NAME - MONTH 2005 • WDW Trip Reports

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Johnson - April 2005

Cast: Chris and Jessie
Dates: 4/14/05 – 4/17/05

Day One- Thursday, April14, 2005

On Thursday, I got up and made a few plans for the weekend, priority seating and Cirque reservations. Then I threw some stuff into a bag, and was waited for Chris. When he got home from work, he got ready and we headed out for the weekend. The trip down went fairly quickly.
We got to our friend’s house, unloaded the car, and settled in for the weekend. Chris made a run for the border, hitting Taco Bell, to get us something for dinner.. After dinner, we watched TV for a little bit, and then settled into bed.

Day Two- Friday April 15, 2005

The alarm woke us both up, though we didn't get a terribly early start. We'd decided we were going to get up at 10, and we were out of the house by 11. The plan was to hit Epcot in the afternoon, to see Soarin' then the 6 pm show of Cirque, followed by dinner at Citricos at 9:45. This trip we were consciously trying to do new things, and we had a fairly full agenda. We had no problem getting through the gates or parking at Epcot, and quickly made our way to the entrance on the tram. Security went quickly, and after grabbing a Flower and Garden Festival Guide, we were on our way into the park.
We decided that the very first thing we would do would be ride Soarin', so we set off for The Land. I'd had the chance to ride Soarin' when I'd gone to Disneyland in 2004 for a class, but Chris was totally new to the ride. As everyone knows, I'm a HUGE ride weenie, and it was a miracle I rode it in DL (in fact, there are pictures to prove I was there), and I was beginning to get nervous about going on it again. I know it's silly, but the closer we got to the ride, the more panicky I got- I'm not entirely sure what I thought was going to happen, like they suddenly added a Tower of Terror style drop to it or something, but I was getting freaked out.
After flashing the AP's, we were through the tree border, and making our way up to The Land. We took our time heading to the escalator, checking out the changes they'd made in the pavilion. The entire bottom was different- the fountain is gone, the tables and chairs are gone. They've changed the downstairs into a new restaurant, a buffet style place, I believe, but at the time we visited, it was still under construction, and they were putting down the new carpeting. Downstairs, what used to be Food Rocks is now entirely themed as an airport, and you pass the "check in" desk to go onto the ride. They will have Fast Pass, of course, but for the preview, it wasn't an option, and we made our way through the standby queue. There's about 6 miles worth of queuing space for the ride, and it's totally accessible, so those in wheelchairs will go through the normal line. There were a lot of pictures and trivia lining the walls, but we moving pretty quickly, so didn't really see any of it. We basically walked right up to the point where they divide you into rows, and were stopped there for a minute while they loaded the show in front of us. Then they split us into groups, I think there are three separate "sections" of seating, with three different rows in each section. When I was in Disneyland, I happened to be in the front row, and that's the way it worked out for this trip too.
While waiting for the preshow to start, I came the closest I ever have to having a panic attack. I'm standing there babbling away about how I don't think I can do this, and poor Chris was stuck listening to me. He just kept repeating "but you've been ON the ride before, you KNOW what happens". Eventually, the preflight show started, and then the doors opened, and we were let into the ride "room". The room is sort of set up like a mezzanine level in a theater. You walk up to the seating area, and take your place on a long, benchlike, seat with little arm rests. Each seat has a seatbelt, and they ask that you stow your stuff in the bins underneath. Then you buckle in, and the awning above you, comes down a bit, and you lift up and forward- so that you are out over the balcony railing. There's a large Imax screen, that's roughly egg shaped, in front of you, and when you're lifted up, you can't see anything but the screen. The actual ride itself is much like a simulator, in that you don't move much, but the movie works to help you feel like you're going over the various terrains of California. I pointed out the Hidden Mickey's to Chris, and then just that soon, the ride was over, and I had survived! Chris kindly resisted teasing me about my panic.
After the ride, Chris decided it was his new favorite ride, even better than Mission Space. We decided to head out and see what else was going on in the area. Somehow we ended up wandering down by The Living Seas, and one of us brought up having lunch at Coral Reef. We talked about it, checked the menu, decided against it, and then just when we were most of the way back to the main walkway, changed our minds again. Back we went, to see if we could be seated as walk ins. The Cast Member said they couldn't take walk ins, but could make us a Priority Seating for 20 mins later. It sounded strange, but we figured it was no big deal, and made the seating. The CM suggested we visit the Living Seas, and since we hadn't been in a while, we decided to do just that. Our timing wasn't that great though, and we basically got to "Sea Base Alpha" in time to take the hydrolater back to the surface and head right back out to the restaurant.
We checked in for lunch, and they asked us to have a seat while they got the table ready. Chris and I settled in to wait, and while we were waiting, this woman came walking up to us and asked if we were getting ready to eat. We said yes, we were waiting to be seated, and she replied, "We thought it was horrible! The food is nasty and VERY overpriced" Not quite sure what to see, Chris just thanked her and said we'd have to see for ourselves. She seemed somewhat miffed when she walked away, that we didn't immediately run, screaming, from the building, but what can you do? As soon as the woman left the area, another one came up and said," Don't listen to her! It's wonderful!"
