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Cast of Characters:
Me - Denise (34)
DH - Steve (37)
Missing Cast of Characters:
DS - Nathan (9)
DS - Ryan (7)
November 4-8, 2004
Pretrip and Day 1 (Monday, November 4, 2004)
For our most recent trip to WDW, we purchased annual passes because we had spent 2 weeks at Fort Wilderness in June. I had ulterior
motives in our choice of passes because I hoped that we could sneak in another trip before they expired. We toyed with the idea of
giving the kids a surprise trip to WDW as a Christmas gift, instead of buying a bunch of toys that they didn't really need. DH (Steve)
said that we could go as the gift in January, but that he insisted that we take another trip alone (without kids). He didn't have to
twist my arm…I had it booked within 24 hours! We hadn't gone away without the kids together since he came with me on a business trip
in 1999.
Laurie from TMFL got us a room on short notice at POFQ. We had really wanted a Deluxe but everything was booked. I booked our
airfare from Pittsburgh. We were ready to go.
We had spent our honeymoon here in 1991. Things were very different back then. I hadn't even heard that were was such a thing as a
Disney Resort. We stayed offsite at a Comfort Inn. I had done no research beforehand and didn't know anything except what I
remembered from my childhood trip in 1980. When you're young and in love…such things don't really matter. LOL
Day 1
I didn't get much sleep the night before we were to leave-too much excitement. I dropped Nathan (DS9) and Ryan (DS7) off at my
parents' house before I went to work. They would be keeping them while we were away. They always catch the school bus there anyway,
so arrangements were pretty simple. I was a little sad to say goodbye, but they were excited to be staying at Grandma's. Ryan was
a little bummed that we were going to see the new Stitch attraction without him. He loves Stitch-they have the same fun but naughty
character. He doesn't know that he will get his chance in January, so I don't feel too guilty.
Steve and I went to work. The day seemed to drag on. I left the office at 2:00. When I got home Steve was showered and ready to
leave. A quick change, throw the luggage in the Jeep and off we go. Ooops, about a half mile down the road…"Did you put in the
carry-on?" "No, didn't you put it in?" A quick detour back home and we had all of our stuff.
We get to the airport in plenty of time. Steve is chosen to go through extra security screening. They had to go through everything
in our carryon bag (which is actually for both of us). The screener had a great sense of humor and was teasing Steve about his choice of
makeup colors, etc. He also thought it was hilarious that I had put our change of undies in a Ziploc bag. They determined that Steve
was not a terrorist and let us through.
While waiting at the gate they were asking people to get bumped because they were overbooked. There was this poor woman there with
3 boys (ages 7-10?) and a young baby. She was having trouble keeping the boys under control and was carrying the baby around like
a football under her arm. She looked very haggard. She really wanted to get the free tickets that came if you got bumped. She
didn't get them. I felt bad for her; she really looked like she needed a rest.
The flight was pretty uneventful. We tried to learn how to play Spider Solitaire on my laptop (after having had a 30 second lesson
from my co-worker). We were just getting the hang of it when we were about to land. We landed a few minutes late (8:15). We call
the boys to wish them goodnight.
Bob from Sunray was there waiting for us. We gathered our luggage and were off to POFQ. I would highly recommend Sunray. He picked
us up in a very nice, clean Yukon. It cost $77 roundtrip, before tip with TMFL discount (no grocery stop this time). Bob was a very
good driver and we had a nice conversation with him (even though he is a Universal annual passholder-not Disney-don't hold that against
him LOL).
We were at POFQ by 9:00. We checked in with a woman who has about as much personality as a doorknob. I gave her the benefit of the
doubt, because she was "earning her ears". Their computer system was down so I had no paperwork. She assigned us to room 5224-a
quiet non-smoking room overlooking the water. She told us we should go to bell services so they can show us where our room is. Over to
bell services we go. The woman there looked at me like I had 3 heads. She said that there was no one there to help me, but my room
is only 1 minute away from the lobby. She gave us directions and we were off. (She was right by the way-give or take 1 minute).
Building 5 was the perfect location, a short walk to buses and food court, and right next to the pool and hot tub.
After unloading a few things, we head off to explore. This resort is VERY romantic, a great place just to stroll along the lamppost
lighted walkways. We walked around for a while and decide to stop for something to eat at the food court. We both had Chicken Club
Wraps. I could only eat half of mine (this is where I miss having the boys around, we always share meals). We sat outside people
watching and just absorbing the atmosphere.
We go back to the room finish unpacking and to bed. I want to be up for park opening tomorrow.
Highs: Getting out of work on time; We are at Disney!
