WDW Trip Reports

The Rescheduled Pre-Valentines Trip
April, 1999

Dates of trip: April 28 – May 2
Travel Method: Plane, Tiffany Towncar service
Resort: BoardWalk Inn
Accommodations: Standard Room

The Players: Tara (28) and hubby Joe (30)

After successfully sweet-talking Joe into a mid-winter Disney weekend February 5 - 7, both of us came down with rather vicious attacks of the flu and had to cancel our trip! Thanks to a very sweet lady at CRO, we weren’t charged the first night’s room rate even though we cancelled the day of the trip. We were left with two unused Delta tickets, a couple of runny noses and one powerful need for a Disney fix!

Okay, so we’ll just rebook for another weekend. No problem, I thought.

Yeah, right. Seems the Feb 5 - 7 weekend was the lowest for airfare for the next two months. Everything else Delta had was either booked solid or sky-high. Finally I realized that we’d have to leave on a Wednesday or Thursday to get a low fare. That would mean two extra days at WDW. Oh, well, if we must, we must!

So I called CRO and began the search for another really good rate (we had Yacht Club for $169/night for the trip we cancelled). I ended up with a standard room at BoardWalk Inn for $169/night with an Annual Pass holder discount. (Seems that 169 is my number lately.) I called my travel agent, rebooked the airfare, and we’re in business again!

With the reservations set, I started refocusing on the touring plan. With two extra days, we’ll definitely have time for more sit-down meals, and there will be plenty to tempt us on the Boardwalk! My mouth is watering just thinking of dinner at the Flying Fish!

Since we have time, I ordered an AP voucher from the Disney Store for Joe. (We couldn’t do this for the original February trip since there wasn’t enough time for the Disney Store to get them in.) I even had saved Disney Dollars to pay for it! Since I have days left on a hopper pass that I can use for credit towards an AP, I’ll have to wait and get mine at the park. Those APs are really going to pay off – we’re saving $420 on our hotel for this trip and Joe is going for 14 days this year and I'm going for 17 days, so no more LOS passes or Hoppers for us!

We’ll arrive at 10:45 on Wednesday morning and take Tiffany Towncar service to the BoardWalk. Using Joe’s AP voucher, we’ll check in (fingers crossed that our room will be ready). From there we’ll stroll on over to Guest Relations at Epcot’s International Gateway, get our real APs and then start touring!

We will definitely spend a lot more time in Animal Kingdom this go-round. With the opening of the Asia section, there is so much I haven’t seen (and even more that Joe hasn’t seen due to his being a major sleepyhead on our honeymoon). This will also serve as prep-work for the October trip by giving us an idea of how to best tour the park. Joe is excited about seeing It’s Tough to be a Bug and Countdown to Extinction and I can’t wait to ride the Kali River Rapids andgo on the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see some tigers and Komodo dragons!

Here’s a rough itinerary:

Day 1 - Wednesday:

Day 2 - Thursday:

Day 3 - Friday:

Day 4 - Saturday:

Day 5 - Sunday:

So now all I have to do count the days until we leave. (Oh, and take my vitamins and avoid sick people!!)

So, that was the plan...here's how it turned out

Each segment will cover a different day, followed up by a report on the resort itself, the restaurants we experienced and a brief rundown of how the ever-important issue of money worked out for this trip! If you can’t bear to read the blow-by-blow recounting of each day but still want to read our opinions on lots of restaurants and on the Boardwalk Inn, then page down towards the end for those summaries!

Tuesday night – countdown to WDW!

I had pretty much done all the packing, so Tuesday night was fairly calm. We rechecked our bags, added some warmer clothing based on the 5-day forecast and got our carry-on items together. I placed my purse on the couch with my book, cd player, cd case, camera and sunglasses, all set to load up in the morning. Joe decided to check ESPN for a Phillies score and pushed my things aside to sit down. Crunch – he sat right on my sunglasses! After looking them over, I decided that maybe they could be fixed (they were only $10 Old Navy sunglasses, but they were brand new and I really liked them – it’s hard for me to find a pair that looks good AND doesn’t squeeze my head too tightly). Out came the Krazy Glue. I sat down, took the glasses in hand and prepared to apply the glue (didn’t want to be permanently attached) and squeezed the tube with careful precision – and nothing came out. I squeezed harder – still nothing. Stomping into the den. I quoted directly from the movie “A Christmas Story” and said to Joe, “You used up all the glue on purpose!” You know, the movie where the kid wants the BB gun – the dad wins the leg-lamp and it breaks and…well, nevermind, I guess you had to be there.

Wednesday, April 28

We woke up the next morning without incident, got ready, took out the garbage and watered the plants and arrived in plenty of time for our flight – my first experience with Delta Express. The check-in line was long, but thanks to Joe’s silver medallion status with Delta, we zipped right through. (That’s one of a couple of strange but beneficial computer screw-ups – Joe doesn’t have a quarter of the mileage to qualify for medallion status, but somehow their system spit his name out as a silver level member, complete with segment upgrades and everything)

We stopped in a shop to look for sunglasses, but all they had were Fossil ones that were $40-$50 and not too appealing anyway. We took a couple of seats at the gate and I went to get breakfast for myself. We soon boarded and were on our way – 2 hours, 45 minutes to Orlando. I was really pleased with the Delta Express service. The all-coach planes are configured in a way that allows for much more leg room than in most regular coach cabins!

Once we arrived, it was off to baggage claim to get our stuff and meet our Tiffany Towncar Driver. Brian was waiting there for us and within minutes we were off to Walt Disney World! He chatted about Tiffany’s increased business thanks to the internet and about the changes to Tower of Terror, and before we knew it we were pulling up a the BoardWalk Inn! We paid him the $70 (with $5 off coupon) and tipped him $10 for the first leg of the trip.

As luck would have it, there was no line for check-in. We had a standard-view room reserved at an Annual Pass holder rate of $169 per night. I asked the CM if there was any chance we could be upgraded to a better view and after a few minutes of checking her computer and consulting with another CM, she put us in a garden view king room – 3312. She gave us our information packet (which is really nice – a big folder with park maps, a World Update and all sorts of other brochures – they didn’t do this at Wilderness Lodge or Dixie Landings last year) and our room keys. She never once asked to see an AP to verify we were eligible for the special room rate. So much for worrying about using the AP voucher to check in! We headed for the elevators and up to the room. Joe really had to use the bathroom, so he started sprinting ahead of me and, halfway down the hallway, he turned and said, “This better not end up in your trip report!!” Of course, we both thought the entire spectacle was too funny NOT to include! We got to the room, unpacked and changed into shorts. Still sans sunglasses, I wanted to hit the nearest shop, which was Dundy’s Sundries. I got a decent-looking pair of shades and a brass BoardWalk magnet for $20.67. I also wanted to buy a new camera, but all they had were disposables, so I would have to wait till we got to Epcot for that.

