Vacation ’96 Day 1
Ok, here I am, once again at Disney World, despite my plans of a year ago… Let me ‘splain how I got here yet again… Last year, during my vacation, I did 2 things, which contributed to my being here again this year. First, I bought a Time Share in Orlando, which by it’s self would not require me to return here, but also, during the course of my trip, I purchased an Annual Passport as my admission media, since I was here for 2 weeks, and that was the most cost-effective way to go.
What this meant, was for the price of my Airline Ticket, and 4 nights On-Sight at WDW (3 nights at All Star Music, and one at the Caribbean Beach) plus food, I have a vacation. Thus my decision to return. Also, there is the matter of its being Disney World’s 25th Anniversary, and Horizons being open, temporarily.
Anyhow, I arrived early this morning, and by 10:30 had checked in to the hotel, grabbed a shower, and was ready to head off in search of some fun.
First stop, was the Food Court, for food, of course… I can not name the meal breakfast, nor lunch, nor Dinner, as I had been up since 5:00 on the previous day, now over 24 hours in the past, and had eaten many times since then. As I found myself grabbing what truly has become a traditional WDW first meal, of Pizza, and Pasta, washed down with a Coke, I guess you could call it a 2nd lunch?
After my meal, I headed to the Magic Kingdom, to see what I could see… As the original WDW park, it is kind of the focus point for the 25th anniversary celebrations…
Flashing my Pass at the gate, I entered the park, passed through the right hand R/R tunnel, and turned up Main Street. It started to rain, so I snagged my umbrella, which I had fortunately remembered to bring this year, and popped it open, so as to remain only damp in the Florida humidity.
I was distracted while doing this, thus I was more than half way up main street before I noticed that they had done to the castle.
What last year had been a beautiful example of fairytale architecture, had been transformed, virtually replaced with a hideous Pink Monstrosity!
I spent a while just walking around, and looking at the damage they had wrought. I must say, while they did do an impressive job of making it look lie a giant cake, I feel it was a misplaced effort.
Finally, it again started to rain, this time quite hard, so I sought shelter in Tomorrowland, by visiting the "Take Flight" attraction, previously named "Dreamflight", when it was still sponsored by delta. Aside from making all the references to airlines generic, I could detect no changes.
After Take Flight, I hopped on the Carrousel Of Progress and prepared myself to view Horizons over at EPCOT. (In case you were unaware, they are the same family in both shows. This way you can see them in the past, the ‘present’, and the future.)
As the rain had let up, I hoped on the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) which is what they converted WDW’s Peoplemover into during the "New Tomorrowland" project a few years ago. The ride is the same, only the script had been changed, now it incorporates an obnoxious booming voice throughout. Oh well, it’s better than what they did to DL’s peoplemover. Here is a shot of the Star Trader from it. I like ours better at Disneyland, myself.
As I was in a mood for riding that which has become extinct at Disneyland, I followed the TTA with the Skyway to Fantasyland, and from there walked to Cosmic Ray’s Café (On the border between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, next to the Grand Prix [Autopia] and the Tea Cups.) stopping to look at the lagoon for 20k, which is still apparently facing an undecided future after being dormant for now 4 years. I grabbed a burger at Cosmic Ray’s, and then left the Magic Kingdom, to head to EPCOT, there to check out this year’s new attraction, and also ride Horizons, before Eisner found out I was in town and closed it on me.
I once again passed the ugly pink thing, this time stopping to take pictures, and fled the park, before the Imagineers decided I might look good covered in Pink Frosting as well.
I took a Monorail to the TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center) where I caught another "beam" to EPCOT. Upon arrival at EPCOT, I followed my priorities, and bypassed Spaceship Earth, and made a beeline for Horizons. Darn I am gonna miss that show. It was open, so I once again got to visit the future, in the City, in the Country (where you can actually smell the orange blossoms), under the seas, and out in space, and at the end, I got to choose whether to go on a Sub Ride, a Space Ride, or a Hovercraft ride. I pushed all the buttons (one of each) and let the computer "break the tie". It chose Space. I now will need to do the Underwater and the Hovercraft versions, sometime before I go back home.
After Horizons, I checked out Ellen Degeneris’s remake of Universe Of Energy. First thing I noticed, was that the cool kinetic slide screen was gone, replaced by 5 normal projection screens. Oh well. I also discovered that they repainted the Dinosaurs. Other than that, the attraction is not much changed. It is still about a 45 min. trip, centered around 5 min, in the Dinosaur Room.
Upon leaving UOE, I headed over to the now defunct World Of Motion, which I will miss, (remember the motorcycle cop behind the billboard? You could only see him if you looked backwards. That attraction was designed by the same Imagineer who did Pirates, so that should give you a clue what it was like, if you never got a chance to see it.) to try and get a peek at the Test Track, which I won’t see untill my next trip, asuming it hasn’t killed someone before then and gotten shut down. The outside is mostly obscured by a sign depicting things to come but I did luck out and managed to get a look at one of the Ride Vehicles, which was aparently just being delivered, and was still wraped in plastic.
I spent quite a while looking around. As it got dark, I wandered over to the Plaza, and caught a show of the Inoventions Fountian.
Followsing the Fountian’s preformance, I headed towards World Showcase, where I ran into the Junkanoo Buss, which had developed a line of Conga Dancers.
I watched them untill they finished their set, and drove off for the night. By this time I was hungry again, and it was still an hour ‘till the Iluminations Fireworks show, so I wandered over to Canada, where I hit Le Celular, for some of that cheddar soup I remembered from my last day last year. I lucked out, and they had it! I was happy. I was also quite hungry, I discovered, so I also orfered what the waitress said was "Some Kind of Fish" (I think Sammon) which looked really good to me. It was good. Sated, I headed out and cought the 25th anaversary Iluminations show, which I belive to be a signifigant improvement over the normal show. Of course this may just be because they have signifigantly incresed the number of fireworks in the show. I am easy to please, sometimes.
