Part 11, still day 5, Monday March 27
We left the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater with visions of colorful costumes, friendly cast members, and real-life Hades autographs. Oh yeah, we had those 24 FastPasses, too. It was almost enough to skip down the ramp onto Sunset Blvd! The CookMasterexcuse me,
The Magiciansays she knows someone is having a great time when they cannot resist the urge to skip! Admit it: youve skipped at Disney. Maybe not by yourself as an adult, but youve done it. Its too much excitement to contain your stride to a walk. The CookMaster and family plan to come back to MGM the next day (our familys break-from-the-parks day) to get to work on the FastPasses.
Your comments and envy have given me much to ponder. I keep thinking about The Magicians friend she worked with---shell kill me for this---twenty years ago at Opryland theme park. She remembers him well; they had a good friendship and worked hard together. I just find it wonderful that this friend, now a Disney cast member, was so generous in helping a friend he had not seen in years! Truly, the CookMaster was stunned and humbled by the magic he worked for us. We all were, of course. In watching, though, I realized how much this CM respected and had missed my friend. He wanted to do this for her because she is the kind of person you never forget. She loves and gives freely, so he was excited to do something for her. Im sure thats it. Weall eight of uswere the beneficiaries of a friendship that began 20 years ago! He also did it because he is proud of his role as cast member. You could just see his pleasure in arranging meet-and-greets for us. I sensed he loves Disney, too, and knows the magic that permeates every cast member. Over and over when we thanked him he beamed and said, My pleasure. And it was.
What do I take from this? Take any chance you get to thank Disney cast members. Its the
people, people, that make us want to vacation in Disney World. The show is fabulous; every cast member has a crucial role. I have read complaints and gripes on these boards but I tell you, I rarely find cast members slacking on the job. One of my smiling moments on this trip happened when we were walking from the Teacups to Pooh in MK. I saw a gentleman brass-polishing a water fountain. Slow and steady, he wanted it to
shine for us! In this water bottle-totin age, I was glad to see someone preparing a shiny image for me and my family, frequent fountain users.
It also reminded to just be nice. I can always work on this one. Again, you never know when someone will need and remember your kindness.
On with the show! We had perfect timing to catch the bus home that afternoon. Actually, the buses were another success on the trip. We had courteous drivers and timely bus stops all week. The kids had a chilly swim in the volcano pool while the CookMaster and I sat in the sunshine. Guess what Shrek and Cledus did??? Napped in that Poly factory air, of course. I was just happy he was happy. I needed him to be in a good mood for the evenings event; its name was spring training baseball!!
**NOTE: this portion of the tr may bore you if you have no interest in baseball. Ill ** again to alert you when we are back to Disney Proper. Back in December when I was planning this trip (one of the three planning months), it occurred to me we might actually be there during spring training. DS12 is a baseball player and laments never attending a MLB game in his long, miserable 12 years. Poor baby! I know spring training is not the same as regular season, but we all love the game so I knew this would be fun. Now, you must know that I spent many years as a long-suffering Braves fan. DH and I both grew up close enough to Atlanta to hear old-timers talk about the big move from Milwaukee. I remember watching (on TV) Hank Aaron hit #714 over the fence. I had a huge crush on Dale Murphy in the 80s and spent manymanymany college nights and weekends in the stands at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. For me, the Braves taught me to love baseball and are the reason I am so glad my son enjoys the game. DH and I have spread this love to our boys, who have become (no flaming or cringing please) lukewarm Yankees fans. Our next door neighbors are Yankees fanatics. Our boys spend a good deal of time with that fine family, so theyve learned to respect the pinstripes.
So you can imagine I was giddy when I showed DH the spring schedule. Look! The Braves play the Yankees while we are there! Its a great night to go! What do you think? He replied: sure, honey. Lets do it.
Its not as easy as I thought it would be. While not quite as difficult as securing Cinderellas Royal Table for breakfast, these seats do go fast. I started calling Ticketmaster the morning the tix went on sale (a Saturday in January) while DH
slept. I was successfulof coursethey dont call me The Fixer for nothingbut we kept it a surprise from the boys. DS6, we knew, would spill the beans to his friend next door and we would never want to foster jealousy. He did go crazy with excitement when we told him the news. It was just the four of us as the Gatelatches couldnt even get seats by the time they decided to Dis!
We took a taxi to WWoS. That place is ginormous! I can see why droves of cheerleaders/soccer players/basketball/lacrosse/football/baseball/swim/cattle-roping/track/etc, etc., teams flock there to play their game. Has Disney ever tried to host the Olympics? Cause Im tellin ya, Ive seen smaller Olympics venues. Well, we Tennessee folks strolled in without or Braves/Yankees hats (I confess I left them at home!!! I actually forgot something! Shoot me now
). We loaded up on non-
DDP stadium junk and settled in to watch the game. It was freezing, OK, cold, that night. I decided I would be miserable without a sweatshirt, so I bought one. All they had left was a mens large so it floats on me, but it kept me from hiding in the restroom and missing the game. It was tough for me to spend that particular $42, but now Im glad I did. Heck, I think the food cost more than that!
The gentleman who took the seat next to me was a lifelong Yankees fan! I thoroughly enjoyed his stories of games and players. For a minute it felt like we were in Yankee Stadium. The family in front of us, we discovered, lives 15 minutes from us here! What a small world. **The Braves came back to win the game afterI confesswe left early due to freezing children. Our cozy beds at the Poly and Baileys-and-coffee in the concierge lounge kept calling our names during the 6th inning. Once again, we were able to enjoy Wishes and the EWP from our room. I fell asleep with TGM, my booklight, and anticipatory sadness about our last full day with the Gatelatch family.
Day 5 Totals
Meltdowns: four
Fights: three, including one each (again!) in the Gatelatch and Fixer marriages. See why our families are such compatible travelers?
Sin and hate: one spell, from me. I found myself drawn to the Villains shop more than once. Kindred spirits, you know
Coming up on Day 6: fishing, concierge lounge observations, and Motel 6?
Were halfway through!
Couldnt you go back to add more????
when she sees them!!!
