Note: Min's trip report is in Coral and Bill's comments are in Blue. In the Gallery links, pictures without a border link to the specific picture and those with a border link to a gallery of related pictures.

Min and Bill's Fifth Anniversary Trip

Click to Read:  Prelude  - Part Two

Tuesday - June 7, 2005

Bill got off work around 2:30 and after he got home we put our stuff in the car then hit the road. We made a quick stop for gas, snacks and drinks and were on I-95 headed south by about 3:30. The traffic was not very heavy and the weather was okay down to Daytona, a few sprinkles but no heavy rain.

Yep... pretty uneventful drive down to Daytona... the only real issue we had was the guy in the giant SUV who decided to change lanes on top of us at LPGA Boulevard just as we got to Daytona... he ignored the horn and came right over anyway... if I hadn't slammed on brakes... well... certainly got the adrenaline pumping... a few choice and spicy words as well as some finger gestures relieved a bit of the frustration over the incident...

As we passed through Sanford the skies opened for the normal afternoon downpour which lasted until about downtown Orlando. Traffic was a little bad going through downtown Orlando due to the rain and rush hour. We got to the hotel, Quality Inns and Suites - Eastgate, about 6:00. It is on US 192 at the 535 intersection. We checked out the room, yuck... it smelled musty.

We were only staying one night... we were hungry and really did not feel like going through it with the front desk... so we went to dinner... never again will we stay at this place... wished something had been available at one of the values on property... oh well... sometimes you pay for waiting until the last minute...

We decided to try Bahamas Breeze for dinner, but the wait was over an hour and there was no way were we waiting that long.

I told you we were hungry...  :)

Now where do we want to eat? We tried the Landry's Seafood House across the street and were seated immediately. This place was wonderful and had the most delicious seafood. They have this appetizer, stuffed shrimp with bacon. WOW. We both wanted more.

Stuffed Shrimp Embrochette with seafood stuffing, jack cheese, jalapeno and bacon wrapped... it was so good I looked it up on their website when we got home... I am glad we let the server talks us out of the seafood stuffed mushrooms and seafood stuffed jalapenos we were going to order for appetizers...  :)

After dinner, we picked up some soft drinks, water and apple juice before heading back to the hotel. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I watched a preview of the new Batman movie as well as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on HBO before going to sleep.

Wednesday - June 8, 2005

The next morning we got up and had breakfast at Shoney's before heading over to Port Orleans Riverside to check in. They had all the lanes except one in the check-in/luggage drop-off area blocked with benches, so we found a place in the parking lot. As we were walking through the parking lot towards the entrance we saw a line of parking spaces with sign identifying them as check-in parking.

It looks like you can't park in the luggage drop-off area while you are checking in at PO-Riverside any longer...

Amy was very fast and efficient getting us checked in. Our room, #2856 in the Alligator Bayou section, was not ready so after a short pit stop, we took a walk through Fulton's General Store. Then we drove the car around to our building before catching a bus to the studios. Once through security and the gate, we picked up some time guides and headed down the street with Bill taking pictures as we went.

Yep... that's me... always taking pictures...

It was hot and humid, so we strolled through some of the stores on the way to Sunset Boulevard. We saw some neat stuff in the Celebrity 5 & 10 shop and some possible Christmas presents. Legends of Hollywood didn't have any new Pooh stuff that I liked. Bill looked at some watches in the Sunset Blvd Shops. We grabbed some refreshments before heading into the Beauty and The Best show. We made it in time to see the first show of the day. Four for a Dollar, with a stand-in for Doug, were wonderful as usual.

They did our favorite set, too... "It's All Right," "Drift Away," and Min's favorite "Love Potion #9"... the lady sitting next to us liked them, too... so we told her she could pick up their "Return to Zero" CD in the Sunset Blvd Shops...

After the show, I wanted to see the Muppets so we headed in that direction. Bill took some more pictures and we watched some of the characters out and about by the Hat. We stopped in the Writer's Shop and looked at the snacks, then decided to take a pass.

Also took a look inside the Sci-Fi Dine-In Restaurant... kind of neat decor... think we may eat there one day just to give it a try...

When we got out on to New York Street we saw a bit of a flow in the crowd heading towards Lights, Motors, Action! Bill checked the time guide and saw that the next show was starting in about 15 minutes, so we followed the crowd. We didn't know if we were going to get into the show but as we got neared the entrance, there we several cast members saying there was still room and the show would be starting shortly. As we got to the entrance of the show, we saw a cast member we recognized. It was Kickman, an RADP friend, who use to work at Epcot. We chatted with him a little bit before heading into the show.

We were a bit rushed... so we didn't get a chance to ask him if he was still going to be Kickman now that he had given up his broom...  :)

The show was awesome, I enjoyed it so much. It was fun seeing the stunts and learning some of the behind the scenes stuff that goes into doing them.

Great show... I tried getting some pictures but most of them are from before the show, when things slowed down or between scenes... was too busy watching the action to take more... maybe next time...  :)

After the show, we walked over to Muppets. I thought the line was too long so we passed on it. It was very hot and humid, so we found a phone and I called to check if our room was ready. It was so we headed for the front of the park.

