Lyli's trip report April 1-3, 2003 About This Page:

[Lyli]

Hello Everyone!! We are back from our April 1-3, 2003 tip to WDW.
The weather was beautiful and the parks were crowded! DH, myself (Lyli) and DS-8 stayed 2 nights at the All Stars Sports resort.

Day 1: We arrived at the All Star Sports resort at 10:00 a.m. and proceeded to check in. We asked for the “Surfs Up” section, but were told it would be an upgrade to $10 a night extra – we declined. We also asked if we could go to our room right away and were told none were ready. We decided to go to MK while our room was being made ready and come back later. Then, surprise, the CM gave us a Surfs Up room that was ready to move into and at no extra cost. (We didn’t ask, we just smiled) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

We dropped off our stuff and headed to the bus stop. Our room was downstairs, near the pool, food court and bus stop. We waited 5 minutes for the bus and off we went. The weather was on the cooler side for this time of year (low 70’s) and the park was packed!! Now being Florida residents, we are not used to going during peak times, so this was new to us. We headed to Tomorrow land and got a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear. We rode the race track, people mover and then had lunch at the “Cosmic”
restaurant. DH and I ordered the chicken breast sandwhich which was a bit dry. DS was thrilled to get hot dog nuggets. Our goal is to stay under $30 a meal and this one was right at $25.

Our fast passes were due so off to Buzz Lightyear we went. I actually felt guilty [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] walking past all the people waiting in the regular line. We had never been on Buzz Lightyear before and LOVED it!!!! I was hooked along with DS. When done, we immediately got another fast pass for Buzz, then headed over to the Astro Orbiters. We had to wait around 30 minutes for this ride. DS and I went on it together and DS did not like it. The centrifugal force freaked him out, but the ride was short so he survived!

Off to the Barnstormer roller coaster. Now, I had many of you tell me that this ride was a piece of cake. I have now come to the conclusion that I am in fact…..A WHIMP!!!!! [img]graemlins/ukid.gif[/img] Yes, believe it or not,the Barnstormer was too much of a ride for me to handle. DS chickened out, but I had to go so I could tell y’all that I went. Laugh if you will, it’s ok. I am secure in the knowledge of who I am!!

Fast passed our way back to Buzz (this time I did not feel guilty for going past all the other people in the least) We had a ball and I came away with the high score of the family (158,000) Fast pass is the way to go. We next hit Pirates, Aladdin’s ride, the shooting gallery and had DS silhouette done by a paper artist. Next we rode Haunted Mansion and YES! We did see the tombstone of Leota while we waited. Her eyes opened and she looked around (creepy) Last time we were there, the hearse was out, this time it was not. Anyone know why?

Halfway through HM, it stopped and we had about a 5 minute wait. That was kinda spooky as we sat there and one of the doors in front of us tried to open from the inside. Soon we were out and it was almost closing time (6:30 P.M.) We headed out and to the bus stop. MK was very crowded with tons of kids and teens. We made it back to the resort and ate at the resort food court (no one there) I had the spaghetti and meatballs, DH had the steak sandwhich and DS the cheeseburger. The meal was good and under $26.

Back at the room, we unpacked and got ready for the night. All of us soaked in the tub for a bit. (no, no, not at the same time) The room was nice, clean and small. Every CM we interacted with was very nice and helpful and we were looking forward to another day tomorrow!

[Lyli]

Day 2: We got up at 7:30 and had breakfast in the room. One thing we noticed staying in the All Stars resort was that it is a bit on the noisy side. It was teenage city there and they were out pretty late last night at the pool and running through the halls. DS slept well, so I was not worried. After eating we went to the bus stop (9:30 a.m.) and had to wait about 15 minutes. There were lots of teens heading to Animal Kingdom with us. We had not been before and were a bit overwhelmed with the layout. Having read about the lines at the Safari, we headed there first and also got a fast pass for later. We waited about 15 minutes and were off in the long jeep like vehicle. We had a nice guide named Allison who had a dry sense of humor. We saw so many animals and got tons of pictures. The giraffes were my favorite, DH like the cheetahs and DS liked the lion. We also saw hippos, rhinos, elephants and others who’s names escape me.

