Walt Disney World for the Sleep Deprived and the Insane

[AZ JazzyJ]

My wife and I decided to make a trip to Walt Disney World for the Epcot Pin Event in August. I have never attended one of these so I thought it might be interesting. That it turns out is the understatement of the year.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Snuggled in my bed, I laid there in my jammies dreaming of trading pins with Mickey Mouse all the while Main Street Electric Parade floats and music played their happy little tunes. Me, I am dressed in flowing sun god robes with small dill pickles attached to the ends of the robes. A top my head is a singing crown that sounds a little off key this morning. I quickly jot down a note to myself to have the blind piano tuner check out my hat. Just as I am about to trade for one killer looking Wet Paint pin, an air raid siren begins to blare and Disney characters began to run for cover. I stand there very confused before realizing that what I am hearing is not an air raid siren at all but rather my alarm clock. Suddenly, I find I am in Chandler Arizona and according to the disc jockey, it is Tuesday morning and for the 200th consecutive day the sun will be shining. Normally, I am not a morning person but today I learned something new and that was exciting. It seems there are actually two five o’clocks, one in evening AND one in the morning. Who would have thought? Well, I slowly drag myself into the bathroom and crawled into the shower. Now I have watched a lot of television and read my share of magazines and I can tell you that those commercials about Herbal Essence shampoo are wrong. No girl moaned or squealed in ecstasy when I put soap on my head. I did get a case of sham-pain though when I dropped the shampoo on my toe. About halfway through the lather rinse repeat segment, I suddenly realized that we were headed to Walt Disney World today! I got so excited that my eyes flew open which wasn’t the best idea since I had shampoo on my head and it ran into my eyes. So blind and walking with a limp, I quickly gathered up the suitcases that I had packed a mere 4 hours earlier and made my way to the car. Halfway down the driveway I remembered that I should have ended with rinse not lather and went back into the house to get the soap off my head.
Everyone told me to be sure and carry-on my pins as well as the lanyards for the upcoming pin meet. Oh, and be sure to arrive at the airport early because pins set off the x-ray machine. We got to the airport 90 minutes before the scheduled flight departure and made our way to the ticket counter. We checked two suitcases, one with clothes and one full of bottled water. I had always heard that you should never drink the water in a foreign country and since I planned on spending the majority of my time in the World Showcase I felt I better pack accordingly. I underestimated how much 24 bottles of water would weigh and it took two of us to hulk the suitcase onto the conveyer belt. (Important safety tip, if you can use the force of the waves of sloshing bottled water, the water will actually help lift itself. Also, always lift with your legs not with your back.) We took the pins and the lanyards and made our way to the security check point. I carefully laid the pin bags and the lanyard bag onto the x-ray machine and then went through the metal detector. I approach the metal detector somewhat like one of those children trying to time themselves to enter a rotating jump rope. The only difference is that I only jump once when I go through the detector. I stood at the end of the counter and waited for my bags to reappear from the machine. I waited, and waited, and waited. Seems everyone was interested as I drew quite a crowd at the machine. Suddenly, security approached me and asked if that was my bag and could they search it. I could think of about a million wisecracks at this point but based upon the situation and the time constraints I was facing, I decided to play it straight (hardest thing I have ever done). They took the bags to a little table and began swabbing the bags with a cloth at all openings. They then opened the bag and reviewed every pin on every page. I attempted to add a little levity to the situation (sorry, a guy can only be serious for so long). I asked if he could wax the bag and pins as long as he was cleaning it and did I have my choice of air freshener. Seems I was alone in my assessment that I was funny. Finally, after 40 minutes we were on our way to the gates. From Phoenix, we flew to Houston Texas where we had to change planes. I have come to the conclusion that these plane transfers are actually a master plan to make travelers insane. You can fly half way across the United States in 2 hours and yet it takes nearly 4 hours to change planes. And can someone explain to me why the amount of distance between airline gates is inversely proportionate to the amount of time you have to get from one plane to the next? In our case, we had to go from terminal A to terminal C that resulted in us using planes, trains and automobiles. Somewhere along the way, they snuck in another security checkpoint. I guess they decided the pins were not clean enough. This time though, the two pin bags went through just fine but security had to look at the lanyards. I gave them permission to search the bag. The gentleman reached into the bag and removed one lanyard and asked my how much I was selling them for. I tried to explain to him that I was not some sort of traveling lanyard salesman but my Jamaican accent must not have been understood. Finally after another 35 minutes, we were able to get to the plane only to find out that my wife was sitting in row 7 and I was in row 22. I explained to the ticket agent that we kind of liked sitting together, which was why we got married. Finally they accommodated us by putting us in the last row of the plane in seats that did not recline. Seated next to us was a very large Sumo wrestler without the thong but wearing a cowboy hat. As the doors to the plane closed to taxi away, we noticed that the row across from us was empty. We motioned to the gentleman sitting next to us and he thanked us for letting him know of the extra seats. He removed his hat and gently set it on the seat across from us. For the next two and a half hours, the three of us sat cramped in the seat while the hat rode in comfort. As we arrived in Orlando, Matthew and Lauri Davis met us. After collecting our suitcase and water (which traveled quite well), we went to the airport Disney Store where we purchased our annual passes. I asked the cast member if we could have a boy pass and a girl pass. He said he would be happy to oblige. He then handed my wife a pass with Goofy on the front and gave me a pass with Minnie Mouse on the front. My fault, I should have specified which one was which. With passes in hand, we left the airport and made our way to the Hard Rock Café for dinner. The food was great and the music was loud. To commemorate the occasion, I bought a Hard Rock Café pin. After dinner, we checked into the Dolphin. It was a great room; actually it was a two-bedroom suite with plenty of room to spread out. We had hoped to make it to the park that night but after the security ordeal, we just went to Downtown Disney to look around before turning in for the night.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

