Cast: DH, who's got his heart set on buying a sword in China
Me, still full from last night's dinner at OHana
DS Ben, who not only believes in the Magic, but makes some along the way too.
________________________________________
The first thing Ben said when he woke up was "I dreamed about chipmunks." I told him it maybe it was because his Chip and Dale beanies were whispering in his ear all night. He laughed and said "Dreams really DO come true! Only at Disney..."
Epcot was the park of choice for the day, and when we passed through the turnstiles I asked the CM if they'd had trouble with the smoke. He said it had been terrible the day before, but this morning was bright and clear. We grabbed a FastPass for Test Track, rode it once with a 10 minute wait, and then again with our FP. Now, I don't know if it goes faster than it did last year, but I won't have to pluck my eyebrows any time soon.
Ben had been talking for months about doing the Disney Tag game at Innoventions again this year, and insisted that he'd be Donald again. As luck would have it, that's exactly who he got when it was his turn. He was "IT" when the game started, tagged someone immediately, and then made Donald hop on the trolley. Every time the trolley let Donald off, Ben would turn him around and put him right back on. Finally the CM said "I'm going to take a step closer to you every time you hop on the trolley, and if I get up to you I'm going to make you IT!" Ben was totally oblivious to this, however, and kept hopping back on. With every giant step towards him the CM took, the crowd was laughing, waiting to see what Ben would do. Finally, the CM was standing right next to Ben's podium, and Ben let Donald take off running for a moment. The CM stepped back, and Donald headed straight for the trolley again.
As the game ended they announced what each character had been The Best at. When Donald's turn came up the CM said "Who doesn't see this coming?" and laughingly announce that Donald was the Best Trolley Rider. Now, Ben's a train fanatic, so I knew he just liked the idea of riding, but when I said "Ben, I know you were just enjoying the rides, but did you know the CM was telling you not to?" He said "Yeah Mom, but if I'd gotten off the trolley, someone would have tagged me!" And here I thought he was just being sweet and minding his own business!
We headed over to our PS at Coral Reef after that, and by some miracle I was feeling the stirrings of hunger. As we entered the restaurant itself we were greeted by the sight of one entire wall being the bottom of the aquarium you see when you visit the Living Seas. The room was cool and blue and dim, a perfect place to relax on a 90 degree day and the up front view we had of the aquarium was breathtaking.
By the time CM Holli brought our meals, a giant Grouper had planted him or her self right in front of us and was taking a little nap. As she set DH's Mahi Mahi down in front of him, the Grouper stirred, got a horrified look on his face, and hurried away to the other side of the reef. Someone he'd once known, perhaps? DH forked up great mouthfuls of it just the same, proclaiming it one of the tastiest fishes he'd had in a long time.
Ben thought he was at a buffet again so he requested another plateful of mashed potatoes. Holli was so sweet... she just smiled and brought him more. I have no idea what occured after that; my entire focus was on the chicken and black beans set before me, and I didn't regain full control of my senses again until every last bean had been eaten. It was a delicious meal all around, thankfully, and put to rest the fears I'd had about the Coral Reef, having heard mixed reviews on both the food and the service.
Holli took some time to tell us about the reef we were looking at, and how they used to let the dolphins play in that tank until they discovered they were ramming the sharks and using the stingrays as Frisbees. Apparently they'd run into them so hard the stingrays would go spinning across the tank. We told her it was our Anniversary and as a nice gift we'd like to see the dolphins do that, but she made some sweet, lame excuse and changed the subject.
The CM clearing tables also stopped to chat and he told us the reason the fish all appear greenish-gray is because there are no UV rays in the artificial lights that illuminate the tanks, which means the fish aren't stimulated to produce pigments. Now, Disney can create an alien who tortures their guests, rats that run up your legs, and a a roller coaster that launches you like a cannon shot, but they can't get UV lights?
Back out in the natural sunlight with plenty of UV rays, we tottered around aimlessly, too full to speak, too full to think, but not so full we couldn't hit Ice Station Cool. I was on a mission to redeem myself from last year's Beverly Fiasco. For those of you who don't recall, my DH walked away in disgust, not even looking back to see if I was following him, when I'd said Beverly didn't taste that bad. I'd had a lot of the sweet sodas prior, but he didn't accept that excuse. So I was prepared to lie if need be, and sipped the Beverly first. No lies necessary this time. BLECH!!!
We played a bit, rode a few things, and headed back into World Showcase. Made the obligitory Kaki Gori stop and headed over to France to see the Living Statue that had just come out. Two women asked us if we'd photograph them next to the statue and of course we said Yes. In the meantime, another woman stood next to the statue and as she was walking away from it, the statue slipped her purse strap off her shoulder and raised it's arm up. You know how some people just look like they'll play along and be good sports? She wasn't one of them.
