Background

This is my fourth trip to Walt Disney World. My first trip, with five friends, was from July 12-21, 1996, for which I still have not written a trip report. My goal is to document it in some form eventually. My second trip was in 1998 when I was part of the Walt Disney World College Program. I worked at the Columbia Harbour House in the Magic Kingdom from June 2-August 23, 1998. I did write a trip report for the time that I spent living, working, and playing there! My third trip, for which there is also a trip report available, was with two of my friends earlier this same year from June 4-18, 1999

I started thinking about a return trip to WDW in June, while I was still on my trip. I think other "Disney Compulsives" understand exactly what how this can happen! The thoughts bounced back and forth in my mind during the remaining days of my trip and for about a month afterwards. I did not plan anything serious, I was only thinking of the best way to make use of the new Premium Annual Pass that I purchased for my June trip. I figure that if I can go two more times, before it expires in June 2000, it will have definitely been worth the money.

Around July 10, after talking with other fellow Disney fans through the Internet, I decided that I wanted to go to the big RADP meet that is held every December. I have read about it on Deb Wills’ wonderful site, and it always sounds like so much fun. Since my park pass was already paid for, the only things I had to concern myself with was hotel accommodations and plane fare.

A few weeks before I left for WDW in June, I found a wonderful site called ‘Free Ride.’ At this site, you click on a few links each day to visit other web sites, earning points for each one. Once you have accumulated enough points, you can trade them in for a large amount of items…free CDs from CDNOW, clothing, food, gas, hotel rooms and a large assortment of other items!

One of the hotels that you can exchange points for gift certificates is the Courtyard by Marriott. Since there is a Courtyard hotel right next to Downtown Disney, I figured this would be the perfect spot to stay…especially if I can stay without using any of my own money. In order to get a gift certificate, you have to earn enough points to exchange. It only takes about 3 weeks to earn a $15 certificate, and about 4 weeks to earn a $20 certificate. It only takes about 10 minutes a day, which is nothing compared to the amount of time I normally spend online reading about Disney! I figured I could spend a few minutes out of each day to devote to earning points in order for me to go to Disney! I also had several of my relatives and friends sign up to earn points as well. They promised to exchange the points they earn into gift certificates for me. From June to November, I should have about $500-$540 in gift certificates to use at the Courtyard by Marriott, which is more than enough for a four or five day stay!

Another way to use them is just earn enough gift certificates to cover one night’s stay at the Courtyard (Approximately $100.) Many people do not like to spend money on a Disney resort for their first night’s stay since they are not there for the entire day, so they book a cheaper room at an off-site motel. By earning enough gift certificates for the Courtyard, you can get a free night’s lodging at a decent hotel! Not only is it free (or almost free if you do not earn enough gift certificates), but it also has the added benefit of being "on-site" since the Downtown Disney Resort Hotels are on Disney property!

You can also get gift certificates good at Planet Hollywood. It is a perfect way to try that restaurant without spending any of your own money! If anyone is interested in joining this perfect (and easy) way to get free things, just visit their web site, http://www.freeride.com. When you sign up, make sure you put in my user-name BaseballFan, and you will begin with 100 points. If you leave it blank, then you will begin with zero points. If you have any questions about how to join or about the program itself, just email me at Yankees23@donniebaseball.com.

On July 12, I visited Disney’s web site and make a reservation request (#291953766662) at the All-Star Movies for December 1-7. A day later I received an email confirmation telling me that the Movies was full for the dates I requested and my reservation was made at my second choice resort, the All-Star Music. When the confirmation arrived in the mail a week later, it was back at the All-Star Movies Resort. I figure that a room became available at the All-Star Movies and they moved my reservation back, or the email that was sent to me contained an error. In any case, on July 22, I sent in my deposit of $82.88.

The next day I made a reservation (#1584491831), using Expedia’s web site, at the Courtyard by Marriott. This particular resort is right next to Downtown Disney, and the dates I reserved were for the same time span as the All-Star Movies reservation. As the trip gets closer, I will amend each reservation to reflect the actual days that I will be staying at each resort.

The reason that I made two reservations was that the All-Star room is cheaper per night than the room at the Courtyard ($74 versus $119, tax not included.) The amount of days that I spend at the Courtyard will depend on how many days my gift certificates will cover. If I only have enough for 3 days, then I will reduce the Courtyard stay to 3 days and change my arrival date at the All-Star resort. I doubt that I can earn enough certificates from July to November to cover the entire stay, even with all the people earning certificates for me, but I am hopeful. However, once I exchange all these points in for gift certificates in November, I will immediately start earning them again. I am almost positive that I can earn enough points for a free week by May 2000!

On August 7, I ordered my first gift certificate. Although it said it would take two weeks to arrive, it arrived exactly one week later on August 14. After reading the gift certificate, I noticed that one of the conditions of using it was that any reservation had to be made by calling the phone number on the back of the certificate. I immediately called the telephone number, canceled my old Courtyard reservations and made a new one. This was very easy to do, and they assigned me a new reservation number, 81599676.

The only problem that I encountered was that the new reservation was for $129 per night! I asked them why it was $10 more per night and they could not answer me, but since I *had* to make the reservations through that number, there was nothing I could do but accept it.

On August 25, Deb Wills announced the dates for the meets during RADP week in December on her web site. I went through the list and picked out the ones that I was most interested in attending. Some required advance reservations and payment. The first one that I signed up for was the "First Annual Magic Kingdom Fireworks Cruise," which was scheduled to take place on the evening of December 7. Although the plan was for my trip to end on December 7, I was thinking of extending it by a day or two either at the beginning and/or at end of the trip. So, I emailed the host of the cruise and reserved a spot. If I decide to leave on December 7, I only have to do so before I send the money for this cruise.

On August 27, I reserved a spot on the December 5 Illuminations Cruise. About a dozen people from a Disney mailing list that I am a member of will be on this cruise with me. I mailed off my check for $15.00 to the host of the Illuminations cruise on September 3.

I also called Disney the same day to extend the trip by two days so I have some flexibility when the time comes for me to purchase my airline tickets. I changed the dates by adding one day on each end of the trip. Instead of December 1-7, my reservation at the Disney resort is now November 30-December 8. I also asked about discounts. I was told that there were none for the All-Star Movies, but if I wanted to switch my reservation to the All-Star Music, then I could get the Magic Kingdom Club rate of $74 a night including tax! I told the CM to make the change! Because he had to cancel my old reservation and make a new one, my reservation number became 292392672659. Since I was in such a Disney mood that day, I went to the movies that evening and saw ‘Tarzan’!

On August 29, I emailed Bruce Metcalf and made a reservation (#25) at the "Iago & Zazu Live!" event that he is sponsoring on December 6. I mailed him a check for $35.00 on September 10.

Two days later I ordered one of the RADP T-shirts (which arrived at my home on September 27) and sent in another $15.00 for that. I also started to think about the Magic Kingdom fireworks cruise. I have not heard yet about how I am supposed to pay for it. If I do not hear from her within a week, I will contact her and ask about it. I received my email confirmation, but no details on how to pay.

About a week later, on September 9, a friend of mine on the Disney mailing list, Roberta, made an announcement that she checked with Delta Airlines and found that their rates for the time of my trip had dropped. After reading that message, I immediately checked Delta’s web site and found that the fare for my trip was now $159.08. I had been checking it on a weekly basis and last week it was $228.39! I never saw the rate from Hartford to Orlando that low before…so I immediately purchased a round trip ticket for the flight. The only thing that I do not like about it is that I have a short layover in Atlanta on the way down. This is not too bad, but I would rather the layover have been on the return trip! The tickets arrived by mail four days later.

The dates for my trip were now official and etched in stone…December 1 through December 8. Now all I have to do is change the dates of the two reservations that I hold, once I figure out how I am going to divide the 7 days between the two resorts. I plan on starting the trip at the Courtyard by Marriott and ending it at the All-Star Music. The deciding factor will be how many gift certificates I can accumulate to cover the cost of the Courtyard room. This will be something new for me…staying at more than one resort during a single trip, and also staying at a non-Disney resort…but it is something I must to in order to afford the trip.

The next day I exchanged some points in at Free Ride for a $15.00 gift certificate to the Courtyard. As of this date, I only have $35.00 in gift certificates…but I should reach my goal of $500 by the time I depart for Florida!

About this time, when the latest issue of the Disney Magazine arrived at my home, I almost screamed! There was a huge advertisement in it for the Downtown Disney resorts. One of them, the Courtyard that I will be staying at, advertised $89 a room night from August until December 22! Since my trip was during those dates, I decided to call them and try to change my room rate to this cheaper one. Since I did not finalize the dates of my trip until a few days ago, I postponed calling until September 11.

The ad in the Disney Magazine had a different telephone number than the one I was required to call to use the gift certificates, but I figured it would be worth a shot. I called the telephone number on the back of the gift certificate and I gave them the code that was in the magazine. They informed me that they could not do anything with it. They said that it was probably a promotional rate that required calling the other telephone number. I almost gave up and accepted the fact that I would have to pay $40 more a night for the room, even though I'm not really paying since I will mainly be using the gift certificates. However, I asked her if there were any cheaper rates than the one I already had. She searched in her computer and found one for the same dates at $99 a night! This was great! $30 a night cheaper than the old rate...and only $10 more a night than the rate in the magazine! And, the best part is that I now had a KING size bed for just me instead of 2 double beds, which is what my original reservation had! I had her make the change, although I kept the dates as December 1-7. Although I am staying until December 8, I doubt that I will be staying at the Courtyard until then. I will definitely be spending four days at the Courtyard, but it might be as many as five or six days! Until I know the amount of gift certificates that I will have, I am not changing the dates for the reservation at the Courtyard.

It was also during these ensuing weeks of September that the Disney mailing list I was on started discussing the trip. There are about 12 of us going to WDW at the same time, and we are comparing our plans to see when we could all meet. We plan to meet at some of the ‘official’ RADP events, but we are also planning some of our own meets. I also made sure that each day I went online and earned my points! I want this trip to be relatively cheap, so I can afford to come back one more time in early 2000 before my annual pass expires. The opportunity to get a (mostly) free room on this trip will really help me afford to go again early next year.

I had been contemplating which Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party to attend. There will be three during my stay, December 2, 3, and 6. Based on the RADP meets with my friends from the Disney mailing list, I decided to go to the party on December 3. I have a tentative plan for a trip to Universal’s Islands of Adventure (IOA) on December 2 with a few other people from the mailing list, so I will not be able to make the party on that day. One of my friends that I worked with at WDW in the summer of 1998 now works at IOA and she told me she could get me in free. I never refuse an offer like that!

December 6 is during all the RADP meets, so I am not sure what I will be doing on that day yet. It may turn out that I will go to both of them, but as of today, I have only decided to attend the party on December 3. Therefore, based on that, I called CRO to purchase a ticket to that party on September 12. When I called, their computer system was unavailable because they were in the middle of Y2K testing. I suppose Sunday afternoon is a slow time for CRO, because the telephone only rang once before a CM answered. I guess that is why they chose it for the testing, but why did I have to call while they were doing it? The CM told me to call back in about two hours, but he also said that a more accurate estimate was to call back tomorrow. He did assure me that there were still plenty of tickets for all the parties in December, so I should have no problems getting them when I call back.

I decided to call back about 4 hours later and the computers were up and running again, although not yet at full speed. It took almost 20 minutes to process the order. The CM and I passed the time by chatting about computers in general. Once the transaction was complete, I had one ticket for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on December 3, and I was $34.75 poorer. The tickets were $31.75, which was $2.00 higher than I read on the Internet. I knew that I would have to pay for shipping, but they added a $3.00 charge to mail it to me! The envelope had 33 cents postage on it, and there is no way that the envelope was worth $2.67! Oh, well…

It was about this time that I started work on an Excel Spreadsheet and planned a day-to-day itinerary of what I will be doing. I wanted to make sure I did and saw everything that I wanted to, and planning it out will allow that. I did this for my June trip and it worked out fantastic! I saw almost everything that I wanted to! I hate coming home and thinking about the things that I should have done, etc., and doing this in June helped prevent some of those ‘regrets.’

