All The World In 4 Days! About This Page:

[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

Well here is my trip report - finally! We had a great time and it was fun to see the Christmas decorations, but once we got home the time just flew & Christmas was here! DH & I are leaving again Saturday for 9 days of Disney fun (& hopefully sun!) so I wanted to get this posted before I forget any more of it!

Travelers: DH (Dennis), DD (Nicole 15, Jessica 13) & Myself (Karen - turning 40 1-8-01 at WDW!)
Dates: November 19 - November 22 (actual days at Disney)
Resort: Coronado Springs

November 17 - Loaded our minivan and left our house early evening - temperature was in the low 20's. Watched Disney videos until the girls decided to sleep & it was my turn to drive & then I listened to Disney CD's! When it was my turn to drive it was about midnight, the sky was very clear with lots of stars. All of a sudden I saw a falling star with a tail! It was spectacular! I guess it was a meteor shower. I've heard of these before but have never stayed up to watch, now I was having a hard time keeping my eyes on the road! Everyone was sleeping now and I was in the best mood watching this shower while listening to Disney tunes - What a great start! I drove a couple of hours and we got a room in Paducah, Kentucky. We were very surprised that we had driven this far south and it was still cold! (In the 20's!)

November 18 - After about 6 hours sleep we got up, had the quick hotel breakfast and were on our way. The weather was still cold but it was dry so great for driving! We made pretty good time until we got to Atlanta. Here it started to rain, the traffic was very heavy & we took the wrong road so ended up going all the way around Atlanta. From here on it rained off & on until about an hour north of Orlando. We finally reached our destination (it had been a long day of driving!). We hadn't reserved a room so just stopped at a hotel that seemed pretty close to WDW. It was a Holiday Inn (it turned out to be the Nikki Bird!) I thought we were at a different one but must have been reading the map wrong! It was about 1:00am when we checked in so we got a late check in rate of $69 - originally $109 so we were happy with that. This hotel was nice - older but clean and well maintained. They had really cute kid suites - the desk clerk was going to give us one of these at that rate but the beds would have been to short for our daughters! The pools looked nice - we didn't stay long enough to use them though.

November 19 - Got up and out the door by 7:30am. For anyone with 2 teen daughters you know that this can be quite a challenge! When we left the hotel we turned the wrong way (this was the map from the night before that I couldn't read!) Finally got turned around and were at The Animal Kingdom at 8:00am!

We stopped inside the gates to study the map, someone came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. It was Chip (or Dale?). He kissed my hand and then my daughters and then pretended he was going to kiss my husbands but then waved his hand, laughed and shook his hand and patted him on the back! We all got a laugh out of this! We weren't really looking for characters this trip because my daughters are 'to cool' for that. This was a relief and a disappointment. A relief because it meant not standing in line for pictures and autographs, a disappointment that my daughters are to grown up for characters - it takes some of the magic out of it! (I'm not to 'grown up' for characters but I'll have plently of time for that next trip!).

We walked back to Kilaminjari Safari and got right on. We enjoyed this and saw lots of animals. Next we walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. We went on Dinosaur. This was OK - none of us are really into dinosaurs, but it was fun anyway. We were pretty hungry by this time so got a quick bite to eat at Dino Diner. Two beverages & 4 rolls - $15.00! As we went to find a place to sit we saw that a line was forming for Tarzan Rocks so we got in line and ate our breakfast. We didn't wait real long and were able to get inside the theater. We got pretty close seats but now know why people were choosing to sit back farther - alot of the show takes place on a runway and small stage up in the audience, you can see that better back farther. I really enjoyed this show! There was so much going on and lots of music - kind of loud at times). My daughters did not enjoy this show! In fact this seemed to be a theme the whole 4 days! They weren't thrilled to be going to Disney in the first place! They have been here twice before (ages 4 & 6 and 9 & 11). They did enjoy it then and probably will take their families one day, it just isn't their 'thing' right now. We did have a good time despite this. I let them choose what to do and not to do - saving those things for my and Dennis' solo trip. I think they ended up having a better time then they thought they would! And if not they were good sports and didn't ruin it for us! (enough about that - I just wanted to let off some of my frustration about teenagers and their idea of a good time!)

