"....just KEEP that Pixie Dust a-comin'...or, I promised 'no spiders', but I didn't say anything about any OTHER creepy-crawlies!....."
...we set out in the direction of
MIB and decided to put one of our two passes towards the Simpson Ride on the return jaunt, since we had not been on it since the old 'ET days'. Besides, the line was INSANELY long (at LEAST 75 minutes) and we had most of the attractions on the other side of the lake to see...so, it was off to fight the aliens from planets and regions unknown...
"...hey, OLD GUYS, do these things still work?...."
...we arrived at the entrance to
MIB, apparently moments before the Flexpass influx (yes, they're called 'Flexpasses'...), because, out-of-the-blue, about 30 people were suddenly behind us! We hurried through as we showed the 'gatekeepers' our special passes. Well, they didn't take them from us, so we assumed that the workers up ahead would do so.....we 'met up' with "J":
"...you know the difference between me and you? I make this look GOO-O-O-O-OD!..."
and met the twins, Blblup and Bob:
....in action, as we strolled [...well, mebbe it was more of a hop, skip, and jump - Flexpasses tend to make one DO that sort of thing...like our subtle way of announcing to those in line:
"Neener-neener-neener!"] down the wide set of stairs and towards our own vehicle...again, not one person took our Flexpasses, so, uhhh, we weren't about to give them up, either...

[...a little bit of Pixie Dust magic - I think SO...] Well, we laughed and shot as we spun around in our vehicle, taking our best aim at the snarling three-headed beast doing pull-ups on the corner street lamp, the phlegm-nosed alien with the snotrag in his hand, and all the other assorted creatures, trying to escape our dead-accurate shots...
...back to the dreaded locker area to retrieve our belongings, which proved to be a BIG inconvenience...a young woman was trying oh-so-diligently to open hers while a small crowd was beginning to form. There wasn't an attendant to be found, as she desperately tried time and time again to attain access to her locker with her secret digits, but to no avail. The combination of the hot and hazy weather, coupled with the fact that we all were standing very close in a congested and claustrophobic area seemed to make tempers flare. Finally, a member of her group sought out the services of one of the attendants, who valiantly attempted at opening the locker - again with no luck. After about 4 or 5 more futile attempts, he finally walked to the actual locker in question and used some sort of tool/key to open it, but then she had to provide PROOF that it was indeed her locker! She had to describe some of the contents of the locker, as well as inside her purse, where she finally provided a photo drivers' licence to provide unequivocal proof that the stuff belonged to her...SHEESH! Meanwhile, the rest of my family had wondered what had happened to me, so they decided to seek shelter from the heat by standing near the Coke kiosk, which spat out a cooling mist...
...since we were already heading in the direction of the Simpson's Ride, it made sense that we just follow the crowd and hop on the line. Remember, we STILL have both our passes, so it was inconceivable NOT to use them...
...we by-passed tons of hot and tired park guests, as we once again rushed towards the end of the Flexpass line:
...the queue was very winding, as we spiralled further up and ahead, until finally inside the confines of the ride, not sure of what to expect...
....it was around this time that we finally heard from Maureen, who had been walking towards our general direction. They had just arrived at US/IoA about 45 minutes prior (having waited on the queue for Rip Ride Rockit) when Justin had called Jean, informing him they (he and his GF) were finally ready and had wanted to be picked up back at the condo...

). She was 'flying solo', so-to-speak [for the time being, anyway], and had decided to search for us. Of course, we told her where we were, including recounting our 'Flexpass tale' and offered to give her one of ours, so that she could join us on the Simpsons Ride. Ever-so-politely, she declined the offer, saying that she would just wait for Jean's return, but that she'd wait for us on one of the nearby benches....
....now at the front of the separated lines, 3-D glasses in hand, our group was directed to stand in front of the last door in the corridor, where it opened and we quickly put our belongings on the floor next to the ride contraption, hurriedly boarding the 'roller coaster' - I did manage to capture a shot just before I put my camera on the floor (and thank goodness tht I DID!):
...WOW, what an exciting and wild ride! Not for the 'easily-queasy' set, this is one attraction that I will be visiting again, if I ever come back to US/IoA! We found ourselves, once again, standing in front of the attraction, but Maureen was nowhere to ibe found. I quickly called her; she had decided to walk around the 'New England' area, near the
Jaws attraction...oh well, looks like we won't be spending the day together after all, since it was already way past 2PM....we walked across the 'bridgelike' structure, and decided to check out the:
...Fear Factor attraction. Let me be the first to warn you:
If you are of a squeamish nature, DO NOT GO TO THIS SHOW!.
Once again, we offered our Flexpasses, and once again, no one ever relieved them from us[cue the Pixie Dust]. Of course, this allowed us to get primo seats, which, in this case, may NOT have been in our best interest, because what happened first was, uhhhh, well, I'll let YOU be the judge:
[...this was definitely a 'Calgon-take-me-AWAY!' moment...]
....hey, I warned ya...I'm not gonna even detail the next event that happened, but TRUST ME, it's something you'll NEVER want to concoct in a blender!....we did get to enjoy the more thrilling aspects of the show though...
[...continued on Page 60 - Post #886...]