Takin The In-Laws -- 4/4/2005 Day 3 Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 1)
Cast of Characters
Me DH32, love Disney and now a planner extraordinaire
Min DW34, loves Disney too, but left the planning to me
Buddy DS6, 3rd trip to Disney, 1st one hell really appreciate
Doodle DD3, my princess and a DCL souvenir
BuckleBoy DS21months, 1st time to WDW, obsessed with buckles
Meme MIL65, Fun, nice, extremely quiet
Papa FIL67, Big heart, Bigger talker with occasional bad timing
BIL 37, Just a big kid
(Imagine this in your best Disney ride announcer voice) For your safety, please remain seated and keep your hands and arms away from the monitor at all times.
Good morning! Today is our first day in the parks and we are all up early. Today my hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours (you get the idea) of planning are really going to be put to the test. DIS friends, website operators, and especially Tour Guide Mike you better not let me down now!
After showering and getting dressed, I opened the door to the balcony. Wow, what a beautiful morning! The temperature is about 60, and there is not a cloud in the sky.
On either side of the balcony are 2 huge palm trees. Our balcony overlooks a little grassy yard area immediately below us. Just beyond that is a pond/river/water area and a beautiful fairway. This is a view from a postcard! We see a few duckies swimming by. They stop and wander around the yard looking for breakfast, so we cant let them go hungry! We threw some pretzels out there. I know, I know, pretzels are not good breakfast food. But, who cares? Were on vacation! Anyway, the ducks enjoyed them.
We needed to get the rental cars returned, so we can make it to MGM by 9:00. BIL and I headed out to get the job done. A quick stop for gas, only $2.15 per gallon at DTD!
(Wow, I never thought I would write a sentence with the word only in front of $2.15 per gallon for gas. My the times change so quickly.)
Budget has a rental desk at the Doubletree Resort in DTD, so that is where I arranged to drop the cars off. I figured we could hop the bus from there to MGM. We pulled in, and the attendant directed us to the back corner of the lot to park the cars. We parked them, and headed inside to settle up. I took care of mine no problems. Just as the nice counter lady was finishing mine, there was an obnoxious sound. What the heck is that?
The fire alarm is going off. This better not slow us down. Just continue working lady. We NEED to get to MGM. I dont smell smoke, I dont see any flames, nobody is running half naked from the building, so just keep going and get us out of here. Well, Mr. Manager comes by and quickly ushers everyone out of the building. Great! I can see fate crumpling my schedule up before my eyes. Its now about 8:15, and the DTD buses only run every half hour, unlike the resort buses, which run about every 10 minutes. If we miss this one, well have to wait another 30 minutes, and then Im going to get REALLY grumpy. You dont want to see me grumpy, do you lady?
The silly alarm only lasted about 5 minutes and they let us back in. She quickly wrapped up the 2nd rental and outside we went to wait for the bus. While we were waiting, BIL and I met a very nice couple from San Francisco. BIL was stationed out there when he was in the Navy, and so they had a nice conversation about the bay area. While this was going on, I was becoming more and more impatient. Its about 8:25 now. The bus can come anytime. Im ready. I was worse than a little kid.
Hey, the fire department is here.
Way to go boys! Wheres the fire? LOL! Its a good thing there really wasnt one the place would be a pile of ashes by now! Dont mind me, Im just anxious for my bus! Hey, can you move the fire truck? I think thats where the bus is supposed to park! 
Ok, its 8:31 now. The bus is officially late! WHERE IS THE BUS?????
Im just a little excited about getting back to the parks for the first time in 3 years. A few more minutes go by and look, there comes a bus! MGM? No, of course not. Its for Magic Kingdom. Our friends from San Francisco are happy because thats their ride. Have fun!
A few more agonizing minutes go by before another bus pulls in, but the display telling where its going is blank. Thats our bus, right? Thats GOT to be our bus! PLEASE be our bus! The bus driver opens the door. I asked where he is going. Epcot MGM. Ok, thanks, I say as my head drops and I begin to sulk away. Just as BIL was about to say something, I turn around. I feel like a light bulb just appeared above my head. Did you say MGM? Epcot MGM he says in some very thick accent. YAY! MGM here we come!
