Cast of Characters
Me-obsessive trip report reader, planner, recovering commando; third trip to WDW (74 89)
Grumpy-DH, an affectionate curmugeon who earned the nickname when he bought a Grumpy sweatshirt at DL last year; his first time to WDW
Widget-DD (5), thrill-riding Daddys girl and pressed penny fanatic; first visit to WDW
SIL (Grumpys sister), BIL, Happy (their 9-month old son); Florida residents
Prince, Snow White and Bashful (their 9-yr old son)-our former next-door neighbors and new Florida residents
Pre-Trip
This was our second family vacation to a Disney theme park. Our first was a 5-day trip to Disneyland in April 2003, on our way back to Indonesia, where we have lived for the past two years. We are Americans living abroad and both these visits were at the tail end of our annual home leave. Id been to WDW twice before, in 1974 and 1989, but for all practical purposes, we were novices. We chose to visit in early May, because we live in the tropics, and you wont catch us in the southern USA during the summer!
For Christmas, I ordered half the WDW guide books available from Amazon and read them cover to cover. Id read the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland last year, so I ordered it for WDW, too. I also got Fodors WDW with Kids, The Luxury Guide to WDW and PassPorter. If I had to do it all again, Id stick with just the Unofficial Guide. Then there was MouseSavers, DISboards, MousePlanet, AllEarsNet, DisneyCentral, TheMouseForLess and trip reports out the whazzoo. And if that werent enough pre-trip info, I subscribed to TourGuideMike! Needless to say, I was spending a lot of time squinting at the computer monitor for the first three months of the year. But, boy, was I ready! The only problem was, despite fair warnings from many, Id gone commando.
Since I learned that WDW had been willing to sell rooms at Wilderness Lodge for as low as $109 in the past, I was on a mission to have my room cheap! But alas, I was not traveling in value season, so I watched MouseSavers until discounts were announced for our travel dates, and we booked WL woods view through a Disney specialist travel agent using the Disney Visa cardholders discount. I paid $70 more than $109, including tax. Ouch!
We were flying from Houston to Orlando, so I checked Continental (and Orbitz, and Travelocity, and Expedia, etc., etc.) often for discounted flights. It seemed that every time I checked, fares were going up! I finally bit the bullet and booked three round-trip tickets for $232 each (ow!). We would be staying with family for the first three days in Orlando and they agreed to pick us up at the airport. I booked a return shuttle for the day of departure from WL to the airport with Your Ride.
We were not planning to visit the parks on the day of arrival. Instead we had tentatively planned to spend the afternoon at Fort Wilderness and have dinner at Trails End, or ride both monorail loops and have dinner at one of the resort restaurants, like Ohana, from were we might see Wishes. A few weeks before we left for Disney, Grumpys sister said they would like to accompany us to see Epcots Flower & Garden Show. Snow White and family had recently relocated to Florida and this was a great opportunity for us to meet up, so we invited them to join us for the afternoon at Epcot.
Day 1 Sunday, May 2, 2004 Epcot
The day for which I had been obsessively planning for five months had finally arrived! The plan was for SIL, BIL and tag-a-long Happy to drive Grumpy, Widget & I to WDW. We would check in to WL then meet up with our friends at stroller rental in Epcot at 11 oclock. We wanted to spend the day strolling around World Showcase and see IllumiNations.
The best laid plans of mice and men....we didnt arrived at Wilderness Lodge until noon. It was an impressive hotel, sort of a country cousin to Disneylands Grand Californian, with the soaring lobby and massive log supports. After a brief wait, we were checked in by a very friendly female CM. We politely requested an upgrade to a water-view room, which she kindly accommodated. I mentioned that we would like to act as Flag Family one morning during our stay. Sadly, both the CM and I forgot about this during check-in and we missed our chance. By the time we were able to get back to the desk later that evening and ask, all mornings during our stay were already taken. Our room wasnt ready, but we gladly entrusted our stuff with the bellmen and headed for the bus to Epcot.
We had one more bit of housekeeping to take care of before we could tour the world. Our registration packet containing our 5-day Park Hopper Passes had been misdirected in the mail, so we visited a very sweet CM (from Iowa) at the guest services window to get the passes reissued, and to buy a single-day park pass for our visit to Epcot that day (the plan to visit Epcot was made after the trip was booked and passes purchased). It took a while and by the time we got inside to stroller rental it was 12:45 p.m.
I wanted to stop and smell the roses of the Flower and Garden Show, and all the pretty character topiaries, but I only got a peek as we rushed to meet up with our friends, Snow White, her Prince and their son, Bashful. We found them waiting patiently and we spent a few minutes introducing everyone and catching up a bit. Our friends used to be our next door neighbors and we hadnt seen each other in over two years. After a stroller rental and a purchase of mouse ears to keep Bashfuls recently buzzed head from getting too much sun, we were off.
Wow, Epcot is huge! Spaceship Earth loomed in front of us. Bashful and Widget were dying to ride something, but our plan was to do World Showcase and possibly Mission Space and Test Track at the end. It must have been the lack of food, because my brain cramped and told me Spaceship Earth was Mission Space and I told Grumpy, Yeah, this is the one. Take them on this one. So off they went, all the guys and Widget, leaving all the moms to gab and feed the Happy baby.
By the time the gang got back from Spaceship Earth, we were starving. It was almost 2 oclock and we hadnt even laid eyes on the bridges to cross over to Showcase Plaza. We meandered (the only pace possible with a group of nine) past Spaceship Earth and found ourselves facing Electric Umbrella...great, lunch!
After we were fortified with roast beef sandwiches and the requisite chicken nuggets (which we managed to avoid the rest of the week, yeah!), we moseyed over the Showcase Plaza bridge. After taking some photos in front of the Lion King topiaries, we hung a left and entered Mexico. Everyone except BIL, SIL, Happy & I rode El Rio del Tiempo. Why didnt I ride? I have no idea...another brain cramp! We did Oooh! and Aaaah! at the cascading display of orchids in the exit pathway for the ride. They were a stunning profusion of fuchsia blooms.
The kids each picked up a Kidcot mark in Mexico and their first die-cut shape was attached. BIL and SIL decided to continue on their own because they were most interested in the Flower and Garden Show (SIL is a landscape designer) and were trying to see as much as they could as long as Happy stayed that way. So we said our fond good-byes and parted ways in Norway. I knew before-hand that Restaurant Askershus was closed after breakfast for refurbishment, but I was disappointed Kringla Bakeri was also closed. Well, maybe a yummy in France instead. Snow White and I sat on a shaded bench, chatting away, getting caught up and people-watched while dads and kids rode Maelstrom.
As we watched Reflections of China, the images took me back 25 years, to my first visit to China during my junior year in high school (OK, so now you know Im over 40!). The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the arts, the crafts, the rivers and the people. There was a lovely, young Chinese woman playing an unfamiliar string instrument to entertain us beforehand. She did a great job, even playing American tunes that brought smiles to many faces. Maybe this was Si Xian listed on the guide? After the show, we caught the very end of the Dragon Legend Acrobats.
Snow White, her Prince and Bashful felt at home in Germany, since theyd been living there for the past 2½ years (the real one, in Europe, not in Epcot!). Widget and Bashful are home schooled, and we chose World Showcase as our park of choice that day because it would be the most relaxing for the adults to visit and educational for the children. It was definitely turning out that way. We enjoyed a hot, fresh pretzel in Germany and listened to our friends chat up the CMs in fluent German. The kids collected another piece to hang from their Kidcot masks.
In Italy, we came upon Imaginum, the statue act. A circle of guests were taking turns approaching the statue for pictures while onlookers got to enjoy an unexpected act from the statue. We sent the kids up to have their picture taken, and, quick as a wink, the statue deftly grabbed Bashfuls Mickey ears and plunked them on Widgets head. Bashful threw an indignant, mistrustful look at the statue, who was all innocence. We bid Arrivederci to Italy and continued our afternoon stroll to the U.S.A.
We sat under the shady tree next to the fountain in front of The American Adventure building waiting for the next show to start. Snow White received a cell phone call, and I gave Bashful a Mickey-shaped American flag pin. We enjoyed the show and I was proud when my daughter turned to me and said, I liked that show, Mom! I kind of wonder how much Americana she knew, only being in kindergarten and having lived half her life out of the US. You can take the girl out of America, but you cant take America out of the girl.
Once we arrived in Japan, we heard the drums of Matsuriza, so the gang rushed over to catch the performance. One the way, I spied the Kaki Gori cart out of the corner of my eye, so I made a beeline to get one of these babies to taste what all the fuss was about. Mmmmm....a rainbow of honeydew, tangerine and strawberry on finely shaved ice. Now, I get it!
By this time it was about 6 oclock in the evening, and wed only made it about two-thirds around the world. We realized we would not have time to finish the world and ride Mission Space and Test Track before 8 oclock when our friends had to leave. We let the children decide if they wanted to see the remaining four countries or ride rides. Being normal, red-blooded American children, they of course said, Ride rides! We hoped aboard the launch in Morocco and headed back to Test Track.
Snow White and I found a shady place facing the Test Track entrance to sit and visit while dads and kids went on the ride. It seemed like they were gone a really long time and inclement weather had developed. It looked like a major thunderstorm was fixin to dump on us. When the dads and progeny finally returned, they said there was an announcement in Test Track that inclement weather was approaching and the park would be closing. It did look like a serious storm was approaching and, being the novices we were, we fell for it. We decided to call it a day, knowing we would be back later in the week and have our chance to see IllumiNations then. (We later figured out that only Test Track was closing, and not the whole park).
When we got to the Leave a Legacy area, we turned around to face Spaceship Earth and get a few photos of the topiaries. We were greeted with the most amazing purple and amber sky, where the approaching storm met the sunset sky. Our friend grabbed my camera and snapped an awesome picture, capturing the Mickey and Minnie topiaries, the sky and the earth all in the fading light. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day.
We bid our friends goodbye at the bottom of the monorail station. We hopped the monorail to the TTA, where we caught a bus back to WL. We received our room assignment, number 4037, and we were given a marked map to find our room and directed to the lobby lifts. First, we checked in with Whispering Canyon put our request in for a table. We were told it would be 45 minutes, so we headed up to find our room. Once we got to the fourth floor, we walked for days searching for the room. It seemed like we walked as far as the Contemporary before we finally found it! It was actually in the other wing, over Roaring Forks, so for the rest of the week, we used the other lift, which was nearer to the room. The restaurant pager twinkled at us as we were making our way back to the restaurant, so we got a move on.
