Trip Reports

Getting away from it all, I decided to take a trip by my lonesome to WDW for an extended weekend. Leaving Wednsday morning, I returned on Sunday night. I'm a single 28 year old fellow, and I stayed at Port Orleans. Guest appearances in this report were made by John (an Orlando area resident with whom I went to college and is now married and living down there, and who made an appearance in my May trip report) and RADPers, particularly Gardenia. Without further ado:

Wednsday, September 10, early o'clock

Having overslept the last two trips I took on way-too-early flights, I was super paranoid about oversleeping for this one, and as a result I got up at 4:30am right on schedule, although it was only with about 3 hours of sleep. Ugh. Off to the airport, then up and away. Through DCA with no problems, then off to MCO. As we break through the cloud cover, for the first time that morning I see the sun, a very good sign. I wasn't tired (why, I don't know), so I read a book through the flight, getting in on time a bit after 10. A quick Mears ride later, I'm checking into Port Orleans. It really is quite excellently themed, from the check-in to the buildings to the courtyards to the hotel buildings. I was in building 6, back and to the left, a ground floor room (thank goodness) with a view of the empty green square (as opposed to the ones with trees or fountains or whatever).

The first thing I checked was the soap situation, since a) I hate that liquid stuff and b) I have to collect a soap to take home with me for later Disney emergencies . There was a bar of facial soap on the vanity, but no other soap. Seeing the dispenser in the bathtub, I called Housekeeping and requested some soap ("deodorant or facial?" she asked, "deodorant").

'Twas at last time to head out, and hunger and the parks were calling. I probably should've taken a nap (remember that I had very little sleep), but I still wasn't all that tired (I never really got tired at all that day, I just had that vague ache behind my eyes that said "you're going to pay for this, buddy") and I WAS getting hungry. So, I headed off to the bus stop and caught the first bus going to a park: off to Epcot. I formed the vague plan that I would end up over at MGM for a HoND show, and so armed entered the park.

In front of Spaceship Earth, I heard the EpBOTS cart starting that show, so naturally I stopped to watch a bit. It was weird, though, because BOTH of them were females (normally, Digit is male and QT-1 is female). They still used the names Digit and QT-1 (and the Digit logo was blue, like the male Digit's costume), but both of the costumes were the maroon QT-1 costumes. Bizarre. I guess the guys were all sick or off. I'd hate to be the guy who has to be QT-1 when all the women are off...

Passing on, I headed into Spaceship Earth for a quick ride, then finally went to get food, stopping at The Land for a Chicken Salad Sandwich meal at the food court. Quite good, actually. Then onward on my relentless pursuit of MGM, I headed one stop down to HIStA, which happened to be cycling as I was getting there. I do like the preshow. Although I still get a slight headache from the 3D, it's a cute show and it's great to watch the audience's reaction to the various stimuli presented during the show (no spoilers here...).

Then it was on to Canada, where I decided to watch the film since I hadn't seen it in a long while. It was on the way out that I noticed that Le Cellier is now a steakhouse: I'll have to keep that in mind for my next trip and give it a try.

Now past the distracting sections of Epcot, I headed on out through the International Gateway. While in the area, I figured I'd check out the new fence around the Y&B pool. Yeah, that's kinda out of place. Sigh. Then into Beaches and Cream for a milkshake, and finally on to MGM. While I was waiting at the lighthouse-pier for the boat, a small launch pulled up to the Epcot side of the dock: looked like a party of some kind (probably a wedding) had been there, and they were pulling lots of floral arrangements and food remnants off. I'll bet it'd be neat to do something like that: we did something like that in Milwaukee and it was great fun.

Onto the boat, and directly over to MGM (yeah, I thought that there was a stop at the Swolphin, but not this time). I saw the big green wall behind which is the construction for Fantasmic and CMU (can't wait for both!), and on into MGM. First stop TZToT since there was only a 10 minute wait, where I got the seat-belt seat (which is really cool since you've really got nothing to hang onto). I tell you what, though, in the late afternoon you can certainly tell when you enter the drop shaft, because it suddenly gets very warm and humid in the car.