Well, after that, I just cought the bus back to my hotel, took a nap, woke up, typed up this, and that’s it.
We shall see what tomorrow brings… I have my alarm set for 6:00am, so I can partake of the EPCOT Early Entry (7:30) and do Space Ship Earth, Living Seas, The Land, Imagination, and the other Future World attractions before the crowds get too bad…
Day 2
Well, I started early, and ended late, and got REALLY wet in the middle, so I plan to sleep in tomorrow.
First off, I was up a t7:00, and made it to EPCOT at about 7:45, and I went for Proximity, thus I hit Space Ship Earth, first, then exited it to The Living Seas, (See Picture LivngSea.PCX) and followed that up with The Land, where after taking the boat ride, I ate a BBQ sandwich, and a Baked Potato stuffed with Ham and Cheese. I then got a "Giant Original Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie Without Nuts", probably the longest named food item I have ever ordered, BY NAME! After that, I watched the Circle Of Life film, and the Food Rocks show.
Since it was now way after noon, I headed over to the Magic Kingdom, where I hopped the train around to the new Toon Town Country Fair, which I had caught bare glimpses of yesterday.
I also took the opportunity to ride Space Mountain, the left side, (Darn it is SLOW, guess our Fed-Ex Mountain has spoiled me) and also poked around in some shops, and caught the Galaxy Search show at the stage there, which was ok, but aside from "The King", some what of a disappointment, about on a caliber with the justifiably un-appreciated "40 Years Of Adventure" show at Disneyland last year. "The King" was about a 30 foot Robot Elvis-Zilla monster.
As the park was rather crowded, although not as bad as EPCOT had been, I decided to head over to the Studios (Disney/MGM) and see what was happening over there. Took a bit of work, as I had to catch the fairy across the lake to the TTC, and catch a bus from there to the Studios, but none the less, I did it.
I hit the Great Movie Ride, and Muppet Vision 3-D, Took in the Monster Sound Show, and played around ‘till about 5:00, when I got hungry again, so I swung by Pizza Planet (From Toy Story), for, yep, Pizza. I was impressed to note that they even included "The Claw", which was filled with little green Alien Squeaky-Toys.
Out front, they had parked the Yellow Toyota Pickup Truck, in which upon closer investigation, I actually discovered Buzz Lightyear, Belted into the Front Seat.
After that, I headed back through a torrential downpour to the Magic Kingdom, with plans of watching the Fireworks plans which I later gave up, based on the weather as I could not find a single place which looked promising for watching the fireworks, without getting drowned.
Surrendering to the inevitable, I opted to try something indoors, so I left the park, and caught the Hotel Loop monorail to the Contemporary, where I crawled around in the arcade for a bit, and dried off, then I wandered off and looked for a Mickey Mouse Watch, but never did find it. I will keep looking. I have a short list of requirements, and while many watches have met all but one, none have fully qualified. I want one which is a) Waterproof/Water Resistant, b) Shock Resistant/shock proof, c) Visible in the dark, and d) Is relatively Low Key [Read Hidden Mickey]. There are many low-key shock/water resistant watches, and many visible-in-the-dark and water/shock proof ones, and even a visible-in-the-dark low key watch, but not a single one which met all my requirements. I looked in probably every shop in the Contemporary, and boy, are there a lot of them!
Finally, I was hungry again, so I grabbed a burger, and decided to head back to the ASM (All Star Music).
Uh, problem. At 11:00 at night, there is no direct way to get to the ASM from the Contemporary. Ultimately, I had to catch a bus to Pleasure Island, and then catch another one back to the Music.
Well, that does it for today…
Tomorrow is Early Entry at Magic Kingdom. I think I shall forego it, however and sleep in, as I need to catch a MEERS shuttle back to the airport and pick up my rental car, sometime before 3:00, and I am still suffering from Jet Lag.
Day 3
I did not do much at all today, in fact, all I did was:
Tomorrow I move to Blue Tree, and it is Early Entry at MGM. Maybe I will go for it, and hit the Tower…
Day 4
It is now Monday Afternoon, as I just crashed last night upon returning, and slept ‘till 2:00pm. I guess I was tired.
I started off with Early Entry over at the Studios, where I hit Tower Of Terror, and then rode Star Tours, both before 8:30!
Next, I caught the Great Movie Ride, after which, it was starting to get crowded, so I left, returned to the hotel, packed all my stuff in my car, checked out, and drove over to Blue Tree, where I moved in to my rooms.
I have one of the Deluxe Rooms at Blue Tree, which has a Master Bedroom, with a bathroom, a Living Room, a Dining Room, a Kitchen, a Utility Room (with Washer and Drier) and a 2nd bathroom, and finally another bedroom with 2 beds. I took the Master Bedroom, of course.
After I was settled in, I drove over to EPCOT, where I headed over to the Casa San Angel for a Plato Combination (Chicken Taco, Combo Burrito, Cheese Quasadilla, and Rice and Beans) as I had not eaten yet.
Following my meal, I prowled around Inoventions to see what I could see… I like Inoventions, sometimes. It can be fun. Depends on who the Sponsor is, I guess. (I find Sega, IBM, Apple, and Nintendo just annoying, but If I was a little kid, I would probably be in heaven with all those Video Games just waiting to be played!)
First discovery was from Hammaker Shlammer (sp?) There I encountered a device which resembled the "Cone Of Silence" from Get Smart. In fact, it is almost the opposite, kind of a "Dome of Sound" which when you stand 2 feet under it, will deliver PERFECT 3-D stereo sound right into your head, w/o headphones or anything! I found it really COOL!
