1999 Weekend Adventure - Final Day Added! About This Page:

[statelady01]

Weekend Adventure 1999

The Cast:

Maureen Austin (This is Me, your hard at work TR author)
Kevin Patrick Austin ( At the time of the trip, 4 years old and already a WDW veteran)
Chrissie Hackney ( My best friend in the whole world and Disney Novice)
Cody Hackney (Chrissie’s oldest son and also 4 years old- 1st Timer!)

Our report begins with me pacing on my laurels and Kevin sitting on top of his suitcase in our Tallahassee apartment on July 16, 1999. Chrissie and Cody were supposed to be picking us up by 11:00 am, however the time is now 11:15 and I am just ready to go. They arrive, we pack up, and we are off.

I wanted to give Cody a preview so we stop at the Ocala Welcome Center on I-75. We stop in- Kevin and Cody insist on lots of pictures with the big Mickey on the outside of the building. Kevin announces to every CM “ We are going to Disney World!” which makes all of us chuckle. After wandering around in the store, a potty break and confirming our reservations at All Star Movies, we venture onward.

We take the “back way” to WDW property- going on US 27 and we land at All Star Movies roughly about 3:30 pm. We pulled into the main parking lot and approached Cinema Hall which the boys were amazed by. The line for check in was nothing short of a long, winding mass of what looked like tired parents and over zealous, giddy kids. The wait to check in lasted nearly 45 minutes. Chrissie and I did an “adult swap” of sorts- one of us took the kids walking and the other waited in line, then we switched off. Finally, I reached the hallowed ground of a long desk and a friendly cast member. Check in was a breeze and we bought our passes right then as well.

We decided to take the car over to the nearest parking lot to our building and handle luggage by ourselves. Luckily, we were in the 101 Dalmatians section, virtually next door to Cinema Hall and the main common areas. We also were on the top floor and I told Kevin we were going to “live up” – his term for being on a high floor (not sure where it came from, but cute all the same) and he was delighted.

I was apprehensive as I stuck the card in the door and worried from what I heard, that I would find a shoe box for a hotel room. I was super impressed. Sure, the room was smaller than most but it was plenty big enough for the four of us and the décor was Disney theming at it’s best. The kids were full of “Oooh, look at this and Hey, what’s that” type jargon and it took us quite awhile to tear them away from the popcorn box lights on the walls. What finally did work was a promise to ride the Disney bus to Downtown Disney and some much needed FOOD!!! We unpacked pretty quickly as this was a short weekend trip.

The buses by this time (approx 5 pm) were crowded from the parks and the one we caught to Downtown Disney was equally crowded too. We passed the McDonald’s down by the All Stars and both boys made their high pitched requests to eat there. Chrissie and I both informed them that we weren’t going to eat McDonald’s while at Disney World. This is an irony of sorts, as we shall see a few paragraphs from now.

We disembarked at Downtown Disney and began our adventure here at the World of Disney. I immediately snatched up a few items for gifts for Dad at home and we took a long time in the Christmas areas. The boys spotted the Lego Areas so we parked ourselves on a bench nearby and watched them play. After a good deal of time, there we decided it was time for a much needed dinner.

We were so tired by this point and didn’t really want to do a sit down so we ended up, here’s the irony, at McDonald’s. Kevin and Cody giggled at us mercilessly when we relented. It was hot, crowded and well, McDonald’s food- the only complaint voiced was from Kevin who stated matter of factly that if this McDonald’s was at Disney World, then the chicken nuggets should be Mickey shaped. That had me chuckling the whole night!!

We left Downtown Disney about 9 pm and the bus ride back to All Star Movies seemed to take quite awhile. On the way back to the room, we stopped in at the food court and gift shops. We bought our mugs and came back to the room. The boys got their baths and fell asleep watching the Disney Channel.

Chrissie and I propped the door open with our trash can so we could hear the boys if they needed us and we stood at the balcony, people watching and talking. At about 11:30, we called it a night as it was going to be up and at em’ early in the morning for Magic Kingdom!!

Coming Up:

Day 2: Magic Kingdom, The Mickey Muffin and “This is Boring!”

[ 03-28-2003, 10:06 PM: Message edited by: statelady01 ]

[tikibird]

All right - a new trip report! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Looking forward to hearing your perspective of the World in '99, and that's a great thought - Mickey-shaped chicken nuggets! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

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

[PS - I LUV WDW]

Yeah, another report! Can't wait to hear about MK!

