Trip Report -- Wilderness Lodge 11-21-02 to 11-30-02 (The End!) About This Page:

[Lori in PA]

Hello everyone! Since I've been reading these trip reports for the last few months in preparation for our trip, I'd thought I'd add my own. There are some great writers on this board, so I'll try not to be too boring. Here goes...

Cast: Me – Disney fan (some might say fanatic) and compulsive planner
DH Craig – doesn’t quite get the whole Disney fanaticism, but truly enjoys going with the kids
DD Jessica, 8 – second trip to Disney, but doesn’t really remember first trip at age 3
DS Ryan, 4 – first trip, most excited about the train and Test Track. Barely hit the 40” mark just before the trip and is hoping the measuring sticks are accurate.
DSIL Chris – also a Disney fan, has not been to Disney for several years
DBIL Scott – hasn’t been to Disney since his honeymoon 14 years earlier
DB Kevin – my brother who hasn’t been to Disney since he was 8 (a deprived child)
DF Carl – my father who has done a solo trip or two since last taking the family in 1979

Destination: Wilderness Lodge
Dates: November 21 – 30, 2002

Day 0 (Travel Day)

After almost a year of planning and coordinating the schedules of 8 people (2 of which would be traveling on different days), the countdown chain that has been hanging from the fireplace since August was finally down to a single link. I stayed home to pack, and sent my DD off to school, assuring her that it would make the day go faster than if she stayed home. DH, who owns a business, had actually been at the office all night preparing things for his absence. He rolled home around noon and promptly took a nap. DD got home from school around 3:30 and DBIL and DSIL pulled up to our place around 4. We loaded everything in the van (6 people worth of luggage in a minivan – better make sure there’s enough room to bring home our loot from the trip!) and we were off to the airport. Apparently no one travels at dinner time on a Thursday, as the airport was empty. We checked in at the e-ticket kiosk and were through security and still had an hour and half until our flight. Plenty of time for a slice of pizza before boarding. DS would have liked to watch the planes take off and land, but it was so dark and rainy that it was impossible to see anything outside.

Our flight boarded on time, we waited in line a bit for takeoff, then endured the longest flight to Orlando in the history of air travel. The flight took nearly three hours. We must have gone the long way. Entertaining an excited 4 year old for that amount of time was interesting. I think we colored for 5 minutes, ate a snack, played old maid for five minutes, ate a snack, looked at a book for 5 minutes, ate a snack…you get the idea. A hundred fruit snacks and a few dozens “Ryan, let the tray table alone”’s later, we were in Orlando. A short ride on the monorail to pick up our luggage, pick up the rental van at Dollar, and we were off.

It was nearly midnight when we finally checked in at the main gate east Howard Johnson’s, which would be our home for the next 8 hours. What can I say about the HoJo’s main gate, except it was cheap, and had a bed and a shower. We would never see it in daylight, so it didn’t really matter.

Day 1: Friday, November 22 (Wilderness Lodge check in, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot)

We were up and out of the HoJo’s by 8am and off to find the Wilderness Lodge. Thinking we could just follow the signs, I had neglected to get directions from HoJo’s to the lodge, so we took a few trips up and down what I believe was route 417 before finding the right exit. Eventually we pulled through the Magic Kingdom gates and made that right turn onto the road for the lodge. As soon as you make that turn onto the pine tree lined road it is as if you have left Florida. We are welcomed home by the guard and pull up to the front of the lodge. Our stuff is unloaded onto a cart and the van is sent off to valet parking.

The lobby of the Wilderness Lodge is awe inspiring. The lodge is already decorated for Christmas, so we have to stand and gaze at the 45-foot tree with our mouths hanging open for a few minutes before heading for check in.



