pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Oh, in that case, I'll send you a PM with full video Monty. Happy now?
(and yup. read that any way you want.)
Last edited:
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Controversial Topics
Several months ago, I added a private sub-forum to allow members to discuss these topics without fear of infractions or banning. It's opt-in, opt-out. Corey Click Here
Canadian Buffoon's Solo Disney Vacation - Update 07/08! pp99 - Here today gone tomorrow
- Thread starter pkondz
- Start date
Oh, in that case, I'll send you a PM with full video Monty. Happy now?
(and yup. read that any way you want.)
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Hi there!Joining in late to the party! Loving the report so far!
Hi Grace! (I do what I can)
to the nut house!You may be late, but you're also right on time.
I'm just about to post the next chapter
(Well.... maybe not "just"... but later today)
and the one after that's got a big surprise in store.
Feel free to join in on the contest,
it's still (believe it or not) up for grabs.
So once again. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
(Popcorn and beer or soda in the back. Help yourself.)
orangecats2
Stitch Lover
- Joined
- May 6, 2008
You tell people the prize from the contest is still up for grabs but I'm planning on winning so...
Just back home from a Vera Bradley event this morning. I bought another purse! Technically it's a backpack but whatever. The best thing I got was a Jim Shore Stitch figure. He's so cute!
Just back home from a Vera Bradley event this morning. I bought another purse! Technically it's a backpack but whatever. The best thing I got was a Jim Shore Stitch figure. He's so cute!
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Well then you might not be too pleased when you see the updated results in the upcoming chapter...
That right there makes every man just a little afraid.
Maybe a lot afraid.
Pictures?
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
P is for Piercing Eardrums
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The alarm shrieks its vile call.
I slap the clock and nothing happens.
Of course.
My iPod is what's caterwauling.
I gently turn it off.
(I'll slap a clock, but an iPod is expensive!)
6:45am
I don't know if my neighbours heard my alarm,
but I still feel guilty.
It only lasts for a second.
Oh boy! It's Wednesday!
And you know what that means!!!
Today's the day!!!
But I'll get to that later.
Because right now...
The Contest
The photo was.... the bottom of the phone in my room.
10 points to orangecats2!
And I have no idea why you were so sure of that!
I'm giving three bonus points to each of the following people...
Thumper_Man, bankr63 and Susan R
for guessing the bottom of the clock.
And three points to GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes for mentioning the phone.
Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades,
thermonuclear devices and this TR... when I feel like it.
Bonus points awarded as follows:
Pay attention people!
I said (and I quote... literally)
Noooo... Anyone who told me the correct answer gets points.
(1st person, then 2nd person, then 3rd person)
Two points each to the following people...
Captain_Oblivious, afwdwfan (yes he did have it covered),
Sandy Mouse, bankr63, Scoobymoons and Susan R (yes, someone did.)
And bonus, bonus points to:
shan23877 - 2 points because she's mean... but not to me... often.
afwdwfan - 3 points because he's an Indy fan. And so am I.
@Steppesister - 2 points because she deserves some after a bad day.
Tracy161 - 2 points because she exercises for all the right reasons.
RockinDisney - 1 point for her obsessions. 1 point for being a handful.
Scoobymoons - 1 point for naval manoeuvers, 1 point for cute photos, 1 point for tea for two,
and 1 point for using it in a sentence.
laura74 - 1 point for stating the obvious and yet being wildly off the mark all at the same time.
Sandy Mouse - 3 points for being a condimentology aficionado.
RockinDisney - 2 points for admitting I'm the master.
Susan R - 2 points for puns, 1 point for being in the background.
GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes - 1 point for brave, brave, brave, Sir Robin. 1 point for Weird Al. 2 points for building snowmen. 2 points for makin' mac.
RGirl - 2 points for not being alone. No self-hugs required.
MAGICFOR2 - 3 points for being a condimentessa.
Contest points so far
orangecats2 28 points
afwdwfan 25 points
Sandy Mouse 22 points
MAGICFOR2 18 points
Laura74 17 points
Rgirl 16 points
Tracy161 16 points
dawnbu40 15 points
Scoobymoons 15 points
shan23877 15 points
Susan R 14 points
dgthree 10 points
Captain_Oblivious 10 points
ForeverDance 9 points
GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 9 points
RockinDisney 9 points
KatMark 8 points
Thumper_Man 8 points
bankr63 7 points
@Steppesister 7 points
courtneybelle 6 points
ddstratton 6 points
lisaviolet 6 points
mmeb144 6 points
Backstage_Gal 5 points
DonnaBeeGood 5 points
courtneybelle 3 points
Self_resqing_princz 3 points
KathyM2 2 points
LookinUp 2 points
TheLittleKatie 1 point
By now, you should have figured out how to get points in this game...
(And the usual disclaimer, if you notice an error, tell me!)
Back to Wednesday...
I didn't rush.
Jumped into/out of the shower,
Floor's wet! Guilt! Shame!... Dang it!!!! I'm never going to get used to that.
Dressed.
Grabbed camera bag, all charged up night before.
iPod, all charged up night before.
Plastic bag, set up night before.
Out the door at 7:50am.
Today's temps currently 47 with a high of 68 in the forecast.
Sweet! Shorts and a t-shirt again!
(I really didn't want to lug a jacket around if I didn't have to...
I didn't have to.)
I got to the bus stop at 7:55 and the Epcot bus arrived at 7:58.
Well of course that's where I'm going.
It's the only park I haven't hit yet and was the main reason for the trip!
Plus... three minute wait for the bus.
Score.
I got to the turnstile at 8:17.
There were already people there, but only one or two in front of me.
About nine a.m...
They'rrrrrrrrrre at the post!
Aaaaannnnddd... they're off!!!
pkondz is slow out of the gate,
the Senior Citizens in front of him are joined by one more.
And it's their first time!
They're having trouble getting through!
pkondz side steps them over to the next....
uh... the next.... what do you call those things?
pkondz side steps them over to the next
post-thing-that-you-put-your-magic-band-up-to-then-scan-your-finger!
pkondz is lagging the field and will have to hope for a miracle.
Honeymooners are blown past with nary a glance!
A few Gawking-Gawkers stop to gawk at the big golf ball! Fools!!
pkondz puts it into a higher gear and begins to bypass Doddlers and Saunterers alike!
pkondz is veering to the right! What's happened?!? Has he blown a shoe?
No! No! He's cutting through Innoventions West! A brilliant move!
And he's out! He's out of Innoventions! The Land is straight ahead!
There are Family -People on his left that are ahead! It's going to be close!
Wait! Wait! The Family -People ahead have a stroller and are peeling off into stroller parking!!
Yes! He's done it! He's in the lead! He's inside The Land!!!!
He's charging through the queue! Oh, this is incredible! This is Fantastic! This....
Where did all these people come from?
And how did they get here so fast, ahead of me?
There were about a dozen people already waiting to ride.
Talk about deflating one's ego!
I was so sure I had that race won!
Or at least placed.
I didn't even show.
A CM drops the chain at the end of the queue and starts directing people to the first theater.
I am directed to the second theater where another CM awaits her prey.
"Can I have the highest row?" I ask.
I politically correctly do not ask for the "non-foot" row.
I am directed to the far right.
Yes! Top row!
I have a lousy sense of smell.
I never smell the oranges!
Still, I like the ride enough to bowl over the young and elderly to get on it first thing.
Survival of the fittest.
Disney is not for the meek.
After being whisked from Florida to California and back,
I want to try something that I've never done before.
I'd read the descriptions for Living With the Land and frankly...
it sounded as dull as watching grass grow.
Which, pretty much, describes the ride perfectly.
Oh, settle down.
Yes, I know some of you really like this ride.
And to be honest... it exceeded my expectations.
I found it interesting. And interesting is good.
Interesting is not boring.
And you said it was good. So I went.
Happy?
I got to the queue well after rope drop now and had to contend with the crowds to ride.
Here's a picture of the boats prior to us all boarding.
And here's another one, once we were all on board.
Yup! This is one popular ride!
I can't believe I lucked out and got a seat!
I must admit, though, that while I wasn't overly familiar with what I was going to see,
I really didn't expect Disney to put scary things in here.
I mean really! They don't have any signs out anywhere that I saw.
You know the ones: "Frightening scenes may disturb some viewers".
Or something like that.
Nevertheless, I was quite shaken when I came to that horrible, disgusting part of the ride.
If I'd been able to prepare myself, I could've looked away or something.
I took a picture. I think it was just a reflex.
Kind of like a gag reflex.
Yuck. Gross.
Did you know those things are proof that there is a Hell?
(I shudder as I type this. That, I mean.)
As the ride ended, I disembarked (retching quietly) and shook it off.
I had a fastpass coming up and it was time to go.
