suserphone
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 9, 2003
- Messages
- 6
DISNEY TRIP REPORT
Name: Susie Matthews
E-mail: suserphone@yahoo.com
Dates of trip: November 21-24, 2002
Travel method: Personal car
Resort: All-Star Sports
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages in group: Adult
WDW experience: One veteran, one rookie
Who: Susie, 27, and a Disney veteran. Having lived in Florida my whole life, a Disney trip was something I did once or twice a year for as long as I can remember. But...they had all been day trips that involved getting up early to drive there and then returning home the same evening. Or if I was lucky enough to be in Orlando for more than a day and could buy a multi-day pass, I would stay with family or friends and sleep on a futon or the floor.
Mike, 27, Susie's beautiful boyfriend and a Disney rookie. He grew up in Iowa and moved here to Tallahassee to finish his master's degree at Florida State. When we met and I learned he had never had the Disney experience, I knew my sole purpose for being placed on this earth was to show him the wonder that is Walt.
When: November 21-24, 2002. I knew crowds would be low during the pre-holiday season, and the weather would be great. No heat, no rain, just cool, breezy days. I didn't want Mike's first time there to be overwhelming with the normal hubbub associated with theme parks.
Where: Disney's All-Star Sports resort. I was able to get a great deal, the Florida Funshine package. Rooms at the All-Stars were only $49 a night. Woo hoo! Can't beat that!
Why: Not only had Mike never been to Disney, but he had never had a fuss made over him on his birthday. It tended to fall on/during Thanksgiving and would be overlooked with all the holiday craziness. Plus, with it being so close to Christmas, he tended to get gypped in the gift department. I decided to do something about it. I originally thought we would go in January (also a slow time at the parks), but when I received an e-mail advertising the Funshine deal, I couldn't pass it up. And where else can you have complete strangers make you feel as special on your birthday than at Disney World?
The planning began in August. Since Mike was in school, I had to make sure to pick a date that would not interfere with tests or papers, and also make sure we could both get time off from work. Luckily enough, his actual birthday fell on a weekend during the Funshine offer. I decided to keep the trip a surprise so that it would make his birthday feel even more special.
Once I had our room reservation, I headed to the Disney Store to purchase some Florida resident annual passes. They cost about the same as a four-day park hopper would have (around $200 each), but now we could return any time we wanted for a year after we first use them (except for the black out dates during the busiest times, but who wants to fight crowds anyway?).
The trip was not a complete surprise, as in kidnapping a loved one for the weekend. I did let him know he needed that weekend off because I was planning something special. And it was never referred to as a birthday trip. I jokingly told him that since he was new to Florida, he would have to be trained how to vote properly here so that we would not have a repeat of the 2000 presidential election debacle. So for the next three months, we referred to our trip as Voting Day. And to keep him guessing as to where we were going, I constantly asked him silly questions like, "Have you had all of your shots?" "Do you suffer from motion sickness?" "Are you afraid of heights?" "Do you have a fear of flying or any food allergies?" I even had him fill out an application for a passport that I printed off the internet.
I am horrible at keeping secrets. Well, not other people's, just my own. So on a daily basis, I would ask him if he wanted to know where we were going for Voting Day. "No!" was always the reply. To keep myself from going too crazy with anticipation, I visited lots of helpful websites such as this one and www.wdwig.com and the DisBoards. I read every trip report I could get my hands on and printed out page after page of tips and packing suggestions and the like. I had a large three-ring binder stuffed full of information. I started a countdown sheet. But I still was going bonkers trying to keep from blurting everything out.
Since this was his first trip to Disney, and my first "big" trip, I went a little nutso with the planning. I wanted this to be the best birthday/Disney trip ever. I discovered that even though I thought myself to be something of a Disney expert, there was so much stuff I didn't know. So, as a result of overexcitement, I tried to cram as much as possible into the four days we would be there. I pored over reviews and made reservations at restaurants and shows that I thought Mike would like. But the more I planned, the more I realized I was leaving very little time for just relaxing and enjoying the parks, the atmosphere, and each other. I canceled some reservations, but kept one I thought we might need. It was dinner and reserved seats for Fantasmic! which I had never seen but kept reading that it was not to be missed. Other than that, I figured between my "expert" knowledge and Mike's opinions, we would play it by ear when we got there.
