When we last left our heroines they were sitting and patiently awaiting the DHS bus. Thankfully we didn't wait long.
Ever.
The bus service at the Poly was great. Granted, we were only using it for two parks and DTD but really, it was never more than a 7 or 8 minute wait.
We arrived at the Studios ready to take on all it had to offer. Namely, the crowds of people swarming for Toy Story Mania FPs. We arrived around 10 a.m. I was convinced the FP return time would be 12/18/2009 between 3:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. If we were lucky. But I was actually ok with that. I knew that if we couldn't get a FP we'd decide about whether or not we felt it was worth waiting in the Stand-By line (we both figured yes on this one) and what our wait tolerance was (Mine was about 60 min. Missy's varied depending on a variety of factors including concentration of obnoxious teenage boys in her immediate vicinity, how long we'd have to wait
outside the building, and the current dew point.)
After having our bags checked by the super-vigilant Disney Security team (I think her head tilted in the general direction of my bag before she waved me through), we headed for the turnstiles. Missy, thankfully, with her KTTW in hand.
::cue ominous and foreboding music::
After a short line, we were in! And Missy immediately started making friends:
Meet BO. He enjoys long walks on the beach, dogs, true crime novels and, go figure, Pepsi floats. I think Missy got his number.
While we weren't scampering (who scampers, really, other than rodents? I just really wanted to use that word!) to TSMM, we weren't completely without that heading either. We conferred and decided we'd test our luck and see if it held and see if there were still FPs available for a decent our. We headed first for the hat:
And then for
Pixar Place:
It was like cattle being led to...well...wherever that happy place is that my beef comes from. EVERYONE was moving in this direction. We bobbed and weaved with the skill and agility of Randy Moss (or not) and I finally caught a glimpse of the FP machines and the return time: 3: 25 p.m.! SCORE! The lines for the FP machines weren't too bad and we got our passes in pretty short order.
May I just say how much I love the theming of this area? Granted, I'm sure I'll love it more when the newness wears off and you can visit it without the added benefit of the crush of humanity but still, it's so cool.
Speak n' Spell (or, for any of you Dane Cook fans out there 'Speak like the devil.'). I so had one of these but mine was orange.
Barrel of Monkeys
Playin' SCRABBLE with the
other little green men.
Ride entrance - This one was taken on our way back through. If I remember correctly the Stand-by line was around 120 min.
Since we were in the area, we decided to hit up the Backlot Tour. (Unfortunately, LMA!, which had opened after my last visit, was closed during our trip as they were repaving the lot.) We stopped by the big, spittin' Coke bottle before heading into the line for the Tour. It was HOT.
The Tour was...exactly as it was the last time I visited. There were some new props and costumes I previously hadn't had the chance to see but for the most part, Harbor Attack! and the tour itself remain exactly the same. Does anyone else miss Residential Street and the Golden Girls house (R.I.P. Bea Arthur) and such? I used to really enjoy that part.
One thing I still enjoy every time, though:
Aaah. To be cruising up there with Walt, surveying what would truly become a Magical Kingdom.
Oh, and so funny! We were transported to this canyon in the desert where we experienced a freak rainstorm, then an earthquake, followed by an oil tanker explosion and a flash flood! Crazy huh? It was like that canyon was a complete catastrophe!
I know I sound sarcastic but I do actually enjoy this still. I just think that the end part of the Disaster! attraction at US is a little bit neater (depending on where you have the pleasure of sitting) and the Twister attraction is MUCH better. I know, it's like I just cursed and spit on the Mouse but really, you can't be perfect at everything.
After the tour we figured we were done with what we wanted to do in that area and since, while on the tour, we noticed that NY Street had been invaded with Power Rangers, we decided to head back in the direction from whence we came and hit up The Great Movie Ride.
We played around outside for a bit with the footprints and handprints but it didn't last long. The heat was actually bordering on unbearable. The air was physically heavy. So we headed inside.
