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Heather Robison -- September 2002 -- Walt Disney World (WL)DISNEYWORLD - SEPTEMBER 6 - 15 Where: Wilderness Lodge, 2 rooms, Disneyclub rate CAST:
TRANSPORTATION: We were able to get tickets about 6 months out on US Airways - yes, the now bankrupt airline - for $250 RT from San Francisco to Orlando with a stopover in Charlotte. ACCOMMODATIONS: We had two rooms at the Wilderness Lodge. A few days before we checked in, I faxed a request directly to the hotel requesting a balcony with a view of the fireworks. I tried to be very flexible - letting them know that they could split the two rooms up, that we didn't want or need bunk beds, and that this trip was a special occasion. Every one of our requests was met - we were in rooms 6028 and 6034, which were about 3 doors away from each other, and with a great view of the Contempo and castle from the balcony. It was awesome! THE PLANNING: This trip was so long in the planning phase. Early in 2000, I returned from a trip at Christmastime to WDW with my now husband, Carl. We had such a good time - both Dave and my mom really wanted to go. We were all so broke at the time, that we knew it would be awhile and set May 2002 as our goal. A few things happened to change the date to September. I am a law student, and no matter when we decided to go, it looked like I would be taking a week off of school. If we went in May, the earliest I could go would be Memorial Day - not exactly our idea of a smart time to go! I started a new job and so did Will and my mom, so pushing the trip back a little bit was ideal. We focused next on the fall - because nobody in my family would be able to stand the summer heat or crowds and because a little thing called my wedding got in the way - and decided that closer to the start of school would be the best for me. So September was chosen. After a bit of research, we learned that the week following Labor Day tends to be the lightest week, and we were sold. In August 2001, we were finally ready to book our trip. After about 20 calls to CRO, we finally decided on Wilderness Lodge. Our first choice, to split between Coronado Springs and AK Lodge, was cost prohibitive. We also looked at other options - the Contempo or Poly. However, to do two rooms (a must with the five of us - we would kill each other in one room for nine days!), it was just out of our budget. For some reason, however, WL was just right. I had always wanted to stay there, so for me, it was the best thing that could ever happen! Both Will and I spent a lot of time researching our trip. We had the advantage of being seasoned Disney travelers, but we both kept abreast of the news and goings on, so we were able to take advantage of many offers and specials. For example, we learned of a special on Tiffany Town Car and were able to get $5 off. Also, we knew we wanted a fridge in our room, but did not realize that diabetics are usually given a fridge at no cost. Since both Dave and my mom needed the fridge for medications, we were able to get a fridge in their room for no cost. In preparing for the trip, we also did other things - we had a garage sale (mostly for fun, but we did put all the proceeds into the trip), dinner meetings, and shopping excursions. My brother made up little packages, given to us at Christmas, that had an envelope for every month. Each envelope contained instructions for something to do that month that would help us get ready for the trip (i.e., start walking this month, or get new shoes). It was fun to open it every month on the first and get all excited that in so many more months, we would be going! Once we got 90 days out, my brother sent an email to each of us every day exploring a new part of the park. It really built the excitement and gave each new person an idea of what to expect once we got there. After months of planning, the day finally arrived, and everything, amazingly, went like clockwork... DAY ONE: THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME MY FAMILY WAS EVER READY EARLY! The Supershuttle was supposed to pick us up at 5:00 a.m., after picking Dave up at his house a few blocks away. Mom had spent the night with Carl and I and Will had gotten my dog the night before for my Dad and stepmom to take care of. At about 4:30, the phone rang. Dave was on his way! Its weird because with 3 people, we were ready to go - all of us having taken showers and finished packing! I guess we were excited! We got downstairs as quickly and quietly as we could - it is extremely dark in my apartment complex and none of the motion sensor lights seemed to want to work! We were all so excited, even at 4:30 a.m., that we could barely contain ourselves! The Supershuttle got us to Pacifica, and Will's house, in just about 20 minutes (maybe more since it was very foggy), and we were at the airport by 5:30. There was a long line to check in at the airport, but we busied ourselves by writing our address tags and listening to Carl talk to his folks on the cell phone in Utah. He works for his family business, so they are constantly calling with a problem here or there. After check-in and security, we still had an hour to wait, so we went shopping and ate the carrot cake muffins Carl had made for breakfast. Yum! The first plane to Charlotte was great! It was about 3/4 full, so we were able to spread out - my mom and I on aisles opposite each other, Carl in the window, and my brothers splitting the row behind me. They showed a movie, "Life or Something Like It" (or, as I like to call it, "A Movie, or Something Like It"), which I hadn't seen before, and it was ok. It at least passed the time! Breakfast was another thing. My mom had a vegan meal, which looked delicious - pancakes and fruit. I wish I had ordered that. Dave had a diabetic meal, which I never did get to see, but he told me he was going to hurt me for ordering it, so I take it that it was disgusting. Wish I'd had that. We had an "omelette" with a block of orange cheez-whiz type cheese in it, on top of a thin slice of bad deli meat - government salami or something equally disgusting, and a bunch of potatoes that were so salty, I dubbed them "salt lick potatoes." We also had a portion of fruit - canned oranges (I'm allergic to oranges) and grapes, and some sort of cranberry bread that was stale. So, I had a choice - eat the "omelette" or don't eat. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold out any longer, so I ate. I still get the willies just thinking about it! The plane landed in Charlotte on time, and we had about an hour layover. Our gate was just next door to the plane we got off of, and there was a nice Starbucks and store right next to our gate, as well as a couple of other food establishments. Since my mom had thought ahead, we had sandwiches and cookies with us, so we bought drinks and had lunch while we waited. We had also brought a hand-held Yahtzee game, so we took turns passing that around. The plane to Orlando was also half full, so we were able to once again spread out. Well, my mom and I were - my brothers and poor Carl were stuck in a row together. :) The flight was delayed a little bit - they said that there was a technical problem and that they needed to return to the gate. When we did, we sat there for about five minutes and then three people got off. Soon, we were off to Orlando. Not sure what that was all about! Once off the plane, we headed out to baggage where we were met by our Tiffany driver, Bob. Bob was great! He went around to get the car while we gathered up our luggage. We all realized there was a problem the minute we saw the car - there was no way we were going to fit five of us, plus our luggage in that car! Somehow, though, Bob managed to arrange us and the luggage so that we were in the car and not too uncomfortable. It was amazing! We had arranged for a stop at the store, so our first order of business was to travel to the Publix. I had researched, thanks to MousePlanet and WDWIG, and discovered that the Publix was supposedly lowest priced, so that is where we went. Although having the soda in the room was nice, I would have to say that we really could have gone without the store stop and not have missed it. After our shopping stop, we were on our way! Bob was great at helping generate excitement for Dave and Mom by playing along in trying to get them to spot certain WDW things (i.e., first one to see the Epcot ball...). Finally, we saw Spaceship Earth, and we knew we were home! When we turned into the driveway for Wilderness Lodge, all you could hear was a "WOW!" coming from the car. That hotel is about the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed at. I felt like I had won the lottery! We walked into the lobby and were just immediately taken aback by the beautiful wood interior. It was just so cozy and inviting and so completely beautiful. We got into line to check in and were helped in about ten minutes. The woman who checked us in was wonderful - she explained everything very clearly to my mom and Dave, and offered suggestions on what to do for the week. When I inquired about the refrigerator in the room, she immediately called housekeeping and ordered one up for us. We got to our room and were met by bell services. This I was not used to - in previous visits, the bags arrived after we waited a little bit! The refrigerator was there about ten minutes later! The bell service gentleman was great - totally showed us everything in the room, carried in and set down our luggage, turned on the air for us - such service, it was so nice! By this time, it was 10:00 and we were starved. We each changed clothes and then headed down to the Whispering Canyon Café. We were also very tired - which is probably why the antics of the waitress didn't set too well with some people in our group. She made up nicknames for all of us - Son-in-law, Trouble, Cupcake, Curly and Head of the Table - and called us those names throughout dinner. Anything but hot and tired and we probably would have laughed our heads off! We started off with the nachos. My, they were good - smothered with rich, thick, beef chili and Tillamook cheddar cheese. Yum! As we cleared those plates, and the corn bread they brought to us, we started on dinner. My mom and I had the breaded red snapper with parmesan potatoes. Yum, yum, yum! Carl had the rotisserie chicken with garlic potatoes - also excellent. Will had the pasta - usually his favorite but since it had squash and zucchini in it, he wasn't too thrilled with it. Dave had the Mustang Sally meat loaf. It was excellent - made with barbeque sauce instead of ketchup - and had a nice rich flavor. At the end of the meal, we were stuffed. My stomach decided it wasn't too thrilled with the day of traveling and rich food, so I went back to the room to lay down while Mom and the boys shopped in the Mercantile. Days totals: (out of 5 Tiggers, five being best) Food: 2 Tiggers. Whispering Canyon Café meal was awesome, but having the omelette in the same day, I could never rate the day higher! Fun: 2 Tiggers. Plane rides suck. But, the hotel was awesome. So, it was about even! Tomorrow: Epcot! Yes! DAY TWO - THE DAY OF TWOS Mickey called us early this morning - about 7:30 - and Carl and I both hopped right out of bed! It was time to get ready!!! Well, an hour later, Mom, Dave and Will were knocking on the door - ready to go. This, in and of itself, was amazing! We decided to eat when we got to the park - we were all too excited to get there! The bus came quickly enough and we were on our way. We decided to take the bus to the TTC and catch the monorail over - what a great way to start our trip! We got to the TTC very quickly and walked over to the monorail entrance. Most of the monorail ramps were closed as MK hadn't yet opened, so we had to tell the CM guarding the gate that we were headed for Epcot. There was hardly anyone waiting at the top of the monorail platform, so I asked the CM if my family could ride up front. Only four of us could go, but Will graciously offered to be the one to sit by himself. Our monorail driver, Russ, was very nice. We were all so excited - as the monorail passed into Epcot, my mom started giggling like a little girl, and Dave was speechless - now that's unusual! Russ, Carl and I pointed things out to them, letting them know what was in each building. There still is nothing like that loop around SE! We docked at the monorail station and could see that no one was waiting to be let in to Epcot - odd since the park had yet to open! We walked to the front gate, through security (thanks to all those with the tips of having things unzipped before we got there - security check points all week were a breeze!), and were soon having our picture taken in front of SE. Mom kept saying, "We're here! We're here!" It was truly an awesome feeling! We decided to take our traditional first ride on SE. I know that it tends to be crowded because everyone goes on it when they first come in to the park, but it has to be our first ride - it just seems right! Besides, there is something about that Jeremy Irons narration that just sets me in the right mood for Epcot! After SE, we were all pretty dang hungry, so we headed over to the Land's food court. We all went to the bakery - I had a croissant and coke, Dave had two bagels, Will had a bagel, I can't remember what my Mom had, and Carl, well, that's a different story. Carl likes a coffee drink called an Americano. No one, outside of Peets and Starbucks, has ever heard of this drink, but Carl refuses to believe me on that point! So, he is constantly ordering it - at McDonalds, at the movie theaters... and then gets frustrated that he has to explain how to make it to each person. Now, I just learned this trip (here's a coffee lesson for you all), that an Americano is two shots of Espresso in hot water - sort of like super juiced coffee. Anyway, he ordered an Americano and then spent the next 15 minutes explaining it to the poor bewildered girl behind the counter. We can't take him anywhere. Full refreshed from our repast, we decided to check out some of the offerings in the Land. Food Rocks was right near our eating spot, so we headed there first. I think this show is cute, but it could use some updating - needs to have newer songs! Not a single U2 song in the bunch - what were they thinking? ;) I mean, we didn't hear one song from the next American Piedol! Hee hee hee! Food Rocks being over, we went on the Living with the Land Boatride. Our driver was pretty new and kept stumbling over the script - but he did a fantastic job, anyhow. He seemed really young to be doing that job! (Sigh) Kids keep getting younger, but I do not get older - how does that happen? After the Land ride, we did the Timon and Pumba movie on conservation (I can never remember the name of the movie!). This movie is really beautiful - and funny, too. Of course, I happen to think that the Lion King is one of the best movies they have ever put together - it combines so many good elements of story making - so anything with the Circle of Life in it really moves me (in fact, it moves us all...). Finally, it was time to head to The Living Seas. Dave is a huge aquarium nut - has four salt-water tanks - and had been dying to see this exhibit. We stayed to watch the movie - I actually like it (and it rained. And rained. And rained some more. Not a movie to watch if you have missed the girl's room!). After the movie, we ascended in our hydrolaters to Seabase Alpha. The dolphins were putting on a show, so Mom, Carl and Will went to see that, while Dave and I looked at the tide pool and aquariums they had set up downstairs. It was neat because Dave had a lot of the fish they had in various aquariums throughout the years, so it was like having my own personal tour guide. We walked around for a little bit and stared at all the fish. I was quite disappointed - I didn't see a single sea turtle (my favorites) in the aquarium - does anyone know what happened to them? My brothers made fun of me the rest of the trip by making up stories about the demise of the sea turtles - their favorite was telling me that a new intern at Disney accidentally unleashed a new breed of fish into the aquarium, which turned out to be sea turtle piranhas. Ha, that was a good one. After our trip to the deep ocean, we decided we felt the need, the need for speed. Unfortunately, we passed by a pin booth first. Carl loves pin trading. Me, I love pin buying. Fortunately, everyone in our group got into it a little bit this trip, so stopping at a pin booth was never really a problem. Carl, however, got interested in this pin scalper guy (who totally ripped him off!) and they talked trades for about 30 minutes. The guy eventually convinced him to trade for two pins that ended up to be totally common, $6 pins, and had Carl buy him $10.50 pins to trade with him. Now, this guy had oodles and oodles of pins, and knew when he got them, what park, if they were exclusive or not - so, he had to know that he was totally ripping Carl off. It really ticked me off, since he was talking about how he had been ripped off by people and totally made it sound like he was on the up and up - and then he allowed a trade for 2 pins that were almost double in value of the pins he was giving up! Oh well. This is why I just collect pins I like and don't trade them... ;) We headed on over to Test Track, but, by this time, we were starving - so, we decided to get fast passes and then go eat. Since Mexico was really close, we decided to head over to San Angel and see if they could seat us. We got there and were seated right away. Mom quickly realized that there was nothing she could eat on the menu - she's a vegan - and we called the waiter back over. We were relieved to hear there is a vegetarian menu - until we saw it. It had TWO items on the menu - exactly two. Since my mom doesn't eat dairy, there was exactly one choice for her. Well, it turned out to be ok since she felt like eating the one item, but we were both really disappointed. I had remembered San Angel as having a full separate vegetarian menu, and it seems to me that Mexican food would probably be very easy to prepare vegan! Still, we understood that we did not contact them in advance, but I am just sad that their menu was so limited. Anyway, the food was excellent, as usual. We must have slurped down 4 bowls of salsa and as many bags of chips! We were eating at Le Cellier for dinner, and I knew to keep it light, so Carl and I split the El Pollo de las Rojas - a chicken dish in a Mexican cheese sauce with grilled onions. It is delish! Mom had the veggie combo platter - and had to give away the cheese enchilada to Carl, but said that her food was very good. Will had a combination plate as well, and I forget what Dave had. Rolling out of the restaurant, it was time for our ride on Test Track. Mom