Right! (said in your best John Cleese voice) I'm 6 pages (6 pages!!) behind here, so it's time to get to work and catch up!
I know what happens at the end and you've already indicated that you're expecting me to be all soft and mooshy.... and yeah, I probably would be.
But I know you're gonna be okay and I think you want this kept light so...
If I step over the line with this I apologize in advance.
Oh, crap. I'm getting soft and mooshy already!!!
I know I have been sayin this redundantly lately, but as i kept going over this chapter, and adding, subtracting, re writing it forever, well,,, sigh,,, no,, I don't have a word processor so i'm writing it in the little box on the Dis, but I have a feeling this chpater is huge, so, again, don't feel you need to break it down again if you don't want.
I'm sorry. What? Wasn't paying attention. Something about the need to break down the chapter again? Well I wasn't going to, seeing as I'm so far behind... but since you insist...
slave driver.
My only hopes are that you enjoy it, as you can see, alongwitht he next chaptyer,,, I put a lot into it.
nebs
Ah. You always do. Why do you think we keep coming back for more?
Well, I mean besides the inevitable blood-shed, of course.
We are now well into Hot Fudge Sundae, only problem was that I didn't know it, to me it was still "Magic Kingdom Sunday, and yes, even though they can be the same date, there can also be a huge difference, so let us pick up where we left off.
I think I can safely speak for the majority here when I concur that yes, a visit to MK does not normally equate to head trauma.
I could be wrong.
We get the fastpasses for Space Mountain,
And here I was so
sure that this is where the 'incident' would occur. I mean You... running... by yourself.
If that's not a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is.
Since we are out of pocket still, and spent a lot so far I just got a hot dog, while Diane got the whole Maine lobster and fillet combo with the crab cakes appetizer and Napolean's bonyparts for dessert.
Odd that I don't recall that on the menu.
Must've missed it.
Napolean's bonyparts...
It might have been the rotisserie chicken that for some reason they leave all connected yet to groos you our, or she may have gotten the chicken all connected to gross you out and connected ribs to gross you out and try to make ribs shooo across the aise when you take a plastic knife and try to foolishly separate them.
And then you wonder why the chapter is so long. You took a simple "I don't know what Smidgy ate" and turned it into the world's longest run-on sentence.
The best way to eat and cut the ribs here is to take your plate over to the Carousel in Fantasyland , and hopefully a cast member will take pity on you and release the Excalibur from the stone so you can cut your ribs with that sword.
No, no, no. I pulled on that sword with all my might and my ribs were sore for days afterwards.
( Uh oh, c'mon, just look at this, Buzz, he's killing time, really, he's just babbling putting it off. I know Marie, but what can we do about it? I guess nothing, even threatening to do play by play birthe scenes hasn't affected him, we are totally at his mercy right now.
When he's finallly done with his stupid cliffhangers, you just watch how fast I find a new trip report to hang around. heck, I may even try a Universal report!.
Oh, you wouldn 't Marie, not really, would you?)
Yes she would. Youre lucky you finally got to the meat and potatoes of the trip on this chapter.
Suddenly, I feel hungry.
And now it's time to find out a new Disney eatery change, and of course, again and again, not for the better.
I just can't believe that the most simplest things have to be changed, modified, altered, swithched and bewitched by Disney.
Isnt that Disneys motto? If it aint broke, fix it.
It's the hot dog bun, strangest thing I've ever seen!
Son of a bun! How can you mess up a hot dog for crying out loud?
Ok, C'mon with me here, we all know what a hot dog bun looks like; two long halves, hopefully still connected on one side, with a slit down the longways center to put the doggie in. If you don't pack it too much, it will semi close so you can grab it when you eat it and kind of keep most of the condiments inside the bun.
Right?
Wrong. A really, really good hotdog will have so much crap piled on top of it that some should fall off if you look at it too hard.
But essentially (as far as the bun goes) yes, youve got it right.
Not this abomination.
That's right, if you are going to mess with my hot dog for the worse, it's an abomination.
We rarely see eye to eye
but thats only cause I can still see
but I agree with you whole heartedly. Its a
hot dot for Petes sake! Leave it alone! Its perfection lies in its simplicity.
It's a lot wider than normal, with a slit down one side, not the middle. Like on the left hand page. And the slit doesn't go from end to end, the ends are still solid, meaning that the dog could not slip out the ends.
But it doesn't close either, i'ts now more of an open face sandwich, with all this useless extra "bun" that you'll just rip off anyway. This also prevents you from putting too much on it, since you can't close anything up around it.
I should have taken a picture of it.
Yes you should have. I can sorta picture it, but it sure sounds weird.
And even if you put just a little bit on the dog, mustard, relish, whatever, I guarantee that a lot of it is going to be in your moustache, no way to avoid it, just ask Diane.
Oh, I believe you. And I also know exactly what youre trying to infer here.
No no,

