Tigger and Dumbo do WDW! About This Page:

[tigger536]

Tigger and Dumbo do WDW!

The adventurers: Me (Tigger, aka Jacquelyn), 23
My mom (Dumbo, aka Cindy), 49
Dates: July 25-August 5, 2001
Resort: Grand Floridian
Celebration: Our annual summer trek to WDW

Day 1, Wednesday July 25, 2001: "The arrival - Wow what a room!"

My mom and I were meeting in Orlando for our annual summer trek to WDW. We have been doing this since I was 13. My dad went with us that first trip, but did not fall in love with the World like my mom and I did. Now that I am grown, I meet her there. I work and live in New York City, while she still lives in Atlanta, where I am originally from. Well today, she took the whole day off from work, so she got to arrive in Orlando before me, since I came into work for I half day. Her flight got in at 11:30 am, while mine arrived at 4:30 pm. I kept joking that I was jealous that she got 5 more hours with the mouse than I did, LOL! Anyway, she graciously volunteered to handle all the arrival hassle, like getting the rental car, buying our snacks at the grocery store, checking into the hotel, etc., so I really can't complain. She even said she would come back to the airport to pick me up, even though I offered to take the shuttle to the hotel. (Aren't moms great! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] )

Anyway, the day began for me on a sour note, because the elevator in my apartment building was broken and I had to carry all of my suitcases down 4 flights of stairs! (I REALLY wished then that I hadn't overpacked, LOL!). The elevator always seems to be broken when I'm carry something heavy, and of course it was 95 degrees and humid, the hottest day of the year in NY so far! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Once the bags were downstairs, though, I began to feel better. Excitement was starting to overwhelm me. I was going to WDW!!! It was finally here!!! Yippee!!! My frustration at the elevator vanished as I thought about this. I hailed a taxi and went into work for a short day. Things were pretty quiet, as a lot of my team was traveling for business or away on vacations themselves, so I just tied up loose ends. (And of course I was checking the passporter message boards every five minutes for last minute tips!)

Soon, it was time to leave for my flight. Traffic out of the city to Newark was light because of the time of day. In the cab, I called my mom to see if she had gotten in to Orlando all right. She had, and was just driving up to WDW. She was describing all of the signs on the way, like the Tower of Terror one with the characters in the elevator moving up and down) and getting me really excited. My flight of 3 hours suddenly seemed like an eternity. I couldn't wait to be at WDW!

The flight was uneventful and soon landed at MCO. I went to baggage claim and the first thing I saw was my mom! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I gave her a huge hug. It was the first time I'd seen her since she came up for a visit a few months ago and I'd really missed her. I started to go over to the carousel to claim my bags, but then I noticed that my mom had already gotten them and put them on one of those pushcarts. Again, aren't moms great! With that out of the way, we were on our way. We loaded the bags in the rental car (my mom had picked a red Grand Am, her favorite color).

There was a brief rainstorm that we drove through on the way from the airport, but it was over by the time we pulled into WDW. We stopped first at the Downtown Disney Marketplace to renew our annual passes. The CM at guest services there gave us the renewal price even though we were past the renewal date. He just dated the passes back to the expiration date. With the DC discount, this amounted to substantial savings.

While at the marketplace, we browsed the shops and bought a few preliminary souvenirs, but left the major damage until later in the trip [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]. One of our purchases was the Official Album CD, which we listened to as soon as we got back into the car. This is a truly great CD! It has all the good theme songs from the rides and parades. I bought a waist pack in the shape of Tigger (my favorite Disney character). It was meant for a child to use, but it fit me if I extended the strap almost all the way out. We looked for some Dumbo souvenirs for my mom (her favorite Disney character) but didn't find anything. I had been hoping there would be something, since I read somewhere that 2001 was the 60th anniversary of the release of Dumbo. Oh, well. I guess we would have to keep looking. I also bought an outfit at the Generation Benefit store and we bought a few other things from the World of Disney. We looked for the Disney Monopoly game, but every place we tried was sold out. We stopped at this point for a snack of popcorn (neither of us had eaten lunch and no meal was served on our flights). It was really enjoyable to sit by the water at the marketplace and watch the crowd wander by, just letting it sink in that we were finally there!

