Wait, didn't I just get back?! An August '10 PTR...TRIP REPORT LINK ADDED p. 27

[wdwgirl03]

Trip #5: 1999

And now for the next trip flashback. We’ve made it to 1999! This is actually really cool because a while ago I was cleaning and I found a trip report that my dad wrote for this trip. So I have an actual record of what we did! Love it!!!

First some general comments on that trip. This was another one of our spring break trips (I was in eighth grade) and our longest trip to date. We were in WDW for 10 days (I know, crazy!!) and did a lot of cool things. We stayed at the Polynesian again and according to Dad’s trip report, we were in Bora Bora, room 2710. There is no way I would’ve ever remembered that. That’s why it’s so funny I still have this report. Hehe

Now onto some of the highlights. On our first day we went to the MK and started off our morning with BTMRR and Splash Mountain. Dad wrote how we then went on the “new Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and saw where the new Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride is being built.” I can’t believe Buzz Lightyear is now 11 years old! And that Pooh is almost 10 years old!

Another big thing that year was that the Animal Kingdom was now open. So we got to experience the park for the first time!

Dad’s report said we all got drenched on Kali River Rapids except for me because I wore a rain poncho. LOL! My sisters and I also all bought one of those safari stuffed animals. I remember seeing them in the old Disney Store catalog and thinking how I HAD to get one of those when we went. Still have my Pooh to this day!

This was also the year we did the Family Magic Tour at the Magic Kingdom. Dad had booked some package where we could get a free tour. I don’t know if they’ve changed this tour at all but we basically had to save the MK from being destroyed by Captain Hook. So we saw all of these hidden treasures that were the clues. At the end of the tour we met Peter Pan and he took us to ride It’s A Small World.

Since we were there for 10 days, we were able to visit both water parks. On Easter we went to Blizzard Beach and had a blast. I know my favorites were the Snow Stormers and Tobaggan Racers. Funny story about that: so Tobaggan Racers is the one where up to 8 people can race down the slides. Well, Claire accidentally slipped down and the lifeguard said “BYE!” Somehow I took that to mean go and I ended up going down too. But even with our “head start” we still both lost. Good times. I don’t know if we had originally planned on going to both but my dad, sisters and I went to Typhoon Lagoon one day because Mom was having back issues. I even think Dad might’ve tried to see if we could come home early. Luckily that didn’t happen!

Let’s see, what else…there was another brand new attraction this year at Epcot. Any guesses as to what it was? Yep, that’s right, Test Track!! I don’t know if you guys know this, but I am pretty sure we have an old souvenir book that says TT was supposed to open in 1997. Yeah, that definitely didn’t happen. So we were all really excited to try it. We tried to ride on our other days at Epcot but there were delays/breakdowns (guess TT has had issues from the get-go ). On our very last day we were at Epcot and wanted to ride it. Seeing that it was brand-new, of course the wait was really long. But we still wanted to do it so we ended up waiting close to an hour and a half! It was worth it though.

I could go on and on thanks to this report but I won’t. It’s so funny reading it though and looking back on all the old attractions and saying OH YEAH, I remember that! Like the Skyway, the Fitness Fairgrounds at Wonders of Life, the “International Songbook” show (which was at the theater where the Candlelight Processional is) and the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show. As Dad commented before, we didn’t really see many of the nighttime shows on our earlier trips but I guess we saw the fireworks on the beach at the Polynesian.

Sorry that got so long…but it’s so fun reminiscing about these trips and thinking about all the things we did. Thanks for letting me share.

 

[onelilspark]

I should go back and find all our old trips. I made a scrapbook for my parents, so up until 2003, I have them all recorded! I don't know how many times I've actually been

 

[Cat0727]

Ah cool, I didn't know test track opened up in 1999. And Pooh is almost 10 yrs old? Where did the time go?!?!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I love hearing about your flashback trips! WDW was totally foreign to me until 2006 so I think it's cool to read about it when the attractions were new.

Miyuki is the candy artist in Japan She's on my must do list this trip too.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I love hearing about your flashback trips! WDW was totally foreign to me until 2006 so I think it's cool to read about it when the attractions were new.

Miyuki is the candy artist in Japan She's on my must do list this trip too.