was a little nervous to ride the ride, so I explained a little bit of what she would expect on the ride. I found this to be very helpful as she was able to prepare herself for scarier parts (and know that the things that were happening were meant to happen), and also because she learned to trust that I wouldn't steer her wrong - i.e., if I said that I thought she could handle a ride, then she could handle it. The line was nearly non-existent at Test Track. We were on the ride in about five minutes (minus a five-minute shut down on the ride), and were on our way. Mom, Will and I were in the front seats, and Dave and Carl were in the back. Mom and I screamed our way around the ride (it was so cathartic!), and I thought she was going to kill me when we got off the ride - she kept yelling "No, no, let me off of this thing!" Much to my surprise, we got off the ride, my mom took two steps and said, "When can we go again?" Just goes to show you that age means nothing. I should have know that Disney had the almighty power to bring out my mom's inner child! We browsed around in the shop for a few moments, and then decided to go on the ride again. I had noticed a hidden Mickey in the picture and wanted to see if I could locate it. No luck! This time, however, the picture was hysterical, so we decided to buy it and ship it to our hotel! I love this feature! We decided to leave the proving grounds and go forth and see what Ellen and Bill Nye were up to. Mom loves Ellen. For Mother's Day, I took her to see Ellen on tour in San Francisco, and we have laughed about that ever since. We were probably one of the few straight couples there, and people were looking at us like, "How did that old lady get that young lady to go out with her?" Ellen is such a gifted comedienne and we both just adore her! So, Mom was really looking forward to seeing Ellen's Energy Adventure. As usual, Ellen did not disappoint. The ride was really not crowded - we each could have had our own row. My brothers were laughing through the whole thing - it's a good time. However, if you don't like Ellen or find her funny, then I don't think you'd like this ride. After Ellen, we decided we were done with Futureworld for awhile and decided to head over to the World Showcase. After our veggie disappointment at San Angel, we wanted to check the Le Cellier menu to make sure there was something Mom could eat that night. So, off to Canada we went. My mom checked the menu and decided that there were a few things she could eat that sounded really good, so she was very excited! While we were in Canada, we somehow lost Dave. We saw him at the pin cart, turned around and he was gone. Gosh, we felt dumb. In our million trips to Disneyland, we had always designated a rule for what to do if you became separated. Think we thought of doing the same thing now that we were adults? Nope! At any rate, I was enjoying sitting on the bench and people watching (amazingly, the weather was warm and breezy - not too hot, not too cold, just right). It felt good to be in the sun. Will and Carl wanted to see the movie, and Mom went off in search of Dave. I had some quiet moments to myself to soak up the sun and relax. It was very nice. Eventually, Mom came back with Dave and we were able to reconnect with Carl and Will. We had just a little over an hour until our Le Cellier reservation, so we decided to slowly meander around the countries. Our first stop was England, where the British Invasion was playing. We wandered through the shops, while Will went and got a beer (he said it was very good) and I tried not to order some fish and chips - they smelled sooooooo good! While we were waiting for everyone to reconnoiter, the Shakespearean Players came out and began their show. I think that's what the name of the group was - anyhow, they were great fun to watch and I wouldn't have minded seeing the whole show if there had been a bench to sit upon. However, everyone soon regrouped and we were ready to move on to France. On our way to France, we stopped on the bridge over to the International Gateway and took a few pictures. We had a good time hamming it up for the camera, and I can't wait for these pictures to come back! We got to France and had just enough time to see Impressions de France before we needed to head back for our PS ressies at Le Cellier. While waiting for the show to begin, we headed over to the French bakery and perused the aisles. If we had been going home soon, we would have gotten something - everything looked delicious and I couldn't wait to try it! Finally, it was time for Impressions. My mom thoroughly enjoyed the show - with her eyes closed (she said the music was lovely and it was very relaxing). She even looked for a CD of it later in the trip, but they don't sell the compilation. They will, however, give you a list of the music in the show at the gift shop, if you request one. After France, it was finally time for our PS at Le Cellier. I already knew what I wanted - no questions. I wanted the mushroom stuffed filet mignon - same one I had the last time I was there. We went into the restaurant and were seated almost immediately. Our waitress was lovely - I think her name was Jen - and very knowledgeable. When she explained the specials, however, my mind was changed - they had surf and turf, with lobster tails! Or, you could add a lobster tail to any steak dish you chose. Well, I knew I could never eat the mushroom filet and a lobster tail, so I ordered what I thought was the smaller steak. Only, I misspoke. I thought it was strange when everyone at the table looked at me like I was speaking French Canadien. ;) Anyway, I ended up with the 14 oz steak and lobster tail, Carl had the pork tenderloins, Will had the beef stroganoff (in his own words, "This is the best thing I've ever eaten. Ever."), and Dave had the same thing I did. In addition, we all had THE cheese soup. (Oh yum, yum, yum). Mom, on the other hand, had the best meal, hands down. I don't know how it tasted (well, except the salad, which was phenomenal), but it was the service that came along with her meal that made it so outstanding. Jen, our waitress (I've decided that was her name, even if it wasn't), listened to my mom's concerns about what she could eat. Then, she made a recommendation of the field greens salad with walnuts and some sort of crispy onion things, and the brown sugar and sweet potato raviolis. The only problem with the raviolis is that they had cheese in them, so Jen asked the chef to make them special for my mom. Now, my mom normally does not eat too much. This time, however, she ate the entire HUGE salad, and the entire bowl of ravioli. As for the rest of us, Will says we ate the meal in less than 15 minutes - start to finish. There wasn't a word spoken while we were eating (this is big for my family - you usually can't get us to shut up!). We spent the first five minutes trading bites of this or that. The lobster was out of this world. It was so fresh and tasty and the drawn butter was just perfect - not to salty, not too greasy. I love my husband, but it was such a struggle to share a bite with him! I gave Carl about half of my steak, though, and that seemed to do him well. The steak was excellent, but sitting next to the lobster tail, it was just ok - much like a McDonald's cheeseburger next to an In-N-Out burger. On a plate by itself, it shines. Next to perfection, its suddenly just plain. $200 later, we waddled out of the restaurant, very happy. We had already decided that we wanted to head over to the American Adventure and watch the show. It was nice since we were so full to have to walk that far. While we were walking, the TOD parade started, so we were able to watch a little bit as we walked. Am I the only one who likes the parade but thinks its way too long? It is pretty, and the puppets are neat, but it basically goes on forever and ever. Anyway... We got to the American Adventure and had a little bit of a wait until the next show. They had the flag hanging in the lobby from the World Trade Center, so we went and ruminated on that for awhile. I still have a hard time remembering that this actually happened, and each time I am reminded of September 11, it hurts. I will always remember what I was doing that day and I may always remember what I did on the first anniversary. Seeing that flag hurt. But it was a necessary hurt - reminding me not to forget what being an American means and that sometimes you have to hurt to remain true to your ideals. The show, of course, only expounded on that. Both Mom and I got teary eyed - for me, it is always in the movie. Usually, it's the scene of John John saluting his dad's casket. If that doesn't get to me, it's the smiling crew of the Challenger as they are about to board the space shuttle. And what really gets me going, but in a proud way, is Mary Lou Retton's routine. She was such a hero to me when I was a kid. In fact, pretty much everyone in the movie was a hero to me, at one point in my life. The show being over, it was time to head for home. Illuminations was just beginning, so we tried to hurry out of World Showcase before they turned out all the lights. My mom doesn't really like fireworks, so we were trying to get her away before they got too bad! We managed to make it out of the park in about ten minutes and our bus was pretty much just waiting for us - we beat the crowd! Yeah! We didn't realize that our bus went back to Ft. Wilderness first, though, so we were a little concerned when we didn't recognize the bus stop. The overhead speaker sounded like Mrs. Othmar from the Peanuts, so we didn't have any idea where we were. We figured, though, if other people weren't getting off, we wouldn't either. Turned out to be a good thing since our next stop was the Lodge. I've heard a lot of people complain that they shouldn't have to ride the bus for a premium resort and share it with the campgrounds - you know, it never bothered me one bit the entire trip. The passengers from the campground were usually kind and I really enjoyed seeing the horses and other sites at the bus stop there. Plus, I was so happy to relax on a nice air-conditioned bus, that it was really no problem to me! But then, that's just me. I was on vacation and determined not to worry about anything (ok, so I didn't succeed, but I tried!). We got off the bus and decided to head back to the room for a night's snack and night cap. My brother made the drinks (straight 7-up for me, thank you) and we ate chips and dip while we played madlibs. This ended up being our favorite evening activity - although I can't share any of them with you here! (some might offend the delicate sensibilities of others... ;). At about 11:30, we all decided it had been a full day and went to our separate rooms. Will decided to bunk it with us since we had the extra bed and they were all so tired - and it seemed fair since we were just wasting the other bed. :) So, off we went. Will and I stayed up about 30 minutes more, chatting and basically winding down. My pillow hit my head and I was out. Tomorrow... MGM! YES! Days totals: Food: 5 Tiggers. Although the croissant at the Land was a little dry, it hit the spot. And, any day in which I can eat at both San Angel and Le Cellier is pure heaven. Add a lobster tail, and I'm not sure there is a rating system capable of recording numbers for today. 5 Tiggers, being the highest I can go, but we all know its really about 1 million Tiggers. Fun: 4 Tiggers. Today was close to perfect, except for losing Dave. My mom riding on Test Track and loving it just about made the whole day perfect. There were no lines, the heat was actually moderate, and it didn't rain. The only thing that could have made this day better, besides longer park hours and no jet lag, would be if Bono and the boys from U2 had been our tour guides. DAY THREE - DO WE HAVE TO RIDE TOWER AGAIN? CAN'T WE DO A SLOW RIDE? Mickey is a cruel little fellow. Sometime, minutes after I fell asleep, he snuck into Florida, pushed the sun ahead a few hours, and managed to call me only ten minutes after I fell asleep. Or so it seemed. Mickey called at 6:59, sharp. I let Will answer it since he had never had a Mickey call. It was pretty cool. Will left to go back to the other room and wake them up and get ready. Carl and I got ready pretty quickly. Before we knew it, Mom, Will and Dave were knocking on our door and it was time to go, go, go! We arrived at the park just as it was opening and decided we were starved. Knowing we wanted to do TZTOT first, however, we walked to the end of Sunset Blvd. and grabbed ourselves a fast pass. We went foraging for food next, but the closest thing we could find that was open was the Starring Rolls bakery at the beginning of Sunset Boulevard. Will and I had an onion bagel and cream cheese, Carl had a muffin and some sort of sugar free rhubarb tart (it looked good, but apparently, looks were deceiving), Dave had a bagel and the same tart thing, and my mom had a plain bagel and some tea. The meal was hearty and just the right price - and if we weren't riding the Tower, I would probably have had something ooey gooey sweet here - they definitely had that! We still had a few minutes to kill before our FP time, so we browsed our way up Sunset Blvd. until we reached the most important crosswalk in MGM - the bathroom/ fastpass/ phone/ water fountain station. We all split up to take care of a few things, and then Mom and I went to get RNRC fast passes for everyone while we waited for Dave to finish browsing. Finally, Dave arrived and it was off to the Tower with us all! We had quite a shock when we arrived at the Tower and were told to keep our fast passes for another day. I had never been to MGM without at least a ten-minute wait for this ride - but literally, the lines were as fast as you could walk today! It was great! While waiting in line, I tried to tell Mom a little bit about the ride. Now, this ride scared the pants off of me the first time I rode it, so I told her all my tricks about closing my eyes and what she could expect. Of course, telling her all this made me remember what the ride was like and I started getting the nervous excitement! We got in our elevator and Will was in the seatbelt seat! Mom and I were in the top row - a nice row to be in for your first trip - you feel more secure, I think. Mom was a little nervous that the lap bar doesn't lock you in, but I explained that she would be very safe and that the bar was meant to be lose - you might actually get hurt if it was too tight! All through the ride, I was too worried about my poor mom, who was yelling "Help, help, let me off, I want off" throughout the whole ride, I thought she was going to pass out, to enjoy the ride. I thought for sure we'd need to get her some oxygen and a week's stay in some nice serene resort to recover. So, I was really surprised when we got off the ride and she said, "That was so much fun. I would totally do that again!" I was so proud of her that I bought her a pin to commemorate her journey! Our RNRC fast passes were just coming due, so we moseyed on over to the ride, sans Mom (no matter how much prodding, she was not "going upside down to save my life!"). The first time I rode this ride, I had my eyes closed tight the entire ride, so I was eager to ride again and see what I actually missed! Again, we were told to save our fast passes, and again, we were on the ride in the blink of an eye. I think the pre-show lasted longer than our whole wait. The ride took off with a shot and I loved it! Tower is still my all-time favorite, but I really liked RNRC. It is very smooth and allows those of us who get car sick and love thrill rides (but can no longer ride them due to motion sickness) to have an upside down ride they can still go on! We all agreed, however, that the combination of the dark, upside down and twisty curves, and neon signs, would not suit my mom. We told her our thoughts and she agreed. This was the only ride she did not go on the entire trip - I really am proud of her adventurous spirit! After RNRC, we decided to head to the Animation Tour. This tour had been closed when Will and I went in 1997, so it was a high priority for him. We got into line and waited a few moments before we were able to enter the theater. Now, my family all loves Robin Williams, but these people in front of us must have been his relatives because they were laughing so hard and so loud, you thought they'd been paid to laugh! It was great! I love the movie, too, so it was a lot of fun! From there, we moved into the drawing studio. This is the only complaint I have about the tour. When I first took it in 1998, they had the animator answering questions as he drew a character. It was really neat to be able to ask questions about their background and how they got started and tips they had. Now, however, they had him drawing a character and basically hawking the movie the whole time he was drawing. I felt gypped, like I was sitting through a commercial and not a tour! Plus, the t.v. screens were not all working properly, so I couldn't even see the character he was drawing. (Sigh) I wish they would bring back the old Q&A format! After that, we were herded through to the next theater. I remember being able to walk slower through the drawing rooms and really take time to look at things. This time, however, there was a sense that you had to hurry through - I felt it really detracted! One of the reasons I was so excited to see Lilo and Stitch was because I had seen and heard about it in the animation tour and I wanted to see if I could remember anything from the storyboards (I did remember a little). Here, though, I couldn't tell you what was on the storyboards one bit! I do know that they are currently working on three movies at Orlando - Treasure Planet, The Bear (looks really good) and Home on the Range (it took us 4 days to remember the title of this movie - I had to ask again!). We were hungry at the end of the tour, so off we went in search of lunch. We needed something with vegetarian offerings that was cheap. ABC Commissary fit the bill, so off we went. Will and I ordered the cheeseburgers (they were very good for fast food), Carl and my mom had the Tabbouleh wrap (Carl thought it was ok, Mom didn't like it) and Dave had the fish and chips (he really liked it). Lunch being over, I decided it was time to hit the restroom - only, it had started to pour! And I mean pour! It was raining so hard, that it felt like I was in the shower - with a hose and sprinklers turned on. By the time I got back from the restroom, it, of course, had stopped and I was soaked! Lesson learned, it was off to Muppets. We got there right as a show was starting but decided to wait for the next one. The funniest part of this show, imo, is the pre-show, and we wanted Dave, a big Muppets fan, to see it. Mom laughed a little