Rajah
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
- Messages
- 9,633
Cast:
Rajah/Tammi -- As usual, trip report writer and trip planner
VonDrake/Michael -- Rajah's DH, whose conference is our excuse for the trip this time
Guest Cast:
Art -- our CM friend, pin-fanatic, and all around cool guy
Marsha and Tom -- aka Mackey Mouse and her DH from the DIS
Carol, Jen, and Kristin -- aka CarolAnnK and her daughters from the DIS
"Aaron" -- another solo IOA guest
Dates: Feb 28 through Mar 4, 2001
Destination: WDW, and for Rajah, USF and IOA as well
Name: "Swimsuit edition" -- keep reading to find out why, though one tip: always take your swimsuit, even if you don't think you'll want it
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Ugh. I hate electronic equipment that has a power switch that is uncovered. Apparently when I was rooting around in my bag getting ready for bed last night, I accidentally turned on my radio. Not music type, but in-touch type. So, about 6am I start hearing signs of life coming from the corner.
"Beepbeepbeep. Beeeeeeep. Yeah, we'll meet you *fizzle*. *silence* Beeepbeep. Mom?" I finally got up and turned it off
Then promptly woke up again when it fell of the table a few minutes later!
I also see why people say the All Stars are noisy. We didn't think the people around were any noisier than any other resorts we've been at, but the room itself sure was! Every time someone above or next to us turned on the sink or flushed the toilet, the pipes clanged. Which kept me up part of the night.
Then, I found out that apparently I just can't sleep when I'm facing a wall if I'm on a double bed. I kept feeling claustrophobic all night when I was facing the wall. And when I faced away from it, I kept feeling like I was going to fall off the bed.
Needless to say, I got very, very little sleep last night. Michael, on the other hand, slept like a rock. But, he woke up not feeling too well.
We got up around 10 and got packed up (faster than usual since we'd only had one night there) then took our bags out to the car and returned to the front desk. By the time we got there, it was about 10:30. We stood in line and waited, waited, and waited some more, and really wished for the express-checkout of the other resorts. If they had it here, we didn't find out how.
With no questions to ask, it only took us about one minute to check out if that, but everyone in front of us had dozens of questions so by the time we were checked out and into the food court, it was nearly 11am.
We got in line at the pasta counter (one of the few still serving breakfast) for some fresh-made omelets, and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. How can it take one person with two burners so long to make omelets when the people at the character buffets can have more demand and work much faster and sometimes only have one burner or skillet? It took so long that the people next to us got angry, returned to demand their son not take the bacon since it was 'icky' (well, what do you expect when going at the end of the breakfast hour), and demanded *THAT* omelet. Well... "that" omelets was mine, *not* their son's -- his was the one next to it But I wasn't about to argue with them so when the CMs called for number 77, I explained that I'm number 78 and I think they took my omelet by mistake. They offered to make me a new one, but I didn't want to wait, and the one the kid had ordered was the same as mine but with peppers anyway. So I just took that one and a side of marinara sauce. That was one nice thing about being there at the end of the breakfast hour -- I could get marinara sauce for the omelet since they had started serving lunch by the time we finally got our breakfast, and I love marinara sauce on omelets.
We ate breakfast, and I finished well before Michael did. I could tell he wasn't feeling well, though, since he didn't finish his breakfast. Granted, the omelets weren't as good as the buffet ones we were used to, but still Michael usually clears his plate. He also hadn't even taken one sip of his coffee. But I was chomping at the bit to go. If he was done eating, he could drink his coffee as we drove. The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck sitting in an unmemorable food court waiting for Michael to finish his coffee (understand -- this could literally have taken another 45 minutes for one cup when he gets in a sit-and-sip mood ) So I grabbed a lid for his coffee cup, refilled my new refillable mug with some more poweraid, and off we went.
We decided to go check out All Star Movies since I really wanted to see the Toy Story building and this would quite possibly be the only time we'd be staying at All Stars and thus able to check them out. Michael agreed, as long as we didn't move too fast and originally we planned to just stay in the car, so off we went.
As I said before, I didn't like All Star Sports at all. It looked horrible to non-sports fans. Music wasn't much better. But I really did like All Star Movies. I'd give that one a try in the future while I might not return to Music and definitely won't go to Sports.
We'd first intended to just drive around and take a look from what we could see in the car, but Michael agreed to stop once we got to the Toy Story building. We loved the toy soldier buckets, and there's nothing that can make you feel small that compares to standing at the foot of a 5-story tall Buzz Lightyear!!
We went far enough to look at the Fantasia buildings and pool, and the edge of the 101 Dalmations building, before Michael had to go sit back down again. Our time at All Star Movies was short, but I really enjoyed it -- especially the Fantasia pool. This was only the first time of this trip that I strongly felt the call of the pools -- something that is usually only a minor call for me.
We returned to the car and considered what to do next. Check-in time wasn't technically until 3 at the Dolphin, but Michael wasn't feeling well and really needed to go lie down. So, we decided to give it a try. If nothing else, we could always just sit in the lobby. Off we went to the Dolphin, bidding adieu to the All Stars and glad to be gone -- that double bed would've provided no rest for me the entire trip
When we got to the Dolphin, we were back in our element -- bellhops to take our luggage right away, indoor hallways...yes, we've gotten spoiled by our upper-moderates and deluxe stays I left the key with the bellhop just in case they needed to move the car, and we went through the revolving door. We fell in love with the Dolphin from the time we walked in the door. It's no Wilderness Lodge, but it was still a really neat place.
Up to the check-in counter, where we were told our room was ready. Not only that, but we were told that our room, 4169, was that particular CM's (are they CMs at the Dolphin??) favorite in the building. King bed, non-smoking... and more surprises in store for us.
When asked to present a proof of government employment (we were getting the gov't rate, remember) we gave the guy a choice. Michael had left his University pay stub in our bags which were with bell services, but he had his University Staff ID, and I had my NASA contractor badge -- only my badge isn't obviously a contractor. It says NASA, it has my picture and my name, and the words "government property" on it. He chose my badge
Armed with our room keys and number, we returned to pick up our bags, and a great bellhop helped us upstairs. He pointed out directions as we went to the West Wing, and that we were currently on the 3rd floor, which meant our room was only one level up. Then he led us through a maze of passageways (which I swear swayed a little like water -- must've been a trick of the light and the fact that already the heat was getting to us outside while the corridors were absolutely frigid) to our room, remarking that this was also one of his favorite rooms.
