Noreen Chin - December 1999 - Caribbean Beach Resort

[Trip Reports]

12/29/99 - 1/4/00
WHO ARE WE?

Noreen - 31 years old; Vice President at an Investment Banking Firm in New York City. I will be doing most of the work in planning the trip, including writing this report.
Paul (my husband) - 31 years old; Multimedia Developer at a Management Consulting Firm in New York City.
We've been to Disneyworld several times in the last few years. It has become our favorite Vacation. We went to Disneyland (California) for the first time in January 1997 and became engaged at Sea World.

PLANNING

The idea of spending New Year's at Disneyworld occurred to us after we returned home from our September/October 1999 trip. We decided we wanted to do something different/special for the Millenium and what better place than Disneyworld? Originally we thought we would go to a party but it turns out that none of our friends were doing anything. Paul said to me one day "It's the millennium, we have to do something special. If you could spend it anywhere, where would you want to go?" I, of course, responded "Disneyworld." So that's where we're going to spend New Year's Eve 2000. Paul suggested Hawaii and Australia, as well as some other exotic places; but I'm happiest at Disney.

Our plans are to go on Wednesday 12/29/99 and return on Tuesday 1/4/00. This will be the first time we are at Disney during the holiday season; the first time we spend the entire vacation in a Disney Resort (we usually split it between our timeshare and a Disney Resort); as well as our shortest Disneyworld trip in several years - we usually go for 10 days at a time. We've never been to Disney during the holidays because that is my busy season at work. I'm in the process of switching jobs (started my new job on December 7) so I was able to swing it this year since before I accepted the job, I explained that this was already booked and non-refundable.

Lodging

Since we came up with this idea so late, we expected Disney to be completely booked. However, I saw ads on the Internet that there is space available but only including park passes (which we don't need since we bought Premium Annual Passes during our September 99 trip). To my pleasant surprise, we also received an Annual Passholder postcard saying that there are rooms available for New Year's. Ideally, we would like to stay at the Boardwalk but we're flexible. So far we've stayed at the following Disney Resorts: Port Orleans (June 97), Dixie Landings (October 98), Yacht & Beach Club on the Beach Club side (October 99).

On 11/2/99, I called Disney Reservations. For the dates we are interested in there is availability at the following resorts: Boardwalk - a suite ($770 per night), Wilderness Lodge ($270 per night), Contemporary ($320 per night), all 4 moderates ($164 per night), and the All Stars ($104 per night).

Since it's for New Year's, they have special rules - payment in full is required at time of booking and it is non-refundable.

Although we wanted to stay at the Boardwalk, we don't need a suite for $770 per night. I guess we'll go to the Boardwalk our next trip if a regular room is available. Paul didn't want to stay at the Wilderness Lodge or the All Stars.

When I called back on 11/6/99, the Contemporary was now booked. The moderates are all still available as well as the All Stars. Since we've already stayed at Port Orleans and Dixie Landings, our choice was narrowed down to Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs so we can try a new resort. We visited Coronado Springs on one of our earlier trips and weren't that excited by it. Also, we're not big Mexican food fans, and it seems like a lot of their food is geared that way. So our decision was to stay at Caribbean Beach.

I called on 11/10/99 to book our room. I called around 9pm and was on hold until 9:30pm. The Cast Member I spoke with was so sweet and helpful. She gave me some helpful hints - the biggest one being that on New Year's Eve we should get to the park of our choice early and just stay there all day because if the parks reach capacity (which they are expecting) we won't be able to get in. As Annual Passholder's staying at a Disney Resort, we are guaranteed entrance to a park (but not necessarily the park of our choice). This was good to know since I was planning to leave the park for dinner then return, but I guess we better decide which park we want to be in and try to book dinner at one of the restaurants there.

We booked a standard view room with two double beds for $164 per night. With tax it came out to $1,092 which had to be paid in full at booking. If we wanted a King Size bed we would have had to pay an extra $20 per night. When we stayed at the Yacht & Beach Club (Oct 99) there wasn't an extra charge for a King Bed. We figured for the amount of time we stay in the room, it's not necessary - we can live with the double beds. We can always use one for storing things on like luggage.