We have booked a total of 3 courtyard view rooms under two separate reservations. Both reservations were under the same last name (different first names), and my DB and DF would not be arriving until Sunday. This would lead to a bit of confusion at the front desk later. I had faxed in a request to have the 2 rooms under my reservation be connecting, one with queen beds, one with bunks, and that we be close to the room under the other reservation. We weren’t able to get connecting rooms with bunk beds, but we did get the connecting rooms, and the third room was right around the corner. We were given room keys that open both of the connecting rooms and I asked them to hold the two keys for my DB and DF so that they could just show ID and pick them up on Sunday (stay tuned to see how well that didn’t work [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] ). We were on the second floor in the corner facing out towards the pool/lake. Only the one single room was ready, so we had all our stuff brought up there. This room was facing the lake at the bottom of the “U” of the lodge (room 2127). The balcony was all stone with a “window” of stone. This meant if you sat on the chairs on the balcony, your nose was about a foot away from a stone wall. You could only see out if you stood up. Not exactly a prime view – it was like sitting in a dungeon. But not wanting to be moved away from the other rooms, we didn’t ask for a different room.

We didn’t expect the other rooms to be ready for quite a while, so we headed out. We stopped at Roaring Forks for a quick breakfast and discovered…Krispy Kremes! There goes the diet. DS had cheese doodles and a cookie for breakfast. We are definitely on vacation. I figured donuts weren’t much healthier, so why not?

After breakfast we headed down to the boat docks to head over to Magic Kingdom. We had purchased 7 day hopper plus passes (though we never used any of the pluses) and this would be our first park day. The ferry arrived quickly and we were at the MK in no time. DH was impressed with the part of the lake that goes over the road. Mickey and Minnie were greeting out in front of the flower beds, but the lines were very long, so we assured the kids we’d see them later and headed in. DS, the big train fan, spotted the railroad right away. Since we had other days planned for MK, skipping Main Street on the first day was okay with everyone, so we hopped on the train to Frontierland.

In Frontierland we got in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. DS figured out quickly that this was NOT the regular train he just rode but a rollercoaster train, so mom’s experience with BTMRR was walking through the line, and right out the exit. DD rode, but didn’t want to ride again. Not big thrill riders, these kids. After BTMRR we headed to Adventureland. We paused to visit with Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, and Smee. DS did not want to get near Capt Hook. He enjoyed all the characters this trip, but just didn’t want anything to do with any of the villains.



We all rode Pirates of the Caribbean next, which made our non-thrill riding kids happy. Apparently dark scary rides with explosions are cool, but big anything with a big drop or goes too fast is not. We saw the Tiki Room show next. This was our first time seeing the new version with Zazu and Iago since it was under construction on our last trip. All I can say is how dare they interrupt the Tiki Room song from mom’s childhood? I was unimpressed [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] . Next thing you know they’ll be closing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Oh wait, they already did that too.

The kids (okay the adults, too) were dragging at this point, so we decided to do one more ride and then head back to see if our rooms were ready. We waited about 15 minutes to ride Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. I sat in front with DS and my DSIL sat in back with DD. We got a kick out of trying to line up the back seat with the spitting camel. This ride is basically Dumbo with a spitting camel, but the kids liked it.

We called it quits for the time being and headed back to the lodge. Our other rooms were not ready yet. Okay, it’s only 1:00, we’ll cope. We continue to crash in DBIL and DSIL’s room and change for a swim in the pool. DD makes about 20 trips down the water slide and DS discovers that he can just barely touch bottom in the 3 foot part of the pool. I proceed to annoy the front desk by calling every 20 minutes to check on our rooms. Still not ready. We’re really tired at this point so we head back to the one room. DS gets a pack of crackers for a snack and falls asleep on the bed with one cracker in each hand. He will wake up an hour later and proceed pick up right where he left off by taking a bite out the cracker as if he never fell asleep.



A bit after 4 our rooms are FINALLY ready. I still don’t understand how if our rooms were ones of the first to be cleaned every day (the housekeeping cart was outside of our door at 8am every day), it took that long to get the room ready when they knew we had checked in hours earlier. But we’re on vacation. We’re in Disneyworld. We’re not going to complain. We drag all our stuff around the corner on our own into our rooms. The four of us would actually get two rooms to ourselves for the first two nights until my DF and DB arrived. With the discount code I had used it was cheaper to get the rooms for the same days since I wasn’t able to use the code starting on the Sunday they would arrive. We were in connecting rooms 2137 and 2139. These were along the side of the courtyard. Our view was mostly of rocks and trees with the pool way off to the right, but at least it was a regular balcony, and you could see sitting down. It was actually pretty nice to have the extra room for the first two days. Almost makes one want to consider joining DVC in order to stay in a room with bedrooms. Anyway, we unpacked and headed off to the bus stop.

