Mike and Suzy's Honeymoon at Disney World

[MikeR]

While braving the frosty Florida winter wonderland to get to their next destination, Mike and Suzy passed some thatch huts in Adventure Land.

They didn’t learn this at the time, but Disney hired authentic tribal thatch makers to create the Thatch Huts at DW and Disney asked those craftsmen to make the thatch less neat and tidy to make it look more “authentic. However, the craftsmen refused saying that “neat and tidy” was exactly how you had to make thatch roofs and that if you make it all messy it wouldn’t work and hence it wouldn’t be “authentic.” Then they told Disney to put that in their four-fingered glove and smoke it. Or maybe I made up that last part. Who can tell? We live in a world of uncertainty.

Soon Mike and Suzy’s Fast-passes for the Jungle Cruise were up so they walked past all the people waiting over an hour to look at plastic hippos and tried not to smirk. (Smirk, smirk, smirk.)

The jokes were just as corny as Mike remembered them being, ditto for the scenery;

But some of the animatronics were a little naughtier than he remembered. Suzy just thinks that he has a dirty mind;

After the ride it was still cold and the weather just refused to change even though it was Mike and Suzy’s Honeymoon and they had specifically requested good weather for their entire trip (Did Disney not get that memo?), so since they were getting tired they decided to walk back to their hotel and take a nap so they would be rested for the night. They passed some lovely scenery;

And even though Christmas had been over for a week there were still plenty of decorations about;

Mike and Suzy also passed some characters and is it just Mike or is this evil Step-daughter way more hot in real life than she is in the movies?

Come nightfall they were ready to celebrate the three biggest contributions to world Civilization that Ireland has given the world, drinking, drinking, and the author can’t remember the third because the author got drunk.

It was time for Mike and Suzy to party at Raglan Road;

They placed was packed as usual:

Good thing that Mike had ADRs, but even with those there was still a wait so Mike and Suzy got another one of those handy buzzer devices and they looked around the Irish shop for a while. The change from looking at Disney junk that they didn’t need to looking at Irish junk they didn’t need was a fascinating experience, but eventually the buzzer went off and their server greeted them and showed them to their seats:

She was a nice gal and made some excellent suggestions. The seats were in a rather good location with a good view of the dance floor and an even better view of the upside down Christmas Tree which is apparently some type of Irish tradition;

Mike ordered the Scallop Forest appetizer, which is forks of scallops served with a lime dipping sauce. While it is not that many scallops it is fun to look at and very tasty. The scallops melt in the mouth;

Suzy got a side of creamed corn which she loved:

For the main course Mike got Keen Eye for the Shepherds Pie. Mike had never had Shepherds Pie before and while it was OK he is not sure if he’ll feel the need to order it again. Even with it’s modernized look, it still seemed a little plain for his tastes;

Suzy got It's Not Bleedin' Chowder; which is potatoes, mussels, prawns, scallops in a cream sauce – tasty but again not something they’ll order again;

They ended with the truly wonderful Ger's Bread & Butter Pudding. This was a fantastic desert that really made the meal;

The band, Tuskar Rock, was in great form that night and played a number of good old Irish songs as well as a couple of new ones. Mike got their CD and added it to his driving to work collection:

The band invented all the Newlyweds up to dance, and Mike and Suzy were very happy that it was a slow-ish number so they got to show off their waltzing moves that they learned for their wedding.

Raglan also had traditional Irish dancing:

and it was very fast and entertaining. Unfortunately Suzy had the bad luck to be in the bathroom each time the dancer came out for her short performance so she never saw it;

The mood of the pub was just really boisterous and excited (and filled with drunk people – I wonder if there could be a connection?). A cute little girl even got up and (seemingly spontaneously) did a little Irish dance which the crowd loved;

Raglan Road was a fantastic and fun dinning experience for Mike and Suzy. They considered going back during their trip but with all the other places to go to they just didn’t have time, but if it was in their home town they definitely would have been back by now.

 

[MikeR]

The next day Mike and Suzy had to get up extra early because Mike had arranged a special surprise. They packed up their swimsuits and took off for Epcot;

When they arrived there they sat in an area off to the side and some other guests came and joined them. It didn’t take Suzy long to figure out why they were there – the Dolphins in Depth tour!

