25-Week 1 | OurAmazingLife

Sherrie

Peggy

Joe & Debbie

Lee & Linda

Dave and Dot's 25th Anniverary Tour

Week 1 - Walt Disney World

Saturday, September 29th - Our Adventure Begins

Dot & I and our two oldest granddaughters, Melissa, 14, & her sister Elizabeth, 12, woke had to get up at 3:00 a.m. to begin our trip. Due to 9/11, we had to arrive 2+ hours early and to make it worse our Super Shuttle ride was late and it took an hour just to get through security and we arrived at our assigned gate just in time to begin to begin boarding.
We had a 2 hour lay-over in St. Louis so we grabbed some lunch and put in a call to our friend Randy Quackenbush (who lives in Springfield, MO) and let a couple of his former choir members talk with him for a few minutes. We arrived in Orlando ahead of schedule but by the time we got our luggage and our three, matching Chevy Blazers, it was dark. We missed the exit to our condo, and and drove several miles before realizing our mistake and turning around. We finally arrived around 9:00pm.
Our two 3 bedroom condos were at the Orange Lake Resort which borders Disney World's Animal Kingdom, and were about a block apart on the same street. Very spacious, beautifully decorated, and just out the back door was a nine hole lighted golf course. I was in Heaven! Joe & Debbie, Lee & Linda and two of our singles, Peggy & Donna, shared one condo, while Evelyn & Sherrie, our granddaughters Melissa & Liz, and Dot & I shared the other.
It was late and we were hungry so we went a place called Bob Evans. It took a while to get our meals and the waitress mixed up our checks so we didn't get sleep until midnight. Our adventures at Walt Disney World were to begin early in the morning with a visit to MGM Studios.
Photos are of all the people in our group . . . well, except for one . . . can you guess who the stowaway is?/11, we had to arrive 2+ hours early and to make it worse our Super Shuttle ride was late and it took an hour just to get through security and we arrived at our assigned gate just in time to begin to begin boarding.

Sunday, September 30th - Our Adventure Begins

We started the day by praying and preparing ourselves for the adventures that lie ahead. We had decided prior to our trip that we would all wear the t-shirts I had designed today. (see photo, left) They were white with an 8x10 color picture of our entire group on the front which was taken in our front yard.
We went to the House of Blues at Disney Downtown for their Gospel Brunch and it was a wonderful meal! Dot was praising the Lord for all the shrimp she could eat! Our entertainment was provided by Daniel James and the Revelation. The place seemed filled to capacity and we were treated to some good rollicking, on your feet, clap your hands gospel music. At one point during the show, our group was invited up on stage to help lead the the rest of the people in worship! It was a great way to start our day.
We arrived at the MGM park around 12:00pm and proceeded to the Tower of Terror, followed by the Rock 'n Rollin' Coaster and then The Great Movie Ride followed by Star Tours. As we were waiting in line at our next adventure, The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectactular when this young man in a wheel chair who worked at the park started chatting with us. He said he loved our T-shirts and had a wonderful, engaging conversation which he really enjoyed and as a gesture of thanks, offered us front-row seats! We followed that show up with a snack and the afternoon parade in honor of Walt Disney's 100th birthday and followed that up with the Drew Carey Sound Sensation. We wandered down New York Street and took the Back Lot Tour. While waiting in line, Debbie commented on how the 's' was missing in the word Anniverary on our shirts and the rest of our day unraveled (in a good way) from there.
The ride commentator noticed the shirts and made several humorous comments about them and the group (particularly me!) and then announced these facts to the entire tram! Had a great time on that ride! It should be noted here that due to the fact that Linda was using a motorized cart to help her get around due to her recent back procedures, we were able, as a group, to go the "head of the line" on every single ride!
By now we had had a really full day of fun and went in search of food (dinner). We settled on the Prime Time 50's Cafe and after a short wait we were seated and introduced to "Topher", our server. Topher was hilarious. He had us in stitches from the time we sat down until we left the building over an hour later. No one at the table excaped his barbs, not even Liz and Mel, who he spent the evening trying to find dates for. Several in the group were complaining of sore stomach muscles from laughing so hard. He chided us for putting our elbows on the table, talking with our mouths full, not eating our veggies. I violated all the rules, several times, and my punishment was having to get up and sing "I'm a little teapot", solo, (although the group sang along . . . And yes, with hand gestures! He topped that all off by inviting Dot and I up to re-live a memory of our wedding day by sharing a 'piece' of cake with each other. Well, after 25 years of marriage, and being, well, 'accomodating' during our initial ceremony, we really let each other have it with the cake! By the time we were finished, there was cake all over each of our faces, on the floor, and all over each other, (I think we got some on Topher too!) and the gang was having a wonderful laugh. In all, dinner was an 'experience' we'll not soon forget!
We ended the evening shopping for breakfast, gathered at the condo for a time to share the experiences of our first day, and just like, was over. Time to get some sleep to prepare for our assult of EPCOT the next day!

