Single Rider! .....my first trip report

[wirki]

Where are you????

Looking forward to reading more

 

[Angrypenguin]

I'm here! Thanks everyone for being patient; I sometimes forget people actually want to read this thing

Day 1: MGM!

So we woke up to a nice, muggy Florida morning and hopped a bus to MGM. No transportation issues; five minutes of waiting and we were on the bus, on our way. I personally was chomping at the bit; after nine months, we were finally about to get into a park!

Up to this point, both girls were having second thoughts of riding ToT. Granted, it can seem intimidating to those of lesser stature, but after all the hype I had read about on these forums and those unofficial guide books, I was determined to have all of us together to share this experience.

We entered the gates and stopped briefly while the ladies bathed themselves in sunscreen. I tapped my foot impatiently; we have rides to ride, people! Wandering over to the corner of ToT and RnR, we grabbed some fastpasses for RnR and made our way to ToT. While in line, I marveled at the attention to detail in the queue area and throughout the “hotel” area. Well, I marveled as well as I could, anyway; we were moving through faster than White Castle burgers. At this point, Julie was having second thoughts, and Alison started freaking out a bit, so I did what I had to do to get them to go. I started mocking them. With love, of course.

Sufficiently shamed, we were led to our creepy elevator by an equally creepy bell-man, and when the doors closed, I was actually concerned that both Alison and Julie were going to pass out from the anxiety and fear. Either that or strangle me for forcing them on such a ride clearly designed only for crazy people.

So we dropped, people screamed, and...... I found the ride slightly disappointing. Perhaps my expectations were too high, after hearing so much about it? I’m not sure; it was fun, but not as fun as say, reading about Britney Spears’s crazy antics and imploding. I love Celebrity gossip, it’s my guilty pleasure.

Stop judging me.

After sufficiently conquering the terrible tower, we made our way to what may be my favorite ride of this entire trip. The wait for RnR was short enough (approx. 15 minutes) that we decided to press our luck and get in line with the normal folk. We scooched forward into G-Force records (Ahhhh....air conditioning!) and got ready to hit the town with Steven Tyler and friends.

On a side note, has anyone noticed that in that little pre-ride film that you watch, Steven Tyler makes “The Shocker” sign with his hand?

Boy, I loved this ride. When you get launched at the beginning, I started giggling like a Japanese schoolgirl. Everyone loved it so much, we decided to double dip. At this point, the 15 minute queue had turned into a 45 minute queue, so we whipped out those snazzy fastpasses we brilliantly decided to get earlier in the morning, and zipped our way through the line again. All the while waving at all the people standing out in the thick air and Florida sun. Suckers.

Up next: MGM continues, our first Disney Dining meal (hooray!) and lights, action, and sweat. Won't be too long, I'll try to have it up tomorrow!

 

[Peg In The Pound]

Definitely worth the wait.

At this point, Julie was having second thoughts, and Alison started freaking out a bit, so I did what I had to do to get them to go. I started mocking them. With love, of course.

DED.

And if celeb gossip is your guilty pleasure, you and your friends should form a league on www.tabfl.com. It's like celeb fantasy football, only you are picking tabloid covers. Very fun!

 

[nutz2notz]

I'm really enjoying your report and look forward to reading more.

 

[wirki]

yay!!!!!!
Great update.

I like TOT and RnR......not love. Ride once or twice a trip and I am happy.

Can't wait to hear more

 

[c8k6k]

Great trip report. Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Angrypenguin]

Thanks for the great encouragement guys! I had meant to have another installment up today, but unfortunately I spent most of the day playing a fake guitar. I'll probably write another installment while at the office tomorrow...who really works at work anyways?

 

[Angrypenguin]

Hey everyone! Still writing...I'll have something up tomorrow, I promise

 

[3kidzmom]

I too have been a lurker for quite a while and finally got to the nerve to register. I love your story so far--I've chuckled so much my kids want to know what I'm doing on the computer! Anxious to hear more!

 

[Angrypenguin]

Yikes, I now really understand why it takes so long for people to write a trip report, these are a lot of work! I appreciate the encouragement everyone; it actually does give me a nice kick in the butt to keep writing.

Anyways, continuing on...

By the time we got out of RnR the second time, the Florida sun was beating down on us fairly heavily, and it was still 10 a.m. One of the nice things about Disney World is there’s never a shortage of knick knack shops and stores to duck into to receive a nice fresh blast of air conditioning.

