RADP-V
Trip Report December 2000!!
Sean & Pamela with Chip
N Dale
Sean & Pamela with Chip
N Dale
who: Pamela (aka: Smeeeko/TDC
Meeko)
Sean (aka: Yoda/TDC Uncle Remus)
Biscuit Meeko (aka: Biscuit)
Brer Bunny (aka: Bunny)
(and 297 of our very good RADP pals, a host of mostly happy CM's, a
few thousand background characters, and a really strange person..)
what: RADP (rec.arts.disney.parks) Fifth Annual Meet! (RADP-V)
where: All over the World!
Intro:
Sean & I visited the World
from the 8th of December to the 17th. We took a flight home and got in late
on Sunday night.. Too tired, I was catching up on the newsgroup posts and
posted a couple things myself. I haven't taken time to do a full trip report
myself.. so I had Biscuit make a small one..which was posted to the RADP
newsgroup. Well here is mine.. hopefully the complete draft.
My final effort.. based on a letter I sent my mom, this one has much more
detail! <tee hee>
Lessons Learned:
One thing Sean & I learned on this trip is... At Disney, you tip the housekeeping staff every day!!! We didn't and it was noticable.. We came back to the room on several occasions and found Biscuit and Bunny just tossed aside on one of the beds (not the one I left them on, as to get special attention). Disney is known for doing nice things for it's guest, but we didn't get any special treatment in our room like other people.. We couldn't figure out why until our pal Rob was telling us all the neat things they did in his room.. like make animals out of the washclothes and set up his plushes every day in different poses.. I did my own window displays.. very sad.
Next year I am going to bring a few decorations and do my window up nice.. and be sure to leave a couple bucks everyday for the housekeeper.. Sean thought we should wait til the end of the trip.. by then it was too late of course.
Also we are thinking to stay at Dixie Landings next year which is a moderate resort.. I will need to save up more and earlier this year for that.
We had lots of fun at the park and visited with a lot of friends.. Our last night (saturday) we had dinner at the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort with Rob (Sorcerer's Apprentice) & Keith & Peter (Fudgie) & Rachel (TDC Ariel).. I had mushroom ravioli and Sean had the chicken Pasta.. both really good!! Rob convinced me to get the KoKo puffs for desert which are puff pastries.. you get four of them and so I shared. Rob got the Kahlua Cheesecake which he shared with us.. and it was wonderful too. We will definitely have to eat there again.. it was funny when it came time to pay the bill, as Sean gave Keith some Mickey Money for our share.. (he had just gotten some from the front desk an hour before).
In a Giant nutshell:
Thurs: 7 December 2000
The final day with my mom... we got our things together and headed out the door around noon. My mom's friend & housemate Ray drove us out. We first stopped off at the Brandon Mall where we did some shopping. Mom got me the cutest tops at the Disney store! One is a grey long-sleeve with Mickey,wearing a scarf and briskly walking on the left chest. The other is a cute Eyeore top of a creamy yellow color (thinking it was beige at first til you hold it in the light). I got the matching Eyeore PJ bottoms to go with it... Blue with snowglobed Eyeores all over the pant legs.
Mom & I shared some chinese food at the foodcourt there, and then headed off to the Orlando Airport. It was interresting getting from the parking structure to the proper floor to take the tram to the terminal. =) Ok, we got turned around.. and stuck on the elevator and kept getting back to the floor the car was on (the metal pig).
Finally on the correct floor.. we walked around the shop areas for a while waiting for the plane to come in. We were early and Sean's flight was late. So we went and looked in some of the shops,including the Discovery Store.
Finally when he showed, we hugged, then the four of us headed down to pick up the luggage Sean checked, including my suitcase, which I had accidentally left in Berkeley when we had driven to Anaheim the weekend before. Of course my suitcase was the last to show up on the belt!
Sean & I picked up his car & chatted on the way over to the Yacht Club.. We were going to meet my mom & Ray there for dinner. We got there ok after taking a wrong turn.. and Ray & Mom drove past us as we walked over the fetid bridge where some construction had been going on. Ray dropped mom off up front & went to find a place to park.. then we all made it into the lobby and waited to be seated at the Yacht Club Galley.
