Disney Vacation Club Update

As I mentioned in my last post from our November Disney World trip, Rick and I were considering becoming DVC members. Well - we did it!

After checking out what was available via re-sale (much cheaper than buying direct from Disney), we settled on the Saratoga Springs Resort, where we stayed on that trip. We checked what was available through the Timeshare Store, and found a contract we liked. We made an offer that was accepted, waited 30 days for Disney to exercise their Right of First Refusal (which they waved), and finally closed on our property this week. We are now official DVC members!

We're planning our first trip as owners for next December and I am anxiously waiting for our membership to get into Disney's computers so that I can make our reservations. We'll start out with an 8-day reservation at SSR (since we can reserve at our home resort 11 months out), and at the 7-month mark, when we can make reservations at any of the DVC properties, we'll see if we can change all or part of the reservation to either the Boardwalk or Beach Club Villas, since we like to be near Epcot during the holidays.

DVC membership is something I've been coveting for quite some time and I'm very happy that we've finally taken the plunge!

Day 6: All Good Things Must Come to an End

This was our last day of vacation and we truly hated to leave. The weather has been so perfect and other than the night of the transportation nightmare from the Magic Kingdom and my clumsy fall, this has been one of our nicest trips to Walt Disney World. We loved staying at Saratoga Springs and our room location was perfect. The Food and Wine Festival was even more fun than we expected and we really enjoyed Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – especially the Holiday Wishes fireworks.

We had a 7:30 p.m. flight, so at least we were able to spend our last day in a park. We chose Epcot so that we could see Captain Eo (the 3-D film featuring Michael Jackson that we saw on our very first trip in 1992), sample some more of the Festival offerings, and get Rick’s favorite - Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips - for lunch. We ended up sharing a table at lunch with some chaperones and the director of a high school band from Cincinnati. We had a nice visit with them, talking music, before we made a last circuit of the World Showcase to use up what was left on our Festival gift card. We had beers from Canada and Germany and a Crème Brule from France, took a few more photos and reluctantly left to catch the Magical Express back to MCO.

Since we seem to have established a pattern of visiting Walt Disney World at least once a year, we’re considering buying into the Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s version of a time-share. I’m looking into getting a resale at either the Beach Club or the Boardwalk since we like being within walking distance of Epcot and the Studios, but we’d be happy to stay at Saratoga Springs again anytime too. It’s a really lovely resort. Maybe by our next trip, we’ll be DVC owners. Wait and see!

All the photos from this trip are here on Flickr.

Day 4 – Animal Kingdom

We walked again this morning, but this time we stopped at Downtown Disney to take a flight on the Characters in Flight tethered balloon. Once again we had perfect weather, so the view was great and we were able to see how huge Disney World really is. It was a short, but enjoyable flight and a different way to start the day. After that we browsed in the Harley Davidson store, looked at the giant Lego sculptures, and took some photos of Raglan Road, where we’ll be having dinner tomorrow night.

Next we drove to the Animal Kingdom, which was about the least-crowded we have ever seen it. It was so pleasant strolling the paths and we noticed how the vegetation has really filled in, making the park shady and comfortable. We did the Maharaja Jungle Trek - the tigers were very alert today – and went on the safari ride and Expedition Everest. We saw the Lion King and Nemo shows – both really great, but we agreed we both like the Lion King best. We were able to walk onto everything.

All the photos from this trip are here on Flickr.

At this point we should have quit while we were ahead, but decided to go to the Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours. We parked in one of the Magic Kingdom lots and took the tram to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC), where we boarded the monorail for the Magic Kingdom. We got there just before the Main Street Electrical Parade started, but since we had seen this parade in Disneyland we decided to go on some rides instead. We had a really hard time getting through the crowd at the hub and over the bridge to Tomorrowland. It was absolutely packed! We rode the People Mover and then went to Fantasyland to see PhilharMagic. After that we rode the Haunted Mansion and finished up with Big Thunder Mountain. We should have left at that point, but decided to stay for the Wishes fireworks show that had started as we were heading for the exit.