Car Rental

We are definitely going to rent a car as we have in the past. Also, we've found a lot of fun things to do and restaurants we like off-site and want the flexibility to go. We may use the Disney transportation sometimes, but I like the convenience of knowing a car is waiting for me in a lot and not having to depend on a bus/tram/boat. Paul wants to rent a convertible as we've been doing for the last few years.

The time we're going is obviously a peak time and the car rental prices I've been quoted reflect that.

On 12/10/99 I reserved a convertible with National Car Rental for $363.85 (after 10% AAA discount and taxes) including unlimited miles.

On 12/28/99 Paul called his corporate travel department and reserved a midsize with Budget for $199.99.

We'll see which one comes up with the best deal once we arrive.

Flight

On 11/10/99 I booked our flight with TWA for $241.75 roundtrip per person. On Dec 29 leaving Kennedy at 9am and flying directly to Orlando landing at 11:50am. On Jan 4 leaving Orlando at 7:45pm and flying directly to Kennedy landing at 10:10pm. We would have preferred to fly into and out of Newark since we live in NJ, but prices and availability were really bad. We are going with E-Tickets. I asked if that was safe with the Y2K issues but the sales representative assured me it was safe since we'll have a confirmation ticket.

Attractions

Paul may sign up for a day at the Disney Institute - maybe another cooking class (we took one during our Sept/Oct 99 trip) or a golf class (since he keeps saying he wants to play golf) or the Computer Animation Class (which he tried to sign up for during our last trip but it was booked).

We've never been to Disney during the holiday season and are looking forward to seeing how the parks and resorts are decorated. I would like to see the Osbourne Lights at MGM, the CandleLight Processional at Epcot, and any other holiday specific things that we normally wouldn't get a chance to see.

Food

Some of the restaurants I'm hoping to try for the first time this trip are in Brown Derby (at MGM), California Grill (at the Contemporary) and Artist Point (at the Wilderness Lodge).

We find it hard making dinner and/or lunch reservations in advance. We're usually very spontaneous with these things. I don't know what I'll want to eat two months later or even what time I'll want to eat.

One thing I need to try to remember is that some of the restaurants offer discounts for either Annual Passholders or the MKC discount. I always forget about this.

I know that I should definitely get our New Year's Eve dinner booked as soon as possible.

On 12/8/99, I called Disney Dining to make some priority seatings.

There was nothing at all available for New Year's Eve (12/31/99) in Magic Kingdom for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at any of the sit down restaurants. The cast member I spoke with said we can always show up as a walk in but will have to wait. I guess we'll do that.

I wanted to make a priority seating for dinner at the California Grill for Wednesday 12/29/99 (the day we arrive) but they were all booked. Every night was booked until Sunday 1/2/00. I made the priority seating for 6pm on Sunday 1/2/00 which is very early for us to eat dinner but the cast member told me that MK has fireworks at 6:30 that night so we should request a fireworks view. She said it's very romantic and you can see the fireworks without the crowds.

I made a dinner priority seating for Wednesday 12/29/99 at Artist Point at 7:30pm.

Admission Media

Paul and I bought Premium Annual Passes during our last trip so we don't have to buy any Disney Passes this trip. We also have two days left on a Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure Escape Pass.

General Planning

I've read that it's useful to make a rough outline of what parks to hit on what days as well as make priority seatings in advance of the trip. I've printed out the park hours for the dates we're there and am trying to come up with a rough game plan.

During our last trip, I spent some time running around the parks myself while Paul rested/relaxed. I'll probably do a little of that this time as well.

DAY BY DAY

The week before our trip

The week before our trip was hectic as can be expected with Christmas and various holiday parties to attend. In a way it was kind of nice because we were so involved in everything else we were doing, I stopped obsessing over counting the days until we're at Disney and now it's just about here.

Packing will be a bit of a problem this trip. We've always been at Disney when we knew it would be hot so only packed summer clothes. We're going to need to pack some warmer things just in case it's cold. I checked the Internet for the 5 day Florida weather forecast and it has highs in the 70's which means we can probably wear shorts but I'd rather be prepared in case it turns colder later in the week.

