Live from Disney World it's Karen's latest trip! Entire trip posted!

[TLinden16]

Day 4--Monday, May 20, 2006

I was up bright and early again after another late night at Jellyrolls. But the sleepless nights are well worth it for all of the fun times I have at Jellyrolls and in the parks

I had a quick breakfast in the room, and headed out to the Magic Kingdom, where I would be meeting my new DIS friend Alyce. I got to the park right at opening, but wasn't meeting Alyce until 9:30, so I went over and took a spin on the Peter Pan ride. I really love this ride--it's so whimsical--but I hate the lines that form for this one. It's just such a slow moving line if you don't hit it early in the day or grab a fast pass.

After Peter Pan, I went to meet Alyce. We started off with a ride on the Jungle Cruise. We had a fantastic skipper--Captain Bob. He was absolutely hysterical. He told a bunch of jokes that I had never heard in all my years on riding this ride. We then went over and road on Aladdin's Magic Carpets.

It was then off to Frontierland to ride Splash and Thunder Mountain. We had grabbed fast passes for Splash Mountain, and were going to ride it again, but it was down. We wound up grabbing a couple more fast passes, as my DIS friend Goofy4Tink would be arriving later in the day, and we would be able to ride it with her.

We then went over to the Haunted Mansion, followed by It's A Small World when hunger struck. We wound up going to the Columbia Harbor House, where I had one of the best meals of my trip. I got a delicious salad with chicken, pineapple, and pecans. It was light, chilled to perfection, and very tasty. I also got some fries, and chocolate cake for dessert. The cake wasn't that good, but I was pretty full from the salad and fries so I didn't really need it.

After lunch, we went to see Mickey's Philharmagic, and then headed over to Virtual Magic Kingdom Central. Alyce had a bunch of quests to turn in, and I wanted to log on to Virtual Magic Kingdom to see if any of my friends were around. While I was on the computer at VMK central, Goofy4Tink called to let me know she was early. She wound up coming over and meeting us. It was great to see my great friend Goofy4Tink again. We live less than an hour from each other, and we see each other more in Disney World than we do back home.

After taking care of business at VMK central, we headed over to Tomorrowland, where we rode on Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I got my best score ever on Buzz Lightyear, but that was only because the ride stopped for a few minutes, and I was able to keep my gun pointed at a 5000 point target.

We stopped at the Lunching Pad for a quick snack. Goofy4Tink and I love the stuffed pretzels there. I got a spicy cheese pretzel and a frozen coke. Goofy4Tink got a sweet cream cheese pretzel. We both shared our pretzels with Alyce. They were very yummy.

Alyce is a Stitch fan and had never experienced the Stitch attraction. I am not a big fan of the Stitch attraction (I really think they took a lame attraction and made it lamer), but being the good friend that I am, I agreed to go to it for Alyce, as did Goofy4Tink. We kept on telling Alyce that she owed us big time. I suffered through it, holding my breath and leaning my head forward at the right time. Alyce got a kick out of it, though, so I guess that made it worth our time.

We then headed over to Frontierland, where we were bombarded by several large groups of people all wearing the same shirt. I know that a lot of times you'll see school kids wearing the same shirts, but these were tour groups wearing the shirts from their tour companies. I have to say that if I were on a tour group I wouldn't be wearing the same shirt as everyone else. Heck, I'd probably be breaking away from the group for fun on my own.

Finally in Fronteirland, we grabbed fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain, and used our earlier fast passes to ride on Splash Mountain. I love going on Splash Mountain anytime, but it is so much more fun when I ride it with friends who will sing and clap along to the songs just like me. We then road on Big Thunder Mountain.

We then headed over to the Country Bear Jamboree, which I had not seen in about 15 years. The show had just started, so we squeezed in a showing of the Enchanted Tiki Birds. We were in the back row, so we sang, clapped, and danced in our seats to all the songs.

It was then off to the Country Bear Jamboree. Goofy4Tink was very impressed when I told her I thought the show would begin in about two and a half minutes, and sure enough, that was how much time before the show when we arrived there. The Country Bear Jamboree was one of the highlights of my trip. Why, you may be wondering? Well, it is by far the most offensive show on Disney property! I mean, the songs are so politically incorrect that they are delightfully sinful. The song "Mama Don't Whup Little Buford No More" became our soundtrack for the week. I just can't believe that they call that family friendly entertainment, but it sure was funny.

