The Goofy Identity (Just whose side are you on anyway?) - Compleated!

[KatMark]

Well I believe that the first order of business should be to start gathering intelligence and the best place do that would be Disney’s premier destination…

The Magic Kingdom.

Good choice!



He, who falls behind, gets left behind…

Then somewhere along the way it started to rain.

Rain in Florida? That’s a near daily occurrence in the high summer and it usually lets up after about an hour. Tamara however was prepared as you can see and she tried very hard to get the rest of us to break out ponchos as well, but being guys…

we were having none of it

Of course you would have none of it. Because......

We should probably have listened though.

Why?

You guys are sure slow in figuring that out.


I’m at Disney!!!

The last time I set foot in this park was nearly three years ago so a little bit of rain wasn’t going to dampen my spirits. Besides it was only a little bit of rain.

So happy you finally got back...and sooner than you thought.



There is a sizable amusement park in my hometown that we frequent. When our son was about four years old, he got lost in that park. There was a gigantic climbing structure in one corner of the “kiddie land” at the time and we let him go off on his own to have a bit of fun while we grabbed a bit of “sit-time”. The place was surrounded by a fence and had staff watching for fledglings attempting to fly he coop so we thought we were pretty safe.

Wrong!

After a bit we realized that we could no longer find him anywhere up there and were starting to get a might concerned. At that point, our names got called out over the entire park’s PA system (not good). We were being directed to report to Guest Services. On the up side, their gatekeepers did intercept the wayward waif, but even though we were only a few feet away, the boy didn’t articulate just where we might be. By the time we’d arrived at the main gate, he’d been fairly well spoiled by the staff and was in good spirits. Mom and dad, not so much. Needless to say, we didn’t let him out of our site in any park (much less even a grocery store) for years to come. [/COLOR][/indent][/indent][/indent][/i]

That must have been scary. We lost our oldest, Andy, at Disney his first trip there...he was all of 18 months. It took 10 years off my life. And do you know where he was? He saw Mickey and grabbed his hand and walked outside with him. We found him sitting on a bench with Mickey and Minnie tickling him.

Why did I tell you that story?

To bookend it with the next thing that happened.

Right about the time that we got to the TTA/Astro-Orbiter pavilion, the Good Lord (beng the comedian that he is) ripped a monstrous hole in the sky and every drop of freshwater held in the atmosphere above Orlando commenced to plummet toward earth at the same exact moment. Noah would have been startled by these precipitation rates.

It was here that we got left behind. The boys kept to the code and continued trudging on toward SM and even picked up speed (a reasonable reaction on their part). We on the other hand were over it. But this is also where ‘The Code” became more like guidelines. We weren’t really left behind… we charted a new course. A quick turn to port was executed and we quietly fell into one of the coaches of the TTA…

Oddly we had that entire train to ourselves which made for an even more relaxing ride.

The young’ens had no clue they’d been dumped. Without so much as a word of warning, or even any indication that plans had changed, I outright abandoned my own child in the middle of a driving rainstorm and a crowd of strangers over five hundred miles from home. This was both unsettling and liberating. I’d never even considered such an action prior to this moment, but the fact is… the boy is now legally an adult and unless I’ve failed miserably as a parent, he should be able to figure this out. We weren’t exactly sure what we thought of this but set back and enjoyed the ride around Tomorrowland just the same. Toward the end of the tour Tamara’s phone received a terse message…

“Where are you!”

Which earned the terse response: “TTA”.

Their retort? “So are we.”

To which we returned: “Meet you at the bottom of the ramp.”

Smart plan/move, my friend.

Ain’t technology wonderful?

Yes, yes it is.



We could simple abandon the kids to their fate and head off toward any destination!

Drunk with this new power, mom and dad exercised it on the spot. Unlike the birds that make their home in the nooks around the TTA pavilion, we were now free to and see the world.

And so we did. Where did we fly off to?

Fantasyland of course…
(where else would unencumbered adults head off to)

I can't think of a better place to head to.


Along the way we caught site of a new mountain

I hear it is opening in 2014; I hope it is open by the time we take the newlyweds in August or September of next year.

Easy!

This…

The PhilharMagic is one of our favorite stops along the way. There is a sizable camp that will disagree but for us it’s just not a trip to the Kingdom if you don’t get to see this one. As you can see, the sky was even beginning to clear up a might by now. Inside however, despite the calming décor…

…storms were brewing.
This was because inside there were “People”

Y’all know what I’m talking about here right?

“People” are those folks that are better then you. The ones that don’t feel encumbered by the thought process or feel any responsibility to even contemplate the existence of other life forms. I have a problem with “People”. When a CM politely explains that there are no bad seats and that we all need to move down to completely fill the theater, it’s “People” that seem to say to themselves: “Oh, well that doesn’t mean me!” I actually found myself standing during our last appearance in this very attraction due to the actions of “People”. And it looked like similar specters were on the rise again. But then an interesting thing happened. The CM that had been put in charge of the PhilharMagic turned out to have been raised by a Drill Sargent…

And she wasn’t hearing excuses.


