MajorWoody
The View From My Office
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2002
- Messages
- 294
Major Woody's 10 Night May '03 TR
Who :
Bill, age 44, NYSP Investigator, AP Holder, and veteran of numerous WDW trips ( last one 12/02)
Jenn, my oldest daughter, age 20, AP holder, last trip 12/02
When :
May 19 thru May 29, 2003
Where :
Coronado Springs, my 3rd stay, Jenn's 2nd at CS
Day 1, Monday, 5/19/03
Hello all,
We woke up at 3:00am, in order to make it to NYC for our flight. We had loaded up the van the night before except for last minute stuff, and were on the road at 3:45am. I live about 100 miles north of NYC, so I had figured on about two hours to get to JFK. We arrived at JFK at 5:20am, with no traffic delays at all. We parked in the long term parking, which had gone up to $10 a day, two bucks a day higher than the last time we used JFK in May of 2001. We caught the parking shuttle bus to the Jet Blue terminal, and used the curbside sky cap check-in with no delay. We were through the security checkpoint in under 5 minutes, with Jenn getting the full treatment. I had two pin bags in my carryon, with several lanyards, and had no problems getting these through. We grabbed some grub in the terminal, and settled in to wait for our flight, which was at 7:00am. We boarded with no problems, grabbed our seats, which on Jet Blue are slightly larger than most airlines, and leather to boot. They also have TV screens at each seat. Our flight took off pretty much on time, and we had a nice uneventful ( the way flights should be) to MCO, arriving at 9:30am.
Once we were in MCO, we took our first ride of the trip, the airport terminal shuttle. I always feel so excited once I arrive at MCO, and this trip is no exception. Once we made it to the main terminal, we went downstairs, and retrieved our luggage, which all made it safely. I had taken 4 bags, one of which was an otherwise empty suitcase containing an extra empty duffel bag. Knowing my souvenir purchase history, this would turn out to be a wise choice. After getting our bags, we walked over to the Alamo counter. I belong to Alamo's Quicksilver program, which among other things, is supposed to have an express line for QS customers. Unfortunately, there was no QS line, and there was only one employee serving the Alamo line, which had about 10 people ahead of us. The line dragged on for about 15 minutes, until they finally opened up a few more counters. The line then moved quickly from that point. Once I made it to the counter, I asked about the QS line, and the girl told me that they forgot to put the sign for QS at the corral area entrance. They then put it out, so at least the next QS guests would be able to take advantage of it. I provided my reservation information, and the transaction was completed smoothly in a couple of minutes. We were directed to the parking lot to retrieve our car, and after I took the scenic route due to my not really listening to her directions, we found the proper car lot. We chose a Toyota Camry from the full size lot, as it had a CD player, and appeared to be the nicest of the cars in the full size lot. We loaded up our luggage, and were soon out of the lot on our way to Disney World!!!!
We arrived at Coronado at about 11:00am, and parked outside the front entrance. I went into the check-in area, while Jenn perused the shop. I found we had Room 9624, which was in Building 9B, one of the buildings I had asked for, and the one closest to the Main Building in Cabanas section. The check-in took under 5 minutes, and since our room was ready, we parked in the Cabanas lot and unloaded the car. We also discovered that the room was a corner room, with a nice view of a small pond.
After getting everything stowed away, I hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom, while Jenn stayed behind to sign up for the Health Club and hit the pool. Once I arrived at the Magic Kingdom, I checked out the Emporium and City Hall. I was looking for new pins since my last visit, and also wanted to find out Scoop Sandersons schedule. I was unable to find any CM's in City Hall who could tell me Scoops schedule for the day, or if he was even having a seminar that day. I went over to Expo Hall, and found that Scoop had a pin seminar at 1pm that day. I bought a few pins, and then browsed around the Main St stores, waiting for Scoops show at 1. At 1pm, I headed back to Expo Hall, and joined the crowd for Scoops Pin Seminar. If you have never been to one, Scoop Sanderson is a Main St character, who also is the resident pin expert. He gives pin seminars which are not only informative, but highly entertaining. Scoop was giving everyone in the crowd a name pin, and I ended up with one from him. I enjoyed the seminar, which had a few of the DIS people in attendance. At the end of the seminar, I gave Scoop a NYSP 9-11 pin which I had brought down for him. He seemed genuinely impressed with the pin. I then left the MK, and did the monorail shuffle over to Epcot, to meet Jenn. That's one of the things I like to do right off the bat, using the monorail to get from MK to Epcot, to let me know I'm really back in the world.
