WDW Trip Reports

June, 1998
The Honeymoon!

Dates: June 21-27, 1998
Travel method: plane, rental car
Resort: Wilderness Lodge
Accommodations: Woods-view room

Well, rather than a blow-by-blow trip report, I thought I would give my impressions of the parks, the hotel, transportation, food and miscellaneous items. However, this trip report still turned out to be longer than I’d hoped, but I just can’t say enough great things about Disney!!

Background - Let me start by saying that Joe and I were married on June 20, 1998. Joe’s parents gave us a substantial amount of money for a honeymoon, to do with as we pleased. After much debate, we settled on one week at WDW and one week in Nova Scotia (talk about your schizophrenic trips!!)

This was in early March. After deciding on the destination, we headed to the bookstore, bought some travel guides and started deciding on a resort. We definitely wanted to stay on-site but didn’t want to spend too much. After comparing resorts, we settled on Dixie Landings. I immediately called my travel agent and told her we wanted a water view room and she started checking rates while I began perusing r.a.d.p. (rec.arts.disney.parks newsgroup) and other great Disney sites.

Then I get a call from the travel agent (she’s the greatest, BTW). Dixie Landings was sold out for our first two nights there! But, they offered me Wilderness Lodge for $154 including tax!! So we went for it, thrilled that we were getting a deluxe hotel after all. Then she told me about the airfare – Philly to Orlando to Portland, Maine (there we took the ferry to Nova Scotia) and then back to Philly - $638 for two. Another great deal!! Feeling guilty about accepting such a huge gift from my future in-laws, I told the agent to charge the tickets to me. Little did I know that she would eventually give us the tickets for free as a wedding gift!! (Like I said, she’s the greatest!!)

I planned like a maniac – made lots of priority seating “reservations”, poured over the guides, read and posted on radp, even attended a radp meet (and only two other people showed up :(.

So, all that in mind, here are my impressions of the different topics I listed above:

Wilderness Lodge – What a beautiful, awe-inspiring hotel! We loved the lobby – lounged frequently late in the evening before retiring, wrote postcards there, hunted for hidden Mickeys. Our room was very nice, though a bit dark. Of course, waiting when we arrived was a split of champagne from the staff – nice welcome! We had a woods view and could see the fireworks from our balcony. (Incidentally, our room was 4010 and after a couple of days we noticed that carved into the huge log “column” on the left side of the balcony was a Mickey. I asked the front desk about it and they said it was the only room with a Mickey on the balcony. I’m not sure I believe them, but it was a nice touch!!)

The pool area was nice, but it was almost always crowded. We could never find empty lounge chairs. Being able to jump in the spa was nice, and especially soothing for our aching feet, but cool and warm spas would have been nicer than warm and hot spas!

We did a good bit of eating at Roaring Forks. The food was decent (not fabulous, but fast). In the early mornings, it was extremely crowded, however, and the noise from the arcade was a bit much in the evening. I was irritated by the fact that it was closed when we returned from Magic Kingdom – the food courts in all hotels really should stay open at least an hour past the latest park closing – even if you can only get drinks and snack items.

Whispering Canyon was nice, but we went for a late lunch, so there weren’t any high-jinks going on, and when we asked for ketchup, we just got a bottle of ketchup! But the food was great – I had a wonderful bean soup and a grilled chicken sandwich and Joe had a huge salad (and later ate the rest of my sandwich – it was huge, too).

All in all, Wilderness Lodge was really great – high marks for fantastic themeing, attentive staff and a beautiful setting – you really can’t see palm trees from the place!!

Restaurants

We had originally planned on eating lots of sit-down meals. However, we were just having so much fun touring that we didn’t feel like taking so much time to eat. We did have a character breakfast at Epcot’s Garden Grill and lunch at Whispering Canyon. These were some of our dining high-points:

Rose & Crown Pub – had PS for 6:45 and got an outdoor table. They brought us champagne and strawberries to congratulate us on the honeymoon!! Joe had Shepard’s Pie (I think) and I had the fish & chips, but it was so hot that I literally lost my appetite – I probably didn’t eat three bites. As night began to fall, our waitress told us we could take our time and stay for Illuminations. We began talking to people at the next table who were from Tennessee and celebrating their 20th anniversary – everyone we encountered was so friendly!! Just before the show started, a woman at the table to our right passed out from the heat and they brought a wheelchair to take her away – it was that hot!