Also Hammaker Shlammer had a 12" LCD computer screen, which pumped out a 3-d image! This without any glasses, either. You just looked at the screen, and there it was! (I took a picture, but ya know, the 3-d was lost in translation. What a surprise.)
Next, I was serenaded by Alec-Tronic, a cool AA character, who didn’t appear to be selling anything! I listened to him sing "President’s Rap" and De-Yo, before I headed off.
Next up, I came upon a relative of Alec, Sid Cyber-Guy. Presented by Motorola, they have changed his script (I guess they need to keep updating to keep current) from last year, so I hung out and listened to the "Future of Cellular" spiel.
Then, I came to a TOTALLY cool GM display, the EV-1. (Available NEXT MONTH from Saturn Dealers in the LA Area, $400, a month, lease only) a new Electric car, which I actually got to "Test Drive" (Read I sat in it and pressed the gas, and the wheels turned on a test bed, while the car remained bolted down.) It will go from 60-90 miles on each charge, and it uses about $1.00 worth of electricity to fully charge, in anywhere from 15 min to 20 hours depending on the charger (It comes with a 8 hour charger, Dealers will have a 15 min. charger, and if you just run a plug from the car to the wall, it will recharge off of 110 in about 20 hours from fully dead.) Looks cool, but I fear I could not get it up the mountain after a drive to Pasadena and back. Unless there is a dealer at the bottom of the hill… I may look into that…
At this point, I headed over to the Magic Kingdom, where I visited the Tiki Room, (They did not change the show, that I could tell… The pre-show is different, though, but I believe it has always been so) after which I wandered over to Fantasy Land, and rode Snow White (I prefer ours, but the end is actually present here), followed by Small World. It was then time for the Parade.
I hopped the train to Main Street, and got a spot on the platform, where I could Video Tape the parade. It was a good spot, and I got a good film, so there are many pictures but unfortunately 4 floats were broken, including the "Demon from Bald Mountain", which I consider one of the coolest floats from Spectro-Magic. Oh well.
After the parade, I made my way to the Hub, for the Fireworks show. It was not as good as Disneyland’s, in my opinion. This despite the fact that they shot off 2 of my favorite firework.
Following the Fireworks, I caught the fairy to the TTC, and the monorail to EPCOT. I almost made it in time to see Iluminations, and I did catch a glimpse of it as the train looped the park, but as I recognized it was only minutes away from the finale, I did not bother going in, but rather headed to my car, and drove off to Pleasure Island, as I was hungry.
Dinner was at the Crab House, a large paddle wheeler, formerly named "Empress Lilly" after Walt’s Wife. I ate over 2 lbs of snow crab. I ended up "STUFFED". It was good, though.
Following dinner, I waddled over to Sharky’s, and just relaxed listening to the music, and relaxing ‘till about 1:00, at which time I headed back here, and crashed.
Today I plan to hit EPCOT first off, for food, then ????
Day 5
Ok, I did a whole bunch today….
Started out at EPCOT, where I ate lunch at the San Angel Restaurant (Not the Casa-Mexicana look-alike outside, but the Blue-Bayou like inside restaurant by the water.) I had the Carne Asada Timpequene, which came with a Chicken Enchilada, Rice, Beans, and a big piece of Tenderloin Steak. It was quite good.
After my meal, I rode El Rio De Tiempo, The River Of Time, which is the Small-World-Meets-Pirates-At-Taco-Bell ride at EPCOT. I had to ride it, after al, I sat there and watched boatload after boatload of happy travelers waft by as I munched my food.
Once I returned from my tranquil trip to Mexico, I headed on around the lake to Norway, where I rode the Maelstrom. This is an even more Pirates like ride, with a twist, as you go "Back, Back, Over tha falls", yes, at one point your boat actually goes BACKWARDS. It is cool.
Following Mealstrom, I bypased the Norway Travel Infomertial, and continued on around the "World", bypassing China which I visited yesterday, and pausing briefly in Germany to listen to an "Umpa" band, who played some clasic German Folk Songs.
Next off, I paused in Austria and looked at the model train they had set up, then I continued on, this time w/o interuption untill I reached France, where I took a picture for a newlywed couple posing before the Eifle Tower, prior to heading on to the International Gateway, my intended destination. (If I had one.)
As I exited the Gateway, I noted a "Friendship", number 7, I belive pulling up to the dock, so I hopped aboard…
The ship was on a 4 stop loop, Yaught/Beach Club, Swan/Dolphin, Boardwalk, and back to EPCOT.
As Boardwalk just opened last month, and was still under construction last year when I was out this way, I elected to ride on to that stop, and get off and poke around. Sorry, but I didn’t think to take any pictures. I looked in at the Sports Bar, and marked the Flying Fish down as a possible food-spot for later.
Next, I headed off to MGM to see if I could catch the Toy Story Parade. Again, I took a boat. At the Studios, as I entered the park, I was acosted by several Streetmosphere Players, who managed to dragon me into playing along with them for almost 20 min. I was in no hury, having discovered that I had already missed the parade, which was at 1:00, same as the "remember the Magic" parade was at the Magic Kingdom. I made a note of this for tomorrow, as I intend to see both of these parades.
After playing along with the Streetmosphere folks for quite a while, I managed to escape, and headed over to the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, where I managed to slide into the back of the LONG line of folks waiting to go in. I barely made it into the next show, and in fact was only able to score Standing Room Only in the back of the theatre (And, no, I again did not take pictures.) After the show, I wandered around looking at various Indy Props, mostly from "Last Crusade", and I came upon a prop that moved! Turns out it WASN’T a prop, it was a real live Jiant Lizard. (Like 2 feet long!) so I took his picture.
At this point, I considered riding the Tower again, but as I approached it, a storm literally blew in, right in front of my eyes, and I took this as an omen, and left the park catching a nice, dry bus back to EPCOT.