At 4:00 AM, there was a knock at our door as Matthew and Lauri were asking if we were ready to go and have breakfast. Breakfast in the middle of the night? “What is up with that?” I asked. Lauri explained that it was not 4:00 AM but rather 7:00 AM and we had reservations at Cinderella’s castle for 8:00 AM. This whole time zone concept seems just a little whacked but once again I went along with it and crawled into the shower. Soon, we were standing outside the main gates of the Magic Kingdom awaiting entry into the park. Both Trina and I were wearing our lanyards stocked with pins, hoping to do a little cast member pin trading. As we entered the park, we met a manager wearing a lanyard. I looked over the pins but didn’t make a trade. Trina, never having done this before, was unaware of the procedure and held back. As we began to walk off, Trina commented that she liked the Goofy pin he was wearing. I suggested she go and trade with him. She returned with a lovely rubber Goofy head pin. I explained to her that rubber pins are not valid for trading. She was somewhat depressed and had decided this pin trading this was really not all it was cracked up to be. We made our way to the castle where we ate while all of the princess characters made their way to our tables to talk and for photo opportunities. After breakfast, we went to Adventure land and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. There was no one there and we walked right to the front of the line. We rode the attraction by ourselves as no one else was around. When we got done, the cast members asked if we wanted to ride again just so they could keep the attraction moving since no one else was there to ride. The most interesting thing I have observed since we arrived at Walt Disney World is Disney’s fascination with saliva. I first noticed it when we arrived at the Dolphin. In the lobby was a huge fountain with spitting fish. That in itself was strange but then we went over to the Swan and there was another fountain, this time with birds shooting loogies into a pond. Now this morning on the Magic Carpet ride I find there is a camel that insists on spitting on you are you fly around and around. What is up with this? From there went to the Pirates of the Caribbean, one of my personal favorites. As we were leaving this attraction, Trina came across another manager with a lanyard and made her second trade. This time she traded for two character pins and actually enjoyed herself. We spent the remainder of the day wandering around Magic Kingdom taking in attractions. We never waited in a line for more than 5 minutes and in most cases walked right to the front of the line and entered the attraction. This was the case for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, as well as others. After spending a day in the park, we made our way to Epcot where we had lunch in Japan. We were seated at a table with a family whose son was celebrating his tenth birthday. There is nothing quite like watching a guy with two ginzu knives slicing and dicing in front of you. You gotta love flying shrimp that land on your plate perfectly. The meal ended with us singing Happy Birthday and getting a free piece of cake. I have never had Japanese cake so this was a new experience. It is a lot like American cake but smaller and better quality for a fraction of the price. At 6:00 PM (the one I know about, not the one that happens in the middle of the night) we made our way over to the Boardwalk Pin Cart. This was the first episode of Where in the World is Arizona Jeff & Mean Laureen. I anticipated maybe 5 or 6 people would show up, we would trade a couple of pins and go have an ice cream. By 6:30, we had 70 people arrive at the pin cart to hang out and get acquainted. Poor Leighton was overwhelmed with people. That alone would not have been so bad but Mother Nature decided that she needed to be involved and it began to rain. Soon, it was pouring to the point that I anticipated seeing animals begin to line up in pairs looking for a dude with a big boat. After helping Leighton batten down the pin cart, we made our way inside the shops on the Boardwalk. The cast members were wonderful in making room for all of us. We sat and traded for another hour before making our way back to the hotel to try and dry out. I do have to admit, it was the happiest rain on earth.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Being a west coast kind of guy, I have yet to figure out what the deal is with east coast people. They insist getting up in the middle of the night and going to bed in the middle of the afternoon. So it should not have been a surprise to me that at 3 AM I had Lauri knocking at my door wanting to know if I was ready for breakfast. Breakfast? She has got to be kidding me. No one could be that hungry that early. Well I knew it was no use trying to roll over and ignore the knocking so I slid into some clothes and put my Diamondbacks hat on and headed out the door. We made our way across the Boardwalk and to the gates of Epcot. There we met other pin collectors who are drawn like moths to a porch light all waiting to be led like cattle to the World Showplace and the Pin Event. At 4 AM, we were led by Cast Members who were to cheerful for their own good through the World Showcase and into the building that would act as home for the next four days. Upon entering the building, we were directed to stand in lines according to the first letter of our last names. I can now attest that I cannot function alphabetically in the middle of the night. After standing in line for some 20 minutes, I arrived at the front of the line only to find that Summers does indeed not begin with the letter “P”. I tried to explain to the Cast Member that I really did need to go but she instead suggested either moving to the line for “S” or go to the Men’s room. I reluctantly moved to the “S” line since it was shorter than the line for the men’s room. As I stood there half asleep waiting in line, there is a guy in front of me wearing a floppy hat with a LCD attached to the front. I remember seeing a hat like this in the magazine on the plane. In fact, I made a comment to Trina. Something to the effect of, “What kind of nut would wear a hat like that?” Well, I can now attest it is a very large nut. This nut whose name began with an “S” (I checked) was