A little light reading while you're waiting for Nate... About This Page:

[whoSEZ]

Who: Sandy (Me, 32, Disney fiend) and Lesley (college roommate, also 32, also Disney fiend).
What: My 5th trip to WDW, Lesley's 4th. (Our 3rd together.)
When: 11/27/01 to 12/6/01 (Lesley's leaving on 12/3)
Where: 3 nights ASMu, 3 nights Contemporary Garden Wing, 3 nights Caribbean (solo)
How: Northwest Airlines, Tiffany Towncar
Why: Why not? PassPorter Gathering, Christmas at WDW, all-around good time.

Tuesday, November 27, 2001

Travel Day! And it couldn't come soon enough. I'd been told to expect about 25 pages of work yesterday (I'm a freelance proofreader), but it turned out to be more like 85 pages, and it didn't arrive until late in the day. I only got about three hours of sleep. Funny, though, how that doesn't seem to affect me as much on Travel Day.

We got our first major snowstorm of the year over the weekend; it started snowing in earnest sometime late on Sunday, and kept snowing all day Monday. It was supposed to stop sometime this morning, but because this is Minnesota, I wasn't too concerned about our flight being cancelled. In fact, only a handful of flights were delayed by this storm. Gotta love those MSP runway crews!

With all the extra work I had yesterday, I didn't have time to completely shovel off the patio. There were as many as 8 inches on parts of the patio . . . I hated leaving it there (didn't like the thought of coming home to it), but I simply didn't have the time to do it.

Bruce and I were a bit worried about the traffic, though, so we left for the airport a little earlier than we'd planned. My flight wasn't until 3:08 p.m., but we left shortly after 11:00 a.m. I knew I'd be earlier than I needed to be, but with all the extra lines and waits at the airports these days, I didn't mind being early and having time to relax a bit. We did the usual pre-trip stuff (post office, ATM, Holiday Store for water and gum), and even with those stops, we were at the airport by 11:50 a.m.

The new e-ticket check-in at MSP is awesome! There's a row of 6 or 8 monitors; you just insert your World Perks card or the credit card you used to purchase your ticket, then answer all the usual questions by touching the screen. The computer prints out the luggage tag stickers, and then one of the NWA employees (I think there were 3 or 4 working behind the row of monitors) takes them out of the printer, puts them on your luggage, and off you go! So simple; extremely efficient.

Then it was time for the security check. A little bizarre, but pretty much what I expected. Very little wait here either. It's still a little startling (but oddly comforting at the same time) to see the National Guard folks standing watch.

The longest line of my airport experience was the lunch line. I guess everyone had the same idea -- get to the airport early to avoid any delays (of the snowstorm, check-in, or security varieties). There were a lot of people in line at Burger King, but I went there because I knew I could get a vegetarian lunch without a hassle (they're the only fast-food place that consistently knows what I want when I request a Veggie Whopper -- that is, a regular Whopper minus the meat). Have it my way at Burger King. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

I ate lunch very, very slowly -- I knew I still had tons of time -- and I still got to the gate by 12:30. Less than 90 minutes for the drive to the airport, in a snowstorm, with a couple stops on the way, check-in, security, and lunch. Not a bad start! Of course that meant I had more than 2 hours to sit at the gate, but I didn't care. I was there, I was ready to go, and I was on my way to WDW.

[whoSEZ]

Lesley arrived a little later than I expected her -- I think it was after 2:00 p.m. when she sat down next to me. Funny thing was, about that same time, we noticed that our flight time was changed from 3:08 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Yikes! Turns out the plane was coming from Miami and was late leaving there. Not sure why, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a snowstorm. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

So Lesley and I sat there chatting, taking turns wandering to the shops, getting snacks (we knew there'd be no meal on the plane), and taking bathroom breaks. She realized a little while later that she'd forgotten her camera (the look on her face made me wish I'd had my camera out at that moment). We probably would have had time for someone to bring it to us from her house, but we decided that since I had one along, we'd just use mine and forget it. That turned out to be okay with her, because she'd borrowed her sister's video camera and it would have been a pain for her to have both cameras.

