Anita Talk

It's confession time.

Confession I: I started writing this the day the news was released of the impending demise of Pleasure Island.It suddenly seemed like everyone was writing about it and new information was coming in from all directions. I went back and rewrote it. Then I rewrote it again...and again. Then, I put it on hold for awhile so I could take a fresh look at it. Deb Wills has been quite indulgent, allowing me to stew and fret over this darned blog entry for over two weeks now. Even so, I find I don't have a lot to add to what's already been written all over the web. So...I'll take a run at it from my own personal point of view anyway. Please feel free to roll your eyes and hit the Back button to read something far more interesting elsewhere on this wonderful website. This promises to be a snoozer. You've been warned!

Confession II: I was never a frequent visitor to PI. On occasion, I would visit the Adventurer's Club, or maybe 8 Trax, but that's about it. I don't drink, and I'm not what one would call a good dancer by any stretch of imagination. I went through my "Nightclub Phase" back in the late '70's and early 80's, so I was already over it by the time PI even opened. I enjoyed the AC shows, but it still wasn't incentive enough for me to attend as a regular like some of my friends. I do, however, have many fond memories of being at PI with my family and friends. They can take away the island, but they can't take away those memories and impressions. I dare them to try!

Confession III: I certainly won't miss Pleasure Island in it's current state. The Pleasure Island that I will miss, and have been missing for some time, is the original Pleasure Island--The PI that was built and designed based on the very elaborate backstory of Merriweather Adam Pleasure and his family, and that's where I'll begin.

But first...An editorial comment since so many of my readers have asked my opinion of the closing of Pleasure Islands six clubs:

It seems that the Walt Disney Company always releases bad news late on Fridays. I'm not sure if that's pure coincidence, or if it's planned to allow angry people to cool down a bit before they run to their computers to dash off a scathing message, or maybe to give Guest Communications a couple of extra days to respond. My guess is one or both of the latter, but either way, on the last Friday in June, we were given the shocking news that all six clubs on Pleasure Island would be closing this fall, before the end of Disney's current fiscal year. The press release informed us that this was due to "guest demand" for more dining and shopping opportunities and that the area would become more family-friendly in keeping with Disney's family image.Whether that's truth or spin or bits of both, I do not know, however I suspect the changes had to do with both guest demand and money. They're not talking about the money part, and what company would? I wouldn't expect them to. However, it's been obvious for some time that Pleasure Island was not the big draw it once was, and it doesn't take a math genius (which you know I am not,) to figure out that the clubs were not pulling their weight in Downtown Disney, and attendance had dropped. The release went on to mention a "bold vision" for the area, which sounded to me to be about as bold as my local mall. Maybe the person who wrote the release missed the really "bold" parts of the vision and left them out in error? One could only hope. Time will tell...

So, let's talk about a truly bold vision; the one that the original Pleasure Island was built upon.
We have to go back to the beginning to do that, to the time of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells and the kick-off of "The Disney Decade". The Disney Decade was a time of enormous growth at the company, and this included expanding the WDW resort. New hotels were planned and built, a new theme park emerged, and an entertainment district for adults was on the drawing board. According to some accounts, this was to keep guests from wandering off property to local venues like Church Street Station in Orlando. All of those old enough to remember the daily skywriting over WDW advertising Church Street Station, raise your hands. All of those who thought it said "Surrender Dorothy" raise your hands. I thought so...

Anyway, back on track. I've heard some delicious insider gossip about the original plans for the entertainment district which were allegedly put forth by Eisner himself, and which, after false starts, met an untimely and expensive end. I wasn't there, and I don't personally know if it's true, but I have no reason to doubt my source, either. Plus, it really makes for an interesting piece of background for what came next. According to this story, Imagineering came riding to the rescue, and eventually developed an elaborate back story for everything that would be incorporated into what came to be called "Pleasure Island".

A dear friend of mine supplied me with several pages of official press releases for PI from 1986. One, dated July 21, 1986, reported that Michael Eisner himself announced the plans for Pleasure Island while aboard the Empress Lilly. According to the release, construction was slated to begin in August 1986, although my other source says that it had allegedly already begun under the original aborted plans. This would certainly explain the short window between the announcement and the commencement of construction, but I digress. Of particular note in these old releases is that they attribute the creation of PI to guest demand for more nightlife! Guests are of a fickle nature, apparently, as in 1986 they wanted more nightlife, and in 2008 they want less nightlife. Go figure...Also of note to Major Geeks Like Me, Village Lake, often mistaken for Lake Buena Vista, which is actually behind the Buena Vista Palace, is referred to as "Buena Vista Lagoon".

Deeper into the releases are hints about Pleasure Island's back story. (Yes, I know I keep mentioning the darned thing, but keep getting sidetracked and haven't told you what it is. I'm getting there, I swear!) According to the releases, the island originally belonged to early 20th Century entrepreneur and adventurer, Merriweather Adam Pleasure. I bet you youngsters thought it got its name from Pinocchio, didn't ya? Well, it didn't, and this is just one of the wonderful details of PI that got lost along the way. So, anyway, the legend goes that Pleasure set up his sail-making empire on the island, it attracted other sea-faring adventurers, and eventually, an entire town grew out of it. The buildings on the island included a fireworks factory, an electrical plant, Pleasure's family home, his exclusive club, and much more. Pleasure still pined for adventure however, and was tragically lost at sea, leaving his empire to be run by his lazy sons. The sons allowed the empire to disintegrate, and eventually the island and its buildings were abandoned. In the 1980's, the island was rediscovered, and the Imagineers re-invented the island and its buildings as an exciting and imaginative entertainment district.

Much has already been written recently about this, so I won't go into excruciating detail about what each building became, but suffice it to say that each time a club or restaurant was replaced over the years, a little piece of the back story, as well as bits of Disney history were lost. Why? Because whatever new venture appeared had nothing to do with the original story. Once upon a time, there were actually plaques and "historical" markers on each building explaining what they were in Pleasure's time. The last one I remember seeing was at the Portobello Yacht Club, which was supposed to be the Pleasure family's home. Portobello is soon to become a restaurant with a Tuscan theme, so if that plaque is still there, it won't be for long. The Adventurer's Club, Pleasure's personal club and arguably the crown jewel of PI, will soon be gone too. Designed by Joe Rohde, ths incredibly unique, clever and innovative (even after 20 years!) building--This piece of irreplaceable Disney Imagineering history--along with its wonderfully talented cast, will soon be lost forever, and that, my dear friends and readers, is what's making me terribly sad.

Can anything be done to stop it? Probably not, however, if you feel strongly about it, it can't hurt to express your feelings (in a polite manner) to the people who have the power to do something. I'm aware of several online petitions that have sprung up, but the sad truth is that petitions don't work. If you want to be heard, write letters. E-mails are not as effective. It's too easy to relegate them to a file somewhere or to hit "delete". Spring for a couple of stamps and send your messages the old-fashioned way. This ensures that a person has to handle it in some manner. Addresses for Disney officials can be found here. Even if it ultimately doesn't help, it definitely won't help if you don't make your feelings known now, and you and I will both feel better that at least we gave it a try. If you're in WDW before the last week in September, try to make time for a visit to the Adventurer's Club. Take a close look at the building, the theming and the props. Loudly applaud the cast for a job well done, and thank them for all the years they've put in entertaining us. Raise a final Kungaloosh! to Merriweather Adam Pleasure and his unique island, for it, like Pleasure, will soon be sailing off into the sunset.

Many thanks to my Sooper Seekrit Sources. You know who you are, and you are, quite simply, the best.

Anita

NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED

As you'll recall from an earlier blog, my best friend and partner in crime Flo Tographer and I read about Mike Scopa's 4 parks/1 day Challenge and decided to accept that challenge. What follows is a true and accurate account of our Challenge adventures. No columnists were harmed during the course of the Challenge -- well, Flo had a cold and got a small blister and I caught said cold at the end of the day, but we soldiered on anyway.