We were seated in the library section of the restaurant, which is much quieter than the main dining room. It was a perfect way for us to ease into the commotion for which Whispering Canyon is famous. Hop-a-long Higgins was our server. He was attentive and funny. When one of the guests at the table next to us asked for more water, Hop-a-long retorted, No! Then he delivered an ice bucket filled with ice water and a straw! He treated us gently and we enjoyed the bbq. We asked for seconds on some items and it seemed like more was served for seconds than for firsts. We had the bbq pulled pork for dessert. We later learned that wed been privileged to have been served by the infamous Hop-a-long, because.....he usually works breakfast.
Once back in the room, we called the bellmen for our suitcases. We made ourselves at home and turned in for the night. Tomorrow, EMH at Animal Kingdom!
P.S. The thunderstorm did eventually dump buckets of rain, but not until much later in the night, and then it seemed like it would never end.
Day 2 Monday, May 3, 2004 Animal Kingdom
We got a call from Mickey at 7:02 a.m. telling us to be up and at em and that he would see us in the park. It was still drizzling, so we packed our ponchos and clad our feet in Tevas. We caught the bus to Animal Kingdom and arrived about 8:30 a.m. NaHTaZu!
The plan was to go straight to Kilimanjaro Safari, but that was also the plan of every other resort guest whod entered before, with and after us. With one park under my belt, and my hour of pouring over notes and maps last night, Ive got my commando groove back. I suggest to Grumpy that he get Fastpasses for KS, while Widget and I duck into Kusafiri Bakery for coffee and some quick breakfast. I know, I know, no commando worth their salt spends valuable park time eating breakfast! It was the beginning of the end of my commando-ness.
While we were munching on our muffins and fruit, and enjoying the delicious Nestle coffee-like brew (not!), a boy sitting at our table was complaining about the weather and worrying that it would dampen his day. I piped up and told him the animals were more likely to be active and visible in this rain because it would cool things off for them. He seemed placated with my sage words of wisdom.
While we waited for our Safari FASTPASS window, we walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. In retrospect, I wished wed stopped longer at some of the habitats and just sat and watched the animals for a while. The CMs probably get to see some very interesting animal behavior during the day because they are able to hang about. We moseyed to Kiliminjaro Safari and really enjoy the ride. We saw zebra, giraffe; water buffalo, hippo, lions, deer, alligators, flamingo, ostrich, cheetah, wildebeest and more. The bridge was cool.
We left Africa and journeyed on foot to Asia, stopping on the way to bang the heck out of the drums and take some photos of the Tree of Life. Grumpy and Widget rode Kali River Rapids, twice! Although they were wearing ponchos, they got a little wet the first time, but drenched the second time! I change Widget into some dry clothes (Mommy of the Month Award...thank you, thank you very much!). It was pretty amusing to watch people try to dry themselves off under the hand dryers in the ladies restroom. We headed out in search of food and decided on Flame Tree BBQ. We had the yummy smoked chicken half, which comes with baked beans and corn on the cob, a bbq sandwich and a basket of unseasoned fries, and frozen lemonade. Widget doesnt care for most items on a kids menu, so we usually build her a meal from our choices and fill it out with sides. She had chicken, corn and fries, and the lemonade for dessert (she called it sorbet).
After lunch, we bypassed Dinoland, because Dinosaur was closed for refurbishment and Widget is not tall enough for Primeval Whirl. We figured she could ride TriceraTop Spin in Magic Kingdom tomorrow (its called Dumbo there). We walk off our lunch on the Maharaja Jungle Trek, then saw Flights of Wonder (this was my favorite of the whole park), Festival of the Lion King and Its Tough to be a Bug (Hopper still scares the snot out of Widget).
We went back to Kilimanjaro Safari for one last ride. One the way back to the unloading area, there were no guests waiting, so we were offered a VIP tour! We didnt hear of any trouble about Big and Little Red on that trip. The CM who took us on this tour was very personable and I feel like a heel that I dont remember his name. So if youre in AK on a rainy spring afternoon just before closing, ride KS and you may luck upon a fun CM wholl take you for a different kind of ride!
It was a great day in AK, despite (or maybe because of) the all-day on-again off-again rain. The park was never too crowded and we saw and did everything Id laid out on my commando plan. My only regret was not seeing Devinemaybe shes off on rainy days.
We headed out to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our 5 oclock Priority Seating at Boma. We had very high expectations for Boma from all the reviews and trip reports Id read. We thought the food was good, but not exceptional. The Zebra Domes were as good as reputed and I was pleased to see that they were small, because there wasnt much room for dessert after all that buffet. I didnt make notes about what we ate and nothing was so memorable that it stands out for me. Im sure Ill be labeled a Boma heretic, but there you go.
After dinner, we walked around the lobby of the AKL and tried to find a verandah from which to see animals. We went out one of the glass doors from the bar and I thought the view was uninspiring. No animals, bare ground, fencing...it looked to me like we had stumbled onto the service entrance to the hotel. Had I been staying there and this has been my view, I would have been extremely disappointed. Ill concede that I did not see all the views AKL had to offer and Im sure there are better.
We took the bus to Magic Kingdom and the launch to hotel. We waited, and waited, and waited for the Electric Water Pageant. I finally gave up at 10 oclock, but it did eventually pass, but we couldnt see it from our room because of the tall pine trees blocking the view of the lake. We were able to see it another night from the dock.
Day 3 Tuesday, May 4, 2004 Magic Kingdom
Before Mickey could give us a wake-up call, Grumpy, who is an early riser, went down to Roaring Forks and purchased a refillable mug. He had a cuppa while downstairs then brought up a hot cup of coffee and a sticky bun for me, earning himself the Darling Husband of the Year Award.
The first launch to arrive was headed to the Contemporary. We were too impatient to wait for the MK launch, so we took this launch then the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived a few minutes before the 9 oclock opening ceremony. We were standing before the turnstiles, but had a nice view of Mickey and the gang arriving on the train to welcome us to the Magic Kingdom.
Once the rope was dropped, we sauntered smartly up Main Street headed to Fantasyland. We were diverted around the castle, where we promptly rode Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, Mad Tea Party, and somewhere along the way we snagged FASTPASS for Mickeys PhilharMagic. On the way to PhilharMagic, we watched the Sword in the Stone ceremony (pleeeeeease, Merlin, pick my daughter! oh well, maybe next time). Widget said she really liked that and wanted to see it again. Mickeys PhilharMagic was very entertaining and Widget asked to see that again, too.
Much to my dismay, she has outgrown character greetings, autographs and the Carrousel at the jaded age of 5¾, and try as I might, I could not interest her in Storytime with Belle, Ariels Grotto or Cinderellas Surprise Celebration. Since Its a Small World & Snow White were closed for refurbishment, we were done with Fantasyland.
At Mickeys Toontown Fair, Grumpy and Widget had just sat in the second to last seat on Goofys Barnstormer, when who should come loping along but the Goofster himself and Max! They plunked themselves down in the last seat of the coaster behind Grumpy and Widget and away they went! Afterwards, we walked through Mickey & Minnies houses. I loved the double entendre flowers hanging in Minnies greenhousebuttercups with pats of butter, and daisies with Daisys head in the center...too clever. We took our time strolling through Cornelius Coots County Bounty where Grumpy crammed an unbelievable number of Mr. Potato Head parts in the box. We do like to get our moneys worth!
A friendly CM approached Widget and offered to pin trade. It took me by surprise and not wanting to be rude, I said yes, but we didnt realize until it was too late that we really didnt want trade any of our pins. We traded a Limited Edition Mickey Easter 2004 for a double princess we already had at home. Before we left the store, someone had already traded with the CM and taken the Easter pin! We consoled ourselves by purchasing two pins, one with Widgets name and a WDW 2004 pin. We sent the Potato Head parts to the room using package delivery (is this an awesome service or what?).
It was lunchtime and the fixins bar at Pecos Bill was calling out to us. We crossed under the Columbia Harbor House porte cochere (first mistake, shoulda eaten here) and started to make our way to Frontierland. Once wed passed the Liberty tree, bam! Frontierland mob scene! Where did all these people come from! It was almost impossible to wade through the mass of humanity which stretched as far as the eye could see to Splash Mountain. Our mood dropped precipitously with each step. All of a sudden the sun was hotter, we were hungrier and a little of the magic was fading.
We finally reached Pecos Bill, and bam! The queues were halfway to the door at all registers and all tables taken in the dining area. We pressed on: I stood in line to order and Grumpy hunted for a table. We enjoyed the burgers and the chicken salad was very yummy. A young girl spilled her top-heavy beverage on the way to her table near us and a very annoying group of teenaged boys sitting near us were laughing so loud it hurt my ears. We were anxious to be off.
The plan was to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and see the Country Bear Jamboree. You can imagine the queue to stand-by for SM and BTMR, so we grabbed a BTMR Fastpass and sat under the railroad bridge to regroup. All my carefully laid plans were unraveling and I was not thinking very well on my feet. The best thing would have been to leave the park for the refreshing resort pool, but I was still afflicted with too much commando-itis. In the end, we decided to backtrack to Liberty Square and try to do Haunted Mansion, Goofys Jamboree or Hall of the Presidents. Show times for the latter two were too far off and stand-by for HM was 30 minutes, so we decided to go for it.
The line was in constant motion and the waiting passed quickly. Widget was a trooper, not complaining too much about all the walking and the fact that she had not been on a single ride in nearly two hours. Once we passed the elevator, the bottleneck to squeeze everyone into the single-file doom buggy queue was almost unbearable and the A/C seemed not to be able to keep up with all the body heat. I found my self squished up against the right-hand side, shuffling in the pitch dark and sweating buckets. Finally, we were in the single-file queue with doom buggies in sight and we enjoyed the ride.