After the Country Bear Jamboree, Goofy4Tink and I said goodbye to Alyce and headed out of the park. We took the monorail over to the Polynesian for dinner at the Kona Cafe. The Kona Cafe is one of my favorite restaurants at Disney World, and a must do on each trip. We started off with the Sticky Wings, which were very sticky and tasty. We both got the Steak Teriyaki for our entree. I love the pineapple glaze and relish they put on this steak. The steak itself was a bit tough, but it was very tasty. The mashed potatoes were awesome as well. For dessert, we shared a kiddie cone. I think we enjoyed the cotton candy more than anything.

After dinner, we walked over to the Ticket & Transportation Center to catch the monorail to Epcot. We were originally planning on going to catch the Davy Jones Flower Power concert, but we changed our minds (I figured I'd just go to Jellyrolls and make Scotty sing a Monkees song for me). We took a ride on Spaceship Earth, and walked back to the Boardwalk. I had a little present for Goofy4Tink, and she had to come and pick it up at my room so we wouldn't have to carry it all day.

After saying goodbye to Goofy4Tink, I made my way over to Jellyrolls to see my beloved Scotty and Ray play again. Tommy and Jason were the other piano players that night, and they were already onstage when I walked into the bar and took my seat in the front row. It's always great to be home in my bar

It was really dead in Jellyrolls this night, but I still had a lot of fun. I think most of the requests the guys got that night came from me and one other table. People just didn't seem to be putting requests up. I must have put about 15 requests up on the piano. At on point, Tommy commented that he didn't have one song he knew on his piano, so I put up a tip and a napkin with three songs I knew that Tommy knew.

I have to say that I really enjoyed some of the new things I heard the guys do on this trip. Several times each night, all four piano players take the stage to do a song together, and these songs really highlight how talented these guys are, and just how much they really compliment each other. They really sound great when they all harmonize together.

I was thrilled to see Scotty in the spotlight singing "The River of Dreams." He is just so fantastic and uninhibited standing at center stage, belting out this tune. I also loved hearing Scotty sing "Callin' Baton Rouge," which is a really fun song, and perfectly suited for Scotty's voice. Ray singing "Southern Cross" was also a highlight of the trip. I was familiar with the song, but had no clue why. And Ray and Scotty singing "Drift Away" is always one of my favorite things to see, as it is one of my favorite songs.

I really can't say enough wonderful things about the Jellyrolls pianomen. They are so incredibly talented, and I really respect the hard work they put in night after night to put on a great show for everyone who comes into the bar. I love how they keep on learning more songs, and doing stuff to keep their performances fresh and exciting.

I closed the bar down again at 2:00 a.m., and slowly made my way back to my room. I sat on the balcony for a while and enjoyed the view before hitting the hay.

 

[burly]

Ok I'm going to make it a point to hit Jellyrolls this trip with my sister. It's just her and I. If it is 1/2 as much fun as you make it sound, we will have a blast. Loving your TR. Kim

 

[TLinden16]

When are you going to Disney, Kim? Definitely make a stop at Jellyrolls. Hopefully you can see my guys Scotty and Ray. They are the best. If you see them, tell them Karen from Boston sent you

 

[burly]

My sister and I are going all alone, no husbands or kids at the end of September thru the first week in October. CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!! This is definately something we would love love love to do. Kim

 

[TLinden16]

Oh, two ladies alone without the hubbies and kids. Look out world If you have any questions, or need any song suggestions, shot me a PM when it gets closer

 

[burly]

Thank you so much I'm sure I will. Kim

 

[CamColt]

When the heck do you sleep, Karen?

I just found this report now, and I'm loving it. It sounds like you had so much fun.

 

[BriarRosie]

I feel like I was there with you. It sounds familiar to me, except I tend to close down the Adventurers Club. And I think it's a strange thing
that I can go to sleep after 2am and then wake up at 7am.

Only at WDW.

I suppose I need to mix it up next time and go back to Jellyrolls some night.

 

[travelin' tigger]

It sure was tough to come home - now the next countdown begins!!

