Tragedy & Triumph: Beth’s Trip Report – Day8: The Worst of Days, The Best of Disney About This Page:

[Janet 46]

Beth, this installment wasn't boring at all - in fact, I found it moving. I cried again over some of your descriptions as you learned of the tragedy in bits and pieces. I know exactly how you felt when you said you couldn't watch any more and had to do something. (That morning at 10:00 I found myself in Shop-Rite crying with some other women at the deli counter)

I'm very glad that Disney did their best to entertain the travelers who were probably trying to put up a brave front for their kids. I wish I'd had something...anything.. to occupy my thoughts for that week. There was no escape from it here in NJ. Anytime you go out and glance toward Manhattan, you could see the smoke and you cry. Anytime you turn on TV, there's no reception because it disappeared with the transmitter from the WTC. And you cry.

Thank God for my Passporter friends! This was such a hopeful and uplifting place to come.

[JoanneC]

Not boring at all, Beth. Brought tears when you said how Steve stopped to say the pledge of allegience.

[whoSEZ]

Beth, I agree with Janet and Joanne -- not at all boring! I read every word, and cried more than once. How fitting that you happened to be the Flag Family that morning.

I have to say, "The Worst of Days, The Best of Disney" is by far the best Trip Report title I've ever, ever seen. Perfectly said. Well done!

[bfth]

Tuesday, September 11th, 2001

I’ve got to admit that this is one of the hardest installations I have ever written, but I’m giving it my best shot and trying to recall events as they happened. I really didn’t feel like doing a lot of writing after Tuesday, but I suppose it’s important that I did. I should have noted all the details as best I could as a sort of history of that tragic week.

Ok, onward.

We woke around 7, knowing that we had to be at guest relations at 8:15. The day was sunny with showers predicted for later (no surprise there, right?). I was really looking forward to doing this flag raising ceremony as I figured it’s a rather unique experience. I didn’t have anything patriotic to wear, but I did my best with my Walt Disney World Est. 1971 shirt (it’s white with blue and red stitching) and my blue denim skort (with Mickey and Minnie embroidered on it).

We were down in the lobby before 8:15 (being the prompt people that we were). Went right up to guest relations and were told to wait in the lobby, someone would be coming to get us shortly. We had a seat and waited. I think they tell you to be there at 8:15 so they can get you there by 8:30!

Five to ten minutes passed when Amaryllis arrived with the flags for us. We took the elevator up to the 7th floor (she had her special key, as the 7th floor is concierge and requires one). We walked over to the other side of the floor (so that we were above the Whispering Canyon area) and then went up a flight of steps that led to a door, which led to another flight of stairs. The first flight reminded me of attic stairs, the second were more “outdoor” stairs, metal, but not solid.

Any way, we finally get up to the roof. The view is incredible up there (not unlike the view from the 15th floor of the Contemporary). You can see the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, a bit of the Poly and a bit of Epcot (SE and the Dolphin & Swan). I was taking lots of photos up there! You could even see to developments beyond Disney!

With all the rain we’d had it was damp on the roof. Lots of puddles and stuff. As I was wearing sandals, I made sure I looked where I was walking.

Amaryllis put the flags down on a dry spot and handed Steve the American Flag to raise. He did a great job! I took several photos of him doing it too. It was a beautiful day and the flag was quickly up and waving in the breeze. At that point, I know Steve was glad that I had requested that we do this. This simple task was certainly very moving.

I believe then Steve raised the Florida state flag. Then, Amaryllis helped me as I raised the Walt Disney World Resort flag. Steve & I then together raised one of the two Wilderness Lodge Resort Flags (on the left side of the roof, it would be the right side of the hotel if you were looking at it from the front). Amaryllis took a photo of us holding the flag (which came out great) and then took some more photos as we raised it.

Then Steve raised the last flag, the other Wilderness Lodge flag. It was kind of strange how you had to do it because the post kind of goes down into the stair well.

We went carefully back down the stairs (it was a little damp remember and I didn’t want to slip). Amaryllis said she would take up down to the balcony that overlooks the back of the hotel (the pool and lake area). She couldn’t remember which floor the balcony was on. We tried 6 first, but the balcony was on 5. Since we were on the other side of the hotel, we never used this elevator, and it was funny how bad it smelled. That section of the 5th floor (that would look towards the villas) is the smoking section and you can really tell.