The Date: Saturday, May 10, 2008.
Weather Conditions: Unseasonably warm (mid-90's,) sunny and humid, but luckily also very windy. The humidity dissipated by noon, thank goodness.
Clothing of Choice: Very light, sleeveless cotton blouses; cotton shorts, sunglasses. I wore an Animal Kingdom Villas freebee hat, sacrificing beauty for comfort. Hat Hair!
Footwear of Choice: Flo chose Naot sandals, I chose Disney Crocs with low profile moisture-wicking runner's socks. Minnie Answer would have died of shame at the sight of this, but she wasn't there now, was she?
Transportation of Choice: Rental car: Dodge Avenger. We thought it should have come with a cape and its own theme song.
Stuff We Schlepped: A small notebook, two pens, small digital camera, car keys, cell phones, an extra pair of glasses for me. Flo had a small wallet, and I had a lanyard for my pass, money, hotel key, etc. If it didn't fit in a pocket, it didn't go. The plan was to be able to use the Guests Without Bags entrance at each park and skip the long, time-munching security bag check.
Predicted Crowd Levels: On the high side of Moderate.
Actual Crowd Levels: With the exception of two attractions to be named later, the crowd levels were actually on the high side of Low; a pleasant surprise.
Things We Researched and took into account before deciding what to ride and in what order: Location of the ride; popularity; availability of Fastpass or Single Rider lines, duration of pre-show; duration of ride or show; slow or fast loading/unloading; likelihood of it going 101 and how long it takes to reset afterwards, and a million other variables we know from experience.

RISE AND SHINE...OR NOT

Pre-Challenge Early Morning -- The Plan: Get up at 6 am (there's a 6 in the morning?? Who knew?) Eat breakfast in our villa, dress, leave for park #1 (Animal Kingdom) to arrive at 7:30 am.

Pre-Challenge Early Morning--What Actually Happened: I set the alarm for 6 am the night before... and unfortunately, I forgot to turn it on. Luckily I awoke at 6:15, so we were already a little bit behind schedule, but not much. Best laid plans, yada yada, etc. So anyway, I fixed and ate breakfast while Flo got ready, and vice versa. We left Old Key West at approximately 7:30 am.

LET'S DO THIS THING!!

NOTE: For all parks, "Time In" numbers were calculated from our entrance at the turnstile and "Time Out" was recorded at our exit of the turnstile. For attractions or rides, "Time In" numbers were recorded when we entered a queue, and "Time Out" numbers were recorded when we were clear of the attractions' actual exit. Restaurant times were calculated from when we entered the line to order, and exited the restaurant.

SAFARI, SO GOOD-Y

Park #1: Animal Kingdom
Advantages: Morning Extra Magic Hour; close-in parking allowing us to skip the tram, Fastpass and Single Rider lines available at many attractions.
Disadvantages: Crowded and bumpy walkways; no direct route to certain attractions.

We arrived at the DAK tollbooth at approximately 7:40 am, parked, walked to the park and using the Guests Without Bags line (which of course, wasn't a line,) were through Security in a matter of moments. By 7:55, we were standing about 5 people back from the rope on the right-hand margin, watching the opening ceremony, and waiting for the 8 am rope drop.

The Animal Kingdom Plan:
Head to Everest, get a Fastpass, head to Kilimanjaro Safaris, ride, head to Dinosaur, ride, head back to Everest and ride using Fastpass. Leave park.

Animal Kingdom: What Actually Happened:

DAK Time In: 7:53 am

EVEREST Time In: 8:07 am Time Out: 8:14 am
At the last minute, we decided to skip the safari as it is very time-consuming. Instead, we headed right to Everest for a Fastpass, but discovered, to our delight, that the Single Rider line was open already, so in we went. We were the first guests to make it to the loading platform, as the guests in the stand-by line hadn't even made it through the queue yet! We both made it onto the first train out of the station. Next stop, Dinosaur.

DINOSAUR Time In: 8:18 am Time Out: 8:28 am
Our luck held as we literally walked into the pre-show, which had just started. We were on and off the ride in record time, in spite of Carnotaurus attacks and a meteor shower.

Bonus Round! It wasn't on Mike's list, but we decided to ride Triceratop Spin, just because we could, and so we did.

TRICERATOPS SPIN Time In: 8:32 am Time Out: 8:35 am
We were on our way to the safari, when we noticed that Tough To Be a Bug only had a 5 minute wait. Onward to It's Tough To Be a Bug!

IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG Time In: 8:40 am Time Out: 8:50 am
We walked right into "Bug" just as the doors were closing. We moved all the way to the end of our row to make room for the guests behind us (zero, by the way...) We positioned ourselves at the very end of the bench to be close to the exit. After all, this was an exhibition game. We weren't there to see the show from the best vantage point. After the maggots and roaches left the theater, we did too.

We made a quick bathroom stop and then headed for the park exit. We had to chuckle as we went through the exit turnstile, as we had already done 4 attractions and the park didn't open to day guests for another few minutes. We cautioned ourselves to not be overconfident, however, as anything could happen during the day to throw us off. We knew from experience that the later into the day we progressed, the longer the lines would become, and Fastpass returns would become later and later, or possibly gone for the day.

DAK Time Out: 8:57 am

Into the car and on to Disney's Hollywood Studios, the second stop of the day.

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!

We arrived at the Studios tollbooth at approximately 9:15 am and were shocked to see that we were being directed into the front parking lot! I had expected large crowds for the Toy Story Midway Mania Annual Pass and DVC preview since it was Saturday, but you couldn't tell from the parking lot. We got a space fairly close to the tram stop, but missed the tram by a couple of seconds. The next one pulled up and we got on, but waited... and waited... and waited. We should have walked, but we were already on the tram, and there were others in the seat already who would have to move for us to get out. After finally leaving the parking lot, we breezed through the No Bags line (no wisecracks please...) and found a short line at the Cast turnstile. The Cast entrance can also be used by guests, but for some reason, guests don't choose to use them, which is an advantage if the line is short.

Park #2: Disney's Hollywood Studios
Advantages: Toy Story Midway Mania AP/DVC Preview, hopefully moderate lines there and perhaps everywhere else. Small, compact park. Easy to get around.
Disadvantages: Toy Story Midway Mania preview -- Read on...

The Disney's Hollywood Studios Plan
Head directly for Toy Story Midway Mania and ride before the lines became impossible. Anita goes to Tower of Terror or Rock 'n' Roller Coaster to get a Fastpass for the one with the shortest return window. Anita and Flo ride The Great Movie Ride, then Star Tours, then Anita heads for her Fastpass attraction while Flo does something else.

Disney's Hollywood Studios: What Actually Happened:
Upon arriving at Pixar Place, after showing our APs and IDs, we went behind the barrier to find...about 9 million people in a very long line.

Turns out they were having technical difficulties and the estimated wait was at 1 hour and 45 minutes. We thought it over for about 2 seconds and left. Plan B: Go get a Fastpass for either Tower of Terror or Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, then go directly to the Great Movie Ride.

Disney's Hollywood Studios Time In: 9:22 am

THE GREAT MOVIE RIDE Time In: 9:35 am Time Out: 9:57 am
We walked into TGMR, through the queue, through the preshow, and directly into the ride vehicle. When does that ever happen? We were in and out in record time. Next up, a flight to the Endor moon. I hoped they had a more experienced pilot this time as Captain Rex almost got us killed the last time!

STAR TOURS Time In: 10:00 am Time Out: 10:14 am
Star Tours' queue was empty. We walked the queue, and were directed to our vehicle. We asked to ride in row 5, please. No problem ladies, right this way! This positioned us as first on and first off the ride. The safety film was already running, and the lady with the extremely animated eyebrows and a danish stuck precariously to the side of her head was giving us instructions. The countdown to launch was at approximately 2 minutes. Captain Rex was in charge again, and so we had our usual misadventures on the way to Endor, which of course, we never reached. They really need to hire a better pilot.