Now, unfortunately, after ToT and RnR, I was really at a loss at what to do. We had just conquered the two rides that I was most looking forward to, so we spent the next hour or so just wandering around and taking in the sites. I love wandering; whenever I travel anywhere, probably my favorite thing to do is just to wander and take in the ambience of where we are. So went in shops, took pictures next to the various topiaries around the park, and visited “The Big Hat” and tried to resist temptation to blow all our souvenir money before lunch on the first day.

We came across Star Tours, seemingly hidden away and off to the side like some discarded celebrity has-been *cough* Scott Baio *cough*. Hey, no wait, might as well try it out, right? We skipped through the line and prepared ourselves to be taken to a galaxy far far away. So it was fairly disappointing to find out our pilot was a mentally challenged robot, and that apparently space flight shares a resemblance to watching grainy 20 year-old film. We jerked back and forth, giving me whiplash while I resisted the temptation to scream “EARTHQUAKE!” and hide behind my girlfriend. Because real men hide behind women. If I was in charge of Disney parks (which I'm obviously not, but how cool would that be? )

Feeling a bit queasy and sea-(space?) sick, we moseyed on toward the Studio Catering Co. for our first meal paid for by Disney! I love food, and free food, well, is just lovely. Unfortunately all I remember about the food here was that it was free, which I suppose is enough to make it a decent meal in my book.

We figured that there was no better way to digest bland food than to sit with several thousand other strangers under a metal awning when the temperature is in the mid 90s with 100% humidity and fire billowing towards you. Lights, Motors, Action! seemed to be a logical place. I enjoyed the show, but it didn’t seem to live quite up to the hype; the stunt driving was excellent, yes, but I live in Los Angeles. If I wanted to see some action-movie driving, I would just need to head down to the grocery store; not only do I get the idiotic driving, but I get the excitement of police chases and four letter expletives to boot.

At this point we were roasting, so we made our way back into the Muppet area and saw some Muppet Vision 3-D, which was gloriously air-conditioned. The Muppets were cute as always, and the cool environment was definitely what we needed.

*Side Rant* Does anyone else think someone should design some 3-D glasses for people with, um, glasses? If I take off my real glasses and put on 3-D glasses, all I see are defocused entities flying at my face. It takes the “cool” factor away when I can’t distinguish what is coming at me; all I get is blobs of light zipping in all directions like I just popped a handful of ‘shrooms. Not that I’ve done that.

Secondly, when I do put 3-D glasses over my glasses, I feel even more like a dork. Since nerdiness is usually attributed linearly to the amount of eye correction a person normally requires, my nerd factor just doubled. Not to mention that I have trouble keeping both pairs of glasses attached to my face due to my obnoxiously large head. *End Side Rant*

Up next: I have a crush on Belle, and it’s a good thing I slipped some Pepto in my pocket.

 

[IkeandMike]

Hey just found your report, love it so far!!

 

[wirki]

Sounds like you had a good time I mean who wouldn't want to spend their day hot and seasick!!
Can't wait to hear how the pepto fit in!!

Keep it up you are doing great

 

[dmwang9]

Hey, I just found your TR and love it! Sounds like you had a good time, and I'm looking forward to your next installment.

 

[heaven2dc]

I'm hooked!! Great report so far!

 

[Angrypenguin]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I posted the installment when I was half asleep, so I noticed a few grammatical errors, hope you won't hold it against me.

heaven2dc, dmwang9, 3kidzmom, and ikeandmike, welcome to my TR! I'm glad you could join us.

And wirki....two more weeks and you and are are going to throw down! Your national championship and my rose bowl hopes are on the line

 

[MEK]

Very enjoyable read! Keep it coming. Nice job!

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

keep up the reporting.

 

[wvgoofyfan]

Glad to see an update! Keep up the good work and tether yourself to the puter and get another one posted real soon!

 

[nutz2notz]

Another great update!

I agree with the deal with the 3D glasses...two of my four kids wear glasses and it drives them crazy. You would think something could be done, and oh, having to be even nerdier than they already are.

Look forward to your next installment.

 

[3kidzmom]

You know...we spent 2 days there this past June, and I thought I handled ToT and RnR well...but why is it that the ONE ride (Star Tours) that doesn't really 'take' you anwhere is the one that made me most nauseauous (<-Sorry is that a word?).