For those who have never read one of my trip reports you should know that I try to do three things with each report. Aside from describing my trip I also try to include information for those who have never been. What I mean is that I try to provide helpful explanations so that those trying to plan a trip may have a better idea of what each experience is like before they go. And secondly for those who have been many times, I try to include items that have changed since my last visit to help keep you up to date. And finally, I always try to make my reports entertaining for everyone. But I should warn you my reports are generally lengthy because I like to put you, the reader into my trip. If you have any questions along the way, please ask.
The set up!
On January 4, 2004, my wife, Marsha and I had just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) and immediately began experiencing WDW withdrawal. Experiencing WDW withdrawal wasn’t something new to us, but for some reason we had it really bad this time. I think it was the combination of having great weather in Orlando on the trip we just finished and the unbelievably cold weather back home and the fact that our brand new Premium Annual Passes were burning a hole in our pockets to be used again. So we began to search for a good time to return, but as the days passed by I had to turn my attention to another annual trip that we take each year. Our wedding anniversary is February 1st, and I always plan a secret trip for the two of us. The idea I had this year was simply stay close to home by staying at one of the upscale hotels in the metro Detroit area. We live in Windsor, Ontario, Canada which is just across the river/border from Detroit, Michigan. I had looked up information for the finest restaurants in the area and our entertainment would have included a comedy show at Second City Detroit, tickets to see Bill Cosby who was going to be in town that weekend as was the Broadway play “Movin’ Out”. But then I stumbled on a great rate for a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Magic, something that is on our list of things to do. We have already been on two Disney cruises, but not the 7 day Western. Unfortunately, having just returned from a vacation Marsha wouldn’t be able to get a whole week off again so soon, so back to my research. Then I found out that US Air was having a 72 hour seat sale to Florida.
So then I started pricing everything out for a weekend at WDW and by January 13th, just 9 days after returning home I had our next trip all booked and planned. We were able to get round trip air on US Air for only $135 each. We booked a standard room at the Wilderness Lodge for just $109 per night, thanks to annual pass holder rates. And we booked a compact car from National for $103 total for five days, which worked out to be only $45 more that it would have cost us for shuttle service to and from the airport to WDW. As it turned out the trip to WDW was only $200 more than the weekend I was planning back home! During the planning we decided that we would take a much more leisurely approach to this trip. What I mean is that we planned on doing a park in the morning, relaxing someplace during the afternoon and returning for the night time fireworks. Usually we cram as much of WDW in that we can and end up being so tired that we need a full day of recovery when we return home.
Day 1 – Thursday, January 29th
During the days leading up to our trip the entire east coast was being hid hard with bad winter storms consisting of both snow and freezing rain, so we decided to leave home extra early. We were up and on our way by 8:00 a.m. stopping at MacDonald’s drive through for breakfast on our way to the airport. We had no trouble at customs which is always a concern these days, and the highways were fairly clear. We checked in at the airport and headed for our gate walking right through security without a wait. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:30 a.m. but the plain was late arriving so we were 45 minutes late departing. We had a connecting flight in Charlotte, NC which was scheduled to leave at 2:00 p.m. which would mean we would now have about 15 minutes to catch the flight. Well we made it just in time, but the flight crew didn’t and the flight out of Charlotte was delayed. Talk about hurry up and wait! We were 30 minutes late departing Charlotte and 30 minutes late arriving in Orlando. But it’s absolutely amazing how almost a full day of travel worries get washed away when you ride the Orlando airport monorail and see the palm trees and feel the sun on your face!
When we made our way down to the baggage claim area there were the usual drivers waiting to pick people up, but we noticed a lot of PGA signs. And then it happened, the worst sight you can see when you arrive in Orlando, groups and packs of cheerleaders! Anyhow, we collected our bags and headed for National Car Rental where we had a quick rental. This meant that we simply pick the car we want located in the class that we reserved, load up the car and exit the garage. This was a smooth process and we were on our way to WDW in a few short minutes. Our first stop was to check in at the Wilderness Lodge where we had requested any even numbered room from #6004 to 6030 which supposedly had views of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. The cast member at the desk explained that these rooms were not standard rooms but that we could upgrade if we wanted to. We asked about viewing Wishes from the rooms and she explained that the trees have since grown too high and you can’t really see the fireworks any more from the rooms. So we decided to stay with our standard room which was room #6062, the next hallways down from what we requested anyways. We found out pretty quickly why this was a standard room as it overlooks the service area and parking lot for the resort. This was ok with us as we love the resort and didn’t plan on spending much time in the room anyways.
On the flight down we had talked about taking a ride over to the Beach Club Resort for dinner at Beaches and Cream and then taking a swim at the resort pool. Having never gone pool hopping before, and reading conflicting reports here on WDWMagic we decided not to do the swim. We did however drive over to the Beach Club Resort and had dinner at a surprisingly slow Beaches and Cream. For those who have never been, Beaches is one of those 50’s style soda joints that serves shakes, burgers, fries and the like. The burgers here were voted best in Orlando in 2003 and is a must stop for us on every trip. As I mentioned we thought about a swim and then planned on watching Illuminations, but I decided to surprise Marsha instead. We drove over to the West Side in Downtown Disney and purchased tickets to see La Nuba the Cirque Du Sole show. We had seen the show once before in 2001 when we were married at WDW and were excited to see it again. We had a couple hours before the show began so we decided to take in Disney Quest which is also on the West Side. Disney Quest is a five or six story building with interactive games. We did the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster and played some of the many vintage video games before returning to Cirque. The show was unbelievable just as it was three years ago, if you’ve never seen it before, GO! Following the show it was time to call it a night. When we returned to our room there was a card and picture signed by Mickey and Minnie with some balloons wishing us a happy anniversary. Now we really felt like we were home! Next up, Day 2 The Backstage Tour day!
