Adventurers in Septemberer AND Decemberer -- New: Water Park Angst and More [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

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girlbomb

03-13-2009, 12:03 AM

Welcome, wonderful DISers, to a surprise PTR – one I didn’t think I’d be writing so soon, and one I can’t wait to explain!

But first, a quick backstory: For the past four years, my Dear Domestic Partner Bill and I have been taking an annual trip to Disney World in December. Our first trip, in 2005, was supposed to be a celebration and reward for our young friend Samantha, who’d fought homelessness, drug addiction, and severe illness – sadly, Sam never made it to Disney with us, but a tradition was born, and now Bill and I use our annual trip to celebrate life, love, and happiness!

Our last two trips are documented in trip reports, posted here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1664049) and here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2016718). But those TRs are long, so here’s the summary:

We’re Contemporary-staying, MK-viewing, rope-dropping, park-hopping, Fast-Pass-getting, E-ticket-loving, ADR-having, face-stuffing, commando-touring fools! And while we’ve learned to slow down and smell the monorail a little bit over the past few years, we’re still hardcore about maximizing our park time, and hitting our favorite rides again and again. To wit: On our December 2008 trip, we took 15 trips on the Tower of Terror – down from 20 the year before!

So that’s what you’re getting into with us. We like our early entry character breakfasts, our signature restaurant dinners, and our hard ticket events (Segway tours! Christmas parties! Bring ‘em on!). We don’t tend to hit the resort pool, we don’t collect autographs or pin trade (although that may change), and we don’t set foot off property once we’re on it. We’re not traveling with kids, parents, or pals – it’s just us two thirtysomethings, acting like we’re eight.

Still on board? Excellent!

[I'm going to insert the two-fer trip report index here, and will keep updating it as I add installments to our report:

Sept. 09 Pre-Trip: This post, see below
Sept. 09 Pre-Trip 2: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33398598&postcount=8) I just love it when a PTR comes together
Weds., Sept. 23, Day One, Part One (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33785318&postcount=16): Arrival, AK, and EEEEEEEE (a.k.a., 4 rides on EE)
Weds., Sept. 23, Day One, Part Two: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33817279&postcount=17) Home to the MK, Jiko
Thurs., Sept. 24, Day Two, Part One: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33954288&postcount=22) Touring the Studios with a Superstar
Thurs., Sept. 24, Day Two, Part Two: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34019926&postcount=27) Running the Studios like Hollywood Execs
Thurs., Sept. 24, Day Two, Part Three: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34045089&postcount=30) Party of the First Part
Fri., Sept. 25, Day Three, Part One: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34131406&postcount=32) The Food, More Food, and Yet More Food Festival
Fri., Sept. 25, Day Three, Part Two: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34198766&postcount=41) The Dessert and More Dessert Festival
Fri., Sept. 25, Day Three, Part Three: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34241763&postcount=49) Mickey's Not So Scary, In Fact, Perfectly Delightful, Halloween Party
Sat., Sept. 26, Day Four, Part One: (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34338889&postcount=53) Water Park Angst and More

Dec. 09, Pre-Trip Part One (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33551626&postcount=10): ADR Mania -- TWO HOURS on the phone with Disney!]

So of course, as soon as we got home from our December 2008 trip, we booked our stay for December 2009 – fifty-one looooong sloooooow weeks away. I wrote our trip report, and corresponded with several fabulous DISers as a result, but by the end of January, the TR was over, and there was nothing to do but wait and plan for next year’s vacation.

UNTIL.

I got the most wonderful and welcome email from the very fabulous Circusgirl (:worship:), letting us know that there was a special event coming up in September – a one-night-only return to the Adventurers’ Club!

:eek:

Oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow oh wow…

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

We only caught on to the Adventurers’ Club in 2007, and only because folks on the DIS were so adamantly enthusiastic about it that we just had to check it out. And we LOVED it! We had budgeted one night for the AC on that trip, but quickly moved other things aside to make room for a second visit, and we stayed until closing time, singing and laughing and having a ball. We couldn’t wait to go back in December 2008 – and then they closed it. Gah! :headache:

So to hear that it would be open again, and for only one night, and that our illustrious friend was going to be attending…well, we tried to resist. We weren’t planning to go in September; we didn’t know if we could justify or afford another trip on top of our December trip; yadda yadda and etc. You know the drill – here are all the reasons we can’t go, and now we will IGNORE them because OH MY GOD WE HAVE TO GO. If I had to read about this event after the fact, the way I read about the special DIS Toy Story Midway Mania party we missed during MouseFest? Augh! No doubt you heard my piteous sobs, echoing all the way from NYC! :scared:

Yeah, we tried to resist. But within 48 hours, we’d given in. I called the travel agent who was offering the Adventurer’s Club package, and made our reservations. And then I went right over to my Twitter page and posted KUNGALOOSH! :dance3:

And nobody knew what the heck I was talking about.

So our long slog towards Disney just got shorter, and way more exciting (something I wouldn’t have though possible). We’ll be arriving in Orlando on Wednesday, September 23, and leaving (BOO) on Sunday, September 27. We’re planning to hit the AC event on Thursday night, the Halloween party on Friday night, and the opening weekend of the Food & Wine Festival all weekend long.

AND, because the packages that were offered did not include rooms at our beloved Contemporary Resort, we will be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Woohoo! I’ve always wanted to stay at AKL, but didn’t want to split our December stay between resorts, and didn’t want to spend nine whole days that far away from the MK. So this is perfect – we’ll get to eat at one of our top five favorite places, Boma, and we’ll get to try out Jiko, all with such great convenience. And we understand that an upscale Indian restaurant will be completed at AK Villas this summer, so it looks like we’ll get in a meal at Sanaa, too!

Nom nom nom nom nom…popcorn::

I’m looking forward to updating this PTR with our day-by-day plans, and some other exciting Disney World-related news (news I can’t spill yet, as it’s not official, and I don’t want to hex it). And I’m really looking forward to seeing/meeting some of the trip reporters I’ve been reading on the boards, and whoever else is jumping on board this amazing crazy train.

Thanks for reading! :flower3:

Circusgirl

03-13-2009, 05:05 PM

Waahooo! Two of my wishes have come true - you are going to be there in September and you've started a new PTR!!!

girlbomb

03-15-2009, 01:06 AM

Circusgirl

03-15-2009, 01:19 PM

Speaking of making wishes come true, Circusgirl, you're a hero in our house! We're so excited for this September trip -- just six months and nine days away!

:banana:

We're still working out our day-by-day plans, and our ADRs. And I've started to think about switching our reservation from Animal Kingdom Lodge to the Beach Club, to be closer to Epcot for the Fooding and the Wining, though Bill's not in favor of the switch -- and I think I agree with him. We really have wanted to stay at AKL for a while...then again, we've also been interested in checking out the Epcot resorts... :rolleyes:

Either way, what a delicious dilemma!

In the meantime, I'm trying to get Bill to write a quick summary of his recent trip to Disneyland -- he was visiting a friend in LA last week, and they went to the Motherland for a few hours. I don't know how Bill stood for it -- his friend didn't want to get there early, didn't want to tour commando, and they only stayed for five hours total. :eek: I would have been writhing all morning until we arrived! And you would have had to peel me out of the park with a vegetable peeler!* (*Note: Not quite sure how this would work.) But Bill managed to be cool about it, and to go at his friend's pace. Which meant they only hit five rides total!

:scared1:

Anyway, I'll try to pry the mini-TR out of him soon, and will report back soon with our initial draft of a plan. Thanks, as always, for reading! :flower3:

Is there a blushing smilie? I'm so thrilled that you'll be there! :cloud9:

I understand your dilemma about the Beach Club versus AKL. I agree this is the perfect time to slip in a stay at AKL, but the BC's proximity to Epcot, along with Stormalong Bay and Beaches and Cream make it a tempting alternative. I considered a split stay myself and still thinking about it in that Disney planning wanting to make it perfect sort of way.

Bill is a better man than me! I can't imagine being patient in that way. Instead of being a good friend I probably would have been a source of embarrassment as I clung to the FP machine at SM, refusing to leave. I'm totally looking forward to his report! popcorn::

Sunshine1987

05-02-2009, 09:13 PM

I just have to quickly say that I am trying - unsuccessfully - to get ready for our Disney trip in a few days by looking over last minute recommendations and answers to some of my last minute questions on the DIS when I stumbled upon one of your previous trip reports (Dec 2008) and whoa...I am hooked! Your trip report is so engaging, fun, entertaining, heartfelt and genuine at the same time!

Alas, I really, really have to get back to business but I am seriously going to spend some quality time reading your trip reports at some future date! Thanks for sharing your experiences!:cutie:

girlbomb

05-05-2009, 10:32 AM

Circusgirl, I'm so psyched to coordinate some Disney funtimes with you! :woohoo:

And Sunshine 1987, I hope you'll have an amazing trip! Thanks for the post, and for reminding me to update this hyar PTR. :hippie:

We have made some recent progress on our trip planning -- this weekend, we bought tickets to Mickey's No So Scary Halloween Party for Friday, Sept. 25. I know we could have waited to buy them, and we didn't have to pounce on them the day after they went on sale, but why deprive ourselves of the chance to call 1-407-WDW-TOUR, hear that happy music, and chat with a CM?

Now we're just trying to figure out what to wear to the party! We watch Lost, and were thinking of going as members of the Dharma Initiative, but Bill's of the opinion that "everyone's going to be doing that," so we're back to scouring our brains for something that won't be too hot or complicated but will still say FUNTIMES to all who view us. Maybe we'll just cover ourselves in glow sticks and go as SpectroMagic floats!

More updates as our plans come together. We're getting closer to our 90-day ADR-making deadline -- a big milestone in our countdown to fun!

I hope everyone is happily planning and dreaming of Disney... :goodvibes

Circusgirl

05-12-2009, 01:07 AM

girlbomb

09-01-2009, 12:35 PM

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I updated this pre-trip report, not that I haven't thought about this trip every single day since my last update. And now we're just three weeks and a day away -- woohoo!

:dance3:

Our plans and ADRs have been made thusly:

Weds 9/23

Leave Newark Airport at 7am
Arrive MCO at 10am
Kiss ground (then wash lips)
Skip the Magical Express, and cab it to the Animal Kingdom Lodge
Check in and hit the Animal Kingdom
Everest! Kali! Safari! It's Tough to be a Bug! Snackage! More Everest!
Head back to AKL to change for 7pm ADR at Jiko
Collapse into bed, as we will have been up since 4am!

Thurs 9/24

Depending on the weather, today's either Hollywood Studios or Typhoon Lagoon day. If it's Studios day:

Rope drop at DHS
Toy Story! Tower of Terror! Rock n' Roller Coaster! Streetmosphere! MUPPETS! And maybe even...American Idol!
11:30 lunch at 50s Prime Time Cafe
More Toy Story! More ToT! More of everything, please!
Head back to AKL to change for Adventurer's Club dinner at 6, which calls for two or three of these guys:

:banana::banana::banana:

If it's Typhoon Lagoon day, we cancel the 50s PTC ADR and go with:

7:30 breakfast at Boma
10 am rope drop at Typhoon Lagoon
Splishing! Splashing! Smiling! Snacking!
Head back to AKL to change for Adventurer's Club dinner at 6, which calls for two or three more of these guys:

:banana::banana::banana:

Fri 9/25

Epcot day, and the start of the Food & Wine Festival! We're not going to try for rope drop today, as we predict we'll be wiped out from two days of heavy touring, and we have tickets to the Halloween party for tonight, which calls for at least one of these guys:

:yay:

So it looks like we'll hit Epcot around 11am
Fooding and Wining! Kim Possible-ing! World Showcasing! Maybe even in the company of a Circusgirl, and some of the other cool kids?
Leave Epcot and head to the MK for a 5:40 ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern with said cool kids, which calls for four or five of these guys:

:yay::yay::yay::yay::yay:

And maybe even a few of these:

:woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

Then partying at Mickey's Not So Scary -- In Fact, Entirely Delightful -- Halloween Party!
Parade and fireworks are our top priority. Eating candy runs a close third. Also on our list: Haunted Mansion, TTA, staring at Space Mountain and trying to imagine what it's going to be like when it reopens.
Back to AKL only when we can not stand it a MINUTE LONGER!

Sat 9/26

Today's the day we do whatever we didn't do on Thursday: DHS or Typhoon Lagoon, with all the attendant ADRs.

Whichever we do, we're headed back to the MK that evening for more ride-riding, and an 8:30 ADR at the Crystal Palace. Because it wouldn't be a Disney trip without a meal at the CP!
Then it's back to the AKL to saw some serious logs...

Sun 9/27

Rope drop at Epcot! Gotta get in a few Soarin's before we head to the F&W Fest.
12pm ADR at Rose & Crown (I know, it's F&W, but we've been dying to try R&C. Somehow I'm confident we'll be able to eat everything in our path...)
Head back to AKL to pack
Head to airport for 7pm flight, which calls for a few of these:

:sad1::sad1::sad1:

Then start counting down to our annual December trip, which calls for a bunch of these guys:

:cool2::cool2::cool2:

So that's the scoop. I'd star the things we're most looking forward to, but we're most looking forward to EVERYTHING! Hope to see some of you fun people while we're in the world -- if not, see you here on the Dis, and hope you're all enjoying some very happy planning/dreaming/Dis-ing!

:cloud9:

Circusgirl

09-02-2009, 01:28 AM

girlbomb

09-12-2009, 08:10 PM

Smashing schedule!!!
I especially like the parts that include me. :goodvibes
We're getting fantastically close to actually being there! :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:
Have you decided on costumes (or not) for MVMCP? (You
don't have to tell us if you want it to be a surprise. :thumbsup2)

I would love to do costumes for the party, but it looks like we'll just be...us. Looking forward to seeing you in all your splendor, though! :goodvibes

And I just realized that I might as well make this a two-fer trip report, since we’re making two trips this year instead of our customary one. We leave in less than two weeks for our September Adventure; then we get to come back in less than three months for our December Adventure!

So while we count down the days to our September trip, let me fill you in on our December planning.

Saturday was the start of our 90 day window for our December trip. And while I didn’t think we needed to do the whole “wake up at 6:30, use the atomic clock, and pounce on WDW-DINE at exactly 6:59:55” thing this year, as we weren’t trying to get breakfast in the castle or dinner at Le Cellier, it just so happened that I woke up naturally around 7, and decided to get up and call right away. I think I dialed at around 7:10 a.m….

…and heard a recording that informed me that, “due to heavier than normal call volume,” I could expect to wait on the line for thirty minutes!

FIFTY MINUTES LATER, a reservation assistant finally answered. Phew! Just as I thought I couldn’t stand another second of “walking right down the middle of Main Street, U.S.A.” (a song I am normally delighted to hear, but repeatedly, for almost an hour? As the Colonel at the Adventurers’ Club was known to say, “Shoot me, shoot me, shoot me, shoot me, shoot me…”).

Our friendly Disney Dining Expert helped me to make the following reservations:

Friday 12/4: Arrival day! Start at MK, hop to Epcot

We got a 8 p.m. dinner at Akershus, a restaurant at which we’ve never eaten. This comes, of course, after we check in at our beloved Contemporary, and spend a few hours at the Magic Kingdom – our mandatory first stop on our December trips. We hope to be done at Akershus in time to get a spot for Illuminations, though we may be too tired to enjoy it on our first night – we’ll see!

Saturday 12/5: First full day at Disney! Start at MK, hop to Epcot

Right now, we have a 9 a.m. breakfast ADR at Crystal Palace, our customary “first morning at Disney” breakfast spot.

Unfortunately, all the 8:05 spots were taken, and the earliest table we could get was at 9 a.m. – boo! One of the main reasons we love the CP breakfast is because it allows us to gain early entry to the park, and we’re able to be finished with our meal and at the Tomorrowland rope by 8:45. A 9 a.m. table puts us way behind the crowds, so I think we’ll keep trying for an earlier spot – if we can’t get one, I think we’ll have to cancel this ADR.

One reason it may be so crowded on this day is because of the Christmas parade taping, which we saw last year, and which caused big crowds at the MK. I’m trying to convince Bill that we might want to avoid the MK entirely on this day, but I don’t know how much luck I’ll have – he’s a stickler for tradition, and a huge lover of the MK. And part of me wants to be at MK at rope drop on our first morning, crowds or no crowds – I love our traditions, too, and I also want to ride the newly refurbished Space Mountain a bunch of times! I’d like to think we’ll get a few rides in on our arrival day, but since we won’t be hitting the park until 1, and we have a 7 p.m. dinner at Epcot, I don’t know if FastPasses will be available when we need them, and I predict that standby lines will be loooooooong…

Either way, we’ll be hopping on Saturday to Epcot at some point for our 7:50 dinner at Coral Reef. Yuh-HUM! We ate here last year, and loved it – while the food came out of the kitchen slowly, we felt our server was attentive, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was amazing. We wanted a 7 p.m. table, so we could be done in time to get a good spot for Illuminations (in case we don’t see it on arrival night), but this was the earliest we could get. Maybe I should have pounced on the phone right at 6:59:55!

Sunday 12/6: Animal Kingdom, all day!

We’ve planned an 11:30 lunch at Tusker House. We haven’t been here since it went from counter service to table service, and while we usually don’t plan a sit-down lunch on our AK day, I think it will help us to take a break and rest for an hour, so we don’t wind up snoozing through an afternoon showing of Finding Nemo: the Snoozical.

But we don’t want to fill up too much, because we have to save room for our 7 p.m. dinner at Boma – always a dining highlight for us. We’ll be trying Boma breakfast during our September Adventure; we’ll see how well it compares to the super delicious dinner buffet we love so much.

