Note: Min's trip report is in Coral and Bill's comments are in Blue.

Prelude

Well the idea to go this time really began in June while we were on a trip for our anniversary. We had bought Play 4 passes and were discussing when to use the last days on them before the September 30th expiration date.

Well as our previous trip reports indicate we went back the next weekend and used the last days on our Play 4 passes. Then we got premium annual passes on a trip in July. So admission media is no longer a concern until next June. 

This past Monday, I asked Bill what he wanted to do for his birthday. He said that we would probably be hanging around the house as a Disney trip was a little bit beyond our current finances.

Well that was a couple of days before one of my web design clients asked for some site upgrades. I love it when you get some extra money that you had not counted on, even if it does mean having to work to get it. Guess what, we are going to Disney on Labor Day Weekend as my birthday present. I called on Thursday and booked us at Port Orleans - Riverside, then told Min the good news. On Friday, I sat down and planned our itinerary after all it is my birthday present. Min called and made our PS arrangements that night.

Read Our Pre-Trip Plan for the Labor Day Weekend Trip...

Unfortunately, I had a gout attack on Saturday, my foot was killing me. Bill took me to the ER since we could not get a hold of my regular doctor. They gave me some meds and things are much better today as I am writing this pre-trip report. I will be taking my anti-inflammatory everyday this week, in hopes that I won't have another attack. I have off Wednesday, so a break in the middle of the week should help.

Friday - August 29, 2003

Bill got off early as planned. We put our stuff it the car and headed out. After a quick stop at McDonalds and the gas station, we were on I-95 heading south by about a quarter 'til two. It was kind of a crazy drive. People would slow down almost to a stop for no apparent reason.  A group of teens, maybe early twenties, were racing, swerving in and out of traffic in the construction zones along I-95. After things settled down a bit, I noticed a car with the bumper sticker from my parent’s church and pointed it out to Bill.

I think Min said something like, "hey look those people go to my parent's church." I looked and said, "at least that's what their bumper sticker says."

We both got a laugh when we were passing the car as it turned out to be the pastor and his wife. When we got to Orlando, it began to rain. Then traffic slowed to a standstill. The electronic signs said to expect delays of 30 to 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, I had decided to bypass the entrance to the toll loop at Sanford. There was not a warning about delays until Altamonte Springs. I do have one thing to say about the traffic message boards, the predictions about delay times are very accurate. It took approximately 35 minutes to get through the traffic congestion that started near Altamonte Springs and cleared up near the Orange Blossom Trail exit.

We arrived at Riverside and were checking in at about 4:45. The cast member at the front desk, Mary, was quick and efficient.

Even faster than our last check-in and that one was less than five or six minutes at the front desk. If this keeps up, all we are going to have to do on arrival is breeze by the front desk to pick up our room keys.  :)

We headed to our room, #8258 on the second floor of Acadian House in the Magnolia Bend section, and unpacked. The room had a water view of the Sassagoula River and is just a short walk across two bridges from the main building. It is also right next to the North Depot bus stop. After a short rest, we caught the bus to Epcot. We wanted to ride Spaceship Earth before it closed at six. After Spaceship Earth, we headed for Mexico and the Rio del Tiempo. Then it was on to Norway and the Maelstrom. I am beginning to like this ride and look forward to riding it each time we go to Epcot.

After Maelstrom, we checked out the stave church. This was our first time looking through the church exhibit. On our previous trips, we had just thought the building to be part of the "atmosphere" of Norway and did not realize that you could actually go inside. I was impressed with both the building and the display cases that showed how the stave churches were constructed. 

Next, we headed to Germany to check in for our PS at Biergarten. It was busier than it was on our last visit in June. While we were waiting to be seated, a couple that had arrived just before us made a bit of a fuss. The lady was not too happy to learn that they would be sharing a table with strangers. After reassurances from the hostess and the manager on duty, the couple seemed to accept that it was part of the atmosphere of dining at Biergarten and were lead away to their table.

I leaned over to Mindy and mumbled to her that I hoped we did not get seated at the same table as the grouchy lady. Well guess who we were seated with...

