MajorWoody
The View From My Office
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2002
- Messages
- 294
Major Woodys 2 Week TR 5/17 thru 5/31/04
Who : Bill (45), veteran of numerous WDW trips; Jeanne ( forty something), only her 4th WDW trip, but learning quick.
Where : PO-FQ for 10 nights, followed by 3 nights at the Beach Club
How : Driving from NYS
Day 8 Monday , May 24, 2004:
We were off to an early ( for us anyway) start today. Our plan was to head to Epcot, and meet my co-worker Mike, and his wife Jocelyn. They were staying at their daughters time share in Kissimmee, and this was their only day to visit WDW. We were going to be their unofficial guides, as they had not been here in many years. We hopped on a bus to Epcot, and got there at 9:30am. We went to the tip board, and after a few minutes, met up with Mike & Jocelyn. Mike is 62, and his wife is about the same age frame, so we had expected they would want a somewhat sedentary schedule. The first thing they both asked us about was Mission Space, which was a surprise. They sounded very enthusiastic, and said they were both looking forward to it. I asked if they knew about the ride, and that it was a bit rough, but they were all for going on it. So we headed over to MS and got our FPs for 11am to 12noon. We then took a walk to Innoventions to kill some time, and did the Monsanto House of the Future Tour. It was ok, but several of the electronic doo-dads did not want to cooperate with the CM giving the tour. I still like the strobe clock on the wall in one room, and the 3d Sorcerers Apprentice in another room. After the tour, we went over to Universe of Energy, and after a 10 minute wait outside, went in and saw the show. Mike & his wife are not big fans of Ellen, but I told him as lame as her jokes were in U of E pre-show, it was a big improvement over the previous pre-show. After U of E, we walked over to Test Track, but there was a 75 minute wait on standby, and there were no FPs available until 2:15pm, so we passed on those. We then walked over to MS, and rode it with our FPs. It turned out to be hilarious. Mike is actually like an overgrown kid, and he was really into the whole thing. He kept reminding Jocelyn to push the correct buttons after watching the pre-show, and he was genuinely worried about the consequences if one of us didnt do the right thing with our buttons. When the ride started, I noticed from the corner of my eyes that Jocelyn, who was in the far right seat, didnt push her buttons when the time came. As the ride ended, and the doors opened, Jocelyn was in her seat, pale as a ghost, and she asked in a real queasy voice if we had to do a return journey back to Earth. Mike immediately told her that we crashed into Mars because she forgot to push her buttons, and she told us she was about 5 seconds from losing breakfast on the ride. Mike kept on about her causing us to crash, but he did it in a joking manner, not being mean spirited. She was extremely happy to hear that she did not have to endure the round trip back to Earth.
After getting her Earth feet back, we decided to do Spaceship Earth, and walked over. There was a short 10 minute wait, which was no problem. We rode the ride, and she was fine after that. We then paid a visit to Ice Station Cool, and Mike got suckered into the ole Beverly tastes good trick. You should have seen the look on his face when took a mouthful, after my glowing recommendations as to how tasty it was. He never bothered to read the description, he just chugged it down. Jocelyn thought it was pretty funny, and made up for his getting on her about us crashing into Mars because of her. Mike & Jocelyn then decided they needed a smoke break, so we found the smoking area behind the building housing Innoventions West, and took a break. Mike took some video of the floral displays along the area while we were waiting there. After they were finished with their smokes, we took a walk through the Rose Walk path to World Showcase. There are literally hundreds of roses along this path, and the smell is very nice. There were really some beautiful roses along that walkway, and Jeanne pointed out a few she really liked, but your intrepid scribe was too stubborn to write them down, and now cant remember the ones she liked in order to be able to surprise her with a few. All I know is that they were two toned, and look nice. Any one have a clue to help me out????
