hamlet35_2000
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2006
- Messages
- 186
Day Two: Splish Splash with Zeus in France
Ok, when I left you all we were sleeping after arriving at WDW on first day. We were at the Disney Motel 8 (Pop Century to those who might actually like this motel--and I slept in my flame retardant suit so flame away) and we are headed to Blizzard Beach today after Stitch wakes us up...I love the wake-up service at WDW...I used it a couple of times just so I could hear it. So we are awake...it is surprisingly quiet, so we know that "they" are asleep after spending the entire evening in the pool (I know they spent the entire evening in the pool because I heard them screaming a couple of times in the middle of the night). So we are zagging our way into our bathroom to shower which I like to call Bay Lake Minor...And then we are off to Blizzard Beach.
We drive since neither of us is interested in the hike to the bus stops, and we arrive at Blizzard Beach way before opening. We are allowed in at 8:00 on the dot, and we get a locker and a towel from a little shop on the left as you are coming in. This is a great tip, that I don't think a little people know about--you don't need to head all the way over to the locker area to get your towels and lockers--we got them here and when we were putting our stuff into the locker, others were in a line to get towels and lockers--and we made it to the chairlift and walked right on. Moments later we were Splashing down the big slide there and then being told to get up and out by the voice of god (I finally saw the lifeguard with the microphone later, but for now I had no idea where the voice was coming from). Up the chairlift again (still no line) and now we are headed to the slide that gave me a buttocks ache...this slide had some dips in it, and I was convinced that I was going to splish splash my way out of this thing...I felt myself raise up...it might have been a couple of inches, but I did see a white light, and John was also freaked out when I got down and found that I had indeed survived. Voice of god "Step out of the water and move to the stairs!" I just had a near death experience...hold on just a minute. I think I may be getting a little too old for big drops with water at the end of them...anyways...back to the chairlift (we had to wait a whole minute!!!!!!) and off to the best slide (IMHO) the family slide. A Cast Member goes with us down since we need extra people and before we are push off a very nice British family joins us as well. We laugh and the CM tells us all about being a navy seal and we get wet and the British children scream (as a side note, I love the British families who visit in WDW...they are so polite and the kids are always laughing and having so much fun...contrast them with the Brazilian Tour Groups..eeeeechhhhhh...we avoided those at all costs...we zigged and zagged and left the parks to avoid the Brazil invasion) and then splash down and we are off to the inner tube slides. We have to take stairs!!!!!!! What is with that! The chairlift does not take you to the inner tube slide (well, it does but then you don't have an inner tube). So here we are physically exerting ourselves on what should be a relaxing vacation...but the inner tube slide is a lot of fun and worth it...but just once. I need the lazy river now after climbing those stairs, and we happen on an entrance very quickly, and we have our very own personal lazy river. This is more like it...floating is good, and it is curing my sore butt and elbow from "Near Death Experience" slide. We float and admire all the lifeguards (another plus of the lazy cruisey river) and we make a complete circle around, and I start to notice people in our river, so we are out of there. We decide we have done Blizzard Beach (in record time thank you) and we give back our towels and we are off to our car which is parked right in the front.
