Our Trip to Disney World
December 9-14, 2001
Two people, Wendy and David, both 33.
I, Wendy, had finished chemotherapy for a brain tumor just two months prior to our trip.
To see pictures go to: http://www.sameasiteverwas.net/albums/photos.php
Day 3 Tuesday, December 11
I awoke with a headache and a tummy ache. Ugh. Not a fun way to begin the day. I managed to eat a bit of breakfast, but we were a bit late getting out to Epcot, our destination for today. Since Future World didnt open until 10:00, and the World Showcase didnt open until noon, it was okay. We planned on leaving the park around 2:00 then coming back later to see Illuminations and whatever we missed earlier in the day.
Upon entering the park, we tried to look for Davids sister and her fiancés Leave a Legacy image. We couldnt find them at first, but after figuring out the complicated numbering schema, we found them later. David thought the Leave a Legacy sculpture was interesting, I just thought it looked like overgrown headstones (which I think, given that there are many, many, many pictures of etched heads carved on them, is quite appropriate since many, if not all, of these people will be dead before the sculpture is removed.) Hitting Innoventions West first, we werent all that impressed. We first played an interactive video game (sponsored by IBM, where David works), and then listened to The Home TV/Stereo Experience of the Future which was just a HDTV, a DVD and some kick-*** speakers, but we had to listen to this guy tell us about The Home TV/Stereo Experience of the Past which, quite frankly, was a bit boring and really didnt do much for that headache of mine. We did get to see a prototype of some digital paper, and that was pretty cool, but it seemed like each station was pushing their product and their brand name too far. It was like that throughout Epcot, but at least not too many places had advertisements at every corner. It seemed like most of the attractions had branding at the entrances to the buildings, and then at the very end of some rides. Innoventions was pretty out of control in that respect. We did pop our heads into Innoventions East, where there was an MRI machine, and details of what it could do. We popped our heads out of there pretty quickly, since we know all about MRIs from personal experience.
After escaping from Innoventions, we headed over to The Universe of Energy and Ellens Energy Adventure which I absolutely loved. We passed on Test Track, had a frustrating time finding some vegetarian, non-dairy lunch (we had a guide book which directed us to the Electric Umbrella for veggie-wraps, but they didnt appear on the menu.) Since it was after 12:00, we headed over to Mexico for a cheese-less, meat-less bean burrito. It was acceptable, though not spectacular by any means. Inside the Aztec temple in Mexico was pretty neat, but we skipped the ride El Rio del Tiempo. We went next-door to Norway (only possible in Epcot!), checked out Stave Church, and rode Maelstrom. Both of us thought it was a pretty good ride, (but short) mostly because we didnt know what to expect. Going backwards in the boat was a real surprise! Deciding that China was going to be our last stop, we looked around, but didnt go to the 360° film. David wanted to see it, but I tend to get a bit sick from those things and since I wasnt feeling that well to begin with, he capitulated, and I really appreciated it.
China didnt turn out to be our last stop after all. We went into Ice Station Cool, sampled some Coca Cola products from around the world I quite liked Italys bitter drink and we both felt revived. We hiked on over to Imagination! To see Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which was cute, but in a good way. The fountains in Epcot are something to be seen and there are many of them. Its pretty difficult to describe them, but the water seems to be jumping from place to place in synchronicity. In The Land, the line for Living with the Land was 30 minutes long! The longest line yet wed seen for a ride. We grabbed FastPasses and went next door to The Living Seas. I wasnt overly impressed with The Living Seas, probably because Ive been to Sea World in San Diego many times. There were some pretty cool and beautiful fish in there, though. Id been on the Living with the Land boat ride before, but it was a very different experience this time since Ive actually done some gardening. David, who does most of the gardening, found it fascinating. We traipsed across Future World to the Wonders of Life for the only real fruit smoothie we could find. It was wonderfully yummy. We rode Spaceship Earth, and finally, we headed back to our home away from home. It was later than we had wanted to stay, but we only had eight countries left to conquer for our second round in the evening
