The Day the Mickey Died - In memoriam: Pal Mickey

[Peter Panic Attack]

Originally Posted by MineMail

I just scared the cat when I burst out laughing at your proposal, LOL. Too bad the Presidents can't form a congo line through the audience.

Yet another great chapter in this trip report.

See.....I think we all agree that the Presidents need to loosen up a little bit.

Thanks again for the chapter links.......and please apologize to your cat for me.

[shebaxric]

Okay, I'm confused. Isn't Wishes a nighttime fireworks extravaganza?? Is it really dark at 6:00 at night? I hope you do find the beach and that Pal Mickey is there on a lounge chair with a drink in one hand and a red head sitting by his side....

I'd love to know how the food at Kona is. I've been wanting to go there for a while, and DH doesn't want to do the breakfast and the lovely Tonga Toast I've heard so much about.

[Peter Panic Attack]

Originally Posted by shebaxric

Okay, I'm confused. Isn't Wishes a nighttime fireworks extravaganza?? Is it really dark at 6:00 at night? I hope you do find the beach and that Pal Mickey is there on a lounge chair with a drink in one hand and a red head sitting by his side....

I'd love to know how the food at Kona is. I've been wanting to go there for a while, and DH doesn't want to do the breakfast and the lovely Tonga Toast I've heard so much about.

Yup....in December it's dark at 6:00 pm. I think sundown is a little before 5:30 in fact.

You'll just have to tune in for my next chapter to find out all the juicy details. I will tell you that I really enjoyed the food at Kona. The ambience left a little to be desired however......at least it did in the area that we were seated. So if that's a big deal to you....be forewarned. Tinkershell had her best dessert of the trip here.....but I can't tell you which one....because that would ruin the surprise.

[luvngoofy]

Oh, I am not feeling goods vibes for you! I hope I am wrong.
You are doing great with all these cliff hangers!

Can't wait to hear about Kona. We will be there soon!

[luvdumbo]

I hope you find him as they stopped selling pal mickeys and he is not easily replaced

[Peter Panic Attack]

Originally Posted by luvngoofy

Oh, I am not feeling goods vibes for you! I hope I am wrong.
You are doing great with all these cliff hangers!

Can't wait to hear about Kona. We will be there soon!

To be honest.....I'm not feeling good vibes either. Although, a lot of good it does me now. Where were all these vibes when I needed them?

Seems to be quite a bit of interest in Kona.....I'll have to try to remember to be more descriptive about the food.....instead of spending twenty minutes talking about the flatware.

Originally Posted by luvdumbo

I hope you find him as they stopped selling pal mickeys and he is not easily replaced

I can't imagine what Disney was thinking when they discontinued Pal Mickey. I've heard he is being replaced by something for the nintendo ds. Yeah right.....like you can play "I spy" on the bus on the way to the parks with a nintendo ds.

[erinch]

The decor at the Kona always reminds me of the coffee shop at the Dearborn Hyatt in the 80s before they did away with it.

For years we'd read guidebooks: try the Tonga Toast! Try the Tonga Toast! The Tonga Toast is worth a trip to Orlando from Paris! Or anyplace else. So, finally, one day, when staying at the AKL, with a soul-filling early morning view of Giraffes and those big cowthings with the big horns, we left the Savannah, and piled into the car, just me and hubbyguy, leaving the kids sleeping, and drove to the Poly, and explained to the gruff-but-gruff parking guy why we were there, and yes, we knew that if we thought it was a way to get out of parking at the TTC we could expect to be towed, and waded through passels of wild things imitating Stitch, and arrived at Kona for TONGA TOAST!! We thought the TT was overrated and overpriced, compared to a room-toasted bagel and room-brewed coffee for cheap, sitting on our balcony communing with cowthings, but maybe the TT was wonderful and it was just that we were smack-dab in the middle of Kona. I didn't feel the magic.

[DisneyChristian]

great job on the new chapters!

