Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
- Messages
- 1,155
The Cast:
Roland (37, German) Worlds best husband.
Carol (42, British) Trying to live up to him.
Tuesday, 9 December. Day 10 those three little words the bad ones!
You do realise weve only been to AK once, dont you? Well, when we did that morning, it was a bit of a shock. That made todays decision about where to go a piece of cake. We also decided to combine it with a visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We stayed here last year and think its a truly beautiful hotel and we didnt want to miss its Christmas decorations. It would have been nice to combine the sightseeing with Boma but wed put it off too long. If we didnt watch Illuminations tonight, wed not see it at all, so we decided against eating at Boma then rushing over. Bomas just TOO good to rush!
I thought Mickey and Moose looked a little peaky this morning We left them with washcloths draped across their foreheads, being tended by nurses Little Twinnie and Ghostie holding aspirins. I'm not sure if having a ghost as a nurse would be very reassuring but I guess if youre a stuffie, you take what you can get!
We made a beeline for the safari when we got there, as we always do. It didnt disappoint it never does. I might get fed up of the Little Red spiel but I never tire of the animals. This time, I was a little more controlled with the photos. I took some lovely ones of a hippo surrounded by a group of black birds. It looks just like hes telling them a story. I also got a very out of focus photo of the new baby elephant I was SO thrilled! I'm a sucker for baby anythings, really.
I cant remember the order we did them in, but we did the Lion King show and Flights of Wonder. Surprisingly, despite the lower crowds, LK was packed. Far more than last year, even though the park was less busy. We were seated on the other side of the arena to last year, up over to the far right. Last year wed been up over to the left and I liked that view more. Might just be a trick of the memory though. I just remember the view as being nicer. I think it was the same princess as we had last year she is sooo pretty. But the prince seemed different. Last years was a leetle more hunky. I'm not a huge fan of hunky (sorry, but Tarzan leaves me cold!) but his voice was also hunkier and, as I adore hunky voices, I preferred last years. But my absolute favourites, just like last year, were the monkeys. Man but that looks like fun!
Flights of Wonder was different to last year too Guano Jane had had a secret sex change and was now Guano Joe. That was a big surprise! The stars of the show were as amazing as ever I still like the rats best! I'd like a tame rat, theyre very intelligent. Which leads me nicely into the subject of the idiot who kept standing up during the eagles fly over. Even a brain damaged rat had the odds on that man. Ok, the first time might have been because he was foreign and hadnt understood the CMs warning that on NO account was anyone to stand up. But after shed shouted at him crossly, made `sit down!´ motions with her hands and everyone else around him had done the same, he HAD to have got the message. So why did he do it a second time? And why did he look so flaming smug? Oh well, he got his picture, thats far more important than the birds safety. Can you tell how narked I was? Mutter, mutter
We still hadnt done Bug at all. We really thought we ought to, so Bug it was next! I did exactly the same thing I did last year sat on the edge of my seat because I'm afraid of the `sting´! I can be such a wimp. Rolands didnt work this time hes not doing well with the effects, is he. I also did what I did in every film we saw, watched through splayed fingers. Its not the films I'm frightened of, I just hate being sprayed in the face. As soon as its over, I put my hands down. I mean, you don't know where the waters from, how clean it is. I know, I'm silly.
After Bug, we wandered round the Tree of Life, looking at the animals. Thats some piece of artwork, it really is. We felt really naughty when during our look round, we had a Mickey bar. Well, eating ice cream mid-morning felt incredibly decadent to us! I had the same lack of success as I always do the last large piece of chocolate always slides on to the floor before I can eat it. Oh well, a few calories saved! And at least I managed to not have it slide down me as well.
Today was decision time for the Harmony Kingdom boxes. We decided against. The choice was just too poor. As I'd secretly been hoping I'd fall in love with one and that Roland would get me it for Christmas, this was a severe blow. A shopping opportunity I'd actually have gone for and Disney didnt come through for me: I felt very let down. But not having anything for Marianne was much worse: she is SO hard to buy for.
