LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
See for me it's weird doing a solo report because it's all "I".
How Do I Flush This? Squared! *update 1-5*
- Thread starter LockShockBarrel
- Start date
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
As I walked out of MK I saw that the boat was on it's way so I opted to take that (for the 1st time) instead of another monorail ride. What a relaxing nice ride it is too. Even though at times it's more time consuming, boat might be my favorite Disney mode of transportation.
I'd never been to Narcoossee before and was glad to see it's literally right at the boat dock so I didn't have to search too much. Here's the report for my meal http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46630965&postcount=27
Before dinner, I went into the restroom to see what a wreck I looked like, throw on my cardigan and use the facilities. Well, those facilities were a bit boggling to me. I went in the 2nd stall and well...you know. I finished and turned to flush and
. No auto flush...and no handle that stuck out. I must have stared at that toilet for a solid minute saying to myself "How do I flush this?" before I realized there's a large metal circle that pushes inward that is the "handle"! I've never seen one like that before and maybe it was the combination of so little sleep and the prospect of some fancy food but this toilet darn near had me stumped.
So then I ate, and you can read about that in the above link. After dinner, I slipped into the bathroom again to change my shirt (into a spiffy hand tie dyed orange and black for the halloween party) and this time I went into the first stall. I figured I'd take care of business again while I was there (how many pee euphemisms can I use in one post?) and I heard a mom and little girl come into the bathroom just after me. The little girl went first and then I hear "Mom?...How do I flush this?" It was all I could do not to burst into laughter because I knew exactly how she felt. Can you imagine being forever known as the other person in the story "Man I was at Disney once and some crazy chick was laughing her butt off in the stall next to us!" I came out of the stall and at this point the kid had opened her door and the mom is standing in the doorway, also looking very confused. I couldn't leave them in the same predicament I'd been in so I clued them in on the magical mystical flusher circle.
After the great toilet debate, I headed back out and figured I'd take the boat back to MK which was very refreshing. I'd gotten my wrist band earlier in the day so it was a quick bag check and into the party I went. Main St looked packed and I thought "uh oh". I was suddenly very nervous that I'd made the wrong decision by spending so long at my meal instead of working the party. Once I got past Main St, my fears were put to rest. It was just that everyone was bound and determined to see that parade! I saw it once a few years ago and I'm not really a parade fan so I kept on truckin and made my way back to the Haunted Mansion!
I was a little disappointed the new section of the queue wasn't open but the fact that it was a walk on helped. The stretching room was mostly empty, I think there were many 10 of us in there, tops. The CMs were very in character. There was a male CM who blended very well into the shadows who kept quietly walking up close to people until they noticed. A woman with a young daughter and son stayed behind to hear the gargoyles, as did I. Any other time there's been too much other noises for me to hear it so I was really happy I got to this time. The mom and I ended up chatting as we slowly made our way to board. Not that it was crowded, just that we were talking. She asked how I knew about the chatter and of course I said "disboards". Her son, about 4, was very excited, giggling and smiling and doing this goofy little dance through the line. I asked "Do you have ants in your pants?!" His little face dropped and he stopped and looked all over his pants for ants. It was the most adorable innocent reaction and the mom and I were cracking up over it. It doesn't seem to translate as well in writing but it was hilarious as it happened. After the ride I gave some of my glow bracelets to this little guy and his sister.
As it happened the fireworks were just starting as I was making my way into Frontierland. I turned and watched them every few seconds but darn it I had rides to ride! The nice thing was I did get to see the finale which I love. Those last fireworks remind me of the end of Hocus Pocus when the witches are hit with sunlight. On my way through, I'd planned on riding BTMRR but saw that Splash had a 5 minute wait. And here's my dirty Disney confession, I had never gone on Splash Mountain before
I was always afraid of getting too wet and I hate walking around like that so I figured "eh, no big deal" that I hadn't done it before. I'd promised a friend of mine that I'd try to make it on this trip so I figured the time had come.
I started walking through the line and the theme of no one else around came back again. I walked and walked and walked. It was very odd, not seeing anyone in line. Then I get to the loading area and there's not a single other rider. Just 3 CMs hanging out. Bizarre right? This was the following conversation.
Me "Oh..hey...! So um, look, I've never been on this before..."
CM "So you want the front seat right?!"
Me "Actually...I reaaaaally don't want to walk around too wet so could you put me in the least wet seat?"
CM very seriously puts his hand on my shoulder and goes "Sweetie, you DO realize this is called Splash Mountain, right?"
He said he'd do his best and I ended up in the last row of the boat. Now let me explain here. The boat ahead of me was empty, my boat was empty aside from me, and the boat behind me was empty. I rode seemingly COMPLETELY ALONE. And it was creepy as hell. It came across like a horror movie, all these singing robots around me and no one around to hear me scream. Is that ride long or was it just that I was afraid Br'er Rabbit was going to eat my face? I managed to make it out alive and only my shoulders were wet (and not much more than a decent rain) so
to the CM for dealing with my water ride wimpiness.
Next up I treked back to Fantasyland. The stage show by the castle was starting and the hub was pretty full, and it seemed like a very long walk to get back there. I couldn't bring myself to do the Teacups (I haven't in years) and opted for a no wait show of Philharmagic. After that was IASW and again..no wait. Oh how spoiled I felt at this point
. I still do IASW for the sole reason that I love to look at the costumes. I think the Thai kids and the ones outside the Taj Mahal are the prettiest costumes. What I don't like is the Cleopatra doll. She's cute but the winking just makes her look like she has a lazy eye.
Tomorrowland was next and as I walked the Space Mountain queue COMPLETELY ALONE, I thought someone was playing a joke on me! It was just too weird to go through lines not just as a solo, but to literally not meet another person along the way. I had a bunch of bracelets left so I started looping them around the railings figuring someone might take them! Once I got up to the boarding area I finally saw other humans. Even though there was only 9 people in line, they were still pulling solos (or at least me) out to fill in the cars which I found a little silly. The CM gave me the choice of 1 or 3, and what on earth possessed me to pick 3..maybe it was that no sleep thing. I was in the back of the rocket and man is that a rough ride! I felt like I was whipped through that mountain and it took me a minute to deboard because I felt so jolted.
As I came out of Space Mountain, the dance party was in full swing and I watched Pluto, Goofy and Stitch dance to LMFAO which is this very surreal thing to me. But I will say those guys can shuffle with the best of them. I decided to hit the TTA again from up on high I saw the "boys" do the Cupid Shuffle.
It was starting to get late and I had a sweet tooth so I made my way over to Adventureland and was so happy to see that I could still get a dole whip! I didn't eat too much of it but it satisfied my craving. I figured since I was already there I see what the line for Pirates was like. Yet again, I went through the line without seeing another person and I left some more bracelets along the way. I was in the front row and it was down right wet. I mean, I know there's some splashing but this was more wet than I'd ever seen it before and I was little hesitant to sit down
After the ride I decided it was time to call it quits since it was midnight, and as I walked back through Adventureland a CM was handing out bananas. "Here have a banana!" I had a banana thrust upon me! I ended up carrying it through the rest of the park and into the Confectionary. Now as stated by my friend, I'm not allowed back in NY without a mickey head rice crispie treat, specifically one with chocolate on it and it MUST come from the Confectionary. I figured I'd get that out of the way if they had any left since the next time I'd be in MK I wouldn't have access to my suitcase and I didn't really relish the idea of carrying the treat around. I managed to snag one of the last 4 big ones and as I checked out the CM asked "Why do you have a banana?" I said "one of your cohorts thrust it upon me in Adventureland, and I hate bananas". She handed me a marker and said "You could draw on it" so I figured why not? I drew a face on it and made her sign the other side.
The wait to get back to Pop felt long but really wasn't, it was just that there were a lot of people. I ended up standing near the back door which was a little scary. Sure I could have waited for the next bus to have a seat but I was just too tired. I didn't mind standing so much as it felt weird watching the road rush past me through those clear doors. I was in bed pretty soon and was looking forward to being able to sleep in a little bit, but that wasn't in the cards.
