Next up is Its Tough to be a Bug.
I didnt clue Keith in onto anything this time lets see what his reaction is. He laughs. He smiles. He shrivels his noise at the smell. Score another in the win column.
We traverse the park, and Im careful to avoid any mention of Kali River Rapids on our way to Expedition Everest. The wait time is too far out as well be leaving soon for the Studios. Another day, I say. We do, however, continue around and see that we have time for Dinosaur, which is a 20-minute wait. And about 25 minutes later, were back with one additional passenger, extra large. Keith thought this was a very unique ride, if a bit rough on his back. (I have to say, it seemed a lot jerkier than I remember.)
We stampede through the park, and slow as we enter Discovery Island, taking our time to soak it all in as we make our way towards the exit. I had forgotten that you can pick up a bus from AK to the other parks, so we opt to do so. And, as we are running up to stop 15, a Studios bus pulls away. Whats that they say about Murphys Law? Another 20-or-so minutes later, another 2 or 3 Epcot buses, and were finally on our way to the Studios.
Thankfully, its a short walk to 50s Prime Time Café and we check-in a few minutes past our ADR time. I make a quick dash to the restroom, lest we get seated quickly and Im caught in the restroom without permission. Once again, the hijinks were less than exemplary, though our waitress (not even our cousin or aunt or sister) was nice and efficient enough. We did set the table. And they were glad to see us, of course (all except for the snarly waiter who brought out our food and basically set it down in front of us without any sort of fanfare). Pot roast for Keith and meatloaf for me, both with mashed potatoes. What is it with the mashed potatoes? We cleaned our plates good too (though Keith had to help me with my carrots) no airplane treatment for us. Keith was allowed to have dessert (boston crème pie parfait) and I finished off my vanilla malt.
Both us and our full bellies wandered to Star Tours. This was the main reason for bringing Keith to the Studios as he is a Trekkie, at heart, and loves Star Wars as well. The wait time was posted at 35 minutes and rather than getting FPs, we opt to wait. All in all, it goes pretty quickly and were buckled in and ready to go. Keith is once again impressed with Disneys ability to do 4D. I found myself giggling the whole way through not because I found the new format silly, but because I was really enjoying it. With such a short amount of time to plan this trip, I had not read with intense interest, every post made about changes made to the parks since my last visit, so I was pleasantly surprised by the changes. Afterwards, I offered to take Keiths picture on the star speeder (is that what that photo opportunity is?), but he declined. He was, however, rather enamored with the Imperial Walker at the entrance to the ride.
I believe the term is hope beyond hope, so we walked over to Toy Story Mania to try our luck. The 110 minute stand-by queue, plus the lack of available FPs told us we werent that lucky. Ah. Another reason to return some day, dont you think?
By now, I think my stomach will allow a ride on RnRC, so off we go. Keith agrees to wait out the posted 40-minutes, and I find, instead, the single rider line. I walked straight into the pre-show, but the line inside of the alley took a while to get through. There was a growing fear that I could actually be put in the back car (which I find to be a bit more jerkier than the others). But Im lucky enough to be put in row 4. Im in a car with a mom (who Im riding with), a dad, and their son.
Theyve never been on the ride before, but like coasters, arent aware of the takeoff, they like Aerosmith, and arent aware of the inversions. This is going to be fun! When we finish, she looks at me, her hair standing straight up, eyes wide, and says is that it? Are we done? It was classic! She liked it, as did the dad and the son.
Were not going to chance Keiths stomach with ToT. But are passing the theater just as Beauty and the Beast is starting, so in we go. Keith loves musicals, so this is a hit.
To my amazement, were going to leave the Studios (without a single picture taken, I might add. How did that happen?). More than anything, its nearing 5:00, AK closes at 5:00, and I have no idea how long the buses to AK will run. That, and I cant think of anything else that Keith would really enjoy here (maybe the Backlot Tour, but thats about it really.) I had hoped to maybe have a snack at the Sci-Fi Dine In (just so he could experience it), but we werent really hungry either (and why would we be since we had just eaten a mere 2 hours before?). As the saying goes, theres always a reason to come back!
While we were pretty excited with the short wait times at the beginning of our trip, it seems evident that the crowds have increased (even with us trying to avoid the EMH parks). Even the wait for the bus seems to take a while.
With just 6 hours in the parks today, were ready to call it a day. Time for some down time back at the resort, where we change into our suits and head to the pool. We also spend some time in the hottub, talking about our trip, and planning future ones (mostly, our honeymoon).
To date, our room has not been cleaned. Despite a call to housekeeping on two different occasions the two previous days. So once back in the room, I ring the manager and explain the situation. Before you totally pass out at the thought, it is common with HGVC to have the room cleaned only once or twice during your stay, with fresh towels brought in upon your request (on other days). But the fact that we have been here since Saturday and it is now Thursday, has me in a bit of a snit.
Of course, housekeeping knocks while Im in the shower and Keith secures some towels for us (since we had disposed of ours outside our door in the morning thinking someone might get the hint), asking them to return in 30 minutes to clean. He said they didnt look very pleased and personally, I really didnt care.
We really dont want to venture far and decide we like Bahama Breeze enough to give it another go. Despite Keiths so-so review of the Bahama Rita, I order one up and he opts for a Samuel Adams. Keith orders a salad of some kind and I try the grilled chicken cilantro crème (accompanied by a side of
say it with me
mashed potatoes). Keith and I are both suffering from allergies and at this point, he cant breathe and excuses himself to run to Walgreens to pick up something. Which leaves me to
peruse the menu, peruse the drink and dessert menu, and look through my pictures from the trip. Hes lucky I didnt take his drink while he was gone. Keith returns within a minute of the food being brought to the table. We both enjoy our meals and give Bahama Breeze another four thumbs up.
Given that my thighs probably resemble all of the mashed potatoes Ive eaten this week, we decide against returning to the resort straight away and instead hop over to DtD to ramble along the West Side, or at least whats left of it. We both enjoy the musical groups playing outdoors and poke our head into a few of the shops. Our favorite had to be Hoypoloi, where we found some very cool, if ridiculously priced items.
I had driveled on endlessly about Raglan Road, suggesting we try and grab a meal there, and Keith said perhaps we could still fit it in (though not tonight). Especially once we saw fish and chips on the menu then we were both craving them.
I paused to pay homage to the abandoned building which housed our beloved Adventurers Club. Kungaloosh! I still cannot fathom why this had to go away.
By this time, our feet were telling us it was time for bed, and when we pulled into the resort just after 11:00, we found we had more walking to do as we had to park 4 buildings over. Soon enough, we passed out in our comfy bed.
