++Cheerleaders! Blisters! Oversized Water Bottles! ...It Must Be Disney++ Feb 2011 TR

[Mickeysgirl34]

Great report Timmy!

Loved the pictures of the band and jazz band! The trumpets <3 I see there's a bass clarinet! Those are very rare in bands. We have two of them. Clarinets represent (;

Looks like your chorus group is as big as our chorus group. but the 10-12 group doubles it lol. I'm in the 9th grade group.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great report Timmy!

Loved the pictures of the band and jazz band! The trumpets <3 I see there's a bass clarinet! Those are very rare in bands. We have two of them. Clarinets represent (;

Looks like your chorus group is as big as our chorus group. but the 10-12 group doubles it lol. I'm in the 9th grade group.

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks Val! Apparently my annoying "go read my TR" finally worked LOL I hope I didn't annoy you too much into doing this.

Thanks! Oh, I didn't even notice that. No wonder they're so rare. I didn't even know Clarinets were bass. I only thought it was Saxes that went from Soprano to Alto to... you get the point. I used to play Clarinet and the Sax

Oh, well not everyone was there so it was a bit smaller but I think we were only missing one guy and he was the only freshman guy that didn't go. Its pretty funny.

I'll update again as soon as I can!

 

[lamb616]

awwww, I've only read your first couple posts but just had to say that we were there the same time as you, also at ASMU. And my son is Timmy (we call him Timothy) and he also loves reading and writing. He's only 7.5 tho. And it looks like you are also maybe from the Northeast. I will keep reading.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

awwww, I've only read your first couple posts but just had to say that we were there the same time as you, also at ASMU. And my son is Timmy (we call him Timothy) and he also loves reading and writing. He's only 7.5 tho. And it looks like you are also maybe from the Northeast. I will keep reading.

Oh wow really! What a coincidence! If you were down by the pools on the 24th we were that huge group that came down through All Star Music. We weren't the cheerleaders though LOL Well, tell your son to keep up the reading and writing, it will help him so much in the long run (I'm only in high school but seriously I haven't written or read in awhile because of schoolwork and I think the quality of my work has gone down). I hope you enjoy the rest of the TR.

 

[luckylady]

Great update. Looks like a good sized crowed showed up.

 

[lamb616]

Oh wow really! What a coincidence! If you were down by the pools on the 24th we were that huge group that came down through All Star Music. We weren't the cheerleaders though LOL Well, tell your son to keep up the reading and writing, it will help him so much in the long run (I'm only in high school but seriously I haven't written or read in awhile because of schoolwork and I think the quality of my work has gone down). I hope you enjoy the rest of the TR.

we actually arrived on the 24th - probably around noonish, ate in the food court, and then swam for a couple hours. I didn't notice any really huge groups at all 'til the very end of our trip (we left March 4th.) Those last couple days there was a HUGE group of kids, maybe a dance team or something. Anyways, you're a great writer. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

we actually arrived on the 24th - probably around noonish, ate in the food court, and then swam for a couple hours. I didn't notice any really huge groups at all 'til the very end of our trip (we left March 4th.) Those last couple days there was a HUGE group of kids, maybe a dance team or something. Anyways, you're a great writer. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Oh, that's when I arrived and it was around noon, too! But we were off to the parks as soon as we got there. Wow, I wonder if it was because we were so spread out. And thanks! I will try to update tomorrow possibly later tonight if I have the time for the third half.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great update. Looks like a good sized crowed showed up.

Thanks! Yeah, we definitely got a decent sized group watching us. And then Mickey and Minnie watching from above

 

[lamb616]

We had a little "incident" in the pool (big pool) that I'm hoping doesn't show up in your report, lol!! I can't remember what day it was, I'm thinking it was Sunday or Monday afternoon. I won't go into detail if I don't have to.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

We had a little "episode" in the pool (big pool) that I'm hoping doesn't show up in your report, lol!! I can't remember what day it was, I'm thinking it was Sunday or Monday afternoon. I won't go into detail if I don't have to.

