The Power of Matching T-shirts: TR is over!~ 9/20

[Tinkerbellarella]

Um, what about "Girl You Know It's True."

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooooh, I love yoooouuu."

LOL I totally forgot about that one myself.

Uh-oh Jiri. We're totally bringing on the Milli Vanilli.

 

[willwriteforears]

Um, what about "Girl You Know It's True."

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooooh, I love yoooouuu."

LOL I totally forgot about that one myself.

Uh-oh Jiri. We're totally bringing on the Milli Vanilli.

Pleeease, no! I'm trying to get over being sick, remember!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Ugh. Guess what is stuck in my head now?

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooooh, I love yoooouuu."

LOL I totally forgot about that one myself.

Uh-oh Jiri. We're totally bringing on the Milli Vanilli.

Pleeease, no! I'm trying to get over being sick, remember!

You started it!

Ugh. Guess what is stuck in my head now?

You're welcome!

 

[If U Had Wings]

How sad is it that I actually saw a Milli Vanilli concert? It was the Club MTV concert back in the early 90's at Lake Compounce when they used to have outdoor concerts. I actually saw Paula Abdul too.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

How sad is it that I actually saw a Milli Vanilli concert? It was the Club MTV concert back in the early 90's at Lake Compounce when they used to have outdoor concerts. I actually saw Paula Abdul too.

I saw Color Me Badd at Rocky Point in RI.
Of course NKOTB twice, once when they were opening for Tiffany.

 

[willwriteforears]

Ugh. Guess what is stuck in my head now?

I feel your pain, LL.

You started it!

Crud. Hate it when my own banter bites me in the butt.

How sad is it that I actually saw a Milli Vanilli concert? It was the Club MTV concert back in the early 90's at Lake Compounce when they used to have outdoor concerts. I actually saw Paula Abdul too.

I saw Color Me Badd at Rocky Point in RI.
Of course NKOTB twice, once when they were opening for Tiffany.

I never made it to any of the NKOTB concerts, but I did have a set of their towels. Yes. I used their faces to cleanse and dry my body.

 

[willwriteforears]

The afternoon was devoted mostly to tracking down various shows in World Showcase. Melneth wanted to see the Chinese acrobats, the Japanese drummers, and the Japanese candy lady. We'd already seen JAMMitors, and though we missed part of the show, the pounding in my head informed me that I'd be best doing as little trekking back and forth as possible.

Nevi didn't mind seeing the shows, but she also did want to make it the Eeyore (since she didn't care so much about the other Pooh-world characters) character meet at some point, which was in England. Since our TP had us going through World Showcase in a clockwise manner, we decided to take care of the Japan and China stuff first.

And I believe it was before the acrobats that we had lunch at the Lotus Blossom Cafe for lunch. We'd intended to do Japan, but we were starving and I had no intention of walking to Japan in the heat and then walking back to China for the acrobats.

I had the Sesame Chicken Salad. It was decent. If I remember correctly, both Nevi and Melneth had the Orange Chicken with Steamed Rice. I think their meals were decent, too.

Having partaken of sustenance, we picked a spot in the blazing sun (there being little shade) to watch the acrobats. I handed my camera over to Melneth since she had a slightly better vantage point and I had little energy to go through the hassle of zooming and focusing and whatnot.

I do hope the Amazing Child Chinese Acrobats (as I believe their description ran in the Times Guide) forgave me my somewhat lackluster applause. They were very impressive; I was just hot and tired and trying to prevent my brain from pounding itself out of my skull.

Hmm, and my notes are jumbled at this juncture, but since I refused to do more walking than absolutely necessary, we must have watched Reflections of China at this point. I stayed awake for most of it, and Nevi managed to avoid feeling nauseous as she had at O Canada! by focusing on just one spot on the screen.

And it was also in China that we met up with Mulan and Mushu. Nevi had her picture taken, but again I was hot and tired so just handed my camera over to the Photopass person (and I uploaded the photos to Photobucket a while ago so I don't remember if the picture is mine or a PP) and tried to avoid scowling at anyone.

In America, we sat in some nice air conditioning while we waited for Voices of Liberty to appear. Since our college had acapella singing in chapel each week day, we were looking forward to hearing the acapella group.