Slideshow of MGM Highlights

Our Dinner Table

Monday, October 1st - EPCOT (Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow)

Our day at EPCOT began around 10:00am. We entered the park and immediately scattered as several of the ladies just HAD to go shopping. When I was finally able to get us all in one place again, we made our reservations for dinner at the Living Seas Restaurant, and then headed to our first exhibit.
EPCOT is actually two parks in one and is big enough that it can take two or more days to experience it all. The main entrance at the front of the park takes you into show called Future World which has several exhibits, large and small, of technology of the future. The back half of EPCOT is a very large lake that is surrounded by 12 distinct areas, each one depicting a different country or place in the world.
We started at the GM exhibit which houses Test Track, then the newest ride in the park. It is a a high speed ride that begins by taking you through the complete process of the making of a car, complete with all the robotics that are needed and the testing that follows. We even passed through the oven that bakes the paint onto the body, a wind tunnel for testing the aerodynamics. We experienced steering and braking tests and finally the speed test. The ride launches you out the doors of the plant and at various speeds test the agility of the car going through tight turns, wet roads, sweeping banked turns and finally a long straightaway where we got up to speeds in excess of 60 mph! It was a blast!
We then headed over to the Universe of Energy pavilion, an innovation of energy technology. The current show stars Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye, The Science Guy, Alex Trebek, and Jamie Lee Curtis. It deals with energy and how it is produced, the history of energy production, and the search for new energy resources. You begin by standing in a theatre that is 180 degrees in size and then move into a second theatre where you are seated in a large central area. This theatre is one of several 360 degree theatres at Disney World. During the conclusion of the film the seats begin to move and break into six separate ride vehicles which then take you into the primeval diorama on a five minute journey through which is populated by many audio-animatronic dinosaurs. You finally end up back in the main theatre for the concluding film. The entire exhibit takes nearly 40 minutes!
After the Universe of Energy, we split up with some of us headed to The back half of EPCOT called World Showcase for lunch and foods from all parts of the world.
We came back together at the Canadian exhibit and saw the 360 degree movie on that country, entered the country of France (and their delicious desserts!) then split up again. Lee, the kids, & I visited Norway (with a tempestuous log ride) and Mexico (with a calm boat ride throught the history of that country) and then let the kids go shopping in Morocco, Italy, & Germany. By the way, each country employs their own people from that country & everything for sale is imported from that country. The prices are even in that country's denomination. But of course they take MasterCard, Visa & AMEX!
We all got together once again for dinner at the Living Seas Exhibit. Here you are seated at tables that are all staggered at different levels which gives you an unobstructed view of that exhibits aquarium which takes up one entire wall of the restaurant from floor to ceiling. If you there at the right time you even get to experience a diver feeding the fish (and sharks) in the tank! I think I actually saw my dinner swim by at one point . . .
And that was just the highlights . . . We ended the day watching Illuminations, a spectacular fireworks and laser show set to music. It is nearly 20 minutes in length! So sit back, and enjoy an HD version of the Grand Finale of the show I found on YouTube!