We wandered up to Dinoland next, we hadnt touched it at all last time. What we had done, and which I forgot to mention was the parade. We both love the AK parade. I'd decided at one point to look for a CD with AK music on it but I was so obsessed with finding a T-shirt the first time and so full of disappointment at not finding a present for Marianne the second, I clean forgot. I really am bad at this shopping lark!
An aside here; Roland tried very hard to get me some Disney music CDs for Christmas last year but couldnt. So he made me some. Theyre called `Mickey and Moose1 and 2´ and are amongst my most treasured possessions. He downloaded music off the net and made his own cover the boys standing in front of the castle. If I'm ever on a downer, the Electrical Light Parade music and the thought of all the work he put into it has me beaming my way round the place again! You just cant buy some things.
We knew when we went on the ride last year that Dinosaur was the same as the Indy ride in California our favourite ride of the park. We also knew that it wasnt as good as the Indy ride, or so wed read, so we didnt actually ride it in a fair manner. We spent the ride comparing and after the ride could only agree that Indy was better. Having got that out of the way, we enjoyed it far more this time round. We still agree that Indys much better but we shouldnt have wasted our time comparing them. Much better to just sit back and enjoy what youve got. Were still mystified that some people find the ride scary, though. Littlies, maybe, but adults know its not real. I'm glad we dont have to decide if a littlie would be scared or not, that must be a hard decision to make. Its awfully dark and very loud in there.
Should we do the safari again or should we go see AKL next? The latter won. I dont think I had the casting vote on that but I wasnt all that upset about it. Reality was beginning to set in. Wed be leaving soon and those three little words - the bad ones were beginning to creep into the edges of my brain. `The last time ´ I hate those words.
We had a lovely bonus when we left the park Mickey and Minnie were there! They were all dressed up like Victorian ice skaters. I just squealed `camera!´ at Roland and rushed to meet them at top speed! There was NO queue and I was in heaven. The no queue was a problem for Roland he couldnt get the camera out for rushing. He was so afraid someone else would rush up before he could snap away. His first words afterwards were, I don't know if theyll come out, I just pointed and clicked. (They did). Whilst he was fumbling, Minnie gave my hand a lovely reassuring squeeze, it was such a nice gesture. It never ceases to amaze me how well the characters communicate, considering their limited means. I'd love to be a character for a day. I'd like to know just what their training is and how much is instinct. And I'd love all the littlie cuddles! I know, there are bad sides to the job. But why dwell on the bad points when its only a dream!
We also got some great shots of the AK tree, which we liked a lot, too. Ok, big African animal faces are about as traditional as errmmm sailing ships! But they worked well and we liked. It was difficult to believe how empty the area in front of the entrance was, when youd just been in a packed Lion King show. And we were the only ones waiting for the bus to the Lodge. And when it arrived, hardly anyone got off. Its definitely a good time of year to go to avoid the crowds.
We love the AKL lobby. We love everything about it. The furniture, the lamps, the huge window with its iron vines creeping their way up. And the Christmas tree fitted in better than I thought it would. It soared up between the shield-lamps, complementing them well.
Theres a huge ceremonial `hat´ in the AKL lobby and I mean huge! When we showed people our photos last year, nobody had believed me that anyone could walk round with a thing that size on their head it actually goes right down to the ground and towers up above the wearer. I took photos of all the info boards, just so I could show the doubters that I wasnt making it up. Its truly amazing.
I needed the loo, which we knew was down by Boma. For once, we were both glad of this necessity of life because otherwise we might never have seen the miniature chocolate African village down there. Wow but somebody had put a lot of work in there! Again, it was incredible and I took yet another hat off to the Disney creators. I'd like to have watched them make it. They must have very cool fingers to stop everything melting under their touch.
Another necessity was fulfilled in Mara getting me a brownie! I had died and gone to heaven when I ate these last year they were my ultimate sin! So why did I think this one was dry and nowhere near as good? Had they changed the recipe? Had it been out too long? Maybe it was just my faulty memory gene again though in my defence, I tried an awful lot last year and was thrilled at every one. Hmmmm .. My brownie disappointment turned out not to be the lasting Mara-memory though. There was an amazing chocolate sculpture that was even better than the chocolate village! It was a `book´ of the Lion King. The open pages were a 3D representation of Simba swinging from a branch on one side and Rafiki holding up a young cub with the proud parents looking on, on the other. Just amazing! How do they do these things? I wish I were that creative.
