Back from Wonderland:wAlice,Madhatter,ChesCat&White Rabbit 11/11Thank You

[PracPerfPatricia]

Great update! How magical to see Alice right after the ride!

It was awesome...

You met Alice!!!!

Okay, now I am going back to the beginning --

How heavenly to wake up to zebras and concierge breakfast goodies! Now that's the way I would like every morning to start for me.

DH and his target rides -- I am afraid I can be guilty of that, but look how many rides you did first thing -- that is awesome!

I, too, would like a teacup ride in my backyard!

Yes...breakfast on your balcony overlooking the savanna is a pretty sweet thing...

& yes thanks to Hatter's vigilance we did get quite a bit done...we have a lot more coming up in the MK that morning-I'm going to update today...

I teacup ride in your backyard would be so much fun...if one of us gets one-we can have a little regional Dismeet....

Hi Patricia!

During the MNSSHP the bridge from Toontown to Tomorrowland is Alice and Mad Hatter's Treat Path and you can meet Alice, Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, Mr. Walrus, White Rabbit, and the Queen's army of playing cards!

Tweedledum and Tweedledee hang out at the Mad Tea Party...

(Guess you're going now, huh?!)

I was thrilled to read about your "double" upgrade at AKL... how amazing! I love the tee shirt, too.

You tell your story so beautifully; I feel as if I'm right there with you! Looking forward to more...


Kathy

Alice and Mad Hatter's Treat Path...????

​

OMG-HOW HAVE I MANAGED TO MISS THIS PIECE OF INFORMATION?

I'm going......well actually I have to wait till next year... so I will just have to live vicariously through your trip...

BTW ..Kathy-you have just sealed the deal-not only do we have Em's 16th to celebrate next year-my anniversary is the following day...we'll have to take advantage of the Columbus Day weekend...(I was already "planning" but as you sealed the deal-you win today's Disney enabling award...hmmm...what do I have for a prize...

Chocolate Cake at Sanaa (sweet)

or

BBQ Chicken Flatbread from Jiko (savory)

I know you're dieting so share...

Thanks about the storytelling......I don't think I write too badly but my photos...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

What a great update. It looks so awesome to be sitting on the patio just enjoying your breakfast. Most of our breakfasts are planned for in the room, but we'll be eating food we bring and we won't have a patio. They don't even have conceirge at POR. Oh well. We'll still be in Disney!

LOVE your shirt. I'm going to have to look for that one!

I too thought you'd pretty much jumped out of the cups to get at Alice!

Kathy answered your question but here are some pics for you. They're not great, but you can see the characters...well some of them...kinda.

These are from 2007. They aren't in my PTR and I never got that far on the TR from that trip, so I uploaded them just for you!

We aren't doing MNSSHP this year because of $$$. I wish we were, since the boys are doing Pirate League that day, but we had to kind of choose that OR Pirate League not both. LOL You should definitely go, though. It's a lot of fun (and you get a TON of candy-real candy too, not the cheap stuff).

I love Barnstormer. It needs to be a little longer, but it's still fun. On our last trip Christian went (he was just past 2), but Will refused (he was 5 1/2). Thankfully, I think Will is a little more adventurous now (and ironically, Matt made him do Expedition Everest-he didn't enjoy it, but he loved the attention he got for doing it!).

Looking forward to the rest of your fun filled day!

Heather those are awesome...you guys are killing me...(seriously I'm bouncing......hmmm...looking for a prize...let me know first if you prefer sweet or savory???)


I love your photos...they are great and also enabling...-I mean the Walrus??? who ever gets to see the Walrus???

POR is nothing to sneeze at-it looks lovely-the atmosphere is very evocative...plus you can take that great ride to DTD...

Pirates League is so much fun...you're going to love it...you have prioritize-you did the party but haven't done the PL_and goodness knows there is only so much time...

I hear Will about EE-I enjoy the fact that I "did" it and survived as well...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

What a wonderful start for your first park day! I love having breakfast at AKL on the balcony. Last weekend Katharina was talking about just that. Even though she hasn't been to WDW yet, she has already learned about the most important things like rope drop, breakfast on balcony etc. from me! And what a bonus to be able to get things from the CL.

It just seems so perfect that you got to meet Alice on your first day!

I was looking at your posting time and thought you couldn't sleep until I remembered you are in Germany....btw how many hours difference is there between that and EST-I know England is 6 hours difference...

