Duff's Dumb-Luck Disney Trip (Pics Included!)

[scottishduffy]

Yes, you heard that right. This is Duffy's Dumb Luck Disney Vacation!!! It is so called because on this vacation my minions and I had 3 different occurences which can only be classified as Dumb Luck (though with a little help from the trip planner extraordinaire). This trip was so much fun for us and reaffirmed our belief in the MAGIC of Disney.

To anyone taking the time to read this I extend to you a warm Hello! This is going to be a short trippie since the trip itself was only 3 days. This is really more of a practice run for the grand vacation for January! I digress.... this trip is about our most recent adventures in the world. Allow me to introduce the cast!

Duff (me!)- I would be the leader of this excursion and can be indentified as the stylish chica in the orange shirt below. I am trying my darndest to let go of my control freak ways. Or at the very least to give my minions the impression that things happen spontaneously. Fairly easy going and in touch with my inner 5 yr old on a daily basis. Favorite Characters: Donald Duck, Figment & Figaro the Cat

Bub- My Darling Husband. He is just as much of a Disney fan as I am. This trip was in celebration of his birthday! He tried to hide what a disney fan he is (ya know.... have to be macho) but once he steps foot inside the world he is just as excited as I am. He is also very well acquainted with his inner 5yr old and is a laid back and easy going guy. He is the lone guy in the photo below, he will lovingly carry all our junk over his shoulder this trip. Favorite Characters: Darkwing Duck & Tigger

Kay- Our best bud who usually travels with us to Disney. She actually introduced hubby and I to each other (By they way, thanks for that one Kay). She is recovering from major dental surgery and will spend the bulk of our trip in a drug induced haze. Still, she manages to have a great time. The gal in the blue shirt below. Favorite Characters: Incredibles

Jay- Another best friend of ours! He is actually a CM at Disney and we are always very flattered when he spends his days off coming to work to see us. He shows up at the parks to spend time with us and I suppose to understand his work *from the other side*. Recently divorced, he is a very sweet guy and is the father of our Special Guest Star...
Favorite Character- Stitch

SharkBait- Our Special Guest!! This is our nickname for Jay's 3 month old little girl. The most adorable, round cheeked little baby. She will attend her very first MVMCP and will laugh as 3 adults spend over 20 minutes attempting to assemble a Baby bjorn sling. You want her to sleep? Fireworks. You want to scar her for life? Santa Claus. Sadly there will be no pictures of eith Jay or Sharkbait since he is a CM and asked me not to post his pics.... and Sharkbait is just a baby. Favorite Character- Considering her age I don't think she even has one. But let's just say Dumbo since she enjoyed that ride!

Now with introductions over I will post our pics! This is the only one I could finde of us which did not have either Jay nor Sharkbait in it.

I will start our TR just as soon as I am able. Part one! Checking into All Stars and the Terror of POP Warner.....

 

[duff's DH]

i love that picture!! how did you take it. you must have had some wiz set that up for you. that bub guy is a pretty smooth looking character... quite a catch!

 

[scottishduffy]

Aack! The trip report has been compromised!! Abort! Abort!

Hello, bubs....

Part one: ARRIVAL AND CHECK IN

You know the drill. Everyone get out of work as quickly as you can and drive like crazy people toward Orlando. It is exactly 3 1/2 hours from our house to the World. We know this path well by now.

I had worked the previous night and was pretty sleepy, but still managed to finish packing at home the day. We packed clothes, Sweaters, Ponchos, and Camera Equipment. In fact, just this morning I had picked up a small tripod. Bubs and I are determined to get some decent shots of the stage shows!

I sit anxiously at home and await the arrival of my chariot. In this case it is a Jeep Grand Cherokee. The horn honks, and I kiss my darling kitty Matisse goodbye and go out the door. The cat is accustomed to being abandoned due to our Disney fetish. Do not worry though, he will be taken care of by my MIL and we will come back with a lovely souvenir for Kitty.

As soon as we are in the Car we establish phone contact with Kay and start our race to the World. It is always a bit of a competition as to who can get there first. We have roughly equal distances to drive, only she usually wins because one of her roads is much less crowded.

We make it to Disney ( )and arrive to check in at the All Star Sport! We check in without a hitch and weerily make our way to the room. Then..... we come face to face with fear itself. As we stroll across the football section we notice mongolian hordes of Cheerleaders and Football players out side running around like mad, yelling, and cheering. No problem.... it is only 10:00 now and someone is bound to come fetch the kids right? This is what chaperones are for? RIGHT?!?! PLLEEAAASSEE?!?!?!? Oh dear god, don't tell me they have red bulls and pixie sticks. They are running from the football field to the pool screaming to friends and cheering for all they are worth.

