PlutosRHM55
Currently: No HHN Depression
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2010
- Messages
- 12,306
I guess I'll begin with an update on my two iffy Disney trips (as if any trip I begin isn't iffy).
First, on the Disneyland trip which seems the more likely of the two. It's a shame this one really isn't a Disney World trip because then I could get right down to business because I have to wait for the sixth month mark which is around December and January to actually book it. I am preparing and keeping up-to-date mostly with flights though, but still a lot of waiting. I'm hoping my mom will make it more official sooner than that.
Disney World on the other hand has made leaps and bounds. I'm sure you'll recognize the term DGE 2014 in my signature. This is called DisGraduation Extravaganza 2014, a trip I've had on the mind since I joined the DIS. I want to go to Disney for graduation with friends and it's coming down to crunch time right now. So I began talking to two of my closest friends who were originally invited to the PTR that this PTR was about (Jocelyn and Nate). Jocelyn was interested and so was Nate. Now, when I told Nate we really got down to business to already start planning it. We have priced packages out, looked at air rates, the whole nine yards. I've tried to tell my mom, but she's a bit over the whole Disney thing. I'm hoping I can bring it up to her soon and get another friend on board so we can have an equal four.
No new PTRs yet sadly, but for now I will be working on this one so let's get back to NYC, where a father and son are at the 9/11 memorial. Time to tune in...
They Are New Yorkers, Fear's Their Life! An Eye-Opening Jaunt in Modern Day New York City 2012
Day 1 Part IIII
After enjoying the sights of the 9/11 memorial, my dad and I decided it was time to leave. The way out was the same as the way in so through the extremely long queue we went. I swear, the amount of Disney reminders were becoming a bit ridiculous. Luckily, the queue diverged towards none other than... THE GIFT SHOP!
This gift shop was actually pretty cool. They had all these preserved artifacts from the 9/11 wreckage along with a video on the 9/11 disaster and what the memorial was all about, but the one thing that really caught my eye was this motorcycle.
For people who are familiar with the show American Choppers, this bike was actually created by Paul Sr. It was pretty surreal seeing this since my dad and I were HUGE fans of the show once upon a time so seeing an actual bike is just beyond cool. One of my sisters is probably the biggest fan out of all of us (she still watches the show today) so I had to take a second picture of my "excitement".
After all that, I went right to shopping. I always have to get a souvenir every new place I go so I looked around. In the end, I bought a nice t-shirt with a quote designed to look like the twin towers. But because I'm such a tease, I'm actually going to show you at the end. *giggles*
After I made my purchase, we left and walked back to the Subway station with no problems. That is until we got to the station.
When we were down at the gates, neither my dad or I could get through them. We tried a few then moved down when I finally was able to get through. My dad unfortunately could not so I was stuck in what is probably the most disgusting place I've been in yet, excuse my bluntness (I think I've given enough warnings). My dad tried a few more times, but ended up having to buy a new one-way ticket. I guess this is what happens when he gives the subway clerk sass. I took a picture while I was waiting for my dad of his trials and tribulations.
Our train arrived soon enough and we were on our way back to the Sheraton. The ride was fairly uneventful and long. It was a little torturous for me, but good thing this was the last time I ever had to ride that Subway on this trip.
When we got back, we noticed we had a lot more time than expected. After a quick deliberation, we decided to go out for dinner early before Wicked that night. My dad had told me about Rosie O'Grady's a restaurant right across the street from our hotel so we decided to go there. Here is a picture from across the street at the hotel:
There was nobody there when we got there so we were seated immediately (our luck with these restaurants was uncanny). We sat down and ordered drinks, they didn't have a lot to offer soda or non-alcoholic wise so I got a ginger ale.
This is where our luck started to run out. I hope you will be able to follow along at this part. First, it began with ordering our food from the waitress who sat us and got us drinks. I had to make it confusing by deciding to get some appetizer while my dad wasn't as hungry. We ordered, but we weren't sure if the lady had gotten it. We waited for her to come back, but now another waitress came in to get our orders. We told her about our little predicament and she took our orders. Now, we had two orders for us going in. Then, the waitress we had earlier walked by again. My dad called her over and tried to straighten it out when the other waitress luckily came by. We did straighten it out and all was good, but shows our luck isn't entirely consistent.
