yepod
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2001
- Messages
- 2,578
Thurs Oct 31st
Cast of characters: DD-Emily, 3 ½ yo, thrice-a-day strop thrower
DW-Jody, 40, Oh THAT server
Me-John, 50, daft pin trader
We wake up to more animals on the savannah! I think this is where the giraffes came strolling by on the way to feed. Emily came out to see & tripped on the door frame! She had an armful of her books & 3 went sliding under the bottom edge of the railing! Oh NO weve contaminated the savannah! I looked down & spotted the books resting in a fenced off area directly below us! Wouldnt want to be kicked out of the lodge a second time in one trip! I called the front desk & reported the accident. What was I thinking?
I should have blamed the poor design & threatened to sue! The maintenance guy retrieved them later in the day with no damage to books or animals! (Mom was embarrassed though)! Emily threw her first strop of the day because I couldnt climb down to get them!
We headed to the MK for our last breakfast with the princesses at Cindys. We met Aurora, Belle, Cindy, Mary Poppins & Prince Charming for P&A! It was our first time seeing the prince & he was so popular, there was a princess traffic jam next to our table! We had extremely sloooooow service from our CM server Sir Aaron. We watched several tables around us come & go. Just before I headed to the front to hand the manager the check & my room card, Jody & I had a revelation, an epiphany & a jolt from our past trip! Aaron was none other than the same server we had at a dinner at the castle, just before the start of MVMCP! We had lost some precious time at the party because of Sir Aarons lack of any kind of normal service speed! I passed this along to the manager & indicated I would not make this mistake a third time. I know, I said I RAREly complain, but at this point I was WELL DONE, with his poor timing!
We proceeded slowly toward the train station because Emily was working on strop 2 already!
I went into the Emporium for the last time this trip, to do some last day pin trading. One of the CMs asked me if I was aware of the Surprise Halloween Limited Edition pins that were just out. I, being the seasoned pin trader by now, responded I had already gotten mine at the party last Friday night! Oh contrare mon frere, the CM retorted. These were just released that day & it was a set of 10 pins with an Edition release of only 1500 each! Oh no, Jody & I both had the old beanie baby, gotta have it look! Only a minimal $180 for the MUST HAVE pins. The horror! Only released today, you mean I could corner the market on a rare pin set! The limit was two each, so I asked for all 20 pins! Ah but theres just one little catch. Undaunted I asked what that might be. The CM told me that the MK only had 2 of the pins & the rest were scattered throughout the World for me to FIND!
At least they did tell me that the Exposition hall was selling pin 2. I knocked down women & children (others as well as my own), to beat it over to the Exposition hall. What was I thinking? Jody picked up Emily & they bid me good luck in my quest for the elusive pins! Jody wanted to get back to the AKL for more R&R & the packing before the trip home tomorrow. Smart woman, that!
I started out for the AK & stopped at the Outpost shop on the way into the park, intuitively thinking they would be selling pin 3. Spot on, my Pin collecting senses were at their peak! They had it! I asked politely if they could save me some time & share where pin 4 was (as I twisted her arm behind her back). The helpful (if not frightened) CM told me to go to Island Mercantile on the way towards the Tree of Life! I ran to the turnstiles & leaped over (actually I was forced to use my AP) & proceeded to IM straight away! Now just as I was getting a little upset at this goose chase (ok Mouse chase, I had forgotten where I was!) Fortunately the CM at the pin rack outside IM told me she had the cheat sheet as to where I could find the rest of the elusive pins & which ones I was looking for. It was then that I realized there was a pattern. There was a Fab Five & Pooh Five pin at each of the parks! You say the math isnt right? At $9.01 per pin, I agree! Oh, did I forget to mention, 1 pin was to be sold at the Contemporary & 1 at All Star Sports? I was asked at this point if I had gotten my Disney Club Limited Edition Pins yet. Lets take A moment to reminisce here. Do you remember the old cartoons with the character having a big candy SUCKER appear before his face? I didnt get a picture of myself, but Im sure I was sporting one of these (like the day before at Epcot)!
I proceeded inside for the pins when I ran into some more excellent CM managers who were in a great pin-trading mood! I then headed out to the bus stop for MGM.
With the pin list in front of me I now settled into a routine of having fun with CMs & guests alike while traveling through the World! On the bus, I encountered a number of guests with a familiar look on there face. It was that big SUCKER! They were ALL looking for the elusive Surprise pins! We compared notes & I found that the true pin veterans here had come prepared. Some had printed pictures (that morning) from the Internet of what the pins looked like! Others had completed all but 1 acquisition of the set (I was in awe)! These were truly EXPERTS!
