larry's girl
Dead last finish is better than did not finish, wh
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2003
- Messages
- 675
Players:
Larry, 47 - converted Disney fanatic
Susan, 40 - trip report writer and original Disney fanatic
Tara, 17 - always ready to get the Disney party started
After a quick breakfast in our room, we headed to MGM Studios - Tara has finally worked up her nerve to try Rock 'n Roller Coaster! She is really nervous about it, but is determined to ride - since it is one of my favorite rides at Disney, I am certain she will love it once she gets over her jitters. She gets quite shaky in line, but soldiers on and gets in a car with me. I tell her to put her head back against the seat and take a deep breath when she hears the countdown reach 2, then we are off! All I can hear as we go through the ride is her screaming "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod" over and over, with an occasional "I'm gonna die" thrown in for good measure. I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but when the ride stops, she gets out of the car, looks at me and says "I want to ride again!" So we did - and she and I sang "Dude Looks Like a Lady" through that whole ride. That is my favorite memory from this trip. She and I went on this one more time, just because we wanted to, before we moved on. Larry made the first trip with us, but sat out the next two - he says he is getting too old for this thrill ride stuff, but he keeps doing it!
Next we brave TOT, which we have done many times. There's a twist I experienced on this ride, though - when we got in our seats, there were no handholds for me to grasp during the drop. I don't know if they have been removed or if I just couldn't find them, but I went through this ride with nothing to hold on to - and that was a first for me. Believe it or not, it is a much better ride this way! You feel like you are floating and it is great fun. I walked out giggling and quite proud of myself for not freaking out when I realized I had nothing to hold on to but thin air!
Tara shopped a bit in the Villains store, and ended up purchasing a rubber duck with a pirate's patch over one eye, which she promptly named Bill (duck - bill - get it?). Remember that little nugget of information - it will be important later in this report.
By now it is a little after 11:00, and we have an 11:30 PS for lunch at Brown Derby. We decide to get there early and wait. When we walked into the lobby, the CM asked if she could help me. I told her that we had an 11:30 a.m. PS and were a little early, and she informed me, quite rudely, that the restaurant did not open until 11:30 a.m. and she could not seat us before then. It was almost as if she thought I was demanding that she open the restaurant early just for us, which I most certainly was not. I just responded with OK and went to sit down to wait for our PS time. She then asked if I could tell her who I was, again in a very snotty tone. A little part of me wanted to be a smarty pants and tell her I couldn't remember who I was, but I did not give in to that urge. I very nicely told her my name and she said that she would call us when the restaurant opened, by her tone indicating that it was such an imposition for us to be there early. It really wasn't what she said, it was how she said it. Very odd experience for us, but I did not let it bother me. We all just sat down and rested until time for our PS.
When we were seated, our waiter came to take our drink orders and boy, was he a cutie! His name was Hugh and he was from Scotland. He talked with us for a moment about his dress kilt (which we were all fascinated with - Tara was immediately "in like" with Hugh from the word go, and I could see her picturing him in his kilt). He also briefly described some of his favorite Scottish foods and what foods he liked here in the U.S. that he could not find in Scotland. We knew he had other tables to care for, so we did not hold him too long, but he was a lot of fun to talk to - and a great waiter, too!
Once we were done with our meal, Larry asked to take Hugh's picture and he bent down to put his arm around Tara for the picture. Then he asked Larry if he was too close, and before Larry could reply, Tara quickly assured him he was not AT ALL too close! It was so funny, and we had a wonderful lunch here. We did speak with the manager and tell her what a great time we had here, both with the delicious food and wonderful service. I had asked when we sat down if we would be able to make the 1:00 p.m. showing of the stunt show, and Hugh assured me we would have plenty of time. Well, our time actually ran a bit short and we just figured we would have to miss the first part of the show or wait for the next one, but when we were ready to go, the manager sent out a pass for front row seats to the show! We were astonished but very grateful for this unexpected bit of Disney magic. As we were walking to the show, I looked at the back of the slip of paper and realized that it was what a guest is given when they complain! Mind you, I did not complain about the grouchy CM that I encountered when we first arrived at Brown Derby, and we had nothing but compliments for the manager. We all got a good chuckle about that and walked in to our front row seats just as the show was beginning. We will definitely be back for another meal here!
We really enjoyed the stunt show - I think it would appeal to anyone who enjoys action/adventure films or just likes to see how stunts are performed. Afterwards we headed for the Muppet ride - not to ride it, just so Tara could shop in the gift store. Having done all we cared to do here, we headed back to our room for a short rest.
We have a PS at California Grill for an early dinner, which I have been looking forward to for some time. I am a little nervous about this, since I also had high hopes for our dinner at Jiko that were pretty much dashed, but I had nothing to worry about here. The food was exceptional, the service was terrific, and the view was spectacular. We will definitely be back again!
We had planned to go to Epcot extra magic hours tonight, but Larry does not feel up to it and my lack of sleep the day before, plus an early start this morning, have caught up with me. So we decided to catch up on our rest and Tara took the bus to DTD to shop. She came back fairly early, but I was already asleep so I did not have any clue when she got in. The next morning, Larry told me that she had stayed out way too late and he was going to punish her severely by making her stay in the room all day and not letting her go to any parks that day. Stupid me, I fell for it and got ticked off at him, saying that I had told her to take her time and that the buses to SSR were running slowly at night. When he still refused to budge, I really got upset and told him that if he insisted she stay in the room, I was staying with her and he could just go to the parks by himself - which he hates to do. Then he was suddenly all smiles and said he was just joking around, at which point I had to give him a couple of hard whacks on the arm for getting me angry over nothing - and the worst part was he was so stinking proud of himself for getting one over on me. I am still thinking about what an appropriate payback would be, but haven't arrived at one yet.
