[geeman]

I took a look at the notes I'd taken and found that the trip report I'd amassed was extremely lengthy, even trimmed. But since I know how much fun it is to read about the details of a WDW adventure, I've decided to share the epic with you, anyway. Honestly, I think several of us on this board should come up with a book based upon the length of these things! But I hope you enjoy reading about it. In retrospect, I think the importance of sharing this information comes out of the joyful knowledge that somebody out there actually cares about this stuff as much as we do! Many people will glaze over when you tell them about how you spent your Disney days. They think it's just a park. But we know better!

To make for easier reading, I've split the report up into days, but I'll post each of the days here, so they are all in a cohesive spot. Any questions, comments, etc. are of course more than welcome!

Enjoy.

[geeman]

PROLOGUE: CAN 3 FUN-LOVING ADULTS ENJOY WDW ON THEIR OWN?

After months of preparation and planning and worrying and hoping, our big trip has come to an end. Here is my report on our running around that might help some of you with your PDD, as I slowly slink into my own.

The travelers: Myself, my nephew (I'll call "RAC"), and an old friend of ours, Michele, who flew over from California!
The time: April 11-22, 2004
The purpose: A week of intense park hopping as we had our own little "magical gathering" - a reunion of old friends and family. Michele had never been to WDW before. Rich hadn't been there in over 10 years. And I had another purpose to the trip - serving as sponsor for my grand-nephew's Confirmation.

We tried finding a space that would be big enough for the three of us without going to much over cost. Due to Michele's school schedule (she's an Educator), we had to plan this trip for this particular time, before the heat and crowds really set in. After much searching about and research and discussion, we settled upon staying the Contemporary Resort when it occurred to us that staying near a monorail would be a) fun, b) convenient and c) good for RAC's back, since he'd recently been having problems with it. We'd gotten a pretty decent rate using an AP code (since I planned to return to Florida at least 2 more times this year, I thought it made sense to grab an AP), and I spent the next couple of months bugging my girlfriend (aka DGF) for information about the resort (since she'd stayed there several times with her folks). I was afraid the Contemporary would be too old fashioned. Too seventies. I was concerned about having a "boring" water view room in the Wing section. I was concerned that we'd gone way over our intended budget. I really wanted to stay at the AKL or WL, but didn't want to be on bunk beds and didn't like the layout of the rooms for this particular trip. The CR seemed just right for our journey. Right before ordering our plane tickets, we changed our arrival date by a night -- which meant we'd either have to pay an additional night at CR, or find something affordable. Since we had planned on visiting Downtown Disney the first night, we decided to stay at the DD Hilton, which was literally a block away from Downtown Disney West Side. Since RAC and I were staying an extra few days after Michele left, we pondered staying where our family lives (about 40 miles N/W of WDW). The week I was making the decision on where to stay, Disney sent me a "welcome back" postcard that offered me a stay at one of the Value resorts for less than 59 dollars for the week we were going to be there. Since most of the hotels in my family's area were $69 and up, I decided to make week two a Disney week as well! We received an even better deal using the AP code, and got 4 days at the All Star Music Resort for less than the amount 2 days cost for the week before (One week was Peak, one week was regular Season, doesn't it figure). I had stayed there last year at this time, and enjoyed my stay enough to want to return.

[geeman]

DAY ONE: A KIND OF MAGIC GATHERING

There's a lot of work that goes into a "Magical Gathering", whether you intended to have one or not. After arriving, RAC & I checked in at the Hilton, which I felt was rather bland, and totally a regular hotel. Nice and clean, mind you. But aside from a Mickey statue in the lobby, didn't really give off that "Disney Resort" feel. The day was muggy, but rain was looming. Before long, we got the call that Michele had arrived, and as we brought her to the Hilton, the rain started coming down torrentially. There went our plans for easy access to Downtown Disney. We drove over to get something to eat, and in the first of the "gatherings", Michele met up with two friends from her area, who had also been vacationing in WDW for the first time, only they'd arrived a few days earlier. They were having a blast so far, and were looking forward to more fun in the next couple of days. We gathered in the Christmas shop for a quick photo -- it was too wet to go anywhere else -- and then looked for a place to eat. While this was going on, I went over to Guest Services to activate my Annual Pass (that I had bought at the Disney store prior to the price increase!).