The same person who made me copies of old episodes of Walt Disney World Inside Out for my June trip helped me out again! This time he provided me with three 8-hour tapes filled with home videos he shot at the Magic Kingdom over the years! Most of them included complete rides and attractions. It was kind of weird watching someone else’s home movies, but since it was Walt Disney World, I was not bored! In any case, watching those three tapes gave me many hours of enjoyment while I anxiously waited my departure date of December 1.

On September 16, in the midst of my state (CT) getting pounded by Hurricane Floyd, which caused WDW to close it’s parks for the first time in it’s history, I called CRO back and had them modify my reservation again. The reservation that I currently held began on November 30. I made it for that day to give me some leeway when it came time to purchase my airplane tickets. Since my travel dates were set when I purchased the tickets last week, I wanted to alter the dates on my reservation. I know I will be calling back in the ensuing weeks cutting more days off the Disney reservation because of the days that I will be staying free at the Courtyard, but for now I don’t want to alter them. I had no problems making this change, and the CM made a note on the reservation that I was an annual pass holder. I suppose they did this to prevent them from asking me if I needed a park pass the next time I called to make a change on the reservation.

The next thing I planned was transportation to and from the airport. Last June I used Tiffany Town Car for the first time. The service was excellent and I definitely recommend using them. In June, when I went with my two friends, we shared the cost and it came to approximately the same price that one person would pay to use Mears. Unfortunately, the price is a too steep for just one person, so I have to go with Mears on this trip. I used them in 1998 when I participated in the college program. Since the apartment complex that I would be living it was their only destination, I did not run into any problems with using Mears from the airport to my destination. However, on the return trip to the airport, Mears forced me to leave several hours earlier than I would have liked to. I do not wish to repeat this situation because I hate leaving Disney property any earlier than I have to. Unfortunately, with my limited budget, I must cooperate.

On September 29, I called up Marriott Reservations and tried to add an extra day to my trip, making my departure from there on December 8. The reason for this is that one of my Internet friends, Stacy, let me know that she will not be able to take a trip this fall. She has decided to be generous and is giving me the gift certificates that she earned on Free Ride. With these extra certificates, I can most likely afford to spend the entire trip at the Courtyard and not have to switch over to the All-Star Music on my last day. I hate the fact that I will not be staying at a Disney resort, but there are several factors to make me want to stay the entire trip at the Courtyard. The prospect of saving $75 on the room for one night is certainly one, but more importantly, not having to spend any time checking out of the Courtyard and checking into the Music is great! I hate wasting any of my time at Disney, and switching resorts is a time consuming affair that I would rather not be involved in.

When I talked to someone from the Marriott, she said that if I tried to add a 7^th night to my trip, the rate for the room would rise up to $129 per night for every night! Since I already had a $99 a night quote, I did not want to risk losing it, so I asked her if I could just make another reservation for one night only, December 7-8. When she did that, she found that the one night rate was also $99 per night and she could not understand why it went up if I wanted to add this one night to my other reservation. In any case, I now have two reservations at the same hotel, with the same reservation number! When I check in I simply have to tell the clerk what happened and they will most likely be able to keep me in the same room for last night. Even if I have to check out and check back in, at least it is in the same hotel! I also asked about AAA discounts, and there was one available. However, it was only off the regular rate of $129, which would make the room $119 per night, so I declined it!

Around this time, my sister mentioned that she was in need of a real vacation. She has not had time off from work in a few years, and if she was to take time off, she wanted to go somewhere instead of just staying at home. Of course, I suggested Walt Disney World. She is not the Disney fanatic that I am, but she likes Disney to some extent, and she loves the amusement parks in our area. At first, I thought of inviting her to come with me on this trip, but then thought against it. It’s not that I do not want to vacation with her, it is simply that I will be spending a lot of time this trip at RADP meets and skipping attractions that I have ridden dozens of times before. This would be her first trip, so I did not want her to spend it following me around to meets when she would have more fun actually seeing some attractions.

I told her that I heard about annual pass discounts at the moderate resorts for January and I asked her if she wanted to go in January. She thought about it for a second and then said yes. However, she did not want to go alone, so she asked me to go with her. I told her that I would not be able to afford to go to WDW again in January if I went in December. I told her that the only way that I could afford to go was if she paid for the room. This was not a lie, since I am a struggling college student and she has a steady full-time job. Whether I went or not, she would be paying the same price for the room since Disney, like most hotels, charges double-occupancy rates. I would pay for my own airline ticket and any food and souvenirs that I wanted, so she really would not be treating me to anything. In addition, she would be saving money with me going since I can get the room at an annual pass discount and she cannot.

Anyway, to make a long story short…especially since I will be writing another trip report to detail my January trip…I called up CRO in October. I made the reservation for our trip for January 5-12, 2000! I wish I could be there for New Year’s Eve, but this will do!

On October 13, I sent in my check for $15.00 for the RADP fireworks cruise that will be taking place on December 7. One of the main reasons why I extended my trip to December 8 was because I wanted to take this cruise. I had such a good time in June for another RADP cruise, this one on the Grand One Yacht, watching the fireworks that I wanted to recapture just a little of that on this trip. Although it will not be nearly as fabulous as the June cruise, I still am optimistic for this one.

From this point, I just worked on earning my Free Ride points, planning the individual days and trying to keep up with everything else in my life. I cannot devote as much time as I would like to ‘all things Disney’, but I am doing the best I can! In fact, it has reached a point where some of my friends roll their eyes when I talk about Disney. I cannot have a simple discussion without bringing Disney into it somehow! I am sure I am not the only one with this type of situation!

On October 29, I received some disturbing news. It seems that the organizer of the RADP Magic Kingdom fireworks cruise had to cancel her trip due to her husband’s illness. This has made the cruise questionable. One of the other passengers contacted her and informed her that he would take over the organization and implementation of the event, but it has been a week since the announcement and I have not heard anything definite yet. I would take it over myself, but I am not sure that I have the time in my schedule to do so. If I do not hear anything soon, I am going to contact her and see how I can get a refund.

On November 7, I decided that I would have enough gift certificates to stay the entire trip at the Courtyard. As of this day, I have already received $590 worth of gift certificates with approximately another $100 due to arrive before I depart for my trip. Therefore, I called up Disney and canceled my December reservation for the All-Star Music resort. Since I had already sent in a deposit for that reservation, I decided that instead of getting a refund, I would transfer it to a new reservation in March 2000. I don’t know for sure yet if I will return then, but I decided that since I had a week off from college for Spring Break, I may attempt to use my Annual Pass one more time before it expires. So, I had the CM make the new reservation and she transferred my deposit over to the new one. The only bad thing about going in March is that there are no room discounts because it is busy because of Spring Break

On November 9, I received some devastating news. Disney shut down the Skyway at the Magic Kingdom for good…without any advance warning! This is terrible news for me since I had only ridden it during my 1996 trip and I was really looking forward to riding it again this trip.

In 1996, I rode it in July on the very first day that they were painting the castle pink for the 25^th Anniversary Celebration. I got some great photos of that event…and some other great sky views of the park itself. In 1998, I intended to ride it, but every time I attempted, either it the ride was not operating or there was a 30-minute or longer wait. In June of this year, I only tried to ride it once, and it had a 45-minute wait so I did not get the opportunity. If I had known that was my last chance to ride it, I would have withstood the long wait and ridden it. Oh well, live and learn.

On November 22, I called up Marriott and had them switch my Marriott Rewards number to start earning Delta SkyMiles instead of Marriott Rewards Points. Marriott Rewards Points are like frequent flyer miles for airlines. You stay at any Marriott hotel and you can earn points for every dollar you spend. Previously, you were only able to exchange them for discounted or free rooms at a Marriott hotel. I do not stay or plan to stay at a Marriott hotel long enough to earn enough points, so I really did not care how many points I was to earn on this trip. However, recently Delta Airlines became a partner with Marriott and instead of earning Marriott points for every dollar, you could now earn Delta SkyMiles instead. In order for this to happen, you had to place a telephone call to make the change, this is exactly what I did. Although I will not be paying for the room entirely in cash (because of my gift certificates), the entire amount of the bill goes towards the SkyMiles.

Well, today is November 30, the day before my trip. The last of my Marriott gift certificates arrived yesterday…talk about cutting it close! I have a grand total of $730.00 in gift certificates! This means that I will have to pay approximately $50 for the room for the entire 7-night stay! Not a bad deal…I highly recommend signing up for Free Ride just for the benefit of the gift certificates. Even if you only use one email address to earn gift certificates (I used nine), a few minutes a day can easily be turned into enough gift certificates to cover one night’s stay at the Courtyard. I know a lot of people stay at a non-Disney resort their first night in Florida, so why not make it a free night on Disney property? I can not think of a better reason to use Free Ride than a free room at WDW!

I will spend the next hour or two tweaking my itinerary for the trip, and then it is off to college for my classes. I would skip them, but I have an exam tonight and since finals are coming up the week after I return, I do not want to miss more than I already will. I also have to pick up a few items that I will be bringing along on the trip…some pop tarts for a quick breakfast or snack, and several rolls of film.

I gave a friend of mine some money to purchase the weekly Disney pins that the Disney Store is releasing every Friday. Since there are no "Disney Stores" on Walt Disney World property, I cannot pick up the pins this week so I am sending her to do it for me. I do not want to miss a week’s pins simply because I went on vacation! I find it hard to believe that the World of Disney at Downtown Disney, or even the Disney Store at the Orlando Airport, does not sell the pins. Apparently they are extensions of the parks and not part of the ‘Disney Store’ chain. In any case, she will pick them up for me this Friday so I have nothing to fear. The only problem is that my MKC card expires today and the replacement has not arrived in the mail yet. This means that I will be paying full price for the pins on Friday instead of my customary 10% discount! I hope the new card arrives by the time I return from WDW so I can get my discount on next week’s pins.

Not having my MKC card for this trip is not much of a problem. I am not staying at a Disney resort, so I did not need it for a room discount. I also do not plan to spend much on souvenirs, and when I do it will probably only be on items sold only in the parks and not at Downtown Disney. As we all know, the card is only good on merchandise purchased at Downtown Disney. My meals are also going to be at ‘quick service’ locations, where the card is not accepted. The meals I am having at ‘full service’ locations are all with friends that I am meeting. Most of them all have MKC cards, so if any of the places we plan to eat offer MKC discounts, then we have it covered. Therefore, not having it for this trip is not as devastating as it could have been.

A friend of mine, Debra, who I had met when I worked at the Magic Kingdom, now works at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (IOA.) Why someone would leave Disney for Universal is beyond me, but she did just that. Anyway, we had made plans to meet up at IOA with a few other friends of mine from online. She gets a few complimentary tickets during the year and she said she would give one to me. I had not planned to go to IOA this trip, but I could not refuse and offer of this magnitude. Her free ticket, plus the fact that one of my online friends said he was renting a car to take us was all the incentive that I needed. The day before I left I emailed her to remind her that I was coming.

The day before my trip I started to pack, and made sure my VCR was set and had a tape in it. Just because I am vanishing into the Wonderful World of Disney for a week does not mean that I want to abandon the things I enjoy in my everyday life. Luckily, most of the shows that I normally watch are not on during my trip, so I only have to tape three shows while I am away.

The day had finally arrived and I was off to Walt Disney World. As usual, I had trouble sleeping the night before my trip. I think it is the anticipation of going to my favorite place in the world. This is my fourth trip, and the most sleep I ever had the night before was about 3-4 hours. This time I only had about two and ¾ hours.

I tried to get sleep, going to bed at 10:30 PM, however I did not fall asleep until about 1:00 AM. I awoke at 3:45 AM to shower, check my email one last time, and to have a muffin and milk for breakfast. I woke my sister up at 4:30 AM and we left for the airport. We arrived approximately 5:30 AM and I checked in with Delta.

