Gallivanting through the World--Day 2

[michygoomy]

This is suprisingly fun. I'm suprised how much detail I remember when I start writing it all down. Now if I could only figure out how to get pics in the post too.

See Day 1 here:
It's Not Vacation Without the Weather Channel

Our cast:
Me--excellent trip planner, bad traveler, 5th trip to the world
R--DH, ? trips to the world
JL--DS10, fourth trip, just like Momma, not a thrill-seeker
Saba--DD7, third trip, thrill seeker who is finally tall enough

Day 2: August 14, 2003: A Tropical Wave is a Future Tropical Storm

Day 2 dawns and we have cable, yeah! Today is Blizzard Beach day, so I turn on the weather channel to see what is in store for us. I learn that a tropical wave is a future tropical storm, and there is one right over us. With my newfound positive vacation attitude, I decide that that is PERFECT and will keep the crowds down at Blizzard Beach.

I wake up JL, and he thinks he is still in his bed at home. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto! I get the two refillable mugs from the food court, and R and I have our coffee while the kids have orange juice from our foam cooler. Breakfast is from our stash from the grocery stop, and we’re off to BB!

We arrive to find quite a line of crazy people like us, but get in quickly and head right to get a spot near the wave pool. We find three lounge chairs under a big umbrella, because it is now sprinkling. R sends the kids in the wave pool under his watchful eye while I go off to rent towels for a dollar apiece.

There is quite a line for towels (mainly people renting lockers, it seems everyone else remembered to bring towels from their room) and by the time I make it back to the others it is raining rather thoroughly. R, JL and Saba decide to go off on the lazy river, but I’m not into the idea of having rain pelt me in the face, so I stay under cover.

When they return from their lazy, rainy ride, we decide to go off and try Teamboat Springs. It takes a heck of a lot of stairs to get up there, geez I’m out of shape! JL is a little nervous as we get higher, but we convince him to give it a try. We have fun picking out the sights from the top of the line. Seems you can see the Dolphin and the Swan from everyone on WDW property!

We make it on TS and whew—what a ride back down! This is one looooong slide and quite a treat, even for the scardy-pants of the family, me and JL. We all love it so much we get right back in line for another go. The walk is shorter from where it lets off, but the line is a bit longer now. This time we see something floating down in the slide ahead of us—DOH! It’s my park map. Why do I have the feeling I’ll be going through a lot more of these today?

After TS, R decides he wants to try the Summit Plummet and I’m relieved when Saba decides to go to Ski Patrol with JL and I. As much as I appreciate her fearlessness, I can stand the thought of my baby going down that monster slide!

First we head back to our chairs and pick up another dry map along the way. Saba’s in the wave pool, and JL decides to go in just to wash the sand off his feet. Well, I watch as he wades in holding our new map. He keeps going and going, until he’s all the way to his chest, all the while holding the new map. What is he thinking? He doesn’t notice what he did until he wades back out. I think BB spends a fortune on park maps.

The kids and I head off to Ski Patrol and do two of the slides there together. JL and Saba then try walking across the big floaty things and when I try to follow them, the CM says that only those under 12 can go on them. Darnnit, there are 12-year-olds here bigger than me! So I climb into the pool to try to follow them. Ski Patrol is not very isolated, so I’m not really comfortable letting them out of my site.

I finally concede and find a chair to sit down and watch them. By now, the sky is darkening considerably. JL has gone off to do the Ski Patrol slides and I can’t see him, but I’m trying to keep an eye on Saba. R returns from his plummit, and goes to play in the water with Saba. The sky is getting darker and darker and I’m seeing lightening. JL returns and says he came back because of the sky. Future-tropical-storm-Erika then decides to let loose with driving rain and wind.

We get under a shelter and discuss our options. It’s pretty much the time I had planned to leave, so we decide to head to our stuff by the wave pool, pack up, and head out to the bus stop with the rest of the crowd. It’s quite full there, we’re soaking wet and actually getting COLD in FLORIDA. It is here I witness my first un-Disney-like confrontation. Seems the gentleman standing next to us had placed some garbage in the rafters and was standing at the edge of the shelter smoking. Gentleman #2 came along made some comments about his lack of class. They exchange words in a very testosterone-based way, and I watch amused glad that it isn’t R in this exchange. I know he would like to be smoking there too, but would have to put up with my wrath. I’m finally getting him well trained.

{{{Stepping on soapbox}}} And just my opinion here, folks, but Gentleman 2 is just as rude as Gentleman 1. Why you feel a need to start a confrontation like that in DISNEY WORLD with your KIDS present is beyond me. Just ask politely and move on. Get over it. Have y’all noticed that it’s only MEN that do this? I’m always waiting for one of them to jut out their chest and pound it while roaring in a Tarzan-like way. Maybe next time that’s just what I’ll do. {{{Stepping off soapbox}}}

We head with the wet throng back to the resort. I expect we’ll just have lunch in the food court until we see the lines. Yikes! Backup plan is sandwiches in the room with the lunchmeat we bought. We thought we’d save some money on meals, but what we really saved is time waiting in those massive lines. For what it’s worth, this is the only time during the whole stay that I saw lines like this in the food court.

Off we go to MGM. Another short bus ride and we are there. I’d just like to say how much I love MGM. I love walking around that park, I think it’s really underrated. Maybe it’s because I’m a big movie buff, I don’t know, but I feel at this point that being there is worth the whole trip. Erika has calmed herself down a bit so we don’t even need our ponchos at this point. And that hat! It’s a little weird seeing it there at first, but I guess it gives MGM the icon it needed.

