Insert Catchy Title Here Updated Mom's Day. With pictures. Many pictures. For Mom's!

[swillis]

Love it!

The Dis Board comment was great! I hear that one a lot myself.

I'm glad we got First Timer all straightened out. I was begiining to wonder if we were going to have to strap her down in a boat on It's a Small World until she gave in to the Disney Magic!!

And I totally agree about COP. If we even hear rumors about this one closing down, then I will join the fight!

 

[MousekaMaddi]

spectacular writing..........IM IN!!!

 

[KimAshton]

Love this TR.

 

[Fonzy13]

Woo-Hoo responses. Excellent. Real quick, so I don't get in trouble.

Lauralee- I'll tell First-Timer she has an audience waiting. I'm sure that'll make her move much quicker.

Princessjv- Emptiness isn't even the word. You just feel empty. Wait, I guess it is the word. Glad to know I'm not alone. Though stay tuned, we get a few Disney moments out of her.

TK- HA! Wait until I get to Epcot. I have a few fountain stories. For years I've tried to figure out the schedule. I finally though I had it this year, but no. Good times.

And thanks for getting the Seinfeld reference.

Swillis. I stink. No notes. I completely forgot that the reason we walked to the Starlight Cafe through Fantasyland was because we rode IASW. For those wonderful what dear Steph had to say.

"It's bizarre. Just really strange."

New Chapter this afternoon. Thanks everyone for reading.

 

[mt mommy]

Like the trip report!! Keep it coming!!

 

[NMAmy]

She did well, all week long, and this was my first glance. I asked her to marry me on the spot.

“I’ll have to wait until you divorce the pudding from last night.”

Zing. I use that joke a lot apparently.

Funny stuff! Can't wait to read more. And...ahem...see the pictures.

 

[Fonzy13]

When we left off first-timer and I had taken the boat from Magic Kingdom back to Wilderness Lodge. As it was before 3 p.m., the boat stopped first at Fort Wilderness. Lots of people hopped the boat there, I was surprised. Not sure I could ever do the camping thing at Disney, though I'm sure there are others that would never do anything different.

Back in the room, First-Timer quickly fell onto the bed for her afternoon nap, and I slammed my shin into a metal edge hanging off of the bed.

When I encounter a problem at Disney, I ignore it. Like this metal edge hanging off of the bed. It was about four inches long, and looked as if it was used to hold the mattress. Unfortunately, I just stared at it for 6 days before trying to move the mattress. I actually ran into it eight times in 6 days. I remember each, as if it just occurred. That could be from the giant bruise I still have. We fixed it on the last day.

As First-Timer napped, something she's accustomed to doing in regular life, I stepped out on the patio with a book. The Unofficial Guide to Disney 2007. Why? I have no idea. I know everything I need to know. Just wanted to browse. I'm a lunatic. I put the book down, as it had turned into a rather nice afternoon. Seconds later I had a cardinal land three feet from me on a bush. You don't see that too often. It was pretty relaxing, as is the Wilderness Lodge as a whole.

Around 4:30, FT (woo-hoo, much, much easier), woke up and got ready for an evening at MGM. Originally this was supposed to be a Magic Kingdom evening, but before leaving I decided I wanted to do the Pirate and Princess Party on Monday, which was my only scheduled Fantasmic Night. So that had to get bumped back to Saturday, so I could fit in everything on Monday, and still make my ADR for Saturday at Artist Pointe.

Take a look at yourselves in the mirror. You should be ashamed that you understood that so easily. Not even having to re-read it. Good Disney Planners.

The best part of the afternoon? Calling valet. I live in a City. I have to walk to my car everyday; sometimes it’s a pretty good chunk. To call and say, "Yes, please have my car ready in five minutes," and not hear, "Man, who you talkin' to?" Well that's pretty cool.

Into the car and off to MGM, but not before encountering a great bit of nature. As we pulled off the ramp to go to MGM, I saw a car up ahead pulled of the side of the road. Sort of. It wasn't that good of an attempt. And then I saw a woman running from the car.

