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

[Sleepingbooty]

Love that first pic of the girls, GB - such sweet little faces!

Prayers headed your way for Papa, cousin, and family!

 

[vamassey1]

What a great evening! You lucked out on your TSM wait time. We loved this ride. The GMR is still one of my favorites. I love the clips of all the movies they show at the end. Never fails to bring a tear to my eye. So many great moments.

Can't wait to see if your successful.

 

[bedillamouse]

Prayers for your cousins....We had a scare with our oldest who had to have part of her skull removed at 10 months old....it's such a helpless powerless feeling to have your child sick.

Good update....I'm very curious what happens the next morning....

I love your pictures but know how great it is to hold your child when tired and enjoy a ride at the same time! Nothing better inthe world!

 

[norybell]

Great update, Biscuit! My problem is I don't know if I'd ever be brave enough to jump into a line with a posted 60 minute wait, even if I know it's probably not true...

I can't get over how adorable your girls are!

 

[winkers]

part of me is sad that my kids are too old for playhouse disney...but an even bigger part is glad.

 

[All7OfUs]

GB, I have been thinking of your cousin's baby all weekend! Any news to report??

What a great day (evening) you all had!! We adore EMH, and try to hit all of them.

Fabulous pix, as usual.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

nice score on TSM not only the line but also the score.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I've heard that DHS EMH was extremely busy. Did you find this was not the case? Perhaps it's time of year? How late was the park open for EMH?

It was busy, but it was less crowded than the park was during the daytime. The night went, the park closed at 8 PM and EMH was 8 PM -11 PM.

TSM sounds like a great attraction.

I loved it. The girls said their arms were tired from all the string pulling which is why they didn’t wish to repeat it.

Thanks for letting us know to stay far, far away from Playhouse Disney

Happy to be of service.

Oh I can't believe I missed this. Your cousin, his wife and their son are in my prayers, I am so sorry.

YAY for Papa doing well.

Thanks! I appreciate the prayers.

EMH at DHS is the bomb! We'd have never ridden TSM without it (teens being rope-drop avoidant and all).

Actually EMH is the bomb, period, for my crew.

What a great evening!!!!!!!!

We LOVE us some EMH. Evening EMH will be part of “The Plan” from now on.

Sounds like a great evening! I had no idea about the Playhouse Disney party, is it only on EMH nights? My kids would have loved it!

I believe it is an EMH only event. They had a blast.

I love the picture of the girls with their penny books. I can't count how many pictures I took of the kids holding theirs throughout the trip!

Thanks! They still pull that thing out and look at it fairly often.

EMH sounds like it was a blast! So neat your girls enjoy the pressed pennies so much, Piper has a few from places we've been, and I've found a giant tube of mini m&m's for her stocking..score! Now you have me all excited to see what happens in the next update..

We’ve expanded our collection now to include some Sea World pennies. (Housed in the Disney collection book no less!)

Whoa! you guys had a blast for sure! you got the very SAME seat that we did on the GMR!! We had a gangser too

I loved sitting up front. You see more of the ride that way.

Wow.. that is a beautiful picture of your little princesses!

Thanks!

I am so glad that SOMEONE enjoys this attraction. I find it terribly outdated. The only reason I sit through it, is to see Ariel sing her famous song. I think they could do so much more with that space.. something updated. I feel better knowing that some folks are still enjoying it!

The girls absolutely loved it.

I've never heard of this! Thanks for sharing... my little one would lOVE it!

No prob. All the kids in there had a blast. (The later it gets, the smaller the crowds and the more character time each kids gets.)

They were totally trying to turn people away with a scary wait time and a line out the door. Good for you for not falling for it and getting a sweet wait time!

It was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Great Update GB!! I usually do a.m. EMH at DHS just so I can squeeze in extra TSM rides ! That was huge hit with the family in Sept. !! Now to the GMR ,personally I love it ,s I was thrilled when Kyle did too!! I fact he rode it 5 times at least !!It was a great filler while the girls did RnR and ToT !!!DHS is the families favorite park !! It is not mine as I LOVE Epcot the mostest!!! But DHS is moving up the list fast especially with the new menu at FairfaxFair !!

Hey Rosie! DHS will always have a special place in my WDW loving heart. But I think I agree with you on Epcot. Especially after this last trip.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Love that first pic of the girls, GB - such sweet little faces!