although she confessed that she wasn't quite the Muppets fan. In the movie, I got a little catnap. The 3-D glasses were bothering me, so I couldn't enjoy the show. So, I took them off and listened while I shut my eyes. Not the same, but definitely an enjoyed experience! We went into the show afterwards, and I asked the nice clerk for a rubber band to braid my hair with. He got me one right away, which I thought was really nice of him. My brother, meanwhile, went next door to Mama Melrose's and inquired about the Fantasmic Dinner package. He found out that we would have to eat at about 4:30 if we wanted to get in, and we were all still full from lunch! We decided to skip it that day (we never did get back to it - oh well, something to add on the "next time" list). While he was gone, I asked the clerk to recommend some things to take my mom to, and he recommended the Hunchback show, which was starting in a few minutes. We decided to go and watch the show, one of my favorites, and left right away to go see it. We had to sit in the bleachers because we were so late, and those suckers hurt! Not only that, but they were partially wet from the rain, and the speaker system was very bad. The background music was so loud, that you couldn't hear the performers speak or sing. It was a real waste since it is one of my favorite shows. I'm sure that the regular seats were great - but I wouldn't see the show from the bleachers again. After the Hunchback show, my brothers really wanted to go on Star Tours. It is not my favorite ride, but I enjoy it, so we moseyed up towards the ride. I stopped and got a Minnie strawberry bar on the way - very good, but odd. It had a layer of something on the top of it that was like frozen frosting. It wasn't too sweet, though, so it tasted very good - it just wasn't what I was expecting. Anyway, our trip to Endor was ok - I think they need to re-do this movie as it is starting to show its age. But, I don't know how they could make it different and not ruin it. ;) Star Tours being over, my mom confessed that the long days were starting to get to her and made a request that we return to the hotel soon. We decided to head over to One Man's Dream and then call it a day. We wandered through the exhibit, which was very well done. I thought it was a very befitting tribute - and it was really, really cool to see the mock models of some of the rides - particularly Peter Pan's Flight! It was a really neat model. After the movie, we headed for the front of the park, shopping our way out. Carl went to the Candy Cauldron and got this really delicious covered marshmallow. He'd bought one on our last trip that I hadn't cared much for, but this one was oreo and chocolate covered and was great, without being too sweet. Yum! We headed back to the hotel for a respite. Carl took a nap, Dave and Will went swimming, and Mom and I watched Lifetime t.v. - something we could only do without the boys there! :) When everyone regrouped, we decided to head down to the Roaring Forks for dinner. Carl and I split the chicken fingers and philly cheesesteak meals, Mom had half a tuna sandwich, Will had a chili-dog and chili, and Dave had soup and I can't recall what else. The food was decent and we didn't have too long to wait for it. Carl and I bought a refillable mug to share. The cheesesteak was rather good, and the chicken strips were very fresh - it was way too much for a snack, but enough chicken for a meal. The food was hot and hearty and hit the spot. Besides, it was fairly cheap! After eating, we decided to burn off some calories in the arcade. My brothers and I used to have air hockey tournaments every time we went to DL as kids - and our hotel had an air hockey table. Since I got married, we decided to see which family was superior. Ok, the Tanners lost, but we put up a good fight! They also had a basketball game that was quite fun, and a wave runner game that was really fun! We spent about an hour here and then headed back to the room for another night cap and more madlibs. Madlibs became so addicting! Tomorrow, Animal Kingdom - Can't wait! Days Totals: Food 3 Tiggers. On the fast food scale, the day receives a 5 Tigger rating. However, comparing it with all we'd eaten so far, it just doesn't add up. The food was adequate, tasty, and did what it was supposed to. But, it was nothing special. Fun: 4 Tiggers. Madlibs, air hockey, and no line at Tower? Am I a kid in heaven? DAY FOUR - CAPTAIN SQUISHY PANTS IS BORN Today was the day my mom had been waiting for two long years. Today we were going to AK! I'm not sure who was more excited! We all got up fairly quickly and early and were down at Roaring Forks in time to eat breakfast before we went. Dave and I had the breakfast plate - eggs, bacon and hash browns - Carl had yogurt and a bagel, Will had a bagel, and my mom had leftovers from the room and a sticky bun. The nice thing about RF was that it had a microwave and separate seating area, and no one really cared if you were eating RF food or bringing something from the room. This was really nice (particularly since it was so convenient to our rooms!). Once done, we headed for the bus and were soon on our way to AK! When we got to AK, we all decided to go to the ATM - given that September 11 was two days away, we thought we should stock up on cash, just in case something happened. After that stop, we were through the gates and on our way to KJ Safari! We walked quickly through the park towards Harambe, and ended up at the safari. Since there was no line, we decided to get a fast pass and then go on the ride. The ride was great - There were quite a few animals out - some I had never seen up close, like an ostrich. We got some great pictures, but I was sad to see that they put back the jerkiness of the ride. It seemed like the ride was much smoother the last time we went on it. We shopped our way back to the entrance for ride number two and were on the ride in mere moments. The fast pass was really unnecessary. This ride was great as well, and had a lot of animals. My film was all used up in a matter of minutes, so I actually just enjoyed the ride for once - no pictures. ;) After the ride, we decided it was time for lunch. We were all feeling a little hungry, so we decided to try Tusker House - boy, was that a good choice! Tusker house is like upscale fast food. Its still served on paper plates, but they has selections like salmon (which is really good) and jerk chicken. I had the salmon, substituting garlic mashed potatoes for rice, and loved it. Mom had the salad(I don't remember which kind, but she really liked it), Dave had the chicken, Carl had a sandwich of some kind, and I don't recall what Will had. We each had something different off the menu and we all liked what we got. The nice thing was they had this meal deal - for $12.00 (basically $1 more than my meal), you got an entrée and drink, and coupons for a soda and ice cream later in the day. This was great - basically, we spent $12 for our meals that day! It was so hot, we thought a ride on Kali was in order. We walked to Asia and soaked in the atmosphere on the way. It was so hot, but only Carl and I had been to Asia (since it wasn't open in 1997). We arrived at KRR and I thought about taking my shoes off, but was really too hot to care. We were on the ride with this great family with two teenage girls who really wanted to get wet. Their mom wasn't so eager. I had read that the seat that goes backwards up the first hill is the passenger that's going to get wet first - I laughed so hard when I saw my mom going up the hill! Needless to say, she was soaked! She got her revenge, however, when Dave and I were the ones to get "dipped" in the rapids at the end! We were stunned when we came to the finish and the CM told us to stay on the raft if we wanted another ride. Now, commonsense told us to get off the ride... but, we had NEVER been at Disney and gotten to go around again for free! It was amazing! On the second ride, Dave and I were going backwards first, and my mom was laughing so hard and pointing, not realizing that her seat, facing us, was going to get the backside of the geyser! As we got off the ride, every piece of our clothing stuck to our bodies - I nicknamed Mom, Captain Squishypants, for the noise her pants made as she walked! We were wet so we decided to continue walking around and took the Pangani Forest trail next. All of the tigers were out and about, wandering around. It was great fun to watch them. And, we found some very absorbent benches in the sun! Finishing the trail, we spotted a bathroom. Mom and I went in and toweled ourselves off as best we could - at least we were more comfortable now! Mom was downgraded to Lt. Soggybottoms. ;) Will suggested a ride on CTE (I know, I know, its Dinosaur now!) next. By this time, Mom was old hat at thrill rides - nothing was going to bother her. She enjoyed this ride, but Tower was still her favorite. I can't blame her - except for things popping out at you and it being dark, there is not much in this ride to scare you - it goes far too quickly for you to get into the theming of it. Once the ride was complete, we decided to head over and check out the new area in Dinoland (with a quick stop in the gift shop, of course... ;) We decided to head on Primeval Whirl first. Mom and I rode together, and the boys rode in the car in front of us. This ride is pretty fun - and my brother pointed out that the theming of the ride is basically a spoof on Dinosaur. I thought that was pretty funny. Anyway, the ride was simple and fun - reminded me of the carnival rides we used to go on when we were kids. My only complaint, and it's a big one, is that I did not feel safe on this ride. Both my mom and I flew all over the car (and I am a big girl!), and bounced off the sides - I was bruised by the time I got off! I literally had to stop myself from flying out of the car a few times - I cannot imagine this ride is safe for little kids! We did the ride twice, and even with bracing myself on the second ride, I was flung all over the car. After the ride, we decided to check out some of the games. They were fun, but I wish they were a little cheaper. I probably would have played a few more games if they weren't $2 a pop. I know that's pretty cheap, but I was expecting something like Circus Circus where you pay $.50 or $1 per game. Anyway, I'm probably just bitter since I lost both games (one to my husband and one to my mom - and I was soooooo close!). After games, Will, my mom and Carl decided to go see ITTBAB. Dave and I were dying of the heat, so we shopped in the nice air-conditioned store. Ahhhhhh. Carl and Will found us about 30 minutes later, and we all decided to grab a snack at Flame Tree. I was so excited that it was open! We split a BBQ chicken sandwich, French fries and onion rings. The onion rings were very good. Everything else was good, as usual. :) We decided to see TFotLK next. Carl and I were the only ones who had seen the show, so everyone else was pretty excited. We walked the long walk to the ampitheater, and were seated right away in the Lion section. This was great - last time we were in the giraffe section, and I still have no idea how a giraffe sounds. It was nice to be so close to the stage - I really got into the show. My favorites are still the tumble monkeys, but I enjoyed all of the show and the singers were just fantastic. We had a little over an hour to kill before the park closed and we needed to go to AK Lodge for our dinner ressies at BOMA. We decided to take the safari one last time, and were glad we did. The animals were really out and we saw some neat things. On our way out, everything was closing, so it was perfect timing. After retrieving all the lost members of our tribe, we headed for the bus stop and caught a bus almost immediately to the AK Lodge. We had never been here before, and well, it disappointed. I am probably the only person to ever say that! I just didn't think the atmosphere matched the price. It seemed like a classy place, but I just felt that the lobby at WL was better done. The large picture window in the lobby was a nice touch, however. And maybe I'd feel differently if we were in a Savannah room... ;) We found our way to BOMA and waited about 5 minutes for our table. Our server came out right when we were seated and explained the set up of the buffet - offering suggestions of her favorites. My first trip out, I sampled a little bit of everything and was pleasantly surprised. Favorites included Coca Cola pork, prime rib, salmon, chicken salad, potato salad, and potato and bacon soup. All of the dishes had a unique blend of spices and were quite flavorful. We were worried about this restaurant choice because my mom is a vegan and my brother is really picky - but both found plenty to eat that they enjoyed. We hit the dessert section next and sampled one of everything - literally. Dessert was the best! They had these things called zebra domes that were out of this world. Also, they had pineapple upsidedown cheesecake (yummy), chocolate mousse, brownies, kahlua tiramisu pudding - all of it was delicious, if not too rich. After our trip through BOMA, we perused the gift shop (I was amazed to find better AK Lodge stuff at our own resort!), and then headed to the bus stop. We caught a bus from AKL to Epcot, and then from Epcot to WL. Once back at the hotel, we madlibbed and snacked until bedtime. It was a good time. Tomorrow: MK! Days totals: Food: 3 Tiggers. AK Lodge was spectacular, but other than that, it was a fast food day. It was great food all around, but nothing special. Fun: 3 Tiggers. Being soggy kind of put a damper on the day (no pun intended). DAY FIVE - A TIGGERFAN IS BORN Mickey let us sleep in this morning - until 8, and it did us all some good. We were better rested and ready to go! We were supposed to meet Mom, Dave and Will down at the boat dock, but got turned around a bit along the way. We finally made our way there. The boat ride was splendid - a small boat (the blue one?) took us from the backside of WL to the MK boat dock. It took about 5-10 minutes and was a really nice start to our day. Once inside, we were famished and decided to check out the wait at Tony's. They could seat us right away, so it was a definite hit! The breakfast was spectacular. Eggs, bacon, parmesan potatoes, cinnamon rolls, French toast, fruit, juice... you name it, we had it, and it was all delicious. There were five hungry, good eating adults and we could barely finish 1/2 the food. What made it all the more better, however, was that it was a Tigger breakfast! My favorite! Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and Pooh came around and they were excellent at interacting with us! They made sure to hug as many people at the table that they could reach! I told Eeyore that my husband was his biggest fan, and he can over and started playing with Carl! It was so fun! Full and happy, we made a new plan for the day. Each person picked a land. For an hour or so, that person controlled what we did in their land - no whining, no complaining - everyone agreed to "follow the leader." The nice thing was, each person got to pick their own land, so they knew they would get a turn, too. Carl picked Tomorrowland, I picked Fantasyland, Dave picked Liberty Square, Mom picked Frontierland, and Will picked Adventureland. Since Tomorrowland was the closest, Carl went first. First up was Alien Encounter. I learned something new on this ride. If you are a little bit claustrophobic, you can keep the shoulder harness from locking you all the way in by holding on to it as its coming down over your head. The thing is set to lock when it hits your shoulders - so if you put your hands on your shoulders, it will give you a little more room. Plus, this takes away some of the scarier effects. I don't know why, but this ride makes me laugh now! After AE, we decided to save the galaxy by defeating the evil emperor Zurg. Buzz Lightyear was fun, but I can never figure out how to shoot the darn things. I ended up by myself, so I controlled both guns. I was very lame - 700 points on one and 6700 on the other. I think that was the rank of Interplanetary Slave. :) Our next stop was the frolicking TTA (which will always be Peoplemover to us West Coasters...). Mom really liked this relaxing ride and it gave us a chance to show her Space Mountain - our next ride. After TTA, we went on Space Mountain. Again, there was no line. Mom was a little nervous because she had to sit by herself, but I told her to just close her eyes and scream if she got too scared. She loved it. It was a lot more fun than I remembered it - I think they made the ride darker, too. It was time to say good-bye to Carl's ride and Hello to Fantasyland! I had a very limited agenda in FL. I wanted to go on the Pooh ride, IASW, and Peter Pan. Walking towards Pooh, we noted quite a long line, so we grabbed fast passes and headed towards IASW. On the way, however, we were sidetracked by an amazing site - no line at Dumbo! Since my mom is a huge elephant lover, I added Dumbo to my repertoire. We walked over and tried to find the entrance to the line, which is not marked. We walked up the side we thought was the line, but as we did, a couple came out and said that we needed to be on the other side, so we followed them. Now, we got up to the front of that line, and the CM was standing right there, talking to another lady. He loaded up the ride, started it, came back, looked at us, and after about 3 minutes told us that we were on the wrong side - that our line was for wheelchairs only. Now, he had watched us walk up there the whole time. It wasn't like we were trying to cut the line on the other side (when we walked up, there was no one on the other side, and there were no wheelchair users on the side we went up - and no signs for us to tell any of this). Well, rather than argue with him, we hopped back over to the other side - by now a line had formed. We were let on to the next ride, and I admit, it was a little obnoxious, but I wanted to get a picture of my mom on the ride. I quickly snapped the picture and then realized that someone had taken the elephant behind her - which I had been planning on getting into. No worries - I looked for another one and the ride operator came by and told me there was one all the way up front. Carl and I ran to the elephant and were barely in it when the ride began! I told the CM that we didn't have our seatbelt on and weren't sure how to put it on, but he started the ride anyhow, while yelling instructions at us. We never did figure out where the seatbelt was, and I was very pissed that the CM allowed the ride to go, knowing we were not properly belted in. This guy was a complete jerk - even some people who saw what happened and weren't involved agreed. After that ride (which was fun without the jerk), we decided to