Cast of characters: Sandy (45), Judy (45), Seth (17), Sara (15), Elana (11), Sandy's parents Ike and Beverly. All Disney veterans.

We were there - NYE 2000

    Our plan today was to get up and out early, get into EPCOT and then take a break in the afternoon before going back for dinner and New Year’s Eve. A note had been left in our room yesterday that said that hotel guests were guaranteed of getting into a park and if they left during the day, were guaranteed getting back into the park they started in. There was no guarantee that you could park hop. So, we figured all we had to do was get into EPCOT before it filled up and we would be okay. As we were getting ready, we were watching Good Morning America, it was 7:38 and they were already saying that EPCOT was closed! My dad was still not feeling well, so they were going to go in a little later, just to enter the park and go right back out.

    We finally got into EPCOT at 10:30. We could see people already camping out along the railing for the night’s festivities. I even saw one person with an air mattress set up. It was like waiting for Yankee playoff tickets. Judy and the kids went to Futureworld, while I went to the pin cart at The American Adventure to get the New Year’s Eve pin that was being released that day. There was already a line at the cart and they were limiting purchases to three a person. The wait wasn’t that bad, only about 15 minutes. I bought my three pins and grabbed the boat back across the lagoon. I cut through Innoventions by the Pizza Planet and saw my dad sitting on a bench. I left him there and went to pin central to see what was doing there. There was a line here too, but there were also CMs selling the New Year’s Eve pins for cash. They stood out, because they were wearing the pin vests covered with the New Year’s Eve pin. I bought six more and then saw some people looking to trade. A woman and a young boy saw my Walt & Mickey pin and asked me what I wanted for it. I told them that I was looking for a First Day/Last Day pin. The boy said he would trade me for one. I said that for the Walt & Mickey I was holding out for more than one pin. He hesitated, but the woman (who I thought was with him) asked me what else I wanted. When I asked what cast member pins she had, she offered to give me the First Day/Last Day pin and Animal Kingdom cast member pins. I accepted and she was so happy she was finally getting a Walt & Mickey, that she threw in the Walt Disney 2000 cast member pin.

    Happy that I got a First Day/Last Day pin at last, I went back to my father. Judy, my mother and the kids were somewhere in Innoventions. I got a pizza and a soda from Pizza Planet. While standing on line, I got into a conversation with a CM who told me of the craziness getting into WDW. As I was trying to get comfortable on the bench, I accidentally spilled the soda. I stopped a CM passing by and asked her to get someone to clean it up. Lynn, the CM who I stopped, was nice enough to replace the soda I spilled.

    Judy found us and once we got everybody together, we went to Universe of Energy. There was short wait and when we were let in, we were able to grab one of the benches along the wall for the preshow.

    After we got out of Universe of Energy, we went to Coral Reef for our 3:00 priority seating. Our server was very accommodating, replacing Sara’s dish, when she decided she didn’t like it.

    After dinner, we went back to World Showcase for the Tapestry of Nations parade. At this point, my dad had had it and went out the International Gateway back to the room. We found a spot opposite the Fish and Chips in the United Kingdom. Even though there were people walking in front of us during the parade, the fact that most everything to see was high up, helped a lot.

    By now, we heard that the lines into EPCOT were gone, so my mom and I decided to go back to the room for a while. I arranged to meet Judy and the kids at American Adventure when I came back at 7:00. My mom decided not to come back, but to stay with my dad instead.

    When I came back, I found Seth by the pin cart and he led me to a spot that Judy had found for us across from Italy. As it turned out, we had to move, because we were too much in the walkway. We went across to Italy and found a spot along a railing, that a family with young kids had just vacated. The mother decided she had enough, when she saw evidence of craziness. As it got closer to midnight, it became harder and harder to hold onto our little spot. There was portable bathrooms trailers set up behind the American Adventure between Italy that we used. It was funny, because there were two for men and two for women, but the men had the clear advantage. The women commandeered one of the men’s rooms for their own. We were also near an ice cream cart, which we took advantage of. Elana spread out some jackets and lay down for a while. It was getting increasingly crowded. Finally, Illuminations started. Some people ended up situating them selves right in front of us, so it was hard to see some things. I was able to hold my camcorder up high, so it got a better view than I did. Illuminations ended with an incredible display of fireworks, but for some reason most of it was behind us, behind Italy. The building and the tree we were under blocked a lot of the fireworks. Nevertheless, it was some show.

    When it was over, we waited for the initial move of crowds out of the park. Elana had to go to the bathroom, so we went into Alfredo’s and used theirs. There was a line for the women’s room. While Seth and I were in the men’s room, one women whose bladder I guess couldn’t take the wait, came in and used one of our stalls.

    We finally made our way out. We stopped off at the gift shop at the International Gateway so that Seth could get something. He bought one of the CDs. We were back at the room by 2:00.

    (The next morning, my mother told me about their experience with New Year’s Eve. They were able to sit on the balcony and see the fireworks from EPCOT, plus there was a fireworks display from the middle of the lagoon in front. She said it was quite a display.)