Our Wonderful WDW Trip! About This Page:

[Aerobics]

Thanks for posting the latest installments.

When we were there last year, we saw a few families behaving in the same fashion as the family that you observed, and it just made my heart sink. My heart just went out to all of those little children who were told, "I paid $XXX for you to come here, now you're going to go on Splash Mountain whether you like it or not!!!"

I'm so glad that you and David took a completely different attitude w/your children, and look how you were rewarded. No fights for the entire vacation--Woohoo!!!

Thanks again for posting!

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My little baby's all grown up, and....saving China! sniff...You got a tissue?

Wilderness Lodge/All Star Music--September 2000

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 1, Part 5 – Guten Tag from the Biergarten!
Saturday April 7, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)

We checked in to our PS at the Biergarten a bit early, around 6:35pm. They seated us right away. This was one meal that I was really looking forward to. I have been fortunate enough to travel to Germany a number of times over the last few years for my work, but I have never been able to bring my family along. So I was excited by the opportunity to show the kids what traditional German food and culture is like. I was very pleased to see that the atmosphere of the Biergarten in Epcot captured very well what I had experienced in my travels to Munich.

The show started almost immediately after we were seated. The show was a 4- or 5-piece German band. They played traditional Oktoberfest music, singing in German, of course. They played for about a half hour, and then took a half hour break.

We had talked to the kids before the trip, preparing them for trying new foods. I was eager to have them try the various pork dishes, and the spaetzle, which I thought they’d love. The kids ended up finding enough on the buffet to keep them from starving, but they both said they didn’t really like most of it. Surprisingly, they both said the salmon was tasty – normally they would not try seafood that didn’t come in the form of frozen sticks. They both loved the desserts, though – and who wouldn’t? The apple strudel was absolutely delicious. If you go, don’t forget to put the vanilla sauce on it. It’s just that perfect extra touch.

On the other hand, David and I really enjoyed the plentiful buffet. I have grown to love German food – sauerbraten, sauerkraut, sausages, etc. Yum! And while David is a beer lover, I have found that the only time I like beer is with German food – and in fact, I don’t like to eat German food WITHOUT a beer! One without the other is just not right!

The best part of this meal was enjoying the German tradition of lingering over your meal, and enjoying talking to those seated with you. We stayed at this restaurant for about 1 ½ hours, which is about ½ hour longer than we were at any other restaurant on this trip. We stayed long enough to see two shows. Our kids practically had to drag us out, because they were getting bored. Plus it was almost time for the 8:15 Tapestry of Nations parade, and we wanted to get a good viewing spot.

Coming up: Tapestry of Nations Parade, Illuminations

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 1, Part 6 – Tapestry of Nations Parade, and Illuminations
Saturday April 7, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)

After dinner at the Biergarten, David took the kids to stake out a spot for the Tapestry of Nations parade, while I nosed around the Christmas shop in the German pavilion. I was pleased to see that the wooden Christmas tree ornaments and other decorations that they have for sale are really the authentic hand-crafted German ornaments, with the Erzgebirge (sp?) markings that should be there to prove the authenticity. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I’ve never seen those markings on German-style decorations outside of Germany. They also had blown-glass ornaments in many different shapes and styles. I didn’t buy any, though they all were beautiful.

As we waited for the parade to begin, we reviewed our day, and asked the kids what their favorite parts had been. Mike said that Space Mountain was the best part of the day. That was too bad, we told him, since that was the very first thing he had done, and that meant the rest of his day was downhill!

Before too long, it was time for the parade to begin. We watched the parade from a spot that was directly across from the gate where the parade comes out. This was the second parade of the day, so it started at Germany and ended at Mexico, while the second leg started at Morocco and ended at Germany. Our viewing position was absolutely perfect! We were able to see the parade twice, coming and going.

