The Shmoopy DINKs in "Plussing the Weenie" -- now COMPLETE! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

girlbomb

11-22-2008, 01:16 PM

I Fail at Pre-Trip Report!

Oh, wonderful Disfriends, how I have failed you! And myself! And calculus, back in college, but that's a different story. You see, way back in June, I started a PTR for our fabulous fourth annual Disney Xmas-stravaganza, and then completely flaked on updating it.

:eek:

How lame is that? Very very very very lame, with an extra very on top! But I am committed to writing a new PTR, and fast, so that when we get back (sob!), I will be able to jump right into a trippie, instead of jumping off a tall building.

So here it is: The Shmoopy DINKs 4th Annual "Have You Found Her" Disney Xmas-stravaganza Pre-Trip Report, take two.

If you're interested in last year's trip report, here it is: The Shmoopy DINKs 3rd Annual Face-Stuffing and Ride-Riding Orgy of Joy and Delight (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1664049)

But if you'd like the shorter version of our Disney history:

We're Janice and Bill, childless New Yorkers in our thirties, a pair of jaded, sarcastic liberals who never expected to become Disney World fans. Our first trip, in 2005, was supposed to be a reward for our friend Samantha, a homeless teenager I met at the shelter where I volunteered, for staying sober for a year. While Sam never made it to Disney with us, Bill and I went through with our planned vacation, and fell in LOVE with the Mouse. Since then, Disney has become a daily subject of conversation for us, and our annual trip is the highlight of our year.

Here's me, with BTMRR in the background (obvs):

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/bttr.jpg

And here's Bill, at Le Cellier:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/celltr.jpg

So if you see us in the parks sometime between December 5 and December 14, tap us on the shoulder and say hi! We'll also be at the MegaMouseMeet, part of MouseFest, at the Yacht and Beach Club on Saturday, Dec. 13 -- I'll be signing copies of the (peripherally Disney-related) book I wrote about Samantha, HAVE YOU FOUND HER, and I hope to meet lots of DISers and other Mouse fans!

Here's a handy index for this P/TR:

Pre-trip posts:

Only 362 days to go! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28883051&postcount=2)
What we did while we waited (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28911540&postcount=3)
Yes, we go for the food (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28921569&postcount=4)
The horror! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28938698&postcount=7)
Disney Denial (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28954620&postcount=11)
Disney Distraction (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28985992&postcount=14)
Disney Desperation (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29018148&postcount=18)
AAAAHHHHHH!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29039190&postcount=22)

----

Post-trip posts:

And we're back! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29181741&postcount=24)
Day One: Friday, Dec. 5: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29209766&postcount=27)
Day One, Part Two: Still the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29241443&postcount=31)
Day Two: Saturday, December 6: It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29255967&postcount=36)
Day Two, Part Two: It's (Still) A Marshmallow World in the Winter (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29281695&postcount=38)
Day Two, Part Three: Now It's Just a Mini-Marshmallow (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29297831&postcount=43)
Day Three: Sunday, December 7: All I Want for Christmas is to STAY AT DISNEY FOREVER AND NEVER EVER LEAVE, EVER (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29312002&postcount=53)
Day Three, Part Two: Never, Ever Leaving. Kthxbai. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29319991&postcount=57)
Day Four: Monday, December 8: Grandma Got Run Over by an Emotional Reindeer (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29364492&postcount=63)
Day Four, Part Two: Emotional Reindeer Droppings (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29378515&postcount=68)
Day Five: Tuesday, December 9: Girlbomb the Red-Eyed Reindeer (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29404621&postcount=72)
Day Five, Part Two: Girlbomb the Red-Eyed Reindeer Rides Some More (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29436548&postcount=78)
Day Six: Wednesday, December 10: Walking in a Disney Wonderland (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29510471&postcount=85)
Day Six, Part Two: Still Continuing to Walk in a Disney Wonderland (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29529262&postcount=90)
Day Seven: Thursday, December 11: Let it Precipitate, Let it Precipitate, Let it Precipitate (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29552134&postcount=97)
Day Eight: Friday, December 12: On The Eighth Day of Disney, My True Love Gave to Me... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29628289&postcount=111)
Day Eight, Part Two: On the Eighth Day of Disney, My True Love Didn't Give Me Anything Material, But He Gives Me So Much Love and Emotional Support All Year 'Round, Awwww! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29671418&postcount=115)
Day Nine: Saturday, December 13: Have A Holly, Jolly MouseFest (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29717090&postcount=119)
Day Nine, Part Two: Have A Holly, Jolly Post-MouseFest (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29912336&postcount=129)
Day Nine, Part Three: Have Yet More of a Holly, Jolly, Post-MouseFest (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29968745&postcount=132)
Last Morning: Sunday, December 14: I'm Dreaming of a Next Christmas (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30001623&postcount=134)
Epilogue: And they lived happily ever after! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30196874&postcount=136)

Coming up: What we did while we waited all year long! (Besides read the DIS boards, of course...)

girlbomb

11-24-2008, 02:06 PM

Chapter Two: Only 362 days to go!

I've read enough PTRs to know that you've got to cover certain basics: When you booked your trip, how you chose your resort (because of course you're staying on property), how you're planning your days, and especially how you're planning your meals. And since this is going to be an awesome PTR, and not a failure at all, unlike some PTRs I've started (:rolleyes1), let me cover that right now:

At first, we were thinking of skipping our December 2008 trip. We'd heard that Space Mountain was going down for a rehab, and we spend a good 10 percent of any given trip riding that darn thing, so we figured we might save the money, vacation somewhere else for a change, blee blur bloo -- you know, all those things you've told yourself from time to time when you're trying to talk yourself OUT of going to Disney. We figured we'd go back in 2009, when our beloved Space Mountain was back; we'd just skip a year.

AS IF.

As soon as we got back from last year's amazingincredibleawesome trip, we looked at each other seriously, and Bill said to me, "There's no way I'm waiting two years to go back."

And I was like, "I don't want to wait two minutes to go back! We're going back next year."

Even if Space Mountain was down, we figured, we'd just console ourselves with the rest of the mountains: Splash, Big Thunder, Everest, and of course the mountains of food we shovel into our faces every day.

So within three days of returning from Disney, we booked our next trip -- December 5-14, Contemporary Resort (because it's our fave, and you can't beat walking to the Magic Kingdom!), tower room with MK view. And then we did this:

:woohoo:

And then we heard that Space Mountain wasn't going down until 2009, and we did this:

:yay:

Basically, the dancing banana had nothing on us. We were going back to Disney World! Yahoo! Yippie! Zoinks, Scoob! Grab those suitcases and start that ticker! Life is worth living again!

Only...362 days to go!

:scared:

girlbomb

11-26-2008, 08:54 AM

Chapter Three: What we did while we waited

January: Pined.

February: Moped.

March: Complained. Why is December such a long time from March? It's really unfair, when you think about it.

April: Booked plane tickets using frequent flyer miles on Continental. Started making a list of everything we wanted to do this year, and everywhere we wanted to eat. Created an Excel spreadsheet and started to plug in day plans based on last year's schedule. Faint glimmers of hope appear on the horizon. December 5 will come one day, it will.

May: Went to the Disney "Science of Imagineering" show at New York University. Learned how the Imagineers use G forces in their coaster rides, special sound effects at the Haunted Mansion, motion capture technology in Turtle Talk, zoology at the AK, and chemistry in the pyrotechnic displays. Met DISer wildeoscar, and saw Lucky the Dinosaur. Renewed my thirst for all things Disney.

Also, bought tickets to MVMCP, and booked our Fort Wilderness Segway tour. Excel spreadsheet filling up nicely...

June: Park hours released, and our advance plan works perfectly! Woke up at 6:45 a.m. on a Sunday to call Disney Dining and make our ADRs. Castle breakfast on the day we wanted! Le Cellier! Victoria and Alberts! WOOHOO!

Also, started pre-trip report, got off to great start, then had to move apartments, and completely lost momentum.

July: Early birthday present: Bill gets me Tigger ears off eBay. This will finally be the year I succumb to goofy headgear. Well, Tigger headgear, anyway.

August: On-time birthday present: Bill gets me signed photo of Stacy Aswad. I will cherish it forever! (Gonzo voice: ForEVER?)

September: Pleasure Island to close? No more Adventurer's Club? WAAAAAAHHHH!

October: Signed up for MouseFest, and bought an ad in the program guide for my book. Made arrangements to sign books at the MegaMouse Meet -- maybe I'll see you there?

November: ADRs and reservations double-checked and confirmed. Counting down in earnest now. Plans are perfected and memorized. Nothing left to do but read the DIS boards, start new PTR, and PACK! Which I think we'll start tonight. Only nine days to go!

:banana:

(Coming next: Our schedule, a.k.a., a handy guide for those who want to stalk the Shmoopy DINKs!)

girlbomb

11-26-2008, 08:54 PM

Chapter Four: Yes, We Go for the Food

I don't know how many of you saw this New York Times article (http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/travel/escapes/27disney.html?scp=5&sq=disney%20world&st=cse) this summer, which raved about the food at Disney, especially praising Jiko, Flying Fish, and California Grill and Victoria & Albert's, but I made sure everybody I knew saw it. Finally, vindication for all the times people roll their eyes when I say we love the food at Disney!

When Bill and I start to plan a trip, we take two things into consideration:

1. Park hours and recommended days

2. FOODS (nom nom nom nom nom)

Of course we want to hit the least crowded parks at the least crowded times. So we consult both the UG and Tour Guide Mike, we plan to avoid morning EMH parks, and we plan for evening EMHs only when we have no other options.

Then we decide where we want to eat.

This year, our ADRs look a little something like this:

Friday, Dec. 5: Arrival day! CS lunch at the MK; Biergarten at 8pm.

Biergarten was one of the first places we stumbled into on our first, not-so-well-researched trip -- a trip with NO ADRs! (Horror!) Since then, it's been on our schedule every year, usually for lunch. This time, it's our Welcome Home dinner. Can't wait!

Saturday, Dec. 6: 8am breakfast at Crystal Palace, CS lunch at the MK, Coral Reef at 7pm

Crystal Palace is the only other restaurant we've visited on every trip. We love getting early entry into the park, and being first on line for rope drop at Tomorrowland. Plus, the food and the atmosphere make us happy. And we've never tried Coral Reef -- despite the mixed reviews, I'm looking forward to this.

Sunday, Dec. 7: Breakfast on the go from the new CS at the Contemporary, CS lunch at AK, then a 7:30 dinner at Boma.

Just tried Boma for the first time last year, and loved it. So yummy, and such great variety! We thought about trying to get Jiko in on this trip, but with only one day at AK, we decided to stick with Boma again -- maybe next year, we'll do Jiko.

Monday, Dec. 8: 8am Breakfast at Hollywood & Vine at DHS, Mama Melrose with Fantasmic! dining package at 3:30, post-Fantasmic! snack at Sci-Fi Drive-In Cafe at 8:30

A big dining day for us, starting with an early entry breakfast that, we hope, will get us to the front of the rope for the Toy Story Midway Mania mania (plus we've liked H&V for lunch, and wanted to try breakfast). This will be the only character dining we do where we're not interested in the characters, though the lion is darn cute. Mama Melrose is a new one to us -- we're doing it mostly for the dinner package -- and we love the atmosphere at Sci-Fi but not the food so much, so we thought we'd stop in for dessert only. Funny thing: the park hours end at 8 that night, and yet when I asked for the latest possible reservation, they gave me 8:30. We'll take it!

Tuesday, Dec. 9: Breakfast on the go before morning EMH at Epcot, Teppan Edo at 1pm, CS dinner at the MK for MVMCP

Never done Teppan Edo. And never would, at home -- we usually eschew dining with people we don't know. Except at Disney, where we kind of love it. Weird, huh? And we thought about making TS ressies at the MK for dinner, but don't want to waste precious party time. (Party time! Excellent!)

Wednesday, Dec. 10: 8am castle breakfast, baby! CS lunch wherever we happen to be that day (if the weather's good, Blizzard Beach), then 6pm dinner at Artist's Point.

I know, we're childless adults; we shouldn't be quite so psyched about the castle breakfast. And yet we are. We've heard all the negative reviews of the food; it's the atmosphere we're after. Whereas Artist's Point is supposed to be great for DINKs like us -- we've never been, but we'll see.

Thursday, Dec. 11: Breakfast on the go before our 8:30 am Segway tour! (Where's the smiley riding a segway? We need that one!) 12 noon lunch at 50's Prime Time; 8pm dinner at Le Cellier.

Never done 50's Prime Time, and we're psyched for it. Did Le Cellier last year and loved it -- so happy we're going back.

Friday, Dec. 12: Breakfast and lunch are undecided! :eek: We're leaving this day open in case we can go to Blizzard Beach (if we didn't go on Weds.); if not, we'll choose the park we're enjoying the most and spend the day there. Then we have a 9pm dinner at Victoria & Albert's.

OH MY! Are we fancy or what? V&A's! (Though not the chef's table -- we're not quite that fancy.) I look forward to reporting back on this one, especially to my food snob dad. it's got five diamonds from AAA; it should be great!

Saturday, Dec. 13: Another 8am breakfast at the Crystal Palace for our last day in the parks.

After that, who knows? It's another one of our compulsively planned "free days." :lmao:

Sunday, Dec. 14: Departure day, augh! But first, a 10am breakfast at Ohana before we go.

We did Kona last year and it was yummy; this will be our first visit to Ohana.

So that's the plan -- oh yeah, and we'll be riding rides and seeing shows and gawking at stuff along the way, too. But mostly, food!

Except...something's just come up to throw a wrench in our dining plans! More on that tomorrow...

natale1980

11-27-2008, 05:13 PM

popcorn::
Don't worry - I have also failed at a PTR before. It happens.
I'm along for the ride!

-nat

girlbomb

11-27-2008, 08:17 PM

Thanks, nat, and congrats on your upcoming trip -- sounds great! :thumbsup2

girlbomb

11-28-2008, 01:59 PM

Chapter Five: THE HORROR

You know what? I wrote a whole little thing about going to the doctor and being reminded that I'd gained a bunch of weight, and being put on a diet. And it seemed really funny when i wrote it, but then I went back, and it seemed really self-loathing, so I'm editing it.

The nutshell is: I'm on a diet at Disney World.

THE HORROR!

:eek:

Circusgirl

11-28-2008, 04:42 PM

wigdoutdismom

11-29-2008, 04:09 PM

A Disney Diet!?! Don't forget all of the walking that you will be doing! It will almost make the calories an even trade........ pixiedust:

girlbomb

11-29-2008, 07:02 PM

Love that you're going, and that you're writing about it.
Love your schedule.
Not so fond of the diet concept. I can write you a veterinarian's note exempting you for the trip if that would be helpful.
Looking forward to more!

Circusgirl, I'm loving your current TR, and am selfishly very happy that you'll be in Disney when we will, for two reasons -- A) I get to meet you! B) Another TR will be on its way!

A Disney Diet!?! Don't forget all of the walking that you will be doing! It will almost make the calories an even trade........ pixiedust:

Wigdoutdismom, thank you for reminding me of that. We walk enough to make the Michael Phelps diet seem reasonable!

girlbomb

11-29-2008, 07:25 PM

Chapter Six: Disney Denial

So we've been planning this trip since the second we got back from our last one. And after counting down to it every single day, now it's only six days away. And I feel like I should be doing something right now, like starting to pack, or...I don't know. Checking on things. Making sure we have everything. Doing everything I'll wish I'd done on Thursday night, when I have to teach a workshop instead of staying home and fussing over last-minute things. But instead I am poking at the internets.

:surfweb:

Here are some of the things I've done recently to prepare for our trip:

Got meds for my horrible fear of flying
Got hypnotherapy for my horrible fear of flying
Got sudoku book for my horrible fear of flying
Got business cards made for MegaMouseMeet
Confirmed ADRs

Here's what's left to do:

Download movie onto iPod for my horrible fear of flying
Get extra cat food
Write instructions and emergency vet check for catsitter
Get Epcot t-shirt tailored (I know, this sounds weird and frivolous, and it is, but they didn't have my size last year, and I want my Epcot t-shirt to be cuter on me than it is)
Contact bookseller for MegaMouseMeet
Convince Bill that it is a good idea to take three hours out of our touring to do MegaMouseMeet
Get over my horrible fear of flying

Oh yeah! And...

PACK!

We should also probably:

Find out exactly where to go for our Ft. Wilderness Segway tour, and how to get there
Confirm room reservation
Hyperventilate some more over the fact that we're leaving in six days! Does not seem real! I'm in Disney denial!

I'm also thinking of investing in one of those two-piece rain suits, like the Gorton fisherman wears, in case it's rainy when we're there. But that might be overkill. I mean, it's rain, it's not The Perfect Storm with George Clooney and Marky Mark. We'll see.

Six days! :scared1:

Nope, still doesn't seem real.

TigerKat

11-30-2008, 09:07 AM

Hi there! Circusgirl sent me over, sounds like this should be fun. As for the diet, I've recently lost 35 lbs and was worried that a week of Disney food & booze would set me back - didn't gain an ounce!!!!!!

girlbomb

11-30-2008, 07:17 PM

girlbomb

12-01-2008, 07:59 PM

Chapter Seven: Disney Distraction

So we leave in four days, and I should be supremely excited, which I am! But something has come along to "bump Disney off the front page," as Bill just said:

We've been trying to buy an apartment for a year and a half, and deals keep falling through, but we just shook on a deal for an apartment we really like, and I have to get the paperwork in before we leave. So on top of work and everything else I'm doing this week, I have a TON of important stuff to do for the apartment, and I will be holding my breath the whole time we're away, hoping that everything will go well, for a change.

The great thing is that we have something potentially wonderful to look forward to when we come back (we hope), which is so helpful for countering that post-Disney depression we're so susceptible to. As a matter of fact, we'd both be feeling that weird pre-Disney depression right now -- the one where you feel like, "I've been planning this trip for months, and now it's almost here...which means it's almost over! And then what will I look forward to?"

Well, now we know what we can look forward to -- finally moving into a place of our own, after a year and a half of bouncing from temporary place to temporary place. It's a big distraction, but a hopeful and happy one! I just wish it were done, already...

Four days to go!

:yay:

TigerKat

12-01-2008, 08:06 PM

Welcome, TigerKat! How awesome of Circusgirl to recommend me; I'm a big fan of hers. And thanks for the very welcome news about weight management at Disney! I see you're planning far ahead to a Universal trip -- we look forward to checking it out over there on an upcoming trip. :)

Believe me I ate & drank like there was no tomorrow too! My next trip is going to be 4 nights at WDW and 4 nights at Universal. I am so excited already!:thumbsup2

Circusgirl

12-01-2008, 10:29 PM

girlbomb

12-02-2008, 04:27 PM

Thanks for the empathy, Circusgirl. Also: Mousekeeping envelopes! Good call. It's not too late for me to whip something up...

:thumbsup2

girlbomb

12-03-2008, 04:35 PM

Chapter whatever: Disney Desperation

So, as stated above, I thought we were finally going to make a deal on a new apartment, after two bad deals have fallen through, leaving us in limbo for the past year. But now it looks like the third time is NOT a charm, and this deal may have gone south too. I can't tell you how disappointed and demoralized we are. All of our stuff has been in storage since last February, we've been living out of suitcases, and we are no closer to resolution than we were a year ago.

:sad1:

BUT!

We're STILL going to Disney World!

THANK GOD.

If there is anything that can remind us how lucky we are to have so much pleasure and abundance in our lives, it's Disney.

If there is anything that can soothe the screaming neurotic in me, with its "architecture of reassurance," (http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Disneys-Theme-Parks-Architecture/dp/2080136399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228344318&sr=1-1) and its giant roaming herd of life-sized stuffed animals, it's Disney.

If there is anything that can satisfy the thwarted control freak in me, it's the intricate ongoing competitive logic game that Disney presents, with its best days and ADRs and infinite choices of experience...

Yeah, if there is anything that can distract me from how frustrated I am with my housing situation, it's Disney. And Friday can't come soon enough!

Again, I'm just trying to focus on how lucky we are that real estate is our biggest problem right now; how lucky we are that we get to take a yearly trip to Disney World; how lucky we are that we're going in just two days!

Packed my suitcase last night; only toiletries left to go. Bill is going to make me crazy and wait until tomorrow night to pack his suitcase (did I mention I'm a thwarted control freak?); we'll do the travel documents tonight. Friday morning, we leave our house at 6:15 for an 8:15 flight -- if all goes well, we're at MCO at 11:30!

:woohoo:

Phew! It feels good to :woohoo: instead of :sad1:.

Two days until :cloud9:!

Circusgirl

12-03-2008, 09:37 PM

Chapter whatever: Disney Desperation

If there is anything that can remind us how lucky we are to have so much pleasure and abundance in our lives, it's Disney.

If there is anything that can soothe the screaming neurotic in me, with its "architecture of reassurance," (http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Disneys-Theme-Parks-Architecture/dp/2080136399/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228344318&sr=1-1) and its giant roaming herd of life-sized stuffed animals, it's Disney.

If there is anything that can satisfy the thwarted control freak in me, it's the intricate ongoing competitive logic game that Disney presents, with its best days and ADRs and infinite choices of experience...

Hilarious, wonderful and true. I read this and went, "Oooh I wish I'd written that!

So sorry about the demise of your domicile deal. It's rough to get close and start looking at your new world and then have nothing happen. Having it happen just now when you are already booked into your favorite travel home makes the prize of the trip even more lovely.

It's getting to be hours away!

Dizneydawn

12-03-2008, 09:43 PM

We will be sure to try and run into you as well...and I am glad I am not the only one who has fallen off the bandwagon into ...PTR destraught and demise...althought I started out stronger than you...:rolleyes1 ahemmm...I am just sayin...:lmao:

So my fine freezing your tukkus off ...winter of the north...friend...

Let us run into one another in the land of the mouse...and toast to a better TR...cause we need it before we are pelted with softballs...like the ones kids bring into IASW ride to make it more endearing!:rotfl2:

girlbomb

12-04-2008, 02:49 AM

Thanks yet again, Circusgirl. I am practicing gratitude as hard as I can right now to keep from feeling miserable, and your kindness (and your TR!) are truly gratitude-worthy. :flower3:

And Dizneydawn, I was just getting caught up on your PTR -- trying to banish the stress-related insomnia -- it's hilarious! I'll be looking for you in the parks, and hope you'll have an awesome trip! :hippie:

girlbomb

12-04-2008, 08:37 PM

Chapter now: AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

(cue "Annie" music...)

To MOR row! To MOR row! We'll BE there! To MOR row! It's only a daaaaaaaay aaaaaaaa waaaaaay!

Pretty much fainting from excitement over here, doing last minute stuff, wondering how I planned for this all year and still didn't manage to get everything done, f'rinstance, getting a haircut so I look cute in my pictures.

Bill says, "Flight's on schedule. Terminal C."

I realize the hypnotherapy must have helped, because I haven't spent the past week in a terror of the impending flight. I'm hoping this calm will last all the way to Orlando!

Okay, back to puttering and sputtering and being excited! See you on the other side!

:banana:

Circusgirl

12-04-2008, 08:50 PM

You are mere hours away from dreams come true! :woohoo: :woohoo:
Have a spectacular time and I'll see you at MouseFest!

girlbomb

12-15-2008, 03:45 PM

And we're back!

What an incredible, ridiculous, fun-filled, anxiety-fraught trip we just had! There were laughs, gaffes, tears, cheers, Segways, V&A's, meetings with friends new and old, nightmares, and even a teeny tiny dream -- basically, we had more ups and downs than the Tower of Terror! But overall, it was amazing, and I wish we were still there right now, snif snif...

I'm looking forward to starting the trip report, but it looks like I'll have to shovel through a giant pile of work first. I hope to have my first installment up on Wednesday night. In the meantime, I'm going ahead and changing the title of this TR -- now it's called "We win at Trip Report! The Shmoopy DINKs Plus the Weenie!" Looking forward to taking you through the highlights, including my fabulous meeting with none other than Circusgirl!

Thanks for reading...more coming soon! :goodvibes

TigerKat

12-15-2008, 04:38 PM

Welcome back, can't wait for all the details!:goodvibes

goodmorningirl

12-15-2008, 04:59 PM

You write so wonderfully, and then I see that your an author! I may just have to go and pick up your book. See not only I am a Disney Addict but a Book Addict too. I have a huge bookcase with three shelves of books I haven't read yet and keep buying more! I think I'll have to break my rules of not buying and get yours lol Can't wait to hear about your trip!

girlbomb

12-17-2008, 02:42 PM

Welcome, TigerKat! Welcome, goodmorningirl! Thanks for dropping in! :goodvibes

Okay! So I can almost see the wood grain of my desk under the piles of paper, and the email in-box has been tamed somewhat – it’s time to do something I look forward to almost as much as I look forward to taking a Disney trip: writing the trip report! I met a few fellow trip reporters over the course of our vacation this year, and we all agreed that writing reports is an essential part of the experience – just as you wouldn’t want to come home without any pictures of your trip, you wouldn’t want to return without copious notes on your adventures, so you can relive them in glorious detail!

So enough pre-amble – let’s amble!

Day One: Friday, December 5 – It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The alarm goes off at 5am, and we have never been so happy to hear that thing beep. After a year of waiting and pining and planning and dreaming and counting down every single day, it’s finally here! We’re on our way to Disney World!

Bill and I pop out of bed, exhilaration beating exhaustion by a handy margin; we shower and dress and throw the last toiletries into the suitcase. Big kisses to the kittycats, one last pat of the pockets to make sure we have everything, and we’re out the door at 6:15 and into a cab to Newark Airport for our 8:15 Continental flight to Orlando.

And what a huge difference hypnotherapy has made in dealing with my fear of flying! I haven’t been so cool and calm on an airplane in years – of course, the half a Klonopin I take before boarding doesn’t hurt, but I’ve used Klonopin in the past, and still been petrified. Not this time! We take off right on schedule, the flight itself is smooth, and I even doze off in my seat, instead of clutching Bill’s wrist hard enough to cut off circulation to his hand.

Of course, I’m wide awake and excited again as we land, deplane, and hustle our butts through the terminal, onto the wanna-rail (it’s not quite the monorail, but it wants to be), and down to the Magical Express desk, where Bill stands on line while I writhe with anticipation. It takes about ten minutes to get onto a bus, another ten before we depart, and then we’re on our way at 11:45, watching the welcome video that whets the already whetted appetite.

Me on the wanna-rail. Happy much?

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Last year, we stopped at the Wilderness Lodge first, and the Contemporary second. This year, the Contemporary is the last stop, after the Poly, the Grand Flo (I heard the dispatcher call it that over the radio to the Magical Express driver, and now it will always be the Grand Flo to me), and the Wilderness Lodge. So we don’t get to check in until 12:45 – an hour and a half after landing at MCO, and an hour after the bus departed. Is the slight delay worth it, to avoid handling our bags and paying for a cab? We think so…but we could be convinced otherwise!

Either way, we’re finally here! HOORAY! We walk through the doors, and are greeted by the cheerful sight of families bustling by in their Disney finery, the sound of the elevators pinging and people being wished a magical day, the indefinable and unmistakable smell of the Contemporary hotel. The lobby, which was still undergoing renovation last year, looks great – the plush sofas look like you could just flop down on them and never want to get up again. Maybe the lobby isn’t themed to the gills the way others are, but it looks very much like what it is – an exceptionally nice, high-end hotel, like the kind we have here in NYC.

Check in is a breeze, and while our room isn’t ready, we’re assured that we’re getting the MK view we’d reserved lo those many months ago. So Bill changes into his shorts in the men’s room, we drop our carry-on bags at the bag check, I clip on my pre-loaded fanny pack, and we are good to go!

The walkway from the hotel to the MK feels so familiar now; it’s like it’s part of our neighborhood. The sun is shining, the air is warm (but not too hot – temps are in the mid 70s today), and we’re beaming with contentment as we skim over the octagonal bricks bearing the names of people lucky enough to have bought them when they were still available. Hello, topiary elephants! Hello, monorail skimming the beam above our heads! Hello, crowds of people going to and from the bus shelters! Those are some extremely silly hats you’re wearing, there!

Bill, a few steps ahead of me on the path to glory:

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So, if you’re the type of person who’s reading this report, you probably know what it feels like to walk through those turnstiles, pass under the railroad, and land on Main Street for the first time in any given trip. It’s a heady mix of relief – it’s all still here, just as you imagined and hoped it would be – and anticipation – what still lies in store for you, now that you’re here, and anything is suddenly possible? The Christmas parade is taping, so some of the familiar layout is altered – Roy and Minnie have been moved (sacrilege! But only a temporary one…), an elevated platform for Regis and Kelly is set up in the hub, and crowds line the sidewalks of Main Street. But the crowds don’t block the cotton candy smell from wafting out from the Confectionary, or the maple-y, toasty smell of the bakery, or the sheer delight that comes from looking around at the wreaths, the lights, the intricate facades of the buildings and the tempting window displays; the crowds don’t stop the music, the looks on people’s faces, the super-sensory feeling you get from being there, right in the middle of it, and feeling it embrace you.

We’ll browse Main Street later, after the parade taping is done; for now, we know right where we want to go: Space Mountain. It’s 1pm by now, but the standby line is only 20 minutes long, so we grab our first Fast Pass of the trip (we call them “Fips” for short), and enter the cool blue tunnel of the space station. Within a few minutes, we’re stepping down into our shuttle, and are cleared for takeoff.

Bwoop bwoop bwoop bwoop bwoop...

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Whipping around that track, with the starfield whizzing past, hearing the yelps of other riders hitting those quick dips (we always ride the left side – the last dip is bigger on the left than it is on the right), wind in your face – how much fun is that? My mouth is open, half-screaming, half-smiling, and I want to keep that taste in my mouth forever. It’s like the way I feel when the weather first turns cold, and I sip in little breaths of the freezing air, tasting the season for the first time. All too soon, we’re deposited back on our home planet, and we zip up the moving walkway and back out into Tomorrowland.

Next thing on our to-do list: Cream cheese pretzel from the Launching Pad. Never had one, gotta remedy that now. We’re still giddy from our arrival and our first trip through space, but we’re plunging straight into our agenda – so much to do, see, eat, experience, and only nine days to do it in! The pretzel is all right – not the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten, but a decent snack, and definitely forbidden by the diet I’m supposed to be on, which has magically flown out the window – bye, diet! See you in nine days.

Then it’s time for a ride on the TTA, to reorient ourselves to Tomorrowland. What a great overview of that part of the park – I wish there were a TTA that ran through the other lands, too. (I guess the Skyway served that purpose – wish they could reopen it.) Then time to collect another Fip for Space Mountain, and duck into Monsters Inc., posting a 10 minute wait.

I’ve been waiting for months to text in my new octopus joke (How many octopuses does it take to change a light bulb? One-eighth!), but they don’t use it – sad! They do, however, use a joke sent in by one Bill from New York – Which side of the turkey has the most feathers? The outside! I love this show, especially when one of the monsters guesses something incorrectly, and they just stand there blinking and gaping for a minute. Sooooo adorable!

The park is relatively uncrowded, aside from the throng on Main Street, and we’re already due for another Fip, so we head over to Splash and pick one up, then wait five minutes for the Haunted Mansion. It’s amazing how you can ride it a hundred times, and still see something new with each trip – this time, I point out to Bill something I’d learned here on the DIS: that the bride has a new strand of pearls for every husband. I also notice that there are some portraits hanging on the walls in the first few scenes that are completely shrouded in darkness – anybody know what they are?

After the Haunted Manse, we walk into Philharmagic, one of my top five fave attractions in the parks (not to get all Stacy on you). How cute is it to see kids grabbing at the air in front of them, trying to grasp Ariel’s jewels? Then it’s time for some real food, so we grab some veggie burgers at Cosmic Ray’s, and watch Sunny Eclipse do his thing. My aunt was a lounge singer for many years, and her ex-boyfriend was part of her act – with his cheesy delivery, Sunny is almost a dead ringer for my aunt’s ex!

Me, already starting the note-taking, thinking, "This is going to be an awesome trip report!"

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After our bite, we use our first Space Mountain Fip, then our Splash Fip. The air has cooled by now, as it’s getting towards 4pm, and I’m grateful that the water cannons are off. Last year, I used a poncho for every ride on Splash, but it was a pain to keep donning and refolding it, so this year, I’m going without, and I’m glad to revisit the pastoral scene without the intense soaking. I notice that the cormorants clustered on the ride’s outside island do not sing a little song as we glide by them, the way their bird brethren inside do. “Don’t they even care how do we do?” I ask Bill. “Don’t they think it’s really nice to see us?”

“Nope,” says Bill. “Time to be movin’ along.”

Big Thunder is a walk-on, so we walk on, and get one of the last cars, where the centripetal force smooshes me right up into Bill’s side – fortunately, he doesn’t mind. Pirates, too, is a walk-on; as a redhead, I’m always gratified by the cheers of “We want the redhead!” They we use our second Space Mountain Fip for our third ride of the day. Three down, twenty-seven-hundred to go...

(More coming soon -- thanks for reading!)

TigerKat

12-17-2008, 03:10 PM

What a great start, you are so good at this!:thumbsup2

girlbomb

12-17-2008, 05:46 PM

Thanks, TigerKat! I'm having trouble posting pictures to the report, but I hope to resolve it when Dear Hubby gets home.

In the meantime, I realize that I forgot to explain the title of the report, which probably doesn't need explaining to most DIS readers. Walt always talked about "plussing" attractions to heighten the experience, and he called the central icon of the park the "weenie." So, for instance, when they do the castle lighting ceremony around Christmas, they are "plussing the weenie." It's Disney speak for "best and most," which is what this trip was.

Also, it makes us laugh. ;)

Circusgirl

12-19-2008, 03:19 PM

girlbomb, you are the awesomest of the awesome! I loved sharing your arrival and first happy cruise through the MK and can't wait for more.

I was thrilled to meet you and Bill. I looked forward to that as much as anything I did during the trip, and hope we'll coincide again!

girlbomb

12-19-2008, 07:05 PM

Circusgirl, our meeting was a big highlight for me, too. I look forward to many more such meetings! :goodvibes

And now back to winning at Trip Report!

Day One, Part Two; Friday, December 5: It's (Still) The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We want to check into the room and settle in a little before our 8pm dinner reservations at Biergarten, so we bid a fond adieu to the MK for the day, and saunter back along the path to the Contemporary and find out our room number. Indeed, when we reach the 9th floor, our room overlooks the MK, and we enjoy a beautiful view of the castle lighting from our balcony.

Bill watching the castle get lit (hic!):

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When it’s all lighted and sparkling, we head down to the fourth floor to catch the monorail whisking through the canyon concourse, and take our first ride on Old Band-Aid.

Again, there’s something both exotic and familiar about Disney to us now; the monorail hasn’t lost any of its thrill, even as it feels like part of our commute. It’s comforting to feel like we know where we’re going, and yet the joy of discovery is still present. As is the joy of entering Epcot for the first time this year. I don’t love the monoliths in front of Spaceship Earth, but I’m still happy to wend my way through them, and to hear the entrance music faintly in the background. We have an hour until our ADR, so we jump right on SE, which has no wait at all. Last year, it was still in previews – we were lucky enough to happen upon an opportunity to ride it before it had officially opened, but they hadn’t yet worked out the kinks in the ending. This year, we get to experience it in all its glory!

