JenniBarra
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2002
- Messages
- 415
Sunday, January 26
We took our time getting up this morning. We had breakfast in our room using some of the food we had delivered to the resort via Netgrocer. (Despite trying to make breakfast as inexpensive of a meal as possible, in addition to Netgrocers delivery charge Coronado Springs dinged us with a package holding fee. I had been told by others online that there might be one, but I hadnt expected it to be $8.48, especially when it wasnt a terribly big or heavy box and it had only been held for a single day.) We had our first opportunity to try Parmalat milk, a product that doesnt require refrigeration until after its been open. It was actually pretty good.
Anyhow, I was soon eager to get on our own way. While we could have taken a bus directly to Epcot, I purposely took the long way (bus to Magic Kingdom, monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and monorail to Epcot) to get there. We knew, because Chris had mentioned it the previous night, Chris would be driving one of the monorails midday on the MK/TTC route. First, though, was the bus trip. Being from California, were somewhat of a novelty at Walt Disney World since it seems most of the visitors are from east of the Mississippi. In chatting with the bus driver, we ended up giving him tips for visiting Disneyland!
At the monorial station, we hardly had to wait at all before Chris drove up in Monorail Purple. While our trip was very brief, it was rather fun to see Chris in full costume, doing what he loves best. We werent the only ones to request to ride up front, as someone else Chris knew was at the parks that day, too. What a popular guy! ; )
Once at Epcot, we made a stop at Guest Relations. Back during my very brief September trip, we met a very nice cast member named Krystyna. At the time, when we said that we were planning to be back one last time in January on our annual passes, she said that we should go to Guest Relations and look her up. At the booth just outside the park, we didnt have much luck, though one cast member seemed to be familiar with the name. (We were going through this whole routine of trying to remember how exactly to spell it and we could only remember that it was spelled very uniquely.)
We were disappointed at not having tracked down Krystyna, but we decided to head into the park.
Of course, that big Spaceship Earth beckoned us first. I had been thinking we should ride the heck out of it, considering all of the rumors that have been buzzing about SE. Besides that barbecue chip smell, theres a vivid scent that I associate with this attraction, topped by that dark feeling of mystery.
On the way out of the attraction, a cast member spied my lanyard with its many buttons and asked about the Laughing Place one. We got into a nice little chat with her, which also enabled us to ask her for her opinion on those SE rumors. She said that, with the sponsorship being pulled, its highly unlikely that Disney would strip out the ride and do something different. Maybe in a few years, but not any time soon.
Next it was off to Test Track. While its a cool ride, Im beginning to wonder if Ive ever had a truly accurate ride. It seems theres always one section thats out of sync or doesnt quite do what it should. We rode it twice in a row and it didnt work quite right in one place each time.
On our way out after the second trip, I mentioned that I was curious what the Dreamchasers attraction is like. While it has a completely different storyline and graphics, it functioned the same exact goofy way that the GM exhibit at Innoventions in Anaheim does!
Later on, we did some shopping at MouseGear. (My mother requested a Valentines antenna ball or any other unique to Disney World antenna balls for her collection, so we would be on an ongoing quest during the week to see what kinds were available.) I quickly realized that some of the merchandise is actually the same on both coasts, only the names change. However there were also some unique to WDW stuff I had to have, like the apt t-shirt with the slogan I am never growing up. ; ) I also picked up a hat to coordinate with the bag and backpack I frequently travel with now. (Black with multi-colored embroidered Mickey head.) On a side note, its kind of funny how this has been a gradually growing ensemble. It started with the bag, which Keith ordered from DelivEARs in Anaheim (though it had a WDW tag on it) to give to me as a Christmas present in 01. In February 2002, we found a matching backpack at the Disney outlets off International Drive in Orlando. And now, from MouseGear in January 2003, I have a cap to go along with em!
