Tink *~*~*
Cast Member
Posts: 1066
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 08-29-02 05:48 PM
In the spirit of getting this section of the new board going strong, I will post my March 2002 WDW Trip Report here. This was originally posted on RADP.
WARNING: One of the purposes of this trip report was to record my Disney experiences, especially my interactions with the Cast Members, and use it as the basis for an on-site research project for a Disney sociology class that I took last semester in night school. We were expected to use our critical thinking skills to evaluate the Disney experience, and therefore, the report will seem a little, well, critical!
Tink *~*~*
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Cast of characters: Erin, closing in on middle age, stressed out Wall Street type from Long Island
Thursday 03/14/2002
All-nighters are for people who are much younger than I am. Wednesday was a bear of a day, and the only saving grace was that I telecommute on Wednesdays, thus avoiding the 4 hour round trip to Manhattan. I work for a large financial institution, doing information security. I worked
a full 8 hour day on Wednesday, then went to my night class (a sociological view of Disney as a global corporate and media power), then came home and got back online to work to "just finish up a couple of things". Then I had to pack and by time I was done doing "just one more thing before I leave for a week", it was 2:00 am. Well, I had to be at
the airport by 4:30 am, so there was really no point in going to bed.
This was the first time I flew since 9-11, and it was an eye-opener. I flew out of Long Island Islip airport into MCO. They tore my laptop case apart at Islip. They found places in the case that I didn't even know existed. But they didn't make me take off my shoes! Southwest left on time, and I thought I could catch some sleep for the almost-three hour flight. No such luck. There was a family of six
spread out around me. Three in front of me and three cross the aisle. Two of the children had portable DVD players with unbelievably loud sound systems - one in front of me, and one across the aisle. Oh well.
We caught a nice wind and got into MCO 20 minutes early. Ah, that wall of humidity that hits you as you deplane - you're in Florida! Weather.com had informed me that every day of my trip woud be either cloudy or overcast, but I was pleased to see that it was neither. Got my luggage without a hitch and got the Mears bus to Coronado Springs, where my information security conference is being held. I've been to
this conference three times before, once at the Downtown Disney Hilton and twice before at the Coronado Springs. I enjoy CS. The theming is wonderful, the grounds are beautiful, but it is a HUGE resort, and when you are expected to keep up with your work in between classes and
seminars, a room at Casitas is really where it's at, otherwise you can't make that mad dash back to the room to download email. Last year, I was stuck out in Ranchos, clear across the lake, and ended up renting a car to make the dash in a more timely manner!
So this year when I checked in, I requested a room in Casitas, and they found me one. I used my American Express card to check in, and they gave me two "White Glove Treatment" lanyards and pins. I don't think I'm going to get into the pin trading thing, but the pins are kind of
neat, and the lanyard has a plastic thing on the end of it that is perfect for my room key/park pass, so I may end up using it for that. Bell services drove me over with my bags and dragged them up to the room for me. I inserted my key, and we were aghast to find a laptop, clothing, etc. Obviously, a mistake had been made in the computer system, as the room was clearly not vacant. The bell hop was upset that this happened, and he radioed the front desk. However, two Cast Members were holding a chatty conversation over the radio, and he couldn't get a
break. Finally, he took out his own key, entered the room, and got on the phone. He came out a few minutes later and said that he'd found another room around the corner. Round the corner we went, and housekeeping had just started cleaning it. The bell hop put my bags in the room and drove me back to the front desk to exchange keys. They had
the new key ready for me, but forgot to transfer my Park Hopper, and it was a good thing I asked. They fixed that, and I walked back, and the room still wasn't done. One guy was still vacuuming, and the girl was hanging out outside the room talking on her cell phone. Finally, they were done and I was able to go in and get out of my New York clothing and into some shorts and a T-shirt.
I immediately noticed that the Casitas section was undergoing "rehab", or more precicely, it was being painted one little piece at a time. I guess they have to paint some time. The hydraulic paint machines were noisy, as were the cherry pickers they were using, but the new paint job sure does spruce up the place.
My friends Penny and Hal from California and their two girls were visiting the World this week, which was the reason I front loaded a few vacation days before the conference started. I unpacked and called them to find out where they were. Turns out they were taking a "down" day
after three solid commando days in the parks. They were staying in a time share off property. Penny agreed to meet me at Epcot at 5PM. Meanwhile, I was intensely interested in seeing the Walt Disney tribute at MGM, so I stopped at the convenience store for a sandwich and a bottle of water, and then hooked a ride over there on Disney transport.
The buses came in a steady stream, and the Studios bus was the third one that came along - maybe it was a ten minute wait at most. MGM was packed. My first stop was a shop on the main drag to buy sunglasses. I had cracked the bridge on my sunglasses back home, and they kept pinching the bridge of my nose. I bought one of those things to drape
it around my neck too. More about sunglasses later...