check out a few of the shops. We went into Tinkerbell's toyshop and Sir Mickeys. I bought some film and got a free Donald hatpin. Well, sort of, since the film was nearly $20! :) We still had a little bit of time until our Pooh fast pass, so we headed over to IASW. The best part about this ride is that my brothers don't like it. :) Well, they took it like good sports, at least. After our feel good boating adventure, (someone said that the only way to make this ride palpable would be to combine it with Buzz Lightyear or the shooting arcade...), we grabbed fast passes for Peter Pan, and then headed to Pooh. Pooh was cute, as usual. Dave and I are big Tigger fans, so we loved it. My mom and Will liked the bouncy honeypots. Of course, Will loved Mr. Toad, so it is a bittersweet ride for him. We all shopped in the ride exit, er I mean, shop, and found something for my new nephew - his very first Tigger bib. When he was born, we got him a giant stuffed Eeyore - his mom tells me he loves it - it is his favorite toy. Gosh, I love being an aunt! Finally, we headed over to Peter Pan for a ride through Neverland. This has always been my favorite dark ride. I love that the boats fly over the scenes - and that scene of London is really cool. Besides, Nana is the best, most underated Disney character ever! :) It was time for lunch - there was a lot of rumbly in a lot of tummies! We decided to head over to Pinnochio Village Haus for a quick bite - and the topping bar. Will and I got cheeseburgers, Carl and my mom got Turkey sandwiches (she's not a vegan all the time... :) ), and Dave got a hot dog, I think. It was very good - I love the toppings - mushrooms, grilled onions... yum, yum, yum! It was time for me to say goodbye to Fantasyland, and time for Dave to be in charge in Liberty Square. Now, in due deference to him, it really wasn't fair since the Haunted Mansion was closed. So, all he could choose was shopping and The Hall of Presidents. So, that is what we did. Well, they totally ruined the Hall of Presidents. Besides the addition of GW, the feeling is totally gone. Now, I love James Earl Jones - think he has a fabulous voice - but, he just didn't give it the same Oomph as Ms. Maya Angelou and her powerful "WE. We the people..." I really missed her powerful and passionate voice. Once that was over, it was time to go to Frontierland. Mom wanted to ride Big Thunder and Splash. Well, when we got over there, Splash was completely stopped - someone said that someone fell out, but I doubt it since the ride wasn't evacuated and there were no emergency crews or anything you would expect to see - and, the ride reopened fairly soon afterwards. Anyway, with Splash down, BT was extremely crowded. This was NOT the place to try and go right now! With that, we decided to skip ahead and go see Pirates. Back to Adventureland, and Firing at Will! (We always loved that line when we were kids - my dad convinced us that they knew Will was on the boat and were firing at him!). The best thing about Pirates, besides the fact that it is a great ride - it has the all time coolest building, temperature wise. It must be about 50 in there - if that doesn't refresh you, nothing will! Once Pirates was over, we noticed that Splash was back up and running, so we did, too. On the way there, we grabbed BT fast passes. The line for Splash was 10 minutes long by the time we got there, so we decided to wait it out. It was a fun ride. We didn't get too wet, which was fine by Private Drydrawers' standards. I think she would rather not ever relive the KRR experience! On the way up the hill, I noticed a Hidden Mickey - in the rock formations just as you come over the crest of the hill. It was great! After Splash, we walked over to BT for a ride. Well, as was a common experience this vacation, we were told to keep our fast passes, and we were on the ride in about two minutes. I got to sit in the very front - it was so much fun! Once is never enough for this ride, so we rode one more time - this time in the back. We were all getting pretty hot by now, so we decided to cool down in some of the Frontierland shops on the way to AL. We met a really nice CM in one of the stores and compared housing prices in Orlando to SF. Its funny to us that no matter where we go, people think their cost of living is so expensive - until they hear ours. I have yet to meet one person, except maybe a New Yorker, whose cost of living is worse than ours! It was finally Will's turn to be in charge and he had two requests - Tiki Room and hot dogs at Casey's. The Tiki Room was nearby, so off we went. The show was funny - but we were all so hot and tired. I think everyone in the room was, too. At the end, when Iago tells everyone to get on their feet, no one in the room even shifted. It took the CM announcing that the show was over to get anyone to move! We stumbled forward to Caseys, and were shocked to see that it was closed for renovations! Will loves the dogs here - with Casey's and HM being closed, will felt gypped. At this point, Mom was tired and decided to head back to the room for a nap. Dave and I wanted to shop, and Will and Carl wanted to ride on some more rides, so we split up and agreed to meet at the front gate in an hour. Mom went ahead and went back to the room for her nap, and Dave and I shopped up and down Main Street. I saw a few things that I liked, but wasn't really impressed with much - it seemed that every store sold the same thing - just different versions of it. Dave and I found a checkers board in one shop and sat down for a quick game - unfortunately, we couldn't remember how to play! I think he was making up some of the rules - he quickly was winning. I decided it was time to go when I saw some other people waiting for the table. It was a fun moment with my big bro. We headed to the front gate and met Will and Carl. On the way out, we got stopped by a survey taker - one of the questions that excited me was whether we wanted extra hours added back into the park (And I now understand they've brought back early entry! YES!!!). We answered all the questions and then headed for our boat. Back at the Lodge, Mom had woken from her nap and was watching t.v. The boys wanted to swim, and Carl and I wanted to go to Downtown Disney. Dave and Will went for a quick swim while we relaxed in the room with my mom. When they returned, Dave, Carl and I decided to go to Downtown Disney. Mom and Will offered to order a pizza from room service and we would all eat when we got back. The bus to DD came rather quickly, and before we knew it, we were on our way. We checked out the new shops - the Pin shop (I forget its name) and Once Upon A Toy. The Pin shop was pretty lame - I found only one pin that I hadn't seen elsewhere, and most of the pins were the regular run of the mill pins (I found better pins at World of Disney!). The only cool thing about the pin store was that you could make your own pins - but, there wasn't really any instructions, and no CM's in sight, so it was difficult to tell what you needed to do. I'm hoping that they fix the store up - it sounded like such a cool idea! Once Upon A Toy was neat, too, except that it was just like a Toys R' Us. It was neat that they had stations where kids could try out certain toys - but it felt like just a regular toy store. One bad thing is that they do not offer any of the discounts (Amex or Disney Club), and World of Disney (that does offer the discount) has stopped carrying any of the games/toys in the store, so as not to compete. So, I had to suck it up and buy the Haunted Mansion Clue game, since I really wanted it and this was the only store carrying it! Off to World of Disney for our major shopping. I was prepared to spend $400 here. I spent barely $100. The selection was bad. Everything they had was cheap - quality-wise. $60 for a poorly made polo shirt? $40 for a run of the mill sweatshirt? Not only that, but the things that I might have purchased, they only had in very small sizes. I wear an X-XX, so I'm a big girl, but not *that* big. Some of the XL's would barely fit my mom - and she normally wears an M! They used to carry sizes up to 4X and 5X - which was great because I could get my dad a t-shirt here! No more. Everything was tiny! And, this is so silly, but why do they feel the need to put the fake bra into shirts that are XXL? If you are that big, chances are you have a substantial chest, and the fake bra does nothing for you but make you uncomfortable! Big girls don't need padding!!! Needless to say, I was highly disappointed - not only could I not find anything for me to wear, but I couldn't get my dad anything, either. I did let the CM checking me out now my dissatisfaction (he was very nice), and he told me that they often keep larger sizes off the floor just for stocking room. But still, why should I have to ask someone for a bigger size? That is just embarrassing. If that is their policy, as well, they should have a sign stating so - so that I am prepared to ask someone for the things that I am interested in. (Sigh). They just lost out on getting some money from me. Finally, the quality of things has really gone down hill. I have things I purchased from my first trip that still look brand new (a fanny pack and a duffel bag, for example). This trip, I had to return my fanny pack after 2 days (it ripped), and the new duffel bag I have broke on the way home (I had it 2 days). So, after my miserable outing to WoD, I lost Dave. A few miscommunications between the two of us, and we ended up back at the hotel worrying about him. Mom and Will were mad at me because they had bought pizza and it was cold by the time I got to it. I was starved. It was ok (my brother says it cost him $26 and the pizza was not worth it!). It was time to go to bed. Tomorrow... September 11, Epcot. Day 5 Totals: Food: 2 Tiggers. Other than Tony's yummy breakfast, everything was just average and nothing to sneeze at. Fun: 1 Tigger. The heat and the long days were starting to get to us. The group thing needed to be rethought. Note to others taking a group trip - break up during the day. We didn't do this, and by Day 5, we were ready to kill each other. Don't get me wrong, we had fun - but little things seemed bigger. DAY SIX - PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN; NOT SO PROUD TO BE MOROCCAN. Today was a day that I had been thinking about for an entire year - where I wanted to be on the first anniversary of September 11. For me, there was an easy answer - I wanted to be at the American Adventure. The show always makes me proud to be American, and I wanted to show off my pride that day. Dave and Mom decided to sleep in. They were very tired from all the walking, heat; etc., so they decided to take it easy. We made plans to meet up with them at 10 at Test Track, so Carl, Will and I headed to Epcot alone. Carl and Will ate at Roaring Forks before we left, but I wasn't ready or hungry yet, so I skipped. By the time we got to Epcot, though, I was famished! I thought that I would be able to find something in the Metlife Pavilion, but the booths there were not yet opened. So, we decided to head on to Cranium Command. There was only one other person in the crowd, and the CM did a good job of playing with us - "can you all hear me?" - that we had a really good time. The show was great as usual. We had to laugh at the end - the announcement says: Don't leave anything behind. Ma'am, you left your child. At this point, as a joke, I turned around to grab Carl's hand. Just as I did, the announcement continued - Oh Sorry, that's your husband. Will and I were laughing the whole day about that! After Cranium Command, the boys and I had fun playing around on the various equipment around the room, and then it was time to go meet the gang at Test Track. On the way, I searched in vain for a small stand to purchase anything to eat! Will was also thirsty, so he walked off in search of something to drink and returned with a muffin for me. Not exactly what I wanted, but it hit the spot! We waited a few more moments, and then the troups came. Since we were there, and it was about to rain, we thought we would ride Test Track before they shut it down for the day. We hopped on and had a blast - it had started to rain a bit, but it was just a little misty. (Hey, roll up the windows!). We got off the car, and a CM at the exit asked if we wanted to go on again! Wow, this is the life! He had us climb up some stairs and go over and overpass above the track - and then come back down to join the line. It was neat. Our second ride was just as fun as the first - although it was raining a bit harder. When we came back into the station, it seemed like they were shutting the ride down for the storm. After Mom finally broke down and purchased her pit crew jacket, we decided to head over to HISTA and JIYI for a quick ride. We wanted to try and be over at American Adventure at 12 - they were having a remembrance ceremony at that time, and we wanted to see if we could watch it from America. JIYI was first - it was actually the best one I've been on yet. At least it had a sense of humor - and made fun of all the attempts prior to it. I thought about the debate over this ride after I went on it. How would you create a ride about Imagination? It seems impossible to do - because in order to create something concrete, you usually need something concrete to pattern it off of. How do you create a tangible thing from an abstract concept? Anyway - I wasn't too thrilled with the skunk, but at least I saw it coming. The butterfly trick was really cool!!! After the ride, we hung out in the shop for a few moments and just chilled out. We realized that we had time to watch HISTA, so we went next door and got into the preshow. Unfortunately, our calculations neglected to include the preshow, so we got out of the show at 11:55. We decided to make it as far as we could towards American Adventure, and ended up stopping at the Friendship stop near Canada. There was a boat waiting and we thought it may make it across the lagoon before the remembrance event, but they held the boat, instead. At 12:00 exactly, a speech by President Bush was played and then a moment of silence was requested. It was eerie - you could hear a pin drop. All around the lagoon, I could see people just standing in silent reverie. It was very moving. A few moments later, God Bless America started playing, and the crowd joined in. It was very touching - although I was a little bothered that the president's speech or the focus of the event didn't also touch on the fact that this was a world event. A lot of non-Americans died in the WTC, and I felt that, in Epcot of all places, they should be remembered, too. I know that there were many foreigners working in the WTC, and I just thought that it was a little selfish of us to acknowledge the innocent "Americans" who died, and not the innocents who died - particularly in a place celebrating world culture. Don't get me wrong - I am so proud to be an American, but I also think that an American's duty is not just to their own soil, but to the world community. Anyway - it is sad to me that they had to come up with a rememberance event, anyhow. I still have a hard time comprehending that this happened. My mind has shut out the memories - and I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully understand. I have such conflicting feelings - hate the perpetrators, forgive the perpetrators, want justice, have mercy - I don't know the right answer, and I don't think there is one. After the event, we were let on to the Friendship Taxi. People were contemplatively quiet. Nobody spoke on the boat, until one guy - a New Yorker, got on the boat and said quietly, "That was so beautiful." It was beautiful and fitting. And I felt closer to my fellow human beings. I thought of my New Yorker friends and wondered how things were in the city that day. I felt so disconnected from the rest of the world while at WDW, but yet, so connected to the events of that day. We had lunch reservations at Morocco at 12:30 and just had time to get there when we docked. For some reason, I wasn't really all that hungry. We checked out the menu and decided that we definitely wanted dessert - so Mom, Will and I decided to share the Sultan's Sampler. It had a brewat, shishkebob, couscous, jasmina salad, and other things on it. It was small, but for three semi-hungry people, it was just right. I really liked the brewat and this chicken pastry thing that was on it - the shishkebob was also excellent. The Moroccan spices are so interesting and unique! Dave and Carl both got the special of the day, which included an appetizer, a salad, shishkebob and rice, and dessert. For dessert, everyone but Mom got the Crepes Atlas - Crepes with apples in a honey sauce, with mint ice cream on top. Yum! Mom got the crepes with just honey - they were also very good! While we were eating, the belly dancer came on stage to do her show. She was very good and fascinating to watch. I couldn't believe how quickly she moved her belly! Anyway, I guess I must have been intensely interested, because she came over and grabbed me to join in! Oh no! I did NOT want to do this - but Carl begged, and how can you say no to your husband when he wants something that bad? I thought - this won't be so bad! I was soooooo wrong! I do not dance. I can't do a cha cha or a two-step. If I can't make my feet move in time with my hands - what made me think I could add my belly into that mix? I waddled around the stage pathetically for a few moments, trying to match the belly dancer - who danced circles around me - and finally, she took mercy on me, bowed, and thanked me. Yeah, I am not Morocco's long lost native daughter - that's for sure! After eating, we decided to head around the world and see some of the countries we had missed on Saturday. First, we meandered around Morocco and looked in some of the shops at the shirts and things they had for sale. We had a good time and even ran into Jasmine (to make up for the belly dancing debacle, I made Carl pose for a picture with her... heh heh heh). Next up, we headed for Italy. We walked through the expensive shops and were pretty much done in 5 minutes. It is an interesting country, but there is not much to see in the pavilion. After Italy, we finally made it to the American Adventure. Outside, they had a special fife and drum corps playing music and leading the crowd in God Bless America. It was nice. The pavilion was packed today - and everyone was wearing some combination of red, white and blue. Mom and I cheered on the fife and drum corps, and then went inside to hear the Voices of Liberty sing American songs a capella. The VoL were amazing and there wasn't a dry eye in the place after they were done. What I thought was really nice was that they mingled with the crowd afterwards - shaking people's