It took quite a while for the bus to arrive (this would be a trend in transportation – buses and ferry boats seemed to be very timely in the AM, but took way too long in the afternoon and coming home in the evening). At first we were threatened with a stop a Fort Wilderness, which would have made us really late for our PS at Le Cellier, but the driver saw another Epcot bus just leaving FW and no one on the bus was going to FW, so we went straight to Epcot. We were running late, so we flew through the security checkpoint and through Future World, and found Le Cellier in Canada.

I’d heard great things about the breadsticks and cheese soup at this restaurant, so our order included a few bowls of this infamous soup. I’d say it was pretty good, but I’m not sure what all the fuss was about. The breadsticks were very good – we went through quite a few of those. We had girls had filets and the boys had strip steaks for entrees. The filets were excellent; the strip steaks a bit tough. The guys regretted going with quantity and getting the strip steaks instead of ordering the filets. The best part of our Le Cellier meal was the desserts. DH and I both had crème brulee, which was excellent [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] . The kids and my DSIL ordered from the kid’s dessert menu. They got the s’mores dessert and the chocolate “moose”. DS didn’t really care for the moose, so we were forced to help him eat it. My DD’s face when she saw the s’mores was priceless. It comes with two chocolate covered graham crackers with ice cream in the middle, then sticking out of the top is a skewer with sprinkle covered marshmallows. DD made short work of the marshmallows, and a good bit of the dessert itself.

We wanted to see Illuminations on this night, so there wasn’t time to do much after dinner. We did wander over to Mexico and ride the boat ride before settling into a bench in Norway. The kids got light up toys and entertained themselves swinging them around and making cool effects in the digital photos while we waited.



I must say the music they play in Norway gets annoying very quickly. Made a mental note to pick a different country for Illuminations next time. Our view was pretty good from there though. When the globe came out, DS asked if it was going to explode. He likes his special effects big. Both kids (and the adults) enjoyed the show. We were happy to see that DS wasn’t going to be afraid of explosions and fireworks. After Illuminations we joined the throngs of people heading for the gate. We took the bus back to the lodge and collapsed into bed.

[ 12-12-2002, 08:59 AM: Message edited by: Lori in PA ]

[2Princesses]

Lori -

What a great first day! I am really enjoying your trip report, keep it coming. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[tikibird]

Hi Lori, and welcome to Passporter! [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

I don't even know you, and already I like you 'cause
1. You're from Pennsylvania
2. You love the Wilderness Lodge
3. You prefer the original version of the Tiki Room! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Great report so far - I would love to see that Christmas tree at the Lodge, and enjoyed hearing about your day - looking forward to more!

[chezp]

Originally posted by Lori in PA:
Our flight boarded on time, we waited in line a bit for takeoff, then endured the longest flight to Orlando in the history of air travel. The flight took nearly three hours. We must have gone the long way.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">LOL - we've got a nine hour flight a week on Sunday and the only reason I'm looking forward to it is because Disney's at the end of it! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Good to read your review of Le Cellier, we've got PS there on New Year's Eve.

Really enjoying your trip report and looking forward to reading more! I loved your experience of BTMRR - I did exactly the same when DH went on it, as there was an hour (days before Fastpass) and I thought I'd spend the time with him! [img]graemlins/love.gif[/img]

[TINKN]

Great start! Don't let Don hear you mention DVC! You might get talked into it! Looking forward to the next installment.

[Lori in PA]

Day 2: Saturday, November 23 (MGM and Epcot)

Woke up early this morning to head over to Extra Magic Hour at MGM. We grabbed some breakfast at Roaring Forks before heading out and discovered that it was COLD outside. We actually took winter coats to the parks today. To think I had considered leaving the winter coats behind in the van in Philadelphia…we were glad we had them. DD was wishing she had gloves.

