Kevin Stringer
Chat Host
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2000
DAY 12 TUESDAY 2nd JUNE
The participants:
Me, Kev, 51, husband, father, son, friend. In fact, just about everything to everybody on this holiday.
Wife, Tam, 45.
Daughter 1, India, 18.
Daughter 2, Georgia, 15.
Grandma, 84. The girls Grandma, my mother.
Susan, age kept quiet for fear of kick in soft tissuey area. Our friend from Tulsa.
Attending in part:
Sharon, see above for age. Friend from Texas.
Evan, 21, Sharons son.
If you want to know more about us, have a look at www.kevinstringer.co.uk/index
Were up by 7.30am this morning as were off to Disneys Hollywood Studios in order to ride Toy Story Mania. After breakfast we knock on Susan and Grandmas door. No answer. We guess they are waiting for us down at the boat dock and, sure enough, we find them sat there.
It turns out that Susan has accidentally turned the clock back one hour when setting the alarm and they both got up at 5.45am! Susan says that its better to be one hour early than 5 minutes late due to the amount of stick I always give her over punctuality. Fair point.
We get the boat to Disneys Hollywood Studios and meet Sharon and Evan at the entrance. We get inside just at the rope drop and Evan, me, India and Georgia walk swiftly ahead to get Fastpasses, then join the ladies who have walked up more slowly and are now in the standby queue, which is already showing a 40 minute wait. In reality its more like 20 and we all enjoy this excellent new attraction. Its so much fun and a great ride for young and old to enjoy.
Its over to Rock n Roller Coaster next and Tam, me and Georgia ride in the last car, its certainly faster from there. What a great ride this is, but I still feel a bit wobbly when I come off.
The ladies get Fastpasses for Tower of Terror and we then split up. Evan wants to audition for American Idol, so he heads off there with Sharon. Grandma, Susan and me watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I havent seen this for a few years so its nice to see it again.
Its now time for lunch and we all meet up again with the exception of Evan, whos still auditioning.
We eat at the Studio Catering Company where we share a chicken wrap with beans and rice. The foods not too bad here, not brilliant but passable for counter service food. Still no Evan.
Off to Lights, Motors, Action. Evan has now been gone for nearly two hours. He eventually rings Sharon to tell her hes on his way and she says he sounds a bit down. We take our seats on the left hand side of the stadium and soon see Evan walking in. Hes wearing an American Idol lanyard saying Vote for me and an audition number pinned to his shirt. Hes only gone and passed the audition and hell be singing on stage in the 6 oclock show!
The only thing hes not too happy about is that theyre making him sing Achy, Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cirus. Tam and I tell him we probably wont be able to vote for him then.
The Lights, Motors, Action show is better than I remember. Weve only seen it once before and it was raining then, so its enjoyable seeing all the stunts.
After the show we decide to go back to the Boardwalk to shower before Evans big moment. We have to be back at the American Idol theatre by 5,30pm as we are VIP guests. I knew Id find my rightful place in the world sooner or later, I think I was born to be a VIP. VIP stands for Vacuous, Inebriated Person, right?
A quick trip to the swimming pool, back to the room, showered and changed and were ready to head back to Disneys Hollywood Studios by 4.45pm. We enter just after 5.00pm, at least some of us do. Grandma has left her pass in the room. Tam, Susan and Grandma go to Guest Services to get a new ticket sorted out, while the rest of us meet up with Sharon just inside the entrance.
New ticket sorted, we all walk to American Idol where we are allowed to enter early while they give the 3 contestants some instructions and allow them to try out their songs on stage.
It immediately becomes apparent that Evan will have his work cut out as the other two contestants, a girl and a bloke, both have Disney songs to sing. Surely this is a little unfair? Anyway, they all take their turn and to give them their credit, are all very good.
After Evan sings, the judges give their verdict. The nasty one tells Evan that if they ever have karaoke at Hooters, he should be first in line. I believe that this is meant to imply criticism, but Evan shouts Yeah and I sit with tears of pride streaming down my face. No greater praise could there be.
