SteveInOmaha
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2000
- Messages
- 238
11/11/01 - A Day and a Half in the World
I had the good fortune to be in Maitland for business this week. Its about 30 miles / 45 minutes from WDW. Rather than stay at the corporate approved hotel, I got 4 nights at All Star Movies, saving my company $45 a night. It also allowed me to return to the magic each day after work. I arrived late on Sunday evening, and got checked-in immediately. I hoped for a room close to the Food Court, but I was disappointed to find out that I was in Love Bug Building #7. Its the farthest away, but the way Movies is laid out, it is not far at all. It was really only 1 building (Fantasia) away from Cinema Hall. So if youre staying at All-Star Movies, I really dont think theres a bad building to be in.
I immediately started looking for signs that the magic was missing due to people ranting on the web about all the cutbacks. AND I FOUND SOME!!! After unpacking, I went to get my mug filled at the food court and walked past the Sorcerer Mickey Hat at the entrance to one of the Fantasia buildings. THERE WERE BIG WHITE CRACKS IN THE BIG BLUE HAT!!! Surprised? I was until the next day when I looked closer and saw the safety fence around the bottom of the hat, and the construction equipment parked inside the hat. THEY WERE REFINISHING AND PAINTING IT. The big white cracks were spackle that had just not been painted. Sorry, no missing magic here.
11/12/01
Theres something special about waking up in the world. I know I could have found a room for $20 less per night off property, but I wouldnt trade it. Besides, Mickey woke me up every morning. Big doings going on, you know! YMMV. Monday was my one full day in the parks and I was at MGM by 8:30 for the 9:00 opening. The rope was set up on Hollywood Blvd, just before Sunset. I had always seen the TZToT Bell Hops walk the rope down Sunset to keep everyone in line. This time there were 2 CMs in kakhis and white golf shirts. The one right in front of me went to the same college as I did! (Indiana Univ. of Pa.) They did not carry the rope with them, but rather held out their arms as they walked and tried to keep people behind them. It sort of worked. I was in the front row for the first ride of Tower of Terror that day. What a wake-up call! I love this attraction. I then went to R n R to finish waking up with Aerosmith. It was IN-TENSE! Last summer I got a concussion from a bike accident, and I was curious if that would effect me. I really had no ill effects, but it took me about a minute to get my legs back after R n R. Star Tours was definitely out of the question!
I played around under the Sorcerer Mickey hat at the kiosks, then rode TGMR with about a 10 minute wait. By the time I boarded the ride, the movie loop in the pre-show had just wrapped around to where it was when I came in. That was one of the longest waits of the entire trip. I noticed a hidden Mickey that Id never seen before. The profile in a window up and to the left during the gangster scene. I still cant find the ones in the Egyptian Temple carvings. After that I walked down NY Street to the 10:30 show of HoND, and I saw the Osborne lights set up. I really have to see that soon! Matt the Juggler had just started the pre-show, and he was witty and excellent as usual. His tribute to the 100 Years celebration was a homage to The Sorcerers Apprentice he juggles brooms. (What? No mops & pails?) Thanks to Steve Soares web page, I knew I had plenty of time to get to the 11:20 WWTBAM. I actually thought I could win something at this and I was almost feeling a little cocky. (At home I usually win the fastest finger over the people on TV.) The show started with a Fastest Finger question, and I was humbled immediately when I mis-read the answers and just plain got it wrong! Once the game started I also got the 500 point question wrong, so I never made it on the board. A teen-ager sitting next to me did make it to #2 for a while, but then slipped. It was a lot of fun, and I did want to try it again.