We used EE to take a couple of rides on Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster, swapping out the kids since they were adamant about not riding these. We wandered over to the big hat next, and spent some time trading pins. DD had come prepared with a bunch of pins, including a pile of Mickey Pennsylvania pins, that we got for $2 at the Disney Store a few weeks before the trip. Our quest to get rid of all the PA pins would begin here. DD really enjoyed the pin trading and now has a pretty nice little collection. After playing with the games under the hat for a bit, we headed over to the Great Movie Ride. In retrospect we waited way too long for this ride, but it was hard to judge the length of the line from outside the theater, and there was no posted wait time. This was probably one of the longest waits of the trip – I believe we waited about 40 minutes. We were in the very back row of the tram, where it was difficult to hear the driver and follow the gangster story line. I don’t think the kids even realized that the gangster had taken over the car for a while.

After GMR we figured we’d better hit a kids show, but Playhouse Disney had just filled up. Little Mermaid was going in with no wait, so we did that instead. This would be DD’s favorite show of the day. At this point the early morning was wearing a bit on everyone and the park seemed to be getting very crowded (as would all parks on EE days once EE was over) with fast pass times several hours at, so we headed back to the hotel for a while.

It was too cold to swim today, so we just explored the hotel for a bit (and traded a few more pins), grabbed a quick lunch at Roaring Forks, and took a nap. DS really wanted to go on the monorail, so we decided to go to Epcot for the evening via the long route. We took the ferry over to the Contemporary (a very cold ride, even in winter coats), the monorail to the TTC, and another monorail to Epcot. We asked about the front car on both legs of the journey, but no luck [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] .

Since the long route to Epcot took us a while, we were hungry by the time we got to Epcot, so we stopped for a quick dinner at the Electric Umbrella. Pretty decent food there, with a nice fixin’s bar. We checked out the line for Test Track (posted at 40 minutes) and the Fast Passes were gone for the day, so we decided to do the Energy ride instead. DS was a bit antsy during the film part (he wanted to see the dinosaurs, already), but everyone enjoyed the ride part. After Energy we took another look at the Test Track line, still posted at 40 minutes, but looking considerably shorter. Test Track was scheduled to stay open until 9 even though most of the rest of Future World had closed, so we hopped in line. Standing up straight in his tallest sneakers, DS was able to ride. Whew! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] He had really been looking forward to this ride after seeing on the video, so it could have been ugly if he was turned away. The wait time was grossly exaggerated, and we were in the briefing room in about 20 minutes. This was the first time for everyone on this ride. Everyone except DD loved it. We bought the photo, in which you can only see my DS from the nose up in the middle front. DD you can’t see at all, as she is in the middle back seat with her head ducked down. DD announced that she was not riding THAT again either. No problem, that means more fast passes for the rest of us.

DBIL and DSIL split off from us at that point to go see some of World showcase. We did a bit of shopping in Mouse Gears before heading to the bus stop. Disappointing moment coming up here…the previous night there was a scheduled shuttle launch at 8:15PM. While sitting waiting for Illuminations the night before we spent the entire time looking east watching for the shuttle. It ended up being scrubbed for that night due to bad weather in Spain (yes, Spain). So on this night we were out at the bus stop at 8:15, again looking east, when other people come up talking about the launch, which apparently took place at 7:55, while we were shopping. Somehow we had managed to go the whole day without hearing about the time change and missed seeing it by minutes. What a bummer. [img]graemlins/cry2.gif[/img] We hear it was pretty cool, and such a clear night that you could see it separate and everything. The kids had no idea what they missed, but DH and I were pretty bummed. Oh well…back to the lodge for an early bed time for everyone. Early entry at Magic Kingdom coming up tomorrow…

[tikibird]

Sorry you missed the shuttle, but sounds like a good day otherwise! Have never tried the Electric Umbrella; may have to next trip!

Looking forward to your next installment! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[TINKN]

Another great installment! I can't believe it was that cold down there. I would have been so dissapointed if it was too cold to swim!

[Lori in PA]

Day 3: Sunday, November 24 (MK and MGM)

On the agenda for today was Magic Kingdom for EE with breakfast at Tony’s, followed by an afternoon at MGM ending with Fantasmic! We were also expecting my DF and DB to arrive this morning, so we had well-charged cell phones in hand waiting to hear from them.