My flight was #523 from Hartford, CT to Atlanta, GA. I hate transfers, but as I said before, flying this way was cheaper than a direct flight. Although the flight was supposed to depart at 6:35 AM, we did not take off until 7:00 AM because some luggage was late getting to the plane and they had to wait for it. Once we were up in the air, the pilot announced that we had a "good tail wind," which meant they even though we took off late we should arrive almost on time. He was right because we landed about 9:15 AM, which was only 10 minutes late! I also believe that it was the smoothest flight I have ever been on, I do not think that we hit turbulence even once!

During my stopover in Atlanta, I called home to make sure that my sister made it home safely from the airport. Then I went to the gate to wait for my flight to Orlando. This flight had a longer delay than the first one, not just for a few minutes, but for almost 2 hours! The flight had a 10:25 AM scheduled departure, but it was noon before we took off. At first, the reason was that the plane was late getting out of the maintenance bay, which was not comforting in the least! Then, once it did arrive at the gate, there was another delay because they had to empty the fuel that was in the plane and then refuel it. I do not understand that, but I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for it. Since I know virtually nothing about planes, I will accept their reason as valid!

After an uneventful flight, we landed at 1:10 PM…about 1 hour and 20 minutes later than originally scheduled. This had little bearing on me, since the official check in time at my hotel was 4:00 PM, so any time before that I considered early. My pre-trip itinerary had some leeway built in, because I figured that even if my plane had arrived on time, I would get to the hotel until 2:00 PM, at the earliest. As it happened, my flight arrived late and went directly to the Mears counter and bought a round trip ticket to the Courtyard ($25.00) and as soon as I hopped on the van we left. I was the first stop, so I arrived at the hotel a little before 2:00 PM, right on schedule! I only had one bag, so I gave the Mears driver a $1.00 tip. I then entered the hotel and checked in.

The clerk was shocked at the amount of gift certificates that I had! I had 37 gift certificates, and I had to sign and date each one when I checked in, which was tiring for my hand! I left a $50.00 deposit for my room to cover the excess amount of the room that my gift certificates did not cover and to open the telephone and charging privileges for my room. Since I was almost never in the room, except to sleep, I never charged anything to the room, so I had a refund coming when I checked out. Since I was early, the room that I had reserved, with the king bed, was not ready yet. I could wait until 4:00 PM for that room, or I could accept a room with two double beds immediately. Since I was in no mood to waste any time sitting around a hotel lobby, I accepted her offer. She said I had a choice of three rooms, and I told her that I wanted the one on the highest floor.

I wound up getting a room on the ninth floor (room #910) with an awesome view of the Contemporary Resort and Space Mountain from inside my room! I had no idea that I could see them from this distance, but I could! From the balcony, I had a nice view of Downtown Disney! I had the bellhop bring my bag up to the room, for which I gave him a $2.00 tip, and I called home to let everyone know that I arrived safely. The room itself was large, about the size of the room I had at the Caribbean Beach Resort back in 1996. The safe in the room is a lot larger than the wall safes at Disney resorts, and the lock is programmable to whatever combination you choose. One nice bonus is that there is a hair dryer in the room, so you do not need to bring your own.

I unpacked all my items, photographed the room and then I went to the balcony to get a look at my view. I went down to the bus stop by 3:15 PM and caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom. It arrived right on time at 3:30 PM, and we were off for a tour of the other Hotel Plaza Hotels, since they share the same bus. The Courtyard, where I was staying, was the first stop and then the Hotel Royal Plaza and the DoubleTree Guest Suites was next. From there we crossed the street and stopped at the Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel. From there, we headed to the Grosvenor, which was the last stop on the route. The two other hotels in the area, the Hilton and the Wyndham Palace, use a different bus line.

We arrived at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), where I went up to one of the ticket windows and got a new "Millennium" ticket sleeve for my annual pass. Then I hopped on the express monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I walked through the gate at 4:00 PM and immediately was amazed at the way it looked. I had never seen it before all decorated for Christmas and I thought it was amazing! The tree was fabulous, and the decorations over Main Street were inspiring! If you have never gone at Christmas, I recommend it because it is truly lovely!

I went over to the tree, where a working toy train was circling it, and I saw the Roy Disney and Minnie Mouse statue! I am so glad Roy is finally getting the honor he deserves. Walt Disney World was Walt’s dream, but after he died, the company could have easily abandoned it. Except for the purchase of the land, nothing had begun yet. Roy insisted that the company should complete Walt’s dream, and it was by his insistence that they call it "Walt Disney World" instead of simply DisneyWorld. The statue is of Roy and Minnie Mouse sitting on a park bench holding hands. It is right at the entrance to Main Street, and they are facing the Railroad Station so that everyone who enters the Magic Kingdom can see it clearly.

From there, I headed immediately to Liberty Square to see if anyone I knew anyone who was working. I stopped at Sleep Hollow, where I talked with Christine who I worked with in the summer of 1998. I bought a chocolate chip cookie ($1.59), which I ate later after dinner. Then I headed to the Columbia Harbour House where I talked with Louis, who I also worked with last year. He saw the few pins on my camera case strap and asked if I wanted to trade pins. His lanyard was in the back, so he went and got it for me. I wound up trading him a Disney Store Fantasia pin for a Mickey Mouse Tower of Terror (2000 Edition). I am not going to get heavily involved in the pin trading, as I am only interested in Donald Duck pins. However, I figured that I would have an easier time trading for a Donald Duck pin later using Walt Disney World pins instead of Disney Store pins, since everyone seems to have them on their lanyards! He also came back with a huge Coca-Cola for me. We talked for a few more minutes, and then I headed to Pinocchio’s Village Haus for dinner.

Although I spent three months working at the Magic Kingdom in 1998, I never ate at Pinocchio’s or at Pecos Bill Cafe. I never made it to Pecos Bill Café this trip, despite my intentions, but I will attempt it again on my next trip. At Pinocchio’s, I ordered a cheeseburger without fries ($3.61.) I had two problems with that. First, the CM looked at me as if I was crazy because I did not want the French fries. She told me that she did not think I could get them without fries, but I told her that you could and I actually pointed out button on the screen that will order just a cheeseburger instead of the combo. It really bothers me that the quick service CMs get so little training before they are put out there in front of the guest. I had the same problem when I worked there. I understand that many of them will not work there for long, as quick service has an extremely high turnover rate, but even one additional day of training would help. The second problem was that I had to correct the CM when she gave me back the incorrect change. I handed her a $10.00 bill, and she gave me back $3.61 (which was the cost of the food) instead of the $6.39 that I should have received in change. She seemed slightly embarrassed by the error, but she corrected the error without question. Upon receiving my cheeseburger, I went over to their "fixings bar" and did the same thing I do when I eat at Cosmic Ray’s, I made a side dish of mushrooms. The only difference is that these mushrooms were terrible! I did not get a chance to sample the mushrooms at Cosmic Ray’s, but I can only hope that they use a different brand!

After dinner, I headed to Tomorrowland and made my first use of the new FastPass system. Disney installed this system shortly after my last trip in June, and after reading so much about it, I was anxious to try it. I reached Tomorrowland about 4:45 PM, and the stand-by line for Space Mountain was about one hour long. There was no way that I would ever wait in that line, so I inserted my annual pass in the FastPass machine and received my FastPass ticket. The return time was between 5:25 and 6:25 PM, which was interesting to me. The stand-by line was about an hour, and the FastPass return time was about 45 minutes from the time I got it. Why would anyone wait an hour for Space Mountain when all someone had to do was get a FastPass and return in 45 minutes?

As I pondered that mystery of life, I decided it was time to go down in the tunnels to see if I knew anyone there. I was only down there a few minutes and I did not run into anyone, so I grabbed a few copies of the latest "Eyes & Ears" cast newspaper and returned upstairs.

I walked around for awhile, soaking in the atmosphere and trying to have a relaxing trip instead of my usual ‘commando’ style. As I walked through Adventureland, I noticed that Pirates of the Caribbean had only a 10-minute wait. This attraction was not on my pre-trip list of "must-do’s," but since I was just killing time until I could ride Space Mountain, I decided to ride it. After Pirates, I walked to Frontierland to check out the two mountains. It was rather cold, so I did not attempt Splash Mountain, although the wait was less than 5 minutes. As I walked over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR), I stopped at the Briar Patch to pick up a crushed Tigger penny for a friend of mine. The wait for BTMRR said 20 minutes. Since it was 5:25 PM, I could now ride Space Mountain with my FastPass, but I decided that I could brave the 20-minute wait for BTMRR and still make it to Space Mountain before the FastPass expired.

I entered the line for BTMRR and I reached the front in about 15 minutes. I told the CM that I wanted to wait for the rear seat. The rear seat on this ride is much better then any other seat on the ride. When the car is going over hills, it feels a lot faster than in the front cars because they have to wait for the rest of the train to make it over the hill before it speeds up. Being in the last car, as soon as you get over the hill you are going fast! In addition, it seems like there is more "hang time" in the rear car. By "hang time," I mean the amount of time that you spend lifted out of your seat during drops.

After BTMRR, I headed to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. The one hour wait from an hour or so ago was almost non-existent. I used my FastPass, but anyone walking into the stand-by line would get on at the same time as I did. For some reason, there was no wait! I chose the right side for this trip.

After Space Mountain, I walked through Fantasyland and I attempted to get to Main Street. I thought that I could beat the Main Street Electrical Parade, but it fooled me. It was near 7:00 PM, and the park was closing for the day. I expected the parade to follow its usual route of starting on Main Street and ending in Frontierland. However, what I had not figured was that when they run the parade at the same time the park closes, it runs from Frontierland to Main Street. I suppose it helps the park empty out, but I wish I had known that before hand because I would have hung around in Tomorrowland instead of trying to beat the parade.

By this time, I was virtually exhausted. I had only had about two and a half-hours sleep, and it was catching up with me. I gave up fighting the crowds and I went into Cosmic Ray’s to sit until the parade passed by.

Once the parade was out of my way, I headed to Main Street and walked briskly down to the Emporium, where I watched the end of the parade as it was circling the road around the flagpole. I decided against leaving at this point since the fireworks were about to begin. I headed up to the area near Casey’s Corner and I waited until the fireworks begun.

I was rather disappointed with the new fireworks. The fireworks themselves were great! However, a big part everything at WDW with me is the music that accompanies certain attractions. I loved the old soundtrack. I really love the "Remember the Magic" song and the fireworks were one of the few places that they still used it. Now it is gone from the Magic Kingdom fireworks (and, as I found out later, it is gone from the new Illuminations.) The only place it is left is in the Magical Moments Parade, which probably will be gone within a year or two!

In addition, I loved the part where they used Walt’s voice. It disappoints me that they removed one of the few places that where Walt is actually a centerpiece. I loved watching the fireworks, hearing Walt’s voice talking about "how it all started with a mouse" and seeing the "Partners" statue of Walt and Mickey right in front of me. To remove something that featured Walt so prominently was a huge mistake by Disney!

It was near 7:30 PM and, with the park now closed, I decided it was time to leave. I had two choices to get back to my hotel. The first one was fighting the exiting crowds and taking the monorail or ferryboat to the TTC and wait in the middle of the parking lot for the bus for the Downtown Disney Hotels. My other choice was to take a short 5- minute walk to the Contemporary Resort, catch a Disney bus to Downtown Disney, and take another 5-minute walk back to the Courtyard.

I chose the second option, for several reasons. First, it seemed quicker since the wait to get on the monorail was tremendous. Moreover, I did not like having to use non-Disney transportation, as I feel it is inferior. The drivers for the most part are nice, however, as you will read later in the report, I had a bad experience with one of them. The buses themselves are nicer than the Disney transportation buses. They are the same types that the Disney Cruise Line uses, with cushion seats and set up higher than the driver is. A few of them even have a restroom in the rear! However, being on a non-Disney bus ruins some of the magic of my trip. It was bad enough that I was not at a Disney resort…did I really have to use a non-Disney bus? The seats were not enough to make up for it being non-Disney. As comfortable as they were, using that bus made me lose some of the magic, and I did not want to suffer any more than I already had. The walk to the Contemporary and later to the Courtyard is relaxing. There is no one fighting you to get somewhere quicker. It is a nice way to take your time and enjoy being in Florida and at Disney. Therefore, except for taking the bus in the morning to get to a park, I never used it any other time!