It was time for my FP ride, which turned out to be Tower of Terror. Both RnR and ToT had short FP return windows, but ToT is a shorter walk, so in the name of saving time, I chose the Tower . Flo, meantime, cannot ride either RnR or ToT, and was hoping to use Toy Story Midway Mania as her third attraction in this park. Since it was down, she decided to ride Star Tours again and hope that Mike would be understanding. We planned to take one more try at TSMM before we exited the park in hopes that it was back up and the lines had gone back to a manageable length. Alas, that was not to be.

Flo: STAR TOURS Pt. 2: Time In: 10:20 am Time Out: 10:33 am
Once again, no line, she rode in row 5 with no one else in the row.

Anita: TOWER OF TERROR Time In: 10:20 am Time Out 10:34 am
I was the only person in the Fastpass return. I was directed to the library on the right, and had enough time to peek into the directory board between the two libraries to see if Evil Tower U R Doomed was still there. Nope, gone again. Oh, well. Back to the library door. I was first in to the library, and positioned myself in the corner by the exit door to the inside queue. Most of the inside queue was empty, and a quick glance around told me that the queue that goes straight ahead to the left end of the load zone had a much shorter line than the one that goes to the right. I waited in that line for about 30 seconds before the bellhop called for a single rider, which I gladly took him up on. There was some confusion in the elevator's loading area, as people were standing on the wrong numbers. For a minute, I thought I might have to go back and wait again for another elevator, but the bellhop got everyone back on track, and I ended up in the row 6 jumpseat. I never did reach my room, and for some reason I never do. I'm going to have to ask my travel agent to book me into another hotel next time. Arriving back from the Twilight Zone, I hurried to meet back up with Flo at the fountain near the tip board. Another bathroom break, and we were heading for the tram to the parking lot. Next on the list: Epcot.

DHS Time Out: 10:41

BACK TO THE FUTURE

We arrived at the Epcot tollbooths and were able to find a very close-in parking space, enabling us to once again walk to the turnstiles. We went through the No Bags security line and located a short queue at a turnstile.

Park #3 Epcot Time In: 11:09 am

Advantages: Wide walkways, well-laid out park, long list of attractions, lots of dining options.
Disadvantages: Size. It's a long way from Spaceship Earth to the American Adventure!

The Epcot Plan: Try for Fastpasses for Soarin', play the rest of Future World by ear, have lunch near wherever we were. Ride Three Caballeros or Maelstrom to complete our World Showcase requirement.

Epcot: What Actually Happened:

Meal # 1: ELECTRIC UMBRELLA Time In: 11:13 Time Out 11:40
We had worked up an appetite running through DAK and DHS, so lunch was our current priority. we needed a breather, some AC and some sustenance before we could carry on with our mission. Did I mention that it was unseasonably hot that day? After a leisurely lunch and a bathroom break, we began our adventures again.

TEST TRACK Time In: 11:45 Time Out 12:10
Very short FP line, very short stand-by queue. Where was everyone?? Spoooky... We walked over to World Showcase via the Odyssey walkway, and headed to Mexico.

GRAN FIESTA TOUR/THREE CABALLEROS Time In: 12:17 pm Time Out: 12:30 pm
Once again, we literally walked right onto a boat. This is getting freaky...

We exited and started walking back toward Future World, stopping to browse the Flower and Garden kiosks, and making plans to come back on Sunday to buy some things we saw. While walking through the Rose Garden, we decided it was time for a Bonus Round! We strolled into Journey Into Imagination, which is not on Mike's list, but there was not much of a line, so we rode it.

JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION WITH FIGMENT Time In: 12:42pm Time Out: 12:53pm
Around this time, I began to get overconfident again. Then, when I realized that we still had the most popular and therefore most crowded park ahead of us, I snapped out of it. OK, one step at a time, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still had things to do here in Epcot. We walked toward the Land and rode Soarin' using a Fastpass.

SOARIN' Time In: 1:00 pm Time Out 1:25 pm
This one always has a long line, even when everything else is a walk-on. Today was no exception. Even so, I've seen much longer Fastpass and Standby lines, so we were lucky.

Our Epcot requirements completed, we made our way to the front of the park where we discovered it was Bonus Round! time again. Spaceship Earth had a very short line, and we knew we probably wouldn't be doing any bonus rides at the Magic Kingdom, so why the heck not?

SPACESHIP EARTH: Time In: 1:39 pm Time Out: 2:05 pm.
The software on the descent is finally working correctly, and we laughed out loud when our faces appeared in the animated short. This is also the first time we had seen the globe in the post show working correctly. Yay!

We walked to the parking lot and drove toward our 4th park of the day. At this point we were amazed that it was only a little after 2:00 pm. We had estimated that we would arrive at the Magic Kingdom sometime around 6:00 pm!

Epcot Time Out: 2:08 pm

THE MAGIC NEVER ENDS, BUT IT DOES SLOW DOWN A LITTLE

Park #4 The Magic Kingdom

Advantages: Long list of attractions, Open until 11 pm
Disadvantages: It's the most difficult park to get to. Parking is far away from the turnstiles. Most popular park, therefore it's always the most crowded. Long lines are the norm here.

The Magic Kingdom Plan: Upon arrival, go directly to the tip board and write down wait times for the attractions on Mike's list. Make decisions on the fly depending on those times, and if a parade, show or fireworks were being performed at the time.

The Magic Kingdom: What Actually Happened: We arrived at the turnstiles at 2:50 pm. (See note above about the disadvantage of the MK's parking situation.) It was almost time for the 3:00 parade. (What time is that parade performed, anyway?) People were lined up on both sides of Main Street, so we crossed to the left side and cut through the Emporium and Casey's. As planned, I headed for the tip board while Flo got a bottle of water. Surprisingly, everything on Mike's list had waits of 30 minutes or less(!) with the exception of Splash Mountain, which had a 70-minute wait. We had already discounted Splash since we didn't want to walk around in wet clothing for the rest of the evening. For our first MK attraction, we headed to Pirates.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Time In: 3:10 pm Time Out: 3:25 pm
The wait time said 20 minutes, but it was really closer to 5 minutes. We took the left queue, which is considerably shorter than the right side. If both are open and it looks like the lines begin at about the same place, choose the left side. trust me on this one. We more or less strolled right into the load zone, and were in a boat sailing the high seas in no time at all.

Our next choice was Big Thunder. On the way to Big Thunder, we ran into All Ears Team Member Glo From Miami, and stopped briefly to chat. She wished us well on our mission, and we continued toward Big Thunder.

BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD Time In: 3:29 pm Time Out: 3:55 pm
The posted wait time of 30 minutes turned out to be more like 20. We held onto our hats and glasses, and took off on the wildest ride in the wilderness. It was so wild, we were ready for an early dinner, so we set off to El Pirata for our second meal of the challenge. Unfortunately, El Pirata had just closed for the day, so we came back through Pecos Bill's and ran into Glo again. Nothing on Pecos Bill's menu sounded good, so we went over to Columbia Harbor House instead.

Meal #2: COLUMBIA HARBOR HOUSE Time In: 4:10 pm Time Out: 4:45 pm

After our early dinner, we took the very short walk over to the Haunted Mansion, where Master Gracey must have been expecting us, because we practically walked right into the foyer and stretch room. We positioned ourselves near the sliding door that leads to the inside queue, in order to save a few minutes once we got inside.

HAUNTED MANSION: Time In: 4:46 pm Time Out: 5:07 pm
The posted 20-minute wait was actually less than 5 minutes. We declined their kind invitation to join them for eternity, since we had now officially completed the challenge and we had data to compile! We decided not to press our luck, and left the MK without any bonus rides.

MK: Time Out: 5:23 pm.

OFFICIAL TIME OF CHALLENGE COMPLETION 5:23 PM

Number of hours it took to complete the challenge: 9 hours 30 minutes from DAK entry turnstile to MK exit turnstile.

AS WE SAY IN THE SOUTH, "A LITTLE LAGNIAPPE."

"Anita and Flo, you've just completed Mike's 4 Parks In One Day Challenge with 4 hours and 30 minutes to spare! What are you going to do now?"