The bus ride is pure torture. We were already about 10 minutes late. Min had called at about 8:30 to tell me that they were already there. But in my mind all I heard was, Na Na Na Na Na Na, were here and youre not!
We still had to stop at a couple more DTD hotels, and then go to Epcot, then MGM. We pulled into Epcot just before 9:00. As we were looking at the big ball as my kids like to call it, Min called again. They were in. Its only our first day at Disney, actually it really hasnt even started yet, and I hate them already. Im stuck on this bus and they are enjoying the magic of Disney without me, the guy who planned the whole thing! How dare they? Well, I guess Ill make the best out of a bad situation. I instruct them to go immediately to RNR and get fastpasses.
It is a surprisingly short drive to MGM from Epcot. Good! Its only about 9:10 and we are here. FINALLY!!!! I call Min and tell her we are here and well meet them at RNR. We cruise right through the gate, our tickets work perfectly (thanks again Will) no finger problems for me! I gave BIL a quick tour as we are practically running in the direction of RNR. This is the main entrance. There are a bunch of shops on this street. There is the hat. Cmon, keep moving But then we came upon those two wacky characters sitting in lawn chairs along Hollywood Boulevard, watching what they think is a parade. The lady comments on my attire, I love your outfit! Thanks, I say, as I stop and do a Right Said Fred Im Too Sexy For My Shirt move. I havent done that since college! Needless to say, she was very impressed. These are the moments that make Disney special (and make everyone else think youre nuts!)
We hustle over to RNR and find them all standing there waiting for us. What took you so long? Min asks. Ha, Ha. Very funny, smart alleck! The standby line for RNR is only 5 minutes, lets go! BIL, Min, and I are able to talk Buddy into going. Hes nervous, he doesnt really want to go, but he doesnt really not want to go either. Min knows just the right things to say keep him calm and moving forward. Meanwhile, Im so psyched that Im practically bouncing off the other people in line. This makes Buddy even more leery. Anything that gets Dad this excited has got to be trouble! But this is my first time on RNR and, being a coaster nut, I cant wait!
The ride truly is incredible. I loved it. 0 to 60 in like 2 seconds. The loops, the hills, the darkness, the music. Its a truly great roller coaster. Unfortunately, Buddy doesnt agree. I hated it. Im NEVER going on that ride again!
I wont make him do it again, and maybe this is just wishful thinking, but Im pretty sure, somewhere down deep, he really did like it. Hell go again. Give him time after all, weve got all day.
Next is TOT. The standby wait is already 25 minutes. To stay on track with my itinerary I decide that we should fastpass this. So we grab a handful of fastpasses and head to the Great Movie Ride.
The Great Movie Ride has absolutely no line this early. We get right on (well, we had to wait like 5 minutes, but it was like getting right on). Doodle took a little nap, and Buckleboy couldnt have cared less about it, but Meme and Papa really enjoyed this ride. It highlighted lots of movies from their generation. It was right up their alley. The actors also did a very good job. I had forgotten how neat this ride was.
From there we headed over to Star Tours. BIL and Buddy are HUGE Star Wars fans, and they had been talking about this ride ever since we started planning this vacation. The queue is really a neat part of this attraction. The robots say and do some funny things. Buddy thought the overhead conveyor belt carrying robot parts was just the coolest thing. The standby line is only about 10 minutes, and we are in. Buckleboy is too little, so we do the parent swap. I stayed behind while everyone else went in. As soon as it was over, I went in, passed Buckleboy to Min, and Buddy and BIL stayed on. This was one of Buddys favorite rides of the day.
From there we went over to see the Muppet show, which impressed all of us. We came out to see Buzz and Woody signing autographs. Buddy has only watched Toy Story about 250 times over the last 4 years or so. As a matter of fact, we had to buy the DVDs because he wore out the VHS tapes. So, of course, we had to go see them.