As I waited for the Disney bus at the Contemporary, I began to realize how cold it was! It was in the 30s, and I felt like I was back home in Connecticut! It really does get cold at night in Florida, so I was glad that I brought my jacket.

The bus picked me up at 7:50 PM and then we made a stop at the TTC to pick up more guests. The line was extremely long, and not everyone made it onto this bus. If I had gone to the TTC from the Magic Kingdom, I would have been in that line waiting for the bus. I am glad that not everyone going from the Magic Kingdom to Downtown Disney knows that it is quicker catching the bus at the Contemporary!

I disembarked the bus at the first stop, the Marketplace, and I enjoyed my 5-minute walk to the Courtyard. The Hilton, which I have to walk past, has a huge lake in front of it wit several fountains in the center. It made the walk more enjoyable looking at that.

Upon arriving at the Courtyard, I went directly into the Disney gift shop inside the hotel, the Disney Gifts & Sundries. I had a pounding headache all day, and after hoping it went away on its own, I broke down and bought some Bayer aspirin. A small container of 12 cost $3.00!

I was up in my room by 8:20 PM, and I called the front desk to arrange a wake up call for 6:30 AM. I also set the alarm; I just wanted to make sure that it worked before I relied on it, which is why I arranged the call. Since it worked perfectly the next day, I never used the wake up service the remainder of the trip.

I turned on the television to help me fall asleep, and right after the Drew Carey Show ended at 9:30 PM, I turned off the television and dozed off into dreamland.

The alarm worked fine and awoke me at promptly 6:30 AM. A few minutes later, I received my automated wake up call. I showered and went downstairs by 7:30 AM to wait for my ride.

Today was the day that I had arranged to go to Universal’s Islands of Adventure (IOA) with a few of the people I had met online. One of them, Binnie, I had met during my trip in June, while this would be the first time I was meeting the others.

A mini van pulled up about 3 minutes after I sat down and the front window rolled down. In that window Beth appeared and promptly called my name out. Since we had never met, either Binnie, who was sitting in the back, pointed me out, or she assumed correctly that I was the person that she was meeting.

I got in the van and introduced myself to the driver, Brian…who lives in the same state as I do…and Beth and her 7-year old granddaughter, Renee. I said hello to Binnie, who introduced me to her 7-year old granddaughter, Alisha, and we were on our way.

As I noticed after spending the rest of the day with them (and even more time later in my trip), Renee and Alisha seemed like lifelong friends…or perhaps even sisters! It is hard to imagine that they did not know each other when their trip began about a week earlier. The two of them are cute, blonde, and energetic! They did not fight at all in my presence, and they rarely wanted to do anything without the other one. I was not the only one to comment on how well they got along. If I am lucky enough to have children someday, I would love to have two girls as well behaved and adorable as these two!

We made a stop at McDonald’s on Sandlake Road, where I ordered the hot cakes and sausage and an orange juice ($4.65). We went inside and ate, while the two girls seemed more interested in the play area that was upstairs. After we finished eating, and after convincing the girls, that the place we were going was better than the play area upstairs, we were back on the road.

We pulled into Universal’s parking lot, where Beth pulled out her annual pass so that we could receive free parking. We parked in the Jurassic Park section and started on the long walk to the front gate of IOA.

When we finally reached the entrance to IOA, I saw my friend Debra, who was meeting me there. I had met Debra in 1998, when we worked together in the Magic Kingdom. She lives in Orlando, so when I am down there I try to meet up with her. In June, we hung out one day at the Disney-MGM Studios and Epcot. She no longer works for Disney, as she now works at IOA. Through our various email conversations, I mentioned that I wanted to visit IOA one day during my trip. She informed me that she receives a few complimentary passes during the year and, if I wanted, she would be more than happy to give it to me. I told her that would be great, but only if she made sure she took the day off from work to visit the park with my friends and I.

I introduced Debra to the others, and we entered the park as soon as those who needed passes purchased theirs. It was 9:00 AM, and the park was fully open. We were all amazed at how empty the park was. This was a running conversation all day, even in the middle of the day…and it was a warm, sunny day…the lines were almost non-existent. Debra says that they advertise the park a great deal in Florida, but the rest of us could not remember the last time any of us saw an advertisement for the park. To stress the point, I told them about a conversation that I had with another friend of mine who I worked with in 1998. I told her that I was going to meet up with Debra and visit IOA, and she asked me what that was. When I explained it to her, she said she never heard of it! I think that if Universal really wants to compete with Disney, then they need to advertise in the rest of the nation. Locals may know what IOA is, but the rest of the country seems to be clue less…and the crowds proved that point. In any case, I was not complaining because it meant shorter lines for us!

The first thing that we did when we walked through the gate was having a group photo taken by an employee. She took several photos, and then took one of just the girls. They will be ready for viewing by the time we left the park.

As we stood there at the Port of Entry and wondered where we should go first, I suggested we go to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. The reasons why I choose this were twofold. I really enjoyed this attraction when I went on it in June, and because even in June when the lines were quick everywhere else, this attraction always had a long line. Everyone went on it, and we all enjoyed it. This was Brian’s first visit to IOA, and I think it was Alisha’s and Renee’s first visit as well. The two girls enjoyed it so much that they wanted to ride it again. Since none of us was in a rush, and because I enjoyed the ride, we all went on it again…without a wait since there were still no lines.

After Spider-Man, we walked over to Doctor Doom’s Fearfall. The girls were not tall enough to ride, and no one else wanted to ride it. I have not ridden this ride yet, and I would like to, but I still was suffering from the headache I had last night and I did not think I was ready for the ride at that time. I made a mental plan to go back to it before I left, but I did not find the time. Anyway, we backtracked through the Port of Entry and entered Seuss Landing.

We went on The Cat In The Hat, which was the only ride I rode in Seuss Landing in June…when it broke down several times while I was on it! This time it worked perfectly, and I really enjoyed the spinning. Brain mentioned that the spinning bothered him, but Renee loved it so much that she wanted to ride it again. Beth somehow convinced her that it would be better for all of us to ride another ride instead. We all went over to One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, which is just a long funny name for a Dumbo-style ride around water. Beth became the designated adult who rode with the two girls, while the rest of us sat down and watched. They were all ready to ride, when they could not get on the ride because there are only two cars that fit three people. The first one was already full, and the other was soaking wet, so they waited until the next loading before they rode.

From there, we walked across the path and onto the Caro-Seuss-el, a merry-go-round. Binnie convinced me to ride it, despite my objections. I felt silly ridding it, as I do Cinderella’s Carrousel, but it was not that bad, and it did not last long. We then left Seuss Landing and headed in the Lost Continent where we all entered Poseidon’s Fury: Escape from the Lost City. This is a nice show, and the actor playing Poseidon was not bad! We all got a good view of the vortex of water forming, which Binnie commented on because she did not see that happen in June. It really is a great site, and it still amazes me that water is able to do that! We were in the front row for the finale, and we still have no idea how that wall appears!

From Poseidon, we made a quick stop at a restroom (something that happens quite often when little girls are involved) and headed to the Dueling Dragons. The line for this was non-existent! Only Binnie, Debra, and I were brave enough to ride this. We stowed our stuff in the free lockers outside the entrance (Why does Disney not have these?) and as we were walking the queue line, we wondering what could Universal have been thinking. The entire queue area, both indoor and outdoor, looks like it could hold several thousand people. If the entire queue was full, I think it would be a 5-hour wait. Universal is very optimistic, because I have never seen this line longer than a 15-minute wait!

When we reached the loading area, Binnie convinced us to wait the extra 5-minutes to ride in the front seats. I had ridden the Ice side in June, and I wanted to try the Fire side, but Binnie told me that the Ice side was better in the front seat because of "the wall." I was anxious to find out what she meant, so we joined the line for the Ice side. My impression of this view was awesome! There is a part on the Ice side where you look like you are going to crash right into a wall. I did not notice it in June because I did not have a front seat, but I would definitely wait the extra time in the future to ride in the front because the experience is unmatched! I think this is my favorite inverted roller coaster! The Hulk seems tame compared to it, and at this time I still had not ridden the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster at the Disney-MGM Studios.

We retrieved our belongings from the lockers and met up with the others. It was almost 11:30 AM, so we decided to see the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Show. However, we stopped at the Mystic Fountain first, where the girls had a great time. The talking fountain entertained them so much that they talked about it several times later in the week!

We went into the show and saw another brilliant performance. This is an entertaining show; I really like the woman who plays the princess…she was the same one who performed when I saw it in June. She has one of the best stomachs that I have ever seen…I wonder how many hours a day she works out! I wish I had that kind of dedication! Be on the alert, as the "Splash Zone" extends further out than is marked on the seats. We sat about two or three rows behind the splash zone and we still got wet!

After the show, the girls stopped to visit the fountain one last time and they asked it his name. He told them his name was Wilbur, so they spent a good deal of the remainder of the day telling us that they missed Wilbur!

Everyone was now beginning to get hungry, so Beth picked the Confisco Character Café at the Port of Entry. It is the same as a character meal at Disney, where characters make appearances during your meal. They thought it would be a great place for the kids, so we made the trek there. Since we did not have reservations, we had to wait about 5-10 minutes before we they sat us. During the time we were waiting, I suggested that Debra inquire about whether she gets a discount or not. She asked and was informed that she gets a 25 % discount, but only if we were all put on the same bill. This was not a problem at all.

Once they sat us, we ordered our meals. I had the turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and an ice tea. After the discount, and including the tip, my share was $11.00.

The food was excellent, and the kids seemed to have a great time. There were plenty of characters there…Spider-Man, Betty Boop, Popeye, Olive Oyl, Dr. Doom, The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, Dudley Do-Right, and a gypsy fortune teller. Olive Oyl made an impression on the girls when she signed their autograph books. They handed her their books to autograph and when she signed them, she personalized it to each of the girls. They were amazed that she knew their names without them telling her! Of course, they did not see Olive open the book quickly to the front where the girls had their names written! Another moment to remember was that when Betty Boop visited our table, she walked behind me and kissed me on the top of my head!

From there, we took the Island Skipper Tours from the Port of Entry to Jurassic Park. We planned this route, because that is where we left off when we went to eat. It was a nice relaxing ride, but there must be something about boats because Renee seems to have to use the restroom whenever she is on one!

Since the girls (Binnie, Beth, Alisha, and Renee) also had to change into their "wet clothes" so that they could ride the water rides, we stopped at the restroom in The Burger Digs, where Debra happens to work!

Once everyone was changed, we headed to the Jurassic Park River Adventure, where everyone had a great time. However, this was Brian’s last ride of the day; I do not think he likes thrill rides all that much! Therefore, everyone except Brian went on the next ride, Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Toon Island, where we all proceeded to get soaked while Brian waited on a bench outside the ride watching all of our stuff.

We went to the last water ride, Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges, where we found out that Renee was not tall enough to ride it. Beth said that if Renee could not ride it, then she was not going to ride it. Alisha also decided that if Renee was not riding, then she was not riding either. Brian was sitting this one out anyway, so while the girls went to Me Ship, The Olive Playground to have some fun, Binnie, Debra, and I went on the raft ride. After getting thoroughly soaked, we me up with Beth and Brian who were sitting outside the play area waiting for the girls. Binnie suggested that she would stay and wait for the girls if Beth wanted to ride the Popeye raft ride with Debra and me. Beth accepted that offer and I went on a second time, getting just a little bit wetter than before.

After the ride, we met up with the others and dragged the girls from the play area. We headed to Marvel Super Hero Island where Debra and I rode the Incredible Hulk Coaster while the other ladies changed back into their dry clothes.