Finally, it was time to head over to HoND. Matt was off, so I got to see Randy do the juggling. While not as technically adept as Matt (a few more drops), it was nice to hear (mostly) different jokes. Randy finished with the bowling ball-knife-apple stunt (with no drops there, thankfully ), after which a monk had to come wipe the stage down, since eating the apple gets messy. The kid who read the intro card was Nathan from Scotland. Hearing that accent from a little kid was just really neat. Then onto the show. Not one of the standouts. The Clopin had an American accent, and just didn't do it for me, plus I guess the monitors were turned down too far or something, because everybody but Quasi was missing their musical cues left and right (Esmerelda was doing the fast-line slow-line trick trying to find the beat during "God Help the Outcasts", and Clopin was just way lost during the opening of "Topsy Turvy"). But Clopin was VERY good at audience interaction, poking fun at a kid during "face that's UGLIEST" and a few other things like that during choice lines, so overall it was still a lot of fun.

Then over to Ellen's for a CD and a cookie, and then I wandered around for a bit, realizing that I needed to head back to the room to make a couple of phone calls. After that I wanted to catch Spectromagic, since that was one of the things I hadn't gotten around to yet. So, I trudged back to the bus for a quick trip to PO. I followed the signs back to building 6, but once I got there I realized that it was quicker to cut through building 4. This I did for the rest of the trip. When I opened the door, I was both pleased and dismayed. Pleased because they took my soap request seriously, and left me 4 BARS, but dismayed because it was 4 bars of facial soap. Oh well, I figured I'd deal with it later. I made my calls and then lay down for a second....

.....waking up at 9:15pm. Oops, I missed the parade. And remember that lack of sleep thing? Well, it was time to pay, and I had developed a full-blown headache as well. Given my current state of affairs, I wasn't going anywhere, but I was quite hungry, so I went ahead and ordered pizza. A short nap later it arrived, and I had dinner. I'm not really fond of the sauce they use on the pizzas (it was the same as that on the pizzas at the Boardwalk (we had that in May)), but it was nourishment, and that was sorely needed. Then it was off to bed for a fitful night's sleep given the headache.

Thursday Sept. 11

Didn't really rouse until about 9:30am, but when I did, I felt MUCH better. I still had to call for the soap, and at the same time I realized that I hadn't packed my shampoo, so I asked for some of that while I was at it. For the rest of the week there were no problems in that regard, soap and shampoo were plentiful.

This morning there was a RADP meet scheduled at 1900 Park Fare (a place I'd never eaten), so off I went. I caught a bus to the MK and then the resort monorail to the GF. I *think* that was the quickest way using WDW transport. Still, since I slept late I was running late, and didn't get there until 10:45 (about 15 minutes after the scheduled start). But there was still plenty of food and company. I sat with Tony and Randy (I think, forgive me guys if I forgot) from the UK and Canada during the meal, which was excellent. Much chatting occurred, Gardenia passed around her article from the Orlando paper, much eating was done, and then we took pictures. That was more of an adventure than anything else, I tell you. 20-some people, Pluto, Alice, Mary and Burt were shuffled around the small dining room we were in, then rearranged, shuffled, etc. Snap snap snap snap <the CM looking on did more shuffling>, snap snap snap and so on until all the cameras got their shot. Poor Pluto was kneeling for most of this, and I'm sure his knee was in pain by the end.

Then back to pay the check, and a goodbye to about half of the group.

The rest of us went over for a tour of Coronado Springs with Gardenia. Very nice resort, I must say. We started at the fountain in the foyer, looking down the hall at the registration area (I think it looks WAY too open and big to remind me of DxL, even though others think that there is a resemblence). Then out to look at the lake, which is HUUUGE. In fact, this whole resort is quite spread-out. We hiked over to the pool, crossing a cool little self-floating bridge (it's like a slightly tamer version of the Tom Sawyer bridge, I remarked on the way back over it as we were playing on it) to the pool, catching a couple of Hidden Mickeys on the way. The Aztec pyramid is pretty nifty, so of course we had to get more picutres standing in front of it. There wasn't much shuffling this time since there was plenty of room and light, but those of us in the back did get a very nice ankle-shower by the time the photos were done. Then we meandered over to the playground, which had a really cool springy surface. We also had to try the slide out, which was fun (until the lifeguard told Gardenia to remind us that the playground is for 42" and under... I didn't see the sign until later. But what a bummer). One more HM, and then back toward the cool comfort of the main building. On the way back, as I mentioned, we chatted about the bridge and about trip reports. Yes, Bill and Gardenia, I'm writing this one without the benefit of any notes whatsoever. Think I'm getting enough of the details right?