I exited the Epcot monorail, and went to the front gate. A Security CM, named Bonnie, was impressed with my NYPD Mickey pin, so I gave it to her, since I had a few extras. I figure with all the joy various CM's have brought to me over the years, it was a small payback. I then walked over to Guest Relations, after scoping out the topiaries in the front courtyard area ( or the graveyard area, depending on your thoughts on the leave a legacy stones). At Guest Relations, I tried to make a lunch PS for Le Cellier, but they said there were none available. The CM did suggest going there anyway and trying a walk in. I met Jenn by Spaceship Earth, and we hoofed it over to Le Cellier. We arrived at Le Cellier at 3:00pm, and they took us for lunch with no wait. I can't understand why there were no PS's available, as there were only 4 occupied tables in the entire restaurant. I ordered the French Dip sandwich, and a dark beer called Tres Pistoles, which tasted like motor oil. It was way too strong, and I ended up ordering a coke to drink. Jenn had the Toronto Chicken sandwich and potato salad that came with it. The potato salad was outstanding, so much so that Jenn actually asked for the recipe. My French Dip was also excellent, and the bread was very soft. The breadsticks that came with the meal were also nice and tasty, I preferred the pretzel ones, while Jenn liked the grain ones. The total for lunch came to $34.60, with a $7 tip, for a total of $41.60. It was well worth, well maybe except for the brewski.
After the hearty repast, we went to the Flower & Garden tent, and bought some F&G pins, knowing that if I waited, there would be a good chance of them running out as in past years. We then walked through the World Showcase on the west side, past Canada, UK, France & Japan. We went to the USA, just in time for the Fife & Drum Corps. After a patriotic show from them, we went inside, and grabbed a nice front row floor seat for the Voices of Liberty. After watching them perform another fantastic set of American music, we went into the theater and caught the American Adventure. A perfect triple header if you ask me. As we exited the AA, it was time for the next show of the Fife & Drum Corps, so I caught that, while Jenn wandered around. I then caught the next show by Voices of Liberty, which made for quite the perfect day, even though it was not even over yet. After the 2nd VOL set, I went out to the America Gardens theater and snagged seats for us for the Turtles Flower Power show, featuring Flo & Eddie. I had last seen Flo & Eddie ( Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan ) in 1976 on Long Island. They were originally in the Turtles, had a few big hits, then joined Frank Zappa's band in the early 70's, then did a a stint on their own as Flo & Eddie. They have a great show, combining comedy with their hits. For the 5:45pm show, they opened with several of their hits, then also did Like A Rolling Stone which segued into Hang On Sloopy, which in turn segued into Twist & Shout, before seguing back into Like A Rolling Stone. They then finished up with Nobody But You, and their biggest hit, Happy Together. They both looked pretty good, and they had a lot of fun with the audience during the show. After the show, Jenn wanted to head back to the hotel, so she left, and I stayed behind. I wandered over to Italy, Germany, and then Japan, where I watched the drummers for awhile. I made it back to the America Gardens theater for the 7:00pm Flo & Eddie show, and managed to get in the front row this time. This show started with a few hits, including Elenore, then went into a 15 minute long comedic rap centered around the Circle of Life, and where they claimed to be all different bands from the 60's and 70's, using chords and jokes from different bands and songs. It was an outstanding performance, and one I really would not have expected in Epcot. After that , they did Nobody But You, and finished up with Happy Together once again. I got to say hello to Howard after the show, and went to buy one of their CD's at the cart outside the theater, but found out they were all sold out!!! I stuck around for the 8:15pm show, since it was Flo & Eddie's last day at Epcot. A nice lady sat next to me, who was a big fan of theirs. We reminisced about them for quite some time, with no action on the stage, even past the show starting time. At 8:25pm an announcement was made that the show was being cancelled due to inclement weather. I don't know what weather they were talking about, as it wasn't raining, and there was nothing else doing. There did appear to be some storm clouds way off in the distance, so perhaps that was it. Anyway, with no show to watch, I bid adieu to the nice lady, and wandered the World Showcase, to wait for Illuminations. I made it to Germany, where I got myself a Beck's dark, which was much better than the beer in Canada, and waited for Reflections of Earth. I enjoyed the show from the Germany area, with not much of a crowd. The show was superb as always. After ROE, I took a leisurely stroll to the front of Epcot, and caught the bus back to Coronado. I was tucked into bed by 10:15pm, and sawing logs soon thereafter.....
Stay tuned for day 2...