By this point, I had told everyone I could about the trip. Everyone at work knew about it; I asked his mom and friends for their opinion of it: Was it too babyish? Would he think it was silly? Apparently, in non-Florida states, especially the more northern ones (i.e. Iowa), Disney was the Holy Grail of vacations growing up, and I was assured that he would love it.
Finally, finally, FINALLY the week of our trip arrived. The Sunday before we left, I decided to do a craft project as a way to reveal my plans to Mike. I had an old Disney/Epcot passport (unused), so I put Mike's picture in it and filled out the vital statistics. Then I went on the internet to find out how to say "I love you" in all the languages of all the countries represented in the passport. I thought this would help calm my nerves a little until the big day, but it only made me more jittery. I was stressing myself out about it so much and got so worked up that poor Mike finally relented and let me tell him where we were going. He was pleasantly surprised and got more and more excited as the week went on. I showed him all the travel books I had purchased and highlighted, as well as my overstuffed Disney binder, and he had fun going through those and seeing all the wonderful things to do at the most magical place on earth. Whee!
Wednesday night was a flurry of packing and freaking out by me. I had never been responsible for a big trip before and I didn't want to forget anything, and despite the very detailed packing lists I had found on-line, I felt as though I was wandering aimlessly through the apartment, not sure what to do first. But at last we were packed and could attempt to sleep.
DAY ONE: DISNEY/MGM STUDIOS and 50's PRIME-TIME CAFE
Thursday dawned foggy and drizzly, but that couldn't dampen our spirits. (The fact that I was dragging us out of bed at 5 a.m. could have.) After a quick stop to get gas, we were ready to hit the highway. Traffic was not bad at all and we were making excellent time right up until our final exit before Disney. It is inevitable that there will be an accident on the way to Orlando. I don't remember ever driving there without having a traffic jam somewhere along the way. But we finally made it through. And as soon as I saw those welcoming purple signs, I knew we were safe and on our way. We were officially on Disney property!
We arrived at the All-Star Sports and checked in. Since this is one of their budget hotels, I had been warned by others that there is almost always a long wait at the front desk and parking is a nightmare. In actuality, there was only one other person in front of us, we received a great front parking space next to our building (Surf's Up!), and we were close to the bus stops and the food court. The Disney magic was already working. Just a quick side note: All-Star Sports is the first to be picked up and dropped off by the Disney bus line out of all three All-Star hotels. Just something to keep in mind if you're wondering where to stay and worried about transportation. We always had a seat.
We headed to our room (which was ready ahead of schedule), dropped off our stuff, and headed for the buses. The first day was going to be spent at Disney/MGM Studios. I tried to plan the trip so that we didn't go to any park on its traditionally busiest day, plus MGM had always seemed lacking to me somehow with not as much to do as the other parks. Of course, this was before the addition of the Rockin' Roller Coaster (RRC) and the Tower of Terror (ToT) (which I had always been too chicken to ride anyway). I know I am not going to remember the exact order of everything as it happened, but I have a pretty good overall picture of the sequence of events. I know we headed straight for RRC first. I figured Mike's first Disney ride should be a guaranteed fun one. And there were no lines over five minutes long. We rode it twice in a row. The first time we left the ride and stopped to look at our photo taken as we're shot off, we thought it was really great but decided not to buy it, figuring we could perfect our look of terror the next time we rode. Sadly, this did not happen and we regretted not buying the original picture the whole trip. If you can afford it and really like your pictures, go ahead and buy them. They are a great souvenir.
We were officially starving by this point and it was way past lunch time. Knowing that we had dinner reservations, we split a chicken fingers meal from one of the nearby food stands (Rosie the Riveter's?). Then we headed over to the Muppets 3-D. This was very enjoyable and the theater was conveniently located near the restaurant (Mama Melrose's) I had reservations for. Realizing we weren't going to be hungry enough to eat such a big meal so soon (4:30 reservations were all that had been available), and also feeling too pressed for time, we decided to cancel the dinner reservations and wing it when it came time to eat.