I got a great aisle seat at the 12:00 Indiana Jones show just as the extras were being chosen. (Man, one of them had a REALLY bright Hawaiian shirt!) Two years ago on our last family trip, Indy was closed for rehab, so it was good to see this one again. I went back to NY Street to pick up a T-shirt for my 9-year old son and had it sent back to All Stars. (Reason #2 to still stay on sight.) At WWTBAM I grabbed a Fast Pass for later, and then went into the 1:15 show. It started again with a Fastest Finger and I didnt do too well. A teen-ager won and took the Hot Seat. He did surprisingly well on questions that most teens wouldnt know, but he missed at around 8000 points. The next high scorer took over and our scores were reset. After the 1000 point question when they checked the board, I was #2. That player missed at 4000, and time was up for that show. When they put the scores up, I WAS #1!!!!!! So close, but time ran out. That completely changed my focus. I really did want to see Stars and Cars, but the Millionaire bug bit me and I was going back at any expense.
I had never seen the Animation Tour before so I went. I really enjoy Robin Williams improv, and it was cool to see the actual animators at work. The character drawn for us was from Lilo and Stitch(?) which is due out next year. Next I saw 1 Mans Dream. I figured Id move pretty quickly through this, and that just proves how wrong I can be. I was fascinated by all the artifacts. As a kid in the 60s I have vivid memories of sitting in my Grandparents house every Sunday night watching the Wonderful World of Disney / Color. I was entranced by this man named Disney who used words like magic, exciting, wonderful and actually meant it. I loved seeing pictures of his Anaheim amusement park, the cartoons with Goofy and Donald, the Scarecrow, plans for space travel. This man was a dreamer. So I thoroughly enjoyed 1 Mans Dream, spending almost an hour.
But I had a Fast Pass burning in my pocket for a return visit with Regis the Next Generation so I went back to WWTBAM for the third time in 1 day. We again started off with a fastest finger, and I was #2. When the scores were checked after the 1000 point question I was #1. The Hot Seat player missed after 4000 and my score was highest. IM GONNA BE IN THE HOT SEAT!!! Nervous and excited all at the same time, the hostess (Tracey?) asked who I had cheering for me. I said Nobody, Im on a business trip. and she made a big deal out of me being at WDW while on a business trip. I really dont remember any of the early questions, but they were all very obvious and I gave my final answer almost as soon as choice D was displayed. On one question I thought I was stuck, until choice D proved to be the very obvious answer. I did fairly well and got to the 32,000 question without using any lifelines. I tried to save lifelines because the incentive of the golf shirt was dangling before me.
* * * SPOILER ALERT * * * Im going to tell you my 32,000 question, so skip this paragraph if you dont want to know. Here it is: In Greece, Easter eggs are painted this color for good luck: A) Yellow B) Blue C) Green D) Red. Even the audience groaned, and I had absolutely no clue but I did have 3 lifelines. My initial hunch was yellow since it sounded peaceful and calm. I decided to ask the audience first because I figured most people would be absolutely guessing. If I had done 50/50 first and then asked the audience, their guesses would be limited and it wouldnt be as obvious if they were guessing. Typically the audience has 1 answer with at least 50%, usually higher. Every one of the 4 choices came back in the 20s. Not one of them was higher than 28%, which was about what I expected. Next I asked for 50/50 and that left yellow and red. I really wanted that shirt, so I used my 3rd lifeline and phoned a complete stranger. I even said Maybe theres some Greek egg-painter out on Mickey Avenue right now. The man was from New Brunswick, Canada and he had no clue. I told him that he had 20 seconds to ask anyone walking down the street to see if they knew. Time ran out and I was left with yellow and red. A child in the audience kept saying rather loudly Its red, its red. sounding rather sure, so I went with her advice and it was correct. I had done it!
I hate to admit it, but after the initial excitement, this thought ran through my mind I have been on for quite a while. The questions are getting harder and I have no lifelines left. I dont want to have to wait another 45 minutes just to see if I know the 64,000 question so please make it fast and make it obvious. It was both. The next question dealt with an art term that I had never heard before. Since I had nothing to lose, I guessed and was wrong. Immediately after I was escorted backstage, the siren sounded to end the show. (Good timing!) I went into an office where I signed the waiver and received my winnings the 1,000 baseball cap, the WWTBAM lanyard, 10 pins for the questions I answered correctly, and the 32,000 golf shirt. I was so excited, I sat in the lobby and put all the pins on the lanyard and I walked out into the Florida sunshine wearing my hat and lanyard.