Why... Play a Bonus Round of course! We got back to the car, looked at each other, and decided to give TSMM one more try. We drove back to DHS, to see if we could still ride during the AP/DVC preview, which ended at 7:00 pm. We were able to park in the front lot near the tram again, and could have walked, but decided to conserve the little energy we still had left. Good thing, because by the time we reached Pixar Place, I knew I was getting a cold. Ah-CHOOO!

DHS, Pt 2: Time In: 6:03 pm

TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA:
Ride 1 Time In: 6:10 pm Time Out: 6:45 pm
Ride 2 Time In: 6:45 pm Time Out: 6:55 pm

DHS, Pt 2: Time Out: 7:00 pm

AND IN CONCLUSION

We had a great time doing the challenge. It made us think about things we generally take for granted in the parks, which added an element of excitement. I wouldn't recommend it for casual visitors, since you can't really take in a lot of the details of the parks or enjoy the attractions as much when you're concerned about time constraints and transportation issues. If you've been to the parks dozens of times like we have, it does put a different and fun spin on things, though. Is there anything we would have done differently? No, I think we made the best use of our time and resources. Would I do it again? Sure! Next time, I may add a degree of difficulty by only using Disney transportation, and of course, I'd prefer not to have a cold.

I've already heard from two readers who have done the challenge successfully, and would love to hear from anyone else who attempts it. Now I'm off to read Mike's account of how he's planning his own challenge in the near future, as I'm curious to see how our plans and adventures compare.

Anita

Anatomy of an Anita Answer Column, Part 1

Last week, in Part 1.5, I went on a little sidetrip and talked a bit about what it's like to write for this amazing website.

I unintentionally opened up the proverbial Floodgates Of Feedback. I was sure you'd all say "Put on your big girl pants and get over it, lady!" But, as of this writing, 100% of the feedback was positive, supportive and heartfelt. I have passed on your thanks and praise to everyone who helps AllEars to be what it is. So often, the feedback we receive is to point out some error we made, rather than to praise us for all of the things we do right. This fact makes what you all wrote all the more appreciated! We are all very grateful to you readers who took the time out of your own lives to express how much you like and appreciate what we do. If I can borrowy from what one of you wrote to us, "You all ROCK!!" and you do rock! Thanks, everyone!

Ok, time to get back on track, and continue sharing with you, as promised, the nuts and bolts of how I put my weekly column together.

Pt 2: How Does Anita Choose Which Questions To Answer?

Well, to begin with, it's neither art nor science; more like a little of both with a glance into Madame Leota's crystal ball and a random handful of pixie dust thrown in. I don't exactly have a set of firm rules to go by, but it's a bit like the Pirates' Code: a set of guidelines--A very loose and flexible set of guidelines, actually. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, and I reserve the right to make those exceptions. After all, it's my column, and I write what I want to, write what I want to, write what I want to...(Readers of a certain age will now be singing that song for the rest of the day, hee hee.) Flexibility is my middle name--Anita Flexibility Answer. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Um, let's move on, shall we?

So, What Are The Guidelines?

I hesitate to start off with something negative, but this is how it works. I'll begin with "Stage One: How Not To Get An Answer." These types of questions usually won't make it past the reading stage, and go right into an archive file:

-First and foremost, if the reader writes in asking me how to cheat Disney, get around policy or break rules, you won't see it in my column unless it's to explicitly tell readers not to attempt it and why it's not a good idea to try. I will never, ever, (did I mention never?) tell an AllEars reader how to cheat or break rules, even if I know full well how it can be done.

-Another good way to not get an answer is to be rude, demanding or impatient. I have a teenager. I've seen it all. Stamping your feet, shouting and slamming doors does not get my attention--In fact, it has exactly the opposite effect. Just ask Minnie Answer how well this method works for her.

-Sending in the same question multiple times probably won't work either. If your question made it past Stage One, I'm aware that it's there in the queue with 800 - 1000 of its closest friends waiting to potentially be answered. As a mom, I have developed a special Nagging Filter that automatically kicks into Ignore Mode when I'm nagged. While you're asking Minnie Answer about being impatient, ask her how well nagging works for her.

-Is the question a "hot button" topic or potentially controversial? There are certain subjects I won't address. I won't list them here, but I'm sure you can guess what some of them might be. I want to talk about the Walt Disney Company, not my political leanings, opinions on smoking or other such topics.

OK, enough of this negativity. Let's move on to Stage Two.

Stage Two is when I've moved your question to the file of potential questions to answer in my column. Getting to Stage Two unfortunately does not guarantee an answer, however. It's just not humanly possible to answer everything in that file. Today it stands at approximately 800, yet I can only answer 6 and sometimes 7 questions per week. As you may have noticed, I'm not a math genius, but I can calculate that it's impossible to answer every question I receive.

Phase 3 starts when I begin to plan a column. When I'm searching for questions to answer, here's what I take into consideration:

-Has the question been answered before? If so, is it still an important and viable question? How much time has elapsed since it was last answered? Has anything changed since then that could be updated? Pool Hopping, Refillable Mugs, the Dining Plan or Using Others' Tickets might fall into this category.

-How easy is it to find the answer by using the Search function or just looking around the AllEars site? Am I doing someone's vacation planning homework for them when the answer is easily found on AllEars?

-Is Disney about to announce something to the public that would answer the question? Will the answer be announced in the AllEars Newsletter or on the website soon? I try not to scoop the newsletter or the website with an announcement if at all possible, though I'll happily share rumors I've heard, with the understanding that they are rumors and nothing more.

-Have many readers been asking the same question? Does this signal that something may require clarification?

-Would the answer be interesting and useful to most readers or just to the one who wrote it? Keep in mind that this won't necessarily preclude my answering a question that only helps the reader who sent it in, it's just one criterion I look at when deciding whether the question might be used in a future column. On rare occasions, I'll even send the reader a personal answer directly and it doesn't go into the column.

-Is the question itself interesting? Is it interesting enough to spend several hours or even days and weeks researching the answer, or enlisting my friends' help in the process? (Hint: My favorite questions involve the history of the company, WDW and the attractions in all of the Disney parks, worldwide. My least favorite questions are about the dreaded Dining Plan, and those questions asking me how to do an end run around an existing policy.)

-Has a story just broken or are certain rumors suddenly circulating? Is it newsworthy?
The recent "Night Kingdom" rumor would fall under this guideline.

-Is the question actually a combination of two or more questions? Can I answer them all? I do prefer single questions, I must admit, because if I can't answer all of the questions, I usually don't do a partial answer, although I might take part of the question and put it with a similar question.

-Is the reader asking me something that is subjective, such as, "Will we like this resort/restaurant/ride?" I'm sorry, but it's impossible to tell readers what they'll like or not like because I don't know what their particular tastes, budgets or experiences are. If you ask my opinion of something such as, "Which Moderate resort is Anita's favorite?" I can answer this type of question because you're asking for my advice based on my experiences. If you ask, "Which Moderate Will My Family Like?" it's harder to answer, because I don't know you well enough to determine that.

-Is there enough information in the question to enable me to give an educated answer? Don't be afraid to send in as many details as you can. If it's too much, it can always be edited down to the essential information, but if it's too little, I may not be able to answer from the information given. Some questions can't be answered properly unless I know things like when you're going, where you plan on staying, how long you'll be there, if you'll have your own transportation, ages of the guests, etc. More information is better.

-And last, but not least, have you given me enough time to answer the question? If you're leaving for your vacation in the next couple of days, It's unlikely I can answer you in time. My columns can be in various stages of preparation weeks before they're published. Please allow enough time (generally no less than three weeks before your departure) for an answer. On the other hand, if you ask your questions too early, you may not get an answer for several weeks or even months. For instance, I can't tell you who will be the Candlelight Processional narrators yet, because no one knows who they are until the fall.

Now that I've shared my question selection process with you, I hope I haven't scared you off from ever writing to me again. I know this will sound counter-intuitive, but please ignore about 95% of what I just told you. The truth is, I break my own set of selection guidelines all the time, especially when a particular question strikes a chord with me. As I like to tell Minnie Answer about a hundred times a week, "If you don't try, you'll never know!" So, please continue to send me whatever your questions may be. I read each and every one of them myself, and you just never know what might strike that chord on any given day.