It’s hard to give a review of the parade other than… well,… WOW!!!!! The music was wonderful, the puppets were so inventive, and the choreography of the whole parade was just incredible. It took the whole length of the parade for Kim and Mike to get the idea that if they waved to the puppeteers, then the puppeteers would interact with them. Finally, as the second leg of the parade was going back into the gate near us, Kim and Mike were waving and smiling, and the puppets were bowing down before them, patting them on the head, waving the silken fabrics above their heads, even giving them hugs.

After the parade was done, Mike changed his vote – the parade was the best part of his day! David, Kim and I all agreed, it was a beautiful sight, definitely the highlight of our day.

At the end of the parade, we scoped out a spot from which to watch the Illuminations fireworks show. We wanted to be close to Future World, since we had FastPasses for 9:05-10:05, and we wanted to get there as soon as possible after the show ended. We ended up on the bridge between the Outpost and China. This was not the best spot, because there was an island with trees out in the World Showcase Lagoon that blocked our view of the center of the show. But, we could see most of the show, and we enjoyed it a lot. I think we were all impressed with the synchronized music and fireworks. The big ball didn’t do much for me, but then again, we had a semi-blocked view. I didn’t poll the rest of the family on their thoughts on that part. We all loved the music, and were humming it after the show was over.

When the show was done, we walked back to Test Track to do our FastPasses. Unfortunately, it looked like the Fast Pass line was about 45 minutes long – I guess everyone had the same idea we did and got there first. So we decided to skip it that night, and try to hit it on early opening day later in the week.

Going back to the hotel we experimented with the Disney transportation system. David and Mike took the Monorail back to the TTC, then the Boone Bus to the Lodge. Kim and I took the dedicated bus from Epcot to the Lodge. We had a friendly competition to see who would get to the hotel faster. As it turned out, our bus beat David’s and Mike’s by about 30 seconds. We had a fun foot race from the bus stop to the hotel door, to clinch the bragging rights. I’m sure that all the other folks around us wondered how we could possibly have enough energy to run at 10:00 pm after a full day of Disney World, but hey, we’re just funny that way. (For the record, the men won the foot race, but the women won the transportation race. )

So, finally we were at the end of our first full day of Disney World. We all climbed in to bed and slept very peacefully until the next morning.

Coming up: Day Two: MGM early opening, MK until the wee hours

[tigger536]

This is a really great trip report. I love the details!

I agree about seeing families that argue. It makes me sad. I also hate people who are rude to the CMs when they get impatient waiting in line.

Anyway, it sure sounds like your family has true "Disney spirit"! You even made getting home on the bus a fun game! I'm glad you had such a great time. Your reoprt made me look forward to my vacation even more! Keep the reoprts coming!

Jacquelyn

PS: That part about the plane ride was funny! I also don't understand why they can't spare a whole can of soda when you've paid so much for a plane ticket! Oh, well. I guess its not how you get there that matters, but THAT you get there at all!

[This message has been edited by tigger536 (edited 04-19-2001).]

[WildForWD]

Great Report Jenny!!!
Reading it makes me wish I was there right NOW!!
I could really picture myself at WDW as you retold your day!
You brought back some GREAT memories!THANK YOU!!!

Will be eagerly awaiting your next installment!


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WildForWD
...you must face the age of not believing
...until at last you start believing there's something wonderful in you!!

WildForWD

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 2, Part 1 – Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? I DO!
Sunday April 8, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)

After sleeping like logs, the wake-up call came a bit earlier than any of us would have liked. We all got up and moving though, and were ready to hit the bus stop at 7:00am for our early entry morning at the Disney-MGM Studios (MGM, for short).

Surprisingly, after only one full day in WDW, David and I both were well on our way to having big cases of Disney Feet. Our feet were sore from standing all the time, and we both had some blisters forming. The kids were doing much better than we were – they did say their feet were tired here and there, but neither one ended up with any blisters. David and I both used various Band-Aids, Dr. Scholls blister pads, and lamb’s wool padding to help alleviate our discomfort. Actually, by the time we left WDW on Wednesday, we both were suffering pretty bad, but by Thursday, we both felt much better.