It turned out to be one of the magical moments of our trip. The couple, Jane and Carl were wonderful dinner companions. We swapped stories of our Disney experiences. They had been WDW fans almost from the beginning. After their first trip to WDW in the 70's, Jane had told Carl that she never wanted to vacation anywhere else. Carl was snared by the Disney magic on their second trip and they had vacationed every year at WDW until moving to Orlando a couple of years ago with Jane's mother. Carl and Jane's mother are both Disney cast members. Jane loved hearing our Disney stories especially the story about our honeymoon and Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner. It was really great and we hope to see them again in October. After dinner, we went looking for a place to watch Illuminations.

This would be our first time watching Illuminations from the back of the World Showcase. We found a great spot next to the boat dock at Germany. It had an unobstructed view of the lagoon and the speakers for the music were hidden in the awning for the boat dock.

Bill went in search of refreshments, a soda for me and a strawberry bar for him. While he was gone, my eyes started watering and I began sneezing. The flowers where we were standing were very strong smelling and I think I had an allergic reaction to them. We moved away from them heading towards Italy and I began to feel a little bit better.

She looked pretty bad and I wanted to head for the exit. As we were discussing leaving, the show started. Min said we could stay through the show. I think I spent more time watch her than the show.

After Illuminations, we took our time walking back to the bus. We had a short wait for the bus.

Luckily, it was a short wait. Min is allergic to cigarette smoke and there were a couple of people smoking while waiting in line for the bus. I will avoid a tirade about people smoking in non-smoking areas, however, I do have a question. Why is it that when you are trying to avoid smoke by standing upwind from a smoker, the direction of the wind always seems to change leaving you downwind, no matter how many times you move?  :)

After the short bus ride back to Riverside and a quick stop at Fulton's General Store, it was time for bed.

Saturday - August 30, 2003

We woke up about 7:00 with plans to catch the bus to Disney Studios and then hop a boat over to Beach Club Resort for breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Bill had a headache, so we decided to take the car instead of the bus to Cape May. This meant he could rest for another hour before our PS time. 

Yeah, I think my headache was one of those "we are on vacation plus it is Saturday so why do I have to be up at 7:00 a.m." headaches. I felt much better after a little more rest.

We arrived at Cape May Cafe about ten minutes late for our PS and was told it would be a short wait. Minnie was greeting guests in the restaurant's lobby so we got our picture taken with her. We were seated right next to the breakfast bar about five minutes after our arrival. The food was good  as usual and we got pictures with Chip, Dale and Goofy. An enjoyable experience as usual.

I think we have more pictures of us with Minnie, Chip, Dale and Goofy in their beachwear that any other characters.

After breakfast, we took the car to MGM and caught the tram to the front entrance. We were through security and the ticket gate by about 9:30. We took a stroll through The Dark Room and Celebrity 5 & 10 on Hollywood Blvd.

We needed some batteries for the camera. I also had a "Guest of Honor" name tag made for Min to wear during her birthday celebration when we return to WDW in October.

After a quick discussion, we headed for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It was our first visit since the rehab and the new bigger seats were wonderful. Then we made a quick stop at the Animation Courtyard to see Lilo and Stitch. They were playful as children will be while I was getting my picture taken with them. After visiting with Lilo and Stitch, we rode the Great Movie Ride.

On all of our previous times riding the GMR, they were only running the tour vehicle with the gangster shoot-out scene. When we saw that both tour vehicles were running, we requested the one with the old west bank robbery scene. The cast member on the soundstage loading area directed us to the right and told us that that was the one with the western scene. We sat in the row right behind the driver and had a great view of the bank explosion.

After a check of the show schedule, we made our way towards Beauty and the Beast stage show. Along the way, Bill got a couple of Minnie Strawberry bars and I got a drink from The Beverly Sunset candy shop. We also stopped by Legends of Hollywood, where Bill got me a Pooh dressed up as a rabbit. We arrived at the Beauty and the Beast amphitheatre and after a short wait we headed to our favorite seats. Four for a Dollar came out. It was a mostly substitute line up with Andrew as the only regular. They were awesome as usual but we missed seeing Doug, David and Marshall. The Beauty and the Beast show was entertaining as usual. We thought about staying for another Four for a Dollar set but then decided against it.

The heat and humidity were starting to get oppressive so I stood in line at the Toluca Legs Turkey Company and got a large lemonade and two cups of ice. After transferring the ice to our Brita water bottles and filling them up, we headed down Sunset Blvd towards Hollywood Blvd.

