The perfect proposal goes perfectly....wrong *COMPLETED!! 3-10-07*

[Grumpy's Wife]

I'm just going to dance to pass the time away.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

umhello? HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?

*tap tap tap*

 

[burly]

More, more, more! Is that too demanding?

 

[BuzzPrincessMom]

Any more?

 

[VW_Guy]

Well, I'm a little under the weather, and yesterday I had a temp of 101, but I've fought through the cold-medicine-induced haze to bring you this:

Part VII—Yeeey--MGM!, Or: Its Just Like Being Back in 1940s Hollywood. That is, if They Had a Giant Hat in the Middle of the Street Back Then...



So, to summarize what has taken me over a month to write about two days from last summer: I took my DGF to Disney on a covert engagement operation masked as a run of the mill 3 Years Since our First Date Anniversary Vacation. The operation experienced several minor casualties before being completed within minutes of the midnight deadline. The ring turned out to be too small, and so has been relegated to being carried around in its box until we can find someone on property to re-size it. On the second day of our post-engagement glee, we toured Epcot with an amount of people about equal to the population of Rhode Island, who incidentally decided they all wanted to ride Soarin’ at the same time. DGF (who has since been upgraded to DF) missed experiencing “Living with the Land”, but as a surrogate has signed up (and pre-paid) us for a backstage “Behind the Seeds Tour” after our morning in AK two days later. After leaving the park late, we returned to our glitzed-up roadside motel to find that our adjoining room had been overtaken by something that sounded like a roomful of semi-trained chimps, but was really a gathering of teenagers hopped up on sugar, pubescent hormones and “Disney Magic”.



So, as one would imagine, we did not wake up the next morning as planned, at 7:30 AM, ready to storm the gates at MGM. We did muster a valiant effort, getting out of bed and hurriedly showered and dressed by 9AM, after roughly 6 hours of sleep. (What a vacation!) After last night’s activities, we went down to guest relations to see if anything could be done. I was only mid-level annoyed, but DF was pretty steamed that she didn’t get a nice, restful sleep on what was supposed to be her vacation. She waited in line at the desk while I went over to the commissary to get us two cups of brown-colored coffee-esque liquid to go. After waiting for twenty or so minutes, we finally got up to the CM, and explained the whole situation. She graciously agreed that the conditions were uncalled for, and she checked to see if there was another room available for us to move to. After staring at her computer screen and randomly pushing keys, she concluded that she could move us to another room in two nights (for our last night there), but it was all the way at the back of the resort. We thanked her for checking, but all we really wanted was for something to be done about the noise next door, and send someone up to perform a scolding, if need be. She took down the number of the offending room, and said that there were at least a half-dozen similar complaints, because the previous day, a large, teenaged Brazilian tour group had descended upon the resort, and their handlers were not doing such a great job. She gave us the number for the resort security and told us to call them directly if this happened again. We thanked her for what we thought was a below-average handling of the situation, and hopped on the next bus to MGM.



When we arrived, it was going on 11AM, so the lines at the entrance were thankfully low. We made our way past security and into the park in no-time flat.

We knew we were behind schedule, so we headed straight for the Tower of Terror/Rockin’ Rollercoaster cul-de-sac ‘O fun. When we got to the end, we saw (to our amazement) that the stand-by time for ToT was only 15 minutes. Not wanting to pass up a good thing, we immediately jumped in line without bothering to get any Fast Passes.



Now, I need to take a moment here to explain why I think MGM is such an awesome park, and why it is an oh-so-close runner up for best park at WDW (just on the heels of the King of All Parks, Epcot). For some people, the draw might be the live action shows that play here daily, and can truly rival any off-Broadway show in the US. For others, it might be because this park has a few ‘actual’ thrill rides, not just watered-down rollercoasters that are obviously showing their age. These are both reasons I love this park, but they aren’t the main draw. For me, the reason to go to MGM is for the scenery. Yes, I know I’ve been harping on and on in this trip report about how OUTSTANDING Disney is at total-experience immersion, but I must take off my hat and give a bow when it comes to the design elements of MGM. If I could pick any time and place (as a second to this one, of course) to live in, it would have to be late 1930’s/early 1940’s Hollywood, and Disney has recreated that down to a Tee. Everything about that time was perfect. The cars were beautiful, the architecture was stunning, technological leaps were coming about, and Hollywood was still young and grandiose. This was a time that is considered the “Golden Age” of Hollywood—one that produced so many great American film classics (including Citizen Kane, which is widely regarded as the best American film of all time). I could go on and on with this subject, but I will restrain myself and just say that if you want to get a feel for what I’m talking about (in full color and with great story lines) all you have to do is watch “The Rocketeer” or “L.A. Confidential” and you will understand what a striking era this was.