"What the hell is going on?" I woke FT up from her second nap. And then I saw it.

"Holy ****, it's a bald eagle. And I swerved off the road. Why? Not sure. But I know it's unusual to just see them sitting in the grass. It was pretty cool. Sat long enough to get some pictures, and then he was on his way. Gives me hope I guess that things can always change. I'm a sucker like that.

As we pulled into MGM, they were directing cars to park on the back row, not going to happen. Rolled down my Big-Wheel windows, and chatted.

"Good afternoon, how ya doing?"

"Fine sir, how are you?"

"Wonderful. I was just hoping to drop off First-Timer near the entrance." And then she had this to say.

"Hey, I can walk, it's no big deal."

I just looked at her.

"Sir, that's no problem, just pull up there, and you will see the drop-off point."

"Thanks."

Up the window went, and I started .

"Look," said I. "If I'm going to lie in Disney World, I need your support. You do that again, I'm going to bust up laughing in front of the guy."

"Well, where are you going?"

"I'm going to park in the first row where all of the cars left from this morning."

"Hey, that's a really good idea."

"Hey, thanks."

We won't get into the ethical issues with this. Yes, I told a fib. But they don't really care if I park there.

A quick walk from my front row space, and we were in the park.

MGM is a weird place from me. After my second trip, I thought that it was my favorite park. I had been chosen to participate in the Backlot Tour movie making. I had made to the hotseat, and lost on the $500,000 question. There was Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roller Coaster. The street entertainment. And of course the Great Movie Ride. And Fantasmic.

It was just a cool place. Now? Well, I'm just not feeling it as much. The backlot tour isn't what it once was. The Stunt Show is okay, but nothing you absolutely have to see. I really miss Millionaire; it was just so much fun for me, and just about everyone else I ever went with.

I think the Counter Service is the park is awful, and I've never eaten at Brown Derby, so my thoughts on the table service options aren't much better.

But it's still a Disney Park. And still has magic in some spots, it is just that now it is far and away the park that if I had to miss one, it would be MGM.

Now that I've beaten down, in we go. The first thing we spot is some street entertainment, which has always been awesome. This trip was no different. We stopped and watched just as we were doing the "99 Blanks Walk Into the Bar..." routine. So much fun.

Because I'm 6'4, and I always stand, I stick out in a crowd. I was chosen to throw out the first topic. I was wearing a Syracuse sweatshirt, and continually like to play games with people, so this is what I was asked.

"You are in Syracuse. You walk through your house. You walk to the back door. You open the door and you see..."

"Snow."

Deadpanned. Didn't miss a beat. I had the performers looking at me. The host chuckled and said, "Snow."

The crowd then endured 5 minutes of, "99 snows walked into a bar..." jokes. Some were beyond cheesy. Others funny. We stayed for the whole show. And near the end I glanced down at FT, who is short by the way, and she was grinning ear to ear.

As we walked towards the Tower of Terror, she asked, "So, do they do that throughout the day?"

"Yeah, but the they change it all the time, never the same routine."

"Wow, that's really cool."

YES! Disney Moment. Chalk one up for the street entertainment.

We jumped in line for the Tower of Terror because we had some time to burn, only to suddenly realize why we didn't plan on going to MGM this night in the first place.

EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheerleaders, or, more appropriately in this case, dancers. And a lot of them. Blonde hair everywhere. Ponytails. More happiness than Disney could handle. Suddenly I became claustrophobic in the middle of an open space. Wind pants. Cheers. Names on Sweatshirts. Where the hell am I.

Surrounded on both ends by happy teenagers we bolted the Tower of Terror before it was too late. We had a week vacation ahead of us. No need to suffer now.

Rock N’ Roller Coaster was much of the same. Long wait and cheerleaders. So we headed to where the cheerers wouldn’t be. The Great Movie Ride. And no matter how old it is it’s still Great. Particularly the scene from Casablanca. Gets me every time.

