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

[MrsSpratt]

\It was an AWESOME resort. BUT, it would have be to an open ended PIN. Tracy hasn't seen her parents in nearly two years now so that's where our next vacation will take us.

I have to go to Ireland before we are allowed to go to WDW. I haven't been to the World since I was 3, but I've never been to Ireland....

Mr. Spratt hasn't been to WDW - he grew up in Ireland, hence the trip!

Sooooo.....I TOTALLY feel your pain. And, I know that I am a resort snob. (Don't ask me how - I just do!) AND I want DH to to the Richard PEtty Driving experience, I want to go to V&A's, so I want to go Platinum. We will be lucky if we can manage a trip before we have kids with the amount we need to save! (AND once we have kids, platinum is out the window, unless we win lotto or something....just sayin'...too bad I don't play!)

I wish DH didn't roll his eyes every time I say WDW - but he appreciates my "friends" on the DIS, so I guess that is a start...

 

[MrsSpratt]

Morning, GB!

As promised, I talked to Ferris - this was voted the best BBQ in Texas by Texas Monthly on June, 2008 - may I present - SNOW'S. http://www.snowsbbq.com/map.html

I haven't been....but I'm going!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Great update! I have a lot of fun memories at WCC. I too would love a stay at the Wilderness Lodge. So lovely and I think DH will really love it. Now I just have to win the Utah State Lottery to pay for it. Oh wait...we don't have a lottery

Awesome! I hear you on the lotto...

Caught up! yay.
Hey GB WDW isn't going anywhere and either is that resort......
$5 here $5 there and eventually, you will be there again.

Another 32 heres and 37 theres and I can afford the first night!

I have to go to Ireland before we are allowed to go to WDW. I haven't been to the World since I was 3, but I've never been to Ireland....

First Lady Biscuit spent a week in the British Isles back in college. (Right before we started dating in fact.) I'd love to go someday.

Sooooo.....I TOTALLY feel your pain. And, I know that I am a resort snob. (Don't ask me how - I just do!) AND I want DH to to the Richard PEtty Driving experience, I want to go to V&A's, so I want to go Platinum. We will be lucky if we can manage a trip before we have kids with the amount we need to save! (AND once we have kids, platinum is out the window, unless we win lotto or something....just sayin'...too bad I don't play!)

I'm seeing a lotto theme here.

Morning, GB!

As promised, I talked to Ferris - this was voted the best BBQ in Texas by Texas Monthly on June, 2008 - may I present - SNOW'S. http://www.snowsbbq.com/map.html

I haven't been....but I'm going!

Ooooooooh. I think a detour will be in order the next time I head to Houston.

 

[englishrose47]

Found this I have to check the TR board more often !!!!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Found this I have to check the TR board more often !!!!

Howdy and Glad to have you aboard!

 

[daze]

GB, I am impressed. I joined this site almost a year ago. you were writing this TR then, and it's still going strong!! ROCK ON GB!!!!!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

GB, I am impressed. I joined this site almost a year ago. you were writing this TR then, and it's still going strong!! ROCK ON GB!!!!!

Hey Daze! Trying to take a page from the wholeTortoise and the Hare thing here. Eventually I'm sure I'll Get R Done.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Episode 70 - Galloping Hoops & Ponchos!

Previously on Biscuit's Grand Adventure, catwalks were photographed, meat was consumed and a rock was procured. After we left the Wilderness Lodge Mercantile, we spent some time exploring the rest of the lobby. Pausing on the bridge over the fountain that flows out to the pool area, the girls excitedly pointed out the stream to Tracy and I and were amazed that this place had a "river inside" It was one of those countless little moments that all contribute to the magic of a trip to the World. After a final look around the interior of the resort, we stepped out the back door to catch the launch to the Magic Kingdom.

The rain had stopped and the air had taken on the persona of a sauna. The skies were still foreboding and the lifeguards had the pool closed. We wound our way through the pathways behind the resort and in a few minutes, had succeeded in locating the boat dock. Dinner and shopping had killed two and half hours and our plan was to go see Spectro Magic. As we reached the end of the dock, the boat had just finished unloading passengers and we were able to get right on.

Once we started moving, the breeze helped keep the heat at bay. As we crossed Bay Lake and made our way into the Seven Seas lagoon, I reflected on the trip thus far. I couldn't believe how great things had been going. I felt so blessed to be here, with my wife and children, about to enter the Magic Kingdom for another evening for fun together.

As we approached the dock, the sun found a hole in the clouds.



We arrived in the Magic Kingdom at nine minutes before eight. (A little hard to see in this edited for broadcast shot, but easy to read on the original.)




Spectro was about an hour away and I knew we needed to grab some curb. As we strolled down Main Street, it seemed as if the entirety of this glorious boulevard was already well lined with parade enthusiasts. My initial thought was to head over to Frontierland and find a spot near the end of the parade route.



Upon reaching the hub, we encountered a cast member who was bedecked with a stockpile of hula hoops. The girls were immediately drawn to him like Abu to the forbidden treasure. Within moments they were happily hooping in the middle of the street with several other children.