hands. Mom and I thanked one of the singers and told them how their music really meant a lot to us that day. After the singing, it was time for the show. Dave decided to sit it out - he was enjoying the sunshine outside - and we went in for the show. Mom and I got teary-eyed again, and the show was just amazing. At the end, everyone cheered. It was good to be here today and share my emotions with others - American and non. We truly are a part of the global community and I think healing will come in our recognition and acting upon that fact. Our next stop was Japan. They have a neat little store that I like to walk through - but it reminds me of Japantown back home, so I don't usually buy anything (because I've seen it all before). The one thing I was tempted to buy was an Iron Chef apron - but Carl wouldn't let me! :( I love the Iron Chef show! Whose cuisine reigns supreme? It is the best show on cable! When we were done with the shop, the boys went to see the baseball exhibit (they are baseball nuts - and I had already seen it), and Mom and I wandered around the pavilion. There is a little toy shack in the middle of the pavilion, and we went in there to have a looksee. Well, one of the toys out for display looked like a yo-yo - imagine my surprise when the yo-yo came off the end of the rope and went flying underneath the counter - hitting the CM in the leg! Oops! I don't think she liked me too much! I think the toy was actually a top - just shows you that you can't take me anywhere that requires coordination. The boys were done, so Germany was next. The boys had a mission to get a brat and a beer here. This is all they talked about all day. Brat and beer, beer and brat. So, they hightailed it to Sommerfest and grabbed a place to sit. Mom and I wandered through the stores - it is always so tempting to buy a bottle of wine and some chocolate here! Unfortunately, they will not ship alcohol back to the hotel room, so I did not get any (I had the bottle all picked out, too!). The boys thoroughly enjoyed their beer and brat - had I been less full, I would have joined them in that! At this point, everyone was getting a little tired, so we decided to split up and meet back towards the entrance at Mousegear. Mom and I headed towards France - she wanted to get a CD of the music in Impressions, and I wanted to head to Rose and Crown for my fish and chips. The boys went towards China and Norway - Will wanted to see the circle vision in China. Mom and I made it to France very quickly and decided to get something at the bakery for lunch the next day. Piggy wiggy me couldn't decide what I wanted, so I got a slice of cheesecake, a quiche, and a fruit tart of some sort. Mom got something called an almond crust. It was very cheap - for my 3 pastries, I paid just over $10. Mom and I looked in the gift shop and couldn't find the CD - but we did get a listing of the songs from the CM. He said that they do not sell a compilation. From there, we headed to Rose and Crown. I was a little puzzled at the sidewalk window - a lady and her kids were standing there waiting, it seemed, for their food. They kept asking the CM if things were ready. Well, I went up and ordered my fish and chips, and before I was done paying, the CM brought up an order. I asked him if that was for the people behind me. He looked puzzled and asked if I wanted fish and chips. I said I didn't want to cut in front of the people behind me. He looked puzzled again, and I turned around and they were gone! Hee hee! Here I was trying to be polite to no one! The fish and chips were very tasty - not too salty, not too greasy. It was little heavy for a hot day, but it just sounded good. I didn't mind paying $6 for the taste. I saved some for my brother who also wanted to taste it, and we were off to go meet them. About the time we got a few feet from Mousegear, it started drizzling. Nothing too bad, but enough to make us wait inside. I felt bad bringing the food inside, so I stood in the doorway eating it. The problem was, I wanted to save some for my bro, but I was getting full, and I didn't want to walk around in the store with it in my hands! Just about the time I was ready to pitch it, I saw my brother and pawned them off on him. Of course, at this point, we all decided to do some shopping. I was grabbing stuff for my scrapbook when my brother came up and told me that we decided to leave before the storm got too bad. I went to check out and got the all-time slowest cashier (it totally figures). He was so slow that the person next to us helped 3 people before he was done ringing up my purchases! To add insult to injury - the lady next to us didn't know how to do something, so he stopped ringing me up and began helping her! (Sigh) He was being Disney to a point (although I thought personal service was their forte - not service to everyone but the customer you're helping already!). After about twenty minutes, I was finally rung up and ready to go. Dave and Carl had gone on ahead to the "art" store. Neither my mom or Will thought to ask them where that was, but luckily, I thought I did (I did). We started walking that way - only to have to take a detour around the fountain. It was so windy that the wind was carrying the water out of the fountain and bathing anyone in its path! We picked up the boys at the Art of Disney store and headed to the monorail station. Since no one but Carl and I had ever been to the other resorts, we decided to monorail over to the Contempo, and then take the boat home. We also hoped this might be a quick route - ahead of the storm. It would have been, except we lost Dave and Carl at the Contempo again! We got off to walk through to the boat dock, and of course, to stop at the pin station (they have the best pin station!). Dave and Carl took off towards the escalator and went downstairs - we assumed that they were heading for the boat dock. We checked out our purchases and then headed there ourselves - only they weren't there. By this time, it had started to rain and it was cold. Mom and Will caught the next boat and promised to try and get ahold of Dave and Carl from the cell phone back in the room. I didn't want to leave - after losing Dave the night before, I really didn't want to have him upset at me. So, I waited. And waited. And waited. The next boat came about 45 minutes later - by this time, I was soaked to the bone, wet, cold, and mad. I thought about waiting for the next boat, but was afraid that they would stop running them if the storm got too bad, or that I could be out there forever. So, I caught the boat and headed back to the Lodge - the whole time, I was afraid that both Carl and Dave would be upset that I ditched them. I needn't have worried. When they couldn't find us in the hotel and didn't know how to get to the boat dock, they headed out on the monorail and caught a bus back to WL from the TTC. Meanwhile, I was the only one stuck in the cold and I was pretty peeved. I made it back to the hotel and I was so cold, I wrapped up in all the blankets in the room and still shivered. Carl came back about 30 minutes later - luckily for him, my mom tipped him off that I was so upset! We made up and then went to have dinner downstairs at the Roaring Forks. We also decided that we needed to spend some time to ourselves the next day, so we told everyone that we wanted the afternoon to ourselves. Everyone said ok, and that was that. After we had our dinner, we madlibbed for awhile and then went to our room to go to sleep. The boys were taking the Train Tour the next morning, so Mom and I made plans to meet and head to MGM for a few rides on the Tower! I couldn't wait!!! Tomorrow - Tower Power! Days Totals: Food: 3 Tiggers. The food at Morocco was excellent, but I was really not that hungry, so I didn't really enjoy it. The fish and chips were pretty much the same and I don't even remember what I had for dinner! Fun: 1 Tigger. It was a day of mourning - I still had fun, but my mood was definitely serious. And, no matter how fun I had, standing out in the rain for an hour worried about my husband definitely took the smile off my face. Oh well - not every day is going to be the best. DAY SEVEN - TOWER OR BUST! Mom and I slept in until about 7:45 today and then got ready. The boys had left at some ungodly hour (Carl got up at 5:45) and were already at their train tour. We had made plans to meet them at 12:30 at the corner of Sunset Blvd. near TZTOT. If they got done early, they were going to text message us on Carl's phone - we had his phone and I supposedly knew how to use it. :) After wake up, we headed down to the busstop and were on our way in no time. We had a very short agenda - Tower, Shop and Millionaire. We got to the park just at opening and noted it wasn't very crowded. I was a little hungry, so we decided to stop for breakfast first. We went back to Starring Rolls - it was close and we knew they had good stuff. This guy in front of us had about twenty people in his party - had a huge list - and was just going so slow! It was so frustrating! To make matters worse, two of the CM's were just standing there, not helping him and not helping us, either! By the time he was through, the line was out the door behind us! I had an apple streudel thing - it was very good - not too sweet, not too bland - and my mom just had some tea. After we were done with breakfast, it was off to Tower. Mom and I were so excited! We couldn't wait! We walked up to the entrance and were told there was no wait. He wasn't kidding. There were 5 of us in the pre-show. When we got out to the boiler room, we realized there was a little crowd - but no one was taking the far line, so we hopped into there! We were the only ones in line, so I asked if I could try out the seatbelt seat. The CM had no problem with that, so off to the back I was. While we were getting tucked in, another family - with two young children - joined us on board. The kids were really cool with the whole thing and asked us if we minded if they screamed. We told them to go right ahead - we planned on joining them! The kids had never been on the ride but were very calm, cool and collected - I normally think you shouldn't bring kids on rides like this, but these kids could definitely handle the ride. When we were done, we shopped a little bit in the Tower store (ok, a lot - I bought a Goofy beanbag, 2 t-shirts, and a magnet, I think). On our way out, we realized that the line was still incredibly short, so, with a lot of arm-twisting, Mom and I rode again! This time, we requested the front row! The same family that we went on the first ride with was back - they said they loved it. Sitting next to me was a kid who was a Tower freak - he loved the ride and was really into it. He must have been about 15, and he was very nice and polite. We had a great time screaming throughout the whole ride! The schedule we received when we walked in showed the first Millionaire show as starting at 11:20, which was about 20 minutes away. We decided to walk over and see if we could get in to that. There was nobody in line, so we were the first ones at the rope (all the fast as finger people were already seated). We met a nice CM, Tom, who had just started working at Disney. He was a very nice person and was telling us all about his favorite shows to see! When I came back later in the day, Tom remembered me! That's Disney magic! We were seated in the front row, right behind the fast as finger seats as the show began. The first fast as fingers question was just impossible - put these stars in order of their conversion to Judaism, before their marriages. Huh?? What? The lady who won said she guessed - and I decided that my strategy for the next time would be the same - guess quickly! The lady's first question was easy: Finish the name of this song: John Jacob Jingleheimer ______. The funny thing about this was that two nights before this, I had a very weird dream that I starred in, directed and produced a Broadway play based on this very song! Anyway, the lady got the question wrong - she guessed Jones! When the leader board came up, I was 8th. I was very excited! The next person did ok, and made it to the question above 1000. When the leader board came up for that question, I was in 4th. This was way cool! The next guy, I think his name was John, did very well. He made it to 64,000 before he crashed. At that point, I was in 3rd. The final guy did ok - when he made it to the 1000 point level, I was in 1st! It was so exciting! Unfortunately, I missed the next question and so did he - and the game's time-limit was over right as he answered - so, even if I had answered the question correctly, they weren't picking anyone until the next game. Still, it was neat to see myself atop the leader board! Bragging rights definitely ensued! At this point, we decided to check the phone for messages. I had turned it off when we went inside the show because it has a really loud, obnoxious ring, and I didn't want it to go off and interrupt everyone's good time. Well, I forgot it has a code that you need to enter to turn it back on. No worries - I knew the code. But, it wasn't taking the code. Maybe I typed it in wrong? Maybe I have it backwards? Oops - after three wrong tries, the system locked me out! Good thing we had the backup plan! Since we couldn't meet up with everyone until 12:30, we decided to shop our way over to Tower. We wandered around, checked out the BuH (Big ugly Hat), and wandered over that direction. Once we got fairly close, we made out Carl, who was waiting for me! Turns out, they were there by 11:00 and had ridden the Tower while they waited. Carl was a little annoyed that I broke his phone, but put it out of his mind since he knew it was easily fixable. He told me that he had learned that Disney blocks cell phone signals while you are on the rides, so the phone wouldn't have gone off anyhow. Good to know. Mom really wanted a Tower picture with all of us, so we decided to go on one more time before splitting up. The picture wasn't very good, so we vowed to go on again. Little did we know that this would be the last trip on Tower we all took together! And, wouldn't you know it - the people in the front row were all turned and looking at each other like they were discussing a scene in a bad movie! (Sigh) I guess this means we'll have to go back to WDW again! After the ride, it was time to break up the group. Carl and I were going to spend some "married" time together, and my mom and brothers were going to spend the afternoon together. We had dinner ressies at Ohana's for 6, so we decided to meet up there. Carl and I wandered down the street and decided we wanted to go on RNRC again before lunch. (Yeah, that's right, I said BEFORE lunch. Always the best time... ;) We moseyed on over and were on the ride in about 3 minutes flat. It was fun, again, and I felt like I was getting the hang of it. It was nice to go on the ride with my husband - I could hold his hand without my brothers making fun of us! :) After RNRC, we decided to have lunch at 50s Prime Time. This is one of our favorite restaurants, and we had planned on coming here with everyone. However, my mom was so flustered by the treatment we received the first night at WCC (she didn't like being called Curly), that we didn't think she really would like the interactive dining experience at 50s PT. So, we wandered over ourselves and were told we could be sat in 10 minutes - and we were! We were seated by our big brother, whose name I have since forgotten, but I think it was Avi. He was wonderful! He really was in to teasing everyone, but in a good-natured way. When we first walked in, he introduced us to all of our "cousins," but told us not to talk to one lady in the corner. Apparently, she hid her green beans and refused to eat them, and when Avi told her to eat them, she said, "No." So, she was being punished for talking back! Well, he continued to tell me the story, and she did something else, so next thing I know, he's marching her to the doorway and announcing for all in ear-shot that she was a baaaad girl and needed to be told "shame on you." So, the whole room said, "shame on you!" She then apologized, but I could tell she, and her husband, were having a very good time with this! I decided that I really wanted the fried chicken, but from past experience, it is way too much food for me, so I asked Avi if they had a 1/2 portion. He said that they didn't, but that he could order me a child's plate. This turned out just fine - two drumsticks, some mashed potatoes and green beans, and enough room for dessert! Carl had the pot roast. It was excellent. (I had a little bite...). As we were waiting for the dessert menu, I decided to have a little fun myself. So, I baited Avi by putting my elbows on the table. I knew he saw me when his eyes went wide, so I quickly put the elbows off the table. When he wasn't looking, I put them on the table again - and let him catch me. Next thing I know, he's got a bottle of ketchup in his hand and is making a ketchup line on the table so that if I put my elbows on the table, I'm getting nasty ketchup on it! Much to his chagrin, I took Carl's napkin and defiantly wiped away the ketchup! It was too funny! He kept calling me a smart aleck from there on out! Anyway, for dessert, I had the strawberry sundae (good, but HUGE), and I'm not sure what Carl had. Lunch was excellent, and good fun, and the total was only 20 some odd dollars. We were good and full, so we decided to walk over and take in the next Millionaire show. We were the first ones in the joint, and only had about 20 minutes to wait. It was great fun, because, as we walked in, the CM handed us a blue card that said "Fast as Fingers" - - which meant that we got to sit in the Fast as Fingers seats! I was very excited! The show was good. The first question was "Put these parts in order from front to back on the dolphin." I tried my new trick and just guessed, quickly, and I got it wrong, of course. The first person up was a woman from Georgia who was there with some of her friends celebrating her 50th birthday. She was very cute - and seemed to just really be grasping this experience! Anyway, she did VERY well - got to 64,000 and then lost. She used all her life-lines - the phone a stranger was hilarious. The guy was British, I think, and just wanted to chit-chat. Anyway, he did know the right answer - told her right away, and then asked her how she was doing; etc. It was very cute. At both of the check points, I was on the board - once at 10, once at 4. Then, I accidentally hit the wrong key, and that was it for the rest of the game. :( Both Carl and I really enjoyed this game - it was a lot of fun, and suprisingly hard. The Disney questions were easy, but only because Will and I love Disney trivia. Otherwise, a lot of these questions are hard - they're not giving this stuff away