I headed for
I'd never done the car design thingy before,
so it took me a while to get up to speed (see what I did there?)
I designed my car to look like something I'd want to drive,
not necessarily something that would be fastest or most this or that.
And I wasn't disappointed.
It didn't place first in any category.
I think that qualifies me as an automotive engineer.
Think about it. How many of you have ever said:
"What a piece of crap!" when talking about your car/truck?
See? Qualified.
When I got myself strapped in my car,
it lurched a few feet forward and.... nothing.
The whole ride came to a standstill.
I saw a few CMs running around (literally) and thought
"Oh, no. Don't let it be down! I'm so close!"
I don't know if it was a problem
or just someone needing extra assistance boarding a car.
Either way, we were up and running again in less than a minute.
Felt like forever... but it was less than a minute.
I don't know about you, but I more or less put up with the entire ride...
just so I can get to the high speed part!
Woot!
Which is... odd.
I mean the car goes up to 65mph, right?
Well I drive faster than that on some highways,
and I don't ever feel like holding my arms up in the air and
hollering like an idiot.
Which I suppose is a good thing, since if I did, I'd be hollering
and so would my passengers as we smash through the guard rail
and go soarin' off into oblivion.
Wait... I already did Soarin'...
Nevermind.
After experiencing the thrill of travelling at a relatively sluggish pace,
it was time for my next fastpass and time to speed things up a notch.
I've done... actually my entire family of four together have done...
both MS green and orange.
We did the less intense green first...
and we all loved it!
We thought, "If that was good... more's got to be better!"
So we rode the orange side.
Yeah, not our finest hour.
I think the kids were okay, but Ruby didn't like it and I felt sick for about half an hour.
It felt like a ball of yeast was rising in my stomach and I just didn't knead that.
But I did like Team Green. So that's what I did.
I was chosen to be navigator. Truly an honour!
Our capsule only had three cabin crew.
And while I was concerned about the mission's success without an engineer,
I'm pretty sure that my close attention to the controls is what saved the day.
And our butts.
(Is anyone else a big enough geek and lame enough to admit
that they too flip all the toggles and push all the buttons?
Anyone?)
By the time I was getting out of MS...
(How is it that I vividly recall the flight to Mars,
but have absolutely no recollection of the flight back?
Weird.
Short term memory loss brought on by high g loads, I guess.)
By the time I was getting out of MS, World Showcase was opening up.
Yes!
This was the main goal of the trip.
Spend more time in WS.
And this time, there were no crying little brats to stop me!
(To this day, my kids haven't let me forget how much I cried on that trip.)
I had one last fastpass... for... I don't remember what.
Probably Spaceship Earth.
I don't remember, because it was getting close to WS opening time...
So I skipped it.
Besides, if you time it right, SE can be a walk on.
I sashayed off in the general direction of WS.
But not before I made a quick pit stop at Club Cool.
I spotted a family trying to convince one of their members to try the Beverly.
But he wouldn't do it.
I blame the new video on DME.
After trying a few drinks, I sashayed over to...
As you can see, there was no one there.
It was 10:58am and... nope.
You couldn't get set up or started in any way.
Not until 11:00!
Right at the stroke of 11:00 a CM asked me if I wanted to play.
Uh, no. I'm just standing here to watch others play.
Of course I want to play!
The CM gave me a few quick instructions and sent me on my way.
For those of you wondering what it is that I'm talking about,
(I get that a lot)
Agent P's World Showcase Adventure is an interactive game
that you play with a (Disney provided) cell phone.
The game is based on the Disney TV cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
Perry the Platypus is secret Agent P and it's your job to help him.
With clues provided by the phone, you discover interactive spots
in the pavilion to which you've been assigned.
I was told to make my way over to the UK pavilion and to press Start when I arrived.
I ambled over to the side of the walkway and took out the cell phone.
I pressed Start and Oh. My. Word.
GREETINGS! PLEASE PROCEED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM AND PRESS START.
Holy smokes is this thing ever LOUD!
People over in Mexico were stopping to see what all the commotion was about.
And I don't mean the Mexico pavilion, I mean Mexico Mexico.
As in make a run for the border.
I hesitantly pushed Start, since I was already at the UK.
WELCOME AGENT! YOUR MISSION IS TO...
I have no idea what was said after that.
I was too busy desperately trying to find a way to turn down the volume.
People were fleeing from me in all directions.
(I get that a lot too.)
A few of them were fleeing because the phone was too loud.
(This was new.)
After a few moments, I gave up trying to turn it down.
None of the buttons seemed to do anything.
I suspect Disney disabled most of the phone's features.
From that point on, I would only press Start if I had my hands firmly pressed down on the speaker.
As for the game itself, it was... all right.
I won't give away what happened, but there were...
Five? (I think) different interactive displays that activated during the game.
Maybe I was too annoyed by the ear shattering volume,
or maybe the UK isn't as creative as the ones I'd done before
(Germany, Mexico, Japan.)
But for whatever reason... I was kind of... well... bored.
I think too, that all I really wanted to do was just take my time and wander around,
and the game was sort of getting in the way of that.
When my mission ended, I was instructed to drop the phone off in a repository
and I gladly did that.
I had no urge to play another game.
So I just wandered around, without an agenda or time limit.
That was more like it.
It was great.
Actually, I did have a time limit.
I had one of my rare ADRs coming up.
And this one was going to right a "wrong" that happened last time I was here.
In 2009, I was here with the fambly and we had free DDP.
So of course I made ADRs for every day.
On one of our last days (second to last one) I had,
after many attempts, scored an ADR at Le Cellier.
I was really stoked, since I'd heard so many good things about it.
But what I didn't count on were the fickle minds of my children.
We didn't have park hoppers. And they wanted to go back to MK.
Which in retrospect, shouldn't have come as a big surprise.
So I tried to cajole them into going to Epcot... but... no.
Their minds were made up.
So now I had a coveted ADR for Le Cellier...
and we weren't even going to be in Epcot!
I dutifully called Guest Services and regretfully, reluctantly,
cancelled the ADR and made a new one for somewhere in MK.
I am not making this up. This honest-to-heck happened...
I placed the telephone receiver back onto the cradle.
And the very second... the instant I did so...
Both kids tell me they've changed their minds and now want to go to Epcot.
I spun around, grabbed the phone and re-dialed.
"Hello? Hello? I just had an ADR for Le Cellier for six o'clock that I cancelled.
Can I get it back?..."
Nope. Gone.
We ate at Biergarten that night, I believe.
Ever since that day, I beat my kids at every opportunity.
Even if I have to make something up.
They deserve it, so it's okay.
Back in 2015, I was finally going to get a chance to try Le Cellier.
It wouldn't be free, but still....
I had plenty of time, so I sashayed back in the direction of Canada.
(North, of course.)
I stopped for a bit to watch these guys.
But not too long.
I see that every day, on pretty much every street corner of my town.
I actually have seen this sort of thing a few times, so it didn't really grab my attention.
I watched for a bit to see if they'd Disneyfied it at all,
but it didn't look much different from similar shows I'd seen.
I moved on.
I love that little fence.
This would actually be the first time I visited "my" pavilion.
I guess I'd always passed it by in the past,
reasoning that there wouldn't be anything I hadn't already seen back home.
But a few people had commented that I really needed to see O Canada.
Plus, of course, that's where Le Cellier is.
I still had a few minutes, so I wandered about, snapping the odd photo here and there.
I've actually been to the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island,
but that had been a loooooong time ago.
I think I was nine at the time.
Funny how back then, I was pretty bored, but now I really liked this garden
(based on its bigger, norther sibling.)
The growling of my stomach alerted me that my pending ADR was due.
I sashayed inside and was seated after a very short wait.
What did I order you ask?
I'd heard nothing but good things about the Fillet Mignon...
but I just don't feel like steak at lunchtime.
If it had been supper time (fine... dinner time... happy?), then maybe.
There was only one thing that I absolutely had to try...
There was only one thing I ordered.
The Cheddar Cheese soup!
And.... meh.
After waiting almost six years... I won't bother again.
Oh, it was okay. Maybe even pretty good.
I found the texture to be a little off-putting.
The flavour was good, not great.
I'd say that my favourite part of the meal was the pretzel bread.
Still glad I did it though.
I would much rather try something and be disappointed,
than not try it and always wonder.
Hey you! Get off the phone! Talk with the people at the table!
What did make the meal though,
was a lovely young lady named Fallon who was my server.
She was just fine as a waitress, but I got to chatting with her
and she was so... nice. So... Canadian
I asked her how she got the job at Disney, etc.
I figured maybe Elle might be interested,
but she's got her career pretty much mapped out.
We had a nice little chat though.
After lunch I sashayed over to the O Canada theatre to see what all the fuss was about.
And you know what?
I really, really liked it!
I felt my chest swelling with pride for my home country.
