Day 10 – Part 2 The Luau and the Dangerous Bus

[CJK]

The Cast:

Goofy Gal (me) - Obsessive Disney Planner
Goofy Guy (my husband) - Tolerant of the Obsessive Disney Planner
Dapper Dad (my dad) - A fellow Disney lover!
Fanlover (my mom) - Fan of Disney, not fan of the heat
ToT Sis (my sister ) - Likes Disney, but Tower of Terror? Not so much...
Cocoa Bil (my bro-in-law) Likes Disney, especially their hot chocolate
Splashboy (my nephew) age 6 Never been to Disney, excited and nervous to try the big rides
Boomer (my nephew) age 4 Never been to Disney, age 4 going on 14

Dining Report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=901786
Introductory Report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=903652
Day 1 Peter Pan PLEASE teach me to fly!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=904193
Day 2 - Part 1 Prison or Disney?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=904890
Day 2 - Part 2 The broom kissed the balloon
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=905052
Day 2 - Part 3 Conquering the Magic Kingdom
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=905863
Day 2 - Part 4 Splash Mountain vs. The Boy
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=906053
Day 3 - Part 1 Tower of Terror: Enter With Caution
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=907362
Day 3 - Part 2 Sittin' on Stranger's laps
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=908266
Day 3 - Part 3 Thank goodness for Dinosaurs!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=908703
Day 4 - Part 1 Beware: Crush 'n' Gusher has a 48-inch height restriction
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=910433
Day 4 - Part 2 My Heroes: The Lifeguards
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=910561
Day 4 - Part 3 Move Over Tom Hanks - There's a New Man in Town!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=911269
Day 5 - Part 1 Newsflash: Disney Waterslides Reveal Hidden Talents
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=912197
Day 5 - Part 2 Ghiradelli Sundaes and 4yr old Boys
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=913168
Day 5 - Part 3 Who Says Disney Isn't For Adults?!?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=913984
Day 6 - Part 1 Becoming Famous in the Magic Kingdom!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=914878
Day 6 - Part 2 Ballet Dancing Never Looked So Good!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=915472
Day 7 - Part 1 Gorillas & Giraffes & Rhinos - Oh My!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=916191
Day 7 - Part 2 Flyin' to Mars, Soarin' Over California - All in a Day's Work
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=917232
Day 7 - Part 3 & Day 8 - Part 1 Anything But the Dreaded Good-bye!!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=921037
Day 8 - Part 2 Forget Alligators: Frogs Can be VERY Dangerous!!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=921731
Day 9 - Part 1 Raspberries Are Best Eaten One Seed at a Time
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=922438
Day 9 - Part 2 Combining Wine & Space Mountain May Be Hazardous For Your Health http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=926314
Day 10 - Part 1 Relaxation & Disney - Isn't that an Oxymoron?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=927187

Day 10 – Part 2 The Luau and the Dangerous Bus

It took a while for the Polynesian bus to arrive at MGM. We were really wondering if we’d make it to the Spirit of Aloha on time. I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be under this time restraint had we just skipped the Stunt Car show…but I decided to keep this thought to myself.

We managed to arrive at the Polynesian with a few minutes of show time. It was about 7:50pm and the dinner was scheduled to begin at 8pm. We were expecting people to be getting seated at that time, but we were surprised to find a very looong line waiting to enter the theatre/restaurant. The line wasn’t even moving. All the children around us were quite hungry too and were quite willing to share that fact with the rest of us. Truth be told, I didn’t blame ‘em. I was hungry too and was anxious to get leid.

The nearest Cast Member must have read my mind because before I knew it, Goofy Guy and I had both been leid. It was a little anti-climactic somehow.

The line did start to move, but very, very slowly. Goofy Guy took it upon himself to go figure out what the problem was. Just like the Hoop Dee Doo, they take your picture while you wait in line. You know, in case you haven’t spent enough money on your trip yet. We wanted none of that (I hadn’t had the chance to examine my face in at least 4hrs so I thought I’d save the photographer from that horror) so we bypassed this line and located the other line to be seated in the restaurant. We were seated within minutes.

The pineapple bread and salad were waiting for us at the table. I’m quite certain the Chef heard our stomachs growling and quickly brought us our food in order to prevent a scene. Yum! I really enjoyed both the bread and the salad. For those of you who have never been to the Luau, they seat you at long rectangular tables. If you’re looking for a romantic interlude with your significant other; this is not the place for you. The chairs next to us filled up with other families within a few minutes. Not one of these family members said a word to us. I understand the whole shyness thing (I’m one of the shyest people I know), but I was quite surprised.