The set up!
On January 4, 2004, my wife, Marsha and I had just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) and immediately began experiencing WDW withdrawal. Experiencing WDW withdrawal wasn’t something new to us, but for some reason we had it really bad this time. I think it was the combination of having great weather in Orlando on the trip we just finished and the unbelievably cold weather back home and the fact that our brand new Premium Annual Passes were burning a hole in our pockets to be used again. So we began to search for a good time to return, but as the days passed by I had to turn my attention to another annual trip that we take each year. Our wedding anniversary is February 1st, and I always plan a secret trip for the two of us. The idea I had this year was simply stay close to home by staying at one of the upscale hotels in the metro Detroit area. We live in Windsor, Ontario, Canada which is just across the river/border from Detroit, Michigan. I had looked up information for the finest restaurants in the area and our entertainment would have included a comedy show at Second City Detroit, tickets to see Bill Cosby who was going to be in town that weekend as was the Broadway play “Movin’ Out”. But then I stumbled on a great rate for a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Magic, something that is on our list of things to do. We have already been on two Disney cruises, but not the 7 day Western. Unfortunately, having just returned from a vacation Marsha wouldn’t be able to get a whole week off again so soon, so back to my research. Then I found out that US Air was having a 72 hour seat sale to Florida.
So then I started pricing everything out for a weekend at WDW and by January 13th, just 9 days after returning home I had our next trip all booked and planned. We were able to get round trip air on US Air for only $135 each. We booked a standard room at the Wilderness Lodge for just $109 per night, thanks to annual pass holder rates. And we booked a compact car from National for $103 total for five days, which worked out to be only $45 more that it would have cost us for shuttle service to and from the airport to WDW. As it turned out the trip to WDW was only $200 more than the weekend I was planning back home! During the planning we decided that we would take a much more leisurely approach to this trip. What I mean is that we planned on doing a park in the morning, relaxing someplace during the afternoon and returning for the night time fireworks. Usually we cram as much of WDW in that we can and end up being so tired that we need a full day of recovery when we return home.
Day 1 – Thursday, January 29th
During the days leading up to our trip the entire east coast was being hid hard with bad winter storms consisting of both snow and freezing rain, so we decided to leave home extra early. We were up and on our way by 8:00 a.m. stopping at MacDonald’s drive through for breakfast on our way to the airport. We had no trouble at customs which is always a concern these days, and the highways were fairly clear. We checked in at the airport and headed for our gate walking right through security without a wait. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:30 a.m. but the plain was late arriving so we were 45 minutes late departing. We had a connecting flight in Charlotte, NC which was scheduled to leave at 2:00 p.m. which would mean we would now have about 15 minutes to catch the flight. Well we made it just in time, but the flight crew didn’t and the flight out of Charlotte was delayed. Talk about hurry up and wait! We were 30 minutes late departing Charlotte and 30 minutes late arriving in Orlando. But it’s absolutely amazing how almost a full day of travel worries get washed away when you ride the Orlando airport monorail and see the palm trees and feel the sun on your face!
When we made our way down to the baggage claim area there were the usual drivers waiting to pick people up, but we noticed a lot of PGA signs. And then it happened, the worst sight you can see when you arrive in Orlando, groups and packs of cheerleaders! Anyhow, we collected our bags and headed for National Car Rental where we had a quick rental. This meant that we simply pick the car we want located in the class that we reserved, load up the car and exit the garage. This was a smooth process and we were on our way to WDW in a few short minutes. Our first stop was to check in at the Wilderness Lodge where we had requested any even numbered room from #6004 to 6030 which supposedly had views of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. The cast member at the desk explained that these rooms were not standard rooms but that we could upgrade if we wanted to. We asked about viewing Wishes from the rooms and she explained that the trees have since grown too high and you can’t really see the fireworks any more from the rooms. So we decided to stay with our standard room which was room #6062, the next hallways down from what we requested anyways. We found out pretty quickly why this was a standard room as it overlooks the service area and parking lot for the resort. This was ok with us as we love the resort and didn’t plan on spending much time in the room anyways.
On the flight down we had talked about taking a ride over to the Beach Club Resort for dinner at Beaches and Cream and then taking a swim at the resort pool. Having never gone pool hopping before, and reading conflicting reports here on WDWMagic we decided not to do the swim. We did however drive over to the Beach Club Resort and had dinner at a surprisingly slow Beaches and Cream. For those who have never been, Beaches is one of those 50’s style soda joints that serves shakes, burgers, fries and the like. The burgers here were voted best in Orlando in 2003 and is a must stop for us on every trip. As I mentioned we thought about a swim and then planned on watching Illuminations, but I decided to surprise Marsha instead. We drove over to the West Side in Downtown Disney and purchased tickets to see La Nuba the Cirque Du Sole show. We had seen the show once before in 2001 when we were married at WDW and were excited to see it again. We had a couple hours before the show began so we decided to take in Disney Quest which is also on the West Side. Disney Quest is a five or six story building with interactive games. We did the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster and played some of the many vintage video games before returning to Cirque. The show was unbelievable just as it was three years ago, if you’ve never seen it before, GO! Following the show it was time to call it a night. When we returned to our room there was a card and picture signed by Mickey and Minnie with some balloons wishing us a happy anniversary. Now we really felt like we were home! Next up, Day 2 The Backstage Tour day!