ladysoleil
<font color=purple>my booty is a big fan of Cotton
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2003
- Messages
- 769
The adventurers:
Me- 30 something from Jersey. Loves pie, beer, and trivia.
Silent P- my patient and long suffering husband. Loves me. Also enjoys cartoons, corn dogs and air conditioning.
The setting: an unplanned, ultralowbudget weekend trip.
As has been previously (I am sure) been ranted about in these parts, my favorite attraction at DisneyWorld is Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Play It!, which is closing on the 19th. So, having a bit of free time and just about no money on hand, and using my superpower of finding the cheapest flights and dive motels, we were able to take a mostly-unplanned trip down to the Tragic Kingdom to pillage Millionaire for one last go-round.
As we are celebrity high rollers and demand only the finest of dining and accomodation while gracing a vacation destination with our presence, our luxurious vacation included a jaw droppingly elegant and vermin-free suite at the HoJo and the finest of meals supplied by the upscale catering firms of Waffle House, Chick-Fil-A, and Publix SuperMart. We supped elegantly on many a $3.99 sub special and slew many a Chili Cheese Frito as an appetizer.
It is probably completely accurate to say that aside from lettuce, I haven't seen a vegetable that wasn't deep fried in about a week. And if I had, it came with bacon. Mmm. bacon. oh. Where was I? Oh, yes, the trip. Not bacon. (mmm. bacon)
But we had bigger fish to fry. We had come to...Play It!
And so, bus passes in hand, we braved the Florida heat (on average, 10 degrees cooler than NYC, yes, we *did* go to Florida to escape the heatwave. Are we brave, or stupid? You decide...). Luckily for my cheapskate ways, the city bus stopped right in front of our flophouse, erm, luxurious vacation palace. And so, for a mere $3, we were ferried across the wilds of Kissimmee and dropped approximately a kabillion miles away from anywhere we might have wanted to be. But, it was only $3! And so, we arrived. Sort of. And another bus ride later, we arrived at MGM Studios.
The plan? Play Millionaire until we dropped, it closed, we won some stuff, or we started punching each other in pure rage because unfortunately, we both tend to be a bit competitive with each other while playing games (but I'm better. Really.). And thus the day passed in a flurry of button pushing, with dismal results.
(A quick refresher for those who don't already know how the game works: 600 or so bodies pack into the auditorium. Everyone has a keypad to answer questions, like the ones the folks in the real audience have for the Ask the Audience lifeline. Game starts with fastest finger to get someone in the hot seat, the audience plays along on the keypads until the person in the Hot Seat chokes, and then the highest scoring player in the audience takes their place, and so on. The lifelines are pretty similar too, except that you phone a complete stranger and not a friend.)
We got into a routine pretty quickly. Of losing. I'm a decent player, actually, and P isn't bad himself, so what kept happening game after game was that we'd both make the top 10 and be in position to make the big chair and then time would run out. The most frustrating game of the day was the one where I was in 1st and he was in 2nd place. We could smell the chair. Or maybe it was someone's feet. It smelled not so good, anyway.
By mid-afternoon, we'd bonded with the cast members working the queue and they were starting to mock us. Not in a mean-spirited way. They pay those people to be nice, or at least a reasonable facsimile of nice. But it was definitely, "You again?", and "hey, did you make the board *this* time?" country we were living in. We took a lunch break to lick our wounds, and took five later on, as we were getting punchy (yes, literally, I had to backhand P when he beat me at a game) and then the rain started.
I was about ready to pack it in. We were having a good time, but the realization hit that we weren't going to win the cruise on this trip, and therefore, were never going to win the cruise, ever, in this lifetime, and I was getting mildly dejected. I didn't seriously think I could win the cruise, but I wanted a few more pins for my Millionaire pin set at least and I knew I could do that if I made it to the Hot Seat.
I suggested we go do the animation studio, as a reward for P's patience (he loves to chat with the animators who run the drawing part of the attraction) but he shot me down and said, hey, there's one last game, we've been at it all day, let's just go for it. Okay. When you tell me yes, go play some trivia, I'm all over that. Throw in some beer and pie and you've got my recipe for happy, right there.
So, it was the last game of the day, and I'm doing okay. I'm on the board, but hovering around 5th, and there's a pretty good player in the chair, so I figure, it's not going to happen. And then they asked a question that I knew the answer to...that pretty much no one else did. The contestant was knocked out of the chair...and it was my number at the top of the board. And suddenly, I was sitting in the Hot Seat.
I was comfy, the brain was working, they set em up, I knocked em down. I blew two lifelines on questions I don't even remember now, got through a couple more questions...and then I got asked an Elton John question. I hate Elton John. Time to use the last lifeline, the Phone a Complete Stranger. My stranger...had no idea. And was somewhat incoherent. He tried, but everyone behind him was yelling stuff and I couldn't get a straight answer. I went on a limb and guessed...correctly. It was something about Justin Timberlake. I know zip about Justin Timberlake. Other than that he's not the gay guy from InSync.