After the fireworks, we knew there would be long lines for transportation back to the TTC, so we had hot dogs at Casey’s Corner while the park started to empty out. When we finally left the park, we were shocked to see hundreds of people still queued up for the monorail and steamboat, so we went back into the park and found a place to sit on Main Street while we waited some more. After half an hour or so, we tried again – but again all the lines were still awfully long. The line for the steamboat looked to be the lesser of two evils, so we went over there and waited, and waited some more. After a while of that line not moving an inch, we decided to try the express monorail. We got to the top of the ramp to find that it was experiencing “technical difficulties” and they weren’t letting anyone else on. We had no choice but to join the very long line for the resort monorail. We waited about 45 minutes to finally get on that monorail, but it didn’t take long to discover that this train had its own problems. We limped into the Contemporary where they had to shut down the train to reboot the onboard computer. Once underway again, we could tell by the flapping sounds coming from underneath the train that something was still amiss. We were stopped again just outside the TTC for a mechanical check and once inside the station, we still had to sit there for several minutes before they opened the doors and let us off. I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief when those doors finally opened.

All-in-all it took nearly 2 ½ hours for us to get to our car after the park closed. This is the first time we've driven to and parked at the Magic Kingdom and you can be sure we never will again. Lesson learned!

Day 3 – Hollywood Studios

We slept in this morning and then took another walk through Downtown Disney before driving over to the Beach Club to park and have lunch at the Big River Grille on the Boardwalk. This is such a great place for a quiet, relaxed lunch. It was another perfect weather day, so we took an outside table and watched the Friendship boats cross the lagoon and the activity along the Boardwalk. I had the chicken and cashew salad and a glass of Beringer merlot and Rick had a burger with a glass of Steamboat ale. After that we took a Friendship over to the Studios.

The crowds were quite light. We walked right onto the Tower of Terror, watched the energetic – and loud – Block Party Bash, rode The Great Movie Ride, walked through the refurbished One Man’s Dream exhibit and saw the Beauty and the Beast stage show and MuppetVision 3-D. A first for us this time was the American Idol Experience. The three contestants were all quite good and it was a fun re-creation of the TV show.

Our main reason for going to this park today was to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights which began last night and will run through the holidays. The display was pretty much the same as it was last year, but it’s always fun and a good way to welcome in the season. After we saw the lights dance we called it an early night and spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our studio.

All of the photos from this trip are here on Flickr.

Day 2: Food & Wine and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

This is a great time to be here with the Food & Wine Festival still going on and some of the Christmas season events beginning tonight. Christmas decorations are starting to appear here and there too.

We began our day with a walk from our resort to Downtown Disney and back. It was a beautiful morning – a little cool, but sunny with a cloudless sky. There is a path you can take that loops through the Saratoga Springs property, mostly along the lagoon, and skirts the edge of the Lake Buena Vista golf course. Once through Downtown Disney you can pick up the path again to return to the resort. This gave us a chance to get the lay of the land and to appreciate the beautiful setting we are in. At the beginning of our walk we saw a hawk perched in a tree at the resort that didn't mind sitting still to have his picture taken.

We drove over to the Beach Club and parked there so we could enter Epcot through the International Gateway. We had some time to browse and take photos in France, Morocco and Germany before our lunch reservation at the new restaurant in Italy - Via Napoli. Our waiter-in-training was the shy yet disarming Allesandro. Rick and I shared a salad and a large Neapolitan Pizza Quartro Fromaggi (four-cheese). It was fantastic! I had their Merlot San Giuseppe and Rick had the La Rossa Italian Lager. We loved this meal and the charming and attentive service. We'll definitely be back. We spent the rest of the afternoon grazing at some of the Food & Wine kiosks. I know I remember having a Prosecco in Italy and a Margarita in Mexico and who knows what else! So much for watching my diet on this trip!

When we got back to our villa, Rick took a nap and I tried out the hot tub at the quiet pool near our building. Then we went over to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The castle was all lit up with beautiful icicles and the park wasn’t at all crowed since this was the very first party of the season. We enjoyed the complimentary hot chocolate and cookies, went on a few rides, saw the perfectly choreographed and beautiful Holiday Wishes fireworks show, the Celebrate the Season castle stage show, and of course Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. We left an almost empty park at midnight, very glad we decided to go to the party this trip.