Oh... I kinda left on Monday and wasn't really down near there and it was a bit before the afternoon set in. Sunday was parks, parks and more parks! Don't worry if I don't recall, its not going to show up

 

[grandfloluver]

I have said this once, and I will say it again---I love your TR!!! My moms favorite food at WDW is a Mickey waffle. They rock! It sounds like y'all did good at Downtown Disney. That would be fun to perform there.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I have said this once, and I will say it again---I love your TR!!! My moms favorite food at WDW is a Mickey waffle. They rock! It sounds like y'all did good at Downtown Disney. That would be fun to perform there.

Haha Thanks Hannah! You are too kind.

Mickey's Waffle DO ROCK! They are amazing. I could live off those things. Definitely need to show my mom those when we go back (if we go back).

Downtown Disney was awesome. We definitely did very well and I wish I could perform again or maybe go see one of my sisters when they take the trip down there.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the TR, Hannah

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great report so far! I like how you started out at Animal Kingdom. It's my second favorite park behind MK and I love the safari...so that picture of the ostrich right by your car was pretty cool.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great report so far! I like how you started out at Animal Kingdom. It's my second favorite park behind MK and I love the safari...so that picture of the ostrich right by your car was pretty cool.

Thanks! Yeah, I would've liked to have started at MK but it was nice there. I think people downgrade that park too much. And haha that's my favorite pic from there.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the TR!

 

[BrerColby]

I'm loving your report! Just to let you know, the lake monster made out of legos name is "Brickly". Sorry, I just let my nerdiness show.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I'm loving your report! Just to let you know, the lake monster made out of legos name is "Brickly". Sorry, I just let my nerdiness show.

Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying it.

Oh, I didn't know he had a name. My vast Disney knowledge is exclusive to the 4 parks and resorts, than other Disneys around the world, I'm still learning about Downtown Disney

I hope you will enjoy the rest of the TR

 

[disfreak24]

I read this today Its very interesting! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

i wish my school's chorus went to disney world!

Cant wait to read the rest!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I read this today Its very interesting! Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

i wish my school's chorus went to disney world!

Cant wait to read the rest!

I'm glad you are enjoying it. It was tons of fun, I would so do it again if they did it that often.

I'll update as soon as I can

 

[PlutosRHM55]

As you may have noticed I changed the title of this chapter since the theme is a bit different. I also organized the chapters by day so it won't look so scattered. On to the update...

CHAPTER 5: AN EXTRA MAGIC HOURS DISCOVERY

We were on our way back to All Star Music by now. Everyone was basically resting because it was a lot of energy moving from place to place. Then, you were very excited and that gave you a quick boost of energy which didn't last long. So, the bus was unusually quiet on the way back.

It took about 20 minutes to get back to the resort. When we got back, we all got off the bus and went inside to go help everyone drop stuff off at our rooms, also to allow the Jazz Band to get changed and put away some of their stuff since they didn't have a ton of time after the last performance. I walked with Rishi and Nate to drop Rishi's stuff off at the room then they went down to the bus stop to wait for us. I texted Jocelyn and she told me Tina had to get changed so she would be out a bit. So I waited by the boots. They came out and told me Tina was still getting changed and almost ready so we walked down ahead of her. She caught up to us soon after we were leaving and told us she needed to stop by the food court for some lunch. So we walked let Tina go to the food court and we all went outside and waited.

We checked our watches and noticed that it was around 6 which is the time when parks are beginning to close. We decided, as to be safe, to go inside and check the park hours. Also, we wanted to get Taylor a birthday button. The guy at the front desk was so nice, he was one of the older CMs, gave Taylor a cute little button and he told us that Hollywood Studios, where we were planning to go, was closing in an hour. It was a unanimous decision and now we were only going to have a few minutes in the park. Tina, Jocelyn, Taylor and I all decided we weren't going there, but EPCOT since they were having Extra Magic Hours tonight and wanted to make use of that. So, we were set for the night.

We came back outside and saw all our friends waiting in line for Hollywood Studios. We went up and told them about the closing time. We told them we were going to EPCOT instead for Extra Magic Hours. They were stubborn and still wanted to go to the Studios. We tried to persuade them since we hadn't done any parks with them all trip but they stuck to their plans.