We thought wed check out the animals before we went but there were hardly any out. It was the wrong time of day. We waved hello to `our´ room from last year and told it we missed it. Then we went back to the bus stop and caught a bus to Epcot! Yep, we were back again. You just couldnt keep us away from the place!
We knew exactly what we wanted to do when we arrived eat Japanese again! Wed enjoyed it SO much last time, we knew we couldnt leave WDW without another visit. It was a different lady ushering people in this time and we got a different server. But wed only been seated a few seconds when our server from last time rushed up to say hello shed remembered us! When we told her that this was the only restaurant wed been to a second time this visit, she was delighted. This time, we were given a different menu as well as the original one. The new one had more combinations on it. Roland decided on assorted sushi this time and I went for the veggie tempura (gorgeous and my favourite I likes me veggies!) and California rolls. We were both exceptionally pleased with our choice. Please, could they open a branch over here? We sigh longingly over the memory of our meals there at least once a week. I wanna go back!
We timed our exit very well we got to see another holiday storyteller! This lady was in Japan and it was more of a New Year story. About little wooden dolls and wishing for luck. The storyteller tried very hard to inject the maximum of excitement into the story but it just didnt have the pizzazz (I have no idea how you spell that so I hope its right) of the other stories. It was hard to feel thrilled about painting in a pupil in the dolls eye for luck. Particularly as if it didnt work, and it didnt sound like it usually did, you got a second chance with the other pupil. I think I'll stick to Father Christmas/Santa Claus/das Christkind. I do like pressies. And at least theyre guaranteed, not like good luck!
We decided then that we might just have seen enough of Epcot, perish the thought! There were several hours left till Illuminations, so why didnt we go over to MGM for a while? We felt like real WDW pros then three parks in one day! Roland would have liked to take the boat again but when we looked down at the dock, it was heaving. So we went for the bus instead. The queue for that wasnt very long but the bus took a while in coming. We saw a boat come and leave, which meant the dock was a little less busy. People started dithering. Should they stay for the bus or go down for the boat? One family, having waited ages, set off for the boat. They got nearly halfway there when the bus arrived. Which we knew it would, thats what always happens! As someone who always picks the supermarket till that takes the longest, I was glad wed waited and got it right for once.
We wanted to see the Little Mermaid but the queues were too long for the next show and there wasnt a Fastpass available. In the end, we decided wed come back first thing the next morning just to do LM. This seemed like a very reasonable decision at the time but didnt work out so well at all. See next trippie for full details.
Rolands favourite MGM attraction is the Muppets. Were both big Muppet fans their Christmas Carol is on our all-time top favourites list! Wed done it several times last year and not once this shock, horror! We had to put that right, didnt we? And it was every bit as good as we remembered. Rizzo the Rat as Mickey Mouse still had me rolling on the floor!
We wandered after that, soaking up the atmosphere and mourning the missing areas. When wed planned the trip originally, the Osborne Lights had been part of the deal, but then they cancelled it. We sort of thought we should mind but, surprisingly, we didnt. I think you miss things more if you know what youre missing. There was so much to see and do anyway, we were happy. As they say ignorance is bliss!
Roland had very cleverly got out of having to visit Mickey in Toontown or so he thought! He didnt know I'd got a trick up my sleeve and I wasnt going to be the one to tell him. I could live with missing TT Mickey as long as I got to see Sorcerer Mickey at MGM! So when we wandered past and I saw there was no queue, I was in there before he could say, Hey, where are you going! Once hed worked it out, we were already in and I was looking up at him, all pitiful and hopeful. We compromised, I got to see Mickey, Roland didnt have to be in the photo! I quickly scribbled `To Eliano from your friend´ on a WDW postcard, then Mickey signed it for me and Roland snapped away. Eliano (littlest member of the extended family) is too young to understand but his mums keeping the postcard for him and when hes older, we can show him the photo!