Hey Min, wheres the autograph book? Oh no. I forgot to get an autograph album. Dear old Dad did it again. Woops, my bad. Sorry. But, wouldnt you know it, Disney has me covered. There is a very nice lady with a souvenir stand right there with a whole bunch of autograph books. I snatched up a book and a pen and scooted over to Buzzs line. Buddy was next. He heads up to Buzz and gets his first Disney autograph and gets his picture taken. For me, this was a very cool thing to see. He was a little nervous, and kind of didnt want to, but he did want to, if you know what I mean (very similar to RNR, but with better results). We were the last one to see Buzz before he had to take a break. We hopped over in Woodys line. Buddy got an autograph and picture and then Woody had to take a break. What timing!
Of course, Pizza Planet is right there. So you know where we had lunch, dont you? For anybody out there wondering, the pizza really isnt very good. Maybe were just used to that delicious Chicago pizza and we are spoiled, but we didnt think much of the pizza. Dinner will be much better. The atmosphere was cool. And, of course, I had to drop a few bucks in the arcade (although, I was surprised I got out of there as cheaply as I did.)
(Overall rating for our dining experience at Pizza Planet: 2 Mickeys (out of 4). The pizza was not very good, but the service was fine for counter service. Despite our dislike for the food, we always seem to find ourselves here for lunch.)
(Imagine again in your best Disney ride announcer voice), Please remain seated until the story has come to a full and complete stop. Please exit to Day 3 Part 2. Thank you.
Takin' The In-Laws -- Pretrip
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=793737
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 1 - Blankie & Buddy... MIA
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8324050#post8324050
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 2 - Kennedy, Dixie and Will
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8342639#post8342639
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 3 - Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8364237#post8364237
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 3 - Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8379122#post8379122
Takin The In-Laws -- Day 4 (Part 1) Commando Crazy
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8391188#post8391188
Takin The In-Laws -- Day 4 (Part 2) The Magic Kingdom Really Is Magic
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=803835
Takin' The In-Laws -- Halftime Update - Wishes Come True
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8517400#post8517400
Cast of Characters
Me DH32, love Disney and now a planner extraordinaire
Min DW34, loves Disney too, but left the planning to me
Buddy DS6, 3rd trip to Disney, 1st one hell really appreciate
Doodle DD3, my princess and a DCL souvenir
BuckleBoy DS21months, 1st time to WDW, obsessed with buckles
Meme MIL65, Fun, nice, extremely quiet
Papa FIL67, Big heart, Bigger talker with occasional bad timing
BIL 37, Just a big kid
(Imagine this in your best Disney ride announcer voice) For your safety, please remain seated and keep your hands and arms away from the monitor at all times.
Good morning! Today is our first day in the parks and we are all up early. Today my hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours (you get the idea) of planning are really going to be put to the test. DIS friends, website operators, and especially Tour Guide Mike you better not let me down now!
After showering and getting dressed, I opened the door to the balcony. Wow, what a beautiful morning! The temperature is about 60, and there is not a cloud in the sky.
On either side of the balcony are 2 huge palm trees. Our balcony overlooks a little grassy yard area immediately below us. Just beyond that is a pond/river/water area and a beautiful fairway. This is a view from a postcard! We see a few duckies swimming by. They stop and wander around the yard looking for breakfast, so we cant let them go hungry! We threw some pretzels out there. I know, I know, pretzels are not good breakfast food. But, who cares? Were on vacation! Anyway, the ducks enjoyed them.We needed to get the rental cars returned, so we can make it to MGM by 9:00. BIL and I headed out to get the job done. A quick stop for gas, only $2.15 per gallon at DTD!
(Wow, I never thought I would write a sentence with the word only in front of $2.15 per gallon for gas. My the times change so quickly.)Budget has a rental desk at the Doubletree Resort in DTD, so that is where I arranged to drop the cars off. I figured we could hop the bus from there to MGM. We pulled in, and the attendant directed us to the back corner of the lot to park the cars. We parked them, and headed inside to settle up. I took care of mine no problems. Just as the nice counter lady was finishing mine, there was an obnoxious sound. What the heck is that?