I could tell that FT only though GMR was a, “Cool,” so we hotfooted it over to Muppets 3-D. Shout out to my dear Disboards gal Camillatin, for whom I love this ride as much for her as I. If that makes sense.

Mostly, I enjoy the 3-D because of the one-liners. My three are favorites are as follows (and I am paraphrasing, and will butcher even with that warning):

3) Kermit: We will also see a rousing finale from Sam Eagle. What’s it called, Sam?
Sam: A salute to all nations, but mostly America.

2) Statler: Hey Waldorf, look, it’s that dumb bear.
Waldorf: Hey Bear, you’re not even funny in 3-D.

1) Sam: Upon entering the theater, please move as far to the end of the row as possible. Stopping in the middle is distinctly unpatriotic.

That last line always gets me. Even got a chuckle out of FT. After the show, it was pretty clear that she was digging the 4-D entertainment.

And then it was off to Fantasmic. We arrived with our thousands of dancing friends around 6:15 p.m., and ended up sitting in about the third section of the stadium, halfway down. There were seats in the front rows of the middle sections, but the wind was really whipping, and it was awfully chilly out, so I didn’t want to take the chance of getting wet. That wouldn’t be fun at all. I already skipped Splash Mountain today. Not going to get wet at Fantasmic.

I left FT alone to go grab a pretzel, and decided to grab her a little bottle of merlot to keep warm. It’s better than hot chocolate, at least to her.

Fantasmic was fantasmical as always. Just an amazing show. The music, the lights, the… Pocahontas? Yeah, I don’t get it either.

On the way out, FT and I dodged traffic like you wouldn’t believe. Again, if the bread pudding doesn’t work out for me, I could marry FT based on her "moving through crowds" ability. We shot past at least a couple of thousand people and onto a departing tram so that we were back to the room at the Lodge by 7:50 p.m. That’s not easy.

Driving back to the hotel, she had this to say.

“They do that show every single night?”

“They do indeed, unless weather prohibits it.”

“That is unbelievable to me. How much does that cost to do? It must be a lot.”

“Ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Ba-ba-ba-baby you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

We took our time changing into our adult costumes before heading to dinner at the Artist Pointe. I’ll give a quick (at least my quick) overview of the dinner, but if you want to skip it, suffice it to say, this is a place you should eat.

It was one of the reasons why we didn’t do the dining plan. With the California Grill and Pointe on the itinerary, we would use up too many credits to make it worthwhile.

After a brief situation at the bar that angered me- we ordered drinks and didn’t get them for 15 minutes, which was 10 minutes after we were called to eat, we sat at out table an introduced to a lovely waiter from Ohio. All I can tell you is his name isn’t Sergio.

They had a great deal, which I believe was $40 for soup, entrée, and dessert, that Stephanie and I partook in. We ordered a 6-year old bottle of Pinot Noir that was to my liking and her satisfaction. Wine snob.

She had the Salmon (two days in a row if you are keeping track), and I ordered the buffalo, which I was almost feeling bad about until I tasted it. The breads, salad, soups and side dishes were all wonderful. Couldn’t tell you what they were, but tasty I remember.

Dessert was fantastic as well. As for FT’s thoughts?

“That was the best salmon I have ever had. I’m not kidding.”

Dinner was about two hours long, through we stretched it out, and there was no one left in the place by the time we walked out. All told the bill, after tax, tip and discount came to about $140. An excellent time for a very relaxing evening. And this one was on FT for me bringing her to the World. So that was nice. Two awesome meals in two days that I didn’t pay for. Don’t worry, it will come back to bite me in the rear.

All in all it was a fabulous day for me. Back in Disney. Two parks. An awesome show. Some legitimate smiles from First-Timer, and the knowledge that we still had seven days ahead of us. To me, the first night after the parks is just a very happy time. You’ve already have a terrific time, and there is so much ahead.

For FT, the theme was simple-
I'm kidding. She had so much to take in. I think when most people go for the first time they are always a little lost. She was lost without ever having to be lost.