I’m still firmly a fan of the update, especially the scenes that deal with the computer age. And the blue light strings at the end are so perfectly, mathematically positioned; it’s such an elegant and ethereal atmosphere through which to descend. And we love seeing Future Bill and Future Janice enjoying their underwater adventure, while our pets are being taken care of by a robot! (Though of course we love our catsitter, and would never be unfaithful to him with an android.)

After riding, we make sure to send a postcard of Future Us to Bill’s family. Then we take a long, slow walk through the center of Future World, past the choreographed fountain, under the twinkling arch, around Mexico and Norway and the Outpost, to Germany, and check in for our reservation at Biergarten.

Though there is a big crowd waiting to check in and be seated, we reach the front of the line quickly, and are seated in short order. The young woman at the check-in desk notes my last name, Erlbaum, and asks if it’s German – “Around there,” I say (the family actually comes from a region called Galicia, which was either Austria or Poland or something; I’m not too well-educated on my Erlbaum family history). And again, when we’re seated on the far left of the dining room, our delightful and pretty young server asks about the name. “Have you been to Germany?” she asks.

“No,” says Bill, before I can answer. “You know, there was that whole Holocaust thing; kind of a deterrent for the Jews to go visit.”

Poor girl! She flushes a little, and rushes off to get our drink order, while I gasp, grateful that I don’t currently have a mouthful of water to spit in surprise. “Did you just give our server a hard time about the Holocaust?” I demand, half-laughing at his completely inappropriate remark.

“Hey,” he shrugs. “She asked, I replied.”

I laugh again, and turn my attention to the band, who have just assembled on the stage. They start out with a polka, inviting the audience to join them and dance, and a girl of about seven and her mom immediately report to the dance floor. The girl has a Bibbity Bobbity bun, with glittered extensions, and they swing around as she and her mom dance gaily, unabashedly, with huge smiles on their face. And I have this year’s first Misty Moment ™, tears of vicarious happiness collecting in my eyes.

Watching kids with huge smiles, dancing and feeling free, is one of the greatest pleasures Disney affords me. Soon, the mom and daughter are joined by several other kids and parents; they’re led in a rousing version of the chicken dance, and everybody is having a blast. The band brings out some bells and plays “Silver Bells,” then the kids are given instruments to shake, rattle, and bang along to another polka number. “Festive” is an understatement for the scene; it’s a full-on jamboree.

Bill enjoying his gallon of beer while I enjoy the atmosphere:

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I am a good little dieter this evening, and stick to the cabbage, beet, and cucumber salads, with a little salmon for protein – no dessert. Bill is a bad, bad man, currently unencumbered by dietary restrictions, and he eats about twelve pounds of meat and dessert. When we roll out of there, an hour later, we are both satiated and happy. We poke around the shops a little, then head back towards Future World.

It’s about 9:30 now, and we’ve been up since 5am, but I can’t resist a single rider ride on Test Track before we leave the park. Very invigorating! Though I wonder, since they instituted the single rider line, if Bill and I will ever bother waiting on standby, or using a Fip that could otherwise be spent on Soarin’, in order to ride together — we didn’t ride together once last year; it was all single-rider trips for us. The ride’s still fun with strangers in the next seat, but it’s best with Bill beside me.

(This, our first trip through the single rider line, is also the inception of one of this year’s running gags – I’ll wander a little bit off topic to explain it. We’re big Survivor fans, and this season, an adorable young man of the homosexual persuasion named Charlie had a big crush on a handsome straight guy named Marcus. After Marcus was voted out, he got to sit on the jury, and the first time he appeared on the jury during tribal council, Charlie practically fell out of his seat trying to get Marcus’s attention. Bill and I imagined Charlie waving and stage-whispering, “MARCUS! MARCUS! IT’S ME, CHARLIE! OVER HERE!” So as soon as I am deposited in the line for row seven, and Bill is sent to row nine, I lean over and start waving frantically and hissing “MARCUS!” Probably not that funny, unless you’re us, but to us it’s comedy gold, and we keep it up on every single rider line we wait on this year.)

After a thrilling race around the Test Track, we think about going over to Soarin’, which is only posting a half-hour wait, but good sense prevails – if we wait and ride, by the time we’re done, it’ll be close to eleven, and we’ll still have to get back to the room. So rather than completely wear ourselves out on the first night, we amble out of the park and onto the monorail, knowing we’ll be back tomorrow for more fun.

(Another off-topic musing: On our way to the monorail, we see an older gentleman in a leather vest, upon which is a patch proclaiming, “I’m not learning another language to benefit illegals.” And Bill and I roll our eyes at each other – why in the world do people take the opportunity to foist their political beliefs on others while on vacation? I have plenty of strong political opinions, but I don’t advertise them at Disney World, because I don’t think that’s the time or place for it. This won’t be the last time we see someone proselytizing through their wardrobe, either. And I know it’s their right, but it bugs me. It’s like starting a contentious conversation without allowing anyone to respond.)

ANYWAY. We get back to the Contemporary, and we’re both exhausted, As much as I wanted to ride Soarin’, I’m glad we got back to the room when we did, around 10:15, instead of an hour later. We admire the incredible view, kvell a little bit more about being at Disney World, unpack enough of our stuff to prepare for sleep, and then it’s lights out. Alarm’s set for 6:30am – big plans tomorrow!

Lady Lallie

12-19-2008, 07:37 PM

I'm really enjoying your Trip Report. You are a wonderful writer, I feel like I am right there next to you. :goodvibes

TigerKat

12-19-2008, 07:50 PM

Thoroughly enjoying every minute of this report!:thumbsup2

PinkPrincessZ

12-20-2008, 08:28 AM

Hooray! :cool1: Another girlbomb trippie! Sounds like you had an amazing time- can't wait to read all about it!

By the way - MARCUS - hilarious! Wasn't Survivor great this season??

girlbomb

12-20-2008, 05:47 PM

I'm really enjoying your Trip Report. You are a wonderful writer, I feel like I am right there next to you. :goodvibes

Thank you, Lady Lallie! Because of your famous light fixtures thread, I found myself looking up and appreciating what I was seeing in so many new places!

Thoroughly enjoying every minute of this report!:thumbsup2

TigerKat, I thoroughly appreciate the support. :goodvibes

Hooray! :cool1: Another girlbomb trippie! Sounds like you had an amazing time- can't wait to read all about it!

By the way - MARCUS - hilarious! Wasn't Survivor great this season??

Thanks, PinkPrincess! And it was a great season, even though I was afraid nothing could top last season. ;)

I hope to post another installment tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for reading! :3dglasses

girlbomb

12-21-2008, 07:24 AM

Day Two: Saturday, December 6: It’s a Marshmallow World in the Winter

After a restless night of sleep, we’re still eager and excited to wake up at 6:30 and find ourselves on the first full day of vacation in Disney World. We flip on the Stacy channel to banish the gloom of the darkness, pierced only by the lights of the Magic Kingdom and the decorated trees out our window; by the time we’re up and at ‘em, the sun has risen and Chef Mickey’s is in full swing (“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, in just a few moments, Mickey and friends have a special treat for you!”). We lean over the hallway railing outside the room, and there’s the whoosh of the monorail entering the concourse, the bustle of guests eating breakfast below, the hum of energy that surges through the place – we can’t wait to get out there and join it!

We walk briskly down the path to the MK, and line up at a turnstile with the rest of the folks going to Character Breakfasts this morning. Again, they’re taping the Christmas parade today, so there’s way more activity on Main Street than usual, but it’s still enjoyable to be there before official opening.

Main Street during parade taping:
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The castle, with stage set up in front of it:

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We check in for our 8:05 ADR at Crystal Palace – the only way to officially start a Disney vacation, for us – and are quickly seated in our usual spot (must be where the put the early bird two-tops). We get to work loading up those plates (no veggie sausage this year, boo!), then Eeyore comes around. “Eeyore,” I tell him, “we’ve found the cure for depression! It’s Disney World!” Tigger bounces by, to the delight of a nearby toddler, and I…I seem to have something in my eye:

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We meet and greet with Piglet and Pooh (as well as with a few plates of food), then head over to Tomorrowland for rope drop. As soon as the cast members give us the go ahead, it’s time for that very brisk walk over to Space Mountain, where we’re some of the first people in line. That ride is pokey first thing in the morning, but it still feels worth it to get there first thing. We’re usually able to ride it four times in a row before the crowds start to build; this morning, however, we have a full twenty-minute wait for our second ride. Hmmm…

Well, the DIS boards warned me to avoid parade taping days, so I guess that explains the extra crowds. That’s fine – we’ll just head over to the AstroOrbiter, where there’s no line at all.

I used to be afraid of this ride, because it’s so high up, and because the rocket tips so far to the side, but now I love it. Any chance I get to see an aerial view of the park makes me happy, and I love the cozy quarters, snuggled up against Bill as we ride.

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Next, it’s the teacups, which Bill takes as a serious personal challenge. He only lets me take the wheel for a few seconds before protesting that I’m slowing us down, so I lean my head back and watch the world blur around me as Bill whirls like a dervish. Afterwards, I can barely walk from laughing and spinning, and I stagger out towards the carousel on unsteady legs.

Bill, the spin master, in action:

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Afterwards, he tells me he thinks he can get it to go faster, by using his dominant arm to pull the wheel while the other arm pushes, instead of the other way around. I can’t imagine our cup going any faster without it coming loose from the ride mechanism and careening out into the nearby snack stand, but I agree that we’ll test his theory later in the trip.

After the teacups, we notice there’s no wait for Snow White, which we missed the past few years. What the heck – we decide to give it another shot. And wow, I understand why this ride is too intense for a lot of young kids; I’m glad they use the word “scary” in the title. I’m currently planning a trip for/with my friends and their new baby (not that they know about it, or that they asked me to, I just like to dream about it), and I’ve been thinking we’ll go when she’s five – even at age five, we might skip Snow White.

Peter Pan and Pooh are posting 30-40 minute waits, so it’s off to Small World. I never would have imagined that this would become one of my favorite rides in the park, but it’s a must-do for me every year. I just love the colors, the shapes, the all-around sweetness of it all – for me, the ride actually goes by too quickly! I want to stop and examine every scene as we glide by. And yes, the song is repetitive, I know. I KNOW. I still love it. Thank god I have a patient husband who humors me.

Leaving Small World to go towards the Haunted Mansion, we notice two things: the HM is temporarily closed (huh?), and the crowds are unusually thick. Yeah, we definitely should have listened to the advice telling us to steer clear of the MK today. But our first full day at Disney HAS to start at the Crystal Palace! We head back to Space Mountain to use this morning’s Fip, jump on a short line for Buzz Lightyear (meh – this ride does nothing for me, probably because I stink at it), then decide that, since we’re eventually planning to hop to Epcot for our dinner at Coral Reef anyway, we might as well make it sooner rather than later.

(Day Two, Part Two coming soon! Thanks for reading.)

Lady Lallie

12-21-2008, 09:50 AM

Thank you, Lady Lallie! Because of your famous light fixtures thread, I found myself looking up and appreciating what I was seeing in so many new places!

Famous! :lmao:

We sat in that area too for our early morning Crystal Palace ADR with just the two of us. I wondered the same thing if that was the area for parties of two because there seemed to be a lot of them around. We did CP on our first full day too and we are doing it again on the next trip. It's a good tradition!

I don't like Buzz at all either. Not nearly as fun as Toy Story Mania.

girlbomb

12-22-2008, 07:56 PM

Famous! :lmao:

That's right! I know it's a burden to be so well-known and -loved, but you must bear it bravely, for your fans' sake! ;)

In the meantime, here's Day Two, Part Two: Saturday, Dec. 6: It’s (Still) a Marshmallow World in the Winter

(A quick note about the chapter titles: “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is my favorite holiday song, because I associate it with Disney, which is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. And Regis Philbin sang “It’s a Marshmallow World in the Winter” during the 2006 Christmas parade on ABC – it’s possibly the cheesiest holiday song imaginable, but since we’re in the midst of a chapter having to do with the Christmas parade, I figure it’s apt.)

On our way out of the MK around 11:30am, the parade taping is in full swing, and we know we made the right choice to get out now. Crowds are still pouring in through the front gate, being diverted backstage past the hat store; we’d be eager to peek backstage, but we’ve already seen that area on 2005’s Keys to the Kingdom tour. We do get a shot of the platform set up for Regis and Kelly:

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We watch the parade every Christmas morning; this year, we’ll be able to say we were there, and that we saw the back of Regis’s head! How exciting.

We catch the monorail to the TTC, and then to Epcot, and this is when I’m starting to really notice the wet, croupy cough people are exhibiting all around us – in elevators, on lines, in pre-shows. I caught that wet, croupy cough on our 2006 trip, and it turned into a full-blown bronchial infection that lasted weeks and required two rounds of antibitoics. I am determined not to get sick this time, and if I do, to nip it in the bud.

We reach Epcot by noon; with single-minded purpose, we hustle over to Soarin’, where we pass up the hour long wait for some 5pm Fips. Then we decide to check out Sunshine Seasons for lunch. It seems like a shame to eat on the fly at Future World in Epcot, where there’s so much great counter service in World Showcase, but we’re hungry right now – a half hour walk to one of the countries feels like too much. Fortunately, Sunshine Seasons has a lot of variety, if not a lot of ambiance – Bill grabs a chicken wrap, and I get seared tuna salad and black bean soup – and the food is good.

Another somewhat off-topic musing: At Sunshine Seasons, I see a guy who looks a little like Billy Idol, and I start thinking about my friend Cal, who died of natural causes this summer at the age of 41. Can was a bleached-and-spiked blond, arms full of tattoos, who wore a lot of leather; he’d been a street/club kid in the city before he cleaned up and became a tech guru, which is how I met him at a job back in ’96. He was also an enormous Disney fan who visited the world annually with his girlfriend, a gorgeous, surgically enhanced exotic dancer. I remember him complaining to me back in ’97 that Disney was going downhill – on his most recent visit, he said, they had stopped pressing Mickey heads into all the pats of butter. “Now they’re just regular pats of butter,” he said sadly, shaking his head. At his memorial service, there was a picture of Cal with Mickey, arms around each other’s backs. Cal’s wearing a Chernobog t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, and he has the biggest grin on his face. This is how I like to think of him – with that big Disney grin – and even though it pangs me to remember that he’s gone, I’m glad to have a moment of remembrance of him happy.

After lunch, we want to go to ImageWorks in the Imagination pavilion, because my friend Georgia told me her mom sent her an unintentionally creepy video postcard from there, and so naturally I want to do the same. Unfortunately, there are a ton of people using the equipment, and I get a snippy “could you move out of the way” from someone when I lurk too close to their station, waiting for a turn. Chastised, I decide we’ll come back another time, and maybe even see Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, which we haven’t seen since our first trip in 2005, when I experienced it under less-than-ideal conditions (small bladder + long pre-show = severe impatience on my part).

So we start strolling towards England, where Bill has heard they sell Flake bars, which are supposed to be super yummy. The World Showcase players are just wrapping up, and we see that two of our favorite Adventurer’s Club alumni are in the troupe – too bad we just missed them! But according to the Times guide, we can catch them in a half hour in Italy, so we grab our Flake bar (yummy, but not the end-all-be-all of yumminess), and browse a little bit in France on the way over (where I am dusted with glittery body powder, and Bill submits to some cologne sampling before we hightail it our of the parfum shop).

The Flake bar wasn’t enough yum for Bill, especially as he was forced to break off a piece for me, so he gets some cherry Kaki Gori from the stand in Japan while I commandeer some seats in Italy. By the time the show starts, we both have clown-red mouths. A young man roaming nearby had been making a lot of noise before the performance, yelling to his friends and generally making a spectacle of himself; the World Showcase Players (which, sadly, do not include any AC alumni in this iteration) draft the loud young man as the mime in their production of Romeo and Edna, which has the handy effect of shutting him up during the show so others can actually hear and enjoy it. Skillful casting on the part of the ever-resourceful improvisers of the WSP!

We know we’ll be back this way to watch the American Adventure, and we browsed Germany last night, so we don’t stop again until China, where we skip the movie (Bill’s call, not mine; I would have been happy to watch it again, as we’ve only seen it once), and spend a little time looking at the Tomb Warriors exhibit. Another reality TV call-back: the Tomb Warriors were featured in an episode of the Amazing Race. Because everything relates to reality TV! :3dglasses

There’s nothing in the shops we can’t find in Chinatown (and this Chinese shop doesn’t even feature bootleg Louis Vuitton handbags, the way ours do), so we mosey over to Norway and get on a fifteen-minute line for Maelstrom. We’ve never seen this ride with a line in all of our three previous trips; this line moves fast, but is clogged with a hyperactive group of young football players, all jumping on each others’ backs and sitting on the ropes and generally making a ruckus. I pray we won’t be in their boat, and the cast member who dispatches us must read this on my face, as she sends the lot of them off in a half-full boat and lets the rest of us ride peacefully in the next one. After the ride, we stay for the movie, which makes you want to go visit Norway…in the 1980s, when this thing was produced.

This giant Norwegian will crush that icebound ship and those polar bears!

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/norwayTR.jpg

We amble back to Future World, where Soarin’ is out of Fips for the day, so we pay a little visit to Club Cool, and sample the samplings. Bill actually likes Beverly, the weirdo; I’m more of a fan of the watermelon soda, though of course I have to taste them all again. Well-hydrated at last, we press on to MouseGears, one of my favorite stores in the parks.

Bill wants a groovy retro Epcot t-shirt (my groovy Epcot t-shirt inspires that reaction in people), but they don’t have his size, and while I’m assiduously browsing for gifts for all of my friends’ kids, I’m not ready to buy yet, so we leave empty-handed, and start poking around Innoventions (yet another reality TV shout-out – we call it “Interventions”). We check out a presentation of the 3D movie/quiz Storm Surge (also known as “Honey, A Hurricane Shrunk the Garage”), we watch a lively performance of the Velcro show, “What’s Your Problem,” featuring yet another Adventurer’s Club alumnus, and, though I nearly go out of my mind with impatience waiting through the looooong pre-amble for the Segway demo, we get a few seconds on Segways, which we’ll be riding at greater length later in the week. ZOMG! Segways are so much fun; I wish they were a) cheaper and b) legal for use in New York City.

Finally, it’s 5pm – where did the day go? – and time to use our Soarin’ Fips. Wow, wow, wow, do I love this ride, especially from B1, where we are lucky enough to be seated right now. My favorite scene is Malibu at sunset, when you’re skimming so fast, right over the water, and you can almost smell the suntan lotion on the surfers; Bill likes the LA freeway at night. Of course, we both love the Disneyland ending – we can’t wait to get there, someday.

After Soarin’, we take another ride on Spaceship Earth, and program a different future for ourselves at the end; then we hang around the exhibits after the ride. I test my reaction time (not as good as I’d hoped), hand-eye coordination (okay), and sequential memory (darn good, for an old lady like me), and Bill plays a driving game. And, because we are extremely immature, we giggle at the fact that the pavilion is presented by Siemens. Not that there’s anything funny about the word Siemens! :rolleyes1 (Please don’t ban me.)

The exhibit lets us out right by Gateway Gifts, where they have the t-shirt Bill wanted in his size, hooray! Now we can be matching Epcot dorks. I also get an Epcot pen with a geodesic dome on its cap. I am religious about writing with “Walt Disney World Resort” pens, but they don’t provide that many in the room, and when they inevitably die on me mid-year, I am left sad and bereft, so this fancy Epcot pen will come in handy. Hey, it’s a business expense!

We still have almost an hour before our ressie at Coral Reef, so we watch the fountain dance to the music for a few minutes, and then take the Nemo ride. Again, these kiddie rides take on a whole new dimension when I think about coming with my friends and their little girl; I can’t wait for this theoretical trip I keep planning. I’ve read tons of threads about bringing little ones to the parks, and what the ideal age for a first visit is, and though it’s hard to be patient, I think we’ll wait until she’s almost five to present the idea. But I just want to, like, stand over her and blow on her to make her grow faster! Just…hurry up and be five, already!

We check in at Coral Reef at about 7:45, and sit on the stone ledge outside with our pager, watching people walk up to the counter and get turned away. I feel bad for the parents with cranky kids who just want to get them fed – didn’t they get the memo that they had to be up at 6:45am exactly 180 days ago, fingers poised over the telephone keys, ready to play “Dialing for Dining Reservations” if they ever wanted to eat at a place with napkins on the table?

We’re seated at 8:05 – not bad, for an 8pm ressie – and our table is right up against the aquarium. “You’re going to make a lot of friends at this table,” predicts the young lady who seats us; in fact, she has to shoo a family kneeling on our chairs to view the tank before we can claim our seats.

These fish at our elbows are all, "You gonna eat that bread? We'll take some of that bread, if you got extra. Come on, you can always ask the waiter for more bread."

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/coralTR.jpg

Our server is Riley, and he’s terrific – very prompt, helpful, and low-key but friendly – it’s not his fault that it takes almost twenty minutes between appetizers (super-yummy lobster soup for me, highly praised surf and turf app for Bill) and main course (mahi mahi for me, pork tenderloin for Bill, with thumbs up all around). Bill has the chocolate wave for dessert, and I sneak a bite, just to see if it lives up the hype. Yes! Quite good. If I weren’t “on a diet” (let’s just ignore the bites of Flake bar and Kaki Gori I had earlier), I’d order my very own portion.

[Wow, I am long-winded! I think I will break here and return tomorrow with Day Two, Part Three: It Remains, At Least for the Foreseeable Future, A Marshmallow World in the Winter. ;) ]

PinkPrincessZ

12-22-2008, 09:08 PM

Circusgirl

12-22-2008, 11:10 PM

Janice! Reading your trip report is like being there myself - I'm enjoying every second of it and I'm already worried about it being over!

Lady Lallie

12-23-2008, 07:04 AM

I feel like a just had a morning at Disney after reading your latest update! How cool that you can watch the parade and exclaim that you saw the back of Regis' head! :rotfl2:

girlbomb

12-23-2008, 09:43 AM

Hey Janice - excellent update! I too like to use WDW resort pens when I'm back in the real world - it's the little things...

We were in Disneyland a year ago in early November when we stumbled upon the Christmas Day special taping. Josh Grobin was actually singing Silent Night live as we walked toward the castle! Talk about surreal - we had no idea they were taping that day. It was awesome and added yet another layer to a magical day. :cloud9:

Looking forward to more!!:thumbsup2

PPZ

Janice! Reading your trip report is like being there myself - I'm enjoying every second of it and I'm already worried about it being over!

I feel like a just had a morning at Disney after reading your latest update! How cool that you can watch the parade and exclaim that you saw the back of Regis' head! :rotfl2:

Ladies, thank you so much for your encouragement! It's wonderful to feel such support from you. Thank you! :cloud9:

And, in other :cloud9: news...we just booked our Dec. 2009 trip!

:banana:

I'm looking forward to getting another installment up tonight, before HOLIDAY MADNESS ensues. Hope you're all looking forward to a wonderful holiday, with minimal madness!

:santa:

girlbomb

12-23-2008, 09:01 PM

And finally, Day Two, I Swear This is the Last Part:

So we’ve just finished our excellent meal at Coral Reef – excellent not only for the food and atmosphere, but for the company (Shmoopy) and the conversation (the year past; the year ahead). It’s about 8:15 now, so we start to walk towards World Showcase to stake out a spot for Illuminations. We’ve never been able to find a good spot for this show, even with an hour lead time, but this year, I have Robo’s handy “good spots for viewing Illuminations” map memorized, and we’re ready to pounce on whatever we see. We quickly spy a few feet of unclaimed planter-ledge near the gift shop between the boat launches, and we claim it fast, as space all around us is already filled up.

It’s gone from temps in the high seventies to the low fifties, and Bill’s chilly, so we trade off holding the seats while the other browses the gift shop and warms up. I’m very content, after a day on my feet, to just sit and people watch and eavesdrop and revel in being here; happy, when Bill comes back to sit beside me, to hug him and rub his back to try and warm him up. Finally, it’s time for the show to begin, and we stand on our ledge, where we have a perfect view (even for me, the 5’2” shortie).

So, yeah! That’s an impressive show, there. With the exploding lake of fire, and the dramatic lights dancing around the lagoon, and the seventy million pounds of fireworks they blow up at the end. I wish it grabbed me the way Wishes does, but it kind of leaves me emotionally cold. There’s no question that it’s a technical tour de force, and I’m glad we finally got to see it in its entirety from a decent vantage point, but it doesn’t have the impact on me that other DISers have reported. It’s obviously an amazing show on a grand scale – I’ve just never been a fireworks fan (Wishes notwithstanding). My favorite part is watching the countries light up to the music, and of course it’s always astounding to watch Disney set a lake on fire.

We love our Earth! And we celebrate her with this propane inferno:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/illum2TR.jpg

We are ready to hotfoot it out of the park as soon as the last KABOOM has kaboomed, but whoa! Where did all these other people come from? And how did they get ahead of us on our trek to the monorail station? Where did they watch the show from – Test Track? (I bet it’s awesome to hit the outside portion of Test Track while the fireworks are going off.) It’s a good thing we’re fleet of foot, and practiced in dodging crowds (just try getting to the R train on Canal Street on a busy weekend); we manage to beat the bulk of the crowd out of there, and make it back to the Contemporary by 10:30.

Phew! Another long, amazing day of exploration, exhilaration, and fun. And we’ve only just begun! (Cue the Carpenters – or don’t, if you don’t happen to enjoy your music dripping with cheese, as I do.) We collapse into bed, delirious and content, ready for the week of fun still ahead…

Circusgirl

12-23-2008, 09:33 PM

Lady Lallie

12-24-2008, 06:12 AM

Congrats on booking your 2009 trip!! :woohoo:

I haven't seen Illuminations so I can't offer my opinion here. I do hope to see it on our next trip. :goodvibes

TigerKat

12-24-2008, 06:16 AM

I guess I'm just a sucker for anything Disney, I cry every time I see Illuminations or Wishes.:sad2:

girlbomb

12-24-2008, 08:58 AM

I agree with you about the current IllumiNations. The old show from 15 or so years back was very warm and delivered more of a message. It also used the whole World Showcase (except Morocco) and featured each of the countries during the show. The spotlight country would light up, there would be matching music and somehow it was all very unifying and emotional. It was also extremely impressive that they used the whole WS as a gigantic theater. The part I liked best about the show this year was Walter Cronkite's holiday tag. The current show is a little like the overdose of fire dancers at Burning Man - things aren't cool just because they're on fire. There has to be an actual compelling story or talent involved for it to be cool!

Hooray for booking your 2009 trip! :woohoo: :woohoo:

Circusgirl, I wish I'd seen the old version! It sounds great. And I should have suspected you'd know something about Burning Man -- my old friend Cal, the Disney fan, was also a huge burner, and talked often about the similarities (and, bien sur, the differences) between the two.

Also, thanks for the hooray on our upcoming trip! I hope you've got one on the horizon too...

Congrats on booking your 2009 trip!! :woohoo:

I haven't seen Illuminations so I can't offer my opinion here. I do hope to see it on our next trip. :goodvibes

Lady Lallie, I would give you the whole indignant "WHAT?! YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ILLUMINATIONS?!" spiel, but I assume you've heard it plenty of times before. I hope you'll love it! It really is spectacular.

I guess I'm just a sucker for anything Disney, I cry every time I see Illuminations or Wishes.:sad2:

See, TigerKat, that's the kind of response I'd love to have! I feel like such a snob and an ingrate for not appreciating the show the way others do. I definitely feel like I'm missing out on some magic. We'll give it another shot next year.

Thanks again for the replies. I hope to post another installment tonight, after we get home from the in-laws. And I hope everyone's looking forward to a beautiful Christmas Eve! :goodvibes

sfacowgirl87

12-24-2008, 10:56 AM

Alrighty, so I'm caught up and ready for more! My husband just sprung the news...we're goin to WDW next Dec. and I wanna hear all about what it's like around the Holidays! :)

girlbomb

12-24-2008, 07:47 PM

Alrighty, so I'm caught up and ready for more! My husband just sprung the news...we're goin to WDW next Dec. and I wanna hear all about what it's like around the Holidays! :)

Woohoo! Welcome, sfacowgirl; I hope you'll like December at Disney as much as we have.

But I should say -- spoiler alert! -- the crowds were much heavier than they were in 2005 and 2006; they'd gone up a little last year, but were really much more apparent this year. We don't know what to expect for next year, but we decided to take our chances and enjoy our annual visit at its traditional time. Plus, I had a good time meeting certain Circusy people at the MegaMouseMeet, and I'd like to overlap with that crowd again. And, it's only...let's see...345 days away!

:woohoo:

Circusgirl

12-24-2008, 08:40 PM

Circusgirl, I wish I'd seen the old version! It sounds great. And I should have suspected you'd know something about Burning Man -- my old friend Cal, the Disney fan, was also a huge burner, and talked often about the similarities (and, bien sur, the differences) between the two.

Also, thanks for the hooray on our upcoming trip! I hope you've got one on the horizon too...

I took advantage of the bounceback to book another September trip. I have an annual pass again, and the bounceback rates were as good as anything I got last year after investigating all possible deals. I plan on visiting again in December as well, 'cause you can't beat the company or the holiday scene! I might shift my dates a little for December if I were basing it only on crowds, but the fun of connecting with people at MouseFest trumps other considerations.

Now for the extra fun news. I have an annual conference in Orlando in January and I've tacked on a few days at the World at the end, so I'll be back in the Magic zone in a few weeks! I'm going to Segway at WS, and stay at the Polynesian again. It made it so much easier to come home last week knowing I'd be zooming back in no time. We've had a total snow disaster here since I got back and I have missed most of the special holiday things that I do, so the January trip is especially comforting.

Happy Holidays everybody!

TigerKat

12-24-2008, 09:26 PM

Now for the extra fun news. I have an annual conference in Orlando in January and I've tacked on a few days at the World at the end, so I'll be back in the Magic zone in a few weeks!

Lucky woman!!!!!...and lucky us...another TR!:thumbsup2

girlbomb

12-24-2008, 09:48 PM

I took advantage of the bounceback to book another September trip. I have an annual pass again, and the bounceback rates were as good as anything I got last year after investigating all possible deals. I plan on visiting again in December as well, 'cause you can't beat the company or the holiday scene! I might shift my dates a little for December if I were basing it only on crowds, but the fun of connecting with people at MouseFest trumps other considerations.

Now for the extra fun news. I have an annual conference in Orlando in January and I've tacked on a few days at the World at the end, so I'll be back in the Magic zone in a few weeks! I'm going to Segway at WS, and stay at the Polynesian again. It made it so much easier to come home last week knowing I'd be zooming back in no time. We've had a total snow disaster here since I got back and I have missed most of the special holiday things that I do, so the January trip is especially comforting.

Happy Holidays everybody!

Great news for us all! The Segway tour of the World Showcase is so much fun! I hope you'll love it. And we'll cross our fingers that next December will be slower -- in the meantime, I'll be very interested in hearing about the January crowds when you're down there soon!

girlbomb

12-25-2008, 10:14 AM

Merry Christmas Morning, friendly folks! I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely holiday. We set the parade to tape and went to the gym -- where we watched the parade on TV! But we look forward to getting home tonight after the festivities, and watching it in full, without sweat in our eyes and lungs bursting. In the meantime, here's:

Day Three: Sunday, December 7: All I Want for Christmas is to STAY HERE FOREVER AND NEVER LEAVE. EVER.

Today’s going to be a great day. We know this, because we’re here at Disney World! And today is one of our favorite Disney days: Animal Kingdom day, followed by dinner at Boma. YUM.

We allow ourselves to “sleep in” to the extravagant hour of 7am. Then, despite a truly lousy night of sleep for us both (anxiety dreams for me, restlessness for Bill), we spring up and get ready for the day ahead. We’re out of the room by 8, and take our first trip to the Contemporary’s new version of the Grab n’ Go – I’m sure it’s much better than the old version, with the hot food and everything, but we both stick to yogurt and fruit from the refrigerated section, so we wouldn’t know.

We’ve been burned by busses to AK before, so we always budget for a cab on our one annual AK day – today, it costs us $22, without tip, which is hefty, but we do get to avoid the aggravation of waiting over forty minutes for a bus that then takes forty minutes to get to the park.

Here’s a handy word of advice for you: If you see us lined up for the turnstiles in the morning, choose any other line besides the one we chose. Because we will always be standing in the line behind the person who cannot operate the turnstile. This person may be the three-year-old who insists “I wanna do it!”, and then can’t reach the slot to insert her card; this person may be the gentleman who doesn’t get the whole “put your finger here, where it says, ‘put finger here’” concept. This person may even be the cast member who can’t get the darn thing to work. I’m just saying, if you see us, don’t follow us. We often fail at line-choosing. Today, we’re smart enough to act fast when we see a new turnstile line forming; we halve our wait by jumping on it as soon as the CM removes the turnstile cover. And then the turnstiles open, and the Stroller Mom in front of us can’t get it together, and we sit there, stuck behind her, watching as people stream past us through the gates.

But again, that New York City walk gets us far, and as soon as we can get through the 'stile, we get poised for the opening show right up against the right-hand rope, in front of the tip board. Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Mickey welcome us to the park, and we take off after two lovely young CMs from South Asia, who are doing their best to keep everyone from trampling each other on the way to Everest.

Everest! If you’d have told me when I first saw the thing that I’d be riding it and loving it, I’d have probably peed (to be fair, I do have the aforementioned small bladder) (sorry, TMI). It’s definitely the most intense ride I’ve ever enjoyed – I’ve been on scarier coasters, but never returned to them over and over, as I do with Everest. I love everything about this ride – the wholly entertaining queue, waiting on the platform while watching the puffs of steam from the train's engine illuminated by the sun streaming through the grates in the roof, the sound of birds as you enjoy the first, gentle loop before the trek uphill, the view from the rise, the thrill of the descent, and even in “B” mode, the Yeti is scary enough for me! Bill and I get in six consecutive rides using the standby line (stopping after ride number two for Fips) in the first hour minutes after the park opens: at that point, the standby line gets a little too long, and we decide to head off to enjoy other areas of the park.

But not before seeing this:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/everviewTR.jpg

And this:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/trackTR.jpg

And…this thing…yikes…

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/yetiTR.jpg

We’re disembarking from our last Everest trip in front of a boy around six or seven years old and his grey-haired grandfather, when the boy looks up at his granddad, taking his hand and beaming hugely, and says, “Grandpa, wasn’t that awesome?” And Grandpa smiles back and affirms, “Awesome!”

And a tissue makes its way out of my fanny pack. Must be a lot of pollen in the park today…:rolleyes1

We head over to Dinosaur, enjoying the sights and sounds of the park along the way, but not as much as we enjoy the sight and sound of an eight-year-old girl wearing Playboy bunny flip flops (uh…), who expounds on her understanding of evolution as she stands behind us in the five-minute line: “Adam and Eve came first, and then the dinosaurs came after.”

Ah, Disney World! You allow us to experience so many other cultures, including the parts of American culture we only get to see on TV. We like to think we’re not insulated from the rest of the world, here in the city, but we sure are. We may ride the subway everyday with people from places like China, Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Cameroon, Ecuador, the Philippines, and Russia (and that’s just one car, just this morning), but we rarely get to interact with people who believe more fervently in Adam and Eve than they do in dinosaurs. It expands the mind, it does. Alas, we do not get the chance to overhear more before we’re shuttled into the pre-show, and then loaded into our time machines, for a jouncing, lurching ride through prehistory.

