OhioTony
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2002
- Messages
- 1,261
After much deliberation over leaving for DW with "Jean" looming offshore we decided to GO! Our 2nd time to DW. We last visited in 2001. Reading posts from past DW hurricane "survivors" and weather predictions showing her "bouncing" of the coast aided our decision to go. As we started our 16 hr drive I surprised the kids (son 11 & daughter 8) with a hard to get copy of "Song of the South" to watch on the trip along with many other disney flicks checked out from the library...We started getting VERY NERVOUS when we hit FL & noticed HEAVY traffic going north on I-75 as we were heading south. I also noticed a lot of downed bilboards & "porn boards" which meant I did not have to x-plain to the kids what "we bare all" & "adult toys & novelties" mean this year!
Saturday
No rain...windy as Jeane got closer
After sleeping over in a Days inn we checked in to the CBR @ 9:00 AM..no problems..they checked us in early & gave us our room. We had requested Jamaca, but as JEANNE was looming they placed everyone in inside rooms. We were placed in Aruba, close to the quiet pool, we had no problem with this.
We were @ EPCOT by 10:30..No lines whatsoever. We did "the big ball", Test Track Then what came to be forever known as "mission BARF". As our 4 person crew loaded the "spew bags" we very noticable..1 minute into the ride the wife was utilizing them. She was a 2-bagger..However, bag to face, she still managed to push her asigned buttons at the proper time to allow us to complete our mission. What a strong woman. Thats why I love her....BUT I was not kissing her for the rest of THAT day!
Bout 2:00 we switched to MGM. Once again no lines. rode RR, TOT & many others b4 parks all closed at 7:00 to batten down for JEANE.
The hotel food court was full of people stockpiling food for what looked like months! We got a pizza (waited bout 30 minutes in line) & went to our room. We were very nervous going to bed after glancing @ weather channel..We did not want to make matters worse so we turned TV to cartoons and I AM NOT KIDDING they were showing "whinnie the pooh and the blustery day"..Disney gets all the details right!
Sunday JEANNE
She arrives 1:00 AM and we actually slept through most of it. Having had Tornadoes near us back home, this was not as bad as we feared. The boy & me went on a couple "hurricane walks". The resort sent regular phone messages regarding the status of operations. Of course the parks were closed. Bout 5:00 we went on another exploration & noticed activity by the food court..they were open. We got the ladies & had dinner. the main pool was open after dinner so we let the kids swim. Round 6:30 The hotel sent phone message to all rooms they were open. We missed the stampeed.Upon returning to our room we recieved a message the the parks were operating Monday & we would recieve comp park hopper passes for future use for the day we missed. I was pleased with how our HURRICANE DAY was handled.
Monday
Cloudy a few light showers
We hit AK. The animals were very active as they had been closed in the prior day. We had very little wait time in lines, however Kali River ride & the Jungle walk were closed due to debris clean up. we all loved the new Primevel Whirl coaster & hit that several times. For lunch we did the voucher meals. We are not big eaters so wife & me got kid vouchers as well and we were stuffed.
That evening we watched iluminations @ EPCOT.
Tues
Sunny all day!
we did MGM re-riding the big rides & catching most of the live shows.
Round 1:00 we switched to MK. Jungle cruise was closed still due to debris clean up. We had low lines again. the longest line was for splash mountain, bout 20 minutes..and this time the kids didn't ask "dad, who's Brer' Rabbit". After riding & re-riding most rides we closed the park. We found a GREAT spot to watch the parade & fireworks in a small roped off triangle created along the bridge by the castle.no crowd pressing on you & it is defended by the staff so the walkway and your view is not blocked.
Wed
Sunny all day!
The ladies had ressies for Cinderellas royal breakfast.. They arrived early and spent much time talking with "the fiary God-Mother"..as they were a party of 2 they were seated in the alcove looking out over the carousel "the best seat in the house" they cliamed. Many posts on this site demeaned this event but the ladies had nothing but praise for the whole experience. The food was great and caracter interaction was perfect. To top off their special morning My daughter was the first person into Tinkerbells gift shop and was given the priveledge to awaken the fairy. I wish I had been there to see my daughters face, but they will treasure this Mother-Daughter day forever.
Us late sleepers met up with the princesses & we hit the rides with very low lines.