Roland then very kindly agreed to go and see One Mans Dream with me, providing we only saw the film as I'd spent so long in the exhibits last year. I agree but boy did I walk s-l-o-w-l-y through there to get to the film! And when they said there was a five minute wait, I zoomed back to use them wisely. I love that exhibit. I love museums anyway, love imagining just what the exhibits would tell us if they could only talk. So an exhibit that the great Walt actually touched? Wow It brought a tear to my eye. I wish he was still with us. I was back in time for the film another teary moment.
Roland didnt think the Making of the Haunted Mansion was open, but it was. Maybe the abandoned look was intentional, in keeping with the film. We thought this was great apart from two things it wasnt long enough so you couldnt take in a fraction of the exhibits and props theyd got set up. And you couldn't take photos of the staircase darn! They should have set it up like One Man's Dream with the exhibits separate. What we saw was interesting, too interesting to want to leave when they made you.
By the time we got out, we thought maybe we should be heading over to Riverside again got to get the hat and the warm stuff! This time when we left, there were more people entering the park than leaving it. We assume it was because people were doing a bit of the park before Fantasmic. We had no wait for the bus so we were home quite quickly. Soon enough to go and grab our mugs and head for the food court. We met an elderly couple on the way. He stopped to ask if we knew where the food court was as they were lost. I explained and got one of my favourite compliments from the lady. I adore your accent, where are you from? Americans say the nicest things!
I thought I'd be daring with my mug mistake. I only drink water normally and I hate coke, so I may be biased but I think root beer is absolutely disgusting. Yuck, ugh, foul, poison!!! I dont understand how anyone can drink it and live to tell the tale. Its Jennifers littlest favourite drink and Jennifer tells me there are different sorts and that they arent all as good as one another. All I can say is that I hope Emily gets better stuff than they have at Riverside. But if not, I reckon shes growing up immune to hemlock and any other strong poison on the planet! I went back to the pink lemonade.
The stuffies were still the same. We decided then that the Mousekeepers were probably frightened of disturbing them. Oh well, never mind. It was fun posing them! And the couple of times a Mousekeeper saw us coming out of our room, they really beamed at us. So maybe we brightened their days. I'd like that!
With me wearing my hat, we set off back to Epcot. I think our feet could find the way without us by then. The bus was very full by the time it got to the last stop and not everyone could get on. There were some very unmagical words being muttered at the driver. I hope he phoned through for another bus. We couldnt tell. He was a cheery soul though and had us all laughing at his corny jokes all the way to Epcot. He did a quiz with the people in the front seats, I wish I'd written his questions down. They were trick ones and very funny!
We got a new view of the Christmas decorations when we arrived. Previously, wed been in the park when they lit up but this time we walked through a darkened park towards them it was sooo pretty. I am so glad we decided to go at that time of year. Do you know what we did till Illuminations? Nothing! We didnt go on any rides, we didnt do any shopping, we just sauntered round, sat a while, did some people-watching and drank it all in. And it was blissful. Walt would have loved it.
I did mange to sneak an cookie ice-cream into the saunter. We were going to share one but Roland didnt like it. Such a pity. I had to eat it all myself. Yummy!
We watched Illuminations from Japan. Wed watched it from there before. Compared to last year, the place was empty. It was very nice, not being jostled or glared at by people who wanted your seat. If possible, I enjoyed it even more than the year before. It was spectacular. And we had the added bonus of being able to see the very top fireworks from Wishes before Illuminations started. Wonderful! I took lots of photos of the fireworks and the decorations that night. Theyre not brilliant, they certainly wouldnt win a photographic contest, but as happy memories theyre absolutely priceless to us.
We walked out of the park as slowly as we could, taking the longest route we could find. It was all so beautiful, we wanted to enjoy every second. When we got back to our room, we tucked into some cookies and milk. Nothing like cookies and milk for drowning out those nasty three words when theyre edging round your brain. It had been such a wonderful trip!
Roland (37, German) Worlds best husband.
Carol (42, British) Trying to live up to him.
