[RMJKS05]

Sorry for military time useage - Old habits are hard to break. :)

16August2003 - Saturday
Awoke at 0300 for 0430 Limo ride to MDW – Chicago, Illinois. Arrived at MDW shortly after 0500, Check-In problem free. ATA flight 538 scheduled to depart at 0650, finally took off at/about 0720 – Arrived at MCO @ 1026. Tram to Baggage Claim, picked up our luggage & Tiffany Towncar Car Service of Orlando was there waiting for us. Arrived at our resort, POR at/about 1130ish. As expected our room wasn’t ready, so we dropped off our baggage @ went to the food court for lunch & wandered around the gift shop. Room was ready at/about 1330, so we went to our room & called for our luggage. Unpacked and chilled a bit until about 1600. Left for bus stop to MK for further transport to Cont and our CM @ Chef Mickey’s. Since we had a lot of time to burn before our 1815 PS, decided to ride the Monorail from MK to Poly, where I always stayed as a kid. Snapped a few pictures at Poly, then it was back on the Monorail to Cont and our PS. Finally got seated at/about 1830. Kids really got a kick out of the up close and personal they received from Donald, Chip, Dale, Minnie, Mickey & Goofy. It was about 1945 before all of the characters got around to our table and we departed via Monorail back to MK to catch the bus back to POR. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – Animal Kingdom.

17August2003 - Sunday
Mickey woke us up at 0530. Grabbed a bite to eat and caught the first bus (0715) for AK. First through the turnstiles and headed right for Kilimanjaro Safari. Not all that impressed, in that we really had to look to see the animals, as they weren’t that active yet. Fast Passed (FP) Kali River Rapids. Went on Jungle Trek. Met Pooh & Tigger on the way to see The Tree of Life & It’s Tough To Be A Bug. Took in Tarzan Rocks, then grabbed a bite to eat. After lunch, headed over to Dinoland and Rode Dinosaur, Triceratops Spin and Primeval Whirl. Walked around the Boneyard for a while, then went souvenir shopping. Finished our stay at AK with another ride on Dinosaur. Departed for POR about 1700. Grabbed a bite to eat in the Food Court. Spent the rest of the evening, until about 2000 on Ol’ Man Island. No rain today – very hot and humid, this would turn out to be the only day it didn’t rain well into the evening. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – Magic Kingdom.

18August2003 – Monday
Mickey woke us up at 0530 again. Grabbed a bite to eat and caught the first bus (0715) for MK. First through the turnstiles again and headed right for Space Mountain. While in Tomorrowland, in no particular order, we rode Buzz Lightyear and caught Alien Encounter. Headed over to Fantasyland and hit Indy 500 Speedway along the way. In Fantasyland we rode Cinderella’s Carousel, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo & It’s a Small World. After It’s a Small World, we got a FP for the Haunted Mansion, and then grabbed a bite to eat. After lunch, we headed over to Adventureland and rode Pirates of the Caribbean & watched the Tiki Bird show. Right about this time, the skies opened up with a torrential downpour, which would ultimately last well into the night. After the Haunted Mansion, we caught the Hall of Presidents. By this time (1700ish) we were thoroughly soaked and knowing we were coming back another day, decided to head back to our resort (The night parade had already been cancelled). Had Pizza & Hot Wings in our room and called it a day. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – EPCOT.

19August2003 – Tuesday
Mickey wake-up call at 0530 again today. Ate breakfast & caught the first bus to EPCOT. Among the first through turnstiles. Headed straight to Test Track, the majority of the crowd went left to Mission:Space. After Test Track, we watched Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Then it was time to cool off at Ice Station Cool. After sampling some of the drink offerings from around the world, we went on Spaceship Earth, Universe of Energy and Cranium Command. For lunch, DW and DDs ate in China, while DS and I ate in Mexico. Torrential downpour started shortly after lunch (It would last until just before Illuminations started). Having done pretty much everything we wanted to do, we headed over to Innoventions to keep dry and take advantage of the hands-on attractions therein. Headed back over to World Showcase and caught the American Adventure. After American Adventure it was well past dinnertime, so we grabbed a bite to eat in Mexico. Did a bit of shopping and got in position for Illuminations. What a show. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – Disney-MGM Studios.

20August2003 – Wednesday
Final 0530 wake-up call from Mickey today. Ate breakfast and caught first bus to MGM. Among the first through the turnstiles again and headed right for ToT. After ToT, in no particular order, took in Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Magic of Disney Animation and Star Tours. Grabbed a FP for Indiana Jones then ate lunch. Watched Indians Jones, then Sounds Dangerous and Muppetvision 3D. Got in position by the big hat for the Disney Stars & Motorcars parade. After the parade, we did the Backlot Tour. By this time, it was time to queue up for Fantasmic! Got seated middle section about ¾ of the way back. Grabbed dinner and waited for the show to start! What a show it was! Must not miss! Intermittent heavy showers today, nothing torrential as in days past. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – Back to The Magic Kingdom.

21August2003 – Thursday
No early wake-up call today, inasmuch as we did majority of our MK must see stuff on Monday. Arrived at the Park shortly after 0930. Stopped and met a few characters (Rafiki, Baloo, Uncle Louie & Timon). Headed for BTMRR. After BTMRR, we headed over to Barnstormer and walked around Minnie and Mickey’s houses. Went on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and then it was back over to Splash Mountain. After Splash Mountain, it was time for lunch. After lunch, we headed back over to Tomorrowland and did Buzz Lightyear again and finished our day with Space Mountain, the lights were on and they offered to let us back on no waiting, after they fixed it, who knew when though, we passed. No night parade or Fantasy in the SKy scheduled for today, so we did some shopping and headed back to POR for some swimming. Mostly cloudy with intermittent heavy showers again today. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – Downtown Disney.