Lows: The poor woman at the airport
Tomorrow: MK and Dinner in the Castle
Day 2 (Friday, November 5)
We were up early, dressed and ready at the bus stop at 8:30. I had a very nice conversation with a friendly 9-year-old girl (soon to be
10) from Michigan who told me she was in Florida for the first time with her parents and her brother Alex, who has Down's Syndrome (she
told me that). Alex had sausages for breakfast (he told me that). They were both precious. I missed my boys.
We waited about 15 minutes for a bus to MK. We were going through the turnstiles at exactly 9:00 (park opening). As we are walking up
Main Street, we have a celebrity sighting. Heidi, from "The Apprentice-Season 1" was posing for a picture with her family.
Someone stopped her and asked her if she was on the Apprentice. She graciously said yes and they left her alone.
We always seem to follow the same path in the MK. First stop Tomorrowland. We ride Buzz Lightyear and I do horribly. I am
usually the competitive one and always compete with the boys to see who won (usually me). Not today, even with only 1 person to compete
with. We go over to Space Mountain and get FP. Next we ride Carousel of Progress. There were only about 10 people in the
theater. It actually looked like it was deserted when we walked by. It was open, but sadly I'm not sure for how long. This ride
always reminds me of coming here as a kid (age 9). It was the only BIG vacation my family ever took. I was so entranced by the
animatronics (pirates, tiki birds). I still am.
We used our FP and rode SM. After SM, we go over and buy the Passholder Stitch pins for the boys. We wait to see the
new "Stitch's Great Escape" with the passholder preview. I have never had the nerve to try Alien encounter, so I don't know what to
expect. The animatronic Stitch is very cool. After it was over, I felt like I missed something. There were a few cool effects but it
seems like a lot of hype for a few gags. Warning ***Do not sit in the center row if you don't want the chance of getting wet.
It was not yet 11:00 so we rode TTA while we waited for the restaurant to open. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's; a double
cheeseburger for Steve and a regular cheeseburger for me. We love the mushrooms and the cheese for the fries. Even without the kids,
we still eat kid food.
A quick walk through Fantasyland, checking for short lines-there weren't any. We rode Haunted Mansion. I always ride this with my
son Nathan, who is very skittish about such things, but rides anyway. I was amazed at all the cool things I saw while I wasn't
trying to console a semi-afraid child.
After HM, we go over to get a FP for Splash Mountain. The line for BTMRR was 40 minutes. I hate to wait in line, so we decide to skip
it. On our way over to Splash, who do we see???…the poor woman from the airplane! She was still looking very tired and haggard. There
was a man with her this time. He had the map spread out over a garbage can, smoking a cigarette, studying the map. She was trying
to keep her children controlled while he did the studying. It was the older son's turn to carry the baby like a football this time.
We have a little time to kill before our FP for Splash so we get some popcorn and sit in Frontierland to people watch. Boy is this
trip different. We actually get to sit down and do nothing in particular. Not once did I have to break up an argument over
someone touching someone else!
We ride Splash and get totally soaked (Steve's hair was actually dripping). Everyone else was coming off sort of dry, but we really
got it. Next we head over to Pirates. This is the longest line of the day. Steve made friends with a 6-8 month old baby in the party
in line ahead of us. He kept making her giggle. If he wasn't paying attention to her…she would yell out so he would see her. It
was hilarious.
Next stop Jungle Cruise. I love this ride, probably because I could give the spiel. The skipper we had was not very good. She talked
in a very sing-song type voice and it didn't make the sarcastic jokes come off very well. She did the very basic spiel with no
added jokes, even at the end when we were waiting for the other boats in front of us to dock.
While we were walking through Adventure land, there was a little girl who was walking around saying "Mommy, Mommy.' No one was
paying attention to her. I asked her if she was lost. She tearfully said, "Yes." I was just taking her to find a CM to help
when her Dad came over and said, "Come on, lets go!" He had no idea that she was with me and seemed a little put out that he had to look
for her.
Next, I get a Dole Whip float (I LOVE THESE) and Steve gets a Rootbeer float. We got out to the hub and sit (again) people
watching.
We walk over to see Hall of Presidents. I decide that I don't want to wait 25 minutes until the next show (again that hate to wait in
line thing). We will go back to the hotel to get warmer clothes on for the evening. It was a little chilly today (breezy and low
70's). I'm not complaining, as it is in the 40's back home.
Back at POFQ, Steve takes a nap, while I watch TV. We get changed and head back to MK. We have dinner plans in the castle.
Just as we get to the castle, Cinderella's show is starting. We stay and watch. It is really cute. Next we ride Snow White's Scary
Adventure. I can remember riding this (at age 9) and being totally terrified. I hadn't ridden it since. (Now you know where Nathan
gets his skittishness). I enjoyed the ride, but it was a little spooky (even at 34).