[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

Day One at WDW continued (Sunday November 19th):

We were considering doing Kali River Rapids but none of us likes to get wet so decided against it. We walked back and took a look at it though. Couldn't see much of the ride but did see alot of soaking wet people! While in Asia we did the Maharajah Jungle Trek. This was ok - there were quite a few people and it's not my idea of fun pushing up to the window to get a good look, so we walked through this rather quickly. On our way out of Asia I stopped and got my frozen lemonade that I had been looking forward to - with the MINNIE MOUSE straw ($3)- too cute! (daughters roll eyes!)

We had one more thing to do here ITTBAB. There was a rather long line here. I don't remember how long we waited, it didn't seem like long because we were looking at the tree. This tree is incredible it was fun looking for the animals. My daughters were even pointing them out! We all enjoyed this show - I hadn't clued them in to any of the effects so they were surprised!

It was now 12:30 and we had done everything except The Lion King show (out of the question for the girls - a must go back to for me!), so we decided to go see if we could check into our hotel.

We waited in line for about 20 minutes at Coronado Springs. It wasn't a long line but moved very slowly! We had faxed a room request and were told that they got it and that we could get our requests, but the room wasn't ready yet. We decided to check out the grounds. We walked around enjoying the sunshine (yes! It was in the 70's - a big change from Minnsota weather!)The pool area was pretty crowded. We decided to have lunch at the pool snack bar. The bill was $42 for nachos, chicken strips, Hotdog & fries and 2 CS refillable mugs. We didn't really get our $ worth of these this trip since we were only here 4 days and not around the hotel that much, but are staying here on our next trip and will bring the mugs! The food was good - made to order and we were enjoying relaxing in the sun...then it started to get cloudy & windy. We had been hearing reports that some cooler weather was moving in and here it was! It actually wasn't that cold yet - cooler but not cold - that came the next 2-3 days!

We checked about 3:00 to see if our room was ready. It still wasn't. It didn't seem that busy so I don't know what was taking so long? We laid in a hammock for awhile, in the Cabana area - that is where we requested our room. It was relaxing but we were anxious to get into our room and back to the parks. I guess we could've just come back later but we didn't think that it would take so long! The room was finally ready at 4:00pm. Rm 8641 - partial water view, 2nd floor. We found this to be very convenient to the bus stop. There was also a quiet pool on one side and a short walk to the main pool. It was a little walk to the Main buildings but didn't need to go there much. We unpacked and left for MGM.

We decided to drive to MGM since it was pretty close. It only took about 5 minutes. It was probably about 5:00 - 5:30 by now. We went right back to TOT and R'nRC, both had 50 - 60 minute waits and no FP left. This was disappointing because it was something my daughters showed some interest in! This wasn't our goal for coming here tonight though, we were here to go to the Osborne Family Light Spectacular! It was the last night of the preview for Annual Passholders. We had purchased these for Dennis and I since we were coming back. This seemed to be a good purchase because we ended up getting alot of deals out of it! On our way back to New York Street we noticed that there didn't seem to be a very long line for Great Movie Ride so we stopped and did this. This is getting pretty outdated but the detail is awesome! After this we went back to the OFLS. They had a special table set up and were checking passes so that only AP were able to go in. It was open to everyone the next day. We got our snowflake glasses, had our picture taken, enjoyed Hot Chocolate and Christmas Cookies. I was diappointed that we didn't see Santa Goofy - you had to wait in line to go in to see him. I thought he would just be walking around! The lights were 'spectacular'. My daughters seemed to be enjoying this also! Hmmmmmmm... It was even 'snowing'! They had a machine that little globs of soap suds came out of to look like it was snowing! It was funny that this was the warmest night while we were here and we were drinking hot chocolate and watching it snow! We walked around in here until about 7:30.

We walked back to TOT. The wait now was only 25 minutes so we decided to do it. Waited about 15 -20 minutes. We had done this before but it seemed better this time. My 13 yr. old counted 6 drops! They came out smiling on this too!

We had PS for Prime Time (daughters choice - we had done this before and it was one place that they wanted to come back to) for 8:30 and it was now 8:25! We ran to PTCafe and were seated right away. Cousin Chris was our server. He was great! He got after us a little bit, but we were really enjoying watching him and the other servers around us as they interacted with the other guests! There were quite a few seniors here and they seemed to be getting a real kick out of the place! One even got put in the corner - I can't remember what she did! The food was good, but the portions are HUGE! Dennis had porkchops with bacon mashed potatoes (he said it was really good), Nicole had the Ceasar Salad - not great/ok though, Jess & I shared the blue plate special and couldn't even finish it between us! (it was a ham slice, green beans and sweet potatoes in root beer?) Jessica was a good sport and let Cousin Chris 'help' her eat one more bite!