Next time, I'll attempt to explain where my answers come from, how I research them, and when I have to call in the cavalry for assistance. Until then, I'll see you online!

Anita

When Bad Things Happen To Good Columnists

Last time, I promised to tell you how I choose questions to answer from the ever-growing file of potential questions, which is now close to 800 again. I apologize for the delay in getting to Part 2. I had a rather lengthy entry written and was ready to go with it. Then something happened a couple of weeks ago that made me rethink what I had written, so I went back and rewrote it. I was just about to submit the second version for publishing, when the same "something" happened yet again last week, so here I am rewriting this for the third time.

I beg for your indulgence as I try to be uncharacteristically serious for a minute. In the almost-five years that I've been writing the Anita Answer column, I have only gotten six unpleasant e-mails from people who were unhappy with me for not answering their questions. I received two of the six within two days of each other earlier this month, and then a third one arrived this week. Maybe it was the full moon, the weather, or maybe it's the time of year. April seems to make people restless, for some reason still unknown to me. There's probably a scientific or psychological explanation, but as I said, I don't know what that is.

Anyway, back on point. I guess when you think of how many thousands of e-mails I've received over the years, six unpleasant messages is a rather small percentage. Still, they threw me a bit off-balance, because I like to think I have a good relationship with the site's readers, for whom I try to perform a service, and particularly because I received those three complaints so close together after all this time. It made me stop and wonder if I really had been doing something wrong. The vast (and I do mean vast) majority of people who write to me are absolutely delightful, so why were these three e-mails bothering me so much? Once I had recovered my equilibrium again, I thought it might be helpful to me and to you readers to write about it, and to share the thoughts those e-mails provoked for me.

First, you should know that I don't get paid to do this. In fact, no one on the AllEars® team gets paid for what they do. The team puts a tremendous amount of work into this website, including a lot of love and pride, too. We strive to provide up-to-date information, and we don't deal in the Rumor Mill much. Well, I do, but I always make sure it's clear I'm talking about a rumor. We want our readers to be able to trust what they read here, so we take a lot of time and care before publishing information.

I wouldn't try to speak for anyone else on the team, but I love what I do here, and I suspect they do also, or we wouldn't do it. Some of us have been friends since dirt was new, and some are new friends, but we all have this in common: We all love the Disney parks and resorts, and we all love bringing a small piece of that into your world each week. I suspect that not many people know what a gargantuan task this actually is. It requires hours and hours to research, write and maintain this site, its newsletter and the Ears To Ears forum. It doesn't all happen by magic, much as we sometimes wish it did.

Keep in mind that all of us have other full time jobs, families, pets and homes that need our time and attention too. Perhaps knowing all of this is why receiving those impatient and unpleasant e-mails so close together threw me.

The last of the three emails I received was the one that bothered me the most. It accused me of constantly writing about myself and of publishing irrelevant questions and answers. I personally invest a great deal of my spare time in researching and writing my column. I write from my own experiences and frame of reference. How else could I write the column? Short answer: I couldn't. Readers ask my advice and I give it, based on what I know. That's what the column is all about.

This is what I do, and there is no way I could do it without talking about my own experiences. This is what gives my column a personal touch, isn't it?

Other people don't want advice, but they want to know something about Disney history, something they remember from childhood, or a rumor they heard. I like to write about those things too, because they interest me. If they didn't interest me, why would I want to spend time researching and writing about them?

That leads me directly to the question, "Do I write about irrelevant subjects?" Well...What's irrelevant to Reader A is quite relevant to Reader B, and may spark even more questions or tips from Readers C and D. If every question I answered was about refillable mugs, the dining plan and what time the 3:00 parade was, how very dull would that column be? I wouldn't want to read it let alone write it. I can only hope that the majority of my readers agree, or else I'm just spinning my wheels here.

After reaching that conclusion, it led me to this thought. Before he died, my dad used to tell me all the time, "If it isn't fun anymore, don't do it. Life's too short." I've always tried to take that simple advice, and so those three e-mails had me wondering if writing this column was still a fun and fulfilling for me to do. It took me all of about 30 seconds of pondering to answer, "Yep. Definitely still fun!" For this reason, I'll continue writing my column just as I've written it for the last five years, and I'll do it until it's no longer fun. I write my column because it makes me happy to write about my favorite subjects, and if it helps somebody have a better vacation or experience, that's icing on the Mystical Cake. [Sorry, inside joke, too hard to explain. Just go with it...]

Well, as usual, I've digressed and used far too many words to convey a simple sentiment, which is this: Dear readers, try to take a little advice from me and my dad when you're planning your Disney vacation. If it isn't fun, don't do it. Take a step back, take a deep breath, examine what the problem is, and then take another route.

Always remember that we're talking about going to a fun place--A place where adults and kids alike can have a great time, but not if it becomes a stressful experience. It's a vacation, after all, not a death march. Don't fret and obsess over your planning to the point it makes you irritable and unhappy. Be flexible, be patient, and by all means, when you come to this site for help with your planning, please be respectful and polite when you ask. Behind the screen sits a team of truly great people, and we really do like to help you have a better time on your trip, or to bring you the latest Disney news and advice when that next trip seems to be too far away to bear.

OK, enough of this serious stuff. Next time I promise I'll really tell you about how I choose my questions--Really!

Anita

So, the other day, my dear friend Flo and I were talking about what we could do on our upcoming trip that would be different and exciting.

We tossed around a few ideas like trying new restaurants, or maybe a new experience like a tour, the Richard Petty Driving Experience, etc. Nothing really popped, if you know what I mean.

Then fate stepped in when my AllEars colleague Mike Scopa posted a challenge in his blog earlier this week; a challenge that involves visiting the 4 major Disney parks in the span of 1 day. "Now there's an idea that pops!" I said to myself (yeah, I often have some most interesting dialogues with myself, I just can't help it...) I immediately contacted Flo and broached the idea, and she was also very excited about it.

Mike's challenge is to visit all 4 major parks during one park operating day, park opening to park closing. We must experience three rides or attractions in each park, and Mike has made a list of eligible attractions in each park. Another requirement is to eat two meals during the day, but not in the same park. We think we're up to it.

We're both veterans of dozens of WDW trips, together, separately, and with our families and friends. We like to think that we know just about everything there is to know about how to tour the Disney parks under any condition, during any season, busy or slow.

We know the transportation system, we know the roads, we know the resorts. This will be our chance to find out just exactly how well we know them. Someone asked Flo why we'd even want to do this. "Because we can!" was her answer, and it's the truth! Call us weird, but we actually enjoy doing things like this. Neither of us can wait to try it!

First things first: We set about formulating a plan of attack. We decided on Saturday, May 10, more or less by default because it's the only day during our trip that we don't have to be someplace at a particular time.

I looked up the park hours, including any Extra Magic Hours we might be able to take advantage of. The only EMH that day turned out to be a morning one at Animal Kingdom, making it the park that opens the earliest. Woohoo! We have a starting point!

I then looked at the other parks' hours, and as expected, the Magic Kingdom closes the latest at 11 pm. Now we have an ending point, and know how many hours we'll have to complete the challenge--15.

Next, I looked at what crowd levels were expected to be that day, and which parks would be the most and least crowded. Our plan is tour the parks in a manner that makes geographical sense, but also makes best use of our available time. We decided to go in this order: Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, mixing the predicted busiest parks with their physical location and operating hours. Whew! Lots of work involved here!

Once we get into the parks, we also have a plan of action, but I'm not giving it away yet. Let's wait and see whether or not our strategy will work. We've adopted the motto "Semper Gumby" (Always Flexible) for this challenge, because let's face it, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan, does it? Rides go 101, the skies open up and pour, restaurant lines suddenly come to a standstill, etc. etc. We're making plans, with alternative plans, with other plans on top. We think we'll be ready!

If you're in the parks on Saturday May 10 and you see two crazy women rushing around with a notebook, a camera and a wild look on their faces, it's probably us. Wave at us as we run by. I promise to report back on whether or not we can successfully complete Mike's Challenge. Wish us luck!