Monday 12/7: DHS, all day!

After a few hours of Toy Story-ing and Tower of Terror-ing, we’ll toddle over to Hollywood & Vine around noon for some face-stuffing. I’m not sure if the characters are there at lunchtime, but if so, I am dying to meet Jojo the lion, who we did not get to meet at last year’s H&V breakfast, as he was occupied with other tables (sniff).

Believe it or not, this is our only ADR for the day…so far! I may go nuts and try to stuff in a dinner reservation somewhere, despite my promise to Bill that we would leave ourselves more flexibility and unscheduled meals this year. But…but…maybe we could just have dessert at the Sci-Fi Drive In? We do so love the atmosphere there, and last year, our visit to the Sci Fi was overshadowed by annoying phone calls, which killed the mood. I may have to sneak in a re-do for this year, if possible…

Tuesday 12/8: Rope drop at Epcot, then hop to MK for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

We scored a noon lunch at Biergarten, our favorite of all the World Showcase restaurants we’ve tried (and we’ve tried most of them). A big lunch Biergarten will probably lead to napping, and then it’s off to the MK, where we have an 8 p.m. dinner at Tony’s Town Square, where we’ve never eaten. Our expectations are low, as we’ve read mixed reviews of Tony’s, but the fun of eating someplace new always mitigates whatever service or food issues may arise. And who knows? We may be pleasantly surprised.

We’d have liked to have scored a 6 p.m. ressie, so we wouldn’t have to spend precious party time eating, but this was what was available – again, I’ll keep trying for an earlier spot, and if not, we’ll be happy to have this one.

Wednesday 12/9: Typhoon Lagoon, if the weather permits – if not, who knows?

It’s Flex Day for the Shmoopy DINKs – we hope to spend the day at Typhoon Lagoon, but if the weather does not allow us to do so, we’ll make other plans on the fly. But at least we’ll have our breakfast and dinner reservations – 8 a.m. breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, and 7:40 p.m. dinner at the California Grill (we wanted 8, to be closer to Wishes time, but we took what was available). It’s a very Contemporary day!

Thursday 12/10: Epcot Segway tour, and who knows what else?

A 9:30 a.m. Segway tour of World Showcase starts our day; a 1 p.m. lunch at Teppan Edo will keep us going through the afternoon. Where that afternoon will be spent, we still don’t know, though I suspect a nap may sneak its way onto our agenda… And if we haven’t seen Illuminations yet on this trip, tonight’s our chance.

Friday 12/11: DHS, and more DHS!

Only one meal on the schedule today: 11:30 a.m. Lunch with an Imagineer at the Brown Derby! We met an Imagineer last year, while on line for Soarin’, and our brief chat with him was one of the highlights of our trip. We can’t wait for this very special lunch date with one of the creative wizards who make our trips so magical.

Saturday 12/12: MK, all the way!

We’ll start the day with a coveted 8:05 table at the Crystal Palace – and we’ll end our day with an 8 p.m. dinner there, too. I know – that’s a lot of Pooh and Friends! But never too much for us. We like CP for breakfast and for dinner, and this, our last park day, may be our only chance to do one of each.

Sunday 12/13: Departure day…

We’re hoping a 9:35 breakfast at O’hana will help ease the sorrow of leaving – it did last year. And since we have a later-than-usual flight this year, maybe we’ll even get lunch someplace fun before we go. (Augh! Did I say “go?” We haven’t even got there yet, and I’m already dreading leaving!)

Anyway, them’s the plans. It took almost a half hour to make them, and then (as though my ear weren’t numb enough already), I called WDW-TOUR to get our Christmas party tickets and Segway tour arranged. By the time Bill woke up at 9, I’d been on the phone with Disney for almost two hours!

But who’s complaining? I love calling the friendly, helpful folks at Disney, and I love planning trips. Next year, though, I’m pouncing at 6:59:55…

In the meantime...ELEVEN DAYS! :woohoo:

Circusgirl

09-13-2009, 03:49 AM

girlbomb

09-17-2009, 12:24 AM

There's one more thing I think you will want to put on your list...
The DIS Unplugged is putting on another TSM event on the evening of the 12th. There is a thread here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2201826

I haven't been paying attention to when the sign up is supposed to go up as I originally couldn't get that time off from work. When I got my latest schedule, the time I was supposed to have off the week prior to the event instead showed me as working. The total upside of having to reschedule almost everything is that I can now be there for the party!

Circusgirl, this party sounds great; thanks for once again tipping us off to a must-do event!

Speaking of which, I am DYING with anticipation, now that the Septemberer Adventurer trip is only six and a half days away! Next week at this time, we'll be at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, tucking in after a long day of travel, arrival, park-running, and foods-eating, exhausted and excited and satisfied and stuffed -- and psyched to wake up on the savannah in the morning!

:woohoo:

Circusgirl

09-20-2009, 11:26 PM

Everybody is warmed up and waiting for you!!! Can't wait until you get here!

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg300/Circusgirl_WDW/DIsney%20World%20September%202009/DSC_0058.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg300/Circusgirl_WDW/DIsney%20World%20September%202009/DSC_0018.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg300/Circusgirl_WDW/DIsney%20World%20September%202009/DSC_0024.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg300/Circusgirl_WDW/DIsney%20World%20September%202009/DSC_0028.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg300/Circusgirl_WDW/DIsney%20World%20September%202009/DSC_0092.jpg

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg300/Circusgirl_WDW/DIsney%20World%20September%202009/DSC_0212.jpg

girlbomb

09-22-2009, 06:37 PM

Circusgirl, that looks great! We are counting the hours -- can't wait to be there in Disney with you and the rest of the fun folks!

I'm puttering around, packing, tidying the place for the catsitter, and just got an alarming email that our reservation may have been screwed up, because my credit card number changed since I made the arrangements. Eep!

:scared1:

I immediately sent my new cc number to the very helpful travel agent who caught my error, but haven't heard yet whether or not everything's been fixed. Apparently, in the worst case scenario, we will still have a room reservation, and tickets to the Adventurers' Club dinner, but we may have to buy park passes when we hit the ground -- I hope that's the worst case scenario, anyway!

Maybe I should call Disney directly? Yeah, I think I'll do that right now.

On hold with the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Boy is this cast member helpful and polite -- just asked her name, and it's Celeste. Thank you, Celeste!

Uh oh. I think I'm on hold for the main reservations line. This could take a while.

On hold again. Yeah, this doesn't bode well.

DISNEY, PLEASE TAKE MY MONEY!

Now on with a woman named Jamie, who is silent for long stretches of time. Apparently she is waiting for someone to tell her what to do, but she doesn't want to put me on hold. Weird.

Okay. So, because I went through an agent, I have to work it out with the agent. Who I've emailed and left a message for, with no reply yet. BUT Jamie confirmed again and again that I *do* have a reservation being held in my name, and she allowed me to pay for the park tickets over the phone, so that's taken care of in advance.

So, uh, yikes! That's weird and upsetting at the last minute! I'd love to hear back from the travel agent that everything's been sorted out on her end. But I trust that it will work out all right. As long as there's a room reserved in our name -- and hopefully our park tickets will be there at the desk, and our ADRs still in place -- we're good to go.

18 hours to Disney!

:yay:

girlbomb

09-22-2009, 10:17 PM

Phew! I heard from the travel agent, and it looks like all's well. Little bit of a nail biter there, but we should be all settled for tomorrow. Less than 13 hours, and we'll be on the ground at MCO!

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

girlbomb

10-01-2009, 12:05 AM

Aaaaaaaand we’re back!

Just got back on Sunday night, and WOW! What an amazing trip we had! What great fun, what wonderful friends, what delicious food – it was as close to perfect as life gets! AND we get to go back to Disney World in just 66 days! Heaven! :cloud9:

It’s always a good time to go to Disney, but the timing for this trip was especially excellent. There’s been a lot of extra stress and upset in our lives lately, due to some very active mental illness in the family, and we’ve been trying to make sure that we aren’t consumed by the drama and depression of dealing with it. Getting away from the ringing phone and the constant manufactured crises, and going to our happy place, was the perfect antidote to the situation – even though we’re back to reality now, I feel so much lighter, calmer, and happier than I did before we left.

So here’s how it went down, in full, glorious detail!

As I wrote in a previous post, this trip was basically a gift from a goddess, a.k.a. Circusgirl. :worship: Bill and I had our annual December trip planned, and we were impatiently counting the days and weeks and months to go, when Circusgirl let us know that there was going to be a special one-night-only event at the Adventurers’ Club in September, and that we should jump on reserving a ticket ASAP if we wanted to go. Well, it didn’t take us very long to decide that not only did we want to go, we HAD to go! We made our reservations in a jiffy, and managed to get in before the event sold out. Whoopee! :woohoo:

So our countdown got a little shorter, and the excitement started to build. We made our ADRs as soon as our window opened, got our tickets to the Halloween party, and got ready for a bonus shot of Disney magic. There was a little snafu with our reservation (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33677714&postcount=14) that was discovered the day before we left, but it was quickly resolved, and when Wednesday, September 23 rolled around, we were more than ready to go!

Day One: OMG FINALLY

The alarm goes off at the unholy hour of 4:30 a.m. But when Bill awakens and groggily rubs his sleepy eyes, he discovers that I am already up and in the shower. I’d awakened 15 minutes before, way too excited to sleep through the night – Disney Day is finally here! :banana:

We shower and dress, pack the toiletries, and do a last check to make sure we have everything: Boarding passes? Check. Reservation and ADR numbers? Check. Party tickets? Check. Adventurers’ Club tickets? Check. Tigger ears? Check! The cats get some extra petting and treats, and then it’s out the door and into the darkness of the 5:20 a.m. city streets.

We get a taxi right away, and are whisked off to Newark airport within twenty minutes. No luggage to check, so we go straight through security and to our gate. I grab a yogurt and granola parfait to munch, and some fashion magazines to distract me during the flight; I also take my flying pill (not a pill that makes me fly; a pill that allows me to board and sit on an airplane without shrieking in terror for the entire flight). Our flight boards promptly, and at 7 a.m. on the dot, we’re lifting off for Orlando.

Somehow, despite a shaking cabin and several screeching children, I’m able to doze through most of the flight, and before too long, we’re touching down at MCO. The adrenaline and excitement kick in, and we gleefully hustle over to the wanna-rail to take us to the main terminal. We’d decided to skip the Magical Express in favor of a town car from FL Tours, and though our flight has landed fifteen minutes early, our driver is there within minutes of our arrival at the lower concourse. Hooray!

Thirty minutes later, we’re at the stunning and grand Animal Kingdom Lodge, eyes adjusting from the bright, hot sunshine outside to the warm amber light and rich dark wood of the lobby’s interior. We’ve been to the AKL before to eat at Boma, but we’ve never stayed here – we’re usually Contemporary fans, but the Adventurers’ Club package we signed up for was only available at certain resorts, and the Contemporary wasn’t one of them. But we’ve always thought about trying something new, and this was a perfect opportunity to do so – a short trip, and an “extra” one, so if we didn’t like the resort, we still had our December plans in place at our old favorite. I’m so glad we tried the AKL – it’s spectacular, relaxing, full of beautiful art and details…and the animals, wow!

Though it’s only 11 a.m., our room is ready, and we head off to the very lovely room 4255, off the Kudu trail. We’re immediately struck by the warmth of the décor, the intricate wallpaper and rug patterns, the amazing wall art – and a surprise gift bag, left for us by the most wonderful Circusgirl! :goodvibes

Inside the gift bag is a Halloween Mickey votive holder, a delicious smelling bath bomb, some cookies and chocolate-covered caramel corn, a tube of Goofy Powder, some postcards, and two cooling neck wraps, one with Mickey Mouse fabric and one with Little Mermaid fabric. What an incredibly thoughtful surprise, and what terrific trip enhancements they will prove to be – those neck wraps will really save my bacon in the ninety-plus degree heat we’ll have while we’re there. :thumbsup2

We whip open the curtains to look for animals on the savannah (none in sight, but that will change soon), and I call Circusgirl to say THANK YOU! She’s getting a later-than-usual start this morning, having put in a few days of commando-style touring so far, and her plans for the day aren’t set yet; Bill and I are headed over to the Animal Kingdom, so we decide to stay in touch by phone and hopefully see each other soon.

A pic of the room:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/AKLroom.JPG

The beautifully carved headboard:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/headboard.JPG

Hi, Lady Lallie! :wave2:

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(This photo was taken another day, but we'll put it here anyway because OMG GIRAFFES, RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ROOM)

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With only three full days and two half days to spend in the World, Bill and I agree to skip the bus and cab it right over to the AK. The parking lot doesn’t look too crowded, and the line at the turnstile is practically nil, so we feel good about our chances of getting in a lot of fun today, despite missing rope drop by a few hours. There’s a little delay when I try to get through the turnstile and my card doesn’t seem to work; a Cast Member has to come over and work a little manual magic to get me inside. I hope it will not be a harbinger of things to come…

It almost doesn’t feel real, walking quickly through the gates and past the Oasis, heading over the bridge to Discovery Island and bearing right towards Asia. “We’re here,” I keep saying aloud, as though Bill might not have noticed where we were. Of course, we’re zipping along at our usual breakneck speed, with that extra first-day intensity, so it’s kind of hard to fully appreciate our surroundings – they’re a blur! But there’s no mistaking that feeling – the sounds, the smells, the excitement in the atmosphere.

We make a beeline for the Everest Fast Pass machines, noting that return times are only an hour away. But while Bill’s park pass nets him an FP with no problem, mine is giving me problems again. A CM named Kenny comes right over and fixes the issue within seconds, and we gratefully thank him and set off for the Everest standby entrance, posting only a 15 minute wait.

There’s bell-ringing and penny-flinging going on all around us, and then we’re in the expedition store and Yeti museum, quickly breezing past the exhibits and onto the train platform. We take our seats, pull down the lap bar, press up on it to make sure it’s secure, and then we’re off on our adventure, past chirping birds and over gentle hills, then up that first steep incline, with its spectacular view of fantastic lands near and far (Blizzard Beach! Tower of Terror! A water tower with Mickey ears! Amazing!).

A few dramatic swoops around the mountain, and then we’re caught short – the track’s been destroyed! What happens next? Some of you know all too well – it sounds a little something like this:

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

And then:

“HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!”

And then chuff chuff chuff as the train catches itself and slows, pulling into the station and depositing us in front of a bank of monitors, one of which shows us in full-on AAAAAAHHHHH! mode – mouths agape, eyes wide, hands in the air (Bill) or firmly grasped around the lap bar (me).

Let’s do it again! Wait times are up to 20 minutes, but the queue moves very quickly, and the ride is just as good the second time around, with plenty of AAAAAAHHH! and HEE HEE HEE! before the chuff chuff chuff.

Upon arrival back in Asia, we see that the wait time is now 35 minutes, and the line is starting to look like that 35 minutes is accurate, and not overestimated. So we grab a second Fast Pass for a later trip, and we head to Tusker House for lunch...

(More coming soon. Thanks for reading! :flower3:)

girlbomb

10-03-2009, 09:27 PM

(Day One, Animal Kingdom, in progress...)

So far we've taken two rides on Expedition Everest, and we’ve only been here at the park for a half hour. Go September! But upon arrival back in Asia, we see that the wait time is now posted as 35 minutes, and the line is starting to look like that 35 minutes is accurate, and not overestimated. So we grab a second Fast Pass for a later trip, and we head to Tusker House for lunch.

Though we have no ADR (we weren’t sure in advance where we’d want to dine that day, and we thought we might want to do counter service, so lunch would take up less precious ride time), we’re told that it will only be ten minutes or so to get a table. So we take our pager and go sit at the front of the restaurant, where some drummers are setting up their instruments. We call Circusgirl – our plans don’t seem to overlap today, so we’ll have to wait to see each other until tomorrow – and I take a minute to write down some trip reporting notes. Because, if I didn’t write it down, it didn’t happen.

And then the drumming begins.

So, I’m kind of a dancing fool. I love to dance, and don’t care whether I’m any good at it or not. Jumping straight up and down like a pogo stick is perfectly acceptable dancing to me, because it feels good to do it. So when the drumming starts, so does the dancing. :banana:

Drummers:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/drum09.JPG

Dancing fool:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/hokey09.jpg

You do the hokey pokey, and you turn yourself around. That, my friends, is what it’s all about.

Now it’s really starting to sink in: We’re at Disney. I can tell, because it’s perfectly acceptable for me to jump up and dance – in fact, the drummers have encouraged a bunch of us to do so, and are leading us through a series of steps, some of which I’m getting, and some of which I’m faking. The drummers’ set ends, we applaud heartily, and then we check in at the podium, where we discover that our table was ready ten minutes ago. We must have gotten out of pager range – either that, or my ridiculous rump-shaking overrode the pager’s sensor.

Either way, lunchtime. YUM. Tusker House is almost like a mini-Boma, with deliciously spiced dishes and terrific variety. Bill is in charge of the camera, or I’d have food pictures for you; instead, I will have to do my best to describe lunch. In one word. YUM. The atmosphere is great, the service is quick, and we’re psyched that we’re coming back to Tusker House in December.

Now, our original plan, crafted over many months of scheming and dreaming, was to spend the whole afternoon at Animal Kingdom today, and then have dinner at Jiko. We know that today is our only opportunity to get in some quality AK time, as we have plans (with ADRs) to visit the rest of the parks over the next few days. But as much as we love the AK, we’re hankering for a look at that castle – we always head straight for the Magic Kingdom on our December trips – and we can’t seem to shake the urge to go there right now, even though it means we’ll be spending precious park time in transit, and we won’t get back to the AK on this trip.

