Episode 64 - Hailee Discovers Donald's Butt
I love Pandora. Of all the free internet applications that have come down the pipe, this one ranks right up there among the best. Now that it is available on Blackberry, well that my friends is just icing on the cake. I have a varied taste in music and it's great to be able to switch genres with a simple click of the trackball. The past few days, my go-to station has been John Williams radio. You may not know the name, but I can pretty well guarantee you know his music.
Williams is a film composer and is arguable one of, if not THE best composer in the relatively short history of the medium. Yeah I know. I work in tech support, love Disney World, listen to film scores, and post descriptions of my family vacation for total strangers. I'm a Geek. But hey, somebody's got to take the job so it may as well be me.
Now that I've already introduced the subject, I may as well expand upon it by giving a shout out to some of my favorites. First up, the previously mentioned John Williams, I love his use of counter melody, strong brass lines, and overall epic scores. He also happened to write the music for many of my favorite films. (Star Wars, Jaws, E.T. Superman, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, The Patriot, Hook and a whole slew of others). Havent seen any of them? Well he also composed the Olympic theme song you hear at every Summer/Winter games as well as the theme song for NBC Nightly News.
Next up: James Horner. (The Rocketeer, Titanic, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Cocoon, Star Trek II to name a few.) One of my favorite all time film scores is the main title to The Rocketeer. Just LOVE it. I would say equally favored to Horner is a composer whose work most you have likely heard, Hans Zimmer. (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Pearl Harbor, the two most recent Batman incarnations, oh, and this one film you may know which won him the Academy award for best original score - The Lion King.)
A few other notables in the GB Hall of Film Score Fame, Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Jerry Goldsmith (all things Star Trek), Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider Man trilogy, Edward Scissorhandswhich is a great score BTW), Craig Safan (composer of another of my all time favorite film scores, the main title from The Last Starfighter), and last but not least, two Disney greats Alan Menken (Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Hercules, Enchanted) and Randy Newman (Toy Story, James & the Giant Peach, A Bug's Life, Pleasantville, Monsters Inc, Cars, The Princess & the Frog.)
Why this seemingly random ambulation down a path of musical obscurity? I'm not sure. It seemed relevant at the time. Oh, pictures. That's where I was going with this. While looking over photos from the trip, I've been listening to film scores the past couple of days and I have to say that it's a great way to relive memories. The next time you are feeling nostalgic, pull out the photos of your kids meeting their favorite characters while the main title from Forest Gump is playing. Or look at a photo of yourself hurrying to a dining reservation while listening to The Last Starfighter.
So there you go. A little glimpse into the odd mind of yours truly.
Moving right along.
When last we left our heroes they were basking in the glory of triumphant culinary carnage. Which is a polite way of saying we'd stuffed our gullets like a herd of half-starved bovine. After the necessary breaks on the way out, I decided to take us to the Magic Kingdom by way of boat rather than by monorail. The reason being? The meal had taken longer than I anticipated and it was nearing dusk. This meant one thing. The Electric Water Pageant was about to begin.
I had no idea how to get to the boat dock, but I figured as the lagoon was on the backside of the resort, that would be a logical place to start. Down the steps of the lobby we went and headed out the back door. We followed the trail a bit, made our way past the main pool and soon the dock came into sight.
There was a boat docked that was just beginning to load. This was my first time on one of the "little boats" at the World and I have to say it was nice. About half way through our crossing, the Electric Water Pageant started. Our captain told us we were in luck as a boat at the MK was having a problem so we needed to wait a few minutes for the dock to clear before heading in. He turned us sideways so we could see better and we sat a good five or ten minutes watching from the center of the Seven Seas Lagoon! It was mighty nifty I gotta tell you.
The boat in the dock finally got its act together and we were able to proceed directly to the Magic Kingdom. When we arrived I knew we were in trouble. I could hear the unmistakable score for SpectroMagic playing. (Composed by John Debney by the way, who also wrote the scores for Evan Almighty, The Princess Diaries, The Passion of the Christ, Hannah Montana the Movie, and many others.)