So, to get back to the story, as we walked into the lobby of the “Hollywood Tower Hotel” the effect of being transported back to a more glamorous time was all the more reinforced. We made our way, as promised, into the preshow in about 15 minutes. The part afterward is the part they fail to mention. Nothing is more annoying (except maybe forced sleep deprivation) than getting all lathered up with a great “Twilight Zone” style preamble, only to have to wait an additional 15 minutes before you can actually board the ride. I’m sure that the actual wait time is no more than 7 or 8 minutes, but in those circumstances, I don’t wanna wait—I wanna be scared stupid while I’m falling faster than gravity can drag me to my ‘grave’.



Eventually, we made it up to the head of the line, and were assigned our seating arrangements. Right here, I would like to explain in perfect detail what this ride is like as you ramp your way to the climax of the story. Right here, I would like to insert witty dialogue about the successes and shortcomings of this attraction. Right here, I *should* be able to do this. I have experienced this ride well over a dozen times, on at least five different trips. But, unfortunately, I can’t. Not because I can’t think of anything to say—if you’ve read this far, you know as well as I that I am anything but short on the ‘prose’. No, the reason I can’t write anything about this attraction between the time that my butt is in the seat and those doors fling open 180 some-odd-feet up in the air—is because I have no memory of this time. On EVERY occasion I have ridden, the only thing on my mind is the anticipation of that drop. Its not really a fearful anticipation, but just having the jitters of KNOWING its going to happen is the only thing that enters my consciousness. I know that there is some stuff that happens, but I honestly couldn’t tell you exactly what, or in what order.



The moment my memory returns to me is when the ‘elevator’ we are in rolls forward, and all of a sudden, you can feel the heat and humidity of Florida on your skin, and you realize that its about to happen. You wait for what seems like minutes, but finally, the doors shielding the blazing sun spring open, and you feel the flash of panic as the seat beneath you drops, quickly followed by the seat belt jerking you back into it as you are forced downward. I can remember riding this attraction during the first few years of its operation. Back then, the ride was pre-programmed to give you the same single drop over and over. Compared to the current version, it was a bit of a letdown (pun intended). Nowadays, the computer gives you a different experience every time. Sometimes the first ‘drop’ is only a short fall followed by a rise back to the top, and then you get the full drop. This time, however, we got a good trip. The first drop brought us alllll the way down to the bottom, then we flew alllll the way back up, and then allll the way back down again. Again, the engineer in me has to marvel at the machinery that must be required to perform this operation. Not only do the motors have to cope with stopping roughly 3 tons of bodies and steel in a free fall, but it turns right around to fling us back up close to 200 feet in the air—over and over and over and over again. All day long. *That’s* impressive.



With heads full of adrenaline, we exit the ToT gift shop (which inexplicably seems to have some sort of “Nightmare before Christmas” tie-in) and go in search of another rush. We gallop Disney-pace over to the Rock ’n’ Rollercoaster, and find the stand-by line predictably well over a half-hour. So, we grab some fast passes, and, rather than move along, we again take advantage of the short line for ToT and get right back in the queue.

The second “trip” was not as good as the first—there was a decent first drop, but then we got some sort of herky-jerky up and down stuff in the middle before it let us down gently to the exit. Feeling a bit ripped off, but not really bothered, we exited the gift shop a second time, this time to find that the sky had opened up, and it was pouring like it had suddenly become monsoon season. It was not entirely unexpected, as I have been to Florida plenty of times to know that short bursts of summer downpour were very common. What took us by surprise was the fact that there seemed to be no warning. Only two minutes ago, we were staring out at a perfect blue sky from 13 stories up, and saw no signs of rain. Admittedly, we weren’t exactly up there counting clouds, but it was nonetheless a surprise shower. We used the opportunity (and the shelter of the gift shop) to pull out the times guide to schedule what was left of our morning.


I should explain that the one attraction that I was really looking forward to was the brand-spankin’ new “Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show”. Not only did it have cars, explosions, and cars jumping over explosions—it was also rumored to include a cameo by the patron saint of Dis-Dubbers himself—Herbie. So you can imagine that I was psyched to see it. I saw that the first of two showings for the day was about to start in a little under twenty minutes. Normally, I would have dismissed the idea of trying to make the first show in that short amount of time, but the second show was too late to allow for our ADR that night in Mexico at Epcot. So, with our minds made up, we ducked our heads and bolted out into the rain. Luckily, the worst of the downpour was over, but we were definitely still getting wet. As I’m sure most of you are aware, the layout of MGM isn’t so much in a “hub and spoke” pattern like the rest of the parks, as it is a “hub with junk put around it” layout. We were on one end of the junk, and we had to get to the other end. I knew that we didn’t have much time to spare, so we were going at a clip better than Disney-pace. We were moving at competitive speed-walking pace, with all the hip-swishing and everything. We made good progress to the Fantasia hat, but then the rain stopped and the pedestrian traffic got heavy. I pride myself on my crowd dodging-and-weaving ablilty, and DF did her best to keep up (and stifle the laughter at my speed walking prowess). A few times she had to break into a jog to catch up with me, but eventually, we got to the gates of the theater with ten minutes to spare. As we were slowing to a normal walking pace, panting and puffing in the heavy post-rain humidity, and soaked through with what was half rain and half sweat, we walked up to the entrance. And we were stopped.