Prayers headed your way for Papa, cousin, and family!

Thanks! I appreciate it.

What a great evening! You lucked out on your TSM wait time. We loved this ride. The GMR is still one of my favorites. I love the clips of all the movies they show at the end. Never fails to bring a tear to my eye. So many great moments.

Can't wait to see if your successful.

The end clips are def one of the highlights of the ride.

Prayers for your cousins....We had a scare with our oldest who had to have part of her skull removed at 10 months old....it's such a helpless powerless feeling to have your child sick.

I appreciate the prayers. The uncertainty is the most difficult part to deal with I think.

Good update....I'm very curious what happens the next morning....

It will be a grand adventure for sure.!

Great update, Biscuit! My problem is I don't know if I'd ever be brave enough to jump into a line with a posted 60 minute wait, even if I know it's probably not true...

I can't get over how adorable your girls are!

Brave it! Especially during the latter part of EMH! Thanks! I’ll never argue with you on that one.

part of me is sad that my kids are too old for playhouse disney...but an even bigger part is glad.

I won’t be sad when that particular attraction can be bypassed.

GB, I have been thinking of your cousin's baby all weekend! Any news to report??

Nothing new. They still have him on a feeding tube, he has a small hole in his heart, and prognosis is still uncertain.

What a great day (evening) you all had!! We adore EMH, and try to hit all of them.

Fabulous pix, as usual.

EMH is one of the main reasons I insisted on being on property.

nice score on TSM not only the line but also the score.

Thanks! I was pleased with myself for the inaugural ride.

 

[Normangirls]

Oh, WOW, we love the Dance Party.

DD4 especially could stay there all night, so we let her. DH and I trade off, running all over the park with DD13 and DD9, riding RnR and ToT, shopping, doing Star Tours, and so on.

DD4 feels like this is one thing that is really just for her. Many times she is left waiting for the grown-ups and grown-up-kids to ride a grown-up ride, so she deserves this.

I could sit there and watch her chase bubbles for hours. She is completely, totally in the moment, just full of joy and happiness.

 

[MAJ RN]

Oh Great Biscuit I just have to say that I LOVE your trip report. Your writing style is amazing and I truly enjoy how you chronical how you developed your love of Disney!!! Your daughters are beautiful and the look of wonderment on their faces remind me of my boys on their first trips. Can't wait to read more and see more pictures of your trip!!





Melissa

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Oh, WOW, we love the Dance Party.

DD4 especially could stay there all night, so we let her. DH and I trade off, running all over the park with DD13 and DD9, riding RnR and ToT, shopping, doing Star Tours, and so on.

DD4 feels like this is one thing that is really just for her. Many times she is left waiting for the grown-ups and grown-up-kids to ride a grown-up ride, so she deserves this.

I could sit there and watch her chase bubbles for hours. She is completely, totally in the moment, just full of joy and happiness.

That's awesome you DD has her own special place! The girls definitely had a blast in there. I may or may not have participated in the Cupid Shuffle and broken out my Fred G Sanford when I walked it by myself.

Oh Great Biscuit I just have to say that I LOVE your trip report. Your writing style is amazing and I truly enjoy how you chronical how you developed your love of Disney!!! Your daughters are beautiful and the look of wonderment on their faces remind me of my boys on their first trips. Can't wait to read more and see more pictures of your trip!!





Melissa

Howdy & I'm glad to have you aboard and appreciate your kinds words. We have a ton of fun on here and laugh often. I hope to update again this week.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I haven't read your TR in about a month but I'm all caught up now. I'm glad I only had 2 episodes to read.

I probably wont' be back on before Friday so have very Merry Christmas!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I haven't read your TR in about a month but I'm all caught up now. I'm glad I only had 2 episodes to read.

I probably wont' be back on before Friday so have very Merry Christmas!

Hey Shannon! It's that time of year where things get wonky so I haven't been updating nearly as often. Take you time and have a Merry Christmas too!

 

[eliz991]

YES!!!! I MADE IT!!!! I read all 104 pages, plus Mrs. The King's report and all SIX of Zzub's reports, as directed, and now I have read the whole thing and I can comment!

I'd like to thank my parents and my sister for teaching me to read, all the cast and crew, the posters for making the TR so fun, and of course Great Biscuit, without whom we would not be here....

