Life Stinks! Season Three! Finalized 11/11

[jenn&nelsonrego]

Originally Posted by Mozart

During the course of this report, I shall be providing some new, never before seen elements to Mozart's TR. First and most noticeable will be pictures. The dog has loaded up on pictures this time, returning with well over 300 photos from a one week vacation. I'll do my best to help the story along with a sampling of these.

Secondly, there will be a daily tip/and or thought mentioning something I learned during the course of the day that should be wise words for all of us when we travel. Take them for the grain of salt that they are worth.

Finally, I've given out kudos in the past but never really done them in an official format. Throughout the course of the report I shall be giving out official Mozart dogbiscuits. These biscuits will go to people or things that went above and beyond the call of duty to make the vacation special. Read on for more info on these...but coming next...the trip begins!

Very exciting! Waiting patiently...

[cheeringmom]

can't wait! Fun to hear someone elses perspective af the same trip!!

[MaryAz]

Alright, lets get this party started! Cannot wait!

[Mozart]

It’s finally that time. The time we get to fully relax and enjoy the first blissful minutes of knowing that we were on vacation. It occurred for us on a Wednesday night when we packed the last of way too many bags into the car, and pulled out heading for my parent’s house about 2 hours south of our home. It gives us a headstart on the drive down, and makes it possible to spend a little time on Thursday afternoon goofing around Downtown Disney. Of course, it also means dropping off the canines for a week and a half. We’ve never left them for this long before.

Things went well at my parents, and Thursday morning we got up bright and early and began the trek down I-95 to Orlando. I set goals for my driving. Leave by 7 and grab breakfast at Chick-Fil-A. Stop in Brunswick , GA around 11, and then get to our hotel right around 3. That’s the goal. It never seems to work out that way. But actually this time we came pretty close. We left at 7:20, skipped Brunswick in favor of St. Augustine, and hit Port Orleans French Quarter at 3:15. We spent our honeymoon at this hotel and haven’t been back since. I missed that place. But now, it’s time for our cruise. No, not the one onboard the Magic. This one is just a riverboat ride from Port Orleans to Downtown Disney.



Downtown Disney has truly been a refuge for us over the last few years. It’s that place you can go to begin getting a feel for the Disney experience, without yet having to fork out $70 for theme park tickets on a very short day in Orlando. Forking it out for a full day is bad enough, but having to blow that kind of dough on about 3 hours just makes me cringe. So…we don’t. We just go blow the money in souvenirs without actually entering a park.

My best friend moved to Melbourne about 5 years ago and he and I rarely get to see one another anymore. Thursday night, he and his wife drove over from Melbourne and joined us for our evening at Downtown Disney. Mike is, shall we say, an interesting character. He’s the type of guy that you’re either insanely mad at, or laughing with hysterically the entire time you’re around him. Sometimes it’s both at the same time. There is absolutely nothing PC about this guy. He will say anything to anyone at any time. He and I have had conversations about the DIS. He uses the wdwinfo site to keep up with what’s new at WDW. So, he and I start talking after we get to DD. What percentage of the people at DD are DIS’ers we wonder?

Mike proceeds to try and find out. He’s, literally, walking around, stopping people as they walk by and asking them if they know what the DIS is. After about 10 people or so, he gets a hit. Then, this yahoo friend of mine proceeds to introduce me to the woman in a way only Mike can. “This is Mozart. He writes DCL Trip Reports. Do you want his autograph?”

I’m serious. He actually asked the woman if she wanted my autograph or to have a picture taken with me. My face is probably as red as it can be. The woman and her family have looks of absolute confusion on theirs. It was about this time that DW and Mike’s wife walk back up and tell us that it’s time to go to the House of Blues for dinner. I escaped as gracefully as I could considering the circumstances. Mike just laughed. Why am I friends with him again?

After dinner, we just did some shopping before heading back to the resort. The new T-Rex restaurant is pretty cool. Whether you eat there or not, you need to step inside and check it out. The dinosaurs are so realistic it’s scary.




Caught a little bit of the jazz musician in the lobby at POFQ. His name is Elliott Dyson, and if you get the chance to see him, he’s excellent. Basically we just relaxed because we knew that the next day we were going to be EPCOT commandos. And that’s where we leave off for now.

THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY: I have never ever found a shirt that I like in my size at World of Disney. Either they're out of my size, or I don't like the shirt. I'm telling ya...It's a conspiracy.

TIP FOR THURSDAY: Never ever tell anyone you know in real life that you're a DIS'er. It's just asking for trouble.

[jenn&nelsonrego]

Originally Posted by Mozart

“This is Mozart. He writes DCL Trip Reports. Do you want his autograph?”

I lol'd! (snorted too...)

[lovesDCL]

thanks for the installment mozart!

[anewmac]

Originally Posted by Mozart

TIP FOR THURSDAY: Never ever tell anyone you know in real life that you're a DIS'er. It's just asking for trouble.

SO you saying I should cancle my personalized licence plate that says
" I<3 2 DIS"

Cant wait to hear about Epcot!

[Mozart]

Originally Posted by jenn&nelsonrego

I lol'd! (snorted too...)

I did not find it humorous at the time myself. But it's one of those things that you look back on and say "That was funny. He's an idiot, but that was funny."

Originally Posted by lovesDCL

thanks for the installment mozart!

Not a problem. I got that one out quick because I pretty much wrote it on the cruise. From here on out it's going to be a little longer between installments.

Originally Posted by anewmac

SO you saying I should cancle my personalized licence plate that says
" I<3 2 DIS"

Okay, I'm having trouble with that one. Does it say "I (heart) 2 Dis?" I've never seen that abbreviation before. And no, don't cancel it. Just don't be willing to tell anyone what it means.