Eyes shielded from the sun, we walked to Epcot’s International Gateway. We had to exchange Joe’s AP voucher for the real thing and buy my AP using the credit of my two unused Park Hopper days towards the purchase. When the CM scanned my old resort ID card, it showed not the $76 credit I was expecting, but a $190 credit – the entire Park Hopper pass price! I told the CM I didn’t think that was right and the credit should be lower, but he said he had to go by what the computer told him. I started to insist, but he shushed me and said that over-crediting happens sometimes and I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So, my AP that started out costing $311 ended up costing $121.31!!! Totally ecstatic, we marched up to the turnstiles and put our AP’s to their first use! We were both pretty hungry, so we went to La Cantina del San Angel for some lunch. I had cantina nachos and Coke and Joe had tacos al carbon, a side of refried beans and lemonade - $17.17.

Since Magic Kingdom was first on the agenda, we had decided to ride Test Track if the line was short enough and then take the monorail to Ticket & Transportation Center and transfer to the MK monorail. The Test Track line was pretty long – the sign said a 55 minute wait. We decided what the heck and got in line. A CM came by saying single riders could cut their wait time in half and I wanted to try it, but Joe was hesitant. I explained that we could both use it, but we wouldn’t end up seated together and we might not be in the same car. After about 5 minutes, the CM came by again and we decided to take the single line. We went directly into the “Briefing Room” area and waited a few minutes for the preshow video. After that, it was into the loading cue and after a total wait of 21 minutes, we were in a car (the same one) and off on the ride! I was very impressed with the detailing of the ride, and the outdoor high-speed portion was awesome! With Test Track under our belts, we headed towards the front entrance. Passing by Spaceship Earth, Joe just had to ride it, so we did! I’ve come to realize that there is no such thing as walking past Spaceship Earth. Unless there is a huge line, somebody (that would be my husband!) is going to make sure we ride it every time we walk by

Still in need of a camera, our next stop was the Camera Center. I figured I would have a tough choice. All the film I’d packed was APS (advanced photo system), so I would need to buy an APS camera. However, I knew it would be more expensive than a regular 35mm. If I bought a cheaper 35mm, however, I’d have to buy all new film. I asked first what the price of the APS camera just like the one I’d left at home was. I was shocked - $80!! That camera probably only cost $40 at any retail store! The 35mm weren’t much cheaper - $70 and up. So I eventually decided to buy a bunch of disposable cameras. I started out with one flash camera (39 exposures) and two outdoor cameras (27 exp) for $38.09.

A downpour had started so we donned our Old Navy anoraks and headed for the monorail platform. By the time we got through the gates at MK, it had stopped, so we ducked under the Main Street Railroad station to stow our anoraks. (These things are great – I got them for $8.99 on clearance at Old Navy – they have a hood, elastic-cuff sleeves, two side pockets and a zippered front pocket. Turn the zippered pocket inside out and it becomes a pouch that the entire thing tucks into!) As we did this, a couple asked a lady standing next to us how to get to the monorail. She was pointing them in the direction of the Main St. Railroad platform and kept saying she wasn’t sure (obviously), so I stepped in and told them where to go. As I did this, a woman walked up and, as soon as I finished directing the monorail guy, this woman asks me, “Something fun to do tonight?” Just like that! I didn’t even have my Guest of Honor badge yet, so she didn’t think I worked there. I told her a few fun things she could do and she thanked me. Joe was amazed! He made some smart-alec remark about my reputation as a Disney Know-it-All preceding me.

We went to City Hall to confirm our priority seating (ps) at Liberty Tree Tavern. (I’d somehow lost the sheet of paper I’d written all the ps times down on.) From there it was on to Splash Mountain – our first time to ride the attraction in daylight! It was incredible – we had a 7 minute wait! Then on to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and a much longer wait – 10 minutes! Next we bought a couple of juice bars ($4) and ate them while we strolled down to Pirates of the Caribbean. It was hot and humid – probably in the high 80’s and the clouds had cleared away – for the moment. We had a 15 minute wait for Pirates and then it was off to Fantasyland. I wanted to get Guest of Honor badges engraved for both of us (they don’t sell pre-made “Tara” badges), but I couldn’t find a shop that did them. By this time we were both feeling a little worn out from the early-morning flight, so we decided to skip Liberty Tree Tavern and go back to the hotel to rest.

My resort ID had become demagnitized (“Oh no, you’ve worn it out already! No shopping for you,” Joe teased.), so I went to the front desk to have it fixed and made a ps for Chef Mickey’s at 8:45 that evening. We napped for awhile and then Joe showered while I went to get him coffee (had to keep him alert, awake and out of grouchy-mode). We took the bus back to MK and headed for the resort monorail platform. It was absolutely pouring and we were so grateful for those anoraks. We took the resort monorail over to the Grand Floridian to explore and then re-boarded the monorail for the Contemporary. As we passed MK, the fireworks began!

Dinner at Chef Mickey’s was great – those parmesan mashed potatoes are wonderful! We really pigged out – bill for the buffet dinner (Joe had a pint of Guiness) came to $54.27 with tax and tip.

Back at the hotel, we unwound, set the wakeup call for 6:30 am and hit the sack.

Thursday, April 29

The alarm went off and the phone rang. I answered and heard Mickey telling us to wake up. If only Mickey could call me at home – I might never be late for work! Off to the shower for me – Joe didn’t budge. I got ready and he still didn’t budge. After checking for signs of life, I offered to go get him some coffee if he’d get up and shower. That did the trick! He wasn’t cheerful, but he was awake and moving, so I figure two out of three is good enough on any day!

We got to MK by 7:30 and stopped at the Main Street Bake Shop – I had Coke and a blueberry muffin and Joe had more coffee and an onion bagel ($6.58). By the time he’d finished his bagel his mood had improved considerably, so he perused the list of early entry attractions and decided we should try Buzz Lightyear first, so it was off to Tomorrowland! Good news and bad news here. The good news is that this is a really neat ride. The bad news is that we sucked! By the end I only had 31,000 and Joe had 90,000. We talked a lot about how much our nephews will enjoy this ride when they go to WDW with us in October, but we can only imagine the fights over who gets to spin the car. Always one to plan ahead, I've decided that each boy had to ride with an adult to prevent arguments!

Then we headed for Space Mountain. After about a 10 minute wait, I got the front seat, but I wanted to make sure Joe’s grumpies were totally gone, so I gave the seat to him. (I'm a saint, aren't I? ;)) He really thought the front seat made a huge difference in the thrill level.

Since we both hate Alien Encounter (not because it is scary, but mainly because it is just plain mean), we skipped it and decided to wait for the rope drop into Frontierland. It was really bizarre – this mass of people “calmly” following CM’s. We headed straight for Splash – about a 5-minute wait and we were in a raft on our way to the laughing place! To me, this ride is much scarier than Tower of Terror. At least on ToT you are in darkness - with Splash you can see those gnarly briars that you are diving into! Yikes!