It was really dead in Jellyrolls this night, but I still had a lot of fun. I think most of the requests the guys got that night came from me and one other table. People just didn't seem to be putting requests up. I must have put about 15 requests up on the piano. At on point, Tommy commented that he didn't have one song he knew on his piano, so I put up a tip and a napkin with three songs I knew that Tommy knew.

It was fun to hang out with you that night - it seems that guy Joe was doing alot of requests, but you did a nice job keeping pace!!

 

[goofy4tink]

Karen doesn't sleep!!! I never saw any one human person with the stamina of the Energizer bunny like her!! But, we did have a ball. I'm home too, exhausted and worn to the bone, but Expedition Everest was the best!!!

 

[TLinden16]

but Expedition Everest was the best!!!

Woo woo woo woo woo

I never had as much fun corrupting a kid as I did corrupting Goofy4tink's daughter.

Diane don't whop Buford no more
Don't whop Buford on the head
Diane don't wohop Buford no more
I think you should shoot him instead

 

[TLinden16]

Day 5--Tuesday May 16, 2006

I woke up to a dreary morning this day. I turned on the TV for the first time of my trip, and tuned into the Weather Channel to get today’s forecast. Much to surprise, I found out that the rain back home in Boston was a lot heavier than I had realized, and there was a lot of flooding. I quickly became concerned for my family back home, as the reports on the Weather Channel announced that there were many evacuations in Peabody and Lowell, Massachusetts, where two of my sisters and one of my brothers live.

Of course, the first thing I did after hearing this report was to call home and check in on my family. Thankfully, other than a little water in the basements, none of my siblings were too affected by the flooding. I found out that I had a bit of water in my basement as well, but that is normal with heavy rains in a 100 year old house. My sister lives just a five minute walk from the Ipswich River, and she told me that they walked down to check the level one day, and it was at the bottom of the bridge, higher than they ever saw it. Three hours later, they walked back, and it had raised several inches and was now over the bridge.

After being assured that my family was weathering the storm OK, I grabbed a quick breakfast in my room, and walked over to Disney/MGM Studios. I road on the Tower of Terror and Rock ‘N Roller Coaster twice each. By the time I was through riding these rides, it was raining at a pretty steady clip. I don’t mind if there is a little bit of rain as I tour the parks, but it was raining pretty hard, so I decided that I would leave the park and go back to my room for a bit before my lunch reservation at Alfredo’s with Goofy4Tink (who I totally blame for the rain that happened on this day--she flew in from Boston the day before, and brought the rain with her, and let’s not talk about how much she whooped poor little Buford during the trip).

Going back to my room for a while allowed me to check my e-mail, and post the first two days of my trip report for your reading pleasure. But I avoided checking in at work--I’m on vacation, and I’m all about fun! Woot woot!

I left my room around 12:30 to head over to Epcot for lunch. Goofy4Tink and I were seated within a few minutes. We had a very sweet waiter named Roberto. I started off with a ceasar salad, and Goofy4Tink got some kind of crazy salad that I can’t remember what was in it. We both really enjoyed our salads--they really make an excellent ceasar salad at Alfredo’s. We both ordered lasagna for our entrees, and we agreed that it was fantastic. The sauce was tangy and slightly sweet, and there was just the right amount of cheese. The noodles were tender, and not too chewy. Perfect. For dessert, we just could not resist the chocolate mousse. We both showed restraint, and did not lick our cups clean.

After lunch, we began to walk off the 8 million calories we had just eaten. If memory serves me correctly, we made stops to ride the Maelstrom and the Rio del Tiempo. We also went on Spaceship Earth.

We then headed towards the International Gateway, and walked back to the Boardwalk so we could drop a gift Goofy4Tink got me back at my room. We then grabbed a bus to the Animal Kingdom for what turned out to be one of the most fun parts of my trip.

Since it had rained most of the day, we were pretty much had the park to ourselves. As we walked into the park, we saw some characters lingering around, and we were able to meet and interact with several of them with a wait of no more than two families ahead of us.

Our first character was Goofy, who was just hanging out all alone. I went over to Goofy and told him that I love him more than Goofy4Tink does, and Goofy4Tink tried to tell him that she liked him more. But I think he knows that I love him the most.

We then made our way over to meet Donald, which Goofy4Tink was very excited about. Donald is always so hard to find, so we were both happy to find him waiting around the entrance to the Animal Kingdom for us.