Next up, I finally meet some Buffalonians and "I don't believe that those are beluga"
I'd never been to Narcoossee before and was glad to see it's literally right at the boat dock so I didn't have to search too much. Here's the report for my meal http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46630965&postcount=27
Before dinner, I went into the restroom to see what a wreck I looked like, throw on my cardigan and use the facilities. Well, those facilities were a bit boggling to me. I went in the 2nd stall and well...you know. I finished and turned to flush and
. No auto flush...and no handle that stuck out. I must have stared at that toilet for a solid minute saying to myself "How do I flush this?" before I realized there's a large metal circle that pushes inward that is the "handle"! I've never seen one like that before and maybe it was the combination of so little sleep and the prospect of some fancy food but this toilet darn near had me stumped. So then I ate, and you can read about that in the above link. After dinner, I slipped into the bathroom again to change my shirt (into a spiffy hand tie dyed orange and black for the halloween party) and this time I went into the first stall. I figured I'd take care of business again while I was there (how many pee euphemisms can I use in one post?) and I heard a mom and little girl come into the bathroom just after me. The little girl went first and then I hear "Mom?...How do I flush this?" It was all I could do not to burst into laughter because I knew exactly how she felt. Can you imagine being forever known as the other person in the story "Man I was at Disney once and some crazy chick was laughing her butt off in the stall next to us!" I came out of the stall and at this point the kid had opened her door and the mom is standing in the doorway, also looking very confused. I couldn't leave them in the same predicament I'd been in so I clued them in on the magical mystical flusher circle.
After the great toilet debate, I headed back out and figured I'd take the boat back to MK which was very refreshing. I'd gotten my wrist band earlier in the day so it was a quick bag check and into the party I went. Main St looked packed and I thought "uh oh". I was suddenly very nervous that I'd made the wrong decision by spending so long at my meal instead of working the party. Once I got past Main St, my fears were put to rest. It was just that everyone was bound and determined to see that parade! I saw it once a few years ago and I'm not really a parade fan so I kept on truckin and made my way back to the Haunted Mansion!
I was a little disappointed the new section of the queue wasn't open but the fact that it was a walk on helped. The stretching room was mostly empty, I think there were many 10 of us in there, tops. The CMs were very in character. There was a male CM who blended very well into the shadows who kept quietly walking up close to people until they noticed. A woman with a young daughter and son stayed behind to hear the gargoyles, as did I. Any other time there's been too much other noises for me to hear it so I was really happy I got to this time. The mom and I ended up chatting as we slowly made our way to board. Not that it was crowded, just that we were talking. She asked how I knew about the chatter and of course I said "disboards". Her son, about 4, was very excited, giggling and smiling and doing this goofy little dance through the line. I asked "Do you have ants in your pants?!" His little face dropped and he stopped and looked all over his pants for ants. It was the most adorable innocent reaction and the mom and I were cracking up over it. It doesn't seem to translate as well in writing but it was hilarious as it happened. After the ride I gave some of my glow bracelets to this little guy and his sister.
As it happened the fireworks were just starting as I was making my way into Frontierland. I turned and watched them every few seconds but darn it I had rides to ride! The nice thing was I did get to see the finale which I love. Those last fireworks remind me of the end of Hocus Pocus when the witches are hit with sunlight. On my way through, I'd planned on riding BTMRR but saw that Splash had a 5 minute wait. And here's my dirty Disney confession, I had never gone on Splash Mountain before
I was always afraid of getting too wet and I hate walking around like that so I figured "eh, no big deal" that I hadn't done it before. I'd promised a friend of mine that I'd try to make it on this trip so I figured the time had come.I started walking through the line and the theme of no one else around came back again. I walked and walked and walked. It was very odd, not seeing anyone in line. Then I get to the loading area and there's not a single other rider. Just 3 CMs hanging out. Bizarre right? This was the following conversation.
Me "Oh..hey...! So um, look, I've never been on this before..."
CM "So you want the front seat right?!"
Me "Actually...I reaaaaally don't want to walk around too wet so could you put me in the least wet seat?"
CM very seriously puts his hand on my shoulder and goes "Sweetie, you DO realize this is called Splash Mountain, right?"
He said he'd do his best and I ended up in the last row of the boat. Now let me explain here. The boat ahead of me was empty, my boat was empty aside from me, and the boat behind me was empty. I rode seemingly COMPLETELY ALONE. And it was creepy as hell. It came across like a horror movie, all these singing robots around me and no one around to hear me scream. Is that ride long or was it just that I was afraid Br'er Rabbit was going to eat my face? I managed to make it out alive and only my shoulders were wet (and not much more than a decent rain) so
to the CM for dealing with my water ride wimpiness. Next up I treked back to Fantasyland. The stage show by the castle was starting and the hub was pretty full, and it seemed like a very long walk to get back there. I couldn't bring myself to do the Teacups (I haven't in years) and opted for a no wait show of Philharmagic. After that was IASW and again..no wait. Oh how spoiled I felt at this point
. I still do IASW for the sole reason that I love to look at the costumes. I think the Thai kids and the ones outside the Taj Mahal are the prettiest costumes. What I don't like is the Cleopatra doll. She's cute but the winking just makes her look like she has a lazy eye. Tomorrowland was next and as I walked the Space Mountain queue COMPLETELY ALONE, I thought someone was playing a joke on me! It was just too weird to go through lines not just as a solo, but to literally not meet another person along the way. I had a bunch of bracelets left so I started looping them around the railings figuring someone might take them! Once I got up to the boarding area I finally saw other humans. Even though there was only 9 people in line, they were still pulling solos (or at least me) out to fill in the cars which I found a little silly. The CM gave me the choice of 1 or 3, and what on earth possessed me to pick 3..maybe it was that no sleep thing. I was in the back of the rocket and man is that a rough ride! I felt like I was whipped through that mountain and it took me a minute to deboard because I felt so jolted.
As I came out of Space Mountain, the dance party was in full swing and I watched Pluto, Goofy and Stitch dance to LMFAO which is this very surreal thing to me. But I will say those guys can shuffle with the best of them. I decided to hit the TTA again from up on high I saw the "boys" do the Cupid Shuffle.
It was starting to get late and I had a sweet tooth so I made my way over to Adventureland and was so happy to see that I could still get a dole whip! I didn't eat too much of it but it satisfied my craving. I figured since I was already there I see what the line for Pirates was like. Yet again, I went through the line without seeing another person and I left some more bracelets along the way. I was in the front row and it was down right wet. I mean, I know there's some splashing but this was more wet than I'd ever seen it before and I was little hesitant to sit down
After the ride I decided it was time to call it quits since it was midnight, and as I walked back through Adventureland a CM was handing out bananas. "Here have a banana!" I had a banana thrust upon me! I ended up carrying it through the rest of the park and into the Confectionary. Now as stated by my friend, I'm not allowed back in NY without a mickey head rice crispie treat, specifically one with chocolate on it and it MUST come from the Confectionary. I figured I'd get that out of the way if they had any left since the next time I'd be in MK I wouldn't have access to my suitcase and I didn't really relish the idea of carrying the treat around. I managed to snag one of the last 4 big ones and as I checked out the CM asked "Why do you have a banana?" I said "one of your cohorts thrust it upon me in Adventureland, and I hate bananas". She handed me a marker and said "You could draw on it" so I figured why not? I drew a face on it and made her sign the other side.
The wait to get back to Pop felt long but really wasn't, it was just that there were a lot of people. I ended up standing near the back door which was a little scary. Sure I could have waited for the next bus to have a seat but I was just too tired. I didn't mind standing so much as it felt weird watching the road rush past me through those clear doors. I was in bed pretty soon and was looking forward to being able to sleep in a little bit, but that wasn't in the cards.
Next up, I finally meet some Buffalonians and "I don't believe that those are beluga"
Aussiesalad
Totes Mcgoats
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2011
Joining in!
Finding your trip hilarious so far
Splash would be super creepy on your own- I hadn't even thought of that!
Finding your trip hilarious so far
Splash would be super creepy on your own- I hadn't even thought of that!
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
It's so weird to be alone like that! You know how people always say they wish they could have the parks or the rides to themselves? Trust me, they'd regret that if they knew what it was really like!
Mrs. Bradbury
It will ALWAYS be the PeopleMover!
- Joined
- May 11, 2009
Another reader!
I have just met you, and I love you.
I started with your dining report and jumped over to your trip report. Please explain your references to working with cheese. I thought maybe the explanation was in your first trip report, the link to which appears to be broken.
I'm going on a weekend solo trip just to see the Castle lights in less than a month! I'm excited and terrified at the same time.
Loving your trip report, your writing style, and sense of humor. I too trend toward the snarky/cheeky side and revel in it.
I have just met you, and I love you.
I started with your dining report and jumped over to your trip report. Please explain your references to working with cheese. I thought maybe the explanation was in your first trip report, the link to which appears to be broken.
I'm going on a weekend solo trip just to see the Castle lights in less than a month! I'm excited and terrified at the same time.