A couple of CMs were standing at the chained-off gates. “We’re full.” Said the CM. “Seriously?” I said, “I thought this place was supposed to hold thousands of people. There aren’t two open seats? We don’t even have to sit together.” “Nope. Sorry.” The CM said. Well, this sucks. The thought that the show would get filled to capacity had never even entered my head. I had read several accounts of the show and its wait times on the Dis Boards before we left, and everyone had agreed that they never saw a capacity crowd fill the place. So, we found a nearby bench to rest on as we caught our breath. As we sat there, we saw the CM have the same conversation as he had with us about five times over. Most of the groups walked away in shame like us, but some of them got mad. One dad stormed over to a nearby trash can and gave it a few very ineffectual kicks. Nice.



DF went over to a nearby restroom to find some paper towels and dry herself off, and I ran the scenarios through my head of what our next move could be. I immediately dismissed option one, which was bum-rushing the CMs, since it was an entirely un-DIS thing to do, and it would probably get us thrown off the property. Option two was a bribe, but since we were on the Dining Plan, the only thing I had of value on me was a five-year old digital camera and DF’s ring, both of which I’m sure the male CMs would not really want (and the latter would most certainly result in my becoming a Eunuch). So, I regretfully had to come to option 3, which was skipping our ADR at Mexico and coming back for the second show time. When DF got back, I told her my plan, and she agreed, since she knew how much I wanted to see this show.



So, having made up our minds to skip our ADR, the next plan of action was to make another ADR for later that night, allowing us enough time to see “Lights, Motor, Action” before, and still catch “Fantasmic” after. Since we had already eaten at Sci-Fi the trip before, that was immediately counted out. We glanced at 50’s Prime-Time, but I didn’t like the look of the whole roll-playing experience, and hearty American food isn’t exactly Veggie-friendly. We entertained the thought of the Brown Derby, but it would have cost us a double table service, and we were still put-off by our food experience with the Coral Reef. So, the only table service option left was Mama Melrose, which just so happened to be nearby. We walked (slowly this time) over to the restaurant and happily got an ADR for 8:30, which left plenty of time to catch the late showing of Fantasmic at 10:30.



Since we were right next door to MuppetVision 3D (and needed someplace to sit down) we walked into a show that was just about to start. Unfortunately, this meant that we missed the preshow, which is almost better than the main show itself, but it was still a nice time-saver. Anything Muppets-related is an immediate favorite of mine, since I was raised on a healthy diet of “The Muppet Show” and then “Muppet Babies” the Saturday morning cartoon. Even though I was too young to get most of the jokes on “The Muppet Show” (I still don’t get “Pigs in Space”), the antics of the ‘crazy’ characters always kept me engrossed (Gonzo, Beaker, Swedish Chef, etc). On this occasion, however, it was not such a great show as usual because we happened to pick a row that was lead by a total moron, oh, sorry, I meant a ‘non-instruction-listener’ who, no matter how many times the CM on the mike up front said “Please move all the way down. Please move alllllll the way down, sir. We need to get everyone in the theater, sir, please move allllll the way down.” Just sat there like he was the one that has to stick his hand up Miss Piggy’s butt and is therefore entitled to sit in the exact center of the theater whether the rest of us like it or not. Eventually, people starting walking past him as he sat there, and I hope they all took a good stomp on his feet as they moved past. Since we were the last ones in the row, we were forced to find another row to move to, and ended up about three rows from the back, on the end two seats. I know they tell you that the 3D effects work from everywhere in the theater, but I swear sitting that far back and to the side made them seem a bit off somehow.



Anywho, after the show was over, and I hip-checked Miss Piggy’s proctologist into one of the 3D goggle-vats on the way out (just kidding—I couldn’t find him)… (not that I would do him any harm if I did find him)… (probably)… We headed off in search of some lunch.