DS was a bit freaked about the “collapsing” bridge until he figured out it was part of the ride. I highly recommend this tour and be sure to take your camera. We then went to the Pangani walking tour. The problem was that it was so crowded, we could not get close to see the animals. After that we rode the Safari ride again (Fast pass) and then headed to the Tusker House restaurant for lunch.
DH and I had the ½ baked chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans, while DS had the Mac and cheese. This was wonderful!! The chicken was tender and juicy and hot. The veggies were perfect and the brewed ice tea was great. We spent about $28 and loved every bite.

DS and DH went on the Kali river rapids ride and got soaked. I noticed that some people were wearing ponchos or swimsuits – very smart!! Next time we’ll do the same. DH spent the rest of the day wet. One of the highlights of AK for me was the bird show called Flights of Wonder. This was so worth the time. It is scheduled only so many times a day, so you have to plan ahead of time, but I thought it was great. In an outdoor theatre a trainer comes out and shows birds of all kinds doing what they do best, but it’s not unnatural tricks. The birds swoop over the heads of guests and show off their natural abilities. It is also very humorous with a guy wandering on stage pretending that he is lost. He was quite funny.

By now it was getting pretty hot. We entered Dinoland where there are fewer trees and lots of sun. DS went to the Boneyard to play, while I sat in a shaded bench and removed my shoes and socks. We carry FRS with us to keep in touch, but we found on this trip that many families were using the same channel frequency we were. It was a bit confusing. At one point, a male voice kept trying to talk to me ( he thought I was his wife) I finally said “My name is not Lois, I’m somebody else”. To which he replied, “So, how are you enjoying your trip?” I burst out laughing. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Next we headed to the indoor show “It’s tough to be a Bug”. There are a lot of warning signs up, but we had been to “Honey I shrunk the kids” with no problem. DS-8 freaked out!! When the theatre went black he began screaming and tried to crawl in my lap. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] At this point I could not have exited if I wanted to, it was too dark. By the time the lights came on it was all over. So just a warning if your kids are timid about the dark, save this ride for when they are older.

It was now 4:30, so we headed to the bus stop and back to the resort. DH took a nap while DS and I hit the pool (hoping to use up all that 8 year old energy) I was very impressed with the lifeguards. Being a former lifeguard myself, these guys are constantly roaming around the pool and standing on their perches poised for action. At 5:30 we headed to the room, got dressed and rode the bus to Epcot. DS loves the Spaceship Earth (or golf ball as he calls it) so we rode this first and then made our way to the land to eat. It was 6:15 p.m. and they were not letting anymore people into the land. Bummed out we headed toward “England”. We ate at the County Fish Shop ($27) and had the fish and chips.

By now Epcot was getting very crowded and groups of teens started congregating. They were very rude to the performers. In France a mime did balloon animals for children and had the audience laughing. This performer had things pretty much in control with the teens and used their antics against them. When we got to Japan, two young ladies played the Tiko drums. They were phenomenal!! It was part rhythm and part dance – just wonderful. During their first performance the teens (about 35 of them) began singing during their performance. I noticed one of the drummers looking over a bit at them, but she did not miss a beat. One of the adults in the crowd yelled at the teens to “shut up”. They left.

We had some ice cream and then went to Norway for the Maelstrom ride. DH is a quarter Norwegian so he loves going here. DS loves the ride. We skipped the film and headed to Mouse gear, did some shopping and took some pictures. The water fountain near the pin station was “performing” to music and lights. It was wonderful! It was 8:45 P.M. and DS did not want to wait for the light show, so we headed to the bus. We again ran into teens butting in line and being obnoxious. DH had had it and turned around and very politely told them that heir behavior was rude. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] They stood there slack yawed and backed off.

We boarded the bus and made it back to the resort. We were very tired tonight and went right to bed when we got back to the room.

