Inching My Way Closer to the Castle Final thoughts/future trips 4/2p90 The End 4/4p92

[Ducky4Disney]

We have never been to Garden Grill but I think it will be on our list of character meals next summer when we go with my nieces. I love their little faces when the characters come around....it fills me with joy

GG is realtively small so the characters come around pretty often. Back when I did Donalds Breakfastsaurus buffet the characters had such a large area to travel that we barely saw each character once.

Both of your pictures from Illuminations are outstanding. You really did get a lot done in a short amount of time. I can't imagine there being no line for Soarin'.

No line for Soarin' was surreal, I've never seen it that empty! I also noticed that they built up the wall between the FP line and the standby line. We couldn't see the screens from our line; when did they do that? And why?

Finally caught up Thanks for not getting too far ahead
Great pictures of Illuminations.....I admit I am a bigger fan of Wishes....the music etc...BUT Illuminations is really, really awesome because it is IN the park and so close to you....and the water too. Growing up at our cottage in the summer we always had fireworks at the lake over the water...

Garden Grill looked like a fun place to eat....minus the close quarters!! It is a place that I have never even given a second thought but I do like the idea that it is mostly from the "land."

TT is one of my favorites too....especially at night. Depending on who I am with I opt for the single rider line and we often actually end up riding together!!
Love MS too and I am cracking up that you could hear Jen on the other line!!

Tracy

MEK and I were a little surprised when we watched Wishes from our balcony at how far away the fireworks were fired from the castle (say that 5 times fast!) Illumination is very in-your-face! I like TT too and I always wonder why because I drive faster than that on the highway! I think it's the 50 degree banked turn you take at speed that makes it different!

AND IT WASN'T ME TALKING! I swear! I was not chatting it up with anyone. My group was a dad and his two kids and they were discussing who wanted to do what job in the simulator. Geesh!

More great pics! We have a ressie for GG in Dec. i am so excited. i Chip and Dale. And it looks like there are things for my semi veggie to eat there-eggs on the salad-potaos and maybe if I am lucky fish. Great evening!

Contact them in advance to inquire about vegetarian options, I'm sure they will help you out! I also love Chip & Dale, I like watching them interact together.


D4D

 

[MEK]

In the back row, you're right in front of the "engine", which is cool, plus you can turn around and get a good view of the track flip at the top of the mountain. Most of all, the reverse run from the back is NUTS!!

That sounds cool. I love to look at the track from different perspectives. As far as the G force on the reverse run - I can imagine it would be like this

When are you going down in May?? We'll be there the 4th-15th.

I arrive on 4/29 and leave on May 5th - evening flight! There are 6 of us going and we all met here on the boards. How great is that! We would love to meet you and your lovely family...hint hint!

 

[nilla]

I arrive on 4/29 and leave on May 5th - evening flight! There are 6 of us going and we all met here on the boards. How great is that! We would love to meet you and your lovely family...hint hint!

Are you going to a park on the 5th? If not, can you possibly extend your vacation be a few days?

We're either at Epcot or MK on that day. We arrive between 8-9 on the 4th.

 

[KatMark]

Are you going to a park on the 5th? If not, can you possibly extend your vacation be a few days?

We're either at Epcot or MK on that day. We arrive between 8-9 on the 4th.

Look who is out and about.

 

[nilla]

Look who is out and about.

Yes, and I'm about 10 pages into your last trip report

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Don't you just love those no lines when they happen? When we were on our 2006 trip every ride in all of the parks were like that. We could ride TT, TOT, Soarin', even EE was like that! That was a day or so after Labor Day.

 

[podsnel]

Hey girls!! Remember me?? I am back here on pg 29 catching up- enjoying all of your AMAZING pics as usual!! I just wanted to say that the reason I think we scored the BW view for May is that I REALLY believe someone cancelled it to take a BLT lake view, or something else, instead. Just a hunch. But I truly am overjoyed we are staying there.

Ok- back to playing catch up!!

E

 

[podsnel]

Is it just me, or does this pic look like fireworks?

Cool!!

 

[MEK]

Are you going to a park on the 5th? If not, can you possibly extend your vacation be a few days?

We're either at Epcot or MK on that day. We arrive between 8-9 on the 4th.

I am absolutely going to a park on the 5th. I figure ME won't need me until close to 4pm. I know you guys love Epcot, so it would be fun to meet there.

I wish I could extend my trip, but since I am leaving the family at home, I'll take what I can get!

Isn't it great??? And I am so excited that he picked my TR to visit!!!!! He's less than 6 months to Disney so he needs his fix!

