Sorry Gaston, They are MUCH More Interesting Than You!*6/8* NEW Trip Report Link p154

[MEK]

So THAT'S where "Coffee on the Verandah" that so may people joke about comes from!!! Who knew it actually involved real coffee????

Of course it involves actual coffee. We are both addicts.

Wilderness Lodge looks like a really great resort. Love the elevated walkway through the, uh, wilderness!!! And even though I know it is rather close to MK, it looks really peaceful and relaxing.

It's a great resort. Architecturally I think its the best designed resort. Very nicely done.

So glad you got to see the Opening show at MK! It looks like a lot of fun! And of course, SM has to be the first ride of the day! I'm with you on that one! Nice they provided you with those motorized cars for taking that back road.........oh wait!

I'm glad Cynthia got to see it, too. It's a great show.

Great job on figuring out you would get to tour the New Fantasyland soon instead of just giving up! And a great get on trying LTT and getting that last minute ADR! You got some really great pictures during the "dress rehearsal" too!

We pretty much lucked out all the way around. Made for a good morning.

for a very busy and productive morning!!!

That might actually be a better name for it!!!

subliminal slip, obviously.....

 

[eandesmom]

So THAT'S where "Coffee on the Verandah" that so may people joke about comes from!!! Who knew it actually involved real coffee????

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Not my fault if SOME people try to imply otherwise.

Wilderness Lodge looks like a really great resort. Love the elevated walkway through the, uh, wilderness!!! And even though I know it is rather close to MK, it looks really peaceful and relaxing.

It's close, and away all at the same time. Very serene. The walkway is just lovely. We did a family photo shoot there once and they are some of my favorite pictures ever.

So glad you got to see the Opening show at MK! It looks like a lot of fun! And of course, SM has to be the first ride of the day! I'm with you on that one! Nice they provided you with those motorized cars for taking that back road.........oh wait!

SM first is a requirement. The only time we've not ridden it first is if we weren't there early and then still, it was the first FP of the day.

Great job on figuring out you would get to tour the New Fantasyland soon instead of just giving up! And a great get on trying LTT and getting that last minute ADR! You got some really great pictures during the "dress rehearsal" too!

for a very busy and productive morning!!!

It was a productive morning! It would have been interesting to see if walking up right at lunch opening would have yielded the same results.

 

[Poolrat]

Pretty good morning at MK.

Cynthia - so glad you finally caught the opening show.

That back path is a nice little short cut.

Good for being persistent about NFL. It paid off.

 

[englishrose47]

Coffee anywhere suits me just fine !!!!!

 

[MEK]

Do you remember her old Grotto - She's sort of sitting on a rock-like thing. I probably have pictures somewhere. I bet it's even on our photopass!

No comment on the dumb question.

See - it was a dumb question - but I honestly never posed with ARiel so I didn't know.

Pretty good morning at MK.

Cynthia - so glad you finally caught the opening show.

I think we had a great morning in MK. Reasonable crowds and picture perfect weather!

That back path is a nice little short cut.

I love that path - SO cute!

Good for being persistent about NFL. It paid off.

Coffee anywhere suits me just fine !!!!!

Couldn't agree more!!!!!!!

 

[amazingact21]

Congratulations to Nick! Now he has the fun task of deciding which college he wants to attend. I'm sure wherever he chooses he'll do well.


Sounds like a really successful MK morning. It's great that you were able to see the new Fantasyland. I agree with you on the Little Mermaid, they did take all the good things about Nemo and improved them tenfold. Seeing your pictures made me realize all the little details I missed when I went on it, though. Makes me wanna go back through the queue and try to spot some new ones!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Honestly, Civil would be my pick. I have always been fascinated with roads and bridges. But clearly my son does not share that love. He knew he didn't want chemical because that's what Denny does and all he sees is the paperwork associated with it.

I could probably discourage him from civil as well. Working for the DOT is not exactly rainbows and unicorns!

Thanks! Hey, isn't that where you got engaged?

OK - your totally lost me with that comment!