“Everyone please keep moving down.
There are no bad seats and we have a full show.
That means you! This group right here
Yes you, please get up and move down…
Thank you very much, now I need this group here to move also.
Yes, I’m talking to you. This group right here…
please stand up…
and now move on down away from the middle of the row.
Thanks for helping all the other guests that want to enjoy the show…”


As our heroic CM basically called “People” out personally… one at a time… “in front of God and everybody” (as we like to say here down in the South)… Then “People” actually started behaving like “Humans”. It was quite the amazing revelation. Who knew that they were even capable of such?

Too bad they had to be shamed into it.

I would have written a glowing letter to Guest Services; we need more CM's like her!





Once we’d survived the battle between Donald and basically the entire rest of the universe…



Anyway our next thought was to try to catch a ghost or two, but the standby line was just crazy when we got there. A whole lot of folks trying to get out of the rain I suspect. So it must be time for Plan-B.


Food…

The Columbia Harbor House is one of the few Quick Service spots in the MK that never really seems to be all that crowded. And yet, we’d never tried it. This may be partly because the menu can be a smidgen challenging when you have finicky eaters in tow.

Well we had no such problem at the time, so it was high time that we corrected this egregious oversight. Tamara ordered the Lighthouse Sandwich, which is a veggi offering featuring Humus, tomatoes and a broccoli slaw. We both shared bites of that one and it was quite tasty and surprisingly filling as well. I went more simply with the Number-6… basically Fish and Chips. That was also quite good. The fish was very light and the batter was not just an overpowering mass of dough. You could actually taste the delicate fish.

The other great thing about “The Columbia” is that you can climb up above the madness…

And partake of the second dinning room upstairs

This makes the Harbor House one of the roomiest and more importantly, quietist spots in any of the parks. We were even able to find a corner of the room that was virtually empty to have all to ourselves…

I also love how the building gives you the feel of lounging on the tween-deck of a sailing ship. Certainly a bit if themeing that I enjoyed. The only downside is that all of the numerous windows that normally flood the dinning room with sunlight and let you look out onto Liberty Square were all covered over. Actually, the whole building was hidden behind a scrim as the Imagineers were in the process of remodeling the exterior. I’m sure that they’ve since finished the work, but it did make the space a little dark on this rainy afternoon.



Next up: The sun returns…

or am I just turning over disinformation here?
[/CENTER]

So glad you enjoyed Columbia Harbor House. We try to do it once a trip and we always sit upstairs. It is one of the best decorated CS's in the MK (probably was THE best until they opened BOG).

Can't wait to read more.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

If I had a dollar for every time that happened...

Well, y’all are “that family”.

We’ve already ascertained that at least you aren’t “That Family”,but you are “that family”
(and we’re another one, so you’re in good company)

If any of your team is caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

This tape will self-destruct in 5 seconds

Yes, dear.

The phrase that pays…

Yeah, that's just about the worst feeling ever.

No doubt.
At least we got “called out” at just about the same time that we were figuring it out.
Didn’t ease the moment much though…

Because you needed to pad the chapter a bit?

You’ve actually read my previous works…
Do you really think that “padding” has ever been an issue?

Not a bad alternative.

We like the TTA…
Granted, it’s not an indoor roller-coaster, but it is relaxing
(and that that particular moment… dry).

Freedom!

You’ll know all about it someday.
Not soon… but someday.

Did they at least grab SM FastPasses for you?

As one President eloquently put it: “Let me say this about that…”

Ummmm… no. But! That’s OK.
Here’s the deal. Tamara ain’t getting on SM ever again. Myself I like “wild-mouse” type coasters although they can be a bit herky-jerky. They’re not my absolute favorite, but I like them. But when you combine that type of jarring sudden direction change with the disorientation of being in a darkened space, it’s more then she can deal with. Were it just the three of us, Max and I would have made a point to do it. Max had Toncy along this time around and the cars are more suited to pairs of riders. I also didn’t want My Lovely sitting by herself in a driving rain storm on the first day of the trip. So I let that one go. Besides, there are other coasters that I prefer and…
I’ll not be nearly so “magnanimous” once we get over to the dark side…

Just something about that place that bringS out the evil in you.
Buuwwwwhaaahaaahaaahaaa!

Not having to worry about kids? This sounds glorious.

A mixed blessing. It’s harder to get out of your system then you might think (and the kids don’t make it and easier). Tamara is still not so sure about it, but I suspect she’ll come around.

In a decade or two…

Ah. So the mission was accomplished, and no one was disavowed...yet.

Not yet… but the two of them will “choose poorly” in a minute or two and be properly punished for their transgressions. Stay tuned…

Can't wait to see that one open up.

You and me both. Mine-train type coasters are one of my favorite types, and this one has the potential to be very entertaining. Not to mention it will be nice to see something in Fantasyland that gets the older kids (and especially the boys) more excited.

These are the folks that need to be fed to the sharks at Typhoon Lagoon.

Yes, yes they are.
And I know just the man for the job.

Or if you're not a big fan of seafood...