Question: If the dinos from Dinosaur met the dinos from Ellen’s Energy Adventure, who would prevail? The Ellen dinos are bigger, I think, but the Dino dinos are meaner. Especially the one that’s eating the smaller dino – awwww! I don’t like that part at all. I’m totally against species-on-species violence. :hippie:

One day, we’re going to slow down long enough to watch the security camera footage they show on the monitors after the ride, and see that wily dinosaur sneak around the building. But today, we’re racing over to Camp MinnieMickey to see the Friends of the Lion King show, which we’ve never seen. We arrive at 11:05 for the 11:30 show, and it looks like we’ll have no trouble getting a good seat; when the doors to the theater open at 11:20, I have just enough time to locate a spot with Bill, then run to the ladies’ room and back to claim it.

First-timers’ review: Thumbs up from me; thumbs sideways from Bill. We both love the acrobatic monkeys (those guys really sell it with their facial expressions); we think the costumes and sets are terrific, and the dancing and singing (even if it’s prerecorded) are top notch. Of course, I am a sucker for the parade of kids at the end. Bill is less impressed, especially after last year’s viewing of the Nemo show, which has the benefits of a sequential and complete storyline, amazing production values, and terrifically engaging actors. I know that Nemo vs. FOTLK is a tough decision for many visitors, and I’d be hesitant to recommend one show over the other to someone else, as individual tastes vary so much. But for us, it’s Nemo all the way.

(More AK coming soon! Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading!)

TigerKat

12-25-2008, 11:45 AM

Lady Lallie

12-25-2008, 05:29 PM

Merry Christmas!!

While I reading your update it reminded me that I taped the parade as well so I am off to watch that soon! :banana:

I haven't seen Nemo yet but I do enjoy Lion King, it's fun to watch. I'm a roller coaster chicken and I haven't been on Everest yet, I'm scared. I haven't quite decided if I will brave it or not. :scared1:

sfacowgirl87

12-26-2008, 09:54 AM

I'm a roller coaster chicken and I haven't been on Everest yet, I'm scared. I haven't quite decided if I will brave it or not. :scared1:

Lady,
My husband is the biggest chicken of them all. It was everything I could do to get him on Rockin' Roller Coaster and he's already warning me that he will NOT get on the Tower of Terror again...but he absolutely LOVED Everest. He can't wait to go back!!!!!!! It's really not that bad!!! :goodvibes

girlbomb

12-26-2008, 11:02 AM

Great installment! Not sure why but we just weren't impressed with Nemo, maybe it was a bit too long for us.:confused3 FOTLK is one of our faves every year and I too love dem monkey boys! Merry Christmas to you both!:santa:

Merry Christmas, TigerKat! Yeah, I would definitely hesitate to recommend one show over the other, as everyone has their own preferences. In my book, both are great, so you can't lose!

Merry Christmas!!

While I reading your update it reminded me that I taped the parade as well so I am off to watch that soon! :banana:

I haven't seen Nemo yet but I do enjoy Lion King, it's fun to watch. I'm a roller coaster chicken and I haven't been on Everest yet, I'm scared. I haven't quite decided if I will brave it or not. :scared1:

Merry Christmas, Lady Lallie! Hope you enjoyed the parade. That Mary Poppins dance number was pretty cool -- with all that arm action, they almost looked like NYC street dancers!

And I too was nervous about Everest at first. Again, I would never try to tell someone what they will or won't enjoy, for fear of steering them wrong. But you can usually trust in Disney; even their scary rides are gentler than most. And the scary parts are over quickly!

Lady,
My husband is the biggest chicken of them all. It was everything I could do to get him on Rockin' Roller Coaster and he's already warning me that he will NOT get on the Tower of Terror again...but he absolutely LOVED Everest. He can't wait to go back!!!!!!! It's really not that bad!!! :goodvibes

sfacowgirl87, I'm glad your husband had a good time on Everest! I know that it really boosted my confidence to be able to ride rides I didn't think I could handle at first. Tower of Terror scared the heck out of me the first few times; now I think it's like a gentle toss in the air by a strong uncle when you were a kid.

And now, Day Two, Part Two: Never, Ever Leaving

After seeing the Lion King show at AK (we were lions, by the way, grrrrrrrraargh!), it’s time for lunch. Bill waits on line at the Yak & Yeti counter service, while I go score us another set of Fips for Everest to match the ones in our pockets. I get back in time to watch the poor cashier struggle with a couple who are using the Disney Dining Plan without understanding how it works. Much like our turnstile luck, our lunchline luck always seems to put us in proximity to folks who either don’t know what they want to eat (“Hon? Should I get the burger, or the chicken? The burger? You sure? I was thinking the chicken. What do you want to drink?”), or don’t know how to pay for it with the DDP. Fortunately, Disney CMs are trained in patience – if these folks tried to pull this at the McDonald’s on Sixth Avenue, they’d get screamed at by a fourteen-year-old in a hairnet with fake fingernails the size of canoes.

But eventually, we get our order (sweet and sour pork and an egg roll for Bill, mandarin chicken salad with no chicken for me), and find a table in the back, which is a pleasant place to sit and munch. I wish I’d ordered two of the salads, as one doesn’t do much to make a dent in my hunger – next time, I’ll know better. The salad is really yummy; much better than last year’s greasy shrimp lo mein.

We stop on our way back to Everest to watch the gibbons for a few minutes – the mom is hugging the baby while the dad looks on, munching on a stalk of something green. Then we use our first Fip on another ride up and down and around the mountain. I always wind up screaming on the big drop, which turns into a laugh as we careen around the turns: “Aaaaaaaahhhh! Hee hee hee hee hee!”

Last year, we missed the Maharajah Jungle Trek, so we take a trek through the ruined palace (man, I love the sets here; I could spend hours just gawking at the frescoes – not to mention the tigers!); then it’s back to grab yet another set of Everest Fips, as standby is posting a 50 minute wait. I wish all parks were like AK in allowing you to get new Fips before the window on your first one opens; we always read each Fip carefully to see when we can get our next one, and at AK, it’s often a pleasant surprise.

It’s the height of the afternoon, so we decide to just poke around and look at stuff while the attractions are mobbed. We mosey around to the Tree of Life, looking for the elusive trail by the exit I’ve read so much about, and we notice the 5 minute posted wait time for It’s Tough to be a Bug. So we walk into a practically empty theater lobby, wondering where everybody else is right now, but glad it’s not here.

Fun show! But not for some of the kids in the audience, who have to be removed, screaming in fear. I wish everyone of every age could enjoy it as much as we do.

After the show, we locate the trail – at least, I think we do. It’s kind of short, with only a few exhibits, right? None of the promised animals are making themselves apparent, but it’s pleasant to stroll around anyway. Then we make our way over to the Pagani trail for more strolling/animal viewing.

It’s a little more crowded at this trail than at Maharajah, but we still enjoy our trip through the various habitats. At the hippo pool, I am reminded of the t-shirt I saw recently, with a bunch of hippos eating white marbles, and one of the hippos saying, “Man, I could eat these all day.” (It’s a Hungry Hungry Hippos joke, for those of you born after 1975.) We want to ask the nearby animal expert if these hippos are, in fact, hungry, or if they are well-satiated, but we figure he’s probably heard enough Hungry Hungry Hippo jokes to last several lifetimes.

After the Pagani trail, we take the railroad to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where I am very much hoping to pet a sheep and/or a goat. I know, the petting zoo is for kids. But I can’t be the only “adult” who wants to pet the animals. This theory is borne out when Bill follows me into the pen for some sheep/goat petting. They’re such sweet and gentle animals, and they humor us with such patience, serenely chewing their cud as we pet and praise them – “Nice goatie goat goat goat. What a handsome goatie goat you are.” I wonder how they stay so calm with all the shrieking kids chasing after them with brushes in their hands. And I really appreciate the chance to commune with them for a few minutes, before we wander off to thoroughly scrub our hands, and check out the other exhibits.

There’s a CM giving a talk about snakes, while an example of the species winds around her shoulders; the vet stations are all unoccupied for the day, but we look at all the static displays, and take a few minutes to marvel at the complexity of running an animal habitat this large, varied, and well-visited. Then, on our way back to the train, we run into a talking trash can, who’s mystifying and delighting all the kids in sight.

Once back in Africa, we stop at the snack stand – Bill gets a jalapeno cheese pretzel (equally as good as the cream cheese one in Tomorrowland) , and I get a cheese/fruit plate, which I’m picking from as we walk back towards Everest to use some Fips and score some new ones. On our way to our eighth Everest of the day, DeVine is dong her thing, and the walkway is completely jammed with people who have stopped dead in their tracks to whip out their cameras. Even though we haven’t waited for any of the rides all day, the park is still noticeably more crowded than we’ve seen it in years past, and right now it’s a bit of a squeeze to get through the path. What must it be like in summer, when it’s even more crowded, as well as hot? I don’t want to know!

So we ride up and down the mountain again – a trip hasn’t lost any of its appeal, despite the numerous repeat visits – and head back towards Dinoland. We’d decided to skip Nemo this trip in favor of Lion King (and rides), but I do look longingly at the theater as we pass, and remember how fun and astonishing we found the show last year. The wait for Primeval Whirl is 50 minutes (as it was earlier in the day, when we rode Dinosaur), which is way too long for that ride, in our book, but Triceratops Spin looks like a walk-on – indeed, we only have to wait one cycle to be seated in a Triceratops of our own. I don’t care how kiddie these rides are; I like seeing the park from on high and snuggling next to my Shmoo. :cloud9:

We check out the gift shops in Dinoland – the only place I will see a stuffed Wall-E all trip, which I should snag for my friend Dave’s daughter, but I don’t, mistakenly thinking that I’ll see more of him at other stores. I LOVED this movie, despite spending most of the first forty-five minutes weeping over how lonely and sweet Wall-E was; they definitely need more Wall-E swag in the parks! I would see a stuffed Eva in a few places, which was cool, but where are the Wall-E pajamas? In, say, a women’s size 4?

Then we walk the Cretaceous trail, where Bill makes a new friend:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/dinobillTR.jpg

“Honey, I found this dinosaur, and he followed me home. Can we keep him? I wanna keep him!”

“Now Shmoopie, I don’t think the cats want us to bring home a dinosaur. Shmoo – let go of the dinosaur. Let go…Shmoopie, I know he’s your friend, but other people want to see the dinosaur too, so…Shmoopie, we discussed this ahead of time, remember? I told you, we weren’t going to be able to get everything you want, remember? And you said you understood, and you wouldn’t…aww, don’t be sad, Shmoo. The dinosaur will miss you too, but the dinosaur likes living here in Florida. He wouldn’t like it in New York. No, we can’t move here and stay with the dinosaur. Because we can’t! Now come on, we have to go to the safari before it closes. Come on, Shmoopie. Don’t you want to see the other animals? We’ll come back and see the dinosaur again later. Look, Shmoo, I think I see Mickey! Over that way!”

Okay, so the conversation doesn’t really go that way. But we do have a moment of dissent here – Bill wants to go to the Oasis, and I want to see the safari. We think the safari will close before the Oasis, so we head towards the safari, and decide to see the Oasis afterwards. But it’s after 4 now, and I’m nervous that by the time the safari’s over, the Oasis will be closed. So I spend the entire ten-minute wait fretting over whether we made the right choice, if it was selfish of me to suggest one thing when I knew Bill wanted another, etc.

The safari is a little disappointing this late in the day, as many of the animals are AWOL (no lions, boo! No hippos, either well-fed or hungry!), and I am looking at the time, thinking, “I screwed up our chance to see the Oasis.” And sure enough, when we take a post-safari walk through the Oasis, we see that many of the promised animals are not in their enclosures – they’ve probably been taken back to their pens for the night. We do see two adorably plump teenage girls wearing ultra skimpy tops and low-cut jeans with their thongs hanging out in the back, though, so the animal-watching isn’t totally in vain. When in Disney, you can always count on being entertained by the human animal.

The sun is going down, and I know that all the parks are beautiful at dusk, but wow. AK is really, really beautiful at dusk:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/akduskTR.jpg

We walk back to Everest to get and use some more Fips, and it’s stunning in the evening – scarier, too, because the inside of the mountain is so dark. Then we jump on the single rider line for another trip – not as good as being next to Bill, and I’m sure the guy sitting next to me agrees, as he is now deaf in the ear facing me. We walk towards the gibbons again, and just hang out on a bench for a few minutes, overlooking the water and relaxing. Then another set of Fips mature, and it’s back to Everest, to scream my throat raw some more.

One last ride on Dinosaur, and two final trips on Everest (there’s nobody waiting in line, so the CM refuses our Fips – “save ‘em for souvenirs,” he says), and then the park is closing. All the stands are closed, and there’s nobody on the walkways, except a bundled-up CM obviously on her way to clock out for the day. We head towards the gate, very satisfied by our day of animal- and people-watching, Everest-riding, goat-petting, and show-gawking (and snacking – I know at one point we stopped for a frozen banana and an ice cream sandwich, but my notes are failing me, so I don’t know when that was).

The line for the AKL bus is really long, so we treat ourselves to another cab, and hop over to the resort in short order. We check in at the desk at about 7:15 for our 7:30 Boma ressie, but there are no pagers available; I have a short crisis of confidence in our pagerless check-in, and don’t want to wander to lobby checking out all the amazing art in case we miss the dinner bell, but we are summoned by the lovely Vicki from Harare within a few minutes, and seated quickly. Bill orders a beer, I get a club soda, and then it’s off to the buffet!

I promised myself that I would take this meal slowly, but I am so hungry and enthused that I gobble two plates of food, and still want more! I force myself to sit for a few minutes to let the food hit bottom, unable to decide if I wanted a third plate of “real food” or dessert. The food here is so yummy that it almost beats out dessert, but in the end, I go with the sweets. Let’s not discuss what's on my plate – suffice it to say, there's a lot of it. Today, I fail at diet.

This was supposed to be an Adventurer’s Club night, until the AC was CLOSED AUGH SAY IT ISN’T SO GRUMBLE COMPLAIN KVETCH! We just caught on to the AC last year, and LOVED it – it was definitely one of our top attractions in all of the parks. Well, it’s just as well, as we are dead tired by now, and round out a day of extravagance by cabbing it back to the Contemporary just in time to get undressed before a 9:30 showing of Wishes, easily viewable from our balcony.

Except I don’t see it, because I am dead asleep already! Until about 1:30 a.m., when my stress-related insomnia kicks in. I know that tomorrow’s Monday, and I have to carry my phone to the park so I can talk to various lawyers, brokers, and other interested parties about this real estate deal, which I am so not eager to do – I’m so upset that the deal is in jeopardy, so frustrated by things I can’t control, so worried about the text message I got from our catsitter that one of the kitties threw up (he’s fine; I was just busy freaking out over everything so I thought I’d throw that in too), so worried about everything. :sad2:

By 3am, I wake up Bill and start crying to him about everything that’s wrong. And my ever-patient and loving partner calms me down and helps me get back to sleep by 5. But the damage has been done, and now the alarm’s set for 6:30 so we can open DHS tomorrow… will we make it, or have I (as I sobbed to Bill in the middle of the night) “ruined our vacation with my stupid anxiety, the way I ruin everything”? Stay tuned!

Lady Lallie

12-26-2008, 12:16 PM

distherapy

12-27-2008, 11:51 AM

I have spent the last 24 hours in a girlbomb daze... Thank you! I have managed to read your old trip report and your new one (I need more now!) and plow through the candy from my Christmas stocking...

Love your writing and your Disney joy. Can't wait for more!

girlbomb

12-27-2008, 10:27 PM

Wow. I really feel like I just spent some time in Animal Kingdom! You were Everest riding fools. I can't believe how many times you were able to ride.

I'm sorry about your anxiety in the middle of the night. :hug:

Everest riding fools indeed! We know we only get one chance per year to have at it, so we take full advantage of it! And thanks for the sympathy on the anxiety -- I wish I could say that was it for the trip, but it recurred...

I have spent the last 24 hours in a girlbomb daze... Thank you! I have managed to read your old trip report and your new one (I need more now!) and plow through the candy from my Christmas stocking...

Love your writing and your Disney joy. Can't wait for more!

distherapy, thanks for spending part of your holiday with me! I don't know if I'll be able to post another segment tomorrow, but definitely Monday. Thanks again for reading! :goodvibes

Circusgirl

12-28-2008, 07:51 PM

Much like our turnstile luck, our lunchline luck always seems to put us in proximity to folks who either don’t know what they want to eat (“Hon? Should I get the burger, or the chicken? The burger? You sure? I was thinking the chicken. What do you want to drink?”), or don’t know how to pay for it with the DDP. Fortunately, Disney CMs are trained in patience – if these folks tried to pull this at the McDonald’s on Sixth Avenue, they’d get screamed at by a fourteen-year-old in a hairnet with fake fingernails the size of canoes.

This is all so riotously true! I'm always wondering what people are thinking about as they stand in line and look at the menu, because it clearly isn't their about to be food!

We stop on our way back to Everest to watch the gibbons for a few minutes – the mom is hugging the baby while the dad looks on, munching on a stalk of something green. Then we use our first Fip on another ride up and down and around the mountain. I always wind up screaming on the big drop, which turns into a laugh as we careen around the turns: “Aaaaaaaahhhh! Hee hee hee hee hee!”

What a perfect description of riding Everest!

Then, on our way back to the train, we run into a talking trash can, who’s mystifying and delighting all the kids in sight.

I love Push!

Then we walk the Cretaceous trail, where Bill makes a new friend:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/dinobillTR.jpg

“Honey, I found this dinosaur, and he followed me home. Can we keep him? I wanna keep him!”

“Now Shmoopie, I don’t think the cats want us to bring home a dinosaur. Shmoo – let go of the dinosaur. Let go…Shmoopie, I know he’s your friend, but other people want to see the dinosaur too, so…Shmoopie, we discussed this ahead of time, remember? I told you, we weren’t going to be able to get everything you want, remember? And you said you understood, and you wouldn’t…aww, don’t be sad, Shmoo. The dinosaur will miss you too, but the dinosaur likes living here in Florida. He wouldn’t like it in New York. No, we can’t move here and stay with the dinosaur. Because we can’t! Now come on, we have to go to the safari before it closes. Come on, Shmoopie. Don’t you want to see the other animals? We’ll come back and see the dinosaur again later. Look, Shmoo, I think I see Mickey! Over that way!”

:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao::rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao:

The sun is going down, and I know that all the parks are beautiful at dusk, but wow. AK is really, really beautiful at dusk:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/akduskTR.jpg

My most recent trip is the first time I was in AK after dark and it is spectacularly beautiful! Everest feels about 4 times faster in the dark,
which was a really fun surprise.

By 3am, I wake up Bill and start crying to him about everything that’s wrong. And my ever-patient and loving partner calms me down and helps me get back to sleep by 5. But the damage has been done, and now the alarm’s set for 6:30 so we can open DHS tomorrow… will we make it, or have I (as I sobbed to Bill in the middle of the night) “ruined our vacation with my stupid anxiety, the way I ruin everything”? Stay tuned!

I'm sorry you had an attack of the night worries! I have great confidence in you, Bill, and Disney so I know everything was better in the morning. :hug:

Oh, and I agree - where are the Wall-E pajamas?

You were aces at maxing your ride and animal time - there is so much to do and ogle at the AK that I have a hard time fitting it all in one day.

More to come soon - yaaay!

bensonmum

12-28-2008, 09:36 PM

I have been waiting a year to read your next trip repot. Glad I finally found it :thumbsup2

girlbomb

12-29-2008, 05:47 PM

I'm sorry you had an attack of the night worries! I have great confidence in you, Bill, and Disney so I know everything was better in the morning. :hug:

Circusgirl, your confidence is well-placed! (In Bill and in Disney, at least; the jury's still out on me.) ;) And thank you for the :hug:...

I have been waiting a year to read your next trip repot. Glad I finally found it :thumbsup2

bensonmum, welcome back! I hope your October trip was a blast. :goodvibes

And now here's Day Four: Monday, December 8: Grandma Got Run Over by an Emotional Reindeer, but Managed to Mostly Rebound

So we left off around 5 a.m., when I was finally able to go back to sleep after hours of insomnia, worrying, crying, waking up Bill, crying some more, worrying some more, and finally succumbing to exhaustion. Fun! :sad2:

One of the things I found hardest to cope with this night was the realization that I could feel this bad while at Disney World. Because for months, when feeling stressed or insomniac, I’d been using thoughts of Disney to lull me back to sleep. For a while, I would list our ADRs in order, in a kind of “counting sheep” strategy, and I would often conk out before I got to the middle of the week. Once that stopped being effective (because I could rattle off the week’s worth of ressies without even pausing), I started mentally planning the hypothetical December 2012 trip with our friends and their baby – “So we’ll get there on Friday, and they’ll show up Sunday afternoon, and we’ll have dinner at Chef Mickey’s so Miranda can meet Mickey and the gang first thing. Then Monday morning we’ll do Crystal Palace…”

In short, Disney has been my go-to source for relaxing thoughts for months. So what do I do when I’m having miserable anxieties while at Disney? What do I have to look forward to, or hope for? It reminds me of a very powerful koan for meditation – “If I do not have peace and happiness today, when will I have peace and happiness?” I interpret this to mean that, if you’re waiting for some outside event to happen because you think that this event is the thing will allow you to feel peace and happiness, you should stop waiting, and invite those feelings into your life right now. But at 4:30 a.m., when I’m feeling scared and overwhelmed and terrible all around, I am terrified to ask myself, “If I do not have peace and happiness while at Disney, when will I have peace and happiness?” Because the answer feels like, “NEVER.”

Well, I’m glad to report that that initial answer is wrong. I don’t exactly feel joy when the alarm rings at 6:30, but I am still very happy to be here in Disney World (so maybe the koan should say, “If I’m going to feel profoundly miserable, I might as well feel profoundly miserable at Disney”). I am also full of gratitude for Bill, who is so incredibly patient, loving, and supportive (and, no doubt, exhausted). And we have a lot to look forward to today, as we are finally on our way to one of our favorite parks: Disney Hollywood Studios!

Stacey helps perk me up as we get ready, and we’re out the door with smiles on our faces to catch a quick ride over to DHS for our 8:05 ressie at Hollywood and Vine. We’ve eaten here for lunch and dinner before, and always enjoyed it well enough; today we’re hoping that an early breakfast before park opening will get us to the rope ahead of the rest of the crowd, so we can be best poised for the Toy Story Midway Mania mania. We’re both a little yawny, and my throat is sore (maybe from crying, maybe from an impending illness), but we’re feeling happy to be standing at the turnstiles at DHS, looking forward to a yummy buffet and a day of fun.

There are a handful of other families waiting for early entry ADRs; I’m smiling at the kids attached to the family in front of us, who are eager and excited and goofing around. We’re second in a line of maybe thirty families, and then we see them, rushing up to the gate past everyone else in line: The Special People.

You’ve seen The Special People, right? You will recognize them by their undeniable specialness, which usually manifests itself in an over-loud voice, a presumptive manner, and a hardness around the mouth as they demand, “Excuse me! We have a reservation for breakfast!” :snooty:

The dad in front of us shares a roll of the eyes with us, as the friendly CM patiently explains that yeah, toots, and so do all those other people you just blew past in line, so you might want to dial it down a few notches and go stand in the queue with the rest of them. I mean, I understand the concept of wishful thinking, and it really never hurts to ask what you’re standing on line for before blindly joining a queue, but some people’s sense of entitlement really rankles sometimes. One of the glorious things about Disney is the way in which the social contract is enforced; people like this (and they are in abundance) almost always get their (courteous, calm, and firm) comeuppance.

But it’s not long before us Truly Special People are allowed into the park, where I stop to take a picture of Bill on an empty Sunset Boulevard:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/billhatTR.jpg

Ha ha! It almost looks like he’s wearing the hat. I bet I am the only person who has ever engineered a picture so that it looks like the subject is wearing the sorcerer’s hat! :wizard:

Then we check in at H&V, and are seated in short order at a two-top near the buffet. A few other families are seated, but none of them are in our section, which seems odd, but we roll with it. More and more families are entering, so I’m sure we won’t be alone in Siberia for long, and one of the Little Einsteins drops by to say hi, and gets called a precocious scamp for his troubles.

I really don’t know the first thing about the Little Einsteins, or Jojo’s Circus, but now I see the lion starting his rounds on the other side of the room, and that is one cute lion. I have a severe hankering to meet that lion, especially after watching him with a recalcitrant toddler – the way he drops to one knee, bows his head, and extends a paw for the kid to pet is so perfect and sensitive and adorable (and successful!), I am once again welling up with tears. Come over here, Lion, I say psychically, beaming the thought in his direction. Please come this way.

I am hesitant to go to the buffet while the lion’s nearby, hoping that he’ll be over any minute, but more and more families are joining the party, and now he’s going the wrong way. I’m still feeling a little fragile from last night’s complete mental meltdown, and now I’m actively pining for this giant stuffed lion to notice us and come over. And at the same time, I’m berating myself for being so dumb and weird and greedy, when the lion is busy bringing serious delight to youngsters all around us (well, not right around us, as we seem to be in a no man’s land, but still close enough that I can witness his antics). There are people with serious problems in the world, and some of them are visible here at Disney, where they do such a wonderful job of accommodating Make A Wish kids; so who cares if I might not get to meet the lion?

Well, I do, deeply. But he’s far in the other corner now, and it’s almost 8:45, so it’s time to finish my plate of food (I’d tell you what was on it, but I’m afraid that watching the lion distracted me from watching what I was eating), and head out to the rope. But I’ll be back for you, lion! You and me, we have a date for December of 2009. ;)

We’re alone at the rope for a minute or two, watching the couple of the day get prepped for the opening ceremony by a CM in a blazer and skirt (“They’re from Ohio,” Bill predicted. “The family of the day is always from Ohio.”). Then the throng from the turnstiles joins us, kids pushing past us to loll right on the rope (one kid even put the rope in his mouth – I hope his mom made him gargle with Purell after that), the anticipation palpable all around us. I hear two women talking about Tour Guide Mike and the DIS behind us, but don’t want to interrupt them to say, “Hey, me too! I’m a fan of all that stuff too.” I suspect there are a lot of us here, even though I don’t see a single Lime Green Mickey Head.

And then, the opening ceremony begins, and the couple of the day (turns out they’re from Ohio, of all places!) say their line, and we all start the very fast walk to TSMM. This walk is a little different than the very fast walk to Everest, or Space Mountain; there’s a desperation to this walk that hasn’t been present with the others. One mom is dragging her son so hard it looks like his shoulder is going to dislocate – “Just pick him up and carry him,” I want to say, “before you stretch the kid’s arm like an octopus.” Bill and I have decided to ride first and then get a Fip, so we blaze through the empty line (and what a dazzling queue area it is! It’s a shame to whip through it as fast as we do), and hop right on a car.

Instantly, I can tell: I love this ride. Love. Love love love love love. So much fun! Leaves poor Buzz in the dust! The theming, the gameplay, the motion of the cars – I LOVE it. Bill enjoys it, but isn’t quite as passionate as I am, even as he nearly doubles my score (I get a bunny for a prize, he gets a kitty). I can see, as we exit, that the standby line is already outrageous, but I can’t wait to get a Fip and ride this thing later.

Except, wow. The line for Fips is loooooong. And as we’re standing there, at 9:15, return times jump up another five minutes every few seconds – when we first get in line, they’re at 10:45; by the time we get the Fip, it’s 11:15. Note to selves: Next year, get the Fip, then ride!

Then we’re off to the Tower of Terror, where we usually spend the first hour of park time riding standby again and again. Now there’s a short wait, but soon we’re ushered into the library for the pre-show, and instead of clustering right at the exit door (as we will for all of our 3000 subsequent rides on ToT), we stand where we can actually see the video. I love the way the lightning flash on the video coincides with the lightning flash in the library window – subtle things like that are what make Disney rides so much more than just rides!

And this one is a doozy. The spooky beauty of the hotel hallway going dim, and the star-lights appearing in 3D, is so effective; I also love the shimmer and zip of the elevator shaft opening before you get to the big bounce. And the sensation of rising and falling is so thrilling, and yet gentle! For someone who dreads things like heights and turbulence, it’s most unexpected that I would love this ride as I do. I especially love it when the ride goes straight into a fall – it really catches you unaware, and that’s half the fun. I also love the view of the park, and that float-y air time you get. I’m never scared on this ride, but I always have to scream anyway; it’s just an instinctive reaction to the surprise of the sudden motion. Bravo to the Imagineers who created the random element to the rise and fall – you never know what to expect here, except that you’ll have fun!

Our first ride complete, we go back for a second, but we can see that the line is growing – now there’s a full fifteen minute wait, which is notably longer than it should be for this time of day, this time of year. We’d hoped that TSMM would draw crowds away from ToT, but that doesn’t seem to be so. Oh well – instead of riding four times in a row, we’ll settle for two really fun trips up and down the hotel elevator, and then we’ll head over to the Rock N Roller Coaster.

Hooray for single rider lines! There’s a 30 minute wait posted for standby, but we walk right past it, and are waiting for limo seats in a few short minutes (of course we have to hiss “MARCUS!” at each other from our separate rows, as it’s been days since we did so last, and the humor hasn’t been fully squeezed out of it yet). Throughout the year, Bill and I will occasionally exhort each other to “look at Steven Tyler’s hat!”, as the radio deejay sometimes does while you’re waiting for the take-off; today, alas, we are not given any explicit instructions about Steven Tyler’s headgear, and whether or not we should pay attention to it.

3-2-1! ZOOM! This is another ride I really shouldn’t love, but do (although it’s way too short!). I would never attempt a ride that takes you upside down and through a corkscrew, except at Disney; here, I’ll do it over and over again until my ears are practically ringing from the sensation. I forget to take my earrings off for this first ride, which is a mistake, as my head bangs against the sides of the headrest and the pointy earring backs keep poking into my flesh. But other than the whole “sharp things poking me in the neck” sensation, the ride is great fun.

So we do it again, single rider again, this time minus the earrings. Still no instructions re: Steven Tyler and his hat. When we meet up again in the gift shop, Bill asks if I remembered to look at Steven Tyler’s hat, and I confess that I didn’t. “Nobody told me I should!”

We’re noticing that crowds are definitely thicker than usual today – it’s just after ten, and RnR is already posting a 40 minute wait. We can also see the thickness of the crowd on Hollywood Boulevard, and it’s a little unsettling. Has our very favorite “slow” time of the year started to catch on with everyone else? Nooooooo! :eek:

We decide to head over to Star Tours, where there is never a line, and true to form, we pretty much walk right on. There is a woman in front of us with two small boys, maybe six and eight years old, and the eight year old is having a meltdown. He doesn’t want to ride now; he wants to go back with his mom, who is waiting for them somewhere outside. As we’re waiting to be loaded into the pod, he tries to dart away, but the woman catches him by the shirt and doesn’t let him go. She has a harried look on her face, and I feel badly for her.

As soon as we’re seated, the eight-year-old takes off out the other side of the pod. Is the woman going to go after him? She does not, she just sighs and buckles herself and the six-year-old in for the ride. It makes me nervous that this eight-year-old kid is now running out the exit towards his mom, who may be nearby or may not; I’m just glad we’re in a place where they know how to deal with kids separated from their chaperones, should that be necessary.

And then I’m totally distracted from the disruption, because a member of the dream team has entered our pod, and we’re all getting free “Year of a Million Dreams” Mickey ears! Okay, so it’s not a Dream Fip, or a stay in the castle suite, but we’ve never won anything, and we’re psyched to have won these. Well, I’m psyched – I can tell, Bill’s not going to wear his ears, because he has something he calls “dignity,” which I am happily lacking. I am about to suggest that Bill donate his ears to the woman with the missing eight-year-old, but the Dream Team saw what happened, and gives her some ears for him in absentia. Yay, Dream Team!

:banana:

After getting bounced around space by a novice pilot, we hit the gift shop, where I got my very awesome Storm Trooper t-shirt last year (it’s shrunk from all the washing, or I’d have it on today). We are coaxed into taking a novelty picture of ourselves as Leia and Hans Solo, and it turns out so great that we buy it, despite the hefty price tag (almost 40 bucks, if I recall correctly). We also pick up a Boba Fett t-shirt for Bill’s brother Kevin, and Bill eyes all the action figures with lust in his heart, but he already has several plastic tubs full of action figures stuck in our storage unit while we wrangle with the real estate issue, so he passes them by.

Meanwhile, I am so happy with my ears! And, as predicted, Bill will not wear his, so I put on his pair along with mine. This makes me the double coolest person in the park, a fact I am assured of by the many envious stares I get over the course of the day (“Those stares are not envious,” Bill begs to differ. “They are fearful, because you look like a lunatic.”)

Lunatic? Or genius? I leave it for you to decide. Remember, people thought Walt Disney was a lunatic sometimes! And those people were very, very wrong.

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/earsTR.jpg

Wearing both pairs of ears (genius!), I walk with Bill through the admiring crowds towards Tower of Terror to get new Fips; then we head back to Toy Story to use our earlier Fips. These is a mom with her young son in front of us – he sees my two hats and immediately puts on both sets of 3D glasses and grins at me. I give him the thumbs up, because wearing two of anything is cool! And funny! And people who don’t think so are mistaken! The mom asks if I can take a picture of the two of them, and I am delighted to do so. Then we take off in our cars and break the heck out of a bunch of plates (if only that were allowable in real life), among other things.

Still love the ride! Still get beaten, badly, by Bill. Someone’s years of video game playing are paying off for him…

(More soon -- thanks for reading along!)

Lady Lallie

12-29-2008, 06:01 PM

Isn't Goliath the cutest little lion ever? I adore him. I was hoping to catch him at a character meet & greet this last trip but I didn't have any luck. And I totally felt that way about Minnie when we ate at Liberty Tree Tavern. I hadn't seen her around at all and as it's close to when we are leaving I have this awful panic that I will not meet her in splendid colonial garb. I think our server picked up on it and directed Minnie over to us. Phew. ;)

Toy Story is a great ride but the stampede to get there is a bit crazy.

I adore you wearing both dream ears! Good for you and good for that little boy with his 3D glasses! :thumbsup2

girlbomb

12-29-2008, 10:31 PM

Lady Lallie

12-30-2008, 06:59 AM

Lady Lallie, I am just getting caught up on your P/TRs, and notice that you will be in Disney next December, around the same time we will! I'm looking forward to your Dec. PTR, so I can figure out how to casually bump into you somewhere. :rolleyes1
Well.....we actually just canceled next December's trip. It pains me to do so because I really want to go at that time of year but we have money obligations to attend too and when I go in December I really want to go all out! :thumbsup2 We'll be there one year. :yay:

girlbomb

12-30-2008, 08:56 AM

Well.....we actually just canceled next December's trip. It pains me to do so because I really want to go at that time of year but we have money obligations to attend too and when I go in December I really want to go all out! :thumbsup2 We'll be there one year. :yay:

Ah! Drat. But I hope your other planned trips will be excellent ones!

On my way to my office -- hoping to post another update today. Thanks again, commenters and lurkers, for dropping by! :flower3:

girlbomb

12-30-2008, 02:00 PM

And here it is: Day Four, Part Two: Grandma Got Run Over by an Emotional Reindeer

After I get my butt kicked again at Toy Story Midway Mania, Bill and I decide to check out the Backlot tour, which we didn’t do last year. We’re walking up to the line, when a CM asks us if we’d like to be in the show. I’m ready to say YES!, but Bill doesn’t want to get doused with buckets of water for some strange reason, so we decline. There goes my chance at movie stardom! :sad2: After waiting in the holding pen for a few minutes, the line starts moving, but the CM drops the rope right in front of us, and we’ll have to wait through another show before we can even start getting through the ride. So we decide to bail out – the Backlot tour’s not that important to us; we just heard a rumor that they might be getting rid of it and thought we’d take it one last time, in case it’s not here next year.

