The End of the World? Who Cares? We are at the House of Mouse!
- Thread starter jusero
- Start date
:Chapter Two: We’re Home!
I was up first and got ready. I woke Leo on my way out to get our “free” breakfast so he could get ready while I was gone. Of course, those “free” breakfasts aren’t much to write home about, but it’s free. Anyway, we were out of the hotel and on the road by 8 a.m.
The next four hours were pretty uneventful but the excitement was building with every passing mile. And even more so once we started seeing the mileage signs for the World.
It was about noon when we passed under the “welcome to the World” sign. It’s a good thing Leo was driving because I nearly jumped out of the moving car. And, of course, I had to take the picture. Don’t know why I feel I have to take this photo each and every year, but I do.
One of these years I would like to go to the World and leave the big camera at home. You know, just enjoy the trip without lugging the Pentax, lenses and various accessories around all the time. But, as Leo says, “Yah, right. That’ll happen.”
Anyway, we made it to Shades of Green and parked in the garage. They really need to make the parking spaces bigger than for Matchbox Cars and pregnant roller skates. It’s hard to park even an eco car in these spaces and have room to get out, let alone an SUV … and we don’t even have one of the big ones.
After greasing myself up and squeezing out of the car like a lupini bean, I went to the front desk to see if our room was ready. I knew it probably wasn’t since it was so early, but … can’t hurt to ask.
Happy news! It is ready. Although we didn’t get our fave room (2102), we did get one not too far down the hall and just around the corner (2144). Not too shabby and not too far from the lobby or garage and overlooks the golf course. Nice and quiet.
We unloaded the car and then headed to the ticket counter. Yay! There was only one person in line. Well, we got to the counter within minutes and ordered our tickets. “Military ID and credit card please.” Oops, I left my ID in the room. Double oops, Leo’s is in the room too. Shoot. Back to the room.
Back at the counter within just five minutes or so and, you guessed it … there must have been a sudden rush to the ticket counter because there was now a long line. Shoot, shoot, shoot! And booooooooo…
Finally, after what seemed like hours (but more like 20-30 minutes), we had our tickets in hand (including a free one to Gatorland). Making our way back to the room, I start skipping down the hall, across the lobby and down the other hall to our room. Well, actually, it was more like the Wizard of Oz skip. All while the hubby hangs his head in embarrassment. But as soon as we are around the corner and out of sight of others, he joined in my skipping.
Back to the room and a quick change out of our traveling clothes, and we are on our way to Magic Kingdom! Since our feet are still fresh and we are so giddy with excitement, we decided to walk down the road to the Poly to catch the monorail to the park.
As we left Shades, I noticed this really mean, but cool, looking grasshopper in the bushes along the sidewalk. When I stopped to take its picture with my macro lens, I noticed there was more than one. More like dozens, if not a hundred or more, all over the bushes. They were so big and mean looking, it was kind of creepy. Bugs don’t usually creep me out (except spiders … eeeewwww), but these guys were about as big as my thumb. I was just waiting for one of them to jump off the bush and onto my lens since I was just a couple inches from them. That would have had an interesting result!
Once we crossed the street and were meandering through the Poly’s grounds, the sights, sounds and smells hit home. We are really at the World!!! Then, the “please step away from the doors” and the slightly stinky aromas of the monorail put me over the top. Ever see a slightly overweight, half-a-centurion lunatic doing the running man dance on the monorail? If so … that was me!
It was about 3 p.m. by the time we pulled into the Magic Kingdom station and found it to be VERY hot and crowded. It almost felt like July or August to me. It’s amazing how much a difference two weeks makes. We usually come the first week of May and the weather is warm, but not hot, and the crowds are pretty manageable. I never saw so many people in the parks before. I was really worried about the rest of our trip because I don’t handle crowds well. I get a bit on the cranky side.
But, this is the World!
Of course, our normal routine is to head directly to Pirates and then skip on over to the Haunted Mansion. So, this is exactly what we did. I was pleasantly surprised to see no lines to speak of at either ride.
We were on and off Pirates in no time at all and, since the line was still at five minutes, we decided to jump back on for a second ride. The line was still at five minutes when we got off the second ride and, since Leo needed a potty break and wanted to watch the pirates show, I went back on for a third run. Have I ever told you I love the Pirates ride?