When we got inside, we found out that not only were we in a non-smoking room with a King Bed, but we had a minibar (which was new to Michael and something he always wanted just for the novelty of having one and turned out to be very handy later in the trip) as well as not one, but TWO balconies! We had one of the corner rooms on the west wing right under a fountain, so we had the normal balcony as well as a darker side-balcony which is there more for decoration than functionality. We had a wonderful view of the Grotto Pool, (and the other 4 pools we could see!), the lake with the Swan paddle-boats, the beach, and the Swan across the way. And in the distance were the Tower of Terror and the top of the Chinese Theater. What a wonderful view! (even if we don't do the Tower of Terror )
We thanked our bellman and saw him out with a good tip, then looked at each other and collapsed on the bed laughing. This was so much more than we were expecting, and we knew it was more than we can expect to get in the future. Without asking, it appears we got a complimentary room upgrade, and we were very grateful for it. (Especially later when we had to stay in the room longer than usual since Michael wasn't feeling well -- that balcony was very nice then)
We got settled in, then Michael made an observation -- he'd been anticipating temperatures like we'd been having in Houston -- comfortable to slightly cool during the day. Not these mid-to-upper 80s we were experiencing already! So he'd packed accordingly -- leaving shorts at home. He'd *die* in the parks in jeans, so down we went to guest services where we asked for directions to the nearest WalMart after checking out the Dolphin shops and deciding $80 was a bit too much to pay for one pair of shorts. I also wanted to get a swimsuit since I'd left mine at home, but I was balking at the $80-$130 prices at the Dolphin stores. Especially since I had *two* perfectly good suits at home. Nevermind that a good swimsuit anywhere is in the $80 price range any more.
We spent about 45 minutes hunting around to find a WalMart, with no luck. I think the lady told us to turn right when we should have turned left, but whatever the case we ended up fairly lost. One thing to note -- always keep change with you when you drive off property... the directions the lady gave us were through a toll road and she didn't tell us that part. Luckily, we had the change. When we finally got back to I-4, we decided to just go up to Belz. But, then once we got to something like 535 (well before we got to Belz), we decided to give it one more try but this time turn left.
We didn't get that far.
Right there, on the right, was a Denim store where we figured Michael could find some jeans shorts. So we pulled in and looked around, and Michael found some to his liking. While he was trying them on, I gave Art a call and let him know we were in town and planned to go to Epcot later tonight. So we agreed to meet up sometime later that night in Epcot, then Michael finished up and got his shorts.
We circled back around to property and up to our room, where Michael changed into his new shorts. I then let him rest for a few minutes before we went out to Fantasia Gardens Mini-golf. Despite the proximity to the golf course, we decided to drive over since it was so hot outside.
We spent the next hour or so playing the Fantasia side of the mini-golf. We did get a 15% discount with the Disney Club card (thanks to the DIS for knowing to ask about that) and for the most part enjoyed the course. I had the worst luck on this course, though -- any of the holes with hills at the very beginning I ended up with a 6 on. I couldn't for the life of me hit the ball right if it was on an incline! I'd either skim the top of the ball and send it maybe a third of the way up, or I'd drag the ground and lose energy that way before I hit the ball, or I'd hit it straight on and it would just bounce off the wall and come back down . By the time we reached the 8th hole, I was too hot and rather discouraged and would have been happier to just pick up the ball and walk the rest of the holes taking pictures instead of playing.
I think if we'd been playing the course when it was cooler, I would have enjoyed it much more -- I tend to get frustrated, grumpy, and easily discouraged when I get too hot. Fantasia Gardens was a *very* cute course, and had many more interactive elements than I expected. For me, it fit between Winter (my favorite) and Summer on the WinterSummerland course. For Michael, it was better than either of the other two. I'd very much like to try it again at night when it's *cool* and see how I do
On our way out, we picked up two bottles of poweraid then fled to the blessed air conditioning in the car, then back to the room to cool off. After a few minutes to cool off and gathering all the park paraphernalia, we struck out for Epcot. We stopped by the boat dock first to see when the next boat would arrive, but were told that the Epcot boats were bunched up and we'd likely missed the last one for several minutes. Knowing we could walk the same distance in less time than it would take to wait then ride, we headed across the bridge and over to the International Gateway by way of the Yacht and Beach Club resorts.
Here it was, nearly 4 pm on the first full day, and we're just *now* getting to the parks. Yep, we're annual passholders at heart, even if we were paying for full days this trip Our first stop was a locker because I wasn't *about* to carry all my usual garb in this heat. All I wanted this time were my tickets and my camera and one set of batteries. Beyond that, we left everything else in the locker and hiked up to World Showcase.
Then we just kinda stood there staring dumbly around. "Okay, we're here, now what do we want to do?" We wandered around the UK for a few minutes, then realized we had just over an hour to kill before dinner and couldn't think of anything on this side of World Showcase we wanted to do. Michael suggested we go look at Italy since we never have really gotten a good look at that pavilion, but I didn't want to walk that far only to turn around and come back. He insisted it wasn't that far, so we crossed over the bridge to France where he said "See, it's not too far."
I just looked at him. "Um... you *aren't* feeling well, are you? This isn't Italy."
He blinked, looked around, then said sarcastically, "Yeah...that's right. That's why it's called "Chefs de Italy"!" then shook his head. This as he looked right at Chefs de France, the living statue, and the Eiffel Tower.
We paused at the living statue for a few minutes, but hit it at a point where she decided to not react to three groups, and we mostly had a view from the back anyway. So off we went further around the Showcase and wondering how to spend our time before dinner. When we approached America, we weren't paying too much attention to what was going on around us -- Michael, as you know by now, wasn't feeling well, and I was still too drained from getting too hot earlier. So we almost walked right past the person who called our names: our friend Art.
However, Art caught our attention from where he was visiting with people near the pin cart, and we hooked up once more. He showed us the new pins (including a Zorro one we pounced on) then suggested we go check out Barrage, which was about to start a show on the American Gardens stage. We did a little looking around until it was time, then found a seat where, for about 20 minutes, we watched a group of pretty talented fiddlers/violinists. They covered the entire spectrum, playing Celtic, traditional, and country and western songs among others. We left about half-way through the performance so we could make it to Canada to check in at Le Cellier before dinner.