Now we were ready for the Tower of Terror. I was sooooo scared. My stomach does not like that feeling you get from riding steep roller coasters, and this ride consisted solely of being raised and dropped multiple times. But I had sworn that I would ride any ride Mike wanted to and suck it up. I was terrified. I clung to Mike's arm the entire time we were in line, and during the pre-show, and when we were finally seated on the ride. Luckily, we were in the last row of the elevator car (I can't ride in the front of rides; I hate seeing where we're going and knowing when we're about to drop). The car had about 12-15 people in it, all sounded either excited or terrified. We were raised for what felt like an eternity (I just wanted to get this over with; the suspense was killing me) and at the top of the ride, those Disney Imagineers kindly open the elevator doors so you can have a lovely view of the park and see just how far up you are. It also gives the people on the ground a great view of a dozen terrified faces right before they erupt in shrieks as they are dropped abruptly. Whew, it's over. No, wait, they're raising us again--augh! And again? Are you crazy? And another time? Oh sweet Jesus, I thought I was going to die. We must have been raised and dropped at least five or six times before we finally made it safely back to the exit of the ride. And of course our terror was captured on film, convenient for purchasing. We did not buy ours, but it looked the same as most of those thrill photos looked during the trip: Mike looking somewhat amused and me openly screaming, while clinging tightly to his arm and the safety bar. Attractive.
By this point, I believe we were hungry and decided to scope out some restaurants. I desperately wanted to get Mike into the 50's Prime-Time Café because the whole premise of it sounded like so much fun. The idea is that you're in Mom's kitchen and all the wait staff are your cousins or older brother or sister. And seeing as how we're all family, they have no trouble telling you if you are not minding your manners. I knew this going in so I requested an outgoing server and also made sure to mention it was Mike's birthday. We were seated within five minutes. The restaurant is decorated like a 1950's era house and kitchen, with knick knacks and a black and white TV set at every table playing reruns of old sitcoms. Our server was Cousin Christopher and he was terrific. He was a little Jerry Lewis-esque in voice and lots of fun. I tried to misbehave on purpose so Mike could see what kind of silliness would ensue. I put my elbows on the table and was admonished that "Mom says that will wear down the pointy part." When I couldn't finish my meal, I hid the leftovers under my napkin (goody two-shoes Mike ate all his vegetables) so Cousin Christopher took a forkful of my food (I had the pot roast, Mike had the meatloaf) and played "train": he made choo choo sounds as he brought it toward my mouth, and when I ate it he blew a train whistle he had in his pocket. Then the piece de resistance: our cousin came out with a cupcake and candle for Mike to blow out, as well as a card that the whole family/staff had signed. Then he passed it around to the other diners in our section and had them sign it while leading us all in singing "Happy Birthday." (He even called him Mikey!) Even though we weren't made to stand in the corner and sing "I'm a Little Teapot" or other outrageous things I've heard about, we had a great time. And I think Mike was really pleased with his birthday treatment so far. I wanted to make sure to take advantage of every Disney birthday trick/Disney magic touch I knew about to make his birthday special.
After dinner, it was just about time for Fantasmic! to start, so we headed for the amphitheater and were able to find seats very near the front. There was at least a half hour until show time, so someone (an off-duty cast member? A Disney enthusiast?) took it upon herself to lead us all (and there were a lot of us) in doing the wave. It was really fun. We did slow waves, fast waves, silly waves, all kinds of variations and it kept everyone entertained until the show started. The premise of the show has something to do with Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey and his nightmares and dreams fighting each other in the battle between good and evil, and the show involved lasers and curtains of water, sound effects, and live characters. It was interesting, but I didn't think it lived up to the hype I had read about. But it was still something very unique to Disney and something neither one of us had ever seen. We decided if we ever came back, we would skip it and ride ToT some more. But it was still good overall.
