8 Texans Return to Neverland - Day 2, 12/4 "Mooning Mickey"

[exwdwcm]

"Mooning Mickey and Pelvic Thrust- What kind of a place is this?"

Cast:

Me- Michelle, 32, marketing manager, married to a non-disney guy, no kids (but trying now!), former cast member (wdwcp in 1996), the pefectionist/organizer/trip NAZI

Mom- "MawMaw", 50s, married 35 years, recently retired, the generous one! Had brain surgery (pitutary gland)last year that might slow her down a bit this trip as she gets tired more

Dad- "PawPaw", 50s, along for the ride, our driver and constantly pulling out his wallet to pay for stuff!

Great Aunt- Marion or "Auntie", 60s, first time ever to WDW! recently retired as well!

Sister- Mandy, "NeNe", 28, special ed teacher, not big into disney, but loves to go with us, calls her "schmoopy" (boyfriend for those that don't get the Seinfeld reference) every night

Sister- Wendy, 30, paralegal, married with 2 year old, huge Disney NUT and the comedian of the family

Bro in Law- Mike, turned 30 on the trip, married to Wendy, and another comedian and great dad to little Ally

Ally- Mike and Wendy's little angel, 2.4 years old (terrible twos!!!), the first grandkid in our family and completely SPOILED ROTTEN (we love it!)





Well Day 2 is finally here, the first day we get to spend in the parks. I, being the trip Nazi, am up and blowing the whistle by 7:30…….just kidding, we actually woke up the sound of Mickey’s lovely voice, although Wendy almost hung up on him, since it takes him like a minute before he comes on the line. By week’s end, Wendy would just let it ring, pick it up and hang it right back up again, not waiting for Mickey!

A little in room breakast

The plan today is to hit Epcot in the am and MGM at night. Epcot opens at 9am today, so we planned to be in our van and on the way by 8:30 or so. We had a quick breakfast of cereal and milk in the room and were off to Epcot! We got a great parking spot near the front since we arrived early. We had our first experience with the bag security check and finger scans. We never had an issue with the bag thing, but noticed a few security guards were much more thorough, which we didn’t mind.

The plan was to head immediately to Soarin. We had read all the reports on here about hour long waits. So we wanted to tackle it first. I was in commando mode, when suddenly, we were distracted…….near Innoventions, there was a Character Connection……tons of characters inside, empty and waiting for guests to come in. We couldn’t resist. We stepped in and who did we see first? None other than the Mouse himself. So Ally’s first character experience was with Mickey Mouse.

We weren’t sure how she would react to the characters……would she cry? Laugh? Pee on him? We weren’t sure. She just stared in awe. It was pretty funny and cute. Mickey spent lots of time with her, since there was no one else in there. So next thing I know, I see Wendy bending over in front of Mickey, and we all are wondering what she is doing- is she about to moon Mickey Mouse? Please, shield the children’s eyes…..and ours! Wendy pulls down her jeans a bit and shows Mickey her “hidden mickey” tattoo on her lower back……Mickey just giggled and was embarrassed….so was I! My sister Wendy had recently gotten a tattoo for her 30th birthday back in October after a beer filled night at a piano bar. It is a little Mickey ears and she calls it her hidden Mickey. All through the trip, she would bend over to pick something up and would lift up her shirt a bit to be sure we saw her “hidden mickey”.

So we continued in the character connection and saw Pluto, Chip/Dale, Minnie, Donald, Mary Poppins, Hook, Pinnochio and Goofy. It was great. Auntie even got her autograph book out and got some pics too.

By then it was nearing 9:45am….and I just knew Soarin would be a lost cause by now as standby. So we rushed over there and it was already a 40 minute wait. So we got fastpasses and then headed to do the “living with the land” boat ride. The wait was about 10 minutes, if that. AS we are nearing the front of the line, we see a pretty blonde- I just notice her from behind and my sister says- hey that is Kelly Ripa! She turns around and I hear her speak and realize it is her. She is with her 3 kids and a few girlfriends, no hubby in site. She looks a lot skinnier in person too. She was beautiful, but wasn’t all made up like you see on tv. It was weird seeing her without all the heavy tv makeup. It was pretty cool to see her though. She was on the boat in front of us. We realized she had been there the day before to film the Christmas Parade at the MK with Regis. Pretty cool to see her in front of us.

Before we knew it, we were on our first official ride of the vacation. We all enjoyed this relaxing boat ride and checked out the cool Mickey shaped pumpkins! We still had time to kill before our fastpass for Soarin, so we headed to the Living Seas to explore a bit. The line for Crush was 40 minutes long too, so we just looked around and checked out the fish and exhibits. The dolphins weren’t out in the tank and we just didn’t see much here. I hate that they took out the ride, and I hope they replace it with something else. On our way out, we saw the “coral reef”. I had never seen this before and boy was it cool. Similar to Devine at AK, the reef can stand still next to the Nemo that runs around out there and then will move suddenly and you realize it is a character. We watched for a while as the reef scared quite a few guests.