Goofy Guy said the people around us probably knew I was writing a trip report and didn’t want to give me any added material.

We enjoyed both the show and the dinner. Unlike the Tarzan show, BOTH Goofy Guy and I got to enjoy the physical prowess of many of the dancers.

I’m starting my diet tomorrow.

It was a cute show, which was cleverly interwoven between our dinner courses. I wasn’t a big fan of the main course of chicken and rice. The spices didn’t seem to work for me, but I did see other people enjoy it so I’m not above admitting that I might in fact be the strange one. The volcano dessert was fabulous by the way. I believe the chocolate dessert included a fruit filling so I may need to rethink my “fruit doesn’t belong in dessert” rule. My life has lost all meaning.

Just before dessert was served however, a manager came out to speak with the woman who was sitting beside me. The manager profusely apologized to the woman for being ill and offered to bring someone from first aid over. The manager was bending over backwards to appease this family. I didn’t hear the woman’s response because my head was whirling.

I had just eaten EVERYTHING that this woman had just eaten and now this woman is sick? A flashback to the movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’ entered my mind. Remember the infamous café scene where Meg Ryan provides a, ahem, demonstration to Billy Crystal and the woman at the next table said, “I’ll have what she’s having”? I just experienced this, but in reverse. I wished I could take back whatever she had!! Somehow I got the raw end of this deal and I didn’t like it one bit.

No one from first aid ever did come, but the woman and her family did leave well before the show was over. For the rest of that night, anytime I sneezed or felt anything peculiar, I was convinced I had to call 911. Goofy Guy tried to distract me by saying we now had better seats to see the show, but I wasn’t easily distracted.

Hypochondriacs and Drama Queens are deadly combinations.

I just hope that woman was okay. I had a couple glasses of white wine, which helped distract me from the situation. The phenomenal fire dancer was a great help too. How do they do it and make it look so effortless? I make tying my shoe look like brain surgery.

The show came to an end at about 10:15pm. By the way, there’s relevance in why I’m telling you specific times. I’m really not THAT much of a details person! It ran a little long since we didn’t get seated on time either. We followed everyone else back to the Polynesian lobby and went to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. From there, we would take the bus back to the All Star Movies Resort. Just as we walked onto the monorail platform, a cast member asked us which resort we were going to. We told him the All Star when he proceeded to inform us that the Magic Kingdom had closed at 9pm tonight and was no longer sending buses back to all the resorts. In order to get back to our hotel, we had to take the bus to Downtown Disney, and then switch onto the All Star Movies bus.

All right, this was going to be somewhat of a pain, but it was manageable. We muttered something about wishing we still had a car, but otherwise, we were fine. We were both feeling healthy and were still celebrating that fact. We walked to the bus stop with about 100 other people. We assumed that a bus would come quickly so we didn’t worry too much about the high volume of people. People were still pretty cheerful, talking about the fun evening they had just experienced. Life was good.

Thirty minutes go by, and not one single bus arrives. Peoples’ patience were wearing thin. The cheerfulness of a few minutes ago had been replaced by irritability and complaining. Wouldn’t this scenario happen often after the Luau? Wouldn’t Disney know to send a few buses right away? Life was still good, but was fading slightly.

Our wait continued. The usual calm Goofy Guy was about to lose his mind. It’s rather humorous in retrospect, but at the time, I would have lost a toe if I had laughed. We were debating whether we should get a cab, but we were convinced that a cab would come just as the bus came too. Goofy Guy was about to go back inside the hotel (it’s a fair distance from the bus stop) to speak to a Cast Member, when we noticed a light off in the distance.

No, it wasn’t the Blue Fairy.

At long last, the bus arrived and all the tired, hot, frustrated people temporarily forgot that they were civilized and pushed and shoved their way onto the bus. No one knew when or even if another bus would arrive so this bus could very well be our only hope. I’m still not sure how, but we managed to not only get onto the bus, but we also managed to get a seat. I’d say that 75% of our bus riding history at Disney consists of us standing. Yet, on the busiest, most disorderly bus ride ever, we managed to get a seat. I’d like to give that mathematical problem to my grade 12-math teacher and tell him to stuff it!