One of the Christmas gifts I received was walkie talkies that we were planning to use at Disney so we can go on different rides or I can go to the park earlier than Paul but we'd still be able to be in contact. They were supposed to have a 2-mile radius, but didn't work when I went down the block from our house.

The day before our trip - Tuesday 12/28/99

I finished up work and left the office by 5:15pm. I finished packing and getting everything together.

Paul got stuck working late. He said he'd be really late so I should just go to bed before he gets home. I went to bed around midnight. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and Paul still wasn't home. I called him at his office and he was just finishing up. Luckily he drove in today so he was able to just leave when he was ready.

Wednesday 12/29/99

Paul arrived home at about 5:45am.

The car service arrived at our house at 6am. Paul was throwing his last minute stuff together so we didn't leave until 6:15am. There was no traffic so even going all the way to Kennedy airport, we got there really quickly and were in the airport by 7am.

Our flight to Orlando was supposed to leave at 9am but was delayed until 10:30am. There were so many people complaining and harassing the poor flight attendants. It's not their fault. We left at 10:30am and the pilot came over the loudspeaker and apologized and said he would try to make up time in the air by "putting the petal to the metal and going about 550 miles per hour". We landed in Orlando at 12:45pm. Now why can't they fly that quickly even when they are on time? The food served on the plane was bad - a frozen muffin (that wasn't supposed to be frozen) and applesauce.

We went to the Budget car rental counter where there was a huge line. We waited for at least an hour. We upgraded to a Jeep Wrangler for $299 per week so I cancelled my reservation with National.

We checked in at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort a few minutes before 3pm. Our room was ready - in the Aruba section - room 5135. This is a huge resort - everything is really spread out. Our room is pretty nice - nothing fancy but nice. I think we prefer staying at the luxury resorts (like our last trip at the Yacht & Beach Club) where everything is much more centrally located.

We went to the Port Royale food court to get some lunch. We bought a personal size pepperoni pizza, a cheeseburger with fries and a refillable mug. We probably aren't going to get our money's worth from the refillable mug because it's not that convenient to get to the food court from our room. The pizza and fries were good, the burger tasted like one that's been sitting around for a while. The total came out to $17.

Paul was really tired from not having slept at all the night before so he really wasn't ready to hit a theme park.

We drove to the Boardwalk and valet parked. The Christmas decorations were beautiful. There was a miniature park made out of candy (complete with carousel, ferris wheel, and roller coaster). It's freezing out. We took the Epcot boat that stops at the Yacht & Beach Club and got off there to look at their Christmas decorations. We walked back around to the Boardwalk and stopped in the ESPN club for Paul to play some video games.

We drove to Wilderness Lodge and valet parked. Their Christmas decorations were beautiful. We had a priority seating at the Wilderness Lodge for 7:30pm. We arrived at 7:15pm and were seated immediately. They brought over bread with different types of spreads (caramelized onion butter, roasted garlic, and a sauce that had an asian flavor to it). Paul had the mushroom soup as an appetizer and the seared tuna as an entrée. I had the cedar plank salmon. The salmon melted in your mouth. For dessert I had the berry cobbler and Paul ordered the Wilderness coffee. The service was very attentive without being overbearing and the food was delicious. The total with tax and tip was $88. We walked around the Wilderness Lodge a little longer then drove back to Caribbean Beach Resort to go to bed.

Thursday 12/30/99

I woke Paul up for early entry at the Magic Kingdom. We took the bus. We just missed one and had to wait about 20 minutes for the next one. I thought the bus driver was a little rude because there were several people (myself included) running for the bus. We were only a few feet away from the stop (and the driver obviously saw us) but he left anyway.

Our original goal today was to go to Magic Kingdom just for a few hours (including early entry) to hit a few of the major rides since we'll be there all day tomorrow.

As we were walking down Main Street (at about 7:35 am), Paul turns to me and says "If this was a work day, I'd still be sleeping." Poor Paul got up earlier today on vacation than he normally does for work. He usually gets to work around 9:30-10am so first starts waking up around 7:45.

We went on Space Mountain with a minimal wait (maybe 10 minutes). We haven't been on this ride in several trips because the lines were long and we didn't feel like waiting so we definitely enjoyed this.