Minnie was standing just a few steps away, and she got a bit upset with me. I asked her if it would be all right if we stole Mickey from her, and she did not like that at all. I quickly told Minnie that I was joking around, but I swear she put her hands up and was ready to get in a fist fight with me.

Mickey was nearby, and we went over and had a picture taken with him under the watchful eye of Minnie. I never realized just how jealous Minnie can be.

When we got through the gates at the Animal Kingdom, Goofy4Tink and I made our way back to Expedition Everest. I had been on it in January, but this was Goofy4Tink’s first time. I can’t say enough great things about this ride. It is just so thrilling, and so much fun. This ride made the Animal Kingdom a must do park for me every trip, rather than something I do every few trips to see “The Festival of the Lion King” and ride on the stuff in Dinoland (I’m not an animal person, so the safari is expendable for me).

After our first ride, since there was no line, we decided to ride it again. I really think that the first time you ride a thrill ride it doesn’t really count because you are so uncertain of what the experience it’s going to be like. So, you really need to ride it a second time to truly enjoy it, so I knew Goofy4Tink needed to ride it again. And me being the good friend that I am, was more than happy to oblige.

Since it was so dead, I got Goofy4Tink to agree to ride it in the front row, and we had a blast! The view from the front row at the first transition is just amazing. It really is a truly peaceful experience right before they throw you into a frenzy on the ride.

As our coaster pulled into the end, I said, “I wanna do it again.” And to my surprise, Goofy4Tink agreed. Next thing you know, I was saying, “I bet we can ride this ten times before the park closes.” Well, we quickly hit 10 rides, and the park was still opened for a while longer. So we decided to go for an even dozen. As we walked off the ride after our tenth ride, it was about a minute before park closing, so we hurried to the entrance to the ride, and right after we and one other party of two walked into the gate, the cast members shut the door so no one else could get in. We road the ride for the 13th time of the evening.

By the end of the marathon, we were calling all of the cast members by name. We’d get to the ride, and we’d be like, “We’ll just follow Amanda. She’ll put us in a row.” I think many cast members were surprised to see us going on the ride over and over again. That is a teenage kid thing to do--not an adult thing. But we sure had fun.

We also had a lot of fun with the pictures. We decided to act silly for a lot of them. In one of them we just sat there like we were really bored. In another, we pretended to be sleeping. Another time we pretended to be fighting, and in another we pretended to be throwing up off the side of the car. The cast member giving people the numbers of their photos seemed to get a kick out of looking at our pictures.

And just for the record, I think you should all know that Goofy4Tink did get her hearing back after sitting next to me whooing on this ride 13 times in about 90 minutes. I get very loud when I’m having a good time.

After our Expedition Everest marathon, we took the bus to the Swan, and then transferred to a bus heading to Downtown Disney. Our first stop was Wolfgang Puck’s Express for dinner. We both got a barbecue chicken salad, which we agreed was excellent (although next time I will get mine without tomatoes and onions--they are finally chopped and hard to pick out). I also got the tortilla soup, which was very disappointing. It was more of tomato puree with spices than a tortilla soup. It didn’t have much flavor to it. We shared a crème brulee for dessert, which was very good, although the custard was a bit chunkier than I’m used to in crème brulee.

We then went to the World of Disney for some shopping. I think Goofy4Tink was amazed at the speed at which I whizzed through the store doing my shopping. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I wasn’t going to buy lots of little impulse buys along the way (Disney gets enough of my money). We also stopped in the Christmas and scrapbooking stores before heading to the bus stop to go back to our resorts.

A bus to the Yacht & Beach Club arrived pretty quickly, so I decided to get on it, and then walk back to the Boardwalk. I was hoping to be back in my room in time to watch Illuminations from my balcony. I made it back to my room with about 30 seconds to spare. It sure was neat to sit out there watching the fireworks go off above the resort. It was just another reminder of just how much I love staying at an Epcot area resort.

After Illuminations, I popped into DIS chat for a spell. Tuesday nights is one of the nights I host chat, and I thought I’d surprise my regular chatters with a visit live from Disney World. Everyone had lots of questions about my trip, and I sure had fun answering them.