Next was an attraction I hadn’t experienced since I was a teenager – Country Bear Jamboree. Just hearing all the kids gasp in delight as the stuffed heads on the wall start talking is magical! I tripped on the steps going into the theater – yet another thing for Joe to kid me about. (In the hallway between our room and the elevator at the BWI, there was this metal strip that I trip over EVERY day. I confess; I tripped purposely a few times just to make Joe laugh...sometimes we wives have to resort to these things!) Then we went to Cinderella’s Royal Table to see if we could get in for breakfast – no luck, but we could get in at 7:35 on Saturday morning! Yippee! We were both looking forward to that cream cheese-stuffed, deep-fried French toast!

We decided to see Hall of Presidents next, so it was through the castle and on to Liberty Square. The show had just started, so we went to Heritage House and bought a Presidential seal key chain ($4.77) for a friend of ours who is a huge Presidential history buff and then we went back to HoP. After standing there for a few minutes (it was 10:20 by this time), I realized we had a ps for breakfast at Crystal Palace for 10:00!! We're late! We're late! We’re late for a very important date!!! So we hustled over there and went to the check-in window. As luck would have it, I’d originally wanted to make the ps for 10:00 am, but decided on 10:30 instead, so we weren’t late – we were right on time! Whew! Within minutes we were seated and then it was on to a plateful of scrumptious breakfast food, including breakfast lasagna! I was a bit disappointed in the lasagna. It was good, but oh so sweet – too sweet for me to eat! Breakfast was $36.70 with tax and tip. After eating (and pictures with the characters), we had our picture taken on Main Street as the band marched up behind us. We never made it back to pick up the photo, but I imagine I looked pretty scared - I was sure we would get trampled by the band at any moment!

I had received a Disney Insider magazine with the Magic Delivery offer months earlier – fill out the coupon with the dates of your trip, the number and ages in your party and they would send you a special passport to have stamped in the parks. Send the stamped part in and you would receive two collectors pins. Included with the package were special coupons for things like a free Keys to the Kingdom tour or a special viewing spot for Illuminations. I sent my coupon in, but never received my package, so I asked about it at MK Guest Relations and they directed me to City Hall. The CM there wasn’t too cooperative. I explained my situation and said Guest Relations told me to go there to pick up a Magic Delivery package and he said “Where’s your number?” “What number – they just said come here.” He then said I needed the number from the Magic Delivery package to prove I should get it. Duh. If I got the package, why would I even be asking about it? After explaining again that I never received the package, he just stared at me, so I pulled out my Magic Kingdom Club gold card AND the bottom part of the page the Magic Delivery coupon was on. I thought about awarding myself the anal-retentive lunatic of the year trophy for tearing out the bottom portion of that page and putting it in my suitcase before we left, but at that point I was very thankful I'd done it. This seemed to convince him that I was worthy, so he went to the back and brought out a package several minutes later. There was a postcard attached and he had me fill it out with my name, trip dates and party ages again (which I didn't understand) and put it in the mailbox. Once I opened the package, I realized it didn’t come with a tour coupon – just the special viewing area for Illuminations, Beauty and the Beast and a discount at Wildhorse Saloon. Oh well, at least I got something! After all my good luck the previous day with the upgrade and the overcredit on the AP, I couldn't really complain!

After all that, we went back to the resort to regroup. We wandered around, looked at the pool areas and then found a bench on the Boardwalk and waited for the boat to MGM. What a lovely area – so picturesque yet homey.

We got to MGM, had my MD passport stamped and went straight to Tower of Terror. We were both practically drooling with anticipation over the recent changes to this attraction. A quick check of the hotel signboard by the “out of order” elevator revealed the hidden message was still intact – take a gander in the bottom of the letter board next time you ride. The letters that have fallen off spell out a pretty interesting message! After about a 15 minute total wait, we were in an elevator and screaming at the top of our lungs! What a thrill! The changes make it so much better – and I didn’t think it could get any better than it was last year! We immediately rode again, and by this time I could tell that the ride really was as good as I thought – my knees were shaky and my stomach was starting to do flips! In the gift shop, Joe bought a couple of neat diffraction discs for his Ph.D. advisor’s two sons ($10.60) and had them sent to our room. I just love package delivery!

Next we continued the quest for of Guest of Honor badges. Finally, we hit paydirt at Celebrity 5 & 10. I picked out a red Mickey badge for Joe and had a navy blue Minnie GoH badge engraved for myself. We also got Joe a keychain since his old Penn State one had recently broken. ($15.90). Officially a Guest of Honor again, we got a Coke ($2). The CM who sold me the soda called me by my name - the first of many CMs who greeted me like an old friend. Joe wouldn't wear his badge - why he said he wanted one is beyond me.

After that, we headed for the boat dock to go back to the Boardwalk. The FriendShip launches were one of the best parts of staying at an Epcot resort. Going to MGM, we were the first stop, followed by a stop at the Yacht & Beach Club and then the Swan & Dolphin before getting to MGM. That ride took about 18 minutes total, depending on how long the boat waited at each resort to load guests. The ride back was much better as the Boardwalk was the first drop-off. It only took about 10 minutes.

From the Boardwalk, we strolled over to Epcot again. We could have taken a boat, but we never did. No matter how tired our feet were, we always walked to Epcot - it is such a lovely stroll! We went to Future World Guest Relations to turn in our Illuminations viewing spot coupon and have the Magic Delivery passport stamped. Since we were there, Joe said we had to ride Spaceship Earth again because it’s his favorite. I’m beginning to thing the big geosphere has it’s own gravitational pull! In fact, as we were walking up the queue - maybe a 2 minute wait - he said, "I can just imagine the trip report now - 'Joe just had to ride Spaceship Earth - he said it was his all-time favorite!'" That's what I love about my husband - he makes fun of me with zeal! ;) Then on to Ice Station Cool – Joe tried the Beverly and didn’t say anything bad or even make a face, so I assumed he liked it! Later I asked him and he said it was revolting, but interesting. Then we popped into Innoventions and sent some E-post cards to friends and family.

Eventually, it was time to eat again (isn’t it always time to eat at WDW?), so we made our way to San Angel Inn for our ps. I love this restaurant – you get the lively atmosphere of the market, but the romantic feel of the “moonlit” night in an open-air café. Speaking of open air – the A/C was on full blast – I put my anorak on for extra insulation! Joe had the Corvina sea bass in a bed of refried beans and peppers, chipolte mashed potatoes and a Tecate. mashed potatoes and a Tecate. I had the Plato Mexicano, which consists of a grilled beef Tampiquena, chile rellano and refried beans. Everything was so delicious. The bill was $54.00 with tax and tip. Afterwards, Joe took a picture of me sitting on the fountain in the market square. We have a great photo of him in the same spot – it’s in a Mickey magnet frame on our refrigerator. If the photo of me turns out, we’ll put it in a Minnie frame next to Joe’s picture – a matching set!