Well you could just go for the veggi offerings

Riiiiight… like that’s gonn’a happen.

That stinks. I know I would enjoy the view from up there.

Timing was against us. There seemed to be a lot of building behind scrims this trip. It is good to see them keeping the place fresh and updated, but you do miss out on a few opportunities here and there.


 

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Great pics!

Thanks!
A few were a bit overexposed (a problem that I have with this particular point-n-shoot camera)
But at least the subject matter generally makes up for the skill levels

Come on now. That isn't how it works at Disney World. If security wants you, they just make you disappear behind a non descript door in the scenery.

K, CYA, BYE!

"Buttons, you silly puppy."

That's the attitude!

Yep. And we’ll really take on an attitude toward the rain in a few days.

“Is that the best ya’ got! Ha!”

Well, you're probably better off trying to ride Space during the monsoon than Thunder.

Probably so…
But as we learn in the next update, Disney has a cure for that problem.

Um... I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I think they were trying to lose you.

Or were we just letting them think it was their decision?
Hummmmm…

And that was a wise decision.

Certainly smarter then say…
Hopping on the COP and getting stuck in the Twenties.

Not that “I” made that mistake mind you…

Fantastic as long as nobody loses their phone on a big rollercoaster.

That tends to put a crimp in things.
But did you know that one does not need a big roller-coaster to successfully lose a cell phone?
Keep that in mind. It might just come again later in the story.

And it might even come up again after that too. :

Well played, CM, well played.

Heroic effort. Absolutely heroic.
They need to loan her out over at Muppet Vision to teach a class in her methods there as well.

Food was Plan B??? I thought food was always supposed to be Plan A????

Well…
Plan-A was Ghosts and then Food.
Plan-B simply reversed the process.

You enjoy that? I would have never guessed.

You only think you’ve got me figured out…

Oh, who am I kidding, that one was an obvious gim’my.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Funny I have said the same thing about people, they do not like to move all the way down. What language will help you understand, Please fill in all available space.

Yah, “People” are strange critters.
If I was to even consider trying some of the arrogant things the “People” do on a regular bases, my Momma would come back from the beyond and tan my hide.

More, more, more. Please...

Why thank you.
I’m not as quick with the updates as some folks around here (especially when work starts interfering at the beginning of each month), but I do try to keep up with the updates as best as I can.

Thanks for reading along and







 

Of course you would have none of it. Because......

We should probably have listened though.

Why?

You guys are sure slow in figuring that out.

Naaaa… I figured that one out years ago.
It’s just more fun to pretend that it ain’t so.


And watch y’all go so riled up

So happy you finally got back...and sooner than you thought.

So are we…
It’s the next time after this one that’s got us concerned.
That may be a while

That must have been scary. We lost our oldest, Andy, at Disney his first trip there...he was all of 18 months. It took 10 years off my life. And do you know where he was? He saw Mickey and grabbed his hand and walked outside with him. We found him sitting on a bench with Mickey and Minnie tickling him.

At least we’re not alone.
Glad you found him and your story is a lot cooler than mine.

I can't think of a better place to head to.

The Imagineers are making every effort to include adults and older kids there.
May that trend continue.

I hear it is opening in 2014; I hope it is open by the time we take the newlyweds in August or September of next year.

I hope so too. I’ll be looking forward to what y’all think of it.
We did get to see the new Little Mermaid ride and spend time at Gaston’s, but I really would have liked to have been able to ride and indoor mine-train.

Oh well, it will almost assuredly be up and running before we get back down that a way.

I would have written a glowing letter to Guest Services; we need more CM's like her!

Ya’ know. I should’a have gotten her name and done just that.
Hate I didn’t think of it at the time.

So glad you enjoyed Columbia Harbor House. We try to do it once a trip and we always sit upstairs. It is one of the best decorated CS's in the MK (probably was THE best until they opened BOG).

We just kept on walking by without paying it much notice.
But we’ll be back.
As for BOG… maybe next time.

Can't wait to read more.

Great, now I have to get busy and actually make up… errrrr… I mean write more.

 

[FlaNani]

Subbing in!! Great so far.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Subbing in!! Great so far.

Glad to have you long for the trip.





Looks like you’ll be back at The World in only a few days.
To that I can only say one thing…



Jealous!

 

[disneykiwi]

hi there

I have come across from Katmark's report to have a nosey on yours.

Really enjoying it - loving the humour - your writing is brilliant.

Looking forward to the rest

thanks

 

[Cruisinskier]

Thought I would join the fun!

Keep it coming....and congrats on 5,000 posts!!!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

hi there

I have come across from Katmark's report to have a nosey on yours.

Really enjoying it - loving the humour - your writing is brilliant.

Looking forward to the rest

thanks

Brilliant?

I don’t know about all that, but I’m certainly glad to have you along for the ride.

To my first ever follower from the southern hemisphere!
Not that I’ve had all that many from that other half of the globe to begin with, but stll…

Thought I would join the fun!

Keep it coming....and congrats on 5,000 posts!!!

Thanks! And …
to you as well.