After chat, I debated going over to Jellyrolls for an hour or two, but since my beloved Ray and Scotty weren’t playing, I decided to make it an early night. Scotty and Ray would be playing the last two nights of my trip, and I knew I would be closing the bar down those two nights, so tonight, I was in bed by about 10:15.

The only interruption to my sleep was the drunken idiots leaving Jellyrolls at 1:45 a.m. When I heard them, I smiled and thought, “It must be 1:45 a.m.” I glanced at the clock, and sure enough it was 1:45. I closed my eye, and fell right back to sleep, resting for another busy day at Disney World.

 

[Del]

I always enjoy reading your posts....thank you.

Del

 

[TLinden16]

Day 6--Wednesday, May 17, 2006

I headed over to Spoodles for breakfast this morning. I normally get the all-you-care-to-eat breakfast platter here, but I decided to mix it up a bit and try sometime different. I ordered a ham and cheese frittata, which was served with breakfast potatoes and a croissant. The frittata was very good, it was fresh and piping hot when it arrived at my table. A couple of chunks of ham were fatty, but over all it was very good. The potatoes were excellent--I love Spoodles breakfast potatoes. The croissant was fresh, tasty, and flakey. I really enjoyed my meal, although next time I go there I think I’ll stick with the breakfast platter.

After breakfast, I had plans to meet up with Goofy4Tink and her family at the Magic Kingdom. They were having breakfast at Chef Mickey’s that morning, so I figured that they wouldn’t arrive at the Magic Kingdom until about 10:00 a.m. I decided that my best route to the Magic Kingdom was through Epcot by way of Soarin’. It may not have been the most direct or fast route, but it did allow me to ride Soarin’ twice bright and early in the morning with no lines!

As I was making my way to the monorail to go to the Magic Kingdom, Goofy4Tink called to let me know they were just arriving at Magic Kingdom, a lot earlier than I expected. They sure must have eaten fast. I told her I was on my way, and we agreed on a meeting time and place.

I finally arrived at the Magic Kingdom, and went to meet up with Goofy4Tink and her family. We went over to Adventureland and took a ride on the Jungle Cruise. We also road on Thunder Mountain. Goofy4Tink’s daughter didn’t want to go on Splash Mountain because she didn’t want to get wet. I couldn’t even bribe her to get her to go on it (what kind of kid can’t be bribed to go on a ride--Goofy4Tink, you need to work with your kid on that--bribery is good).

Goofy4Tink’s husband had never seen the Country Bear Jamboree before, so we really needed to go see it again so he could fully appreciate the inappropriate politically incorrectness of the show. Plus, we really needed to hear the “Mama, Don’t Whop Little Buford No More.” Let me say that the second time around, I was just offended, and amused by the show. Everyone sing along:

Mama don’t whop little Buford no more
Don’t whop little Buford in the head
Mama don’t whop little Buford no more
I think you should shot him instead

If you don’t like that song, you could always sing the classic songs, “All the Men that Turn Me On Turn Me Down” or “Blood on the Saddle.” Unfortunately I can’t recall all the words to that song, but they were really bad.

After the Country Bear Jamboree, we went over to the Haunted Mansion, where I proceeded to show Goofy4Tink’s daughter how not to behave. I continually rapped on the Doom Buggie that Goofy4Tink and her husband were riding in. Even Goofy4Tink’s daughter got into the act. I am so great at corrupting kids.

We then headed over to Mickey’s Philharmagic. Some little kid jumped, and Goofy4Tink commented on how annoying it was when he did it. So, of course I had to start jumping too. And Goofy4Tink’s daughter started in as well. We would count to three and jump at the same time (something we continued to do later in the day and in the trip).

After Mickey’s Philharmagic, we headed over to VMK Central so that we could turn in the quests to get free virtual prizes to use on VMK. We got lots of cool cards.

We then took a boat over to the Wilderness Lodge, where we would be dining at the Whispering Canyon Café. We ran into a very nice DISer form Pennsylvania (PhonyGuy) on the boat.

We were seated right away at Whispering Canyon Café, and we were ready to have some fun. Possum (a.k.a. Kim) was our server. Goofy4Tink’s daughter and I colored pictures while we drank milk shakes and waited for our food. I even got the waitress to hand up my picture of Goofy.