The sun was setting and it was not quite time for Illuminations, so we started to stroll the long way around the lagoon towards the private viewing spot. Since we had a little time, we stopped to see Impressions de France. We had to hurry in as the movie was about to start. The CM at the door said, "Tara, you are late - always late!" in a faux-chiding tone (had to use the word "faux" - it is France, after all!), but his French accent was so charming! Joe and I both love this movie - in fact, we've decided that we'll only see it once per trip to keep it special. With the classical music and the gorgeous cinematography, this is such a treat. Besides, all those scenes with the French Alps really play to Joe's geology background! Afterwards, we bought some cinnamon-glazed almonds ($3) and explored the UK pavilion gardens. As we walked under the arbor, Joe gave me a little kiss. “Ardor in the arbor!” I proclaimed – yet another tradition. Whenever we walked through there for the rest of the trip, we would kiss. Not a bad little tradition, huh? And not only did I get kisses out of it, I got the perfect excuse to be “punny”! We started finding all sorts of reasons to visit the UK gardens!

Finally, we went to the little park along the lagoon by the Rose & Crown pub for our special viewing spot for Illuminations. This was a pretty good spot – but it was standing room only and not as good as I’d expected. The show itself is fabulous though! Before it started, we had a great view of a lighting storm – the lightning flashes seemed choreographed to the music playing around us! I noticed that someone was trying to bribe a CM to let him in - some people! ;) After Illuminations was over, we headed out the International Gateway and strolled along the Boardwalk. As beautiful as this area is in the daytime, it is truly meant to be experienced at night. All lit up and dotted with activity, the lights reflected in the waters of Crescent Lake...it is simply gorgeous. We walked around and finally stopped to watch the Boardwalk Buskers – a vaudeville act. They performed for about 20 minutes and were a riot - lots of audience participation, too.

We had considered visiting the ESPN club, but we were pretty tuckered out, we went up to the room. This time we set the wake-up call for 6:15 and put out a room service order for a pot of coffee the next morning. We were determined to be at Animal Kingdom at opening the next morning!

Friday, April 30

We got up on schedule and both showered. The coffee arrived ($10.37) and I must say it made a big difference. Just having it seemed to make a big difference. A cup of coffee out of a real cup over watching the weather and getting dressed is much nicer than coffee out of a paper cup that you’ve had to go in search of.

Speaking of watching the weather, the morning meteorologist for the NBC affiliate in Orlando is a good friend of ours – he was the best man in our wedding last year. We watched his forecast each weekday morning and afterwards we found ourselves saying “Now, what did he say the weather would be?” We were so caught up in the fact that it was Mike, that we found it hard to pay attention to what Mike was actually saying!

We packed the backpack for the day, put out the daily envelope with a $3 tip for housekeeping (each one had a different character and “For Housekeeping – thank you!”) and headed out for the morning. We got a doughnut twist and a cinnamon bun from Boardwalk Bakery (and a couple of cokes - $7.37) and ate them at the bus stop while we waited for the AK bus. Then on to AK! We planned on being there by 7:30 since the official opening time was 8:00. We then waited 30 minutes because they really didn’t open until 8:00! We were both pretty excited about visiting this park because neither of us had seen the Asia section yet and Joe missed several attractions last summer because he decided to sleep in and I did a little solo touring!

We went straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and rode it immediately – no wait. It was our best safari ever! We didn’t see more animals per se (no zebra or lions), but the ones we did see were much more active. The black rhinos were running around, the cheetahs were moving around, the elk were “fighting” – it was great!

Then on to the Tree of Life to see It’s Tough to be a Bug. We waited about 5 minutes and went in for the show. Joe didn’t care for it, but I still think it’s my favorite 3D at WDW.

From there we went to Dinoland USA to ride Countdown to Extinction – no wait at all. This time, Joe was impressed. Just like my sister on our trip last summer, I think he was expecting something like the dinosaur scenes from Universe of Energy at Epcot. Boy, was he surprised!

Since it was quite chilly and overcast that morning, we decided against Kali River Rapids thinking we’d be wet and miserable all day. Instead we toured the Maharajah Jungle Trek – very neat area, but we didn’t see too many animals. The tigers were in view briefly, but they moved out of site almost immediately. The bats were pretty quiet, too.

It was about 10:00 by this time, and we had a PS at Rainforest Café for a late breakfast, but decided we’d rather have lunch at Prime Time Café instead. We took the bus directly to MGM and walked around until time to eat.

Once we arrived at the PTC, we were seated immediately and set the table while we waited for “cousin Bob” to come by. We ordered milkshakes (PB&J for Joe and vanilla for me) and onion rings. When the onion rings arrived, they were more like shoestring onions, very thin and crispy – delicious! Then came the meal – a veggie wrap with peas for Joe and fried chicken with mashed potatoes and peas for me. That’s when I realized I’d forgotten to tell Bob that I’d prefer corn-on-the-cob since I HATE peas. Joe kept teasing me because he was going to get a Clean Plate sticker and I wasn’t. Cousin Bob came over and pretended to feed me a big bite of peas while joe took a picture. (Little did I know he was giving me rabbit ears in the photo – it’s priceless!) Then he gave Joe a Clean Plate sticker and tore off a tiny bit of another sticker and gave that to me. With tax and tip, the meal was $51.50.

While we were at PTC, we booked a seating for the Fantasmic dinner deal. This is a special deal that must be booked on a same-day basis in person at MGM. You dine at Mama Melrose or Brown Derby (we chose BD), each person must order an entrée, and you receive tickets for a special seating area for Fantasmic!

By this point we were feeling a little tired (and full from that huge lunch), so we decided to go take a nap. We slept for about two hours and then returned to MGM for our priority seating at the Brown Derby. (Our waitress looked just like Minnie Driver.) This restaurant is outstanding, by the way! The atmosphere is very subdued. A woman dressed in forties style (she reminded me of Hedda Hopper, though) played soft tunes on a piano while we relaxed and perused the menu. We had lots of fun identifying the star charicatures that line the walls. Joe was particularly impressed with the tables – if the wood inlay design was fake, it was a pretty convincing fake!

Eventually, we finally decided on a couple of entrees. Joe had the grilled salmon with crispy leeks and risotto and I had the grilled pork tenderloin with asparagus and shoestring potatoes. Everything was marvelous – the food was delicious and the presentation was superb. For dessert we shared a slice of grapefruit cake and Joe had Irish coffee. What I love about Disney restaurants is they never seem to hurry you along. We finally got around to paying our bill ($67 with tax and tip after MKC discount) and were given our Fantasmic special seating coupons. We did a little more wandering around, contemplated riding ToT again (but didn’t because of the line) and just browsed in the shops until about 7:45. We made our way toward the stadium for Fantasmic. As we got closer, we noticed that every 100 feet or so stood a CM, repeatedly saying “This show involves water and you will get wet.” I knew that people close to the front might get wet, but I was surprised at how strident their warnings were. Little did I know!!

That evening was very cool – probably around 60 degrees. It had been cool and windy all day, in fact. We made our way to the reserved section of the stadium (the far-right section) and took a seat about 12 rows back. I pulled out my anorak and after some cajoling, Joe put his anorak on as well. At about 8:10, a preshow started – Lou and Delman – and they were hilarious. The performed lots of stunts and basically got the crowd warmed up and excited. There were also roaming food vendors (which I didn’t mind) and roaming gadget vendors selling items like glow necklaces and light sabers (which I do mind – it strikes me as tacky).

