(Insert clever trip report title here 5/15-5/21) Last part now available on pg 3

[patrokls]

I don’t have any kids doing cute things and my days were pretty straightforward. So I think this trip report will end up being just a sort of stream of conscience rambling of observations. Now, since this is a Disney trip report I need to get a few words out of the way: Wishes, Dreams, Magic, and/or Magical. There we go and now to begin.

This trip had been planned for a few months so what happened next should be no surprise. Three days before we are to leave my brother sends my mom an IM saying he won’t be going. Huh!? A free trip to Walt Disney World and he would rather do Summer Theater at school. Which he signed up for after he knew we were going. We were ticked to say the least. Luckily for him we were able to get most of the money back before we left. Now this affected me in a different way because he was supposed to be the one I walked around with. The person I made sarcastic remarks to. Now I had to hold it all in and lay it all on your feet. I love my parents but I am not going to spend all day touring the parks with them. They’re old and slow and can’t keep up. Now remember I love then and say this slightly tongue in cheek. So basically I ended up touring WDW on my own. Which is a new and different experience for me and I’ll go into that as I go along.

Mon May 15 part 1: Did you know that there is a 3:00 in the morning? Well I do. Our flight from lovely Flint Bishop Airport was at 7:00am. Ok lovely...not really. Small and convenient yes. Much easier to navigate than Detroit Metro. We flew out on AirTran Airways and the flight left and landed on time. I was a little worried at first because the flight number was 257. This is a good number to put the words “ill-fated” in front of. It just rolls of the tongue. Think about it. Kinda scary huh? Also, it was nice to only sit on a plane for 2 ½ hours. The only place I’ve ever flown to before was Europe. Those were some nice 6 to 7 hour flights. Total bum-ness. Anyway, we arrived and headed down stairs to check in with Disney’s Magical Express. We get in line to head over to Dixie Landings (Port Orleans Riverside if you must) and we were hurried onto a waiting bus and a few minutes later we were off to the World.

About 30 minutes later we're at Dixie Landings checking in. There were a few problems all brother related and not Disney’s fault. So at about noon I was at my first park Epcot.


Next: The best hidden Mickey ever and the “Pooping Song”

Cool thanks for the photo help.
Here's a picture of Goofy and I. I'm pretty sure I'm the one on the right.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Great start - can't wait to hear the song.

 

[lindalinda]

I think Dixie Landings is a much better name too! It sounds much more "hot summers at the fishing hole!" I am not fond of that change. Anyway to post pictures you have to download them to a photo web site. I suggest www.photobucket.com because thats the one I use. You download you pictures to an album there and they will put an address underneath them. You copy that and paste it here...presto!

 

[OhMari]

See the world Photos underlined on the top of the page, go there. Log in as a new user. You can use your DIS name and password. Before you bring your pictures in, they need to be downsized.

Here is the official Technical Link from the DIS Boards to help you out.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php.../showthread.php?s=&postid=4886029#post4886029

Just click on it.

Are you in college or h.s.

 

[patrokls]

See the world Photos underlined on the top of the page, go there. Log in as a new user. You can use your DIS name and password. Before you bring your pictures in, they need to be downsized.

Here is the official Technical Link from the DIS Boards to help you out.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php.../showthread.php?s=&postid=4886029#post4886029

Just click on it.

Are you in college or h.s.

Thanks for everyones help. I've just completed my first semester after having taken a long break from college.

 

[frazzled one]

More, please! Not many people can make me laugh before I've finished my first cup of coffee - you did.

 

[MagicMe]

Enjoyed your first installment - can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[patrokls]

5-15 part 2

At Disney even the birds are in on the Hidden Mickey craze.

