Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
Carol (40, British) dangerously Disney obsessed.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Sunday 27 April 2002
Up early for big doins Magic Kingdom!!!! We just missed a bus and had to wait for 20 mins, trying hard to be patient. Ooh it was hard. We didnt do too badly we got to MK at 9:20 and security didnt take long. The security guard pointed at Mickey and yelled, Hey, thats my boss. You got my boss there. Mickey beamed back at him -. He's a well brought up little mouse. (The aunt who gave us him says I'm mad she may be right!)
My first glance of the castle was sad I'd promised to say hello from somebody wholl never be able to do so again herself. Made me appreciate being there even more.
We managed to side step the photographers or maybe they sidestepped us Main St didnt look too busy and there were characters everywhere. If I had kiddies I'd definitely make sure I got there early for that alone..
Now Magic Kingdom was the most detailed of all our park plans (the Epcot plan took all of three seconds to draw up go right first time, go left next time). Having done the Disneylands we had a fair idea of what we did and didnt want to do though we didn't necessarily agree on that. We had agreed on the first one however Alien Encounter and we were both very impressed with it! It was a walk on too, which was great. I told Roland all about breathing in so the harness didnt come down too far and it worked well for him but not for me. It came down more than the twice I'd been expecting, really hard, and I ended up completely squashed. In order to breathe (always a good idea) I had to sit in a very contorted position so I missed the aliens breath/tongue on the back of my neck completely. Roland said he also had blood dripping on him but all I felt were the entrails that was SO realistic. Not that its ever happened to me before you understand, but if I were to imagine entrails er, never mind, well skip that for now. By the way, we covered Mickeys eyes up for this one. It was far too scary for such a little mouse.
Buzz had a 5 min wait so we didnt bother with FP. I managed to not hit anything at all I got an unbelievable 3000 points. Roland hadnt realised that the big circles were targets and still managed to get 12,000. Life can be so unfair. I wanted to go straight back on again with that score but decided I was being silly. We'd stick to the plan but we'd be back!
We headed for Splash Mountain next. The wait time was half an hour and so was the FP so we got the latter and headed over to Big Thunder Mountain with its 20 min posted time that might have just been 10 in reality, no more. One of us likes this more than the other but I'd picked up a new tip that worked well for me relax into the rides movements as if your bones are made of jelly. It definitely made it better I almost enjoyed it.
Back to Splash then, walking past all those people in the normal queue. FP is just wonderful! Now when we got to the front we looked carefully at all the people getting off dry as a bone every one of them. I had been going to be chicken and wear my banana but I decided there was no need to make a spectacle of myself after all. I did spread the poncho across the seat, which was a little damp - good idea that. Off we went can you say `lulled into a false sense of security?´ We got completely drenched. As Roland said, You may get wet is a complete and utter understatement. We got drenched when we went down the drops, we got drenched by other boats going down the drops and we got drenched the most because we were at the front. The couple behind us were as amazed as we were how on earth did the other people manage to stay dry? But we all loved it and the four of us giggled all the way round! As we squelched our way off I heard a woman in the queue say `Nobodys wet at all´. I was going to tap her on the shoulder or maybe just drip on it but I didn't why spoil the surprise. (Said with an evil grin) The weirdest thing though was the effect Splash had on our hair after it had dried it looked the best it did all holiday. Can I have a Splash to take home please?
Pirates of the Caribbean was a walk on. Its one of my favourites and I loved this version best it was SO big. The galleon scene is wonderful not being able to see a wall behind the ship makes it so much more realistic. And it has more scenes. I complained that theyd cut my favourite scene - the jail one - but I'd just done my usual trick and looked the wrong way. So wed just have to come back! Such hardship.
Roland was hungry so we looked for somewhere to eat. I got mixed up about what was where but as soon as I saw the toppings bar at Pecoe Bills I knew that was one of the good places. We werent disappointed. Roland had a cheeseburger and I had a hot dog. I think we had half the toppings bar each. (This is making me hungry) I had carrots with mine they were delicious, much nicer than fries.