We went on the Autopia (the cars). We haven't gone on this in ages. Paul wanted to go on and since it was still early entry the lines weren't bad. This was pretty fun.

We went on the Tea Cups next. I never go on these because I don't like rides that go in circles but I enjoyed it. As long as Paul didn't spin us too fast.

We got Fast passes for Winnie the Pooh since the wait was already 30 minutes. Last time we went on this we waited about 30 minutes and weren't thrilled. I figured we'd give it another shot since we could get the fast pass this time and not have to wait.

I went on Dumbo next (Paul took pictures but didn't go on). I've never been on this ride. It was really cute but I wouldn't wait too long to get on. It's definitely a slow loading ride. While waiting Paul got fries and cantaloupe from Pinocchio Village Haus. He found an old piece of someone's bagel in the fries. After I got off Dumbo we went back to Pinocchio Village Haus to show them. I was really surprised at their attitude. We didn't necessarily want anything from them - just wanted to show them what we found. The manager said that they don't sell bagels there and implied that we put it there. They ended up giving Paul back his money for the fries. This was a pretty disappointing experience.

We went on Winnie the Pooh with our fastpasses and only waited about 5 minutes. I really like using the fastpasses and think it was a great idea to implement. This time we found the ride very cute. It's not something we would wait on line for 1/2 hour for, but as long as we can get a fast pass and get on relatively quickly, we will.

We saw the Country Bear Jamboree - Christmas version next. Paul never saw the regular version but I did during our last trip. It was cute. Paul took a nap during the show.

Paul got one of those big turkey legs they sell at Disney.

Then we saw the "Everyday's a Holiday" show at the Castle Stage. I really enjoyed this. We didn't plan to watch it but were walking by as it was going on so stopped to watch. I'm really glad we did.

We were planning to leave Magic Kingdom and go get some lunch at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club. On the way out we stopped in the Arribas Brothers store and ordered a really nice frame with 2000 Disneyworld and our names on it and a space for a picture. It would take about 15 minutes to be ready.

While waiting Paul bought a Foot Long Hot Dog. He figured this would tide him over until we got to Beaches and Cream.

It was getting close to 2pm so I wanted to stay for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade (started at 2pm). So we found spots on Main Street to sit (not the first row of people that were probably sitting there for hours but right behind them). We both enjoyed the parade. I'm glad we stayed to watch it today because I'm sure it will be a mad house tomorrow (New Year's Eve).

We dropped off film at the Photo place to be developed. We told them we wouldn't be back to pick them up until tomorrow which they said would be fine.

We took the Disney bus back to Caribbean Beach Resort.

We finally figured out how to take the top off the Jeep

We stopped at Eckerd for film and cough drops.

We drove to the Beach Club and valet parked. It was 5:30pm by the time we made it to Beaches and Cream (late lunch). I had the single cheeseburger with fries and a sprite. Paul had the double cheeseburger with onion rings and a vanilla shake. The total with tax and tip was $26. These definitely are the best burgers on Disney property.

We walked over to Epcot and were among the last people admitted to the 6:45pm CandleLight Processional. Paul slept through most of it. It was very nice and lasted about 45 minutes. When we were checking in at the Caribbean Beach, I asked about the Candlelight Processional dinner package where you eat dinner at a specific restaurant and are guaranteed admission to the show. The cast member said you may as well just wait on line for it and not spend the money for the dinner (unless you really wanted to eat at the restaurant anyway). We didn't wait long since when we first got there they said it was full but then they started letting a few more people in and then a few more and we made it in. We were near the back but the seats were still pretty good.

We went on Test Track next - on the single rider line that still took about 20 minutes.

Paul bought this wand that when you spin it various messages appeared in lights - like Happy New Year, Let's Party, etc.

We watched Illuminations then walked back to the Beach Club to get the car.

We drove to Pleasure Island and just missed the 10:40 Comedy Warehouse Show. We were on the standby line, but it was full. So we wandered around Pleasure Island for a little while.

We went to Wolfgang Puck Café around 11:30pm. The only area still open was the sushi bar so we sat there. We had an eel roll, a rainbow roll, and mushroom pizza. We both had soda. The food was very good. The total with tax and tip was $47. We've eaten at the Wolfgang Puck Café several times during our last few trips and always enjoyed it. This was the first time we sat in the sushi bar area.