We didn't wait long, though we didn't have PS (priority seating) and the meal was wonderful.. I got the turkey foccachia again.. and Sean got the Prime Rib.. Ray got something with shrimp and my mom got a salad. The table across from us had two little kids, left to eat without their parents.. It was cute to hear them argue over the tip, as they were French.. I tried to make out what they were saying. My mom tried to guess how much their dinner was and signalled to them how much to leave. I don't know if they paid any attention though. I got the impression they knew absolutely no English.
After dinner we parted with hugs, and Sean and I headed to the Motel 6 Maingate West where we were to stay the night. We would be getting up early the next morning to pre-check-in at the All Star Music. We were pretty excited and I really couldn't sleep. Sean checked on his work email and then I realized I forgot shampoo so we had to take a late-night run to the 7-11. Fun! =)
Friday: 8 December 2000
We got up extra early, leaving Motel 6 behind. I taped our drive up to ASMu where we checked in right at 7am. We knew we would be staying at the Calypso (little birdie told us) but we didn't get our room number til later that day (Calypso Building 10, Room #0525)
We showed up before Animal Kingdom (AK) opened.. there was a pretty large, but quiet group settled into long lines outside the gate.. Not at all like the unorganized rabble that mobs Disneyland every morning! We ran into JudyLew while waiting and chatted with her a while before the gates opened and she returned to her friends at the front of her line.
I was worried we'd be late for our first meet.. but we got there in time. Deb had control of the situation and we all got in order and headed for the queue of Kilamanjaro Safari. We took up 3 vehicles and headed out on Safari. I was amazed how many animals were out and about. Sean had his camcorder in the ready.. and while I didn't snap off many photos, Vulcania (Kym) was able to get several great shots.
It was wonderful hanging out with her & Ping (Lisa) this day I must say! Vully had such a sense of newness and wonder about her.. which really helped me to enjoy the park so much more. She appreciated all the park had to offer, which before now, I considered a half-day park. Today there was much to explore!! Big Thanks to Kym! =)
At noon,we hosted the Kali River Rapids Meet. We filled almost 3 rafts! I was the ONLY one on my raft to get soaked.. Amy (aka: Improv Gal) got soaked on her raft. I don't know what happened on the third one, however! I sure hope Kali can make it to next year's meet, so that she can be the lucky one to host her namesake meet... Suffice to say, I am loathe to see the photos people took of me after that.. I was soaked through my swimsuit, and I don't think I was smiling for anyone. =)
After that ordeal, we met back up with Lisa & Kym, who had waited with the other landlubbers on the bridge.. We then took our stroll around the park environs and captured some wonderful photos of Meercats, Gorillas, Dinosaurs and each other.
One note: Around lunchtime I think it was, I got my first Brazillian tour group encounter.. They took up a whole pathway and were shouting, chanting & clapping in unison as they headed to their next destination. I noticed the other guests had to clear a path for them.. They were very disruptive. I know that despite what crappy things people might say about RADP, I can't recall us ever disrupting the flow of the park!
Friday night was the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party event at the Magic Kingdom (MK). It was a special ticket event and we got in around 7pm. Sean & I got our photo taken right off to avoid crowds, but we missed getting the limited edition pin they were selling, and they only had tshirts in small and medium for the event!! So no tshirt!
We rode the Pooh ride,then got my autograph book.. I got photos, as well autographs of Chip -n- Dale. We then rode Peter Pan, Snow White, Dumbo and others.. as well got our FastPass for Buzz Lightyear. Have I said before how much I love Fastpass?? I really do.. Sure I like to see the queue if it's worthwhile (Tower of Terror,for example) but FastPass is really a time-saver!! We got our passes and went off to do other things til the pass was good.
We met up with folks for the fireworks show and then we went and watched the Christmas Parade. Sean taped it,but it was pretty dark.. Every once in a while they will have the Christmas parade during the day but only once a week, if that. Afterwards I believe is when we went on Buzz and I tried to tape the ride while Sean shot at his "Z"s.. but stupidly,I accidently had the camcorder on "pause" the whole time.. so all we got was the queue. Argh!!!
Sean & I met up with folks again at midnight for a Jungle Cruise Meet.. There was 50 of us and we all managed to squeeze onto one boat!! We convinced our river guide to take us again.. and again.. the 3rd time wasn't quite as fun as she ran out of jokes and no one could think of any. Sean taped that too... After a group photo and a laugh or two, we parted and we headed over to Splash Mountain.