AKL Balcony Breakfast =

Katharina has the advantage of having a very knowledgeable Dis... tutor......she probably already knows more than most people who visit WDW...

I was special that Alice was the first character we met...

 

[mousescrapper]

I'm going......well actually I have to wait till next year... so I will just have to live vicariously through your trip...

BTW ..Kathy-you have just sealed the deal-not only do we have Em's 16th to celebrate next year-my anniversary is the following day...we'll have to take advantage of the Columbus Day weekend...(I was already "planning" but as you sealed the deal-you win today's Disney enabling award...hmmm...what do I have for a prize...

Another trip in the works....

 

[jenjolt]

WOOT...an October trip planned!! So not only will you get to enjoy the wonder that is MNSSHP (no worries I will be posting pics for you to see) but you also get to partake in the yumminess that is Food and Wine!! I can't wait for you to start your PTR about this!!!

BTW...I love your pictures! You do an amazing job!!!

 

[Flossbolna]

I was looking at your posting time and thought you couldn't sleep until I remembered you are in Germany....btw how many hours difference is there between that and EST-I know England is 6 hours difference...

AKL Balcony Breakfast =

Katharina has the advantage of having a very knowledgeable Dis... tutor......she probably already knows more than most people who visit WDW...

I was special that Alice was the first character we met...

Actually, generally Germany (which uses Central European Time - CET - or as we call ist Mitteleuropäische Zeit - MEZ) is 6 hours ahead of EST, England (which uses or Greeenwich Mean Time - GMT- which again equals Coordinated Universal Time - UTC and which is the international time standard) only 5 hours. You could also say that EST is UTC-5h, and CET is UTC+1h

However, since USA and Europe don't swith to and from daylight saving time at the same time, the time difference may be an hour shorter or longer...

I guess this is more information on time zones than you bargained for. But pleas don't ask me for an explanation of what happens if you travel across the Date Line, I never understood that.

If you have been to London, you most likely have seen the Greenwich meridian. I found this extremely cool, to stand on the line from which all time across the world is standardized...

I really love being on the DIS in the morning. I get to check all my subscriptions without much other posting going on as the US is still asleep. So I am less likely to miss out on any posts. In my lunch break the DIS is slowly waking up.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Another trip in the works....

Well...Yes... October 2010-a shorter trip...a very longish weekend (the flight is only 2 hours for us so its not too bad.)....5 nights to celebrate Em's 16th D-day and now that I've thought of it...Eric and my anniversary, which is the day after Em's B-Day...looking at the dates...10/6/10-10/11/10 and thinking about the BC-maybe the BCV-would also love to get her grandparents, and aunt & uncle & cousins-they just moved to TX, to come too..(I think the BC would be especially good place to stay -if we can convince her grandparents to come since they could walk over to Epcot-Food & Wine would be going on)...I looked at your counter...you'll be there in November- I believe to celebrate the girl's b-days...if we had overlapped we could have done a mini Dis-meet...

WOOT...an October trip planned!! So not only will you get to enjoy the wonder that is MNSSHP (no worries I will be posting pics for you to see) but you also get to partake in the yumminess that is Food and Wine!! I can't wait for you to start your PTR about this!!!

BTW...I love your pictures! You do an amazing job!!!

I know F&W and MNSSHP...-but next year (2010) so I will have all the anticipation of seeing all of your pictures from the upcoming trip...

Hmm...thanks for that extremely generous compliment about my photos-I still think I'll be asking for some photography books for the holidays...

Actually, generally Germany (which uses Central European Time - CET - or as we call ist Mitteleuropäische Zeit - MEZ) is 6 hours ahead of EST, England (which uses or Greeenwich Mean Time - GMT- which again equals Coordinated Universal Time - UTC and which is the international time standard) only 5 hours. You could also say that EST is UTC-5h, and CET is UTC+1h

However, since USA and Europe don't swith to and from daylight saving time at the same time, the time difference may be an hour shorter or longer...

I guess this is more information on time zones than you bargained for. But pleas don't ask me for an explanation of what happens if you travel across the Date Line, I never understood that.

If you have been to London, you most likely have seen the Greenwich meridian. I found this extremely cool, to stand on the line from which all time across the world is standardized...

