MargaretJ
06-06-2003, 08:37 PM
Cast: MargaretJ – Disney Veteran
Matt 14yrs – Disney Veteran
Suzi – Disney Newbie
John 15yrs – Disney Newbie
Eric 14yrs – Disney Newbie
David 7yrs – Disney Newbie
Dates - May 24th-28th with friends
May 29th-June 3rd Matt & I
Resorts – Coronado Springs & Animal Kingdom Lodge
Tuesday May 27th
Up early again today to the sound of Mickey. Suzi & family did not get to see much of MGM the other evening so we were going to head to Early Entry today. The day before we had purchased pastries & juices at Coronado Springs Food Court so we could eat breakfast in the room. Now off to catch the bus & on to MGM. Crowds had been very manageable on this trip & in the morning hours rides included Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, Star Tours, Sounds Dangerous, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire & The Backlot Tour. Weather on this trip was wonderful. Each day the temperature was between 89 & 92 but with very little humidity & a nice breeze. Perfect!
Lunchtime was fast approaching & since we still needed to see much at Epcot we decided to take the boat to Epcot & try for lunch at Teppanyaki. This was one of the best meal experiences we had. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table but were entertained by the manager there. He taught us to count in Japanese & made Origami items for us. I still have my miniature heart he made for me. 2 other men who happened to be seated next to Matt & I joined our group of 6. During the meal I struck up a conversation with the 2 gentlemen. They both lived in Orlando now & had come to Epcot for lunch. One told us that he came to Orlando with AT&T by way of New England & ended up staying. They then asked us where we were from & where we were staying. I told them Coronado Springs but on Thursday my son & I would be moving to Animal Kingdom Lodge one of my very favorite resorts. I gushed over AKL & talked about how I had fallen in love with it on my last year’s trip. I noticed a smile on these 2 gentleman’s faces but did not think anything of it. Then one of the gentlemen asked what type view I had & if I had requested anything special. I told them I had booked a Standard View & with my discount I received I felt like that was my perk so I did not request upgrades. With that said one of the men said he was the Night Manager at Animal Kingdom Lodge & picked up his cell phone & proceeded to ask for an upgrade for me. I could not believe it – now that is Disney Magic!
After lunch we spent the next few hours shopping & exploring the various entertainment offerings in World Showcase. Miyuki, the Candy Lady, in Japan was a huge hit. Suzi & her family loved watching Miyuki & after the 2nd show they all got a candy creation from Miyuki. If you have never seen this wonderful girl please take time out of your schedule, she is just amazing. Matt & Eric had been shopping in the Japan store & were fascinated by the Samurai Swords there. They have a friend who collects swords & have always wanted one for themselves. So both Suzi & I gave in on this trip & let them spend their money on these beautiful swords. Matt got one that was Black & Gold for $75.00 & Eric’s was Orange & Black for the same price. Note to parents – these are decorative swords & are not sharpened & you have to have them shipped home. You are not allowed to take them with you under any circumstances. David in the meantime wanted to try his luck out with the Oysters. It has been said to find the best pearls you need to find the ugliest Oysters & boy did David do a good job. His Oyster had 2 beautiful white pearls in it. He was so excited as was Suzi because she was going to have a ring made with the 3 pearls (remember she got a gray one the other night). The ring should be beautiful & very inexpensive since Suzi is married to a Jeweler.
We continued walking around World Showcase & had the great pleasure of seeing the Living Statues in Italy. This is another great act. It is hard to believe that it is a live person when you first see the statue. The girl we saw was great. We loved watching her as she poised for pictures with guests. She seemed to know exactly what to do with each & every guest. She would blow in the ear of men, grab the hats off of young children, run her hand thru the hair of young men & making funny gestures with the teens. It was great fun to watch. I wish I had my camera with me but it probably did not matter, as we could not get my shy teenager up there. Suzi did get great pictures with her 3 though.
As it was getting late we made our way to Guest Services to purchase E-Night tickets. I will have to say the Cast Member who sold us our tickets must have been having a bad day because he was the unfriendliest & unhappy looking person I had seen on the trip. There are flags of all the countries up at Guest Services & John asked which one was Morocco. The CM would not even look at John & simply snapped they are in Country order. Now for people who have been to Epcot a lot would know what this meant but to someone who has never been, John did not understand. He said excuse me, sir & the CM again snapped Country order!
Off now for a quick stop in the room to drop off some items & a quick change of clothes for some. Magic Kingdom is closing at 7p & E-Night will be from 7p-10p. We were running a bit late & got to the Park about 735p. With the low crowds though we managed to ride Space Mountain 3 times (I rode the People Mover), Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Splash Moutain & Big Thunder Mountain & saw many characters for David in 2 ˝ hours. Gotta love E-Night but I do think it kind of stinks that the Park closes at 7p Memorial Day Week. We hung around the Park until about 1030p to let the crowds die down a bit & then realized that we had not had anything to eat since lunchtime. By the time we got back to Coronado Springs it was 11p & the Food Court was closed. We decided we would try McDonalds but when we got there it was closed too. I suddenly had this idea that maybe the Drive Thru was still open & yes it was. We were all starving by this time & ordered lots of food. Back to the room for a quick dinner & then into bed.