Any way, we went out on the balcony and Amaryllis took a couple of photos of us. On the balcony below I think they were preparing for a wedding that day. I saw a clergy member and I also saw a white wedding cake being put out. I thought it was odd being married in the middle of a week day morning, but heck this is WDW, every day is a holiday!

Back down in the lobby, Amaryllis gave us a certificate with our name and the date on it thanking us for our service that day. We thanked her for taking all the photos and letting us participate.
Now it was a matter of what to do. I still wanted to get back to Animal Kingdom (which sadly we never did), but it was around 9 AM by then. By the time we got there, it would be pretty hot. MK was just a boat ride away.

But Steve was kind of hungry. So, even though we didn’t have priority seating (we did have a priority seating scheduled for the next day), we decided to try out the Whispering Canyon Café. The place was not full at all. We went right up to the podium (Loved the stuffed cow at the podium with a CM name tag that said “Brisket&#8221 [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] and said we didn’t have a PS, but we did have some severe food allergies, would they be able to accommodate us? Of course they could!

We were seated right away and told Deputy Diane, our server that we would need to talk to the chef. Again, not a problem. I know they have skillet breakfasts and all, I was figuring (with my old mindset) that I could do fruit, cereal and maybe some toast and bacon. Steve ordered some orange juice and I ordered what I think was grapefruit juice, apple juice and grape juice combined (I can’t remember, it was really icky [to my taste buds] and I asked to switch over to just oj).

Chef Stefan came out right away to talk with me. And talk with me he did! I explained that I just wanted some bacon and toast that was not cross contaminated. He asked more about my food allergies. I could eat ham, right? Potatoes? Onions? Mushrooms? Peppers? No problems there. He said he was going to try and put something special together for me. Ok, I’m being daring here and willing to give it a go!

We sip our juice (got to love those “jelly jar” type glasses. They are so thick!) and wait. Someone at the table behind us is foolish enough to ask for ketchup. Uh oh! Pretty soon Deputy Diane is hollering for the ketchup and bringing over about 5 bottles. While this surprises the couple at the table, it doesn’t seem to bother them.

Our breakfast comes out and I can’t believe what I see on my plate. Besides some toast and 2 slices of bacon there is this HUGE (skillet sized) what I can only call a non-elet. It was everything an omelet could be, but without the eggs. It was the MOST DELICIOUS breakfast I had ever had. And it was the biggest. It was one of those meals where you want to stop eating, but it’s so darned good you can’t. You’re stuffed but there’s still plenty of yummy stuff on the plate so you just keep eating and eating! (and drinking the deliciously strong coffee too). I LOVED it! Three cheers to Chef Stefan for his creativity and the best breakfast (and most filling) I’ve had (yes, it even beat out May’s Boma breakfast).

Because I had so much to eat, breakfast took a while. I don’t remember exactly how it started, but it seemed as if there were a lot of NJ/NY people in the restaurant. At one point parts of the restaurant are shouting out “Let’s Go Yankees” and clapping their hands. Well, obviously this is the restaurant to do this! And we’re Yankee fans (well, if I have to be a fan of any team I’m a Yankee fan and a Mets fan too. I like to root for the underdog).

I was wondering if I could get the rest of my breakfast (and there was still quite a lot of it, despite the fact that I had totally pigged out and my stomach had expanded at least 2 sizes) put in dry ice and shipped home. (I think you get the idea that I really liked it, don’t you?).

Steve and I decided to go over to MK. I wanted to put our certificate (as well as the letter from the day before) in our room before we headed off. He needed to make a phone call or two. So he went to use the pay phone (I had obtained some free phone cards and by using them at the pay phones, you don’t get the phone charge that you would if you used your room phone). He went off to do that and I paid the bill.

At 9:49 (it pays to keep those receipts), I was getting ready to leave when I heard a waitress (not Deputy Diane) say something about a bomb. What I got from her was that the staff was taking turns going back to the bar area where the TV was on because a bomb had gone off in the Pentagon.

Disturbing news, but nothing to get too concerned about. I go out to our room. Our mousekeeper is there, so I don’t take much time. Just put down our stuff, get my Minnie ears to wear in MK and head out again (after thanking our mousekeeper for the wonderful service, she thanks me for the tip).

Go down stairs and by the walk way by the Roaring Folks I meet Steve who was going to head up to the room to meet me. I tell him we can’t go to the room as it’s being cleaned.

