To answer your question, at the beginning of the gangster scene on the Great Movie ride, there is a torn movie poster to the left of the vehicle, and underneath you can see Mickey's shoe, probably part of a Mickey poster underneath. I read about it, as usual, so that's the only way I knew.
On with the show....
Chapter 9 - Last Full Day, And Full It Was
As with most nights, we got a good night's sleep Thursday night and after about 9 hours worth, we both decided it was time to get up and get a move on. Once again I made my way down to the bakery and got us a muffin to split while Danielle got ready. And as usual, we made our way to the bus stop and were headed back to the Magic Kingdom once more. Unfortunately there was no dedicated bus service that morning, and so we had to make a few stops first. Not a big deal though and we made it there with plenty of morning left.
First up was Peter's Pan's Flight since we had missed it the day before. Of course, the line was already pretty long, so we opted for fastpasses instead, and then made our way towards Tomorrowland. Instead of going straight there though, we walked over to Toontown since it had been years upon years since I had stepped foot inside. Plus I was convinced some of the rarer characters might be out and about there. We made it all the way to Mickey's house and I didn't see anything to get too excited about unfortunately, so we then turned and headed towards Tomorrowland taking the long quiet path behind the Speedway. Not walking past Mickey's house will come into play later....
Once we made it back to the future (great scott!) we went on Buzz a 2nd time so that I could avenge my previous defeat. It broke down right after we had finished though and everyone's scores were erased, but not before I saw that I had beaten my wife. At Buzz, that is. I felt bad for those on board when the ride broke, but since it's a pretty quick line, it wouldn't be hard to go again I imagine. Next up was the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Wedway, Peoplemover, whatever. No one was riding this, so we had a car all to ourselves. We didn't make out or anything though, we just sat, relaxed, and enjoyed the views. "Now approaching.....", that guy cracks me up.
After we got off that, the line for Buzz still wasn't bad and it was time for new fastpasses. I rushed over to Space Mountain and got a few, then met back with Danielle in front of Buzz to go on a 3rd time (probably few compared to some). Unfortunately, the 3rd time was not the charm and our scores were straight up awful. I'm not even sure how describe just how awful they were, but let's just say if I was standing 5 feet from a movie screen and I had a gun, I'd miss if I tried to shoot it. I won, but it was a hollow victory based on both our scores (at least that's what I'll be saying to Danielle).
We decided at that point that the experience probably meant we shouldn't go on that ride again. The Carousel of Progress was right there, so we made our way in that direction. On the way we saw Buzz Lightyear himself and decided to say hello and tell him how much we enjoyed his ride. And after I took Danielle's picture with him, it was time for our fastpasses at Space Mountain. Score! Sorry Carousel, maybe next time. I do feel bad about missing it, but it'll survive. Right?
The fastpass line for Space Mtn. was a lot better than standby, but didn't seem to be that much better. We still waited a good 15-20 minutes to get on, but did get to bypass about 10 people when they asked for a party of 2. And it was doubly nice cause a group of teenage girls were behind us in line and one of them felt the need to keep walking into me when the line moved. I'm taken, see the ring!
After that, it was time to get out of Tomorrowland. Not ready to go back to Todayland though, we headed back to Fantasyland instead to use our Peter Pan fastpasses. The line was even longer at that point, so bypassing stand-by was a pretty good feeling. The ride was okay, as usual. I imagine I'll have a different take on it once I bring my kids there. It must be something, cause it was the first ride my nieces asked me about when I saw them. Speaking of which, hello girls (since I'm pretty sure your parents are reading this).
It was before lunch time at that point, but we were both sort of hungry. Rather than get a snack though and a later lunch, we decided just to have lunch right then instead. Pinocchio Village Haus was right there, but I had a feeling that Columbia Harbour House might work out better. And boy was I right, we made it just before the lunch rush. Danielle got chicken strips and I got an Anchors Aweigh sandwich (tuna sandwich). We went upstairs to eat and seemingly had the place all to ourselves. That area is just great. Very quiet, very peaceful, a nice place to take a break and forget that there are thousands of other people all around you.
When I was done (I usually finish my meals quickly), I walked over to Big Thunder Mountain to get fastpasses, then went back to collect Danielle. We took our time going back that way and went on Splash Mountain first, since the line wasn't as bad. One last time of singing along, looking for a few more hidden mickeys (we did find a fish-bobber one) and enjoying my favorite ride in the park. Then it was off to Big Thunder Mtn once more and again, we were glad to have fast-passed it.
