Another DISCLAIMER:
I have (yet again) greatly underestimated my chattiness. Or, perhaps, just the magnitude of the important information that I have to impart. At any rate, I am not even close to Cali yet in this chapter. I would say....plan on Chapter 8. That should work. Maybe 9, but I think I can get there in 8. And the pictures will come then, too. Just a couple here. Sorry.
First, a couple of things I forgot last time. We were missing a few of our friends today. I think because this meet was planned a smidge last minute, and since we are all Ninja DISplanners, some of us just couldnt adjust the itineraries. Jami was missing. She and #1 and #7 were at MGM, I believe. I was looking for them, because I had heard that #1 had received a mothers worst nightmare phone call the previous evening. Her daughter had fallen off of a trampoline and was in the ER with a possible broken arm. At home. And she was here with us. Talk about mommy guilt and stress! I was really wanting to get an update and share my empathy. But....we would see them later tonight. Sher...where was she? She hasnt gotten there in her TR, yet. Perhaps doing the F&W booths? Cant remember. All I know is that she was enjoying the heat, wherever she was. Finally, our lovely friend Frickles. I was missing her, because I felt that we had not spent enough time with her last night. And I recalled that she was expected here this morning. But she had some issues. With her car. Related to the previous evenings adventure. Bottom line, she wasnt going to make it. If youd like the scoop, read her report. Even if you wouldnt like the scoop, read it. It is laugh-up-a-lung-spew-coke-on-your-monitor hilarious.
So, back to the HM exit. Where I learned that Horsey had goosed Mark, in the stretching room I believe! Also, where Kim kindly shared my inappropriate hair-brushing adventure with the crew. And where the bulk of us mutually decided that we needed to go ride Splash Mountain. I think we lost the Sillys (who were on a schedule, methinks) and a few others, but the remainder of us (M&R&W, Horsey, Grammy, YAK & K, Kim & Doug) boogied over to Splash. The posted wait time wasnt too bad, so we got into the line while Mark & Jay went to get fastpasses for later. Jay followed Mark, because if anyone knows what hes doing at WDW, its Mark! Somehow, he didnt realize that Mark was getting fastpasses for BTMRR, not Splash. No biggie, though, because we wanted to ride that later, as well. We would get back to Splash if we had time. If not, THIS time with all our friends was going to be awesome! Dont recall being in line for very long. Wasnt a walk-on, but I think we couldnt have waited more than 10 minutes or so. Maybe less. Either that or we were having so much fun chatting in line that the time flew. Probably a little of both. When we finally got to the loading area, we conveyed our count. We were a party of 11. The CM said we could all fit into one log. Three in a row. Now, let me say, that worked just fine for Mark and Rhonda and Wesley, because, technically, theyre more like 2 ½. But for the rest of us, that was a tight squeeze. Jay & I somehow lucked out and ended up in the 3rd row all by ourselves. The Whirlwind Trippers & Magic Magnet were behind us. Up front, Horsey and Grammy and YAK squeezed in. In front of us, Doug and Kimmie and K (YAKs friend) were very squished. In fact, Kims bottom wasnt exactly touching the seat. She was kinda hovering over it. Although its an unflattering picture of me (I refer you back to the earlier sweaty picture posing), Im posting this so you can see what I mean about Kim. This is from Horseys viewpoint (and Horseys camera, TFI):
Well, we were having a ball. Splash is my favorite ride, but never before did I enjoy it as much as this. It was so much fun singing and hand-raising and sharing this with our friends. We were all a little concerned about Kimmie, though. What if she fell out? As we approached the big drop, Doug said Dont worry, honey, Ill hold onto your butt!!! And then, Wheeeeee! Splash!!!!! Down we went. Kim managed to stay in place. Horsey, Gram and YAK got soaked. We didnt. Hee hee hee. As we disembarked, we hurried over to the picture place. We were ALL going to want to buy this picture, for sure! Woo hoo!! We waited for ours to come up. And waited. And waited. Eventually, a screen popped up that said Were Sorry. This image has been wiped away. Or something along those lines. We were crushed. Horsey most of all. She REALLY wanted this picture. We asked the CM. "WHY?!?" (Think: "Why, oh why, Santa, why are you taking our tree?" Thats kinda how we asked it....) The CM asked if perhaps anyone made any...um....."hand gestures"? Yeah, sure Mr. CM, have you met our friend Mark? The Pastor? Perhaps it was him!! Uh, no. That wasnt it. What could it have been? Im not sure when we finally figured it out, but eventually light dawned on Marblehead (is that just a Massachusetts saying?) It was Kimmie. They mustve thought she was standing up. Or trying to. And they frown upon that sort of thing. So....perhaps our CM at the loading area shouldve figured THAT one out BEFORE he (or she?) let us float away like that! But, yknow what? Then we wouldnt have all been together in the same log. Looking back, I think it was worth it.