I really love being on the DIS in the morning. I get to check all my subscriptions without much other posting going on as the US is still asleep. So I am less likely to miss out on any posts. In my lunch break the DIS is slowly waking up.

Thanks for the explanation...I know that the daylight savings changes everything around...I don't want to go messing with what happens when you cross the Date Line either......

As for Greenwich...I was jazzed by the whole idea of the time line as well...very cool...

I snapped this a couple of years ago...Hatter, Alice and White Rabbit Standing on the Greenwich time line...taken by yours truly the Cheshire Cat...

BTW...loved Greenwich too...

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

THE MAGIC KINGDOM REALLY IS MAGIC-PART II

So we chugged on around from Toontown past Main Street Station and arrived in Frontierland...

Hatter had this all figured out-we would fastpass Splash and check out the stand by for BTMRR...it turned out to be a good decision...our Splash return was 12:10 and the standby was at 45 minutes...we walked over to BTMRR and it said it had a stand by wait of 20 minutes but we really just kept moving the whole time right until we got on the ride...it was really more like 5 minutes...

The "rootin tootin wildest ride in the West" holds a special place in my heart too...Disney has made bigger, more technically advanced coasters...but this one is the first coaster a lot of kids go on to try them out and nervous adults too (before there was a barnstormer-this was the one kids waited to be tall enough for...I always found this a cool version of an American folktale come to life...Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Davy Crockett...I think it has a lot of "heart"...and I love the "falling boulder" coming at you...

I scream on this too...partly for the joy of it...Alice was my ride partner and she just had to show off by keeping her hands in the air...a couple of years ago she wasn't quite so cavalier about these rides...Rabbit meantime was just laughing maniacally-he loves his coasters...(I've mentioned before that he doesn't have too many sensory issues with his Asperger's-actually he is a sensory seeker which also is why he likes to touch things and sometimes people...although we've successfully worked and explained why touching isn't always the best idea-the whole" look with your eyes-not with your hands" scenario...Coasters totally bliss him out...

It wasn't time to go back to Splash so we meandered over to Adventureland...I do mean meander because it was really hot... the way only Frontierland on a hot August day in Florida can be...we found ourselves in front of Pirates of the Caribbean with a 5 minute wait so Yo Ho Yo Ho...off we go...

Pirates is just so delightfully un PC-I mean where else could you get away with an auction of "wenches" the pirates captured in the town while they're yelling "We want the readhead, we want the redhead..."

Also I don't know if it's my imagination...but since they've added Captain Jack, Barbossa, and Davy Jones,...has the beginning of the ride gotten darker? it feels that way and while I think it adds to the atmosphere before the drop I had to talk the Rabbit through it a bit...he'd probably sky dive if I allowed it but he takes some of the darker fantasy elements to heart...so I had to remind it that it was all just good pretend fun...

I love that song too...Yo ho, Yo ho a pirate's life for me...but I realized I don't actually KNOW most of the words...(I have to get some Disney CD that includes that and some of the other ride songs...like from the HM etc....) Later in the week when we took the Pirates and Pals cruise...it became clear that while a lot of people think they know the song...they really only know the chorus...

When we finished the ride we spilled out into the shop...I really do like this shop...it always feels open since its only partly enclosed and all that pirate stuff is good fun...I just looked a bit since I knew we were coming back later in the week to take Alice and White Rabbit to the Pirates's League before we went on the Pirates and Pals cruise...(I wanted to peek in there but I really wanted it to be a surprise for all of us so I just peeked at where the entrance was...

Rabbit "needed" some popcorn when we passed the cart-that's what he said..."I need some popcorn"=he LOVES his popcorn and honestly I think they add some special Disney ingredient on it there because that was some especially good popcorn...We got in line for Aladdin's Magic Carpets...Rabbit loves this too-big Aladdin fan...it also didn't hurt that I got "spit" at by the camel as soon as we got up in the air...actually it would have been fun due to the heat...if some of the "camel spit" hadn't wound up in my eye...Anything to give my family a good laugh...

We were kind of hankering for something cold and refreshing so Hatter and Alice went off to get a Dole Whip (which as most everyone knows is the traditional soft serve and pineapple juice) and hmmm I'm not sure what the other one is called but I really liked it-it was pineapple sorbet with pineapple juice...it was very refreshing and I liked the nondairy treat in the heat...I'll have to go look up what the name of that is...(I like the Dole whip but I think I prefer my ice cream straight up-no juice but that pineapple sorbet with juice concoction...I'll be hunting down that again...)