The CM who attended me was nice and pleasant- but not too meticulous. Thanks to the warnings I'd seen on forums and elsewhere, I decided to check my ticket after it was activated to be sure the date was correct. Would you believe my dismay when I looked at the ticket she'd handed me -- Goofy-- which had a Major goof on it! Not only had she erred by asking me if I'd wanted to "upgrade" my AP-- ("No", I said. "It's the first time I'm getting one".
"Oh, OK. Let me upgrade that for you." Which part didn't she hear?)--
But when she handed me the ticket and the schpiel and then went off to assist another guest, I decided to look at the ticket--- just in case-- and Guess what? The expiration date was 4/11/04. In other words - she gave me an annual pass that expired the same day I had just activated it! I got this fixed with no problem, but I'm so glad I did my research on the AP's, and that every site suggested I check the date. So here is a warning to all of you Annual Passers-- CHECK THE DATE!!!

After this, we found we couldn't eat anywhere at DD without a long wait, and we were all famished, so we were about to give up, when we spotted the dearth of people at the new "Earl of Sandwich". Either we were really hungry after a long day, or those sandwiches were good! I don't remember even having eaten Horseradissh in my life, but those sandwiches were very, very tasty. And not expensive at all. Our first night meal at Disney World cost less than 7 dollars each!!!

[geeman]

DAY TWO: THE UNIVERSAL OF ENERGY
We digress from Disney-going for a moment...
Since RAC is a big Comic book fan, he couldn't wait to check out SPIDERMAN, so we decided to spend our first day in Universal Studios. It had been my first time out there in at least 3 years, and since RAC hadn't been there since it had expanded to include Islands of Adventure, we thought it would be a good place to start there. Through research on the web ( lucky me!), I found 5 days passes could be had for less than the price of a 1 day 2 park pass! I ordered our tickets online and was directed to "Will Call" them and pick them up at a special "Ce-Osk" machine at Universal. Well, OK-- but when we got to Islands of Adventure, after parking in the special access parking lot that was about -- no kidding - a mile away from the entrance to the park, we found that the machines were not working!!! On the PLUS side, we were 'comped' the day's ticket by Guest services (cool!) and were able to pick up our tickets that would be good for another 5 days at Universal, either now, or in the future (even better!).

Islands of Adventure was EMPTY that Monday. We walked on just about every ride, and even did SPIDERMAN twice in a row (that was one awesome thrill ride). After making our way around from Marvel Super Hero Island, to Jurassic Park, to Poseidon's Fury, to Suess Landing, we decided to check out Universal. We were happy that the weather was cool enough for walking. And we'd encountered no wait time at all. We giddily, but wearily, trotted over to Universal. It felt like we were walking for days. RAC's back was beginning to bug him. And my legs were not what they used to be.

As we entered Universal Studios, we found that This is where the crowds were. Hordes of 'em. Tons of 'em. Way too many of them. Every line we wanted to get on had a 60-80 minute wait. We couldn't figure out where to start first, since it was already 3 o'clock and we had wanted to check in early and come back, yet it seemed impossible. At that point I started to get nervous about checking in. I suggested we head back to the hotel after our second long line wait (about 45 minutes for the Men in Black ride).

(This is where Disney comes back into the picture)
We drove over to the contemporary at around 5PM (That is - we LEFT to go to the car at around 5- considering how long it takes to trek back to the parking lot, who knows what time we got there! Has anyone noticed that it's such a long way from the park exit to the parking lot - express parking or not! I don't mind walking - but even I couldn't take much more of it. Bad enough it's a long hike, but then there is loud music blaring at you --- ok, ok, I'm showing my age here. Let's keep going...

We arrived at the Contemporary Resort at around 5PM - I was excited to finally see it up-close and personal. I'm the sort who doesn't think something is complete until we get there and we're all checked in. While the check-in process went smoothly, I did have to wait in line for a good 20 or so minutes before I was attended to. The place was busy, and as I watched people get turned away from upgrades in front of me, I was discouraged from thinking we'd be offered a nice Tower room instead of a measely Garden Wing room. We weren't. But our room was situated on the South Garden Wing with a perfectly centered view of our side of Bay lake. It was a wonderfully spacious room, with enough "Personal Space" for three individual travelers like us.