Anita

Recently, I've received some questions about the nuts and bolts of putting together my weekly Anita Answer column.

Questions like how I choose questions to answer, why I didn't answer certain questions, where I find my answers, how I've come to know so much stuff about the World, etc. These kinds of questions really lend themselves more to blogging than to the column format, so here I go!

I'll start with some background information that may help you to better understand the process.

I receive an average of 15 - 30 questions per day, every day. Sometimes I can receive as many as 60 in a day, depending on the time of year. That's a lot of questions, especially when you consider that I only have space to answer 6 questions per week. Sometimes I live dangerously and feature 7 if I need to address something else, although this drives my editor Ditto crazy. The average column takes me 6 - 10 hours or more per week to write. Research can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks to get the information I need to complete an answer.

When readers send me questions I first have to carefully read them all and sort through them, and unfortunately, I also must cull the ones I can't or won't answer and file them in an archive.

The rest are re-titled so I know what they are and moved to a file of potential questions for future columns. Currently, there are over 500 questions in that file. Until recently, the number was closer to 1000, but I had to clean that file out in order to find things more easily. I try to clean the file every quarter, and as you can see, it's necessary, otherwise I'd be drowning in questions!

Reading and sorting questions can take 1 - 2 hours a day or more depending on the time of year. I tend to get more questions when people are planning for summer or holiday trips. I get more questions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays than other days of the week. Tuesdays, because my new columns come out on Mondays; Wednesdays because the All Ears newsletter comes out on Tuesdays, and Sunday because...well, I don't really know why! It could be because readers have more free time on that day, or perhaps in hope of getting into the next day's column?

Only rarely do I answer questions that come in just before the column is published. Usually, it will be something that's newsworthy at that moment, and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. I'll talk more about that in part 2, when I reveal how I choose which questions to answer. See you next time!

With Disney-MGM Studios' renaming to Disney's Hollywood Studios recently, what better time to talk about my very first trip to that park?

Turn the clock back. It's 1989.

Mr. Answer and I had not gone back to the World since our 1986 honeymoon, and we were ready to go again. Not having to follow school schedules, since Minnie Answer wouldn't make her debut for another year and a half, we decided to take an early October roadtrip.

Our first stop would be in Atlanta for a long visit with our close friend and former roommate, who had recently relocated there. The plan was to leave Atlanta and drive down to Orlando for the second part of our trip. We had booked a few days at the Radisson, just outside of property. At the last minute, Ms. A decided to join us.

The drive seemed interminable, because we were so excited about seeing the parks again! This was Ms. A's very first trip, so she was doubly excited. Truth be told, I remember very little of this trip other than the Studios and the hotel! The Radisson was nice enough, though not fancy.

I longed to stay at one of the glamorous Disney Resorts, which by then included the Grand Floridian and the Caribbean Beach, Disney's very first moderate resort. Being poor newlyweds, that dream would have to be put on hold for another few years, however, so there we were at the Radisson. I believe we picked the Radisson from a AAA hotel guide. Can you imagine even trying to plan a trip without the internet? Thank goodness Al Gore had the foresight to invent it a few years later! (Just kidding...)

We purchased 4 Day Passports for around $100 each. $100 was a hefty sum for us, but well worth it. We had to buy a 4 Day because the 3 Day Passports didn't include Disney-MGM! We planned to use 1 day for each of the parks, and the remaining day to revisit a park, but as it turned out, after the 4 days, we didn't want to leave, and extended our stay and our tickets for another couple of days. Hey, it's only money, right?

As I mentioned earlier, I remember little of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot on this trip, probably because so little had changed since our 1986 trip.

At the Magic Kingdom, a new land had opened (Mickey's Birthday Land), but the village of Duckburg held little of interest for anyone over the age of 6.

EPCOT Center had a few exciting additions, including a new World Showcase Pavilion (Norway), a 3-D movie (Captain Eo,) and an almost-finished Future World Pavilion, Wonders of Life.

Wonders of Life didn't officially open until a week or so after we went home, but I have vague memories of touring the pavilion on this trip, which may or may not have happened. Those particular braincells are stored in the back of the vault, if you get my drift. Also at EPCOT, IllumiNations had made its debut.

The star of this trip, however, was definitely the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park, which had opened on May 1, 1989, a few months later than its original targeted opening of Oct.1, 1988.

In those days, Disney-MGM actually was a working production facility as well as a theme park. The focus at the park's beginning was on a "living movie set," according to early park guides. What we see on the Backstage Tour now is a pale imitation of the original, where you actually might have seen a TV show or film in production.

Much later, I was lucky enough to work very briefly behind the scenes on one of the last TV series produced there before the soundstages closed forever to be turned into first the Millionaire attraction and now into Toy Story Mania.

In 1989, the animation tour featured what at least looked to me like real animators working on real animated films. To clarify, animated films were definitely produced there, but I don't know if the people I saw during the tour were really animators or actors. I suspect they were low level members of the animation team, since they did appear to be working. Animated features produced at the Studios included "Mulan" and "Lilo and Stitch."

But let's get back to 1989. So, there we were, three young adults about to experience a brand new park. We walked under the Art Deco archways housing the ticket booths, and through the turnstiles. The park was divided into three main areas: Hollywood Boulevard, Lakeside Circle/Backlot Annex and the Production Center/Backlot area.

Hollywood Boulevard was much like it is today, with an avenue of stores designed to resemble early 20th Century Los Angeles, with the crown jewel looming at the end of the street: A wonderfully detailed replica of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, home of the Great Movie Ride.

Today, there's a...um...rather large, out of place and obtrusive hat blocking the view of the theater, completely ruining Hollywood Boulevard's intended sightline. Sure wish we could just airlift it out of there and put it someplace else, say near the Animation Courtyard, or perhaps outside of the park in the entrance plaza, but as usual, I've taken a side trip from my subject.

We pretty much by-passed the stores, as we were being drawn to the beautiful theatrer at the end of the street. (This is why Walt Disney and the Imagineers call park icons like Cinderella Castle and Spaceship Earth "wienies" -- they draw you deeper into the park.)

Speaking of Hollywood Boulevard, if you turned those early Studios park maps upside down, you would have seen that you were standing in the middle of the World's largest hidden Mickey! The plaza in front of the theater comprised Mickey's face, Echo Lake formed one ear and the area by the tipboard and the Brown Derby formed the other ear. With the addition of the...um...rather large and obtrusive hat and the development of the Sunset Boulevard area, this cool "secret" is pretty much gone now. What a shame.

We entered the queue area of The Great Movie Ride, and ooh'ed and ah'ed at the movie prop and costume displays. In the theater area we watched the same clips we're watching today. As far as I can tell, this has never been changed. Once on the ride, we marveled at the moving theaters, gliding silently through movie scenes. Everything but the final film clips is the same as it was then, with the exception of the Busby Berkeley scene, which used to rotate.

What to do next? There wasn't much to do attraction-wise here on Hollywood Boulevard; only The Great Movie Ride and a stage show in a tiny outdoor amphitheater called "Theater of the Stars" that was squeezed in between the Brown Derby and the shops on Hollywood Boulevard. In 1993, it was moved to it's current and much larger home on Sunset Boulevard, where it now houses the Beauty and The Beast Live On Stage show.

We skipped the show, and headed for Lakeside Circle/Backlot Annex to see Superstar Television (where the currently unused ABC Theater is now, and where the future American Idol show will go.) I was picked from the audience to be in the show to be part of a girl-group trio called "The Vonzels." We sang "Da Doo Ron Ron" on the Ed Sullivan show. It was the beginning and the end of my onstage showbiz career. Some people would call that a blessing.

Also in Lakeside Circle, next to Superstar Television, was the "Monster Sound Show," where audience members added sound effects to a hilarious "horror" film starring Chevy Chase and Martin Short. "Sounds Dangerous," which is in that spot now, isn't even remotely as entertaining as "Monster Sound Show" was, and in fact after I experienced it once, I have never been back. I went back to see "Monster" over and over again before it closed in 1997.

