The Power of Matching T-shirts: TR is over!~ 9/20

[willwriteforears]

Post the First: Prelude

This is the way my vacation ended
This is the way my vacation ended
This is the way my vacation ended
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Or not a whimper, actually, but a shriek and a dead bird.

Let me back up and qualify. The trip at the World did not involve a dead bird. In fact, our very last morning at the parks included a baby duck sighting. It followed its mother around Adventureland while guests (yours truly included) whipped out their cameras to take pictures, since it was a baby duck at the World and therefore cuter than baby ducks elsewhere. It's a strange phenomenon I will call Magical Duckling Cuteness (MDC). MDC worked on me as I ate my final Dole Whip with DF1, Nevi, and DF2, Melneth. It wiped away the horror at having witnessed the mangy-looking Country Bears sing incomprehensible songs (a mistake on our last day, but alas, we'd missed it during our first Magic Kingdom day, and it was on the Unofficial Guide Touring Plan). MDC was the proverbial cherry on the ooey-gooey, so-sweet-you-could-almost-puke-and-be-happy-doing it sundae that is is a trip to the World. MDC was an excellent way to end the World portion of a trip. I highly recommend it. You might want to consider finding a duck egg and incubator and then time the hatching just right so you can experience MDC too. It is that spectacular.

But I do not consider any vacation truly ended until I'm home in my apartment. I stretch out the warm fuzzies of a vacation to last me through goodbyes and security at the airport, during the flight, and during the drive back to my abode*. It helps sustain me despite the cries of anguish at having to return to work.

So: My vacations do not end until I'm home again. And really, I also employ my silly-puttyish vacation-extending skills to say that if I was off work that day, it's still vacation until I wake up the next morning. Thus, I was still awash in Disney-joy and MDC, if bittersweet Disney-joy and MDC, as I lugged my suitcase and backpack to my second-level walk-up. I shuffled things around until I could fit my key in the lock, opened the door, and spied a dark shape on the entryway beside my bike.

Huh, thought I, Didn't I leave things more cleaned up than that? I like coming home to a clean apartment... I turned on the light to see the carcass of a dead bird, its wings splayed out and its legs raised in the air. I shrieked, made incoherent noises, and my brain kept babbling "That's not magical! That's not magical!"

Nor were the droppings in my laundry room magical. The bird carcass, in its pre-carcass state, must have come in through my laundry vent and relieved its bowels all over my laundry room before fluttering about and deciding that my bike, would provide it final comfort as it expired. I suppose it might have mistaken the handlebars, or perhaps the pedals, as wings.

So that was the end of my vacation. Dead Bird in Apartment Grossness (DBAG) terminated it prematurely, robbing me of those final hours when I might have dreamed of smiling characters and Cast Members and a final trip on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. But I began with DBAG because I'm sure this Trip Report will help me regain the feelings of happiness and joy, and that the MDC will come rolling right back as I recall everything DF1, DF2, and I experienced. And since DBAG is out of the way, the warm fuzzies and MDC and its friends can have full reign. Warm fuzzies love an audience, so I hope you'll join me.

Next up: The proper beginning, complete with proper introductions and other proper things.


*Unless it was a bad vacation involving illness or theft or emergency surgery or crashes on deserted islands with mysterious shadow-beasts or other unpleasant things. But such was not the case this time. Plus, it was the World. 'Nuf said.

For all your clicka-clicka indexing needs
Post the second: The Proper Bits (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25675351&postcount=10)
1: Wed, May 28, Part 1: It Actually Begins, or Readysteadygo (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25735361&postcount=28)
A minor correction (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25739864&postcount=31)
Mini-update: More on Gus and the ninja debate (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25772668&postcount=44)
2: Wed, May 28, Part 2: We're in Orlando; where are the parks? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25800648&postcount=55)
3: Thurs, May 29, Part 1: Kicks 'n' Giggles (minus the kicks) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25864259&postcount=88)
Mini-update: Nevi on the red-headed boy (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25896924&postcount=108)
4: Thurs, May 29 Part 2: Yetis, Paper Straws, and Matching T-Shirt Power Cop-out (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25946678&postcount=125)
5: Thurs, May 29 Part 3: Yes, Virginia, Matching T-shirts Do Have Power (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26052906&postcount=143)
6: Thurs, May 29, Part 4: The End of Day 2 Is Nigh (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26113878&postcount=158)
Mini-update: Melneth on the Parade (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26120521&postcount=166)
The Last Starfighter--er, I mean, The Last Parade Pix (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26135489&postcount=170)
7: Fri, May 30 Part 1: Once Soarin', Twice Shy (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26189654&postcount=185)
8: Fri, May 30, Part 2: King Austin Powers and the Knight(s) of the Round Table (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26260647&postcount=209)
9: Fri, May 30 Part 3: The Many Unnecessary and Impractical Uses of Velcro! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26346054&postcount=233)
Mini-Update: Melneth defends her photography prowess; Comedy Warehouse (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=26356467&posted=1#post26356467)
10: Sat, May 31 Part 1: Gratuitous Videos and Singing Dolls (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26414092&postcount=254)
11: Sat, May 31 Part 2: Ghosts and Cruises and Pirates, Oh My! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26500031&postcount=278)
Mini-update: Melneth corrects my faulty HM memory (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26512660&postcount=286)
12: Sat May 31 Part 3: The Joys of Animatronic Naptime and Some Other Stuff (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26574319&postcount=295)
13: Sat, May 31 Part 4: Pirates and Princesses by Any Other Name... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26728854&postcount=314)
14: Sat May 31 Part 5: Wanderlust (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26806981&postcount=342)
Mini-update: Mini-update: Stuff I forgot about MPPP, as presented by Melneth (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26818743&postcount=356)
15: Sun, June 1: Quest Forth, Young Maidens! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26877106&postcount=374)
16: Mon, June 2 Part 1: The One Without a Snazzy Title (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26960222&postcount=407)
17: Mon, June 2 Part 2: It's Just a Little Crush (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27028175&postcount=428)
18: Mon, June 2 Part 3: Maria and the Non-Secret Soceity Illuminati (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27106692&postcount=448)
19: Tues, June 3 Part 1: The Matching T-shirts' Last Hurrah (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27178459&postcount=462)
20: Tues, June 3 Part 2: Let the Rain Come Down (But Only Because We Have To) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27254200&postcount=486)
21: Tues, June 3 Part 3: Lasers + Hydraulics = Total Awesomeness (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27318791&postcount=499)
22: Wed, June 4: Partings (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27622944&postcount=530)
Final Musings (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27699890&postcount=540)

[Lady Lallie]

First off, I love your title. You know I have a weakness for t-shirts and your title just made me giddy with excitement. ::yes::

Second, you just crack me up. That's all there is to it. You writing = Laughter for LL. I can not WAIT for more. :lmao:

How horrifying for you to find DBAG on your arrival home. I don't think I could have handled that. :scared1:

[mom2disprincesses]

I'm in...can't wait to read more.

[willwriteforears]

First off, I love your title. You know I have a weakness for t-shirts and your title just made me giddy with excitement. ::yes::

Second, you just crack me up. That's all there is to it. You writing = Laughter for LL. I can not WAIT for more. :lmao:

How horrifying for you to find DBAG on your arrival home. I don't think I could have handled that. :scared1:

:wave2: Welcome, LL! Thanks for the compliment on my writing. :) I'm really looking forward to writing the TR since, you know, stuff happened, and it's a lot easier to write about genuine activities. :thumbsup2

And yes, DBAG was very horrifying. I thought it best not to go into the details about the disposal of the bird corpse. *shudder*

I'm in...can't wait to read more.

:wave2: Hello, mom2disprincesses! I'm pretty sure I've seen you on the PTR board or the regular TR board. somewhere, anyway. Welcome!

And sadly, work shows many signs of picking up again and staying picked-up for the foreseeable future, so things here will be a little slow-going. I hope to post chappies at least once a week, however. :goodvibes

[Princesskeyblade]

I'm in for the report! popcorn::

Ewww to the bird sighting thought!!!

[willwriteforears]

I'm in for the report! popcorn::


Ooh, the popcorn's been brought out! Pressure's on. :rotfl:

Welcome, PKB!

[TarzansKat]

Excellent beginning. DH and I have our own bird story in our apartment, but alas, I shall not hijack. Boy, nothing like a dead bird to bring you back to the harsh realities of life, eh?

I can't wait to hear about the trip.:thumbsup2

[willwriteforears]

Excellent beginning. DH and I have our own bird story in our apartment, but alas, I shall not hijack. Boy, nothing like a dead bird to bring you back to the harsh realities of life, eh?

I can't wait to hear about the trip.:thumbsup2

Thanks, TK! Yes, dead birds are very harsh-reality-inducing. Bird-free for six days and counting, so hopefully that was the end of it. :)

[If U Had Wings]

So glad you started the trip report. Can't wait to hear all about it.

I would have been so horrified to come home to that. What an awful thing to come home to!:scared1:

[willwriteforears]

Okay, I spent a bit of time debating if I should first explain the title, or present our dramatis personae (have to get my English degree in there somewhere). Which can I make more interesting? Which is the most likely to capture the attention of short-attention-span DISers who like matching T-shirts or doctors or less-educated people and decide to stop by?

The sad truth, people, is that background info usually isn't all that interesting. I'd give you permission to skip to the next post, in which the vacation will actually begin, but since that hasn't been written yet, you're stuck. Assuming you've lost the ability to click out of Internet windows, that is, or to look away from your computer screen.

So, semi-captive-but-not-really audience, I will first explain the title of my PTR.

Astute readers will note that my first post included neither matching T-shirts nor mention of doctors. That is because I came up with the title last, since one's title is one's main means of marketing a thread. Well, that and networking. But you're bored already, so I'm moving on.

First, the T-shirts: Yes, I ordered matching T-shirts made for the trip, primarily after reading through the Year of a Million Dreams -- anyone else gotten something yet? (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1233267) thread. Quite a few people talked about wearing matching T-shirts and getting stuff. Oh, it wasn't necessarily official YOMD dreams, since the official dreams are awarded randomly*, but stuff was given. And I like stuff. Enough to wear a matching T-shirt. So I had them made for...

[Dramatis Personae]
Myself, also called Jiri. By day, I am an editor at an educational publishing company. By night, I am the terror that flaps--

Oh wait. That's not it.

By night, if a phone booth in which to change had been handy, I'm--

Oops, not it, either.

By night, I'm a wannabe novelist with an English bachelor's degree and one semester of a creative writing MFA.

So now not only are you bored, you're disillusioned. Dang it, if only you had the power to close out this particular Internet window.

In addition to myself, T-shirts were made for DF1, whom I will call Nevi, and DF2, whom I will call Melneth. The three of us met in undergrad in Texas and roomed together junior and senior years. We had great fun watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 and mocking b-movies. Unfortunately, Nevi and I also on occasion mocked our college's musical productions, which Melneth may not have disliked so much if we hadn't done it during the performance.

But anyhoo, Nevi and Melneth went on from undergrad to vet school and medical school, respectively. I went on from undergrad back home to Colorado to nurse my wounds after being rejected from all the creative writing programs I'd applied to and prepare myself to apply again in another year. Which I did, while Nevi and Melneth learned stuff and I worked as an editorial assistant. During the second round of apps, I had more than my choice of MFA programs to attend, and wound up in Chicago. Where I stayed for a single semester, while Nevi and Melneth continued to apply themselves as sage learners, and then got depressed at the amount of debt I was accumulating for a degree that really isn't all that marketable. So I returned to my home state of Colorado and took up the mantle of editor, which I have worn now for a little over two years.

Nevi and Melneth both graduated from their programs this past May, and since we like to have reunions every year, we picked (cough, or I picked and they agreed with very little arm-pulling) WDW as a sort of "Yay! Nevi and Melneth graduated and are still willing to do stuff with their less-educated friend!" huzzah.

So they got T-shirts that looked like this:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0611.jpg

and this:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0607.jpg

While my T-shirt instead looked like this:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0610.jpg

Note the "editor" instead of "dr." I even considered abbreviating "editor" to "ed.," but "ed." just isn't as snazzy as "dr." If it weren't for the fact that I'm taller than both Nevi and Melneth, and the oldest, I might feel inadequate.

Well, hopefully you have regained the ability to use your mouse or touchpad (or even pencil head, as my dad prefers) and can now navigate somewhere else, because that's the end of Post the Second.

Next up: Things actually get interesting. (Hopes you, at least, says I.)

*OR SO WE THINK! If any conspiracy theorists are reading, have at it.

[TarzansKat]

Excellent!

More information about the trip!

I require details, details, details.

Now that I know who the players are, it's time to get on to the first act.;)

Seriously, I love your writing style.

Please sir, can I have some more? :::said with huge orphan eyes:::

[Lady Lallie]

Man, do I love tshirts. I have promised myself after the Wedding, I will be making some/ordering some/any possible means that I must endure to have tshirts for our trip. ::yes::

I can't wait to hear more! I am also wondering how long it will take you to write this TR, it's going to be one of those deliciously long ones, I can just feel it, that makes you giddy with excitement when you see a new chapter. :::Sigh::: I can't freaking wait! :goodvibes

[willwriteforears]

Excellent!

More information about the trip!

I require details, details, details.

Now that I know who the players are, it's time to get on to the first act.;)


So you've cottoned on to my delaying tactics, have you? Curses!

Well, in honor of one of Dave Eggers' superb A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which includes the fabbiest piece of written procrastination ever, here is a drawing of a stapler*:

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/images/meansplr.gif


Seriously, I love your writing style.

Please sir, can I have some more? :::said with huge orphan eyes:::

*scuffing feet* Aw, shucks. Thanks!

Postage (the Internet board variety, not the USPSian kind) is mitigated by my attempt to get my novel-in-progress to the point where I can submit it places, so my original goal was to add one real post to the TR once a week. But I'll see what I can do about upping the figure.

Man, do I love tshirts. I have promised myself after the Wedding, I will be making some/ordering some/any possible means that I must endure to have tshirts for our trip. ::yes::

Yes, you should so that you may revel in T-shirt awesomeness! Despite the relatively late selection of the TR title, the T-shirts will feature in future posts, I promise. :thumbsup2

I must admit, I kinda wish I'd heard about zazzle before I designed our t's. I think our shirts could've been even awesomer.

Oh well. There's always Lapu Lapu Fabby Fest 2009! ::yes::

I am also wondering how long it will take you to write this TR, it's going to be one of those deliciously long ones, I can just feel it, that makes you giddy with excitement when you see a new chapter. :::Sigh::: I can't freaking wait! :goodvibes

Deliciously long? Them's Juicy Fruit standards!

...Unless I made up that Juicy Fruit ever had a slogan about being deliciously long lasting. I actually can't find anything about it on Google. But we'll say I'm right, so I repeat: Them's Juicy Fruit standards! I'll see if I can meet 'em. :goodvibes

*No, I did not draw the stapler. If I had, it would've looked more like a camel. Or something equally non-stapler-like.

[Charleston Princess]

I'm here and already rolling on the floor with laughter!!! :rotfl2: (That's me rolling on the floor -- only my head really isn't that big and I am not jaundiced. Nor do I wear nurse shoes from the 1950s.)

How horrific to come home to DBAG! Ewww!

And I will just say that the T.S. Eliot reference at the beginning -- pure genius!

[mom2disprincesses]

love update part deux! i actually WAS wondering what the title was all about...so thanks for clearing that up! I ,too, have an eng lit degree and often wonder what in the world did i go to school for:lmao: well now i can pass on my love of literature to my DD's. I haven't met a bookstore I passed on yet!:)


looking forward to part 3...next week right?

[willwriteforears]

I'm here and already rolling on the floor with laughter!!! :rotfl2: (That's me rolling on the floor -- only my head really isn't that big and I am not jaundiced. Nor do I wear nurse shoes from the 1950s.)

DED!


And I will just say that the T.S. Eliot reference at the beginning -- pure genius!

Thank you, thank you very much! I was hoping someone would catch that. :thumbsup2

love update part deux! i actually WAS wondering what the title was all about...so thanks for clearing that up! I ,too, have an eng lit degree and often wonder what in the world did i go to school for:lmao: well now i can pass on my love of literature to my DD's. I haven't met a bookstore I passed on yet!:)

:lmao: I'm right with you on the bookstores.

Neither of my parents went to school for literature, though my mom's undergrad was education with an English minor/focus. But they did read to me every night growing up, which I think helps to instill a love of reading.

'Course, they read to my brother every night, too, but his "love of reading" transmogrified into a love of video games. Now he reads "only when he has time" on vacation.


looking forward to part 3...next week right?

Actually, I was going to see about getting an update in during the week. If it happens, it'll most likely be this evening or tomorrow evening, with a slight chance for Wednesday (now I sound like LL and her weather reports! :rotfl: ) Thurs and Fri would definitely be out for updates, though.

Aaaannnd I'll see about including pictures. I have permission from Melneth to show pictures of us, though she'd prefer to black out our faces if I'm that photo-editing savvy. Still waiting to hear from Nevi about what she thinks; she doesn't check email as often. I may have to call her to whine--er, present my case. :)

Thanks for reading!

[Lady Lallie]

Actually, I was going to see about getting an update in during the week. If it happens, it'll most likely be this evening or tomorrow evening, with a slight chance for Wednesday (now I sound like LL and her weather reports! :rotfl: ) Thurs and Fri would definitely be out for updates, though.Happy to hear the weather girl in me is spreading to you. :rotfl:

Aaaannnd I'll see about including pictures. I have permission from Melneth to show pictures of us, though she'd prefer to black out our faces if I'm that photo-editing savvy. Still waiting to hear from Nevi about what she thinks; she doesn't check email as often. I may have to call her to whine--er, present my case. :)

Thanks for reading!It's really easy to edit the photo in photobucket to black out faces, fyi. Plus, you can save a copy of it so you don't lose the orginal.

[RachelNinja]

I ... Love ... Your ... Writing.

[willwriteforears]

Happy to hear the weather girl in me is spreading to you. :rotfl:

Ah yes. I stand in front of a green screen, waving in the direction of the top left corner: "And a stream of posting will head in from the northeast, with a sprinkling of :banana: throughout..." :rotfl:


It's really easy to edit the photo in photobucket to black out faces, fyi. Plus, you can save a copy of it so you don't lose the orginal.
Yeah, after all the effort I put into making the stupid pencil graphic for my T-shirt, I figure I won't have too many problems. And I've already burned my trip pix to a CD, so even if I forget to save copies I still have the originals. :goodvibes

I ... Love ... Your ... Writing.

Thanks! :goodvibes

And seeing the Ninja in your username, I have a question for you that has plagued Nevi, Melneth, and I since our trip to San Diego last fall, when it first came up (well, it's plagued me, anyway, since they ganged up against me). Do ninjas ride bicycles while ninja-ing? I concur with Nevi and Melneth that ninjas are capable of riding bicycles, but since the entire point of being a ninja is stealth, I maintained that ninjas would not ride bicycles. At least, I couldn't envision a ninja bearing down on his (or her) enemy on a bicycle, one hand on the handlebar and the other swinging nunchukus. Particularly if the bicycle had a bell. Thoughts?

And I'll open up the question to all, actually, since I think my next chapter will have to wait till tomorrow.

Last, to the lurking lurkers who lurk (yes, I will put in an application at the Department of Redundancy Department): I see you! :magnify: Drop a line! Boost my ego by helping to up my post count! I'm a reciprocator, so I do my best to visit the threads of all who come. :goodvibes

[Lady Lallie]

Ah yes. I stand in front of a green screen, waving in the direction of the top left corner: "And a stream of posting will head in from the northeast, with a sprinkling of :banana: throughout..." :rotfl: :lmao: That made me laugh...out loud.

[Charleston Princess]

And seeing the Ninja in your username, I have a question for you that has plagued Nevi, Melneth, and I since our trip to San Diego last fall, when it first came up (well, it's plagued me, anyway, since they ganged up against me). Do ninjas ride bicycles while ninja-ing? I concur with Nevi and Melneth that ninjas are capable of riding bicycles, but since the entire point of being a ninja is stealth, I maintained that ninjas would not ride bicycles. At least, I couldn't envision a ninja bearing down on his (or her) enemy on a bicycle, one hand on the handlebar and the other swinging nunchukus. Particularly if the bicycle had a bell. Thoughts?

And I'll open up the question to all, actually, since I think my next chapter will have to wait till tomorrow.



DED!!!

So, I asked my 8-year-old son who is all into anything dealing with Ninja or Samurai (I know, two different things) if he thought Ninjas would ride bicycles. His response was a very decided no. ;)

[willwriteforears]

:lmao: That made me laugh...out loud.

Although I realized after posting that "top left corner" would really imply northWEST, not northeast.

Well, I never claimed to have good directional sense!

DED!!!

So, I asked my 8-year-old son who is all into anything dealing with Ninja or Samurai (I know, two different things) if he thought Ninjas would ride bicycles. His response was a very decided no. ;)

Huzzah! One vote for me. :thumbsup2

[RachelNinja]

And seeing the Ninja in your username, I have a question for you that has plagued Nevi, Melneth, and I since our trip to San Diego last fall, when it first came up (well, it's plagued me, anyway, since they ganged up against me). Do ninjas ride bicycles while ninja-ing? I concur with Nevi and Melneth that ninjas are capable of riding bicycles, but since the entire point of being a ninja is stealth, I maintained that ninjas would not ride bicycles. At least, I couldn't envision a ninja bearing down on his (or her) enemy on a bicycle, one hand on the handlebar and the other swinging nunchukus. Particularly if the bicycle had a bell. Thoughts?

And I'll open up the question to all, actually, since I think my next chapter will have to wait till tomorrow.

Last, to the lurking lurkers who lurk (yes, I will put in an application at the Department of Redundancy Department): I see you! :magnify: Drop a line! Boost my ego by helping to up my post count! I'm a reciprocator, so I do my best to visit the threads of all who come. :goodvibes

I would have to say that ninjas do NOT ride bicycles when ninja-ing. It has nothing to do with capability. But now that I think about ... since you mentioned the whole stealth thing ... it might be a clever ploy to have a ninja on a bike if everyone believes that the random bicyclist couldn't possibly be a ninja ... :idea:

And despite the redundancy of the lurkers comment, that alliteration gives me the chills. :hyper:

[duma]

I don't know if you would have any reason to listen to The Bare Naked Ladies new CD, Snacktime, but there is a very informative song about ninjas on there.
http://www.bnlmusic.com/snacktime/
They may not ride bicycles, but they vacation in Ireland.

Loving this report so far! Any trip report that can mention MST3K has got to be good.

[HowWeird]

Awesome writing style! Ninja linked me over to this TR because she knows I'm aching to go to WDW and any TR would serve to keep the beast at bay. At least for the moment. ;)

I also saw that you commented on our flats thread! Thanks! :thumbsup2

The question of whether ninjas ride bicycles is most definitely one to be thought about for a long time. Monks of ancient temples who have been plagued by ninjas don't even know the answer to it but I think I have a possible idea. If you consider the audible output of noise that a bicycle makes, bicycles would prove to be a stealthier form of transportation. Some people might argue that ninjas can float on trees, jump great distances, etc. but I would argue that if the area they have to go to is tree-less and not-jumpable, then how do they get there? I say ninjas can take bicycles if they so choose and it would be a very smart method of getting somewhere. Plus, as an architect-to-be, it would prove to be sustainable and eco-friendly. A gold star to the ninja that takes a bike!

I look forward to reading more!
:moped: <-- NOT a ninja on a bicycle. this situation would only prove to be noisy and would probably get the ninja killed.

[SnoopyDancer]

Wow, a ninja on a bike. I think HowWeird made some astute observations about ninjaing. However, Willwriteforears has a point about bicycle bells. If ninjas rode bikes, do you think they would be Tony Hawkish about it or more Lance Armstrongish? :confused3

[willwriteforears]

Yay, new readers! Welcome duma, HowWeird, and SnoopyDancer!

I would have to say that ninjas do NOT ride bicycles when ninja-ing. It has nothing to do with capability. But now that I think about ... since you mentioned the whole stealth thing ... it might be a clever ploy to have a ninja on a bike if everyone believes that the random bicyclist couldn't possibly be a ninja ... :idea:


Hmm... so that could be considered a vote for both me and a vote for Nevi and Melneth. :scratchin

I don't know if you would have any reason to listen to The Bare Naked Ladies new CD, Snacktime, but there is a very informative song about ninjas on there.
http://www.bnlmusic.com/snacktime/
They may not ride bicycles, but they vacation in Ireland.

Nope, no kids, though that wouldn't necessarily prevent me from listening to the CD. I listened to the 7 8 9 song on the link you posted and was amused. I may look for the ninja one on iTunes. :thumbsup2



Loving this report so far! Any trip report that can mention MST3K has got to be good.

Thank you, and ooh, another MSTie! Yanno, I had actually thought about bringing some of my MST3K DVDs on the trip so we could all watch [Mods: note the Disney tie-in! :rotfl: ], but then decided we probably wouldn't have time. My vast powers of foresight proved correct.

Awesome writing style! Ninja linked me over to this TR because she knows I'm aching to go to WDW and any TR would serve to keep the beast at bay. At least for the moment. ;)

I also saw that you commented on our flats thread! Thanks! :thumbsup2

No problem! I must admit that had I heard of VMK before it went bye-bye, I suspect I could've gotten easily addicted.


The question of whether ninjas ride bicycles is most definitely one to be thought about for a long time. Monks of ancient temples who have been plagued by ninjas don't even know the answer to it but I think I have a possible idea. If you consider the audible output of noise that a bicycle makes, bicycles would prove to be a stealthier form of transportation. Some people might argue that ninjas can float on trees, jump great distances, etc. but I would argue that if the area they have to go to is tree-less and not-jumpable, then how do they get there? I say ninjas can take bicycles if they so choose and it would be a very smart method of getting somewhere. Plus, as an architect-to-be, it would prove to be sustainable and eco-friendly. A gold star to the ninja that takes a bike!


Very salient points. The debate continues.

Wow, a ninja on a bike. I think HowWeird made some astute observations about ninjaing. However, Willwriteforears has a point about bicycle bells. If ninjas rode bikes, do you think they would be Tony Hawkish about it or more Lance Armstrongish? :confused3

And this brings me to some of the ponderings I had whilst I should have been pondering how to better elucidate teacher's guides and accompanying student materials. I think what bothers me about ninjas on bicycles is that it somehow seems to violate what I consider the essence of a ninja. Again, it is not that ninjas are incapable of riding bikes, but rather that they seem above it. To wit: Is a bike-riding ninja still a ninja? Particularly if said bike does, indeed, have a bell? Or a basket?

Oh yes, the iterations of this dilemma are many. :faint:

Next chapter is upcoming!

[willwriteforears]

My alarm: Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! [Translation: Jiri! It's! 5:15! Up! Now!]

That's what would've happened at 5:15 if I didn't have a body clock that consistently wakes me up at least a half hour before my alarm goes off. But I do have a body clock that yada yada, so at 5:15 I'd already finished my shower and was going through a last-minute mental packing check.

Sling bag that will serve as day bag for the parks and also purse for airport (Note the lovingly made DIS tag so that my fellow DISers could recognize me. Lest I get your hopes up, let me say now that, aside from scrapbooking posterity, the tag proved worthless.):
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0918.jpg

Check!

Trip paraphernalia, including maps, The Unofficial Guide, the trip packet with directions to various places, and touring plans cut from the UG:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0922.jpg

Check! (And no, it wasn't still spread out on my living room floor. I would have spontaneously combusted if I didn't have all that stuff packed the night before. But the above is a prettier picture.)

Suitcase crammed with clothes for a week, a couple of books, my Bible, first aid supplies, snacks to take to the parks, lots of other junk I felt I would need, and three pairs of shoes, including these ones, which are about my fav summer shoes, which were once mistaken for Pumas, and which had to go even though they weren't the actual park shoes:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0905.jpg

Check!

(Trust me, the shoe pic is much better than the suitcase pic would have been, had I bothered to take the suitcase pic. Even as it is, the shoe pic was taken after the trip was over. Sorry to disillusion.)

And of course, the T-shirts, which you can view again in this post (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25675351&postcount=10) and which at the time were in my carry-on just in case something evil happened to the checked luggage:

Check!

So after eating breakfast and making myself presentable, I was off about 15 minutes before my goal departure time. Which turned out to be a good thing, because my chosen route to the Park 'n' Ride where I planned to park my car before riding to the airport (MUCH cheaper to get a coupla one-way bus passes and park in the free Park 'n' Ride lot than to pay for airport parking) had construction that delayed me close to a half-hour.

But I made it to the airport in time and got through security quickly. At my gate, I amused myself with people-watching, being too giddy to focus on reading my book. And people-watching was really child-watching, which induced the first of a series of recurring thought processes, which I will summarize here as:

1. Kids are cute!
2. I want kids!
3. ... Stupid biological clock.

Now, assuming I remember this later on, if "123" appears in the TR after the description of a child, you may assume that said thoughts just ran through my mind, and we can move on to the good stuff more quickly. Deal?

