To Infinity and The Contemporary!

[cntkg1]

Is their some sort of controversy with the Little Green Men?

Maybe Heather meant "mad" in UK terms Kathy. ???? I dunno, just guessing.

 

[goslingl]

So, all we really have to do is get you all liquored up on the cruise and you'll sing to us?? Careful Kathy, you could be the new picture on the Dumbotron with sound this time! Won't the Dawg be pleased it isn't him again?

I don't believe you ran into snotty people at Disney. That isn't allowed!! Maybe her name was "a net full a jelly".

I think Kathy and Frank should do the Karooke night. THey would be very good. The nexr Donnie and Marie.

 

[GOS]

Is their some sort of controversy with the Little Green Men?

I meant mad keen...not mad annoyed. Don't you just love english!!!

 

[njprincess]

Just caught up

Stooopid bad back made me miss a couple of days

Way to go getting on Mr P ride by 9am!

Its fab isnt it! - I wish they'd bring out something similar for the wii!

Yes, I do love it!!! Have you figured out the ring toss thing? Any pointers???

So, all we really have to do is get you all liquored up on the cruise and you'll sing to us?? Careful Kathy, you could be the new picture on the Dumbotron with sound this time! Won't the Dawg be pleased it isn't him again?

Careful Nancy - I said I can sing like a munchkin. Do you really want to hear that???

I don't believe you ran into snotty people at Disney. That isn't allowed!! Maybe her name was "a net full a jelly".

I'm pretty sure they were from NJ, so I could have crushed her like a bug...

Maybe Heather meant "mad" in UK terms Kathy. ???? I dunno, just guessing.

Silly me

I think Kathy and Frank should do the Karooke night. THey would be very good. The nexr Donnie and Marie.

I don't think so! Frank maybe - he has a great voice.

I meant mad keen...not mad annoyed. Don't you just love english!!!

Oh, good! I couldn't believe anyone would have a problem with those little guys!

 

[cntkg1]

Careful Nancy - I said I can sing like a munchkin. Do you really want to hear that???

I sing like that without trying Kathy.

I'm pretty sure they were from NJ, so I could have crushed her like a bug...

 

[njprincess]

I sing like that without trying Kathy.

Maybe we should do Karaoke together? We could sing 'We Welcome You to Munchkinland'!

 

[GOS]

Maybe we should do Karaoke together? We could sing 'We Welcome You to Munchkinland'!

Tra la la, tra la la, la la la la la la....

 

[cntkg1]

Maybe we should do Karaoke together? We could sing 'We Welcome You to Munchkinland'!

You'd have to show me to the beer line first Kathy.

 

[njprincess]

You'd have to show me to the beer line first Kathy.

No problem

 

[njprincess]

Hiya Everybody!

As previously reported, we spent the morning at MGM, had a little R&R (and maybe even a little M&M brownie ) and were now ready to head over to Downtown Disney for the rest of the day's festivities.

First stop: The West Side for DisneyQuest. A little background: Frank & I had never been to DisneyQuest before, although though idea of it always interested us. In fact, we had seen a prototype for Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride in Innoventions several years ago, which looked very cool. We just never seemed to be able to find the time to check it out. So when we got wind last summer that Disney was about to raise ticket prices, I decided to buy a couple of DisneyQuest tickets and put them away for future use. When we started planning this trip, I suggested that this might finally be the time to put it on the schedule, since we would have access to a car on this trip and it fit in well with the Prime Directive: to see or do things we had never done before. But the question was, is DisneyQuest something that grownups would enjoy?

We arrived at the West Side of Downtown Disney around 2:45 and headed over the DisneyQuest. We entered through the turnstiles and then boarded a cyborlator (elevator) that was the actual entrance. There was a brief show, in the mirror in the cyborlator - we had a visit from the Genie from Aladdin welcoming us! It was very cute but, unfortunately, I was so taken by surprise that I didn't even think to take my camera out (I can see Karen & Heather shaking their heads right now ) Oh, well.