none other than Brian Sullivan or Bris as he is known to his friends. Interestingly enough, Bris had blown us off the night before. Probably back in his room recharging his hat or something. It was an interesting conversation but I found myself very conscious of the fact that I kept staring at his hat, kind of like a deer drawn to headlights. Once I finally made it through the line and received my registration information, Lauri drug me to a table before we went to pick up our breakfast which consisted of eggs that you could eat with a straw and some very odd looking breakfast meats. Food though was the least of these peoples concerns as everyone was milling around the pin store grabbing everything that was not bolted to the floor. Disney brought out Millennium Cast Member pins and began dumping them into bins. Now I have experienced my share of the day after Thanksgiving sales but that did not prepare me at all for what was about to take place. It reminded me an awful lot of a mosh pit without the music. People were diving over each other for a chance at these pins. It was one of the most frightening things I have ever witnessed. Personally, I happened to catch two of these pins as they flew by my head after being discarded by those who were closer to the bin. Besides the flying pins, I also picked up a handful of pins to take home to my children and headed for yet another line where I could pay for these pins. As I arrived at the cashier, I handed him my credit card to pay for my purchase. After what seemed like an eternity, he handed my card back to me and informed me that this card had been stolen. Somehow, someone in a bank somewhere in Arizona decided it would be funny if they marked my credit card as being stolen. I spent the remainder of the morning making calls and waking people up in three different time zones as they attempted to fix this problem. By noon, life was back to normal and I was once again spared the thoughts of someone taking my picture and placing it on Post Office walls throughout the country. Soon, it became time to move our little band of adventurers from the World Showplace to Canada for the next Where in the World adventure. I again expected perhaps four or five people would show up. Instead, 52 of our closest friends joined us for this next adventure. Besides the adventurers, we had requests from 2 managers and 4 cast members in Canada for a Great Pin Adventure pin as they inquired whether they could stop by the Swan on Saturday evening. After a meet and greet in the Great White North, we made our way back to the World Showplace where we collected maps and began our trek through the World Showcase. As the afternoon began to turn into evening, it was time once again for another Where in the World adventure. This time we moved our group over to the Magic Kingdom to the Jungle Cruise. Interestingly enough, the weather again decided not cooperate and the clouds began to accumulate in the sky around the parks. By the time the adventure began, it again started to rain. That did not seem to dissuade the adventurers and we all got in line for the attraction. Once again, there was no line and we were quickly at the dock ready to board a boat. Based upon the number of people at the adventure, we would need nearly a full boat by ourselves. I tried to explain this fact to the Cast Members but they insisted that non-adventurers ride with us. We therefore boarded the next available boat taking up all the space with pin traders except for 4 Chinese nationals that spoke little or no English. It had been determined at the dock that each time the guide told a bad joke we would do the wave. By the first turn, our captain had lost complete control of his vessel. The Chinese nationals had never experienced anything like this and the father decided he needed documentation or no one back home would believe his story. He therefore began video taping the proceedings. Not what was outside the boat but rather what was going on within the boat. As we approached the headhunters along the way, our newly adopted Chinese friends were well into this doing the wave and pretty much disrupting everything that the boat captain had planned. As we arrived back at the boat dock, the captain left the vessel muttering something about this being his last cruise. I only hope Captain Stubing is able to find a less stressful cruise next time. Still laughing, we made our way to the Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. This was yet another character meal and this time I was not the character. Instead, we had Goofy and Minnie (I guess Mickey was out battling red coats or something) as well as Chip and Dale’s mom. It had to be their mom since she was wearing a white wig that didn’t fit. The food was pretty good although Matthew hogged all the macaroni and cheese. Trina on the other hand had a thing for the rolls and went as far as sliding a basket of them into her pocket before we left. I think she ate rolls all week long after that. The evening ended with yet another Where in the World adventure. This one was at Pleasure Island at the Adventurers Club. We arrived at Pleasure Island and approached a trailer to purchase our tickets. When I got to the front of the line, I proceeded to order burgers, shakes and fries. The woman working the ticket counter looked very confused at first before busting a gut in laughter. We made our way to the Adventurers Club where we met up with 30 or so of our fellow adventurers and pin fanatics. We sat in the main foyer and talked about the adventures of the day. As we began to recount the Jungle Cruise, the adventurers erupted in the wave. This of course was duly noted by the members of the Adventurers Club and resulted in them singling us out as “pin freaks”. Somehow they determined that I was somehow responsible for these “pin freaks” and decided to make an example out of me. I was requested to approach the front of the room where I became some sort of boy toy for a Babylonian idol that hung on the wall. Even more disturbing than the dance I was required to do, was the fact that several of the people within our group had cameras. These pictures are capable of frightening children and leaving deep emotional scars. To say it was an interesting adventure would be an understatement.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