Or maybe that was my belly from the soup and pretzel bread.
Either way, I thought it was a pretty good film.
(I didn't even notice the errors at the time.)
After the show, it was time for another little item that I'd heard so much about.
Cronut!!
All I can say is "Oh.... My."
It wasn't just good... it was stupendously, fantastically good.
If you haven't had one, GET. ONE.
This little baby alone makes a trip to Epcot worthwhile.
A little sugared piece of heaven on a paper plate.
I found a shaded bench to sit and devour it.
The cronut.... not the bench...
While I was sitting, I noticed a janitorial cart with two women.
The older of the two was showing the other how to service a garbage can.
The younger one then came over to the garbage nearest me just as I was finishing up my cronut.
"Training?" I asked.
"Yes." She replied.
"How long have you been at Disney?" I asked.
"This is my first day." She said.
First day of working for Disney.
Maybe not the most glamorous job in the parks, but...
It's in Disney!
I told her I thought she was doing a good job and wished her luck.
And then I sashayed off... back in the direction of Canada, et al.
More World Showcase exploring awaits!
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The alarm shrieks its vile call.
I slap the clock and nothing happens.
Of course.
My iPod is what's caterwauling.
I gently turn it off.
(I'll slap a clock, but an iPod is expensive!)
6:45am
I don't know if my neighbours heard my alarm,
but I still feel guilty.
It only lasts for a second.
Oh boy! It's Wednesday!
And you know what that means!!!
Today's the day!!!
But I'll get to that later.
Because right now...
The Contest
The photo was.... the bottom of the phone in my room.
10 points to orangecats2!
And I have no idea why you were so sure of that!
I'm giving three bonus points to each of the following people...
Thumper_Man, bankr63 and Susan R
for guessing the bottom of the clock.
And three points to GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes for mentioning the phone.
Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades,
thermonuclear devices and this TR... when I feel like it.
Bonus points awarded as follows:
Pay attention people!
I said (and I quote... literally)
Did I say bonus points to the first person?
Noooo... Anyone who told me the correct answer gets points.
(1st person, then 2nd person, then 3rd person)
Two points each to the following people...
Captain_Oblivious, afwdwfan (yes he did have it covered),
Sandy Mouse, bankr63, Scoobymoons and Susan R (yes, someone did.)
And bonus, bonus points to:
shan23877 - 2 points because she's mean... but not to me... often.
afwdwfan - 3 points because he's an Indy fan. And so am I.
@Steppesister - 2 points because she deserves some after a bad day.
Tracy161 - 2 points because she exercises for all the right reasons.
RockinDisney - 1 point for her obsessions. 1 point for being a handful.
Scoobymoons - 1 point for naval manoeuvers, 1 point for cute photos, 1 point for tea for two,
and 1 point for using it in a sentence.
laura74 - 1 point for stating the obvious and yet being wildly off the mark all at the same time.
Sandy Mouse - 3 points for being a condimentology aficionado.
RockinDisney - 2 points for admitting I'm the master.
Susan R - 2 points for puns, 1 point for being in the background.
GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes - 1 point for brave, brave, brave, Sir Robin. 1 point for Weird Al. 2 points for building snowmen. 2 points for makin' mac.
RGirl - 2 points for not being alone. No self-hugs required.
MAGICFOR2 - 3 points for being a condimentessa.
Contest points so far
orangecats2 28 points
afwdwfan 25 points
Sandy Mouse 22 points
MAGICFOR2 18 points
Laura74 17 points
Rgirl 16 points
Tracy161 16 points
dawnbu40 15 points
Scoobymoons 15 points
shan23877 15 points
Susan R 14 points
dgthree 10 points
Captain_Oblivious 10 points
ForeverDance 9 points
GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 9 points
RockinDisney 9 points
KatMark 8 points
Thumper_Man 8 points
bankr63 7 points
@Steppesister 7 points
courtneybelle 6 points
ddstratton 6 points
lisaviolet 6 points
mmeb144 6 points
Backstage_Gal 5 points
DonnaBeeGood 5 points
courtneybelle 3 points
Self_resqing_princz 3 points
KathyM2 2 points
LookinUp 2 points
TheLittleKatie 1 point
By now, you should have figured out how to get points in this game...
(And the usual disclaimer, if you notice an error, tell me!)
Back to Wednesday...
I didn't rush.
Jumped into/out of the shower,
Floor's wet! Guilt! Shame!... Dang it!!!! I'm never going to get used to that.
Dressed.
Grabbed camera bag, all charged up night before.
iPod, all charged up night before.
Plastic bag, set up night before.
Out the door at 7:50am.
Today's temps currently 47 with a high of 68 in the forecast.
Sweet! Shorts and a t-shirt again!
(I really didn't want to lug a jacket around if I didn't have to...
I didn't have to.)
I got to the bus stop at 7:55 and the Epcot bus arrived at 7:58.
Well of course that's where I'm going.
It's the only park I haven't hit yet and was the main reason for the trip!
Plus... three minute wait for the bus.
Score.
I got to the turnstile at 8:17.
There were already people there, but only one or two in front of me.
About nine a.m...
They'rrrrrrrrrre at the post!
Aaaaannnnddd... they're off!!!
pkondz is slow out of the gate,
the Senior Citizens in front of him are joined by one more.
And it's their first time!
They're having trouble getting through!
pkondz side steps them over to the next....
uh... the next.... what do you call those things?
pkondz side steps them over to the next
post-thing-that-you-put-your-magic-band-up-to-then-scan-your-finger!
pkondz is lagging the field and will have to hope for a miracle.
Honeymooners are blown past with nary a glance!
A few Gawking-Gawkers stop to gawk at the big golf ball! Fools!!
pkondz puts it into a higher gear and begins to bypass Doddlers and Saunterers alike!
pkondz is veering to the right! What's happened?!? Has he blown a shoe?
No! No! He's cutting through Innoventions West! A brilliant move!
And he's out! He's out of Innoventions! The Land is straight ahead!
There are Family -People on his left that are ahead! It's going to be close!
Wait! Wait! The Family -People ahead have a stroller and are peeling off into stroller parking!!
Yes! He's done it! He's in the lead! He's inside The Land!!!!
He's charging through the queue! Oh, this is incredible! This is Fantastic! This....
Where did all these people come from?
And how did they get here so fast, ahead of me?
There were about a dozen people already waiting to ride.
Talk about deflating one's ego!
I was so sure I had that race won!
Or at least placed.
I didn't even show.
A CM drops the chain at the end of the queue and starts directing people to the first theater.
I am directed to the second theater where another CM awaits her prey.
"Can I have the highest row?" I ask.
I politically correctly do not ask for the "non-foot" row.
I am directed to the far right.
Yes! Top row!
I have a lousy sense of smell.
I never smell the oranges!
Still, I like the ride enough to bowl over the young and elderly to get on it first thing.
Survival of the fittest.
Disney is not for the meek.
After being whisked from Florida to California and back,
I want to try something that I've never done before.
I'd read the descriptions for Living With the Land and frankly...
it sounded as dull as watching grass grow.
Which, pretty much, describes the ride perfectly.
Oh, settle down.
Yes, I know some of you really like this ride.
And to be honest... it exceeded my expectations.
I found it interesting. And interesting is good.
Interesting is not boring.
And you said it was good. So I went.
Happy?
I got to the queue well after rope drop now and had to contend with the crowds to ride.
Here's a picture of the boats prior to us all boarding.
And here's another one, once we were all on board.
Yup! This is one popular ride!
I can't believe I lucked out and got a seat!
I must admit, though, that while I wasn't overly familiar with what I was going to see,
I really didn't expect Disney to put scary things in here.
I mean really! They don't have any signs out anywhere that I saw.
You know the ones: "Frightening scenes may disturb some viewers".
Or something like that.
Nevertheless, I was quite shaken when I came to that horrible, disgusting part of the ride.
If I'd been able to prepare myself, I could've looked away or something.
I took a picture. I think it was just a reflex.
Kind of like a gag reflex.
Yuck. Gross.
Did you know those things are proof that there is a Hell?
(I shudder as I type this. That, I mean.)
As the ride ended, I disembarked (retching quietly) and shook it off.
I had a fastpass coming up and it was time to go.
I headed for
I'd never done the car design thingy before,
so it took me a while to get up to speed (see what I did there?)
I designed my car to look like something I'd want to drive,
not necessarily something that would be fastest or most this or that.
And I wasn't disappointed.
It didn't place first in any category.
I think that qualifies me as an automotive engineer.
Think about it. How many of you have ever said:
"What a piece of crap!" when talking about your car/truck?
See? Qualified.
When I got myself strapped in my car,
it lurched a few feet forward and.... nothing.
The whole ride came to a standstill.
I saw a few CMs running around (literally) and thought
"Oh, no. Don't let it be down! I'm so close!"