Now I knew I'd forgotten something. Somewhere in there, we squeezed in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. I asked Mike if he would be game to volunteer, knowing that we're both hams deep down, and he said sure. Unfortunately, when it came time to be chosen, I made more of a fool of myself than Mike and got to be in the show. The hostess asked for volunteers to stand up and yell and scream to get noticed. We both thought she meant for only a moment, but she wanted extended screaming and general idiocy on our parts. I'm not sure if Mike participated in this part or not because I was so busy jumping up and down and waving my arms to get noticed. And it worked. I ran up on stage to be an extra. She put us through our "emotional" paces, wanting to see us scared, swooning, shocked, etc. I just remember running around in a circle, screaming and waving my arms. I think the idea was the we were over a pit of snakes. We were all really overdoing it. Then we were sent to the back of the theater for costumes while the show started. We would all be shoppers in the marketplace and we were supposed to cheer for the acrobats and Indy and boo the bad guys, and of course point out danger to Indy if it was behind him. Three of us were toward the front of the stage, "shopping" for rugs and the others were near the back of the set looking through market booths. At one point we were supposed to get scared and run for cover where the others were. So we cheerfully bartered with each other on the rugs and clapped and whistled for the acrobats, and then when the bad guys showed up, we screamed and shielded our heads and ran to the others. Whee! Then we all as a group had to root Indy on, even going so far as to add sound effects for some stunts. When he was on a ladder that was swaying back and forth, we were supposed to lean with it and say "Whoooaaa"." We feigned relief when he was safe; I wiped my brow as in "Phew!" and that amused Mike. After we were done running around and cheering and acting like fools, we were introduced to the actors and got to see some cool stage fighting moves up close. I felt bad that Mike didnt get to be in it. This was supposed to be his trip. Next time I will make sure he stands up and yells his toukas off.
Let's see if I can get things back in chronological order. I know after the Fantasmic! show, we decided to hit the shops and look around and take silly pictures. We had been taking silly pictures all day (a must for me, and I'm so glad Mike isn't embarrassed to be a big old ham). I love the photos we got. Our favorite shop was the Villains store. They had lots of Nightmare Before Christmas stuff of Mike to "ooh" and "aah" over, and I had fun trying on the Millificent hat that I had always kind of wanted. It was ridiculously expensive, so we just got a picture of me in it. But there was a Jack Skellington Santa hat that Mike had his eye on. We decided to come back for it later, just in case he saw something he liked better.
Then a quick stop at Downtown Disney and we headed for home (home, hotel, whatever). We were both exhausted, but still excited about all the fun we'd had and all the fun still to come. We passed out pretty hard.
Name: Susie Matthews
E-mail: suserphone@yahoo.com
Dates of trip: November 21-24, 2002
Travel method: Personal car
Resort: All-Star Sports
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages in group: Adult
WDW experience: One veteran, one rookie
Who: Susie, 27, and a Disney veteran. Having lived in Florida my whole life, a Disney trip was something I did once or twice a year for as long as I can remember. But...they had all been day trips that involved getting up early to drive there and then returning home the same evening. Or if I was lucky enough to be in Orlando for more than a day and could buy a multi-day pass, I would stay with family or friends and sleep on a futon or the floor.
Mike, 27, Susie's beautiful boyfriend and a Disney rookie. He grew up in Iowa and moved here to Tallahassee to finish his master's degree at Florida State. When we met and I learned he had never had the Disney experience, I knew my sole purpose for being placed on this earth was to show him the wonder that is Walt.
When: November 21-24, 2002. I knew crowds would be low during the pre-holiday season, and the weather would be great. No heat, no rain, just cool, breezy days. I didn't want Mike's first time there to be overwhelming with the normal hubbub associated with theme parks.
Where: Disney's All-Star Sports resort. I was able to get a great deal, the Florida Funshine package. Rooms at the All-Stars were only $49 a night. Woo hoo! Can't beat that!
Why: Not only had Mike never been to Disney, but he had never had a fuss made over him on his birthday. It tended to fall on/during Thanksgiving and would be overlooked with all the holiday craziness. Plus, with it being so close to Christmas, he tended to get gypped in the gift department. I decided to do something about it. I originally thought we would go in January (also a slow time at the parks), but when I received an e-mail advertising the Funshine deal, I couldn't pass it up. And where else can you have complete strangers make you feel as special on your birthday than at Disney World?
The planning began in August. Since Mike was in school, I had to make sure to pick a date that would not interfere with tests or papers, and also make sure we could both get time off from work. Luckily enough, his actual birthday fell on a weekend during the Funshine offer. I decided to keep the trip a surprise so that it would make his birthday feel even more special.