Then I tell him that I heard the waitress in the restaurant told me a bomb had gone off at the Pentagon. He said that was strange because he had seen a CM with her arms around a guest escorting her out of the bar area. The guest has been crying hysterically. AT this point, the two of us were thinking that maybe this woman had a relative working in the Pentagon or something. We have a very good friend who works in Washington, DC so we decided to go to the bar and see what’s happening.

In hindsight, maybe we shouldn’t have. Ignorance certainly would have been bliss. We could have headed over to the MK with not a care in the world and whined when they closed the park not knowing why.

But that’s not what we did. We walked into the bar to see on the big screen TV one tower on fire and another gone. We were in shock. This was not a bomb in the Pentagon. This was New York!

There weren’t many people in the bar at that time. Several cast member and maybe a dozen or so guests. I think most of them were in shock. Most people just stood or sat there dumbfounded. This couldn’t be happening could it?

I believe at this point, they were reporting that two planes had hit the towers independently, but I don’t recall any mention of Washington or the other plane that went down in PA. I can’t even remember who the newscaster was at the time. And obviously the news was convoluted. No one really knew what had happened.

Steve just wanted to sit there and watch the news (remember he lived in Brooklyn until he moved in with me in 1995 and worked in NYC for nearly 15 years. He left his job in June and has been sent twice to the unemployment office in NYC which is just a block away from the WTC). I, however, wanted to do something. In events of emergency or upset or tragedy or whatever you want to call it, I want to DO. It doesn’t really matter what. I just want to be busy, to do something (for example when I was a teen and my brother was rushed to hospital just hours after we returned home from vacation, I did most of the unpacking and proceeded to clean the house from top to bottom). I wanted to do something. I needed to do something. Phone home seemed to be the most logical thing.

So I went over the phone bank by the Whispering Canyon Café. The phones are all in use. So I use the ladies room. Coming out, they are all still in use. So I head over to the phones by the Wilderness Lodge Mercantile. No one is here and there is a room/booth where you can sit down and make your phone calls (it’s quite large…you could probably fit 5 people in here with the door shut!). I try to call my mom. But I can’t get through. The phone is making a funny noise. I know she’s at the shore, so there’s no point in trying to reach her at the other house. My brother is at work, so there’s no point of calling him at home. I don’t know my father’s office number off hand. Calling my office won’t do me any good. I can’t remember my brother’s office phone number.

Finally, I have the presence of mind to remember that my brother’s office # is an 800 #. I can call 1-800-555-1212 and get the listing and since it’s an 800 #, it won’t cost me anything. Amazingly, without any difficulty, I get the 800 operator and ask for the number for my brother’s company. Of course, I didn’t get the name quite right, but when I told her the location, she was able to get the number (good thing that this booth has pencils, paper and even tissues. Disney Deluxe resorts do have it all).

I dial the number and again, miraculously, manage to get through. I tell the receptionist that I need to speak to John, that it’s his sister and to please page him. (after all this I didn’t want voice mail).

I was really glad to hear his voice. He quickly assures me that he’s spoken to both our parents and that they are all right (I think he even said my mom was going to sneak a swim in the neighbor’s pool while she wasn’t home!). John’s girlfriend, Emma, works in NYC. She is fine, but she is stuck in the city. All of the tunnels have been shut down so she can’t come out to NJ to be with my brother. And the subways aren’t working so she’s going to have to walk home. I am just glad to hear that all is well. I tell my brother to let everyone know that we are ok. He is the one who tells me that the planes deliberately flew into the WTC and that he had seen it on TV. He might have told me about the Pentagon too, I’m not sure (and at this point, I think I had gotten the incorrect news that 2 planes had hit the Pentagon). I didn’t want to tie up the line too long.

I went back to the bar. Steve was still sitting there watching TV as the one tower left continued to burn. As I wrote in my Passporter notes later that afternoon, “It was unbelievable. It was terrifying. It is beyond horrific. What can I say? It is just so unbelievable.”

I stood there by him for a few minutes, but I couldn’t take it. I forced him to get up and walk with me. I told him we were going down to the boat dock and going to the Magic Kingdom. There was nothing we could do in the hotel. And I couldn’t take watching the news. We were going to the Magic Kingdom and that was that.

We got on the boat for the Magic Kingdom. The crew knew a bit of the story, but not as much as we did. And another couple who boarded after us, said that the second tower had gone down.
We got off the boat and entered MK. When Steve saw the flag flying there, he immediately stopped, and said the pledge. How many years has it been since I (or he) had said this?