Anyway, back to the main building where Gardenia gave us a tour of Pepper Market and Maya Grill (seasons, HM and all). Then a few more people decided to head off, while the rest decided to sample Pepper Market. Before the split, however, Gardenia wanted to show off the convention center a bit, particularly the Ladies' bathroom floor tile. Not to be left out, we guys checked out the Men's bathroom floor (which had the same very pretty tile), but somehow I think that bathroom tile enjoyment is a woman thing... Anyway it was bye bye to a few more of the group, and then off to Pepper Market. If you haven't heard how it works, you get a card and then walk around to the various bars taking the things you want and getting a stamp for each thing you take. When you exit the food court you present your card and pay at that time. Most of us had eaten a big GF breakfast and went straight for the desserts, but Gardenia hadn't eaten there and got a real lunch. I had the peacan pie ala mode. Yummy. Once again there was much chatting and general merryment. Finally, it was time to say goodbye, and everybody arranged rides to their next destination. Gardenia told me to drop her a line since I was gonna be around until Sunday and we could catch a HoND show. This we would do later (read on). I was undecided on what to do so I caught a ride with Bill Abrams back to the Boardwalk. Once there, I decided that since Saturday was going to be MGM day (that's when John was visiting with a 1 day park ticket he had), I'd head over to Epcot and see what else I could catch.

On my way, I stopped by the ESPN bar in order to make a couple of phone calls related to work. While there, I also decided to use the restroom. THESE restrooms are definitely more interesting to guys: every stall and urinal has a view of a TV. Scary.

Then on to Epcot, where I decided that since it was so hot I wanted to hit a ride that would let me sit down in coolness without a line. Thus, it was time for Imagination (caught a Fountain show from the path on the way. Ahhh ). There actually WAS a short line for JiI, much to my surprise, but I braved the excruciating 3 minute wait and enjoyed a visit with Figment and the Dreamfinder. Next up was the Living Seas, which is always quite a treat, especially when the manatees are out feeding.

Since I hadn't caught Spectromagic the night before, and the next two nights were Night of Joy, today was elected as Spectromagic day, so I decided to head on over early and kill time in the MK until then. Onto the monorail, and away I went. A quick transfer to the MK monorail and I was there. First stop was the visitor's center to get my GoH badge (last trip we didn't get by and the trip before I got the wrong date) and ogle the way cool diorama for AK.

Then I browsed my way up the right side of Main Street, until I got to Tomorrowland, where I decided to use the popular TTA-check-the-SM-line method. TTA was fun, and the line for SM was quite short, so I next went on that. Then I started a counterclockwise walk around the MK. A short line put me on Mr. Toad, where I saw the naked lady (can't believe I ever missed her...), then onto Snow White and (my favorite) Peter Pan, which actually had a moderate line. Amusing anecdote: the young kid behind me in line kept bumping into me as the line moved (I don't blame him really, considering that to someone under 3 feet tall I'm probably functionally no different than a wall), so I started making a game out of it, stopping or stepping back erratically, and he would dodge and laugh. We played for a little while before his mother seemed to think that he was bugging me (they weren't speaking English, so I'm not sure what she was actually saying, but I think I got the gist). By that time we were almost there anyway, so I just got on and rode. Then over to Liberty Square for a visit to the Haunted Mansion, fun as always. Next over to Splash Mountain, which I hadn't yet done (largely because I have the AP mentality that says if a line is over 30 minutes I'll try later: there'll always be a later). Much like Space Mountain, I was truly horrified by the amount of queue space justified by the ride and how much walking through it needs to be done when the lines are short. Although, I did come to appreciate those innocuous holes in the ceiling that were blasting cold air all over you. Once on board, I enjoyed the ride a lot. It's not just The Drop, but also a lot of fun (although there's a bit too much of Brer Bear's butt hanging out around every turn). The woman behind me didn't seem to get the concept that there were more than one drop and that the BIG one wasn't until the end, so she screamed on EVERY one of them. Ouch on my ears. Still great, though.