We finally got on the plane and left shortly after 5:00. By the way, it was still snowing. So much for the forecasts that it would stop sometime that morning!

Lesley and I both had window seats on the right side of the plane -- she was one row ahead of me. There were quite a few empty seats, including one right next to me, so I had room to stretch my legs (not to mention my hips, heehee) a little. Jackpot! The flight was an easy one; there was just a little turbulence. I slept for about half the flight -- the main reason I prefer window seats!

We arrived at MCO, made the usual stop at the bathroom, took the shuttle with the Monorail Man's voice, and then headed down the escalator. We were hoping to see our old Tiffany Towncar friend Tony, but he wasn't there. Instead, there was Daniel from Brazil, who told us several times that he was "the best driver." He was great! We enjoyed our conversation with him, except for the part about his favorite chicken heart recipe. ::gag::

He stopped at Albertson's, as we requested, and we got quite a few groceries, including 24 (16-oz.) bottles of water for $8. Much better deal than in the parks!

Daniel dropped us off at All Star Music, and we were met by Bell Services. I was a little surprised by that, as I'd heard Bell Services at the All Stars were understaffed and simply unable to keep up with the demand -- but they loaded all our stuff on a cart and told us they'd bring it to our room after we'd checked in. While Lesley paid Daniel, I went to get in line to check in. Funny thing about arriving at night -- there wasn't a line! While that in itself was a bit of magic, the CM checking us in didn't provide any at all. Her name was Wendi, and my oh my was she crabby! At one point, I said something like, "Long day, huh?" and she responded with a grouchy, "Just got here, actually." Well, gee, so did I. Remember me? I'm one of your guests. And I think Walt would want you to welcome me with a smile. ::hmpf::

So after that decidedly un-magical moment, we went right to Maestro Mickey's to get postcards. We were on a secret mission and needed to mail one to Texas right away, telling a certain PassPorter moderator's son that Mickey and Friends couldn't wait to see him on Saturday, wink wink! I never did find out if that arrived before they left home. It was well past suppertime, so we also stopped in the Food Court to get a bite (cheeseburger for Les, grilled cheese for me, fries for both of us) and our refillable mugs (red for me -- which turned out to be a recurring theme -- and yellow for Les). We ate, wrote out a couple postcards, popped them in the mail, and finally headed for our room.

We'd hoped for Calypso or Jazz, and we got Jazz, Room 9544. A great room! Lots of drawer space, comfy beds, great Jazz theming -- I especially liked the wallpaper in the bathroom, with Jazz musicians all over the place. Fun! The table, and the whole room, were really small; I wouldn't want to stay at the All Stars with 4 adults, but I'd stay there again with just 1 other person, or on a solo trip. Especially with the kind of deal we got on this trip: AP rate of $49/night. Can't beat that.

Our plan was to call Bell Services as soon as we got in the room, wait for the hour or so we expected it to take, then unpack and hit the hay . . . imagine our surprise to find the bags in the room waiting for us! Couldn't believe it. We never did see the person who delivered them to our room, which meant no tip (and if ever a Bell Services person deserved a tip, it was the one who got our bags to our room before we got there ourselves!).

We unpacked, watched a little TV, wrote a few more postcards, and went to bed. I wasn't sure how I'd like getting to WDW at night and not being able to hit the parks right away, but I really liked it. I didn't feel at all rushed, and it was nice to relax after the flurry of Travel Day activities.

We set the wake-up call for 6:28 a.m. Big day tomorrow!

[whoSEZ]

Wednesday, November 28, 2001

The plan: Cinderella's Breakfast and MK rides in the morning, then MGM for the new parade, rides, shows, Fantasmic!, and Osborne Lights.

Got up when the phone rang, after only 5 or so hours of sleep. Knowing that we were headed to breakfast at the Castle made it easy to get up. My bangs were hanging in my eyes, so I tried to cut them myself, looking in the mirror -- bad idea! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Lesley fixed them as well as she could, and they turned out okay. We left the room about 8:00 a.m., waited less than 5 minutes for a bus, and had a nice (uncrowded) ride to the MK.

