Jennifer's Disney Adventure ReportDates: 9/30-10/2 (three day trip) Adventurers:
Transportation: Northwest Airlines (from Detroit) and Tiffany Town Car Resort: Coronado Springs Resort Parks: Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon Restaurants/Eateries: Le Cellier, Wolfgang Puck's, Gifts of Cuisine (food court at Millennium Village), The Missing Link, Flame Tree Barbecue, and Maya Grill Other: RADP Millennium Village Meet on 10/1/99, pin trading/collecting, start of the Millennium Celebration Updated 11/21/03
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Introduction Somewhere in the sweltering depths and mounting workloads of August, we made a last-minute decision to go to Walt Disney World for the opening of the Millennium Celebration. Up to this point, we had avoided the idea — we knew it would be crowded and we were planning to go just three weeks later on October 17th. Yet, as October 1 grew closer and the excitement from our readers and fellow fans rubbed off, we knew we had to go. How could we answer our reader's questions, let alone our own, without witnessing the Millennium Celebration as soon as possible? So during a regular reservation call for one of our other trips, we dropped the question to Central Reservations (CRO): “You wouldn't happen to have any rooms available around the start of October, would you?” Sure enough, they did: two nights at Coronado Springs Resort on 9/30 and 10/1. We reserved them and thus began our Millennium Celebration Adventure. Shortly thereafter, we made flight reservations on Northwest Airlines out of Detroit. Flights were readily available and priced low. As usual, we booked a flight that left very early in the morning and returned as late as possible in the evening. This gives us maximum Disney time (but little sleep). Pre-trip plans other than transportation and lodging were very light. We don't need to worry about passes, since we both have Premium Annual Passes. As for meals, we were only going for three days (well, really one day plus two almost full days) and we knew we'd need to be flexible for this research trip. Our goals were to observe the Millennium Celebration's new attractions and entertainment, take as many notes as possible, and so do a bit of non-Millennium Disney research along the way. Our rough plan was as follows: Beforehand: Wednesday, September 29: Pack and prepare research materials, and get to sleep early. Our First Day: Thursday, September 30: Arrive in Orlando, register at Coronado Springs and leave luggage, take bus immediately to Epcot to scout out until it closes at 4:00 (for millennium-related media events), do some research at MGM and Magic Kingdom, then relax at the Adventurers Club on Pleasure Island Our Second Day: Friday, October 1: Meet Deb Wills and fellow RADPers (from the rec.arts.disney..parks newsgroup) at the entrance to Millennium Village at Epcot, spend all day at the Millennium Village, and then watch the Tapestry of Nations parades and Reflections of Earth in the evening. Our Third Day: Saturday, October 2: Do some research at Animal Kingdom, reward ourselves with some rest and relaxation at Typhoon Lagoon, and finally return home. Whew! A lot to do in three days, but as you'll see, we did all of the above and a bunch more. For questions or accolades, please e-mail Jennifer@passporter.com.
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