Dinnertime was approaching (and the line on Big Thunder looked long), so I headed off to forage for food. I settled on the Liberty Tree Tavern, which was only a 5 minute wait for a party of 1 without a PS. It was quite good, and Pluto, Dale and Minnie all stopped by to greet me (Pluto and Dale sat down across from me and I offered them some food, but by the time Minnie got there the table next to me had absconded with the chair so she just had to use my lap. ). Not many people get to be kissed by Minnie twice in one day (at breakfast and then again at dinner). It was also a BIG dinner (all you can eat), so I didn't so much walk out of the restaurant as roll out, and over to Adventureland for a dusk Jungle Cruise. While I was in line, they shortened the line (losing me a few places), and then lengthened it again a few minutes later. Argh. And the boat before ours kept going back and forth and back and forth in front of the dock after the people were aboard, which was just plain bizarre. But the ride was fun as always.

Finally getting close to parade time, I headed back to the hub, catching sight of Tomorrowland at night (really pretty), and wandered over for a TTA and SM ride. And back just in time for the parade! I didn't realize that it went the OPPOSITE direction from the day parade, and almost missed it. But I got there in time and a nice couple in front of me gave me a good spot to watch it (being tall helps).

Next, it was back to the room for a break. The busses were, of course, at capacity during parade egress. The family in front of me exited rather than standing, waiting for the next bus. But the driver was very good, holding a very one-sided conversation with a woman who made the mistake of giving driving advice to him. After hitting the room I wanted to shop a little, so it was off to the DVM. I shopped for a while, then headed over to PI for a bit (with obligatory stops at the Adventurer's Club and Comedy Club). Finally, it was time to go back to the room, where I caught up on email and otherwise messed around on the net (posting to RADP while I was at it) until I looked up and realized that it was almost 2:30am!! It would have helped if I had had the TV on so that I would have had something keeping track of time (did I mention that I unplugged the alarm clock so that I had enough outlets to run the computer and modem at the same time?), but it was broken and since I was on the phone I couldn't call maintainence to fix it. I figured I'd deal with it in the morning. I put out the Privacy sign and headed to bed with pleasant dreams.

Friday, September 12

I went to sleep way late, if you recall, so I kinda slept late. Really late. I had a wake-up call set for 9 or something, but I just answered it and then went back to sleep. But when I did finally drag myself out of bed I felt great, so it was worth it. When I did get around to moving out of the room for food, it was about 11:00. I went over to the Sassagoula Food Works for lunch, trying the Jambalaya, which was very tasty. Then I wandered the grounds a bit. I wanted to catch the Remember the Magic parade, so I figured on hitting the MK. First, however, went the call to maintainence about the TV. Then on to the park. All told I didn't get there until about 1:00 or so. Which meant I didn't have all that long to wait, so that was good. Browsed my way up the left side of Main Street this time (if you haven't noticed, I tend to browse rather than walk out in the heat). Headed over to TTA (of course). Noticed that the SM line was low, so I took a turn there. Then I kinda wandered a bit, following the crowd until I found myself back at the hub. I grabbed a shady bench and people-watched for a while. Finally, I headed over to Adventureland to make a quick phone call, which informed me of a minor business emergency that (fortunately) solved itself in the next 5 minutes, so I was able to enjoy the parade.

The other major goal for the day was to hit IllumiNations 25, the new version, so after the parade I figured I'd swing over to Epcot. Unfortunately, I didn't beat the parade to the MK entrance, but on the plus side I did get to watch my favorite parts again, so on the balance it wasn't a bad thing. I then meandered out to the Resort Monorail for a leisurely trip to the TTC and on to Epcot. In the park, then a shortcut through IllumiNations (which, BTW looks puny after E3 this year) to take another "last ride" on Horizons (I figure that EVENTUALLY they'll close it, so every time I'm there I go on my "last" Horizons ride). Then by Test Track (I didn't stop because I'm not in the market for a new GM car at this time), on to the World Showcase. First stop Mexico. I browsed the market, and debated eating at the restaurant, but decided against it (the Jambalaya was small and I was getting hungry, but it was still pretty early, so I skipped it for now), and went on the Rio de Tiempo. I think the audio was messed up, though, because we didn't get any of the speeches about ancient Mexico. Anyway, next I headed on down toward Norway. The Outpost has a new building that I haven't seen before, one that sprays mist all over the kids and others inside the tent. There are a number of Coke crates, which I suppose is okay (it wasn't really all that garish), and the refreshment stand. More later.