Yeah, we made the room a whole lot nerdier.

Am I going to have to separate you two?

 

[eandesmom]

I could probably discourage him from civil as well. Working for the DOT is not exactly rainbows and unicorns!

We have several civils at my firm. If he is interested in the forensic side at all we have the hardest time finding electrical and metallurgical/materials. I'd put structural next, then mechanical, civil, chemical and ceramic.

It's kind of interesting because in some ways (the civil end) is bread and butter business, it is also not the larger projects so not necessarily where we look to grow. At least on the failure analysis forensic side of things. Our demand for new hires is much higher in other areas and I don't know if that's truly due to a scarcity of good folks in that area or that there are just more civils, proportionally out there. There is so much variety on the mechanical side we do have a strong need to grow in that area so it seems pretty solid as well. Where we are not hiring is...civil. I swear it took us over a year to find the right electrical. Granted, our work is a bit different and as such what we look for in an engineer is as well but it is a snapshot of the industry at least on our end of the business.

 

[GoofyFan1515]

It's a great resort. Architecturally I think its the best designed resort. Very nicely done.

Been there a few times to visit and eat, but never stayed there. I agree it has a lot of eye appeal!!!

subliminal slip, obviously.....

Obviously.......

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Not my fault if SOME people try to imply otherwise.

Bunch of wiseguys and troublemakers..........

It's close, and away all at the same time. Very serene. The walkway is just lovely. We did a family photo shoot there once and they are some of my favorite pictures ever.

Oh yes, great place for a photo shoot!!!

SM first is a requirement. The only time we've not ridden it first is if we weren't there early and then still, it was the first FP of the day.

Solid reasoning, that!

That back path is a nice little short cut.

Have to agree!!

Good for being persistent about NFL. It paid off.

NFL........

I could probably discourage him from civil as well. Working for the DOT is not exactly rainbows and unicorns!

Thought that was the slogan on the Delaware license plates???

Yeah, we made the room a whole lot nerdier.

I doubt separating us would help any..........

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

We have several civils at my firm. If he is interested in the forensic side at all we have the hardest time finding electrical and metallurgical/materials. I'd put structural next, then mechanical, civil, chemical and ceramic.

It's kind of interesting because in some ways (the civil end) is bread and butter business, it is also not the larger projects so not necessarily where we look to grow. At least on the failure analysis forensic side of things. Our demand for new hires is much higher in other areas and I don't know if that's truly due to a scarcity of good folks in that area or that there are just more civils, proportionally out there. There is so much variety on the mechanical side we do have a strong need to grow in that area so it seems pretty solid as well. Where we are not hiring is...civil. I swear it took us over a year to find the right electrical. Granted, our work is a bit different and as such what we look for in an engineer is as well but it is a snapshot of the industry at least on our end of the business.

A lot of states are cash-strapped right now and aren't putting a lot of infrastructure projects out there. Long-term, though, there will always be a need for civil-type projects and thus for civil engineers. It may not be glamorous, but the need is always there.

Thought that was the slogan on the Delaware license plates???

Of course not. Our state motto is:

Delaware...so close to where you'd rather be.

 

[MEK]

Of course not. Our state motto is:

Delaware...so close to where you'd rather be.

BEST LAUGH OF THE WEEK. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be back with other comments later. Working on an update for tonight!

Oh - and it includes a shout out to Captain Oblivious.

 

[eandesmom]

A lot of states are cash-strapped right now and aren't putting a lot of infrastructure projects out there. Long-term, though, there will always be a need for civil-type projects and thus for civil engineers. It may not be glamorous, but the need is always there.

Agreed, we'd have less work on our end if there was more going on on the public side that's for sure! Which ultimately would be a good thing.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

BEST LAUGH OF THE WEEK. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haven't heard that one before? It's one of my go-to jokes.

Oh - and it includes a shout out to Captain Oblivious.

Agreed, we'd have less work on our end if there was more going on on the public side that's for sure! Which ultimately would be a good thing.