[jedijill]

Originally Posted by Mozart

I did not find it humorous at the time myself. But it's one of those things that you look back on and say "That was funny. He's an idiot, but that was funny."



Not a problem. I got that one out quick because I pretty much wrote it on the cruise. From here on out it's going to be a little longer between installments.



Okay, I'm having trouble with that one. Does it say "I (heart) 2 Dis?" I've never seen that abbreviation before. And no, don't cancel it. Just don't be willing to tell anyone what it means.

It's "I love to dis".....does anyone else miss the old License Plate gameshow????

Jill in CO

[Mozart]

Originally Posted by jedijill

It's "I love to dis".....does anyone else miss the old License Plate gameshow????

Jill in CO

Don't remember that one. All I can see is visions of "NO WHAMMIES! NO WHAMMIES!" as I think about old game shows.

[CRUIZEN MAMMA]

Mozart, is the T- rex resturaunt now open? what # would I call for ADR's here, I'd like to take my 9 yr old son here in Dec. do you know if the decorate Downtown Disney for Christmas? I'd like to hit the pin store for some stocking stuffers?

[disneyfaninaz]

Originally Posted by CRUIZEN MAMMA

Mozart, is the T- rex resturaunt now open? what # would I call for ADR's here, I'd like to take my 9 yr old son here in Dec. do you know if the decorate Downtown Disney for Christmas? I'd like to hit the pin store for some stocking stuffers?

I'm not Mozart but I can answer your question.

T-Rex is open, you need to call 407-828-8739 for ADRs.

DTD is decorated for the holidays.

[CRUIZEN MAMMA]

Originally Posted by disneyfaninaz

I'm not Mozart but I can answer your question.

T-Rex is open, you need to call 407-828-8739 for ADRs.

DTD is decorated for the holidays.

thank you so much for the info, for others who want to know- T-rex is not taking ADR till after Jan 1 ,2009 but has walk up service.

[Mozart]

Originally Posted by CRUIZEN MAMMA

thank you so much for the info, for others who want to know- T-rex is not taking ADR till after Jan 1 ,2009 but has walk up service.

When we went, the walk-in line was very long. We had actually already eaten dinner that night, but we went there to check out their souvenir shop. The line of people waiting to eat stretched a good way out the door. I'd say you were probably talking about at least an hour wait to eat.

[Mozart]

I don’t like being late. So, when I committed to being at EPCOT for rope drop in the morning, I meant it. 9 AM rope drop, and there we were, standing in the line at EPCOT at 8:30. The line to get in had nobody in it!

And the amazing thing is this: despite being there 30 minutes early, despite virtually no line to get into the park, despite walking directly to Soarin’ the second the park opened, we still had a 30 minute wait to ride it. When we got off the ride the wait time was up to 95 minutes. This was at 9:40 in the morning. Fortunately we had picked up a FastPass for later before we originally got on so we did get to ride it twice, but that’s another story you’ll see below. First, we went and talked a little Turtle, and visited the coolest purple dragon in the world.


Speaking of a little purple dragon, anyone who knows me and my Disney fascinatin in real life knows how much I love Figment. I just wanted to state for the record on this thread that I sincerely hope they will do something to improve that ride. And sooner rather than later. Figment deserves better.


Okay, so it’s time for us to use our Fastpass and we head back to Soarin. The woman checking the time on the fastpasses takes my ticket and hands me one of those red tags they use to see how long the waits are right now. We get to the part of the line where the guy is taking the fastpasses and he asks me for mine. I reply “The woman at front kept mine.” This did not go over well. After having a brief conversation about how she would not have done that, to which I replied, Well she did, the guy goes to call her and see if she has one. Remember one thing, I am righthanded. When the guy asked me for my fastpass I reached into my right hand pocket to doublecheck that I didn’t have it. But, when the woman handed me the red tag I had apparently gotten confused and put the fastpass into my left pocket which I never use. So, after arguing with this guy for 5 minutes about whether or not I had a fastpass, and backing up the fastpass entrance line, I reach my hand into my left pocket and realized that my Fastpass had been there all along. I then sheepishly pull the fastpass out of my pocket and hand it to the guy.

Yeah, I’m a dope.

After Soarin, it was now 11:00 and Food and Wine were waiting. Just one thing to do on the way. I talked my wife into stopping by Club Cool. We had never stopped here before. I recommended the Beverly to my wife. Unfortunately I couldn’t time it so that I get my camera up to take the picture when she took the drink. However, she did give the expected reaction. No, she did not hit me.

Then it was time to move on to the World Showcase and the Food and Wine Festival. One thing I don’t understand. All these people in EPCOT during the Food and Wine Festival and there are no people in line for the food booths. You always hear about how crowded EPCOT will be because of Food and Wine, but nobody’s in line. They’re all eating at the same old fast food restaurants that are there all year. You have your choice between Fish and Chips and Maple Glazed Salmon. And yet everyone was choosing the fish and chips. I just don’t get it.

During the course of the day we did do two attractions in the International Pavilion. We rode the Maelstrom and the Gran Fiesta Tour. The Gran Fiesta Tour needs an update, even though it just got one. There’s only room for one “It’s a Small World” at WDW. But, the Maelstrom is just strange. I really don’t get it. After suffering through this nonsensical ride that, the best I can figure out, is populated by short little men in dire need of plastic surgery, you have to wait for the movie to get out while you’re in some quaint fishing village herded onto a ledge with everyone else coming off of the ride. It’s just strange and inconvenient. Don’t worry, we knew enough to skip the movie.

COMING UP…SO WHAT IS THE FUSS ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?