The only thing left that they wanted to do was see the Christmas Story Starring the Grinch Show in Seuss Landing. The last show was at 4:45 PM, so we had about 20 minutes to kill before the show. We walked to Seuss Landing and let the girls play in the If I Ran The Zoo Playground. It was there where we saw an interesting sight…a young couple was letting their son…probably about 2 years old…walk around completely naked. I did not think this was appropriate at all, especially since other children where around.

As the time approached, we headed over to the area to see the show. The girls sat down on the pavement next to a raised ledge that had three spaces marked "reserved" on it. While the adults walked around or sat further away, one of the characters in the show went up to the girls and asked them if they wanted to be part of the show. When we saw that the girls were sitting in the "reserved" seats, we all got closer and took out our cameras. They took Renee behind the stage and gave her some type of antlers to wear on her head during the show. She was playing the role of "Cindy Lou Who." I am sure that this was the high point of her day, as Beth informed us that Renee absolutely loves the Grinch!

Once the show began, they made her crouch behind some boxes of presents while the Grinch "stole Christmas." Later, they brought her onstage to meet the Grinch in person. At the very end of the show, they brought Alisha onstage. It was very cute, and very well done. They gave Renee a large "Grinch" lollipop for her efforts. When the show ended, the girls stayed onstage and had some photographs taken with the Grinch and other members of the show.

Upon completion of the photographs, no one had anything else that they wanted to do. The only remaining thing to do was to look at the group photograph of us that we posed for when we entered the park. We entered the store and looked at the photo. Binnie and Beth decided to pick up a copy of one of the group photos as well as the one of the girls. After that, we went exited the park.

Brian wanted to stop at the NASCAR Store that is outside the entrance and in an area called CityWalk, which is Universal’s version of Pleasure Island. He picked up a few items there, and then we made the long walk back to the van. We said goodbye to Debra, who arrived in her own car, and we headed back to Disney property.

At this point, everyone had plans of his or her own. I believe Brian was meeting someone for dinner and the ladies had something else planned. My plan was to head to Epcot to catch the 8:15 PM Candlelight Processional.

The ladies were staying at the All-Star Music, so Brian headed there to drop them off. I did not intend to return to the Courtyard at this time, and I thought it would be easier on Brian if I got off here and caught a Disney bus to Epcot. Therefore, after he dropped the ladies off at their building, he drove me to the front of the All-Star Music and let me out at the bus stop.

I waited about 10 minutes for a Disney bus to Epcot. At this time, it was approximately 6:15 PM and I was getting hungry.

Upon arriving at Epcot, I took a few moments to take in the sight of the "2000" Logo above Spaceship Earth and to look at the new Living Legacy Monuments. I really like the logo above Spaceship Earth, but the monuments were not impressive. I hope that when the Millennium Celebration is over they move them to another part of the World…perhaps the TTC.

I walked quickly through Future World and to Showcase Plaza where the Lights of Winter display and the Christmas tree where. The Lights of Winter is a brilliant display of synchronized lights, and looking at them with the Christmas tree in the background was a sight to behold! I am amazed at how much time and effort Disney devotes to celebrating the Christmas season; it makes me wonder why I never visited WDW in December before!

After staring in wonder at the display, I headed into World Showcase, where I saw for the first time a Living Statue in France. As hungry as I was, I decided to stop and watch her for a few minutes. It was fabulous how she kept so still, and it is amazing that she is able to do all this while her eyes are only partially open. In fact, from a distance, they look 100% closed, but I know she had to have had them partially open to do some of the things that she did. The funniest moment was when she took a camera from one of the guests, hid it in her robe, and would not give it back until he kissed her cheek and got down on one knee and begged!

After leaving France, I headed to the American Adventure and the Liberty Inn, where I purchased a chicken and fries basket and a cup of water ($6.35). Although it was starting to get cold, I ate my dinner in the seats outside, while I listened to the end of the second performance of the Candlelight Processional. As soon as I finished eating, that performance ended and I headed to the general admission line.

I only had to wait about 15 minutes before they let us in. The seat that I chose was excellent. It was only three rows back from the "dinner package" seats, and in the center. I had a great, unobstructed view!

The guest narrator was Angela Bassett, and she was wonderful. The choir and orchestra were also impressive. I thought this show was one of the best that I have ever seen at WDW, and I wish I had made the time to see it again before I left. It is something I would definitely do again if I came down during the Christmas season! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I bought a recording of it right after the show at the American Adventure Carts. The total cost of the CD was $21.15, but well worth it!

There was only about 15 minutes left before Illuminations 2000: Reflections of Earth was set to begin, so I headed to the United Kingdom to view it. I had a decent view, some obstruction by trees, but I had an Illuminations Cruise scheduled a few days later so it was not as bad as it could have been.

The show itself is a dramatic improvement over the last version. I never really cared for Illuminations, but this new version was leaps and bounds ahead of the old one. The only thing missing was all the lasers that the last version used. I would not have minded if they had left a few of them in.

As soon as Illuminations ended, I exited Epcot via the International Gateway and took a leisurely stroll to the Boardwalk. I would have less crowds to fight because the park is closed. Everyone would be fighting to leave the park at the front. They had the Boardwalk decorated for the holidays, and, as usual, Disney has done a fine job of it!

I went to the bus stop and had about a 10-minute wait for the Downtown Disney bus. I exited at the first stop, the Marketplace, and took that relaxing stroll back t my hotel. I arrived at approximately 10:30 PM, I settled in and was asleep within the hour.

The alarm clock woke me up at 6:10 AM, and I showered and ate a quick pop-tart breakfast. I looked at the USA Today, which is left at foot of my door each weekday, and then I went downstairs with the intention of catching the 7:00 AM bus to the Animal Kingdom. It was after I left my room that I noticed that I no longer had my room key. I was not sure if I lost it, or left it in the room, so I stopped at the front desk on my way out and had them make me a new one. When I returned at night, I could not find the old key, so I must have lost it somewhere. In any case, I had no problems getting a new key made; I only had to show my driver’s license.

Almost as soon as I walked outside, the bus for the Animal Kingdom arrived. I hopped aboard and we made our way to the other hotels before heading to the Animal Kingdom. We arrived at approximately 7:20 AM, and I waited in line until they let us in at 7:45 AM.

I took my time and walked slowly to Countdown to Extinction. It was a walk on, there was no one there; I guess everyone went to the safari first! I was the only one in the building, and the CM at the entrance talked to me about some hidden things in the pre-show film. One of them was the little girl that is in the vehicle before the trip becomes an older woman by the time the ride ends! In addition, the Paleontologist, Dr. Seeker, his first name is Grant…as in "Grant Seeker!" He mentioned one or two other things, but I cannot remember them.

I was the only one in the car, and the CM loading the vehicle told me that I should sit in the last row, on the left side. She said it was the best seat in the house. The only thing good about it is that that is the seat where you get the closest look at the dinosaurs that are attacking from that side. Nothing special for someone who has ridden the ride as much as I have, but a great seat for someone riding for the first time. I am going to make sure my sister rides there on our trip next month!

When the ride was over, the CM asked if I wanted to ride it again, I declined. I exited the ride and noticed that they changed the entrance to the ride again. When I fist visited it in June 1998, there were water fountains in the front that kids used to play in. In June 1999, they fountains were drained and filled with plants. Now, while the plants remain, there are higher walls around the area so that you cannot even sit down. I preferred the original setup; it was more eye pleasing.

I headed over to the Tree of Life to see It’s Tough to be a Bug! This is one of my favorite 3-D movies, much better than Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and almost on par with Muppetvision 3-D! As I was making my way to the entrance, I saw Binnie, Beth and the girls trying to talk the CM into a pin trade. They mentioned that they were going to be at the Animal Kingdom today, and we had made plans to meet up at the first Tarzan Rocks show. However, since I saw them early, I decided to see what they were up to next. They told me that they were not going to see the movie, because it frightened Renee when she went to see it earlier in their trip, so they planned on going to the Kilimanjaro Safaris. They invited me to join them, which I accepted.

We walked to the safari, and there was no wait. We went through the entire queue in a matter of minutes and sat in the front seats of the safari vehicle. Alisha made a comment to me about "still loving my girlfriend." It took me a few seconds to realize what she meant by that comment. She was referring to Betty Boop kissing me yesterday at IOA! I had a good laugh about that!

This trip on the safari was better than my other trips on it. Although the bridge effect did not work, there were many animals out. The best time to go on this is in the AM, because there definitely are more animals awake and active. In addition, the CM that held the poachers captive with the gun was very energetic. Perhaps it was because it was early, but I have never seen the CM with that job act as if they really were capturing poachers before! It really makes a difference when the CM seems interested in his or her job!

After the safari, they were going to walk through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, while I decided that I would go back to the Tree of Life for the 3-D movie. As I have said before, I really enjoy this show, but in the waiting area there are all sorts of posters promoting "bug movies" that are parodies of real movies. I never spent the time reading them before, but this time I read them all. Some of the titles were hilarious!

After the show, I headed to Island Mercantile to buy another pressed Tigger penny for my friend back home. I also stopped at the Coffee Kiosk and purchased a bagel with cream cheese and an orange juice ($3.40). I sat on a bench next to the kiosk and ate my breakfast.

As soon as I was done eating, it was about 9:30 AM. I had some time to kill before the first Tarzan Rocks show at 10:30 AM, so I headed over to the Tusker House, where I heard there was a Tigger crushed penny machine. When I found the machine, I noticed that it was the same design as the one at Island Mercantile, so I did not make another one.

By now, it was warming up and I decided to brave getting wet on the Kali River Rapids. The ride was a walk on, and I got drenched! The log on the truck that moves did not work this time, which was disappointing, but I still had fun.

I could have ridden it a second time, but I had to start walking over to Dinoland, USA to meet Binnie, Beth, and the girls for the Tarzan Rocks show! As I stood in line, I noticed that they were at the very beginning of the line. Beth saw me and waved, and I attempted to reach them, however it was too crowded and I did not want anyone to think I was cutting in line. I just signaled them to hold me two places. The reason why I signaled for two places was that as I was trying to reach them in line I ran into Brian, who I had gone to IOA with the day before. At this point, I stopped trying to reach the front of the line and I waited with him.

When they let us in, I looked for the ladies, who were holding a seat for us in the front row of the area behind the walkway that runs through the middle of the theater. I think this is a better seat than in the front section, because the entertainers come out into the middle of the theater and into the walkway right in front of us. If we were sitting in the closer section, we would have either missed that, or had to turn around to see it. Beth had seen the show before, so she knew the perfect place to sit.

I enjoyed the show tremendously! Beth did not like the beginning and the end, where it was a "concert," with the entertainers singing the songs from the movie. However, I love the songs from Tarzan, and I think they did a great job of performing them, so I was not disappointed with those sections of the show. However, I was disappointed that the songs were a large part of the show and Tarzan and Jane were a small part of it. I would like to see more of them in the show that what they presently have. But, other than that, I loved the show and feel that it is a vast improvement over the old Journey into the Jungle Book show that they had in this theater in 1998.

After the show, we went our separate ways again. Brian had to meet someone for lunch at his resort, while the ladies were planning to have lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue. I was hungry as well, but I was not in the mood for what the Flame Tree was serving. Therefore, I went over to Asia, where I was waiting for the Flights of Wonder Show to begin, and I purchased a cheeseburger, potato chips, and a glass of water ($5.57) at Mr. Kamals. I ate it at one of the tables across from it, while I looked over my itinerary and mapped out the remainder of my day.

When I was done eating, I headed to the Caravan Stage to watch the noon Flights of Wonder Show. This is my third time seeing the show, and each time it has been slightly different. In 1998, the show was at this stage, but in June 1999, they moved the show to an indoor stage where the show was almost completely different from 1998. The show that I saw this day was almost identical to the 1998 show, with the added benefit of the seating area now having a cover. In 1998, the sun beat down on the audience, making it almost unbearable. When I was here in June, they were refurbishing the stage, and I wondered if they were adding a top to it. I am glad that my assumption was correct, because this is a great show, but watching it in the direct sunlight made it an excruciating experience.