We continued down Main Street. We went in the Emporium to do some listless window shopping. We talked to some CMs in the store. Everyone was unsettled.

We just kept walking around. We ended up in Liberty Square and even went on the Haunted Mansion. After that we wandered towards Frontierland. It was then that we noticed most people were headed for the park entrance. There had been no announcements. As we kept walking into Adventureland, I did hear one cast member say that they were closing the park.

As we got close to the bridge that leads from Main Street to Adventureland, an announcement came over the public address system. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was something along the lines of “Due to unforeseen circumstances the Magic Kingdom is now closing.” There was then something about CM’s assisting guest and then “Plan A” after which there was this strange noise (sort of like what you used to hear when they tested the Emergency Broadcast System on the radio or TV).

There were plenty of CMs out along the street. Not just those in “costume” but men and women in suits. The walk out was very orderly. There was no rushing or running. It was done very well. And I remember that as I passed a CM who was on the sidewalk by Tony’s Town Square, that I said they were doing a great job under awful circumstances. I kept trying to say that to any CM I could see. Because as horrible as this all was, I think Disney was definitely doing the right thing and in the right way.

On the way out of the park, they were handing out some sort of pass that I guess would give you a free day in the park. As we had APs we didn’t take them (hindsight again: we should have. Our APs expired on Saturday. We were supposed to go home Friday. AT that point we didn’t know that we wouldn’t get home until Monday!).

Again, the boat ride to the hotel was done in a very orderly fashion. There were a lot of boats running (I suspect they had as many out as they could).

Once back at the Wilderness Lodge, we went to our room. Steve immediately turned on the news and I tried to write notes in my Passporter. Our friend, Steve, who works in Washington, DC gives us a call to see how we are doing and we are glad to hear that he (and his family) are ok.

The news would get to be too much for me (I literally ran out onto the balcony and closed the door when they were showing the plane hitting the building and then when people were jumping).

I probably stayed in the room for about an hour to an hour and half before I couldn’t take it any more. I got my book and headed down to the pool area (even though I hadn’t put on a bathing suit). The pool area was packed. And the pool was very crowded.

Talk about surreal, a woman who was sitting in a lounge chair, stopped me and asked about my Millionaire Experience the day before (had it only been the day before?). It was her daughter who had gone on after me (she had gotten booted off before 1000). I talked with her about it a little bit and then went off again in my search for a chair. Ever one seemed to be taken.
So I headed down by where the beach where there are boat rentals. There were some families on the beach and there were some open chairs. So I took the chair closest to the rental area and sat down and tried to read. I watched some kids play in the sand and at the water’s edge (saw one man, in a shirt and shorts, or maybe it was a bathing suit) take 2 or 3 steps into the water and then just sit down in it).

I did some reading and some people watching before it got cloudy and looked like rain again. I walked back to the hotel the long way. Going by the Villas (actually I wanted to see if there were a lot of people by the pool over there. There weren’t any because the pool was closed). Headed back into the hotel by where the buses let you out. Wandered in the Mercantile and looked around. Then headed back to the room. Steve wasn’t there. He came in just a few minutes later. Said he had gone off looking for me by the pool.

Now I don’t have any more notes for this day, so I’m going to do my best to remember what happened for the rest of the day…

Obviously we watched a lot of news (what else was there?). WDW had been the first to close. Eventually Universal and Sea World had followed suit. All airports were closed and we were already wondering how we’d manage to get home. But Friday seemed like a long way off.

Around 4 or 5 in the evening, I decided we needed to get out. Again, I took Steve down to the boat dock. We took the boat over to the Contemporary. Went into the Contemporary and checked out the shops there. I noticed that several of the CMs from Mickey’s Toontown Fair were working in the shops. As a matter of fact, talked to us about some of the Disney ties that Steve was checking out and I mentioned how much I liked her top, as the Toontown Fair shirts look more “fair-like” and less “Mickey-like” (if that makes any sense).

Got out at the Poly and wandered around here. It was obvious that O’Hana’s was going to be hopping that night. However, the Kona Café was pretty empty. So we decided, even though we weren’t really hungry, it was time to stop and have dinner. (I also knew it would be impossible to try and eat at our hotel. The Whispering Canyon Café had always seemed busy at night. Tonight, I knew it was going to be super busy).