I'm not saying that Diane has a ,,,,, I mean she was sitting across from ,,,,, oh, forget it!

this will only get worse.

yes it will!
We did get good seats down in front for the entertainment, Sunny Eclipse, but that turned out to be a waste, only person watching ol' Sunny was me.
Havent seen him yet. We did eat there, but that part of the restaurant was packed.
Like I said, he is now fearless, at first he said he kind of liked it, but once was enough, doesn't want to do it again.
I havent done Space Mountain in years. Last time we were there it was down for refurb, the time before that the kiddies were too little. But even though (by some) its a tame coaster, the fact that its in the dark can be pretty un-nerving!
But by the time they reached the end of the moviing exit conveyor,,, "You know, if you really wanted to, I could very much like to do that ride again."

Good for you Jackson!
My problem right now wasn't passes, it was gasses.
This too shall pass
occasionally with great fanfare. Or at least everyone else will want to fan the air.
Well, except for me, I had important stuff to take care of as the lunch didn't quite agree with me. Boy, nobody or nothing ever agrees with me anymore, so I told them I'd meet them at the exit to Buzz.
So you ate a lousy hot dog that didnt agree with you and then you said youd meet them at the exit to Buzz. Ive never quite heard it called that before. What ever happened to discretion? Or even just a simple excuse me I have to use the mens room.
Exit to Buzz.
Odd.
I thought we'd be leaving finally now to go head back, but , uh uh, they want to hit Monster's Inc before we leave. I like this but now I'm starting to twitch, we are way past our "go back and swim" time, I'm so used to being in control that now when this is not done correctly, well, like I said, I start to twitch.
Ah its good to get out of a rut from time to time. Besides, whats the worst thing that could happen?
Whoops! Thats the
next chapter, right?
Remember that guy from Faulty Towers?
I started with John Cleese up above
but you could also be referring to Manuel.
Nah.
Basil!
Caught a pretty good show, although none of us were singled out, no, I still haven't been, "That Guy" yet, lately they've finally been leaving me alone. About time.
Everybody said they like the show, but they weren't in awe with the technology like I was when I first saw it.
On my to do list.
"Todd, you realize you just watched a cartoon monster hold a conversation with a real person in the audience?"
"Yeah, I figured there's a guy behind the screen talking."
Same technology as Turtle Talk? Im still amazed at that.
Well, ok, but he, too seems more interested in making sure Jackson is haveing the best possible time, and not really letting himself appreciate the magic Disney has.
Thats okay too. If you make sure the wee ones are having fun, youll be more likely to return and have a good time when theyre older. I really do wonder how many people there are out there who dont want to go to Disney because their first visit was with parents who kept screaming at them to have a good time.
So far since park opening, all I've done is Splash, Big Thunder, ROTC, Jungle, Wedway, and Monster's Ink. Oh, and a mini train ride.
Thats not bad, actually. You did the big two (Im not counting Space, here) a handful of others and went to college.
looking forward to making sure they do Wishes the right way, smack in the middle of Main Street where I can then stare at Jackson the whole time watching the amazement on his little face, maybe even put him on my shoulders to see better.
Okay, heres a mushy part. That really, really,
really sucks that you missed that opportunity. Geez, man. I feel bad for you. I really do.
R.O.T.C." hmmm missed that the first couple times. No wonder it was so boring this time.
Well maybe so. But now that youve done it, you have certain obligations. Which branch of the military needs nearly blind retired machinists?
Oh, of course. The nuclear development department.
Sir! If we dont get those cooling rods in place soon, this whole place will have a catastrophic melt down thatll make Chernobyl look like wet firecracker!
But who can we get to do it? We need someone expendable, someone whos already pretty much used up.
Ive got it, sir! Oh, Steve. Could you come here for a minute?
Like I said, not much time to relax and we changed and met down by the Hippy Dippy hide your Bippy pool,
You mean the Hippy Dippy you bet your sweet Bippy pool, right?
and yes, the yellow jackets were in full swing.
And Jackson had a blast with them.