It's only 9:30 and we decide on a nap, so off we go to Motel Pop 8 (Still those same kids swimming...do they know they are in WDW...oh well, I guess everyone thinks of vacations in a different way...but really...do they KNOW there are Theme Parks all around them??? Do they know about the Water Parks which are way cooler than this "Dippy it Do-Square-No Slides" pool???) We nap. We wake up and we head over to Fort Wilderness for lunch and Horseback Riding (one of the benefits of the Premium Plan is that we got all the recreation we want for free). Now, I am starving since I haven't eaten anything since dinner in the Hawaiian Island last night, and we check into the kennel for horseback riding, and then we are informed we have to take a bus to get to the restaurant. The ranch is in front, and the restaurant is in back, and so off we go to get on our first Disney bus. There are a rainbow of colors to choose from at Fort Wilderness (orange and purple and yellow) and what they don't tell you and you need to know is that they all go to the same place at the end...we were told to take the orange or the yellow or something, but in all reality take whichever comes first and get to the other side. Off the bus (bus driver was very fun, but had a hard time explaining the whole bus colors to us by this time--we are on to them...we know they all go the same places) and then it is a short walk to Trails End Buffeteria. What a cute name, huh? They are not open yet and so we wait a short while, some CM's join the wait, and then the doors open...it is air-conditioned, thank you Disney! We let the families that have been waiting forever on the porch go first and then we go in and order water and Cokes and off to the Buffeteria line. We don't have a lot of time (Horseback Riding is coming up quickly, and there is the rainbow of buses to still take back up to the front). Buffeteria is quite good. Chili is excellent, and our server even got us sour cream for it. Chicken is good, and sandwiches that you make yourselves are great. Desert not so good, but I didn't care because I was looking for our Keys to the Kingdom...uh-oh...we left them in the car up in the front...is there anything we can do...yeah, we paid for it with a credit card, and it takes a lovely Guest Relations lady (Karen, more on her when she enters the story) to take care of it for us since the CM really does believe she is in the Wilderness here and is not part of a huge computerized network of Disney...nothing she can do without a key card...no prob!
Off we go to horseback riding and we just make it. Now, I haven't rode a horse in many years, and Disney makes it as easy and as simple as can be, but man is it a long trail in the humidity and with my legs spread open wider than they have been in years.... I do not have the attention span for riding a horse (especially slow and meandering) so thank goodness for a CM who didn't trust me to not go galloping off into the woods. She stayed back and chatted with us for most of the ride. I was informed that my horse was a star! Zeus in the white horse seen running across the field during Illuminations (we actually saw him tonight...whoops jumping ahead of myself).
Now after horseback riding, I need a break! We have dinner tonight in Paris, so we have nothing scheduled until then, and we head back to Motel 8 Pop (still garish and not too subtle) and I send John off to find something to drink while I deal with Guest Relations. We make new reservations for Wishes Seating (Remember we had missed this last night due to the numerous ropes being put up to block Fantasyland from burning up) and I explained what happened while we were out in the wilderness...lovely Karen is a little confused as to why the server just didn't call the resort, as was I earlier, but she takes care of it all--credit to our account and minus 2 table services...no problem...I loved Karen...she was great, and wasn't all garish and out of whack like the rest of this place. John returns with his mug from Tony's, but no drinks...I am dying for a ice slushy slurpee thing, and we look for one, but they don't have any (we were told this by two different CM's--remember this in the next couple of days--this will come back in a very funny way) and so I make do with an ice cream cone...until I go out by another pool (How many pools does this place have--is it a water Park that we don't know about????) and see a Pool Bar done up in bright flowers and the such (once again where is the subtlety) and there are slushies on his menu after being told they didn't have them anywhere...I order a green apple one (room charge it) and I am off on my happy little way through huge Baloos and back to my big Tramp (and I see that the Pool maintenance Building is a dog-house! Lord!!!!) past the kids in the pool (same kids with more of their friends added) and to the room. I fall asleep with slushie in my hand, and my legs propped up on a postage stamp pillow....."Wake Up!!!!! Wake Upppppppppppp"...Stitch cracks me up, but I have to get dressed for dinner in France. Shower and dressed and ready to go. John is still sleeping...hmmmmmm..."Wake upppppppppppppp" in my best Stitch imitation (not so good) and we are off after John wades through the bathroom and changes. We head out for dinner, and what do I see....... there is no one in the pool...could it be??????? Yes, they have closed the pool due to a lightning storm, and now have lifeguards posted all around the pool to keep everyone out...what will they all do without the pool...I find out when I hear the stomping behind me, they are going to run up and down the bowling pins..do they know that Tower of Terror is more fun?