Their tour guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. However, because this was a backstage show, Disney forbid the taking of pictures less it spoil the image of a magical land, this remains the most undocumented part of their Honeymoon. As they were walking to the big tank they passed big pipes, and blocky buildings, and other non-Disney things. Mike pointed to a big pile of black bags and refuse and said, “Look, garbage!” One of the tour guides replied, “Yes, but it’s magical garbage!”

When they arrived at the tank, the sheer size of it was truly amazing. They got a brief lesson about dolphins, Disney’s conservation efforts, and how the various animals and fishes in the aquarium are taken care of. It was all quite interesting and fascinating, as was the point in which they had to run through a very cold shaft of the building in their swimsuits to get to another area of the building.

Eventually the main purpose of the tour came, and Mike and Suzy got to get into the dolphin pool. The water was cold at first but pretty manageable after a while, and soon they didn’t notice it, mainly because they got to play with and interact with (but not swim with) a dolphin! It was so much fun and a definite high point of the honeymoon.

Afterwards, when the tour was all wound up and they were walking out, did Mike slip out his camera and surreptitiously take a picture of the forbidden underbelly of Disney? Of course not. That would have been wrong.

Once out of Epcot they caught a ride to MGM-Studios (as it was called way back then);

They had time to watch a brief Jedi show;

And talk with some of the street performers, who were a lot of fun and enjoyable to joke around with;

And whose name Mike can’t remember. If only he had some type of red box with his name written on it in white letters that would let people know who he was, but sadly no such thing exists.

They arrived on time for their reservations at the 50’s Prime Time Café, but still had to wait a while because the place was very busy again. It was OK though as Mike got to relax in a cool ‘50’s chair;

and check out the 1950’s bar;

Mike had previously had some memorable experiences with the wait-staff interacting with him, and he was looking forward to sharing that with Suzy, but perhaps because they were so busy there really wasn’t anything memorable or zany that happened. She was nice enough to pose for a picture though:

And the décor really set the mood;

The food was also quite good. They were still quite full from all the food they had been eating that they split the pot roast which was fantastic. Each bite was so juicy and moist that the meat just fell apart in his mouth;

They also split a Peanut-Butter and Jelly Milkshake;

Mike found it to be very tasty and worth the 27.3 miles he would have to run to work it off, Suzy though . . . she had another experience. Mike and Suzy split the milkshake by just pouring the top half of it into Mike’s portion, and Suzy ate the bottom half. However, in that bottom half Suzy found . . . bits of plastic. Lots of bits of plastic. She pulled it out and looked through them and as far as they could tell it was some type of plastic wrapper. Needless to say this wigged them out a little and they told the waitress who told the manager who came over and apologized and explained that it was probably a wrapper for some of the food and they were most sorry that it got in their and might we please accept the meal on the house and some free desert in way of an apology?

Mike and Suzy agreed and Suzy got the make your own desert which she had a lot of fun with;

Mike, for desert mind you, got some chicken soup;

The waitress gave him a strange look and interrogated him for a while if he really wanted that, but Mike just wasn’t in the mood for desert so he stuck with his guns and got the chicken soup which was filling and relaxing on this cold day.

 

[IloveDMB]

Yay! Another update!

Not cool about the plastic in the shake. I've had that happen with food before at Cheesecake Factory although there they were not very apologetic. It was like they thought we were lying, even though we showed them the offending plastic.

Sorry for the tangent, great report!

 

[ldadar]

You are an adorable couple. thanks for the great trippie.

 

[IATink]

Just got all caught up today. Another great installment.

I was so excited when we went to the 50's prime time because I had heard so many good things about it, and I also was disappointed in the interaction. I thought it would be more memorable. I guess it just depends on the server you get. Also, gross about the plastic I'm glad they gave you a free dessert and tried to make it right.

Looking forward to your next update!