Art decided to join us for dinner if we could change our PS last-minute from 2 to 3, so we asked when we checked in (on time for once). The CM at the podium wasn't sure, but went to ask and was given the go-ahead. So, we took our little pager and then started visiting with another couple who were also pin traders. Art is the real pin trading expert -- all the rest of us are more dabblers than true traders. We had fun visiting with them until they were called in.
When our coaster-pager lit up, we were led to a corner table not far from the restrooms. With this table, I could definitely see how Le Cellier got its reputation for being really dark. It was dark enough in our corner that Art pulled out a little red flashlight to try reading the menu with
We had a fun meal, with the revolving waiters... we started out with one person saying she'd take care of us, then she never returned and another lady came out and got our drinks saying *she'd* take care of us, then after she left to get said drinks, *another* guy came by to try to get our drinks and said *he'd* take care of us It finally settled down to the second CM and we did in the end get our food
I really enjoyed the food here. Art and I both started with the famous cheese soup (which amazingly didn't give me the usual stomach problems milk and cheese products tend to do -- I just had to try the soup even if I might get problems). I forget what Michael had for an appetizer, but he thought it was good too. We also tore into the bread -- the pretzel breadsticks were pretty good
Then Michael and I had the mushroom-stuffed filets, and Art had a piece of prime rib. He had to send his back to be cooked a little more, but otherwise seemed to think it was good.
After dinner we cut around past a couple of photo stops (Dusk across World Showcase is downright beautiful) to Innoventions, where Art works. Michael and I have never spent much time there and Art wanted to show off some of what he works with. We started I think in West (the side with the photos) and got some of the photo-postcards done -- sent one to my parents, one to another email friend, and one to a DIS friend who kindly posted it for us (thanks MaryJo!) Naturally, I'd left all the email addresses back in the locker so had to go from memory Otherwise, a few more DISers would have gotten pictures And we had a bit of a wait even though we were only behind one group -- the father-daughter pair in front of us must have been the slowest typers I've ever seen We were completely done with all 3 of ours in about the time it took him to enter in just the first email address I guess I shouldn't be too judgmental on typing speed -- after all, I know that very few people type as fast as Michael and I do.
After we finished that, Art took us around to see where they're doing some construction inside (though another CM pointed out that it was nothing more than more construction walls ) Then we went to the Motorola exhibit where Art timed it perfectly. The robot, Starnac, was looking over the crystal ball as we walked up. Art timed it to say "Starnac -- target and destroy" and pointed to me, then quickly backed up. I was standing dead center in front of the robot, and boy did it startle me when he looked up and *directly* at me *right* as if reacting to Art!! It only took a second for me to catch on that it was nothing more than Art having the timing down to a science, but he had me for a second We all had a good laugh out of that, and I wish Michael'd had the camera (and warning) to get my reaction!
After that, we'd seen all Art wanted to show us in Innoventions, so we checked our watches and decided to go for a ride on Spaceship Earth. I think we took a quick walk through Innoventions East as well, but Innoventions is rarely memorable to me so I don't remember Whatever the case, we ended up in Spaceship Earth for what we think was the first ride in which the cars *never* stopped. All previous times the cars have had to stop briefly for one reason or another, but this time we made it all the way through one of our favorite Epcot attractions.
When we got off of Spaceship Earth, we checked our watches and decided we had just enough time for a quick run through Maelstrom. Art was telling us how you can always tell if you're with a newbie on the ride: they're the ones who begin to panic when you start moving backwards toward the waterfall Sure enough, Michael and I (Art decided to meet us at the exit this time) got on a boat full of newbies
Naturally, we got off the boat to see the doors for the Norway film closing. If only we'd been about 4 boats earlier, we wouldn't've had to wait. I do wish they'd put a walkway in that would allow you to bypass the movie without having to wait for it if you've already seen it. It's a good one, yes, but not one I want to see every time I ride the ride. And we seem to have the best luck of getting there *just* after the doors closed
Once we got off, we decided we'd better find our place for Tapestry and Illuminations. As we were heading for our usual observation place (on the borderline between America and Japan), we commented that we probably should find somewhere else to watch the show from this time -- but we couldn't decide where. As we mentioned this, we were at Italy. Art led us to a pretty good viewing point just past the staircase where there was just a little room on the fence. But then he looked up and saw that they were letting people into the semi-private area over the two staircases -- the area with the poles in the water. It's usually blocked off for VIP viewing of Illuminations. So we decided here would be a good place.
While we were standing there waiting for Tapestry of Nations, we discovered we were in for quite a treat: not only was this a good place to view Tapestry and Illuminations, but in the distance we could see the higher fireworks for Fantasy in the Sky topping the trees! So we stood there and watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from Italy in the World Showcase of Epcot.
Michael disappeared a couple of times after the fireworks to get a couple of glasses of wine -- he was finding that the alcoholic beverages worked rather well in the evening at keeping his sore throat and cough down to a minimum. It was from this vantage point -- across the canal -- that we watched Tapestry. I *wasn't* going to photograph it this time -- I mean, I have more pictures of this parade than I can keep track of to begin with... but y'all know me... about 30 pictures later, the parade was over. Michael and I followed it to the end point, but we both felt the new ending wasn't as good as the old.
Some observations: They have indeed changed the opening and ending soundtracks. The music is the same, but the words are different. I'd have to hear it again and be looking at my 2000-version transcript to be able to tell exactly what was changed, but the entire beginning and entire ending are different. We liked the old way better -- for one who's seen both, it's obvious that the new stuff was created to fit in with a slightly different pre-existing theme. The older version flowed better. However, that said, they did do a pretty good job coming up with a new phrasing for it so there's no more mention of the Millennium.
After Tapestry, we just stood and visited (and Art kindly got rid of a couple of spiders for me -- I hate spiders) until Illuminations. We were afraid the wind was blowing the wrong way, but just about the time the show started, the wind shifted so we were standing in a good area. That was quite a viewing area, too!! Now I have a hard time deciding between that and our usual place as my favorite.
As always, I couldn't resist taking more pictures of this fireworks show for which I have ENTIERLY too many pictures already. This time I concentrated on trying to get detail on the globe, but didn't really get more than three or four that came out to my satisfaction. But, I did finally get a clear picture of the ending blast that usually is too strong for the camera -- I remembered to change the settings this time.