Next we saw Mickey's Philharmagic. I absolutely love this show. It is what I recommend as my must see at MK, to others who have never
been. The boy next to me almost fell out of his chair numerous times trying to catch the flying objects.
We look through the Gallery Shop in the castle. We arrive around 15 minutes early for our 7:15 dinner at Cinderella's house. We wait
about 20 minutes and are seated. They showed us our table and all I could say was WOW (with eyes full of tears). We were in the center
of the large window overlooking the Carousel-at a table for 2 off by itself. Very romantic. Steve had the Prime Rib, I had the Fillet
of Beef. We shared the Prosciutto and Mozzarella appetizer. It was all very good. I loved the pretzel bread. Our server wasn't very
attentive, but service was sufficient.
After dinner, we shopped a little. I bought the red Minnie baseball hat that I have been wanting for a while. We walked over and got
ready to watch Wishes on the walkway to the side of the castle that leads to Fantasy Land. We called the boys again to wish them
goodnight. We had a sort of obstructed view of the back fireworks, but I still really enjoyed it. I love the music from this.
The hoards pf people were clogging up Main Street trying to get out. We slipped out using the connected stores and made it to the
front really quickly. We didn't wait long for a bus, and were back to the resort by 10:00.
Low point: The missing little girl
High Point: Dinner in the castle
Weird Point: Seeing that same woman from the airport again
Tomorrow: Epcot and the Food & Wine Festival
Day 3 (Saturday, November 6, 2004)
Today we slept in a little. We got up around 8:00, got dressed and took the bus to Epcot. We got into the park a little after 9:00.
We went over to the Land, with the intention of getting something for breakfast. First, we rode the Living with the Land boat ride.
I really enjoy this ride. I am an aspiring gardener with a not so green thumb. We were in the back of the boat. There was a group of
adults behind us that spoke Spanish (loudly) the entire ride, even while the driver was trying to give his speech. It was very hard to
concentrate on what he was saying. They were growing Mickey shaped pumpkins and cucumbers.
After Living with the land, we went over to find something to eat in the little stand in the Land. Nothing struck our fancy, so we went
over to the Fountainview Café. I got a fruit filled croissant (VERY yummy) and Steve got a cheese Danish. We sat outside and watched
the fountain do it's show for a while, enjoying the warm sunshine.
It was still a little while until World Showcase opened, so we walked over to Ellen's Energy Adventure to take a ride. We enjoyed
this ride (as always).
By this time, WS has opened. We walk over, using the walkway by the Odyssey. We stop in Mexico to look around the shops. This is where
we totally break tradition…we didn't ride the boat ride!!! We always ride this with our kids, multiple times, sometimes asking to
stay on for another ride around.
After Mexico, we go to Norway. I had decided before our trip that my souvenir would be the Laila perfume from Norway. I loved it last
time and regretted not buying it. This time I got a small bottle and had it shipped back to our room. Steve couldn't stand the
strong smells in that room and had to wait outside for me while I completed my purchase.
We rode the boat ride and had to walk through the strong smelling room again on our way out. Steve survived the second time (I think
he held his breath).
We took our time and wandered through the rest of the countries, stopping for a few of the F&W samples. We tried: shrimp on the
barby (Australia), olive bread pizza and ziti pasta (Italy).
The Voices of Liberty were just about to start when we reached America. We went in and sat on the floor under the rotunda. I just
love to hear them (can you say goosebumps?). We stayed and saw the American Adventure. We sat near the front. I liked it much better
from there. You can see the smoke coming from Mark Twain's cigar. Very cool.
We stopped and got Fish & Chips in England. We sat on the bench by the red phone booth and people watched while we ate them. There
were paramedics helping a woman who had passed out on the street. I hope she was ok. The paramedics left without her on their stretcher.
We went to Canada and found the 2 hidden Mickey's there (one in the shop and one on the totem).
It was very crowded at Epcot, due to F&W festival. We had done everything we wanted to do there, so we decided to go back to POFQ
for a rest. We stopped and rode Spaceship Earth on our way out. Believe it or not, it didn't stop once. We also stopped in the
Gallery store and looked at all of the stuff I would love to have but can't afford.
We rode the bus back to POFQ. Steve took a nap while I worked on my trip report. He slept for 2 hours. We had originally wanted to
take a short rest and go to DTD before the evening crowd got too busy. I couldn't bear to wake him from his nap, so we didn't get
off to DTD until after 6:00.