Once I had our room reservation, I headed to the Disney Store to purchase some Florida resident annual passes. They cost about the same as a four-day park hopper would have (around $200 each), but now we could return any time we wanted for a year after we first use them (except for the black out dates during the busiest times, but who wants to fight crowds anyway?).
The trip was not a complete surprise, as in kidnapping a loved one for the weekend. I did let him know he needed that weekend off because I was planning something special. And it was never referred to as a birthday trip. I jokingly told him that since he was new to Florida, he would have to be trained how to vote properly here so that we would not have a repeat of the 2000 presidential election debacle. So for the next three months, we referred to our trip as Voting Day. And to keep him guessing as to where we were going, I constantly asked him silly questions like, "Have you had all of your shots?" "Do you suffer from motion sickness?" "Are you afraid of heights?" "Do you have a fear of flying or any food allergies?" I even had him fill out an application for a passport that I printed off the internet.
I am horrible at keeping secrets. Well, not other people's, just my own. So on a daily basis, I would ask him if he wanted to know where we were going for Voting Day. "No!" was always the reply. To keep myself from going too crazy with anticipation, I visited lots of helpful websites such as this one and www.wdwig.com and the DisBoards. I read every trip report I could get my hands on and printed out page after page of tips and packing suggestions and the like. I had a large three-ring binder stuffed full of information. I started a countdown sheet. But I still was going bonkers trying to keep from blurting everything out.
Since this was his first trip to Disney, and my first "big" trip, I went a little nutso with the planning. I wanted this to be the best birthday/Disney trip ever. I discovered that even though I thought myself to be something of a Disney expert, there was so much stuff I didn't know. So, as a result of overexcitement, I tried to cram as much as possible into the four days we would be there. I pored over reviews and made reservations at restaurants and shows that I thought Mike would like. But the more I planned, the more I realized I was leaving very little time for just relaxing and enjoying the parks, the atmosphere, and each other. I canceled some reservations, but kept one I thought we might need. It was dinner and reserved seats for Fantasmic! which I had never seen but kept reading that it was not to be missed. Other than that, I figured between my "expert" knowledge and Mike's opinions, we would play it by ear when we got there.
By this point, I had told everyone I could about the trip. Everyone at work knew about it; I asked his mom and friends for their opinion of it: Was it too babyish? Would he think it was silly? Apparently, in non-Florida states, especially the more northern ones (i.e. Iowa), Disney was the Holy Grail of vacations growing up, and I was assured that he would love it.
Finally, finally, FINALLY the week of our trip arrived. The Sunday before we left, I decided to do a craft project as a way to reveal my plans to Mike. I had an old Disney/Epcot passport (unused), so I put Mike's picture in it and filled out the vital statistics. Then I went on the internet to find out how to say "I love you" in all the languages of all the countries represented in the passport. I thought this would help calm my nerves a little until the big day, but it only made me more jittery. I was stressing myself out about it so much and got so worked up that poor Mike finally relented and let me tell him where we were going. He was pleasantly surprised and got more and more excited as the week went on. I showed him all the travel books I had purchased and highlighted, as well as my overstuffed Disney binder, and he had fun going through those and seeing all the wonderful things to do at the most magical place on earth. Whee!
Wednesday night was a flurry of packing and freaking out by me. I had never been responsible for a big trip before and I didn't want to forget anything, and despite the very detailed packing lists I had found on-line, I felt as though I was wandering aimlessly through the apartment, not sure what to do first. But at last we were packed and could attempt to sleep.
DAY ONE: DISNEY/MGM STUDIOS and 50's PRIME-TIME CAFE
Thursday dawned foggy and drizzly, but that couldn't dampen our spirits. (The fact that I was dragging us out of bed at 5 a.m. could have.) After a quick stop to get gas, we were ready to hit the highway. Traffic was not bad at all and we were making excellent time right up until our final exit before Disney. It is inevitable that there will be an accident on the way to Orlando. I don't remember ever driving there without having a traffic jam somewhere along the way. But we finally made it through. And as soon as I saw those welcoming purple signs, I knew we were safe and on our way. We were officially on Disney property!