The fire alarm is going off. This better not slow us down. Just continue working lady. We NEED to get to MGM. I dont smell smoke, I dont see any flames, nobody is running half naked from the building, so just keep going and get us out of here. Well, Mr. Manager comes by and quickly ushers everyone out of the building. Great! I can see fate crumpling my schedule up before my eyes. Its now about 8:15, and the DTD buses only run every half hour, unlike the resort buses, which run about every 10 minutes. If we miss this one, well have to wait another 30 minutes, and then Im going to get REALLY grumpy. You dont want to see me grumpy, do you lady?
The silly alarm only lasted about 5 minutes and they let us back in. She quickly wrapped up the 2nd rental and outside we went to wait for the bus. While we were waiting, BIL and I met a very nice couple from San Francisco. BIL was stationed out there when he was in the Navy, and so they had a nice conversation about the bay area. While this was going on, I was becoming more and more impatient. Its about 8:25 now. The bus can come anytime. Im ready. I was worse than a little kid.
Hey, the fire department is here.
Way to go boys! Wheres the fire? LOL! Its a good thing there really wasnt one the place would be a pile of ashes by now! Dont mind me, Im just anxious for my bus! Hey, can you move the fire truck? I think thats where the bus is supposed to park! Ok, its 8:31 now. The bus is officially late! WHERE IS THE BUS?????
Im just a little excited about getting back to the parks for the first time in 3 years. A few more minutes go by and look, there comes a bus! MGM? No, of course not. Its for Magic Kingdom. Our friends from San Francisco are happy because thats their ride. Have fun!A few more agonizing minutes go by before another bus pulls in, but the display telling where its going is blank. Thats our bus, right? Thats GOT to be our bus! PLEASE be our bus! The bus driver opens the door. I asked where he is going. Epcot MGM. Ok, thanks, I say as my head drops and I begin to sulk away. Just as BIL was about to say something, I turn around. I feel like a light bulb just appeared above my head. Did you say MGM? Epcot MGM he says in some very thick accent. YAY! MGM here we come!
The bus ride is pure torture. We were already about 10 minutes late. Min had called at about 8:30 to tell me that they were already there. But in my mind all I heard was, Na Na Na Na Na Na, were here and youre not!
We still had to stop at a couple more DTD hotels, and then go to Epcot, then MGM. We pulled into Epcot just before 9:00. As we were looking at the big ball as my kids like to call it, Min called again. They were in. Its only our first day at Disney, actually it really hasnt even started yet, and I hate them already. Im stuck on this bus and they are enjoying the magic of Disney without me, the guy who planned the whole thing! How dare they? Well, I guess Ill make the best out of a bad situation. I instruct them to go immediately to RNR and get fastpasses. It is a surprisingly short drive to MGM from Epcot. Good! Its only about 9:10 and we are here. FINALLY!!!! I call Min and tell her we are here and well meet them at RNR. We cruise right through the gate, our tickets work perfectly (thanks again Will) no finger problems for me! I gave BIL a quick tour as we are practically running in the direction of RNR. This is the main entrance. There are a bunch of shops on this street. There is the hat. Cmon, keep moving But then we came upon those two wacky characters sitting in lawn chairs along Hollywood Boulevard, watching what they think is a parade. The lady comments on my attire, I love your outfit! Thanks, I say, as I stop and do a Right Said Fred Im Too Sexy For My Shirt move. I havent done that since college! Needless to say, she was very impressed. These are the moments that make Disney special (and make everyone else think youre nuts!)
We hustle over to RNR and find them all standing there waiting for us. What took you so long? Min asks. Ha, Ha. Very funny, smart alleck! The standby line for RNR is only 5 minutes, lets go! BIL, Min, and I are able to talk Buddy into going. Hes nervous, he doesnt really want to go, but he doesnt really not want to go either. Min knows just the right things to say keep him calm and moving forward. Meanwhile, Im so psyched that Im practically bouncing off the other people in line. This makes Buddy even more leery. Anything that gets Dad this excited has got to be trouble! But this is my first time on RNR and, being a coaster nut, I cant wait!