Loving your trip report, your writing style, and sense of humor. I too trend toward the snarky/cheeky side and revel in it.
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
Hahah I'm glad those of you following along are enjoying it. I don't think my writing or humor is everyone's cup of tea but when people like us get together, oh the trouble we can cause 
(I love an excuse to use this smiley)
To Mrs Bradbury, thanks for letting me know about the link, I'll have to fix it in my signature. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2635774&highlight=viva+verde Here's another link to it if you haven't gotten there already and want to read it. Funnily enough, the past 2 people I've gone to Disney with I'm not longer associated with! Am I doomed to never sharing Disney with anyone again?! The cheese references are because I work with cheese for a living. I work in a specialty cheese department at a grocery store that has your everyday needs plus a lot of higher end items. When I call myself a cheesemonger, people aren't always sure what that is. Really I'm not even sure what "monging" is. How does one "mong"? If you talk about it a lot, it starts sounding really dirty lol.
(I love an excuse to use this smiley) To Mrs Bradbury, thanks for letting me know about the link, I'll have to fix it in my signature. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2635774&highlight=viva+verde Here's another link to it if you haven't gotten there already and want to read it. Funnily enough, the past 2 people I've gone to Disney with I'm not longer associated with! Am I doomed to never sharing Disney with anyone again?! The cheese references are because I work with cheese for a living. I work in a specialty cheese department at a grocery store that has your everyday needs plus a lot of higher end items. When I call myself a cheesemonger, people aren't always sure what that is. Really I'm not even sure what "monging" is. How does one "mong"? If you talk about it a lot, it starts sounding really dirty lol.
FencerGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2012
I noticed your signature in another thread and had to click on your TR. I'm loving it. We were also there in September. Although we didn't get to do any rides solo, lines were very short.
Also, Splash is disturbing during the day with a log full of people.
Also, Splash is disturbing during the day with a log full of people.
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
Originally my plan for this day was to sleep in a bit but that just wasn't in the cards. It should have been ok since I was exhausted at this point. I was very rudely awoken at 5 freakin am by my room phone ringing. What was the reason for calling? Who knows because there was no one on the other line!!! Ok fine...I fall asleep again pretty quickly then the next thing I know... BOOM BOOM BOOM!! on my door. "HOUSEKEEPING!!!" and she was halfway in the room before I could even say "No thanks!!" Even though I'd had my alarm set for 8:45, I figured it wasn't worth trying to get back to sleep again so I just decided to get a bit of an early start on the day.
I had an ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe for breakfast but it wasn't til 10 something and because I was running late my first day and took the cab the day before, and getting back to the resort so late at night, I hadn't gotten my mug yet! I stopped into the food court and grabbed that, and filled it for what would be the first and only time I'd use it. What'd I get? Water.
Off to the bus stop I went and pretty quickly a bus for MK showed up, and once I was there I decided that my poor ankles just weren't up for the ramp to the monorail yet so I opted for the boat again. There was a light rain once we landed at GF and some dark clouds in the distance. Here's the review for my breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46695442&postcount=28
After breakfast I started to head upstairs to grab the monorail. As I was waiting for the elevator I happened to run into a bridal photo shoot on the stairs. What I found a bit surprising is how many people were still using the stairs even though they could see this girl standing there with her train spread out. I kind of stopped feeling bad about it as I watched because this girl, even in the probably minute I stood there waiting, seemed like a total spoiled brat. "No there's a shadow" "No there's a wrinkle" "Wipe my face, I'm starting to sweat". All in a whiny huffy voice. In my head I was like "Really? Mommy and Daddy obviously are paying and you probably haven't even told them thank you. I hope you and your pumpkin carriage rot." Looking back I could have just been cranky from lack of sleep but then again, I judge people like crazy in my head normally.
I passed Basin White and thought to myself "Hm...maybe I should stop in there and get some soap for my friend since I haven't found golfballs yet. Nah..nevermind. I'm sure I'll find those golfballs today!" Anyone know where this is going yet?
. The monorail came in a few minutes and I trudged up and down those blasted ramps at TTC again, but soon enough I was on my way to Epcot.
I consider Epcot my home park. I feel very at home there for some reason. I'm not sure if it's the themeing or the backround music, but I love it. Spaceship Earth was my first stop as usual. The line looked long but it said it was only a 10 minute wait. Then as I got in it clicked up to 20! I almost turned around but there was quite a few people behind me and I figured I'd just deal with it. About 10 people back, there was a family with a daughter who was about 5 years old. Well she wasn't particularly interested in riding. And by that I mean she was screaming bloody murder and sobbing uncontrollably. "I HATE THE DARK, I DON'T WANT TO RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" over and over and over. Now, to those of you who have been to Disney before, you know how close you are to other people in the cattle gates and some of you probably know how loud a 5 year old can scream. The parents completely ignored her for most of the line and just loudly continued their conversation. It only got worse for those really close to them when the dad picked the girl up. It didn't comfort her, if anything she started to panic more and since she was now higher up, she was close to everyone's ears. By the time we got up to the door to the building a good 10 minutes had gone by and she never stopped screaming. I was surprised no one said anything to them and that this kid didn't lose her voice. After I boarded however, I didn't hear her anymore and I wonder if they turned them away or they finally decided it wasn't worth it anymore.
I hate having my picture taken, and didn't really feel like smiling for the birdie for the little interactive thing in the vehicle. In hiding my face however, I made a little discovery. The ride was business as usual and while SSE used to be one of my favorite rides, I find this isn't the case anymore. Ever since the last refurb it's just not the same. I miss the visions of the future. When it came time for the interactive portion, I was fully expecting my picture to be my hands over my face. Instead, they didn't give me a picture at all, it was just 2 cartoon figures. After seeing my customized future, I was off to the Land.
I was curious to see what the FP situation for Soarin was and was a bit afraid I'd made a mistake doing SSE first. It was about 11:30 at this point and the return time was only 1:35! I got my pass and then went to the desk to sign up for the Behind the Seeds tour. There was one leaving at noon so I figured I had a few minutes so I went and got a drink and was looking at the mini plants when the girl who signed me up for the tour goes "Wait...aren't you on the noon tour?" I said "yes, I still have like 15 minutes" She says "No, it left a few minutes ago." It was at this point I realized my spiffy little dollar store carabener watch had failed me and was losing time. This meant I actually got my FP at 11:45am. What I still can't figure out is that the sign up girl didn't say "Stay in this area." Oh well. She took me through to where the tour was which wasn't far at all. The only thing I'd missed was the introductions.
This was my 3rd time taking the tour and I like it because a) it's relatively short, b) it's not too expensive and c) I learn something new every time. My tour guide was a woman named Mary who was originally from England and it was such a delight listening to her. That is..when we could hear her. Once we got out of the pest lab, we realized it had started to pour outside. We had to look at the one part of the lab from indoors but the rain on the glass roof was so loud poor Mary had to literally scream over it. Luckily it let up pretty quickly after that point. We got to see the start of a new experiment which was pretty cool. If you are at all familiar with the ride, on the right hand side you see a revolving display of tall hanging um...things.. and they usually have brussels sprouts on them. They had come to the end of their season and the new experiment they were starting was that they were going to try growing papaya on this gizmo. They weren't sure if it would work because papaya are rather larger than the sprouts. We got to see where they were starting the papaya so if anyone rides now, you might be seeing the baby plants I saw way back in September. Once we got to the part with the fish I asked if Mary knew which breed of sturgeon they had. I sell caviar at work so I was a little curious if these were a breed I carried. She only knew them as Russian sturgeon, but said after the tour she'd call one of the girls that worked in that lab and see if they knew. They say the tour usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour but the past 2 tours I've taken have gone over that. This one lasted an hour and 10 minutes so if you're interested in this tour, you might want to keep that in mind. Mary tried calling these aqualab girls and I got the feeling they were thinking or even saying "Who the hell cares what kind of fish they are? Just tell them their beluga or something" Mary said "They're beluga" I wasn't going to fight her on it but I seriously doubt that's the breed they have. The pictures I've seen just don't look quite right and from what I know, anyone farming them in the states has to have all sorts of stuff for them and that little pool doesn't seem enough. Or I'm paranoid..who knows.
After the tour I still had a little bit to wait for Soarin, so I got in line for Living with the Land. It was another one of those weird lines that looked really long but went pretty quickly. Business as usual on the ride, but I will say I love knowing what's going on with the plants while riding based on what I've learned on the tour. In the future I might ride first though, so if I see something on the ride I could ask about it.