I sat in one of the rear seats on the floor section, and during the show the hawk flew directly over my head. I thought he was coming a little too close, so I ducked. It was an amazing sight to see that majestic bird fly so close over my head!

When it ended, I headed to Camp Minnie-Mickey to catch the Festival of the Lion King show. I entered the line at about 12:30 PM, and we went let in shortly after that. The show started at 1:00 PM, and I sat in Simba’s section. This is my favorite show at the Animal Kingdom, and perhaps even WDW, and I always make it a point to see it. The only disappointment was that a certain "zebra" was not performing. Every other time that I have seen this show the same gorgeous woman played one of the zebras. She is a stunning woman, and an excellent performer. Unfortunately, she was not working this performance, but the show did not suffer. In fact, I think I saw more of the actual show this time because I was not watching the zebra!

At this point, I had seen all that I wanted to see at the Animal Kingdom, so I left and caught a bus to the TTC. Upon arrival at the TTC, I took the second express monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

The lines to enter were amazingly long, however the wait in the cast member entrance was non-existent and the CM working that gate waved us over to enter there. I used my annual pass to enter, but the CM entrance does not have the biometrics reader for the fingers, so he had let me in manually by pressing overriding the system.

I went up to the train station to get some photographs of the Christmas tree, and then I headed up Main Street. I noticed that Donald’s Merry Christmas Tree Lot was "open for business" and Donald Duck was off in a corner posing for photographs! Since I am a huge Donald Duck fan, I just had to visit him again. There was only a short wait for him, and I handed my camera to the CM and asked him to take a photograph of us. Donald Duck pointed out the Donald Duck pin and shirt that I was wearing, then we hugged, and I wished him a Merry Christmas. I have now met Donald at all the parks except the Disney-MGM Studios. I saw him there once, but I did not have time to pose with him that day, much to my regret!

I continued down Main Street and headed into Liberty Square where I went into the Columbia Harbour House. No one I knew was working, but I went up to the counter and requested a cup of water.

I walked across the street and entered the Haunted Mansion, which was fun and relaxing as usual. From there I walked to Frontierland and watched Disney’s Magical Moments Parade from across Pecos Bill Café. I actually had no plan to see this parade this trip, but my timing was perfect. I was planning to see the Christmas version of the Country Bear Jamboree, but because of the parade, I could not cross the street. I decided to simply watch the parade and then see the show after the parade passed by.

I enjoyed the Christmas version of the Country Bear Jamboree better than the original. I loved how they decorated the animal heads on the wall above the exit!

I planned to see the Hall of Presidents next, but when I reached it, the show had already begun. I sat down next to it and people-watched, while I decided what to do next.

After a few minutes of that, I headed to Tomorrowland and walked around, hoping to catch the next showing of the Carrousel of Progress, but I was out of luck again! I returned to the hub and decided to watch the "Every Day’s A Holiday" Show at the castle forecourt stage. I always loved this show, and for hours afterwards I am guilty of humming "Every Day’s a Holiday when you’re at Disney World!"

When the show ended, I headed in the tunnels again. I purchased an ice tea from the vending machine (60 cents), and grabbed some more Eyes & Ears, as well as some copies of the Disneyland cast newspaper, The Disneyland Line.

I re-entered the park and walked around, bumping into Don & Laurie, of both whom I met in June. They both are on a Disney mailing list with me. They had just arrived today, and they were on their way to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, because Laurie loves it! I enjoyed it the few times I rode it, but since I am so terrible at it, I did not ride it this trip. Since I was meeting them later (and a few others) for dinner at the Crystal Palace, we only talked briefly.

I headed to the Emporium, where I purchased two magnets that had Donald Duck on them; one was a 2000 logo. Then I walked around Main Street until it was time to meet everyone at the Crystal Palace.

I headed there about 5:15 PM, where gradually everyone showed up. Don and Laurie were the first ones that I saw, and soon Binnie, Beth, Alisha, and Renee were there. The others I was meeting for the first time, although I had talked to them many times on the Internet. There was Roberta, who is taller than I am, which is amazing for a woman since I am over 6 feet. She also had one of those powered strollers, which I looked at with envy many times when my feet hurt!

Sherry was the first one there, and she was the one who checked in with the CM to let them know that we were beginning to gather for our priority seating. She is a teacher and before this trip, she had asked me to pick up some postcards from my state because she uses them to teach her students about each state. I think this is a wonderful idea, and I was more than happy to help her with that project. I picked up a few that I thought were interesting, but there are not many interesting things about Connecticut. It is a dreary state, and I have no idea why anyone would choose to live here. I did not remember to give them to her when we met outside, but while we ate, I remembered and handed them to her.

Chrisie and her family were the last ones to arrive. Chrisie was there with her 7-year old daughter, Katie, her mother, Kathy, and her cousin, Maria. Before the trip, I had asked someone to ride the teacups with me, because I did not ride them my last trip because the people I went with refused. Chrisie volunteered her daughter, since her daughter loves that ride and she refuses to ride them. I do not understand some people; the teacups are great! Alisha and Renee also volunteered to ride them with me later in the trip, because I love them!

Chrisie is a very outgoing and warm person, and it was quite a contrast to her mother and cousin, who both seemed rather reserved. I am shy, but these two seemed more introverted than I am. This made me feel better about myself, but sad for them because they really did not get to know any of the others too well and they seemed like very nice people.

Beth surprised me by opening a bag and handing out Christmas gifts to everyone. They were not anything big or extravagant, but for her to go through the trouble to do that, I thought was amazing. I felt bad that I did not have anything to give back to her.

Our Priority Seating was for 5:45 PM, but we were not seated until about 6:00 PM. This was fine with us, since the Magic Kingdom closed at 6:00 PM to get ready for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which is supposed to begin at 8:00 PM. We planned to get the latest priority seating that we could so we could all talk and get to know one another. Since all of us, except Laurie and Don, had tickets to the party, we planned to stretch dinner out until it was time to enter the park and join the party.

The meal itself was delicious, I ate more than I should have, but with an all-you-can-eat buffet, I usually go overboard! With tip, it cost me $25.00. It was also a character meal, and Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Piglet all visited our tables (we had two) many time. Eeyore walked behind me on more than one occasion and rubbed his hand over my head!

I sat across from Roberta and Sherry, and next to Don and Laurie. Chrisie and her family were at the other end of that table, while Binnie, Beth, and their two granddaughters were stuck at another table. It was right next to ours, but it did make it rather difficult for them to get involved in the conversations, which was sad because they were meeting most of them for the first time too.

At 7:30 PM, we noticed that other guests were now walking past the restaurant, which meant that the party had begun. While we exited the restaurant, a CM was at the door and asked to see our tickets for the party. We all scrambled to look for our tickets when she said, "I only need to see one ticket for your entire party." This shocked us, because if that is true then anyone can schedule a dinner for several people at the Crystal Palace like we did and only buy one ticket for the party! Laurie and Don did not even have tickets to the party, so if they really wanted to, they could have left when we did and joined the festivities free. However, they are honest people, and when a CM approached them they told them they did not have tickets. The CM escorted them to the front of the Magic Kingdom, to the area under the train station, and they said goodbye to them and went back to the Crystal Palace. They were technically still inside the Magic Kingdom and they could have stayed for the party, but again their honesty got the better of them and they exited the park!

The rest of us went over to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and had our "family photos" taken. Since I was traveling alone, I had no "family" with me, so I asked all of them to be in my photo. Once everyone had their photo taken, Roberta, Binnie, Beth, and the girls went in one direction, while I went with Chrisie and her family to the Mad Tea Party so that I could ride the teacups with Katie.

What happened next was quite surprising. First, Maria decided to join us for the spin, and secondly, Katie picked out a green tea cup that the CM told us as she was walking by was "the fastest one!" I rode this several times on past trips and I was unaware that one teacup is faster than the rest. Well, she was not kidding. This teacup spins about 5 times faster than the other teacups. It was so fast, that my next started to hurt because of the g-forces pulling on it. Katie and Maria are shorter than I am, so the speed did not affect them as much as it did me. Do not get me wrong, I loved it and I would not hesitate to ride this fast one again, but it really is too much for someone who is tall because of the g-forces! I did ride it one more time with them, since there was no line we stayed in the cup without having to exit. However, when they wanted to go a third time, I had to let them ride it without me.

They had some fun with me after that, because I bragged a lot before the trip about how I love spinning the teacups as fast as possible. However, that was before I knew about the fast one!

When we finished getting spun silly, they asked me what I was going to do next. I told them I was going to ride Space Mountain. Katie’s eyes lit up and asked if she could go on it too. Maria wanted to ride it as well, so we all headed there. We rode on the right side, and I believe it was Maria’s first time on it. She loved it, but then again, how could you not!

At this point, we separated. They were going to the Galaxy Palace Theater to see a Christmas show, which I planned on seeing Sunday afternoon, so I headed to Liberty Square to watch Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade.

When the parade passed by, I headed to the Liberty Bell, where a RADP meet was scheduled. The meet did not last long, about 10 minutes, because of the fireworks that were to begin at 10:00 PM. I posed for some photos, chatted with some people that I already knew, and introduced myself to a few that I did not know. It all happened so fast that I have no idea whom was at the meet.

The fireworks started promptly at 10:00 PM, so a Binnie, Beth, the girls, and I headed up behind Cinderella Castle to watch them. They were spectacular, and they came from all directions. I did not know before hand that they were going to shot them in the perimeter surrounding the Magic Kingdom, but I really liked the effect. We did not have a great view from that spot, but I was coming back on Monday for the party, so I hoped to catch a glance of it then.

We discussed what everyone wanted to do next, and the girls mentioned that they wanted to ride the teacups with me. I, of course, did not object. We headed to Fantasyland so Beth and Binnie could take a break while the girls and I joined the line. It was about a 5-minute wait, and the girls entertained themselves by putting a Mickey Mouse sticker on me, and then grabbing it off me before I could get it. It was fun; they are great girls and I enjoyed spending time with them. I always have a good time with children, because I act like one all the time. Children do not expect much from adults, and they are rarely disappointed with them for too long because they do not concern themselves with the big things in life. Children are innocent to the ways of the world, and sometimes I like to escape reality and act like a child myself, which is easier to do when you have children around you. I do not know if I will ever be blessed with children of my own, but in the meantime, I really enjoy spending time watching other people’s children. I hope Binnie and Beth did not mind, but I spent a lot of time this trip with them because I enjoyed playing with the kids. This is not to say that Binnie and Beth were not good company, because they are, but I think I had more fun playing with the kids! In fact, spending so much time with them made me sad that I do not have children of my own. I love spending time with children; sometimes I wonder why I am pursuing a career in accounting when I should be spending it in child care!

Anyway, I made the mistake of telling the girls about the "fast" cup, and I told them that it was green. I told them to pick any cup but green, but they insisted that we get the green cup. Since there was about three or four green cups, I told them that I wished they would pick one of the regular green cups, while secretly hoping that they found the fast one. Well, they did not find it, much to my sadness! I really wanted to ride that one again, although it was painful on my neck. We spun ourselves silly anyway!

We stepped out of the cup, and we were all walking crazy because we were dizzy. Somehow, we found our way out of the ride and back to the bench that Binnie and Beth were sitting on. They begged their grandmothers to let them ride again, and they quickly agreed. I told the girls I was sitting this one out, but they each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me back into line!

I told them that this time we were going in a blue or a pink cup, but they would not hear it! They kept yelling repeatedly, "green, green, green!" I finally said, "Okay," just to get them to be quiet because they seemed to be disturbing the other guests with their screaming! They told me that this time they were going to find the fast cup, and they kept their word!

The cup seemed faster than it did last time, perhaps because it was only one adult and two children instead of two adults and one child. Whenever the g-forces got too much for my neck to bear and I stopped spinning it, the girls kept yelling at me to go faster! Yeah, sure, faster…their heads are below the top of the cup; the forces are not affecting their neck! Nevertheless, my neck would recover, and I wanted them to have fun, so I kept spinning it. When I heard that loud bang that signifies that the ride is over, I was happy!