Back to the INTERESTING part of this trip report….

So, we arrived at MGM at about 7:20, and waited those last 10 minutes before the gates opened. We headed straight for Rock’n Roller Coaster (RnRC). The idea was to pick up four Fast Passes first, then get right in line and ride it, then use the Fast Passes immediately. Kim wasn’t too sure she was going to ride, but hadn’t yet decided, so we just went along as if she was going to. Well, when we got over there, the ride was closed for some reason. We did pick up four Fast Passes for later.

I was the only one who wanted to ride Tower of Terror, but since I had already ridden it on our previous trip to WDW, I decided to skip it this time, and do something else that everyone would want to do.

We walked back out toward the center of the park, and checked the tip board. Unfortunately, and kind of surprisingly, there wasn’t much open so far. We noted that there was going to be an 8:00 show of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Play It!. So we headed over to do that.

I should take a moment here to note that Mike, our 9 year old map reader extraordinaire, disagreed with the route I had chosen to get to the WWTBAMPI show. He thought there was a much shorter way. In fact, he was correct. I had taken us down Commissary Lane, to New York Street. Why? I don’t know! But when we got to New York Street, the rope was up and we could not get through. So, Mike led us back to the CORRECT path, and got us right to the right place. Good for you, Mike!

So, I cannot say emphatically enough how much we all LOVED the WWTBAMPI show!!!! The set looked just like it does on TV, which was way cool. Mike and Kim thought it was really neat that everyone in the audience gets to play along – and so did David and I!

On the Fastest Finger, David scored 3rd. Oh, so close! A woman from New York made it into the Hot Seat. As she answered her questions, the rest of us played along. Every once in a while, they’d show the status of the audience’s scores. I was at #3 after five questions! Unfortunately, I made a mistake on the 6th question, and that dropped me out of contention.

The first hot-seat contestant dropped out after 7 questions, so they went to the audience scores to choose another player. None of us were in the top 10 at that time. But as that second contestant answered his questions, both Kim and David made it back into the top 10 audience scores. That’s especially impressive for Kim! She was doing a great job of hitting the buttons as soon as they lit up – and that’s definitely the secret to it – that and knowing the correct answer (I wonder if Kim got some help from David in that area… or maybe David got help from Kim? )

After the second contestant answered five questions, the time ran out, and the game was over. Too bad. We all wanted it to continue, it was so fun! If you like the TV show at all, you should definitely go to this attraction the next time you’re in MGM. David and I both thought we could have enjoyed playing it all morning.

Coming Up: Was that supposed to happen?

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 2, Part 2 – Was that supposed to happen?
Sunday April 8, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)


After the show was over, it was time for our Fast Passes for RnRC. But, that was all the way over at the other end of the park, and we wanted to do the Backlot Tour at 9:00, which was right next door, and only about 5 minutes from now. So, we decided to skip the RnRC. I think both the kids were relieved, since neither was very sure they wanted to ride it anyway. David and I took the attitude that this trip was more about doing what the kids wanted than riding thrill rides for ourselves, so we didn’t mind missing it at all. We’ve both ridden it multiple times before, and we know this is not our last trip to WDW. No big loss.

So, we waited just a few minutes for the rope to drop to allow us to go to the Backlot Tour. Then we waited about 15 minutes in line – why didn’t they have the first group ready to go at 9:00? It was kind of frustrating to wait for no apparent reason. But anyway, finally they let us in. None of us had been on the tour before. Surprisingly, we had a hard time making both kids understand that what we were seeing is how they make movie sets and special effects. Especially in the water tank in the beginning of the tour. Neither Mike nor Kim seemed to understand that they were showing us how they make ocean scenes in movies. Oh well, they were impressed by the “battle ship fire” anyway. Then, on to the trams. We all thought it was neat to ride down the street of homes that are used for outside shots on various sitcoms. We saw the Golden Girls’ home, and the Empty Nest home. There were others that I should have recognized, but can’t remember.