We left MGM at about 9:30. I thought it closed at 8:30 but I think it was open until 9:30 because of the Osborne Light preview.

After leaving MGM we drove to Goodings to pick up a couple of things we had forgotten to pack. (Does anyone know of a Target close to WDW? J/K - we did find a KMart a different day.)We also stopped at Disny Marketplace for some souvenirs - we had our other nights pretty well planned so this seemed to be the night to do it!

We found a few things and were able to get a 10% discount with Disney Club card - I think you can with AP also. The store closed at 11:00 - we checked out at 10:55!

It had been a long day! We went back to CS and were in bed by 11:30!

[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

Day 2 - November 20 (Monday):

Alarm went off at 5:45. Got my wake up call from Mickey - which I answered everyday - no surprise! Managed to get teen daughters up with not too much grumbling and out to the bus stop by 7:15! The MK bus had just stopped, so got right on and were on our way.

Got to MK by 7:30. Went on Buzz Lightyear - none of us did very good, could be because we didn't realize that you could spin the car! Then went to Space Mountain, had about a 15 minute wait which seemed long - but when we exited the line was out the door! Went on Alien Encounter - I couldn't remember much about this from before but thought that I kinda liked it. The best part was when they shine a light on someone and say that they are going to do something to them, it stopped on Dennis! He didn't realize it so was just looking around. I really don't like this ride, not because it scares me - it doesn't at all! I don't like getting wet and it's dark and noisy! Won't do it again. We decided to walk through Fantasyland on the way to Adventureland. Saw that there wasn't a line for It's a Small World so did this. I really like this - no one else is to thrilled with it, but humored me! Peter Pan (my favorite had a long wait so decided to come back to this).

It was 9am, or a little after by now. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean (Dennis' favorite). We walked right on. Decided to get FP for Jungle Cruise, but were surprised to find no wait! I really enjoyed this - it's much better then it used to be. I'm glad they took the airplane thing out of it! The humor is pretty good. I was tricked by the waterfall - remember I hate getting wet - Dennis went to shield me and then the boat turned and didn't go under it! When we exited the Tiki Room was just seating so we walked right in. I like the new show, but miss the Tiki Room song!

By now it was 10:15 and the park seemed to be getting pretty full. We walked back to Fantasyland to get FP for Winnie the Pooh. Our return time was 1:15 - 2:15! The stand by wait was about 60 - 75 minutes! Peter Pan was still a long wait also 60 - 75 minutes! Went on Carrousel of Progress, a favorite with everyone.

[aurora1429]

Sounds like a great trip, so far. Can't wait for the rest. How lucky you are to be able to go back so soon. Keep the report coming.
Kristen

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[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

Day 2 continued (November 20):

After Carrousel of Progress we had to hurry over to Tony's Town Square for our 10:30 PS. We got there at 10:25 and were seated by 10:45. There were quite a few people waiting so we were glad we had made PS arrangements. We were seated in the atrium(?) - the room with the windows. We had been here in 1991 and I had very fond memories of it! It just wasn't the same this time! it is very pretty and the service was fair, but the food did not live up to my expectations! I recalled having a Lady & the Tramp waffle (or my daughters perhaps, 4 & 6 at the time) that was coated in cinnamon and sugar. Now they still had L & T waffles bur wre just regular waffles! Nicole and I ordered Cinnamon French Toast, thinking that maybe it would be coated in cinnamon and sugar like i remember the waffle - but it was just ordinary french toast with cinnamon in the batter. Jessica had the waffle - which was COLD - but quickly replaced with a fresh hot one! I don't think we'll go here on our next trip - at least not for breakfast. I hate when things don't live up to your memories!

After breakfast we went back and checked Peter Pan - 75 minutes! I know we shouldn't have stayed in this park on this day because it was an early entry - but with only 4 days we couldn't work out to much park hopping into our plans (we still did - but it seemed we spent more time at the parks on their EE days!).

