Mike Jones
<font color=993300>....nothing clever to say... ju
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 1,372
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What a Carry On! Part 6 Friday 22nd August 2008.
Our bedroom is pretty well insulated for sound, but I can hear the rain hammering against the roof above when we wake at 6.00am. Im enjoying the holiday, and its nice to be warm, but I must admit to getting slightly tetchy now about all this pigging rain. Im probably being naive, but I am starting to wish wed actually suffered a hurricane, because some locals weve talked to offer the opinion that this central area around Orlando doesnt suffer significantly when Cat Ones pass through, and a hurricane would have been and gone by now, instead of this endless rain while TS Fay tickles up the peninsular at 5 mph.
Just for variety though we now experience a noisy and extremely visual lightening storm right overhead. The TV advises people in the Orlando area not to travel for the next 45 minutes or so until it passes!
Usual routine: we go down for breakfast at 6.30. Bethany is already up, and MSNing on the lappy to her mates back in the UK. Mum and dad appear soon afterwards, but we have to wake Adam at 7.00am.
We watch it get light over coffee on the lanai... it seems very squally today, so perhaps the tempo is changing a little and may indicate an eventual end to Fay.... or not. Today was supposed to have been Busch Gardens, and in truth the forecast for Tampa doesnt look quite as miserable as for here, but Im reluctant to drive 60 miles to find that the weather has followed us and theyve closed all the coasters.
Plan B then. Time for our least favourite park. Yep, were off to Mickey Central.... the Magic Kingdom!
My/our antipathy to MK harks back 7 years to our (excluding my darling Amanda, who apparently was married to someone else at the time!) first trip to the Mouse. We were in a party of 10, clueless souls, afflicted by ignorance and sisters in law, and we went to a rainy MK first, whilst jet-lagged, too late after opening, and during similar weather to this. The result was a very frustrating day spent in long lines, with only a couple of rides under our belts and 4 very grumpy kids in tow. To add insult to injury, after a 45 minute wait for Splash Mountain, the ride broke down with us stuck on top for 10 minutes in the rain. We were then unceremoniously ejected from the ride and not even offered FastPasses to come back on another occasion.
Ive never been able to forgive the place, and even though we pop back for specific rides and evening fireworks, I wouldnt care much if we never bothered.
We leave at 8.00, and Sherberth our way to the TTC (Ticket & Transportation Centre) via the Winn Dixie (just in case they were worrying about us not having been in for 14 hours: I purchase a cheap brolly & some batteries for our borrowed walkie-talkies).
Another grudge against MK for me is the faffing about before you actually get there! Drive to the TTC parking lot, tractor-tram to the Monorail or Ferry, queue for the Monorail or Ferry, walk to the turnstiles.... its 8.45 before we arrive at the entrance.
Well, to be absolutely accurate, the tunnel under the entrance... no one seems interested in the jolly opening ceremony today, due to the constant rain, and a couple of hundred of us are squeezed under the railway station! Theres a slightly pervy aroma of wet vinyl in the air from all those sweaty ponchos....
As usual I could do with the loo, but to use the ones outside the entrance plaza would require another round of lining up for security and turnstiles. Instead I ease through the sweaty ponchos and approach the CM standing guard (or rather sitting guard, as hes actually in a wheelchair) at the rope drop. Please sir, can I go to the toilet? I am grudgingly admitted into Main Street, although the hired help watch me like hawks in case I make a dash for freedom towards the castle!
I make use of the facilities and return, suitably refreshed, to rejoin my damp and gently steaming family for a couple of minutes until we hear the arrival of Mickey and Co. on the 08.59 and they lower the rope.
We do the fast walk to Tomorrowland and obtain FastPasses for Buzz before entering the standby line. There is no wait and we are aboard our craft in a couple of ticks. Our first round ends with Amanda trailing Mike 61,000 to 114,000. (The rest of the bunch barely creep into 5 figures between them, so I will not shame them any further by recording their actual and rather dismal scores here.)
There doesnt seem to be any line yet, and we walk straight back in again for round 2. Amanda wakes up somewhat this time and manages 190,000, but Mikey has his eye in now and wipes the floor with her: 409,000! (Im a gracious winner, have you noticed?)
Guess what? Its raining hard as we leave. We wade over to Space Mountain, where my dad surprises us all by agreeing to accompany the Coaster Crew on this dangerous mission! Adam, as always, refuses to be persuaded and waits outside.
