The NASTEE (Nate And Spencer Trip ExtraordinairE) Trip Report--Day 7 (Part 2): The PassPorter Gathering And "I Can't Believe I Forgot The Mister Fan!"
Cast:
Nate ("Aerobics"): 24, 4th trip to WDW, 1st trip in 12 years, 1st time staying on property
Spencer (Anti-aerobic): 29, 8th trip to WDW, hasn't stayed on property since 1992
Dates:
September 16-23, 2000
Lodging:
Wilderness Lodge--September 16-21, 2000
All Star Music--September 22, 2000
Well, what can I say? I'm feeling awful for not having posted the rest of the NASTEE sooner. I'm still in an extended period of introspection, and for awhile, I just truly wasn't able to get into the right "mood" to write, and I didn't want the reports to totally suck. So, I hope it's been worth the wait--again, I'm sorry for the delay. But, a big thank you to EVERYBODY who has helped me through these past couple months--they've been rough! Ok, now onto the *GOOD* stuff!!
At the conclusion of the previous installment of the NASTEE, we had just emerged from the eternally nocturnal confines of the Mexican pyramid. As we spent the next few minutes blinking alot and adjusting to the bright Floridian sun, we awkwardly stumbled toward Millennium Village.
Now, I do need to say that, after reading a few bad reviews of this exhibit, we weren't expecting to be "wow"ed--we couldn't have been more wrong. By the time we had gotten to the Swedish "eggs", we were kicking ourselves for not having budgeted more time for this pavilion. There were so many cool things to do, including playing miniature golf in Scotland, trying our hands (feet?
) at soccer in Brasil, and getting to speak with CMs from all over the world. In retrospect, I think the CM interaction was my favorite part of all--sometimes it's just so fascinating to talk to and meet people from completely different cultures, yet realize just how similar we all are.
One of the highlights of this pavilion for us was the Journey to Jerusalem simulator ride--I thought it was absolutely brilliant how they showed the birth of 3 very different religions without indicating "favoritism" to any particular one--Talk about a potential Political Correctness problem! I'm still trying to figure out why people disliked this pavilion so much--there were so many interesting exhibits; I even learned how to write my name in Saudi Arabian. We took some great pics while in the Swedish eggs (I still need to post the rest of those pics, huh? Ok, it's on my "to-do" list! ).
One of the biggest oddities about this pavilion was the bathroom--I think you could've fit the entire Mad Hatter's Tea Party inside this thing. Why on earth did they need 92 (give or take a few) stalls? The world may never know... I do have to say that I'm rather disappointed that they had to shut down this pavilion after the end of the Millennium celebration; I would've loved to have gone back to this one in December, 2001 (Yes, you read correctly--I am officially "going back"--I'll be staying with Cruella, WildForWD, and crew for about 10 days, and I'm so, SO, SO psyched that I couldn't keep it bottled up any longer! ).
Our final pavilion at Epcot was France. We started our tour of France (not to be confused with the Tour de France) with a pair of wines--a merlot for Spencer and a blush for me. We paused in the small outdoor cafe for a few minutes as we pretended that we were on the sidewalk of a rarely-traveled Parisian side street--quite magical, I must say.
15 minutes and a slight wine buzz later, we were inside the theater ready to view Impressions de France. However, we had made the fatal mistake of attempting to watch a presentation in a dark theater only a few hours after that enormous breakfast, and I'm sure you can guess what happened. So, at least we each got a decent nap out of it--LOL! Guess I'll just have to put this one on my "To Do (Again)" list, huh?
It was now approximately 1:00 p.m. and we knew that we needed to start making our way back over to the Magic Kingdom for our PassPorter Adventurer's Treasure Hunt, so we headed back towards Future World, pausing to take another trip through Ice Station Cool. We both smartly avoided the Beverly, and, as Spencer made a beeline for the lemon-y soda that he had enjoyed so much during our last trek through Ice Station Cool, I was overjoyed to find out that the Chinese watermelon soda was finally operational again. I so loved this soda, and was most upset that they didn't sell it (of course, I have no clue how I could've gotten all of that extra soda home, so I guess it's better that they didn't sell it).
Just as Spaceship Earth had appropriately been our first attraction at Epcot 6 days earlier, it was also our last (and yes, this did sadden me quite a bit). As we headed inside into the air-conditioned comfort of the big ball, I felt a very eerie sense of deja vu and I realized that the end of my WDW stay had come more quickly than I had thought was possible. I mean, sure, I still had a whole day's worth of fun left w/the PassPorters (and boy, was it ever fun!), but a part of me couldn't ignore the fact that the past 7 days had just flown by like a whirlwind. But, pushing aside those negative thoughts, we happily enjoyed our last journey (for now ) through the life of communication. Since it was our 2nd time through, we were able to notice a lot more of the intricacies--I should almost make it mandatory that I visit every attraction a minimum of two times so that I can take the time to look deeper ("Look harder", as Rafiki would say).