It's cyclical. Sooner or later things will rebound and we'll be able to put more projects out the door.

 

[eandesmom]

It's cyclical. Sooner or later things will rebound and we'll be able to put more projects out the door.

So very true, we're happy that construction defect is back up. Isn't that awful? I guess the good news for us is that all the increase in horrible weather does mean additional business. Sigh.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hey Mary Ellen... Congrats to Nick on all of his acceptances... That's awesome and I wish him the best in making his decision...

(We're waiting to here till the middle of next month... all of the schools Em applied to do their acceptances in March... & I'm hoping we'll hear something before we leave to go to Rome on the 17th of the month... or I guess I could go light a candle in St. Peter's... I know it's going to be fine... but the whole thing is stressful...)

So you ladies were up and at 'em the next morning... I'm impressed you got early starts...

Cynthia-- I've gotten lost in a resort... Dis AKL... I was stuck in a stairwell I took as a short cut and it turned out not to be a short cut at all... I'm glad you made it to rope drop...

You have some nice photos of the NFL... I thought the Gaston Fountain and Tavern were pretty cute... and the Mermaid is a very cute dark ride... the thing that impresses me the most though is all the detailing in the queuing and outside...

Hmmmm... I had a teacher that was a nun once that actually looked disturbingly similar to Ursula...

 

[MEK]

Congratulations to Nick! Now he has the fun task of deciding which college he wants to attend. I'm sure wherever he chooses he'll do well.

Exactly - the "fun" task of deciding. Not! It's going to be tough because he applied to too many schools. I think as the next few weeks go by he will safely be eliminate some schools.

Sounds like a really successful MK morning. It's great that you were able to see the new Fantasyland. I agree with you on the Little Mermaid, they did take all the good things about Nemo and improved them tenfold. Seeing your pictures made me realize all the little details I missed when I went on it, though. Makes me wanna go back through the queue and try to spot some new ones!

I think its impossible to go through there without missing a ton of details. Thats why I like taking so many pictures. It allows me to take a look back and see what I actually missed in real time.

I could probably discourage him from civil as well. Working for the DOT is not exactly rainbows and unicorns!

Especially our DOT! Can't be fun. That's all I'm saying, but I guess all DOTs are similar. Despite that, I still am a map nerd.

Very romantic.

Yeah, we made the room a whole lot nerdier.

Yes....Yes you did!

That's what I thought!

Been there a few times to visit and eat, but never stayed there. I agree it has a lot of eye appeal!!!

A ton of an eye appeal. Have you eaten at Artist Point? So good. Definitely worth the trip over there. And the lodge tour is awesome.

Obviously.......

What can I say? Occasionally my dyslexia kicks in!

We have several civils at my firm. If he is interested in the forensic side at all we have the hardest time finding electrical and metallurgical/materials. I'd put structural next, then mechanical, civil, chemical and ceramic.

It's kind of interesting because in some ways (the civil end) is bread and butter business, it is also not the larger projects so not necessarily where we look to grow. At least on the failure analysis forensic side of things. Our demand for new hires is much higher in other areas and I don't know if that's truly due to a scarcity of good folks in that area or that there are just more civils, proportionally out there. There is so much variety on the mechanical side we do have a strong need to grow in that area so it seems pretty solid as well. Where we are not hiring is...civil. I swear it took us over a year to find the right electrical. Granted, our work is a bit different and as such what we look for in an engineer is as well but it is a snapshot of the industry at least on our end of the business.

Interesting. Right now Nick is interested in both electrical and mechanical. I think that's what I like about the Virginia Tech program. All the freshman start in freshman engineering and then they move into their specialty in their second year. To me that makes sense because I would think very few kids out of high school know what field of engineering they want to go in.

A lot of states are cash-strapped right now and aren't putting a lot of infrastructure projects out there. Long-term, though, there will always be a need for civil-type projects and thus for civil engineers. It may not be glamorous, but the need is always there.

Considering that a lot of the infrastructure in our major cities is aging, I agree there will always be a huge need.

