SnackyStacky
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 29, 2002
- Messages
- 6,799
I wrote these journal entries before going to bed each night. They're not as detailed as some of the ones I've read, but oh heck, I was bored! 
All of my daily reports are linked on one site with digital camera photos as well. Click here to see them.
Cast:
Me, Dan, 23 years old, church music director with a serious Disney addiction
Lisa, roomate, 26 years old, law student praying that a law firm will hire her.
I don't know if I mention it in the entries, but we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Disney.
Wednesday, 9/4/02
We woke at 7:15 a.m., showered, and headed out. We had a rough start to the morning. I had wanted to see the rope drop at the Magic Kingdom, but Lisa didn't know that. So we got down to the bus just to watch it leave, and therefore foregoing the chance to see the rope drop. They normally will let guests into the parks before the official opening time, and at official opening time they have a "rope drop", where they open all the lands to the guests.
We got to the Magic Kingdom just after opening. We headed for Splash Mountain and walked right on. I had been hearing about how bad the cars smelled and about all the mold on the handle bars. We were extremely lucky, because our boat was clean! It was my first time riding it since it was built in 1992, and I LOVED it. In fact, the Haunted Mansion has taken a back seat for my position as favorite ride. The thing I love about Disney, is they can take something as ordinary as a log flume, and turn it into something amazing. I loved it so much, that just as with Rock 'n Roller Coaster, we headed directly from the exit back to the entrance!
We were then going to go on Big Thunder Mountain, but there was a guy there telling us that it was down, and they didn't know when people would be able to ride again. Bummer!
So, Lisa and I went to Adventureland and rode the Pirates of the Caribbean. This was enormously creepy because besides Lisa and myself, there were only two other people in our boat. And the boats behind and in front of us were empty. Like I said, REALLY creepy!!
We then headed over to the Jungle Cruise. They say this ride really depends on the captain of your boat. Last time, in January, Jungle Jim was our captain, and he was awful. The ride was very boring, but Dave led us this time, and he was great! Great delivery on those corny old jokes. He just hammed it up, and we had a great time! My only complaint is that this ride needs some work. The elephants had algae and mold growing on them! YUCK!
We then headed over to Fantasyland, where we had to wait for the rides. Although there was nothing longer than a 10 minute wait, it seemed a lot longer when we could walk onto everything else!
Peter Pan was first, and this is one of my favorite rides in the park, and I think my favorite Fantasyland ride! You get to fly over London and see Big Ben, and all the cars moving. It's really innovative and neat!
We then headed across the way to It's a Small World. I almost got out of our boat and dismantled those dolls myself. A person can only take so much of that song! And on the way out, they have a wall with goodbye written in many different languages. And one of them said Annoyng Ship. That's not a typo, that's what it said. It looked REMARKABLY like Annoying Ship. Coincidence? I think not.
We then did Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, and the Mad Tea Party, and made our way into Tomorrowland.
We rode Buzz Lightyear. For some reason it just wasn't as much fun as it was the last time. Although I did manage to hit a target that got me 100,000 points. I ended up with a score of 250,000 or so. I don't recall the exact number.
It was now time for a breezy break on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I love this ride because you never ever have to wait for it, and it moves quick enough to give you a nice breeze, and rest your feet at the same time. It has no moving parts other than the doors, and is powered by magnetic force.
Afterwards, we walked right onto Space Mountain. I don't remember this ride being so jerky or so fast, but it was fun anyway.
I had been hearing about a tasty treat called a citrus swirl, available in Adventureland. It was non-fat frozen vanilla yogurt swirled with frozen orange juice concentrate. So we made our way from Tomorrowland to Adventureland, and bought one. It was SO yummy!
After our small break, we headed back to Frontierland to see if Big Thunder Mountain was open, but it wasn't, so we contented ourselves with another ride on Splash Mountain.
Since all the talk of tropical storm Edouard was leaving lots of rain in the forecast, we decided to get to Epcot to ride Test Track. They close this ride when it rains, and they were predicting rain for the rest of the week. We got to Epcot via the Monorail and made a beeline for Test Track. We walked onto the ride, but it didn't work. It's a ride that puts you through some of the tests that cars have to go through, and ours just glided through the tests instead of racing through them as it's supposed to.
We got off and went to the American Pavilion for a quick lunch. Still in trying to keep on program with Weight Watchers, I had a grilled chicken sandwich with mustard (no mayo) and a side salad with fat free ranch dressing.
We headed back over to Future World to ride Journey Into Imagination. It was a trip through the "Imagination Institute". Figment was in the ride, and he is the symbol to me of Epcot. A purple dragon who is a "figment" of imagination.
Because Lisa had hurt her ankle earlier at the Magic Kingdom (she tripped trying to get onto Buzz Lightyear), we decided to do Spaceship Earth on the way out of the park, and go back to the hotel.
Spaceship Earth is one of my favorite rides. It shows the history and development of communication through the ages, and is too cool. I even saw two Hidden Mickeys!
We left not a moment too soon because it started to pour! Fortunately, there was a bus waiting for us so we didn't have to wait in the pouring rain.
We stopped at the store in the hotel, but they didn't have ace bandages, so Lisa just rest her ankle for a bit.
For dinner, we headed over to Downtown Disney again. On the way, we stopped at the World of Disney and the new store, Once Upon a Toy. We didn't buy anything, just window-shopped. This time, we went to the Bongos express window to eat. We each had a Cuban sandwich that had roasted pork, ham, turkey, swiss cheese and pickles. It was SO tasty!
Afterwards, we shopped around a bit at the Virgin Megastore, and Magnetron before heading to the bus.
We watched Kelly Clarkson win on American Idol when we got back. The pedometer (which I FINALLY remembered to put on) read 12.5 miles for all of the walking we did. My body definitely is feeling that 12.5 miles, so I'm off to bed!
