Mize Family Trip Report Sunday April 21st, 2002 3 of 9
Cast: Bonnie and David, both 44, and granddaughter Erika, 9
Tickets: Disney CRO and WDW Travel Co.
Stage: All-Star Music (ASM), for the third time
Entrance: America West Airlines, assisted by National Car Rental
ShowTime: 4/19 - 4/27. This is our sixth trip since 1986.
Out-takes: http://www.imagestation.com/member/index.html?name=dmize&c=201
================================================
Woke up at 8:30am. No one wanted breakfast, and we're used to having a
large early lunch on Sunday's, so I called and made PS for Prime Time
Cafe in MGM for 11:00am lunch. We got some drinks at the food court,
using the invaluable refillable mugs; I can't imagine *anyone* doing
with out these mugs. I don't drink soda, but I like coffee in the
mornings and water with lemon during the day, so even I more than make
out with these.
We arrived at MGM entrance by 10:15am- not busy. A busload of
characters was there to greet us, and I filmed with Erika with
several, including Gepeto- a first for us in all of our visits. Then
we entered the park and shopped our way down the boulevard towards
lunch. In general, we usually bought items when we shopped, and we
almost always had them sent to the resort for pickup the following
day. We checked in at 10:45am & were seated by 11:10am- a staff
meeting had just ended. We had a "Dad"- another first for us. He was
pretty good, and showed no mercy towards my wife & her elbows on the
table. I still like the "Mom's" best, though- better nags (ducking). I
had the chicken pot pie- one of the best I'd ever tasted, and huge. My
wife stuck with meatloaf, a favorite, and was surprised to find that
the portion had been cut. She's not a big eater, but this small
portion, although very good, left her wanting more. Erika went with a
reduced-portion fried chicken, which she loved.
Off to Indiana Jones, just down the street, and our first experience
with FastPass- another new innovation since our last visit. An
ingenious system, and very simple. The current FastPass time was
1:45pm (for the 2:00pm show), almost two hours off, so we stuck our
cards in, collected FastPasses, and headed for the Great Movie Ride.
After an easy 15min wait (all inside), we rode- and got the mobster
holdup again. We've only had the western holdup once in several visits
/ rides. Erika generally liked this ride, except for the Alien
sequence- dark & loud noises, remember?
As we exited TGMR, we walked right into The Life of Disney show, which
wasn't crowded at all. This is a wonderful historical representation
of Walt's life, showing lot's of personal mementos from his early
years, as well as a great deal of the planning that went into WDW
before his death. After this, we got some cold drinks (temps in the
low 90's) and meandered over to Indiana Jones. We walked right past a
long line (45mins) and into 3rd row, center section seating; we could
have had 1st row, but hard for Erika to see from there. Why doesn't
everyone use FastPass? Remembering last visit's limp-noodle show,
Bonnie & I weren't too enthusiastic. However, it was great! This guy
was one of the best Indy's I'd ever seen- he actually acted. After all
the times we've seen this, we were still on the edge of our seats,
rooting him on. I'm afraid I didn't make a note of his name, but this
stunt guy should be working steadily in Hollywood. The extra's casting
director was a hot and energetic young lady who had everyone in
stitches. Even the worn & tired "volunteer" was played much better
this time- not as much buffoonery, making the "surprise" ending more
of a
surprise. The crowd really loved this performance. This was also the
first time that I had taped this show, and I'm glad it was a good one.
One bad note- my $30 Nike Ohio State University cap vanished from the
seat next to me at some point. We waited until the entire stadium was
empty and searched all nearby aisles- nothing. Checked with CM's-
nothing. Later checked with MGM & WDW lost and found- nothing. This is
the first time that I've ever had something deliberately taken from me
at WDW, and I don't like the feeling at all.
Back to the resort by 3:30pm for a brief swim (well in the 90's by
now), then changed and took Erika over to Neverland children's club at
the Polynesian. Erika had stayed here twice on last trip and loved it,
so she was really looking forward to staying again. We had booked
ahead, but it wasn't busy at all. We were told just to walk in if we
wished to use them anymore during our trip... quite a contrast to our
last trip (during spring break), where Neverland was booked solid
every night. The attendant mentioned that Neverland is getting a
complete make-over later this year, and will be much brighter and more
cheerful looking.