You know I lived there for a year and 1/2 and never saw the candy artist!

Does she have certain times that she is out? Is she on the times guide? I have only seen her on the Travel Channel shows!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

You know I lived there for a year and 1/2 and never saw the candy artist!

Does she have certain times that she is out? Is she on the times guide? I have only seen her on the Travel Channel shows!

I'm not sure she's on the times guide, but if I recall correctly, there is a sign at the station she's at that lists the times of her show for that day.

This is from the WDW Entertainment guide:

Miyuki the Japanese Candy Art Lady
Japanese candy artistry from Asakusa, Tokyo.
Sunday-Thursday at 12:40, 1:35, 2:30, 3:50, 5:15 & 6:30pm
Length of show: 20 minutes

 

[brookelizabeth]

Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure…if you’re reading my TR you know how much I enjoy these little missions! I’m really hoping to do the Norway one.

From reading other TRs if you get assigned to a different country you can actually ask the CM specifically for the one you would like and they generally will change it for you.

Wonderful updates! I love your flashbacks - and how cool that you found a TR that your Dad wrote!!! What attraction was where Pooh and Test Track and Buzz are now before they were built? I would have loved to try some of those rides they don't have anymore!!

Does she have certain times that she is out? Is she on the times guide? I have only seen her on the Travel Channel shows!

She is on the Times Guide (at least she was in September and December 2009). She's out I think 4 times a day and it gets crowded FAST, so try to be there early!

 

[Nermel9]

Love the Epcot plans! I can't miss Soarin or MS either, TT we can take or leave, I don't really like the "test" part of it, I just like the end where you go really fast! I wish that part was longer!

I'd love to see the candy lady in Japan, but it never works out!

Love your old trip updates! I love that your dad kept a TR! I really want to try to find some old pics of WDW from when I was a kid, but we are bad with pics in my family!

 

[meeko_33785]

Some chocolate mousse from France sounds delicious right about now.

Still enjoying the flashbacks. I still can't believe Test Track opened 2 years late. We did it in 1999 when it opened and I think it's still the longest wait we've ever had at an attraction- at least an hour in a hald and maybe closer to two hours.If I can remember correctly, Fastpass was introduced about a month later, and we've never had to wait that long since.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I should go back and find all our old trips. I made a scrapbook for my parents, so up until 2003, I have them all recorded! I don't know how many times I've actually been

LOL, I'm surprised I can still keep track.

Ah cool, I didn't know test track opened up in 1999. And Pooh is almost 10 yrs old? Where did the time go?!?!

I know, right?! I remember my parents got to ride Pooh shortly after it opened because my dad had some convention for work down there and they took some pictures for us.

I love hearing about your flashback trips! WDW was totally foreign to me until 2006 so I think it's cool to read about it when the attractions were new.

Miyuki is the candy artist in Japan She's on my must do list this trip too.

Wow, 2006!! That was when we joined DVC. Glad you are enjoying the flashbacks.

The candy lady seems so neat. I hope I can see her.

You know I lived there for a year and 1/2 and never saw the candy artist!

Does she have certain times that she is out? Is she on the times guide? I have only seen her on the Travel Channel shows!

I am almost positive I saw her in the times guide. I could be wrong though.

I'm not sure she's on the times guide, but if I recall correctly, there is a sign at the station she's at that lists the times of her show for that day.

This is from the WDW Entertainment guide:

Miyuki the Japanese Candy Art Lady
Japanese candy artistry from Asakusa, Tokyo.
Sunday-Thursday at 12:40, 1:35, 2:30, 3:50, 5:15 & 6:30pm
Length of show: 20 minutes

Thanks for the info!

From reading other TRs if you get assigned to a different country you can actually ask the CM specifically for the one you would like and they generally will change it for you.

Wonderful updates! I love your flashbacks - and how cool that you found a TR that your Dad wrote!!! What attraction was where Pooh and Test Track and Buzz are now before they were built? I would have loved to try some of those rides they don't have anymore!!

She is on the Times Guide (at least she was in September and December 2009). She's out I think 4 times a day and it gets crowded FAST, so try to be there early!

Oh, cool! Good to know. I'd really like to do a country we haven't already done yet.