Let me apologize to both of you (and everyone else for that matter) for not posting anything in a while.
It’s been a might busy down this way for a number of reasons (which I may just discuss in a future post).
I’ll try to put up an actual update to this disaster of a TR in just a bit, but thanks to all for your patience.

I can’t promise it will be rewarded… but I do thank you for having it.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Chapter 2: Infiltration

Part 3: Adapt and Adjust​

​

​

When the plan falls apart in midstream, you’ve really only got two general options. Surrender or improvise. As surrender is normally not the best option, you’re going to have to be willing to abandon wherever it was you thought you were headed and start mapping out a new course. Or you could just rip the map of the wall and use that to find your new direction. Just be aware that any plan, even a well thought out one can lead you into…

shall we say…

unexpected territory.

The rest of our Saturday would be a bit like that. Not that any of our decisions would lead us over the edge of a precipice or anything else that dire. More rather this part of the trip will necessitate several changes in direction. Even to the point where I’ll have to improvise just a bit just to tell the first part of the story.




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Ascending the Mountain

While mom and dad were enjoying a bit of freedom, the boys were taking on their own mission. With SM passes now in hand they decided that the first order of business was to stay out of the torrential poor down until their window opened up. So the question was, where to wait out the storm. There are a number of good attractions in Tomorrowland, but there are also a couple that are more…

Meh…

So first… check out the good ones.

The line for Buzz was a might long and they wanted to wait to see the Laugh Floor until everyone could do it together. They’d just done the TTA and the Astro Orbiter was both a might young for them and currently underwater.

At this point their choices were getting down toward the “meh” range of the scale.

So what won out…

And here I’m beginning my required improvisation for telling the story. The boys were carrying cameras in the way of cellphones, but didn’t think to take very many pictures. Actually I do believe the sum total taken by the both of them during the entire week was… four (and I’ll try to use a couple of them just in this little bit of the story). Needless to say, they didn’t have any images of the COP (or even Space Mountain for that matter) so I’m recycling a picture from a previous TR here (with minor modifications as needed of course).

Aayway, let’s get back to their side of the story…​

If you’ve seen the Carousel of Progress once, there’s probably not a compelling reason to see it again beyond nostalgia. But Toncy had never seen it before and Max was cool with that. More importantly, it wasn’t raining in there. At least not physically. The COP was just about to rain on their parade a bit though. It seems that the mechanism which turns the building on its access decided to squat while they were making the trip through the early part of the twentieth century. Net result, they found themselves stuck in the 20s for a couple of cycles. The technicians got the problem straightened out fairly quick, but the boys found their decision to announce that “The ride will begin moving again in six minutes…”, followed by “The ride will begin moving again in five minutes…” and so on and so forth… continually being announced over top of “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” to be just a might trying on the nerves. But they did arrive in the “future” just in time to see the (“antique”) virtual reality Christmas scene, burnt turkey and all. Better yet, once they escaped form their temporary imprisonment they also found that the rain had subsided a bit and that their FP window was now open.

Time to fly through it…

Another picture pulled out of the archives. The sky in that one even comes close to matching the gloom of the day. ​

The boy’s didn’t have a lot to report about taking on Space Mountain other than to say…

“It was awesome!”

Powerful words there… I see Pulitzer potential in both of them.
They did however report that walking past the 105 minute standby queue also ranked fairly high up on their “scale of awesomeness”.

“It feels out there. I'm... It's a major rush. I mean it doesn't just feel out there, I mean it feels out there. You know? Um, kinda radical in a kinda tubular way. You know? But most of all it's out there.” ​

Hopeless… utterly hopeless


With Space now explored it was time for some food. The young’ens decided to keep to the Futureland theme and dropped in to Cosmic Ray’s for a couple of Disney QS burgers. Both meals came with a bit of chocolate cake as the desert course and it was here that my boy decided that a picture needed to be taken…

It’s a bit blurry (cellphones do that from time to time) but it conveys the message of the point he wanted to make. That being: colored sugar sprinkles are nice and all, and mickey shaped ones are even better, but if you’re only going to put seven of them on an entire cupcake… why bother.

While nibbling on the burgers and laughing at the state of automated personal sized cake decoration that the future apparently had in store for all of us, they encountered something that is not uncommon at Disney but fairly rare otherwise. A person tasked with a job that most would consider mundane or even mind numbing who was have an excellent time of it and making others smile while he was at it.

It’s hard to make out from that nondescript cellphone image, but what this particular CM is up to is washing the windows in and around Cosmic Ray’s fine culinary establishment. A necessary job, but not that entertaining. Unless every time you suds-up one of the panes of glass you then also take a moment to finger-paint a picture for whoever happens to be setting on the other side of the window. Mickey heads were a favorite, but Max said that at one point he sketched up a very fine rendition of Stitch and even had the style of the script down pat for the caption below it. The little drawings would make whoever happened to be looking in his direction smile for just a minute and them he’d diligently squeegee the panel squeaky clean and move on to the next expanse of glass.