By this time, it was our fastpass time. So we all headed to Soarin. My mom sat out with Ally and we got a child swap ticket. I had ridden Soarin in September on my business trip when I went to the park one day on my own. I knew they would love it. A few in our party are afraid of heights, but it wasn’t a big deal. They all loved it. And you gotta love the intro film with “Puddy” from Seinfeld! The smell of the orange grove and pine from the mountains was incredible, but next thing we know, we are landing……but hey, a few of us get to go again with the child swap. We decided to multi-task now……we decided that my mom, me and my dad would ride the second time using the child swap ticket. Mandy and Mike were going to run to Test Track and get fastpasses for all of us and Marion and Wendy were going to change Ally and just take a seat in the food court. So I rode again and my mom really liked it. We got the first row this time too, which was great- no one’s feet dangling in our view. She jumped at the, well I won’t spoil it for those that haven’t ridden it. We figured by the time we got out, everyone would be back and grabbing lunch in the Seasons food court and we were right. Turns out Mandy and Mike made the trip across FutureWorld for nothing, Test Track was down.

So we all settled in for a quick lunch- I had a turkey sandwich and splurged on a piece of chocolate cake that was delicious. And I can’t help but sneak a bite or two, or three of Ally’s mac and cheese…..I just love mac and cheese. My dad got a veggie Cuban sandwich which he raved about. Well what else should you do on a full stomach? How about ride Test Track? So we headed that way and there was little wait, apparently the ride has just come back online. So we get in line- Wendy waits outside with Ally, she didn’t care to ride. This is Mike’s absolute favorite ride and we know we will ride it multiple times on this trip. Marion isn’t sure what she is in for, but is willing to give it a try. She has some back issues when standing or walking too long, but she jumped in and did just about everything and had no problems, well besides pure exhaustion that we all felt from our long days. Test track was great, except that once we watched the intro film and were ready to move into the final cue line to get on the ride….well these rude little boys- about 9 or 10 just tried to shove their way in front of us. We were all trying to stay together and they were really pushing and shoving. My mom started telling them to get back and stop pushing us, but they didn’t speak English. I don’t know where their chaperone was, but boy were they rude. I don’t mind waiting my turn, but geez, these kids were just being ridiculous shoving us to try and get up one more spot in line. That’s one of the few times we ran into rude guests. We also had a few rude cast members, but I’ll share that story later.

By now it was nearing 2pm……we had done a lot- saw characters, rode Soarin and TT and did the Living Seas. So we decided it was time for a break.

Us three sisters were acting silly as usual and were skipping back out to the car......

We hopped in the van and headed back to the room. Mousekeeping had actually done something cute in our room too- see! We had pre-decorated some envelopes and left a couple of bucks for mousekeeping each day. It paid off, they did something cute with our stuff or towel animals every single day. It definitely made coming back to POR more fun.

continued next post.....

 

[exwdwcm]

Mandy, Mike and I are football fans and well, it was Sunday, Sunday, Sunday…..are you ready for some football??……and the boys were playing. You know, America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys! So we had to try and watch some of the game. The boys were playing the Giants at 3pm CST. But of course we couldn’t get the game on- we went to the bar at POR and they only had the regional games on. So we watched some of that instead and Mandy’s ‘schmoopy called her and gave her scoop on the game as it happened. At least we got to see some highlights….but in the end the boys lost…..boo hoo!

We just rested until about 4:30pm, when we got back in the trusty van and drove to MGM.

We also stopped by my old workplace- Hollywood and Vine- I worked there from August of 96 to January of 97 on the college program and it was great.....$5 an hour to bus tables, wash silverware, load trays of food into the fridge, sweep up kid's crackers....you know, a dream job! Really it was hard work, but a great experience and one of the best times of my life, minus the goofy pink and green cafeteria lady outfit, complete with hairnet (for the look, not sanitary purposes)

We had 6pm reservations for Sci-Fi Dine In. My dad, Wendy and I are all big Sci- Fi fans, even my mom. So we knew he would love this place. It’s more about the atmosphere than the food, as it is with many Disney restaurants. We were hoping for a burger actually, but it wasn’t on the menu. Turns out they serve them anyways, so that was great. We arrived at 5:40 and checked in early, hoping to get seated early. Well forget that idea…….we waited and waited. Finally 6:20 rolls around and we are finally seated. They try and stuff us all in one of the regular cars, but with 8 people, I don’t know what they were thinking. So we saw one of the extended limos in the back and they moved us there. Mandy and I shared- imagine that….we had the spinach dip which was probably the best I have ever had. We then shared a burger and fries. My parents and Marion had some layered vegetable/potatoes dish which they liked too. My dad just loved the old B movie clips and we got a kick out of them too- who doesn’t love the 50 foot woman? And who doesn’t love the corny, gratuitously oversized spider or grasshopper? Well apparently a 2 year old. Ally did not like the large spider when they showed that clip. When it came on, she was saying “no spider”….and getting upset. Oh no! WE had to watch out for spiders the whole rest of the trip.