Once again I awoke to a rapping on the door by the sleep nazis as they insisted that my watch was off by three hours and it really was 7:00 AM and not 4:00 AM as I claimed. I have made a note to look for Mickey Ear Plugs while at the parks today. One of these days I am going to actually get some sleep. Not today though, it was another busy day planned around the Disney properties. First on the agenda was a photo shoot. We gathered all of our pin belongings and made our way to the Ticket and Transportation Center where we met other sleep deprived individuals for a Survivor picture. This of course refers to the ill-fated never-ending story I have created about the Ultimate Pin Survivor. Many of the characters from this story were in Florida so we thought it would be very appropriate to have their picture taken. Once the Kodak moment had passed, it was time for all the adventurers to board the Monorail to head to Epcot. This was another of the Where in the World meets. This time, we took over one of the Monorail cars (except for a very frightened Japanese family who were caught up in our mob and drug along with us). With the ground flying by below us, we opened our pin books and began trading on the monorail. As each trade was completed, the entire group of adventurers did the wave. This confused our new Japanese friends, as they were not quite sure what to think. Confused, they did begin to join in as the wave went by them. They even took our picture with one of the many cameras that hung around their necks. As we left the Monorail, they bowed to us and quickly ran away. I am not sure what the significance is of that. At Epcot, we again made our way to the World Showplace. We just could not seem to get our fill of standing in lines handing in forms. It was another day and that meant more new pins were being released. During our running from country to country yesterday, I decided I would attempt to collect the Huey, Dewey, and Louie set. So far on lanyards I had found the duck in the red shirt and the duck in the blue shirt. I am now searching for the elusive green shirted duck with the green and white hat. Alas, I may as well change my name to Ahab and go searching for a white whale. Trina and I begin chasing down lanyards at every nook and cranny of Walt Disney World looking for the green duck. Alas, he be a fine, fine duck. Ye would be wise to keep yer eye out for the whale, I mean duck. After turning in our forms for pins, we wandered over to the trading lounge to check things out. About the only thing missing here was the theme song from Jaws. During our swim, we tried not to make to many sudden movements least they be misconstrued as thrashing in the water which would draw the attention of the man-eating beasts of the deep. In the midst of all this though was a small round table with two young ladies sitting at it. One of them was obviously a California babe while the other looked to be some sort of Illinois biker chick. The biker chick was in some sort of motorized Speed Racer scooter. They were surrounded by massive amounts of pin books and were wheeling and dealing. It was obvious that the biker babe was not someone to toy with as I saw her go nuts at one point and ram the table with her scooter causing sharks to dive for cover. We approached these two women with an attitude and found out that they were none other than Mad Strawberry and FANTASMICkey. It was interesting watching them trade. I was especially fascinated with FANTASMICkey when a small woman who in the dim light of the World Showplace looked like she could have been an Oompa-Loompa tried to shark a small child. FANTASMICkey tried to diffuse the situation by setting the dummy on her knee and make her talk without moving her lips. When this didn’t work, the Fanster revealed to the child that this was indeed a shark and to beware. This of course infuriated the Oompa-Loompa to the point where her head nearly exploded spewing everlasting gobstoppers and Wonka bars throughout the lounge. FANTASMICkey seemed to be enjoying herself as she drove back to her table singing, “I’ve got a golden ticket.” After the floorshow and all the Willie Wonka references, I was hungry which is good because we had reservations at the Sci-Fi Drive-In. We made our way to MGM Studios for lunch. Along the way, we stopped by and picked up a FastPass for Rockin Roller Coaster. Lunch was great and quite appropriate. Trina and I had our first date at a drive-in (We saw It’s Alive which had the following line as its teaser – There’s only one thing wrong with the Davis’s baby, It’s Alive! The second feature was The Bug – they came from within) so this brought back lots of memories. Sadly, I didn’t get any farther at this drive-in movie than I did some 24 years ago. Whoever said drive-ins are a shoe-in for making out is nuts. I did make Trina laugh hard enough that milkshake came out her nose so it wasn’t a complete bust. After lunch, we made our way to Rockin Roller Coaster and again went right to the front of the line to ride. Trina had never been on this before and riding it right after lunch was not the smartest idea I had all week. She was pretty sick by the time we got done but held it back so that was pretty cool. From there we went to the Tower of Terror but seeing that there was a 45 minute wait we decided to head back to Epcot to check on how we did on pins. While Trina stood in line, I went to find FANTASMICkey again. That was my first mistake, I should never have left Trina alone. Being a former schoolteacher and more importantly a playground duty teacher, she is a line psycho. As people began to form lines up front, they were not real organized. Trina took it upon herself to whip these people into shape. By the time I rejoined her, she had some old dude in a cowboy hat standing in a corner with his nose against the wall and some dude that was six foot six who was tripping because some lady was telling him to either keep his mouth shut or she would send him to the back of the line. It was not a pretty sight by any means. We made it through the line and found out what pins we got. For the second day in a row, we were fortunate enough to be drawn for all of the pins. After another endless line to pay for the pins, we made our way over to the Contemporary resort. There was yet another Where in the World adventure planned. Little did I know what else was in store. The skies over Walt Disney World began to cloud over and it looked like it might rain. Well, that is the understatement of the year. While we were safely standing in the lobby of the Contemporary, wind and rain howled outside. It became so bad that all transportation stopped throughout Walt Disney World. Many of the pin traders at the World Showplace were trapped in the building and Disney Cast Members would not let them leave due to safety concerns. There were even reports of two funnel clouds over the property with one touching down and moving a boat dock some six feet. Of course we were oblivious to any of this as we were dry and trading pins. I made my first in-person trade with SuzanneB. Well, I really didn’t. Lauri had my book and they went through it and made the trade. I merely nodded like some kind of bobbing head doll and the deal was done. I also made a trade with Perndwler for a Goofy Halloween pin where he was dressed as Mickey, which was pretty cool. During the Contemporary meet, I met Leslie the manager of the Contemporary. I thanked her for allowing us to use her facility and told her how much we appreciated it. We talked for quite some time until our dinner reservations required us to leave. After dinner, we were going back to the pin meet when I ran into several people. All of them had to tell me that Leslie had a green duck on her lanyard. I bolted to the area to look for her and my elusive green duck. When I found her, the duck was no longer there. She had traded it not more than two minutes earlier. Alas, that duck is going to be the end of me. As the Contemporary meet was winding down, Kathi (Eeyore64) and her husband Rick arrived with a stuffed Eeyore in tow. It was great to finally meet her as I have talked to her on the phone and via instant messaging and email. It had been another long day but it was a lot of fun.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