Then it was time for our first experience at a Disney park post–September 11. It was a little jarring the first time or two, but I didn't see anybody complaining the whole time. I was happy about that. A guy named Bob checked our bags (quick and painless) and pointed us toward the gate at the far left, which was for people with Priority Seatings.

We stopped at the shop right inside the gate so Lesley could exchange one of those fat autograph pens that didn't work. She'd purchased it on her last trip, in October, and several characters had trouble signing their names with it. One of them (Chip, I think?) finally motioned to her that she should take it back and get a new one. She had no trouble exchanging it, and we were on our way down Main Street in no time.

My first glimpse of the MK Christmas Tree! Beautiful, and much taller than I expected. There were very few guests on Main Street, but that didn't mean there was no activity -- they were taping something (a sign said it was for a Christmas special), and we would have loved to stop and watch a bit, but we were in a hurry to get to breakfast. We also noticed more taping going on in front of the Castle, but again, we couldn't stop to watch!

We did make one quick stop, though -- I had my photo taken by one of the Main Street photographers. I was hoping for a good one to buy for Bruce as a Christmas present.

We checked in for breakfast, and were surprised to have the Castle's lobby all to ourselves for a while. The tree there was absolutely beautiful! Pretty soon a ton of other guests joined us, including lots of families posing their kids on the throne, in front of the tree, and with the suit of shining armor.

After a short wait (less than 10 minutes, I think), we were taken upstairs and led to a table by the window, overlooking Fantasyland! How cool. Our server was Jay, and he was extra nice. He refilled our small juice glasses a couple times, and then decided to bring us BIG juice glasses. Love that Florida orange juice. He didn't mind at all that we ordered seconds of most things (and thirds of a couple things, yikes). We had all the usual -- cream cheese French toast (I had to swallow twice just typing about it, 2 months later! LOL), pancakes, scrambled eggs, croissants, chocolate muffins (which I ate for my dear friend, Belle*), and fruit. Lesley also had sausage, bacon, and the breakfast potatoes. I sure wish they'd make those without meat!

We saw Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Mary Poppins, and Belle; all the pictures except the one of both of us with Snow White and the one of Lesley with Cinderella turned out beautifully! (That was a bummer; Lesley's niece is unbelievably infatuated with Cinderella.) We enjoyed watching the characters interact with the really cute kids at the table next to us, especially when they'd notice something like Mary Poppins standing with her feet pointed out. They also asked her to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" backward, and she did it perfectly, British accent and all. After breakfast, we saw the Fairy Godmother in the lobby, but we didn't stop for pictures. We were ready for rides!!

[whoSEZ]

First stop: The Many Adventures of Pooh. We missed this one on our trip in March, and were surprised to see the sign said the line was only 10 minutes long. That turned out to be more like a 5-minute wait, and we were off in our own Hunny Pot. Finally got to see the Mr. Toad/Pooh picture!

We also had 5-minute waits for Peter Pan, then the Haunted Mansion. Another first: We found the ring in the cement! Our last MK ride for the morning was Jungle Cruise. My favorite line from the wacky skipper: "Hold on to your loved ones and secure your toupees!" Heehee. One subtle change that we didn't notice during the ride, but thought about later: The "crashed" airplane is no longer part of the script, and has been camouflaged by jungle vegetation. That airplane has one of the "Hidden Mickeys" that we always look for, so it was startling to realize that it wasn't there any more. We knew right away that it was probably one of the many things that had changed after September 11, and I can understand why; I can only hope that someday the plane comes back into the script somehow.

On our way out, we stopped to see if my Main Street picture turned out. Let me just say [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Uhhh, exactly when did I get that extra chin? LOL Left without buying that picture, but we did get to see a couple more characters: Friar Tuck, and Cruella, who looked at me and said, "I'll be right back, Dahling" and fled. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Hopped on the monorail to the TTC, then found a bus to the Studios (no wait there either!). The bag search here took a little longer; I had just a fanny pack, and had no trouble getting through quickly, but Lesley's video camera bag had several pouches, all of which needed to be unzipped and/or unlatched every time. She got pretty quick at those zippers!

Inside the gates, I stopped to try another picture for Bruce. I found this photographer to be just as anxious to help me out -- as soon as I mentioned the words "special Christmas present," they'd all take extra time to get it just right.