Back at EPCOT, I no sooner hit the park then the same storm which had just chased me away from the Studios, showed up and drove me to my car for my umbrella. As I got to my car, however, I decided to drive over to the Magic Kingdom, rather than play the Monorail Shuffle, and just catch the Resort Monorail from the Contemporary to the park, leaving my car at the hotel, rather than at the Ticket And Transportation Center.
If you have never driven around Disney’s property, let me warn you, THERE ARE A LOT OF ROADS!
Somewhere I made a wrong turn, and ended up at the Wilderness Campground, on the wrong side of the water from the Contemporary.
I eventually made it to my destination, but by this time it was already 8:00, and so I had a better idea… I would try to catch BOTH fireworks shows, FROM THE ROOF OF THE HOTEL. I used this location last year to catch a showing of Fantasy-In-The-Sky, and found it quite nice, so I figured "What the heck"…
I succeeded. Even better than I could have hoped, as, just as I was getting ready to go back down, I caught a glimpse of a THIRD fireworks show kicking off… MGM did a private showing of Sorcery for someone (Maybe tomorrow I can find out who, and if there will be any more while I am in the area) and I got to see that as well, something I would have missed entirely if I had not gotten lost.
Following the Fireworks, I headed over to Pleasure Island for Dinner, where I dined at the newly opened Rain Forest Café. I liked it. I got Chicken Wings as a complementary appetizer(because it took them ‘till 11:00 to seat me), and had the Blackened Salmon, un-blackened. Both were good. Unfortunately, it was after 12:00 before I left, so I missed the "New Years" show, yet again. Maybe tomorrow night…
Well, I have 11:30 reservations at the Coral Reef for lunch, again at EPCOT… We shall see where I go from there…
Day 6
First off, I started with Brunch at the Coral Reef, which is the underwater restaurant at the Living Seas in EPCOT. I did nothing more at EPCOT other than eat, and after my meal, I drove over to the Village Marketplace, and parked my car by Pleasure Island, near the Disney Bus Stops.
This was according to a plan. Following that plan, I then took the next bus to show up to that bus’s hotel, this being the Disney Institute, with the intention of then catching a Magic Kingdom Bus from that hotel
to the park. It WOULD have worked if I had not caught the bus to any hotel other then the Institute. Unfortunately, from the Institute, all I could catch was a bus to the Ticket And Transport Center.
For there I caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom, where I again rode the Sky Buckets, this time from Fantasyland over to Tomorrowland.
I then hiked over to Main Street, and taped the "Remember The Magic" parade.
After that, I caught the train to Frontierland and visited the Country Bear Jamboree, which was playing the ORIGIONAL show.
Next off, I wandered over to the Hall Of The Presidents, and I taped the Presidents, doing their thing, after Maya Angeleau finished the movie portion of the show…
Exiting the Hall, I noticed the River had been drained. At Disneyland they do this on occasion, but first they put up a big wall, so you can’t see what’s happening… They either didn’t have time, or just plane didn’t want to bother apparently, here at WDW, because there was no water, yet also no wall… I got a picture looking at Splash on the one side, and one towards their Haunted Mansion towards the other, so look for those pictures tomorrow
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At this point, I was feeling a mite hungry, so I mossied over to the Liberty Tree Inn, where I got me some grub, as well as being visited by some characters.
Following dinner, I headed back out to Main Street for a ground level view of the SpectroMagic parade, after which I caught the Monorail Link to EPCOT, and climbed a hill, just in time to see the Magic Kingdom Fireworks on the horizon, not as good a view as from the hotel last night, but I was then able to get into the park and catch AND TAPE the Illuminations show (Without rain) which I couldn’t do before.
After the show, I caught a bus to Dixie Landings (It had the shortest line) and from there to Pleasure Island.
At Pleasure Island, I listened to Panama, live, after which I headed into the Adventure’s Club where I took in a show in the Library (about Ugly Giant Golden Idols.) and in the Treasure Room, then it was outside for the "New Years" celebration, which I also taped.
After that, I listened to another group perform and then, I came back here, at about 1:30 when the concert ended…
That’s about it…
Day 7
Well, It’s been a week, and I only got 3 ˝ days left, so I have to make them count…
Today, I got a late start… A real Late start, like I didn’t get INTO the Studios (My destination for today) until after 3:00pm. Yep, I once again missed the Parade. (Which is at 1:00)
I looked at the schedule, and decided I had too long to wait for either Hunchback or Beauty and The Beast, so I quested after food. I headed over to Sunset Blvd., and grabbed a BBQ sandwich and Baked Beans from Rosie’s, in the shadow of the Tower. After my light meal (I had 7:30 reservations at Ohana’s, so I did not want to eat a lot at this point in time.) I of course had to ride the Tower again, and so off I went into the Twilight Zone. (This time, I did take pictures, but since there are only 3-4 total, I am again not gonna hook the camera up to my computer and download them, it just isn’t worth it. Look for them tomorrow night.) After I escaped from the supernatural clutches of the tower, and an encounter with the Sunset Blvd. Streetmosphere performers, it was 4:30. (Time flies when you are having fun!) As this was still too long to wait for either play, I headed over to the "Back Stage" tour, planing to kill 20-30 min, and get out just in time for Hunchback.
Best laid plans and all… The tour centered around the forthcoming film 101 Dalmatians, and took a bit longer then the 30 min. it promised. About 20 min. longer to be exact. (Sorry, no pictures allowed.) Thus I missed the 4:45 show of Beauty, thus leaving only the 5:30 showing of Hunchback, which I want to see even more than BaB, which I saw last year. However, A half hour is still too long to wait, so I figured I would catch the 20 min. Tram Tour, and that would dump me out, practically next to the theater, at about 5:25. Again, WRONG. They joined the Special Effects Tour to the Tram Tour, and this meant it took about 45 min. to get through it all. Yep, I again missed the show. I will have to try again tomorrow…
Anyhow, after the tour, I prowled the shops on Hollywood Blvd., and worked my way to the exit by 6:15, so I could be sure and make it to the Polynesian by my 7:30 reservations. I did it, with time to spare, making it there by 7:15, (But if I had missed the bus, the next one would have been 20 min later, and I would NOT have made my reservations, so I guess I did good.) and checked in for my 7:30 spot.