My FP return time for Soarin had finally clicked over and once through the line it was about a 15 minute wait. The threads about the film quality are definitely right. I noticed major issues this time. What I can't figure out is what the exact problem is though... If it were a dust particle on the film itself, it would only flash for a split second right? because it'd only be on that one frame. If it were on the lens, it should show they whole ride. What I noticed were large black spots that would show for like 5 seconds and seem stationary, then they'd float up or over and disappear. It really hurts the effect that you're in the moment, at least to me. I wouldn't be surprised to see that go down for refurb once Test Track reopens. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a fun ride still but it does need a little TLC. What I'd really love to see them do it make it like Star Tours, where you get a randomized tour of different states, or maybe over natural wonders of the world. How cool would it be to fly next to the pyramids or over Niagara falls?
I figured depending on how time went, I could maybe hit Imagination later that night and I knew I had to hit the Seas later for dinner so I bypassed those and headed up to the World Showcase.
Next up, Dragons and why I'm a failure at the dining plan, then a quick sleepy jaunt around the world.
I had an ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe for breakfast but it wasn't til 10 something and because I was running late my first day and took the cab the day before, and getting back to the resort so late at night, I hadn't gotten my mug yet! I stopped into the food court and grabbed that, and filled it for what would be the first and only time I'd use it. What'd I get? Water.
Off to the bus stop I went and pretty quickly a bus for MK showed up, and once I was there I decided that my poor ankles just weren't up for the ramp to the monorail yet so I opted for the boat again. There was a light rain once we landed at GF and some dark clouds in the distance. Here's the review for my breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46695442&postcount=28
After breakfast I started to head upstairs to grab the monorail. As I was waiting for the elevator I happened to run into a bridal photo shoot on the stairs. What I found a bit surprising is how many people were still using the stairs even though they could see this girl standing there with her train spread out. I kind of stopped feeling bad about it as I watched because this girl, even in the probably minute I stood there waiting, seemed like a total spoiled brat. "No there's a shadow" "No there's a wrinkle" "Wipe my face, I'm starting to sweat". All in a whiny huffy voice. In my head I was like "Really? Mommy and Daddy obviously are paying and you probably haven't even told them thank you. I hope you and your pumpkin carriage rot." Looking back I could have just been cranky from lack of sleep but then again, I judge people like crazy in my head normally.
I passed Basin White and thought to myself "Hm...maybe I should stop in there and get some soap for my friend since I haven't found golfballs yet. Nah..nevermind. I'm sure I'll find those golfballs today!" Anyone know where this is going yet?
. The monorail came in a few minutes and I trudged up and down those blasted ramps at TTC again, but soon enough I was on my way to Epcot.I consider Epcot my home park. I feel very at home there for some reason. I'm not sure if it's the themeing or the backround music, but I love it. Spaceship Earth was my first stop as usual. The line looked long but it said it was only a 10 minute wait. Then as I got in it clicked up to 20! I almost turned around but there was quite a few people behind me and I figured I'd just deal with it. About 10 people back, there was a family with a daughter who was about 5 years old. Well she wasn't particularly interested in riding. And by that I mean she was screaming bloody murder and sobbing uncontrollably. "I HATE THE DARK, I DON'T WANT TO RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" over and over and over. Now, to those of you who have been to Disney before, you know how close you are to other people in the cattle gates and some of you probably know how loud a 5 year old can scream. The parents completely ignored her for most of the line and just loudly continued their conversation. It only got worse for those really close to them when the dad picked the girl up. It didn't comfort her, if anything she started to panic more and since she was now higher up, she was close to everyone's ears. By the time we got up to the door to the building a good 10 minutes had gone by and she never stopped screaming. I was surprised no one said anything to them and that this kid didn't lose her voice. After I boarded however, I didn't hear her anymore and I wonder if they turned them away or they finally decided it wasn't worth it anymore.
I hate having my picture taken, and didn't really feel like smiling for the birdie for the little interactive thing in the vehicle. In hiding my face however, I made a little discovery. The ride was business as usual and while SSE used to be one of my favorite rides, I find this isn't the case anymore. Ever since the last refurb it's just not the same. I miss the visions of the future. When it came time for the interactive portion, I was fully expecting my picture to be my hands over my face. Instead, they didn't give me a picture at all, it was just 2 cartoon figures. After seeing my customized future, I was off to the Land.
I was curious to see what the FP situation for Soarin was and was a bit afraid I'd made a mistake doing SSE first. It was about 11:30 at this point and the return time was only 1:35! I got my pass and then went to the desk to sign up for the Behind the Seeds tour. There was one leaving at noon so I figured I had a few minutes so I went and got a drink and was looking at the mini plants when the girl who signed me up for the tour goes "Wait...aren't you on the noon tour?" I said "yes, I still have like 15 minutes" She says "No, it left a few minutes ago." It was at this point I realized my spiffy little dollar store carabener watch had failed me and was losing time. This meant I actually got my FP at 11:45am. What I still can't figure out is that the sign up girl didn't say "Stay in this area." Oh well. She took me through to where the tour was which wasn't far at all. The only thing I'd missed was the introductions.
This was my 3rd time taking the tour and I like it because a) it's relatively short, b) it's not too expensive and c) I learn something new every time. My tour guide was a woman named Mary who was originally from England and it was such a delight listening to her. That is..when we could hear her. Once we got out of the pest lab, we realized it had started to pour outside. We had to look at the one part of the lab from indoors but the rain on the glass roof was so loud poor Mary had to literally scream over it. Luckily it let up pretty quickly after that point. We got to see the start of a new experiment which was pretty cool. If you are at all familiar with the ride, on the right hand side you see a revolving display of tall hanging um...things.. and they usually have brussels sprouts on them. They had come to the end of their season and the new experiment they were starting was that they were going to try growing papaya on this gizmo. They weren't sure if it would work because papaya are rather larger than the sprouts. We got to see where they were starting the papaya so if anyone rides now, you might be seeing the baby plants I saw way back in September. Once we got to the part with the fish I asked if Mary knew which breed of sturgeon they had. I sell caviar at work so I was a little curious if these were a breed I carried. She only knew them as Russian sturgeon, but said after the tour she'd call one of the girls that worked in that lab and see if they knew. They say the tour usually lasts 45 minutes to an hour but the past 2 tours I've taken have gone over that. This one lasted an hour and 10 minutes so if you're interested in this tour, you might want to keep that in mind. Mary tried calling these aqualab girls and I got the feeling they were thinking or even saying "Who the hell cares what kind of fish they are? Just tell them their beluga or something" Mary said "They're beluga" I wasn't going to fight her on it but I seriously doubt that's the breed they have. The pictures I've seen just don't look quite right and from what I know, anyone farming them in the states has to have all sorts of stuff for them and that little pool doesn't seem enough. Or I'm paranoid..who knows.
After the tour I still had a little bit to wait for Soarin, so I got in line for Living with the Land. It was another one of those weird lines that looked really long but went pretty quickly. Business as usual on the ride, but I will say I love knowing what's going on with the plants while riding based on what I've learned on the tour. In the future I might ride first though, so if I see something on the ride I could ask about it.
My FP return time for Soarin had finally clicked over and once through the line it was about a 15 minute wait. The threads about the film quality are definitely right. I noticed major issues this time. What I can't figure out is what the exact problem is though... If it were a dust particle on the film itself, it would only flash for a split second right? because it'd only be on that one frame. If it were on the lens, it should show they whole ride. What I noticed were large black spots that would show for like 5 seconds and seem stationary, then they'd float up or over and disappear. It really hurts the effect that you're in the moment, at least to me. I wouldn't be surprised to see that go down for refurb once Test Track reopens. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a fun ride still but it does need a little TLC. What I'd really love to see them do it make it like Star Tours, where you get a randomized tour of different states, or maybe over natural wonders of the world. How cool would it be to fly next to the pyramids or over Niagara falls?
I figured depending on how time went, I could maybe hit Imagination later that night and I knew I had to hit the Seas later for dinner so I bypassed those and headed up to the World Showcase.
Next up, Dragons and why I'm a failure at the dining plan, then a quick sleepy jaunt around the world.
Mrs. Bradbury
It will ALWAYS be the PeopleMover!