Gratuitous Mary Poppins shot for LL:
TGMR totally needs an update, I agree. But it doesn't stop me from loving it in its current form either.
While our tour driver was great, our "Mobster" left a lot to be desired. He so overdid the NY accent that he was actually difficult to understand. Or, maybe that meant he was right on? LOL Regardless, though, I love the Alien and Wizard of Oz scene. Sigourney Weaver has looked like she needs a serious dose of Prozac for what, like the last 15 years? And the Munchkins are still battling with the Wicked Witch of the West.
When we walked back out into the heat we both decided to have a snack. Not that we were hungry. I just think, at this point, every time we were exposed to the sun and the humidity we had no idea what to do with ourselves. Since, on my last trip, I'd had a GREAT pretzel as a treat, we headed over to Min and Bill's Dockside Diner. But alas, the "filled" pretzels weren't ready yet so we each settled for a plain one and a water. If I thought the Mobster was overdone, he was obviously just emulating my pretzel. Bleh. It was stale and just icky. Not worthy of a picture, that's for sure! I ate maybe a quarter of mine and then tossed the rest. But we sat anyway, enjoying being out of the sun on a shaded bench and sipping our water.
After a brief discussion we decided to head over to the Muppets and be back in time for the next Indy stunt show. We both chose to bypass Star Tours since simulators make my stomach angry and I didn't want to chance being sick for the day.
Remember that for later.
BUT! TK! I did run into Dad. Said hi for you.
We arrived at our destination...
(See all those dark clouds? Mhmmm...)
and got in another non-existent queue. We grabbed our 3-D glasses and caught the very end of the pre-show. If by pre-show you mean ingenious Muppet intro completely drowned out by the positively SCREAMING child whose father would not leave with him. I mean this kid was screaming like hot coals were being poured down his back. I felt bad for him. Before we headed inside, I let Missy know that despite this child's incredible fear, it would be a Muppet-y good time and we were a GO.
I wish I could tell you the screaming child had as good of a time as we did. Or that his father removed him from the theatre. I can't. Because that would be called lying. I did notice the dad receive some pretty nasty looks on his way out, however. Rightly deserved, in my opinion. We took a quick detour into the Muppet shop but it was fairly short-lived as we didn't want to miss Indy.
We ended up sitting on the faaaaaar left of the stadium, less than 10 rows up. Our hostess name was Barbie. (And she looked like she could play the part.) While neither of us volunteered for the show, they did pick a gentleman from our row as one of the extras. He was pretty funny. The show was predictable, but in that comforting sort of way, with the laughter in all the right places.
Hey! CP! I have to tell you, this was the HOTTEST Indy I've ever seen in the bajillion times I've seen this show. He took his hat off and about half of the females in the audience fainted. The other half IMMEDIATELY bought their husbands an Indy hat in the dump shop.
Unfortunately, this is the best pic I got of him:
After Indy we thought it was time to get some action ourselves (minds out of the gutter people), so we headed over to Sunset Blvd. and TOT. When we got there, the wait was posted as 40 min., which I was NOT down for.
One would think that one should take that as a sign.
Sometimes one is an oblivious idiot.
We got ourselves FPs for 3:10 (a little more than 30 min. away at that point) and then headed over to the Rock n' Roller coaster. The wait time was posted as 10 min. so we were psyched to get our ride on in pretty short order. Unfortunately, this was the one time when the posted wait was wrong. We probably waited more like 20 min., so still not a huge deal.
As we headed up the ramp before heading into the building, cue more foreboding music:
What you (obviously) can't see in this shot is the ridiculously ominous rainclouds that had moved in.
Once inside we decided we wanted to wait for the first car. MAN! I LOVE THIS RIDE! What a rush. I'm a roller coaster junky and this one is SO at the top of my list. It was, in a word, AWESOME. We loved our picture and we bought it. Unfortunately my scanner is broken so I can't share it (I haven't yet done the picture of a picture thing either) but it's great.
When we headed back out, it had rained a little but had stopped. We were about 10 min. away from our TOT window, so we headed up the hill to wait. I talked to BF for a short time and assured him that we were having a great time, and no, no one else had gotten sick.