Finally, we were seated, and given our menus. Chris and I debated for a while over whether or not a particular fish was, in fact, a fish, or a rock. Since it sort of floated away, I have to concede to him that it was a fish. I wouldn't admit it at the time, and insisted that it might not be a rock, but at the very least it was an audioanimatronic there just to inspire these conversations. In any event, we decided on our meal, and ordered. Chris opted for the Diver's Special, getting the Lobster Bisque, followed by the Chef's Special, which was a tilapia dish, and then Cheesecake for dessert. I decided to just go with one course, and had the Barbeque Salmon Sandwich. Although the menu says it's on a roll, mine was open faced, though it was still very good. For dessert I ordered the "Lost at Sea" a trio of fruit sorbets. Among them were a strawberry, a banana and a blackberry (I think). All in all, lunch was good. It wasn't horrible, it wasn't great, though I don't think it would be worth it for the dinner prices. Granted, we also live in an area where you can get excellent seafood at just about any local place.
After lunch, we decided that we didn't have enough time to go into the World Showcase, and headed for the Pin Station instead. There was a special AP pin for Soarin, and we wanted to get those. There were a few other pins being released that day, so the line was fairly long, but eventually we got the pins we were looking for, and headed to the Gallery, to see if there was anything new.
When we were finished in the Gallery, Chris really wanted to go on Spaceship Earth, so we headed there next. After the ride, we were kind of undecided; it was still a little too early to head over to Cirque, but too late to really do anything else. In the end, we opted to be early for Cirque, and took our time walking back to the car. We drove over to the West Side of Downtown Disney, and found a pretty decent parking spot. Since we'd ordered our Cirque tickets so late, I'd opted for Will Call, and after presenting the confirmation number, we were given the passes and told we could head upstairs at 5:30.
We set off, to see what we could see in the area, and found the Harley kiosk. After talking to the Cast Member, we learned that there's an actual Harley store in Pleasure Island, that opens at 7, so we decided we'd head that way after Cirque, and wandered in and out of the West Side shops. At 5:30, we were waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and we were among some of the first people to get inside. Chris wanted popcorn, so we stopped at the concession stand, and he got popcorn and a drink for him, and a pretzel for me, then we headed in to find our seats.
When I'd seen Cirque in January, we'd been seated in the Category Two seats, pretty much in the middle of the auditorium. The seats were awesome, and I figured that would be the ideal place to be. When I ordered the Category Two seats for us, I did it over the phone with a Cast Member, and we ended up being in row A, the very front row, all the way in the left hand corner of the theater. Both Chris and I were excited, because we'd have a great view of many things, but there were some things that we weren't situated all that well for. We couldn't really see one of the tightrope walkers, and were behind some of the action on the front of the stage (though that was even pretty cool, seeing it from a different view). The plus side, though, was that the trapeze artists were literally right over our heads. All in all the show was excellent, and both Chris and I would go back again tomorrow, without a second thought. We'd spent years thinking that it couldn't possibly be worth the money- but it really is!
After the show, we headed back outside, and made our way over to Pleasure Island. I'd promised my mother a while back that I'd get her an Orlando Harley shirt, and kept putting off the stop at the Harley store. Since there was now one at Downtown Disney, there didn't seem to be a good reason to keep putting it off, and we made our way over to it. I'd been hoping there would be some sort of WDW-Harley merchandise, but it's all just standard Harley stuff. We picked up the tee shirt, and then headed back out, and wandered through the shops. We decided we'd get some fudge at Candy Cauldron, I opted for the mint chocolate, while Chris got the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough fudge.
Eventually we realized that we were out of things to do, and decided we'd just head to the Grand Floridian, and see how much time we could kill there. We figured, worst case we'd check in early. Chris and I took our time looking in all of the shops, but still ended up being about 45 minutes too early for dinner. It wasn't a problem, though, after a 5 minute wait, we were seated at a table by the windows. Our server was incredible- one of the best we've had anywhere, and it took her all of 2 minutes to size us both up. When she brought back our sodas, they had Mickey twisty straws in them!
Chris and I each got an appetizer. He chose the Sauteed Shrimp with Lemon, white wine and feta cheese. I opted for the Warm Onion Tart with a walnut vinaigrette. The tart was very good- I have no idea what was in it except for onions, but it was huge. For our entrees, I was relatively predictable, and went with the Oak Grilled Filet of Beef- olive oil, crushed potatos with sweet onions and mushrooms. It was one of the best filets I've had on property (and believe me, I've had a lot of them!) Chris went for the Grilled Swordfish with vegetable pearl pasta and red pepper coulis. This was really good as well. Of course, we both saved room for the best course, dessert! I had the Tiramisu with sauces of Chocolate and Vanilla. Chris chose the Lemon Cheesecake. I'd wanted to try a new wine with my dessert, but instead of choosing the recommended one, I had our server pick one. She brought me two to try, and the one I settled on was the Royal Tokaji Aszu, 5 Puttonyos Tokaji, 99. It was a wonderful dessert wine, with an unusual carmel-ish flavor. It wasn't syrupy sweet, and it was very different than any wine I've had so far. Chris opted for limonciello with his cheesecake. I tried it, and at first it's like lemonade with a kick, but it sort of had a pledgelike aftertaste that I didn't care too much for.
Just as our dessert came, Wishes started, and I switched sides of the table, to sit by Chris (who had the better view) to watch the show. After the fireworks, we ate our dessert, and then sadly, realized it was time for us to head out. We paid our check, and stopped to tell the manager how wonderful our server was, then headed outside to collect our car from the valet. I must say- I love the Disney Dining Experience, we'd gotten 20% off both lunch and dinner, and free valet parking!
On our way back to the house, we stopped at the Car Care Center to get gas, and saw one of the new Magical Express Buses. Being me, I made Chris take a picture of it, so if you saw anyone sitting in the driver's seat of the car taking pictures- that was us! And that was our first day in Disney. We headed back to the house, and settled in for the night, falling asleep surprisingly early for us!