They wanted to ride again, but Binnie and Beth wanted to try to see some shows before the night was over. This would prove to be in vain, because even 30 minutes before a show it was impossible to get a seat because of the crowds! If you ever plan on going to Mickey’s Christmas party, do not go on a Friday night!

It was starting to get chilly, so we headed to Pecos Bill Café and got our free hot chocolate and cookies. They wanted to see the 11:30 PM Christmas Parade since they missed it earlier. I wanted to take some photos of it, because I did not have a good view earlier, so we found a front row spot in front of the Country Bear Jamboree and settled in for it to reach us.

We had heard about a midnight Jungle Cruise where a few RADPers where going to "hijack" the boat, but by the time the parade passed by our seats, it was past midnight.

When the parade was over, they said that they were going to try to get some Princess’ autographs near Cinderella Castle. I decided that I would try to see a show, so we separated. I went into the Diamond Horseshoe Review to see if I could watch the Minnie Mouse Christmas show, but it was standing room only and my feet were starting to hurt. I ran into Chrisie and her family in there. I was walking down the stairs and they were walking up them. I do not know if they stayed to watch the show. I do know that if they did, they did not have a good view. A few minutes later, I ran into Binnie and Beth near the Liberty Bell where they were getting Meeko to sign their autograph book! I went up to them and told them that I did not think Meeko looked like a Princess! They just smiled and said they were on their way to the castle when they saw Meeko all alone and the girls wanted to meet him!

We separated again, and I went to the hub to watch the 12:25 PM Celebrate the Season show at the Castle Forecourt. The show was good, as most Disney productions are. This one was especially good, because it featured Donald Duck prominently!

When it was over, I found a chair on Main Street and rested my feet while I people watched and enjoyed the snow falling gracefully on Main Street!

When the park officially closed at 1:00 AM, I exited and walked to the Contemporary Resort where I caught a bus to Downtown Disney, after a 15-minute wait. I asked the bus driver if he would let me exit at the Marketplace stop. I knew that the last stop there is supposed to be at 12:15 AM, but I asked him to make an exception. He did not mind, and he pulled into the entrance and let me out.

I walked to the Courtyard and arrived at about 2:05 AM. I settled in, and I was asleep by 3:00 AM…the latest I would get to bed this trip!

I woke up at 7:25 AM, only to look at the alarm clock in shock! I set the alarm for 8:00 AM when I went to bed four and ½ hours ago, but I forgot to turn it on! If I had not awakened on my own, there was the possibility that I would have over slept. This could have been a tragedy, but instead my internal alarm clock came to the rescue!

I hopped out of bed, showered, and ate a quick pop tart breakfast. I went downstairs, and caught the bus to Epcot at 8:30 AM.

I entered Epcot, and headed straight to Test Track. The line was non-existent, so I went through the queue line…only the second time that I walked through it; I was in a car within 5 minutes! The car reached a peak speed of 64.8 MPH. I have never been on a car that actually registered 65.0 MPH. Has anyone?

After the ride, I decided to ride it one more time. The line in the queue was longer now, but I decided to go through it one more time to get a better look at the themeing. While I was in line, I saw Don and Laurie about 20 people in front of me. I said hello to them when the queue line curved and placed us near each other. We wound up being in the same debriefing room, and I wound up being in the same vehicle as they were (64.7 MPH).

The three of us decided to ride it one more time, but since the line inside was now about 20 minutes long, we headed to the singles line. We were in a car within 10 minutes, with Don and I in the same vehicle. This time the car reached a peak speed of 64.8 MPH.

They headed directly to the Imagination Pavilion, while I went into Mouse Gear to look for the new 2000 Logo crushed penny that has Donald Duck on it. I did not see that machine (although I found it later in the trip), but I did see a 2000 Logo Crushed quarter machine that I did not know about. I promptly put my $1.00 in and a crushed quarter that had Donald Duck (and some other insignificant Disney characters) on it was soon in my hands! J

From there, I headed to the Imagination Pavilion to try the new Journey into your Imagination ride. I was disappointed in it. I was not a big fan of the old Journey into Imagination ride, but I liked Figment and the Dreamfinder. This new ride no longer has the Dreamfinder, and Figment is regulated to nothing more than two short cameo appearances…a design in the stars, and some bad 3-D animation. The ride itself shows some promise, and if it was a totally new attraction instead of a replacement, then I might have liked it more. However, given the circumstances, I have to give it the thumbs down. The rumor is that Michael Eisner did not like the ride and has earmarked about $5 million to restructure it. I hope that they will take the best elements of this new version and find some way to incorporate Figment and the Dreamfinder back into the ride!

By this time it was about 10:30 AM. My next objective was to take a quick look at the new Millennium Village Pavilion before I had to leave the park to make the huge RADP meet scheduled at the TTC at 1:00 PM. However, World Showcase was not open yet, so I went to the Electric Umbrella to chicken and fries combo meal, an apple pie, and a cup of water ($8.85).

When I was finished eating, I headed over to the Millennium Village and walked through it quickly. It looks impressive, however I did not have the time now to explore it fully. I thought that I would have time later in the trip to see more of it, but it did not work out that way. I did not feel much regret about missing it, because I will be back in less than a month with my sister and I will explore it fully then. I reached the simulator at the back of the pavilion, in Israel. They were loaded the ride at the time I arrived, so I walked right on it. I sat in the rear, and was not impressed. The flight simulation is not bad, but I feel that they could have done better. The story line and the film were interesting, but the "simulation" was lacking.

I exited the pavilion, walked back to Future World, and walked around a few more minutes. At 11:45 AM, I boarded the monorail for the TTC.

I made a quick stop at the restroom, then sat down, as my feet were bothering me. While I was sitting there, a woman with a RADP pin came over and said hi to me. I was wearing my RADP pin (and T-shirt), so I was not exactly incognito! She introduced herself as Donna, and we talked for a few moments until we saw another RADPer, Roberta! Roberta was heavily into the pin-trading going on at WDW, so we discussed that for awhile. I had mentioned to her last night that I wanted her 2000 Logo with Donald Duck on it, since my main objective in pin trading is to gain Donald Duck pins for my collection. That discussion was interrupted last night, so I reiterated my interest in her pin. I offered my Disney Store Tinkerbell pin, and she agreed to the trade, which made me extremely happy!

We saw that others were congregating underneath the covered area next to the ferryboat sign, so we headed over there. I saw a few people that I recognized immediately. Deb Wills came over and gave me a big hug! I said hello to Bruce Metcalf, and I talked to Donna and KrisAnne for a few moments. Judy Shaw walked by and offered the gold RADP pin logos that she had made up. A portion of the profits goes to a leukemia foundation that she supports, so I bought one ($10.00).

I did not know many of the others, and being the shy person, I went over to the entrance of the covered area where we were meeting and directed people who were looking for the ferryboat. Eventually others that I knew a little better arrived. First Don and Laurie arrived, then Binnie, Beth, and Chrisie. It was here that I also met Pam and her 13-year-old son, Craig.

It was now time for the official meet photo. Bruce announced that everyone should make there way to the ferryboat sign, where a Disney photographer was ready to take the group photo. I took my time getting out there, and therefore I am in the second row…sitting down…instead of in the back standing up!

After the photo, Bruce invited everyone back into the covered area so that he could hand out "grab-bags." Mine bag did not contain anything great, a notepad with the Coronado Springs logo. However, I was not expecting anything to begin with, so it was a nice surprise. Someone else went around handing out magnets with the RADP meet logo on them and two other people handed me Disney buttons. One was an Epcot button, and the other was a Mickey and Minnie button.

Bruce also opened a box that contained past issues of Eyes & Ears and told us that we could take some. I would up getting copies of the special color editions of The Disney Wonder (August 1999), the Millennium Celebration (October 1999), and a regular edition from December 1998.

I got together with my mailing list friends (Binnie, Beth, Alisha, Renee, Pam, Craig, Chrisie, Katie, Roberta, Sherry, Laurie, and Don) and we hopped aboard the monorail to Epcot. We planned to have our photos taken at the Internet Postcard station so that we could send them to the list to the others that could not make the trip.

While on the ride to Epcot, Renee and Alisha sat on each of my knees and I bounced them up and down the entire ride. Craig was laughing at me because I was falling for the girls’ charm, but as long as they were having fun, I was happy. Perhaps it was the constant moving of my legs, but the ride to Epcot seemed longer than usual! Every time that I tried to stop, the girls yelled and begged me to continue. Maybe I should not have kids, because I give in too easy. They got their way, and no matter how tired my legs got, I kept bouncing them!

We disembarked the monorail, and had a long wait to enter. It looks like everyone decided to enter Epcot at the same time as us! Once we were in, we went over to a restroom so that the girls could use them, and so Binnie and Beth could rent lockers to put their stuff in them. By this time, Chrisie’s mom and cousin had joined the gang.

Once we got going, the girls each held one of my hands and we walked to Innoventions to the postcard station. I decided to let the girls have some more fun, and for me to get a little workout! As I said, the girls were walking next to me, one on each side, and holding my hands. I gently lifted them off the ground with the hand I was holding them with and carried them a few feet. It was fun for them, because they were swinging on my arm while we walked, but I could not keep it up for long, as I am not as strong as I would like to be!

We went to the Internet Postcard station and we had several different photos taken. There were two group photographs that I was in, and one photo of the three girls and me, which I like to call the teacup posse!

After the photographs, a few of them departed and the remainder of the group (Binnie, Beth, Alisha, Renee, Pam, and Craig) headed over to Spaceship Earth. The girls insisted that they ride with me, so I obliged.

After this ride, Pam and Craig broke off for their own objective, while the remainder of the group joined me in the singles line at Test Track. It looks like more people are discovering the singles line, because we had about a 15 minute wait before we were sitting in a car. Alisha was a little weary of riding in a car without someone she knew, but it worked out so that she was in the same car as I was. The speed this time was 64.8 MPH.

We stayed together and headed over to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. On the way over, we took a short cut through Mouse Gear, where we all did some pin trading with a CM who was standing by the exit. I traded one of my duplicates, a Disney Store Donald Duck pin, for a pin of Mickey Mouse holding a Walt Disney World sign (2000 Edition.)

When we finally sat down in the theater for the 3-D movie, the girls sat on their grandmother’s laps! They miss some of the effects that way, but it was worth it if it prevented them from being scared.

By this time it was getting cooler, so the ladies went to the lockers near Spaceship Earth to change back into their warmer clothes. Once we were all set, we exited the park, boarded the monorail, and headed to the TTC. This time the girls gave me a break and only sat next to me instead of bouncing on my knees!

Once we were at the TTC, we switched monorails, boarded the resort monorail, and exited at the first stop, the Polynesian Resort. It was approximately 5:15 PM, and we were about 30 minutes early for our priority seating at ‘Ohana. Sherry had arrived first, and she had checked in with the CM. They gave her a beeper that was supposed to go of when they were ready to seat us. Soon Chrisie and her family arrived, and our group was complete. We sat down in the chairs in the lobby next to ‘Ohana and talked. A waiter came by and I ordered and Ice Tea ($3.00 including tip.)

At 6:30 PM, a CM came by looking for us and asked us why we did not respond to the beeper. Sherry looked at her and said we never heard it. The CM told her that it did not make a sound, instead it vibrated. Since Sherry had placed the beeper on the table in front of us, no one could tell that it was vibrating!

The dinner was excellent. The pork dumplings were so delicious that we asked for a second helping! The honey-lime dressing was also amazing, and these were just the appetizers!

For the main course, they brought it over one type at a time. First they brought pork sausage and smoked salmon. Then came grilled turkey breast (which was my favorite) and grilled shrimp and mesquite steak! I think this was my favorite meal of the trip, and I would not hesitate to eat here again. The total cost, with tip, was $27.00.