After a much needed nap, pseudo-dinner (some sardines and crackers for me, and some leftover pasta for David), and shower we went back to Epcot to work our way around the rest of the World Showcase. Spaceship Earth was all lit up and it was quite a sight. We walked over to Canada where we did watch the 360° film O Canada. I was feeling better, so I agreed to go in. They started the film with two songs by Stan Rodgers so I liked it immediately. There were a few problems, though: The street scenes looked like they had been filmed in the 70s, and there was no mention of the Northern Territories and the people who live there. After the flick, we went to a pub in the UK and David got a Guinness. We then stopped at a fish n chip shop, and of course, got some fish n chips! Mmmmm We saw a living statue in France, but it was too crowded to do much else. Morocco was very interesting, and very empty. The shop in Japan was amazing, and we bought two pairs of very nice chopsticks. We skipped over USA entirely since the candlelight processional was going on. I know we went to Italy and Germany, but I cant remember much of it because I was pretty damn tired at that point! We found a spot between the Outpost and Germany from which we could watch IllumiNations and planted ourselves there and waited for about a half-hour until the show started. A woman with a boy about 7 years old, came and sat down next to us. The boy evidently had a disability, as he was buckled into a high-backed wheelchair. Shortly after they joined us, the boy had a seizure. His entire body went rigid. Immediately I asked if I could help, and the woman answered, No, hes just having a seizure. As long as he keeps breathing, hell be alright. I mentioned that I had experience with seizures, as I have a brain tumor and Ive had them myself. The boys seizure only lasted about 30 seconds, and then he was very clingy with his mother (or I assumed it was his mother). As she was leaving, she mentioned to me that she was a nurse in a neuro-oncology ward at a hospital in Southern Florida. Needless to say, that incident shook me up a bit. I realized later that I hadnt actually witnessed someone having a seizure. I was watching the fireworks, but I couldnt escape from feeling bad for that boy, and feeling a bit guilty that I had received such good news about my turmor, and, well, I really dont know what I was feeling. I suppose it was a deep sadness. I thought I could escape from my brain tumor for a few days. Anyway, after Illuminations, we followed the crowd out of the park.
Day 4 Wednesday, December 12
We had heard that the animals were most active in the morning at Disneys Animal Kingdom, so we got out of bed, ate breakfast and got there just after the park opened. We both thought that this park had the best theming of the Disney parks, and the best spots for taking a break and just sitting (and eating!). We went on Kilimanjaro Safari first. It looked like everyone had the same idea that we did, as it seemed everyone was headed towards Africa. Africa really looked like what we imagined a village in Africa to look like. We only waited about 5 minutes to board the Safari. We saw many animals on the ride, but the storyline was a bit too corny for us. However, we really liked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, especially the Gorillas. Skipping Rafikis Planet Watch we traveled to Asia. I was very disappointed that there wasnt a Flights of Wonder show on that day. We took the Maharajah Jungle Trek, and were just amazed. The tigers were truly awesome. They looked just like big cuddly housecats until they yawned and you saw their immense teeth.
Its Tough to be a Bug was not as impressive as the first two 3D movies we saw (ExtraTERRORestial, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience), but perhaps it was just because it was very similar to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. We went to the DINOSAUR ride, and I didnt like it at all. Way too much jerking, and I think we spun around a bit I dont really remember much of it, other than that I felt ill afterwards. We walked around DinoLand USA, and didnt want to pay for the midway games, nor did we want to ride The TriceraTop Spin it looked to much like Dumbo. But I did get to have my picture taken with both Mickey Mouse and with Pluto! Yay!! I remember Mickey being much taller, though
2:00 and time for the raved about Festival of the Lion King. It was a must see show, but I didnt think it was all that great. I guess maybe it had been hyped up too much, but both David and I were disappointed. Oh well. Back to Asia for the Kali River Rapids. Again, no line, and we got right on a raft. We got soaked!! And, the whole raft stayed on and we did it again! David wanted me to take a picture of him on the raft, so he went on it and I got some great shots, both on the raft, and afterwards when he had to wring his shirt out. What would a trip to the Animal Kingdom be if we didnt ride the Safari again? So we rode it again (didnt see as many animals this time) and caught Mickeys Jammin Jungle Parade as it was coming back through Asia. Heading out of the Park, we walked around along the trails on Discovery Island, saw some magnificent birds, and marveled at the Tree of Life.
Dinner at the California Grill was very good, but again, not quite what I had expected. The service was great, and so was the view. I ordered the sushi, which was good, but not as good as I had hoped it would be. I can get better sushi where we live. I think David enjoyed his meal (seared raw tuna) better than I did. We were going to take the monorail to the Polynesian and/or the Grand Floridian, but I (we?) just didnt have the energy.