Instead, it’s off to the Muppets, an attraction I remember seeing for the first time in the early ‘90s, on a trip with my mom and kid brother (he was eight or nine then; at 26, he’s not such a kid anymore!). The pre-show for this movie is every bit as awesome as the movie itself – I love looking at all the sets and watching the video, which cracks me up every time. The rat posing as Mickey Mouse? The hairy bald guy the union sent to fill in for one of the dancers? “What kind of foolishness would you like to see?” Priceless, all of it.

And the movie itself could not be more adorable. Fun fact: When Bill was filling out the online personal ad that would eventually lead to our meeting and marrying each other, he was asked to choose a celebrity that he resembled, and he answered “Stadler and/or Waldorf.” Truly, we were meant to be together. :love:

We float out of the movie, giddy and happy and relaxed and having fun, and make a pit stop at the Writer’s Stop for a carrot cake cookie that Bill has heard tell of on the WDW Today podcast (I think it was a recommendation by Len Testa). Ultra-win for us! This treat is fantastic, and it fuels us for another trip over to the ToT for another Fip.

Again, standby wait times are longer than we’re used to for this time of year, and the park is crowded, so we decide to see some of the less popular attractions during the height of the day, all the while collecting Fips for our favorite rides. So we head over towards Sounds Dangerous, a show we’ve never seen, because it’s been so reviled in the guide books and here on the DIS. And what do you know? Sounds Dangerous is CLOSED! Is this just for today, or are they phasing out this “attraction”? I don’t know, but it will be closed all week, so there’s probably something going on with it…

(Meanwhile, next door, the American Idol theater looks ready to accept guests, but remains closed until January, darn it. I’m a big Idol fan, even as it’s gotten shabbier over the last few seasons, but even I don’t know if I’d be interested in spending Disney time watching amateur singers compete. Of course, I’m willing to give it a shot… I’m looking forward to hearing the reviews when it opens, and to reading people’s reactions here!)

The wait for the Great Movie Ride is only 10 minutes, so we jump on the short line, and are soon waiting in the pre-show room, where we see the reel three times in succession before getting into a ride vehicle. And I know this makes me a jaded ingrate, but I think this ride is sadly lacking in something – I remember it being much more lively, when I first came to the park in the early ‘90s. We felt this way last year, but got sucked in by the short line this year; I think next year, we’re skipping the Mediocre Movie Ride.

We head back to ToT to use a Fip, but the standby line is so short (funny, it was longer twenty minutes ago, when we were last here), we jump on standby, and get tossed around by the rogue elevator a few times. Then it’s over to the Animation Studio, where we skip the movie and go straight to the drawing class, something I never would have known about if it weren’t for these most excellent boards. The class was easy to follow, and very satisfying and absorbing – a really pleasurable way to spend fifteen minutes or so.

Here’s a picture of Bill drawing Goofy. Takes one to draw one! Har.

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/billdrawTR.jpg

And then we come to the non-Disney portion of our afternoon: I have to call my lawyer. Bill takes my park pass and goes to get us yet more ToT Fips (now we’ll have three in our pockets – we are rich with Fips!), while I reluctantly pull out my phone and engage in a frustrating conversation about real estate. Bill is back long before I’m done – the call takes almost a half hour, including the few minutes I have to spend listening to the lawyer rib me about being at Disney World. I give him the same line I’ve been giving everyone – “Actually, I’m down here to sign books at a convention, so it’s mostly a business trip.” Right! Out of nine days we’ll spend here this trip, I will spend less than two hours selling books. And yet it gives me the moral authority to shut people up when they question me about my Disney habit: Hey, I’m doing it for work!

FINALLY, I am able to get off the phone, though not with the results I’d hoped for, and I’ll have to make another call before Fantasmic! at 7:30. But for now, I try to shake off my irritation at how badly this deal is going, and get back into a Disney frame of mind.

What better way to do so, than to browse One Man’s Dream? I could practically recite Walt Disney’s biography to you, but I still love looking at the artifacts and displays, and taking the time to appreciate them all over again. I’m so grateful this attraction exists, and I hope they never get rid of it; it’s a testament to creative genius that inspires me every time. Walt’s path to success was not a steady one; he faced a number of setbacks along the way, and it’s so helpful to remember that, as I often face professional disappointment. But he kept dreaming, which is what I have to challenge myself to do – not to get complacent, or cynical, or caught up in frustration over what didn’t happen, but to keep my imagination alive, and keep playing. Thank you, Walt, for setting such a brilliant example for other artists – and for giving us this very magical place! :cloud9:

We take our time through the exhibit hall, which means we don’t have time for the movie before our 3:35 ADRs at Mama Melrose (Fantasmic! dinner package, doncha know). But we plan to come back and see the movie later in the trip – now it’s time for pasta!

Despite my frustrating phone call, our sleep-deprived night last night, and a sore throat that’s turning into a bit of a cough, I am still feeling blissful and content as we are seated at Mama Melrose. The place is a faithful reproduction of many of the restaurants in Little Italy here in New York; not sure what that has to do with the theme of the park, but okay. The atmosphere is calm, the people watching is good, and I’m with my Shmoo, who also seems to be having a great time. Our server is prompt and helpful, and the food is quite good – I have a Caesar salad and the seafood pasta fra diavlo; Bill enjoys his breads/spreads appetizer and his penne ala vodka. For dessert, I decide to order a whole slice of cheesecake for myself, rather than just stick a spoon into Bill’s spumoni for a bite. Hey, I need it, after that phone call with my lawyer!

Full to bursting after a yummy lunch, we cruise by Toy Story, but at 4:15, they’re sold out of Fips for the day. Good thing we got our two rides in, but I still have a hankering for more! Well, we’ll be back later this week. But right now, we head back to the ToT to use some of our Fips. And who do we see standing right outside? TJ, the most famous ToT Cast Member of all! If you’ve watched any of the Travel Channel shows about Disney, you’ve seen TJ – we simply MUST get a picture with him. Bill introduces himself and tells TJ how much we admire his work, while I snap this shot:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/tjTR.jpg

Then, starstruck, we head towards the ride entrance. But again, we’ve hit a weird dip in the day when the standby line is nil. This always seems to happen around 4 to 5 p.m. – we find that there’s no standby line at all for ToT, and we walk on three or four times in a row. But the park is comparatively mobbed today, so where is everybody? Bill and I shrug at each other, but as long as the crowds are not here, we don’t much care where they are. We get in three standby rides with no wait at all, each one as good as the last (despite some annoying pre-teen cheerleaders in one of the rides, whose pushy manners, snotty little attitudes, and piercing shrieks are enough to make you want to go spontaneously deaf).

As the standby line begins to build again, we go over to RNR for another single rider line. This time, though, things are moving very slowly – here’s where all those crowds were! Bill gets placed in a limo before me; I have to wait a few limos for a chance to ride, but I have a fun conversation with the teenager behind me, who’s curious about my iPhone (yeah, since I have it on me, I can’t resist checking the Twisney (http://twisney.com/) site to see what other people are reporting around the parks). I hand over the phone to the kid for his perusal, and almost don’t get it back! But soon enough, I am loaded into a limo, with my iPhone, and though there are still no explicit instructions as to what I should or should not look for on Steven Tyler’s head, I manage to have a great ride (no earrings).

Reunited with Bill once again in the gift shop, we decide to use out ToT Fips, as it’s getting towards the time for Fantasmic!, and we’ve been hoarding them all day. So we breeze past a 30 minute standby line (ha ha, you should have been here a half hour ago, like we were!), and take two more awesome Fip rides on the Elevator of Fright, for a grand total of eight so far today.

Now it’s 7pm, and while we have reserved seats, we better head into the theater right away. We get good seats in the reserved section, and then I head towards the back of the stadium to make yet another real estate related call. I spend fifteen minutes trying to stay calm and reasonable, despite provocation (come on people, we want your apartment and you want our money! What’s so hard about this?), and then it’s time for the show.

I must admit to being a little distracted for the show, and gloomy about the distraction. I love this show, but am not fully able to enjoy it, as my mind is definitely elsewhere. (and of course that reminds me right now as I’m typing this to check my email – yep, something else I need to do re: this real estate deal – once again, pulled away from Disney for this ongoing hassle, argh!)

Okay, back to the fun. Which, unfortunately, is a little less fun than usual, though the show remains outstanding. Bill and I quibble with a few of the plot points – for instance, why does the Pocahontas fight scene come before Mickey’s bad dream? – but you can’t argue with the staging, the amazing screens of mist, and once again the jaw-dropping “let’s set some water on fire” technique. And the boats full of characters at the end are a delight! It feels triumphant all around to see fears vanquished by positive thinking; I’ll try to use Mickey as an inspiration when I’m having middle-of-the-night visitations by my own villains.

We leave the ampitheater quickly after the show (but not as quickly as the folks who start rushing out before the show’s over -- suit yourselves, but why leave before the finale?), and make good time getting back to the entrance, so we hop on ToT one last time with no wait. Then we’re hoping for another crack at Toy Story, but there’s a 60 minute wait, and while I suspect they’ve inflated the wait time to deter people from joining the line this close to park closing, as soon as we enter the show building, I realize, nope, it’s a 60 minute line.

So it’s over to the Osbourne lights, which are more crowded than we’ve ever seen them! But still spectacular. And they’re playing my song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!” I am buoyed by this happy coincidence, and we spend a while being dazzled by the lights and snow. We spring for a pair of $1 enhancing glasses, which give you a visual effect strikingly similar to the one you get from taking hallucinogenic drugs (not that I recommend that experience at all! Definitely stick to the dollar glasses instead.) :3dglasses

Here’s Bill, with the Star of David behind him, because upon marrying me he became an honorary Jew:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/billlightsTR.jpg

After peering through the glasses for a while, we decide to pass them off to another guest, so we select a gentleman with a young lady of about four in his arms, and ask him if he’d like a pair of crazy drug glasses (okay, we don’t put it like that). He and his young lady charge happily accept, and Bill and I go off to our 8:15 reservation at Sci Fi.

Funny thing – the park closes at 8 tonight, but when I called Disney Dining lo those many months ago and asked for the latest possible ADR for today, I got 8:15. I confirmed with the CM that the park closed at 8, and she agreed that it was odd that we could get an 8:15 seating, but we happily booked it anyway. We just want desserts and a chance to soak up the atmosphere – we love this place, even though the food is…not great.

So we’re sitting on the bench in the foyer waiting for our table, and all of a sudden Bill sits straight up with a strange look on his face, like he just remembered he left the iron on. “What,” I demand. “What’s up?”

“Shhhh,” he says, impatiently, with the most alert, concerned look on his face. He looks like a prairie dog scanning for predators, intense concentration in his eyes. Then he hears something, and he sits up even straighter.

“The at-at,” he says. “It’s firing. I gotta…I’ll be right back.”

And before I can ask, “What the at-at are you talking about?”, he’s taken off like a shot. He returns two minutes later with a huge smile of satisfaction on his face.

“The at-at was firing! So cool! I didn’t know it did that! I guess it only does that at night. I’d know that sound anywhere!”

Yes, folks, the giant Star Wars “at-at,” that thing that looks like a robotic termite on long legs that presides over the Star Tours pavilion, was making noise and flashing its lights and generally acting as though it were engaged in battle. And Bill got to witness it! He is flushed with happiness, and I am happy for him. A six-year-old’s wish is magically granted, 27 years later, when Bill Scurry gets to see a real live at-at fire!

Unfortunately, while he’s gloating over the at-at, I’m fuming over an email I just received – more real estate mishegos (that means bullstuff, for those of you who don’t speak Yiddish). And again, I am plunged into a sort of double despair – not only am I being annoyed, I am being doubly annoyed, because it’s reducing my pleasure at being at Disney. Here we are at the Sci Fi café, where I have dreamed of being for an entire year, and I can’t enjoy it, because I’m so busy concentrating on how I can’t enjoy it.

Bill orders a milkshake and tries to say comforting things. I, meanwhile, order a giant, honking alcoholic drink – something blue and fruity with a flashing glow cube in it – and try to listen to said comforting things. You’ll note that this is the first and only alcoholic drink I’ll order on this trip, as I am a lame drinker who can’t hold my sauce. But right now, I need something to calm me down, and blue booze is what’s handy. I slurp half of it down in one swallow, training my eyes on the screen ahead of me, trying my hardest to get over myself and soak up the fun. But it’s useless – I’m upset, and I can’t ignore it.

We decide to bail out and go to Downtown Disney. Now that I have a not-very-stiff drink in me, I’m a little more relaxed, but still eager for distraction, so we jump in a cab (too impatient to wait for a bus tonight), and soon find ourselves at DisneyQuest, where we use one of our “Water Parks Fun and More” options for admission, and head straight to the Cyber Coaster. We cook up the most hardcore coaster we can, with multiple loops and jumps and corkscrews, then load into the claustrophobia-inducing capsule. Our coaster is extreme, and extremely fun! I’m already feeling better.

We head back down to the first floor, and wait five minutes for the Pirates of the Caribbean game, which has a cannon much like the Toy Story cannons. Also fun! Then we’re playing some video game that involves a lot of shooting aliens. I am intently killing the heck out of a bunch of aliens, until an attendant comes over and tells us DQ is closing. Awwww! I’d almost forgotten about our real estate troubles for a minute!

We wander past all the shops, noting how dead it is here at Downtown Disney tonight, now that Pleasure Island is no more. We pass sadly by the closed Adventurer’s Club, and walk into the new T-Rex Café, which is awesome:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/trexTR.jpg

I don’t know what the food or service is like, but the theming is outstanding.
:thumbsup2

Then it’s over to World of Disney, where I plan to engage in some hardcore retail therapy. There’s the Ariel sweatshirt I’ve been eyeing for myself – so what if it only comes in kid’s sizes? I can cram into a kid’s XL – oh, and this Belle nightgown is perfect for Naomi’s daughter Grace…

I’m just getting warmed up when Bill confesses that he’s dead tired, and can barely stand up anymore. Poor man – I don’t doubt it, after what I put him through last night! So I put my items back on their racks, and we head right for a cab back to the resort.

So all in all, we managed to have a lot of fun today, despite the lack of sleep and many provocations we encountered during the course of the afternoon and evening. I have much less trouble falling asleep tonight, and Bill has none at all – he’s snoring as soon as his head hits the pillow. I can only hope that tomorrow will bring better news from home, and that we’ll get to fully enjoy our time here in the Happiest Place on Earth…we’ll see!

PinkPrincessZ

12-31-2008, 10:09 AM

Awesome update, girbomb! :thumbsup2 Buying a home is so stressful and I hope everything works out for you both. :hug:

You are a terrific writer - I really feel like I'm there! Keep it coming!

Lady Lallie

12-31-2008, 10:40 AM

Another wonderful update. I love the ToT of CM. I always see him on the Disney Travel specials and he just seems so awesome. :thumbsup2

I didn't realize you could buy glasses for the lights. I am all over that.

I also checked out the Twisney site! That is way cool!

AmericanCaesar

12-31-2008, 04:26 PM

I think that my dignity was overrated, in retrospect.

girlbomb

01-01-2009, 01:54 AM

Awesome update, girbomb! :thumbsup2 Buying a home is so stressful and I hope everything works out for you both. :hug:

You are a terrific writer - I really feel like I'm there! Keep it coming!

Thank you so much, PinkPrincessZ! I'm honored!

Another wonderful update. I love the ToT of CM. I always see him on the Disney Travel specials and he just seems so awesome. :thumbsup2

I didn't realize you could buy glasses for the lights. I am all over that.

I also checked out the Twisney site! That is way cool!

Lady Lallie, we'd never seen the glasses before this year either! They may be new. And we were just watching Travel Channel tonight, and saw TJ, and cheered! I think Twisney is cool, but I wish it had more users -- I think they had a problem with people spamming the site, and had to restrict access somewhat. But it could be a really helpful tool, and it's another way to feel like you're there when you're not (sigh...)

I think that my dignity was overrated, in retrospect.

You'll note that I put "dignity" in quotes. ;)

And now, since I'm having the first insomnia attack of 2009, here's Day Five: Tuesday, December 9: Girlbomb the Red-Eyed Reindeer

The alarm rings at the unholy hour of 6am this morning. But as tired as we are (and as sore as my throat may be, which is fairly sore), we’re excited to open Epcot for early Extra Magic Hours, and Stacey helps to amp up our spirits as we dress and get ready. We make a quick stop for a cold breakfast at the Grab N’ Go, then it’s off to the monorail for a trip to the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow.

Actually, let me backtrack for a moment. I realize that I’m giving short shrift to the experience of waking up at the Contemporary, throwing open the blinds, and seeing the Magic Kingdom glowing at us through the dawn. I know a lot of people don’t want to spend the money on a view from their hotel room, as they won’t be spending much time there; I totally understand this decision. We don’t spend much time in the room, either. But if it’s in the budget, I wholly recommend a room with any kind of park view – it’s so invigorating and thrilling to be reminded again and again of the incredible make-believe world you get to inhabit for a few wonderful days. And, for us, stepping out into the hallway of the Contemporary in the morning, and seeing and hearing all the activity on the concourse below, adds so much to the immersive delight.

I realized, while watching a slide show of our trip the other night, that the Contemporary is the closest thing Disney offers to the experience of living in New York (well, that, and the overcrowded walkways of certain park areas at certain times of day/year); how funny is it that, when Bill and I choose to vacation at Disney World, land of fantasy, we pick the spot that reminds us most of home? Rather than vacation in a replica of the South Seas islands, or in a recreation of a seaside resort, we choose a simulacra of a city, which you’d think we’d want to get away from for a few days. I guess we’re just city folk at heart! The Contemporary is like our apartment building, the walkway to the MK is like our sidewalk, the monorail is like our subway, and it seems we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyway, we’re at the turnstiles at Epcot by 7:30, eagerly waiting with the rest of the earlybirds, and soon we’re allowed through the turnstiles, where we head right to the rope on the furthest right, by Innoventions, for the Very Fast Walk to Soarin’.

We have a few minutes to hang out at the rope and acclimate to the people around us, a group that includes a very aggressive mom wearing a First Visit button, her two boys, and her husband, who is dragging his butt a little too slowly for her liking, as she keeps whipping around to gesture to him – hurry up! Get over here! She’s speaking very loudly to her boys in a thick Southern accent, instructing them as to exactly what they’re about to do (walk very fast over to Soarin’), and how vital it is that there be no shilly-shallying, as their father is apparently doing right now by not standing right at the rope and hyperventilating, as she is. There is no question that Bill and I are zesty and eager park openers, and we like to get to the big rides right away, but this lady is just busting with anxiety about being FIRST, and I’m not sure how much fun that is for her family, who seem more beleaguered than thrilled.

So the rope drops, and we all march in line with the CMs over to The Land, where the crew from Sunshine Seasons is waving at us with big Mickey hands, and dealing out high fives as we pass. You know, everybody could use a few more high fives in their lives; it really does seem to make a difference in people’s moods to be greeted with friendliness and enthusiasm. Not that our new friend, Aggro Mom, needs any more enthusiasm, as she is frothing as she drags her younger son down the queue to the CMs at the gate, turning and waving impatiently at the father and son who haven’t quite kept up.

We hope that she will take a seat in A1, as the CMs direct her to do, but just as we’re asking if we can ride in B1, she’s doing the same – for someone wearing a First Visit button, she’s obviously done her advance work, and knows exactly the experience she wants here. So she and her family are right there next to us for the first ride of the morning, which is a little distracting as the ride begins, and she starts narrating at top volume.

“OH MAH STARS!” she bellows, as soon as we take off. “OH, ISN’T THIS THE BEY-UST? IT’S JUST LAHK FLAH-YIN!” Bill and I squeeze each other’s hands – are you mentally writing this down for the trip report?, his squeeze asks me, and mine replies, oh, you know it. We get to the hang glideing scene, and she shouts, “THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOIN’ NOW! WE’RE SOARIN’!” Ohhhhh! Hey, thanks for pointing that out, lady; I always wondered why they named this ride “Soarin’”! I thought it was because it made you sore! Squeeze, squeeze.

But you know, you can be bellowing football scores in one of my ears while sounding an air horn at the other, you can rub my knees with sandpaper and poke me in the ribs, but you can’t ruin Soarin’. It’s just too good a ride. And we’re too good at either blocking people out, or using them for our amusement (and our trip reports). So we have a glorious trip over California, wind in our face and orange scent in our nostrils and fireworks in our ears, and we’re ready to dash out of the theater and back around to the standby line, stopping briefly for Fips, to ride again, this time without the narration.

And here we have a totally different experience with the other guests around us. We’re waiting in line down the corridor before you get to the gate, and we’re talking about all the stuff we’re going to do today, including another swing by Club Cool for more soda. We’re miming drinking cup after cup of soda, when we notice the young girl behind us, maybe six years old and adorable, miming the same thing. I catch her eye and smile at her, which she reciprocates, and her parents smile at us. I take this as a go-ahead to speak to the girl, and ask if she’s going to drink some soda at Club Cool later, like us. She nods happily. Her mom tells us that the girl’s brother is deaf, and that she signs all the time; without knowing it, we were using sign language. The girl shows off a few more signs, and I heartily praise her skill at signing.

Then I notice that Mom is writing in a notebook. “Trip reporting?” I ask, and she nods and laughs. “Got to get everything down before I forget it,” she says, and we talk a little bit about how much fun it is to write trippies (and read them!), how it makes the experience richer both in the moment and afterwards, but how much work it takes. I’m just about to ask if she’s a DISboarder, and what her handle is, but the line starts to move, and we wave goodbye as we’re shuttled into separate loading bays. And whatever squeeze I give Bill’s hand this time, as we’re buoyed above the clouds for another fantastic flight, is one of pure pleasure in sharing a nice moment with a lovely family with whom we have something in common. :goodvibes

After our second ride on Soarin’, we head over to Test Track for a single rider spin (standby is posted at 20 minutes, but it looks more like 40 to us). Along with high fives, I think the sensation of wind in your face is something that’s sorely lacking in most people’s everyday lives – it’s something I know I could use more of. Then it’s back to Soarin’ for another Fip, as our first one has already matured. We’re not ready to use it, though; we’re stockpiling them for later. But we do jump on a short line for Living with the Land, a ride we’ve never seen a line for before, even a short line. Which confirms to us yet again that it’s unusually crowded for this time of year. (And I know, it’s our own fault for going to the park with Extra Magic Hours, but this is the only time we’re doing so this trip, and this is part of our traditional routine. We’ve been to EMH at Epcot on exactly this day of the week/year before, and this is notably more crowded.)

But the line for the Land is very short, and we’re quickly escorted onto a boat and through the panoramic vistas, where we notice some hoofprints in the sand in one of the hydroponic growing rooms – a subtle Disney touch, or was there somehow an unauthorized deer invasion in the Land?

After the Land, we decide to check out the Circle of Life film, which we’ve never seen. By this time, the lack of sleep is catching up with us both, and my notes indicate that I am “yawning hard enough to sprain my face.” I do stay awake for the show, though, which is lovely, though it’s hard not to feel a little cynical about the environmental message when you’re sitting in an over-air-conditioned theater, in the middle of a giant theme park/resort. I know Disney does a better than average job of being ecologically responsible, but come on. It’s not exactly a zero carbon footprint.

Okay, enough reality. Back to the fun stuff! We use our first Soarin’ Fip, and our thrill in this ride is not diminished in the least by repetition. By now, it’s about 10:45, and I’m getting hungry, so we start walking towards World Showcase for a pre-lunch snack. I don’t want to overdo it, as we have a 1pm ADR for Teppan Edo, where I totally plan to overdo it; I just want a little snackie. Unfortunately, when we hit England, we hear that most of the countries’ counter service locations won’t be open until 11:30.

But we press on, hoping for something yummy to materialize soon, and – Vive la France! – the patisserie is open. I snag a veggie quiche, and Bill gets a Napoleon. As our pal Stacey would say, “Yummy, yummy, yummy…”

So the spot has been hit, and we head back to England to catch the World Showcase Players. I’m hoping to see some Adventurer’s Club alumni in this production of the King Arthur story, but no luck. We do get to see the comedic stylings of an older gentleman cast as Lancelot, though – as he is from the generation that thinks gay people are inherently laughable, he queens it up quite a bit and makes some fairly obvious sexual references, and has to be gently reminded by the WSPs that this is a family show. Which is why they should have cast Bill instead! Bill is an awesome addition to the WSP cast, as he proved in 2006’s boffo performance as Scrooge in the Christmas Carol skit. Oh well, maybe next year…

Back to Soarin,’ to get another Fip and use our second – this time we’re in the bottom row, but it doesn’t matter. Any seat in this theater is better than none at all! Then the long hike to Japan, where we check in a little early for our ADR at Teppan Edo, and are seated right away.

It’s our first time at Teppan Edo, and we watch some of the other chefs at nearby tables while we order drinks and wait for appetizers. A very skillful but silent guy is throwing lemon halves behind his back and catching them on the point of his knife before squeezing them over the food; at one point, he flips a shrimp tail into his chef’s toque. Another table in the next room is laughing it up; their chef is obviously a little less silent than the guy we’re watching. Our chef, a very pretty and slim young woman named Eri, comes out, and she’s the whole deal – funny, skilled, very charming and likeable. She makes a steaming Mount Fuji out of a pile of onions, then adds a zucchini strip to each side, and asks us to name the Disney character she’s creating. “I give you a hint,” she says, and then does the most adorable “duh huh, duh huh” laugh. It’s Goofy! She says we’re right, and that Goofy’s her favorite character. Right now, my favorite character is Eri – I could watch her all day long.

The food takes a while to prepare and eat, but it’s delicious, and worth it; we’re entertained the whole time. I ask if I can take a picture of Eri, and she graciously poses:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/eriTR.jpg

A great meal, in a really fun environment. That’s what we come to Disney for!

(More soon -- wishing you all a wonderful new year, and thanks for reading!)

Lady Lallie

01-01-2009, 09:44 AM

AmericanCaesar

01-01-2009, 02:33 PM

If you can believe it, the accent was even thicker than portrayed in the text.

Circusgirl

01-02-2009, 12:04 AM

Your day at HS and then DQ/DTD was jam packed full of goodness of all kinds!
I love it when people love "One Man's Dream." The exhibit does a great job of connecting people to the creation of the experience they're having. It is always on my agenda for the inspiration it brings.
ToT numerous times - excellent! TJ!! Awesome! I didn't realize he was still in the same role as when the Travel Channel special was made.
Muppets - yaay! The friend who met me down there on my most recent trip is a major Statler and Waldorf fan and I actually found him a talking Statler and Waldorf Christmas ornament at my local drugstore. The Muppets is where I always think about another too soon vanished creative amazing funny guy, Jim Henson. I love the shop and all the fun stuff in and on the building housing the movie not to mention the joyous wackiosity of the pre-show and movie itself.
I ride the GMR out of nostalgia rather than any wow yippee for the ride itself. I think they could make it fun again, but I wonder if it is one of those rides destined for oblivion.
And despite the intrusion of real life difficult reality phone calls, you managed to see Fantasmic, close the park at dinner (with At-at action) and then still go on for more! Osborne lights, DTD and Disney Quest - you guys rock at packing the day! (I learned a handy tip about the Osborne lights this year. When we were waiting for the TSM party to start, we hung out watching the lights. The park was closed but they weren't shooing people out yet so we asked a CM what the deal was. They said that although the park closes at 8, they don't close the lights until 9. There was hardly anybody there which was a total treat.)
Thanks for sharing a sweet dream of a day!

AmericanCaesar

01-02-2009, 01:41 PM

Circusgirl, it seemed like there were NEW things inside "OMD" that weren't there last year -- I don't know if it was my imagination, but maybe some things on loan to Anaheim finally came back home?

Circusgirl

01-02-2009, 01:54 PM

Circusgirl, it seemed like there were NEW things inside "OMD" that weren't there last year -- I don't know if it was my imagination, but maybe some things on loan to Anaheim finally came back home?

I agree - the Peter Pan model was something I didn't remember from before. It is encouraging that there are new things as I am always worried about them closing this exhibit.

girlbomb

01-02-2009, 08:28 PM

Your description of Aggro Mom has me laughing hysterically. I can't tell you how many of these kinds we encountered on our last trip. We sat next to a Mom like that during our first Soarin' ride. Quite the experience. I have to go relive that with Marc when I sign off the DIS. :rotfl2:

I'm hesitant about trying Teppan Edo but I have read so many great reviews that I just might have to book it. It looks so yummy and fun!

Lady Lallie, I can't believe we both encountered Aggro Mom at Soarin'! Though I suppose that's where Aggro Mom hangs out... And I do recommend Teppan Edo, though the meal took a while; it was a delicious and fun lunch.

(I learned a handy tip about the Osborne lights this year. When we were waiting for the TSM party to start, we hung out watching the lights. The park was closed but they weren't shooing people out yet so we asked a CM what the deal was. They said that although the park closes at 8, they don't close the lights until 9. There was hardly anybody there which was a total treat.)

Circusgirl, thanks for the tip! I love lingering as late as possible, but not if I feel like I'm breaking rules, or keeping CMs from going home after a long day. Knowing that they plan to stay open until 9 will leave us free to streeeeeetch out the enjoyment! :thumbsup2

And now here's Day Five, Part Two: Girlbomb the Red-Eyed Reindeer Rides Some More

After our lunch at Teppan Edo, it’s about 2 p.m., and I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open – as much as I want to browse the shops downstairs and hang out for Miyuki the candy lady’s next show, I know we need to get back to the room for a nap. We’ve got tickets to the Christmas party tonight, and I want to be able to stay as late as we can! So we take the long trek back to the monorail, which comes fairly quickly, but stops a few times on the track. It’s delayed for a full five minutes at the MK, and stops again between the MK and the Contemporary, so by the time we get back to the room, it’s almost 3, and I’m full-on cranky. I’ve done a good job so far in preventing this kind of exhaustion, but today I did not do so, and I’m dangerously close to (cue Rod Serling voice)…the Meltdown Zone. :eek:

We change into sleepwear and lay down for a nap, but the ongoing construction on the fourth floor of the Contemporary is in full swing for the day, and it is loud. This is the first time it’s been an issue for us this trip, but right now, when we badly need naps, it’s extremely inconvenient to hear jackhammers and drills. We search for some soothing music on the clock radio, and tune in a Tampa Bay station called “The Dove” (WDUV, 105.5 FM), where they are playing the Bee Gees, Carly Simon, and other light hits of the 70s. Perfect! I love that stuff. It doesn’t drown out the jackhammers, but it does add a soothing layer of sound over it, and Bill manages to drop off for a few minutes.

I am not so lucky. As tired as I am, I can’t seem to rest, because my mind is spinning. So once again, I start crying like a baby, so frustrated that I can’t get out of my own way long enough to enjoy our vacation. :sad2:

After almost two hours in the room, I realize that the situation isn’t getting much better, and I’m not getting any rest, so we might as well get back out there and have some fun in the parks. So we get suited up again, and I grab the Tigger ears Bill got for me off eBay – it’s party night, and I’m putting on the ritz! Our party tickets stowed in my fanny pack, along with my phone (ugh), we head back towards the MK.

But this time, when we join the throngs of people flooding towards the gates (uh oh), we’re the ones who can’t seem to make the turnstiles work – our party tickets aren’t going through. The helpful CM turns them over and points out the problem: Today is Tuesday the 9th, and these tickets are for Thursday the 11th.

:scared1:

WHAT? How can this be? I ordered these tickets months ago, according to the schedule that’s been set forever; did I make this mistake, or did Disney? How could I have ordered the wrong day? And how could I not have noticed before? Now I’m really ready to spiral into a tizzy, as I see that tonight’s party is sold out, and we have ADRs at Le Cellier for Thursday… The plan, the glorious plan, the one we’ve been working on all year, is suddenly in jeopardy!

But before I can wholly meltdown, Bill suggests that we go to Guest Services and see if we can exchange the tickets. And though the party is sold out, the lovely and helpful and life-saving CM at the window swaps our Thursday tickets for ones that allow us to enter right now, and enjoy tonight’s party, as planned. Phew! Just the pixie dust I needed tonight!

:wizard:

Relieved and ready to party, I don my ears, which instantly garner me some compliments, and we hit the parti-fied Main Street around 5:15pm. I am definitely treating myself to some fudge from the Confectionary – mmm, milk chocolate with marshmallows! One piece satisfies the two of us as we press on towards Tomorrowland, and we take two trips on the TTA in succession without having to disembark.

Wait times are long, and Fips are gone, so no Space Mountain for us just yet. But Monsters Inc has no line, and we have a few more jokes to text to Mike Wazowski. Bill’s is: What did the bartender say to the horse who walked into his bar? “Why the long face?” Mine, too, is set in a bar: What did the termites say when they walked into the bar? “Is the bar tender here?” Both of them are groaners, but we give it a shot anyway, and both are used in the show! Hooray!

It’s getting dark now, and we pass by the crowds in the hub to get to the Jungle Cruise, which we’ve never ridden at night. But the line is long and unmoving, and, after noting some crates addressed to the Adventurer’s Club, we decide to bail and come back later. Instead, it’s over to Aladdin’s carpets, something else we’ve never tried…and probably won’t do again, as they’re kind of a snooze. But you do get a lovely view of the park:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/carpetTR.jpg

And at least we finally tried the carpets! Now the only rides we haven’t done at the MK are Dumbo and the Carousel – maybe we’ll save them for the mythical 2012 trip with our friends and their little girl, as I don’t know how much excitement we’d get out of them as DINKs, shmooopy though we may be.

Then we decide to take in the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, which has a really different feeling at night, and is nearly abandoned. We take our time exploring all the rooms and artifacts, and I remember that this was one of the attractions our departed friend Samantha was most interested in seeing on our 2005 trip, the one she never got to enjoy with us. It certainly is beautiful and peaceful up here, peering out between the branches; it feels like a respite from the zaniness going on below us. But soon I’m eager to get back to the zaniness, and we descend, and head back to the Jungle Cruise, now posting a twenty minute wait.

I wonder if Adventureland always feels like this at night, or only on party nights, but there is a special atmosphere tonight, where it feels like we’re getting to ride the rides after hours. The line goes quickly, and we’re loaded onto a boat with a witty young skipper, who does his best to make the script feel fresh. There’s something spooky about the ride at night, which isn’t an unwelcome feeling; it has a little bit of its mystery back, something it usually lacks during the day. Even the jokes have a different feel – it’s almost like gallows humor. All in all, one of the better rides we’ve had on the Jungle Cruise since our first year, when we thought it was a hoot.

After the cruise, we wander over to Pirates of the Caribbean, which I have to call “Pilates of the Caribbean,” since I recently started taking Pilates. There’s no wait, and we enjoy every second of our trip, scanning the familiar scenes and always appreciating something new about them. I’d love to ride the Disneyland version; I look forward to getting there someday! But in the meantime, we’re very happy with this version, especially with that handsome Captain Jack around.