Whilst we were eating we had another shake your head in disbelief moment. Two parents left their children (aged about 3-4 and 4-5) on their own, saving a table, whilst they both went in for the food. The kiddies were bored and start playing with the bits of food left on the table. It could have been worse, a lot worse.
We were getting a FP for Haunted Mansion (FP= 45 mins, standby = 20 mins) when the couple next to us started complaining. Turns out theyd thought they could whiz round all the attractions collecting FPs and then do them at their leisure. They were really upset when I explained the system. But its a good system I shouted as they disappeared with faces like thunderclouds. Well we like it!
We did a few shops in the interim and the Hall of Presidents. I enjoyed this a lot though I'd no idea who half the `cast´ was. Roland once again liked the air conditioning best it was all he could do to stay awake.
With perfect timing we went up to the Mansion. This is one of my favourite rides too but this was the only time I preferred the Paris one, not WDW. Its so much spookier in Paris and you get to walk past some bits you ride past in WDW, giving you a better look at things. The hitchhiking ghost is better at WDW though. Hes behind the buggy in Paris.
Standby for Peter Pan (my favourite Disneylands ride) was 50 mins and FP was 1½ hours we knew wed be needing a break by then so we skipped it. Small World on the other hand was a walk on we never stopped walking till we got on the boat and almost everyone got their own boat it was so empty. Roland was happy to be sitting down in the cool and I was just happy! I'm not sure why I like it so much it defies logic. But I always come off it feeling so good. One of our favourite Paris memories is a little French boy singing the song and dancing on a wall.
We were beginning to wilt again so we decided to head back to Riverside for a break. I got a crispy chocolate thing on Main St Roland had to help me eat it as it was melting quicker than I could chew.
Now comes the part of the report I'm least proud of. But I'm an honest truthful soul (and Rolands reading them) so in it goes. I threw a complete strop. (If theres anyone who doesnt know what that is, think of a two-year-old when you tell it no I managed not to throw myself on the floor but it was close thing). We thought it would be nice to catch the monorail to Epcot and then the bus to Riverside - I REALLY wanted to ride in the front. But wed have to wait 25 mins and though Roland said we could if I wanted to I knew he didnt want to (you know what I mean - the tone says more than the words) so we got on. And we were facing backwards and I wanted to watch us coming into Epcot and Roland didnt want to move as he thought theyd be closing the doors and all of a sudden, I just snapped. My bottom lip came out and I scowled and I muttered. I was just SO disappointed I'd dreamed of riding in the front for so long. I stormed off the train when it arrived, one very unhappy bunny. I realised once I'd calmed down a bit I was angry with myself really. If theres something I really want to do I should say so instead of giving way all the time. And things might have turned out differently if Roland had understood me properly he didnt know that `riding in the front´ meant with the driver. And then of course there's the heat always a good thing to blame when throwing a strop! But we sorted it out and were friends again by the time we caught a near empty bus to Riverside without any wait at all. It was nice that things were going right again.
Back at Riverside, Roland chilled out whilst I ironed, something I find very soothing. (I know I'm in the minority here but I inherited this trait from my dad!) The original plan had been half a day at MK and then half a day at the Studios but wed been given a nice surprise that morning MK was open late and thered be a Spectromagic and Fantasy in the Sky! I think you can guess what we did!
Once back our first stop was Winnie the Pooh, something I was really looking forward to I like the cute rides best. We got a FP for about an hour and a quarter away as standby was almost as long a wait. We got to act as experts again when a man said, Excuse me, is Fastpass really worth it? Yes! We shouted in unison. He told us how they were fed up with queues and were frightened this was just a pass for another one. We assured him he wouldnt regret getting one so he did.