All right! Ahem...well....





it appears I don't actually have anything to say right now. Except your cousin's family will be in my prayers and Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[brookelizabeth]

GB, have you ever tried the new truvia sweetner, it's suppose to be natural (not like they say Splenda is natural ) from the stevia plant. I tasted it and it was amazing, I didn't think I would like it because I had tasted true stevia and it was bitter, but Truvia takes from the plant what is the sweetest part and left out the bitter. Tastes pretty darn good and no nasty fake sweetner after-taste. JAS

I have to second the Truvia! There are also coupons available for it quite often on coupons.com.

A week later, a Canon XL2 was delivered to our door.

Very cool! Loved the announcement clip too! I think Joe's old camera was the model (or two?) below this one - it was the cream of the crop camera when he bought it. We sold it about 2 years ago for over a grand still. They hold their value quite well. It was a very nice camera, but not ideal for trips to Disney World.

Nothing like a good technical manual to warm the heart. Plus I had to pass the time while it was being shipped so I downloaded it from Canon.

We have GOT to meet up. Joe does the EXACT SAME THING. When they got a new sound board for church he already had downloaded the manual, read the thing and had downloaded a trial version of the software before it arrived. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

It was the best of times. Papa had another surgery yesterday and is recovering well. No complications so far for which we are thankfully giving God the praise.

It was the worst of times. Many of you may recall me mentioning my cousin and his wife last week. Due to complications, they had to do an emergency C-section a few weeks early. Since then, their son has had a host of medical problems and today was diagnosed with Cranio-Cerebello-Cardiac Dysplasia. (Or 3C Syndrome). I was not able to find much information, but what I did find was sobering. They have a long and difficult journey ahead of them. As always, your prayers are appreciated.

Have a great night my friends. I’ll be in and out for a couple of days, but still hope to update this week.

Prayers being said for everyone! Glad to read Papa is doing well too.

(I need a GPS tracker on my next camera.) [/QUOTE]

Joe mentioned this just the other day when neither of us could recall a nap time break on our DHS day from September!

The Playhouse Disney Dance Party looks great!!! What a fun evening! 45 minutes for a balloon animal is nearly as kooky as my waiting for a haircut at the Barbershop....ah, what we do for our kids!

And those tricky, tricky CMs with the faux 60 minute wait on TSM. Sneaky.

Looking forward to what your morning will hold...and if you will ever find that green Kooky lanyard. And if you captured a picture of said Kooky lanyard because I haven't a clue what it is!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

YES!!!! I MADE IT!!!! I read all 104 pages, plus Mrs. The King's report and all SIX of Zzub's reports, as directed, and now I have read the whole thing and I can comment!

Howdy and I gotta say I'm impressed! That's no small volume of work to undertake! I'm so happy you get to join the banter now!

I'd like to thank my parents and my sister for teaching me to read, all the cast and crew, the posters for making the TR so fun, and of course Great Biscuit, without whom we would not be here....

All right! Ahem...well....

it appears I don't actually have anything to say right now. Except your cousin's family will be in my prayers and Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanks! And have a Merry Christmas as well!

I have to second the Truvia! There are also coupons available for it quite often on coupons.com.

Went to the store yesterday. Even made it to the sugar aisle. Remembered there was something I was looking for. That's as far as it got.

Very cool! Loved the announcement clip too! I think Joe's old camera was the model (or two?) below this one - it was the cream of the crop camera when he bought it. We sold it about 2 years ago for over a grand still. They hold their value quite well. It was a very nice camera, but not ideal for trips to Disney World.

I would definitely NOT want to lug that thing around a park. It'll throw out your shoulder in a hurry!

We have GOT to meet up. Joe does the EXACT SAME THING. When they got a new sound board for church he already had downloaded the manual, read the thing and had downloaded a trial version of the software before it arrived. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Totally!

[/SIZE]Joe mentioned this just the other day when neither of us could recall a nap time break on our DHS day from September!

It would sell like hotcakes around here.

The Playhouse Disney Dance Party looks great!!! What a fun evening! 45 minutes for a balloon animal is nearly as kooky as my waiting for a haircut at the Barbershop....ah, what we do for our kids!

And those tricky, tricky CMs with the faux 60 minute wait on TSM. Sneaky.

Looking forward to what your morning will hold...and if you will ever find that green Kooky lanyard. And if you captured a picture of said Kooky lanyard because I haven't a clue what it is!