Nevi, Melneth, and I had tried to time our arrival at MCO to more-or-less coincide; my flight was to get in about 20 minutes before theirs, or 3:30pm. In reality, my Southwest flight arrive 40 minutes ahead of schedule, and their American Airlines flight was about 10 minutes late. We played quite a bit of phone tag before concluding we would meet by this character:

http://www.mamemarquees.com/images/spiderman%20sideart.ai.jpg

(No, that's not the real Spiderman by which we met. Sadly I took no pictures on arrival day. You are left with simulacra.)

But if we were dancing fruit, this is what we would've looked like upon seeing each other:

:charac4: is on the wall, massive and . . . red. Me: :banana: Nevi: :banana: Melneth: :banana:

After not-pretending we were dancing fruit, we went to collect Nevi and Melneth's luggage, since I'd gotten mine already due to Southwest's superiority at arriving early. Once luggage was collected, we headed to the Hertz shuttle to take to the Hertz station to pick up our rental car.

At the Hertz station, Melneth went to the desk to claim our car while Nevi and I amused ourselves by looking at the brochures for things we wouldn't be doing. Disney or nothing, baby.*

Melneth returned and we towed our stuff out to meet our car. The simulacrum of our car, which we eventually named Pearl:

http://www.analogstereo.com/images/om/chrysler_pt_cruiser.jpg

You will note that Simulacrum-Pearl looks more silver than pearl-like. Rest assured, Pearl was Pearl-colored and not silver. Actually, "Marshmallow" was briefly in the running, name-wise, but I don't think any of us really liked the idea of driving around in a confection made from horse hooves.

We found Pearl, and after Nevi insisted that I ride in the Death Seat (front passenger seat), Melneth introduced me to Gus.

Let me explain Gus.

http://bestof.provocateuse.com/images/photos/karl_urban_98.jpg

+

http://www.mobilewhack.com/images/garmin-nuvi-670-gps-unveiled.jpg

=

Gus. :lovestruc

Gus, our (well, Melneth's) beloved GPS that used an Australian accent to give us directions and sported Karl Urban's picture on the standby screen. Gus told us how to get to our hotel, and didn't discriminate against us because we stayed off-site. Gus showed us how to get to the health food store and the grocery store. Dear Gus, who told us how to get to all the parks, and could have even helped us navigate within the parks, if we hadn't able to find the Dole Whip stand on our own. Sweet, darling Gus.

The major benefit of sitting in the death seat was that I got to hold him while he murmured sweet nothings such as, "In twenty feet, turn left on World Drive." In an Australian accent.

All right, we technically haven't even arrived at the hotel yet; I've just alluded to it. But I'm all twitterpated. I'll have to return after I've regained my composure. Toodles for now.


*Well, I'm sure we would've done something had we been denied the joy of Disney, but we might have been grumpy while doing it.

[If U Had Wings]

My alarm: Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! [Translation: Jiri! It's! 5:15! Up! Now!]

The only time I like to hear my alarm is when I'm leaving for Disney.

Sling bag that will serve as day bag for the parks and also purse for airport (Note the lovingly made DIS tag so that my fellow DISers could recognize me. Lest I get your hopes up, let me say now that, aside from scrapbooking posterity, the tag proved worthless.):

I met one other Dis'r due to my LGMH's. Then they got wet in all the rain and fell off somewhere in the MK. I need to work on that this year.


Suitcase crammed with clothes for a week, a couple of books, my Bible, first aid supplies, snacks to take to the parks, lots of other junk I felt I would need, and three pairs of shoes, including these ones, which are about my fav summer shoes, which were once mistaken for Pumas, and which had to go even though they weren't the actual park shoes:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0905.jpg

I love the shoes. What kind are they? They look like they would be so cool. I think I need to hunt a pair of them down. Were they comfortable walking around the park all day?

And people-watching was really child-watching, which induced the first of a series of recurring thought processes, which I will summarize here as:

1. Kids are cute!
2. I want kids!
3. ... Stupid biological clock.

I get the same way whenever I'm around kids lately. Disney is a bit of agony. I try to comfort myself my reminding myself I have the 2 best nieces. That's what I tell myself at any rate.

Let me explain Gus.

http://bestof.provocateuse.com/images/photos/karl_urban_98.jpg

+

http://www.mobilewhack.com/images/garmin-nuvi-670-gps-unveiled.jpg

=

Gus. :lovestruc
I love my GPS. Seriously, other than the internet, possibly the greatest invention ever. I have mine set with this great man's voice. So soothing!

All right, we technically haven't even arrived at the hotel yet; I've just alluded to it. But I'm all twitterpated. I'll have to return after I've regained my composure. Toodles for now.

Can't wait for more!

[willwriteforears]

I love the shoes. What kind are they? They look like they would be so cool. I think I need to hunt a pair of them down. Were they comfortable walking around the park all day?

They're Kangaroos, actually. Yes, they do keep my feet nice and cool. As I mentioned, they weren't my actual park shoes--I used basic sneakers for my regular park shoes. I did wear the Roos around Downtown Disney, though, and I wear them when I go on walks at work. But for myself, the soles would be too thin for a full day of touring.


I get the same way whenever I'm around kids lately. Disney is a bit of agony. I try to comfort myself my reminding myself I have the 2 best nieces. That's what I tell myself at any rate.


I have no nieces or nephews, though my brother is three years older than I am. I hate to say it, but I feel almost like my parents have pinned their hopes on me in terms of grandchildren. :eek:

Thanks for reading!

[willwriteforears]

Now that I think about it, actually, Gus may have been

http://upload.moldova.org/movie/actors/s/sean_bean/thumbnails/tn2_sean_bean_2.jpg

rather than

http://upload.moldova.org/movie/actors/k/karl_urban/thumbnails/tn2_karl_urban_1.jpg

But this is my TR, and based on my already-too-fuzzy memories, so I'm just going to pretend Gus's personification was Karl Urban. Because I think he's cuter than Sean Bean. However, I gave Melneth and Nevi the link to this TR so they could follow along (they might say keep me honest) so I figured I'd better post the correction.

Carry on!

[Lady Lallie]

I just love your writing. Seriously. It's awesome and puts a smile on my face.

I also kinda love that you have done two installments and haven't even reached a park yet, because that just means this TR will be long and enjoyable.

I cracked up at the "123" plan. :thumbsup2

[If U Had Wings]

I have no nieces or nephews, though my brother is three years older than I am. I hate to say it, but I feel almost like my parents have pinned their hopes on me in terms of grandchildren. :eek:

Thanks for reading!

I was told by an uncle that the family has officially given up on me. Of all my cousins I'm the only unmarried, childless one, although I have 2 single aunts that are 9 and 15 years older than me.

I was left alone by my parents for awhile, but now that my brother and SIL have had all they want to have my mom still wants for grandkids. Plus the nieces are angling for a few cousins. Preferably, they told me, boys.

[duma]

We have the same GPS, but our voice is a British woman that we call Madge. She is very patient, especially when my husband repeatedly ignores her advice.

Those are Roos? Back in the day they had pockets in the side to put you lunch money in. Not that I ever had them, I was stuck with Stride Rite.

Can't wait to read more!

[jess98ac]

Loving this so far, can't wait for more!!

[Philadisney]

I love your TR so far. It is definitely the only one to reference both T.S. Eliot and Dave Eggers, ever. TRs where the writers have a clever sense of humor and unique style are the best (I mean, how many times can you really read someone's description of the chicken parmagina at Mama Melroses?) I am excited for more, as this wildly dancing fruit conveys! :banana:

[willwriteforears]

I just love your writing. Seriously. It's awesome and puts a smile on my face.

I also kinda love that you have done two installments and haven't even reached a park yet,

:rolleyes1

because that just means this TR will be long and enjoyable.

Thanks for putting the positive spin on it! I'm quiet in crowds, put get me in front of a computer, or anything else on which I can write, and I ramble.


I was told by an uncle that the family has officially given up on me. Of all my cousins I'm the only unmarried, childless one, although I have 2 single aunts that are 9 and 15 years older than me.

I was left alone by my parents for awhile, but now that my brother and SIL have had all they want to have my mom still wants for grandkids. Plus the nieces are angling for a few cousins. Preferably, they told me, boys.

My parents use a "stealth attack." Weeks, yea, months maypass without a mention, and then WHAM! something innocuous, like "So you'd really want to go to Disney World?" will set them off and engender replies such as "Maybe with grandkids."

We have the same GPS, but our voice is a British woman that we call Madge. She is very patient, especially when my husband repeatedly ignores her advice.

You came back! :wave2:

I *think* that GPS was Gus. It looked Gusian, anyway. Gus was semi-patient. I think whenever he said "Recalculating" after we'd ignored him, it was kind of snippy. But he always came through anyway. :thumbsup2


Those are Roos?

Yup, all grown up. :rotfl:

Loving this so far, can't wait for more!!

Another new person! Hello, jess98ac! :wave2: Thanks for stopping by!

[Lady Lallie]

:rolleyes1



Thanks for putting the positive spin on it! I'm quiet in crowds, put get me in front of a computer, or anything else on which I can write, and I ramble. I love it! Truly! :goodvibes

[willwriteforears]

I love your TR so far. It is definitely the only one to reference both T.S. Eliot and Dave Eggers, ever. TRs where the writers have a clever sense of humor and unique style are the best (I mean, how many times can you really read someone's description of the chicken parmagina at Mama Melroses?) I am excited for more, as this wildly dancing fruit conveys! :banana:

Whoops, missed you in the post crossfire. Hello, Philadisney! :wave2: Honestly, I like Dave Eggers more than I do T.S. Eliot, but gotta give Eliot credit for so many quoteables.

I love it! Truly! :goodvibes

Aww, thanks! :hug:

[Philadisney]

Whoops, missed you in the post crossfire. Hello, Philadisney! :wave2: Honestly, I like Dave Eggers more than I do T.S. Eliot, but gotta give Eliot credit for so many quoteables.


I have to say that the first time I picked up AHWOSG, I read about 20 pages and put it down...but then a few years later I had to read it for a college course and I loved it. I am reading What is the What now - it's actually the 'One Book One City' 2008 selection for Philadelphia. Dave Eggers came to our main city library to speak about it (unfortunately I was working). I love McSweeneys too (my roomate had a piece published on there last year)!

[Charleston Princess]

Love the latest update (of course). Pearl is lovely as is your Karl Urban GPS -- maybe I should have gotten the GPS with the van. :rotfl2:

When do we get to go to the parks??? :hyper:

J/K -- take your time -- I am thoroughly enjoying it!

[SnoopyDancer]

"Da Da Da Da Da, I'm lovin'" this report. Is it pathetic that's I'm quoting McDonald's commercials? Probably...but what other report has you pondering ninjas and Disney while using fancy words like "simulacra"? Now, I finally know a word that rhymes with okra. I didn't think anything rhymed with okra.

[willwriteforears]

I have to say that the first time I picked up AHWOSG, I read about 20 pages and put it down...but then a few years later I had to read it for a college course and I loved it. I am reading What is the What now - it's actually the 'One Book One City' 2008 selection for Philadelphia. Dave Eggers came to our main city library to speak about it (unfortunately I was working). I love McSweeneys too (my roomate had a piece published on there last year)!

I first read AHWOSG for a college course, too! Creative nonfiction workshop, actually. But I loved it from the get-go. Haven't yet picked up What Is the What, but it's on my to-read list.

I did read You Shall Know Our Velocity! but wasn't thrilled with it. I've heard What Is the What is better, though.

Cool on your roommate getting a piece published on McSweeneys! I visited the site a lot during college but have slipped off. I should head over there again. :thumbsup2

Love the latest update (of course). Pearl is lovely as is your Karl Urban GPS -- maybe I should have gotten the GPS with the van. :rotfl2:

Seriously, if I had a reason to buy a GPS, I would, and I would put Karl Urban's face on it so my memory of personified GPSs wouldn't have to play me false.

I can neither confirm nor deny speculations as to whether my Karl Urban personified GPS would then be smothered in lip prints.


When do we get to go to the parks??? :hyper:

Patience, grasshopper. ;)


J/K -- take your time -- I am thoroughly enjoying it!

Duly noted. Time will be took. *Rubbing hands together gleefully* [sotto voce] Yessss! Another person saying I can stretch this out! Bwa ha ha ha ha!

"Da Da Da Da Da, I'm lovin'" this report. Is it pathetic that's I'm quoting McDonald's commercials? Probably...but what other report has you pondering ninjas and Disney while using fancy words like "simulacra"? Now, I finally know a word that rhymes with okra. I didn't think anything rhymed with okra.

:eek: I'm smarter than I thought! The rhymage of "okra" and "simulacra" never occurred to me. If I were poetically inclined...

But I'm not, alas.

[willwriteforears]

So while Melneth and Nevi are not on the DIS, I have given them the link to my TR so they can also boost my ego by reading and telling me I'm funny. And so they have provided updates, via e-mail, about the TR. Melneth has provided feedback on Gus, and Nevi has provided feedback on the Great Ninja Debate: Do Ninjas Ride Bikes? both of which I'll include here.

Since Gus took part in the trip, he gets the on-topic stamp of approval. The ninja bit, however, is just slightly off-topic, and so I've taken the liberty of modifying Nevi's e-mail a tad to make it more TR friendly. As I made the alterations with subtle grace and verve, however, I'm sure they'll be hardly noticeable. In which case perhaps I didn't need to mention the tweaks, but of course Nevi would notice.

First, about Gus: Melneth wishes to inform me that Gus's personification is indeed that of Karl Urban. In case we've forgotten what the beautiful man looks like, here he is again:

http://www.irrevocablylost.net/index_files/page0_1.jpg

And in case we've forgotten what Gus looks like, just remember it's the above plus

http://www.mobilewhack.com/images/garmin-nuvi-670-gps-unveiled.jpg

And while Gus more or less equals Karl Urban, to Melneth's mind he is actually Eomer. Even though Gus's picture (an exact replica of which I couldn't find) isn't Eomer. So Gus is more like Eogurban.

Much easier to call him Gus.

And now, for Nevi's take on the Great Ninja Debate. Here is what she wrote, with my minuscule, Disney trip-report-friendly changes.

"Also, loved how much response you got for the the "ninja (or Ninja Mickey) riding a bike" question of ours. I would like to remind you that in Inuyasha Kagome rides a bike all the time and has carried Inuyasha on it, who is essentially a ninja (a half-demon one but still) so they do ride bikes occasionally. And if Ninja Mickey had been on the show, Kagome might have carried him, too. Also, in Yu Yu Hakashu the main character (a spirit ninja, although he does not know Ninja Mickey) does ride a bike to chase a truck holding his ninja spirit buddy (who is not Ninja Mickey since the main character doesn't know Ninja Mickey) hostage. And I believe the bike did have a bell on it, but may not be remembering that correctly. But Ninja Mickey would've rung the bell if he'd been present. So, there. ;P"

Honestly, I am not sure where she got that Ninja Mickey stuff, since I never before mentioned Ninja Mickey. But oh look, if we combine select DIS smileys, we could have a Ninja Mickey!

:darth: ::MickeyMo

Now, I know Darth isn't a ninja, but the black helmet could be mistaken for a ninja-mask, and a light saber is, of course, a sword. Then we superimpose Mickey over it and presto, Ninja Mickey!

And so this guy :offtopic:

is completely unnecessary.

[ForeverDance]

I'm loving your TR and looking forward to reading more.

popcorn::

[Lady Lallie]

Are Nevi and Melneth going to keep joining us and putting in their two cents, because that would be great!!

I have never thought about Ninjas so much before.

[willwriteforears]

I'm loving your TR and looking forward to reading more.

popcorn::

:wave2: Hello, ForeverDance, thanks, and welcome!

Since I like to reciprocate with people who let me know they're reading (and if I missed anyone, feel free to PM me or post here and yell at me), I tried clicking on the link in your siggie--but it took me to a thread called "Name ALL" that was started by BabyLove99. Is that correct? :confused3

Are Nevi and Melneth going to keep joining us and putting in their two cents, because that would be great!!


I suppose that's up to them! Of course, it be even easier for them to participate if they were to join the DIS... :rolleyes1

[Lady Lallie]

I suppose that's up to them! Of course, it be even easier for them to participate if they were to join the DIS... :rolleyes1We must suck them into our addiction..ahem...fun. ::yes::

[stagemomx3]

I'm going to read this later today. :goodvibes

[Sarilas]

GREAT reading! Of course I'm TR obsessed in planning our own trip for next January.

Someone has GOT to explain the green Mickey DIS tags to me...

[willwriteforears]

We must suck them into our addiction..ahem...fun. ::yes::

I wholeheartedly concur!

I'm going to read this later today. :goodvibes

:wave2: Hello, and thanks!

GREAT reading! Of course I'm TR obsessed in planning our own trip for next January.

Someone has GOT to explain the green Mickey DIS tags to me...

Thanks for the compliment!

The lime green Mickey tags are a way for DISers to recognize each other at the parks, since lime green is the "trademark" color of the DIS. You've probably read Tinkerbellarella's wonderful account of how one may "liberate" lime green Mickey heads from Home Depot, and if not, get thee over to her PTR and find the posts! All of her stuff should be read, anyway. ::yes::

Anyway, Home Depot sells the Disney paint and so they have free paint chips for all your painting-planning *coughDIStagmaking/scrapbookingcough* needs. I believe the color is called "Alien Green."

CharlestonPrincess also made some uber-cute tags that are in her PTR before it became the TR, if you haven't seen those yet, either. :thumbsup2

[ForeverDance]

:wave2: Hello, ForeverDance, thanks, and welcome!

Since I like to reciprocate with people who let me know they're reading (and if I missed anyone, feel free to PM me or post here and yell at me), I tried clicking on the link in your siggie--but it took me to a thread called "Name ALL" that was started by BabyLove99. Is that correct? :confused3


Thanks for pointing that out for me. It's amazing the effect that one little typo can have :rolleyes:

[stagemomx3]

I'm all caught up now, you may continue. :rotfl: I love the t-shirts! I'm a little confused by Ninja Mickey, perhaps I read to fast?

[willwriteforears]

Thanks for pointing that out for me. It's amazing the effect that one little typo can have :rolleyes:

:thumbsup2 I've been to your PTR, posted, and have subscribed. :goodvibes

I'm all caught up now, you may continue. :rotfl: I love the t-shirts! I'm a little confused by Ninja Mickey, perhaps I read to fast?

Ninja Mickey is my insurance that the mini-post will not bring down the wrath of the mods for posting non-trip-related stuff. Even though Ninja Mickey was not part of my trip. But he's Mickey, and we saw Mickey at Disney World, so there's that. Making him Ninja Mickey just fits in a little better with the post. :goodvibes

[willwriteforears]

Four days later, and I think my composure is regained.

So: When we last left off, we'd managed to pick up the rental car, and Melneth had introduced me to Gus. She gave me a brief tutorial in using Gus, which didn't really sink in (perhaps due to still trying to get over Gus's personification, which looked like-- But no. No more Gus pictures; some people *coughJackiecough* want me to get to the parks. ;) ). So on occasion Melneth had the difficult job of not killing us while we drove in Pearl and of also pushing Gus's buttons--or touch screen, actually.

We arrived at our off-site hotel, the Royal Plaza* after about 35 minutes--I think. Since we spent the time gabbing and being excited, it really didn't feel too long. After checking in--I think it was around 5:30pm, for those of you who actually care about time--and trekking up to our room, deeming it worthy, and pondering why the balcony door was locked, preventing entry to the balcony, we each claimed a drawer and unpacked.

And realized we didn't have our refrigerator that we'd requested. Well, Melneth realized it, but kindly didn't comment on how I, as the check-iner, should've remembered to ask for the fridge upon checking in. Which I, as the reservation-maker, had informed Melneth and Nevi that we had to do.

But we requested the fridge on our way to dinner, and from thence to grocery-shopping for breakfast and snacks.

Hunger being paramount, we elected to eat at an Uno's across the street. It was there that I realized I'd forgotten about the bit T-shirt reveal. Oh well, I told myself; just as long as I remember when we get back.

Full of pizza goodness and assured that we wouldn't madly throw things into our cart at the grocery store, we left.

But first, however, I requested a stop at a Chamberlin's, since I wanted to get some health-drink stuff called kombucha.

A Chamberlin's pic that I did not take, and nor did anyone in my party take it:

http://www.chamberlins.com/homepic2.jpg

Now I could go into great detail about why I drink kombucha, but in all actuality you probably don't care, and I think I've already surpassed this week's quota for including details you don't care about. So suffice it to say that I'm able to make my own kombucha, but it being a refrigerated liquid, it doesn't travel well.

We arrived at the Chamberlin's, and I found my kombucha in the refrigerated drinks section. I'd planned on getting three bottles, since we'd be there six full days and each bottle contains one serving. I could drink some of my own on Wednesday evening. But I quickly altered my plans when I saw the $3.99 price tag. In Colorado, the bottled stuff is about $2.89.

$3.99! thought I. I can get slightly over a gallon of gas for that!

Of course, now it is just about impossible to get a gallon of gas for $3.99, unless you have (a) taken advantage of one of those "buy a new car and get $2.99 gas for three years!" deals, or (b) sold your soul to Satan. Since I have done neither, and I am reasonably sure many of you have done neither, let us take a moment to mourn the passing of $3.99/gallon gas.

[Here's where I'd take off my hat if I wore one.] $3.99/gallon gas: We never thought you'd come to be. And now we wish you still were.

mournmournmournmournmournmournmourn

As the mourning is over, let us continue.

With the kombucha costing me $3.99 per bottle, I instead purchased two rather than three, thinking I could stretch things out a bit.

We considered getting all our food at Chamberlin's, but since all our other items would be available at a regular grocery store, and one was in the same shopping complex, we decided to move on out and save ourselves a few pennies. At the grocery store, we grabbed some yogurt for breakfast, Nevi and Melneth got granola bars for park snackage (I'd brought my own LaraBars:) http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/images/larabar.jpg

and we also got some envelopes for housekeeping tips (no, I hadn't planned that far ahead, but my Trip Planner tiara will have to be wrested from my cold, dead fingers despite any mistakes I may make) and a few other items we thought we'd need, and returned to the hotel room, where we found our refrigerator ready to receive our dairy and kombucha goods.

Then--TO THE PARKS! All of 'em! So, at around 8pm, we returned to Pearl, I cuddled Gus in my hands, and he instructed us on how to get to the Animal Kingdom.

But let me back up a bit.

We already had our 7-day park tickets, and of course that was more than enough for our six full days. But we didn't want to waste a day on what would be maybe two hours at the park, max. So instead we decided that we would just drive to the parks to ensure we'd know how to get there. Which we did. And enjoyed driving past the little booths toward the parking lots, each time wondering if a CM would be in said little booth and yell at us for breezing through without paying for parking.

Of course, no CMs were there since it was late and we couldn't have actually gotten inside the parks. But I, at least, amused myself with envisioning different scenarios with us taking Pearl across a median and leaving tire marks on the road in our efforts to avoid Cast Member wrath.

After visiting the TTC lot, we headed back to the hotel room to double-check the next day's itinerary. And I remembered to bring out the T-shirts. They were slightly wrinkled, but Nevi and Melneth still exclaimed over them (they're such good friends! And I truly, truly mean that. :hug:), looked at each other, and said, "Should we wear them tomorrow?" Then they looked at me.

Sheepish grin on my part, because of COURSE I thought we should wear the physical results of my toil (and by toil I mean designing the T-shirts online and spending WAY too much time on my own pencil because the site I went through didn't have pencil graphic), but I wasn't gonna, you know, make them wear the shirts. Moi: "Well, if you want to."

We concurred: The shirts would be worn. :goodvibes That decided, we commenced with itinerary finalization.

We based our park days on the touringplans.com crowd calendar. Thursday's park, our first park, would be Animal Kingdom, which none of us had been to before. As we were following The Unofficial Guide's touring plans, I got out the Animal Kingdom plan.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0925.jpg

No, that is not actually the AK touring plan. But I put that picture there so that I may applaud my own intelligence.

Note the use of the quart-size resealable bag, in which sits a touring plan cut from the UG. And I do mean cut; I had to trim the edges down to make it fit. The quart-size bag is excellent, since it keeps the plan dry in case of rain or particularly wet water rides. And it is clear, so that you do not have to remove the plan from the bag in order to read it. The thicker plastic also means it can be shoved in one's sea green baggalini without fear of crumpling. One can also place the UG's "Recommended Visiting times," which may be used if the touring plan goes to pot, in the bag so that it shows out the other side. Papers that must be saved from wet but that do not need to be accessed as frequently, such as ADRs with confirmation numbers and times, can be placed between the two sheets. I was so pleased with the use of the quart-size resealable bag, I considered writing the UG people to recommend that they size their book so that the pages may fit thusly without necessitating trimming the edges. But I never did.

Nonetheless [adjusting the Trip Planner tiara], my tiara sparkles so.

So we went over the AK plan briefly, reconfirmed it included everything we wanted to do, and identified a couple we could take out (e.g., Conservation Station; reviews were sorta meh; it's out of the way and then you're "informed" about conserving stuff. Personally, I can head anywhere in Boulder and get the same spiel).

And, at last, it was time for bed.

Next up: Find out if my metaphorical TPT still sparkles in the Animal Kingdom, and whether the Matching T-shirts do truly hold any power.

*Very nice, and I'd recommend it if you're in Orlando for a reason other than the World, but next time I'm getting my on-site perks. And so, DISers, embrace me as one of your own!

Please?

[Lady Lallie]

$3.99! thought I. I can get slightly over a gallon of gas for that!

Of course, now it is just about impossible to get a gallon of gas for $3.99, unless you have (a) taken advantage of one of those "buy a new car and get $2.99 gas for three years!" deals, or (b) sold your soul to Satan. Since I have done neither, and I am reasonably sure many of you have done neither, let us take a moment to mourn the passing of $3.99/gallon gas.

[Here's where I'd take off my hat if I wore one.] $3.99/gallon gas: We never thought you'd come to be. And now we wish you still were.

mournmournmournmournmournmournmourn

As the mourning is over, let us continue.:lmao:

I think it is super cute that you guys did test runs to the parks, I think I would do that if I was driving to them as well.

[Charleston Princess]

some people *coughJackiecough* want me to get to the parks. ;)

:lmao: But I like all the exposition!!!

We arrived at our off-site hotel, the Royal Plaza* after about 35 minutes--I think. Since we spent the time gabbing and being excited, it really didn't feel too long. After checking in--I think it was around 5:30pm, for those of you who actually care about time--and trekking up to our room, deeming it worthy, and pondering why the balcony door was locked, preventing entry to the balcony, we each claimed a drawer and unpacked.

Does the balcony door ever become unlocked?

Then--TO THE PARKS! All of 'em! So, at around 8pm, we returned to Pearl, I cuddled Gus in my hands, and he instructed us on how to get to the Animal Kingdom.

But let me back up a bit.

We already had our 7-day park tickets, and of course that was more than enough for our six full days. But we didn't want to waste a day on what would be maybe two hours at the park, max. So instead we decided that we would just drive to the parks to ensure we'd know how to get there.

Love that you did trial runs to the parks!!!

We based our park days on the touringplans.com crowd calendar. Thursday's park, our first park, would be Animal Kingdom, which none of us had been to before. As we were following The Unofficial Guide's touring plans, I got out the Animal Kingdom plan.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0925.jpg

No, that is not actually the AK touring plan. But I put that picture there so that I may applaud my own intelligence.

Note the use of the quart-size resealable bag, in which sits a touring plan cut from the UG. And I do mean cut; I had to trim the edges down to make it fit. The quart-size bag is excellent, since it keeps the plan dry in case of rain or particularly wet water rides. And it is clear, so that you do not have to remove the plan from the bag in order to read it. The thicker plastic also means it can be shoved in one's sea green baggalini without fear of crumpling. One can also place the UG's "Recommended Visiting times," which may be used if the touring plan goes to pot, in the bag so that it shows out the other side. Papers that must be saved from wet but that do not need to be accessed as frequently, such as ADRs with confirmation numbers and times, can be placed between the two sheets. I was so pleased with how the use of the quart-size resealable bag, I considered writing the UG people to recommend that they size their book so that the pages may fit thusly without necessitating trimming the edges. But I never did.

UG is wonderful, isn't it? Great idea about the quart size ziplocks! Totally using that next year!

Nonetheless [adjusting the Trip Planner tiara], my tiara sparkles so.

I want a Trip Planner Tiara!!!

[stagemomx3]

I want a Trip Planner Tiara too!

[TarzansKat]

Totally wiped, long day, but just wanted to thank you for putting a smile on my face with your update...and as always, "please sir, may I have some more?"

[HowWeird]

But first, however, I requested a stop at a Chamberlin's, since I wanted to get some health-drink stuff called kombucha.

Now I could go into great detail about why I drink kombucha, but in all actuality you probably don't care, and I think I've already surpassed this week's quota for including details you don't care about. So suffice it to say that I'm able to make my own kombucha, but it being a refrigerated liquid, it doesn't travel well.