Haven't heard that one before? It's one of my go-to jokes.

I can't say I have and it was really funny because its so true!

It had to do with your favorite food group!

It's cyclical. Sooner or later things will rebound and we'll be able to put more projects out the door.

Didn't I just say that? Sheesh - I AM psychic!

 

[MEK]

Hey Mary Ellen... Congrats to Nick on all of his acceptances... That's awesome and I wish him the best in making his decision...

(We're waiting to here till the middle of next month... all of the schools Em applied to do their acceptances in March... & I'm hoping we'll hear something before we leave to go to Rome on the 17th of the month... or I guess I could go light a candle in St. Peter's... I know it's going to be fine... but the whole thing is stressful...)

I really hope you hear early. Somehow its just not real until the acceptances are in. Nick will hear from Georgia Tech in March, but since he was already deferred once I am not hopeful. There are just too many kids out there with killer SAT scores.

I think Em has a clear favorite, doesn't she? Nick really doesn't, hence so many applications. But this many schools is just confusing things. I want to get a couple crossed off the list.

I am just so happy that we heard from Virginia Tech because their RD used to go out in late March. This is a bonus.

Good luck to Em. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that she gets into her top choice. I know how stressful it must be.

So you ladies were up and at 'em the next morning... I'm impressed you got early starts...

We actually got up fairly early every morning. It worked well.

Cynthia-- I've gotten lost in a resort... Dis AKL... I was stuck in a stairwell I took as a short cut and it turned out not to be a short cut at all... I'm glad you made it to rope drop...

Ugh - that's the worse feeling - I got lost in the Boardwalk last summer and I was none too pleased.

You have some nice photos of the NFL... I thought the Gaston Fountain and Tavern were pretty cute... and the Mermaid is a very cute dark ride... the thing that impresses me the most though is all the detailing in the queuing and outside...

I agree - the details are fabulous. So much to learn at and take in.

Hmmmm... I had a teacher that was a nun once that actually looked disturbingly similar to Ursula...

O........M...........G.............!!!!!!! Were you terrified everyday when you went to school. That sounds like it could result in permanent scaring.

 

[MEK]

So How Do You Think We Got This Trip Report Title?

Disclaimer: I am NOT the one who came up with the name of our Trip Report. All the credit goes to Cynthia. (Speaking of Cynthia - don't forget to check out her last update on Page 60) At first I was skeptical of the name because I thought it would be too long, but now I think its just right. It has that interest factor. The "who could possibly be more interesting than Gaston" factor.

And guess what- you need not wait any longer to learn its origin.

Here's a pic I forgot to post in the last update. Can you believe it? *Gasp*

Venturing back from the Little Mermaid dark ride we saw this&..

Still a little early for lunch, but people were filling into Gaston's. I'm sure some were there as much to look around as to eat.

Before we wandered inside we noticed that Gaston himself was out doing character meets. Of course I decided to take a picture of him with whom I thought was a random stranger.

I thought to myself, I'm glad this lady is having so much fun with Gaston.

And just as I was thinking maybe I should stop taking multiple pictures of the same random person she turned and look right at Cynthia and I. She seemed to catch her words for a second, like she was a little stunned or distracted. Gaston questioned her sudden change in focus.

Then she said out loud, "I think I know them. Are you (I forget if she called us by our real names or screen names)? Sorry, Gaston they are much more interesting than you right now".

Gaston acted a little shocked and hurt and we all laughed once we realized that we knew each other. I'm so glad she recognized us. It was amusing to watch Gaston's look of dismay. He clearly was used to being the center of attention.

Our mystery DISer - non other than Tina Caplan!

Oh Tina - come back to the boards - we miss you!

Tina was visiting with her mom and her aunt and perhaps one other person - her cousin maybe? Cynthia and I were hoping to have dinner or some F&W time with Tina, but unfortunately that never happened. So luckily we were able to see her during this impromptu DIS meet.