After Illuminations, we wandered slowly back to the International gateway while chatting about what to do next. It didn't take long to decide to put to use our Disneyquest Annual Passes purchased last trip. This time, we decided I would drive since we had a rental car. So after stopping at the locker to get all the stuff out of it and turn in the locker key, we walked around to the Dolphin by way of the Boardwalk.
I must say, I love the Boardwalk at night, even with the construction. There's just something about that area that really charms me once night falls. We made a brief stop at the pin cart to check out the pins and ran into a couple who were desperately looking to finish their Disney Store pin collection. I had some with me, so I pulled them out and sure enough had one they wanted -- I think it was number 4, one of the filmstrip-Mickey pins. I traded that for a new Davy Crocket even though I could have gotten the Davy Crocket pin at the stand behind me. I think that was one of the only *real* trades I've ever done. After our trading, we visited a little about the parks and the Main Street Electrical Parade before we decided if we were going to have any worthwhile time at Disneyquest we'd better scoot.
So on it was to the Dolphin where Art got his first look at that lobby as we passed through to get to the parking lot. Then Art directed us to Disneyquest and in we went. When we got in the Adventurlator to move up to the main gateway, we grinned at the lady who was leaning against the wall the wrong way. When the action started, she jumped then turned around and acted very surprised -- I almost got startled the same way myself the first time I went to Disneyquest, but the friend I was with told me to turn around.
Our first stop for the evening was Pirates, where we banded together with a couple behind us. Or, so we thought. About three groups before we were up, the CMs asked for a group of two and the husband of that couple volunteered them right away despite the wife going "but I thought we were going to group with them...?" So, it was back to just the three of us after all. We did just fine, though -- got the highest ranking you could get, we think (though not necessarily the highest score).
After Pirates, we circled back around to the Virtual Jungle Cruise. I'm not sure, but I think this was Art's first time on this ride -- man, what a workout! I think we also got wetter this time than usual. I never have figured out if there's any real way to *win* this game -- he says go after that thingamabobber, but once we lose it in the beginning I've never seen it again until the guy appears using it to pull you out at the last minute. We also determined that unlike a real canoe, if you want to turn left, only the people on the right should paddle. In a real canoe, you can have the person on the left paddle backwards to turn sharper. In the game, if the person on the left paddles backwards and the person/people on the right paddle forwards, you essentially go nowhere Once we figured that out, we made some good progress.
Next was AstroBlaster, where we saw something rather interesting. In the group before us, there was a blind lady who found her way to a car and took control all herself. I don't know whether she enjoyed the ride or not or if she was just there by herself, but I have a hard time imagining not being able to see yet being *alone* in the car on that attraction. Kudos to her for trying it, though When it was our turn, Michael and I took one car and Art took one of his own. We made almost NO progress -- kept getting into traffic jams and being hit Oh well, that is part of the fun of the ride Michael and I had fun trying to figure out how the car knew when you'd been hit in a blast point, though. There weren't any sensors we could see, so it would have to be something like flex-points I guess?
Next was on to the Mighty Ducks pinball, where I placed second by pure chance. If I ever got that thing to move the way I really wanted it to, that was just luck MAN what a workout, though, especially for someone who's rather out of shape like I am Michael and Art both scored fairly low on that one
Then was on to Ride the Comix, which was my second time playing and Michael's first. That was fun, but irritating at the same time -- either my sword wouldn't work some of the time or my helmet kept sliding so I kept having a blurry view and occasionally couldn't fight as well as I wanted. It was still fun, though. Michael and I tied for I think second place with 10 points -- Art got first this time.
Finally, it was off to Cyberspace Mountain. This time Art parted ways with us for a few minutes to go play some of the arcade games. Michael and I opted for a pre-built again since it was so late and went with a level 5 with 5 inversions. I think it was the ice level this time (we did space last time I think). It was fun, but I kinda liked the 7 inversion version better We probably could have gone again right away if we'd asked for it because our video didn't work -- but at this point neither Michael nor I was really feeling that well and we wouldn't purchase the video anyway so we staggered off and said that was okay.
From there I tracked Art down while Michael played some of the graveyard games around the Astroblaster. I found Art playing the fireman game somewhere in the building and told him where we were, then returned to Michael and sat down. Finally, just a few minutes before closing, we headed out.
After a brief hunt for the car Art directed us to the main entrance to Epcot. There was still one booth open and the guard let us through to go drop Art off directly at his truck -- which I think was the only vehicle in the cast member parking and one of the few remaining in the entire lot. Seeing it empty, it is almost impossible to believe how big that parking lot is!
After dropping Art at his car, we traveled the maze back to the Dolphin and headed up to the room. There I just had to try the famous oatmeal soap -- Niiiiiiiicccee. After trying that, I had to hide the next one the maid brought us in hopes of getting a few bars for home We only ended up with one we could take with us, but that's okay We also discovered the nifty "do not disturb" signs -- it's a dial-clock thing that hangs on the door and you can set it for a certain time. That way, if you forget to take it off your door the next morning, housekeeping will still come in and take care of the room for you. Very nice touch we thought, especially since in December we forgot to take the do-not-disturb sign off the door at Caribbean Beach
One other thing of note for future Dolphin stayers -- the pillows on the bed are all feather. I'm allergic to feather pillows, so we looked in the closet. More pillows, but still feather. So I called housekeeping and they said they'd send some foam pillows up right away. Well, a few minutes later we had a call -- our do not disturb sign was on the door and they wanted to make sure it was okay to disturb us to bring us the pillows When they did, they brought a handful, though! I think by the time you counted all the pillows in the room we probably had *8* pillows between the feather and foam ones.
Oatmeal soap experienced, foam pillows obtained, I stretched out to work on the trip report while Michael got ready for bed. Only... I couldn't do it I literally couldn't write!! My arms were so tired and weak after the unaccustomed workout at Disneyquest that I couldn't both hold the pencil and put pressure on the paper to write! I finally found a way to take notes by rubbing my arms for a bit then setting the book on the bed, grasping my right wrist with my left hand to add support, then writing a few words and repeating That was the hardest time I've ever had making notes on a trip
Finally, though, by the time Michael was ready I had finished taking my quick notes. No details this time <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz"> Then it was off to bed with a planned wake-up time tomorrow for 8:30.