We then entered World Showcase, and turned to the left. We stopped in the plaza area and took a bunch of pictures in the big topiary display area, and then continued on towards Mexico. We browsed Mexico, walked past Norway after stopping for a few more pictures, and then decided to try lunch at China. I have never eaten there, after hearing poor reviews, but recently some have said it has improved. We tried the lunch sampler for 4, which consists of a choice of soup, four small portions of General Tsos chicken, spicy beef, cashew shrimp, and sweet and sour pork.. I also ordered the shao-mai dim sum, which is chicken and shrimp dumplings. The soup was fine, the entrees were just so-so, although the sweet and sour was better than you usually get at a take out place ( not the usual fried dough with cherry syrup) and the dim sum was very good. The sampler costs $59.99 for 4, and with the shao-mai and sodas, the tab came to $72, with a $14 tip, for a total of $86. Overall, it was slightly better than I had expected after hearing so many negative reviews, but not nearly as good as eating in better Chinese restaurants in NY.
After finishing our lunch, Mike & Jocelyn wanted to detour back to Mexico and try out a Fiesta margarita from the outdoor stand. So we walked back over to Mexico, and Mike bought us a round of Fiesta Margaritas, and we had our own little Fiesta. Mike & Jocelyn took a smoke break in the smoking area by Norway, and then Mike & I called our boss to let him know we were enjoying a nice cold Margarita while he was still at work. Im sure he appreciated the thought!!!
After finishing our Fiestas, we walked to China, and watched the kiddie acrobats for a while. Its
an interesting show, but I get an uneasy feeling watching such young kids performing. I get the impression their whole life is centered around the acrobatic skills, and they are deprived of a normal childhood. After a few minutes of this, we wandered over towards Germany, and caught the boat back towards the Plaza. We then walked over to the Imagination Pavilion, once again passing through the rose walkway. There was a 10 minute wait for the Figment ride, something Ive rarely seen there. We did our time in line, and enjoyed the ride. We then went to the Land Pavilion, and got FPs for the Living With The Land boat ride, with a return time of 5:10p -> 6:10p. We decided to see the Living Seas while we waited for our FP, but when we got to the entrance, the line was all the way out the door, so we passed on that. We then walked back to the Land, and it was time for our FP. We got in line, and still had a good 10 minute wait even with the FP, but it beat the 55 minute wait for the standby folks. I cant imagine waiting in line for 55 minutes for any ride, but even more so for the Living With The Land. The ride was very nice, and we all enjoyed it. I guess I appreciate it a little bit more since I rarely get to ride it anymore since it became a FP attraction.
After the Land, we wanted to head back to WS, so we went and caught the boat and rode it to Morocco, but only after walking through the rose path once more. The roses were pointed out to me once again, and of course I still cant remember the name of the ones Jeanne really enjoyed. After we docked in Morocco, we walked to the American Adventure, and caught the 6:30pm showing of the American Adventure. One disappointment I had during this trip was the fact that the Voices of Liberty were not scheduled during my entire two weeks. I asked a few CMs, and found out the singer who usually leads the group ( Kevin), had transferred to the Dapper Dans, and as a result, the group was undergoing rehearsals with a new leader. I always enjoyed his singing and his pleasant personality. After our American Adventure, which we all loved, we hoofed it on over to Japan, where we had a 7:15pm dinner seating at Teppanyaki. Mike & Jocelyn both ordered the shrimp & scallops combo, and Jocelyn also ordered the Misoshiro soup, which has tofu and seaweed. Needless to say, she didnt like it, and of course Mike, who is as old school as they come, told her that she should have expected that from anything that has tofu and seaweed. He also managed to bring up the crashing on Mars again, but the way he does it is actually very funny. Jeanne had the chicken & scallops combo, and I had filet and shrimp combo. Other than the tofu soup, everything was very good, and the chef did a fine job. The dinner came to $144, and with a $31 tip, the total was $175 for the four of us, not bad at all. We finished up at 8:45pm, and decided to hurry up and hustle over to Germany, for our usual spot for Illuminations, and so me & Mike could get a frosty brew from the beer cart in Germany. We managed to accomplish both tasks, getting our usual rail side spot near the boat dock, and scoring two icy cold brews from the girl at the Germany beer cart. I went with the wheat beer, while Mike had the Lowenbrau. I didnt particularly care for the wheat beer, I usually like darker beers, and this just wasnt to my taste. I do miss the Becks at this cart. After the fireworks, we took a real long time leaving the park, savoring our time in Epcot, and not leaving until almost 10:15pm. Unfortunately, Jeanne was feeling the effects of the heat that day, and we had to stop several times along the way out for her to rest. We made it to the exit, bid Mike & Jocelyn adieu, and made our way to the bus for our ride back to PO.