Their bus was the first to come so they were gone, but the EPCOT bus came soon after. There was nobody else in line for EPCOT so when we got on the bus there was nobody there and were able to easily sneak on Tina's food. She ate while we waited so we wouldn't have to bring on it the bus, but it came pretty quick. The bus driver wasn't really paying any attention to us so Tina ate her food in peace. She still didn't finish her food when we got there.

We got off the bus, went up to the entrance, got our bags checked, went through the gates and we were in the park. It was shockingly still very light out at this point. I'm guessing daylight savings times has nothing on Disney.

Our first order of action was to find a water ride. It was quite hot today, even with the wind and we wanted to cool off. I told them about Maelstrom in Norway, while I never really enjoyed the ride and told them this, they still wanted to go on. Of course, we were swayed in the direction of Test Track first. It was at this point that I noticed Jocelyn and Taylor kept on saying "That one in the blue is a 10" or "The one with the yellow hat is a 7". I was a bit confused but noticed they were pointing out different guys. I soon learned they were rating guys looks. I think this may have ruined part of my trip since I heard it every second. Uggh...

So, we made our way over to Test Track. We waited outside of the ride queue to let Tina finished but she said she was full so she threw it out before we got in line. The wait was 30 minutes but the line was the longest I've waited in for the ride, well the two times I rode it on my first trip were with fastpasses so I probably shouldn't be too picky, but this line began very close to the stand-by line entrance. Jocelyn and Taylor continued to rate guys and I think I was having a headache at this point, so luckily we finally got to the Pre Show within 30 minutes as it said. We watched the whole video and I could already tell Tina was cringing. The Pre shows for DINOSAUR and Test Track just make things so much nervewracking.

After the preshow was over we of course had to wait a bit longer in the line before we got on the ride. I got seated in the back for the first time. The first time I rode I was the middle seat up front, where you are at the center of all the action. Now I was in the back, whole different perspective.

The ride was just as fun as the last time I went on it and the picture just as great. After we got off, we hung around the gift shop a bit and more people were giving some happy birthdays to Taylor. She thought it was funny that random people would just come and say happy birthday when they saw her pin. She had an especially fun conversation with two CMs at the check-out counter after buying some gifts for her family in the gift shop.

After Taylor bought all her stuff we left and headed straight towards Maelstrom. When we got to Maelstrom, I was clearly shocked to see a line for the ride. There was never a line. The first time I went on we basically walked on and this was mid-day. It still shocks me they even need fastpass machines. Luckily in this line there were no guys our age to be seen so no more ratings. I survived up until I got on the ride.

The ride was just as bad as last time except it was darker (the sun went down during the time we were on). My friends were just as disappointed as I was. We ran out of the ride and past the movie. Then, the whole "rate" thing Taylor and Jocelyn had going continued in the gift shop. I pulled them out of there as quick as I could.

Now, Tina was begging us to go to Universe of Energy, the one attraction she'd been dying to see besides the safari. I agreed to go with her and let Jocelyn and Taylor shop and eat. So they went further back into World Showcase while we headed in the direction of Mexico and the entrance. I was starting to get hungry and still had money on my dining card so I asked if we could stop at Mexico to eat. She let me so I got in line. I noticed the familiarity of the menu and remembered the last time I was here, we ate in Mexico but at this little food stand. It must've been moved here. I bought the nachos, same thing as last time, and Tina got a popsicle since she was full from her last little meal. The wait was a bit long, but I got my food and that's all that matters (*wink*)

The seating area for the counter service was packed but I knew of a place that always filled up when there was just the stand. I showed Tina and we sat comfortably in our own little corner with our food. Sadly, my nachos turned out to be a big mess so there was a lot of walking long distances to get napkins (Haha). Ignoring the napkins, the Nachos were delicious! I wish I had gotten my favorite churros with them last time. I highly recommend La Cantina as a counter service (I think that's the name of the place). While it wasn't a big favorite, I still would go back.