The girls had a blast. Ill have to see if I can photo the lanyard.

 

[All7OfUs]

Merry Christmas, GB, Tracy and Girls!!

May you truly revel in the Reason this year!!

Liesa

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Merry Christmas, GB, Tracy and Girls!!

May you truly revel in the Reason this year!!

Liesa

Thanks Liesa! You too!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Episode 74 - Extract Me from this Infernal Apparatus!

I awoke bright and early and was eager to start my morning adventure. The night before, I had showered and set out everything I needed. Within a few minutes I was dressed and ready to go. I packed light that morning, bringing only my wallet, Nikon N60 which I wore on my neck, my Sony Cybershot which rode in my right pocket, and my Blackberry curve which rode in my left. (Oh, and some extra rolls of film which rode in the little elastic loops on the camera strap.) I was a man on a mission. My task was to locate the elusive Green Kooky Pen Lanyard and purchase said item.

It was a bit overcast as I headed down to the bus stop and I pondered whether I should have perhaps brought my poncho. Deciding to leave my fate in the hands of the Almighty, I pressed on without it. Cutting through Everything Pop, I browsed a bit and within a minute or two, discovered a Green Kooky Pen lanyard. This was all well and good, but it would never do for an adventure. It was too easy. I needed a challenge by Jove. What kind of TR entry would this be if I bought the lanyard now and went back to bed? Not a good one says I! So in the interest of providing a pleasurable reading experience for you my readers, I pressed forward, happy in the knowledge that I now had a backup plan.

Since leaving the room, I had been pondering two options. Choice number one was to head to the Studios Formerly Known As MGM (a.k.a. Stew Fork 'Em) and ride Rocking Rollercoaster with Aerosmith, then The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Option two was to head over to Epcot and ride Mission Space and Test Track. This was a tough choice I gotta tell you. I was reasonably certain that whichever option was not selected would wind up being on the "Next Time" list. After much deliberation, my mind was made up. I was heading to Stew Fork 'Em.

I was at peace with this decision right up until the time I hit the bus stop. The line for The Studios was massive. The Epcot queue was not only empty, there was a bus sitting there with the door open. Without thinking twice I jumped on board, pulled out my phone to check the time and got a bit of a tingle. There was a chance, that I might actually make Biscuit Disney History. Barring an unforeseen incident with alligators or Brazilians, I was going to make rope drop! Waves of joy washed over me and shaft of golden sunlight shown down from the heavens and illuminated our way.

When we arrived, I had the joy of skipping bag check and headed through the turnstiles. I still had some time so I pulled out the Cybershot for my first set of photos.



I headed past Spaceship Earth to the fountain courtyard. It seemed that about 2/3 of those waiting were headed to the right. (Presumably to ransack Soarin.) I joined the group on the left just as they were wrapping up the little ceremony thing they do. Within 5 min the ropes were dropped and we all dashed away together.

Most folks seemed to be headed towards Test Track. My first stop was the Fastpass booth at Mission Space.

Once my return time was procured, I decided to test a theory. I had received different answers on the DIS concerning the fast pass machines. My question initially was, can one person go ahead to the parks and get fast passes while the rest of the crew is still at the resort. Some thought yes, others said no. I swiped one of the girls Keys to the World cards which I happend to have with me and waited for the results. Can you get FP's when the crew isn't with you? The answer is: maybe, but only if their ticket has been used that day in that park. So if it's early morning and you are the first one there, you are out of luck Chuck. You get a slip telling you the ticket you entered has not been used for admission to that park that day. I think that those who responded yes were thinking of sending one person back to the park during an afternoon break. In which case, you could, as long as everyone had been admitted to the same park at least once that day.

Research duties now complete, I headed over towards Test Track. The line was quite long by now so I decided to shoot some pics first.



As I was zooming around through my lens to find the next subject to photograph, I spied something I had forgotten. The Solo Rider line. It was a 5 min wait. That's cool. Hey, wait a second. I'm a solo rider today! Great Merciful Gibblets it's time to RIDE baby! WOOHOO!

I slung my camera back on my neck and made my way to the solo line. Once inside, I pulled out the digital and only stopped walking long enough to take a couple of photos.







Total time from entering the building to boarding a car? Three and a half minutes. YES! We were soon zooming though our battery of test.

Final thoughts? Bubba likes it.

I headed out and browsed the show car area for a few minutes.



