michygoomy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2003
- Messages
- 822
Responses are appreciated, I've never done this before, and while I'm finding it a great way to remember the moments, I wonder if it's useful to others.
Previous days:
Day 1: It's Not Vacation Without the Weather Channel
Day 2: A Tropical Wave is a Future Tropical Storm
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 3: August 15, 2003: How Can We Be on Earth if We Just Were on Mars?
Were getting into a routine here. I wake up first, before Mickey calls, Mickey calls, we get everyone else up, head out for coffee, have breakfast from our stash and are ready to go close to the time I planned. Not bad, Im impressed with us all, especially after a late night.
We got some inkling of the blackout last night, but thought it was just in NYC based on the news coverage. This morning I learn it was much more extensive, and hit our hometown too. I try to think of reasons to worry, but cant really imagine how bad it could be. I check my cell and there are no messages on my voice mail, so I decide not to worry too much. Im glad were on vacation and not watching the news about this 24/7. There is something so numbing about that.
This morning were off to Typhoon Lagoon and this time we remember to bring towels from our room. We catch the busthere are a lot more people venturing out to a water park this morning due to the fact that our friend Erika is now churning across the Gulf of Mexico and has left us behind. We get there, get our lounge chair, though this time its not under cover, and head straight to Shark Reef. The kids get life vests, but I dont, which is my first mistake. I admit I feel a bit claustrophobic when I put on my mask. This is not a good sign.
We get to the end, get our instructions, and jump in the pool. And I sink. I panic, get out, send Saba with R and tell him there is NO WAY I can do this. Im not a great swimmer, and this just isnt working for me. I head to the exit, with that salt water taste in my mouth, and wait for them to come out. They enjoyed it, but R decides he wants to do it again, this time with a life vest, because he was having trouble keeping an eye on the kids while trying to see anything. He and Saba go back through while JL and I go check out the underwater viewing area. Im much less impressed with this attraction than I thought I would be.
Thats out of the way and we decide to try the family raft ride since the one at BB was so great. We head to Gangplank Falls, with R dragging our raft up. Hop on the ride, and while it gets you very wet, we kept waiting for it to get exciting. It was soooo short too. Teamboat Springs blows this ride away.
R decides to go off and try Humunga Cowabunga while the kids and I take the lazy river trip. Getting into the river is an exercise itself with people getting out and bumping into us. Two nice ladies help us get into our floats, that goodness for them, they make up for the pushy people tenfold. Saba gets her own small tube while JL and I share a double one. Saba takes off paddling, and I cant really control the double tube, so Im constantly telling her to slow down so I can keep an eye on her. I dont know where I think shes going to take off to, but Im paranoid. A few tube switches later, were all in our own tubes and can finally be lazy and enjoy the ride and the scenery. I admit this is a beautiful park, even though I dont find it as fun as BB.
We get off the lazy river and meet up with R, who accidentally got in line for Storm Slides before Humunga Cowabunga and thinks we should all give them a try. We get in the line for them, and while JL is a little paranoid, hes staring to relax a bit and try new things. Yeah! We do these twice, great fun they are. Now TL is starting to seem worth the trip, and there are no tropical storms or waves or anything else.
R takes the kids to the surf pool while I go off trying to find a restroom. Another big problem with this park is that there are few restrooms, and now the crowds are just piling in. The restroom I find is also the changing room and I have quite a wait. While Im gone, R finds out that he has to hang on tight to the kids in the surf pool, no watching from the shore like in BB. The crowds are getting bad and we decide its time to head out.
The original plan called for TL in the morning and MK in the evening with Spectro and fireworks. Its still pretty early, and we have found those long afternoon breaks just get the kids bouncing off the walls rather than relaxing, so we decide to change and head up to Epcot before MK. This will give us the opportunity to get a monorail ride in, which we love.
Quick change, and were off to Epcot. The kids grab their personal fans from the dollar store (two of which have broken already) and another one breaks on the bus. Walking up to Epcot, R decides its not worth it, and leaves them sitting on a garbage bag. Maybe someone will think its a treat finding them, but I think its more likely that a CM will come along and throw them away. We stop at a stand before the entrance and buy them both Misty Fans (CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING!)
We get FP for Mission:Space and head by Test Track, but the wait is prohibitive and the FP return is late, late, late. We head off to Ellens Energy Adventure, which Ive never seen. Its cute and funny and I enjoy it very much, but the dinosaur portion seems out of place. We head to Cranium Command, which is one of my favorite, favorite attractions, and its still hilarious. I think it goes over Sabas head but JL loves it. We do some of the interactive stuff in Wonders of Life, which is always fun. This is the stuff that makes Epcot unique, and its worth the time to linger.
