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Group Going to WDW
Sept. 24th to Oct. 2nd, 2003
Jo Van De Wal (68) Dee Parsons (60)
Issy Deuel (62) Kim Hunter (34)
Cassie Hunter (16) Geniel Miller (56)
Stayed at: Port Orleans-Riverside
Thanks to Binnie, we got the Fairy tale package. Saved over $1,200.00 from our original package.
September 24:
Got up this morning at 4 a.m. Checked to make sure we had everything we needed. Arrived at home airport, boarded
and then had to de-board. Engine #1 wouldn't start. Oh, boy, we're off to a good start! It took about 20
minutes for the airport people to do what they had to do and then we re-boarded. There goes breakfast in Pittsburgh!
We finally leave at 7:25 a.m. and arrive at PIT at 8:35 a.m. We hurry to our gate and they are boarding for
Orlando. Leave PIT at 9:15 and we're off to Disney.
We arrive at MCO at 11:24. We're met by Fernando from Tiffany. He makes sure we have all our luggage, gets us a porter
and takes us up to wait for our van. Not a long wait at all. Our driver is very nice, but on the quiet side.
No matter, we are chattering like a bunch of magpies between ourselves.
We arrive at POR, check in and the poor CM thinks he has a bunch of kids on his hands. He was so nice and gave
us crayons and coloring books and all the paraphernalia that you get upon check-in. I ask to make sure I can
get some beignets, I've waited all year for them. NOPE! He tells me I can buy the mix at Fulton's. I don't want
to cook, I'm on vacation! Our room is ready, so off we go to building 18. Very nice location. Close to bus
stop and the food court. Our bell boy has to get 18 bags up the stairs and it so hot out! We handed him
a very nice tip. He must have liked the air conditioning in the room because we thought he would never leave.
He asked us if we had brought our thermal cups from last year's trip and we told him "No you have to
buy a new one as it is only good for the length of your stay". He disagreed, but we didn't mind getting
a new one. Between us, we have quite a collection. we get settled, change from our Pennsy garb (fall clothing)
into something much more suited to the hot Florida weather and then traipsed over to the food court, buy our new
mugs and have lunch, go to the bus stop and head for the Magic Kingdom. We were smart enough to take our
ponchos with us (this time) as it did rain in the afternoon. We make sure we ride splash Mountain and Space Mountain
first. They are the favorites. We watched the parade, then got a Dole Pineapple Whip. (Our first, and yes,
it is as good as everyone says!). Then it's back to the resort after doing a few more rides. Planet Hollywood
for dinner. 6:45 p.m. Dinner was delicious and our server was Billy. He was very attentive, especially towards
the 16 year old, Cassie. Heehee. After dinner, we shopped a little and headed back to the resort. We went to the
River Roost to see Bob Jackson. He has been the entertainment at the resort for a few years. He has the guests interact
with him and he is SO FUNNY. We stayed until closing. Dragged ourselves back to our room (you have to climb
17 stairs to get to the second floor; no elevators in the bayou) and after a full day of walking, and having
to be up so early to get to the airport, believe me, you are dragging!
September 25:
Today we go to the Animal Kingdom. Rainforest Cafe for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. Good food and very good service.
Kim lost her sun glasses in the ladies room. She went right back to get them and they are GONE. Oh well, new
pair of sun glasses for Kim at the kiosk right outside of the Rainforest. We head for Camp Minnie/Mickey to
see the Lion King. I've seen Broadway shows that weren't as well done as this show. It is wonderful as usual,
a few changes due to renovation. Air conditioned and closed in, ahhhh. We did every ride except Kali river
Rapids due to a thunder storm. Maybe next year as none of us have ever tried it yet.We did miss the parade
though. Too busy doing the rides. We went back to the hotel to change into dry shoes, then hopped on the boat
to Downtown Disney. Did some heavy duty shopping and then went to the rainforest Cafe for dinner. We have
6:30 p.m. reservations. It was really funny when I showed my Safari Club card and the waiter said "follow
me". Some grumpy people in the waiting line made comments of "where do they think they are going,
and who do they think they are, cutting the line:. We just ignored them and followed our guide. I'm so glad
I had my Safari Card, that was quite a lone line waiting to get in. We tried the Volcano as they always make
such a commotion when someone orders it and our waitress just brought it out with no fanfare. Ughhh. It was huge,
and really good, but with six of us diving in, it was gone in no time!