Our next stop was the Big Hat; we were looking for pins! Lesley has fallen under the Pin Trading spell, and while I'm not into trading, I did want to get a couple of the new Mickey head/American flag pins. We also had certificates to get the free "Internet Mickey" pin, and I bought the "100 Years" light-up pin.

Then, while we were in a buying mood, we went to find "Guest of Honor" badges. We both had to have our names specially engraved, as they were only selling "SANDRA" and "LESLIE" ones, and we wanted "SANDY" and "LESLEY." Grrrr. Red for me (see? I told you it was a recurring theme) and blue for Lesley. While we were in line, we met a DIS lurker getting badges for her kids: Emma, Leah, and Ian. Ian's was also a red one, and when the CM put mine on the counter, Ian picked it up and said, "Mom, is this mine?" I told him if he wanted, we could trade -- he could be "Sandy" and I'd be "Ian." He didn't go for it. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] While we waited, I told his mom about the PassPorter boards, and she said she'd register and say hello. Are you out there, Emma, Leah, and Ian's Mom?? Hello! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[whoSEZ]

Okay, now that the shopping was out of the way, it was time to hit some rides and shows! We had a couple hours before the parade, so we checked the ride board. Believe it or not, ZERO wait was posted for Rock 'n' Roller, so of course we went there first! My first ever RnR experience, and I loved it, but I couldn't do it more than once or twice on a trip. My head got knocked around a bit, and I ended up with red ears and a hairdo that made Lesley laugh. Then it was off to Beauty and the Beast. We walked right in, less than 5 minutes before showtime, and got seats in the seventh row.

We were still full from breakfast, but I was determined to stay ahead of the foot pain on this trip and needed to take some ibuprofen, so we sat down at Rosie's Red Hots for a quick meal. Then it was time to go check out my picture (blech again), then "Sounds Dangerous" (again, no wait, and the theater was about half full).

Then it was time for the new parade! We had a spot near the beginning of the route, not too far from Star Tours. I can't remember the name of the Streetmosphere person who narrated for us -- the blond Marilyn Monroe–type movie star. She was really funny; of course she flirted with several men in the crowd, and took pictures with a couple. The parade was so great! Loved the characters, the cars, the narration, etc. Lindsay Lohan ("The Parent Trap") was the Grand Marshal that day, and I got some really beautiful photos of most of the parade (had to change film in the middle of it, so I missed Hercules and the villains, but got almost everything else).

After the parade, we visited with Kermit and the gang; I was disappointed to see that the bubbles weren't working over the entire audience, but I enjoyed the show as always. Then, while Lesley went on Star Tours (I haven't been able to go on simulator rides for a couple years now, ugh), I shopped some more and then rested my feet. It didn't take Lesley very long; she said there was no wait again! We hoped that luck would continue.

Next was the Hunchback show; we walked right in and sat down in the third row of the upper section. The pre-show Juggler, Randy, used two guests (Cindy and Tim, I think?) to help with one trick. Cindy dropped a pin, at which Randy said, "Hey, now, now! It's not Cindy's fault! It's mine . . . for . . . uh . . . picking her." [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] But after that false start, Randy, Cindy, and Tim did an impressive 1-juggler/2-guest/5-pin trick.

When the show started, I enjoyed it as much as always, though it seemed like the actors were putting in less effort than usual. Could have been my imagination, but it just didn't seem as "up" as the other times I've seen it. Still good, though.

Wandered from there over toward the Animation Tour; on the way, we saw Sully and Mike. Holy Monsters, Batman, is Sully tall!! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Oh, by the way: When we passed the Hat, I was expecting to head toward the "Studios" arch near the Little Mermaid theater, but then I noticed that just to the right of the Great Movie Ride, there's a stairway where I'm pretty sure there used to be a wall. Can anybody tell me whether I'm imagining this? Or did a wall magically become stairs?

[whoSEZ]

We both got in line for the Animation Tour, but then we realized the Tour wouldn't be over until well after seating started for Fantasmic! I hadn't seen Fantasmic! before, and I didn't want to be late and end up standing or sitting way off to the side, so I decided to leave and head over toward the theater. Lesley stayed and enjoyed the Tour; the last time we took the Animation Tour, there weren't any animators working (it was a weekend); this time, she got to see one working on "flip" drawings.