I head towards the Land to get a fastpass for Soarin’ and decide to grab some food because I realize at this time that the only thing I’ve ingested today was a can of Redbull and that was about 9 hours ago. Now I set out to conquer Future World. The single rider line is the way to go. Five minute wait for Test Track. On my last trip I didn’t really care for Test Track. This time it seemed more fun. Passing all those happy people with their families milling away in the standby queue makes the ride that much sweeter. I think I’m going to get one of those yellow straps for the seatbelt in my car. Now everyday can be like a day at Disney World. Rode Mission Space and survived. I was the navigator. We never made it to Mars. We landed somewhere outside Tulsa.

I think its time they just nuked the Imagination pavilion. For something about imagination it really lacks it. Journey into your Imagination is just dull, although I have never cared much for the original version either.

Ok, now the ”pooping song”. This is that song you hear in the Innoventions area. You know the one. Its that great 80’s techno style as played on a Casio keyboard. The name for the song was coined by Jeff from Houston on his great Meandering Mouse podcast. The song is apparently pumped into the bathrooms in the Future World area as well. He theorizes that the soothing Casio tones are there to ease the bowels. Anyway, after hearing his take on this song I can’t listen to it in the park with out laughing. People look at you strangely when you do this.

My time for Soarin’ had arrived so I went back to the Land. It was all right, but not great. Maybe it was because I was on the very end, and didn’t get the full effect of the ride. The wait times for Soarin’ were always about 50-60 minutes for standby, and I found fastpass to be inconvenient when traveling by myself. I couldn’t wander too far from the attraction for which I had the fastpass.

Am I alone in the feeling that Epcot isn’t Epcot until you get to World Showcase? There’s just no future left in Future World. I hit Mexico to complain about them taking all of our jobs, and to ride El Rio del Tiempo. I love this ride. Its just so craptacular. It has so much camp value. Plus that song just burrows into your brain and never leaves. On to Maelstrom for it is the mighty fastpass. I was not the first to pass that way.

Viking Pluto guards my precious fastpass.

Then a walk to Canada. Canada has a very lovely pavilion, but most of the stores are closed and their movie is laughable at best. Not in a funny way. More in an “Oh that’s sad. All they do is play hockey” kinda way. After a walk through the gardens it was time to meet my parents for dinner at Le Cellier.

My dad thought it was odd that all the servers were from Canada. He figured it out after a while. We walked off dinner and found a place to watch Illumintaions.

A pretty sunset over the World Showcase Lagoon

The birth of our planet.

I enjoyed their story, and after having been awake for 19 hours was really looking forward to some sleep.

 

[2infinity&B-ond]

5-15 part 2

On to Maelstrom for it is the mighty fastpass. I was not the first to pass that way.

Viking Pluto guards my precious fastpass.

Wait...you mean Maelstrom is a Fastpass??!!??

Just kidding. I knew that. I think.

Great report!

 

[MamaLema]

more please

 

[em'smom]

Enjoying the report and the nod towards the unsinkable Maelstrom!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent start ~ Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Enjoying the report and the nod towards the unsinkable Maelstrom!

I guess I don't get the jokes about the Maelstrom. I must have missed this attraction when I was there in 1991. Will have to check it out when we go this fall. Is it one of those viking ship rides that swing back & forth really high?

Nevermind, someone explained joke and the ride to me. Thanks!

 

[patrokls]

This was the first time that we stayed at the Dixie Landings (Riverside). We’ve stayed at the Port Orleans before. Back in my day we didn’t need no stinking French Quarter. Riverside is a nice quiet resort. It’s a little spread out and a little overrun with duckys, bunnies, and squirrels. The room was nice. The mousekeeper made me a new towel animal everyday. It would have been nice if she had vacuumed once, but you can’t have everything. I never went to the food court so I can’t comment on that, but the River Roost was nice. Especially when Bob the piano man was there. After I had a few drinks in me he even had me and a few other guys running around like we were on horses while he played the theme from Rawhide. Good clean fun. I didn’t get a chance to use the main pool, but I did manage to find about 30 minutes to lie out by the quiet pool near our building (Oak Park). I apologize to any pilots or any other people, for that matter, who way have been blinded by my pale northern skin. One more thing that’s great about the Port Orleans resorts is the boat ride to Downtown Disney. The boat captains must have the best job. I never saw one who wasn’t happy. They really seem to like their jobs. Ok that’s enough for this interlude.