When we emerged from Spaceship Earth, it was pouring down rain. It had caught most of the guests by surprise, but as we had seen this sort of behavior all week long, we just whipped out our ponchos and headed out to the monorail. I took one last look at Spaceship Earth and the rest of Epcot, and fighting back tears, said a silent goodbye, promising that I'd be back... {boo-hoo...another Kleenex break...}
By the time we had reached the front gates of the Magic Kingdom, it was nearing 2:00 p.m. The brief rain shower had dissipated, leaving in its wake a steamy mugginess that was simply incomparable and completely unbearable. I was furiously kicking myself for having packed away my mister fan--I was ready to run straight for Ariel's Grotto and just plant my booty right in the center of all that wetness--boy, were we hot!
Before we went to Aloha Isle in Adventureland to meet the other PassPorters, we paused at the Chapeau to pick up a pair of Mickey ears for a friend's daughter. Having completed this task, we headed over to Adventureland and quickly caught sight of Jennifer Watson (co-author of the PassPorter). A couple other PassPorter Peeps had arrived, including Cruella and WildForWD (Joanne and Tim); Debe (Debbie) and her friend; Tammy, James, and Cameron, of the4werks; Heidi; Zazu (Bruce) and his wife; LauraBelle Hime; and I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting--I'm so sorry if I did (after all, this was like what, 7 months ago?).
As we excitedly chatted with and got to know each other, Jennifer handed each of us a ziploc bag w/a pencil and a treasure hunt answer form--we all knew we were in for a grand old time as we silently read to ourselves the rules:
The rules to our hunt are both simple and few
Search Frontier and Adventure, and only those two
If your eyesight is sharp and your wits guide you true
You'll unearth the answers to 'bout every clue
You won't have to waste your time stuck in a queue
Or know where they used to dock Crockett's canoe
You'll find all your answers in (almost) plain view
No coasters or boat rides or shows you need do
All explorers must promise to hunt alone do
Of unauthorized teamwork we take a dim view
To even the odds in those cases so few
We will team the young 'uns with a partner or two
Return to this Isle when your hunting is through
Or no later than 4:30, 'cause we won't wait for you
We'll tote up the scores and when we are through
We'll award all the prizes, and the champ may be you!
The hunt was to begin at 3:00 p.m. and included questions such as:
--> This was more than a three-hour cruise! When did Disney's castaways wreck their ship?
--> Party! When is the Palos Verdes Surfing Club 4th Annual Hula Luau?
--> Who drew the Pecos Bill Trail map?
And, we were off--we must've looked SO odd, a bunch of sweaty, dehydrated, crazed PassPorters running around with a treasure hunt form, a pencil, and our eyes anywhere but in front of us. I must now take the time to apologize to anybody who I blindsided while searching for this clue:
--> Look to the rooftop, your eyes must be keen, just where can you spot, a red, white, and grey canteen?
You've got to had it to Dave & Jennifer--they really knew how to make a group work!--even the store CMs were getting involved and would try in vain to help us figure out where we could find Bomokandi Bertha and Zambesi Zelda.
When all was said and done, I had answered 18 out of the 24 questions and returned at 4:24 p.m. to greet Dave Marx (the other co-author), who had arrived a little bit before the hunt had officially begun. Some of the other Adventurers had already returned, including Cruella and WildForWD, who had thrown caution completely to the wind and collaborated on the hunt, knowing full well the consequence of their actions--translation: They cheated and didn't win anything!!! <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz">
After all the scores had been tabulated, Dave and Jennifer announced the winners. Tammy and I had tied for 3rd best score, but since Tammy had made it back 2 minutes before me, she took the honor of 3rd place. Spencer came in a close 2nd and received a plush Safari Mickey and a 2nd place ribbon as his award. And, ears and tails above the rest of us was none other than LauraBelle, who was awarded a pair of Safari Mickey ears and a big blue 1st place ribbon (and let me tell you how cute she looked in those ears!!!)
Positively soaked with sweat but giddy with excitement, we all headed out of the MK and to the loading dock for the Polynesian--our next stop, O'Hana!!!
And, still to come (hopefully sometime this century)--The NASTEE Trip Report--Day 7 (Part 3): I Can't Move My Hips Any Faster!