Dinner was as good this year as it had been last year. Many things were the same, they even sacrificed some poor soul to the fire gods, who asked for Mustard. Also, at 8:30, I had a PERFECT view of the Magic Kingdom Fireworks, they even piped in the music!
Following Dinner, I caught a bus back to Pleasure Island (Where I had again left my car for the day) and ventured in to listen to Richard Eliot, Craig Chaquico, Ken Navaro, and Jeff Kashiwa, who were performing as part of this year’s JazzFest. (I had caught a bit of Jeff last night, when I stuck my head into the Jazz Club, and knew he was good. So were the others. I especially liked Richard Eliot.)
Sorry, but I forgot my camera, so no pictures.
Well, that does it for tonight…
I am crashing early, as I plan to get up EARLY and grab breakfast at the Boatwrights at Dixie Landings, after which I plan to hit the Studios again, and THIS TIME I WILL catch the Parade, and Hunchback, AND BaB. I will also probably hit Little Mermaid and the Animation tour.
Day 8
I did a lot, although not what I had planned…
First off, I got up early, and grabbed breakfast. I am not a breakfast person, so I can not comment much on it. There was food, and I ate it, end of story. Only thing of note, which will play a part later in my tale, was I ended up at EPCOT rather than at Dixie Landings as I had intended. I only noticed when I was in line to park, and decided "What the heck, there is food at EPCOT in abundance. I can do Dixie tomorrow or Sunday…" Hopefully I was right. (I will probably try and hit Dixie tomorrow morning.)
After breakfast, I hit the Imagination ride, and then wandered the Living Seas a bit more. Then, it was about 12:00, and I figured I had better head over to the Studios, if I wanted to see the parade.
I decided to drive.
As I mentioned before Disney has A LOT of roads. I again took a wrong one. I have no idea which one I took, but suddenly I found myself surrounded By a Golf Course, and then, around the bend, came, A TOWN! Somehow, I wandered into Celebration, by mistake. I decided to stop and take a look. It looks like a PERFECT place to live and raise kids. Since I have no kids, I was able to leave without actually buying a house there, but if I had had kids, I would have been sold. Just like that.
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By the time I finished wandering Celebration, and talking to folks (Residents started moving in about 6 months ago, and now even the Down Town area is active with actual residents. Also, there are about 30 homes still available, prices ranging from $115,000 to $400,000. I looked at 3 of them, all quite nice, and designed around state-of-the-art technology. Picture living in Tomorrowland. It’s kind of like that.) It was after 3:00, so I gave up on the Studios ‘till Sunday, (an Early Entry day for me.) and headed to the Magic Kingdom (as EPCOT was kind of busy) At the Kingdom, I parked at the Contemporary, and walked over to the entrance, to see how long it took. Then I caught the train to Frontierland, where I rode Splash followed by Thunder then I walked over and caught the next show at the Diamond Horseshoe, after which I watched some folks vacuum the last of the water out of the river (I took a picture, but must of erased it. Sorry.) which was kind of interesting. Next, I visited the Haunted Mansion, before heading to Fantasyland, where I viewed the Legend Of The Lion King show, and rode Toad. Next, I wandered to Toon-Faire, where I rode the Barnstormer Rollercoaster. I swear, it is even shorter than Gadget’s Go-Coaster at D.L., but it is also a better ride, I’m afraid.
After that, as it was getting dark, I headed over to Tomorrowland, and climbed on the TTA so I could get some shots of the area as the sun went down after which I also took a picture of the entryway into the park, in full darkness.
It was now time for Fireworks, so I headed over to the Contemporary, and took the elevator to the roof. (WDW secret: While the 11th floor is labeled "Observation deck", you actually have to walk up outside from the 11th to the 15th floor to see anything. If you go to the California Grill, which is on the 15th floor, you can just walk outside, and Viola! you are ON the Observation deck, along with all the poor tired folks huffing from climbing 3 flights of stairs.) I again had an excellent view of the show, and they once more piped the sound out there, so I could even hear the music. As soon as the show ended, I was ready… I was gonna take the EPCOT Challenge! (Can you see the 8:30 Fireworks AT the Magic Kingdom, and still get to EPCOT in time to catch the 9:00 Illuminations?) I jumped in the first elevator to arrive, and plummeted to the ground floor, raced to my car, and was Off! Rather than go to the front of EPCOT and try to park, then walk to the gates, and through the gates, and then through all of Future World, I had a plan. I bolted directly to the Beach Club hotel, where I had already obtained 9:30 Dinner Reservations, thus insuring my passage through the Guard Gate. My ploy succeeded, and the guard waved me through at 8:50. I quickly found a parking spot, and locked my car, and hurried to the lagoon, where I took the path to the "International Gateway", which is the little known "Back Door" to EPCOT. (It is over by France) I made it through the gates at EXACTLY 9:00, and was on the bridge by France just as the lights dimmed! I had WON the EPCOT challenge!
After the show, I headed over to Ariels, and celebrated by getting the 2lb. Lobster, and topping it off with a "Tower Of Terror Chocolate Delight"
Following dinner, I headed again to Pleasure Island. Tonight and tomorrow are my last nights I will be able to get in…
I hit the Comedy Warehouse and the Neon Armadillo, tonight.
Well, that does it for today…
Day 9
My last day for my A.P. Tomorrow I will be on tickets… Well, I hope I made good use of it… I think I did, although I did waste a lot of it checking out of Blue Tree and in to Caribbean Beach, but hey, I’m on Vacation, and I refuse to push myself.
