hamlet35_2000
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2006
- Messages
- 186
This is Day four of Michael's and John's WDW trip. The torch has been handed over to me (John). Michael's fingers were starting to hurt from typing so much. I will try to make it as interesting as the last few reports.
Day four starts like all the rest with a wonderful wake up from "Stitch and Mickey. We are showered and ready for our very long (extra magic hours at MK) adventurous day. Our journey begins at the gates of Animal Kingdom and after being let in we make our way towards Dinoland and avoiding the other huge families that have just lined up. Our destination is Donalds Restaurantasoarus (as is everyone elses including Mr. Annoying and his grandson) and we have an hour to eat before the park opens for everyone else so it is imperative to get in and get out (as well as beating Mr. Annoying and Grandson to the restaurant) After Mike flirts with the hostesses and the hosts in an effort to get seated, we finally get seated and start to chow down, and Mr. Annoying and Grandson are just getting seated. Michael was thrilled that Krispy Kreme doughnuts were on the menu. I didnt have anything special just the usual eggs, sausage, OJ, and fruit loops. Our area has the pleasure of seeing the characters first so we got all the pictures out of the way first so we could concentrate on eating to get out of there and beat everyone to Everest, as least that was the plan, that didnt work out the way we planned. Soon we discovered that everyone that paid good money for breakfast had to wait until all those other people got let into the park. A cast member stated they had to be fair to everyone. Hello we just spent $60 on breakfast! I am sure that party of 10 spent a lot more. You need to let us in now!! That didnt happen. So after we waited around for 10 minutes or so (luckily not as humid as our early rope drop in the magic Kingdom) they finally dropped the rope to the pleasure of one party whose 7 kids took off running towards Asia. Leaving Michael behind me joined the running kids for a light jog to ..another Rope drop. We are only a few hundred feet from Everest now. The excitement is building. The cast member yelled at everyone for running and said no one is going to get to Everest faster then the rest. Now we have to wait at another for about 10 min until, from across the way, we see a massive horde of people herd behind a few CMs. And at the head of the pack (Oh no its a Brazilian Tour group! This could be trouble) so we look at each other with determination. You (me) go get fast pass and I (Michael) will get in line Sounds like a plan. We slowly start to move now following the CM closely as we reach closer all hell breaks loose. The other line (with the BTG) starts barreling towards the line for Everest so what does our line do--- yep you guessed it a stampede. The both of us barely make it to Everest with our lives intact and trying to fight to get a FP which has been overcome by the BTG. We finally get a FP and get in line which was only about 15-20 min wait. The first ride of the day, Everest was very cool. The train up the mountain was very slow moving. Since we had the first car we were able to see everything before it happened. The mountain held many surprises for us and our expedition. We even spotted a YETI, although we were not fast enough to get any pictures, sorry folks. We enjoyed the backwards part and the big drop. Not as exciting as TOT or RockinRC at MGM. The Yeti is too cool, and we got to ride in front and it really looks like he is going to get you. We get the heck out of doge and head back over the bridge to Dinoland.
Once in Dinoland we discover that everyone else is at Everest and the Safari because there was only a hand full of people lingering about. So we got right on for Primeval Whirl which is a hoot and a half. It is a freakish rollercoaster a cross between the teacups and midsize coaster, full of laughs though. I dont think I have laughed so much in my life. After recovering from that, we journey over and ride Dinosaur which is again a walk-on (being that everyone is at the two biggest attractions). Keeping one step ahead of Them we journey to the tree of life and catch Tough To Be a Bug stopping along the way to get a FP for the Safari. The bug movie should be renamed Tough to Park a Motor Buggy. I should give you some back story on that one so you are not scratching your head. The loading CM in charge of getting motor buggies/scooters/wheelchairs etc into the handicapped area is like 90 years old. I hope she never works for an airline because brothers and sisters we would be in a heap of trouble. She directs people to park and then wait for the attraction to start, which was the funniest thing ever. It was an attraction in of itself. Back up now come forward no left no forward now back up again no left no right this went on for at least 10 min while waiting for the show to let in and continued in the theatre where people were getting annoyed after the show had started and the parking attendant CM was still going. A husband of one of the motowheelchairs finally asked his wife to sit (who was getting frustrated after dealing with this crazy lady for almost 15 min) and he parked it so everyone could watch the show in peace. Mike enjoyed the geriatric parking attendant preshow almost as much as the show itself. Tough to be a Bug is still way cool, and still freaks the littler ones out.