I don't know if it was a problem
or just someone needing extra assistance boarding a car.
Either way, we were up and running again in less than a minute.
Felt like forever... but it was less than a minute.
I don't know about you, but I more or less put up with the entire ride...
just so I can get to the high speed part!
Woot!
Which is... odd.
I mean the car goes up to 65mph, right?
Well I drive faster than that on some highways,
and I don't ever feel like holding my arms up in the air and
hollering like an idiot.
Which I suppose is a good thing, since if I did, I'd be hollering
and so would my passengers as we smash through the guard rail
and go soarin' off into oblivion.
Wait... I already did Soarin'...
Nevermind.
After experiencing the thrill of travelling at a relatively sluggish pace,
it was time for my next fastpass and time to speed things up a notch.
I've done... actually my entire family of four together have done...
both MS green and orange.
We did the less intense green first...
and we all loved it!
We thought, "If that was good... more's got to be better!"
So we rode the orange side.
Yeah, not our finest hour.
I think the kids were okay, but Ruby didn't like it and I felt sick for about half an hour.
It felt like a ball of yeast was rising in my stomach and I just didn't knead that.
But I did like Team Green. So that's what I did.
I was chosen to be navigator. Truly an honour!
Our capsule only had three cabin crew.
And while I was concerned about the mission's success without an engineer,
I'm pretty sure that my close attention to the controls is what saved the day.
And our butts.
(Is anyone else a big enough geek and lame enough to admit
that they too flip all the toggles and push all the buttons?
Anyone?)
By the time I was getting out of MS...
(How is it that I vividly recall the flight to Mars,
but have absolutely no recollection of the flight back?
Weird.
Short term memory loss brought on by high g loads, I guess.)
By the time I was getting out of MS, World Showcase was opening up.
Yes!
This was the main goal of the trip.
Spend more time in WS.
And this time, there were no crying little brats to stop me!
(To this day, my kids haven't let me forget how much I cried on that trip.)
I had one last fastpass... for... I don't remember what.
Probably Spaceship Earth.
I don't remember, because it was getting close to WS opening time...
So I skipped it.
Besides, if you time it right, SE can be a walk on.
I sashayed off in the general direction of WS.
But not before I made a quick pit stop at Club Cool.
I spotted a family trying to convince one of their members to try the Beverly.
But he wouldn't do it.
I blame the new video on DME.
After trying a few drinks, I sashayed over to...
As you can see, there was no one there.
It was 10:58am and... nope.
You couldn't get set up or started in any way.
Not until 11:00!
Right at the stroke of 11:00 a CM asked me if I wanted to play.
Uh, no. I'm just standing here to watch others play.
Of course I want to play!
The CM gave me a few quick instructions and sent me on my way.
For those of you wondering what it is that I'm talking about,
(I get that a lot)
Agent P's World Showcase Adventure is an interactive game
that you play with a (Disney provided) cell phone.
The game is based on the Disney TV cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
Perry the Platypus is secret Agent P and it's your job to help him.
With clues provided by the phone, you discover interactive spots
in the pavilion to which you've been assigned.
I was told to make my way over to the UK pavilion and to press Start when I arrived.
I ambled over to the side of the walkway and took out the cell phone.
I pressed Start and Oh. My. Word.
GREETINGS! PLEASE PROCEED TO THE UNITED KINGDOM AND PRESS START.
Holy smokes is this thing ever LOUD!
People over in Mexico were stopping to see what all the commotion was about.
And I don't mean the Mexico pavilion, I mean Mexico Mexico.
As in make a run for the border.
I hesitantly pushed Start, since I was already at the UK.
WELCOME AGENT! YOUR MISSION IS TO...
I have no idea what was said after that.
I was too busy desperately trying to find a way to turn down the volume.
People were fleeing from me in all directions.
(I get that a lot too.)
A few of them were fleeing because the phone was too loud.
(This was new.)
After a few moments, I gave up trying to turn it down.
None of the buttons seemed to do anything.
I suspect Disney disabled most of the phone's features.
From that point on, I would only press Start if I had my hands firmly pressed down on the speaker.
As for the game itself, it was... all right.
I won't give away what happened, but there were...
Five? (I think) different interactive displays that activated during the game.
Maybe I was too annoyed by the ear shattering volume,
or maybe the UK isn't as creative as the ones I'd done before
(Germany, Mexico, Japan.)
But for whatever reason... I was kind of... well... bored.
I think too, that all I really wanted to do was just take my time and wander around,
and the game was sort of getting in the way of that.
When my mission ended, I was instructed to drop the phone off in a repository
and I gladly did that.
I had no urge to play another game.
So I just wandered around, without an agenda or time limit.
That was more like it.
It was great.
Actually, I did have a time limit.
I had one of my rare ADRs coming up.
And this one was going to right a "wrong" that happened last time I was here.
In 2009, I was here with the fambly and we had free DDP.
So of course I made ADRs for every day.
On one of our last days (second to last one) I had,
after many attempts, scored an ADR at Le Cellier.
I was really stoked, since I'd heard so many good things about it.
But what I didn't count on were the fickle minds of my children.
We didn't have park hoppers. And they wanted to go back to MK.
Which in retrospect, shouldn't have come as a big surprise.
So I tried to cajole them into going to Epcot... but... no.
Their minds were made up.
So now I had a coveted ADR for Le Cellier...
and we weren't even going to be in Epcot!
I dutifully called Guest Services and regretfully, reluctantly,
cancelled the ADR and made a new one for somewhere in MK.
I am not making this up. This honest-to-heck happened...
I placed the telephone receiver back onto the cradle.
And the very second... the instant I did so...
Both kids tell me they've changed their minds and now want to go to Epcot.
I spun around, grabbed the phone and re-dialed.
"Hello? Hello? I just had an ADR for Le Cellier for six o'clock that I cancelled.
Can I get it back?..."
Nope. Gone.
We ate at Biergarten that night, I believe.
Ever since that day, I beat my kids at every opportunity.
Even if I have to make something up.
They deserve it, so it's okay.
Back in 2015, I was finally going to get a chance to try Le Cellier.
It wouldn't be free, but still....
I had plenty of time, so I sashayed back in the direction of Canada.
(North, of course.)
I stopped for a bit to watch these guys.
But not too long.
I see that every day, on pretty much every street corner of my town.
I actually have seen this sort of thing a few times, so it didn't really grab my attention.
I watched for a bit to see if they'd Disneyfied it at all,
but it didn't look much different from similar shows I'd seen.
I moved on.
I love that little fence.
This would actually be the first time I visited "my" pavilion.
I guess I'd always passed it by in the past,
reasoning that there wouldn't be anything I hadn't already seen back home.
But a few people had commented that I really needed to see O Canada.
Plus, of course, that's where Le Cellier is.
I still had a few minutes, so I wandered about, snapping the odd photo here and there.
I've actually been to the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island,
but that had been a loooooong time ago.
I think I was nine at the time.
Funny how back then, I was pretty bored, but now I really liked this garden
(based on its bigger, norther sibling.)
The growling of my stomach alerted me that my pending ADR was due.
I sashayed inside and was seated after a very short wait.
What did I order you ask?
I'd heard nothing but good things about the Fillet Mignon...
but I just don't feel like steak at lunchtime.
If it had been supper time (fine... dinner time... happy?), then maybe.
There was only one thing that I absolutely had to try...
There was only one thing I ordered.
The Cheddar Cheese soup!
And.... meh.
After waiting almost six years... I won't bother again.
Oh, it was okay. Maybe even pretty good.
I found the texture to be a little off-putting.
The flavour was good, not great.
I'd say that my favourite part of the meal was the pretzel bread.
Still glad I did it though.
I would much rather try something and be disappointed,
than not try it and always wonder.
Hey you! Get off the phone! Talk with the people at the table!
What did make the meal though,
was a lovely young lady named Fallon who was my server.
She was just fine as a waitress, but I got to chatting with her
and she was so... nice. So... Canadian
I asked her how she got the job at Disney, etc.
I figured maybe Elle might be interested,
but she's got her career pretty much mapped out.
We had a nice little chat though.
After lunch I sashayed over to the O Canada theatre to see what all the fuss was about.
And you know what?
I really, really liked it!
I felt my chest swelling with pride for my home country.
Or maybe that was my belly from the soup and pretzel bread.
Either way, I thought it was a pretty good film.
(I didn't even notice the errors at the time.)
After the show, it was time for another little item that I'd heard so much about.
Cronut!!
All I can say is "Oh.... My."
It wasn't just good... it was stupendously, fantastically good.
If you haven't had one, GET. ONE.
This little baby alone makes a trip to Epcot worthwhile.
A little sugared piece of heaven on a paper plate.
I found a shaded bench to sit and devour it.