The statue motioned for her to "Say Please". Disgruntled and none to willing to comply, she finally did so, and then it motioned for her to get down on her knees and beg. Now we were in for a battle of wills. One side was NO WAY going to beg, and the other side was being paid by the hour to stand there and as such, had no great motivation to hurry things along. A full 5 minutes of silent bickering ensued, and finally the statue motioned for her to give it a kiss on the cheek. To the utter relief of all present, she did so. Thunderous applause ensued, not only because we could all have our own pictures taken now, but also for The Woman Who Wore The Statue Down. No one's money had been on her, I'm sure. And not one hair in her doo was out of place at the end. She was made of a far harder stone than he was!
After all her exertions we found ourselves hungry again so we had a light bite at UK, just a single order of Fish and Chips and some sodas. Don't want to make piggies of ourselves now, do we? Besides, we had a box of pastries in hand, and somewhere during the day had found time for a Mickey Bar.
The Tapestry of Nations parade would be starting in about half and hour and though the park was nearly empty we staked out a likely spot and chatted with the families around us. Isn't that one of the nicest parts of the whole trip? Meeting the wonderful folks from all over this great land of ours? I was positively swimming in Love for my fellowman when a little dark cloud crept up behind me.
DH had trotted off to China to look at the swords, and as the parade was ending and it was growing dark Ben decided he'd buy a glow toy from one of the CM's nearby. He dropped something as he walked out to them, and I stepped away from my spot to pick it up. Not two steps, mind you, but when I turned around again a woman had inserted herself and her two children into our spaces.
I'm a nice person. I hate quarrels and I would rather rip my own tongue out than speak harshly to a stranger in the Happiest Place on Earth. But I was plenty ticked so I said "Excuse me, but this spot is saved." She said "You stepped away from it. Now it's mine." I gently admonished her by saying "I've been here for an hour and a half, and only stepped away to pick up the Mister my son dropped." She informed me that that was just too bad.
Ben had come back by this time, and I was so angry I was ready to curse her and all her proginy. Instead I pushed my poor son in front of her, and inserted myself next to him. She was now facing a tree next to her little girl and her son was on the opposite side, next to my son. As Illuminations (the show about global harmony) began I was sick to my stomach and seething with anger. She had stepped in front of her little girl and was trying to film around the tree when I heard the voices of our boys saying: Have you seen this show? How long have you been here? Me too! Where are you staying? Did you ride Test Track? How long will you be at Disney?
I was so ashamed of the way I'd acted, and so grateful to our two boys for having reminded me what I could have been doing instead of wallowing in my anger. Had she not stuck her kids in our spot, my boy would not have made a new friend. With the Millennium music filling the air, fireworks blazing, and the boys chattering, I closed my eyes and said a prayer of thankfulness.
But I didn't give her my spot back.
Next: AK, A Serious Chaffing problem, and our first E-Night.
Me, still full from last night's dinner at OHana
DS Ben, who not only believes in the Magic, but makes some along the way too.
________________________________________
The first thing Ben said when he woke up was "I dreamed about chipmunks." I told him it maybe it was because his Chip and Dale beanies were whispering in his ear all night. He laughed and said "Dreams really DO come true! Only at Disney..."
Epcot was the park of choice for the day, and when we passed through the turnstiles I asked the CM if they'd had trouble with the smoke. He said it had been terrible the day before, but this morning was bright and clear. We grabbed a FastPass for Test Track, rode it once with a 10 minute wait, and then again with our FP. Now, I don't know if it goes faster than it did last year, but I won't have to pluck my eyebrows any time soon.
Ben had been talking for months about doing the Disney Tag game at Innoventions again this year, and insisted that he'd be Donald again. As luck would have it, that's exactly who he got when it was his turn. He was "IT" when the game started, tagged someone immediately, and then made Donald hop on the trolley. Every time the trolley let Donald off, Ben would turn him around and put him right back on. Finally the CM said "I'm going to take a step closer to you every time you hop on the trolley, and if I get up to you I'm going to make you IT!" Ben was totally oblivious to this, however, and kept hopping back on. With every giant step towards him the CM took, the crowd was laughing, waiting to see what Ben would do. Finally, the CM was standing right next to Ben's podium, and Ben let Donald take off running for a moment. The CM stepped back, and Donald headed straight for the trolley again.
As the game ended they announced what each character had been The Best at. When Donald's turn came up the CM said "Who doesn't see this coming?" and laughingly announce that Donald was the Best Trolley Rider. Now, Ben's a train fanatic, so I knew he just liked the idea of riding, but when I said "Ben, I know you were just enjoying the rides, but did you know the CM was telling you not to?" He said "Yeah Mom, but if I'd gotten off the trolley, someone would have tagged me!" And here I thought he was just being sweet and minding his own business!
We headed over to our PS at Coral Reef after that, and by some miracle I was feeling the stirrings of hunger. As we entered the restaurant itself we were greeted by the sight of one entire wall being the bottom of the aquarium you see when you visit the Living Seas. The room was cool and blue and dim, a perfect place to relax on a 90 degree day and the up front view we had of the aquarium was breathtaking.
By the time CM Holli brought our meals, a giant Grouper had planted him or her self right in front of us and was taking a little nap. As she set DH's Mahi Mahi down in front of him, the Grouper stirred, got a horrified look on his face, and hurried away to the other side of the reef. Someone he'd once known, perhaps? DH forked up great mouthfuls of it just the same, proclaiming it one of the tastiest fishes he'd had in a long time.