We decide to spend our two Everest Fast Passes, and then hit the road for the MK. It’s hard to rush past the monkeys swinging from their scaffold-shrouded temple, the Tree of Life (posting only a five minute wait for It’s Tough to Be A Bug), the Oasis, and DeVine without stopping to enjoy them, but we’re jonesing for the MK, and so we fly by the attractions, out the gate, and into a taxi to the Contemporary (faster than taking the cab to the Transportation and Ticket Center and then taking the monorail).

Now that we’re on the walkway from the Contemporary to the MK, I REALLY feel it. The sun is baking, the railroad is whistling its low, lovely tune, and though Space Mountain is closed, and we can see an opening in its roof where construction materials can go in and out, it’s still there, its spires beckoning above the treeline, promising great fun in December (we hope). As we approach the main gates, the Halloween decorations look warm and welcoming, and turnstile lines aren’t too bad at all – this September thing is working out great so far!

It’s a beautiful day to be in the MK. We stop for a good long sniff in the candy store, then trot towards the castle, gleaming in the sun. First look at the castle – psychic satisfaction has been achieved!

Usually, we’d hang a right to Tomorrowland, but today it’s straight through Liberty Square to Splash Mountain for us. I point out to Bill that we’re walking on the grey rocky pathway that runs through Liberty Square – meant to represent the stream of waste that used to be flung from windows into the streets in Colonial times – but since it’s all just a simulation, there’s no need to stop and bathe our feet and ankles in Purell.

We get a Fast Pass for Splash, with return time in a little over an hour, and join the “15 minute” standby line, which is really a walk-on. It’s hot, and we’ve been hustling today, so it’s a pleasure to get a little bit wet on the ride. We notice that the worm on one of the “how do you do” birds’ fishing hook, the worm with the little fishing hat on, doesn’t seem to be there – sad! We’ll keep looking for him throughout the many rides we’ll take on Splash this trip, but I guess he’s gone, unless we just weren’t looking in the right place.

After a satisfying Splash, we mosey over to Pirates and walk right on. And…I’m confused. Do dead men tell tales, or do they tell no tales? Because the disembodied voice says one thing, but the guy with the octopus on his face says another. One thing’s for sure – this ride is bumpier than I remember. But every bit as interesting and fun.

Speaking of interesting and fun, we walk over to the Haunted Mansion, and cruise right into a stretching room with no wait. I love the fact that the bride’s name is Constance (or so says the banner that hangs in the attic, announcing her marriage to Frank) – I love women’s names that are also virtues, and the irony here is perfect. “Hurry baaa-aack,” she entreats us as we leave – oh, don’t worry, Connie. We will.

One of the must-do’s on our list for this trip is the Hall of Presidents, closed last December while the Imagineers whipped up a facsimile of President Barack Obama. We head into the building a few minutes before the 3pm show, and spend the wait looking at the exhibits; Bill notices that some of the portraits have been removed to make room for things like Richard Nixon’s sixth grade school essay, and Nancy Reagan’s beaded dress. Then we’re ushered inside the nice, cool, dark theater, and take our plush, comfy seats…

…And I am going to have a heck of a time staying awake. Up since 4:15 + the remnants of a flying pill still in my system + two plates of food at lunch + walking at a breakneck pace through the heat of the parks + dark theater = nap time. But I am determined to actually see the show this time, instead of dozing through it, even if it means sticking my fingers into my eyes to keep them open, which is pretty much what I’m reduced to. So I don’t know if I’m the most reliable reporter here, but this Obama’s looking a little more washed-out than the original, to me. I mean, this is our first black president! Why does he look so beige? I sure am happy to see him represented here, though. :thumbsup2

We need some refreshment, we decide, as we head out into the bright sun and dazzling décor of Fantasyland, so we decide to hit the Enchanted Grove for a frozen raspberry lemonade. It’s too bad they discontinued the strawberry swirl they used to serve here, but the frozen raspberry lemonade is super-refreshing, both sweet and tart, and tasty enough to lead us both into brain freeze. We continue our trek to the TTA – yay, TTA! – which has new lighting effects that you can’t really see in the daylight. There’s a somber, silent, gloomy minute there while the TTA glides through the Space Mountain building – first it’s pitch black, then there are the bright construction lights blazing, but it’s all hushed and surreal. The narration is completely suspended, like the TTA people are trying to ignore the fact that we’re passing through an attraction under construction – it’s all, like, “nothing to see here, nothing to remark upon, just shut up and pretend this part of the ride isn’t happening.” We’re craning our necks, trying to get a sense of what’s going on inside our beloved Space Mountain, but all we see is construction barriers, and a thick layer of dust on everything. Then we’re out into Tomorrowland again, and the narration picks right up like nothing happened.

Some pics of the construction, and the demolition of the old Skyway building, as seen from the TTA:

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Once back at Rockettower Plaza, we make our way back to Fantasyland to knock off yet another favorite attraction on our long list of faves: Mickey’s Philharmagic. I have probably seen this attraction fifteen times, and I still discover new things about it – the thump of the bass in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice scene, when the big broom stomps over to Donald; the way the theater flashes with electricity when Donald kisses the electric eel. Tiny, subtle details that make the whole show so thoroughly engaging. Love it!

We notice that wait times have jumped, in the 30 or 45 minutes since our last swing through Fantasyland, from 5 minutes to 20 minutes, but 20 minutes is still a bargain. The wait for the Speedway is only 10, and I know it’s ridiculous for two adults to spend even one minute on line for the Speedway, but we are ridiculous people, so we do it. Twice. The first time, I drive, and Bill spends the entire ride shouting at me for running us into the center rail – “What are you doing?!” he cries. “You’re trying to kill me!” (And really, I don’t know why those cars are so hard to steer; it’s not like I’m not trying to steer correctly, but the wheel isn’t as responsive as one might hope.) The second ride I spend shouting at him, as he’s not faring much better than I did at keeping us on track.

For some reason, shouting at each other strikes us as hilarious (don’t worry – we keep it clean, and we’re hyperbolic enough that anyone who overhears knows we’re not serious). I am also guaranteed to crack up every time Bill grabs my wrist and jerks my arm, threatening between clenched jaws to “drag [me] right out of this park if I do not stop this minute,” something he’ll do two or three times per trip for no reason at all. It’s a lot less funny when we see actual parents doing it to their actual kids; it was a lot less funny when it was happening to us as children. I don’t know why it makes me double over laughing when he does it now, but it does. We obviously have some issues. :rolleyes1

Bill, shrieking in mortal peril:

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/billspeed09.jpg

We work up a thirst, yelling at each other, so we stop for a frozen blue soda at the Lunching Pad, and, having learned nothing from our earlier experience with the frozen raspberry lemonade, immediately slurp ourselves into mind-bending headaches, which, fortunately, disappear fast (as does the frozen soda). We’re bouncing around like pinballs between attractions, barely stopping between them to soak up the atmosphere – now we careen into the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor for some yuks.

I keep trying to get them to tell my hilarious octopus joke (How many octopuses does it take to change a light bulb? One-eighth!), but once again, it is not used in the show. The Monsters Inc. also pass up this somewhat obscure quizzer from a “Bill from New York”: What’s black and white and financially insolvent? The newspaper industry! (This joke is only funny to Bill, who works in newspapers, and even he is having trouble finding the humor in it lately.)

They do, however, use this riddle from one “Janice from NYC”: Why does a tiger have stripes? So she won’t be spotted!

Get it? “Spotted?” It’s both a pun, and a reference to natural evolutionary defense mechanisms in the animal world! Hilarious, and educational! :rotfl:

Alas, time is passing quickly, packed as it is with attraction after attraction, and we’ll have to head back to the resort soon to change for dinner. But first, we use our totally unnecessary Splash Mountain Fast Pass – there’s literally nobody in the standby line, and the CM at the end of the line tells us to hang on to our FPs for later today (would that we could use them later today! But thanks, friendly CM…).

Again, it’s nice to catch a little splash on this ride, and also nice to avoid the thorough soaking that the mom and daughter in the front seat receive when a falling log douses them on the first bend. I’m always torn between wanting to throw my hands up and enjoy the fall, and hunching over to protect the contents of my (very fashionable) fanny pack from getting soaked. So the net effect is like, “Whee! (Hunch).”

We walk briskly back towards the front of the park to exit, catching the last few minutes of the “Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It” parade on our way. Few guests seem to be watching the parade, and we’re not paying it much mind either, concerned as we are with getting back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a timely fashion – all we’re worried about is whether or not it will block our path to the gate. (It does, but only for a minute, and then we’re on our way.)

While we have little faith in the Disney bus system, and have budgeted for cabs for this trip, we’ve already taken one extra, unplanned taxi to the MK today, and so we decide to give the bus a shot for the return trip. We figure we’ll walk to the bus stop, and if our ride doesn’t come quickly, we’ll keep walking towards the Contemporary, where we can always find a cab. But there’s a bus right there at the stop when we arrive, and it takes off within two minutes of our boarding. Hey, maybe these Disney busses aren’t so bad after all! They sure are free of charge, unlike taxis.

Of course, the bus has to make a long swing through Kidani Village, the DVC wing of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, before dropping us off at the main Jambo House. But we still have time to rinse off, take some vital trip reporting notes, snap some pictures of HOLY COW ZEBRAS RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ROOM, and throw on some acceptable Signature Dining outfits, before going downstairs to check in at Jiko.

HOLY COW ZEBRAS (wait, what's a cow zebra?):

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We’re seated as soon as we arrive, ten minutes early for our ADR, and the dark, warm atmosphere is instantly relaxing. There are some tables with children nearby, but the kids are all attuned to the calm, upscale vibe of the place, and are accordingly quiet and well-behaved. It is lovely here at Jiko, and I have a moony smile on my face as we look over the menu, provided by the super friendly and efficient Michelle.

Happy diner enjoying romantic ambiance while anticipating yummy foods:

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It was hard for us to decide to pass up our big-time fave Boma in favor of Jiko, but I’m so glad we tried something new this time. The food is terrific, and the service is great. For appetizers, I have the spicy and savory “Taste of Africa” trio of dips with yummy assorted breads, and Bill has the tibs watt – stewed beef wrapped in crepes with tapenade – which he highly recommends. For a main course, I have the excellent curry shrimp with flavorful coconut rice, and Bill has the coffee barbeque short ribs, to which he gives a hearty thumbs up. Michelle recommends just the right glass of wine for Bill, and an apple martini for me; again, the service she provides us tonight is excellent. Sometimes at Disney restaurants the server is great but the kitchen is slow, but we don’t find that here. Everything comes out at just the right time, and just the right temperature, and it’s all pretty perfect – the only thing we don’t love is my dessert, a special coffee mousse with beignets that are a little too oily and dense to finish. Bill’s dessert, the pistachio crème brulee with chocolate bottom, more than passes muster.

As exhausted as we both are, after a long and action-packed day and a filling dinner, we take a few minutes for a postprandial amble around the resort. A toddler crouches down by the stream outside Jiko’s window, fascinated by the amber lights, as his grandmom encourages his curiosity – “Pretty water, that’s right.” At 9 p.m., the pool is full of families enjoying a nighttime swim, clouds of mist rising into the warm air. We note the location of the Mara, where we’ll be grabbing breakfast tomorrow, then head back towards our room.

Have I mentioned the smell yet? It’s not quite the smell of the Contemporary – there’s something smokier about the distinctive AKL smell – but it adds yet another dimension of enjoyment to the walk through the magnificent lobby, along the plush and intricate rugs, past the authentic African musical instruments near the elevator on our floor, to our perfectly inviting room. I give Circusgirl another call, and we agree to meet up at rope drop at the Studios the next morning – hooray!

The animals are gone from the savannah for the night, so we flip on Stacy to amuse us as we get ready for bed. Except…this isn’t the Stacy we know and love. Where’s Stacy, the hyperbolic spaz? Who’s this calm, mature woman in her late thirties, patiently explaining the must-do’s at the parks? Why isn’t she shrieking more, and saying corny, ridiculous things? We will accept this flimsy substitute for now, I guess, a mellow Stacy being better than no Stacy at all, but I really hope she dials it back up to a million for the next iteration of the must-do’s.

By ten p.m., we’re drifting off to sleep, the alarm set for 6:30 tomorrow morning, when we’ll wake up in Disney World, ready for another day of fun…and friends!

(Day Two, coming soon! Thanks for reading! :cool2:)

Circusgirl

10-05-2009, 03:15 PM

There is absolutely nothing like a girlbomb trip report to ease the return to reality from a golden, great trip to the World!
I'm so sorry I missed the dancing at AK! You look dancerific.
I love the atmosphere at Jiko as much as I enjoy the excellent food. It is a lovely oasis of calm and a wonderful way to wind down an evening.
It's so true that a trip doesn't feel launched until the castle is in sight.
Thanks for the wonderful words and pix, eagerly awaiting more! :goodvibes

Circusgirl

10-05-2009, 09:25 PM

p.s.

I also lament the new and not improved Stacey, although I'll take the tattered remnants that remain over losing her completely.

I think she might have a thyroid condition. If they diagnose and treat it, we could have the old Stacey back. :goodvibes

girlbomb

10-08-2009, 06:55 PM

Circusgirl, we miss you! And Disney, too, of course. Did you see that there was an off-site Adventurers' Club fan event on Sept. 26th called ConGaloosh? I saw some pictures of it on Facebook...looked interesting! I'm working on new installments of the trip report, and also looking forward to reading your notes on your fabulous September Adventure! :goodvibes

manntra

10-12-2009, 06:40 PM

I recently got back from my October trip (this past Friday.) It has been so refreshing to relive some of my trip through your detailed reporting.....the smell of AKL......Jiko---ate there for the first time and :love: it. I had the pistachio creme brulee too :thumbsup2 At first I thought like I was cheating on Boma but that quickly passed, after all I did have breakfast there earlier in the week!

You are so right! What happened to Stacy? With her weird swagger and strange pants :confused3

So happy you liked the AKL....that is my home resort and I love it there.

Tracy

girlbomb

10-14-2009, 10:58 PM

Manntra, thanks for chiming in! I totally understand why you love the AKL -- now we do too -- and I'm glad the TR is bringing back happy memories of your trip. It's starting to seem like a long time ago to me -- I'd better get busy working on new installments! Here's a short one, for now

Day Two (Thursday, Sept. 24): OMG STILL

The alarm rings at 6:30, just like it usually does at home. Of course, I usually ignore it at home, but we’re not at home today, are we? Nope – we’re in DISNEY WORLD. Time to get up and get out there!

On our planning spreadsheet, today was to be spent at either Typhoon Lagoon or the Studios. We’d made ADRs at the Studios for today, thinking we’d cancel them if we decided to hit the Lagoon instead, but it looks like we’ll be using them – we’re meeting Circusgirl at rope drop! :banana:

First, a peek out the window at the vultures in the trees:

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

("Don't mind us, we're just out here, waiting for something to die so we can eat it." :rolleyes1)

Then it’s downstairs through the lobby, past Jiko and Boma, outdoors and around the bend to the Mara, for a grab-and-go breakfast of yogurt, fruit, and granola, with a muffin for Bill, which we eat at a very pleasant outdoor table. The sparrows and magpies at the AKL are some pushy little birdies, all hopping around and cocking their heads at us like, “You gonna give us some crumbs? Snow White would totally give us some crumbs.” We don’t feed them any of our sugary human foods, so they hop over to another table, looking hopefully at the diners there. It’s delightful to be here in the warm morning air, enjoying the peaceful vibe of the place.

There’s no bus to the Studios at the bus stop (and it’s only 7:45, when the park doesn’t open until 9, so why would we expect one?), so we grab a cab, and make it to the Studios lot by 8:10. The guy at bag check greets me as “Princess” – how did he know? He must have seen us disembark from the cab. All he forgot was the “Jewish American” part. princess:

We are first in line at our turnstile:

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

Oh, the very first-ness of it all! Maybe being first at the turnstile is overkill, but in general, I would rather wait 45 minutes in the morning for rope drop than wait hours later in the day for rides.

Of course, some families are getting early entry to the park for their breakfasts at Hollywood and Vine, and I ask the CM at that turnstile if they have any walk-up tables available, which they do. But my question is purely academic, for curiosity’s sake – we just ate, and we have a date with Circusgirl!

She arrives shortly after we do, and we greet each other with great joy. Hooray for the DIS boards; hooray for making friends online and then getting to see them in person! :disrocks:

Speaking of meeting famous online folks in person, Chuck and Lynn (nts4wdw) are also here for rope drop, and I walk over to their line to say hello. They’re lovely people with big, friendly smiles, and we look forward to hanging out with them some more tonight at the Adventurers’ Club.

As soon as the turnstiles open, Circusgirl and Bill and I hustle to the rope and watch the opening ceremonies – “Hollywood, here we come!” We walk quickly with the rest of the very eager crowd over to Toy Story, where we grab some FPs and then enter the standby line.

Happy people in line for Toy Story:

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It’s wonderful to catch up with Circusgirl in person as we walk through the short line; we talk about life in general, and she also gives us some tips for high scores on the ride. We follow them as best we can, and at the end of the ride, both Bill and Circusgirl are awarded places on the honor roll of high scores for the day! Of course, the day has just begun…

We decide to get back in line for another ride, even though the standby line is now all the way out the door. But wait times are posted at 20 minutes, so maybe this long line will move faster than advertised. While we’re waiting, a cute little desk lamp comes out of a nearby window and hops around:

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Almost diverts us from the fact that the line is not moving at all.