- Joined
- May 11, 2009
Hahah I'm glad those of you following along are enjoying it. I don't think my writing or humor is everyone's cup of tea but when people like us get together, oh the trouble we can cause
To Mrs Bradbury, thanks for letting me know about the link, I'll have to fix it in my signature. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2635774&highlight=viva+verde Here's another link to it if you haven't gotten there already and want to read it. Funnily enough, the past 2 people I've gone to Disney with I'm not longer associated with! Am I doomed to never sharing Disney with anyone again?! The cheese references are because I work with cheese for a living. I work in a specialty cheese department at a grocery store that has your everyday needs plus a lot of higher end items. When I call myself a cheesemonger, people aren't always sure what that is. Really I'm not even sure what "monging" is. How does one "mong"? If you talk about it a lot, it starts sounding really dirty lol.
YAY for the link! After reading your other report, I am convinced you are my long lost daughter that I never knew I had (like on soap operas).
Except I do like most vegetables. But don't get me started on condiments . . . NOT a condiment person . . . 
Sharing Disney is fun, but doing exactly what you want when you want to at Disney and not worrying about whether anyone else is having a good time is going to be AWESOME, I'm pretty sure. I am hopelessly over-thinking my trip and I will strive to throw caution to the wind and wing it. 25 days from now!
Really enjoying your dining & trip reports!
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
YAY for the link! After reading your other report, I am convinced you are my long lost daughter that I never knew I had (like on soap operas).
Sharing Disney is fun, but doing exactly what you want when you want to at Disney and not worrying about whether anyone else is having a good time is going to be AWESOME, I'm pretty sure. I am hopelessly over-thinking my trip and I will strive to throw caution to the wind and wing it. 25 days from now!
Really enjoying your dining & trip reports!
So you're like me! We don't practice safe eating, we don't use condiments.
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
This part will probably be a little hectic so bare with me. There's a couple dining and drinking things that happen in this chunk but are small bits so I'm going to include them both here and in the dining report.
After my long stay in the Land, I figured a drink was in order. I was also really tired so I figured I could just sit and people watch while I sipped. Then after that I'd go to the International Gateway and boat my way to Beach Club for lunch.
What I really wanted was a Torontopolitan from Canada. I'd seen pictures and I love normal cosmos so this was calling to me. I looked...and looked....and looked. I couldn't for the life of me find the stupid thing. I looked at every kiosk there and no one had it on their menu. I didn't even see anyone with a drink in their hand other than beer. Yeah asking probably should have been my next step but at this point it didn't occur to me and I figured I'd just keep going til I found something else I wanted.
I went into the pub in UK remembering that I'd been reading about the Welsh Dragon and thought it sounded pretty good, but I was a little hesitant with the melon and peach combined with the mint flavor. To me that just wasn't computing. I'm stealing (sort of) this picture because I didn't take a picture of mine.http://drinkingdisney.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/12-drinks-of-christmas-drink-10/ As I waited for the bartender to make it, this old guy was trying to mack it on both me AND the other girl behind the bar. "Oh where you from? My kids are all grown but I'm still a child at heart *glugs beer* so what do you do? Ah where's your husband? Boyfriend? What's a gal like you doing by herself *muffled burp*" Dude, really? Both me and the bartender are easily young enough to be your daughters. And just to be clear, this didn't come across as just friendly chit chat, it had the tone of "I don't want to go home from last call alone"
I asked for my drink to go (rather loudly hoping this dude would get the hint) and I ended up sitting outside at one of the little wire tables and made a phone call home. I had quite a nice little buzz going by the time I left. That drink is delicious!! It's sweet but not sugary, and very refreshing. Its only like $6.50 too, and I think it's a fairly sizable drink. I'd absolutely get it again.
As I sat there, I realized I really wasn't hungry. Like...at all. I'd budgeted all my meals out already and I knew there wasn't another signature I would be willing to try to leave Epcot for (but thinking back now I'm realizing I should have seen if Le Cellier would have a walk up. I'm a bit disgusted with myself now. It just goes to show you how tired I really was.) I'd been rather looking forward to trying Beaches and Cream but since I didn't have an actual ADR looming over my head, I just skipped lunch. In doing this, I came home with a full deluxe dining credit left over
So instead of eating, I just continued my sleep world tour.
I've really gotten WS down to a science as far as what I'm interested in. I don't spend any time in several countries other than the time it takes to walk through them. After the UK, I skipped my way up to my favorite pavillion, Japan! I love the CMs here because they're so friendly, especially if you can at least say "hi, how are you?" in Japanese. It's like their proud of you for making an effort. Miyuki was just finishing a show when I walked up, so as she cleaned up I used my very basic Japanese to say hi and she (I think) always says to come back to the next show and I planned on it anyway. I figured in the meantime I'd go in and pick my pearl.
There were a few people milling around the tanks, like they were trying to make up their minds if they wanted to do it or not. I paid and was the only person who was actually picking so of course it's all eyes on me at this point which kind of sucked. I've tried the hairy pearl trick the past few times but I have mixed luck with it. This time I got a 7 1/2 mm pinkish pearl. Let me say that I can't figure out how they see the color in them. I mean sure if it's very obviously gold or pink or black, but when it's essentially white with just that cast of another color... I only see it if I put one against another. Like I can look at mine and see how one is white, one is a goldish white, and one is a pinkish white but if I only looked at one at a time I wouldn't be able to see the difference.
After I had my pearl, I figured I'd sit outside by Miyuki's cart in case there was a crowd. I shouldn't have worried. There was only 2 other adult couples waiting and I'm not sure if they were doing it on purpose or just that there was seating there. There was a nice breeze so I sat by the clue for Kim Possible/Phinaes and Ferb thing and wrote a bit until the show started.
I could watch and listen to Miyuki all day. It's like she sings while she talks. I've been lucky enough now to be picked twice and 1 gifted to me (longish story, PM if you're interested) She started off with her flamingo which I think it standard issue now. I was the first picked and now I try to think of stuff I've never seen her do, or at least haven't seen in person. I opted for a blue octopus! At first as she started to make it, it seemed so simple but she kept adding to it and putting in little details and frankly I think it's the best one
Other folks picked a green dragon, a dolphin, and a pink unicorn. The unicorn was the only one picked by a kid.
After the show, I got to talking to a couple and I believe their mother (well, one of their mothers..you know what I mean) about how Miyuki doesn't give the candy out anymore and how many theories there are about why. I debated getting henna in Morocco but decided against it and just kept walking. As I got up to American Adventure I saw the show had a 5 minute wait and I'd never seen it before so I thought why not. I managed to catch the tail end of the Voices of Liberty and they're amazing. The show on the other hand. I can really say I'm a huge fan here. It's cute but it's long and to me feels a bit like Hall of Presidents 2.0. Not to mention the ac was on so high that I was freezing and it was making me even more sleepy than I already was. I saw several other people who were dozing as well. If nothing else, I've discovered a new napping place.
After that, I knew I had to eat a little something before dinner as it was still like 3 hours away. I thought a little sugar rush might be a good idea and there was no way I was gonna pass it up again, so my next stop was Germany for Karamel Kuche! I walked through it on my last trip but we were so full from other stuff that day it just wasn't in the cards. This time however...oh baby I was getting me some caramel!
There was a bit of a line in front of me (maybe 5 parties) so it gave me a little time to think about it. What I'd really wanted was a salted caramel. I discovered those a few years ago and fell in love. I was happy to see they had them and in both milk and dark chocolate. Now what you should understand here is that after seeing pictures of them on here, I thought "man what a ripoff, a snack credit for that?" because all the pictures had nothing else in them for a size reference. To me, they looked the same size as what you'd find in like, a box of candy at Valentine's day. Like this.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was actually like this
That's the first section of my pointer finger. That thing had to be like 2 inches across and about a half an inch tall!! And good lord was it delicious. Firm but supple, chewy but not gummy. It was be nice to split but I did manage to finish it because I'm not the type of girl willing to let good caramel go to waste.
After my "lunch" I kept truckin on and got to Norway. The Maelstrom had a 10 minute wait posted that clicked over to 15 before I even got in the building. I really should have turned around because it was actually about a 25 minute wait and that's just not worth it. I ended up joking with the couple in front of me in line. Well...at least the guy. The girl looked at us like we were nuts. Ahead of this couple some guy was letting 30 ft gaps in the line open because he just had to get everything on video. I was tired and cranky and apparently mumbled out loud "cause you know he's gonna go home and watch that clip over and over..." The guy heard me, laughed and said "You should underestimate the powerful draw of maps!". I said "Wait til you see the other side of this line with the little creepy kid. They'd never noticed it before so I managed to convert more people into the creepy kid club. They were in the row in front of me on the boat which took a minute to launch and we just kept going with stupid jokes.