When I started writing this edition, I knew it would be short than the Magic Kingdom morning edition. Now it’s 200 words longer.

My apologies. I tend to ramble. Just prepare yourselves for 7 more days of this.

Next up: Chapter 6- Newbie Falls in Love with Animal Kingdom on Super Bowl Sunday

 

[dizzienoodle]

Im hooked... I have my coffee in one hand and a bag of popcorn in another... sure, there are reports to be run and phones to be answered; yet, here I sit with baited breath, hanging on every last word.....

 

[Lauralee131]

Ahhhh....if I wasn't already married, I'd hunt you down and stalk you!

YOU are the kind of man I need...a lover of all things Disney...an obsessive planner....big heavy sigh...

And Fonzy, you get 4 Cool Points for being a great tour guide for FT...I hope she appreciates our Happy Place! I love showing someone the World for the first time...wish I could do it more often.

There's a huge difference between showing the World to a child for the first time....THAT is so magical it makes me cry...BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, being able to go to on "grown up" rides AND Pleasure Island with a First Timer is pretty awesome too!!

I'm glad FT enjoyed the Muppets...I love Statler and Waldorf!! And was very glad you took her to Fantasmic! I love that show!!

Sigh...I must go plan another trip...I'm getting "homesick"....

Keep it coming!!! I just made a fresh batch!!

 

[swillis]

This is great...we need pictures please. Please tell FT that a trip report on the Dis is so much better w/pictures!

 

[mt mommy]

We were at WDW at the same time!! Those cheerleaders and dancers you could spot from a mile away!!! My DH pointed out you could spot the cheerleaders mom's from a mile away too!!! SO FUNNY!

Keep the trip report coming!

 

[princessjv]

You have not failed us!

I hope FT knows just how lucky she was to be toured around by a pro of your sorts.

I find it hard to believe that you are single... Are you sure?

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Great report so far!

If it makes you feel any better, I'm on day 8 of writing my TR, and Word tells me that it is already 34,933 words.

I see that you discovered the magical WL brownies! You marry the bread pudding, I'm marrying the brownies. Or Captain Jack, although I'm yet to run into him in the POTC line!

The metal thing on your bed? I work in a hotel, and get the joy of 'fixing" those allll the time. I won't tell you how long I had to stare at it the first time before I figured out that I just needed to move the mattress, though.

 

[Lauralee131]

Helloo??? Is this thing on???



Ok. I'll wait....

 

[Ricky's Girl]

I'm all caught up . . . eagerly awaiting more.

 

[Fonzy13]

Sorry for the ultra long delay, weekends can sometimes be tough for me. But here I am, back for the 16 dedicated fans I have. Excellent.

The meal at the Artist Pointe was not only delicious, but also led to wonderful evening of rest. Of course that could have been the parks that caused that, but I digress.

The plan for the day was to hit Animal Kingdom at opening and then take a short break before heading to Epcot for dinner at Le Cellier and Illuminations. That's right, I was skipping the Super Bowl.

Perhaps this is where I should talk about my love for football. I've been playing my entire life, and though I'm now at the point where I should no longer look forward to getting beat often, I play every weekend. Still.

And then there is the NFL. Love it. Can't live without it. So why was I skipping the Super Bowl? Because I love Disney, and particularly Illuminations more. I'm getting old. It sucks.

More credit to FT this morning as she had very little trouble getting out of bed and being ready to leave the room around 8:15.

"Yes, hello, this is I again. I need my car."

"No problem sir, and a good morning to you."

Love it.

Stopped to fill up the mugs this morning. They really should allow you to fill the mugs with juice. I'm not a coffee guy, so I settled for water. Yeah, water. Glad I bought the mug. FT had some PowerAde. Apparently we are anti-coffee.

Arrived at Animal Kingdom 20 minutes before it opened and it looked pack. Then again, when does it not?

