the Legend
Master of Attractions and TourGuide Hopeful!
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2001
- Messages
- 347
The Legend returns: Day 4 - Paying the Price!Summary for Monday 23 September.
- Morning - Rest-in, Pack and have Breakfast @ Ohana.
- Visit Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay
- Evening - Our number goal for today: 9pm kick-off Buccaneers vs. Rams @ Raymond James Stadium
Miguels Final Test!After getting in late last night, we decided to sleep in. The Buccaneers/Rams game was our main goal for today with a stop-over at Busch Gardens to pass the time. I knew it was going to be a long night so I didnt mind wasting the morning away. Well as fate would have it, we were up and ready to go at 8:30am. Why? I have no idea! But since we were up, we may as well get some Breakfast.
On the way to the Concierge offering, it hit me, lets go to another Resort! That's right with an excellent Concierge Breakfast being served; I wanted to try somewhere else! This was not a reflection on the quality of the Concierge offerings, which were always great, but a need of mine to see as much as we could while we were up this end of WDW. Tonight would be our last night at the Wilderness Lodge. Tomorrow, we would be transferring to the Animal Kingdom Lodge so it made sense to visit another Magic Kingdom resort while we were here. Time to see Miguel! I had been fortunate enough to have Miguel as the Morning Concierge during our stay. If you have been following our TR, you will know that he has completed all I have set him without failure. I told him my idea and he suggested Ohana. 
It was a character breakfast at the Polynesian and it was only a 10 minute drive from the Wilderness Lodge. Perfect! With a few taps on the computer, a PS was made. Thanks again Miguel! 
O'hunger means 'no Food gets left behind or forgotten'!It was crazy busy at Ohana. We checked in and were given a black brick. Oh, its a Pager? With time to kill, we went outside and had a look around. We found Aotearoa, the longhouse representing New Zealand
and took some shots for prosperity. We were in one of the many gift shops when the big black brick started flashing. Time for Breakfast! The entrance way to Ohana is a long alleyway ending in an archway. Our host greeted us at the start of the alley and never turning her back to us (very important) began to call us down with words of welcome. This is very much like a traditional Polynesian welcoming ceremony. The significance was missed by almost all who were greeted that morning and the hosts were not pressing the cultural meaning of the ceremony but we were impressed even if the whole thing was all of a minute. It is tradition to reply or present gifts once the threshold is crossed. Lance pulled his whalebone fish hook necklace out from under his shirt and gave her wink as if to say we understood and thank you.
Our host was great and we were seated in a very empty area with a great view across Seven Seas Lagoon! Breakfast was served in skillets and features eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast served with your choice of coffee and juice. The Food was great, good enough for us to get another two skillets!
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale in traditional Polynesian gear made there way around the tables as normal. Although they were fun as always, we were focused on the food as well as the long day ahead, so we didn't mind not getting any love this time round. Left Ohana a little after 10am, very full and satisfied ($45 including tip) and definitely put that PS on the list of things to do next year. Couldnt leave the Poly without getting proof we were there, so I ended up buying a black Poly Polo shirt ($48) and some Poly Pins ($15). Lance bought a Stitch that you could talk to, to scare the kids back home with ($39.95)!
Put a Fork in me. I'm done!Returned to the Wilderness Lodge to get ready for Tampa. Once we leave, we wouldnt be back until early Tuesday morning so we needed to make sure we were covered. Since they wont accept room charging down there, I decided to get some travellers cheques from the safe. Putting the cheques in my wallet, I realised I had no cash on me so I left to break a cheque at Guest Services. Reminded Lance to bring some too if he wanted to eat, buy souvenirs etc and lock them up when he was done. Well I broke a $100 cheque so I could continue my exuberant tipping habits and proceeded to get the car from valet. Lance joined me soon after that and we were on our way! The Drive from the Wilderness Lodge to Busch Gardens seemed a lot longer than I remembered. I was getting tired just driving there. Seems the effect of last nights late night and that great breakfast were starting to catch up with me.
