This is a trip report that
I originally wrote for Disney Castle, an Internet
Disney Fan site (A group of really great folks who love everything Disney. I suggest that you check them out):
Preface
Man! I wrote a book! Hopefully I didn’t get too long-winded here. I just wanted to be able to look back on this when I crave another trip. Sorry it took so long, I had a final exam this week. Yuck! Also, pics are on the way, same excuse. But also there’s something like 450 pictures, 40 MBs worth.
Sunday, March 10
Travel day. Our WDW tour group consisted of my wife, Andrea, me, my mom and dad, and my brother and his wife. We left out around 7 am in style. My brother works for an RV rental place/dealership. They have a demo model that the encourage employees to use. He put his name in the hat as soon as we got reservations from Shades of Green. He said that he was in hot water with some of his fellow employees because the weekend that we left coincided with race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Oh well, the early bird catches the worm. It was very nice, bed in the back, a dinette & plenty of seating. My brother drove the whole way. I don’t think he trusted any of us with the RV. I don’t blame him. We arrived at SoG around 5 or 6 that evening and got checked in. The SoG is so nice. It's a small resort (originally called Golf Resort, and later called Disney Inn) of about 280 rooms. It is closing down in April to be expanded to double its occupancy. The rooms are very spacious, usually with 2 double beds and a dinette with a love seat. We chose first floor rooms that over look one of the golf courses. There is a sliding glass door that leads outside and has a wonderful view of the scenery and course. Back to Sunday. After getting checked in and settling, we went to the ticket office and bought our fun for the week. We all then ate at the SoG restaurant, Evergreens. The special, prime rib buffet. I’m not the biggest fan of prime rib, but there were plenty of other things to fill up on. After that, everyone but my mom and myself went for a swim. We just sat and watched my brother and dad harass Andrea in the pool. She is one of those people that are so easy to pick on. My dad and brother are the kind of people who love to pick on those people. That night, we turned in kind of early, so that we could be ready for the next five days of workout.
Monday, March 11
We all brought plenty of food for the week, so we all ate breakfast in the room every day. That saves a lot of time and money. Even though there was plenty of cereal, I think I ate cookies for breakfast nearly everyday. I would wake up every day so excited that I wouldn’t be in the mood to hassle with cereal. On to the buses. SoG has its own bus system. They have a TTC bus that leaves and picks up every 20 minutes. They also have a bus that goes to AK and the Studios. You are not tied to those buses, but it’s nice to have direct transportation to and from your lodging. Also, it is a short 10-minute walk to the Polynesian, where you can hop on a monorail. Ander and me left a little bit before the slower bunch of the family for MK so that we could get our Eride tix for the evening. I had never done this before, so I didn’t know if they sold out early or what. SoG doesn’t sell them, but their resort guests are eligible to purchase them elsewhere. While waiting for the rest of the group to meet us, we people watched for a bit. It was so crowded. We went at the same time two years ago, and I don’t remember this many folks. We didn’t let that spoil our trip though. When the other 4 showed, we headed over to PoC. It was closed 2 years ago, so we wanted to definitely get it in. That was probably the first time I’d been on that ride in 10 years. Oh, the memories. We then went on the Jungle Cruise. Our guide was very good. Corny jokes as always. We had to be at the Braves game at 1, so we only had time for one more thing, the Country Bear Jamboree. “Blood on the saddle…” That has always been one of my faves. I have a record of it somewhere in my basement. Too bad I don’t have a record player.
It was hot at the game. The sun was overhead, and we had seats on the first base side. We did have a pleasant surprise at the game though. We met some long time church friends while getting some grub. Come to find out, they had seats beside us. We had no idea they were even going to be there and they had seats right next to us. How weird! Disney magic at work! Well, the Braves lost. I don’t even know how badly because we (me and Ander) left in the 7th. We wanted more Mickey. I understand that the Braves pretty much stank up the whole week. Good that those games don’t count, huh? Oh, yeah, we had some good greasy ballpark food for a good hot day.
