I Paid Someone $5 for a Catchy Trip Report Title, and This is All I Got-Updated 12/29

[glennbo123]

Continued from previous post....

From there we all headed over toward RnR and Tower of Terror. Since our fastpass window had opened up I got fastpasses for ToT before joining everyone else at RnR. Now, I think my DSiL had been on ToT before, but none of the rest of us had. Lauren, being the thrill-ride lover, wanted to try it. I won’t go as far as to say that I was afraid to ride it before, but I just hadn’t had to prove anything before now, so had never made it a point to try to go on. But now I couldn’t let Lauren pass me by. Here’s the ride that was in my destiny for later in the morning.

In my destiny for sometime after 11:00 am, in fact.

But first, we turned our attention to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. We had two riders, Marlene and James, who had never been on it before and were rapidly working their way up the thrill rides, but were still a little apprehensive. They each picked a parent to ride with, and they bravely went on. Here are our “redneck” pictures of the start of the ride, when you’re catapulted to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds. I had to enhance a couple of them so you could see everyone’s faces.

James and Judy in back, Lauren and DN in the front. I love that James' eyes are squeezed shut just about as tight as they possibly could be.

Strangers in back, Marlene and I in the front. I still can't figure out what's going on with her mouth.

All strangers, except DSiL in back-right.

How did the newbies like it? They loved it! They were extremely pumped up when they got off the ride.

I think RnR might be my favorite coaster in Disney. I love the loop, love the music, and it seemed to last longer than I remembered.

Then it was on to Tower of Terror. Marlene and James both said they did not want to go on it, and we weren’t about to push them. Judy wasn’t so sure about it either, so she volunteered to wait with them while Lauren, DSiL, DN, and I went on. While in line, I said since this is our first time and we (as in “I”) are not so sure about it, why don’t we sit in the back row so we’re not right in front when the doors open up to the park while we’re in a free-falling elevator. DN insisted he wanted to be in front. Then, when we got up to board our elevator I found it didn’t matter -- you lined up on specific marks, and when the elevator arrived you sat in the seat corresponding to your mark. Naturally, we were in the front row.

I was a little anxious when our elevator had made its way through the Twilight Zone and I felt it latch into the spot where we would begin our wild ride of drops and lifts. But, you know what? It wasn’t too bad. The drops weren’t nearly as far as I thought they’d be. And when we saw out over the park, it was just that, “out over”, as in “not down”. So it was no biggee. Here’s our “redneck” picture. It looks pretty uneventful really. We could have been an audience at Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We're in the front, left side.

We came out and told Judy that it was fun, and she should go on it. So, with our remaining fastpasses she went on, along with Lauren and DN for a second time. DSiL and I browsed the shops along Sunset Boulevard, while trying to convince James and Marlene (well, mostly James) that you could pass the time in a shop without having to buy something!


In the next installment: Lunch at 50’s Prime Time.

Link to next installment

 

[CW4DW]

CW4DW, I noticed that you seem to have stayed almost exclusively at POR!
Do you try for a certain room/building/section every trip, or just stay wherever they place you?

We just take our chances and stay were they put us... Haven't been disappointed yet ~ we love the entire place it is just so peaceful to us! We love it! We have lucked out and stayed in Magnolia everytime - it will be fun to see where we end up this next trip... Only 54 days to go!!!

 

[dd50]

Sounds like you had another great time.

I haven't been to DHS since it was MGM. Don't know about tower of terror tho. I think I will be looking in the gift shops by myself.

 

[glennbo123]

Sounds like you had another great time.

I haven't been to DHS since it was MGM. Don't know about tower of terror tho. I think I will be looking in the gift shops by myself.

You should try ToT once. It really wasn't as bad as I had imagined it to be. I went on again later in the week.

 

[Tink1964]

Hello From Melbourne Australia.

I LOVE your title - made me laugh-

I'm just getting started and loving it so far ... i'll catch up eventually.

 

[glennbo123]

Hello From Melbourne Australia.

I LOVE your title - made me laugh-

I'm just getting started and loving it so far ... i'll catch up eventually.

All right! The other side of the world is represented!

I got to spend a couple of weeks in Sydney on a business trip back in 1990, but I never made it to Melbourne.

I'm happy you're enjoying the TR.

 

[glennbo123]

So, when we left our last installment we were waiting for Judy to return from her first ride on the Tower of Terror. And yes, she enjoyed it also, and thought like we did -- that it wasn’t nearly as bad as she had feared it would be. Another happy customer.

By now it was approaching 11:45 and we had an ADR at ‘50’s Prime Time at 12:10, but we thought we’d head over now. If we could get in early, we had a better chance of making the 1:30 showing of Lights, Motors, Action! We walked over and they had no problem seating us early.

‘50’s Prime Time Café is another restaurant that none of us had eaten at before. Here’s the gang waiting to be seated.