After leaving the line, I did a little shopping at the Animation Gallery. I love that store! I got a couple postcards and then left for the Fantasmic! theater. On the way, I stopped to get popcorn and a Coke, which came in (what else?) a red refillable mug! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

I found a great spot in the "Scar" section, near the center, about 15 rows up. I chatted with the family next to me (very cute and well-behaved kids!) and looked for Lesley, though I didn't really expect to find her. We'd arranged to meet at the Info Board after the show, though, so it wasn't crucial that we meet at the theater.

While we waited for the show, the crowd did the "Wave," and everybody really got into it, especially a grandfather sitting behind me. He was having a ball. There was a woman in the section to my right who had obviously saved seats for a few people, and stood there, facing the back of the theater, waving her arms over her head for almost 30 minutes until they arrived and found her. She waved and waved and waved, even when there wasn't anybody to wave at. She just waved, apparently hoping that the rest of her group would see her more easily that way. It was so annoying after the first 10 minutes that people in her section, and in mine, started standing in small groups and waving back at her, even though they didn't know her from Adam. She thought it was cute and kept on waving. Finally, the rest of her group arrived, and her whole section, and mine, stood and applauded their arrival, which brought with it the end of her waving. It really wasn't so bad for me (I could easily look the other way), but I felt bad for the people in the rows right behind her. How annoying that must have been!

As soon as the show started, I was glad I'd gotten there early. I had a great view! (Yes, I did get a little wet, but it was still warm out, so I wasn't uncomfortable.) I really, really enjoyed the show, and I will make it a "must-do" on future trips.

[ 01-27-2002: Message edited by: whoSEZ ]

[whoSEZ]

Lesley and I met at the Info Board as planned, then walked back toward the Osborne Lights display. Yet another first for both of us! We picked up our glasses -- mine didn't seem to work very well, though I could tell that they were supposed to look like angels -- and then mistakenly tried to go to the right. Got all the way over there before we found out the entrance is to the left. We fought our way through the crowd (this was the biggest crowd we'd encountered all day -- and, looking back on it, I think it was the biggest we saw on the whole trip), and finally got over to the proper "entrance."

What beautiful lights! I especially liked the angels at the entrance, the lights on the church, the red "tunnel," and the Mickey waving from one of the house windows. There was also a red, white, and blue Mickey prominently displayed in one spot -- another reminder of the changes in the world.

And now, for the Let's-Hope-You-Were-Kidding Award of the Day: Near the end of the light display, there was a sign that said something like "Happy Holidays from the Osborne Family." I heard a woman next to me say, quite seriously, "Oh, that must be Donny Osborne and Marie Osborne." Oh, please, please: Tell me you were kidding.

We headed back to the hotel along with about a million other guests; there were 2 standing-room-only buses (but at least we didn't have to wait). When we got back to ASMu, we stopped at Guest Relations to pick up our vouchers for the Candlelight Processional. There was, surprisingly, a little bit of a line, and I stood there for about 10 minutes. (Not bad for a WDW line, but the longest of the day, and my feet hurt! LOL)

Unfortunately, the CMs at the desk did very little to erase my memory of crabby Wendi from check-in the night before. When I approached the first CM and explained that I needed our Candlelight Processional/dinner vouchers, she pointed at the other CM and said I had to get them from him. So I stood back in line and waited for him to finish up with the guests he was already helping. That took another 5 or so minutes, and when I could finally tell him what I needed, he pointed at the first CM and said I needed to get the vouchers from her! I said, "She just told me I had to get them from you." He looked at me like I misunderstood him, and said, "The one in the jacket, right there?" Uhhhh, yeah. That one. Right there. The only other CM working the Guest Relations desk. He called her over and said, "Aren't you handling CP vouchers?" She said something like, "So-and-so told me I was doing them wrong the other day and I didn't want to . . . ::giggle:: . . . screw them up." Their conversation went on from there, and included some not-so-friendly bits about the above-mentioned "So-and-so." I was surprised that they'd have that kind of conversation in front of a guest, especially because their conversation kept them from actually figuring out how to give me the vouchers I'd requested. Took them a while, but they figured it out, and Lesley and I headed back for the room.