We arrived at the Chamberlin's, and I found my kombucha in the refrigerated drinks section. I'd planned on getting three bottles, since we'd be there six full days and each bottle contains one serving. I could drink some of my own on Wednesday evening. But I quickly altered my plans when I saw the $3.99 price tag. In Colorado, the bottled stuff is about $2.89.[/SIZE]

Great entry, as always! :goodvibes I always wondered about whether or not kombucha was worth getting since it's so expensive. My supervisor drinks it too and he's always raving about it since it's a really good health drink from what I understand. However, you can make your own?? That sounds rather intriguing ... maybe you can digress for a short moment and talk about hmm, a lime green kombucha maybe? :thumbsup2

[SnoopyDancer]

Great update about your clandestine trips to the parking lots of the world. Did you you see the ninja at Epcot? He wasn't wearing Mickey ears or riding a bike--he was riding a Segway. Just kidding, he just stands around in one of the gift shops. ;)

[Sarilas]

(I'd brought my own LaraBars:) http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/images/larabar.jpg
[/SIZE]

Ahem... LOVE the name of those bars. :laughing: (signed, LARA!)

And love the plastic baggie idea as well! I imagine that would be perfect for our trip to salvage our itinerary from sticky fingers or rainstorms!

[willwriteforears]

I think it is super cute that you guys did test runs to the parks, I think I would do that if I was driving to them as well.


Love that you did trial runs to the parks!!!

Great update about your clandestine trips to the parking lots of the world.

We enjoyed it; it was a good way to spend our first evening. :goodvibes

Great idea about the quart size ziplocks! Totally using that next year!


And love the plastic baggie idea as well! I imagine that would be perfect for our trip to salvage our itinerary from sticky fingers or rainstorms!

Yes, I was very pleased with my brain the day it came up with that idea. "Brain," I told it, "I'm glad to have you around. Even aside from the whole making-sure-I-keep-breathing thing." ;)



Does the balcony door ever become unlocked?

Sadly, no. Maybe if we'd had some pliers, matches, a rutabaga, and had channeled MacGyver--but alas, we did not.


I want a Trip Planner Tiara!!!

I want a Trip Planner Tiara too!

Hey, kids! The all new Trip Planner Jiri comes with a miniature Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, miniature resealable bags, for pages cut from the UG, her official Trip Planner Tiara, and one for you, too! (Tiarasmaypresentachokinghazardandshouldnotbegiven tochildrenunderfive.)

Totally wiped, long day, but just wanted to thank you for putting a smile on my face with your update...and as always, "please sir, may I have some more?"

What? More gruel? More grue--

Wait. NOOliverTwist.

My current goal is to update on Tuesdays and Saturdays, so we'll see how that goes. :thumbsup2

Great entry, as always! :goodvibes I always wondered about whether or not kombucha was worth getting since it's so expensive. My supervisor drinks it too and he's always raving about it since it's a really good health drink from what I understand. However, you can make your own?? That sounds rather intriguing ... maybe you can digress for a short moment and talk about hmm, a lime green kombucha maybe? :thumbsup2

Hmm... lime green kombucha would mean the scoby (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, and what you need to make the kombucha--are you sure you want an entry about this?) had developed mold. :crazy2:

But seriously, I do like the stuff. Got my mom and a couple of aunts hooked on it, too; they all make their own. Unless I get an outcry of people who would like to hear about it, too (which I rather doubt) I could PM you some info about it. :thumbsup2

Did you you see the ninja at Epcot? He wasn't wearing Mickey ears or riding a bike--he was riding a Segway. Just kidding, he just stands around in one of the gift shops. ;)

:scared1: We MISSED him! Entirely! I mean, you could almost say that Nevi has a sixth sense about these things--well, not really, but I know she would've seen, and mentioned, the ninja if we'd seen him.

Ahem... LOVE the name of those bars. :laughing: (signed, LARA!)



I have a cousin named Lara! But she is not the maker of LaraBars. :rotfl:

And hey, everyone, thanks for reading! I'd wondered if my TR would hit 2000 views over the weekend, and it did!

Yes, I keep track of that kind of thing. And I also divide my page view by my reply count to figure out the view:reply ratio. Sorry if I've destroyed any preconceived illusions about my coolness and and subsequent bloomin'-large self-esteem. We all have our faults.

[Charleston Princess]

Hey, kids! The all new Trip Planner Jiri comes with a miniature Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, miniature resealable bags, for pages cut from the UG, her official Trip Planner Tiara, and one for you, too! (Tiarasmaypresentachokinghazardandshouldnotbegiven tochildrenunderfive.)


:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl:

How did you know that I was a big Barbie fan as a child? I always loved all her cool accessories!

[stagemomx3]

(Tiarasmaypresentachokinghazardandshouldnotbegiven tochildrenunderfive.)


:lmao:

I was never a Barbie girl. I think I need an American Girl doll version please.

[ForeverDance]

[Here's where I'd take off my hat if I wore one.] $3.99/gallon gas: We never thought you'd come to be. And now we wish you still were.

mournmournmournmournmournmournmourn


:rotfl2: Definately miss prices that low... it's got to be well over 2 years now... well for those of us in Canada anyway :sad2:


As we were following The Unofficial Guide's touring plans, I got out the Animal Kingdom plan.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0925.jpg

No, that is not actually the AK touring plan. But I put that picture there so that I may applaud my own intelligence.

Note the use of the quart-size resealable bag, in which sits a touring plan cut from the UG. And I do mean cut; I had to trim the edges down to make it fit. The quart-size bag is excellent, since it keeps the plan dry in case of rain or particularly wet water rides. And it is clear, so that you do not have to remove the plan from the bag in order to read it. The thicker plastic also means it can be shoved in one's sea green baggalini without fear of crumpling. One can also place the UG's "Recommended Visiting times," which may be used if the touring plan goes to pot, in the bag so that it shows out the other side. Papers that must be saved from wet but that do not need to be accessed as frequently, such as ADRs with confirmation numbers and times, can be placed between the two sheets.

:worship:

[miabellarose]

I have been reading your TR, and enjoying all of it--got a little lost on the ninja thing, but I'm back on track. I think. Thanks for the Mickey paint chip hint/ideas from Home Depot. I've heard it being mentioned on other threads but they were very vague on actual details. Now I know. BTW, what is a kombucha?

[TCKK]

Just found your report. Just wanted to sign on and will go back and read it. Looks like it's going to be good! :thumbsup2

Cathy

[willwriteforears]

:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl:

How did you know that I was a big Barbie fan as a child? I always loved all her cool accessories!

Because I'm just that good. ;)

Seriously, though, I just thought "Hey, this thought of mine made me laugh! I should post it!"

:lmao:

I was never a Barbie girl. I think I need an American Girl doll version please.

Hmm. I did have Molly growing up (wanted Samantha but another girl in my class already had her so I couldn't copy. But Molly had glasses and so did I; we bonded over that) but I don't remember any commercials. Let me give it a go, though. Ahem.

Jiri is a native Coloradan intent upon returning to Disney World after 16 years of absence. Her story, and that of her two friends Nevi and Melneth, really comes alive* in the Trip Report. For her trip to the World, Jiri is dressed in a customized T-shirt that matches those of her friends. Included in the accessory set are her miniature Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, a plastic baggie in which to protect Touring Plans removed from the Guide, and her Trip Planner Tiara. An additional, life-size Tiara may be purchased along with the Spectacular Gold-Plated Trip Report.

*Normally I'd never use "really comes alive," but it shows up in the doll descriptions on the American Girl Web site. Repeatedly.

:rotfl2: Definately miss prices that low... it's got to be well over 2 years now... well for those of us in Canada anyway :sad2:

Eep! Must always remember that there's someplace where it's worse. :(


:worship:

No need, no need. I promise to use my Trip Planner Tiara only for good, and that includes sharing the vast stores of my Trip Planning wisdom.

And by "vast," I mean "that was the best idea of the lot; everything else was stolen."

I have been reading your TR, and enjoying all of it--got a little lost on the ninja thing, but I'm back on track. I think. Thanks for the Mickey paint chip hint/ideas from Home Depot. I've heard it being mentioned on other threads but they were very vague on actual details. Now I know.

Welcome, and thanks for reading!

Yes, I think I got a little too subtle with the ninja thing. I've received complaints about being too subtle in the past. Anyway, to clarify, Ninja Mickey was just my attempt (not Nevi's) to make the ninja bit tie in somewhat better with the TR, since the mods have that sticky note about not getting the TRs and PTRs involved in "chit chat."

BTW, what is a kombucha?

As I mentioned briefly, a kombucha is a "symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria," or "scoby." It looks kinda like a mushroom, and you put it in sweetened brewed tea to let it ferment (and before everyone goes "ewww!" just remember that yogurt is essentially fermented milk. Which also has beneficial bacteria. Similar concept with kombucha). After 7-10 days, you can harvest the tea, which then has a slightly acidic taste to it, but I like it. You can also dilute it with juice. If you're interested in trying it, I'd recommend first buying a bottle at a health food store to see if you like it. GTs is a common brand, and I think a little less expensive than some others.

http://www.gtskombucha.com/ (http://www.gtskombucha.com/)

Just found your report. Just wanted to sign on and will go back and read it. Looks like it's going to be good! :thumbsup2

Cathy

Welcome, and thanks!

[Charleston Princess]

Because I'm just that good. ;)

Seriously, though, I just thought "Hey, this thought of mine made me laugh! I should post it!"

Causing the laughter of others! :lmao:

Hmm. I did have Molly growing up (wanted Samantha but another girl in my class already had her so I couldn't copy. But Molly had glasses and so did I; we bonded over that) but I don't remember any commercials. Let me give it a go, though. Ahem.

Jiri is a native Coloradan intent upon returning to Disney World after 16 years of absence. Her story, and that of her two friends Nevi and Melneth, really comes alive in the Trip Report. For her trip to the World, Jiri is dressed in a customized T-shirt that matches those of her friends. Included in the accessory set are her miniature Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, a plastic baggie in which to protect Touring Plans removed from the Guide, and her Trip Planner Tiara. An additional, life-size Tiara may be purchased along with the Spectacular Gold-Plated Trip Report.

:lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl: Well done!

We have an American Girl commune at our house. I had Samantha growing up; Chelsea has Molly, Emily (Molly's friend), Kit, Elizabeth (Felicity's friend), Julie (the new one from 1974), and an American Girl of Today. It's always a slumber party in Chelsea's room!

[Lady Lallie]

Jiri is a native Coloradan intent upon returning to Disney World after 16 years of absence. Her story, and that of her two friends Nevi and Melneth, really comes alive in the Trip Report. For her trip to the World, Jiri is dressed in a customized T-shirt that matches those of her friends. Included in the accessory set are her miniature Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, a plastic baggie in which to protect Touring Plans removed from the Guide, and her Trip Planner Tiara. An additional, life-size Tiara may be purchased along with the Spectacular Gold-Plated Trip Report.:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl: I want to be an American Doll too!! :lmao:

[Lady Lallie]

:lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl: Well done!

We have an American Girl commune at our house. I had Samantha growing up; Chelsea has Molly, Emily (Molly's friend), Kit, Elizabeth (Felicity's friend), Julie (the new one from 1974), and an American Girl of Today. It's always a slumber party in Chelsea's room!I am so coming over to your house to play. Hiding under the dining room table and American Girl dolls. I will bring my Kirsten, we will almost have the whole catalog. :rotfl2:

[Charleston Princess]

I am so coming over to your house to play. Hiding under the dining room table and American Girl dolls. I will bring my Kirsten, we will almost have the whole catalog. :rotfl2:

Chelsea and I and the "girls" would love to have you -- we certainly have enough clothes, accessories, and pieces of furniture to accomodate Kirsten!

I always thought she was neat with all of her Scandanavian (is that even spelled right) stuff!

[willwriteforears]

We have an American Girl commune at our house. I had Samantha growing up; Chelsea has Molly, Emily (Molly's friend), Kit, Elizabeth (Felicity's friend), Julie (the new one from 1974), and an American Girl of Today. It's always a slumber party in Chelsea's room!

Sigh... I need to learn to let my posts sit for, say five minutes before posting. I added some stuff to my American Girl spiel that didn't make it in your quote. Oh well.

Yeah, when I was looking at the site, I was thinking, "Sheesh! All these new dolls!" The 70's one, in particular, surprised me. I believe they'd just added Felicity by the time I was starting to move on to other toys. Molly is actually in a box in my parents' basement. I feel pretty guilty because when I got her for Christmas at the tender age of nine, my mom said to me, "And you should take special care of her, because this is the kind of doll you'll pass on to your daughter." I don't think Molly is even wearing her dress at the moment, if I remember correctly. :rolleyes1

[willwriteforears]

:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl: I want to be an American Doll too!! :lmao:

D'oh! And your quote includes the old version, too! My fingers are too slow. Except when I'm hitting "Submit Reply," it seems.

I am so coming over to your house to play. Hiding under the dining room table and American Girl dolls. I will bring my Kirsten, we will almost have the whole catalog. :rotfl2:

:rotfl: If I brought Molly, could we pretend that one of the Mollys is the Evil Twin? Which, as an American Girl, would mean that she was the one who stole the cookies?

Chelsea and I and the "girls" would love to have you -- we certainly have enough clothes, accessories, and pieces of furniture to accomodate Kirsten!

I always thought she was neat with all of her Scandanavian (is that even spelled right) stuff!

I read the Kirsten books after I got Molly, and she nearly supplanted my love of the Molly books (because even though I coveted the Samantha doll, for a long time the Molly books were still my favorite. I was a complicated child).

[Charleston Princess]

Sigh... I need to learn to let my posts sit for, say five minutes before posting. I added some stuff to my American Girl spiel that didn't make it in your quote. Oh well.

Yeah, when I was looking at the site, I was thinking, "Sheesh! All these new dolls!" The 70's one, in particular, surprised me. I believe they'd just added Felicity by the time I was starting to move on to other toys. Molly is actually in a box in my parents' basement. I feel pretty guilty because when I got her for Christmas at the tender age of nine, my mom said to me, "And you should take special care of her, because this is the kind of doll you'll pass on to your daughter." I don't think Molly is even wearing her dress at the moment, if I remember correctly. :rolleyes1

I went back and read it! :goodvibes

Yes, you know you are old when the American Girl doll is the same year as your birth year (Julie is 1974 and that's the year I was born). Yikes!!!

[Charleston Princess]

:rotfl: If I brought Molly, could we pretend that one of the Mollys is the Evil Twin? Which, as an American Girl, would mean that she was the one who stole the cookies?

I read the Kirsten books after I got Molly, and she nearly supplanted my love of the Molly books (because even though I coveted the Samantha doll, for a long time the Molly books were still my favorite. I was a complicated child).

:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl: Yes, stealing cookies would be a source of great conflict and guilt in the spirit of the American Girl books!

[Lady Lallie]

Well I really wanted Molly but my best friend had her so I got Kirsten. That whole copying thing really wreaks havoc on childhood. I wanted Molly because she had glasses and I should have been alive during the 1940's, I just feel it in my bones. :rotfl:

[stagemomx3]

Hmm. I did have Molly growing up (wanted Samantha but another girl in my class already had her so I couldn't copy. But Molly had glasses and so did I; we bonded over that) but I don't remember any commercials. Let me give it a go, though. Ahem.

Jiri is a native Coloradan intent upon returning to Disney World after 16 years of absence. Her story, and that of her two friends Nevi and Melneth, really comes alive* in the Trip Report. For her trip to the World, Jiri is dressed in a customized T-shirt that matches those of her friends. Included in the accessory set are her miniature Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, a plastic baggie in which to protect Touring Plans removed from the Guide, and her Trip Planner Tiara. An additional, life-size Tiara may be purchased along with the Spectacular Gold-Plated Trip Report.

*Normally I'd never use "really comes alive," but it shows up in the doll descriptions on the American Girl Web site. Repeatedly.


:love: :lmao: Love it! I had Samantha, I got Kit for Daisy, but she has never been a doll girl at all. Now I have to go look and see the 70s doll, which pretty much freaks me out.

[Tinkerbellarella]

So. I finally made my way over here.
After finding out there "here" existed.
And you were not just being terribly lazy writing your TR.

In fact, our very last morning at the parks included a baby duck sighting. It followed its mother around Adventureland while guests (yours truly included) whipped out their cameras to take pictures, since it was a baby duck at the World and therefore cuter than baby ducks elsewhere. It's a strange phenomenon I will call Magical Duckling Cuteness (MDC).

I have been subject to this. AND I have been subject to its much deadlier sister disease - MBBC (Magical Baby Bunny Cuteness) - for which there is no cure.

I shrieked, made incoherent noises, and my brain kept babbling "That's not magical! That's not magical!"

Hy.Ster.I.Cal.

My alarm: Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! [Translation: Jiri! It's! 5:15! Up! Now!]

Yours is much more polite than mine. After I threw it on the floor for waking me up in a rage with the beeping, we compromised on using the clock/radio instead.

Apparently it's still in the throes of hissy-fitdom. This morning I woke up to "Summertime" by New Kids on the Block.

I swear that clock sprouted legs and ran once I started to come to, launching my body across the bed to give it an inaugural Tuesday morning toss to the floor.

Actually, "Marshmallow" was briefly in the running, name-wise, but I don't think any of us really liked the idea of driving around in a confection made from horse hooves.

Just last night I was telling BF I was craving a peanut butter and fluff sandwich. No more.

Gus, our (well, Melneth's) beloved GPS that used an Australian accent to give us directions and sported Karl Urban's picture on the standby screen.

I think I need a Gus of my very own.

we drove in Pearl and of also pushing Gus's buttons--or touch screen, actually.

Why yes, Jiri, here are about a million and one comments I could make here that would get me booted off the DIS and put your thread on lockdown.

So I shan't.

Of course, now it is just about impossible to get a gallon of gas for $3.99, unless you have (a) taken advantage of one of those "buy a new car and get $2.99 gas for three years!" deals,

Honestly, never have I ever wanted a Jeep or Chrysler vehicle more.

or (b) sold your soul to Satan.

Nope. Mines up on eBay.

$3.99/gallon gas: We never thought you'd come to be. And now we wish you still were.

mournmournmournmournmournmournmourn

Carp. I'm still mourning when gas was $0.89/gallon.

Nonetheless [adjusting the Trip Planner tiara], my tiara sparkles so.

::singing:: Blinded by the light...

Yay. For this!
Yay. For more!

[ddstratton]

Your trip report is great!! I am loving it!! So far, your Trip Planning Tiara is just blinding me :worship: I do like the idea of putting the UG tour plans in the baggie... I'll have to remember that one.

[willwriteforears]

Yes, you know you are old when the American Girl doll is the same year as your birth year (Julie is 1974 and that's the year I was born). Yikes!!!

I shudder to think what the 1982 doll will look like. Sideways ponytail. Day-Glo pink T-shirt, complete with one of those little "T-shirt ties." I'm quivering in fear already.

Well I really wanted Molly but my best friend had her so I got Kirsten. That whole copying thing really wreaks havoc on childhood. I wanted Molly because she had glasses and I should have been alive during the 1940's, I just feel it in my bones. :rotfl:

:rotfl2: "I just gotta be me! ...As long as it's not like you."

:love: :lmao: Love it! I had Samantha, I got Kit for Daisy, but she has never been a doll girl at all. Now I have to go look and see the 70s doll, which pretty much freaks me out.

And that she's considered "historical." Sure, I wasn't alive then yet, but it's recent enough that it doesn't seem "historical" to me.

So. I finally made my way over here.
After finding out there "here" existed.
And you were not just being terribly lazy writing your TR.

Yeah, kinda didn't think about the fact that the mods could move my PTR over to the TR thread. The power of the Trip Planner Tiara and matching T-shirt didn't extend to that, I guess.

But glad you made it anyway!


I think I need a Gus of my very own.

Melneth doesn't know it, but I've claimed him should she ever be rendered unable to use him. Back off, sister! Fffft! Ffft! ;)

Nope. Mines up on eBay.


Yay. For this!
Yay. For more!

Tuesdays are most likely probably going to be a regular update day, but if my satellite-TV-fixer doesn't come (original window from 2-6, though he said he'd be here "right at 2" which, in satellite-TV-fixer speech is translating into "at least 2 hours after 2") that may throw off the whole evening. So, readers of my TR, you may blame satellite-TV-fixer if there is no update por vous.

Your trip report is great!! I am loving it!! So far, your Trip Planning Tiara is just blinding me :worship: I do like the idea of putting the UG tour plans in the baggie... I'll have to remember that one.

:wave2: Welcome! You may have some sunglasses to block the glare of the TPT if necessary. ;) Thanks for stopping by!

[Lady Lallie]

I shudder to think what the 1982 doll will look like. Sideways ponytail. Day-Glo pink T-shirt, complete with one of those little "T-shirt ties." I'm quivering in fear already. I was born in 1982!! Woo Hoo!! You forgot leg warmers. :goodvibes

[TarzansKat]

Okay, I'm starting to feel a little old here with all these 80s babies!;)

[stagemomx3]

Okay, I'm starting to feel a little old here with all these 80s babies!;)

:lmao: Me too.

[TCKK]

Yep, me too!

I'm caught up on reading now. Waiting patiently for more.:surfweb:

Cathy

[willwriteforears]

I was born in 1982!! Woo Hoo!! You forgot leg warmers. :goodvibes

*headsmack* I did! I even had a pair, too. I don't think I ever wore them to school, but my older, wiser self might have blocked out that memory as a form of self-preservation.

Okay, I'm starting to feel a little old here with all these 80s babies!;)

:lmao: Me too.

Yep, me too!

Hey, it's just LL and I who've claimed the 80's. Well, Melneth and Nevi were born in '82 as well, but they're not officially on the DIS.


I'm caught up on reading now. Waiting patiently for more.:surfweb:

Cathy

Going to work on it right after I hit "Submit Reply." :thumbsup2

[willwriteforears]

On the morning of May 29, I woke up, fluttered my eyelash extensions, threw off the covers, flounced to the balcony, opened it, got out my pitch pipe to find my key, and belted out "Good morning Baltimore!"

Savvy readers will notice some fallacies with the above. (1) I do not have eyelash extensions. Or at least, I haven't mentioned them. Because I don't have them. (2) The balcony, in truth, was locked and wouldn't open. (3) I did not mention bringing a pitch pipe, and so I don't have one, yada yada. (4) We weren't in Baltimore. (5) I am not Tracy Turnblad, and my mother is not John Travolta. Nor is she Divine. Nor is she a man.

I do, however, like Hairspray.

Savvy readers will also note that Nevi and Melneth did not join me in the imaginary fluttering of eyelashes and musical-reenactment, and this has some grounding in truth: that is because in our group, I am the Early Riser.

But thankfully Nevi and Melneth were on board with following The Unofficial Guide's touring plans, which recommend getting to the park before rope drop. So once we were all up and had eaten breakfast and made ourselves presentable, we headed down to the lobby and out front to wait for the bus.

What's this? say you. I thought you had Pearl! Why aren't you taking Pearl?

Dear readers, we were not taking Pearl to the Animal Kingdom because we had experienced a bout of save-cash-itis and balked at the $11 parking fee. And since the Animal Kingdom touring plan recommended that you arrive at the park just 30-40 minutes early rather than, say, the 70 listed for Magic Kingdom, we figured we'd give the Downtown Disney off-site bus system a go.

The bus system was supposed to run every fifteen minutes starting at 8:00. We got down there at 7:50, early enough to have this picture taken:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/us_hotel_may_29.jpg

Side note: I took a little too much joy in using PhotoPlus 6's smudge tool on Nevi's and Melneth's faces. I think my brain actually cheered "Wheee!" at some point. Next time I may see if I can make the pixels really big, or maybe copy another part of the photo and paste it over their heads. I foresee a great source of amusement.

So that you may put a face with the TR writer, I've left mine in.

Continuing on: At 8:00, we started to look at each other nervously.

At 8:05, we voiced our concerns to one another, and other bus-waiters did the same. At 8:06, a 60s-ish woman sitting on the bench overheard us all and said, "It's ridiculous! We've been waiting here for the Epcot bus since seven o'clock!"

To which a husband, in the guise of speaking to his wife, replied, "Honey, the buses start running at 8:00, don't they?"

"Yup," said she.

This two-sentence conversation I took to encompass all that Melneth, Nevi, and I later realized we'd all been thinking. Why in the world were the lady and her poor husband waiting since seven? If they seriously thought the buses began running at seven, why didn't they go ask someone where the bus was at, say, 7:30?

Mysteries of the universe, which we never asked because our bus arrived shortly after. It stopped by the Magic Kingdom first, and we were deposited in front of Animal Kingdom not at 7:30, but at 7:40. We vowed to take Pearl thereafter.

We spent our remaining time ensuring we had our plan down. Following the Touring Plan meant that someone (Melneth elected Nevi) would go get FastPasses for Expedition Everest while the others got to cool their heels at TriceraTop Spin, "if you have young children in your group." Having no children, young or otherwise, in our group, we amended that to cooling our heels at Primeval Whirl.

Rope drop, and Nevi was off, having given Melneth the backpack they shared (since I had my lovely sea green baggallini) for safe-keeping.

Melneth and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll to Primeval Whirl. Then we noticed the giftshop by Primeval Whirl, and decided to cool our heels literally. It wasn't that hot yet, but we like air conditioning. Melneth looked for a gift for her sister, but didn't get anything. I looked at overpriced coffee mugs and didn't get anything. We drifted back outside, and Nevi arrived a bit later. Throwing our arms up in the air, we shouted "Victory!" (This happened several times during the first couple of days. If you don't cheer yourself, who will?) Then we walked onto Primeval Whirl.

The three of us giggled like idiots during the entire thing. "Oh, here we go! We're turn--heeheeehee! Oh, look, now it's--hahahahee! Watch out, it's--gigglegigglegiggle!"

Yes, we are gigglers. But in fairness to Melneth and Nevi, it was probably I who drove them to it. I do scream during roller coasters and the like, but it gets all high-pitched and non-scream-like, so then I usually just end up laughing.

Anyway, after finishing Primeval Whirl (gigglegiggle) we headed for Dinosaur, which was also a walk-on, so speedily so that I almost didn't get this pic:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0622.jpg

But get it I did, and then we traveled back in time. On several occasions I thought my sea green baggallini might get left in the cretaceous period (or Jurassic or whatever it was) since our vehicle jounced so much, and I could feel my baggalini throwing itself madly back and forth (I hadn't bothered to take it off, thinking it'd be safer on my back than in the little mesh bags they provide to stow your belongings).

Bones still supposedly where they were supposed to be, we made our way over to Kali River Rapids. We'd come prepared with ponchos. Nevi wore hers. Melneth and I were too lazy to get ours out.

In our raft, a red-headed boy who looked about ten repeatedly opined that he was afraid of the water. Seriously, about every thirty seconds, it was "I hope we don't get wet, because I really don't like the water. But I always get wet on these types of rides. People sitting across from me never get wet, you'll see." We'd go around a bend. "Ha ha! I didn't get too wet that time, which is good because I don't really like the water..." and so on. During the entire ride. If I hadn't safely stowed my camera in the baggalini in that covered bin they have in the center of the raft, I might have taken a picture of him just so I could better remember the annoying red-headed boy.

Then again, I think he made a strong enough impression even without the photo.

Nevi, despite the use of her poncho, got wetter than Melneth and I, and subsequently vowed to not go on any other water rides. Shorts sopping, we trudged to our next stop: Flights of Wonder.

Next up: Well, are the matching T-shirts powerful, or aren't they?

[stagemomx3]

Great update. The t-shirts look fabulous. :lmao: I love the annoying red head!

[mom3sonstt]

Love your annoying redhead story. Somewhere out there there is a man in his mid-20's named Garrett who would have had a starring role in my honeymoon trip report (if I did a trip report after our honeymoon.......if we had had a computer back then.....) We had a layover in Chicago and "Garrett" was an annoying little blonde whose mother felt the need to call his name every little bit "Garrett, stop it", "Garrett sit down" "Garrett come here". Ok - we all knew Garret wasn't going to listen to her, Garrett knew he wasn't going to listen to her, but everybody else in the area had to listen to her. Now nearly twenty years later, whenever I hear the name Garrett I cringe. Garrett is probably finishing law school now.........or is behind bars :confused3

[ForeverDance]

I love the couple at the bust stop and the annoying red-haired boy is just too funny:rotfl: Sometimes I find the people you run in to at Disney to be the most memorable part of the trip. Our family still shouts out some good one liners from the people we have run in to on our trips.

[Lady Lallie]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/us_hotel_may_29.jpg

Side note: I took a little too much joy in using PhotoPlus 6's smudge tool on Nevi's and Melneth's faces. I think my brain actually cheered "Wheee!" at some point. Next time I may see if I can make the pixels really big, or maybe copy another part of the photo and paste it over their heads. I foresee a great source of amusement.

So that you may put a face with the TR writer, I've left mine in. Hi Jiri!! :wave2:
[Melneth and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll to Primeval Whirl. Then we noticed the giftshop by Primeval Whirl, and decided to cool our heels literally. It wasn't that hot yet, but we like air conditioning. Melneth looked for a gift for her sister, but didn't get anything. I looked at overpriced coffee mugs and didn't get anything. We drifted back outside, and Nevi arrived a bit later. Throwing our arms up in the air, we shouted "Victory!" (This happened several times during the first couple of days. If you don't cheer yourself, who will?) Then we walked onto Primeval Whirl.Victory will be yours!
[Next up: Well, are the matching T-shirts powerful, or aren't they?::::POUT::::I suppose I have to wait until after the Wedding. That is a loooooooooong time to wait and see if matching T-shirts are powerful. :hyper:

[Tinkerbellarella]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/us_hotel_may_29.jpg

Face:name. Face:name. Face:name. Jiri. :)

I looked at overpriced coffee mugs and didn't get anything.