We walk under the giant football helmet and come across the chaperones. Along with the 'responsible parents' is a large cooler of Beer. One parent is leaning against a post for support while the others have a chugging contest. Nice. We pass 3 more of these parties on the way to our room. Parents with a hotel room door open, sitting outside, drinking, and griping about the competition. The kids are having a blast being maniacs while the parents are there bitter and dejected over losing (so it sounds) and decide to drown their pain in alcohol.

We finally arrive on the 3rd floor and open our room. I am always thrilled to see the towel Mickey on the bed. I immediately plop on a bed, forgetting the sheer terror of cheerleaders buzzed on sugar and caffeine. I make a quick run to the ice machine and wait a few minutes for the man in front of me to finish filling his cooler with ice. We are here!! We are in Disney!! Nothing in the universe can beat that!!

Once back in the room Kay, Bubs, and I review the game plan. Tommorow we can either go to MGM or AK... their choice. It is a unanimous choice for MGM since the last time we came RnR was closed. We decide to try and get some rest so we can hit up EMH in the am. Thankfully, being on the 3rd floor we can only hear echoes of the Pop Warner kids and we are able to drift to sleep peacefully. Staying asleep is another issue all together.... but we drifted of to sleep with dreams of POP checkout in the am and MGM for us.

To Come:
Chapter two: Start of MGM and Dumb Luck incident #1

 

[scottishduffy]

Part Two: Dumb Luck Beginnings in MGM....
(if we ever get there).....

The Minions and I all wake up bright and Early to get ready for MGM!! Bubs are I are prepped, excited, and itching to get out the door. We are almost sick with excitement!!!! Kay, on the other hand, is just feeling sick. We spend 30 minutes debating the evils or greasy hamburgers on her tender digestive system as Bubs and I pray for a miracle cure. There is no getting sick allowed at disney!

Thankfully Kay soon feels better and we head out the door. She has decided one of two things will happen. Either a) she will feel better in 20 minutes or b) she will puke on ToT and go home early while we cruise the parks.

To Tower of Terror we go!

We get to the park at 8:15 to take advantage of the AM Extra Magic Hours and head straight for ToT. Kay and I take out the cameras as we prepare to ride the ToT. It is a walk on and we are loving the EMH. I manage to snap one photo

Kay survives the ride without puking and actually states that ToT must be the miracle cure for Mickey-burger induced indigestion. We head over to Rock' n 'Roller Coaster walk straight on for another test of our intestinal fortitude. Once again surving sans puke we decide to conquer both rides one more time.

It is about this time that Duff (yours truly) has a dumb idea. An idea so dumb that it just may be brilliant. As we are walking through the line again I say "Hey guys.... I only have one request for today"

Kay and Bubs respond intrigued "Sure. What?"

Duff: " Well, I was reading on the DisBoards..."

Kay and Bubs respond now with hysterical laughter. They mock the Disboards!! I will show them.

Duff: "Shut up dudes. I want to go on The Great Movie Ride at exactly 9:30 am."

Kay and Bubs respond now with utter confusion. No need for words, facial expression pretty much covers this one.

We hop on RnR then continue this conversation as 8:40 rolls around and we go for another spin on ToT. They ask me WHY on earth I want to go to TGMR at 9:30 since we usually use that ride to relax at the end of the day. I tell them "Well, I was reading that a lot of people on the DisBoards seemed to win Dream FP's early in the morning. The most common rides at MGM seem to be TGMR and Star Tours. So can we ride?" Bubs give Kay a look which tells her to just humor me. They agree and we ride ToT one last time.

After ToT it is 9:00 and we decide to kill a little time on the Main street and slowly stroll to The Great Movie Ride. On our way we set up dueling cameras with Otto Von Bon Bon!

Bubs loves the streetmosphere actors! They are his favorite and we have decided to capture as many of them in film as we can! We also come across Duncan Dohnoo.

After watching the crowds rush in we manage to lose almost every single one of them as we make a beeline for TGMR. Amazingly enough it isn't something people run to at park opening. We wait outside for 5 minutes until it is 9:20. Kay and Bubs are making snarky remarks under their breath, but I am just looking for something to add a little fun to our day. I am beginning to accept that I will me mocked for the rest of the day as we stroll into the ride.

Here is where the Dumb Luck kicks in.... When we arrive into the Loading area the double doors are closed behind our group. Odd, they usually leave those open. Nest, some lovely people with blue shirts and vest come out with large black bags! Kay and Bubs drop their jaws as I try my best to hide maniacal laughter. Before we load onto the cars the dream team members turn around and announce to everyone that we have won Dream FP's!!! I am just as dumbfounded as my minions. I.... can't.... believe... this... worked.

I am gracious enough not to laugh directly in Kay and Bubs faces, mainly because I am shocked at this myself. I did this just to be funny and to take a million-in-one shot. I didn't think this would *work*. Bubs whispers to me "This is both the *stupidest* and most *brilliant* thing you have managed to pull off". Kay is bouncing in her seat as we get on the ride and is making plans for her FP. Hooray for Dumb Luck!!! One thing to say to my minions. BOO YA!!!!!!!!