Hollywood & Vine – we stopped here for late breakfast before leaving MGM after early entry. We were both surprised at how good the food was and will definitely go there again!!

50’s Prime Time Café – What a fun place!! First off, our waitress was “Mom”. When she asked why we hadn’t been home in so long, Joe told her we had gotten married and she made the biggest fuss – started yelling for “Dad” to come in and hear the news. Well, “Dad” shows up and starts quizzing Joe about what he does. Joe tells him he’s working on his Ph.D. and he looks at “Mom” and says, “A doctor!! Mother, did you hear that?? Our girl picked a doctor!!” The food here was great – I had the fried chicken and it was delicious. Joe had another salad – I thought he was going to turn into a lettuce leaf!! If you go, remember to keep your elbows off the table, take your hat off and order a milkshake!!

Our favorite counter service spots – Pirata y el Perico in MK, Pizzafari in AK (best pizza in the parks, IMO) and Cantina del San Angel in Epcot.

Transportation

We rented a car ($105.45 plus tax for a midsize for a week through National with an MKC discount) because we’d heard so many horror stories about the transportation from Wilderness Lodge. It was completely unnecessary. We drove it to the hotel and back to the airport – didn’t use it for anything else. First off, the boat to the Magic Kingdom was wonderful. We were incredibly lucky at times, but it seemed like it was always arriving as we walked up to the dock. The bus service was just fine, too. Only once did we wait longer than 20 minutes for a bus (to MGM on early entry morning – more on that later). Also, we were creative at times. After Illuminations, we decided to leave via the International Gateway and take a stroll along the Boardwalk (Gorgeous – can’t wait to stay there next year!!). After that, we took a bus back to Magic Kingdom, did some Main Street shopping before boating back to the Lodge.

The Parks

Magic Kingdom – even more wonderful than I’d remembered!! In the 12 years since my last trip, it has just gotten more beautiful. Joe insisted on waiting until dark to do the Haunted Mansion – his favorite. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean several times; I was actually giddy with laughter over seeing the dirty old pirate leg hanging over the bridge and the smiling pig in the mud after so many years!! Our longest wait by far was for Space Mountain. At 40 minutes, it was twice as long as any other wait the entire week. As great as Space Mountain is, I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever ride it again. As a kid, I loved it, but as an adult (tall enough that the seat back provides no head & neck support), it just about killed me – I had a neck ache after riding it. It is great fun, and the long wait allowed us to see all the cute videos on the screens in the queue. I guess Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR) will be my coaster of choice – at least until I can give Rock N Rollercoaster a try!

We waited until after the late parade on a non-early entry night to try Splash Mountain (in fact, we did it 2 times, BTMRR 2 times and Haunted Mansion once in 2 hours – virtually no waiting). What an awesome ride! The animatronics are superb and the final drop is great, even if we did look like complete idiots in the photo!!

Epcot – We wore ourselves out in this park. Our first visit was on an early entry morning. Of course, we headed right for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (HISTA). We waited maybe 5 minutes. I really wasn’t expecting much out of the pre-show, but it was fabulous! Then, it was into the theater, where we screamed like kids over all the great effects. Joe wanted to see it again immediately, but the long line dissuaded him. So we headed to Spaceship Earth. The audio track seemed to be off in a few spots, but it was still as wonderful as I remembered – the smell of Rome burning, Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. After exiting, Joe said, “This is my favorite ride!” (A phrase that would be repeated after many rides…) We both loved Ellen’s Energy Adventure – even the preshow. The Living Seas, which wasn’t complete on my last visit, was disappointing for both of us. Horizons was neat, of course (love the smell of those oranges), and Joe thought the “choose your own ending” was cool. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the attraction was going to probably be replaced. We had fun sending electronic postcards from Innoventions, but didn’t really explore the area much. Oh, Body Wars almost made me toss lunch – once we “entered the lungs” I had to close my eyes to keep from being sick. Of course, I was in the back corner, so that could have made it worse, but this simulator ride is very intense, much more so than Star Tours.