We were very lucky, as Sean & I were the last people to ride Splash Mountain for the night.. It was wonderful, yet rather quiet.. and the park was virtually empty as we headed toward the gate to leave.
Saturday the BIG MEET: 9 December 2000
Saturday went off well though we were late, as we took the water taxi to the international gateway from MGM. ACK! We chatted with several people.. I was amazed again at the size of our fun-loving group. I wish I had been better at chatting with people, as I would have liked to have met each and every one. I know at one point I was going around to groups of folks and announcing the movie for the Campfire Meet and ran into Jeff Spencer and I didn't evan know it til later!!! (I had emailed him a couple times, and yes, had seen photos of him, so you would think I would have recognized him, but I didn't!! LOL!) We took pictures of each other.. then formed up for the BIG PICTURE. Later on, Sean & I got a copy but I didn't like it much.. I was caught talking to Lisa, so neither of us are looking at the camera.. Biscuit and Bunny are barely noticable.. Jessie (Mickeymom's little one) is turned, her back to the camera, probably asking her mom something.. some people are looking away and some people just can't be seen well. Sigh... I actually liked last year's better.
Ok.. enough ranting it was great! After the big photo, we LIBers (Loin Inspection Board) got together to hand out some special registrations... including a special upgrade for Sean! Other award winners were Tony,Larry,Steve, and Peter, aka: Fudgie (who got a special Loiner's Permit!) There were special prizes handed out from the GREAT PARAGON.. (Meeko won a wonderful Artist's Pin!) Randy (Berbaum) brought the DeLIBerator and Paragon displayed it so everyone could see.. Of course photos were taken! =)
After the meet, the meet host committee headed out and had drinks, (a coke for me & a lemonade for Sean) at the Yacht Club afterwards, a special treat to the group by Deb Wills. Gosh for a nice refreshing Coke, I would help plan every RADP meet!! =)
After the nice drink, we LIBers headed out to EPCOT to the Wonders of Life Pavillion in Future World. Sean came along with Ronnie, Paragon, and myself (after I made sure it was ok for him to witness a Presentation). We were on a mission! The 3pm showing of Dr Tony & Male Nurse Danny's lesson in laughter (not really sure what the show is actually called!). After watching a very amusing show in which a guest named Keith (who definitely looks military to me) gets stressed & tortured (just kidding!) to show how laughter relieves stress.. We awarded them their Loin Permits. Sean has the whole thing on tape and will of course have it converted to VHS. =)
After that fun escapade, Paragon,Iago,Sean & myself had lunch at the Electric Umbrella. Very yummy! I also think the deserted upstairs seating makes a prime viewing location! We stopped by the check out the pin trading meet afterwards, but had to say goodbye.. Sean & I would be late for the Campfire Meet and we still had to pick up the quiz prizes and S'mores ingredients! We tried... but...
Saturday night I was late for my own meet at Ft Wilderness! We were too late to take the wonderful buses.. We drove to the Resort and took the wrong bus from there.. I had planned us to be there at 6pm to set up and instead we got there about quarter to seven! We did, however, enjoy the evil bus ride (a new Cast Member was training and he had no idea where he was going!) and chatted with Terri and her family (Terri is from Stockbridge!) I was a mess but it was ok.. However, I did find out later that Rob (Sorcerer's Apprentice) got hurt badly as he and Keith were wandering in the dark trying to get to the Campfire Program and Rob tripped over a parking stone.. he cut his knee up really bad. But he made it to the meet and teased me the rest of the week.
Once at the Campfire Program, we tried to rip up pieces of paper with corresponding numbers to the prizes but since I was late, it was hurried, I couldn't see what I was doing, and I was missing the Singalong with Sunday! I was distraught! I did get to feeling better once the Chip -n- Dale cartoon started. The movie for the night was Tarzan and boy did the LIBers like that! It made for some amusing banter the whole time.. I only wish we could have stayed for the second film which was George of the Jungle. (I wonder if Bruce (Zazu) really DID have a hand in the film selection!) We then walked down to the beach to watch the Electric Water Pageant. It was cute and people enjoyed it. We started to head back, and in a brighter spot, we took a photo or two of the last of our group. Sean had a little trivia contest for our big prizes we had left. After that a few of us went by Randy's camp and checked out his Monorail setup.. he had 3 monorails and a train setup at his campsite! Hundreds of feet of track.. Sean of course has film of this!
