A Business Trip to Disney World (without kids) - Updated 10/15/06

[cyjmhill]

August 5th


As we got off the bus at MGM we had about 10 minutes of light rain (this is the only time it rained on me – DW had only 1 or 2 more rain showers for our entire stay – pretty good for August).

We leisurely walked through the gates and located Hollywood and Vine (we has an ADR for here and wanted to know where it was).

We then strolled over to Sound Dangerous, this is a show with Drew Carey – most of it is in the dark, we did not like it that much. The show lets you out in an area that has sound effects that you can play with. DW and I both read for a short cartoon (I think DW’s was better then mine, she was Ursula and I was Mickey). We then went into a sound booth and listened to a radio type show – if you closed you eyes with the headphones on you would swear they were in the room with you. The sound booth didn’t have any windows so I snuck a kiss or two from DW.

We then exited the building and a parade was passing by – what luck!

We then headed towards Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, but got side tracked by Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. If you are a true Disney fan you will love this attraction. It is a museum of Walt Disney. We must have spent an hour in there (easily). By the time we go to the back of the attraction it was time to go (we had and ADR at Hollywood and Vine) and we did not get to see the movie about Walt . I was disappointed but I did not want to be late for our ADR because the only thing we all day was a light breakfast (plus tons of water - ** see note at bottom of this post))

After exiting Walt Disney: One Man's Dream we headed for dinner at Hollywood & Vine. Dinner at Hollywood and Vine was part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package (no extra cost but you get priority seating to the show – it’s a great deal). Dinner here was great!!! It’s a buffet and they were serving several good salads, roast beef, chicken, salmon, pasta, mashed potatoes, gravy and great deserts (just to name a few things). DW and I enjoyed ourselves so much that we were stuffed when we left (I had to be rolled out, but what the heck we were at Disney).

After dinner, we tried to head back to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, but we got side tracked again, this time by the Great Movie Ride. I love watching all of the classic movie trailers. I always have to ride this ride while at MGM. We had a wonderful tour guide (can't remember her name) who saved us from the bad guys. By the time we were done with the Great Movie Ride (there was a long line to get in-maybe 45 minutes long, it looked a lot shorter from the outside) it was time to head over to Fantasmic.

DW and I strolled over (hand in hand)to the priority seating entry (we got in early and no crowds because of the Dinner Package ) and found a great seat near the end of a row. We were about 45 minutes early so we checked on our younger two (oldest was at work-and I think we were feeling a little bad that the kids were not with us). They were having a great time and that made us feel better. I was glad that we had the priority seating because when they opened the main gates the crowds flooded in. DW and I had never seen this show and we were truly impressed!! We now know why it is called Fantasmic! If you haven’t see it - it is definitely a must do.

After the show we wanted to head over to the Journey Into Narnia: Creating The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, but we checked the board and saw that it was closing soon and it was a fairly long walk (or it at least seemed that way at that time of night), besides DW was getting a small blister on her foot and we needed to buy her some socks to wear with her sandals or she would have a heck of a time for the rest of the trip. We found her some cute Minnie ankle socks and decided we were tired and headed back to the hotel.

The bus line was very long and we did not make the 1st bus. We waited and met a very nice family from Louisiana. We talked with them all the way back to the hotel. It made a nice ending to a great day.

We got back to the hotel around 12:15, showed and went straight to bed. We had a wonderful day.


The start of the Disney Institute will be in the next post (for those of you who want to know a little about the Disney Institute – hang on I will try to post the opening on Monday).

Note: I had read about (on the DIS) about water bottles that filter tap water. This was one of the best investment that I had made for this trip. The bottles must have paid for themselves at least twice on this trip. It was very hot (compared to Oregon) and humid and we needed to stay hydrated. I am unable to post the link to the product but search for "Pure Water 2Go" and you will see the sports bottles that I purchased.​

 

[paigevz]

Cy, love it so far.............great report!

 

[cyjmhill]

August 6th

We had scheduled a day to just relax, and today was it. We had no plans until 5:00 PM (start of the Disney Institute).