We also spent some time in the post show area, "Soundsations," which today is pretty much the same as it was back then. We wandered back a bit and saw the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which I'm fairly sure hasn't changed since then either. Maybe with the new Indy movie opening this summer, we might see something new? By the way, one of Mr. Answer's life's goals is to be chosen to participate in this show, but so far, no offers. Showbiz is so fickle!

After stopping for lunch at the Backlot Express, we found our way over to the Backstage Studio Tour. In the early days of the park, the Backstage Tour was at least two hours long and divided into two parts: the tram tour and the walking tour. This attraction was so long, guests were encouraged to make a potty stop before beginning the tour.

The tram tour took you through Costuming, the Scenic Shop, the late, lamented Residential Street (where Lights, Motors, Action! is now,) Catastrophe Canyon, and New York Street (now Streets of America.)

The walking portion of the tour began with the Water Effects Tank (you know, where hapless guests get completely drenched,) the Special Effects Workshop, the Soundstages where you might see an actual production being shot, Post Production Editing and Audio department, and finally a film with clips of upcoming movies presented in the Walt Disney Theater.

Our final attraction for the day was the Magic Of Disney Animation Tour. The old tour started with a hilarious film called Back To Neverland, which featured the voices of Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite. Next was a tour of the Animation Studio, which showed the various processes necessary to bring an animated film to life. Finally, clips from favorite Disney animated films were shown in the Disney Classics Theater.

Our first day in the Disney-MGM Studios was over. Reluctantly, we went back to our hotel, and Immediately began to plan out our extended stay so we could go back again!

Special thanks to Jack Spence for the loan of the pictures of the Disney-MGM Studios.

Our final Free Dining Plan table service meal was at Artist Point, in the Wilderness Lodge.

I had eaten there about 10 years ago as well, probably on the same trip as the San Angel Inn meal, and remembered being underwhelmed by the menu. I don't really care for game meats, and their signature Cedar Plank Roasted Salmon was not appealing to me in any way, shape or form.

I'm not a salmon fan to begin with (ask me about my trip to Alaska last year: Is salmon the only food available in that state??) so a fish cooked and served on a board that is usually used for moth-proofing closets does not say "good eats" to me at all. I was hesitant when Flo wanted to eat here, but she really REALLY wanted to try it, so I capitulated. What I didn't know at the time was that this meal would turn out to be THE best meal I've had on property for at least two years. From beginning to end, everything in this restaurant would be perfection.

We arrived for our ADR 15 minutes early as directed. There were three extremely charming hostesses at check-in. We chatted about Disney, the College Program, our home towns, and other topics while we waited to be seated. I mentioned that it was Flo's first time eating at Artist Point, so one of them disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a "My First Time" button. What a sweet thing to do!

When it was time to be seated, I asked if we could have a table by the window, since it was Flo's first meal here, and I wanted her to see the pretty view. We were given the table in the corner of the windows overlooking the waterfall and the wildflower garden. We could see a bit of Bay Lake and the geyser out the other side of the windows. Gorgeous!

I was surprised to see how empty the place was on a Saturday night, but the Wilderness Lodge is kind of out of the way for guests without their own transportation, plus it was a slow time, after all. Also, Artist Point isn't as kid-friendly as many other Disney restaurants, as there are no characters or clever theming here. It does feature a kids' menu, however, and there were a couple of children dining with their parents that evening. Kids are definitely welcome here, but it does have an adult feel to it.

After we were seated, our server, Kyle, introduced himself. He brought us menus, the winelist and a basket of absolutely delicious hot crusty bread served with real butter. "OK," I thought, "If I can't find anything I like on the menu, I'll just eat this incredible bread all night and I'll be happy about that!"

Flo asked him to suggest a Reisling, and he brought us each a taste. Flo liked it, but I found it too sweet and asked for a Pino Gris instead. He brought me an absolutely delicious wine. I regretfully did not write down what it was, since I wasn't intending to write a review of Artist Point to begin with.

We sipped our wine, nibbled the yummy bread, and perused the menu. We couldn't decide what we wanted, so we asked Kyle for recommendations. He suggested the Buffalo Sirloin (yes, it's meat from an actual buffalo, not meat cooked in hot sauce like Buffalo Wings are.) We were intrigued by that, but another dish, the pork chop, featured Tillamook Mac & Cheese with Maytag (blue cheese, not the appliances,) crust as the side, which sounded sooo good--Much better than the sweet potato-hazelnut gratin that came with the buffalo. Kyle assured us we could have the buffalo with the mac & cheese if that's what we desired...and we did desire it!

On the appetizer list is an Artisan Cheese selection. Since I don't eat much sugar, I asked if I could have that for dessert, and was surprised to find that I could not. (I'll explain why later.) It was too big to have for an appetizer, so I didn't pursue it. Instead, we both went with the smoky portobello soup with shiitake mushrooms and chive oil, which arrived in a lovely geometric bowl. Oh...my...goodness, was this soup good! I tried not to lick the plate in public, but it was a struggle. The roasted mushrooms sprinkled on top were almost like bacon, and the soup was creamy and delicious and a perfect foil for that crusty bread and butter.

Just when I thought it couldn't get better, the buffalo sirloin and mac & cheese arrived. As I took my first tentative bite of buffalo, wondering if I would like it or not, I suddenly realized it was the best meat I have ever eaten anywhere at any time. It was tender and flavorful, and it was cooked and seasoned so perfectly it just melted in our mouths. The Tillamook mac & cheese was equally wonderful, with a creamy fresh-tasting cheese sauce and a crunchy crusty top with a bit of blue cheese tang that made the whole thing delicious together. This meal was so good, I could not stop eating. The portions are quite generous, and I finally had to push it away before I hurt myself.

As we ate, Kyle would stop by and check on us, chatting a little about this and that. Our water glasses magically refilled themselves, and plates arrived and disappeared without me noticing. I have a short list of criteria for judging great dining service. #1 on the list is: The server can do his or her job in a timely and efficient manner without being either too intrusive or completely oblivious to my needs. No matter how great a meal is, if the server either disappears altogether or hovers like the News2 helicopter, it can ruin the experience. Kyle has learned the art of returning to the table at exactly the right moment that his guests need him to. We never felt rushed, and we never felt ignored. A perfect balance!

#2 on the list: Does he/she know his/her stuff? Kyle does. He knows the menu, the winelist, what the chef can and cannot do for a guest, and he even knows what's inside the tea box that is brought around after dinner. Once I had gleaned just how much he knew, I began to ask him a series of questions from Anita's List of Most Annoying Dining Questions.

The first question I asked was why I could not have the the Artisan Cheese Plate for dessert, because I had discovered that it is also listed on the dessert menu. (I was simply curious, and not trying to be belligerent.) The answer was actually pretty simple: The Artisan Cheese Plate is one of the few items that is not included in the Dining Plan, because the profit margin for fine cheese is too small and the restaurant would lose money on it. This made sense to me. I then asked him a number of questions about the Dining Plan, the food, the wine, the tea, the dessert menu, what his favorite attractions in the parks were, and on and on. He never once looked or acted like I was taking him away from something more important. Which brings us to the last item on my short list of service criteria: #3 Make the guest feel like he/she is the most important person in the room.

Kyle at Artist Point wins the trifecta of great service! I was so impressed, I asked to see the manager. I never ever ask to see a restaurant manager, unless I've just been to Dining Hell and back, and even then not always. I explained to Kyle that I wanted to compliment his service, and not get him into trouble, so he needn't worry about my request to speak to the manager.

Getting back to the meal, Flo had heard rave reviews about the Artist Point berry cobbler, and ordered that. After looking at the menu and finding out that the only sugar-free item was the omni-present ho-hum vanilla ice cream, I asked if I could have the cobbler...without the cobbler, just the berries? And could I please have the sugar free ice cream in place of the sorbet? And could the chef put some of the cream it's garnished with on the side? (Yes, I knew I was pressing my luck, but it never hurts to ask.) The answer came back from the kitchen: No problem.