We went to Hall of Presidents - this is always so impressive. It was November and Florida was still counting thier ballots so seemed somewhat funny! It was almost time for our FP for Winnie the Pooh so we looked in some shops. We noticed that a Lion King show was going to be starting so we decided to do this. This ws new to us, it was closed when we were here in 97. I enjoyed this and the girls didn't mind being able to sit for awhile! After this we finally went on WTP! The FP line moved fairly quick - it was still a long wait w/o FP (75 min. and FP return time at 1:50 was 7:50!). This was OK - very short and I didn't see Mr. Toad, will look for that again next time. We were all Mr. Toad fans so were disappointed that they took that out!

The streets were very crowded with people waiting for the parade now. We made our way towards Main Street (to exit the park). We stopped at the bakery for those great smelling Chocolate Chip cookies! After the snack we went into the shop next door and watched a guy making blown glass figurines. It is awesome how they do that! We had seen him earlier when we went by and when we came back later that night for ETicket he was still there! The girls and I each purchased a small figurine. When we got to the bus stop the CS bus was just leaving - we tried to flag him down, but I guess he didn't see us! He only had 2 people on the bus so it wasn't like it was full! So we ended up waiting about 15 - 20 minutes for the next one.

Back at CS we rested a little, filled our refillable mugs and put on pants. We were planning on doing Fantasmic tonight and it was getting pretty cold! It was now about 57 and very windy. We had been wearing shorts with jackets but knew we would freeze. We had checked on the Fantasmic Dinner package but had been told that they weren't doing it because it was so busy during the holiday! I thought this was the point in doing it! So we took our chances on getting a seat.

We took a bus to MGM. We waited quite awhile 15 - 20 minutes. When we got to MGM we went immediately back to Fantasmis - as were everyone else! The stadium was pretty full but we did find some seats 7 rows up on the left side facing the stage. Not to bad - but I was concerned about getting wet with it being so windy. This was at 6:00 for the 7:00 show. I was surprised that it was so full because this was still supposed to be a 'slow' time! Today and the next 2 days the parks were VERY crowded! I heard several people say that they had never seen it this crowded! Thank goodness for EE and FP or I would have been pretty crabby - I hate waiting and crowds!

The show was AWESOME! I will definatly see this again! It was pretty bad trying to exit. We just sat and waited a little bit. This seemed to help somewhat. We saw what a big job the CM's had picking up all the garbage that everyone left! Unbelievable!

We headed for the exit and took a bus to TTC and caught the Monorail to MK for ETIcket night. We got to MK a little befor 8:00. The parade must have just gotten over because there were a lot of people exiting. We went to the Tomorrowland Arcade for our wristbands. Only about a 5 minute wait.

We went and checked Peter Pan - only a 15 minute wait! It was actually about 20 but better then 75! I can't believe people stand in line that long with little kids! After PP we went on Snow white - only about a 5 minute wait. The fireworks were going off during this time so saw a few from the line.

It was now 9:00. We went on Haunted Mansion - they were now checking for wristbands. We all enjoyed this - even Jessica who hated it when she was 9! We were going to go to The Country Bear Jamboree but found out that this was closed to change over to the Christmas show! We knew that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was also closed so were a little disappointed with E ticket. We had aked earlier at CGuest Services if they were substituting anything and they said possibly Pirates of Caribbean, so we headed over there. This was open & we walked right on - I don't think alot of people knew that this was open or it isn't a favorite like it is for Dennis & I. We then headed back to Tomorrowland. There was a long line for Buzz so decided to try Timekeeper. Got right in. I had never seen this before. It was OK I hate things where you have to stand especially after a long day of walking! When we got out the wait for Buzz was shorter 15 - 20 minute so did this again. This time we figured out that you could spin the cars! Our scores were much better!

After this we went on Space Mountain. The line was fairly long. Waited about 20 - 25 minutes. We went on the left side this time - did seem different but I can't remember which I liked better now!

By now our feet were hurting, we were hungry and cold! We stopped at Casey's for a quick bite (hot dogs and fries - very good) before leaving MK.

I was not terribly impressed with E Ticket night. Having 2 attractions down and not really advertising that they were substituting another made for long lines at the ones that were open. And the fact that another E Ticket attraction that is open was Slash Mountain! The last thing i want to do when i'm cold is get wet! I guess you could walk right on this!

We caught our bus right away (about 11:30 by now) and were back to our room by 12:00.