After the Rainbow Disney buses this afternoon, we decided to drive to Boardwalk and park the car and take the boat to Epcot. There is a stuffed crocodile on the boat when it arrives and in my curiosity I asked a question about it, and one of my new favorite CM's said "That is to keep you in line and not bother me!" in her best Diva voice...she was great...loved her...what was her name...I should have made her sign the autograph book. We arrive in France, and have just enough time to make the Impressions du France show, it was starting to load as we walked in, and then to dinner at Bistro de Paris. Now, we ate a lot of good meals at Disney, but his restaurant is only on the Premium Plan, and that alone makes the plan worth it. We started off with Kir Royales (at the waiter's suggestion) and so we were happily staring into each other eyes with just a few sips, and then John had scallops which were backed in a clam shell and smelled great (I don't like seafood, but John does and he said they were stupendous) and I had tomato soup...now this wasn't just tomato soup this was ultimate tomato soup...with garlic crackers and goat cheese, yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. And then John had lobster (once again we will take his word that it was wonderful) and I had the most mouth watering, melt in your mouth beef tenderloin I have ever had! John who is not a big red meat guy even enjoyed it. It came with asparagus (marvelous) and scalloped potatoes which were so cheesy and creamy and good I hated to share with John (But I did). Desert was a mousse for John (he wanted the chocolate, but the waiter and I talked him into the Grand Marnier one--he liked it but would have preferred the chocolate one) and I had a fresh fruit soup which was incredible! This meal was incredible and would have cost us a small house payment had we not been on the Premiuim Plan.
After dinner we have just enough time to make it to the Morroco boat landing for our special viewing area for Illumnations. It provided a good view, but no seats and the CM letting people in was letting people who didn't have a voucher for preffered seating in because he didn't want to deal with being yelled at by familes who kids couldn't see without them being seated on the 6 foot stone walls...Illumnations was still wonderful (and Zeus was incredible). We met a nice family next to us and after Illmnations we sat down on a nice bench and waited for the crowds to diisipate (not big on crowds). We worked our way back to the Boardwalk and stopped at the bakery for a muffin and a cinnamon roll and then stopped for more slushy drinks and then headed back to the car for an early eveing. Back to Pop Century Water Park which has thankfully reopened so the kids have something better to do than run up and down the the bowling pins and not even toilets can keep me up tonight...I am full of a good dinner and champagne, and we are off to sleep in each others arms...Flush...I can't wait for the Wildderness Lodge...
Next installment: Day Three: Magic Kingdom not so Splashy Mountain and Enough food to Kill Us
Ok, when I left you all we were sleeping after arriving at WDW on first day. We were at the Disney Motel 8 (Pop Century to those who might actually like this motel--and I slept in my flame retardant suit so flame away) and we are headed to Blizzard Beach today after Stitch wakes us up...I love the wake-up service at WDW...I used it a couple of times just so I could hear it. So we are awake...it is surprisingly quiet, so we know that "they" are asleep after spending the entire evening in the pool (I know they spent the entire evening in the pool because I heard them screaming a couple of times in the middle of the night). So we are zagging our way into our bathroom to shower which I like to call Bay Lake Minor...And then we are off to Blizzard Beach.
We drive since neither of us is interested in the hike to the bus stops, and we arrive at Blizzard Beach way before opening. We are allowed in at 8:00 on the dot, and we get a locker and a towel from a little shop on the left as you are coming in. This is a great tip, that I don't think a little people know about--you don't need to head all the way over to the locker area to get your towels and lockers--we got them here and when we were putting our stuff into the locker, others were in a line to get towels and lockers--and we made it to the chairlift and walked right on. Moments later we were Splashing down the big slide there and then being told to get up and out by the voice of god (I finally saw the lifeguard with the microphone later, but for now I had no idea where the voice was coming from). Up the chairlift again (still no line) and now we are headed to the slide that gave me a buttocks ache...this slide had some dips in it, and I was convinced that I was going to splish splash my way out of this thing...I felt myself raise up...it might have been a couple of inches, but I did see a white light, and John was also freaked out when I got down and found that I had indeed survived. Voice of god "Step out of the water and move to the stairs!" I just had a near death experience...hold on just a minute. I think I may be getting a little too old for big drops with water at the end of them...anyways...back to the chairlift (we had to wait a whole minute!!!!!!) and off to the best slide (IMHO) the family slide. A Cast Member goes with us down since we need extra people and before we are push off a very nice British family joins us as well. We laugh and the CM tells us all about being a navy seal and we get wet and the British children scream (as a side note, I love the British families who visit in WDW...they are so polite and the kids are always laughing and having so much fun...contrast them with the Brazilian Tour Groups..eeeeechhhhhh...we avoided those at all costs...we zigged and zagged and left the parks to avoid the Brazil invasion) and then splash down and we are off to the inner tube slides. We have to take stairs!!!!!!! What is with that! The chairlift does not take you to the inner tube slide (well, it does but then you don't have an inner tube). So here we are physically exerting ourselves on what should be a relaxing vacation...but the inner tube slide is a lot of fun and worth it...but just once. I need the lazy river now after climbing those stairs, and we happen on an entrance very quickly, and we have our very own personal lazy river. This is more like it...floating is good, and it is curing my sore butt and elbow from "Near Death Experience" slide. We float and admire all the lifeguards (another plus of the lazy cruisey river) and we make a complete circle around, and I start to notice people in our river, so we are out of there. We decide we have done Blizzard Beach (in record time thank you) and we give back our towels and we are off to our car which is parked right in the front.