Then we got to the Catastrophe Canyon section of the tour. The effects here were really impressive, we all enjoyed it a lot. Surprisingly, again, both Mike and Kim had difficulty understanding whether the fire and flood effects were accidental or choreographed. Even after the tram went behind the cliff and we saw the big water tanks, Mike was asking “was that supposed to happen?” Hmmm… maybe they’re not so jaded and unbelieving after all! My babies still believe in magic!

Next, we were off to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, then a short snack. We had fun posing for the camera with Flik from A Bug’s Life, and watching little birds eat the popcorn that had fallen to the ground.

Next, we stopped over at Al’s Toy Barn to visit Buzz and Woody. They were both there posing for the camera and signing autographs. Actually, they had rubber stamps for their autographs. That was kinda different! I really hope my pictures turned out well, because this was one time that David was in the picture too. All our film comes back tomorrow, so we'll soon see.

Kim spied a souvenir vendor cart right next to the Toy Barn, and so soon she was on a shopping spree. Both Mike and Kim were eyeing the toys that we dubbed “the spinner thingies.” They are like hand-held fans, except there are flexible cords with small colored lights on the ends instead of fan blades. They were all the rage at the MK the day before. Smart shoppers that they are, though, both kids decided to wait to purchase the spinners until they had a chance to see what other kinds of things were available at other shopping venues. But, Kim had her money burning a hole in her pocket, so she ended up buying a bouncing ball, about 2” in diameter, that lights up and makes electronic warning signs when it bounces. Oh goody.

Next, Mike wanted to ride Star Tours. Kim didn’t want to. So, she and I waited outside while David took Mike in. Kim kept herself busy bouncing her new ball while I waited on a bench in the shade. It wasn’t incredibly hot or anything, but it was very pleasant to sit in the shade compared to the bright sun.

After Star Tours, it was on to the Indiana Jones show. David is the only one who had seen this before. Mike and Kim have only seen parts of various Indiana Jones movies, so I wasn’t sure if they’d recognize the theme, but they did with no problems. We all loved the show, it was definitely worth the short wait that we had.

By now, it was nearing 12:00pm, and the park was getting very crowded. We were all hungry, the kids were tired, and we were planning to stay at MK until midnight that night. So we decided to be done with MGM for the day. David took the kids back to the hotel for a short swim and a nap, while I decided to have some “Mommy time” on my own.

Coming up: Jenny’s adventures in the World all alone – Ahhhh!


[This message has been edited by JennyinMD (edited 04-20-2001).]

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 2, Part 3 – Jenny’s adventures in the World all alone – Ahhh!
Sunday April 8, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)

OK, so what do you do when you have three hours to explore on your own, without kids to keep you from doing whatever you want, but your feet hurt like crazy!?! That was my quandary at 12:00pm on this bright, beautiful day. Well, one of my plans for this trip was to explore some of the other hotels and resorts. So, I hopped on a boat from MGM to the Boardwalk. Well, actually, I waited 20 minutes for a boat, then I waited through stops at the Swan/Dolphin, then the Yacht and Beach Club, and THEN I was at the Boardwalk. Was this a problem? Not at all. I enjoyed the rest, the cool cabin on the boat, the friendly banter of the skipper, and best of all, I enjoyed the quiet and the indulgent feeling of doing exactly whatever I wanted to do! You parents out there will understand this feeling. No matter how much you love your family, there are times you want to do something that you know your kids will not enjoy. And so it’s heavenly to have time to do it!

I stepped off the boat at the Boardwalk, and decided that I was hungry. But, as blissful as it is to have some time alone, I do NOT like eating alone in restaurants. Plus, I didn’t want to use too much of my precious time alone by sitting in a restaurant – I wanted to explore. So, I decided to get a quick bite to eat at the hotdog stand right there at the end of the dock. The hotdog was good, but I don’t recommend the “chili” that they use for chili dogs.