I grabbed a FastPass for R n R and headed over to the Muppets. I love that show its so creative. I played at the kiosks a little more and then used my Fast Pass on R n R. What a rush! It was now 5:30 and I went in for the 6:00 Fantasmic. Got a perfect seat, right in the center section and right on the aisle. After the show I made a quick getaway and drove over to Epcot. One last thought about the loss of magic at MGM. I didnt see it. As a matter of fact, I saw more characters there than I had ever seen. Everywhere you turned, characters were all over the park. I dont see that as loss of magic. And the park was so empty that I was able to do TZToT, R n R (x2), TGMR, HoND, WWTBAM (x3), Indy, Muppets, 1 Mans Dream and Animation Tour ALL BY 5:30!!! So if you think that not having EE is going to ruin your trip, stay home and be wrong!
At Epcot I went directly to Test Track, but it was down for the night. Since it was after 7:00, I was limited in what attractions I could see. I did HISTA and laughed as usual. Following that I walked onto Spaceship Earth. Since this is the first attraction I ever rode at Epcot, it seems to hold special magic for me. That was it for Future World, so it was time to stroll around the world. I rode El Rio and Maelstrom. In Norway, there was nobody else in the boat with me. When I got off the ride, I joked with the CMs that the boat was full right up until the trolls told us to Disappear! Disappear! They enjoyed that diversion on a pretty boring night.
I hadnt planned to partake of the Food & Wine Festival, since Im on Weight Watchers and didnt want to blow all my points with one mouthful. Surprisingly I found a few things that were probably not too bad, and the portions are small anyway. So I enjoyed samples from Japan, China, and the Russia/Poland(?) booth. Tapestry of Dreams seemed like a very close cousin of Tapestry of Nations, so I strolled around the world while the parade progressed. I ended up watching Illuminations from near Mexico / Norway. I just love the part near the end when the sky absolutely lights up with all the bright white fireworks. Since I had a very good parking spot, I had no trouble whatsoever making a quick and easy getaway from Epcot. That was quite a memorable day, and I still have one more evening to go.
11/13/01
I went to Epcot after work, and was in the park by 4:30. Test Track was down due rain earlier in the day so I visited Ellen and the Dinosaurs. After that I heard the familiar sound of cars zipping by at 64.8 mph, so I went to the Test Track singles line and walked right into the briefing room. We loaded and pulled up to the CM who checks safety belts. As we were waiting the CM in loading made an announcement, Ladies and Gentlemen, Test Track is both an indoor and outdoor attraction. It has just begun raining, so you may get wet. Oh well. We zipped through the ride and made it to the crash test. As we raced toward the wall and the doors opened IT WAS POURING RAIN OUTSIDE!!!! No way to take a poncho out of a bag and put it on while riding, so I decided to tough it out. We went down the little hill, through the short straightaway and around the right-hand turn. Just before the big banked left-hand turn THE CAR STOPPED AND JUST SAT THERE!! Reminder it most definitely is still pouring rain. With the seat belt still on, I managed to pull my poncho out of the bag and build a sort of tent over me. Probably looked pretty funny, but I was dry. I knew it was not going to be a good thing when I heard and felt the engine of the car completely shut down. There was an announcement made about staying in our cars, which we obeyed. After 5 minutes, I saw a CM walking up the track to assist the car in front of us. They had stopped just past the high banked left-hand turn. About 5 minutes later another CM walked down the track to our car. We all got out and followed him back down the track to a maintenance stairway near the building. (I wondered if we walked past the speed sign, would it say that we were walking at 64.8 mph?) We went past the maintenance garage and went in the CM entrance, right past the time clock and punch cards. Once back in the exit area, Wayne the CM gave us all Go To The Front of the Line passes, and for some reason he gave me 2.