September 26:
Today, it's Epcot. We headed right for Ice Station Cool. Two of the group had never been to WDW before and we
wanted to get their reaction to Beverly. Beverly did not disappoint us and we had a good laugh at the faces
Geniel and Dee made. It was BAD as usual and just made our day! We went back to Spaceship Earth and got in
line which was not long at all. We started at the right hand side of the park and worked our way around visiting
all the exhibits. We also forgot to take our ponchos today and got caught in a downpour. We are now the proud
owners of yet another "Mickey Poncho". We didn't get to World Showcase today, so made plans to
go back tomorrow to see that. We had dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant at 7:00 p.m.. Upon leaving the Coral
Reef, it was time for Illuminations. It was breathtaking as usual. We did miss the parade from past years though.
The new ones in the group had never seen it. We went to the bus area and what a line! The drivers were packing
the people in like sardines. We decided to wait for the next bus so we could get a seat. The "not very
Disney like" driver told us to either get on and suffer for ten minutes or wait in the heat for twenty.
Well, it was not that hot and it was breezy, so we opted to wait with a few other people and the next bus came
along in less than ten minutes, and yes, we got to sit. What is it this year? I've never seen so many crabby
people. Couples arguing, children being obnoxious and CMs snapping at people. I've been going to Disney for
nineteen years and this is the first time I've seen such discontented people. Thank heavens it was only
a few.
September 27:
Free day for four of us. Kim and Cassie are doing discovery Cove and the Trainer for a Day thing. Maybe do Resort
Hopping? NOPE, we have to go back to Epcot and do World Showcase. We started out on the right hand side again.
Canada was first, and the beaver tail kiosk was closed. Oh well, we shopped and saw the movie. Am I never going
to get a great pastry? We finally get to France. Ahhhhh, pastries. Issy got a Napoleon, I got an eclair, Dee
did too, and Geniel got something chocolate that looked wonderful. We had a dinner PSS at Tony's Town Square
in the Magic Kingdom at 6:30 p.m. Kim and Cassie came in from Discovery Cove and met us there. We were seated
next to two families who had five children between them and you wouldn't believe the goings on. Some of the
children were running along the bench against the wall and yelling, the others were running all over the place
and throwing food on the floor along with the eating utensils and the parents just sat there chatting and
ignoring the whole thing. Unbelievable! They finally left and the poor waitress came to clean up. she just
looked for a few seconds, not believing what she was seeing or wondering where to start. We told her we hoped
she got a good tip from them, because she was certainly going to earn it. Upon leaving Tony's the Spectromagic
Parade was just starting. We had a great viewing spot and when it was over we continued on to the castle and
the fireworks. Again we were lucky and got a great viewing spot and were able to sit and watch them.
September 28:
Back to the Magic Kingdom today. Breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and the gang. 9:05 a.m. We redid all
the rides and saw the parade once more. Geniel gets a migraine and is not feeling well. We have 5 p.m. PS
for the HDDR, so at 4 p.m., we put Geniel on a bus headed back to the resort. She said she could make it by herself.
That makes us happy, because we don't want to miss the show. I explain to her that it is not refundable and
she doesn't care as she is really feeling terrible. The rest of us boarded the boat to Fort wilderness.
I started to sit in an empty seat and a voice from behind me said "Hey lady, you can't sit there, that's
my seat". I was at a loss for words and I jumped up. A young man in the seat just behind me said I was
welcome to his seat, but I spot one further back in the boat. I thanked him and told him to please stay
seated as I had found an empty seat. After leaving the boat, we stopped in Crockett's tavern for a cold drink
and then waited to get in to the HDDR. It was a good show as usual and the food was very good. More than
enough, also. We took the boat back to the MK and then hopped a bus to the resort. Shopped at Fulton's for
a while and picked up some packages from the day before. The gentleman who got our packages for us said to be
sure and tell him the next time we shop in the parks and he would have a wheelbarrow waiting for us. Does
that sound like we bought the stores out? Back to the room and then another trip to the River roost. That
is a fun place! We met people in there from Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Scotland and quite a few
of our own states, especially Pennsylvania.