We still had time before our Fast Passes for Splash...so we made it over to one of my very favorite rides...over in Liberty Square, the Haunted Mansion...I LOVE this Ride...ok maybe not quite as much as Jen who could probably write a good thesis on it... but love it just the same-it had 20 minute standby which was actually closer to 12 minutes but we had our treats so we were good...

HM is just themed so well...It's an Imagineering masterpiece...it is creepy but not horrifyingly so, it is a little bit gothic, I'm finding it hard to describe but its like all the best old horror movies like Wolfman and Frankenstein blended with some scary stories-John Bellairs-The House with the Clock in its Walls comes to mind...blended with Disney's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and some of their early cartoons in the 30s and 40s with ghosts...I think there's one called "Ghost Hunters" with Mickey and Donald in a Haunted House- all kind of blended together into a delightful frothy scary but not too scary combination...

The gravestones outside in the front are so much fun to read before you're let in...

btw...the gargoyles in the parlor do whisper/mumble something about staying together...


The one thing that I'm hoping Jen or some other HM expert can answer is did they make some changes relatively recently to HM...it seemed a little darker in there and did they always emphasis the whole story of the bride offing her husbands...?

Alice and I anxiously awaited to see which hitchhiking ghost we would get-we got the cutish, short one with the very round head...we love him...

Unfortunately one member of our party did not totally get into the HM spirit-Rabbit took it all very, very seriously...upon exiting the ride (according to Hatter he was fairly silent during the ride itself-which is kind of unusual for him...) he told me very seriously "that is NOT an appropriate ride for children..."...and for now that is his final say on it...I'm hoping he'll change his mind in the upcoming years...

Love this ghost hearst/carriage...

OK, so we're now off to use those Fast Passes at Splash...

Splash Mountain. I must confess to having a love/hate relationship with Splash Mountain. I AM not a fan of log flume rides in general...those large drops...feel different to me than the ones on the coasters...on a coaster...you can feel they track beneath you...on a flume...you feel like you are free falling...I am not a fan of free falling...ergo my decision to never bungee jump or sky dive...in fact ToT is quite a dilemma because the theming concept is brilliant...the random dropping...not so much...

Splash is a conundrum to me because I think its really a ride with multiple personality disorder...you have the whole beginning part...great use of the animal characters from Song of the South...sweet animals, singing, happy, happy, cheerful animals...the whole beginning could be a cute little boat ride in Fantasyland...then you have those couple of small drops...ok still cute...no biggie...but then we come to the personality change...the slow but steady chug of the flume up the darkish conveyor belt with the vultures cackling overhead...slowly but surely...steady we go...to the laughing place (NOT my laughing place)...there's that moment that you see the flume in front of you disappear and then steadily your flume positions into place to make the drop...and there you go and inevitably I say a little prayer that we all manage to remain in our flume...which of course we do...and now a soaked Rabbit, Alice and Hatter are blissfully laughing how great it was- while I am grateful that I didn't manage to offend the sweet English family behind me by letting out some horrible expletive...

(& actually I've warmed up to this ride a bit...I think I've ridden it enough to be come slightly desensitized...the first time I rode it I was really frightened...but I refuse (because I'm stubborn) to have my children remember me not riding Splash with them...so I'll do it at least once a trip...(My own mom never rode amusement park rides and I always wished she had)...

So, blissfully glad Splash is behind us for now...and with a new skip in my step despite the heat...I suggest we trot off to lunch at Columbia Harbor House before the Hall of Presidents and a trip back to the hotel and some swimming and rest before dinner that night at Jiko...

On the way we stopped to get a photo with Frontier Donald...

and then head to CHH in Liberty Square...I like it here...it feels somehow calmer than a lot of the other CS and I like the theming and how each room while colonial in design has a different feel to it...if you head upstairs you can find some tables with nice views outside...

I had the famous tuna sandwich and it was good, I shared this with Hatter who got a salad, Alice had chicken strips and fries as did Rabbit-we were entitled to desserts so we got chocolate cake and apple cobbler...both tasty but in themselves not necessarily a reason to stop unless you are having lunch...

After lunch we headed off to the Hall of Presidents...I had never done the Hall of Presidents and now that it was redone in addition to it being a nice after lunch diversion...we toddled over...

