Biscuit's Grand Adventure | An epic tale three decades in the making!

[BLLB]

Subbing.

 

[bedillamouse]

I'm late.... but I'm ready for more!!!

 

[AshClan]

I am loving this! Six in one? Or is it Seven? Regardless, this is going to be fun. In fact, it already is!

I am BORG with you and the drive from St. Augustine for a day trip. Although our drives were from my aunt and uncle's house in Jacksonville. Same diff. Long drive, for a day at the MK, when you can't even make it for rope drop But when you're a kid, you love every minute of it anyway.

I've never won anything, either, BTW. Well, not entirely true. We did get Dream Fastpasses in the MK on our 4/07 trip. That was cool. Too bad it was on our last day when we'd planned to leave at noon.

Keep 'em coming, GB. I'm looking forward to hearing the rest!

 

[whogirl'smom]

I'm so jealous....I always wanted a Disk camera.

And that is way too short of an installment to already have a cliffhanger! Keep 'em coming!

 

[sfacowgirl87]

SUBSCRIBING!

Good to see a fellow Texan on the boards!!!!

 

[whogirl'smom]

Not to be forgotten is my Swatch watch with those jelly band thingies on the face of it (what are those blasted things called) and interchangeable pastel wristbands I got that day also.

I think they were just called Swatch Guards, weren't they? I loved my Swatch! And my Swatch sweatshirt, too.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Subbing.

Welcome! Glad to have you here.

I'm late.... but I'm ready for more!!!

You're definitely not too late. Glad you stopped by.

I am loving this! Six in one? Or is it Seven? Regardless, this is going to be fun. In fact, it already is!

Thanks - glad to have you here.

But when you're a kid, you love every minute of it anyway.

BORG

And that is way too short of an installment to already have a cliffhanger! Keep 'em coming!

Sorry - was supposed to have been one long post, but I got a bit long winded so I had to split it up.

SUBSCRIBING!

Good to see a fellow Texan on the boards!!!!

Welcome - Good to see you too!

I think they were just called Swatch Guards, weren't they? I loved my Swatch! And my Swatch sweatshirt, too.

That works for me!

 

[feedthebirds]

I think they were just called Swatch Guards, weren't they? I loved my Swatch! And my Swatch sweatshirt, too.

You are right! Thanks for that, I could not remember that for the life of me. A Swatch sweatshirt, I am so jealous!!!

 

[whogirl'smom]

You are right! Thanks for that, I could not remember that for the life of me. A Swatch sweatshirt, I am so jealous!!!

1986 just rocked, didn't it?

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Episode 3 - Vertigo, Nemo, & Burgers. OH MY!

After making our way down Main Street USA and stopping for the obligatory gawk at Cinderella’s Castle, our party headed to the right. JOY! We were hittin’ up Tomorrowland! I am a huge Sci-Fi/Space fan, so Tomorrowland has long been a favorite land or happy place.

We queued up at the first attraction we came to: American Journeys in Circle Vision 360. There seemed to be quite a few people ahead of us, but my uncle assured us that being in the middle of the line was preferable on this attraction as it offered the best viewing location.

We soon entered the theater and scored a spot near the center of the room. Rock On! Having spent a few years in West Texas, I couldn’t help but notice the similarity the place bore to a cattle chute. The film soon began and I was completely enthralled.

We rode with a wagon train, flew over New York City, went white-water rafting, stomped to some bluegrass (well, some of us anyway), skied down a mountain, and nearly fell off the balcony at the Library of Congress.

Once the show ended, we headed back out and I discovered that I was walking somewhat askew. In order to go in a straight line, I had to steer a bit to port. Luckily the vertigo was short lived, and by the time we queued up for If You Could Fly, I was fully recovered.

If You Could Fly was my first attraction featuring an Omni-Mover and I was mighty impressed by the whole thing. The attraction itself was a bit hokey, but I still loved it. I was especially enamored with being sucked into a jet engine. I also loved the takeoff simulation at the very end.

Still feeling the need for flight, we crossed the street and queued up for Mission to Mars. We had to wait a couple of cycles to get into the attraction, but I remember it going fairly quickly. When we first lined up we were just inside the doors, and after the next cycle, we had a great view of Mission Control. This was my first look at a real-live audio-animatronic. In fact at first, I didn’t even realize that they were not quite human. After marveling at the Imagineers’ handiwork, we headed into the “rocket” for our own outer space adventure. On later journeys to the World, I would find this ride to be a bit sad and dated, but during that particular trip, my space loving brain thought it was mondo niftorious.