Theres only a modest wait (after the lengthy walk on... its almost as bad as Duelling Dragons at Islands of Adventure!) and we are back off again in less than 15 minutes. Its fun, if a little dated now, and although he seems to be suffering from a mild concussion, my dad looks more or less happy! (mind you, yesterday he was searching for trash cans in the rain, and today hes doing coasters? I suggest that Mum gets an appointment at the docs when we return!)
We cross the plaza to restroom (didnt know it was a verb, did you?), before picking our next adventure. Having absolutely no idea what to expect, but feeling daring, I shepherd the, er, sheep, into Stitchs Great Escape.
It makes us laugh, a little, and is cleverly done, but I dont think well rush back to repeat it. We leave Tomorrowland and pass through to Fantasyland, ostensibly heading for Mickeys Philharmagic. We do, however, get distracted by the Tea Cups, which five of us decide to ride (thatd be Dad not bothering then?).. and we will, if we can find the entrance! Its either a bit discreet or some large person was standing in the way, but we end up walking all the way round the damn thing before arriving back where we were and going through the gate, there being no lines.
This is a laugh, and I try to take some action pics along the way, but they dont come out too well. The only disappointment is that it only lasts about a minute, even though there are no lines!
Into the Philharmagic Theatre nearby at 10.20.
We walk straight through the queuing area to the pre-show foyer, and then wait around 5 minutes for the previous showing to finish. We reminisce about previous visits, and Adam recalls us seeing the Bear in The Big Blue Blouse when he was 6.... I prefer his version!
We enter the theatre with about half a full crowd and I think of Craig W as we trudge past and, where possible over, the morons who have stopped halfway down the row. Idiots.
This is a first viewing for mum and dad, and we all enjoy the performance.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
What a Carry On! Part 6 Friday 22nd August 2008.
Our bedroom is pretty well insulated for sound, but I can hear the rain hammering against the roof above when we wake at 6.00am. Im enjoying the holiday, and its nice to be warm, but I must admit to getting slightly tetchy now about all this pigging rain. Im probably being naive, but I am starting to wish wed actually suffered a hurricane, because some locals weve talked to offer the opinion that this central area around Orlando doesnt suffer significantly when Cat Ones pass through, and a hurricane would have been and gone by now, instead of this endless rain while TS Fay tickles up the peninsular at 5 mph.
Just for variety though we now experience a noisy and extremely visual lightening storm right overhead. The TV advises people in the Orlando area not to travel for the next 45 minutes or so until it passes!
Usual routine: we go down for breakfast at 6.30. Bethany is already up, and MSNing on the lappy to her mates back in the UK. Mum and dad appear soon afterwards, but we have to wake Adam at 7.00am.
We watch it get light over coffee on the lanai... it seems very squally today, so perhaps the tempo is changing a little and may indicate an eventual end to Fay.... or not. Today was supposed to have been Busch Gardens, and in truth the forecast for Tampa doesnt look quite as miserable as for here, but Im reluctant to drive 60 miles to find that the weather has followed us and theyve closed all the coasters.
Plan B then. Time for our least favourite park. Yep, were off to Mickey Central.... the Magic Kingdom!
My/our antipathy to MK harks back 7 years to our (excluding my darling Amanda, who apparently was married to someone else at the time!) first trip to the Mouse. We were in a party of 10, clueless souls, afflicted by ignorance and sisters in law, and we went to a rainy MK first, whilst jet-lagged, too late after opening, and during similar weather to this. The result was a very frustrating day spent in long lines, with only a couple of rides under our belts and 4 very grumpy kids in tow. To add insult to injury, after a 45 minute wait for Splash Mountain, the ride broke down with us stuck on top for 10 minutes in the rain. We were then unceremoniously ejected from the ride and not even offered FastPasses to come back on another occasion.
Ive never been able to forgive the place, and even though we pop back for specific rides and evening fireworks, I wouldnt care much if we never bothered.
We leave at 8.00, and Sherberth our way to the TTC (Ticket & Transportation Centre) via the Winn Dixie (just in case they were worrying about us not having been in for 14 hours: I purchase a cheap brolly & some batteries for our borrowed walkie-talkies).
Another grudge against MK for me is the faffing about before you actually get there! Drive to the TTC parking lot, tractor-tram to the Monorail or Ferry, queue for the Monorail or Ferry, walk to the turnstiles.... its 8.45 before we arrive at the entrance.