Next: The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down

 

[KathyRN137]

Riverside is a nice quiet resort. It’s a little spread out and a little overrun with duckys, bunnies, and squirrels.

LOL!

 

[patrokls]

5-16 - The day it rained.

This was the Magic Kingdom day. All the weather reports before we left said it was supposed to rain today and they were right. It didn’t start until about 10:30 and didn’t end until 6:00 or so. Rain is fun. It keeps the crowds down to a dull roar, and boosts Disney World’s poncho sales. Rain doesn’t bother we much. I was probably the only weirdo in the park without a poncho or an umbrella. I followed the Unofficial Guide’s touring plan because I didn’t want to miss anything.

I started in Tomorrowland did Space Mountain and Buzz. Then off to Fantasyland. When you are a 30 old guy riding Pooh by yourself, people look at you a little askew. Of course the trench coat probably didn’t help. Mickey’s Philharmagic. It’s cute, but its no MuppetVision 3D. For me the best part of the experience was the little band in the queue playing my favorite Disney instrumental piece: “The Jig” from The Little Mermaid.

Off to Liberty Square, when did The Hall of Presidents become the Hall of Slavery? Other things have happened in American Presidential history. What about Teddy Roosevelt’s expansion of the National Park system, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, Reagan’s “tear down this wall”, or Clinton’s cigar. Maybe we should forget that last one. Anyway, this attraction is filled with amazing detail. Watch how Lincoln checks his notes before he stands up to give his speech. Next I visited my new DVC resort. I get it one week every five years and Mel Happyhaunt gets it the rest of the time.

Frontierland. Big Thunder and Splash…what do you mean its down due to technical difficulties. Dang. Adventureland. The Jungle Cruise. This is the one attraction that relies on the cast member, and our skipper on that cruise was great. The rain came down. The only rides that seemed to be down due to rain were the Magic Carpets and Dumbo. Finally, Splash Mountain was back up and running. The best thing I heard all day were the people who have been in the rain all day in ponchos complaining that they might get a little wet on Splash. Also while on Splash, I called my brother who didn't come with us and gave him a small ride through to make him jealous.

After Splash I went and cleaned up the attraction I had skipped earlier. Stitch. Not so good. It’s fine up until you enter the last transportation chamber. Then chilidog belch. Carousel of Progress. Needs some work. The dad’s lazy eye in the second scene creeps me out a little. Country Bear Jamboree. I didn’t see this show. I watch The Colbert Report. I know how dangerous bears are. I’m not taking any chances.

…and now a quick word about the Magic Kingdom. My dad really doesn’t like the Magic Kingdom. I’m not sure why. I don’t think he gets the old school charm of the place. I’ll admit that the Magic Kingdom is not my favorite park either. Maybe its because I never experienced the park as a child. I was 17 on my first trip down to WDW. The park just seems to lack something. I don’t think there has been the addition of any major E-Ticket type attractions since my first trip there and several things have closed and not been replaced, or it could have been due to the fact that Pirates of Caribbean was down for refurb. I’m not saying I hate it (I went there four times).

I got to do everything outside of the spinning carnival rides, Tom Sawyer’s Island, and Country Bears before 3:00pm. So I decided to head back to the resort and rest for a few minutes. By now the rain had stopped, and my parents and I took the boat from Riverside to Downtown Disney. Woooo… shopping! We had dinner at Raglan Road around 6:30pm. Descent food, but not much going on there that early. Pleasure Island I really wanted to go to the Adventure’s Club, but just wasn’t up for it. This ended up being the only thing on my list that I just couldn’t get around to.

Next: The Tour and the day of four parks.

 

[1000thhappyhaunt]

In like Flynn!

I laughed. A bunch.

Thanks.

