Day 9 - Part 2 Combining Wine & Space Mountain May Be Hazardous For Your Health

[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 Warning: Combining Red Wine & Space Mountain May Be Hazardous For Your Health

For our dinner at Jiko tonight, I was going to wear a skirt.

Yes, no need to faint. I really do have legs. Of course, I chose to wear a wrap around long skirt so my legs remained nicely hidden. Goofy guy said that since my legs were still not really seen, the question of whether or not I actually have legs remains an unsolved mystery.

We hopped on the bus to Animal Kingdom and transferred to the Animal Kingdom Lodge bus. Our timing left a lot to be desired. As we disembarked the AK bus, we watched the AKL bus pull away. Did I mention it was raining too? My attempt at looking presentable for dinner tonight was quickly being replaced by the oh-so-fashionable wet poodle look.

I hear Jasmine wants my hairdresser’s number.

We finally made our way to AKL. I assessed the rain damage in the restroom and did what I could. I discovered that waterproof mascara doesn’t work in Florida torrential rainfall. But I digress…

After months of anticipation, our Jiko dinner had arrived. We were both really excited. A lovely gentleman from South Africa took us to a terrific table by the window. Unfortunately, I am the worst at understanding accents. The worst I tell you! Goofy guy had to nonchalantly act as my interpreter. This man was so friendly and sweet; that I could hardly bear having him ask me a question while I stared at him blankly. Surely there must be a course I can take called, “the art of understanding foreign accents stupid”. I’d pay big bucks for that one.

We were really looking forward to trying some African wine. On a previous trip, we toured this restaurant and learned that 1% of all-African wine is shipped to this restaurant. Mighty impressive indeed. Our waitress (with an accent I had no difficulty understanding might I add) gave us the wine list. You call this a wine list? We called it a novel.

Or one of my long-winded trip reports…

We knew we needed help with our selection and our waitress was up for the challenge. She brought over red wine samples for us to try. We were expecting a few splashes of wine in each glass to sample, but it appeared she was pretty heavy handed with her pouring. Who were we to complain?

After sharing 4 samples, we agreed upon a red wine blend, and proceeded to order a bottle. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was truly wonderful. Our waitress was equally helpful with our appetizer and entrée selections. My arugula/bacon flatbread and Goofy guy’s spring rolls were superb. Similarly to my raspberry eating this morning, I was trying to savour each and every bite – not wanting the meal to end. When I wasn’t looking, Goofy guy stole a piece of my flat bread. He’s just lucky I was wearing a skirt or I would have fought him for that last piece of flat bread. Lucky for him, when wearing skirts, you really do become more ladylike.

Our entrees were equally delicious. I had the curry shrimp and Goofy guy had the filet mignon with macaroni and cheese. No, that’s not a typo. We thought it strange too, but this was the best darn gourmet macaroni and cheese either of us had ever tasted. In fact, our entire meal was prepared to perfection and had I not been about to explode out of my skirt, I would have ordered more – or at the very least eaten our neighbour’s flatbread when they weren’t looking.

The woman was wearing a skirt too so we would have been safe.

The meal was wonderfully romantic. Our table overlooked the little waterfall outside the restaurant and it’s amazing to see how nightfall and the restaurant lights change the feel of the restaurant. I was worried our expectations were going to be too high for this meal, but thankfully I was wrong. It’s pretty rare that I’m happy to be wrong. We rounded off the meal with crème brulee for me and a banana split for Goofy guy. He still hasn’t learned my rule that fruit and dessert do not belong together. Nonetheless, we both agreed that the desserts did not disappoint. We enjoyed our dinner immensely and managed to draw the meal out for 2.5hours. We wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom for a couple hours before closing, so we had to leave. I stood up and quickly sat back down again.

Apparently African red wine blends are rather strong.

I tried to stand up again but this time much slower. It’s funny how I never noticed that Jiko spins. Cool effect. It spins even faster than Garden Grill in the Land pavilion in Epcot. Maybe our waitress was adding one last magical experience to us by pushing the spin button on the wall. We left her an extra tip.

I immediately went to the restroom. No, not to be sick, but to change out of my skirt. Freedom!! Almost-but-not-quite showing my legs in long skirts can be quite tiring.

We made our way down to the bus stop and climbed aboard within a few minutes. We had to stand which for some reason, I found quite humorous. Come to think of it, almost everything seemed rather amusing to me. I got the giggles. The strangeness of the situation wasn’t lost on me. I did think it was rather inappropriate for me to feel “tipsy” with all these children around me heading towards the happiest place on earth. I tried with all my might to hide this fact from everyone around me. I wasn’t downright intoxicated; I was just feeling extremely joyful. I did feel guilty, but the guiltier I felt the funnier I found the whole situation. Goofy guy glared at me to be quiet.

So I giggled some more.

After the short bus ride to MK (a LONG bus ride according to Goofy guy), we arrived at the Magic Kingdom. We boarded the train and made our way to Splash Mountain. While on the train, I swore I could hear Boomer and Splashboy yell into the microphone, “All Aboooooard” again. I temporarily forgot that they had already gone home. I shared this thought with Goofy guy and he replied by saying I’m cut off from African red wine blends for life.

I had made a request to Goofy guy earlier this trip to make sure we ride Splash Mountain at night. I just love gazing at the different colours on the castle off in the distance. Tonight I even noticed that the castle spins too. Will Disney stop at nothing to make this trip magical for us?