Back to MK. Ander and I went back to get in everything that wasn’t on the Eride list. I think that I finally agree with the majority of people about the new Tiki room show. 2 years ago I said that I liked it, now I wish that the old show was back. I want to strangle Iago. We had dinner at Pinocchio Village Haus. It was ok for a grease pit. We got a widow seat overlooking the Small World loading dock. It was fun waving at everyone and toasting them with my burger. Ander tried her hand at the Frontierland shooting gallery. I had to teach her how to line up the sights. At first she was trying to shoot from the hip. I shudder to see her with a real gun. She did all right after I showed her the right way. The non-Eride lines weren’t too bad, except for Fantasyland. Kids galore, and at night, grumpy ones at that. We waited for about 45 minutes on Peter Pan’s Flight. I wanted to cry along with this baby in front of us by the time we got to the loading platform. The rides seem so much shorter after you wait seemingly forever in line. We looked at each other and said “That’s it?!?!?”, after it ended.
Erides. We loved it. We rented a locker and stowed our stuff. Fun, here we come. It started at 10 and ended at 1 am. WOW! What a way to start off a week of Disney. We started it off at Alien Encounter. This is one of my favorite attractions. I was able to convince Ander to get with me. She was hesitant about it, because the last time she went on it, she declared it the worst thing she had ever been through. After it was over, she told me that that would be the last time. HEE HEE! I enjoyed it. I keep telling her that Disney doesn’t like to kill their guests. We next rode Space Mountain. This was her first time ever. We weren’t able to ride it last time. As soon as we got off, she grabbed me, and we went back through it again. She loved it. It was everything that I had remembered it being. We rode the TTA countless times. That is one of her favorites. It’s great to get off your feet for a while and still be experiencing Disney. We both had our first shot at Space Ranger Spin. That was a lot of fun. I don’t remember my score, but I fared well for my first go around. Ander didn’t do so well. Remember the shooting gallery? Then we both got our first taste of Splash Mountain. This became one of our favorites. We were apprehensive about it being night and it being a wet ride. We got a boat to ourselves and sat in the back seat, hoping for the best. The ride was great. We got the wettest from the front bend that goes around the briar patch. That was so agonizing watching the boats come down the drop and watching all of their water slowly arc up and right at you. It seems to take so long to hit you. Also that little water fall right before the final scene. It was on my side, of course, and we got stuck there for a few seconds. It was great though. Around 1, we drug ourselves back to the room. I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow.
Tuesday, March 12
We slept in for an hour and decided to go with the rest of the crew to AK. We got there around ten-ish and had to wait forever for bag check. There was such a mass of folks there. Once we got in it was a little more bearable. We all went to get a FastPass for It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Ander and I saw it last time, but for everyone else, it was their first. We all loved it. BTW- While we were waiting on our FastPass, Ander and I went to the Jungle Trek. That’s always neat. We got to see a couple of the bats fly around. After ITTBAB, the brothers and wives went on Dinosaur. My brother did not like Space Mountain because it was dark and was jerked around so much (my brother is almost 20 years my senior). I forgot how dark and jerky Dinosaur was. Needless to say, he wasn’t entirely impressed with this one. We obtained a FastPass for Dinosaur, and while we were waiting Ander and I ate at Pizzafari. It was pretty good, but crowded. We then went on the Safari, and loved it as usual. Andrea has always loved African wildlife. So, that’s about the closest thing to taking her there that I can afford. We decided to head back to the room for a little while after that. That’s when I sent my quick hello to the castle.
That evening, we walked to the Polynesian and ate at Kona Café. It was wonderful. We both got beef teriyaki. They have a full time desert/pastry chef. I wanted to try all of her desserts. We settled on something called KoKo Puffs. It was described as an inside-out éclair. It was incredible. I have before and after pics of it. We then went down to the beach and discovered the resort shuttle boats. We got to ride by ourselves across the lagoon to the MK launch. I have to admit it was very romantic. We picked up a few folks and went to the Grand Floridian. That place was incredible. I hope I can make the cash to stay there some time. There was a jazz band playing in the lobby (or whatever you call it. I call it a huge room). We went out on one of the balconies and watched some of the water parade. Then we took the monorail over to the Contemporary and browsed around it for a while. I’ve always liked that resort, never stayed there, but always liked being in it. We rode up to the California Grill. Wow! That place has changed a lot since it was called the Top of the World Restaurant. We just looked around; it was a little too classy for us. That ended our Tuesday.
