[Winston]

Dates: July 12 through July 18, 2002

Travelers: Winston Chapman (27) and his mom (66), both WDW veterans who were back for the first time in many years this past February

Resort: Disney's Polynesian Resort

Celebration: Summer vacation, and a surprise trip for my mom!

Day 0 - 07/11/2002 - Birmingham, AL to Kissimmee, FL

Ok, I have to say that doing a trip report for today seems pretty pointless since all I have to tell y'all about is what the drive was like, what motel we're staying in, etc, etc. I'm hoping that the details about our dinner at Shula's will redeem this installment and make it worth reading.

We left Birmingham this morning an hour behind schedule. There was a lot to do in terms of packing our picnic lunch, loading the car and gassing it up, taking out the garbage, and showering (which takes a long time for me, but hey, at least I'm clean). I also had to make a deposit at the bank, and that took longer than expected since deposit envelopes are apparently as rare as diamonds these days. We were finally on the interstate by around 8:30am. I had AAA route me from Birmingham to Atlanta via I-20E and then south on I-75 to Florida's Turnpike. To avoid tolls and traffic, I only stayed on the turnpike for a few miles and got onto US 27 which junctions with US 192 just a few miles west of WDW. Our motel for the night (Comfort Inn Maingate West) is on US 192 near the junction with US 27. Although Atlanta traffic wasn't too bad, it still wasn't worth dealing with, so we'll return to Birmingham via I-10 through Tallahassee and then north through Dothan and Mongtomery, AL (this is the same route we took back in February and it's a good one). Total trip time (with bathroom and lunch stops) was about nine hours, and we traveled a total of 575 miles. Despite a little rain near Macon, GA and into Florida, the weather was good. I was tired, but not exhausted, and I'm glad we made the whole trip in one day.

This Comfort Inn is really nice, and I think it's ideal for anyone wanting to save some cash by staying off-property for one night or for his/her entire vacation. Check-in was friendly and quick, and local calls are free (someone should tell the WDW resort bandits about this idea). Our room is small but attractive and well furnished with a microwave, fridge, TV with remote, and adequate storage space. The bedroom and bathroom are incredibly clean, and the air conditioner works great (this is important to me since I like to sleep at meatlocker temperature). There's a pool and a free continental breakfast each morning from 7am til 9am. I don't think they have a regular WDW shuttle, but I know they can arrange transportation. I was able to get an internet rate of $42.46 (plus tax) for the two of us, and I felt like this was a good deal given the location and amenities of the motel. So far, I'm very pleased with this place. I'll let y'all know if anything comes up to change my opinion, but I doubt it will.

So anyway, we arrived around 6:30pm, checked in, and relaxed at the motel for about an hour before getting dressed and heading to the Walt Disney World Dolphin. It was SO difficult to contain myself as we drove onto property! I saw the Earful Tower, the top of Spaceship Earth, and the tip of the giant sorcerer Mickey hat and wanted to shout out "WE'RE BACK! WE'RE BACK!" But of course, that would ruin the surprise, so I kept quiet and just chatted to mom about how much fun we had back in February. I had the car valet parked (it's free if you're eating there), and got directions to Shula's. The hostess (who was very polite and friendly) looked up our 8:00pm PS and seated us right away. I can say only good things about the food and service at this restaurant. We never had to ask for refills on water or drinks, and the wait staff checked with us constantly to make sure everything was ok. Before ordering, a server brings a cart with examples of all the cuts of meat offered for dinner along with a live lobster (which sneered at me) and vegetables. Mom ordered a cocktail, a house salad (which was gigantic), the 8 oz. filet, and hash brown potatoes. I had a soft drink, the 24 oz. porterhouse, and steamed asparagus. We split the chocolate souffle for desert. The total bill (with tax and 20% tip) came to $132.15. Yes it was pricey, but Shula's is a truly fantastic steakhouse. Our steaks were cooked exactly as we ordered them, the vegetables were outstanding, and that chocolate souffle was one of the best I've had. I would compare Shula's favorably to Ruth's Chris, Fleming's, and Morton's in terms of the steaks and the excellent service.

After dinner, we took a walk around the Dolphin and the Swan, and we strolled down to the BoardWalk just in time to see the MK fireworks far in the distance. Mom mentioned that she has very fond memories of WDW fireworks and that seeing them made her appreciate where we were (if she only knew what I have in store- ha ha ha!). She also talked about some of the resorts and mentioned that the Poly was still her favorite (Score!). We walked around and people-watched a little longer and then headed back to the Dolphin to get the car. I made a big production about having to leave WDW and joked that I wanted to send her back to the motel while I got a suite at the GF. She said she knew we couldn't come all this way and not have a little taste of WDW, so I think she really enjoyed dinner and tonight's small sampling of the World.

At this point, I don't think mom has any idea where we're going tomorrow. I showed her my phony confirmation letter from The Breakers, and I've also given her a lot of misinformation and been very evasive when she's asked questions. I'm sure she suspects that WDW is a possibility, but I've managed to plant a lot of other ideas in her head, so I'm hoping that she's really confused (*insert evil laugh here*). Tomorrow morning, I'm going to zip down the street to pick up our passes at Florida Orlando Tickets and then load the car for the last leg of our journey (and I've told her we have about three more hours of driving to do). I'll try to think of some creative drama to pull off, and then it's full speed to WDW to check in at the Poly (and she won't know about that detail until we pull up in front of the resort).

So wish me luck with all this. I can't tell you how it's going to work out since it hasn't happened yet, but I'll be posting again tomorrow night. By then, I should have details on the Poly, E-ride night, mom's reaction to all this, and dinner at the California Grill.

Oh, one other thing. While I'm SO glad that this trip is finally here, I'll miss the anticipation and the waiting. Once a trip starts, I immediately start worrying about the fact that it's going to eventually come to an end, and that's depressing (am I right, Steve?). I'll do my best to think positive this week, and maybe I should start planning the next WDW trip while I'm here. Hmmmmmm....

Next Post: Day 1 - 07/12/2002 - Kissimmee, FL to Walt Disney World