The End of the World? Who Cares? We are at the House of Mouse!

[jusero]

Here are some pics of the shadowbox. If you look close you can see the shadow of the partner statue in the lower left corner on the sidewalk. Also, Cinderalla and her prince are standing in front of the castle and Tink is in the fireworks in the top left corner. The fireworks and castle change colors.

 

[jusero]

Any guesses on this Where in the World?

Guessed correcty by Pluto_fan: This is on the Great Movie Ride building at Hollywood Studios.

 

[haleofafamily]

Any guesses on this Where in the World?

Our guess is somewhere in Asia in Animal Kingdom - maybe near Kali Rapids.

 

[sherylcin]

Just found your trip report today and have laughed out loud several times reading it. Your bathroom elephant incident really had me snorting! Love your pics and your "Guess Where" pictures too. I've only been right on a couple so far!

 

[jusero]

Our guess is somewhere in Asia in Animal Kingdom - maybe near Kali Rapids.

Nice try, but nope. Hint: you are in the wrong park.

 

[jusero]

Just found your trip report today and have laughed out loud several times reading it. Your bathroom elephant incident really had me snorting! Love your pics and your "Guess Where" pictures too. I've only been right on a couple so far!

Welcome to my craziness. Hope you stick around.

 

[Pluto_fan]

Any guesses on this Where in the World?

Is it in DHS, at the GMR theatre?
I'm not very good at these!

Wow, that shadow box is amazing!

 

[jusero]

Is it in DHS, at the GMR theatre?
I'm not very good at these!

Wow, that shadow box is amazing!

You are better than you think! Yes, it is the theater at Hollywood Studios.

 

[appleorchard]

Love your reports! we're DVC members and don't stay at SoG except for a day here and there to fill in, but I'm staying there in March with my daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law and really looking forward to it, thanks to your reports! DH and I usually tour by ourselves so I enjoy your experiences with Leo-I can relate, believe me lol.

 

[jusero]

Love your reports! we're DVC members and don't stay at SoG except for a day here and there to fill in, but I'm staying there in March with my daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law and really looking forward to it, thanks to your reports! DH and I usually tour by ourselves so I enjoy your experiences with Leo-I can relate, believe me lol.

Welcome! Does your hubby have a 'nap spot' picked out in each park? Leo has one or two spots in each park where he can go for a nice nap each day: the American Presidents, the Carousel of Progress and the paddleboat at MK; the Nemo stage show at AK; the Drew Carry sound show at HS; and the Universe of Energy at Epcot.

 

[appleorchard]

No, but he knows all the bathrooms--and how to get there quick lol. He just leaves me wherever we are and goes back to the hotel if he wants a nap. I'm well-versed in soloing even when we start the day out together.

 

[jusero]

No, but he knows all the bathrooms--and how to get there quick lol. He just leaves me wherever we are and goes back to the hotel if he wants a nap. I'm well-versed in soloing even when we start the day out together.

I love soloing.

 

[jusero]

Where in the World?

Guessed right by Pulto_fan: it is the carpet at Philharmagic.

 

[Pluto_fan]

Hmmm...I'm going to guess the carpet at Mickey's Philharmagic?

 

[jusero]

Hmmm...I'm going to guess the carpet at Mickey's Philharmagic?

I thought you weren't very good at this!

 

[jusero]

Hi everyone! I am back from NY and Mom came out of the surgery in great shape. And the most important part ... no cancer! She is well on her road to recovery. Thanking God every day for His blessings.

While I was waiting (from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) in the surgical waiting room, I was able to write the next chapter. I will be getting the photos ready and get it posted this weekend. In the mean time, here is the next Where in the World?

 

[jusero]

Where in the World?

Correctly guessed by haleofafamily: a lantern on a Jungle Cruise boat.

 

[sherylcin]

Good news about your mom! So glad she's doing ok.

Now for my guess on the Where in the World..............is it Liberty Tree Tavern?

 

[jusero]

Good news about your mom! So glad she's doing ok.