I had to tell someone about this adventure, so I went to the Kodak video postcard station at the exit to JIYI. After sending e-mail and a photo home and to my office, I rode LWTL and had the longest wait of the trip about 20 minutes. It was only the 2nd wait I had, the other being yesterday at TGMR in MGM. Next up was my favorite cute attraction at WDW, Cranium Command. I could see Buzzy and General Knowledge every day for a month and not get bored. I snacked my way over to the American Adventure. The CM in the lobby saw my 1000 hat from WWTBAM, and said Id die to get one of those hats. I offered to give it to him, but pointed out the logical conclusion (hed die) so I spared him. I always walk out of the American Adventure feeling very patriotic.
It was 8:15 and I had 2 Go To The Front Of The Line passes for Test Track from my excitement in the rain this afternoon. I went up through the exit, and whos waiting there for me but Wayne, the CM who had given me the passes. He let me in and handed the pass back to me. I reminded him that I had 2 passes, and his response was Keep it. In the queue I checked with singles riders, and their wait was about 20 minutes. After that ride I immediately went back through the exit and saw Wayne again. Guess what, he gave me back the pass again! So I rode Test Track 2 ¾ times on Tuesday, and still had 2 Go To The Front Of The Line passes. More Disney magic, but I wasnt going to the parks any more that week. (Editors note: the following night at All Star Movies food court, I walked up to a table with a young family of 4. I asked if they were going to ride Test Track, and gave them the left over Front of the Line passes. I got to be Disney magic for someone else.) For a different perspective than last night, I watched Illuminations near Canada. What a great show!
So is the magic missing with all the cutbacks? No EE: I did almost everything in MGM in 1 day, and that included R n R twice and WWTBAM 3 times! Characters: I must have seen 20 on Monday at MGM. If I had been looking I probably would have seen more! Grumpy, over-burdened CMs: I did not see one. Some of the CMs I encountered were neither positive nor negative, but Id say that 2/3 of them made a definite effort to be nice, polite, positive and upbeat. Dirty grounds: The hotel grounds and parks were still wet every morning from being from being washed, and I saw no trash lying around. Facilities falling apart: Sorcerer Mickey Hat at All Stars was being repaired and repainted. So if youre looking for reasons to complain, Im sorry but youll just have to keep looking. Get out there and enjoy the magic!
I had the good fortune to be in Maitland for business this week. Its about 30 miles / 45 minutes from WDW. Rather than stay at the corporate approved hotel, I got 4 nights at All Star Movies, saving my company $45 a night. It also allowed me to return to the magic each day after work. I arrived late on Sunday evening, and got checked-in immediately. I hoped for a room close to the Food Court, but I was disappointed to find out that I was in Love Bug Building #7. Its the farthest away, but the way Movies is laid out, it is not far at all. It was really only 1 building (Fantasia) away from Cinema Hall. So if youre staying at All-Star Movies, I really dont think theres a bad building to be in.
I immediately started looking for signs that the magic was missing due to people ranting on the web about all the cutbacks. AND I FOUND SOME!!! After unpacking, I went to get my mug filled at the food court and walked past the Sorcerer Mickey Hat at the entrance to one of the Fantasia buildings. THERE WERE BIG WHITE CRACKS IN THE BIG BLUE HAT!!! Surprised? I was until the next day when I looked closer and saw the safety fence around the bottom of the hat, and the construction equipment parked inside the hat. THEY WERE REFINISHING AND PAINTING IT. The big white cracks were spackle that had just not been painted. Sorry, no missing magic here.
11/12/01
Theres something special about waking up in the world. I know I could have found a room for $20 less per night off property, but I wouldnt trade it. Besides, Mickey woke me up every morning. Big doings going on, you know! YMMV. Monday was my one full day in the parks and I was at MGM by 8:30 for the 9:00 opening. The rope was set up on Hollywood Blvd, just before Sunset. I had always seen the TZToT Bell Hops walk the rope down Sunset to keep everyone in line. This time there were 2 CMs in kakhis and white golf shirts. The one right in front of me went to the same college as I did! (Indiana Univ. of Pa.) They did not carry the rope with them, but rather held out their arms as they walked and tried to keep people behind them. It sort of worked. I was in the front row for the first ride of Tower of Terror that day. What a wake-up call! I love this attraction. I then went to R n R to finish waking up with Aerosmith. It was IN-TENSE! Last summer I got a concussion from a bike accident, and I was curious if that would effect me. I really had no ill effects, but it took me about a minute to get my legs back after R n R. Star Tours was definitely out of the question!