Just to get this out of the way, Animal Kingdom was the first park I visited as an adult. I loved it. Right away. Had a giraffe stick its head about 6 inches from mine on the safari. Saw my first ever Disney 3-D. And the Lion King. Needless to say, unlike MGM, I still have great love for this place. In fact, the weeklong schedule called for two mornings here, and an EMH. Since Everest was built, it is more than worth it.

Despite being behind a significant number of people after the turnstiles, FT and I, who proved this trip to be the ultimate people dodgers when navigating a crowded park, were in the first two dozen or so people to reach Everest.

"Wait here," I said at the beginning of the line. "I'm going to grab some fast passes for later."

"Alright."

Succeeded in my effort without issue. Until I went back to the beginning of the line and Steph was nowhere to be found. Was she kidnapped? Did she spot a soft pretzel stand? Did the Yeti eat her?

And then I saw her. Standing about 100 feet inside of the beginning of the line. Oblivious to it all.

"Hi." When I got there.

"Hi."

After about a three minute wait (if you've never been to Disney and are planning to go- GET OUT OF BED AND GO IN THE MORNING!), we were told that we had the back seat. I hadn't figured out if this was good or not, as I had only been on the ride twice the year before. Suffice it to say, it is just a wonderful ride. The beginning is very tame, up until the point you go backwards. But even that tame part offers one of the best views in the World.

Then you go backwards and it’s nuts. I'm a super roller coaster freak, and I adore this ride. Cedar Point is my idea of awesome roller coasters. Not Disney. But this ride, I don't know what it is. Excellent work Disney.

As we approached the gift store I stopped to check out our picture. FT looked like she couldn't have been more bored. I noticed this on Buzz the day before as well.

"Did you like that ride?"

"I loved it, thought it was awesome."

I pointed at the screen.

"Then what the hell is that?”

She just started laughing.

"I have no idea."

"It's your theme park face. It never changes."

And it was true. She never changed her face. No matter the ride. Tough one to crack. I just kept laughing. I couldn't believe it. Now, the Everest photo spot isn't as scary as some other rides, but still. She looked as if she were taking a math exam. I wish I had bought it. Fortunately, I didn't need to. She would do it over and over all week.

Animal Kingdom is the one park in Disney I have no idea how to tour. Where do you go after Everest? Safari? Dino-land? Kali? It really depends on the weather. Keeps you guessing anyway.

Because it was supposed to be chilly and overcast all day, I figured we did not need to rush to the safari, so we went to Dino-land.

First-up- Primeval-whirl. It's an evil ride you know. Just goes the wrong way sometimes. But fun nonetheless. And despite the appearance of people at the rope drop, there was no one around.

After getting off of Primeval-whirl, my tooth was killing me. Didn't know why, I just knew I was in pain. Tried to put in the back of my head. It's mental Fonzy. Mental.

Up next Dinosaur. Here is a ride where the time outside is always wrong. I don't think I've ever been there when it didn't say at least 20 minutes, and I've never waited more than three. Sure enough, sign said 20 minutes. No wait.

As we boarded our time rovers I made sure that entered first, something I rarely do. Hey, I’m a good guy. But not this time. Not with FT being in the far-right seat of the rover for her first ride. It’s a scary ride.

And boy was there a payoff. The girl who puts on the “Thrill Ride Face,” was terrified. I mean straight up pee in your pants scared. She loved Dinosaur, and as we got to the photo spot I started laughing uncontrollably. There she was, ducking into my body as if I were a shield from the big, bad meat-eating dinosaur.

Priceless.

Despite the laughter, my tooth now felt as if Tyson had punched me. So I headed to the gift shop and asked for some Excedrin. Best $1.75 I ever spent (left my pills in the room). Felt better within 30 minutes.

Out of Dinoland and Into Africa (hey, I thought it was clever) for the Safari. I couldn’t tell whether or not the 30-minute wait was that long, so we grabbed some Fast passes and headed to the Pangani Rainforest. This is one of those trails I usually hit depending upon how hot I am by the time we reach the entrance. Today was a very cool day, and we only had 45 minutes until the Safari, I figured it would work.