And we got there about a half-hour early, so none of the benches had been taken up. Score! We claimed our bench, but after a bit Melneth went to find the restroom. Another lady plopped herself on our bench, but she was older and Nevi and I figured it was Melneth's own fault for having to answer the call of nature. We didn't make the lady give up her spot, and Melneth was relegated to leaning against the wall when she came back.

No, we didn't explore the foyer and all the paintings. We were tired. We dozed.

Voices of Liberty trekked in, and we discovered that unless we moved, we'd be watching their backs during the entire performance. Like a single-minded entity, none of us moved. To have moved would have denied Nevi and me the use of the bench, and Melneth the use of the wall. Singing is meant to be heard, anyway.

Note to potential future listeners of VoL: They're good. Very good. But I still didn't manage to stay away for the entire performance. I caught snatches of "America the Beautiful," but that was it.

Then we trekked on over to American Adventure. Considering my track record with Hall of Presidents and the Coursel of Progress, it didn't stand a chance.

I don't remember A. Single. Thing. Nada. Nothing. Even looking at pictures of it online didn't jog my memory. Which makes me wonder if we skipped it. But I don't think we did; it was on the Touring Plan. We had to have seen it. "Seen" meaning "gone in and sat down," of course.

And in double-checking the Epcot map, I think we just breezed through Germany and Italy. Sorry, Germany and Italy. It has nothing to do with your respective pasts involving fascist dictators. Italy, I have great respect for the Renaissance--I love going to Ren Fests!--and Germany, you (well, the real version of you, that is) are home to Castle Neuschwanstein, which I hope to again visit when the water of your fine country hasn't worked a number on my stomach, rendering me incapable of enjoying anything without frequent bathroom breaks--rendering me incapable of enjoying anything, really, since I was miserable whether in the bathroom or out of it.

And if Germany could speak, it would probably tell me that that's TMI.

Moving on.

In Japan, we did watch the drummers. I took no photos. We also watched the candy lady. Nevi and Melneth went in the store to shop right before she was scheduled to start, but I found a bench outside in the shade to sit upon so I wouldn't have to deal with standing/moving through crowds inside.

Only the candy lady started early. I had visions of later trekking from Great Britain back to Japan so we could see Miyuki at her last show, and my head commenced with screaming and gibbering in fear.

So I tried calling their cell phones.

Neither one picked up.

Still thinking I couldn't stand to subject my body to any more treks than absolutely necessary, I lurched into the shop and wrested my friends out of commerce-induced euphoria.

Well, not really. They were truly just browsing, and came with me when I told them the candy lady had already started.

That, of course, made us late and meant that we didn't get to request candy ourselves, so we just watched. And it was neat, but again not so neat that I went to the trouble of getting out my camera and zooming and focusing and whatnot. But as with the drummers, nor did I go through the trouble of handing the camera off to someone else.

It started to rain in Morocco, and since we had plenty of time yet to make it to Eeyore, we bought some green iced tea at Tangierine Cafe and proceeded to play War. For several rounds.

Yes, we always travel with a deck of cards.

The clouds obscuring the sun and the rain cooling off the air (even though it did become humid), not to mention being able to sit for longer than fifteen minutes, did wonders for my headache and I at last started to feel better.

The rain let up about after an hour, so we continued on to Great Britain to get Nevi her picture with Eeyore.

She did wear her Eeyroe shirt for the occasion.

After standing in line (not so bad since it was air conditioned and not crowded) she went on up. I think it would've been spiffy if we could've had Jennifer Paige's "Crush" playing in the background. But I don't think she's from Great Britain. And it's not like I carry around my iPod and a docking station with speakers just should the occasion arise.

And actually, I don't even have "Crush" on my iPod. Still. It would've been apropos.

Anyway, here's Nevi showing Eeyore his Mini Me on her shirt.

And here is Eeyore professing his love.

The whole gang since they felt left out. Note Eeyore's somewhat unfriendly thought. Something tells me that his thought bubble ought to also contain "...encroaching on my territory," but methinks the thought bubble would've had to have been enlarged much more to accommodate that. But that's totally what he was thinking. And note also how Nevi is leaning a little toward Eeyore. Aww.

Having fulfilled Nevi's quest to have her picture with Eeyore, and Nevi aglow with the knowledge that Eeyore had at last found happiness in meeting her, we decided we'd just hang around Great Britain until our 7:40 reservations at the Rose and Crown. We listened to the British Invasion--peppy Beatles songs further helped to improve my mood--and browsed through shops, killing time. With my headache nearly gone, my thoughts started to turn toward our dinner reservations. We hoped to be seated on the patio at Rose and Crown so we could watch Illuminations.

