Renee Ortiz - December 2002

My family and I arrived on November 30th at Disney All Star Sport. Friends of ours made plans to come with us and insisted we stay at the All Star, then, at the last minute decided not to go. I would have not stayed there otherwise because of a previous bad experience there. I have to say though, all went well! However I would like some imput as to my check-in experience. I prepaid $55.00 per night and requested a frig,crib and a room near the lobby (don't we all?). The whole check-in process was amlost done when the CM called over the manager. At this point I figured something was wrong. He came over introuduced himself , welcomed me and said if there is anything I need give him a call. I thought to myself, this is strange. I asked the CM why he called him over a joked "was I flagged as a pain in the butt on your computer screen?". He laughed and didn't comment!!!! LOL! He just said we called them over for certain people. What's up with that? My family joked on me the whole vaction saying they were watching me and warning evryone even off property " here she comes". Well anyway we started off our vacation at Cinerdrella's Castle breakfast ( yes I set the alarm 60 prior!). We have done this breakfast before except this year our reservation was for 8 in the morning! I think the earlier the better! We went right up and did not have to wait. We then spent the day at the Magic Kingdom and didn't wait much at all for any rides. The following day we headed over to MGM Studios. This year we ate at the Sci-Fi and that was a great experience! i had planned on eating there in the previous years and never made it. I think the Sci-Fi will become a family tradition. The food was great and even with four kids, during the meal all was quiet. Just walking in the place was a treat, being that you can't see what it's about from the outside (almost like Rockin Roll rollercoaster). On our third day we went to Animal Kingdom. We were fortunate to catch Lilo and Stitch and got a pic and an autpgraph. We went on all the rides and tryed out that new coaster type ride (Primeval Whirl). It was a nice ride but, the 48 inche restriction is bogus. Next we headed over to EPCOT. My husband is certified in SCUBA so he took advantage of DIVE QUEST at the Living Seas. It was actually a treat for the whole family. We were able to watch him dive and explore, the kids really loved it and have decided to one day become certified too! We did not make it around the World Showcase, just the thought of that walk with the kids is agonising! We are aware of the kidcot stops but thats just not enough excitment for my kids. Next, we took a day off for the parks. I highly recommend this, we had a blast! We wound up at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds and ate that great buffet at Trails End (that's a classic). We took the kids to the playground and then mounted on the mouse boats. Next we took the ferry over to Wilderness Lodge to do some swimming and check out the hotel (for possible future reservations there). This place is beautiful and a definite for next year! NOW... I was under the impression that of you were a guest at a resort, you were able to use any of the other resort pools? anyone know? I asked the life guard for a life vest because we left ours at the hotel. She said we weren't allowed to use the other pools. She was actually kind of nasty about it too. I was then a little sarcastic with her and asked her humblly if we could stay, as if were really such a big deal. lol. Later thay night had to be the higlight of the whole trip! We finally went to the Hoop Dee Doo! What fun! Everyone enjoyed it and the food was great. Well worth the price! Anyone know if it's the same exact show every year? Either way we will go back in the years to come. The following day was my son's birthday. I advised the hotel when I checked so on his Bday Mickey left him a birthday card and he was so happy! We went to Blizzard Beach and later that night had tickets for Mickeys Christmas party, were, it rain and then rain and then after that it RAIN! What a nightmare. I was given a card by the manager for guest communications so that I may request a refund or new tickets. Anyone know the odds of getting a refund? Either way we got stuck spending $30.00 (third year in a row... you;s think I'd learn) buying poncos. I was amazed how people just ignore mother nature and keep going. We may have but with our youngest being 6 months that was not an option. Our last day was spent at the Magic Kingdom and MGM. We did all the fun stuff and as we were about to leave I turned around and took once last glance at the park and thought , hope to see this next year!