Somebody call I-X-I-I!!!
Cast:
Nate ("Aerobics"): 24, 4th trip to WDW, 1st trip in 12 years, 1st time staying on property
Spencer (Anti-aerobic): 29, 8th trip to WDW, hasn't stayed on property since 1992
Dates:
September 16-23, 2000
Lodging:
Wilderness Lodge--September 16-21, 2000
All Star Music--September 22, 2000
Well, what can I say? I'm feeling awful for not having posted the rest of the NASTEE sooner. I'm still in an extended period of introspection, and for awhile, I just truly wasn't able to get into the right "mood" to write, and I didn't want the reports to totally suck. So, I hope it's been worth the wait--again, I'm sorry for the delay. But, a big thank you to EVERYBODY who has helped me through these past couple months--they've been rough! Ok, now onto the *GOOD* stuff!!
At the conclusion of the previous installment of the NASTEE, we had just emerged from the eternally nocturnal confines of the Mexican pyramid. As we spent the next few minutes blinking alot and adjusting to the bright Floridian sun, we awkwardly stumbled toward Millennium Village.
Now, I do need to say that, after reading a few bad reviews of this exhibit, we weren't expecting to be "wow"ed--we couldn't have been more wrong. By the time we had gotten to the Swedish "eggs", we were kicking ourselves for not having budgeted more time for this pavilion. There were so many cool things to do, including playing miniature golf in Scotland, trying our hands (feet?
) at soccer in Brasil, and getting to speak with CMs from all over the world. In retrospect, I think the CM interaction was my favorite part of all--sometimes it's just so fascinating to talk to and meet people from completely different cultures, yet realize just how similar we all are.One of the highlights of this pavilion for us was the Journey to Jerusalem simulator ride--I thought it was absolutely brilliant how they showed the birth of 3 very different religions without indicating "favoritism" to any particular one--Talk about a potential Political Correctness problem! I'm still trying to figure out why people disliked this pavilion so much--there were so many interesting exhibits; I even learned how to write my name in Saudi Arabian. We took some great pics while in the Swedish eggs (I still need to post the rest of those pics, huh? Ok, it's on my "to-do" list!
).One of the biggest oddities about this pavilion was the bathroom--I think you could've fit the entire Mad Hatter's Tea Party inside this thing. Why on earth did they need 92 (give or take a few) stalls? The world may never know... I do have to say that I'm rather disappointed that they had to shut down this pavilion after the end of the Millennium celebration; I would've loved to have gone back to this one in December, 2001 (Yes, you read correctly--I am officially "going back"--I'll be staying with Cruella, WildForWD, and crew for about 10 days, and I'm so, SO, SO psyched that I couldn't keep it bottled up any longer!
).Our final pavilion at Epcot was France. We started our tour of France (not to be confused with the Tour de France) with a pair of wines--a merlot for Spencer and a blush for me. We paused in the small outdoor cafe for a few minutes as we pretended that we were on the sidewalk of a rarely-traveled Parisian side street--quite magical, I must say.
15 minutes and a slight wine buzz later, we were inside the theater ready to view Impressions de France. However, we had made the fatal mistake of attempting to watch a presentation in a dark theater only a few hours after that enormous breakfast, and I'm sure you can guess what happened. So, at least we each got a decent nap out of it--LOL! Guess I'll just have to put this one on my "To Do (Again)" list, huh?
It was now approximately 1:00 p.m. and we knew that we needed to start making our way back over to the Magic Kingdom for our PassPorter Adventurer's Treasure Hunt, so we headed back towards Future World, pausing to take another trip through Ice Station Cool. We both smartly avoided the Beverly, and, as Spencer made a beeline for the lemon-y soda that he had enjoyed so much during our last trek through Ice Station Cool, I was overjoyed to find out that the Chinese watermelon soda was finally operational again. I so loved this soda, and was most upset that they didn't sell it (of course, I have no clue how I could've gotten all of that extra soda home, so I guess it's better that they didn't sell it).
