The cool candy air quashed the humidity dead in its tracks. I had a slight headache at this point but understood the severity of the penalty if I aborted the challenge: months of staying up nights dreaming about those domed sugar cookies waiting for me at Goofy's Candy Co. Failure wasn't an option. There were roughly ten people waiting, so we took out our annual passes and.... wait. I GET TO SHARE MY FAVORITE DISNEY STORY EVER. I hope you're excited. Gotta love these TR derailments... the lurkers love them. Sooooo, anyway... I was at Epcot years ago, and I remember that Colgate was having some kind of company retreat/conference at WDW. There were some corporate banners up at the Swan, and I noticed a few signs near Crescent Lake. Well, there were a few private parties organized here and there throughout the area, including World Showcase. One night, about an hour before Illuminations, my friend and I noticed a pretty fancy party being set-up right across from France. Chic table settings, modern arrangements of haute cuisine (towering things here and there), floral arrangements, you name it. It looked like the NY Philharmonic dessert gallery at intermission. Within a few minutes, we watched scads of exhausted businessfolk start pouring in.
So here's what happened. Or better yet, here it is in widescreen.
SCENE. EXT: EPCOT WORLD SHOWCASE/FRANCE.
A cast member, early 50s, stands by a roped off portion near World Showcase lagoon. Amid champagne toasts, 30 people enjoy a bustling recess after a day of company training and enrichment. Two tourists, 40s, enter stage right and pause quizzically.
LADY TOURIST: (mumbling to her husband) I don't remember reading about this.
MAN TOURIST: (looking at the party) Hmm.
LADY TOURIST: (motioning to cast member) What's going on?
CM: It's a private event.
MAN TOURIST: Well what's it for?
CM: I'm sorry, it's just a private party.
LADY TOURIST: (to her husband) That's a pretty awesome place to watch Illuminations. (to the CM) That's not fair!
MAN TOURIST: (to the CM) Can we buy tickets for this?
CM: This is not open to the public, it is a private event.
The Lady Tourist unfolds her Epcot park map and stares intently at, presumably, World Showcase.
LADY TOURIST: (to the CM) It's not on the map.
CM: Excuse me?
LADY TOURIST: This party, it's not on the map. And I want to stand here to watch the fireworks.
MAN TOURIST: How much would it cost? Now listen, I'm going to make this happen -
CM: There are wonderful places all around the showcase to watch the -
...wait for it...
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...wait for it...
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..here it comes...
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...are you ready?
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Lady Tourist:
WE ARE ANNUAL PASSHOLDERS AND WE DEMAND TO GET IN!
Cast Member is joined by another cast member who comes up from the party to assist the... troubled tourists.
FADE TO BLACK
My friend and I now use that line to one another whenever we are in ANY line or prevented access anywhere, whether it be theaters, restaurants, subway entrances (that's the most common one), and especially anywhere at Disney. "We're annual passholders and we DEMAND to get in!" It's all about the emphasis on the word DEMAND. I often wondered how one poor CM would deal in this situation. I guess it takes two! I let the SO in on this story, because I tend to say it all of the time.
Anyway, we got our cookies. I ordered the sugar, of course, and the SO went for the snickerdoodle. We took our little paper bag bundles outside to the waterfront by Cap'n Jack's and dug in. Just as on the night of our first trip, there was a DJ dance party on the stage opposite the World of Disney. It looks like a lot of fun for kids, and I hope to bring my niece in a few years. I may have even heard "Vogue"! Always a plus. Always!
But to the cookies right? I took a bite of this giant mountain of a cookie (I didn't take photos, I'm sorry!) and could taste the chewy texture on the outside and this thin, doughy texture right at the core. It's definitely an acquired taste, but it fits the bill for me. I was surprised though that I preferred the flat sugar cookies at Sassagoula Floatworks Factory. In terms of taste. On the other hand, the SO took one bite of his snickerdoodle and handed the rest to me. He likes crunchy thin cookies, go figure. But I applauded his desire to "try" and put this experience up on the shelf beside that morning's butterbeer and pumpkin juice FAIL. At this point I really had eaten a lot, meals or not, so I just picked at the cookie and left the rest for breakfast the next morning.
Since it was the last night, I had to take the SO to the World of Disney for the habitual final go-round. Stitch hit us with water on the way in. Considering our day at Universal, I guess he wanted to make us feel like we were still there. Oh World of Disney, you've really gone to the dogs. I know I may sound like a bucket of complaints, but every room is nearly indistinguishable from the rest. Either that, or the merchandise as a whole has taken a tumble. I did notice that Disney has revved up its adult t-shirts recently. And I was more than pleased to see a few more Epcot Center t-shirt options or wait, was that at MouseGears earlier in the trip? Oh who can keep track. MouseGears is hands down the best merchandise shop, I think... but lest I derail, let's get back to World of Disney. I bought a few things for the folks back home, and looked at Mickey ties for myself. I try to go for the least ostentatious possible so I can wear them at the office. I didn't come up with any winners this time around though.