Well, it was time to go home.. Sean gave weary Vully & Ping a ride over to their place at the Disney Institute.. (they had some serious Cheerleader trouble over at All Star Movies and were eventually given sweet digs at the Institute.. too bad they didn't have a stove, otherwise the place was like a little condo) After our goodbyes, we headed back to our own Resort.. (which DID have evil cheerleaders as well, but seemed to only bother me with their running & shouting in the morning when I slept past 7am). I think someone on RADP had a good idea with the special "Group Dorms" for visiting cheerleaders, band people, and the occasional shouting/clapping Brazillian troupe! =)
Sunday: 10 December 2000
Sunday started early with the breakfast meet at the All Star Movies. We got over there and got some egg product and sausage and sat down. About a dozen folks (forgive me for not remembering everyone!) including : Tracy & her mom, Mickeymom & Larry & Jessie.. Rachel (looking mighty bright eyed & bushy tailed for 630am!) Sean & myself and of course... Joe Hurley. He made it pretty clear he was only there because Mark Gutag (breakfast Meet host) was his Scavenger Hunt Team Leader.. So it was more convienient to meet him at breakfast.
Anyway.. back to breakfast.. trying to eat, trying to enjoy company, and this person keeps ranting about Mark not being there. I suggest he calls to the fellow's room and he says that he called a couple times the night before.. (well, I ran into Mark the night before at Campfire MiniMeeko and he had just gotten to the park, and had not evan checked in,but had stopped to say hello.. anyways.. I figured he was stinking tired.. and several of us had done the breakfast meet last year, so wasn't much concerned. After all, it wasn't my scavenger hunt team!). So now I am picturing Mark's phone ringing off the hook while he is trying to get some sleep.. Then the suggestion is made that maybe someone who knows him should call Mark to wake him. I think that would be me, since I have chatted him a few times, but I decline, then ask Sean... who agrees I shouldn't wake him. The suggestion was then made that he probably slept through the Mickey wakeup. Finally Joe gets fed up and stalks off. I then thanked Jesus and went back to our pleasant socializing.
It was about 10 after 7am and we were just about to exchange our trinket gift when Mark shows up.. He appologized profusely for sleeping in, and didn't evan have time to have breakfast, as he had to get to AK for the Scavenger Hunt. We let him know that Joe was looking for him, which he knew as he said he got a few calls the night before, (we heard!) We exchanged gifts and I got, ironically, the Washington DC pin from Mark. I like it a lot.. it reminds me of the pin back my mom got on her school trip to DC back in 56.. really neat! It's like grey metal with the Capitol Building and "Washington DC" under it. Sean got this mega set from Odessa.. I can't recall who was from Texas, to thank.. but it was cool! It's a acrylic pen & pencil holder from the Convention Bureau with a couple pins and a couple of Marzipan candies. I was admiring the shinniness of the clear acrylic the other day.
9am was the Splash Mountain meet which went over really well, except my pal Jenn (Bookbabe) twisted her ankle and didn't tell anyone.. she finally went home when it swelled up really bad and flew back home the next day after sitting overnite in the airport. She did leave a message for us on our Resort Voice Mail, but we weren't able to tell anyone til the next day when we saw Deb.
Sometime while walking through the hub at MK, I spotted someone rather familiar and pointed him out to Sean.. It was Keith from the day before!! I looked twice, to be sure, but it was!!! I almost wanted to go up & congratulate him on a job well-done and express my sympathy at his near beheading by the randy jugglers... but decided against it.
Later we met up in Tomorrowland for the Buzz Lightyear meet.. We got our FastPasses then milled about trying to decide what to do.. Then Paragon, Ronnie, Sean & myself went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority a couple times. Sean of course taped it! (Disneyland, unfortunately, isn't blessed with a TTA) and then went around the shops a little before heading to Buzz..
I was getting a little sleepy and Sean was well into his second wind, but he relented and we went "home" for an afternoon nap before the Illuminations Cruise we were to host.
When we got to Epcot later in the evening. We stopped off at the Art of Disney to take a look around and at Innoventions, where Sean & I made a postcard, then an eVideo to send Kali. I was bummed she wouldn't be there for the cruise.. Here we were giving away the Pirate Meeko she had so sweetly fashioned a costume for!