He’s the one who told me he was relieved that I was good in history and english…

But I digress. It was here that I met the most fascinating Drama Queen in my thirty-one years. She was probably in her late twenties and was upset that she had gotten separated from her family. Her sister was way at the other end of the bus and her brother didn’t make it on the bus at all and was standing outside.

I was consumed with guilt.

This woman yelled in what you’d assume is her loudest voice to her sister asking what they were going to do since their brother was outside. There was no way anyone could get on or off the bus now. We were sardines already. The brother was trying to mouth something to the two sisters, but it wasn’t registering. It was then that I heard one of the funniest lines of the trip. The woman yelled to her sister (who was further away from their brother) with such authority, “READ HIS LIPS”.

The entire bus fell silent for a split second, and then dissolved with laughter. The woman did NOT look pleased and I honestly had concerns of a fight brewing.

Why oh why hadn’t I taken up kickboxing?

Miraculously, the woman smiled slightly and resumed position trying to understand what her brother was trying to tell her. They finally made an agreement to meet up again at Downtown Disney. I thought the drama was over, but the woman figured she’d continue entertaining the crowd. Another gentleman tried making conversation with her in order to get her mind off being split up from her brother. He asked her if she enjoyed her evening. He had no idea what kind of can of worms he was opening.

In her loud, domineering voice, she explained how she had a horrible evening. She’s vegetarian and the meal revolved primarily around chicken. He casually mentioned that she could have made special dietary requests and he wondered if she enjoyed all the other fixings like the salad, bread, veggies, rice & dessert. She insisted that she ate nothing and was starving. Another brave woman asked if she at least enjoyed the show and the woman went on another tirade saying that the show was boring and she fell asleep 3 times.

I wonder what kept waking her up?

In the mood she was in, you could have asked her what colour the grass was, and she would have said purple and nothing you could say could prove otherwise.

Although it was an amusing situation, I did feel bad for her. I’m sure she was a nice enough woman but she was obviously quite upset. We were all frustrated with the situation so I understood how she was feeling. She seemed to calm down during the bus ride so as we disembarked, I grew some courage and wished her well and hoped her family enjoyed the rest of their vacation.

She said they were leaving tomorrow.

Well, I tried. I figured that us Drama Queens need to stick together no matter how obnoxious we may be. But then I had a horrific thought. Do I act that way too? I didn’t like the thought of Goofy Guy having to live with that kind of behaviour for the next 60yrs. I made a vow then and there to try to become more levelheaded. I was turning over a new leaf. I would have achieved my goal too if someone hadn’t stepped on my foot on the way off the bus at Downtown Disney. Isn’t it really the thought that counts anyway?

The All Star bus was actually waiting for us when we arrived at Downtown Disney. It’s a good thing, because Goofy Guy was going to snap. I don’t think he shared my amusement on the bus. In total, it took one hour, forty-five minutes to get back to our hotel from the Polynesian. We rarely complain about anything but we wanted to talk to Management back at the hotel. The kindly Cast Member apologized for our inconvenience, but recommended we come back to Guest Services tomorrow when a manager was on duty. I suggested that Goofy Guy and I drive the buses after the Luau a few nights a week and in return, Disney would only have to pay for our living expenses, buy us a house and fly our family down each weekend. It sounded like a win/win situation to me.

The Cast Member must share the temporary deaf condition that my family experiences when I talk too much. Coincidence?

We made it back to our room and decided to have a quick swim before calling it a day. I didn’t want to end the day on such a sour note. A swim was just what the doctor ordered! Tomorrow was our last full day in Disney. We still had a lot sights to cover not to mention some dining plan credits to eat up, so to speak. Night all – hope you join us tomorrow as we bid farewell to Disney.

 

[Ellester]

Great reports! I can't wait for the thrilling conclusion!

 

[Big V]

CJK - Just a note to let you know that I haven't read your trip report yet, but I am copying it on Word and I'm up to 61 pages already! Once you are done with your report, I will print it out and read it at my leisure! I LOVE long and detailed reports! Thanks for taking the time to write it!
Scott

 

[LeslieM]

OMG -- I've read up to this point in two readings and was stunned when I figured out that I might actually have to *gasp* wait for the next installment! From one Drama Queen to another...write fast!

I am soo enjoying your report; as all have said, you are a great writer. And, I think you'd be a blast to do Disney with!

Go, write, write!

(Thank you very much!)

 

[brandt79]

I have thoroughly enjoyed every installment, and am breathlessly waiting for the next one - so hurry up already! Just kidding - fellow drama queen here

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the great installment.