 

[MikeR]

Mike and Suzy left the Prime Time Café just in time to catch a parade. The Army men from Toy Story were out in fine force;

And Luke Skywalker decided to show off his “O” face;

Which inspired the newlyweds to go off and check out Star Tours. While walking to the line they happened to pass a pair of metallic vultures who were no doubt trying to get the last bit of gold out of the Star Wars franchise;

The attendant showed them the door to their star ship;

and Mike and Suzy entered and were transported to a galaxy far, far away;

Or they went on a first generation motion ride. One of the two. Because honestly, Star Tours was one of the first motion rides out there and it shows. Mike thinks that if you’ve been on three motion rides, you’ve pretty much been on them all and if the ride in question is almost old enough to drink, well . . . The only thing that makes it a cool ride is that it allows you to remember how you used to imagine yourself in an X-wing fighter.

After the ride Mike started geeking out.

He geeked here;

He geeked there;

He geeked everywhere;

He even got into a trivia contest with this guy at the Star Wars gift shop;

Who, Mike is ashamed to admit, stumped him with the question, “What is the difference between a Darth Maul and a Darth Lord?” Does anyone know the answer to that?

Afterwards they went to the Muppets 3-D adventure;

The show was very funny, but Mike might have seen it too many times at this point, because he knew every single joke. He can’t remember the name of someone he meets five minutes later, but he can spout off Statler & Waldorf lines that he hasn’t heard in seven years. Where is the justice in that?

On the way out of the park they passed a pretty cool bird too. Anyone know what this is?

At this point it was time to check into their new hotel. They enjoyed staying at the Polynesian very much, but it they didn’t really mind moving to the All-Star Movie hotel. The hotel room was primarily a place to sleep after all, and they were quite busy during the day.

Suzy was still wearing her ears as they entered the hotel;

Check in took a few minutes but was relatively painless;

And soon they were in their new hotel room;

And Mike picked up a very special gift. Mike had begged and pleaded and used the “It’s our Honeymoon!” on two or three difference concierge people, but finally he had worked his mojo well enough that he was given two passes to skip to the front of any ride, not just those with fast-pass lanes, but any ride;

VICTORY!

 

[MikeR]

After a nap that went a little longer than expected Mike and Suzy decided to just take a taxi to save time instead of waiting for the busses. However, the taxis driver told them that MGM Studios was going to close at the time of our reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theatre. They hemmed and hawed and weren’t sure what they should do, remembering their reservation earlier mix-up, but in the end they decided to just risk it and go. Mike and Suzy made the right choice because as it turns out the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre is open later than the rest of the park. Good info to know.

The décor was very attention-grabbing, and it is a bit of a hoot to sit in the old cars;

While watching some cheesy clips from the ‘50’s;

Mike and Suzy split a Reuben sandwich:

Which really hit the spot. Nothing fancy, and nothing you couldn’t eat at a million sandwich shops the world over, but it was satisfying and served in an entertaining environment. Like many other restaurants at Disney, it’s the mood, not the food.

They also got their now customary free desert;

Which they also split in as cute of a manner as they could;

One of the coolest parts of the night was that after they got out of the restaurant, most of MGM was completely empty. The Christmas lights were still up so it was very festive;

Some things landed on Mike and Suzy as they were walking around and they were shocked to see that it was snow. They knew it was cold, but they didn’t have any idea that it was that cold. They marveled at how this was probably the first time snow had fallen here for decades. Then they looked up and saw a snow machine. Oops. At least it was a memorable moment.

Finally with night at an end the couple stumbled into the arcade at the All Star Movies and dinked around with the games for a while. They were on their honeymoon so they felt comfortable spending enough money to feed a family in Zimbabwe for a month in order to win tickets for crap that they didn’t want. The funnest (grammar be damned) game was one where you adjusted the flow of air at a ball and tried to keep it within a green series of lights;

Games capable of doing millions of calculations and what really wowed them was flashing lights and a small air cannon. Technology is a beautiful thing.

