jimmiej
I invented the Naked Segway Tour
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2000
- Messages
- 8,395
Participants: Jimmie(me)-42 year old middle school band director, Rhonda(DW)-41 year old church financial secretary, Alisa(DD#1)-19 year old sophomore at Univ. of Texas at Austin, Amy(DD#2)-16 year old HS junior.
Day 6(MK/Epcot)- As I look back, this turned out to be our best day. We enjoyed some great character interaction & some relaxed(non-commando) touring. We had a 9 am PS for Crystal Palace. We showed up at the MK about 8:35, checked in at the gate & were allowed in. It was so awesome to wander around Town Square & Main Street virtually by ourselves. I guess I had envisioned CMs herding us along to our destination, but we were left alone to wander & take pictures. I got a great pic of my family with Cindy's Castle in the background. Chip & Dale & Minnie were out in front of the castle, so more good pics with very little waiting! That cute Minnie even flirted with me!!!
Waited about 3 minutes for our breakfast with Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, & Rabbitt. Food was good(Tigger waffles were cold), characters great, & we got good pics.
After breakfast, our kids went off to ride Buzz again(I think they rode it about 10 times in all). DW & I hit some attractions we had missed on day 3. We did Jungle Cruise, Tiki Birds(We like this, don't ask me why!), WDW Train, Toontown, & shopping on Main Street. It was a great time with my sweet DW!
MK was crowding up, so we left for the Swan. Swam in the Grotto Pool(this pool reminds me of the pool at POFQ). Back to room #441 to relax.
About 2:30 pm, walked to Epcot for PS at Ice Cream Social. It was HOT outside!!! That ice cream was going to taste good. Waited about 15 minutes(the Garden Grille was busy). Ice Cream was delicious & we saw Mickey, Chip & Dale, & Pluto. All the characters were great. Mickey fawned over DW & DD's. Art, our server, asked him if he thought they were pretty. Mickey feigned embarrasment-very funny!
Afterwards, we toured World Showcase, saw The American Adventure(one of my favorite attractions), & shopped.
By this time, it was raining, so we sloshed over to the boat & rode back to the Swan. We went to Tubbi's for sandwiches & ate supper in our room. We had a message from friends from back home who had just transferred to the Swan from a DD hotel. After playing phone tag for a few hours, we agreed to go to DD together the following evening. We had planned to do some other things this evening, but we were exhausted so we just stayed in our room for the evening.
Day 7(AK/DD)- Every time we go to this park, we like it more. I think it helped that the temperature was cool(or at least not hot). While we were waiting in line to get in, the talking tree/bush(?) came out & started talking to a man in another line. Has anyone else seen this? This has got to be the funniest thing I've seen at WDW! Luckily, the man played along. I wish I could remember the whole exchange, but I can't. It made the time pass by quickly before opening.
Like most guests, we made a bee-line from Kil. Safari where we saw lots of animals. I said it last time & I'll say it again-they need to ditch the whole poacher plot/thing at the end. Just tell us about the animals & let us enjoy the trip. Just my opinion. Also did Dinosaur(scary), Tough To Be A Bug, Primeval Whirl(what a cool ride, very visually entertaining!), Flights of Wonder(hilarious!), Tarzan(so-so for me, but DW & DDs liked it), Maharaja, & Paganini Forest. In between we ate at Tusker House. We had a PS for Rainforest Cafe, but decided to try something new. It was very good & the portions were large. We split 2 half-chicken dinners.
Did a little shopping & it started to rain, so we took a crowded bus back to the Swan. Rested for a while.
Met our friends from home & took their car over to DD. We started out at West Side. Had dinner at House of Blues. Good food but very noisy-hard to have a conversation. We had cajun meatloaf, fried chicken salad. Service was good. Did some shopping at World of Disney, Virgin Records(anything you want-they got it!), Home store, Christmas Store. DW has now decorated our bathroom in Mickey(LOL!). I got a baseball Mickey bobblehead, a 2002 WDW shirt, some pins, & we all got a CD at Virgin(DDs had already spent most of their souvenier allowance).