The cobbler-without-cobbler was served and it was tasty. Basically, it was fresh berries (not macerated or with anything added,) and sugar free vanilla ice cream, served with tiny bowls of cream and berry sauce on the side. It was exactly what I asked for. The berries were a bit on the tart side, but that was offset by the sweetness of the ice cream. Flo was somewhat disappointed with hers, finding the cobbler a bit dry and the berries too tart. Next time, she vowed to order the caramelized peach cake instead. I said she should, as long as I get to taste a bite or two!

Would there actually be a next time? Most definitely. As I explained to Restaurant Guest Services Manager Curtis Corneal, this was hands-down the best meal that I have experienced on Walt Disney World property in the two and a half or so years since the Dining Plan started that continuing decline of food quality and service. I also explained that it was absolutely the very best service I've ever had in any Disney restaurant in Orlando, Anaheim or Paris. I thanked him and his staff for the perfect evening, and told him I would tell anyone who would listen what a wonderful experience it had been. So, here I am doing just that. Artist Point gets an A+ for food and an A+ for service, and I'm giving it an A+ for decor simply because Craftsman is my favorite style. I can't wait to go back here again!

The following day, we were to meet some friends at the San Angel Inn in the Mexico Pavilion. We paid cash for this meal and did not use the dining plan, but wanted to share my experiences there.

I have to preface this part with an explanation of how we came to be at the San Angel Inn. The simple explanation is that when our friend Mickey made the ADRs, there was nothing left at Epcot except 9 Dragons and San Angel Inn. Neither of these would have been at the top of any of our culinary must-do lists, but we chose San Angel because it's so pretty in there. I had not eaten there in at approximately 10 years, and I was singularly unimpressed then. Since I live in an area of the country where wonderful Mexican food can be readily found on every street corner, Mexican food is not what I tend to seek out when I travel.

We were seated promptly at our ADR time, and we asked for a table by the "river." We were handed the menus, which I couldn't read because it's so darned dark in there! They should provide a small flashlight at every table!

After my eyes adjusted, I decided on the beef Tacos Al Carbon ($13.99) and a frozen lime Margarita ($8.00.) Tacos Al Carbon are basically beef skirt steak that is seasoned and char-grilled and cut up into small pieces, served in tortillas with grilled onions, pico de gallo, sour cream and/or guacamole.

This is a dish that is very common where I live, and it's one of my favorites. At home, the tacos are always served with a generous side of rice and beans, so imagine my surprise when my three (tiny!) tacos arrived looking very lonely on a plate all by themselves. I'm not sure I've ever seen such small tortillas. "Well," I thought to myself, "I just paid $13.99 for three tiny tacos I could buy at home for $1.50 each at a taqueria stand. Lesson well learned."

The Lonely Tacos weren't very tasty, either. They were overcooked and dry, and the hot peppers they were cooked in completely overwhelmed the beef flavor. No amount of sour cream could make them any more moist.

On top of it all, the service was spotty and slow as well, and we had to beg for tea, softdrink and water refills. The check took forever to come, and our server didn't look pleased that we had a Disney Dining Experience card for the 20% discount. All in all, the food was disappointing at best, the service was below par, and the Margarita was the best part of the meal. Next time, I'll skip the restaurant and get a [bigger] Margarita at the stand outside. San Angel Inn gets a C- for food, C- for service, and an A for atmosphere. I may try it again in another 10 years or so...or not.

Those of you who read my column regularly may have noticed that I do not care much for the Magic Your Way Dining Plan and believe that it will soon be the downfall of civilization as we know it. Well, OK, maybe it's not quite that bad, but it certainly has caused dining at Disney's table service restaurants to become difficult at best and a completely unpleasant experience at worst. Reservations are hard to get and walk-ups are virtually impossible these days. Tables are packed in too close for comfort. Service has declined in some eateries to the point where it's almost non-existent, and worst of all, food quality and selection has dropped to college cafeteria levels. I've found myself going off-campus more and more lately just to avoid the hassle.

With all that known, you would probably be surprised to hear that I used the Dining Plan once again on my last trip in mid-September, and actually had some good experiences. I had an opportunity to try out the free dining program that is offered during the very slow times of year (making them not so slow anymore!) so who was I to turn it down? Free food? I'm there!

We were staying for three nights and four days, so my friend Flo and I decided we wanted to dine at one old favorite table service restaurant (50's Primetime Cafe) and one new-to-us Signature restaurant (Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge) to use up each of our three allotted TS credits. (Signature restaurants and some dinner shows require two TS credits for those of you who have never used the Dining Plan.)

About two months before our arrival, Flo called Disney Dining and made our Advance Dining Reservations. Once again, I realize I sound like a broken CD, but I really dislike having to decide what I want to eat months before I eat it. I like spontaneity in my trips, and the dining plan rips that right out of my touring plans. But free food is free food, and besides, it was all in the name of research, right?

We arrived for our ADR for 50's Primetime about 15 minutes early. Actually, we arrived twice--The first time we were an entire hour early because someone writing this blog got her times confused, but hey, better to arrive really really early than late, correct? So, anyway, the second time when we arrived at the correct time, we had to wait in the very very crowded lobby, but only for about 20 minutes. After we were seated, I was surprised to see several empty tables when the lobby was so crowded and the hostess was turning walk-ups away. It's my understanding that many WDW eateries are quite understaffed at the moment, so that explains the empty tables...I think.

We had a friendly and efficient server named Carole. She took good care of us, answered all of our menu questions, and didn't hesitate to ask the kitchen about a sugar free milkshake for me. Our tea and water glasses were kept filled, our food was served promptly and dishes were quickly removed when we were finished.You can't ask for more that that.

Flo ordered an adult beverage from the bar, "Grandma's Picnic Punch" made with peach schnapps. I was driving, so I shared a sip or two (or three...) of her drink. Yum yum yummy! Tasty and refreshing! Next time, I'm ordering that and somebody else can do the driving. It came with a glow cube, which we had entirely too much fun playing with at the table.

For our appetizers, I ordered the shrimp cocktail, and Flo ordered the fried herb cheese. I never met a shrimp I didn't like (well, maybe once at Captain Jack's,) but I wasn't enamored of these. The "jumbo" shrimp weren't, and they were obviously thawed out after living at the bottom of the freezer for a couple of months. They just drooped forlornly over the side of the serving dish which also included a bed of limp lettuce.They were as flavorless as they were limp. It wasn't the appetizer I was dreaming of. Flo's fried herb cheese was tasty, but was nothing you couldn't easily make at home. After the disappointing appetizers, we were hoping it would get better, and it did!

For our entrees, we both ordered the Old Fashioned Pot Roast, which turned out to be delicious. It was fresh and hot, with just enough gravy. Our only complaint was that it came with julienne-style vegetables and there weren't enough of them. There was plenty of meat, however! So much that it got me into trouble. Our served asked the entire dining room to make airplane noises as she made me eat some more of my meat. Even my protests that I had eaten ALL of my veggies went unheeded.

The last couple of times I've eaten here, the servers weren't really into their roles, so this was a fun moment for me! The increase in the meat portion was a pleasant surprise for me, as the last time I had dined here in the summer of 2006, the plate held a tiny bit of meat and a plateful of gigantic chunky vegetables. Now, if they could only combine the new meat with the old veggies, it would be heavenly.

For dessert, we ordered chocolate milkshakes to go. Mine was made with sugar-free vanilla ice cream and not enough chocolate syrup. I think the chef was trying to err on the side of being sugar-free, and it ended up fairly tasteless. It was also quite frozen, so I almost turned my face inside out trying to get it to come up the straw. I finally gave up after 30 minutes and tossed it away. I had to give the chef points for attempting a sugar-free milkshake, even if the finished product was only so-so. Flo had the regular chocolate milkshake, which was delicious as usual. Over all, the meal earned a B+ for food, and an A for service. Better than my last experience there, but not as good as the "good old days" BDP (Before Dining Plan.)

Related Links:
Anita Does the Dining Plan Part 1
Anita Does the Dining Plan Part 2