We took the boat from POFQ to DTD. The woman driving the boat was very entertaining and talked non-stop the entire way. She pointed
out everything along the way. She would have been a great time- share salesman. I was sold after seeing Saratoga Springs (Steve
wasn't so easily persuaded, though).
After we disembark at DTD, it seems that the entire population of WDW was at DTD that night. We go over to Earl of Sandwich. The
lines are pretty long. We were quick to get our order in. The guy filling them, however, was filling them very much out of order.
Other customers were getting angry when there number hadn't been called yet. I waited patiently while Steve saved a table outside.
Steve got the roast beef with blue cheese and I got the turkey with cranberries, etc. They were both very good and different.
We take our time and wander through the various stores. At the Art of Disney, I spot a beautiful painting of the castle that I love.
For a mere $30,000 I could have hung it in my living room. We had to make a decision…feed our kids and pay our mortgage for the next 2
years, or look at Cinderella's castle everyday. Tough decision, but Steve dragged me back to reality and we didn't buy it.
At World of Disney, we did a little damage to our Visa (even with 10% annual pass discount). **Note-every time I used my Annual pass
for a discount, they checked my photo ID also. This includes when I bought my passholder pins in the MK. I'm glad I was carrying my
driver's license.***
We get the kids some gifts. Nathan wanted the big Mickey hands. We also got him a Mulan and Pete's Dragon ceramic figurine (he collects
these).
Ryan got a Stitch T-shirt (tie-dyed with glow in the dark Stitch) and a Lilo and Stitch bobblehead.
I got the new Mickey cookbook. We picked up some gifts for other folks back home. I also picked up some things to put in the boys'
surprise WDW trip box for Christmas (journals, postcards, boxes to put the surprise stuff in, etc).
After our marathon shopping session, we were both tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. We ended up near the bus stop, so we just
hopped on the bus instead of taking the boat back.
There was a message waiting on the phone when we got back. The salesgirl from World of Disney had kept my room key when she had
charged our order to it. She said we could come back and get it if we wanted to. Sorry…I wasn't making that trip again. We walked
over to Guest Relations and the CM there issued me a new room key immediately.
High Points-Shopping, Relaxing breakfast by the fountain in Epcot
Low Points-Losing my room key
Tomorrow-Keys to the Kingdom, Meeting our friends for Fantasmic
Day 4 (Sunday, November 7, 2004)
Today we have booked the Keys to the Kingdom Tour in MK (Thanks Laurie from TMFL for taking care of this). We get up early and are
out the door by 7:30. We stop by the food court for a quick bite on the way to the bus. We arrive at MK by 8:00.
We take our time getting into the park and check in for the tour around 8:10. They have name pins for us and big yellow "GUEST"
passes to wear around our neck. We choose our lunch from the menu of Columbia Harbor House. There is coffee to drink if you wish.
Since we are early, they tell us we can look around Main Street but be back by 8:25. After noticing our pins, the CM's were all
commenting on the tour and how much we will like it.
I'm not going to go into detail about everything from the tour. I will say that our tour guide Geoff, from New Hampshire, was great.
I absolutely loved this tour; it combines 2 of my favorite things, trivia and Disney, with a little History thrown in. I am the type
of person who is always trying to find out how something works or how did they do that. Among other things, we rode Haunted Mansion
and Pirates with Geoff. He pointed out many things that I had never noticed before, including Hidden Mickeys. After the tour, Steve was
constantly studying everything for Hidden Mickeys. **Side note-the bedspreads at POFQ have tons of them.**
We finished up with the tour around 1:30. Since we were going to meet our friends at MGM later, we took the monorail to TTC and
caught a bus to MGM. First stop, we got a FP for Rock N Rollercoaster. There was a Beauty & the Beast show starting soon,
so we enjoyed that while waiting for our FP time. Timing was perfect, it was time for our FP just as we got out of BNB. Great
Ride! I can't help but scream every time it takes off.
Next, I get a Mickey ice cream bar and Steve gets popcorn. I can't believe we have been here 4 days and this is my first Mickey bar!
We walk over and see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. While we were waiting to get in, the little boy next to us was crying that it
would be scary and he didn't want to see it. His mom told me he had seen Bug's Life first and it scared him for everything. I promised
him that this was not scary, that my little boys like it and he seemed a little better. I had forgotten how menacing Ursula is
during this show. I hope he wasn't afraid of her. I felt bad that I may have lied to him.
After VOLM, we rode the Great Movie Ride. There were 3 guys dressed in construction clothes standing inside the building, trying to act
like statues. I spotted them right away and realized that they were real. We saw them later in the park; they must do some kind of
street performance.