It was a really great Disney Day!

All of the photos from this trip are here on Flickr.

Back at The World: Day 1

After a very early start from the Manchester, NH airport, we landed in Orlando before 10 a.m., boarded Disney's Magical Express bus and were all checked in at the Saratoga Springs Resort by 10:45. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we walked over to the Buena Vista Palace to pick up our rental car. While waiting to complete that transaction, I got a text from the resort with our room number, so we went back to see what we got. All our requests were met: Congress Park, top floor, Downtown Disney view. We're in a studio villa - renting points from a Disney Vacation Club member. Thanks Darlene! Our building is actually the one closest to Downtown Disney. It's secluded and quiet and the view of the lagoon and Downtown Disney is beautiful. A perfect location for us!

We made it to Epcot just around noontime, so after riding Spaceship Earth and stopping by the Food & Wine Festival Center in the former Wonders of Life pavilion to pick up a gift card, we had our first samples of Festival food at the Canada and Ireland kiosks. We've never been here for the Festival before and it's really fun. You use your gift card to pay for food at the various kiosks – much more efficient than using your Key to the World or credit card since you don’t have to sign the receipts. Rick had the Canadian cheddar cheese soup and I got maple-glazed salmon with a lentil salad. Delish! I had a St. David's Bench merlot and Rick had Moosehead ale. At the Ireland kiosk, I got the Bunratty Meade Honey Wine and lobster and scallop fisherman's pie. After that we strolled the rest of the way around the World Showcase checking out the offerings at the other kiosks. We stopped at the Germany pavilion and got a soft pretzel that we enjoyed with their Altenmunster Oktoberfest ale. Being the next-to-the-last Sunday of the festival, the park was pretty busy.

Since we'd been up since 2:30 this morning, we were starting to fade, so we went back to our room for a nap before returning to Epcot for our late dinner reservation at the new Mexican restaurant, La Hacienda de San Angel. I had timed this to coincide with the IllumiNations fireworks. The location was nice - we were really close to the globe and could see the images more clearly than ever, but I thought that watching the show at an angle through the windows diminished the impact of the fireworks. I'd much rather watch IllumiNations from outside where you can get the full effect. We shared the queso fundido appetizer (melted cheese with poblano peppers, chorizo and flour tortillas), which was very good. For our entre, we shared the flank steak with spring onions, tamal, and cactus leaves. This came with black beans and Spanish rice. Rick really liked it – I thought it was just okay. We also each had a Tecate, one of the house beers - just awful! I think we were just too tired - and I was still a little too full from the afternoon's samplings - to really appreciate this restaurant fully, but I doubt we’d go there again – certainly not for IllumiNations anyway.

All the photos from this trip are here on Flickr.

Next Up - Another Trip to The World

We're planning to visit Walt Disney World in November. How many times have we been there, you ask? More than a dozen - but we don't get tired of our favorite place to escape reality. We'll be staying at the Saratoga Springs Resort and are looking forward to trying out a couple of new restaurants at Epcot - La Hacienda de San Angel and Via Napoli - and our first ride on the Characters in Flight tethered balloon at Downtown Disney.

Our timing for this trip is great - the Food and Wine Festival will be in full swing at Epcot and the Osborn Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights opens at Disney's Hollywood Studios while we're there. It will also be great to see Disney's Electrical Parade at the Magic Kingdom. We saw this parade at Disneyland, but now it's back in Florida where it originated. It'll be fun to see Captain Eo at the Imagination pavilion in Epcot again. We saw it on our very first trip in 1992 and I only remember it vaguely.

We had to cancel a Disney trip last spring when my dad passed away, so we're feeling overdue for some Disney magic.

Last Day: World Showcase and Le Cellier

We arrived at the World Showcase about an hour before our lunch reservation, so we browsed in the Canada and UK pavilions. We listened Santa Claus tell about the various ways Christmas is celebrated in Canada and arrived at the UK just as the World Showcase Players were beginning their performance of A Christmas Carol. Guess who they pulled from the audience to be Mr. Scrooge? They had no idea what they were getting into when they chose Don Adams! He out-hammed the players with his "Bah Humbugs" and other rude noises. It was hilarious! Bravo, Don!