Since an earlier CM had mentioned knowing Krystyna, we decided to try to the other Guest Relations location in the park. We did find someone else who indeed knew her but said that she has been out on medical leave. We were somewhat disappointed again as we were hoping to wish her a happy retirement, as Krystyna had told us in September that in February 2003, she was planning to retire from Epcot after 20 years of working there. Though she is on leave right now, other CMs are in communication with her so we left a note and, hopefully, somone will get it to her soon. After we had handed over the note, the CM told us to hang on a moment, that she had something for us. She must have noticed my buttons because she came back with a couple of WDW 31st birthday buttons. We thanked her profusely, especially because I am just about one month older than the Magic Kingdom so were the same age! (I have a practice now of picking up the birthday items when I can since each of its milestones is one for me, too.) Having written all this, I would not suggest that guests swarm Guest Relations since I think the best magic is the unexpected things and you never know where or when in the World they will take place. : ) We didnt go out looking for something special, it just happened.
By now, it was time to head over to Wilderness Lodge to attend the DisneyDollarless meet at the Whispering Canyon Café. It was great to be able to put faces to so many names I have seen for so long, both on the mailing list and in the regular chats. I hope I remember all of the folks and their families, but I do apologize if Ive left anyone out! I met Arlen (Dreamfinder), Pam, Lynn, RadioCarla, Maggie, Deb With all of the assorted family members included, there must have been around 20 of us in the group. (Enough that we were seated at two long tables.) We had a great time talking about all kinds of things and, of course, there was also the entertainment of the servers working there. (This was a first for us, but Id long heard about how you should never ask for ketchup here. ; )) It was a lot of fun, needless to say! : ) After being introduced to the faces, it was nice to recognize each other in the parks here and there during the rest of the week. (We had one day where we ran into Lynn and her family a couple times at Epcot and, on a later day, I saw Carla and called out, but she didnt hear me.)
After dinner, while we probably could have still made in a bit of Epcot time, we decided to call it a day and spend some time relaxing in our room. I was then able to start at least the first part of my trip report and actually upload it to some friends and family members.
We took our time getting up this morning. We had breakfast in our room using some of the food we had delivered to the resort via Netgrocer. (Despite trying to make breakfast as inexpensive of a meal as possible, in addition to Netgrocers delivery charge Coronado Springs dinged us with a package holding fee. I had been told by others online that there might be one, but I hadnt expected it to be $8.48, especially when it wasnt a terribly big or heavy box and it had only been held for a single day.) We had our first opportunity to try Parmalat milk, a product that doesnt require refrigeration until after its been open. It was actually pretty good.
Anyhow, I was soon eager to get on our own way. While we could have taken a bus directly to Epcot, I purposely took the long way (bus to Magic Kingdom, monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and monorail to Epcot) to get there. We knew, because Chris had mentioned it the previous night, Chris would be driving one of the monorails midday on the MK/TTC route. First, though, was the bus trip. Being from California, were somewhat of a novelty at Walt Disney World since it seems most of the visitors are from east of the Mississippi. In chatting with the bus driver, we ended up giving him tips for visiting Disneyland!
At the monorial station, we hardly had to wait at all before Chris drove up in Monorail Purple. While our trip was very brief, it was rather fun to see Chris in full costume, doing what he loves best. We werent the only ones to request to ride up front, as someone else Chris knew was at the parks that day, too. What a popular guy! ; )
Once at Epcot, we made a stop at Guest Relations. Back during my very brief September trip, we met a very nice cast member named Krystyna. At the time, when we said that we were planning to be back one last time in January on our annual passes, she said that we should go to Guest Relations and look her up. At the booth just outside the park, we didnt have much luck, though one cast member seemed to be familiar with the name. (We were going through this whole routine of trying to remember how exactly to spell it and we could only remember that it was spelled very uniquely.)
We were disappointed at not having tracked down Krystyna, but we decided to head into the park.