I played around under the Sorcerer Mickey hat at the kiosks, then rode TGMR with about a 10 minute wait. By the time I boarded the ride, the movie loop in the pre-show had just wrapped around to where it was when I came in. That was one of the longest waits of the entire trip. I noticed a hidden Mickey that Id never seen before. The profile in a window up and to the left during the gangster scene. I still cant find the ones in the Egyptian Temple carvings. After that I walked down NY Street to the 10:30 show of HoND, and I saw the Osborne lights set up. I really have to see that soon! Matt the Juggler had just started the pre-show, and he was witty and excellent as usual. His tribute to the 100 Years celebration was a homage to The Sorcerers Apprentice he juggles brooms. (What? No mops & pails?) Thanks to Steve Soares web page, I knew I had plenty of time to get to the 11:20 WWTBAM. I actually thought I could win something at this and I was almost feeling a little cocky. (At home I usually win the fastest finger over the people on TV.) The show started with a Fastest Finger question, and I was humbled immediately when I mis-read the answers and just plain got it wrong! Once the game started I also got the 500 point question wrong, so I never made it on the board. A teen-ager sitting next to me did make it to #2 for a while, but then slipped. It was a lot of fun, and I did want to try it again.
I got a great aisle seat at the 12:00 Indiana Jones show just as the extras were being chosen. (Man, one of them had a REALLY bright Hawaiian shirt!) Two years ago on our last family trip, Indy was closed for rehab, so it was good to see this one again. I went back to NY Street to pick up a T-shirt for my 9-year old son and had it sent back to All Stars. (Reason #2 to still stay on sight.) At WWTBAM I grabbed a Fast Pass for later, and then went into the 1:15 show. It started again with a Fastest Finger and I didnt do too well. A teen-ager won and took the Hot Seat. He did surprisingly well on questions that most teens wouldnt know, but he missed at around 8000 points. The next high scorer took over and our scores were reset. After the 1000 point question when they checked the board, I was #2. That player missed at 4000, and time was up for that show. When they put the scores up, I WAS #1!!!!!! So close, but time ran out. That completely changed my focus. I really did want to see Stars and Cars, but the Millionaire bug bit me and I was going back at any expense.
I had never seen the Animation Tour before so I went. I really enjoy Robin Williams improv, and it was cool to see the actual animators at work. The character drawn for us was from Lilo and Stitch(?) which is due out next year. Next I saw 1 Mans Dream. I figured Id move pretty quickly through this, and that just proves how wrong I can be. I was fascinated by all the artifacts. As a kid in the 60s I have vivid memories of sitting in my Grandparents house every Sunday night watching the Wonderful World of Disney / Color. I was entranced by this man named Disney who used words like magic, exciting, wonderful and actually meant it. I loved seeing pictures of his Anaheim amusement park, the cartoons with Goofy and Donald, the Scarecrow, plans for space travel. This man was a dreamer. So I thoroughly enjoyed 1 Mans Dream, spending almost an hour.
But I had a Fast Pass burning in my pocket for a return visit with Regis the Next Generation so I went back to WWTBAM for the third time in 1 day. We again started off with a fastest finger, and I was #2. When the scores were checked after the 1000 point question I was #1. The Hot Seat player missed after 4000 and my score was highest. IM GONNA BE IN THE HOT SEAT!!! Nervous and excited all at the same time, the hostess (Tracey?) asked who I had cheering for me. I said Nobody, Im on a business trip. and she made a big deal out of me being at WDW while on a business trip. I really dont remember any of the early questions, but they were all very obvious and I gave my final answer almost as soon as choice D was displayed. On one question I thought I was stuck, until choice D proved to be the very obvious answer. I did fairly well and got to the 32,000 question without using any lifelines. I tried to save lifelines because the incentive of the golf shirt was dangling before me.