 

[MikeR]

Mike and Suzy got up early the next day to go back to MGM studios. Transportation didn’t take that much longer than it would have taken from the Polynesian, so moving to the new hotel and saving beaucoup bucks was looking pretty good. They got in and grabbed fast passes for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, but even though they were pretty early, the wait for their fast passes was still a few hours so they looked around and decided to catch a show;

Mike had been meaning to see the Broadway production of Beautify and the Beast for a while now, but for various reasons he had never gotten around to it. He was quite happy when he heard that there was a version of it playing at Disney World and looked forward to seeing it. Even though the Broadway version is a lot longer, has a much bigger cast, and is more adult than the one Mike and Suzy saw, they both have one thing that makes it all worth while. They both have the Bimbettes:

It was an enjoyable quick show and did have great costumes;

Afterwards they headed over to the Great Movie Ride;

The wait was long enough that they saw every preview for every movie in the waiting room at least once. Mike has fond memories of seeing those previews for the first time when he was deeply into being a film buff. Back then, it was fascinating for him to watch previews for movies that had long since come out because back then you really couldn’t do that. Nowadays anyone who wanted to could watch those same previews on you tube or on a DVD extra, but back then, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, it was something you couldn’t see unless you were in the film industry. After the previews were over they got in the in the cart and enjoyed the best animatronics that 1989 had to offer:

When they got off the ride Mike spotted Pizza Planet from Toy Story. He was very curious to check it, hoping that it would be an uber-version of Chuck-E-Cheese with originally games to play that would woosh him away to a different time and space, but such was not the case. It was just a standard fast food pizza joint. Shrug:

Suzy passed by a fountain on the way to the ride, and Mike continued his effort to make sure that no aspect of the trip would be undocumented and told her to not just stand there, (let's get to it), Strike a pose, there's nothing to it;

Finally Mike and Suzy got in line for the Tower of Terror;

Suzy had never heard of the Tower of Terror and asked Mike what the ride was about. Thinking that the best surprise is one that is actually a surprise, Mike told her that it was like the Haunted Mansion. The good décor in Tower of Terror backed him up;

And Suzy got into the ride expecting a quiet non-exiting ride in which she merely watched things. And for the first part that is what she got. The Tower of Terror really does have some great special effects and it’s not surprising that Suzy thought that was the main point of the ride, right up until she dropped three stories without warning.

Suzy freaked out. She had no idea that was coming* and when the ride dropped it really gave her a jolt. And then they flew back up. And dropped. And rose. And dropped again. And Suzy was clutching Mike with a death grip the whole time. Heh heh. Mike is evil. EVILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!

* Well, mostly no idea. Mike made sure her seat belt was buckled and that was a slight give away, but she really was surprised.

After their hearts got back in their throats they passed the Broom from Fantasia throwing flowers instead of water. Disney really does have some nice horticulture;

Mike used to be really into animation, so it was a natural that he’d drag Suzy along for the animation tour;

The sculpture of the Rémy from Rattattoie was really cool. It looked like it had just popped out to the movie;

And the colors man, the colors . . . ;

There was also only a two hour wait to shake hands with a college student in a sweaty suit;

As they were walking out they passed a model of Disney Sea which Mike had never even heard of but that looked very cool;

They also caught the Little Mermaid show. Now long, long ago, Mike remembered reading how the Little Mermaid show was actually performed under water and that the actors swam around and gulped air out of a hose. This was not the case with this show, which was performed in the ghastly air. Does anyone know if Mike was just hallucinating or if there really was some Little Mermaid show which was performed under water?;

On their way out to make their reservations, the happy couple passed a line of Toy Story Aliens all in a row on the street. Why were they there? Who put them there? What was there purpose? The world may never know;

 

[MikeR]

As night fell it was time for Mike and Suzy’s second most extravagant meal of their honeymoon, dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s! The downstairs was just a tiny bit busy;

But the upstairs was definitely more romantic;

They were seated rather quickly and after savoring a few brief seconds of peace and quite they inaugurated what would become a truly epic night of drinking by getting a bottle of wine and toasting each other;

For those of you who are going to be keeping score, it should be considered as two drinks for Suzy and three for Mike. (Mike – 3, Suzy – 2).