I got asked about State Nicknames for Alabama, a question about Dorothy Parker, a question about the 1958 Cy Young Award winner. That was probably the hardest question- and I totally guessed. What I know about baseball I could fit in a shot glass with plenty of room left for Tequila, I'll put it that way.
Suddenly I'm 14 questions in. At that point, I'm punch drunk and incoherent and I don't know how I remembered my own name, much less any of the answers. I got into a bit of a comedy routine with Jim, the host. I told him after I nailed the 500,000 question that I was visualizing a boat drink in my hand. He said if I won it, he'd buy me a drink. I said why wait, I could use one right about then! The crowd is going nuts. I'm trying not to hyperventilate.
And then, the big question. I was asked what was the first project shot at the Disney/MGM Studios. I have no, no freaking clue, and no lifelines left, but I've got some time to think about it. Looking at the choices- Superboy...hmm, that sounds like Warner Brothers? Mickey Mouse Club? Too obvious. I know it's definitely something they did, but I don't think they'd give you an obvious choice on the million point question, would they? Ernest Saves Christmas? Hmm. Maybe? Splash Too? What the heck? There was a Splash 2? Why??
And with time burning away, I go for it. I don't think it's Ernest. Doesn't sound Disney enough. I've ruled out Superboy and Mickey. That leaves...Splash Too? (again, why???) Final Answer. I'm done.
Jim looks chagrined. Deeply chagrined. And I know I've blown it.
And then he tells me to pack my bags and a ton of confetti starts raining down from the ceiling. People are hollering and hooting, my husband magically appears and starts making out with me on stage, Jim the host is hugging my ribs out, I am whisked away to a secret location to fill out paperwork...
And I end up standing on the sidewalk taking pictures with people I don't even know, holding a shopping bag with a new leather sleeved baseball jacket, a baseball cap, 15 pins, a lanyard for the pins, a "gold" medal, a polo shirt and a fistful of paperwork, payable for a free cruise. I am standing on the sidewalk as the 124th million point winner. Wow.
I still don't believe it. It's not so much about the cruise, that's awesome and great and who doesn't love a free vacation? But for me, it's about how much I love the game, and love the show. I've tried out for the real deal and haven't given up. I still can't believe that I sat in that chair and ran a Million point question stack.
wow. Just, wow. I don't think I could have asked for more pixie dust.
Luckily for us, we had a great day in the park, because I'm bad at math and had miscounted the days left on our tickets...we didn't have any! And so, we spent the rest of the weekend with friends in Orlando. It was a short trip, but a great one...and I look forward to writing a nice trip report about the cruise soon!
Boat drinks to all!
Me- 30 something from Jersey. Loves pie, beer, and trivia.
Silent P- my patient and long suffering husband. Loves me. Also enjoys cartoons, corn dogs and air conditioning.
The setting: an unplanned, ultralowbudget weekend trip.
As has been previously (I am sure) been ranted about in these parts, my favorite attraction at DisneyWorld is Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Play It!, which is closing on the 19th. So, having a bit of free time and just about no money on hand, and using my superpower of finding the cheapest flights and dive motels, we were able to take a mostly-unplanned trip down to the Tragic Kingdom to pillage Millionaire for one last go-round.
As we are celebrity high rollers and demand only the finest of dining and accomodation while gracing a vacation destination with our presence, our luxurious vacation included a jaw droppingly elegant and vermin-free suite at the HoJo and the finest of meals supplied by the upscale catering firms of Waffle House, Chick-Fil-A, and Publix SuperMart. We supped elegantly on many a $3.99 sub special and slew many a Chili Cheese Frito as an appetizer.
It is probably completely accurate to say that aside from lettuce, I haven't seen a vegetable that wasn't deep fried in about a week. And if I had, it came with bacon. Mmm. bacon. oh. Where was I? Oh, yes, the trip. Not bacon. (mmm. bacon)But we had bigger fish to fry. We had come to...Play It!
And so, bus passes in hand, we braved the Florida heat (on average, 10 degrees cooler than NYC, yes, we *did* go to Florida to escape the heatwave. Are we brave, or stupid? You decide...). Luckily for my cheapskate ways, the city bus stopped right in front of our flophouse, erm, luxurious vacation palace. And so, for a mere $3, we were ferried across the wilds of Kissimmee and dropped approximately a kabillion miles away from anywhere we might have wanted to be. But, it was only $3! And so, we arrived. Sort of. And another bus ride later, we arrived at MGM Studios.
The plan? Play Millionaire until we dropped, it closed, we won some stuff, or we started punching each other in pure rage because unfortunately, we both tend to be a bit competitive with each other while playing games (but I'm better. Really.). And thus the day passed in a flurry of button pushing, with dismal results.
(A quick refresher for those who don't already know how the game works: 600 or so bodies pack into the auditorium. Everyone has a keypad to answer questions, like the ones the folks in the real audience have for the Ask the Audience lifeline. Game starts with fastest finger to get someone in the hot seat, the audience plays along on the keypads until the person in the Hot Seat chokes, and then the highest scoring player in the audience takes their place, and so on. The lifelines are pretty similar too, except that you phone a complete stranger and not a friend.)
