billybaruch1
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2003
- Messages
- 455
Day 2: Magic Kingdom and Epcot
Mickey Mouse called to wake me up and said therere big doins today. At 7:30 am I walked out and on to the bus with no waiting. I had to stand and got to talk to a couple of guys about baseball and golf. The Extra Magic Hour was great. Were not the first ones there, but the anticipation was high as maybe a thousand of us waited outside the turnstiles for the few minutes before 8 am arrived. I was asked to take pictures of the family just behind me in line. They were all wearing the same Mickey t-shirts. I tried to give my glasses to one of the little ones, but the mom held them for me instead.
Mickeys PhilharMagic was great! I saw it first thing with no waiting.
Since I wasnt interested in Space Mountain, I then hobbled over to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. My feet were killing me. I had developed some blisters in both my little toes from the night before. Here it was, my first full day of a WDW vacation and my feet hurt. What a rookie mistake! This is the number one rule of successful theme park touring: wear comfortable shoes and take care of hot spots before they become a real problem. I was wearing the same kind of shoes Id worn during my six-year-old habit of walking two-mile cardiovascular workouts 3-5 times a week, but maybe all the Kungalooshes last night had led me away from remembering to wiggle my toes while walking. Now the blisters had formed and unless I wanted to just give my toes a rest for the one or two days theyd need to be back in the pink, I would have to take each step carefully and play through the pain.
I went to the 9 am rope drop at the entrance to Liberty Square and walked (very gingerly) on to Splash Mountain with no waiting. Continuing the boat ride theme, I rode PotC and then waited a few minutes to go on Jungle Cruise when it opened at 10 am. I used a FastPass I had gotten earlier for Winnie the Pooh and, man, did I feel out of place on that ride! I went on the Haunted Mansion. The Carousel of Progress wasnt open when I went on the TTA, but I didnt feel like hiking back there. I hadnt picked up a Times Guide when I entered the park so I went back down Main Street U.S.A. to get one. The crowds were building and the people were streaming in so I walked out to the monorail and went to Epcot.
A lady in the seats behind me on the monorail was telling her group what EPCOT means. She said it stands for Environmental, uh... People, uh... well Im not sure of the rest, but I think its something about the environment. The first thing I did was get a FastPass for Test Track. At noon I waited maybe 20 minutes in the Single Rider line for Mission: SPACE. Very good ride! Try moving your arms or legs during liftoff. Continuing the training theme, I then went to see Cranium Command. While walking with some difficulty over to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience, I bought a Mickey ice cream bar on a stick. I talked with the Cast Member, who told me he sold ice cream only on Sundays. Hes retired the rest of the week. He said the first summer in Florida was brutal, but now hes adjusted to the heat and humidity. I think the HISTA show pales in comparison to the new 3-D effects in Mickeys PhilharMagic. I went back to TT and got in the FP return line. It was about 10 minutes and we had not moved an inch so I bailed out. Instead of waiting some more I went to Ice Station Cool and savored the flavors!
Besides the Mickey ice cream and the soda pop, Id had lots of water, and a cup of coffee, a bottle of apple juice, and a banana that day. So I made my way to the EIF&WF United States booth, where I got the Lobster and Corn Chowder and the Crab Cakes. It was delicious, a real treat. I went into the American Adventure show and was falling asleep after about 5 minutes when the show was called off due to technical difficulties. I did see the Ayn Rand quotation prominently displayed.
The Imaginum Living Statues show was not as good as Id hoped. I thought she would actually surprise people. On the way out of the park I went on Spaceship Earth. It got held up for technical difficulties for maybe a minute or two. This was at the part where the kid goes, Extra, extra! Read all about it. Then I got to the bus stop and waited about five minutes. We got packed in like sardines and I rode standing up.
Back at ASMo I engaged my neighboring bar patrons in conversation. One guy was from the UK and another was from Georgia. The World Series was on TV and music from bands such as Steely Dan and Jimmy Buffett were providing a festive audio atmosphere. I noticed a tall, clear plastic beer flute and asked about it. The guy from Georgia (who had won my respect earlier by saying he respected me for not smoking, even though he didnt know Id stopped, and by stepping away from the bar to have his smokes) said it was a half yard and it cost $8.75 and held 28 ounces. Refills would be around $5.50, depending on the flavor of beer one chose. This information was confirmed by my helpful bartender person. Had I bothered to avail myself of the information on the menu signs overhead, I could have learned the same things. But now I went to work, being a numbers-type of individual. For some reason I couldnt divide 112 by 16, but a calculator was soon made available, at which time the answer of 7 was determined. I was astounded and amazed! One initial flute-full of 28 oz. and three refills would be 112 oz. and would cost $25.25 = $8.75 + 3 x $5.50. To get that much beer in 16 oz. cups, you would have to buy 7 of them (7 = 112 / 16, for those of you who are still with me here), and this would be almost $30 at $4.25 a pop. Plus, and heres the kicker, I can bring it back anytime to any All Stars Resort and get the then-current refill price! This was a great deal, I thought. I hadnt even bought a regular souvenir mug yet, but now I had my lifetime souvenir beer mug. Later I went into the gift shop and saw that a six-pack of Bud Light was $8.40. If you go next door to AS Music, the price is $9.60. Next - Day 3.
