Dec. 2nd, 2009
Magic Kingdom & More
Ron went to his favorite and most frequented attraction... the bathroom.
While waiting for him, I browsed the Splash Mountain gift shop and ended up leaving with these, which I am actually wearing right now as I type this report:
Can you tell I love Minnie?
Then we trotted back over to Thunder Mountain to dry off! (Trust me, the rushing wind as you're riding it helps!) It was as fun as always, and at the end of the day Ron actually declared it his favorite. This is also when I remembered that I obnoxiously giggle all through thrill rides.
I kept apologizing to Ron, but he said he didn't so much mind.
We made our way out of Frontierland and towards Adventureland, coming across Pirates of the Caribbean very quickly. Another short wait, so we hopped in line. Ron was comparing it to what he remembered of the
Disneyland version, and we also liked the Jack Sparrow additions.
In the giftshop, Ron bought a shotglass (he collects them) and he FINALLY found some ears he liked! Pirate Mickey, YARR!
Afterwards we were getting ready for a snack, so I declared it Dole Whip time! We headed over the Aloha Isle, and as expected the lines were pretty heavy. I went and napped us a place to sit neaby while ron went and placed our orders. We both got the floats, his with pineapple soft serve and mine with vanilla. I was so excited to dig in, I totally forgot to take pics though! DOH! Sorry!
Here's a generic pic that I googled instead...
So after enjoying our tasty treats, we decided to go make another try for Space Mountain. This time is was open, with only a 20 minute wait posted. (It was more like 10, though.) I liked the new queue area, and Ron and I both thought that the video game type screens were a neat addition. As for the ride itself, I didn't notice much difference. I loved it as much as ever though!
After Space Mountain, we checked out more of Tomorrowland. We nabbed FastPassed for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, the hpped in the always short line for Stitch's Great Escape. This is another attraction that I don't understand why there's so much Haterade being drank about. I mean, is it the most awesome thing in the Magic Kingdom? No. Is it cute and kinda funny? Yes. At least we thought so, anyhow. I am Stitch-lover though, so perhaps I'm baised...
Then we crossed over and decided to check out the Mosters Inc Laugh Floor. This was a first for me as well, so I was very curious about it. To be honest, Ron and I both had really bad initial impressions of it. We thought that the pre-show was absolutely lousy, and not funny at all. We both walked into the theatre going "This is gonna be lame."
And on one hand, we were correct. The pre-recorded portions of the show tried so hard to be slapstick funny that they just fell flat. HOWEVER. Once it got into the "live" portion with the comedians interacting with the audience, Ron and I were both doubled over laughing! The guys that perform there are HILARIOUS, so quick-witted and just awesome. We ended up enjoying it so much that Ron asked later in the week if we could go back and see another show, but unfortunately just didn't have an opportunity.
With that done, it was time for us to go get our pew-pew on at Buzz! We had alot of fun, Ron and I are both video gamers, and we were all competitive and into it. I wish I had taken a picture of out photo as we exited, because we both laughed at it... Both of our faces are SO SERIOUS. Like, we were both goin' hardcore.
In the end, though, he pretty much whooped by butt by a large margin. DOH! That's 1 for Ron!
Well, now we were getting hungry for something mroe substantial, and decided it was lunch time. One thing were both craving hard was a turkey leg, and the Lunching Pad was right there. So again, I secured us a table while Ron went and got our food and drinks!
Turkey leg toast!
I know some people find them repulsive, but I think they are freakin' delicious, and I can't wait to go back and have another!
Ron love them too, and says that he feels all primal and barbaric when he eats one, as demonstrated here:
We took a smoke break for Ron after lunch, and both realized we were feeling pretty sleepy. We blamed the turkey, not our lack of rest, of course! But I thought baout it and realized the only things weh ad left to see that we wanted was the Fantasyland attractions, and maybe meet some characters at Mickey's Toon Town Fair, all of which I knew we could do at the
MVMCP the next night. So we decided to take an unschedule break, and head back to the resort for a cat nap.