We checked in and got some immediate rest in. Our sore old muscles were already aching from just half a day of parking lot hopping, never mind park hopping - this was going to be an intereesting week if this was going to be the way it was going to go. I was so happy that the room at CR was so roomy - just perfect for us. From our window, we could see the whole lake as welll as hangliders, launches and make out the light parade as it made its way just around the riverbend (more on that later) I made a beeline for the 'bed' I was most worried about throughout the planning - the Daybed. I quickly checked itout -and found it met myapproval immediately. While some might think it's a bit stiff, it was actually quite cozy - and since it was tucked away in the corner, it was almost like having my own private space away from my "roomies". In fact, we joked about how much room there was between us all. I was relieved that the plans and photos were right after all. After some quick resting, we made our way back to Universal to finish up the night. However, we discovered upon arrival that we had 'lost' our express Parking spot. Since it was after 4 - parking was open to anyone. We got lost trying to find our reserved area, but then made our way to the closest spot possible. After making that trek throught the parking lot, again, We rode as many of the usuals that we could fit in- Jaws, Earthquake, etc. As we were wandering through the park, RAC decided to check and see if the new Mummy ride was open. It had been open for testing, but only intermittently throughout the day. When we arrived at the area that used to house the old King Kong ride, we found there was a 0 minute wait for testing this attraction. Now, there was a bit of an intimidating factor to going on a ride that you have no idea about - particularly when the ads feature a rollercoaster in them, and you are not the roller coaster type. But then again, there are times when that sort of worry just escapes you. You become fearless. Wreckless. And so anxious to see what all the fuss is about - and what the fuss will be about - that you go ahead and do it anyway. Though warning signs indicated this was a high speed, twisting, turning "psychological thrill ride" (there's a term for you), I decided that since this was our first day together, I might as well go along for the ride. After all, at least we'd have a story to tell.

Prior to boarding, you can test out what the 'seats' will be like for many of Universal's big thrill rides. When we saw that this one did not include an overhead harness, we realized it couln't go upside down. It looked more like a regular car ride (like Dinosaur or Indy Jones in CA). Well... without spoiling anything...

The ride zipped and turned and dropped and rose and went through flames and movies and --well, I won't spoil the surprise. It's a fast moving indoor coaster type attraction- of the sort I don't usually do - but found it pretty enjoyable. Thrill seekers among you will definitely enjoy it.

We finished the night with a 90 minute wait in line for Shrek4D. Now - it looked pretty and all - but don't ask me what it was about. I was wiped from the long day we'd had- and even dozed off during the movie. I wasn't a big Shrek fan, anyway. Just as we were finishing the night, a major rainstorm hit. I had to buy a Woody Woodpecker poncho that broke on me before the night was over!
Tired, wet, and hungry, we searched for a place to eat. Can you believe that we couldn't find a place to eat at all that night? Everything from the Motown Cafe down had no openings after 10PM. Now, why wouldn't Universal, of all places, since it's high on deflating the fairytales and pixie dust, not have a place for its guests to eat at once the park closed? We ended up driving around and found an iHop nearby- which hit the spot. (We hadn't realized the Contemporary had a 24 hour food center).

We settled back into our room -- and I was surprised at how comfy the sofabed was. It was cozy and in a corner - and though we were going to toss for it, I decided I wanted the corner with the "view" (I was right by the glasss view of the beach). It was comfy enough for sore muscles. I remembered my glory days of park-hopping, when I never even felt that I'd been walking all day. Ah, what a drag it is getting old.

[geeman]

DAY THREE: KINGDOM HEARTS

In the morning, I was up first- giddy as a schoolboy. I got ready, then ran down and got us some refillls on the coffee (those refillable mugs are a BARGAIN, I tell ya), and took in the view of the Magic Kingdom right at my door. I couldn't believe I was actually THAT close.
We headed out somewhat early - somewhat wearily--Just plain exhausted. But it's hard to calm the excitement for this inner boy who'd wanted to visit this place as a child and never got to. By the time we got to the parks, it was clear it was going to be a busy, packed day. Just going through the entrance took a while. We took in the sights and sounds of Main Street- walked through the crowds - oh, yeah, it was pretty much wall to wall people-- and made our way to a few of the lesser crowded things. We found Mickey's Philharmagic only had a 20 minute wait, so we did that first. Then we hopped on as a many of the small line attractions as we could fit in. At about 4 or so, we decided to go back and relax for a bit, before heading back out for more fun. Rich's back was beginning to hurt him, as well as his feet, and we pondered the necessity of renting an ECV so that he could maneuver around the park better. There's not much I need to say about MK. Every day there-- no, every moment there is magical. We finished up the evening at MK - had a great time wandering through the remainder of the Fantasyland rides and shows. While waiting on line for Peter Pan, though, RAC started feeling a little sick, queazy. He toook a mini break while Shell and I finished some of the others. While sitting on the bench, hunched over in pain, RAC got a wonderful view of the WISHES fireworks show- up close. We felt the explosions and magic going on all around us. We also got to see the Spectro-Magic parade as the park closed. That night, I also acheived my Disney dream of being able to walk back to the resort after the park closed. In all of 6 minutes, I had hiked from the gates of MK to the front of the Contemporary. Being able to do that alone was one of the hightlights of this trip for me.