After a good meal, we headed to Star Tours while Wendy and Mike took Ally to see Playhouse Disney. She is a huge JoJo fan and they said she loved this, especially the Pooh part. We all enjoyed Star Tours, but agree they need to update this ride. They also took Ally to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid while we did the Great Movie Ride. The GMR is one of my favorites, I just love all the old movie clips at the end. Apparently Ally loved mermaid but got very frightened when Ursula came out. All the thunder/lightning and stuff just scared her. But she loved the rest. We met up again and all did Muppet Vision 3D. I pointed out the “key under the mat” to everyone which was great, as well as the Net full of Jello. Allyson simply loved this show- she was reaching out and grabbing the bubbles.

After Muppets, we headed towards the Osborne lights……it was just so magical. And there were hardly any crowds at all. The ‘snow’ was going full blast and Ally loved it. We spent a good 30minutes just taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. It was a highlight of our trip and we would even make a point to go back again one more time later in the trip. I couldn’t believe how lucky we got to see it with such little crowds. It was amazing.

We decided our food had settled enough to give Tower of Terror a try. We even talked Marion into trying it…..she would regret that decision later though! On our way over, we notice a DJ playing music in front of the Sorcerer’s hat, and there was a audience in front of him dancing along……but it was the song they were playing that shocked me……”just a jump to the left…..and then a step to the right….put your hands on your hips and pull your knees in tight…..and do the pelvic thrust……” Sound familiar? I did my fair share of seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was in high school….but I definitely never imagined they would be playing it and ‘pelvic thrusting’ at Disney. The DJ had turned the pelvic thrust into a swing your hips all around thing instead….but it still was funny….especially knowing the little 8 year old doing it had no idea the song came from a pretty sexually explicit movie, at least at its time it was….I guess the mouse isn’t so squeaky clean afterall!

We finally made it to TOT after a little pelvic thrusting and dancing to SHOUT! There was little wait for TOT and we were on in about 15 minutes. Mike sat this one out with Ally. The rest of us prepared to be scared and dropped. I pointed out the hidden mickey to them in the preshow video. Then we were off……I sat with Wendy and Marion I think. My mom loves this ride….but we weren’t used to the multiple drops…..it was great though. None of us saw or really used the handles and we were all flying a good two-three inches off the seat each time. We must have dropped at least 4 times total. Even my dad said he was ready for it to be over after the second drop. My dad, Wendy, Mandy and I were ready for more punishment though, so we headed to Rockin Roller Coaster. Marion, Mom and Mike sat out with Ally, taking a well deserved break on the bench. Again, hardly any line, we waited maybe 5 minutes. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that it was Extra Magic Hours night at MGM. The park usually closed at 7pm, but was open to resort guests until 11pm. By the time we finished dinner at 7:30, the park had cleared out pretty well and we got our wristbands, that is why we were able to walk on most things. It was worth staying up late for sure!

We had a great time flying upside down and jamming to Aerosmith. Our picture was cute, but not $30 cute……we’ve even been known to take a picture of our picture on the view screen instead! I know, it’s cheating, but it doesn’t come out that great anyways. Well on the way out, we see some ice cream and all decide to get some. My mint chocolate chip was yummy. We slowly stroll through the stores on our way out. Then we remember, we are parked in what has to be the furthest parking space known to man….literally. Not only are we in the one of the parking lots way in the back……but we are in the back corner, so that even when the tram drops us off, we still have to walk a mile to get to the car…..it was just hilarious at the end of the night, it was late afterall, about 11pm. Mandy sprinted ahead and got the van for us and drove it back over to us poor weak old folks….I knew her running that marathon would benefit us sometime!

TIP- be sure you have a fast runner to go fetch the car for you!

Well our first park day was over and done with and we had a great time. We were tired though. Even with taking a break. Tomorrow would be another big day with a morning at AK and evening at MK and dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and the waitress from, well you know where….I didn’t want to offend Mickey!

Stay tuned for the next installment…..will ally become a permanent part of the It’s a small world ride? Will we ever recover from seeing two goats doing the wild thing at the AK petting zoo? Will I eat all of Ally’s mac and cheese kid’s meal? Stay tuned for these and other exciting stories!

 

[pumba]

I am so laughing with you.......Did you eat at Hollywood and Vine....we love to go there each trip but the noise level is HORRIBLE.....hahaha......thanks for your report and all the rides you did.....that is the best part

 

[exwdwcm]

Yes, I have eaten there, but not with my family on this trip. It was a different restaurant then- cafeteria style for breakfast and lunch only, we didn't serve dinner at all back then. I haven't been since they serve dinner now. the thing that drove me nuts there was hearing the same music play every day....the gone with the wind theme.....ugh! i used to love that song before then!

thanks for reading, next installment tonight!

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for sharing, sounds like a fun, busy day!

 

[BbearRosenfeld]

Now that wasn't a moon, it was a very cool tatoo I was trying to show Mickey. My love for the disney world!

 

[PrincessAurora]

I am so jealous Wendy! I want a MM tattoo now! I do cover the one on my arm when I am in the Sleeping Beauty dress though.

 

[BbearRosenfeld]

Thanks Princess Aurora, cute dress, you fit that part well. My hidden Mickey tattoo looks just like a hidden Mickey, it is black and three small circles in the form of mickey , looks just like this, but all black. I think it looks classy!