Larry, 47 - converted Disney fanatic
Susan, 40 - trip report writer and original Disney fanatic
Tara, 17 - always ready to get the Disney party started
After a quick breakfast in our room, we headed to MGM Studios - Tara has finally worked up her nerve to try Rock 'n Roller Coaster! She is really nervous about it, but is determined to ride - since it is one of my favorite rides at Disney, I am certain she will love it once she gets over her jitters. She gets quite shaky in line, but soldiers on and gets in a car with me. I tell her to put her head back against the seat and take a deep breath when she hears the countdown reach 2, then we are off! All I can hear as we go through the ride is her screaming "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod" over and over, with an occasional "I'm gonna die" thrown in for good measure. I can't tell if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but when the ride stops, she gets out of the car, looks at me and says "I want to ride again!" So we did - and she and I sang "Dude Looks Like a Lady" through that whole ride. That is my favorite memory from this trip. She and I went on this one more time, just because we wanted to, before we moved on. Larry made the first trip with us, but sat out the next two - he says he is getting too old for this thrill ride stuff, but he keeps doing it!
Next we brave TOT, which we have done many times. There's a twist I experienced on this ride, though - when we got in our seats, there were no handholds for me to grasp during the drop. I don't know if they have been removed or if I just couldn't find them, but I went through this ride with nothing to hold on to - and that was a first for me. Believe it or not, it is a much better ride this way! You feel like you are floating and it is great fun. I walked out giggling and quite proud of myself for not freaking out when I realized I had nothing to hold on to but thin air!
Tara shopped a bit in the Villains store, and ended up purchasing a rubber duck with a pirate's patch over one eye, which she promptly named Bill (duck - bill - get it?). Remember that little nugget of information - it will be important later in this report.
By now it is a little after 11:00, and we have an 11:30 PS for lunch at Brown Derby. We decide to get there early and wait. When we walked into the lobby, the CM asked if she could help me. I told her that we had an 11:30 a.m. PS and were a little early, and she informed me, quite rudely, that the restaurant did not open until 11:30 a.m. and she could not seat us before then. It was almost as if she thought I was demanding that she open the restaurant early just for us, which I most certainly was not. I just responded with OK and went to sit down to wait for our PS time. She then asked if I could tell her who I was, again in a very snotty tone. A little part of me wanted to be a smarty pants and tell her I couldn't remember who I was, but I did not give in to that urge. I very nicely told her my name and she said that she would call us when the restaurant opened, by her tone indicating that it was such an imposition for us to be there early. It really wasn't what she said, it was how she said it. Very odd experience for us, but I did not let it bother me. We all just sat down and rested until time for our PS.
When we were seated, our waiter came to take our drink orders and boy, was he a cutie! His name was Hugh and he was from Scotland. He talked with us for a moment about his dress kilt (which we were all fascinated with - Tara was immediately "in like" with Hugh from the word go, and I could see her picturing him in his kilt). He also briefly described some of his favorite Scottish foods and what foods he liked here in the U.S. that he could not find in Scotland. We knew he had other tables to care for, so we did not hold him too long, but he was a lot of fun to talk to - and a great waiter, too!
Once we were done with our meal, Larry asked to take Hugh's picture and he bent down to put his arm around Tara for the picture. Then he asked Larry if he was too close, and before Larry could reply, Tara quickly assured him he was not AT ALL too close! It was so funny, and we had a wonderful lunch here. We did speak with the manager and tell her what a great time we had here, both with the delicious food and wonderful service. I had asked when we sat down if we would be able to make the 1:00 p.m. showing of the stunt show, and Hugh assured me we would have plenty of time. Well, our time actually ran a bit short and we just figured we would have to miss the first part of the show or wait for the next one, but when we were ready to go, the manager sent out a pass for front row seats to the show! We were astonished but very grateful for this unexpected bit of Disney magic. As we were walking to the show, I looked at the back of the slip of paper and realized that it was what a guest is given when they complain! Mind you, I did not complain about the grouchy CM that I encountered when we first arrived at Brown Derby, and we had nothing but compliments for the manager. We all got a good chuckle about that and walked in to our front row seats just as the show was beginning. We will definitely be back for another meal here!
We really enjoyed the stunt show - I think it would appeal to anyone who enjoys action/adventure films or just likes to see how stunts are performed. Afterwards we headed for the Muppet ride - not to ride it, just so Tara could shop in the gift store. Having done all we cared to do here, we headed back to our room for a short rest.
We have a PS at California Grill for an early dinner, which I have been looking forward to for some time. I am a little nervous about this, since I also had high hopes for our dinner at Jiko that were pretty much dashed, but I had nothing to worry about here. The food was exceptional, the service was terrific, and the view was spectacular. We will definitely be back again!
We had planned to go to Epcot extra magic hours tonight, but Larry does not feel up to it and my lack of sleep the day before, plus an early start this morning, have caught up with me. So we decided to catch up on our rest and Tara took the bus to DTD to shop. She came back fairly early, but I was already asleep so I did not have any clue when she got in. The next morning, Larry told me that she had stayed out way too late and he was going to punish her severely by making her stay in the room all day and not letting her go to any parks that day. Stupid me, I fell for it and got ticked off at him, saying that I had told her to take her time and that the buses to SSR were running slowly at night. When he still refused to budge, I really got upset and told him that if he insisted she stay in the room, I was staying with her and he could just go to the parks by himself - which he hates to do. Then he was suddenly all smiles and said he was just joking around, at which point I had to give him a couple of hard whacks on the arm for getting me angry over nothing - and the worst part was he was so stinking proud of himself for getting one over on me. I am still thinking about what an appropriate payback would be, but haven't arrived at one yet.
You'll have to plan something "special" for him for the next trip. heehee