Wednesday, March 13
Epcot all day. As a group, we all went to Epcot. When we got there I found out that Spaceship Earth was going to be closed. Well, I knew then that we’d have to come back later in the week also. We started off, by going to Test Track and getting FastPasses. My folks had no interest in riding, so they gave us their tix to get some extra FPs. Yeehaw! We all went to Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I’ve always enjoyed that pavilion. We all split after that and Ander and I went to the Innoventions and the Living Seas. I swear I sent out an email postcard to the castle. Something must have gone wrong on their end because I didn’t get the copy either. Oh, well. Ander loves the Seas because of the manatees. They had two this time, one full grown and one about half its size. We met my brother and sis-in-law for Test Track. I got the most excellent picture from that ride. I was mugging for the camera; we all got a kick out of it. I’ll post it when I get all of the other pics up. They didn’t want they didn’t want to ride with the extra passes, so Ander and I rode again. We broke from my brother and started around the left side of the countries. We made reservations for 6 that night at the San Angel Inn in Mexico. We went to Norway and rode Maelstrom. We hardly had to wait. I know a lot of people criticize that rid for being too short. It is, but I just love the last part at the oil rig. That is just so cool. We were getting hungry, so we decide to check out Akershus since we were there. It was really very good. They had a hot and cold buffet with some interesting items. We tried to broaden our horizons some. It wasn’t my favorite eating experience, but it was well worth it. We toured around through American Experience, ending with the show there. Wonderful as usual. Oops! I forgot to tell you about San Angel Inn. I know it gets so-so reviews, but we’ve always wanted to get the experience of eating there. We got tables right next to the water. I can’t remember what our dinners were called, but I do remember that it was good and the burrito was awesome. The atmosphere was so nice. I will be going back. We ended the day while Ander shopped at Mouse Gear and I watched some of Illuminations.
Thursday, March 14
Ander and I started off by walking to the Polynesian to get Eride tix for this evening. We are hooked on that! We then struck off to the Studios. Neither of us had been there before, so this was all new. It was very crowded, but so neat to see things for the first time. We immediately got FastPasses for ToT. We checked out The Great Movie Ride while we were waiting for ToT. Enjoyed the line on this one. The movie props were cool and the trailers were fun to watch. We had a great guide. She was very bubbly and fun. Time for the Tower! We walked right up to the library. I love the detail of everything here. We both couldn’t quit laughing on that ride. It was so much fun. I wish we could have done it again around 400 times. I don’t know which is my fave now. ToT? Splash Mountain. We bough our first pin for ToT. Ander’s beginning to get roped in to that craze. I have to admit it’s pretty fun. We then got FPs for Rockin Roller. We were getting hungry, so we stopped at the ABC Commissary and both got fish and chips. It was good, but it was greasy and laid heavy on my stomach for a while. We went to Muppetvision 3D. That was so much fun. I love all of the 3D movies at WDW, but this one just about tops my list. We went on the backlot tour. Catastrophe Canyon was amazing. We both enjoyed this immensely. I guess we now went to Rockin Rollercoaster. This one caught us both by surprise. Ander noticed the entrance that the car was upside down. Not knowing anything about the ride, I told her that I thought it was inside and that there wouldn’t be enough room for any loops. Wrong! We couldn’t believe how different it felt to take off so quickly. Watching others taking off does not prepare you for the G’s that you’ll be pulling. We felt my backpack under both of our feet at different points of the ride. We worried about losing it all through it. We didn’t enjoy that ride all that much because we had not prepared ourselves for it. Next time we’ll enjoy it more because we know what to expect. And, I’ll put my pack in a locker. We went back to the room so that we could pack up our stuff. We needed to put it in the RV the next morning before we went back to a park. We left the backpack in the room. That was so nice, not having to worry with anything. I even left my camera. It’s nice having stuff handy, but leaving it all behind is a blessing some times.