Now to explore the resort. I walked through the lobby, and then wandered through the hallways. It is a beautiful resort, and definitely different from the Wilderness Lodge. I was on a mission to find the Garden Suites, about which the Passporter had such rave reviews. I did find them, and oh, how lovely and charming they looked! Each is apparently a two-floor “apartment” almost, and each has its own little flower garden out front, with a white picket fence, and an arbor, and a cute little mailbox with a little door on it. I decided right then and there that David and I are coming back to stay in one of those suites someday. Maybe for our 20th anniversary in 5 years? We’ll start saving now.

So, back out to the boardwalk area, to explore the storefronts. Somehow I ended up standing in front of an ice cream counter. How did that happen?

Now, on to Epcot. I had no idea how really close the Boardwalk Resort is from the International Gateway entrance to Epcot. In fact, until I began preparing for this trip, I didn’t realize that there WAS an alternate entrance to Epcot!

After landing, I stopped in the gift shop right there at the entrance. I picked up some postcards, some Mickey-ear-shaped pony tail holders for Kim, and then decided to get the WDW Millennium CD, with the music from the Epcot parade and fireworks shows. What a great purchase that has turned out to be! Everyone in the family enjoys listening to it, and it really does work to put us all into the Disney vacation mood. By the way, I had this purchase sent back to the hotel room, which was a way cool thing!

Oh, where to go next? How about France? OK!

I watched the Impressions de France movie – very nice, relaxing, air conditioned, comfortable, dark, classical music… Huh? Oh! No, I didn’t fall asleep, but many others around me did! Next, slow browsing through the various shops, trying out the French perfume, admiring the Provencal kitchen wares. Oh, ok, I suppose I must also taste a French pastry. Pity what I must do in the name of cultural awareness.

Now a decision. Should I do a commando tour of the World Showcase counter-clockwise? Or go slow through the UK and Canada sections? The goal was to be back at the monorail in one hour. I decided to go slow. I took extra care to really admire the architecture, peek into every shop, and watch the street performers in the UK. I took a few pictures here and there, and took my time resting in the quiet garden/park area around the rear of the pavilion.

Unfortunately, by this time I had used up almost all of my available time, and it was time to head back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the gang. So, I breezed through Canada, and then through Future World, and hit the monorail to the TTC, then the Boone Bus to the Lodge. In all, it had been a wonderful afternoon all to myself. The only drawback is that I missed out on the naps and feet-resting that the rest of the gang had. I could have used both!

Coming up: Late night in the Magic Kingdom!

[Kassie]

Jenny -
Thank you again for sharing another great part of one of your days with us! I bet your feet don't hurt at all now, but the memories of those hours you had alone are still vivid!

When planning our next visit we decided to stay at the BC. We have stayed at the Poly and the GF which we love, but are determined to stay as many places as we can.

I think the options one has (walking to Epcot
or catching the boat - a boat ride to MGM - walking to Epcot and Monorail to MK - buses everywhere - walking the 'Boardwalk' at night, walking to play mini golf, Stormalong Bay...so many options!) make this resort seem so special. It was the one we picked out three years ago to stay in the next trip, when we visited Beaches and Cream for a snack and the Cape May Character Breakfast.

NOW - you throw in the Boardwalk Garden Suites...back to the planning!

~jo anne

[Aerobics]

Jenny,

I'm really enjoying your trip report--you're bringing back a lot of memories for me (and, sadly, I *was* one of those who fell asleep during Impressions de France. LOL!)

I'm so glad that you got to spend some time by yourself just exploring Epcot and the Epcot Resorts at your own speed--how divine that must have been!

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My little baby's all grown up, and....saving China! sniff...You got a tissue?

Wilderness Lodge/All Star Music--September 2000

[JennyinMD]

Thanks so much everyone for the kind responses! I'm enjoying reliving this trip through the trip report, so I'm glad you're enjoying it too!