I got up, and headed to Dixie Landings, Finally, and managed to use one of my Breakfast Coupons at the Boatwrights. Before I left, I tossed the load of clothes I washed last night into the drier, and the first load into the washer, so after Breakfast, all I had to do was toss the final load into the drier, and start packing up. By 10:00, all my clothes were clean, and packed away. Mostly in my Duffel Bag, as I plan to use the suitcase for all the New Stuff I am taking back with me.
I then checked out, leaving the resort by 10:30, and after convincing the Guard at the Caribbean I belonged here, (He was harder to convince than the guard at the Beach Club, which is an exclusive $400+ a night resort, while the Caribbean is a $80-$150 a night! Go figure!) got checked in by 11:00, and was on my way to my room. Fortunately all I was carrying was my suitcase, and computer, (with my 2 days change of clothes in my suitcase.) and a shopping bag filled with all the stuff I have accumulated to date on this trip.
Finding the building was a snap, but finding my room, #2225 was anything but. I swear, this building is folded into some alternate dimension, so as to provide every room with 2 outside walls, and yet accommodate over 100 rooms, in a 2 floor building. I am somewhere on the back side, after going around 9 sides, and each side is a right-angle turn, so it is not like I am going in and out, just around and around… By the way, I returned to my car the other way around, and it was actually FARTHER! I did learn there is a sort of inside way to go, where you take 4 inside shortcuts, and only 6 corners, but still, I am convinced that M.E. Esher was the architect for this building!
After I got to my room, I just kind of vegged for a bit, sitting on my porch (Yes, I have a porch!) and watching the waves roll up the white sandy beach which makes up my view. I suppose the waves come from either the wind, or a wave machine. I never did figure it out.
Finally at about 1:00, I was snapped from my trance (Someone came by to service my wet bar. [Yes, this room also has a wet bar. It is a nice room, I can see how it differs from the All Star, which is basically a Disney version of Motel 6 BTW they upgraded me for free to the $150 a night room, because all they had left in my reservation range was a smoking room, and they asked if I would mind giving it up {It was a "Garden view", which is Disney Speak for "Look at that hedge and the parking lot behind it" I was heartbroken when they wanted to move me to a Water View room.}] and basically woke me up, as I had fallen asleep watching the sun on the water. I must not be getting enough rest…) and headed off to the Magic Kingdom with the intention of taping the Carousel Of Progress… This I did, and based on the crowded condition of the park (relative to the other times I have been in it this trip) I decided to call it a wrap for the Kingdom for the day, and headed over to EPCOT, for some food (I was hungry again) and to tape Horizons, one of my favorite attractions, which is slated to die early next year at this point in time…
I did this, and also taped "Circle of life" at the Land (after I ate) but unfortunately I only got half of it (The top half, not half of the movie, but half of the screen) so I rewound the tape, and tried again with Cranium Commandos and Body Wars, both over at the Wonders Of Life pavilion, and like Circle Of Life, things you are not supposed to tape. I think I got them ok though, but only made a quick check of both.
After that, I hit the Honey I shrunk The Audiance, Spaceship Earth and Impressions Du Franc, attractions, which were the only remaining EPCOT things I had left to do.
It now being 8:20, I headed outside of the park to the place I knew I could watch the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks on the horizon, after which I went back in, to watch Illuminations from over by England, that being the one side I had not viewed it from yet.
Following Illuminations, I walked to the Boardwalk hotel, (I have to come back and check it out tomorrow) and caught a bus to Pleasure Island.
At Pleasure Island, I visited the Jazz Club, and for some unknown reason stuck my head in 8-trax (A 70’s DISCO club!) after which, I guess in an attempt to compensate for the experience I then spent about 20 min in Mannequins, which is a "state of the art Dance Club" filed with smoke, strobes, spinning dance floors, and "Explosion Dancers" who appear on a stage and show off their moves every 20 min. or so…
Next, I wandered outside and caught the "New Years" party, for one last time, as my ticket for tomorrow is a park hopper, but it is not a "World hopper", which means if I want to go to Discovery Island, I gotta pay $9.00, if I want to visit Pleasure Island I have to fork over $15.00, and if I want to visit a water park (Blizzard, Typhoon, or River Country) I need to shell out $24.00, unlike with my pass where I just said "Uh, I got a pass, he he he." "Yeah, Passes are cool" "Yeah, he he he…" (Sorry, Bevis attack there. Back to the Trip Report) so I shall not be doing any of those tomorrow, as I am cheap. (Come on It’s bad enough I had to get a ticket for tomorrow, but what the heck. It is better than not doing anything at all day long on my last full day in Orlando… At one time I had considered going to Universal, but I can’t see paying $38 just to see the new Terminator 3-D attraction and revisit all the old stuff… USF is not that cool, Sorry.)
Anyhow, this means that after midnight tonight I will have less options for what/where/when… I can deal with it though, many other guests do, unless they pay for a 4 or 5 day World Hopper, or a Length Of Stay pass. (All 3 of which average $45 a day) At least I will be able to Park Hop tomorrow… Many others can’t even do that… If they have the 1 day, 3 day, or 4 Day regular passes, they must choose a park and stick with it all day, no matter what it is like, or what they would like to do.
Enough rambling… After the New Years Party, I dropped into Planet Hollwood for a late meal.
After eating, I caught a bus back here to the hotel, and plopped in a CD and typed this up, while relaxing to the Disney Tunes it contains. (I bought it because it has the "Illuminations 25" sound track, which I enjoy hearing. As well as perversions of many Disney classics, like Small World, Lion King, Grim Grinning Ghosts [Mansion], Yo-Ho, and others.)