Eventually, the lights dimmed and the show began! This show consists of some live character scenes interspersed with lasers, pyrotechnics and animation projected onto water “screens”. On a calm evening, I can understand why people near the front might get wet. However, we were there on an evening when a fairly stiff breeze was blowing directly at us. So every time the water screens started, we were soaked by the blowing mist! On a warm night, it wouldn’t be that bad. However, having mist blown in your eyes (or on your glasses) doesn’t make for optimal viewing conditions. In all we thought the show was spectacular, but next time we’ll make sure to sit upwind!

Thanks to the anoraks, we weren’t thoroughly soaked, but we were still pretty wet and cold. With all the crowds marching toward the exit, neither of us was looking forward to the wait for the boat back to the Boardwalk. It seemed to take about 20 minutes for the first boat to arrive, and I thought we’d be there forever based on the number of people ahead of us at the dock. (I knew we shouldn’t have stopped in the ToT shop again!!) I was amazed at how many people they crammed on that first boat, however. The next boat was right behind it, so from the beginning of our wait until the boat docked at the Boardwalk was only about 30 minutes. We were both tired, but not too tired for a snack! I got cinnamon-glazed almonds (again! $3) and Joe had a funnel cake ($3). All those food vendors on the Boardwalk are very tempting! Since we were both still pretty tired, we decided that we would enjoy the next day much more if we slept in. That would mean missing our 7:35 am priority seating at Cinderella’s Royal Table, but we agreed to make up for it on our October trip. (Goodbye, cream cheese stuffed, deep fried French toast!)

Saturday, May 1

Since we were both feeling a little worn out, we decided to sleep in and didn’t get out of bed until 7:30. I know; you’re probably thinking, “Since when is 7:30 early??” Well, for a hard-core early-entry gal like me, sleeping until 7:30 is indeed very late! We took our time getting ready and left the resort at 8:45, heading for Epcot.

We walked to the International Gateway and headed for Future World. It was so bizarre to wander through World Showcase with no one else around! We didn’t dawdle, however, we had to get to Test Track! As luck would have it, Test Track was pretty much deserted. From the time we entered until the time we boarded a car, our wait was only 7 minutes! This time we got a chance to go through the full queue area and see all the displays that we missed in the single-rider line. Even the second time we decided this is a really great attraction, but I don’t see us ever waiting an hour to ride it! Hopefully our luck continue in the future in this regard!

Afterwards we decided we were still too cold (the temp was maybe 60, the sky was grey, and the wind was stiff), so we looked around for sweatshirts but didn’t see anything we liked in our sizes, so we decided to go to Downtown Disney. Rather than go back to the Boardwalk, we decided to go out front to the bus stop and get to DD from there. Well, it turned out there wasn’t a direct bus, so we decided to take the first resort bus we saw, which turned out to be Port Orleans/Dixie Landings. “Great, “ I thought. “We can take the boat to DD from there.” So off we went and got off at PO. We looked around the resort for awhile (Joe had never seen it) and then went down to the dock. Turns out the boat didn’t start running until 10:30 am that morning and it was just 9:45. We decided to go back up to the bus stop and take the bus from there. The entire escapade took about 45 minutes from leaving Epcot until arriving at DD, but we did get to explore Port Orleans and Joe got a glimpse of Dixie Landings (I’ve stayed there). Once at DD, we decided we were both starving, so we went to McDonald’s. (Yes, I ate McDonald’s at WDW.) We got our bacon, egg and cheese biscuit meals for just $7.56 – the cheapest meal we had by far! We even ended up with an extra hash brown for some reason. It was miserably cold (considering it was May) and it seemed the a/c was on everywhere we went! Brrrrrrrr!

Next we went to World of Disney and I was very disappointed in the sweatshirt selection. I guess everyone had the same idea I had, because there was hardly a medium or large sweatshirt to be found! I ended up finding a plain grey one with Mickey on it and got it for only $25 with my MKC discount. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was warm!

Happy that I wouldn’t suffer frostbite at Disney (I was there to escape the cold NY weather, after all), we headed back to the Boardwalk and changed. Actually, we just added more layers!

Then it was back to Epcot. We wandered around Future World some more and did Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I think this ride is so neat! I love the Jeopardy angle and Ellen and Bill Nye do a very good job. From there we decided to do a little more resort exploring, so we made our way back to the International Gateway and visited the Yacht and Beach Club resorts. There was some filming going on for what looked like a Clinique training video. I tried to get a good look, but Joe kept pulling me on, embarrassed by my “gawking”. A girl can’t have any fun!! ;) We decided that maybe we’d like to stay at the Beach Club some day, but we were pleased with the way our trip had worked out because we thought the Yacht Club just didn't measure up to the Boardwalk Inn based on the lobby and common areas.

From there we decided to make an afternoon foray to Animal Kingdom. The sun had finally come out (that’s more like it!) and it was warming up, so we decided to give Kali River Rapids a try. There was no way I was riding it and getting soaking wet when the sun wasn’t shining! We were very impressed with the queue area, and the ride as a whole was very scenic, but it wasn’t that thrilling. We had about a five minute wait – not nearly what I expected – and we did get soaked! Correction, Joe got a little wet. I got drenched! And let me tell you, jeans do not dry quickly!

After we emerged we confronted a mad pack of wild animals…er, I mean parade crowds! The March of the Artimals had just gone by and I couldn’t believe the throng of people! In all my days, I’ve never seen such a log-jam of a crowd at Walt Disney World! The walkways at Animal Kingdom are just too narrow for a parade, in my opinion. After feeling like a salmon swimming upstream (and about as wet as one, too), we somehow ended up in Harambe! I don’t remember what we did to get there! Regardless, we decided since we were there we’d take another Safari. This time we had the longest wait I’ve ever had for the safari – 25 minutes. The safari was still wonderful. The animals weren’t as active as they are first thing in the morning (or even at the end of the day), but we saw so many giraffe and zebras. And, for the first time, we saw the lion AND lioness on the rocks at the same time! It was too cool!

Since the weather was still cooperating and I was eager to stay out in it to dry off, we did a first attraction for both of us – Pangani Exploration Trail. This area is so lush and gorgeous. I could have lingered there all day! They have the cutes antelopes – so tiny – an there was a mir cat sitting on a rock looking at us like he owned the place. But the highlight of the day was the gorilla area. As we entered, a CM was telling people to keep their voices to a whisper because a family of gorillas was out. The alpha male was sitting chewing on a long spear of grass looking at us as if we were silly to make such a fuss over them. There were three females (I think), one carrying a tiny baby gorilla on her back and the other watching over an older and definitely more rambunctious “toddler”! We probably stayed there at least 30 minutes just watching these amazing creatures.