Him: "man you'd think they could afford to paint some pants on that guy" (meaning the viking)
Me: "Yeah but at least he's safe and won't have his hand cut off while someone else guts a fish"
Him: "Ah Norway, where you can see Cavemen and homicidal children" gesturing to the mural
Me: "and go sailing"
Him: "and take a cruise"
Me: "and drill for oil!"
If you are the girlfriend or wife of this guy, I'm so sorry. We just got on a roll and couldn't stop. I know you thought we were out of our minds and at that point, I pretty much was. It probably didn't help when we got stuck in the very first part of the ride in complete darkness and I said "well that's it, this Norwegian cruise sucks and I want a refund."
After that, I hobbled my way to Mexico. You have to understand my feet were in agony at this point. I could barely put pressure on them. I couldn't even bring myself to try to stairs to I shuffled my way up the ramp. I meandered around thinking maybe here I could find a decent gift for my mom's birthday but I failed miserably. I didn't even bother with the ride (I miss the old one)
Shuffling and grunting along I went, and I was nearly ready to leave the park because I was so tired and in so much pain with my feet. I'd been carrying around a pair of flipflops (Teva Mush, love them) but had stayed away from them figuring since my ankles had been an issue the sneaker was the better support option. I found a bench right by the giftshop , I think it's called Gateway Gifts. I managed to wiggle my feet out of my sneakers and peeled off my socks and gave myself a mini massage right there. My feet were so swollen I could barely get them into my sandals and keep in mind they're normally a little loose on me. What a difference! I didn't feel like crying anymore. I got a plastic bag from the giftshop to put my sneakers in and made my way over to Universe of Energy.
I never realized they close that a little while before the park closes so 7pm was the last show. I scored a row to myself, which wasn't exactly hard but the row behind me had a 5 or 6 person group and I don't know why they didn't spread out more. Once the ride started I had my sandals off and gave myself a 37 minute long massage, alternately putting my feet up on the bench. I heard snickering behind me and the mom from the group behind me says "I don't blame you, I'd do it too if I had the room!" That little rest made a world of difference in that I could walk like an upright human again. But I was still very very tired.
I didn't feel like dealing with Imagination, and I thought I'd hit the Land again after dinner. I decided I'd just hang out with the fishies until dinner. Of course the ride had no wait but man I wish they'd go through and close some of the switchbacks because no one wants to walk all the way through that line when there's no one ahead of them!! I was a bit disappointed because the angler fish wasn't working.
**Aside** the first time I rode Nemo, I thought the angler fish was a puppet being held by somewhere wearing all black, kind of like Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I also thought they'd rush towards the vehicle and try to scare people and I was for a split second absolutely terrified of that thing
Post Nemo, I started walking around the aquariums and I was so tired I couldn't tell you now a single thing I saw. I went to go down the escalator. I looked down to step onto one of the stairs and the motion made me very very off balance and I realized I was leaning forward, out over the stairs. I started to windmill, trying to use the railings to push myself back upright but since the railings were also moving down so it took a bit of effort to get up and back from the escalator. I realized that I'd finally reached the point that I was so tired it was getting dangerous for me to keep walking around. It was almost like I was drunk. I went and took the elevator instead and decided it was time to just go over to Coral Reef and if I had to wait, it was no big deal.
Next up: Tankside? and riding the chocolate wave.
After my long stay in the Land, I figured a drink was in order. I was also really tired so I figured I could just sit and people watch while I sipped. Then after that I'd go to the International Gateway and boat my way to Beach Club for lunch.
What I really wanted was a Torontopolitan from Canada. I'd seen pictures and I love normal cosmos so this was calling to me. I looked...and looked....and looked. I couldn't for the life of me find the stupid thing. I looked at every kiosk there and no one had it on their menu. I didn't even see anyone with a drink in their hand other than beer. Yeah asking probably should have been my next step but at this point it didn't occur to me and I figured I'd just keep going til I found something else I wanted.
I went into the pub in UK remembering that I'd been reading about the Welsh Dragon and thought it sounded pretty good, but I was a little hesitant with the melon and peach combined with the mint flavor. To me that just wasn't computing. I'm stealing (sort of) this picture because I didn't take a picture of mine.http://drinkingdisney.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/12-drinks-of-christmas-drink-10/ As I waited for the bartender to make it, this old guy was trying to mack it on both me AND the other girl behind the bar. "Oh where you from? My kids are all grown but I'm still a child at heart *glugs beer* so what do you do? Ah where's your husband? Boyfriend? What's a gal like you doing by herself *muffled burp*" Dude, really? Both me and the bartender are easily young enough to be your daughters. And just to be clear, this didn't come across as just friendly chit chat, it had the tone of "I don't want to go home from last call alone"
I asked for my drink to go (rather loudly hoping this dude would get the hint) and I ended up sitting outside at one of the little wire tables and made a phone call home. I had quite a nice little buzz going by the time I left. That drink is delicious!! It's sweet but not sugary, and very refreshing. Its only like $6.50 too, and I think it's a fairly sizable drink. I'd absolutely get it again.
As I sat there, I realized I really wasn't hungry. Like...at all. I'd budgeted all my meals out already and I knew there wasn't another signature I would be willing to try to leave Epcot for (but thinking back now I'm realizing I should have seen if Le Cellier would have a walk up. I'm a bit disgusted with myself now. It just goes to show you how tired I really was.) I'd been rather looking forward to trying Beaches and Cream but since I didn't have an actual ADR looming over my head, I just skipped lunch. In doing this, I came home with a full deluxe dining credit left over
So instead of eating, I just continued my sleep world tour.I've really gotten WS down to a science as far as what I'm interested in. I don't spend any time in several countries other than the time it takes to walk through them. After the UK, I skipped my way up to my favorite pavillion, Japan! I love the CMs here because they're so friendly, especially if you can at least say "hi, how are you?" in Japanese. It's like their proud of you for making an effort. Miyuki was just finishing a show when I walked up, so as she cleaned up I used my very basic Japanese to say hi and she (I think) always says to come back to the next show and I planned on it anyway. I figured in the meantime I'd go in and pick my pearl.
There were a few people milling around the tanks, like they were trying to make up their minds if they wanted to do it or not. I paid and was the only person who was actually picking so of course it's all eyes on me at this point which kind of sucked. I've tried the hairy pearl trick the past few times but I have mixed luck with it. This time I got a 7 1/2 mm pinkish pearl. Let me say that I can't figure out how they see the color in them. I mean sure if it's very obviously gold or pink or black, but when it's essentially white with just that cast of another color... I only see it if I put one against another. Like I can look at mine and see how one is white, one is a goldish white, and one is a pinkish white but if I only looked at one at a time I wouldn't be able to see the difference.
After I had my pearl, I figured I'd sit outside by Miyuki's cart in case there was a crowd. I shouldn't have worried. There was only 2 other adult couples waiting and I'm not sure if they were doing it on purpose or just that there was seating there. There was a nice breeze so I sat by the clue for Kim Possible/Phinaes and Ferb thing and wrote a bit until the show started.
I could watch and listen to Miyuki all day. It's like she sings while she talks. I've been lucky enough now to be picked twice and 1 gifted to me (longish story, PM if you're interested) She started off with her flamingo which I think it standard issue now. I was the first picked and now I try to think of stuff I've never seen her do, or at least haven't seen in person. I opted for a blue octopus! At first as she started to make it, it seemed so simple but she kept adding to it and putting in little details and frankly I think it's the best one
Other folks picked a green dragon, a dolphin, and a pink unicorn. The unicorn was the only one picked by a kid.
After the show, I got to talking to a couple and I believe their mother (well, one of their mothers..you know what I mean) about how Miyuki doesn't give the candy out anymore and how many theories there are about why. I debated getting henna in Morocco but decided against it and just kept walking. As I got up to American Adventure I saw the show had a 5 minute wait and I'd never seen it before so I thought why not. I managed to catch the tail end of the Voices of Liberty and they're amazing. The show on the other hand. I can really say I'm a huge fan here. It's cute but it's long and to me feels a bit like Hall of Presidents 2.0. Not to mention the ac was on so high that I was freezing and it was making me even more sleepy than I already was. I saw several other people who were dozing as well. If nothing else, I've discovered a new napping place.
After that, I knew I had to eat a little something before dinner as it was still like 3 hours away. I thought a little sugar rush might be a good idea and there was no way I was gonna pass it up again, so my next stop was Germany for Karamel Kuche! I walked through it on my last trip but we were so full from other stuff that day it just wasn't in the cards. This time however...oh baby I was getting me some caramel!