December 9-14, 2001
Two people, Wendy and David, both 33.
I, Wendy, had finished chemotherapy for a brain tumor just two months prior to our trip.
To see pictures go to: http://www.sameasiteverwas.net/albums/photos.php
Day 3 Tuesday, December 11
I awoke with a headache and a tummy ache. Ugh. Not a fun way to begin the day. I managed to eat a bit of breakfast, but we were a bit late getting out to Epcot, our destination for today. Since Future World didnt open until 10:00, and the World Showcase didnt open until noon, it was okay. We planned on leaving the park around 2:00 then coming back later to see Illuminations and whatever we missed earlier in the day.
Upon entering the park, we tried to look for Davids sister and her fiancés Leave a Legacy image. We couldnt find them at first, but after figuring out the complicated numbering schema, we found them later. David thought the Leave a Legacy sculpture was interesting, I just thought it looked like overgrown headstones (which I think, given that there are many, many, many pictures of etched heads carved on them, is quite appropriate since many, if not all, of these people will be dead before the sculpture is removed.) Hitting Innoventions West first, we werent all that impressed. We first played an interactive video game (sponsored by IBM, where David works), and then listened to The Home TV/Stereo Experience of the Future which was just a HDTV, a DVD and some kick-*** speakers, but we had to listen to this guy tell us about The Home TV/Stereo Experience of the Past which, quite frankly, was a bit boring and really didnt do much for that headache of mine. We did get to see a prototype of some digital paper, and that was pretty cool, but it seemed like each station was pushing their product and their brand name too far. It was like that throughout Epcot, but at least not too many places had advertisements at every corner. It seemed like most of the attractions had branding at the entrances to the buildings, and then at the very end of some rides. Innoventions was pretty out of control in that respect. We did pop our heads into Innoventions East, where there was an MRI machine, and details of what it could do. We popped our heads out of there pretty quickly, since we know all about MRIs from personal experience.
After escaping from Innoventions, we headed over to The Universe of Energy and Ellens Energy Adventure which I absolutely loved. We passed on Test Track, had a frustrating time finding some vegetarian, non-dairy lunch (we had a guide book which directed us to the Electric Umbrella for veggie-wraps, but they didnt appear on the menu.) Since it was after 12:00, we headed over to Mexico for a cheese-less, meat-less bean burrito. It was acceptable, though not spectacular by any means. Inside the Aztec temple in Mexico was pretty neat, but we skipped the ride El Rio del Tiempo. We went next-door to Norway (only possible in Epcot!), checked out Stave Church, and rode Maelstrom. Both of us thought it was a pretty good ride, (but short) mostly because we didnt know what to expect. Going backwards in the boat was a real surprise! Deciding that China was going to be our last stop, we looked around, but didnt go to the 360° film. David wanted to see it, but I tend to get a bit sick from those things and since I wasnt feeling that well to begin with, he capitulated, and I really appreciated it.
China didnt turn out to be our last stop after all. We went into Ice Station Cool, sampled some Coca Cola products from around the world I quite liked Italys bitter drink and we both felt revived. We hiked on over to Imagination! To see Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which was cute, but in a good way. The fountains in Epcot are something to be seen and there are many of them. Its pretty difficult to describe them, but the water seems to be jumping from place to place in synchronicity. In The Land, the line for Living with the Land was 30 minutes long! The longest line yet wed seen for a ride. We grabbed FastPasses and went next door to The Living Seas. I wasnt overly impressed with The Living Seas, probably because Ive been to Sea World in San Diego many times. There were some pretty cool and beautiful fish in there, though. Id been on the Living with the Land boat ride before, but it was a very different experience this time since Ive actually done some gardening. David, who does most of the gardening, found it fascinating. We traipsed across Future World to the Wonders of Life for the only real fruit smoothie we could find. It was wonderfully yummy. We rode Spaceship Earth, and finally, we headed back to our home away from home. It was later than we had wanted to stay, but we only had eight countries left to conquer for our second round in the evening