We had a fabulous meal at Le Cellier - what a great finale to our trip. Rick and I started with the cheddar cheese soup and we both had the mushroom filet mignon with mushroom risotto. Heavenly! Thanks to the Adamses for treating us!

We needed to walk off all that food, so we made a slow circuit around the World Showcase, starting in Mexico, where we saw the 3 Kings tell their Christmas story and finally arriving in France just in time to watch Serveur Amusant. I was picked to sit on one of the chairs until it was needed for the acrobat - not nearly as exciting a role as Don's.















Sadly, it was time to get back to the Boardwalk and gather our luggage for our final ride on the Magical Express to the airport. The skies opened up while we were waiting for the bus to arrive - perfect timing!

Kona Cafe and World Showcase

Great breakfast today at Kona, especially the home fries. We went back to the resort afterwards and walked over to the World Showcase, strolling slowing from France to Mexico before we pooped out. Saw the movie in France, browsed the bazaar in Morocco, listened to the drummers in Japan, had some Liebfraumilch and a soft pretzel in Germany and watched the model train, saw the terracotta soldiers in China, rode Maelstrom in Norway, got a frozen Margarita in Mexico and listened to the mariachi band.

We had a disappointing dinner at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Note to self: the food isn't that great, the Merlot sucks, and there are way too many families with small, screming kids eating there. Cross this one off the list.

When we got back to the Boardwalk, Rick and I decided to take a last walk around Crescent Lake. He bought a t-shirt at the Beach Club and we picked up some candy for our parents in the Boardwalk candy store. Then I decided to go back to Epcot for IllumiNations and got a great spot just before it started right on the rail behind one of the gift shops.

We fly home tomorrow evening. We'll have lunch at my favorite Epcot restaurant, Le Cellier, before we have to head for the airport. This has been a really great trip - our first traveling to Walt Disney World with friends. We've made a lot of wonderful memories!

All our photos are on Flickr and videos on YouTube.

Future World, SpectroMagic and Wishes

We made up for a day of no rides yesterday by spending most of today in Epcot's Future World. We started by getting a FastPass for Soarin' and then jumped into the standby line, which took exactly the 35 minutes posted. Anne and Don loved the ride and wished it lasted longer. We were glad we had FastPasses so we could ride it again later. We had a late start this morning, so after Soarin', it was already time to head over to the World Showcase for our noon lunch reservation at Tokyo Dining. We rode a Friendship over and got there in time to see the wait-staff's opening ceremony. We were seated in the front-center window. We shared a bottle of sake and all enjoyed our lunch overlooking the lagoon.

After lunch we went back to Future World for more rides, using our FastPass to ride Soarin' again, then going on Mission Space, Test Track, and Spaceship Earth, with an energy break for lattes and cappuccinos at mid-afternoon. It was getting cooler and the skies were becoming threatening, so we went back to the resort to change of clothes before going to the Magic Kingdom for the SpectroMagic parade and Wishes fireworks.

Fortunately, it never did rain and we were able to get great viewing spots for both attractions. We watched SpectroMagic from it's start on Main Street and then followed the masses to a prime spot in front of the Partners statue at the Hub for Wishes. We had a perfect view of the Castle and its changing colors and could clearly see Tinkerbell fly from the parapet at the beginning of the show. These shows are must-sees and the Adamses enjoyed them both.

Tomorrow we'll check out the decorations at the monorail resorts after breakfast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian resort.

Resort hopping, mini-golf, and the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights

We started our day with breakfast at celebrity chef Cat Cora's restaurant on the Boardwalk, Kouzzina. I had the amazing Stacked Kouzzina breakfast - two poached eggs, Kalamata olive toast, artichoke spread, sweet potato hash and chicken sausage. Very unusual, but delicious. Spoodles, the restaurant this one replaced, was a favorite of ours, so we were glad that we enjoyed Kouzzina so much.

