Karen's solo trip--Day 4

[TLinden16]

Day 4—Sunday, December 7, 2003
I woke up at 6:30 to get ready to head to the Magic Kingdom for early entry. I grabbed a coffee roll at the Boardwalk bakery for breakfast. It was really yummy. All of the pastries at the bakery looked awesome. Too many pastries to try in a three day stay at the Boardwalk. I guess I’ll have to make a point of stopping there and trying something new each trip.

After breakfast, I took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. I arrived about 20 minutes early, so I took that time to start videotaping the Mickey statues in front of the Magic Kingdom. The statues are really cool, and I taped every one of them while I was there. I think my favorites were the Red Sox one that Ben Affleck designed, the clown that Chris from Jump 5 designed, the one of Mickey with the Goofy hat on (I can’t remember who did that one), and the Statue of Liberty one that Kelly Ripa designed. There were plenty others that I loved, but those were the ones that come to mind when I think about the Mickeys.

When I made it through the turnstyles, I walked directly to Fantasyland. I road on Peter Pan, It’s A Small World, and Snow White with no waiting. I then decided to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway for the first time since I was a young child. I never bothered waiting in line for it as an adult because it’s always long, but decided I would on this trip. I waited in line with the nicest family from Philadelphia, and made the day of the daughter in the family by giving the mom the tip that her daughter could steer the car while mom keeps her foot on the gas.

I then headed over to Space Mountain, where I was in line with the cutest seven year old boy. His name is Billy Baumgartner—11 letters—B-A-U-M-G-A-R-T-N-E-R. He was in line by himself while his mom waited outside. He so friendly, and rambled on and on all about the thrill rides at Disney World, making sure everyone around him knew what the best seats were for the rides, and went into great detail about Mission Space. I wanted to bring him around the parks with me. He was better than a Pal Mickey. What a great kid!

After riding Space Mountain, I walked over to hit Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. After riding Thunder Mountain, I saw the group who were participating in the Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain meet. I ran into a couple of Disers, and was a bit surprised when I heard NancyIL call me by name. It felt great to be recognized. I rode on Splash Mountain with four obnoxious teenagers who made a very un-Disney like pose for the picture, so of course our picture got all washed up. I was glad that there wasn’t young kids in our log—I know how much kids enjoy seeing the picture at the end of the ride, and I hate to see them disappointed.
I then headed over to Adventureland to grab a fast pass for the Jungle Cruise. I went over and road on Pirates of the Caribbean, and grabbed a Dole whip while I waited for my fast pass time to arrive. I then rode the Jungle Cruise. We had a fantastic skipper, James, but he was wasted on our boat because no one seemed to be into it. I was the only one who moaned at the corny jokes, or even reacted to anyone. I don’t know if it was the chilly morning temperatures or if they were all heavily sedated, but no one else on that boat seemed to be having fun.

After the Jungle Cruise, I went to see Mickey’s Philharmagic, which was fantastic. It was so much fun. I made the day of a young boy by offering to switch seats with him because he couldn’t see over the adult in front of him. He tried to change seats with his dad, but still couldn’t see. I had a child in front of me, so I offered to change. The parents didn’t want to make me move too far down the row, so they offered to let me sit between them and their son, but I told them I’d be happy to move so that they could experience the attraction with their son. I have never had anyone so grateful for something as simple as trading seats with them. I told them I was happy to do it, and that I would hope an adult would move for my nieces and nephews if an adult was in front of them. I did look down at the young boy, and enjoyed watching him reaching for the items coming out of the screen.

Mickey’s Philharmagic is one of the better attractions that Disney has produced in recent years. It’s so much fun having the best songs from all of my favorite Disney movies featured in one attraction. I couldn’t help but quietly sing along to all of the wonderful songs, and even I was enthralled by the amazing 3D effects. I look forward to seeing this again many times in the coming years.

After Mickey’s Philharmagic, I had completed everything I hoped to accomplish at the Magic Kingdom in less than four hours. I love travelling in the off-season.