After I finished, we threw away my stuff, cleaned up and headed back off into Future World straight to Universe of Energy. It was a bit of a walk but we found our way and noticed the park was a lot quieter. It was very silent by the Universe of Energy pavilion and we noticed, sadly, the ride was closed for the night. Tina was very upset, but it gave us the chance for a photo op:

After that, Tina texted Jocelyn and Taylor to tell them that Universe of Energy was closed and we were heading over to check out Soarin' and maybe get fastpasses. We were about to walk over when I noticed a text on my phone. It was from my friend, Margaret back home. I'm guessing she was just wondering how things were going. I opened the text and my jaw just dropped. She that the house of another friend of mine burned down. I told Tina right away and she was in shock. I can't believe this happened. Luckily, her family was okay. Oh, what a way to put a damper on things! I texted Margaret back and asked her what happened, I also texted Jocelyn to tell her what Margaret told me. We continued walking to the other side of World Showcase talking about this. When we got home we would definitely have to help in some way.

When we got to the front area of the land, where a large group of people were gravitating towards, not a good sign, the times board said Soarin' was still around an 1 hour long wait. I saw the Seas nearby and told Tina to text Jocelyn to meet us there instead, since there was only a 5 minute wait. I ended up texting her as we walked over. When we got over,we got in the queue, zipped right through it and straight onto the ride. There always seems to be very little wait for this ride...

The ride wasn't entirely fantastic, but very cute. I just have a thing for dark rides. Disney always adds this magical touch to them which makes them very fun. The... I think its called an Angler Fish scared Tina and I but that was the worst part. There were many cool parts, but it was still okay for me this time around, not as fun as when I went on it the first time. We got a text on the ride saying the were right near by and would get there soon. So, when we got off the ride we decided to check out the place.

I was still amazed at how much fun we had then. We ran around the whole place checking out the aquarium, various rooms and such. The Seas pavilion was much bigger than I thought. Our struggle to get a picture of a dolphin, the hidden mickey, it was all very fun for us nerdy kids teehee. Here are the billions of pictures I took:

After our little adventures through the seas we decided to go now find Jocelyn and Taylor. They said they were pretty close to the seas so we went downstairs and made our way out looking around for them. They weren't anywhere inside so we left to see if we could meet them on their way in as we walked towards the Land and Soarin'.

When we were about to go in, Jocelyn calls me. She was frustrated and angry after she was put on ANOTHER ride that she didn't like. I told her we had just left because we thought you may have been out front. I told her to meet us at Soarin' so we could go on. She was even more frustrated since she had no clue where the Land was. I gave her some directions and she gave me the OK.

When Tina and I got into the Land and Soarin' we noticed the line for Soarin' was a lot shorter than usual (short for Soarin' I mean). I was so anxious to go on right now. I've never been on it when the line was so short, but Taylor and Jocelyn were still not here, so being a good friend I waited. They came about 10 or 5 minutes after us (How long could it take them?) As soon as they arrived Jocelyn headed straight into the bathroom... more waiting

Taylor came up to both Tina and I while we waited. She told us Jocelyn was really made because she thought Taylor was trying to steal her boyfriend. Jocelyn had Taylor talk to him while they were walking around World Showcase and she talked with him for an unusually long time. This wasn't making Jocelyn happy at all so she thought there was more going on. The entire time I was thinking "Oh brother! More Drama!"

When Jocelyn came out of the bathroom, we immediately got in line hoping that the time had just gone up. The entire time while in line Jocelyn is ranting about what Taylor trying to steal her boyfriend. Then, they are still doing the whole "rating guys" thing and I think I was ready for a nap by then. We luckily went through the line fairly quickly and were on the ride. No more of this nonsense for awhile.

Getting away from the drama, Soarin' was great! It was even better than last time. I wasn't a huge fan when I went on it my first time, but this time, WOW! Its definitely one of my new favorites, a must-do.

After we got off the ride, we immediately ran into a mob of people trampling down the stairs to Soarin'. I checked my watch and Extra Magic Hours had just begun a few minutes ago. I was befuddled by how many people were coming. Usually during EMH there is a smaller number of people. I was confused.