They got two appetizers, one of spicy tempura battered shrimp with wasabi vinaigrette, Thai sweet chili sauce, and Japanese rice. It was divine. Probably the best tempura that Mike has had in his life and he lived in Japan for two years;

And a appetizer of roasted beet and goat cheese layer torte with micro greens salad, toasted hazelnuts and a citrus-shallot vinaigrette. This was good, but not nearly as good as the rest of the meal;

For the main course, Suzy ordered seared rare ahi tuna (sashimi grade) with roasted sweet peppers, braised fennel, tomatoes, capers, and black olive vinaigrette. Suzy swears that this was the best ahi she has ever had;

And Mike got a Colorado lamb rack with black beluga lentils and tzatziki sauce. Mike is a definite carnivore so it was exquisite to feel the meat just melt in his mouth;

They received their customary gratis desert and Suzy wanted the picture to show off the nice lettering congratulating them, so the cake was tilted towards the camera. And just as the picture was being taken, the cake came tumbling down;

The tasty carrot cake, though slightly marred in the lettering department, was still tasty;

 

[Momof2princess]

Great Trip Report....You guys look like you had an awesome time. Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip.

 

[MikeR]

After waddling out of the store, the couple waddled over to the Virgin Music store where they waddled around for a while. Mike has not bought a CD in literally years, so it felt a bit like being in an actual record store, circa 1989. The writing is on the wall and Mike just does not think stores for music are going to be around for that much longer. When the kids are shown (edited) pictures of the honeymoon, Mike fully expects them to ask something like, “You mean people actually bought music in a _store_?”:

Finally it was time for Cirque de Sole! Mike and Suzy had seen a Cirque about a year ago, but the one in Orlando was completely different. Mike had seen it years ago, and parts of it were very familiar (he vividly remembers the Spider-Man like acrobats that climbed the wall), but others he had forgotten completely;

Mike went and got Suzy a drink for the show, as well as two for himself (Mike – 5, Suzy – 3). Like much of Cirque, you might not think ordinary circus clowns are enjoyable, but these guys were truly hilarious and even joked around with Mike and Suzy for a bit:

After the show, the two headed off to Pleasure Island;

Where they headed to Mike’s favorite club in the entire world, the Adventurer’s Club;

Mike is not a club goer, but he _loves_ the AC and even knows a few lines of the motto by heart;

He was kind of disappointed to find out the they no longer offer any merchandise of any kind. Mike is the proud owner of a monkey-headed drinking cup as well as a Adventurer’s T-shirt, but both of them are getting a little worn so he was looking to replace them, but no such luck. Mike decided to console himself with some house drinks. Kungaloosh! (Mike – 6, Suzy 4);

Suzy admits she is short, but she felt shorter than normal when she got caught by surprise by the shrinking stool;

One of the actors at the Adventurers Club looks a lot like a friend of Mike’s. Surely that’s worthy of another drink (Mike – 7, Suzy 4);

Mike and Suzy weren’t sure if this lady was an actor or not, so Mike went up and started talking to her and it turns out that she used to work at the AC and now just comes back for old times sake. Even former employees love the AC! That deserves another drink and because apparently Mike has turned into a 19-year old girl, it was at this time that he decided to start ordering Long Island Ice Teas (Mike 8, Suzy 4);

The actors at the Adventure’s Club are good sports and don’t mind being the but of a joke;

A skit started, so Mike ordered a drink for the show (Mike - ???, Suzy - shrug) and he was especially pleased when the actors broke out into a song that Mike really enjoys and didn’t know that anyone knew of, called “The Future Soon”;

With the last skit of the night over at the AC, Mike and Suzy stumbled out and tried to do a little dancing;

They were not under the effects of alcohol at _all_;

Nope, not even a _little_ bit;

Suzy was wanting to go home at this point, but Mike was determined to carry on and party till dawn;

That determination lasted all of about thirty seconds once they were in another dance club and Mike swayed back and forth a few times before almost loosing his footing and agreeing with Suzy that it was time to head home;

The bus ride back was . . . not pleasant, but it was only once they got to their hotel room that the nights activities really caught up with them. They were both dog-tired, but once Mike got in bead and closed his eyes the room was exceedingly rude and decided that it would be a perfect time to start spinning and spinning and spinning. Round and round it went until Mike sat up and stumbled to the bathroom. In his perfectly working mind he decided that the best coarse of action would be to take a bath. Suzy was very worried about her husband drowning as shown by how she said, “Don’t drown,” before falling right to sleep. Mike joined her in a half hour after the room had decided to slow down its circular motion.