Lesley was kind enough to go refill our mugs, as she always does on our trips. (As a result of a childhood injury, I walk with a limp and have foot and leg pain on a good day; it's extra painful on a WDW trip. Lesley knows that and almost always makes the extra trips so I don't have to. What a good friend!) We'd left a tip envelope for Mousekeeping, but the maid hadn't taken it, so we left it for the next day. We watched a little TV ("The Amazing Race" and "Law & Order"), then Les went for a swim and I took a hot bath. A little more TV, some trip notes, and then bedtime. A really full and fabulous first day!

I've taken 3 rolls of film already! Yikes.

[whoSEZ]

Okay, folks, that will have to do for now. The rest of it is written, but I'm too tired to post any more of it tonight. I'll post some more tomorrow. (Or, I guess, since it's 5:26 a.m., I'll post some more later today.)

Toodles!

[tikibird]

Sandy,

Awesome report so far - keep it coming!

Thanks for the heads-up on the Guest of Honor badges. My name is also Sandy. I have one from Disneyland, and wanted one from WDW, but saw "Sandra" (my given name, but don't want to be called it! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] )and just didn't purchase one. I didn't know you could get them custom-made. Will stop there next time - thanks!

Sounds like you were in the same Jazz building as us. We love that place!

I also have that mysterious double-chin thing that seems to appear once in a while (can't imagine why! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]), so here's my tip - make sure the photographer does not take the picture from BELOW your head, but rather, an angle above it. This seems to diminish the effect. And then there's also the prop the head on the hands effect! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Looking forward to your next installment.

[DisneyNutMary]

Great trip report Sandy

I am enjoying reading about your adventures and I can't wait for more.

~Mary

[Fortissimo]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">quote:</font><HR>They also asked her to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" backward, and she did it perfectly, British accent and all. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I can't even say this forward, let alone backwards! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

I can hardly wait for more!

[whoSEZ]

Friday, November 30, 2001

The plan: Switch to the Contemporary for 3 nights; spend the day at AK; Downtown Disney after dinner?

Usually, time at WDW flies by, but I woke up this morning feeling like this trip was dragging . . . and was I happy about that! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Our wake-up call came tooooo early, but we had to finish packing up our stuff. We used express check-out, called Bell Services, and left for the AK bus. There was a long line, but we got seats and didn't have to wait too long.

We had arranged to meet Leanne, a friend from the DIS boards, outside the gates before rope drop. Lesley and I split up so we could watch for her in two different spots, and as I sat waiting, I saw dozens of Dads lifting small children onto their shoulders to see what was going on just inside the gates. It was the neatest picture!

Lesley found Leanne and I soon saw them both coming toward me. How neat to finally meet Leanne, after months of e-mailing long conversations and itineraries! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] The three of us wandered through the Oasis and then stopped to get our picture taken together. I also got a couple taken by myself (still trying to get a good one for Bruce), and the photographer "made" me take my sunglasses off. At the time, I thought I should leave them on, and later I regretted that I didn't. (More about that later.)

I had told Leanne that Lesley and I have an AK ritual of sorts: The first thing we do is get FastPasses for the Safari, then have breakfast at the Tusker House. Love that fruit plate, adore the cinnamon rolls! :: That sounded good to Leanne, so off we went. The CM, who was a manager, I think(?), gave us AP discounts, much to our surprise! We said we'd thought that was just for dinner, and he said technically it was, but because we were the first three guests of the morning and had patiently waited for them to finish opening up and take our orders, he'd give us the discount as a thank you. He also said he hoped we'd eat there again soon. (Add service like that to the whole cinnamon roll event, and I'd say . . . YES! We'll eat there again.)