Mhmmm.
What is it they say about jinxing yourself?
I said good-bye as our FP window opened and we headed in to visit the 13th floor.
Pledge, anyone?
The line inside the hotel was short and we didn't wait long. We were seated in the middle of the middle row. Surrounded by people. I strapped in and smiled at Missy. I was so excited to be riding it again. I have always loved this ride.
UNTIL NOW.
Our elevator began to ascend and I didn't notice anything wrong. We made it to the area where you move forward through the ride, ultimately to the shaft where the drop sequence occurs. This is actually my favorite part of the ride. I could live without the drop sequence. Particularly this time, though I didn't know it yet.
A quick preface before I explain to you what happened in said elevator shaft. I LOVE rides. I have never had a problem with any kind of ride with two exceptions:
1.) Anything that spins, a la the Teacups
and
2.) Simulators - I actually used to be fine. Until Body Wars. Ever since then ANY simulator ride leaves me with a headache and rushing for the Ladies' Loo. I got brave on my recent vaca with BF and we tried the new Simpsons' ride at US. BAD BUSINESS. BF has the same simulator issue I do. We lasted about 5 seconds and then both had to close our eyes for the remainder of the ride. I can tell you, it
sounded hysterical. LOL
In addition, I've ridden TOT I don't know how many other times in my lifetime. Never. Had. An. Issue. Ever.
Famous. Last. Words.
I wish I could tell you what the drop sequence we experienced was, but I cant. I CAN tell you that it started with us flying UP the shaft, dropping a bit, and moving back up the shaft to where the doors open to the park. And that, my friends, is all I can remember. I screamed on the initial ascent and then clamped my mouth shut. The effect of the movement was immediate. My head started to pound and my stomach cried out in terror. I didn't make a peep after that first scream. I was afraid that instead of thrilling other riders with my scaredexcitedfunrideshriek I'd instead show them, firsthand, how bad that pretzel really was.
Gross. I know.
When we reached the doors and they opened onto the park, I vaguely remember observing how AWESOME of a picture it would be at that moment from inside the car. The sky was positively ANGRY.
And that was the end of all rational thought.
The next few seconds of up and down and up and down and up and down was consumed with one thought only: "PLEASEGODGETMEOFF." Over and over and over and over again. I thought if I could just hold out until the sequence ended, I'd sit still, settle my belly and we'd be all good. I think it was towards the end of the sequence that Missy noticed I was not sharing in her "good time" scream.
Again, that would be me being wrong. Once we reached the end of the upping and downing, the REAL problem set in, in the form of the beating in my head. I suffer from migraines and while this wasnt that, it was dangerously close. It was all I could do not to just die right there. Matter of fact, I considered the pros and cons of doing just that. I was trying to concentrate on breathing rather than vomiting and was trying to remember how close the nearest Ladies room was. I was also praying that there was no CM waiting on the other side of the elevator doors to scare the bejesus out of us when the doors opened, like they are sometimes wont to do. I was worried that it would be more than the bejesus that would come flying out if I were startled.
Thankfully, we had a kind
or bored
or lazy CM who simply opened the gate to let us out. I cant recall but I think I was one of the first people off. I realized there was a bathroom close by but by that time had determined that what I need was AIR. I flew past the picture area (too bad I didnt see it, Id bet my expression was downright comical), through the dump shop and into the air.
The wet air.
It was raining.
Honestly, I didnt think anything could feel any better.
I sat my butt down on a bench and tried to wait it out. Missy, sweet as pie, sat with me, doing what she could to help me feel better. When I was finally positive nothing inside would be coming out, I suggested we walk. I was sure that movement (the NON up-and-down kind) would help me feel better.
And I was right about the movement. Mostly.
Remember that for later.
UP NEXT: Toy Story Midway Mania We rode! We laughed! We threw up!
He does!
And your teaser for the next chapter and TSM doesn't sound too good either! 