We start to strategize. It’s 9:30, and almost time for us to get another Fast Pass to go with the 9:45 FPs we’re already holding. Should we stay on this long, unmoving line, or should we do something else nearby, and get the FPs as soon as they become available to us? As we’re waiting, still outside the ride building, we see the posted wait time jump from 20 to 50 minutes. That makes our decision for us – we’re leaving the line and going to One Man’s Dream.

Though Bill and Circusgirl and I are all well-versed in Walt Disney history, it’s still a must-do to walk through One Man’s Dream. We’re as interested in talking with each other as we are in looking at the exhibits, but we definitely give Walt his due, in between our chatty chat. At exactly 9:44, I grab everyone’s park passes, and hit the Toy Story FP machines for another set (I think they were for 1 p.m.); then I meet them back at One Man’s Dream in time for a showing of the film.

“I hope we never lose sight of the fact that it was all started by a mouse.” How many times have I heard this famous saying of Walt’s? And yet it strikes me anew today – what did he mean by this? Was he talking about himself? A man of humble beginnings, without any great advantages besides talent and determination – is he the mouse he’s referring to here? To me, this saying has always meant that big achievements start with small ideas; it’s not like he said, at the beginning of his career, “I know – I’ll create the world’s largest tourist destination, based on the principles of imagination, family fun, and education. It’ll cover 30,000 acres in Orlando, Florida, it’ll have 22 resorts and four parks and two water parks and a shopping and entertainment area, and monorails, and giant stuffed animals that hug you. Also, we’ll make films, acquire a TV network, expand the parks to other continents, and put our brand’s icons on everything from t-shirts to ice cube trays.” (Note: Bill and I own a set of Mickey-head ice cube trays. They make every drink happier.)

No – what he said was, “Here’s a drawing of a mouse. I’ll tell stories about this mouse using the medium of animation. People will enjoy that, and so will I.” Everything else came out of this first idea: to use animation to tell a story about a likeable character.

But it’s also true that everything came from this one man – his personality, his spirit, his imagination. In reality, Walt was the “mouse” who started it all, not Mickey. Is that what he meant, in that famous quote? I wonder…

With new food for thought, and with two Toy Story FPs in our pocket, we make a unanimous decision to hop over to the Tower of Terror to see what wait times are like. The sign says 30 minutes, but it’s more like a 10 minute wait before we’re in the boiler room, loading into a creaky, dingy, old elevator. We rise, the doors open, and we witness a spooky scene, a deserted hotel hallway which turns into a pitch black field with bright pinpoint stars; then it’s up a few more floors, where our elevator mysteriously moves forward (are elevators supposed to do that?) through dreamlike images of dolls, eyes, and equations. A sparkling cluster of blue-white lights resolves itself into two bright, thin lines, which part, and then we’re really in for it…

AAAAAAHHHHHH! :scared1:

The elevator plunges without warning! Fortunately, some mechanism seems to catch it before we’re dashed to the ground at a terrifying speed, and the car rises again…

AAAAAAHHHHHH! :scared1:

Only to fall once more! And then rise! And a window opens, and we can see how high above the park we are, but only briefly, because it’s time for another…

AAAAAAHHHHHH! :scared1:

Plummet, rise, plummet, rise – you can’t tell what this elevator will do next, you just have to hope and pray that it will eventually return you safely to the ground floor, where you’ll hear a warning before you’re released; something about stepping into an elevator, and winding up in the Twilight Zone.

Yeah. Heather and Bill and I, we don’t really pay any attention to the warning. We skip right around to the front of the building, and we get on the barely existent line again. And what do you know – we load into an elevator, and it does the same crazy thing as last time!

After a quick pit stop at the nearby Toilet of Terror, we head to the Rock N’ Roller Coaster Starring What’s Their Faces for some single rider action (“All the single riders, all the single riders, all the single riders, all the single riders…now put your hands up…”). Bill and Heather are quickly dispatched into other lines; I am paired with a girl of about eight whose dad and brother are in the seat behind her. And I feel a little badly for this girl, because when we take off from the limo garage at a very sudden 60 miles per hour? I screeeeeeeeeam! And when that loop is over and I’ve almost stopped screaming, we hit that corkscrew, and I screeeeeeam some more! And then we pull into the VIP entrance to the club, and we disembark. All that fun is hard on the throat.

So I don’t know if Bill or Circusgirl is sacrificing any of their wants or desires in order to make the whole group happy, or if we’re all just in perfect accord today, but it seems pretty easy for all of us to decide what we want to do and when, and it seems that everyone’s as happy about the resulting plan as I am. Our merry band heads back to Toy Story to use our first FP, bypassing a 50 minute standby line, and once again I am fixated on getting a high score. Bill clobbers me in the scoring, though I’m making sure to aim at high-value targets, and I’m firing as fast as I can – I think, in future rides, I’m going to have to calm down and try not to be so competitive, as it distracts me from the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of the overall experience. All I want to do is ride it again and again until I get the score I feel I deserve!

Bill and I have about a half hour before our noon ADR at the 50s Prime Time Café, and Circusgirl suggests we take a ride on Star Tours before we split up for the day (sniffle). We’ve heard that this iteration of the ride is due to change soon – George Lucas is already filming the new Star Tours movie. So we enjoy an old favorite while we can.

Unfortunately, there’s no time to browse the gift shop on the way out (one of our favorite places to browse), or to watch a few minutes of the Jedi Academy taking place nearby (Bill notes that they seem to have done away with the stage, which is odd), as it’s time to make our way over to the 50s Prime Time. We say a warm “goodbye for now” to Circusgirl, who we’ll be seeing in a few hours at tonight’s Adventurer’s Club event. But first, time for lunch!

(More soon, I hope -- thanks for reading! :flower3:)

Circusgirl

10-15-2009, 02:30 AM

manntra

10-15-2009, 07:16 PM

What a great day so far! :) I really love HS...well I love any park that I am in at that moment but HS is always fun with the street performers and my favorite TOT (not toilet of terror!!) We had one of the last rides of the night on our last night there and I swear it went up/down so many more times! I like when your first drop is actually going up instead because you aren't expecting it. :thumbsup2
Ughhh we had vultures over at Kidani too....Why? I know one kept looking at me on the balcony! An ostrich was making me a bit nervous once too eyeing me up! They can be quite mean too.
Hope you had a good meal at Primetime...I ate there last year and my nephews got in a lot of trouble! Nose against the wall, setting another family's table, etc! Have it all on tape for future humiliation! :yay:
Did you have any zebra domes while at Mara? We ate there once this trip and I saw them but then forgot about them! :scared1: We were going to take them back to our room for later consumption...oops!

Tracy

Lady Lallie

10-16-2009, 04:48 PM

HOW did I miss this?! I am so bummed that I never noticed. EEEK! Bad DISer!!

Well anyways, I am here. I am caught up and I can't wait for more!

girlbomb

10-20-2009, 03:21 PM

I'm grinning as big a super happy grin reading about our day as I was on the real day enjoying your utterly fantastic company! :goodvibes
It is starting to feel like a long time ago now, although this trip stayed close and familiar and recent for longer than average after I got home, which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Circusgirl, I was so sad to read that you (and most everyone else) got shut out of the D23 event! I hope you've still got a plan in mind for your next trip, though (earlyDecemberearlyDecemberearlyDecember).

What a great day so far! :) I really love HS...well I love any park that I am in at that moment but HS is always fun with the street performers and my favorite TOT (not toilet of terror!!) We had one of the last rides of the night on our last night there and I swear it went up/down so many more times! I like when your first drop is actually going up instead because you aren't expecting it. :thumbsup2
Ughhh we had vultures over at Kidani too....Why? I know one kept looking at me on the balcony! An ostrich was making me a bit nervous once too eyeing me up! They can be quite mean too.
Hope you had a good meal at Primetime...I ate there last year and my nephews got in a lot of trouble! Nose against the wall, setting another family's table, etc! Have it all on tape for future humiliation! :yay:
Did you have any zebra domes while at Mara? We ate there once this trip and I saw them but then forgot about them! :scared1: We were going to take them back to our room for later consumption...oops!

Tracy

Manntra, we totally missed out on getting zebra domes this year! We usually get them when we eat at Boma, but this trip we did Jiko instead. And I know there were right there at the Mara -- Bill even pointed to them in the display case -- but we had soooooo many sweets on this trip. (So then what would a few more zebra domes have hurt, right? Hard to believe we passed 'em by...)

HOW did I miss this?! I am so bummed that I never noticed. EEEK! Bad DISer!!

Well anyways, I am here. I am caught up and I can't wait for more!

Lady Lallie, you we missed on this trip! Did your ears burn when we all said we wished you had been able to join us? I'm glad you're joining us virtually. though -- hope all's very well with you! :goodvibes

Posting the next installment as soon as I can get these pictures up... Thanks for hanging in here with me! :3dglasses

girlbomb

10-20-2009, 03:32 PM

Day Two, Part Two: Running the Studios Like Hollywood Execs

When we left off, we two happy Adventurers were checking in to the 50s Prime Time Café for lunch. We ate here for the first time last year, and enjoyed the atmosphere very much – unfortunately, I was so exhausted that I could barely keep my face out of the food.

Exhibit A: Sleeping Foodie

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Today, I am a little peppier – though we’ve been running around all morning, I’m still full of enthusiasm. But I sure don’t mind being quickly seated at a nice formica table, with a black and white TV to divert us, and resting my butt for a few minutes while we eat.

Bill orders the meatloaf, I get the fish sandwich, and they’re both perfectly serviceable, if not outstanding. The service is fine – we’re never waiting too long for anything, but we’re not rushed, either. Our “Cousin Stacy” doesn’t have a lot of time to shoot the bull with us, so the cousin act is pretty thin, but at least we get our food in a timely fashion. Last year, we had “Aunt Cindy,” who we will still quote on occasion – she asked Bill if he needed more soda, and he said, “No thanks, I’m fine,” to which she muttered, “That’s an opinion.” To this day, “That’s an opinion” is a mandatory response to “I’m fine.”

Cousin Stacy doesn’t leave us with any quotables, but she does deliver delicious desserts: cupcake for Bill, smores for me. Right now, cupcakes are very trendy in our circle of friends :rolleyes:, so we’ve had more than our share lately, and this one is above average – fluffy and sweet and cakey. The smores are worth the calories, too, with the marshmallows slightly caramelized.

Meanwhile, the birthday song keeps breaking out around us. After two rounds of singing to strangers, we let the third stranger go unserenaded. It’s nice that everyone’s celebrating – we’re still wearing our Happy Anniversary pins, as we just celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary last weekend – but after a while, the celebrating starts to get a little prosaic. By tomorrow, tired of responding to cast members’ rote “Happy Anniversary”s, we will abandon our pins.

We leave the 50s PTC well fed, and decide we could use some more time to sit and digest before we do anything active (“No Tower for an hour,” warned Cousin Stacy, after our meal). So we head into a showing of the American Idol experience, due to start in just a few minutes. Bill and I take a very active interest in Idol every season; I will often vote ten times in a night for my favorite contestant. We’re curious to see how the experience will play out here at Disney World.

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And it’s a fun show! It’s not a must-do, by any means, but we enjoy our time there, and don’t feel it’s wasted in the least. The warm-up entertainer is diverting, the set is properly dazzling, and the three contestants who come out and sing are all interesting to watch – there’s a professionally trained woman who does a lovely “Colors of the Wind,” a Southern firefighter who has fun with “Sweet Home Alabama,” and a heavyset female truck driver, who sings the pants off some song I don’t recognize. She’s a big, happy surprise to everyone, especially the judges, who are all like, “Lady, you can sang,” and she is the elected winner. I had entertained notions of auditioning myself during our December trip, but after seeing the caliber of talent on stage today, I think I’ll confine my singing aspirations to the shower, where they belong. :rolleyes1

After American Idol, we decide to head back to the Tower of Terror to see if the morning’s short wait times are still holding. The wait is posted at 20 minutes, but it’s a walk on – actually, it’s three walk ons in a row, woohoo! The third time, there are so few people waiting in line in the boiler room that the bellhop tells us, “Sit wherever you want.” She even takes a picture of us in the near-empty car, to wit:

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Then, just before the doors are ready to close, some more guests join us, and she mutters, “It’s rude when people don’t move all the way over.” Uh, I guess she means that Bill and I are rude, since we are already seat-buckled into seats in the center of the bottom row, since she said we could sit anywhere we wanted. Oops.

I could ride the Tower of Terror all day, but after three trips, the line is actually starting to stack up a bit, so we take a short detour over to the Rock N Roller Coaster, and hit the single rider line for some upside down looping action. As a multiple repeat rider of many Disney World rides, I go through phases with the pre-shows – sometimes I’m weary of them and wish I could skip them, other times I enjoy hearing the same old spiel. Today, I’m enjoying the pre-show in the recording studio – “What the hey hey hey?” – and noticing how many lava lamps there are in there. Who knew that lava lamps were so crucial to the creative process? Perhaps I need a few more for my workspace…

Once again, I scream into the ear of a stranger (sorry, stranger) as we loop around the California highways, and am happily reunited with Bill in the gift shop. We are in great moods – hot, in the blazing sunshine of the 90 degree afternoon, but happy, as we walk over the chipped cobblestone with the trolley rails peeking out beneath, past the food court and the sweet shop and the Fantasia topiaries, heading towards Toy Story to use our second set of Fast Passes for our third ride of the day. We’ve had a ton of fun so far today, and we have so much to look forward to this evening, with the Adventurers’ Club event ahead of us. We spend months and months, planning and dreaming and waiting for these trips, and even when things don't go as we planned, the reality of being here never disappoints. :cloud9:

Unfortunately, when we get to Toy Story, the Fast Pass line is backed up into the courtyard – eek! Luckily, we still have a few hours to spend here before it’s time to head to Downtown Disney for the AC event, so we decide to skip it for now and use our FP later. The Muppet Movie is always an excellent way to spend some time, so we troop over in that direction, and enjoy the full pre-show (my favorite pre-show of all time, and one I never want to skip) before we head in for seats.

Good thing I’ve seen this movie a few times, and good thing I’ll be seeing it again in December, because my eyes are drooping so heavily that I miss most of the second half. I guess the heat and the pace are getting to me after all; this always happens to me, and yet I refuse to tour at anything less than commando speed. I am a glutton for fun!

On our way back to Toy Story, I note that we’re not the only ones dragging butt today. It’s almost 3pm, the sun is glaring down on us, it’s humid, and people are slack-jawed and zombified as they shuffle past us. We make a “quick” stop for a bottle of water, which seems to be the most highly prized commodity in the park all of a sudden. The water disappears before we make it back to Toy Story, where the Fast Pass line is back to a minimal, manageable wait.

Once again, I am consumed with my quest for a high score; once again, I am completely kicked in the butt by Bill, who shoots faster than me. “But I’m more accurate!” I complain, noting my 33 percent accuracy on the display. Accurate, shmaccurate – he gets a kitty for a prize, and I get a lowly beaver. Next time, I promise, I’m finding a nice, uncoordinated five-year-old to ride with…

Next on our list of must-do’s: Streetmosphere. We stop at the information booth near the wait times board and ask when Streetmosphere will be appearing next, and the CMs tell us they should be coming out soon. So we grab a patch of curb, and soon we see two cars – the Public Works car, and a spiffy vintage model – coming our way. The impresario Jack Diamond gets out of the spiffy vintage car right by Hollywood and Vine and sets up a small folding table with some cards on it; we waste no time in going over to see what he’s up to.

He greets us – we seem to be the only ones who notice him, which is odd, but cool – and he banters with us for a few minutes, doing some impressive card and coin tricks.

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He’s really fun to interact with, staying in character while chatting about magic clubs around the US (apparently, according to Bill’s online research, JD is a well-respected magician, as well as a hilarious improv performer). But soon we see a family with kids take notice of our little group, and we surrender his attention to them. Around the corner, the Public Works guys have started their skit, so we sidle up to watch them at work.

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Man, those Public Works guys! They’re trying to wash their car, according to their chief’s instructions, but they mostly wind up throwing buckets of water at each other, and at the crowd. None of us mind much, as it’s tar-boiling hot right now, and we’re laughing too hard to protest anyway. They drive off, and since we’re already wet, we decide to track down the elusive Singing in the Rain umbrella we’ve read about here on the Dis.

So it’s back to the Streets of America, where we find the umbrella, right across from the Lights, Motors, Action arena. Now, how do we get it to work? Grab the handle? Pull the handle? Manhandle the handle?

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Anything?

We finally figure out that you have to kind of stomp on the metal grate that’s right there, and then a satisfying shower rains down upon the umbrella. A family passing by sees us frolicking, and they step up to get in on the action; we teach them the secret of the grate, and they have a good time getting rained upon.

One more errand before we hop to Downtown Disney: I must procure a carrot cake cookie at The Writer’s Stop. Fortunately, this place is usually uncrowded; most people seem to pass it by, not knowing about the yummy snacks inside. Unfortunately, today it is plagued by people with unusual requests. There are two countergirls– one is sidelined by a couple with a baby who want her to look up all the gluten-free dining options in the parks for them, and the other is serving two young Japanese cast members, who take forever deciding what they want, and then take forever trying to pay for it with their employee discount. I succumb to a moment of greedy gimme exasperation – the cookie’s right there! Just reach under the counter and let me pay for it and I’ll be out of here in two seconds! – then I decide it’s not worth getting aggravated about. I’ll be back for you in December, cookie!

But right now, it’s time to head over to Downtown Disney, to check in for the super-special, sorry-you-weren’t-there Adventurers’ Club event! Kungaloosh!