Luckily bag check was fairly deserted and there was no line at the turnstile so we got in fairly quickly. When we first entered the tunnel, our primary target was the stroller rental counter. If you recall, we had our stubs from Animal Kingdom and were eager to exchange them for a new set of wheels. May I take a moment now and offer up a word of wisdom? On your list of things to do before you die, if you have written "Drive a double stroller through Town Square during SpectroMagic on an EMH night during the summer season," go ahead and scratch it out now, as said experience royally sucketh.
After a harrowing trip of pardons and prayers, we finally made it to Town Hall where the crowds were much thinner. We soon found ourselves in the exact same spot we had been two nights before, watching pretty much the exact same portion of the show. The girls wanted to know when we could watch the whole thing and I assured them it would be soon. Incredibly they needed another break so as SepctroMagic was ending, the ladies all headed to the facilities to the right of Town Hall while I grabbed some bench and did some live TR updating.
When our group was once again whole, we began the arduous task of steering two strollers down Main Street during the Spectro/Wishes interlude. We again headed right and cut through Tomorrowland. We had hit up most of the attractions in the front area our first night, so we made our way to the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. The girls were looking forward to this one and could not wait to drive the cars. The queue was posted as a 20 min wait time and it was pretty much dead on. I think we waited 21 min from the time we hit the line to the time we were pulling out onto the track. I am also happy to report that this time we managed to avoid any unfortunate encounters with a turnstile. (Much to Nana's relief I'm sure.)
I rode with Tahli, Tracy took Hailee and Nana took Preston. I don't know what Papa did. I'm pretty sure he rode it though so I guess he got a big boy car all to himself. I let Tahli "drive" and I learned something. I'm going to need a second job to pay for the insurance when she's a teenager. The kids all had a great time and enjoyed the ride immensely.
When we exited, the unlimited refills at 'Ohana had apparently not yet run their due course and another pit stop was called for. The venue I selected for this sacred duty was Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café. Once I finally figured out where the ramp was to wheel up into the place, we spent a few moments in air conditioned bliss. While the girls were otherwise occupied, I did a bit of exploring and decided to come back and have a snack here later on that night.
As we were heading back out, I heard a boom and realized Wishes was starting. Preston was not thrilled. When the first shell exploded, he plugged his ears and took off running like a winged nocturnal rodent out of Hades. My dad was half a beat too late to respond and then he bolted after him shouting "Preston!!!!" which faded off into the distance as they disappeared. I deiced the best thing to do in these situations is to remain stationary, watch the show, and hope for the best. Here's the thing about the pavement in front of Cosmic Ray's. It's not a great spot to watch Wishes. But, we stuck it out and the girls still enjoyed it.
When it was over, it took me a few minutes to locate Nana and Papa again, but we eventually reconnected and Papa had a rumpled but recovering Preston in his arms. We then all set out to tackle the infamous teacups. As I have mentioned before, I was thrilled Nana had volunteered to chaperone this ride as I do not do so well spinning. Roller coasters, good. Dropping, good. Speed, good. Spinning in circles, BAD. Bear this fact in mind, as deliberate negligence of this known law of Biscuit would come into play a few days later.
Preston was still a bit traumatized and was not interested in riding so he elected to sit on Papa's lap on a nearby bench for the duration of this particular excursion. I positioned myself along the railing, camcorder in hand while Nana and the ladies went through the queue. Nana would later report that there was some potential drama developing as the girls decided they wanted a pink cup. Not just decided they wanted a pink cup mind you, but decided they would ONLY ride in a pink cup. This of course presented a bit of a quagmire if it wound up that said receptacle was unavailable. As the line progressed, they happened to wind up at the front of the line for their round of the ride. This meant one thing. They would have their pick of cups. WOOHOO! Crisis averted.
Once our dizzy divas returned, Hailee wanted to ride Dumbo. She had actually wanted to ride this the first day, but due to line conditions we were unable to accommodate. When we arrived in the queue, the posted standby time was 20 minutes. In my live update, I theorized that this was a case of false advertising. Indeed it was. We actually waited about 40 minutes to board our aerial pachyderm. While we waited, drama threatened to once again ensue. Hailee wanted a Dumbo with a pink hat and Tahli wanted one with a purple hat. I explained to them that this sort of thing is not guaranteed and that we would just have to take what we got.