It's only 9:30 and we decide on a nap, so off we go to Motel Pop 8 (Still those same kids swimming...do they know they are in WDW...oh well, I guess everyone thinks of vacations in a different way...but really...do they KNOW there are Theme Parks all around them??? Do they know about the Water Parks which are way cooler than this "Dippy it Do-Square-No Slides" pool???) We nap. We wake up and we head over to Fort Wilderness for lunch and Horseback Riding (one of the benefits of the Premium Plan is that we got all the recreation we want for free). Now, I am starving since I haven't eaten anything since dinner in the Hawaiian Island last night, and we check into the kennel for horseback riding, and then we are informed we have to take a bus to get to the restaurant. The ranch is in front, and the restaurant is in back, and so off we go to get on our first Disney bus. There are a rainbow of colors to choose from at Fort Wilderness (orange and purple and yellow) and what they don't tell you and you need to know is that they all go to the same place at the end...we were told to take the orange or the yellow or something, but in all reality take whichever comes first and get to the other side. Off the bus (bus driver was very fun, but had a hard time explaining the whole bus colors to us by this time--we are on to them...we know they all go the same places) and then it is a short walk to Trails End Buffeteria. What a cute name, huh? They are not open yet and so we wait a short while, some CM's join the wait, and then the doors open...it is air-conditioned, thank you Disney! We let the families that have been waiting forever on the porch go first and then we go in and order water and Cokes and off to the Buffeteria line. We don't have a lot of time (Horseback Riding is coming up quickly, and there is the rainbow of buses to still take back up to the front). Buffeteria is quite good. Chili is excellent, and our server even got us sour cream for it. Chicken is good, and sandwiches that you make yourselves are great. Desert not so good, but I didn't care because I was looking for our Keys to the Kingdom...uh-oh...we left them in the car up in the front...is there anything we can do...yeah, we paid for it with a credit card, and it takes a lovely Guest Relations lady (Karen, more on her when she enters the story) to take care of it for us since the CM really does believe she is in the Wilderness here and is not part of a huge computerized network of Disney...nothing she can do without a key card...no prob!
Off we go to horseback riding and we just make it. Now, I haven't rode a horse in many years, and Disney makes it as easy and as simple as can be, but man is it a long trail in the humidity and with my legs spread open wider than they have been in years.... I do not have the attention span for riding a horse (especially slow and meandering) so thank goodness for a CM who didn't trust me to not go galloping off into the woods. She stayed back and chatted with us for most of the ride. I was informed that my horse was a star! Zeus in the white horse seen running across the field during Illuminations (we actually saw him tonight...whoops jumping ahead of myself).