As I was running from the exit and headed back to the entrance … again … Leo tackled me and hauled me off towards the Mansion. Oh, alright, if we must.
It was another happy surprise that the Mansion line was just 20 minutes. Where is everyone? Oh yah … who cares?
Yet another pleasant surprise was finding something new. Well, it wasn’t really a surprise, but pleasant nonetheless. We found the ‘new Q.’ And, since there were so few people in line, we had time to really play around with everything. Leo and I really liked the touch walls, or whatever they are called. I especially liked the cat on the second wall. I know I must have been annoying the heck out of those around me by making that cat scream so many times.
What really was a surprise were the updates they made inside the ride. I knew about the new Q (sorry, using Q is easier than trying to spell it out), but I didn’t know about what they did with the hitchhiking ghosts. Too cool! Ours didn’t just sit between us like usual, but he grabbed the tops of our heads, turned them green and then popped them like balloons!
I tried so many times to get a good pic of these ghosts, but none of them really came out. But, this is the best I could come up with.
With our fave two rides out of the way … for now … we headed into Fantasyland and meandered around a bit. The crowds are definitely heavier here, but still not as bad as I thought they would be considering the crowds along Main Street when we got here.
Since there was just five minutes until the next Philharmagic show, we popped in there. It was only about half full when we got there. I still think it’s amusing to watch how some people push and shove their way to the front to be as close to the doors as they can get. Then, when they get inside, they get surprised and annoyed when they have to “move all the way to the right” and can’t sit right in the middle and make everyone step over them. I just smile and think, “Ha! That’s what you get for being so pushy and thinking your rights are above the rest of us.”
Of course, my ‘negative thoughts’ came back to bite me. As I sat down right in the middle of the theater, still being a bit smug, I found a very tall man with mouse ears on his head sitting in front of me and a very smelly guy to my right. And I do mean smelly! Oh, my goodness. I couldn’t wait for the part of the show where they spray the pie smell in your face. Since I really couldn’t see much and the smell was about to make me hurl, needless to say, I didn’t enjoy the show very much. I guess that’s what I get.
After the show, we crisscrossed the park like a couple amateurs looking for squished penny machines. Did you know there are actually websites that track and list each and every squished penny throughout the parks? Since this is one of Leo’s Disney hobbies/collections, he printed out the list to take with him. Now, this list is like six pages long (front and back) with the exact location of each machine and which designs are in each machine. It was like a scavenger hunt.
While bouncing around the park, we managed to hit just about all of our fave rides with little to no waits. It’s amazing that, even with heavier crowds, the lines aren’t too bad.
Magic Kingdom was open for evening EMH today and we had planned on watching the fireworks and closing the park down. That was the plan, anyway. But our old asses were just too pooped by 8 p.m. But we were determined to at least make it to the fireworks. After all, it is our tradition to watch Wishes our very first night and our very last night.
We opted to grab some dinner at Pecos Bill’s. Since neither of us was all that hungry, we got the kid’s meals. And they were the perfect amount of food for the occasion. Plus, the place was pretty empty at this hour since everyone was watching the parade.
By the time we were done with dinner, the parade was done and there was about 30 minutes left before Wishes. I wanted to see about getting pics of the fireworks from a different perspective, so I found a spot on the bridge in Fronteirland where I could see the castle. Well, part of the castle anyway.
While I grabbed a spot and set up the camera and tripod, Leo went to wander around a bit. When the fireworks began, I found that I could get some near the castle, but most were off farther to the left and not anywhere near the castle. Not a great location, but I got a few decent shots.
Oh and, by the way, I want to apologize up front. I have been studying low light and night photography, so this trip was my experimentation with it. Thus, I have lots and lots of low light and night photographs … some that came out pretty well while others, not so much. But I hope you don’t get too bored with them.
Anyway, back to the night. While I was shooting from the bridge, Leo had been trying to call me (about 15 missed calls in all) to tell me about a better spot. By the time I noticed the calls, Wishes was done. But I called, found out where he was and went to check out the spot.
He was right. It was a great spot where I could get the fireworks, the paddle boat and dock and the reflections in the water all in one shot. You can’t see the castle from here, but I thought it would make a great shot. I will have to come back another night to try the shot.
With Wishes done and the crowds dissipating, we made our way towards the front gate. We also decided to take the monorail to the TTC and catch the Shades bus instead of walking from the Poly.