On to Day 2
-Rajah
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cdrtrisal@aol.com
(Links will return when I find a new place to host the sites)
Rajah/Tammi -- As usual, trip report writer and trip planner
VonDrake/Michael -- Rajah's DH, whose conference is our excuse for the trip this time
Guest Cast:
Art -- our CM friend, pin-fanatic, and all around cool guy
Marsha and Tom -- aka Mackey Mouse and her DH from the DIS
Carol, Jen, and Kristin -- aka CarolAnnK and her daughters from the DIS
"Aaron" -- another solo IOA guest
Dates: Feb 28 through Mar 4, 2001
Destination: WDW, and for Rajah, USF and IOA as well
Name: "Swimsuit edition" -- keep reading to find out why, though one tip: always take your swimsuit, even if you don't think you'll want it
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Ugh. I hate electronic equipment that has a power switch that is uncovered. Apparently when I was rooting around in my bag getting ready for bed last night, I accidentally turned on my radio. Not music type, but in-touch type. So, about 6am I start hearing signs of life coming from the corner.
"Beepbeepbeep. Beeeeeeep. Yeah, we'll meet you *fizzle*. *silence* Beeepbeep. Mom?" I finally got up and turned it off
Then promptly woke up again when it fell of the table a few minutes later!I also see why people say the All Stars are noisy. We didn't think the people around were any noisier than any other resorts we've been at, but the room itself sure was! Every time someone above or next to us turned on the sink or flushed the toilet, the pipes clanged. Which kept me up part of the night.
Then, I found out that apparently I just can't sleep when I'm facing a wall if I'm on a double bed. I kept feeling claustrophobic all night when I was facing the wall. And when I faced away from it, I kept feeling like I was going to fall off the bed.
Needless to say, I got very, very little sleep last night. Michael, on the other hand, slept like a rock. But, he woke up not feeling too well.
We got up around 10 and got packed up (faster than usual since we'd only had one night there) then took our bags out to the car and returned to the front desk. By the time we got there, it was about 10:30. We stood in line and waited, waited, and waited some more, and really wished for the express-checkout of the other resorts. If they had it here, we didn't find out how.
With no questions to ask, it only took us about one minute to check out if that, but everyone in front of us had dozens of questions so by the time we were checked out and into the food court, it was nearly 11am.
We got in line at the pasta counter (one of the few still serving breakfast) for some fresh-made omelets, and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. How can it take one person with two burners so long to make omelets when the people at the character buffets can have more demand and work much faster and sometimes only have one burner or skillet? It took so long that the people next to us got angry, returned to demand their son not take the bacon since it was 'icky' (well, what do you expect when going at the end of the breakfast hour), and demanded *THAT* omelet. Well... "that" omelets was mine, *not* their son's -- his was the one next to it
But I wasn't about to argue with them so when the CMs called for number 77, I explained that I'm number 78 and I think they took my omelet by mistake. They offered to make me a new one, but I didn't want to wait, and the one the kid had ordered was the same as mine but with peppers anyway. So I just took that one and a side of marinara sauce. That was one nice thing about being there at the end of the breakfast hour -- I could get marinara sauce for the omelet since they had started serving lunch by the time we finally got our breakfast, and I love marinara sauce on omelets.We ate breakfast, and I finished well before Michael did. I could tell he wasn't feeling well, though, since he didn't finish his breakfast. Granted, the omelets weren't as good as the buffet ones we were used to, but still Michael usually clears his plate. He also hadn't even taken one sip of his coffee. But I was chomping at the bit to go. If he was done eating, he could drink his coffee as we drove. The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck sitting in an unmemorable food court waiting for Michael to finish his coffee (understand -- this could literally have taken another 45 minutes for one cup when he gets in a sit-and-sip mood
) So I grabbed a lid for his coffee cup, refilled my new refillable mug with some more poweraid, and off we went.We decided to go check out All Star Movies since I really wanted to see the Toy Story building and this would quite possibly be the only time we'd be staying at All Stars and thus able to check them out. Michael agreed, as long as we didn't move too fast and originally we planned to just stay in the car, so off we went.
As I said before, I didn't like All Star Sports at all. It looked horrible to non-sports fans. Music wasn't much better. But I really did like All Star Movies. I'd give that one a try in the future while I might not return to Music and definitely won't go to Sports.
We'd first intended to just drive around and take a look from what we could see in the car, but Michael agreed to stop once we got to the Toy Story building. We loved the toy soldier buckets, and there's nothing that can make you feel small that compares to standing at the foot of a 5-story tall Buzz Lightyear!!
We went far enough to look at the Fantasia buildings and pool, and the edge of the 101 Dalmations building, before Michael had to go sit back down again. Our time at All Star Movies was short, but I really enjoyed it -- especially the Fantasia pool. This was only the first time of this trip that I strongly felt the call of the pools -- something that is usually only a minor call for me.
We returned to the car and considered what to do next. Check-in time wasn't technically until 3 at the Dolphin, but Michael wasn't feeling well and really needed to go lie down. So, we decided to give it a try. If nothing else, we could always just sit in the lobby. Off we went to the Dolphin, bidding adieu to the All Stars and glad to be gone -- that double bed would've provided no rest for me the entire trip
When we got to the Dolphin, we were back in our element -- bellhops to take our luggage right away, indoor hallways...yes, we've gotten spoiled by our upper-moderates and deluxe stays
I left the key with the bellhop just in case they needed to move the car, and we went through the revolving door. We fell in love with the Dolphin from the time we walked in the door. It's no Wilderness Lodge, but it was still a really neat place.Up to the check-in counter, where we were told our room was ready. Not only that, but we were told that our room, 4169, was that particular CM's (are they CMs at the Dolphin??) favorite in the building. King bed, non-smoking... and more surprises in store for us.
When asked to present a proof of government employment (we were getting the gov't rate, remember) we gave the guy a choice. Michael had left his University pay stub in our bags which were with bell services, but he had his University Staff ID, and I had my NASA contractor badge -- only my badge isn't obviously a contractor. It says NASA, it has my picture and my name, and the words "government property" on it. He chose my badge
Armed with our room keys and number, we returned to pick up our bags, and a great bellhop helped us upstairs. He pointed out directions as we went to the West Wing, and that we were currently on the 3rd floor, which meant our room was only one level up. Then he led us through a maze of passageways (which I swear swayed a little like water -- must've been a trick of the light and the fact that already the heat was getting to us outside while the corridors were absolutely frigid) to our room, remarking that this was also one of his favorite rooms.