Yes, and I'm about 10 pages into your last trip report

You do get around, don't you!

Don't you just love those no lines when they happen? When we were on our 2006 trip every ride in all of the parks were like that. We could ride TT, TOT, Soarin', even EE was like that! That was a day or so after Labor Day.

I think that right AFTER labor day is probably the lowest crowd week of the year. I could be wrong, but LD is such an end of summer marker and ALL kids are back in school and its WAY too soon to take them out, so it results in super low crowd levels. It would be cool to visit that week. When my kids were little I always took vacation right after Labor day - loved it!

Hey girls!! Remember me?? I am back here on pg 29 catching up- enjoying all of your AMAZING pics as usual!! I just wanted to say that the reason I think we scored the BW view for May is that I REALLY believe someone cancelled it to take a BLT lake view, or something else, instead. Just a hunch. But I truly am overjoyed we are staying there.

Ok- back to playing catch up!!

E

Welcome back and traveling one! No worries about being behind. I am behind on all my subs right now. The last week or so has been crazy busy with my kitchen preliminary renovation work, soccer, and taking/editing soccer pics.

I think the BW view is going to be amazing. I just wish we were all there the same time. Oh well, maybe next year!!!!

Is it just me, or does this pic look like fireworks?

Cool!!

I am so glad you enjoyed that pic. That plant does look a little strange and then my editing made it look more surreal.

 

[podsnel]

I did it!! I caught up!! I haven't read ANY of my book club book that I was planning to get through today, but Oh well!!

Chip has a chocolate CHIP nose. That's how you can tell.

I haven't eaten at GG in years- we used to go every time, and then I think stopped when the characters stopped. It was our place we went to the first night. Maybe we'll go back next November with the kids-

FWIW, I have been doing the South Beach diet for a week, and your dessert pic nearly did me in!! No carbs for 2 weeks is NOT easy when you have to drool over pics like that.

Good luck with your kitchen- we did ours 5 years ago (well, we did our whole house 5 years ago) and it is SOOOOO worth it- just keep telling yourself that when you're suffering through it.

 

[MEK]

It is possible? Really possible, that I am finally sitting down to do an update. I just read Cynthia's update and I seem to be suffering from the same plaque as her - soccer playoffs, kitchen remodel, lots of music, and work. Plus I have been taking countless soccer pictures and spending hours editing them.

The good news is - my kitchen is painted (well most of it) and I have hung new paintings. I love the white trim in my kitchen and I am pretty happy with the paint color I picked out. In a few weeks the demo on my existing counter tops and cabinets should begin. That's going to be crazy...having the kitchen torn up and all, but it should be so worth it. I guess you are wondering why I did painting first! Well, I thought I would be less depressed looking at nice, bright new paint while the rest of my kitchen is in complete disarray. The painter will obviously need to come back at the end of the project to finish the painting around the cabinets and the ceiling. But I am so glad I got that old stickin' wall paper down. And I no longer have dark wood trim in my kitchen. How great is that!



In other news, Brian and Nicks' high school soccer team has made it to the semi-finals. They play Tuesday night. During the regular season they have already lost to the 3 teams that are left in the tournament, so we will see how it goes. It's just great that they made it this far. Last year they won the whole thing, but they lost a lot of good players. Despite a mass exodus of talented players, this year they have continued to hold their own.

So, back to the Trip Report.

Hey, Look....It's Day 4.......

and perhaps you might remember that Jen and I were planning a special outing today. We decided to do a segway tour. Jen really, really wanted to do one because her DH is a really big guy and he exceeds the size limit for segways. She did the Epcot tour before, but really wanted to ride again. And, despite my initial hesitation, who was I to stand in the way of Jen's mission. My biggest concern, at the time, was actually spending the money. I felt bad about being on a solo tour and I didn't want Denny to think I was spending extra $ needlessly. So I felt a little bad about splurging on a tour when I was already there on a girl's trip.

We debated over whether to do the tour at FW or Epcot. We decided on Epcot, despite the fact that Jen had done this tour once before. The only tour available for that day had a start time of 745am. Despite the fact that we were on the monorail route, we didn't think we would be able to get to Epcot in time without taking a cab.

It didn't help when we actually overslept the morning of the tour. Since I am always up early I said to Jen, "don't worry. I'll be up early". Yeah, right. When I did wake up it was already 6:50am. Yikes! I jumped out of bed and yelled, "Jen, get up. We are late!".