:banana:

Lady Lallie

10-20-2009, 06:53 PM

Circusgirl

10-22-2009, 03:36 AM

Circusgirl, I was so sad to read that you (and most everyone else) got shut out of the D23 event! I hope you've still got a plan in mind for your next trip, though (earlyDecemberearlyDecemberearlyDecember).

I've got a frequent flyer ticket and 9 nights at the Poly booked for earlyDecember! You made me laugh out loud.

I had some sad moments about missing out on the Magic and Merriment event. Their server was so busy with the bombardment of requests that I didn't even get a ticket link until it was sold out. I was afraid that the disappointment over not doing all the extra cool exclusive stuff was going to make the trip seem less fantastic, but I am almost completely recovered. After all, I will get to see you and Bill (:cloud9:), the TSM event and the seminar with Marty Sklar (:worship:) and Lee Cockerell (popcorn:: ) will be supremely fun and who needs a stinkin' Castle tour anyway :thumbsup2.

girlbomb

10-22-2009, 04:51 PM

I'm still so very sad that I had to miss out on all the fun. :sad2: I will get to Disney when there is a big group again, I just will make it work. :laughing: I've heard rumblings about sometime next fall, later in October so I've get that penciled in. ;)

I just adore Hollywood Studios. I don't get overwhelmed by that park like I do Epcot and Animal Kingdom. I love reading about it.

Carrot Cake Cookie? Yum! I must investigate!

I want to see American Idol too, just to see what it's all about it. I go through phases of watching the show.

Lady Lallie, I'm glad you're within your 90 day window of upcoming fun, and I look forward to your review of Idol (and the cookie). :)

I've got a frequent flyer ticket and 9 nights at the Poly booked for earlyDecember! You made me laugh out loud.

I had some sad moments about missing out on the Magic and Merriment event. Their server was so busy with the bombardment of requests that I didn't even get a ticket link until it was sold out. I was afraid that the disappointment over not doing all the extra cool exclusive stuff was going to make the trip seem less fantastic, but I am almost completely recovered. After all, I will get to see you and Bill (:cloud9:), the TSM event and the seminar with Marty Sklar (:worship:) and Lee Cockerell (popcorn:: ) will be supremely fun and who needs a stinkin' Castle tour anyway :thumbsup2.

AUGH, a castle tour would be the greatest thing ever! We were totally counting on living it vicariously through you. But the opportunity will come again, I know it...at least, I hope it...

And now for Day Two, Part Three: Party of the First Part!

Well, Thursday, Sept. 24 was an awesome day at the Studios – a terrific morning with Circusgirl, a nourishing lunch at 50s Prime Time, and a little post-lunch merriment. We managed to get in three rides on Toy Story, five trips on the Tower of Terror, two Rock N’ Roller Coasters, a tour on Star Tours, a trip through One Man’s Dream, a showing of the American Idol Experience, and some Streetmosphere – phew! Lots of backtracking, not enough snacking. And we’re ready for more!

So we depart from the Studios – it’s weird, to only spend one day in a park and know that we won’t be coming back this trip, but better one day than no days. We grab a cab in the parking lot and zoom over to Downtown Disney. Traffic cooperates, so we have a few minutes to browse before it’s time to check-in to the Adventurers’ Club event – not enough time to do justice to World of Disney, but just enough time to nearly knock over about twelve thousand dollars worth of glassware at some other shop whose name I can’t recall (not Arribas Brothers – we’ll be making a stop there later).

Almost eaten by a Lego shark!

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The Characters in Flight balloon rising above us:

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At the appointed time, we wander over to the fountain, where the good folks at MEI Travel check us in for the Adventurers’ Club event. I take a minute to profusely thank our agent, Coleen, for helping to spot and fix the last-minute glitch in our reservation; she is as lovely and gracious in person as she is over the phone. Chuck, Lynn, and CircusHeather are already here and checked in, looking distinctly more classy and cleaned up than we are, and we gab a little before our group heads over to the club.

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Oh man, am I psyched to be going back to the Adventurers’ Club! I can’t BELIEVE they closed this place down – it’s so spectacularly designed, and so uniquely Disney, with its wholly immersive and interactive environment. I hear it may be moving to the park in Hong Kong – WHY? It’s so perfect right here, where it is! Oh well; at least we get this chance to experience it once more, and say a proper goodbye.

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Upon entry, we make our way down the stairs and into the main room, where there’s a lovely buffet waiting for us. We’re told that we’ll have some time to eat and explore; then there will be a show in the library. Bill and I grab some plates, fill them with good stuff, and take a seat in one of the side rooms, soaking up the atmosphere and eavesdropping on the lively conversations around us. Characters like Sugar Snap and Pamelia Perkins are wandering through, chatting up the crowd – it must be so difficult for them to re-inhabit these roles after such a long hiatus, and I imagine they might be feeling both nostalgic and sad tonight, but they do an awesome job and stay perfectly in character.

Sugar Snap, having a nice li’l ole chat with a guest:

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Pamelia Perkins and Fletcher Hodges:

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Pamelia and Fletcher get the group’s attention, and lead us all through the initiation ceremony. We recite the AC pledge, and sing the AC song, and the Colonel gets a few words in there, as does the butler, Graves. I wish I could remember every bit of dialogue, so I could record it here, but I could never do the experience justice – the performers are so flexible and so committed to their characters; they just do an exceptional job.

Also in the house are luminaries like Disney World trivia master Lou Mongello, and Justin, the Chief Magic Official. And our party has been joined by Christine (2xcited2sleep) – here’s a picture of me imparting some kind of secret information to the ladies.

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I think I’m saying, “Let’s hover by the library, so we get good seats as soon as the show starts.” But I might also be saying, “Check out the glutes on that statue.”

Sure enough, as soon as we hear that it’s time to move into the library, we MOVE. Bill and I swoop down on a table right in the front, and the rest of the gang is right behind us. Score!

Sugar Snap starts us off with “Little Grey Squirrel.” Tonight’s version of Emil (who I’ve never seen here at the AC before, but who is familiar as one of the World Showcase Players) sings a (somewhat forgettable) ditty. And then it’s time for my favorite AC player, Hathaway Browne. Oh, brave and dashing Hathaway, slayer of the ladies wherever he goes! How lucky I am to be seated front and center – he chooses me for a special serenade!

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Eeeeeeeeeeee!

It’s a quick show, but a rousing and fun and wonderful one. And then it’s time to step out onto the patio behind the club, where several kinds of dessert are being served. Our table full of adventurers enjoys the setting sun and the tasty treats; then we’re escorted back inside for mini-shows in the Mask room and the Treasure room. These mini-shows are crowded, but still enjoyable, even as they’re tinged with a little sadness, because it’s the last time they’re being performed here.

Those impertinent talking masks:

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The guy playing Fletcher Hodges breaks character as we’re leaving the Treasure room, pointing out where enthusiastic patrons have stolen artifacts right off the walls.

A little more mixing and mingling, and then Bill and I decide to rip off the band-aid quickly and just depart. We bid our friends a fond adieu, accept our lovely gift bags from the MEI folks, and say a final goodbye to the Adventurers’ Club.

POUT.

But hey, we’re grateful that we got to experience the AC twice on our December 2007 trip, and especially to have had this unexpected chance to see it once more. We gawked, we sang, we laughed, and I was lucky enough to have held the hand of one Hathaway Browne. We really couldn’t ask for more.

We walk back over towards the World of Disney store, where I’d like to do some damage. But first we stop in at Arribas Brothers, to get a little something-something for a special friend of ours; then we head into Basin, to get some of those yummy-smelling soaps they carry. We get a “Fall Mickey” soap that smells like pumpkins and spice, a Gingerbread soap, and a hot fudge sundae soap for my beloved stepmom, who never says no to a hot fudge sundae (and still stays amazingly svelte). Then it’s on to WOD, which is overwhelming – so much so that we exit twenty minutes later with nothing in hand, though I picked up at least four items, thinking I’d buy them, before putting them back.

One last cab back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, one weary but happy trek through the magnificent lobby towards our room, and two happy travelers collapse on the bed for a badly-needed night of sleep. Tomorrow is the opening of the Food and Wine Festival – we may skip rope drop at Epcot, but we’ll definitely be there at 11 when World Showcase opens, forks in hand and napkins around our necks, ready and raring to go!

(More coming on Monday. Thanks for reading! :flower3:)

Lady Lallie

10-26-2009, 02:12 PM

Oh your Adventurer's Club event sounds like so much fun! I'm really sad that I never made it over there while it was still open. :sad2:

How wonderful to meet more DISers. :cloud9:

girlbomb

10-29-2009, 03:22 PM

Oh your Adventurer's Club event sounds like so much fun! I'm really sad that I never made it over there while it was still open. :sad2:

How wonderful to meet more DISers. :cloud9:

Lady Lallie, it IS wonderful to meet DISers, as you well know! I look forward to our eventual meeting, too. :goodvibes

And now, only four days late, it's:

Day Three: The Food and More Food and a Whole Bunch More Food Festival

It’s Friday, September 25, and another beautiful (hot, sunny) morning dawns on Disney World. But we sleep right through the “dawn” part, for a change – we didn’t set the alarm, because we want to conserve our energy for the big day ahead. First up: the opening of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot today; then it’s on to the Halloween Party tonight!

But as much as I’d hoped to sleep in, we’re too excited to stay in bed when there’s DISNEY WORLD right outside the room. We’re up by 8:15, and out the door by 9 – no breakfast for us today, as we’re still fairly full from last night’s gluttony at the Adventurers’ Club, and we’re saving ourselves for the Food and Wine Festival.

We cab it over to Epcot, only missing rope drop by fifteen minutes or so. Of course, we head straight to Soarin’, possibly the best ride in the universe, and there’s only a fifteen minute standby wait. We grab some Fast Passes (return time at 9:20 is 10:10, not bad at all), then hop on the line, where the interactive game screens keep everyone entertained. Everyone but us, that is, as we keep winding up between screens when the line moves – oh well. The line moves quickly, and by asking politely, we end up in row B1 for our first flight of this September trip. Woohoo! :woohoo:

I may have been on Soarin’ thirty times by now, but it will never cease to amaze me. This first flight of the trip feels brand new; when my feet leave the floor, I say an audible “wow,” and am awestruck as we break through the clouds. I remember that my fear of flying was in full force when we first rode this ride in 2005; I gripped the armrests and had to breathe deeply to relax and enjoy it. Today, I am still bowled over by the verisimilitude of the flying experience, but a lot less frightened – I know this ride will let me soar safely, and return me to the ground in one delighted piece.

One good trip deserves another, so we head back to the standby line, wait the twenty minutes and get seats in B3. The second half of the queue may be boring and sterile, but I still enjoy the feeling of being there in that corridor, waiting for our next flight, and I love when we’re lined up on our gliders waiting to board and hearing the “ding!” that announces the start of the pre-show. We file into the theater, take our seats, and again we fly over bridges, streams, craggy surf, canyons, ski slopes, orange groves, golf courses, aircraft carriers, Malibu sunset, LA traffic, and the holy land (a.k.a. Disneyland), air rushing against our faces, gently swaying with the winds, inhaling big breaths of the fragrant breezes, until we’re deposited back down on the ground, where a symphony of “clicks” releases us all from our safety belts and back out into the Land. Time to grab another Fast Pass, and make our way over to Test Track.

It is another brain-boilingly hot day, but today I am wearing the cooling neck wrap that Circusgirl included in our gift bag, and it’s saving my bacon (well, I don’t eat meat, so it’s saving my vegetarian bacon). We cruise past the Jammitors, rocking out between the Innoventions pavilions, and onto the single rider line for Test Track. Since this is such a comparatively short trip for us, we’re pursuing our goals with a sort of determined single-mindedness – not much stopping to smell the roses; we’ve got rides to ride!

Today’s trip through Test Track reveals a few new details since last year, or details I never noticed – an ice cube tray in the cold room, a Goofy hat perched on the head of one of the crash test dummies. The exhilarating outdoor loop remains the same, but I wonder if we’re cheating ourselves by always riding single rider – I think the innermost seat gives you a more thrilling ride than the outermost one (which is the one you wind up with, as a single rider), because the innermost seat is at a greater angle. Or this may just be my hyperactive imagination, determined to explore every nuance of every ride to find the best possible experience. :rolleyes1

After Test Track, it’s about 10:30, and we start walking towards the World Showcase for opening. On the way, we see a Kim Possible kiosk – ooh, we have to stop and get a ticket for a mission or two. We’re not entirely sure how this works, but the young man at the kiosk explains it – we take our ticket to the KP kiosk in Italy at the appointed time (11:15), where we’ll receive our communicator, and the rest will be explained then and there. Cool!

As we approach the lagoon, Bill announces his intent to make a quick survey of all the Food and Wine booths before he jumps on any lines and starts chowing down, as he wants to maximize his experience, and not fill up before he hits the really good stuff. So while all the booths are still closed, we take note of what’s on the visible menus as we make our way around Canada and England, to the rope on the bridge to France.

There’s a small cluster of people waiting at the rope, including one Lou Mongello, who appears to be touring solo today. I leave a message for Circusgirl, and hope we’ll catch up with her sometime this morning, then the rope drops, and we walk towards France. I’d like to stop for snails, but they’re not available yet, so it’s onto the next booth. We pass a group of people getting ready for an outdoor wine tasting by the lagoon, and all I can think of is how little I’d want to drink wine in the searing heat today.

Our first stop is at the Austria booth, where I get the mushroom soup with chive dumplings (rich and delish, but way too hot for a day this warm), and Bill gets the paprika beef stew with bacon dumplings (also reported as delicious). From the stand in front of the American pavilion, I get a very tasty lobster roll:

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

Then in Italy, it’s cannelloni for me (definitely yummy but not super special), and veal meatballs for Bill (thumbs up). Poland brings Bill some pierogi and kielbasa (to his hearty approval), and Argentina bring him a tender and tasty beef skewer. Because we started our tour in France, and didn’t buy anything until we were almost at the US pavilion, we’re way ahead of the lines, so we don’t wait more than a minute for anything – I definitely recommend “starting in the middle” as a strategy to any prospective Food and Winers out there.

By this point, we’re almost at the Outpost, and we decide to head back towards Italy to check in for the Kim Possible Adventure. Bill stops at the Munich booth for a Neurenberger (I wrote this down in my notes, but have no idea what this is. A beer, maybe?), then we check in at the Kim Possible kiosk. The CM there takes our ticket, gives us our communicator (a cell phone), and explains how the game works: Basically, you get instructions from your phone, and you follow them. Easy enough, right?

Our phone greets us with a short video, and tells us that our first mission is in Germany, so we head to that pavilion and start following instructions. I don’t want to give away too much about the experience, so I won’t tell you where it takes us or what we see, but within ten minutes or so, we are rewarded for a successful mission with a very cute surprise, built into the pavilion itself. I’m a little frustrated by the long-windedness of the instructional videos, but I guess it’s necessary to make them that way so that kids can follow the directions easily. I’m also finding that spending so much time listening to the phone and watching the videos is interrupting my usual looking around. And I’m busy checking my own phone to see if Circusgirl has called back – we had planned to do some KP adventures together, and I don’t want to do them all without her!

But there’s no message, and Bill’s game for another adventure, so we select the Japan mission. Again, it doesn’t take us too long to get to the ending, and it does make us take note of some details we might have otherwise overlooked. But…I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a very impatient person (maybe? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!), but I’m a little frustrated by the slow pace of the game. Bill disagrees; he finds it fun. But he’s more than willing to let the rest of the missions go for now so that we can get back to the all-important eating of the foods.

Our very handy itemized bill tells me that there was a stop at the Octoberfest booth, and one at the Beers of the World booth. (I’ll assume that both of those stops were purchases made by Bill, since I don’t drink a lot of beer.) I keep dunking my cooling neck wrap into the bins of ice cooling bottles of water; the bursts of coolness are the only things keeping me from running, whimpering, into an air conditioned store and staying there. There is a merciless lack of shade here in World Showcase, and I’m feeling it, so much so that my appetite is pretty well shot.

We’re walking back towards England, when we spot a Circusgirl coming towards us, a lamb slider from the New Zealand booth in her hand! Hooray! Apparently, she called me back, but my phone is insisting it has no new messages for me – I’ve heard that AT&T is not the most reliable carrier for in-parks service, and I guess this is my proof. But here we are, reunited at last! We rehash last night’s festivities as Bill picks up a lamb slider in New Zealand, and then some chicken sausage and polenta in Montreal, on our way to ride Spaceship Earth as a trio.

http://homepage.mac.com/hellbind/.Public/searth3TR.jpg

A fun fact I picked up from Lou Mongello’s Disney World Trivia book: Did you know that Spaceship Earth is the most visited attraction in the parks? I didn’t. But I can see why – it’s great for guests of all ages, stimulating and relaxing at the same time, and just plain fun; as with all the other old favorites of ours, there’s always something new to notice in the scenes we pass (today I see that the family watching the moon landing is playing a half-finished game of Mousetrap). We descend through the brilliant blue lights, choose our futures, and then watch as cartoons versions of ourselves go scuba diving while a robot takes care of our cats.

We disembark, and the three of us head towards the monitors to send pictures from our future home to loved ones. Then we decide to swing by Club Cool, as it is extremely Club Hot out there today. We will wind up spending no time at all in Innoventions on this trip, but we’ll never neglect Club Cool! Five or six cups of watermelon soda later, I’m ready to slosh on back to Soarin’ and use our Fast Passes from earlier.