* * * SPOILER ALERT * * * Im going to tell you my 32,000 question, so skip this paragraph if you dont want to know. Here it is: In Greece, Easter eggs are painted this color for good luck: A) Yellow B) Blue C) Green D) Red. Even the audience groaned, and I had absolutely no clue but I did have 3 lifelines. My initial hunch was yellow since it sounded peaceful and calm. I decided to ask the audience first because I figured most people would be absolutely guessing. If I had done 50/50 first and then asked the audience, their guesses would be limited and it wouldnt be as obvious if they were guessing. Typically the audience has 1 answer with at least 50%, usually higher. Every one of the 4 choices came back in the 20s. Not one of them was higher than 28%, which was about what I expected. Next I asked for 50/50 and that left yellow and red. I really wanted that shirt, so I used my 3rd lifeline and phoned a complete stranger. I even said Maybe theres some Greek egg-painter out on Mickey Avenue right now. The man was from New Brunswick, Canada and he had no clue. I told him that he had 20 seconds to ask anyone walking down the street to see if they knew. Time ran out and I was left with yellow and red. A child in the audience kept saying rather loudly Its red, its red. sounding rather sure, so I went with her advice and it was correct. I had done it!
I hate to admit it, but after the initial excitement, this thought ran through my mind I have been on for quite a while. The questions are getting harder and I have no lifelines left. I dont want to have to wait another 45 minutes just to see if I know the 64,000 question so please make it fast and make it obvious. It was both. The next question dealt with an art term that I had never heard before. Since I had nothing to lose, I guessed and was wrong. Immediately after I was escorted backstage, the siren sounded to end the show. (Good timing!) I went into an office where I signed the waiver and received my winnings the 1,000 baseball cap, the WWTBAM lanyard, 10 pins for the questions I answered correctly, and the 32,000 golf shirt. I was so excited, I sat in the lobby and put all the pins on the lanyard and I walked out into the Florida sunshine wearing my hat and lanyard.
I grabbed a FastPass for R n R and headed over to the Muppets. I love that show its so creative. I played at the kiosks a little more and then used my Fast Pass on R n R. What a rush! It was now 5:30 and I went in for the 6:00 Fantasmic. Got a perfect seat, right in the center section and right on the aisle. After the show I made a quick getaway and drove over to Epcot. One last thought about the loss of magic at MGM. I didnt see it. As a matter of fact, I saw more characters there than I had ever seen. Everywhere you turned, characters were all over the park. I dont see that as loss of magic. And the park was so empty that I was able to do TZToT, R n R (x2), TGMR, HoND, WWTBAM (x3), Indy, Muppets, 1 Mans Dream and Animation Tour ALL BY 5:30!!! So if you think that not having EE is going to ruin your trip, stay home and be wrong!
At Epcot I went directly to Test Track, but it was down for the night. Since it was after 7:00, I was limited in what attractions I could see. I did HISTA and laughed as usual. Following that I walked onto Spaceship Earth. Since this is the first attraction I ever rode at Epcot, it seems to hold special magic for me. That was it for Future World, so it was time to stroll around the world. I rode El Rio and Maelstrom. In Norway, there was nobody else in the boat with me. When I got off the ride, I joked with the CMs that the boat was full right up until the trolls told us to Disappear! Disappear! They enjoyed that diversion on a pretty boring night.
I hadnt planned to partake of the Food & Wine Festival, since Im on Weight Watchers and didnt want to blow all my points with one mouthful. Surprisingly I found a few things that were probably not too bad, and the portions are small anyway. So I enjoyed samples from Japan, China, and the Russia/Poland(?) booth. Tapestry of Dreams seemed like a very close cousin of Tapestry of Nations, so I strolled around the world while the parade progressed. I ended up watching Illuminations from near Mexico / Norway. I just love the part near the end when the sky absolutely lights up with all the bright white fireworks. Since I had a very good parking spot, I had no trouble whatsoever making a quick and easy getaway from Epcot. That was quite a memorable day, and I still have one more evening to go.