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E Ticket Rides

It’s interesting to see what required a coveted “E Ticket” in order to gain access back in the day. One of those attractions is sadly no longer with us (unless you count the wreck of one of the subs at the bottom of the snorkeling lagoon at Castaway Cay). A couple others are also no longer anywhere near the top of a good percentage of folks “must do lists”. But there are those that are timeless and are never to be missed if it can possibly be helped.

The boys met us outside the Columbia House and offered to run over and grab some FPs for Big Thunder (something that would have been an E-Tick had it existed back then). The plan was to get the passes and meet them for a bit of Ghost hunting. While they were gone we ducked into one of the shops for just a moment and then emerged to find that the rain had returned in earnest. That’s didn’t bode well for part of the mission. Sure enough the kids arrived and reported that apparently, you can’t ride BTMRR in the rain (who’d a thunk) and that they weren’t even offering fast-passes for later on. The whole thing actually looked like an abandoned mine. OK, that won’t be happening today, but nothing short of a mass power outage would keep us out of the granddaddy of all E-Ticket rides and probably the finest Dark-Ride ever built…

The Haunted Mansion,,,

Like any magical space… it’s bigger on the inside then the outside. That’s the perception anyway. Of course no one ever actually enters the mansion (but wouldn’t it make a really cool place to put another TS restaurant). On this coast not even the stretching rooms are inside the show façade. You enter “Gracie Manner” via what would really be the basement and the bulk of the attraction exists in parts of the park that are generally off-limits to the paying public. Recent upgrades however included some things that were completely new to us. Things like the “Interactive Queue”. And just as we got up to the dividing line the rain again subsided for a bit so we took a quick left and roamed the this new area while the opportunity presented itself…

Notice how much dryer momma is compared to her son there?
I told ya’ that she was smarter than us.


Continuing on…

And of course you have to take a minute to look over the old graveyard with its nods to the staff that actually designed the attraction…

Moments later Madame Leota winked at us and we were ushered into the foyer and once again urged to drag our worthless bodies away from the walls in into the dead center of the room…


You do know to stand near Daisy de la Cruz if given a choice, right?




So we took a leisurely ride in a Doombuggy built for two, once again encountered Pepper’s Ghosts, and were even accosted by the newer computer generated versions of these specters. Now it was time to move on…

…to the home of two more of the original e-ticket experiences. But there is one bit of overt disinformation n that last picture. It’s dry… Such was not the case as the sky had spring another leak just as we rounded the turn as Pecos Bill’s. That is another in my series of images from older TR unused up to now. On the up side we were headed toward an attraction that is basically indoors…

Pirates of the Caribbean


Even if you’ve seen it a hundred times (which in my case is a distinct possibility), you just gott’a love this old classic… excuse me… “updated” classic.

And actually it had been updated farther since I last saw it. The “ghostly waterfall” is still there, but Blackbeard now issues the threats and warnings rather than Davy Jones (or at least that’s true of the Orlando version of the attraction). Another change is the inclusion of a mermaid’s skeleton amongst the other sentinels keeping watch in the grotto. Around here you should also keep an eye on the water around the boat. You my catch a glimpse of some slightly more animated version of the species moving swiftly through the gloom and broaching the surface as well

Sorry... no pictures of these new updates. But…

I found where someone else was kind enough to put up a video of these supposedly mythical creatures.






After making the voyage through the Caribbean (and more importantly… through the gift shop) it was time for something not so completely different. Something else that included boats on underwater tracks, animatronics and even treasure. But this E-ticket also equipped with the backside of water and innumerable awful jokes and puns…

The Jungle Cruise is an E-Ticket that a good number of folks will argue may have dropped considerably in the ticket alphabet. Myself, I like the bad jokes. Not mention it’s one of the spots in the park where the individual CM has a lot of opportunity to enhance the attraction. Getting a good “Skipper”, can most certainly “plus” the experience on this ride.

We got a good Skipper.

Unfortunately, that’s the only picture I got and it was the boat ahead of us. Wish I remembered the name of the boat we had so I could figure out who was the driver that evening, because she did a fine job. You can either walk through the motions or you can take time to play the part and know your material. She went the extra mile. I even heard a few groaners and zingers that were new (to my ears at least). There were of course the tried and tested standards (paraphrased as best as I remember them of course)…


“We’re coming up on a blind curve in the river…. This could lead us to more danger….. This could lead to a dead end……. Or...it might be like everything else here, and lead us to another gift shop.”

Or…

“That is the famed Schwietzer Falls....... named after the famous scientist… Doctor Albert Falls……not going to say much more about it right now.....we will go over it later.”

Or…

“Does anyone know what the difference between the crocodiles and alligators are?
The crocodiles are made of plastic ........ alligators are made with fiberglass……..

I'm not trying to be educational here, we're not at Epcot."

Here’s one I don’t believe I’ve heard before but maybe y’all have.
As we drifted into the hippo pool…

"One little, two little, three little hippos…
Four little, five little, ***shoots pistol*** four little hippos."


But for us the one that stuck out as rather new went something like this…

“The lions really like it when they catch a zebra. The zebras not so much of course, but the lions see it as a meat Smörgåsbord…… white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, TAIL!”