Jen and I managed to get out to the front of the Contemporary by 7:30 and we arrived at Epcot at about 7:40. That's when the confusion began. We could not find someone to let us in and we were directed to the back of a regular line. None of the cast members maning the gates seemed to understand that we, and another couple, needed to get inside for an early tour.

Finally a random CM appeared in the crowd, calling for people for the 7:45am Segway tour! Yeah!!!!!! We were finally in and went right to Guest Services where we signed release forms. Then onward to Segway central and within moments our training had begun.

We started our training with a very short film on basic segway operation. I should mention that there were only 6 of us in the group. Half of the group had ridden a segway before. The other three (myself included) were total newbies!

Our chariots await.....

A little protection for the old noggen........

It's hard recollecting exactly what we did in the training. All I can tell you is that what it was very well organized. We started by simply getting on and off the segway. Sounds easy, right? It was actually a little awkward at first. I always figured the segway was controlled by hand gears, sort of like a motorcycle. In actuality, the segway is powered by your position. Leaning forward makes it move. Standing straight upward slows it down and stops it.

Once we could get on and off, we practiced turning left and right and around in a circle. Then we drove forward, turned, and returned to our original position. Next was driving in and out of cones.

This isn't actually our group (or I couldn't take the picture), but this gives you and idea....

We also learned how to go up and down and incline.

Finally, training completed, we were let loss in the park. Well, not exactly! We drove to another building for a bio break and THEN we followed our tour leaders in the countries of the world showcase. We actually started in China and worked our way counter clockwise. In each country we performed a slightly more advanced maneuver on the segway. I can't tell you how much fun it was to ride a segway into the store in china. Each country brought us a new challenge. And in each country we learned a little piece of history.

Unfortunately, try as I might, I can't remember anything we learned. Well, that's not exactly true. I do remember learning about the Chinese guardian lions so I posted this little excerpt from Wikipedia

Chinese guardian lions, known also as stone lions (石獅, Pinyin: Shíshī) in Chinese art and often (incorrectly) called "Foo Dogs" in the West, are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China. They are believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). Pairs of guardian lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local Chinatowns.
The lions are always created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations[1].


Unfortunately, I don't remember too much after the Chinese guardian lions. I do remember that we were toured by four cast members. I believe that two of the CM's were training. The first CM, see here with Jen, was a good speaker....

The second CM was from Brazil so she had a pretty thick accent. She tried really hard. But, despite the accent, she was not a great public speaker. Hence, I found myself getting a little lost in what she was saying.

Midway around the world showcase we were given a break and a chance for photo-ops

Here are some other people on our tour....

And here's Jen showing off....

Of course, never let a photo-op go untapped. I took a few obligatory pictures....

One of my favorite countries was Morocco. We rode through all types of little nooks and crannies. We even used our incline skills. There was something so magical about seeing the World Showcase by segway. It was so great to be in the countries with only a handful of people. It put such a unique spin on things.

We paused a bit more near the bridge near France. One of our leaders made a very funny comment about looking out for the people without wheels when we hit the entrance near the international gateway. He cautioned us to be careful not to run them over. I can't remember what his exact comment was, but he had the entire group laughing.

All too soon our tour came to a close. We were on a tight scheduled so we were ushered back to segway central.

So what was it like to ride the segway - It was really, really fun and surprisingly easy. Our segways were set so they would not go over 6mph. When I would reach about 5.8mph the segway was designed to push me upright to slow down. This was the only part of the experience I found unnerving. I felt like I needed to be at 6mph to keep up with the rest of the group, but reaching the max speed caused me to fear that I was going to pushed off the back of the segway. The CM's said their segways were also set to top out at 6mph, but I don't believe them. So that was my only complaint. Those segways need a higher top speed.

Here's Larry. He was our main instructor. He was pretty darn agile on the segway...

And here are two other CM's who led our tour......

Our tour promptly ended around 10am. We got cute little pins upon completion of the tour.

So would I do it again???? You bet. Even though the tour was about $90 with an AP discount, it was really worth it. It was an example of how well run Disney tours are. Each step of the tour was well choreographed. It was also so cool to ride the segways and master the basic maneuvers. And the ability to see the world showcase from a new perspective was really appreciated.

In fact, participating in this tour really wetted my appetite for future tours. In part, because of this experience I decided to book a one night premium tour for next fall. The Fort Wilderness segway tour is definitely on my list. Denny and I are scheduled to do a one night premium on November 28, 2011!

So...Up Next....More of Future World.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi, Mary Ellen! I must confess I have been lurking lately! The Segway tour looks really neat! I don't know as if I could be coordinated enough to ride around AND take pictures.