On my way past City Hall, I stopped in to see if David was working. David is a Guest Relations cast member who had helped out on my Keys to the Kingdom tour in August. If you’ve been to chat with me, you may have heard me talk about David. He is a wonderful storyteller, and he really kept our tour group entranced when he was talking. And on top of that, he’s very easy on the eyes. I decided that I wanted to take the time to let David know how much I enjoyed listening to him when he met us for lunch during the Keys to the Kingdom tour, and tell him what a wonderful storyteller he is. I told him that I had written a letter to Disney, and told them how wonderful he is. David walked outside with me so that we could get a picture together. He thanked me for taking time out of my day to talk to him, and gave me a ticket to use to get front of the line access at any attraction at the Magic Kingdom, which I never wound up using because there were no lines.

I then headed out of the Magic Kingdom, and took the monorail to the Ticket & Transportation Center. I then transferred to the Epcot monorail. I always enjoy riding the Epcot monorail, and take advantage of the spin through the park to check out the wait times and fast pass return times for Test Track so that I can plan my day accordingly.

When I entered Epcot, I took my time walking to Canada for my priority seating at LeCelliar for lunch. I stopped along the rail and looked out over the lagoon at all of the countries. I called home to check on the snow situation back home in Boston (still snowing up a storm with two feet already on the ground). I noticed that there was a stretcher near by, and some EMTs were working on a young boy. I don’t know what happened to him, but I just wanted to comment on how wonderful the cast members were being to the family. The brought the boy and his brother fries, sodas, and chicken McNuggets from the nearby stand, and they were making sure that they didn’t need anything else. There were at least a half dozen cast members helping this family, ranging from security guards, to janitors, to managers in suits. It was great to see them taking such great care of that family.

I checked in for my 1:00p.m. priority seating at about 12:55p.m., and was giving a beeper. I have to say that one of the things that drives me crazy about LeCelliar is that they don’t seemed to have mastered the use of priority seating there. Unless I go right at opening time, I’m guaranteed a long wait. I had to wait over a half an hour for my table. It’s just frustrating when you have to wait that long when you make a priority seating. I can deal with a ten or fifteen minute wait, but over 30 is a bit extreme. It just takes an extra time out of your day unnecessarily because you are tied down to a certain area because of the beeper. On top of that, I watched the table that I wound up sitting at (right next to the fireplace) sit empty for ten minutes while I waited for my beeper to go off. They need to get better organized there.

When I finally reached my table at 1:30, I already knew what I would be ordering. I was using a Connections voucher for lunch, so I was having soup, entrée, and desert today. I started off with a cup of cheddar cheese soup. I love dipping my breadsticks into the soup. It’s very tasty. For my entrée, I chose the petit filet. I opted for the cream cheese mashed potatoes instead of the Yukon roasted potatoes. The filet was tasty, but a bit tough. The potatoes were awesome. I finished my meal with a chocolate moose. By that time, I was pretty full, so I only ate about half of it, but it was very yummy.

After lunch, I headed over to the stage where Off Kilter plays. It was about 15 minutes from showtime, and all of the benches were already full. I sat on the ground between the benches so I could get a good vantage point to videotape their set from. I never miss Off Kilter on my trips because they are so always so much, and they didn’t disappoint. Jamie, the bagpipe guy, is just so much fun to watch. He just seems to have this really great personality, and he has one of those infectious smiles. He just beams up there.

I then headed back to the Boardwalk to rest for a few minutes, and get ready to head over to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. I wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom before closing time so that I could take advantage of the 6:00-7:00 hour to ride a few things in Tomorrowland. I was planning on leaving the Magic Kingdom by about 10:30 so I could be at Jellyrolls by 11:00 to see Scotty and Ray.

I arrived at the Magic Kingdom at about 5:30, and immediately went to Tomorrowland. I went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority for two cycles, and then road on Buzz Lightyear. I then caught the end of “Mickey’s ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.” I had seen this show last year, and I absolutely love it. It’s just so cute. I love it when Minnie sings “Santa Baby” to Santa Goofy.