Sorry, no pictures tonight, but I want to get up EARLY and hit the Studios AEAP (As Early As Possible) as my last Park Day, I got to make it count… I plan to hit MGM then move over to the Magic Kingdom, and end there. I don’t think I will even try to get from M.K. to EPCOT in time to see both fireworks shows, but who knows… Stay tuned… (And pictures tomorrow, I promise!)
Day 10
I started out late, again. I just can’t seem to get up, oh well. I hit the park at 8:30, still technically an "Early Entry", but not as early as I had planned (7:30) My Start Park, due to it’s Early Entry status, was the Studios. I wanted to insure I actually did EVERTHING I had not yet hit, so I armed myself with a list. Here it is:
Toy Story Parade
Super Star Television
Hunchback Show
Beauty And The Beast Show
Little Mermaid
It is quite a list, especially considering that I had failed at many of these objectives previously, but as I managed to finish off every EPCOT attraction yesterday, and aside from the 4 rides at the Magic Kingdom (Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Peter Pan, Teacups, Dumbo, and Orbitron [Rocket Jets, by another name])
I had not hit yet, 3 of which are on my "No thank you" list (Teacups, Dumbo, and the Orbitron) I basically had all day, and nothing better to do than WAIT IN LINE, an activity I had thus far avoided (Not counting waiting for a bus or monorail, the longest line I had waited in thus far was 5 min. for a Cookie at the Land.) If the ride/show had a wait, I just went and did something else… This was not to be the case today…
I also had a Lunch Reservation at the Prime Time Café for 12:00, which would get me finished at about 12:50, just in time for the 1:00 parade, I hoped…
I looked at the schedule, and decided I would have to wait anyhow, so I went and rode the Tower again. I like the Tower, and each trip is different. This time, we actually dropped 3 times! Once, just as we entered the shaft, then we went up to the top, did a Psyche drop, then a real drop, then back up, and didn’t even stop, we just coasted up, ran out of go, and fell! Cool! I think I will move the Tower to my favorite WDW ride.
After the Tower, I cruised over to the Mermaid, followed by a peek at the Animation Studio. All I saw was Hercules, and some Japanese looking artwork. Oh, and several For Sale cells, which I don’t count.
Next up. I went to catch the first Hunchback, but it was filled. I aborted, planing on a later show, and instead hit SuperStar Television. Following that, I headed over to the Prime Time, to see if "Mom" could work me in a bit early. This way I could be sure of not missing the parade, which would make me sad.
I managed to get seated by 11:50, and thus was ahead of schedule. I selected Grandma’s Meatloaf, and chatted with my Cousins at the next table, while we passed around the View-Master which was the insidiously disguised Desert Menu. (What, you think looking at 3-d pictures of Chocolate Cake, Hot Fudge Sundaes, Banana Splits, Chocolate Cream Silk Pie, Baked Alaska, etc. is not gonna make you crave it later? Then you’re wrong. Trust me, I saw it in action. EVERYBODY ordered a desert. [If Mom would let them.] ) I did get admonished for having my Elbows on the table, and Mom said "Now don’t make me have to go get Dad." Once the food arrived I was ok. Until Mom came back and told me I had to finish my Vegetables (And this after I had eaten the Peas, Corn, and Carrots but, I had not eaten the Onions, nor the GARNISH carrot strips.) I made a deal and ate the carrots, and Mom gave the onions to Rover. Then I was allowed a Hot Fudge Sundae. (Told ya it was insidious.)
Following Lunch, I managed to get a pretty good spot for the Parade, just after it turned onto Hollywood Blvd., at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset, in front of the Chinese Theater. (Don’t look at a map, unless it is a map of the MGM studios)
Following the Parade, I only had the 2 shows left on my list, so I staked out the next Hunchback (2:00) and made it in. Aside from my battery dying about ˝ way through it, causing a minor "Burp" in my recording of it, all was well, I even got a PRIME spot to tape from.
Next, in fact last, was Beauty, which had a 3:15 showing. I went straight over, and again got a pretty good spot. Everything on tape looks red, due to the lighting they used, but I may be able to clean that up in "Post Production" If I dub it to a VHS tape.
Since I was by the Tower, I said "What the heck" and visited it again. That makes 4 times this trip, and (gulp) 13 times total, I believe. Nonetheless I did survive, so there. I am definitely moving it to WDW #1 Ride for now.
Since all I had left were the paltry Magic Kingdom rides, I headed out, being careful for the first time to get my hand stamped, and caught a bus to the Polynesian (Of the Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and TTC buses, it was the first to arrive) where I hopped on the Resort Loop Monorail to the Magic Kingdom. (I guess I can qualify as an expert on the WDW Internal Transportation System at this point, as I could tell you how to connect from anywhere to anywhere, with the most chance of not waiting or walking all over the place.)
At the Kingdom, I started off in Tomorrowland, where I hit the Timekeeper, then I headed over to Fantasyland, swinging through Alien Encounter on the way, and went and rode Toad, and Pan. Then, finishing my circle, I looped past the drained river to Adventureland where I taped the Jungle Boat, and hit the Pirates. Thus, finishing off the Magic Kingdom, (aside from Dumbo, Teacups, and of course the Orbitron.) Looking at the time, I decided to see the fireworks, this last time from just outside the park, on the Monorail Platform, then literally jump on the Monorail, and try to get to EPCOT in time for Illuminations. I wanted to be sure of getting my last Fireworks, and this looked like the best way to do it…
I succeeded, more or less… I had a great view of the Fireworks from the ground in front of the Monorail Platform (I could not get a good view of the right part of the sky from on the platform, fortunately I knew in advance more or less where the fireworks would be, and did not have to wait ‘till the show started and then move, missing some part of it), but I could not hear the music hardly at all. It needs the music.