We make our Way out of the ride and immediately text message Jay who is working that day. We let him know of our winnings and he congratulates us. We take some pictures of our winnings and head on our way! Kay and I pose by RnR before we head in for another ride.

Little do I know that this will be the beginning of a great debate that runs all day and involves many neutral 3rd parties....

To be Continued in Part 3: Beauty & Beast, More Streetmosphere and the great debate!

 

[scottishduffy]

Ho hum, It seems as if I am writing to myself. No Matter! I will go onwards! Besides, I am in a rather good mood after hosting a rather successful dinner party at my apt yesterday for the IL's. Perhaps some of that wine is still lingering in my brain. *Ahem*

Back to our story...

Part 3: The Sights! The Sounds! The Great Debate!
The minions and I have gone over to ride RnR and ToT one more time. We are skipping up to RNR together when our paths diverge. Bubs and I skip right up to the Standby entrance since it has a 15 min wait. Kay skips right up to the FP lane.

Kay: "Umm. Guys? In case you haven't noticed we have Dream FP's!"

Thus begins our great debate.

I reply "What? You actually want to break this apart?!?!"

Kay: "Isn't that what it is for?!?!?"

Me: "But the lines are short... and this is the coolest souvenir ever...."

Bubs: "Yeah, we can keep them as souvenirs. If we break them up and use it then I'll have a broken souvenir with only a little mermaid tab on it. I don't want just a little mermaid tab for all eternity."

Kay: "But we can avoid even that 15 minute wait!!!"

Bubs and I convince Kay to go in the standby line but she is not happy about it. We walk through RNR and wait only 10 minutes to get on ride. The debate continues as Kay gripes about us not breaking the FP's and she consults several other innocent bystanders who are standing near us in line. It seems to be an even split in the opinion poll over whether we should save them or use them. It is just that the lines are so short! We have a great ride with our FP's intact then go over to ToT. Kay goes to ask about using the FP and the CM at the gate tells her "It's is a walk on right now... it would just be a waste to use. Come back later in the afternoon and ride again." So we survive another ride with our FP's intact. Bubs and I argue that everything will be short today, so why hurt our lovely FP's?

After the rides we take in a little more streetmosphere. We catch a show with Dorma Nesmond! She is my personal favorite of them all, at least after the old Stone Granite left.

Kay grabs something to eat while Bubs and I watch the street performance. After she is done with her breakfast she comes over. Something I noticed is that the FP's get you a fair amount of attention. People want to know what they are where you got them. Someone next to us asks Kay what they are. She explains what they are and then says "Can you believe these two don't wanna use them?!?! It has been my dream to win one of these and they don't wanna use them" Is she really going to ask everyone? Yes.

Yes, she is.

Bubs: "Hey! You just said you wanted to win one.... and you did. You never said a darn thing about actually using it."

The woman next to us giggles at our fight and isn't quite sure who to side with. Now let me say this fighting is all in good fun. Though I truly believe that Kay holds some bitterness over this. I tell her she is welcome to use HERS, I just don't want to break apart MINE. To which she replies it is no fun to go on rides alone. Well, then make a choice and (as the germans say) quitcherbichin. Back to the streetmosphere.

We also catch this person walking around and I'm afraid I do not know her name. But she and her duckie were cute. I know the duckie is named Quacks.

There is one more fellow whose name escapes me just now.

After this we decide to catch Beauty and Beast. It is a sentimental favorite of mine since Bubs and I were engaged on that very stage in March of 2004 (hey if anyone out there was there at the time we never did get any pics of our engagement!). It makes me a bit happy to see the stage and remember walking up there and being proposed to. *Sigh*

We get some decent seats for the show and Bubs sets up the tripod to take pictures. Usually I take pictures of shows but Bubs tells me to enjoy the show and he will photograph. He didn't do bad at all!

I tell him to zoom in to get some close shots of the characters...

Cogsworth:

Mrs. Potts

I forget how to spell the Candles name... so I won't even try lest people mock me!

Love declared.

Of course you must include the grand finale!

It was a great show that we all thoroughly enjoyed. Kay and I start comparing our respective pictures and decide it really was worth it to carry the tripod around with us! Bubs gives a sideways glance toward us since he has been the one actually carrying the tripod and we both squeek out a quick thankyou in recognition of him carrying all our stuff. This satisfies Bubs and we move onwards.

I stop for a quick hat picture

Then ask the minions what they would like to do. They both shrug their shoulders and tell me to lead the way. Ha ha.. good minions. I ask about meeting the Incredibles and both seem excited to go. It is off to the animation studios we go!