Our server was “Cousin Joey” and he reminded us that Ma doesn’t like it when people put their elbows on the table. He was pretty into-character, but didn’t hold a candle to a woman server that had some other tables in our area. Her voice carried over the whole place, and we wondered how, or if, she turned that off when she left work.

I took a couple pictures while we were deciding what to order. Here’s Lauren and Marlene.

And DN and James.

We weren’t seated in a booth with a TV , but I wish we had been. I think our party was too large (as in number!) for that . But there was one across from us.

We didn’t want to eat too much, because we had an ADR for Boma in the evening, and you definitely want to be hungry when you go there. But, I had decided what I was going to get here a long time ago, and I wasn’t gonna change plans now! I got “Mom’s Old-Fashioned Pot Roast”! It didn’t disappoint.

The girls split a Stacked Sandwich, and they both had plenty.

Judy got “Cousin Eric’s Char-grilled Chicken Sandwich”, or as I like to call it -- a grilled chicken sandwich.

A last-second entry to our order was some onion rings. It was a nice call too, because these were fantastic! And because everybody loved them, we each only got a couple of ‘em.

James ordered from the children’s menu and got the meatloaf. This was a very small portion, and stood in stark contrast to the way they loaded him up with short ribs at Sanaa. We all pitched-in with portions of our meals to make sure he didn’t leave hungry.

DSiL and DN split an order of “Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken”. It was a good thing they split an order because there was a ton of chicken here. This picture doesn’t even capture it all -- they had already divided it up and this is just one of the plates! DN did the ordering for them, and when Cousin Joey asked him what vegetable he wanted, he selected collard greens. I thought, “Wow, he is a southern boy, isn’t he?”

It was time to chow down….watch your fingers Marlene!

Mid-way through lunch I had to accompany James to the bathroom. I made sure to take note of the color of the soap in the restroom, in case Cousin Joey asked. (I had read that when you return from the restroom the servers will ask you if you washed your hands, and when you say “yes”, they’ll quiz you asking, “Oh really? Then what color was the soap?”) Of course I didn’t tell James about that. I figured I’d let him get caught. But Cousin Joey apparently didn’t see us leave or return. I was kinda wishing he would’ve asked James.

We all really enjoyed our meals. Joey cleared some of our dishes and he was impressed that James ate all of his meal (which wasn’t hard considering the portion) as well as portions of other peoples’, so he gave him a “Clean Plate Club” sticker. DN, however, didn’t want to eat all of his collard greens so when Cousin Joey was away he hid them under some chicken bones and scraps. When Cousin Joey cleared DN’s plate, he took five or six steps away before he turned back saying, “Wait a minute! Somebody tried to pull a fast one on me!” He had actually looked under the chicken scraps to discover the uneaten collard greens! He came back and joked-around with DN, attempting to force-feed him his veggies. I captured this Pulitzer prize-worthy shot of the occasion.

So, most of us got “Clean Plate Club” stickers. Here’s a closeup of Lauren’s.

In the next installment: An afternoon stunt show, more rides, and guess who runs into someone they know?

Link to next installment

 

[dd50]

Never been there but it does sound like fun if you get the right servers.

 

[Tink1964]

I've caught up now.

Ahh! You missed the best bit by not making it to Melbourne. But I'm biased.

We had a blast at 50's last year. My DN didn't eat her greens either, She got a great dessert though - Greens covered in a mountain of whipped cream with a cherry on top.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Great update! lol at your nephew being force fed his greens!!!!

I agree about the portion sizes in most restaurants. Huge.

 

[teacher2525]

I am enjoying your report It is holding me over until I get there next week. We'll be spending a week at AKV also but weren't lucky enough to score villas at Kidani. I wanted Kidani for the 2nd bathroom, a family of 5 really needs a 2nd bathroom

 

[marvali]

Glenn, great TR so far! Can't wait to hear more about your DISMeet with Marv. I hear he is a really great guy!!!

How in the world did we miss you all day at DHS? We had a 12:35 ADR at 50's Prime Time and showed up early too, but when we got there they wouldn't even let me check in until closer to our ressie time. We waited about 20 minutes before I could even go back up to the counter to ask.

We love this restaurant. It is the only one my DS19 (oops, now 20 so better fix that in my siggie) insisted we return to on this trip. I had the pot roast last time we were there. Like you I had decided on that long before. I agree, it certainly didn't disappoint. This time I had the chicken. Wish I had James around to share with. I wasn't expecting a half of a chicken. And with the onion rings we also added to our order, it was way too much food. Glad I didn't have a ressie at Boma that night because I'm not sure I could have done it much justice.

Need to ask about those stickers next time. We have yet to have a waiter/waitress that issued those to any of us, and typically everyone's plate is empty when we eat here.

Can't wait to read more. Your TR is helping me remember some of the things we did while I am working on mine. I need to start posting some of it real soon I guess.

Marv

 

[glennbo123]

Never been there but it does sound like fun if you get the right servers.

The interaction wasn't too crazy, but we had a good time and enjoyed the food and ambience.

I've caught up now.