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Quests




After returning back to civilization form weeks of exploring the rivers of the world, we decided that we’d had about enough of the rain and that it was time to take on a different adventure. Besides… we’d be back in this park again, and several times for that matter. The plan for the rest of the evening (besides getting some dry clothes and a bit of dinner) was to let the boys get into something new. So we headed back down Main Street toward “Bus World”…

Now observant TR readers will notice from that image of City Hall that the sky looks pretty clear now and we probably ought to have stayed a bit longer and gotten into a few more things.

And they probably right.

Observant DisDads on the other hand… will immediately notice that I apparently walked right by Aloha Isle without stopping for a Dole Whip and that would constitute a major error.

And they’re even more correct.

To compound the infraction, I even had “liquid means” to “fortify” the experience on my person at the time and I still walked right by. That was a huge mistake but I figured that I’d correct it later on in the week… that assumption turned out to be a humongous mistake…

***sigh***

…now I have to go back and correct that gross error in judgment as well.



Anyway… we did catch the bus back to POR (but someone please tell me just why is it that no matter what resort I stay at, the bus stop for that particular spot is always the farthest away from the attraction being exited?). After getting back to the room, we got dried off and cleaned up we then started on our next quest of the evening… getting to the dining hall. As I’ve said, Riverside is a beautiful resort. But it’s also a large one with trails that purposely meander hither and yon. When you’re a bit tired from a long day, that little hike is not necessarily what you really want to be dealing with. In truth, the walk was no more than ten or fifteen minutes, but it just seemed longer.

Grub grabbed… it was time to hike back to the room and then head over to DTD. We could have caught the bus while we were at the main building, but we needed to collect up a few things that were not brought along. Poor planning, that. From there it was another walk to the North Depot and then a rather longish ride over to the West Side…

Why the far side of DTD?

So the boys could partake of the offerings at Disney Quest.

When you purchase one of the Mouse’s package stays, one of the little extras that they toss in along with the room and tickets are a couple of free passes to some of the smaller venues that often get bypassed or overlooked. And we’ve certainly bypassed this particular spot many a time, but it seemed that unlimited videogames may just be what two boys celebrating their successful escape from the confines of high school would enjoy at that moment. Being as we were down there partly for them and we did have the passes in hand, they got to partake of the experience.

The young’ens made sure to hit the you-design-it virtual roller coaster fairly early. Their assessment of that was: “cool, but the real thing is still way better” I was pleased to hear them say that to be sure (otherwise I could have just stayed at home and not spent the money). One of the two things they enjoyed most about spending a few hours at Quest was simply the fact that they never had to drop a coin or a token into any of the contraptions to get them bleeping, buzzing or whirring (although some were out of order or in less than pristine condition, but that’s to be expected with any “arcade”). The other thing they considered to be a prize was that there actually is a “Wreck it Ralph” video game and that they could play it all they wanted.


And that is exactly what they did…

Once they’d had their fill and mom and dad had completed a leisurely stroll of the rest of Downtown, the reunited clan made one more longish bus ride back to POR. Two things were true at this point. The obvious one was that we were in for the evening. The other one was a conscious decision that we were also done with the bus system (for the rest of this trip anyway). It was time to answer a simple question. Could I navigate the world on my own as well or possibly better then Disney’s vaunted corps of diesel land barges?





Next up: Just remember: “Every Person Comes Out Tired”)
​

 

[KatMark]

What a fun update Bob.

I'm glad I am NOT the only person who thinks one time on the Carousel of Progress is enough.

I'm with your son...why so scarce with the sprinkles?

I think Big Thunder would be fun in the rain...what a bunch of spoilsports.

You can never go wrong with Haunted Mansion, Johnny Depp and a cruise in the jungle.

Disney Quest! Haven't been there since the year it opened. Every year after it opened we told the kids they closed it down because it didn't go over well. I know...we are bad parents.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

When the plan falls apart in midstream, you’ve really only got two general options. Surrender or improvise.

Never give up! Never surrender!

Even to the point where I’ll have to improvise just a bit just to tell the first part of the story.

Does that mean "just make something up"?

There are a number of good attractions in Tomorrowland, but there are also a couple that are more…

Meh…

Needless to say, they didn’t have any images of the COP (or even Space Mountain for that matter) so I’m recycling a picture from a previous TR here (with minor modifications as needed of course).

Seems like the need for documentation only becomes apparent once you have kids of your own. Anyway, the modifications are seamless!

If you’ve seen the Carousel of Progress once, there’s probably not a compelling reason to see it again beyond nostalgia.

The argument has been made that there's not really a compelling reason to see it.

The boy’s didn’t have a lot to report about taking on Space Mountain other than to say…

“It was awesome!”

Powerful words there… I see Pulitzer potential in both of them.

Both meals came with a bit of chocolate cake as the desert course and it was here that my boy decided that a picture needed to be taken…

Because this is way more photogenic than anything the Imagineers created.

A person tasked with a job that most would consider mundane or even mind numbing who was have an excellent time of it and making others smile while he was at it.

Very cool.