After a drink stop, we headed towards Mickey Avenue to visit with some of the Monsters, Inc. characters. We did not make it too far before needing a break.

Yep, two bottles of ice water and the lemonade had not helped that much. The heat and humidity was beginning to win the day.

We ducked into Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream and enjoyed a cool walk through the exhibits and the movie.

The cool was great but the exhibits were truly fantastic. This was our second time going through this show and it was just as spellbinding as the first. I plan on seeing it again in October.

After the movie, we decided it was just too hot to stay at the park so we headed for the exit. After the usual heading for the exit stroll through Keystone Clothiers and Mickey's of Hollywood, we caught a tram to the car and then headed back to the hotel. Back at the room, we both took naps and then rested for a while before heading out to catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom. We had a PS at Crystal Palace and planned on seeing SpectroMagic and Fantasy in the Sky later in the evening. We strolled through the Emporium then took a left at the end of Main Street and headed into Adventureland. We did not like the wait time for the Jungle Cruise so we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Both lines were open and there was about a fifteen minute wait. After Pirates we ambled over to Frontierland and  saw the Country Bear Jamboree. We discussed going on the Haunted Mansion because our PS was still about an hour away but we were hungry and decided to go over to Crystal Palace and people watch before dinner. Bill checked in with the hostess and got a beeper. He was told him it might be a while since we were almost an hour early.

While standing in line waiting to check in, the hostess was explaining to the family in front of me that their son, who was thirteen was counted as an adult for the buffet pricing. I joked with the boy that when he returned home, he could tell his friends at school that Walt Disney World considered him an adult. His mom laughed at my comment.

We were sitting on the Crystal Palace porch talking when the beeper went off. It had not even been five minutes since Bill had sat down. The hostess told us that parties of two are easier to sit than larger parties. Dinner was very good as usual. I especially loved the pasta with asiago cheese and mushrooms as well as the prime rib.

I like the food here. The selection is very good with some unique items on the salad and hot lines. I found this cold salad with mangos, black beans and shrimp that was really great.

After dinner, I was not feeling very well so we decided to skip the parade and fireworks. We walked out to the bus stop and caught a bus back to the hotel. We made a quick trip through Fulton's General Store for some drinks and then headed back to the room. Bill watched some TV and I when to sleep.

Yep, I caught the end of the season opener for the Florida State football team. A win over North Carolina. Lights out was a little before midnight.

Sunday - August 31, 2003

We drove the car to Animal Kingdom for our PS at Donald's Breakfastosaurus because we wanted to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge after we finished our morning at the park.

We had had to change our October reservations from Wilderness Lodge to Animal Kingdom Lodge when the AP rates had came out as Wilderness Lodge did not have any AP rates available for the dates of our stay.

We checked in for our PS and were taken to the restaurant by our server, Robin. Upon our arrival at the restaurant, Donald and Mickey came by our table. Bill got pictures of me with Mickey and then with Donald. I got one of Bill with Donald. The food was good, typical Disney breakfast buffet faire. Pluto came around and Robin took a picture of me and Bill with him. We had fun watching Robin carry on with the kids sitting nearby. Right before we finished our meal, I got a picture of Bill with his favorite character, Goofy. After breakfast, we walked back to Africa for the Kilimanjaro Safari. We had no wait at all, just a walk through the line and on to a Safari vehicle. We enjoyed seeing more animals then we had on our trip with Bill’s mom in June 2002.

The animals were definitely more active during the early morning than when we had last rode during the afternoon. The only animals that were not up and around were the big cats, the cheetahs and the lions were lounging around in the shade as they usually do. Several of the grazing animals were so close to the Safari vehicle that I could not get clear pictures of them. Either the vehicle or the other passengers were in the way.  :)

After the Safari, we rode the Wildlife Express Train out to see Habitat Habit and Conservation Station. I found several of the Hidden Mickey’s in the mural inside the entrance of Conservation Station. We both experienced the wild sounds of the restrooms. We walked around the station and checked out some of the exhibits. We listened to "the sounds of the rainforest." Bill got a picture of me with Rafiki. Each hour an animal keeper brings out an animal and talks to the guests about the animal and its habitat. We got to see a red-backed hawk.