Day Three - Saturday, April 16, 2005

We woke up around 9:30 on Saturday. Our original plans had us going to Typhoon Lagoon on Sunday, but according to the weather, it wasn't going to be all that warm, so we got up a little early figuring we'd swap the days around if the weather cooperated. Sadly, it was too chilly for swimming, and we (well, me really) ended up falling back to sleep until a pretty late hour.
So, at about 2, we were off and on our way back to Epcot. In our original plan, we should have been on our way to MGM to see the new Stunt Show, but we figured there'd be other visits, and it wasn't a big deal. I wasn't feeling all that great, and we knew the walking would wipe me out pretty early, so I opted for a chair for the day. Chris was really excited to find that Epcot had gotten newer chairs, and that they handle much better than the old ones. As we set off, we started checking out some of the flower displays.
We've been to the Flower and Garden Festival every year since 2002. The past few years, things have been pretty much the same each year, with not a lot of variety, so we'd been debating whether or not we'd skip it this year. Normally we go each May, but this year we have a family obligation that will take us up north in June, which will require vacation days, so we kicked around the idea of skipping it. I'm sooo glad we didn't! This year, in honor of Disneyland's 50th Anniversary, they've hidden 50 some Hidden Mickeys throughout the Flower and Garden Displays.
This was tucked in the back of my mind, and I'd spotted a few the day before, when we'd been passing by the displays, but it didn't really "hit" until I spotted the one on Tinkerbell in the World Showcase Plaza. I pointed it out to Chris, who took a picture of it, and that started our new quest- to find and photograph as many of the Mickey's as we could. It was at this point that we were within 50 feet of Gracie- and neither one of us knew it! When I was labeling our pictures, I noticed that there was an awfully familiar person in one of the pictures- I could have sworn it was Gracie! I knew she was going to be there that weekend, and when I showed her the pictures, she confirmed that it was her. I can't believe we were that close and didn't realize it!
Chris and I then set off to find more Hidden Mickeys. We decided to start with the Floating Gardens, where we found one, as well as a few sprinkled on the banks surrounding them. We checked the Snow White and Stitch topiaries, but didn't find any. We did find a few in Future World West, and ended up making a few purchases at the Festival Center. We looked in the Sculpture Garden, but didn't find any, and then crossed over to the Butterfly Garden where we found quite a few. Then we decided we'd check the Rose Walkway. At the Festival Marketplace, we picked up the Festival pin with Stitch on it, and then decided we'd head over towards Mexico, and search that way.
In Mexico, Chris got his normal churro, and then we continued on to Norway, where I got my rice cream. We didn't find any Mickeys in either country, and moved on to China, where we didn't see anything. On then, to Germany, where we were surprised to not find any- even the normal ones in the Train display. But, that's okay, because we stopped for a drink in the wine shop. They still don't have Eiswein, but Chris and I each got a Strawberry Sparkler, which we agreed was a good substitute. We mostly skipped Italy, knowing we'd be back, and kept going to the American Adventure. Here we got to hear a few minutes of Davy Jones, and debated over a group of planters. Continuing on, we got to Japan, where we didn't find any either. Our hunt was not going too well at this point. Again, we didn't see any in Morocco, and on first glance, didn't see any in France either. As it turns out, there were two- hidden in the perfume displays, probably the hardest ones to find.
We had a 6 pm seating at Teppanyaki, so we made our way back there, and as we were passing the Zen Garden in Japan, we spotted another one. After finding the elevator to get upstairs, we checked in, and after a short wait, were led to our table. Teppenyaki has communal dining, with parties of up to 8 being seated at most of the grills. As you are being seated, they explain that the grills are preheated to 500 degrees, so to be careful where you touch. Chris and I were seated with a party of 6, the two people who were closest to us were seasonal Cast Members, so we chatted about all sorts of things over the course of the meal. You end up with a chef and a server, the server comes through first and takes any drink and appetizer orders. Then they take the entrée orders, which they pass on to the chef.