So, after we got through the onslaught of human down at the land and out the door where the crowds were dying down, we decided to head over to Test Track. Our logic was because of the large amounts of people at Soarin', there would be very little people at Test Track. This would mean for a shorter wait, so we went right over. The bad part about this walk was more bickering between Jocelyn and Taylor ensued (add *facepalm* here)

When we finally got to Test Track we noticed the line was shorter, but still quite long. It was almost time to go back and I'm sure we couldn't get the ride we wanted with the wait. So, we made a unanimous decision to go in the single rider line, which was shorter.

When we got in line we got caught behind a big group that had the same idea as us. It was good fortune that the line was still shorter than the standby. I think the longest time we had to wait was in that crowd caught between the loading area and the briefing room. I was now starting to re-think nighttime EMH.

We got through the loading area fairly quickly. I think that's basically the biggest benefit of the single rider line, you get through the loading area quicker. We then were split up... well not entirely. Jocelyn and Taylor ended up in the exact same car, while Tina and I were left to our own cars with other random people. With more good fortune, I was put with the young family and the sweet old lady, definitely not what I was expecting, but what I was expecting were a bunch of jerk teenagers (we're the nice teenagers).

The ride was great, but I kept on looking at the little family. I was seriously jealous of those kids. Being able to go to Disney at such a young age... it was what I wanted. I never had the chance to experience Disney as a kid. I was at that age now where most kids are done with Disney and I had just begun my journey. If only my dad had not been so anti-Disney (GRRR...)

Well, the ride was as awesome as the first time. I think the better part of it was it was dark outside so I saw Test Track in a whole new light, well darkness (LOL). So, the ride was quick and I happened to be the last one in my group of friends to get loaded so they were waiting for me. We went straight through the gift shop looking around a little then straight back into the heart of Future World.

It was getting very dark out so I thought it best we should start heading back. First, I wanted to check out MouseGears to see if I could find something for my DOS (Little, but older of two sisters). So, after getting a Mountain Dew from a snack stand we went inside and looked around. We found nothing since all the stuff Jocelyn said DOS would like was expensive. I wanted to keep the gifts at equal weight between my sisters. If I bought something that was twice the price of the other gift, my DYS (littlest sister) would have a fit. We do though joke about certain items with each other and then we left MouseGears.

After we got out we headed straight for the gates right towards the buses. Since it was Extra Magic Hours there weren't a ton of people waiting. There was still a bit of a line to get on our bus, but we all sat so it was good. The bus came, we got on and when we got back to the resort we only had a little bit of time left to hang around so we went back to our rooms. Before we went back to our rooms we checked which park had Extra Magic Hours tomorrow and saw it was Hollywood Studios (Nice choice, Nate *says sarcastically*). So, we made a plan and said we would get up early to go there tomorrow, if it was ok with our chaperones. Then, we left for our rooms.

In my room, both Nate and Rishi were there. They had just gotten back from swimming. I guessed they hadn't spent a ton of time at Hollywood Studios because of the time left for them to be there. Big Nate still wasn't there.

Big Nate finally arrived a bit after. I'm guessing he was about to stretch the curfew when he came. Then, after him, Dr. Jim, our chaperone came. He told us we didn't have to meet with him at the time stated tomorrow if we wanted to go to EMH at DHS. I was wicked excited since it made it so we actually went through with our plans (It's a miracle!). He only said we must text them if we do go. I was really excited, my first morning EMH and first real plan! So, I texted Jocelyn and our plans were set.

I got ready for bed, re-packed my bag and got inside my little sleeping arrangement on the floor. I was up for a bit, but I rested since I'd been going at it all day long. I was very tired. I then drifted off to sleep awaiting the chaos that would be sparked the next day.

CHAPTER 6: A FULFILLED PROMISE, ANOTHER MIRACLE AND CATASTROPHE coming soon!

 

[grandfloluver]

Again-awesomeness! Soarin and Test Track are my favorites at Epcot. I could do them over and over if I wanted to. Sounds great so far, and I'm eagerly awaiting your next update!