When we got inside, we found out that not only were we in a non-smoking room with a King Bed, but we had a minibar (which was new to Michael and something he always wanted just for the novelty of having one and turned out to be very handy later in the trip) as well as not one, but TWO balconies!
We had one of the corner rooms on the west wing right under a fountain, so we had the normal balcony as well as a darker side-balcony which is there more for decoration than functionality. We had a wonderful view of the Grotto Pool, (and the other 4 pools we could see!), the lake with the Swan paddle-boats, the beach, and the Swan across the way. And in the distance were the Tower of Terror and the top of the Chinese Theater. What a wonderful view! (even if we don't do the Tower of Terror )We thanked our bellman and saw him out with a good tip, then looked at each other and collapsed on the bed laughing. This was so much more than we were expecting, and we knew it was more than we can expect to get in the future. Without asking, it appears we got a complimentary room upgrade, and we were very grateful for it. (Especially later when we had to stay in the room longer than usual since Michael wasn't feeling well -- that balcony was very nice then)
We got settled in, then Michael made an observation -- he'd been anticipating temperatures like we'd been having in Houston -- comfortable to slightly cool during the day. Not these mid-to-upper 80s we were experiencing already! So he'd packed accordingly -- leaving shorts at home. He'd *die* in the parks in jeans, so down we went to guest services where we asked for directions to the nearest WalMart after checking out the Dolphin shops and deciding $80 was a bit too much to pay for one pair of shorts. I also wanted to get a swimsuit since I'd left mine at home, but I was balking at the $80-$130 prices at the Dolphin stores. Especially since I had *two* perfectly good suits at home. Nevermind that a good swimsuit anywhere is in the $80 price range any more.
We spent about 45 minutes hunting around to find a WalMart, with no luck. I think the lady told us to turn right when we should have turned left, but whatever the case we ended up fairly lost. One thing to note -- always keep change with you when you drive off property... the directions the lady gave us were through a toll road and she didn't tell us that part. Luckily, we had the change. When we finally got back to I-4, we decided to just go up to Belz. But, then once we got to something like 535 (well before we got to Belz), we decided to give it one more try but this time turn left.
We didn't get that far.
Right there, on the right, was a Denim store where we figured Michael could find some jeans shorts. So we pulled in and looked around, and Michael found some to his liking. While he was trying them on, I gave Art a call and let him know we were in town and planned to go to Epcot later tonight. So we agreed to meet up sometime later that night in Epcot, then Michael finished up and got his shorts.
We circled back around to property and up to our room, where Michael changed into his new shorts. I then let him rest for a few minutes before we went out to Fantasia Gardens Mini-golf. Despite the proximity to the golf course, we decided to drive over since it was so hot outside.
We spent the next hour or so playing the Fantasia side of the mini-golf. We did get a 15% discount with the Disney Club card (thanks to the DIS for knowing to ask about that) and for the most part enjoyed the course. I had the worst luck on this course, though -- any of the holes with hills at the very beginning I ended up with a 6 on. I couldn't for the life of me hit the ball right if it was on an incline!
I'd either skim the top of the ball and send it maybe a third of the way up, or I'd drag the ground and lose energy that way before I hit the ball, or I'd hit it straight on and it would just bounce off the wall and come back down . By the time we reached the 8th hole, I was too hot and rather discouraged and would have been happier to just pick up the ball and walk the rest of the holes taking pictures instead of playing.I think if we'd been playing the course when it was cooler, I would have enjoyed it much more -- I tend to get frustrated, grumpy, and easily discouraged when I get too hot. Fantasia Gardens was a *very* cute course, and had many more interactive elements than I expected. For me, it fit between Winter (my favorite) and Summer on the WinterSummerland course. For Michael, it was better than either of the other two. I'd very much like to try it again at night when it's *cool* and see how I do
On our way out, we picked up two bottles of poweraid then fled to the blessed air conditioning in the car, then back to the room to cool off. After a few minutes to cool off and gathering all the park paraphernalia, we struck out for Epcot. We stopped by the boat dock first to see when the next boat would arrive, but were told that the Epcot boats were bunched up and we'd likely missed the last one for several minutes. Knowing we could walk the same distance in less time than it would take to wait then ride, we headed across the bridge and over to the International Gateway by way of the Yacht and Beach Club resorts.
Here it was, nearly 4 pm on the first full day, and we're just *now* getting to the parks. Yep, we're annual passholders at heart, even if we were paying for full days this trip
Our first stop was a locker because I wasn't *about* to carry all my usual garb in this heat. All I wanted this time were my tickets and my camera and one set of batteries. Beyond that, we left everything else in the locker and hiked up to World Showcase.Then we just kinda stood there staring dumbly around. "Okay, we're here, now what do we want to do?" We wandered around the UK for a few minutes, then realized we had just over an hour to kill before dinner and couldn't think of anything on this side of World Showcase we wanted to do. Michael suggested we go look at Italy since we never have really gotten a good look at that pavilion, but I didn't want to walk that far only to turn around and come back. He insisted it wasn't that far, so we crossed over the bridge to France where he said "See, it's not too far."
I just looked at him. "Um... you *aren't* feeling well, are you? This isn't Italy."
He blinked, looked around, then said sarcastically, "Yeah...that's right. That's why it's called "Chefs de Italy"!" then shook his head. This as he looked right at Chefs de France, the living statue, and the Eiffel Tower.
We paused at the living statue for a few minutes, but hit it at a point where she decided to not react to three groups, and we mostly had a view from the back anyway. So off we went further around the Showcase and wondering how to spend our time before dinner. When we approached America, we weren't paying too much attention to what was going on around us -- Michael, as you know by now, wasn't feeling well, and I was still too drained from getting too hot earlier. So we almost walked right past the person who called our names: our friend Art.
However, Art caught our attention from where he was visiting with people near the pin cart, and we hooked up once more. He showed us the new pins (including a Zorro one we pounced on) then suggested we go check out Barrage, which was about to start a show on the American Gardens stage. We did a little looking around until it was time, then found a seat where, for about 20 minutes, we watched a group of pretty talented fiddlers/violinists. They covered the entire spectrum, playing Celtic, traditional, and country and western songs among others. We left about half-way through the performance so we could make it to Canada to check in at Le Cellier before dinner.