We woke up around 9:00 AM, and we had a message flashing on our phone. Remember that I told you that we didn’t get a renovated room? Well, I had been calling in everyday – 2 to 3 times a day (I was a squeaky wheel) - asking for a renovated room. The message was from the front desk informing us that that they have a renovated room for us (I think they gave it to me just to shut me up) and that we needed to be out of our current room by 11:00 AM. We packed our stuff up and was at the front desk by 10:55. They did have a room for us but it was not ready. We were informed to check our baggage at the bell desk and return at 3:00 PM.

Since this was our relaxing day we decided to venture off property to go shopping and eat lunch. Our goal was to buy DW a book that she needed to study for an upcoming test. We found a Waldens bookstore and lucked out because they only had one copy of the book. Our day was going GREAT!

We then found a huge Wal-Mart and picked up a few things. Things seemed to be going really well.

It was about 1:00 in the afternoon and we were starting to get a little hungry and stopped by a Denney’s (we had been to a Denney’s for several years). We walk in to the Denney’s and the kid at the Host station tells us that he can seat us right away, but we will not be served for 30 – 40 minutes because of staffing! The kid had a smile on his face when he said this, so I thought he was joking. I laughed and said you have to be joking. He replied no. So we left to find another place to eat.

To our luck we found a Cracker Barrel (we really love Cracker Barrel and there is not one near us – if a top dog from Cracker Barrel is reading this please put one in the Salem, Oregon area). Our waitress was very friendly The service was kinda slow, but the food was real good. DW had an omelet and I had the fried chicken and massed potatoes.

By the time we left the Cracker Barrel it was about 2:30, time to go and check on the room. We got back to the Contemporary around 3:00 PM, but our room was not ready. DW and I did a little shopping at the gift shops. We went back down to the front desk and 4:00 PM – our room was still not ready. I was starting to worry a little and explained to the cast member that I needed to get ready for my class. She was able to place us in another room (why didn’t they do this at 3:00?) which was great! I went to the bell desk and had them deliver our bags to our room ASAP.

Side note – DW thought I was a little picky because I wanted a renovated room. Like I said earlier the old rooms were nice, but they are not in the same league as the renovated rooms. She didn’t understand why I really wanted to be in a new room.​

As we entered the renovated Garden wing you could immediately see a difference. The carpet was a nice gold and black and the doors to the rooms were a very “Contemporary” black. The elevators were not renovated but still worked.

Our room (6314) was just about the furthest room away from the lobby and had a great view of the lagoon. When we got the room I opened the door for DW and allowed her to enter first. The room was gorgeous!!! The view was great! I think at that time DW found out why I have been hanging around the DIS. Instead of me describing the room (I know I will not do any justice to it) here is a link to photos of the room: http://www.wdwinfo.com/photos/contemporary/room/pages/01.htm
DW and I were very happy with the room!!!

The bell desk brought our luggage up right away. I hopped in the shower while DW ironed some clothes for me to wear. I left the room about 4:40 and walked over to the Contemporary Convention Center for my class (Disney Institute Leadership Excellence)

The first night was a 3 hour introduction with dinner. They started off by introducing the instructors and ourselves. Disney then provided a wonderful dinner for us. The dinner consisted of beef tenderloin, chicken, veggies, several wonderful salads and several desert choices.

After dinner they outlined to program for us and asked us to start thinking about our vision. They showed a few clips regarding Disney and vision that were very well put together. They gave us the program material and sent us on our way.

The Disney Institute gave us plenty of pre-program homework. This really got you into the frame mind for the class. The leadership class really focuses on Individual Vision, Company Vision, Company Culture, How to Implement Change, and Leadership Values. When all is said and done you leave with a plan to implement all that you had learned.

As I said before, this was an introduction night. I was back in our room by 8:15 PM.

DW and I then ventured out to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney was very crowed this night. We didn’t really expect it to be as busy as it was at 9:30 at night. Anyway, DW hadn’t really eaten dinner yet so she had a sandwich at the Earl of Sandwich. She had a warm roast beef sandwich that she loved. We did a little more shopping (mostly browsing) and split a sundae at Ghiaradelli Soda Fountain (I even got a smooch or two in ) . By this time it was after 11:00 PM and I needed to get up early the next morning for class.

We went back to the hotel and went to bed.

Overall it was a great day!!!!




Next up: 1st full day of Class.

 

[paigevz]

Wow, Cy, thanks for the photos...........that's a COOL room!