Despite our best intentions to get an early start this AM in order to cover as much of Fantasyland as possible, we got going a bit late. Then we just missed the ferry to MK, which made us even later. By the time we got to Fantasyland it was nearly 8:30. We only got to ride Dumbo, Snow White, and the carousel before it was time to head back down Main Street for our breakfast with Pooh at Tony’s.



The highlight of this breakfast was the cinnamon rolls. Boy were they good! [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] I think DH ate two plates full by himself. Breakfast here was pre-plated all you can eat, and the pace was pretty relaxed. We were able to visit with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore, and they spent a fair amount of time at each table. It was nice not to have to time visits to the buffet between visits with the characters. We all ate our fill and quite enjoyed this meal.



After breakfast we headed back towards the castle to find Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration about to start. We grabbed a spot on the wall and waited. While we waited I headed over to grab some Buzz Lightyear fast passes. We also heard from DF and DB while we were waiting. They were able to check in, though the CM checking them in had no idea where to find the cards that we had left with the desk for them (thank goodness I didn’t have them put charging privileges on those cards!). So they had to print them new ones. Fortunately they didn’t give them to hard a time and they were able to drop their stuff on in their room and head over to meet us. Next time I will either make two separate reservations or just take the cards and put them in an envelope myself.

After Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration, we walked over to Tomorrowland where we planned to meet my DF and DB. Wow! Where the heck did all these people come from!! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Don’t they know Sunday is supposed to be a slow day in MK? Tomorrowland was shoulder to shoulder. My DF and DB tracked us down by cell phone in front of Space Mountain. They said the ferry operator wished them “good luck” when he dropped them off. I had thought Sunday would be a good day to do MK, avoiding the Saturday and Monday crowds. Apparently everyone else had the same idea because the place was mobbed. I could see we weren’t going to last here for very long and I would be working some additional MK time into the schedule somewhere.

I sent my DB scurrying over to Buzz for FP’s which were by now an hour after ours. The posted wait time for SM was 60 min, but we only waited in standby for about 30 min. My DD didn’t particularly like this ride either. Guess we won’t be getting her on Rockin Rollercoaster this trip. Since my DS was too little for Space, and would not have wanted to ride it anyway, my DH took him over for a spin on the Indy cars. He loved it, but he drives a little go cart at an amusement place near us so I think driving on a track and not being able to work the gas pedal was almost a let-down.

By the time we got off Space it was time for Buzz, at least for the 6 of us that had gotten the fast passes earlier. We asked nicely and looked as pitiful as possible, and the fast pass CM allowed my DF and DB to use their FP an hour early. My DS the Buzz fan loved this ride. Everyone’s scores were pretty lousy, except for DH’s, who must have hit something big. We had hoped to do a lot more in MK on this day, but the crowds were just ridiculous. It was also much warmer than yesterday, so we decided we needed a swim.

We dragged my DB and DF out of MK after only 2 rides, and went back to the lodge. A quick lunch at Roaring Forks and a nice long swim and we were refreshed and ready for our evening at MGM. There was only one showing of Fantasmic! that evening, at 6PM, so that was the most important thing on the agenda. We also got a pleasant surprise when the bus driver announced on the ride over that the Osborne Lights would be opening tonight. Yeah! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I wasn’t sure we’d get to see this, as the Disney site said they wouldn’t be on until Friday and that was supposed to be our Sea World day.

In MGM, we found that the Beauty and Beast show was about to start, so we saw that first. It was pretty much the same show we saw 5 years ago, but no dove release at the end this time. Maybe the doves just had the day off, but that used to be a pretty cool ending. After B&B, the part of the group that hadn’t had a chance to do Tower of Tower went off to do that since it only had a 13 minute wait. I took the kids to the gift shop to pick up something to do to kill time waiting for Fantasmic!, since the bus driver recommended getting there at 4:30 for the 6 show.

We went in and got our Fantasmic! seats around 4:45, and there was hardly anyone there yet. We were in the middle of the middle section. We got some hot dogs and popcorn to munch on while we waited, and the kids colored in the books we picked up in the gift shop. Now I’m not sure why we needed to get there that early, as the stadium didn’t completely fill until 15 minutes before show time. There was some rumbling from the troops that I made them sit that long. I should’ve known it wouldn’t be crowded in MGM…after all, everyone was in MK that day! The show was awesome though. Love the end float with the B&W steamboat Willie Mickey driving.