After HM, we watched the Hall of Presidents then trekked back to Frontierland for BTMR. I waited while Grumpy and Widget rode. Why is it that the best shady spots in WDW are reserved for smokers? We cut through the shortcut next to the Shootin Arcade to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. As you may have figured out, Im a total ride weenieI dont do thrill rides. I can barely handle the tea cups. On our trip to Disneyland last year, I rode Pirates. Ah, a nice, calm boat ride in the dark. Kinda like Storybook Canal but with more debauchery, I told myself then. I was totally unprepared for the plunge in the pitch blacknessno trip report or guide book Id ever read even mentioned this tiny, but essential detail. Last year, I thought I was going to die for what seemed like 10 minutes of sheer terror! Agony! Well, this time, I was ready for it. Still didnt like it, but now I realize the drop is only lasts about 2 seconds! I counted.
After PoTC, we started to make our way out of Adventureland, stopping at Plaza del Sol Caribe Pirates Bazaar for hat for me then Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip. The wait for the Jungle Cruise was too long and we were too tired to stick around for the Fastpass return time. We decided to save it for our second MK day, along with Splash Mountain and Tomorrowland. We headed for Main Street, grabbing a grand slam and brownie at Caseys Corner on the way out, while Grumpy drooled over the way-cool golf gear next door.
We spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool at Wilderness Lodge. Widget absolutely loved the pool slide! Why is it that children will whine and moan that they havent the energy to walk another single, solitary step in the park, but once they get to the hotel pool, they have the energy to climb up to the top of the pool slide 50 million times? I floated across from the slide exit just to see the look on her face when she got to the end of the slideshe was so happy!
We returned to MK at 7 oclock because this was the only night we would be able to see SpectroMagic. We tried to get into The Plaza (oops! forgot it was table service and didnt get a PS), so we ended up at the Plaza Pavilion in Tomorrowland. Grumpy had the Italian sandwich which he liked, Widget had the kids pizza and I had the blah chicken strips (should have gone to Columbia Harbor House...again). I have concluded that MK was busy today because of SpectroMagic and because of the rain the day before; those whod planned to visit MK yesterday were dissuaded by the rain, so they showed up today instead.
We made our way back to Adventureland and stood in line for Magic Carpets of Aladdin, but it was moving too slowly and we need to get to stake out a place to watch SpectroMagic. We used the shortcut back to Frontierland and realized we were way too late to get a good place, so we decided to sit in the rocking chairs on the porch of Prairie Outpost & Supply. It wasnt the best view but my knees and feet appreciated the break. The crowd was two deep when we arrived and by parade time it had grown to four deep. Grumpy put Widget on his shoulders and we enjoyed the parade.
Because we were near the end of the parade route, there wasnt that much time to get to our planned place to see Wishes. We cut back through Adventureland and headed across the front of the castle to get to the rose garden between the Tomorrowland and Fantasyland bridges. Now, I can just hear the WDW veterans: What were you thinking? Didnt you say youd read four tour guides, 253 trip report AND subscribed to Tour Guide Mike! And you still tried to walk in front of the castle before Wishes? Are you insane?! The only saving grace is that Grumpy had not read any of the advice and didnt realize that we should have gone through Fantasyland. He just gamely kept parting the crowds like Moses to get us to the appointed spot and never said a word, earning his second Darling Husband of the Year Award.
There were no fireworks or Fantasmic at Disneyland when we visited in early April last year, so we were really looking forward to Wishes, and all the other WDW nighttime extravaganzas. Wishes was everything wed heard it would be: dazzling, big, bold, awe-inspiring...the show so big, only the sky could hold it! (Steven Davison, Wishes creator). The castle kiss added magic to the show and the music was beautiful. I didnt want the day to end. Wonder if they would put us up in the castle for just this one night?
Id read Wishes was designed to bring everyone together at the end of the day, a kind of goodnight kiss from the Magic Kingdom. Davison said, We all join together as family and friends and really experience something magical. In the end, we as an audience are asked to make a wish together and experience the power that comes from uniting as a worldwide family. Alas, the magic was broken by the crushing, mass exodus, heal-crunching stroller hell and subsequent long wait for the launch back to WL. But I still loved the show.
Day 4 - Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Disney MGM Studios
Our plan was to get to MGM by opening, have fun, skip lunch, have an early dinner at Hollywood & Vine and stay through Fantasmic! It was getting harder to wake Widget every morning. Id put the phone up to her ear when Mickey called, but she slumbered on. We were able to get to MGM by 10 oclock and got a quick bite to eat at ABC Commissary.
On the way to Star Tours, we met up with Sully from Monsters, Inc. and Widget agreed to have her picture taken with him. She and Grumpy went on Star Tours using the Fastpasses that Grumpy had run ahead for while she and I were having breakfast. Next we did Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Muppet*Vision 3D, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Great Movie Ride and One Mans Dream. Sometime in there, Widget and I enjoyed a couple of Mickey bars while Grumpy ran down Sunset Boulevard to get ToT and RnR Fastpasses.
By this time it was 3 oclock and we were feeling a bit peckish, but we had a 4:20 p.m. PS for dinner at Hollywood & Vine, so we settled on sharing a turkey leg from Toluca Legs Turkey Co at Sunset Ranch. Widget and I munched on the leg while waiting for Grumpy to ride Rock n Roller Coaster. Widget was disappointed (she lacked one inch to meet the height requirement) but Grumpy said it would have probably been too much jerking motion for her anyway.
Next was Tower of Terror, for which Widget did meet the height requirement. She had been going back and forth about whether to ride it or not all day. I wanted her to be prepared and make an informed choice on whether to ride or not, so I explained the falling in the dark and the accompanying guest screaming. I knew she could probably handle the ride itself because she had done all the thrill rides at DL last year and loved them all, but I thought the screaming might do her in. I will never ride Tower of Terror (ride weenie, remember?) because I think it is nightmarish to freefall in an elevator.
So off go my husband and my precious, innocent only child to ride the nightmare, while I nervously wait in the shade (with the smokers), thinking to myself, What kind of mother lets her baby ride a falling elevator? In the end, it was too much terror (or screaming) for Widget. Grumpy said after the first fall, she timidly asked, Daddy, is it over yet? Bad mommy, bad mommy.
One the way to dinner, we popped into Keystone Clothier where Grumpy picked out a nice Mickey and the gang beach print camp shirt. Then it was on to dinner at Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic! dinner package. We really liked this restaurant! We liked it better than Boma at AK Lodge. We thought the selection and quality were greatsirloin steak, salmon, green beans, sweet potatoes, penne pasta, dessert buffet. Everything was hot, tasty and the selection was vast. I appreciate that children are not limited to the kid's selections. The desserts were delicious and so plentiful. And to get reserved Fantasmic seating on top of a great meal was icing on the cake!
After dinner, we caught the last performance of Beauty & the Beast. The shows are my favorite part of visiting WDW and this one was wonderful. It wasnt the extravagant spectacular of DLs Aladdin, but it was very good. On our way to the reserved Fantasmic seating entrance next to Oscars, we shopped in Once Upon A Time gift ship where Widget chose a remote-control Mickey safari jeep and we selected two commemorative Christmas ornaments. We noticed that the crowds had been light all day in MGM, and the shop CM confirmed it had been dead in that park all week.
Fantasmic! was filling up nicely when we arrived and ended up being standing room only by show time. We munched on caramel corn and participated in my first wave(yes, my firstI lead a very sheltered existence, what can I say). And what can I say about Fantasmic!.....fire and water, good and evil, light and dark, Sorcerer and Steamboat, ying and yang...it had it all. Thats some imaginearing, huh?
The Disney marketing sorcerers routed the entire exiting horde down Sunset Boulevard (exiting along both sides of Theatre of the Stars), forcing us to pass all those wonderfully themed shops which are still open for our shopping convenience. I understand why they do it, but my tired feet and I would have preferred to have been allowed the short-cut exit at Oscars!
Day 5 - Thursday, May 6, 2004 Epcot
Our plan for today was to arrive for opening, leave by 5 oclock for the 6 p.m. show of Cirque du Soleils La Nouba in Downtown Disney, grab a bite to eat and get back to Epcot in time for IllumiNations at 9 oclock.
We arrived at Epcot by 9:30 a.m. and had breakfast at Electric Umbrella. Grumpy sprinted to ride Mission Space, and get Fastpasses for Test Track which he and Widget rode after breakfast. Then we went next door to see Ellens Energy Adventure (shes so funny! stupid Judy!). Wonders of Life was closed for refurbishment, so we journeyed west to visit the Living Seas. The Nemo and friends display is very cute but we didnt take a picture and I cant remember why not.
I was surprisingly disappointed with the Living Seas; there just didnt seem to be much going on and I dont remember seeing many animals in the aquarium. We tried to watch the dolphin demonstration, but the CMs microphone kept cutting out and we couldnt hear what he was saying. There wasnt any place to sit and observe the fish, and I just didnt like the place.
Widget was tired of walking, so Grumpy gamely volunteered to walk all the way to stroller rental and bring one back for her. When he returned, we went to the Land where we watched the Circle of Life and toured Living with the Land, keeping an eye out for the Mickey ear cucumbers wed read about. I missed them from my left seat on the boat, but Grumpy said he saw them from the right side. We also saw all kinds of other very interesting horti- and aquaculture.
At 3:30 p.m. we found ourselves at Sunshine Season Food Fair and we selected items from three different counters: bbq sandwich, chicken & ribs, and a childs pasta & marinara (yuk! ask for the meatball sauce instead), cobbler and a cookie. I can see why many people miss this place since it is one level down inside a building way out west; it was nearly deserted when we ate there.
After lunch we watched Honey I Shrunk the Audience then decided we should make our way to Downtown Disney. I couldnt remember exactly how to get there from Epcot, so I asked a CM, who told us to take a bus to the nearest resort and then a resort bus to DTD. We opted for a taxi since we still needed to visit the will-call window and pick up our tickets. The taxi got us there in no time and it was $10 well spent.
This was our second Cirque du Soleil performance to enjoy, having seen Dralion in 2002. La Nouba was exceedingly impressive. Just when you thought they had scaled the heights of spectacular, another act would emerge to delight. It was an extraordinary performance that we will remember for a long time.
We taxied back to Epcot and hurried to Harry Ramsdens Yorkshire County Fish Shop. After a long but bearable wait, we walked away with two orders of fish and chips with an extra piece of fish in each order for the three of us. I was very surprised at the number of people we saw waiting for IllumiNations; most viewing areas were two deep. Why werent all these fine people back at their resorts, glued to their TVs watching the final episode of Friends?