We returned to MGM afternoon & had Onionrings & superthick milkshakes while watching silly B-movie clips at the Sci-Fi Resteraunt. On this day My daughter nervously rode her 1st ever "upside down" roller coaster..she LOVED IT! we created a monster as we rode Rockin Rolercoaster several times. We ended the day with FANTASMIC..A great show only slightly diminished by the EXTREMLY RUDE New Yorkers who would not stop loudly talking behind us until I became RUDE myself! ps..I know..not all New Yorkers are loud & rude but these ladies were way over the top.
Thurs
Sunny all Day!
Typhoon Lagoon
Water parks are not my thing!But he kids had fun.Leaves & debris floated on most of the water rides. Me & boy were struck by hanging down tree limbs on one of the fast moving water slides.It left a good scratch on his arm & the cast member was in no hurry to tell anybody. Many people continued to get hurt before they atented to the problem.We would have stayed longer but we only brought our room key/charge and theyr'e charge system was down.
We hit the shows we missed @ AK & did Kali Rapids,a dissapiontment as we hardly got wet!.
We ruturned for swimming @ our resort & did the Fantasia Gardens Putt-Putt Course at night..The kids Loved it! Great photo-opertunities as well!
Friday Wine Fest & a Halloween party!
Sunny all day!
We slept late, walked, drank & mostly munched our way arount the World Showcase. The kids had fun geting their pasports stamped & finding penny machines from the lands,although we never found pressed pennies from China or Japan..
We returned to get redy for the Haloween Party.
The MK was Spooktacular! done up in low lighting, Orange baloons & haloween music. Ghostly images reflected from the mainstreet buildings, and man! did they pass out the candy! Big Thunder mountain is a WHOLE NEW experience at night. What a blast..We had no lines for any rides..The 1 bad thing was they had removed the wooden fence from the, still under construction Stitch ride, leaving large potted plants in their place. That's almost like teasing us! The haloween parade was fun..The fireworks just OK..It's hard to top FANTASMIC.We closed the park down and CM's where unloading massive amounts of candy into the kids bags as we were leaving.
Saturday-- Time to leave
We slept late, packed the van & let the kids pick a park to spend 1/2 a day. The chose MGM. We hit RR for the last time & TOT. My son was thrilled that we recieved the famed "rare sequence" on TOT. The car goes to the bottom & u think the ride is over The doors partialy open to reveal the missing hotel ghosts, the doors slam shut & you shoot back up for more drops. His trip was complete! We hit Downtown Disney. Spent time @ DisneyQuest till the boy got sick from too much virtual 3-d action. Had a nice meal & House of Blues..Watch out for those hot peppers in the jumbolaya! We emptyed our wallet at the Christmas shop & left home from a Great Vacation!
HMMM.... now when do we use those free tickets???????
PS..Thoughts & prayer to the people of Florida who lost so much in this year of the Hurricanes!
Saturday
No rain...windy as Jeane got closer
After sleeping over in a Days inn we checked in to the CBR @ 9:00 AM..no problems..they checked us in early & gave us our room. We had requested Jamaca, but as JEANNE was looming they placed everyone in inside rooms. We were placed in Aruba, close to the quiet pool, we had no problem with this.
We were @ EPCOT by 10:30..No lines whatsoever. We did "the big ball", Test Track Then what came to be forever known as "mission BARF". As our 4 person crew loaded the "spew bags" we very noticable..1 minute into the ride the wife was utilizing them. She was a 2-bagger..However, bag to face, she still managed to push her asigned buttons at the proper time to allow us to complete our mission. What a strong woman. Thats why I love her....BUT I was not kissing her for the rest of THAT day!
Bout 2:00 we switched to MGM. Once again no lines. rode RR, TOT & many others b4 parks all closed at 7:00 to batten down for JEANE.
The hotel food court was full of people stockpiling food for what looked like months! We got a pizza (waited bout 30 minutes in line) & went to our room. We were very nervous going to bed after glancing @ weather channel..We did not want to make matters worse so we turned TV to cartoons and I AM NOT KIDDING they were showing "whinnie the pooh and the blustery day"..Disney gets all the details right!
Sunday JEANNE
She arrives 1:00 AM and we actually slept through most of it. Having had Tornadoes near us back home, this was not as bad as we feared. The boy & me went on a couple "hurricane walks". The resort sent regular phone messages regarding the status of operations. Of course the parks were closed. Bout 5:00 we went on another exploration & noticed activity by the food court..they were open. We got the ladies & had dinner. the main pool was open after dinner so we let the kids swim. Round 6:30 The hotel sent phone message to all rooms they were open. We missed the stampeed.Upon returning to our room we recieved a message the the parks were operating Monday & we would recieve comp park hopper passes for future use for the day we missed. I was pleased with how our HURRICANE DAY was handled.