I've mentioned that I can cry easily-it can be a little embarrassing...this was a moving show...the whole beginning part of the show before you even see the Presidents...a dramatic little synopsis of American history...ok- so I teared up...I thought the Presidents where pretty cool also...Rabbit was mesmerized...a new interest...having read in DisMomAmy's TR about the Presidential fandex...we went over to the gift shop...where they said that they only had them in Epcot...ok I totally get having them at the American Adventure...but shouldn't they also have them by the Hall of PRESIDENTS?



After a little look around Liberty Square-I'd never checked out all the details before (being from Philadelphia-I thought I been exposed to the Colonial bit pretty well) but I'm glad we did take the time...great details...doll in the window, rockers, the replica of the Liberty Bell (David really liked it-apparently he doesn't remember our trip there when he WAS 2-Oops time for a trip to Independence Hall and the Bell...) and the Liberty Tree-I really like the liberty tree and all those lanterns up there in it...

We made our way out and around the castle...it was about 2pm and they were already starting to tape up for the parade at 3...thankfully we made our way back down more slowly than we had made our way up in the morning...I was able to soak it up...and we then remembered the kids wanted to make their Mickey ears...

Next Up: Making Ears or not...AKL & Jiko...

 

[Lady Lallie]

Ahhhh....I so wish I was in Disney right now. After reading your update I have a major urge to be there RIGHT NOW.

Yes, they did update Haunted Mansion. I am sure Jen can give you more details than that but I know they did update the attic room with the bride.

I'm jealous you met Frontier Donald! He's on my list of characters I must meet.

So glad you liked Hall of Presidents. I can't wait to see the refurb. I love Liberty Square. It is my favorite land in MK. I just feel so at home there. I think I should have been a colonial.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great update! Can't wait for more!

 

[hhockman]

Love the update. We are so kindred spirits. LOVE rollercoaster, free-falling, not so much. Splash Mountain seriously does not bother me, but my anxiety disorder acts up when I go on ToT (haven't been in, uh, several years). Although the weird thing with that ride is that I don't really mind the falling so much. I just get myself so worked up worrying about the falling that I'm a wreck by the time I actually get on the ride. Christian is actually tall enough to ride it now (WHO in their right mind thinks 40" is tall enough for that?!) I told Matt he is NOT allowed (and that way I can hide behind having to stay with him). I don't think Will is going to want to go either, actually, and while I will "allow" Matt to "drag" Will on the coasters, due to my own anxiety problem with ToT I will not let him force Will on ToT. Not just yet anyway. Eventually, I guess, we will all go together. One of these days I might actually have a heart attack (believe me, if it happens it will be before the drops start), but I know eventually I'm going to have to get over myself. I wonder if it's possible to become desensitized to ToT?

I love CHH. It still seems somewhat like a secret. We'll be in MK enough this trip that I think we'll manage Pecos Bill, CHH, and Cosmic Rays (which isn't my favorite, but I love that you get enough to share). Liberty Square is my absolute favorite too. If it wasn't for the whole outhouse thing I'd swear I should have been born in Colonial times. It's been my favorite my whole life (closely followed by the Old West and then King Arthur's era. Yes, I am a history buff that pretends like these times in history didn't have SERIOUS problems we don't have to deal with now).

Wow I can talk about nothing for a long time. I'm sorry Rabbit didn't like HM. I'm a little worried about how Will is going to take it too. Or for that matter Christian. Neither of them is crazy about "scary" stuff. I guess we'll see.

Looking forward to your "rest". I'm glad we're going to make ourselves do that some this time too.

 

[cjackearl]

What a great update! I'm going to say it again, you have beautiful children.

HM has a darker, more sinister feel now, at least in my view. I still love it, but underneath all of the camp and dark jokes there is the whole creepy story of the bride, which is more front and center since the remodel. I told my kids how the ride wasn't scary, just funny, and they all looked at my quizzically when we got off. My two older ones were not keen on riding again. The short, fat hitchhiking ghost is my favorite!

Jedi Mickey looks very at home on the magic carpets with you all. I hope he didn't get spit on!

I enjoyed CHH thoroughly, even though we didn't eat in the restaurant. The tuna sandwich was great and I really liked the apple pie thing.

 

[jordanyosh]

okay, now i gotta read, but i'm here.

 

[Flossbolna]

I love your family picture from Greenwich! It really is a great place all around, I love visiting there when I am in London.

