PRE-TRIP REPORT

Well, I can't believe that it is finally happening.
When I finished my last trip report it seemed an age away but time has slipped by and the great holiday adventure is nearly upon us.

Let's see who is involved in this latest visit to my spiritual home.

Firstly (and most importantly) me: Kevin, 41, Project Engineer. How do I begin to extol my many virtues? As the years pass remorselessly by, I have somehow managed to grow more handsome (is that possible?) and my intellect is now quite stunning. Sometimes I just can't believe how all round wonderful I really am.
At this point I would like to ask all of you that have not read my trip reports before if you would kindly leave the room for a few minutes. Go on, off you go, I will call you when you can come back.
Have they gone? Good. Right, now all you poor souls that are left have obviously had the misfortune to have encountered my writing style or have visited my web site. Apologies for both, but the first timers here know nothing of the reality of the situation. The fact that I am more akin to Woody Allen than Tom Cruise when it comes to good looks may not have occurred to them yet. Unfortunately, the opposite is true when it comes to intelligence, not that I have anything against poor Mr Cruise. Anyway, if you play along, I may be able to fool the newcomers for a short while, let's just see how it goes.
OK all you newbies, you can all come back now. That's it, take a seat and settle down. Now where was I? Ah yes, the participants in this latest saga.

My wife Tammy, 35, Documents Controller and still a babe! (Then again, she probably always will be in my eyes). A word of advice to all the younger male readers at this point, a little grovelling to the female ego is never time wasted. 13 years of peaceful (at least until the children came along) and happy marriage are a testament to that. Nothing to do with Tammy having the patience of a saint and putting up with my selfishness and permanent desire to be in WDW, oh no.
You may have realised that Tam is not the major Disney fan of the family. She really loves our visits and if pushed would probably admit that our trips to Florida have been some of the best holidays that we have ever had, but she will insist on saying things like 'Of course, after this trip we will not be going back for at least a 3 years'. *shudder* The foolish woman thinks that there are other parts of the world to see.

India, 9, bright as a button and happy as they come. She loves WDW. This will be her 4th time (the 6th for Tammy and I) and she is so excited. Last time she turned into my ride buddy and still talks at great length about when she and I did E-ticket night on our own.
She will ride just about everything except Countdown to Extinction and Alien Encounter. I think you have to know your children's limitations, India would be scared silly at either of these attractions and so we will not take her on. She has no problem with either Splash Mountain or Tower of Terror but didn't try Space Mountain because it is in the dark. She says she may well try it this time.

Georgia, 6, very pretty little girl but with the temperament to match. Some of you may remember me describing Georgia in my last trip report. Well, she is older now and, as she has grown, her behaviour has improved. I think starting school has a lot to do with it. Mixing with other children and having to live with the discipline of school life has done her a lot of good. She still has her moments if she cannot have her own way but the days of crying and showing off are, thankfully, for the most part, behind us.
I think that Georgia will enjoy this trip even more than the last one as she is that bit older and likely to get more out of the attractions that require a bit more attention such as the American Adventure and most of the Land pavilion.
She is desperate to meet Ariel in her grotto (as we missed this last time) and has been saving up her money to buy an Ariel costume. Come to think of it, I am quite looking forward to meeting Ariel myself, and Pochahontas, and Belle, and Meg, and Jasmine.

Dorothy, my mum, 74. You may have noticed that we don't care much about revealing our ages in this family. If you ever get to meet my mother you will discover why. She has more energy, spirit and sheer enjoyment of life than anyone else that I know.
At her age she will be trooping around WDW with the best of 'em. Wheelchair? She is only about 4' 10" but she would probably clip me round the ear if I were to even suggest such a thing. I think she is looking forward to this trip more than any of us.
This will be her 3rd time at WDW. Her first was in 1992. My father died just after Christmas of 1991 and Tammy and I decided to take mum to Disneyworld with us in the September of 1992 as a sort of therapy. My mother would tell you now that, looking back, it was probably too soon, but nonetheless, she fell in love with the place. It is a special sort of feeling taking someone to WDW for the first time, it makes you remember the wonder and awe that you felt on your first visit.
Mother will be asked to perform baby sitting duties at least twice during the holiday while Tammy and I go out and get blasted..... er... I mean, have a nice romantic evening out on our own. Don't feel too sorry for her though, we will also put the children into the Neverland Club for a night so that the adults can all go for a meal at the California Grill.