What to do now? We were amazed how much of our plan wed got through that morning and werent sure what to do next. Because we were near Toontown we decided to go there. I liked the WDW one best because I thought the houses were so much better. Roland was disappointed with it because the Californian one had more interactive stuff and Roger Rabbit's ride. Wed seen Mickey in his Californian house (I have the photo up in the biscuit cupboard as a reminder of how fat I can get I put SO much weight on in that holiday!) with almost no wait at all but as we were rushed through it was a bit disappointing. I couldnt believe my luck when we got round the house and there was only a 5-minute queue again. I put on my most pleading (I didn't get to ride the monorail so pretty pretty please can we do this) expression and Roland succumbed. Hes not keen on meeting characters. This Mickey was the just the best! He gave the family in front of us wonderful individual attention the granny looked so proud of the grandkids, it was lovely. I didnt expect the same but we got it! He played with our Mickey and kissed my hand. I was entranced. I havent seen the photo yet but I know I'm going to have a big soppy grin on my face. I swear that was really Mickey!
We thought the TTA would be nice to do next. I thought it was a cable car how could I have done all that planning and still got it wrong? It was nice and quiet, almost but not quite boring. It was interesting seeing inside Space Mountain. I'd done it in Paris (Roland had neck problems) and couldnt remember anything apart from a moon and that my head felt like a ping pong ball. If theyd let you do it at TTA speed I might do it again
A couple of shops and then we had a look at Peter Pan again. Standby was 40 mins, FP was nearly 2 hours which was during the parade so that was out. And then it was time for Winnie. Guess what I loved it! How could I fail to, it had everything I like in a ride and Tigger too! Its pure magic good riddance Toad! Oh yeah Roland liked it too. Hed never even heard of Winnie the Pooh when we met but hes a real convert now hes even read the books! I didnt see the FP man but I bet he was pleased he got it the queue was even longer than before.
I was hungry again. We went to the Pirate and the Parrot but it was closed so we went to the Columbia Harbour House instead. I had clam chowder, which was better than the only other one I've ever had at Disneyland California. Roland had a sandwich we cant remember the name of but he was very pleased with it. I liked it too because I got to pick all the olives out of his bread yummy!
We were worried about the crowds for Spectromagic so we went and got a seat about 40 mins before. We sat on the ground in front of the Diamond Horseshoe. Unfortunately, that was the end of the route so we were there for a good hour before it appeared. An hour on baking hot tarmac, hmmm so what did that do to my nearly disappeared heat rash? Correct brought it back. Note to self: dont do that again.
Spectromagic was worth the wait but my heart still belongs to the Electrical Light Parade (We saw it in Paris). Roland preferred the Spectromagic floats and we both preferred the ELP music. There was a family with a sweet baby next to us whose dad decided the baby needed to see better, so dad stood up with him. I didnt understand the language they were speaking but theres something too familiar about a wife telling her husband to sit down to not understand it whatever the language. He completely ignored her - and the fact that he was blocking the view of all the people sitting on the ground behind him, including us. Before I knew it I'd tapped him on the leg and asked him (nicely!) to sit down please. I was so surprised when he did, no problem. His wife looked so relieved, bless her.
Now this should be the part where we move down towards the castle for a perfect view of Fantasy in the Sky. Only it didnt quite happen like that. We headed off towards the hub in good time but I decided I needed the loo which turned out to be miles away. By the time I got back to Roland, all the good spots had been taken. We started off with what seemed like a reasonable spot but that was because we couldnt see the trees in the dark. You could once the fireworks started though so we moved further down where there were fewer trees. It wasnt ideal but it wasnt too bad. And we did see Tinkerbell I'd love that job!
Main St wasnt as crowded as expected so we ploughed steadily down it with everyone else. This was my favourite bus ride of the whole holiday. Firstly, there was the miracle of a bus waiting for us when we got there and us getting on it. And then there was the on-board entertainment. Two gentlemen were having a very loud conversation some way away from us too far for me to join in without Roland dying of embarrassment because his wifes shouting at strangers. It went something like this
We got a brilliant deal with DVC, Port Orleans for $99 its normally $199. (We paid $94 full price was $154). Theres two parts to Port Orleans you know Seaside and French Quarter. (No comment!) Theyve completely closed the French Quarter you know but they wont admit it. (It was reopening a month later as the bus and boat drivers were always telling us.) Other man Really! We were supposed to be staying at The Pops in July but they havent even started building it yet. (Yes they have ) They obviously dont read the Disboards!
And finally, I managed to sneak a little more ironing in before bed well, it made me happy!
Next, Day 9 How would Disney have done it?