[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

Day 3, Tuesday November 21:

Another wake up call from Mickey! 6:00am today! No sleeping in when you only have 4 days at Disney!

We drove to Epcot for EE. Got a very close parking spot. Went to Test Track. Somewhat of a line. Dennis went and gor FP while we waited in line. We found that if you planned this right it worked great! IT was very chilly this morning, but the sun was shining! CM had big coats and hats ans gloves on! I think we did have pants on today! They were talking about a 'wind chill' on the news! Kinda funny!

We waited about 30 minutes for our first ride. We all really enjoyed it! When we got off it was time for out FP already. So got in that line and rode again!

Went to HISTA waited about 10 minutes for preshow. After we got out there was a very long line for the preshow! Went on JIYI. BRING BACK FIGMENT is all that I can say! We played a little on the things after you got off the ride - me more than anyone!

Were getting hungry by now so went to Wonders of Life and had breakfast at Pure and Simple. We had eaten here before in 97 and really liked it so gave it another try. we were not disappointed! They cook your food to order so its hot and fresh and it's also healthy! You can also get most breakfast items here all day! Nicole and I had waffles with fruit topping, Dennis and Jessica had everything bagel sandwiches (with eggs and etc.) We also had milk, hot chocolate and coffee. The bill was $22. Not bad for Disney!

Here we went to The Making of Me. We hadn't done this before because we thought the the girls were a little young. They were somewhat embarassed by the way some of the things were said, but they survived and I thought it was cute! I like Martin Short also.

After this we went on Body Wars ans Craniume Command - both short waits.

As we left the building we noticed that the line for Ellen's Energy Adventure was VERY long! We decided to do this when we come back - the girls didn't mind!

I saw Ice Station Cool so directed the girls over there. I thought this would be something that they would enjoy. We had to wait a little to go in because they were shoveling snow off the walkway! Now as I said it has been cold - but I didn't think we'd have a 'snow delay'! We walked quickly through the cold part and went right into where you could taste the drinks. Beverly was terrible. I missed the look on Dennis face when he tried it though! The girls liked a couple of them alot. I can't remember which ones.

Next we went to Millenium Village. This was OK. I expected more. We saw a very cute Puppet show/Skit by a couple from Denmark. We went in the Swedish eggs. Took some pictures (being 100% Swedish this really interested me). We also did the Jerusalem ride - I kinda dozed in here a little!

Next it was time for our PS at the Garden Grill for the Ice Cream Social. We walked over there and checked in. There were alot of people waiting here. They were only taking guests with PS. We really enjoyed this. The ice cream treats were enormous, but it was lunch so that was ok! It looked so pretty I even took a picture! It was a waffle cone attached to a Chocolate Chip cookie, filled with vanilla ice cream, with a roll cookie and 2 big pieces og chocolat with pictures of mickey on them. There were also some strawberries and blueberries arranged on the plate. The girls enjoyed the ice cream but weren't to interested in the characters. We did get a couple of pictures though. Our server was from Minnesota so that was kind of interesting also! We had an outside table so got to watch it rotate. After this we left Epcot. It was a little hard findinf our car because the lot was very full by now - we found it - but hadn't been really careful because it was so empty when we arrived. Thank goodness for car alarms and keyless entry!

[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

We had gotten passes for Winter/Summerland Mini Golf with our hotel package so decided now would be a good time to do this. We chose the winter side. This was so cute and a big hit with our teens! They were running around posing for pictures by all the cute statues and scenes and smiling like crazy! I was very glad that we did this! For anyone with teens, it's a must! It was very cute the one course looks like snow and they were playing Christmas music. The other side is like a beach and sand, but decorated for Christmas and they play beach music. Both courses end up at the same place and Santa talke to you on a computer at the final hole. Very Cute!

We had planned on going back to Epcot tonight for TON and Illuminations. But it really seemed we were all kind of getting burned out so decided to change our plans. I had really wanted to check out the Disney outlet stores so we went off in search for them. We stopped at the first outlet that we came to, must have been Premiere. I didn't see a Disney store listed so we decided to drive up to Belz. ( Now I see that they have a store here - not sure if it ws open in November?) We found both of the Disney stores at Belz. We bought a few things. I couldn't believe that they had some of the same clothes that they were still selling in the parks at almost half the price! We didn't get alot because I figured the 2000 things will be even cheaper in january! The girls also enjoyed this! Teen girls that like to shop?! At Belz I found a coupon book that had alot of coupons for stores and resturants in the area. We didn't really have a plan for dinner, so we found a coupon for a pizza place and decided to try it.