We got into a routine pretty quickly. Of losing. I'm a decent player, actually, and P isn't bad himself, so what kept happening game after game was that we'd both make the top 10 and be in position to make the big chair and then time would run out. The most frustrating game of the day was the one where I was in 1st and he was in 2nd place. We could smell the chair. Or maybe it was someone's feet. It smelled not so good, anyway.
By mid-afternoon, we'd bonded with the cast members working the queue and they were starting to mock us. Not in a mean-spirited way. They pay those people to be nice, or at least a reasonable facsimile of nice. But it was definitely, "You again?", and "hey, did you make the board *this* time?" country we were living in. We took a lunch break to lick our wounds, and took five later on, as we were getting punchy (yes, literally, I had to backhand P when he beat me at a game) and then the rain started.
I was about ready to pack it in. We were having a good time, but the realization hit that we weren't going to win the cruise on this trip, and therefore, were never going to win the cruise, ever, in this lifetime, and I was getting mildly dejected. I didn't seriously think I could win the cruise, but I wanted a few more pins for my Millionaire pin set at least and I knew I could do that if I made it to the Hot Seat.
I suggested we go do the animation studio, as a reward for P's patience (he loves to chat with the animators who run the drawing part of the attraction) but he shot me down and said, hey, there's one last game, we've been at it all day, let's just go for it. Okay. When you tell me yes, go play some trivia, I'm all over that. Throw in some beer and pie and you've got my recipe for happy, right there.
So, it was the last game of the day, and I'm doing okay. I'm on the board, but hovering around 5th, and there's a pretty good player in the chair, so I figure, it's not going to happen. And then they asked a question that I knew the answer to...that pretty much no one else did. The contestant was knocked out of the chair...and it was my number at the top of the board. And suddenly, I was sitting in the Hot Seat.
I was comfy, the brain was working, they set em up, I knocked em down. I blew two lifelines on questions I don't even remember now, got through a couple more questions...and then I got asked an Elton John question. I hate Elton John. Time to use the last lifeline, the Phone a Complete Stranger. My stranger...had no idea. And was somewhat incoherent. He tried, but everyone behind him was yelling stuff and I couldn't get a straight answer. I went on a limb and guessed...correctly. It was something about Justin Timberlake. I know zip about Justin Timberlake. Other than that he's not the gay guy from InSync.
I got asked about State Nicknames for Alabama, a question about Dorothy Parker, a question about the 1958 Cy Young Award winner. That was probably the hardest question- and I totally guessed. What I know about baseball I could fit in a shot glass with plenty of room left for Tequila, I'll put it that way.
Suddenly I'm 14 questions in. At that point, I'm punch drunk and incoherent and I don't know how I remembered my own name, much less any of the answers. I got into a bit of a comedy routine with Jim, the host. I told him after I nailed the 500,000 question that I was visualizing a boat drink in my hand. He said if I won it, he'd buy me a drink. I said why wait, I could use one right about then! The crowd is going nuts. I'm trying not to hyperventilate.
And then, the big question. I was asked what was the first project shot at the Disney/MGM Studios. I have no, no freaking clue, and no lifelines left, but I've got some time to think about it. Looking at the choices- Superboy...hmm, that sounds like Warner Brothers? Mickey Mouse Club? Too obvious. I know it's definitely something they did, but I don't think they'd give you an obvious choice on the million point question, would they? Ernest Saves Christmas? Hmm. Maybe? Splash Too? What the heck? There was a Splash 2? Why??
And with time burning away, I go for it. I don't think it's Ernest. Doesn't sound Disney enough. I've ruled out Superboy and Mickey. That leaves...Splash Too? (again, why???) Final Answer. I'm done.
Jim looks chagrined. Deeply chagrined. And I know I've blown it.
And then he tells me to pack my bags and a ton of confetti starts raining down from the ceiling. People are hollering and hooting, my husband magically appears and starts making out with me on stage, Jim the host is hugging my ribs out, I am whisked away to a secret location to fill out paperwork...
And I end up standing on the sidewalk taking pictures with people I don't even know, holding a shopping bag with a new leather sleeved baseball jacket, a baseball cap, 15 pins, a lanyard for the pins, a "gold" medal, a polo shirt and a fistful of paperwork, payable for a free cruise. I am standing on the sidewalk as the 124th million point winner. Wow.
I still don't believe it. It's not so much about the cruise, that's awesome and great and who doesn't love a free vacation? But for me, it's about how much I love the game, and love the show. I've tried out for the real deal and haven't given up. I still can't believe that I sat in that chair and ran a Million point question stack.
wow. Just, wow. I don't think I could have asked for more pixie dust.
Luckily for us, we had a great day in the park, because I'm bad at math and had miscounted the days left on our tickets...we didn't have any! And so, we spent the rest of the weekend with friends in Orlando. It was a short trip, but a great one...and I look forward to writing a nice trip report about the cruise soon!
Boat drinks to all!
WOW!! I am so excited for you!!! Congrats!! 
. I wish it would stay open until New Years. Enjoy your cruise and of course start you lecture tour on NEVER GIVING UP 