One thing that most of them agreed to (that I still dont) was not to trust CMs & their managers. I just hedged my bet by checking with as many sources as I could (like when I asked a manager at the Outpost & he said only one pin at AK & I turned to a CM & she confirmed there were really 2)! The pin heads that had secured all but the elusive last pin were very upset because they had heard a nasty rumor in that Disney was going to withhold the last pin until 7PM that night. These guests were going to the MK for MNSSHP & didnt want to forfeit their time standing in line for pins when they could be partying with the witch at the castle! I was truly surprised that true pin heads would worry about losing a mere hour or 2 of the party, for the sake of finding the Holy Grail of this 10-pin collection! I hoped this wasnt true. I headed for Mickeys Hollywood & then on to the Sorcerers Hat, Pin shop. I was on a roll! I was pushing guests aside right & left as I headed out towards the Epcot bus!
At Epcot I headed for Mousegear & then on to the Pin Station behind Spaceship Earth. I had 8 of the pins now (& I was about ready to pass out!)
I stumbled to the bus for the All Stars. Heres where I was going to verify the nasty rumor about Disney holding the last pin back until 7 that night.
Sure enough, an evasive CM manager told me that maybe the last pin would be sold at the All Stars at 7PM & then only at Goofys Sports.
I voiced the concern of the guests who had tickets to the party that night & the CM only smiled! I suddenly recognized her as the character that flew from the castle the nights of the Halloween party (& I aint talkin Tinker Bell here folks)!
BWAHAHAHA! Could this be true? Could Disney do such a dastardly trick to their guests to fan the terrible pin collecting frenzy? Well of course Michael, I mean Scrooge McDuck would sanction such a great marketing strategy! I then took a cab to the Contemporary, knowing it would take way to long to get there by any other means.
On arrival, I asked where the pins were sold & was directed to Fantasia kiosk. I innocently walked over & realized the line that was at least 10 guests deep wasnt there for the monorail! This was the longest line I had encountered the whole day! As we waited our turn, a CM dumps a bunch of pins into a tray on the counter. No big deal to me, right? This was my first real experience of pin mania at its worst! Guests started grabbing the pins like it was chum in the water! I could smell the blood. I thought I was going to lose an arm or worse! It reminded me of a Jaws movie, only I was really in the water in the thick of it!
I started grabbing pins myself, even though I didnt know what I was doing. As I ran away with my treasure clutched tightly in my bag, I headed to the monorail. When I had calmed down & my breathing & blood pressure had settled back to normal, I wiped the blood off the pins & realized I had bitten off some good low number limited editions! Come to find out, they recycle returns at this resort. Man Ive got to get out of this hobby before it kills me, or I reciprocate! As I was the only one at the monorail gate, I asked the CM attendant if anyone had asked for front car. He tersely replied not yet, so I said I guess that would be me! Just as the next one was pulling in, an older couple walked towards me. I innocently asked if they had ever ridden up front (I had done this before with a similar couple last year & it was a thrill)! Before they had time to respond, the CM rudely said would you let me do my job! As we were admitted to the cab, I realized this was no attendant, it was the pilot! Oh man, let me just step out in front of the train now, or maybe just jump off the roof!
The couple knew nothing of my faux pas & was thrilled with the experience. Well we rode for a minute when I noticed the husbands hat said WWII Vet. I asked about his service experience & shook his hand & thanked him! It made me forget my embarrassment because I was so honored to share with him & his wife! I got off at the next stop & as I stepped out of the cab, I quietly apologized to the pilot &. He smiled, shook my hand & assured me it wasnt a problem! I was relieved I wouldnt be falling on my sword this trip! I rode one more front of cab from the TTC to EPCOT on my crusade (this time the pilot asked another couple if they wanted to join us & I kept my mouth shut!) I thanked Joe our pilot (a real nice guy) & asked permission to take his picture. I also got a couple of good shots of Mission Space as we went by at Epcot. From there, I rode the bus back to AKL & the family.
Upon arrival I told Jody the bad news about the last pin holdout. We decided to go to Boma for our last dinner at the World! It was as enjoyable as ever! It wasnt really her third strop that helped Emily spill her milk, drenching her in the process. Jody took her briefly back to the room to change, trailing a stream of chocolate milk all the way! After we had finished eating, Emily threw her third full strop because I was trying to sneak away to the All Stars.
IJW Daddy picked a bad time to try & leave the table without Daddys girl noticing. NOT! I took Emily to the room with mom following. Jody proceeded to pack while I drove over to All Stars Sports & got in line by 6:40.
There were only about 150 people deep by then! I had a nice chat for the next hour & a half, with a TDS CM from Washington State & one from Maryland.
We stood in line with SWs Wicked Queen & Malificent who were afterwards going to MNSSHP. THEY didnt care that they were losing 1 ½ hours of their fun! True pin heads! I purchased my last elusive pins at 8:07! Mission accomplished. Jody would not have to disavow any knowledge of my actions (even though I probably should have). I then went back to the resort, bought some beer from Zawadi. I enjoyed viewing my last animals on the savannah with a couple of brews
& then a nice hot soak in the tub before bed for my old worn out bones.
What was I thinking this day?
day 10 Home stretch!