We arrived at the All-Star Sports and checked in. Since this is one of their budget hotels, I had been warned by others that there is almost always a long wait at the front desk and parking is a nightmare. In actuality, there was only one other person in front of us, we received a great front parking space next to our building (Surf's Up!), and we were close to the bus stops and the food court. The Disney magic was already working. Just a quick side note: All-Star Sports is the first to be picked up and dropped off by the Disney bus line out of all three All-Star hotels. Just something to keep in mind if you're wondering where to stay and worried about transportation. We always had a seat.
We headed to our room (which was ready ahead of schedule), dropped off our stuff, and headed for the buses. The first day was going to be spent at Disney/MGM Studios. I tried to plan the trip so that we didn't go to any park on its traditionally busiest day, plus MGM had always seemed lacking to me somehow with not as much to do as the other parks. Of course, this was before the addition of the Rockin' Roller Coaster (RRC) and the Tower of Terror (ToT) (which I had always been too chicken to ride anyway). I know I am not going to remember the exact order of everything as it happened, but I have a pretty good overall picture of the sequence of events. I know we headed straight for RRC first. I figured Mike's first Disney ride should be a guaranteed fun one. And there were no lines over five minutes long. We rode it twice in a row. The first time we left the ride and stopped to look at our photo taken as we're shot off, we thought it was really great but decided not to buy it, figuring we could perfect our look of terror the next time we rode. Sadly, this did not happen and we regretted not buying the original picture the whole trip. If you can afford it and really like your pictures, go ahead and buy them. They are a great souvenir.
We were officially starving by this point and it was way past lunch time. Knowing that we had dinner reservations, we split a chicken fingers meal from one of the nearby food stands (Rosie the Riveter's?). Then we headed over to the Muppets 3-D. This was very enjoyable and the theater was conveniently located near the restaurant (Mama Melrose's) I had reservations for. Realizing we weren't going to be hungry enough to eat such a big meal so soon (4:30 reservations were all that had been available), and also feeling too pressed for time, we decided to cancel the dinner reservations and wing it when it came time to eat.
Now we were ready for the Tower of Terror. I was sooooo scared. My stomach does not like that feeling you get from riding steep roller coasters, and this ride consisted solely of being raised and dropped multiple times. But I had sworn that I would ride any ride Mike wanted to and suck it up. I was terrified. I clung to Mike's arm the entire time we were in line, and during the pre-show, and when we were finally seated on the ride. Luckily, we were in the last row of the elevator car (I can't ride in the front of rides; I hate seeing where we're going and knowing when we're about to drop). The car had about 12-15 people in it, all sounded either excited or terrified. We were raised for what felt like an eternity (I just wanted to get this over with; the suspense was killing me) and at the top of the ride, those Disney Imagineers kindly open the elevator doors so you can have a lovely view of the park and see just how far up you are. It also gives the people on the ground a great view of a dozen terrified faces right before they erupt in shrieks as they are dropped abruptly. Whew, it's over. No, wait, they're raising us again--augh! And again? Are you crazy? And another time? Oh sweet Jesus, I thought I was going to die. We must have been raised and dropped at least five or six times before we finally made it safely back to the exit of the ride. And of course our terror was captured on film, convenient for purchasing. We did not buy ours, but it looked the same as most of those thrill photos looked during the trip: Mike looking somewhat amused and me openly screaming, while clinging tightly to his arm and the safety bar. Attractive.
By this point, I believe we were hungry and decided to scope out some restaurants. I desperately wanted to get Mike into the 50's Prime-Time Café because the whole premise of it sounded like so much fun. The idea is that you're in Mom's kitchen and all the wait staff are your cousins or older brother or sister. And seeing as how we're all family, they have no trouble telling you if you are not minding your manners. I knew this going in so I requested an outgoing server and also made sure to mention it was Mike's birthday. We were seated within five minutes. The restaurant is decorated like a 1950's era house and kitchen, with knick knacks and a black and white TV set at every table playing reruns of old sitcoms. Our server was Cousin Christopher and he was terrific. He was a little Jerry Lewis-esque in voice and lots of fun. I tried to misbehave on purpose so Mike could see what kind of silliness would ensue. I put my elbows on the table and was admonished that "Mom says that will wear down the pointy part." When I couldn't finish my meal, I hid the leftovers under my napkin (goody two-shoes Mike ate all his vegetables) so Cousin Christopher took a forkful of my food (I had the pot roast, Mike had the meatloaf) and played "train": he made choo choo sounds as he brought it toward my mouth, and when I ate it he blew a train whistle he had in his pocket. Then the piece de resistance: our cousin came out with a cupcake and candle for Mike to blow out, as well as a card that the whole family/staff had signed. Then he passed it around to the other diners in our section and had them sign it while leading us all in singing "Happy Birthday." (He even called him Mikey!) Even though we weren't made to stand in the corner and sing "I'm a Little Teapot" or other outrageous things I've heard about, we had a great time. And I think Mike was really pleased with his birthday treatment so far. I wanted to make sure to take advantage of every Disney birthday trick/Disney magic touch I knew about to make his birthday special.