Stay tuned for the next part.....
Who : Bill (45), veteran of numerous WDW trips; Jeanne ( forty something), only her 4th WDW trip, but learning quick.
Where : PO-FQ for 10 nights, followed by 3 nights at the Beach Club
How : Driving from NYS
Day 8 Monday , May 24, 2004:
We were off to an early ( for us anyway) start today. Our plan was to head to Epcot, and meet my co-worker Mike, and his wife Jocelyn. They were staying at their daughters time share in Kissimmee, and this was their only day to visit WDW. We were going to be their unofficial guides, as they had not been here in many years. We hopped on a bus to Epcot, and got there at 9:30am. We went to the tip board, and after a few minutes, met up with Mike & Jocelyn. Mike is 62, and his wife is about the same age frame, so we had expected they would want a somewhat sedentary schedule. The first thing they both asked us about was Mission Space, which was a surprise. They sounded very enthusiastic, and said they were both looking forward to it. I asked if they knew about the ride, and that it was a bit rough, but they were all for going on it. So we headed over to MS and got our FPs for 11am to 12noon. We then took a walk to Innoventions to kill some time, and did the Monsanto House of the Future Tour. It was ok, but several of the electronic doo-dads did not want to cooperate with the CM giving the tour. I still like the strobe clock on the wall in one room, and the 3d Sorcerers Apprentice in another room. After the tour, we went over to Universe of Energy, and after a 10 minute wait outside, went in and saw the show. Mike & his wife are not big fans of Ellen, but I told him as lame as her jokes were in U of E pre-show, it was a big improvement over the previous pre-show. After U of E, we walked over to Test Track, but there was a 75 minute wait on standby, and there were no FPs available until 2:15pm, so we passed on those. We then walked over to MS, and rode it with our FPs. It turned out to be hilarious. Mike is actually like an overgrown kid, and he was really into the whole thing. He kept reminding Jocelyn to push the correct buttons after watching the pre-show, and he was genuinely worried about the consequences if one of us didnt do the right thing with our buttons. When the ride started, I noticed from the corner of my eyes that Jocelyn, who was in the far right seat, didnt push her buttons when the time came. As the ride ended, and the doors opened, Jocelyn was in her seat, pale as a ghost, and she asked in a real queasy voice if we had to do a return journey back to Earth. Mike immediately told her that we crashed into Mars because she forgot to push her buttons, and she told us she was about 5 seconds from losing breakfast on the ride. Mike kept on about her causing us to crash, but he did it in a joking manner, not being mean spirited. She was extremely happy to hear that she did not have to endure the round trip back to Earth.
After getting her Earth feet back, we decided to do Spaceship Earth, and walked over. There was a short 10 minute wait, which was no problem. We rode the ride, and she was fine after that. We then paid a visit to Ice Station Cool, and Mike got suckered into the ole Beverly tastes good trick. You should have seen the look on his face when took a mouthful, after my glowing recommendations as to how tasty it was. He never bothered to read the description, he just chugged it down. Jocelyn thought it was pretty funny, and made up for his getting on her about us crashing into Mars because of her. Mike & Jocelyn then decided they needed a smoke break, so we found the smoking area behind the building housing Innoventions West, and took a break. Mike took some video of the floral displays along the area while we were waiting there. After they were finished with their smokes, we took a walk through the Rose Walk path to World Showcase. There are literally hundreds of roses along this path, and the smell is very nice. There were really some beautiful roses along that walkway, and Jeanne pointed out a few she really liked, but your intrepid scribe was too stubborn to write them down, and now cant remember the ones she liked in order to be able to surprise her with a few. All I know is that they were two toned, and look nice. Any one have a clue to help me out????
We then entered World Showcase, and turned to the left. We stopped in the plaza area and took a bunch of pictures in the big topiary display area, and then continued on towards Mexico. We browsed Mexico, walked past Norway after stopping for a few more pictures, and then decided to try lunch at China. I have never eaten there, after hearing poor reviews, but recently some have said it has improved. We tried the lunch sampler for 4, which consists of a choice of soup, four small portions of General Tsos chicken, spicy beef, cashew shrimp, and sweet and sour pork.. I also ordered the shao-mai dim sum, which is chicken and shrimp dumplings. The soup was fine, the entrees were just so-so, although the sweet and sour was better than you usually get at a take out place ( not the usual fried dough with cherry syrup) and the dim sum was very good. The sampler costs $59.99 for 4, and with the shao-mai and sodas, the tab came to $72, with a $14 tip, for a total of $86. Overall, it was slightly better than I had expected after hearing so many negative reviews, but not nearly as good as eating in better Chinese restaurants in NY.