Our chef's name was Miko, and she came out with a rolling cart full of supplies. We were first given a warm towel to clean our hands with, and then a sample of a seaweed salad. (I'm not a fan of seaweed at all) For the entrée, Chris decided on the Nihon-Kai, lobster, shrimp and scallops. I went for (big surprise!) the Filet. Miko put a bunch of mushrooms on the grill, and then followed it up with some onion slices. She separated one of the onions to make a little volcano- and poured some oil in to make it smoke. Then she made a Mickey out of it, and then diced the onions. She put out the scallops, shrimp and lobster, and proceeded to put on quite a show dicing and chopping things, while cooking. At the same time, we were served steamed rice, and little by little, the food found it's way to our plates. We also got grilled vegetables with Udon noodles, and some sort of sprouts. The food was really wonderful, and it was a great experience all round. Chris and I finished a lot sooner than the others at the table, and after taking care of the check, headed back out to work on the Mickey Hunt.
As we were heading towards the UK, I spotted one on an island in the World Showcase Lagoon. We looked all over the UK, and didn't see any either. Finally, we made our way to Canada, and just as we were heading out- spotted one. We took a quick detour down towards the International Gateway and found one there as well.
It was getting pretty chilly out, as it got darker, and we were glad that we didn't have a very long time until our next seating. Continuing on with our goal of trying new things, we had decided to have dessert at Alfredos. I'm not entirely sure how we ended up with a PS for it, since as a general rule, they won't make a PS just for dessert, but I explained it to the CM, and had gotten one at the same time I made the one for Teppanyaki, so we rolled with it. Our seating was at 8 pm, and we were a little early for it. It was a good thing, because the restaurant was packed! The waiting room must have had about 50 people in it. After about 20 minutes, we were seated at a table for two, but to be honest, I'm glad we only booked dessert there. I spent a good portion of the time we were there with our server's rear end in our face, while they were dealing with the other tables. All in all, it sort of had a cafeteria atmosphere to it- very loud, with too many tables squished too close together.
Chris and I each decided to go for the dessert sampler, and were very glad we did. On each sampler was a small espresso cup full of tiramisu, a small panna cotta, a mini canola, and a chocolate covered strawberry. Dessert went fairly quickly, and soon we were on our way out of the park.
We debated whether or not we should head to Downtown Disney, but since it was pretty chilly, and I was really tired, we opted not too. Instead, we tried to beat the post Illuminations rush, but didn't quite make it. I love Illuminations, and it was wonderful getting to see the show, and as we were leaving, found they had projected a dancing flower onto Spaceship Earth. Chris and I made our way back to the car, instead of taking the tram, we used one of the parking lot chairs, since we were parked all the way at the back of the lot. When we were two rows away from our car, I suddenly let out a really loud expletive. Chris came to a dead stop and asked what, thinking I'd suddenly burst into flames or something. I looked up at him and said "Our stuff!" And then we both realized that it's a good thing we don't have children. We'd leave them somewhere, and forget completely about them. Remember when I said earlier in the day we'd bought stuff at the Festival Center? Well, the "stuff" was two handpainted glass pieces, one a small olive oil decanter and the other a soap dispenser. Since they were glass, we figured we'd use package pickup, so we didn't have to carry them around all day, and then promptly forgot ALL about them. We were only a few cars into the row, so Chris backed the car up just a little too far, and then we made our way up towards the front of the lot. He parked in the closest row he could find, and set off, back to the main gate with his receipt in hand. They laughed, and happily gave him the package, and after about 5 minutes, he was back in he car, and we were on our way back to the house.
It was a much earlier night than we'd been planning, and about 11:30, we both realized we were hungry. So, Chris ended up heading out to Taco Bell, and after another mini-feast, we settled into bed, for our last night in Florida.