We had no trouble getting a table (and they even remembered me and my food allergies from Friday night). Chef Bubba came out and talked with me (I’ve “worked” with him before. He’s a great guy). Again I ordered the fish. Chef Bubba told me that the guy who’s recipe it was, was in the kitchen that night! So I knew it would be good. Chef Bubba also told us that it was his night off (and his wife’s too), but he had been asked to come in because management knew that the restaurants were going to be crazy. He felt bad about leaving his new puppy at home by himself (he had a kennel so the poor thing wouldn’t tear up the house).

In spite of everything, we had a delicious meal (the Kona Café never disappoints). By the time we were finishing our meal, the restaurant was beginning to fill up. Although it was no where as crowded as O”hana’s was. There were people lined up out the “door” and lots of people in the bar area.

We wandered around the hotel some more after dinner. Peeked in more shops. And were surprised to find Goofy and Mickey downstairs posing for photos. Obviously Disney was really trying to do their best to keep people (especially the kids) entertained.

It was raining a bit, so we caught the monorail over to the GF. The Grand Floridian Orchestra was already out and playing. Also, I poked my head in 1900 Park Fare. Piglet was out watching cartoons with some kids and inside the restaurant proper I could hear the harmonies of the Dapper Dans. Again, we did some half hearted window shopping and looking around before getting back on the monorail.

We pass by MK without stopping (but slowing). So much for our e-ride night.

Back to the Contemporary. On the concourse I see Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum over by the windows that look out onto the bay. The Beast is just leaving the area.

We decide to go up to the 15th floor to see the view. We’ve never been up there before and it also gives me a chance to see the CA Grill for the first time. Quite a view. It was us and another family. We took some photos of them. I took a photo of Steve with Space Mountain in the background. The rain had stopped again, but it was still quite overcast and damp.

Back down to the concourse. Now the band that usually plays over in Frontierland (I don’t know their name) is playing right outside the shops. Lots of little ones are dancing. The band is really good. All this entertainment that Disney is providing is really helping to lift the mood and take people’s minds off of the horror of the day.

Steve and I finally head back down to the boat dock and take the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge. Because of the weather, the pool is closed again. We wander around the lobby and see that the Whispering Canyon Café is filled beyond capacity. They have tables and seating out behind the restaurant (near the area where the DVC desk is). There is nothing much going on. So we head back to the room.

Back in the room there are several messages from us. One is a resort wide message (which was also displayed on one of the Disney information channels on the television) saying that the parks will be open tomorrow at 8 AM. Security will be increased. All bags will be checked by security prior to entry to the park.

Another message is from our friend Ken (see Day 3: Fantasmic In The Rain?) who is concerned about us and our families. Since Ken works in the news room of the Orlando CBS station, we are very touched that he called. We knew that he must be overwhelmed with work. Steve did give him a quick call to thank him for his concern and to tell him that everyone we knew was all right.

Finally there was a message from our good friend Janet in Georgia (usually Janet ends up taking her vacation in WDW around the same time we do. We’ve had lots of fun spending a few days in Disney together). Janet says she’ll call us back later because she knows how expensive hotel phones are! She does call back later in the evening and spends some time with each of us on the phone as we fill her in with the details of the day. And she tells us what is happening in her world.

With the news constantly on, I tell Steve that I want to go to Epcot the next day. (It’s supposed to rain again, otherwise, I’d head for AK). I take a Tylenol PM (knowing that I wouldn’t sleep with out it) and go to bed with the news still on. Hoping that I will wake up and find that Tuesday was all just some sort of horrible nightmare. Unfortunately it wasn’t.

(I realize that this installment is even longer than my usually one. It also might be a bit boring, but it was good therapy for me. It comes out my as a diary of my life than a WDW trip report. Sorry about that. But I still hope that you got something out of it. And that it gives you a feel of what it was like in WDW on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001).

[mikki]

Beth, Your report was very moving and had me in tears several times. It was awful seeing it happen from this side of the pond but your report really bought home the impact it had.

[LadyMinnie]

What a beautiful and touching report. I'm very pleased that Disney was very kind and receptive to the needs of their guests.

This report needed to get written, no doubt about it.

Thank you, Beth, for share with us all your wonderful trip reports. We look forward to more [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[LilMarcieMouse]

I thought it was intersting.It's nice to hear Disney did it's best to entertian and keep people busy at the hotels.Thank you for the insite.