that easily! After the show, Carl wanted to go back and finish One Man's Dream, since we had rushed through the end the other day. So, we walked in and quickly by-passed the portion we had previously spent a lot of time in, and went straight to the end. It was fun because we both were interested in what we were looking at, so we spent some time reading things and really getting into it. Then, we watched the movie again - I thought it was good both times, and the theater was very comfortable for a nice break. ;) After the movie, it was about 4:00, so we decided to slowly wander through the park and shop and then make our way to the Poly for dinner. We had wanted to leave around 5, anyhow, so this seemed to be a perfect plan. Carl wanted to look again in the Animation Shop, and I wanted a Sorcerer Mickey. So, off we went to shop! I quickly found, and purchased, my stuffed Sorcerer Mickey, and then it was off to the Animation Store. It was in this store, as I was wondering if I had enough money left in the budget for that day to buy my friend a poster, that I began to think about how much money I had spent that day! Trying to add it up gave me a headache - particularly when I realized that I had already spent over the budget and we still had dinner to pay for! I told Carl that we had to cool it on the spending - and he misunderstood that to mean that we had no money for the rest of the trip. Whoops! This would come up later... Anyway, at this point, the moseying and shopping was getting old, so we decided to head to the Poly. We really had no idea how to get there - assumed we'd have to go to the TTC and take the Monorail - but were surprised when we exited the park to see a busstop listing for the Poly - and a bus waiting for us! The bus trip took all of about 15 minutes, and soon we were walking into the Poly. Will really wants to stay here someday, and I am always teasing him about it, but I have to say, walking through the resort, my feelings were affirmed. I don't know what it is about this resort - at first, I was a little impressed by the lush tropical surroundings. But, when I went in the lobby, I felt like I was in one of the nice Holiday Inns. Nothing special to me. I have to admit, though, that the volcano next to the pool was really cool looking. We wandered through the lobby and hung out in the gift shop for a few moments. I wished I hadn't told Carl we couldn't spend money - the gift shop here was really nice and had some things I really wanted! (Sigh) But, what's good for the goose... There were some nice chairs outside of the gift shop, so we sat there and text messaged the rest of the group that we were there. We got a message back a few moments later telling us to head to the bar at about 10 to 6 for a cocktail before dinner. We sat there and relaxed, feet up, and talked about our day. We'd had fun. At 5:50, exactly, we walked up to the bar next to O'hana and ordered a pina colada and rum and coke. This turned out to be a big mistake on my part. The drink was excellent, but with the hot day and running around, it did not mix with my stomach. I started feeling very poorly and didn't connect it to the alcohol! The rest of the posse showed up right at 6, and we were seated right away. I really liked the set up of the restaurant, but we were way too far away from the events to enjoy them, and it took forever for the skewer people to come to us, so I just don't think we got the best out of this restaurant that we could. Plus, we were all feeling peeked, so we weren't up to eating a really big meal. The food that we did have was excellent - I especially liked the crab won tons, the beef and turkey skewers, and the rice. However, I was disappointed in the shrimp - they are cooked with the shell completely left on (and nearly impossible to eat neatly), and the pork - it was bland and tasteless. I was really upset, however, that they brought my mom a vegan meal and told her she could eat what she wanted off our stuff. There was really only two things that she could eat off the regular meal - salad and grilled veggies. Anyway, I was really upset because when we got the bill, they charged us for both the special vegan meal they made (about $20 for pasta!) and they charged us for her to also eat off the regular menu (another $20). So, for $40, my mom got a crappy bowl of pasta and some vegetables. I didn't think it was right, but no one in my party wanted to complain. I think we got ripped off. The other thing that upset me was that the server seemed ticked off and that he took it personally that we all decided that we were full early on. We tried to be polite about it - we were tired and hot, and the food was great, but just not what we should have eaten at that moment - but this guy kept pushing and prodding us. After the meal, we decided we all needed to go back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep. My brother, Will, had made up a contest for us the next day - called the AmazingMole (a take off of the Amazing Race and the Mole) - and none of us knew when it was going to start or how in depth it was going to be. So, it was time to head of to Neverland - after a few madlibs, that is. At some point during madlibs, my brother excused himself to go talk to Carl - who had stayed in our room to get some work done for his company. I thought that was a little suspicious, but, since I knew I was the Mole, I didn't think anything of it. For those of you who've never seen either of these shows, the Mole is a game show where the team is supposed to complete certain tasks for money - they are usually silly sorts of games. However, one person on the team is actually the Mole - working for the show, and is trying to subtly sabotage the group. At the end of each show, the entire team takes a quiz about the Mole's identity, and the person who answers the least questions right, or in the slowest amount of time, is kicked off the show - until there are only three people left (one being the Mole, and two being the potential winners). On the Amazing Race (the BEST reality show on!), teams of two race around the globe to various check-points and mandatory rest stops each week. They have tasks that they must complete on each leg (i.e., Find the Statute with sandals in NY (The Statute of Liberty), climb to the top and spot the flag. Go there), and the team who arrives last each week at the check-point is eliminated. My family and I really got in to this show while preparing for our trip. We bet on the outcome - we each picked two teams, and whomever's team came closest to winning won - Dave's team of Chris and Alex got him free dinner at Canada. Well, we couldn't just have the one bet. Soon, we had all sorts of little side bets - which team do you think will be first tonight? Closest team wins a t-shirt. That sort of stuff. It became so fun!!! Anyway, as I said, I knew I was the Mole. And I had yet to get my assignment, so I was trying to figure out a way to get Will alone when he went to talk to Carl, which I thought was strange. Anyway, after a few more rounds of madlibs, Will returned, and it was soon time for us to get ready for tomorrow. Will said he'd forgotten something in my room, so he offered to walk me back. Aha, I thought - time to get my assignment. I was right. Will told me that at somepoint during the game, I had to pretend to be shopping for the ultimate Tigger souvenier - I had to get in on his video, and I had to stall my team for at least 3 minutes. Hmm, interesting... Tomorrow - Who knows??? Days Totals: Food: 3.5 Tiggers. Breakfast was good, the fried chicken at lunch was excellent, and dinner was ok. I just wasn't really hungry, pretty much all day! Fun: 4 Tiggers. I got to spend some quality time with my husband. It felt good. DAY EIGHT - OH, WE'RE NOT PLAYING FOR CASH? Spoiler: I acted like a big baby today. I let competition get to me, and, although I had a great time and was really into the events, my attitude definitely effected everyone else. The heat added to that and, I'm afraid, it wasn't as much fun as it should be. In deference to my brother, Will, though, I am going to leave much of the rehash of whining out of the day's report and just report about the fun we had. Where it is necessary to leave it in to explain the story, I will, but otherwise, I will just leave in the good parts. It really was a fun day - I just let the purpose slip out of my mind. Our day started at about 7:55 with a knock on our door and Will waiting for us. He had his camera and looked ready for action. Carl and I, on the other hand, were not. We had barely just woken up. Will told us that the game was going to begin at 8:30, and the first task was to make it down to the busstop. The first team to arrive would be given first choice for the next leg of the race. His instructions were clear - we could get to the busstops however we wanted, but we were not allowed to leave the Roaring Forks area until 8:25. I had one last question for Will, so I walked him out - I wanted to clarify my roll in the day's events. While we were outside, Will made a cryptic remark that Carl could bring his camera if he wanted. Now, Carl takes great photographs, but he has the slowest set-up for a photographer that I have ever seen! I love the end result, but I get really impatient waiting for the shots to be taken, so I didn't think this was a good idea. I went back into the room and mentioned to Carl that I didn't think it would be a good idea for him to bring his camera. After all, it was bulky and heavy, and might slow us down - and we wanted to win, right? Well, he began to fuss with me, and I held firm - I could just imagine us needing to run from one ride to the other with him fussing with this big camera or, worse yet, him wanting to stop because he saw an amazing shot he had to take! We'd be years behind! He finally, reluctantly, agreed. Now, we knew we had to be at the busstop by 8:26, but I knew there was no way we'd get there that quickly if we went through the lobby - too many people in the way and not enough space to get around them. We still had ten minutes, so I devised a plan. I grabbed the hotel map and found the other lobby elevator and how far away it was from our room. I figured that it would be easier to run on our level - since there would be less people, and the elevator let us out right near the busstop exit, a quick two-minute trip to the bus from our room! In order not to cheat, I knew the Roaring Forks was pretty much right below our room, so I determined that if we left right at 8:25, we'd be passing over RF right at the official time. We had the news on, so we saw when CNN said it was 8:24, turned off the t.v., opened the door and counted to 20, then we ran! The plan worked like clockwork - we were on the elevator at 8:25, and it dropped us in the lobby at 8:26. I didn't see Mom and Dave, but I knew they had eaten at RF and were probably right behind us, so Carl and I ran to the busstop. It was still 8:26. We came around the corner and, what? Mom and Dave are sitting at the busstop with Will, smiling! How could this be? Well, it turns out that Mom and Dave misunderstood Will and thought that they were supposed to be at the busstop at 8:25, so they were. We had run for nothing! I admit, I was a little upset - we had played by the rules, strategized, and actually played very smart, but we still lost. (Remember, it should have been just a game!) Mom and Dave got to choose the first envelope - they had a choice between Safari or Sogoodee. They chose Sogoodee, and I knew we were sunk when I read ours. I took the envelope and immediately headed over to the Epcot busstop. I didn't want Dave and Mom to know where we were going, and I wanted to be able to read the clue in silence, so that they couldn't hear what our task was and gauge their time accordingly. (O.K., I was WAY into this game - but it was so fun for me to really challenge myself this way!). We read the clue and were told that we had to go to the safari, take a ride, take 4 pictures, and then meet back on the bridge into Harambe village. I figured that Mom and Dave would have to get a snack somewhere and then meet at the bridge, too. Knowing Tusker House is right there, I figured we were sunk. Finally, the bus came, and we ran over and hopped on it. It was a little silly, really, since Mom and Dave were going to AK, too. I had all of the maps from all of the parks with me in my backpack and took them out right when we got on - and I made sure we sat right across from the exit door. Carl and I studied the map and showed him where we needed to go and how to get there. We were both ready when the bus pulled up to the AK stop. I hopped up and hopped out of the exit, and he and I took off. We were through security in a matter of seconds, and headed to find an entrance line on the left side - since that was closest to where we were going. The lines were all pretty long this morning, but we managed to find a short one and were in the park in just minutes. I looked back and Mom and Dave were not even through security. Carl and I hoofed it all through the park. We went through shops that were open to cut around the crowds, and took the straightest line approach to get to the safari. We were on the safari probably ten minutes from the moment our bus arrived at AK. The ride was awesome - it was the best safari I have ever taken - we had giraffes right next to our car, zebra, hippos - we saw the lions up and playing, and the cheetahs take a run. It was amazing! We took our required four pictures on the throw away camera Will provided, and then grabbed our little cameras out of my backpack and took probably a roll between us! As soon as the ride was over, we hoofed it back out to Harambe - kicking up dust behind us the whole way. I knew that there was no way we were going to beat Mom and Dave, but I gave it my all anyhow, and I know that there is just nothing we could have done to beat them anyhow. Well, my suspicions were right - we were second by at least ten minutes. Oh well, I got to see a great safari - and I had fun! We all took a bathroom, breakfast, and water break at that moment. Then, we gathered back together and Will interviewed us each separately on tape about who we thought the Mole was. I found it very amusing that everyone thought Carl was the Mole, I said Dave was, and Carl agreed with me - just because. At the end of the interviews, Will threw a curveball at us - the teams would change every pit stop. On this leg, it would be Dave and I and Mom and Carl. Will would follow Dave and I. We each had the same task for the next leg. We were given an envelope with 20 Disney dollars and a list of five things: A dinosaur toy, something with a Tiger on it, something with a bird of prey, something with a predatory amphibian, and one thing with an elephant on it - easy, right? The catch - we could only spend $10, no more! At the end, we were supposed to meet at the AK waterfalls. Well, Dave and I took off. On the way, I spied a cart with an AK map and a brochure on the donation program. I realized that both the map and the donation brochure had the logo - and the logo had the Tiger and Elephant on it. So, each brochure satisfied one category - two down, three to go! We quickly found a store and ran in. Dave suggested looking at postcards, and so we went there next. They didn't have any that matched. We looked around the store for about five minutes, and quickly realized that Mom and Carl were in there, too. This was going to be a tight race. I walked over to a lonely cashier and explained that we were on a scavenger hunt, and this is what we needed. She was more than happy to help - I think she really enjoyed it! Well, with her help, we quickly found a pen and a pencil that satisfied two of the items - all we needed was the predatory amphibian. We both stood there looking at each other, no idea what we needed. Finally, I looked at the clerk one last time and, just as I did, I noticed her donation button - of course! I said, "I'll give the dollar and you give me the button!" She laughed - of course, that was the answer - and quickly rang us up. Our total came out to $6.54 or something like that. Well, I knew perfectly well where the waterfalls were - back near Rainforest Café, so Dave and I hightailed it over to the Rainforest and were the first to arrive! We were so excited! My first win! I liked this feeling! Carl and Mom were not too far behind us, though, so our victory was short lived. When they got there, we each presented our packages and receipts to Will who deemed that Carl and Mom had better stuff, and so, Mom would get to pick her new teammate. Mom chose me, and we got to choose the next clue. Our choices were "My way" or "the Highway." We chose "my way," because I figured if it was Will's way, it would be fun. Our clue said to make it over to Epcot by taking at least one bus and at least one monorail. Once there, we had to take a ride on Spaceship Earth and then go to the end of SE and wait. Mom and I walked out as fast as we could and noted a TTC bus just waiting for us! It was amazing luck! Well, Carl thought he was supposed to go to the same place we did, so he ran in front of the bus and stopped it - Mom and I were telling the driver we were in a race and not to let him on! It was pretty funny when he didn't get on the bus! We cheered, the bus driver looked at us strangely - we felt good! On the bus, we planned our strategy. We knew where the monorail stopped at Epcot, so we determined that we would have to get on one of the middle cars (which is where the ramp is) in order to get there the fastest. We also figured we should get our bags ready for security check while on the monorail, and then use one of the middle entrance gates - for less interference through the Leave a Legacy monoliths. We got to the TTC and saw a monorail waiting. We knew we had to catch this one or there was no way we could even compete. We figured that the boys probably had to take two busses to Epcot for their task, so we knew it was going to be tight. Mom and I ran our hearts out and got to the platform just as they were about to close the gates. The guy let us on, however, and we knew that we had done all we could. It was just luck now. We really enjoyed the ride over to Epcot. We had an odd CM taking the monorail with us who was on her way to work. We explained what we were up to, and she really could have cared less. In fact, she seemed totally against Disney! I guess I've been that way about my job at times, but I thought she shouldn't share that attitude with the customers. Oh well - she was nice enough. On the loop through Epcot, we looked all around SE to see if we could see the boys - if we could, we knew for sure that our luck was lost. No sight of them - the race was still on. Once at Epcot, we were the first out the doors and the first on the ramp. We