Sean taped a little of the dancing fountain and the Christmas Arch (sorry I can't remember the proper name of it) but it was wonderful! The fountain usually goes off every 15 minutes.. but at night they have in in sync with the Arch.. The Christmaslights on the arch and the dancing fountain is set in time to the music that is played. One could sit and watch all night! We had places to go, though!
That night the Illuminations boat cruise went ok.. Peter (Fudgie) won the Pirate Meeko, (he told me Saturday that the maid did really cute things with him.. ) Susan won the "official" raffle prize, (a really cute Mickey pepper grinder). =) I brought frosted sugar cookies & Vully brought some yummy green sparkly sugar cookies.. Fudgie was full of excitement but tired from the 14 hour Scavenger Hunt. He and Susan sat on one side along with Jen (Milady) and Chris (Lord Neikon) and discussed it. That same day in Disneyland was Mouse Adventure.. which Sean & I would have liked to have done.. But there was NO WAY I was going to miss RADP V!! Vully & Ping sat in the front of our boat and got a good view of the show .. I sat on the floor between them and the lot of us choked on the fireworks fallout. Yum!
One note: I believe this is the first time I've ever met Susan, and I wanted to say, that despite missing Kali on our cruise, I thouroughly enjoyed her company, as well as the rest of our intrepid voyagers! Thanks for hanging with us pirates Susan! =)
After the cruise we carpooled with Bruce & Marta in their van to the Adventurer's Club.. Bruce gave Sean, Rob,Keith ,and myself a lift.. We filled up the Mask Room with all the RADP folks, (I took a few pictures of folks. =) We enjoyed the Library Show, and the company, despite the fact the Mask Show was cancelled for some unexplained reason. Sean filmed a couple shows.. and Samantha & the Maid really got into it. "You drunk people at home sing along too!" We of course sang "Old McDonald" and Kevin (50 Percentile Man) picked an OX but was unable to come up with an appropriate sound for it. Then of course was Emil's Haystack. I can't say much more than that. You'll have to catch the "Hoopla!" We had a good time and got a ride back to the hotel when it was time to go "home."
Monday: 11 December 2000
Was the Rockin' Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror meet... The host had made up really cute "backstage passes" for us as we had RSVP'd for the meet.. It was tons of fun.. We didn't get any souvenir photos..but hopefully someone who did (Janine?? pretty please?) will post them on the net. We hung around MGM with Rob, Rachel,Kevin and another couple for a while,had lunch and did the Virtual Star Tours. We parted and did several of the other attractions on our own including Muppet 3-D where I got to see cute Bean Bunny in action again. Somehow I liked the show better last year...
Monday night we met up with Rob at the UK Pavilion in Epcot to see Tapestry of Nations for the first time. We parked at the Yacht/Beach club first and had floats at Beaches & Cream. It was really good and our server was very nice! It started raining as we got to the International Gateway outside France and many people turned away before going though the turnstyle. Sean & I went ahead thinking it would slacken up.. and it did..
We met Rob waiting inside one of the shops, and then had dinner at Yakatori in the Japan Pavillion before the parade. Sean & I were soaked! We went to see the parade, which started without any announcement and just as I was feeling a little dry.. It rained cats & dogs again!! We stood in the pouring rain, as we were already wet and watched the parade.. The puppets and drummers were amazing and didn't stop their march as they got to the gate and finished their dance. They were wonderful & didn't quit and we applauded each & everyone as they went by.
Monday night was also our special Illuminations Dessert Meet Sean & I had won tickets for from Kingdom Magic Travel. The dessert was Strawberry shortcake that we could put together ourselves.. They had a neat ice sculpture that had the WDW 2000 logo carved into it. We had prime viewing location for the spectacle.. Our friends Rebekah & Doobie were there & took photos & video for their webpage LaughingPlace.com.. Lucky, as Sean's video camera ran out of charge right as it started! It was a yucky night, but at least it wasn't as smoky as the night before! =)
After Illuminations we were still pretty soaked, so we forgo the Adventurer's Club (also Sean's camcorder stopped working) and went "home" to take hot showers and get into some dry clothes.