Take care,
Bill
Who :
Bill, age 44, NYSP Investigator, AP Holder, and veteran of numerous WDW trips ( last one 12/02)
Jenn, my oldest daughter, age 20, AP holder, last trip 12/02
When :
May 19 thru May 29, 2003
Where :
Coronado Springs, my 3rd stay, Jenn's 2nd at CS
Day 1, Monday, 5/19/03
Hello all,
We woke up at 3:00am, in order to make it to NYC for our flight. We had loaded up the van the night before except for last minute stuff, and were on the road at 3:45am. I live about 100 miles north of NYC, so I had figured on about two hours to get to JFK. We arrived at JFK at 5:20am, with no traffic delays at all. We parked in the long term parking, which had gone up to $10 a day, two bucks a day higher than the last time we used JFK in May of 2001. We caught the parking shuttle bus to the Jet Blue terminal, and used the curbside sky cap check-in with no delay. We were through the security checkpoint in under 5 minutes, with Jenn getting the full treatment. I had two pin bags in my carryon, with several lanyards, and had no problems getting these through. We grabbed some grub in the terminal, and settled in to wait for our flight, which was at 7:00am. We boarded with no problems, grabbed our seats, which on Jet Blue are slightly larger than most airlines, and leather to boot. They also have TV screens at each seat. Our flight took off pretty much on time, and we had a nice uneventful ( the way flights should be) to MCO, arriving at 9:30am.
Once we were in MCO, we took our first ride of the trip, the airport terminal shuttle. I always feel so excited once I arrive at MCO, and this trip is no exception. Once we made it to the main terminal, we went downstairs, and retrieved our luggage, which all made it safely. I had taken 4 bags, one of which was an otherwise empty suitcase containing an extra empty duffel bag. Knowing my souvenir purchase history, this would turn out to be a wise choice. After getting our bags, we walked over to the Alamo counter. I belong to Alamo's Quicksilver program, which among other things, is supposed to have an express line for QS customers. Unfortunately, there was no QS line, and there was only one employee serving the Alamo line, which had about 10 people ahead of us. The line dragged on for about 15 minutes, until they finally opened up a few more counters. The line then moved quickly from that point. Once I made it to the counter, I asked about the QS line, and the girl told me that they forgot to put the sign for QS at the corral area entrance. They then put it out, so at least the next QS guests would be able to take advantage of it. I provided my reservation information, and the transaction was completed smoothly in a couple of minutes. We were directed to the parking lot to retrieve our car, and after I took the scenic route due to my not really listening to her directions, we found the proper car lot. We chose a Toyota Camry from the full size lot, as it had a CD player, and appeared to be the nicest of the cars in the full size lot. We loaded up our luggage, and were soon out of the lot on our way to Disney World!!!!
We arrived at Coronado at about 11:00am, and parked outside the front entrance. I went into the check-in area, while Jenn perused the shop. I found we had Room 9624, which was in Building 9B, one of the buildings I had asked for, and the one closest to the Main Building in Cabanas section. The check-in took under 5 minutes, and since our room was ready, we parked in the Cabanas lot and unloaded the car. We also discovered that the room was a corner room, with a nice view of a small pond.
After getting everything stowed away, I hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom, while Jenn stayed behind to sign up for the Health Club and hit the pool. Once I arrived at the Magic Kingdom, I checked out the Emporium and City Hall. I was looking for new pins since my last visit, and also wanted to find out Scoop Sandersons schedule. I was unable to find any CM's in City Hall who could tell me Scoops schedule for the day, or if he was even having a seminar that day. I went over to Expo Hall, and found that Scoop had a pin seminar at 1pm that day. I bought a few pins, and then browsed around the Main St stores, waiting for Scoops show at 1. At 1pm, I headed back to Expo Hall, and joined the crowd for Scoops Pin Seminar. If you have never been to one, Scoop Sanderson is a Main St character, who also is the resident pin expert. He gives pin seminars which are not only informative, but highly entertaining. Scoop was giving everyone in the crowd a name pin, and I ended up with one from him. I enjoyed the seminar, which had a few of the DIS people in attendance. At the end of the seminar, I gave Scoop a NYSP 9-11 pin which I had brought down for him. He seemed genuinely impressed with the pin. I then left the MK, and did the monorail shuffle over to Epcot, to meet Jenn. That's one of the things I like to do right off the bat, using the monorail to get from MK to Epcot, to let me know I'm really back in the world.