After this debacle, we got some nice bread. They were a bit strange, but it held us over until my appetizer and the main meal.
Then, my appetizer came. I ordered steamers with... I feel I should say Fra Diavolo sauce, but I'm not sure. It was good though, love me some mussels!
Then, soon after I got my main course along with my dad finally getting his food. I got Lobster Ravioli. Not as good as the mussels, but I hadn't had it before so it was cool only to try it out.
Overall, the food was quite good. I won't say as good as what we had earlier at The Famous Oyster Bar, but I liked it and the fact the restaurant was right across the street from our hotel, it seemed like a good place to go back to.
Once my dad had finished paying for our food, we made our way out and back to the hotel. At the hotel, we decided to stop by concierge to find out how much tickets for Newsies cost. We ended up getting a trainee to help us, who was pretty good considering his position, but the lady (who just got a ruit canal and was nursing it with a bag of ice) was helping him a lot and we got a good idea of how much it would cost. The price was a bit high for us so we decided after that we would go see RENT instead.
We proceeded from the lobby up to our room for a nice little nap before Wicked that night. Well, for me anyways. My dad was watching the Broadway channel I had put, talking to me about Phantom of the Opera, which was on of his first shows. Before I passed out, I took a picture of our view again:
Then, I took something of a nap, not really ever falling asleep too excited to even sleep and being control freak me, I was nervous we weren't going to have enough time to get to the Gershwin Theater. When my dad got back, he told me that the guy he met this time at the concierge said to go to the box office to get our tickets because of the crazy surface fee at the hotel. So when we were going to Wicked that night, we would also make a stop at the New World Stages which were much closer than we thought.
My dad then took a shower while I tried to catch a few more Zzs. Of course, this didn't work out so I got changed nearly as quickly as I tried falling asleep. Soon enough, my dad was out of the shower so I could brush my teeth. Once I had done that, we were on our way out of the hotel and to the Gershwin Theater, which was pretty easy to find from Times Square, but like everything in NYC it required many crosswalks. When we got there, I noticed that the building that housed Wicked also housed the Circle in the Round theater where another Schwartz musical was playing.
Yup, Godspell. I really wanted to see this show since I'm such a huge fan of Stephen Schwartz (part of the reason why I'm seeing Wicked) and that show is very interactive especially in the revival. Corbin Bleu was also in the show, which was pretty cool since I grew up with the High School Musical movies and I've heard he's been doing a lot of Broadway lately. As you noticed though we weren't seeing that, we were seeing Wicked. So we went inside the Gershwin which was oddly quiet though we were there pretty early.
We asked a lady who was selling some merchandise by the door to where the New World Stages were. She gave us very simple directions and we were on our way. This was of course not that simple finding the New World Stage box office. We were led right to the stage door, but couldn't find the box office, which we soon discovered was on the other side completely. We got there with little time to spare so it was right to the ticket booths. There, we talked to the guy working it asking about RENT who told us about some great seats he had for us and for half the price we would've paid to get into Newsies. My dad paid, got our tickets and then we were on our way back to the Gershwin where we once again had more time than needed to get their and before the show.
Before we got back to the theater, I took a few pictures of the Wicked sign in front of the Gerswhin:
When we got there, prior to going into the actual theater, I went up and bought a poster for my room since my mom was re-decorating it as I made the purchase. It was a bit much, but where else could I have gotten it and for a better price? Exactly, so after getting that we went up to our seats. We were in the balcony, which required some cardio when finally we got to the balcony level.
We got right in line to get into the theater and were soon shown to our seats. I got my first playbill ever, a pretty exciting moment for me. I, of course, had to get some pictures of this monumental moment where I would see my first Broadway show so I took a picture of my seat with the playbill, poster and jacket in its vacancy.
After that, I noticed the beautiful set. I was about to take a picture seeing others trying to get a picture, but the usher told me not to. I didn't understand, but being the goody two shoes I am, I didn't. My dad then went out to go get a drink while I went to the bathroom. When I got back, the line to get in had lengthened, but since I already had gotten in, I walked on through and went back to my seat. When I sat down, my need to take a picture of something to commemorate this first Broadway show, I took a picture of the set when the lady wasn't looking. And I wasn't yelled at by anyone else. I count that as being okay.