[geeman]

DAY FOUR:THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY

We headed out early for EPCOT, since we expected to take in so much. And we did. However our hopes for a lighter day at the park were dashed when we caught sight of the crowds as our monorail car zipped through the park -- The place was packed, of course. We decided to make the most of it, anyway. We took the Counter-clockwise route, starting at Imagination, and working our way through the World Showcase. RAC rented an ECV that completely eased his back and foot problems, but halfway through the park, it began to slow down to putt- putt speed. While visiting the American Pavillion, his ECV came to a turtle pace, so we had to back-track and stopped by the international gateway to exchange it. We backtracked a bit more to watch the Fab Four (I'm a huge Beatles fan, so this was a must see!) , then continued with all of the rest of the attractions, thankfully all had minimal waits despite the crowds we'd spotted. We were planning on putting in for Fast Passes in for Test Track, but saw the single rider standby line was only 30 minutes, so we figured we'd be able to do it that way. Unfortunately, those thirty minutes took forever, more than an hour. It might have been better to wait for the 80 minutes and ride together. I'd forgotten about how fast the car zooms up at the end of that ride. Exhilarating, but harrowing fun! We completely ignored Mission Space, mostly because we'd read that it can affect the fluids in your inner ear, and RAC had just gotten over a sinus infection that had landed him in the hospital a few weeks prior.

We hopped around the various spots at Future World. Made quick stop at the Living Seas. Then,after a visit at Universe of Energy , we were off to our one "PS" request we'd made weeks ago: Dinner reservation at Chefs De France. This was their choice- but I thought it was great. We got a great table, a pleasant waiter, and had a nice quiet time. The food portion was humongous for us. I had the French Menu which came with the soup, gigantic chicken, and creme brulee. Good stuff. Though our reservations were for 7:20, we took our time with our meal and gratefully got to watch illuminations right from our very table!

The weather all week had been unseasonably cooler than usual, and this day was exceptionally brisk. We had dressed in shorts and T's in the morning, based upon the news report that showed Mickey sunshine for the rest of the week. But it was so cold that at one point we had to run in to one of the shops (it didn't make sense time-wise to go back and get our coats) and get something long sleeved to wear for the rest of the night. I had also been looking forward to swimming at night at the resorts, but the weather all week did not really allow this.

[geeman]

DAY FIVE: REST AND RELAXATION AT LAST

We stayed in at the Resort on Friday, and thankfully the weather behaved. We spent some time by the pool, then met up with my sister and her family, who came to visit. My 5 year old Godson enjoyed the sites at the Contemporary, especially watching the Monorail zip through the hotel. Another niece joined us, and we took the little guy to (his choice) Jungle Jim's for lunch, near Downtown Disney. The food was OK, but RAC started feeling a little queazy after trying out a Pineapple Burger. The gang headed out for a movie and I stayed behind that night and was able to catch the Electrical Water Pageant over Bay Lake right from my window. That was pretty nifty. The show itself is light and simple, but colorful and, well, just neat! I was able to fulfill my promise to DGF to videotape it for her, as requested. I really enjoyed my stay at this resort. Despite its age, it does still have some nice touches to it.

[geeman]

DAY SIX : WALKING TO THE KINGDOM AND BACK

On Saturday morning, I lived an Annual Passholder's dream: I got up early, and couldn't sleep. I quickly got ready, left a note for my cohorts, and then hiked on over to the Magic Kingdom. The park had just opened, and it was decidedly empty! I had intended merely to take a stroll down Main Street to search for breakfast, just because I felt like it, but the lack of lines led me to try out some of the rides. I quickly jumped on the Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Snow White, Mickey's Philharmagic, Winnie the Pooh, as well as caught the Main Street welcome show, all within ONE HOUR! I headed back to the room, where the other two were just getting up.