First stop is to get FP for R and Saba for ToT and R&RRC. JL and I have no interest in these rides so we give up our tickets so they can get FPs for both. We then all head over Star Tours, which is my absolute favorite, favorite ride. The standby wait is 40 minutes, but this is about the only ride I’ll wait that long for. The queuing area is just so cool, and I’m such a big Star Wars fan, I could stay there all day.

In the queuing area I see an odd site—two CMs down in the area below the lines cleaning things. That’s strange; you’d think they wait until the ride is closed. I think I’d feel self-conscience with all those people staring at me.

The line moves fast and before we know it we’re on our shuttle to the moon of Endor! Oh, the thrill I get when I see that Star Destroyer and hear the DUM-DUM-DUM-DA-DA-DUM-DUM-DUM-DUM. Gosh, I love this ride!

We fly through Tattoine Traders before Momma gives George Lucas any more of her money, and it’s time for R and Saba’s FP. They are off, why JL and I go to check out Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. We check out the standby line, and find out that we’re not guaranteed to get in the next show. Looks like FP for us! At the FP machine, I find someone’s ticket in the machine and the CM has taken off. I go with the ticket to the CM at the entrance to WWtbaM (is that the correct acronym? They look weirder and weirder) and give it to him. He seems at first like he doesn’t want to take it, but thanks me. As we get back, a CM is now at the FP machines, so I tell her about the ticket and that I gave it to the other CM. Boy, I’d be bummed if I’d lost my ticket.

JL and I decide to check out One Man’s Dream while we’re waiting for the FPs to mature. We get part way through the exhibits and the movie is starting. We promise we’ll come back to the exhibits because they look really cool. The movie is good and R pages me while we’re in there, so I turn him off.

After One Man’s Dream we head off to Millionaire with our FP. The set is great, and I’m really serious about getting things right. JL is trying not to do so well because he is nervous about getting in the hot seat! Seems there is no threat of that for either of us today, as we don’t even get on the board once.

The fastest-fingers question is about soap operas, and I think I know the order but I get it wrong and a guy wins. Hmmm, think he’ll be teased about that at all? Turns out he’d gone to 11 shows just to get in the hot seat. He was there with his brother who had made it to the hot seat and won a hat. He is teased incessantly about the lengths he has gone to get a ball cap, but he wins the first two plateaus and walks away with some nice things. I’m surprised when it’s over so quickly and that no one else gets in the hot seat.

It’s about parade time, so JL and I head to find a decent spot. This is when Erika decides to remind us that she is still around. JL and I get out the ponchos and head under cover in the FP area for Indiana Jones. R pages me on the walkie-talkie, and they are just leaving R&RRC. They decide they’ll come to us since we’re by our preferred parade spot. Of course, they’ll be no parade today. JL feels bad that we made them come to us. I remind he that we’re ALL going to get wet and it’s OK.

R and Saba find us and we and find out that Saba has a new favorite ride—R&RRC. The parade has since been cancelled, so we collectively head to Muppets, our other favorite MGM attraction, and the little bird talks just to me. I don’t care what anyone else says, he was talking JUST TO ME. So there.

We are hungry, so we check in at Sci-Fi and find a 30-minute wait. Not bad for no PS, but we’re hungry NOW, so we head off to the ABC Commissary. We have a bit of a wait and the food is rather icky. But I must say I think they have the best fries anywhere in the park.

It’s getting about time for Fantasmic, so we start heading that way with the rest of the crowd, about an hour early. Erika has calmed down again, so I’m hopeful that Fantasmic will still go on, as I’ve never seen this show. On the way there, we see that R&RRC has only a 20-minute standby so R and Saba head there while JL and I go to save seats. We walk in and head way, way to the left before we get seats, but we get some near the top and close to the aisle so it looks like R will be able to find us OK.

The wait is boring and the seat are uncomfortable, and you can only do the wave so many times before you get bored, but before long R is paging me. I tell him to find Jafar way to the left. A couple minutes later I see him and he’s passing down the aisle too far. I’m yelling to him, and when he sits and complains about my directions, the lady in front turns around to say that I gave GREAT directions. HA, so there.

The show is, well, FANTASMIC, and I’m quite impressed with the movies on the wall of water. I’m especially pleased that the weather has held out for us, we have a lot of nighttime events to get to. We head out from the show and the crowds aren’t as scary as I was lead to believe. Everyone proceeds out in an orderly fashion, and I get that one last walk for today in my favorite park. R and I agreed ahead of time that we wouldn’t try to commando our way out of the park, so we have a nice walk to the bus stop. The wait is long for the late night, and the bus ride seems to take a while too, but walking back to the room the kids and I decide to start making up names for our ubiquitous bus rides. There’s the Bus of Terror, Mission:Bus and It’s a Small Bus After All. We’re giggling all the way to the room. It’s a good day in the world.

Stay Tuned for Day 3: How Can We Be On Earth if We Were Just on Mars?

 

[Marla Hellwig]

I still haven't gotten up the nerve to try any of the water parks - a good day - thanks for posting!

 

[michygoomy]

Try them, Marla, they're fun! And thanks for replying, it makes my day.

 

[Tinkbell]

I'm enjoying your reports. I really enjoy Fantasmic too, but I have to agree that those benches are uncomfortable after an hour or so.

 

[lUVTOGO]

Great Trip Reports! We were there for 10 days in the beginning of August and never did get to see the MGM parade. It always rained when we went to see it! Next time!