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<font color=blue>Miracles are amazing!<br><font co
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,191
Today is our Keys to the Kingdom tour. I am very excited. This is something I've always wanted to do, but didn't think Stephen would pay the money. Well, he surprised me, and here we are!
We have to be at MK at 8:15, so we are up and at the bus stop by 7:15 after breakfast in the room (I had an egg bagel and left over turkey leg, yum). Get to the gate a little early. In the park by 8:00. Since we're early, we walk through the shops on the left side of Main Street. It's really cool to be in the stores so early. CMs at our beck and call. There was a really nice CM in a wheelchair greeting guests as they walked down Main Street, answering questions, and getting embarrassed by pretty girls. It was pretty cute.
We walk back to the front and go to the garden to the left of City Hall. As soon as we enter, our names are shouted out. The tour guides are very fun. There are only four of us on the tour. The other couple is from upstate New York. She (Joanne) was very talkative, but very nice. A hairdresser and grandma, and you could tell she loves doing both. The 9:00 tour only had one couple in it, so we waited to see if they would show up early, then they could go with us. They didn't, so off we went.
Our tour guide's name was Lynda, and she was sooo nice. She was informative, but fun. Now, we were never told not to tell what we saw, so I am going to give a brief synopsis of the 5 1/2 hours of our tour. If you don't want to know about it, stop reading NOW!!!
Okay, if you're still with me, here's what we did. First we walked up Main Street and learned about the architecture, names on the windows and talked to some CMs. Then we headed to Adventureland, learning cool stuff. Stuff like how the vegetation changes from one side of the Crystal Palace to the other. From Victorian to jungle. Something you really don't notice much. We rode Pirates and looked through a window in the queue to see some pirates playing chess. We were told the game was a stalemate, and they died just sitting there. Lynda pointed out some hidden Mickeys, which was fun. Then we headed to the Jungle Cruise. We got our own boat. We learned a few more hidden Mickeys and that the water is dyed. The falls in the ride stir up the dye. She pointed out a little elephant that was just replaced (we see who he replaced later, back stage.) Through the ride, our captain got to sit down, unless the another boat was seen, then she had to stand up and pretend she was driving. It was pretty cute.
After this, it was lunch. We had given our orders for what we wanted to eat at the Columbia Harbor house before we started. When we arrived, our food was placed on the table, drinks and all. We had a good time just talking, getting to know each other. I was unable to eat my whole sandwich, so a CM wrapped it in a paper bag for me. BTW, I had a sandwich that had broccoli slaw on it, and it was wonderful. Columbia Harbor House is a great place to eat.
We were discussing during lunch how good Le Cellier was in Canada. The other couple in our tour had never eaten there before, but decided they'd try tonight. They were leaving the next day. Joanne was concerned they'd need a PS if they wanted to eat at 6:30. So after lunch we went into the kitchen store in Liberty Square (I don't remember the name) and Lynda asked to borrow the phone. She called someone, not the normal dining number, put Joanne on the phone, and she had her PS. It was very nice, and neat magic. Then we went to the Haunted Mansion. Before we entered, Lynda told us her version of the story. She also told us where to look for hidden Mickeys. And to check out the ball gowns. Did you ever notice that the girls are leading here? She told us how the ballroom scene is done. Very interesting, but I won't spoil that for you. (Actually, I didn't really understand it, so I'd never be able to explain it). We rode the ride and saw all but one hidden MIckey. When we got off, I picked up my sandwich in the paperbag and it spilled all over the moving sidewalk as we left. I was soooo embarrassed. Lynda laughed and laughed, and said not to worry about it. At least I hadn't eaten it first.
From here we headed "back stage" to see the parade floats. If you walk from Liberty Square to Frontier Land, pass Pecos Bill, you'll see a gate. We went through the gate. The difference is amazing. One side is all magic, the other side industrial. We looked inside Ursula from Spectromagic and saw all the floats for Share a Dream Come True. Did you know there's a hidden Walt on each of those floats. Lynda pointed them out to us.
After we left that area, we headed back towards Main Street. Lynda had told us that some questions she could answer "on-stage", and some answers had to wait until we were "back-stage". Stephen asked a question that she couldn't answer as we were walking, then we forgot it when we got back stage again. We got to another backstage area from the Emporium (I think) on Main Street. There's a door behind a cash register. We had to go in, wait for the door to close behind us, and then open the next door, so no one would see. It let right out into a parking lot. It's here we saw the other little elephant that got replaced earlier on Jungle Cruise. We went upstairs, above the Emporium and found the elevators. On the way we saw some offices and got a lot of info about hairdressing, dress codes and stuff. Then, the utilidors. Pretty much what you'd expect. Colorful arrows and pictures tell you where to go. We heard the trash vacuum go off. A guy on the college program stopped and thanked Lynda for the tour he went on last year. She told him to look into the college program, he did, and now he's there. Pretty cool. We also talked to Christine, whose special friend was Robin Hood that day. This was her first real day to work. You could see the excitement in her face. She was 16 and only worked on weekends. She loved it. Just talking to her was worth the money. She is what makes WDW what it is. Lynda said she was going to put a "good job" in her folder because of how nice she was to talk to us. After that we went back up, and the tour was over. It was after 2:00, and we'd had a great time.