Hey Mike! How did you feel the next day?

 

[MikeR]

On day six of their honeymoon Mike and Suzy were not happy campers. They were not even gleeful hikers. And they were far from being jubilant spelunkers. This was due to them being hung-over honeymooners.

Come morning, they were able to walk and talk, if you generously define the terms, but they were desperately in need of some food to fill their stomachs and get their blood flowing again. So off they trumped to the All Star Movies cafeteria. It was surprisingly busy, but Mike soon got a hangover burger;

and Suzy got a hangover Sandwich;

Both were inimitably passable grub food of the kind you could get in any college cafeteria, but they achieved the goal of fully waking Mike and Suzy up and really what more could you ask of hangover food?

Recharged, somewhat, the couple decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. They passed the ever present Mickey balloons;

And went to the first ride of the day, which was chosen because it was not a ride at all, but rather a theatre in which the couple could sit and not have their stomachs crashed from one side to the other. The live animation at the Monsters Inc Joke show was pretty good, but not as entertaining and fresh as the turtle show at Epcot;

Next was Stitch’s Great Escape;

Which is also a show more than a ride. Mike and Suzy got locked in and enjoyed watching it, but unfortunately Suzy’s seat did not have a functioning olfactory device and she did not get to experience the pleasure of having cheese-doodle-smelling-air being blown into her face. She survived the depredation;

Continuing the theme of rides that are not rides, Mike and Suzy went on the Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow ride/show. Watching the progression of daily life from 1900 to 2000 was pretty interesting, and the song is almost as catchy as “It’s a Small World”;

At times though, it did seem as if Tomorrow Land was really showing its age. You can really tell that it’s a 1950’s version of what things will be like in the far off year of 2000;

Mike and Suzy went on the Wedway People Mover, which is basically a cart. That moves. People. Mike remembers when he was young being absolutely fascinated by it and being sure that it was going to sweep the country and we were going to be living just like the Jetsons any day now;

This time around the only excitement to be found in the Wedway People mover was ironic excitement;

And ironic excitement just can not compete with the real thing;

Mike and Suzy were not the only ones to feel lukewarm about the People Mover, as shown by the expressions on the other tourists on the other People Mover that zoomed by Mike and Suzy at speeds of up to three miles per hour!;

After the thrills and chills of the people mover, Mike and Suzy got in the Buzz Light-year Space Ranger Zap line, which was _slightly_ longer than the line they waited in for the ever exciting People Mover;

They even received their first tracking card, which is given to tourists so Disney could figure out how long it takes to get through the line. Mike must have asked half a dozen attendants “Do I give this to you?”, “Ok, then do I give it to you?” all to no avail. About the only person he didn’t ask this of was the person he was actually supposed to give it to! And as a result he was buckled in and pulling away before he realized he still had the pass and had to toss it to some random attendant;

The ride itself is rather tame, but the real fun comes from the interactive parts of it; the riders get to spin the cart round and round as they try to hit various targets with their zappers;

At the end of the ride, Suzy had the higher final score;

As the loser, Mike was put in the cage and had to scream , “Nooooooooooooooo!”;

And then he had to do his best gorilla impression;

 

[Momof2princess]

Another great two installments.

DH and I have a night planed like yours in DTD, hopefully the morning after will not be so rough on us.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[Loriann70]

Loving this trip report! Keep it coming!