As Tampa drew nearer, I was looking for the sign that said Busch Gardens, connecting the I-4 to 75 North, the route I had always followed in the past. Well, it looks like they've reconfigured the way to the Park since we ended up going all over the place and arriving a little after 12! 
At the gate, I paid for our tickets using my Amex. 'I'm sorry sir you're cards been declined. Theres a message to call them! Refer to Issuer! Aargh! Lucky Im Polynesian; embarrassment is a lot less visible through brown skin! 
You know I couldve cried right there and then. But I thought, Phew! Lucky I bought those travellers cheques for just such an emergency. I opened up the little Amex wallet to get the cheques out, something was missing and then it hit me, in my haste to make change, I had left our football tickets behind! 
After getting smacked upside my head by Lance, we paid the lady ($106.89 2 x daily admission) and decided to make the most of our day at Busch Gardens. Right from the start, I will admit that I have always liked visiting Busch Gardens. They have 3 of my favourite coasters in the World (Montu, Kumba and the dual track Woodie, Gwazi).
But with the thought of having to make the trip to the Wilderness Lodge and back weighing heavy on my mind, I entered a state of depression that not even four walk-on Montu rides could cure. Many of the minor attractions were closed but the ones of significance (The Railway and the Sky tram) meant that walking was the only way to get around the park. We were making our way to Rhino Rally when the midday sun starting beating down hard. Now I've never been one to breakdown under the sun as I usually take all precautions but today, I had forgotten all the rules. I was skipping water stops and basically driving myself into the ground. By the time, we reached Das Festhaus for lunch; I was exhausted and ready to call it a day! Well, we took some time out of the sun and found refuge in the Arcade. I thought I was safe but it seemed not one, but two Dance Dance Revolution games had followed us in as well. So we spent a good part of 30 minutes playing DDR at Busch Gardens in the midday sun, which was a great wake-me-up but just added to the exhaustion (Silly me!). We went to the back of the Park for Kumba. Had three rides on that while talking to some funny English lads over for some R&R (Raging and Roller coasters!). From there we went to Gwazi, skipping all the water rides. Although the temptation to go on a water ride was there, the lines were horrendous (explaining why the coasters were walk-ons) and I didnt want to waste any more time than we had to, so we skipped them all. Gwazi was great but they were only running one side, which was sad, but at least it was running (It was in rehab during last years trip!). After that, around 3:30pm, it was time to go. Now I will be the first to admit that todays venture into Busch was not worth the price of admission but this was not entirely the Parks fault. My self-imposed depression over leaving the tickets behind and my own failure to maintain water levels all played there part as did our late night last night. We were fortunate to have such a good breakfast today as I could imagine things wouldve been worse without it.
However, I felt Busch has some responsibility to, by not having any in-Park transportation going, I could imagine more people than me would be effected by the heat. Got in the car and started the trek back to WDW. Wouldn't you know it, no sooner had we hit the 75 south, the Heavens opened and a torrential downpour began. Seems all the Cyclones and Hurricanes we had been hearing about in the news had finally caught up to us! The real Tampa Bay Cheerleader!We made the round trip from Busch Gardens to the Wilderness Lodge and back to Raymond James Stadium in about 3 and a half hours, taking enough time to reload (with cheques, clothes, food and drink) and this time we came prepared, ponchos, water bottles (filled at Concierge), sunhats etc. Now you must remember this is our first NFL game together. I've been to the Pro BoWilderness Lodge and Lance, having spent two years in England, was familiar with the hardcore soccer scene over there, but nothing prepared us for what we would see coming off the I-4. There was a sea of Red and White as far as the eye could see. Tailgate parties were in full swing on all roads leading to the stadium. It was absolutely hectic and the fans were in high sprits the whole time.
We entered the stadium without any hitches. My gamble on E-bay to get our tickets had paid off (Cheers to CoolJams99, my Seller!). Totally overwhelmed by the place, we grabbed some food and took our seats. Front row, 40 yard line, top tier. Perfect seats! We were joined by a lovely lady and her father. She was a Buccaneers fan to the bone and after some small talk; I found it was her dads first time too! Both of us were instructed to cheer for this and that and boo here and there.