I actually awoke before the knock on the door today. This was the day that Lauri and I had been planning for the last two months. It was the day of the Great Pin Adventure. That though was the least of my worries right now. That event did not go off until tonight. We still had a full day of activities before that happened. The first thing on the agenda was the Animal Kingdom. As the gates opened to this park, we were among the first ones in. We met our fellow adventurers and made our way to It’s Tough to be a Bug. It was an interesting experience, trading pins while wearing 3-D glasses. Once we gained a new appreciation for being a bug, we again headed back to Epcot for yet another line marathon to select our new pins. Trina had become a woman to be reckoned with as many of the people in line remembered her, especially when she began yelling, “Get your ‘S’ back in line!” I think by the end of the weekend, the “S” people will have the most organized line in the entire alphabet. There is something to be proud of I am sure. After ordering our pins for the day, the next order of business was the completion of the World Showcase map. With maps in hand, we started our journey around the world in eight pins. Beginning in the Great White North, we met up with our neighbors to the north and explained to them that we knew all about the dolls Anne of Green Gables. Next came a stopping off point at the International Gateway where we had to tell them which characters were in the window. They would not accept Fab 5 and required us to name each of the characters. Trina tried to circumvent the process by combining characters but alas, “Ploofy” was not accepted. After a short pit stop, we were again traveling around the world with a stop in France. Frantically, we searched the gift shop for the signs of the streets and then once we found them, we struggled to pronounce them. Avenue d’ la Opera was the most popular choice since it was the closest thing to English there. Time once again for our journey as we made our way to Morocco. There we found out that you can have your name put on a grain of rice necklace. Not sure why I would want one of those, but good to know and even better since it earned us another stamp on the map. From Morocco we were back in the good old United States. There we explained to the Cast Member that we did indeed know the answer to their question, Minnie Mouse as the Statue of Liberty. They accepted our answer, stamped our map and sent us on our way. Italy was our next stop where we had to find out where the plaque was located within the shop. It was of course above the door on the left although none of us knew what the dang thing said. It didn’t matter though. What mattered was we had another stamp and another country under our belt. After waiting for the drawbridge to be lowered after the Illuminations barges made their way into the World Showcase lagoon, we were once again on our way. This time it was Norway. After searching all the shops, we finally found the sword with the writing, which said For King and Fatherland. That information was enough to earn us our stamp and our journey was nearly complete. The final stop on our worldwide tour was Mexico where we told the cast member that the columns came from the Temple of the Immortals. As the ink dried on the last dance, Trina and I broke into a Completed Map Dance. Our dance did not last long though as we had to make our way to the Living Seas for the next rendition of Where in the World adventure. This mini adventure was quickly completed so that we could once again make our way back to the World Showplace to once again determine how much of our money Disney would accept. For the third straight day we were fortunate enough to be drawn for all of the pins. This of course means only one thing; we will not get drawn for anything tomorrow. After collecting all of the pins; Trina, Kathi and Lauri went to the Swan to begin setting up for the Great Pin Adventure. I went to dinner with Perndwler and 55 of her closest friends. It was wonderful seeing everyone there although hearing Figgy’s blood curdling scream was enough to chill my salad. The Great Pin Adventure was scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM but people began arriving at 6:00 PM. By the time it was scheduled to start there were well over 200 people in attendance. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. From the contestants in the pole-licking contest to the outrageous dances in the Happy Pin Dance contest the evening was filled with laughter. I even heard a rumor that someone traded some pins (although I didn’t see that myself). There were many highlights of the evening for me. There was Vince and Suzi being awarded the Continuing the Tradition pin. I can think of no two people more deserving than them for all that they do for pin trading and collecting. There was the sight of Nat and Steve dancing to RiverDance. I still wake up in a cold sweat screaming, “Make it stop! Make it stop!” There was the look on the children’s faces as they traded pins with Eeyore and Figment. Or the frightening sight of Raul stuffing money in Tinkerbell129’s belt during the Happy Pin Dance contest. Then of course there was the appearance of “the hat” with John59 in tow. My goal is to one-day give John a pin that will make it on the hat, what an honor that would be. And of course the appearance of Scoop Sanderson who I had just met a few hours earlier. His personality is electric and I can see now why everyone loves to be around him. The night ended to early with the Swan finally requesting that we vacate the room after midnight. The memories and the stories I collected this evening will live with me forever.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