On to the next installment....

Jenny in MD

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 2, Part 4 – She’s good with towels!
Sunday April 8, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)

I arrived back at the Wilderness Lodge to find the kids asleep and David lounging on the bed. While we had been out in the parks in the morning, the housekeeper had come in to the room and arranged all the kids’ stuffed animals in a little party on the bed, wearing sunglasses. She had also created an elephant out of a bath towel, and a bunny rabbit pen holder out of a washcloth. She also made tooth-brush holders out of washcloths. Everything was arranged in cute poses. When the kids found all the surprises, Kim said, “Wow, she’s good with towels!”

Around 4:30, we woke the kids up and headed over to the MK. The plan was to stay until it closed at midnight. We figured that with a 9:00pm and 11:00pm Spectromagic Parade, and a 10:00 fireworks show, that most of the crowd would leave after the fireworks. We were counting on the park emptying out, giving us an hour or more of no-wait riding time.

We covered our last mode of Disney Transportation by riding the Crockett bus to the TTC, then taking the ferry launch to the MK. Everything is entertainment at WDW!

On the way, Mike said that his hands and cheeks were itchy. Upon inspection, it turns out he had some nasty heat rashes on the backs of his hands and on his cheeks, from exposure to sun. We thought we had covered him adequately with sun screen, but apparently we had missed a couple of spots. So, when we got to MK, we split up. I headed to the First Aid station next to the Crystal Palace, while everyone else went to pick up Fast Passes for Space Mountain. The Fast Passes had a return time of after 9:45pm… bummer, it was only 5:00pm now.

At the First Aid station, I explained that my son had an itchy heat rash on his hands and face. The nurse was very kind. She took down some basic info in a ledger (Mike’s name, age, and condition), then gave me a little cup with some Caladryl and some cotton balls. It was very impressive how helpful she was. I am still amazed by the friendly service that you get everywhere in WDW!

The kids and David walked from Tomorrowland to ToonTown via the walkway that goes behind the Tomorrowland Speedway. David was not aware of the existence of this pathway until Mike told him that they should go that way. David was still unsure, but Mike assured him that he knew what he was doing. I had heard about this path as a quiet respite from crowds, and happened to mention that to Mike long before our trip. He remembered, and even without a map was able to figure out where to go. Again, excellent map reading on Mike’s part!

Using our trusty hand-held family radios, we kept in contact and met up at Goofy’s Barnstormer. The wait was about 30 minutes. Since we’d had such good luck so far on short wait times, we decided to go ahead and wait for this ride, figuring that we could live with waiting for a few things without complaining. Besides, we had a chance to chat with a very brave 3 year old boy and his parents who were in line ahead of us. We talked about our respective vacations. This was the last night for this family, and their last ride of the night. The boy was so excited to ride his first roller coaster! They were definitely ending their vacation on a high note!

Is it just us, or did they make a slight adjustment to the track on this ride since July 1999? Both David and I seemed to remember it being very jerky and uncomfortable for adult sized riders last time, but this time it was smooth for all four of us.

Next, it was on to tour Mickey’s and Minnie’s houses. We searched high and low for Hidden Mickey’s, and found quite a few. It gave the kids lots of confidence, since the HM’s there are intended for the younger crowd to find. Has anyone found any deeply hidden Mickey’s there? We didn’t – ours were all pretty blatant. On to Donald’s boat, which they promptly shut down – apparently some little tyke had too much sugary food combined with too much heat and too much excitement – bring in the mops and disinfectant! Eew!

After a quick but uncrowded walk behind the Speedway again, we headed for dinner at Mike’s choice – Starlight Ray’s Café. This is a sentimental favorite for David, who ate there every time he went to WDW as a kid in the 70’s. The food is ok, but it’s your basic fast food burger. They have a nice assortment of toppings, similar to that found at Pecos Bill’s in Frontierland.