22August2003 – Friday
No early wake-up call again today. Up around 0700 anyway. Ate breakfast and caught the bus to Downtown Disney about 0900. Shopped until we dropped until about 1300. Grabbed lunch at McDonalds. Headed over to DQ for some virtual reality fun. Did Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean & Cyber Space Mountain. Explored a few of the other floors. Departed DQ at about 1500 for what we thought would be a boat ride back to POR at 1530. Wrong! The storms moved in. Heavy torrential rain, lightning & thunder and the boats stopped running. A bit disappointed, as we were sort of looking forward to different mode of transportation than Disney busses. Back to the resort after a stop at Typhoon Lagoon, as if the bus wasn’t full enough. Ate dinner and commenced packing. End of the Magic for today. Tomorrow – Departure Day.

23August2003 – Saturday
0700 wake-up call from Mickey. Ate leisurely breakfast & called for bell service about 1030. Spent the rest of the day wandering around the resort taking pictures. Ate lunch & it was time to go. Tiffany arrived right on schedule at 1215 for our 1451 departure from MCO. Checked in and made our way through security without incident. Departed more or less on schedule & landed a bit early (1610ish). Claimed our baggage and called for the limo. Limo arrived shortly thereafter and we were in our driveway at about 1730ish. End of our Magical Journey to the Walt Disney World Resort.

[Willbegone]

Whew! Sounds like you had an awesome time! I am so looking forward to Chef Mickey's in March. We have never been and are going on our arrival day also for Dinner. What was the best thing on the buffett?? We also are staying at POR! Did you stay in Magnolia Bend or Aligator Bayou? Did you like it? SOrry for all the questions! :dazed

[gcbdad]

Sounds like a great trip. Although it was wet it looked like you got to do everything that you wanted. We have never stayed a whole week since we live in the nearby Tampa Bay area. The longest we have stayed was 3 days. Sorry that you experienced all of the rain but we are having a really wet summer.

[aurora'stwin]

Good trip report! Glad to see that you got to do a ton of activities even with the downpours.

How did you like POR?

Also, did you do the dinner package for Fantasmic?

[RMJKS05]

Willbegone
The best part about Chef Mickeys was definitely getting 6 of the big characters out of the way. I remember as a kid, the insanity of trying to get near 'em at one of the parks. All of the food was good as well, excellent variety of selection. I went with the beef on the first plate and chicken on the second.

At POR, we stayed at Alligator Bayou, building 18. Right next to a quiet pool, Food Court, lobby, etc. There were 5 in our party, so we needed the trundle, which to the best of my knowledge isn't an option at Magnolia Bend.

aurora'stwin
POR was a very nice, quiet resort. The rooms at Alligator Bayou were a bit small for the 5 of us. The bell service and maid service top notch, especially if you tip well, which we think we did.

As for the Fantasmic Dinner Package - My folks were down there in May and took advantage of this as one of their wishes. Told us the food was geat, but their PS was on the far right section of the ampitheatre (looking at the stage). True, there really isn't a bad seat in the house, but if the only reason you're eating at the Brown Derby is to guarantee yourself a seat at Fantasmic, that's what you have to look forward to. We did not take advantage of the Dinner package, queued up for Fantasmic at about 6:30 p.m., sat in the center section, went to the concession and ate in our seats. It was a great way to kill 2 hours until showtime.

[DougiesMommy]

What a fantastic trip even with all the rain. I can't wait until my little one is up at the crack of dawn wanting to be the first into the park.

[dznygrl]

Thanks for the trip report!! :D :heart
I love getting a taste of all these different WDW experiences...especially hearing about resorts & restaurants I have never tried!

[DisneyTeacher]

Thanks for the trip report. It sounds like you had a great time even with all the rain. I love Chef Mickey's too!!

[tinkerbell]

ohh it sounded great !! rain and all. thanks !!
gotta add we are big chef Mickey fans was it really only weeks ago we were there :( we left the day before you arrived .. in a way it seems like it was only yesterday.

[tiggerlover1971]

great trip report :) :) Cant wait until I go now especially to Chef Mickeys and PO is one of my favorite resorts thats where I am headed in October :) :)

[neen626]

Your trip report was great, sounds like you really had a wonderful time and fit a lot into your days!!
POR sounds lovely also!! Can't wait to try Chef Mickeys!!

[jbtoursejg]

Thanks for a great report!
Smart move to get up early enough to do a lot in the parks and then leave.

[RMJKS05]

Originally posted by jbtoursejg
Thanks for a great report!
Smart move to get up early enough to do a lot in the parks and then leave.

...Was to go dusk to dawn. Our 7 yr old DS had other ideas, he was pretty much done about 3:30 - 4:00. Him dragging butt and the cruddy weather contributed more to how things worked out (leaving early) than prior planning on our part.

We were lucky in that we were first or nearly first throught the turnstiles Sun-Wed, hit all the big attractions and everything the kids wanted to do by about 2:00 - 3:00. This was a very exhausting way to go about things, but it worked out in the end. Going opposite EE days, might have contributed to our ability to get a lot done in a short period of time as well.

[disneydana]

Great report. Planned or not, getting there early and leaving early worked well for you. I think that is going to be our strategy. My DD's are 4 and 6. They are pretty early risers so I think they'll be pooped by afternoon like your DS. It's interesting to hear how differently everyone approaches their DW vacations and always fun to read about! Thanks for sharing.