Ahh! You missed the best bit by not making it to Melbourne. But I'm biased.

Oh, I have no doubt! But I did really enjoy Sydney.

We had a blast at 50's last year. My DN didn't eat her greens either, She got a great dessert though - Greens covered in a mountain of whipped cream with a cherry on top.

That's funny! And gross!

Great update! lol at your nephew being force fed his greens!!!!

I agree about the portion sizes in most restaurants. Huge.

It was a great end to the meal....I'll remember it for a long time.

 

[glennbo123]

I am enjoying your report It is holding me over until I get there next week.

Thanks. I'm so glad my efforts are helping some of you out there who are in eager anticipation!

We'll be spending a week at AKV also but weren't lucky enough to score villas at Kidani. I wanted Kidani for the 2nd bathroom, a family of 5 really needs a 2nd bathroom

Maybe they should install a "take a number" dispenser for the only bathroom?

Even though you'll be in Jambo House, make sure you get over to Kidani to try out the pool, slide, water guns, etc. Your kids will love it.

 

[glennbo123]

Glenn, great TR so far! Can't wait to hear more about your DISMeet with Marv. I hear he is a really great guy!!!

Oh yeah, that will be one unbelievable installment. I don't even know where to begin.

How in the world did we miss you all day at DHS? We had a 12:35 ADR at 50's Prime Time and showed up early too, but when we got there they wouldn't even let me check in until closer to our ressie time. We waited about 20 minutes before I could even go back up to the counter to ask.

I did see you in 50's at one point, from a distance. I didn't wanna yell, out of fear that your DW would say, "Honey, is that guy stalking us?" As for the rest of the day, I think we were one step behind all of you rope-droppers.

We love this restaurant. It is the only one my DS19 (oops, now 20 so better fix that in my siggie) insisted we return to on this trip. I had the pot roast last time we were there. Like you I had decided on that long before. I agree, it certainly didn't disappoint. This time I had the chicken. Wish I had James around to share with. I wasn't expecting a half of a chicken. And with the onion rings we also added to our order, it was way too much food. Glad I didn't have a ressie at Boma that night because I'm not sure I could have done it much justice.

Boma is a couple of installments away but as you'll see, despite my meal at 50's Prime Time, I still managed to do all right.

Need to ask about those stickers next time. We have yet to have a waiter/waitress that issued those to any of us, and typically everyone's plate is empty when we eat here.

Can't wait to read more. Your TR is helping me remember some of the things we did while I am working on mine. I need to start posting some of it real soon I guess.

Marv

I've looked a couple of times to see if you started one. PM me if you start one and I don't subscribe early on. I'm looking forward to reading it.

 

[tinkgurl]

Looks like a fun day at DHS...I will always call it MGM too! We were at the MK that day!

 

[aprilisis]

Your report is great & your photos have made up my mind- I have been thinking of getting that Canon Rebel for a while now. Your photos are awesome! I'm looking forward to reading & seeing more.

 

[rentayenta]

Michael did the same thing with Jenna's APs. He left one of their APs on the Splash machine and it was at least a solid hour until we realized it. Michael ran retracing his steps and luckily a CM at the FP machine had it.

 

[glennbo123]

Looks like a fun day at DHS...I will always call it MGM too! We were at the MK that day!

Yes it was a fun day, but I still have an afternoon installment to write. (But - spoiler alert - it was fun too!)

Your report is great & your photos have made up my mind- I have been thinking of getting that Canon Rebel for a while now. Your photos are awesome! I'm looking forward to reading & seeing more.

Oooo, somebody new. That means you get a ---->
Thanks. It's a good camera, but as with all SLRs you'll have a good bit of learning to get up to speed with all of the various settings. I had a completely manual film SLR camera a long time ago (I may have mentioned this already, I can't remember), so the concepts weren't new to me, but all of the controls, menus, etc. of course were. So, you'll want to give yourself enough time before your trip to get familiar with it.

Michael did the same thing with Jenna's APs. He left one of their APs on the Splash machine and it was at least a solid hour until we realized it. Michael ran retracing his steps and luckily a CM at the FP machine had it.

I remember reading that on your TR. That is scary. The way you feed those machines your park passes, that must happen all the time. The CMs must be used to seeing frantic people running up to them.

We had a lost item that we had to go looking for too, but it happened on the last day of the trip, so I won't give it away yet.

 

[aprilisis]

Oooo, somebody new. That means you get a ---->
Thanks. It's a good camera, but as with all SLRs you'll have a good bit of learning to get up to speed with all of the various settings. I had a completely manual film SLR camera a long time ago (I may have mentioned this already, I can't remember), so the concepts weren't new to me, but all of the controls, menus, etc. of course were. So, you'll want to give yourself enough time before your trip to get familiar with it.

Thanks!! I don't know what took me so long to get on these boards- I have been a WDW nut for 11 years now. I love new gadgets & photography, too, so that camera sounds awesome to me! You are taking some fantastic photos with it. I can't wait to see more!!