The hawk was a beautiful bird. She is from South America and is a relative of the North American red-tailed hawk. She is the only known red-backed hawk in the United States. Someone tried to smuggle her into the United States and she was seized by customs. After the seizure, the hawk lived at the Miami zoo until she was purchased by Disney and became a resident at Animal Kingdom.

We decided to stop for some Minnie Strawberry bars before heading back to the train. While we were eating our strawberry bars, Pipa the Talking Recycling Bin came out. It was really neat watching people interact with Pipa.

The cast member "behind" Pipa was very good. He kept a good distance between himself and Pipa and was an excellent ventriloquist. 

We decided on the train ride back that it was starting to get too hot to stay in the park. We watched It's Tough to be a Bug on our way out. A quick tram ride to the car and we were off to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We walked around the lodge. We checked out the lobby area, Boma, the pool area and Zawadi Marketplace. I cannot wait to stay there in October.

I have to agree with Min on this one. The AKL is a beautiful place and I cannot wait to stay here in October.

After out tour of the AKL, we headed back to our room. We both laid down and fell asleep. Our naps lasted for a couple of hours and I woke up with a very sore throat. I asked Bill if he minded if we did not go to Epcot for dinner that night and he said it would be okay to skip Epcot. We decided on dinner at Boatwright's in the lobby of hotel. We arrived just after opening and were seated right away. Dinner was good but I was really too sick to enjoy it.

I was a little disappointed. I guess I have been spoiled by all of our trips to the buffets at Disney and had a hard time choosing just one entree. The Cajun Wings were very good but the Jambalaya was not that great.

After dinner we stopped by Fulton's General Store for a Diet Coke and Nyquil for me and some Apple Juice for Bill.

I picked up a Port Orleans pin, the one with Mickey carrying a fishing pole, and a Lilo and Stitch Walt Disney World pin.

I took some Nyquil when we got back to the room and fell asleep right away. I felt so very bad that night. Bill watched football until late that night.

Yep, I watched some more college football. Unfortunately, Disney does not have the Fox Sports World channel so I couldn't watch soccer.

Monday - September 1, 2003

We were up by 8:30 and spent about an hour watching the park guide channel with all of the things to do at WDW and the "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" tips. We were packed and on our way to Downtown Disney by about 9:45. We parked in Lot C right behind the World of Disney store. We walked through the Lego store and then headed over to the World of Disney store.

At World of Disney, I spent my Disney dollars that my mother-in-law and her sister had given me for my birthday. I got the "Stitch: The Movie" DVD and the "Where the Magic Lives" CD.

Then we got a chocolate sample from Ghiradelli's, one of those flavored fudge candies they make. Next we headed for Once Upon a Toy. We saw a crowd at Pin Traders and wondered what was going on. After walking through the door of Once Upon a Toy, we realized that the crowd at Pin Traders was for the Labor Day and pin-of-the month pins. After a quick discussion, we headed over to Pin Traders. We picked up a couple of the Labor Day 2003 pins but passed on the pin-of-the-month. Since we were right next to Pooh's Corner that was our next stop. I saw a couple of shirts I liked after some consideration I passed on buying them now and put them on the things to buy in October list. After Pooh's Corner we walked through the Days of Christmas, Wonderful World of Memories and Art of Disney stores. We were getting hungry and decided to head for House of Blues for lunch. We walked back to the car and drove over and parked by Cirque on the Westside. We had our usual at House of Blues, I started out with the Spinach and Artichoke dip while Bill had the Voodoo Shrimp. I had the Shrimp Po-Boy for my entree and Bill had the Creole Seafood Jambalaya.

I was considering ordering something other than my usual, the Jambalaya, since I had had Jambalaya at Boatwright's the night before. I ended up ordering the Jambalaya for that very reason. Our food was up to the standard we have come to expect at House of Blues. Unfortunately, the service was not. Our server was a trainee and was not quite up to speed. Things improved when the server that was shadowing the trainee took over our table.

After the big lunch, I wanted to walk around some before starting the trip back to Jacksonville. Since it was starting to heat up and the humidity was on the rise, we decided to walk through DisneyQuest. We spent about an hour in DisneyQuest before heading home.

Overall, we had a very nice trip excepting Min being a little under the weather. It was hot and humid as we have come to expect during late August and early September but the taking a break in the middle of the day strategy worked out great. This trip was too short and we are really looking forward to spending a week in October at WDW celebrating Min's 30th birthday.