Following our return to earth, we took a spin on the WED-Way people mover and I got a preview glimpse of the one attraction I had been looking forward to the most, Space Mountain. OH YEAH BABY. I was SO excited about riding Space Mountain that it’s a wonder I didn’t fashion a rope out of my socks and repel off the track straight into the queue.

After exiting the WED-Way, we headed to our final stop of the morning, The Carousel of Progress. Color me nostalgic, but I really loved this attraction. In fact I still love this attraction. I thought it was a funny story then, and now I love it for the history of the attraction and it’s innate “Walt-ness.” For those who also share a love of the COP, an interesting read can found at nywf64.com. It’s all about the 1964 World’s Fair construction of the original ride. (Complete with a tagline on page 3 praising the ceiling which had been sprayed with asbestos for smoothness!)

At the time we rode, they were still using the old-new theme song, (as opposed to the old-old/new-old theme song) so I spent the better portion of the day singing:

Now is the time. Now is the best time.
Now is the best time of your life.
Life is a prize, live every minute.
Open your eyes and watch how you win it!

Fortunately for those park guests in close proximity, this was about all of the lyrics that I could remember.

Our morning touring operations carried out successfully, it was now time to procure some vittles. We exited the Carousel and followed Uncle Randy to our dining destination. We crossed through the hub and I was excited to finally pass through the heart of the castle. I remember this as the one let down of the trip...I somehow expected there to be more in there.

Yet, the mood did not darken for long, and upon emerging into Fantasyland, we flipped on our left blinkers and made a beeline to Pinocchio Village Haus. We scored a table overlooking It’s a Small World and commenced to chowing down.

At the time, I thought the food was tasty (although at 13, I wasn’t exactly a picky eater) and the air conditioning was definitely nice. All in all I enjoyed the place, and decided it would warrant a return visit if ever I found my way back to this happy place. Little did I realize at the time just how significant a role this particular eatery would play in my next trip.

Having revived our strength and revived my father after seeing the prices for park food, we set out for more fun. We started with a whirl on the Mad Tea Party, a ride which I can no longer handle. (A fact which looks to pose a problem this summer as my daughters both have it on their “must do” list. But if it makes my girls happy, I guess I’ll just have to tighten up my daddy britches, plaster myself in motion sickness patches, grab the wheel and spin it ‘round till I squeal like a baby pig.)

Completing our ride with the rat, and finding no tea in sight, we crossed the walkway and took a voyage 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (Cheesy yet satisfying) This was the only time that I actually rode this attraction before it was conveniently turned into a field of grass. It’s kind of sad to pull up Google Earth and see it sitting there all empty.

But, I digress.

Defeating the giant squid and safely returning from captivity on Captain Nemo’s “sea monster”, we took the incredibly long walk over to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. I know some folks really loved this attraction. At the danger of being flamed, let me simply say it wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t lose sleep when it was replaced.

After bumping our way through the English countryside, I THINK we headed back in the general direction of Pinocchio’s and sailed over London, courtesy of Peter Pan’s Flight. I remember riding as a lad and thought it was on this trip. Snow White’s Scary Adventure didn’t appeal to anyone in our group and Magical Journeys wasn’t open yet. It’s a Small World was postponed until later that evening as the line was WAY too long. (If you can even fathom such a thing.)

Effectively conquering this area of the Kingdom, it was time to divide our forces. My mom and aunt decided that the girls, (my two sisters and my cousin for those of you with short attention spans) would enjoy the “kids rides”. (Carousel, Dumbo, the WDW Railroad, etc.)

My uncle, who is not that big into rides and had pretty well hit his quota, either went with them or off by himself, I don’t recall. He’s a people watcher and he enjoys watching shows, so either scenario is plausible. This left my dad and I to strike out on our own, leading to one of my greatest Walt Disney World memories of all time.

Coming up on Episode 4 - Conquering the Final Frontier (Click Here for the Next Episode!)

 

[whogirl'smom]

I'm just amazed that you can remember these details! I am trying to remember my trip to Disneyland when I was 13 and all I can remember is riding Space Mountain and Splash Mountain and passing by some girl singing in a theatre type place, who sounded like Janis Joplin.

I love hearing about the "old" WDW, though. My first trip wasn't until 2006.

