(I forgot to mention in my last update that I'd stopped by the front desk at AKL to inquire about how difficult it would be to get to MK. I kind of wanted to go there instead. They assured me that the security around MK was very think at that time and it wouldn't be very smart to head to the MK at all today. I was disappointed; but I figured I'd wait until tomorrow to go. As a foreshadowing - I should never have listened.
)
Carrying on...
I was over at ToT and there was really no line until you reached the basement. I walked through quickly and headed all the way left, even taking the farthest branch of the line. There was a man behind me working very, very hard to convince his little daughter that this was not a scary ride. She couldn't have been 4 years old. He was telling her in great detail how they "wanted to make you feel like it was scary, but it wasn't" and was explaining some of the details of the ride. It was ADORABLE.
He stopped for moment to tap me on the shoulder and ask about my phone. He noticed me surfing the web on it and was impressed by the display. We chatted for a bit, but we weren't moving at ALL. None of the elevators were. Hm, not 100% sure what the hold up is, here! Let's look alive, people!
We continued to stand and wait, so I took a few pictures.
Um, that kid on the right by the lady on the
scooter looks kinda freaky. But the lady looks normal, she just looks like a regular ....
ZOMG! What is wrong with these people??? Are they possessed? Freaky.
Believe it or not, there was an empty seat open on this load and they called out those words I love to hear - "Single rider? I need a single rider please!"
That would be me! I excused myself from the conversation with the Dad and Mom behind me, went up to the front, and stood in my space. And stood. And then, they moved us all to ANOTHER elevator, and we waited. I was getting a little apprehensive about getting on this ride if it was so recently broken down! But soon enough, the doors were opening and I was committed.
After an uneventful ride (except for those multiple drops and rises, of course), I went through the line again. It was very short and I was back in line in the basement area right away.
I walked through the line and heard my beloved words again: "Single rider? Any single riders?" Up went my hand, and I went straight through the line and onto the loading platform.
This time, the ride went smoothly - no weird photos with people looking possessed. I had a nice drop sequence, and since I figured (correctly) that the line was still short, I went back into the tower immediately.
This time, I AGAIN was called up as a single rider (clearly, I was the only single rider in all of ToT all day, and they were starting to recognize me since I'd been on a few times that day). They put me in line with a very nice but very non-English-speaking family. There were several of them, and I was placed against the wall in the second row. The man sitting next to me was a large Spanish-speaking man who was quite clearly nervous. I used to speak Spanish fairly well, but now my German gets in the way - however, I can still understand it often when I hear it. The man sitting next to me was VERY NERVOUS.
Once we loaded, I was pretty much smooshed against the wall - because, as I said, this was a pretty large guy. He kept talking rapidly to his family, and then looking at me and smiling while his face got whiter and whiter. "Ready," he said to me and smiled, but I could see his hand shaking. I was trying not to laugh and just said "vamanos" with my now-patented cheesy ToT grin and thumbs-up, to which he laughed and laughed.
We got up in the tower and he kept swearing under his breath; I glanced over, and he had a layer of sweat on his forehead. He was being quiet, but it was getting funnier the more nervous he got. I let him grab the handle between us, because I figured I was fine and didn't need it while he certainly did. But once we got in the elevator shaft, he just reached right on over and grasped my upper arm and started hollering like a schoolgirl who just ran into Justin Bieber in the hallway. He hooted and shrieked; and the whole time he kept TRYING to let go of my arm and then would just grab me again every time we plunged down - I started laughing so hard I couldn't get it together.
We finally came to a stop. He looked at me a little sheepishly, let go of my arm, let out a barking laugh, and hightailed it out of that crazy elevator without looking back. I laughed for about 20 minutes on that one.
Alright, I was done with the tower for a bit. I didn't know where I was going, but my legs were starting to hurt so bad that it was slowing me down. I made my way down the street, then stopped to observe the crowds leaving Beauty and the Beast.
With as bad as I was hurting, I thought I should go back and put my feet up for awhile. This wouldn't be a bad opportunity to stop by and try the QS at AKL, so I slowly started making my way out of HS. But of course, I had to weave through the stores.
I was "the little mermaid" (Marietta) in a play I was in while studying in Germany, so I love Ariel. I had to stop for this photo. It was a bank; I kind of wish I'd have bought it.
Also, this hat CRACKED me up. I kind of wanted it:
It was almost 5 p.m. as I made my way out of HS.
Due to Obama's visit, Epcot was having EMH tonight and I really wanted to see Illuminations. So I headed to the tram (because I was really getting to a point where I could barely walk at this point) and jumped on.
I made it back to the car by 5 p.m. and made a beeline for Mara at AKL.
I ordered the pepperoni flatbread, even though I figured my stomach wouldn't handle it very well. OMG it was DELICIOUS.
It was 5:30; I wanted to head to Epcot between 7 and 8 so I went up to the room, iced my aching shins, and put my feet up. It was going to be a late night!
We're in DISNEY; pain is not an option. 
). Unless I asked you already? I feel like I discuss this with many people!
