Daysleeper40
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2007
- Messages
- 526
Tuesday 25th September: We take the plummet
The plan told us we were heading for Disney.
Ive got to be honest - after our day at Animal Kingdom we were feeling a bit reticent about going back. Were not that easily beaten though and were up and on the 8.10am shuttle as per the plan if nothing else I needed to hunt down that lying cast member and act out my revenge. My dastardly plan was to strip him of everything but his pants and that lanyard thing they all wear and make him run through the parks screaming Mickey isnt real none of its real at the top of his voice. I believe the reaction of your average Disney fanatic to this would be nothing short of spectacular if not a little painful for the lying little weasel!
Revenge aside, I do find it is best to give things a second chance - so headed towards the drop off point at Epcot with as open a mind as I could muster at that time in the morning. We arrived in good time and hopped onto a Disney bus destination Blizzard Beach.
As the water parks didnt open until 10am we were some of the first to arrive and as a result were front of the queue at one of the turnstiles this was already a more successful day! We had to wait about 30 - 40 minutes and in that time the cast members picked out a family to enter the park before everyone else and to test Summit Plummet, which probably made their day and was a nice touch. Having pronounced everything in order the rest of us were let in and we hightailed it to the Beach Haus to rent a locker and towels. We rammed everything into a locker and did a superman style quick change before heading to the top of the mountain for the first time via the chairlift.
I like that they have the lift - it definitely saved our weary feet a bit of punishment which was very welcome. At the top we went our separate ways - M onto Summit Plummet me onto Slush Gusher. I wasnt quite ready for the drop just yet! I went first and then waited at the bottom to see what kind of speed my M could get up on this thing - he managed 56 MPH which is none to shabby in my opinion! We headed straight back to the chairlift and on the way up M assured me that Bomb Bay was VASTLY more terrifying that Summit Plummet so I thought what the hell and chucked myself over the edge. M was right - SM is good but it didnt have the same adrenaline rush as BB!
From our previous days experience we were pretty sure that things were only going to get busier the later it got so we were straight back on the chairlift and queuing for Toboggan Racers. It was already notably busier and we were waiting for a little while - Im pretty sure this had an adverse effect on my performance as when we finally got to slide I came in almost last while M sailed ahead and only won the race! Now Im not suggesting that any mat tampering had gone on well actually I am and I demand an inquest. Or at least a re-race!
M was too scared to take me on at Toboggan Racers again so we opted for Snow Stormers for the re-match and victory was to be mine! I was helped slightly by the fact that M fell off his tube halfway down and lost a contact lens but thats not the point! We made a pit stop next for M to sort out his eyes before jostling for tubes and having a trip round the whole park in the Cross Country Creek. We had wanted to have a deciding race on Downhill Double Dipper but there was some kind of problem and it was closed. In the Creek I pushed M under the freezing water jets which livened things up but mostly we just bobbed along. It was pretty busy though so after one circuit we got out and headed over to Melt Away Bay where we did a different type of bobbing.
It really was getting busy by now and our energy was on the wane so we decided that Runoff Rapids would be our final ride at Blizzard Beach and opted for the double rider tube so we could slide together. The walk up the steps HURT and I had to carry the tube as M was experiencing some quite severe foot issues. Still, we made it to the top and the ride back down was funny. Its no wonder M falls off his tubes - the amount of leaning he does round corners is asking for trouble!
After depositing our tube at the feet of the next people in line we went and grabbed our cameras to take a few snaps before doing the superman change in reverse - I always just wear a sun dress over my bikini and M just throws on a T-Shirt - and dumping our rental towels. M had spotted a sign for a mini dohnut stand on our way round Cross Country Creek and was determined to find it again. This proved slightly more difficult than we had envisaged but we did finally find them and bought a big bag of sugary goodness to share. YUM!
It was only midday at this point so we took the opportunity while we were in the area to have a round at the Winter Summerland crazy golf. We did the winter course and M won having managed about eight holes in one. Methinks the Winter Summerland courses are a little bit easier than the crazy golf to be found on International Drive! It was really hot as we played and we had the usual issue of being stuck behind the slowest golfer on earth. Thankfully they realised as well and let us play past them which meant we finished in a reasonable amount of time - which was a good thing as we were both hungry and about to embark upon another Disney Transport journey.