After dinner, it was just about time for Fantasmic! to start, so we headed for the amphitheater and were able to find seats very near the front. There was at least a half hour until show time, so someone (an off-duty cast member? A Disney enthusiast?) took it upon herself to lead us all (and there were a lot of us) in doing the wave. It was really fun. We did slow waves, fast waves, silly waves, all kinds of variations and it kept everyone entertained until the show started. The premise of the show has something to do with Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey and his nightmares and dreams fighting each other in the battle between good and evil, and the show involved lasers and curtains of water, sound effects, and live characters. It was interesting, but I didn't think it lived up to the hype I had read about. But it was still something very unique to Disney and something neither one of us had ever seen. We decided if we ever came back, we would skip it and ride ToT some more. But it was still good overall.
Now I knew I'd forgotten something. Somewhere in there, we squeezed in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. I asked Mike if he would be game to volunteer, knowing that we're both hams deep down, and he said sure. Unfortunately, when it came time to be chosen, I made more of a fool of myself than Mike and got to be in the show. The hostess asked for volunteers to stand up and yell and scream to get noticed. We both thought she meant for only a moment, but she wanted extended screaming and general idiocy on our parts. I'm not sure if Mike participated in this part or not because I was so busy jumping up and down and waving my arms to get noticed. And it worked. I ran up on stage to be an extra. She put us through our "emotional" paces, wanting to see us scared, swooning, shocked, etc. I just remember running around in a circle, screaming and waving my arms. I think the idea was the we were over a pit of snakes. We were all really overdoing it. Then we were sent to the back of the theater for costumes while the show started. We would all be shoppers in the marketplace and we were supposed to cheer for the acrobats and Indy and boo the bad guys, and of course point out danger to Indy if it was behind him. Three of us were toward the front of the stage, "shopping" for rugs and the others were near the back of the set looking through market booths. At one point we were supposed to get scared and run for cover where the others were. So we cheerfully bartered with each other on the rugs and clapped and whistled for the acrobats, and then when the bad guys showed up, we screamed and shielded our heads and ran to the others. Whee! Then we all as a group had to root Indy on, even going so far as to add sound effects for some stunts. When he was on a ladder that was swaying back and forth, we were supposed to lean with it and say "Whoooaaa"." We feigned relief when he was safe; I wiped my brow as in "Phew!" and that amused Mike. After we were done running around and cheering and acting like fools, we were introduced to the actors and got to see some cool stage fighting moves up close. I felt bad that Mike didnt get to be in it. This was supposed to be his trip. Next time I will make sure he stands up and yells his toukas off.
Let's see if I can get things back in chronological order. I know after the Fantasmic! show, we decided to hit the shops and look around and take silly pictures. We had been taking silly pictures all day (a must for me, and I'm so glad Mike isn't embarrassed to be a big old ham). I love the photos we got. Our favorite shop was the Villains store. They had lots of Nightmare Before Christmas stuff of Mike to "ooh" and "aah" over, and I had fun trying on the Millificent hat that I had always kind of wanted. It was ridiculously expensive, so we just got a picture of me in it. But there was a Jack Skellington Santa hat that Mike had his eye on. We decided to come back for it later, just in case he saw something he liked better.
Then a quick stop at Downtown Disney and we headed for home (home, hotel, whatever). We were both exhausted, but still excited about all the fun we'd had and all the fun still to come. We passed out pretty hard.
I can't believe you're from Tallahassee. I'm on my way down right now from Thomasville. 