We had a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's at our resort - luckily, I'd made my PS weeks ago, as there were no more openings available for it all week. I thought the buffet was pretty good and the characters were cute - stopped to visit with us every now and then.
I would have loved my Godson to have seen this, but he lived too far away to have gotten here in time.

We'd planned to spend the day at Daytona Beach with my family. However, moments before we were leaving, my niece called to tell us that it was a special college spring break weekend at Daytona, and that crowds would be immense and driving would be impossible. We decided instead to visit the family itself - and just hang out with them. Together headed out to Blue Springs National Park, which was a beautiful natural reserve that had lots of gorgeous natural vistas and a blue spring, as well as manatee preserve. It was fun visiting the REAL Florida for a change.

As we drove back to the Contemporary that night, the magical fireworks of WISHES burst up and could be visible around the bend down the highway. So, while I didn't get to actually "watch" the show at the park, I did get to see them from various locations throughtout my trip.Again, we got to enjoy the Water Pageant from our room. For those asking, it usually pulled in shortly after 10:07.

[geeman]

DAY SEVEN: HEY, HEY, IT'S A MONKEE!

Let's see. You'd think that after a full week of this stuff we'd be winding down. That we'd had enough of park-hopping, crowd fighting, Mickey sightings... but it was just the opposite! RAC and Michelle both had an extra hopping day available, so the three of us got up extra early and head on over to the Magic Kingdom for the Extra Magic hour on Sunday morning. We did a lot of the rides we'd missed previously. After a bumpy, crazy ride through Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, I decided it was time to move on to my next task - meeting up with (yet another niece and her family) for a dress rehearsal for my grandnephew's Confirmation. I spent some quality time with my niece and her family, while RAC and Michele continued their park-hopping through MGM and then EPCOT. After our dress rehearsal was done, I headed out to visit with my sister and her clan for a bit again,(nothing like a home-cooked meal!), and then decided to see if I could possibly make it to EPCOT in time to catch the performance by Davy Jones (which I kept talking about all week). I left my sister's area ( which is about an hour away from Orlando) at around 6:30, alternating thoughts in my mind as to whether or not I'd actually make it in time. (You're going to have to park, then walk halfway around the "world". There's no way you can do that by 8:15!). Well, magically, I arrived at EPCOT at around 7:45. I found a convenient spot to park in the third row (it's so cool coming to park at the park at night - you can pretty much park where you want to). I raced in, opened up my camera bag for security, and then, walking briskly and determined, taking in just a few of the magical flowers and gardens, made my way to the American Pavillion. As I walked past China, I noticed for the first time in all my visits that there was a restaurant there! "Hmmm. I wonder if they know?", I thought about my cohorts, who I could not reach via cellphone for some reason. I'd instructed them that I'd be at the Jones concert if I could, and that they could find me there afterward.Well, amazingly, I made it all the way to the America Gardens theater by 8:12 - just minutes before showtime.I found a great empty row, and was able to take in a fun performance by the former Monkee as well as obtain some great video memories of it! Ironically, this was my second Monkee in two months. I recently caught Mickey Dolenz on stage in Broadway's AIDA. My older sister was envious that I was getting to see her teen idols up close and personal!

After the show, i searched for my cohorts, who were nowhere in sight. I decided to head for the exit, as the Illuminations show started around me. For company, idecided to chat with DGF over the phone, since I missed her company on this trip, and thought it would be a fun way to get through the crowds, with EPCOT exploding all around me. I finally did meet up with the other two, who had indeed eaten at the Chinese Pavillion (and raved about it). RAC and Michele had survived a blockbuster day, park hopping between three parks and catching up on all they'd missed during the crowded times earlier in the week. This part of the trip wrapped up as a great success. Once again, we arrived at the Contemporary as the Wishes show exploded in the sky. Before heading up, I took a spot on the beach area to have a Mickey Bar and watch the electrical parade from the shore while relaxing, this last evening at the resort.

[geeman]

DAY EIGHT: IT AIN'T OVER, YET!


On Monday, we sadly checked out of the Contemporary. I never did get a second swim in, as it was always too cool while I was at the area. We took our time checking out, then headed over to Downtown Disney for a goodbye meal for Michele, who was heading back home. We chose Planet Hollywood, mostly because of it's Cap'n Crunch chicken. That place is a bit noisy and dull for me now. Not quite what it was in the early days. We drove Michele to the airport, then checked in to our last Disney resort for this trip, the All Star Music.