7:35 rolled around and we made our way over to the Reservation stand so we could be somewhat early. The attendant found my name on the list, and I mentioned that we'd like patio seating if possible. "It'll depend on what empties out first," we were told, "but even if you sit inside you can go out on the patio to watch the fireworks later."

We looked at each other and shrugged. Well, at least we ought to have a decent spot to watch no matter what, right? So we waited for our table.

Up Next: Illuminations!

 

[TarzansKat]

Aww! Nevi finally got to meet Eeyore. Her own little slice of heaven, eh?

I love the thought bubble. Poor Eeyore, I bet he's used to it...

Anyhoo, love the chapter! You all did so much! And the Chinese acrobats are fun to watch. I'm glad to hear someone else remembers how to play War. I used to love that game.

Looking forward to hearing about you gaining some sustenance and watching some beautiful Illuminations.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Woo Hoo! It's Tuesday, it's update day!

Eeyore is just cute. Growing up I loved Eeyore and always said when I had children I was going to do an all Eeyore nursery. Now I have a feeling my children would be unnaturally gloomy if I did that.

I am a bit jealous you are going to go to Rose & Crown, I can't wait to hear about it and Illuminations!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

I'm so sorry about your fatigue and your headache! I don't blame you for not applauding very enthusiastically for the acrobats.

I never got to see Voices of Liberty last time I was at Epcot. It was on my must-do list, but we didn't realize we had to be inside to see them. So we waited on a bench outside complaining about how they were late. Then, it occurred to me that they might be inside. We checked inside and who did we find? Voices of Liberty at the VERY end of their performance! D'oh!!! One more thing for next time, I guess.

The Eeyore meeting is so cute!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I saw Color Me Badd at Rocky Point in RI.
Of course NKOTB twice, once when they were opening for Tiffany.

The weirdest matchup I ever saw in concert was when I saw the Beastie Boys open for Madonna on her first tour. Such a bad mix! I was about 12 and was wondering what the heck is this group opening for Madonna for?

As for bands you might not always want to admit to seeing - besides Milli Vanilli I've seen The Monkees twice. Honestly though some of the most fun concerts I've ever been to!


Jiri, I love the Eyeore shots! Very cute.

 

[willwriteforears]

Aww! Nevi finally got to meet Eeyore. Her own little slice of heaven, eh?

I love the thought bubble. Poor Eeyore, I bet he's used to it...

Yes, I think Eeyore puts up with quite a lot! And Nevi was very happy to get her Eeyore pix. It was an excellent second-to-last full day.

Anyhoo, love the chapter! You all did so much! And the Chinese acrobats are fun to watch. I'm glad to hear someone else remembers how to play War. I used to love that game.
/QUOTE]

When I was 9 or so, my dad once played a game of war with me that lasted hours. We got to the point where he had just one card left--an ace. It enabled him to win the game.

I was a dramatic little thing, so I remember bawling my eyes out.

Eeyore is just cute. Growing up I loved Eeyore and always said when I had children I was going to do an all Eeyore nursery. Now I have a feeling my children would be unnaturally gloomy if I did that.

I don't know if Nevi has the same plans for her children, but her mom also likes Eeyore, so Grandma may ensure they have an Eeyore nursery regardless! I think Nevi would at least do stuffed Eeyores, though.

I'm so sorry about your fatigue and your headache! I don't blame you for not applauding very enthusiastically for the acrobats.

Yup, heat, bright sun, and I don't mix. It's why I'll never move back to Texas (sorry, Nevi, and Melneth, unfortunately I don't think OK would be much better).

I never got to see Voices of Liberty last time I was at Epcot. It was on my must-do list, but we didn't realize we had to be inside to see them. So we waited on a bench outside complaining about how they were late. Then, it occurred to me that they might be inside. We checked inside and who did we find? Voices of Liberty at the VERY end of their performance! D'oh!!! One more thing for next time, I guess.

I wish I'd been able to stay away for the whole thing. They're phenomenal.

Jiri, I love the Eyeore shots! Very cute.

Thanks! But I actually had to hand my camera off to the Photopass person as only the photographees were allowed beyond the rope. So the shots of just Nevi and Eeyore are from the official PhotoPass camera, and the group shot was with mine.