The cronut.... not the bench...
While I was sitting, I noticed a janitorial cart with two women.
The older of the two was showing the other how to service a garbage can.
The younger one then came over to the garbage nearest me just as I was finishing up my cronut.
"Training?" I asked.
"Yes." She replied.
"How long have you been at Disney?" I asked.
"This is my first day." She said.
First day of working for Disney.
Maybe not the most glamorous job in the parks, but...
It's in Disney!
I told her I thought she was doing a good job and wished her luck.
And then I sashayed off... back in the direction of Canada, et al.
More World Showcase exploring awaits!
Continued next post!
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Continued from previous post!
My next stop?
I'm glad you asked!
You didn't ask?
Well too bad! I'm going to tell you anyway!
(I thrill at the power of the TR author!
Hey! Wait! Come back!)
Underpants!
I mean France! France!!
I must admit, having been to the real Paris not that long ago,
and this being my first time actually stopping here,
it was a bit surreal.
Enjoyable, but it felt a little bizarre.
Don't worry. I know just how to get over it.
Hang on a bit, I'm getting ahead of myself.
I crossed the bridge and saw this:
The attention to detail, just gets me sometimes, ya know?
A lot of people wouldn't even notice this little scene.
Now, while I never saw a little boat, bicycle, or painting
on the banks of the Seine, it all just screams French tableau.
You would see bikes like that. You would see paintings like that out and about.
And the bank of the Seine does look like that.
It just struck me.
And I liked it.
As I got closer to France, I noticed some people were looking up at the sky.
Maybe you've already guessed what they were looking at?
The skywriter was out that day, and had just started "writing".
So far he had finished the J, E and S...
I heard one woman exclaim. "Oh! It's going to say Jessica!"
Perhaps she thought it would be a marriage proposal?
I wonder if she was pleased or disappointed with the result?
A little farther on, I heard one man say to a group of people in French.
"Five dollars it's Jesus."
I wonder if anyone took him up on his wager
and if so, how much did he make?
I was passing by Impressions de France and enquired when the next show would be.
Five minutes? I could do that.
Especially since I intended on doing so anyway.
Never seen it.
So gotta see it, no?
Excusez-moi... Non?
There's just too much info coming in...
I don't really remember too much about the film.
I do remember that much of it was breathtakingly beautiful.
I remember recognizing some scenes (I was there!)
And I remember that I enjoyed it.
Guess I'll just have to go back and see it again so I can remember more.
More sashaying was done by moi.
I did have one place that I absolutely, no foolin' had to visit
before my French visit came to an end.
And I'm sure some of you are licking your lips,
either in anticipation, or from memories....
Boulangerie Patisserie.
Yes I'd just had lunch... but I hadn't had dessert yet!!
Oh, the horror! Something must be done about this terrible injustice!
"I'll take everything visible... to go, please."
While I was waiting in line, I heard a CLANG! that came from right beside me.
A little boy (about 8?) was playing with the ropes
and had managed to unhook one end and let it drop to the floor.
I assumed his mother, who was right beside him,
would tell him not play with the ropes and pick it up.
But she couldn't be bothered. She was on the phone.
Goodness knows that's much more important than parenting.
She glanced at her son and went back to ignoring him.
I bent down, picked up the rope and hooked it back up.
I moved up a bit and they, being on the other side of the rope,
moved in the opposite direction.
A moment later... CLANG!
The mother (and I use that term very loosely) was still on the phone,
so it wasn't her problem.
Even if I'd been right beside them still, I wasn't going to waste any more time.
I wish some parents would... parent.
I used to notice this all the time when my girls were little.
I'd take them to the park or something and before you knew it,
I was babysitting my kids and half a dozen others too.
Even my own mother commented on this when she watched my kids.
Some people say that we may be heading towards our own extinction.
Maybe that's a good thing.
Sorry for the rant.
Let's get back to more important things, shall we?
Dessert!
There was only one eensy, teensy little problem....
I was stuck.
I really love almost anything with lemon,
so the Tarte au Citron (lemon tart) was calling my name.
(Which is really weird. I didn't know if I could eat a sentient tart.
Hah! Have fun with that one!)
But!
I'm a sucker for Crème Brulée, too.
And that was calling to me too!
(Same issue. Could I eat a chatty pudding?)
Alas! What was I to do?
Crème Brulée? Or Tarte au Citron?
Crème Brulée?
Tarte au Citron?
Flip a coin?
Ask a server?
Finally I decided to be a man and make a decision.
There. Easy.
That wasn't so hard, was it?
Don't ask me which one I liked best.
They were both... Soooo good!
My mouth's watering as I'm typing this!
I had one more spot that I wanted to see and then it was time to move on.
I just wanted one quick pic.
And so does the rest of the planet.
I'm willing to bet that this is one of the busier PP photographers in Epcot.
A constant stream of people wanted their picture taken in front of the fountain.
Well, I did the best that I could.
And yes, the fellow with the beer is heading in for his turn for a photo.
Guess even pawnshop owners go to Disney...
Next up...
I must admit... Morocco is just not my thing.
It's interesting, but... there's really nothing here that appeals to me.
Although after reading @laura74's review of Spice Road Table
on her trip report (LIVE REPORT! Watch My Hair Frizz In Real Time! Win a Prize!)
(which I highly recommend, BTW.)
I'm going to have to give this place another chance.
And tabbouleh, too. Gotta try that.
Don't you expect Aladdin to come running around the corner
with guards chasing after, any second?
Lots of trinkets for sale... and not a thing appealed.
Like I said, just not my thing I guess.
Hope that doesn't make me shallow...
Shallower.
One last pic before I head over to the one place that I was dying to see.
Ya know. Being a typical guy, I can't stand shopping.
Grocery shopping I don't mind, but any other kind...
Well, tools. I don't mind.
Grocery and tool shopping...
Books. I like books.
Grocery, tools and book shopping I don't mind...
I think that's it. Probably others. But I can't think of any right now.
But trinket shopping is definitely on my "no fly list".
And there was a lot of it.
So maybe that was the problem.
I stopped to listen to these guys who were just setting up when I arrived.
One hundred percent certain not my kind of music.
I tried, I really tried to stick out an entire song.
Nope. Couldn't do it.
That pool's just getting shallower and shallower, isn't it?
That's okay. I'm going to dive into the deep end right away.
I don't know why...
But I LOVE Japan.
I may have German blood in my veins, but Japan is where I wanna be.
At least this ersatz version of it.
I've loved Japanese architecture and bonsai and gardens for a looong time.
I once drove 10 hours from Winnipeg to Medicine Hat, AB,
overnighted, drove another two hours to Lethbridge, AB.
Just to see the Japanese Garden there.
That same day, I drove back to Medicine Hat, slept,
then drove home the next day.
Get the picture now?
Speaking of pictures...
Did I mention that I like Japan?
Not sure if that came through or not.
Ahem.
As beautiful as the grounds are, I wanted to explore inside as well.
This little corner really mad me miss my youngest daughter, Kay.
The room was filled with anime pictures, info and history.
She's really gotten into anime in the last year or two
and this made me wish she'd been there to see it.
I spent some time exploring the Japan pavilion.
Funny how in Morocco, I didn't have any interest in browsing around,
but here I wanted to look at everything.
Maybe I'm deeper than I thought?
Nah.
I looked at my watch and realized I was going to have to get going.
The Taiko drummers were just about to get started.
I like watching Taiko drumming.
I love the visceral energy it has.
While there were only three drummers,
it was still great watching and listening and feeling the powerful drumming.
And as enjoyable as it was,
it was something that happened just beforehand that I got a chuckle out of.
I'd been walking quite a bit already today,
and was looking for a place to sit or lean while I listened to the drummers.
I noticed an older couple perched on the edge of a large planter pot.
I did a double take.
The man seated on the pot looked very much like Tommy Chong,
of Cheech and Chong fame.
He was about 65 - 70 years old and just screamed... hippie.
I couldn't resist.
I had to do it.
I walked up to him and said...
"Hey man, can I borrow some of your pot?"
He didn't get it.
Or at least he didn't react.
He just nodded and skootched over a bit to make more room.
Oh, well.
It's the thought that counts.
Here's some pot for everyone.
(Yes, this was the one.)
After the drumming, I looked back where I had come...
Then I looked at my watch.
I didn't have to rush, but it was definitely time to go.
Hmmm.... I'm forgetting something, though...
Ah.
Bonus questions!
1. What did I need to make me feel more at ease in France?
2. How many people were on Living With the Land with me? (Hint: < 10)
3. Find the burning bush.
I retraced my steps.
Past Morocco, France, UK and Canada.
Past the Refreshment Port. Farewell cronuts!
I think I'll miss you most of all!
Past the fountains.
Past Spaceship Earth, now with bonus extra-long line-up!