Sat, ate, talked, laughed, had a great time. Lesley and Leanne hit it off right away, as I knew they would. Leanne later told me she was surprised that she was as comfortable with Lesley so quickly, because she's normally very shy and reserved. I wasn't at all surprised; Lesley's definitely very outgoing. She can strike up a conversation with just about anybody. Which is maybe why she enjoys pin trading so much, now that I think about it. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[whoSEZ]

After breakfast, we were off to the Safari. We had the first two rows, and it was a really incredible Safari! I've never seen so many elephants; I think there were nearly a dozen. We saw tons of animals: lions (two of them, sleeping way up there on Pride Rock), several giraffes, white and black rhinos, cheetahs, hippos (including one that wasn't in the water), zebras, tommies, etc. One interesting difference we noticed: At the end, the CM who says "Little Red's Ohhhhh-kay" wasn't holding a gun. Another post-September 11 change? Or something else? Not sure.

Next was ITTBAB, which was pretty much a walk-on, though it never feels like it because the queue is such a long and winding road. I never mind, though; I love seeing that Tree from all sides. We could tell there were lots of first-timers in the audience, and we all enjoyed the show as always.

Leanne had to get going (she had reservations at noon at the Grand Floridian Tea), so she did some shopping on her way out, and Lesley and I headed for the Festival of the Lion King. We noticed a very obvious hole in the show: The female "bird" dancer wasn't there! After the show, Lesley asked one of the CMs about it (I told you, she can start a conversation with anybody!) and was told the "bird" simply hadn't reported to work that day. I was a little surprised they didn't have an understudy, but maybe the layoffs affected understudies.

Lesley and I split up again after the show; she wanted to see "Tarzan" and I knew I couldn't walk as fast as her in order to get there on time. She also went to Dinoland to ride Dinosaur and do some shopping for her dinosaur-fanatic nephew. I slowly made my way toward Asia, for my first walk through the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Just over the bridge into Asia, I sat on a bench in a secluded corner and enjoyed the sights and sounds. I heard the music from Tarzan and looked toward it . . . and realized that Lesley was at that show! I had a perfect view of the Tarzan theater from across the river, so I took a picture and later told Lesley that I got a picture of her there. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Then I went to get a snack (needed to eat so I could take some more ibuprofen; my frequent stops were definitely helping my foot pain), and then on to see the bats and tigers and tapirs, oh my! I got a beautiful picture of the tiger on the edge of the pool in the "ruins."

Lesley and I had agreed to meet at the day's last Flights of Wonder show, but I was really early. I was sitting there with at least an hour to go, trying to figure out what to do while I waited for Lesley, and all of a sudden, I noticed there was an ice cream cart right over there!!! Ahhhh, fond thoughts of Forti and my fellow PassPorters! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Yes, I had a Mickey Bar. Yes, it was delicious!

After that, I decided I'd go to the Flights of Wonder show then, and go again when Lesley arrived (assuming she'd want to see it). During the first show, a little girl who was brought up on stage to help with one trick suddenly tried to touch the bird and the CM half-slapped, half-pushed her hand away. He then flushed to this deep shade of red, obviously embarrassed that he hadn't handled it better, but the other CM (the "tour guide") said something to the little girl, like "Oh, trying to lose a finger or something?" and made it clear to the audience that the first CM did what he did for the girl's protection.

Met Lesley outside the "Flights" theater and then waited for the last show. The CM that time was much better, and the little girl (Katie, from London) who was called up on stage was very cute (and at no time was she in any danger of losing a finger). The CM was asking the bird and the girl a series of math questions, and the joke was that the bird always answered faster. Well, Katie realized after a couple questions that all the answers were "four," and she answered the last question faster than the bird. She won the "grand prize" of a sunflower seed, and a big hand from the audience.

[whoSEZ]

After the show, we double-checked with a couple CMs about which direction the parade would run (it runs from Africa toward Asia, around the Tree of Life, and then back toward Africa, passing by the Flights of Wonder stage). We decided to walk around the Tree and go as far as we could toward the center of the park, but stopping when we found a good place to sit. We didn't get very far; we'd barely crossed the bridge from Asia when we encountered large crowds. I was hoping to find a bench, but no such luck. There were a couple spots on the ground (next to a garbage can, ugh, but what are ya gonna do?), so we sat and waited for the parade. There was a woman nearby who kept going farther and farther over the masking tape line, and while the CMs kept pushing everybody else back, for some reason they ignored this particular woman. Normally, I wouldn't give it a second thought, but she happened to be standing right in the way -- Lesley was videotaping, and this woman kept getting in the shot. She was completely oblivious. Not surprisingly, her daughter was also creeping farther and farther over the line. In spite of that, we loved the parade! We could definitely tell that some of the "Tapestry" designers had designed this parade too.