We slowly snaked our way through the queue and eventually found ourselves in the left hand holding area. As the group before us was boarding, it looked like we would be split up with Hailee and I being the last to board in our group. However, it turned out that one of the groups planning to ride together had to be split up into two elephants, and instead of being last to board, we wound up waiting a cycle and being first! I had to smile as Hailee said "See Daddy, I TOLD you I would get a pink one!" I gave her a hug and a squeeze and said a quick prayer of thanks that my girls' dreams were continuously coming true.
Our turn was soon up and after letting Hailee board first, as instructed, I took the little plastic card the CM gave me while in line and placed it on Dumbo's right ear. As they came around to insure we were properly secured, the CMs collected said cards. Since we wound up in the ride vehicle near the control booth, the CM started with us. After a few minutes the same CM came back and asked for my card. I advised her she had already taken it. This caused some confusion and stares of disbelief. She then asked me twice more if I was sure. I assured her that I was sure and suggested she count the ones in her hand. I don't know if she took me up on it, but she disappeared and did not return so I guess it was all kosher.
When our flight began, I turned on my camcorder, and held it in front of us with the screen flipped around so I could see it and videoed Hailee's reactions during most of the flight. She squealed, laughed, waved, shouted, and grinned the entire time. Play that clip to the theme song from The Rocketeer or the main title from Casper and it'll bring a tear to your eye.
When we returned to earth the girls were eager to ride Peter Pan. By this time EMH was in full swing and we needed our tickets out. The wait time was posted as 20 min and it was fairly accurate. I think we waited 22. Later in the night it would be a walk on. Not that we would walk onto it. Not all of us anyway. But had we been inclined to do so, a walk on could have technically been executed.
In all the planning and preparations, one thing I forgot to tell Nana about was that you aren't supposed to take flash photos inside the dark rides. I figured they'd announce it, but for some reason on Peter Pan they never did. SOOOOOOO we wound up with a few photos from this ride. (Don't tell bald surly character handler man. I'd be a repeat offender. Although technically it wasn't me that was the actual Alice Hugger. In fact it wasn't me this time either. So really I'm really just a victim of unfortunate circumstance.) Anyway, since the deed is done, I figure we may as well make use of the results.
We soared over London and as you can tell we really enjoyed it. Next up, the girls wanted another ride on It's A Small World. No problem ladies. I can handle it. Thus we descended the ramp for our third ride of the trip. No photos this time around. This was again a hit with all three kids.
After we left It's A Small World, we were ready for a break. Even though it was nearing 1 AM, it was still hot outside and something cold to drink was just what the doctor ordered. On our way back to Cosmic Ray's we passed the Carousel and the kids wanted to ride it again. Onto the carousel we went (no wait time) and enjoyed another round.
As we headed back over to Cosmic Ray's we grown up types had a mini pow-wow and decided that we would do an inventory after we got a drink and then decide if we needed to call it a night. I ordered us up some cold ones and we sat a few minutes and cooled back down. The kids were all doing FANTASTIC. They were soon ready to head out and wanted to ride more rides so who were we to argue?
We exited the side door and took the path to the side of the castle back to Fantasyland.
The girls wanted to give Snow White's Scary Adventure a try and when we arrived it was a literal walk on so they had no time to work up a fright. They actually did pretty well, but Hailee kept saying "I don't like the witch." When we were done, Tracy and I took the girls to see Mickey's Philharmagic. (The score of which was composed by the afore mentioned Alan Menken BTW.) When Preston discovered it was a 3-D flick, visions of Muppets danced in his head and he announced he was NOT going in there. Nana and Papa stayed behind and took him on the carousel and Dumbo while we were in the theater.
The last time we were here, this place housed the Lion King puppet dooly-o so I was anxious to check it out. The girls were having a good time before the show even started.
When we went in, there were maybe 3 people waiting in the lobby. By the time the show started there were around 30-40...for a theater meant to seat 486. NICE. The CM working the attraction told us to just sit wherever we liked. We liked the center of the row about 2/3 of the way back.