The SO tried all throughout the trip to find a Lilo & Stitch snowglobe for a friend of his. But this must be the one trinket that has never been invented. One CM even said "it doesn't snow in Hawaii". Actually it does. But then it doesn't snow in the Caribbean either, and there's Ariel on a rock everywhere you look. I know she's from Denmark, but between Sebastian, that stucco castle and palm trees everywhere you look, it's the tropics. Okay, so maybe it's the South of France. Chef Louis is French. Okay, forget that argument. But hey! I don't remember it snowing in Andy's room, yet there are oodles of Buzz Lightyear snow-globes. The same CM did check a giant merchandise guide behind the counter and even made a call to Disney Direct or whatever. Yep, no Lilo and Stitch snowglobes.
I intended to show the SO the Hollywood memorabilia shop at Downtown Disney, but it must have been replaced with something banal since my last visit. The store was great, a lot like Sid Cahuenga's over at MGM. In fact, a lot of the stores in Downtown Disney looked different. Wasn't there a place called Forty-Thirst Street right next to Wolfgang Puck? Now it's just this little kiosk across from the AMC. And the Virgin Megastore -- shuttered like the one back home in NYC -- is now some kind of remote control car limbo where only salsa music plays. A woman across from the store sang Top 40 karaoke tunes at visitor's requests. Feeling weary and headachy, I implored that we head to the bus for home. Wouldn't you know the only resort sign waiting post without a seated waiting area was ours. The good thing is that we were the first area at the Downtown Disney stop, but everyone else got a sheltered enclosure. And then I noticed that we shared our bus with Old Key West. Or maybe it was Saratoga Springs?
The bus arrived. It didn't really register until just as we exited the parking lot. It must have been a certain swerve. The lights were off, and the SO reassured me that we'd be home soon. I felt this knot-in-my-stomach-keep-swallowing-so-you-don't-throw-up nausea. My limbs were heavy, and my fingertips felt like jelly. Hands down the most uncomfortable hangover I have experienced since my college days. And I was never a heavy drinker, so when I did drink... it was catastrophic. Now, I hadn't drunk any alcohol that day beyond the epileptic libation at Rainforest Cafe. But this was no mere sugar alcohol hangover. It was the culmination of a misguided day in hydration, nutrition and simply self-maintenance.
When you're sick, 10 minutes can feel like an eternity. Oh if this were only a 10 minute bus ride. I’m not going to throw the same barbs I’ve thrown throughout this TR at the DVC plantations, but this was the first time on the trip since Magical Express where our Disney bus wasn’t a direct transfer. So aside from the Saratoga Springs or Old Key West, we had to stop, oh yes, at the Riverside. The SO, who was firmly looking forward to staying at the French Quarter's sister resort at some point, resolutely stated to me once we got home: NEVER. I don’t know how anyone can stay there with all those bus stops. South depot, west depot, east depot, northwest depot. It’s endless. A beautiful resort, but a bus stop nightmare. And I was ready to puke. And there were only two other people on the bus with us. And they didn’t get off until the LAST Riverside stop. Since it was Downtown Disney, I guess the bus just had to make all of the stops for pick-ups. There were NO pick-ups. After the third stop, I told the SO that we would just get off at the next stop no matter what, which he advised against. I was sitting slumped in the seat, my head down between my knees… feeling every speed bump of this 2 MPH excursion. Also, the last stop at the Riverside is such a French Quarter fake-out. Just when you think you’ve pulled back out onto the main road and turned back into another entrance, you’re really just going back into Riverside toward the main building.
When the doors opened at the French Quarter and I felt the blast of the Cajun Spaceship lobby, I think I knelt down and kissed the ground. I blew kisses to my mardi gras alligators out by the pool. I thanked heaven and earth that we were staying here. Moral of the story: if you’re in Florida during the summer, do not snack on sugar all day long and then make alcohol your first proper beverage. Be mindful. Don’t be stupid! And if you’re staying at the Riverside, request a room closest to the French Quarter as is humanly possible. Then you can walk over and use their almost-always direct service. Sure, Magnolia bend is beautiful, and a lot of people love Alligator Alley. But those stops are out of control. You’d never get a seat!
Loved the description of your blinkie drink....I got a blinkie ice cube drink at the Bellevue Lounge at the Boardwalk once. It's fun to drink with the healthy glow of a blinkie cube shining in your face.
That would be hilarious! I have a feeling that Clinton and Stacey would ix-nay the licensed Disney wear. And especially the unlicensed Disney wear! 
I defer to the dancing banana 
Don't laugh at work, y'hear? 
). I remember some really cool rides but that was back when Back to the Future still existed and there was no IOA. I am definitely ready to give it a chance (anything for Harry..lol), but I am such a Disney girl at heart that I am a bit scared! 
However, after reading your report, everything sounds amazing and I can't even wait... now I just have to convince my not to eager DH.. that he wants to go to Disney/Universal... sigh.
So funny! Somebody (maybe you) should start a dos and don'ts of WDW fashion. Like the one in the back of Glamour Magazine!
and your review made me salivate!
I can relate to the horrible bus system at POR and FOQ we have stayed at both it wasn't bad when there was only one to a bus but having to go to both took forever!
I can't believe the CM even said it doesn't snow in Hawaii!! LOL. How silly!! 
Hope you started feeling better quickly!!
I hate that feeling. It is no bueno.
I swear, the armadillos were moving faster. I don't know anything about armadillos, I assume they're slow creatures... so if they're fast, oh well. But then those speed bumps. SPEED BUMPS for the slowest busses on earth. Going over them slowly was like ripping off a bandage slowly. Just move along and be done with it! 