If you didn't want to read the tour, you can start reading now.
Stephen and I wandered over to Frontierland to ride Splash, but grabbed some McD's fries on the way. I love McD's fries at WDW cause they are always hot. As we got off Splash and headed through the store at the exit, I put a stick of gum in my mouth. I must have breathed wrong, because some cinnamon sprayed the back of my throat and I started coughing. I could not breath. It immediately put me into an asthma attack. I was coughing and crying, and unable to get a breath. I don't know how long it lasted, but I was pretty panicked by the time it was over. I really could have used an inhaler, but I don't usually carry one, as my asthma is 90% under control. Once I was in control, we decided to head out. As we walked past the Crystal Palace, I had a great desire to use the bathroom. I lost my fries, but felt immediately better after that. I think the coughing fit did something to me.
Anyway, we took the monorail to Epcot and enjoyed FW a little. We saw Living Seas, and then walked through Mexico, riding the River to Time and enjoying the shop. Stephen got some nachos and carried them to Japan, so I could get Yakatori. I really like eating here. Then we headed to China, wandered the shops and watched the acrobats (they are so good) and watched the movie. We decided to see if the Beavertails were open, but they weren't yet. Stephen asked the CM working at the souvenir stand next to it why it was closed. We were told Trapper Bob was on vacation. And then he told us the truth. The oven broke. There was someone in there right then fixing it. He gave us a gift certificate for two free ones when it did open. That was really nice. So, since there were no beavertails, we decided on Kaki Gori. I know, not very creative, but they are good.
I was feeling a little drained from my episode earlier, so we decided to make an early night of it. We walked back to our room and I watched Illuminations from our balcony while Stephen watched ESPN. Very nice. Then we went to the quiet pool and hot tub for awhile.
Back to the room for more ESPN and me taking notes of the day. Our neighbors next door called and asked Stephen to turn down the tv. We had no idea it was so loud. They were really nice, and we had problem obliging.
Asleep by 11:30, so much for an early night.
Tomorrow: Sleep in, yea!!!
We have to be at MK at 8:15, so we are up and at the bus stop by 7:15 after breakfast in the room (I had an egg bagel and left over turkey leg, yum). Get to the gate a little early. In the park by 8:00. Since we're early, we walk through the shops on the left side of Main Street. It's really cool to be in the stores so early. CMs at our beck and call. There was a really nice CM in a wheelchair greeting guests as they walked down Main Street, answering questions, and getting embarrassed by pretty girls. It was pretty cute.
We walk back to the front and go to the garden to the left of City Hall. As soon as we enter, our names are shouted out. The tour guides are very fun. There are only four of us on the tour. The other couple is from upstate New York. She (Joanne) was very talkative, but very nice. A hairdresser and grandma, and you could tell she loves doing both. The 9:00 tour only had one couple in it, so we waited to see if they would show up early, then they could go with us. They didn't, so off we went.
Our tour guide's name was Lynda, and she was sooo nice. She was informative, but fun. Now, we were never told not to tell what we saw, so I am going to give a brief synopsis of the 5 1/2 hours of our tour. If you don't want to know about it, stop reading NOW!!!
Okay, if you're still with me, here's what we did. First we walked up Main Street and learned about the architecture, names on the windows and talked to some CMs. Then we headed to Adventureland, learning cool stuff. Stuff like how the vegetation changes from one side of the Crystal Palace to the other. From Victorian to jungle. Something you really don't notice much. We rode Pirates and looked through a window in the queue to see some pirates playing chess. We were told the game was a stalemate, and they died just sitting there. Lynda pointed out some hidden Mickeys, which was fun. Then we headed to the Jungle Cruise. We got our own boat. We learned a few more hidden Mickeys and that the water is dyed. The falls in the ride stir up the dye. She pointed out a little elephant that was just replaced (we see who he replaced later, back stage.) Through the ride, our captain got to sit down, unless the another boat was seen, then she had to stand up and pretend she was driving. It was pretty cute.
After this, it was lunch. We had given our orders for what we wanted to eat at the Columbia Harbor house before we started. When we arrived, our food was placed on the table, drinks and all. We had a good time just talking, getting to know each other. I was unable to eat my whole sandwich, so a CM wrapped it in a paper bag for me. BTW, I had a sandwich that had broccoli slaw on it, and it was wonderful. Columbia Harbor House is a great place to eat.