After this, we headed to the resort, since it was already 7pm. We stopped at guest services to buy the e-night tickets for Friday (we tried to get the other two e-nights during our stay, but they weren't selling tickets for them yet) and to pick up our Hoop Dee Do tickets for the same night. Then, we headed to our room.

I hadn't seen the room yet, but my mom had told me it was beautiful. Well, this didn't prepare me at all for what we got! Some background here: we have stayed in the GF before and loved it (this is why we keep coming back!). We have had great rooms, with a lagoon view. We could usually see part of the MK if we turned in a certain direction on the balcony. We usually get a dormer or "attic" room, which is the smallest type at the GF. These rooms are on the top floors, and are given usually to parties of two. They have two queen beds, but no daybed like the regular rooms. The ceiling is vaulted, like an attic, hence the name. This has always been just fine. We only need one bed apiece, and have no use for the day bed. Even this "smaller" type of room is large by room standards. After all, it IS the GF!

This year, though, I took the advice of everyone on these boards (thanks guys!) and called ahead to request a view of the MK. The CM I talked to was very nice. I made no requests about room size, just that we have a view of the MK if possible (we were paying for lagoon view already) and that our room be in Boca Chica. This is the building nearest the main courtyard pool. I mentioned being close to the pool was why we liked Boca Chica, and he told me that the new pool was open (the one by the beach, with the waterslide). I was really excited by this, since I thought it wouldn't be ready until after our trip. We got to talking about it, and he described all the details to me. Anyway, I must have made a friend in this CM, because not only did we get a view of the MK, we got two [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]!

Our room was in Boca Chica as requested, and had TWO, count them, TWO balconies!!! And they both had perfect views of the MK. WOW [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]!!! The room was also the larger size type room, with two queen beds and a daybed. My mom lives in a house in Atlanta, but I was used to my tiny Manhattan apartment. This room was HUGE!!! After opening the doors to both balconies and enjoying our luck, we started to unpack. (Our bags were waiting for us when we got to the room, as was our refrigerator, in typical efficient Disney fashion.) We weren't very productive, though, because we kept going outside to look at the MK. We finally got down to business, though, since we had a 9:30 PS at Narcoosees. We had just finished getting dressed for dinner when we heard the familiar music of the electrical light pageant outside. After hesitating about which balcony to chose from (boy, what a tough life, LOL! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]) we decided on the larger of the two and viewed the pageant. Beautiful as always! I love the water pageant.

It was time for our PS at Narcoosees, so we left our view for the restaurant. Narcoosees is steps from Boca Chica, so we were there in minutes. We asked about a seat at the window for fireworks, and were lead (can you believe this luck!) to a window table with a perfect view. I ordered the fried oysters as an appetizer and shrimp pasta as my entrée. My mom had the blue crab soup and the seafood paella. During our appetizers, the fireworks started. They piped the music in and dimmed the lights. The view of the fireworks across the lagoon was amazing! Our food was excellent. We split the key lime crème brulee for dessert. To die for! We were tired and full, so we headed back to the room so that we would be fresh for tomorrow, early-in day at the Magic Kingdom.

That's Day One. I hope I didn't bore everyone too much! Stay tuned for Day Two: "Magic Kingdom Days and Disco Nights"!

[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: tigger536 ]

[bfth]

GREAT report. I loved every word! Can't wait for your next installment!

[Janet 46]

Bore us?!? Not even close! I've never stayed at the GF so your descriptions are great! Hope to read more soon!

[Fortissimo]

Boy, what a boring report. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Can you hurry up and bore us some more? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[tikibird]

Tigger,

Great trip report - I loved hearing about the GF, as I have never been there.

It is awesome that you and your mom get to spend this special time together. Looking forward to more of your report!

[DisneyFan]

Tigger,
That was a great trip report. MORE please. You're mom is the best, what a great mom she is to have taken care of all thos little things before you arrived. Sounds like she was just as excited as you were to be there.
I'm so glad that you got such a nice room. 2 balconies. WOW! I've never stayed at the GF, but really want to.
Disneyfan

Tigger,

Great trip report...your mom sounds just like mine, taking care of all the little things. If only I could get her on a plane...