Great update! BTMRR is a cute coaster, but this is the only ride I think is so much better in DLP that I never can stop comparing it. In Paris it is on an island, it is a bit longer and a bit faster. Not much, but just so that it feels more exciting. Also to get to the island you go through a tunnel and you actually "splash" into the water and they take your picture. I guess you can tell that it was built 10 years later.

I can understand your problems with Splash Mountain. I used to be like that as well. But I got so used to that drop that it is now really my favourite ride in the MK. I would just wish that you did not get so wet on it. I always ride with a poncho... I guess, in August I would not mind getting wet though.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Sounds like more great fun in MK!!

I love BTMRR! Really, I'm not a huge fan of rollercoasters at all. But BTMRR I really enjoy!! Too fun! DD is a chicken and DH gets motion sickness so DS6 and I ride together. He thinks I'm the coolest mom in the world for riding with him Next month will be our first trip on splash and I can't wait!!! DD swears she's going to go!!

HM is my favorite actual ride in WDW! (Philharmagic is my favorite thing) Yes, they did recently change it! They kind of kicked it up a notch or 3!! I love it even more now! But, I'll let Jen fill you in on the details! I can't wait to ride it on Halloween!!!!!!


We really enjoy CHH as well, especially inside, upstairs! You kind of feel removed from the hustle bustle and more relaxed!!

Anyway, hope everyone got their ears and you enjoyed Jiko!! Can't wait to read all about it!!

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update! I too love BTMRR. It's the perfect amount of thrills for the kids, plus it is so well themed. Really a perfect mix! And gotta love Pirates, though it isn't near as good at DW as Disneyland's version. But you take what you can get I remember how you feel about Splash, but good for you being a good sport and doing it anyway I don't think I'll ever get my DD on it again. And my kids definitely agree with Rabbit about HM. They all refuse to go on it. I too remembered it as kind of a light hearted fun ride, and told them so They did not agree and I haven't been on it in several trips I'm definitely going to hit it on my January trip because they won't be there. Hope you make the Mickey Ears.

 

[Sarilas]

I am o-fficially all caught up!

I love-love-LOVE Alice In Wonderland so I'm enjoying the heck out of everybody taking on a character's persona. Cannot wait to hear (and see!) more!

 

[MrsSpratt]

Screw Practically, you ARE perfect, at least in my eyes.

I still have my copy of Betsy-Tacy. Whenever I go to Baton Rouge to visit Mr & Mrs Bueller (Sr) for an extended stay, I go to the library and check out THE ENTIRE COLLECTION. Betsy's Wedding, EVERYTHING.

I aspire to travel to Deep Valley one day, sigh....

Highjack over -

Mrs. Spratt

ps - Planning to do your "dime" Christmas shopping in NYC this year?

PPS - Congrats on Alice's Bday trip - I have some CRAZY ideas for a sweet sixteen at the World!

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi Triple P (I like the nickname KathyRN gave you )

yes it is a bit of a shame that we'll be going practically 1 month apart....but there's always another year for that Dis-meet...

I just love that you guys want and so does Em to celebrate her 16th birthday there! I already have in my Wish List of Trips to celebrate the twins 16th there too, so I hope they'll be excited...otherwise I'll be there celebrating w/ or w/out them....JK

The "rootin tootin wildest ride in the West" holds a special place in my heart too...

I just love this ride too and glad I have a riding partner in Aldine, DH is not a coaster man of any size, and he gutted up and rode w/ me back in 08, but I don't think I'll get him to do it again...



Rabbit meantime was just laughing maniacally-he loves his coasters...(I've mentioned before that he doesn't have too many sensory issues with his Asperger's-actually he is a sensory seeker

Michael is the complete opposite, he is a sensory avoider...coasters and him do not = bliss...though he likes Splash, go figure

Pirates is just so delightfully un PC-I mean where else could you get away with an auction of "wenches" the pirates captured in the town while they're yelling "We want the readhead, we want the redhead..."


Yes but do you remember when the Pirates chased the ladies...

Also I don't know if it's my imagination...but since they've added Captain Jack, Barbossa, and Davy Jones,...has the beginning of the ride gotten darker?

it seemed that way to me too....I like it!!

it became clear that while a lot of people think they know the song...they really only know the chorus...