Found out that night from the local news that the heat index, a combination of temperature and humidity, had been over 100 that afternoon... it really was hot and humid...  :)

On our way out we walked through a couple of shops, Keystone Clothiers and Mickey's of Hollywood. When we got to the front, there were characters out and about. Bill got a picture of me with Mulan and Mushu and another of me with Jafar. I got one of him with Gideon.

Jafar was a first for us... we had seen him in parades but had never had a chance to get a picture with him...

After the pictures, we headed for the bus stop where we were entertained by a three young girls all dressed in the same outfits while we waited.

Their mom said it was great with them all wearing the same outfit... there was no fussing about what they were going to wear... just a little contention over who got to pick the outfit each day...  :)

Back at PO-Riverside, we unloaded the car.

That was fun... I think we forgot that we had shortened our trip... we had enough clothes for at least a week... maybe more...  :)

After our afternoon rest break, we took the car to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner at Boma. We had a great meal and our server Doug was great. He went out of his way to get me some Diet Sprite from room service since it was not on tap. We got an anniversary card signed by the staff as well as a dessert tray with "Happy 5th Anniversary" written on it in chocolate. It was neat and Bill got a picture of it.

Of course I got a picture of it... it was a great meal and the dessert tray was nice... especially the three cordials on it... I had the coffee and hazelnut ones while Min got the cherry one... you should have seen her face when she bit into it and the cherry liqueur hit her tongue...  :)

After our meal, we visited Arusha Rock to see the animals and there were a lot of them out. There were a couple of giraffes eating very close to the rock. Farther out were Zebras, Eland and Wildebeests. We also went to one of the observation lounges and saw ostriches, crown cranes and some other birds.

Yes... I got pictures...  :)

Before we headed out, we stopped at Zawadi Marketplace and looked around. We didn't really see anything caught our eye, so we headed for the car. We found the car without too much trouble, which was a good thing.

Yep... I lost our car one time at Animal Kingdom Lodge... oh well... maybe one day I won't get picked on about it...  :)

We drove back to the hotel then walked up to the front to get some drinks. The piano player was performing in the River Roost Lounge, so we grabbed a table and joined the sing-along. It was fun. Bill really enjoyed the music. I knew most of the songs, too.

Yep... all the kids... both the little ones and us big ones had a rollicking good time... but the highlight of the evening had to be when this little blonde girl walked into the lounge to see what all the commotion was about... she looked rather befuddled as she looked around at all the kids and adults standing and screaming out the Sponge Bob Squarepants song... when the song was over she fled... then when the next song started she showed back up... watched for a little while... then looked around to see if anyone was watching before she joined in... after the song she ran away smiling...  :)

After the sing-along, we headed back to the room. Bill watched some TV and I went to sleep. 

Actually... I fiddled with the alarm clock trying to set it... but it was broken... so I ended up setting up a wake call instead... then I went to sleep with the TV still on... I think this is why Min thought I was watching TV as I never sleep with the TV on at home... but I had a plan... If you have read the "About Bill" page you know I like soccer... want to know how much... the reason I left the TV on was to watch a soccer game... there was a US Men's National team game on a 2:00 AM... and just as I planned the TV woke me up when the intro music for the soccer game came on... so here I was... on vacation... at WDW... watching a soccer game... at two in the morning... I went back to sleep when the game was over at 4:00... oh yeah... we won... beat Panama, 3-0...  :)

Thursday - June 9, 2005

We were up and out, bright and early this morning headed for the Magic Kingdom.

Don't know about that... The day wasn't too bright... kind of overcast and very humid... I wasn't too bright, either... should have gotten a little more sleep and a little less soccer...  :)

We had a PS for breakfast with Pooh and Friends at Crystal Palace. The reason we were out early was so that Bill could get some pics of the castle down an almost empty Main Street. He likes having a PS early before the park opens.

Yep... she blames me for being up this early... only thing I can say in my defense is that the PS was made far in advance... before I knew the broadcast schedule for the soccer game...  :)

We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. Through security without a hitch and walked up to the gate, oops something is wrong here. We went to the wrong entry gate.

They changed the entry gate where folks with early PS's get in since our last visit... It was the gates on the right, rather than the ones on the left... Well I always tell my co-workers that WDW is part of our exercise plan... so we got in a little extra walking this morning...  :)

Bill took pics of the gilded castle on the walk down Main Street. We got to the restaurant, checked and were seated about ten minutes later. Our server was Jason and he provided very good service. We recognized him from somewhere but it wasn't from Crystal Palace.

Turns out he use to work at the Garden Grill with our friend Allison...  :)

The food was good, we like the breakfast buffet here.

and the lunch and dinner ones, too...  :)

The characters were very busy as the restaurant was packed but we were able to see all of them and get some pictures before we left. After breakfast, Bill took some more pictures of the castle.

had to get some "close-ups" of the gold characters on the battlements...  :)

Then it was off to Tomorrowland to see Stitch's Great Escape for the first time. It was fun and not as bad as me memories of Mission to Mars from the early 80's when I rode it with my parents.

Funny how memories from childhood can be... I really don't remember Mission to  Mars being that bad... I do remember wanting to go again so that I would actually get to see Mars... but wouldn't you know it... we ran into another meteor storm again... never got to see Mars... dang it...  :)

After Stitch, it was a couple of laps around Tomorrowland on the TTA. Then it was over to Carousel of Progress. This is one of our favorites and we sang along like we always do.

Got some funny looks from those sitting around us, too...  :)

When we came out of Carousel, we saw PUSH so we followed him around for a little while.

Entertaining little fellow... these two tween-aged girls kept walking away and coming back... they were very surprised that PUSH called them by name each time they returned... I talked with their mom and gave her a little look behind the magic when I pointed out PUSH's friend... she had a little laugh at the girls' expense...  :)

As we were heading over to Fantasyland, we saw the Tomorrowland Countdown setting up, so we listened to a few songs before heading on our way. We grabbed fastpasses for Pooh, then headed for Snow White. After Snow White, it began to rain so we did a little shopping at Sir Mickey's.

We found these fastpass ticket holders... sort of like a little zip lock bag on what I call a badge pull since we use them at work for our admittance badges... it is the little retractable pull mechanism that allows you to run your badge through the scanner without having to remove it first... these badge pulls were neat... they were shaped like Mickey ears with a Magic Kingdom logo... I bought two... one for my boss and one for me...  :)

The rain let up a little and Sir Mickey's was getting a little crowded so we headed across the way to Tinker Bell's Treasures, or as I call it the princess shop. One of or nieces is a princess nut, so we were looking at possible gifts for her.

Don't let Min fool you... I think she is becoming a closet princess fan... she was even talking about which one was her favorite... I think it went something like this...

"Although I have red hair like Ariel, I am more of a bookworm like Belle. So, I think Belle is my favorite."

Yep... that's my story... and I sticking to it...  :)

The downpour slowed to a sprinkle, so it was back over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. After the ride and a walk through Pooh's Thotful Shop, we headed for "it's a small world." I really liked the new look and fresh colors. Afterwards, we made a much needed pit stop. Then we grabbed some drinks before heading over to the Haunted Mansion.

Yay... we got a doom buggy with working speakers... the last couple of times instead of a ghost host, all we got was the crackling and hissing of broken speakers... it was nice to hear the narration once again...

By now, I was getting tired so we decided to ride the train to Main Street.

Hey... not so fast... I tried to talk Min into Big Thunder or Splash but she begged out due to being tired... then we headed for the train... along the way, we got to see The Notorious Banjo Brothers and Bob... they had three or four young kids dancing along to their playing... one little boy, about two or three years old, would get so upset each time they stopped playing that they did a couple of encores before ending their set...  now back to the train ride...  :)

Between Toontown and Main Street the skies opened up and the rains came down. Bill got half soaked from the rain blowing in on him and my bottom got wet. We hid out under the train station until the downpour ceased, then we headed for the buses. We wanted to get some dry clothes and rest a little before dinner at Garden Grill. After getting back to the room, we changed and rested some. It kept raining for a while so we kept delaying our departure for Epcot.

Yep... we waited the rain out... it cost us a chance to catch up with Allison at the Garden Grill... she was working the lunch shift and we had planned on stopping by in the afternoon... oh well... we will make it a point to see her next trip...

It finally stopped raining and we caught a bus for Epcot. Then it started raining again, well not really rain just sprinkling. We got to Epcot with about an hour to kill before our PS time at 7:00 PM. We rode Spaceship Earth then stopped at the Pin Station. We picked up a couple of passholder pins. One was the "Happiest Celebration on Earth" pin with Mickey and Minnie and the other was the Epcot park pin with Spaceman Goofy on it. We went over to the Land Pavilion and saw the Circle of Life movie before we checked in for dinner. Dinner was very good and the characters were great as usual. Our server Art, short for Arturo, was great. He brought us a cake for our anniversary and took a picture of us with our cake. After dinner, we made our way to our favorite spot for the fireworks.

Illuminations was great as usual... and I got to share a little magic during the show by just being nice to a little boy... there was a couple with a young son and baby daughter watching the show... the baby started crying after the initial blasts and the mother was trying to quiet her but couldn't... the father who had been holding the son gave him to the mom and took the baby... the mother tried to hold the son up so he could see but she couldn't keep it up for long... so about halfway through the show, I took the boy and put him on my shoulders... the kid enjoyed the rest of the show from his new perch... the mom and dad said thanks...

It was Epcot's night for Extra Magic Hours, we talked about staying after the show was over but we decided to skip them and headed for the bus. Back at the resort, we stopped and got something to drink before going on to the room.

Nope... we got something to drink... stuck our heads into the River Roost... watched the antics for a few minutes... then went to the room...  :)

Click to Read:  Prelude  - Part Two