 

[MikeR]

Deciding to take a more leisurely method of travel, the couple took a boat to Fort Wilderness;

The boat ride was definitely more peaceful than a bus ride, and is recommended for those wanting a bit of a break from the rush and rush nature that some vacations can become;

And it gave time for Mike to play with the more artistic settings on his camera;

When they arrived at Fort Wilderness, they marveled at how much it looked just like Oregon;

Well, except for the mini-horses, Oregon doesn’t have many of those;

Or Mickey shaped golf carts;

It was at Fort Wilderness that Mike revealed Honeymoon surprise #247, a horse and carriage Ride;

After days of zooming all over the place, it was rather nice to relax and snuggle on such an old fashioned and peaceful mode of transportation. The clomp-clomp of the horses and the rattle of the wheels quickly flowed into a steady and soothing rhythm;

 

[MikeR]

After that was done, Mike and Suzy had front row seats for the Hoop De Doo Review;

The hall is quite large and themed like a Old West theatre;

And the food is served in large portions, and is typical western grub such as cornbread;

Salad;

And a truly disgusting sangria which Mike and Suzy tried one sip of and then pushed aside for the rest of the night;

The mashed potatoes, chicken, ribs, and beans were all . . . decent. A bit like you’d get in some all-you-can-eat buffet;

Now, Mike had strong memories of the strawberry shortcake at the Hoop De Doo Review being the best strawberry shortcake in the entire world and every other strawberry shortcake being a poor imitation, a mere shade, of the sublime beauty that was the Hoop De Doo Review’s Strawberry Shortcake. It is greatly regretted that this is no longer the case. Either they changed how they made strawberry shortcake (boo-hiss) or Mike’s memory is wrong (unpossible), but regardless instead of savoring the strawberry shortcake, Mike only had a some of his. The memory of past greatness was just too strong to make the present enjoyable;

The actors all suited their parts well, although by sitting so close to the stage Mike and Suzy got a much better look at them then would normally be the case and it can be a bit distracting to count the number of pores on someone doing a dancing jig;

The actors also really play-up their roles and aren’t afraid of posing for pictures on-stage;

Captain Tight-Pants had a pretty good singing-voice;

And the show really gets the audience involved, by having them stomp their feat, yell, and wave their handkerchiefs around;

As well as getting them to play a musical instrument alla Washboard-Hero;

You’ve got washboard power – Use It!;

After the show Mike and Suzy went over to Down Town Disney where they made their own Mr. Potato Head;

Looked at a Lego Shark;

And caught an Improv show on Pleasure Island. The improvers asked Mike and Suzy what they had been up to on their honeymoon, and Mike replied, “It’s a family show.”;

Mike and Suzy were still tired from last nights activities so they didn’t stay long and headed back to their hotel, briefly looking at their shadows and were happy to discover that there would be six more days of Honeymoon;

 

[Momof2princess]

Washboard Hero.... good one.

Can't wait to read the next installment.

 

[MikeR]

Mike and Suzy were a little unsure if they wanted to do another Character Meal, but the reservations had already been made so the two departed for the Princess Storybook Breakfast at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in World Showcase.

They were greeted at the door by Belle who was kind enough to formally dress up for the occasion, thereby making Mike and Suzy look like the slobs they are:

Once inside the décor proved to be up to the usual Disney standard:

Mike had never had Norwegian food before so he was curious to give it a try. There was an appetizer bar before the main meal that provided many dishes, but nothing that Mike had never tried before, although the cheeses were very tasty:

Suzy got a pretty standard meat and potatoes dish;

While Mike asked the waiter for the most “Norwegian” item on the menu and got a Traditional Kjottkaker which has cauliflower, garlic, cheese infused mashed potato, and a beet sauce. Mike is not in love with Norwegian food and will probably not have it again, but he is glad that he got to give it a try;

The couple also received yet another complimentary desert tray. Disney obviously has some fiendish plot to try and get the couple to be too big to fit on the airplane home, thereby forcing them to stay in the parks forever;

In between stuffing their faces with meats and vegetables cooked by a people who think fermented trout is the height of culinary excellence, various Princess came by and introduced themselves to Mike and Suzy. They were all very nice and complimentary to the Honeymooners and congratulated the duo profusely. Here is Suzy with Ariel:

Mike with Aurora;

Pocahontas was showing off her goods . . . by which the author means her necklace . . . no . . . no, he doesn’t;

And here is Mike trying to strike an Aladdin-like pose with Jasmine;

 

[MikeR]

Once outside the couple took a look around the pavilion and enjoyed the illusion of being in a Norwegian town;

They hopped aboard the Norwegian ride which was scary when you are 9, but is just goofy at 29;

In the obligatory gift-shop the couple mulled over buying a troll or getting a new roof for the same price. . . buying a troll or getting a new roof . . . hmm . . . decisions, decisions:

Suzy also contemplated the advantages in switching to a career in the lucrative field of viking;

Thanks to the wonderful world of Disney geography, China is just a hop a skip and a pirouette from Norway;

;

The China pavilion has a most interesting tree. Does anyone know what type of tree this is?