We had asked the bus driver in the morning how best to get back to DTD from BB and he had advised us to go to one of the All Stars resorts as apparently these are the most regular buses. We followed his advice and found ourselves standing outside of the All Stars Sport hotel. Now to be fair I didnt see much of this but what I did see confirmed that if we were going to stay at Disney it would have to be in one of the mid range resorts at least. I dont suppose we will ever have enough cash to do this so it looks like we will be staying off site for any forseable trips. To be honest I am not sure either of us could handle Disney 24/7 anyway so this is no bad thing!
SO. We stood outside in the heat for about 20 minutes plus - I was beginning to wonder if the driver had been telling us porkies when a bus with DTD written on the front rolled up. HURRAY! We boarded the bus and it wasnt long before we were back at DTD. Led by our stomachs we headed straight for Planet Hollywood and ordered orselves a Turkey Club (M) and a Philly Steak Sandwich (F) - both with fries and sodas. It all went down well - not the best but perfectly acceptable and again we also pleased with the picture they took of us on the way in so bought the photo package as a keepsake.
After we had eaten we took the time to have a look at all the movie paraphernalia and were both VERY excited to find the axe from the Shining!! I also found some costumes from Robin Hood Prince of Theives (which I went to see about 15 times at the cinema when I was about 12 years old) and also Gizmo from Gremlins. M loves movies so he was having a royal time looking at everything - but the clock was ticking so we reluctantly moved on.
Our lunch still not completely settled we took quite a leisurely stroll back down to the Market Place where we got a few bits for Ms nieces and I also got M his Jason Taylor Football jersey that he had found the previous day along with a new cap in Team Mickey. After this we got some kind of raspberry crushed ice slurpee thing and sat on a wall in the sun and did one of my favourite things people watching. Now I hope no one is going to take offence at this - but there arent half some odd people to be found at Disney! We saw fully grown adults dressed in matching Disney-esq safari suits - complete with hats - and many people in very lurid matching tee shirts and wearing those ears you can buy. Im pretty open minded so I thought Id better try out this fashion for myself Im not entirely convinced it suits me:
Seriously though - each to their own, but Im not sure I understand this pin trading, lanyard wearing, ear toting, refillable bucket of soda carrying phenomenon! It made for a lively people watching session though so I thank all involved and take my hat (or ears I suppose) off to them for really embracing Disney to the absolute max!
Suitable relaxed and chilled by the crushed ice we erred on the side of caution and caught an earlyish bus to Old Key West for a connection onto Epcot where the hotel shuttle would be picking us up at 18.45. I liked the look of Old Key West - it seemed quite chilled and it was quite pleasant sat on a bench waiting for a bus. We arrived at Epcot in plenty of time and relieved that we had managed to overcome our Disney Transport issues we grabbed a drink and sat at one of the picnic tables outside the park to wait for the shuttle. Ok, I admit it, we were people watching again and spotted some impressively eccentric Disney fanatics. We also cracked open one of the bags of sweets we had bought from Goofys Candy Co - they were meant for taking home and sharing with our work buddies but looked a bit too good for that kind of malarky!
The shuttle again turned up on time and on arrival back at the hotel we wasted no time in jumping into the pool and then ordering a couple or LARGE lagers from the hotel bar a very good way of refreshing both minds and bodies!
We had had a much more successful day at Disney and didnt want to complicate things in the evening. We opted for Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and M put up with me shopping for some Sketchers in the outlet shoe store over the road. We hadnt got too Sweet Tomatoes till about 20.30 so after we had eaten and I had finally managed to choose the shoes I wanted it was time to head back to the hotel and rest our weary heads.
The Highs: Mastering Disney Transport, Fun rides at BB, Movie paraphernalia at Planet Hollywood and generally spending some relaxed moments sat in the sun with my M.
The not so good: Again BB beach got busy very quickly so we had to queue quite a lot and leave early. Slides at BB quite tame - great theming but not exhilarating enough really.