Looking forward to installment number two...please bore us some more while we drool over the description of your room... [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[aurora1429]

Tigger, sounds like you have a great mom there! Now, would she be interested in adopting a sister for you [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Aerobics]

What a BORING trip report!

I mean...no details, no excitement, no drama, no fabulocity... [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

Please keep writing, because as you can tell, we LOVE reading!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Looking forward to "Magic Kingdom Days and Disco Nights"!

[ 08-22-2001: Message edited by: Aerobics ]

[tigger536]

Tigger and Dumbo do WDW!

The adventurers: Me (Tigger, aka Jacquelyn), 23
My mom (Dumbo, aka Cindy), 49
Dates: July 25-August 5, 2001
Resort: Grand Floridian
Celebration: Our annual summer trek to WDW

Day 2, Thursday July 26, 2001: "Magic Kingdom Days and Disco Nights"

Today was our first full day at WDW. The alarm went off at 5:30 am on a clear morning. I could tell it was beautiful outside without even getting out of bed, because I had left the curtain open to the main balcony before going to sleep the night before. I didn't want to miss a second of our fabulous view. I enjoyed the scenery for a few minutes before climbing out of bed.

I went into the dressing area of the bathroom to start getting dressed. I decided to do something nice for my mom and make her coffee so she could stay in bed a few extra minutes. The only problem: I do not drink coffee. I have tried the stuff, sure, but never really got into it. Thus, I do not own a coffee maker. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] I am not an expert in making coffee or operating coffee makers. It started out well. I plugged in the machine, then I put in the filter, poured in some coffee, and filled the water tank with water. So far so good. I even set the clock on the base of the coffee maker, realizing that coffee makers, like microwaves, must have the clock set to work. (Who thought of this, I don't know, but oh well.) I pressed the on button. I waited. I waited some more. No coffee. I pressed all the buttons. Still no coffee. I was really embarassed at my incompetence. After all, I did fairly well in school. I went to a good college. I should be able to make coffee, LOL! I didn't want to ask my mom for help, because the coffee was SUPPOSED to be a surprise. Too late. By this time, she was already up and had come into the bathroom. "You made me coffee! What a nice surprise!" she said happily. I explained the problem. She immediately pressed another button (not what I had thought was the on button) and the machine sprang into action. It started whirring and soon there was coffee in the pot. The button she pressed was marked "I/O". "I/O"? "I/O"? What kind of description is that of what the button does? How about "On" or "Power" or "Start"? Red faced, I resumed getting dressed, resolving to get it right tomorrow.

Once we were dressed and the coffee fiasco was over, we left for the MK. We made the walk from Boca Chica to the GF lobby and took in the sights of the GF in the morning. I just love walking across the grounds in the early morning, when everything is freshly washed and peaceful and quiet. When we got to the monorail deck, I asked the CM there if there was room in front. There was! We got to start our first full day with a monorail cockpit ride! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] This is really cool. If you sit front and center and lean to the glass, it feels almost like you're riding on the nose of the monorail.

We arrived at the MK a few minutes before our 7:30 PS for the Crystal Palace. Normally, on an early in day, we do early in then eat breakfast at around 9:30 or so, but since it was our first day, we wanted to take it slow and go around the park, land by land. We have a first day tradition in that we always start with Tomorrowland. We do everything there we like, then move on the Fantasyland, etc.

The very first thing we do on our first day , though, is visit our brick. We really lucked out on the location of our piece of the "Walk Around the World". We bought it in 1994, the very first year they sold them. As a result, it is located right in front of the MK! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] If you are facing the MK, it is just to the left of the silver bricks that they sold to the Disneyana members. It is really close to this circle of silver "VIP" bricks. It is number 435 and says "Alton, Cindy, and Jacque: the Hartleys" on it, if anyone happens by it. We always take a picture beside it. I have seven years of pictures of us by the brick. It makes for a really cool timeline of our visits to WDW!

Anyway, after seeing the brick, we moved on to the Crystal Palace. Soon, we were hob-nobbing with Tigger and Pooh! I love this breakfast. Not only do you get to meet Tigger (which as you can tell is my favorite [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ), but the food is good, too! When Tigger came by, I showed him my Tigger hip pack and he acted flattered. It was really cute. After eating way too much at breakfast (hey, what are vacations for, LOL!) we headed over to Tomorrowland to begin our touring.