By this time our FP times are up and we skip on over to Africa to join our safari tour guide. It was a lovely trip through the savannah where we sighted quite a few species of animals. We also helped save a baby elephant from poachers it was very exciting. (Mike addendum: When did they stop using the CM from Africa to narrative this attraction?)
We stop in some Africa village to ask the natives for some ice water (the African sun is so intense) then magically transport ourselves back to Asia and rejoin our troop for an expedition up Mt. Everest using our FP we had gotten earlier that morning after barely getting trampled by a BTG. We were not able to ride in the first car this time but it was still a cool ride. After traveling so far in a short amount of time we were exhausted and opted to leave for our hotel and take a nap, since afternoons seem to be the only time that the toilet flushing ceases and people do not stomp around in their what I can assume are really big heels.
Stitch gave us a call to wake us up from our slumber. So we get all pretty for our day of high seas fun parasailing and jet skiing but alas them be some thunderstorms approaching argggh. We thought it would be safe to call before we left and sure enough they had closed the lake due to thunderstorms and lightening and while Mike is on the phone various guests on the other side could be heard complaining about the lake closing and how could They do that. Hello people???!!!! Disney has a lot of power but power over Mother Nature they have not. Now we have all this time to kill so decide to check out the lovely dining facilities at the Disney Motel 6 Along our way we find that they have closed the pool due to the weather which was bad news for the people who have nothing better to do at Disney then to hang out at the pool all day. We weed our way through the hoards of people waiting for the pools to reopen and make our trek based on the towering lady and tramp statues landmarks to the lobby and cafeteria/gift shop. All the outside seats have been taking up by the pool people waiting around for the pool to open again rather than finding something else to do. So we had lunch. After the amazing meals we have experienced chicken strips and French fries were kind of mediocre. While getting our soft drink we discovered a slushy machine that several CMs said didnt exsist. After eating we both filled our water bottles up with soda and non-existent slushies for Mike and left for the MK on Disney Transportation.
Several hours later we arrived at the Magic kingdom for the extra magic hours until 2am and were surprised to find Mickey and Minnie just coming out for a set at the alcove by city hall and ran over for a photo of both of them. It came out very nice.
We jumped on board the railroad and took it to Frontierland to get some FP for Splash Mountain since we havent been able to ride it during our other MK days. We quickly got inline for Splash Mountain using a FP my ex-trainer who now works in city hall gave us for a problem we had with the infamous Adventure land rope drop from Day Three where Splash Mountain was having technical difficulties all day long. Now its on to the Hall of Boredom, oh I mean the Hall of Presidents with a CM who was very political and said many good things about our current president which led to much heated debate with Mike. I stayed out of it not wanting to get involved. A funny thing happened during the sounding off of presidents--when they came to current president the theatre was filled with boos and hisses. Clinton and Kennedy received much of the applause. It was a good time. While exiting we were summoned to the Gracey Mansion for a visit. We both love this ride very much. It is dark and creepy, and well it is a nice couples ride, if you know what I mean. Now our Splash FP were up and skipped on over with excitement to ride this awesome ride a second time. I said hello to an old friend who works in attractions for Splash. I do have one question When they say no flash photography what part of NO do people NOT understand?? This guy on our boat had a video camera with external lighting on for most of the ride. It kind of ruins the aesthetic. Enough said.
It is close to 8oclock and our time for dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern w/ Minnie, Chip&Dale, Pluto and Goofy. The lobby was standing room only and after waiting 15-20min we were lead to our table. They brought out the food family style. Starting with salad and then the main course--One plate of turkey, ham and roast beef, a bowl of mashed potatoes, mac&cheese, green beans, bread and gravy. It was very delicious. The highlight was interacting with the characters. Minnie mouse was extremely frisky tonight prancing around the dining room. She was totally flirting with both of us. Michael called here a little tart because she was flirting with me. We had a thing going between Goofy and Pluto who had signed the whole page which was meant for both of them so when Goofy came over he signed our book we had made and put #1 for him and Pluto #2. So when Pluto came back around we told him Goofy said he was number one and that he was number 2 so he added some other to our book saying he was the grrrrrrrreatest. It was quite funny seeing the both of them playing around. Last but not least Chip and Dale who are adorable signed our book and where happy to see us. Time was going by quickly so we rushed to get out in time for our wishes seating.