My strategy was to take the food back in the direction of Canada to find a place to watch the show. Although I knew that wasnt the best venue from where to see the show, I thought I had seen a few places when wed walked in. I didnt want to walk too far around the world and have to fight the crowds out. In retrospect, we should have continued walking up toward the USA and beyond until we found a place, then we would have been at the tail of the crowd leaving instead of having the crush of pushy stroller-mamas-from-hell try to run us over on the way out.
We ended up on a bench near the entrance to World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, so we were very comfy while we ate our dinner. I snagged a cinnamon sugar Beaver Tail from a kiosk in Canada and shared it with Widget. Mmmmm, the cinnamon sugar gave me a Churro fix! Once the show started and we realized how bad our view was, we started walking back to Showcase Plaza for the finale while trying to watch the show over our right shouldernot a good plan.
At one point we stood on some steps in Canada but were told by the CM we couldnt stand there. I still dont get why notwhat better place to watch than from an elevated position? There were people on the landing at the top of the stairs and there was a rope cordoning off their access to descending the stairs, but there was no rope across the bottom step. I wonder how many hundreds of people that CM has to shoo away from that position every night?
In the end, we didnt get to see much of the show and we didnt beat the crowds either. Its disappointing that some of the prime viewing area (next to Harry Ramsdens) is cordoned off for groups, even if there isnt one booked. It always surprised me at the end of each night how few buses were waiting for the exiting crowds. I would have thought WDW transportation could coordinate having at least one bus waiting at each park ready to take the first group to each resort, with another bus enroute. But thats me.
Day 6 - Friday, May 7, 2004 Magic Kingdom
The plan for today was to get to MK for opening and spend time in Tomorrowland, ride the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain and see some shows wed missed on Tuesday. We ended up doing the plan, but in reverse order.
We arrived at Magic Kingdom by launch in time to see the opening ceremony. I think that ceremony is a very nice touch to welcome guests to the park for the day. How could you not enjoy every minute of the day with such a special welcome. We stopped for breakfast at Main St Bakery. Is this place wonderful or what? Real coffee, yummy quiche, moist chocolate bundt and a delicious apple turnoverbest breakfast in all of WDW.
Widget was not her normal, amiable self this morning. We realized later that she was probably all parked out. This was our sixth day in a row of late nights, getting her up early and going commando, and it was taking its toll on her. All she wanted to do was go back to the room, watch Disney Channel and play with her new remote-control Mickey safari jeep!
Grumpy had suggested that instead of Tomorrowland and Buzz first, that we go to Splash Mountain, or at least go by and get Fastpasses, then try the Jungle Cruise. Once we were done with that side of the park, he said we could hit Tomorrowland. It sounded good to me. But Widget announced she didnt want to ride Splash (repercussions from ToT?).
We should have taken a moment in the shade of the bridge behind Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe to make a plan. Instead, Grumpy announces that he will run to Frontierland to ride Splash and we should wait here for him. Before you know it, thar he went. Hmmmm....lets see, you ride while we waste valuable park minutes watching the squirrels? But too late, he was gone.
Widget and I heard Cinderellas Surprise Celebration start and were going to go over and watch, but it was cancelled after less than a minute due to technical problem. I realized Grumpy had gone off and left without a walkie-talkie, so even if we had thought of something else to do, we couldnt communicate with him on where to meet us. We were stuck waiting on him and I was not a happy commando.
When he got back, I demanded that he forfeit both his "DH of the Year Awards" then we went to Adventureland to ride Jungle Cruise. We tried to ride Magic Carpets again, but technical problems arose (thwarted again!). While we sat to evaluate the plan, a CM working the Enchanted Tiki Birds came over and greeted us. He recognized the town name on Grumpys t-shirt and said he was from nearby. We discovered that many WDW CMs are college interns who come to WDW and work for a season, before going back to school. Thats why some of them have college and university names on their name badges. The nice young man went back to his duties and we decided to head toward Tommorowland. One the way, we stopped at Island Supply for a hula skirt, lei and hair clip for Widget (package delivery to train station) and another Dole Whip, this time without the juice. We watched Rafiki greet guests while we enjoy the Dole Whip, and I tried to wrestle control of my carefully laid commando plan back from Grumpy.
Grumpy and Widget wanted to ride Buzz, which I hadnt planned on riding. We decided I would stays in castle forecourt to watch Cinderellas Celebration while they headed to Buzz. Everyone had their walkie-talkies now, so we were good to go. While I enjoyed the show, they rode Indy Speedway. We met up in Merchant of Venus, and they rode Buzz while I hunted for Buzz postcards for pixie postcard recipients. Then we rode the Transit Authority together. Grumpy rode Space Mountain (Widget declined, although she rode at DL last yearmore repercussions from ToT probably) while we girls headed to lunch.
We chose Cosmic Rays Starlight Café and I thought it was the best counter service food in the park. We enjoyed a cheese-steak sandwich, a stack sandwich and shared a Caesar salad and a soup. We ate on the verandah facing the castle and enjoyed watching people take castle-backdrop photos. It was 2 oclock and we decided to leave the park and grant Widget her wish to spend the afternoon at the resort pool. One the way out we stopped on Main Street at the Emporium Complex were we picked up a few gifts and souvenirs.
While we were picking up our package from under the train station, I heard the train pull in and had an idea. I suggested we ride train completely around the park. It would return in time for us to watch the Share a Dream Come True parade from train station then we could high-tail it to the launch ahead of the crowd for pool time. Widget protested a bit, but in the end she was a good sport about it.
We made it back to the hotel by 4 oclock and got in some slide time before our 6 oclock PS at Whispering Canyon. Wed toyed with the ideas of returning to Epcot to eat in Japan or Morocco and trying to see IllumiNations again, but we were too tired and wanted to stay close to home. After dinner we browsed in the Wilderness Mercantile and had Widgets caricature drawn by the very talented and friendly CM just outside the shop. Grumpy visited the reception desk and was able to secure an extended check-out for the next day.
Saturday, May 8, 2004 -Going home
The plan was to pack, check-out by noon and go to Once Upon A Toy in Downtown Disney, returning in time for our 3 oclock ride back to the airport.
Instead, Grumpy and Widget got in some pool time while I packed. We gave our luggage to the bellman then had lunch at Whispering Canyon. After we ordered, Widget played with the Lincoln Logs at the entrance to the restaurant. One of the CMs, Joe, was really whoopin it up with all the guests, so when Widgets food arrived, I hollered across the restaurant to him, Hey, Joe! Tell Widget her lunch is ready! He turned toward the front of the restaurant, and from the middle of the room, yelled, Hey, Widget, coooooome and geeeeet it! She was mortified! But she recovered her dignity in time to ride in the stick pony race.
We ran our plan by the bellmen about going to DTD, but with only an hour and a half and they said it wasnt enough time. Instead, we took the bus to TTC, and rode the monorail around Epcot and back. We were able to sit up front with the conductor on the way to Epcot, which is the best leg because you get to see the park. We took the bus back to Wilderness Lodge and arrive just in time for our 3 oclock pick up by Your Ride van for trip to airport.
At check-in we had to re-arrange two pieces of overweight luggage. We moved stuff from one to another and put two pairs of shoes and a jar of peanuts in a plastic bag to carry on. There! Thatll do it! We browsed at the Ear-port Disney Store and stealthily got a couple of gifts for Widget for Christmas. I chose a photo frame similar to the one we got at DL last year to keep the theme going.
We arrived safely back in Houston, hopped into the National rental car and headed to our hotel for two nights (we were due to return to Indonesia in two days time). The next day we visited a local Disney Store and took advantage of discounts to pick up some more goodies wed passed on in the parks. Including the eBay Disney Deals and Disney Store online purchases wed made before going to WDW, we had acquired quite a Disney pile of loot.
Observations & impressions:
Animal Kingdom is great on a rainy day!
Commando cure: 9 days next time! Definitely take a break every afternoon and get to one of the water parks one day; six park days in a row are too much for a 5-year-old; by day 6 she was parked out; if going for a week, definitely schedule a down day in the middle (water park next time for us)
dont visit the same park in the morning and evening; stay out of EMH park in the afternoon and evening
favorite eats: MGMs Hollywood & Vine buffet, chicken at AKs Flame Tree BBQ, chicken Caesar salad and cheese-steak sandwich at MKs Cosmic Rays Starlight Café, the quiche and pastries at MKs Main Street Bakery, MKs Aloha Isles Dole Whip, Kakigori from Japan at Epcot, Mickey bars & turkey legs
nice to see so many seasoned citizen CMs
I enjoyed the theming and the ambiance at Wilderness Lodge, but overall did not feel like it was a good value for us. I think we will chose to stay at Port Orleans Riverside next time for half what we paid for WL. We chose this resort so we could relive the fabulous experience we'd had at the Grand Californian last year. It was nice, but did not live up to my expectations.
Disappointments:
CM at check-in forgetting we asked about flag family
not getting to see Devine in AK
The Living Seas at Epcot
not getting to finish walking around the world at Epcot and that both Akershus and Kringla Bakery in Norway were closed
my almost-6-year-old daughter is no longer interested in having her picture taken with the characters (or I could chose to see this as a blessingno more time wasted standing in character greeting lines)
MK crowds during 1st week of May; mob scene in Frontierland by noon on Tuesday; crushing exodus at the end of the nighttime shows and the seemingly long wait for busses/launches after the nighttime shows
See next time:
MK: Main Street Flag Retreat, Dapper Dans, Goofys Jamboree, Country Bears, have a silhouette cut of Widget at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe
AK: Devine, Jammin Jungle Parade
MGM: Stars & Motorcars Parade, Backlot Tour, and make Widget take a potty break before Fantasmic begins so I dont have to miss half of it to take her during the show!
Epcot: Wonders of Life, Off Kilter, Voices of Liberty, Morocco (Tangierine Café), France, UK & Canada; better view of IllumiNations; sushi from Yakitori House; IllumiNations cruise
Ft. Wilderness and possibly the Hoop Dee Do Revue
Well, if you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me through all 8,814 words. Can hardly wait until the next trip.....CareBlair's Commando Cure!