With all the Where in the World adventures completed, I erroneously thought that meant I finally would be able to sleep in. No, instead Trina had me up early going through pin books and trying to identify what pins we were lacking in sets and making plans of attacks on unsuspecting suits for lanyard trading. I find it hard to believe that merely 5 days ago she had no idea how to trade pins and now she is chasing suits and completing sets and talking about rack versus LE. I am not sure who this woman is or what she has done with my wife. But as long as she lets me buy pins and promises to love me and do my laundry I think I will keep her around. After arranging all the pins, we were then off once again to Epcot and the World Showplace for our daily line party. I am beginning to think when I get home that I will have to go and stand in some line just so I don’t go through line withdrawal. After the line, we made our way over to MGM Studios once again for lunch. This time it was the 50’s Prime Time Café. I know of no other place where people actually pay money to get abuse. It is an interesting model. I might have to try it on my kids when I get home. On the way to lunch, we stopped by the Tower of Terror to pick up a FastPass. That worked out so well for Rockin Roller Coaster that I had to see if Trina could hold down her lunch twice. Aunt Jenn was wonderful and I was only chastised once for my elbows on the table. But then most of the time Soda Girl (Trina) was in trouble for playing with her food or not cleaning off her plate. If only our kids were hear to see mom getting the abuse for a change. After lunch it was back over to the Tower of Terror where we again walked right to the front of the line and into a waiting elevator. This was another attraction that Trina had never been on. Lucky for her, she got to sit in the middle between me and a very large woman who smelled like Salami. At the first drop I looked over and noticed that Trina was levitating off the bench by a good 6 inches. I never knew she did magic tricks so this was an enlightening experience for me. By the fourth or fifth drop, she was beginning to look an awful lot like a ping-pong ball. I will give her credit, lunch stayed down better than she did. After this wild ride, we made our way back to Epcot once again for the second of our daily line extravaganzas. As we were walking from the Boardwalk past the International Gateway, I noticed a woman in a wheelchair. Behind her was another woman pushing the chair up the hill. Soon, a man joined the woman pushing her and the chair up the hill. Well to me this meant only one thing, Conga line! Well I yelled out and then grabbed hold of the woman behind the man behind the woman behind the wheelchair. It appears I misunderstood what was going on as the woman in front of me squealed. After a quick apology, we continued our journey to the World Showplace to once again stand in line. This time though as we were waiting to pay for yet another set of pins where we were drawn for everything we asked for, we met Scoop Sanderson. He called Lauri and I over to the front of the line and with his distinctive voice he called for everyone’s attention. He then awarded each of us a Continuing the Tradition pin. It was an honor that I will never forget. As much as it means to me, I know it meant even more to Lauri. I am proud of the fact that I was there to see her awarded this pin. She deserves it after all of the hard work and dedication she exhibits to every pin trader she meets. What a wonderful ending to a very fun four days. After that, we made one more trip around the World Showcase because a guy just can’t have enough scavenger maps. Finally, with Illuminations just about to begin, we went to Test Track for one last attraction. It was a lot of fun although I am not sure what good sitting in the driver’s seat is. After all, there is no steering wheel and the car will not respond to any of my voice commands. We began to make our way back to the Dolphin, fighting through the Illuminations crowd that was heading the opposite direction. During this salmon swimming upstream impression, we ran into DaisyCrazy, Jordan and Taylor. There in an alcove of MouseGear, I finally made a trade out of my book. Taylor was the most wonderful trading partner I had the pleasure of meeting that week. She was both polite and knowledgeable. After my transaction was complete, Jordan and I began to talk and I found that I had pins she was looking for as well. We made plans to meet the next morning in the Animal Kingdom for one last trade before we left for home. It has been a magical day.