I know, it is so funny I still have it (also shows what a packrat I am...). Some of the stuff I remember and some of it I don't which is why it's pretty neat.

As for the previous attractions, let's see if I can remember them all:
-Mr. Toad's Wild Ride used to be where Pooh is. Loved that ride!

-Dream Flight used to be where Buzz Lightyear is. It was all about flight and aviation. I think there might have been a couple other similar rides (or they just changed the name) there. I remember riding it once.

-World of Motion used to be where Test Track is. That was like a history of transportation and whatnot. The only thing I really remember is that there was a part at the beginning where it went outside!

Thanks for the tip on the candy lady! We'll have to see if we can fit her in.

Love the Epcot plans! I can't miss Soarin or MS either, TT we can take or leave, I don't really like the "test" part of it, I just like the end where you go really fast! I wish that part was longer!

I'd love to see the candy lady in Japan, but it never works out!

Love your old trip updates! I love that your dad kept a TR! I really want to try to find some old pics of WDW from when I was a kid, but we are bad with pics in my family!

Aww, I love Test Track. M:S just scares me even though I've never done it.

I know, isn't it great though? It was such a fun surprise when I found it buried in one of my drawers a while ago.

Some chocolate mousse from France sounds delicious right about now.

Still enjoying the flashbacks. I still can't believe Test Track opened 2 years late. We did it in 1999 when it opened and I think it's still the longest wait we've ever had at an attraction- at least an hour in a hald and maybe closer to two hours.If I can remember correctly, Fastpass was introduced about a month later, and we've never had to wait that long since.

Same here, we have never waited longer than we did for Test Track. But we were determined to ride it that trip so we somehow managed to wait that long.

 

[wdwgirl03]

On this day in Disney history...

Disneyland opened in 1955! So happy 55th birthday Disneyland!!!

Sorry for that bit of randomness. I've been lucky enough to visit the original Disney theme park twice. If you have never been there, you HAVE to go! Disney World will always be my favorite but Disneyland was great too. I loved it so much and cannot wait to go back.

 

[RachelNinja]

Can you tell the person giving you your Kimmunicator that you've done all the countries already and would like to do Norway? I feel like I've read that before in someone else's TR, that they requested a specific country.

Yes, the free photo from Disney Visa is great! It ended up being a good thing that they thought Matt was our son because he was in the pics, which I did not like (it was Weird's Visa too!). So we asked if they could print out a diff PhotoPass pic for us instead and she did because of the situation.

That Peter Pan looks like he's gettin' old!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm REALLY looking forward to going to DL sometime...we were thinking 2012 or 2013 after Cars Land opens.

 

[jwwi]

Still loving all your trip flashbacks. And it is so nice how your dad is adding some history too. I liked the castle cake decoration, but I think it is because I go often enough to see the undecorated castle. Unless you count the holiday castle lights, which are so beautiful.

Regarding your Epcot day, I think your list is pretty complete. How nice of you to go get the Soarin FP while your sisters ride MS. Do not miss Captain EO if you liked M Jackson and/or the 80's. I just saw the show on Tuesday and while I had seen it in the past, I still enjoyed it. The candy lady is very interesting to watch. If you are looking for a cool resting spot in WS stop in to listen to Voices of Liberty, they are very good.

I love your Mickey statue, the price was 30.00 everywhere I saw it. Fan Fest, Angel Stadium, DL. They had the cutest Mickey ears for the Angels and Dodgers, some people were wearing them on their baseball caps. I wore my Mickey National League tshirt to the Home Run Derby (under my Brewers jersey). I did see a lot of Mickey tshirts at DL, but did not see my shirt. My DH bought it online, so nice of him. My souvenir from the ASG was a Brewer Mickey pin, yeah. Perfectly small and cute.

Love your picture of DL, "where is the castle?", so cute and little. BTW, I loved DL/DCA, World of Color, and of course our beautiful resort GCH. Our room overlooked the Paradise Pier section of DCA. I could watch WOC from our balcony every night. Did you watch the All Star parade that went right down Main St at DL? It was televised on MLB, Red Carpet Show.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Can you tell the person giving you your Kimmunicator that you've done all the countries already and would like to do Norway? I feel like I've read that before in someone else's TR, that they requested a specific country.