Tuesday, October 2nd - Oh, my achin' body! . . .

Today was the first day we had nothing planned to do. And it was a day that everyone in the group sorely needed. After two full days of Disney World, our bodies were tired and in need of something else to do. Lee and I started our day with a round of golf at the Legends Course, created by Arnold Palmer. It is one of 3 courses here at Orange Lake. It was a mediocre round of 100 which we tied, but enjoyed so much that we set up another tee time for Thursday.
The ladies and Joe went shopping at a flea market in the area and all had a good time, coming back with lots of stuff for family members back home. Melissa came down with a cold and spent the day indoors except for a short hike to a nearby pond. There were two park benches across on the other side of the pond, but when she tried to reach them she was met by several very large spiders and their webs. She finally decided that it as in her best interest NOT to try to pass the webs to reach the benches she gave up and went back to the condo to try and sleep off her cold.
Elizabeth and I chose to visit Typhoon Lagoon for the afternoon. It is one of WDW's two water parks and is built to appear like an island that was hit by a hurricane, the main evidence being a fishing boat impailed on the the islands tallest peak. There are numerous slides, pools and places to just lie in the sun. I think we did everything there was to do at least twice, the lazy river three times, and we even tried the wave pool for a few minutes. Snorkeling in the Shark Lagoon (with REAL Sharks!) was the highlight of Liz's day. Our day ended by going to dinner together, deciding on Italian.

Wednesday, October 3rd - Look! I'm an astronaut! . . .

We have been blessed with the most wonderful & delightful weather anyone could ask for so far, and today is no exception. We left around 10:00am for the Atlantic coast and the Kennedy Space Center. It is a 90 minute drive from Orlando and well worth visit and will take a full day. My advice? Absolutely include it in your plans when you visit!

We arrived around 11:30 and immediately took the bus tour which first stops at the Saturn V visitors center. While there, we saw a short film about the Apollo space program and then entered a very large, cavernous building that has, as it's center piece, a complete Saturn V rocket including capsule, moon lander, and all three stages. There is lots to see (and do) here and the visit can take an hour or more. One of the highlights is that you get to "touch" one of the actual moon rocks that were brought back during those visits.

We then saw an IMAX movie of the lunar landing by Apollo 11 and then boarded the bus and headed back to the main visitors center. Along the way we stopped at park where nearly all the different rockets used by NASA are displayed, went by the huge building where they work on attaching the shuttle to it's launch vehicle. We also were able to tour the inside (and outside) of one fo the space shuttles used for training, view the memorial for those astronauts who have died in the service of their country and see a 2nd IMAX film on space. Finally we are back at the entrance where the
group was able to indulge in their favorite pasttine . . . SHOPPING!

After our visit to the Space Center, we headed down the coast to Cocoa Beach where we spent some time on the beach and though it was a pleasant day, it had
gotten windy, so no one went into the water. We watched the sun set over the city and then decided to have steak dinner at a place called Durango's. I highly recommend it! Finally our last visit of the day was to a famous surf shop called Ron Jon's Surf Shop where you can get ANYTHING having to do with surfing or the ocean. It is a two story building with a huge center courtyard that has a beautiful display of all things surf. The first floor has everything you need with regards to playing in the ocean, from surfboards to diving. The second floor is devoted to clothing and is completely encircled by every t-shirt you could want, sorted by style, color, size, & picture. A very impressive display that can take upwards of an hour or more to find what you want!

We didn't make it home until nearly midnight but were heading into our next planned "off" day so many of us could sleep in . . .

Thursday, October 4th - Another Day Off . . .