You ate at two of my favorite places: Cracker Barrel and Earl of Sandwich!

 

[jaycns]

Cy...you really are the man!! WOO HOO for you, you started writing your report. I just got back from our time at WDW (thus me not checking in on the thread sooner). I have only one negative...you are not done writing this report! I was loving the installments and being able to read them in a chunck was great!! Please hurry up and write more!

PS You are a great writer! It's taking me right back to Disney World reading your report!!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us and please do keep it coming!!

 

[cyjmhill]

August 7th

We had another wonderful night of sleep, DW got more then I did as I had to go to “work”. I woke up around 6:45, showered, shaved and ironed my clothes (yes I do iron my own clothes – the Marine Corps taught me how). I left the room around 8:15 AM.


My first full day of class with the Disney Institute started off with a wonderful breakfast. They served us scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, fruit, coffee and juices. Class started about 9:00 AM. We started off by talking about vision. We needed to write what you vision was and share it with a classmate. This went well and helped me focus.

We then went on a field trip to a Disney laundry facility (it is nothing like this). We were able to talk to one of the supervisors there to see how the Disney vision was implemented and how that effected change for the facility. I had never been in a commercial laundry facility before – it was an amazing operation.

When we got back to the Contemporary they had lunch ready for us. I believe we had pasta and chicken for lunch plus a nice selection of deserts. I am also thankful that Disney is a Coke property, as I am a Coke fan (I will not drink Pepsi – sorry to all you Pepsi fans).

During the lunch break I went up to the room to see if DW was there. She wasn’t – she went over to EPCOT and had a great day at the World Show Case. She didn’t ride any rides, just wandered through the showcase.

After lunch the class talked about change and how to implement it. We watched several short videos of Disney top brass and discussed how they created change. We then discussed how to take those same concepts and implement them at our place of business.

The class ended around 4:00 PM. I was very pleased with the first full day of class.

I chit chatted for a little while after class, so I got back to the room around 4:30. DW was in the room waiting for me.

I had made ADR for 5:45 at the Concourse Steakhouse, but DW really didn’t want to go there. She wanted to venture out to the Polly. We got ready and took the monorail to the Polly.

DW and I had never been in the Polly but immediately upon arrival we fell in love with it! The whole tropical setting was magnificent! We stopped by 'Ohana but there was no space available.

So we went over to the Kona Café and there was plenty of room there. We were so happy thet we ate at the Kona – it was the best! DW and I both had the Beef Teriyaki ( a 10-oz sirloin strip, grilled with pineapple teriyaki glaze, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, and stir-fried broccoli florets). It was the best Teriyaki we had ever had. We were so full that we passed on desert (besides I had my mind set on something else).

The then took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We then road the train and got off near Splash Mountain. We really did not have a plan for this visit we were just taking it easy.

We road the Pirates of the Caribbean - the line was not long at all (surprising for August but there was a parade going on).

We then went to the Hall of Presidents which is always great. We had just missed a showing, which was a blessing because the Cast member that was working there was great! He knew so much about American History that us and several others were having a wonderful discussion with him about the Presidents and their wives. The show is always great and makes me so proud that I am an American!

We then walked over and got a Dole Whip Float. I love Dole Whip – I wish I had a machine in my house. Anyway we sat down at a table and there was no one around. We had fun eating our Dole Whip and talking sweat nothings to each other.

We then decided to start to head out to get a seat for Wishes. As we were approaching the castle area there was a wonderful parade going on, so we stopped and enjoyed it.

After the parade we decided to head to the main gate area and find a place to view the fireworks. When we go to the front it was so, so crowed that we decided to head back to the hotel.

We had a wonderful evening together.



Up next – Day 2 at the Disney Institute.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

GREAT TR so far, Cy!

 

[cyjmhill]

Thanks Denise!!!

Jay, glad you made it back! Thanks for your kind words!

I'll try to post another installment this week-end.

 

[Sugardimples]

I'm enjoying your report, but have a questions. You say you rode Indiana Jones? I'm confused!!

 

[cyjmhill]

I'm enjoying your report, but have a questions. You say you rode Indiana Jones? I'm confused!!