Now for my guess on the Where in the World..............is it Liberty Tree Tavern?

Thanks. And, sorry, it is not Liberty Tree Tavern. Nice guess though.

 

[jusero]

Chapter Seven: What the heck did we do all day?

I made a mistake in the last chapter. Today is not our Universal day. Today we are splitting the day between Epcot in the morning and afternoon and Hollywood Studios in the evening for Fantasmic. I miss them not showing this every night, but I understand the need for money saving cuts.

This was, once again, a beautiful day with sunny skies, no humidity and temps in the mid to upper 80s. I am really loving this weather.

Anyway, up and out early, we hit Epcot at opening … just missing the opening ceremonies by mere minutes. We have yet to see an opening ceremony this trip and I am missing that. We will have to do better, at least at Magic Kingdom, before we leave.

Finally getting through the bag check, we headed in. Another pet peeve of mine: those people who come in with back packs, camera bags, strollers packed with stuff and large purses … and they don’t have any of them open and ready for inspection by the time they get to the tables. Come on! All the time you are standing there waiting and you can’t at least unzip the damned things before getting to the front? That ranks right up there with people at McDonalds who can’t decide what they want by the time they get to the counter and those who wait to dig their change out until they get all the way up to the toll booth.

I digress. We headed in and there was no line at all, and no one walking up to Spaceship Earth, so we ducked in for a ride. I love this ride. But this year we didn’t see our mugs on the jumbo tron. Bummer. Maybe we broke the cameras with our mugs.

After SSE, we went over to Soarin’ to ride and pick up fast passes for later. Then on over to Test Track for a quick run.

Once we got those done, we headed over to World Showcase via the Canadian side. We usually head towards Mexico, so we wanted to do the opposite this year.

We though it was pretty quiet and there was almost no one here. Come to find out, WS had not even opened yet. What? It was nearly 10 a.m.!

After standing around for a while, we decided to head on down to the little shop by the boat docks at the back gate to look around. I am still looking for that ever elusive 40th anniversary Minnie. I have looked in every shop in every park for her. No luck. She is just no where to be found … the little turd.

Nope, she wasn’t there either.

By the time we got back up to the bridge into France, it was almost rope drop. But there still wasn’t anyone around.

When the rope finally dropped, there was about a dozen people there and we leisurely headed across the bridge and into France.

As usual, we bypassed France and on into the rest of WS. I don’t mean anything nasty by ignoring France. We are just not interested in wine or perfume and that’s about all there is in France.

Making a few stops along the way, we made it to the U.S. Pavilion just as the funnel cake shop was opening. Talk about perfect timing!

I just gave the hubby that knowing look, he nodded and headed over to the nearest bench. No words needed to be spoken. An open funnel cake stand, and the fact I had not yet had my annual funnel cake, meant only one thing. I want my funnel cake!!!

Warm and covered in powdered delight (the funnel cake, not me), I made my way to the bench. With every luscious bite, I heard myself making these semi pornographic sounds. Sorry people, I just can’t help it.

Of course, I could only eat about half of it and Leo always has to finish it. At least this time I didn’t wear it. One year a gust of wind caught my plate and dumped all the sugar all over me. Of course, the grandson thought that was possibly the funniest thing he had ever seen.

Anyway, funnel cake gone and fairly free of the tell-tale sugar down the front of me, we went in to watch The American Adventure. Since it was now about mid day, Leo needed a nap. I tried to get some low light shots of the show while the hubby softly snored next to me. Of course, sometime during the show, I sneezed and scared the crap out of him, but he just went right back to sleep.

The rest of the day must have been pretty uneventful because my notes are pretty sparse from here on out. I do remember stopping in Italy to look for my friend Joanne’s birthday present, but was unsuccessful. We also made our way through Japan, China, Morocco and Germany.