We could not possibly be burned out after just about six hours in the park? Time will tell.
As we grabbed out seats on the monorail, we plopped down … right in a puddle of, something. We were hoping it was just spilled water.
Back in our room by 10 p.m., I used the extra time to unpack and get our belongings organized. And what did my helpful hubby do? Plopped across one of the beds with the remote and flipped around the TV until he found some sport or another. But that’s OK. Sometimes his helping causes more work for me.
You know, it was really kinda nice being in a bit early and having the chance to just chill. After the unpacking and organizing, I went out on the patio and just relaxed listening to the froggies singing.
A fine ending to a fabulous day! Tomorrow: Epcot.
Various shots from throughout the day:
I was up first and got ready. I woke Leo on my way out to get our “free” breakfast so he could get ready while I was gone. Of course, those “free” breakfasts aren’t much to write home about, but it’s free. Anyway, we were out of the hotel and on the road by 8 a.m.
The next four hours were pretty uneventful but the excitement was building with every passing mile. And even more so once we started seeing the mileage signs for the World.
It was about noon when we passed under the “welcome to the World” sign. It’s a good thing Leo was driving because I nearly jumped out of the moving car. And, of course, I had to take the picture. Don’t know why I feel I have to take this photo each and every year, but I do.
One of these years I would like to go to the World and leave the big camera at home. You know, just enjoy the trip without lugging the Pentax, lenses and various accessories around all the time. But, as Leo says, “Yah, right. That’ll happen.”
Anyway, we made it to Shades of Green and parked in the garage. They really need to make the parking spaces bigger than for Matchbox Cars and pregnant roller skates. It’s hard to park even an eco car in these spaces and have room to get out, let alone an SUV … and we don’t even have one of the big ones.
After greasing myself up and squeezing out of the car like a lupini bean, I went to the front desk to see if our room was ready. I knew it probably wasn’t since it was so early, but … can’t hurt to ask.
Happy news! It is ready. Although we didn’t get our fave room (2102), we did get one not too far down the hall and just around the corner (2144). Not too shabby and not too far from the lobby or garage and overlooks the golf course. Nice and quiet.
We unloaded the car and then headed to the ticket counter. Yay! There was only one person in line. Well, we got to the counter within minutes and ordered our tickets. “Military ID and credit card please.” Oops, I left my ID in the room. Double oops, Leo’s is in the room too. Shoot. Back to the room.
Back at the counter within just five minutes or so and, you guessed it … there must have been a sudden rush to the ticket counter because there was now a long line. Shoot, shoot, shoot! And booooooooo…
Finally, after what seemed like hours (but more like 20-30 minutes), we had our tickets in hand (including a free one to Gatorland). Making our way back to the room, I start skipping down the hall, across the lobby and down the other hall to our room. Well, actually, it was more like the Wizard of Oz skip. All while the hubby hangs his head in embarrassment. But as soon as we are around the corner and out of sight of others, he joined in my skipping.
Back to the room and a quick change out of our traveling clothes, and we are on our way to Magic Kingdom! Since our feet are still fresh and we are so giddy with excitement, we decided to walk down the road to the Poly to catch the monorail to the park.
As we left Shades, I noticed this really mean, but cool, looking grasshopper in the bushes along the sidewalk. When I stopped to take its picture with my macro lens, I noticed there was more than one. More like dozens, if not a hundred or more, all over the bushes. They were so big and mean looking, it was kind of creepy. Bugs don’t usually creep me out (except spiders … eeeewwww), but these guys were about as big as my thumb. I was just waiting for one of them to jump off the bush and onto my lens since I was just a couple inches from them. That would have had an interesting result!
Once we crossed the street and were meandering through the Poly’s grounds, the sights, sounds and smells hit home. We are really at the World!!! Then, the “please step away from the doors” and the slightly stinky aromas of the monorail put me over the top. Ever see a slightly overweight, half-a-centurion lunatic doing the running man dance on the monorail? If so … that was me!
It was about 3 p.m. by the time we pulled into the Magic Kingdom station and found it to be VERY hot and crowded. It almost felt like July or August to me. It’s amazing how much a difference two weeks makes. We usually come the first week of May and the weather is warm, but not hot, and the crowds are pretty manageable. I never saw so many people in the parks before. I was really worried about the rest of our trip because I don’t handle crowds well. I get a bit on the cranky side.