Tuesday: 12 December 2000
We met up with my Dad & his wife Kay at Ft Wilderness. It rained an awful lot that day.... They have a popup camper as well as the van and they were set up in Jack Rabbit.. the same loop Thea (TDC Rabbit) & I stayed in last October over Halloween weekend! We walked over to Trails End where we were treated to a yummy buffet.. The potatoes & biscuits & gravy were wonderful.. The Mickey waffles had been in the heater too long and were pretty hard and unedible. I had one though..and left the other, (it crumbled under the knife). We went to visit the Wilderness lodge and walked around the property and looked at the wonderful scenery. We headed back to the loop and took the car to the TTC (ticket & Transportation center) where we took the Monorail around to the different resorts.. first to the Polynesian.. its got some construction going on and they are building a pool with "real" volcano that you can slide down into the pool. Sean wants to stay here when it's completed. We then walked over to the Grand Floridian which is near where the wedding pavillion is.. It's evan more expensive than Disneyland to have a wedding there.. something like 20k we were told! But it's really pretty inside and was decorated really nice for the holidays. I was wishing my mom could have seen the wondrous decorations. The 3 story tree had full size mirrors and birdcages in it as decorations, as well as huge ball-shaped ornaments. There was also a fullsize REAL gingerbread house, that they were selling gifts and treats out of. Sean had his video camera and I took a few pictures myself...
We drove back to the campsite, had lunch of hamburgers and carrots and visited a while before leaving. Sean & I went to the Belz Outlet later that afternoon where we found Bean Bunny, Humphrey the Bear, and a few other things.
It was about dinner time by then and Sean surprised me with a trip to Celebration, the planned community. We had dinner at Max's Diner where we shared a plate of "Steve's Fries" which were scrumptious french fries with cheese and bacon bits.. I had a huge patty melt, (half of which I took home) and onion rings. Sean had meatloaf.. which he said was "..ehh........ok." (not very enthused). I liked the atmosphere of the cafe.. and I would go back.. but I couldn't help shaking the feeling I was on the Disney-MGM backlot. Which is horrible, considering you have real people who live and work there.
We walked around some after dinner and checked out a couple shops and the buildings. I really like their AMC theatre.. I took pictures and hopefully will get those up eventually. I kept thinking that the Celebration Hotel (where pals Doobie & Rebekah stayed for a night while in the World last weekend) looked like a prison with a guard tower, rather than a hotel. Sean thought things were very unremarkable.. And although I liked the hominess of the streets, I only saw one or two house styles that I really like. My dreams of living in a Disney planned community dashed... (they would have to build one in California anyways... and make them decent looking and afordable.. ok.. you can laugh now!) =)
Ok.. so once I took a few pictures and the quest for a postcard was finished.. (I have no idea what it's a picture of because there is no description on the back) we headed out. Still not tired enough to go to bed.. we went to the AC where we met up with some RADP pals...
Sean taped more of the show.. It was fun as we sat in the front at one of the side tables. Kevin (50 from Toronto) was there of course, and provided lots of opportunities for laughs.. when just as the show started, he arrived late! They had him sit front and center and used him for jokes a few times. It's all on video of course! =)
Wednesday: 13 December 2000
First thing.. We refilled our Refillable Mugs! I reheated the leftover patty melt half & Sean had some kind of breakfast food from the foodcourt, (have I mentioned yet how tired I am of their food??). After checking the pin cart outside the entrance for the zillionenth time, we hopped on the bus...
We went to Epcot and did the World Showcase as Sean was doing the "Beers around the World tour" with Chris on Thursday and wanted to see it 'sober'.. we spent the whole day.. We first stopped off to see our pal Art, who works at the park... We said hi for a quick moment before heading out to the otherside...
Next stop was Ice Station Cool where I got 3 mini cupfuls (yes I am a little hoggy) of my wonderful MezzoMix (which I miss having all the time while stationed in Germany, oh so many years ago!) and Sean had some as well... (which he says is also his favorite, although he did try others!)
I had gotten an Epcot Passport and we visited all the stations to get our stamps in it. Later, after noon, we stopped at the KidCot stations where the little ones were making masks with all kinds of stuff glued on them to get the stamps.. So waiting and wading through kids was common. For food we sampled the cinnemon roll & sweet pretzel in Norway, had Chinese food for lunch in China, a beavertail in Canada (the apple & cinnemon of course!)... and then later we were exhausted.. and finally made the walk back to the bus for ASMu.
Finally we got back to Chez Meeko and we then did laundry back at the resort. The laundry detergent my mom gave me came in super handy as they DO sell detergent there at like a dollar a box. The wash and dry were a dollar each. I was tired & crabby by the time we got the laundry done.. Sean had to hang up the slightly damp clothes as I was too tired to wait for another dry cycle.