The name of the place was Giordana's (it could be a chain but we havdn't heard of it). It was very good. It was near crossroads by Ekard Drug. We had a medium deep dish and only ate a little more then half.

We drove back to CS. Got there about 10:15 and were in bed by 11:00.

[MINNIEsota MOUSE]

Day 4, Wednesday November 22:

Got our final call from Mickey at 6:00. Left for MGM by 7:20 (we drove this time). Got there at 7:30. We really liked the location of CS. It was real convenient for AK, MGM and Epcot. MK was longer but we just took the bus or monorail from Epcot (to TTC) and it wasn't so bad.

There were long lines of people waiting to get in! IT moved fairly quickly though and we were soon making our way back to R'nRC! This time Dennis got in line and I went and got FP. There was a little wait for FP. I had trouble with the machine - I put in all 4 tickets but only got 3 FP! Got in line with Dennis and girls and decided we'd deal with it later. We waited about 15 minutes. We got on about 7:50 and our return time was 8:30. I had prepared everyone for this ride and told them to put their heads back and that it would go really fast! no one had a problem with this but me! I look roller coasters and fast rides, but that take off almost made me hyperventilate! Once we wer going I was able to take some deep breaths and relax. It was fun but over too quickly! We had time before our FP so we decided to check out TOT. We only had about a 15 minute wait here. It was fun! After the ride was over this one guy just started laughing, pretty soon we all were - it was a Disney Moment! After TOT we went back for our FP time on R'nRC. I was prepared this timee, although a little anxious. I closed my eyes at take off and it seemed to help. After R'nRC we went back and got a FP for TOT. It was about 9:00 and the return time was 10:30. Now the park was getting VERY crowded! We decide to go to the Commissary for breakfast. It was a long line and a long wait for the food (maybe 20 minutes total - but seemed long for counter service). Everything was cooked to order and very hot! Dennis and Jessica had pancakes, and Nicole and I had French Toast sticks. These were great - cripsy and coated in cinnamon and sugar! This breakfast with beverages also came to $22. We will be going back here!

Was almost time for our TOT FP return, so we walked back over that way, stopping in shops along the way. We had stopped in one of the gift shops before and I had been admiring the Original Disney Character sketches. I saw Dennis talking to the girl that was currently drawing and wondered what was up. This is very unlike him, he doesn't start up conversations with strangers like I do, so I went to see what was going on. He was buying me the sketch she was working on! It was a Mickey Mouse in a Santa Suit. It said "Seasons Greetings" and she personalized it with "To: Karen, Love: Dennis"! It was so sweet! The only thing that would have been better is if it had been a surprise - but since we were leaving that day he couldn't send it to our room, so he had to carry it and I would have known! I took a picture of the animator finishing it, she was flattered and asked me for a copy of the picture! I told her we were coming back in January and I'd bring it to her! We might have to get another one that's not Christmasy - I don't want to take the other one down!

Now it was time for our TOT FP so we went back over there. The stand by wait was 85 minutes! Once again I marvel at the number of people that will stand in line that long for one short ride when you can get a FP! We walked right up th FP line and right in the room! Dennis said he felt quilty walking by all those people waiting! i did somewhat too - but they can get FP too!

Next we went to Muppet Vision and got FP. It didn't seem real crowded so we could've probably gotten in then, but we wanted to do backstage pass first and be assured that we could still see MV. We enjoyed Backstage Pass. I always like finding out how they make things look so real in movies. I also wanted to see the Home Improvement set - somewhat disappointing - it doesn't seem exactly the same. The 101 Dalmation stuff at the end was interesting too. Now we went back to MV and walked right into the preshow area. When we came out it was about 12:20 and there was quite a line waiting to get in.

Now we had to hurry back to CS and check out. We had asked for a late check out - 1:00. We did stop for Jessica to do a quarter press, she had bought one of those books to put penny presses and quarter presses in, which was a good purchase because she has gotten these on other trips ans it's nice to be able to keep them all together.