Art decided to join us for dinner if we could change our PS last-minute from 2 to 3, so we asked when we checked in (on time for once). The CM at the podium wasn't sure, but went to ask and was given the go-ahead. So, we took our little pager and then started visiting with another couple who were also pin traders. Art is the real pin trading expert -- all the rest of us are more dabblers than true traders. We had fun visiting with them until they were called in.
When our coaster-pager lit up, we were led to a corner table not far from the restrooms. With this table, I could definitely see how Le Cellier got its reputation for being really dark. It was dark enough in our corner that Art pulled out a little red flashlight to try reading the menu with
We had a fun meal, with the revolving waiters... we started out with one person saying she'd take care of us, then she never returned and another lady came out and got our drinks saying *she'd* take care of us, then after she left to get said drinks, *another* guy came by to try to get our drinks and said *he'd* take care of us
It finally settled down to the second CM and we did in the end get our food I really enjoyed the food here. Art and I both started with the famous cheese soup (which amazingly didn't give me the usual stomach problems milk and cheese products tend to do -- I just had to try the soup even if I might get problems). I forget what Michael had for an appetizer, but he thought it was good too. We also tore into the bread -- the pretzel breadsticks were pretty good
Then Michael and I had the mushroom-stuffed filets, and Art had a piece of prime rib. He had to send his back to be cooked a little more, but otherwise seemed to think it was good.After dinner we cut around past a couple of photo stops (Dusk across World Showcase is downright beautiful) to Innoventions, where Art works. Michael and I have never spent much time there and Art wanted to show off some of what he works with. We started I think in West (the side with the photos) and got some of the photo-postcards done -- sent one to my parents, one to another email friend, and one to a DIS friend who kindly posted it for us (thanks MaryJo!)
Naturally, I'd left all the email addresses back in the locker so had to go from memory Otherwise, a few more DISers would have gotten pictures And we had a bit of a wait even though we were only behind one group -- the father-daughter pair in front of us must have been the slowest typers I've ever seen We were completely done with all 3 of ours in about the time it took him to enter in just the first email address I guess I shouldn't be too judgmental on typing speed -- after all, I know that very few people type as fast as Michael and I do.After we finished that, Art took us around to see where they're doing some construction inside (though another CM pointed out that it was nothing more than more construction walls
) Then we went to the Motorola exhibit where Art timed it perfectly. The robot, Starnac, was looking over the crystal ball as we walked up. Art timed it to say "Starnac -- target and destroy" and pointed to me, then quickly backed up. I was standing dead center in front of the robot, and boy did it startle me when he looked up and *directly* at me *right* as if reacting to Art!! It only took a second for me to catch on that it was nothing more than Art having the timing down to a science, but he had me for a second We all had a good laugh out of that, and I wish Michael'd had the camera (and warning) to get my reaction!After that, we'd seen all Art wanted to show us in Innoventions, so we checked our watches and decided to go for a ride on Spaceship Earth. I think we took a quick walk through Innoventions East as well, but Innoventions is rarely memorable to me so I don't remember
Whatever the case, we ended up in Spaceship Earth for what we think was the first ride in which the cars *never* stopped. All previous times the cars have had to stop briefly for one reason or another, but this time we made it all the way through one of our favorite Epcot attractions.When we got off of Spaceship Earth, we checked our watches and decided we had just enough time for a quick run through Maelstrom. Art was telling us how you can always tell if you're with a newbie on the ride: they're the ones who begin to panic when you start moving backwards toward the waterfall
Sure enough, Michael and I (Art decided to meet us at the exit this time) got on a boat full of newbies Naturally, we got off the boat to see the doors for the Norway film closing. If only we'd been about 4 boats earlier, we wouldn't've had to wait. I do wish they'd put a walkway in that would allow you to bypass the movie without having to wait for it if you've already seen it. It's a good one, yes, but not one I want to see every time I ride the ride. And we seem to have the best luck of getting there *just* after the doors closed
Once we got off, we decided we'd better find our place for Tapestry and Illuminations. As we were heading for our usual observation place (on the borderline between America and Japan), we commented that we probably should find somewhere else to watch the show from this time -- but we couldn't decide where. As we mentioned this, we were at Italy. Art led us to a pretty good viewing point just past the staircase where there was just a little room on the fence. But then he looked up and saw that they were letting people into the semi-private area over the two staircases -- the area with the poles in the water. It's usually blocked off for VIP viewing of Illuminations. So we decided here would be a good place.
While we were standing there waiting for Tapestry of Nations, we discovered we were in for quite a treat: not only was this a good place to view Tapestry and Illuminations, but in the distance we could see the higher fireworks for Fantasy in the Sky topping the trees! So we stood there and watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from Italy in the World Showcase of Epcot.
Michael disappeared a couple of times after the fireworks to get a couple of glasses of wine -- he was finding that the alcoholic beverages worked rather well in the evening at keeping his sore throat and cough down to a minimum. It was from this vantage point -- across the canal -- that we watched Tapestry. I *wasn't* going to photograph it this time -- I mean, I have more pictures of this parade than I can keep track of to begin with... but y'all know me... about 30 pictures later, the parade was over. Michael and I followed it to the end point, but we both felt the new ending wasn't as good as the old.
Some observations: They have indeed changed the opening and ending soundtracks. The music is the same, but the words are different. I'd have to hear it again and be looking at my 2000-version transcript to be able to tell exactly what was changed, but the entire beginning and entire ending are different. We liked the old way better -- for one who's seen both, it's obvious that the new stuff was created to fit in with a slightly different pre-existing theme. The older version flowed better. However, that said, they did do a pretty good job coming up with a new phrasing for it so there's no more mention of the Millennium.
After Tapestry, we just stood and visited (and Art kindly got rid of a couple of spiders for me -- I hate spiders) until Illuminations. We were afraid the wind was blowing the wrong way, but just about the time the show started, the wind shifted so we were standing in a good area. That was quite a viewing area, too!! Now I have a hard time deciding between that and our usual place as my favorite.
As always, I couldn't resist taking more pictures of this fireworks show for which I have ENTIERLY too many pictures already. This time I concentrated on trying to get detail on the globe, but didn't really get more than three or four that came out to my satisfaction. But, I did finally get a clear picture of the ending blast that usually is too strong for the camera -- I remembered to change the settings this time.