The plan told us we were heading for Disney.
Ive got to be honest - after our day at Animal Kingdom we were feeling a bit reticent about going back. Were not that easily beaten though and were up and on the 8.10am shuttle as per the plan if nothing else I needed to hunt down that lying cast member and act out my revenge. My dastardly plan was to strip him of everything but his pants and that lanyard thing they all wear and make him run through the parks screaming Mickey isnt real none of its real at the top of his voice. I believe the reaction of your average Disney fanatic to this would be nothing short of spectacular if not a little painful for the lying little weasel!
Revenge aside, I do find it is best to give things a second chance - so headed towards the drop off point at Epcot with as open a mind as I could muster at that time in the morning. We arrived in good time and hopped onto a Disney bus destination Blizzard Beach.
As the water parks didnt open until 10am we were some of the first to arrive and as a result were front of the queue at one of the turnstiles this was already a more successful day! We had to wait about 30 - 40 minutes and in that time the cast members picked out a family to enter the park before everyone else and to test Summit Plummet, which probably made their day and was a nice touch. Having pronounced everything in order the rest of us were let in and we hightailed it to the Beach Haus to rent a locker and towels. We rammed everything into a locker and did a superman style quick change before heading to the top of the mountain for the first time via the chairlift.
I like that they have the lift - it definitely saved our weary feet a bit of punishment which was very welcome. At the top we went our separate ways - M onto Summit Plummet me onto Slush Gusher. I wasnt quite ready for the drop just yet! I went first and then waited at the bottom to see what kind of speed my M could get up on this thing - he managed 56 MPH which is none to shabby in my opinion! We headed straight back to the chairlift and on the way up M assured me that Bomb Bay was VASTLY more terrifying that Summit Plummet so I thought what the hell and chucked myself over the edge. M was right - SM is good but it didnt have the same adrenaline rush as BB!
From our previous days experience we were pretty sure that things were only going to get busier the later it got so we were straight back on the chairlift and queuing for Toboggan Racers. It was already notably busier and we were waiting for a little while - Im pretty sure this had an adverse effect on my performance as when we finally got to slide I came in almost last while M sailed ahead and only won the race! Now Im not suggesting that any mat tampering had gone on well actually I am and I demand an inquest. Or at least a re-race!
M was too scared to take me on at Toboggan Racers again so we opted for Snow Stormers for the re-match and victory was to be mine! I was helped slightly by the fact that M fell off his tube halfway down and lost a contact lens but thats not the point! We made a pit stop next for M to sort out his eyes before jostling for tubes and having a trip round the whole park in the Cross Country Creek. We had wanted to have a deciding race on Downhill Double Dipper but there was some kind of problem and it was closed. In the Creek I pushed M under the freezing water jets which livened things up but mostly we just bobbed along. It was pretty busy though so after one circuit we got out and headed over to Melt Away Bay where we did a different type of bobbing.
It really was getting busy by now and our energy was on the wane so we decided that Runoff Rapids would be our final ride at Blizzard Beach and opted for the double rider tube so we could slide together. The walk up the steps HURT and I had to carry the tube as M was experiencing some quite severe foot issues. Still, we made it to the top and the ride back down was funny. Its no wonder M falls off his tubes - the amount of leaning he does round corners is asking for trouble!
After depositing our tube at the feet of the next people in line we went and grabbed our cameras to take a few snaps before doing the superman change in reverse - I always just wear a sun dress over my bikini and M just throws on a T-Shirt - and dumping our rental towels. M had spotted a sign for a mini dohnut stand on our way round Cross Country Creek and was determined to find it again. This proved slightly more difficult than we had envisaged but we did finally find them and bought a big bag of sugary goodness to share. YUM!
It was only midday at this point so we took the opportunity while we were in the area to have a round at the Winter Summerland crazy golf. We did the winter course and M won having managed about eight holes in one. Methinks the Winter Summerland courses are a little bit easier than the crazy golf to be found on International Drive! It was really hot as we played and we had the usual issue of being stuck behind the slowest golfer on earth. Thankfully they realised as well and let us play past them which meant we finished in a reasonable amount of time - which was a good thing as we were both hungry and about to embark upon another Disney Transport journey.