While we were eating, Dimoe, a friend from the DIS, happened to call. Possum took the phone from me and started chatting with Dimoe. She made the restaurant scream hello to Dimoe, but I’m not sure if Dimoe heard them, as the phone got disconnected. I hope it brought a smile to Dimoe’s face to be such a fun part of my vacation from her home.

I really enjoyed our lunch here. I started off with some Southwestern Chicken Soup, which was amazing. It had a lot of flavor, with a slight kick, and a slightly sweet touch. It was very thick and filling. I also had a buffalo chicken salad, which was excellent--the chicken was very saucy and spicy. I also had a vanilla milk shake, and a large diet Coke (eight cups of it to be exact--not that I drank all of it, maybe half). Goofy4Tink and her daughter had burgers, and her husband had a club sandwich. We all enjoyed our meals and the antics of our servers.

After lunch, we took the bus over to the Animal Kingdom so that Goofy4Tink’s husband and daughter could ride on Expedition Everest. The wait was a bit longer than the night before, but we had fun chatting and ringing the bells in the queue.

We then headed over to Dinoland, where we road on Primeval Whirl. Our car was spinning like crazy, and we just laughed and laughed. When we got off the ride, Goofy4Tink and her daughter went on the Dinosaur Dumbo ride while I waited for our good friend IluvDisney and her husband to show up.

When we were all there, we headed back over to Expedition Everest, and road it two more times. I was super proud of IluvDisney. She was a bit apprehensive about riding, but she did great, and willingly road it a second time! I pretended to be strangling Goofy4Tink in the picture, so they didn’t show our picture at the end of one of the rides. I never imagined strangling would be inappropriate (but singing about whopping poor little Buford isn’t inappropriate--go figure).

IluvDisney, her husband, and I then said goodbye to Goofy4Tink and her daughter, and headed over to the Boardwalk. IluvDisney’s husband went to watch a basketball game at the ESPN Club. IluvDisney and I sat on my balcony and relaxed for a spell before heading over to Jellyrolls to see my beloved Ray and Scotty play.

Michael and Christian were the first pair of piano players that night. We grabbed a table up front, and waited for the music to start. This was my first time seeing Christian on the trip, so he came over to say hello before he started playing. Michael also stopped by and teased me for not going to the bar on Tuesday night (I guess five nights isn’t enough).

While Michael and Christian were playing, a lady in the front row got a call on her cell phone. As she was walking out of the bar to talk, Michael walked after her and talked to the person on the phone, but lost the connection. He told the lady she couldn’t have her phone back, and put it in her tip jar so he could finish his song. Christian tried to get it and give it back, but Michael wouldn’t let her. She finally got it back at the end of the song.

Scotty and Ray took the stage at 9:00, and they didn’t disappoint (the never do). I think I have a new favorite song to hear Scotty sing--“The Way You Look Tonight.” I have always loved that song, and I have heard a former Jellyrolls piano player sing it in the past, but this was the first time I heard Scotty sing, and he did a fantastic job on it. Much better than the other pianoman.

After IluvDisney left, a very nice couple from Michigan asked if they could sit with me. They were loads of fun, and even bought me a drink (and it had real alcohol in it, and a lot of it). Scotty commented to me about them at the end of the night, saying how I always seem to find someone to talk to at the bar.

There were a lot of interesting drunken idiots at the bar this night. There were three girls who got up on stage with Scotty at the end of the night to do “The Tree Dance” and it was quite interesting watching him try to keep them paying attention. There was a really wild family who were dancing, and just kept on trying to get up on the stage (only to be dragged off). There was also this really interesting guy doing some really crazy dancing. It was like he was creating his one country line dances or something.

Overall, it was a very fun night at Jellyrolls. One of the most fun nights I’ve had there (and almost all of them have been fantastic).

After a quick goodbye to Scotty and Ray, I walked back to my room and sat out on the balcony to get some fresh air. One of the drunken idiots from the bar climbed into the basketball hoop game, and started jumping around and falling over. She sure had a hard time getting out of the thing. I was about to go into the room and call the front desk to send someone out to help her when she climbed out, and nearly took a header on the Boardwalk.

I have to say that in all my stays on the Boardwalk, it is interesting to watch the exodus of drunken idiots from the bar at 2:00 a.m. I’ve seen people pick cigarette butts out of ash trays. I’ve seen people jumping up on benches singing. I’ve seen people running up and down the boat dock. I even saw a guy relieve himself on the Boardwalk one evening this trip.

