Valentine
<font color=purple>BL II - Purple Team<br><font co
- Joined
- May 22, 2001
- Messages
- 1,431
Finally.... after the realization hit me that I COULD actually go to Disney on my own... here I am!!!
Cast of Characters:
Me - Kathy, Single 39 (OMG!!!)
Pal Mickey - My constant sidekick throughout this trip (thought I killed him one night.. but more on that later)
There are 12 of us on the 9 am tour.. some of us carryovers from the 8:30 am tour
and others early for the 9:30 who were asked if they minded to join the 9 am... While we were waiting I had the opportunity to survey our group... everyone seemed really nice... except for this one guy who was Mr. Skeptical... and Mr. Know It All.. everyone knows one of these guys.. the glass is always half empty.. Mr. Pessimist... Unfortunately he was one of the folks pushed up to the 9 tour from 9:30... I vowed to steer clear of him and his negativity and stick with the tour guide.. or this really nice family from Ohio.... whose daughter revealed her true age of 12 to me during the tour!! 
She says that she knows that 16 is the age minimum.. but she looks and acts older so she felt it was okay to come... I definitely would have put her at 16 easy!!!! Anyway.. It is time to venture out into the massive crowds pouring into the MK... we head on down Main Street and Matt makes the first Right down one of the side streets before the bakery... we head on down to the very end of the block where it is much quieter.. and shady (this must be great in the HOT sun) and he proceeds to tell us about some of the history of the park.. the structure of Main Street.. and the signs on the windows.. take some time to read them.. some of them are quite funny... while we were standing there listening to Matt.. I started noticing a sound coming from somewhere.. it was like Minnie Mouse.. taking a singing lesson.. singing through her scales... and I looked around... and sure enough I spotted a window up on the second floor touting a music school... Amazing the details you miss when you are rushing about... I had NEVER heard that before.. and it was not pointed out by Matt.. so I am not giving away any Tour secrets!!! 
Matt then takes us back out into the Masses.. and somehow knows exactly where to plant us to have a clear view of the first street show on Main Street (something I have NEVER seen before either) it was really neat.. some of the dancer/singers from the parades do what they call the Trolley Show.. it's really nice.. and apparently it is done every hour in the morning.. Hmmmm.. can't believe I never saw it before!!! We then proceed to the Partners Statue.. get some more history.. and are given a challenge... one that we must answer by the end of the tour.. ..We strolled on into Adventure Land... well strolled is a blatant lie.. we pushed.. tripped...jumped.. stalled.. and spun our way into Adventure Land.. where Matt then pulled us into another Very quiet area to chat some more.. It is amazing that these spots exist... He then tells us that we are heading over the ride The Jungle Cruise.. and we would get our own boat... with him on the mic .... so off we went... excuse me.. pardon me... Ugh.. Umph.... ouch... Whew.. we made it.... Matt goes up to the CM to let them know that we are there.. and we wait about 2 boats before they load us from the exit.. Okay... Side Note.. the posted wait time for the ride at this point was over 1hour... sooooo you know that there were many folks NOT happy that we strolled right in... Matt's answer to that was.. Okay.. when we pass by the line.. I always find it best NEVER to look anyone in the eye..that caused us all to chuckle.. and we were off on our cruise.... Once again.. many interesting historical facts... and something that I had always heard was true.. but never got to actually HEAR because the Cruise director would always talk over that portion of the ride is that the natives that you pass after going under the waterfall...to your left.. one of them clearly says I LOVE DISCO... and we finally got to hear it because everyone was quiet.. sooooo funny!!! Those imagineers!!! So... we pass through Shirley's Temple (hee. hee.. Only kidding!!) and we finish that ride and are (believe it or not..) ready for lunch!! that much time has passed... this tour went very quickly... we head on over to Columbia Harbor House... where.. like so many other people.. I had NEVER eaten before.... There are Hoards of people waiting outside and on line in the restaurant... children crying and people already showing their exhaustion... we wait for Matt to come back to let us know that our lunches await us. We are shown upstairs to a reserved section of the restaurant where our previously ordered lunches were laid out at various tables of 4 with our exclusive Keys To the Kingdom Pins... Pins that Matt Said were coded so that they could trace them back to the recipient if ever found on sale anywhere!!! I wonder if that is really true?? ...Not that I would ever want to sell mine.. it is a memory for me!! I still have the buttons from the opening of Restaurantasouros.. and original Minnie Breakfast Pins from the Poly..... I am a keeper.. not a trader..... Hmmmmmm.. just my luck.. I get seated with Mr. Negativity and his wife... well.. Luckily.. I had to make a phone call.. soooooo.. Not to be rude.. I excused myself.. took my salad and went to a private table where I could talk.... I came back to the table after my phone call.. and only after Matt had arrived to join us as well....During lunch we received yet more dirty looks from people wandering with their trays and encountering a CM telling them that our side of the Dining room was private.... Luckily I had my back to that for most of the lunch!!! We finished up lunch which was OUTSTANDING.. I will make the harbor house a regular stop from now on.. it is a nice change from the typical counter service food... For some reason this trip I found my body craving salad... even though my brain was saying BURGER!!.. My body won out most of the time...