After a much needed nap, pseudo-dinner (some sardines and crackers for me, and some leftover pasta for David), and shower we went back to Epcot to work our way around the rest of the World Showcase. Spaceship Earth was all lit up and it was quite a sight. We walked over to Canada where we did watch the 360° film O Canada. I was feeling better, so I agreed to go in. They started the film with two songs by Stan Rodgers so I liked it immediately. There were a few problems, though: The street scenes looked like they had been filmed in the 70s, and there was no mention of the Northern Territories and the people who live there. After the flick, we went to a pub in the UK and David got a Guinness. We then stopped at a fish n chip shop, and of course, got some fish n chips! Mmmmm We saw a living statue in France, but it was too crowded to do much else. Morocco was very interesting, and very empty. The shop in Japan was amazing, and we bought two pairs of very nice chopsticks. We skipped over USA entirely since the candlelight processional was going on. I know we went to Italy and Germany, but I cant remember much of it because I was pretty damn tired at that point! We found a spot between the Outpost and Germany from which we could watch IllumiNations and planted ourselves there and waited for about a half-hour until the show started. A woman with a boy about 7 years old, came and sat down next to us. The boy evidently had a disability, as he was buckled into a high-backed wheelchair. Shortly after they joined us, the boy had a seizure. His entire body went rigid. Immediately I asked if I could help, and the woman answered, No, hes just having a seizure. As long as he keeps breathing, hell be alright. I mentioned that I had experience with seizures, as I have a brain tumor and Ive had them myself. The boys seizure only lasted about 30 seconds, and then he was very clingy with his mother (or I assumed it was his mother). As she was leaving, she mentioned to me that she was a nurse in a neuro-oncology ward at a hospital in Southern Florida. Needless to say, that incident shook me up a bit. I realized later that I hadnt actually witnessed someone having a seizure. I was watching the fireworks, but I couldnt escape from feeling bad for that boy, and feeling a bit guilty that I had received such good news about my turmor, and, well, I really dont know what I was feeling. I suppose it was a deep sadness. I thought I could escape from my brain tumor for a few days. Anyway, after Illuminations, we followed the crowd out of the park.
Day 4 Wednesday, December 12
We had heard that the animals were most active in the morning at Disneys Animal Kingdom, so we got out of bed, ate breakfast and got there just after the park opened. We both thought that this park had the best theming of the Disney parks, and the best spots for taking a break and just sitting (and eating!). We went on Kilimanjaro Safari first. It looked like everyone had the same idea that we did, as it seemed everyone was headed towards Africa. Africa really looked like what we imagined a village in Africa to look like. We only waited about 5 minutes to board the Safari. We saw many animals on the ride, but the storyline was a bit too corny for us. However, we really liked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, especially the Gorillas. Skipping Rafikis Planet Watch we traveled to Asia. I was very disappointed that there wasnt a Flights of Wonder show on that day. We took the Maharajah Jungle Trek, and were just amazed. The tigers were truly awesome. They looked just like big cuddly housecats until they yawned and you saw their immense teeth.
Its Tough to be a Bug was not as impressive as the first two 3D movies we saw (ExtraTERRORestial, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience), but perhaps it was just because it was very similar to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. We went to the DINOSAUR ride, and I didnt like it at all. Way too much jerking, and I think we spun around a bit I dont really remember much of it, other than that I felt ill afterwards. We walked around DinoLand USA, and didnt want to pay for the midway games, nor did we want to ride The TriceraTop Spin it looked to much like Dumbo. But I did get to have my picture taken with both Mickey Mouse and with Pluto! Yay!! I remember Mickey being much taller, though
2:00 and time for the raved about Festival of the Lion King. It was a must see show, but I didnt think it was all that great. I guess maybe it had been hyped up too much, but both David and I were disappointed. Oh well. Back to Asia for the Kali River Rapids. Again, no line, and we got right on a raft. We got soaked!! And, the whole raft stayed on and we did it again! David wanted me to take a picture of him on the raft, so he went on it and I got some great shots, both on the raft, and afterwards when he had to wring his shirt out. What would a trip to the Animal Kingdom be if we didnt ride the Safari again? So we rode it again (didnt see as many animals this time) and caught Mickeys Jammin Jungle Parade as it was coming back through Asia. Heading out of the Park, we walked around along the trails on Discovery Island, saw some magnificent birds, and marveled at the Tree of Life.
Dinner at the California Grill was very good, but again, not quite what I had expected. The service was great, and so was the view. I ordered the sushi, which was good, but not as good as I had hoped it would be. I can get better sushi where we live. I think David enjoyed his meal (seared raw tuna) better than I did. We were going to take the monorail to the Polynesian and/or the Grand Floridian, but I (we?) just didnt have the energy.