There was a bit of a line in front of me (maybe 5 parties) so it gave me a little time to think about it. What I'd really wanted was a salted caramel. I discovered those a few years ago and fell in love. I was happy to see they had them and in both milk and dark chocolate. Now what you should understand here is that after seeing pictures of them on here, I thought "man what a ripoff, a snack credit for that?" because all the pictures had nothing else in them for a size reference. To me, they looked the same size as what you'd find in like, a box of candy at Valentine's day. Like this.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was actually like this
That's the first section of my pointer finger. That thing had to be like 2 inches across and about a half an inch tall!! And good lord was it delicious. Firm but supple, chewy but not gummy. It was be nice to split but I did manage to finish it because I'm not the type of girl willing to let good caramel go to waste.
After my "lunch" I kept truckin on and got to Norway. The Maelstrom had a 10 minute wait posted that clicked over to 15 before I even got in the building. I really should have turned around because it was actually about a 25 minute wait and that's just not worth it. I ended up joking with the couple in front of me in line. Well...at least the guy. The girl looked at us like we were nuts. Ahead of this couple some guy was letting 30 ft gaps in the line open because he just had to get everything on video. I was tired and cranky and apparently mumbled out loud "cause you know he's gonna go home and watch that clip over and over..." The guy heard me, laughed and said "You should underestimate the powerful draw of maps!". I said "Wait til you see the other side of this line with the little creepy kid. They'd never noticed it before so I managed to convert more people into the creepy kid club. They were in the row in front of me on the boat which took a minute to launch and we just kept going with stupid jokes.
Him: "man you'd think they could afford to paint some pants on that guy" (meaning the viking)
Me: "Yeah but at least he's safe and won't have his hand cut off while someone else guts a fish"
Him: "Ah Norway, where you can see Cavemen and homicidal children" gesturing to the mural
Me: "and go sailing"
Him: "and take a cruise"
Me: "and drill for oil!"
If you are the girlfriend or wife of this guy, I'm so sorry. We just got on a roll and couldn't stop. I know you thought we were out of our minds and at that point, I pretty much was. It probably didn't help when we got stuck in the very first part of the ride in complete darkness and I said "well that's it, this Norwegian cruise sucks and I want a refund."
After that, I hobbled my way to Mexico. You have to understand my feet were in agony at this point. I could barely put pressure on them. I couldn't even bring myself to try to stairs to I shuffled my way up the ramp. I meandered around thinking maybe here I could find a decent gift for my mom's birthday but I failed miserably. I didn't even bother with the ride (I miss the old one)
Shuffling and grunting along I went, and I was nearly ready to leave the park because I was so tired and in so much pain with my feet. I'd been carrying around a pair of flipflops (Teva Mush, love them) but had stayed away from them figuring since my ankles had been an issue the sneaker was the better support option. I found a bench right by the giftshop , I think it's called Gateway Gifts. I managed to wiggle my feet out of my sneakers and peeled off my socks and gave myself a mini massage right there. My feet were so swollen I could barely get them into my sandals and keep in mind they're normally a little loose on me. What a difference! I didn't feel like crying anymore. I got a plastic bag from the giftshop to put my sneakers in and made my way over to Universe of Energy.
I never realized they close that a little while before the park closes so 7pm was the last show. I scored a row to myself, which wasn't exactly hard but the row behind me had a 5 or 6 person group and I don't know why they didn't spread out more. Once the ride started I had my sandals off and gave myself a 37 minute long massage, alternately putting my feet up on the bench. I heard snickering behind me and the mom from the group behind me says "I don't blame you, I'd do it too if I had the room!" That little rest made a world of difference in that I could walk like an upright human again. But I was still very very tired.
I didn't feel like dealing with Imagination, and I thought I'd hit the Land again after dinner. I decided I'd just hang out with the fishies until dinner. Of course the ride had no wait but man I wish they'd go through and close some of the switchbacks because no one wants to walk all the way through that line when there's no one ahead of them!! I was a bit disappointed because the angler fish wasn't working.
**Aside** the first time I rode Nemo, I thought the angler fish was a puppet being held by somewhere wearing all black, kind of like Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I also thought they'd rush towards the vehicle and try to scare people and I was for a split second absolutely terrified of that thing
Post Nemo, I started walking around the aquariums and I was so tired I couldn't tell you now a single thing I saw. I went to go down the escalator. I looked down to step onto one of the stairs and the motion made me very very off balance and I realized I was leaning forward, out over the stairs. I started to windmill, trying to use the railings to push myself back upright but since the railings were also moving down so it took a bit of effort to get up and back from the escalator. I realized that I'd finally reached the point that I was so tired it was getting dangerous for me to keep walking around. It was almost like I was drunk. I went and took the elevator instead and decided it was time to just go over to Coral Reef and if I had to wait, it was no big deal.
Next up: Tankside? and riding the chocolate wave.
LockShockBarrel
Pudge controls the weather.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
...bet you thought I'd abandoned this didn't you? What can I say? I was working 2 jobs and with the holidays...I just couldn't focus enough to continue this. But I'm back and if anyone wants to yell at me for making you wait so long, feel free. If you pick this up with this post or as a completed report, tough cookies, you had no wait time so no yelling for you!
So we left off with me nearly collapsing in the Seas. Rather than push it, I headed down to Coral Reef. When I got there I thought it'd be busier with people lingering over meals or people that had been waiting for a seat (like walk ups) but it wasn't bad. There were a few people lingering around the lobby but not what anyone could ever call "crowded". When I checked in, I said "Hey I'm early so if I have to wait it's no big deal. But do you know if there might be any tank sides coming up?" The hostess said they can put the request in but there's no guarantee. I said "that's totally cool, no worries if you can't." The hostess looked happy that I was so understanding about it. I said that I get it, and I work with customers too so I'm sure they get lots of crazies that demand fishy entertainment while they eat. The hostess next to mine kind of looked around to see how many people were around and said "Oh my god you have no idea! I had a man request a private booth once." Well it'd be easier if I just do this as a conversation...
Me- "That's totally cool, no worries if you can't"
Hostess 1- *small sigh of relief*
Me- "I get it, I work with customers too and I'm sure you get lots of crazies that demand fishy entertainment while they eat"
Hostess 2- "Oh my god you have no idea! I had a man request a private booth once"
Me- "What do you mean? Like not to share with someone like on those big curving benches with 2 tables?"
Hostess 2- "No, a booth in a separate room where they could still see the tank but no other people"
Hostess 1 (who I should say was training)- "Do we have that?"
Hostess 2- "No, and when I told him this he flipped out and started ranting about how rich he was and how we needed to figure something out"
Me- "It's at that point you want to say "Well sir we can set you up with a table outside and put a fishbowl on it!" don't you?"
Hostess 1 and 2 are trying not to laugh because there's another CM approaching the desk so I figured I'd let them get back to work and went to sit and wait. I ended up waiting 15 or 20 minutes and was still seated before my actual ADR time.
You'll have to head over to my dining report to find out how it went BUT I will tell you one little tidbit I noticed. People ask how many tables tankside there are and how it's configured. When I was there 4 4 tops and 8 2 tops. I didn't draw a chart so I can't be sure if this is entirely correct but if I remember correctly there's 4 "windows". Each "window" has 1 4 top and 2 2 tops associated with it. My table was one of the 2 tops, but not the one directly against the window but 1 removed from it. In the future I won't bother asking for it. It wasn't super crowded in the restaurant but there were a few kids that would try to get up to the tank and one lovely father who brought his child over and let him stand on the table that WAS right against the tank which had just been cleaned and reset. Like really dude? I will bean you in the head with a spoon. Or better yet...I have sharper stuff around...I mean...here's the dining link!
http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=47086730&postcount=32
Post meal, I was really fighting with myself over what to do. I'd purposely planned this as my Epcot night because of EMH. I wanted to putz around but I had just plain and simply reached my exhaustion point. If for nothing else, I figured I'd just walk slowly...take in what I could. At least sitting while eating had given my feet a much needed respite, so I managed to walk a little less, well..shuffly. I noticed as I made my way up to the front of the park that SSE didn't have a line and thought I should at least get 1 more ride in. To be honest though, it just made me see that it's no longer my favorite ride. I made my way out of the park and thought "What did I do wrong here?"
Epcot is my favorite park, why didn't I enjoy it? Well, that's too strong, more why didn't I enjoy it as much as I normally do? I think I was just pushing myself too hard. Not in that I was rushing around the park because I wasn't, at all, just that I was on so little sleep and all that. Now I know what all these little kids the parents push through the parks must feel like.