I could tell that Tina's family didn't really know what to think about us internet strangers, but they were very cordial and friendly. I get that people don't understand the DIS bond and the whole concept of a DIS meet. So I bet Tina probably felt a little awkward around her family, knowing that they wouldn't "get it". I know some of my friends and family think its a little weird, but I'm over that. Have been for awhile.

Our next stop with the cute little gift shop across the way from Gaston's Tavern. This may or may not have been the top of that building.

Inside were lots of fun treasures.

Love this

and these

cute

those are some serious hair extensions

I have never been quite sure what these glasses are used for

Fun pillows

lots of fun artwork on the walls (but I am not going to post it all)

Love this one

Next we decided to head here, but not without some artsy shots

Perhaps I went a little overboard???

Part of the menu

I have no desire to try roasted pork shank, but I have heard its good. Just not my thing.

I also won't be trying the brew anytime soon because there's probably about 800 calories in there that I really don't need. Now, if they added a shot or two of rum I might reconsider. Just sayin'.

Continued In Next Post.........

 

[MEK]

Heading back outside, complete with a view of Space Mountain

We stopped for more pictures of Beast's castle on our way out

A CM asked if we wanted our picture taken. Judging by the way he was dressed it was obvious that he was some type of manager.

I thought it was really nice of him to stop what he was doing and offer to take our picture.

On our way once again we ran into Sheree and her family. We were just finding DISers all over the place.

Next stop - BOG in the daylight - still hoping that we might get a look inside, but no go.

The menu

Denny and I have an ADR here this summer. Just the two of us. I'm looking forward to that!

So many views of the castle, so little time

So realistic

Not the greatest picture, but I like the effect of the waterfall coming through the rocks

The entrance

Here are a few cell pics of the general scenery

After our fun in Fantasyland we decided to redeem our Peter Pan FP!

This is the only picture I was able to get to turn out in the dark

Since we still had about 10 minutes before our lunch ADR we decided to hightail it over to Jungle Cruise and pick up a FP. Figured - might as well. We could have a nice lunch and then return in time to take a cruise.

A few pictures in the area

I used this picture in Tracy's video and I still really like it because the background is all blurred.

I was intrigued by this butterfly because he seemed very reluctant to fly away.

and he didn't mind being the subject of my photography session

Continued In Next Post...........

 

[MEK]

Here are a few pictures on our way to lunch

I suspect that perhaps the park was getting a little crowded because all my shots are above the "head" line

Arriving in Frontierland

and our lunch destination

So what did I order? Well, a little back story here. I used to order the roast beef sandwich here. The Tri-corner sandwich or something like that? Anyway, the first time I had it, it was A-mazing. I actually craved it for weeks after I got home. Second time I ordered it I split it with Nick. I remember it being huge. Well, either it shrunk or my memory failed (OK - no comments please). In addition to be served a shrinking sandwich, it just wasn't as good as I remembered.

So today I order this;

Vegetarian Burger - House-made Potato Quinoa Vegan Patty topped with a fresh Vegan Tofu-Tzatziki sauce with fresh fruit or sweet potatoes fries $11.49

I am a fan of veggie burgers. I know Captain Oblivious will make a comment here because he is definitely a fan of burgers comprised solely of meat, so bring it Mark!

But I like them. Really I do. And I like to try different ingredients, so I was up for something new. But I did NOT like this AT all. Well, maybe a little at first but then the burger grew progressively spicier without having any flavor. That, combined with a white roll, felt like a major carb overdose. Lesson learned. Be more picky about what type of veggie burgers I order.

Despite the fact that I didn't love my meal, I did enjoy just sitting and getting waited on. I figure with the TIW card it was slightly more expensive that a CS meal, but really not much.

After lunch it was time to use our FP's for Jungle Cruise.

I tried to get this guy to move, but I was unsuccessful, Darn!

Could this be our boat already?

A little unappetizing

Highlights of our cruise

I may never catch the lion in the AK, but I got this animatronic lion!

Looks a little like Devine

Is this the front side or the back side of the fall??????

Continued in Next Post.....