After Illuminations, we wandered slowly back to the International gateway while chatting about what to do next. It didn't take long to decide to put to use our Disneyquest Annual Passes purchased last trip. This time, we decided I would drive since we had a rental car. So after stopping at the locker to get all the stuff out of it and turn in the locker key, we walked around to the Dolphin by way of the Boardwalk.
I must say, I love the Boardwalk at night, even with the construction. There's just something about that area that really charms me once night falls. We made a brief stop at the pin cart to check out the pins and ran into a couple who were desperately looking to finish their Disney Store pin collection. I had some with me, so I pulled them out and sure enough had one they wanted -- I think it was number 4, one of the filmstrip-Mickey pins. I traded that for a new Davy Crocket even though I could have gotten the Davy Crocket pin at the stand behind me. I think that was one of the only *real* trades I've ever done. After our trading, we visited a little about the parks and the Main Street Electrical Parade before we decided if we were going to have any worthwhile time at Disneyquest we'd better scoot.
So on it was to the Dolphin where Art got his first look at that lobby as we passed through to get to the parking lot. Then Art directed us to Disneyquest and in we went. When we got in the Adventurlator to move up to the main gateway, we grinned at the lady who was leaning against the wall the wrong way. When the action started, she jumped then turned around and acted very surprised -- I almost got startled the same way myself the first time I went to Disneyquest, but the friend I was with told me to turn around.
Our first stop for the evening was Pirates, where we banded together with a couple behind us. Or, so we thought. About three groups before we were up, the CMs asked for a group of two and the husband of that couple volunteered them right away despite the wife going "but I thought we were going to group with them...?" So, it was back to just the three of us after all. We did just fine, though -- got the highest ranking you could get, we think (though not necessarily the highest score).
After Pirates, we circled back around to the Virtual Jungle Cruise. I'm not sure, but I think this was Art's first time on this ride -- man, what a workout! I think we also got wetter this time than usual. I never have figured out if there's any real way to *win* this game -- he says go after that thingamabobber, but once we lose it in the beginning I've never seen it again until the guy appears using it to pull you out at the last minute. We also determined that unlike a real canoe, if you want to turn left, only the people on the right should paddle. In a real canoe, you can have the person on the left paddle backwards to turn sharper. In the game, if the person on the left paddles backwards and the person/people on the right paddle forwards, you essentially go nowhere
Once we figured that out, we made some good progress. Next was AstroBlaster, where we saw something rather interesting. In the group before us, there was a blind lady who found her way to a car and took control all herself. I don't know whether she enjoyed the ride or not or if she was just there by herself, but I have a hard time imagining not being able to see yet being *alone* in the car on that attraction. Kudos to her for trying it, though
When it was our turn, Michael and I took one car and Art took one of his own. We made almost NO progress -- kept getting into traffic jams and being hit Oh well, that is part of the fun of the ride Michael and I had fun trying to figure out how the car knew when you'd been hit in a blast point, though. There weren't any sensors we could see, so it would have to be something like flex-points I guess?Next was on to the Mighty Ducks pinball, where I placed second by pure chance. If I ever got that thing to move the way I really wanted it to, that was just luck
MAN what a workout, though, especially for someone who's rather out of shape like I am Michael and Art both scored fairly low on that one Then was on to Ride the Comix, which was my second time playing and Michael's first. That was fun, but irritating at the same time -- either my sword wouldn't work some of the time or my helmet kept sliding so I kept having a blurry view and occasionally couldn't fight as well as I wanted. It was still fun, though. Michael and I tied for I think second place with 10 points -- Art got first this time.
Finally, it was off to Cyberspace Mountain. This time Art parted ways with us for a few minutes to go play some of the arcade games. Michael and I opted for a pre-built again since it was so late and went with a level 5 with 5 inversions. I think it was the ice level this time (we did space last time I think). It was fun, but I kinda liked the 7 inversion version better
We probably could have gone again right away if we'd asked for it because our video didn't work -- but at this point neither Michael nor I was really feeling that well and we wouldn't purchase the video anyway so we staggered off and said that was okay.From there I tracked Art down while Michael played some of the graveyard games around the Astroblaster. I found Art playing the fireman game somewhere in the building and told him where we were, then returned to Michael and sat down. Finally, just a few minutes before closing, we headed out.
After a brief hunt for the car Art directed us to the main entrance to Epcot. There was still one booth open and the guard let us through to go drop Art off directly at his truck -- which I think was the only vehicle in the cast member parking and one of the few remaining in the entire lot. Seeing it empty, it is almost impossible to believe how big that parking lot is!
After dropping Art at his car, we traveled the maze back to the Dolphin and headed up to the room. There I just had to try the famous oatmeal soap -- Niiiiiiiicccee. After trying that, I had to hide the next one the maid brought us in hopes of getting a few bars for home
We only ended up with one we could take with us, but that's okay We also discovered the nifty "do not disturb" signs -- it's a dial-clock thing that hangs on the door and you can set it for a certain time. That way, if you forget to take it off your door the next morning, housekeeping will still come in and take care of the room for you. Very nice touch we thought, especially since in December we forgot to take the do-not-disturb sign off the door at Caribbean Beach One other thing of note for future Dolphin stayers -- the pillows on the bed are all feather. I'm allergic to feather pillows, so we looked in the closet. More pillows, but still feather. So I called housekeeping and they said they'd send some foam pillows up right away. Well, a few minutes later we had a call -- our do not disturb sign was on the door and they wanted to make sure it was okay to disturb us to bring us the pillows
When they did, they brought a handful, though! I think by the time you counted all the pillows in the room we probably had *8* pillows between the feather and foam ones.Oatmeal soap experienced, foam pillows obtained, I stretched out to work on the trip report while Michael got ready for bed. Only... I couldn't do it
I literally couldn't write!! My arms were so tired and weak after the unaccustomed workout at Disneyquest that I couldn't both hold the pencil and put pressure on the paper to write! I finally found a way to take notes by rubbing my arms for a bit then setting the book on the bed, grasping my right wrist with my left hand to add support, then writing a few words and repeating That was the hardest time I've ever had making notes on a trip Finally, though, by the time Michael was ready I had finished taking my quick notes. No details this time <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz"> Then it was off to bed with a planned wake-up time tomorrow for 8:30.
On to Day 2
-Rajah
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