I must say when the package said preferred seating for fireworks I assumed it would be somewhere close by the castle in plain view. When we found out that it was located outside the plaza restaurant in the smoking area down by the pond we were not thrilled. Also the viewing of the castle was blocked by several trees. I could have found better seats without the package deal. A note to others The preferred seating isnt all that special. I would skip it and just find somewhere close to the castle to watch. While Wishes is a spectacular nighttime fireworks show, the crowds afterwards are not so spectacular. You need a crowbar to get through. We managed to squeeze our way to Fantasyland where we rode Winnie the Pooh using a FP we had gotten earlier. From Winnie we bounced our way over to catch Mickeys Philharmagic, which is hysterical. Upon exiting we zoomed through Tomorrow land at light speed and joined Buzzlightyear on his spinning interactive joyride. The late Spectro was getting closer so we fought the crowds around the castle and crossed into Liberty Square where we had great viewing on our first day. Note to travelers- from the Adventureland Bridge there is a new bridge connecting to Liberty Square just in case crowds are too thick. Spectromagic was amazing as always. We sang and danced along with the music. The characters in parade love it when people are lively--they play off that.
It is now 11:45 and we have until 2am so decided to hop on Haunted Mansion which we rode twice in row. We love the mansion a lot. We then made our way to Fantasyland which we were surprised to find very busy for a late night. I think the only FP Working was Peter Pan so we got a FP to fly later. The only thing we managed to get on quickly was Mickeys Philharmagic. Once again this show cracked us up. By this time were getting tired of the crowds so we went to Tomorrowland which was also flooded with people. Luckily we didnt run into any BTG. Just all resort guests and there little Satan children. We decided to hop on the Tomorrowland Peoplemover then went and got onto Buzzlightyear again and then went to see Stitch. After loading us and viewing the preshow a CM announced Technical Difficulties but they didnt want to run the ride half full so they loaded some more people and we had to watch the preshow again. Half and hour later we exit Stitch which by now it is like 12:45 so we dont have much time left. We skip Space Mountain due to a 30 min wait and decide to travel to Frontierland to check splash Mountain which is also a 30 min wait as well. We go and get on Big Thunder Mt and ride twice. After all the walking is it like 1:30-1:40 and we only have until 2am so we chose to check out Pirates which to our surprise was a walk-on and we were able to get a whole boat to ourselves and it was very romantic. By the time Pirate was over it was just about 2am and had to make our way to Main St. and the buses back to our glorious Disney resort (Mikes addendum: We were staying at a Disney resort????? I thought it was something off of Irlo Bronson Highway). Many of the shops on Main St had closed theirs doors because they wanted to get the heck out of there as much as we did (it is 2am in the morning).There was one candy store that hadnt closed yet and ducked in to a drink. They quickly locked the doors on us once inside and one CM was fighting with a guest because she wanted to get a soda and had spent the last hour looking for drinks for her family. The CM of course had no choice but to by her sop story Ive been looking for a soda for hours for my poor kid who hasnt had anything to drink for years did I mention that he was only 2??? And we have been searching for hours, did I mention that? YEAH RIGHT!! We found several places open. And why are you at a Disney Park at 2:00 in the morning with a two year old anyways, and plus whey are you filling the kid up with sugar and caffeine at two oclock in the morning!!!!
We escape the madness of the only shop open on Main St. and now comes the part we dread the BUS STOP. I think the Pop resort had the most people out of all the resorts combined and they just kept coming. So we found a bench and waited for all of them to get on the buses. I think it was about 4-5 buses later that we finally were able to get a bus where no one was packed like sardines. We all found seats which was nice. We got back to our room and we saw people swimming and though (it is almost 3:30 am what are these people thinking)...We got to bed in our noisy room and went to dreamland .