Have you noticed this strange set of contraptions near Club Cool? What do you think they are? We’re guessing they’re condos for butterflies. :hippie:

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

Circusgirl has bid us adieu for now – she’s headed back to her resort to rest up and change for the Halloween party tonight. We have plans to meet her and Christine and Chuck and Lynn at Liberty Tree for a 5:40 dinner, so it won’t be too long before we’ll be reunited. In the meantime, it’s off to soar twice more!

(More soon. Thanks for reading! :flower3:)

manntra

10-29-2009, 04:40 PM

Thanks for the update! :goodvibes
I think Food and Wine might just be my favorite time to go....well actually anytime is my favorite time to go :laughing: I really loved all of the extra food selections and drinks available in Epcot. If I didn't have my 13 year old niece with me I could things would have been a lot different.
Ohhh those lobster rolls...my niece eats A LOT--she is very active and is slim --but man can she put it away! I am pretty sure she touched upon every country :laughing: The Neurenberger was a sausage in a pretzel roll (the same rolls from Biergarten.) Of course I know this because my niece ate one. :rotfl:
Club Cool is such a great intermission for refueling. This last trip a small boy came up to me with a very serious face and told me that I should try Beverly that it is very good! :lmao: He was cute but I had to let him down and tell him I knew better ;)
Not sure what that picture is but I am going to agree with you on the butterfly condos :thumbsup2

Tracy

Circusgirl

10-30-2009, 02:20 AM

As I look out the window over cold, dark, rainy Seattle, it is hard to believe we were on the verge of completely melting from the heat not so very long ago!

I'm just back from a trip to California to help my bestest oldest friend celebrate her wedding, so now I have the great pleasure catching up on your TR. I don't have the time tonight to do justice to all the things I've loved in these last installments, but wanted to say Hi! and gloat a tiny bit that we get to go back soon.

I'm delighted you figured out the secret to the Singing in the Rain umbrella because now I know what it is too! You totally packed in the fun on your Studios day. I agree that the institutional emphasis on celebrations has somehow cheapened the whole celebration thing. The CMs used to feel more genuine in their wishes and it was fun to get lots of little surprises. Now it feels like work for the CMs, and there isn't as much fun in it. I know I mentioned your anniversary at our dinner at LTT, and there wasn't so much as a speck of confetti or even an anniversary wish, let alone free dessert.

Ah, the Adventurer's Club and the incredibly talented adventurers themselves! It was fantastic to enjoy the incredible setting and the energy of the cast and show one last time. I can't believe that Disney broke up the act. You were the best at getting us fabulous seats in the library!!!!

F&W was terrific, but the heat did make it an endurance run. I know some people accord the AK the title of hottest park, but for me it was the vast expanses of paved walkway at Epcot that were the biggest challenge. The icing of the cooling neck wrap was my best defense against collapse and heat tantrums. That is a cool factoid about Spaceship Earth!

Lady Lallie

10-30-2009, 10:37 AM

I can't wait to hear about your LTT meal! Yummmmmm!

I think I've read somewhere those weird looking doohickeys are some sort of special bird house. I dunno. They look very futuristic so maybe that is what they were going for. :confused3 :rotfl2:

Love the picture of you and your lobster roll. Makes me giggle.

norybell

10-31-2009, 01:04 AM

I’m a little frustrated by the long-windedness of the instructional videos, but I guess it’s necessary to make them that way so that kids can follow the directions easily. I’m also finding that spending so much time listening to the phone and watching the videos is interrupting my usual looking around.

Maybe I’m just a very impatient person (maybe? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!), but I’m a little frustrated by the slow pace of the game.

Hi girlbomb! Just followed you over from my TR, and I'm really enjoying yours! I wish I'd made it to the Adventurer's Club before it closed; it sounds right up my alley.

I totally agree with you about Kim Possible. I did that same mission, in Germany, and I was very impatient with it. I kept wishing that (a) I could turn the volume down; and (b) I could press a button and skip to the end of the sentence. I can see how it'd be great for kids, but it was a little too basic for grownups, I thought. It'd be nice (and not too complicated, I'd imagine) if you could choose an age level or a skill level or something, so you'd have the option of figuring things out more on your own, instead of just being told exactly where to go and what to do!

praisehisname

10-31-2009, 12:42 PM

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading along and loving your report!

Denise

girlbomb

10-31-2009, 06:43 PM

Woohoo, feedback!

Club Cool is such a great intermission for refueling. This last trip a small boy came up to me with a very serious face and told me that I should try Beverly that it is very good! :lmao: He was cute but I had to let him down and tell him I knew better ;)

Manntra, I can't believe some small person tried to huckster you into drinking Beverly! You must be at least this tall to try to con people into it.

As I look out the window over cold, dark, rainy Seattle, it is hard to believe we were on the verge of completely melting from the heat not so very long ago!

I'm just back from a trip to California to help my bestest oldest friend celebrate her wedding, so now I have the great pleasure catching up on your TR. I don't have the time tonight to do justice to all the things I've loved in these last installments, but wanted to say Hi! and gloat a tiny bit that we get to go back soon.

I'm delighted you figured out the secret to the Singing in the Rain umbrella because now I know what it is too! You totally packed in the fun on your Studios day. I agree that the institutional emphasis on celebrations has somehow cheapened the whole celebration thing. The CMs used to feel more genuine in their wishes and it was fun to get lots of little surprises. Now it feels like work for the CMs, and there isn't as much fun in it. I know I mentioned your anniversary at our dinner at LTT, and there wasn't so much as a speck of confetti or even an anniversary wish, let alone free dessert.

Ah, the Adventurer's Club and the incredibly talented adventurers themselves! It was fantastic to enjoy the incredible setting and the energy of the cast and show one last time. I can't believe that Disney broke up the act. You were the best at getting us fabulous seats in the library!!!!

F&W was terrific, but the heat did make it an endurance run. I know some people accord the AK the title of hottest park, but for me it was the vast expanses of paved walkway at Epcot that were the biggest challenge. The icing of the cooling neck wrap was my best defense against collapse and heat tantrums. That is a cool factoid about Spaceship Earth!

Circusgirl, I'm so thrilled that we're so close to our epic return! But I'm so bummed that the new version of your last December's TR is locked! Want more!

I can't wait to hear about your LTT meal! Yummmmmm!

I think this was one of the times your name was invoked, LL. ;)

I totally agree with you about Kim Possible. I did that same mission, in Germany, and I was very impatient with it. I kept wishing that (a) I could turn the volume down; and (b) I could press a button and skip to the end of the sentence. I can see how it'd be great for kids, but it was a little too basic for grownups, I thought. It'd be nice (and not too complicated, I'd imagine) if you could choose an age level or a skill level or something, so you'd have the option of figuring things out more on your own, instead of just being told exactly where to go and what to do!

Norybell, an age or skill level would be great! In the meantime, I definitely thought it was a cool kind of attraction for Disney to introduce; I hope they'll follow up with others like it.

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading along and loving your report!

Praisehisname, welcome! Thank you so much! :goodvibes

2xcited2sleep

11-01-2009, 09:15 AM

I'm here! So sorry - I just found you. It was SO nice to meet you and Bill at WDW! Your intro cracked me up, "two thirty-somethings acting like we're eight." No wonder we got along so well! :laughing:

You guys sure are packing a lot of fun into your trip! I am loving your report. I can't wait to go back and catch up on the previous two. I'd say you're a great writer but I suppose that's kind of obvious given you're the mom to two books and all. :worship:

Did I read in the midst of some of the chatter that you're going back in Dec? Will you be there for the TSM party and the "Marty Sklar seminar?" I'm toying with the idea of going... :rolleyes1

Hope all is well and if not in Dec hope to see you and Bill back in the World sometime soon!! :goodvibes

girlbomb

11-02-2009, 11:25 AM

girlbomb

11-03-2009, 10:50 PM

Well, I don't have a single photo to illustrate this post :sad2:, but I'm going to put it up anyway. I will have to leave the gorgeous pictures to those of you who are artistic and dedicated enough to take them; in the meantime, here's a bunch of words about...

Day Three, Part Two: The Dessert and Even More Dessert Festival

It’s been a happy and HOT morning here at Epcot – some Soarin’, some festival of food, two Kim Possible Adventures, Spaceship Earth with Circusgirl – and we’re about to cash in the morning’s two Fast Passes for Soarin’. Just walking into the Land pavilion and smelling that rich smell (and feeling that cool air conditioning) makes me happy and excited. Too bad Living With the Land is closed for renovations.

We take two back-to-back rides on Soarin’, and I’m even more elated when we leave the Land pavilion than I was when we entered. There’s just so much to do and see – I feel like I could spend a month here and never get bored – and we’re trying not to rush, but there’s always that urgent pull to get to the next thing on the agenda. Right now, that thing is MORE FOOD.

So it’s back to World Showcase, where we stop in France for escargot (me) and crème brulee (Bill). The escargot are garlicky and buttery and tasty; I don’t know why Bill declines to taste one – maybe because they’re slimy creatures that crawl through the dirt? Okay, but when they’ve been washed and cooked and buttered, they’re really good!

This is the “dessert” portion of the tour for Bill; I’m still into lunch. So we make our way counter-clockwise through the countries, stopping at the following booths:

New Orleans: bread pudding for Bill – so good that he’ll return for this when we hit Epcot again on Sunday
Vienna: Sacher torte for Bill – rich and dense
Munich: Strudel for Bill – yummy but nothing special
Melbourne: a bland serving of barramundi for me, a dry and unexceptional piece of lamington (a kind of coconut bread) for Bill
New Delhi: rava masala dosa (lentil crepe) for me, gulab jamon (some kind of dessert-y thing) for Bill

The rava masala dosa is delicious, but it’s also served very hot, and the day is already very hot, so much so that when I sit down on a bench to eat, my butt almost fries from the heat of the seat. Eating the hot crepe, sitting on a hot bench in the hot sun, I really feel like I am going to spontaneously combust. Yummy, but should have gone for the cool, creamy gulab jamon instead.

By Shanghai, I’m ready for some caramel ginger ice cream, as is Bill. Mine is freezer burned, so it isn’t as good as it could have been, but at least it’s cool, and pleasantly spicy. Then Bill gets a crema Catalana in Barcelona, while I try my best not to dive into the tub of ice and water in front of the stand.

It’s definitely time to head indoors again, so we go into the dark, cool Mexico pavilion, where the atmosphere instantly relaxes me. There’s no line for the Three Caballeros, so we hop on a boat and cruise down el rio del tiempo – I mean, the river – noting the cheesiness of the video footage, all of which looks like it was filmed in the ‘70s. I remember coming here in 1989, when I was 19, and riding the old version and thinking it was boring; now I wish I could ride the old, boring version again!

We poke around inside Mexico for a few minutes, ducking into the new tequila bar, which is doing brisk business at 3:30 in the afternoon – not an empty seat to be had, not that we’re looking to sit and do shots (if we did, the day would be over for me). Then it’s back to Test Track for another single rider ride.

I miss riding this ride next to Bill. I don’t know how to fix the situation, since we are super spoiled by the quickness of the single rider line, and there’s no way we’re spending a Fast Pass that could be used for Soarin’ on Test Track. But one of these days, I want to ride with my shmoopy again. It would be extra nice if we were riding together this time, because in the middle of the ride, just before taking the twisty road up the hill, the car comes to a complete stop, and we sit there for a good three or four minutes, wondering what’s going on. There’s no helpful announcement, like you get in the Haunted Mansion; just eerie silence and stalled cars everywhere. I crane around, trying to see if I can spot Bill in a car behind me, but no luck. Fortunately, we’re up and moving again soon. All I can think is how weird it would be to be stalled while you’re out there on the track, tipped at a precarious angle – eesh! But I bet they're careful not to let the ride stop with cars on the outside track.

After the ride, it’s time to start thinking about heading over to the Magic Kingdom. But first, we MUST stop in MouseGear – my favorite shop in all the parks. And I have to check out the kids’ stuff, as well as the adult stuff, not just because I have friends with kids who might require Disney souvenirs, but because I, at the advanced age of 40, myself might want a kid’s item or two. Last December, I got a Little Mermaid sweatshirt in a girl’s size XL, and I wear that thing all the time, because it brings me pure joy. If there’s something similar I can snag for myself this year, I am not missing it.

But there’s nothing in the girls’ department for me today. There is a very cool retro Epcot t-shirt in the adults section, and though I already own one very cool retro Epcot t-shirt, which I happen to be wearing today, I wear and wash it so often that it already has a small hole in the back of the neck. This one could make a handy backup! I put it on my “to snag” list for Sunday, when we’ll return to Epcot, and we make our way over to the monorail.

It must be me and Bill that’s making all the rides stop today, because we board the monorail, switch at the TTC, glide through the Contemporary (hi, Contemporary! Can’t wait to stay in you in December!), and then the monorail stops before it hits the MK. It’s a nice view, though, and it’s nice to be sitting down and air conditioned, so we don’t get too impatient.

Finally, we glide into the MK station, and hop off to join the stream of visitors pouring towards the gate. The Halloween decorations look great, as do the cast members in the special party outfits. Speaking of special party outfits, we don’t have costumes, but I do have my Tigger ears in my fanny pack. Time to don the ears – it’s party time!

(Thanks for reading. More soon! :flower3:)

Circusgirl

11-03-2009, 10:52 PM

Woohoo, feedback!

Circusgirl, I'm so thrilled that we're so close to our epic return! But I'm so bummed that the new version of your last December's TR is locked! Want more!

I am pleased to report that the report should be up and running again soon. Hopefully I'll get through (most of) last December before this December arrives!

2xcited2sleep

11-04-2009, 07:45 AM

Lady Lallie

11-04-2009, 09:30 AM

You totally need to ride Test Track with Bill in December. Just think you've had a bonus trip this year so you can take the time in line. ;)

I'm glad I was eating my breakfast while reading this lastest installment because all that food sounds so yummy!

Please tell me you have a picture of you in your Tigger ears! :yay:

praisehisname

11-04-2009, 12:29 PM

I've really got to stop reading all these reports from F&W; it's making me hungry! F&W is definitely on my list of things to do someday...

Denise

manntra

11-04-2009, 12:47 PM

Bring on the Tigger ears!! :thumbsup2

I am definitely going back for another F&W and MNSSHP........so much to do and it was just starting to turn colder here in the NE so it extended the summer a bit. :goodvibes

I hear ya on the single rider line....and sometimes you can be with an awkward car of people :laughing: Last time there was a boy next to me who sat with his eyes closed and his ears plugged the whole time :confused: It is usually such a quick queue though so it is hard to give up!!

Tracy

Circusgirl

11-05-2009, 07:15 PM

I loved the clockwise food, counter-clockwise dessert strategy!

I was so glad that we ran into each other despite the best efforts of bad cell phone service to keep us apart! It was extremely fun to visit both the past and the future with you, not to mention the pursuit of fabulous food.

Soarin' is the best. I agree that the thrill and enjoyment never wear off. There was a You Tube video (or was it a podcast?) that featured a guy who built a mini-Soarin' in his garage. I'd love to get home from work at night and take a flight or two to unwind from my day!

MouseGear rocks. Enough said.

girlbomb

11-07-2009, 11:05 AM

Mmmmmm sounds like an afternoon of yumminess! I miss the old Mexico ride too. The three caballeros just aren't doing it for me. And isn't the business in the tequila bar amazing. Now I was admittedly a patron a few times for a margarita (medicinal due to the heat, of course) but was amazed by the number of people ordering the flight of shots. :scared1:

Oh, we definitely look forward to patronizing the tequila bar for a medicinal margarita sometime! If it hadn't been so crowded that day, who knows what would have happened? ;)

You totally need to ride Test Track with Bill in December. Just think you've had a bonus trip this year so you can take the time in line. ;)

I'm glad I was eating my breakfast while reading this lastest installment because all that food sounds so yummy!

Please tell me you have a picture of you in your Tigger ears! :yay:

Lady Lallie, even with our bonus trip, the December schedule is filling up fast! But I agree; we have to see the whole pre-show again, and we have to ride together. Let someone else be the third wheel!

(Also, Tigger ears a-comin' up!)

I've really got to stop reading all these reports from F&W; it's making me hungry! F&W is definitely on my list of things to do someday...

Denise

Praisehisname, it was on our list of things to do someday, too! And it overlaps so nicely with the Halloween party...I hope you'll get the opportunity to go at that time of year sometime. The parks were relatively uncrowded and the wait times nice and low; I definitely recommend late September. :thumbsup2

Bring on the Tigger ears!! :thumbsup2

I am definitely going back for another F&W and MNSSHP........so much to do and it was just starting to turn colder here in the NE so it extended the summer a bit. :goodvibes

I hear ya on the single rider line....and sometimes you can be with an awkward car of people :laughing: Last time there was a boy next to me who sat with his eyes closed and his ears plugged the whole time :confused: It is usually such a quick queue though so it is hard to give up!!

Tracy

Tracy, your poor little seatmate! I hope he enjoyed the ride (when it was all over).

I loved the clockwise food, counter-clockwise dessert strategy!

I was so glad that we ran into each other despite the best efforts of bad cell phone service to keep us apart! It was extremely fun to visit both the past and the future with you, not to mention the pursuit of fabulous food.

Soarin' is the best. I agree that the thrill and enjoyment never wear off. There was a You Tube video (or was it a podcast?) that featured a guy who built a mini-Soarin' in his garage. I'd love to get home from work at night and take a flight or two to unwind from my day!

MouseGear rocks. Enough said.

Circusgirl, you mean Minicot! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTzMQAVWxpI) Those guys are my heroes! (Well, you're my hero, for getting us to Disney in September. But they're not far behind!)

girlbomb

11-07-2009, 11:12 AM

And now, it's Day Three, Part Three: Mickey’s Not So Scary, In Fact, Pretty Delightful, Halloween Party

(Once again, this is going to be pretty light on the pictures and heavy on the words...)