When we got back to our room, there was a memo regarding New Year's Eve at the parks. They expect the parks to reach capacity and close at some point during the day. We were advised to get to the park we want to go to early because we would be guaranteed re-admission to that park only. They also suggested taking Disney Transportation since the roads will be congested.

Friday 12/31/99

I went to pick up breakfast at the food court. I got waffles and bacon for me, and the big breakfast for Paul which consisted of eggs, waffles, home fries, sausage, bacon, and a biscuit. The bus stops were packed with people waiting for the various buses.

At about 10am we took the bus to Magic Kingdom. We drove to the bus stop. Traffic was horrendous. The bus driver told us she was going the long way but that it would end up being a short cut today. She pointed out the huge lines of people packing the roads heading into Disneyworld. I'm glad we took the bus instead of driving today.

There was a huge line to go through the turnstiles. There weren't any lockers available. Since we were warned to spend the whole day in the park we brought a change of clothes for the evening when it got colder. We ended up buying a bag to carry everything in.

We weren't able to make priority seatings for any meals today. One of the cast members was warning everyone not to leave the park because they can't guarantee you'd be let back in. This contradicts the memo we received in our room yesterday saying that whichever park you were in during the morning, you would be able to get back into later although you may not be able to hop to another park.

At this point, I wasn't really enjoying myself too much. It was wall to wall people. We found out that the Magic Kingdom opened at 7:30am today.

Epcot reached capacity and closed at 7:50am. Magic Kingdom reached capacity and closed at 10:30am. MGM reached capacity and closed at 1:30pm. I don't if Animal Kingdom reached capacity.

We stopped at the little barbershop because Paul wanted to get a hair cut. But there was a pretty long line so he didn't.

At about noon we got a fast pass for the Jungle Cruise that was valid from 1pm-2pm.

While waiting for our Jungle Cruise fast pass time we waited for Pirates of the Caribbean. The wait was posted as 30 minutes but it turned out to be 15 minutes.

We stopped to get a Mickey Ice Cream sandwich. It was so frozen you had to let it melt a little before you could even take a bite. But it was very yummy.

At 1pm we went back to the Jungle Cruise and used our fast pass to get on with about a 10 minute wait.

At about 1:40 we went to get a fast pass for Splash Mountain which was valid from 4:20-5:20. We waited on a line for 20 minutes just to get the fast passes.

We waited on line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that took about 40 minutes. We haven't been on this ride during our last few trips so we really enjoyed it.

At 3pm we went to Columbia Harbour House for lunch. We shared the chicken and fish combination basket with fries, clam chowder in a bread bowl, and a turkey leg that Paul got at one of the carts outside. I got a table while Paul got the food. They messed up the order and gave us vegetarian chili in a bread bowl instead of clam chowder so Paul went back. They told him he could keep the chili if he wanted because they would just throw it out so he said he'd try it. Some guy behind him on line said he'd buy it from him (that's a little odd - why not just buy your own). The food was very good - except the chili.

We stopped in the Christmas Shoppe and bought 2 ornaments. We've never really shopped in these little shops in the parks before.

At 4pm we went into the Hall of Presidents. We've never seen this show before. Paul still didn't see it because he slept through the whole show.

It was now time for our fast pass at Splash Mountain. Even with the fast pass we waited about 20 minutes. We had the back seats so just got slightly damp. The people in the front got soaked. After this we both changed into our pants/warmer shirts because we were cold and damp.

We took the Railroad all the way around the park. We got off in Mickey's Toontown Fair. We went in Mickey's House and Minnie's House but didn't wait on the huge lines to see them. We picked up our hats and noisemakers. Paul was spinning his light wand he bought yesterday and tons of people were coming up to him asking where he got it. They didn't sell them in Magic Kingdom.

We walked over to Tomorrowland and Paul played in the arcade for a little while. There was a DJ so we danced. Then we went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (TTA) which even had a line.