After finishing our lunch, Mike & Jocelyn wanted to detour back to Mexico and try out a Fiesta margarita from the outdoor stand. So we walked back over to Mexico, and Mike bought us a round of Fiesta Margaritas, and we had our own little Fiesta. Mike & Jocelyn took a smoke break in the smoking area by Norway, and then Mike & I called our boss to let him know we were enjoying a nice cold Margarita while he was still at work. Im sure he appreciated the thought!!!
After finishing our Fiestas, we walked to China, and watched the kiddie acrobats for a while. Its
an interesting show, but I get an uneasy feeling watching such young kids performing. I get the impression their whole life is centered around the acrobatic skills, and they are deprived of a normal childhood. After a few minutes of this, we wandered over towards Germany, and caught the boat back towards the Plaza. We then walked over to the Imagination Pavilion, once again passing through the rose walkway. There was a 10 minute wait for the Figment ride, something Ive rarely seen there. We did our time in line, and enjoyed the ride. We then went to the Land Pavilion, and got FPs for the Living With The Land boat ride, with a return time of 5:10p -> 6:10p. We decided to see the Living Seas while we waited for our FP, but when we got to the entrance, the line was all the way out the door, so we passed on that. We then walked back to the Land, and it was time for our FP. We got in line, and still had a good 10 minute wait even with the FP, but it beat the 55 minute wait for the standby folks. I cant imagine waiting in line for 55 minutes for any ride, but even more so for the Living With The Land. The ride was very nice, and we all enjoyed it. I guess I appreciate it a little bit more since I rarely get to ride it anymore since it became a FP attraction.
After the Land, we wanted to head back to WS, so we went and caught the boat and rode it to Morocco, but only after walking through the rose path once more. The roses were pointed out to me once again, and of course I still cant remember the name of the ones Jeanne really enjoyed. After we docked in Morocco, we walked to the American Adventure, and caught the 6:30pm showing of the American Adventure. One disappointment I had during this trip was the fact that the Voices of Liberty were not scheduled during my entire two weeks. I asked a few CMs, and found out the singer who usually leads the group ( Kevin), had transferred to the Dapper Dans, and as a result, the group was undergoing rehearsals with a new leader. I always enjoyed his singing and his pleasant personality. After our American Adventure, which we all loved, we hoofed it on over to Japan, where we had a 7:15pm dinner seating at Teppanyaki. Mike & Jocelyn both ordered the shrimp & scallops combo, and Jocelyn also ordered the Misoshiro soup, which has tofu and seaweed. Needless to say, she didnt like it, and of course Mike, who is as old school as they come, told her that she should have expected that from anything that has tofu and seaweed. He also managed to bring up the crashing on Mars again, but the way he does it is actually very funny. Jeanne had the chicken & scallops combo, and I had filet and shrimp combo. Other than the tofu soup, everything was very good, and the chef did a fine job. The dinner came to $144, and with a $31 tip, the total was $175 for the four of us, not bad at all. We finished up at 8:45pm, and decided to hurry up and hustle over to Germany, for our usual spot for Illuminations, and so me & Mike could get a frosty brew from the beer cart in Germany. We managed to accomplish both tasks, getting our usual rail side spot near the boat dock, and scoring two icy cold brews from the girl at the Germany beer cart. I went with the wheat beer, while Mike had the Lowenbrau. I didnt particularly care for the wheat beer, I usually like darker beers, and this just wasnt to my taste. I do miss the Becks at this cart. After the fireworks, we took a real long time leaving the park, savoring our time in Epcot, and not leaving until almost 10:15pm. Unfortunately, Jeanne was feeling the effects of the heat that day, and we had to stop several times along the way out for her to rest. We made it to the exit, bid Mike & Jocelyn adieu, and made our way to the bus for our ride back to PO.
Stay tuned for the next part.....
Looking forward to Day 9. 