It’s interesting to see what required a coveted “E Ticket” in order to gain access back in the day. One of those attractions is sadly no longer with us (unless you count the wreck of one of the subs at the bottom of the snorkeling lagoon at Castaway Cay). A couple others are also no longer anywhere near the top of a good percentage of folks “must do lists”. But there are those that are timeless and are never to be missed if it can possibly be helped.

And then there's the Country Bear Jamboree, which we can't really explain here.

The Haunted Mansion,,,

The ride schematics are very cool, by the way.

Notice how much dryer momma is compared to her son there?
I told ya’ that she was smarter than us.

Regarding the Pirates ride, I hadn't heard of the mermaids in the water. I guess I need to go back now.

But this E-ticket also equipped with the backside of water and innumerable awful jokes and puns…

Not mention it’s one of the spots in the park where the individual CM has a lot of opportunity to enhance the attraction. Getting a good “Skipper”, can most certainly “plus” the experience on this ride.

That really makes all the difference.

Here’s one I don’t believe I’ve heard before but maybe y’all have.
As we drifted into the hippo pool…

"One little, two little, three little hippos…
Four little, five little, ***shoots pistol*** four little hippos."

“The lions really like it when they catch a zebra. The zebras not so much of course, but the lions see it as a meat Smörgåsbord…… white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, dark meat, white meat, TAIL!”

You got an awesome skipper.

Observant DisDads on the other hand… will immediately notice that I apparently walked right by Aloha Isle without stopping for a Dole Whip and that would constitute a major error.

You WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!

To compound the infraction, I even had “liquid means” to “fortify” the experience on my person at the time and I still walked right by. That was a huge mistake but I figured that I’d correct it later on in the week… that assumption turned out to be a humongous mistake…

***sigh***

YOU WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

…now I have to go back and correct that gross error in judgment as well.

No, I'm sorry. We may need to confiscate your tickets for this offense.

The young’ens made sure to hit the you-design-it virtual roller coaster fairly early. Their assessment of that was: “cool, but the real thing is still way better” I was pleased to hear them say that to be sure (otherwise I could have just stayed at home and not spent the money).

Truth.

 

[afwdwfan]

As surrender is normally not the best option, you’re going to have to be willing to abandon wherever it was you thought you were headed and start mapping out a new course.

Surrender is really not an option at all anyway.

I’m recycling a picture from a previous TR here (with minor modifications as needed of course).

y
“It was awesome!”

Powerful words there… I see Pulitzer potential in both of them.

Hey, short, sweet and to the point!

They did however report that walking past the 105 minute standby queue also ranked fairly high up on their “scale of awesomeness”.

Suckers!

It’s a bit blurry (cellphones do that from time to time) but it conveys the message of the point he wanted to make. That being: colored sugar sprinkles are nice and all, and mickey shaped ones are even better, but if you’re only going to put seven of them on an entire cupcake… why bother.

Good point.

The little drawings would make whoever happened to be looking in his direction smile for just a minute and them he’d diligently squeegee the panel squeaky clean and move on to the next expanse of glass.

Just another case of a CM making some magic out of an ordinary task!

but nothing short of a mass power outage

Be careful what you say. You just might get it.

That is another in my series of images from older TR unused up to now.

At least this TR will be considered to be "green" with all this recycling!

After making the voyage through the Caribbean (and more importantly… through the gift shop)

Don't tell me you made it through that gift shop without any sword fights breaking out.

Getting a good “Skipper”, can most certainly “plus” the experience on this ride.

I've been lucky in that department my past few cruises.

Here’s one I don’t believe I’ve heard before but maybe y’all have.
As we drifted into the hippo pool…

"One little, two little, three little hippos…
Four little, five little, ***shoots pistol*** four little hippos."

Of all of the jokes you posted, this is the only one that I don't think I've heard. I love it though!!!

That was a huge mistake but I figured that I’d correct it later on in the week… that assumption turned out to be a humongous mistake…

Uh oh...

The other one was a conscious decision that we were also done with the bus system (for the rest of this trip anyway).

Once you drive, you never want to rely on the bus again.

It was time to answer a simple question. Could I navigate the world on my own as well or possibly better then Disney’s vaunted corps of diesel land barges?

Well, the average person can do that easily... but then there's you.

Next up: Just remember: “Every Person Comes Out Tired”)

Ah... so it was your Animal Kingdom day then.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I'm glad I am NOT the only person who thinks one time on the Carousel of Progress is enough.

Oh, you’re not alone.
(but… it is markedly superior to Stitch’s Great Escape )

I'm with your son...why so scarce with the sprinkles?

I suspect automation is the culprit here.
But it gave them something to fuss over, and you know how young’ens like to put up a fuss.

I think Big Thunder would be fun in the rain...what a bunch of spoilsports.

They purposely throw water on you right next door, so it seems a poor choice to me as well.

You can never go wrong with Haunted Mansion, Johnny Depp and a cruise in the jungle.

I must concur.

Disney Quest! Haven't been there since the year it opened. Every year after it opened we told the kids they closed it down because it didn't go over well. I know...we are bad parents.

