περιπλάνηση: WDW 2000

Since I'm archiving my wanderings, I would be remiss not to include our trips to Walt Disney World.

Bob and I started dreaming of taking the kids to Disney World when they were very little. We started saving for what we told ourselves would be a once in a lifetime trip in 1997. We finally made it in December, 2000, when Nick was 7, about to turn 8, and Sammi was 5.

The millennium celebration was in full swing, with the installation of a huge sorcerer Mickey arm and 2000 over the geosphere. This would change to the word "Epcot"by the next visit and was finally taken down a few years after that.

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, courtyard view, for what then was the unthinkable amount of $144 a night, and even that was with a discount through the Magic Kingdom Club, a program they discontinued the next year that offered discounts to state employees.

Bob and Nick hang out in front of the Wilderness Lodge mercantile:

We look at these pictures now and think, "how young!" and are only partly talking about the children. Bob's beard was all black!

We have very few pictures of all four of us, but here's one of the keepers.

See the camera Bob is holding below?

We still have that camera, ten years later. We hadn't planned on buying one because they were so expensive and we thought some friends of ours were going to lend us theirs. But at the last minute they decided they had to have it while we were gone. After years of waiting, I just couldn't imagine not taking any video. So we bit the bullet and bought it. As of right now, that's worked out to all of $40 a year for what is really priceless stuff in my eyes.

Here's a short compilation of our first trip:

Since my memory is going and its been ten years, I think maybe the easiest way to organize these is to group some favorite meals, rides, and character pictures together.

So without further ado...

Meal Highlight #1: Breakfast at Cinderella's Castle

Muna made Sammi her princess gown to wear to have breakfast with the princesses in the Castle. This was our little Disney miracle. At the time, it took an act of God to score reservations at the Castle. Even if you called the second the phone lines opened exactly on the earliest day they would accept reservations for your date (months before), you had almost no chance. And when I called that morning, within 5 minutes, the answer was, "sorry, we're totally booked."

Cue the angel on the DIS board, which was a pretty small community back then although its since grown into the largest online Disney discussion board there is. When I posted we'd struck out, he messaged me with a reservation number, saying he'd gotten lucky enough to get bookings to two mornings on their trip and, if we wanted, we could check in as the Congnovich family and have the table on the morning we'd been trying for. (This would never work now, as you have to book with a credit card that matches you when you check in.) But ten years ago, for one morning, we were the Cognovich family of four.

Sammi poses with Cinderella's Godmother as we arrive. This Godmother has been the one in the parades every year we've been at Disney World and her rosy cheeks and tinkling eyes just make her perfect. Daddy and his princess heading upstairs to meet the other royalty:

We meet Aladdin, who bears a weird resemblance to John Stamos...

Aladdin's main squeeze Jasmine holds the most male attention as she moves through the tables.

One of our favorites is Snow White, who has the perfect high-pitched voice, and has Sammi spin around, cooing, "It's sparkly and everything!" She then teaches Sammi how to curtsey for the camera. Afterwards, she helps her back into her booster seat, saying, "I have trouble in my dress, too."

The next picture, though is the stuff of Mask legend. I had told Nicholas he didn't have to get in all of the princess pictures, so he happily stayed out of the curtsey lesson. But then Snow White calls to him, asking him to come take a picture with her. "That's okay," he says. But she wasn't taking no for an answer. "Oh c'mon, please" she pleads. So he troops over and gives this painful smile. When it's over she winks at him and whispers, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Cinderella sweeps over at the end and engages Samantha in some private princess conversation, with oohs and aahs over her dress. My favorite picture of that encounter is below, especially since Sammi has her little pinky out.

Now to brass tacks, how much does this wonderful encounter cost? Well, I don't remember, at least not 10 years ago, but today? Here's what you get:

Once Upon A Time Breakfast - A traditional breakfast consisting of pre-plated Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Cheese Danish, Fresh Fruit, Breakfast Breads, Potato Casserole, Juice and Coffee. You may select the Healthy Alternative: Muesli served with fresh fruit and yogurt. Also, includes an assortment of juice, coffee and milk - $31.99

Yes, a breakfast for 4, will run you $128 plus tip. (faint)

Meal Highlight #2: Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern

We've actually eaten at LTT on every trip except 2006. It's one of our favorites, with roasted turkey breast, carved beef, and smoked pork loin, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herb bread stuffing, and Macaroni and Cheese, plus salad to start, and an apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Add some friendly character interaction, and we are sold.

Nick and Bob wait for our names to be called.

This corner in the Ben Franklin room is perfect: quiet with a great view. We ended up sitting at this exact same table the next trip, without asking.

The picture below was taken after Pluto had swept over to our table and started counting the pins on Nick's hat before he realizes Sammi is even there. She's so small, she didn't make it into his line of sight. He jumps back in surprise and then grabs her close for a big hug.

Once again, we're talking 2010 prices, but the current cost is $30.00 per person. They've ended the characters at this restaurant as of 2009, so sadly, we won't be back at that price.