Tuesday, 9 December. Day 10 those three little words the bad ones!
You do realise weve only been to AK once, dont you? Well, when we did that morning, it was a bit of a shock. That made todays decision about where to go a piece of cake. We also decided to combine it with a visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We stayed here last year and think its a truly beautiful hotel and we didnt want to miss its Christmas decorations. It would have been nice to combine the sightseeing with Boma but wed put it off too long. If we didnt watch Illuminations tonight, wed not see it at all, so we decided against eating at Boma then rushing over. Bomas just TOO good to rush!
I thought Mickey and Moose looked a little peaky this morning We left them with washcloths draped across their foreheads, being tended by nurses Little Twinnie and Ghostie holding aspirins. I'm not sure if having a ghost as a nurse would be very reassuring but I guess if youre a stuffie, you take what you can get!
We made a beeline for the safari when we got there, as we always do. It didnt disappoint it never does. I might get fed up of the Little Red spiel but I never tire of the animals. This time, I was a little more controlled with the photos. I took some lovely ones of a hippo surrounded by a group of black birds. It looks just like hes telling them a story. I also got a very out of focus photo of the new baby elephant I was SO thrilled! I'm a sucker for baby anythings, really.
I cant remember the order we did them in, but we did the Lion King show and Flights of Wonder. Surprisingly, despite the lower crowds, LK was packed. Far more than last year, even though the park was less busy. We were seated on the other side of the arena to last year, up over to the far right. Last year wed been up over to the left and I liked that view more. Might just be a trick of the memory though. I just remember the view as being nicer. I think it was the same princess as we had last year she is sooo pretty. But the prince seemed different. Last years was a leetle more hunky. I'm not a huge fan of hunky (sorry, but Tarzan leaves me cold!) but his voice was also hunkier and, as I adore hunky voices, I preferred last years. But my absolute favourites, just like last year, were the monkeys. Man but that looks like fun!
Flights of Wonder was different to last year too Guano Jane had had a secret sex change and was now Guano Joe. That was a big surprise! The stars of the show were as amazing as ever I still like the rats best! I'd like a tame rat, theyre very intelligent. Which leads me nicely into the subject of the idiot who kept standing up during the eagles fly over. Even a brain damaged rat had the odds on that man. Ok, the first time might have been because he was foreign and hadnt understood the CMs warning that on NO account was anyone to stand up. But after shed shouted at him crossly, made `sit down!´ motions with her hands and everyone else around him had done the same, he HAD to have got the message. So why did he do it a second time? And why did he look so flaming smug? Oh well, he got his picture, thats far more important than the birds safety. Can you tell how narked I was? Mutter, mutter
We still hadnt done Bug at all. We really thought we ought to, so Bug it was next! I did exactly the same thing I did last year sat on the edge of my seat because I'm afraid of the `sting´! I can be such a wimp. Rolands didnt work this time hes not doing well with the effects, is he. I also did what I did in every film we saw, watched through splayed fingers. Its not the films I'm frightened of, I just hate being sprayed in the face. As soon as its over, I put my hands down. I mean, you don't know where the waters from, how clean it is. I know, I'm silly.
After Bug, we wandered round the Tree of Life, looking at the animals. Thats some piece of artwork, it really is. We felt really naughty when during our look round, we had a Mickey bar. Well, eating ice cream mid-morning felt incredibly decadent to us! I had the same lack of success as I always do the last large piece of chocolate always slides on to the floor before I can eat it. Oh well, a few calories saved! And at least I managed to not have it slide down me as well.
Today was decision time for the Harmony Kingdom boxes. We decided against. The choice was just too poor. As I'd secretly been hoping I'd fall in love with one and that Roland would get me it for Christmas, this was a severe blow. A shopping opportunity I'd actually have gone for and Disney didnt come through for me: I felt very let down. But not having anything for Marianne was much worse: she is SO hard to buy for.
We wandered up to Dinoland next, we hadnt touched it at all last time. What we had done, and which I forgot to mention was the parade. We both love the AK parade. I'd decided at one point to look for a CD with AK music on it but I was so obsessed with finding a T-shirt the first time and so full of disappointment at not finding a present for Marianne the second, I clean forgot. I really am bad at this shopping lark!