Today is our second day off this week and it appears as if the group needs this. Lee and I arose early to play another round of golf on the Legands course but once again, we both played below our potential. Melissa was still nursing her cold an so stayed inside all day. The rest of the group went . . . wait for it . . . SHOPPING . . . landing at the Factory stores & Universal Studios City Walk. That's is where I picked up the first of my many Hard Rock Shirts I would acquire on this trip. (Actually Dot got it for me!)
Dot and I took care of a change of plans we had with Orange Lake to secured an extra night in the condo due to 9/11. American Airlines had cancelled the planned flight home on Saturday and moved it to Sunday morning for the rest of our group and we ended up having to stay and extra night in Orlando. Orange Lake was very accomodating and was able to allow us one extra night in ONE of our condos. It meant that all 12 of us would have to live together for a night but cost was totally worth it. I think it cost everyone about $17 each for the extra night. The negative side of the added stay meant that Dot and I would have to forego our planned overnight in Talahassee (on our way to New Orleans) which meant a very long day on the road . . . about 14 hours of driving. But the change in plans was better than having to rearrange our entire trip, and besides, we were only spending one night all together. Who knows . . . it might be fun!
Dot and Liz spent the afternoon swimming in one of the local pools here at Orange Lake. This one had a water slide and they had a lot of fun. Donna joined them also. When they returned to the condo they were followed by two Blue Herons that seem to be the local "pets" One had a foot missing, while the other had a well defined "limp". We found out later that Orange Lake had sort of adopted them and we were able to get some great shots of the two of them.

We joined the Orange Lake patrons for a Luau dinner but before the show would start we left in search of ice cream. Found it in a place called Old Town not too far from the entrance to Orange Lake. This is a quaint shopping village set to the earlier days. It also has an amusement park with a roller coaster, merry-go-round and such. We had our sundaes, cones and . . . dare I say it? . . . shopped again! . . . then headed for home.

Seven of us stopped and played 36 holes of golf at Orange Lakes own miniature golf course. Several holes-in-one were recorded by all but one of the group. Fun was had by all, but the "skeeters" almost go the best of us. One of the group even compared them to the size of a small bird!
Tomorrow we head back to Disney World . . .

Friday, October 5th - We go into the jungle dry, and come out wet!

Today the group split up and 5 of us visited the Animal Kingdom
while the rest visited the Magic Kingdom. We chose the Animal Kingdom along with Sherrie and the girls. Melissa and Liz really wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom (and had been begging us all week) but we told them we would do that tomorrow and that I had a surprise for them if they could just wait another 24 hours. Besides, what choice would they have?

Despite their wanting to be somewhere else, they had a great time. There was so much to see and do that we hardly had time for it all. We visited the Tree of Life and learned what it was like to live in a bug's world. We journeyed deep into the jungle on the Rafikki Outpost train and got to pet several of the young animals that call this park home. We searched for dinosaur bones and even confronted T-Rex! It was a lot like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland but much more exciting! Sherrie actually got scared! However, the best ride in the park was the Kali River Rapids. The sign says "you will get wet, you may get soaked". Truer words have never been uttered. We were traveling through the jungle on this swiftly moving river when out of nowhere we fell down a waterfall, the boat turning slowly to the left as we plunged to the bottom. When we finally landed, Dot and Sherrie were sitting, their backs to the river when a huge wave came up behind them and straight down on them! It was really funny! And because of the humidity in Florida, those two stayed wet all day. Suffice it to say that wet denim and soft skin do not go well together!

We also took a ride through the jungle called the Kilamanjaro Safari, in an African vehicle much like the ones you see on TV and we felt like we were roaming free in the plains of Africa with the animals. Not a fence or wall was seen anywhere and yet we felt very safe. We finally walked through a zoo like enclosure and witnessed the gorillas with two small gorilla children playing alongside their mother who was watching us very closely!

We all got together for dinner at a place called the Arabian Nights Dinner Show. The food was good and the show highlighted the story of an Arabian princess and her betrothed and the story of their lives. The horses were the best part of the show as they performed all kinds of tricks and stunts and were very beautiful. It was another long day but somehow we survived and still felt ready to tackle one more day . . . which was all that was left of this week.