We do Spaceship Earth, which I missed on the last trip, and there is no line to speak of. Saba keeps asking if its going to go any faster (shes been spoiled at this point by R&RRC) and JL likes it except for the part where you go down backwards. I keep thinking the movie at the apex was a space shuttle thing originally, but I might be getting it confused with another attraction.
Time for our Mission to Space! Weve been excited about this attraction since we first found out we had the dumb luck to book our trip right when it was opening. I wonder if I will have the ill effects that many people have described.
FP is horribly efficient for this attraction, so much so that I miss being able to linger over the cool stuff in the queuing area. We get our briefing from Gary (love him!) and head off to the staging area. I see a couple of people take the chicken exit, but theres no way Im getting off. We head off to our pod. Im navigator, JL is the pilot, R the commander and Saba the engineer. As the doors close I concentrate REALLY HARD on looking straight ahead. Liftoff is incredible, what a rush, and I feel the skin pull back on my face. Its hard to lift my hand to work the controls. The ride is thrilling, and over quickly, as were now on Mars. We walk off the ride and the CMs welcome us back to Earth. Wait, I thought we were on Mars? Hmm, I think they need to re-work the post-attraction greeting.
We skip the post-show interactive stuff because we need to head out to MK. We get to the Monorail station, and someone beats us to asking to ride with the pilot. R asks and they say there is room for two more, so he and Saba go up. JL doesnt want to, I think he wouldve enjoyed it, though. I think its because he and Saba would have to go without us, and Im OK with it because I prefer to stick with them.
Our Monorail ride is pleasant and air-conditioned, as always, and we arrive at MK. Its quite crowded, I guess everyone is heading in for Spectro. We see a good viewing spot free, so R decides to stay and save it while the kids and I head off for Pirates of the Caribbean. Can you believe Ive never done this ride?
The queue is a bit long but moves fast and the queuing area is just so cool. There is a little kid crying in front of us and the parents are telling him hes going on the ride and hell be fine. I feel for them, JL is like this often and if I gave in he would have missed a lot of attractions that he really enjoyed. Its the anticipation that gets him rarely the ride. I know his limits, though, and would never push him onto something like the mountains or ToT.
We board our boat and Saba says Is this as fast as it gets?. Oh, I knew we shouldve saved R&RRC for the last day! Nothing will ever compare for her! I know there is a small drop coming, and it takes JL by surprise, but I know he wouldve been nervous if he knew about it. The ride is cute. I like it.
Were off to find R and I have a moment of pride when we arrive and R asks where the nearest designated smoking area is. I thought for sure hed be smoking while waiting, and pissing people off.
While were sitting and waiting a little girl sits down in Rs seat. I ask Saba to ask her to move, then feel really awful about it, so I make a little space where she should be able to sit and see. If R has to stand rather than sit hes going to have to go way, way in the back because hes quite tall.
Specto starts and its very neat. I wish I could take pictures that will really do it justice, but I know they wont come out good. I take a ton anyway, just to keep JL from wasting film in his disposable camera on it. At least the digital pictures arent going to cost anything if they dont turn it. Its a great parade and Im glad to have been finally able to catch it. R cant sit comfortably that long on the ground and has to get up and hobble back to the back of the group. The good thing about having short legs is the ability to sit cross-legged for a while, I think.
The parade ends and we head out to find a good viewing spot for the fireworks. There are not a lot of choices, but we find a place to stand near the Crystal Palace. I admit, that place looks mighty cool at night. We watch the fireworks and they are not quite as spectacular as I remember them. Maybe we were just spoiled by Fantasmic.
When its time to leave we follow a family into what I think is Caseys Corner. Turns out it leads straight through the Emporium to the front entrance. What a great shortcut! I like Main Street, but weve seen it a couple of times already and would rather beat the crowds to the bus stops.
We head out to the resort to check the news about the blackout. I had tried to call my Mom this afternoon, but no one was home. R had talked to his friend, though, who said it was rather intermittent in our town. I guess I dont need to worry too much.
Very productive, day, I must say. Three parks, a parade, fireworks and the awesome Mission:Space. Im impressed with our endurance.
Stay tuned for Day 4: You Have 13 Boyfriends?
Previous days:
Day 1: It's Not Vacation Without the Weather Channel
Day 2: A Tropical Wave is a Future Tropical Storm
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 3: August 15, 2003: How Can We Be on Earth if We Just Were on Mars?
