Day 1: Friday, May 21, 2004
We left Friday afternoon about 4:30 PM in our 2001 Damon Escaper RV.
We load my sons families luggage, & bicycles in the basement of our RV.
Then my son and my husband connected my son's popup camper to the back of our Damon Escaper.
We were making a good time traveling south on I-65 when we hit a pothole in the road.
One of the boots on the right side of our RV broke it must have been rotten.
When it broke it caused the RV to drop on the right side causing the bar holding our bicycles to bend.
We pull off the road, my husband made the needed repairs to the boot, and he has to put the bicycles inside the RV.
It was getting late and my husband was getting tired of driving so we stopped on the South side of Atlanta, Georgia at a Wal-Mart parking lot and that is where we spend the night.
Day 2: Saturday, May 22, 2004
The next morning we cooked breakfast in the RV and were back on the road for another eight hours of riding.
We arrive at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground around 4 P.M. We checked into the park and drove to the first sit where we unhooked the Hughes camper and then drove to our spot and parked.
Fort Wilderness Disney Park has an outdoor theater, swimming pool, country store, golf carts, & bicycles to rent.
From the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds, you can get to the theme parks by way of bus or you can walk down to the river and take the WDW Watercraft Transportation to the Magic Kingdom.
That weekend Fort Wilderness Campground was hosting a Bike-A-Thon and we had a terrible time getting around.
We took the bus to downtown Disney where it was beautifully decorated with many colored lights. We saw the Rainforest Café, McDonald's, the Movie Theater, Cirque Du Soleil, and many gift shops.
Some of the nightclubs that we saw were: Disney’s Boardwalk, Downtown Disney’s West Side and Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Dinner show.
At one of the gift shops, we bought Hannah some Disney collectible pens to go to her Disney collectible necklace.
We rode the bus back to Fort Wilderness and went to bed for it had been a very long day.
Day 3: Sunday, May 23, 2004
Sunday morning the telethon was in full swing, people everywhere riding their bikes.
It took us an hour to get on the bus to go Downtown Disney.
While we waited with many other people for the bus, Hannah drank a soda.
My husband was dressed in his Blue Disney shirt, tan shorts, white tennis shoes, wearing sunglasses and a white hat with blue band.
Hannah was dressed in red, white, blue outfit with the number 22 on the backside of her shirt.
She wore a red polka dot Minnie mouse hat and around her neck was her Collectable Disney necklace.
I was wearing my overhaul tan shorts, green, white and black shirt, wearing sunglasses, wearing a tan straw-hat and a fanny pack wrapped around my waist.
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| Downtown Disney |
In Downtown Disney, we met Majorie and Russ.
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| Marjorie, Russ at Downtown Disney |
We enjoyed delicious sandwiches served on Artisan bread, filled with roasted meat at Earl of Sandwich.
After we finished eating we let Hannah run and play in the nearby waterspouts.
It was miserably hot that day and my feet blistered through my tennis shoes.
I took pictures of my husband and Hannah in front of Rainforest Café, sitting next to Pooh, Tiger, and Piglet, besides Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head, besides Donald and Daisy, Mickey and Minnie and Hannah in front of the Tinker-toys.
After a long day went took the bus back to Fort Wilderness park, changed into our swimsuits and swam in the nearby swimming pool.
Later that evening everyone walked down to the river where we all took the WDW Watercraft Transportation to the Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to Epcot and the bus to Downtown Disney.
Day 4: Monday, May 24, 2004
On Monday we all took the bus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
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| The Animal Kingdom |
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| The Animal Kingdom |
Upon entering the park we were greeted by Mickey, Pluto, Goofy they were standing in a ride in front of “the Tree of Life” a 145-foot artificial tree, which is the home to “It's tough being a bug.”
Our first adventure was an amazing guided Safari ride to Kilimanjaro, which covered 100 acres of African Savannah where we saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, lions, and poachers.
We saw alligators lying abound the lake, zebras roaming in the jungle, and lions lying in the jungle.
Next, we walked into a cave of "The Tree of Life
We were each given a pair of 3D glasses to watch the performance of the life of bugs.
In Dinoland, we watched a 20-minute musical performance of Finding Nemo.
We saw the Simba and friends in a sing-along live show, at the Festival of the Lion King. It was a thirty-minute live musical performance of singer, acrobatics, and tumble monkeys with a blaze of color, feathers, beads, and beautiful headdress.
We watched Mickey’s Jamming Jungle parade of all the characters of the Animal Kingdom Park.
We had barb q in the park at the Flame Tree BBQ.
We ended the day we went to the outdoor theater in Fort Wilderness Park at to roast marshmallows and watch a movie.
Day 5: Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Everyone walked to the bus stop for we are all riding the bus to Disney’s MGM Studios.
We walked down Hollywood Boulevard passing Planet Hollywood and straight in front of was the iconic giant Sorcerer’s Mickeys Hat.
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| Disney Studios |
We watched a 30-minute Indiana Jones Stunt show scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
We sat in the audience of who wants to be a Millionaire “Play it Again!”
Our next adventure was the back lot tour where we watched a video clip while waiting in line.
Then we all went to an outdoor viewing area where we stood behind rails to watch the special effect of the water tank.
People standing near the front were splashed with water from the tanks during the show.
We rode the tram that passes through production bungalows, the wardrobe department (where you can watch the costumes at work), and the scenery shop.
We passed by topiaries and vehicles that were used in Disney movies.
We went through a Catastrophe Canyon where the ground starts shaking, the tram starts rocking, and a fuel truck crashes, starting a fire.
Then a flood of water comes rushing towards us.