I have never seen this attraction before. It was actually pretty cute. We sat through a lesson about how Mushu came to be. I can't remember most of it as I was sorting through the pictures on my camera. I usually sort through the camera several times a day to delete pictures that are not good. Especially after a show when I will take over 100 pictures and only keep the 10 best. When the show is over I am bit saddened I didn't pay attention as Kay and Bubs really seemed to enjoy it.

We go out to the floor and see the Ratatoille characters and to our right are The Incredibles! There guys are doing some real cute interactions with all the groups.

I am so thrilled to have met some cool characters! I have never really met any of the recent Pixar characters before. When we are done with pictures it takes us about ten minutes to find our way out the animation area. It is a somewhat confusing layout.

After we go out we lay out a plan for the day. We have goals to do Star Tours, LMA show, search stores for gifts, and Osborne lights. Kay makes a remark about some of those using FP's and it sure would be nice if we had something that could help us do all those things quicker *hint, hint; nudge, nudge*. Repeat after me: QUITCHER-BICHIN

At this point we stop of at the commissary for lunch before going on with out day. After the previous nights experience Kay decides to have anything but a Mickey burger. I love Mickey Burgers and take the risk! We will continue with our day and the Great Debate in our next chapter!

 

[scottishduffy]

Good morning! It has been a few days. Now that Bubs and I have our respective office parties over and done with I can return to my trip report!

Part Four: That which comes after part three...

After lunch we head over to Star Tours to take on that ride. Bubs debated whether or not to get on due to his motion sickness problems, but states he is feeling lucky today. As we walk toward the Stand-by line ( 5 minute wait) Kay gives a longing glance at the Dream FP's. Kay: "You guys *really* don't want to use them?"

Bubs and I " Nope! Come on, it is a 5 minute wait"

We walk in and walk right onto the ride. Everyone makes it through without getting sick but make a mental note not to tempt fate twice.

We then go over to the Lights Motors Action show and get there right as the show is starting up! Perfect timing. We still managed to get decent seats for the show. This is a great show. Especially today when it is some what cool outside. Usually the theater is boiling hot but today was perfect. Bubs always enjoys the backwards car and I like the final jump!

After the show is over we are waiting to unload from the theatre. Then we see the almighty CM. He kind of reminds us of Gandolf from Lord of the Rings "None Shall PASS!!!"

You can see one little man in Blue holding up his hands and bringing 500 people to a stop. I want that kind of authority. We are impressed that no one tries to go around. When we make it out of the theatre I am looking at the different props sitting outside when I see a prop from one of my favorite childhood movies. I don't know how many of you saw Flight of The Navigator, but I loved it! Max, the ship, is sitting right outside the LMA show.

It brings back fond memories. Kay had no clue what the ship was, Bubs has been forced to sit through the movie a few times.

We decide to catch Muppet Vision, shop a bit, and then look at the schedule for what else to do. Then we have a minor dumb luck moment. Or at least Kay and Bubs call it dumb luck for them. I hear chanting "We know something Duff doesn't know..." Okay, I am intrigued by your taunts. " Do you know the Harlem Gospel Choir is here?"

I had no idea! I had seen threads on the Dis but never opened them. This was a short trip and I just assumed we would not have time for any holiday activities. I ask Kay what time the show is, as I pray it does not interfere with our dinner ADR's. There is a 5pm show and we aim for it!

We hit Muppet Vision and have a great time. We are all Muppet fans, and the swedish chef is the best! After that we help Kay to pick out souvenirs for her Nieces and for her Brother and SIL. She picks a a nice set of matching mugs for the family then buys coffee for the parents and Hot Cocoa for the kids. We make sure to be at the theatre by 4:30 for the 5:00 show of the choir. It is here that Kay brings up the great debate once again. The people behind us made the mistake of commenting on our passes.

Kay: "They didn't want to use them!! What is the point of having it if you don't use it?!?!"

Me: "We walked onto everything!! Now you can keep it forever and remember how awesome a day we had!! "

Repeat after me: Quitcher-Bichin.

The people behind us are split. A few people agree with Kay and a few agree with Bubs and I. I remind Kay she could have used HERS. I just wasn't going to mess up MINE. She reminds me that by me not using mine, i pretty much force her not to use hers since she'll never ride alone. Bubs tells her that her co-dependency is not our issue. *sigh* Okay, stop figthing and Let's just go see the choir!

We get inside and set up the Tripod. I managed to get a few decent shots. Kay got better pictures than me! Here are my humble contributions.

The show was amazing! We were clapping and singing along, they had the whole audience in a festive mood. I am not a religious person at all but they almost turned me into one. They sounded great and it was a wonderful experience. For these reasons we count it as Dumb Luck. We had no idea they were there that day! We completely lucked out by getting to see them and it was the highlight of our day at MGM. We even got to meet some of them and take a picture after that show. They were very nice people to talk to!

Kay has finally accepted that our FP's will remain intact. Bubs and I are looking forward to dinner. In Chapter 5 we shall see the Osborne Lights and have our first trip to Whispering Canyon Cafe in honor of Bubs B-day!!