Despite all the negative comments about the new Stitch ride, we decided to give it a whirl tonight. After riding, we both had a feeling of indifference. It wasn’t as good as Alien Encounter (and we only mildly enjoyed that one), but it wasn’t as terrible as we were expecting either. However, I do have a question for those of you who have been on this Stitch ride. Who does the voice of the robot in the pre-show? His voice was VERY familiar to us but neither of us could place it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’ll even give you the credit when I give Goofy guy the answer.

I think I had become quite used to my tipsiness by this time because I actually suggested to Goofy guy that we ride Space Mountain next. Had I been thinking, I may have stuck with the TTA instead.

But I’m not exactly renowned for my logic.

We board Space Mountain and the young girl ahead of me screams all the way while I laughed with the same intensity. Each twist and turn made me giggle and for the first time, I noticed the beautiful stars up above. Isn’t nature beautiful? I could cry.

The ride ended and I slowly exited the vehicle. Hmm. I suddenly wasn’t enjoying the slight spinning of Disney anymore. I asked Goofy guy to thank management for their attempt to add some extra Disney magic but please ask them to turn the switch to off now. Enough was enough.

Wishes was about to begin and since this is Goofy guy’s favourite nighttime show, I decided to ignore my unhappy stomach. I had read on the DIS that a great viewing location is at the train station. We fought the crowd and made our way over to the station. We immediately noticed the problem. Half of the station was under refurbishment so the open portion was mobbed with people. I mean wall to wall of hot, tired, whiny, smelly people. We should really go find another place to watch the fireworks.

Instead we stayed where we were.

Fortunately for me, I was standing behind a gentleman in a wet tank top who likely left his deodorant at the hotel. Thanks Mister. I think he must have gotten some fresh tattoos on his arms because he kept lifting up his arms to show his artwork to people standing beside him. I couldn’t see the tattoos very well.

But I could smell just fine.

I learned tonight that when you combine a bottle of African red wine blend with body odour and heat, you get a very unhappy stomach. My stomach was downright angry. I had to make a run for it, and fast.

When Goofy guy saw that my face was turning green, he grabbed my hand and trampled over people as we made our way down the stairs. We found an open area just below the train station and I practiced some deep breathing. I never knew that horse manure on Main Street is actually a welcomed aroma when compared to the body odour of the tattooed man in the train station. I could have kissed the horse.

Once Goofy guy realized I wasn’t going to need a restroom break just then, he turned to watch Wishes. We actually had a pretty good view considering our location. When the show ended, we quickly ran to the bus stop and decided to grab whichever All Star bus arrived first. It was Music, so we climbed aboard. Although I was feeling slightly better, I learned that turning my head from left to right was very dangerous indeed. Looking straight ahead was definitely the way to go. It was now Goofy guy’s turn to laugh.

I would have glared at him too, but that required me to turn my head.

Had they known, our fellow bus riders likely appreciated my looking straight ahead too. We made it to All Star Music Resort and continued walking to Movies. We also learned tonight that the Movies bus from the Magic Kingdom arrives at about the same time it takes for you to walk from Music Resort to Movies. Damn.

I made it to our hotel room and immediately lay down. A sure sign I wasn’t feeling well was that I noticed a bug walking across the table beside me and I did nothing to get rid of it.

I obviously wasn’t well.

I made another mental note suggesting that I stick to one glass of wine during future dinners at Jiko. I went to sleep very quickly where I think I dreamt about buying out our local drugstore of deodorant. It was a comforting thought somehow. We both had a great night sleep and recharged for our big day ahead of our triumphant return to Tower of Terror and getting leid at the Spirit of Aloha.

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the laughs!

 

[JennInTN]

I am so enjoying these reports. You have given me many days of smiles AND giggles. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Johnfish]

I absolutely love your trip reports. My son and I were at WDW the last week in August and had a wonderful time! We are big Stitch fans and enjoyed SGE. I believe the voice of sarge is Rip Taylor. He used to be a regular on the Gong Show during the 70s. I dont know this as a fact but it sure sounds like him.

Thanks again for the wonderful trip reports!!

John

 

[jennymouse]

Oh, these are so much fun to read! Thank you, dear.

 

[CJK]

Thanks everyone. I'm just about finished writing the report. I don't know what I'm going to do with my spare time now!

Johnfish - THANK YOU!!! Rip Taylor! I can't wait to tell Goofy Guy! Glad to hear you and your son had a great trip. We were there at the same time!

 

[Johnfish]

Thanks CJK I wish I could find the time to write about our adventures! We had an awesome time. Last year was ourt first time at WDW. This was our second trip and we are still in awe of the place. One thing that amazes me is that my 16 yo son understands and loves the magic as much as I do. (Although he would never admit it publicly )

Thanks again for helping us to relive the magic!!

John

 

[kathymc]

another great report - thanks for sharing
I knew that somehow you would still manage to have fun after the family left!

Even though it sounds kind of neat - I hope I never see the castle spinning!

 

[Valentine]

thanks for another great installment!! I LOVE your reports! Ummm.. I think the voice of Sarge is Not Rip Taylor.. but Richard Kind... he played Mark on "Mad About You" ... Pauls friend... the doctor...Fran's Husband! I think that is who the voice is.... I could be wrong..(But I dont think so!! LOL!!)

Off to read your next installment!

Kathy

 

[CJK]

Thanks Valentine. Hmm, very interesting. I wonder if you're right. I can imagine both voices in my mind, but now I can't remember the voice of the robot so well! I need to go back. Thanks for posting!