Next Installment (By Mike): Day Five: Water Fun and Getting John Drunk Again
Day four starts like all the rest with a wonderful wake up from "Stitch and Mickey. We are showered and ready for our very long (extra magic hours at MK) adventurous day. Our journey begins at the gates of Animal Kingdom and after being let in we make our way towards Dinoland and avoiding the other huge families that have just lined up. Our destination is Donalds Restaurantasoarus (as is everyone elses including Mr. Annoying and his grandson) and we have an hour to eat before the park opens for everyone else so it is imperative to get in and get out (as well as beating Mr. Annoying and Grandson to the restaurant) After Mike flirts with the hostesses and the hosts in an effort to get seated, we finally get seated and start to chow down, and Mr. Annoying and Grandson are just getting seated. Michael was thrilled that Krispy Kreme doughnuts were on the menu. I didnt have anything special just the usual eggs, sausage, OJ, and fruit loops. Our area has the pleasure of seeing the characters first so we got all the pictures out of the way first so we could concentrate on eating to get out of there and beat everyone to Everest, as least that was the plan, that didnt work out the way we planned. Soon we discovered that everyone that paid good money for breakfast had to wait until all those other people got let into the park. A cast member stated they had to be fair to everyone. Hello we just spent $60 on breakfast! I am sure that party of 10 spent a lot more. You need to let us in now!! That didnt happen. So after we waited around for 10 minutes or so (luckily not as humid as our early rope drop in the magic Kingdom) they finally dropped the rope to the pleasure of one party whose 7 kids took off running towards Asia. Leaving Michael behind me joined the running kids for a light jog to ..another Rope drop. We are only a few hundred feet from Everest now. The excitement is building. The cast member yelled at everyone for running and said no one is going to get to Everest faster then the rest. Now we have to wait at another for about 10 min until, from across the way, we see a massive horde of people herd behind a few CMs. And at the head of the pack (Oh no its a Brazilian Tour group! This could be trouble) so we look at each other with determination. You (me) go get fast pass and I (Michael) will get in line Sounds like a plan. We slowly start to move now following the CM closely as we reach closer all hell breaks loose. The other line (with the BTG) starts barreling towards the line for Everest so what does our line do--- yep you guessed it a stampede. The both of us barely make it to Everest with our lives intact and trying to fight to get a FP which has been overcome by the BTG. We finally get a FP and get in line which was only about 15-20 min wait. The first ride of the day, Everest was very cool. The train up the mountain was very slow moving. Since we had the first car we were able to see everything before it happened. The mountain held many surprises for us and our expedition. We even spotted a YETI, although we were not fast enough to get any pictures, sorry folks. We enjoyed the backwards part and the big drop. Not as exciting as TOT or RockinRC at MGM. The Yeti is too cool, and we got to ride in front and it really looks like he is going to get you. We get the heck out of doge and head back over the bridge to Dinoland.
Once in Dinoland we discover that everyone else is at Everest and the Safari because there was only a hand full of people lingering about. So we got right on for Primeval Whirl which is a hoot and a half. It is a freakish rollercoaster a cross between the teacups and midsize coaster, full of laughs though. I dont think I have laughed so much in my life. After recovering from that, we journey over and ride Dinosaur which is again a walk-on (being that everyone is at the two biggest attractions). Keeping one step ahead of Them we journey to the tree of life and catch Tough To Be a Bug stopping along the way to get a FP for the Safari. The bug movie should be renamed Tough to Park a Motor Buggy. I should give you some back story on that one so you are not scratching your head. The loading CM in charge of getting motor buggies/scooters/wheelchairs etc into the handicapped area is like 90 years old. I hope she never works for an airline because brothers and sisters we would be in a heap of trouble. She directs people to park and then wait for the attraction to start, which was the funniest thing ever. It was an attraction in of itself. Back up now come forward no left no forward now back up again no left no right this went on for at least 10 min while waiting for the show to let in and continued in the theatre where people were getting annoyed after the show had started and the parking attendant CM was still going. A husband of one of the motowheelchairs finally asked his wife to sit (who was getting frustrated after dealing with this crazy lady for almost 15 min) and he parked it so everyone could watch the show in peace. Mike enjoyed the geriatric parking attendant preshow almost as much as the show itself. Tough to be a Bug is still way cool, and still freaks the littler ones out.