Then on to Norway, where I browsed again, and got to watch the Ambush Troll at work (this is the troll who's actually a costumed character and who sits innocuously with the other inanimate objects while people are exiting the Maelstrom into the store until someone is nearby and then grabs them or otherwise startles the heck out of them with sudden movements. His handler sits over by the counter looking like a cashier, so it's hard to tell that he's out there unless you know what the costume looks like). The line for the Maelstrom was pretty long, so I decided to delay. And what better way than to go ahead and get dinner (yeah, it was still early, but I needed to wait and I was hungry)? So it was into Akershus for a delicious (and very filling) meal, during which the Ambush Troll played character greeter, and I got to watch two Asian families who spoke no English try to talk with a Norwegian waiter who spoke only English and his native tongue. Amusing, really. Next, onto the (now short-line) Maelstrom, for an enjoyable ride. When I got to the waiting area for the film I realized that I had just missed it and grabbed a bench, but many others didn't realize that the exit was temporarily closed and began trying doors and other things to get out. I didn't realize that the Kidcot station was inside here, but it seems like a weird place to put it (it is, however, air conditioned, which I'm sure makes the CM's happy).

Moving along, I noticed that it was getting dark and cloudy back behind the lagoon, so I figured it would be a good idea to find a place to hole up a while when the rain hit. Since America's show is long I chose there and made it before the rain. First up was the show itself (very patriotic, of course). It was still raining when the show ended, so I hopped over the the America Gardens theater and stood under the roof listening to the latin band for a while until it was time for the Voices of Liberty. After listening to them, the rain was letting up so I headed back to FW where it was off to Spaceship Earth again. This time on the way out I finally got to ride one of those "skateboard the net" cylinder-things in the AT&T Global Neighborhood. Neat. Finally it was getting close to time for IllumiNations, so I headed back to the spot I had scouted out near Norway for the view. I have to say, I don't think that it's any better or worse than the other I25, but it is nice to hear the classical music. If only they didn't butcher it quite so much (although I suppose I was one of only, like, 3 people around the entire lagoon who actually realized how badly they chopped up Ode to Joy in order to fit it to the show, so I'm just picky).

After the show I headed straight for the Fountainview to enjoy the shows there and watch the sea of humanity flow by. More people were stopping to watch when the fountain was showing than did in December. But there were still a number of seats on the balcony (although I didn't actually eat anything for fear of losing the best seat while in line). Then it was back to PO for an early night in since John would be getting there at 8:30 the next morning. I thought about grabbing a snack at SFW, but even though they're technically open until midnight, there were pretty slim pickings at about 10:30, so I gave up on that plan and turned in in preparation for the day at MGM. BTW, the TV *was* fixed.

Saturday, September 13

Mickey got me up at 7:45 and John was there at 8:20, early (as I half-expected). We decided to leave his car at the resort and caught the bus to MGM. We thought he was going to have to get his ticket converted into another type, but he didn't and we were told to go straight to the entry. Yay. First order of business was TZToT. We got to the gates of the HTH about 8:50 and wandered up into the garden. The morning mist (generated I think by the sprinklers?) was so thick that you could barely see 5 feet in front of you, very spooky and extremely nifty! After breaking through the fog, we headed on into the left library and then onto the right side of the line. John enjoyed it a great deal. When we looked at the picture, you could tell that I was the only one on the car expecting the photo, as I had this big grin on my face and was looking right at the camera . Since there was no line, we decided to do it again, this time taking the left line. Two was enough, though, and we moved on after that. Besides, the mist had burned off and it you could see the entrance... Next up was the Animation tour, where they've got the full Mulan setup out for viewing. I really like the maquettes and the storyboards, as well as the preproduction stills.

The next stop was the GMR, which was fun as usual. I told John about the two sides, and we enjoyed the Western side. Our GMR ride was carefully timed to let us out just as a Superstar Television show was starting, and we got there just after he started picking people to participate (John kept nudging me, but I wasn't really interested in it this day), then ushered us into the theater and picked a few more people (John got picked for the Cheers scene). This was another of the "hadn't gotten there yet" things for me, and I enjoyed it.

