The 'Dude reports on CR (a bit lengthy)

[DisneyDude10171]

=:= GENERAL =:=
Departed Chicago, IL-O'Hare on Sunday, May 2, 2004 on a morning flight headed for Fort Lauderdale, FL for a business trip (which was actually in Naples, FL). Stayed in CR through Sunday, May 9, 2004. This was my 15th WDW trip and first time at CR. Some 5th floor CR east Tower rooms are still covered up from flood it appears.

It's a Small World, Snow White, Fantasyland Character Festival, Timekeeper, Alien Encounter (of course), El Pirate y el Perico, all of Wonders of Life, Food Rocks (Soon to be Soarin'), the Green Thumb Emporium, Kringla Bakeri og Kafe, portions of New York Street, Dis/MGM Studios Backlot tour, Dinosaur, Poly buildings Niue and Raratonga were all closed during my visit. Also noticed all Exxon gas stations are now Hess stations, Exxon-Mobil still sponsors Universe of Energy, though. WD's COP was open.

The current "celebration" is "Magical Gatherings" which celebrates the gathering of family and friends at WDW .

I took 411 digital pictures and will be glad to share any. Ask for any specifc things, as I probably have a picture of it!

Purchased Wishes CD and expanded my (way too big) collection of rubber magnets/magnets in general from WDW.

Any and all questions/comments are welcome.

=:= Pre-1st Full Day =:=
Flight was pleasant, but a bit bumpy. No vocal children . Ride from FLL to Naples was a bit long, but oh well. Stayed in a hotel in Naples through Tuesday, May 4, 2004, which is when we drove up to WDW. THAT was a long drive, too- but of course WELL worth it!

ARRIVE CR early evening. Room 4730, west (facing MK) room on floor 11 of the tower. Room configured with beds facing south (away from MK). Room was in excellent condition and view was incredible!!

FOR DINNER, we went to the GraFLA Cafe. After circling monorail hotels, returned to CR and watched Wishes from CA Grill on 15. It was my first time seeing it, and even though I was not in the park, it was great!! MUCH better than FITS and on par if not better than Believe at DLR.

=:= Day ONE ~ 05.05.2004 =:=
Feliz dia del Cinco de Mayo! Surprisingly, nothing special going on in Mexico at Epcot!

EHM at Epcot. Flower Festival still in progress. Breakfast at FountainView Espresso and Bakery. MMM! Great place, no crowds, and can sit outside and people/fountain watch. THEN rode Mission: SPACE for the first time. WOW! All the warnings sure scared the heck out of me , but the ride was actually quite good! I was the Commander so I got a kick out of that. As usual, did not get sick.

Lunch was across the lagoon at American Inn. Were sitting near some middle school boys using *quite* vulgar terminology. We politely suggested that they refrain from using language like that, and they pretty much complied. Saw new Mitsukoshi store in Japan- VERY nice. Also has a temp. tin toy display next door.

Then moved over to MK and has dinner at Tony's Town Sq (PS). Watched Wishes from inside park, and it was amazing again!

=:= Day TWO ~ 05.06.2004 =:=
Start with breakfast at 7:00 at Chef Mickey's. It was good, but I being a college student still had some adjustments to make to the whole "morning" thing. Then went to MK to enjoy EHM did Astro Orbitor, and could see my CR room! as well as some other favorites SM, BTMRR, etc.

Had lunch at Plaza with mom, and celebrated an early Mother's Day by treating her to lunch and arranging to have a "birthday" cake brought out, but instead, it said "Happy Mother's Day". She loved it, as did the CMs and neighboring tables.

Met up with sisters at CR later that day. They checked into the room next door and we had our own little "Magical Gathering"

Went to Dis/MGM that afternoon and did WWTBAMI, RnRC, and Star Tours, which I predict is going out the door any second now to updated. THEN went into Epcot and dined at Sunshine Season Food Fair in the Land for dinner *after* doing M:S once more. DSi1 was not as impressed as I. Watched Illumi:ROE from China/Outpost bridge. Not the best spot, but we have seen it SOOO many times.

=:= Day THREE ~ 05.07.2004 =:=
Breakfast at 'Ohana then onto DAK for EHM. Dinosaur was closed and I was bummed. Went on PrimeavelWhirl, always a crowd pleaser. Walked (and drooled) past Expedition: Everest and BOY AM I EXCITED FOR THIS ONE!!! Also walked across newly built Asia <---> DinoLand bridge which will help with added Everest congestion.

On to Epcot with DSi2 for lunch at Chefs de France. MMM! One of my favorite spots for lunch in WS. Also browsed newly configured (i think...) Morocco shops.