An aside here; Roland tried very hard to get me some Disney music CDs for Christmas last year but couldnt. So he made me some. Theyre called `Mickey and Moose1 and 2´ and are amongst my most treasured possessions. He downloaded music off the net and made his own cover the boys standing in front of the castle. If I'm ever on a downer, the Electrical Light Parade music and the thought of all the work he put into it has me beaming my way round the place again! You just cant buy some things.
We knew when we went on the ride last year that Dinosaur was the same as the Indy ride in California our favourite ride of the park. We also knew that it wasnt as good as the Indy ride, or so wed read, so we didnt actually ride it in a fair manner. We spent the ride comparing and after the ride could only agree that Indy was better. Having got that out of the way, we enjoyed it far more this time round. We still agree that Indys much better but we shouldnt have wasted our time comparing them. Much better to just sit back and enjoy what youve got. Were still mystified that some people find the ride scary, though. Littlies, maybe, but adults know its not real. I'm glad we dont have to decide if a littlie would be scared or not, that must be a hard decision to make. Its awfully dark and very loud in there.
Should we do the safari again or should we go see AKL next? The latter won. I dont think I had the casting vote on that but I wasnt all that upset about it. Reality was beginning to set in. Wed be leaving soon and those three little words - the bad ones were beginning to creep into the edges of my brain. `The last time ´ I hate those words.
We had a lovely bonus when we left the park Mickey and Minnie were there! They were all dressed up like Victorian ice skaters. I just squealed `camera!´ at Roland and rushed to meet them at top speed! There was NO queue and I was in heaven. The no queue was a problem for Roland he couldnt get the camera out for rushing. He was so afraid someone else would rush up before he could snap away. His first words afterwards were, I don't know if theyll come out, I just pointed and clicked. (They did). Whilst he was fumbling, Minnie gave my hand a lovely reassuring squeeze, it was such a nice gesture. It never ceases to amaze me how well the characters communicate, considering their limited means. I'd love to be a character for a day. I'd like to know just what their training is and how much is instinct. And I'd love all the littlie cuddles! I know, there are bad sides to the job. But why dwell on the bad points when its only a dream!
We also got some great shots of the AK tree, which we liked a lot, too. Ok, big African animal faces are about as traditional as errmmm sailing ships! But they worked well and we liked. It was difficult to believe how empty the area in front of the entrance was, when youd just been in a packed Lion King show. And we were the only ones waiting for the bus to the Lodge. And when it arrived, hardly anyone got off. Its definitely a good time of year to go to avoid the crowds.
We love the AKL lobby. We love everything about it. The furniture, the lamps, the huge window with its iron vines creeping their way up. And the Christmas tree fitted in better than I thought it would. It soared up between the shield-lamps, complementing them well.
Theres a huge ceremonial `hat´ in the AKL lobby and I mean huge! When we showed people our photos last year, nobody had believed me that anyone could walk round with a thing that size on their head it actually goes right down to the ground and towers up above the wearer. I took photos of all the info boards, just so I could show the doubters that I wasnt making it up. Its truly amazing.
I needed the loo, which we knew was down by Boma. For once, we were both glad of this necessity of life because otherwise we might never have seen the miniature chocolate African village down there. Wow but somebody had put a lot of work in there! Again, it was incredible and I took yet another hat off to the Disney creators. I'd like to have watched them make it. They must have very cool fingers to stop everything melting under their touch.
Another necessity was fulfilled in Mara getting me a brownie! I had died and gone to heaven when I ate these last year they were my ultimate sin! So why did I think this one was dry and nowhere near as good? Had they changed the recipe? Had it been out too long? Maybe it was just my faulty memory gene again though in my defence, I tried an awful lot last year and was thrilled at every one. Hmmmm .. My brownie disappointment turned out not to be the lasting Mara-memory though. There was an amazing chocolate sculpture that was even better than the chocolate village! It was a `book´ of the Lion King. The open pages were a 3D representation of Simba swinging from a branch on one side and Rafiki holding up a young cub with the proud parents looking on, on the other. Just amazing! How do they do these things? I wish I were that creative.