I then headed over to the hub to find a spot to relax until I could get over to my favorite parade spot (the wall in front of Pecos Bill’s Café). The castle was lit up by snowflakes, and looked absolutely gorgious. They were taking pictures, so I decided to have mine taken. I loved the way the castle looked, so I wound up shelling out the $13 to buy the picture. They also took a picture of me with my hand out and put Tinkerbell in my hand. I didn’t get that one because you couldn’t see much of the castle in the picture.

After having my picture taken, I went over to Peco’s Bill’s Café. I was meeting up with Mouseaholic and Baveria at the Christmas party, and I told them I would hold them space on the wall. I needed some time to relax, so I really enjoyed sitting on the wall, watching everyone walk by, and enjoying the piped in Christmas music. While I waited for Mouseaholic and Baveria, a couple of janitors walked by dancing, so I got up and danced with them. What the heck, I was in Disney World. What could be more magically then dancing in Frontierland with a couple of janitors. They were surprised that I joined them, but I was having fun, so that was all that mattered.

Shortly after that, Mouseaholic showed up. I was very excited to finally meet her as we had been trying to arrange to meet since we both arrived at Disney on Dec. 4th, and just couldn’t get our schedules to mesh together. It was nice to have someone to share my ledge with.

When Mouseaholic got there, I went into Peco’s Bill’s Café and got some dinner. I was using another quick and casual dinner voucher, so I got a bacon double cheeseburger, chocolate cream pie, and a diet coke. I wound up throwing one of the beef patties away because I knew I couldn’t eat all that. I got some pickles to put on my burger, and some cheese sauce to dip my fires in, and headed out to the ledge. I knelt down on the ground and ate. The burger was just OK—the quality of the burgers doesn’t seem as good as it used to be. The chocolate cream pie was very good.

Baveria showed up while I was eating, and it was fun to have two new Dis friends sitting with me at the parade. We really hit it off. We were gabbing up a storm, and it was like we were old friends instead of new ones.
By the time the parade started, I was off the wall hyper. I was bouncing up and down, clapping to the music, waving at the characters, and singing along. Mouseaholic and Baveria probably thought I was insane, but I was just having a great time. I think at that point, the lack of sleep during my trip had finally caught up with me, and I reached the point of being so overtired that I couldn’t sit still anymore. But I was having fun, and that’s all that matters.

The parade was a lot of fun, but I missed having Santa Goofy riding in the tall chair that is now occupied by Woody. It’s just not the same. I also got very jelaous because my favorite character Goofy walked over and hugged Mouseaholic and only shook my hand. I’m still not over that one.

After the parade, Mouseaholic, Baveria, and I decided to head over to the photo spot in Adventureland. On our way, we ran into Rafiki, so Mouseaholic and I had our picture taken with him since no one else was around him at that point. We then got in line to have our picture taken. We decided to have our picture taken together so we could always remember who we spent the evening with during the Christmas party. When we handed the guy our forms for the picture, I told him that we were old friends and knew each other for two hours.

We grabbed some cookies and cocoa, and headed to Main Street to watch Wishes. I really loved the fireworks display. Tinkerbell totally brightened the sky with all of her lights. I just kept on turning around, and I’m sure I had one of those mouth dropped awed looks on my face throughout the show.

After Wishes, I said goodbye to Mouseaholic and Baveria. I wanted to do some shopping before heading out. I wasn’t overly impressed by the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party merchandise this year. I liked the character scene on the front, but I didn’t like the colors they had for the merchandise, so I didn’t buy anything.

I then walked to the bus stop to head back to the Boardwalk. While I was waiting for the bus, I started talking to an adorable little girl and her family. The little girl, Vivian, was just the sweetest little thing. She was just a little chatterbox, and was telling me all about her trip. At one point, she looks up at me and says, “You smell nice.” I guess she must like the smell of Japanese food. I had worn the same jacket to Teppanyaki the night before, and it smelled like the grill.