And soon I was approaching the...
post-things-that-you-put-your-magic-band-up-to-then-scan-your-finger.
I think I'll stick with turnstiles.
Even though they're clearly not actual turnstiles.
Shorter to type, though.
Finally... Finally!
I was heading out to do something that I'd never thought I'd do.
Something that I'm willing to bet very few,
possibly none of you reading this, have done.
And it's going to blow your minds.
I'm not going to make it a bonus point question.
But feel free to guess what it might be.
Oh, man! I am so stoked to tell you all about it.... next time.
Last edited:
Steppesister
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
My ears were burning. (Actually, I got a bat signal and took a quick break.)
Sadly, I'm up to my ears in anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and suicide care plans. (Well, I mean I'm studying them, not taking them.
)
I think until Tuesday, I'm out for the count, cuz well, as you well know, I REALLY want my A. Call me OCD, but they all just line up so nicely on my transcript.
Sadly, I'm up to my ears in anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and suicide care plans. (Well, I mean I'm studying them, not taking them.
)I think until Tuesday, I'm out for the count, cuz well, as you well know, I REALLY want my A. Call me OCD, but they all just line up so nicely on my transcript.
KathyM2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2011
Whew...what an update!! LOVED hearing about Epcot...my fave also. I'm so sorry (especially as a Canadian) that Le Cellier was a bit dissappointing. I too have wanted to try the famed cheese soup. I do find it funny though that this is on the menu for Canada....I've yet to see that on a menu here IN Canada...I think you see French Onion soup more often IMHO...and was the Cronut in Canada too? Was it better than Tim's? The grounds in Canada do look lovely thought. I too have to admit to not having spent much time in the Canada pavillion...I think last time I was in Epcot...maybe 10 years ago...I recall seeing Whale blubber soap and the movie reminded me of one of those "Heritage Moments" from the 1980's....Maybe it's worth another look now...or even just for nostalgia lol. The only question of yours I think I know the answer to is...no one was on The Land when you arrived.... I really wonder why they made this one an FP+. I love the ride, but there's never a wait for it. Then there are other rides that "should" have FP+ that don't...wonder if that will change. Anyway...LOVE EPCOT so much and your pics make me want to be there!! I would like to spend more time in WS too...but we'll see how my 9 year old feels about that on our next trip...I could handle a few solo days to just do that.
Gracefulskinny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2013
I believe I've heard them called Tapstiles
You'll get 'um next time!
Actually brussel sprouts can be quite tasty if cooked proper.
I see what you did there! Don't you love when your kids pull a fast one on you?I am not making this up. This honest-to-heck happened...
I placed the telephone receiver back onto the cradle.
And the very second... the instant I did so...
Both kids tell me they've changed their minds and now want to go to Epcot.
Well good to know its a least somewhat represented correctly.
You know, I have yet to ever step foot in the American pavillion. I'll have to change that next week.
I was talking about this with DH earlier. Thank for the reminder to keep this in mind to try.
That could end up awkward!
Mmmmmm Strawberry Tarts! Mmmmmmm
Ugh one of THOSE!
Happens to me regularly. I generally have to bail on these situations before things get ugly.
I'll go with just you
ursalita
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2014
Sounds like you had a great Epcot day. I really need to figure out how to do those multiple quote posts that you and Andy do. And others, too, of course.
It was so funny how you described getting to Soarin'. I love the Land ride.
It's one of the few things I remember from going with my grandparents as a kid. Nowadays I love it because of the growing food aspect. But I totally get you not being into it and I think it's cool you tried it anyway. The visual of you retching over Brussels Sprouts makes me .
I won't go near Mission Space green or orange and I've never had a bad experience on a thrill ride. I think I've just heard too many horror stories about. I love the pic you got of the entrance.
I wasover your experience with the Phineas & Ferb game.
I'm sorry your experience at Le Cellier wasn't that great.
I didn't spend any time in Canada this trip. I had wanted to catch the show since I'd heard good things but I never made it. I think it was the location. When I walked by Canada it was to get to Future World. On the days we spent time at WS we would head out at the international gateway. On the last day we went over to the UK but never made it to Canada. I will definitely have to rectify that next trip.
I didn't see PP photographers at the fountain in France, I had to take selfies and talk DH through taking a photograph of me and the boys.
We loved Japan, too. So beautiful! And that shot of the duck?
Amazing.
I can't believe you asked the Chong look-alike for some pot.You're killing me, dude.
It was so funny how you described getting to Soarin'. I love the Land ride.
It's one of the few things I remember from going with my grandparents as a kid. Nowadays I love it because of the growing food aspect. But I totally get you not being into it and I think it's cool you tried it anyway. The visual of you retching over Brussels Sprouts makes me .I won't go near Mission Space green or orange and I've never had a bad experience on a thrill ride. I think I've just heard too many horror stories about. I love the pic you got of the entrance.
I was
over your experience with the Phineas & Ferb game. I'm sorry your experience at Le Cellier wasn't that great.
I didn't spend any time in Canada this trip. I had wanted to catch the show since I'd heard good things but I never made it. I think it was the location. When I walked by Canada it was to get to Future World. On the days we spent time at WS we would head out at the international gateway. On the last day we went over to the UK but never made it to Canada. I will definitely have to rectify that next trip.
I didn't see PP photographers at the fountain in France, I had to take selfies and talk DH through taking a photograph of me and the boys.
We loved Japan, too. So beautiful! And that shot of the duck?
Amazing.I can't believe you asked the Chong look-alike for some pot.
You're killing me, dude. 
bankr63
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2010
Hey buddy, what you do in your kinky spare time is up to you...
You slapped the whaaa... oh, never mind...
Laundry day?
wooo! I have no idea why I get 3 points for getting it wrong; but your house, your rules...
well, okay I understand these ones. Thanks!
woooo! I'm number 20 (tied), I'm number 20 (tied), I'm number...
Well at least I'm tied up with a nursing student with a penchant for antipsychotics (which she would need to be tied up with me...)
Beg, grovel and steal; check...
Dude, don't those accessible showers have zero entry? What you jumpin' for?
Thousand Islands? Blue Cheese? Inquiring minds want to know...
not sure why you charged the bag; but did you plug the camera in?
Minus the 46 gigawatts of power used to "alarm" the neighbours (sorry, NEIGHBORS; we're in FL after all).
Balmy!
turnstile?
Family People are okay. Now if it had been the Village People that would be something to write about.
Not unless you are with the guy from Japan that you haven't met yet...
"Got a brand new Chevy with a lift kit, look a heck of a lot better with you up in it"
What? Oh, sorry, that's been an ear worm ever since I crossed the Florida/Georgia Line.
Made a bad pun?
Yes, you really did build the typical North American car, didn’t you!
Excuse me Mr. Pkondz, but your Edsel is holding up the rest of the line, you’ll need to exit now please.
Anyone else wonder why the it’s the Orange side that turns everyone Green? Just sayin’…
What? No engineer!?!?
Not me. I’m an engineer and I ALWAYS RTFM (ready the fascinating manual).
Eternal punishment?
Well, soul food would assuage your shattered soul…
… or not!
It does bring back memories of Expo ’67, but that was much more impressive. I still remember the log rollers now, which I guess is impressive as I was all of 5 years old at the time…
What? What? They finally added pulled pork poutine to the menu?
Well, this I can understand. Come on, we come from the land of cheddar (sorry Wisconsinites, but really, we OWN good cheddar). Unless it’s a really good Black River or Balderson cheddar, I’m out of there.
Yes, because nothing says Canada quite like pretzels…
Can’t, getting my next clue from agent Perry
Yup, ‘cause nothin’ gets your chest swelling like Mike Myers when you’re a true Canadian…
Oh, is this one one of the questions? Okay, I’m gonna guess he writes “Jest Kidding! We’re all going to heck!”
Okay, just exactly what course would the Cronut take?!? The après entrée perhaps, but not the dessert…
And suffer my just desserts…
Talking to agent P, no doubt
Well a Platypus pretty much trumps everything, ask Monkston…
Hmm, okay in the UK they call a Citroen a Citron, and a Citroen is a thinking man’s car; therefor a sentient car, so a tarte au citron is a sentient tart. No? And that wasn’t even fun, was it?
Okay, I don’t get this. Crème Brulée is literally Burnt Cream. I have no idea how chatty comes in here; and my French is pretty good…
Get both?
Nope. Saw that one comin’ a parsec away…
Umm, hello? Car shopping? Absolutely my favorite shopping. Too bad I only need another one every four years or so…
Still too up from being on the “high” row.
Apparently about 3500 extra calories.
From the looks of the pictures, I’m gonna say zero? But you have to define “on”. As a continuous loader, you can’t possibly see the other end of trail; so obviously there were SOME people on with you, but how could even you count?