By now, it’s time for dinner, and we’re lucky that Pecos Bill’s isn’t totally mobbed right now – it only takes about five or ten minutes to get our veggie burgers, and to load them up with what is essentially a side salad made of fixin’s from the toppings bar. We get a good table outside, in full view of Splash Mountain, and notice how deep people are lines up for the parade – no wonder the rides were mostly walk-ons, as EVERYONE is busy lining the sidewalks right now. We’ve seen the parade the past two years, and don’t feel the need to watch it again tonight, so it looks like we’ll have good luck with short waits for rides tonight while everyone else is otherwise occupied.

I don’t feel like getting wet, even a little bit, right now, so we skip the very short line for Splash and join the very short line for Big Thunder. I make sure to hang on to my precious Tigger ears, as I hear that this here is the wildest ride in the WILderness; both me and my ears manage to survive, and are exhilarated by a trip around the mountain.

The parade’s in full swing as we take the path by the river to get back towards Liberty Square, and the path is so jammed with strollers, ECVs, and people stopping to gawk, that we hit a complete stop and are getting pressed from all sides. Not a good feeling at all, especially when you’re a shortie; I can feel the anxiety rising in my chest. And we’re not at home, so I can’t bellow (as I am wont to do, when people are blocking the sidewalk on Broadway), “Gotta move, people!” (Hey, I’m a native New Yawker, it’s part of my birthright and my responsibility to say things like that. I recently heard a tourist say to her friend, after such an outburst by me, “Now that’s the New York I was expecting.” Just doing my job, lady…) Some people take it upon themselves to start walking on the stone ledge, and I tuck myself behind Bill’s comforting mass as he presses onwards; we finally manage to get through by jumping over a rope into the exit area for the Liberty Bell. Phew! I can breathe again.

But despite the massive crowds for the parade (or maybe because of them), there’s no line for the Haunted Mansion, and we can take another happily haunted ride past the spooky sets. The banquet scene is still my favorite, but I do love the new attic scene, and will always find something new to admire in the graveyard. Afterwards, we stop at the merchandise cart, as we always do, hoping for some actual Mansion swag instead of just Nightmare Before Christmas stuff, and lo and behold! It’s a book about the Haunted Mansion, one we’ve never seen! Super bonus win! :banana:

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. We grab a copy of the book and present it to the lovely CM, asking her if we can have it sent back to our room. “As long as you’re not leaving in the next two days,” she says, and I reply with dead seriousness, “Oh, we’re never leaving.” For some reason, my delivery cracks her up, but I keep my face sober. Seriously. We’re never leaving. I don’t know what’s so funny about that. It’s just a fact.

Psyched by our unexpected and totally awesome purchase, we stop by Ariel’s Grotto to watch the Ladies Tremaine host the dance party. It’s now a tradition for us to stop at the dance party so I can play emotional vampire and feed off of all the kids’ happiness – last year, I was moved to sobs by the sight of a very happy young girl in a wheelchair, waving her arms in the air and grinning to beat the band – but this year I feel self-conscious and weird. Moments like that can’t be planned, nor can they be recreated; they have to happen spontaneously. And as much as I love the Ladies Tremaine, the DJ is playing stuff I don’t know, and there doesn’t seem to be much reason to hang around.

So we move along to the teacups, and get right into a happy green cup, which Bill spins faster than physics should allow. I like to lean my head back and watch everything run together like a wet watercolor; upon leaving, I am extra careful to lean on the cup for balance before striking out on my wobbly legs. I wish I could spin as fast as Bill, so that he could lean back and enjoy the world blurring around him – maybe after enough Pilates, I’ll be able to.

Then it’s cocoa and cookies time at Cosmic Ray’s. Except they seem to be serving food tonight, and not treats – huh. There is a dance party in progress, though, and they’re playing Thriller, so I MUST jump in immediately.

Here I am, in my Tigger ears, being thrilled:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/tiggerdanceTR.jpg

(There is also a short video of this event, taken without my knowledge or consent, but it may never be seen by human eyes, on pain of death.)

I have an AWESOME time dancing, though I worry that Bill is bored (not much of a dancer, him), and so I wrap it up after a few songs and bounce over to him like the Tigger I am, asking, “What do you wanna do next, huh? Huh? What’s next?”

Well, if you’re going to ask Bill what’s next, the answer’s going to be…Space Mountain, duh! There’s no line, and we scoot right on to a rocket and blast around the track – wind in our faces, tastes in our mouths, screams in our ears, the whole thing. We couldn’t be having more fun!

And then I check my phone. :sad2:

Dumb, dumb, dumb. I get a message that really upsets me, and I try to shake it off while we find a spot for Wishes on the bridge to Tomorrowland, but I can’t. I tell Bill that I give up – I can’t keep trying to force this stupid real estate deal to happen when nobody else will play ball – and he gets upset, and then I get mad at him for being upset, and everything suddenly sucks. We manage to get less upset with each other in, literally, less than two minutes, but the fact remains: this deal is not going to happen, and I can’t save it.

So the fireworks begin, and I am having a replay of last night, where I want to be in the moment, I want to be enjoying this immense and spectacular thing we love and look forward to all year long (it’s Holiday Wishes! Come on!), but I don’t even know what I’m looking at, because my eyeballs are melting from stress. So about halfway into it, I say to Bill, “I can’t watch this right now, I have to go return this call.” And I stalk over to the path between Tomorrowland and Toontown, the most deserted place I can find, and as soon as the noise dies down, I pull out my phone and make the call to say okay, I give up, forget it. Deal’s off.

And I feel both anger and relief in making the call. Relief, because I know that, as soon as this call is over, that’s it. The phone is staying in the hotel room for the rest of the trip – no more calling the lawyer, or the broker, or the whoever else I’ve been trying to negotiate with – just me and Bill and Disney World. Enough.

A funny thing happens as I’m making the call – a cat darts out from behind Star Traders and runs into the bushes around the Speedway. A cat! We’ve seen all kinds of wildlife here, but we never expected to see a kitty. I hope the kitty manages to be well-fed, and that someone will find and adopt it, if possible; we have lots of friends here at home who are involved in feral cat reclamation, and I bet Disney is good about taking care of the wild animals who try to make the parks into their homes.

Anyway, the phone call is over, and so is the deal. I’m upset, I’m disappointed, but you know what? I’m in Disney World. And I’m finally going to get to enjoy it, uninterrupted, without the constant phone calls and emails of the past two days. “Space Mountain,” I command, and Bill follows me through the blessedly empty line, where I get the first seat in the rocket, and boy am I grateful for it.

Arms in the air! Wind in the face! And shouting the whole time! Because it’s acceptable to shout while on Space Mountain! And nobody can tell if you’re shouting from frustration or fun; it’s just “AAAAAHHHHHHH!” Very cathartic; I only wish I could ride the first car on Space Mountain every time I felt like screaming my head off!

We check our party maps and see that goodies are being dispensed at the Noodle Terrace, so we walk that way to grab cocoa and cookies for Bill, and some apple slices for me. The apple slices, which I’ve had a few times so far this trip instead of fries, are really crunchy and sweet – a great substitute for cookies. Then it’s back to Space Mountain to scream some more, a no-wait trip on the AstroOrbiter to fly some more, and then it’s almost bedtime.

But first, that retail therapy I was denied last night! We enter the Emporium on Main Street, and I nab my Ariel sweatshirt (which is turquoise, with a slightly ruched collar, and portrays the rebellious teenaged redhead whose scene in Philharmagic always puts a lump in my throat). I also see some Disney jigsaw puzzles, and as jigsaw puzzles are my number two guilty pleasure after Disney World, I have to get them as well. I’ll shop for my friends’ kids later – tonight, I’m shopping for me.

Bill doesn’t want anything for himself, silly man, so I pay for my purchases, and we head back to the hotel. It’s 11:30 when we hit the room, and I’ve had every emotion possible in the last few hours. I went from the sheer delight of dancing to Thriller with a bunch of seven-year-olds while wearing Tigger ears, to the pits of anger and frustration of the phone calls, to the relief of shouting my brains out on Space Mountain, a ride I love with all my heart. Now it’s time for bed. And I KNOW, as much fun as we did manage to have today, tomorrow’s going to be even better. After all, it starts with 8:05 breakfast ressies in Cinderella’s Castle – how much better does it get than that?

(Thanks for reading -- more tomorrow! And I promise, the trip really does get better from here! ;) )

Lady Lallie

01-02-2009, 09:36 PM

PinkPrincessZ

01-03-2009, 04:19 PM

I'm so glad you were able to put reality behind you and have a blast - good for you! :thumbsup2 I love the idea of dancing to Thriller with Tigger ears on - can life get any better??

Looking forward to your breakfast review!

PPZ

Circusgirl

01-03-2009, 04:53 PM

Another day packed with everything - drama, dancing, threat to vacation happiness, night Jungle Cruise, elation on Space Mountain, jackhammers, real life disappointment, fancy performance lunch, fudge, cookies and more! A regular Disney day is way longer and better than most days, but you super-achieved!

I'm glad you could feel the good side to the end of your real estate deal right away. We all value the complete escape that the World provides from plain old life and being able to get back into escape mode was an excellent thing.

The Breakfast of Princesses next - terrific!

girlbomb

01-04-2009, 06:32 AM

I am so grateful that the nice CM was able to exchange your tickets for you. That would have been meltdown worthy if not. :hug:

Jungle Cruise is so nice at night. I think I am going to take your tip and try Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse at night too. I think in general that the parks are even more magical at night, I love that nighttime atmosphere.

As horrible as it is that the deal didn't go through, at least it was resolved so you could enjoy the rest of your vacation. :goodvibes

Thanks, Lady Lallie. That CM definitely made our night (well, that and the awesome party!). And thanks for the :goodvibes. I am lucky to have such wonderful people as readers!

I'm so glad you were able to put reality behind you and have a blast - good for you! :thumbsup2 I love the idea of dancing to Thriller with Tigger ears on - can life get any better??

Looking forward to your breakfast review!

PPZ

PinkPrincessZ, thanks! I'm looking forward to posting the review tomorrow. It was really super fun.

Another day packed with everything - drama, dancing, threat to vacation happiness, night Jungle Cruise, elation on Space Mountain, jackhammers, real life disappointment, fancy performance lunch, fudge, cookies and more! A regular Disney day is way longer and better than most days, but you super-achieved!

I'm glad you could feel the good side to the end of your real estate deal right away. We all value the complete escape that the World provides from plain old life and being able to get back into escape mode was an excellent thing.

The Breakfast of Princesses next - terrific!

Circusgirl, you said it -- Disney is for ESCAPE MODE. I didn't make that mistake for the rest of the vacation, and I hope never to make it again! NO WORK AT DISNEY!

Looking forward to posting more tomorrow, and wishing everyone a lovely Sunday. :goodvibes

Backstage_Gal

01-04-2009, 08:57 AM

Just chiming in to say that I am really enjoying your report. Sorry about the real estate deal going sour, but good for you leaving it behind.

donaldsgal

01-05-2009, 08:46 PM

(“They’re from Ohio,” Bill predicted. “The family of the day is always from Ohio.”).

I'm enjoying your TR so much. I love a well-written anything, being a grammar freak myself, so a TR full of clever writing and word-of-the-day-esque words is a real treat. Oh, and the absence of misspellings, comma splices, and correct use of notorious homophones is also wonderful! Good on ya!

I had to comment on this quote from Bill. Being from Ohio, I'm always amazed at how often an Ohio city is the hometown of a character in a movie or book. Invariably, one character is from Cleveland or Akron! And the number of Ohioans I encounter while at Disney is also unexpected. No surprise, I guess, since Ohio is "the heart of it all" - at least according to a former incarnation of our license plates.

Looking forward to more. :thumbsup2

girlbomb

01-06-2009, 04:38 PM

Just chiming in to say that I am really enjoying your report. Sorry about the real estate deal going sour, but good for you leaving it behind.

Backstage_Gal, thanks for chiming in! As the stupidity has dragged on, writing this trip report has been so therapeutic. But I look forward to really being able to leave it behind soon.

I'm enjoying your TR so much. I love a well-written anything, being a grammar freak myself, so a TR full of clever writing and word-of-the-day-esque words is a real treat. Oh, and the absence of misspellings, comma splices, and correct use of notorious homophones is also wonderful! Good on ya!

I had to comment on this quote from Bill. Being from Ohio, I'm always amazed at how often an Ohio city is the hometown of a character in a movie or book. Invariably, one character is from Cleveland or Akron! And the number of Ohioans I encounter while at Disney is also unexpected. No surprise, I guess, since Ohio is "the heart of it all" - at least according to a former incarnation of our license plates.

Looking forward to more. :thumbsup2

donaldsgal, thanks for the high praise on the writing! And it's good to hear an insider's perspective of the omnipresence of Ohioans in the popular imagination. I hope you will get to be the Ohioan family of the day at one of the parks sometime. ;)

And now, it's Day Six: Wednesday, December 10: Walking in a Disney Wonderland:

So it’s Wednesday morning, which means we’re halfway through our trip – say it isn’t so! It’s been an up and down trip so far – mostly wonderful, and full of the pleasure, delight, and distraction we expect from our happy place, but definitely tempered by the past two days of business-related phone calls and emails from home, and the anxiety they’ve produced. Good thing I’m leaving the phone at home today! But too bad my sore throat and cough can no longer be ignored. Bill, too, has a cough; we both take some Emergen-C and DayQuil as we get ready to go (after waking at 6:30 with the alarm), and I call one of the doctor’s services I’ve read about that makes house calls to your hotel room, to set up an appointment for this afternoon. If I need antibiotics for this illness, I’m getting them now, and not waiting until we get home – that’s the mistake I made in 2006, and one I won’t repeat.

So maybe it’s the uppers in the DayQuil, or maybe it’s knowing that I’m free of business hassles for today, or maybe it’s just the ever-renewed sense of joy and wonder that we get from being here, but I’m actually in a really good mood as we take the walkway to the MK. It’s cloudy today, but warm, and we’re planning to go to Blizzard Beach after breakfast, where we’ve never been. I’m wearing my brand new Ariel sweatshirt, and Bill’s holding my hand – life is pretty good! We are allowed through the turnstiles, and check in at the castle (cool!), where we’re one of the first families escorted inside to meet Cinderella.

Cinderella is adorable! Where do they find these princesses? They’re so cute, so poised, and perfectly suited to their roles! And the castle is stunning from the inside. We get to take a picture with the princess, and I immediately compliment her on her lovely castle. She thanks me graciously, and then Bill adds, “You must get killed on the taxes.”

“Whatever are those, your grace?” she asks, with perfect aplomb, as our picture is snapped. Then she thanks us for visiting, and we’re led up the stairs to the dining room – wow – and the best seat in the house, right against the window overlooking Fantasyland. WOW!

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/carouselTR.jpg

Our server this morning is Jay, and he’s awesome. So helpful and friendly and perky – when Bill asks how he’s doing, he replies, “I’m doing great! Look where I’m working.” What a terrific attitude! Bill has the standard fare, and I order the “healthy” breakfast of fruit and granola and yogurt, with some braised bananas, which are really really yummy. Between the view and the food and the service, I am once again finding myself in a great mood.

Here I am, in my new Ariel sweatshirt, with a wishing star stuck to my forehead and a wand in my hand:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/starheadTR.jpg

And here I am, same sweatshirt, now balancing Bill’s sword on my head:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/castleTR.jpg

Again, maybe I’m just all hopped up on DayQuil, but I think this is the funniest thing imaginable, and am laughing so hard I am weeping.

The princesses all drop by in turn: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and Belle (“Belle,” I tell her, “as a fellow bookworm, I really appreciate what you represent to young girls.”), but they keep their visits extremely brief and professional – no kidding around with them, as they have many, many tables of guests to meet. And I am too busy enjoying Bill’s company to pay much attention to whatever cuteness is going on at the other tables, so I don’t get to witness much princess interaction. I can say that the meal itself is good, and the setting terrific, so I recommend the experience at least once for any Disney fan! But if you’re looking for quality time with the princesses (as I think Bill was looking for with Jasmine), this isn’t the best place for it.

How funny to find ourselves, after breakfast, walking against the flow of people rushing up Main Street! People are looking askance at us -- the park’s just opened for business, and we’re on our way out? Weirdos! But we’re on our way to Blizzard Beach today, after a quick stop at the Contemporary to grab our stuff from bell services and switch tonight’s 6:30 ADR at Artist’s Point to 8 instead. When we made our original plans, we thought tonight would be another Adventurer’s Club night, and once the AC was closed, we figured we’d leave the after-dinner hours open for Downtown Disney, resort hopping, or watching Wishes from the Polynesian. But what we really want today is more park time – after BB and the doctor’s appointment, we plan to go back to the MK – so we’re happy to hear from the CM at the Contemporary that we can move up dinner at the last minute.

Then we’re on our way to Blizzard Beach, once again relying on a cab instead of the busses – we’re getting very spoiled this trip, because I keep insisting that I can’t take further stress and MUST be treated to taxis. princess: We make sure to get the cabbie’s phone number, so that we can call him again to retrieve us around 12:30 and get us back to our room at 1 for the doctor’s appointment; he gets us over to Blizzard Beach in plenty of time for the park opening at 9:45.

And it’s so cool to check out a whole new section of the parks, so well-themed and full of whimsical detail! But why aren’t there more people here today? According to the weather channel, this will be the warmest day of the week, with temps reaching the low 80s; tomorrow, it’s supposed to pour rain, and then we’re back to the 70s and 60s for the rest of our stay here. Well, no matter – if everyone decided to spend their day elsewhere, it’s more park for us!

Though we don’t know the park very well, we make quick work of getting through the turnstiles, renting our locker, changing into our suits, and positioning ourselves at the rope for rope drop. One dropped, we stake a spot in the Ski Patrol area (not the best spot – we should have headed to Melt-Away Bay); then we skip over to the ski lift and take a great ride up to the top of the hill for the first slide of the day: The Slush Gusher. Check out the great view from on high!

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I am excited to try the Slush Gusher – not so excited to try Summit Plummet, which is just a wee bit too high and steep for me. Nope, Slush Gusher’s plenty high and steep enough, thanks, and with its two bumps, it causes me to make the following noise as I whoosh down it: “AaaaaaAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaaahhhh!” Followed by the noise “hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!” Bill whooshes down right after me, noiseless except for the splash at the bottom, and we agree that Blizzard Beach is already a winner in our book.

The water in the slides is warm, but the air temp isn’t quite up to 80 yet, so we quickly walk up the stairs towards Teamboat Springs, hoping that activity will keep us from getting any further chill that might make our colds worse. But there seems to be some delay, when we get to TS – no rafts are going down the hill, and nobody seems to know why. I’m just about to suggest we bail and do another slide in these precious moments shortly after rope drop, as we can see crowds building steadily, but then the line moves, and we’re seated in a raft with a father and young son for a trip down the channel.

Another winner! Much more fun than Kali River Rapids, as it’s longer (I think – it seems longer, anyway), and you’re appropriately dressed to get soaked. Then we paddle in our squishy water shoes over to the Runoff Rapids (phew, that’s some hike up that hill, especially while carrying a two-person tube), and take another fun trip down a water slide, this time in tandem. Unfortunately, when we hit the bottom, the tube flips, I’m pulled under, and Bill lands right on top of me – eeyagh! But he gets clear of me as soon as he can, and I’m only underwater for a few extra seconds. Still, eeyagh!

Not that it deters us from getting right back up that hill, this time with solo tubes, to ride both of the other Runoff Rapids slides. I think my favorite is the enclosed one, despite the UG’s description of it as “like being flushed down a toilet.” I would have gone with "twisty and invigorating," but hey, that's what makes everybody's TR a little different.

We’ve already spent an hour in the park, and done six slides, without returning to our chairs once. I’m a little self-conscious about waddling around in just my suit and water shoes – I wish I’d worn shorts, as I see other guests doing, but I thought that they were prohibited on the slides (I guess if they don’t have grommets or zippers, they’re okay). But despite my self-consciousness, I’m having a great time, and I wish we didn’t have a time limit on our activities here today, as I could easily see spending many hours here. The slides are great, and the atmosphere is terrific. I love the reggae music they’re playing, and the icicles hanging off the roofs of the buildings, and the whole feel of the place.

Now it’s off to the other side of the big hill for the Snow Stormers, a slalom-style tube slide with bumps that give you a little bit of air time when you hit them on your way down – again, I yell “AaaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaa!” on my way down. Then we hike back up the stairs (huff, puff) to the Double Dipper, where you slide down on your belly on a mat. The slide is unremarkable – fun enough, but no great shakes – as is the next mat slide, the Toboggan Racer.

But first, there’s a little bit of contention over the mats as they come off the conveyor belt – a woman with a group of young children wants to take eight or ten of them at once, while another guest insists that you’re supposed to stand on either side of the belt, and take turns taking mats as they appear – one for the person on the left, then one for the person on the right. It would help if there were a CM or a sign to explain the procedure, but there isn’t, so we all just muddle through and get our mats within seconds of each other anyway, and then we're lined up to "race." If you’re super competitive, this slide might be more exciting, but I don’t care about “beating” anybody on my way down – I just want to enjoy the trip!

Crowds have built a little by this time, but they’re still delightfully low, and we wait less than five minutes for every slide we go on. Our only slightly longer wait is for the ski lift, which we decide to take again now, as we’re wearing ourselves out, climbing up and down that hill. We amuse ourselves on line by people-watching, and soon we’re seated in a lift chair, legs dangling as we swoop up the mountain, enjoying the view the whole way.

Once atop the mountain, I decide to go for another Slush Gusher, while Bill determines that he’s going to do the Summit Plummet. Eeeek! I have another thrilling ride downhill (“AaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAAAaaaaa!”), and I meet Bill at the bottom. “How was it?” I ask, impressed by my intrepid shmoopy. He reports that it was all right – definitely steep and scary, and a bunch of water shot up into a place we will decline to name. “You know how they call it the ‘Water Parks Fun and More’ option on our tickets?” he asks. “I think that was the ‘More.’”

Now that we’ve done every single slide the park offers, it’s time to go float in the lazy river. Here I am, an hour after the fact, demonstrating the laziness necessary to full enjoyment of the river:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/lazyTR.jpg

So we find the nearest entry point, and grab some empty tubes as they float by. This water in the lazy river is significantly colder than the water in the slides and exit pools, or maybe it’s the air temp, which isn’t quite as warm as was promised, as the sun has decided to stay mostly hidden today. I squinch myself down in my tube so that most of me is submerged; this appears to be the warmest option as we take a full tour of the lazy river, lazily. Again, great theming, and very relaxing, aside from the temperature. If we had more time, we’d definitely do another round.

But we want to do Runoff Rapids again, so we wait a minute for a double tube at the bottom of the hill, then hike up to the top and take the tandem ride down – this time, we avoid nearly drowning each other at the end. Then another trip up to do the enclosed slide again – whee! We spend a few minutes in Melt-Away Bay, where we’d love to hang out for a while, but the time is getting short. It’s time to get back to our chairs (which have been commandeered by another family, while we’ve been absent for the past two and a half hours – I understand why they took our chairs, since we weren’t using them, but our stuff was there, and it seems kind of presumtuous to commandeer chairs with other people’s stuff on them), towel off, and change.

After we change and get re-packed for the trip back to the hotel, we take a few shots of us departing – here’s Bill, bragging that he did the Summit Plummet:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/plummetTR.jpg

Then we get our locker deposit back, and head to the front of the park to call our friendly cabbie. He meets us in the parking lot quickly, and we’re back at the hotel with fifteen minutes to spare before the doctor’s due to arrive. Awesome timing! Awesome morning! It would have been great to hang out at Blizzard Beach a little bit more, maybe get a leisurely lunch there and fool around on the slides and in the bay for another hour or two, but we definitely maximized the time we did get to spend there, and can’t wait to get back. We’d never “sacrificed” park time to do a water park before, but now we can’t wait to do it again! Hooray for expanding our Disney horizons!

:woohoo:

(Part Two coming soon! Thanks for reading. :flower3: )

addictedtothemouse

01-06-2009, 05:38 PM

I just found your TR and am subbing. I need to go back and read the rest.:goodvibes

Lady Lallie

01-06-2009, 05:57 PM

“You know how they call it the ‘Water Parks Fun and More’ option on our tickets?” he asks. “I think that was the ‘More.’”

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: This just cracked me up.

I'm so glad you had a nice breakfast in the Castle. Your table location looks just perfect.

I agree with you on the princesses, they are just so perfect and I love how they call you princess. It puts a smile on my face every single time. princess:

donaldsgal

01-06-2009, 08:29 PM

I second the response that Bill's "More" comment was highly comical! I enjoyed this update and the picture of you giggling your heart out. It's obvious you were much more in tune with your Disney surroundings today.

girlbomb

01-07-2009, 02:07 AM

I just found your TR and am subbing. I need to go back and read the rest.:goodvibes

Welcome, addictedtothemouse! Thanks for commenting. I wonder if there's a twelve-step program for people like us? Not that I ever want to be cured of my Disney addiction!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: This just cracked me up.

I'm so glad you had a nice breakfast in the Castle. Your table location looks just perfect.

I agree with you on the princesses, they are just so perfect and I love how they call you princess. It puts a smile on my face every single time. princess:

Lady Lallie, he cracks himself up. :rolleyes: (Okay, he cracks me up too. But I try not to encourage him.)

I second the response that Bill's "More" comment was highly comical! I enjoyed this update and the picture of you giggling your heart out. It's obvious you were much more in tune with your Disney surroundings today.

donaldsgal, thanks! We were definitely in much better spirits this day. I look forward to posting the rest of the day's adventures soon!

girlbomb

01-07-2009, 02:28 PM

Here's Day Six, Part Two: Walking in a Disney Wonderland

So we're just back from Blizzard Beach, waiting in our hotel room for the doctor, and saying hooray for expanding our Disney horizons! And hooray for the doctor, who shows up right on time, along with the room service lunch we ordered. I would give the name of the doctor service, as it was a helpful one, but I’d like to be fully honest about the experience, and it’s about to get a little snarky:

OH MY GOD. The doctor spends AN HOUR in our room, talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking talking and talking some more. The upshot? I don’t have an infection, like I had the last time I got sick at Disney – I just have a cold. And I should drink fluids. And take cough medicine. Okay! Thanks. You can go now! BUT NO. He stays and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks some more. And I am getting exhausted and despondent and annoyed, because this is park time we’re wasting here, people! The exam took less than five minutes, the interview could have taken less than five, too, but he had to talk talk talk talk talk talk talk…

So overall, it was a helpful service. He came right to the room, right on time, and prescribed just the right thing. He was a nice guy, and thorough – boy, was he thorough! – and I would love to recommend him. But, as I may have mentioned, he taaaaaaaaaalked…and my patience was really stretched thin by the end. Also, pricey! Phew! But if I had in fact needed antibiotics, it would have been very important to get them sooner rather than later, and it would have been worth it. As it was, to pay a few hundred bucks to be told I have a cold? Not so worth it. Oh well, that’s what I get for being a hypochondriac, on top of my many other personality defects…:sad2:

As soon as the doctor FINALLY leaves, we lay down for a short nap, and I’m actually able to rest a little, for a change! We get up around 4:00, I pop more DayQuil, we redress, and then Bill and I are back on that pathway to the MK. The sun has decided to come out, it’s beautiful and warm, we had a great breakfast at the castle and an awesome morning at Blizzard Beach, and now we’re on our way to the MK, phone and email free.

It’s crowded at the MK, but we manage to slip into a showing of Philharmagic with very little wait. Have I mentioned how much I love this movie? I only wish it were twice as long, and included even more classic characters and songs. Then we join a 20 minute standby line for the Haunted Mansion, which goes quickly, and we linger in the stretching room for a minute to hear the spooky whispering voices before we head out to join the line. We wish the Hall of Presidents were open, but we can’t wait to see Barack Obama in the show on our next trip – of course, we have to make a few jokes, as we pass, about the other animatronics nudging each other and asking, “Who let that guy in?”

There’s an enticing smell coming from the Christmas shop in Liberty Square, and we must find out what it is. It’s apples and cinnamon and…yum! Is it potpourri? Do they sell it here? We ask a CM about the delicious scent, and he has to stop and consider it – after a few years of working here, he says, he doesn’t even notice it anymore. It’s not coming from any of the products in the store, he tells us; it’s piped in through the air conditioner. Ah, we say. So, we’ll just be over here in the corner, then, smelling the air in your store for a while. :rolleyes1

On our way out of the store, we see two gents wearing custom Mickey t-shirts with their names on them, along with Happy Anniversary buttons. I recognize them from last year, when we had a lovely chat with them on the bridge by the Swan/Dolphin – they were celebrating their 20th last year, but mentioned that of course they’re not legally married, they’re domestic partners. Bill and I are DPs too, and will be until every one of our friends and family can legally marry the partner they choose – in the meantime, we stop and say hello and wish these guys another happy anniversary, with many more to come!

So…what else should we do today? We could take another hundred million trips on Space Mountain, but the line is probably long right now, and we’ll be off to dinner before any Fips we could get would mature. So how about something silly and sweet, like the Tiki Room? Sounds good. The pre-show is entertaining; the show itself – well, I liked the old version better. But as long as the birds sing words and the flowers croon, I’m satisfied.

It’s almost time for the castle lighting, and the hub is jammed, but we decide it’s worth it, and we jam ourselves in to wait the fifteen minutes, me leaning back against Bill and feeling wonderfully content. Look where we are – Disney World! With the music, and the castle, and the decorations everywhere, and there’s the statue of Walt, holding Mickey’s hand and pointing forward. I am so happy to be here, so grateful that we found this place and that we get to visit every year. And then the ceremony starts, and even the chattering throngs around us can’t diminish the enjoyment of watching the dazzling lights twinkle into brightness. Like so many things at Disney, this is what the word “spectacular” was invented for. Bliss! :cloud9:

We meander (as best as we can, through the crowds) back down Main Street, and back to the room, where we change for dinner at Artist’s Point. We’ve never taken the boats on Bay Lake, so we leave plenty of extra time to get to the Wilderness Lodge. As we’re waiting on the dock at the Contemporary, we see a Grand Gathering piling into two boats – Smee is leading the group, and Captain Hook shakes his hook at them as they pass. How fun it must be to have a Grand Gathering – I wish we had the money and a good enough excuse to drag all of our loved ones on a trip with us!

It’s a short and lovely ride over to the Wilderness Lodge, and we have a few minutes before check in, so we wander around the grounds for a while, admiring the size, scope, and theming of the resort, which is thoroughly incredible. We’ve only seen the front of this resort from the Magical Express; to walk around and see the hoofprints in the concrete, the steaming geyser holes, and the magnificent lobby is a real treat. We check in for our ADR a few minutes before 8, and are seated quickly.

Though we took a little extra care with our appearance tonight, it seems that others have really put on the proverbial ritz – we see men in ties and women in dresses and skirts all around us; very few children are present, and the atmosphere is classy and quiet. If you’re looking for a nice grown-up dinner, this is a great choice. But it may be a little bit too grown up for me – while the resort is a knock-out, the restaurant itself feels a little bland. The food is very good, though – I have a salad and the salmon, which is delicious, and Bill has the venison spring rolls and bison braised short ribs, which he heartily praises. I’m back to pretending to diet, so he has the fig clafoutis and some ice wine for dessert while I look on, sneaking only the tiniest tastes of everything. The service is a little slow – not sure if it’s the kitchen or our waitress who has slowed it down – but all in all, it’s a relaxing meal in a lovely setting with good food. And a whopping bill. Eeek. For the money, I’d take Cali Grill over Artist’s Point any day; there are more kids and noise at the CG, but the view and fireworks and feeling of excitement more than make up for that.

After dinner, we browse around the lobby some more, looking at the enormous tree, the giant fireplace with guests happily rocking in the chairs provided in front, kids playing on the bridge over the small burbling stream. We’re trying to decide whether or not to go back to Downtown Disney, but Bill confesses that he’s beat, and I agree – we’ve got an 8:30 Segway tour tomorrow morning (if the threatened torrential rain allows), and we both have colds, so we should probably just call it a night.

Waiting for the boat on the dock, we see the Electrical Light Pageant float by and begin. Hi, happy octopus! Hello, dancing sea horses! The boat arrives, and as we take our seats, the captain informs us that we’re going to get another chance to see the ELP, since we can’t pass through it when it stops at Fort Wilderness. So we float over to FW and watch the show again, under a cloudless and starry sky. We try to beat the ELP to the Contemporary, but are stuck behind it once again – by the third viewing, I’m kind of eager to get back to the room. All in all, it takes us almost an hour to get from the Wilderness Lodge back to the Contemporary!

But here we are, and I’m happy about it. We had a near-perfect day, starting with our castle breakfast, then continuing at our new fave place, Blizzard Beach, interrupted only for an hour by the helpful but garrulous doctor, then continued at the MK, and ending with dinner and three viewings of the Electrical Light Pageant. And NO frustrating calls or emails from home! Finally, the vacation has really begun! We just can’t wait for tomorrow’s Segway tour – if the rain doesn’t get in the way…

Off to sleep, with no insomnia, and no worries; just sweet dreams after our happy day…

(More soon! Thanks, as always, for reading! :flower3: )

AmericanCaesar

01-07-2009, 03:57 PM

Yes, I am a hoot. I'm giving this stuff away all day for free, you just have to have your ears open while we're in the parks.

And something tells me that those wacky, intrepid DINKy Shmoops are going to have a good time on those Segways, after all.

Lady Lallie

01-07-2009, 06:26 PM

CW4DW

01-07-2009, 08:15 PM

Just found your report tonight and have made it through 5 pages... It is great so far... We are planning a trip for the week after Thanksgiving this year - hopefully it won't be too crowded...

bensonmum

01-07-2009, 10:53 PM

I've finally caught back up and loved every new installment. The family and I have been to Disney 4 times in the last 3 years, but we've never made it to a waterpark. After reading your description, I'm anxious to check one out next October.

Like so many things at Disney, this is what the word “spectacular” was invented for. I love that!

Finally, several posts back, you wrote about your character breakfast at H&V. It's always been one of our favorites. We've done this breakfast three times. Unfortunately, when we were planning our trip this past October, my DS6 informed me he was too old for it. Here he is in Sept. 07 with Leo. The look on his face is about the best I've ever seen. It's moments like this that keep us going back to Disney.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v459/bensonmum/HV1.jpg

Thanks for letting me share.

girlbomb

01-08-2009, 09:24 AM

You would think these doctors that visit at WDW would realize that people have got things to do! An hour, that amazes me. I'm lucky if I can keep my doctor in the room with me for 10 minutes before she's flying out the door! :rotfl:

All of those scents that are hidden around MK are so wonderful. I'll have to go sniff out the Christmas shop. I know we went there but I can't recall the scent.

Lady Lallie, my doctor at home is the same! I wait for an hour for a five minute visit. Maybe this guy thought he was earning his fee by staying the whole hour -- I don't know. All I know is that I was impatient to the max! (Not his fault, just the way I was built.)

Just found your report tonight and have made it through 5 pages... It is great so far... We are planning a trip for the week after Thanksgiving this year - hopefully it won't be too crowded...