11/13/01
I went to Epcot after work, and was in the park by 4:30. Test Track was down due rain earlier in the day so I visited Ellen and the Dinosaurs. After that I heard the familiar sound of cars zipping by at 64.8 mph, so I went to the Test Track singles line and walked right into the briefing room. We loaded and pulled up to the CM who checks safety belts. As we were waiting the CM in loading made an announcement, Ladies and Gentlemen, Test Track is both an indoor and outdoor attraction. It has just begun raining, so you may get wet. Oh well. We zipped through the ride and made it to the crash test. As we raced toward the wall and the doors opened IT WAS POURING RAIN OUTSIDE!!!! No way to take a poncho out of a bag and put it on while riding, so I decided to tough it out. We went down the little hill, through the short straightaway and around the right-hand turn. Just before the big banked left-hand turn THE CAR STOPPED AND JUST SAT THERE!! Reminder it most definitely is still pouring rain. With the seat belt still on, I managed to pull my poncho out of the bag and build a sort of tent over me. Probably looked pretty funny, but I was dry. I knew it was not going to be a good thing when I heard and felt the engine of the car completely shut down. There was an announcement made about staying in our cars, which we obeyed. After 5 minutes, I saw a CM walking up the track to assist the car in front of us. They had stopped just past the high banked left-hand turn. About 5 minutes later another CM walked down the track to our car. We all got out and followed him back down the track to a maintenance stairway near the building. (I wondered if we walked past the speed sign, would it say that we were walking at 64.8 mph?) We went past the maintenance garage and went in the CM entrance, right past the time clock and punch cards. Once back in the exit area, Wayne the CM gave us all Go To The Front of the Line passes, and for some reason he gave me 2.
I had to tell someone about this adventure, so I went to the Kodak video postcard station at the exit to JIYI. After sending e-mail and a photo home and to my office, I rode LWTL and had the longest wait of the trip about 20 minutes. It was only the 2nd wait I had, the other being yesterday at TGMR in MGM. Next up was my favorite cute attraction at WDW, Cranium Command. I could see Buzzy and General Knowledge every day for a month and not get bored. I snacked my way over to the American Adventure. The CM in the lobby saw my 1000 hat from WWTBAM, and said Id die to get one of those hats. I offered to give it to him, but pointed out the logical conclusion (hed die) so I spared him. I always walk out of the American Adventure feeling very patriotic.
It was 8:15 and I had 2 Go To The Front Of The Line passes for Test Track from my excitement in the rain this afternoon. I went up through the exit, and whos waiting there for me but Wayne, the CM who had given me the passes. He let me in and handed the pass back to me. I reminded him that I had 2 passes, and his response was Keep it. In the queue I checked with singles riders, and their wait was about 20 minutes. After that ride I immediately went back through the exit and saw Wayne again. Guess what, he gave me back the pass again! So I rode Test Track 2 ¾ times on Tuesday, and still had 2 Go To The Front Of The Line passes. More Disney magic, but I wasnt going to the parks any more that week. (Editors note: the following night at All Star Movies food court, I walked up to a table with a young family of 4. I asked if they were going to ride Test Track, and gave them the left over Front of the Line passes. I got to be Disney magic for someone else.) For a different perspective than last night, I watched Illuminations near Canada. What a great show!
So is the magic missing with all the cutbacks? No EE: I did almost everything in MGM in 1 day, and that included R n R twice and WWTBAM 3 times! Characters: I must have seen 20 on Monday at MGM. If I had been looking I probably would have seen more! Grumpy, over-burdened CMs: I did not see one. Some of the CMs I encountered were neither positive nor negative, but Id say that 2/3 of them made a definite effort to be nice, polite, positive and upbeat. Dirty grounds: The hotel grounds and parks were still wet every morning from being from being washed, and I saw no trash lying around. Facilities falling apart: Sorcerer Mickey Hat at All Stars was being repaired and repainted. So if youre looking for reasons to complain, Im sorry but youll just have to keep looking. Get out there and enjoy the magic!
I got into the Hot Seat in June and was so nervous/shy that I didn't even get up at first! 
Thanks for posting your report, I enjoyed reading it.