[scoot241]

Originally Posted by Peter Panic Attack

I can't imagine what Disney was thinking when they discontinued Pal Mickey. I've heard he is being replaced by something for the nintendo ds. Yeah right.....like you can play "I spy" on the bus on the way to the parks with a nintendo ds.

I haven't heard anything about the DS in a while. They were testing DS units in the parks at some point. If I understood correctly, you'd have to rent a DS with the special equipment though. If you already have a DS, you're out of luck and still have to rent one. These tests may be over though.

I just bought a gently used PM on eBay. Overpaid a little bit but I think my DD will enjoy it. The things we do for our offspring...

[Peter Panic Attack]

Chpt 44 - Wishes at the Poly

In case you’ve just joined us. We were on the last night of our WDW vacation....which coincidentally just happens to be our last chance to catch Wishes. We jumped on the monorail and headed for the Poly.....leaving MK....and common sense safely behind. As we rounded the tracks....I tried to remember exactly what I had read on the Disboards about watching Wishes from the Poly beach. I seemed to recall something about going to the left of the boat dock.....where there were supposed to be speakers that piped in the Wishes music......although I was having a little trouble concentrating because I couldn’t get the mental picture of Gerald Ford wearing one of those Rockette ostrich feather headdresses out of my mind. Anyway, as we approached the stop for the TTC....I made the snap decision to exit there..... instead of riding the monorail all the way to the Polynesian Resort....because earlier in the day I had noticed that the Poly beach was just to the left of the ferry boat dock at the TTC.

Ok.....here’s the problem. This was all taking too much time...and it was getting pretty close to the time when Wishes was supposed to start. We tried walking down to the waters edge at the TTC and then cutting across to the Poly Beach but it was all blocked off with electrified fences topped with razor wire. I have no idea what's going on down there....but apparently its hush-hush. In fact, we got yelled at by some security guard from his little glass house....who I'm pretty sure fired a warning shot across our bow. After we explained our dilemma, he released me from his choke-hold and told us that we would have to walk back up to the top of the TTC area and then cut through the Poly Parking lot.

At this point, my life was in serious danger....because a quick check of the trusty wristwatch indicated that it was nearly showtime. We finally made it to the Poly resort grounds...but it was dark and confusing with trails wandering off in all directions. Plus, I was being distracted by a very vivid memory of being pulled out of a warm bath into a blinding light by a tall man in a white coat who then proceeded to smack my bottom. Oh my gosh! Was that my life flashing before my eyes? That can’t be a good sign. This had only happened to me once before when I had bet a highschool buddy that I could swim to the other side of a small lake....and was only half way across when I realized I was wrong. Did I die? Well, you are probably assuming I didn't because I'm writing this TR. Then again, you probably didn't realize Bruce Willis was dead the whole time in the Sixth Sense either...now didja.

Anyway, we finally emerged onto the Poly beach.....on the far right hand side....just to the left of the ferry boat dock.....with a couple of minutes to spare. Man, now that had been a close shave. Tinkershell and I grabbed a couple of vacant lounge chairs while the kids plopped down in the sand. By the way, at what age do people start looking for chairs instead of plopping down on the ground? That’s what I wanted to know. You start out in life spending most of your time on the ground.....crawling and rolling and playing.....and then end your life trying to stay off the ground......because if you’re on the ground something bad has happened....and you’re left wishing that you hadn’t been too proud to carry that life-alert gadget somebody had given you last Christmas....because now you’ve fallen and you can’t get up.

Actually, I could have told you the exact age it happened for me.....except my life stopped flashing before my eyes as soon as we caught sight of the beach. In fact, I had only gotten to the part where I was about five years old....and I sat on my grandmother’s cellophane-covered birthday cake that my mom had placed on the floor in the backseat of our car. I knew the cake was there when we started the trip....but then my older sister started telling me a funny story and I lost track of where I was. When my mom carried the cake into Grandma’s party, it had two deep distinct little butt-cheek imprints in the top of it. "Happy Birthday Grandma! I hope you enjoy your butt cake. Love, Peter".