Back to CR and then back to Epcot with the whole gang. Grabbed quick dinner at Lotus Blossom Cafe (new menu) again with DSi2. Escaped park prior to IllumiROE and hit up Downtown Disney to max out the credit card and some hotels to complete the Epcot pin persuit for the *FREE* figment pin (Heck, I'll do anything to get something FREE from Disney lol).

=:= Day FOUR ~ 05.08.2004 =:=
Early start for DSi1 and me. Breakfast at Food & Fun Center. Onto Epcot for Segway Around the World at Epcot tour. It was VERY cool! Were in a small group of 10 and had some real fun on the "human transporters". Tour was bday gift from me to DSi1. I want a Segway now (PS- my birthday is Thursday, hint, hint )

Lunch Liberty Tree Tavern. Had the big salad and it was pretty good. Then saw Mickey's PhilharMagic. Film was good, but could have been longer. Oh well!

Had quick dinner at Cosmic Ray's-- searched for WDW longest working Cast Member who as of 1996-ish worked there, but could not locate her. Her name is Joyce, and last time I met her, I actually got her autograph! (LOL I was in 6th grade).

Watched Wishes and this time viewed from Fantasyland-- could see that some fireworks are actually set off from roofs of F-land and Lib Sq. buildings! Also noticed continuous streams of water running on roofs of those buildings for added safety- very cool to see.

=:= (Final) Day FIVE ~ 05.09.2004 =:=
Happy Mother's Day! CMs were giving out carnations to all mothers and in some cases, all females.

Received bill.... Apparently when you dial Kissimme (sp?), which is a 407 number, it is not local. Wow. Being on the internet for just a couple hours added up to over $120 of long distance! Upon explaining to front desk that we did not know the number was long distance since AOL picked it... they thankfully reversed the charge. will be more careful in the future!

Started in MK after packing up and had breakfast at MS Bakery. Brought food over to Plaza area for Castle view. Did some last minute rides there before switching to Epcot.

Had lunch at Electric Umbrella outside, along with the canned bird noises to keep agressive birds away and then caught Universe of Energy. Went to Poly to grab a snack and change before heading to MCO.

Flight to ORD was of course delayed. It was about 2 hours due to weather in Chicago (severe thunderstorm warning). Got home quite tired at 1:00 AM and am still unpacking!

Hopefully will be back in Fall 2005 for WDWCP!

 

[SeeDisney]

Hi DisneyDude,


Thanks for your detailed report.


A question....what is the Expedi. Everest? and where will it be located.

Thanks.

 

[DisneyDude10171]

Expedition: Everest will be the latest E-Ticket caliber ride in DAK. It will be a roller coaster, and I hope it will invert! It will be in Asia. Imagine you are walking in from the path from Africa, continue straight beyond the first store and there is a new walkway that leads back to the area. On the map, locate Theater in the Wild (where Tarzan shows) and draw a line up and over the river. There is now a bridge there that pretty much leads to the future site of the attraction. It will open in 2006.

 

[OhMari]

Hey, where do you go to college.

Just wondering, cause my daughter was done April 30 and I could kick myself for not going ahead with our plans to go to WDW the first week in May.

 

[DisneyDude10171]

Miami University in scenic Oxford, Ohio

I too was done April 30, since I am a lucky acrchitecture major without final exams who instead gets to work himself to death the entire year

How about your daughter, where does she go?

 

[Chicago526]

How did you find the CR? I haven't stayed there in 20 years, and the reviews of the hotel that I've been reading have been mixed. Some say it's fine, others that it's worn down and in major need of rehab. What did you experiance?

 

[QJ411]

DISNEYDUDE

Great reviews, thanks for all the info! I'd love to see some of your photos. (Sent PM)

THANKS!

 

[DisneyDude10171]

CR was very nice! My room was in excellent condition- one thing I did notice is that the room-to-room insulation is VERY low... you can hear others nextdoor and even in the lobby when the room is quiet. I imagine this is due to the unusual, pre-fabricated manner in which the CR was constructed some 33 years ago.

The air conditioning system in the room was very sophisticated and had a motion sensor to determine whether or not anyone was "home"- very energy efficient, I imagine.

The sliding door (11 floors above the ground) had three methods to lock it, but only one method worked in our room. Not a problem unless people with really tall stilts come by

Sheets, pillows, bedding, etc were in good condition as were the bathroom fixtures. Seemed like a brand new shower head . Toilet was much like all other WDW ones, single button and sounds like a jet taking off .

Aside from the aforementioned flood damage on 5, most of the hotel was also in similar, good condition. Even saw CMs repainting on our floor. They were also doing work on the west facade for most of our stay.

QJ411: I will PM back.

 

[Chicago526]

Thanks for the feed back. I'm feeling better about staying at the CR, but I'll still call central res everyday to see if my travel agent discount rate opens up at the Poly. Sounds like you had a great time!

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.