\





While they were thus engaged, I noticed that there was still plenty of open curb in the center of the hub. (Would one call that the hubcap?) Anyway First Lady Biscuit and I grabbed a spot right where the trolley tracks split in the pavement. As we looked straight ahead, we were looking down Main Street. At this point in time, we still had about fifty minutes to go until the parade started. As we sat, we met some of those folks around us. It turned out that we wound up in the midst of a spontaneous Texan park guest meet. The people on both sides of and behind us were all from the Lone Star State.

About ten minutes before parade time, I saw something I had never noticed before. A handler and a driver pulled up in a brightly themed tractor and parked it in a nifty little taped-off area right where the floats enter the hub. I figured it must be some sort of emergency towing vehicle. I also noticed a gentleman who was a bit more dressed up than most of the CM's I had seen before. He positioned himself near the tractor with a radio. During the parade, I noticed him spending most of his time on the radio. It was interesting to see some of the inner workings I had never seen before.

No sooner had the tractor gotten into place, than the clouds opened up a bit and began to sprinkle. We broke out the ponchos for the first time of the trip and soon we were all properly shielded.

Have you ever wondered what kind of a parent lets their kids take their shoes off in the Magic Kingdom? Well, apparently this kind. Hailee had been wearing sandals earlier in the day and these were quickly shed to stomp in puddles.



Tahlia was content to simply sit and hold her rock.





As the parade was starting, Hailee came and sat in my lap. I didn't take too many photos. I just held my daughter and we watched the parade together.

About half way through the parade, we got to see the standby tractor in action. The Metronome float got stuck as it was approaching the hub. It was then that I noticed that there was actually a slope upwards from Main Street to the Castle. Radio dude whipped out some flashlights that resembled those used by ground crews to "park" an airplane. He shot some signals to tractor driver guy and guided him to the float where handler man hooked him up. Then the rig pulled the float about 20 feet or so to the top of the slope. Radio dude did some more fancy flashlight signals and the tractor disconnected and returned to its parking spot. What amazed me is that the entire process took MAYBE 60 seconds. They were insanely fast and precise. Not the best shot, but I tried to brighten it up as much as possible to see Tractor Driver Guy (on the right) and Radio Dude (on the left) in action. (Handler man has moved to the side at this point.)



The girls were in awe of the parade and loved being able to finally sit and watch the entire thing. When it was over, I realized that we were now in a PERFECT spot to view Wishes. I was feeling quite pleased with myself that we scored such an awesome locale. Then I felt the familiar tug on my shirt and realized in an instant that it was not to be. A restroom break was urgently needed.

After the girls were done, I figured we could still score a good spot to watch, but they wanted to go back to the resort and swim. I reminded myself of my pledge to not be that parent who forced his kids to stay in the parks, and we headed to the bus stop.

Riding back to the Pop Century, the girls were very excited about trying out the computer pool. They had already been in the Hippy Dippy and Bowling Pin pools and could not wait to try this one out. Once we arrived back, we headed to our room to get changed. Since sunscreen was not a concern, it didn't take long until we were all ready to hit to the pool. I brought our mugs along and stopped to fill them on the way. I had wandered over to the computer pool on the day of digestive instability, but the girls had not yet been over that way. They loved the foosball court and really got a kick out of the giant Potato Heads.



The pool was not overly crowded, and soon we were all splashing and playing in the water. There were many rounds of motor boat, jumping, surfing and the like. The rain did not return while we were swimming and we spent a good hour in the pool. Finally it was time to head back to the room and get ready for bed. We had our one and only breakfast reservation for the next morning. It was one the girls had been talking about for months. We were going to breakfast with the princesses. And let me tell you, the results would not be pretty.

Coming on Episode 71 - Morning Meltdowns

 

[jordanyosh]

Parades! Although not ever on my radar, I understand the value of spending quality time with loved ones. Sounds like that happened and with some Texas neighbors as well.

Pool time another plus..

Morning meltdown on the other hand.....oh oh.

 

[englishrose47]

Great narative Great Biscuit!!!My English Master in High School would have applauded you!!!

 

[norybell]

Great update!

 

[Millie12591]

Found this I have to check the TR board more often !!!!

Rose! It's good to see you over here, it's a good distraction from the chonie talk over in Jordie's PTR.

 

[vamassey1]

Another great update! One of Danielle's favorite past times is hula hooping while waiting. She hasn't tried playing the puddles yet but there's always next time.

On no the Princess Meal.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Parades! Although not ever on my radar, I understand the value of spending quality time with loved ones. Sounds like that happened and with some Texas neighbors as well.

Pool time another plus..

Morning meltdown on the other hand.....oh oh.

I can pass on the daytime parades, but still love me some Spectro.

Great narative Great Biscuit!!!My English Master in High School would have applauded you!!!

Thanks! Hopefully I didn't miss too many typos in this one!

Great update!

Thanks NB!

Rose! It's good to see you over here, it's a good distraction from the chonie talk over in Jordie's PTR.

We do have our fair share of potty humor though. (Including a flatulence filled finale sure to please the inner potty humorist in all of us.)