DisneyQuest consists 5 roundish floors and the building is windowless. Once your inside the building you have a choice of using an elevator or a series of stairs to navigate between the floors. There are several different attractions on each floor. Some of the attractions are interactive virtual reality but there are also arcade games, both new and classic. There are even some arcade staples like air hockey and skeeball. Everything is included in the price of admission except the photo booths and the prize machines, like The Claw. You don't need to carry around any tokens or cards - if you want to extend your play, you usually just have to hit a button to do it. Here is a complete list of attractions, courtesy of Wikipedia:

First floor
Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold: Man a pirate ship and destroy other ships, sea monsters, and fortresses to collect gold. One player captains the ship by steering and controlling the throttle, while up to four gunners control the cannons.
Virtual Jungle Cruise: Paddle an inflatable raft (with real paddles) as you make your way down a prehistoric river, avoiding dinosaurs and occasionally getting sprayed with water.

Second floor
CyberSpace Mountain: Guests design a roller coaster on a design kiosk, then sit in a pitch-and-roll simulator and "ride" it. Guests may also ride pre-built coasters.
Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride: Players wear an HMD as they ride a magic carpet through Agrabah, collecting gems to find The Genie, who has been hidden away in the Cave of Wonders.
Animation Academy: Regular sessions throughout the day teach how to draw characters, with lightpens on computer screens. For a fee, a guest can purchase a printout afterwards.
Sid's Create-a-Toy: A program featuring the evil Sid character from Toy Story that allows one to custom design a toy out of parts of other toys, and then buy it later.
Living Easels: An interactive touch screen program where guests can place various images onto several selectable backgrounds. A full-color printout of a guest's design may be purchased.
Radio Disney Song Maker: Where you can create your own song, and then buy it later.

Third floor
Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam: Players "become" a pinball in a gigantic projected pinball game; by rocking their "duck" back and forth, up to twelve players at a time control their corresponding pinball on the screen, attempting to collect the most points.
Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster: Players board bumper cars and attempt to navigate over foam balls ("asteroids") on the floor. By doing so, the asteroids will be sucked up into the cabin where players can then load them into a cannon and shoot at the other cars. If hit in the correct spot, one's car may spin around uncontrollably for ten seconds. Usually there are two players to a car; however, it is possible for one person to pilot and shoot at the same time.

Fourth floor
Ride the Comix 4: Players wear an HMD to "enter the comic book world." Players battle with super villains by using a laser sword. Up to six players can be on a team at a time.

Fifth floor
Ride the Comix 5: Players wear an HMD to "enter the comic book world." Players battle with super villains by using a laser sword. Up to six players can be on a team at a time. (This attraction is identical on both the 4th and 5th floor)
Invasion! An ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter: Four players ride inside a rescue vehicle to save astronauts: one player drives, the other three shoot enemy aliens.

OK, so here we go! The cyborlator dropped us on the third floor and it took us a few minutes to get our bearings. Fortunately, it did not look too crowded today. We decided to head down to the second floor to check out Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride. This is a virtual reality ride where you sit on something that looks like this:

You are given a helmet and then your helmet is attached to the headgear shown in the picture. I found the headgear pretty uncomfortable - perhaps I should have said something. When the ride begins, you are told to pick up as many gems as you can by flying over them and to try to find the Genie, who is hidden deep in the caves. Everyone is playing in the same course, although I admit, I wasn't very good at navigating, so I didn't exactly see anyone else. I did pick up my share of gems but other than that I had no idea what I was doing. I also noticed that as I progressed through the ride that my mask was fogging up and I felt really warm. Then something really strange happened: for the first time in my life, EVER, I started to feel nauseous on a ride! I couldn't believe it! In fact, if the ride hadn't ended when it did, I probably would have pulled off the helmet thing, just to get out of it. I should probably mentioned that I have done other virtual reality rides, also with headgear, and I have never had a reaction like this before! All in all I'd have to say that I didn't enjoy Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.