 

[AshClan]

....my space loving brain thought it was mondo niftorious

Like, wow, dude. Seriously?! Rad.

I was thinking the same thing as whogirl'smom. HOW are you remembering all this? You kept a diary, didn't you?

Granted, my kid-hood trips were about 10 years earlier than yours (shut up ZZUB). But I can't remember much of anything. I remember being scared on Snow White, and flying over London on Peter Pan, and maybe a little Jungle Cruise action on my first trip. And, on a subsequent trip, I recall waiting something like 2 hours to ride Space Mountain (it was brand new, on spring break, and I recall the line looped round and round outside in the hot sun. It boggles my mind that we EVER stood in a line that long....) Anywho, if you are not making this up, but really remembering these details (with or without a diary), I'm very impressed!

You can use this TR to record your upcoming trip so your kids won't have to keep diaries (Though I think they're too young to do so regardless. I suppose that's why we have video cameras.)

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I'm just amazed that you can remember these details! I am trying to remember my trip to Disneyland when I was 13 and all I can remember is riding Space Mountain and Splash Mountain and passing by some girl singing in a theatre type place, who sounded like Janis Joplin.

I love hearing about the "old" WDW, though. My first trip wasn't until 2006.

Congrats on the 2000 post counts. Since you and AshClan asked pretty much the same question, I 'll answer the rest below.

Like, wow, dude. Seriously?! Rad.

I was thinking the same thing as whogirl'smom. HOW are you remembering all this? You kept a diary, didn't you?

Granted, my kid-hood trips were about 10 years earlier than yours (shut up ZZUB). But I can't remember much of anything. I remember being scared on Snow White, and flying over London on Peter Pan, and maybe a little Jungle Cruise action on my first trip. And, on a subsequent trip, I recall waiting something like 2 hours to ride Space Mountain (it was brand new, on spring break, and I recall the line looped round and round outside in the hot sun. It boggles my mind that we EVER stood in a line that long....) Anywho, if you are not making this up, but really remembering these details (with or without a diary), I'm very impressed!

You can use this TR to record your upcoming trip so your kids won't have to keep diaries (Though I think they're too young to do so regardless. I suppose that's why we have video cameras.)

When I started writing about this first trip, I recalled a few things and had an overall idea of what we did. I specifically remembered the LONG drive from the front gate, getting mad at the stroller, Goofy Skiing, winning the free ticket, my first attraction and the events of the next post. As I started writing out what I could recall, and thinking more about it, I found more and more details coming back. Originally, the first 3 episodes were all one post, but it has grown as more memories have returned.

Part of what has helped me remember is the way I am writing this report. I write out each post and let it sit for a couple of weeks, then come back and re-write it, and then do a final edit a few days after that. (I just finished my first draft of episode 10.) This approach lets my memory stew and simmer a while and it really seems to help bring back details. (Today when I was finishing up episode 3, I suddenly remembered talking to my uncle about the audio anamatronics in Mission To Mars.)

I also think part of it is that it was my first trip ever, and the sheer excitement and anticipation burned it deeply into my brain. As you will see, three of my next six trips are much more of a blur, and I only have very few memories concrete enough to latch onto.

Another thing that has helped fill in the gaps has been talking with my parents and my aunt to get their take of the day and what we did. I also wrote a "What I Did This Summer" paper about the trip the next fall (though I unfortunately didn't keep it) so I think that helped lock in some detail as well.

We also used to have photos from that trip in an album which was lost when my parents moved a few years back. I used to look at the photos often so that helped as well.

As to using this report as a means of chronicling the trip for my kids, that is my intention. I plan on creating each girl a scrapbook that has a TR entry on one side of each page and photos / mementos on the other.

OH BTW – Everyone give a big DISboards HOWDY to my mom, aunt and sister who are lurking on this TR. HOWDY! Love you guys, I mean gals, I mean…well you know what I mean.

 

[ZZUB]

I don't for a minute believe that anything was mondo niftorious. Especially Mission to Mars. Except that I remember really liking that ride a lot when I was a young ZZUB. I also loved the mess out of If You Had Wings. COP was fun b/c my Dad always tried to convince us the dog was real.

I also remember when Space Mountain opened. But I was significantly younger than Ashclan. Still am, really.

The first time I took the soon-to-be-Mrs. ZZUB to Disney World, we wanted to ride 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but it was closed. Which made me sad. That was one of my favorite rides from the many trips we took when I was a kid. I still can't believe they filled in the lagoon. Even if they didn't re-open 20,000 Leagues, that was a pretty section of the park. I just don't understand the decisions they make sometimes.