Your willpower is stronger than mine, says I.

In our raft, a red-headed boy who looked about ten repeatedly opined that he was afraid of the water. Seriously, about every thirty seconds, it was "I hope we don't get wet, because I really don't like the water. But I always get wet on these types of rides. People sitting across from me never get wet, you'll see." We'd go around a bend. "Ha ha! I didn't get too wet that time, which is good because I don't really like the water..." and so on. During the entire ride.

I do believe I might have been wishing he get sopped. A little. Because if he didn't like to get wet, why was he on the ride in the first place?! Then the exact opposite would've happened, I'd get sopped down to my skivvies and karma would laugh graciously in my face.

[willwriteforears]

Great update. The t-shirts look fabulous. :lmao: I love the annoying red head!

Love your annoying redhead story. Somewhere out there there is a man in his mid-20's named Garrett who would have had a starring role in my honeymoon trip report (if I did a trip report after our honeymoon.......if we had had a computer back then.....) We had a layover in Chicago and "Garrett" was an annoying little blonde whose mother felt the need to call his name every little bit "Garrett, stop it", "Garrett sit down" "Garrett come here". Ok - we all knew Garret wasn't going to listen to her, Garrett knew he wasn't going to listen to her, but everybody else in the area had to listen to her. Now nearly twenty years later, whenever I hear the name Garrett I cringe. Garrett is probably finishing law school now.........or is behind bars :confused3

I love the couple at the bust stop and the annoying red-haired boy is just too funny:rotfl: Sometimes I find the people you run in to at Disney to be the most memorable part of the trip. Our family still shouts out some good one liners from the people we have run in to on our trips.

Yes, one of my favorite things to do is people-watch, whether I be sitting at a table or on Kali River Rapids. Unfortunately the UG doesn't schedule time for that. I should write to complain.

mom3sonstt Hello! I think you're new. Maybe. If not, my sincere apologies!

Anyway, I knew a blond Garrett in college, and he was my age, so he'd be in his mid-20s. Even though it's very unlikely, I'm going to pretend he's "your" Garrett, just 'cause that makes me smile. :thumbsup2


Hi Jiri!! :wave2:
Victory will be yours!
::::POUT::::I suppose I have to wait until after the Wedding. That is a loooooooooong time to wait and see if matching T-shirts are powerful. :hyper:

Sorry. :( When I first started yesterday's installment, I had a vague thought that I might be able to get to that bit. Even though I prove time and again to myself that I can stretch things out into long posts that risk losing readers, I still have delusions about my brevity.

I will give you a hint, though: my TR title is at least partially accurate. :thumbsup2



I do believe I might have been wishing he get sopped. A little. Because if he didn't like to get wet, why was he on the ride in the first place?! Then the exact opposite would've happened, I'd get sopped down to my skivvies and karma would laugh graciously in my face.

My point exactly! C'mon, he was old enough to wait by himself for the five minutes (since it was a walk-on :worship: UG) it would've taken for the rest of the party to do the ride.

But the three of us may have been harboring unconscious thoughts along those lines, because we were all soaked down to our skivvies, at least on our bottom halves.

Nevi's thoughts may have been more "vibrant," though, as she was the wettest despite the poncho/rain coat deal. :rotfl: Nevi, if you're reading, feel free to correct. ;)

[Philadisney]

I love the t-shirts, and the story about the red-headed boy :rotfl: I always write down funny things I overhear kids saying on trips to WDW. I have to be careful now though, because I commented on a little girl I overheard make a funny comment on Barnstormer, and someone posted back "Hey, I think that was my kid" :laughing: Luckily I just thought she was cute.

[Philadisney]

Anyway, I knew a blond Garrett in college, and he was my age, so he'd be in his mid-20s. Even though it's very unlikely, I'm going to pretend he's "your" Garrett, just 'cause that makes me smile. :thumbsup2


When I hear about young blonde Garretts, I couldn't help but think it was this guy :rotfl: (Garrett Healy, the very first person to be kicked off American Idol '07)
http://www.etonline.com/media/photo/2008/02/42232/400_americanidol_ghaley_rseacrest_080222_fox_micha elberry.jpg

[stagemomx3]

I swear that I was to young to actually be familiar with him, but the name Garrett always makes me think of Lief Garrett.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s117/sober_gaijin/lief.jpg

[mom3sonstt]

mom3sonstt Hello! I think you're new. Maybe. If not, my sincere apologies!

Anyway, I knew a blond Garrett in college, and he was my age, so he'd be in his mid-20s. Even though it's very unlikely, I'm going to pretend he's "your" Garrett, just 'cause that makes me smile. :thumbsup2

Well, I've been reading - but that was probably my first appearance out of lurkdom.

Next time you see Garrett......smack him for me! ::yes:: You don't have to tell him why....just tell him he's had it coming since Sept of '88 :rolleyes1

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

See that...you wooed me over with your avatar compliments...and I'm super glad I got here. :thumbsup2

[RachelNinja]

I am indebted to you ... or at least your picture ... for teaching me the ways of the ellipsis. You could so be my "biffle" (bffl - best friend for life, according to my 6th graders).

Did anyone in your raft say anything to the red-headed boy as he was making those comments?

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Done, caught up, cheated::yes:: used the quick link but didn't close out til the end... So go ahead, write some more....

[TarzansKat]

Jiri! Now I know what you look like and can imagine the you perfectly chopping your cauliflower having epiphanies about child-rearing!;)

Nice update by the way! I love to hear about your touring plans...I have a great admiration for them...especially since I'll be employing absolutely none on my trip.:lmao:

[Sarilas]

I'm so glad you didn't smudge your own face! I love seeing who I'm reading about!

[Charleston Princess]

Jiri, You have a face to go with all the witty writing!!! :goodvibes

I'm mean, but I wish that red-headed kid had been doused completely! How's that for a nice teacher comment? Now, karma is going to come kick my rear-end. But I have suffered through three soakings on Kali in my lifetime, and I feel that everyone should experience that feeling. I love the ride, though. I guess that's why I keep going on it!

[willwriteforears]

I love the t-shirts, and the story about the red-headed boy :rotfl: I always write down funny things I overhear kids saying on trips to WDW. I have to be careful now though, because I commented on a little girl I overheard make a funny comment on Barnstormer, and someone posted back "Hey, I think that was my kid" :laughing: Luckily I just thought she was cute.

Ooh, good point. Maybe I should start qualifying all my comments about guests with "But I'm sure the person in question wasn't a reader or friend or family of a reader." :rotfl2:

When I hear about young blonde Garretts, I couldn't help but think it was this guy :rotfl: (Garrett Healy, the very first person to be kicked off American Idol '07)
http://www.etonline.com/media/photo/2008/02/42232/400_americanidol_ghaley_rseacrest_080222_fox_micha elberry.jpg

I haven't watched much AI since the first season, but that Garrett is not the Garrett who went to college with me, and therefore he's not mom3sonstt's Garrett. ;)

I swear that I was to young to actually be familiar with him, but the name Garrett always makes me think of Lief Garrett.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s117/sober_gaijin/lief.jpg

Um, I watched like 5 minutes of a VH1 where are they now/ode to musicians past (I forget which) thingummy and saw Lief Garrett. But that's all I know about him.

Well, I've been reading - but that was probably my first appearance out of lurkdom.

Well, thanks for emerging from lurkdom! Is it still really dark in there?


Next time you see Garrett......smack him for me! ::yes:: You don't have to tell him why....just tell him he's had it coming since Sept of '88 :rolleyes1

:rotfl2: That would probably be at whatever college reunion I happen to go to. I can see myself now, scanning the crowd for Garrett, shouting "You!" when I see him, charging, and subsequently smacking him on the head while the hoi polloi of my graduating class watch in astonishment. "That," I will say primly, "was for September of 1988. You know what I mean." Then I'll stride off, and the theme music from, say, Rocky will play in the background. :thumbsup2

See that...you wooed me over with your avatar compliments...and I'm super glad I got here. :thumbsup2

Flattery will get me everywhere. ;) Thanks for coming by!

I am indebted to you ... or at least your picture ... for teaching me the ways of the ellipsis. You could so be my "biffle" (bffl - best friend for life, according to my 6th graders).

Ahh, grasshopper, the way of the ellipsis is long and. . . dotty. You have learned much. ;)

Your biffle, huh? Shoot! If only more people were interested in three- vs. four-dot ellipses, I would be biffle to many.


Did anyone in your raft say anything to the red-headed boy as he was making those comments?

Nope, we just kinda smiled and nodded. Most of the people were part of his group, I think.

Done, caught up, cheated::yes:: used the quick link but didn't close out til the end... So go ahead, write some more....

Welcome, Tinker'n'Fun! :wave2: Next installment day should be Saturday. :goodvibes

Jiri! Now I know what you look like and can imagine the you perfectly chopping your cauliflower having epiphanies about child-rearing!;)

Just don't forget the shaft of light shining down on me and the angelic chorus. They always accompany each of my epiphanies.


Nice update by the way! I love to hear about your touring plans...I have a great admiration for them...especially since I'll be employing absolutely none on my trip.:lmao:

Well, since none of us had been to WDW in quite some time, we were all keen on making sure we got to do everything we wanted. Actually, Nevi probably would've been happy without a touring plan--she's not much of a planner herself. But I'm sure that this way we spent much less time standing in queues, which is a good thing. Though we're quite capable of entertaining ourselves while waiting. It's how things like the Great Ninja Debate come up.

I'm so glad you didn't smudge your own face! I love seeing who I'm reading about!

:rotfl: I started to (again, I was really excited about using the smudge tool) but then I remembered myself and was able to undo.

Jiri, You have a face to go with all the witty writing!!! :goodvibes

Aww, thank you!


I'm mean, but I wish that red-headed kid had been doused completely! How's that for a nice teacher comment? Now, karma is going to come kick my rear-end. But I have suffered through three soakings on Kali in my lifetime, and I feel that everyone should experience that feeling. I love the ride, though. I guess that's why I keep going on it!
Well, it's not like the water would've hurt him, despite his fears! :rotfl2:

But really, while he was annoying, I had an amusing anecdote to put on my TR. So I'm okay sending him non-soaking vibes. Particularly if a relative or friend of his, or even the red-headed boy himself, are readers. Truly, the whippersnapper was a delight! Ha ha ha! Ho ho ho!

*shifty eyes* Think they bought it?

[TCKK]

Sounds like a fun time at AK. Looking forward to hearing more. :)

Cathy

[willwriteforears]

Sounds like a fun time at AK. Looking forward to hearing more. :)

Cathy

The best AK stuff is yet to come. Trust me. :thumbsup2

[willwriteforears]

Nevi took me up on my offer to share her thoughts on the red-headed boy. From my e-mail inbox to your eyes:

...regarding the red-haired boy, I did mutter under my breath "why is he on this ride?" and "geez I hope he gets soaked" and "but not traumatically soaked, just enough to teach him a valuable life lesson about not getting on rides that you know frighten or upset you". Alas, none of these happened, though I think his riding buddy (mom or whatever she was) is less likely to ever take him on that or other such rides again.

She did ask how she and Melneth can reply directly, and I explained about properly joining the DIS in order to post. Slowly, I am wearing them down. :stir:

[Tinkerbellarella]

She did ask how she and Melneth can reply directly, and I explained about properly joining the DIS in order to post. Slowly, I am wearing them down. :stir:

Excellent. Your next assignment will be to come out here to my coast and work on BF. All expenses paid, of course.

[TCKK]

The best AK stuff is yet to come. Trust me. :thumbsup2

Okay I'll be here to read it!!:surfweb:

[willwriteforears]

Excellent. Your next assignment will be to come out here to my coast and work on BF. All expenses paid, of course.

Methinks the BF would be much more difficult. Nevi and Melneth, after all, wanted to go to Disney World. Now it's just a matter of "encouraging" that willingness to develop into a DIS-obsession. BF, however, for some inexplicable reason is anti-Disney. With the exception of Lilo and Stitch. Why is this?
*Getting out the legal pad, "thoughtful-glasses," and ink blots.* He was not attacked by a mouse when a small child, was he?

Okay I'll be here to read it!!:surfweb:

:thumbsup2

[Lady Lallie]

Methinks the BF would be much more difficult. Nevi and Melneth, after all, wanted to go to Disney World. Now it's just a matter of "encouraging" that willingness to develop into a DIS-obsession. BF, however, for some inexplicable reason is anti-Disney. With the exception of Lilo and Stitch. Why is this?
*Getting out the legal pad, "thoughtful-glasses," and ink blots.* He was not attacked by a mouse when a small child, was he?:lmao: I think you are on to something!! :idea:

[Tinkerbellarella]

BF, however, for some inexplicable reason is anti-Disney. With the exception of Lilo and Stitch. Why is this?
*Getting out the legal pad, "thoughtful-glasses," and ink blots.* He was not attacked by a mouse when a small child, was he?

::settles back into the chaise lounge and taps finger to chin::

No mouse attacks. He cites "too many visits to Disney" as a problem. However, the man has never been to MGM. Or the Animal Kingdom. Which means only Epicot and MK. And I think it's mostly MK. Perhaps he has nightmares about IASM. WWFD? (What What Freud Do?)

[mom3sonstt]

Rocky[/I] will play in the background. :thumbsup2

Yes it is still dark in lurkdom - but fortunately the glow from my computer monitor :surfweb: keeps me from running into things :tiptoe:


Once said smacking is done - the crowds will cheer:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: and you'll see me lurking in the corner holding my cell phone in the air.
:confused3 What???
Has she lost her mind??? :confused3

Oh - I get it - you don't realize that the reason the theme from Rocky is playing in the background is because it is the ringtone that plays when my youngest son (who is NOT named Garrett!) calls me!! :idea:

[willwriteforears]

:lmao: I think you are on to something!! :idea:

There's a reason I almost minored in psychology. Bwa ha ha ha ha!


Once said smacking is done - the crowds will cheer:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: and you'll see me lurking in the corner holding my cell phone in the air.
:confused3 What???
Has she lost her mind??? :confused3

Oh - I get it - you don't realize that the reason the theme from Rocky is playing in the background is because it is the ringtone that plays when my youngest son (who is NOT named Garrett!) calls me!! :idea:

::yes:: That's me, nodding sagaciously. The cell phone raising will make sense. :thumbsup2

::settles back into the chaise lounge and taps finger to chin::

No mouse attacks. He cites "too many visits to Disney" as a problem. However, the man has never been to MGM. Or the Animal Kingdom. Which means only Epicot and MK. And I think it's mostly MK. Perhaps he has nightmares about IASM. WWFD? (What What Freud Do?)

*readjusting the thoughtful glasses* Hmm, "too many visits to Disney," he says? Hold on, let me write that down.

Delusions . . . of Disney . . . overexposure. And he's never been to DHS nee MGM, or Animal Kingdom. Exhibits . . . reluctance . . . to seek . . . new . . . experiences. *pause* Even with . . . Tink's presence.

This is particularly troubling.

But yes, It's a Small World is quite capable of inserting itself into one's psyche, burrowing deeper and deeper, much like a parasitic worm, and replicating its high-pitched repetitive message of togetherness until one feels no recourse but to quiver in a fetal position on the floor of a darkened closet.

Not that I have ever been there myself, mind.

And no offense to my dear friend Melneth, who loves IASW.

Anyway, I would agree that it might--might--be possible for IASW to frighten a person so badly as to render him or her anti-Disney. Such is the power of the ride. Normal course of treatment would be small Disney doses to prove that there is much more to Disney than singing dolls, and gradually increase the dosage until a Disney affinity develops. If the BF enjoys Wall-E, it might then be a good idea to begin dosage by showing him how the parks integrate the movie into their theming (because you know it's gonna happen).

Should that fail, brainwashing him while he sleeps is always a possibility. "You love Disney. Disney is for adults, too. Disney World is a happy place. There are no singing dolls. It is not a small world after all." Of course, including that last bit of brainwashing would mean you'd have to avoid IASW entirely, so as not to spoil the conditioning and risk severe repercussions, but the results are probably worth the inconvenience.

[Sarilas]

Delusions . . . of Disney . . . overexposure. And he's never been to DHS nee MGM, or Animal Kingdom. Exhibits . . . reluctance . . . to seek . . . new . . . experiences. *pause* Even with . . . Tink's presence.

This is particularly troubling.

But yes, It's a Small World is quite capable of inserting itself into one's psyche, burrowing deeper and deeper, much like a parasitic worm, and replicating its high-pitched repetitive message of togetherness until one feels no recourse but to quiver in a fetal position on the floor of a darkened closet.

Not that I have ever been there myself, mind.

And no offense to my dear friend Melneth, who loves IASW.

Anyway, I would agree that it might--might--be possible for IASW to frighten a person so badly as to render him or her anti-Disney. Such is the power of the ride. Normal course of treatment would be small Disney doses to prove that there is much more to Disney than singing dolls, and gradually increase the dosage until a Disney affinity develops. If the BF enjoys Wall-E, it might then be a good idea to begin dosage by showing him how the parks integrate the movie into their theming (because you know it's gonna happen).

Should that fail, brainwashing him while he sleeps is always a possibility. "You love Disney. Disney is for adults, too. Disney World is a happy place. There are no singing dolls. It is not a small world after all." Of course, including that last bit of brainwashing would mean you'd have to avoid IASW entirely, so as not to spoil the conditioning and risk severe repercussions, but the results are probably worth the inconvenience.

My husband has never been to ANY Disney park, ever. When I first mentioned going to the World for our vacation he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Somehow in the planning process he's been bitten by the DIS bug though - now when a travel packet or something arrives in the mail he's just as giddy as I am. THANK GOD. It's much easier to justify the $$$$ when he's more likely to buy what I'm telling him. :woohoo:

[RachelNinja]

Nevi took me up on my offer to share her thoughts on the red-headed boy. From my e-mail inbox to your eyes:

...regarding the red-haired boy, I did mutter under my breath "why is he on this ride?" and "geez I hope he gets soaked" and "but not traumatically soaked, just enough to teach him a valuable life lesson about not getting on rides that you know frighten or upset you". Alas, none of these happened, though I think his riding buddy (mom or whatever she was) is less likely to ever take him on that or other such rides again.

She did ask how she and Melneth can reply directly, and I explained about properly joining the DIS in order to post. Slowly, I am wearing them down. :stir:

Just a direct message to Nevi ... you also have quite the way with words. I particularly liked the "traumatically soaked" part because I'm interested to know what that would actually mean because in some cases, that can actually be a relative description. See, you need to share your thoughts and nuggets of wisdom with us so this requires signing up with DIS! C'mon, you know you want to ... ::yes:: How else are you going to reply to my post? Please don't leave me hanging :(

[Tinkerbellarella]

*readjusting the thoughtful glasses* Hmm, "too many visits to Disney," he says? Hold on, let me write that down.

Delusions . . . of Disney . . . overexposure. And he's never been to DHS nee MGM, or Animal Kingdom. Exhibits . . . reluctance . . . to seek . . . new . . . experiences. *pause* Even with . . . Tink's presence.

This is particularly troubling.

But yes, It's a Small World is quite capable of inserting itself into one's psyche, burrowing deeper and deeper, much like a parasitic worm, and replicating its high-pitched repetitive message of togetherness until one feels no recourse but to quiver in a fetal position on the floor of a darkened closet.

Not that I have ever been there myself, mind.

And no offense to my dear friend Melneth, who loves IASW.

Anyway, I would agree that it might--might--be possible for IASW to frighten a person so badly as to render him or her anti-Disney. Such is the power of the ride. Normal course of treatment would be small Disney doses to prove that there is much more to Disney than singing dolls, and gradually increase the dosage until a Disney affinity develops. If the BF enjoys Wall-E, it might then be a good idea to begin dosage by showing him how the parks integrate the movie into their theming (because you know it's gonna happen).

But I guess the real question is...isn't there some Disney PILL one could slip into his protein shake that one so lovingly made with absolutely NO pharmaceutical ulterior motives?

Should that fail, brainwashing him while he sleeps is always a possibility. "You love Disney. Disney is for adults, too. Disney World is a happy place. There are no singing dolls. It is not a small world after all." Of course, including that last bit of brainwashing would mean you'd have to avoid IASW entirely, so as not to spoil the conditioning and risk severe repercussions, but the results are probably worth the inconvenience.

Hm. I suppose the "Fiesta on the River of Time with the Volcano near the Restaurant with Donald and the Three Caballeros" or whatever they're calling the latest incarnation of that ride, is out too. It's Small World-ish.

[willwriteforears]

My husband has never been to ANY Disney park, ever. When I first mentioned going to the World for our vacation he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Somehow in the planning process he's been bitten by the DIS bug though - now when a travel packet or something arrives in the mail he's just as giddy as I am. THANK GOD. It's much easier to justify the $$$$ when he's more likely to buy what I'm telling him. :woohoo:

::yes:: That does make it much easier! I suppose one of the good things about being single is that I don't need to "convince" anyone to go to Disney. Right now I'm banking on flying solo to Lapu Lapu Fabby Fest '09, which is fine by me. Much more flexible! :thumbsup2

Just a direct message to Nevi ... you also have quite the way with words. I particularly liked the "traumatically soaked" part because I'm interested to know what that would actually mean because in some cases, that can actually be a relative description. See, you need to share your thoughts and nuggets of wisdom with us so this requires signing up with DIS! C'mon, you know you want to ... ::yes:: How else are you going to reply to my post? Please don't leave me hanging :(

Ooh, Nevi, look, a fan! See, you must join, you must! And Melneth, even though you're super busy being an intern and all, you could join and just post the occasional "That was taken completely out of proportion" or "At that point, I chose to pretend I didn't know you." ;)

But I guess the real question is...isn't there some Disney PILL one could slip into his protein shake that one so lovingly made with absolutely NO pharmaceutical ulterior motives?

:scratchin Maybe on the black market...


Hm. I suppose the "Fiesta on the River of Time with the Volcano near the Restaurant with Donald and the Three Caballeros" or whatever they're calling the latest incarnation of that ride, is out too. It's Small World-ish.
Ahh yes. That it is. I think I managed to block out the vast majority of that ride, aside from when we passed the diners and I wondered if any of them had read your PTR and were considering pelting us with chips. But no one did, so I guess they have not yet been enlightened.

And to all my faithful readers and those who are not faithful yet but were considering becoming so, and those who just happened to click on my TR willy nilly: Sorry, no update tonight. Between trekking from my apartment to my parents' house, giving the dog (well, my dog who lives with my parents since he'd hate living in an apartment) a bath, realizing I'd forgotten some items necessary for house-sitting, and trekking back to my apartment, returning to my parents' house, having trouble getting the stupid TV input to work so I could play my Wii, and prefacing all that with a thorough cleaning of my apartment so I don't return to nastiness, I'm kinda wiped. The muse is vacationing in Bermuda, I think. Hopefully she'll fly back tomorrow and I'll have an update then.

And TK and Tink: Oh yes. I am giving both of you a run for that longest-sentence award.

[TarzansKat]

And TK and Tink: Oh yes. I am giving both of you a run for that longest-sentence award.


Ooo, snap! Tink, I think I feel a challenge coming on.;)

[girlbomb]

What an awesome, droll, and well-worded TR! When you're done with it, will you please write a novel?

[Tinkerbellarella]

I think I managed to block out the vast majority of that ride, aside from when we passed the diners and I wondered if any of them had read your PTR and were considering pelting us with chips. But no one did, so I guess they have not yet been enlightened.

Pity. They obviously don't know what they're missing. Beware to anyone who is riding "El Rio de Tiempo de Donaldo y Tres Caballeros y Es el Mundo Pequeno Tambien" on 9/21/08 around suppertime - keep your eyes peeled for airborne nachos.

And TK and Tink: Oh yes. I am giving both of you a run for that longest-sentence award.

Ooo, snap! Tink, I think I feel a challenge coming on.;)

Bring. It. ;)

[willwriteforears]

What an awesome, droll, and well-worded TR! When you're done with it, will you please write a novel?

Welcome, girlbomb! :wave2: Thank you for the compliment! As it happens, I am working on a novel. :thumbsup2 And I'm takin' names of people who have said they would read it. :lmao:

Ooo, snap! Tink, I think I feel a challenge coming on.;)



Bring. It. ;)

It will be brung. :rotfl:

[Tinkerbellarella]

And I'm takin' names of people who have said they would read it. :lmao:

Add my name to that list as well!

[willwriteforears]

When we left off, Nevi, Melneth, and I had endured the annoying (but delightful, should he or his family or friends be reading) red-headed boy at Kali River Rapids. Nevi had gotten pretty soaked despite her use of a poncho, and Melneth and I also had wet tushies. So none of us were incredibly thrilled about sitting in a shaded area, but Flights of Wonder was next on the Touring Plan, and when we got there the next show was about to start. So we went and watched birds.

Keep in mind that this was pre-DBAG. And if you have forgotten what DBAG is, or, heaven forfend, never learned, read my first post. I have one note about Flights of Wonder in my journal: "Nice bird show." Had I written that post-DBAG, assuming I could have overcome my new twitchiness whenever a bird comes within five feet of me, it probably would've been amended thusly: " 'Nice' bird show because the birds did not come within five feet of me. I don't know how the trainers lost their minds so far as to let the creatures perch on their arms."

But again, this was pre-DBAG, and so I even took pictures.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0626.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0636-1.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0644-2.jpg

Blissfully unaware of the horror of bird carcasses, we continued to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where I took more pictures. (If you are sensing a theme with the "I took pictures" rather than "Nevi or Melneth took pictures," that is because I became the unofficial photographer and videographer of the trip. I suppose I am just more dedicated to the preservation of our memories.)

Select Maharajah pictures:

See, flying mammals are actually much less terrifying than birds. Of course, I haven't experience a bat-version of DBAG.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0650.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0646.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0662.jpg

A CM was kind enough to take our picture. I must have been pondering whether our T-shirts had any power, or the marvelousness of the UG's touring plan.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Maharajah_us.jpg

What TR would be complete without naked mole rats?
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0664.jpg

Quick, someone get Treebeard! We've found the Ent-wives!
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0658.jpg

And now it was at last time to use our Expedition Everest FastPasses. This photo is out-of-context, because we weren't on our way to EE when I took it. But I like it and this is my TR, so neener-neener.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0623-1.jpg


The Unofficial Guide's Touring Plan served us so well that we were actually within our return time when we got to EE. Props to the UG! Melneth isn't the hugest roller coaster fan, but she had psyched herself up to go on them. Having a party of three can make rides difficult; frequently one of us would have to sit alone. Melneth refused to sit alone on any roller coaster. So she and I shared a row, and Nevi sat behind us.

Nevi, from what I remember, stayed silent for the duration of the ride. I started out screaming, and true to form, got to the point where I made no more sound, and so fell back on laughing.

Melneth screamed. So much so that when we actually saw the yeti, it seemed sort of anticlimatic. The yeti, not Melneth's screaming. I mean, when a ride has such a massive lead-up--and don't get me wrong; like the majority of Disney attractions, the theming is excellent--I feel sort of like you should pay it back or reward it somehow with your reaction. Even if it's inanimate. Or not inanimate, since it is an animatronic and therefore moves. But it doesn't have a brain. Unless the Imagineers are that detailed, and frankly it wouldn't surprise me if it does. So okay, the yeti moves and may have a brain, but it can't comprehend people's reactions.

Unless the Imagineers are way better than anyone has ever suspected. Or Disney actually traveled to Everest, found the yeti, tamed it, made it look semi-fake, and gave it employment scaring people at a theme park instead of scaring people at Everest and ensuring its legend continues.

What was I talking about?

Oh yes. The yeti and how it can't actually witness people's reactions, with the exception of all my caveats. So even though the yeti can't experience people's cries of shock and delight, I still feel guilty that it doesn't warrant any greater screams than what had already come from my and Melneth's throats. Instead I was probably still giggling at this point, and honestly, one shouldn't giggle at a yeti. And Melneth was about screamed-out by this point, so it might have warranted an "eek." but nothing more.

Belated apologies, dear yeti. You were frightening, truly.

Once we'd offended the yeti by not screaming properly, it was about time to leave Asia. But not before we made a stop at the Royal Anandapur Tea Company. I'd read about :lovestruc Chai Freezes :lovestruc you see, and thought to myself, "I like chai tea! I like cold stuff! The two together, in slushy form, should be awesome!"

And it was. Alas, I have no pictures of it. And I suppose now is as good a time as any to admit that I have no food porn whatsoever. I'd had the intention of taking pictures of meals to include in the TR (which I hadn't told Nevi and Melneth, figuring they could deal with this new facet of weirdness as well as they have all my others), but I have a problem: I like food. When I get hungry, my first inclination isn't to take a picture for posterity's, or DISers', sake. My first inclination is to open my mouth and chew. Or sip, as was the case with the Chai Freeze. So I started sipping, with nary a thought of picture-taking.