The 100 Years of Walt was incredible! I spent a good hour and a half reading every little thing and examining every little detail of all the memorabilia that has been collected. I recognized a number of items, thinking "Oh, my grandparents had one of those in their basement", and
"Oh, I think we had that train when we were kids", etc. I swear we had the Mickey ears ViewMaster when we were little - might have gotten it at the 1964 Worlds Fair? I seem to recall viewing pics of the sphere in Flushing Meadow park with that thing. I really loved all of the scale models of the parks, and seeing the original equipment that was used by the early Imagineers. But the film was the best. I really wish it was longer. Certainly, there is much more material, and some tough choices must have been made in putting it together.
After the exhibit, I went into the shop and got some post cards and
postage to send to my nieces back on Long Island. Also got the
soundtrack to Mary Poppins on CD and a 100 Years pin that lights up during "Magic Moments" in the parks. Best thing about staying on property is sending your purchases back to the hotel! Which is what I did, except for the pin. More about the pin later...
When I finally came out of the shops, the parade was in full swing, and it was difficult to get out of the park. I got turned around and somehow ended up between Indiana Jones and the big dinosaur, recognized my mistake, and eventually found my way back to the busses. Over to
Epcot I went, my favorite park. Met up with Penny at the fountain. I have to say that I really detest those silly Leave A Legacy monuments. They are downright ugly, and the only thing they are good for is a bit of shade if you are waiting for someone. Anyhow, Penny was still a bit thrashed from their commando style run at the parks for the last few days, but she is a true Disney nut, and was game for anything, as this was her first trip to the World. She is also a shopaholic, but hadn't had a proper opportunity to really do the shops. So Mouse Gear was our first order of business. I also needed to buy the official memorial
shirt of my visit, which I usually purchase in Epcot. Usually it is a sweatshirt, but this year I bought a long sleeved tshirt. After Mouse Gear, we decided we were hungry and it was off to Mexico. We went to the reservation desk and got a beeper and went to the boats to kill the time. As we were entering the boat, guess what slipped off my neck and into the water? My new sunglasses and the cord, which apparently wasn't doing too great a job gripping them! DOH! The Cast Member was flustered and she didn't know what to do. In the interest of not holding up the ride, we got into the boat and off we went. I'm now kind of wondering what else is lost down there in the Rio del Tiempo...
Penny had been to Epcot earlier in the week, but the crowds were intense, so all they did was spend some time with the girls in The Living Seas and take in the Tapestry of Dreams parade and Illuminations. Her kids are nuts over animals and they could barely pry them out of Living Seas. However, she had no idea what the rest of the park was like, and was sorry she hadn't had the time to take the kids to Mexico, as it was the kind of ride they would have liked. In spite of the lost sunglasses, we were both happy with the ride, and when we got to dinner, we were even happier with the food. We ordered the mango margaritas. OMG! They are awesome! And the warm chips with salsa were
excellent. I forget what Penny ordered, but I had the Cozumel combo of beef and shrimp with summer squash and peppers. Wow! We both really loved the food there, and loved watching the volcano flowing with lava. The perpetual twilight in that restaurant is really special.
After Mexico, we mosied over to Norway. It was now dark outside and a bit on the chilly side, so I put on my new long sleved shirt. Epcot is my favorite park, and I've been to the World five times, but somehow never made it into Norway. After reading so many people's impressions
of Maelstrom, we decided to go aboard. Bad show in the queue; there was trash on the ground in a corner. Penny pronounced Maelstrom another ride that her girls would enjoy, and filed it away mentally for a future trip. We skipped the film, since we wanted to make it to a few more
countries and a little more shopping before the park closed. We browsed through Italy, enjoying the Armani sculptures. We especially liked Briar Rose. We bought hot chocolate outside of the American pavillion,
and cruised through the shops in France and UK.
Since we had both already seen the parade and the fireworks, we started out of the park and my pin kept going off. Penny kept teasing me about having "multiple Magical Moments". Then we hopped in separate cabs and promised to meet the next day at Animal Kingdom. The cab droped me at
El Centro, and I ducked into Panchitos to get a little bottle of milk for my coffee in the morning. I walked back to the room, got the ice bucket and trudged down the corridor to fill up. Milk is now on ice, world is safe for truth justice etc. Finally in my pajamas, I prepared
to sleep for the first time in 36 hours. I got into bed, but I could not sleep! I turned on SoapNet. I made it through to the first fifteen minutes of General Hospital before passing out.
Next up: why you should remember to turn off your pager while on vacation; more about Magical Moments; and the ghost in the machine at CS screws up yet again...
Tink *~*~*
[Edited by Tink *~*~*]
Tink *~*~*
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