 

[dawnbu40]

Dale and Caitlin have been wanting to do this for some time but I've resisted because I thought it seemed like it would be difficult. You've made me think I need to reconsider! It looks like fun and the photo ops are great! Nice update

 

[MEK]

Hi, Mary Ellen! I must confess I have been lurking lately! The Segway tour looks really neat! I don't know as if I could be coordinated enough to ride around AND take pictures.

The tour was a blast and you really feel like you get the VIP treatment with all of the Disney tours. I actually took the pictures when I was off the segway during our "picture/free ride" break. There is a pouch in the front of the segway that will safely fit a camera. You should definitely give it a try. Very fun!

Dale and Caitlin have been wanting to do this for some time but I've resisted because I thought it seemed like it would be difficult. You've made me think I need to reconsider! It looks like fun and the photo ops are great! Nice update

The segway operation was really intuitive and very easy. You will have no trouble whatsoever. It's really fun and one of the easiet things I have ever learned to do. I highly recommend it and it was nive to know that we could book the trip the day before.

 

[mickeystoontown]

First off, congrats to the soccer for making it to the semi-finals. I know they are proud of themselvse.

Second, yay for having all the wallpaper down and fresh paint in your kitchen. My husband and I own a cabinet shop and he's always saying it's much easier to do new kitchen construction than it is to do a remodel. So, I know what you're going through and I will say a little prayer for ya.

Now, on to the Segway tour. It certainly sounds like you two had a blast on the tour. So, it wasn't hard to stand on and maneuver? I can hardly stand on my own two feet so I'd probably bust my behind if I ever got on a Segway.

 

[MEK]

First off, congrats to the soccer for making it to the semi-finals. I know they are proud of themselves.

Thank you. I know they are really excited to be entering the semis.I was really worried they would be out by now.

Second, yay for having all the wallpaper down and fresh paint in your kitchen. My husband and I own a cabinet shop and he's always saying it's much easier to do new kitchen construction than it is to do a remodel. So, I know what you're going through and I will say a little prayer for ya.

Yes - and ours will be a remodel since we are having some old cabinets taken down and some new ones built. But we are using mostly the existing frames. The contractor really encouraged us to remove the cabinets that are handing over the counter between the family room and kitchen. He said it will really open things up a lot. So it should be really interesting to see the finished arrangement.

thanks for the prayers. If it completes on time it will be the only Christmas present I need!!!!!

Now, on to the Segway tour. It certainly sounds like you two had a blast on the tour. So, it wasn't hard to stand on and maneuver? I can hardly stand on my own two feet so I'd probably bust my behind if I ever got on a Segway.

It is not hard at all to maneuver. I will admit my feet did get a bit tired from the pressure of standing on them for two hours. Wear comfortable shoes. I wore my running shoes which are NOT good for standing, but I was afraid to wear my tevas or crocs.

 

[manntra]

Oooh Mary Ellen the Segway tour looks like such a blast! I remember reading before that someone posted their feet hurt...must be due to the standing like you said. I think that would be so cool to travel all throughout WS with a limited amount of people there. Although I am usually in WS with some sort of cocktail
I was at the girl on the Segway looking down at her phone....that would totally be me!!
Glad your kitchen is coming along good....I can't wait to see pictures of the finished goods

Tracy

 

[MEK]

Oooh Mary Ellen the Segway tour looks like such a blast! I remember reading before that someone posted their feet hurt...must be due to the standing like you said. I think that would be so cool to travel all throughout WS with a limited amount of people there. Although I am usually in WS with some sort of cocktail

It was really fun, although I bet it would be more fun if there WAS alcohol involved. Of course, then they would have to equip the segways with little cup holders! And imagine the spills!

Yes, your feet do hurt from the pressure. Not so much while you are moving, but while you are standing still. It was especially painful when the CM with the accent was talking. All I could think about was my feet.

I was at the girl on the Segway looking down at her phone....that would totally be me!!

I'm surprised it wasn't me! or Jen for that matter - she gets a lot of texts, but most were from her DH!

Glad your kitchen is coming along good....I can't wait to see pictures of the finished goods

Tracy

I really can't believe I didn't take a picture of that stinkin ugly wallpaper. Oh well, I will definitely take a pic of the cabinets and counter top before they are replaced.

 

[glennbo123]

Oh, I really want to do that Segway tour. (But I don't want to pay for all of my kids, so I'll have to wait for an adults-only trip....is that wrong?)

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm scared of riding a segway. I don't know why but I am.