Me-obsessive trip report reader, planner, recovering commando; third trip to WDW (74 89)
Grumpy-DH, an affectionate curmugeon who earned the nickname when he bought a Grumpy sweatshirt at DL last year; his first time to WDW
Widget-DD (5), thrill-riding Daddys girl and pressed penny fanatic; first visit to WDW
SIL (Grumpys sister), BIL, Happy (their 9-month old son); Florida residents
Prince, Snow White and Bashful (their 9-yr old son)-our former next-door neighbors and new Florida residents
Pre-Trip
This was our second family vacation to a Disney theme park. Our first was a 5-day trip to Disneyland in April 2003, on our way back to Indonesia, where we have lived for the past two years. We are Americans living abroad and both these visits were at the tail end of our annual home leave. Id been to WDW twice before, in 1974 and 1989, but for all practical purposes, we were novices. We chose to visit in early May, because we live in the tropics, and you wont catch us in the southern USA during the summer!
For Christmas, I ordered half the WDW guide books available from Amazon and read them cover to cover. Id read the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland last year, so I ordered it for WDW, too. I also got Fodors WDW with Kids, The Luxury Guide to WDW and PassPorter. If I had to do it all again, Id stick with just the Unofficial Guide. Then there was MouseSavers, DISboards, MousePlanet, AllEarsNet, DisneyCentral, TheMouseForLess and trip reports out the whazzoo. And if that werent enough pre-trip info, I subscribed to TourGuideMike! Needless to say, I was spending a lot of time squinting at the computer monitor for the first three months of the year. But, boy, was I ready! The only problem was, despite fair warnings from many, Id gone commando.
Since I learned that WDW had been willing to sell rooms at Wilderness Lodge for as low as $109 in the past, I was on a mission to have my room cheap! But alas, I was not traveling in value season, so I watched MouseSavers until discounts were announced for our travel dates, and we booked WL woods view through a Disney specialist travel agent using the Disney Visa cardholders discount. I paid $70 more than $109, including tax. Ouch!
We were flying from Houston to Orlando, so I checked Continental (and Orbitz, and Travelocity, and Expedia, etc., etc.) often for discounted flights. It seemed that every time I checked, fares were going up! I finally bit the bullet and booked three round-trip tickets for $232 each (ow!). We would be staying with family for the first three days in Orlando and they agreed to pick us up at the airport. I booked a return shuttle for the day of departure from WL to the airport with Your Ride.
We were not planning to visit the parks on the day of arrival. Instead we had tentatively planned to spend the afternoon at Fort Wilderness and have dinner at Trails End, or ride both monorail loops and have dinner at one of the resort restaurants, like Ohana, from were we might see Wishes. A few weeks before we left for Disney, Grumpys sister said they would like to accompany us to see Epcots Flower & Garden Show. Snow White and family had recently relocated to Florida and this was a great opportunity for us to meet up, so we invited them to join us for the afternoon at Epcot.
Day 1 Sunday, May 2, 2004 Epcot
The day for which I had been obsessively planning for five months had finally arrived! The plan was for SIL, BIL and tag-a-long Happy to drive Grumpy, Widget & I to WDW. We would check in to WL then meet up with our friends at stroller rental in Epcot at 11 oclock. We wanted to spend the day strolling around World Showcase and see IllumiNations.
The best laid plans of mice and men....we didnt arrived at Wilderness Lodge until noon. It was an impressive hotel, sort of a country cousin to Disneylands Grand Californian, with the soaring lobby and massive log supports. After a brief wait, we were checked in by a very friendly female CM. We politely requested an upgrade to a water-view room, which she kindly accommodated. I mentioned that we would like to act as Flag Family one morning during our stay. Sadly, both the CM and I forgot about this during check-in and we missed our chance. By the time we were able to get back to the desk later that evening and ask, all mornings during our stay were already taken. Our room wasnt ready, but we gladly entrusted our stuff with the bellmen and headed for the bus to Epcot.
We had one more bit of housekeeping to take care of before we could tour the world. Our registration packet containing our 5-day Park Hopper Passes had been misdirected in the mail, so we visited a very sweet CM (from Iowa) at the guest services window to get the passes reissued, and to buy a single-day park pass for our visit to Epcot that day (the plan to visit Epcot was made after the trip was booked and passes purchased). It took a while and by the time we got inside to stroller rental it was 12:45 p.m.
I wanted to stop and smell the roses of the Flower and Garden Show, and all the pretty character topiaries, but I only got a peek as we rushed to meet up with our friends, Snow White, her Prince and their son, Bashful. We found them waiting patiently and we spent a few minutes introducing everyone and catching up a bit. Our friends used to be our next door neighbors and we hadnt seen each other in over two years. After a stroller rental and a purchase of mouse ears to keep Bashfuls recently buzzed head from getting too much sun, we were off.
Wow, Epcot is huge! Spaceship Earth loomed in front of us. Bashful and Widget were dying to ride something, but our plan was to do World Showcase and possibly Mission Space and Test Track at the end. It must have been the lack of food, because my brain cramped and told me Spaceship Earth was Mission Space and I told Grumpy, Yeah, this is the one. Take them on this one. So off they went, all the guys and Widget, leaving all the moms to gab and feed the Happy baby.
By the time the gang got back from Spaceship Earth, we were starving. It was almost 2 oclock and we hadnt even laid eyes on the bridges to cross over to Showcase Plaza. We meandered (the only pace possible with a group of nine) past Spaceship Earth and found ourselves facing Electric Umbrella...great, lunch!
After we were fortified with roast beef sandwiches and the requisite chicken nuggets (which we managed to avoid the rest of the week, yeah!), we moseyed over the Showcase Plaza bridge. After taking some photos in front of the Lion King topiaries, we hung a left and entered Mexico. Everyone except BIL, SIL, Happy & I rode El Rio del Tiempo. Why didnt I ride? I have no idea...another brain cramp! We did Oooh! and Aaaah! at the cascading display of orchids in the exit pathway for the ride. They were a stunning profusion of fuchsia blooms.
The kids each picked up a Kidcot mark in Mexico and their first die-cut shape was attached. BIL and SIL decided to continue on their own because they were most interested in the Flower and Garden Show (SIL is a landscape designer) and were trying to see as much as they could as long as Happy stayed that way. So we said our fond good-byes and parted ways in Norway. I knew before-hand that Restaurant Askershus was closed after breakfast for refurbishment, but I was disappointed Kringla Bakeri was also closed. Well, maybe a yummy in France instead. Snow White and I sat on a shaded bench, chatting away, getting caught up and people-watched while dads and kids rode Maelstrom.
As we watched Reflections of China, the images took me back 25 years, to my first visit to China during my junior year in high school (OK, so now you know Im over 40!). The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the arts, the crafts, the rivers and the people. There was a lovely, young Chinese woman playing an unfamiliar string instrument to entertain us beforehand. She did a great job, even playing American tunes that brought smiles to many faces. Maybe this was Si Xian listed on the guide? After the show, we caught the very end of the Dragon Legend Acrobats.
Snow White, her Prince and Bashful felt at home in Germany, since theyd been living there for the past 2½ years (the real one, in Europe, not in Epcot!). Widget and Bashful are home schooled, and we chose World Showcase as our park of choice that day because it would be the most relaxing for the adults to visit and educational for the children. It was definitely turning out that way. We enjoyed a hot, fresh pretzel in Germany and listened to our friends chat up the CMs in fluent German. The kids collected another piece to hang from their Kidcot masks.
In Italy, we came upon Imaginum, the statue act. A circle of guests were taking turns approaching the statue for pictures while onlookers got to enjoy an unexpected act from the statue. We sent the kids up to have their picture taken, and, quick as a wink, the statue deftly grabbed Bashfuls Mickey ears and plunked them on Widgets head. Bashful threw an indignant, mistrustful look at the statue, who was all innocence. We bid Arrivederci to Italy and continued our afternoon stroll to the U.S.A.
We sat under the shady tree next to the fountain in front of The American Adventure building waiting for the next show to start. Snow White received a cell phone call, and I gave Bashful a Mickey-shaped American flag pin. We enjoyed the show and I was proud when my daughter turned to me and said, I liked that show, Mom! I kind of wonder how much Americana she knew, only being in kindergarten and having lived half her life out of the US. You can take the girl out of America, but you cant take America out of the girl.
Once we arrived in Japan, we heard the drums of Matsuriza, so the gang rushed over to catch the performance. One the way, I spied the Kaki Gori cart out of the corner of my eye, so I made a beeline to get one of these babies to taste what all the fuss was about. Mmmmm....a rainbow of honeydew, tangerine and strawberry on finely shaved ice. Now, I get it!
By this time it was about 6 oclock in the evening, and wed only made it about two-thirds around the world. We realized we would not have time to finish the world and ride Mission Space and Test Track before 8 oclock when our friends had to leave. We let the children decide if they wanted to see the remaining four countries or ride rides. Being normal, red-blooded American children, they of course said, Ride rides! We hoped aboard the launch in Morocco and headed back to Test Track.
Snow White and I found a shady place facing the Test Track entrance to sit and visit while dads and kids went on the ride. It seemed like they were gone a really long time and inclement weather had developed. It looked like a major thunderstorm was fixin to dump on us. When the dads and progeny finally returned, they said there was an announcement in Test Track that inclement weather was approaching and the park would be closing. It did look like a serious storm was approaching and, being the novices we were, we fell for it. We decided to call it a day, knowing we would be back later in the week and have our chance to see IllumiNations then. (We later figured out that only Test Track was closing, and not the whole park).
When we got to the Leave a Legacy area, we turned around to face Spaceship Earth and get a few photos of the topiaries. We were greeted with the most amazing purple and amber sky, where the approaching storm met the sunset sky. Our friend grabbed my camera and snapped an awesome picture, capturing the Mickey and Minnie topiaries, the sky and the earth all in the fading light. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day.
We bid our friends goodbye at the bottom of the monorail station. We hopped the monorail to the TTA, where we caught a bus back to WL. We received our room assignment, number 4037, and we were given a marked map to find our room and directed to the lobby lifts. First, we checked in with Whispering Canyon put our request in for a table. We were told it would be 45 minutes, so we headed up to find our room. Once we got to the fourth floor, we walked for days searching for the room. It seemed like we walked as far as the Contemporary before we finally found it! It was actually in the other wing, over Roaring Forks, so for the rest of the week, we used the other lift, which was nearer to the room. The restaurant pager twinkled at us as we were making our way back to the restaurant, so we got a move on.