would have been the first down the ramp, but my glasses steamed up so bad, I couldn't see inches in front of my face! I was running after Mom with one hand on the handrail to guide me, hoping that I wouldn't hit a crack in the pavement or step on something dropped on the ground... No worries, though - Mom and I made it to security, got through in no time, and were on our way to the ride. We hit a small line at SE, but did not see the boys in it. Having to take two busses, there is no way they were that far ahead of us! Mom and I were really excited now - - of course, we did not know if they even had to take SE. They may have had to ride Test Track! We were on the ride in about two minutes, and then we knew our luck broke down, along with the ride - three times. We were broken down on the ride probably about seven total minutes! We were not surprised, then, when we came off the ride to find the boys waiting for us. Now, I admit, I overreacted a little, but I got upset when Will explained that he hadn't realized there was a direct bus to Epcot from AK, so he had written that they had to take the bus to Epcot, thinking, as I had, that it had meant 2 busses. Instead, they were on the bus a minute after we were, and to Epcot in 10 minutes, and on the ride. They had been waiting about 20 minutes - or, one monorail ride. So, I was right in thinking that, had they had to take two busses, it would have been very close! Now, to keep things fair, I thought he should give us a time credit, but he wouldn't do it. I admit, I was letting the competition get to me - it was just the second time that day that I had followed the instructions by the letter and gotten the short-end of the stick because someone else got more favorable instructions! (Sigh) I should have just adjusted my attitude and let it go. :) Mom took a quick break - I think to blow off steam - I know she was disappointed because we had pushed ourselves really hard. When she returned, I had readjusted my attitude and we were ready to go. The next even required each team (Me and Carl now and Dave and Mom) to do the same task - however, only one person on each team could actually perform the task. The other teammate had to go to the next pit stop (Test Track) and wait for their teammate. Mom and I chose to be the representatives. The clue said we had to gather party supplies (balloons, streamers; etc) and meet at Test Track. Perfect - I knew that Electric Umbrella was right on the way of Test Track, so I ran over there and grabbed napkins and silverware - you can't have a party without these - and ran over to Test Track. I was so quick, I beat Carl! Will was following me with the camera and waited until Carl arrived to tell me that my party supplies did not meet the category and I would have to go back and get some more. By this time, I could see Mom and Dave coming. Dave came over to see what was up and agreed with me - the etc. certainly fit "cutlery and napkins." Will wouldn't budge. By this time, I was really mad. I felt like I'd gotten screwed at two games already where the rules made it easier for someone else. Here, once again, I followed the rules completely and he wouldn't make an exception to help me - just everyone else! I know, I know - it was meant to be fun! He had specifically said streamers, so off I ran in search of anything resembling streamers. I looked at the little stands, looked for things on the ground - that's when I saw the restroom! I ran in and quickly took a long bit of toilet paper off the roll and then ran back out and towards Test Track - the "streamer" trailing behind in the wind! It was great fun to see the look on people's faces as I ran towards Test Track with the streamer flailing in my hands and Will taping me! Mom showed a few moments later - she had purchased a "present" for the party and a balloon. Since I won this event, I got to pick Norge or Teppanyaki. Since I was pretty sure it involved food and I didn't feel like Japanese, I chose Norge. First, however, I made a request - I wanted to go on Test Track (partly becauseI was feeling bad and wanted a chance to get over my bad mood!). So, off we went for another fun-filled romp through the proving grounds! My mood did, indeed, improve, as we were off to lunch at Kringla Og Bakery. Since I knew we were going to be running around more, and it was blazingly hot that day, I ordered relatively light - an open-face ham sandwich, a water, and a fruit cup (in a chocolate-laced pastry shell, with custard - oh yum, it was good!). Carl ordered a coffee, some sort of eggs on toast and the same fruit cup. Mom ordered a sweet bread - with custard filling (it looked really, really good!). Dave ordered a sandwich and some sort of sweet thing, and Will ordered a ham sandwich and danish. We all raved about what we had - I would have ordered more, but it was so hot and I didn't want to get sick running around! During lunch, we were supposed to take pictures of each other eating - they ought to come out great! After lunch, we finally learned what all the things we had collected were for. When we were kids, Dave used to whine about how he'd never gotten a sixth birthday party (I think, because I was just born a few days before!). Well, it became a family joke...so, we collected all the stuff so that he could have his sixth birthday then! He blew up the balloon, then he blew up the balloon. The family next to us laughed when it popped! It was now time for our next clue. Since Carl had the best lunch selection, according to Will, he got to pick his team's (Carl and Dave) next clue. His choice was: Canadien or French. He chose France. His task was to go to the movie at France and, I believe, get pictures with a CM. Not quite sure, though. Our task, was to go to Canada, go to the movie, and get pictures and an autograph with one of the Canadian CM's. We had taken this route before, and I knew the quickest route around the lake was to travel around the perimeter counter-clockwise (i.e. back towards Mexico and then around the perimeter towards Canada). Also, there were several air conditioned stores we could quickly make our way through - and cool off in the process -along the way. Mom and I took off. We totally hoofed it - I'm not sure where our energy came from! We went so fast, in fact, that Will told us to slow down or he'd give us a time penalty! We made it to Canada in about five minutes - and immediately found three CM's who wanted to help. We explained that we were in a race - they had heard of the Amazing Race and thought our race was really cool - and they agreed to help in whatever way they could. One of them happily gave us an autograph and the name of the city she was from, and then they all posed for a picture and said hello to the video camera. About the time we were doing all this, we saw Dave and Carl walk by towards France. I'm not sure why they went that way - it would have been much quicker to go the other way! After the picture, one of the CM's asked us what we had to do next - we told her that we had to go to the movie. She called the CM at the movie and asked how long we had until the next show - she said it was just about starting, and the nice CM asked her to hold the door open for us! We made it just in time - at which time, Will told us that the clue technically said we had to see the movie - not the whole movie! Catching his drift, we decided to head off to our next pit stop - Innoventions. At this point, I decided it was time for me to do my Mole duties. I quickly caught up to Mom and told her that, since we were obviously so far ahead, would she mind if I stopped at the pin cart outside of Innoventions to buy this Tigger pin I had seen there. Oddly, she agreed. This was strange - she and I were both so competitive, that I was surprised she didn't want to wait until after we'd checked in. But, I figured that we really were ahead of Dave and Carl, and besides, the pin cart was right outside the entrance, so if I saw them coming, I could abandon my Mole duties so we could still win! We made it over to Innoventions very expediently. We were supposed to go inside and find the house of the future. Instead, of course, we headed for the pin cart. I very slowly made my way from one pin stand to the next - grinning to the video camera each chance I got, of course. I mulled over each one - "no, this isn't it, it was green." "It had Tigger on a ride." "He had mouseears on." I basically tried to describe a pin that didn't exist! Mom was dilligently helping me look for the pin. What a good Mom she is! After I was sure we'd been there two minutes, I told Mom that I would just look for it another day - by this time I was sure they didn't have it there. Mom said ok, and we headed to Innoventions. The problem was that I forgot that Innoventions had two sides! Luckily, I realized within a minute that we were in the wrong side - and headed over to the other Innoventions and quickly found the house of the future. The boys weren't there, so Mom and I were the winners of that leg! Yay! And, we got to relax and sit on some benches nearby - very much needed. It seemed like a long time to wait for the boys, but Will told me it was just a few minutes. They got there and they reeked! Turns out, they had a perfume fight in France, and now they both smelled like Eau de Toilet! (or, as we used to call it, "Eww, the toilet!"). On the way out, Carl asked if we couldn't stop and look at Innoventions for awhile. Strange. What was wrong with my husband? Didn't he realize we were in a competition??? Since Mom and I had won that leg, I got to pick the next card - I chose "glide" from "slide or glide." Carl and I were on a team at that point, and we were told to go to the MK via monorail and boat. Mom and Dave had to take both of the monorails. I knew that the only way we could beat them was if we got the first Epcot Monorail to MK and they didn't. So, we ran. Well, we made the monorail, and thought that they weren't going to, until we saw two people running as fast as they could, and just barely making the car! Knowing we were not going to win this leg, Carl, Will and I relaxed. With monorails running to the MK about every 5 minutes (and taking no more than 10), we knew that the boat, which takes about 20, would not get us there even in the window to remain competitive. So, I relaxed and tried to cool off. Today was the hottest day of the trip - I think it was 97, and it was not too humid. I felt like I had been on Kali River Rapids! We got to the TTC and saw Mom and Dave take off like bats out of hell to catch their monorail. Then we saw that there was a monorail in the station. Knowing they probably caught it (and it was an express to MK!), I really relaxed. Nothing I could do, so why worry? The boat started loading about 5 minutes later - and it was a beautiful ride. The water was clear, it was colder outside. Did I say I relaxed? Ok, well not quite - I did ask the CM on-board where the boat would dock and which side the exit was on. Hey, who knows, I might need this for the next challenge! ;) Off the boat and through security - with one minor glitch. For some reason, I got the new guy on the force who wanted to make sure every inch of my bag was clear of anything! So, I had to dump everything out of my bag and wait, and wait, while he dug through it and then looked in my bag, and... (Sigh). I am the last person in the world to complain about security. I think it is (unfortunately) necessary, and complaining does nothing but making a difficult job more difficult and a wait that much longer. So, I am usually very patient. I just thought this guy went over and beyond! But, oh well - I still just smiled through it. By this point, I was burning up. The security area was right in the middle of the entrance - no shade, on hot, reflective, red brick. I was dying of the heat and so tired. We had to climb up to the top of the train station to meet Mom and Dave. One look at the two of them, and I could tell they were dying, too. We all sat and just looked at each other, and Will finally said, "Alright, time for a break from competition. Let's get a drink!" That was the best news all day! We stumbled in search of a cool place to eat - Tony's was way too expensive for a little snack - and ended up getting ice cream at the stand next to the Plaza. We sat outside and just cooled down. I had a mint chocolate chip cone, a coke, and a water. I drank and ate it all - the ice cream was melting twice as fast as I could eat it, it was so hot! Mom, unfortunately, was very hot, too, and began to develop a little bit of a temper. To give her credit, it was incredibly hot, we had been "running" all day, and MK was very crowded at the moment. So, when she announced that she was quitting the race, we were all disappointed, but then, we understood. A few minutes later, however, she said that she would, actually, like to complete the race, but that she really needed a break. We all joined her in that request! We decided to head to Pirates of the Caribbean and cool down. We were so hot, we barely made it to the ride. I slept through most of the ride - it felt good to close my eyes and just feel the cooling breeze. We had the boat to ourselves, so we had fun singing along and just being goofy. We all needed that respite from the heat! After Pirates, Will said that he would give us one more challenge and then we could all go back to the hotel. That seemed like a grand idea. I don't remember why, but Carl got to pick the next challenge, between Slowly or Surely. He chose Surely. For Surely, we were supposed to walk to the Toon Town train station and hop the train to Main Street. On the way, we were supposed to use up the rest of our pictures. Well, since it was so hot, Will said we could hop the train at Frontierland. So, we basically ran to the station, and saw that one would be along shortly. While there, we got our picture with a bunch of the conductors. That was fun! They were very nice! The train came, and we began the looooong journey around the park. I enjoy the train trip and forgot it actually went off property into the Florida wilderness... ;) I remember hearing how real deer get confused by the audio-animatronic deer - and wonder why they won't play with them. They must think the fake deer are real snobs! :) We came to Main Street - and my final loss for the day. Will was waiting - Mom and Dave had been done for ages. They were already back at the hotel. Funny, it seems to me now that they wouldn't have had that much of a jump on us to already be back at the hotel... hmm, I sense a conspiracy... :) Anyway, I guess I acted like quite the baby, because neither my brother nor Carl wanted to really be near me. I think I just needed some time to myself to let the whole competitive spirit out of me. I was actually pretty proud of myself - not for the complaining I did - but because I pushed myself very hard that day and proved that I could compete at a certain level I didn't realize I had in me! I had a lot of fun. Just thinking about it as I am writing it, I think it was the funnest day I had - if it hadn't of been so hot, and so late in the trip, we all probably would have had a blast. Back to the boat dock and back to WL we went. At the hotel, Carl and I went back to the room and took a break - watched t.v. for awhile and just chilled out (literally, since I kept the air conditioning down to 60!). We all were to meet for dinner downstairs at 7. We got ready and headed down to the bar at 6:50. My brothers and Mom were already there - they got there around 6:30 for cocktails. We were seated in Artist Point right away, and handed the menus. I have to admit, I was really skeptical about this restaurant. It serves things like buffalo, venison and rabbit. Now, why is Disney serving Bambi and Thumper? I just wasn't sure if I could eat at a restaurant who did that (Ok, I know its hypocritical - I eat meat. I know that all life is sacred. I don't know how I justify having anti-meat eating views for certain animals and not others. I just do. Its not that I don't feel bad when I eat beef or chicken or fish - I do. But I am also thankful to the animal for giving its life to help keep me healthy. Complicated beliefs, I know...). The restaurant is very beautiful. It was all wood and had a nice hardwood floor and picture windows. It was very warm and cozy inside - nice since it was raining outside! The waitress brought the menus to us and we all had a hard time deciding. The waitress was extremely attentive - she made several suggestions when asked, and answered questions truthfully (no, that won't really go with what you're thinking. Try this other wine.) rather than with economics in mind. The menu looked very good, but in particular, one item stuck out in my head: pork chops with macaroni and cheese - made with Wisconsin cheddar cheese, no doubt. When the waitress came back to take our order, she brought a guest with her - a chef. My mom had explained that she was a vegan, so the waitress got one of the chef's to come out to help plan my mom's meal. I thought that was above and beyond service. We all ordered different things - Mom had a huge bowl of steamed vegetables and tofu (for a vegetarian meal, it looked very good to me!), Will had the free range chicken, Carl had the plankwood smoked salmon (they actually bring it to your table on the wood!), Dave had the buffalo, and I, of course, had the pork chop. Dave and Will also ordered the wine flight - Dave, red wine, and Will, white. The first ten minutes of the meal started with everyone trading bites with everyone else (well, except Mom), and swapping sips of wine. So, I got to taste everything. Let me tell you - it was all outstanding. The salmon was probably my favorite, but the side dishes on my plate were my favorite. The buffalo tasted just like steak - only very, very tender. The chicken was very moist, as well. At the end, we were all stuffed, but who can go to a nice dinner and not order dessert? :) I actually ordered a cup of coffee - it was so cozy in the place, that it just seemed right. Carl was amazed - I am not a coffee drinker, but he drinks it every morning, noon and night! Will also had a cup of coffee. For dessert, Will had the super duper chocolate supreme cake. Dave and I had the berry cobbler, and Carl had the flan. I think Mom just had tea. The berry cobbler was excellent. Warm, tasty, and just superb. Unfortunately, about halfway through it, my stomach started to ache. The long day of running around and then eating an extremely heavy meal just outdid me! Oh well - it was totally worth not feeling well for a few hours! During dinner, Will asked for the Mole to reveal themselves, and we all raised our hands! I knew there was some funny stuff going on! Apparently, Dave was supposed to stop for a meal (he tried, but every time he was hungry, it was time for us all