But, this is the World!
Of course, our normal routine is to head directly to Pirates and then skip on over to the Haunted Mansion. So, this is exactly what we did. I was pleasantly surprised to see no lines to speak of at either ride.
We were on and off Pirates in no time at all and, since the line was still at five minutes, we decided to jump back on for a second ride. The line was still at five minutes when we got off the second ride and, since Leo needed a potty break and wanted to watch the pirates show, I went back on for a third run. Have I ever told you I love the Pirates ride?
As I was running from the exit and headed back to the entrance … again … Leo tackled me and hauled me off towards the Mansion. Oh, alright, if we must.
It was another happy surprise that the Mansion line was just 20 minutes. Where is everyone? Oh yah … who cares?
Yet another pleasant surprise was finding something new. Well, it wasn’t really a surprise, but pleasant nonetheless. We found the ‘new Q.’ And, since there were so few people in line, we had time to really play around with everything. Leo and I really liked the touch walls, or whatever they are called. I especially liked the cat on the second wall. I know I must have been annoying the heck out of those around me by making that cat scream so many times.
What really was a surprise were the updates they made inside the ride. I knew about the new Q (sorry, using Q is easier than trying to spell it out), but I didn’t know about what they did with the hitchhiking ghosts. Too cool! Ours didn’t just sit between us like usual, but he grabbed the tops of our heads, turned them green and then popped them like balloons!
I tried so many times to get a good pic of these ghosts, but none of them really came out. But, this is the best I could come up with.
With our fave two rides out of the way … for now … we headed into Fantasyland and meandered around a bit. The crowds are definitely heavier here, but still not as bad as I thought they would be considering the crowds along Main Street when we got here.
Since there was just five minutes until the next Philharmagic show, we popped in there. It was only about half full when we got there. I still think it’s amusing to watch how some people push and shove their way to the front to be as close to the doors as they can get. Then, when they get inside, they get surprised and annoyed when they have to “move all the way to the right” and can’t sit right in the middle and make everyone step over them. I just smile and think, “Ha! That’s what you get for being so pushy and thinking your rights are above the rest of us.”
Of course, my ‘negative thoughts’ came back to bite me. As I sat down right in the middle of the theater, still being a bit smug, I found a very tall man with mouse ears on his head sitting in front of me and a very smelly guy to my right. And I do mean smelly! Oh, my goodness. I couldn’t wait for the part of the show where they spray the pie smell in your face. Since I really couldn’t see much and the smell was about to make me hurl, needless to say, I didn’t enjoy the show very much. I guess that’s what I get.
After the show, we crisscrossed the park like a couple amateurs looking for squished penny machines. Did you know there are actually websites that track and list each and every squished penny throughout the parks? Since this is one of Leo’s Disney hobbies/collections, he printed out the list to take with him. Now, this list is like six pages long (front and back) with the exact location of each machine and which designs are in each machine. It was like a scavenger hunt.
While bouncing around the park, we managed to hit just about all of our fave rides with little to no waits. It’s amazing that, even with heavier crowds, the lines aren’t too bad.
Magic Kingdom was open for evening EMH today and we had planned on watching the fireworks and closing the park down. That was the plan, anyway. But our old asses were just too pooped by 8 p.m. But we were determined to at least make it to the fireworks. After all, it is our tradition to watch Wishes our very first night and our very last night.
We opted to grab some dinner at Pecos Bill’s. Since neither of us was all that hungry, we got the kid’s meals. And they were the perfect amount of food for the occasion. Plus, the place was pretty empty at this hour since everyone was watching the parade.
By the time we were done with dinner, the parade was done and there was about 30 minutes left before Wishes. I wanted to see about getting pics of the fireworks from a different perspective, so I found a spot on the bridge in Fronteirland where I could see the castle. Well, part of the castle anyway.
While I grabbed a spot and set up the camera and tripod, Leo went to wander around a bit. When the fireworks began, I found that I could get some near the castle, but most were off farther to the left and not anywhere near the castle. Not a great location, but I got a few decent shots.
Oh and, by the way, I want to apologize up front. I have been studying low light and night photography, so this trip was my experimentation with it. Thus, I have lots and lots of low light and night photographs … some that came out pretty well while others, not so much. But I hope you don’t get too bored with them.