By this time our FP times are up and we skip on over to Africa to join our safari tour guide. It was a lovely trip through the savannah where we sighted quite a few species of animals. We also helped save a baby elephant from poachers it was very exciting. (Mike addendum: When did they stop using the CM from Africa to narrative this attraction?)
We stop in some Africa village to ask the natives for some ice water (the African sun is so intense) then magically transport ourselves back to Asia and rejoin our troop for an expedition up Mt. Everest using our FP we had gotten earlier that morning after barely getting trampled by a BTG. We were not able to ride in the first car this time but it was still a cool ride. After traveling so far in a short amount of time we were exhausted and opted to leave for our hotel and take a nap, since afternoons seem to be the only time that the toilet flushing ceases and people do not stomp around in their what I can assume are really big heels.
Stitch gave us a call to wake us up from our slumber. So we get all pretty for our day of high seas fun parasailing and jet skiing but alas them be some thunderstorms approaching argggh. We thought it would be safe to call before we left and sure enough they had closed the lake due to thunderstorms and lightening and while Mike is on the phone various guests on the other side could be heard complaining about the lake closing and how could They do that. Hello people???!!!! Disney has a lot of power but power over Mother Nature they have not. Now we have all this time to kill so decide to check out the lovely dining facilities at the Disney Motel 6 Along our way we find that they have closed the pool due to the weather which was bad news for the people who have nothing better to do at Disney then to hang out at the pool all day. We weed our way through the hoards of people waiting for the pools to reopen and make our trek based on the towering lady and tramp statues landmarks to the lobby and cafeteria/gift shop. All the outside seats have been taking up by the pool people waiting around for the pool to open again rather than finding something else to do. So we had lunch. After the amazing meals we have experienced chicken strips and French fries were kind of mediocre. While getting our soft drink we discovered a slushy machine that several CMs said didnt exsist. After eating we both filled our water bottles up with soda and non-existent slushies for Mike and left for the MK on Disney Transportation.
Several hours later we arrived at the Magic kingdom for the extra magic hours until 2am and were surprised to find Mickey and Minnie just coming out for a set at the alcove by city hall and ran over for a photo of both of them. It came out very nice.
We jumped on board the railroad and took it to Frontierland to get some FP for Splash Mountain since we havent been able to ride it during our other MK days. We quickly got inline for Splash Mountain using a FP my ex-trainer who now works in city hall gave us for a problem we had with the infamous Adventure land rope drop from Day Three where Splash Mountain was having technical difficulties all day long. Now its on to the Hall of Boredom, oh I mean the Hall of Presidents with a CM who was very political and said many good things about our current president which led to much heated debate with Mike. I stayed out of it not wanting to get involved. A funny thing happened during the sounding off of presidents--when they came to current president the theatre was filled with boos and hisses. Clinton and Kennedy received much of the applause. It was a good time. While exiting we were summoned to the Gracey Mansion for a visit. We both love this ride very much. It is dark and creepy, and well it is a nice couples ride, if you know what I mean. Now our Splash FP were up and skipped on over with excitement to ride this awesome ride a second time. I said hello to an old friend who works in attractions for Splash. I do have one question When they say no flash photography what part of NO do people NOT understand?? This guy on our boat had a video camera with external lighting on for most of the ride. It kind of ruins the aesthetic. Enough said.
It is close to 8oclock and our time for dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern w/ Minnie, Chip&Dale, Pluto and Goofy. The lobby was standing room only and after waiting 15-20min we were lead to our table. They brought out the food family style. Starting with salad and then the main course--One plate of turkey, ham and roast beef, a bowl of mashed potatoes, mac&cheese, green beans, bread and gravy. It was very delicious. The highlight was interacting with the characters. Minnie mouse was extremely frisky tonight prancing around the dining room. She was totally flirting with both of us. Michael called here a little tart because she was flirting with me. We had a thing going between Goofy and Pluto who had signed the whole page which was meant for both of them so when Goofy came over he signed our book we had made and put #1 for him and Pluto #2. So when Pluto came back around we told him Goofy said he was number one and that he was number 2 so he added some other to our book saying he was the grrrrrrrreatest. It was quite funny seeing the both of them playing around. Last but not least Chip and Dale who are adorable signed our book and where happy to see us. Time was going by quickly so we rushed to get out in time for our wishes seating.