 

[scottishduffy]

Part five: Assorted Fun Stuff...

Still feeling energized and happy from the Harlem Gospel Choir's performance we run over to see the Osborne Spectacle of lights. It is roughly 6:00pm now and we want to see this before leaving the park for dinner reservations.

The Osborne Festival of Lights was PACKED!! The park had been empty all day. Yet anyone who was in the park must have made a beeline for the Osborne lights at dusk. There was no room to move. Bubs held our tripod in front of him, I held onto Bubs bag, and Kay grabbed onto the back of my shirt. We snake through the lights in a line. We make our way to the main street where Bubs sets up the tripod!

His favorite photo is the Angels.

The crowds are insane but we manage to have a good time and snap pictures of the lights. We were having fun watching the lights dance and looking at all the little details.

I even take time to pose on the streetlight.

After we have seen and enjoyed the lights for a little bit I remember the DisBoard thread about the Black cat. I start looking around and ask Bubs and Kay to help me. We happen to be in the right area to find it. Bubs is the first one to find it and points it out. I am excited to have found another one of Disney's little secrets and ask Bubs to snap a picture of the cat.

Awesome! Kay borrows our tripod and takes her own pictures for a while before we slowly make our way out for dinner. We are STARVING and we have 8:00 ADR's at Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. We will be meeting Jay and his date M.

I have been looking forward to Whispering Canyon ever since reading about it here in the Dis. We were not dissapointed! Jay was a bit late getting off work but we all make it to WL just fine. The first thing Jay says upon arrival is "Hey Guys! Thanks for providing me with another paycheck!" Being a CM I guess means we pay his check in a round-a-bout way.

We go in for Dinner and it was great. We all decide to go in for skillet. Jay and M say hello to various people they know and we end up with Cowgirl Mariah who was really spirited and friendly. She even made a nifty hat for the birthday boy!

When it comes time for the Birthday song Mariah decided to skip it. There are 15 birthdays in the restaurant that evening and everyone is sick of singing. So she has Bubs ride around the restaurant on a horse and sign happy b-day to himself! Bubs loved it, everyone laughed and had a great time.

Of course everyone encouraged him through napkin waving. It was his unique Birthday Celebreation and he really seemed to have a great time! Good company, good food, good atmosphere. We somehow ended up with the Ketchup on our table...

The ketchup train was the best! Everyone we have told about this thinks it is the most hilarious thing they have ever heard of! We kept our ketchup for about 5 minutes before a young boy needed it. You should have seen the look on that kids face when we dropped off 20 bottles of ketchup.

We all eat until we are about to explode. The skillet was great! The ribs were awesome and the sauce that came with them just made it spectacular. I did not try the chicken but everyone else loved it. Really, not a bad item to be had. Mariah was a wonderful waitress and gave us a great experience. I will post a pic of our happy group but am blocking out the faces of Jay and M per Jay's request.

So, Our day at MGM is done! Jay and M give us a ride back to All Star Sports to save us from bus hopping. We are full beyond belief and basically drop into deep sleep the moment we hit the bed. It has been a loooong day and we are beat. Tommorow we will go to Epcot and also attend MVMCP! To think, this was our *slow* day. Awake at 6:30, at MGM at 8:15am and crawling to the room at 10:30pm.

Coming up next: Dumb Luck at Epcot!

 

[daly7o9]

Hey ,

I just found your trippie this morning (at work...shhhh...don't tell anyone) and I'm loving your writing style. Unfortunately I can't see any of the pics while here 'cos our IT department has photobucket blocked . I'm going to run home this afternoon and check 'em out though.

Your Disney visits sound like ours. Since we're close by we usually only stay one or two days. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to stay a whole week! I'm thinking - expensive.

Anxiously awaiting the next installment.

 

[scottishduffy]

Yeah, we usually just do short little jaunts up to the parks. We figure we prefer more frequent, but shorter trips to one long trip. Plus this way we don't use all our time off at one time. It's nice to finally have a visitor around here!

 

[scottishduffy]

Part six: Dumb Luck Epcot
We all wake up this morning and are feeling amazingly well. We even get out of the room early and have time for a leisurely breakfast. Kay has her Mickey waffles, Bubs had the heart-stopper breakfast platter with a side of biscuits and gravy, I have a bagel with cream cheese. We figure this should hold us until out lunch ADR's.

Now, I will readily admit we had a goal to accomplish some dumb-luck today. We want to ride Space Ship Earth!!!! I had read about the soft-openings on the Dis and want to ride the new SSE. We make a plan that as soon as the park opens I will take everyones tickets and go to FP Soarin'. Then I will circle back to SSE to meet Kay and Bubs and see if it has opened. The park opens and I am pretty much just a blur on the horizon as I go towards Soarin'.

Bub's takes this time to snap some lovely artsy photos. I love the water droplets on these flowers.