We had asked the bus driver in the morning how best to get back to DTD from BB and he had advised us to go to one of the All Stars resorts as apparently these are the most regular buses. We followed his advice and found ourselves standing outside of the All Stars Sport hotel. Now to be fair I didnt see much of this but what I did see confirmed that if we were going to stay at Disney it would have to be in one of the mid range resorts at least. I dont suppose we will ever have enough cash to do this so it looks like we will be staying off site for any forseable trips. To be honest I am not sure either of us could handle Disney 24/7 anyway so this is no bad thing!
SO. We stood outside in the heat for about 20 minutes plus - I was beginning to wonder if the driver had been telling us porkies when a bus with DTD written on the front rolled up. HURRAY! We boarded the bus and it wasnt long before we were back at DTD. Led by our stomachs we headed straight for Planet Hollywood and ordered orselves a Turkey Club (M) and a Philly Steak Sandwich (F) - both with fries and sodas. It all went down well - not the best but perfectly acceptable and again we also pleased with the picture they took of us on the way in so bought the photo package as a keepsake.
After we had eaten we took the time to have a look at all the movie paraphernalia and were both VERY excited to find the axe from the Shining!! I also found some costumes from Robin Hood Prince of Theives (which I went to see about 15 times at the cinema when I was about 12 years old) and also Gizmo from Gremlins. M loves movies so he was having a royal time looking at everything - but the clock was ticking so we reluctantly moved on.
Our lunch still not completely settled we took quite a leisurely stroll back down to the Market Place where we got a few bits for Ms nieces and I also got M his Jason Taylor Football jersey that he had found the previous day along with a new cap in Team Mickey. After this we got some kind of raspberry crushed ice slurpee thing and sat on a wall in the sun and did one of my favourite things people watching. Now I hope no one is going to take offence at this - but there arent half some odd people to be found at Disney! We saw fully grown adults dressed in matching Disney-esq safari suits - complete with hats - and many people in very lurid matching tee shirts and wearing those ears you can buy. Im pretty open minded so I thought Id better try out this fashion for myself Im not entirely convinced it suits me:
Seriously though - each to their own, but Im not sure I understand this pin trading, lanyard wearing, ear toting, refillable bucket of soda carrying phenomenon! It made for a lively people watching session though so I thank all involved and take my hat (or ears I suppose) off to them for really embracing Disney to the absolute max!
Suitable relaxed and chilled by the crushed ice we erred on the side of caution and caught an earlyish bus to Old Key West for a connection onto Epcot where the hotel shuttle would be picking us up at 18.45. I liked the look of Old Key West - it seemed quite chilled and it was quite pleasant sat on a bench waiting for a bus. We arrived at Epcot in plenty of time and relieved that we had managed to overcome our Disney Transport issues we grabbed a drink and sat at one of the picnic tables outside the park to wait for the shuttle. Ok, I admit it, we were people watching again and spotted some impressively eccentric Disney fanatics. We also cracked open one of the bags of sweets we had bought from Goofys Candy Co - they were meant for taking home and sharing with our work buddies but looked a bit too good for that kind of malarky!
The shuttle again turned up on time and on arrival back at the hotel we wasted no time in jumping into the pool and then ordering a couple or LARGE lagers from the hotel bar a very good way of refreshing both minds and bodies!
We had had a much more successful day at Disney and didnt want to complicate things in the evening. We opted for Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and M put up with me shopping for some Sketchers in the outlet shoe store over the road. We hadnt got too Sweet Tomatoes till about 20.30 so after we had eaten and I had finally managed to choose the shoes I wanted it was time to head back to the hotel and rest our weary heads.
The Highs: Mastering Disney Transport, Fun rides at BB, Movie paraphernalia at Planet Hollywood and generally spending some relaxed moments sat in the sun with my M.
The not so good: Again BB beach got busy very quickly so we had to queue quite a lot and leave early. Slides at BB quite tame - great theming but not exhilarating enough really.