Thursday: 14 December 2000
First thing, we got our refills and headed out to catch the bus to Epcot. Once there, we stopped in to say "Hey!" to Art before meeting Chris & Jen.
We met up with Chris & Jen at the FountainView Cafe in the Future World Section of Epcot before our tour of the World Showcase. We split a bagel so I would have something healthy in my stomach before all the desserts! Jen & Chris had eaten at Alfredo's in the Italy Pavillion the day before and was really sick but she stuck it out for most of the day. Since Sean would be drinking, I would be taping the day's events.
We started in Canada where we split a Beaver Tail four ways (it was Maple & chocolate and was way too sweet for me) and Sean & Chris had a beer.. In England we didn't eat anything but Chris had a Guiness and Sean had a Bass Ale. In Morocco they had some type of beer.. Casablanca.. and in France they had Belgian beer which was better.. In Japan, at Yakatori, they had the Kirin, which tasted like Budweiser to Sean and Chris. Jen was so ill we made sure to stop for lunch, but the white rice she got didn't help her.. So we stopped there and never finished our tour. Sean & I went back to the hotel and rested for a bit that afternoon.
Later we went to Beaches & Cream for dinner where we tried the cheeseburgers.. Yum! Except for the crabby customer to my right (I had to switch seats with Sean at the counter because I got tired of listening to him complain) it was wonderful experience. I got to see the Refillable Mug program there in action (they don't have a fountain.. you have to ask for a refill there, which makes mug scamming impossible!) and I had evan considered getting a mug. This was our second trip to the cute place and I could see us going back again. Of course it would take a few years to make it worth the refills on the 9 dollar mug, unless we stayed at Beach & Yacht Club. I looked for the CM waitress we had before.. Delores.. but she wasn't there. She had taken our picture when we were there for dessert on Sunday.. She was the one who suggested we come back for cheeseburgers.. (which wasn't difficult as we had seen how yummy everything looked on our previous visit!) I had gotten her to sign my autograph book Sunday. =)
We then went to the Marketplace where we did a little shopping. Those radios Sean got came in handy again as I got separated from him in the immense store. It was of course pretty busy there. They still have a lot of the 2000 logo merchandise out and I was trying to understand why it wasn't on sale as the 2001 stuff was out on display. I didn't get any dated merchandise however. After a couple hours in there, we checked out the Christmas shop, and squeezed into the Home shop just before closing, and then headed finally back to our room.
Friday: 15 December 2000
We headed off to Epcot AGAIN to do the things we missed like Ellen's Engergy Adventure and the Circle of Life show with Timon & Pumbaa.. We then went to Downtown Disney where we met up with Beth, Jan & hubby, Marta & Bruce (Bruce was headed to work and couldnt stay) and JudyLew (she's from Oakland area) and saw the Emporer's New Groove which was really cute! Before the film, we had lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Express with JudiLew and Beth. Sean & I split the herb rottiserie chicken & garlic mashed potatos. JudiLew had a wood fired cheese pizza (she's vegetarian) and I forget what Beth had.. =)
One note: The Emporer's New Groove was a super cute movie! I loved it.. it was very funny & had an attitude, unlike many of the other Disney Features.. This one was more like an Alladin than a Lion King..but worth the trip to see! I can't wait til it's out on DVD next year! Thanks to everyone that made it for the meet! I had a great time with you all.. It was a wonderful way to finish off the RADP-V meet!
After the movie, we PLANNED to go to the Osborne family lights at Disney-MGM, but instead took a nap back at the resort. Sean & I woke up just in time to head out for the Adventurer's Club.. Since all the library shows are different.. there were 2 early shows we hadn't seen... So with hopes of taping it, we rushed out.
Beth had mentioned she had seen a holiday show at the AC the night before so we would see if we could make it that late to catch the new Holiday Caberet show at around 1130pm... As it turns out we got there just in time, and caught part of the Tresure Room show before the first Library Show.. which was the Radio broadcast.
Sean taped half the show before one of the managers came up and whispered for him to stop taping.. that he wasn't allowed to tape inside the library..UM hello??? People have been taping in the library for a long time and there was no mention that you couldn't. There was NO announcement before the show or any signs posted...