Next, we decided to head down to the first floor and work our way up. We headed over to the Virtual Jungle Cruise.

You sit in a rubber raft in front of a big screen, and are given a paddle that has a rollerblade-like wheel. As the ride begins, the rubber mat beneath the boat is inflated, so that the boat rises. You row by dragging the paddle along the rubber surface outside the boat. Or so we were told. We weren't very good at this and we had a hard time turning the boat, which was bouncing around like a real raft. But we were having a good time and seeing a lot of dinosaurs. We shot down some major rapids without falling out of the boat. Turns out that Imagineers at Disney had decided it would be a good idea to shoot some water at the unsuspecting rafters to enhance the experience! We certainly weren't expecting this! Overall, we enjoyed the Virtual Jungle Cruise but be warned: it is a lot of work (Frank's thought, although I'd have to agree) and you will get a little wet.

Next, we headed over to

We waited on a little queue with a father and son in front of us. We were fetched by a CM and he suggested that we all share a pirate ship, since the ride is more fun that way. We agreed. The room had a glass wall at the back, which is where we entered. We took a step up into the ship - the room was shaped like the prow of a ship, coming to a point in the front. There was a steering wheel in the back and some controls to adjust the speed of the ship. The father graciously agreed to navigate for us, which left Frank, me and the son as gunners. Oh boy, do I like to shoot things! There are 3 pull-string cannons on each side of the ship which look amazingly like the cannons in Toy Story Mania. The cannons can be aimed side to side and up and down. All around the ship is a screen, which looks like you are out on the ocean. So here's how it works: The captain navigates the ship, looking for other vessels to sink. When he sees one, he pulls along side and the gunners have to just keep shooting until the opponent is sunk. When you sink an opponent, you get their gold. Sounds easy, huh? But while you are shooting at ships, there are other ships shooting a you. And while you are attacking a ship, another ship may come up and start shooting from another direction. This is why the gunners (that would be me, Frank & the kid) need to keep moving around between the guns to get the best coverage. At the end of the round, you get a chance to shoot and sink Captain Barbosa and the Black Pearl.

Ok so our first round was not so great and Captain Barbosa got away, but oh boy, did we have fun!!! I can't believe how quickly the time went! Our CM (who looked just like David Ortiz ) stuck his head into our ship and said 'OK, that was practice - now let's see you do it for real!' and we started all over again. This time, we really had the hang of it and in no time we were blasting other ships, stealing their gold and knocking off a few sea monsters along the way. Captain Barbosa didn't have a chance this time and we blew him out of the sea!

Not wanting to give anything away, this was my favorite thing at DisneyQuest! I imagine it would be even more fun if you filled up the ship with friends and family. This is a MUST DO if you go to DisneyQuest!

Frank was getting a little peckish (I hope I got that right) and our dinner reservations weren't until 8:15, so we headed up to the 4th floor to Pizza Pasta Pannini for a little snack. Frank got a pizza and I just had some water (I was still a little ) as we decided what to do next.

We headed down to the 3rd floor to try out Buzz Lightyear's Astroblaster:

This is really just high-tech bumper cars with a twist: you have to run over foam balls with you car which then get sucked into your car and then you load them into a cannon which you use to shoot at other cars while they are trying to bang into you. Got that? Me neither Oh and did I mention that if someone else hits you with one of their foam balls, your car spins around, uncontrollably, for what seems like 5 minutes (ok, so I exaggerated a little). I spent most of the time spinning around and never actually got off a shot, but the bumper car part was fun.

A very blurry picture, but you get the idea:

Here's the lesson I learned: you shouldn't do this ride alone. Frank and I should have shared a car, with one of us navigating and one loading and firing the cannon. The smug teenagers that were sharing the ride with us knew this, but rather than tell us in advance, they decided to make us sitting (or spinning) ducks. They were all giggling and pointing at me as they left the ride. This is definitely fun, but you may need more than one go at it to figure it out.