Boy would it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been through this trail and never seen the Gorillas. Not only could you see them today, they were active. At least a few of them. Others were stationary, sitting and staring at those staring at them.

“They look sad,” FT noted.

“Yeah, but it’s still pretty cool looking at them. They kind of freak me out.”

“They look sad.”

Indeed.

After the Rainforest it was on to the Safari. We nabbed first row seats, which would once again become a theme for the week. We constantly ended up being in the front row of nearly everything we went on. It became a running joke. The animals were very active, and it once again blew me away how different that ride always is. For instance, on this two-week venture, we saw no rhinos whatsoever, but the Lions were not only awake, but sitting up and looking around.

As for FT, well she was too busy trying to snap picture to really take it all in. At least I think. I wouldn’t know, as she missed every animal by about .4 seconds. Very frustrating for FT.

Time for lunch. Amazingly, nothing looked too appetizing in the Tusker House (very rare), so we skipped it and headed over to the Jungle Trek. Boy did we have a winner here.

If there is one thing you should know about First-Timer its that she loves cats. And while it was too chilly for the Komodo Dragon to come out and play, and only someone insane could truly enjoy the spectacle that is the giant fruit bats, when comes to Tigers, FT is quite a fan.

For 30 minutes we sat with these magnificent creatures. Sometimes she said, “Meooowww.” Other times, and this was my personal favorite, “Hello, kitty.” It’s the most adorable thing I think I’ve ever seen. So yeah, she was loving the Tigers.

We even had a great time in the bird sanctuary.

“What the hell is that thing?”

“Well, that’s a (I have no idea what it was called) pigeon,” the CM said. “He’s been here about six weeks. It’s the biggest pigeon in the world. Been trying to build a nest the whole time. Not very good at it.”

No he was not. Just a few sticks hanging at the branches of a tree. Poor effort all around Mr. Pigeon. Our New York variety would be mighty disappointed.

The problem with Animal Kingdom, and in my opinion there are very few, is that it is tough to gauge time. How long do I have to get from Asia to Camp Minnie-Mickey? Can I stop at the Tree of Life? Such was my dilemma after leaving the Jungle Trek. We had 30 minutes to go until the next Lion King Show.

Instinctively, I knew I should have run over there, but I decided that I thought we could make the next Bug’s Life show, and then hit the Lion King. This was around 11:40 a.m. and the next Lion King was not until 1:30 p.m. Instinctively, I was wrong.

There turned out to be a line to see It’s Tough To Be a Bug, so that we did not even get out of the theater until the Lion King was starting. And I must be early to that show. So Plan B surfaced. Head back to Everest, then ride Dinosaur again, before grabbing a quick bite and hitting the 1:30 p.m. Lion King.

Everest rocked again, though we sat in the same exact place. What are the chances of getting the back twice in a row without trying? Strange. Dinosaur was not nearly as fun as the first time, mostly because I bet FT she couldn’t make her “Thrill Ride Face,” appear on the screen. She proved me quite wrong.

We grabbed a little pizza at Pizzafarri, which isn’t bad for Florida. If you are from New York, you realize that you will never have good pizza when traveling in the south; so when you get some that is not horrendous it is a win.

And I apologize if I have offended any Southerners. I do love the South, but youra pizza, notsomuch.

Lunch was over about 20 minutes before the next Lion King, so the plan, made on a whim, worked out perfectly.

The Lion King. I love it. I love the performers. The costumes. The music. The interaction. Just the general setting. It is pure Disney magic, and to me, worth the price of admission alone. I’m serious. I had not talked about the show at all since arriving, as I was now on my low expectation tour of the World. But I knew First-Timer would love it.

In the theater we went. Moved all the way to the right so as not to be unpatriotic, and even did the hand-jive. At least I did. More to embarrass FT than anything else. I’m not a huge hand-jiver. No really, I’m not.