After a full, filling, and fulfilling day at Epcot, I’m practically skipping as we approach the Magic Kingdom. Hooray! Hooray! We’re back at the MK! I’m glad we came here on our first day, instead of staying at the AK – I love all the parks, but there’s something so special about being here at the MK; the level of magic is unmatchable elsewhere. Maybe it’s that castle, or the way the attractions are packed in so close together, leaving little room for anything but magic. Or maybe it’s the way all the wonderful smells congregate and overlap – candy, popcorn, and baked goodness on Main Street, pineapple as you move towards Adventureland, the cinnamon apple of the Christmas shop in Liberty Square – a constant feast for the senses.

Main Street is extra festive right now, around 5pm, as party time approaches. We’re used to being at Disney when the Christmas decorations are up and the holiday music is playing; the regular old “Celebrate Today” décor hasn’t been as stirring. But the Halloween decorations are a delight, and not only do the cast members look great in their party costumes, some of the guests’ costumes are amazing:

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

Especially when you consider the heat! These are some folks who are committed to the act, right here.

We wander towards Frontierland, hoping to catch a ride on one of the mountains before our DIS-y dinner plans. Fortunately, though there are plenty of people here today, the standby line for Splash is only about 10 minutes, and we breeze right through the barn-like structure (which sometimes smells a little bit like a barn, but in a pleasant way) and halfway up the stairs before we hit the line. We enjoy the long, leisurely ride, happy to hear the familiar songs as we pass through each scene, then there’s the big drop! But we’re in the third seat, and are mostly left dry.

Unfortunately, there’s a little bit of a logjam as we’re waiting to disembark, and I start getting anxious that we’ve cut it too close to our 5:40 dinner ressies. I imagine Heather, Christine, Chuck, and Lynn all standing there outside the restaurant waiting for us, eager to be seated and eat, and if there’s one thing I hate (well, there are plenty of things I hate, but I don’t have room to list them all here, so let’s pretend there’s just one), it’s being late, and causing people to have to wait for me. So rude! I would much rather wait for some other person’s late butt than to be the one who’s not on time. So I am anxiously pawing at my phone, which is not getting any service here in the last phase of the ride, and preparing to hightail it to Liberty Tree Tavern as fast as possible as soon as we’re released from our boat.

Finally, at 5:36, we clamber out of the log, and I move as quickly and purposefully as I can without trampling or being rude, calling Heather as I power walk through the crowd, Bill right on my heels. Luckily, Heather is relaxed and easygoing, and currently alone – Chuck and Lynn changed their plans, and Christine hasn’t joined her yet. “See you when you get here,” she assures me, and we pull up to the restaurant seconds later, to be joined by the lovely and smiling Christine in mere moments. It’s 5:40 on the dot, we’re all here – it’s dinner time!

Heather has already checked us in, and is in possession of a pager, so we only have a few minutes to wait for our table. We take the opportunity to catch up on everyone’s day, and to take a few snaps:

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

I love the “oops, sorry!” look on Heather’s face as her snake chomps my Tigger ear!

Funny, because her costume is one of the things that won my heart when I was reading her trip report last year. I even called Bill over to my computer and made him look at the pics of her at last fall’s MNSSHP – “Check out this awesome lady’s amazing snake charmer costume! Isn’t it great?” – and then, not two days later, got a private message from the snake charmer herself, saying that she was reading and enjoying my own TR. Fated to be friends, and to be enjoying a dinner together here at Disney just a few short months later! :goodvibes

We’re seated in short order, and taken to a table surrounded by other festive guests, many of whom are in costume. The little princesses at the table next to ours are enchanted by the snake – “Is it real?” one of them asks, and Heather gives her a reassuring smile and shake of the head no as the girl happily pets its snakey head.

Our server is prompt and efficient, if not overly chummy – the place is packed, as all of the restaurants have been this week. And the food, which is served family style, is plentiful and filling – turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, and salad. True comfort food, and it’s truly comforting, especially when paired with the cheerful company – it’s so much fun to get Christine and Heather’s perspectives on Disney, and to hear how they’ve been spending their days. Like a live trip report! Dessert is warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and we decimate a big family-style bowl of it before heading out into the humid evening.

First stop: Haunted Mansion. Looking extra groovy, with the Halloween lights on it, and the cast members in their super spooky makeup. And no wait at all, even tonight, when it’s one of the star attractions! There are already people lined up to take a picture with the ghost hearse, and a few folks listening to the bewigged storyteller on the lawn; now I’m wishing we’d stopped to give her a listen.

After a not-so-scary ride, the four of us wander towards Fantasyland, where the line for pictures with Cinderella’s coach is truly frightening. But the line for Peter Pan is shorter than we’ve ever seen it – practically nil. Bill and I haven’t been on this ride since our first trip in 2005, so we all gladly take advantage of the super short line, and take an enchanting flight over London (as well as other, more imaginary places). I remember loving this ride as a kid, and feeling like it took me very high above the ground; I think I was disappointed, when we rode again in 2005, that it wasn’t more…I don’t know…magical. But tonight it feels very magical to me – a beautiful and soothing ride – probably because the magic is coming from inside me. :cloud9:

After the ride, Heather and Christine are thinking about finding a good spot for the first parade. Bill and I, because we are ride gluttons, are still thinking about rides, so we split up and hope to bump into each other later, maybe on the treat trail to Toontown, or at the start of Main Street for the second parade. Right now, though, Bill and I are off to Big Thunder Mountain – always a hoot at night – where we walk right on to the last car, making it the extra-wildest ride in the wil-der-ness.

This walking right onto rides stuff is great! Next, we walk right on to Splash, which dampens us without soaking us, hooray. And then we’re trying to get back to Fantasyland, but the parade crowds are thick – it must be starting any second. Though we’d planned to watch the second parade, and to stake out good spots where we could sit well in advance, I am caught up in the excitement, and convince Bill to stand with me and watch the Headless Horseman take his ride. He thunders by at a good clip – eek! Impressively spooky! And, okay, since we’re standing here anyway, we might as well watch the whole parade.

Wow, what a super parade! I am going to stop describing us as “not parade people,” since now we have been hooked by Spectro, the Christmas parade, and the Halloween parade. Maybe in 2005 we were scoffers – who wants to sit and watch a parade when there’s rides to be ridden? – but now, in 2009, we appreciate the pageantry, the music, the costumes, and the choreography too much to let them pass without watching. I love seeing the characters in costume, especially Pooh and the gang, with whom we have at least one Crystal Palace meal every trip. And I am a little too vocal when Jack Sparrow rides by on his float – I think I even use the words, “YOO HOO!” while flailing my arm spastically in the air. :rolleyes1

Post-parade, I feel a little guilty for having asked Bill to stand for the parade, and for using up precious no-line ride time, when we could have waited and sat for the second parade. But he is in good spirits, as am I, as we head through the Frontierland passageway to Adventureland. There’s a candy station at the snack stand by the Tiki Room, and nobody’s on line for it, so we stop and get our first handful of goodies; then it’s off to ride Pirates.

“Let’s take the left side of the queue,” I suggest, because we always take the right side. Oddly enough, the left side is backed up quite a ways, while the right seems clear. So we reverse course and head back to take the right side. We are seated in a boat in front of the Chatty Family, who take the ride as an opportunity to discuss the entire Pirates oeuvre: Mom liked the first movie, Grandpa thought it was too long; everybody liked the second, but the third not so much; meanwhile the kids are asking if “Jonny Depp is real.” They are told that Jonny Depp is a real person who plays the not-real character of Jack Sparrow in movies. But I’m not sure if that clears things up for the kids, who spend the few minutes we are stalled in front of the last scene asking again, “Is he real? Is he real?”

“Were they real?” Bill asks, as we peg-leg it out of there. “Also, did they have to talk about nothing the entire time?” Well, that’s the benefit of riding these rides so many times; sometimes you feel like you missed everything because of the other riders, but you’ve seen them before, and hopefully you’ll get the chance to see them again.

We stop again as we pass the Jungle Cruise and cadge some more candy from the orange-and-purple clad CMs. The lines over here are short, but as we walk back through the passageway to Frontierland, we see loooooong lines for candy by the riverboat and the Haunted Mansion. It seems like at least forty or fifty percent of the partygoers are in some kind of costume – most of them are cute and basic, but some are really inventive and involved. I wish we had more pictures of the guests in costume, but we’re on a mission that involves a little peace on earth and goodwill towards animatronics – it’s time for Small World!

I love this ride. I especially love the animals – the Scottish sheep, the Aussie kangaroo with the baby in its pouch – and their sweet smiles. I can’t wait until my little “niece” (our friends’ daughter, almost two years old now) is old enough to come with us to Disney. She’s going to flip out over Small World!

(Note: I know that two-year-olds are technically “old enough” to come, but I think this particular two-year-old will get more out of Disney World when she is a year or two older. My plan is to let her get past the tantrum stage – though, to her credit, she has VERY few tantrums – and then propose a group trip. She and her mommy came over to our apartment the other day, and when Baby Girl saw our plastic Disney drinking cups, she pointed and said, “Mickey!” I laughed and told her mommy, “Auntie Janice is training her well…” :rotfl:)

After Small World, we can see that people are getting ready for the fireworks, and I get a little bit anxious that we have not staked out a spot for these, which are rumored to be the most spectacular of all the fireworks shows. We hustle around the castle to the Tomorrowland bridge – all full up with people. But there’s space for two on the curved walkway from the bridge to the hub, so we plant our feet and wait for the show.

Okay. I can see why people are excited about the Halloween fireworks. The colors are amazing, the music is lively, and there sure are a lot of explosions. The peripheral fireworks at the end are show-stoppers. And yet…

I am officially corny. And I like to feel something during the fireworks. When I watch Wishes, I am overcome with emotion (see last year’s TR (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29968745&postcount=132) for details). When I watch Holiday Wishes at the Christmas party, I am similarly touched. But the story line that goes with these fireworks doesn’t do it for me. I mean, I enjoy it; it’s fun. I agree that sometimes it’s good to be bad. But the narration and the music are not moving me. So while I would heartily recommend Hallowishes to others as a fun show, I don’t know that I’d take time to watch the full spectacle again, when there’s so much else to do at the party.

The fireworks end, and it’s like the crowd explodes, with people bursting out from the hub in every direction. We head to the TTA – now that it’s dark, we can see the lights as we glide around Stitch and Monsters Inc., but the part of the ride that’s inside Space Mountain is extra dark and silent and spooky. I understand that they’ve changed the spiel on this ride since September – AUGH! WHY? I wish I’d known it was going to change; we’d have recorded the whole ride for posterity.

There’s a dance party right here by the TTA, so when we get off the ride, we hop over to check it out. I am torn between wanting to dance and jump around, and feeling incredibly self-conscious, especially as I know that Bill is lurking with the camera. Also, not many adults seem to be dancing. So I get in a few good jumps to some Black Eyed Peas, which makes me feel great. Then when the Ricky Martin strikes up, we move along, off to the treat trail by Toontown.

Of course, they don’t let you enter from the Tomorrowland side, so we go all the way around to the Toontown side and walk through the trail, collecting candy every fifteen feet or so. We didn’t spend much time in Toontown on our December 08 trip, nor do we spend much time there on this trip, and now I regret it – it may already be under construction when we return this December! Just a reminder, as were the changes to the TTA spiel: Gather ye happy Disney memories while ye may…

We’ve got bulging bags of candy, as well as aching feet and tired legs and brains that are starting to fritz from overstimulation and lack of rest. As much as I hate to do this AGAIN (“this” being “planning to stay late at a party, but not being able to maintain the energy to do so”), I have to tell Bill that I’m ready to head towards the exit. With a trip through the Emporium so I can see if I want the party t-shirt. Which I kind of do, but I want the Epcot t-shirt we saw this morning more. So, yeah, it’s exit time.

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

Again, we decide to give the bus a shot, so we take our place in the correct line, and wait about five minutes before the bus arrives. When it does, the driver takes a while to lower the ramp for a woman with a double stroller. Like, a long while. She’s behind almost everyone else in line, and I can hear from the quiet grousing around us that popular sentiment is against her. The kids are awake; the mom could have folded the stroller and boarded like everyone else, but instead we sit there for eight minutes by Bill’s watch while the driver goes through the rigamarole of accommodating the stroller. And mom gets a seat, while others who arrived at the stop before her may have to stand. Then again, I’d rather the kids be left in their stroller than listen to them have a loud meltdown for the length of the ride. And I can’t imagine what it must take to push two kids through the parks for any length of time – which is why I don’t plan to try it. Anyway, more on-the-scene reporting from the front lines of the ongoing battle between the Disney Is For Kids, So Suck It Up and Deal With the Delays That Kids Cause faction, and the Disney Is For ME, So Get Out Of My Way camp, a battle in which I am trying to stay Switzerland.

In any event, we’re on the bus, and it’s crowded with tired kids of all ages, including tired old 40-year-old me. Most people have gathered their sleeping kids onto their laps so that more people can sit down, but there are still plenty of stand-ees. We reach AK, and the bus stops first at Kidani Village, to let off all three people who are staying there. Then we stop at Jambo house, and the other fifty of us can disembark.

We wash up for the night, eating candy the whole while, which does defeat the purpose of tooth brushing, but is irresistible anyway. Then it’s off to bed, to dream of another great big beautiful tomorrow spent in Disney World!

:banana:

praisehisname

11-07-2009, 02:51 PM

Sounds like a yummy dinner at LTT!

There’s a dance party right here by the TTA, so when we get off the ride, we hop over to check it out. I am torn between wanting to dance and jump around, and feeling incredibly self-conscious, especially as I know that Bill is lurking with the camera.

Stupid, I know, but this is one of the minor things that is holding me back from doing the MVMCP. I love to dance and be silly with my kids, but they won't be there and I will be very inhibited...:laughing:

We didn’t spend much time in Toontown on our December 08 trip, nor do we spend much time there on this trip, and now I regret it – it may already be under construction when we return this December!

I hope not...I want to get a few more pics!!!

And I can’t imagine what it must take to push two kids through the parks for any length of time – which is why I don’t plan to try it.

:rotfl2: :thumbsup2

manntra

11-07-2009, 03:37 PM

:laughing: I am forever trying to stay Switzerland at some point during my stay!
We saw some great costumes too....an entire Incredibles family! They were cute....When I (attempt to) go snowboarding I have underarmour (like long underwear) black pants and I have either a red or a black underarmour shirt and I always call it my Incredible outfit. It is actually incredibly unflattering! Another good one was Shaggy, Velma and the Scooby gang.

As Samantha Brown once said...every day should end with a parade! :)

Tracy

norybell

11-07-2009, 03:47 PM

Okay. I can see why people are excited about the Halloween fireworks. The colors are amazing, the music is lively, and there sure are a lot of explosions. The peripheral fireworks at the end are show-stoppers. And yet…

I am officially corny. And I like to feel something during the fireworks. When I watch Wishes, I am overcome with emotion (see last year’s TR (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29968745&postcount=132) for details). When I watch Holiday Wishes at the Christmas party, I am similarly touched. But the story line that goes with these fireworks doesn’t do it for me. I mean, I enjoy it; it’s fun. I agree that sometimes it’s good to be bad. But the narration and the music are not moving me. So while I would heartily recommend Hallowishes to others as a fun show, I don’t know that I’d take time to watch the full spectacle again, when there’s so much else to do at the party.

I totally agree with you about Hallowishes. It was an amazing show. But I never felt chills (except for that moment at the very end, when they shoot off the fireworks all around you). Give me Illuminations any day!

girlbomb

11-15-2009, 10:27 AM

Stupid, I know, but this is one of the minor things that is holding me back from doing the MVMCP. I love to dance and be silly with my kids, but they won't be there and I will be very inhibited...:laughing:

Praisehisname, if you can get your husband to jump in with you, rather than lurking with a camera as mine does, it might help you get over your inhibitions! :lmao: But I think more adults need to groove at the dance parties; at the Cosmic Ray's dance party during last year's MVMCP, there's were lots of us "big kids" on the floor, and it was great!

:laughing: I am forever trying to stay Switzerland at some point during my stay!
We saw some great costumes too....an entire Incredibles family! They were cute....When I (attempt to) go snowboarding I have underarmour (like long underwear) black pants and I have either a red or a black underarmour shirt and I always call it my Incredible outfit. It is actually incredibly unflattering! Another good one was Shaggy, Velma and the Scooby gang.

As Samantha Brown once said...every day should end with a parade! :)

Tracy

Tracy, I can not IMAGINE wearing a full costume in that heat, especially one with fake muscle padding! :eek: But I so admire the people who do it...

I totally agree with you about Hallowishes. It was an amazing show. But I never felt chills (except for that moment at the very end, when they shoot off the fireworks all around you). Give me Illuminations any day!

Norybell, you and I have way too much in common! And from reading your TR, I realize we live in the same neighborhood! If it weren't for the pictures, I'd be wondering if we are actually...the same person! Think about it -- have you ever seen us in a room together? ;)

And now, here's another picture-free but word-heavy installment of this tardy TR.

Day Four: Water Park Angst and More

Well, folks, it had to happen sometime. The Wall had to be hit. The day-before-departure blues had to be felt. Crankiness had to ensue. It’s all part of the deal I make with the devil – the devil being that part of me that will not slow down, even for a minute, because we’re at DisneyDisneyDisney and I have to enjoy it nownownow.