After seeing the theater for Cirque du Soliel, I regretted not getting tix for this-maybe next trip. Back to Swan about 11 pm.
Day 6(MK/Epcot)- As I look back, this turned out to be our best day. We enjoyed some great character interaction & some relaxed(non-commando) touring. We had a 9 am PS for Crystal Palace. We showed up at the MK about 8:35, checked in at the gate & were allowed in. It was so awesome to wander around Town Square & Main Street virtually by ourselves. I guess I had envisioned CMs herding us along to our destination, but we were left alone to wander & take pictures. I got a great pic of my family with Cindy's Castle in the background. Chip & Dale & Minnie were out in front of the castle, so more good pics with very little waiting! That cute Minnie even flirted with me!!!
Waited about 3 minutes for our breakfast with Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, & Rabbitt. Food was good(Tigger waffles were cold), characters great, & we got good pics.
After breakfast, our kids went off to ride Buzz again(I think they rode it about 10 times in all). DW & I hit some attractions we had missed on day 3. We did Jungle Cruise, Tiki Birds(We like this, don't ask me why!), WDW Train, Toontown, & shopping on Main Street. It was a great time with my sweet DW!
MK was crowding up, so we left for the Swan. Swam in the Grotto Pool(this pool reminds me of the pool at POFQ). Back to room #441 to relax.
About 2:30 pm, walked to Epcot for PS at Ice Cream Social. It was HOT outside!!! That ice cream was going to taste good. Waited about 15 minutes(the Garden Grille was busy). Ice Cream was delicious & we saw Mickey, Chip & Dale, & Pluto. All the characters were great. Mickey fawned over DW & DD's. Art, our server, asked him if he thought they were pretty. Mickey feigned embarrasment-very funny!
Afterwards, we toured World Showcase, saw The American Adventure(one of my favorite attractions), & shopped.
By this time, it was raining, so we sloshed over to the boat & rode back to the Swan. We went to Tubbi's for sandwiches & ate supper in our room. We had a message from friends from back home who had just transferred to the Swan from a DD hotel. After playing phone tag for a few hours, we agreed to go to DD together the following evening. We had planned to do some other things this evening, but we were exhausted so we just stayed in our room for the evening.
Day 7(AK/DD)- Every time we go to this park, we like it more. I think it helped that the temperature was cool(or at least not hot). While we were waiting in line to get in, the talking tree/bush(?) came out & started talking to a man in another line. Has anyone else seen this? This has got to be the funniest thing I've seen at WDW! Luckily, the man played along. I wish I could remember the whole exchange, but I can't. It made the time pass by quickly before opening.
Like most guests, we made a bee-line from Kil. Safari where we saw lots of animals. I said it last time & I'll say it again-they need to ditch the whole poacher plot/thing at the end. Just tell us about the animals & let us enjoy the trip. Just my opinion. Also did Dinosaur(scary), Tough To Be A Bug, Primeval Whirl(what a cool ride, very visually entertaining!), Flights of Wonder(hilarious!), Tarzan(so-so for me, but DW & DDs liked it), Maharaja, & Paganini Forest. In between we ate at Tusker House. We had a PS for Rainforest Cafe, but decided to try something new. It was very good & the portions were large. We split 2 half-chicken dinners.
Did a little shopping & it started to rain, so we took a crowded bus back to the Swan. Rested for a while.
Met our friends from home & took their car over to DD. We started out at West Side. Had dinner at House of Blues. Good food but very noisy-hard to have a conversation. We had cajun meatloaf, fried chicken salad. Service was good. Did some shopping at World of Disney, Virgin Records(anything you want-they got it!), Home store, Christmas Store. DW has now decorated our bathroom in Mickey(LOL!). I got a baseball Mickey bobblehead, a 2002 WDW shirt, some pins, & we all got a CD at Virgin(DDs had already spent most of their souvenier allowance).
After seeing the theater for Cirque du Soliel, I regretted not getting tix for this-maybe next trip. Back to Swan about 11 pm.