Monday
Cloudy a few light showers
We hit AK. The animals were very active as they had been closed in the prior day. We had very little wait time in lines, however Kali River ride & the Jungle walk were closed due to debris clean up. we all loved the new Primevel Whirl coaster & hit that several times. For lunch we did the voucher meals. We are not big eaters so wife & me got kid vouchers as well and we were stuffed.
That evening we watched iluminations @ EPCOT.
Tues
Sunny all day!
we did MGM re-riding the big rides & catching most of the live shows.
Round 1:00 we switched to MK. Jungle cruise was closed still due to debris clean up. We had low lines again. the longest line was for splash mountain, bout 20 minutes..and this time the kids didn't ask "dad, who's Brer' Rabbit". After riding & re-riding most rides we closed the park. We found a GREAT spot to watch the parade & fireworks in a small roped off triangle created along the bridge by the castle.no crowd pressing on you & it is defended by the staff so the walkway and your view is not blocked.
Wed
Sunny all day!
The ladies had ressies for Cinderellas royal breakfast.. They arrived early and spent much time talking with "the fiary God-Mother"..as they were a party of 2 they were seated in the alcove looking out over the carousel "the best seat in the house" they cliamed. Many posts on this site demeaned this event but the ladies had nothing but praise for the whole experience. The food was great and caracter interaction was perfect. To top off their special morning My daughter was the first person into Tinkerbells gift shop and was given the priveledge to awaken the fairy. I wish I had been there to see my daughters face, but they will treasure this Mother-Daughter day forever.
Us late sleepers met up with the princesses & we hit the rides with very low lines.
We returned to MGM afternoon & had Onionrings & superthick milkshakes while watching silly B-movie clips at the Sci-Fi Resteraunt. On this day My daughter nervously rode her 1st ever "upside down" roller coaster..she LOVED IT! we created a monster as we rode Rockin Rolercoaster several times. We ended the day with FANTASMIC..A great show only slightly diminished by the EXTREMLY RUDE New Yorkers who would not stop loudly talking behind us until I became RUDE myself! ps..I know..not all New Yorkers are loud & rude but these ladies were way over the top.
Thurs
Sunny all Day!
Typhoon Lagoon
Water parks are not my thing!But he kids had fun.Leaves & debris floated on most of the water rides. Me & boy were struck by hanging down tree limbs on one of the fast moving water slides.It left a good scratch on his arm & the cast member was in no hurry to tell anybody. Many people continued to get hurt before they atented to the problem.We would have stayed longer but we only brought our room key/charge and theyr'e charge system was down.
We hit the shows we missed @ AK & did Kali Rapids,a dissapiontment as we hardly got wet!.
We ruturned for swimming @ our resort & did the Fantasia Gardens Putt-Putt Course at night..The kids Loved it! Great photo-opertunities as well!
Friday Wine Fest & a Halloween party!
Sunny all day!
We slept late, walked, drank & mostly munched our way arount the World Showcase. The kids had fun geting their pasports stamped & finding penny machines from the lands,although we never found pressed pennies from China or Japan..
We returned to get redy for the Haloween Party.
The MK was Spooktacular! done up in low lighting, Orange baloons & haloween music. Ghostly images reflected from the mainstreet buildings, and man! did they pass out the candy! Big Thunder mountain is a WHOLE NEW experience at night. What a blast..We had no lines for any rides..The 1 bad thing was they had removed the wooden fence from the, still under construction Stitch ride, leaving large potted plants in their place. That's almost like teasing us! The haloween parade was fun..The fireworks just OK..It's hard to top FANTASMIC.We closed the park down and CM's where unloading massive amounts of candy into the kids bags as we were leaving.
Saturday-- Time to leave
We slept late, packed the van & let the kids pick a park to spend 1/2 a day. The chose MGM. We hit RR for the last time & TOT. My son was thrilled that we recieved the famed "rare sequence" on TOT. The car goes to the bottom & u think the ride is over The doors partialy open to reveal the missing hotel ghosts, the doors slam shut & you shoot back up for more drops. His trip was complete! We hit Downtown Disney. Spent time @ DisneyQuest till the boy got sick from too much virtual 3-d action. Had a nice meal & House of Blues..Watch out for those hot peppers in the jumbolaya! We emptyed our wallet at the Christmas shop & left home from a Great Vacation!
HMMM.... now when do we use those free tickets???????
PS..Thoughts & prayer to the people of Florida who lost so much in this year of the Hurricanes!
I love it!