I’ve walked out with the drunken idiots, but never been one of them. And I will never be a drunken idiot leaving that bar--I don’t want people watching me do stupid things at 2:00 in the morning.

 

[averill94]

I have never been to JellyRolls and you had me there until the drunken idiots came along!! Keep em in the bar late and out of the parks in the AM! It sounds like so much fun. Keep posting.Please

 

[TLinden16]

I have never been to JellyRolls and you had me there until the drunken idiots came along!! Keep em in the bar late and out of the parks in the AM! It sounds like so much fun. Keep posting.Please

Now that is a different way of looking at it. LOL. Of course, I stay at the bar until 2:00 a.m. most mornings (not drinking), and I get up and go to the parks

 

[TLinden16]

Day 7--Thursday, May 18, 2006

After closing down Jellyrolls for the fourth time of my trip, I was in the lobby of the Boardwalk at 8:30 a.m. to meet up with some of my DIS friends, and ready to roll! I had plans to go to the Animal Kingdom with ILuvDisney, KarenNY, and Pumbaa (or Double A, as I usually call her). I was very excited to finally meet Pumbaa. We’ve been at Disney World at the same time once or twice, and another time we were at the airport at the same time, but we never seemed to be able to actually meet up with each other. It was great to finally be able to put a face to the name of a person I’ve gotten to know in chat the past couple of years.

We drove over to the Animal Kingdom and made our way into the park. We immediately started walking towards Expedition Everest. On our way, Pumbaa and KarenNY recognized another DISer posing for a picture with her husband. It was Luvdsny. Well, let’s just say there was a lot of excited screeching going on when they saw each other (people across the park who couldn’t see us probably thought it was some animals fighting or mating or something).

Once the screeching stopped, they introduced Luvdsny to me, and it was at that point she realized she didn’t really like me even though we had never met before. You see, she happens to adore Jellyrolls pianoman Scotty (though not nearly as much as I do, although she claims otherwise). She was a bit jealous of hearing about all my nights watching Scotty and the other guys play in the bar, and all of the great stories I have about all of them.

After realizing I’m really not that bad a person, Luvdsny and I embraced our common love for our smoky little bar, and agreed to join forces to have a great time there that evening. She promised to give me a call later.

We said goodbye to Luvdsny and her husband, and made our way over to Expedition Everest. We grabbed some fast passes, and jumped in the standby line. We were on the ride with a short wait, and of course, had a blast riding.

After Expedition Everest, everyone else decided it was time to see “It’s Tough To Be A Bug.” I absolutely hate that movie, and it’s the only thing on Disney property that I refuse to do again. So while they went to see the movie, I jumped in the single riders line and road on Expedition Everest two more times (did you know that I like repetition?).

I then started to walk over to “Festival of the Lion King,” where I agreed to meet up with the others. I ran into them along the way, and we all walked over together. During the show, some cast members were looking at something with a flashlight right next to Pumbaa. I thought perhaps a kid had a protein spill or something, but after the show, Pumbaa said they were looking at a bug (Pumbaa’s snack perhaps?). They sure spent a long time looking at it.

After the show, we went over to the Flame Tree Barbecue for some lunch. I got a pulled beef sandwich, fries, and key lime pie. The beef sandwich was good, but I definitely like the pulled pork better. The fries were awesome, and the key lime pie was very good, although I only had a few bites of it. I think I was still full from all of the other meals I had eaten all week.

After lunch, I said goodbye to Pumbaa, and KarenNY, IluvDisney, and I walked back Expedition Everest to get some free pictures I had. I then said goodbye to them, as they were leaving to go on a cruise without me.

I was going to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom, but changed my mind and went back to the Boardwalk for a swim. It was a hot sunny day, and a cool refreshing swim sounded like a great idea. I really like the pool at the Boardwalk. There were a lot of people at the pool, but it didn’t feel overly crowded.

After my swim, I got ready to go out and have some fun. I took the bus to Downtown Disney, where I did a bit of shopping (including buying myself a very nice Skagen watch), and then headed over to Wolfgang Puck’s Café for an early dinner. I started off with a ceasar salad, which was excellent. For my entrée, I choose Grandma Puck’s Bolognese pasta, which was excellent. Lots of flavor, and very filling. For dessert, I got key lime pie, which was very good. Once again, I left half my food on the table. Man oh man was I getting full fast by the end of the trip.