It was about lunchtime by now, but we'd decided we would just snack on our granola bars (LaraBars for me) for lunch, then have a larger dinner after leaving the park. So we found a little theater-type area where it looked like they have children's story time on occasion. Only considering it was the Animal Kingdom, it might have been something about helping our animal friends. Whatever, there was no story/kiddie lecture going on. There were just people sitting on benches, resting. We took the last bench, on which sat a little girl who couldn't have been more than a year and a half, eating a popsicle. She had red stains all over her dress, and her face had also taken on a vermilion hue. This was a 123 moment, but short-lived, because then I looked at the red sticky mess on the bench and had a vision of this toddler toddling over to me and dripping on my matching T-shirt.

Oh yeah. I was actually supposed to get into the power of the T-shirts at some point. How's this: The girl never toddled over to me to drip her popsicle on my T-shirt. She must have sensed its power, and that kept her at bay.

Since I have once again taken much longer than I anticipated, I will leave you with our complaints about AK's paper straws. As I told Nevi, the vet (she must have left her vet-brain at home; it was vacation, after all), I'm sure the purpose of the straws is to prevent stupid guests who are unable to properly dispose of their trash from unintentionally killing the animals. Plastic straw + bird throat = choking to death. And you all know how I feel about bird carcasses. But the paper straws have a taste. And they absorb liquid. After fifteen minutes of sipping our delicious chai freezes, the paper straws lost their straw-quality, meaning it became more and more difficult to suck up the chai freeze. I'm all for not killing the animals, but Disney, all-powerful entity that it is, should be able to come up with a paper straw that doesn't taste like anything and that has a nontoxic coating so it's not so porous.

Next up: I show how the T-shirts are powerful, and I don't cop out. I promise.

[stagemomx3]

:lmao: Great update. I'm totally with you on the paper straw thing. It was annoying!

[If U Had Wings]

Yeti story made me laugh. I was discussing Everest with my mom and she had no clue there was even a Yeti as part of the ride. She was so scared on the ride she never looked up.

I've yet to sit and watch the whole bird show. I always have an Aflred Hitchcock moment and think of the birds. EEK!

[willwriteforears]

Add my name to that list as well!

:thumbsup2

:lmao: Great update. I'm totally with you on the paper straw thing. It was annoying!

Melneth was the smart one who finally got herself a second straw. Only she must have figured Nevi and I were intelligent enough to do the same on our own, because we only found out she had a new straw when we were all like, "Hey, your straw still works like a straw!" and she was like "Yeah, I got a second one." *headsmack*



I've yet to sit and watch the whole bird show. I always have an Aflred Hitchcock moment and think of the birds. EEK!

I'm not sure that I'll ever watch it again. I'm serious; I think I have a bird-phobia in the making. Every time I see one land on my balcony, I tense up. And I've started about five times when I'm on my walks at work and birds fly out of the bushes I pass. Note to self: Give bushes a wide berth.

[Charleston Princess]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/IMG_0646.jpg

I must confess that when I saw this picture, a few un-DIS-like words came out of my mouth that were coupled with, "What is that thing???"

Sadly, the Maharajah eludes us everytime!

Belated apologies, dear yeti. You were frightening, truly.

I have never seen the Yeti -- just his shadow -- that is the point where I think to myself, "I'll just bury my head for a few seconds" and then suddenly the ride is over and I have miraculously lived through it yet again.

I am sure he is very frightening.

And it was. Alas, I have no pictures of it. And I suppose now is as good a time as any to admit that I have no food porn whatsoever. I'd had the intention of taking pictures of meals to include in the TR (which I hadn't told Nevi and Melneth, figuring they could deal with this new facet of weirdness as well as they have all my others), but I have a problem: I like food. When I get hungry, my first inclination isn't to take a picture for posterity's, or DISers', sake. My first inclination is to open my mouth and chew. Or sip, as was the case with the Chai Freeze. So I started sipping, with nary a thought of picture-taking.

I understand. :rotfl:

This was a 123 moment, but short-lived, because then I looked at the red sticky mess on the bench and had a vision of this toddler toddling over to me and dripping on my matching T-shirt.

And to further dispel that moment, just think -- someone had to clean her up! :eek:

I'm all for not killing the animals, but Disney, all-powerful entity that it is, should be able to come up with a paper straw that doesn't taste like anything and that has a nontoxic coating so it's not so porous.

Those paper straws were the worst! I would rather have no straw than those straws.

[ForeverDance]

Great update! :thumbsup2

I have never experienced the straws at AK as we always get the lemon slush things that come with spoons. I will definately be taking a page out of Melneth's book though if we do encounter them. I have also never seen the Flights of Wonder show but I'm looking forward to seeing it this next trip (as I have not experienced any DBAG I do not have an aversion to our feathered friends).

I must confess that when I saw this picture, a few un-DIS-like words came out of my mouth that were coupled with, "What is that thing???"

Oh I can answer this one... pick me... [jumping up and down with hand raised]. That adorable thing is a komodo dragon :lovestruc Yes I said adorable. I would love to take one home with me but alas they are rather large and I just do not have adequate space :guilty:

[Tinkerbellarella]

Flights of Wonder was next on the Touring Plan, and when we got there the next show was about to start. So we went and watched birds.

Hands down, one of my favorite shows! Really. I have even been the person that the raven retrieves from/returns to the dollar bill.

Having a party of three can make rides difficult; frequently one of us would have to sit alone. Melneth refused to sit alone on any roller coaster. So she and I shared a row, and Nevi sat behind us.

Being a party of one can be difficult in a similar way. I have sat next to countless children who were part of an odd-numbered group who've cried, scream-laughed, hand-held but thankfully never vomited on me whislt in the World solo.

I'm all for not killing the animals, but Disney, all-powerful entity that it is, should be able to come up with a paper straw that doesn't taste like anything and that has a nontoxic coating so it's not so porous.

They're too busy designing the animatronic brains and figuring out the Yeti's health care benefits.

[TarzansKat]

Great update!

Is it okay that I am in awe of the touring plans and how much you got done in a short amount of time?

:::fighting the OCD planner back into submission:::

Ar, mateys!;)

[willwriteforears]

And to further dispel that moment, just think -- someone had to clean her up! :eek:


::yes:: Too true. And I have no idea how much bleach would've been required to get that red out of her clothes.


I have never experienced the straws at AK as we always get the lemon slush things that come with spoons. I will definately be taking a page out of Melneth's book though if we do encounter them. I have also never seen the Flights of Wonder show but I'm looking forward to seeing it this next trip (as I have not experienced any DBAG I do not have an aversion to our feathered friends).

Ooh, I like lemon, too. I may have to get one of those during the next trip.

And during my walk yesterday, there was no startling when birds flew out of the bushes. And really, I still like the predator birds. 'Course, it's unlikely that I'd ever find the carcass of an eagle in my apartment. Maybe it's just sparrows and the like that I have issues with.



Oh I can answer this one... pick me... [jumping up and down with hand raised]. That adorable thing is a komodo dragon :lovestruc Yes I said adorable. I would love to take one home with me but alas they are rather large and I just do not have adequate space :guilty:

You know, I honestly couldn't remember off the top of my head what the lizard was, but it's certainly large enough to be a komodo dragon. :thumbsup2 I just picked pix that turned out reasonably well. :lmao:

Hands down, one of my favorite shows! Really. I have even been the person that the raven retrieves from/returns to the dollar bill.

Better you than me, says I. :)


Being a party of one can be difficult in a similar way. I have sat next to countless children who were part of an odd-numbered group who've cried, scream-laughed, hand-held but thankfully never vomited on me whislt in the World solo.

Careful, now, don't jinx yourself.

Actually, none of us ever had any issues with the random kiddos/other people we were seated next to. Not that I remember, anyway.


They're too busy designing the animatronic brains and figuring out the Yeti's health care benefits.

*headsmack* How could I have forgotten about the health care benefits? And next they'll set up a yeti matching service in order to preserve the species.

Great update!

Is it okay that I am in awe of the touring plans and how much you got done in a short amount of time?

:::fighting the OCD planner back into submission:::

Ar, mateys!;)

Yanno, there are touring plans for parents with small children... :rolleyes1

But seriously, if I manage to make trips to the world a regular thing, I anticipate that the touring plans will become looser and looser because there'd be a lot of "Oh, I did that last time" or "Eh, I can do that next time." Leaving mucho opportunities to just be there. Which I like, and didn't get much of this time out.

On another note: Readers, you may or may not know that I'm currently house sitting for my parents. You definitely don't know that their ISP seemingly cut access as of sometime yesterday. According to my dad, they weren't supposed to cut access "until late July," but he thinks this may be "their way of forcing me to tell them if we're going to continue with them or not."

Yes, my father has not yet decided what ISP they'd like to go with when their contract runs out. Were it I, I would've figured this out three months ago. I loves me my Internet. Anyway, dear ol' poppy is supposed to call the ISP today, and hopefully access will be restored. But if it is not, there won't be a TR update. Worse comes to worse, I'll try to get my update written out so that all I'd have to do on Thursday, when I'm back home, would be to upload my edited pix (and this post will need them, believe you me), paste my entry into the post window, and get the photo links included.

Sorry for the delay, but please pray for me/send up pixie dust as I go through withdrawal. Thank God for work Internet access.

[PrincessV]

Hey there fellow writer! :wave: I am officially caught-up and ready to roll. Read. Whatever.

Oh, and LOL about finding the Entwives! :rotfl2:

[TarzansKat]

Yanno, there are touring plans for parents with small children... :rolleyes1

True, my friend, very true.

However defeating of the whole pirate concept.

And throwing the itinerary out the window.

Which was very freeing, I might add. Add to that the fact that since potty training is seeming somewhat succesful (I'll post more on the Lapuette thread later) I have a feeling our "touring plans" would be hindered by constantly having to find the nearest bathroom.:lmao:


But seriously, if I manage to make trips to the world a regular thing, I anticipate that the touring plans will become looser and looser because there'd be a lot of "Oh, I did that last time" or "Eh, I can do that next time." Leaving mucho opportunities to just be there. Which I like, and didn't get much of this time out.

That's my favorite way to vacation there. But there has to be an initial time when you feel like you go things done. With us going once per year, we get to do our favorites, and have very few must do rides/attractions. Like, must get on Toy Story Mania, hopefully scoring fastpasses so we don't have to endure a ridiculous wait time.

[willwriteforears]

First off, yes, Tuesday has come and gone with no update. That is because the Internet is still down at my parents'. I don't think work would like me using the 1.5-2 hours I normally spend on composing updates (including photo editing and upload time) on non-work, so I can't post here. But I'll be back at my apartment Thurs evening, so hopefully I'll get one up then. Sorry, all. :sad1:

And now, replies!


Hey there fellow writer! :wave: I am officially caught-up and ready to roll. Read. Whatever.

Oh, and LOL about finding the Entwives! :rotfl2:

:wave2: Welcome! I must admit I'm still catching up on your TR. Lack of Internet in the evenings has put a decided crimp in that. :headache: But I'm keeping up with the current stuff, and with the long weekend I should be all caught up by Monday. :thumbsup2

True, my friend, very true.

However defeating of the whole pirate concept.

And throwing the itinerary out the window.

Which was very freeing, I might add. Add to that the fact that since potty training is seeming somewhat succesful (I'll post more on the Lapuette thread later) I have a feeling our "touring plans" would be hindered by constantly having to find the nearest bathroom.:lmao: /QUOTE]

True, true. You don't see pirates following touring plans or otherwise behaving in an OCD manner.

ALTHOUGH methinks I may have my inspiration for this year's NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) novel. OCD pirates could = mucho funniness. :thumbsup2

[QUOTE=TarzansKat;25977777]
That's my favorite way to vacation there. But there has to be an initial time when you feel like you go things done. With us going once per year, we get to do our favorites, and have very few must do rides/attractions. Like, must get on Toy Story Mania, hopefully scoring fastpasses so we don't have to endure a ridiculous wait time.

::yes:: That's what I'm sayin'. When you feel like trips are limited, you (well, I, anyway) feel like you ought to get more done. But if I can work in regular trips, I'd be totally down with picking a few must-do's and winging the rest, yo.

And yes, FPs for TSM are a definite must. You and DH might want to pick a "runner" to grab 'em as soon as you get to the park.

[If U Had Wings]

First off, yes, Tuesday has come and gone with no update. That is because the Internet is still down at my parents'. I don't think work would like me using the 1.5-2 hours I normally spend on composing updates (including photo editing and upload time) on non-work, so I can't post here. But I'll be back at my apartment Thurs evening, so hopefully I'll get one up then. Sorry, all. :sad1:
Isn't it just wrong they don't allow those things! Seriously work would much more livable if it included "playing on the internet" time.

[willwriteforears]

Isn't it just wrong they don't allow those things! Seriously work would much more livable if it included "playing on the internet" time.

I know! And aren't there studies that happy workers are more productive? "Playing on the Internet time" would certainly make me happy! :lmao:

[Sarilas]

ALTHOUGH methinks I may have my inspiration for this year's NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) novel. OCD pirates could = mucho funniness. :thumbsup2

Ah, I have an author friend who does the NaNoWriMo thing (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/1073176)!

[willwriteforears]

Ah, I have an author friend who does the NaNoWriMo thing (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/1073176)!

:thumbsup2 Always love to hear about a fellow Wrimo. :goodvibes

Also, I finally got around to uploading a picture with Melneth's and Nevi's faces properly blacked out for my last update (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25946678&postcount=125). Only a week late, but who's counting days? :rolleyes1

And yes, I missed Tuesday's update entirely. But give me a couple of hours and I should have one today.

[TarzansKat]

:thumbsup2 Always love to hear about a fellow Wrimo. :goodvibes

Also, I finally got around to uploading a picture with Melneth's and Nevi's faces properly blacked out for my last update (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25946678&postcount=125). Only a week late, but who's counting days? :rolleyes1

And yes, I missed Tuesday's update entirely. But give me a couple of hours and I should have one today.

Woo hoo, it's Jiri! Online!

And with an update???? Puh-puh-puh-please?:goodvibes

[Charleston Princess]

Wait, where did Jiri go??? :confused3

[willwriteforears]

When we'd last left off, I'd once again copped out of giving any veracity to the title of the TR. Melneth, Nevi, and I had ridden Expedition Everest without any T-shirt Power cropping up, and we'd consumed Chai Tea Freezes also sans T-shirt power.

Perhaps the power would be revealed in Africa. So we walked thence and procured Kilimanjaro Safaris FastPasses, and then we walked the Pangani Forest Trail. I have no pictures of the Pangani Forest Trail as I realized I may have mixed up some of those with the Maharajah Jungle Trek. If only I had taken some food porn of the Chai Freezes; that would have broken up the photos and I could have deciphered which are which.

That, or if only I had a better clue about differentiating Asian animals from African animals. Nevi might have told me something-or-other about it at one point, but I wasn't paying attention.

Anyhoo, here's a picture of us that was taken in front of the Tree of Life at some point. We may or may not have just completed the Pangani Forest Trail.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/tree_of_life_us.jpg
Honestly, at the time I had no idea that Tinkerbell flew above us and that a copyrighted Disney marquee ran below our feet. And it seems Nevi didn't get the memo about the toe-point. Melneth and I will have to work on our communication skills.

Once we completed the Jungle Trek, we used our Kilimanjaro FastPasses. Melneth actually took pictures. Here's one of hers:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/P5280003.jpg

And another of hers:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/P5280019.jpg

I, however, displayed a disturbing tendency to snap pictures of animals' rear ends. My defense is that they didn't realize a crack photographer wished to capture their essence for all time. Or for whatever posterity is to be had for a TR.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0675.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0680.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/P5280020.jpg

I did get a decent picture of a giraffe, however, and of this horned thingy that I'm sure Nevi will berate me for forgetting its name:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0678.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0682.jpg

And I vaguely remember our guide telling us a story about why this tree is important. At the time I thought it was impressive enough to warrant a picture. Now I think it's just a tree. But a tree that appears in the TR:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0670.jpg

Next on our list was Festival of the Lion King. On our way there, we met two important people. One was Goofy.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/Us_Goofy.jpg

The other was a Cast Member named Susan. Alas, I didn't think to take her picture.

But as we neared the entrance to Festival of the Lion King--or what we thought was the entrance; we later realized it was the back emergency exit or a Cast Member-only entrance or some other door leading to FotLK that we weren't able to get into--we heard "Excuse me!"

Since no one stood in front of the entrance-that-was-not-an-entrance and hence no rush to queue up for anything, we agreeably toward the CM who addressed us.

"Hi," she said, "my name is Susan. I noticed by your T-shirts that you're having a reunion?"

"Yes," Nevi said, "College roommates. We try to get together every year or so."

"That's great," Susan said. "And there are just the three of you?"

My spidey senses were tingling. When a CM asks how many people are in your party, it's always a good thing. Unless you have too many people in your party. At the very least, you can jump forward to fill empty spots in a ride. Best case scenario, you get Something Big.

"Yup," Melneth said. "Just us three."

"Great!" Susan said again. "In that case, I'd like to ask you something. How would you like to be in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade?"

We looked at each other. Was it not obvious? We wore matching T-shirts. Not to pigeonhole, but I believe that anyone who willingly wears a matching T-shirt would be thrilled to be in a parade. Even those who like to follow touring plans (though admittedly, if we hadn't done all the "big" stuff first, a part of me probably would have whined But the touring plan! in protest). I think we cried "Yes!" in unison. Susan asked us to meet her by the mumblemumble* at 3:30-3:45. We confirmed that we'd have enough time to watch Festival of the Lion King; she said yes, so we did. I was so giddy that I forgot that whenever my camera went into sleep mode without me turning it off, it would reset itself to its normal flash setting rather than take pictures flash-less. So if a CM who participated in FotLK during the 3:00 show on May 29 is reading and happened to be blinded by a stupid guest in the Simba section, my apologies. It was wholly unintentional, and I still feel bad about it.

Since I don't know how to take good pictures without flash, none of them came out very well. The one that did use a flash didn't turn out well because the dancers were too far away for the flash to do any good. So here's a fuzzy Simba.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0698.jpg

The three of us liked being lions. And we also enjoyed learning the Festival of the Lion King hand jive. It was simple enough that even I, the most coordination-challenged among us, was able to do it without messing up. Mostly. (Actually, Melneth and Nevi aren't at all coordination-challenged; Melneth was president of our alma mater's swing club, and Nevi took belly dancing for about a year not too long ago.) We loved FotLK, but it ended right at 3:30 or a little after, so we knew we'd have to book it to mumblemumble in order to meet Susan.

On our way to mumblemumble, a woman called from behind us, "Are you in the parade?" Surprisingly, I was the only one who heard her. Normally if I'm focused on something else, my observational skills go down the toilet. Seriously, I was so bad in fifth grade that I often failed to realize my teacher had announced silent-reading time was over and that we had to put our books away and get ready for math. Mrs. Ragoli never said anything to me about it; I think she pitied me.

Anyway.

I heard the woman, and looked back at her, thinking perhaps she'd overheard our conversation with Susan. Feeling very celebrity-like--we were going to be in the parade! Huzzah!--I told her, yes, we would appear in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade.

"We are, too!" she said.

Oh. I endeavored a smile. Nevi and Melneth, who had cottoned on to the conversation by now, were a little more enthusiastic.

Really, it's not like I expected we'd be the only guests in the entire parade, but it was still somewhat disappointing, you know? We weren't as special as I thought we were. And the couple did not have matching T-shirts.

But I shook it off. We were going to be in the parade. With the couple trailing a bit behind us (we did make sure to not get too far ahead; but we were younger and a little fleeter) we strode through the crowd toward mumblemumble.

Up next: Hand jives, jammin', and Rafiki.

*I've forgotten where, exactly, she told us to meet her, but it was by an attraction and very close to where the parade would start

[TarzansKat]

thereby confirming my suspicion that I should procure/make some matching tees for the TK clan for our upcoming trip!

How cool that you are getting to be in the parade!!!

And how DED am I over the pics of animals butts? Because, truly, it's the little things that amuse me...and the fact that so few could turn around and face you has me :rotfl:

I also note that your sneakers look very similar to mine. Which is a weird thing to notice, but I did. Are they reeboks?:)

[SnoopyDancer]

So cool! Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade is my favorite daytime parade (of course, it's the only daytime parade I have watched ;) ).

Is it pathetic that when I read this: Melneth was president of our alma mater's swing club

I thought of this:

http://route66.backroadsplanet.com/imagescars/c-mater.jpeg

[Charleston Princess]

Your updates always make me smile, Jiri!!! :lovestruc

It's an upside down tree or a Baobab tree -- I only remember this because Baobab trees figure prominently in the story, "The Little Prince" that we had to read repeatedly in French class in French. :)

I just looked it up to verify the spelling and found that in African lore, each animal was given a tree to plant, and the hyena planted his tree, the baobab, upside down. Trust the hyena to mess up! ;)

Okay, even if you weren't the only guests chosen to be in the parade, I think it is way, way, way cool that you were in it!!!! The Power of the Matching T-Shirts did not disappoint!!!

[If U Had Wings]

Can't wait to hear all about the parade. I normally don't watch any of the daytime parades, but I really like the Jungle Jammin parade.

Did something happen with your pics in your last post? The only one I saw was the one of the three of you? Or am I just going crazy?

I know I'm probably just losing my mind! :lmao:

[willwriteforears]

Woo hoo, it's Jiri! Online!


Wait, where did Jiri go??? :confused3

She was off putting star shapes on her friends' faces and penning--er, keying--the post. And then she was baking a gingered peach pie for the July 6th bar-be-que she has tomorrow. :) :thumbsup2 Then she was fixing and eating dinner, and then watching Enchanted, and then getting in a bit of Super Mario Galaxy since she has a weird thing about playing video games on pre-work nights--any video gaming is done on weekends.

thereby confirming my suspicion that I should procure/make some matching tees for the TK clan for our upcoming trip!

Duuuude, like you totally should. Dude.


And how DED am I over the pics of animals butts? Because, truly, it's the little things that amuse me...and the fact that so few could turn around and face you has me :rotfl:

Yeah, I can't do much with those pix, but I figured they could at least make it into the TR. :lmao:


I also note that your sneakers look very similar to mine. Which is a weird thing to notice, but I did. Are they reeboks?:)

Nope, New Balance actually. I've had them for a couple of years, I think, but the gym I work out at (it's a Curves, so all running is done on these "recovery pads) requests that you have "gym only" shoes, so they lasted a long while before I replaced them with a pair of Asiacs (sp?). So those white/green ones have been rotated into cycling shoes (I know, I know, they're not real cycling shoes, which would have a hard sole to maximize pedaling yada yada) and walking shoes. They served me well at Disney. :goodvibes

So cool! Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade is my favorite daytime parade (of course, it's the only daytime parade I have watched ;) ).

It's the only parade I've been in! Unless you count my less-than-a-semester stint in marching band in HS and the subsequent city parade I had to march in. I was not amused.


Is it pathetic that when I read this:

I thought of this:

http://route66.backroadsplanet.com/imagescars/c-mater.jpeg

Umm I actually still haven't seen Cars, so I'm going to say no. No, it is not pathetic. ;)


It's an upside down tree or a Baobab tree -- I only remember this because Baobab trees figure prominently in the story, "The Little Prince" that we had to read repeatedly in French class in French. :)

I just looked it up to verify the spelling and found that in African lore, each animal was given a tree to plant, and the hyena planted his tree, the baobab, upside down. Trust the hyena to mess up! ;)

Hey, thanks! Now I can sound semi-intelligent when explaining to people why I took a random picture of a tree. I'll have to continue to work on my excuses regarding animal posteriors, however. :rotfl:


Okay, even if you weren't the only guests chosen to be in the parade, I think it is way, way, way cool that you were in it!!!! The Power of the Matching T-Shirts did not disappoint!!!
Yes, we were ecstatic. :goodvibes

Seeing as my Internet is much more reliable than my parents' I think we should be back to our regular schedule. Next update on Tuesday. :thumbsup2

[willwriteforears]

Did something happen with your pics in your last post? The only one I saw was the one of the three of you? Or am I just going crazy?

I know I'm probably just losing my mind! :lmao:

:confused3 They show up fine for me...

[Donald is #1]

I, however, displayed a disturbing tendency to snap pictures of animals' rear ends. My defense is that they didn't realize a crack photographer wished to capture their essence for all time. Or for whatever posterity is to be had for a TR.


:rotfl2: :rotfl2: I have the same problem sometimes. I have been on the safari many times when many of my pictures seem to be showing the animals back ends!

[Sarilas]

I'm so looking forward to hearing about what happens at the parade!

[willwriteforears]

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: I have the same problem sometimes. I have been on the safari many times when many of my pictures seem to be showing the animals back ends!

Maybe we should start a support group. :lmao:

I'm so looking forward to hearing about what happens at the parade!

Parade should be up tomorrow evening! :thumbsup2

[Lady Lallie]

I am caught up!

Color me green with envy because you got to be in a parade!! How awesome is that? I can't wait to read about. popcorn::

[PrincessV]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0680.jpg
This one cracks me up! :rotfl2:

"Hi," she said, "my name is Susan. I noticed by your T-shirts that you're having a reunion?"
Ooo, she recognized the Power of the T-Shirts! :woohoo:
though admittedly, if we hadn't done all the "big" stuff first, a part of me probably would have whined But the touring plan! in protest
LOL, I'd have done the same thing!
And the couple did not have matching T-shirts.
Poseurs. ;)

[Tinkerbellarella]

I have no pictures of the Pangani Forest Trail as I realized I may have mixed up some of those with the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

It's so funny but I've never confused these two and seem to be the only person on the planet who hasn't. I think it's because my brain works like a filing cabinet - I file all of the Maharajah aminals under "Tigers" and all the Pangani aminals under "Gorilla". For future reference, this only works at AK. Not so much at the local zoo where I always have a hard time finding the snow leopards.

Honestly, at the time I had no idea that Tinkerbell flew above us and that a copyrighted Disney marquee ran below our feet.

Sneaky Disney PhotoPass magic.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0675.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0680.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/P5280020.jpg

Perhaps they were showing you their better sides.
Or the softer side of Sears.
Or something.

[willwriteforears]

I am caught up!


:thumbsup2


Ooo, she recognized the Power of the T-Shirts! :woohoo:



Yes, Susan proved to be a very observant and astute CM. :goodvibes



Perhaps they were showing you their better sides.
Or the softer side of Sears.
Or something.

Sears in Kilimanjaro *shudder*

Well, better that than Wal-Mart.

[Donald is #1]

Maybe we should start a support group. :lmao:



I'll bet that we can find additional members if they will just admit it. :rotfl2:
Of course, my nephew when he was younger would probably take them on purpose.:lmao:

[willwriteforears]

We arrived at mumblemumble to meet Susan right at 3:45, with the non-matching-T-shirt-wearing couple right behind us.

Susan was not in sight.

We questioned a friendly CM, who told us she'd be back "shortly." Susan was indeed back shortly, and the five of us were led into a CM-only area, where lurked at least ten other non-matching-T-shirt-wearers who nonetheless had been selected to be in the parade. We were given vests to wear, and everybody except Nevi, Melneth and I also got hats. Being polite and letting others go first didn't work out for us in terms of that. However, when Susan asked the group at large who wanted to be in the first float, Melneth snatched that up for us, so I guess we felt we couldn't be too greedy. Even if it meant forgoing hats. But we got to sit in front of Rafiki, so it was all good.

We were also given a disposable camera to use during the parade, but not before Susan took these pictures:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-054-25A_028.jpg

Note Susan's thumb. It comes into play again.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-052-24A_027.jpg

I'm cheating a bit with this one, but I loved Melneth's expression. Hopefully she's okay with just the sunglasses. Luckily, the pole obscures Nevi's face, so she can't complain.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-050-23A_026-1.jpg

Maybe Susan wanted to save me the trouble of blurring or otherwise covering Melneth's face.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-048-22A_025.jpg

And just because all I had to do for this was click a button in PhotoBucket:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-048-22A_025-1.jpg

Dear Rafiki, who allowed us to grace his float with our presence:
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-046-21A_024.jpg

Susan then managed to pass the camera over to Kelly.

And thus commenced a straight half-hour of smiling and waving. Good Lord. Do you think the character CMs put their wrists in splints or something before and after the parades? Do they massage their face muscles in preparation? Maybe the face characters all compete to be the villains, since it requires fewer muscles to frown than to smile.

Of course, even the villains can't be too mean. It is Disney, after all.

Anyway, I'd never before realized how difficult it is to be pleasant nonstop. We started inventing ways to keep ourselves involved. We did the hand jive we'd learned from Festival of the Lion King in time to the music. We threw our arms up in victory when appropriate, as with this picture:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/Parade_us.jpg

In our continual efforts to be cheery, we managed to laugh at nothing. Some of that might have been from the giddiness resultant of being in a parade, but I think after about 15 minutes, we'd started to tire out. I hadn't really felt the AK heat until sitting on that float. I could almost hear the strands of my hair going ping ping as they curled up even more from the sweat seeping from my hairline. But still we smiled, and waved, and sang along with the music, since it really doesn't take that long to learn the song.

But mostly, we smiled at the kids. When you made eye contact with one of them, and they smiled back--

Oh yeah. 123.