Here is a nice one of the sphere.

We all meet up at Space Ship Earth and find a CM standing by a door. It is not open yet... aweeee. We ask whether or not the ride will open today to which he replies "I can neither confirm nor deny". What... is he a secret agent? Oh well, I understand the need for secrecy. I ask one more person by the wait time sign. He tells me he is not allowed to confirm the existence of SSE much less open times. Though He does say something strange happens during random hours throughout the mornings.

So we decide to go ride Soarin' and Nemo then return to SSE to try our luck. We are hoping the dumb-luck from the previous day will hold out.Off to nemo! It is pretty much always our first ride as it is a simple ride and we have found some nice hidden gems in this area. We make it through the ridethough I miss part of it due to trying to snap a photo. It's not happening. I have to wait until we are outside to snap pictures. I snap a picture of an unsuspecting Bubs...

We explore the aquarium before going into the first Turtle Talk with Crush. Funny show as usual. After this the Soarin' FP's are just about to expire so we head over to the land to ride Soarin'. After Yesterday we are keeping an eye out from dream team member with big black bookbags. No such luck. just a great ride.

We head back over to the center of Future World to quickly check SSE. We get there and the secret door is open!! There is a line!!! Dumb Luck Prevails!!!
SWEEEEEET! We are one of the last people into the queu and are jumping around like maniacs. Other people around us think we are complete weirdos for being so excited just to hop on SSE.

Look at the joy on those faces! We take some pictures of the outside of the ride.

The ride itself was pretty cool. It was just the ending which needs some cleaning up. The start of the ride is great! Judi Dench's voice is a good fit even if the script was dumbed down a bit. We actually got stuck in the photo session at the beginning and Kay ended up having about a dozen pictures taken. She was almost blind after that.

We went through all the classic scenes and the animatronics are much cleaner. The have more fine movements and definitely look improved. The new computer room is also a nice addition since it updates the ride to a more modern era. Then the ride gets weird with "That Matrix". There is a little tunnel with the text from the Matrix. Bub's asks me if I want to take the red pill or the blue pill.

We are quickly through the Matrix Tunnel and get to the end. I know a lot of people have griped about the computer screens but I liked them! Designing my own cartoon was fun. Kay had fun with this as well. The only thing that needs to be fixed is the tunnel at the end which looks unfinished. We could look up and see beams and girders throughout this area. We ended up getting stuck here for about 5 minutes so we got a decent look at it. All in all it was a decent ride. I think when it is completely done it will be nice. We skip out of the ride thrilled that our Dumb Luck has held out!!

It is now 11:00am and we need to make our way over to Germany. We start walking over with a few shopping stops along the way. We need to be at Biergarten by noon. Kay has been here before and recommended it as a restaurant we would all love. She was right!

The buffet was good. I did not know what the bulk of the stuff I was eating was, but it was tasty. We are seated with two other groups at our table. Some people from Tennessee and some from Tampa. Kay and Bub's go for the beer....

I go for the wine sampler. The food is great and then the show comes on. The children in the restaurant go to the floor to dance as a selection of classic german songs and christmas tunes are played by the band.

RIIII-COOOLLAAAAA!

We once again eat until we are stuffed silly. The food is just so good! We make a mental note that we have to come back here! How did we never know about this place before?

Everyone agrees that we need to take the boat back to Future Worls in order to make our way out of the park. We are doing MVMCP that evening with Jay and his daughter SharkBait and will need a little rest in order to keep going until midnight. We roll ourselves onto the SS Friendship and make our way out of Epcot.

Now it is off to All Star's for a nap before our very first Christmas Party and some of the Biggest Dumb Luck ever!!!

 

[loralie]

Great trip report! I wish I lived as close to the world as you do. Great pics, can't wait to see the rest.

Loralie

 

[daly7o9]

OOOhhh! A cliffhanger...

I finally got to sit down at home where I could actually see your pictures, and they're great.

Your report on the biergarten meal makes me want to check it out. In all the years that we've been going to Epcot we've never been there. I think its because the DDs think that they won't like German food.

Keep the installments comin'.

 

[chiefdragon]

What a great report. Loving the pictures. It must be awesome to live so close. WE have to fly 3 hours just to get there. Please we need more.

 

[50 years Too!]

Really enjoying your report. Looking forward to more "Dumb Luck"!
The Osbourne pictures are fantastic!

Deb

 

[duff's DH]

Loralie, Daly, Chiefdragon and 50yrs, thank you so very much for chiming in . W/o building it up too much I must say that I highly encourage you to check back when duff gets a chance to update some more.

Loralie & Chiefdragon... we live in Miami where everything is sooooo expensive and everyone is too cool for us. We’d live outside of Florida, but only if duff and myself were highly sedated. If we don’t get our regular Disney fix, things get ugly... and the cat usually suffers.

daly, trust me. The whole family will like the German food. Even for the pickiest eaters they will still find their fav foods like mac & cheese and plenty of sweets (just don’t make them read the names... TOO many consonants... not enough vowels).