We thought wed check out the animals before we went but there were hardly any out. It was the wrong time of day. We waved hello to `our´ room from last year and told it we missed it. Then we went back to the bus stop and caught a bus to Epcot! Yep, we were back again. You just couldnt keep us away from the place!
We knew exactly what we wanted to do when we arrived eat Japanese again! Wed enjoyed it SO much last time, we knew we couldnt leave WDW without another visit. It was a different lady ushering people in this time and we got a different server. But wed only been seated a few seconds when our server from last time rushed up to say hello shed remembered us! When we told her that this was the only restaurant wed been to a second time this visit, she was delighted. This time, we were given a different menu as well as the original one. The new one had more combinations on it. Roland decided on assorted sushi this time and I went for the veggie tempura (gorgeous and my favourite I likes me veggies!) and California rolls. We were both exceptionally pleased with our choice. Please, could they open a branch over here? We sigh longingly over the memory of our meals there at least once a week. I wanna go back!
We timed our exit very well we got to see another holiday storyteller! This lady was in Japan and it was more of a New Year story. About little wooden dolls and wishing for luck. The storyteller tried very hard to inject the maximum of excitement into the story but it just didnt have the pizzazz (I have no idea how you spell that so I hope its right) of the other stories. It was hard to feel thrilled about painting in a pupil in the dolls eye for luck. Particularly as if it didnt work, and it didnt sound like it usually did, you got a second chance with the other pupil. I think I'll stick to Father Christmas/Santa Claus/das Christkind. I do like pressies. And at least theyre guaranteed, not like good luck!
We decided then that we might just have seen enough of Epcot, perish the thought! There were several hours left till Illuminations, so why didnt we go over to MGM for a while? We felt like real WDW pros then three parks in one day! Roland would have liked to take the boat again but when we looked down at the dock, it was heaving. So we went for the bus instead. The queue for that wasnt very long but the bus took a while in coming. We saw a boat come and leave, which meant the dock was a little less busy. People started dithering. Should they stay for the bus or go down for the boat? One family, having waited ages, set off for the boat. They got nearly halfway there when the bus arrived. Which we knew it would, thats what always happens! As someone who always picks the supermarket till that takes the longest, I was glad wed waited and got it right for once.
We wanted to see the Little Mermaid but the queues were too long for the next show and there wasnt a Fastpass available. In the end, we decided wed come back first thing the next morning just to do LM. This seemed like a very reasonable decision at the time but didnt work out so well at all. See next trippie for full details.
Rolands favourite MGM attraction is the Muppets. Were both big Muppet fans their Christmas Carol is on our all-time top favourites list! Wed done it several times last year and not once this shock, horror! We had to put that right, didnt we? And it was every bit as good as we remembered. Rizzo the Rat as Mickey Mouse still had me rolling on the floor!
We wandered after that, soaking up the atmosphere and mourning the missing areas. When wed planned the trip originally, the Osborne Lights had been part of the deal, but then they cancelled it. We sort of thought we should mind but, surprisingly, we didnt. I think you miss things more if you know what youre missing. There was so much to see and do anyway, we were happy. As they say ignorance is bliss!
Roland had very cleverly got out of having to visit Mickey in Toontown or so he thought! He didnt know I'd got a trick up my sleeve and I wasnt going to be the one to tell him. I could live with missing TT Mickey as long as I got to see Sorcerer Mickey at MGM! So when we wandered past and I saw there was no queue, I was in there before he could say, Hey, where are you going! Once hed worked it out, we were already in and I was looking up at him, all pitiful and hopeful. We compromised, I got to see Mickey, Roland didnt have to be in the photo! I quickly scribbled `To Eliano from your friend´ on a WDW postcard, then Mickey signed it for me and Roland snapped away. Eliano (littlest member of the extended family) is too young to understand but his mums keeping the postcard for him and when hes older, we can show him the photo!