After breakfast we made a circuit of the lagoon to see the Christmas decorations at the Yacht and Beach Club resorts, then walked over to see how the Swan and Dolphin were decked out for the holidays.

Next we did something new - we played miniature golf at Fantasia Gardens. Don was the winner, with Anne second, Rick third and me last, but still 2 under par. It was very hot and humid, but the course was very cute, with a Fantasia theme. We had a great time and would definitely do this again.

We wanted to be sure that Anne and Don had a chance to hear the Voices of Liberty at the American Adventure in Epcot, so we went over there next. We enjoyed some sparkling wines in Italy before the fife and drum corps signalled it was time for the show which featured holiday music.

We left Epcot and took a Friendship over to the Studios. We had the most fun dinner ever at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. Our server, Laura, was a hoot, the food was good home cookin' - fried chicken and tuna noodle caserole - and we enjoyed reminiscing about all the old TV shows running on the set at our table.

Then it was time to see the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. You can't help but smile when you see this display, it's so over the top, but just so whimsical and so much fun - a great ending to another day filled with smiles and laughter.

Photos are updated on Flickr and there are some more videos on YouTube. I'm having fun with our new Flip camera!

Studios Day and Candlelight Processional

Whew! What a day! We did most of the the Disney Hollywood Studios. Anne and Don loved the Great Movie Ride, the Haunted Mansion, Rockin' Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania. We also saw the Muppets movie, and all enjoyed the excellent exhibit and film, Walt Disney, One Man's Dream, but I think the unanymous favorite was the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We made three circuits of the park before we ran out of steam.

We took a brief beer break at the Big River Brewing Co. on the Boardwalk and then headed over to Epcot for our dinner at the Rose and Crown. We had a great meal there (and more beer). After that, it was time for the Candlelight Processional. Abigail Breslin narrated the Christmas story. The orchestra, herald trumpeters and chorus were outstanding. What a great way to get into the Christmas spirit!

Part of our Processional dinner package included a special reserved front-and-center section for the Illuminations fireworks. At Christmastime they add an extra holiday ending to Let There Be Peace on Earth, with a really neat laser effect simulating a dove in flight. It was a good chance to see what my little Flip video camera could do. Not bad, except for the explosions of the fireworks overloading the mic.

I added a few more photos to Flickr.

Holiday Trip

We're at Walt Disney World with our friends Anne and Don to enjoy the warm weather and all the special Christmas attractions. We're staying at the Boardwalk Villas in newly renovated studios. The place looks all fresh and shiny new.

We launched our vacation at the Magic Kingdom where we had lunch at the Plaza Restaurant and then worked our way counter-clockwise around the park starting in Tomorrowland. We rode the Tomorrowland Transit authority to get a birds-eye view of that part of the park, then battled the evil emporer Zurg on the Buzz Lightyear ride. We watched the 3-D movie, Mickey's PhilharMagic and braved the Haunted Mansion. We finished our tour with Pirates of the Caribbean. We'll be back later in the week for SpectroMagic and the Wishes fireworks show.

Crowds were fairly light yesterday, temp's in the 80s. No complaints from any of us! We had a great dinner at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney and checked out the shops on the Boardwalk before calling it a night.

Tomorrow we're off to the Disney Studios, then we'll have dinner at the Rose and Crown Pub at Epcot and then see the Candlelight Processional and Illuminations fireworks.

I'm trying out our new Flip video camera, so stay tuned for some clips on YouTube. In the meantime, we have photos on Flickr.

Now It's Time to Say Goodbye...

Breakfast at the Kona Cafe in the Disney's Polynesian Resort is a nice way to end a trip. We took a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to the Poly. We ordered the press pot of Kona coffee and I had a mimosa with my eggs benedict - mmm!






We spent the rest of our time at Downtown Disney browsing in the stores and picking up some Ghirardelli chocolates for the neighbor who watched our house while we were gone. A boat ride back to the Saratoga Springs ended our stay.



Now we're back in freezing Massachusetts and have already gone out to shovel the snow from the storm that was going on the day we left. More snow is predicted for tomorrow. I don't think we're in Florida anymore.