CW4DW, I'm glad you're enjoying the report -- thanks for saying so! It's a great time of year to visit, crowds or no, but I'm with you in hoping for low crowds. :thumbsup2

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v459/bensonmum/HV1.jpg

Thanks for letting me share.

bensonmum, thanks for sharing that! How wonderful! (*sniffle*) I'm sad that your son is "too old" for it this year, but I hold out hope that he'll circle back to character breakfasts in the future...hey, I'm 39, and I'm not "too old" for them! ;)

Another installment coming later today -- thanks for being such supportive and awesome readers!

addictedtothemouse

01-08-2009, 12:34 PM

girlbomb

01-08-2009, 04:22 PM

FInally caught up!:woohoo: I also hate when the "real world" tries to intrude on my Disney time. I hope things work out in your housing situation. I try to keep the attitude that "when it's right it works". Here's a :hug: for good measure. Now get to writing missy.:rotfl:
Oh yeah, and that more comment :lmao: . My DD(14) rode Summit Plummit and when she got to the end it took her almost a full minute to crawl out. I asked what took so long and she said that she was not getting out until she got rid of the wedgie.

addictedtothemouse, thanks for the :hug:, and the kick in the butt. I am gittin' to writing, ma'am!

In fact, here's all of Day Seven: Thursday, December 11: Let it Precipitate, Let it Precipitate, Let it Precipitate:

Beep beep beep! The alarm rings at 6:30, and Bill and I are ready to get up and ride Segways at Fort Wilderness! The weather channel is predicting apocalyptic rain for today, with flooding and lightning and frogs falling from the sky (okay, they don’t actually predict frogs, but they do make this sound like the storm of the century), but while it’s cloudy outside, there’s no rain yet – fingers crossed! I call the WDW-TOUR line and ask what happens if we’re rained out; the CM tells me that, as of now, the tour is still on, that the Fort Wilderness tour features all-terrain Segways that can handle more rain than the Epcot ones, and that half the tour is indoors, so at worst, we’ll do the indoor half and get a partial refund for the other half. Sounds fair, but we’re still hoping for a full tour of fun.

We dress quickly and grab breakfast from the Grab n’ Go, still sticking to yogurt and fruit and muffins, so still no review of the hot food they’ve made available this year. And we should take the boat to Fort Wilderness, where we've never been, but the CM at the desk told us a cab would be faster (wrong), so once again we take a taxi, which drops us at the front of the FW compound. And we need to be at the back of the FW compound. Whoops. So we take the internal FW bus (which comes quickly, thank goodness), and find the building where the tour starts without any trouble. We’re fifteen minutes early, but everyone else was earlier than us, so we’re all assembled, and the tour guides decide to get us going right away, before the threatened rain starts to fall.

We go through a short training period (shorter than the Epcot training, and without the long video about the invention of the Segway), and then we hit the trails. WOOHOO! I sure do love riding the Segway! Such a feeling of freedom and grace, especially for those of us who are not blessed with excellent balance. We’re taken around the RV grounds, where we see the campers with the famous light display we’ve seen on the Samantha Brown Travel Channel special:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/fwlightsTR.jpg

We also ride through some undeveloped tree-lined areas, while friendly guides Frank and Bob point out interesting flora and quiz us on Disney trivia. Of course I know which horse on the carousel is Cinderella’s, and which country’s flag (aside from the USA’s) flies permanently in the MK, but I do try not to be a show-off know-it-all, and let others take a crack at the answers.

I should mention that I am wearing my brand new rain suit, which I purchased before the trip, a two-piece pants and hoodie outfit that makes me look like the Gorton’s fisherman. And now it’s starting to sprinkle, but I am completely dry and warm and happy. The guides lead us into the stables and distribute ponchos – I’m delighted that we’re going to continue to tour, despite the rain – and we take some time to commune with the horses, and check out the photos of Walt and his favorite polo ponies, as well as equine Disney stars of the past.

Then the guides ask if we want to hang out a while longer in the stable, or hit the trails again. “Is this a yea or neigh vote?” asks Bill, as I slap my forehead and pretend not to know him. Everyone votes to move along, and we’re back out in the rain, riding along the trail to the Wilderness Lodge.

Bill Scurry, Segway comedian:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/fwsegwayTR.jpg

It feels like we’re in a totally different world, riding down the rugged trail under the trees with their Spanish moss, with no signs of the busy theme parks in sight. A few people jog by on the trail – we’re committed exercisers, but you won’t find us jogging in the rain at Disney! It’s very pleasant to be in such a relaxed natural setting, but in retrospect, I think we preferred the Epcot Segway tour – we love the action of the parks, and this is quite removed from that. But we definitely give this tour a big thumbs up, and are sad when it’s time to turn around and head back to the starting point at Fort Wilderness.

We thank Bob and Frank for their patient and expert guiding, then we hop on a boat back to the Wilderness Lodge, and catch a quick ride over to the Studios (which I just nearly called “MGM,” because I am a traditionalist at heart). By now, it’s really pouring, and thought it’s only 11 or so, there are as many people leaving as there are people arriving. I’m still okay in my rain suit, though I fear that my sneakers are going to get wet and become my Achilles’ heel; Bill is making do with a ballcap and umbrella. Rain stinks, but if it drives people out of the park, we’ll deal with it!

We head right to Toy Story and pick up a Fip for 3pm, then we slosh over to the Tower of Terror and wait on a short standby line (made slightly longer by the fact that only one side of the tower is operational right now). One good ride deserves another, and we’re exiting our second trip on the ToT when we pass right by a bunch of Streetmosphere characters, standing stock still in the ride photo area like they’re statues. I love Streetmosphere, and I hope we’ll get a chance to see them in action at least once this trip! But even standing still, they manage to be funny and diverting.

Off to our 11:55 lunch at the 50’s Prime Time Café, another place we’ve never tried before. And what a perfect way to spend time in the rain – in the cozy comfort of a really fun restaurant, with plenty to look at and admire and eat. Our server is Aunt Cindy, and she’s droll and sarcastic, which we love – she makes Bill take off his ballcap, but then offers us a shot from dad’s liquor cabinet if we want one. “You’re our favorite aunt!” we tell her.

Again, my notes fail me, so I don’t know what we have for lunch today – I know mine’s a fried fish sandwich, which is tasty, but there’s a lot more dry bread than fish on it, and I wonder if I’m going to be forced to eat my leftover bread after I rescue the fish from inside it. Bill has the meatloaf, I think (I’d ask, but he’s at work), and we greatly enjoy our surroundings as we dine. At one point, Cindy asks if Bill needs another soda, and he says, “No, I’m fine.” As she walks away, we hear her mutter, “That’s an opinion.”

I’m once again succumbing to the face-spraining yawns, despite taking DayQuil with magical uppers:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/50sTR.jpg

I hate to say it, but I think I might need a nap in the room before we come back to the park for more Studios fun this afternoon. We make a pit stop to get Rock N Roller Coaster Fips for later (we’d get ToT Fips, but they’re not distributing them, probably because half the ride isn’t operational today); then we start heading out of the park. We’re walking towards the bus stop, when my foot hits a giant puddle, and I’m soaked to the ankle – gah! But the bus comes within two minutes, and we take a chilly but efficient ride back to the Contemporary.

Nap time! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

We’re up and out of the room again by 3:15, restored and ready for an afternoon of fun. And the weather has cleared up – now it’s sunny, and the buses are crowded with people making their way back to the parks. We check out the ToT situation – still no Fips, still only one side working, and the long standby line reflects that. So we grab another RnR Fip, and ride single rider-style. This time, we notice a sign in the loading area for the Buena Vista Fence Co., phone number 544-6500, and wonder what happens if you call it. We’re phone free, though, so we don’t get to try it. And it’s not even listed on this site (http://www.rocknrollercoaster.com/secrets.html). I wonder what it could be!

After our 0-60 mile per hour takeoff, two inversions, and one corkscrew (but still no instructions re: Stephen Tyler’s hat!), we head back out into the post-downpour sunshine and through the crowded streets towards Toy Story to use the morning’s Fip. I am hooked on this ride! And, as strange as it sounds, I would like to spend a little time in the standby queue one of these days – not A LOT of time, mind you, just enough to appreciate all the details and catch Mr. Potato Head’s act. In the meantime, I am getting better at aiming and firing quickly, and I upgrade from bunny to beaver as my prize. Yeah!

From Toy Story to the Muppets – what could be more fun than bouncing around between hilarious and diverting entertainments? And, as Circusgirl noted, even the shop after the Muppet movie is a delight. Here’s a sign that’s tucked in a corner of the shop, proving what I’ve always suspected about showbiz:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/mupsignTR.jpg

The writer is always wrong! Tell me about it…

So we’re all Toy Storied and Muppe-fied, and now we’re heading back towards the ToT to see if they’ve resolved the earlier snafus that had standby lines backed up to 40 minutes. But as we’re strolling down Sunset, we run into…Streetmosphere! Hooray! And there’s another Adventurer’s Club alumnus in the troupe! They’re in the midst of a “Funniest Citizen of Hollywood” contest, whereby they take an audience suggestion of an item (Diet Coke, computer, etc.), and make a joke following this formula: “Ninety nine Diet Cokes walk into a bar, and the bartender says, ‘Hey, get out, we don’t serve Diet Cokes in here.’ And the Diet Cokes say, ‘Just put it on our Tab.’” Ba dum bump! The crowd is dying with laughter, and I’m so impressed at how nimble the performers are at improvising and staying in character, even while they crack each other up. I could seriously watch these folks for hours; Streetmosphere is on my list of the top five attractions in all of the parks. Best moment: The MC grabs a cell phone from a kid’s ear and says, “He can’t talk right now, he’s watching a show,” then snaps the phone shut. Brilliant!

But they finish their act all too soon, and we proceed back to the ToT, which is still backed up and broken down. So we use both of our RnR Fips, back to back, and it’s great to finally ride next to Bill for a change – even if the DJ doesn’t say anything about checking out Stephen Tyler’s hat, we can say it to each other. And when we get off the ride, there’s Stephen on the big video screen, and he’s wearing a hat! “There it is!” I say to Bill, excitedly. “CHECK IT OUT.”

But there’s no time to waste this evening, and we get back out there into the crazy crowds, thinking we’ll check out the Osbourne Lights again. WRONG. The crowd there is shoulder-to-shoulder, ugh! So we decide to hop to Epcot, and we mosey out of the park and towards the friendship boats – yeah, we’d make better time by walking, but the boat’s nice, too, and you get to sit down for the ride. In front of us is a solo young man with prostheses below each knee – I’m betting he’s one of the veterans we heard would be in the parks this week as a special “thank you” from Disney. I’m self-conscious about intruding on this guy’s personal space, or I’d say thank you to him personally. I hope he’s having a good time at the parks, and that he’s got friends he’s traveling with nearby.

Also on line with us is a family who are not watching their little boys, who are running and chasing a balloon and getting dangerously close to knocking into the vet in front of us. The parents aren’t paying a whit of attention, and I can tell that the kids are plotting to run ahead when the line starts to move, and that the parents are going to go with the flow and follow them, effectively cutting as many people as their kids can cut. This starts getting my dander up, and I am shooting looks and muttering things that can easily be overheard about the importance of people staying in line, and how I personally will not brook any line jumping. I mean, cut in front of me, that’s one thing. But cut in front of the guy who lost both legs below the knee? Not on my watch.

Anyway, the line starts moving, and I make myself incredibly wide and in-the-way so that the little hellions can’t pass, though they try – their parents are forced to take notice and call the kids back to their spot in line. And what does it matter anyway? We all get on the boat, and we all get seats, and we all take off for a happy voyage, with a skipper who’s got a serious old school Brooklyn accent, which makes me happy.

Also on board, and seated right next to me, is a woman with a thoroughly decorated handmade hat, including little Minnie Mouses, and presents, and Christmas lights, and plastic grapes, and I don’t even know what-all. She immediately starts talking to me about her daughter, who works on the Dream Team, and how her daughter can’t even tell her which park she’ll be in on any given day, or she’d lose her job. I’m smiling and asking questions and generally conversing with her (the skipper has nicknamed her “Minnie Pearl”); then we reach her stop, and without so much as a “goodbye, nice chatting with you,” she just takes off. Okay then! Have a magical trip!

Once we reach Epcot, we realize that crowds are just as heavy here as they were at the Studios, but that’s all right – it’s shopping time! We head straight to Japan, where Bill gets some sake and some litchi gummies (yum), and I get some more jigsaw puzzles (for a grand total of four so far this trip). Then we trek over to Le Cellier and check in for our 8pm ressie.

We take a seat outside, giddy from a full day of fun (even the nap was fun), and wait for our party to be called. Sometimes people have a hard time with my last name, Erlbaum – I have been called “Earbloom,” “Elbow,” and even “Erglebims” in the past. So we spend the five or ten minute wait riffing on more mispronunciations – “We have a table for the Ergonomic party? Ergonomic, party of two? The, uh, Elephantitis party?” “Yes, that’s us, we’re the Elephantitises.” We’re cracking ourselves up pretty hard, as we are wont to do, and when a charming young CM comes out to ask for the “Erulbum party,” we have trouble keeping a straight face. But we want our food, so we pretend to be Erulbums, and are guided to our table, where we meet an adorable blonde waiter named Colin.

Colin and Bill talk hockey for a few minutes, then he takes our drink orders (beer for Bill, club soda for me), and leaves us some delicious bread. I resist the temptation of the pretzel bread, and have a sensible salad for an appetizer, and the Portobello ravioli for an entrée; Bill has a sensible chicken chipotle sausage app and the pork osso bucco, followed by the sensible maple crème brulee for dessert. We remain big fans of the food here, and the service is terrific. Colin makes it onto our list of CMs to commend to Guest Services when we get home.

We’ve never checked out the Boardwalk at night, so we wander out of the park and towards the resort area. I don’t think I realized exactly how close the Epcot resorts are to the park – wow, that’s convenient! And the Boardwalk is hopping tonight – there seems to be some special live event going on at the ESPN zone, and it’s also occupying the Atlantic Dance Hall. We catch the last few minutes of a unicycling juggler’s act, and he’s hilarious as well as talented – at the end of his act, he allows a four-year-old kid to help him pick up his juggling clubs. Every time the kid hands him one, he says, “thank you,” and drops another one. And the kid keeps picking them up, oblivious, and handing him to the guy, who keeps dropping them. This goes on for a few minutes, while we’re all dying laughing, then he packs up and rides off.

There aren’t any other performers out tonight, so we decide to check out the lobby of the Boardwalk, which has a gingerbread carousel, and some gorgeous light fixtures, which cause me to think of Lady Lallie’s famous light fixture thread (now I wish I had taken a picture). We’ve been debating the pros and cons of staying at the Boardwalk or Yacht and Beach Club for our Dec. 09 trip, if Space Mountain is really going to be undergoing refurb during that time, but as nice as these resorts are, we’re still leaning towards the Contemporary.

And speaking of which, it’s time to head back there – even with our nap, we’re still under the weather, and the early mornings and hectic pace have been wearing us out. We cab it back to our hotel (princess:) and Bill goes straight to the room, while I check out the gift shops on the fourth floor. I still have a long list of friends’ kids to shop for, and of course we have to get two of this year’s plastic drinking cups for our collection. The shops at the Contemporary have a great selection, and I could browse for days, but I still haven’t made up my mind what I want for everyone, so I stick with the cups and make mental notes about the rest of the items I might want to snag for later.

Back up in the room, Bill is drowsily awaiting me. I change into bedclothes, snuggle up next to him, and we drop off as soon as our heads hit the pillow. Another blissful Disney day, free of outside world distractions – let’s hope we can keep it up!

:banana:

addictedtothemouse

01-08-2009, 05:44 PM

distherapy

01-08-2009, 06:23 PM

Yay! I had a not-so-fun day but was immediately perked up by updates from my favorite trip report!!!

Thanks!

mommyk8

01-08-2009, 06:32 PM

I am loving your trip report! I can't wait for more!:banana:

Lady Lallie

01-08-2009, 06:35 PM

Okay. Where's the picture of you in your rain gear!? ;)

The Segway tour sounds like it was a lot of fun. A nice, relaxing way to spend a morning at Disney. When we stayed at the WL, we often wondered how we could be in the middle of WDW because it was so peaceful. I imagine that's how it over at Ft. Wilderness as well.

It seems like you were able to get a lot in on this day! Good for you for blocking those kiddos in line. There were a lot of little line jumpers and parents who didn't do anything about it on our last trip. Even those parents who encouraged their kids to cut in front of certain adults waiting for characters.

I really want to stay at Boardwalk and their cool light fixtures are only a minor reason. Hehehe. ;)

CW4DW

01-09-2009, 04:44 PM

I love your report - it makes me want to start planning our trip now! My husband and I have been 4 times in the last 2 years and we are going the week after Thanksgiving this year and probably going to take my mom and grandmother - that will be the most fun to see it through their eyes. My mom hasn't been since she graduated high school (I think it was the 1st or 2nd year it opened) and my grandmother has never been. It will be like watching kids! I can't wait!

Circusgirl

01-09-2009, 10:47 PM

From Breakfast of Princesses (and laughing until you cried!) to Blizzard Beach and developing a near long term commitment with the EWP I loved your day! It is great to read all about Blizzard Beach. I didn't enjoy Typhoon Lagoon as much as I expected the last time I went, but your report encourages me to sample BB's delights.
I too sometimes need to enforce politeness things so am always glad to hear I'm not the only self appointed public politeness police person.

Wilderness Segway looked super fun. I'm trying the Epcot one next week - I can't wait!
"Yea or neigh" :lmao: :lmao: Excellent use of the highest form of humor...
Yay!

You once again covered a tremendous amount of territory and fun. In regular life the Segway tour would have been a whole day's worth of special activity, but in the World, it was only the beginning!

TotalSnowWhite

01-09-2009, 11:07 PM

Darn you, lady!! I just found this. How did I not find the PTR??

Anyway, extra darn you because we were at MK on the 6th (we were at CP two hours after you, and you probably walked right behind us, as we were in the parade audience on the CP side), MGM on the 8th (we were running through the non-existent ToT line all day!) and Epcot and MVMCP on the 9th!!

I really felt abandoned when you ran away from your first PTR!! :laughing: I just skimmed this one, but I'm s(n)ubbed now, so I can come back and read. I'll have to look for you in my pictures!

girlbomb

01-10-2009, 06:46 PM

Great update.:thumbsup2 My DH and I were in Epcot on that day. It was the only day that he didn't melt from the humidity. You would think that living in OK that he would be ok in WDW in the winter but nooooo. :rotfl:

I've decided, after reading your TR, that I should actually spend some time in DHS other than just going to see Fantasmic. I would really like to see OMD.

addictedtothemouse, how was Epcot in the rain? I hope you'll enjoy checking out more of DHS! Besides OMD, there's Streetmosphere, the Muppets, Toy Story, ToT and RnR -- as well as the Sci Fi Drive in Diner (food's not great, but the atmosphere is awesome), and the 50s's Prime Time Cafe.

Yay! I had a not-so-fun day but was immediately perked up by updates from my favorite trip report!!!

Thanks!

distherapy, I'm sorry to hear the other day was less than fun. I'm delighted to have provided some DIS therapy, as I've received so much through these boards. :goodvibes

I am loving your trip report! I can't wait for more!:banana:

mommyk8, thanks for reading, and for egging me on! :)

Okay. Where's the picture of you in your rain gear!? ;)

The Segway tour sounds like it was a lot of fun. A nice, relaxing way to spend a morning at Disney. When we stayed at the WL, we often wondered how we could be in the middle of WDW because it was so peaceful. I imagine that's how it over at Ft. Wilderness as well.

It seems like you were able to get a lot in on this day! Good for you for blocking those kiddos in line. There were a lot of little line jumpers and parents who didn't do anything about it on our last trip. Even those parents who encouraged their kids to cut in front of certain adults waiting for characters.

I really want to stay at Boardwalk and their cool light fixtures are only a minor reason. Hehehe. ;)

Lady Lallie, here it is!

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/raingearTR.jpg

Shapeless and drab! But totally dry. And smug about it. :cool2:

I love your report - it makes me want to start planning our trip now! My husband and I have been 4 times in the last 2 years and we are going the week after Thanksgiving this year and probably going to take my mom and grandmother - that will be the most fun to see it through their eyes. My mom hasn't been since she graduated high school (I think it was the 1st or 2nd year it opened) and my grandmother has never been. It will be like watching kids! I can't wait!

CW4DW, the idea of sharing Disney with someone new, or someone who hasn't been in many years, is sooooo fantastic! Sounds like an amazing trip in the planning.

From Breakfast of Princesses (and laughing until you cried!) to Blizzard Beach and developing a near long term commitment with the EWP I loved your day! It is great to read all about Blizzard Beach. I didn't enjoy Typhoon Lagoon as much as I expected the last time I went, but your report encourages me to sample BB's delights.
I too sometimes need to enforce politeness things so am always glad to hear I'm not the only self appointed public politeness police person.

Wilderness Segway looked super fun. I'm trying the Epcot one next week - I can't wait!
"Yea or neigh" :lmao: :lmao: Excellent use of the highest form of humor...
Yay!

You once again covered a tremendous amount of territory and fun. In regular life the Segway tour would have been a whole day's worth of special activity, but in the World, it was only the beginning!

Circusgirl, I hope you'll have a BLAST on the Epcot Segway tour! Warning (which you've probably heard): it can cause a strong ache in your soles. I noticed it last year but not this year. But even with the ache, the experience of riding around WS before official opening on these neat little machines is awesome! Very much looking forward to hearing your review. :thumbsup2

Darn you, lady!! I just found this. How did I not find the PTR??

Anyway, extra darn you because we were at MK on the 6th (we were at CP two hours after you, and you probably walked right behind us, as we were in the parade audience on the CP side), MGM on the 8th (we were running through the non-existent ToT line all day!) and Epcot and MVMCP on the 9th!!

I really felt abandoned when you ran away from your first PTR!! :laughing: I just skimmed this one, but I'm s(n)ubbed now, so I can come back and read. I'll have to look for you in my pictures!

TotalSnowWhite! I am so ashamed to have abandoned my last PTR, and the wonderful readers I'd managed to attract. :guilty: I'd just had to move again, for the second time in six months -- I blame it all on real estate! But I hope you and the family had a fantastic time that week -- I love how similar our plans were!

And I don't have another installment tonight, but I do get to report that, at 3:45 yesterday, we closed on an apartment, and will be moving FOR THE LAST TIME EVER in the next two weeks!

:woohoo: :yay: :banana: :cheer2: :yay: :worship:

But I will post an update on Monday, and hope you are all having lovely weekends! :goodvibes

Circusgirl

01-10-2009, 07:14 PM

WAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOOOOOO FOR A PLACE OF YOUR VERY OWN!!!!!

Lady Lallie

01-10-2009, 07:22 PM

Lady Lallie, here it is!

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/raingearTR.jpg

Shapeless and drab! But totally dry. And smug about it. :cool2: Love it! You totally get to be smug about it since it kept you dry.

Congrats on the apartment!! :yay: :woohoo: :yay:

KittyKat08

01-10-2009, 08:50 PM

Great TR, sounds like you guys had a great time even with the ups and downs. Congrats on the apartment!

CW4DW

01-10-2009, 10:51 PM

Congratulations on the apartment - I know you are elated!

addictedtothemouse

01-12-2009, 10:28 AM

addictedtothemouse, how was Epcot in the rain? I hope you'll enjoy checking out more of DHS! Besides OMD, there's Streetmosphere, the Muppets, Toy Story, ToT and RnR -- as well as the Sci Fi Drive in Diner (food's not great, but the atmosphere is awesome), and the 50s's Prime Time Cafe.Empty, I had a ponch and DH had an umbrella. I was dry he was steamy.:rotfl: But this was actually his favorite day.
I hope to check out most of that (maybe not RnR or ToT:scared1:) on my trip in May.
Yay for the final move.:woohoo: :woohoo:

girlbomb

01-12-2009, 02:52 PM

WAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOOOOOO FOR A PLACE OF YOUR VERY OWN!!!!!

Circusgirl, thank you for the big red congrats! There isn't a font big enough to express how happy and excited we are, but this is close! :goodvibes

Love it! You totally get to be smug about it since it kept you dry.

Congrats on the apartment!! :yay: :woohoo: :yay:

Thanks, Lady Lallie! We definitely feel :yay: about it.

Great TR, sounds like you guys had a great time even with the ups and downs. Congrats on the apartment!

KittyKat08, we did have a great time, even with the frustrations. Thanks for dropping in, and for the congrats!

Congratulations on the apartment - I know you are elated!

Thanks, CW4DW! Elated is the perfect word for it. Oh, and relieved, too!

Empty, I had a ponch and DH had an umbrella. I was dry he was steamy.:rotfl: But this was actually his favorite day.
I hope to check out most of that (maybe not RnR or ToT:scared1:) on my trip in May.
Yay for the final move.:woohoo: :woohoo:

addictedtothemouse, it's so great that you and your DH managed to enjoy the rainy day, and that it was even his favorite! :thumbsup2

And now, here's Day Eight: Friday, December 12: On the Eighth Day of Disney, My True Love Gave to Me...

(Actually, he didn't give me anything. But I'm running out of Christmas songs to use for chapter titles!)

Well, we’re coming down to our last few days at Disney, and this day was left free on the schedule so that we could choose what we wanted to do on the fly. Yes, we planned to be spontaneous! Oxymoronic, but true. So we allow ourselves to sleep in until 7 a.m., and decide we’re opening Epcot again today. I make a last-minute lunch ADR for the San Angel Café before we leave the room – we’ve never tried it, and the reviews of the food aren’t great, but we think we’ll like the atmosphere, and hey, they can accommodate us last minute, which is great.

So we grab yet another breakfast from the Grab N Go (efficient, but becoming ho hum by now), then monorail it over to Epcot (which will never become ho hum to us). We’re waiting at the turnstiles, and a CM named Elton is working the crowd, telling “Every Person Comes Out Tired/Every Person Carries One Toddler/Every Paycheck Comes on Thursday” jokes, and generally lifting spirits. Then the turnstiles open – but not before we meet the family of the day, who are from (drumroll) Ohio, of all places – and we take our spot at the rope to Soarin’. No hyperventilating Aggro Mom today, just a pack of eager riders like ourselves ready to soar, baby!

So we skedaddle over to the Land, past the welcoming crew at Sunshine Seasons, and onto great seats in B1 for another glorious ride over California. And even as I sit here at my desk, a month later, I can still smell the pine, the oranges, the ocean scent – ahhhhh! We’re immediately ready to ride again, so we grab Fips and get back on the standby line; then we’re back to gliding over bridges, creeks, mountains, deserts, golf courses, orange groves, aircraft carriers, surfers, highways, and a theme park (not in that exact order, and I think I’m missing a few scenes…).

By the time we’re done with our second trip, the standby line’s up to 40 minutes, and we see a twenty-minute standby line for Living with the Land, which tells us it’s another busy day here in paradise. By now, we’ve witnessed clusters of international tour groups and bunches of US school groups, along with the Pop Warner kids – it really does seem to be a popular time to pull the kids out of school and go to Disney! But there’s almost no wait for Spaceship Earth, and this time, we decide to ride with the Chinese soundtrack, just for the heck of it. Unfortunately, the guests in the cars in front of us and behind us both choose to take tons of flash photos – there seems to be a language barrier, which we discover when Bill politely but firmly asks them to cut it out, and they ignore him. Or maybe it was just a politeness barrier. Either way, frustrating, but only because we let it get to us. Since we can’t control the behavior of other guests, we’ve got to get better at putting our blinders on and ignoring them as best we can.

Our Soarin’ Fips have matured, so we grab new ones and use the old ones. And how jealous am I of the Minicot (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=40926007&searchid=db9c87de-6b36-49db-881d-5e77c2491e39)guys, who built their own Soarin’ in their garage? I want a Soarin’ in our garage! (Problem one: we have no garage.) Then it’s over to Test Track, which is temporarily down – okay, we’ll just head over to Mexico and take the Grand Fiesta boat ride before lunch.

Again, I need better blinders, so I can block out posses of rude young people (Pop Warner football players this time) making excessive and culturally insensitive noises throughout the journey. Seriously, what are we teaching our kids, that they think it’s appropriate to make borderline racist comments loudly in public? Or is it a lack of teaching that causes behavior like this? Oh well – I guess I was a cretin when I was a teenager too. :sad2:

After our not-so-relaxing boat ride, we check in at the San Angel Café, where the atmosphere is really tranquil, with the low lights and the sounds of nature piped in. We’re seated promptly, and given water and chips and salsa. Our server is rushed, but efficient, and we enjoy our lunch (yummy salad mexicano for me; tacos de pato and cochitos de patil for Bill), until a group of cheerleaders decides to sing “Feliz Navidad” at top volume as they float through the Grand Fiesta. Again, :sad2:

We decide against dessert at the San Angel in favor of a schoolbread from Norway, where we see the world’s orangest human being, a handsome blonde snack stand CM named Haakan. Seriously, either someone introduced Haakan to the wonders of self-tanner, and he went berserk with it, or he’s suffering from a severe overdose of beta carotene. Either way, the schoolbread is yummy (so says Bill, and I confirm this with a tiny bite), and we head back towards Test Track with satisfied bellies and palates.

This time the ride is working, but the speakers in our car are not. Weird, but okay. We’ve ridden the thing enough to understand what’s going on without the narration. Then it’s back to Mouse Gears for more browsing. Once again, I leave with something for myself (a set of four plastic keychains – Four Parks, One World, doncha know – two of which have already broken, less than a month later), and nothing for the kids on my list. Still making up my mind! I promise, I won’t go home empty handed. :lmao:

Then it’s back to Soarin’ – yes, again! – to use our Fips. This time, we’re in line waiting for the loading bay in front of a family with a severely autistic kid, who’s strapped into his wheelchair and shrieking loudly. People around us keep rolling their eyes and giving them annoyed looks, and I want to say, Hey, cut the kid a break; it’s not his fault he acts this way. As a matter of fact, I feel pretty sure he’d choose not to suffer these symptoms, if it were up to him. The incredibly patient father is trying to mitigate the shrieking by distracting the kid as best as he can, and occasionally putting his hand over the kid’s mouth, and I feel such tenderness for this man, who faces this constant challenge with love and bravery. Yeah, the shrieking gets to be annoying – it’s loud, and it’s piercing – but have some compassion, people. We only have to put up with it for five minutes. Imagine what this guy goes through every single day.

So then we’re assigned boarding rows, and watching the pre-pre-boarding video, waiting for Patrick to come on and tell us what we need to know about the flight ahead, when we notice that the grey-haired gentleman behind us is wearing a jacket identifying him as an Imagineer. JAWDROP. Bill and I poke each other with wide eyes – it’s like seeing a celebrity! And as much as you don’t want to annoy a celebrity while they’re on vacation, we can’t resist asking this man if he is in fact an Imagineer, and thanking him for everything he did to create this magical place. Turns out he is retired now, but was instrumental in helping to create none other than SPACE MOUNTAIN! AAAAHHHHHH! We try not to gush, but I’m afraid we fail; then we’re led into the ride and we shut up and leave the guy alone. But oh man! We got to meet an Imagineer!

:banana:

Oh, and I really enjoy the ride. But you probably guessed that by now.

I’m feeling like we haven’t given the World Showcase it’s due on this trip – despite several short forays into that side of the park, we haven’t done a thorough and orderly tour – so we decide to walk back that way. Along the way, we notice long waits for the ride and movie at the Imagination pavilion; I wonder if we’ll ever get to do those on this trip, as we’d planned, or if we’ll wind up skipping them entirely. Our top priority in the World Showcase today is the American Adventure, but by the time we get there, there’s a half hour wait, and we decide to skip it. As a matter of fact, it’s almost uncomfortably crowded back here, so we decide to leave the park entirely, and walk to the Studios. We know this will probably be our last look at Epcot until December 2009 – sad! We’ll miss you, Epcot!

(Sorry for the lack of pix in this update -- I'll go back and add some soon. Just wanted to get this up, lest you thought I was failing at Trip Report again! More tomorrow, and thanks for reading! :flower3: )

PinkPrincessZ

01-12-2009, 07:51 PM

Congratulations on your new apartment!!:cool1:

DARuss

01-13-2009, 06:47 AM

That's a cool update. Glad to see that you liked San Angel. We have ressies for our upcoming trip but have never eaten there either. Is it a place you would recommend, or should we consider changing ressies???

We, too, love sorin'. Only probllem on our last trip the one time we attempted to ride it, the ride broke down just as we were breaking through the clouds and left us hanging 30 feet in the air for about 10 or 15 minutes. :sad1: It was late one evening and we had to sprint for our dinner ressies at CR that night and did not have time to make it back before it was time to depart the Happy Place. :sad2:

Lady Lallie

01-13-2009, 07:16 AM

All I can think about riding lately is Soarin'. I really can't wait for May so I can ride it over and over again. I'm in awe of your use of Fips. I need to duplicate your system so I can get more rides in. :thumbsup2

How awesome that you were able to meet an Imagineer! That is like meeting a celebrity, especially while you are waiting in line for a awesome ride.

It's too bad about the rude kids. I wonder that sometimes too, what the heck are we teaching the younger generations? :confused3

So sad that you are saying goodbye to Epcot until 2009.

girlbomb

01-14-2009, 02:22 PM

Congratulations on your new apartment!!:cool1:

Thanks, PinkPrincessZ! Only five more sleeps until moving day...

That's a cool update. Glad to see that you liked San Angel. We have ressies for our upcoming trip but have never eaten there either. Is it a place you would recommend, or should we consider changing ressies???

We, too, love sorin'. Only probllem on our last trip the one time we attempted to ride it, the ride broke down just as we were breaking through the clouds and left us hanging 30 feet in the air for about 10 or 15 minutes. :sad1: It was late one evening and we had to sprint for our dinner ressies at CR that night and did not have time to make it back before it was time to depart the Happy Place. :sad2:

DARuss, breaking down on Soarin' does not sound fun at all! I think San Angel is a decent lunch place -- the atmosphere is the best thing about it. The food is fine but not exceptional, and the service was efficient but not very friendly. If you've never tried it, I think it's worth checking it out, but if there are other places you're dying to go, I might think about skipping it. It's not comeplace we'll go out of our way to eat at again, but it wasn't a bust, like Chefs de France was for us last year. I hope you'll have a great time on your upcoming trip!

All I can think about riding lately is Soarin'. I really can't wait for May so I can ride it over and over again. I'm in awe of your use of Fips. I need to duplicate your system so I can get more rides in. :thumbsup2

How awesome that you were able to meet an Imagineer! That is like meeting a celebrity, especially while you are waiting in line for a awesome ride.

It's too bad about the rude kids. I wonder that sometimes too, what the heck are we teaching the younger generations? :confused3

So sad that you are saying goodbye to Epcot until 2009.

Lady Lallie, we were sad to say goodbye to Epcot too! I will have to rely on other DISers TRs until next December to get a little bit of that Epcot feeling -- I'm looking forward to your May report! :thumbsup2

And now, here's Day Eight, Part Two: On the Eighth Day of Disney, My True Love Didn't Give Me Anything Material, But That's All Right, Because He Gives Me So Much Love and Emotional Support All Year 'Round, Awwww!

So, as noted, we've just said goodbye to Ecpot for the year -- sad! But it’s a nice little walk past the Boardwalk and the lake to the Studios, and the weather is lovely, and we’re in cheerful moods, though the crowds and our colds have been a bit of a downer. We know we’re almost at the end of our stay here, which is bittersweet, but we’re here right now, and determined to make the most of it. We breeze through the Studios gates into another large crowd, augmented by a few of these crazy kids:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/brazilTR.jpg

Fortunately, they seem to have left their chants at home this year.