World Showcase was full of activity. Joe insisted on getting a passport and having it signed – we spent an entire afternoon doing just that. I loved Norway’s shops (it wasn’t there on my last visit) and Joe bought me the most wonderful perfume in one – Laila – Norway’s first perfume. Joe was just beside himself over Impressions de France and the American Adventure – we were both teary-eyed!! We had great fun exploring the UK area – something I seemed to have missed most of in my previous visits.

MGM Studios – Much neater than I was execting! Our first time was on an early entry morning. While we were in line waiting to get in, the 6 millionth visitor went through the gate! I kept thinking that if we’d just gotten up 15 minutes earlier, that could have been us winning lifetime passes!! Of course, we headed straight for Tower of Terror. Even after reading how intricately themed it was, we were both blown away! The overgrown gardens, dusty lobby and the authentic décor was astounding. I had heard to look in the bottom of the letterboard by the “out of order” elevator doors”. The letters that had “fallen off” the board spelled out “TOWER EVIL” in the bottom of the case!!! What a neat little detail – it is stuff like that that makes Disney so special! Everything about he attraction was superb – the preshow in the library, the boiler room, the cast members. I have to admit, I was a little scared about the actual ride. After it was all over, we were laughing like crazy and just dying to ride it again!! What a rush!! By the time we made it back to the line, the wait board read 90 MINUTES! So we headed back towards Star Tours. This simulator ride left me queasy, but not as much as Body Wars. I loved the AT-AT and snowspeeder outside the attraction, though!! Great Movie Ride was just that, and the Muppetvision 3D show was just too cute. The Backlot Tour seemed lacking, and we never even got to see any of the shows or the Mulan parade. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to go again to see them!

We visited again one evening on Epcot early-entry day. The crowds were very light and it was actually cooler (MGM seemed like the hottest park – so much concrete, so little shade). We rode Tower of Terror several times in a row with no wait and never tired of it!

Animal Kingdom - Let me first say that I was prepared to be disappointed based on everything I’d read. I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised – this is a wonderful park! I was completely blown away by how lush the landscaping is and how wonderfully themed all the areas are – especially Harambe Village. We visited for the first time at around 6:30 pm and walked slowly toward Kilimanjaro Safaris, expecting a long line. What we found was an extremely long queue area with no line!! We went right on. All I had heard was that the animals aren’t out in abundance during the afternoon, but that turned out to be hogwash. We saw most of the species there, including both black and white rhinos (the white rhino walked right in front of us), giraffes, lots of zebra (running along beside us and then in front of us, Thomspon Gazelles, several elephants, three cheetahs, lots of hippos, crocs, baboons, Western antelope, and even bongos and okapi. Even after all that, we weren’t expecting to see a lion, but when the “rock” formation came into view, there stood the lion on top of it, roaring majestically!! We were so overwhelmed with the safari (once again, Joe uttered the “THIS is my favorite ride”. The Tree of Life is equally spectacular. One could spend an entire day just identifying the different animals! Since it was threatening rain, we hustled in to see “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” and liked it even more than HISTA. The effects were better and creepier than HISTA, the plotline cuter, and it was a more complete sensory experience (including smell!!). We saved the other parts of the park for another day, since it was closing time. Countdown to Extinction scared the bejeesus out of both of us – I got the front right seat not knowing what to expect and got the fright of my life!! Unfortunately, the imaging system was down, so they could show pictures of riders on the screens, but couldn’t print them – and ours was classic!! Shucks!! Once again, we didn’t see the live show, mainly because it was incredibly hot that morning. Next time…

Fireworks/Parades

We saw Spectromagic once – I loved the music, and some of the floats were cool (especially the “Night on Bald Mountain” one), but I missed Main Street Electrical Parade!! Fantasy in the Sky was awesome – we got a prime table on the patio at Plaza Pavilion and watched. Joe had never seen the Disney fireworks before, so he finally understood why I loved them!!

Sorcery in the Sky was great – we loved the movie music – probably the best show in terms of fireworks – can’t wait for Fantasmic!, though!

Illuminations was our favorite of the light shows. Joe was completely into it, “conducting” along with the classical music – it really was thrilling! It is the only show we watched twice.

Miscellaneous – A few compliments and complaints and general tips:

Most important – sit back and enjoy the magic –

This is us with Goofy. Which one is Goofy, you might ask...
This was taken at The Wonders of Life pavillion at Epcot on our honeymoon. (Goofy seemed to be everywhere - I have more pictures of Goofy than of Joe and me together!)

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