Saturday, October 6th - Our final day at WDW . . .

Today was moving day. Due to changes in the flight home for the rest of our group, (see our post on Oct 2nd) we had to move the other half of our group from their condo into ours. It was about to get really crowded. Lee and Linda chose to stay at the complex until the switch was completed. Linda was feeling pretty sore after 6 days of trampsing all over Orlando, and Disney World. She really needed the rest. The rest of us headed off to EPCOT to finish our tour of that part of the World.

When we arrived at the monorail station that would take us to EPCOT, we surprised the girls by letting them go to the Magic Kingdom . . . alone! We gave them a cell phone and a walkie talkie and told them we would contact them later to meet up somewhere at the Magic Kingdom. Talk about two really excited girls! Little
would they realize (until several years later) what kind of adventure they would really have without us . . .

Well, we got to EPCOT and had pastries in France, visited the lands of Japan, China, Germany, Morocco & Italy. We were having such a great time that we had forgotten
to check on the girls. When we finally stopped to do that, we found that the radios didn't work. There we just too many people using them on the same channel and we
couldn't get ahold of them. We tried the cell phone and nothing . . . Dot was worried we had lost our grandchildren but I told her that I would try again later.

Finally after trying several times but without success, we decided it was time to venture over to the Magic Kingdom to find them. What we saw when we got there would be of great concern . . .

As we entered the park via the monorail, our hearts dropped. The park was absolutely filled with more people then we had ever seen. People were everywhere. You couldn't see the roads or where the lines started or ended, just wall to wall people. Peoples fear of travel due to 9/11 had obviously ended and they all went to Disney World!!!

As we made our way slowly to the Castle, we realized that we had no idea where the girls were. I had Dot and the group stop in front of the castle while I went in search
of them, having no earthly idea where to even start looking.

Being a praying man, I quickly looked to the heavens and asked the only One I knew who could tell me where my girls were. As I headed deep into the crowd, praying
along the way, I felt a strange peace come over me. It was as if God was telling me they were all right. I turned and headed to Splash Mountain (it was their favorite ride) and checked the line which was two and a half hours long . . . No girls . . . Maybe they are in the mountain, I thought. I finally stopped on a bridge that went over the stream that the logs fed into after plunging down the mountain and waited. One by one the logs fell, but no girls. I must have stood there for what seemed like an hour (was only a few minutes but when your scared, time seems to just stop) and just watched the mountain all the while still praying for their safety, and that I would find them soon. I still felt that peace about me but was fighting it because I feared the worst when the Spirit told me to look up at the top of the mountain.

A log peeked over the top and began it's plunge. Sure looked like two familiar faces . . . could it be? As the log hit bottom and the resultant splash exploded in front of me, the log emerged and heading right toward me were our two thoroughy soaked girls! I couldn't believe my eyes. There they were. Wow! I was totally relieved . . . and praising God for answering my prayers. I met them at the exit not letting on that they had ever been lost. They had rode Splash Mountain 3 thre times by the time I found them and they were glad to see me. I hugged them, asked them if they were having fun (of course they were!) and gave them some money and told them to meet Grandma and Grandpa at the back of the castle at 6pm . . . Yes, I let them go . . . again! Yes, I am an idiot . . . at least my wife said I was. When I got back to the group and told them what had happened they thought I was nuts to leave them behind. Gee, now that I thought about it, it was sort of a crazy idea.

Well, we used the fastpass system when ever we could but by the end of the day, we only got on about 6 rides. Meet the girls right at 6pm and they stayed with us the
of the evening. We ended the day by watching the Spectromagic parade down mainstreet. It is an updated version of the older electric light parade. I think I got
some good pictures.

We closed the park, which stayed open 2 hours longer due to the crowds and didn't get back to the condo until near midnight. We ended up getting only a couple hours
of sleep as we had to rise at 4am to head to the airport. We were about to begin a very long day and the next part of our journey . . .