We head towards the Tower of Terror to discover the good news: it’s working today, and there are even some Fips available for the not-too-distant future. The standby line says thirty minutes, and we decide to join it; fortunately, it takes only ten minutes before we’re being elevated and de-elevated in a most enjoyable manner. Then we get right back in the standby line for another short wait, and another fun ride.

I want to see some more Streetmosphere, so we head towards the Tips board, and I ask a CM if she knows when they’ll be performing. She says they don’t have a fixed schedule, but that they tend to work around parades and showings of High School Musical. Since HSM has just ended, she says, they’ll probably be out in five minutes or so. So we stake out a piece of curb – I think about going to the candy shop for a smore, but the line is literally out the door, so I skip it – and within five minutes, here comes Streetmosphere! It’s another “Funniest Citizen of Hollywood” contest, but since each one is improvised, it’s a totally new and hilarious show today, and we watch the whole 25-minute performance loving every second. Yay!

After the show, we have to approach second-funniest citizen Ms. Paige Turner, because she is cute and funny and a writer, which means we have at least one thing, if not two or three things, in common. She says I look familiar; I tell her it’s probably because I’m a well-known scribe around town. She graciously consents to a picture:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/paigeTR.jpg

Cute funny writers, unite! :cool2:

By now, it’s time to use our ToT Fips, so we do exactly that. There is a strange moment at the end of the ride when the elevator returns to the exit floor, but doesn’t move into position to let us out – I’m happy to report that the problem is short-lived, and that we are able to exit within minutes, but it’s still weird. I guess the kinks from the day before haven’t entirely been worked out. We did notice, while breezing through the Fip line, that standby wasn’t too bad, so we get back on for our final superfun ToT of the trip.

Then it’s just about time to head back to the resort so we can change for our big dinner at Victoria and Albert’s, the only fixed thing on our agenda today. So we head out to the bus depot, and catch a ride back to the Contemporary, where I make a quick pass through Bayview Gifts for the Belle nightgown, Minnie Mouse doll, and Minnie socks I need for various pseudo-nieces of mine. Back at the room, we change into our hoity-toity wear – Bill’s wearing a jacket and tie, and I put on a dress, which is something I do maybe three times per year. I won’t do the heels, though; just a nice pair of flats. And I wish I’d brought a nicer coat with me than the wool jacket I wore on the plane, but I didn’t want to take up yet more room in the suitcase for a coat I’d wear for one evening, so I throw the wool jacket over my shoulders, and we’re off to the monorail.

We get to the Grand Flo a little early, so we browse the shops and lobby (now I wish I’d bought a bunch of the bath stuff we saw in Basin; it all smells so great!). Even indoors, I’m freezing in my thin cotton dress, and it seems like my Sudafed is wearing off – wish I’d brought more with me. Because, by the time we check in at V&A’s, my nose is starting to run, and I have to borrow Bill’s fancy pocket square to dab at it. Ugh.

Not only am I self-conscious about my runny nose, I am way less dressed up than the rest of the women around me. Flats, and a wool jacket? What was I thinking? I should have brought my A game for this joint; it’s just as snooty as any of the nicest restaurants we’ve ever eaten at. The other women in my sight are wearing taffeta, pearls, diamonds, heels – the whole nine. I’m wearing, like, the whole two-and-a-half. :scared:

Our server, Allen, is very nice, and welcomes us graciously. He explains the (personalized) menu, and confirms our dining preferences, which we registered in advance – I eat fish but not meat; Bill eats meat but not fish (don’t ever invite us over for dinner, we’re huge pains to feed). We take our time looking over our menus, and then make our choices – sadly, I neglect to record these, so I can’t tell you what those choices are.

I can tell you, however, that the trouble starts right away, when they bring out the amuse bouche, which is a fish dish. Allen immediately realizes the problem – Bill doesn’t eat fish – and whisks it away, but then we have to wait a minute for the replacement to be served. Okay, no problem, we get our bouches, and they’re yummy. But then Bill’s ordered the truffles for his next course, and they bring…something else.

I put down my fork, loathe to tuck into my food until Bill has his. So we sit, and sit, and sit, for a full five minutes, while Allen is doing his spiel for the table next to us, until the assistant server asks us if everything’s all right. We tell him that Bill ordered the truffles, and this gentleman (whose name I didn’t catch) says gruffly, “Those are coming, this is the other course.” Oooooooohkay. I guess we’re supposed to feel stupid now, like we should have known that the truffles would be served out of order, but instead, I feel annoyed. You botched the amuse bouche, and let us sit for five minutes in front of plates of food without asking what was wrong; don’t blame me for assuming this mistake was yours, too. :sad2:

But okay. The food’s good. And the next few courses come promptly and without incident. I’m having a little trouble fully tasting the food, as my nose is seriously running, but it is elegantly spiced and beautifully served. And then we get to the turbot.

The turbot, a delicious white fish, is advertised on the menu as being accompanied by “toasted capers and Meyer lemon.” It also, you might want to know, comes with a little ham on top. Which I almost bite into, before realizing, wait – that’s ham. I haven’t intentionally eaten pork in fifteen years, and the one time I did so accidentally, I had such severe heartburn that I had to drink seven glasses of water in a row to combat the horrible feeling in my chest.

So once again, I put down my fork, and wait for someone to notice that we’re not eating. And I’m pretty cranky by now. First of all – and this has nothing to do with the dinner – it’s Friday night, and we only have one more full day here, and I’m dreading our re-entry into the real world. This is one of the reasons we booked V&A for tonight, because we knew ahead of time that we both get a little ootzy on the last Friday of our vacation, and we wanted to have something great to distract us from that. Secondly, I am underdressed, and I can’t seem to shake the self-consciousness I have over it. Thirdly, my runny nose is a huge, huge drag – embarrassing, and getting in the way of my enjoyment of the food. Fourthly, we’ve both ordered some of the more expensive things on the menu, and I’m doing the addition in my head, and I don’t like the number I’m coming up with.

But fifthly, and most importantly, they’ve now screwed up two courses, and made us feel like dopes for inquiring about a third. There’s ham on my fish, ham that was not advertised on the menu, and ham that I specifically asked to avoid in advance, which we confirmed with the waiter at the start of the meal. This is not five-diamond service. At all.

But Allen comes over and apologizes; he whisks the plate away and brings another one back. Way too quickly. Which means that this is not a new piece of fish, as I immediately discover upon tasting it – my taste buds may be a little off tonight, but this is the hammiest piece of fish I ever tasted. The kitchen must have scraped the ham off, and sent it back out. No. :mad:

Again, I put my fork down, and ask Bill if we can get our cheese plate and dessert to go. I don’t have the patience for any more of this tonight – it’s already taken an hour and a half, and we’re not even finished with the meal. My nose is running, I’m wearing the wrong shoes, I’m cranky and exhausted, and the service here (not Allen, but the kitchen and assistant server) has been a huge let down. Bill agrees, finishes his course, and then gets Allen’s attention.

We tell Allen that I’m not feeling well, and ask for our cheeses and desserts to go. I don’t mention anything about the hammy fish, as I don’t feel like registering a complaint right now; I just want to get out of here and get back to the room. Allen obliges by bringing us the check (note to self: don’t order the caviar, and then complain about the price), and brings our cheese and dessert to go. He hopes I feel better, and that we will return soon. Well, one of those things is going to happen.

We take the monorail back to the Contemporary, with me apologizing the whole way for being cranky and sniffly and cutting the meal short. Bill is, as usual, the loving and supportive companion of every girl’s dreams, telling me not to worry about it; he was getting tired too. We agree that the food was really good, but the screw-ups were distracting and irritating, especially for a place that prides itself on service, and charges that much $$$. All in all, a bit of a disappointment, I’m sorry to say. I wouldn’t warn people against the place, as I think they were just having an off night, and it could be much better on other nights. But now I kind of wish I’d said something about the hammy fish. I mean, come on – that’s really not cool.

So it’s midnight by the time we’re undressed and in bed, and tomorrow’s our last full day in the parks. We’ve got an 8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace – and then a 6:35 dinner at Crystal Palace! Hey, at least I won’t be underdressed there…

(More tomorrow -- thanks for reading! :wizard: )

KittyKat08

01-14-2009, 03:14 PM

WOW!! So sorry to hear about your dinner. I hope your last day in the parks make up for it.

distherapy

01-14-2009, 03:18 PM

Not to distract from your woe, but if I ever have a band I may have to name it Hammy Fish.

Seriously, though, that is a bummer of a dinner. So sorry...

Lady Lallie

01-14-2009, 05:03 PM

Oooh, I feel pressure now since you are looking forward to my May TR! :scared1:

Sorry about your hammy fish, that is totally not cool. What if you were allergic!?! I always thing about that when I dine out. I'm glad I am not allergic to anything because you would have to really make sure you were on your game not to eat anything that could make you ill, like you with your hammy fish.

We did Crystal Palace for breakfast and dinner on our last trip, just not on the same day. I wonder if Pooh will recognize you. ;)

girlbomb

01-16-2009, 05:58 PM

WOW!! So sorry to hear about your dinner. I hope your last day in the parks make up for it.

KittyKat08, thanks! I reread this installment after posting it, and thought, "I'm so whiny!" But my whininess is on the record, so I'll have to stand behind it. :upsidedow

Not to distract from your woe, but if I ever have a band I may have to name it Hammy Fish.

Seriously, though, that is a bummer of a dinner. So sorry...

distherapy, Hammy Fish is a great band name! Not a great dinner, but a great band name.

Oooh, I feel pressure now since you are looking forward to my May TR! :scared1:

Sorry about your hammy fish, that is totally not cool. What if you were allergic!?! I always thing about that when I dine out. I'm glad I am not allergic to anything because you would have to really make sure you were on your game not to eat anything that could make you ill, like you with your hammy fish.

We did Crystal Palace for breakfast and dinner on our last trip, just not on the same day. I wonder if Pooh will recognize you. ;)

Lady Lallie, I'm not the only one looking forward to your next report. And your pictures! :worship:

And now here's Day Nine: Saturday, December 13: Have a Holly, Jolly MouseFest:

So we’re finally getting the hang of this Disney thing – avoiding work phone calls and emails during the day, sleeping through the night, packing our days full of fun and adventure – and now here we are, on our last full day of the trip! But we’re not leaving until tomorrow afternoon, and we’re planning to wring the most out of today, so we get a nice early start when the alarm goes off at 6:30. I toss on some extra layers to combat the chill in the air, and feel glad that we went to Blizzard Beach on Wednesday; it was the only day of the trip really warm enough to enjoy a water park. Yeah, all in all, despite colds and crowds and real estate frustrations, we managed to combine some good luck with some good planning and generally great attitudes to have an awesome trip. And we still have a full day in the MK ahead of us!

Okay, not a full day, because this is the day that we’re going to the Yacht and Beach Club for the Mega Mouse Meet, the biggest event of the whole MouseFest convention! The Mega Mouse Meet has been the subject of a lot of advance debate between us over the past few months – do we want to spend two or three hours of our precious annual vacation away from the parks, so I can sit behind an exhibit table and do a book signing? For Bill, the answer was “not so much.” He’s been to a bunch of book signings, and if you’re not the one who’s either signing or getting your book signed, it’s boring. On the other hand, he knows how much I want to meet certain DISboarders, and how important it is to me to promote my books, so he agrees. Besides, he’s an avid listener of the WDW Today podcast, and luminaries like Matt Hochberg and Len Testa are going to be there. And I promise him that we won’t stay long.

So as we’re suiting up, we throw on our fancy MouseFest lanyards and ID badges, and I toss an extra copy of my book into my new reusable canvas Disney bag, to foist on Matt Hochberg (I want to be a guest on that podcast so badly…). I’ve also got the new Epcot pen I bought earlier in the trip in my bag, so I can sign books in style!

Once dressed and packed, we take our usual pleasant, sunny, happy walk to the MK, and when we’re allowed through the turnstiles with the other early breakfasters, I take a minute to grab a locker and stow the bag. I catch up to Bill, and we check in for our 8:05 breakfast at the Crystal Palace; as we’re waiting to be seated, Bill takes this shot of me, pointing proudly to my MouseFest badge:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/festpassTR.jpg

Oh yeah – who’s feeling cool? Me. I’ve got my MouseFest badge over my new Ariel sweatshirt over the awesome t-shirt Bill got for me at this summer’s “Science of Disney Imagineering” symposium at New York University (where we also got to meet Lucky the Dinosaur, and DISer wildeoscar). You can not buy this kind of cool, people. :3dglasses

Soon, a CM comes out of the CP and announces that Pooh and friends have a table for “the El…Ellabom family,” and that’s close enough for us, so we follow her into the dining room while she explains how it works: “The characters start on this side of the room, then they make their way around…” We smile politely, thinking, “You can skip the spiel; we’re old pros.” But we don’t want to be rude.

(A note about the word “spiel” – we noticed one afternoon at the Tower of Terror that there’s a button on the control panel next to the elevators that the ride operator presses called “RIDE SPIEL,” which activates the safety announcement. I always thought that the word “spiel” was a colloquialism, but I guess it’s been adopted as the official Disney term for repeated announcements. They also could have called it the “RIDE YADDA YADDA YADDA.”)

So we’re shown to our regular spot – in all of our Disney trips, we’ve eaten here eight or ten times by now, and we’re always seated in this one row of three tables, except the one time we ate here for dinner. There are plenty of cute kids around, and the characters are in good form today, as they usually are. I am happy, happy, happy as I load up my plate full of salmon and fruit and egg whites; even happier when I go back for a second plate of biscuits, strawberries and cream, and chocolate croissants. Then, as I’m passing by the buffet on my way back to my seat, there’s a seven-year-old girl who’s seen fit to put her finger in the bowl of whipped cream. When she sees me looking at her, she locks her eyes on mine and tries to sneak the finger out of the bowl and do something unobtrusive with it, but she’s busted with a finger full of cream. Ewwwwww! Parents, please accompany your children to the buffet, so that they are not tempted to put their booger-covered fingers in the food! :crazy2:

But, as noted, I really do enjoy watching the kids around us, booger-covered though they may be, and I’m grateful for the parents who are doing the hard work of raising the little suckers, because apparently the species needs propagation, and Bill and I ain’t doin’ it. There is one family near us whose daughter looks to be about nine; they’re making a really big deal over her, filming her with the camcorder, and she’s playing it up, making all kinds of cutesy faces and stuff. Pooh is about to approach, and the parents get all excited, training the camera on their daughter to catch every expression that flits across her face. Bill and I bug our eyes at each other – they know she’s nine, right? And not, like, three? Because the way they’re chattering with excitement, you’d think she was a three-year-old getting her first gander at Pooh. So we watch surreptitiously while the girl makes a superhuge deal out of throwing her arms around Pooh – totally playing to the camera the whole time – and the parents are squealing with joy over the cuteness of it all. Huh. For me, the cuteness kind of has to be genuine, or it’s not really cute. But hey, it’s not my kid. Maybe if we ever had one, we’d be following it around with the camcorder until the kid was thirty-five, going, “Oh my god! Look how cute! He’s sorting his tax receipts! Henry! Look up at Daddy and smile! Awwwww!”

Anyway, breakfast. It’s good. Crystal Palace is good, Pooh and friends are very good, and the people-watching is fabulous. Being in the MK before official opening time is good. Being at the MK any time is good. We’re here = we’re happy. :goodvibes

We take our spots by the Tomorrowland rope, where we’re soon joined by a family wearing matching tie-dye t-shirts. They’re taking pictures of each other in all sorts of configurations; of course, being a busybody, I have to step in and ask if they’d like me to take a picture of all of them together. They would like that very much, so I oblige, and we chat for a minute. Mom is on the DIS boards, but says she doesn’t post much. I don’t post much either, I say, but I read until my eyeballs are practically melting. Yay, DIS boards! :cheer2:

So the park opens, and the hoi polloi approach, and soon there’s a BIG crowd waiting with us at the Tomorrowland rope, and they look antsy. There’s a bunch of football players near us, being really loud and borderline inappropriate – hey, I like to use salty language as much as anybody, but I keep it in check at Disney, where there are four-year-olds behind every garbage can. Then the rope drops, and a very aggro dad pushes his stroller right into my leg. I shoot a look at him as we trot behind the CMs, and he glares back, as does the sullen-looking seven-year-old in the stroller. Yikes.

Despite the aggressive crowd, Bill and I are the first through the gate, and we speed through the line, hooting football players hot on our heels. We get in the first car, with football players behind us, and they do not shut up for a second. “FIRST RIDE OF THE DAY! FIRST! FIRST RIDE OF THE DAY! WOOO!” I get the sense that Bill and I are sort of being made fun of – they don’t say anything outright, but there’s a mocking tone that I recognize from having been a teenage jerk myself, and it’s hard to block it out. Bill catches it too – “Jerks,” he says to me, as we exit the rocket and swing around for Fips and another ride.

But our second ride is footballer-free, hooray, and the line is short enough that we take three more trips in rapid succession, for a grand total of five rides in an hour. We have two minutes until our next Fip is available, so we tap our feet impatiently, then grab our second Fip and start heading out of the park to get to the Mega Mouse Meet. It’s hard to leave when we’re having such good ride mojo, especially because I can see that the crowds are building and the general mood is feisty, but I did go through the trouble of buying an ad in the MouseFest program and arranging things with the bookseller ahead of time, and I really want to meet Circusgirl. So we grab my bag from the locker, hightail it to the Contemporary, and then jump in a cab for a tax deductible ride to the Mega Mouse Meet. (Note: I won’t claim the whole trip as a business expense, because somehow I think the IRS might raise an eyebrow over that, but you bet I’m claiming the cabs back and forth to the Yacht and Beach Club. Hey, I’m on my way to work now!)

It’s a quick ride to the Y&B, and we manage to find the exhibition room without too much trouble. And WOW, is it big! And packed! There’s tables for all the major Disney related websites and travel services – I hardly know where to begin! But we have to start at the DIS table, where I thank Kathy and Chuck for all their hard work and dedication, and I ask them to please make it easier to find the link to become a sponsor, as right now it’s hard to find.

Then we split up – Bill goes to meet the WDW Today guys, and I seek out the bookseller. Dave Koenig, author of many Disney-related books including Realityland, is at the books table too; it's such a pleasure to meet him, after reading so much of his work! But it’s crowded behind the table, so I stand in front of the books instead, and when anybody picks up a copy of mine to browse it, I casually remark that the book they’re holding is awesome, and I’m not just saying that because I wrote it. This leads to several really fun conversations -- I love chatting with Disney fans, and this gives me a great excuse to do so.

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/mousefestTR.jpg

Here I am, caught in the act of hard-selling someone on Have You Found Her, which Bill and I call Have You Flounder, because we are helpless when it comes to bad puns and stupid rhymes. A few people wonder what a book about a homeless teenaged junkie has to do with Disney World; I get to tell them a brief version of the Samantha Dunleavy story. “I promised her that if she stayed sober for a year, I’d take her to Disney. So there’s a whole year of trip planning in the book, and then a description of the trip itself – kind of a mini trip report.” (I don’t mention that I am on the record in the book as wearing “Just Married” buttons, when we’d actually been married for three months already. But I’ve repented for my sin, I swear! :flower3: )

I take a minute to join Bill and shmooze Matt Hochberg, then I head back to the book table for more selling and signing. I’m despairing of ever finding Circusgirl in the crowd, when, like a beam of light through a cloudy sky, she appears! HOORAY!

I fear embarrassing her, so I will not gush about how awesome she is, how friendly and witty and huge of spirit. I will just state it plainly: She’s awesome. I knew, from reading her TR, that we had a lot in common, but meeting her in person makes it even clearer – I instantly feel like I’m with a friend, and really enjoy her company. It’s a little distracting to be in this giant room with the raffle going on around us, but it’s so great to hang out and chat for a few minutes. My first DIS meet, and a huge success!

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/circusgirlTR.jpg

Soon, Circusgirl goes to find Chuck and Lynn (who I don’t get to meet; I hope to make up for that next year), and Bill and I hop back to the parking lot for a tax-deductible ride back to the Contemporary (we figure it’s faster than going to the TTA and then taking the monorail to the MK). We walk back to the MK, where I stash my bag back in its locker (I’ve also taken the time to peel off some layers, as it’s warmed up quite a bit), and then it’s over to Splash to get Fips. The standby line says 30 minutes, but our eyeballs say it’s more like 20, so we join it, and are seated in a log within 15 minutes. Even though the weather has warmed up, I’m still grateful that the splash cannons are off – on our last three December trips, they were always on, no matter how cold it got. I’m glad they’re using them more sparingly this year! It’s so much more relaxing to ride through the scenes when you haven’t already been drenched on the first trip around the outside bend. And you can still get plenty wet on that drop, especially if you’re in the front seat!

It’s about 1 p.m. now, and we’re hungry, but the line for Pecos Bill’s is out the door, and it’s a mob scene. Uh oh…crowds are really bad today. Pirata Y Perico is closed, so we stop in the Frontierland candy store for a bag of chocolate covered caramel corn to tide us over while we seek out other lunch options. We discovered this stuff last year, and it’s really delicious – a thin coat of dark chocolate over sweet crunchy caramel corn – but it’s not lunch. Fortunately, we’re walking by the Diamond Horseshoe, and Bill notices that it’s open, and serving lunch. Huh?

We quickly enter and join the line before even noting the menu options – it’s clear that we’ve lucked into the only counter service location without a 45 minute wait, so whatever they’re serving, we’ll eat. We get Caesar salads and fruit cups, and take our booty up to the second floor, watching over the balcony as the line gets longer and longer by the minute. I’ve never been inside the Diamond Horseshoe, as I think it was closed before our first trip in 2005; it’s pretty neat, with lots of Wild West photos and paraphernalia on the walls. And I’m super happy that we stumbled across it at just the right time. We need fuel for the rest of the day’s activities!

:cool1:

(Those activities coming up soon. Thanks for reading!)

addictedtothemouse

01-16-2009, 06:24 PM

Great update. I can't believe it's your last full day.:sad2:

Lady Lallie

01-16-2009, 08:15 PM

I am so sad that it's your last full day.

I'm super excited to have breakfast at CP again. It is very yummy and getting into MK before opening is priceless.

I hate it when people are making fun of you but you don't really have proof just that feeling that they are making fun of you. So annoying.

I am so glad your Mousefest book signing went well. I think it's great that you took the time to do that. I must go during Mousefest one year.

Circusgirl

01-17-2009, 03:56 PM

Greetings from the World!!!
I signed up for internet for 24 hours, and was rewarded by finding your updates waiting. I loved everything about them, but especially:
The orangest human
Your encounter with an honest to goodness Imagineer, and one who worked on Space Mountain, no less!
The union of cute funny writers
The part about our meeting is of course my favorite bit. I'm only a tiny bit embarrassed (but in a great way) and I have this to say - right back at ya!!!!!

I am so sorry about your horrible experience at V&A's. It was the complete opposite of everything it should have been and I'm super disappointed that you didn't get the great three hours of pampering with food you signed up for. I also sympathize about the negative distraction factor of people who act as though they don't seem to realize they are in a public place raining on other people's experiences.

I don't want your trip to be over!

It is unusually cold here, although still warm relative to the severe cold and snow just about everyone else in the country is experiencing. The shops are doing a brisk business in gloves and hats, and I can't believe I brought so many tank tops. It is a good excuse to buy that cute velour sweatshirt I have been coveting.

Stacey says you are all in the top 7 best things about Disney!

AmericanCaesar

01-18-2009, 11:10 AM

I hate to be a credit hog, but it was ME that worked up the courage to ruin that Imagineer's day by asking him questions about his job, thereby spoiling his tranquil day! Just kidding -- he was very gracious and appreciative for the chance to talk about his highly unusual line of work (unusual, that is, if you're a working stiff like me).

Also, I figure I would pass along the link to the photographic record of our December trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americancaesar/sets/72157611225531003/

It's kinda like my chance to trip-report the thing. Enjoy!

girlbomb

01-18-2009, 08:31 PM

Great update. I can't believe it's your last full day.:sad2:

addictedtothemouse, thanks! I couldn't believe it was our last day either. It went by so quickly!

I am so sad that it's your last full day.

I'm super excited to have breakfast at CP again. It is very yummy and getting into MK before opening is priceless.

I hate it when people are making fun of you but you don't really have proof just that feeling that they are making fun of you. So annoying.

I am so glad your Mousefest book signing went well. I think it's great that you took the time to do that. I must go during Mousefest one year.

Lady Lallie, I was rereading your trippie recently, and I remembered your experience in the castle, when people were not being subtle about noticing you taking pictures of the food. :sad2: It's like, Bill and I make fun of other guests' behavior all the time -- we were judgmental of the family at CP recording their 9-year-old so scrupulously -- but we never let them see or hear it, because while we love being judgmental, we don't want to be mean or hurtful. The way I feel is, judge us all you want! Just don't sneer in our faces. A CM named April was making fun of me that Saturday morning for riding Space Mountain five times in a row; she kept saying, "You again?" But she did it in a teasing way, and not a hurtful "god, you're a dork" kind of way, so I didn't mind.

(PS: I am a total dork.)

Greetings from the World!!!
I signed up for internet for 24 hours, and was rewarded by finding your updates waiting. I loved everything about them, but especially:
The orangest human
Your encounter with an honest to goodness Imagineer, and one who worked on Space Mountain, no less!
The union of cute funny writers
The part about our meeting is of course my favorite bit. I'm only a tiny bit embarrassed (but in a great way) and I have this to say - right back at ya!!!!!

I am so sorry about your horrible experience at V&A's. It was the complete opposite of everything it should have been and I'm super disappointed that you didn't get the great three hours of pampering with food you signed up for. I also sympathize about the negative distraction factor of people who act as though they don't seem to realize they are in a public place raining on other people's experiences.

I don't want your trip to be over!

It is unusually cold here, although still warm relative to the severe cold and snow just about everyone else in the country is experiencing. The shops are doing a brisk business in gloves and hats, and I can't believe I brought so many tank tops. It is a good excuse to buy that cute velour sweatshirt I have been coveting.

Stacey says you are all in the top 7 best things about Disney!

Circusgirl, thanks for sharing a little real-time Disney with the rest of us! I hope you're having a fabulous time, and I can't wait to hear all about it!

I hate to be a credit hog, but it was ME that worked up the courage to ruin that Imagineer's day by asking him questions about his job, thereby spoiling his tranquil day! Just kidding -- he was very gracious and appreciative for the chance to talk about his highly unusual line of work (unusual, that is, if you're a working stiff like me).

Also, I figure I would pass along the link to the photographic record of our December trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americancaesar/sets/72157611225531003/

It's kinda like my chance to trip-report the thing. Enjoy!

And Shmoopy, you're right; all the credit for talking to the Imagineer goes to you. I'm so glad you did, because I would have been way too shy. Most of the photo credits are yours, too! You're the greatest.

I hope to post another chapter on Tuesday, but tomorrow, we move into our new place! Looking forward to seeing you all on the other side...:wave2:

Lady Lallie

01-18-2009, 08:54 PM

Lady Lallie, I was rereading your trippie recently, and I remembered your experience in the castle, when people were not being subtle about noticing you taking pictures of the food. :sad2: It's like, Bill and I make fun of other guests' behavior all the time -- we were judgmental of the family at CP recording their 9-year-old so scrupulously -- but we never let them see or hear it, because while we love being judgmental, we don't want to be mean or hurtful. The way I feel is, judge us all you want! Just don't sneer in our faces. A CM named April was making fun of me that Saturday morning for riding Space Mountain five times in a row; she kept saying, "You again?" But she did it in a teasing way, and not a hurtful "god, you're a dork" kind of way, so I didn't mind.

(PS: I am a total dork.)Oh yes, Marc and I make fun of people all the time but we have developed a way of doing it without even talking most of the time. :rotfl: :rotfl2: :lmao: Then once we are out of earshot of the "victim" all bets are off. Those people in Cinderella Castle were annoying, they need to learn to be judgmental with tact. ;)

Good Luck with moving!!

girlbomb

01-21-2009, 04:24 PM

LadyLallie, thanks for the good wishes! We're mid-move, and it's going as well as can be expected. Except I haven't had time to update, and I refuse to fail at Trip Report! This is exactly how I stopped working on my first pre-trip report -- we moved, and in the flurry of activity around that, I was unable to post for a week or two. And it doesn't look realistic that I'm going to have more than 5 minutes of down time (that's not spent watching LOST tonight!!!) until the weekend. But I can't wait to tell you about our last day and a half in Disney, our bests/worsts, and our plans for next time. All coming soon! :flower3:

Lady Lallie

01-21-2009, 05:52 PM

donaldsgal

01-22-2009, 06:10 PM

Just for the record, you've got more than one fan waiting for the end of the report. Take your time coming back, but don't let the thought that no one will miss the TR keep you away. Here's looking forward to the end...

girlbomb

01-26-2009, 05:13 PM

Thanks for the encouragement, LadyLallie and donaldsgal! It took forever, but I finally got a little bit more of the report done -- no pix yet, but I hope to go back and add some. Hope you'll enjoy!

Day Nine, Part Two: Have A Holly, Jolly Post-Mouse-Fest

So we left off on our last full day in the parks, in a very busy MK, after a surprise visit to the Diamond Horseshoe for lunch, fueling ourselves for the afternoon’s activities. Right now, those activities start with a trip to Space Mountain to add another Fip to our growing collection. The standby line is an hour – eesh! – so I’m glad we’ve got three Fips for this ride in our pocket (along with one for Splash) that we can use later. Then we take the walk to Toontown, where we haven’t spent any time this trip. We see the railroad approaching just as we are, so we decide to take it for a round trip ride; then we’ll come back and tour Toontown. As much as we love the RR, it does seem to be emitting a funny burning smell – “What does this thing run on?” Bill asks me. “Human hair?”

But whatever it runs on – pixie dust, magic, steam, fossil fuels – it’s a lovely ride, with great views, especially from the raised platform at the Main Street station. It’s so pleasant to sit there while it loads and unloads, watching monorails glide by, seeing people stream past the bag checks and in through the gates, hearing the faint music playing, sun shining…ahhhh!

By the time we make the full loop and get back to Toontown, we can see that it’s way too crowded to tour. The line for Minnie’s house is long and unmoving, and to be squished up against a slow line of shuffling people is not the way to see Minnie’s house. Mickey’s house is similarly jammed, and we’re not waiting a half hour for the Barnstormer, thanks, nor do we think we’d be welcome on Donald’s boat. So Toontown is kind of a bust for us, and we make our way through the throngs and out into Fantasyland, where we see a 15 minute wait for Philharmagic.

Yay! I could watch this movie over and over. Today’s one of those days where you seriously do have to move all the way to the end of the row, and even the first two rows are nearly full of guests, but it’s still a joy to slip on those glasses and get lost in Donald’s adventure. After the show, we browse the shop, where I grab a Toy Story T-Rex t-shirt for a three-year-old pseudonephew of mine, and the “Four Parks, One World” CD I read about here on the DIS (gotta have the Soarin’ soundtrack, for times when I need a little pick me up).

Then we wander back towards Tomorrowland. Or rather, we plow through the crowds, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. But Monsters Inc is only posting a 10 minute wait – why are all these great attractions so uncrowded, when the walkways are jammed, and the E-ticket rides are posting hour long waits? I don’t know, and I don’t care; let’s watch some Monsters tell some jokes!

The only downside to not carrying my phone is that we can’t text yet more of our hilarious riddles to the show. So we content ourselves with people watching as we wait to be ushered into the theater. I spot a heavyset, middle aged guy with a bald spot and a blank expression standing near us – “I bet that guy’s going to be picked as That Guy,” I say to Bill.

And what do you know? I’m right! Just like Bill was right about the family of the day coming from Ohio! We’re ready to be cast members, thank you; we already know how to choose That Guys and the families of the day. Just give us our credentials and we’ll get started ASAP. :thumbsup2

During the show, which is as adorable as ever, I am also featured on the screen as the person who doesn’t see the monster under her seat, and I hope I react with the appropriate level of mugging.

By this time, I have most of the gifts I need for my friends’ kids, but I’m still missing something Wall-E related for nine-year-old Miah, so we look in Star Traders and Merchant of Venus. Nothing! Boo. The only Wall-E stuff we saw was back at Animal Kindgom, in Dinoland of all places – had I known it was that scarce, I would have nabbed it then. I may have to make do with a DVD of the movie, or maybe we’ll stumble across another stuffed Eva – I don’t remember where I saw them last, but maybe we’ll see them again. In the meantime, I’d like to put in another request more Wall-E swag in the parks, please! Specifically pajamas, in a women’s size four!

We leave the Tomorrowland stores empty-handed, and notice that for the very first time ever in our Disney history, there is a short line for the TTA. They actually have to set up ropes and a line to keep people in a queue for this ride – wow! It moves fast, though, and we enjoy our swing around Tomorrowland, noticing that Space Mountain is down temporarily. This happens all the time, but we’ve had good luck this trip – not once has SM been “101” when we’ve been looking to ride it. (“101,” we’ve deduced, is the code for a minor issue that stops the ride temporarily; whenever we’ve heard that code applied to a ride, it’s always been operational again within ten minutes.)

After the TTA, we skip over to the Carousel of Progress. We get seats just as they’re ready to close the doors; then we realize that we’re stuck in a room with a large group of cheerleaders, who are singing and clapping every time “It’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” plays. Okay, we get it! The song is corny, and you’re cool! You’re cheerleaders, and you can clap rhythmically! Duly noted! Can you shut up now, so we can enjoy our ride? Because we do enjoy this ride, as corny as it may be. I used to call it the “Carousel of Naps,” but over the years, we’ve developed a real fondness for it, and I don’t like having it interrupted by a posse of snot-nosed twerps with matching hair poofs. It’s like, you devise something this creative and charming, and then you can turn your nose up at it; until then, you can keep your derisive attitudes to yourselves.

(I realize that I’m going to have to get better at putting on emotional blinders, and blocking out things like snotty cheerleaders, hooting footballers, potential line-cutters and the like. For one, I'm coming off as extremely anti-cheerleader/footballer, and I'm sure there are great kids out there who participate. Also, I can’t control everyone around me, and I have to stop letting other people get to me so much. I still enjoy Disney World more than just about anything on Earth, but I’d enjoy it a lot more if I’d just live and let live, rather than fuming about other people’s behavior – for the most part, they don’t affect my experience except inasmuch as I allow them to.)

We have to get some personalized mouse ears – one set for Bill’s brother Kevin, and one set for my pseudoniece Phoenix – so we go to the Chapeau shoppe towards the front of Main Street. We put in our order, then we’re waiting in the back of the store for our finished ears. And there’s a guy talking a little too loud about nothing. He can’t remember Julia Roberts’ name – “What’s her name? With the red hair? She was in that movie? Big star, the one with the red hair? Juliette something?” – and for whatever reason, this strikes us as really funny. So as soon as he leaves, we start quietly asking each other, “Who’s that guy? Who was on that show? He’s blue and he lives in a garbage can? Elmo? Elmo the Grinch?”

And I know, I was just complaining about people’s derisive attitudes, and then here we are, making fun of this guy. Who, fortunately, is far away from us by now, and has no idea of the hilarity he’s spawned. Because we keep this up as we return the locker key and walk back to the Contemporary for a nap – “Who’s that guy? With the hotel? The hotel made out of bread? The guy with the blowtorch?” – getting more and more absurd, and laughing harder and harder, until tears are streaming down my face and I’m begging Bill to stop so I can breathe.

Back through the lobby, up the elevator, down the hall overlooking the concourse, and into the room, where we lie down for a well-deserved nap. We’ve got one more night left at the MK, and we want to make it count!