I had stayed here last year, at the Jazz Inn, and really enjoyed it. But this time, RAC & I were assigned a room at the Broadway building, which is way in the back of nowhere, facing the Parking lot! That was a disappointment, as was the size of the room. Now RAC understood why we paid the extra to stay at the deluxe. After a week of luxurious space at the Contemporary, which was more than big enough for three of us, this new space was barely big enough for one, let alone two of us. (Well, I'm only kidding, but that's what it seemed like!). After a quick swim in the quiet pool (the weather was at last cooperating), we were off once again to visit and spend more quality time with our family, unsure as to whether there'd be another Disney visit that week.


DAY NINE : MAKING A SPLASH!

I woke up early, went for another early swim. When I got back, RAC asked if his 5 day Park hopper Plus would enable him to visit the water parks. I had often told him about how wonderful the lazy river at Blizzard Beach was, but he'd never gotten to visit it. Not one to turn down a different Disney adventure, we headed over to Blizzard Beach and just took it nice and slow. Mostly had fun by the wave pool and lazy river. Later that day, we made another visit with the family (see, magical gatherings can happen outside of WDW, as well!). Once again, as we arrived that night, we could see the Disney fireworks in the sky!

DAY TEN: WOW, WAS I REALLY GONE THAT LONG?

The day started out too brisk again, but then warmed up nicely. We mostly stayed around the resort that day. Again, I enjoyed the fun of both the Piano shaped pool and the Guitar pool. I like the All Star Music, but the room they gave us was just too far back from anything. I'd have been bored stiff had I not known that the colorful sections were just a walk away. That afternoon, we drove once again to visit with the family, as it was the big day, and the main reason for this trip: my grand-nephew's Confirmation day. Everything went great with the service. I was proud to be sponsoring my niece's young son in such an honorable way. He's a good kid. I don't think he cares too much about Disney (he is 13, after all!), but he's smart and well behaved. After the event, we bid our sad goodbyes to everyone, and then went back to the face the Music, and pack.

[geeman]

FINAL DAY: SEE YA REAL SOON!

On our way to the airport, we realized we had never picked up those tickets from the Ce-Osk at Universal! We made a quick stop there, and again, I had to trek the mile just to get to the machine. But three 5 day tickets were waiting there to be used, so we had to pick them up. Try doing that when you're an hour off your schedule! I'm not planning on going back to Universal, but RAC plans to go there with his parents when we all return for a big family cruise in October. I had inklings of getting up early and visiting EPCOT, since I hadn't gotten to ride Spaceship Earth this time, but then I remembered my Disney days are not quite over yet this year. I'm an annual Passholder this time around! I've GOT to come back.

And indeed I will. Since DGF could not get off the amount of time I had for this particular trip, and since we intend on going somewhere (gasp!) other than WDW later this year, we thought it would be fun to take a quick weekend break to WDW. She needs one, and it just turns out that the Star Wars Weekends are going to be held this year. So, while we can do it, we thought we should. I'll be returning to Disney World in just under a month -- just for a long weekend. Probably the closest time between trips for me! I'm very much looking forward to that journey, but I can't help but feel grateful that I went on this extended trip. I'm glad to have been part of someone's first ever visit to WDW. Glad to have had the opportunity to Park -Hop for the first time in ages. Glad to have been able to visit a place that makes me feel young all over again. Glad to have been able to spend so much quality time with my family. Though they didn't venture into the parks with us, it was our visit to the parks that brought us all together for the first time in years!

While people in our age group can probably find worthier pastimes, I will never regret the fun times I've had at Disney World. They are more than just Theme Parks to me. They are a place to kick back and have fun. And isn't that what vacation is supposed to be about in the first place?

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed the ongoing saga. :-)

[Towncar T]

Originally Posted by geeman

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed the ongoing saga. :-)

I certainly did. Thanks for taking the time to write this. I know what it's like.

[tinkerbell]

:) wow fantastic trip report

[ilvminnie]

Great trip report...made me wish I could've been there, too! Just goes to show you what Rafikiman & I tell folks all the time: You don't have to have kids with you to enjoy WDW!!!!! We become the kids, instead!!!

[BuzzLightyear]

Thanks for sharing !!
I'll be in the Contemporary south garden wing in a few short weeks. Was glad to hear you liked the resort.