Anyway, it was 6:00 sharp.....so cue the music. Hmmmm, that’s odd. Where’s the music? We started to see tiny fireworks off across the bay....but where was the beautiful Wishes score that was supposed to accompany our tiny fireworks? Which lead me to my next question. Why were the fireworks so tiny? So we all sat there in silence....without any Wishes music....and watched tiny fireworks across the bay. At this point, it was pitch dark on the Poly beach, but I was pretty sure that Tinkershell was feeling around her lounge chair for any type of a large rock that she could bludgeon me with......because it was time to pay the piper. There was nothing I could do about it........I was a dead man walking.

In retrospect, here’s what I think happened.....I’m a moron. But to be more specific, I think that when people on the Disboards were talking about finding a spot on the Poly beach to the left of the boat docks where you could hear the Wishes music, they were referring to the Poly boat dock....not the ferry boat dock. As for the tiny fireworks, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe the beach curves towards the MK so severely that the Poly boat dock is way closer to the fireworks than the TTC boat dock......or maybe they've equiped it with some type of giant magnifying glass that allows you to actually see the fireworks without squinting. I just can’t be sure. Anyway, the kids didn’t seem to mind.....they had a blast playing on the beach. Unfortunately, Tinkershell didn't want sand castles. She wanted Wishes.

Tiny fireworks? What tiny fireworks?


Anyway, we still had our ADR at the Kona Café. My only chance of survival rested in the hope that Tinkershell would find dinner so enjoyable that she would forget her murderous intentions. I was right about one thing.....we did have a very short walk to the restaurant, which was conveniently located on the second floor of the Poly. I briefly considered pointing this out to Tinkershell.....but then thought better of it. I think it was the wild look in her eyes that made me change my mind......that, and the fact that somewhere along the beach she had picked up a large stick.....and was slowly and lovingly wittling one end down to a nasty sharp tip.

After we checked in with the Kona hostess, we took our reservation doo-hickey back outside the restaurant to find a bench along the wall. Tinkershell was too agitated to sit.....so she paced back and forth by the 2nd floor railing.....occasionally glaring in my direction.....as she muttered darkly and repeatedly smashed her fist into her palm. I excused myself to use the restroom, hoping to find a small window that I could crawl through and slip safely into the night. Nuts.....tight as a drum! I briefly considered scrawling a plea for help on the mirror over the sink.....but Tinkershell would see that move coming a mile away....plus I still couldn't remember the number for 911. If only Pal Mickey were here.....I could have sent him through the air vents for help.....like a little furry Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. But Pal Mickey was gone. It was at that point that I accepted my fate.....and a deep peace settled over me as I rejoined my family outside the restaurant. Because, it was at this point that I knew that soon I would be reunited with Pal Mickey.

Eventually, our reservation doo-hickey thingamajiggy started to vibrate and flash....which was Kona’s subtle announcement that our table was ready. After we were seated, waitress so-and-so came up and introduced herself....and then asked us if we wanted to start with some drinks. Of course, drinks! Why hadn’t I thought of this earlier. Maybe a couple of drinks would change Tinkershell’s perspective on this whole Wishes fiasco. It had certainly done the trick on the night when I proposed marriage to her....because her initial reaction of "over my dead body" had somehow magically transformed into "til death do us part."

Anyway, after a couple of pre-dinner cocktails (I made the martinis triple-strength......and she feels wonderful), Tinkershell ordered the filet mignon and I had one of the best teriyaki steaks I had ever eaten. Then again, since it was technically my last meal.....you may want to take that review with a grain of salt. For I have heard that your senses are heightened when you are facing imminent death....which I certainly was on that particular evening. And then a miracle happened. Tinkershell was served the kahlua torte for dessert....and she loved it so much that she forgot to murder me for making her miss Wishes. I don’t know what they put in that dessert, but apparently one of the ingredients was forgiveness.