Heading out, though, Horsey wasnt satisfied. She suggested that we do a re-creation of the scene. It wouldnt be the real thing, but it would be fun to have. So, we did. Not sure who she got to take this picture, because were all in the shot. (Well, I cant see Wesley, but Im sure he didnt take the picture, so he must be hidden...) At any rate, here it is:
Fun, huh? It really was.
So, next on our agenda was POC. Mark & Rhonda were heading off to have lunch, so we bid them adieu until tomorrow. The rest of us (I think?) headed over to see Johnny. I am not a huge POC fan, but I do love me some Johnny Depp. And this was my first WDW visit since seeing the movie. The first one, that is. I havent bothered with the second one. Most people Ive talked to said to not waste my time. Kids want to, though. Ill wait until it hits HBO. (Or has it? Already?) So....we headed over to POC. The wait said something like 30-40 minutes, I think, but we decided to brave it (I normally will NEVER get in a line thats longer than 20. On principle.). As it turns out, again, either we were having a really fun time in line, or the wait wasnt as long as they said. I really dont think we waited longer than 15 min. or so. It really does make a difference being in line with a bunch of friends, though. We had such a great time chatting, even while waiting in lines. I think this was when I got to hear the whole YAKing at the Hippy Dippy story from YAK and Gram. I wasnt there, so I wont tell the story. YAK, have you written about it in your trippie? I'm not caught up. If you haven't you should! Or maybe not. It was rather gross. But....back to the POC. We rode it. We had fun. As everyone has said, Capt. Jack Sparrow is scarily real. Especially the first time you see him. The little changes that have been made, and probably the fact that I had now seen the movie, all contributed to my enjoyment of the scenes. And....like everything else on this trip, it was better because we were riding it with our friends!
We exited into the dump shop. Looked around a bit, and discussed our plans going forward. Most of us were heading in different directions. Jay and I were going to use our BTMRR fastpasses, and others were heading to different rides or maybe even another park. Before we left, though, Horsey spotted another one of those OUTFITS. Yknow, the too tight, bra showing, totally inappropriate clothing for a public place, and what the heck was she thinking kind of outfits. So she had us pose for a picture. Next to this person. And she pointed the camera totally AWAY from us and AT the little floozy. Oh, did I say that? Im sorry. Make that at the poor girl with a fashion sense deficiency. Now that I think of it, I dont remember seeing that picture. Horsey, did it come out? Was it so bad as to prevent you from posting? Do you remember more details?
Anywoo, back to our itinerary. We said our goodbyes, or our see ya laters, because most of us would be reconvening at Cali Grill in a few hours. Jay and I headed over to BTMRR. Now, let me tell a little side story here. I love BTMRR for a couple of reasons. First, it was the first roller coaster that my boys really loved at WDW. When we took them in 1997, when they were 5 and 3, we rode it over and over. But my second reason is even better. Jay and I rode this when we came on our first WDW trip together in 1987. It was our second wedding anniversary, and we stayed at the Disney Inn, now Shades of Green. It was Jays first trip to WDW, and my first visit that was for more than one day. I had read Birnbaums book cover to cover, and considered myself a pro. On that trip, I knew that my dear husband was a little wary of roller coasters, but we walked by and there was no wait! I couldnt resist. I didnt tell him that it was kind of a roller coaster until we were starting to board. The ride started. We began to go really fast. THEN, we began to go through the caves or tunnels. Under the rocks, if you will. And Jay was terrified. I really think he was crying at one point. As Ive mentioned, Jay is 6'7" tall. Well, technically, 6'6 ½ tall. As we started this head-skimming part of the ride, his mind started going. Had there been a sign he missed? Was there a maximum height for this thing? Was he about to get decapitated?? He was really and truly traumatized by the experience. And it was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. Truly. And thats okay, because the funniest thing he ever witnessed happened a day or two later when I almost DROWNED at River Country. On the white water tube ride. I had a tube that was too big and the bulk of me slid through the hole (I was REALLY skinny back then). Only my hands and feet were sticking out. While I was absolutely panicked, stuck with my head underwater, sure that I was going to drown, my dear husband of 2 years was laughing his a** off at the vision of my hands and feet. Sticking up. In the air. Through a tube. Thankfully, I managed to save myself, as he was too busy laughing to help me. Ahem. Okay, over that. Back to BTMRR. Jay has recovered from his first experience. He has now caught on to the fact that the front of the train is actually much higher in the air than his head is when hes sitting down, so if
that can make it under the rocks safely, then decapitation is unlikely. As long as he stays in his seat. Which he does. As we all should. TFI, This ride isnt as fun to me as it used to be. Im getting older. Its jerky and rough. I always feel really bruised when I disembark. But Ill keep doing it, because it brings happy memories. : )
Before we boarded, BTW, Jay grabbed us fastpasses so we could ride Splash again. I am a little unclear at this point if we headed to our lunch at LTT, or to Philharmagic, but Im fairly certain it was the former. And may I just say, this lunch was AWESOME. We did the character dinner at LTT on our last trip, and we kind of enjoyed it. Food was fine. Chip and Dale and Pluto were hysterical. But our waiter was bad. We lost him for what seemed like hours at a time. This time, for lunch, there were no characters to deal with (a good thing for us at this point, especially with no kids), and our waitress was a sweety. And very attentive. Jay got a bacon cheeseburger and I got the Colony Salad - with apples, sweet pecans, cheddar and grilled chicken. It was TO DIE FOR. I mean, really, really good! We had a wonderful, relaxing meal. The desserts, too, looked unbelievable. But we were really kinda full. So I just had a cup of tea. We also checked out my ankle, which was getting pretty swollen, so we decided to just hit Splash (again) and Philharmagic and probably skip Buzz so we could have time to get home and ice it prior to the DVC pitch. After the poop incident of yesterday, we were still a little leery of the pool, but I figured we could just veg in the room for an hour or so.