After the show, we headed over for our PS at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. Everyone else I've been to the parks with (or am going to be going to the parks with in the near future) thinks that PTC is a stupid idea and wouldn't play along, but John had the right attitude, so I made the seatings. It was a little early for the lunch rush, so we barely got seated in the vinyl living room furniture when we were called. We were seated and Auntie Jill (with Cousin Sally the trainee) came over to talk to us. I got bugged about wearing a hat, then about not having a haircut, of course. Then she told us about the specials. You see, Grampa caught a great big Tuna fish today, and it was THIS BIG <to get the full effect, stretch both arms way out to your sides>. Of course, Jill told us (in response to John's question about how much of that you get to eat), Gramps cut it into 7 oz. portions for the kids. I had the meatloaf and John a chicken sandwich, and we caught up on the past few months while the reruns played on the TV. The PTC is proof that Disney can copy practically ANY decor well. Then the food arrived (and was quite good). During the meal, Aunt Jill asked me to tell my cousins at the next table if the meatloaf was good (I nodded but didn't talk because I had food in my mouth), and she asked John to tell another set of cousins at another table about Grampa's fish. Sally spilled her tray. Oops. Then, when we were done, Sally noticed that John hadn't eaten his tomato, so she ran to get Aunt Jill. Well, I couldn't let John get in trouble, now could I? So I debated eating the tomato myself before she got back, but instead I decided that it would be cooler if we could hide it, so I grabbed a napkin and put the tomato in it, with the idea of putting it under my hat (which hadn't moved since I put it down, and they'd never know until we were gone), but Jill and Sally got back too quickly, so I was stuck with the tomato in a napkin under my hands. After grilling John about the tomato (he was doing a very good "see! it's gone mommy!" act), they noticed me, and the jig was up. No dessert for John (he wasn't interested anyway), but since I HAD cleaned my plate they let me have a creamsicle shake even though I had tried to help him hide the tomato. I came to the conclusion that whatever chemicals go into creamsicle were just not intended to be sucked through a straw. It was good, but VERY VERY thick. Needless to say at this point, we had a great time playing along, and I think that Jill and Sally had fun with us. If you're going to do it, play along.

Anyway, after lunch we resumed our lives as adults and headed on to Star Tours (I was vaguely grateful that it wasn't as rough as Body Wars, because if it had been it'd have gotten a creamsicle coating...), and browsed at the store a bit. Before I left, someone here mentioned that Vader was moved somewhere else in the ride. Didn't see him, though (although I did fill John in on the whole Vader saga). Then it was over to the Muppets, cute as ever (after HIStA I remembered to sparingly use my glasses). It was now getting close to parade time (and I wanted to see it), so we killed time before the parade by going into the sound show's exit area and fooling around with the stuff there (we also went into one of those booths for the nifty 3D sound demo), and headed out just in time for the parade. Hades' float is the neatest, but the whole thing was cute (although if you can only see one parade put this one at the bottom of the list). Crossing the street we hit the Indy Stunt show. This is where my health saga began, as I noticed that the gas fumes smelled awfully strong and made my sinuses feel a bit raw. After the show, we hit a Sound Show, which is now a long ad for the 1 Saturday Morning lineup. The fx generation was just as funny as before, but I think I liked the Martin Short/Chevy Chase film better as far as content goes. Next came the backlot block: first the Making of George of the Jungle (which neither of us had seen, but was still fun), then the trams (where I recounted my experience as the captain of the S.S. Totally Sinkable to him (see my May report)) and finally the 101 Dalmations walking tour. These rides are pretty much the same every time I take them, so there's not much to say about them, other than to note that George's Jungle House looks VERY out of place on Residential Street. However, if the Christmas lights go onto it it'll probably look suitably silly enough to warrant a return visit. BTW, we also noticed the REALLY BIG Coke sixpack at the back end of Dalmation Ave. near the entrance to the tram ride. MGM's about the only place where such an obvious advertising gimmick isn't totally revolting, but a sixpack of 15' tall Coke bottles isn't all that pleasing, either (FYI, there's a drink stand built into it). BTW, could anyone tell me why it's such a hot photo spot???