At last the parade came to an end. Melneth, being occupied with smiling and waving, hadn't taken any pictures of the parade. But we were allowed to stay behind the CM-only area where the parade came back through, and she took pictures then.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-040-18A_021.jpg

[There were actually 4 photos I wanted to include here, but PhotoBucket is being obstinate and won't show the rotated pictures, though supposedly they've been saved as being rotated and appear to be rotated in my album, no matter how many times I try to resave the stupid pictures. I'm going to post anyway before I get the urge to smash my expensive computer, which isn't actually to blame in the first place. I may give it another shot tomorrow.]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-026-11A_014.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-022-9A_012.jpg

My thanks goes out to the CMs who were able to dredge up a few more smiles for us when they had passed through the gates to the CM-only area. Hold on, let me climb up on my "Why Disney Rocks" soapbox. Those CMs had finished with the parade, and many of them had to walk it, or push/power some sort of contraption, in costume much more elaborate than a vest. They were likely much more tired and hot than we were. Yet they understood that this was our chance to enjoy the parade, and so they extended a bit of the magic to us. You don't get that at every theme park. *thud*

Okay, off the soap box.

We'd originally planned to be out of the park by 4:00 or 5:00. It's what the Touring Plan told us to expect. Of course, the Touring Plan didn't include parade-watching, let alone parade-participation. So we checked things out, decided we still wanted to see Finding Nemo: The Musical, but that we could miss out on It's Tough to Be a Bug and Pocahontas and Her Forest Friends. So we watched Nemo and its fantastic puppetry. Reminded me briefly of the days when my goal in life was to be a ventriloquist.

It lasted about two weeks.

But if some sort of time warp had enabled me to see first Nemo the movie, and then Nemo the puppet-musical, I might have stuck with that goal a little longer.

And we managed to ooh and ahh briefly over the Tree of Life.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-000-XA_001.jpg

Yes, that picture was to finish up the roll from the disposable camera, and yes, those are my hands in the bottom left holding up my own camera to take a picture of the ToL at a slightly different angle. But I don't have access to that particular photo just now.

We left the park a couple hours later than we'd originally intended. We swung by a Walgreens to drop off our disposable camera, buy some Woolite to wash the matching T-shirts (I refused to wear mine again unless its stankiness could be removed), and headed back to our hotel room for leftover pizza. Then we dragged our carcasses out to Downtown Disney and wandered around a bit. I bring this up solely so that I may mention the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and the Mint Bliss Sundae I had there (even if it was slightly marred by a caramel chocolate square rather than a mint one, as was supposed to grace the Mint Bliss). Because after consuming the Mint Bliss Sundae (Nevi had the Midnight Reverie, and Melneth, the Peanut Butter Hot Fudge) I would walk 500 hundred miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the girl who walks a thousand miles to have one sundae more. (NOProclaimers)

Since that's how much exercise it would require to work off two of those sundaes, I think. But it was worth it.

And that Well, aside from jaunts in various stores to figure out what we might like to buy toward the end of the trip, whenever we'd have our shopping day, and admiring the Lego sculptures [sorry no pix because I forgot my camera], and a brief jaunt at the Adventurer's Club in Pleasure Island after we discovered we'd missed the showtime for the Comedy Warehouse is the end of Day 2 as we know it.

Up Next: Epcot sans matching T-shirts, as they needed to be de-stinkified

[willwriteforears]

I'll bet that we can find additional members if they will just admit it. :rotfl2:


That is the first step to overcoming a problem!

[stagemomx3]

You looked like you were having fun in the parade. Rafiki is my son's favorite so he would have been over the moon to be on that float!

[Charleston Princess]

Morning coffee and the parade update! Hurray!

It looks like you guys had a blast, and you got to be on Rafiki's float! Too cool! That's too bad about the hats :(.

I will join you on your "Why Disney Rocks" soapbox -- I totally agree with you -- it is just such a notch above the others!!!

That Mint Bliss Sundae sounds like, well, bliss! :laughing: I'll take one of those for breakfast, please!

Do we not get any stories about the Adventurers Club? :(

[Lady Lallie]

Wonderful update. I think it is so awesome that they gave you the disposable camera to capture the moments. Disney Rocks! My new goal is to be IN a parade. How awesome! Your parade fatigue is how I felt at the wedding after the bazillionith posed photo. Smiling is exhausting!

Pocohantas and her Forest Friends is a waste of time IMO. Ugh. :headache: We ended up walking out early, we were standing in the back so I didn't feel too guilty. I see animals like that all the time living in NE and I am sure living in CO you have seen much more interesting ones as well. :goodvibes

[PrincessV]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-050-23A_026-1.jpg
LOL, love the shades!

My thanks goes out to the CMs who were able to dredge up a few more smiles for us when they had passed through the gates to the CM-only area. Hold on, let me climb up on my "Why Disney Rocks" soapbox. Those CMs had finished with the parade, and many of them had to walk it, or push/power some sort of contraption, in costume much more elaborate than a vest. They were likely much more tired and hot than we were. Yet they understood that this was our chance to enjoy the parade, and so they extended a bit of the magic to us. You don't get that at every theme park. *thud*
Very, very cool. :thumbsup2

[Tinkerbellarella]

Note Susan's thumb. It comes into play again.

I love how Susan was unknowingly "photobucketing" Nevi/Melneth for you.

And thus commenced a straight half-hour of smiling and waving. Good Lord. Do you think the character CMs put their wrists in splints or something before and after the parades? Do they massage their face muscles in preparation? Maybe the face characters all compete to be the villains, since it requires fewer muscles to frown than to smile.

Well, I figure, it's either one of the suggestions you made above or they're all former pageant queens/kings.

But mostly, we smiled at the kids. When you made eye contact with one of them, and they smiled back--

Oh yeah. 123.

Indeed. :goodvibes

Reminded me briefly of the days when my goal in life was to be a ventriloquist.

It lasted about two weeks.

Sounds much like the time I decided I wanted to be a cross-country truck driver.

I think it was mostly for the roadside diner appeal.
Oh and getting to see our glorious country from sea to shining sea.
But likely, more of the former.

I would walk 500 hundred miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the girl who walks a thousand miles to have one sundae more. (NOProclaimers)

Duh duh duh.
Duh duh duh.
Duhduhduhdundiddleundiddleundiddleahdahdah.

Great update.

[willwriteforears]

You looked like you were having fun in the parade. Rafiki is my son's favorite so he would have been over the moon to be on that float!

Tiring as it was to smile and wave and hand-jive, yes, we did have fun. We felt very privileged ourselves to be with Rafiki. :goodvibes



Do we not get any stories about the Adventurers Club? :(

We did go back! And honestly I remember our second AC experience better than the first, so I'll post about that. During the night of Day 2, we only stayed for one game, the Baldergash game. It was in the library, the three of us had virgin drinks, and I think the sailor (I believe he was a sailor) and "junior member" of the AC won the competition.

But it was fun, and I can't express how disappointed I am in Disney that they're doing away with Pleasure Island. I'm not much of a dancer myself, as I've alluded, but the AC and Comedy Warehouse are excellent. I feel awful for the CMs (I think they're still considered CMs) who are losing their jobs--but they're all so talented, I'm sure they'll find something else, no problem. Still, it makes me very sad to know I won't ever see the AC or CW (not the television network, obviously) again. :sad1:



Pocohantas and her Forest Friends is a waste of time IMO. Ugh. :headache: We ended up walking out early, we were standing in the back so I didn't feel too guilty. I see animals like that all the time living in NE and I am sure living in CO you have seen much more interesting ones as well. :goodvibes

From what we'd read, it did sound pretty lame. Glad to hear we're justified in missing it. :thumbsup2

LOL, love the shades!



I know, I may have to go back and get myself a pair. :rotfl:

[willwriteforears]

Melneth has said, being a first-year resident and therefore with crazy hours (she had her first 30 hour shift not too long ago :eek: ) she simply hasn't enough time to join the DIS. But we might hope she'll provide commentary from time to time, since she sent me this:

Jiri - loving the journal. 1. I actually have to credit Susan for our prime float reservation. I simply heard her call "[last name] family" and responded quickly. 2. Don't forget to mention the insane loudness of it all and the green ear plugs.

So yes, Susan called our names and got us the first float. We forgive her her thumb in the pictures for that, and picking us to be in the parade in the first place. :goodvibes

And yes, the parade was incredibly loud--they have to blast the music from the speakers. Good for the spectators; bad for the participants. We were all given green earplugs to wear. I think you can probably make them out in at least a couple of the pictures. Anyway, I ended up using just one earplug, since I was literally so sweaty that I couldn't get the second to stay in (sorry if you were attempting to eat while reading this).

A note of warning if any of you are ever in a parade and given some sort of costume with pockets: don't open them. (If you're still eating, you'll probably want to skip over this next bit.) I made the mistake of doing so and discovered a wad of used green earplugs. :scared:

Mine, I deposited in a proper receptacle, TYVM.

If I manage to get those four parade pictures rotated and properly displayed, I'll post to let you all know.

[willwriteforears]

Whoops, almost missed you!

I love how Susan was unknowingly "photobucketing" Nevi/Melneth for you.

Yes, but for our own personal use, they weren't too thrilled. :rotfl:

'Course, if one of them had taken the middle seat, I'd be the one complaining.


Well, I figure, it's either one of the suggestions you made above or they're all former pageant queens/kings.
:scratchin: Always a possibility.



Sounds much like the time I decided I wanted to be a cross-country truck driver.

I think it was mostly for the roadside diner appeal.
Oh and getting to see our glorious country from sea to shining sea.
But likely, more of the former.

:lmao:

[Lady Lallie]

Melneth has said, being a first-year resident and therefore with crazy hours (she had her first 30 hour shift not too long ago :eek: ) she simply hasn't enough time to join the DIS. But we might hope she'll provide commentary from time to time, since she sent me this:


So yes, Susan called our names and got us the first float. We forgive her her thumb in the pictures for that, and picking us to be in the parade in the first place. :goodvibes

And yes, the parade was incredibly loud--they have to blast the music from the speakers. Good for the spectators; bad for the participants. We were all given green earplugs to wear. I think you can probably make them out in at least a couple of the pictures. Anyway, I ended up using just one earplug, since I was literally so sweaty that I couldn't get the second to stay in (sorry if you were attempting to eat while reading this).

A note of warning if any of you are ever in a parade and given some sort of costume with pockets: don't open them. (If you're still eating, you'll probably want to skip over this next bit.) I made the mistake of doing so and discovered a wad of used green earplugs. :scared:

Mine, I deposited in a proper receptacle, TYVM.

If I manage to get those four parade pictures rotated and properly displayed, I'll post to let you all know.
As someone who sleeps with earplugs because her DH is like sleeping next to a foghorn, I find it absolutely HORRIFYING that people wouldn't throw them away. :headache:

[TarzansKat]

:woohoo:

I love me some update.

Especially when it involves a Benny and Joon reference, 123 biological clock angst, and Rafiki!

Who would ever think those things go together, eh?

:lmao:

And by the by, about photobucket. Instead of saving your photo and "replacing the original" after you've rotated it, click on save a copy instead. Then use the copy to post. For some reason this works.:goodvibes

[willwriteforears]

Okay, so I'm trying TK's suggestion and saved my parade pics in PhotoBucket as new copies. Based on the preview, everything is rotated properly, and since the DIS, for some unfathomable reason, won't let me edit posts (I click "save" and nothing happens), I decided to post them here.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-038-17A_020-1.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-036-16A_019-1.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-032-14A_017-1.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/459489-R1-028-12A_015-1.jpg

[willwriteforears]

As someone who sleeps with earplugs because her DH is like sleeping next to a foghorn, I find it absolutely HORRIFYING that people wouldn't throw them away. :headache:

I wholeheartedly agree. :crazy2: (Hopefully that's the right tag; I can't click on the smileys and have them pop up *sniff*)

:woohoo:

And by the by, about photobucket. Instead of saving your photo and "replacing the original" after you've rotated it, click on save a copy instead. Then use the copy to post. For some reason this works.:goodvibes

It did work! Thanks!

Now, can you tell me why the DIS won't allow me to edit my posts or use smileys or any other formatting unless I type it in myself?

[TarzansKat]

It did work! Thanks!
:thumbsup2 Nice photos!


Now, can you tell me why the DIS won't allow me to edit my posts or use smileys or any other formatting unless I type it in myself?

Huh. :scratchin

I'm stumped.:confused:

[willwriteforears]

:thumbsup2 Nice photos!

Thank you. Melneth, as the disposable camera picture-taker, deserves the credit on these.


Huh. :scratchin

I'm stumped.:confused:

Sigh. I've tried closing out of my browser window and opening it up again; it doesn't work. Maybe if I actually log out...

[SnoopyDancer]

Fun parade post with random allusions to the Proclaimers and REM. Too bad you didn't get the hats, but at least you got to open the parade. Did they give you a magical moment certificate?

[Lady Lallie]

For being a disposable camera those are very decent pictures! It gives me hope for the waterproof disposable that I dropped off from our day at the beach.

[Charleston Princess]

Very cool parade pics!!! We have never watched the parade at AK, but after seeing how awesomely neat the costumes and floats are, I need to schedule it into the next trip!

[If U Had Wings]

The parade looks like it was alot of fun! That's the one afternoon parade that I really like.

[Sarilas]

LOVE the parade pictures! Those floats are so cool... I wasn't sure if we'd bother to watch any parades but I think we just might have to!

[willwriteforears]

Fun parade post with random allusions to the Proclaimers and REM. Too bad you didn't get the hats, but at least you got to open the parade. Did they give you a magical moment certificate?

Nope, no certificates. But I prefer the pictures, anyway. :thumbsup2

For being a disposable camera those are very decent pictures! It gives me hope for the waterproof disposable that I dropped off from our day at the beach.

Disposable cameras in daylight usually turn out fairly decent pictures. As long as it wasn't cloudy, yours will probably be fine. :goodvibes

Very cool parade pics!!! We have never watched the parade at AK, but after seeing how awesomely neat the costumes and floats are, I need to schedule it into the next trip!

The parade looks like it was alot of fun! That's the one afternoon parade that I really like.

LOVE the parade pictures! Those floats are so cool... I wasn't sure if we'd bother to watch any parades but I think we just might have to!

Honestly, I wasn't keen on watching any of the parades (being in one is a different matter :rolleyes1 ), because I usually get hot and sweaty just standing there, and then that takes any and all of the enjoyment out of it for me. That's what I remember happening during the MK parade when I was 10; my mom and I left it early to go ride Splash Mountain (I think). But Melneth and Nevi were more interested in parades in general, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the floats and costuming for the AK parade. Melneth's parents had seen it a while back and insisted it was one we had to see. I can understand why.

[mom3sonstt]

:woohoo:



Especially when it involves a Benny and Joon reference,
s



I missed a Benny and Joon reference :scared1: What was it?????

[SnoopyDancer]

I missed a Benny and Joon reference :scared1: What was it?????

Was it the reference to the Proclaimers? Wasn't that the movie that made the Proclaimers "big" in the states? :confused3

Of course, they were also in Shrek, but I thought Benny and Joon came first.

[willwriteforears]

I missed a Benny and Joon reference :scared1: What was it?????

Was it the reference to the Proclaimers? Wasn't that the movie that made the Proclaimers "big" in the states? :confused3

Of course, they were also in Shrek, but I thought Benny and Joon came first.

:rolleyes1 To be honest, I hadn't realized I put in a Benny and Joon reference. But yes, I think it was the Proclaimers that TarzansKat cottoned on to. It's been a long time since I've seen Benny and Joon; all I really remember is the infamous grilled-cheese-and-clothing-iron scene.

I do know that Benny and Joon came before Shrek, by close to a decade, I think.

[TarzansKat]

Hot diggity dog, I started a debate and didn't even know it.

Yes, the Proclaimers were made big by Benny and Joon, the music video had clips of Johnny Depp in it, hence it sticking my head so well.;)

That, and one of my girlfriends and I LOVED that movie. We also used to sing the song, she did one part, I did the other. It was part of our routine on sleepovers.

That and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. We had to do that every night before we went to bed.

And that's possibly more than you wanted to know about my childhood, but there you go.:goodvibes

[willwriteforears]

Hot diggity dog, I started a debate and didn't even know it.

Yes, the Proclaimers were made big by Benny and Joon, the music video had clips of Johnny Depp in it, hence it sticking my head so well.;)

That, and one of my girlfriends and I LOVED that movie. We also used to sing the song, she did one part, I did the other. It was part of our routine on sleepovers.

That and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. We had to do that every night before we went to bed.

And that's possibly more than you wanted to know about my childhood, but there you go.:goodvibes

:thumbsup2 Always nice to know that I'm more intelligent than I give myself credit for. Or at least more capable of including pop culture references. :lmao:

[willwriteforears]

When I woke up on Friday morning at 6:00, I mentally catalogued my sleep bank. Maybe five and a half hours from that night, and then about the same for the two previous nights--I might not start dragging quite yet (blatant foreshawdowing alert, but I probably won't get to the pay-off in this post.

I showered first, per our habits; Melneth and Nevi got up shortly after I emerged from the bathroom. After the issues with the hotel bus system the day before, we had agreed to take Pearl, our rented PT Cruiser. We were in the car by 8:00.

On the way to Epcot, Nevi read her book while Melneth and I sang along to pop radio (Colbie Calliat featured prominently, as I recall). If we disturbed her, she didn't say anything.

We arrived at the parking lot around 8:15, parked, and headed for the gates.

Step 1 on Day One of the Unofficial Guide's two-day Early Riser Epcot Touring Plan: Arrive 40 mintues before opening. Check. We proceeded to the turnstiles and commenced amusing ourselves with the stupidity of humanity en masse: Even though a large section of turnstiles had no one waiting in front of them, everyone just continued to pile up, sheep-like, behind the center section of turnstiles. A CM had waved us over to our turnstile, so we knew we were in the green.

After about twenty minutes, we were allowed through the turnstiles, and we veered right so we could head for Soarin' after rope drop. On the way to Soarin', we had a smidge of time to admire Epcot's lovely topiary.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/IMG_0711.jpg

Admire the above photo well, dear readers. It is the sole photo I took during our first day at Epcot, and thus will have to sustain your need for color for quite some time. Unless I get creative with my font. Which would then make everything hard to read. Which would then lose me my readership, because who wants to read text that looks like this?

So yes. Let the above picture serve your need for color.

Soarin' was a near walk-on. Have I mentioned recently how much I love The Unofficial Guide? It is a blessed, blessed book. We got to the waiting area with the video informing us of the safety measures we needed to take for our "flight." "It's Patrick Warburton!" cried Nevi and Melneth in near-unison.

Lest I be left out of the joy of actor-knowledge, I asked, "Who's that?"

Nevi is the master of the Nasty Glare of Incredulence. We roomed together in college, and while I never saw her work on perfecting it in a mirror, I have my suspicions. She used the NGI on me and said primly, "Kronk!"

"Oh," I said. I still have no idea what else he's done, besides voicing Kronk and appearing as our flight-attendant-type-person for Soarin'. But I have IMDB if I truly care. Which, much as I liked The Emporer's New Groove and Soarin', I don't.

Anyway, for Soarin' we were on the bottom row. I never knew the California skyscape had so many feet in it. The pine forests, however, did smell accurately piney, as my experience with Colorado's forests gave me experience to draw upon. Melneth later said that the ocean didn't smell like the ocean. Since Colorado is landlocked, I haven't been at an oceanic beach since I was about ten, I think. I'll take her word for it.

It was on the UG's plan to get FPs for Soarin' if we wished to ride again, which we did; hopefully the second time out the skyscape wouldn't be so podiatrically oriented.

From Soarin' we headed toward Living With the Land. I found it more interesting this time around than I had during my second trip to the World at ten years old.* I grew up and currently live somewhat near Boulder. All that environmental conscientiousness had to rub off on me sometime.

And they had a Mickey-pumpkin. Who can not love a Mickey-pumpkin? Should I ever get to the point where I have my own garden complete with a pumpkin patch, I may attempt to grow them myself. It would make for a neat jack o' latern if I could get it to sit up right.

But obviously I was not impressed enough with the Mickey-pumpkin to take a picture, and come to think of it I do believe (remember, I grew-up/currently-live yada yada) I had a moment of disgruntlement--pumpkins are not meant to grow in the shape of a Mickey head. What if we tried to grow all our vegetables in the shapes of Disney characters? We're messing with nature here, people! And nature does not want to be in the shape of Mickey characters!

Still. A Mickey head jack o' lantern would be cool. I'm sure if I planted a tree, Mother Nature would forgive me.

The next step on our Touring Plan was to see The Circle of Life, or, as I think it should be called, Simba Explains to Timon And Pumbaa Why Humans Are Evil and Destroying the Planet. There are few occasions when I have been so ashamed to be a member of hmo [even though it's a legitimate use of the word, the DIS won't let me put the first o in there; given the nature of HMOs, though, it's still kinda accurate] sapiens as after watching that film. Even though the last bit, which might be subtitled Simba Backpedals and Tells Timon and Pumbaa That Humans Are Trying [Belatedly] to Care for the Planet, I still felt very depressed, as did Nevi and Melneth.

Good thing there were the seagulls outside of The Seas With Nemo and Friends to cheer us up. Though I didn't take any more pictures during Epcot: Day 1, I do have a minute or so video clip of the birds (don't be surprised; they were fake, not presented as dead, and remember, this was pre DBAG anyway) and my voice in the background saying, "Okay, we're watching the seagulls outside of Nemo... they're not doing anything right now, but when they do it's pretty funny**... But this video is pretty boring, so I guess I'll just turn it off (flapflapmineminemine) Oh look! There they go! (flapflapminemine). And there we have it."

We continued inside to Nemo and rode the Clammobiles. I was the loner this time and had a private Clam. Which was okay because I didn't come up with any clever comments about the ride. It was that underwhelming.

From there, we explored the Seas portion a bit, read up on sharks, and then headed over to Turtle Talk With Crush.

I probably don't have to write it, but 123. Yes, I would one day like to have a little moppet I can send up to talk to Crush. Assuming that Disney even has TTWC by the time I manage to procreate and said progeny is old enough to ask coherent questions. Because one of the kids wasn't, and the poor child had to repeat the question about three times before the CM out on the floor was able to interpret the question for Crush. Lots of, "I'm sorry, little dude, what was that?" and "Little dude, could you speak up, please?"

After talking with Crush--or rather, listening to children talk with Crush, it was time to use our Soarin' FastPasses, so we headed over there again. This time we got the top row, so we were assured of a foot-free view. I wore Hush Puppies mules, and since we would be ascending above others' heads, I thought to be courteous and take off my shoes before my flight, just to ensure that my shoes wouldn't fall off and clonk someone on the noggin. But the people below me may have preferred me to have kept my shoes on.

Unfortunately, I am a foot-sweater. Why my body's preferred method of cooling seems to be through my feet, even though they are usually encased in footwear when I most need the cooling, and thereby instead of feeling cooled off, I instead feel as if I am walking around wearing mini-ovens, I could not venture to say, other than that it's a trait inherited from my dad.

Thanks a lot, Pop.

My dad has it easier than I do, though, because he doesn't wear shoes without socks in the summer, so his excess moisture is properly wicked away, whereas mine is not and therefore leads to a state of constant summer peeling of the feet by mid-June.

I think I have just obliterated any hopes I may have had of a single man reading my trip report and being won over by my written wit and verve.

Anyway, I did give some thought to my feet's excessive sweating, readers, I truly did. But it was not quite 11:00 at this point, and I distinctly remember thinking "It's probably not that bad."

Soarin' lied to me, scent-wise, earlier. I never suspected that the ocean smelled like feet. Or that orange groves smelled like feet. Or that pine forests smelled like feet. And my guess is that the people below me never suspected such, either. So not only did I smell my feet, and the people in the row below me smelled my feet, but I had left my shoes on the floor, so the people on the bottom row likely smelled those.

Oy. Maybe Simba had it right about me. Granted, it was a natural odor, but still--:crazy2:

So I think everyone would have preferred me to leave my shoes on. Next time, I will know. And knowing is half the battle.

Up Next: Maybe journeying into my imagination will make me believe my feet smell like roses.

*Since the first trip was at three or four years of age, I don't remember any of it, with the possible exception of shaking Donald Duck's hand--er, wing--while sitting in my stroller. But I am not sure if that was at the World or at Disneyland.

**Actually, it's not all that hilarious. I think I was just trying to distract myself from Simba's veiled accusations against humanity.

[TarzansKat]

What, no Benny and Joon reference?;) Sorry, I know, overplayed.

Ah, so we head to Epcot. Love the one photo of the Captain Hook topiary. It looks so springy and piratey all at the same time. And you know how I loves me some piratey!;)

Okay, and of that whole chapter, what did I zero in on?

Your feet.

Who knew someone who lives about 1500-2000 miles away from you could be so interested in...your feet?

Wanna know why? My feet are the same, Jiri. Oh, how I feel your pain. And yes, I also inherited it from my dad's side. And my poor little peanut has inherited it from me.

Our feet STANK! No, I don't mean stink, I mean they are stanky feet. Especially during the summer. Which is why I prefer flip flops. And am debating the whole sneakers in the parks thing. Because much like you, that's like a tortue chamber for my tooties! And if I were to wear sneaks for the first part of the day and then switch to flips for the second...oh...the horror. I think my meeting with Captain Jack would be brought to an abrupt close as he calmly asked, "**...is Davey Jones here?" Although you never know, considering his lack of personal hygiene, perhaps he'd be willing to accept me in all my stanky glory. They are trifles, anyway, right?

Hijack over.:thumbsup2

[Charleston Princess]

On the way to Epcot, Nevi read her book while Melneth and I sang along to pop radio (Colbie Calliat featured prominently, as I recall). If we disturbed her, she didn't say anything.

The teacher and fellow lover of books wants to know what she was reading...

Soarin' was a near walk-on. Have I mentioned recently how much I love The Unofficial Guide? It is a blessed, blessed book. We got to the waiting area with the video informing us of the safety measures we needed to take for our "flight." "It's Patrick Warburton!" cried Nevi and Melneth in near-unison.

He also played Elaine's on-again/off-again boyfriend, Putty, on the tv series Seinfeld! Charles and I :lovestruc Putty because he was always making us laugh -- Charles and I, of course, always get giddy when we see him as our Soarin' flight attendent and have to quote some of his more memorable lines.

But obviously I was not impressed enough with the Mickey-pumpkin to take a picture, and come to think of it I do believe (remember, I grew-up/currently-live yada yada) I had a moment of disgruntlement--pumpkins are not meant to grow in the shape of a Mickey head. What if we tried to grow all our vegetables in the shapes of Disney characters? We're messing with nature here, people! And nature does not want to be in the shape of Mickey characters!

They might want to be in the shape of Mickey characters...maybe...;)

Great update! Love the Captain Hook topiary!

[Lady Lallie]

I too suffer from the stanky foot club. Mostly in the summer when I want to wear those cute slip on shoes at work. DH makes me wash my feet when I get home....sometimes twice. :lmao: I have tried everything and have found some success with spray on deodorant. I scoffed at my mother when she suggested it but it worked! I get the aersol can (don't yell at me simba!) and spray it on the tootsies before I put my cute slip on shoes on and it works really well. Now there have been some days when it's not so good but 9 times out of 10, DH is not turning green when I take off my shoes. :rotfl:

Hijack Over. :thumbsup2

Great update. I want a mickey shaped pumpkin, I think that is just darling. I have never been on soarin and can't wait!

[willwriteforears]

Okay, and of that whole chapter, what did I zero in on?

Your feet.

Who knew someone who lives about 1500-2000 miles away from you could be so interested in...your feet?

Wanna know why? My feet are the same, Jiri. Oh, how I feel your pain. And yes, I also inherited it from my dad's side. And my poor little peanut has inherited it from me.

Our feet STANK! No, I don't mean stink, I mean they are stanky feet. Especially during the summer. Which is why I prefer flip flops. And am debating the whole sneakers in the parks thing. Because much like you, that's like a tortue chamber for my tooties! And if I were to wear sneaks for the first part of the day and then switch to flips for the second...oh...the horror. I think my meeting with Captain Jack would be brought to an abrupt close as he calmly asked, "**...is Davey Jones here?" Although you never know, considering his lack of personal hygiene, perhaps he'd be willing to accept me in all my stanky glory. They are trifles, anyway, right?

Hijack over.:thumbsup2

I don't do well with flip flops. Not enough arch support (but that's why I was interested in the Fit Flops once upon a time) and the little thong thingy usually digs into my toes (which is why I resisted the lure of the Fit Flops. I just don't think my toes would be happy). I switched from sneaks to the mules during the trip (to give my shoes a chance to air out), and honestly I liked the sneaks better. Though at the end of the day I did head over to a corner of the hotel room before taking them off. :rotfl: Melneth and Nevi were too polite to complain.

The teacher and fellow lover of books wants to know what she was reading...

Umm I forget the exact title, but I think it was in the Forgotten Realm series. It's fantasy.


He also played Elaine's on-again/off-again boyfriend, Putty, on the tv series Seinfeld! Charles and I :lovestruc Putty because he was always making us laugh -- Charles and I, of course, always get giddy when we see him as our Soarin' flight attendent and have to quote some of his more memorable lines.