50yrs... All I have to say (after playing Sherpa for these two lovely ladies) is that no matter how cheep your camera is, on a tripod every picture comes out great! And on the off chance it doesn’t.... at least you can fool other people into THINKING you know what you are doing!

 

[MousekaMaddi]

lovely report, fun but suspensefull...........c mon back please

 

[scottishduffy]

Thankyou Bubs for your input. Nice to see dropping by too!

Hello Maddie! Nice to see a new face around here! That is an adorable avatar you have.

50 Years- Dumb luck is the best! It made the whole trip really.

Daly- I wasn't sure I would like the german food either. I didn't even know what some of the things were, but it was tasty. I had a brown sausage which was very good and the Spaetzle, which tastes like a pasta with a mild cheese. They also have kids items there as well. Go for it!

Chief- Yeah, I like to pretend I'm a photographer!

Loralie- Close is good. Miami is bad. Our grand plan is to move back to Orlando once I finish with school.

Okay... I am done with work this week. Now it is time to get back to updating!

 

[theles]

Thank you for the trip report, just found it and looking forward to more

 

[scottishduffy]

Part Seven: The Luckiest Christmas Party Ever!

After our refreshing nap back at the hotel we wake up energized and ready to party! Yeah, it is the very first Christmas Party for us all. Jay picks us up at All Star and has Sharkbait in tow!! SharkBait is 3 months old and will be coming with us this evening. Not so much for her enjoyment, she is pretty much a cute blob at this age, but for our enjoyment. We like to see her!

Kay and I hop in the backseat and fawn over Sharkbait while the Men go up front. We drive over to Magic kingdom are suddenly struck by one of life's great questions. How many college degrees does it take to assemble a stroller?

Apparently more than we have. Jay says he has trouble with that stroller and will leave it, just carrying Sharkbait in the Baby Bjorn but we attempt a stroller assembly. Let me tell you, 4 college grads... 3 with Master's degrees, and the last in the process of obtaining one can't figure it out. We scream out and curse whoever made the darn thing as Bub's and I vow to seriously consider if having children is worth dealing with this sort of junk. Jay just sits back and *Laughs*. Way to make a magical moment for us Jay!! Aren't you a CM?!?! Shouldn't you help us?!??! He states he is off the clock and he can mock us all he wants to now. He straps her onto his chest and we take off. Hands free Daddy. I take the Diaper bag, Bub's takes our supplies and we are off.

With THAT frustration behind us we make our way into the party!! It is 4:15 when we hop onto the monorail to the Party. While we are in the Monorail Jay gets a Text Message.

*****intermission*****************

Background Info: Jay is divorced from Sharkbaits mom, Let's call her X-Factor. While they get along and are flexible where SharkBait is concerned they otherwise are still mad with each other. The Divorce is very fresh. X-Factor especially hates Bubs, Kay and myself and has not been at all shy to be utterly nasty towards us.

******** Ok.... Go on**************

Jay has a text mesage from X-Factor. She offers us private seating for the night time parade!! WHAT?!?! We are all a bit skeptical since X-Factor's complete loathing for us has never been a secret. We talk and decide to take her up on it, but will check out the seating early to make sure there is nothing fishy here. She then offer's to escort us through Fantasy Land as our unofficial guide! Could it be her dark soul has finally developped compassion? Could this be *more* Dumb Luck??? IT IS!!!

Anyway we make it to the entrance and take our picture!

We have a few goals this evening. We want to see the Twas the Night before Christmas Show, Ride the rides in Fantasy land (hoping for smaller crowds), and see the Christmas Parade. We walk in and head toward Tommorow Land where we look for rides that Sharkbait can enjoy. We decide to Hop on Buzz Lightyear since Jay says SharkBait is a veteran and will kick our butts at this game. What do you know Jay, Sharkbait and Kay beat the snot out of Bubs and I.

We decide to take one spin on TTA before going to wait by the Galaxy theatre for the first Twas the Night show. Sharkbait enjoys looking out on the world and spends her time on the TTA drinking a bottle and looking around. I almost wish I could travel around like that. It seems so convenient.

Now we go to wait outside the Galaxy theatre. We want to get there before the crowds from the castle lighting and the first Wishes come over. Sharkbait is also a fireworks fan and watches entranced while we wait. Jay says this may because while X-Factor was pregnant she worked in the MK and Sharkbait heard fireworks every night. We are the first in line, Awesome! We get into the show a short while later and find seats down front. SharkBait is calm and cool and relaxed. Nonetheless Jay plans out an escape route since you never know how a little one will react.

The show starts, Sharkbait flips when the horns play. We attempt to calm her but after 2-3 minutes Jay decides to take her out and stand in the way back so he can won't bother folks. Bub's goes to keep him company while Kay and I watch the show. I get the Tripod up and start snapping photos.