[iloverags2]

Woo! Enjoying reading the start of your trip. Sounds like a tiring, but good time was had so far. Can't wait to read the rest. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[DisneyEveryJanuary]

Great start.
You've got me interested and awaiting the next installment [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[AKLRULZ]

Love it - a new, "old" trip report [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] - glad you are posting it!

[ 03-24-2003, 01:44 PM: Message edited by: Dad2jbj ]

[chezp]

Wonderful start to your trip report! I can't believe how long you had to wait to check in [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] and I loved the comment about the chicken nuggets. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Cheryl

[TINKN]

Great start! Can't wait for more.

[luvnwdwgal]

Looking forward to hearing all about your weekend with The Mouse!! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[statelady01]

Thanks for all the great words of support- this is turning out to be quite a fun project!!

And now for Day 2:

Kevin was up at 5:30 and it took me a little convincing to get him to go back to sleep, even if for just awhile. We all decided to skip breakfast at the Food Court at All Star Movies and ended up on the bus just in time for early opening.

As we entered, the boys' faces lit up as they saw the castle. We decided to head into the Bakery to see what was available for a quick bite and Kevin immediately spotted the chocolate Mickey Muffin. I got a croissant and juice, Chrissie and Cody got Mickey Muffins as well- they were all really good and relatively inexpensive. We checked over the map and the boys decided the first thing they wanted to do was the Railroad so we headed back to that area. To our surprise, we were allowed to board almost immediately and the train began moving just a minute or so ahead of the official opening. The boys enjoyed the ride and we decided to get off at ToonTown. We were among the first off, and all of a sudden, Mickey, Minnie and Gang appeared in the street waving and welcoming us! The boys ran right to Mickey, with Chrissie and I trying to keep up. Chrissie headed for Donald and I went for Minnie. We quickly went for the house tours and got pictures galore. As the crowds starting coming, we decided to head on over to Tommorowland, as Cody spotted the Speedway and was ready to race!
Chrissie and I drove with the boys at our sides and they didn't seemed bothered by the fact they couldn't drive- they hooted and hollered all the way 'round.
At this point, we headed for Buzz but there was already a line, so we decided to hold off until later in the evening. Next up was Fantasyland and we managed to do everything there in a very short amount of time. We walked on to IASW, Peter Pan, the Carousel and encountered our first real wait at Winnie the Pooh. I was really excited about this one, and it lived up to my expectations. The boys really enjoyed that as well. Cody also took in Dumbo, even though Kevin passed as he wasn't really big on going high, even though I told him we didn't have to go high. Chrissie and Cody looked like they were having the time of their lives and I told her as they were getting off, they looked like they belonged in a Disney commerical.
The heat was starting to really spike but being Florida natives, we didn't get bothered by it all that much- except for making sure the kids were hydrated plenty.
The next stop was Haunted Mansion, in which this time Cody was the one sitting out- he was absolutely terrified. Kevin and I got on and he remarked to me about the funny seats. I replied, "they are doombuggies and I like them because we can snuggle and watch the silly ghosts as they go by!" He was a little tense up until this point but something about the word doombuggy had him laughing and as the silly ghosts went by, he would say " Ghost, look at my doombuggy!" When we came out, I could tell Chrissie really wanted to go on the Haunted Mansion, so I offered to take Cody and Kevin for a ride on the Liberty Belle Riverboat while she rode HM. She was in and out quicker than we rode LB and said Haunted Mansion was her favorite ride.
Even though the kids were getting a little hungry, we decided to get in the Hall of Presidents before eating. Let me say I warned Chrissie that the Hall of Presidents wasn't exactly kid fare and we had better expect some fidgeting. We agreed just to give it a try and hope the boys were happy to be in A/C. The presentation started and I noticed the two of them, doing alot of talking but they were pretty quiet so I just watched along with Chrissie. We had just gotten to Kennedy (if I remember right) and during the pause before he started speaking, I guess the boys had figured if they spoke up right then, they weren't interrupting. Quite matter of factly and loudly, Kevin retorted :IS THIS OVER NOW?" and before I had a chance to respond Cody chimed in, "These Pwesadents are boring!" Chrissie and I could see the red on each others faces in the pitch dark and lots of people were laughing hysterically. We quietly explained it would be over soon and to use quiet voices. I laughed so I hard after that point, I missed everything else in that attraction!
After we left Hall of Presidents, we decided it was definitely time for a break. We had originally planned to eat at Pecos Bill's but Chrissie and I felt like sit down so we tried out the Crystal Palace. The food was great and the boys ate all the kid fare in earnest. Our server was great as well. Eeyore was the first to greet us, then Tigger, followed by Piglet. I have a picture of Kevin kissing Piglet on the nose and it brought me to tears. Pooh came round during dessert. I was impressed at how much attention Chrissie and I were given along with the kids.
Even with the food, we were still in need of a rest, so we headed back to All Stars for awhile. We refilled the mugs again, then decided to let Kevin and Cody swim. Luckily, they were so worn out, they only lasted about 30 minutes at the Fantasia pool- which was beautifully kept and not that crowded. After, they took a good nap.
About 4:30-5 we were back on the bus to MK. The crowds were starting to thin out and it began to rain, but we kept going. We went on the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Carribean next- the latter of which Kevin complained he didn't want to ride again without Daddy- he was pretty freaked out, which surprised me since he had been on that attraction many, many times. Afterwards, we headed to Tommorowland and got on Buzz Lightyear without much delay and we LOVED it so much, we got right back in line and rode it again. We decided then to get something quick to eat and landed at Cosmic Ray's- we all ordered hamburgers and I was really disappointed as mine I think was the worst food I had ever had at Disney. I finished about half and thought about taking it back, but for some reason, just didn't want to deal with it. After, we moved back to Fantasyland and did all of the rides there again.
By this time, dusk was setting in but also setting in, were pretty dismal black rain clouds and I was skeptical about getting to see the parade. After we staked out a spot on Main Street, the torrential downpour began and just did not let up. We took the boys into the Main Street Cinema in the meantime. They eachoed lots of complaints about going back to sit on the curb and both actually wanted to go back to All Stars to play video games- so we decided to call it a day. As we were leaving, Kevin spotted the monorail and asked to ride it- so we went for a ride. We stopped at the Grand Floridian and browsed their lovely shops- I picked up some bath goodies for my mother in law.
We landed back at All Stars around 9 ish or so and let the boys get some ice cream as well as check out the video games.
By 10:00 they could barely walk. We were greeted by the stuffed Mickeys we bought at Downtown Disney peeking out of the curtains. Gotta love the mousekeeping! Kevin and Cody crawled up onto a bed and were asleep in a matter of minutes.
Chrissie and I did our nightly people watching and literally, quite fell into bed.