Well.. now it was off to ride the Haunted Mansion....Matt pulled us aside before the gates and gave us the history of the mansion.. and also some things to look for when we rode... He also told the group he would yell out "THERE IT IS" when we passed the hidden mickey....I noticed during our little sidebars that some other guests would sidle up to us to listen in.... not realizing that we were a tour.. they though that Matt was just a CM posted outside of these attractions giving information... it was really funny.... The posted wait time for this ride was almost 2 hours at this point... LUCKILY... we were escorted through the exit.. away from more disapproving looks...whew!! This ride was the coolest for me.. because I got to ride with Matt and he pointed out some more things to me that I would never have noticed... Anyone who wants to know stuff can PM me for more info.. I wouldn't want to spoil the experience for anyone!!... True to his word Matt stood up on the ride and Yelled "THERE IT IS" at the top of his lungs when we passed the Hidden Mickey.. I can only Imagine what Non Tour folks thought of that one!! LOL!!!! We finished up the Haunted Mansion and now it was time to go backstage... We went back to where they keep the Parade floats and Matt showed us the hidden Mickey's and Hidden Walts on all the floats.... we asked all the questions we wanted.. and I even got to stand on one of the floats!! (How Exciting!! I've secretly always wanted to be a Disney Performer!!) ... we then went into the utilidors... and you all know I can't discuss that .. after the Utilidors...we re-entered the MK somewhere near Casey's.... and I was sooooo turned around.. I had no clue how that had happened.. it was very funny actually.... we followed Matt through the stores back to City Hall where we presented him with a WWWD pin... and he actually cried!!! Matt then gave us Fast Passes for any attraction we wanted in the MK for that day.... I was so thrilled.. he suggested Mickey's Philharmagic.. since it was his absolute favorite.. utilizing all of Walt's dreams ...I was soooo happy that I had taken the tour.. and really enjoyed having Matt as my guide.. he is what Disney is all about... he loves his job.. and it shows... I have read other reports of folks who went on tours and got tired of listening to their tour guide.. I could have listened to Matt for Days.. he just had that way about him... I highly recommend the Tour.. and Matt... and have written a letter to Disney letting them know that as well!! .. Once we said our goodbyes.. we were on our own... It was now about 1:30 pm... I figured I could get in a viewing of Philharmagic as I had not seen it yet.. and then head on over to Epcot.... So.. that's where I headed.... Wow.. it's just sooo crowded!!! I get to Fantasy Land.. and as this is my first day in MK... I stop to just let it all in.... that's when it hits me... I am really here.... Each trip I take I have a favorite park.. I don't pick the park.. it just picks me... and this trip.. without a doubt it was the MK....even with the crowds... I just was in love.... I head on over to the Fast pass line (btw.. this was my first time using fast pass!! ) and even with Fast Pass I waited about 20 min for Philharmagic... Well.. I would have waited forever.. What A ShOWWWWWWWWWWW!!! You have got to do this if you have not.. I will not tell you anything about it.... just go and see it... REALLY!!!! This quickly became my favorite attraction over the next few days.... and I am sure many people agree with me on this one!!! Well.. that done.. I decide that I really need to just get out of the MK as quickly as I can.... and head on over to EPCOT where I am sure there will be less people!! 