that mustve made you cringe.
I think they are mainly worried about the Yellow Jackets' sound equipment getting struck, that would be expensive.
And yet
oddly gratifying.
And again, in my imaginative mind, I pictured them all going "Ooh, aah" as they saaw all the over sized icons, but I guess it's just me that has the mind of a child, or maybe the problem is that they've seen too many pictures already, on line.
Or perhaps after having sensory overload at MK already, the magical becomes the mundane.

Those ears! That silly cap! The cheesy grin with the equally cheesy moustache! And Mr. Potato head right behind you is kinda funny too.
Never noticed before about the ears
yup, just like me. Must be a german thing.
The rest of the family looks good, though
Oh, all right. Its a very nice family photo.
Sheesh.
Ha, that was when I was called Bruce Willis; since then I have gone through the actor ranks until I bottomed out at Mr. Magoo.

This was taken somewhere that morning, but offhand, I have no idea where, maybe I'll know when I see it full size.
Definitely, Splash.
And finally, Jackson found something at the exit of Splash Mountain I have never seen before; A little kid's size, "Laughing Place." Diane wasn't with us at this moment, and when she saw the photo later even she had to ask where this was taken, amazing how after probably 40 trips on Splash Mountain, you can miss something every single time!
Huh. Thats interesting that youd miss it every time, probably only because it really isnt worth looking at as an adult. Of course Jackson spotted it. Right there is one of those Experiencing Disney through the eyes of a child moments.
Do I seem like I'm dawdling?
You in a hurry?
Not at all. Lets discuss Fawlty Towers some more.
(Ponzi, com'on, you and Nebo are best buds, you have an in with him, please get him to hurry this along a bit, PLEASE? I Really, really, need to know what happens, and soon! I can't take it anymore so pleased TALK to him,,,get HIM to talk.
Sure! I think my favourite episode is The Germans especially:
Basil Fawlty: Is there something wrong?
German Guest: Will you stop talking about the war?
Basil Fawlty: Me? You started it.
German Guest: We did not!
Basil Fawlty: Yes, you did. You invaded Poland!
Well, Ok, I'll try again, but you just may have noticed that he has been using me as "open season" lately, so not exactly sure how much he's going to divulge to me, I'm sorry Smidgy, I really can't help you.")
He only uses me as open season cause he loves me.
(yes, I always find ways to amuse myself)
Careful. Family board.