But nevertheless, I'm enjoying your completely fictitious romp through your earlier trips to Disney World.

Slash on, my friend.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

This whole thing sounds made up

You know they say that reality is 9/10 perception and 1/10 fact, so while I'm not intentionally fictionalizing, it is quite possible that my brain did a mail merge of multiple trips into one memory. (I can recall virtually zero details about trips 2 and 3.) My mom seems to think my aimless ramblings pretty well match what she remembers, but you now how it is when two people witness the same accident. Especially when it's the offender's mother.

COP was fun b/c my Dad always tried to convince us the dog was real.

I don't understand. Why would he have to convince you? The dog WAS real.

But nevertheless, I'm enjoying your completely fictitious romp through your earlier trips to Disney World.
Slash on, my friend.

Thanks my friend. I'll try to keep it real. No seriously. Quite smirking. Never mind – got eat a Swiss Cake and hit the elliptical.

OH - BTW - commenting on your reason for editing - Yes I have a scanner, but unfortunately I have nothing to scan. My mom was not the world's greatest archivist. (Love you mom, but you know it's true!) Our photo preservation techniques pretty much consisted of stuffing them into random drawers. We also had some photos from this trip in a vacation album that vanished a few years back. I have pics and video from trips 5 and 6 and of course will return with Bubba-loads from trip 7. If it would make you feel better though, I can do a Google image search and maybe "borrow" a few.

 

[daze]

Having revived our strength, and revived my father after seeing the prices for a burger, we set out for more fun. We started with a whirl on the Mad Tea Party– a ride which I can no longer handle. (A fact which looks to pose a problem this summer as my daughters both have it on their ‘must do list”. But if it makes my girls happy, I guess I’ll just have to tighten up my daddy britches, plaster myself in motion sickness patches, grab the wheel and spin it round till I squeal like a baby pig.)

Aint it the truth? I think I'll be spared princess lunches, and cinderella tea parties this trip, but not many more......the things we do for our baby girls huh?

 

[Backstage_Gal]

I'm so in! This sounds like a great report, looking forward to it.

Now if only I had something clever to say.......... Just pretend I did, OK?

Never took a vacation to Disney. Working there kind of hinders that.

But I rememer 20,000 leagues from my frist day trip to Disney, before I worked there. Shortly after Disney opened. And I remember riding Space Mountain with my mom. She was sitting behind me, not making a single sound. I was afraid she had a heart attack. Turns out she was afraid to lose her dentures, LOL.


PS: I had been working at Disney since 1972 and did not expect to be around for the opening of SPace Mountain, as DH was going to head for Veterianian School in Colorado by then. OK, that didnt happen.
I have a several bronze figurines to show for my service for the Mouse, though.

 

[Vexorg]

Ah, nothing like hazy memories of trips past to completely mess with your expectations of trips present and future... I think that memories of my first Disneyland trip (one day in 1987) tripped me at least a couple of times when I went back in 2006. I remembered most of the highlights, but for some reason when I went back I thought the teacups were located right next to Main Street, and that Star Tours might have possibly been the coolest thing ever (maybe it was in 1987, but by the time 2006 rolls aronud I was kind of wishing that they had just left Adventure Through Inner Space there...)

 

[feedthebirds]

Great update GB!! I never was able to go on 20,000 Leagues and on our trip to WDW, COP was closed when we were there. I am just glad I am able to see the fun people had with these attractions through people like you who share their experiences with them. I also have a place I buy extinct ride DVD's from and my kids just love them.

but for some reason when I went back I thought the teacups were located right next to Main Street

I remember having Mickey shaped pancakes with my mom when the park opened one time. I was 5. I recall eating the pancakes on a patio right next to the train, as if our table and the restaurant were in the queue area.
I have a picture of myself with Mickey from that day. I still remember waiting in that line to have the picture taken. I was so tired of waiting, it was hot and I wanted to go on Dumbo.

 

[burly]

Oh, I'm in too.
I also don't remember everything from my first trip which was to DL when i was really little. I do remember crying my eyes out to go on It's a Small World, which had the longest line in the park. My mother finally took me on it. The wait was horrible. The worst part was finally being on it and hearing the fireworks outside and getting my bottom whooped cause i tried climbing out of the boat to go see em'.
Great Trip report so far....