Tomorrow Suzi & family head home, Downtown Disney & Epcot
Matt 14yrs – Disney Veteran
Suzi – Disney Newbie
John 15yrs – Disney Newbie
Eric 14yrs – Disney Newbie
David 7yrs – Disney Newbie
Dates - May 24th-28th with friends
May 29th-June 3rd Matt & I
Resorts – Coronado Springs & Animal Kingdom Lodge
Tuesday May 27th
Up early again today to the sound of Mickey. Suzi & family did not get to see much of MGM the other evening so we were going to head to Early Entry today. The day before we had purchased pastries & juices at Coronado Springs Food Court so we could eat breakfast in the room. Now off to catch the bus & on to MGM. Crowds had been very manageable on this trip & in the morning hours rides included Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster, Star Tours, Sounds Dangerous, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire & The Backlot Tour. Weather on this trip was wonderful. Each day the temperature was between 89 & 92 but with very little humidity & a nice breeze. Perfect!
Lunchtime was fast approaching & since we still needed to see much at Epcot we decided to take the boat to Epcot & try for lunch at Teppanyaki. This was one of the best meal experiences we had. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table but were entertained by the manager there. He taught us to count in Japanese & made Origami items for us. I still have my miniature heart he made for me. 2 other men who happened to be seated next to Matt & I joined our group of 6. During the meal I struck up a conversation with the 2 gentlemen. They both lived in Orlando now & had come to Epcot for lunch. One told us that he came to Orlando with AT&T by way of New England & ended up staying. They then asked us where we were from & where we were staying. I told them Coronado Springs but on Thursday my son & I would be moving to Animal Kingdom Lodge one of my very favorite resorts. I gushed over AKL & talked about how I had fallen in love with it on my last year’s trip. I noticed a smile on these 2 gentleman’s faces but did not think anything of it. Then one of the gentlemen asked what type view I had & if I had requested anything special. I told them I had booked a Standard View & with my discount I received I felt like that was my perk so I did not request upgrades. With that said one of the men said he was the Night Manager at Animal Kingdom Lodge & picked up his cell phone & proceeded to ask for an upgrade for me. I could not believe it – now that is Disney Magic!
After lunch we spent the next few hours shopping & exploring the various entertainment offerings in World Showcase. Miyuki, the Candy Lady, in Japan was a huge hit. Suzi & her family loved watching Miyuki & after the 2nd show they all got a candy creation from Miyuki. If you have never seen this wonderful girl please take time out of your schedule, she is just amazing. Matt & Eric had been shopping in the Japan store & were fascinated by the Samurai Swords there. They have a friend who collects swords & have always wanted one for themselves. So both Suzi & I gave in on this trip & let them spend their money on these beautiful swords. Matt got one that was Black & Gold for $75.00 & Eric’s was Orange & Black for the same price. Note to parents – these are decorative swords & are not sharpened & you have to have them shipped home. You are not allowed to take them with you under any circumstances. David in the meantime wanted to try his luck out with the Oysters. It has been said to find the best pearls you need to find the ugliest Oysters & boy did David do a good job. His Oyster had 2 beautiful white pearls in it. He was so excited as was Suzi because she was going to have a ring made with the 3 pearls (remember she got a gray one the other night). The ring should be beautiful & very inexpensive since Suzi is married to a Jeweler.
We continued walking around World Showcase & had the great pleasure of seeing the Living Statues in Italy. This is another great act. It is hard to believe that it is a live person when you first see the statue. The girl we saw was great. We loved watching her as she poised for pictures with guests. She seemed to know exactly what to do with each & every guest. She would blow in the ear of men, grab the hats off of young children, run her hand thru the hair of young men & making funny gestures with the teens. It was great fun to watch. I wish I had my camera with me but it probably did not matter, as we could not get my shy teenager up there. Suzi did get great pictures with her 3 though.
As it was getting late we made our way to Guest Services to purchase E-Night tickets. I will have to say the Cast Member who sold us our tickets must have been having a bad day because he was the unfriendliest & unhappy looking person I had seen on the trip. There are flags of all the countries up at Guest Services & John asked which one was Morocco. The CM would not even look at John & simply snapped they are in Country order. Now for people who have been to Epcot a lot would know what this meant but to someone who has never been, John did not understand. He said excuse me, sir & the CM again snapped Country order!
Off now for a quick stop in the room to drop off some items & a quick change of clothes for some. Magic Kingdom is closing at 7p & E-Night will be from 7p-10p. We were running a bit late & got to the Park about 735p. With the low crowds though we managed to ride Space Mountain 3 times (I rode the People Mover), Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Splash Moutain & Big Thunder Mountain & saw many characters for David in 2 ˝ hours. Gotta love E-Night but I do think it kind of stinks that the Park closes at 7p Memorial Day Week. We hung around the Park until about 1030p to let the crowds die down a bit & then realized that we had not had anything to eat since lunchtime. By the time we got back to Coronado Springs it was 11p & the Food Court was closed. We decided we would try McDonalds but when we got there it was closed too. I suddenly had this idea that maybe the Drive Thru was still open & yes it was. We were all starving by this time & ordered lots of food. Back to the room for a quick dinner & then into bed.
Tomorrow Suzi & family head home, Downtown Disney & Epcot