Upon exiting the trail, the smells coming from Tusker House were too tempting to resist and I’d heard such great things about it, so we decided to have a late lunch there. I had the rotisserie chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and Joe had the smoked turkey on foccacia with tabbouleh (with Cokes, $19.61). It was delicious! The food was very flavorful – just the sort of non-fried yet somewhat simple, comfortable food we were craving at this point. I highly recommend this – I think it’s the best counter service in the parks!

Afterwards, Joe had a hankering for ice cream so we got some ($2.65) and decided to ride Countdown to Extinction again. (somebody has a new favorite ride). This time the line was looped around the indoor queue area, so to kill time I asked pointed to one of the rock “layers” on the wall and said “Is this supposed to be coal?” A boy in front of us that looked about 10 piped up and said, “Yep.” His dad (the spitting image of Joe Piscipo) said proudly, “You’d be hard pressed to find someone who knows more about rocks that this one” as he patted the boy on the head. I just looked at my geologist husband and grinned. Joe and the boy ended up talking about geology during the entire 20-minute wait. This time we got the front seat – right in Carnotaurus range!

We had had our photo taken by a CM earlier, so we decided to go see our picture and then head to another park. As luck would have it, the picture was pretty good, so we got it and another disposable camera ($23.22).

We went to MGM from there with every intention of riding Tower of Terror again, but the park was way too crowded, so we immediately took the boat back to the Boardwalk and walked to Epcot. Here we learned a lesson. If a certain amount of time doesn’t elapse between park entrances using your AP (or any pass, I assume), the computer denies you access! We got in, but I was impressed that they keep up with such things!

We wandered around World Showcase for awhile, making a few trips under the arbor in the UK gardens (our traditional kiss spot). Joe bought an book at one of the shops (which he really enjoyed – Sarum, a fictionalized history of early Britain) and then we decided we really wanted a burger, so we went to Liberty Inn (2 burger meals, $15.46) and sat outside while everyone jockeyed for a viewing spot for Illuminations. After we ate, we walked back toward the International Gateway, catching a little bit of Illuminations as we went.

Once we returned to the Boardwalk Inn, it was time to pack. This has to be my least favorite part of the trip! We got things squared away, watched Sportscenter and then hit the sack at about 11 pm.

Sunday, May 2, 1999

Well, the inevitable arrived - the last day of our vacation. We only had one goal in mind for this day – saying goodbye to all our favorites!

I managed to get up with almost no trouble (though I never heard Mickey on the wakeup call – the music just played on and on and on…). I got ready in a hurry and Joe showered and dressed while I went down to the Bellevue Room to get morning snacks for the two of us (2 danish, Coke and coffee for $7.56).

We left our bags behind in the room and finished our breakfast on a bench while waiting for the boat to MGM to arrive. We arrived at MGM and made a beeline for Tower of Terror and rode it with only a 10 minute wait. (I love this little-to-no-line thing! I might not ever visit in the summertime again!) This time, as we went up through the different levels, it seemed there was a problem so we kept pausing in total darkness. Then, when it came time for the first drop, we paused again, making the actual drop much more thrilling since we didn’t know when to expect it! We decided to make this the last ToT ride of our trip and said goodbye to the attraction until October.

Slowly we made our way back toward the park entrance, taking lots of photos along the way. Luckily the boat was just arriving as we reached the dock, so we were back at the Boardwalk in no time! We went to the room, gave it a final once-over to make sure nothing was left behind, and then took our bags down to Bell Services to check them for the day. There was a long line at the front desk, so we decided to just skip it since the express checkout bill had already arrived and it was all correct.

We went out to the bus stop and boarded the bus bound for the Magic Kingdom. As we arrived, Joe seemed to be spending more time than usual looking around in the Main Street Shops. Imagine my surprise when he picked out a Mickey Mouse watch for himself! Normally he likes to scowl over most Disney merchandise, so I was shocked that he picked something out on his own with no encouragement from me! Then he suggested that I get a charm bracelet like we’d discussed. I finally settled on sterling silver and we picked out a Mickey charm and a Cinderella’s Castle charm with a promise from Joe that I could add a new charm to it on each new trip. (Total for everything was $71.50)

Since Joe liked Crystal Palace so much, we decided to eat lunch there and made a priority seating before heading to Tomorrowland. Once in Tomorrowland, we waited 40 minutes to ride Space Mountain so I could try riding up front (something I’d never done). In all it was fun, but I just don’t enjoy this ride as much as I used to and don’t really think it’s worth the long wait. That was our longest wait of this entire trip, in fact.

Afterwards we did an old favorite – the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I love being able to see the interior of Space Mountain! Just before we got to the unloading platform at the end of the ride, it stopped! We sat there for about 15 minutes. Honestly, I think we could have fallen asleep if the seats had been more comfortable! Finally they got it up and running and we got off the ride.

Then it was on to Carousel of Progress, one of my sentimental favorites! Although, I really miss the “Now is the time” theme song! The crowd was a little dull – most of the time lots of people sing along, but nobody seemed to be doing so this time.

We still had some time to kill before lunch (gee, what should we do?), so we rode the Skyway to Fantasyland. Sitting next to each other and holding the camera out to take our own picture on this ride has become a tradition, so we snapped our photo and I’m glad to say it actually turned out okay, just like the others!

Once we arrived at Fantasyland, we still had enough time for one ride so we headed towards Peter Pan’s Flight. Would you believe that in all my visits I’ve never ridden this ride? If I rode it as a small child, I don’t remember it! This is where one of the funniest moments of the trip occurred. As some of you might recall, I bought a Guest of Honor badge with my name engraved on it and wore it around the parks. Joe teased me mercilessly (as husbands are want to do) and thought it was a waste of money. Well, as we walked towards Peter Pan’s Flight, a cast member was zipping through the crowds, obviously in a big hurry to get somewhere. However, as he trotted by us, he said, “Hey Tara, how’s it going?” just like he was an old friend. Joe couldn’t believe that he would do that given the big hurry he was in. He still wasn’t ready to admit the badges were neat, however.

Alas, the line for Peter Pan’s Flight was too long to do it before lunch, so we headed through the Castle towards Crystal Palace. Once we went in, a manager-type guy was standing just inside the door and said “Hi, Tara. How are you?” This was the last straw for Joe. “Okay, the badges are neat – you are right!” he said, laughing at himself for being such a stick in the mud about them. Of course, I still couldn’t get him to wear his, but it was a big admission on his part!

In all, I have to say I wasn’t as pleased with the lunch buffet at Crystal Palace as I was with the breakfast. Don’t get me wrong – it was certainly good food. I just think the variety was better at breakfast. This time we were able to see all the characters, however. We had our pictures made with all four and I even had a really glum photo taken with Eeyore, who was very sad that we were leaving WDW that day! (lunch for both of us with tax and tip - $36)

After lunch we headed straight to Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean. As many times as I ride this attraction, I’ll never get over my sheer delight at it! I dare anyone not to grin from ear to ear at the sight of that grimy pirate leg hanging over the bridge or at the smiling pig in the mud!