I thought it was a ghost in the window. And wouldn’t that be more of a burning tree…
I am confused here. You are at Japan. Why would you walk all the way BACK around WS? Oh, wait. You really didn’t pass by those cronuts, did you?
See? Told ya…
I’m gonna guess that you are going for a ride on Richard Petty; because it’s not going to be there anymore…
ETA - okay, I really hate the new multi-quote. I went back and removed ALL of the stupid extra quote pairs after the first line of each Pkondzi quote, and the #@$%^ interface just put them all back in again!
Last edited:
quandrea
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2010
Fantastic update. Cronuts are on my family's to do list now. I really want to spend more time in World Showcase too. We will often go for an evening to walk around a bit, but we just never seem to get much done--kids get tired. When we go at 11am, every one is ready for lunch just about and then they want to head back for a break and a swim. Maybe the little ones jut need to grow up a bit. We head down three times a year, so my time will come. In the meantime, your pictures provide an excellent subtitute. I can never pull the trigger on Le Cellier. Just figure it sounds like it's hyped a bit. There are enough poor reviews to make me think I'd be disappointed. Believe it or not, we are quite happy with tacos from La Cantina in Mexico. Waiting for more......
Scoobymoons
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2011
I howled at this! If ever there was proof that language is amazing, it is this post!
Can I throw in a specific Disney related variant:
Supercondimentilisticexpialidocious - to be used when you're really not sure what condiment to use.
Why thank you
Even better! Doing a happy dance over here right now!
Ah yes, the trips off the tongue 'PTTYPMBUTTSYF' machine....is it only me that's amused that the word butts just appeared in that.....yes? I'll get my coat....
No, it is for the feisty and determined...not the faint at heart. When we were in the Soarin' queue on our last trip, one of the CMs was telling us about an elderly lady who was going on the ride for the first time. When it had finished they were ushering everyone off whilst getting the new lines of people in for the next ride and for some reason the numbers weren't working - there was one too few seats for the people who had been counted on. Well it transpired that the elderly lady had enjoyed her trip so much that she wanted to go again and there was no budging her! She rode again and then got off after trip number two!!
We love Living with the Land - who doesn't love alligators and nine pound lemons?! Huh? We did the Behind the Seeds Tour which was great - basically a walk through the greenhouses and talks about the plants. They'd just got a peanut butter plant when we were there! I loved finding out things like all of their plant waste (that sound ookier than it should...) doesn't get binned, it gets transported to Animal Kingdom and used as food there.
Yeah, you were cutting it fine on that one huh.....?
They definitely need plant identification lessons....I am also never ever attending a Christmas dinner hosted by the person who put that sign by those plants...imagine the scene:
Have some sprouts.....what do you mean they look prickly?
More technical naming of Disney things!
Now that, I'd love to see!
You are on a roll.....Errrr.....who needs an engineer.....totally excessive.....
If there's a button then it must be pressed and all toggles should be toggled. It's the same with boxes and holes. If they look like they can fit a human in, then it should be attempted. It's a rule.Booooooooo - going to have to hide DD's eyes at that point....oh and maybe block her ears.....she won't mind.
Very true!
Yeah, the splinters stick in your teeth...
I am looking forward to this and your pics have just intensified that! DH and DD went to the boulangerie while I was in hospital so I missed out last time.
...do I detect a hint of cynicism hmmmm......????
Don't even get me started on this! I sometimes literally have to sit on my hands to stop myself intervening in such situations. Either that or I bowl right in and then blame my 'teacher mode' to give me a reason for interfering.....mwah hah ha.....
Don't be!
Get ready for one of our favourite ever photos of DD from Japan. The gorgeous CMs in the shop just dressed her - it wasn't for the hard sell, just because they wanted to!No....I don't think that was clear. much as I don't know which princess you are most fond of..... here you go......
Japanese Ariel.....you're welcome!This gallery, with it's changing images, freaks me out!
'Visceral' - another meaty word!
Love the coincidence!
Ok....Not really sure where to start with these....I do feel that my relative success in the competition is principally due to bonus points....oh well what the heck!
1. An easel????
Ooooh.... or a grey goose slushie.....they're good too!!2. 0 just your good self?
3. American Adventure??? Presidential anarchy?
Is 'stoked' a clue? In which case I think it has to do with trains!
Susan R
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2010
On my solo trip I dined at Le Cellier. I dined with a nice couple who were having an anniversary dinner. Honestly, my table was so close to theirs that I felt like I should introduce myself. Thank goodness they were nice, and when they found out I was Canadian, they asked me what Poutine was ( I advised it was not what they were offering on the menu here lol) Other than that, I enjoyed the meal.
Mission Space is one of my favourite rides! I was made even more exciting when I was on the ride with only one other person. A Brazilian college student there with a group of friends. As soon as we were strapped in, he waved his hands to get my attention and mimed that he was having a hard time breathing and was panicking about the ride. I banged on the walls trying to get someone's attention but no one responded. I mimed back to him that there was nothing to worry about and to take slow deep breathes. Gave him a big smile and hoped that he knew where the barf bag was! I peeked over at him a few times but he seemed to be okay and concentrating on staying still. At the end of the ride, he gave me a big smile and thumbs up to let me know he was okay. Then he proceeded to swagger over to his friends as if he had just rode the monorail instead of the orange side of Mission Space. I flagged down one of the CM's and asked what happened if someone had an emergency and needed to get off the ride. He said that all a person had to do was bang on the wall and they would hear.
1. a huge steaming plate of Brussels sprouts...to pelt the inattentive mother with.
2. I couldn't get the picture to load. You see, I live in the middle of nowhere...well, not exactly the middle of nowhere...but you can see it from here. And being in the wilds of Nova Scotia, I have terrible internet. Sometimes it works well, most of the time it is as slow as sashaying through molasses. So, since I can't see how many people are in the boat with you, I'll say none...cause I can't see them!
3.I'm not sure about the burning bush...but I did see glowing tree in your picture of the British pavilion. Close?
Mission Space is one of my favourite rides! I was made even more exciting when I was on the ride with only one other person. A Brazilian college student there with a group of friends. As soon as we were strapped in, he waved his hands to get my attention and mimed that he was having a hard time breathing and was panicking about the ride. I banged on the walls trying to get someone's attention but no one responded. I mimed back to him that there was nothing to worry about and to take slow deep breathes. Gave him a big smile and hoped that he knew where the barf bag was! I peeked over at him a few times but he seemed to be okay and concentrating on staying still. At the end of the ride, he gave me a big smile and thumbs up to let me know he was okay. Then he proceeded to swagger over to his friends as if he had just rode the monorail instead of the orange side of Mission Space. I flagged down one of the CM's and asked what happened if someone had an emergency and needed to get off the ride. He said that all a person had to do was bang on the wall and they would hear.
1. a huge steaming plate of Brussels sprouts...to pelt the inattentive mother with.
2. I couldn't get the picture to load. You see, I live in the middle of nowhere...well, not exactly the middle of nowhere...but you can see it from here. And being in the wilds of Nova Scotia, I have terrible internet. Sometimes it works well, most of the time it is as slow as sashaying through molasses. So, since I can't see how many people are in the boat with you, I'll say none...cause I can't see them!
3.I'm not sure about the burning bush...but I did see glowing tree in your picture of the British pavilion. Close?
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
See @Steppesister??? Without me, you'd be completely exhausted!
Ya just need to sit back for a minute or two to recharge the batteries.
(Well, I mean I'm studying them, not taking them.
Oh! <phew!>
I think until Tuesday, I'm out for the count, cuz well, as you well know, I REALLY want my A. Call me OCD, but they all just line up so nicely on my transcript.
It's all about the presentation.Good think you didn't fail your first test.
Otherwise you'd need straight F's across the transcript.
I know! I'm sorry! It stank!
I just couldn't find a rythm on this chapter.
I think I'm looking too much ahead to the next one.
Wait.
You said "Whew" not Pee-ew. (How do you spell that???)
Still, I wasn't too happy with the result.
It was sooo nice just to have free time to roam and really soak it in.
Dang it! I should've said that in my chapter!
I wouldn't go so far as to call it a disappointment.
The soup didn't live up to my lofty expectations, true.
But it was okay.
But just "okay".
Me neither. I'd probably order it if I saw it.I love that soup! I keep trying and tweaking recipes looking for that perfect combo.
No. Coming from Future World it's just before Canada.
It's in a little building called "Refreshment Port"
I've never seen a cronut at Timmie's. Much better than a donut, though.
Plus I find that it's getting harder to get donuts at Tim's.
They seem to be more focused on coffee and frequently run out of donuts.
They were a pleasant surprise. As far as gardens/grounds go, I'd rate it #3.
(Behind Japan and China.)
This new one was released in 2007, so if it's been 10 years,
it'll be new for you.
Such as?