We fought the crowds down Main Street. At 9:45pm we arrived at Tony's Town Square and asked if they were taking any walk ins. We were seated immediately outside along the railing. It was perfect since the Main Street Electrical Parade was starting at 10pm. We had the fried calamari appetizer and the soup, Paul had the shrimp with fettuccine in an alfredo sauce; I had the chicken with capellini in a lemon butter (francese like) sauce. For dessert we shared the banana cannoli. We couldn't finish our food so we had the rest of the chicken dish wrapped up so Paul could eat it for breakfast. The total with tax and tip was $67.

I ran next store and picked up the pictures we dropped off for developing yesterday.

At 11:50pm the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks started. We were able to see most of it right from our seat on the balcony and didn't have to be in a mob scene. We decided to get closer to the exit as the fireworks were going on. It was really a spectacular display. The fireworks weren't just over the castle but looked like they went around the perimeter of the park (or maybe just around the Main Street area).

As soon as they ended there was a mad rush of people heading out. We joined the crowds of people and got to the line for the Caribbean Beach Resort bus. We made it onto the first bus with seats and all. The bus pulled away but then stopped on the road - all the buses stopped as well as all traffic. Disney shut their roads until 12:20am to make sure everything was OK. The bus seemed to take a very long time to get back to the hotel.

When we got back to our room there was a flashlight left in the room for us. I guess they were prepared for anything. Unfortunately, the chicken dish that we packed in the bag leaked all over Paul's sweatpants and shirt that was in the bag.

Saturday 1/1/00

I went to the laundry room at Caribbean Beach around 9:15am since the chicken spilled on Paul's pants last night so I did whatever dirty laundry we had. I had to put the clothes through the dryer 3 times to get them dry. I had a nice conversation with a man from Minnesota who was also doing laundry. People are friendlier when they are at Disneyworld. Paul slept while I took care of the laundry.

I called to try to get Paul enrolled in the Computer Animation class at the Disney Institute but they weren't offering it even though it was in the brochure.

At 1pm we had lunch at Bill Wong's Chinese Buffet on International Drive. The food is pretty good here and there's plenty to eat.

Paul still wanted to get a hair cut. He was tired from the last few days of spending 15+ hours in a park and didn't want to go to one today.

We drove to Belz Outlets but there wasn't a place to get a hair cut there. We bought bras and underwear though.

We drove to the Florida Mall which is a very nice mall. Paul got his hair cut at a place called the "Hair Cuttery". We walked around the mall for a while.

We went to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. Considering we were just in Disney a few months ago, I didn't think we'd buy too much. I was wrong. We had everything sent back to the room so we wouldn't have to carry it all. In the Christmas shop, the ornaments that get personalized wouldn't be done until January 15, 2000 so we will have those shipped home.

We went to Pleasure Island next and saw the 8:15 Comedy Warehouse Show. It wasn't as funny as usual. Maybe the audience suggestions were dull.

At 9:15 we watched Frankie and the West End Boys show on stage.

We went into the Adventurer's Club for a while then into 8 Traxx.

At 11pm we picked up dinner to go at Wolfgang Puck Express - they were just about to close. We picked up too much food. I got the Spinach, Mushroom, and Gorgonzola pizza. Paul got the Asian Noodle Salad and the Rotisserie Chicken and mashed potato meal. The total was $28.

We came back to Caribbean Beach and ate our food then went to sleep.

Sunday 1/2/00

Paul didn't want to miss his whole football game, and I wanted to see the Osbourne Lights at MGM tonight so I tried to change our priority seating at the California Grill which was originally scheduled for 6pm to later. The latest I was able to get was 7pm.

We arrived at MGM at 10:15am.

The first thing we did was walk over to the Brown Derby to make a Priority Seating for 1pm.

We got a fast pass for Rock and Roller Coaster which was valid from 11:20-12:20. We also waited on the standby line to ride Rock and Roller Coaster that was about 30 minutes. We waited for the front row. This really is such a smooth ride considering you flip over a lot. We talked to the man in line ahead of us while we were waiting so the time went quickly.

Then we went on Tower of Terror with a 15-minute wait. I like the new sequence of drops. You don't know what to expect.

By now it was time for our fast pass on Rock and Roller Coaster so we went back on that.