It was getting late, and we still had some more ‘goodbyes’ to say, so we headed toward the exit. A nice couple took our goodbye photo in front of the Main Street Railroad and we were off to the monorail platform! At the TTC, we asked to sit up front on the way to Epcot and Barry, the CM we talked to, said “Of course, we’ve been saving that seat just for you, Tara.” Of course, he was just kidding, but then I noticed that he was from Latham, NY, just a stone’s through from us! Once on the monorail our pilot talked about some of the construction going on for the Millennium and gave us Monorail Co-Pilot cards before we disembarked. As many times as we’ve ridden up front, this is the first time we’ve received the cards!

Once in Epcot, we headed straight for Spaceship Earth. No way I was getting Joe passed that one without riding it! (just kidding, I wanted to ride it too!) Then we just wandered around Future World taking some pictures and talking about our next trip.

Once we got to World Showcase, we decided to see “O Canada” since Joe had never seen it and I couldn’t even remember the last time I had. We even recognized some of the Nova Scotia scenes as things we saw on our honeymoon last year!

After a final walk through the UK gardens, we decided we’d better head back to the Boardwalk and get our luggage. There waiting out front for us was Brian from Tiffany Towncar – early as usual! In no time we were at the airport and ready to board the plane. (sniff sniff)

As we took off toward home, Joe squeezed my hand and said, “Don’t be sad, honey. We had a good time. Besides, we’ll be back in 160 days!”

I looked at him, gave a little sniff and said, “Actually, it’s 159 days, “ and then I couldn’t help but grin!

The Boardwalk Inn

Ever since we first laid eyes on it during our honeymoon in June, 1998, Joe and I knew we simply had to stay at the Boardwalk Inn at some point. The area is just so pretty and it is so convenient to Epcot and MGM. After returning from our honeymoon, we began making plans to visit again in October 1999 and stay at the Boardwalk. In late fall, I called and was able to get a water-view room for October 9-17 with an MKC discount for a total of $2020. Pretty steep for eight nights, but we really wanted to stay here, so we booked it.

About two months later, we talked Joe’s sister into bringing her family along for the trip (her husband and their three boys ages 9, 7 and 5). Knowing that they’d never pay what we planned to pay at the Boardwalk, Joe and I talked it over and decided to stay in the same resort with them – All Star Movies. We called and got two rooms at the MKC rate of $66.60 per night - over $1400 less for the room that we would have paid at the Boardwalk. As excited as we were over the trip, we were still sad to see our plans of staying at the Boardwalk slip away…

Since we were planning on getting Annual Passes, we decided to take a quick winter trip in February and take advantage of the great AP rates at the deluxe resorts. We were both so tired of the cold weather and needed a break. Alas, Boardwalk wasn’t available, so we booked the Yacht Club for $169/night. Then came the flu! We both had horrible cases – so bad there was no way we could take our trip. (But you know me, I was still trying to pack, thermometer in mouth! Once I saw my temp was STILL 101 – after three days of running a fever, I gave up and cancelled our reservation!)

Once we recovered, we started trying to rebook and were having a horrible time coordinating flights and hotel availability. After lots of checking with Delta by my travel agent it became apparent that the only way to get a decent price on a new ticket was to begin the trip on a Wednesday rather than Friday and return on Sunday. Nobody had to twist my arm to get me to spend an extra two days at WDW! So I made the call myself to CRO to book a room and after much checking and rechecking the agent came up with the Boardwalk Inn for $169/night! Finally, we were getting our wish!

As we drove up to the Boardwalk, I wanted to cry! I was just so glad to finally be taking the trip at all, and staying at the Boardwalk was like the icing on the cake. Brian, our Tiffany Towncar driver pulled up to the front and helped us with our luggage. A bell hop came over and offered help, too, but we didn’t have that much baggage so we decided to carry it (or pull it, I should say) ourselves. We walked in through the automatic doors and I immediately wanted to climb onto the GIANT settee in the entranceway. It looked like something right out of a beach cottage – all seersucker and terrycloth and fresh-as-lemonade colors. Then we were immediately struck by the giant carousel chandelier. The lobby isn’t as majestic as Wilderness Lodge (were we stayed for our honeymoon), but it was very luxurious without being imposing. We went to the front desk and found no line for check in! I got out my confirmation and Joe’s annual pass voucher and asked if it would be possible to get a room early (it was only 11:30 am by this point). I also nicely inquired if we could possibly get an upgraded view and said I’d take an upgraded room with two queens even though I’d previously requested a king bed. After checking the computer and getting help from another CM, we were offered a garden-view room with a king-size bed! (Water-views were sold out, she said.) We signed for the room and were given our resort Ids and our folio of information. This is a big, blue folder with a tuck-in flap. It contains maps to all the parks, a World Update, the Boardwalk “newspaper”, and various information on things like E-Ride Nights, Cirque du Soliel, etc. We thought this was a really nice touch – we didn’t get this package at Wilderness Lodge last year.

Then it was up to our room – 3312. We’d heard that a room close to the elevators was important, but we didn’t really care that much. As luck would have it, the room wasn’t that far. We were both delighted at the old-fashioned game machines scattered throughout the resort – like old fortune telling machines. The hallways are very bright and cheery, with lots of blues and greens and touches of pink and yellow and white.

The room numbers are marked in such a cute way – the signs look like postcards! Even the doors are cute – nice trim. Once we got to our room, we opened the door and were very pleased to find our room in perfect shape.

We were at the beginning of one wing so there was no room to the left of us. As we entered the room, there was a tall, narrow dresser with a pretty oval mirror on the top. Next to that was a closet with white louvered doors (the doors actually were sliding doors). Inside the closet was a safe, a folding crib, a luggage rack and an iron and ironing board.

Opposite the closet was the vanity area. The marble vanity had two sinks below a wall mirror. The soaps and other Mickey toiletries were arranged in a cute bathtub-shaped dish. The neatest feature of the sink area, however, was a pull-out shaving mirror that turned to reveal both regular and magnifying mirrors!

Just to the right of the sink area was a door leading to the tub/toilet room. This was done in white tile with a blue/green floral shower curtain. I was surprised to see that the toilet had a regular flush mechanism and not the “turbo flush” button on top of the tank!

Inside the room, just beyond the closet to the left was a roomy club chair next to a set of windows. These windows overlooked an tiny, enclosed courtyard, though I assume it was a service-access area as it was completely unadorned. Along that same wall beyond the windows sat a pretty armoire done in eggshell white with doors and drawers painted blue with cheery green trim. This housed the TV and gave us plenty of drawer space to stow our clothes.

On the right hand side of the room was a king bed with a white iron headboard. It was covered in a white bedspread with different botanical motifs done in green, yellow, pink and blue. Each of the bedside tables were “antique” looking pedestal tables. Light sconces were mounted on each side of the bed as well. These lights seemed a bit tricky. At first I thought the bulbs were burned out, but then I realized you just have to turn the switch and wait for the light to come on – the lights are a little slow in responding. Over the bed was a white ceiling fan. On the far end of the room beyond the bed was a table and two chairs. Next to it was a wrought iron floor lamp. Beyond this was the door to the balcony. It was draped with lace sheers and blue and white curtains with a cute postcard pattern. On the patio there were two chairs and a small table. Directly across the courtyard we could see a couple of the garden suites with their picket-fence gardens. If we looked to the right (well, actually, if we leaned over the railing a bit and looked to the right), we could see Spaceship Earth.