Everything’s fine when we wake up on this Saturday morning, September 26th – everything’s glorious, actually, aside from the exhaustion. It’s 6:30 a.m., and we’d think about sleeping in, but we have breakfast ADRs for 7:35 at Boma, and we will never have as good a chance to eat breakfast at Boma as we have right now, when we’re here at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I wish we’d been able to make a later breakfast ressie, as we don’t have to be anywhere until 10 a.m. rope drop at Typhoon Lagoon, but 7:35 was all they had – it was early, or nothing. So we yawn and stretch and wash and dress, and pack our bag for a day of Water Park Fun And More.

I am dragging my butt a little bit, full from last night’s candy binge, and mopey because the plan isn’t perfect. If the plan were perfect, we’d have slept another 45 minutes, and we’d be eating at 8:15. But the plan is imperfect. Months of planning, and it’s still imperfect! I mean, I should have called Disney Dining a few times over the past two weeks to see if an 8:15 ADR had opened up, and I didn’t. So I am brooding a little.

Bill is aware that I am, for some unknown reason, acting like I’m wearing a big soggy diaper. He is both sympathetic and encouraging – everything’s great, he says. We’re gong to have fun today. I KNOW, I mope. I’m just tired. Bill is a wonderful travel companion, as well as a wonderful stay at home companion, because he is generally unfazed by things like imperfect plans and early mornings and horrible mood swings on my part. I wish I could be less of a grumpus, because he deserves a companion as chipper and flexible as he is, but recognizing that only makes me more grumpy.

Still, breakfast at Boma gets a big thumbs up. I can’t eat as much as I’d like to (oink), which is a bummer, but everything that’s available to be eaten is delicious. There’s enough traditional breakfast food to satisfy picky eaters, and enough special Boma-style food to satisfy me and Bill. The spicy potatoes? The cheese-and-chive scrambled eggs? Yum. I only wish I could pack in another plate or two.

So we have a little time to kill after breakfast, and again, I am moody that we got up earlier than we absolutely had to because we couldn’t get an ADR at exactly the right time, and blah blah nitpick blah. We meander around the peaceful resort, steam rising off the empty pool, morning dew hanging in the humid air, and gleaming on the leaves of the exotic trees and plants. The flamingoes balance on their spindly legs, tipping forward to eat the krill from their pond; the enormous buzzards sit on thick logs, hunched and eerily tranquil; the Thompson’s gazelles graze and then lift their heads, and then go back to grazing, still looking at us from the corners of their eyes, like, you can’t get anything over on us. We’re not just any old gazelles, you know; we’re *Thompson’s* gazelles.

After about 45 minutes of ambling (when we should have been sleeping! The plan, the plan!), we catch a cab over to Typhoon Lagoon, and we reach the lot by 9 a.m. There are only two other people at the turnstiles when we arrive – they have a cooler with them, and the kind of reddish, sunbaked skin that lets you know these are not water park amateurs, here. They know what’s what. Bill and I apply some sunblock, as the area around the turnstiles in completely unshaded, with no place to sit, and I pull out my phone and start answering some email.

I am so grumpy right now, I should be sent to go mining with the rest of the dwarves. My email makes me grumpy, the sun and heat make me grumpy, the fact that we’re here so early and we don’t need to be makes me grumpy. We’ve never been to Typhoon Lagoon, we don’t have park maps, and I don’t feel like I planned the day well enough – I don’t even know which way to go when the stupid turnstiles open – grumpy. You’re probably getting the picture, as is poor Bill, who finally, gently, asks, “Are you in a bad mood, Shmoopy?”

YES. I AM IN A BAD MOOD. And I don’t want to admit it, and I don’t want to acknowledge the fact that I’m grumping up Bill’s morning, and all of that is compounding the grumpiness into INFINITE GRUMPITUDE. “I am,” I say, testily, “and I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry. I’ll get over it. I will.”

But first I will have to get over the anxiety, as more people join us at the turnstiles, that I don’t know what we’re supposed to do next, and I screwed everything up, and we’re here a million hours early but we’re still going to get trampled on the way to the best slides because I failed at planning. As it inches towards 9:30, our previously deserted waiting area is starting to fill up with other guests, all of whom I’m eyeing suspiciously as competition. And I am ashamed to be writing all of this, but it’s the truth, it’s factual, everything is not satisfactual, and I know that many of you have been exactly where I am this morning as I brood and gloom and fret, and the lines stack up around us.

By 9:45, I am ready to blow a gasket, They should be opening the turnstiles any second, and I am determined to get right through the gate and over to the locker rental (wherever that may be); to rip off my outerwear and throw on my suit and water shoes as fast as humanly possible, and to be there in front of the g.d. rope before anyone else. But the teenagers behind the turnstiles don’t seem like they’re ready to move. Most of the turnstiles are still covered, and now it’s 9:49, and oh my god are they ever going to let us in? When? I have separated myself from Bill by a few feet because I am aware that I am giving off the world’s worst vibes, and I want him to be as protected as possible from the nightmare that is me right now.

Finally, at 9:52, the turnstiles open, and I go blowing through them at top speed, over to the gift shop where lockers are rented, then into the dressing rooms as fast as I can, with curt directions to Bill that he should speed it up and change into his suit pronto. Why I didn’t wear my suit under my clothes this morning I will never know. But at least I am making up for earlier errors right now by being the most super-efficient clothes-changer ever.

Bill takes a little longer than me, during which time I grab a park map and have seventeen anxiety attacks and pray and pray for him to emerge quickly. When he does, we pack our locker, and take our place in the crowd by the rope – NOT first in line, but not too far back either. Okay.

I have yet another heart attack when I see that the map I’ve been given is for Blizzard Beach, and am about to go storming back to the girl shop where I got it to say YOU GAVE ME THE WRONG STUPID MAP. And then I notice that the Typhoon Lagoon map is printed on the other side. A definite sign that I need to check myself, before I seriously wreck myself. :sad2:

We want to go to Crush N’ Gusher first. Unfortunately, the map does not seem to show a clear path to CN’G. Augh! The rope drops, and we go rushing off to the right, rushing and rushing until we stop at a standing map and see that we have overshot the slide we’re looking for, and have to go back, but where and how? Double augh!

We ask a maintenance woman where we might find the ride, and she points us in the right direction. Soon, we’re at the slide, where there are maybe four whole people in front of us, for a total wait of under a minute. So maybe I can relax now, and start enjoying the day? We’re here plenty early, we’re not getting boxed out of anything fun – is it possible for me to kill the drama and just enjoy myself? Well, it would be, if the ride attendant were not being slow and negligent in hooking people up with tubes for the ride. She has the worst attitude on her face, she’s not making any eye contact or saying anything to anyone, and she’s huffing and rolling her eyes like she has the worst job in the world. Whoopee!

But again, we only wait for maybe a minute to get our tube, and then we hike up the stairs to the platform where we have a choice of three awesome water slides to slide down. We’re on line for the one on the left, so we get positioned in the two-person tube, and…

WOOOOOOO!

:banana:

Immediately, I am back to having a great time. Because this slide is awesome – twisty and surprising and fast and fun. We hit the exit pool with a big splash and wade over to the steps, where we determine that we must do that again right away. So we get back on the (very short) line, wait for another tube from Crankyface McGee, and are up the stairs as fast as our legs can carry us for a ride down the center slide this time.

Amazing, how quickly the tension of the morning melts away, when doused with a little bit of Water Park Fun. This is what I was waiting and hoping and planning for, all those months – this exact feeling of careening down a slide, sun overhead, laughing as we hit an unexpected dip in the chute. When I thought that this feeling was going to be somehow delayed or denied, I was miserable. Now that I have it, I feel great.

We take one more trip up the stairs, and then down the right-hand slide. Then it’s off to see the rest of the park. There’s no way for me to take trip notes today, as I’m running around in just a swimsuit and water socks, but I am pretty sure the morning goes like this:

Our first stop after the Crush N’ Gusher is Humunga Cowabunga, the really steep slide that looks like it will quickly draw big lines. I’m not a big fan of heights, and refused to do the super steep slide at Blizzard Beach last year, but this one’s enclosed, so I think I can do it. I step into position, let go of the bar, and a yodel of “OH MY GOD!” is ripped from me, unwitting, as I hurtle downwards through space. The yell is so primal and unexpected; I’m just glad that I didn’t yell something more profane. I am proud of myself for doing such a high slide, and exhilarated with giggles, but the resulting wedgie is uncomfortable, to say the least. Bill laughs at me when he emerges, for emitting such a genuinely terrified and ear-splitting scream.

Next up is either Keelhaul Falls or Mayday Falls – they’re both tube slides down quick, twisty routes, and we do both of them in succession, enjoying the sensation as the tube banks against the sides of the turns. Then we do the Gangplank Falls, the family raft slide. At the family raft slide at Blizzard Beach, they paired us with another duo; here, two people are enough to make a family, so we get an enormous raft of our own to shlep up the stairs. Gangplank Falls is relatively gentle and serene, and at the end, a Photopass photographer is on hand to take one of the least flattering photos ever, not included here.

Actually, there are Photopass photographers all over the park – many of the slides end with a P-pass photog handing you a tiny card on a rubber wrist strap, easy to keep and collect as they day goes on. There are even photographers in the lazy river, standing waist-deep in the water with their vests on, cameras wrapped in plastic. But again, I don’t really need any more super ugly pictures of myself in bright sunlight, with my hair a mess, squinting water out of my eyes, in an unflattering bathing suit (which I wear because it’s so good at staying on my body, unlike my very cute bikini).

I think the Storm Slides were next, all three of them, all virtually indistinguishable from each other, all enjoyable. It’s a different experience than other theme parks rides, as many of the slides are solo affairs; even if you’re with friends or loved ones, you “ride” (or slide) alone, enjoying a little private moment as you careen downhill through warm water into a trench at the end.

Another thing about the water parks – they really make you work for your fun! We are up and down stairs all day until our thighs and butts are burning with the efforts. But the fun of sliding downhill is worth it. Hooray, gravity!

After we’ve done all the slides, we head towards the snorkeling adventure. As a snorkeling snob, I think we’re going to find this too tame and short, but as park completists, we must do it. And it’s actually pretty neat! The water is cold, but that doesn’t stop us from taking as long as we can to swim from one end of the tank to the other. And the sharks are pretty cool looking. When we see sharks in open water while snorkeling, we usually make tracks in the opposite direction, but here I feel safe enough to really look at them, the graceful, muscular creatures that they are.

We’ve done everything else in the park except the wave pool and the kiddie slides, and somehow I don’t think we’re welcome at the kiddie slides. So we head towards Castaway Creek, the lazy river that encircles the park. It takes us a while to find tubes – this lazy river is packed! – but we do eventually get tubes and position ourselves atop them for maximum laziness.

Because the river is so full, we get plenty of chances to hear other people’s conversations, many of which are held in delightful British accents. Other conversations are not so delightful – a mother berating her son, telling him what a jerk he is and how he’s ruining everybody’s good time and how she doesn’t even want to hear from him for the next half hour. Fun! We do our best to float away from the Unhappy Family, then get caught in a logjam behind a group of Portuguese speakers who have all joined hands so their tubes are connected, leaving nobody else any room to float around them. They seem to be enjoying the jam they’ve caused, as they’re laughing away. This requires a little backstroking here, but we manage to get away from them, too.

Finally, it’s lazy river floating time! Oh wait – now we’re at the part where people squirt you with cold water guns from the shore. And now the sun has gone behind a cloud, and it’s a little cooler than I’d like it to be, so I stuff myself further down into the tube, into the warmth of the river, while we wait for the sun to reappear. Except it’s not coming out, and we’re past the point where we started, getting ready for a whole ‘nother go-round. And I’m hungry.

So despite the relatively cool air – where were the clouds yesterday at Epcot, when we were dying in the sun? – we hop out of the creek and go find a snack stand, Typhoon Tillie’s. Fried fish and fries for me, chicken strips and fries for Bill, and just as we take a seat, the sun comes out again. Within minutes, it’s so hot I can’t imagine that I was ever cold.

After lunch, it’s time to hit the slides again, in no particular order. We do another three trips on the Crush N’ Gusher, which is definitely my favorite ride in the park (and I think the left side is my favorite side). We do Humunga Cowabunga again; then, a few minutes later, we are trying to get to the Storm Slides, and we wind up at Humunga Cowabunga again, so we take a third plunge down the steep slope, into the land of wedgies. Every line is short – we never wait more than a few minutes for a ride, except for Gangplank Falls, which has a twenty minute wait. Most of the morning’s tension is gone – it’s a perfect day, weather-wise, to be here at Typhoon Lagoon, lines are really short, and we’re bopping around from ride to ride with ease.

After another tour of all the slides, and a second trip around the lazy river, we stop by the bathrooms overlooking the wave pool to watch the wave action. Right now, it doesn’t look like there are any big body-surfing waves; the water is choppy, but no six-footers in sight. Some other guests join us in waiting for a big wave; a few of us go to sit on the nearby bench, but the bench is so hot from baking in the sun that it’s painful to sit on, so we abandon that idea. A cast member comes by and tells us that it will be a few minutes before the big waves kick in again – apparently, there are two cycles to the wave pool: choppy waters, like we’re seeing now, and then consecutive waves, which will start soon. I want to get back into the water, so I leave Bill at the overlook and walk down to the pool.

When the waves kick in, the crowd gets excited. Many people are positioned right at the deepest part, where the safety rope prohibits you from going any further. Those people miss out on the best wave action; it passes right under them. If you really want to body surf, you should stay further forward, around the 3 foot mark – that’s where the wave hits, and carries you the furthest and with the most velocity, usually into someone else’s shoulder or shin. Ouch. :scared:

I surf a few waves, until I’m clocked in the leg so hard that I see stars. Bill has climbed down and joined me in the pool, so I jump all over him like an excited puppy. We splash around for a while, and then decide it’s about time to call it an afternoon. If we leave now, around 3ish, we can get in a short nap before we head to the Magic Kingdom for a late night of fun.

So we remove ourselves from the refreshing pool, and trudge back to the dressing rooms and lockers. We towel off, re-dress, return our locker key, and head towards the parking lot. No taxis available – we will have to call one, if we want one, and in the meantime, we might as well wait for the bus. Which pulls up to the AKL stop mere seconds after we sit down there on the bench, and takes us with no extra stops right to Jambo House. Perfect!

Back to the room, blabbering about what a fun morning it was (if you politely gloss over the hour I spent being a moody grumpus), and down for a nap. But will we be able to nap, with Disney World right outside the window? Or will the nap work too well, and will we ever make it over to the MK?

(More soon [I hope] -- thanks for hanging in with me! :flower3:)

addictedtothemouse

11-15-2009, 11:49 PM

Yay!!! Another TR by Girlbomb! :woohoo::woohoo:

norybell

11-16-2009, 01:02 AM

Norybell, you and I have way too much in common! And from reading your TR, I realize we live in the same neighborhood! If it weren't for the pictures, I'd be wondering if we are actually...the same person! Think about it -- have you ever seen us in a room together? ;)
OMG, you're right! I'VE NEVER SEEN US IN A ROOM TOGETHER! What does this mean??? Do I not exist? Does that mean I don't have to go to work tomorrow? :lmao:

No...wait...I don't do water parks. Whew. Guess that proves our separate existences. :rotfl:

Great update! I love your description of a totally unnecessary Disney-stress moment. I know I've been there! I'm bound and determined to actually have one relaxing -- perhaps even park-free! -- night next time I go, so I don't have to be quite so tired by Day 3 (we'll see if I can actually do something so crazy).

Circusgirl

11-16-2009, 01:45 AM

I somehow got unsubscribed and was pouting a little bit about not having any of Janice's report to relish, when I took a glance at the trip report board and saw I'd been left way behind! The reward of missing a chapter is having two to read at once, which I just did, lickity-split!

Party night was way fun, and I loved hearing about all the things you did after we parted ways. Glad you got some jumps in at the dance party (after all, you were wearing your bouncing Tigger ears!) I always want to get up and get down at the dances, but when I'm solo I'm just too inhibited to get there. Are you going to do a MVMCP in December? :rolleyes1 I agree about Hallowishes - a good show, but not emotional.

Ah, Disney angst. There is some moment in every trip where the quest for perfection gets a little out of hand, exhaustion smacking into enthusiasm. Super sweet that Bill was so lovely around your cranky-fest. Glad the first ride at Typhoon Lagoon got your happiness rolling! So now that you've done both water parks, do you have a favorite?

Thanks for the great ride!

praisehisname

11-16-2009, 03:05 PM

Sounds like you had an absolutely amazing time at TL (except for the grumpiness)!!! DH took the kids last trip and they all loved it, too!

manntra

11-16-2009, 04:50 PM

Haha!! I was lmao about your time being spent on line for TL--myself having never been there I would have been eyeing everyone up as well...fabricating all these different scenarios in my mind about who was going to go where :rotfl:

Then the people on the lazy river that you had to backstroke from :laughing: Very funny reading today! :thumbsup2 Not that I am laughing at your stress and anxiety, just that I would have been acting/reacting exactly the same!

It's factual, everything is not satisfactual! :laughing::laughing:

Tracy

Lady Lallie

11-16-2009, 07:51 PM

I hate it when I get behind on TRs!

I'm caught up now!

MNSSHP sounds like it was such a great time. :goodvibes I'm hoping to make it there next fall, I really loved the party atmosphere.

nts4wdw

11-17-2009, 07:57 PM

I'm so glad I found your report! We had a good time hanging out with you guys in the mask room at Adventurer's Club!! Here is our picture of you and Hathaway Brown. I love it! It was great to meet you!
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t267/nuts4wdw_album/Sept%202009%20day%202/DSCF3002.jpg