Cast of characters: DD-Emily, 3 ½ yo, thrice-a-day strop thrower
DW-Jody, 40, Oh THAT server
Me-John, 50, daft pin trader
We wake up to more animals on the savannah! I think this is where the giraffes came strolling by on the way to feed. Emily came out to see & tripped on the door frame! She had an armful of her books & 3 went sliding under the bottom edge of the railing! Oh NO weve contaminated the savannah! I looked down & spotted the books resting in a fenced off area directly below us! Wouldnt want to be kicked out of the lodge a second time in one trip! I called the front desk & reported the accident. What was I thinking?
We headed to the MK for our last breakfast with the princesses at Cindys. We met Aurora, Belle, Cindy, Mary Poppins & Prince Charming for P&A! It was our first time seeing the prince & he was so popular, there was a princess traffic jam next to our table! We had extremely sloooooow service from our CM server Sir Aaron. We watched several tables around us come & go. Just before I headed to the front to hand the manager the check & my room card, Jody & I had a revelation, an epiphany & a jolt from our past trip! Aaron was none other than the same server we had at a dinner at the castle, just before the start of MVMCP! We had lost some precious time at the party because of Sir Aarons lack of any kind of normal service speed! I passed this along to the manager & indicated I would not make this mistake a third time. I know, I said I RAREly complain, but at this point I was WELL DONE, with his poor timing!
We proceeded slowly toward the train station because Emily was working on strop 2 already!
I started out for the AK & stopped at the Outpost shop on the way into the park, intuitively thinking they would be selling pin 3. Spot on, my Pin collecting senses were at their peak! They had it! I asked politely if they could save me some time & share where pin 4 was (as I twisted her arm behind her back). The helpful (if not frightened) CM told me to go to Island Mercantile on the way towards the Tree of Life! I ran to the turnstiles & leaped over (actually I was forced to use my AP) & proceeded to IM straight away! Now just as I was getting a little upset at this goose chase (ok Mouse chase, I had forgotten where I was!) Fortunately the CM at the pin rack outside IM told me she had the cheat sheet as to where I could find the rest of the elusive pins & which ones I was looking for. It was then that I realized there was a pattern. There was a Fab Five & Pooh Five pin at each of the parks! You say the math isnt right? At $9.01 per pin, I agree! Oh, did I forget to mention, 1 pin was to be sold at the Contemporary & 1 at All Star Sports? I was asked at this point if I had gotten my Disney Club Limited Edition Pins yet. Lets take A moment to reminisce here. Do you remember the old cartoons with the character having a big candy SUCKER appear before his face? I didnt get a picture of myself, but Im sure I was sporting one of these (like the day before at Epcot)!
With the pin list in front of me I now settled into a routine of having fun with CMs & guests alike while traveling through the World! On the bus, I encountered a number of guests with a familiar look on there face. It was that big SUCKER! They were ALL looking for the elusive Surprise pins! We compared notes & I found that the true pin veterans here had come prepared. Some had printed pictures (that morning) from the Internet of what the pins looked like! Others had completed all but 1 acquisition of the set (I was in awe)! These were truly EXPERTS!
At Epcot I headed for Mousegear & then on to the Pin Station behind Spaceship Earth. I had 8 of the pins now (& I was about ready to pass out!)
Sure enough, an evasive CM manager told me that maybe the last pin would be sold at the All Stars at 7PM & then only at Goofys Sports.
On arrival, I asked where the pins were sold & was directed to Fantasia kiosk. I innocently walked over & realized the line that was at least 10 guests deep wasnt there for the monorail! This was the longest line I had encountered the whole day! As we waited our turn, a CM dumps a bunch of pins into a tray on the counter. No big deal to me, right? This was my first real experience of pin mania at its worst! Guests started grabbing the pins like it was chum in the water! I could smell the blood. I thought I was going to lose an arm or worse! It reminded me of a Jaws movie, only I was really in the water in the thick of it!
Upon arrival I told Jody the bad news about the last pin holdout. We decided to go to Boma for our last dinner at the World! It was as enjoyable as ever! It wasnt really her third strop that helped Emily spill her milk, drenching her in the process. Jody took her briefly back to the room to change, trailing a stream of chocolate milk all the way! After we had finished eating, Emily threw her third full strop because I was trying to sneak away to the All Stars.
There were only about 150 people deep by then! I had a nice chat for the next hour & a half, with a TDS CM from Washington State & one from Maryland.
We stood in line with SWs Wicked Queen & Malificent who were afterwards going to MNSSHP. THEY didnt care that they were losing 1 ½ hours of their fun! True pin heads! I purchased my last elusive pins at 8:07! Mission accomplished. Jody would not have to disavow any knowledge of my actions (even though I probably should have). I then went back to the resort, bought some beer from Zawadi. I enjoyed viewing my last animals on the savannah with a couple of brews
What was I thinking this day?
That scene at the Contemporary at the pin shop sounds scary! I think I will remain clueless on the pin trading and keep all of my limbs 
! Congratulations on meeting your goal and getting all 10 pins. Going to read day 10 now.
(JK)