Winding the day down, we hit a VotLM show (I've never heard them issue SO MANY warnings agains flashes in one showing of ANYTHING before), which was very nice, as usual. Then to cap the day we hit the last show of HoND. Excellent show this time, the good Clopin was back and the performers hit their marks flawlessly. Matt was also back, with a new trick where he stood on the rolla-bolla (a 9" platform on which you place a 7" tube on its side, with another 7" platform on top of that on which the juggler stands and balances) and juggled the Three Dangerous Objects (machete, curved scythe-like thing, and plunger). New jokes, too. As to the show:

John had never seen the movie, and it's amazing how many details he picked up from the show. Also, he didn't believe that they were actually singing at first until they walked down the runway and he could hear them unamplified next to him (another reason I like runway seats... ).

Exiting the show, we realized that we were pretty much done (it was 6:45) and so we headed on out. Not a bad day, really. We did all of the attractions and shows in MGM except for BatB, which neither of us really cared about all that much. We COULD have done it if we hadn't done PTC, but I think the sacrifice was worth it. So, back on the bus to PO and to decide what to do about dinner. I had mentioned earlier in the day that I had one of the Rainforest Cafe coupons with me, and he and his wife had tried to eat there one night only to abort at a 2 hour wait, so we decided to give it a go. We freshened up and then took his car on over to the DD complex. We parked on the far end (he explained that there's never parking on the other side) and we walked by the newer stuff on our way to food. Some sort of private affair was going on so we couldn't go in. On around to the far side, and we presented the coupon to the RFC people. They were backed up about 10 minutes (better than the 2 hours they were telling everyone else...), so they asked if we could hold off for that long and we browsed the RFC merchandise. Then we went directly in and got seated at a 2-top by the elephant. We split a Quesadilla, followed by a burger for me and a big salad for him, then a dessert for me. It was a very cool place and all, but the elephant would move occasionally, which lent an odd atmosphere to things. Finally, I got tired of it and turned to the elephant while it was moving and flapping and such and said "What is it boy? Is young Timmy trapped in the well???" Okay, well John thought it was funny. Anyway, the overall verdict was that it was a neat place, but only so long as my coupons hold out, 'cause it's nowhere near worth 2 hours.

Finally, back to the room and goodbye to John (we'll have to do this again sometime soon). I checked my e-mail and found that Gardenia had tickets to a Globetrotters practice the next morning at the WWS, but it was way early, and I was on the last day of my vacation, so I elected to sleep in and meet her at 11:30 in front of the GMR to go see the HoND. I packed up my bags and got to bed reasonably late.

Sunday, September 14

This was the last day, but I aimed to pack it as full as I could before leaving. However, I relate this day with the following caveat: I am a VERY frequent flier, Don't Try This Yourself. Take Mears' advice and don't miss your bus, because you WILL miss the plane if you have to check bags or can't work airline magic with your frequent flier status and/or club membership. That said:

I woke up about 9:30 and channel surfed for a bit before getting up. After a brief anxiety attack that checkout was 10 (I called the Front Desk in a panic, it's 11), I did the morning duties, stowed my extra soap and shampoo, and went to the front desk to check out and check my bags. Then a quick bus ride to MGM and I met Gardenia exactly at 11:30. The HoND show was 11:45, which means that we were actually running late, but there was still handicapped seating, so we were fine. The show was wonderful, and it was neat to hear the different insights she has gotten from the show. She hadn't seen Matt's rolla-bolla before, either, so I got to feel like there was at least one thing I've done before her :-). Clopin swallowed one line ("mock the prig" during Topsy Turvy), but otherwise the show was standout. Esmerelda was apparently new, so Gardenia hauled out the camera and got a few shots. Matt was also in the audience (with a college buddy, I suppose) and after the audience cleared out she told him how much people enjoy his act.

Before the show, Gardenia discovered that her orthopedic wheelchair's right leg wouldn't stay up, so the CM's tried to get a new one to no avail, so after the show they took it back and agreed to meet us at VotLM with one that worked, so we headed over that way. We also met two other RADP'ers who joined us for the rest of the park (whose names I'm blanking on). On the way we stopped so Gardenia could take a picture of the Coke bottles for display on the net. Then on to the show, which was as good as usual.