We were in the Lion section, which I pretty much purposely picked out, thereby making me beyond cool, or the biggest loser on the planet. I’ll let you decide. And the show started.

It was wonderful. For 8 minutes. And the set malfunctioned. The monkeys couldn’t put away their apparatus.

“We are sorry to inform you that this presentation of the Festival of the Lion King has been cancelled. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

Huh? Cancelled? You can’t fix it, and then start over. Two problems here.

Don’t say, “Festival of the Lion King,” in that awesome, “Festival of the Lion King” voice, if you are delivering bad news. It’s not cool. At all.

And secondly, you mean to tell me I just spent an extra two hours in the park for one reason, and then it was cancelled. I was deflated.

“Ugh, I can’t believe that.”

“It’s alright, it was pretty cool, the part we saw. There couldn’t have been much left?”

“There was a good 20 minutes left. 20 awesome minutes.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m annoyed. I wanted you to see that show and be blown away like I am. I purposely didn’t discuss it at all today so that you could be blown away. Ugh, I’m annoyed. Cancelled? Fix the problem.”
By the way, we were still sitting in the theater. Actually so was everyone. Apparently the cancellation caught everyone off guard, and the entire crowd seemed as if this were a random announcement. Finally our camp leaders, who I wanted to kick in the head, told us to leave.

Mmhmm…

All is well that ends well though. FT loved Animal Kingdom. You could see it on her face. Today was Sunday, and Saturday was our departure the day. The 4 p.m. flight left for a park in the morning, and I told her we would do that park she wanted. I pretty much knew it would be Animal Kingdom as we walked out.

Headed back to the car, I saw the one thing that could cheer me up- Launchpad McQuack. I grew up on Ducktales. Love the show. Knew every episode. I still sing the theme song in the shower. Ducktales- Woo-hoo.

Launchpad always makes me smile, and I’m glad they have made him a steady character at the exit here; it’s always good for a laugh.



Back to the hotel we went in anticipation of an Epcot evening.

Up next: Chapter 7: Super Bowl Sunday at Epcot. Fonzy’s Visit to Every Bathroom in the World Showcase (It’s as Gross as it sounds)

 

[bntlyclg89]

You have more fans than you think.....lurk, lurk.

Love it, waiting for the next episode.

 

[KatGarcia]

Up next: Chapter 7: Super Bowl Sunday at Epcot. Fonzy’s Visit to Every Bathroom in the World Showcase (It’s as Gross as it sounds)

We made countless jokes (and still do) about my husbands trip around the world showcase...in the bathrooms as well.

Can't wait to read it even so.

 

[Fonzy13]

As a member of the Vacation Club, I decided to spend my first full vacation last year as a member at the Beach Club. And while the pool is wonderful, and the theming cheery, it was the location I fell in love with. During that awesome 9-day trip I saw Illuminations 5 times, and knew from then on that the World Showcase would be where I spent the majority of my vacation time.

With that in mind, First-Timer and I headed out to Epcot for a wonderful evening of relaxation, and complete ignorance that the remainder of America would be watching a football game.

As we approached the entrance of the Beach Club I realized I was about to tell another parking fib.

"Yo, FT, I'm about to lie again about our parking. Hush, will ya."

"Whatever."

I pulled next to the guard shack and rolled down the window of the Big Wheel.

"Good evening, sir?"

"Hi, we were hoping to have dinner at the Cape May Cafe tonight."

"No problem. Self-Parking on the right, valet straight ahead."

That was strange. Didn't ask to see a room-key, or any identification. Didn't check of a reservation. As someone who has tried this trick in the past- I know I'm a cheater- it usually isn't this easy.

I theorized that it was Super Bowl Sunday, and they were probably expecting low crowds and could care less if someone took up a spot for the evening.

Out of the car and walking towards the hotel, I realized how much I favored this place. Don't get me wrong, I was completely enamored by the Wilderness Lodge, and will likely go back there in the future. But for some reason, the Beach Club feels like Disney to me. Feels perfect.

"Wow, this place is pretty cool looking."