We got back to the hotel a little before 1:00. We packed up the van and checked out. We went back to WinterSummerland Mini Gol because I had seen a sweatshirt there that was on sale. Santa on a Surfboard! While we were there we decided to play another round! This time we did the Summer side. The girls had a great time here too! With the Annual Passes we could buy one get one free, so this only cost abour $20! It's 9.95 regular price.

We went to Mc Donalds for lunch, the one by the All Star Resort. The girls liked the look of it and wanted to try it. It was typical McDonalds, they were just starting their Dalmation promotion so we got Happy Meals so I could get the Dalmations. I have almost all of the 1996 ones!

After this we went to Epcot. We went on Spaceship Earth - 15 minute wait. I always enjoy this. We played some of the games when we got off. Then we went to Innovations East. We toured the house of the future and sent a video postcard. Next we walked around the World Showcase. Dennis & I went on the Mexico ride (no wait) while the girls shopped in the 'market'. We had dinner at the Electric Umbrella. We hadn't tried this before because I thought that I hadn't heard good things, but after our good experiences at the other counter service places thought we would try it. Dennis and I had burgers, the girls had Chicken tenders. The burgers were good - charbroiled, huge and there was a topping bar. The chicken tenders were great! The fries weren't the best but the rest made up for that! Dinner with beverages $21!

After we ate we went out to the van and got our folding camp chairs. We had them with and I figured it would be easier to find spots for the parade if we didn't need to find seats! This worked real well. The seats aren't that hard to carry, they have shoulder straps. We also brought blankets from the car & our heavier coats. Although with the sun out it didn't seem to bad today, once the sun went down it was cold! We found a good spot, there was tape in the shape of a triangle on the ground, I asked a CM if we could put up our chairs there. She said yes. So we were the first ones there, after that when people realized that you could sit there it filled up quickly. I really enjoyed TON. The girls said it was OK. The music and energy of the dancers is great! After this we needed to find a better place for Illuminations, there were alot of trees in the way where we were. We walked back towards US and ended up putting our chairs right next to an area that was roped off for handicapped seating, near Italy, (outside that area - we didn't take any handicapped seating spots!). It was a pretty good view, some trees in the way and I had to lean to see the ball. The fireworks were fantastic! Some went off right by us! (While we were waiting Dennis wlked down to US? to buy some sugar roasted almonds - they really enjoy these, remember them from our 97 trip! When he got back I bought a glass of wine aat Italy.) It was kinda crazy after Illuminations with everyone trying to exit, first the park and then the parking lot! Finally made it out and were on our way home! It was kind of nice leaving at night like this. It's not like when you leave during the day and know that everyone is still haveing fun and you need to go catch your plane! The sadness didn't hit me until later. This could also be because we're going back! We leave for a hotel by the airport tonight! By this time tomorrow I'll be in the air! Can't wait!

Final thoughts: All in all it ws a good trip! My reluctant teenagers did end up having fun at Disney! It was probably the best Disney trip we've had! The one in 97 wasn't too bad, the weather was warm but it was very crowded & this was before FP! Also Jessica broke her toe at Boardwalk on one of the Surrey bikes (in 97) so we spent our last 4 hours of our vacation at the local hospital! We kept her away from Boardwalk this time! We are planning on trying lots of new restaurants this next trip. Teenage girls don't eat alot and can be pretty picky - it was safest (and cheaper) sticking with counter service!

Fast Passes are a must if you hate waiting - or want to make the most of your time! They do require a little planning though so decide what's really important ahead of time!

We really liked Coronado Springs and will be staying there this trip also. It seemed closer to things then Dixie (where we stayed in 97).

I hope you enjoyed this report! I probably left alot out, but wanted to get it done before leaving! I'd be happy to answer any questions!



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Karen

[HiddenMickey]

Karen----Thanks for the great report. I really enjoyed reading how your family handled a four day trip. -HiddenMickey

[DVC_Don]

Thanks Karen. A couple we know actually stopped going with their teenagers to WDW. They made their second trip when their girls were 13 & 15 and they swore they'd never go again with the kids. Now the girls are in college and our friends go to WDW as a couple. My kids are now 8 & 9 so I've got a few more trips with the kids to go!

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Don
OS 4/90, BC 1/95, WL 1/97, Cont 1/98&1/99, Poly 12/99, DxL 2/00, CBR 12/00. Upcoming VWL 11/01 & 1/02