The floor was carpeted with a grey carpet with a rose pattern. Along the walls were prints of Atlantic seaside scenes and homes. One wall featured a large American sampler print.

We found our room to be very quiet. We never heard any hallway noise, nor did we hear anyone above us. Also, the water pressure was great – a big plus in my book!

While we were there our housekeeper didn’t do anything extra special, but he or she (the name on the card was Lou, which could go either way, I guess) did keep the room very clean for us and left us plenty of extra soap and towels.

We did make use of room service one morning (just for coffee) and our order arrived promptly at the beginning of the 6:30-6:45 window.

We really enjoyed exploring this resort. The main pool area – Luna Park – was simply delightful! (of course we were freezing, so swimming wasn’t an option for us) Leaping Horse Libations, the pool bar/fast food spot next to the pool, carried the theme along nicely with it’s circus-tent roof. The gardenia bushes all around the pool were in full bloom and were wonderfully fragrant. We also took a peek at the quiet pool on the Inn side…it seemed just like someone’s private pool! Very quiet but charming! If we had decided to swim, this would have been the spot!

The Bellevue Room itself was nice – we kept saying we were going to relax there one evening so Joe could have one of his favorite single malt Scotches, but we never made it. More often than not we went right by it and down the wide staircase with it’s oriental carpet runner and right outside to the Boardwalk, eager to get to the action!

The outside of the Boardwalk was as much fun as the inside! We spent a lot of time walking around, never without a funnel cake or bag of glazed almonds in hand! The Boardwalk Bakery was very convenient for a morning snack, but many of the bakery items could be purchased in the Bellevue Room inside the hotel (between the lobby and the Inn elevator bank). This was especially convenient on mornings when we were headed out to the bus stop rather than the boat launch.

Just outside the lobby is a lovely porch with lots of white wicker chairs overlooking a green, flower-lined lawn and a broad staircase. (Directly below this is the childcare club.) The pier where FriendShip launches bound for MGM or Epcot docked was directly across from this lawn-area. Surrey bike rentals could also be found in this area.

Everywhere you looked you were greeted by something wonderful – beautiful flowers, sparkling water, gaily-striped store awnings. In the sunlight it was a treat to behold, but at nighttime it was remarkable. The whole place comes alive with white lights strung along everywhere and roving entertainers. At the end of a day in the parks, I actually looked forward to getting back to the resort to see what I was missing there!

So, that’s my mini-report on the Boardwalk Inn. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a billion things, so if anyone has any questions – throw ‘em my way. I’ll do my best to answer them!

The Food!

Since we ate so few sit-down meals on our honeymoon in June, we decided to be much more liberal in spending money on food for this trip. So below is a brief report on the restaurants and counter service spots we visited! (okay, I’ve repeated myself a little here, but I figured some people might just want the food and resort details)

Cantina del San Angel – this is still a favorite of ours even though many people don’t like it. Joe especially loves the tacos al carbon. I always get the cantina nachos and it isn’t authentic Mexican fare at it’s finest, but it is filling and better than Taco Bell!

Chef Mickey’s – We had the character dinner buffet here our first evening. First of all, this place is really hopping! It is noisy and colorful, but that’s fine with us! The characters were great – Chip came over to “flirt” with me several times – and the food was excellent! I’d heard raves about the parmesan mashed potatoes and they were as great as I expected they’d be!

Crystal Palace – this is a beautiful restaurant, one I’d never even been inside before in all my trips to WDW! We had the character breakfast here. Even though Piglet was the only character that made it to our table, we were too busy eating all the great food to notice. The French toast is out of this world and if you like your breakfast food sweet and fruity, then the breakfast lasagna is for you! We also had lunch here on our final day. The characters were much more attentive (and Pooh was visiting tables rather than being stationed in the middle of the restaurant as he was at breakfast). However, I suppose I was expecting the lunch to be as good as the dinner at Chef Mickey’s, so I was slightly disappointed. Joe thought I was crazy and that the food was great!

San Angel Inn – This is officially our favorite restaurant at WDW. Since it is inside the pyramid, they were able to make it feel like a moonlit outdoor café, complete with smoking volcano in the background! The atmosphere is lively yet romantic and the food is wonderful, particularly if you try some of the more unusual (meaning authentic Mexican, not Tex-Mex) dishes. The sea bass dish is excellent!

50’s Prime Time Café – This is another tradition of ours. I can imagine we’ll have lunch here every trip, for the milkshakes if nothing else! Joe had the peanut butter and jelly milkshake this time and LOVED it. Also, we asked if onion rings were available by themselves as this item isn’t on the menu and received the most scrumptious basket of shoestring onions - very crispy and delicious. (thank goodness we brought along the Altoids!) This trip Joe received a Clean Plate sticker. I would have gotten one too, but I forgot to ask for corn instead of peas, so my plate came out with a huge portion of those icky green veggies I hate. Bleeccchhh! Oh well, the photo of “Cousin Bob” feeding me a spoonful of peas was priceless!

Brown Derby – This was our first visit here and I’m afraid we’ve found yet another dining tradition! We loved the atmosphere here, too. I highly recommend the grilled pork tenderloin and Joe recommends the grapefruit cake!

Tusker House – this is by far the best counter service spot in the parks! I was craving something not fried but fast, and I loved the rotisserie chicken. It also came with roasted garlic mashed potatoes – delicious as well. Joe thought his turkey sandwich on foccacia was great, but said the tabbouleh was a real treat instead of chips or fries!

Liberty Inn – we were both in the mood for a burger, so we stopped here one evening. I was unimpressed, frankly. The burger was okay, but not great. Of course, I didn’t expect it to be. What really turned me off was that the condiment counter was a horrible mess. I know it must be difficult to clean up after droves of people, but this was bad by any standard!

The Budget!

Airfare – originally $211 each on Delta, but when we had to reschedule, the change fee and the higher rates bumped it up to $364 each.

Room - $169/night plus tax with an Annual Pass holder discount brought our room bill to $750

Admission – thanks to Magic Kingdom Club discounts and a computer error, we ended up paying only $433 for BOTH our Annual Passes!

Food – We felt like we ate very well this trip – several character meals, less counter service, but we only spent $400, or $40 per person, per day

Souvenirs and stuff - $175, but this number could have been much lower if Joe hadn’t simultaneously sat on my sunglasses and knocked my camera in between the couch cushions the night before we left. A good bit of that money went towards buying sunglasses and a bunch of disposable cameras!

Shuttle service - $90 through Tiffany Towncar, including $5 off coupon and tip.

Total for this 5-day getaway - $2576

Some Parting Shots

I just have one this time, but based on our experience this trip, I think it’s a very important point:

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