Day Four- Sunday, April 17, 2005

So, we got up at about 9:30, with plans to hit Typhoon Lagoon today. But, it wasn't meant to be- it was only about 60 degrees. No biggie, the next plan was to head to the Magic Kingdom, to see Cinderellabration, and the new Castle décor. We decided we'd head to Epcot to double check a few areas for Hidden Mickeys, then head to the Magic Kingdom, then Downtown Disney, and then pick our stuff up at the house, and head for home.
We cleaned up, and packed up our stuff. Started the laundry, and after it was in the dryer, headed out. We got to Epcot a bit later than planned, and to expedite the day, I opted for a chair again. We double-checked a few places in FutureWorld East, but still no Mickeys to be found. While we were cutting through the Fountain Stage Bed, I spotted one on the back of a sign in the sculpture garden, so Chris headed over to check out the other signs. Turns out that it was the only one, and so we made our way back into the World Showcase. Again we headed to Mexico, and still didn't find anything. We searched Norway, and still nothing. Same thing in China and Germany. We asked Cast Members at each location, but still nothing. We checked the Outpost with no luck, as well as Italy. In the American Adventure, a Cast Member assured us that there was a Mickey, and that it was very obvious, but it was not the one we'd debated the day before. Chris and I looked and looked with no luck. Finally he begged the woman to show us where it was, and after a few snotty remarks, she did. It WAS pretty obvious, but it was a case of not seeing the trees for the forest. In any event, we got our picture and moved on. We kept going and checked Morocco with no luck. We did ask a few CM's, but none of them really seemed to get what a Hidden Mickey was, let alone the special Festival ones. In the Ultimate Backyard Garden, the CM's told us that there were four, and Chris was able to find all four. We found a family there looking for some and we tipped the parents off about the ones in France, as well as a few others we'd found.
Chris and I then headed towards the UK, to take another look there. We looked with no luck, and then Chris parked me off to the side, while he went to see if he could find a CM to ask. Apparently on his way, he had a thought- and after checking, it turned out he was right, and we found two more. At that point, we'd checked everywhere we could think of, and so we headed off towards the Imagination Walkway. We checked out Farmer Mickey's Maze, and on our way in asked a CM if she knew how many there were. She didn't know of any, so after checking and finding a few, we let her know about them on our way out.
We decided to see if we could go on Soarin again, but there was a 40 minute wait, and neither of us felt like waiting. At this point, it was pretty late, about 4 pm, and we decided to scrap the plans for the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney. We knew the next few days would be crazy, so we made our way back to the car.
Back at the house, we folded the last of the laundry, did one last check, and then gathered up our stuff. We then headed home. The trip was pretty uneventful. We got home a little after midnight- just in time to unpack, and get some sleep. The next day we got up, did laundry, repacked and then loaded up the car to head to New Jersey.

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