The rest of our time was spent playing air hockey (Frank continued his undefeated streak, which started when I was about 10), skee ball and some oldie but goodie arcade games. I LOVE to play pinball and they had some great machines there. I even tried one of the new video pinball machines, but I didn't like it. I was extremely good at the video bowling game - I scored a 278 on my first try (it's all in the follow thru ) We even drove NASCAR race cars, which was pretty fun once I switched to automatic mode. (I do know how to drive a stick, but there was just way too much going on to have to deal with shifting too!)

We also like to shoot things. Here's Frank shooting something in the Old West:

He also played some pretty cool music game:

Overall, we really enjoyed DisneyQuest and think that there is plenty for grownups to do. As a matter of fact, the kids would probably think some of the older arcade games like PacMan and Centipede were for babies, even though we loved them. We had a limited amount of time; I think we could easily have spent another hour or two there. This would also be a GREAT rainy day activity.

So now it was time for us to head over to La Nouba , the next stop, but not the last stop, on our longest day.

 

[cntkg1]

Well, Kathy, you aren't the only one who got a little ill on that ride. Chuck couldn't handle it either, although in all fairness he doesn't do well on any of those "virtual" rides. Heck, he gets nauseous over at EPCOTs Canada film.

How did you do on the raft ride at Quest? That's where a few of us got a little queezy.

Put us on a roller coaster though and you can't get us off!!

Sounds like you and Frank had a fantastic time. Can't wait for the next update.

 

[njprincess]

Well, Kathy, you aren't the only one who got a little ill on that ride. Chuck couldn't handle it either, although in all fairness he doesn't do well on any of those "virtual" rides. Heck, he gets nauseous over at EPCOTs Canada film.

How did you do on the raft ride at Quest? That's where a few of us got a little queezy.

Put us on a roller coaster though and you can't get us off!!

Sounds like you and Frank had a fantastic time. Can't wait for the next update.

I have never gotten sick on a ride before in my life and I've done all sorts of coasters and virtual rides. Similarly, I've never gotten seasick, even when I was on a 248' sailboat in 20' swells. Even the crew was barfing that day! As a matter of fact. I've only barfed twice in the last 25 years and both times that was medication/surgery (yes, it's so rare that I can actually keep track!). So this was a whole new experience for me.

It's tough getting old.

I didn't feel sick on the river ride at all.

 

[GOS]

Rick and I haven't done DisneyQuest and the thought of virtual rides make me feel very sick. But we must try this out sometime. The Pirates rides sounds like a lot of fun as does the jungle cruise.

 

[tikimimi]

Great report, Kathy! It sounds like you and Frank really had a great time. And who knew Frank could shoot out the wild west and play drums!!!!

 

[acourtwdw]

DQ is probably one of our Mom's favorite things to do at WDW. Not sure if we will get there on our next trip with them. She is a master of the claw and get just about anything out of those machines.

Only 9 days away

 

[njprincess]

Great report, Kathy! It sounds like you and Frank really had a great time. And who knew Frank could shoot out the wild west and play drums!!!!

Thanks, Mimi! Yes, Frank has many talents!

DQ is probably one of our Mom's favorite things to do at WDW. Not sure if we will get there on our next trip with them. She is a master of the claw and get just about anything out of those machines.

Only 9 days away

That's a nice talent to have! Down the shore they have all sorts of things in thos claw machines - iPods, Coach bags, etc. but I can never figure them out.

Did she like the little green men in Toy Story? That was my favorite part of the movie "we worship the claw, the claw is our master"

 

[njprincess]

Hiya Everybody!

After leaving Disney Quest, we headed over to the theater that houses Disney's very own Cirque du Soleil show, La Nouba. The theater was specially constructed for this show, which is in permanent residence in Downtown Disney. The show is performed twice nightly, at 6 and 9 PM. Here is a picture of the theater:

This was my first visit to La Nouba, although I have seen a number of other Cirque du Soleil shows - Quidam, Allegria and Mystere. There is a 15 minute pre-show featuring two clowns, which is a good way to start any show! (See my '25' Random Facts' for more information.) The remainder of the show is around 90 minutes, without an intermission, although no one seemed to mind if people needed to get up and take a break.