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Sunday 27 April 2002
Up early for big doins Magic Kingdom!!!! We just missed a bus and had to wait for 20 mins, trying hard to be patient. Ooh it was hard. We didnt do too badly we got to MK at 9:20 and security didnt take long. The security guard pointed at Mickey and yelled, Hey, thats my boss. You got my boss there. Mickey beamed back at him -. He's a well brought up little mouse. (The aunt who gave us him says I'm mad she may be right!)
My first glance of the castle was sad I'd promised to say hello from somebody wholl never be able to do so again herself. Made me appreciate being there even more.
We managed to side step the photographers or maybe they sidestepped us Main St didnt look too busy and there were characters everywhere. If I had kiddies I'd definitely make sure I got there early for that alone..
Now Magic Kingdom was the most detailed of all our park plans (the Epcot plan took all of three seconds to draw up go right first time, go left next time). Having done the Disneylands we had a fair idea of what we did and didnt want to do though we didn't necessarily agree on that. We had agreed on the first one however Alien Encounter and we were both very impressed with it! It was a walk on too, which was great. I told Roland all about breathing in so the harness didnt come down too far and it worked well for him but not for me. It came down more than the twice I'd been expecting, really hard, and I ended up completely squashed. In order to breathe (always a good idea) I had to sit in a very contorted position so I missed the aliens breath/tongue on the back of my neck completely. Roland said he also had blood dripping on him but all I felt were the entrails that was SO realistic. Not that its ever happened to me before you understand, but if I were to imagine entrails er, never mind, well skip that for now. By the way, we covered Mickeys eyes up for this one. It was far too scary for such a little mouse.
Buzz had a 5 min wait so we didnt bother with FP. I managed to not hit anything at all I got an unbelievable 3000 points. Roland hadnt realised that the big circles were targets and still managed to get 12,000. Life can be so unfair. I wanted to go straight back on again with that score but decided I was being silly. We'd stick to the plan but we'd be back!
We headed for Splash Mountain next. The wait time was half an hour and so was the FP so we got the latter and headed over to Big Thunder Mountain with its 20 min posted time that might have just been 10 in reality, no more. One of us likes this more than the other but I'd picked up a new tip that worked well for me relax into the rides movements as if your bones are made of jelly. It definitely made it better I almost enjoyed it.
Back to Splash then, walking past all those people in the normal queue. FP is just wonderful! Now when we got to the front we looked carefully at all the people getting off dry as a bone every one of them. I had been going to be chicken and wear my banana but I decided there was no need to make a spectacle of myself after all. I did spread the poncho across the seat, which was a little damp - good idea that. Off we went can you say `lulled into a false sense of security?´ We got completely drenched. As Roland said, You may get wet is a complete and utter understatement. We got drenched when we went down the drops, we got drenched by other boats going down the drops and we got drenched the most because we were at the front. The couple behind us were as amazed as we were how on earth did the other people manage to stay dry? But we all loved it and the four of us giggled all the way round! As we squelched our way off I heard a woman in the queue say `Nobodys wet at all´. I was going to tap her on the shoulder or maybe just drip on it but I didn't why spoil the surprise. (Said with an evil grin) The weirdest thing though was the effect Splash had on our hair after it had dried it looked the best it did all holiday. Can I have a Splash to take home please?
Pirates of the Caribbean was a walk on. Its one of my favourites and I loved this version best it was SO big. The galleon scene is wonderful not being able to see a wall behind the ship makes it so much more realistic. And it has more scenes. I complained that theyd cut my favourite scene - the jail one - but I'd just done my usual trick and looked the wrong way. So wed just have to come back! Such hardship.
Roland was hungry so we looked for somewhere to eat. I got mixed up about what was where but as soon as I saw the toppings bar at Pecoe Bills I knew that was one of the good places. We werent disappointed. Roland had a cheeseburger and I had a hot dog. I think we had half the toppings bar each. (This is making me hungry) I had carrots with mine they were delicious, much nicer than fries.