We left full and happy and vowing to revisit LTT for lunch again sometime. And headed, I think, to Splash. Makes sense, cause that would be more on the way than Philharmagic, right? So, yeah, I think thats what we did. We flew through the fastpass line. Or as fast as you can fly while limping. And we just chuckled and shook our heads at the clueless people who were waiting. In the 90 minute line. Instead of getting a fastpass. This continually amazes me. It really does. I cant understand why anyone would decide it was worth it to stand in a 60, or 90, or 120 minute line. I mean, its posted right there. Its not like you have to estimate the wait time. Theyre normally pretty right on (well, we found one exception...but thats tomorrow...). Why, why, why, would you subject yourself to this? Anyhoo, we flew through. And rode. And enjoyed. Not as much as the last time, with everyone on board with us, but we still enjoyed it. I just love how long this ride is, and the great theming. A funny thing happened, as we were leaving the ride, though. Jay said, Yknow, Im going to have to ride EE again. I think I might like it better than this. I was floored, I tell ya! My coaster-wimp of a husband was saying he actually ENJOYED EE (or should that be EENJOYED?)?! I was impressed. With him, for his bravery, and with me for playing a part in exposing him to some of the finer things in life. Like roller coasters
Next, we headed to Philharmagic. Which is also in my top 3. Which would be, since this trip, EE, Splash, Philharmagic. I think so, anyway. EE & Splash are really close in my book. Can I call them both my favorite? I am having a real memory lapse here, and Jay is being no help. I know that I had to go wait in the Philharmagic line while he went to go do something. This was, I am pretty sure, our last ride at the MK. So he couldnt have been going to get another fastpass for something. Im also fairly certain that he was not headed to a mens room. Bottom line, we split up for a time so he could go buy or do something, but neither of us has any idea what that was. The Philharmagic line moved pretty quickly, and I ended up letting a bunch of people go ahead of me because I was afraid hed never find me if I got to the inside part of the queue. He showed up just in time, and we were almost the last people let in for the next show. In fact, we almost didnt get a seat because of the idiots (yes, I used that word and Jay chastised me for it) who decided that they didnt need to go all the way to the end of the row as instructed. He was right about the idiot thing, because when I said it, I think the nice people who had been behind me in line heard me and thought I was talking about them. I wasnt. At all. So: Nice people who had the two cute little boys, one with a cut on his head, if youre reading this, Im sorry. I was not talking about you. Really, really. We ended up right on the end of a row. I was concerned that it would be a lousy view or that the 3-D wouldnt work as well. But, it was okay. I had a couple of minor problems, but I just thanked my lucky stars that I wasnt Doug. Who cant see 3-D at all. Check out Kims report (The Meanest Mama....) if you would like to hear more. It, like so many of my friends reports, is a great, awesome, funny, well-written report. If a little long. And not yet finished

Lets face it, my friends are all fantastic writers. They really are.
We exited Philharmagic and headed toward the exit. But, first, we had a couple of detours to make. Sher had told me yesterday about the awesome chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches at the Main Street Bakery. That they were huge. And yummy. And only one snack credit! So we stopped and got one. To split. Even though we were still kinda full from lunch. And it was ohhhhhh so worth it. Yummo, as RR would say. Really delicious. And, yes, huge. One half was more than enough. I cant wait to go back to get another one. Second errand was a little stop at town hall. To pick up a couple of Just Married pins for Pongo. For her soon-to-be-here honeymoon. These were the 2nd set. Horsey got some for me (well, really, for Pongo) at AK the day before, but then I kept seeing these other ones around, so I figured wed make sure that Pongo & her new hubby had both kinds. Just because they are a special couple.
That taken care of, we headed for the boat and got a nice express (for a change) ride to the WL. I was really looking forward to putting my foot up for a bit.
Coming soon(ish): Getting pitched, Cali Grill, and a late night adventure.