The Dad and Chad Disney Adventure Report

Dates: January 20-23, 2001

Adventurers:

Jennifer Watson: 32, Disney veteran and co-author of PassPorter Walt Disney World, on her umpteenth trip to Disney (from Ann Arbor, MI)
Tom Anderson (Dad), 58, armchair traveler, first trip to Walt Disney World (from Lansing, MI)
Kim Larner (Sister), 29, 4-mo. pregnant with second child, sixth trip to Disney (from Lansing, MI)
Chad Larner (Brother-In-Law), 28/29, fifth trip to Disney (from Lansing, MI)

Transportation: Northwest Airlines (Jennifer and Dad), Southwest Airlines (Kim and Chad), and Tiffany Town Car

Resort: Fairway Villa at Disney Institute

Parks: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom, Pleasure Island, and DisneyQuest

Restaurants/Eateries: House of Blues, Restaurantosaurus, Rose & Crown, Hollywood & Vine, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, Whispering Canyon Cafe, and Cinderella's Royal Table.

Other: First experience touring with an ECV.

Updated 06/28/06

Day Four: Magic Kingdom
Or "Next Time I'll Get an ECV Every Day"

It's inevitable. The last day of a Walt Disney World vacation arrives and you hope against all hope that you could stay just one more day. And I didn't break with this fine old tradition upon waking up. Even though I knew it was impossible to stay longer, I still considered all my options. In the end, I couldn't avoid going home -- my Dad needed me to fly back with him, and I needed to get back to PassPorter. Oh well.

Today started out just as slowly as yesterday, thanks to another late night (DisneyQuest). I encouraged my Dad to go to the Magic Kingdom, where I would meet him later. He agreed and I busied myself with getting packed and dressed. Once I was set, I called Bell Services and asked them to pick up the luggage and hold it until later today. They arrived less than five minutes later to whisk off our bags. Another fine example of the excellent service at the Disney Institute (that is, if we gloss over the little problem in finding the relocated cart rental desk).

With the luggage taken care of, I did one last pass through the villa then placed a quick call to Disney Dining to make a priority seating for Cinderella's Royal Table. Kim and Chad elected to spend the morning and afternoon at Downtown Disney, and headed off in the cart. I made my way to the bus stop -- the Magic Kingdom bus was a bit slow to arrive, but it got me there in good time. I met up with my Dad just inside the park and we set off into the world of Walt.

Dad makes his debut at the Castle

Dad had decided ahead of time that he wouldn't want to do too much at the Magic Kingdom. His short list included Alien Encounter and Haunted Mansion. But by the time I'd met up with him this morning, his list had lengthened to include the Walt Disney World Railroad and Pirates of the Caribbean, plus a desire to see each of the lands. Yikes! Could we do that in a few hours? I really wanted Dad's last day to be special, so I challenged myself to come up with a route that would allow us to see everything on this list and still have time for lunch. We walked up to the Tip Board just past Main Street, U.S.A. so I could see how the waits were looking. Not too bad today. Based on wait times and park layout, I came up with the following plan:

1. Walk to Tomorowland and see Alien Encounter
2. Walk from Tomorrowland to Mickey's Toontown Fair to board the train.
3. Take train to Frontierland.
4. Walk from Frontierland to Adventureland and ride Pirates of the Caribbean.
5. Walk through Adventureland, past the new Agrabah Bazaar, back to Frontierland.
6. Walk from Frontierland to Liberty Square to see Haunted Mansion.
7. Walk from Liberty Square to Fantasyland to eat lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table.

And it worked like a breeze! We actually did everything in much less time than we expected, especially when you consider Dad decided to go ECV-less again today. Dad enjoyed everything, especially the Walt Disney World Railroad.

Dad takes the D-Train

He was surprised by the very small drop in Pirates ("Hey, why didn't you warn me?") I didn't remind Dad that we had included that fact in the PassPorter. Now I did warn him about the moving walkway in the boarding area of the Haunted Mansion, but by that time I think he was pretty tired and didn't hear me. And unfortunately, he did lose his balance a bit. But a cast member was right there to support him and help him into the Doombuggy.

To backtrack just a bit, I did get the chance to see Agrabah Bazaar -- the new themed shopping area for the upcoming Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride. I was a bit underwhelmed by the bazaar. From the press releases and buzz, I was expecting something really well-themed, perhaps like Tatooine Traders at Disney-MGM Studios. Instead, it just looks like any themed shopping area in the Magic Kingdom. It had plenty of Aladdin merchandise for sale, but nothing out of the ordinary otherwise. I took plenty of pictures, though, so I could study them when I got home.

The new Agrabah Bazaar

After our whirlwind tour of the Magic Kingdom, we found we had time to spare before lunch. We did a little shopping in Tinker Bell's Treasures (my Dad bought a Baby Eeyore for his granddaughter Megan and a snow globe for the folks at his doctor's office). Dad then chose to sit for a bit near Cinderella's fountain while I wandered in and out of shops. I noticed a construction crane behind the castle, but it didn't seem to be doing much -- I heard later that it had been removed as quickly as it had appeared. It was probably used for general maintenance.

Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table was relaxed and delicious, and satisfying as the "last meal" of our vacation. We both ordered Cokes and tossed salads ($3.75), followed by a Beef Tart ($14.25) for me and the Prime Rib ($15.95) for Dad. The food was well-prepared and well-presented. Dad was suitably impressed and paid it one of his highest compliments, "This is so good, we should have all eaten here together."

By the time my Dad was getting antsy, worried that we wouldn't get back to the Disney Institute in time. So after lunch we went directly back to the resort. On the way he complained about being exhausted and remarked, "Boy, next time I'll get an ECV every day." Da-ad! Well, next time I'll just have to *insist* on the ECV for him. In retrospect, I think he was concerned about the cost of the ECV. So if I simply ignored all protests and paid for it, I suspect he would have been happy.

Dad relaxing on the bus

At the resort, we found Kim and Chad esconsed in cushy chairs, playing checkers in the resort. They reported that they'd had a great time driving the cart around the resort (which they'd done for more than an hour).

I wonder who won?

I collected the electric cart key from them and turned in it -- when I informed the cast member that I was late and expected to pay more, he simply said, "Merry Christmas." I think he was just too engrossed in his conversation with another cast member to want to bill me. Hey, I didn't mind.

Outside, we requested our luggage and waited on the benches for the town car to arrive. And waited. And waited. Eventually, we called Tiffany Town Car, who said the town car was waiting for us at Dixie Landings and would be redirected immediately. And it was -- the town car arrived five minutes later. Our driver, Darcy, apologized profusely for the mistake and drove us swiftly to the airport. He dropped Kim and Chad off at their terminal, and then it was our terminal.

Checking in at Northwest, we discovered that there was room on an earlier flight and the representative offered to re-book us at no extra charge. Yippee! That meant we wouldn't have to wait two hours for our original flight (Kim and Chad's flight left earlier than ours, so we were here earlier than necessary). It also meant that we could ask Dave to pick us up as soon as we arrived in Detroit, rather than wait in the terminal for Kim and Chad to arrive too. And, glancing over at Dad and his haggard expression, this would be a very good thing for us. The only problem was that Dad and I couldn't sit together. We chose seats in nearby rows instead.

The flight home was much easier than the flight to Orlando. Dad was more relaxed, and there were fewer people onboard. I was concerned that he'd be uncomfortable sitting next to people he didn't know, but frankly he seemed to be doing just fine. Halfway through the flight, Dad's companions moved to an empty row and I was able to join him in his row, with an empty seat between us for elbow room. The plane docked at one of the farthest gates, meaning we had quite a walk to baggage claim ("How far is it again? Geez, I can't believe how far it is.") Dave was waiting at baggage claim for us, where we collected our luggage and left. In the car, Dave showed us an article that had just come out in the Ann Arbor News about PassPorter ("Hey, look, your pictures are in here!")

Back home, Dad and I relaxed while we waited for Kim and Chad's flight to arrive. Dave had made us some pot roast ("Thanks, Dave!") so we happily munched on that while debating politics at the dining room table. Dad really seemed to be fading fast, so when it came time to pick up Kim and Chad we went alone and left Dad on the sofa. We found Kim and Chad without having to park and were back home in under a half an hour.

Now it's time to say goodbye. I thought it would be harder, but we were all so pooped that we seemed happy to be ending our day. Dad, Kim and Chad thanked me for arranging the trip, and I thanked them for coming with me and making it so enjoyable. They drove off into the night and I collapsed on the sofa.

Why are last days always so, well, dreary? I loved writing the first three days of this report almost as much as I enjoyed them in person... but this last day was as hum-drum as it sounds in writing. Oh well... I suppose we were all a little weary and a little depressed, enough so that we didn't really enjoy our last day as we could have.

All in all, it was a very memorable vacation. I still have a warm glow inside that I don't think even the passage of time will erase. I took my Dad to Walt Disney World! I fulfilled a long-time dream and made several people I love very happy in the process. What a feeling!

From Our PassPorter:
The weather today was sunny and chilly, with the hint of warmer weather to come.
The best thing today was how we were able to accomplish so much in the Magic Kingdom in so little time.
The worst thing today was LEAVING! The only bad part about a Disney vacation is that you have to go home. Also, Dad was so tired that I don't think he got as much out of it as he could have. As much as I would have liked to have stayed longer, it's a good thing we didn't for Dad's sake.
Today we tried non-adjacent seats on the plane and it was much more comfortable -- Dad had the seat beside him to stretch out and I didn't feel so cramped.
The most magical moment today was riding the Walt Disney World railroad with my Dad. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. A memorable father-daughter experience.

Notes For Next Time:
- Insist that my Dad use an ECV.
- If I come again with my Dad, I'll either plan a shorter trip or a longer one with days off in between the days we tour the parks.

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