Tune in for the next installment of : Hey..Who Cares.. I'm IN Disney... The Sharks and The Jets reenactment
Cast of Characters:
Me - Kathy, Single 39 (OMG!!!)
Pal Mickey - My constant sidekick throughout this trip (thought I killed him one night.. but more on that later)
There are 12 of us on the 9 am tour.. some of us carryovers from the 8:30 am tour
and others early for the 9:30 who were asked if they minded to join the 9 am... While we were waiting I had the opportunity to survey our group... everyone seemed really nice... except for this one guy who was Mr. Skeptical... and Mr. Know It All.. everyone knows one of these guys.. the glass is always half empty.. Mr. Pessimist... Unfortunately he was one of the folks pushed up to the 9 tour from 9:30... I vowed to steer clear of him and his negativity and stick with the tour guide.. or this really nice family from Ohio.... whose daughter revealed her true age of 12 to me during the tour!! She says that she knows that 16 is the age minimum.. but she looks and acts older so she felt it was okay to come... I definitely would have put her at 16 easy!!!! Anyway.. It is time to venture out into the massive crowds pouring into the MK... we head on down Main Street and Matt makes the first Right down one of the side streets before the bakery... we head on down to the very end of the block where it is much quieter.. and shady (this must be great in the HOT sun) and he proceeds to tell us about some of the history of the park.. the structure of Main Street.. and the signs on the windows.. take some time to read them.. some of them are quite funny... while we were standing there listening to Matt.. I started noticing a sound coming from somewhere.. it was like Minnie Mouse.. taking a singing lesson.. singing through her scales... and I looked around... and sure enough I spotted a window up on the second floor touting a music school... Amazing the details you miss when you are rushing about... I had NEVER heard that before.. and it was not pointed out by Matt.. so I am not giving away any Tour secrets!!! Matt then takes us back out into the Masses.. and somehow knows exactly where to plant us to have a clear view of the first street show on Main Street (something I have NEVER seen before either) it was really neat.. some of the dancer/singers from the parades do what they call the Trolley Show.. it's really nice.. and apparently it is done every hour in the morning.. Hmmmm.. can't believe I never saw it before!!! We then proceed to the Partners Statue.. get some more history.. and are given a challenge... one that we must answer by the end of the tour.. ..We strolled on into Adventure Land... well strolled is a blatant lie.. we pushed.. tripped...jumped.. stalled.. and spun our way into Adventure Land.. where Matt then pulled us into another Very quiet area to chat some more.. It is amazing that these spots exist... He then tells us that we are heading over the ride The Jungle Cruise.. and we would get our own boat... with him on the mic .... so off we went... excuse me.. pardon me... Ugh.. Umph.... ouch... Whew.. we made it.... Matt goes up to the CM to let them know that we are there.. and we wait about 2 boats before they load us from the exit.. Okay... Side Note.. the posted wait time for the ride at this point was over 1hour... sooooo you know that there were many folks NOT happy that we strolled right in... Matt's answer to that was.. Okay.. when we pass by the line.. I always find it best NEVER to look anyone in the eye..that caused us all to chuckle.. and we were off on our cruise.... Once again.. many interesting historical facts... and something that I had always heard was true.. but never got to actually HEAR because the Cruise director would always talk over that portion of the ride is that the natives that you pass after going under the waterfall...to your left.. one of them clearly says I LOVE DISCO... and we finally got to hear it because everyone was quiet.. sooooo funny!!! Those imagineers!!! So... we pass through Shirley's Temple (hee. hee.. Only kidding!!) and we finish that ride and are (believe it or not..) ready for lunch!! that much time has passed... this tour went very quickly... we head on over to Columbia Harbor House... where.. like so many other people.. I had NEVER eaten before.... There are Hoards of people waiting outside and on line in the restaurant... children crying and people already showing their exhaustion... we wait for Matt to come back to let us know that our lunches await us. We are shown upstairs to a reserved section of the restaurant where our previously ordered lunches were laid out at various tables of 4 with our exclusive Keys To the Kingdom Pins... Pins that Matt Said were coded so that they could trace them back to the recipient if ever found on sale anywhere!!! I wonder if that is really true?? ...Not that I would ever want to sell mine.. it