We were seated in the library section of the restaurant, which is much quieter than the main dining room. It was a perfect way for us to ease into the commotion for which Whispering Canyon is famous. Hop-a-long Higgins was our server. He was attentive and funny. When one of the guests at the table next to us asked for more water, Hop-a-long retorted, No! Then he delivered an ice bucket filled with ice water and a straw! He treated us gently and we enjoyed the bbq. We asked for seconds on some items and it seemed like more was served for seconds than for firsts. We had the bbq pulled pork for dessert. We later learned that wed been privileged to have been served by the infamous Hop-a-long, because.....he usually works breakfast.
Once back in the room, we called the bellmen for our suitcases. We made ourselves at home and turned in for the night. Tomorrow, EMH at Animal Kingdom!
P.S. The thunderstorm did eventually dump buckets of rain, but not until much later in the night, and then it seemed like it would never end.
Day 2 Monday, May 3, 2004 Animal Kingdom
We got a call from Mickey at 7:02 a.m. telling us to be up and at em and that he would see us in the park. It was still drizzling, so we packed our ponchos and clad our feet in Tevas. We caught the bus to Animal Kingdom and arrived about 8:30 a.m. NaHTaZu!
The plan was to go straight to Kilimanjaro Safari, but that was also the plan of every other resort guest whod entered before, with and after us. With one park under my belt, and my hour of pouring over notes and maps last night, Ive got my commando groove back. I suggest to Grumpy that he get Fastpasses for KS, while Widget and I duck into Kusafiri Bakery for coffee and some quick breakfast. I know, I know, no commando worth their salt spends valuable park time eating breakfast! It was the beginning of the end of my commando-ness.
While we were munching on our muffins and fruit, and enjoying the delicious Nestle coffee-like brew (not!), a boy sitting at our table was complaining about the weather and worrying that it would dampen his day. I piped up and told him the animals were more likely to be active and visible in this rain because it would cool things off for them. He seemed placated with my sage words of wisdom.
While we waited for our Safari FASTPASS window, we walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. In retrospect, I wished wed stopped longer at some of the habitats and just sat and watched the animals for a while. The CMs probably get to see some very interesting animal behavior during the day because they are able to hang about. We moseyed to Kiliminjaro Safari and really enjoy the ride. We saw zebra, giraffe; water buffalo, hippo, lions, deer, alligators, flamingo, ostrich, cheetah, wildebeest and more. The bridge was cool.
We left Africa and journeyed on foot to Asia, stopping on the way to bang the heck out of the drums and take some photos of the Tree of Life. Grumpy and Widget rode Kali River Rapids, twice! Although they were wearing ponchos, they got a little wet the first time, but drenched the second time! I change Widget into some dry clothes (Mommy of the Month Award...thank you, thank you very much!). It was pretty amusing to watch people try to dry themselves off under the hand dryers in the ladies restroom. We headed out in search of food and decided on Flame Tree BBQ. We had the yummy smoked chicken half, which comes with baked beans and corn on the cob, a bbq sandwich and a basket of unseasoned fries, and frozen lemonade. Widget doesnt care for most items on a kids menu, so we usually build her a meal from our choices and fill it out with sides. She had chicken, corn and fries, and the lemonade for dessert (she called it sorbet).
After lunch, we bypassed Dinoland, because Dinosaur was closed for refurbishment and Widget is not tall enough for Primeval Whirl. We figured she could ride TriceraTop Spin in Magic Kingdom tomorrow (its called Dumbo there). We walk off our lunch on the Maharaja Jungle Trek, then saw Flights of Wonder (this was my favorite of the whole park), Festival of the Lion King and Its Tough to be a Bug (Hopper still scares the snot out of Widget).
We went back to Kilimanjaro Safari for one last ride. One the way back to the unloading area, there were no guests waiting, so we were offered a VIP tour! We didnt hear of any trouble about Big and Little Red on that trip. The CM who took us on this tour was very personable and I feel like a heel that I dont remember his name. So if youre in AK on a rainy spring afternoon just before closing, ride KS and you may luck upon a fun CM wholl take you for a different kind of ride!
It was a great day in AK, despite (or maybe because of) the all-day on-again off-again rain. The park was never too crowded and we saw and did everything Id laid out on my commando plan. My only regret was not seeing Devinemaybe shes off on rainy days.
We headed out to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our 5 oclock Priority Seating at Boma. We had very high expectations for Boma from all the reviews and trip reports Id read. We thought the food was good, but not exceptional. The Zebra Domes were as good as reputed and I was pleased to see that they were small, because there wasnt much room for dessert after all that buffet. I didnt make notes about what we ate and nothing was so memorable that it stands out for me. Im sure Ill be labeled a Boma heretic, but there you go.
After dinner, we walked around the lobby of the AKL and tried to find a verandah from which to see animals. We went out one of the glass doors from the bar and I thought the view was uninspiring. No animals, bare ground, fencing...it looked to me like we had stumbled onto the service entrance to the hotel. Had I been staying there and this has been my view, I would have been extremely disappointed. Ill concede that I did not see all the views AKL had to offer and Im sure there are better.
We took the bus to Magic Kingdom and the launch to hotel. We waited, and waited, and waited for the Electric Water Pageant. I finally gave up at 10 oclock, but it did eventually pass, but we couldnt see it from our room because of the tall pine trees blocking the view of the lake. We were able to see it another night from the dock.
Day 3 Tuesday, May 4, 2004 Magic Kingdom
Before Mickey could give us a wake-up call, Grumpy, who is an early riser, went down to Roaring Forks and purchased a refillable mug. He had a cuppa while downstairs then brought up a hot cup of coffee and a sticky bun for me, earning himself the Darling Husband of the Year Award.
The first launch to arrive was headed to the Contemporary. We were too impatient to wait for the MK launch, so we took this launch then the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived a few minutes before the 9 oclock opening ceremony. We were standing before the turnstiles, but had a nice view of Mickey and the gang arriving on the train to welcome us to the Magic Kingdom.
Once the rope was dropped, we sauntered smartly up Main Street headed to Fantasyland. We were diverted around the castle, where we promptly rode Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, Mad Tea Party, and somewhere along the way we snagged FASTPASS for Mickeys PhilharMagic. On the way to PhilharMagic, we watched the Sword in the Stone ceremony (pleeeeeease, Merlin, pick my daughter! oh well, maybe next time). Widget said she really liked that and wanted to see it again. Mickeys PhilharMagic was very entertaining and Widget asked to see that again, too.
Much to my dismay, she has outgrown character greetings, autographs and the Carrousel at the jaded age of 5¾, and try as I might, I could not interest her in Storytime with Belle, Ariels Grotto or Cinderellas Surprise Celebration. Since Its a Small World & Snow White were closed for refurbishment, we were done with Fantasyland.
At Mickeys Toontown Fair, Grumpy and Widget had just sat in the second to last seat on Goofys Barnstormer, when who should come loping along but the Goofster himself and Max! They plunked themselves down in the last seat of the coaster behind Grumpy and Widget and away they went! Afterwards, we walked through Mickey & Minnies houses. I loved the double entendre flowers hanging in Minnies greenhousebuttercups with pats of butter, and daisies with Daisys head in the center...too clever. We took our time strolling through Cornelius Coots County Bounty where Grumpy crammed an unbelievable number of Mr. Potato Head parts in the box. We do like to get our moneys worth!
A friendly CM approached Widget and offered to pin trade. It took me by surprise and not wanting to be rude, I said yes, but we didnt realize until it was too late that we really didnt want trade any of our pins. We traded a Limited Edition Mickey Easter 2004 for a double princess we already had at home. Before we left the store, someone had already traded with the CM and taken the Easter pin! We consoled ourselves by purchasing two pins, one with Widgets name and a WDW 2004 pin. We sent the Potato Head parts to the room using package delivery (is this an awesome service or what?).
It was lunchtime and the fixins bar at Pecos Bill was calling out to us. We crossed under the Columbia Harbor House porte cochere (first mistake, shoulda eaten here) and started to make our way to Frontierland. Once wed passed the Liberty tree, bam! Frontierland mob scene! Where did all these people come from! It was almost impossible to wade through the mass of humanity which stretched as far as the eye could see to Splash Mountain. Our mood dropped precipitously with each step. All of a sudden the sun was hotter, we were hungrier and a little of the magic was fading.
We finally reached Pecos Bill, and bam! The queues were halfway to the door at all registers and all tables taken in the dining area. We pressed on: I stood in line to order and Grumpy hunted for a table. We enjoyed the burgers and the chicken salad was very yummy. A young girl spilled her top-heavy beverage on the way to her table near us and a very annoying group of teenaged boys sitting near us were laughing so loud it hurt my ears. We were anxious to be off.
The plan was to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and see the Country Bear Jamboree. You can imagine the queue to stand-by for SM and BTMR, so we grabbed a BTMR Fastpass and sat under the railroad bridge to regroup. All my carefully laid plans were unraveling and I was not thinking very well on my feet. The best thing would have been to leave the park for the refreshing resort pool, but I was still afflicted with too much commando-itis. In the end, we decided to backtrack to Liberty Square and try to do Haunted Mansion, Goofys Jamboree or Hall of the Presidents. Show times for the latter two were too far off and stand-by for HM was 30 minutes, so we decided to go for it.
The line was in constant motion and the waiting passed quickly. Widget was a trooper, not complaining too much about all the walking and the fact that she had not been on a single ride in nearly two hours. Once we passed the elevator, the bottleneck to squeeze everyone into the single-file doom buggy queue was almost unbearable and the A/C seemed not to be able to keep up with all the body heat. I found my self squished up against the right-hand side, shuffling in the pitch dark and sweating buckets. Finally, we were in the single-file queue with doom buggies in sight and we enjoyed the ride.