It was about 12:15 now and we were hungry so we went to Brown Derby to see if we could eat early. We were seated in about 10 minutes. The woman at the counter was a bit confused. When I checked in she said that we already checked in and were called but we didn't answer. I told her maybe there is another Chin party because we just arrived and were standing on line here for the last 10 minutes. We were seated in a nice booth - it wasn't very crowded. For appetizers we had the rock shrimp quesadillas and the grilled scallops. I had the cobb salad with chicken and Paul had the open faced steak sandwich. I would have ordered the grapefruit cake but the waiter never asked if we wanted dessert, he just brought the check. We weren't that thrilled with the Brown Derby - it was OK but not something I would need to go back to. The total with tax and tip was $61.

Paul arranged a Disney Vacation Club presentation for us for tomorrow morning at 9:40am.

Paul wanted to go watch his football games so we were going to meet at the California Grille for our dinner tonight. Paul was originally planning to watch the games at the Outer Rim at the Contemporary but we weren't able to reach anyone there to find out what games they were showing so he went to the ESPN club at the Boardwalk instead.

I saw the 2pm Hunchback of Notre Dame Show. The show basically told the story but I liked the one in Disneyland better.

I stopped in another Christmas shop and bought an ornament.

I saw the 3pm Beauty and the Beast Show. This was cute and I enjoyed it better than Hunchback.

I then went on Magic of Disney Animation. I haven't seen this in a few trips either.

I made it into the next showing of the Little Mermaid. I was one of the last people let in to this show. When I first got in line, the sign said the wait was 25 minutes but then they were asking how many in each party and letting people in a few at a time.

I saw the 5:15 Indiana Jones Stunt Show. This was the same as in the past.

I waited for the Osbourne Family Light Display that didn't open until 6:10pm. I went through it pretty quickly because I had to meet Paul at the Contemporary at 6:45 and was relying on Disney Transportation to get me there. This was really an amazing display. Paul would have enjoyed it. I had my picture taken with Chip & Dale.

I was at the bus stop waiting for the bus to the Contemporary at 6:30. When the bus finally picked us up it first stopped at the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) before going to the Contemporary.

I didn't get to the California Grille until 7:15. I checked in at the podium and was told that Paul was already there waiting for me. So they seated me at a table and said they'd get Paul. About 15 minutes went by and still no Paul. I was beginning to feel a little silly. I was telling the waiter that the hostess said she'd get him but maybe I should go look for him. He said he would and sure enough within 5 minutes he found him and brought him to the table. The view from this restaurant is spectacular.

We started with the eggplant flatbread. Then we had the lobster soup and egg rolls. Then we had some sushi - lobster roll, dungeness crab California roll, spicy tuna roll, and eel 2 ways (which was 2 pieces of eel sushi and 2 pieces of an eel roll). Then we had the lemon meringue soufflé. This was one of our best meals we've eaten at Disney. It took a long time. We weren't done until about 9:30pm. The total with tax and tip was $105.

Paul played in the arcade at the Contemporary for a while. Then we headed back to Caribbean Beach Resort.

Monday 1/3/00

At 9:40am a van picked us up for the Disney Vacation Club presentation at the Boardwalk Villas. I really liked the DVC and we're tempted to buy in. However, we already own a timeshare at Vistana. Do we really need to buy another one?

The van dropped us off at Magic Kingdom because I wanted to buy this Dopey thing for my sister that I didn't get last time we were here. My sister loves Dopey and there aren't that many things with Dopey on them. We were in and out of Magic Kingdom in about 15 minutes.

W took the monorail to Epcot. We even got to sit up front with the driver. Since we entered two parks pretty quickly our passes registered with "Access Denied". The cast member asked if we were just in another park so I told her we just walked into Magic Kingdom to pick up something I forgot to get last time then left to come here. So she let us in.

We dropped off pictures to get developed. We got a locker today so we didn't have to carry around our stuff. It's a pretty good deal - it costs $3 for the day and you can go into and out of your locker as much as you need to. You pay $5 but get $2 back at the end of the day. Also, if you change parks and save your receipt it's good for a locker at the other park as well.

We went into Innoventions and sent some e-mail postcards and had a picture calendar made, Paul played some video games. The crowds were noticeably smaller than the other day.