Thanks! Me too!
Tough with a little one in tow.
Maybe an Agent P game will keep the boredom at bay.
I believe I've heard them called Tapstiles
I like that! They're definitely not "turnstiles".
You'll get 'um next time!
You bet! Next time I'm going to trip people and use my elbows more.
So I've heard.
My mom used to cook them until they were soft mushy balls of evilness.
I shudder just typing this.
I'll never know if they taste good since I now refuse to even look at them.
I'm glad someone did!
Hahahahahahaha... no.
I wonder. I heard French at the France pavilion. I've heard German at the German pavilion.
Maybe it's because it's so close (or in your case. You're already there.)
You've really got to.
It was sooooo good.
That could end up awkward!
Her: "YES!! YES!! OF COURSE! YES!!!!"
Him: "Wha??????"
Unfortunately, yes.
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Oh, it was so wonderful!
And the day went from wonderful to over the moon incredible just a short while later.
I see from your TR that you've got it all figured out.
Funny? This is serious business, lady!
I love the Land ride.
See, I get that. I never rode with anyone (other than my sister)
because my first visit I was already a teen and my folks...
Forget that.
I was just about to say my folks didn't go on any rides.
But then I remembered a hysterical thing that happened
when we all rode HM.
No, no, no. I was into it! I really enjoyed it.
Would I pick it over TT or Soarin'?
Well... No.
But I'm definitely going to do it again.
Like I said, I found it interesting.
And I like interesting.
The visual of you retching over Brussels Sprouts makes me
Really? 'Cause it makes me
Hmmm.... How do you feel after Star Tours?
If you're okay with that, you should be okay with MS (green).
Unless you're claustrophobic.
It's pretty tight in there.
Thanks!
I was
I wanted to yell back at the phone.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!"
It was okay, though.
The soup didn't live up to the hype, but it was okay.
Fallon was really nice and she made up for the food.
I didn't spend any time in Canada this trip. I had wanted to catch the show since I'd heard good things but I never made it. I think it was the location. When I walked by Canada it was to get to Future World. On the days we spent time at WS we would head out at the international gateway. On the last day we went over to the UK but never made it to Canada. I will definitely have to rectify that next trip.
Do check out the movie.
It's really not bad at all.
And I'm not a big Martin Short fan.
Really!
That really surprises me.
It was just a non-stop procession of people getting their photos taken.
Easily my favourite place in all of Epcot.
And that shot of the duck?
Thanks again!
I can't believe you asked the Chong look-alike for some pot.
I had to! There was no way I was going to let that one go.
TheLittleKatie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2014
This cracked me up!
You cut through Innoventions?! A BRILLIANT MOVE 
HOW DARE YOU? 
Oh, ok then.
Here's a picture of the boats prior to us all boarding.
And here's another one, once we were all on board.
0 people on living with the land!!! It disappoints me, but does not surprise me Oh yes. All day. Every day. But to be fair, I could've easily bought a new car if I hadn't book 3 Disney trips in 3 years
I'm an adult but I have my PRIORITIES. Oh wow, great picture!! Do you use a DSLR? All your pictures look so professional
Awwww
On one of our last days (second to last one) I had,
after many attempts, scored an ADR at Le Cellier.
I was really stoked, since I'd heard so many good things about it.
But what I didn't count on were the fickle minds of my children.
We didn't have park hoppers. And they wanted to go back to MK.
Which in retrospect, shouldn't have come as a big surprise.
So I tried to cajole them into going to Epcot... but... no.
Their minds were made up.
So now I had a coveted ADR for Le Cellier...
and we weren't even going to be in Epcot!
I dutifully called Guest Services and regretfully, reluctantly,
cancelled the ADR and made a new one for somewhere in MK.
I am not making this up. This honest-to-heck happened...
I placed the telephone receiver back onto the cradle.
And the very second... the instant I did so...
Both kids tell me they've changed their minds and now want to go to Epcot.
I spun around, grabbed the phone and re-dialed.
"Hello? Hello? I just had an ADR for Le Cellier for six o'clock that I cancelled.
Can I get it back?..."
Nope. Gone.
Hahaha oh dear, this sounds like the type of thing that would happen in a comedy show
If it brings you any solace, your failure story made me laugh, so that's something Oh boy, I love the Canada pavilion
Especially the gift shop. I bought one of my favourite souvenirs from there!There was only one thing that I absolutely had to try...
There was only one thing I ordered.
The Cheddar Cheese soup!
YAAAAY!
.... oh.
I LOVE CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP, AND LIVING WITH THE LAND. This is such a good philosophy for life
Cronut!!
All I can say is "Oh.... My."
It wasn't just good... it was stupendously, fantastically good.
This looks so good. It's cinnamon right? I LOVE CINNAMON DONUTS.
I will, I will.
You crack me up I crossed the bridge and saw this:
Oh wow! I have NEVER seen this before?! Where exactly were you stood / looking?!
These kinds of stories...
It really frustrates me!! People should have to take a test in order to have children Alas! What was I to do?
Crème Brulée? Or Tarte au Citron?
Crème Brulée?
Tarte au Citron?
Flip a coin?
Ask a server?
Finally I decided to be a man and make a decision.
There. Easy.
You are officially my kind of person!! A great decision
I love your photos so much! Teach me your ways please.
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
That's what I told the cops!
I'm going to have them call you.
I'm sorry, could you be more specific in what you think I slapped?
Thanks.
Oh, boy.
Now I'm wondering.
Did you just throw that out there... or did you remember the "Laundry Day" story from when we met?
So.... you want to be tied up with @Steppesister huh?
Interesting.
Does A+ know?
See? That wasn't so hard to figure out, was it??
Force of habit.
You know, like when you hop up and down on one foot when you put your watch on.
Caesar. As befits my stature, of course.
Considering that the camera died....
Nope. Neighbours.
My TR. My rules.
My correct spelling.
Not according to @Gracefulskinny.
Tapstile.
They were over at Test Track.
I stared at that for a full minute before the nickle dropped.
Oh! That guy!
I told you. I don't listen to Country!
I had to Google, then YouTube that to figure out what you were talking about!
Oh? I didn't even notice that.
I was referring to my use of the word "thingy" in a sentence.
Yes!
And we almost got caught with that.
First time I rode it was with Ruby and the girls.
I couldn't remember which was which.
So when they asked which ride that we wanted,
I replied. "Orange."
Because Green would make you sick, right?
Luckily they confirmed by asking, "Spinning side?"
"No! Non-spinning!"
Close call.
Then again, we wound up trying the Orange side right after that.
And I felt like crap during the ride and for half an hour or so, after.
I know! But the automatic systems worked okay...
Well... pretty okay.
I think it's the reason we almost crashed.
But don't tell them. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
I learned it as "Read The Full Manual".Don't you think they deserve at least that?
But we'd already been there!
I remember the guys who'd scramble up those tall timbers.
I always thought "But what if they slip?"
They should! That's Canadiana right there!
Ever tried Bothwell cheddar? (MB product)
I've never tried the ones you mention.
I wonder if they're only available out your way.
That would explain the poutine in Germany!
Oh, no. I know that's not what he was doing.
I would've heard that.
Heck. You would've heard that.
Or Martin Short.
Go anywhere. Ask anyone.
"Hey! You know who Martin Short is?"
"Who???"
Well the message is the same, no?
Snack.
Dessert would require two of them.
(Yeah, okay. You caught me.)
I prefer to think of it as death by bliss.
I told you! Not loud enough!
Okay. I'll give you that one.
Uh.... No.
Just. No.
(I never thought in a million years that that's the way that conversation would go!)
No corelation whatsoever.
Talkative tarts, chatty crème brulée.
They were both calling to me.
I don't do enough of it... but yeah.
Add car shopping to the list.
Could be... could be.
Two reasons actually.
The first being the obvious one. It was the shorter distance.
The second being... I didn't want to go by the other pavilions and not be able to stop at them.
I want to hear guesses, but I won't comment on any of them.
Tell you why next chapter.
Did it do that with the BB code editor?
Try that next time it acts up.
(It's the paper with the wrench. Top right corner of the reply window.)
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Tie 'em up and leave them in the hotel room!
No?
Or a lot.
I don't think I was really into it as a young adult either.
Too many thrill rides were competing for my attention.
Three times a year?!?!
Lucky!
I'm able to get about once a decade in!
(something I hope to rectify.)
Glad to be of service, ma'am.
I'd still like to try the fillet, but...
It's not high on the list.
Especially at that price.
Why not?
I'm quite happy with a burger.
More coming up!
Got your work cut out for you now, huh?
Anyway, your days at the MK and Epcot both sound great
They were! And I'll owe you an apology in the next chapter.
You'll see.
And the cronut...
Oh, Lord, Dawn.
I couldn't believe how good it was!!
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