That's me, but DH he is a whiz at songs...he knows the whole thing, I flub along

When we finished the ride we spilled out into the shop...I really do like this shop...

me too, it is one of my favorites, always worth a stop!

HM is just themed so well...It's an Imagineering masterpiece...it is creepy but not horrifyingly so, it is a little bit gothic, I'm finding it hard to describe but its like all the best old horror movies like Wolfman and Frankenstein blended with some scary stories-John Bellairs-The House with the Clock in its Walls comes to mind...blended with Disney's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and some of their early cartoons in the 30s and 40s with ghosts...I think there's one called "Ghost Hunters" with Mickey and Donald in a Haunted House- all kind of blended together into a delightful frothy scary but not too scary combination...

You have such a way w/ describing things.... I LOVE that old MM and pals cartoon w/ the ghosts!


The gravestones outside in the front are so much fun to read before you're let in...

and how about the eys on the one that blink open and follow you...creppy!

it seemed a little darker in there and did they always emphasis the whole story of the bride offing her husbands...?

not sure about it being darker, but yes the whole Bride story has been expanded...

here is what is says in my handy "Hidden Magic of WDW book"

"The bridal ring [Madame Leota's ring] story had many variations, all of which revolved around Master Gracey, the owner of Gracey Manor (the proper name of the Haunted Mansion) and his forlorn bride, Leota, whose likeness can be seen throughout your journey. Look for her in the crystal ball, in the attic wearing her wedding dress, and at the end of the attraction as she bids you farewell. Master Gracey can be seen hangin by his neck from the celing rafters in the stretch room when the lights go out and, since a 2007 update, in various photographs in the attic.

...

The one really strange fact here is that, despite what any CM may tell you (and some have developed some really elaborate fables), originally there was no backstory to the HM, either. For all it's wonderful creativity, the Imagineers never developed a full theme around Master Gracey and Madame Leota, so we were left to our own imaginations as to what really happend to the tragic ghostly bride."

a bit interesting, huh?


Unfortunately one member of our party did not totally get into the HM spirit-Rabbit took it all very, very seriously...upon exiting the ride (according to Hatter he was fairly silent during the ride itself-which is kind of unusual for him...) he told me very seriously "that is NOT an appropriate ride for children..."...and for now that is his final say on it...I'm hoping he'll change his mind in the upcoming years...

sorry Rabbit was not into the HM, I can see quite why he'd think that...

Splash is a conundrum to me because I think its really a ride with multiple personality disorder...you have the whole beginning part...great use of the animal characters from Song of the South...sweet animals, singing, happy, happy, cheerful animals...the whole beginning could be a cute little boat ride in Fantasyland...then you have those couple of small drops...ok still cute...no biggie...but then we come to the personality change...the slow but steady chug of the flume up the darkish conveyor belt with the vultures cackling overhead...slowly but surely...steady we go...to the laughing place (NOT my laughing place

You get me again...you should write descriptions of the rides and stuff in a book! and I love "it's not my laughing place"

I've been on Splash at least once so I can say yes I've done that...but I'm no a big fan, it's not the drop at all...that I do not mind in the slightest, but it is the getting wet part...that would be my non-laughing place


Next Up: Making Ears or not...AKL & Jiko...

Looking forward to what happens NEXT!

Scrappie (J-)

 

[Charleston Princess]

I have never met anyone else who has read John Bellairs!!! The Curse of the Blue Figurine is my absolute favorite, but I love every one of them.

I feel about Big Thunder the way you feel about Splash Mountain (which I love, love, love).

As for Splash Mountain, I have to put on my "teacher voice" for a minute. In the beginning, everything is happy because Brer Rabbit is just a hoppin' all over being Brer Rabbit (and he is slightly full of himself hence the "fun" drops). Then when Brer Fox and Brer Bear capture him that's when the ride turns darker. Brer Rabbit uses reverse psychology on Brer Fox, "Do whatever you want to me but don't fling me in that briar patch!" (Brer Rabbit wants to be flung into the briar patch because that is his home.) Well, Brer Fox does throw Brer Rabbit into the briar patch (the massive drop as you sail down into the briar patch), and then absolute happiness reigns since Brer Rabbit has escaped the clutches of Brer Fox and Brer Bear. (One of my favorite units that I teach in the 8th grade is my Southern folktales unit which includes the original Brer Rabbit stories. )

But you probably knew all of that already.