It was then time to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom, but first I decided to buy a Splash Mountain glass. It's like I just can't not buy some piece of Splash Mountain merchandise (last time I bought a little wind-up toy). Instead of walking back through Main St. though, we decided to take the train all the way around. The wait wasn't long and after a little boy got to yell those famous words, "all aboard!", we were off.
The first stop was Toontown, and as we approached the station I looked off to the side and noticed a few characters. "Wow, it's Max" (who we hadn't seen ever before). "Hey, it's Big Al" (same thing). "HOLY CRAP, it's Launchpad McQuack!" I'm not sure I've ever seen Danielle as excited as she was at this point. She quickly said "we gotta get off here!" and when we did, moved quickly to the exit and to their location. Luckily no kids got in her way, or else there could have been trouble. Ha ha.
The one area we didn't look at while walking through Toontown before, now had Launchpad, Big Al, Max, Prince John, the Sherriff of Nottingham, a penguin from Mary Poppins, Gideon, and even Brer Bear. It was awesome. When we arrived the CM in the area announced they'd be leaving for the parade shortly, so we made efficient work of getting our pictures with them. The nice thing about most of them being rare characters, or at least rare to us, was that they didn't draw as big crowds either, so we were to able to get pics of all the ones we wanted pretty easily.
At that point we either floated to the entrance or the train took us back, I can't remember which. It was pretty exciting for us to see all those characters at once, so we were on cloud 9 for a bit. At the Main St. train station, we looked for various pieces of luggage we had heard were lying around. Sadly, I don't think we saw anything. Maybe we looked in the wrong place or maybe they took it down, but we had heard there were various items from Disney movies. Oh well.
Rather than take the bus back to the Boardwalk, we decided for one last monorail voyage to Epcot, which we would then walk through. I also heard about a Disney Visa card meet-and-greet place in Epcot that I wanted to check out. The monorail ride was as exciting as ever and once in Epcot, we walked all over the Innoventions area looking for this meet-and-greet. Finally I stopped and asked directions (more than once even) and we found where it was. The sign for it wasn't very big, and if you were walking past it you'd think it was just a black curtain. But behind that black curtain was a room where we found Mickey and Pluto hanging out with a photopass guy. We got a few pictures taken with them, said our thank yous, and then headed back to the hotel.
Not going to the Photopass claiming store right then and there would prove to be a huge mistake. How? Well, we'll get into that in Chaper 10.
On with the show....
Chapter 9 - Last Full Day, And Full It Was
As with most nights, we got a good night's sleep Thursday night and after about 9 hours worth, we both decided it was time to get up and get a move on. Once again I made my way down to the bakery and got us a muffin to split while Danielle got ready. And as usual, we made our way to the bus stop and were headed back to the Magic Kingdom once more. Unfortunately there was no dedicated bus service that morning, and so we had to make a few stops first. Not a big deal though and we made it there with plenty of morning left.
First up was Peter's Pan's Flight since we had missed it the day before. Of course, the line was already pretty long, so we opted for fastpasses instead, and then made our way towards Tomorrowland. Instead of going straight there though, we walked over to Toontown since it had been years upon years since I had stepped foot inside. Plus I was convinced some of the rarer characters might be out and about there. We made it all the way to Mickey's house and I didn't see anything to get too excited about unfortunately, so we then turned and headed towards Tomorrowland taking the long quiet path behind the Speedway. Not walking past Mickey's house will come into play later....
Once we made it back to the future (great scott!) we went on Buzz a 2nd time so that I could avenge my previous defeat. It broke down right after we had finished though and everyone's scores were erased, but not before I saw that I had beaten my wife. At Buzz, that is. I felt bad for those on board when the ride broke, but since it's a pretty quick line, it wouldn't be hard to go again I imagine. Next up was the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Wedway, Peoplemover, whatever. No one was riding this, so we had a car all to ourselves. We didn't make out or anything though, we just sat, relaxed, and enjoyed the views. "Now approaching.....", that guy cracks me up.
After we got off that, the line for Buzz still wasn't bad and it was time for new fastpasses. I rushed over to Space Mountain and got a few, then met back with Danielle in front of Buzz to go on a 3rd time (probably few compared to some). Unfortunately, the 3rd time was not the charm and our scores were straight up awful. I'm not even sure how describe just how awful they were, but let's just say if I was standing 5 feet from a movie screen and I had a gun, I'd miss if I tried to shoot it. I won, but it was a hollow victory based on both our scores (at least that's what I'll be saying to Danielle).