There were a few kids there already, mostly Erika's age, so we happily
grabbed pagers and took off for our 7:00pm PS at Tepanyaki Grill in
Epcot's Japan. Three years ago, I was too sick to eat my meal here,
but not tonight! We parked at the Yacht Club, shopped both the Yacht &
Beach for a bit, then boated over to Epcot. The boats were really off
schedule today, running every 30 - 40mins, instead of 20mins, but we
always allow plenty of time for such mishaps.
We wandered through Britain and France, watched some of the 6:30pm
parade around Epcot, then checked in at Mitsukoshi restaurants. We
were seated promptly at 7:00pm by a beautifully dressed lady. For
those not familiar with tepanyaki style dining, it's communal- six to
ten people seated around three sides of the cooking grill. Such dining
is enhanced by having good, talkative neighbors at your table, as well
as by an extroverted and highly skilled chef. We had a very outgoing
family of three on our right (first time visitors here, but
experienced in tepanyaki), and a totally non-communicative family of
three on our left. Bonnie and I both had steak and chicken, and I had
a 1/2 order of sushi (California and Salmon rolls). Couldn't get my
wife to try the sushi, but I slathered on the wasabi (brutally hot
Chinese horseradish) and happily smoked from both ears. Our chef was
pleasant, very skilled in the technique, but not much of a showman-
our second such in two visits. The Japanese steak houses in Columbus
seem to do a better job on the showmanship part.
After dinner, we walked back to Boardwalk to help our food settle. Did
some small shopping, then back to the Yacht Club and our car. Over to
the Polynesian and Neverland to get Erika by 10:30pm. She had a great
time, as usual, and enjoyed the simple kid's buffet served that
evening. Back to our resort, grabbed some ice cream, then up to our
room. Erika knocked off some homework, I made some notes, and we
turned in by 11:30pm.
Cast: Bonnie and David, both 44, and granddaughter Erika, 9
Tickets: Disney CRO and WDW Travel Co.
Stage: All-Star Music (ASM), for the third time
Entrance: America West Airlines, assisted by National Car Rental
ShowTime: 4/19 - 4/27. This is our sixth trip since 1986.
Out-takes: http://www.imagestation.com/member/index.html?name=dmize&c=201
================================================
Woke up at 8:30am. No one wanted breakfast, and we're used to having a
large early lunch on Sunday's, so I called and made PS for Prime Time
Cafe in MGM for 11:00am lunch. We got some drinks at the food court,
using the invaluable refillable mugs; I can't imagine *anyone* doing
with out these mugs. I don't drink soda, but I like coffee in the
mornings and water with lemon during the day, so even I more than make
out with these.
We arrived at MGM entrance by 10:15am- not busy. A busload of
characters was there to greet us, and I filmed with Erika with
several, including Gepeto- a first for us in all of our visits. Then
we entered the park and shopped our way down the boulevard towards
lunch. In general, we usually bought items when we shopped, and we
almost always had them sent to the resort for pickup the following
day. We checked in at 10:45am & were seated by 11:10am- a staff
meeting had just ended. We had a "Dad"- another first for us. He was
pretty good, and showed no mercy towards my wife & her elbows on the
table. I still like the "Mom's" best, though- better nags (ducking). I
had the chicken pot pie- one of the best I'd ever tasted, and huge. My
wife stuck with meatloaf, a favorite, and was surprised to find that
the portion had been cut. She's not a big eater, but this small
portion, although very good, left her wanting more. Erika went with a
reduced-portion fried chicken, which she loved.
Off to Indiana Jones, just down the street, and our first experience
with FastPass- another new innovation since our last visit. An
ingenious system, and very simple. The current FastPass time was
1:45pm (for the 2:00pm show), almost two hours off, so we stuck our
cards in, collected FastPasses, and headed for the Great Movie Ride.