On the way out of Tomorrowland as we passed the Rose Garden, I stopped to take this photo of Ron. It came out so nice, and now I feel like a dummy for being to shy to stop a stranger and ask them to take our picture together...
However, on the way down Main Street, I did spotted an unoccupied PhotoPass photographer, who took this with my camera, and I'm so so so happy that he did. Yay!:
After our nap that ran long, I woke up in a grumpy mood. I balme the turkey again, but I pulled it together and got us moving so we could catch the bus to the Hollywood Studios! He were going to see the Osbourne Lights, another first for both of us, and Fantasmic. We got into the park and I got my
ECV, and off we went.
I couldn't remember exactly where the Osbourne display was, but it wasn't hard to figure out... You could probably see those lights from SPACE! It's really beautiful, and was glad to finally see it.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment was slightly lessened by the frustration I was experiencing as I tried to navigate my way along on my ECV. Even Ron couldn't believe how crazy it was, people everywhere... but unlike other parts of the theme parks, this was a thick crowd of people suddenly stopping directly in front of me, or walking in across in my path 3-inches from my on-coming
scooter, because nobody was even remotely aware of their surroundings due to all staring up at the lights.
Please don't misunderstand, I don't begrudge anybody enjoying the lights as they were meant to be enjoyed... But if I were I less cautious ECV user (as too many are) then I can't even count how many people, adults and children alike, I would have ran into. Those things don't stop on a dime, and it was pretty stressful and scary for me. So while we immensely enjoyed seeing the display, we didn't stay too terribly long around that area. It was just too risky.
That was okay, though! We walked along and looked, and noticed that we had some time yet before Fantasmic, and Star Tours was only showing a 5-minute wait. Ron is a recovering Star Wars nut, so I was excited to do this with him. We had fun, and he spent a good bit of time browsing the gift shop afterwards.
Then we headed over to Fantasmic, and were guided to the wheelchair seating in the Mickey section! Of all the time seeing this show, I've always managed to get stuck in either the far left of far right sections, so this center view seat was pretty exciting for me. While waiting, Ron and I chatted and recapped the day, then I went and got us a Mickey Ice Cream bar to split. Yum!
Then the show started! I started off with attempting to take photos, but they were all coming out so blurry...
Around that time, I decide to just give up, put the camera away, and enjoy the show. It's as wonderful as I remember it. My only complaint is that during the scene with the snake... He didn't slither around the stage! None of his body segment moved at all! I don't know if they were short-staffed for that showing or what, but it was kind of a bummer. Everything else was great, though.
Afterwards, we made our way out of the park and to the busses, where we caught our ride over to the Wilderness Lodge! This was my first time visiting this resort, and once again I forgot to take pictures! DOH! We had a good bit of time before our 9:45pm ADR, so we browsed the gift shop and went out to a little overlook off the main lobby and sat in the rocking chairs and talked. Then headed back in and got cozy on a comfy loveseat by the Christmas tree for a bit before I went to check us in for our ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe, and no sooner had I walked away with the pager did it start buzzing in my hand.
The two of us were seated at a large, 5-person table, which we thought was pretty funny. We selected seats next to each other, and quickly our server arrived. She was cute as a button and so sweet, she introduced herself as "Daydreamer," and plopped down in a chair to take our orders. We both got milkshakes, and the Canyon Skillet. Everything was SOOOO delicious, OMG! I was still in the land of forgetting I had a camera, until towards the end of the meal. Oopsie!
Afterwards, while waiting for Ron to come out of the bathroom, I say down in this unbelievably comfortable chair... Those of you who have frequented WL will probably know what I am talking about. These chairs have deeply slanted backs, so when you sit down in one you're lamost half-reclining. OMG, I could have fallen asleep! And when Ron met up with me, I told him "BABY! Sit down next to me, these chairs are so comfortable!"
So he did, and we relaxed a bit before heading off to catch the bus to DTD, where we transferred and caught the bus back to CSR for the night, thus closing our first full day at Disney World.
Next Time... My birthday, Epcot, and eating our way around World Showcase!
Here is a teaser...
Hope you come back soon to continue your TR
