SUMMARY
Just a few general
thoughts and comments on our trip, in no particular order
and probably of no particular interest, but you're going
to get them anyway!
Anyway, if you've stuck with it this long, you may as
well see it through to the bitter end.
Cleanliness: I saw very little evidence of general decay.
Some of the things I had read led me to believe that
standards have slipped badly but I saw little change from
our last visit.
Maybe I look at things with a non-critical eye.
Certainly the whole place is getting bigger and bigger,
Downtown Disney being a prime example. This must make it
impossible for a first timer to see everything.
Things that still give me the shivers: The end of Beauty
and the Beast. Fireworks in the Magic Kingdom, 3 or 4
songs in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, many things in the
Animal Kingdom, the film sequence at the end of the Great
Movie Ride.
Buses: Excellent. Barely a wait beyond 10 mins. The only
problem is if you want to move between the resorts when
swapping of buses can take a little while.
Tammy wrote a bit about people not giving up their seats
on buses, especially the Japanese. I must say that I saw
unbelievable numbers of ignorant people who seem to think
that it is fine to let children and elderly people stand
as long as THEY have THEIR comfy little seat.
I must say I didn't notice any one particular
nationality, I think selfishness has no borders.
When on a full bus Tammy, India, Georgia and I would
always squeeze into 2 seats even though we had bags and a
stroller with us while others seemed to think it was fine
to let their precious little 2 year old have a seat all
to themselves.
What is wrong with some of these men? (and women).
Perhaps I'm old fashioned but to see someone struggling
while you look on uncaring is pretty callous.
Mind you I offered my seat to a lady one day and when she
declined her husband said to her 'You must be looking
old.' I'm sorry, I didn't know there was an age limit on
good manners.
Phew! That's better, I think I needed a good rant, I feel
fine now.
Animal Kingdom: You are all probably bored silly at the
way I have kept on praising this park but I can't help
it, genius is genius.
I realise that there is bound to be a novelty factor
involved for me as it was my first visit but the rides
and shows just blew me away. I understand the view that
there are not as many attractions as at the other parks
but I tend to step back and see the place as a whole
rather than a number of separate parts. By this I mean
that the whole park seems to be one big attraction with
so much to see and do even when just walking around.
I also understand that it must be very crowded in high
season but was perfectly manageable for us during late
September.
Weather: One bad week, one good week. After such a bad
start with almost non-stop rain, we could not have been
happier with the second week. Hot maybe, but give me hot
over wet any day. Overall we can at least say we had a
bit of everything, even the threat of a hurricane.
Crowds: Very light. Most everything was a walk on, except
for the big attractions at peak times of the day, which
we just avoided. Kilimanjaro Safari was our longest wait
and that was our own fault for hitting it in the middle
of the day.
Things we missed: Tammy had really wanted to do the
marshmallow roast at Fort Wilderness but mostly due to
the bad weather we didn't get to do this.
We never got to Beaches and Cream either, which will
leave a large hole in Tammy's life until the next time we
go, despite valiant attempts to fill it with all kinds of
sweet temptations from World Showcase.
Also missed the Jungle Cruise (rehab), American Adventure
and British Invasion.
When you look at it like that, it makes you appreciate
how much we did do.
Next trip we will try to spend more time in World
Showcase, Pleasure Island (especially the Adventurers
Club) and the Boardwalk. Funny how these all seem to be
open well into the night and serve beer. What an amazing
coincidence.
Maybe India and Georgia's 'to do' list will vary from
mine slightly, let's hope they never bring in 'one
person, one vote' into this family or I am in serious
trouble.
All Star Movies: From our balcony we could see the
construction work going on. Most of the buildings are
complete, just one or two at the bottom end are still
being built.
The Mighty Ducks has large hockey nets for the end
stairwells with skates and giant ice hockey sticks along
the rails.
101 Dalmatians has bones along the rails and Pongo and
Perdita are in place as the giant central icons. There
are fire hydrants as the end stairwells, which is quite
strange because the film is supposed to be set in London
and we don't have hydrants above the ground in the UK.
CM's: There seemed to be many more in the Animal Kingdom
than the other parks and they were very enthusiastic and
knowledgeable.
I think that generally there were more elderly CM's and
some handicapped people too. I think this is an excellent
improvement as they were, with one or two minor
exceptions, friendly and helpful beyond even the normal
high standard.
Housekeeping: The maid(s) were very good and we had fun
seeing how the cuddly toys were arranged on our return
every day. We had them watching TV (remote in hand),
reading a park map etc.
We left a tip at the end of the first week and again at
the end of the holiday. We left the last tip being held
by Mickey and Minnie and a note saying 'Thank you for
looking after us so well' and signed by Mickey. When we
returned we found a reply to Mickey and friends saying
how much she had enjoyed looking after them. However,
Goofy had gone missing. We eventually found him on top of
the light. This seemed very fitting as he was an explorer
Goofy from the Animal Kingdom.
Sanford Airport: This place is just not geared up for the
number of people that it has to deal with. If I ever get
a choice in the future then I would prefer to fly into
Orlando International.
Missing Music: Many of the changes we saw were for the
better but I do miss some of the old music. Tomorrow's
Child, Listen to the Land, Now is the Best Time of Our
Lives, and the old Illuminations are just a few.
Food: We had some really wonderful meals on this trip but
if had to pick just one it would be 'Ohanas because it
seems to typify what Disney dining is all about, good
food in a lovely setting and a fun atmosphere.
Overall, did we have a good time?: You bet your ......
er, I mean, yes we most certainly did. There are certain
things that lose their 'first time' impact when you are
doing it for the 5th time but there is so much new every
time we go that the magic is maintained.
The girls loved it all, even if they did get tired at
times. We will try to set a more leisurely pace next
time. No chance, I say that every time and it never
happens.
Well, that is finally it. It was hard going but a labour
of love.
Thanks very much to all of you who have either e-mailed
me or posted messages saying how much you have enjoyed my
little(?) report, it is very encouraging to know that I
did not make a complete ass of myself.
I have left the best news of all until last.
Good news: We have booked our next trip.
Better news: We are going for the millennium, flying out
on December 29th 1999.
Even better news: We are staying for 3 weeks.
Best news of all: We are staying on- site! That's right,
we have reservations for 1 week at the All Star Movies
followed by 2 weeks at Dixie Landings. My mother is
coming with us ( she has been twice before) so we have 2
rooms at the Movies and will all squeeze into 1 room at
the Dixie Landings.
We had planned for ages to be in Florida for the turn of
the century but I still can't quite believe that we have
been lucky enough to get rooms in Disney.
The countdown clock has been set and the long wait
begins.