Whilst we were eating we had another shake your head in disbelief moment. Two parents left their children (aged about 3-4 and 4-5) on their own, saving a table, whilst they both went in for the food. The kiddies were bored and start playing with the bits of food left on the table. It could have been worse, a lot worse.
We were getting a FP for Haunted Mansion (FP= 45 mins, standby = 20 mins) when the couple next to us started complaining. Turns out theyd thought they could whiz round all the attractions collecting FPs and then do them at their leisure. They were really upset when I explained the system. But its a good system I shouted as they disappeared with faces like thunderclouds. Well we like it!
We did a few shops in the interim and the Hall of Presidents. I enjoyed this a lot though I'd no idea who half the `cast´ was. Roland once again liked the air conditioning best it was all he could do to stay awake.
With perfect timing we went up to the Mansion. This is one of my favourite rides too but this was the only time I preferred the Paris one, not WDW. Its so much spookier in Paris and you get to walk past some bits you ride past in WDW, giving you a better look at things. The hitchhiking ghost is better at WDW though. Hes behind the buggy in Paris.
Standby for Peter Pan (my favourite Disneylands ride) was 50 mins and FP was 1½ hours we knew wed be needing a break by then so we skipped it. Small World on the other hand was a walk on we never stopped walking till we got on the boat and almost everyone got their own boat it was so empty. Roland was happy to be sitting down in the cool and I was just happy! I'm not sure why I like it so much it defies logic. But I always come off it feeling so good. One of our favourite Paris memories is a little French boy singing the song and dancing on a wall.
We were beginning to wilt again so we decided to head back to Riverside for a break. I got a crispy chocolate thing on Main St Roland had to help me eat it as it was melting quicker than I could chew.
Now comes the part of the report I'm least proud of. But I'm an honest truthful soul (and Rolands reading them) so in it goes. I threw a complete strop. (If theres anyone who doesnt know what that is, think of a two-year-old when you tell it no I managed not to throw myself on the floor but it was close thing). We thought it would be nice to catch the monorail to Epcot and then the bus to Riverside - I REALLY wanted to ride in the front. But wed have to wait 25 mins and though Roland said we could if I wanted to I knew he didnt want to (you know what I mean - the tone says more than the words) so we got on. And we were facing backwards and I wanted to watch us coming into Epcot and Roland didnt want to move as he thought theyd be closing the doors and all of a sudden, I just snapped. My bottom lip came out and I scowled and I muttered. I was just SO disappointed I'd dreamed of riding in the front for so long. I stormed off the train when it arrived, one very unhappy bunny. I realised once I'd calmed down a bit I was angry with myself really. If theres something I really want to do I should say so instead of giving way all the time. And things might have turned out differently if Roland had understood me properly he didnt know that `riding in the front´ meant with the driver. And then of course there's the heat always a good thing to blame when throwing a strop! But we sorted it out and were friends again by the time we caught a near empty bus to Riverside without any wait at all. It was nice that things were going right again.
Back at Riverside, Roland chilled out whilst I ironed, something I find very soothing. (I know I'm in the minority here but I inherited this trait from my dad!) The original plan had been half a day at MK and then half a day at the Studios but wed been given a nice surprise that morning MK was open late and thered be a Spectromagic and Fantasy in the Sky! I think you can guess what we did!
Once back our first stop was Winnie the Pooh, something I was really looking forward to I like the cute rides best. We got a FP for about an hour and a quarter away as standby was almost as long a wait. We got to act as experts again when a man said, Excuse me, is Fastpass really worth it? Yes! We shouted in unison. He told us how they were fed up with queues and were frightened this was just a pass for another one. We assured him he wouldnt regret getting one so he did.
What to do now? We were amazed how much of our plan wed got through that morning and werent sure what to do next. Because we were near Toontown we decided to go there. I liked the WDW one best because I thought the houses were so much better. Roland was disappointed with it because the Californian one had more interactive stuff and Roger Rabbit's ride. Wed seen Mickey in his Californian house (I have the photo up in the biscuit cupboard as a reminder of how fat I can get I put SO much weight on in that holiday!) with almost no wait at all but as we were rushed through it was a bit disappointing. I couldnt believe my luck when we got round the house and there was only a 5-minute queue again. I put on my most pleading (I didn't get to ride the monorail so pretty pretty please can we do this) expression and Roland succumbed. Hes not keen on meeting characters. This Mickey was the just the best! He gave the family in front of us wonderful individual attention the granny looked so proud of the grandkids, it was lovely. I didnt expect the same but we got it! He played with our Mickey and kissed my hand. I was entranced. I havent seen the photo yet but I know I'm going to have a big soppy grin on my face. I swear that was really Mickey!