The Rams, in blue, were entering the Stadium for warm-ups. The noise of the booing and jeering was deafening, especially when Marshall Faulk took the field. Seems he's not too popular around these parts After the National Anthem, the Teams were introduced. Dad and I were blindly clapping for guys we didnt know but hey, we didnt want to disappoint our Cheer Captain. Oh, we're not supposed to clap for the Blue guys? Blue guys with spleen coming out are OK but other than that no cheering blue guys. Got it! Now I got to admit, its times like this you see the cultural differences between the US and everywhere else. In New Zealand and Australia, Spectators approach Sports like an Opera, we watch, clap when we're suppose to and then go back to watching. In England, they sing songs and abuse everything with words that would make Howard Stern blush, but in the US, I have a complete stranger teaching me cheer etiquette, some other guys wanting to slap hands with Lance. And there were grown men walking around with bead necklaces on, Go figure! Everyone was having a great time and then somewhere in the first quarter; our Cheer Captain and her Dad were asked to move.
Seemed they had gotten the seat numbers wrong and they had to move. Mega-bummer! I was just getting into it (Start self-imposed depression now!) They were replaced by two loud and loaded guys who knew every stat since Steve DeBerg played here in the 80's. They were young lads, mid-20's I'd say, who often used their 3/4 filled beer cups as pointers, so I learnt very quickly to dodge the random splashes. These guys reminded me of my Boys back home and were fun to talk to even if they were half cut. As the game progressed, I was taking quick naps and wasn't really following what was going on. First Quarter came and went as did the Second. Napping at half time, I got a tap on the shoulder, it was our Cheer Captain! She was not impressed that I wasn't cheering! Dad was grinning so he obviously sold me out! I told her about our day today; Busch Gardens, forgetting the tickets, late night last night etc. so it all made sense to her but she said that was history now and I had no excuse to be depressed anymore. I'd better be cheering second half or there maybe consequences. Red and White guys, right? Yeah. Just testing! . The Tampa Cheerleaders came out and did a great tribute to Broadway shows. Despite all that, them Girls couldn't hold a candle to the *real* Tampa Cheerleader we had up here! Lance and I went to restock for the second half where we ran into another part of American Sports culture you dont read about in books. I'll sum it up in two words
Bathroom Queues Enough said. With food and drink in hand, we returned to our seats with a new fervour for the game. The Buccaneers Defence turned it up and by the end of the third; we knew most of the chants and were joining in wholeheartedly. We got to see Marshall Faulk leave the field, Warren Sapp make countless sacks (He can move for big Boy!) and Keyshawn Johnson even caught a few passes to the delight of the Red and White. Entering the Fourth Quarter, the Buccaneers had it sewn up so Lance and I decided to hit the road before the game let out. We left with about 8 minutes on the clock and in my haste, I never said farewell to our Cheer Captain and her Dad or get to thank them for our wonderful introduction to NFL Football and in part, Southern hospitality. As you can tell, its one of those things I still regret about our trip, so voicing it here goes some ways to paying them back! Thank you! The trip back to the Wilderness Lodge was very easy as I drive better at night than during the day (All those years in front of monitors has given me a low tolerance for bright light) and we were in bed around 2am. Tonight was our last night at the Wilderness Lodge and the game was a wonderful way of spending it. Tomorrow, we move to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for fun and adventure African-style but for now, we settled down for some much needed sleep.
The Legend ratings for Monday 23 September.
Our Tampa Cheer Captain! The whole Football Experience.
Our Ohana Character Breakfast. Learning some tough lessons in organising ourselves. Continuing credit card problems, Going to Busch Gardens and not enjoyng myself. Forgetting our Game tickets and making too many trips between the Wilderness Lodge and Tampa.Well its their last night at the Wilderness Lodge and tomorrow they make the move to the other side of the World? Read what happens in our next instalment 'The Legend returns: Day 5 - Welcome to the Animal Kingdom Lodge!'