We saw Food Rocks. I saw this during our last trip but this was Paul's first time seeing it. It's really cute.

We had lunch at the Food Court in the Land - I had the children's Mickeyroni and Cheese; Paul had a tuna sandwich and soup. The children's meal was definitely worth the money (about $3.50) - not only did you get your macaroni and cheese, but a breadstick, a cookie, and a small soda. The total was $13.04.

We went on Living with the Land with a 10 minute wait. Paul was having trouble staying awake.

The we went into Journey Into Your Imagination. This was Paul's first time on the new version although I saw it during our last trip.

We went on Honey I shrunk the audience next with no wait. Paul fell asleep in this.

Then we went on Ellen's Energy Adventure. Paul was snoring on this ride - good thing it's pretty long as he was able to get in a nice nap. At one point the cars started bouncing over some rough track. Poor Paul got jarred out of his sleep and got scared. It was so cute.

We went into World Showcase and took the boat to Morocco. Walked around the rest of the way. Saw some of Tapestry of Nations. Paul wasn't feeling well so we wanted to head out before Illuminations. We were thinking of eating at Alfredo's but since Paul wasn't feeling well, he wouldn't enjoy it. We waited for the bus for a while.

We drove to the food court at Caribbean Beach Resort for dinner. I had the chicken fingers and fries; Paul had a meatball sub and a personal pizza. Total was $16.

In the gift shop there was a nice Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort ornament which said 1999 on it. I was hoping it would be on sale since it's now 2000 but no luck. So we paid full price - $20 for it.

I did some packing since we're leaving tomorrow.

Tuesday 1/4/00

Paul and I both woke up sick today. I think we have the flu. It turns out there's a bad flu bug going around in NY and NJ. I don't know how we caught it all the way in Florida. We requested a late checkout and were told we can keep the room until 1pm with no extra charge. We had the express check out and everything looked fine.

We drove to the Beach Club and valet parked. I was hoping to find a Beach Club ornament similar to the one I found at Caribbean Beach last night. The one they had was pretty ugly. So we didn't get it.

We walked over to Epcot and had lunch in Italy in Alfredo's. I was a little disappointed. The outside lunch menu listed gnocchi as one of the entrees (the one I wanted). However, when we were seated and looked at the menu - no gnocchi. I asked the waitress and she said gnocchi is only served at dinner and I must have looked at a dinner menu. I told her it was definitely a lunch menu. So I had the lasagna instead and Paul had the linguine with pesto sauce with a side of meatballs. We both had soda. One of the bus boys dropped a pitcher of water and I got kind of wet. Not one apology. The food was pretty good but I wasn't thrilled with the service.

We went on the Living Seas next. We haven't been on this for a few trips so we enjoyed it.

We took the monorail to the Polynesian and then the Grand Floridian to see the Christmas decorations. During out last trip we visited the Grand Floridian and it looked kind of "cold". However, with the Christmas decorations, it looked cozy and beautiful.

We went back to Epcot because Paul wanted to get a few of the turkey legs to bring home - 4 of them. So we wrapped them up and put them in a double bag.

We returned the rental car with no problem and boarded our flight. We landed on time but sat on the runway for over an hour. It was pouring in NY when we landed. When we finally got off the plane, the car service we arranged wasn't there. I called them and the night dispatcher said that since the plane landed at 10:10 and it was now 11:30pm they left. I yelled (actually squeaked since I didn't have much of a voice) that they should have had the common sense that the other car services had and realized no one got off the flight for a reason - we were stuck on the runway. They weren't sending another car either. So we had to take a yellow taxi home. Since we were going from New York to New Jersey it ended up costing $130.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a great trip. I'm glad we were able to spend such a memorable time in my favorite place. For years I'm sure people will ask - where were you when it turned the year 2000; and I can look back and remember a great trip to Disneyworld.

Well the countdown can begin again as soon as we book our next Disneyworld trip that will be in either April or May 2000. We are planning to go down with Chris and Alise (30 something friends of ours) and their two children Haley (almost 4) and Danny (1 1/2). We've traveled with another couple before (in 1997) but never with children.

Noreen Chin

Noreen.s.chin@citigroup.com