I have got to say that the articulated heads on the characters are neat! Though it adds a whole new dimension to my pictures when I now have to worry about Mickey or Minnie blinking for the photo. That is a first! Jay had told Kay and I the secret of how the heads work and we watch them intently to see for ourselves the truth. Those things are ingenious!

I am waiting for my favorite duo to come out. It is all about Chip and Dale! The show is wonderful and was definitely worth seeing. Chip's face looks a little different with the new head but Dale looks just the same.

This one here is my favorite picture of the whole show.

The show ends with a grand finale and Kay and I agree it was a cool show! I am so happy we all came to the Christmas Party, it truly does have a magical feel to it.

We meet up with Jay and Bubs at the back of the theatre. Jay says Sharkbait eventually calmed but did NOT like the sound of the horns. Any other instrument she was OK with. However the horns did her in. Poor SharkBait.... a bit of sensory overload going on.

We discuss amongst ourselves what to do and decide to head over to see X-Factor and see what will happen. After a very awkward meeting we are taken straight onto Dumbo, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh! We go on all 3 rides within 20 minutes, DUMB LUCK! Sharkbait seems to enjoy the rides and we like watching her expressions. What do ya know... X-Factor came through. She tells us where to be for the second parade and we part ways.

We all grab a bite to eat at Peco's Bills where Jay pulls out some FP's. We ask where he got them and he says that Disney Magic prevails and he happened upon a friend who gave him 8 general FP's for our group as a magic moment!! Hurray for Dumb Luck!!!! Now we can go on any ride we want!! He says they are good for ANY ride and don't have to be used tonight. Dumb Luck!!! We start referring to these as the 'golden tickets'.

We walk through Fantasy Land before heading to the parade route to see the Dance Party going on. The step sisters are there and are just funny as can be. The kids are having a great time and we watch for bit. I manage a picture of Druzilla getting her groove on.

We don't have time for that now though. We need to get to the parade site to check out our seats! We get to the Alcove on the bridge and see our seats for the parade. We will be front row for the parade. Jay sees a friend and introduces SharkBait... man that baby is a chic-magnet. The seats for the parade are awesome and we are all super excited!

We watch the special Christmas Wishes from our seats and Sharkbait even giggles at the loud booms. She falls asleep about half way through as Jay shakes his head. Sure, some lovely Christmas music from the stage show scared her, but horrendous BOOM's from fireworks soothe her to sleep. She is going to be a thrill junkie, I am willing to bet $$ on this. This is the ultimate dumb luck, a private seating area for the Christmas Parade!!

Sharkbait is freshly changed and fed and seems to be having fun people watching now that she woke up again. It isn't until the parade starts that we realize the fatal flaw with this seating. NO ESCAPE ROUTE! Once the parade starts you can't walk on the bridge no matter what. SharkBait Flips!!! Every single float that comes by terrfies her and she starts wailing. We try to find a place we can take her but have no luck. The people behind us are annoyed with the crying and are shooting dirty looks our way. The CM's in the parade try to get her attention, and she momentarily stops crying while some of the street level people are in front of her. Jay and I cover her ears and divert her eyes yet it is no use. Fear: Thy name is Santa Claus. This float comes by at the end and she goes bonkers. She spent the whole parade screaming her little heart out. We know SHE will recover, but we feel bad for those around us who got stuck with a crying infant during their lovely private seating for the parade. When the parade is over SharkBait is cute and giggly again but we get out of there as quick as we can.

Even with SharkBait upset it was still an awesome experience. I thoroughly count the parade seating as DUMB LUCK! We enjoyed up close floats and great interaction with the CM's in the parade. I wasn't able to get many pics because we were pretty much too close. Jay even says he had a good time and we are all just thrilled to have had the experience. It is something we will never get again and is truly a 'once in a lifetime' night. I take the time to get a nice picture of the castle from the end of the bridge. The party has been better than we could have imagined thanks to Dumb Luck and good friends.

We only have one hour left and head back to Tommorow Land. Jay decides to sit with SharkBait while the rest of us head onto Space mountain. We ride it and enjoy it immensely, then move onto something else. The park has really emptied out now. We make our last ride for the evening the Astro Orbiter! There is no one here and we ride it twice just to enjoy the view. I highly reccomend the Astro Orbiter late at night, the view can't be beat. Sharkbait looks around and giggles while her Dad gets motion sick. The 3 month old can handle the ride, the grown-up can't. Figures! We slowly and sadly start the walk out of the park. Everyone is exhausted but agrees it was worth coming. We will have to try this again some day!

Well, that is our Party!

Tommorrow- Using the Golden Tickets and More Dumb Luck on our 1/2 day.

 

[scottishduffy]

Hey Theles!! Thanks for stopping in! It so neat to have fans! Look forward to seeing you again!