Sean put the camera away and didn't tape anything else.. When we left the second show (another radio program,but without any guest victims) I spotted Beth in the central lobby and told her what happened. She didn't believe it either and asked a waitress about it, who then brought the head manager over..Sean had just joined us and talked to the manager who explained it was a "new policy" that they just didn't have time to tell everyone about yet.. And Sean & I explained how it would be good to make an announcement as Beth explained people had taped the night before when she went.. and on Sunday & Monday there were several people taping while our group was there..
So it's a VERY new policy,I guess! Well that ruined my night some.. and so instead of going minigolfing like we had planned, we went home and rested some. I was hoping to get the enthusiasm back to return to a later show as Beth said more of the longer staying group would be there. Instead we just hung around the room and figured out plans for the next day and charged the camera.
Saturday: 16 December 2000
We headed out to Magic Kingdom where I called and made reservations for Tony's Town Square Restaurant, which is themed afterTony's from the Lady & the Tramp movie. We both had Tony's French Toast which was really good! They give you a complimentary cinnamon roll which we split. It was ok, but not up to standards of the one we split in Norway at Epcot! I had ordered a side of potatoes and they were like hash browns flavored like pototoes au gratin. Pretty good! We did some rides like Buzz Lightyear again, and rode the Magic Kingdom Railway around to Mickey's ToonTown Square and took a look around.
Sean taped a little of the train ride but there wasn't a lot to see really. We did the Tiki Room Under New Management (Sean has the ENTIRE show on tape.. including what the birds say when the room is empty!) and the CoP (Carrousel of Progress). We had the Pineapple float which was really good and the Motorolla radios Sean brought came in handy once more as it was really crowded. I wasn't sure where I was going to get back to where Sean & I had staked a spot for the Parade. They showed the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade around 3pm and so Sean got to tape it during the day. We then tried to leave the park so we could head back to the hotel.. It took a while but we managed! We refilled our mugs for the umteenth time and charged the camera before taking the bus to MGM where we got there just in time to see Belle & the Beast taking a carriage somewhere. We then headed over to the Backlot area where Sean did a lot of taping of the lights and I took several pictures.
After that, we took the bus to the Polynesian resort where we met up with Rob, Keith, Peter & Rachel.. and had our wonderful dinner. Peter took some photos with his digital camera, so hopefully we'll see those soon!!! We walked around the resort after dinner, down to the pier and then around the lobby where we took pictures in front of their Christmas tree. Rob & Keith drove us back to our resort and then we just worked on packing the rest of the night.
Sunday: 17 December 2000
We finished packing with little time to spare. Once we left, we waved goodbye to All Star Music and headed back to the Yacht/Beach Club parking where we PLANNED to have brunch at Cape May, but we were too late! It was after 11am.. so we went to EPCOT!! Through the International Gateway and off through the World Showcase.. First we thought to eat at Germany, but we weren't headed that way. So then we decided to check out the Rose & Crown but nothing suited us, then at Le Cellier in Canada where they specialize in steak! Nope.. so then we went to check out the Garden Grill in "the Land" (part of Future World) but that didn't really appeal and the line was long.. so we headed back and ended up eating at our first thought, which was the Octoberfest Buffet/biergarten in Germany. We ate pretty good!!!
We didn't have much time left to go back to the Marketplace for last-minute souvenirs so we headed to Dixie Landings to look for any Brer Rabbit stuff..as Dixie Landings will be changing it's name in February and anything with Dixie Landings on it will be no longer available. Sean picked up a refillable mug with the Brer characters still on it.. and drank several times from the drink station.. We walked around the grounds out back and took pictures. It's wonderful there! Now we know why Rob likes it so much!! We plan to stay there sometime in the future, and since Sean has his refillable mug for that resort (I got mine off eBay) he says "we have to get our money's worth out of those mugs!" (I think that is his way of saying we might stay there for our honeymoon visit next May!.. um I hope!) Dixie Landings is changing it's name in February, however, so we'll have to see...
Well it was time to go, so we headed back to the airport, turned in the car, took the shuttle to the airport and flew the long flight home. It was nice getting back.. but it seemed to take forever!!!
So.. long story short... it was fun! Ok.. so it wasn't a cruise (I hear talk they are planning a cruise meet for next December.. I don't know if Sean & I will be doing that though!) but it was fabulous just the same! I can't wait to get back out & do all the things we didn't have time for!
Things To Do:
SPVMCP 2K- coming soon!!