After an easy 15min wait (all inside), we rode- and got the mobster
holdup again. We've only had the western holdup once in several visits
/ rides. Erika generally liked this ride, except for the Alien
sequence- dark & loud noises, remember?
As we exited TGMR, we walked right into The Life of Disney show, which
wasn't crowded at all. This is a wonderful historical representation
of Walt's life, showing lot's of personal mementos from his early
years, as well as a great deal of the planning that went into WDW
before his death. After this, we got some cold drinks (temps in the
low 90's) and meandered over to Indiana Jones. We walked right past a
long line (45mins) and into 3rd row, center section seating; we could
have had 1st row, but hard for Erika to see from there. Why doesn't
everyone use FastPass? Remembering last visit's limp-noodle show,
Bonnie & I weren't too enthusiastic. However, it was great! This guy
was one of the best Indy's I'd ever seen- he actually acted. After all
the times we've seen this, we were still on the edge of our seats,
rooting him on. I'm afraid I didn't make a note of his name, but this
stunt guy should be working steadily in Hollywood. The extra's casting
director was a hot and energetic young lady who had everyone in
stitches. Even the worn & tired "volunteer" was played much better
this time- not as much buffoonery, making the "surprise" ending more
of a
surprise. The crowd really loved this performance. This was also the
first time that I had taped this show, and I'm glad it was a good one.
One bad note- my $30 Nike Ohio State University cap vanished from the
seat next to me at some point. We waited until the entire stadium was
empty and searched all nearby aisles- nothing. Checked with CM's-
nothing. Later checked with MGM & WDW lost and found- nothing. This is
the first time that I've ever had something deliberately taken from me
at WDW, and I don't like the feeling at all.
Back to the resort by 3:30pm for a brief swim (well in the 90's by
now), then changed and took Erika over to Neverland children's club at
the Polynesian. Erika had stayed here twice on last trip and loved it,
so she was really looking forward to staying again. We had booked
ahead, but it wasn't busy at all. We were told just to walk in if we
wished to use them anymore during our trip... quite a contrast to our
last trip (during spring break), where Neverland was booked solid
every night. The attendant mentioned that Neverland is getting a
complete make-over later this year, and will be much brighter and more
cheerful looking.
There were a few kids there already, mostly Erika's age, so we happily
grabbed pagers and took off for our 7:00pm PS at Tepanyaki Grill in
Epcot's Japan. Three years ago, I was too sick to eat my meal here,
but not tonight! We parked at the Yacht Club, shopped both the Yacht &
Beach for a bit, then boated over to Epcot. The boats were really off
schedule today, running every 30 - 40mins, instead of 20mins, but we
always allow plenty of time for such mishaps.
We wandered through Britain and France, watched some of the 6:30pm
parade around Epcot, then checked in at Mitsukoshi restaurants. We
were seated promptly at 7:00pm by a beautifully dressed lady. For
those not familiar with tepanyaki style dining, it's communal- six to
ten people seated around three sides of the cooking grill. Such dining
is enhanced by having good, talkative neighbors at your table, as well
as by an extroverted and highly skilled chef. We had a very outgoing
family of three on our right (first time visitors here, but
experienced in tepanyaki), and a totally non-communicative family of
three on our left. Bonnie and I both had steak and chicken, and I had
a 1/2 order of sushi (California and Salmon rolls). Couldn't get my
wife to try the sushi, but I slathered on the wasabi (brutally hot
Chinese horseradish) and happily smoked from both ears. Our chef was
pleasant, very skilled in the technique, but not much of a showman-
our second such in two visits. The Japanese steak houses in Columbus
seem to do a better job on the showmanship part.
After dinner, we walked back to Boardwalk to help our food settle. Did
some small shopping, then back to the Yacht Club and our car. Over to
the Polynesian and Neverland to get Erika by 10:30pm. She had a great
time, as usual, and enjoyed the simple kid's buffet served that
evening. Back to our resort, grabbed some ice cream, then up to our
room. Erika knocked off some homework, I made some notes, and we
turned in by 11:30pm.
But other than that, it sounds like a great day at MGM. 