All the photos from our trip are on Flickr.

Happy Endings

After a great week, you want your last full day and evening at Walt Disney World to be special. We had a nice lunch at the Nine Dragons in Epcot after visiting the countries we didn't get to yesterday - Mexico, Norway and China. After lunch we caught Mariachi Cobre's performance and Rick even had a chance to speak to one of the trumpet players. On our way out of the park, we went over to the Living Seas and saw Turtle Talk with Crush and did the Nemo ride before we went back to our room to put on warmer clothes for our evening in the Magic Kingdom.

Rick has loved the SpectroMagic parade since our very first trip in 1992. He thought he was too old to ever recapture the magic of childhood, but that parade, with its seemingly endless array of floats featuring all the familiar Disney characters he knew as a kid, along with its majestic music, did it for him. It's a must-do on every trip.

This time, we watched the parade from a new vantage point up on the railway station at the beginning of Main Street. Looking to our left, we had an unobstructed view from above as each float entered the parade route. If we looked right, we could see the whole line of floats as they proceeded up Main Street, around the hub, and past the castle. It was really beautiful.

We stayed at the train station, moving to just a little right of center (so the flag pole didn't obstruct our view of the castle), and held this prime spot for half an hour until the Wishes fireworks began. From this location, you can really see the entirety of the fireworks effects and appreciate their precise synchronization with the music. This was a new and memorable perspective for us.

We have most of tomorrow to get in our last looks. We'll have breakfast at the Kona Cafe in the Polynesian and decide then what we'll do with the time that's left before we have to leave for the airport mid-afternoon. This trip fulfilled our objective to relax and temporarily forget about our usual obligations. It was definitely the escape from reality that Walt Disney World is supposed to be and what we really needed.

Other photos are here.

As Nearly Perfect As It Can Get

Some days just turn out better than you could have hoped. Today started with a cloudless blue sky and just-cool-enough temperatures. When we arrived at Epcot this morning the first thing we did was head to The Land to get Fast Passes for Soarin'. Amazingly, for the second time in a row, someone handed us two passes for right then that they couldn't use. So we got to ride right away. Then we went to the World Showcase because it was just past 11:00 and we knew there wouldn't be many people there yet. We shouldn't have worried about that because it remained uncrowded the rest of the day.

So here are the highlights in photos:

Our day at the World Showcase started with a latte on a bench behind Harry Ramsden's.








The World Showcase Players' performance was "rubbish", as always.








France looked picturesque through the bare trees.









Tokyo Dining has the ideal location for a relaxing lunch overlooking the lagoon.








The Voices of Liberty, the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps, and of course, the American Adventure show were all as impeccably-done and moving as ever.













Italy looked elegant under the sparkling sun - and the Rosa Regale didn't hurt!








It's always fun to see the globe and fireworks barges towed out for IllumiNations.








A ride on the monorail and then the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, followed by burgers at Pecos Bill's - just the right way to end a perfect day.

This is the kind of day that keeps us coming back. Relaxed, slow-paced, and pleasant. No worries, no obligations, no schedule, no "have to's" - just pure enjoyment.

The rest of the photos are here.

The World Today

This is the first time we have visited Walt Disney World in January. We picked this week because of the historically low park attendance - and that has certainly proved to be the case so far. The Magic Kingdom was as uncrowded as we have ever seen it when we arrived around 9:30 and still seemed empty when we left at noon. The crane that went up over the castle last night after Wishes was still there this morning.



Chad was the funniest skipper we have ever had on the Jungle Cruise. His ad libbing was off the wall and I don't think he said one line from the standard script. Maybe because there were so few people there, I noticed the radio controlled boats at the ride exit for the very first time.



We had a couple of firsts today: We ate at The Wave, the new restaurant at the Contemporary. We were practically the only ones there not wearing business attire. We had a very nice butternut squash soup to start. It came with a mini grilled cheese sandwich. Rick enjoyed his Reuben, but my spice crusted chicken salad was just so-so. Decor was great, the menu is unique, and our waitress was efficient, pleasant, and chatty, but it did feel more like a convention place, at least at lunchtime. After lunch we checked out the progress on the Bay Lake Towers, the new DVC resort next to the Contemporary.