Oops, I don't know what I was thinking - it was the Pirates of the Caribbean (I'll edit the post), I don't know what I was thinking.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

This is a great TR!

 

[jaycns]

Another great installment!! Please keep them coming! Thanks for taking the time to share "Disney School" (it needed a nickname...didn't it?) with us!! I am happy that you all got a chance to eat the Kona Cafe...YUM!

 

[cyjmhill]

August 8th

Another wonderful (but not long enough) night of sleep - Thank goodness they have plenty of coffee at the class.

Went to a full day of class. There were no field trips for today. Lots of great lecture and self reflection and several group activities. I want to go on the record and state that the Disney Institute’s Leadership Excellence was the BEST business class I have ever attended! Our instructors (Sara Jones & Mary Flynn ) were very professional and well prepared to teach on the subject. I hope to attend other Disney Institute Classes in the future. They served us another great lunch and class was over around 4:00 PM.

While I was in class DW hung around the Contemporary and studied for an upcoming admittance test. DW stated that the Contemporary was a wonderful place to study.

After class I returned we got ready to go to EPCOT. We rode the monorail from the Contemporary all the way to EPCOT. I was a great ride. Upon entering the park we went to my favorite ride at EPCOT Spaceship Earth. I don’t really know why I love that ride, but I do. I guess I like the peaceful pace, the calming voice of the narrator, the air conditioning, and the classic feel of the ride.

After Spaceship Earth we walked over to the WS. We entered from the Canada side and slowly worked our way to the UK. In the UK we ate at Rose & Crown Dining Room. I had the Bangers and Mash (Traditional English sausage, sautéed cabbage, mashed potatoes, and onion gravy) – I love the name of this dish. DW had the Rose & Crown Steak and Fish (Grilled steak with Horseradish aioli, Harry Ramsden's batter-fried fish, green beans and mashed potatoes). DW ordered the steak medium, but the center came out rare (just like I like it) so we ate about half our own meal and switched. Both meals were outstanding! If you have not eaten here I highly recommend it.

After dinner we wondered over to France and watched the movie. The movie was OK, but this is not why we came to France – we came for DESSERT! We went to Boulangerie Patisserie. The line was long but it was worth the wait! I had the Crème Brûleé and DW had the Napoleon. Again we shared each other. Both look great and tasted the same.

After dessert we headed for the USA Pavilion. Of all the countries in EPCOT I love this one the most! Maybe it is the patriot in me. We were a little early for the movie so we got to wonder through the exhibits – I wish I had spent more time looking at them. The movie was OUTSTANDING! The only negative comment that I have about it is that Disney needs to update the movie to include 9-1-1 and the War on Terror. For those of you who know me – you know I am a Manly Man, but the movie brought a tear to my eye and DW was crying. It is a must see!

Upon exiting the Pavilion IllumiNations was getting ready to start. We were able to find an outstanding spot to view the show (how luck with like only 5 minutes before the show). We were standing next to a young couple who just became engaged – they asked me to take a photo of them and I did. What a nice couple they make.

There is nothing that I can say about IllumiNations other then it is Great! When that ball of fire explodes you want to step back from the heat. DW and I held hands throughout the show (and smooched a few times too). It was defiantly a romantic show.

After the show we high-tailed it over to Soarin. The line was about an 60 minutes long, but DW had never ridden it before (I had at DW last Oct) and it was well worth the wait. DW loved the ride! She thought it was the best in all of WDW (and from reading the DIS she is not alone).

After Soarin we headed back to the room.

Another wonderful night with DW!


Up next…Tour under the Magic Kingdom and Hoop-Dee-Do

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

I'm loving this TR! Can you tell more about your class? Like what some of the activities were. Hope to read more soon.

 

[jaycns]

Another great installment! Did you guys get a chance to swim or soak in the hot tub while at the CR? Keep your TR coming!!

 

[jaycns]

*tap...tap...tap* Still hoping for another edition!!

 

[novdisneydreams]

Great Report! I must say - it is so fun to read about a "Manly Man" who, after 18 years of marriage, is scouting out all of the romantic spots at WDW to steal a few smooches with his DW

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

When is the next installment?

 

[cyjmhill]

When is the next installment?

Tough crowd....I wil work on it and have it posted by Friday.

 

[VanniGirl]

Looking forward to the rest.