All of my daily reports are linked on one site with digital camera photos as well. Click here to see them.
Cast:
Me, Dan, 23 years old, church music director with a serious Disney addiction
Lisa, roomate, 26 years old, law student praying that a law firm will hire her.
I don't know if I mention it in the entries, but we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Downtown Disney.
Wednesday, 9/4/02
We woke at 7:15 a.m., showered, and headed out. We had a rough start to the morning. I had wanted to see the rope drop at the Magic Kingdom, but Lisa didn't know that. So we got down to the bus just to watch it leave, and therefore foregoing the chance to see the rope drop. They normally will let guests into the parks before the official opening time, and at official opening time they have a "rope drop", where they open all the lands to the guests.
We got to the Magic Kingdom just after opening. We headed for Splash Mountain and walked right on. I had been hearing about how bad the cars smelled and about all the mold on the handle bars. We were extremely lucky, because our boat was clean! It was my first time riding it since it was built in 1992, and I LOVED it. In fact, the Haunted Mansion has taken a back seat for my position as favorite ride. The thing I love about Disney, is they can take something as ordinary as a log flume, and turn it into something amazing. I loved it so much, that just as with Rock 'n Roller Coaster, we headed directly from the exit back to the entrance!
We were then going to go on Big Thunder Mountain, but there was a guy there telling us that it was down, and they didn't know when people would be able to ride again. Bummer!
So, Lisa and I went to Adventureland and rode the Pirates of the Caribbean. This was enormously creepy because besides Lisa and myself, there were only two other people in our boat. And the boats behind and in front of us were empty. Like I said, REALLY creepy!!
We then headed over to the Jungle Cruise. They say this ride really depends on the captain of your boat. Last time, in January, Jungle Jim was our captain, and he was awful. The ride was very boring, but Dave led us this time, and he was great! Great delivery on those corny old jokes. He just hammed it up, and we had a great time! My only complaint is that this ride needs some work. The elephants had algae and mold growing on them! YUCK!
We then headed over to Fantasyland, where we had to wait for the rides. Although there was nothing longer than a 10 minute wait, it seemed a lot longer when we could walk onto everything else!
Peter Pan was first, and this is one of my favorite rides in the park, and I think my favorite Fantasyland ride! You get to fly over London and see Big Ben, and all the cars moving. It's really innovative and neat!
We then headed across the way to It's a Small World. I almost got out of our boat and dismantled those dolls myself. A person can only take so much of that song! And on the way out, they have a wall with goodbye written in many different languages. And one of them said Annoyng Ship. That's not a typo, that's what it said. It looked REMARKABLY like Annoying Ship. Coincidence? I think not.
We then did Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, and the Mad Tea Party, and made our way into Tomorrowland.
We rode Buzz Lightyear. For some reason it just wasn't as much fun as it was the last time. Although I did manage to hit a target that got me 100,000 points. I ended up with a score of 250,000 or so. I don't recall the exact number.
It was now time for a breezy break on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I love this ride because you never ever have to wait for it, and it moves quick enough to give you a nice breeze, and rest your feet at the same time. It has no moving parts other than the doors, and is powered by magnetic force.
Afterwards, we walked right onto Space Mountain. I don't remember this ride being so jerky or so fast, but it was fun anyway.
I had been hearing about a tasty treat called a citrus swirl, available in Adventureland. It was non-fat frozen vanilla yogurt swirled with frozen orange juice concentrate. So we made our way from Tomorrowland to Adventureland, and bought one. It was SO yummy!
After our small break, we headed back to Frontierland to see if Big Thunder Mountain was open, but it wasn't, so we contented ourselves with another ride on Splash Mountain.
Since all the talk of tropical storm Edouard was leaving lots of rain in the forecast, we decided to get to Epcot to ride Test Track. They close this ride when it rains, and they were predicting rain for the rest of the week. We got to Epcot via the Monorail and made a beeline for Test Track. We walked onto the ride, but it didn't work. It's a ride that puts you through some of the tests that cars have to go through, and ours just glided through the tests instead of racing through them as it's supposed to.
We got off and went to the American Pavilion for a quick lunch. Still in trying to keep on program with Weight Watchers, I had a grilled chicken sandwich with mustard (no mayo) and a side salad with fat free ranch dressing.
We headed back over to Future World to ride Journey Into Imagination. It was a trip through the "Imagination Institute". Figment was in the ride, and he is the symbol to me of Epcot. A purple dragon who is a "figment" of imagination.
Because Lisa had hurt her ankle earlier at the Magic Kingdom (she tripped trying to get onto Buzz Lightyear), we decided to do Spaceship Earth on the way out of the park, and go back to the hotel.
Spaceship Earth is one of my favorite rides. It shows the history and development of communication through the ages, and is too cool. I even saw two Hidden Mickeys!
We left not a moment too soon because it started to pour! Fortunately, there was a bus waiting for us so we didn't have to wait in the pouring rain.
We stopped at the store in the hotel, but they didn't have ace bandages, so Lisa just rest her ankle for a bit.
For dinner, we headed over to Downtown Disney again. On the way, we stopped at the World of Disney and the new store, Once Upon a Toy. We didn't buy anything, just window-shopped. This time, we went to the Bongos express window to eat. We each had a Cuban sandwich that had roasted pork, ham, turkey, swiss cheese and pickles. It was SO tasty!
Afterwards, we shopped around a bit at the Virgin Megastore, and Magnetron before heading to the bus.
We watched Kelly Clarkson win on American Idol when we got back. The pedometer (which I FINALLY remembered to put on) read 12.5 miles for all of the walking we did. My body definitely is feeling that 12.5 miles, so I'm off to bed!
