My first trip was in 2003. Unfortunately I never had a chance to visit as a child, even tho my family had a somewhat personal tie with Walt himself when he was living in NY for a short period (My grandparents lived in the same apartment building right below Walts room and they had a freindly relationship and thought he was a little strange at the time). Money was always tight on the few vacations we had so vacations were always close to home, but we always followed Walt's accomplishments. Just because we felt we really knew him even though he died about a year and a half before I was born.
We planned a 2 week vacation which included a 8 night stay at the CBR, visit to Seaworld, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. We had been married for a few years and never really had a honemoon so this was a really big trip for us. Now neither my wife or I which were only 23 at the time ever really traveled so this whole experience was a bit stressful at the time.
During this trip I fell in love with Epcot. I can remember clearly in my head more than anything else on the trip, walking through the turnstile looking up at SE and listening to the entrance loop music playing in the background. I was in awe! This whole experience ties back to me sitting with my parents in front of the TV when the EPCOT Center opening ceremony was televised and we talked about being able to go there someday to see this amazing place. MK just did not have that same appeal. Tommorowland was empty and boring. We ddid not ride Space because my wife would not ride roller coasters. Fantasyland was cool and I remember waiting for more than an hour in diesel fumes to ride 20K. The ride was awesome but not worth that wait. I don't think we rode Mr. Toad so it must have been down and the same goes for the Skyway.
The biggest stress on this trip was trying to eat at a restaurant in WDW. Everyplace we went to was booked. The only 2 TS meals we ate during our 9 day stay were Tony's and Alfredo's. We both had Fettucini Alfredo at Alfredo's and ice tea to drink and I remeber the bill being $40.00 without tip and I was floored, mostly because I was still hungry after the tiny portion.
I also remember that during our trip they were building TOT. I had a bunch of pics of the cranes working on the tower which of course I cannot find any of the hundreds of pics I took on that trip. Back then MGM was quite lame. I really loved the backlot tour which took like 3 hours to get through, but was very interesting.
Universal was good and they just opened Jaws. The explosions from the fuel dock I remember seeing from far away and being in shock at how large they were. The wait time for Kong was insane. It must have been near 2 hours but I remember that the news channel broadcasting in the queue was WWOR channel 9 in NY and that was kind of cool to see. I also really liked the Ghostbusters street show that was in front of the Library. Back then Universal was much better than MGM as far as rides and attractions, but MGM had a better backstage tour.
I could write a story on that trip that would bore everyone to death, but back to the point. Out first trip was about a 3 on a scale of 1-10. We did not return till 2003 after 10 years and thank god for the internet to help plan the trip. Since our return trip in 2003 we have been back 10 times and are absolutely obsesed with WDW.