Next order of business was lunch, choosing the Brown Derby. On Gardenia's discount, of course. I had a very tasty drink (ordering right before she swiped the drink menu on her menu quest) and an excellent pork BBQ sandwich, while Gardenia hashed out a good vegan meal with the chef, while the others had more traditional menu meals like I did. Since they were not able to bring pitchers of iced tea (which we were all drinking a lot of) the waiter brought us a veritable forest of glasses to save on wear and tear on him. The other guy's steak had a mayo sauce he didn't like, so it was returned (and later voided due to the delay) for a new one, but otherwise I think everyone enjoyed the meal while the parade went by outside. After the meal Gardenia made sure that Anthony (the waiter) had a card about the net RADP stuff since he had just gotten AOL.

Time for one more thing before the group had to split up. Since the tourist (that would be me) didn't express a preference, we headed to MuppetVision, after which we went to Mama Melrose's on Gardenia's menu quest (wherein we learned things that she has already posted to the group). Then it was time to bid a fond farewell to people, and I headed over toward Epcot while everyone else took off for the day (well, Gardenia was completing menuquest first).

The boat ride to BW was uneventful, and I headed on over to the International Gateway, passing a wedding carriage on its way out. I'm sure the bride felt like Cinderella: both she and the groom looked very happy. Then on into Epcot, where I figured I'd grab a pastry in France (until I realized that my resort ID no longer worked and I hadn't yet gotten cash! Doh!). On the way out of France I saw the living statue, who had this poor teen by the hand and made him keep kissing her hands until she was satisfied (poor kid looked like he was feeling so trapped it was hysterical).

Here's where the warning applies: it was about 4:30 and my Mears shuttle was scheduled for 5:15 for a 7:23 flight. But I really wanted to hear the Voices of Liberty, so instead of heading out to the bus (the smart move) I went on over to America, where it turned out there was a 4:50 show. There was no way I was doing both, so I called Mears and arranged for a 5:45 pickup instead (they were very careful to tell me that they didn't guarantee that I'd make my flight). I enjoyed the VoL very much. I have a question for any CM's out there: is the guy who records the voiceovers for IllumiNations announcements in the VoL? Becuase the leader of the group sounds like it's him. I wasn't sure when I left, but about 10 minutes later they made an announcement about I25 on the lagoon and I was SURE it was him. I'm now quite curious.

Anyway, as I left it was 5:10, so I picked up the pace toward the exit, and the most remarkable thing happened: right as I was entering the Fountain Plaza, the fountain sang goodbye! I kid you not: at the moment I entered the plaza, the 5:15 show started, exactly as if it were playing for me. I meandered forward a bit, stopping by the cafe to watch the rest of it (it was windy, so I got wet, but I didn't care) before bidding a fond farewell to WDW. Onto the bus (which was waiting) and then to PO, where I reclaimed my bags at 5:37. I left the suitcase on the curb (kept the briefcase with the magazines with me) and sat in the shade waiting for the van (another family waiting had a friend's minivan come pick them up: they almost packed my luggage in the minivan by mistake!), which arrived abot 4 minutes late, getting underway a little before 6. Once at the airport, there were 2 stops:

ATA for one family and US Airways for another couple and me. The first family had forgotten a bag at DxL, however, which tied up the van at Terminal A for another 5 minutes, so we arrived at the terminal at about 6:40. The Preferred/First line was only 4 people, but a lady in the front in a wheelchair had lost her money and she and the attendant had to dig through her stuff to find it, so that line was moving more slowly than the long line (which was no way gonna get to me in time), so since I had no bags to check (I'm a business traveller, what can I say? It's habit to pack only 2 bags, even on vacation) I headed to the Club to check in near the gate. By the time that was all done, the flight was boarding, and I bid a fond farewell to the Orlando area (although I WAS looking forward to getting out of the heat). See you in December or January...

As to the Health Saga:

Remember that I said that during the Indy show I thought I might be getting a sore throat. Well, I was. It wasn't horrible while I was in Florida, but I did notice it. Well, either in WDW or on the trip home in an airport (my guess is the latter), I picked up a full fledged cold of some sort. Since I've returned it's mostly cleared up, but I've managed to infect several others too..... So at least SOME part of my trip will continue for a while!

Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed rummaging around my head for the trip report!

Joseph Cochran

jsciv@bev.net

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