By now it was about 7:00pm, and we headed over to Adventure land. We couldn’t believe that folks were already staking out positions for the 9:00pm parade along Main Street. It’s a good parade, but not worth sitting on concrete two hours in advance! Yikes!

We passed by the Dole Whip stand on our way into Adventureland – noting in detail both its location and its menu for future reference.

Herein started the first (and last, I think?) squabble of the trip, followed by our biggest Fast Pass mistake. The argument was this: should we do the Swiss Family Treehouse or the Jungle Cruise? The kids took sides against each other, and it was not a pretty sight. I made an executive decision. We’d ride Jungle Cruise if the wait was less than 20 minutes. Otherwise, we’d do the Treehouse. Turns out, the wait for Jungle Cruise was about 45 minutes. Now, we had not closely read the rules for the Fast Pass system, which bit us in the bootie. True, we did currently hold four passes for Space Mountain later in the evening. But, it had been more than two hours since we had gotten them. So we were eligible to get another fast pass for each park ticket. But we didn’t know this, so we passed the Jungle Cruise by, without even getting Fast Passes. Doh!

Anyway, with one of the kids mad about the skipping of the Jungle Cruise, we walked through the Treehouse. We tried to explain who the Swiss Family Robinson was, and thus explain what this attraction was supposed to be. The lesson we learned was that we need to prepare better for our next trip to WDW so they’ll appreciate all the themed attractions better!

Coming up: Shopping, Spectromagic, and the magical evening at MK!


[This message has been edited by JennyinMD (edited 04-23-2001).]

[JennyinMD]

Harris Family Trip to WDW April 6-11, 2001
Day 2, Part 5 – Adventures in the Emporium; Disney Magic
Sunday April 8, 2001

Adventurers: David (aka Dad, 35), Jenny (aka me, Mom, 32), Mike (9) and Kim (7)

Quick show of hands – how many of you think it’s cute to see families wearing matching t-shirts into the parks? Ok, now how many of you think it’s dorky? Ok, thanks. Well, we decided to do it anyway!

Actually, we had a special event planned for the next morning, and for that event we wanted to have matching T-shirts. So we decided to head over to the Emporium for a quick (ha!) shopping excursion to find a t-shirt style that we could all agree on. Well, take this advice – NEVER go to the Emporium at 90 minutes before parade time! Yikes! Why do none of the guidebooks tell you this? Jennifer, Dave, please include this in the Passporter 2002! (boy, now I hope it’s not there and I just missed it! Doh! )

OK, next tip – don’t try to get tired kids and tired parents to agree on a t-shirt style. Just choose a designated T-shirt chooser, and let everyone wear what the chooser chooses. We spent 30 minutes criss-crossing the whole store, first finding shirts the kids liked, then looking for adult sizes to match. Then settling on adult shirts that we thought we’d seen matches for in the kids section – oops, nope, no match. OK, let’s agree on a screenprint style, then choose individual colors. Oops, no sizes for Kim. OK, let’s agree on a basic shirt color, and get whatever screenprint we want. No, can’t agree on a color. AAAaaahhhhh!!!!!!

Finally, by a stroke of luck, someone noticed that they had a shirt that Mike liked, in his size, in the same style and color as one that Kim “could live with,” AND they had adult sizes and colors and styles to match. JACKPOT!

OK, on to the cash register. Pull out the handy-dandy room key/charge card. Swipe. No luck. Swipe again. No luck. Type in the numbers. No luck. Call the Wilderness Lodge front desk. No luck. Type in the numbers again. No luck. (repeat, about 23 times.) Apparently, our room account number was invalidated, and even though the card worked an hour before at dinner, it was not working now. And of course, we had both left our credit cards back in the room safe, since we had our handy-dandy room key/charge card. Oops! Finally we were able to scrape together enough cash to pay for the four t-shirts, but only because I’d forgotten to take some of the cash out of my wallet and leave it in the safe with the credit cards. Side note: the CM at the cash register was so apologetic, and so was the manager, we could not fault them. There was just a flaw in the computer system.