Ah! It's been a while since I've seen an episode of Seinfeld, and I don't recall Putty off the top of my head, but if I see him, I'll recognize him now. :thumbsup2

I too suffer from the stanky foot club. Mostly in the summer when I want to wear those cute slip on shoes at work. DH makes me wash my feet when I get home....sometimes twice. :lmao: I have tried everything and have found some success with spray on deodorant. I scoffed at my mother when she suggested it but it worked! I get the aersol can (don't yell at me simba!) and spray it on the tootsies before I put my cute slip on shoes on and it works really well. Now there have been some days when it's not so good but 9 times out of 10, DH is not turning green when I take off my shoes. :rotfl:

Aerosol? Simba shakes his head and cries, "Why, LL? Why do you hate the planet?" :rotfl:

jk. From what I've heard, aerosol's not as bad as it used to be. I think CFCs have been eliminated. I'm not sure I'd try spray-on deodorant (I have issues with chemicals; my body doesn't react well to them) but I might try some strong-smelling essential oils...




Great update. I want a mickey shaped pumpkin, I think that is just darling. I have never been on soarin and can't wait!

Soarin' was excellent. Probably not my favorite ride in all the parks, but definitely up there. :thumbsup2

[If U Had Wings]

Soarin' lied to me, scent-wise, earlier. I never suspected that the ocean smelled like feet. Or that orange groves smelled like feet. Or that pine forests smelled like feet. And my guess is that the people below me never suspected such, either. So not only did I smell my feet, and the people in the row below me smelled my feet, but I had left my shoes on the floor, so the people on the bottom row likely smelled those.

Oy. Maybe Simba had it right about me. Granted, it was a natural odor, but still--:crazy2:

So I think everyone would have preferred me to leave my shoes on. Next time, I will know. And knowing is half the battle.


Had to laugh bit at this as my brother and I both suffer with the same problem, although he has it worse than me. His are horrible even when he wears sandals.

I saw him today and he promises he found something online that supposedly obliviates stinky foot odor. It even claims to get rid of skunk smell so were hoping it will help. I'll let you know if it actually does the trick.

[Backstage_Gal]

subbing!great report, but it's almost 2 am and no time for comments

[Tinkerbellarella]

"It's Patrick Warburton!" cried Nevi and Melneth in near-unison.

Lest I be left out of the joy of actor-knowledge, I asked, "Who's that?"

No worries, I'd be saying the same thing.
At least now I know it's Kronk.

Good thing there were the seagulls outside of The Seas With Nemo and Friends to cheer us up.

MINE!

I think I have just obliterated any hopes I may have had of a single man reading my trip report and being won over by my written wit and verve.

That, or, if you haven't, the single man left reading your trip report truly is THE ONE (NONeofromtheMatrix).

And knowing is half the battle.

GIJOOOOOOE!!!

Sorry.
No one else did it.
I felt obligated.

[willwriteforears]

Had to laugh bit at this as my brother and I both suffer with the same problem, although he has it worse than me. His are horrible even when he wears sandals.

I saw him today and he promises he found something online that supposedly obliviates stinky foot odor. It even claims to get rid of skunk smell so were hoping it will help. I'll let you know if it actually does the trick.

Wow, it seems may of the Lapuettes have Stanky Feet Syndrome! At least I'm in good company. :thumbsup2

subbing!great report, but it's almost 2 am and no time for comments

:wave2: Welcome, and thanks for subbing! :thumbsup2

No worries, I'd be saying the same thing.
At least now I know it's Kronk.

And knowing is--

Wait. Already did that. Need new material. Which eludes me at 8:34 on a Sunday night, less than 11 hours from when I will be back at work. *sniff*


That, or, if you haven't, the single man left reading your trip report truly is THE ONE (NONeofromtheMatrix).

Okay, but the second "the one" starts dodging bullets in slow mo or--egads--stopping them with his mind, I'm dumping him because the real world outside of the matrix is not one that appeals to me. Socket in the back of the neck = :crazy2: And the "real world" looked entirely devoid of chocolate. That's not real; that's he--.


GIJOOOOOOE!!!

Sorry.
No one else did it.
I felt obligated.

And I thank you sincerely. When I knowingly put in a pop culture reference, it's nice to see that someone caught it. As opposed to when I put in pop culture references unknowingly, in which case I am torn between feeling supersmart because I was justthatgood to include the reference, or very dumb since I didn't know it in the first place.

::cough need to set up TiVo wishlist for Benny and Joon so I can rewatch it cough::

[TarzansKat]

And I thank you sincerely. When I knowingly put in a pop culture reference, it's nice to see that someone caught it. As opposed to when I put in pop culture references unknowingly, in which case I am torn between feeling supersmart because I was justthatgood to include the reference, or very dumb since I didn't know it in the first place.

::cough need to set up TiVo wishlist for Benny and Joon so I can rewatch it cough::

:lmao:

[Sarilas]

Johnny Depp playing with the rolls at the diner counter... worth every penny of renting Benny and Joon! (I still own it on an antique VHS tape!)

[TarzansKat]

Johnny Depp playing with the rolls at the diner counter... worth every penny of renting Benny and Joon! (I still own it on an antique VHS tape!)

That's one of my favorite parts.:goodvibes

[Lady Lallie]

All this talk of Benny and Joon is making me wish that I didn't cancel netflix. :::Pout:::

[Charleston Princess]

I've never seen Benny and Joon. :sad2:

[Sarilas]

For shame, people, for shame!

[willwriteforears]

Johnny Depp playing with the rolls at the diner counter... worth every penny of renting Benny and Joon! (I still own it on an antique VHS tape!)

That's one of my favorite parts.:goodvibes

I may be mistaken, but wasn't that a take-off of an old Charlie Chaplin bit, where he was playing with potatoes in the same manner? (But my guess is based off an old Simpsons episode where Grandpa was doing the same thing and got berated for imitating Charlie Chaplin, so my source isn't really impeccable. :rotfl: )

All this talk of Benny and Joon is making me wish that I didn't cancel netflix. :::Pout:::

I've never seen Benny and Joon. :sad2:

For shame, people, for shame!

Ahem... Yes, I've mentioned that it's been a while since I've seen Benny and Joon. I will now admit that while I'm reasonably sure I've seen the entire movie in its duration, there's a chance that I've seen only bits and pieces on cable. :scared1:

LL, I'm with you on regretting canceling Netflix. But I canceled it when I got satellite; it was my nod at attempting to save money since satellite is more expensive than Netflix and supposedly I wouldn't need Netflix with the 100-plus channels. Which is mostly true. But untrue in cases such as the above, alas.

[Lady Lallie]

LL, I'm with you on regretting canceling Netflix. But I canceled it when I got satellite; it was my nod at attempting to save money since satellite is more expensive than Netflix and supposedly I wouldn't need Netflix with the 100-plus channels. Which is mostly true. But untrue in cases such as the above, alas.
DH and I weren't watching our movies in a timely manner which really didn't make it worth the $$ for us. We also cut out our movie channels so now we just have straight cable but that is okay. As long as I get Discovery for Deadliest Catch, TLC for Jon & Kate and USA for Law & Order reruns I am a happy LL.

[stagemomx3]

I've never seen Benny and Joon. :sad2:

Me either.

[ForeverDance]

Been MIA for a while but I promise I have been reading, just not writing. Things have calmed down now (enough to grab a couple minutes of peace to write a response anyway).

And they had a Mickey-pumpkin. Who can not love a Mickey-pumpkin? Should I ever get to the point where I have my own garden complete with a pumpkin patch, I may attempt to grow them myself. It would make for a neat jack o' latern if I could get it to sit up right.

That is exactly what I thought the first time I went through there. I swear some day I am going to try it... if only I didn't have a brown thumb :rolleyes:

[TarzansKat]

I may be mistaken, but wasn't that a take-off of an old Charlie Chaplin bit, where he was playing with potatoes in the same manner? (But my guess is based off an old Simpsons episode where Grandpa was doing the same thing and got berated for imitating Charlie Chaplin, so my source isn't really impeccable. :rotfl: )

Actually, I believe the character was loosely based on Buster Keaton.

:::scurry, scurry::::

Ah yes, according to IMDB, "When Sam arrives, he quickly makes an impression with his quietly eccentric ways which emulate the antics of the great silent movie comedian, Buster Keaton."

Ah...I love my obscure movie knowledge.:lmao:

[willwriteforears]

DH and I weren't watching our movies in a timely manner which really didn't make it worth the $$ for us. We also cut out our movie channels so now we just have straight cable but that is okay. As long as I get Discovery for Deadliest Catch, TLC for Jon & Kate and USA for Law & Order reruns I am a happy LL.

Oh, I didn't have that problem. I had the two-out-at-a-time unlimited plan. I was probably one of the customers Netflix hated b/c I could average four DVDs a week as long as USPS cooperated with me. :rotfl: (I had no cable or satellite at the time; that's my excuse). Anyway, they've sent me a couple of invites to entice me back, but nothing major.

Me either.

Hmm, lots of us need to watch (or rewatch) it, it seems!

Been MIA for a while but I promise I have been reading, just not writing. Things have calmed down now (enough to grab a couple minutes of peace to write a response anyway).

No worries! I understand real life intrudes! :thumbsup2



That is exactly what I thought the first time I went through there. I swear some day I am going to try it... if only I didn't have a brown thumb :rolleyes:

I didn't think I had a brown thumb, but my African violet and aloe plants are ailing. The aloe vera, at least, probably needs to be repotted. I don't think I'm watering the African violet enough; need to adjust for summer.

Actually, I believe the character was loosely based on Buster Keaton.

:::scurry, scurry::::

Ah yes, according to IMDB, "When Sam arrives, he quickly makes an impression with his quietly eccentric ways which emulate the antics of the great silent movie comedian, Buster Keaton."

Ah...I love my obscure movie knowledge.:lmao:

Oh, well at least I had the silent movie actor bit right!

[PrincessV]

We proceeded to the turnstiles and commenced amusing ourselves with the stupidity of humanity en masse: Even though a large section of turnstiles had no one waiting in front of them, everyone just continued to pile up, sheep-like, behind the center section of turnstiles.
This is my favorite part of rope-drop. I always want to start mooing. Loudly. ;)
who wants to read text that looks like this?
:wave: But I'm artsy like that.
Have I mentioned recently how much I love The Unofficial Guide? It is a blessed, blessed book.
::yes:: I've used it and the companion site for years and years - never have they let me down! :lovestruc
Lest I be left out of the joy of actor-knowledge, I asked, "Who's that?"
"Kronk!"
And PUDDY! From Seinfeld!
Melneth later said that the ocean didn't smell like the ocean. Since Colorado is landlocked, I haven't been at an oceanic beach since I was about ten, I think. I'll take her word for it.
She's right. :)
Even though the last bit, which might be subtitled Simba Backpedals and Tells Timon and Pumbaa That Humans Are Trying [Belatedly] to Care for the Planet, I still felt very depressed, as did Nevi and Melneth.
Because nothing says "vacation" quite so much as shame for one's own humanity. Way to go Disney! :rotfl:
I probably don't have to write it, but 123. Yes, I would one day like to have a little moppet I can send up to talk to Crush. Assuming that Disney even has TTWC by the time I manage to procreate and said progeny is old enough to ask coherent questions.
Also, assuming said progeny will even enter the doors. Leo won't. Nope. Not gonna talk with Crush. EVER. Or so he tells me. :headache:

[willwriteforears]

This is my favorite part of rope-drop. I always want to start mooing. Loudly. ;)

Wait till we get to our shenanigans during the MK rope drop! :thumbsup2


:wave: But I'm artsy like that.

Okay, so I'd have a readership of one with the arty text. But you're reading even sans arty text, and so are lots of other people who probably wouldn't if I went all crazy-like with the font and color. Plus, it takes a long time to do all that. I'm afraid you're stuck. ;)


And PUDDY! From Seinfeld!

::yes:: CP set me right a couple of days ago. :thumbsup2


Also, assuming said progeny will even enter the doors. Leo won't. Nope. Not gonna talk with Crush. EVER. Or so he tells me. :headache:

Hmm. Maybe he'd do Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and you could ease him into Crush? :confused3

[RachelNinja]

Unless I get creative with my font. Which would then make everything hard to read. Which would then lose me my readership, because who wants to read text that looks like this?

Oh dear. You just made me have a flashback of my JHS/HS years. NO, I didn't do that, but the people I called friends (at least for the time being~) did that all the time. Haha, it's so hilarious to quote that and see the code for it.

Unfortunately, I am a foot-sweater. Why my body's preferred method of cooling seems to be through my feet, even though they are usually encased in footwear when I most need the cooling, and thereby instead of feeling cooled off, I instead feel as if I am walking around wearing mini-ovens, I could not venture to say, other than that it's a trait inherited from my dad.

Oh no! I read this and was like, "If her feet smell anything like mine when they've been in socks and sneakers on a hot day ..." This is why I refuse to do the socks and sneakers combo when going to theme parks. It sticks with me for like, at least a day or two after the actual visit!

[willwriteforears]

When we last left off, I had shamed myself by exposing my foot stankiness to the entire Soarin' flight. If anyone commented, however, I have thankfully blocked that from my memory.

Our Unofficial Guide touring plan next directed us to experience Journey Into Imagination, and since the three of us like to please (even if its an inanimate object that has no understanding of whether we do what it tells us to or not), we obeyed.

I'd been looking forward to Journey Into Imagination because I like Figment. I like Figment because he's a cute little purple dragon. Honestly, my reasoning behind liking Figment rivals that of a three-year-old's. But I like Figment.

Or at least, I liked him before the ride. The ride showed me how annoying Figment is. He's much better as a silent plush toy sitting on my bookcase than as an irritating animatronic with a high-pitched voice supposedly emulating the power of the imagination.

And I should also qualify the "plush toy sitting on my bookcase bit." Because I don't have a stuffed Figment. I think I did at one point, but he trundled off to Yard Sale Land or Dog Toy Land or Lost in a Grocery Store Land; I don't know. So I had planned to rectify my lack of a plushie Figment by purchasing a Figment to sit, silent and cute-like, on my already over-crowded bookcase.

After the ride, and seeing how annoying Figment is, I elected not to get one.

As for Melneth and Nevi's reactions to the ride, I believe they were just as underwhelmed as I. At least, I don't recall any skipping and shouts of, "Coolest ride ever! I so have to get a Figment plushie now!"

And does it say anything that I didn't even remember the skunk-smell until reading about Journey online?

We did, however, take a few moments to play in the ImageWorks. A nice CM outfitted in a lab coat took our picture with the large novelty camera and gave us a copy.

I see your ears perking up! A photo! Jiri, didn't you say you hadn't taken any other photos during Epcot, Day 1?

Well. I didn't. The CM took that picture. Which I would have been delighted to post for you if I hadn't lost the copy. Or if Nevi or Melneth had happened to have a scanner so they could scan in their copies (which we had made later) to e-mail to me so I could then post it. But they don't, alas.

You're not missing much, anyway. I don't have a scanner, so if I'd retained the pic I would have had to resort to the dreaded picture-of-a-picture. But now I'm feeling guilty. So here's a purloined image of my no-longer-liked-cute-purple-dragon:

http://int.cysd.k12.pa.us/graybill/Fantasy/figment.gif

After ImageWorks, we watched Honey, I Shrunk the Audience! Which was funny, but I felt somewhat ineffective since it had blatant uses of Early '90's Hair: Like 80's Hair Only Scarier. And since the vast majority of the populace does not use Early '90s Style, it kinda detracted from the fantasy that we were at an awards show that was happening right then!

But the three of us laughed, so I can't complain too much. And the little puffs of air simulating the mice was a nice touch, as was Quark's sneeze.

Once we were returned to our proper size, it was time to begin the Day One World Showcase tour with O Canada! The circle-vision made Nevi feel kinda sick, so she didn't enjoy it much, but Melneth and I liked it. And despite my increasing sleepiness (remember that foreshadowing from the last post?) I stayed awake during the entire thing.

We spared a moment to stroll around the Canada shopping area, and as I perused the maple candies, I had a brainstorm as to what to get my picky, "I don't really like souvenirs" brother: Overpriced candy with the Disney World logo and perhaps characters plastered all over it! Genius.

But it was not a shopping day, so we moseyed over to Great Britain, where we wanted to watch the World Showcase Players. After concluding with a CM that yes, we'd have to sit outside to watch, we picked a place in relative shade and sat.

The World Showcase Players appeared not too long after we'd staked our spot on the curb. We started out with the three of us and maybe four other people who clearly had the intent of watching the WSPs (not to be confused with WASPs; the lack of an A is an important distinction), and so the WSPs coached us in laughing uproariously to attract more viewers. Once we succeeded, the WSPs explained that they would be performing King Arthur and would need some audience volunteers.

The man they selected as King Arthur had it easy. He got to sit on a throne, and his one job was to shout "Yee haw, I'm the king!" when the WSPs mentioned King Arthur.

The man, who was in his late 50's to early 60's, had several iterations of this line.

1) Yee haw, I'm the king!
2) [after Lancelot had been selected] I'm the king!
3) [after the good witch who was to fight the evil witch {I think, anyway; the plot was fuzzy to begin with and is fuzzier yet six weeks later} had been selected] I'm the king, baby!

It was this last that confused us the most, because it was said in a very Austin Powers-ish manner, which the WSPs commented on. Reminding him again that he had his line wrong. Only this rather cemented the King's misinterpretation rather than fixing it.

So there you have it. Austin Powers was the king of Great Britain.

Anyway, we the audience (or at least I, 1/12 of the audience) had great fun yelling "Rubbish!" at every corny joke. And there were many.

Aside from King Austin Powers, the anecdote I remember best was when Lancelot attempted to ride the same "horse" as the evil witch--or was the evil witch at that time another knight? Meh. In any case, we soon established that Lancelot was indeed man enough to master his own horse without riding pillion behind the witch/knight.

We had a 2:00 ADR for Restaurant Marrakesh, which left us with enough time to head over to France to look at the [I]Beauty and the Beast windows. Which were very pretty. And for which it did not occur to me to pull my camera out of its case and snap a picture. I blame my tiredness.

We headed for Impressions de France. Our French CM, who introduced the film, was cute. Again, I didn't think to take a picture.

Did I mention that I was tired?

Well, if not, Impressions de France had actual seats, unlike the Canada film. And unlike the concrete we'd sat on for the WSPs, there were cushions. And air conditioning. And unlike Honey I Shrunk the Audience, which of course did have cushions and A/C, Impressions had soothing music and pretty pictures.

Nap time.

I think I woke up long enough to drool over the French pastries and reminisce briefly over my time in France when I was doing study abroad in Oxford in college and we got to take a trip.

Mmm. French pastries. Which we did not have in the WDW-France. But we should have.

Nevi dozed a little too, but I think she caught more of the film than I did. Our Francophile, Melneth, stayed awake and told us later that she likes "things like that--nice music and pretty scenery."

Well, I like it too. Just in a different way, evidently. Perhaps it reawakens infant memories of staring at my mobile in my crib.

Hey, now. A spinning mobile can be pretty scenery when you're less than a year old and enjoy being swaddled.

And with that rumination, I leave you until next time. "Leave" being a loose term, of course, since I always pop back to comment on people's comments. Since I like commenting.

Cough.

Up Next: Belly dancing and velcro, but not at the same time.

[stagemomx3]

:rotfl: We didn't enjoy Journey into Lameness either!

King Austin Powers sounds like it was quite funny. If you ever need another good nap place in Epcot try Ellen's Energy Adventure.

[willwriteforears]

Oh dear. You just made me have a flashback of my JHS/HS years. NO, I didn't do that, but the people I called friends (at least for the time being~) did that all the time. Haha, it's so hilarious to quote that and see the code for it.
Seriously! And it requires so much effort; why waste time on it? :confused3


Oh no! I read this and was like, "If her feet smell anything like mine when they've been in socks and sneakers on a hot day ..." This is why I refuse to do the socks and sneakers combo when going to theme parks. It sticks with me for like, at least a day or two after the actual visit!

Actually, I had mules on, though they were sneaker-like. I can't remember for sure if I committed the fashion faux pas of wearing socks with them, but I think I did because "I wanted the extra absorbency and arch support." Because those socks, bought expressly for the WDW trip, claimed to have extra arch support. And they do. So :thumbsup2 for the socks, but :crazy2: for the ensuing foot stankage.

And does it make me a bad person to feel comforted that so many others have come forward to admit their own foot nastiness? ::sniff:: I am not alone! ;)

[Lady Lallie]

How sad about Figment, I too love him from my past trips. I am sad to think as a mature adult I will not love him anymore. :::Sigh::: Maybe I will skip it so I can keep on loving him.

I can't believe you didn't have any french pastries. How sad but then again you have had the real deal in France, whereas I took French for six years for NOTHING...NOTHING I TELL YOU. Moving on....

I am quite intrigued by what's coming up. I think it would have been much more fun if belly dancing and velcro were at the same time.

[Lady Lallie]

Actually, I had mules on, though they were sneaker-like. I can't remember for sure if I committed the fashion faux pas of wearing socks with them, but I think I did because "I wanted the extra absorbency and arch support." Because those socks, bought expressly for the WDW trip, claimed to have extra arch support. And they do. So :thumbsup2 for the socks, but :crazy2: for the ensuing foot stankage.

And does it make me a bad person to feel comforted that so many others have come forward to admit their own foot nastiness? ::sniff:: I am not alone! ;)
What kind of socks were they...I want arch support socks too. I have tried them in the past and love them, just wondering what kind you had/have.

[willwriteforears]

King Austin Powers sounds like it was quite funny. If you ever need another good nap place in Epcot try Ellen's Energy Adventure.

It was. I definitely recommend the World Showcase Players for anyone who enjoys interactive improv!

...Particularly since the Adventurer's Club and the Comedy Warehouse are getting the axe along with the rest of Pleasure Island. :headache:

But I actually did stay awake during Ellen's Energy Adventure! For the most part. That, however, is part of Epcot: Day 2, which was on Monday.

How sad about Figment, I too love him from my past trips. I am sad to think as a mature adult I will not love him anymore. :::Sigh::: Maybe I will skip it so I can keep on loving him.

I really don't think you'd be missing anything. You could head straight to the store and get yourself a non-seeing-Figment-as-adult-tainted plushie. :thumbsup2


I can't believe you didn't have any french pastries.

I know. We were really off our game. :sad1:


I took French for six years for NOTHING...NOTHING I TELL YOU. Moving on....

I had a year of HS French, part of a correspondence course, got to college, needed language credits, and switched to Spanish. Fewer diacriticals to remember. :rotfl:



I am quite intrigued by what's coming up. I think it would have been much more fun if belly dancing and velcro were at the same time.

And it is for that very reason I decided not to get people's hopes up. :lmao:

What kind of socks were they...I want arch support socks too. I have tried them in the past and love them, just wondering what kind you had/have.

They're called, according to the pink lettering at the toe, "Danskin Now." They're also supposed to be ventilated to allow for cooler feet. If the ventilation truly works, I shudder to think what my feet would've smelled like at Soarin' had I been wearing other socks. :scared:

But I use them now as cycling socks and working-out socks. I like them. :thumbsup2

[Charleston Princess]

Great update!!! :goodvibes

I felt the same way about Journey into the Imagination -- no wonder there is never a wait there! :rolleyes:

Too funny about falling asleep in France -- well, your little rest probably helped you to carry on!

King Austin Powers -- :rotfl2: !

[TarzansKat]

...coughcoughIlikeFigmentcoughcough...

Ahem.

Whosaidthat?

:::whips head around nervously:::

[Lady Lallie]

They're called, according to the pink lettering at the toe, "Danskin Now." They're also supposed to be ventilated to allow for cooler feet. If the ventilation truly works, I shudder to think what my feet would've smelled like at Soarin' had I been wearing other socks. :scared:

But I use them now as cycling socks and working-out socks. I like them. :thumbsup2That's the kind I have and I love them but I need some new ones. :thumbsup2 I used to cashier at Home Depot and they were a godsend for standing on that hard concrete floor.

...coughcoughIlikeFigmentcoughcough...

Ahem.

Whosaidthat?

:::whips head around nervously:::There is hope for Figment! :goodvibes

[If U Had Wings]

Sigh, I used to love Figment in the original ride with Dreamfinder. It's such a shame they ruined him. At least this Imagination ride is better than the non Figment version. Scary but true.

I always think it's just wrong that a company that employes "Imagineers" can't come up with a better Imagination ride. Just so wrong.

[stagemomx3]

I always think it's just wrong that a company that employes "Imagineers" can't come up with a better Imagination ride. Just so wrong.

Exactly!

[willwriteforears]

Great update!!! :goodvibes

I felt the same way about Journey into the Imagination -- no wonder there is never a wait there! :rolleyes:

Yes. If it tried to put in an application to be a FastPass attraction, all the other attractions would laugh at it.


Too funny about falling asleep in France -- well, your little rest probably helped you to carry on!

It did indeed. :thumbsup2


King Austin Powers -- :rotfl2: !

He really made the show. I love it when audience volunteers are willing to ham it up. :goodvibes

...coughcoughIlikeFigmentcoughcough...

Ahem.

Whosaidthat?

:::whips head around nervously:::

To each her own!

That's the kind I have and I love them but I need some new ones. :thumbsup2 I used to cashier at Home Depot and they were a godsend for standing on that hard concrete floor.



If you're having trouble finding them, I got mine at Target. Or maybe Wal-Mart. Hmm. The memories, they are a-fadin!

Sigh, I used to love Figment in the original ride with Dreamfinder. It's such a shame they ruined him. At least this Imagination ride is better than the non Figment version. Scary but true.

I always think it's just wrong that a company that employes "Imagineers" can't come up with a better Imagination ride. Just so wrong.

Exactly!

Very, very true. At the least, they should be able to make :figment: less annoying. Disney does so well with other things at making things appealing for kids and adults; I know they can do it!

[ForeverDance]

And does it say anything that I didn't even remember the skunk-smell until reading about Journey online?


It's funny but that is actually the only thing I do remember about that ride... and it made me soooo sick! About 6 months before we went to Disney our cat was sprayed by a skunk and ever since then the smell has made me naseous. So here we are on this boring ride and just as I'm thinking this can't get any worse, we get that odor sprayed at us :rolleyes:

[Tinkerbellarella]

Sigh, I used to love Figment in the original ride with Dreamfinder. It's such a shame they ruined him. At least this Imagination ride is better than the non Figment version. Scary but true.

I always think it's just wrong that a company that employes "Imagineers" can't come up with a better Imagination ride. Just so wrong.

Seriously, just reincarnate the Imagination pavilion circa 1985-1987 and I'm a happy camper.

Just...well...leave the 80's hair out.

[willwriteforears]

It's funny but that is actually the only thing I do remember about that ride... and it made me soooo sick! About 6 months before we went to Disney our cat was sprayed by a skunk and ever since then the smell has made me naseous. So here we are on this boring ride and just as I'm thinking this can't get any worse, we get that odor sprayed at us :rolleyes:

:crazy2: I do remember I had a split second of worry, since real skunk-stench is difficult to get out of things. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if it lasted like the real thing!

... 'Course, I'm sure Disney realized that if they were that realistic, hordes of irate and stinky guests would descend upon the customer service kiosks demanding recompense of some sort.

Seriously, just reincarnate the Imagination pavilion circa 1985-1987 and I'm a happy camper.

Just...well...leave the 80's hair out.

::yes:: I'm all for no 80's hair. But then, I don't remember the 1985-87 version, though I think I was there during that time frame; I would've been 3-5, which is when I believe I had my first trip to the World. So I supposedly saw it.

But maybe I was taking a nap.

Now. That said (or written).

:: puppy dog eyes:: Tink, you comment on a comment, but you don't comment on my post? What did I do wrong?

J/K. :rotfl:

Mostly.

[SnoopyDancer]

I'm all for no 80's hair. But then, I don't remember the 1985-87 version, though I think I was there during that time frame; I would've been 3-5, which is when I believe I had my first trip to the World. So I supposedly saw it.

If you want to see 1989 hair, check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3tYZ6ctGqc. It's the Mickey Mouse Club singing "Iko Iko" at Typhoon Lagoon. They even do the Roger Rabbit (I think). This came out when I was in junior high. Disney really knows how to market to kids because I really wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon after seeing it.

ETA: Whoops, I commented on a comment too. I haven't ridden Figment, so I didn't have much to add. It sounds like you had fun even if you were tired. :)

[Lady Lallie]

If you want to see 1989 hair, check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3tYZ6ctGqc. It's the Mickey Mouse Club singing "Iko Iko" at Typhoon Lagoon. They even do the Roger Rabbit (I think). This came out when I was in junior high. Disney really knows how to market to kids because I really wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon after seeing it.

ETA: Whoops, I commented on a comment too. I haven't ridden Figment, so I didn't have much to add. It sounds like you had fun even if you were tired. :)

Okay, I loved the Typhoon Lagoon video. Willard Scott! :laughing:

I started watching the new MMC intros and I didn't know that Kerri Russell was a mousekateer! How did that useless piece of trivia escape me? I love her! :eek:

[ForeverDance]

:crazy2: I do remember I had a split second of worry, since real skunk-stench is difficult to get out of things. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if it lasted like the real thing!