Well, to be absolutely accurate, the tunnel under the entrance... no one seems interested in the jolly opening ceremony today, due to the constant rain, and a couple of hundred of us are squeezed under the railway station! Theres a slightly pervy aroma of wet vinyl in the air from all those sweaty ponchos....
As usual I could do with the loo, but to use the ones outside the entrance plaza would require another round of lining up for security and turnstiles. Instead I ease through the sweaty ponchos and approach the CM standing guard (or rather sitting guard, as hes actually in a wheelchair) at the rope drop. Please sir, can I go to the toilet? I am grudgingly admitted into Main Street, although the hired help watch me like hawks in case I make a dash for freedom towards the castle!
I make use of the facilities and return, suitably refreshed, to rejoin my damp and gently steaming family for a couple of minutes until we hear the arrival of Mickey and Co. on the 08.59 and they lower the rope.

We do the fast walk to Tomorrowland and obtain FastPasses for Buzz before entering the standby line. There is no wait and we are aboard our craft in a couple of ticks. Our first round ends with Amanda trailing Mike 61,000 to 114,000. (The rest of the bunch barely creep into 5 figures between them, so I will not shame them any further by recording their actual and rather dismal scores here.)
There doesnt seem to be any line yet, and we walk straight back in again for round 2. Amanda wakes up somewhat this time and manages 190,000, but Mikey has his eye in now and wipes the floor with her: 409,000! (Im a gracious winner, have you noticed?)
Guess what? Its raining hard as we leave. We wade over to Space Mountain, where my dad surprises us all by agreeing to accompany the Coaster Crew on this dangerous mission! Adam, as always, refuses to be persuaded and waits outside.
Theres only a modest wait (after the lengthy walk on... its almost as bad as Duelling Dragons at Islands of Adventure!) and we are back off again in less than 15 minutes. Its fun, if a little dated now, and although he seems to be suffering from a mild concussion, my dad looks more or less happy! (mind you, yesterday he was searching for trash cans in the rain, and today hes doing coasters? I suggest that Mum gets an appointment at the docs when we return!)
We cross the plaza to restroom (didnt know it was a verb, did you?), before picking our next adventure. Having absolutely no idea what to expect, but feeling daring, I shepherd the, er, sheep, into Stitchs Great Escape.
It makes us laugh, a little, and is cleverly done, but I dont think well rush back to repeat it. We leave Tomorrowland and pass through to Fantasyland, ostensibly heading for Mickeys Philharmagic. We do, however, get distracted by the Tea Cups, which five of us decide to ride (thatd be Dad not bothering then?).. and we will, if we can find the entrance! Its either a bit discreet or some large person was standing in the way, but we end up walking all the way round the damn thing before arriving back where we were and going through the gate, there being no lines.

This is a laugh, and I try to take some action pics along the way, but they dont come out too well. The only disappointment is that it only lasts about a minute, even though there are no lines!

Into the Philharmagic Theatre nearby at 10.20.

We walk straight through the queuing area to the pre-show foyer, and then wait around 5 minutes for the previous showing to finish. We reminisce about previous visits, and Adam recalls us seeing the Bear in The Big Blue Blouse when he was 6.... I prefer his version!
We enter the theatre with about half a full crowd and I think of Craig W as we trudge past and, where possible over, the morons who have stopped halfway down the row. Idiots.
This is a first viewing for mum and dad, and we all enjoy the performance.