Jeff

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

One last day in Florida and hopefully one last day of having to get up in the middle of the night for breakfast. This morning, as with every morning since I have gotten here, we were up before 4:00 AM Arizona time. This morning, we were frantically running around trying to pack everything to get ready for our trip home. Fortunately, we had been running around enough during the past six days that we had drank all of the water that we had brought. This of course meant that we would have an empty suitcase to return home. We also handed out 187 lanyards and cards, which meant we would have another bag to bring home empty, or so I thought. As I began packing, it became apparent that we were going to need every bag we brought and then some. Where did all this stuff come from? After an hour of creative packing, I finally got everything to fit. Just then, Lauri came in and dropped 26 boxes of breakfast cereal on my floor and told me I had to take it home. This meant unpacking and repacking my carry-on bag that already included two pin binders, a pin bag, leftover lanyards, pins from the pin meet, and a hair dryer. Cramming cereal in every opening in the bag I could find, I finally got it all inside. All that was left was a bag of cotton candy that I would eat at the airport. We packed our suitcases in the car and headed to the Animal Kingdom for yet another character meal. This time it was Donald’s Breakfastasaurus. I found this meal the most enjoyable. I think a lot of it had to do with the surroundings since I grew up near Dinosaur Monument and visited there often. I had my picture taken one more time with Goofy (I think that guy is getting tired of seeing me around). Once breakfast was over, we made our way to Dinosaur the ride. There we encountered some whacked out professor who decided that he should send us back in time to smuggle a dinosaur into the future. I tried to warn the Cast Members of his diabolical plot but they just stared at me. During the ride, Trina’s cell phone fell out of her pocket. I spent most of the ride on the floor under the seat looking for the stupid phone. I knew I would be in trouble if we left that phone on the ground some 65 million years ago. That could disrupt the whole time space fabric and alter our present time into some whacked out alternate reality. I could not live with that on my conscience. Luckily, I found the phone just as a T-Rex tried to eat me. I tried to dial 911 but found I had no service. I guess nationwide free long distance does not mean prehistoric time too. I was curious, if the call went through, would I get billed for it since it happened before I bought the phone? After Dinosaur, we met DaisyCrazy, Taylor and Jordan. There in the AP Lounge of the Animal Kingdom, we traded pins. Jordan was a wonderful trader. She and I traded several pins and both came out very happy. I thanked both of them and said good-bye. We had one more stop to make before leaving for the airport and time was running out. As we left the Animal Kingdom and got back into the car, I decided this would be the right time for some cotton candy. I reached into the carry-on bag where I put the cotton candy and removed the package. Instead of the fluffy blue cloud like substance I expected, I found a blue blob that was harder than a pin shark’s heart. I never realized that cotton candy could melt. I was crushed! Then Trina removed the rock solid mass from on top of me. The remaining time driving to the Magic Kingdom, all I could think about was the death of my cotton candy. We made our way to the Magic Kingdom and went directly to the Expo Hall. I was looking for Scoop Sanderson. Scoop arrived just as we were ready to depart. I was only able to talk to him for just a moment but that was enough. I thanked him for all that he did for both myself as well as Lauri. I also had something for him. At the Great Pin Adventure, he mentioned that he was searching for the Pooh Breakfast Pin. I had one and wanted him to have it. Scoop is a wonderful man who has done more for the hobby of pin trading than anyone else. He is loved by all and after meeting him, I can understand why. I therefore gave him my pin. To me, it would be just a piece of metal with a pointy thing on the back but to him it was something special. That was the pinnacle of the event, to give something back to those that have helped us the most. We quickly said good-bye before rushing back to the car to go to the airport. I was worried we would be late but everyone assured me it would be all right. I explained that I was carrying on pin bags and after my ordeal in Phoenix; I didn’t want to cut our time short. I was again assured that the Orlando airport was very pin friendly and there would be no trouble. With this in mind, I tried to relax and enjoy the ride. We arrived at the airport and said good-bye to Matthew and Lauri. It had been a wonderful six days with them and I appreciated all that they had done for us. We quickly checked our bags except for the two carry-on pieces and began walking to the gate. At the security checkpoint, I carefully placed my bag on the X-Ray machine and walked through the metal detector. Trina’s bag, which was full of pins, went through just fine. When they got to my bag, all sorts of lights, bells, whistles and other sound effects must have gone off since they decided they needed to check my bag. Once again, the words of all my friends rang in my ears, “Oh don’t worry about the Orlando airport. They understand about pin trading.” I kept repeating this to myself as they emptied out my bag and went through every nook and cranny. This included all 27 boxes of breakfast cereal, three pin binders, my hair dryer, and the package of rock solid cotton candy. After 40 minutes, they were finally satisfied that I was not some sort of International Breakfast Cereal smuggler and handed me back all of my stuff (in 4 arm loads) and began to walk off. Well, our plane was scheduled to leave in 10 minutes and I had to repack the bag. It was obvious everything would not go back in so I did the only thing I could, I threw all the pins in the bag and ate 27 boxes of cereal at the security checkpoint. The first 23 boxes went down pretty well but those last four were quite a struggle. That last raisin was nearly more than I could stand. Bloated and in desperate need of some milk, I gathered up what belongings I had left and waddled to the tram. Of course in my sugar pop induced haze, I boarded the wrong tram and went to the wrong terminal. I then had to quickly change trams and go to the correct terminal. After running down the hall and feeling the effects of greater than 100 percent of my daily allowance of 25 essential vitamins and minerals, we finally made it to the gate just as they were ready to close the door. Luckily, we were sitting in the front row of the plane so I just had to fall into my seat. For the next hour and a half flight to Houston Texas, I laid there waiting for the drink cart. The flight attendant said that was the first time they ever ran out of milk during a flight. In Houston, we again had to change terminals and I was still feeling the effect of that last box of Cocoa Krispies. Trina literally had to drag me along as we made our way to the next gate. Along the way, we had to go through another security checkpoint. I was dreading this like going to the dentist. I was beginning to feel like the guy in Midnight Express. Only instead of drugs, I had pins strapped to my body. Luckily, I selected the express X-Ray machine for those with 2 bags or less that was being run by a young lady who was more interested in the color of her fingernails than hassling pin traders. So without any disruptions, we actually made it to the plane on time and were able to find our seats when our row was called. The flight to Phoenix was short and I slept most of the way. When we finally arrived, we were greeted by our oldest daughter Ashley. I kissed her and gave her a hug and did the same to Trina. I then grabbed the keys to the car and bolted for the door leaving Trina and Ashley to deal with the luggage. In 20 minutes I was home in Section 133 Row 12 Seat 15 just as the National Anthem was over. It is great to be back at Bank One Ballpark to see the Diamondbacks play the Pittsburgh Pirates. And the most important thing? The Diamondbacks won. Finally tonight I was going to get some sleep and dream happy thoughts about baseball playoffs and having breakfast after the sun comes up.