Were getting into a routine here. I wake up first, before Mickey calls, Mickey calls, we get everyone else up, head out for coffee, have breakfast from our stash and are ready to go close to the time I planned. Not bad, Im impressed with us all, especially after a late night.
We got some inkling of the blackout last night, but thought it was just in NYC based on the news coverage. This morning I learn it was much more extensive, and hit our hometown too. I try to think of reasons to worry, but cant really imagine how bad it could be. I check my cell and there are no messages on my voice mail, so I decide not to worry too much. Im glad were on vacation and not watching the news about this 24/7. There is something so numbing about that.
This morning were off to Typhoon Lagoon and this time we remember to bring towels from our room. We catch the busthere are a lot more people venturing out to a water park this morning due to the fact that our friend Erika is now churning across the Gulf of Mexico and has left us behind. We get there, get our lounge chair, though this time its not under cover, and head straight to Shark Reef. The kids get life vests, but I dont, which is my first mistake. I admit I feel a bit claustrophobic when I put on my mask. This is not a good sign.
We get to the end, get our instructions, and jump in the pool. And I sink. I panic, get out, send Saba with R and tell him there is NO WAY I can do this. Im not a great swimmer, and this just isnt working for me. I head to the exit, with that salt water taste in my mouth, and wait for them to come out. They enjoyed it, but R decides he wants to do it again, this time with a life vest, because he was having trouble keeping an eye on the kids while trying to see anything. He and Saba go back through while JL and I go check out the underwater viewing area. Im much less impressed with this attraction than I thought I would be.
Thats out of the way and we decide to try the family raft ride since the one at BB was so great. We head to Gangplank Falls, with R dragging our raft up. Hop on the ride, and while it gets you very wet, we kept waiting for it to get exciting. It was soooo short too. Teamboat Springs blows this ride away.
R decides to go off and try Humunga Cowabunga while the kids and I take the lazy river trip. Getting into the river is an exercise itself with people getting out and bumping into us. Two nice ladies help us get into our floats, that goodness for them, they make up for the pushy people tenfold. Saba gets her own small tube while JL and I share a double one. Saba takes off paddling, and I cant really control the double tube, so Im constantly telling her to slow down so I can keep an eye on her. I dont know where I think shes going to take off to, but Im paranoid. A few tube switches later, were all in our own tubes and can finally be lazy and enjoy the ride and the scenery. I admit this is a beautiful park, even though I dont find it as fun as BB.
We get off the lazy river and meet up with R, who accidentally got in line for Storm Slides before Humunga Cowabunga and thinks we should all give them a try. We get in the line for them, and while JL is a little paranoid, hes staring to relax a bit and try new things. Yeah! We do these twice, great fun they are. Now TL is starting to seem worth the trip, and there are no tropical storms or waves or anything else.
R takes the kids to the surf pool while I go off trying to find a restroom. Another big problem with this park is that there are few restrooms, and now the crowds are just piling in. The restroom I find is also the changing room and I have quite a wait. While Im gone, R finds out that he has to hang on tight to the kids in the surf pool, no watching from the shore like in BB. The crowds are getting bad and we decide its time to head out.
The original plan called for TL in the morning and MK in the evening with Spectro and fireworks. Its still pretty early, and we have found those long afternoon breaks just get the kids bouncing off the walls rather than relaxing, so we decide to change and head up to Epcot before MK. This will give us the opportunity to get a monorail ride in, which we love.
Quick change, and were off to Epcot. The kids grab their personal fans from the dollar store (two of which have broken already) and another one breaks on the bus. Walking up to Epcot, R decides its not worth it, and leaves them sitting on a garbage bag. Maybe someone will think its a treat finding them, but I think its more likely that a CM will come along and throw them away. We stop at a stand before the entrance and buy them both Misty Fans (CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING!)
We get FP for Mission:Space and head by Test Track, but the wait is prohibitive and the FP return is late, late, late. We head off to Ellens Energy Adventure, which Ive never seen. Its cute and funny and I enjoy it very much, but the dinosaur portion seems out of place. We head to Cranium Command, which is one of my favorite, favorite attractions, and its still hilarious. I think it goes over Sabas head but JL loves it. We do some of the interactive stuff in Wonders of Life, which is always fun. This is the stuff that makes Epcot unique, and its worth the time to linger.