to eat something!), Carl was supposed to stop to get a good picture (but, since I wouldn't let him take the camera, he opted to make Dave walk the wrong way to go to France, instead), and Mom was supposed to stall by looking at pins - no wonder she was so helpful when I was looking for the Tigger pin! She must have thought the same thing I did - why is this person being so helpful? After dinner, Carl and I went back to our room and just hung out and watched t.v. Will and I made plans to meet the next morning and go to MK - everyone else wanted to sleep in. Soon, Carl and I were asleep! Ahh, to sleep, perchance to dream. Tomorrow - MK and Epcot! Yay! Day's Totals: Food: 4.5 Tiggers. Not quite up to lobster tail status, but pretty darn close. The mac and cheese was out of this world and getting to sample everyone's meals was excellent as well. Lunch hit the spot and the ice cream for break during the day did, as well. Finally, the berry cobbler gets special mention. Oh how I wish I hadn't been too full to finish it! Fun: 4.5 Tiggers. I wish I hadn't been such a baby, in retrospect. I wish we didn't have all the heat. But, I will always remember this day and the wacky things we did with each other. It was fun to have something planned and unique to do. Dinner was grand and totally befitting for the day. This day was near perfect. DAY EIGHT - BACK TO THE GOOD OLE DAYS Will and I got up early and headed down to the boat dock for our trip to MK. We were shocked when we saw how many people were in line for the boat - fully the whole boat dock was crowded! Somehow, I managed to wiggle my way into the front of the line, and secured a spot on the boat for Will and I. I could sense that the crowds had arrived! The same feeling continued when we docked at MK - we could see many, many people waiting at security, and that many more waiting to get in. We quickly made our way through security and, as we waited for the gates to open, decided where we wanted to go. We both wanted to head to Splash and Big Thunder, so we decided to head there first. We noticed that the train was in the station, so we headed to the train and were the first ones on board. :) Once in Frontierland, we immediately headed for Splash Mountain. We thought we might be the only ones on the boat (and we were in the front!), but two girls got on behind us. They were so funny. The whole time, they kept arguing over whose idea it was to go on this ride and get wet. After the big drop, one said, "whose idea was this?" I said, "It sure wasn't mine - must have been yours!" They laughed. They made the trip very fun because they were laughing the whole way and very funny and personable. I think they were from Jersey. Anyway, they did get wet - but Will and I only got misted. After Splash, we ran over and caught Big Thunder. We could sit anywhere we wanted, so we chose the very back seats. This is my favorite ride at MK, and one of my top favorites at DL. It seemed fitting to ride it one last time. After Big Thunder, we both decided to go over and check out how bad the line was for Pirates. On the way, however, we noticed that there was no line for the new Aladdin Carpet Ride. Now, I realize that it is a kiddie ride and pretty much Dumbo in disguise, but it still looked fun! On we went, and we got a whole carpet to ourselves. I had read something about a spitting camel, and was desperately trying to get Will in the camel's spitting range, when the ride was over. This was actually a very fun, albeit quick, ride. After the ride, we decided to skip pirates, but saw that Jungle Cruise had no line. We hopped right on the boat, and had a female skipper, I think her name was Julie. Julie was very funny - she had some very unique lines ("We're now entering the world's longest river. It goes on for niles, and niles and niles. If you don't believe me, well, we're in denial." Hah hah hah!). It was funny - she had all these very clever and funny lines, but the "spiel" lines, she totally botched. Oh well... This is one of the favorites in our family - my dad is a Jungle Cruise junky. We ALL know the spiel. After Jungle Cruise, we decided we were done with Adventureland and it was time to head to Tomorrowland. We had a very short wish list for TL - Buzz and Space Mountain. We found Buzz with a very small wait, about 5 minutes, and went right on. Will controlled the joystick, and I actually did very good - 67,000, I think. He, of course, did much better. Space Mountain was next. The line was also pretty short, so we hopped right on. Unfortunately, we got stuck right in front of the world's most obnoxious teenagers (don't they always seem obnoxious on day eight of your trip?). Luckily, the CM needed a party of two, and we were zipped right ahead of them. Ahh... We were sat in the middle seats, and I found it to actually be a funner ride - it seemed that the car went faster and whipped around more! After Space, we decided it was time for brunch. Neither of us had eaten, and we were pretty hungry at that point. We headed back over to the Village Haus and got food - Will a burger, and me a hotdog - and then used the topping bar one last time. It was good. It was the only hotdog I had the whole trip! It was time to say good-bye to MK at that point - for several reasons. One, we needed to meet everyone in Epcot, and two - it was getting extremely crowded! (MK on a Saturday - DON'T DO IT!). So, we slowly headed to the front, saying good-bye as we did. I'm not sure when we'll get back, but I know we will someday. We quickly hopped the monorail to TTC and were just dumbfounded when we pulled up. On the MK ramp, the people were stacked as many together as they could be, and the line extended down the ramp! And this was after the monorail, completely packed, pulled away! We were definitely glad we decided to leave MK - I could easily see 3, 4-hour lines that day! Luckily, our Epcot monorail barely had anyone on it! We had agreed to meet everyone at SE at 12. We got to the park about 11:45, and slowly wandered our way over to SE. It was sad because we went shopping and realized we could no longer send anything back to the resort as we were checking out the next day. Isn't it funny how the moment you remember things like check out day, reality begins to creep back into your mind? Anyway - we waited for the gang and they arrived right on time. It was windy and breezy in Epcot, so we enjoyed standing in the sun waiting for them. Everyone decided that a final ride on SE was in order. It seems only fitting to have it be the first and last ride at Epcot. After SE, we decided to wander through Innoventions, since Carl really wanted to check it out. We had a good time touring the House of the Future, playing with computer games, and seeing the other things they had to offer here. I love the House of the Future - unfortunately, our host's microphone wasn't working too well, but we did get to see some cool things. After Innoventions, the group milled around Mousegear. Carl and I got into a little bit of a tiff - he made a comment about doing all this shopping when we had no money. I thought he was being a little insensitive considering I hadn't meant to personally restrain him, I was just being the responsible one (i.e. someone had to realize we were way over budget, and that we had rent to pay when we got home!). Anyway, it was one of those stupid, newlywed fights. We mis-communicated and now we were paying the price! Carl and Dave really wanted to go over and check out Wide World of Sports. I was tired and wanted to get a jump on packing, and do some shopping at the hotel shop. We all agreed that we wanted to go to Downtown Disney, so we made plans to meet up there at around 5. Meanwhile, Mom, Will and I decided to head back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. Will decided to go swimming, while Mom and I packed. We met up around 3:30 for a quick snack at Roaring Forks. I had a toffee bar, Will had a hot dog, and I don't recall what Mom had. About 1/2 way through the snack, I could barely keep my eyes open. I excused myself for a nap, asking for a wake-up before we had to leave, and went upstairs for some shut-eye. OK, so the nap only lasted about 30 minutes, but it felt great! Still a little sleepy, I met Will and Mom outside and we headed for the bus stop. We just missed a bus, so we knew we had about a 20-minute wait. Lucky for us, one just happened by about 5 minutes later! We got even luckier, when we realized it was a direct connection to DD, with no stop at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon! We arrived at DD and quickly made our way towards Ghiradelli - our meeting place. On the way, it started raining and it was actually pretty cold out. Ghiradelli was packed when we got there - Mom got us a table, and Will and I ordered our desserts. Will decided on the Rock sundae - basically a split with vanilla ice cream, caramel and butterscotch and nuts. It looked very good. I wasn't feeling the greatest - just very tired, but I wanted an ice cream, nonetheless. I settled on a coke float. It really did the trick! Dave and Carl finally showed and had all sorts of shopping bags with them. I think Carl got an ice cream, and we just sat and talked. The boys had a really great time at WwoS, and explained what was there to us, since we'd never been. Apparently, the quarterback challenge had been closed, but the place was a huge sports complex, so they had fun exploring. We all decided to head to WoD (World of Disney) next. I had determined that Carl and I needed an additional suitcase, and I wanted to get something for work. Also, Carl had gotten me a really nice present, and I wanted to get something for him, and something for my folks, who were watching the dog. So, shopping we went! I still had a really hard time finding anything I wanted to buy. I ended up with a t-shirt, a toy, and a glass for Carl, cookies and taffy for work, 2 freezer mugs for my folks, and a duffel bag. Other than that, there really wasn't that much I wanted to buy! We headed back out to the bus stop when we were all done shopping, and quickly made our way back to the hotel. By this time, we were all hungry, but we couldn't decide what we wanted to eat. We talked about ordering room service, but didn't really want to pay room service prices for what they were offering. We talked about going back to Artists Point, but I couldn't imagine eating that heavy meal again and then going on a plane the next day. We talked about going to Tony's in MK, but didn't want to deal with the crowds. Finally, we decided on RF, one last time. Dinner at RF was great. I ordered the kid's macaroni and cheese, and a hamburger. Carl had a philly cheesesteak, Dave had a burger, Mom had chicken strips, and Will made himself chili-cheese nachos. We all took our dinner back up to the room and sat and played madlibs - one last time. Dinner hit the spot. After dinner, we all broke up to finish packing. Carl and I worked until about 9 - when we heard the fireworks going off. We watched from our balcony - it was raining, and we could see the fireworks clearly. It was very neat. Then, we went back to packing ... only to discover that, even with the extra suitcase, we still didn't have enough room. I would have to buy another one tomorrow! Mom and I had made plans to catch one last ride on the Tower, so I could do it on the way back. Finally, it was back to sleep. Ahhh... it felt so good! Day Eight Totals: Food: 2.5 Tiggers. Adequate fast food. Just nothing special. Fun: 2.8 Tiggers. The trip was definitely winding down. Reality crept back in - that could ruin any day! But, Will and I got to go to MK and run all over the park - just like the good old days and the two of us in DL. I had really missed our trips together. DAY NINE - THE DAY THE JUNGLE CRUISE SKIPPERS WARN US ABOUT. Mom and I had made plans to get up and go to MGM this morning for one last ride on the Tower. Everyone else wanted to sleep in. Fine by us!!! We were up and ready and on our way by 8:30. We figured, with a checkout time of 11, we had to be back at the bus stop for WL at 10, which gave us just an hour. We had two wishes - a ride on Tower, and to get a marshmallow for Carl. The bus arrived soon enough and we were on our way! We pulled up to MGM just as the park was opening, and we walked quickly to the Tower. There was actually a little bit of a line today - but we were still in the pre-show room right away. When we came out to the boiler room, there was a line. We figured out that no one was using the far line, and planned on going that way, until we realized it was chained off for some reason - hence, the line. We got up to the ride in about ten minutes, and were seated in the middle - next to some really obnoxious family. They all wanted to sit together. All six of them wanted to be in the same row. The CM kept explaining to them that there are only the number of seats as there are squares for them to stand on. They didn't understand how they were going to all fit in the same row. She kept telling them that they wouldn't, and there was no way to seat them in the same row - that it was a ride they needed to be belted in for! Well, they finally got it when they got in to the car (after changing seats about three times), but not without a whole lot of attitude. Our row, on the other hand, had two extremely skinny, nervous people, who insisted that the bar go tight up against them - they completely crushed me! I do have to say, though, I am so glad we went. It was so nice for Mom and I to get one last ride in and feel like we ended the trip on an up and down and up again note. (A little Tower humor...) I tried to persuade my mom for one last ride, but she knew better. I could ride the ride all day. And we'd miss our plane... Instead, we went to the sweet shop, and I got Carl another of the oreo marshmallow things he seemed to like. We said our good-byes to MGM and headed out for the bus stop. A bus was in our slip, so we ran to catch it. Well, it said "Lodge" on it - luckily, I asked. Apparently, it wasn't actually going to the Lodge. A few minutes later, a tour bus pulled into our slip, opened, and all these people started getting out. I knew this was trouble since the spaces are clearly marked as Disney resort bus stops. The guy and his folks didn't seem to care - they all came tumbling off the bus, smoking, drinking, and looking as if they'd been traveling for about 5 days on that bus! When they were about 1/2 way through debussing, a driver pulled up and told the tour bus driver he couldn't park there. They started arguing, the tour bus driver threatened the Disney driver, and the Disney driver backed down, but told him to move. The tour bus driver made everyone get back on the bus (we didn't understand why they all had to get back on the bus!), and was approached by Disney security. The Disney security guy was very pleasant - but the tour bus driver was very rude to him and told him to back off, he was moving since "black folk can't park here." Ok, I don't remember that being a rule! Anyway, the tour bus finally left, and a few moments later, the driver who first told the tour bus to move reappeared. I asked if he was going to WL. He said, "I am now," and we hopped on the bus. We pulled up to WL about 10:30, and I ran in and quickly purchased another suitcase at the gift shop. I went up to the room, and Carl and I quickly finished packing. We called bell services for both of our rooms, and then waited for our baggage pick up. This is always the saddest part of the trip - the return to civilization (as the Jungle Cruise operators always warned me about!). We still had some time to kill after the bags were picked up, so we decided to hang out in the lobby. Mom hadn't received the bill for her room, so she waited in the check-in line to get one, Will, Carl and I checked out the store again and then hung out in the lobby. We had decided to have our last lunch at WCC, but they weren't serving until 12. We sat and rested, and then went to WCC the minute it opened! We were so hungry - not having had breakfast! Carl and I ordered the fried chicken, Will ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich, Dave had the meatloaf, and I don't remember what Mom had. We also ordered corn bread, and everyone but me had soup. I had a salad. The chicken was very good, but not as good as 50s PT in MGM. The corn bread here, though, is excellent! After lunch, Will and I decided to have dessert, so he had some sort of cake, and I had a slice of pie. Yum. It was very good. We still had about an hour to kill until our Tiffany van came to get us (Carl had called and requested an upgrade to van!), so we headed back to the arcade for some air hockey, basketball, and wave running. We had a good time, and then retrieved all of our bags back from bell services. Our Tiffany driver came right on time, and we were to the airport in no time. We checked in, curbside, and then made the harrowing trip to our departure gate. The flights home were uneventful - except for our last flight, where they didn't believe in air conditioning (it was so miserably hot for 5 hours!). They showed "Ya Ya Sisterhood" on that flight - it was very, very good. We finally made it home, tired and worn out, at about 11. I had to get up for work the next day, so me and the dog went straight to bed. Day Nine Totals: Food: 1.5. Airline food again? No, we can't raise the score, even though the chicken at WCC was really good! Fun: 1.5 Stuck on a plane with no air? A day full of Tower could not overcome this. FINAL THOUGHTS Traveling with a group is difficult, and we knew it would be. No matter how much planning we did, however, we still ran into squabbles. It is just impossible to keep 5 people, with divergent interests, happy all at the same time. My suggestion would be to break the trip into segments - group time, and small group time. Trying to get everyone to the same place at the same time was exhausting, caused hurt feelings, and upset people. It would have been better if we had split up and agreed to meet for lunch or a few rides in the morning; etc. Try not to plan too many heavy meals during the trip, and allow for eating flexibility. Because we are foodies, this is always hard for us - we tried to fit so much in to such a short vacation. But really, towards the end of vacation, we just weren't enjoying some of the restaurants. New likes: BOMA, Artist Point, Tony's breakfast, Whispering Canyon Café, Aladdin's carpets, Wilderness Lodge, Tiffany Town car. Dislikes: Flying U.S. Air and their food! Accomodations - we would DEFINITELY stay there again! It was awesome! Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. Thanks for staying up this late to finish reading this! Heather Robison Hrobison@longlevit.com Mail a Comment to Heather Robinson |
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