 

[stagemomx3]

Aaaawwww the Eeyore pictures are sweet. The acrobats are on my next time list.

 

[Sarilas]

I cannot WAIT for World Showcase! The candy lady is one of my kids' must see performances. What kind of animals does she do? Do people just request obscure things?

 

[trixiequilts]

As for bands you might not always want to admit to seeing - besides Milli Vanilli I've seen The Monkees twice. Honestly though some of the most fun concerts I've ever been to!

My very first concert was The Osmonds. I don't remember much (not a surprise, really, zzzzzzz) except that Jimmy wasn't there and I got to shake Donny's hand.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Note to potential future listeners of VoL: They're good. Very good.

I second this. I heard them "by accident" while waiting for an American Adventure showing once and they actually moved me to tears.

Music does that to me sometimes.

Ok, most times.

Sue me.

and Germany, you (well, the real version of you, that is) are home to Castle Neuschwanstein

Which is one of the castles Cinderella Castle is based on, doncha know.

I lurched into the shop and wrested my friends out of commerce-induced euphoria.

Mitsukoshi is my very own drug of choice.

It started to rain in Morocco

I totally get what you're saying here but everytime I read this sentence I laugh because I picture it ONLY raining in Morocco and not any of the other countries!

The candy lady is one of my kids' must see performances. What kind of animals does she do? Do people just request obscure things?

Not to encroach on Jiri's TR but I felt I had to respond since Miyuki is one of my favoritest WS things!

She hands around (or at least she used to) a laminated (!) list of the animals she makes. I've seen her do dragons, alligators, parrots and tigers. I was picked once and she made me a beautiful dragon. There are others, I know, but I can't recall them all. Just an FYI, if one of your children is picked and you receive a candy creation, it is very, VERY fragile. Even though I was careful and carried it on the plane home, it still broke.

Sugar is so fickle.

 

[willwriteforears]

Aaaawwww the Eeyore pictures are sweet. The acrobats are on my next time list.

They are very talented! My body was never capable of such things, even when I was their age!

My very first concert was The Osmonds. I don't remember much (not a surprise, really, zzzzzzz) except that Jimmy wasn't there and I got to shake Donny's hand.

Which is one of the castles Cinderella Castle is based on, doncha know.

Yes, I did know! It was about the only thing that stuck in my head during the tour, which I had to leave early in my pursuit of a restroom.

I totally get what you're saying here but everytime I read this sentence I laugh because I picture it ONLY raining in Morocco and not any of the other countries!

Well, I am self-absorbed so I guess it "felt" like it was raining only in Morocco!

But yes, I guess I should've phrased it "While we were in Morocco, it started to rain."

I cannot WAIT for World Showcase! The candy lady is one of my kids' must see performances. What kind of animals does she do? Do people just request obscure things?

Not to encroach on Jiri's TR but I felt I had to respond since Miyuki is one of my favoritest WS things!

She hands around (or at least she used to) a laminated (!) list of the animals she makes. I've seen her do dragons, alligators, parrots and tigers. I was picked once and she made me a beautiful dragon. There are others, I know, but I can't recall them all. Just an FYI, if one of your children is picked and you receive a candy creation, it is very, VERY fragile. Even though I was careful and carried it on the plane home, it still broke.

Sugar is so fickle.

She never handed out a list that I saw, but she took requests and made suggestions if people couldn't think of any. So she did a giraffe, a dragon, and I think a monkey. Probably more but I've forgotten.

Sorry your dragon broke, Tink! It looks so pliable while she's pulling it with the pliers and such--I guess it hardens later?

 

[Sarilas]

Sugar is so fickle.

I am SO not above super gluing sugar.

I'm thinking I'll prep the older kids to be thinking of animals JUST IN CASE they get picked. A girl can hope!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Sorry your dragon broke, Tink! It looks so pliable while she's pulling it with the pliers and such--I guess it hardens later?

Yes. Once sugar hardens it gets very brittle and can shatter, even if just moved to quickly and not banged against anything. I can thank "Food Network Challenge" for that knowledge!

I am SO not above super gluing sugar.

Oh, honey, I'm not just talking broke. I should've said SHATTERED. It'd be a jigsaw puzzle of epic proportions. And that was just the tail.

But I do hope one of your kids gets picked. It is a very special experience.