We were discussing during lunch how good Le Cellier was in Canada. The other couple in our tour had never eaten there before, but decided they'd try tonight. They were leaving the next day. Joanne was concerned they'd need a PS if they wanted to eat at 6:30. So after lunch we went into the kitchen store in Liberty Square (I don't remember the name) and Lynda asked to borrow the phone. She called someone, not the normal dining number, put Joanne on the phone, and she had her PS. It was very nice, and neat magic. Then we went to the Haunted Mansion. Before we entered, Lynda told us her version of the story. She also told us where to look for hidden Mickeys. And to check out the ball gowns. Did you ever notice that the girls are leading here? She told us how the ballroom scene is done. Very interesting, but I won't spoil that for you. (Actually, I didn't really understand it, so I'd never be able to explain it). We rode the ride and saw all but one hidden MIckey. When we got off, I picked up my sandwich in the paperbag and it spilled all over the moving sidewalk as we left. I was soooo embarrassed. Lynda laughed and laughed, and said not to worry about it. At least I hadn't eaten it first.
From here we headed "back stage" to see the parade floats. If you walk from Liberty Square to Frontier Land, pass Pecos Bill, you'll see a gate. We went through the gate. The difference is amazing. One side is all magic, the other side industrial. We looked inside Ursula from Spectromagic and saw all the floats for Share a Dream Come True. Did you know there's a hidden Walt on each of those floats. Lynda pointed them out to us.
After we left that area, we headed back towards Main Street. Lynda had told us that some questions she could answer "on-stage", and some answers had to wait until we were "back-stage". Stephen asked a question that she couldn't answer as we were walking, then we forgot it when we got back stage again. We got to another backstage area from the Emporium (I think) on Main Street. There's a door behind a cash register. We had to go in, wait for the door to close behind us, and then open the next door, so no one would see. It let right out into a parking lot. It's here we saw the other little elephant that got replaced earlier on Jungle Cruise. We went upstairs, above the Emporium and found the elevators. On the way we saw some offices and got a lot of info about hairdressing, dress codes and stuff. Then, the utilidors. Pretty much what you'd expect. Colorful arrows and pictures tell you where to go. We heard the trash vacuum go off. A guy on the college program stopped and thanked Lynda for the tour he went on last year. She told him to look into the college program, he did, and now he's there. Pretty cool. We also talked to Christine, whose special friend was Robin Hood that day. This was her first real day to work. You could see the excitement in her face. She was 16 and only worked on weekends. She loved it. Just talking to her was worth the money. She is what makes WDW what it is. Lynda said she was going to put a "good job" in her folder because of how nice she was to talk to us. After that we went back up, and the tour was over. It was after 2:00, and we'd had a great time.
If you didn't want to read the tour, you can start reading now.
Stephen and I wandered over to Frontierland to ride Splash, but grabbed some McD's fries on the way. I love McD's fries at WDW cause they are always hot. As we got off Splash and headed through the store at the exit, I put a stick of gum in my mouth. I must have breathed wrong, because some cinnamon sprayed the back of my throat and I started coughing. I could not breath. It immediately put me into an asthma attack. I was coughing and crying, and unable to get a breath. I don't know how long it lasted, but I was pretty panicked by the time it was over. I really could have used an inhaler, but I don't usually carry one, as my asthma is 90% under control. Once I was in control, we decided to head out. As we walked past the Crystal Palace, I had a great desire to use the bathroom. I lost my fries, but felt immediately better after that. I think the coughing fit did something to me.
Anyway, we took the monorail to Epcot and enjoyed FW a little. We saw Living Seas, and then walked through Mexico, riding the River to Time and enjoying the shop. Stephen got some nachos and carried them to Japan, so I could get Yakatori. I really like eating here. Then we headed to China, wandered the shops and watched the acrobats (they are so good) and watched the movie. We decided to see if the Beavertails were open, but they weren't yet. Stephen asked the CM working at the souvenir stand next to it why it was closed. We were told Trapper Bob was on vacation. And then he told us the truth. The oven broke. There was someone in there right then fixing it. He gave us a gift certificate for two free ones when it did open. That was really nice. So, since there were no beavertails, we decided on Kaki Gori. I know, not very creative, but they are good.
I was feeling a little drained from my episode earlier, so we decided to make an early night of it. We walked back to our room and I watched Illuminations from our balcony while Stephen watched ESPN. Very nice. Then we went to the quiet pool and hot tub for awhile.
Back to the room for more ESPN and me taking notes of the day. Our neighbors next door called and asked Stephen to turn down the tv. We had no idea it was so loud. They were really nice, and we had problem obliging.
Asleep by 11:30, so much for an early night.
Tomorrow: Sleep in, yea!!!