We decided we'd try again to ride Toy Story Midway Mania at the Studios. We promised each other we would only stay if the wait time was 30 minutes or less. It had started raining during our long bus ride over from the Contemporary (we dropped off guests at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian first) and we thought that might help make the queue shorter. The posted wait time was 50 minutes, but the queue wasn't out the door, so we got in line and about 35 minutes later were on the ride. I had a chance to experience this ride shortly after it opened at Disneyland last June and I knew Rick would enjoy it. It was fun, but I don't think it was operating properly because we rolled right by one game after watching the cars in front of us play, and at another game we sat there, but our guns wouldn't fire. Rick did like it, but we were both disappointed that it didn't seem to be working completely right. Although Rick was in the lead from the beginning, I did manage to squeak out a win in the final bonus round. I predict that this ride will remain popular for a long time and guests will continue to experience long waits.

Now we're back at SSR and the rain has ended, but we've lost our momentum, so we're not sure if we'll go to a park or just grab something to eat here at the Artist's Palate and stay in for the night. It's nice not to feel like we have to cram a lot in to our days. Our pace this trip is decidedly slower than usual, but we're enjoying the escape and just being away from the real world for a while.

Why we keep coming back

Yesterday's post was a bit dry. I was so tired it was all could do to type a cursory report of where we went and what we did, but it doesn't make for very interesting reading. So for the rest of my posts this trip I'll try and focus on the special sights and experiences that are the real reason we have made so many trips to Walt Disney World and will continue to do so.

Take for example our lunch yesterday at Raglan Road. The food was great and the decor charming, but best of all was our waiter Todd. It wasn't just that he was was prompt and got our orders right, it was the extra time he spent chatting with us without giving any indication that there was anything else he needed, or would rather be, doing. Or the cast member at the American Experience at Epcot - the same one who made Rick's birthday magical during our trip last April by arranging for him to get a happy birthday phone call from Goofy - who obviously loves his job, making sure every guest gets the most out of his or her visit to the American pavilion and taking extra time with anyone who has a question, or even looks like they might.

Every day at Walt Disney World provides its pleasures, some of them simple - like the quiet and peaceful walk, with a cup of coffee, from the Boardwalk to the Disney Studios along the canal. Or the sight of two teenage girls on the bus to the park, wearing their tiaras and planning what they are going to see - not at all too sophisticated to pretend to be princesses for the day. Or the earnest and brave pint-sized boys and girls confronting Darth Vader at the Jedi Training Academy. We smiled thinking about how our son James would have eaten this up when he was five or six. Or the young dad tonight after Wishes at the Magic Kingdom holding his tiny daughter up to see the sculpture of Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket and naming some of the characters from the story that I had long since forgotten, like Figaro, the cat.

So it's not the rides - although we have our favorites that are not to be missed - like Muppet Vision 3-D and the Haunted Mansion - and it's not the characters - although it's hard not to feel lighthearted when you see them interact with the children - it's not even (gasp!) Mickey himself....it's just the place and the way it makes you feel - young, carefree and - just simply - happy. That's why we come back.

Some discoveries today:
If you watch SpectroMagic from its start on Main Street and follow the parade as far as the hub after it goes by, you end up in a perfect position to watch the Wishes fireworks.

There's a shortcut from the Boardwalk parking lot and across the tennis courts to the path to Disney Studios.

You can get to the Springs section of the Saratoga Springs Resort quicker if you get off the bus at the Paddocks, cut across the pool area, then cross the long footbridge - and you just might spot the resident swans along the way.

It's not too late to sit down and enjoy a hot dog at Casey's Corner on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom after most of the crowd has left the park. While we ate, we watched a crane lift workers in a bucket way above the highest spire of the castle, presumably to do some sort of maintenance up there.

Tonight while waiting for the crowd to disperse, we had fun taking photos of all the sculptures around the Partner's statue at the hub of the Magic Kingdom. Those and all our other photos are posted on Flickr.