We opted against having the shirts delivered to our room, since we wanted to wear them the next day. So we carried them around the rest of the night. It just occurred to me that we could have put them in a locker at the Main Street station since we were almost right there. Oh well, lesson learned there I guess.

So, at 35 minutes before parade time, we went in search of a viewing spot.

Remember all those people who were in the Emporium? I lied, they were all in the sidewalks along the parade route. OH MAN were there a lot of people there!!!!

We searched for a spot on or near the hub, preferably close to a spoke into Tomorrowland, so that we could see the parade, then scoot over to Space Mountain to use our 9:45 Fast Passes, then head back out to see the 10:00 fireworks. Well, there were of course no spots along the area that we wanted. We ended up right next to the popcorn cart, right before the spoke into Tomorrowland. We were about 3 people deep from the street. I was so worried that people in front of us would stand up when the parade started, thereby blocking the view for the kids (that happened two years ago, and it really irked me). But we got lucky, and everyone around us stayed seated on the sidewalk. So everyone could just look up at the floats as they went by, and everyone had a good view even from the back.

We enjoyed the parade…. But in my opinion, Tapestry of Nations is the better parade. It seemed more Magical to me, with a capital M. Spectromagic is too…. something. Maybe too glitzy? Too Vegas-y? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it though.

While we waited for the parade, there was big discussion – should we try to do Space Mountain before the fireworks? What if the Fast Pass return line took too long, and we missed the fireworks? That would be a bummer. Mike didn’t care, but Kim did. So it was decided that David and Kim would not attempt to ride Space Mountain, but that Mike and I would.

So immediately after the end of the parade, Mike and I grabbed tightly to each others’ hands, and fought our way to Tomorrowland. We walked right on to Space Mountain, and had the best ride ever! We both thought that it was much better this time than it had been the day before. Also, we were impressed with how efficient the CMs were who were loading the ride. They were literally running between the cars to get them loaded as quickly as possible. Mike and I had a fabulous ride, and emerged with adrenaline pumping!

We got out at about 5 minutes to fireworks time. Using our radios to find out where the others were, we fought our way back to the hub, across the center, and to the bridge to Adventureland where Kim and David were waiting. The fireworks began about 10 seconds after we found a good viewing spot!

We marveled at Tinkerbell’s flight – what a rush that ride must be! And then we enjoyed the fireworks show. I was surprised by the shadows of ghosts crossing the castle façade… what was the music that was playing at the time? Gosh, I forget. Anyway, refreshed from riding Space Mountain, and instilled with heavy doses of Disney Magic from the fireworks and parade, we were ready to tackle the late-night portion of our evening.

We felt like saying, “Everyone – its time for you to go home, so we can enjoy the park alone!”

Coming up: Late Night Magic

[Aerobics]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I was surprised by the shadows of ghosts crossing the castle façade… what was the music that was playing at the time? Gosh, I forget. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If I had to guess, I would think it would be "Grim, Grinning Ghosts". On the WDW 2000 Official Album, they have the music to Fantasy In The Sky, and that tune is in the medley.

I never knew they projected images onto the castle during the fireworks. Since we watched the fireworks from behind the castle, we were pleasantly UNsurrounded by other people, but I'll bet that seeing the fireworks with the facade of the castle below must be absolutely breathtaking--it's now on my list of things to do in December!

Thanks again for posting--your writing style is incredibly witty and outright entertaining!

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My little baby's all grown up, and....saving China! sniff...You got a tissue?

Wilderness Lodge/All Star Music--September 2000

[HiddenMickey]

Enjoying your trip very much! I love that you've added in lessons learned (stuff we all could use). By the way, when my son saw the creatures our mousekeeper made at WL he said, "They must have a book on origami with towels". It was so cute. Sounds like your mousekeeper went all out for you guys! Keep up the good work....can't wait to read the rest. -HiddenMickey