When are we going:

We fly out on the 29th of December for 3 whole weeks! I still can't quite believe that we are going for that long. Where did we possibly get the money, I hear you ask. Mind your own business, I hear myself reply. Ooops, sorry, I get a bit grumpy just prior to a big trip.
We first started planning our Millennium adventure about 5 years ago and by good luck and good planning we have got just about the most perfect time ahead of us.
Now, let's get one thing perfectly clear, I am fed up of reading all these people who say how crowded it is going to be and how you must be mad to want to be in WDW for the New Year's celebrations. I have just one word for you. Jealousy. If you were to ask any true Disney fan where in the world they would most like to see in the new Millennium, then they would have to say WDW. The only exception might be the few lucky people that live locally and can visit whenever they like.
Yes, I am not daft enough to think that we will all be able to walk on to Spaceship Earth with no wait. We are not going for the attractions but for the atmosphere, the magic and the sheer joy of being at possibly my favourite place on the planet at a time that my whole generation will remember all their lives.
And, please, spare me all that true-Millennium-will-not-start-until-the-end-of-next-year rubbish. I don't give a toss and neither do 99% of the world's population. You go and sit around your candle and mutter 'humbug' to yourself if you want, but let the rest of us get on with having the biggest party the world has ever seen.
That was a Political Broadcast on behalf of the Millennium Is Coming Kindly Enjoy Yourselves party. Vote M.I.C.K.E.Y. you know it makes sense.


Where are we staying:

1 week at the All Star Movies followed by two weeks at Dixie Landings.
The first week we will have two rooms. I know that my mother will have her own room, in theory, but in reality I know that the girls will be clamouring to sleep with her. They love their Grandma to bits, you see. If Tammy begs to move in as well then I may start to question my personnel hygiene.
The next two weeks at Dixie Landings we will all be squeezed into the one room. This may be difficult but the 5 of us shared a room at the All Star Sports once (before Georgia was 2) so we know that we will survive.
One of the main reasons for going for 3 weeks is so that the crowds will hopefully recede soon after January 1st and that should leave us with 2 weeks of low crowds and lots to do.


What are we looking forward to:

Well, just being back in WDW to start with. But what else?

Meeting Ronnie! I had to make this number one in the list after the little error in the last pre-trip report. Have you ever had to deal with an angry parrot? Feathers and swear words everywhere, not a pretty sight. Seriously, we had a lovely evening with Ronnie and her family last trip and, by pure luck, they will be there again so we are very much looking forward to another pleasant meeting.

New Year's Eve. We are planning on being in Epcot for all the festivities. The Magic Kingdom was ruled out immediately on the grounds of there being no beer. Perish the thought. We did think about the MGM Studios, especially after I read that they are going to show Sorcery in the Sky, I love this show but have not seen it for many years.
Epcot is the centre of the Millennium celebrations and is so large that I hope it will soak up the crowds better. We are also going to Patricia's RADP meet in the Land.
My only worry about the day is how the children will stand up to it all. As far as I know, there will be very little chance of readmission, so a midday break and nap are out of the question. How they will cope with being in the park from 9:00 am until after midnight remains to be seen. we are going to take an old stroller for Georgia, even though she is really too big for it. When tired she has the happy knack of being able to sleep just about anywhere. I think that India will be fine as she seems to have near boundless energy when there is something to capture her attention. She only gets tired when bored, an unlikely scenario on Millennium Eve in Epcot. Let's just hope it doesn't rain.

Fantasmic! We missed this by about 2 weeks last time. It sounds like an amazing show. Am I worried about waiting for an hour or so to see it? Well, let's see, after traipsing miles around the MGM Studios all day, will I be upset by sitting down for a rest while sampling the odd beer or two, maybe a hot dog and getting entertained to boot? Doesn't sound like a problem to me!