So once I got back to Pop, I knew I had to get a few things done. First I had to stop at the gift shop and well, shop! I had money that needed to be spent darn it! Plus I had to get those golfballs right? (told you this would come back!) So I'm meandering around, and I found the cutest purse. I'll have to take a picture of it later and add it. I also got a Haunted Mansion mystery pin pack and I looked all around for golf balls. Eventually I thought "this is silly" so I just asked. Apparently mid September isn't "golfball season" I can just imagine the look on my face. Golf balls have a season? Did the crop have a bad year? I don't get it. So here I am thinking "Crap! Why did I wait?!?!" I couldn't believe that of all the friggin things to not be able to find it's golf balls. I was tempted to get an SSE antenna ball and be like "well some people call it a golf ball....?" and hope my smile would get me through. At least I had the rice crispie treat, because without that I would have been toast.
I went back to the room and started packing, knowing I had to be on the ball the next morning. Now...here's where things get a little weird. The night before when I showered, I had kicked my dirty clothes out of the bathroom and quite frankly forgot about them until right then as I was walking back to the room. I figured I'd take a shower again, then start packing. Looking down by the sink area, I didn't see my clothes and I'm thinking "Where the hell are they?" Any other time I've ever stayed at a hotel if I left dirty clothes on the bed, that's where they stayed, or if they were on the floor, they ended up on the bed or by the suitcase....Not that I make a habit of leaving dirty clothes hanging all over my room, but it's happened.... So I get out of the shower and I'm looking all over for my clothes (which was socks, undies, and a shirt) and I'm thinking "did this mousekeeper throw them out?!" I open my suitcase and start packing my stuff away and in one of the pockets as I stick my hand in there....I feel clothes. Very neatly folded are my crusty socks, my shirt and my panties folded and tucked into the shirt.
What...
the...
hell?
Let me be very clear here. My suitcase had been sitting on the second bed, zipped closed. I found these clothes on an inside pocket, folded and zipped into said pocket. Why would she fold what was very obviously dirty, let alone go into my suitcase? I've never had anything like that happen before. I didn't know whether to be mad or grossed out or what. I didn't think it was enough to call the desk over but I was certainly thrown by the whole thing
Next...well I'm not entirely sure because I can barely read my own handwriting from this point.
So we left off with me nearly collapsing in the Seas. Rather than push it, I headed down to Coral Reef. When I got there I thought it'd be busier with people lingering over meals or people that had been waiting for a seat (like walk ups) but it wasn't bad. There were a few people lingering around the lobby but not what anyone could ever call "crowded". When I checked in, I said "Hey I'm early so if I have to wait it's no big deal. But do you know if there might be any tank sides coming up?" The hostess said they can put the request in but there's no guarantee. I said "that's totally cool, no worries if you can't." The hostess looked happy that I was so understanding about it. I said that I get it, and I work with customers too so I'm sure they get lots of crazies that demand fishy entertainment while they eat. The hostess next to mine kind of looked around to see how many people were around and said "Oh my god you have no idea! I had a man request a private booth once." Well it'd be easier if I just do this as a conversation...
Me- "That's totally cool, no worries if you can't"
Hostess 1- *small sigh of relief*
Me- "I get it, I work with customers too and I'm sure you get lots of crazies that demand fishy entertainment while they eat"
Hostess 2- "Oh my god you have no idea! I had a man request a private booth once"
Me- "What do you mean? Like not to share with someone like on those big curving benches with 2 tables?"
Hostess 2- "No, a booth in a separate room where they could still see the tank but no other people"
Hostess 1 (who I should say was training)- "Do we have that?"
Hostess 2- "No, and when I told him this he flipped out and started ranting about how rich he was and how we needed to figure something out"
Me- "It's at that point you want to say "Well sir we can set you up with a table outside and put a fishbowl on it!" don't you?"
Hostess 1 and 2 are trying not to laugh because there's another CM approaching the desk so I figured I'd let them get back to work and went to sit and wait. I ended up waiting 15 or 20 minutes and was still seated before my actual ADR time.
You'll have to head over to my dining report to find out how it went BUT I will tell you one little tidbit I noticed. People ask how many tables tankside there are and how it's configured. When I was there 4 4 tops and 8 2 tops. I didn't draw a chart so I can't be sure if this is entirely correct but if I remember correctly there's 4 "windows". Each "window" has 1 4 top and 2 2 tops associated with it. My table was one of the 2 tops, but not the one directly against the window but 1 removed from it. In the future I won't bother asking for it. It wasn't super crowded in the restaurant but there were a few kids that would try to get up to the tank and one lovely father who brought his child over and let him stand on the table that WAS right against the tank which had just been cleaned and reset. Like really dude? I will bean you in the head with a spoon. Or better yet...I have sharper stuff around...I mean...here's the dining link!
http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=47086730&postcount=32Post meal, I was really fighting with myself over what to do. I'd purposely planned this as my Epcot night because of EMH. I wanted to putz around but I had just plain and simply reached my exhaustion point. If for nothing else, I figured I'd just walk slowly...take in what I could. At least sitting while eating had given my feet a much needed respite, so I managed to walk a little less, well..shuffly. I noticed as I made my way up to the front of the park that SSE didn't have a line and thought I should at least get 1 more ride in. To be honest though, it just made me see that it's no longer my favorite ride. I made my way out of the park and thought "What did I do wrong here?"
Epcot is my favorite park, why didn't I enjoy it? Well, that's too strong, more why didn't I enjoy it as much as I normally do? I think I was just pushing myself too hard. Not in that I was rushing around the park because I wasn't, at all, just that I was on so little sleep and all that. Now I know what all these little kids the parents push through the parks must feel like.
So once I got back to Pop, I knew I had to get a few things done. First I had to stop at the gift shop and well, shop! I had money that needed to be spent darn it! Plus I had to get those golfballs right? (told you this would come back!) So I'm meandering around, and I found the cutest purse. I'll have to take a picture of it later and add it. I also got a Haunted Mansion mystery pin pack and I looked all around for golf balls. Eventually I thought "this is silly" so I just asked. Apparently mid September isn't "golfball season"
I can just imagine the look on my face. Golf balls have a season? Did the crop have a bad year? I don't get it. So here I am thinking "Crap! Why did I wait?!?!" I couldn't believe that of all the friggin things to not be able to find it's golf balls. I was tempted to get an SSE antenna ball and be like "well some people call it a golf ball....?" and hope my smile would get me through. At least I had the rice crispie treat, because without that I would have been toast. I went back to the room and started packing, knowing I had to be on the ball the next morning. Now...here's where things get a little weird. The night before when I showered, I had kicked my dirty clothes out of the bathroom and quite frankly forgot about them until right then as I was walking back to the room. I figured I'd take a shower again, then start packing. Looking down by the sink area, I didn't see my clothes and I'm thinking "Where the hell are they?" Any other time I've ever stayed at a hotel if I left dirty clothes on the bed, that's where they stayed, or if they were on the floor, they ended up on the bed or by the suitcase....Not that I make a habit of leaving dirty clothes hanging all over my room, but it's happened.... So I get out of the shower and I'm looking all over for my clothes (which was socks, undies, and a shirt) and I'm thinking "did this mousekeeper throw them out?!" I open my suitcase and start packing my stuff away and in one of the pockets as I stick my hand in there....I feel clothes. Very neatly folded are my crusty socks, my shirt and my panties folded and tucked into the shirt.
What...
the...
hell?
Let me be very clear here. My suitcase had been sitting on the second bed, zipped closed. I found these clothes on an inside pocket, folded and zipped into said pocket. Why would she fold what was very obviously dirty, let alone go into my suitcase? I've never had anything like that happen before. I didn't know whether to be mad or grossed out or what. I didn't think it was enough to call the desk over but I was certainly thrown by the whole thing
Next...well I'm not entirely sure because I can barely read my own handwriting from this point.
We've been going to WDW annually for about 13 years, and have never had a maid "repack" our dirty clothes. That would make me feel a bit violated. I don't think I've read that here before either. For me, kind of on the same ewww level as the old guy you encountered in the bar.
Where did you go? I found your Trip Report, started reading, wanted to recruit readers because a well written amusing Trip Report deserves followers and then almost went out and jumped in a snowbank when I got here and found no ending. Your trip report kept me giggling on the couch as Winter Storm Nemo buried us overnight in 2 feet of snow- thank you for sharing this. I love your writing voice and I look forward to reading about the end of this trip and perusing your other reports.
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