Now after horseback riding, I need a break! We have dinner tonight in Paris, so we have nothing scheduled until then, and we head back to Motel 8 Pop (still garish and not too subtle) and I send John off to find something to drink while I deal with Guest Relations. We make new reservations for Wishes Seating (Remember we had missed this last night due to the numerous ropes being put up to block Fantasyland from burning up) and I explained what happened while we were out in the wilderness...lovely Karen is a little confused as to why the server just didn't call the resort, as was I earlier, but she takes care of it all--credit to our account and minus 2 table services...no problem...I loved Karen...she was great, and wasn't all garish and out of whack like the rest of this place. John returns with his mug from Tony's, but no drinks...I am dying for a ice slushy slurpee thing, and we look for one, but they don't have any (we were told this by two different CM's--remember this in the next couple of days--this will come back in a very funny way) and so I make do with an ice cream cone...until I go out by another pool (How many pools does this place have--is it a water Park that we don't know about????) and see a Pool Bar done up in bright flowers and the such (once again where is the subtlety) and there are slushies on his menu after being told they didn't have them anywhere...I order a green apple one (room charge it) and I am off on my happy little way through huge Baloos and back to my big Tramp (and I see that the Pool maintenance Building is a dog-house! Lord!!!!) past the kids in the pool (same kids with more of their friends added) and to the room. I fall asleep with slushie in my hand, and my legs propped up on a postage stamp pillow....."Wake Up!!!!! Wake Upppppppppppp"...Stitch cracks me up, but I have to get dressed for dinner in France. Shower and dressed and ready to go. John is still sleeping...hmmmmmm..."Wake upppppppppppppp" in my best Stitch imitation (not so good) and we are off after John wades through the bathroom and changes. We head out for dinner, and what do I see....... there is no one in the pool...could it be??????? Yes, they have closed the pool due to a lightning storm, and now have lifeguards posted all around the pool to keep everyone out...what will they all do without the pool...I find out when I hear the stomping behind me, they are going to run up and down the bowling pins..do they know that Tower of Terror is more fun?
After the Rainbow Disney buses this afternoon, we decided to drive to Boardwalk and park the car and take the boat to Epcot. There is a stuffed crocodile on the boat when it arrives and in my curiosity I asked a question about it, and one of my new favorite CM's said "That is to keep you in line and not bother me!" in her best Diva voice...she was great...loved her...what was her name...I should have made her sign the autograph book. We arrive in France, and have just enough time to make the Impressions du France show, it was starting to load as we walked in, and then to dinner at Bistro de Paris. Now, we ate a lot of good meals at Disney, but his restaurant is only on the Premium Plan, and that alone makes the plan worth it. We started off with Kir Royales (at the waiter's suggestion) and so we were happily staring into each other eyes with just a few sips, and then John had scallops which were backed in a clam shell and smelled great (I don't like seafood, but John does and he said they were stupendous) and I had tomato soup...now this wasn't just tomato soup this was ultimate tomato soup...with garlic crackers and goat cheese, yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. And then John had lobster (once again we will take his word that it was wonderful) and I had the most mouth watering, melt in your mouth beef tenderloin I have ever had! John who is not a big red meat guy even enjoyed it. It came with asparagus (marvelous) and scalloped potatoes which were so cheesy and creamy and good I hated to share with John (But I did). Desert was a mousse for John (he wanted the chocolate, but the waiter and I talked him into the Grand Marnier one--he liked it but would have preferred the chocolate one) and I had a fresh fruit soup which was incredible! This meal was incredible and would have cost us a small house payment had we not been on the Premiuim Plan.
After dinner we have just enough time to make it to the Morroco boat landing for our special viewing area for Illumnations. It provided a good view, but no seats and the CM letting people in was letting people who didn't have a voucher for preffered seating in because he didn't want to deal with being yelled at by familes who kids couldn't see without them being seated on the 6 foot stone walls...Illumnations was still wonderful (and Zeus was incredible). We met a nice family next to us and after Illmnations we sat down on a nice bench and waited for the crowds to diisipate (not big on crowds). We worked our way back to the Boardwalk and stopped at the bakery for a muffin and a cinnamon roll and then stopped for more slushy drinks and then headed back to the car for an early eveing. Back to Pop Century Water Park which has thankfully reopened so the kids have something better to do than run up and down the the bowling pins and not even toilets can keep me up tonight...I am full of a good dinner and champagne, and we are off to sleep in each others arms...Flush...I can't wait for the Wildderness Lodge...
Next installment: Day Three: Magic Kingdom not so Splashy Mountain and Enough food to Kill Us