We stopped off for lunch at the ABC Commissary, which apparently everyone else in the park had also decided was the choice lunch location. I know there aren’t that many choices for counter service restaurants in MGM to begin with, but I always enjoy coming to the Commissary—first because there is always something interesting on the menu, and second for the awesome Art-Deco décor. (See previous aside about 1940s Hollywood) Since the lines were extremely long, we changed up the playbook for the Hover Game, and DF went to get the food for us both while I embarked on a Solo Hover. Unfortunately, I was having a rough go of it. We were here during the late lunch rush and there were several large parties scattered around the room, and none seemed to be moving too quickly. The commandos had obviously already come and gone. I was left with the slow-pokes. Eventually, after about fifteen minutes, one of the tables I was staked out near was finishing up, just as DF came over with the food. We had a nice lunch—nothing spectacular, but worlds better than your typical fast food. I had a Cuban sandwich and DF had the veggie stir fry. (Yea, definitely NOT fast food)



As we enjoyed our food, we sketched out the rest of the day. Since we no longer had to leave for supper, we would have a bit more leisure time, and maybe hit some ‘non-ride’ things that we were originally going to skip. I wanted to check out “One Man’s Dream” (‘cause I’m nerdy like that) and DF wanted to see the “Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular” (‘cause she’s into Harrison Ford…like that).



Stay tuned for: Part VIII—“Lights, Motor, Action”; Part Deux, Or: Yea, sure, we have plenty of time before the show starts... Wait, what time is it?

 

[VW_Guy]

For those newcomers, or people who would like to re-read (because it has no doubt been so long that you may forget what happened last), I've included an index on the original post to help you sift through the trip report.

Enjoy!

 

[Linzybrooke]

Thanks for the update!

 

[6IrishDisneyKids]

OK if you need to be feverish to keep writing, then I really hope it's still at 101 today!!

 

[Convert]

Thanks for the update! Sorry you aren't feeling well. (Read: but for the small fan club you've created, I'm secretly happy you had a fever.)

 

[smwf71]

I need to subscribe - I've been lurking far too long!

 

[Nanabug02]

Keep it coming!

 

[missmun52]

late, I know, but i am just subing

 

[eternaldisneyfan]

Subscribing! I love your writing style and hearing about all your adventures!

Christamae

 

[TEXASPRINCESSES]

thank goodness your back!

 

[MagicMe]

I second that "thank goodness your back". Please don't make us wait too long for the next installment

 

[momoftriplets]

I've lurked long enough. Now I have to subscribe. Here's wishing you a speedy recovery - so you can write another installment.

 

[ZeonStar]

You are doing a wonderful job on this TR, thank you for making me (and everyone) laugh and enjoying your engagement trip at WDW!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

(if there was a salvating smilie I would put him here)

Thanks so much--your TR was one of the few that inspired me to start. Always great to find another Dubber--especially one that is also a DIS-er. I hereby deem us the new breed:

DIS-Dubbers!!

We shall only come out of the garage and clean under our fingernails for trips to WDW, and we shall all worship the almighty Herbie (but only the original, none of that "Reloaded" crap)

I've mostly been into the newer watercooled VW's with the sport compact scene (like in "The Fast and the Furious") between me and my brothers we've had 6 Jettas, 3 GTi's, one Rabbit, and one Cabrio--however, I've just popped my aircooled cherry by purchasing a 1973 Westfalia Bus (camper). So far I've re-built the engine, but I haven't gotten it back in the bus yet. I'm hoping to get her back on the road this summer. Keep your fingers crossed!

BTW--do you guys name all your VWs too? I don't know if its a weird PA thing, but we've all had names for the cars--such as:

Loretta the Jetta
Babbit the Rabbit
Eli the GTi
Baloo the VW
and, when friends rented a car in Germany, they got a VW Polo--his name was Hans Polo.

Also--to everyone else that asked: we have set a date for our wedding of August 18th, 2007 and unfortunatly, we are not going to be having a Disney wedding OR honeymoon. The wedding has to be in PA because we both have very large familys that do not like to travel; and we are honeymooning at a resort in Hawaii as a gift from my grandparents. But the summer after that, its all Disney, baby!

And thanks again to everyone that has given me the . I was a bit burnt out this weekend from work, so I vowed not to get anywhere near a computer, but I'll be coming back strong next week.

'Night!

They don't have names that I am aware of...but it wouldn't suprise me any seeing as how half of these VW's I am half owner of...I never knew about BEFORE it got parked in my garage space!! MY GARAGE SPACE!!!

Aircooled cherry!! ours is not aircooled...nor heated. e nuff said...
but it does have the original manual to it along with the child cot!!!

and our black convertible ghia!! our princess...I get looks when I drive her. Many people think she is a porsche. For good reason...if you are a VW guy you'll know why!! TEST!!!

OK OK thanks for that little trip report high five!!

love your trippie VW...anf BTW are you a member of the VW Association?? Yeah we get the newsletters...sick isn't it???

 

[ToTLaugher]

Thanks for returning and toughing out the fever! I had to wait until today to read this because my whole family is following the story and my DH was out of town until last night. Whew! I feel better being able to catch up today!

Keep the writing coming! You do an awsome job even while sick!

PS feel better soon

 

[BostonTink85]

I just found this yesterday and finished reading all 20 pages and it's great! I can't wait for the next update!!!