Off to Eride, Part II. Ander wanted to get back to MK before Erides so that we could get in the Tea Cups. We both act like such idiots on that ride. We went by the important Tea Cup rule of eating after the ride. We ate at the Plaza Pavilion and both had pizza with a salad. It was so good. The pizza dough is so soft and the salad dressing (Italian, I think) was great. I think then we got on the train and made about 3 or 4 loops around the park. We got off before the last loop and headed to Tomorrowland. I wanted to see AE again. She didn’t of course. I gave here all of my quarters and she went to the arcade. Did I mention that I love AE? I had two little girls sitting beside me. One looked to be 6 or 7, the other 5. I was thinking, “oh man! These kids are going to hate this.” I was sitting three seats from the end on the back row. The girls filled in the next two. Their mom sat in a recessed seat beside them. So there was no way that they could see their mom. I kept catching glances at them though the show and they were just looking on with interest. After it was over, the youngest told her mom, “Mommy, I got wet!” and that was all. Ander was close to tears the first time she rode it. Kids are so tough. Space Mountain was broken or something at the beginning of Eride, so we rode the TTA a few times as opposed to waiting on it to potentially not open. I had never been in Space Mountain with the lights on. It is such a small ride! That was really a treat. By the time we rode the TTA twice and Buzz Lightyear once, we saw that SM was still broke, we headed to the other side of thee park. We rode HM once and Splash Mtn twice. We love that ride. By the time we got back the Space Mountain, it had reopened. We finish Eride on that. Bye for this year MK.
Friday, March 15
After loading up the RV, Ander and I headed off to finish up Epcot. Everyone else was going back to another Braves game. We immediately got in line for Spaceship Earth. We were not going to miss this one. That is such a great ride. We opted out of a FP for Living with the Land and just got in line. It went fast. This has always been an interesting ride to me. It amazes me at how much the guides have to remember. Our guide was great. I’ll have to remember to get the guides names next time. After that, Honey I Shrunk the Audience. By then it was time for lunch. We wanted to try another country, so we went to Italy and walked right in to Alfredo. This place was wonderful. Ander got spaghetti and I got lasagna. She said that it was the best spaghetti she had ever had. It was very good. After lunch, I wanted to catch the ‘Statues’ act in France. On our last trip, I remember this being one of my favorite things. We watched the entire act and we both got pictures with the ‘statue’. Ander loves to go to the Mitsukoshi dept. store in Japan. Earlier that day, I saw a guy with an Iron Chef t-shirt. He told me that they sold them in Japan. So, needless to say, I now have an Iron Chef shirt. Yes! We finished off the countries and headed toward the exit. We hadn’t heard from the rest of our group, so we got in line for Spaceship Earth one last time. I called our group while we were in line. They were on their way back to SoG. WAAAAAH!!!! So we got out of line and headed back to SoG. We headed home and stopped over the Georgia line to rest our driver for the night. We got home Saturday afternoon. ‘sniff’ ‘sniff’ WAAAHHH!!!!
Final Words
Hope I didn’t bore you too much. I hope you were able to keep track through my ramblings. I have the gift of getting the contents across. It’s just making it coherent and flow that I have a problem with. It was such a wonderful trip. The weather was great, and even though the crowds were high, we had a great time. We didn’t do near the amount of shows and parades that we had planned. Maybe next year. The two worst times on WDW trips are the agonizing week leading up to it and the emotional drop off the week after it. I really do get a little down coming back, but I’m getting over it and adjusting back to the real world. It’s funny. I’ve been singing “How Do You Do?” ever since Thursday night on Splash Mountain. So, as hokey as it sounds, WDW is with me now until the next time we go. This last Monday I called WDW merchandise and bought a couple of those things that I wish I had bought while I was there. Ander and I are thinking about planning a trip next year. If not I’m sure the six of us will go again in two years. I need more Disney Dixie cups.