Yes, the free photo from Disney Visa is great! It ended up being a good thing that they thought Matt was our son because he was in the pics, which I did not like (it was Weird's Visa too!). So we asked if they could print out a diff PhotoPass pic for us instead and she did because of the situation.

That Peter Pan looks like he's gettin' old!

Hmm, I suppose I could try that. I don't know why I want to do the Norway one so badly. LOL.

Oh geez, they thought Matt was your son?!

The funny thing is that I think I have a picture from the old Stars and Motor Cars parade and that same Peter Pan is in it! And that was years later!

I'm REALLY looking forward to going to DL sometime...we were thinking 2012 or 2013 after Cars Land opens.

We are hoping to go sometime and stay at the Grand Californian. Though really in Disneyland it's not as essential staying at a Disney hotel since it's literally just a walk across the street to get there! It is such a different atmosphere but I love it. Once you're in the parks you feel like you're in any other Disney park.

Still loving all your trip flashbacks. And it is so nice how your dad is adding some history too. I liked the castle cake decoration, but I think it is because I go often enough to see the undecorated castle. Unless you count the holiday castle lights, which are so beautiful.

Regarding your Epcot day, I think your list is pretty complete. How nice of you to go get the Soarin FP while your sisters ride MS. Do not miss Captain EO if you liked M Jackson and/or the 80's. I just saw the show on Tuesday and while I had seen it in the past, I still enjoyed it. The candy lady is very interesting to watch. If you are looking for a cool resting spot in WS stop in to listen to Voices of Liberty, they are very good.

I love your Mickey statue, the price was 30.00 everywhere I saw it. Fan Fest, Angel Stadium, DL. They had the cutest Mickey ears for the Angels and Dodgers, some people were wearing them on their baseball caps. I wore my Mickey National League tshirt to the Home Run Derby (under my Brewers jersey). I did see a lot of Mickey tshirts at DL, but did not see my shirt. My DH bought it online, so nice of him. My souvenir from the ASG was a Brewer Mickey pin, yeah. Perfectly small and cute.

Love your picture of DL, "where is the castle?", so cute and little. BTW, I loved DL/DCA, World of Color, and of course our beautiful resort GCH. Our room overlooked the Paradise Pier section of DCA. I could watch WOC from our balcony every night. Did you watch the All Star parade that went right down Main St at DL? It was televised on MLB, Red Carpet Show.

I agree, the castle lights are amazing. One of the best things about Christmas.

I don't consider myself a huge MJ fan but my sister did get that This Is It movie (is that what it's called?!). I still would like to see it. I bet it is cool. The Voices of Liberty are amazing too. We've never stopped to watch them but I know we've heard them in passing.

OK, so I wasn't crazy when we were watching the Red Carpet thing. I thought there were people with Dodger mouse ears! That is awesome. OMG there was a Brewers Mickey pin?! Ahhh I want one! LOL. I bet my sister would freak if she got one too. Must check ebay now...I wonder if Team Mickey would have those by chance...I doubt it but I'll still have to check.

haha, when we were at Disneyland I overheard one guy say "the castle in Disney World OWNS this castle!" It is true but Sleeping Beauty Castle is still neat. Just quite a different feeling than walking down Main Street in WDW.

That World of Color show looks amazing. Man, I really want to go back to DL. Do you have any pictures by chance? Of the ASG and DL? I am so jealous! Got to see a good game, and it was cool Corey Hart did pretty well in the Home Run Derby too.

 

[MickeyisBeast]

I love the trip flashbacks
Happy Birthday to Disneyland! I've never been there, since it's on the other side of the country. We don't go that way, the farthest west that I've ever been was to Kansas City, I believe. DL is definatly on my list of vacation spots to try out though!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love the trip flashbacks
Happy Birthday to Disneyland! I've never been there, since it's on the other side of the country. We don't go that way, the farthest west that I've ever been was to Kansas City, I believe. DL is definatly on my list of vacation spots to try out though!

I hear ya, it is a long way to get there. Plus, atleast from here, it's a little harder to get to not to mention more expensive. But it's such a great place to visit.

 

[brookelizabeth]

We are hoping to go sometime and stay at the Grand Californian. Though really in Disneyland it's not as essential staying at a Disney hotel since it's literally just a walk across the street to get there! It is such a different atmosphere but I love it. Once you're in the parks you feel like you're in any other Disney park.