Anyway, back to the night. While I was shooting from the bridge, Leo had been trying to call me (about 15 missed calls in all) to tell me about a better spot. By the time I noticed the calls, Wishes was done. But I called, found out where he was and went to check out the spot.
He was right. It was a great spot where I could get the fireworks, the paddle boat and dock and the reflections in the water all in one shot. You can’t see the castle from here, but I thought it would make a great shot. I will have to come back another night to try the shot.
With Wishes done and the crowds dissipating, we made our way towards the front gate. We also decided to take the monorail to the TTC and catch the Shades bus instead of walking from the Poly.
We could not possibly be burned out after just about six hours in the park? Time will tell.
As we grabbed out seats on the monorail, we plopped down … right in a puddle of, something. We were hoping it was just spilled water.
Back in our room by 10 p.m., I used the extra time to unpack and get our belongings organized. And what did my helpful hubby do? Plopped across one of the beds with the remote and flipped around the TV until he found some sport or another. But that’s OK. Sometimes his helping causes more work for me.
You know, it was really kinda nice being in a bit early and having the chance to just chill. After the unpacking and organizing, I went out on the patio and just relaxed listening to the froggies singing.
A fine ending to a fabulous day! Tomorrow: Epcot.
Various shots from throughout the day:
BetsyRNBSN
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2009
- Messages
- 230
Great TR so far, love reading and looking at the beautiful pictures!
\
Getting excited for my trip at the beginning of September!
Keep up the awesome report!
\Getting excited for my trip at the beginning of September!
Keep up the awesome report!
haleofafamily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2006
- Messages
- 1,141
I love your update and your pictures are amazing! I especially love the last one of the castle.
Merci
Merci
DMGeurts
Never open texts with the "Hand Sewn Button" attac
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2008
- Messages
- 9,666
Followed you over from the SoG thread! 
Great TR so far... I've followed a few of yours before.
Great pics - you really did get some awesome ones... Can't wait to read the rest of your TR.
Oh and is the photo in the Poly?
D~
Great TR so far... I've followed a few of yours before.
Great pics - you really did get some awesome ones... Can't wait to read the rest of your TR.
Oh and is the photo in the Poly?
D~
Great TR so far, love reading and looking at the beautiful pictures!
Getting excited for my trip at the beginning of September!
Keep up the awesome report!
Thanks Betsy. I am excited for you for you upcoming trip. I know you will have a blast!
Thanks. I was having fun shooting at night. And DH was being sooooo patient with my experimenting.
Followed you over from the SoG thread!
Great TR so far... I've followed a few of yours before.
Great pics - you really did get some awesome ones... Can't wait to read the rest of your TR.
Oh and is the photo in the Poly?
D~
Thanks D and welcome back!
And the Where in the World? pic is not at the Poly. : o )
haleofafamily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2006
- Messages
- 1,141
I have my kids involved in your 'where in the world' pics.
One son thinks it's on the Jungle Cruise ride.
One son thinks it's on the Mexico boat ride.
I think it's on Malestrom.
The rest have no idea, but they love looking at your pictures!
One son thinks it's on the Jungle Cruise ride.
One son thinks it's on the Mexico boat ride.
I think it's on Malestrom.
The rest have no idea, but they love looking at your pictures!
!So glad everyone is having fun. I am having a blast with it too. And you guys are good! BUT! Only one of you is good enough to be right.
It is ... the boat ride in Mexico! Look closely at the right side of this pic.
rcsilverspring
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2008
- Messages
- 426
BTW Jane, where in HM was that pic I guessed the right location?
Oh yah! It is looking up in the hallway on your way out of the ride.
rcsilverspring
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2008
- Messages
- 426
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, THAT'S why I wasn't sure where it was on the ride. I'm usually trying to recover from the many ups & downs of the elevator car!
rcsilverspring
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2008
- Messages
- 426
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Where in the World?
Too easy. It's the mermaid statue used in Splash that is located in DHS! ;-))
I'll have to be tougher with the next one.
rcsilverspring
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2008
- Messages
- 426
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Where in the World?
Well, you stumped me this time. I have NO idea!!!
That's what I get for being a smart-a**!
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,327
I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out the answer to your last "Where in the World" picture.
haleofafamily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2006
- Messages
- 1,141
Latest pic guess: we think it's a boat somewhere in Epcot so we are guessing it's one of boats that go across the lagoon. Are they called friendship boats?
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