We thought the TTA would be nice to do next. I thought it was a cable car how could I have done all that planning and still got it wrong? It was nice and quiet, almost but not quite boring. It was interesting seeing inside Space Mountain. I'd done it in Paris (Roland had neck problems) and couldnt remember anything apart from a moon and that my head felt like a ping pong ball. If theyd let you do it at TTA speed I might do it again
A couple of shops and then we had a look at Peter Pan again. Standby was 40 mins, FP was nearly 2 hours which was during the parade so that was out. And then it was time for Winnie. Guess what I loved it! How could I fail to, it had everything I like in a ride and Tigger too! Its pure magic good riddance Toad! Oh yeah Roland liked it too. Hed never even heard of Winnie the Pooh when we met but hes a real convert now hes even read the books! I didnt see the FP man but I bet he was pleased he got it the queue was even longer than before.
I was hungry again. We went to the Pirate and the Parrot but it was closed so we went to the Columbia Harbour House instead. I had clam chowder, which was better than the only other one I've ever had at Disneyland California. Roland had a sandwich we cant remember the name of but he was very pleased with it. I liked it too because I got to pick all the olives out of his bread yummy!
We were worried about the crowds for Spectromagic so we went and got a seat about 40 mins before. We sat on the ground in front of the Diamond Horseshoe. Unfortunately, that was the end of the route so we were there for a good hour before it appeared. An hour on baking hot tarmac, hmmm so what did that do to my nearly disappeared heat rash? Correct brought it back. Note to self: dont do that again.
Spectromagic was worth the wait but my heart still belongs to the Electrical Light Parade (We saw it in Paris). Roland preferred the Spectromagic floats and we both preferred the ELP music. There was a family with a sweet baby next to us whose dad decided the baby needed to see better, so dad stood up with him. I didnt understand the language they were speaking but theres something too familiar about a wife telling her husband to sit down to not understand it whatever the language. He completely ignored her - and the fact that he was blocking the view of all the people sitting on the ground behind him, including us. Before I knew it I'd tapped him on the leg and asked him (nicely!) to sit down please. I was so surprised when he did, no problem. His wife looked so relieved, bless her.
Now this should be the part where we move down towards the castle for a perfect view of Fantasy in the Sky. Only it didnt quite happen like that. We headed off towards the hub in good time but I decided I needed the loo which turned out to be miles away. By the time I got back to Roland, all the good spots had been taken. We started off with what seemed like a reasonable spot but that was because we couldnt see the trees in the dark. You could once the fireworks started though so we moved further down where there were fewer trees. It wasnt ideal but it wasnt too bad. And we did see Tinkerbell I'd love that job!
Main St wasnt as crowded as expected so we ploughed steadily down it with everyone else. This was my favourite bus ride of the whole holiday. Firstly, there was the miracle of a bus waiting for us when we got there and us getting on it. And then there was the on-board entertainment. Two gentlemen were having a very loud conversation some way away from us too far for me to join in without Roland dying of embarrassment because his wifes shouting at strangers. It went something like this
We got a brilliant deal with DVC, Port Orleans for $99 its normally $199. (We paid $94 full price was $154). Theres two parts to Port Orleans you know Seaside and French Quarter. (No comment!) Theyve completely closed the French Quarter you know but they wont admit it. (It was reopening a month later as the bus and boat drivers were always telling us.) Other man Really! We were supposed to be staying at The Pops in July but they havent even started building it yet. (Yes they have ) They obviously dont read the Disboards!
And finally, I managed to sneak a little more ironing in before bed well, it made me happy!
Next, Day 9 How would Disney have done it?
- sure mine was faulty.