Jeff

 

[shirley 38]

So I found you. What a wonderful story. I have to show it to John ( The Hat Man). Jeff he would be proud to wear one of your pins. But the only one he wants it Donald in the green shirt is it the nephews in the green shirt.

My hat and of course John's hat goes off to you for the time and effort to do this trip report. We greatly appreciate it. Shirley38 and John59

 

[Jennyfyar]

Your trip report was hysterical! I hope you don't have to get up in the middle of the night any time soon. I think I'll have to check out the pins in 20 days!!

 

[kathymc]

What a riot! The water bottles (use the force of the waves) the American vs. Japanese cake, the sharks, the mikshake out the nose and the cereal. I have laughed out loud so many times reading your reports. While I don't quite get the pin thing - its sounds like you had a heck of a time!

thanks for posting these, I really needed a laugh!

 

[suzanneb]

Hilarious report as always...I didn't realize I have the honor of making your first pin trade ever even if thru our wonderful (she didn't ask for any commission;-) broker, Lauri...it was so fun doing stuff with all of you...see you back in FL again, I hope!

 

[TinkerPixie]

I couldnt stop laughing!

What fun reading your trip report!!!!

 

[Duckfan]

At last, lots of details about the mini meets, imagine those poor souls on the monorail with you. That probably made one heck of a story when they got home. Thanks for another round of great stories. PS I have that Halloween goofy too and I love him....he goes with my tigger as mickey.

 

[jusus3]

I have never laughed so much reading a report. Thank you so much for posting

 

[patbscrooge]

Great trip report. Some parts made me feel like I was right there with you. Oh wait! I WAS at the Great Pin Adventure and many times my DH and I saw you from afar and wondered aloud who was the celebrity causing all that excitement. Oh, that's the Jazzy One, the Disney suits would say. He's a happening dude.

Only one thing....you need to go back to the 50's Prime Time. The object of the exercise is not to get some abuse from Mom and the gang, it's to break through the envelope and get some punishment from them. But not for you, for the people with you. Nothing says loving like seeing your son sing "I'm a little teapot" in front of a room full of virtual strangers ("No, Steve, you don't have to take your hat off to eat your dinner, this is Disney and they don't care.") Or see your daughter in law standing in the corner with her nose against the wall ("Yes, Laura, that's right. The waiter won't mind if you draw a picture of him and call him Dootyhead") Ha, Ha, Ha that's how you eat dinner at the Prime Time, but I forgive you your oversight. You were extremely busy and couldn't dedicate the necessary time and energy into this part of the project. Your punishment is that you have to go back to WDW and try again.
Just let me know when you'll be there so I can be there too.

Once again, super report!!

Pat

 

[nutz4dzny]

I loved your reports! Had me on the floor rolling!!!! Especially the milkshake and the wave and the way you guys took over the Jungle Cruise boat! We did somethiong like that one time with 12 of my family members and 3 people who were from India and spoke very little english! They thought we hijacked the boat and looked so scared they ran off at the end never to return again I am sure!!!! Thanks so much for Posting!

 

[bellsonmytoes]

What a fun trip report to read. Makes me want to get into pin trading.

I'm also from Arizona (Ajo) and will be getting up in the middle of the night for breakfast
in 4 short days................Yippeeee I'm going to Disney World....

Thanks for taking the time to write the report...

 

[goofymom/pop]

Jeff do we all get autographed copies when the novel to the Great Pin

adventure comes out in print?????? What a great event, and what great
people you all were to set up all the activities for us....

Lauri, wow your hand must still be bruised from banging on his door every
morning...lol!!!


cindy

 

[dizneykids]

...who beat you out for the duck in the green shirt. i ran into leslie (almost literally) and was about to move on when it registered in my brain that the pin i had been asking every cm for was in fact residing on her lanyard. although she looked rather disturbed when i screamed out "LOUIEEEE", she nonetheless traded it with me. my 7 year old is VERY happy with me...he almost forgives me for leaving him home with his dad while i went to play at wdw.

now, i DID keep looking for another louie for you, but alas...they are as rare as, well, a media mickey. however, my ds asked me to tell you that he'd be willing to trade you his louie for a jail scene he says he doesn't care if it is silver or gold.

thanks for your report....it had us all rolling on the floor here (NOT a pretty sight)