The ride truly is incredible. I loved it. 0 to 60 in like 2 seconds. The loops, the hills, the darkness, the music. Its a truly great roller coaster. Unfortunately, Buddy doesnt agree. I hated it. Im NEVER going on that ride again!
I wont make him do it again, and maybe this is just wishful thinking, but Im pretty sure, somewhere down deep, he really did like it. Hell go again. Give him time after all, weve got all day.Next is TOT. The standby wait is already 25 minutes. To stay on track with my itinerary I decide that we should fastpass this. So we grab a handful of fastpasses and head to the Great Movie Ride.
The Great Movie Ride has absolutely no line this early. We get right on (well, we had to wait like 5 minutes, but it was like getting right on). Doodle took a little nap, and Buckleboy couldnt have cared less about it, but Meme and Papa really enjoyed this ride. It highlighted lots of movies from their generation. It was right up their alley. The actors also did a very good job. I had forgotten how neat this ride was.
From there we headed over to Star Tours. BIL and Buddy are HUGE Star Wars fans, and they had been talking about this ride ever since we started planning this vacation. The queue is really a neat part of this attraction. The robots say and do some funny things. Buddy thought the overhead conveyor belt carrying robot parts was just the coolest thing. The standby line is only about 10 minutes, and we are in. Buckleboy is too little, so we do the parent swap. I stayed behind while everyone else went in. As soon as it was over, I went in, passed Buckleboy to Min, and Buddy and BIL stayed on. This was one of Buddys favorite rides of the day.
From there we went over to see the Muppet show, which impressed all of us. We came out to see Buzz and Woody signing autographs. Buddy has only watched Toy Story about 250 times over the last 4 years or so. As a matter of fact, we had to buy the DVDs because he wore out the VHS tapes. So, of course, we had to go see them.
Hey Min, wheres the autograph book? Oh no. I forgot to get an autograph album. Dear old Dad did it again. Woops, my bad. Sorry. But, wouldnt you know it, Disney has me covered. There is a very nice lady with a souvenir stand right there with a whole bunch of autograph books. I snatched up a book and a pen and scooted over to Buzzs line. Buddy was next. He heads up to Buzz and gets his first Disney autograph and gets his picture taken. For me, this was a very cool thing to see. He was a little nervous, and kind of didnt want to, but he did want to, if you know what I mean (very similar to RNR, but with better results). We were the last one to see Buzz before he had to take a break. We hopped over in Woodys line. Buddy got an autograph and picture and then Woody had to take a break. What timing!
Of course, Pizza Planet is right there. So you know where we had lunch, dont you? For anybody out there wondering, the pizza really isnt very good. Maybe were just used to that delicious Chicago pizza and we are spoiled, but we didnt think much of the pizza. Dinner will be much better. The atmosphere was cool. And, of course, I had to drop a few bucks in the arcade (although, I was surprised I got out of there as cheaply as I did.)
(Overall rating for our dining experience at Pizza Planet: 2 Mickeys (out of 4). The pizza was not very good, but the service was fine for counter service. Despite our dislike for the food, we always seem to find ourselves here for lunch.)
(Imagine again in your best Disney ride announcer voice), Please remain seated until the story has come to a full and complete stop. Please exit to Day 3 Part 2. Thank you.
Takin' The In-Laws -- Pretrip
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=793737
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 1 - Blankie & Buddy... MIA
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8324050#post8324050
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 2 - Kennedy, Dixie and Will
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8342639#post8342639
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 3 - Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8364237#post8364237
Takin' The In-Laws -- Day 3 - Fire Alarms, Fighting, and Fantasmic! (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8379122#post8379122
Takin The In-Laws -- Day 4 (Part 1) Commando Crazy
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8391188#post8391188
Takin The In-Laws -- Day 4 (Part 2) The Magic Kingdom Really Is Magic
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=803835
Takin' The In-Laws -- Halftime Update - Wishes Come True
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8517400#post8517400
I'm looking forward to the next installment. 