I don't have any pictures, because you're not allowed to take any! (Sorry Karen!)

The theater is a large semi-circle, with a large center aisle separating the top and bottom sections. The seats are divided into 4 sections and are priced accordingly: Front & Center, Category 1, Category 2 and, you guessed it, Category 3. There are also a number of limited view seats that can only be purchased at the box office.

Our seats were located in the very first row of Section 204 (Category 1), just to the right of the sound/lighting booth. Most excellent for two reasons: 1) The 'Spec' (hang on, I'll explain in a minute) takes place in the middle aisle, so the performers passed right in front of us. 2) You don't have to worry about a freakishly tall guy sitting in front of you, ruining your view. (Yes, once again you know who you are! Incidentally, a considerate freakishly tall guy could ask for a seat in the last row of the lower section so he wouldn't be blocking out the show for anyone.)

Now would be a good time to mention that I am a bit of a circus fan, since the first time my parents took us to Ringling Brothers, back in the old days. So, I know my way around a circus. For those that are interested, here is a little Circus 101. If you're not interested, just skip down until you find something you like (I recommend the Aerial Ballet description, which I have highlighted below ) Circuses begin with the 'Spectacle' or 'Spec' to insiders, which is a parade featuring all of the performers. The show, presided over by a Ringmaster, consists of a series of acts, both animal and human, which are usually unrelated and take place in one to three rings. Clowns perform 'gags' to distract the audience while props and equipment are moved around and basically keep things moving. There is also a Finale, where most of the performers appear again.

The thing about Cirque du Soleil shows, including the ones I have seen, is that the tend to be fairly NON-circusy, even though their name has the French word for circus in it. Each show has an original score, especially created for that show. There is a usually a back story, although it is sometimes difficult to discern. There are a number of characters that appear on stage, throughout the show, most of whom have some special talent. And then there are the actual acts, which tend to be very original, artsy and not your typical circus acts.

OK, so La Nouba has no Ringmaster, no rings (it takes place in a traditional, yet custom designed theater) and DEFINITELY no animals acts! What was very interesting to me about La Nouba is that it had more traditional circus aspects than any other Cirque show I have seen. Clowns coming out to warm up the audience? Check. A 'Spec' (through the middle aisle of the audience), introducing the performers? Check. Clowns being silly between acts to distract the audience? Check. And then there were the acts themselves, some of them very traditional circus acts: High Wire artists, Aerialists, Balancing routines, and even a Aerial Cradle (although the man AND the woman take took turns supporting each other!) Most of the other acts, like the German Wheels, Diabolos and BMX Cycles, would not be out of place in a traditional circus like RBBB, these days. However, it wouldn't be Cirque if they didn't put their on unique twist on things. My personal favorites were the Aerial Ballet in Silk and the Power Track and Trampoline. Please excuse me for a moment: I would be remiss in my faithful trip reporting duties if I did not take this time to point out the that the main performer in the Aerial Ballet is a not-so-young-but-still-very-hunky-looking-bare-chested-guy-wearing-spandex-pants-with-six-pack-abs-you-could-bounce-a-silver-dollar-off. Definitely worth the price of admission, especially when he flies over the crowd, wrapped in his red silk curtain-thingys.

For a complete list of the acts and characters, please see the very thorough Wikipedia entry at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Nouba

A word on the seating: the Concierge picked our seats and specifically did NOT put us in the most expensive Front & Center section (even though she had free use of my credit card). I would definitely recommend sitting in the upper section, more specifically Sections 203, 204 or 205 (unless you are freakishly tall, then see above). I think you get a much better perspective of the whole show and a much better view of the aerial acts. (Although, the people in the expensive seats get a much closer look at the hunky aerial ballet guy. )

I thoroughly enjoyed each and every minute of La Nouba! I can't believe how quickly the time went by. It is pricey, but it is a really special treat. I don't know that I would take very small children since it is over 90 minutes long, with no intermission. (I wouldn't want to spend over $50, minimally, for a kid's ticket and end up missing part of the show for a trip to the bathroom.)