Next up: Chpt 45 - Heading for home

[Peter Panic Attack]

Originally Posted by erinch

The decor at the Kona always reminds me of the coffee shop at the Dearborn Hyatt in the 80s before they did away with it.

For years we'd read guidebooks: try the Tonga Toast! Try the Tonga Toast! The Tonga Toast is worth a trip to Orlando from Paris! Or anyplace else. So, finally, one day, when staying at the AKL, with a soul-filling early morning view of Giraffes and those big cowthings with the big horns, we left the Savannah, and piled into the car, just me and hubbyguy, leaving the kids sleeping, and drove to the Poly, and explained to the gruff-but-gruff parking guy why we were there, and yes, we knew that if we thought it was a way to get out of parking at the TTC we could expect to be towed, and waded through passels of wild things imitating Stitch, and arrived at Kona for TONGA TOAST!! We thought the TT was overrated and overpriced, compared to a room-toasted bagel and room-brewed coffee for cheap, sitting on our balcony communing with cowthings, but maybe the TT was wonderful and it was just that we were smack-dab in the middle of Kona. I didn't feel the magic.

We've never tried the tonga toast. In fact, we rarely do anything breakfast related at WDW. I agree, visually the Kona Cafe is not very interesting. Our dinner was very tasty though.

Originally Posted by DisneyChristian

great job on the new chapters!

Thank you very much....and now I'm curious to know what you edited.

Originally Posted by scoot241

I haven't heard anything about the DS in a while. They were testing DS units in the parks at some point. If I understood correctly, you'd have to rent a DS with the special equipment though. If you already have a DS, you're out of luck and still have to rent one. These tests may be over though.

I just bought a gently used PM on eBay. Overpaid a little bit but I think my DD will enjoy it. The things we do for our offspring...

"The things we do for our offspring".....aint that the truth. Wise decision on the Pal Mickey though......just keep him on a leash.

[wdwlovin'family]

Well Peter, now you've learned your lesson. And maybe, just maybe, on your next December trip, you will let Tinkershell see Wishes with a "in front of the castle" view. You might even have to pay pennance and stake out a prime seat 90 min in advance while the rest of your family visits House of Presidents or something. Or, maybe you should take her on that Wishes fireworks cruise. I'm just saying -- I think you owe it to her. To bad they aren't offering that Wishes fireworks dessert party during your upcoming trip.

[Peter Panic Attack]

Originally Posted by wdwlovin'family

Well Peter, now you've learned your lesson. And maybe, just maybe, on your next December trip, you will let Tinkershell see Wishes with a "in front of the castle" view. You might even have to pay pennance and stake out a prime seat 90 min in advance while the rest of your family visits House of Presidents or something. Or, maybe you should take her on that Wishes fireworks cruise. I'm just saying -- I think you owe it to her. To bad they aren't offering that Wishes fireworks dessert party during your upcoming trip.

See.....I think that's my problem. I keep forgetting to learn my lesson. By the way, don't give Tinkershell any ideas about making me save a spot for Wishes. She's pretty much forgotten about the whole thing. I think being married to me forces her to have a short memory....otherwise it would become overwhelming.

[shebaxric]

Next time, try to get on the boat that launches from MK to the Poly!! It's a good thing that Tinkershell didn't murder you, otherwise I don't think you'd be writing this trip report in the same way you are today. I'm also glad to hear that Kona was a success. I've heard many TR's sing the praises of Kona's breakfast, but not too many on the dinner side. I think I'd like to try it for lunch, this was my one stipulation to DH that we have at least one sit down meal while we are there, so Kona would be it. Do you have any other suggestions of a place that I should really try?

P.S. Sad that you are on your way home already....

[Connie96]

Hi Peter. You had me at the Introduction. Subscribing and going back to catch up.