Rock n'Roller Coaster. I must admit to being a little worried about this when I first heard about it. I have never been on an inverted coaster in my life. It isn't the fear factor you understand, I am far to masculine for that. It is just the altitude er.. the claustrophobic atmosphere..... would you buy that I never ride a coaster without Tammy?
Well, perhaps you might have except that Tammy has decided that she quite likes the look of it and has decided to give it a go. Damn it! There goes my excuse. Oh well, buckle up and pray.

Journey Into Your Imagination. Surely this can't be as bad as everyone makes out? It is and don't call me Shirley!
Tammy will probably think it is an improvement as she never liked the old version. Don't be too hard on her as she is only a woman and, as such, her brain is not capable of the same rational thinking as the male brain. You see, a woman's brain, while larger than the male's, is not as complex and so cannot cope with the many subtle nuances that an attraction such as Journey Into Imagination had to offer.
Woman's brains have only to deal with routine matters such as running the household finances, feeding and clothing the children, working for a living etc. while the male brain must cope with multitasking, concentrating on such issues as sport, beer..... er......um.... ooh.... sorry, what was the question again? I have to go and lie down, my head hurts.

Test Track. Now this is something that I am really looking forward to. A thrill ride that the whole family can enjoy together. Most thrill rides are just too intense for young children, you only have to look at the photo of Georgia on Splash Mountain to understand the complete terror that some feel. She says she is game to try it again though, along with Big Thunder Mountain.

Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh. You may recall that Tammy was never fond of poor Mr Toad, so the silly old bear will be an improvement for her no matter what it is like.
Buzz sounds like great fun and I'm sure that the girls will love blasting away with their own guns. They just better not beat me that's all. Come to think of it, even if they do, you lot will never get to hear about it. The author retains the right to lie through his teeth at all times.

Reflections of Earth and the Tapestry of Nations. Nearly all the feedback on this seems to be very positive. we bought the Millennium Celebrations CD for India's birthday and she loves it. The music is stirring on it's own so what it will be like live I can't imagine. One of those shiver down the spine, hairs up on the neck moments I hope. Written by a Brit and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra you know. Had to get a little bit of patriotism in there.

Asia and the Kali River Rapids. Looking forward to this enormously. We caught a few glimpses of Asia under construction on our last trip and it looked wonderful. As for the Rapids, another ride that we can all go on together.
I am really looking forward to showing my mum the Animal Kingdom (she has not seen it yet) as I know she will be knocked out by it. A woman of taste and discernment is my mother.
I am also really looking forward to seeing the giant fruit bats. I have always had a soft spot for these lovely creatures. Yeah, I know I'm a little strange.

Drew Carey's Soundshow, the Millennium Village, Tarzan Rocks, unbelievable the amount of new stuff that there is to see in the 15 months since we were last there. The Candlelight Processional, Osbourne Family Lights, the Christmas decorations... hang on, is it too late to add a 4th week?


What are we worried about?

Well, not much really.
The fireworks are one thing. You may recall that last time India was frightened of them, so a plan was put into action. We took the girls to a local display for Bonfire Night to try and get them used to it. Well, India was fine but Georgia spent the whole time crying that she wanted to go home. *sigh* Just when you think you have it all figured out.......

Y2k. Not worried at all about this. All the scare mongering about planes crashing from the sky and society descending into anarchy are just rubbish. Sure, there may be the odd problem here or there but nothing to get worked up about. However, if there are herds of rabid zombies roaming down Main Street on January 1st, then I may need to amend my views on this.
What it is the worst that can happen? I am forced to stay in Florida for a month or two until they sort it out. Oh hardship I feel thy sting.

Probably the greatest worry of all. How am I going to write a 21 day trip report? It may be finished around summertime.

Well, that's it. If you have got this far, then you won't find any sympathy here. You really will read any old rubbish, won't you? Probably not the best way to keep your audience, by insulting them. Sorry, I have obviously been at the keyboard far too long.
Thanks for reading, maybe I will see a few of you in WDW, the RADP pins will be on prominent display so look out for us.

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