After dinner, I took the bus to the Contemporary and walked over to the Magic Kingdom, where I was meeting up with Goofy4Tink and her family. They were hungry, so they decided to go into Cosmic Ray’s Café for dinner. I had an extra counter service on my meal plan that I wasn’t going to have time to use, so I gave it to them.

After dinner, we waited in a long time for Space Mountain (what us adults will do for the kids). I then said goodbye to Goofy4Tink and her family, and made my way out of the park, and back to the Boardwalk for my last night at Jellyrolls.

When I arrived at Jellyrolls just a few minutes after 8:00, I picked a table in the front row, and happily listened to Tommy and Jason sing. Tommy commented to everyone that I go to the bar all the time, and was sitting at my normal table.

While I was watching the guys play, a bouncer came over and asked if I was waiting for people. I had several friends who told me they might stop by, but I had a visitor I wasn’t expecting. Alyce had stopped by with her sister to say Goodbye to me (she knew where I would be). It was nice to get one last quick visit with my new friend Alyce, who I knew from VMK, but not very well). It was so nice of them to pop over and say goodbye.

By 10:00, the bar was really hoping, but none of my friends had arrived. I figured no one would show up that late, so I let some people join my table. Wouldn’t you know that ten minutes later, Luvdsny called to tell me that they were on there way to the bar.

I walked into the back where it wouldn’t be as noisy and I could hear what she was saying, and Scotty happened to walk by. So I handed the phone to Scotty, and told him to say hello, telling him that she says she likes him more than I do. He asked her if she was coming to the bar, and she told him she was on her way.

When Luvdsny and her husband arrived, I wound up moving to the back of the bar to sit with them. Scotty walked by, so I introduced her. Shortly thereafter, Ray walked over to me with a drink from him and Scotty. Now, Ray and Scotty know I’m not much of a drinker. I sit there night after night drinking bottled water, and an occasional diet Coke or Sprite. So, what, you may be wondering, did Scotty and Ray send me for a drink. A Shirley Temple. I guess if I’m not going to get whacked up on alcohol, may as well send me sugar. It was very sweet of them, and I truly appreciated it, and enjoyed the drink.

Late in the evening, Luvdsny, her husband, and I were able to move up to a table in the front. Scotty’s tip jar was blocking his view of me. So, I put up a request for “Beyond the Sea,” which is one of my favorite songs to hear Scotty sing. At the bottom of the request, I wrote, “P.S. Move your tip jar. I can’t see you.” I showed Luvdsny and her husband, and they started laughing. I don’t think they thought Scotty would move the tip jar for me, but I knew he would. So a few minutes later, he slides it over a bit, and motions to make sure it was enough, and I motioned for him to move it over a bit more. I knew he would move it.

The crowd was really great in the last hour. They even got Luvdsny and I up in a conga line and dancing with them. I really had a blast with Luvdsny and her husband, and I hope that they do make it to my big Jellyrolls meet in December.

At the end of the night, I said goodbye to Ray and Scotty. They wanted to know when I’d be back, and when I said December, Ray told me that was a long time between trips for me and he thought I’d be back sooner. Scotty told me he’s have to try to have another concert with his band so I would have an excuse to come back sooner.

After saying goodbye and thanks to Scotty and Ray, I slowly made my way back to my room, and sat on the balcony for a bit. The last night is always so sad because I know I’ll only have a few hours of fun left before heading home to reality.

 

[Skwinkles]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip, Karen. I always love reading your trip reports!

 

[goofy4tink]

Wish I had hung with you and gotten to meet those other DISers on Thursday...sounds like a great time was had by all. We had a wonderful time with you. Well, maybe I could have done with a little less of the 'Buford' song !!! But, otherwise, it was a total hoot. More good times are a-coming down the road!!! It's incredible how many photos have Karen in them!!! Now, all together...1-2-3...JUMP!!!!!! The little brat is still doing it to me!!!!

 

[TLinden16]

I was talking with the little brat on IM last night, and I was encouraging her.

Now about those bottle caps...