:
The Fifties pool was open!
The Sixties is closed due to lightning, but apparently this is a lightning free county all the way over in the fifties section.
Well duh! Its 10 years earlier. Probably no lightning on that day 10 years earlier.
Now that it's football season again, a kid on the pool deck was throwing a football to a kid in the pool, and vice versa, but this kid kept getting a bit too close to our table.
Uh, oh.
It was now turning darker in the sky, and I had my back to the pool trying to get the umbrella to stay up if it started to drizzle.
I couldn't see the kid in the pool or where he was throwing it, but I had one foot balanced on a chair to kind of support myself as I lifted the heavy umbrella when the football slammed into the table, scared the crap out of me and I jumped!
Here it is! Here it is!
The chair my right leg was using as a lift flipped over, but I caught myself in my usual dextrous, athletic style that I have worked on perfecting all my life.
No it isnt! No it isnt!
Todd picked up the football and threw it back.
Hard, I hope. Aiming for the head, I hope.
I did notice though that once again, no,not nearly as bad as two days ago, but all the sudden movement made me a tad disney.
I mean dizzy,
Good one.
But first, I went on an ice run.
Yes, once again, C'mon now, everybody, "The Iceman Cometh, Again! The sequel that never made it.
Fire and Ice: When Lightning Strikes!
Ice Age: The Nebo Era
Ice Castles: The Cooler
The Ice Storm: In a Bucket
Iceman: (nah too close to The Iceman Cometh)
Ice Station Zebra: an Animal Kingdom Tale.
And for some reason, I miss smoking the most when I'm at Disney. Why is that? It's just that sometimes it would be a real treat to go and find a DSA after not having one for a while.
Ya know. I can see that. It gave you an incentive to go and explore.
Yes, I was really looking forward to tonight, still lots of new stuff to show them. And I felt pretty good, I looked at the safe where my pills are and just turned away, nope, don't need any tonight.
Uh, huh.
It's Tuesday, the day Hot Fudge Sundae is going to either hit or miss, and I couldn't wait to have a block of time to get back to this, you don't want to waste this when you're in a hurry, it's a really exciting part!
Only in Disney can your dreams come true!!!
Um
wait.
Yeah, this was the final time anybody was going to be reading THIS book.
Ironic. Considering it sounds like it was almost the final time
you were going to be reading a book.
And if it's a monster Stephen King book, it can knock you out if you doze off reading it in bed!

And did Smidgy finish hers yet? All 850 pages or so?
"Well now all I'm seeing you read is "Lucifer's Hammer", even the Bathroom Reader is forgotten." "You do know that Satan is often referred to as the Beast, right?"
"Yeah dear, of course I do. Things just happen."
So what youre saying here is
its all Smidgys fault.
It was nice and hot and steamy when we pulled into the Magic Kingdom for the second time today.
Isnt that how most horror stories start? It was a hot and steamy night
I had thought that since a lot of the biggies are knocked off, they's want to listen to wise old Nebo and Smidgy on how to tackle tonight.
So when did you finally figure out that they think of you guys as old fuddy duddies who dont know nuttin?
Unfortunately, we skipped the good stuff line, and only had a 15 minute wait on our side in the Wham bam thank you ma'am line.
Thats probably the one thing Im looking forward to the most
if/when we get back.
They all loved the ride.
They loved it so much they wanted to immediately do it again!
They have good taste in rides.
I was next to a pole of some sorts; sign post, light post as in street light? Not sure. But I got tired of standing and kind of crouched down in a squat.
At this point
. Nope, still didnt see it coming.
Smidgy was behind me somewhere, she may have gotten someone to move over on the ledge. Or she may have thrown some insurgent off the legde herself, not really sure.
But there were other anatomical parts that the mind at times has no jurisdiction over.
Family board.
As I was in the process of performing the simple act of "standing up", well, then all kinds of strange began to happen all at once.
Not quite so simple, apparently.
In a last moment of cognizance, I knew I was in major trouble, and not just that I am in the process of fainting.
But that I am at full height, and not just crumbling into a pile.
I am falling straight backwards, as if I was standing at the edge of a pool, with my back to it.
In a last act of total desperation, even though I was pretty much already unconscious, I thrust my arm out hoping my hand could grab that post and save me.
Grab it, grab it, squeeze it, then just hang on, the feeling will pass, everyting will be allright and we can go on as normal, so just grab the damn post!
It missed.
No, I cant do it. I cant make light of, or make fun of that. Nope. Not funny. But you know what really got me? It wasnt just that you passed out. And probably put out your back and/or whacked your head.
I already know that youll survive those.
What gets me is knowing that Smidgy watched it happen
And Todd
And Jackson.