3 Meal Highlight: Garden Grille Restaurant at Epcot:

Pluto is one of our very favorites, wherever we find him. Above is one of my best Pluto shots out of all our trips, mostly because of that tongue.

Garden Grille is a rotating restaurant that allows you to look out at changing portions of the Living with the Land ride down below. We've done lunch there twice, in 2000 and again in 2006, but they no longer serve lunch. Dinner these days will run you $35 each and this includes all you can eat family-style char-grilled beef strip loin, roasted turkey breast, fish and garden grown vegetables (raised and grown down below in Living with the Land), mashed potatoes, and fruit crisp with ice cream for dessert. You dine with Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale dressed in their farmer Fran outfits, coming by your table.

This picture with Mickey turned out to be our Christmas Card picture because it was the only one we actually got with Mickey.

If you ever have trouble remembering who is whom, Chip has the little chocolate chip nose.

And Dale... doesn't. Easy, see?

Have to add

3.5. Mickey Ice Cream Bars!

These little babies are our favorite vendor snack while waiting for a parade to start or just sitting to rest and people watch.

And one last ice cream plug: The Sci-Fi Diner

The food is overpriced and bland, but the desserts are the star. Make a reservation for after the afternoon parade and have ice cream for dinner here. In the interior you sit in a car (like you see above) with a giant drive-in screen showing really great campy B-clips from 50s science fiction films and some other fun vintage stuff.

Our Favorite Rides

1. Peter Pan's Flight

My favorite ride is Peter Pan's Flight in Fantasyland. And when the kids were little, it was one of their favorites too. Now it's all speed and inversions, but back then, this was right up their alley.

You soar in pirate ships out of the window of the nursery, over the rooftops of London, and on to Neverland, past mermaids and lost boys, and into an encounter with Captain Hook himself.

2. Mad Hatter's Tea Party

This is the one I tend to sit out, although I've braved the cookie tossing ride most trips. Mostly, though, I prefer to film from the sidelines. The kids and Bob, however, are up for insanely spinning these things until they can't walk straight.

3. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Perfect for little ones (and me) you ride in hunny pots through the animatronic scenes of the blustery day, Pooh meeting Tigger, Heffalumps and Woozles, and the heroic saving of Piglet from the big flood.

4. Jungle Cruise

Showing its age with the same corny spiel from the 50s when the ride originated in Disneyland, this is still a must-do for first-timers.

5. The Haunted Mansion

Notice a lot of this year's favorite rides are pretty tame. Sammi was very small and unable to ride any of the larger rides. She would have been able to handle the Haunted Mansion size-wise, but we made the mistake of trying the ride at night time first and she made it exactly two minutes in, through what is actually the scariest part, in the stretch room, and insisted we bail. We took the chicken exit and it was another two years before she was willing to try it again.

6. Dumbo

Who could resist a flight on Dumbo over Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom? you'll have to have loads of patience, since there are always lines and this thing loads slower than Christmas. Plus, you'll be in the air for less than 2 minutes, but what a lovely two minutes!

The night of the Christmas Party, they had dressed the Dumbos in Santa hats, which was a nice touch. They no longer to this, I guess victims of cost-cutting measures over the past decade.

7. Cinderella's Carrousel (yes with two "r"s)

How magical is a spin at night on this restored Victorian carousel listening to the calliope version of When You Wish Upon a Star?

8. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

Interactive arcade game extraordinaire. Toy Story was Nicholas' first movie to ever see at the theater, when he was not quite three years old. Sweet memories.

We were able to get pictures at Al's Toy Barn with the big guys themselves over at MGM Studios (now called Hollywood Studios, but I still say MGM)

Sammi poses with the Buzz Lightyear box, which stayed around for our first three trips, so we have some comparisons of her height from trip to trip.

9. Muppet Vision 3-D

Another great choice for the little ones, with a fantastic pre-show, and big finish with a cannon-wielding Swedish chef.

Although Sammi is five here, she was tiny and was easy to carry around on shoulders.

This was particularly good for parade viewing :)

The Main Street Electrical Parade was the Magic Kingdom night parade on our first trip but hasn't been back since. It's due back this summer and I'm hoping will still be around for our 10 year trip this Christmas.

One of our favorite things to do is get a good spot for the parade (here we're waiting for the Christmas Party parade at MK) and then trade off two by two going to shop while the others hold our spot and people watch. Here, Bob got a prize when we got back with his embroidered Capt Bob Mickey pirate hat.

A few favorite character photos from that first trip:

Ariel was wishing for warmer waters the day we visited. At least they don't make her show her shells when everyone else is in a sweatshirt.

Merlin hosts the Sword in the Stone show several times a day and chooses one child from the audience who will pull the sword from the stone and rule the realm for the afternoon.

We met the Hatter at the Grand Floridian's breakfast featuring an odd assortment of Victorian era characters, from Alice, to Mary Poppins, to Pinocchio and Geppeto.

Here is Brer Fox, who we met on this first trip and then he just disappeared. We didn't find him again until four trips later when we had completely gotten an overhaul in his costume. The newer fox is much scruffier and looks more like the animated character in Song of the South.