Now that we had completed the 3rd Stop of our Longest Day, it was time to head over to our favorite Irish pub, Raglan Road, for some well deserved dinner. After all, we had worked very hard today!

Thanks for reading!

A word about clowns, actually a rant, for anyone that's interested.

I believe that I previously let slip that I am a professionally trained clown. So I was most pleased to see that La Nouba made proper use of 2 traditional clowns, something I hadn't seen in their shows before. What I was not pleased to see is that these clowns violated a basic clown tradition, although this would probably not be noticeable to the untrained eye.

The 2 most traditional forms of clowns are known as the White Face and the Auguste. The White Face clown, so called because their makeup uses a traditional white base to cover their entire face, is the boss or ringleader. He/she is the one with the brains and is usually the one making the plans. Bozo and Ronald McDonald are examples of White Face clowns. (My clown character is also a White Face - surprised? ) Auguste clowns wear flesh based makeup (or rouge highlight over their own skin) and are usually more casual in their attire. The Auguste clown is not too bright and has a difficult time performing tasks that are assigned to them although it's difficult to tell if they might be doing it on purpose . My friend Patch Adams is an example of an Auguste clown.

The White Face and the Auguste usually work as a team; the White Face makes the plans and gives the directions to the Auguste, who then does their best to screw things up. This traditional formula had worked for ages, not only just in the circus, but in all forms of comedy. Abbott (White Face) and Costello (Auguste). Laurel (Auguste) and Hardy (White Face). Bugs Bunny (White Face) and Elmer Fudd (Auguste). You get the idea.

So I was a little bit shocked to see that, although La Nouba had two traditional clowns, they were both of the Auguste persuasion! I gave them the benefit of the doubt, waiting to see how they worked their 'gag', before I passed judgement, since I knew that two Augustes would never be able to accomplish anything together! Unfortunately, one of them began to act in a very non-Auguste way - he was giving orders to the other Auguste! One Auguste bossing around another Auguste??? I was shocked! I was appalled! I was probably the only person in the theater that even remotely cared and Frank gave me one of those classic-MG 'PFFFFFT's when I tried to point out this severe misuse of clowniness. In order to stop twitching, I needed to mentally turn the 'boss' Auguste into a White Face. Much to my delight, this little self-deception actually worked and I was able to enjoy the rest of the show like a normal person.

End of Rant. If you read this far, you are a real trooper. If you read this far and you are a BOBer, I own you a KK on CC, although you must prove you read this far. There will be a quiz.

 

[PSC]

You won't have to worry about this freakishly tall guy blocking your view at Circue du Soleil. Its to expen$ive for me even with the occasional DVC member discount. I'm just as happy to spend my extra cash at Raglan Road watching the step dancer. I really don't care if I'm blocking the bartenders view from my preferred seat at the bar.

What do non BOBers get for reading this far?

 

[njprincess]

You won't have to worry about this freakishly tall guy blocking your view at Circue du Soleil. Its to expen$ive for me even with the occasional DVC member discount. I'm just as happy to spend my extra cash at Raglan Road watching the step dancer. I really don't care if I'm blocking the bartenders view from my preferred seat at the bar.

What do non BOBers get for reading this far?

Hmmm, I didn't think anyone would actually make it that far. Guess I will have to give you a credit for a KK when you get to CC next year. But you must pass the quiz!

 

[goslingl]

Kathy,

Great report! I have always wanted to do this but my DS has always been afraid of clowns. Too bad he will not be on the cruise with us so that you could provide clownphobia sessions. I know he is a strange person (we will blame it on his Dad)