 

[patrokls]

5-17: The tour and the day of 4 parks

This morning we took the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who’s ever wanted to take a peek backstage. I’ll give you a hint: It looks like a regular old work place. If you believe strongly in the “Magic” you may want to avoid it because I think this could shatter your view. I believe this is why you must be 16 or older to take the tour. It was about 5 hours of walking and lunch at Columbia Harbor House was included. Our guide was Josh and it turns out we were his first tour. We didn’t find this out until the end of course. We had a small tour group so we didn’t use the headsets. The best part of the tour for me was meeting an Imagineer. Over by POTC there were three Imageneers talking about something and pointing towards the ground. One of them named Alex came over and explained to us what the black bricks running down the middle of Caribbean Plaza represent.

Now on this day I had planed to hit Animal Kingdom for evening EMH, but I had no plan between the tour and then. So I hit upon the ambitious idea of going to all 4 parks in one day. After the tour I took the monorail to Epcot. Here is where I decided I had to ride or see at least one attraction per park for it to count. Took a ride on Test Track again (single rider rules). It’s a bit like the test track near my home, but the cops don’t chase you when your drive it, and here GM isn’t laying off everyone. I also went to the UK, had a Strongbow and watched the British Invasion (love the Beatles even fake ones). I once again called my brother to bug him, mostly because Strongbow is one of his favorite beverages. Speaking of the UK, I think this would have been a good week to invade the country. Half the country must have been at WDW. You couldn’t spit without hitting one of those blokes. Believe me I tried.

All aboard the Friendship to MGM Studios. This was my first time through the International Gateway. I’ve never been back in the Epcot resort area before. I could get used to staying back there. Someday when I have more than $3 in my wallet. At MGM I tried to get a room at the Hollywood Tower Hotel but ended up in the Twilight Zone, sigh. Next I took a crazy limo ride to an Aerosmith concert, and I don’t really like Aerosmith.

Hopped a bus to the Kingdom of Animals. It was close to “closing time”(I hate that song so much) so more people were leaving than entering which was fine by me. After getting my pretty purple wristband I decided to take a two-week safari. The safari was a mixed bag. Most of the animals were gone, but the hippos were really active. It looked more like the Jungle Cruise. Our “guide” was terrific I’ve never seen a cast member who was this into their role. He did end up cutting the safari short as we chased down some poachers. Made me feel a little guilty for all that ivory I’ve got stashed away. Next I got some dinner at Flame Tree BBQ, along with everyone else.

Time to take a tea train up thru the Forbidden Mountains. Sounded pleasant. Three times we tried to get up that mountain and three times the Yeti chased us back down. You know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Disney really has a winner on their hands with Everest. This was the only ride in all of the parks that made me giggle like a little girl (I assume, me not being a little girl and all). All night the wait time was posted at 20 minutes, but I think I only waited about 10.

So pretty at night

Off to Dinoland.

Chester and Hester is a real oddity. It really is out of place in a Disney park, but it is well done nonetheless. The rides aren’t great, the carnival games are just wrong, but the theming of the area is still well done.
Dinosaur, ooooh scary, and brought to us by a generous grant from the McDonalds Corp., ooooh scarier.

Back to Dixie Landings. I had planned to stop by the River Roost for a quick drink, but Bob the piano man sucked me in. So two drinks (I’d have had a third, but then the lampshade would have come out and I only had room in my luggage for this ridiculously small one), two laps around the lounge, and two hours later I finally made it back to the room. 6:30a to midnight another long, full day in the World.

Next: The Weather and the Disney Zone

 

[1000thhappyhaunt]

Me too.

Mocca chocolata ya ya
Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister...

Oh.

Crap.

I sure HOPE this is what you were quoting over there on that other thread...

 

[patrokls]

Me too.

Mocca chocolata ya ya
Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister...

Oh.

Crap.

I sure HOPE this is what you were quoting over there on that other thread...

No. Coochie Coochie. That's what Charo used to say.