Disney World
“The Yacht Club”
September 23 - 30, 2000
Saturday, September 23, 2000
We
headed for the airport and got to ParkEx and then to USAir - no problem. There
was a little wait and then it was time to board the 737-200. We had great seats
- 6A & B. An uneventful, on-time flight and we were in Orlando. We got on a
Mears van and down to “The Yacht Club”.
Check-in was easy and painless and we went to our room - #4059. It appears to be the best room in the house. It’s on the 4th floor and has a clear view of the Lake, Boardwalk, the pool area and over to EPCOT. The room itself is large and comfortable. We were hungry and walked to “The Boardwalk” looking for something to eat and found just the spot for a light dinner at “The Big River Grille.”
We explored “The Yacht and Beach Club” for a while and then back to our room. Linda unpacked and I fired up the laptop and read some brochures.
Sunday, September 24, 2000
We were up and at’em at 6 o’clock. I got us some coffee in our “bottomless” cups and then we headed out. We took a walk around the hotel and then had breakfast in “The Captain’s Galley.”
We caught the bus
over to Animal Kingdom. We had an outstanding time there. We walked many of the
trails, saw some of the attractions and finally ran out of energy about noon.
The scenery is spectacular and the Disney attention to detail is everywhere you
look. We did (1) It’s Tough to be a Bug, (2) The Kali River Rapids,
(3)Killimanjaro Safari, (4) The Festival of the Lion King and finally (5) Lunch
at The Rainforest Cafe. Everything was outstanding - but The
Festival of the Lion King requires special mention. It is an exceptional
show with multiple features including singing, dancing, costumes, props and
audience participation. It is such that we didn’t want to see it end.
Bussed
back to the hotel and R&R’d some. Linda changed and went out to the pool
and I read the Sunday paper and watched some TV.
We took a walk over to Epcot
and went directly to the
“Millennium”
building and spent an hour looking around there. We strolled through England and
then headed back to “The Yacht Club.”
We arrived at “The Yacht Club” Steakhouse and were seated immediately. We had our customary Chateaubriand (medium rare) and it was, again, excellent. This has become a nice custom for us.
We spent the rest of the evening in room #4059.
Monday September 25, 2000
I was up early and found coffee available in the lobby. I got a cup, found a spot by the lake and read until the sun came up about 7:15. There is lots of foot traffic on the deck - that is walkers and runners. There is a loop from here around Boardwalk, over towards Epcot, to the Beach club and back here. Must be near a mile around.
Brought some coffee back to the room for Linda and we got ready to head for the Magic Kingdom
We
started with our “compulsories” - It’s a Small World, Peter Pan and then
off to Liberty Square and Adventure land. We had lunch at the Liberty Tavern. I
had New England Pot Roast - excellent.
We headed out of the Park after lunch – stopping at several sites along Main Street and Town Square on the way. Back to our room and Linda headed for the pool. I read some and had a little nap.
At
3:15, we began our journey to The Pioneer Hall in Fort Wilderness for the
Hoop-De-Do-Review. We took a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the boat to Fort
Wilderness. It’s a pleasant journey. Got to the Pioneer Hall about 4. We took
the time to look around the area until it was time to enter the Pioneer Hall.
Our table, #212, was on the railing of the second floor, center stage. It is one
of the best seats in the house. What a show! It’s a high energy show with 6
players. Lots of audience participation. Just
outstanding... It finished about 6:50.
Back, by boat, to the Magic
Kingdom. It was just closing - so there were a large number of people headed for
the monorail with us. It still wasn’t a long wait - then we caught the
monorail to Epcot. Took the ride
through Space
Ship Earth and then headed for the World Showcase. The Tapestry Parade was in
progress. The good Illuminations viewing spots were already taken. We wandered
around and finally settled in a spot right in front of Canada. Waited until 9
and it fired off. Our view wasn’t very good - but it was OK. It is truly
another Disney Spectacular (put on by GE). We can see the fireworks part of the
show from our room - but that is nothing compared to the total experience
including the music and light show.
Walked back to our room and settled down for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday, September 26, 2000
This morning, we had coffee and a continental breakfast in our room.
Then, we headed off to MGM. We visited The Mermaid, The Great Movie Ride,
Backlot Tour, Star Tours and the Indiana Jones Show. We had Lunch at the Sci-Fi
Drive-in. An excellent morning.
Back to “The Yacht Club” for a quiet afternoon. Soon we were off to Tony’s in The Magic Kingdom for dinner. We both had an excellent meal with a table overlooking The Town Square. A relaxing dining experience.
Wednesday, September 27, 2000.
We
had a leisurely continental breakfast this morning. Today, we headed over to
EPCOT. We walked over and got to the gate right at 9.