After the parade, Lesley tried to help me up, but both our hands were sweaty, and I didn't get a good grip. With my weak left leg, it's not uncommon for me to fall . . . and I did. I was almost all the way up, but I hadn't gotten my right foot far enough under me for support, and my hands slipped right out of Lesley's. Down I went, hitting my left hip hard on the ground, and hitting my back, near my left shoulder-blade, on the corner of the garbage can behind me. I wasn't really injured -- more embarrassed than anything. A woman standing nearby came over to help and asked if I was okay. I stood up slowly (got up on my knees and used the garbage can to pull myself up), totally flustered and hoping nobody saw me, but knowing that at least the woman and her family had noticed. I made a mental note to avoid sitting on the ground (except at a curb, which isn't quite as difficult for my weak left leg) for the rest of the trip . . . and tried desperately not to cry, both from embarrassment and at the very kind sympathy of the woman who tried to help. I was glad I was wearing sunglasses. ::sigh::

On our way out, we stood in a very long line to see our pictures from that morning. I was surprised at how quickly the line moved -- the CMs had quite the system working for them! The pictures of the three of us together were really, really good, and I was tempted to get one, but Lesley didn't like it of herself, so I skipped it. The ones of just me alone would have been good . . . if I'd listened to that little voice in my head that told me to leave my sunglasses on. I mean, really: I'm a Minnesota girl with very, very white skin. You put me in Florida for 3 straight days, and my very, very white skin is suddenly kinda pink. So there I am, with kinda pink cheeks and very, very white skin around my eyes (where my sunglasses had protected my Minnesota skin). I looked awful. Lesley agreed with me: the pics of me wearing sunglasses were much better. That's the last time I let a photographer tell me to take my sunglasses off! LOL

We were walking toward the buses when I remembered that we were now going to check in at the Contemporary! We got another AP deal there; I think it was $139/night for a Garden Wing room. We barely missed the Contemporary bus, so we decided to bus to the Polynesian, then take the monorail to the Contemporary. Lesley hadn't been to the Polynesian before, and she liked it as much as I knew she would. At the Polynesian, we asked the monorail CM if we could sit up front, and much to my surprise, he said the seats were available! This was Lesley's first time up front, and my second. (My niece and I rode in the front from the TTC to Epcot on our July 2000 trip; we had a crabby pilot who didn't talk to us much and didn't have any co-pilot's licenses for us.) This time, Lesley and I had a really nice pilot who chatted with us the whole way and gave us three co-pilot's licenses -- an extra so I could send one to my niece. Love that magic.

When we arrived at the Contemporary, we found our way downstairs to the front desk, and checked in with a very friendly CM (didn't get her name). She'd offered us a choice of two rooms, and unfortunately, I read the map wrong. One was nearer to an elevator, but farther away from the main building; I picked that one, thinking it was at the nearer end of the Garden Wing. I should have asked, but by the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to change. It turned out not to matter too much, but I still regretted not taking a minute to make sure I knew exactly where the rooms were.

Our room was 7265, in the North Wing, second floor, five doors from the MK end of the building. We had a nice view of the Tower and the monorail. I wasn't overly impressed with the decor or the complete lack of theming, but the rooms are HUGE, and that gets big points. I probably wouldn't stay there again, though, unless I were with a group of 4 or 5 adults and could get another good AP rate.

We went to get mugs (red for both of us, imagine that! We didn't see any other options until the next day, when they brought purple ones out . . . darn! I would have loved purple!) and had dinner in the Food-n-Fun Center. We'd originally planned to go to Downtown Disney after dinner, but after my fall at AK, I decided I'd rather take a hot bath and get to bed early. Lesley went, though, and spent about $200 at a couple different Disney stores. She came back glowing, so I knew she had a good time! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[minnie'mized]

Great report Sandy.....look forward to more.