I also got one on my phone. When my dad got back, he came with this really cool Wicked souvenir cup. The show was about to begin, so I didn't bother going to buy a drink. In the mean time, I took a picture of myself with the Wicked playbill.
Of course, the lady was looking and thought I was taking a picture of the set. Being me, I yelled back at her that I was just taking a picture with my playbill. Sheesh! This lady was getting on my nerves.
Soon enough the show started. I couldn't take any pictures of course now since it is a natural courtesy not to. I did end up getting a drink during intermission so I have a picture of that.
After that, the show ended with thunderous applause. I'm sure a lot of people already know about how this show has gotten such strong unanimous praise, but I am here as a member of the acting community and theater-going community to say those are true. It was an absolutely stunning show. From the set to the music to the story, it was great. Also, the actors and actresses we had were fantastic especially the one who played the lead role of the Wicked Witch of the West (*Spoiler Alert* or more popularly called nowadays Elphaba). If this show is ever nearby since it is still touring the US or you go to New York and need to decide on what Broadway show to see, I highly recommend you see this one first. You won't regret it. I mean, my dad even liked it and he had very low expectations.
Now, in terms of seating, since I'm sure most of you know about that little situation where my dad was putting me down for our seats, they actually were pretty good. The actors in theaters like these are trained so the audience isn't staring at their heads so it isn't an issue and the set is HUGE so you almost get a better view from up above. Personally, I really want to sit in the orchestra seating because I think the balcony feels so different when most theaters I go to are very tiny without a balcony. But if you can't get any tickets better priced, go with the balcony.
Anyways, after the show, we all hurried out of there and went straight home. You could tell that everyone was coming back from the theater since people were piling into our hotel or running back home in their nightly best. We got to the hotel and luckily beat the crowds to the elevator allowing us to get right back to our room. It was a long day so we were ready for some sleep.
Before going to bed, I took a picture of what I got from Wicked again along with what I was carrying around this day.
After that, my dad was flipping through channels on the TV while I was getting ready for bed. As I plopped myself down on my bed, my favorite pillow in place, I fell right asleep, excited for another day of enjoying more NYC.
TO BE CONTINUED
First, on the Disneyland trip which seems the more likely of the two. It's a shame this one really isn't a Disney World trip because then I could get right down to business because I have to wait for the sixth month mark which is around December and January to actually book it. I am preparing and keeping up-to-date mostly with flights though, but still a lot of waiting. I'm hoping my mom will make it more official sooner than that.
Disney World on the other hand has made leaps and bounds. I'm sure you'll recognize the term DGE 2014 in my signature. This is called DisGraduation Extravaganza 2014, a trip I've had on the mind since I joined the DIS. I want to go to Disney for graduation with friends and it's coming down to crunch time right now. So I began talking to two of my closest friends who were originally invited to the PTR that this PTR was about (Jocelyn and Nate). Jocelyn was interested and so was Nate. Now, when I told Nate we really got down to business to already start planning it. We have priced packages out, looked at air rates, the whole nine yards. I've tried to tell my mom, but she's a bit over the whole Disney thing. I'm hoping I can bring it up to her soon and get another friend on board so we can have an equal four.
No new PTRs yet sadly, but for now I will be working on this one so let's get back to NYC, where a father and son are at the 9/11 memorial. Time to tune in...
They Are New Yorkers, Fear's Their Life! An Eye-Opening Jaunt in Modern Day New York City 2012
Day 1 Part IIII
After enjoying the sights of the 9/11 memorial, my dad and I decided it was time to leave. The way out was the same as the way in so through the extremely long queue we went. I swear, the amount of Disney reminders were becoming a bit ridiculous. Luckily, the queue diverged towards none other than... THE GIFT SHOP!
This gift shop was actually pretty cool. They had all these preserved artifacts from the 9/11 wreckage along with a video on the 9/11 disaster and what the memorial was all about, but the one thing that really caught my eye was this motorcycle.