Oh you have no idea. My cat barely got in our front door before I realized what had happened and pushed him back out. That few seconds of being in the front hall caused our house to smell so bad that we had to eat at restaurants for an entire week because there was no way you could eat anything with that kind of smell going on :sad2:

'Course, I'm sure Disney realized that if they were that realistic, hordes of irate and stinky guests would descend upon the customer service kiosks demanding recompense of some sort.

That would definately be quite a scene :rotfl2:

[PrincessV]

The ride showed me how annoying Figment is. He's much better as a silent plush toy sitting on my bookcase than as an irritating animatronic with a high-pitched voice supposedly emulating the power of the imagination.
Not long after I first experienced Figment, I did a 180 from my creative roots and went into banking. Coincidence???

But it was not a shopping day, so we moseyed over to Great Britain, where we wanted to watch the World Showcase Players.
Yay! That's one of most favorite activities at EP, watching the WSPs :thumbsup2 Aren't they a hoot?

Up Next: Belly dancing and velcro, but not at the same time.
:scared:

[Tinkerbellarella]

Now. That said (or written).

:: puppy dog eyes:: Tink, you comment on a comment, but you don't comment on my post? What did I do wrong?

J/K. :rotfl:

Mostly.

Story behind that one there. I had clicked your post as part of a multi-quote but the DIS decided it didn't want me to quote that post and left it out of said multi-quote. Tink was frustrated with the DIS yesterday and at this point almost used her keyboard with, um, excessive force.

THAT being said...

Lost in a Grocery Store Land

Ah yes, this claimed SO MANY of my things.

But it was not a shopping day

Huh? What? I don't understand.
Not. A. Shopping. Day.
Nope.
I'm just not comprehending.
Is that Canadian?

The man, who was in his late 50's to early 60's, had several iterations of this line.

1) [immediately after his coaching session] Yee haw, I'm the king!
2) [after Lancelot had been selected] I'm the king!
3) [after the good witch who was to fight the evil witch {I think, anyway; the plot was fuzzy to begin with and is fuzzier yet six weeks later} had been selected] I'm the king, baby!

Is he the epitome of MAN or what?!

Cough.

Cough drop?

[willwriteforears]

If you want to see 1989 hair, check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3tYZ6ctGqc. It's the Mickey Mouse Club singing "Iko Iko" at Typhoon Lagoon. They even do the Roger Rabbit (I think). This came out when I was in junior high. Disney really knows how to market to kids because I really wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon after seeing it.

ETA: Whoops, I commented on a comment too. I haven't ridden Figment, so I didn't have much to add. It sounds like you had fun even if you were tired. :)

Aww, that's okay. I just have to give Tink a hard time. Part of the Lapu Lapuette Code (section 3.99231, I believe).

I'll have to watch the video when I'm not at work! :thumbsup2

Okay, I loved the Typhoon Lagoon video. Willard Scott! :laughing:

I started watching the new MMC intros and I didn't know that Kerri Russell was a mousekateer! How did that useless piece of trivia escape me? I love her! :eek:

Ooh, that sounds familiar, Keri Russell being a mouseketeer. Strange how many of today's stars have that in their background.

Oh you have no idea. My cat barely got in our front door before I realized what had happened and pushed him back out. That few seconds of being in the front hall caused our house to smell so bad that we had to eat at restaurants for an entire week because there was no way you could eat anything with that kind of smell going on :sad2:



Ick! Our childhood dog once got sprayed by a skunk, if I remember correctly (I think I was about six). I just remember my mom washing the poor thing in tomato juice like five times.

Not long after I first experienced Figment, I did a 180 from my creative roots and went into banking. Coincidence???

:rotfl:



Yay! That's one of most favorite activities at EP, watching the WSPs :thumbsup2 Aren't they a hoot?



Yup! I definitely have to plan on catching them next time. :goodvibes

Story behind that one there. I had clicked your post as part of a multi-quote but the DIS decided it didn't want me to quote that post and left it out of said multi-quote. Tink was frustrated with the DIS yesterday and at this point almost used her keyboard with, um, excessive force.

::yes:: Sounds like when the DIS wouldn't let me use smileys. At all. Or edit my posts. I feel your pain.



Huh? What? I don't understand.
Not. A. Shopping. Day.
Nope.
I'm just not comprehending.
Is that Canadian?



Part of my efforts to make sure I really, really like whatever I get. If I wait a while and still want it, I won't regret the outflow of moolah later.

It's a survival tactic to keep me from coming home with a suitcase full of carp, really.

Not the fish. Since that'd be stinky and gross. The DIS-approved euphemism for--well, you know.

Cough.



Cough drop?


Don't mind if I do. ;)

[Native NYer]

I love your writing style.

[willwriteforears]

I love your writing style.

:wave2: Welcome, and thank you for stroking my ego! :lmao:

[Native NYer]

:wave2: Welcome, and thank you for stroking my ego! :lmao:

:rotfl2:

[willwriteforears]

Impressions de France finished up just in time for our 2:00 (or was it 2:30? Meh. "2" was involved somehow) ADR at Restaurant Marrakesh. With the promise of food and the necessity of walking, I woke up a little.

Marrakesh could've been a walk-up; there were two other groups there. Remember my sparkly Trip Planner Tiara? It sparkled again, because I'd managed to pick a time when the belly dancer would perform.

Melneth enjoyed the belly dancer because it reminded her of when she'd visited Restaurant Marrakesh with her parents as a young child, and the belly dancer invited her up to dance, too. She liked it so much that she asked her parents if they could stay until the belly dancer's next show, so they spent at least two or three hours in Marrakesh.

Nevi reminisced (or at least I think she did; we at least discussed it briefly) her belly dancing classes that she'd taken a year or so ago.

I just got to feel inadequate since I don't have a belly dancer's abs, and that without the benefit of pleasant memories.

I also made a mental note to attempt to look up local belly dancing classes when I got home. Haven't done it yet. In all truth, probably won't do it. Instead, I'll hopefully purchase the Wii Fit and do a lot of the hula hoop exercises. I figure it'd be a similar workout, but without the finger chimes.

But I'm sure you're bored with my talk of an as yet nonexistent exercise regimen.

Now to bore you with our food choices (because what's the point when you have no food porn? And yet I'm including it anyway. Guess I'm desperate for material). I had the chicken kebabs. I liked it, though the chicken was a little dry. Melneth had the Sultan's Sampler Platter. I think she mostly liked it (I was still ruminating over my non-belly-dancer's abs. Yes, I am--or at least can be--that self-absorbed). Nevi had the Chicken Cous Cous. As I recall, it had lots and lots of a sauce that hadn't been listed on the menu, thus rendering it very difficult to taste the chicken or the cous cous. So it should've been called Sauce With Other Stuff You Won't Taste, So Why Does It Matter?

So on the whole, I personally was rather meh about Marrakesh. The service was all right, the music was Moroccan (or at least Disney tells me it was Moroccan; having never been to Morocco or really investigated its traditions, it could be a vast conspiracy of lies and I wouldn't know it), and the belly dancer brought on feelings of inadequacy.

Yeah, I think I could skip it next time.

But it was good sitting with my friends and talking (I did pay attention to at least some of the conversation) and being in A/C for a while. So it could've been worse.

We left Marrakesh to tackle the last thing on our Touring Plan for the Day: Innoventions West. I'd have liked to have tried a Segway, but wasn't interested in waiting in line.

The Unofficial Guide had spoiled me. Queues? Bah! I have no time for stinkin' queues! :snooty:

So after browsing a bit but deciding not to play with any of the innoventions, I spied the "What's Your Problem?" game show area. "Melneth," I said, "Wasn't that something you said you wanted to do?"

Let me back up a moment, since I'm fond of doing that. "What's Your Problem" is billed as a "comedy game show" in Slapstick Studios Presented by Velcro. Take note of the "Presented by Velcro" bit. I'll wait while you mentally digest that.

:bored:

:bored:

:bored:

:bored:

Digested? Good. Continuing on:

Before Melneth could reply to my question, a sixities-ish (not as in "he could have come from the '60s," but as in "more aged than we three") CM fairly leapt upon us. "Excellent choice! The show's about to start!"

At the over-eagerness of the CM, and the lack of people in the waiting area for a show that was "about to start," a warning bell went off in my head. But we went on with it anyway.

After about five minutes, a couple more groups showed up, bringing our audience total to nine members, I believe. We were herded inside the "game room," where there were three sections of benches. Of course, each group took its own section.

Our first "host," whom I will call "I Heart Velcro," briefly explained "What's Your Problem?" We, the audience, would be called upon to "solve problems" with the wondrous substance called Velcro, which was first invented by Blah Blah in the year yada yada when he was out walking his dog and the poor creature got cockleburs stuck to its fur. Blah Blah investigated the cocklebur and realized that the burr had little hooks on it, and that's how it stuck to unlucky Fido, resulting in a Eureka! moment for Blah Blah: What if he capitalized on Fido's misfortune by creating a product on a similar hook-and-loop concept?

I Heart Velcro demonstrated Velcro for us. "Here's the strip with loops, and here's the strip with hooks. Put them together and they stick! Pull them, and they come apart!"

Shocking! Amazing! Please, oh please, tell me where I, too, may purchase this miraculous invention for use in my own home!

I mean, come on. I was slow at learning to tie my shoes and so wore with Velcro strap footwear into the first grade. I may have sucked at bow-tying, but I mastered Velcro use early on.

I Heart Velcro then introduced the second host, Smiley McSmilerton. Smiley McSmilerton then explained that he and I Heart Velcro would be leading "teams" who would have to solve the "problems," which would be of a competitive nature.

At this point I looked around the room again. Yup, still nine members in the audience cum. Which meant we had nine contestants. And there would be multiple games.

This, thought I, does not bode well.

And bode well it did not. Smiley McSmilerton selected his first two contestants from the far end of the room (Nevi, Melneth, and I had picked the section closest to the door; and instinctual desire to be near the exit, perhaps?) so I Heart Velcro zeroed in on our group.

Nevi and me in particular.

But we're generally affable, compliant people. We don't say no when asked to do things. So up on stage we went, where we introduced ourselves and got the "Oh, ho ho, that's funny, and makes it easy!" bit that frequently comes up when people learn we have the same name.

Because Jiri and Nevi aren't our real names. In case you missed that.

Melneth does not have the same name. If you were wondering. That would be a little much.

Anyhoo.

The first game involved packing. There was some sort of lead-in about how "you packed for the trip to come here to Disney World, didn't you? Isn't packing difficult?"

But the challenge itself was for one person to wear a Velcro-loop cape while the other person picked up items with Velcro-hooks attached to them and stick them to the Velcro-cape-wearer. Whichever team's human pack mule had the most stuffed animals (and yes, children often pack stuffed animals when going on a trip, but where's the stuff I'd actually need?) stuck to him or her at the end of the time limit would win. Nevi got to wear the cape. She has a fondness for capes, but I don't think she liked this one much. I was the one who got to attach things to her.

Are you as confused as I am as to how this has anything to do with packing?

Still, gotta wonder, though, if "packing" in such a method would make airport security easier or worse to get through. Presumably all the items would be visible for security to see, but the human pack mule would still have to take off the Velcro-cape to go through the sensor. Since even though becoming a human pack mule would have to be pretty degrading (sorry, Nevi) I hope we wouldn't stoop so low as to send HPMs down the conveyor belt and through the X-ray machine.

Even though it might be funny.

So I'm not thinking this is the solution to the problem of slow airport security. Strike one, Velcro.

And now, readers, a surprise!

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn226/aghelms/Animal%20Kingdom%20parade/sticktoit-1.jpg

I know, I know, you are shocked and amazed that there's a picture here, since I made a big deal about not having taken any pictures from Epcot Day 1 aside from Captain Hook. But Melneth took it, so neener neener, I was telling the truth.

You are probably also shocked and amazed that I put a star over my own head, since I have previously revealed my own features with no compunctions. But this, my dear readership, is not the most flattering picture of me. My head looks like it has a bald spot. Which I think is actually Nevi's outstretched hand, but it takes effort to explain that (even though I just did) since it's not immediately clear that Nevi's hand is Nevi's hand, so it's easier to just pretend my head looked like a black star that day.

Because Melneth didn't take any other, more flattering, pictures.

::Sigh:: I still love you, sweetie. I blame myself for not setting a better picture-taking example.

And last, you are not shocked, not amazed, but appalled that we're not wearing the Matching T-Shirts. Since they have power and all. And it's in the TR title.

But. They had gotten stinkified at AK, remember, and we'd washed them using Woolite. A long and arduous process made all the longer by drying to line-dry (or, in our case, chair-back-dry) clothing in Florida humidity. So no T-shirts that day.

Back to the joy of games with Velcro. The next competition was supposed to explain how men are helpless at caring for infants.

But wait! I hear you screech. Who won?

Well. If it had been us, I'd have mentioned it. We got the stinkin' "stick-to-it-iveness" consolation prize. Which was some sort of sticker that I think I threw away.

Are you happy now?

Ahem.

So, the next competition was designed to show the helplessness of men when caring for infants. Because the hosts specifically chose men and brought in the stereotype of how difficult it is for a man to change a diaper. Their challenge: baby dolls (Velcro-pasted ones, of course) would go down a conveyor belt. The men would have to velcro diapers to them before the were knocked into a bin. At the end of the time limit, who ever had the most Velcro-diapered babies would win.

Honestly, I can't remember if it was I Heart Velcro's team or Smiley McSmilerton's team that won. I was too busy thinking that this was sooo unlike how one ought to treat real children. Anyone who Velcro'd an infant to a conveyor belt to have it tossed into a bin would be arrested for child abuse. And that lesser charge, rather than manslaughter or even murder, is assuming the baby would live.

Yes, I think about things like this. I'm an INFJ on the Myers-Briggs personality scale; we're supposed to be complex. I'm just living up to the full potential of my personality. Which is my right.

There may have been one other competition, but I blocked it out. Once we reemerged into the sunlight, we headed over to Innoventions East, though it wasn't on the Epcot Day One touring plan (who says we can't be flexible?) but were just as uninterested in what we saw there as we had been with Innoventions West. So we left Epcot and headed back to the hotel room.

We made it to Pleasure Island by 8:00 and popped into the Comedy Warehouse.

Hi. Lar. I. Ous. If you have chance to go before it closes in September, do. Let the lovely improv comedians know that you appreciate them, even if Disney doesn't.

But I'm not bitter about the closing of PI. Honest.

Anyway, Melneth managed to get herself seated next to one of the phones on the wall, which we'd discovered on our previous night at PI (and which went unreported since I was tired of writing at that point and didn't remember much about it anyway) that the improvers would probably call someone on one of the phones to give details about themselves that would then be used in a skit for the enjoyment of others.

Yes, Melneth is braver than I.

But her efforts came to no fruition, because it was not our phone that rang, alas.

And I'd give you details about the person who it did ring for, if I happened to remember. Which I don't. Because I didn't take good notes from that evening, and I was starting to feel my sleep deprivation on a more consistent basis. Something had to suffer, and unfortunately my memory was it.

Sorry.

After our stint at the Comedy Warehouse, we popped over to the Adventurer's Club, just in time to catch the tail-end of something-or-other involving The Maid. Only the little area was crowded, so Nevi and I couldn't really hear what was going on. She and I went to explore the mask-room while Melneth stayed for the rest of it, if I remember properly.

The mask-room was freaky, and Nevi and I concluded that some of them probably talked to you when one of the games/events was going on in there.

Melneth re-emerged and we jumped out for the next show at the Comedy Warehouse. About which I also remember very little. And even though this is therefore far from a stellar recommendation for the Comedy Warehouse, you should still go. If you can. Before it's gone forever.

::mourningwithoutbitterness--hahanotreally::

Sorry again.

We dropped back at the Adventurer's Club one last time, where the Maid had another thing going, this one involving asking for help from a haunted picture that was in love with her. I can't remember what her problem was, but it wasn't anything that could be solved with Velcro.

Strike two, Velcro.

And now it was nearing 10:00, so we decided to head back to our hotel room since the next day was our Magic Kingdom Day. And the Touring Plan instructed us to arrive 70 minutes before park opening.

And we obeyed the plan.

Now, I'll mention here that Melneth liked to look over the Touring Plan the night before, and the UG's descriptions of the attractions, to get a feel for what we'd be doing.

Nevi was fine doing whatever. She's not much of a planner. (So she'd do well on the Pirate Non-Itinerary Itinerary, TK pirate: ) But Melneth liked to preview.

Which brought up an issue.

"Okay," she said, "We've the Pirate and Princess Party tomorrow night."

"Yup," I said.

"And some of the attractions aren't open during it."

"Yup," I said.

(I think Nevi was taking her shower at this point.)

"And we're doing the one-day touring plan, which The Unofficial Gudie says not to be surprised if you don't finish it."

"Uh-huh."

"So I'm thinking maybe we should skip some of the attractions that we know will be open during the Pirate and Princess Party."

My chest imploded.

Well, not really. But she was suggesting deviating from the Touring Plan, and that struck fear into my very core.

"Um," I said. "I'd really prefer to stick with the plan." My bowels roiled.

"Because the things I really want to do won't be open during the Pirate and Princess Party, and if we can't get everything done, I'll miss out on what I want to do."

But the plan! The precious, precious plan! When the UG had served us so well at AK and Epcot! How could we ignore the advice of the UG and skip stuff if it was something even one of us wanted to do (e.g., me and Space Mountain, me and Buzz Lightyear, etc. etc., etc.)?

Because I was tired, and because I like things to be set out, I felt myself getting very near either tears or saying something I shouldn't in a manner I shouldn't, so instead I proclaimed loudly, "I'm too tired to think about this right now! We can make a decision in the morning!" and proceeded to climb into bed and shut my eyes.

And agonize. The integrity of the plan had been challenged. I could not rest until I found a solution. Which I did, at perhaps 12:30 or one o'clock. What if the three of us picked our three top attractions that were must-do's, and we did those (in the order of the Touring Plan,of course; it was like my security blanket), then focused on the stuff none of us cared for about too much?

It seemed like a good compromise to me, but since we were all ostensibly sleeping at this point, I decided to spring it in the morning. And at last, I was able to fall asleep.

To be continued. Dun dun dunnn!*

Up Next: Do we follow the Touring Plan? Do we not? Do I fall asleep again in select attractions? Find out next time in Two Doctors and Their Less-Educated Friend: The Power of Matching T-Shirts!

*Yes, please allow me to draw out what little drama I may. All those creative writing classes I took informed me that good writing has conflict. I want to get my money's worth. Or my parents' money's worth.

[stagemomx3]

Well I can't say I'm sorry that we somehow missed the Velcro game show. :lmao: Sorry you guys lost, if you'd been wearing the t-shirts the power might have helped you.:rotfl:

[Lady Lallie]

What a great installment. DH even asked me what I was laughing at, the velcro incident if you care to know and the fact that you put a star over you face. :lmao:

I have to admit that Innovations has never done anything for me. I can completely skip it and be a happy LL. :thumbsup2

You guys have really been troopers! I am really impressed with all that you have gotten done thus far. :worship: It also makes me want to whip out my touring guides from UG as well but for some reason I am resisting. Curious, very curious.

I can't wait for the next installment. :goodvibes

[TarzansKat]

Nevi was fine doing whatever. She's not much of a planner. (So she'd do well on the Pirate Non-Itinerary Itinerary, TK pirate: )

I got a shout out in a trip report?

:woohoo:

Hey, I have a few things to tell you after having read that last chapter.

I felt your painful boredom in innoventions...I mean really felt it...I'm exhausted from the wedding we went to last night, and that just made me more tired...::: phew ::::

I also think you need one of these...

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll289/tarzanskat/velcro.jpg

Let us also point out what happens to Jiri without the power of the matching t-shirts....;)

I don't know why, but I felt for you in this chapter...and for your anxiety over the touring plans...I can't wait to hear if your solution was well received and worked.:goodvibes

[Sarilas]

Oh no... not deviating from THE PLAN! I get all nauseated when we disrupt the plan! (insert whirling dirvish emoticon here)

I've often wondered about Restauraunt Marakesh; DH really wants to try it (he loves new foods), but I think he's going to get the CS place. Not another soul in the family is excited about it. Except Kyle. But he's almost 13 and the restaurant has belly dancers. (Need I say more?)

[Lady Lallie]

Oh no... not deviating from THE PLAN! I get all nauseated when we disrupt the plan! (insert whirling dirvish emoticon here)

I've often wondered about Restauraunt Marakesh; DH really wants to try it (he loves new foods), but I think he's going to get the CS place. Not another soul in the family is excited about it. Except Kyle. But he's almost 13 and the restaurant has belly dancers. (Need I say more?)
:lmao: :rotfl: :rotfl2: ;)

[willwriteforears]

Well I can't say I'm sorry that we somehow missed the Velcro game show. :lmao: Sorry you guys lost, if you'd been wearing the t-shirts the power might have helped you.:rotfl:

:scratchin Sounds like a solid theory to me!

What a great installment. DH even asked me what I was laughing at, the velcro incident if you care to know and the fact that you put a star over you face. :lmao:

I have never claimed a lack of vanity. I'm just sayin'.



You guys have really been troopers! I am really impressed with all that you have gotten done thus far. :worship: It also makes me want to whip out my touring guides from UG as well but for some reason I am resisting. Curious, very curious.


I think they're great if you have a limited amount of time (or haven't been in a while, as was the case with the three of us). But as I've mentioned on the Lapu Lapuette thread (or someone else's PTR or TR...) I wouldn't mind having the opportunity to just take it slow and have the chance to people watch.

But the clincher is that that would've have to have been the plan from the get-go. As we have seen, changing plans midway does not make for a happy Jiri.

I got a shout out in a trip report?

:woohoo:


:thumbsup2



I felt your painful boredom in innoventions...I mean really felt it...I'm exhausted from the wedding we went to last night, and that just made me more tired...::: phew ::::


:rotfl: I hope that's because my writing was so excellent that it exemplified boredom, rather than being so dull itself that it brought on boredom!


I also think you need one of these...

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll289/tarzanskat/velcro.jpg



:lmao:

Oh no... not deviating from THE PLAN! I get all nauseated when we disrupt the plan! (insert whirling dirvish emoticon here)

I know. When I have plans in place, I like them to stay in place!

...Unless there's time to truly consider the deviation of the plan, thereby making the plan-deviation the new plan.


I've often wondered about Restauraunt Marakesh; DH really wants to try it (he loves new foods), but I think he's going to get the CS place. Not another soul in the family is excited about it. Except Kyle. But he's almost 13 and the restaurant has belly dancers. (Need I say more?)

:lmao: :laughing:

[TarzansKat]

:rotfl: I hope that's because my writing was so excellent that it exemplified boredom, rather than being so dull itself that it brought on boredom!


Oh no, it was definitely that you conveyed it. :lmao:

[willwriteforears]

Melneth wishes to defend her photography skills and offer some details regarding the Comedy Warehouse:

I just wish to defend my picture taking ability. I was watching and laughing (not at you being beaten by a bunch of kids half your size, promise ;)) [TR author says: at least one of them was an adult! I remember that much!] so hard that it was not until the last few seconds that I realized that I should take a picture to record for posterity's sake and could only manage to get one shot taken before the game was over. If you wish to go back and try again, I promise to take better pictures.

Oh and this night at the Comedy Warehouse was nowhere near as good as our previous night. I don't know if the actors were not up to par that night or the audience was uber-tough, but they got way more groans than laughs (reminiscent of the players in Epcot). The actors were good sports about it and exaggerated their attempt to find what comedy style tickled the audience the most. I think insult won out.

I think that night it was the department of defense accountants that were doing a group bonding exercise on Pleasure Island.

Ooooo so much drama and I didn't even realize it was going on beneath my nose. ;)

[Charleston Princess]

Okay, that was a hysterical update!!! Between the velcro show (who thought that would be a good idea when they created it???) and the touring plan crisis (I am so the same way -- I get a panicked, pained look in my eyes at deviations), I was chuckling merrily away!

Oh, and I totally agree with the Marrakesh review -- you were spot-on with exactly the way I felt about it.

Can't wait to see how the changes all pan out!!!

[Native NYer]

You should consider writing a book about your trip. I love reading your updates :)

[PrincessV]

Okay, I'm :lmao: at the whole installment, but mostly about the flipping VELCRO!!!! Methinks it would be a fun one to which I could send my DS6 and a buddy or two of his. :rotfl:

Also, about AC... my first visit came at the end of a long night at PI. Read: I was pretty well tanked. For weeks, I gushed to anyone who would lsiten about how COOL the AC was! But forget details, I remembered none. For that matter, I'm not sure I understodd just what was going down at the AC while we were there. But, after 1-4 Kungalooshes, non-talking talking masks are funny as all get-out. TFI. ;)

[Donald is #1]

I have to admit that Innovations has never done anything for me. I can completely skip it and be a happy LL. :thumbsup2


Me too! I almost never go in innovations. Even if I am with people who want to go in, I try to talk them out of it. :rotfl:

[willwriteforears]

Oh, and I totally agree with the Marrakesh review -- you were spot-on with exactly the way I felt about it.



I have the CP seal of approval! :thumbsup2

You should consider writing a book about your trip. I love reading your updates :)

Thank you! You really do like making me feel good about myself. :goodvibes

Okay, I'm :lmao: at the whole installment, but mostly about the flipping VELCRO!!!! Methinks it would be a fun one to which I could send my DS6 and a buddy or two of his. :rotfl:


You totally should! I'm thinking I may have been more amused if I'd been able to watch other people "solve problems" while making snide comments under my breath to my companions.

Only if the hosts caught me, I'd then feel bad.

Me too! I almost never go in innovations. Even if I am with people who want to go in, I try to talk them out of it. :rotfl:

From the trip back when I was ten, I remember one thing where they had a three metal bars: one heated, one room temperature, and one cold. The idea was to place your hands on the hot bar and the the cold bar, then on the room temperature one at the same time, so you felt the formerly "hot" hand cool off, and the formerly "cool" hand heat up.

And I think my mom made us spend, like, an hour and a half in there, and that's the one thing I remember. Of course it's gone now, replaced with things telling us why we should recycle.

Or, worse yet, replaced by the Velcro thing. :eek:

[TarzansKat]

From the trip back when I was ten, I remember one thing where they had a three metal bars: one heated, one room temperature, and one cold. The idea was to place your hands on the hot bar and the the cold bar, then on the room temperature one at the same time, so you felt the formerly "hot" hand cool off, and the formerly "cool" hand heat up.

And I think my mom made us spend, like, an hour and a half in there, and that's the one thing I remember. Of course it's gone now, replaced with things telling us why we should recycle.

Or, worse yet, replaced by the Velcro thing. :eek:

Okay, am I the only dork that likes Innoventions?

Does anyone remember a few years back when they had the robotic dogs with artificial intelligence? This was before my son was born, so DH and I could literally...well, I could literally sit there and watch that thing for hours. It was so interesting, they needed to be played with, and given attention to, and it learned how to roll a ball and roll over. Artificial intelligence...it freaked me out, but was interesting all at the same time.

And are any of you aware that in one of the Innoventions is a whole bunch of video gaming consoles where you can play video games, like on the WII and Playstation, etc?

And also, I think, West is where the meet n greet is for Disney Visa holders.

And there's a kidcot stop in there.

Okay, hijack over.:goodvibes

[willwriteforears]

Okay, am I the only dork that likes Innoventions?

Does anyone remember a few years back when they had the robotic dogs with artificial intelligence? This was before my son was born, so DH and I could literally...well, I could literally sit there and watch that thing for hours. It was so interesting, they needed to be played with, and given attention to, and it learned how to roll a ball and roll over. Artificial intelligence...it freaked me out, but was interesting all at the same time.

And are any of you aware that in one of the Innoventions is a whole bunch of video gaming consoles where you can play video games, like on the WII and Playstation, etc?

And also, I think, West is where the meet n greet is for Disney Visa holders.

And there's a kidcot stop in there.

Okay, hijack over.:goodvibes

Well, since I hadn't been since I was 10, I don't remember the robotic dogs. But they do sound neat.

My deal with Innovations is that there is some stuff I wouldn't mind playing with--but I'm not willing to wait in a line for 15 minutes+ for something that'll last five minutes if I'm lucky.

And no comments about how we do that for rides/shows, please. :) There are things I'm willing to wait for, but most of the stuff in Innovations isn't part of that category.

And all the (relatively) cool stuff had queues when we were there. Plus, none of us had a Disney Visa so the meet 'n' greet wouldn't have worked for us. We're not incredibly big on character interaction, anyway (though there were some characters--or one in particular--that a certain somebody wanted to meet, so we did that. That, however, was on Epcot, Day 2, which was Monday of our trip. We have a bit to get through before then, though, so the who-character and the who-wanted-to-meet-character will have to wait!).

[SwansLoveDisney]

Just found your TR and I'm hooked!

But I have to go to work now, so I have to catch up on the rest later...

[willwriteforears]

Just found your TR and I'm hooked!

But I have to go to work now, so I have to catch up on the rest later...

:wave2: Welcome! Catch up when you can or jump right in, whatever!