After the Fireworks finished, I bolted up the platform, as a train had come in just as the finale went off, and I wanted to catch it… As I hit the top of the platform I heard the now familiar "De Dum" bell tone, which means "The doors are closing" as the gate was still open, and I knew first one, then the other door closes, I threw myself at the opening, earning a "Hey there" and a dirty look from a panicked cast member, but I was safely in the train, with the door literally sliding shut and locking just behind me… (They slide sideways, then move inwards into position.) I did have to grab a pole to keep from falling over as I had a lot of forward momentum, and no space to stop, but they conveniently put posts right where I needed them.
The train pulled out, probably with the driver oblivious to my hasty arrival, and we were off to the TTC.
At the TTC, I noted a lack of train on the EPCOT platform, so I just walked calmly over to the other side and waited. And waited. Finally, at 8:55, a train pulled up, and I and about 90 others crowded on (another monorail from the park just pulled up as the EPCOT train started boarding, and folks were running across the platform to get on the EPCOT train, until the Cast Members shut the gates. This prevented any guests from trying to repeat my "Flying board" performance. )
We arrived at EPCOT just as the show started, and since it starts with all the countries saying "Welcome from my country", I almost had enough time to enter the park, and get through Future World before the Initial Fireworks Frenzy started. I was across the bridge and to the edge of the crowd ringing the lagoon long before the Frenzy section ended, and the Flash Pots started strobing… I used this time, and the following "Fountain" sections to work my way around the lagoon, towards the International Entry, as I had a plan, I wanted to see the Boardwalk, and as it was free, and Pleasure Island would cost me $$$, I chose to forego the Island (as I had figured I would last night) and hit the Boardwalk instead.
It is kind of cool. First off, I ate dinner at Flying Fish, which I had noted earlier as a place to maybe try out.
I was not disappointed. Can we say "New 2nd favorite WDW restaurant, right after Ohana’s?" Yes we can.
I had a "Cold Lobster Salad" which had lobster and Artichoke on a bed of lettuce with some red and green beans. (I was celebrating again passing the EPCOT challenge, this time USING WDW Transport!) For my main course, I had the BBQ Salmon, which was great, and it was served on a bed of corn, and also came with sweet Corn Bread. I know, kinda corny, (Sorry couldn’t help myself.) but it was good. For desert I had a Chocolate Lava Cake, with Vanilla Ice Cream. It is a Chocolate Cake, with hot liquid chocolate in the middle, and a scoop of Ice Cream on top, normally Citrus, but the waiter put Vanilla on it for me instead. Very nice.
After that, I checked out the rest of the Boardwalk, this time in detail, and over by the ESPN Sports Bar, I discovered the Miss Budwiser Racing Boat was making a special appearance. I then poked my nose into the Dueling Piano Bar, and the Dance Boat, before settling down to listen to some live musicians play Jimmy Buffet and other songs. (Day the Music Died, was one of them, Hotel California was another.) They also encouraged folks to sing along, so I and about 30 others did. It was lots of fun. They didn’t stop! They would pause every 4-5 songs, but never for more than 5 min at any time. Finally, at 01:00 they ran out of steam, so I caught a bus to Pleasure Island, and there connected to a bus back to the Caribbean…
That did it for today. Tomorrow I head home, so don’t look for a report. (I may include a synopsis on what, if anything occurred during my voyage home, but only if there is anything interesting. My plane leaves at 11:20, so I must be at the airport by 10:30 at the latest… I then have a LONG layover in Vegas. I don’t know what I am gonna do, probably just hang out at the airport, and read a book, or something, I should be back in LA by 8:00pm. Then I drive to the cabin and sleep… Wake up Tuesday and go to Disneyland, and then it’s back to work on Wednesday…)
Day 11
Last night, after writing my Daily Installment, I was busy packing up so I could just wake up, shower, and leave… I didn’t want to have to run around and play "Now what did I forget" It is a losing game, so I did it last night. Then this morning, I was busy checking out, and driving to the Rental agency, during which I got lost by passing the exit, and ending up stuck on a Toll Road, which cost me about 20 min, and $2 in tolls, AFTER I found out I had passed my exit.
I did make it back to Thrifty Rental eventually, and got my car checked in, but at that point I only had 40 min ‘till my plane left… I got the Shuttle Driver to take me immediately to the Airport, rather than wait for more passengers (Which would have made me miss my plane, I am sure.) I only hope my luggage got on ok… I just walked up to the gate as they made the final announcement… I am on the plane now, resetting my watch for L.A. time, and trying to decide if I want to pay $5.00 to watch "Eddy" staring Whoopie Goldberg… I think I won’t…
… Ok, I am on my final flight now, it is 6:50pm, and my luggage did make it on the plane to Las Vegas. I then attempted to make a earlier flight (there was one at 4:25, which I just missed the cut-off for, and another at 5:40, which I got put on Stand-By for, and my luggage was put on, or so they told me, but the plane was full, and then, as I was boarding this flight, I heard from one of the Airline Attendants that the plane, which "Pushed back" at 5:45, was being brought back in, IT STILL HADN’T LEFT THE GROUND! This means I may actually beat my luggage to LA, even though it took an earlier flight! They told me not to worry, but I think I will be a bit concerned ‘till I see my bags in person…
… I am at the cabin now. I am going to send this, and go to sleep. It is now 8:30pm, and my stuff all made it. I had to catch a Shuttle to Gardena and steal my car, since I couldn’t get ahold of anybody at Mike’s house, where my car spent my vacation… I bet Dave will freak out when he comes back and sees my car gone, unless he remembers I was coming back today. (Originally I was supposed to call him from the plane and he was going to come and pick me up… However, that didn’t work, as the phone at mike’s was busy every time I tried to call. I just left a message on the answering machine for Dave when I picked up my car, but he won’t get it until after he gets into the house, while he should notice my vehicles absence while still outside… Hope he listens to the message before he panics…