Of course, that big Spaceship Earth beckoned us first. I had been thinking we should ride the heck out of it, considering all of the rumors that have been buzzing about SE. Besides that barbecue chip smell, theres a vivid scent that I associate with this attraction, topped by that dark feeling of mystery.
On the way out of the attraction, a cast member spied my lanyard with its many buttons and asked about the Laughing Place one. We got into a nice little chat with her, which also enabled us to ask her for her opinion on those SE rumors. She said that, with the sponsorship being pulled, its highly unlikely that Disney would strip out the ride and do something different. Maybe in a few years, but not any time soon.
Next it was off to Test Track. While its a cool ride, Im beginning to wonder if Ive ever had a truly accurate ride. It seems theres always one section thats out of sync or doesnt quite do what it should. We rode it twice in a row and it didnt work quite right in one place each time.
On our way out after the second trip, I mentioned that I was curious what the Dreamchasers attraction is like. While it has a completely different storyline and graphics, it functioned the same exact goofy way that the GM exhibit at Innoventions in Anaheim does!
Later on, we did some shopping at MouseGear. (My mother requested a Valentines antenna ball or any other unique to Disney World antenna balls for her collection, so we would be on an ongoing quest during the week to see what kinds were available.) I quickly realized that some of the merchandise is actually the same on both coasts, only the names change. However there were also some unique to WDW stuff I had to have, like the apt t-shirt with the slogan I am never growing up. ; ) I also picked up a hat to coordinate with the bag and backpack I frequently travel with now. (Black with multi-colored embroidered Mickey head.) On a side note, its kind of funny how this has been a gradually growing ensemble. It started with the bag, which Keith ordered from DelivEARs in Anaheim (though it had a WDW tag on it) to give to me as a Christmas present in 01. In February 2002, we found a matching backpack at the Disney outlets off International Drive in Orlando. And now, from MouseGear in January 2003, I have a cap to go along with em!
Since an earlier CM had mentioned knowing Krystyna, we decided to try to the other Guest Relations location in the park. We did find someone else who indeed knew her but said that she has been out on medical leave. We were somewhat disappointed again as we were hoping to wish her a happy retirement, as Krystyna had told us in September that in February 2003, she was planning to retire from Epcot after 20 years of working there. Though she is on leave right now, other CMs are in communication with her so we left a note and, hopefully, somone will get it to her soon. After we had handed over the note, the CM told us to hang on a moment, that she had something for us. She must have noticed my buttons because she came back with a couple of WDW 31st birthday buttons. We thanked her profusely, especially because I am just about one month older than the Magic Kingdom so were the same age! (I have a practice now of picking up the birthday items when I can since each of its milestones is one for me, too.) Having written all this, I would not suggest that guests swarm Guest Relations since I think the best magic is the unexpected things and you never know where or when in the World they will take place. : ) We didnt go out looking for something special, it just happened.
By now, it was time to head over to Wilderness Lodge to attend the DisneyDollarless meet at the Whispering Canyon Café. It was great to be able to put faces to so many names I have seen for so long, both on the mailing list and in the regular chats. I hope I remember all of the folks and their families, but I do apologize if Ive left anyone out! I met Arlen (Dreamfinder), Pam, Lynn, RadioCarla, Maggie, Deb With all of the assorted family members included, there must have been around 20 of us in the group. (Enough that we were seated at two long tables.) We had a great time talking about all kinds of things and, of course, there was also the entertainment of the servers working there. (This was a first for us, but Id long heard about how you should never ask for ketchup here. ; )) It was a lot of fun, needless to say! : ) After being introduced to the faces, it was nice to recognize each other in the parks here and there during the rest of the week. (We had one day where we ran into Lynn and her family a couple times at Epcot and, on a later day, I saw Carla and called out, but she didnt hear me.)
After dinner, while we probably could have still made in a bit of Epcot time, we decided to call it a day and spend some time relaxing in our room. I was then able to start at least the first part of my trip report and actually upload it to some friends and family members.