Exhausting but exhilarating to say the least.

Coming Up:

Day 3: Change in Plans, Another Shower and Where's Captain Jack??

[tikibird]

Sounds like you had some great character interaction at MK - great reporting - keep it up! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[statelady01]

Just wanted to let you guys know Day 3 is coming - should be up by weekend.

[img]graemlins/puter.gif[/img]

[chezp]

Wow, you got a lot done in MK that day! I love the story about the Hall of Presidents. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Cheryl

[DisneyEveryJanuary]

Keep it Coming.
Good TR so far.

[statelady01]

Day 3:

We had originally planned to go to MK again but we woke up late and were actually in a much more laid back sort of mode. Cody and Kevin immediately asked to go swimming again so we decided to eat breakfast and let them swim. We ate at the Food Court at All Stars for the first time. I was surprised at the food, it seemed much better than expected but the bill for 2 Mickey waffles and 2 large orange juices came close to $20 and that blew my socks off.
We spend a majority of the morning at the Fantasia Pool and really enjoyed just being at the resort and WDW in general.
Kevin and I had to make a side trip to a baby shower for a friend from HS- we left All Stars at 1:00 and returned about 4:00 to find Chrissie and Cody zonked out in the room. We must have sat on the beds trying to figure out what we should do next. Chrissie had mentioned Planet Hollywood and that sounded okay by me so back to Downtown Disney we went. After waiting about 30 minutes we were seated and while the food was fine, the service was slow and pretty shameful. The kids really enjoyed the memorabilia though so that pretty much made the trip over there worth it. While we were strolling around DD, Kevin spotted Captain Jacks and asked me what it was ( he was not a reader at the time) I must have been a little pre-occupied as I just told him, "Oh, that's Captain Jack's." His little blue eyes lit right up and said "Ooh, Mom can we go meet Captain Jack??" Yet another kids-say-the-darndest-things-moment.
At about 8, we head back to All Stars as it is time to start packing up- we are headed back home to Tallahassee the next day. I missed my other kids and hubby but I was pretty bummed. Chrissie and I performed our nightly ritual of people watching. Among the things we talked about how we probably made memories that would last a lifetime for us and the boys.

Coming Up:

Leaving WDW and a Lesson Learned at the Last Minute....