Here is a picture of Mulan by herself because apparently she was too good to demean herself by standing next to the commoners;

Mike had seen the Terra-cotta stone soldiers at a museum before, but the exhibit on them was still fascinating;

Mike would like to get this Chinese saying over his desk at work;

While waiting for the Circle Vision movie on China to start, there was a brief performance of a classical Chinese instrument. It was very soothing and a nice break from the hectic zoom zoom zoom of the vacation. Does anyone know what this instrument is called?

The movie about China was really well done, perhaps the best movie Mike and Suzy saw at Disney World. In a 360 degree theatre, the audience is shown a panoramic view of the glories of China. It really captures the thousands of years of history and culture that China has had as well as its vast natural world from the deserts to jungle to plains. So of course after watching such a powerful movie Mike and Suzy put on silly hats;

Mike and Suzy went to see the 2:15 ritual human sacrifice at the Aztec pyramid in the Mexico pavilion, because Disney is always historically accurate, but for some reason the show never began;

They consoled themselves by taking a picture in front of lake;

 

[MikeR]

Having enough of World Showcase, the couple headed to future! Their first stop was Test Track, where guests explore the strange new world that will come about when horseless carriages become cheap enough that a workingman can buy one for only three years worth of wages! The Test Track ride was . . . a bit disappointing. Mike and Suzy have both been driving for over a decade now, and they have both driven in some extreme circumstances and nothing that Test Track did was actually more exciting than what they have done in real life;

As consolation Disney apologized and invited the couple to enjoy looking at funky plants;

Next up was Mission Space - an interactive centrifuge ride. Mike had never been on this before and knew nothing about it, so it was a treat to go into a ride almost completely ignorant of what it would entail. The G-forces are a hoot, and just strong enough that they are fun and not sickening (although Mike and Suzy were a bit dizzy for a while afterwards). Mike was tempted to purposely fail his part of the interaction to see what would happen, but in the end he pushed the button at the right time and saved the mission. Yay for Mike:

The couple also caught a showing of The Circle of Life. Now, Suzy is a chemical engineer so this show kind of ticked her off with its anti-civilization theme. It makes a point about how horrible making trash is, but how much garbage does Disney World produce in just one day? Sure they may recycle as much as they can, but we’re still talking about landfills after landfills worth of trash. The film is just a rather smug and sanctimonious flick about how bad the modern world is, more or less, and it just feels out of place at Disney World which, when you get down to, is pretty much a celebration of consumerism;

Wanting to cleanse their pallet, Mike and Suzy caught the new Imagination ride. Mike didn’t think it was as good as the old one, and he is 10% sure that is not the result of nostalgia. The whole time the ride was going on he was humming the South Park “Imagination” song to himself;

As punishment for that a blowfish tried to eat his brain to cleanse any reference of South Park from the pristine Disney environment;

The day was growing long, so the couple leisurely headed for the next event that Mike had planned, a couple’s massage at the Spa & Health Club at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Once they arrived at the Grand Floridian, they had a bit of a trouble finding it, but when they did it was great. Mike and Suzy were having a fabulous time on their honeymoon, but it could be rather hectic and busy at times. The massage was a great change of pace. It was also probably about four or five times as expensive as a similar massage would be at home, but they didn’t need a relaxing massage when they were home, they needed one on their honeymoon so that is when they got it. Mike thought that the couples massage would be, you know, a massage together . . . as a couple, but such was not the case. They were both put in different rooms and really didn’t interact any during the massage, so the couples part was really just a marketing ploy, but it was still a great and relaxing break;

Freshly invigorated, Mike and Suzy got back to their room and laid down. Don’t they look oh so very sleepy?;