(More coming soon – thanks for your patience in waiting for this installment, and thanks for reading!)

donaldsgal

01-26-2009, 09:02 PM

After the TTA, we skip over to the Carousel of Progress. We get seats just as they’re ready to close the doors; then we realize that we’re stuck in a room with a large group of cheerleaders, who are singing and clapping every time “It’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” plays. Okay, we get it! The song is corny, and you’re cool! You’re cheerleaders, and you can clap rhythmically! Duly noted! Can you shut up now, so we can enjoy our ride? Because we do enjoy this ride, as corny as it may be. I used to call it the “Carousel of Naps,” but over the years, we’ve developed a real fondness for it, and I don’t like having it interrupted by a posse of snot-nosed twerps with matching hair poofs. It’s like, you devise something this creative and charming, and then you can turn your nose up at it; until then, you can keep your derisive attitudes to yourselves.

(I realize that I’m going to have to get better at putting on emotional blinders, and blocking out things like snotty cheerleaders, hooting footballers, potential line-cutters and the like. For one, I'm coming off as extremely anti-cheerleader/footballer, and I'm sure there are great kids out there who participate. Also, I can’t control everyone around me, and I have to stop letting other people get to me so much. I still enjoy Disney World more than just about anything on Earth, but I’d enjoy it a lot more if I’d just live and let live, rather than fuming about other people’s behavior – for the most part, they don’t affect my experience except inasmuch as I allow them to.)

Are you ones that comment to people about their behavior? Admittedly, I'm a "not-so-subtle-under-my-breath" commenter on others' behavior. I lack the courage to full-on call someone out, though there are times I want to. Amazingly enough, I tend to be much more oblivious to irritating behavior at Disney than I am in regular life, but there are times when I want to speak directly to a person. Not to scream, but to raise awareness (makes me sound so evolved, right? ;)). Just curious if you ever comment to others about their antics. I think sometimes the pack mentality wins out. It only takes one snooty Valley Girl/jock/Aggro Mom for others to feed off of.

“Who’s that guy? With the hotel? The hotel made out of bread? The guy with the blowtorch?” – getting more and more absurd, and laughing harder and harder, until tears are streaming down my face and I’m begging Bill to stop so I can breathe.

Hilarious! Sounds like something my sister and I would do - and about which we would laugh profusely for many minutes. :thumbsup2

Thanks for the update.

Lady Lallie

01-27-2009, 07:13 AM

"Carousel of Naps" :rotfl2: I love Carousel of Progress, I always have for some reason. I think it's the History buff in me. I would have been really aggravated if I had been in there with the clappers. That's really annoying. On our last trip, we had some singers but they were cute little kids really enjoying the ride, not obnoxious teens. :rolleyes:

Your last night? I don't want your TR to end. I've really enjoyed reading along. I think maybe you should go back to Disney before December! ;)

girlbomb

01-29-2009, 11:41 AM

Are you ones that comment to people about their behavior? Admittedly, I'm a "not-so-subtle-under-my-breath" commenter on others' behavior. I lack the courage to full-on call someone out, though there are times I want to. Amazingly enough, I tend to be much more oblivious to irritating behavior at Disney than I am in regular life, but there are times when I want to speak directly to a person. Not to scream, but to raise awareness (makes me sound so evolved, right? ;)). Just curious if you ever comment to others about their antics. I think sometimes the pack mentality wins out. It only takes one snooty Valley Girl/jock/Aggro Mom for others to feed off of.

donaldsgal, we almost never say anything to people -- Bill asked some folks to stop taking flash photos on Spaceship Earth, but they ignored him (or maybe didn't speak the language). I want to be more of a "live and let live" type of gal, though it does bug me, not only on my own behalf but on everyone's, when I see people breaking the social contract. It's a delicate balance, isn't it?

"Carousel of Naps" :rotfl2: I love Carousel of Progress, I always have for some reason. I think it's the History buff in me. I would have been really aggravated if I had been in there with the clappers. That's really annoying. On our last trip, we had some singers but they were cute little kids really enjoying the ride, not obnoxious teens. :rolleyes:

Your last night? I don't want your TR to end. I've really enjoyed reading along. I think maybe you should go back to Disney before December! ;)

Lady Lallie, I don't want our TR to end either! And we'd LOVE to go back before December. We keep saying to each other, like Jack said to Kate on Lost, "We have to go back! Kate, we have to go back!" :lmao:

But for now, here's Day Nine, Part Three: Saturday, December 13: Have A Holly, Jolly Post-MouseFest

So it’s been a hectic day so far at the MK, with a quick jaunt over to the Yacht & Beach Club for the Mega Mouse Meet, which was mega fun. The crowds have been thick today – so thick that we wouldn’t have been able to get anything substantial for lunch without a 45 minute wait at any of the counter service locations, had we not stumbled into the Diamond Horseshoe, which looks like it was opened at the last minute to accommodate surprising crowds. Indeed, this morning at the MMM when Bill was chatting up Len Testa of the UG and touringplans, he asked Len why predicted crowd levels had jumped from 5s and 6s to 8s and 9s for this weekend. Len was unable to say exactly why there was such a crush, he just confirmed that we weren’t crazy – the parks were!

But we’re still here at the World, and still loving it, and we’ve got a pocket full of Fips for Space Mountain that we’ve been hoarding all morning and afternoon. We’ve got dinner at the Crystal Palace, and plans to watch Wishes (without interruption!), and then we’re going to ride Space Mountain like there is no tomorrow (which, since we’re leaving to get back home tomorrow, there isn’t).

So we’re napped and refreshed and ready to get back to the MK, along with every other human being in creation, it seems. We re-enter the park around 6:00, and try to soak up the sights, smells, and sounds of a very crowded Main Street on our way to get yet another Fip for Space Mountain, now posting an 80 minute wait. The background music in Tomorrowland is reminding me of a Steve Martin song, from The Man With Two Brains – “I love-a you, and you love-a me, and we love-a both the same…” – so now I’m singing that happy song as we grab our Fips and think about crossing through the hub to check in for our 6:30 ressie at Crystal Palace.

But it is wall-to-wall (to-Wall-E) people in the hub tonight, so we take the Noodle Terrace path over to the Crystal Palace, where the porch is crammed with families. We get on a long check-in line, as a second CM with a portable check-in screen makes her way down the line as backup, and we’re soon told that they’re running 15 minutes behind in seating. With a crowd like this, 15 minutes sounds optimistic, but okay. We like optimism with our dinner. :upsidedow

These people are a little tired:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/cpsleepTR.jpg

Actually, make that a lot tired, because if they’re able to sleep in this din, with CMs coming out every minute to bellow as loud as they can, “GARBLEMAN FAMILY?”, with kids crying and people jostling and complaining and stepping on each other’s feet – yeah, you’re a lot tired.

I meanwhile, am feeling a little psyched out by the crowds, and have a moment of serious claustrophobia that I talk myself out of immediately. By the time we’re seated – maybe ten minutes past our ADR time, and in our usual spot – I’m fine and excited and happy again.

But I am a very bad trip reporter, because I am not doing any of these meals justice. No photos, and only vague descriptions of the dishes – “it was very good,” “thumbs up from me.” And this meal is no different; my notes don’t say what we eat, except that we “enjoy it a lot.” So there you go. Not quite as helpful as the AllEars menu pages, am I. :rolleyes:

But I can tell you that we make a lot of ham puns when Piglet comes by, and that I am reminded, watching Pooh make his way around the room hugging people, of the woman they call the hugging saint (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Amritanandamayi), who offers a hug to anyone who approaches her, and will sometimes hug the long lines of people who come to see her for 20 hours at a stretch. To hug people like that, to offer them comfort and reassurance and enthusiasm at their presence, is such a small but profound act, and the Disney characters do it all the time! Proving that many of the CMs at Disney really are saints. pixiedust:

After our “enjoyable” dinner of varied food stuffs (no cheese plate this year, though, which is something I miss), we head over to Splash, where the cool evening and the showing of SpectroMagic that’s about to begin are making for a short standby line. We ride twice, and on our second trip, I notice that, in one scene, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are referring to a book called “How to Catch a Rabbit,” by Brer Wolf. And I’m like, there’s a Brer Wolf now, on top of all the other Brer Creatures we have to worry about? Brer Rabbit sure has a lot of people looking to skin/roast/hang him.

After our second trip on Splash, we peek at Big Thunder, but the standby line there is 50 minutes, and we’re not waiting on it. So unless we have a strong urge to visit Tom Sawyer Island (we don’t), we’re kind of done with this corner of the park. Unfortunately, Spectro has started, which means that navigating anywhere else is a big problem. We attempt it anyway, taking the path to Liberty Square, only to get caught in a horrible logjam of people, strollers, and ECVs. Nobody’s able to get anywhere; even people walking on the stone ledge are finding the traffic up there too thick to make much progress. It’s five or ten uncomfortable minutes until conditions make it possible to wiggle forward and to the left, and jump over the rope into the Liberty Belle queue area, where we can breathe again.

Haunted Mansion has a 50 minute wait. And we’re not even bothering to look at the wait times in Fantasyland – it’s obvious that they’re long. And we have Wishes to catch, which means we’d better stake out some spots right away. So we head around Cosmic Ray’s into Tomorrowland, and then back towards the hub, catching one of the last few open spots on the Tomorrowland bridge.

(Actually, the spot we get is not ideal, as there’s a tree blocking part of the view. But it turns out that, if we move the garbage can behind us a foot or two, we’ve opened up a perfect viewing spot without ruining anyone else’s.)

And there we stay, as crowds gather around us, and we await the beginning of Wishes, heralded by Tink’s glittering flight. One of those narrating families has pitched their camp right next to ours – “Look at the castle! It’s changing colors!” – and it’s tempting to say something sarcastic to Bill (“Castle? What castle? OH! Wow, thank goodness she pointed it out, otherwise I might have missed the giant CASTLE right there in front of us!”), but we’re both feeling too warm and goopy to do anything but stand there, eyes to the sky, smiling and waiting for the magic to begin.

And when it does, it’s perfect. Wishes, to me, is like an immersive meditation experience, one that allows you to suspend all your ordinary ways of thinking and just give over to the question: What do you truly wish for? What’s your biggest, wildest dream? What do you hope for, and how does it feel to hope, rather than to feel cynical or afraid or discouraged? It feels wonderful, transformative; even better to know that you’re in a safe place, where others around you are allowing themselves the same luxury to dream big and feel hopeful. And if you feel like crying? Go ahead; you’re allowed. Encouraged, even.

I don’t feel like crying tonight; I feel like having a quiet moment of reflection – well, as quiet as it gets in a crowd of thousands, with fireworks exploding overhead. I know that what I’ve been wishing for is a home of our own, and an end to the stress and unhappiness of the past year, but more than that, I wish for big, corny, unattainable things, like peace on earth, and an end to unnecessary suffering and cruelty. I wish long, happy lives for all my loved ones; I wish I could be reunited with loved ones who have passed. I wish I could make a profound difference in the quality of life on the planet. And it feels good to be in touch with all these wishes, which seem too grandiose and impractical for everyday use; it’s good to know that the seven-year-old who used to think, “I will make sure to cure every disease when I’m a grown up so that nobody ever has to die” is still alive in me.

Oh, and while you’re asking, Mr. Cricket, we’d really like a home of our own. Can you talk to the Blue Fairy, or the Fairy Godmother, or whoever processes such requests? Thanks. :wave2:

Post-Wishes, we are all googly-eyed and happy-fied, but we come back down to earth quickly enough to hightail it over to Space Mountain, to use the six Fips we’ve got in our sweaty little palms. And wow, there’s a long line outside – good thing we’ve got those Fips! We’ll just scoot past all these people and breeze through the…

Wait a minute…

Why is there such a long line for the Fip entrance?

Why isn’t the long line moving?

Could it be…Space Mountain is DOWN?

:scared:

Yeah. Yeah, it could be. Well, that’s fine – it’s probably just a 101, the code we’ve heard used for a minor problem; it should be up and running again within 15 minutes. So while people all around us are freaking out and whining and quitting the line (those who aren’t marching confidently past us, only to reach the front of the line and be told, “Guess what, those people behind you aren’t standing in line because they enjoy it; the ride’s down”), Bill and I tuck in for a short, calm wait, in happy surroundings, with excellent people-watching opportunities all around us.

Except soon we start to think this might be more than a 101, as we’re hearing reports that the ride’s been down for over an hour, and CMs are saying it might not come back up. A senior-level-looking CM makes his way down the Fip line to tell us that Space Mountain Fips will be honored at any other Fip rides tonight, because they’re not sure the ride’s coming back up before the park closes in a few hours. “Really?” I ask. “It’s not just a 101?”

“No,” he says, “we’re not sure what it is, so we don’t know how long it’s going to take.”

Hmmmmm. Bill is skeptical – he thinks that CMs like to overstate problems so that you wind up happily surprised if the ride comes back up earlier than predicted, rather than disappointed – and he votes for waiting some more. But after a full half hour on the unmoving line, we decide to throw in the towel, at least for now, and see some more of the park on our last night.

Sad, that we spent all day saving our Fips for a triumphant final run of Space Mountains, but all right – that’s how it goes sometimes. We plan to be back next year, and we’ll get our revenge then!

In the meantime, one last Haunted Mansion for us, please. There’s a 20 minute wait, but that’s not too bad, and we are distracted as we join the line by a coach dressing down some cheerleaders in his custody – “Shut your mouth,” he says, very loudly, “or I will stick my fist so far down it, it will come out the other end.” Oh, my! Where have you been all week, coach? We could have used you and your authoritative speech a few times so far this trip.

A very merry trip through the Haunted Mansion, and then it’s back through still-thick crowds to Tomorrowland for a last ride on the TTA. We’d both love to stay longer, do everything else “just one more time,” but we’re weary, and we still have to pack. We never got to do the Tomorrowland Speedway this year, after last year’s hilarious crying-laughing experience on it; we only rode Small World once, we didn’t see SpectroMagic, and we didn’t spend nearly enough time just sitting on a bench somewhere and soaking it all in. But we’ll settle for a ride on the TTA to say goodbye for now to our happy place, and a happy ride it is. And as we pass through Space Mountain and see the lights on, and CMs literally scratching their heads as they try to fix whatever’s wrong with it, we’re glad we didn’t invest any more time waiting for it to come back up.

I love-a you and you love-a me, says the Tomorrowland music as we walk towards Main Street, smiling ruefully at all the familiar sights we love so much. We’ll be back next year, next year, we keep telling ourselves, and each other. One last photo before we pass back through the tunnel under the railroad:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/lastnightTR.jpg

Rueful, right? But satisfied, and grateful.

Next year, next year, we say, as we walk back along the path to the Contemporary, our home away from home. We try not to envy the carefree folks checking in at the front desk, the excited kids running around exclaiming over everything they see. We’ll be back! We’ll be back soon. And hey, we haven’t even left yet!

We get upstairs to our room and pack efficiently, even with the four jigsaw puzzles I bought for myself, and the myriad ears, dolls, and other items we bought for our friends’ kids. I check my email on the computer in the room – time to start easing back into the responsibilities of the Real World, see what’s waiting for us on the other side – then we set the alarm, smooch, and drop off to sleep. We’ve got breakfast at O’hana tomorrow morning, then a 2:45 flight – it’s not over yet!

(Last day coming tomorrow, then some Final Thoughts next week. Then it'll be time to start another PTR! :rotfl: Thanks for reading...)

PinkPrincessZ

01-29-2009, 06:22 PM

Rueful, right? But satisfied, and grateful.

I love this line - it just says it all!

Another great installment - looking forward to your final thoughts, but I am so sad that the report is almost over! :sad1:

girlbomb

01-30-2009, 09:09 PM

I love this line - it just says it all!

Another great installment - looking forward to your final thoughts, but I am so sad that the report is almost over! :sad1:

Thanks, PinkPrincessZ! I'm sad it's almost over, too, but I'm happy that I'm at least going to finish it, instead of flaking out and failing at trip report! :scared:

Still, I think we need more material so I can write another TR before next December. That's way too long to wait, don't you agree? If only there were a hole in our schedule, and some extra $$$ in the bank!

But in the meantime, here's our last day -- Sunday, December 14: I’m Dreaming of a Next Christmas

The alarm rings at 7:30, but there’s no rush to get up today – our hearts, and our feet, are a little heavy this morning, as we’re leaving in just a few hours. Was it any easier to leave, those years when we used to just rip off the bandaid and leave immediately on our last day? Or are we grateful for the opportunity for one last character meal, one last trip on the monorail, a few more hours in the land of magic before our flight?

We’re grateful – I don’t want to leave just yet. Or ever, really. But especially not just yet. I’m still loving it here. Which is good, because we’ve still got breakfast with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo, and Stitch!

So we dress, entertained by Stacey, and I make out our postcards, as it’s the last possible second to do so and have them actually come from Disney World.

Portrait of a procrastinating writer:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/postcardTR.jpg

We make sure we’ve got everything, then we take a few pictures on the balcony:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/uslastTR.jpg

Rue, rue, rueful. :rolleyes:

Then we head downstairs with our bags, check in at the Magical Express counter (easy and fast), check our carry-ons with Bell Services, and head up to the fourth floor to catch the monorail to the Poly. We have a lot of time before our 10 a.m. ADR, but we figure we’ll check in early and see if they can seat us – if not, we’ll either explore the resort, or take the monorail for another loop.

So we board old band-aid, and take off, our eyes glued to the scenery out the window. Look, trees! Boats! Birds! Sky! The Grand Flo! Other monorails! Sigh. “If this concludes your trip to Walt Disney World, we hope to see you again soon.” Yeah, Mr. Monorail. We hope so too.

It’s a quick ride to the Poly, and the welcoming smell of the resort wafts over us as we enter. The rushing water of the falls outside makes for peaceful white noise, quickly replaced by the sounds of the activity inside, as families bustle about getting ready to start their days. We check in at the O’hana desk an hour early, but they hand us a pager and say they can seat us soon, and we haven’t even made it over to the gift shop on the other side of the mezzanine when the pager buzzes, and we head back to claim our seats.

Last year, we had breakfast at Kona on our last day, and while the wait was long and the atmosphere lacking, the food was super yummy – it was hard to pass it up this year, but we decided to try something new. O’hana’s room is much more inviting, with beautiful views of the resort and the lagoon, and characters roaming the tables. The bread and pastries they bring us are fabulous and sweet, and the fresh fruit is yummy, too, as is their signature fruit juice. Bill has some more traditional breakfast-y foods, which he approves of heartily – it may not be Tonga Toast or pineapple macadamia pancakes, but it’s really good.

This guy sneaks up on us while we’re eating:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/billstitchTR.jpg

We also get quick visits from Pluto, Mickey, and Lilo. We thank them for spreading the good cheer, tell them how much we’re going to miss them, and ask them to keep the place in good shape for our return visit next year. Next year! It can’t come soon enough.

After a tasty and filling breakfast, we get our picture taken by the photographer – we ask to use our camera, as we’re not going to stick around to get the official print they’d give us. Our camera gives us a little red eye, but that’s okay; we have plenty of pictures of ourselves from this trip. We know what we look like by now.

Since we have over an hour and a half before our Unmagical Depress pick-up, we decide to walk to the Ticket and Transportation Center and catch the Epcot monorail, which gives you that fantastic free tour of the park. It’s a quick, sunny walk, and the monorail comes right away. We practically leave smudgy noseprints against the windows, staring so hard at Epcot as we loop around inside it, but when the monorail stops at the Epcot station, we stay on. Sigh.

We’re perked up considerably when a family boards – mom, dad, and two twenty-something kids – and mom is just berating the heck out of dad. Dad is fumbling with something – Fips? Park tickets? – and as they flutter to the floor of the monorail, mom can not hide her disgust. “You dropped them!” she says, with the unmistakable if unsaid addendum, “you moron.” The beleaguered dad leans over to pick up the tickets, shoulders rounded, and she snaps at him. “Put them in your wallet this time. IN YOUR WALLET.” Then she turns her attention to the kids, asking them to make some kind of choice about the day’s activities. “You can only pick one,” she tells them. “PICK ONE.”

Again, it’s terribly wrong of us to enjoy other people’s public misery, and yet we are filled with mirth at this harridan and her family. “What are you doing now?” she asks her husband, who has made the mistake of, I don’t know, moving his hands? Looking out the window? What is he doing now? Whatever it is, it’s wrong, wrong, wrong, and she sighs and mutters to herself. And as soon as they get off at the TTC, Bill starts imitating her.

“You dropped them, you idiot. What’s the matter with you? Put them in your wallet! Oh, look, you can’t, because your wallet’s full of oatmeal! You moron. PICK ONE. PICK. ONE. What, are you stupid? Is your head full of oatmeal, like your stupid wallet?”

We catch the resort monorail, saying a poignant farewell-for-now to the Poly (site of our delicious breakfast), and the Grand Flo (site of our not-so-successful dinner at V&A’s). It’s so hard not to get off at the MK stop, watching other guests eagerly disembark and scurry down that ramp, but it’s time to get back to the Contemporary, take one last swing through the gift shops, and say goodbye.

Goodbye to this every morning:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/crviewTR.jpg

Goodbye to this most evenings:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/tlandTR.jpg

Goodbye to this every six seconds:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/smfeetTR.jpg

We’ll see you next year, if we’re lucky, and all goes according to plan. Only 50 weeks and five days from today…

But for now, we’re headed the other way. We’ve got a 2:45 flight from MCO to Newark airport, then Bill will collect our bags and get home to the cats while I go straight to a 7pm reading in the East Village. No rest for the weary – straight from the land of frolic and fun, to work!

Back at the Contemporary, we meander through the concourse one more time, listening to the happy Chef Mickey sounds and the hum of the arcade. Then it’s down to the lobby to poke our heads into the Wave – looks like a tranquil place for an upscale meal. We claim our carry-on bags from Bell Services, the Unmagical Depress bus arrives right on time, and we board. It’s all downhill from here… :sad:

After a stop at the Wilderness Lodge to pick up more sadly departing guests, we make good time over to MCO. Bill and I signed up for a service called Clear (http://flyclear.com/), which allows you to breeze right past security; it works very well for us, and we bypass a long line of shoeless travelers on our way to the gate. Once at the gate, we discover that our flight has been pushed back by an hour – this might make me late for the reading tonight, but I don’t really care, as it’s not a reading I’m eager to do anyway (as a matter of fact, the organizer had asked if I could change our flight to make it earlier in the day, and I declined – I wasn’t about to give up Disney time for this event).

Well, now that we’re not at Walt Disney World, crying children have lost whatever cuteness and novelty they might have otherwise retained, and there are plenty of them around. Bill and I put on our headphones and kill a bunch of time in the airport; then we board the plane for an uneventful flight back to Newark. Once in Newark, I regretfully take my leave of my darling husband, and jump in a cab to the reading…and just like that, it’s over. Back to work!

(Here's a pic of me working at the reading: :mic: Looks just like me, right?)

Reunited at our temporary apartment after the reading, Bill and I take a minute to download our photos, watching as the happy moments flicker by. It wasn’t a perfect trip, not by a long shot – we got sick, there was aggravation, and the crowds were nuts! But it was still wonderful, full of hilarity and joyfulness and new friends, and we’re suffering from a little bit of disbelief that we’re not going to wake up there tomorrow and start another day of fun.

Well, the cats are happy we’re home, and we’re happy to see them. Time to dump out the suitcases, sort the mail, flip open the laptop, and let the DIS know that we’re back!

(Coming soon: Final Thoughts, and a very happy ending! Thanks for reading. :wave2: )

Circusgirl

02-02-2009, 11:26 PM

girlbomb

02-09-2009, 04:15 PM

I can't believe that we're all the way to where you're home again...

I have loved many things along these last few days, including the "narrating family" (perfect description - I will always laugh now when I'm near one of these) and your beautiful description of the experience of Wishes. I always want people to be quiet during Wishes because I think of it as a Show, a perfect wonderful thing I want to be immersed in and carried away by. You captured how it brings tears and hope and resolve - thank you!

I'm so sorry about SM crumping out on you!

I laughed and laughed about Unmagical Depress.

I'm in agreement that you need another trip because I don't want to wait until next year for another trip report. Really. I'm quite serious.
Well, ok, I'll wait if I have to.

Looking forward to the wrap-up.

Circusgirl, I hope you are enjoying a WONDERFUL trip to Disneyland right now, and that you're nowhere near the internet to read this! ;)

And now, alas, it's the Epilogue: And They Lived Happily Ever After

So I’ve been stalling on finishing this TR, because I don’t want it to be over. We had an amazing trip, as always, and it’s been so much fun to relive it, but I guess it’s time to close the book on our last trip, and start thinking ahead to next year’s fun!

But first, an epilogue of sorts: A few days after our return, we started working on this apartment situation again, approaching it from a new angle in hopes of revitalizing the deal gone wrong. We really loved this apartment, and were determined to try whatever we could to make the deal work – and we did! We signed the papers on Friday, January 9, moved our furniture in from storage on Monday, January 19, and brought the cats to their new home to spend our first night there as a family on Saturday, January 24. And since then, not an hour has passed that Bill and I don’t say aloud how much we love it, and how happy we are to be home. :love:

As a matter of fact, I had to go to Washington DC for a reading last week, and though I was away for less than 36 hours total, I still found myself incredibly, pitifully homesick. That’s when I realized: I don’t want to be anywhere but at home in our new apartment right now – not even Disney! For the first time in I don’t know how long, I’d rather be home than in Disney World! :scared1: Crazy, isn’t it? I’m sure it will wear off soon. As a matter of fact, if we had a March trip planned, I’m sure I’d be counting the days and hours until our departure; I don’t know how we’re going to make it until December 4, 2009!

But I know that this trip taught us a lot about how we want to approach next year, as all of our trips have done. So here’s a quick look at what we did this year, what we hope to do again, and what we’ll avoid next time around.

What we did:

Fifteen rides on the Tower of Terror
Fourteen trips on Space Mountain
Thirteen rides on Expedition Everest
Eight flights on Soarin’
Six rides on the Rock N Roller Coaster
Five trips on the TTA
Four rides each on Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion
Three rides/shows each on Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Toy Story Midway Mania, Philharmagic, and Monsters Inc.
Two rides/shows each on Pirates, Big Thunder Mountain, Astro Orbiter, Teacups, and the Muppets
One ride/show each on Snow White, It’s a Small World, Tiki Room, Buzz Lightyear, Jungle Cruise, Aladdin’s Carpets, Carousel of Progress, Railroad, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Maelstrom, Nemo, Living with the Land, Circle of Life, Grand Fiesta Tour, Innoventions exhibits, Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, One Man’s Dream, Animation Academy, It’s Tough to be a Bug, Triceratops Spin, Safari, Pagani Trail, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Rafiki’s Planet Watch

One half day at Blizzard Beach, encompassing all the attractions except for the kids’ areas
One trip to Downtown Disney
One visit to DisneyQuest
One visit to the Boardwalk
One visit from the doctor
One Segway tour of Fort Wilderness
One Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
One MouseFest event (MegaMouseMeet)
Seven rope drops

Two viewing of Wishes (well, one viewing of wishes, and a half a viewing of Holiday Wishes)
One viewing of Illuminations
One viewing of Fantasmic!
One viewing of the castle lighting ceremony
Three viewings of the Electrical Light Pageant – in one night!
One viewing of Friends of the Lion King
Two viewings of Streetmosphere
Two viewings of the World Showcase Players
(But no other street performers in the parks
no other stage shows besides FOTLK
no parades
and no character meets outside of breakfasts)

Table service meals at Biergarten, Crystal Palace breakfast and dinner, Coral Reef, Boma, Hollywood & Vine breakfast, Mama Melrose, Sci-Fi Drive-in Café, Teppan Edo, Cinderella’s Royal Table breakfast, Artist’s Point, 50s Prime Time Café, Le Cellier, San Angel Café, Victoria and Albert’s, O’hana breakfast

Counter service meals at Cosmic Ray’s, Pecos Bill’s, Diamond Horseshoe, Tempo Grab n’ Go, Sunshine Seasons, Patisserie, Yak & Yeti

Resorts toured: Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Boardwalk

Phew! Writing it all out like that, it sure seems like we did a lot! And we missed a few things we would have liked to have done, including the American Adventure, the Imagination pavilion, Mission:Space, the movies in China, France, and Canada, Miyuki the candy lady, the Oasis (before all the animals were taken inside for the night), the Finding Nemo show, Lights Motors Action, Sounds Dangerous, SpectroMagic, Pirate tutorial, meeting the Ladies Tremaine, ToonTown, Tomorrowland Speedway, another trip on It’s a Small World, and about seventy more rides on Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Soarin’ (not to be greedy or anything). We also missed the chance to sit on our butts some more and just watch the activity of the parks around us. Next year!

Here were the highlights of the trip – favorite attractions, favorite meals, and experiences we really enjoyed:

Old MK favorites Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Philharmagic, Wishes, and the TTA lost none of their appeal; Monsters Inc. made it onto the list of favorites this year, and the castle lighting ceremony is gorgeous.

Old Epcot fave Soarin’ still holds its number one Epcot spot in our hearts, Test Track and Spaceship Earth run close seconds, and we love shopping at MouseGears and in Japan.

Old DHS fave Tower of Terror still rules, Rock N Roller Coaster delivers big fun, and Streetmosphere is the best show in the World, now that the Adventurers’ Club is no more. Toy Story Midway Mania is fantastic – it’s edging up onto my top ten list, but I’m not sure that Bill feels the same. And of course no trip is complete without a visit to One Man’s Dream, though we didn’t get to see the movie this year – so I guess our trip wasn’t complete. We’ll have to go back and finish it!

Old AK fave Expedition Everest is still king of the mountains, in my book. Not sure we added anything new to the “favorite attractions” list at AK, though we certainly love the trails and treks.

And new contender Blizzard Beach knocked us out! It will be closed next winter, but we look forward to trying Typhoon Lagoon, if the weather permits.

Best meals included old favorites Biergarten, Crystal Palace, and Boma, new favorites Coral Reef and Teppan Edo, and the very fun princess breakfast at Cinderella’s castle. Great atmosphere at Sci Fi and 50s Prime Time; too bad the food doesn’t live up to the surroundings. And Le Cellier and Artist’s Point provide very good food, but the atmosphere is comparatively lacking.

Best moments: Arriving. Sitting on our balcony, watching the castle lighting ceremony. Dinner at Biergarten, watching the kids dance. Dinner at Coral Reef, schmoozing with my Shmoop. Every single trip on Everest, especially that plunge down the mountain. Winning Dream ears and wearing both pairs. Dancing at the Cosmic Ray’s dance party during MVMCP. Laughing with Bill through breakfast at the castle. Discovering Blizzard Beach. Riding Segways around Fort Wilderness. Watching Streetmosphere do their thing. Crying laughing over “the guy, with the hotel made out of bread, the one with the blowtorch.” Meeting an Imagineer. Meeting Circusgirl! Leaning back against Bill in the AstroOrbiter and taking in the view. Every single trip on Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Soarin’. Watching Wishes on our last night. Pretty much the whole trip.

And, okay, the not-so-great things: Crowds. Getting sick. Real estate aggravation. Anxiety-induced insomnia. Smokers who didn’t stay in the designated areas. Rude teenagers. Talkative doctors. Hammy fish at V&A’s. Space Mountain going down on our last night. Construction noise at the Contemporary. Leaving.

What we’re looking forward to next year:

Meals at Biergarten, Crystal Palace, and Boma. Though we also want to try Jiko, and we only tend to budget one dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. A quandary! Looking forward to reinstating dinner at the California Grill during Wishes – did that our first three trips, missed it this year. Also looking forward to trying some new places, preferably in the parks, though we seem to be running out of those…

Another MVMCP. And another Segway tour of Epcot! This year’s Segway tour of Fort Wilderness was big fun, but we like being in the parks better than being at the resorts. Maybe the “Wild by Design” tour of AK, maybe Lunch with an Imagineer, maybe even parasailing. But maybe none of those things – we don’t want to cut into too much park time!

Typhoon Lagoon, if the weather permits. The new American Idol attraction, since I’ve read some good things about it here on the DIS. And Kim Possible, which sounds terrific!

Staying at our favorite resort, with MK view. Revisiting all of our favorite rides and attractions in the parks. Getting fudge and/or smores from the Confectionary on Main Street. Spending more MK time on a bench or the railroad just soaking it all in. Meeting the Ladies Tremaine. Watching the movies and street performers at Epcot; watching some more Streetmosphere at DHS. Slowing down at AK, smelling a few more roses, and seeing the Oasis while it’s still open.

NOT getting sick, NOT being stressed, and NOT taking ANY calls from lawyers, brokers, or real estate professionals of any kind! Knowing that, when we leave, we’re going home to the beautiful apartment we love so much – and knowing we’ll be back in December of 2010!

What we’re skipping next year:

Le Cellier, though the food and service are very good – we just feel like we’ve done this one, and want to try a new experience. Also skipping most of the other table service restaurants we did this trip (except the ones mentioned above), in favor of doing new things.

Innoventions. Glad we did it this year; no need to revisit it next year. See also: Snow White, Aladdin’s Carpets, Great Movie Ride, Triceratops Spin, Circle of Life, Grand Fiesta Tour. We may even skip Fantasmic! (heresy, I know), if it’s still causing massive crowds at DHS – we’ve seen it four times now, and we might give it a rest next year. Or not! We’ll see.

Morning EMH at Epcot. I think we’ll shuffle our days so that we get the extra hour of sleep, and avoid the extra EMH crowds.

What we did “right” (id est, what worked for us):

Having a plan!
Having ADRs! And changing them on the fly, when necessary.
Being at rope drop.
Working those FastPasses for all they were worth.
Taking taxis when we were pressed for time in the morning or exhausted at night.
Taking mid-day breaks when our butts were dragging.
Staking spots for Illuminations, castle lighting, and Wishes well ahead of time.

What we did “wrong”:

Too much park hopping. We thought we could escape crowds at one park by going to another, but all we did was waste time in transport.

Too many meals at resort restaurants. Dinners at Artist’s Point and V&As took us out of the parks prematurely, and transportation to AP was a hassle.

Not checking the dates on our MVMCP tickets when they were mailed to us! Fortunately, we were able to swap tickets for the night we wanted at the last minute, but if we hadn’t been able to, I would’ve been bummed out. I reconfirmed all our ADRs the week before leaving, but didn’t reconfirm all of our special event tickets and plans – next year, you bet I will.

Bringing my phone to the parks. I “had” to do it this year, but I won’t make that mistake again. No business on vacation! (To the extent that that’s possible.)

Letting other guests’ behavior affect our moods. I need to learn to live and let live a little better. If kids are snotty, or people take a long time ordering their meals, or they want to jump the line, I can’t control that – I can only control my reaction to that.

Dieting! Granted, I didn’t stick to my 1600 calorie per day regimen (far, far from it), but I did restrict myself from eating whatever I wanted, in whatever quantity I wanted. Not next year! Next year, I am going whole hog. If I gain weight at Disney, I’ll diet when I get back home.

***

So there you have it: Last year’s lessons becoming next year’s plans! I’m so grateful to all of you who took the time to read my report, and especially those who took the time to comment and encourage me through it – thank you, gentle readers! :goodvibes I look forward to starting our pre-trip-report for December ’09, and to reading many other happy TRs in the meanwhile. Wishing you lots and lots of pixie dust!

:wizard:

Janice