Eventually they have the voting and the girl that sang Part of My World wins. To be fair, she was very good; perhaps shell get to work in Hooters one day.
We meet up with Evan afterwards and he says that he really enjoyed the experience. Fair play to him and all the contestants, it takes a lot of guts to stand up and sing to what was a packed audience.
We all walk up to Tower of Terror next and all ride except me, Georgia and Tam. Tam and I grab a couple of beers and wait outside. We are a bit concerned over whether will be ok. She loves this attraction, but all that zooming up and down cant possibly be good for an 84-year-old body.
Once again she proves us wrong by skipping off the ride full of the joys of spring.
We now leave the park, but stop to watch the maintenance men street theatre group on the way out. I love these guys, theyre so much fun.
We take the boat to Epcot and me, Evan and the girls walk on ahead to stake out a place in front of Norway for Reflections of Earth. Even at 8.15pm all the railing places are taken and we are lucky to get a spot when a couple of people leave.
While we are waiting for the fireworks to start, Grandma and Susan split a club sandwich, a huge almond pretzel and a cream horn. Not only have they got the constitution of teenagers, they have the appetite too!
After Reflections of Earth (which is much better from my preferred viewing spot) we walk round to China where India wants the beef noodle soup and I introduce Evan to the wonders of Tsing Tao.
On to Morocco where Tam and I have the chicken and lamb platter, while Evan and Georgia walk over to the UK to get fish and chips.
You may be wondering how we manage to get food from the counter service places after Reflections of Earth. Well, its Extra Magic Hours tonight and Epcot is open until 1.00am.
We sit around a table in Morocco eating our various foods while Evan tells us stories about his college roommates disgusting toilet habits, believe me, you dont want to know.
Its now past 11.00pm and Tam, me, Grandma and Susan head back to the Boardwalk while India and Georgia decide to stay out with Sharon and Evan to ride Soarin.
As it turns out, they return not long after us as the wait is more than 50 minutes. I guess this confirms what Id heard about Extra Magic Hours, it doesnt automatically mean shorter queues.
Kev
The participants:
Me, Kev, 51, husband, father, son, friend. In fact, just about everything to everybody on this holiday.
Wife, Tam, 45.
Daughter 1, India, 18.
Daughter 2, Georgia, 15.
Grandma, 84. The girls Grandma, my mother.
Susan, age kept quiet for fear of kick in soft tissuey area. Our friend from Tulsa.
Attending in part:
Sharon, see above for age. Friend from Texas.
Evan, 21, Sharons son.
If you want to know more about us, have a look at www.kevinstringer.co.uk/index
Were up by 7.30am this morning as were off to Disneys Hollywood Studios in order to ride Toy Story Mania. After breakfast we knock on Susan and Grandmas door. No answer. We guess they are waiting for us down at the boat dock and, sure enough, we find them sat there.
It turns out that Susan has accidentally turned the clock back one hour when setting the alarm and they both got up at 5.45am! Susan says that its better to be one hour early than 5 minutes late due to the amount of stick I always give her over punctuality. Fair point.
We get the boat to Disneys Hollywood Studios and meet Sharon and Evan at the entrance. We get inside just at the rope drop and Evan, me, India and Georgia walk swiftly ahead to get Fastpasses, then join the ladies who have walked up more slowly and are now in the standby queue, which is already showing a 40 minute wait. In reality its more like 20 and we all enjoy this excellent new attraction. Its so much fun and a great ride for young and old to enjoy.
Its over to Rock n Roller Coaster next and Tam, me and Georgia ride in the last car, its certainly faster from there. What a great ride this is, but I still feel a bit wobbly when I come off.
The ladies get Fastpasses for Tower of Terror and we then split up. Evan wants to audition for American Idol, so he heads off there with Sharon. Grandma, Susan and me watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I havent seen this for a few years so its nice to see it again.
Its now time for lunch and we all meet up again with the exception of Evan, whos still auditioning.
We eat at the Studio Catering Company where we share a chicken wrap with beans and rice. The foods not too bad here, not brilliant but passable for counter service food. Still no Evan.