[rebecca c.]

Super trip report! Loved all the details. Hope to read more soon.

[Lyli]

Day 3: Last day of our trip. Today’s weather was the best yet! We packed our bags, ate breakfast in our room and then took all our belongings to the car. By 9:00 a.m. we headed to the bus stop for MGM. We waited about 10 minutes and had a half empty bus. It was beautiful weather and smaller crowds. DS wanted to ride Start Tours and especially wanted me to go, too. I did (if reluctantly) As previously noted I am a whimp, [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] so I was very proud of myself for going. I was a bit motion sick for the next 15 minutes, but it passed.

Then we headed to my favorite attraction at MGM : The Muppets 3-D vision show. I just love this show!! DS liked it, too and we laughed at all the gags. Indiana Jones was starting, so we ran over there and just made the show. DS didn’t “get it” at first. He had never seen the movie, so after some explaining, he was totally into it. Of course now DS has decided he wants to be a stunt man when he grows up. This was well done and interesting. By now it was 11:15 and I was hungry. We went by the Sci-fi theatre and low and behold they had a table ready. We eagerly went in (without PS) and DS was enthralled. Now, the ambience is great here, but the food is just not the best. So even though it cost us $48, we tried to look at it as a splurge for the experience. DS and DH had cheeseburgers, while I had the turkey sandwich. The onion rings were great and the fresh brewed ice tea was wonderful.

Very full we left for the "Honey, I shrunk the kids" playground. This was a mad house with wa-ay too many people in it. We stayed a short while and then went to the Magic of Disney Animation. DS was not impressed, but I was fascinated. We met a real live animator who told us they were working on a new Disney Movie about a bear. He drew a character to show us how they do it and talked the entire time. We toured the area and saw the story board for the new film, finishing up with a short film of classic Disney animated films.

Our next stop was to “Who wants to be a millionaire”. This was fun! Everyone gets a chance to answer the questions and potentially wind up in the hot seat. I did not figure out the keyboard until the very end (I wasn’t waiting for the lights) so I was nowhere near getting picked. A 9 year old was the fastest to answer a Big Mac question and eventually won a hat. I would love to do this again next visit.

DS wanted to go to Epcot again, so about 5:00p.m. We went to the bus and headed back to the golf ball! We rode this again and then went to the land to eat. We shared some sandwiches ($20) and then rode “The Land” ride. They have changed it some, I miss the “Listen to the Land” song.

Off to the “countries” where we did Maelstrom again and the Mexican boat ride. I shopped a bit at the pin station while DS and DH again went on the golf ball.(yet again) I have been looking for the 5th pin to the Small world set of children. I am missing the little African boy and can’t find him anywhere! With no luck, I traded some pins with a CM and bought a few new ones. DS and DH met me at the fountain and we headed one last time to the bus stop.

Back at the resort, we took a last look around and at 8:30 P.M. we got in our van and made our way back home.

This was a good trip and we learned a lot. We were not used to dealing with so many people, so we had to plan a bit better. Thank goodness for the Fast Pass. I don’t understand why more people don’t use this. We will probably go again in the fall, when the weather cools down and the crowds thin out. To those of you who travel to our state during the summer months, God bless you!!! I applaud you and your families and I hope you have a wonderful time!!

P.S. I found the African boy pin on Ebay!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Keokagal]

My DH and I just read your trip report. Glad you had fun even w the crowds and teens. We are going to All SS in 2 weeks w my DD's varsity softball team. I will ask for a room away from the pool. I also plan to bring a small fan or white noise machine to block the noise of the teens! I work for the school system therefore I can ONLY visit during peak times. Thank Mickey for the fast pass indeed.
Peace

[tikibird]

Lyli,

Welcome to Passporter! [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

Sounds like you had a great trip to the World, conquering crowds and teenagers!

I really appreciate the pricing detail you added in regards to your meals - it is very helpful to those planning future trips!

And a free upgrade - very cool! [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Glad you had a great trip, and thanks so much for sharing it with us! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]