Bad? I’d say more like brilliant!
Wish I’d have thought of that ploy.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Never give up! Never surrender!

by Grabthar's hammer... by the Suns of Warvan... you shall be... avenged.

Does that mean "just make something up"?

Works for a fair number of other DisDads

Seems like the need for documentation only becomes apparent once you have kids of your own. Anyway, the modifications are seamless!

I should’a used my scrawl font to really enhance the experience.

The argument has been made that there's not really a compelling reason to see it.

And it’s a valid argument to be sure.

Because this is way more photogenic than anything the Imagineers created.

You’re just about to become the parent of a growing succession of teenagers.
Keep us informed on the quality of their decisions…
Should be quite entertaining.

Very cool.

I like good CM stories.
It’s so rare that work-a-day employees go out of their way anymore just to make others smile.

And then there's the Country Bear Jamboree, which we can't really explain here.

In order to save their sanity, Einstein and Hawking both were forced gave up trying to figure that one out and had to settle for far less mentally taxing careers.

The ride schematics are very cool, by the way.

Thanks…
I’ve got an enlarged version of it if you’re interested.
I’d also recommend rummaging around on that site I linked in the story line.
Some really cool stuff to be learned over there.

Regarding the Pirates ride, I hadn't heard of the mermaids in the water. I guess I need to go back now.

Me either. It came as quite a surprise when I noticed them in the water. The soundtrack is now different in this part of the ride as well… adds a good bit of eeriness to the experience.

Ya’ gott’a love the back side of water

You got an awesome skipper.

Yes… yes we did.

You WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!

YOU WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

No, I'm sorry. We may need to confiscate your tickets for this offense.

Truth.

It’s good to know we’re not spending all those bucks for nothing.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Surrender is really not an option at all anyway.

Certainly not an acceptable one.

Hey, short, sweet and to the point!

They from the texting generation… Never write a coherent sentence or speak to the person sitting across the table when texting a three or four character meme will do just as well.

Suckers!

I believe that pretty much sums up the experience.

Good point.

They just felt that you needed to know

Just another case of a CM making some magic out of an ordinary task!

And why it that kind of think so common at Disney yet so rare nearly everywhere else?

At least this TR will be considered to be "green" with all this recycling!

I’ve got images form seven or so trips to The World that predate my discovering the joys of assaulting random strangers with pointless monolog. I may have to start tossing out even more of that stuff.

Thanks for the suggestion there Nemmi

Don't tell me you made it through that gift shop without any sword fights breaking out.

Sword fight… in the middle of the gift shop…
I don’t know what you’re talking about…

I've been lucky in that department my past few cruises.

And that’s a good thing.

Of all of the jokes you posted, this is the only one that I don't think I've heard. I love it though!!!

I like the Skippers that will take a bit of a chance with the story line.
But there are subjects that are considered a firing offence so there’s a fine balance that the driver has to maintain between a good laugh and a good “Disney Approved” laugh. That joke might be pushing it a bit, but I’m glad that they let it stand.

Uh oh...

Uh oh, indeed.
That was such a gross error that I’ll even give you a free insult without retaliation.
I deserve it.

Well, the average person can do that easily... but then there's you.

And that was it
We’re square now.

Once you drive, you never want to rely on the bus again.

Spoiler alert…

Ah... so it was your Animal Kingdom day then.

Yah, we’re spending the entire day in Camp Minnie-Mickey .
You go on over there and wait for us.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I really like how you are including the blueprints /. maps of the attractions in the posts.

Now to momentarily interrupt this thread to give some instructions. Agent x find Agent K and perform a number 8. That is all everyone else man ingore this part.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I really like how you are including the blueprints /. maps of the attractions in the posts.

Now to momentarily interrupt this thread to give some instructions. Agent x find Agent K and perform a number 8. That is all everyone else man ingore this part.

"Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne…"

Thanks, and I'm glad you’re still following along!
Basically a haphazard attempt to tie my pointless dribble back to the unrelated introduction.
I have to add something semi-interesting to my updates to make up for their less than stellar prose and lack of engaging content.
​

"…Blessent mon cœur d’une langueur monotone."

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

"Les sanglots longs des violons de l’automne…"

Thanks, and I'm glad you’re still following along!
Basically a haphazard attempt to tie my pointless dribble back to the unrelated introduction.
I have to add something semi-interesting to my updates to make up for their less than stellar prose and lack of engaging content.
​

"…Blessent mon cœur d’une langueur monotone."

"Parot puhuu saksaa rusian aksentti ..."



Either way they are very cool

".... het konijn loopt om middernacht van de slang."

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

"Parot puhuu saksaa rusian aksentti ..."



Either way they are very cool

".... het konijn loopt om middernacht van de slang."

Thanks!
I’ll be adding more. Gott’a make up for the lack of a real story line ya’ know.


A general apology to everyone for not updating this thread in a while. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to present this next chapter and we’ve been a might busy (had to pack my boy up and send him off to college).



And FYI…
Never trust Russian parrots (nor Dutch rabbits for that matter)