I must say when the package said preferred seating for fireworks I assumed it would be somewhere close by the castle in plain view. When we found out that it was located outside the plaza restaurant in the smoking area down by the pond we were not thrilled. Also the viewing of the castle was blocked by several trees. I could have found better seats without the package deal. A note to others The preferred seating isnt all that special. I would skip it and just find somewhere close to the castle to watch. While Wishes is a spectacular nighttime fireworks show, the crowds afterwards are not so spectacular. You need a crowbar to get through. We managed to squeeze our way to Fantasyland where we rode Winnie the Pooh using a FP we had gotten earlier. From Winnie we bounced our way over to catch Mickeys Philharmagic, which is hysterical. Upon exiting we zoomed through Tomorrow land at light speed and joined Buzzlightyear on his spinning interactive joyride. The late Spectro was getting closer so we fought the crowds around the castle and crossed into Liberty Square where we had great viewing on our first day. Note to travelers- from the Adventureland Bridge there is a new bridge connecting to Liberty Square just in case crowds are too thick. Spectromagic was amazing as always. We sang and danced along with the music. The characters in parade love it when people are lively--they play off that.
It is now 11:45 and we have until 2am so decided to hop on Haunted Mansion which we rode twice in row. We love the mansion a lot. We then made our way to Fantasyland which we were surprised to find very busy for a late night. I think the only FP Working was Peter Pan so we got a FP to fly later. The only thing we managed to get on quickly was Mickeys Philharmagic. Once again this show cracked us up. By this time were getting tired of the crowds so we went to Tomorrowland which was also flooded with people. Luckily we didnt run into any BTG. Just all resort guests and there little Satan children. We decided to hop on the Tomorrowland Peoplemover then went and got onto Buzzlightyear again and then went to see Stitch. After loading us and viewing the preshow a CM announced Technical Difficulties but they didnt want to run the ride half full so they loaded some more people and we had to watch the preshow again. Half and hour later we exit Stitch which by now it is like 12:45 so we dont have much time left. We skip Space Mountain due to a 30 min wait and decide to travel to Frontierland to check splash Mountain which is also a 30 min wait as well. We go and get on Big Thunder Mt and ride twice. After all the walking is it like 1:30-1:40 and we only have until 2am so we chose to check out Pirates which to our surprise was a walk-on and we were able to get a whole boat to ourselves and it was very romantic. By the time Pirate was over it was just about 2am and had to make our way to Main St. and the buses back to our glorious Disney resort (Mikes addendum: We were staying at a Disney resort????? I thought it was something off of Irlo Bronson Highway). Many of the shops on Main St had closed theirs doors because they wanted to get the heck out of there as much as we did (it is 2am in the morning).There was one candy store that hadnt closed yet and ducked in to a drink. They quickly locked the doors on us once inside and one CM was fighting with a guest because she wanted to get a soda and had spent the last hour looking for drinks for her family. The CM of course had no choice but to by her sop story Ive been looking for a soda for hours for my poor kid who hasnt had anything to drink for years did I mention that he was only 2??? And we have been searching for hours, did I mention that? YEAH RIGHT!! We found several places open. And why are you at a Disney Park at 2:00 in the morning with a two year old anyways, and plus whey are you filling the kid up with sugar and caffeine at two oclock in the morning!!!!
We escape the madness of the only shop open on Main St. and now comes the part we dread the BUS STOP. I think the Pop resort had the most people out of all the resorts combined and they just kept coming. So we found a bench and waited for all of them to get on the buses. I think it was about 4-5 buses later that we finally were able to get a bus where no one was packed like sardines. We all found seats which was nice. We got back to our room and we saw people swimming and though (it is almost 3:30 am what are these people thinking)...We got to bed in our noisy room and went to dreamland .
Next Installment (By Mike): Day Five: Water Fun and Getting John Drunk Again