After HM, we watched the Hall of Presidents then trekked back to Frontierland for BTMR. I waited while Grumpy and Widget rode. Why is it that the best shady spots in WDW are reserved for smokers? We cut through the shortcut next to the Shootin Arcade to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. As you may have figured out, Im a total ride weenieI dont do thrill rides. I can barely handle the tea cups. On our trip to Disneyland last year, I rode Pirates. Ah, a nice, calm boat ride in the dark. Kinda like Storybook Canal but with more debauchery, I told myself then. I was totally unprepared for the plunge in the pitch blacknessno trip report or guide book Id ever read even mentioned this tiny, but essential detail. Last year, I thought I was going to die for what seemed like 10 minutes of sheer terror! Agony! Well, this time, I was ready for it. Still didnt like it, but now I realize the drop is only lasts about 2 seconds! I counted.
After PoTC, we started to make our way out of Adventureland, stopping at Plaza del Sol Caribe Pirates Bazaar for hat for me then Aloha Isle for a Dole Whip. The wait for the Jungle Cruise was too long and we were too tired to stick around for the Fastpass return time. We decided to save it for our second MK day, along with Splash Mountain and Tomorrowland. We headed for Main Street, grabbing a grand slam and brownie at Caseys Corner on the way out, while Grumpy drooled over the way-cool golf gear next door.
We spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool at Wilderness Lodge. Widget absolutely loved the pool slide! Why is it that children will whine and moan that they havent the energy to walk another single, solitary step in the park, but once they get to the hotel pool, they have the energy to climb up to the top of the pool slide 50 million times? I floated across from the slide exit just to see the look on her face when she got to the end of the slideshe was so happy!
We returned to MK at 7 oclock because this was the only night we would be able to see SpectroMagic. We tried to get into The Plaza (oops! forgot it was table service and didnt get a PS), so we ended up at the Plaza Pavilion in Tomorrowland. Grumpy had the Italian sandwich which he liked, Widget had the kids pizza and I had the blah chicken strips (should have gone to Columbia Harbor House...again). I have concluded that MK was busy today because of SpectroMagic and because of the rain the day before; those whod planned to visit MK yesterday were dissuaded by the rain, so they showed up today instead.
We made our way back to Adventureland and stood in line for Magic Carpets of Aladdin, but it was moving too slowly and we need to get to stake out a place to watch SpectroMagic. We used the shortcut back to Frontierland and realized we were way too late to get a good place, so we decided to sit in the rocking chairs on the porch of Prairie Outpost & Supply. It wasnt the best view but my knees and feet appreciated the break. The crowd was two deep when we arrived and by parade time it had grown to four deep. Grumpy put Widget on his shoulders and we enjoyed the parade.
Because we were near the end of the parade route, there wasnt that much time to get to our planned place to see Wishes. We cut back through Adventureland and headed across the front of the castle to get to the rose garden between the Tomorrowland and Fantasyland bridges. Now, I can just hear the WDW veterans: What were you thinking? Didnt you say youd read four tour guides, 253 trip report AND subscribed to Tour Guide Mike! And you still tried to walk in front of the castle before Wishes? Are you insane?! The only saving grace is that Grumpy had not read any of the advice and didnt realize that we should have gone through Fantasyland. He just gamely kept parting the crowds like Moses to get us to the appointed spot and never said a word, earning his second Darling Husband of the Year Award.
There were no fireworks or Fantasmic at Disneyland when we visited in early April last year, so we were really looking forward to Wishes, and all the other WDW nighttime extravaganzas. Wishes was everything wed heard it would be: dazzling, big, bold, awe-inspiring...the show so big, only the sky could hold it! (Steven Davison, Wishes creator). The castle kiss added magic to the show and the music was beautiful. I didnt want the day to end. Wonder if they would put us up in the castle for just this one night?
Id read Wishes was designed to bring everyone together at the end of the day, a kind of goodnight kiss from the Magic Kingdom. Davison said, We all join together as family and friends and really experience something magical. In the end, we as an audience are asked to make a wish together and experience the power that comes from uniting as a worldwide family. Alas, the magic was broken by the crushing, mass exodus, heal-crunching stroller hell and subsequent long wait for the launch back to WL. But I still loved the show.
Day 4 - Wednesday, May 5, 2004 Disney MGM Studios
Our plan was to get to MGM by opening, have fun, skip lunch, have an early dinner at Hollywood & Vine and stay through Fantasmic! It was getting harder to wake Widget every morning. Id put the phone up to her ear when Mickey called, but she slumbered on. We were able to get to MGM by 10 oclock and got a quick bite to eat at ABC Commissary.
On the way to Star Tours, we met up with Sully from Monsters, Inc. and Widget agreed to have her picture taken with him. She and Grumpy went on Star Tours using the Fastpasses that Grumpy had run ahead for while she and I were having breakfast. Next we did Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Muppet*Vision 3D, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Great Movie Ride and One Mans Dream. Sometime in there, Widget and I enjoyed a couple of Mickey bars while Grumpy ran down Sunset Boulevard to get ToT and RnR Fastpasses.
By this time it was 3 oclock and we were feeling a bit peckish, but we had a 4:20 p.m. PS for dinner at Hollywood & Vine, so we settled on sharing a turkey leg from Toluca Legs Turkey Co at Sunset Ranch. Widget and I munched on the leg while waiting for Grumpy to ride Rock n Roller Coaster. Widget was disappointed (she lacked one inch to meet the height requirement) but Grumpy said it would have probably been too much jerking motion for her anyway.
Next was Tower of Terror, for which Widget did meet the height requirement. She had been going back and forth about whether to ride it or not all day. I wanted her to be prepared and make an informed choice on whether to ride or not, so I explained the falling in the dark and the accompanying guest screaming. I knew she could probably handle the ride itself because she had done all the thrill rides at DL last year and loved them all, but I thought the screaming might do her in. I will never ride Tower of Terror (ride weenie, remember?) because I think it is nightmarish to freefall in an elevator.
So off go my husband and my precious, innocent only child to ride the nightmare, while I nervously wait in the shade (with the smokers), thinking to myself, What kind of mother lets her baby ride a falling elevator? In the end, it was too much terror (or screaming) for Widget. Grumpy said after the first fall, she timidly asked, Daddy, is it over yet? Bad mommy, bad mommy.
One the way to dinner, we popped into Keystone Clothier where Grumpy picked out a nice Mickey and the gang beach print camp shirt. Then it was on to dinner at Hollywood & Vine for the Fantasmic! dinner package. We really liked this restaurant! We liked it better than Boma at AK Lodge. We thought the selection and quality were greatsirloin steak, salmon, green beans, sweet potatoes, penne pasta, dessert buffet. Everything was hot, tasty and the selection was vast. I appreciate that children are not limited to the kid's selections. The desserts were delicious and so plentiful. And to get reserved Fantasmic seating on top of a great meal was icing on the cake!
After dinner, we caught the last performance of Beauty & the Beast. The shows are my favorite part of visiting WDW and this one was wonderful. It wasnt the extravagant spectacular of DLs Aladdin, but it was very good. On our way to the reserved Fantasmic seating entrance next to Oscars, we shopped in Once Upon A Time gift ship where Widget chose a remote-control Mickey safari jeep and we selected two commemorative Christmas ornaments. We noticed that the crowds had been light all day in MGM, and the shop CM confirmed it had been dead in that park all week.
Fantasmic! was filling up nicely when we arrived and ended up being standing room only by show time. We munched on caramel corn and participated in my first wave(yes, my firstI lead a very sheltered existence, what can I say). And what can I say about Fantasmic!.....fire and water, good and evil, light and dark, Sorcerer and Steamboat, ying and yang...it had it all. Thats some imaginearing, huh?
The Disney marketing sorcerers routed the entire exiting horde down Sunset Boulevard (exiting along both sides of Theatre of the Stars), forcing us to pass all those wonderfully themed shops which are still open for our shopping convenience. I understand why they do it, but my tired feet and I would have preferred to have been allowed the short-cut exit at Oscars!
Day 5 - Thursday, May 6, 2004 Epcot
Our plan for today was to arrive for opening, leave by 5 oclock for the 6 p.m. show of Cirque du Soleils La Nouba in Downtown Disney, grab a bite to eat and get back to Epcot in time for IllumiNations at 9 oclock.
We arrived at Epcot by 9:30 a.m. and had breakfast at Electric Umbrella. Grumpy sprinted to ride Mission Space, and get Fastpasses for Test Track which he and Widget rode after breakfast. Then we went next door to see Ellens Energy Adventure (shes so funny! stupid Judy!). Wonders of Life was closed for refurbishment, so we journeyed west to visit the Living Seas. The Nemo and friends display is very cute but we didnt take a picture and I cant remember why not.
I was surprisingly disappointed with the Living Seas; there just didnt seem to be much going on and I dont remember seeing many animals in the aquarium. We tried to watch the dolphin demonstration, but the CMs microphone kept cutting out and we couldnt hear what he was saying. There wasnt any place to sit and observe the fish, and I just didnt like the place.
Widget was tired of walking, so Grumpy gamely volunteered to walk all the way to stroller rental and bring one back for her. When he returned, we went to the Land where we watched the Circle of Life and toured Living with the Land, keeping an eye out for the Mickey ear cucumbers wed read about. I missed them from my left seat on the boat, but Grumpy said he saw them from the right side. We also saw all kinds of other very interesting horti- and aquaculture.
At 3:30 p.m. we found ourselves at Sunshine Season Food Fair and we selected items from three different counters: bbq sandwich, chicken & ribs, and a childs pasta & marinara (yuk! ask for the meatball sauce instead), cobbler and a cookie. I can see why many people miss this place since it is one level down inside a building way out west; it was nearly deserted when we ate there.
After lunch we watched Honey I Shrunk the Audience then decided we should make our way to Downtown Disney. I couldnt remember exactly how to get there from Epcot, so I asked a CM, who told us to take a bus to the nearest resort and then a resort bus to DTD. We opted for a taxi since we still needed to visit the will-call window and pick up our tickets. The taxi got us there in no time and it was $10 well spent.
This was our second Cirque du Soleil performance to enjoy, having seen Dralion in 2002. La Nouba was exceedingly impressive. Just when you thought they had scaled the heights of spectacular, another act would emerge to delight. It was an extraordinary performance that we will remember for a long time.
We taxied back to Epcot and hurried to Harry Ramsdens Yorkshire County Fish Shop. After a long but bearable wait, we walked away with two orders of fish and chips with an extra piece of fish in each order for the three of us. I was very surprised at the number of people we saw waiting for IllumiNations; most viewing areas were two deep. Why werent all these fine people back at their resorts, glued to their TVs watching the final episode of Friends?