We do Spaceship Earth, which I missed on the last trip, and there is no line to speak of. Saba keeps asking if its going to go any faster (shes been spoiled at this point by R&RRC) and JL likes it except for the part where you go down backwards. I keep thinking the movie at the apex was a space shuttle thing originally, but I might be getting it confused with another attraction.
Time for our Mission to Space! Weve been excited about this attraction since we first found out we had the dumb luck to book our trip right when it was opening. I wonder if I will have the ill effects that many people have described.
FP is horribly efficient for this attraction, so much so that I miss being able to linger over the cool stuff in the queuing area. We get our briefing from Gary (love him!) and head off to the staging area. I see a couple of people take the chicken exit, but theres no way Im getting off. We head off to our pod. Im navigator, JL is the pilot, R the commander and Saba the engineer. As the doors close I concentrate REALLY HARD on looking straight ahead. Liftoff is incredible, what a rush, and I feel the skin pull back on my face. Its hard to lift my hand to work the controls. The ride is thrilling, and over quickly, as were now on Mars. We walk off the ride and the CMs welcome us back to Earth. Wait, I thought we were on Mars? Hmm, I think they need to re-work the post-attraction greeting.
We skip the post-show interactive stuff because we need to head out to MK. We get to the Monorail station, and someone beats us to asking to ride with the pilot. R asks and they say there is room for two more, so he and Saba go up. JL doesnt want to, I think he wouldve enjoyed it, though. I think its because he and Saba would have to go without us, and Im OK with it because I prefer to stick with them.
Our Monorail ride is pleasant and air-conditioned, as always, and we arrive at MK. Its quite crowded, I guess everyone is heading in for Spectro. We see a good viewing spot free, so R decides to stay and save it while the kids and I head off for Pirates of the Caribbean. Can you believe Ive never done this ride?
The queue is a bit long but moves fast and the queuing area is just so cool. There is a little kid crying in front of us and the parents are telling him hes going on the ride and hell be fine. I feel for them, JL is like this often and if I gave in he would have missed a lot of attractions that he really enjoyed. Its the anticipation that gets him rarely the ride. I know his limits, though, and would never push him onto something like the mountains or ToT.
We board our boat and Saba says Is this as fast as it gets?. Oh, I knew we shouldve saved R&RRC for the last day! Nothing will ever compare for her! I know there is a small drop coming, and it takes JL by surprise, but I know he wouldve been nervous if he knew about it. The ride is cute. I like it.
Were off to find R and I have a moment of pride when we arrive and R asks where the nearest designated smoking area is. I thought for sure hed be smoking while waiting, and pissing people off.
While were sitting and waiting a little girl sits down in Rs seat. I ask Saba to ask her to move, then feel really awful about it, so I make a little space where she should be able to sit and see. If R has to stand rather than sit hes going to have to go way, way in the back because hes quite tall.
Specto starts and its very neat. I wish I could take pictures that will really do it justice, but I know they wont come out good. I take a ton anyway, just to keep JL from wasting film in his disposable camera on it. At least the digital pictures arent going to cost anything if they dont turn it. Its a great parade and Im glad to have been finally able to catch it. R cant sit comfortably that long on the ground and has to get up and hobble back to the back of the group. The good thing about having short legs is the ability to sit cross-legged for a while, I think.
The parade ends and we head out to find a good viewing spot for the fireworks. There are not a lot of choices, but we find a place to stand near the Crystal Palace. I admit, that place looks mighty cool at night. We watch the fireworks and they are not quite as spectacular as I remember them. Maybe we were just spoiled by Fantasmic.
When its time to leave we follow a family into what I think is Caseys Corner. Turns out it leads straight through the Emporium to the front entrance. What a great shortcut! I like Main Street, but weve seen it a couple of times already and would rather beat the crowds to the bus stops.
We head out to the resort to check the news about the blackout. I had tried to call my Mom this afternoon, but no one was home. R had talked to his friend, though, who said it was rather intermittent in our town. I guess I dont need to worry too much.
Very productive, day, I must say. Three parks, a parade, fireworks and the awesome Mission:Space. Im impressed with our endurance.
Stay tuned for Day 4: You Have 13 Boyfriends?
Don't know why - I have been scuba diving several times- but I hit that ice cold water and couldn't breathe above or below the water - I turned around to get out and the CM actually fought with me about letting me get out - no way, babe, was I going back into that water ! she had no choice but to watch me haul myself out of there - not very funny then (except to my kids), but a really funny memory now!
The others look so graceful as they snorkel by. Oh well.......
Thanks for the report on Mission Space. I can't wait to give it a try. Did you feel dizzy at all?