Mickey Mouse called to wake me up and said therere big doins today. At 7:30 am I walked out and on to the bus with no waiting. I had to stand and got to talk to a couple of guys about baseball and golf. The Extra Magic Hour was great. Were not the first ones there, but the anticipation was high as maybe a thousand of us waited outside the turnstiles for the few minutes before 8 am arrived. I was asked to take pictures of the family just behind me in line. They were all wearing the same Mickey t-shirts. I tried to give my glasses to one of the little ones, but the mom held them for me instead.
Mickeys PhilharMagic was great! I saw it first thing with no waiting.
Since I wasnt interested in Space Mountain, I then hobbled over to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. My feet were killing me. I had developed some blisters in both my little toes from the night before. Here it was, my first full day of a WDW vacation and my feet hurt. What a rookie mistake! This is the number one rule of successful theme park touring: wear comfortable shoes and take care of hot spots before they become a real problem. I was wearing the same kind of shoes Id worn during my six-year-old habit of walking two-mile cardiovascular workouts 3-5 times a week, but maybe all the Kungalooshes last night had led me away from remembering to wiggle my toes while walking. Now the blisters had formed and unless I wanted to just give my toes a rest for the one or two days theyd need to be back in the pink, I would have to take each step carefully and play through the pain.
I went to the 9 am rope drop at the entrance to Liberty Square and walked (very gingerly) on to Splash Mountain with no waiting. Continuing the boat ride theme, I rode PotC and then waited a few minutes to go on Jungle Cruise when it opened at 10 am. I used a FastPass I had gotten earlier for Winnie the Pooh and, man, did I feel out of place on that ride! I went on the Haunted Mansion. The Carousel of Progress wasnt open when I went on the TTA, but I didnt feel like hiking back there. I hadnt picked up a Times Guide when I entered the park so I went back down Main Street U.S.A. to get one. The crowds were building and the people were streaming in so I walked out to the monorail and went to Epcot.
A lady in the seats behind me on the monorail was telling her group what EPCOT means. She said it stands for Environmental, uh... People, uh... well Im not sure of the rest, but I think its something about the environment. The first thing I did was get a FastPass for Test Track. At noon I waited maybe 20 minutes in the Single Rider line for Mission: SPACE. Very good ride! Try moving your arms or legs during liftoff. Continuing the training theme, I then went to see Cranium Command. While walking with some difficulty over to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience, I bought a Mickey ice cream bar on a stick. I talked with the Cast Member, who told me he sold ice cream only on Sundays. Hes retired the rest of the week. He said the first summer in Florida was brutal, but now hes adjusted to the heat and humidity. I think the HISTA show pales in comparison to the new 3-D effects in Mickeys PhilharMagic. I went back to TT and got in the FP return line. It was about 10 minutes and we had not moved an inch so I bailed out. Instead of waiting some more I went to Ice Station Cool and savored the flavors!
Besides the Mickey ice cream and the soda pop, Id had lots of water, and a cup of coffee, a bottle of apple juice, and a banana that day. So I made my way to the EIF&WF United States booth, where I got the Lobster and Corn Chowder and the Crab Cakes. It was delicious, a real treat. I went into the American Adventure show and was falling asleep after about 5 minutes when the show was called off due to technical difficulties. I did see the Ayn Rand quotation prominently displayed.
The Imaginum Living Statues show was not as good as Id hoped. I thought she would actually surprise people. On the way out of the park I went on Spaceship Earth. It got held up for technical difficulties for maybe a minute or two. This was at the part where the kid goes, Extra, extra! Read all about it. Then I got to the bus stop and waited about five minutes. We got packed in like sardines and I rode standing up.
Back at ASMo I engaged my neighboring bar patrons in conversation. One guy was from the UK and another was from Georgia. The World Series was on TV and music from bands such as Steely Dan and Jimmy Buffett were providing a festive audio atmosphere. I noticed a tall, clear plastic beer flute and asked about it. The guy from Georgia (who had won my respect earlier by saying he respected me for not smoking, even though he didnt know Id stopped, and by stepping away from the bar to have his smokes) said it was a half yard and it cost $8.75 and held 28 ounces. Refills would be around $5.50, depending on the flavor of beer one chose. This information was confirmed by my helpful bartender person. Had I bothered to avail myself of the information on the menu signs overhead, I could have learned the same things. But now I went to work, being a numbers-type of individual. For some reason I couldnt divide 112 by 16, but a calculator was soon made available, at which time the answer of 7 was determined. I was astounded and amazed! One initial flute-full of 28 oz. and three refills would be 112 oz. and would cost $25.25 = $8.75 + 3 x $5.50. To get that much beer in 16 oz. cups, you would have to buy 7 of them (7 = 112 / 16, for those of you who are still with me here), and this would be almost $30 at $4.25 a pop. Plus, and heres the kicker, I can bring it back anytime to any All Stars Resort and get the then-current refill price! This was a great deal, I thought. I hadnt even bought a regular souvenir mug yet, but now I had my lifetime souvenir beer mug. Later I went into the gift shop and saw that a six-pack of Bud Light was $8.40. If you go next door to AS Music, the price is $9.60. Next - Day 3.