It was almost time to meet our friends so we headed over to the Big Hat to wait. Steve's assistant in our Cub Scout Pack has been
talking about his trip to Disney for quite a while. They have never been to WDW. I have been giving him tips and lent him some of my
guide books. We realized a few weeks ago that we were to be there at the same time so we arranged to meet up and watch Fantasmic
together.
Brian (Steve's assistant), Kelly (Brian's wife), Kelly's sister, and her husband arrived a little bit early and we stood and caught up on
news for a little while. I always love to hear a newbie's experiences. We headed over towards the theater. We stopped and
got something to eat at the counter service across for the Fantasmic theater. I don't remember what everyone got, but typical burgers
and fries. I got the kids Mac & Cheese meal, which came with grapes and a yummy coleslaw with cranberries in it.
The group of us went into the theater at 6:00 to wait. The wait went pretty quickly. The show was fantastic as always. I think the
newbies liked it too.
We all parted ways and went back to our resorts (they were staying at PC). Since it was still early, we thought we would try out the
hot tub. The water was not very hot. We only stayed for a short while. It was cold sitting in a luke warm hot tub with the cool
night air.
We got back to our room and started packing up. Unfortunately, we had to go home tomorrow.
High Points: Keys to the Kingdom Tour; Fantasmic with our friends
Low Points: The "not" hot tub.
Tomorrow: Animal Kingdom and Going Home
Day 5 (Monday, November 8, 2004)
We finish packing up our stuff and take our bags to Baggage services to store them for the day. They take my laptop bag and lock it in
the manager's office. We catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. The first stop is to get a FP for the safari. While we wait, we walk
through the Pangoni walking trail. You could see lots of gorillas today. After the trail, we go into Tusker House for a quick
breakfast. There was a huge line outside waiting for the window, but no one was inside. Breakfast was pretty good (scrambled eggs,
sausage, and hashbrown potatoes with cheese). We used our FP for safari.
During the safari, we saw quite a few animals. We were stopped at one point for about 5 minutes because there were giraffes ahead
blocking the road. Unfortunately, we were in an area with high grasses where we couldn't see anything.
After the safari, we saw the Lion King show (my absolute favorite show). It was awesome as always. We went over to see Tarzan
Rocks. We enjoyed this show also. We sat up front. It was fun to be so close to the "action." After Tarzan, there wasn't anything
else that we wanted to do at AK.
We caught a bus over to MK, with no plan in particular. We just strolled around absorbing the ambiance. We stopped at Casey's
Corner and ate hot dogs outside in view of the castle. I had wanted to try to ride Splash Mountain again, so we walked over there to see
how late FP was for. It was too late for us, so we got on the Big Paddleboat (I don't remember the proper name for this) and enjoyed
the ride in the sunshine for our last few minutes.
I had wanted to get my new baby nephew Mickey ears with his name on them. I thought there was a place in Fantasy Land that does it. We
get on the train and ride it over to Toon Town. We walk through Toon Town (a total zoo of people). Steve thought they did the hats
in Tomorrowland, so we go over there. Nope, the nearest place is in Toon Town (according to the CM there). So, we turn around and
squeeze back through the sea of people once again. I get Brady's ears in the County Bounty and we are ready to leave. **Note-the CM
told me that they do the names in Fantasy land and on Main Street at the Chapeau.**
I take one last look around and we catch the bus to POFQ. We left MK about 1 hour before our driver was to pick us up. It only took
about 10-15 minutes to get back. We got a drink and waited by the pool, while I put my feet in. It was a perfect relaxing end to our
vacation.
Around 4:00, we retrieved our luggage and I went to change out of my shorts. When I got back, Bob from Sunray was already there (about
15 minutes early). He and Steve had the luggage loaded and ready to go. Our trip to the airport was pleasant. The return flight was
uneventful. We were both selected for extra "special" security search this time. They determined we weren't terrorists and we were
sent off to our gate. We actually left 10 minutes early and arrived home on time.
Since we got home around 10:30, my parents kept the boys another night. They had to get up for school the next day. So I had to
wait until morning to see them.
I stopped on my way to work for my hugs and kisses. I had really missed them.
High Points: Lion King Show, Leisurely stroll through MK, seeing the boys again
Low Points: Running all over MK looking for Brady's "ears"
Conclusion
We had a wonderful, relaxing trip. It was great to do "adult" things at a slower pace. It was also good to reconnect a little.
With our busy lives, we sometimes take each other for granted. I really missed my sons, but we will probably do an alone trip again
in the future (maybe in another 5 years).
I realize how blessed I am to have another trip so soon after we were just there. Now I can look forward to planning our Christmas
Surprise trip for the whole family.
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