What did we think of the show? We all LOVED it. Especially Hailee. She laughed the entire time. Not just giggling either, the child was having full on, gut busting, waves of laughter. At one point I worried she'd laugh herself into an asthma attack. This wound up being her favorite Magic Kingdom attraction. She had a favorite in every park. If you ask her what her favorite attraction of the trip was she bounces between them, but more often than not, she usually picks Philharmagic. Which, by the way, she refers to as not as Mickey's Philharmagic, but as "Donald's Butt." If you've seen it, think final effect. It certainly makes for interesting conversation when discussing our trip with people. "What was your favorite thing Hailee?" "Seeing Donald's Buttt!" That's my girl! 
When we met back up with Nana and Papa, they were getting ready to take Preston back on Peter Pan. Hailee elected to go with them while Tahli volunteered to ride The Haunted Mansion with Tracy and I. We didn't force it and I did give her an out, but she wanted to try it. Yeah...that didn't go so well. In my memory it wasn't that scary. In reality it is apparently a near death experience for a 7 year old. Poor girl was spooked for a while after that. Even the funny ghosts in the car at the end were a bit much for her.
We met back up with the clan and all the kids wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain. I wasn't sure if Hailee would pass the height requirement or not, but she did. (And not JUST because of the flower on her head!) I rode with Hailee, Tracy rode with Tahli and Nana went with Preston. Papa decided to sit this one out. There was NO ONE in line and we went all the way through the queue without seeing a soul. When we made it down to the loading dock, there were maybe 10 people waiting on the next train. We joined them and within moments we were loaded up and heading out.
Of the three kids, Hailee actually liked it the best. One thing I noticed was that the ride seemed really hot; hotter than the rest of the park in fact. This struck me as being a bit odd. I'm guessing all the plaster and steel used to construct the "mountain" must absorb a fairly hefty sum of heat during the daytime and radiate it back out at night. As soon as the ride was over, Hailee wanted to go again. But it had just been way too hot and the other kids were not interested. We wandered back towards Fantasyland and it was a bit surreal. We were the only people around. It was very odd to see this area of the park so empty. The girls wanted to see Donalds Butt again.
Preston had drifted off in the stroller so everyone went this time. Papa held Preston who woke up part way through and decided this one was okay. Hailee again laughed the entire time. When we exited the theater, the characters were all riding the carousel. I was sad we had missed it and made a note to myself to make sure the kids were at the carousel at the end of EMH the next time we go.
By now it was 3 AM and the park was closing. We strolled our way slowly down a mostly empty Main Street and then the audio for the Kiss Godnight started and we turned back to the castle to watch. It was neat effect and a great way to end the day. The kids were still all awake at this point and after we returned the strollers, they walked with us to the bus stop. Luckily the bulk of the crowd had already made it back to the resort so by the time we got there, we managed to get a bus with plenty of open seats. As soon as we sat down, the kids were gone. They were all three asleep before the bus even pulled away from the stop.
I was pretty amazed that they lasted so long and managed to behave so well. The girls are both night owls though, as are Tracy and I. During the summer time, it's usually between 1 and 2 before we all go to bed. We decided that our plan of touring will always include evening EMH and probably never include morning EMH as none of us are morning lovers. It's just how we're wired.
We returned to the resort and carried our sleeping treasures back to the rooms and got them all in bed. I had actually reached that stage where you get passed being tired and are inexplicably awake. I grabbed Nanas camera and dumped all the photos when we got to the room and then did a quick live update. When I finally made it to bed, it was almost 4:30. At that point I had been up since six-ish the morning before. Would this ruin my enjoyment of the following day? Not as such. That particular honor would fall to a slight mix up I would make when it came to our dining reservation.
Coming up on Episode 65 - Paradise Lost...and Found
The more I hear about your line of work, the more I realize how much it has in common with my work in marketing - this is EXACTLY what I do, every working day of my life! 
I wonder...
I love COP as it takes me all the way back to my early Disneyland days as a child.