I exited the Epcot monorail, and went to the front gate. A Security CM, named Bonnie, was impressed with my NYPD Mickey pin, so I gave it to her, since I had a few extras. I figure with all the joy various CM's have brought to me over the years, it was a small payback. I then walked over to Guest Relations, after scoping out the topiaries in the front courtyard area ( or the graveyard area, depending on your thoughts on the leave a legacy stones). At Guest Relations, I tried to make a lunch PS for Le Cellier, but they said there were none available. The CM did suggest going there anyway and trying a walk in. I met Jenn by Spaceship Earth, and we hoofed it over to Le Cellier. We arrived at Le Cellier at 3:00pm, and they took us for lunch with no wait. I can't understand why there were no PS's available, as there were only 4 occupied tables in the entire restaurant. I ordered the French Dip sandwich, and a dark beer called Tres Pistoles, which tasted like motor oil. It was way too strong, and I ended up ordering a coke to drink. Jenn had the Toronto Chicken sandwich and potato salad that came with it. The potato salad was outstanding, so much so that Jenn actually asked for the recipe. My French Dip was also excellent, and the bread was very soft. The breadsticks that came with the meal were also nice and tasty, I preferred the pretzel ones, while Jenn liked the grain ones. The total for lunch came to $34.60, with a $7 tip, for a total of $41.60. It was well worth, well maybe except for the brewski.
After the hearty repast, we went to the Flower & Garden tent, and bought some F&G pins, knowing that if I waited, there would be a good chance of them running out as in past years. We then walked through the World Showcase on the west side, past Canada, UK, France & Japan. We went to the USA, just in time for the Fife & Drum Corps. After a patriotic show from them, we went inside, and grabbed a nice front row floor seat for the Voices of Liberty. After watching them perform another fantastic set of American music, we went into the theater and caught the American Adventure. A perfect triple header if you ask me. As we exited the AA, it was time for the next show of the Fife & Drum Corps, so I caught that, while Jenn wandered around. I then caught the next show by Voices of Liberty, which made for quite the perfect day, even though it was not even over yet. After the 2nd VOL set, I went out to the America Gardens theater and snagged seats for us for the Turtles Flower Power show, featuring Flo & Eddie. I had last seen Flo & Eddie ( Mark Volman & Howard Kaylan ) in 1976 on Long Island. They were originally in the Turtles, had a few big hits, then joined Frank Zappa's band in the early 70's, then did a a stint on their own as Flo & Eddie. They have a great show, combining comedy with their hits. For the 5:45pm show, they opened with several of their hits, then also did Like A Rolling Stone which segued into Hang On Sloopy, which in turn segued into Twist & Shout, before seguing back into Like A Rolling Stone. They then finished up with Nobody But You, and their biggest hit, Happy Together. They both looked pretty good, and they had a lot of fun with the audience during the show. After the show, Jenn wanted to head back to the hotel, so she left, and I stayed behind. I wandered over to Italy, Germany, and then Japan, where I watched the drummers for awhile. I made it back to the America Gardens theater for the 7:00pm Flo & Eddie show, and managed to get in the front row this time. This show started with a few hits, including Elenore, then went into a 15 minute long comedic rap centered around the Circle of Life, and where they claimed to be all different bands from the 60's and 70's, using chords and jokes from different bands and songs. It was an outstanding performance, and one I really would not have expected in Epcot. After that , they did Nobody But You, and finished up with Happy Together once again. I got to say hello to Howard after the show, and went to buy one of their CD's at the cart outside the theater, but found out they were all sold out!!! I stuck around for the 8:15pm show, since it was Flo & Eddie's last day at Epcot. A nice lady sat next to me, who was a big fan of theirs. We reminisced about them for quite some time, with no action on the stage, even past the show starting time. At 8:25pm an announcement was made that the show was being cancelled due to inclement weather. I don't know what weather they were talking about, as it wasn't raining, and there was nothing else doing. There did appear to be some storm clouds way off in the distance, so perhaps that was it. Anyway, with no show to watch, I bid adieu to the nice lady, and wandered the World Showcase, to wait for Illuminations. I made it to Germany, where I got myself a Beck's dark, which was much better than the beer in Canada, and waited for Reflections of Earth. I enjoyed the show from the Germany area, with not much of a crowd. The show was superb as always. After ROE, I took a leisurely stroll to the front of Epcot, and caught the bus back to Coronado. I was tucked into bed by 10:15pm, and sawing logs soon thereafter.....
Stay tuned for day 2...
Take care,
Bill
Enoying your reports...sounds like you really had a great time.