Just as Spaceship Earth had appropriately been our first attraction at Epcot 6 days earlier, it was also our last (and yes, this did sadden me quite a bit). As we headed inside into the air-conditioned comfort of the big ball, I felt a very eerie sense of deja vu and I realized that the end of my WDW stay had come more quickly than I had thought was possible. I mean, sure, I still had a whole day's worth of fun left w/the PassPorters (and boy, was it ever fun!), but a part of me couldn't ignore the fact that the past 7 days had just flown by like a whirlwind. But, pushing aside those negative thoughts, we happily enjoyed our last journey (for now
) through the life of communication. Since it was our 2nd time through, we were able to notice a lot more of the intricacies--I should almost make it mandatory that I visit every attraction a minimum of two times so that I can take the time to look deeper ("Look harder", as Rafiki would say).When we emerged from Spaceship Earth, it was pouring down rain. It had caught most of the guests by surprise, but as we had seen this sort of behavior all week long, we just whipped out our ponchos and headed out to the monorail. I took one last look at Spaceship Earth and the rest of Epcot, and fighting back tears, said a silent goodbye, promising that I'd be back... {boo-hoo...another Kleenex break...}
By the time we had reached the front gates of the Magic Kingdom, it was nearing 2:00 p.m. The brief rain shower had dissipated, leaving in its wake a steamy mugginess that was simply incomparable and completely unbearable. I was furiously kicking myself for having packed away my mister fan--I was ready to run straight for Ariel's Grotto and just plant my booty right in the center of all that wetness--boy, were we hot!
Before we went to Aloha Isle in Adventureland to meet the other PassPorters, we paused at the Chapeau to pick up a pair of Mickey ears for a friend's daughter. Having completed this task, we headed over to Adventureland and quickly caught sight of Jennifer Watson (co-author of the PassPorter). A couple other PassPorter Peeps had arrived, including Cruella and WildForWD (Joanne and Tim); Debe (Debbie) and her friend; Tammy, James, and Cameron, of the4werks; Heidi; Zazu (Bruce) and his wife; LauraBelle Hime; and I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting--I'm so sorry if I did (after all, this was like what, 7 months ago?).
As we excitedly chatted with and got to know each other, Jennifer handed each of us a ziploc bag w/a pencil and a treasure hunt answer form--we all knew we were in for a grand old time as we silently read to ourselves the rules:
The rules to our hunt are both simple and few
Search Frontier and Adventure, and only those two
If your eyesight is sharp and your wits guide you true
You'll unearth the answers to 'bout every clue
You won't have to waste your time stuck in a queue
Or know where they used to dock Crockett's canoe
You'll find all your answers in (almost) plain view
No coasters or boat rides or shows you need do
All explorers must promise to hunt alone do
Of unauthorized teamwork we take a dim view
To even the odds in those cases so few
We will team the young 'uns with a partner or two
Return to this Isle when your hunting is through
Or no later than 4:30, 'cause we won't wait for you
We'll tote up the scores and when we are through
We'll award all the prizes, and the champ may be you!
The hunt was to begin at 3:00 p.m. and included questions such as:
--> This was more than a three-hour cruise! When did Disney's castaways wreck their ship?
--> Party! When is the Palos Verdes Surfing Club 4th Annual Hula Luau?
--> Who drew the Pecos Bill Trail map?
And, we were off--we must've looked SO odd, a bunch of sweaty, dehydrated, crazed PassPorters running around with a treasure hunt form, a pencil, and our eyes anywhere but in front of us. I must now take the time to apologize to anybody who I blindsided while searching for this clue:
--> Look to the rooftop, your eyes must be keen, just where can you spot, a red, white, and grey canteen?
You've got to had it to Dave & Jennifer--they really knew how to make a group work!--even the store CMs were getting involved and would try in vain to help us figure out where we could find Bomokandi Bertha and Zambesi Zelda.
When all was said and done, I had answered 18 out of the 24 questions and returned at 4:24 p.m. to greet Dave Marx (the other co-author), who had arrived a little bit before the hunt had officially begun. Some of the other Adventurers had already returned, including Cruella and WildForWD, who had thrown caution completely to the wind and collaborated on the hunt, knowing full well the consequence of their actions--translation: They cheated and didn't win anything!!! <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz">
After all the scores had been tabulated, Dave and Jennifer announced the winners. Tammy and I had tied for 3rd best score, but since Tammy had made it back 2 minutes before me, she took the honor of 3rd place. Spencer came in a close 2nd and received a plush Safari Mickey and a 2nd place ribbon as his award. And, ears and tails above the rest of us was none other than LauraBelle, who was awarded a pair of Safari Mickey ears and a big blue 1st place ribbon (and let me tell you how cute she looked in those ears!!!)
Positively soaked with sweat but giddy with excitement, we all headed out of the MK and to the loading dock for the Polynesian--our next stop, O'Hana!!!
And, still to come (hopefully sometime this century)--The NASTEE Trip Report--Day 7 (Part 3): I Can't Move My Hips Any Faster!
Somebody call I-X-I-I!!!