My strategy was to take the food back in the direction of Canada to find a place to watch the show. Although I knew that wasnt the best venue from where to see the show, I thought I had seen a few places when wed walked in. I didnt want to walk too far around the world and have to fight the crowds out. In retrospect, we should have continued walking up toward the USA and beyond until we found a place, then we would have been at the tail of the crowd leaving instead of having the crush of pushy stroller-mamas-from-hell try to run us over on the way out.
We ended up on a bench near the entrance to World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, so we were very comfy while we ate our dinner. I snagged a cinnamon sugar Beaver Tail from a kiosk in Canada and shared it with Widget. Mmmmm, the cinnamon sugar gave me a Churro fix! Once the show started and we realized how bad our view was, we started walking back to Showcase Plaza for the finale while trying to watch the show over our right shouldernot a good plan.
At one point we stood on some steps in Canada but were told by the CM we couldnt stand there. I still dont get why notwhat better place to watch than from an elevated position? There were people on the landing at the top of the stairs and there was a rope cordoning off their access to descending the stairs, but there was no rope across the bottom step. I wonder how many hundreds of people that CM has to shoo away from that position every night?
In the end, we didnt get to see much of the show and we didnt beat the crowds either. Its disappointing that some of the prime viewing area (next to Harry Ramsdens) is cordoned off for groups, even if there isnt one booked. It always surprised me at the end of each night how few buses were waiting for the exiting crowds. I would have thought WDW transportation could coordinate having at least one bus waiting at each park ready to take the first group to each resort, with another bus enroute. But thats me.
Day 6 - Friday, May 7, 2004 Magic Kingdom
The plan for today was to get to MK for opening and spend time in Tomorrowland, ride the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain and see some shows wed missed on Tuesday. We ended up doing the plan, but in reverse order.
We arrived at Magic Kingdom by launch in time to see the opening ceremony. I think that ceremony is a very nice touch to welcome guests to the park for the day. How could you not enjoy every minute of the day with such a special welcome. We stopped for breakfast at Main St Bakery. Is this place wonderful or what? Real coffee, yummy quiche, moist chocolate bundt and a delicious apple turnoverbest breakfast in all of WDW.
Widget was not her normal, amiable self this morning. We realized later that she was probably all parked out. This was our sixth day in a row of late nights, getting her up early and going commando, and it was taking its toll on her. All she wanted to do was go back to the room, watch Disney Channel and play with her new remote-control Mickey safari jeep!
Grumpy had suggested that instead of Tomorrowland and Buzz first, that we go to Splash Mountain, or at least go by and get Fastpasses, then try the Jungle Cruise. Once we were done with that side of the park, he said we could hit Tomorrowland. It sounded good to me. But Widget announced she didnt want to ride Splash (repercussions from ToT?).
We should have taken a moment in the shade of the bridge behind Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe to make a plan. Instead, Grumpy announces that he will run to Frontierland to ride Splash and we should wait here for him. Before you know it, thar he went. Hmmmm....lets see, you ride while we waste valuable park minutes watching the squirrels? But too late, he was gone.
Widget and I heard Cinderellas Surprise Celebration start and were going to go over and watch, but it was cancelled after less than a minute due to technical problem. I realized Grumpy had gone off and left without a walkie-talkie, so even if we had thought of something else to do, we couldnt communicate with him on where to meet us. We were stuck waiting on him and I was not a happy commando.
When he got back, I demanded that he forfeit both his "DH of the Year Awards" then we went to Adventureland to ride Jungle Cruise. We tried to ride Magic Carpets again, but technical problems arose (thwarted again!). While we sat to evaluate the plan, a CM working the Enchanted Tiki Birds came over and greeted us. He recognized the town name on Grumpys t-shirt and said he was from nearby. We discovered that many WDW CMs are college interns who come to WDW and work for a season, before going back to school. Thats why some of them have college and university names on their name badges. The nice young man went back to his duties and we decided to head toward Tommorowland. One the way, we stopped at Island Supply for a hula skirt, lei and hair clip for Widget (package delivery to train station) and another Dole Whip, this time without the juice. We watched Rafiki greet guests while we enjoy the Dole Whip, and I tried to wrestle control of my carefully laid commando plan back from Grumpy.
Grumpy and Widget wanted to ride Buzz, which I hadnt planned on riding. We decided I would stays in castle forecourt to watch Cinderellas Celebration while they headed to Buzz. Everyone had their walkie-talkies now, so we were good to go. While I enjoyed the show, they rode Indy Speedway. We met up in Merchant of Venus, and they rode Buzz while I hunted for Buzz postcards for pixie postcard recipients. Then we rode the Transit Authority together. Grumpy rode Space Mountain (Widget declined, although she rode at DL last yearmore repercussions from ToT probably) while we girls headed to lunch.
We chose Cosmic Rays Starlight Café and I thought it was the best counter service food in the park. We enjoyed a cheese-steak sandwich, a stack sandwich and shared a Caesar salad and a soup. We ate on the verandah facing the castle and enjoyed watching people take castle-backdrop photos. It was 2 oclock and we decided to leave the park and grant Widget her wish to spend the afternoon at the resort pool. One the way out we stopped on Main Street at the Emporium Complex were we picked up a few gifts and souvenirs.
While we were picking up our package from under the train station, I heard the train pull in and had an idea. I suggested we ride train completely around the park. It would return in time for us to watch the Share a Dream Come True parade from train station then we could high-tail it to the launch ahead of the crowd for pool time. Widget protested a bit, but in the end she was a good sport about it.
We made it back to the hotel by 4 oclock and got in some slide time before our 6 oclock PS at Whispering Canyon. Wed toyed with the ideas of returning to Epcot to eat in Japan or Morocco and trying to see IllumiNations again, but we were too tired and wanted to stay close to home. After dinner we browsed in the Wilderness Mercantile and had Widgets caricature drawn by the very talented and friendly CM just outside the shop. Grumpy visited the reception desk and was able to secure an extended check-out for the next day.
Saturday, May 8, 2004 -Going home
The plan was to pack, check-out by noon and go to Once Upon A Toy in Downtown Disney, returning in time for our 3 oclock ride back to the airport.
Instead, Grumpy and Widget got in some pool time while I packed. We gave our luggage to the bellman then had lunch at Whispering Canyon. After we ordered, Widget played with the Lincoln Logs at the entrance to the restaurant. One of the CMs, Joe, was really whoopin it up with all the guests, so when Widgets food arrived, I hollered across the restaurant to him, Hey, Joe! Tell Widget her lunch is ready! He turned toward the front of the restaurant, and from the middle of the room, yelled, Hey, Widget, coooooome and geeeeet it! She was mortified! But she recovered her dignity in time to ride in the stick pony race.
We ran our plan by the bellmen about going to DTD, but with only an hour and a half and they said it wasnt enough time. Instead, we took the bus to TTC, and rode the monorail around Epcot and back. We were able to sit up front with the conductor on the way to Epcot, which is the best leg because you get to see the park. We took the bus back to Wilderness Lodge and arrive just in time for our 3 oclock pick up by Your Ride van for trip to airport.
At check-in we had to re-arrange two pieces of overweight luggage. We moved stuff from one to another and put two pairs of shoes and a jar of peanuts in a plastic bag to carry on. There! Thatll do it! We browsed at the Ear-port Disney Store and stealthily got a couple of gifts for Widget for Christmas. I chose a photo frame similar to the one we got at DL last year to keep the theme going.
We arrived safely back in Houston, hopped into the National rental car and headed to our hotel for two nights (we were due to return to Indonesia in two days time). The next day we visited a local Disney Store and took advantage of discounts to pick up some more goodies wed passed on in the parks. Including the eBay Disney Deals and Disney Store online purchases wed made before going to WDW, we had acquired quite a Disney pile of loot.
Observations & impressions:
Animal Kingdom is great on a rainy day!
Commando cure: 9 days next time! Definitely take a break every afternoon and get to one of the water parks one day; six park days in a row are too much for a 5-year-old; by day 6 she was parked out; if going for a week, definitely schedule a down day in the middle (water park next time for us)
dont visit the same park in the morning and evening; stay out of EMH park in the afternoon and evening
favorite eats: MGMs Hollywood & Vine buffet, chicken at AKs Flame Tree BBQ, chicken Caesar salad and cheese-steak sandwich at MKs Cosmic Rays Starlight Café, the quiche and pastries at MKs Main Street Bakery, MKs Aloha Isles Dole Whip, Kakigori from Japan at Epcot, Mickey bars & turkey legs
nice to see so many seasoned citizen CMs
I enjoyed the theming and the ambiance at Wilderness Lodge, but overall did not feel like it was a good value for us. I think we will chose to stay at Port Orleans Riverside next time for half what we paid for WL. We chose this resort so we could relive the fabulous experience we'd had at the Grand Californian last year. It was nice, but did not live up to my expectations.
Disappointments:
CM at check-in forgetting we asked about flag family
not getting to see Devine in AK
The Living Seas at Epcot
not getting to finish walking around the world at Epcot and that both Akershus and Kringla Bakery in Norway were closed
my almost-6-year-old daughter is no longer interested in having her picture taken with the characters (or I could chose to see this as a blessingno more time wasted standing in character greeting lines)
MK crowds during 1st week of May; mob scene in Frontierland by noon on Tuesday; crushing exodus at the end of the nighttime shows and the seemingly long wait for busses/launches after the nighttime shows
See next time:
MK: Main Street Flag Retreat, Dapper Dans, Goofys Jamboree, Country Bears, have a silhouette cut of Widget at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe
AK: Devine, Jammin Jungle Parade
MGM: Stars & Motorcars Parade, Backlot Tour, and make Widget take a potty break before Fantasmic begins so I dont have to miss half of it to take her during the show!
Epcot: Wonders of Life, Off Kilter, Voices of Liberty, Morocco (Tangierine Café), France, UK & Canada; better view of IllumiNations; sushi from Yakitori House; IllumiNations cruise
Ft. Wilderness and possibly the Hoop Dee Do Revue
Well, if you made it this far, thanks for bearing with me through all 8,814 words. Can hardly wait until the next trip.....CareBlair's Commando Cure!