We watched a 25 minutes musical performance of Beauty and the Beast.
We took a 20-minute ride on “the great movie ride” where we saw "Casablanca," "Tarzan," "Mary Poppins," "Singing' in the Rain," "Fantasia," "Wizard of Oz," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Alien".
We saw Muppets 3D and the basic premise is that the Muppets are going to put on a variety show starring the multi-talented Miss Piggy. Kermit tries to make the cast and crew happy, but mishaps get in the way. Fans of the old Muppet Show should recognize most of the characters, but then there is Waldo, a new 3-D character who wreaks havoc during the production.
At the Academy of Television Arts and Science Hall of Fame, we saw the mosaic portraits of Jim Henson, with Kermit the frog, Fred Rogers, Burr Tillstrom the creator of Kuala, Fran, and Ollie.
We saw the head statues of the funny Milton Berle, Creator of Disney Mr. Walt Disney, News broadcaster Howard Cosell, and actor Sid Caesar.
We saw Daytime TV Star Oprah Winfrey, New Broadcaster Mike Wallace, Dick Clark from American Band Stand, and Comedian Bill Cosby,
We saw the funny Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett from the Carol Burnett Show, News Broadcaster Barbra Walters, Danny Thomas founder of St Jude Children’s Hospital, Alda from Mash, Andy Griffith from Matlock, and Andy Griffith Show, and Betty White, TV comedian.
We watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid the Academy award winning song; "Under the Sea,” "Part of Your World" and "Poor Unfortunate Soul" are performed during the presentation. An enormous 12’ high and 10’ wide Ursula puppet sings the latter.
We rode the tower of terror a hotel where you see s signs of neglect, and the hotel has been deserted, spider webs, dim lights, Rod Sterling from the Twilight Zone and you enter an elevator where you go up and down numerous times.
We rode the Star Wars ride with Luke Skywalker, Princess Leila, Darth Vader, R2D2, C3PO and chewy.
We see Toy Story, Mary Poppins, Mulan, Aladdin and Jasmine, Leo and Stitch, Mermaids with Ariel and Sebastian, Snow White and Dopey.
We ended the night by watching the laser show of “Fantasmic” where the Disney Villains turn Mickey’s dreams into Nightmares.
The show includes dancing fountains, with dazzling special effects where Mickey Mouse creates dancing waters, shooting comets, animated fountains.
Day 6: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
My husband and I rode the bus to Epcot we stayed ½ day walking through the park beautifully decorated with multi colors of flowers floating in the man-made river and shaped into Disney Character along the riverbanks.
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| Epcot |
There was much different topiary in the park we saw Mickey, Minnie, lions, seals just to name a few.
We rode the bus back to Fort Wilderness where we spent the day biking, swimming, and riding in the golf cart.
We rode down to the water's edge at Fort Wilderness and watched the fireworks show from the Magic Kingdom.
Day 7: Thursday, May 27, 2004
We spent all day Thursday at Fort Wilderness swimming and riding bikes.
Day 8: Friday, May 28, 2004
On Friday, we rode the bus to Epcot.
We rode Mission Space in Future World.
The ride begins with the launch countdown, and they throw in some psychological effects that help build the tension you might experience before a launch. As the countdown approaches, the seats tilt back into the launch position of facing the sky on your back. At liftoff, you feel the engines roar and blast off. The ride creates large G. Forces, and a tremendous feeling of increasing speed as the craft escapes the Earth's gravitational pull.
Next, we rode the Fast Track your get into a convertible, buckle up, and head onto the Test Track. You are stopped for a quick seatbelt check, the light turns green, and with tires squealing, you are on your way.
We took a boat voyage through the greenhouse and fish farm in the living with the land.
We went soaring in a free-flying hang glider.
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| Epcot |
In the world showcase, we floated along the river of time in Mexico. In maelstrom Norway, we took a Viking ride.
We watched the laser show that filled the sky at the lagoon with a giant sphere that tells the story of the incredible tale.
Day 9: Saturday, May 29, 2004,
Saturday morning we hooked up the Hughes camper, checked out, and started home.
We spent the night at a campground site just outside of Dothan, Alabama.
After we ate supper, the kids and I went for a swim.
With all the wet swimsuits and towels, I decided to walk down to the washroom to wash and dry all the wet clothes.
There was an older woman in the washroom using both washing machines but both dryers were empty.
I decided to just dry my clothes instead of washing them for they were just wet from swimming. I put my towels, and swimsuits into the dryer not noticing that I was putting the money in the lower dryer while my clothes were in the upper dryer.
This made the old woman very anger and she said you have contaminated both dryers and she was going to tell management. I said fine and continued to dry my clothes.
Jake and Hannah were with me, the anger frightens Hannah, and she left crying.
Hannah returned with her dad and the woman looked at Mike and said that we were all sorry people.
Mike said not to talk that way in front of his kids and they left.
After Mike, left the old woman got ugly with me and she said nobody tells me what to do.
I laughed and said, nobody tells me what to do either, and she left.
I finished drying my clothes and walked back to the RV. Mike and My husband walked to the management office and explained what happened. He said we have lots of trouble with this woman. They also said that woman said that I put dirty filthy towels in the dryers.
Day 10: Sunday, May 30, 2004
Sunday morning we attached the Hughes Camper to our RV and left the RV Park to start our long ride home that took about five hours.
We had a great vacation visiting all the Disney Theme Parks, shopped at Downtown Disney, swam at Fort Wilderness campgrounds and spend time with family.
I had a strange encounter a with an old woman at the RV campground near Dothan.
Indiana Jones Stunt
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