Another great update! One of Danielle's favorite past times is hula hooping while waiting. She hasn't tried playing the puddles yet but there's always next time.

On no the Princess Meal.

They played with those goofy hoops for 45 minutes. We couldn't believe it! They had a great time though and I was SOOOOO happy Disney does this.

 

[englishrose47]

I'm in for Potty humor too!!!!
This reminds me ... AnotherRosie Reminisence ....

When Kyle was much younger ... I returned from working 2 jobs and was very tired !!Kyle asked me to play some game with him ... I said " Oh Kyle Grandma is pooped !!!!He replied Ididn't POOP Grandma !!... I answered ..No I'm pooped !! His reply "" Gramm you really should use the potty!!!!!!

 

[PrincessV]

EEK, I'm two updates behind?! I hate when life gets in the way of my fave TRs.

We took in the sights, sounds and dare I say smells of Sunset Blvd while catching up.

Great DoF on this!

Then it was “fun with zoom” time.

Ooo, I love "fun with zoom" time! Here's what I want to know: do you keep two cameras at the ready, one equipped with zoom and one with an all-purpose lens, or do you stop and switch lenses? I can't tell you how many times I've brought along the super-zoom and never took it out of my bag; just too much work to get it out and switch lenses.

As I was grabbing out my camera gear, I realized that I had left the tripod in my room. (It remained packed in the suitcase the entire trip.)

You're not alone GB; I don't think my mini tripod has EVER made it out of my bag!

(Yashica FX3, Yashica 50mm, f5.6 1/125, ISO 400.)

Is this the maual camera? You got the lighting perfectly!

“Daddy, you better not be farting tonight!”

“Next time, I want us to stay here.”

Did you know there used to be a bar above Playhouse Disney? Playhouse used to be a food court of sorts and there was a bar. i think you could even access from the Brown Derby. It was called the Catwalk....and yes, we had drinks up there.

Jordan beat me to it! That was my first thought when I saw the catwalk pic, lol! That was a great spot.

Gorgeous!!!

About half way through the parade, we got to see the standby tractor in action. The Metronome float got stuck as it was approaching the hub. It was then that I noticed that there was actually a slope upwards from Main Street to the Castle. Radio dude whipped out some flashlights that resembled those used by ground crews to“park” an airplane. He shot some signals to tractor driver guy and guided him to the float where handler man hooked him up. Then the rig pulled the float about 20 feet or so to the top of the slope. Radio dude did some more fancy flashlight signals and the tractor disconnected and returned to its parking spot.

How bizarre! I've never seen that.

We were going to breakfast with the princesses. And let me tell you, the results would not be pretty.

Ruh-roh.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I'm in for Potty humor too!!!!
This reminds me ... AnotherRosie Reminisence ....

When Kyle was much younger ... I returned from working 2 jobs and was very tired !!Kyle asked me to play some game with him ... I said " Oh Kyle Grandma is pooped !!!!He replied Ididn't POOP Grandma !!... I answered ..No I'm pooped !! His reply "" Gramm you really should use the potty!!!!!!

Thanks! I needed a good laugh this morning. (I'm in training and just waiting for my brain to spontaneously hemorrhage.) Okay - Why is it that corporations feel compelled to have mandatory 4 day training on systems we A. Don't use in our group, B. Don't have access to even if we wanted to use them? I'm just saying.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

EEK, I'm two updates behind?! I hate when life gets in the way of my fave TRs.

Hey V! It's all good!

Ooo, I love "fun with zoom" time! Here's what I want to know: do you keep two cameras at the ready, one equipped with zoom and one with an all-purpose lens, or do you stop and switch lenses? I can't tell you how many times I've brought along the super-zoom and never took it out of my bag; just too much work to get it out and switch lenses.

The zoom was 80-300 so I kept it on my camera and carried it around my neck pretty much the entire time. Then I had my point and shoot I kept in my pocket.

Is this the maual camera? You got the lighting perfectly!

Thank, it was. I used that camera for YEARS in college and finally figured out the light meter on it! (It tends to under-expose if you go with the suggested perfect reading so I always open up 1 f-stop.) I didn't really pull it out on the trip except for this one day.

How bizarre! I've never seen that.

I hadn't either. It was interesting though.

Ruh-roh.

Me too!

 

[pipersmom]

Awesome update! It sounds like you had a great spot for the electrical parade..I know, I know..Spectro..but I will always remember it as the electrical! (I have very few memories from my childhood trips, but that is one of them.) The kids were too cute with the hula hoops and puddles and err...rock. lol

Looking forward to the next chapter, and hoping the meltdowns were quick and not "rotten the rest of the day" ones!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Awesome update! It sounds like you had a great spot for the electrical parade..I know, I know..Spectro..but I will always remember it as the electrical! (I have very few memories from my childhood trips, but that is one of them.) The kids were too cute with the hula hoops and puddles and err...rock. lol

Looking forward to the next chapter, and hoping the meltdowns were quick and not "rotten the rest of the day" ones!

It's all good! I still love to listen to the music from Main Street Electrical Parade. We still laugh about the rock. We had some drama the other day when the rock disappeared. But it was eventually located and returned to it's place of honor on the dresser.