopping. We stopped along Main Street and picked up a few more souvenirs. The store was a madhouse that night. I guess everyone wanted to pick up just a few more things before going home.

I wasn't ready to leave, so we took the monorail to the Poly. This is my favorite hotel and this was the first time I visited this hotel this trip. This hotel is really special at night. Cacie and I walked through the grounds heading toward the TTC. The tiki torches were lit and things were just perfect. I wished that this was our first day of our vacation and that we were returning to our room in the Poly. Instead we walked to the TTC and then to our car. I'm not sure what time we made it back to our motel. It was both too late and too early.

We checked out at around 6:30 on Sunday morning, returned our rental car to Alamo and had an uneventful trip back to BWI on Southwest Airlines. My mother was waiting for us at the airport. She had just dropped my aunt off. My aunt had arrived in Baltimore the day after we left for WDW and had left for Chicago just before our plane arrived in Baltimore. I was disappointed that we didn't get to see my aunt, but that's the way things work some times.

We picked up our dog on the way home. Eventually we made it home. We unpacked the car. Cacie started packing for her trip out to Oakland to be with her mother for the summer. The next day I put Cacie on a plane for Oakland.

Doing these reports has been tough. I will never look at another trip report again without realizing just how much work goes into them. But I know that even if I'm not participating in RADP, I'll still write up a trip report when I visit WDW in the future. My trip report will be placed in the photo album right next to the pictures for this trip. Writing these reports has brought all of the great memories of WDW back to the surface and I hope in the future that reading them will do the same.

Bill Sears