After Fantasmic! we joined the masses heading for the Osborne lights. We donned our special glasses and had a nice stroll in the snow. It was such a cool evening that it actually felt quite Christmassy. I’m very glad we got to see this.



That was it for us for the evening, so we went out and waited about 4 hours for a bus back to the lodge (hey it felt like 4 hours anyway). We put on some warmer clothes and headed down to the beach to watch the Electric Water Pageant. I think the kids had more fun playing with the sand than watching the Pageant, but I thought it was kind of cute.

Next up…Animal Kingdom and my DB’s dive in Epcot’s Living Seas

[ 12-09-2002, 09:33 AM: Message edited by: Lori in PA ]

[TINKN]

Maybe you were starting to get Thankgiving crowds at MK? But, it was an early entry day right? That would make it very busy. ANyway great installment keep it coming.

[chezp]

Originally posted by Lori in PA:
In MGM, we found that the Beauty and Beast show was about to start, so we saw that first. It was pretty much the same show we saw 5 years ago, but no dove release at the end this time. Maybe the doves just had the day off, but that used to be a pretty cool ending.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">I read somewhere that they had to stop the dove release at the end of Beauty and the Beast because birds of prey kept waiting for them and were picking the doves off one by one. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] I don't know how true that is.

I'm pleased you got to see the Osborne lights, they're awesome! [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img] Can't wait for the next installment!

[PS - I LUV WDW]

Thanks for the report, I am really enjoying it!

[Lori in PA]

To everyone reading along, thanks for your comments! I have tried to include some photos in this and earlier posts. This is my first time attempting to link in photos, so someone please tell me if you can't see them!

Day 4: Monday, November 25 (AK and Epcot)

Today’s agenda would take us to Animal Kingdom for EE, followed by Epcot, where my brother would be diving in the Living Seas tank. We hadn’t told the kids about this, but wanted to surprise them. No one in our group has ever been to AK, so this will be a new park for all of us.

We had a PS at Donald’s breakfastasaurus at 8:20 this morning. When I made this PS, early entry had not been re-instated, but when I tried to make it for a later time there was nothing available. So we kept the PS with the hopes that we could see It’s Tough to be a Bug before breakfast. We decided to drive this morning in hopes of making it at opening, but when we arrived at AK there was a large crowd already outside the gates. They had a banner over the turnstiles that said “resort guests only”, but no one asked to see a room key, so it seems everyone was enjoying an early entry day that day. This resulted in so many people heading into the park, that we grabbed FP’s for ITTBAB and had to head straight for breakfast.

From a character perspective, this was not our best character meal. Parties were seated a room at a time and the characters moved quickly from table to table in each room. The timing of the characters was so spread out, and they spent so little time at each table, that it was difficult to find a moment to run to the buffet. Once you did find time to get there, the buffet was very good, with a lot of different items such as breakfast pizzas and quiche. Quite an interesting selection. The kids hardly ate anything since they were too busy waiting for the next character. I probably wouldn’t do this breakfast again, even though the food was more interesting than the Tony’s breakfast (with the exception of the Tony’s cinnamon buns!). The pace at Tony’s was just more relaxed and a much more enjoyable meal.

By the time we finished breakfast, it was time for ITTBAB. I think this is the best of Disney’s 3-D movies so far. When we took my DD to Disney when she was 3, she was terrified in Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. I had both kids sitting on the edge of the seat with their feet up so no one would get upset this time around, but my DS was pretty unfazed by the whole thing. Keep mind that my 8YO DD hid her face through both Harry Potter movies while my 4YO DS sat on the edge of his seat for the whole thing, and announced after the snake scene that he “wasn’t scared of that thing”. He handles scary stuff much better than my DD does even now.

We wandered back to Africa after ITTBAB and got FP’s for the safari. While we waited we walked the Pangani trail. We got to see one of the large silverback gorillas climb a tree and break off a very large branch like it was toothpick. He brought the branch down and promptly turned his back on the crowd to enjoy his lunch.

