House Hunting, Disney World
and All That Jazz!
by Roberta - September 2001

Tuesday, October 2, 2001
Location: Port Orleans, French Quarter

Up by 5:45 a.m. After strolling up to the food court for coffee, I spend the next several hours watching the news and weather (another beautiful day in the 80's with no humidity) and writing down yesterday's events. This morning I'm off to the MK.

I arrived just after 9 a.m. and headed over to Splash and Thunder Mountains. First I stop at the Main Street pin station. One of the current Limited Edition pins that were supposedly sold out (it's the one of Walt and Mickey that says The Imagineer) is available and I buy it to add to my collection. Now I have 2 of the 5. I also trade in the extra interactive Animal Kingdom pin I have for a MK one.

Off I go to Splash Mountain. There is a zero wait and I have a boat all to myself. Foolishly I take the front seat. Caution! Do not sit in the front row of a boat by yourself. I get absolutely soaked going down the big hill at the end. BTMR is also line free.

After riding both mountains I go over to the Diamond Horseshoe Review and have a muffin and OJ. Then it's on to the Haunted Mansion. The wait there is less than 10 minutes. Next stop is Buzz to see if I can improve my score from last week. On the way, I pick up a fast pass for Pooh.

This Buzz ride is decidedly better and my final tally is 889,900. I people watch for a bit and then go to the Pooh ride, by passing a 45- minute wait. Then, having done all that I came to do, I ride around just soaking in the sights and sounds of the MK. On my way out I see some of the Cinderella show in front of the castle. It is really well done and features all of the best-known couples and Villains.

Off to the bus and back to POFQ by 12:30. I get some lunch and head back to the room for a rest. Been having a lot of headaches since I got here. The a/c plays havoc with my sinuses. Before long I am fast asleep.

I come to around 3 and get ready to go to EPCOT. EPCOT is fairly empty. There has been a marked decrease in visitors since the weekend. I have brought my pins for the first time and head over to the pin station in front of the fountain. There are several professional pin traders there. One guy gets a bit huffy when I tell him I don't want to trade any of my collection. I have brought them so that people can look at them. I enjoy seeing what others have and I assume other people do too. I talk to quite a few people. A couple and their profoundly handicapped child come

Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Location: Port Orleans French Quarter

I wake up at 5:30 after a troubled night's sleep including one nightmare that was so vivid it woke me up at 3 a.m. for a while. Ick! I have my coffee and head over to MGM for the ToT. It's early entry day and I'm plunging downward around 8:15. I grab something for breakfast at Starring Rolls. OK, another piece of grapefruit cake. I have no will power. Then I take a ride on Star Tours. By now it's after 10 a.m. and I want to use the late check out I requested to rest my back for a while so I head back to PO. I go or, maybe I should say, I TRY to go back. The wait for the bus is 50 minutes. I won't go into how I was feeling about the busses at this point. You can fill in the blanks.

Once I get back I finish packing and am just getting ready to rest when there's a knock on the door. It's my son. He and Jen have changed their plans again and have decided to go back to Boston with me for a visit. I asked him if he had a chance to pick up the Cast Member shirts but he hadn't so I say well let's go over and do it now. Bye Bye nap.

To a Disney freak, going where a non-cast member seldom gets to go is so cool! I see the start of the MK railroad and then what could best be called generic work type buildings. We enter Company D and I buy 2 shirts and 2 cast member pins. By the time we return to PO I have about 10 minutes to put my feet up and then I call for Bell Services to come and get my bags. I'm off to EPCOT for an hour or so.

EPCOT should be spelled EMPTY. This is ridiculous. I am passing by the fountain just as it chimes 1 p.m. As the water comes down, the breeze blows it my way and it soaks me. Well Hi to you too Fountain! Then I head down to WS with the hope that I can catch the show in France but no luck. It doesn't start until 1:30 and that would be risking my 2 p.m. – "I've got to be out of here" – departure time too much. I choose to get lunch at the fish and chips stand again. Then I go back to the fountain hoping to hear my song. It's 1:30. Nope. I get dessert at the Fountain View Café. I leave there. It's 1:45. The fountain plays again. Nope. I ponder leaving but decide to give it one more chance.

Then I position myself at the WS side of the fountain, right in the middle looking at the EPCOT ball. I want to burn this image into my brain for when it gets cold and the snow flies. The fountain chimes 2 p.m. Then there is quiet and ……………. Another songs starts.

Then it Stops!! And in the most incredible bit of Disney magic I've ever experienced My Song. MY SONG! Started to play. I stood at the railing with tears in my eyes. I will never understand why that happened but maybe I don't need to understand it. Maybe it was just magic.

The PO bus was waiting when I got to the bus stop. My scooter, which served me well was picked up by Randy's mobility and I highly recommend them. I reconfirm my flight. Now I am sitting at the spitting frog fountain at PO writing this all down. I try to absorb as much sun and heat as possible. Enough to get me through my last cold New England winter.

Summary.
The flight home was uneventful. Chris and Jen met me at the airport. Timing turned out to be everything. I waited in the baggage check line for nearly 40 minutes. By the time they arrived, the wait was less than 10 minutes.

The plane was full. The flight was one of the best, if not the best, I've ever taken. Smooth as silk. When we arrived in Boston we exited the plane and came out into the terminal. To my right were soldiers with semi automatic weapons. May God Bless America.

High Points

ToT
Four for a Dollar CD
The show at the Diamond Horseshoe Review
Spectromagic
The AKL
The grapefruit cake at MGM and the strawberry cake at the Fountain
View Café
Being able to do some walking
The lack of crowds
Buying my PAP with free Disney Dollars from the reward programs.
Dole Whips

*The #1 High Point*
Seeing my son and Jen again!

Low Points

The lack of crowds.
JIYI
The mob at the MK on Saturday 9/29.
Striping the land bare for housing developments.
Those wide-open rooms (great rooms) in several of the houses I saw.
No single rider line at the TT for part of my trip.
All the dialog at the ToD parade.
No E ticket nights.
Getting totally soaked at Splash Mountain.
Temporarily losing my glasses.
Not spending enough time just hanging out at POFQ

The #1 Low Point
The emotional roller coaster of grieving and being at WDW.

Weird Points

A 40-minute wait at IaSW.
The people in the boat I was on at PotC.
The Air Force jet outside our plane's window.
No wait time at Logan airport in Boston.
Getting an earlier flight down.
Seeing a giraffe outside my window at the AKL.
Having 700+ dollars in Disney money.
Finding good size hills in central Florida.
Viewing a retirement community.
The 3-inch stick bug I saw in Davenport.
Four days with no humidity

*The #1 Weird Point*
The creeping vine at the AK.

Amazing Points

This was my 12th trip in the past 15 years.
Meeting someone I knew but didn't know would be there.
The Sunset room at the AKL
People from many countries standing up to sing America at the end of the Diamond Horseshoe Review.
Being able to correctly park the scooter on the Disney Buses on the 1st try (usually).

*The #1 Amazing Point*
Hearing my favorite song at my favorite place just as I was leaving WDW on my last day!

Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11