That was FT. She liked. Not surprised too much. She's a beach girl.

We didn't take too much time to look around, just zipped through the lobby and out the back towards the World Showcase entrance.

Dinner reservations were at 4:30 p.m. for Le Cellier. Wish it could have been a little later, but many of you understand how difficult it is to get here at any time, outside of lunch.

We were seated pretty quickly, and taken to the BC section of the restaurant, where we were introduced to our waitress. She wasn't terrible, but by Disney standards not very good either.

The food was good, I of course had one of the steaks, and FT had a pasta dish. I have to say, this is the second time I have eaten here, and while I find the menu to diverse, I believe the food to be okay. My favorite part of the meal is the pretzel bread. I don't like the cheddar cheese soup. My point? I think I'll be taking a break from Le Cellier for a while. There are many more options to enjoy in the Showcase. I know I may be flamed for that one. All well.

After dinner we made our way over to the other side of the World Showcase for what I thought would be an extended tour. Possibly some dessert, and then fireworks. In appeared to be the perfect 3-hour getaway from the Super Bowl.

We began in Mexico, which FT simply loved. I explained that "El River Del Tiempo," was an excellent classic but was being rehabbed for the next four months."

"What could they possibly need to do that will take four months," she asked.

"Well, I'm guessing they'll start with everything they didn't do for the past 20 years, and then go from there."

I do love that river; I hope they don't change it too much. Needless to say, the scenery with the REHAB WALL up makes the restaurant look silly. Despite it, I think FT was actually impressed by everything in the temple.

As we began to head out, it hit me. Bad stomach ache. Bad. This is not ultra unusual, as I have my share of stomach issues, though usually that follows eating different foods. Not steak and potatoes.

I ran from the temple, I mean jet. Moving quickly. Imagine if you had to go to the bathroom, and had to hold it from Mexico to Norway. Could you? Not in the real world, but it Disney? Absolutely.

15-minute delay.



Let's give credit to First-Timer. She sat patiently by the big boat in Norway, and I love her for it.

After departing restroom one, we headed around the beautiful country before departing for China. Where I quickly encountered Restroom 2.







More credit to FT. By this time I believe I had turned a ghastly colored white.

"Are you okay?"

"No. Not at all."

"Do you want to leave?"

"No. Not at all."

"Are you sure?"

"If we leave now, there is no way to see Illuminations until Thursday. We leave on Saturday. I'm going to be very disappointed if we only see Illuminations once during an entire trip."

"Ok, but you don't feel well."

"On the contrary, not only do I not feel well, I feel as if I may die."

I can be a little over the top sometimes. Pathetic really.

We ducked into a gift shop in China after I swore I would be okay.

5 minutes passed.






I had had enough. Another bathroom stop on the way back to car, and I just started hoping I could make it back to the room. Clearly something I had eaten had decided it was going to rule the evening, Illuminations be damned.

And so we headed back to the hotel room. I'll spare you the remainder of details, with the exception of a love story courtesy of FT.

As we walked back into the hotel room, and thank the good lord for Valet Parking on this evening, I flopped on the bad, after bashing my shin of course, and lay there.

FT took a room key and the mugs and headed out. She came back 20 minutes late with some ginger ale and crackers. She rocks.

Of course, by this time I was watching the Super Bowl. He he he...

But I wasn't in the mood. So here's a secret between me and the 125,000 members of this board. I spent Super Bowl Sunday holed up in the hotel room watching X-Men 2 on Fox.

Disney Magic.

Up next. Chapter 8- Monday Morning Marathon, or Is It Possible To Be The First Person On Soarin'?

 

[LYNSUE]

I have to tell you, I had the same problem after eating at LeCellier. I assumed my steak was just to rich for my system. It is a very long way between bathrooms at Epcot when you are that desparate. Here is the worst part about when this happended to me. After leaving LeCellier, we went directly to Universe of Energy (the 45min Ellen ride, with no escape) Talk about desparate times!!!!!!