After the trail we took the train out to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We enjoyed the indoor exhibits and saw Pocahontas and Meeko outside. We steered the kids quickly past the petting zoo (we live across the street from a farm, and can feed goats any time) and took the train back. It was time for our safari. We saw quite a few animals for this late in the morning, especially elephants. The lions were sleeping in the shade, so you couldn’t see them very well. After successfully saving Little Red, we headed back to Dinoland. We got FP’s for Dinosaur and went to kill the time in Dino-Rama. The theming is a bit, um, loud here. We took the kids on Triceratops Spin while the other 4 adults rode Primeval Whirl. DS was too short for PW, and DD wasn’t interested. I understand that PW is a bit of a tight fit for four not-exactly-petite adults, and they were too uncomfortable to really enjoy the ride. The kids got to play in the Boneyard while the adults took turns using the FP’s to ride Dinosaur.





Once again, the EE morning seemed to result in larger than normal crowds, so we headed out for a nap / swim break before our evening in Epcot.

I forgot to mention in Day 3 that when my DF and DB arrived at the lodge, not sure which of the two rooms was supposed to be their’s, they went into our room first and found the TV on. What they didn’t catch on to was that the stuffed animals lined up on the bed holding the remote were supposed to have been watching the TV and were set up that way by the best mousekeeper ever, Sally. Sally really did a fantastic job all week. The kids were always excited to see what their beanies had been up to while we were gone, and Sally was always quick to ask us if we needed anything when we passed her in the hall. Great service. Today we returned to our room to find the beanies all gathered around the room service menu next to the telephone, with a note that said “Let’s order pizza. We all like pizza!”. Very cute. There were also a couple of washcloth turkeys sitting around.

After a brief rest we headed over to Epcot for the kids’ “big surprise”. We had some time to kill, so we took a ride on Spaceship Earth and played in Innoventions for a bit. We sent some e-mail postcards home there. My brother’s dive got off to a late start and he underestimated the time it would take for all the briefing before they actually got into the tank, so we ended up waiting a rather long time. During that time, my DD figured out what was going on (the absence of her uncle was big clue). However, there was no convincing my DS that Uncle Kevin was in fact, a scuba diver [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] , until he actually saw him in the tank. My DB was able to swim right up to the glass and wave to the kids. He said the tank is very deceptive when seen from the viewing area and it is actually a LOT bigger than it looks. He really enjoyed the dive and said it was worth the money. They film the dive, so he was able to purchase a video.



Once the kids got tired of watching the scuba divers swim, we wandered over to the Land pavilion. We were able to get on the last boat of the day for the ride there. The ride was good, the only bad part was when we returned from our ride we were starving and all the counter service places had closed. We didn’t really want to do another character meal in the restaurant, so we decided to wander World showcase and find something there instead. We grabbed a spot of ground somewhere in Morrocco to watch the Tapestry of Dreams parade. The guys went off for food, and came back with…funnel cakes! Okay,interesting choice of dinners. Evidently my DD was starving, because she plowed through an entire cake a proceeded to eat the sugar off the plate.

After the parade we decided we had enough time to catch the show in the American pavilion and still beat the Reflections crowds out of the park. My DD was very tired at this point, and fell asleep soon after the Pilgrims arrived in the New World. Even a plate of funnel cake sugar wasn’t enough to keep her going. We folded my 51” DD into DS’s umbrella stroller to roll her out of the park. My DH carried DS on his shoulders. While we were walking, Reflections started, and DD woke up long enough to ask if we were staying to watch this. She really liked this show when we saw it the other day. When we told her no, she went right back to sleep, slept on the bus all the way to the hotel, and was deposited directly in bed. The rest of us were not far behind.

Next up…a full day in Magic Kingdom

[ 12-09-2002, 09:59 AM: Message edited by: Lori in PA ]

[chezp]

The photos haven't come up on our computer [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] but that could just be because ours is 5 years old now! [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[CRCrazy]

No pictures here either [img]graemlins/cry2.gif[/img] I'm so glad that Sally did such a nice job with your room. The mousekeeper at the CR in March was awesome like that too - every day my girls' rather large collection of Disney beanies (that grew every day!) were arranged differently. That was one of their favorite moments of the day - walking in to see what happened while they were gone!