Off to Lights, Motors, Action. Evan has now been gone for nearly two hours. He eventually rings Sharon to tell her hes on his way and she says he sounds a bit down. We take our seats on the left hand side of the stadium and soon see Evan walking in. Hes wearing an American Idol lanyard saying Vote for me and an audition number pinned to his shirt. Hes only gone and passed the audition and hell be singing on stage in the 6 oclock show!
The only thing hes not too happy about is that theyre making him sing Achy, Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cirus. Tam and I tell him we probably wont be able to vote for him then.
The Lights, Motors, Action show is better than I remember. Weve only seen it once before and it was raining then, so its enjoyable seeing all the stunts.
After the show we decide to go back to the Boardwalk to shower before Evans big moment. We have to be back at the American Idol theatre by 5,30pm as we are VIP guests. I knew Id find my rightful place in the world sooner or later, I think I was born to be a VIP. VIP stands for Vacuous, Inebriated Person, right?
A quick trip to the swimming pool, back to the room, showered and changed and were ready to head back to Disneys Hollywood Studios by 4.45pm. We enter just after 5.00pm, at least some of us do. Grandma has left her pass in the room. Tam, Susan and Grandma go to Guest Services to get a new ticket sorted out, while the rest of us meet up with Sharon just inside the entrance.
New ticket sorted, we all walk to American Idol where we are allowed to enter early while they give the 3 contestants some instructions and allow them to try out their songs on stage.
It immediately becomes apparent that Evan will have his work cut out as the other two contestants, a girl and a bloke, both have Disney songs to sing. Surely this is a little unfair? Anyway, they all take their turn and to give them their credit, are all very good.
After Evan sings, the judges give their verdict. The nasty one tells Evan that if they ever have karaoke at Hooters, he should be first in line. I believe that this is meant to imply criticism, but Evan shouts Yeah and I sit with tears of pride streaming down my face. No greater praise could there be.
Eventually they have the voting and the girl that sang Part of My World wins. To be fair, she was very good; perhaps shell get to work in Hooters one day.
We meet up with Evan afterwards and he says that he really enjoyed the experience. Fair play to him and all the contestants, it takes a lot of guts to stand up and sing to what was a packed audience.
We all walk up to Tower of Terror next and all ride except me, Georgia and Tam. Tam and I grab a couple of beers and wait outside. We are a bit concerned over whether will be ok. She loves this attraction, but all that zooming up and down cant possibly be good for an 84-year-old body.
Once again she proves us wrong by skipping off the ride full of the joys of spring.
We now leave the park, but stop to watch the maintenance men street theatre group on the way out. I love these guys, theyre so much fun.
We take the boat to Epcot and me, Evan and the girls walk on ahead to stake out a place in front of Norway for Reflections of Earth. Even at 8.15pm all the railing places are taken and we are lucky to get a spot when a couple of people leave.
While we are waiting for the fireworks to start, Grandma and Susan split a club sandwich, a huge almond pretzel and a cream horn. Not only have they got the constitution of teenagers, they have the appetite too!
After Reflections of Earth (which is much better from my preferred viewing spot) we walk round to China where India wants the beef noodle soup and I introduce Evan to the wonders of Tsing Tao.
On to Morocco where Tam and I have the chicken and lamb platter, while Evan and Georgia walk over to the UK to get fish and chips.
You may be wondering how we manage to get food from the counter service places after Reflections of Earth. Well, its Extra Magic Hours tonight and Epcot is open until 1.00am.
We sit around a table in Morocco eating our various foods while Evan tells us stories about his college roommates disgusting toilet habits, believe me, you dont want to know.
Its now past 11.00pm and Tam, me, Grandma and Susan head back to the Boardwalk while India and Georgia decide to stay out with Sharon and Evan to ride Soarin.
As it turns out, they return not long after us as the wait is more than 50 minutes. I guess this confirms what Id heard about Extra Magic Hours, it doesnt automatically mean shorter queues.
Kev
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