Ben thought he was at a buffet again so he requested another plateful of mashed potatoes. Holli was so sweet... she just smiled and brought him more. I have no idea what occured after that; my entire focus was on the chicken and black beans set before me, and I didn't regain full control of my senses again until every last bean had been eaten. It was a delicious meal all around, thankfully, and put to rest the fears I'd had about the Coral Reef, having heard mixed reviews on both the food and the service.
Holli took some time to tell us about the reef we were looking at, and how they used to let the dolphins play in that tank until they discovered they were ramming the sharks and using the stingrays as Frisbees. Apparently they'd run into them so hard the stingrays would go spinning across the tank. We told her it was our Anniversary and as a nice gift we'd like to see the dolphins do that, but she made some sweet, lame excuse and changed the subject.
The CM clearing tables also stopped to chat and he told us the reason the fish all appear greenish-gray is because there are no UV rays in the artificial lights that illuminate the tanks, which means the fish aren't stimulated to produce pigments. Now, Disney can create an alien who tortures their guests, rats that run up your legs, and a a roller coaster that launches you like a cannon shot, but they can't get UV lights?
Back out in the natural sunlight with plenty of UV rays, we tottered around aimlessly, too full to speak, too full to think, but not so full we couldn't hit Ice Station Cool. I was on a mission to redeem myself from last year's Beverly Fiasco. For those of you who don't recall, my DH walked away in disgust, not even looking back to see if I was following him, when I'd said Beverly didn't taste that bad. I'd had a lot of the sweet sodas prior, but he didn't accept that excuse. So I was prepared to lie if need be, and sipped the Beverly first. No lies necessary this time. BLECH!!!
We played a bit, rode a few things, and headed back into World Showcase. Made the obligitory Kaki Gori stop and headed over to France to see the Living Statue that had just come out. Two women asked us if we'd photograph them next to the statue and of course we said Yes. In the meantime, another woman stood next to the statue and as she was walking away from it, the statue slipped her purse strap off her shoulder and raised it's arm up. You know how some people just look like they'll play along and be good sports? She wasn't one of them.
The statue motioned for her to "Say Please". Disgruntled and none to willing to comply, she finally did so, and then it motioned for her to get down on her knees and beg. Now we were in for a battle of wills. One side was NO WAY going to beg, and the other side was being paid by the hour to stand there and as such, had no great motivation to hurry things along. A full 5 minutes of silent bickering ensued, and finally the statue motioned for her to give it a kiss on the cheek. To the utter relief of all present, she did so. Thunderous applause ensued, not only because we could all have our own pictures taken now, but also for The Woman Who Wore The Statue Down. No one's money had been on her, I'm sure. And not one hair in her doo was out of place at the end. She was made of a far harder stone than he was!
After all her exertions we found ourselves hungry again so we had a light bite at UK, just a single order of Fish and Chips and some sodas. Don't want to make piggies of ourselves now, do we? Besides, we had a box of pastries in hand, and somewhere during the day had found time for a Mickey Bar.
The Tapestry of Nations parade would be starting in about half and hour and though the park was nearly empty we staked out a likely spot and chatted with the families around us. Isn't that one of the nicest parts of the whole trip? Meeting the wonderful folks from all over this great land of ours? I was positively swimming in Love for my fellowman when a little dark cloud crept up behind me.
DH had trotted off to China to look at the swords, and as the parade was ending and it was growing dark Ben decided he'd buy a glow toy from one of the CM's nearby. He dropped something as he walked out to them, and I stepped away from my spot to pick it up. Not two steps, mind you, but when I turned around again a woman had inserted herself and her two children into our spaces.
I'm a nice person. I hate quarrels and I would rather rip my own tongue out than speak harshly to a stranger in the Happiest Place on Earth. But I was plenty ticked so I said "Excuse me, but this spot is saved." She said "You stepped away from it. Now it's mine." I gently admonished her by saying "I've been here for an hour and a half, and only stepped away to pick up the Mister my son dropped." She informed me that that was just too bad.
Ben had come back by this time, and I was so angry I was ready to curse her and all her proginy. Instead I pushed my poor son in front of her, and inserted myself next to him. She was now facing a tree next to her little girl and her son was on the opposite side, next to my son. As Illuminations (the show about global harmony) began I was sick to my stomach and seething with anger. She had stepped in front of her little girl and was trying to film around the tree when I heard the voices of our boys saying: Have you seen this show? How long have you been here? Me too! Where are you staying? Did you ride Test Track? How long will you be at Disney?
I was so ashamed of the way I'd acted, and so grateful to our two boys for having reminded me what I could have been doing instead of wallowing in my anger. Had she not stuck her kids in our spot, my boy would not have made a new friend. With the Millennium music filling the air, fireworks blazing, and the boys chattering, I closed my eyes and said a prayer of thankfulness.
But I didn't give her my spot back.
Next: AK, A Serious Chaffing problem, and our first E-Night.