is a memory for me!! I still have the buttons from the opening of Restaurantasouros.. and original Minnie Breakfast Pins from the Poly..... I am a keeper.. not a trader..... Hmmmmmm.. just my luck.. I get seated with Mr. Negativity and his wife... well.. Luckily.. I had to make a phone call.. soooooo.. Not to be rude.. I excused myself.. took my salad and went to a private table where I could talk.... I came back to the table after my phone call.. and only after Matt had arrived to join us as well....During lunch we received yet more dirty looks from people wandering with their trays and encountering a CM telling them that our side of the Dining room was private.... Luckily I had my back to that for most of the lunch!!! We finished up lunch which was OUTSTANDING.. I will make the harbor house a regular stop from now on.. it is a nice change from the typical counter service food... For some reason this trip I found my body craving salad... even though my brain was saying BURGER!!.. My body won out most of the time... Well.. now it was off to ride the Haunted Mansion....Matt pulled us aside before the gates and gave us the history of the mansion.. and also some things to look for when we rode... He also told the group he would yell out "THERE IT IS" when we passed the hidden mickey....I noticed during our little sidebars that some other guests would sidle up to us to listen in.... not realizing that we were a tour.. they though that Matt was just a CM posted outside of these attractions giving information... it was really funny.... The posted wait time for this ride was almost 2 hours at this point... LUCKILY... we were escorted through the exit.. away from more disapproving looks...whew!! This ride was the coolest for me.. because I got to ride with Matt and he pointed out some more things to me that I would never have noticed... Anyone who wants to know stuff can PM me for more info.. I wouldn't want to spoil the experience for anyone!!... True to his word Matt stood up on the ride and Yelled "THERE IT IS" at the top of his lungs when we passed the Hidden Mickey.. I can only Imagine what Non Tour folks thought of that one!! LOL!!!! We finished up the Haunted Mansion and now it was time to go backstage... We went back to where they keep the Parade floats and Matt showed us the hidden Mickey's and Hidden Walts on all the floats.... we asked all the questions we wanted.. and I even got to stand on one of the floats!! (How Exciting!! I've secretly always wanted to be a Disney Performer!!) ... we then went into the utilidors... and you all know I can't discuss that .. after the Utilidors...we re-entered the MK somewhere near Casey's.... and I was sooooo turned around.. I had no clue how that had happened.. it was very funny actually.... we followed Matt through the stores back to City Hall where we presented him with a WWWD pin... and he actually cried!!! Matt then gave us Fast Passes for any attraction we wanted in the MK for that day.... I was so thrilled.. he suggested Mickey's Philharmagic.. since it was his absolute favorite.. utilizing all of Walt's dreams ...I was soooo happy that I had taken the tour.. and really enjoyed having Matt as my guide.. he is what Disney is all about... he loves his job.. and it shows... I have read other reports of folks who went on tours and got tired of listening to their tour guide.. I could have listened to Matt for Days.. he just had that way about him... I highly recommend the Tour.. and Matt... and have written a letter to Disney letting them know that as well!! .. Once we said our goodbyes.. we were on our own... It was now about 1:30 pm... I figured I could get in a viewing of Philharmagic as I had not seen it yet.. and then head on over to Epcot.... So.. that's where I headed.... Wow.. it's just sooo crowded!!! I get to Fantasy Land.. and as this is my first day in MK... I stop to just let it all in.... that's when it hits me... I am really here.... Each trip I take I have a favorite park.. I don't pick the park.. it just picks me... and this trip.. without a doubt it was the MK....even with the crowds... I just was in love.... I head on over to the Fast pass line (btw.. this was my first time using fast pass!! ) and even with Fast Pass I waited about 20 min for Philharmagic... Well.. I would have waited forever.. What A ShOWWWWWWWWWWW!!! You have got to do this if you have not.. I will not tell you anything about it.... just go and see it... REALLY!!!! This quickly became my favorite attraction over the next few days.... and I am sure many people agree with me on this one!!! Well.. that done.. I decide that I really need to just get out of the MK as quickly as I can.... and head on over to EPCOT where I am sure there will be less people!! Tune in for the next installment of : Hey..Who Cares.. I'm IN Disney... The Sharks and The Jets reenactment
Thanks for taking the time to comment!!