September 29:
Right after breakfast at Boatright's we are off to Sea world. We take the Mear's bus and have our discounted
tickets that I got off the internet. Saved $5 on each one. Kim and Cassie have free passes as they did the
Discovery Cove thing. Half the group go on the Arctic Tour when we arrive and would meet us at lunchtime at
the Arctic Adventure. The rest of us head out across the park. Shamu Stadium is beckoning. Terrific show.
Those Orcas are amazing. We sat in the soak zone, but didn't get wet at all. When BIG Shamu came out, we thought
we would get drenched, but no such luck. We could have used a drenching as it was very hot. All of us had a
great time at Sea World and did a "little" more shopping. Dinner was at O'hana at 7:00 p.m. We
left the MK on a boat and got there early to do some sight seeing. checked in 15 minutes before PS. We were
seated by a window. Whooppeee! That was the best meal we had on this trip. Everything was wonderful and it
just kept coming! The peanut sauce is to die for. Then the pineapple with caramel sauce came when we were almost
stuffed to capacity. It doesn't sound astounding, but wait until you taste it, WOW! It's wonderful. Can you
believe we all ordered dessert and coffee? Half of us got the Mandarin Orange cake. Yuummmm. The other half
got the coconut ice cream and they loved it. We started to waddle out of the place and noticed the fireworks
over the castle were just beginning. they were beautiful and seemed longer than usual. As we were leaving we
passed a couple who were having an argument, with arms flying and face making. Here we go again!!
September 30:
We all went to Typhoon Lagoon in the morning. Cassie and Geniel swam with the sharks. Everyone did the wave
pool. We left around noon, had lunch at our food court then got on the bus for MGM Studios. Kim, Cassie and
I ran to the ToT and got in line, the other three wienies sat on a bench and waited for us to come back. I think
we covered every show and ride in the park. then it was time to head over to the 50's Prime Time Cafe for
dinner. We had a 6:00 p.m. PS. I asked for a fun waiter or waitress and we got Corey. HE WAS FUN! After a tasty
dinner, he headed on to Fantasmic. It was even better than last year. We all enjoyed it.
October 1:
Back to the Magic Kingdom today. We stopped at Customer Service and got Dee a Birthday button. We had a really
good time with that button. She forgot she had it on at times and then a CM or guest would wish her a happy
birthday and she'd be happy as a clam. Dinner with the characters at the Liberty Tree Tavern was a blast. We
had a 5:30 p.m. seating. The food was delicious and plentiful and believe it or not, we did not have room
for dessert! We did some after dinner shopping then took the train ride around the park. This was our last
night at WDW. We went back to the River roost again. bob said he would look for us next year and stop the
show when we walked in. He probably will too, he never seems to forget anything. We have been attending his
show for the past four years. We never tire of his humor. This year he had a great time teasing Issy. Isabel is
her real name and being Hurricane Isabel just did her thing a few days before we arrived, Bob out did himself.
October 2:
Going home today. None of us want to leave. We've been pampered by Sylvia our Mousekeeper, who had surprises
for us every day and was just sooooo nice! We enjoyed every minute of being at Disney except for a few little
annoyances due to rude guests. Tiffany was to pick us up at 10 a.m. and even though we arrived by the luggage
room ten minutes early, there he was. The van was loaded with our bags and off we went to the airport. Goodbye
WDW for another year. We arrived at our home airport at 5:l5 p.m. Our husbands are all there to meet us,
now it is back to the real world. cooking, cleaning, laundry. Ugghh! When I get caught up with that stuff,
I'm going to start planning the trip for next year. And with some expert help from Binnie, maybe even the
cruise!!
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