We found out the “World Showcase” doesn’t open until 11. That was OK, there’s plenty of other things to do. We headed right into The Imagination Attraction and went clockwise from there.
When lunch time came around, we went back to “The Yacht Club.” We took the boat this time.
Lunch in The Yacht Club Galley was excellent.
I R&R’d for the afternoon and Linda went off shopping at The Disney Marketplace.
It was soon time for us to head off for dinner. There were a few showers around - but few and far between. Took the bus over to The Magic Kingdom and went on a couple attractions and then to Cinderella’s for dinner. We both had roast beef with smashed roots ( a great vegetable dish ). It was an outstanding meal with great atmosphere.
We wandered through The Kingdom for while and then caught the bus back to “The Yacht Club” and room #4059.
Thursday, September 28, 2000
Ron’s 59th Birthday
I was up early and got coffee
in the Lobby. Sat on the porch and read until the sun came up. Got some coffee
for us both from the coffee shop and carried it back to the room. Linda was up
and waiting.
We started the day by heading over to The Wilderness Lodge for breakfast. This is an excellent place for breakfast with lots of fun and character. Linda told the hostess it was my birthday - of course. About the time our skillet full of breakfast arrived, our server, Chad - announced to the whole room that it was my birthday. He presented me with a Hobby Horse and told everyone that I would ride it around the room - while singing Happy Birthday to myself. I did. I was a hit – maybe I should consider a second career.
After breakfast, we headed for the Animal Kingdom for our second visit. We walked through Asia and then went to “It’s a Bug’s Life” again. We took the bus to the Dolphin for lunch in the 50’s Café. We both had Ice Cream concoctions.
Back to #4059 for some R&R. Linda caught some rays and I caught some Z’s.
Soon - it was time to head for “The Flying Fish” for my birthday dinner. It was excellent. We had a great view of “The Yacht Club” from our table. There was no salt and pepper on any tables. The food is already seasoned the way the Chef wants it to be I guess. To our taste, it was. None of the servings we had needed further seasoning.
From
there - we headed directly for MGM to watch the 8 o’clock “Fantasmic. We got
there at 7 and the 7000 seat stadium was more than 1/2 full and filling rapidly.
We got seated and then watched the place fill. All the seats were occupied by
7:30. A lone comedian came on about 25 of 7 and kept the audience occupied up
until 8. Then the show began. It was outstanding. Well
worth the wait.
Getting out was not as bad as we imagined - in fact we were back in our room ½ hour after the show ended.
Friday, September 29, 2000
This morning we had our continental breakfast and headed back to EPCOT. It’s an easy walk over from here - so we got there easily.
We
headed directly for the “Test Track.” This is our 3rd attempt to get on this
attraction. The first was the year it opened. We found it was closed for
modifications. Then, the other day, we walked up and it looked like we were
going to get on, but then they started turning people away. It was broken down.
This time we got in easily. It is quite a ride. Lots of thrills and surprises.
Next - to The Seas. An excellent attraction. We were in there quite a long time. It’s nice without the large crowds.
We puttered around, including a personal audience with Mickey, until
The World Showcase opened at 11. We started with Mexico and went clockwise. We
had lunch in Norway. They have a buffet - excellent. We will come back here for
another meal in the future.
We got back to #4059 about 1 and did our usual afternoon R&R routine. It started to rain about 4. Rained hard for quite a while - but it stopped and cleared before we were ready to head out again.
We went back into EPCOT and
the straight for The Photo Center. We had a picture taken of us with Mickey
and had to go there to see it and buy it. We did.
We had reservations – so off we went to Morocco for dinner. We had an excellent meal and a belly dancer was the entertainment. Linda enjoyed it so much that she got up and did her version of a belly dance. A very nice evening.
We went back to our room for a quiet evening of TV and reading.
Saturday, September 30, 2000
Up and at’em at 6. Today will be used getting home. Linda finished the packing and we went downstairs for breakfast. Soon it was time to head down for our appointment with Mear’s to take us to the airport.
We had a smooth trip all around. Great seats, 6 A & B.
Got a shuttle to ParkEx easily and off we went to Georgetown. We went directly to the kennel to get Duncan. We were all glad to see each other.
Another Great Disney Vacation
General:
The attractions seem to have been revitalized since we were here last. All of them that we saw have been refreshed at the least and most have been modernized and even changed significantly in some cases. Animal Kingdom was new to us completely.
We started purchasing the “bottomless cups” during our Wilderness lodge visit many years ago. We paid $8.95 each – but that includes unlimited coffee and soda for the length of your stay. I think we make it worthwhile over the course of a week.