Roland then very kindly agreed to go and see One Mans Dream with me, providing we only saw the film as I'd spent so long in the exhibits last year. I agree but boy did I walk s-l-o-w-l-y through there to get to the film! And when they said there was a five minute wait, I zoomed back to use them wisely. I love that exhibit. I love museums anyway, love imagining just what the exhibits would tell us if they could only talk. So an exhibit that the great Walt actually touched? Wow It brought a tear to my eye. I wish he was still with us. I was back in time for the film another teary moment.
Roland didnt think the Making of the Haunted Mansion was open, but it was. Maybe the abandoned look was intentional, in keeping with the film. We thought this was great apart from two things it wasnt long enough so you couldnt take in a fraction of the exhibits and props theyd got set up. And you couldn't take photos of the staircase darn! They should have set it up like One Man's Dream with the exhibits separate. What we saw was interesting, too interesting to want to leave when they made you.
By the time we got out, we thought maybe we should be heading over to Riverside again got to get the hat and the warm stuff! This time when we left, there were more people entering the park than leaving it. We assume it was because people were doing a bit of the park before Fantasmic. We had no wait for the bus so we were home quite quickly. Soon enough to go and grab our mugs and head for the food court. We met an elderly couple on the way. He stopped to ask if we knew where the food court was as they were lost. I explained and got one of my favourite compliments from the lady. I adore your accent, where are you from? Americans say the nicest things!
I thought I'd be daring with my mug mistake. I only drink water normally and I hate coke, so I may be biased but I think root beer is absolutely disgusting. Yuck, ugh, foul, poison!!! I dont understand how anyone can drink it and live to tell the tale. Its Jennifers littlest favourite drink and Jennifer tells me there are different sorts and that they arent all as good as one another. All I can say is that I hope Emily gets better stuff than they have at Riverside. But if not, I reckon shes growing up immune to hemlock and any other strong poison on the planet! I went back to the pink lemonade.
The stuffies were still the same. We decided then that the Mousekeepers were probably frightened of disturbing them. Oh well, never mind. It was fun posing them! And the couple of times a Mousekeeper saw us coming out of our room, they really beamed at us. So maybe we brightened their days. I'd like that!
With me wearing my hat, we set off back to Epcot. I think our feet could find the way without us by then. The bus was very full by the time it got to the last stop and not everyone could get on. There were some very unmagical words being muttered at the driver. I hope he phoned through for another bus. We couldnt tell. He was a cheery soul though and had us all laughing at his corny jokes all the way to Epcot. He did a quiz with the people in the front seats, I wish I'd written his questions down. They were trick ones and very funny!
We got a new view of the Christmas decorations when we arrived. Previously, wed been in the park when they lit up but this time we walked through a darkened park towards them it was sooo pretty. I am so glad we decided to go at that time of year. Do you know what we did till Illuminations? Nothing! We didnt go on any rides, we didnt do any shopping, we just sauntered round, sat a while, did some people-watching and drank it all in. And it was blissful. Walt would have loved it.
I did mange to sneak an cookie ice-cream into the saunter. We were going to share one but Roland didnt like it. Such a pity. I had to eat it all myself. Yummy!
We watched Illuminations from Japan. Wed watched it from there before. Compared to last year, the place was empty. It was very nice, not being jostled or glared at by people who wanted your seat. If possible, I enjoyed it even more than the year before. It was spectacular. And we had the added bonus of being able to see the very top fireworks from Wishes before Illuminations started. Wonderful! I took lots of photos of the fireworks and the decorations that night. Theyre not brilliant, they certainly wouldnt win a photographic contest, but as happy memories theyre absolutely priceless to us.
We walked out of the park as slowly as we could, taking the longest route we could find. It was all so beautiful, we wanted to enjoy every second. When we got back to our room, we tucked into some cookies and milk. Nothing like cookies and milk for drowning out those nasty three words when theyre edging round your brain. It had been such a wonderful trip!
I hate that your trip reports are ending. I so enjoyed reading them. I felt like I was right there with you, and now I feel sad that it is ending like I do on my own trips. 
Weird huh? I contribute it to your writings. You are such a great writer. Looking forward to Day 11, knowing it will be bittersweet. Take care. 