I got us fast passes to Space Mountain and then we got in the standby line for Buzz. (It was just before 9:00, so we had missed early in, but it was OK since it didn't seem as crowded as in past years.)

Now for Buzz. Others of you have written in your trip reports that there always seems to be one person in the group that is really good at racking up points on this ride. For us, that is my mom. I grew up with video games, so I should be better, but she beats me every time. She always gets at least 300,000 points! I don't know what her secret is. I even know of some hidden places to shoot in that room with the light beams, but that doesn't seem to help me beat her! (There is a sensor to the left of the door in this room. Shoot at it right when the Zurg's ship is over it for the most points. If your car is pointed at a certain angle, you can see it.)

We did Space Mountain next. I love this ride! This time, I got a seat right up front! Next, we did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I love going through Space Mountain. I always look for the planet that is really a chocolate chip cookie. Next, we did the Tomorrowland Speedway. This is another favorite. (I guess they all are, LOL!) I did the Astro Orbiter next. My mom always opts out of this one, but I love it. I love the view of the castle as you are rotating around. You can even see the monorail hotels from up there!

Next, we wanted to do Alien Encounter, but the line had become huge. It is easy to walk on this ride at night, so we skipped it for now. We moved on to Fantasyland, where we got fast passes for Pooh. We saw the Legend of the Lion King next. I heard a rumor this is getting replaced, but I hope not. I love this show. I rode the carousel while we were waiting for our Pooh passes to be ready. Pooh was fun as always. I love it when the cars bounce like Tigger and he says "I almost bounced right out of the ride!"

It was time for lunch, so we went to the Columbia Harbor House. Like Gonzo, I am a chicken fan, so this is my favorite fast food place at the MK. I had the fried chicken strips and my mom got the Starboard Deck Sandwich. This is a very good sandwich. Its huge, stuffed with ham, cheese, and coleslaw. The Columbia Harbor House is a very peaceful place to eat lunch. We like to sit upstairs, in the small room over the bridge to Fantasyland. That way, we can look out the window to Frontierland or Fantasyland (depending ion which side of the room we are sitting on).

After lunch, we got in the standby line for the Haunted Mansion. This is a fun haunted house, but one part of this ride still freaks me out. That lady in the wedding dress is totally creepy! Gets me every time. I like the end where the hitchhiking ghosts "share" your car. I always pretend to put my arm around the one we get, or hold up two fingers to give him bunny ears in the mirror. We got fast passes for Big Thunder next. We were going to get FPs for Splash Mountain, but the times were already too late. (We were going to the marketplace and PI for dinner and club hopping.)

While waiting for our time, we rode the pirates of the Caribbean. They added some audio portions to this ride since the last time I've been on it. Now, during one of the dark parts (I think it is when the boat is about to go down the short drop, but I can't remember) there is a voice that says "Arrr!" You know, like "Arr mateys!" like pirates say. Anyway, this struck me as funny, because the voice just comes out of the blue. I kept saying it as a joke the rest of the trip. (Kind of annoying, I guess, but funny in the right context.)

The tiki birds show was starting, so we went there. I loved the old tiki bird show. I miss the old tiki bird show. The new one is OK, but I wish they hadn't messed with the original. (Sorry, just had to vent!)

The line for Aladdin was also short, so we rode that. (Attendance seemed down the entire day.) I love the spitting camels on this ride! You have to be at just the right level for them to hit you, and it was fun going up and then trying to time the decent just right so we'd get spit on. For our final ride of the day, we did Big Thunder. Or rather, I went on Big Thunder while my mom took a break. She doesn't like it because it jerks her around. (That's half the fun, LOL! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] )

After this, we headed back to get ready for the "Disco nights" portion of the day. I stopped first at the confectionery to buy some snacks for later. The bakery was not open, so I couldn't get my tollhouse cookies, but I found the confectionery had some very nice white chocolate cookies that filled the void. I also bought some fudge and some chocolate covered pretzels. Happily loaded down with treats, we made our way to the boat dock.