We want to stay at the Grand Californian as well - it's such a BEAUTIFUL resort! I love the architecture. I've read that about DL, seems so strange, but kinda neat too! We will surely make it a whole adventure through California when we go, we've never been west!

 

[wdwgirl03]

We want to stay at the Grand Californian as well - it's such a BEAUTIFUL resort! I love the architecture. I've read that about DL, seems so strange, but kinda neat too! We will surely make it a whole adventure through California when we go, we've never been west!

When we were there we went over to the GC and walked around. It is really nice and kind of reminds us of the Wilderness Lodge. It is kind of strange that things are right across the street but like I said, you don't get that feeling at all once you're in the park!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Happy Monday! Only 20 days to go! Tomorrow we'll be in the teens. We're almost there! Sorry for the excessive use of exclamation points...I don't know about you but I tend to do that on the DIS.

Anyways...if you've read my other TRs you might have figured out I like to buy things when we are in Disney World. It is kind of bad actually. First they sucked me in with pins and now they've got me again with the vinylmation figures. I don't know how I ever found out about them but I'm sure I would've figured it out eventually seeing as they are now in pretty much every store. Well, a while ago I heard that there is going to be only the most awesome vinylmation series ever. AN ENTIRE TOY STORY SERIES!!!! Check these guys out...

How sweet are those?! The only one I don't care for is the Big Baby one (and with my vinylmation luck that'd probably be the one I got ). I showed them to my sister and she immediately started freaking out too. She said she needs those in her life. I heard that they were released in a Disney Store in California and they are supposed to be out soon. All I can say is they better be out when we go! I really really really want that Buzz Lightyear one. LOL! Oh, and if you are wondering why there are 2 Hamms...each vinylmation series has what they call a "chaser," aka a mystery design that isn't revealed. They're harder to find than the other ones (hence the name chaser) and go for a LOT of $$$ on ebay. The TS chaser is supposed to be Evil Dr. Porkchop. haha

OK, now onto another trip flashback. The last entry took us back to 1999, our longest trip to date. We then ventured back to WDW two years later in 2001. I'm sure you could've guessed that based on the pattern so far! So here we go...

Trip #6: 2001

So we continued our spring break trend by visiting the mouse yet again. I was a sophomore in high school. So while some people were taking orchestra trips and choir trips to other countries, here we were still going to Disney World.

This was another kind of special year. As we've gathered now, Disney likes to have celebrations. 2001 marked the "100 Years of Magic" celebration. I remember being sort of confused at that time as to where they got the 100 years of magic since Disneyland wasn't that old. It was basically because 2001 would've been Walt's 100th birthday so I guess that's where they got it from.

That was also the first time we bought annual passes. You know how Easter always changes each year, like sometimes it's really late and sometimes it's really early? Well, Easter in 2001 was really late, and then in 2002 it was early so Dad decided that we could take two trips and still use the same passes. Woot!

As with the previous four trips, we stayed at the Polynesian again, which had become our home away from home on Disney trips (still wish they would make DVC there!).

It's funny because I found another actual trip record a couple days ago. I found this old journal I got in WDW. I should take a picture of the actual journal because it is quite funny...it was an Eeyore journal and was furry with a tail on the back. LOL! A few of the comments I made from that trip:

We were there for Claire's birthday. I know we ate at the Sci-Fi the night of her birthday. There was also one afternoon we came back to our room and there was a cake and balloons. I was so jealous of that.

That was the year they reopened Journey Into Imagination...which they renamed Journey Into Your Imagination. There was no Figment at all. I don't remember exactly what it was like but according to my journal "It was strange." hahaha

Getting into the pin trading craze!!! In 2000 Disney started the whole pin trading thing for the millennium celebration. Dad and Mom were there in 2000 for Dad's work and brought us back a couple pins and then on our trip we started collecting them. One of the coolest ones was this pin called the "Magical Moments" pin that was interactive and at certain attractions it would blink and light up. We took our pins to Fantasmic one night and it would blink along with the music. So cool! I still have it...don't think it would still work but that would be cool to try.

And because no flashback is complete without a picture: