Walt Disney World 2005 Trip Report: By Dylan Weidner

Day 1:

I just got back from my 4th trip to WDW, and I had a great time. We (my Mom and I, Dad was busy) left Dulles airport in Washington D.C. at about 10:30 am. We got into MCO at about 1:30pm. We quickly got a taxi and went to Disney´s Polynesian Resort. Upon arrival, we checked in. They did not give us any leis, even though they were sitting right there. We later personally requested them. After checking in, we checked out our room. It was in the Rapa Nui building, 1st floor, room # 1104. Our view was an excellent one...of the parking lot :wall: The rest of the room was really nice. I loved the coverings over the beds, as well as the big, tropical pillows. After checking out our room, we walked around the property, looking at the beautiful landscaping. The plants are sooo pretty there!

After walking around, checking out the plants, we got some lunch at Captain Cook´s Snack Company. We shared one their specialty Polynesian Chicken Sandwiches. It wasn´t all that special, to tell you the truth, so I put a load of BBQ sauce on it to make it more palatable. There were also many big, black birds, which ate a lot of food people had left behind, even though the sign explicitly says NOT to feed the birds (sorry, Mary Poppins ;)) Some idgit even left a whole big pile of fries right next to the trash can! We decided to clean this up; for fear that the birds would decide to come at our food too.

After our lunch, we strolled on the enormous beach. We found an empty hammock and swung in it for a bit. The beach also has a nice view of the Grand Floridian and you can also see the tip of Cinderella Castle in the distance. Fat men in tuxedos were also on Sunset Point, apparently planning a wedding. We later saw some sort of reception from this wedding in the Grand Floridian´s Wedding Chapel. After exploring the beach, we went to Moana Mickey´s Arcade. I didn´t play any of the games, just looked. There is no prize counter there, nor is there Dance Dance Revolution, which they had at the Contemporary Resort´s arcade.

After this, we put our suits on and went to the quiet pool. The main pool was always too crowded for us. The quiet pool was well...quiet, mostly. It was also very warm and relaxing. We swam for about an hour, then we went to the Great Ceremonial House and shopped around a bit, looking at pins, kitchen accessories, and clothes. I bought a Polynesian Resort pin that has Lilo and Stitch on it. I also bought a stuffed Mickey. Very cute! After shopping, we watched the Torch Lighting Ceremony. This is new for me, and I loved it. I got some good pictures too. It was a tiny bit corny though. After the ceremony, we hopped on the monorail and went to Disney´s Contemporary Resort. There we shopped at the pin station and in Bay View Gifts. At BVG I bought the latest Disney cookbook and a very cute :mickey: plate. After this, we traveled to Disney´s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, where we shopped even more, this time in MouseMercantile. Then we ate dinner in the Grand Floridian Café. The Grand Floridian Café is a simple, but very fun restaurant. Though the waiters/waitresses wear the most hideous outfits, they are very fun. The kid´s food is nice too. I ordered the "Triple Header," which included a mini hot dog, hamburger, and some macaroni and cheese. I also ordered the Worms and Dirt for dessert. There was also a coloring contest going on, so we colored all throughout dinner. I don´t think we won. The winners got a lot of balloons and a goodie bag delivered to their hotel room! I also learned that each hotel room had a different number-no repeats, so that they can keep them all in the database and know which rooms are where. I learned this because originally, the contest was only for Grand Floridian guests, but since each room has its own number, they opened it to all Disney Resorts. My mother had a pasta dish for dinner that included shrimp, asparagus, prosciutto, and an asiago cheese sauce. I tried some and it was very good. The included dinner rolls were also very tasty. Mother also had the mini Key Lime Cheesecake, which, as the name described, was very small.

After dinner, we took a very romantic stroll back to the Polynesian on the Grand Floridian´s pathway. We passed through the wedding chapel area, as well as past the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. On our last trip, we had tickets for this show, but after reading some reviews, we decided not to go. After passing by the show and catching a glimpse of it, both with our eyes and ears, we were both very, very thankful that we did not go. It looked terrible, and sounded worse.

We finally arrived at the Polynesian´s beach, just as Wishes started. We watched Wishes from the beach, as well as the Electrical Water Pageant. Even though the music for Wishes was piped in on the docks and grounds, it was not piped in on the beach, which is where it should have been. The Pageant was new for me, and I loved this too, though the music sounded much like something you would hear coming from a 16-bit video game. It got annoying. After the show, we went to Captain Cooks and bought breakfast for the next day, and then we went back to our room and went to bed.

Day 2:

We got up very early (around 6am or so). I had set the wake up call for 6:30 am. A real person, instead of being automated, now does the setting up of the wake up call. Unfortunately, I couldn´t hear the phone ring to answer it, but Mother did and we got up. For breakfast I had some Frosted Flakes cereal we had purchased at Captain Cook´s the night before. We left our room at approximately 6:45 am. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, we picked up our park tickets via will call. Unfortunately, we didn´t have an ID with us to identify ourselves to get our tickets...but the nice cast member let us have them anyway! This was one event that made our day. We got into the Magic Kingdom at about quarter after 7. There was a small parade going down Main Street USA, featuring the Easter Bunny, as well as several turn-of-the-century dancers singing the Main Street USA song. It was very serene walking down Main Street :hurray: We made a dash for Buzz Lightyear´s Space Ranger Spin. Once we arrived there, we only had to wait about 10 minutes to board the ride. The fastpass return time was between 9:05 and 10:05. On Buzz Lightyear´s Space Ranger Spin, I only got about 2000 points, where as mother got over 100,000...maybe she´s the one who set off the volcano...*hint**hint* ;)

After Buzz, we walked alllll the way to Adventureland. We toured the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse with NO LINE in front of us, then we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin with a less than 5 minute wait. Though a simple midway ride, the Magic Carpets is a fun ride, just thrilling enough, but not overly boring. We then exited Adventureland and walked to the Fantasyland entrance to Toontown. We waited at the front of the rope for 15 minutes, then Tigger, Eyeore, and a cast member came out and personally opened Toontown for all of us waiting to get in. We later found that Mr. Mickey Mouse himself opened the Tomorrowland entrance!

As the rope dropped, we dashed off to Mickey´s Country House, only to be greeted by a line. This is when we found out that there was indeed a second entrance, and that :mickey: had opened it up. People had also come to Toontown via the Railroad. While walking to :mickey:´s house, we saw that :Minnie: was at her house as well-with no line! We waited in line for :mickey: for about 15-20 minutes, then met him. I had him autograph my WDW T-shirt. We also took pictures. Before we had went in to meet Mickey, it had been very muggy and humid, but strangely, when we came out, it was sunny and nice!

After meeting :mickey:, we hopped on the WDW Railroad and traveled to Frontierland. Upon arriving, we went to the TSI dock to find that it wouldn´t be open for another 25 minutes, so we went to the Frontier Trading Post and I bought a lot of pins. I bought an Easter pin with Stitch on it, the Contemporary Resort pin, a :mickey: pin with little dangly thingies (that cost $13!!!), and an MGM Studios pin. We also bought some candy.

After shopping, TSI was open, so we took the raft over there. Once we landed, we started our quest for paintbrushes...along with many other people L. We didn´t end up finding any paintbrushes, but we did find something.....but that´s a secret. I´ll give you a hint though. It is near the barrel bridge.

After TSI we strolled leisurely in the general direction of the exit, stopping along the way to get pictures and autographs with Pocahontas and Meeko, as well as shopping on Main Street USA and to take pictures. Upon exiting the Magic Kingdom, we boarded the express monorail to go to the TTC, and then boarded another monorail to go to Epcot!

Upon entering Epcot, we headed directly to the World Showcase, stopping only to take a picture of the "World" famous icon: Spaceship Earth. When we got to the World Showcase, we decided to try the Tangerine Café for lunch, hoping to find some sort of grilled-chicken-in-pita type thing. Not feeling like walking halfway around the world, we decided to take a boat to Morocco. When we got there, Jafar was doing out for photos and autographs, but he left just as we got in line. We looked at the menu for the Tangerine Café and decided not to eat there, so we opted for plan B and headed for France. We got a nice Ham and Cheese Croissant there for lunch, which the waiter microwaved waaaaaay too much. But it was still good anyway :hurray: We sat for a while in the small courtyard past the "Arcade" eating lunch, and then looked around Souvenirs De France and then went on our way to Morocco again. This time we looked at the shops there and I got a funny picture trying on a fez. After!

Morocco, we walked counterclockwise to Japan, stopping for a nice picture and to look at the nice gardens. This is the only time when we haven´t gone into the Mitsukoshi Department Store.

After Japan, we went to the American Adventure, where we watched the Drum and Fife Corps. perform. They were so serious that they were funny. I also started my Kidcot mask here. After the USA, we continued counter clockwise to Italy, stopping at the Kidcot Fun Stop. We then went to Germany, where we shopped, visited the Kidcot Stop, and got a photo and autograph from Snow White! After Germany, we traveled on to China, where we strolled around. We then continued to Norway. Our legs and feet were very tired by this time, so we rested in Norway. After Norway, we sped through Mexico and went on to the United Kingdom, where we visited the Kidcot Stop and did photo & autograph with Mary Poppins. After the UK, we made our way to the exit. On our way out, we stopped and watched a fountain show at the big fountain near Innoventions. We also went in both Innoventions. Two complaints about Innoventions: one, we did a thing where we emailed a video to ourselves (called D-Mail), and whe!

n we got home, the link didn´t work, and two, the video games in Innoventions are old Playstation 2 games that are outdated. The controllers were in disrepair as well. Disney really needs to form a partnership with Nintendo and get some Nintendo games in there.

After Innoventions, we checked out the Art of Disney shop and admired the beautiful paintings. Then we left. We were both very sad. We got on the monorail and eventually made our way back to the Polynesian.

Once at the Polynesian, we met up with my Grandparents, of whom were going to take us to their apartment in New Smyrna Beach...that is, after we ended our spectacular time at WDW with a spectacular dinner with them at the Kona Café. We ate at the Kona Café at 5:00. I had the Pan Asian pasta, which consisted of chicken, noodles, lots of veggies, and a stir fry sauce. It was pretty good. I had the kids ice cream cone for dessert. It came with blue cotton candy and a chocolate :mickey:, as well as M&M´s.

After dinner, we packed ourselves into the car and drove off. This was one of the best trips to WDW I ever had (all of them were the best ;)) If I ever go back again (which I WILL), I´d really like to stay at the Polynesian again. Either that or the Grand Floridian or the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I´ve also decided that when I grow up I´m going to work as a chef at WDW. It was a absolutely wonderful trip!