Back at the GF, we decided to try out the new waterslide before getting ready for dinner. I love the new pool. It is right on the beach. The slide is great fun. I even convinced my mom to try it once. (She's not a waterslide person. I still can't believe I got her on the Humonga Kowabunga (sp?) at Blizzard Beach a few years ago!) After this, we dressed for dinner and then relaxed on our balcony for a little while.

We got our car from the valet and headed over to the marketplace for dinner and some shopping. I bought some pins to add to my collection at an outdoor kiosk. I also got a book to keep them in, since my neck strap was full. There was a sign that said you could get your book personalized at the Christmas shop, so we headed there next. I love getting stuff personalized, because I can never find any pre-printed merchandise with my name on it, due to the unusual spelling of my name. I go by "Jacque" (short for Jacquelyn) but the "qu" part always throws people for a loop. People who just see my name written down think I'm a guy, since I spell my name similarly to the French name "Jacques", which IS a boy's name. Mine has no "s" but that doesn't seem to help. In high school, when we had a substitute they would call my name at roll with "Jacques, is he here?" Everybody always cracked up and I had to raise my hand to a very confused substitute, who was surprised I was a girl! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

We bought a few more things at the World of Disney, including a new antenna topper for my mom's car and some photo albums for all the pictures I was taking. It was time for our 8:30 PS at the Rainforest Café, so we saved the rest of the shops for another day. It's great that you can make PSs here now! You walk right in with no wait! We sat in the gorilla room. The food was great as always. We had the awesome appetizer platter to start. Great and HUGE [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]! It has spring rolls, chips with crab dip, calamari and chicken strips. I had the brave new world pizza for my entrée and my mom had the coconut shrimp. Stuffed, we opted out of dessert.

We headed over to the car to move it closer to Pleasure Island. We discovered that since the car was valeted at the GF, we got free valet parking anywhere the rest of the day, so we valeted the car at PI. Next, came 80s Trax. I have always wanted to do this at PI, but we are never there on Thursdays, the only day of the week that 8 Trax plays 80s music. I danced while my mom enjoyed things from a seat near the bar. After an hour, my feet were sore, so we headed to the Adventurer's Club to relax. We had never been inside this club, but I wanted to try it because of the recommendations on these boards. It was pretty neat, but our timing was off, because they were just finishing a show when we walked in and said they weren't going to have another show until after the New Year's Eve celebration outside. This was 30 minutes away, and we were too tired to wait. We decided to head back to the hotel. I would love to do this again though, as it did seem like a cool club.

By the time we got back, we were beginning to get a second wind, so we went for a quick swim in the main pool. (The waterslide pool closes at 8pm.) My favorite thing about he GF pool is that it's always the right temperature. Not too hot, but not too cold that you couldn't swim in it at night. Even though it was almost 1 am, the pool was really crowded. (It was a very warm night.) We swam for a little while, then went to the Gasparilla Grill for some hot tea for me (my mom had coffee in the room- and knew how to make it, LOL!) After this, we went to bed. We had another early start the next day.

Stay tuned for Day 3: "Magic Kingdom Take Two, and Hoop Dee Do!"

[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: tigger536 ]

[tikibird]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Like Gonzo, I am a chicken fan, so this is my favorite fast food place at the MK. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Perhaps you two could collaborate on a sure to be bestseller, "Eating Chicken at WDW!" [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">quote:</font><HR> I loved the old tiki bird show. I miss the old tiki bird show. The new one is OK, but I wish they hadn't messed with the original. (Sorry, just had to vent!)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No apologies needed! I am still traumatized by my June visit to the WDW Tiki Room (following my December visit to the DL (original) Tiki Room). The old, origial version is ten times better. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

Another great segment, Tigger - keep 'em coming!

[Janet 46]

I love your descriptions, Tigger. Lets have more!

[Beast_fanatic]

I've finally caught up on reading trip reports, and now you've left me hanging!

Your reports are great - very descriptive!

Can I 'ave some more please? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Versafox]

Yes, more please! It's reading the trip reports -- and yours is an especially good one! -- that is keeping me sane while I chew my nails and count down the days to my own trip in November! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

With only 22 days to go, your trip report is getting me in just the right spirit for my trip...

Keep it coming!!!! Please!