I wound up meandering about the gift shop for a few minutes and finally settled on a Mickey Ear antenna topper which rides proudly on my car today. Well, I'm proud to have it there anyway, I'm not sure what its feelings are on the subject actually. I mean you can only imagine how the antenna toppers all dream about one day ending up on a sports car or some hot little import. I'm sure once Epcot closes at night, they slip out off the display shelves and go strolling longingly through the concept car display. Yet if my new friend did feel any shame about riding atop a Chevy Cavalier with a saggy bumper, he bore it stoically and never once complained. (I suppose he may have taken a lesson from my Arizona blue jeans which also ride atop a saggy bumper, but that's a topic for another thread.)

I still had some time to go before my FP window opened, so I headed back out to take a few more photos.



I made my way towards Mission Space and took a couple of more shots before heading inside.

I still had 15 min until my window opened up. The standby line was posted at 10 min. I decided that it made no sense to wait, so I went with standby. "More intense or less intense" asked the kind CM. "Orange card me" replied the Biscuit. (You remember me mentioning before that I have issue with things that spin, correct?)

When we hit the queue, I was looking around and taking it all in when suddenly I spied Regis. In the lounge above the queue, Live with Regis and Kelly was on TV and showing through the glass. It made for a very bizarre contrast with the rest of the queue.




Before long we bid farewell to Regis and Rockets and were engrossed in the whole Gary Sinise spiel. At that point, I was getting a bit apprehensive. The idea of being locked in a centrifuge was steadily loosing appeal. Yet, I was determined to see this mission through to fruition, even if it killed me; which apparently is a possibility with this particular attraction. Before long it was time to enter and I was assigned the task of engineer. Once we boarded, I was immediately impressed with the themeing of the ride vehicle itself. (I played with all the buttons throughout the ride, by the way.) As to the ride experience itself, I won't spoil it for you other than to say it ROCKED. I was surprised when it was over that I wasn't all that sick. I had a little bit of dizziness that passed by the time I managed to get unbuckled and exit.

I walked though the exit area without stopping and figured, "Hey, that wasn't so bad! I think I'll go ahead and use my Fastpass now to hop right back on." O naïve little Biscuit. How grandly has the Disney magic clouded your better judgment. See him now rounding the corner and rejoining the queue. Hear him speaking those fateful words to the CM as he selects another orange card. Observe the lightness of his step as he walks through the queue so blissfully unaware of the misery to which he is now destined.

As it turned out, I was assigned to be the commander. Obviously my skills as engineer had been so highly noted that I was selected for this noble assignment the moment the CM's saw me boldly reenter the training bay. After Gary gave us our instructions again, we were shown to our capsule and soon blasted off. And then it began. First there was a bit of wonkiness in my mid section. Then a lightness between my ears. By the time we were halfway done, I was desperately trying to remember where they stashed the motion sickness bags. There was little I could do at that point but to hold on and pray for stamina. My one redeeming grace was that I had not eaten that morning. Otherwise I am certain there would have been a protein spill in Pod Three.

Finally, mercifully the ride stopped and I somehow managed to stumble out of the thing. I was not walking in a straight line and wound up leaning on the side wall as I walked back to the exit. I was moving slow and wound up at the rear of the pack. I must have been quite as sight as two CM's asked me if I was okay. About all I could muster was "Peachy." I finally made it to the exit area and paused for few minutes to sit and collect myself. When at last I had regained my senses I decided that perhaps a double ride on the orange side was NOT an experience to add into any future incarnations of The Plan.

Eventually regaining my composure, I was able to walk again without the aide of a friendly neighborhood wall. I made my way to the gift shop and procured some pressed pennies for the girls. At that point, I figured it would behoove me to get a status update on my original mission, so I went back outside to continue the search for the Great Green Kookie Lanyard.

Mouse Gear had them as well. But I didn't buy it yet. That would end my adventure too soon. But it was nice to know that my backup had a backup. Before my self imposed venture into insanity, I had kicked around the idea of hopping a bus over to DHS and trying for an RNRC Fastpass / TOT single rider combo. Any such thoughts had been dashed by my recent unsettling experience.

How could I relax a bit in Epcot, get in some photos, and enjoy the rest of my solo morning? Two words: World Showcase. Yet even this seemingly low key activity would not be without its surprises.

Coming up on Episode 75- I Shockingly Discover an Identical Twin.