The entertainment was good as well. A Hawaiian CM went around with a ukulele and sang island songs, and they had games for the children to do. While we were there, the girls played with hula-hoops and had to roll coconuts around the restaurant! The CMs rewarded them with rock candy.

I remember two things the most about our dinner there. The first one involved the CM who took the drink orders. While we were in the lobby waiting, Beth and Binnie ordered a frozen strawberry banana drink for Alisha and Renee. Once we were at our table, they tried to order them again for the girls. However, when the CM brought the drinks out, they had someone become frozen strawberry daiquiris! He asked who ordered the drinks, and the 7-year old girls raised their hands, because they looked similar to the ones that had drunk when they were in the lobby.

He was about to place the drinks in front of the girls, when Binnie looked at him and asked if they were alcoholic. He replied that they were, and everyone gave him a funny look because he was about to place alcoholic drinks in front of two 7-year old girls! Binnie objected to this and he seemed confused. Finally, he convinced the CM to take the drinks back and replace them with non-alcoholic drinks! I had a good laugh about it, but I might have been a little bit more concerned had it have been my child. Walt Disney World is the last place in the world that I thought minors could obtain alcohol so easily. Especially minors that are about 14 years away from being legal!

The other event that stands out is the fun I had playing with the girls. Renee and Alisha were sitting across from me and every time that they asked me what color something was I told them a different color. For example, if they showed me something white, I said it was black. I did the same thing with numbers and spelling. If they held up two fingers, I said it was four. If they asked me to spell black, I spelt it w-h-i-t-e! It kept them busy for awhile, and it was fun for me to act goofy for a bit!

We finished dinner about 8:00 PM, and all of us, except Sherry, went out to the monorail to go to the Magic Kingdom. The girls asked the CM if they could ride in the front car, and the CM said if they were willing to wait for the black monorail, which would be the third one to arrive, then they could. The CM told them that only four people could ride in the front. The three girls and one adult could ride up there, and when I overheard them saying that they wanted to wait, I asked Binnie if she would mind if I rode up front. I told her that I never rode up front before, and she did not believe me at first. However, it was the truth. In all my time at WDW, I never sat in the front cab of the monorail with the driver. She granted my wish, and I felt like a child! I was so excited to ride up front.

When the monorail arrived, the girls and I entered the cab. We were soon off to the Magic Kingdom, with a short stop at the Grand Floridian first. The girls continued their game of asking me colors, numbers, etc., and they were barely looking out the cab window. I guess that after you have ridden up front a number of times, like they have, it loses some of its appeal! I actually said to them, "How can you be conducting school when we have this awesome view!" At that point, the stopped trying to teach me to count and started to look out the window at the spectacular view of the Seven Seas Lagoon at night! I loved it, and I will try to get this seat again in January when I go with my sister!

When we disembarked at the Magic Kingdom, the driver took out three monorail copilot certificates and handed them to the girls. I looked at the CM with a sad face, and asked him if the big kid could have one too! He said, "Oh, does daddy want one too?" Before I could correct him, one of the girls (I do not recall which one) said, "Yes, daddy wants one too!" and he pulled one out for me!

We all entered the Magic Kingdom and headed to the Town Square Exposition Hall, where we inquired about the RADP Meet group photo. The CM behind the counter had no idea what we were looking for, and wondered why we did not have a number associated with the photo so that they could find it. She asked another CM, who said she remembers seeing the photograph and she ran in the back to see if she could find it in the computer files. While we were waiting, I happened to look over the counter and I saw a note taped next to the register that said ‘RADP Photo" on it, and next to it was a number. I asked the first CM about the note, and she said that she had forgotten about it. She punched the number into the computer, and the group photo showed up on the monitor above the counter. I bought a copy ($8.48), as did the others who were in my group, and then we headed to Liberty Square.

While we were crossing the Liberty Square Bridge, Chrisie mentioned that it was almost 9:00 PM, and the fireworks were about to begin. The girls wanted to watch Tinkerbell’s flight from the castle, so we stopped and watched that. We could not see the fireworks, because we were behind the tree. We continued further into Liberty Square until we reached the area next across from the Liberty Inn. We picked out this spot so that we could all watch the Main Street Electrical Parade later. Chrisie’s mother volunteered to hold the spot for us while the rest of us continued on to Frontierland and joined the line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The wait was about 15 minutes, but it seemed to fly by as we spent it talking. When we reached the boarding area, I told the CM that I wanted to wait for the rear seat. Chrisie wound up being the one to ride with me. The girls were fighting to see who would ride with me, but they solved that problem by simply riding with each other. Everyone else boarded this train, while Chrisie and I waited for the next one so that we could have the rear seat. As we were waiting, one of the CMs, Brian, walked by and noticed my red RADP button. He talked with me for awhile, mentioning that although he reads RADP often, he never posts.

We went on our ride, and wound up having some serious ‘hang time!’ When we reached the station, Brian asked us if we wanted to ride it again. I am not one to refuse an offer like that, so we stayed in the car. When I mentioned to Brian that I was going to mention this in my trip report. H said that I should also mention Erika. She was the CM who waited in the spot for the last car so no guests would stand there. I appreciate what they did for me, and I would like to thank them for the kindness that they showed!

When we were finished riding it a second time, I thanked Brian again, and we exited the ride. The remainder of the group was no where to be found, so we assumed that they had gone back to where Chrisie’s mother was waiting for us. Sure enough, they were there.

By this time, Don and Laurie had shown up, and we all sat down and watched the parade. I had an excellent view, because the only people in front of me were children, and they were sitting on the ground!

After the parade ended, everyone decided to ride the Haunted Mansion. I was going to go with them, but first I wanted to see if Don or Javier was working at the Columbia Harbour House. I worked with them back in 1998, and since they were still in high school, they only worked on the weekend. Javier was there, and we talked for awhile, but he told me that Don was working over at Sleepy Hollow, so I made a mental note to stop in there before I left the park.

The restaurant was not open, so I could not talk long with Javier, because he was trying to clean up so that he could leave. I said goodbye and then headed to the exit of the Haunted Mansion and waited for everyone to come out.

Everyone except Don and Laurie decided that they wanted ice cream, so they were heading to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street for a treat. I told them I would meet up with them, because I wanted to stop at Sleepy Hollow to say hello to Don.

After reminiscing with him for a few moments, I met up with everyone on Main Street. We sat down in the chairs outside the Plaza Restaurant and talked, while everyone except me ate ice cream. We watched the castle change colors, and even heard the closing speech and music that is broadcast every night approximately ½ hour after the official park closing time.

At approximately 11:45 PM, I said goodbye to everyone and exited the park. I walked to the Contemporary, caught a Disney bus back to the Marketplace. This ride was slightly interesting. After the bus picks up at the Contemporary, it makes a stop at the TTC to pick up any guests there.

The CM asked everyone who boarded the bus where their final destination was, some of them he could not help because he was not driving past those resorts. However, one couple was heading to the Caribbean Beach Resort. Since he had to drive past that one on the way to the Marketplace, he told them that he would stop there and drop them off so that they did not have to wait for another bus at the Marketplace.

While we were in the Caribbean Beach, he pointed out a lamppost in the distance across from Trinidad South (which is where I stayed in 1996). He told us that this is where the "butterfly farm" was. He said that Disney plants butterfly larvae there so that they could grow and hatch into butterflies, which they release all over the property. I found this very interesting, and I would have never known it if he did not go out of his way for some other guests.

Once he dropped me off at the Marketplace, I walked back to my hotel and I was in the room by 12:30 AM, and asleep by 1:00 AM.

The alarm went off on time, and I was out of bed by 7:15 AM. I showered, called home, and was downstairs in time for the 8:30 AM bus to the TTC.

Upon arriving at the TTC, I walked to the monorail station and took the second monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I entered the park and headed straight through the castle and onto Peter Pan’s Flight with no wait.

I had no intention of riding anything in Fantasyland this trip, but I had some time to spare before I was to meet everyone at Cinderella Castle for breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

It was still too early for the priority seating, so I walked around Fantasyland to see if any other rides were walk-ons. None were, but as I walked by The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, I heard someone calling my name. At the front of the line were Pam, Bob, and KrisAnne, all of which I briefly had met the day before at the big RADP meet. They asked me if I wanted to ride Pooh with them, and I did not refuse. Since each car holds four people, and there were only three of them, I was not ‘cutting’ in line, because the seat next to KrisAnne would have been empty if I was not in it.

When the ride ended, I thanked them for their generosity and I headed to the castle since it was almost time for the priority seating. I saw Beth outside standing guard. She was looking for the missing people, one of which was me, and told me that Sherry, Binnie and the two girls were already inside waiting for us to be called. I went in and talked with them for awhile, and soon Beth was inside waiting for us since Chrisie and her family had arrived.

I found it rather interesting that Chrisie, who had made all the dining arrangements, was always the last one to arrive. Sherry was always the first one there! Chrisie had told us how tough it was to get a priority seating for this meal. This breakfast can only be booked 60 days in advance, and the telephone lines open at 7:00 AM Eastern Time. By 7:10 AM everyday, there is no room left! She called 60 days out, and every time the CM offered her a time slot, she would say that she wanted it, and then the CM would reply, "Sorry, it was just taken!" This happened so often, that she asked to speak to a manager, who wound up giving her a time. I do not understand why the CM does not book the time before they ask the guest if they want it. If the guest says yes, then the CM already has it reserved. If the guests says no and requests another time it would be no problem to put the time back into the system so another CM could access it. It seems a lot more logical than asking if the guest would like a certain time and then tell them that it is no longer available!

We were in the foyer of the castle waiting for them to call our party. The fairy godmother was there posing for photographs and spreading her pixie dust. Well, some of that magical dust must have landed on Beth, because what happened next was pure Disney magic.

A young woman and a little girl, who were clearly from England based on their accents, had just finished dining. They walked by us and saw the Cinderella pin that was on Beth’s lanyard. This was amazing in itself, because Beth did not wear the lanyard often for fear of losing a pin on a ride. It was also her last day at WDW, in fact after breakfast Beth and Renee were going back to their resort to pack and catch a plane home.

The Cinderella pin was the one released at the Disney Store as part of the "Countdown to the Millennium" collection. Beth had commented on how she wanted to wear this pin to breakfast because she wanted Cinderella to see it.

The woman pointed the pin out to the little girl, and you could see the girl’s face light up. The woman explained that the girl adored Cinderella and they had looked everywhere for a Cinderella pin. She mentioned that it was also their last day at WDW, another tidbit that contributed to the magic!

You could tell by the way the little girl, who had to be eight or nine years old, looked at the pin that she really wanted it. Beth noticed that neither of them was wearing pin lanyards, but she asked them if they had any pins to trade anyway. The girl explained that she did not have any, but her mother did, but she was not present at that time. The woman (the girl’s aunt?) said that she had some pins on her and Beth told her that she wanted to see what she had to offer. The woman starts going through her bag and was not having any success. At this point, we had been waiting awhile to eat, and I could tell that it was only a matter of moments before we were. I did not think this trade was going to have any success. I do feel that if the CM called us to eat before the woman found a pin that Beth would have simply given the girl the pin. Beth seemed like the kind of woman who would sacrifice something small to make a child happy.

I will never know the truth, because the woman succeeded in finding a Disney-MGM Studios Earful Tower pin. I know that Beth would have rather gotten a less common pin for something as nice as the Cinderella pin, but Beth is not the type to disappoint a child. She made the trade with a smile on her face.

They thanked her repeatedly, and it seemed to me like the woman was about to break down in tears. After about the 100^th ‘thank you,’ they left and Beth seemed embarrassed by all the attention. A minute later they were back in the foyer and this time the woman was actually crying. They both hugged and kissed Beth and thanked her again! It really was a sight to see; I am glad I witnessed it!

As soon as they left, the CM called our party to eat. Since I was the only male in the party, I let everyone go up the stairs to the dining area ahead of me. Beth was the last woman start up the stairs, and I was about to follow. However, we were delayed a moment when the woman and the girl returned a second time! This time th