We also stopped in Norway for the boat ride. I was curious about what they had done with the ride since last year it was being refurbished. We waited in line for about 30 minutes but, just as we got to the front of the line, the ride shut down. We waited for a bit, but with the hubby’s PPM issues, we chose not to take the chance. Can you imagine Leo being stuck on a boat in the middle of this ride and his PPM kicks in? No need to see him jump out of the boat and back stroke his way to the nearest exit.

So, we cut out of line and headed out. As we were leaving, I noticed a small group forming with Norwegian flags and my new Norwegian friend from Animal Kingdom. I guess they were getting ready for that celebration he was telling me about.

Anyway, I waved at him and moved on towards Mexico where we did the usual boat ride and shopping. I have always wanted to buy one of those carved and painted animals they sell at the entrance. But boy are they expensive! Yes, they are worth it, but I just can’t afford it.

Other than probably hitting a few more rides on our way out, that was pretty much it for Epcot today. I don’t quite remember. And no, no potty predicaments today. Oh yah, we did see this guy on a fishing boat in the Epcot lake catching fish. We are not quite sure what he was doing, but we figured he was doing some kind of tracking or checking the fish and marveled at the fact that someone was actually being paid to fish in the Epcot lake.

By this time it was still a while before the 9 p.m. Fantasmic show so we sat for a few minutes trying to decide: back to the room to relax, or catch the boat straight to HS? We opted for the latter and headed back around to WS via Canada to catch the boat. Before we knew it, we were on the slow boat to HS.

I am also not sure what the heck we did at HS until it was show time, but I am sure it was fun. I think we ended up doing the stunt shows, but I will have to look through my photos to see. I’ll be right back.

Nope, just the stunt shows and Fantasmic.

About an hour before Fantasmic, we headed over to the theater. We like to get there early enough to grab dinner and a good seat. The seats we ended up with were perfect. Right in the middle, about half way up and on the aisle. While Leo held our seats, I fought my way against the flow of people to the snack shack and picked up a couple dogs, fries and soda. Oh yah, and a box of popcorn. Gotta have my pah-korn, as the grands say.

After eating, we still had a little while to wait and I had to suffer through the inevitable wave. I say “I” suffered through it because Leo loves the wave and always enthusiastically participates. I just sit, roll my eyes and wait for it to die out. To each their own.

As I was waiting for the silliness to end (like I have never acted silly), I was admiring the great view I had to grab some really great shots of the show. Then it happened. The tallest, widest and sweatiest man in the park … possibly all the parks … parked his mega booty right in front of me. Really? Well, at least he missed the wave action.

Leo looked at me and just started to snicker. Then I began to snicker. Then he laughed. Then I laughed. It was quite the giggle fest. We were not laughing at the gentleman … I definitely have no room to laugh at anyone. We were laughing at the fact that, even with half the 5000+ seat stadium empty, he picked right smack in front of me.

Leo and I switched seats so I was on the aisle and could set up my tripod near the end with no heads in the way.

The show was fantastic, as usual.

After the show, I wanted to take some night shots of Big Blue. But, alas, that damned stage is in the way. If anyone has been recently, is Big Ugly still sitting in front of Big Blue?

On our way out, we decided to take the Poly bus back instead of waiting for the Shades bus. Walking to the bus stop, we passed the stop for the value resorts and good googa mooga! Another reason I won’t be staying in one. That line was staggering.

The walk through the Poly grounds and on up the hill to Shades at night is always so peaceful and relaxing to me. It’s hard to explain the feelings, but I will try.

It’s the moist, cool air, the glistening walkways wet from the recent sprinklers and the quiet tapping sounds of the bamboo as the breeze moves them against each other. It’s the unique tropical smell that seems so Disney, the soft sounds of the night bugs and frogs and the glow of the lights along the walkway. It’s the feeling of total and utter exhaustion blended with the total and utter happiness and that faint tickle at the back of your heart from another day at the World. Makes you smile just thinking about it.

Off to bed and up tomorrow for Universal. Yes, really, this time.

Various shots from throughout the day:

Can you believe people actually wear heels at Disney World?