For people who are familiar with the show American Choppers, this bike was actually created by Paul Sr. It was pretty surreal seeing this since my dad and I were HUGE fans of the show once upon a time so seeing an actual bike is just beyond cool. One of my sisters is probably the biggest fan out of all of us (she still watches the show today) so I had to take a second picture of my "excitement".

After all that, I went right to shopping. I always have to get a souvenir every new place I go so I looked around. In the end, I bought a nice t-shirt with a quote designed to look like the twin towers. But because I'm such a tease, I'm actually going to show you at the end. *giggles*
After I made my purchase, we left and walked back to the Subway station with no problems. That is until we got to the station.
When we were down at the gates, neither my dad or I could get through them. We tried a few then moved down when I finally was able to get through. My dad unfortunately could not so I was stuck in what is probably the most disgusting place I've been in yet, excuse my bluntness (I think I've given enough warnings). My dad tried a few more times, but ended up having to buy a new one-way ticket. I guess this is what happens when he gives the subway clerk sass. I took a picture while I was waiting for my dad of his trials and tribulations.

Our train arrived soon enough and we were on our way back to the Sheraton. The ride was fairly uneventful and long. It was a little torturous for me, but good thing this was the last time I ever had to ride that Subway on this trip.
When we got back, we noticed we had a lot more time than expected. After a quick deliberation, we decided to go out for dinner early before Wicked that night. My dad had told me about Rosie O'Grady's a restaurant right across the street from our hotel so we decided to go there. Here is a picture from across the street at the hotel:

There was nobody there when we got there so we were seated immediately (our luck with these restaurants was uncanny). We sat down and ordered drinks, they didn't have a lot to offer soda or non-alcoholic wise so I got a ginger ale.

This is where our luck started to run out. I hope you will be able to follow along at this part. First, it began with ordering our food from the waitress who sat us and got us drinks. I had to make it confusing by deciding to get some appetizer while my dad wasn't as hungry. We ordered, but we weren't sure if the lady had gotten it. We waited for her to come back, but now another waitress came in to get our orders. We told her about our little predicament and she took our orders. Now, we had two orders for us going in. Then, the waitress we had earlier walked by again. My dad called her over and tried to straighten it out when the other waitress luckily came by. We did straighten it out and all was good, but shows our luck isn't entirely consistent.
After this debacle, we got some nice bread. They were a bit strange, but it held us over until my appetizer and the main meal.

Then, my appetizer came. I ordered steamers with... I feel I should say Fra Diavolo sauce, but I'm not sure. It was good though, love me some mussels!

Then, soon after I got my main course along with my dad finally getting his food. I got Lobster Ravioli. Not as good as the mussels, but I hadn't had it before so it was cool only to try it out.

Overall, the food was quite good. I won't say as good as what we had earlier at The Famous Oyster Bar, but I liked it and the fact the restaurant was right across the street from our hotel, it seemed like a good place to go back to.
Once my dad had finished paying for our food, we made our way out and back to the hotel. At the hotel, we decided to stop by concierge to find out how much tickets for Newsies cost. We ended up getting a trainee to help us, who was pretty good considering his position, but the lady (who just got a ruit canal and was nursing it with a bag of ice) was helping him a lot and we got a good idea of how much it would cost. The price was a bit high for us so we decided after that we would go see RENT instead.
We proceeded from the lobby up to our room for a nice little nap before Wicked that night. Well, for me anyways. My dad was watching the Broadway channel I had put, talking to me about Phantom of the Opera, which was on of his first shows. Before I passed out, I took a picture of our view again:

Then, I took something of a nap, not really ever falling asleep too excited to even sleep and being control freak me, I was nervous we weren't going to have enough time to get to the Gershwin Theater. When my dad got back, he told me that the guy he met this time at the concierge said to go to the box office to get our tickets because of the crazy surface fee at the hotel. So when we were going to Wicked that night, we would also make a stop at the New World Stages which were much closer than we thought.
My dad then took a shower while I tried to catch a few more Zzs. Of course, this didn't work out so I got changed nearly as quickly as I tried falling asleep. Soon enough, my dad was out of the shower so I could brush my teeth. Once I had done that, we were on our way out of the hotel and to the Gershwin Theater, which was pretty easy to find from Times Square, but like everything in NYC it required many crosswalks. When we got there, I noticed that the building that housed Wicked also housed the Circle in the Round theater where another Schwartz musical was playing.