We decided at that point that the experience probably meant we shouldn't go on that ride again. The Carousel of Progress was right there, so we made our way in that direction. On the way we saw Buzz Lightyear himself and decided to say hello and tell him how much we enjoyed his ride. And after I took Danielle's picture with him, it was time for our fastpasses at Space Mountain. Score! Sorry Carousel, maybe next time. I do feel bad about missing it, but it'll survive. Right?
The fastpass line for Space Mtn. was a lot better than standby, but didn't seem to be that much better. We still waited a good 15-20 minutes to get on, but did get to bypass about 10 people when they asked for a party of 2. And it was doubly nice cause a group of teenage girls were behind us in line and one of them felt the need to keep walking into me when the line moved. I'm taken, see the ring!
After that, it was time to get out of Tomorrowland. Not ready to go back to Todayland though, we headed back to Fantasyland instead to use our Peter Pan fastpasses. The line was even longer at that point, so bypassing stand-by was a pretty good feeling. The ride was okay, as usual. I imagine I'll have a different take on it once I bring my kids there. It must be something, cause it was the first ride my nieces asked me about when I saw them. Speaking of which, hello girls (since I'm pretty sure your parents are reading this).
It was before lunch time at that point, but we were both sort of hungry. Rather than get a snack though and a later lunch, we decided just to have lunch right then instead. Pinocchio Village Haus was right there, but I had a feeling that Columbia Harbour House might work out better. And boy was I right, we made it just before the lunch rush. Danielle got chicken strips and I got an Anchors Aweigh sandwich (tuna sandwich). We went upstairs to eat and seemingly had the place all to ourselves. That area is just great. Very quiet, very peaceful, a nice place to take a break and forget that there are thousands of other people all around you.
When I was done (I usually finish my meals quickly), I walked over to Big Thunder Mountain to get fastpasses, then went back to collect Danielle. We took our time going back that way and went on Splash Mountain first, since the line wasn't as bad. One last time of singing along, looking for a few more hidden mickeys (we did find a fish-bobber one) and enjoying my favorite ride in the park. Then it was off to Big Thunder Mtn once more and again, we were glad to have fast-passed it.
It was then time to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom, but first I decided to buy a Splash Mountain glass. It's like I just can't not buy some piece of Splash Mountain merchandise (last time I bought a little wind-up toy). Instead of walking back through Main St. though, we decided to take the train all the way around. The wait wasn't long and after a little boy got to yell those famous words, "all aboard!", we were off.
The first stop was Toontown, and as we approached the station I looked off to the side and noticed a few characters. "Wow, it's Max" (who we hadn't seen ever before). "Hey, it's Big Al" (same thing). "HOLY CRAP, it's Launchpad McQuack!" I'm not sure I've ever seen Danielle as excited as she was at this point. She quickly said "we gotta get off here!" and when we did, moved quickly to the exit and to their location. Luckily no kids got in her way, or else there could have been trouble. Ha ha.
The one area we didn't look at while walking through Toontown before, now had Launchpad, Big Al, Max, Prince John, the Sherriff of Nottingham, a penguin from Mary Poppins, Gideon, and even Brer Bear. It was awesome. When we arrived the CM in the area announced they'd be leaving for the parade shortly, so we made efficient work of getting our pictures with them. The nice thing about most of them being rare characters, or at least rare to us, was that they didn't draw as big crowds either, so we were to able to get pics of all the ones we wanted pretty easily.
At that point we either floated to the entrance or the train took us back, I can't remember which. It was pretty exciting for us to see all those characters at once, so we were on cloud 9 for a bit. At the Main St. train station, we looked for various pieces of luggage we had heard were lying around. Sadly, I don't think we saw anything. Maybe we looked in the wrong place or maybe they took it down, but we had heard there were various items from Disney movies. Oh well.
Rather than take the bus back to the Boardwalk, we decided for one last monorail voyage to Epcot, which we would then walk through. I also heard about a Disney Visa card meet-and-greet place in Epcot that I wanted to check out. The monorail ride was as exciting as ever and once in Epcot, we walked all over the Innoventions area looking for this meet-and-greet. Finally I stopped and asked directions (more than once even) and we found where it was. The sign for it wasn't very big, and if you were walking past it you'd think it was just a black curtain. But behind that black curtain was a room where we found Mickey and Pluto hanging out with a photopass guy. We got a few pictures taken with them, said our thank yous, and then headed back to the hotel.
Not going to the Photopass claiming store right then and there would prove to be a huge mistake. How? Well, we'll get into that in Chaper 10.