When we got on the bus, Vivian asked if she could sit with me, and I told her that would be fine if it was all right with her parents. They were fine with that, so Vivian sat with me and we talked the entire way to the Yacht Club, where Vivian and her family were staying. I enjoyed riding the bus with Vivian and her family so much that I decided to give her and her brother a little something. I had two pins in my pocket, so I let Vivian pick one and gave the other one to her brother Doug.

I quickly went back to my room to change before heading over to Jellyrolls. It was pretty packed when I got there. I spotted several Disers (Towncrier, FigmentVI and her daughter and son-in-law, and SCDizneyDawn—at least I think that’s what her name is, but I’m not sure) sitting right up front. But I was too wound to sit down at that point. I needed to stand up and move, so I decided to stand up in the back. I caught the last few minutes of Drew and Christian’s second set of the evening.

Then, at 11:00, my beloved Scotty and Ray came out. On Friday, I had told Scotty that he better save “Buttercup” until I got there on Sunday night, so I went and put a request for “Buttercup” on his piano. I also put a request for “Dirty Water” up there, as I had heard from Tommy Bell that Ray does a great job on that song. I got a huge smile and “How are you doing, Karen?” from Scotty when I walked over to his piano, and I knew he would do my request next. Nothing gets your song played faster than a $20 tip, folks. I waved hello to my new Dis friends sitting near Scotty’s piano before heading back to my spot in the back to wait for Scotty to belt “Buttercup.”

Mid-way through the set, the waitstaff got onstage to lead everyone in “The Land of 1000 Dances.” I was standing in the back doing the dances by myself when piano guy Christian Cartier happened to walk by. He stopped and did the dances with me, so that was fun.

I saw FigmentVI and Towncrier get up to leave, so I walked over to the door to say goodbye to them, and tell them both how wonderful it was to meet them. It was so nice to run into some familiar faces at Jellyrolls that night.

Mid-way through Christian and Drew’s final set of the night, I was finally calm enough to go sit down, so I went up front and sat with the Disers still left at Jellyrolls. I noticed Scotty circling the bar a few times looking for someone, but didn’t think anything of it. At the end of the night, Scotty told me he had been looking for me, but didn’t realize that I had moved. Oops. Sorry Scotty.

When Scotty and Ray came out for their final set of the evening, I was a bit sad because I knew it would be the last time I would see them on my trip. So, I was going to make the most of that last hour, and have the best time possible. There were only about 20 or 30 people left in the bar at that point, so Scotty and Ray had tons of interaction with the audience.

At one point, Scotty said, “Karen down here in the front has been waiting for a special song all night.” I hadn’t realized that I was waiting for a special song, but was happy to have Scotty dedicating, “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” to me.

Later in the evening, Scotty jumped up with the waitstaff to lead us in “The Time Warp.” As he walked back to the piano, I handed him another $20 because I was having so much fun. Scotty asked me what I wanted to hear, and told everyone that I handed him a twenty for no reason. He told me to pick something, and I told him to pick something. I didn’t really care what I heard because no matter what they sing, I know I’m going to have fun listening to it. Scotty finally chose a song, and it happened to be a song that I had never heard before. I still don’t know what it was, but it was a very appropriate song. It was something about being broke and going home. He probably realized that I put about $100 on his piano the two nights I saw him, and he knew I was going home in two days. He picked the right song for me.

At the end of the night, I had to take the time to thank Scotty for being so great the two nights that I saw him. I wrote a little thank you note for him and Ray for being so much fun to watch. FigmentVI’s son-in-law Tim took a great picture of me and Scotty. Scotty is a great guy, really sweet beyond words. If you ever see him, put in a request for “Buttercup” for Karen from Boston who is back home not having fun.

After saying goodbye to Scotty, and the Disers, I went back to my room to catch a few hours of sleep before I had to meet up with Mouseaholic and Baveria for another fun day in the World.

 

[IloveDMB]

Sounds like another nice day!

 

[one_cat]

Thank you Karen - these are wonderful trip reports.

 

[Minniespal]

Wonderful trip report ~ Thanx for sharing.