Yup, Godspell. I really wanted to see this show since I'm such a huge fan of Stephen Schwartz (part of the reason why I'm seeing Wicked) and that show is very interactive especially in the revival. Corbin Bleu was also in the show, which was pretty cool since I grew up with the High School Musical movies and I've heard he's been doing a lot of Broadway lately. As you noticed though we weren't seeing that, we were seeing Wicked. So we went inside the Gershwin which was oddly quiet though we were there pretty early.
We asked a lady who was selling some merchandise by the door to where the New World Stages were. She gave us very simple directions and we were on our way. This was of course not that simple finding the New World Stage box office. We were led right to the stage door, but couldn't find the box office, which we soon discovered was on the other side completely. We got there with little time to spare so it was right to the ticket booths. There, we talked to the guy working it asking about RENT who told us about some great seats he had for us and for half the price we would've paid to get into Newsies. My dad paid, got our tickets and then we were on our way back to the Gershwin where we once again had more time than needed to get their and before the show.
Before we got back to the theater, I took a few pictures of the Wicked sign in front of the Gerswhin:


When we got there, prior to going into the actual theater, I went up and bought a poster for my room since my mom was re-decorating it as I made the purchase. It was a bit much, but where else could I have gotten it and for a better price? Exactly, so after getting that we went up to our seats. We were in the balcony, which required some cardio when finally we got to the balcony level.
We got right in line to get into the theater and were soon shown to our seats. I got my first playbill ever, a pretty exciting moment for me. I, of course, had to get some pictures of this monumental moment where I would see my first Broadway show so I took a picture of my seat with the playbill, poster and jacket in its vacancy.

After that, I noticed the beautiful set. I was about to take a picture seeing others trying to get a picture, but the usher told me not to. I didn't understand, but being the goody two shoes I am, I didn't. My dad then went out to go get a drink while I went to the bathroom. When I got back, the line to get in had lengthened, but since I already had gotten in, I walked on through and went back to my seat. When I sat down, my need to take a picture of something to commemorate this first Broadway show, I took a picture of the set when the lady wasn't looking. And I wasn't yelled at by anyone else. I count that as being okay.

I also got one on my phone. When my dad got back, he came with this really cool Wicked souvenir cup. The show was about to begin, so I didn't bother going to buy a drink. In the mean time, I took a picture of myself with the Wicked playbill.

Of course, the lady was looking and thought I was taking a picture of the set. Being me, I yelled back at her that I was just taking a picture with my playbill. Sheesh! This lady was getting on my nerves.
Soon enough the show started. I couldn't take any pictures of course now since it is a natural courtesy not to. I did end up getting a drink during intermission so I have a picture of that.

After that, the show ended with thunderous applause. I'm sure a lot of people already know about how this show has gotten such strong unanimous praise, but I am here as a member of the acting community and theater-going community to say those are true. It was an absolutely stunning show. From the set to the music to the story, it was great. Also, the actors and actresses we had were fantastic especially the one who played the lead role of the Wicked Witch of the West (*Spoiler Alert* or more popularly called nowadays Elphaba). If this show is ever nearby since it is still touring the US or you go to New York and need to decide on what Broadway show to see, I highly recommend you see this one first. You won't regret it. I mean, my dad even liked it and he had very low expectations.
Now, in terms of seating, since I'm sure most of you know about that little situation where my dad was putting me down for our seats, they actually were pretty good. The actors in theaters like these are trained so the audience isn't staring at their heads so it isn't an issue and the set is HUGE so you almost get a better view from up above. Personally, I really want to sit in the orchestra seating because I think the balcony feels so different when most theaters I go to are very tiny without a balcony. But if you can't get any tickets better priced, go with the balcony.
Anyways, after the show, we all hurried out of there and went straight home. You could tell that everyone was coming back from the theater since people were piling into our hotel or running back home in their nightly best. We got to the hotel and luckily beat the crowds to the elevator allowing us to get right back to our room. It was a long day so we were ready for some sleep.
Before going to bed, I took a picture of what I got from Wicked again along with what I was carrying around this day.

After that, my dad was flipping through channels on the TV while I was getting ready for bed. As I plopped myself down on my bed, my favorite pillow in place, I fell right asleep, excited for another day of enjoying more NYC.
TO BE CONTINUED