Cordeiro Family - August 2005 • WDW Trip Reports

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Cordeiro - August 2005

Brock N. Cordeiro, Catherine (Cathy) A., Michael (Mike) A., Susanne (Sue) A., Tara A. – Age 9, Jennifer (Jen) A. – Age 6, April A. – Age 4

Saturday, August 13 to Sunday, August 21, 2005

Disney’s Pop Century Resort

Everyone met at my house for 11:45 am so that Robin’s Limousine service could pick us up for a 12:15 pm. I was a wee bit worried that things weren’t going to begin well or on time as Cathy had to leave her car at a shop for some minor repairs which caused her to have to have her parents drive everyone over in 2 cars and well, logistically orchestrating more things always makes me a bit uneasy before a vacation. Although I started to get worried as Cathy told me that if they didn’t arrive by 11:30 am that she’d call me and of course reassumed me that they’d be there on time for the pick up, I wasn’t too thrilled as I knew that for a 12:15 pm departure from my house that the limo would arrive close to noon. Out of the window went the concept that everyone would get here early and even eat lunch at my house in order to make sure we didn’t cut it too close!!! Of course, between worrying about their arrival and my constant checking of the traffic and weather I was bound to drive myself insane(er). :-)
Anyway, at around 11:45 am both cars pulled up in my drive way and everyone piled out with their luggage. There wasn’t a very long wait until the limo arrived however during that period I had time to put the “Disney’s Magical Express” luggage tags on our entire checked luggage. This is a wee bit important as once we checked our luggage at Logan Airport we wouldn’t see it again until we were checked into our resort. Fortunately, the girls spent the time either sitting in the car, as it was a very hot & humid day and well, the cars have air conditioning (haha, yeah and Orlando was going to be 15 degrees worse so we’d all better get used to it) or wrestling in my front yard with their grandfather. Well, the 10-person stretch limo arrived; a really nice white one which impressed everyone, adults and children alike. We began to coral everyone and put the luggage into the trunk. Well, that was the plan at least. Unfortunately, the limo’s trunk decided to pick today not to work and no Mikeer how hard the driver and the various adults tried to open the trunk, it simply wouldn’t budge. Of course, the driver claimed that the trunk worked last night and didn’t know what was going on today. Of course, not known for my patience (it really isn’t one of my many virtues, unfortunately) especially on the eve of a very important and very expensive vacation I was none-too-happy and about ready to go nuclear. Anyway, my pressure valve kicked in, I didn’t explode, and the driver put most of the big luggage up front in the passenger seat while we kept our carry-on pieces and a few minor pieces of luggage in the limo with us. All-in-all, crisis averted and with only a little inconvenience incurred.
We made the trip to Boston, although, it seems that my traffic checks weren’t all for naught as their prophetic warnings were proven right as the traffic on Rt. 24 North was jammed well before the Rt. 128 split (for those who don’t know, Rt. 24 is the main highway to-and-from Boston down here and Rt. 128 is a major highway that encircles the metro Boston area. Once you’ve hit 128, you know you’re in the home stretch as it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump up the Southeast Expressway through the Big Dig and the Ted Williams Tunnel to Logan Airport). Of course, once we got out of that virtual parking lot the Southeast Expressway jammed up fairly early on and almost all the way through Boston to the tunnel. By this point, well… yes… Mr. Impatience is keeping his cool, but just barely. As it turns out we arrived at Logan with plenty of time although closer than I’d have liked to cut it. Adding to my growing frustration was the mixed CDs that Sue had made for the girls… I’m not exactly a fan of hip hop (although I did enjoy some of the other musical genres on the CDs) and it seemed that the only speakers that worked were the ones directly above Mike & my head therefore while I was getting blasted by the bass, the girls who sat up near the driver could barely hear anything.
The driver dropped us off at the Delta terminal, unloaded our luggage, and I paid him for his services. Despite the fluke problem with the trunk, Robin’s limo is a great outfit. Immediately, I tried to figure out where the curbside luggage check was located but Cathy thought that since I had already pre-printed our boarding passes that we would just go inside, after looking around for a few seconds I quickly turned to the right and walked down a few yards and into the check-in line. It looked horrendous but actually the line moved very swiftly as several people must have been a part of the same party. We all got in line and checked in our luggage as all the adults scrambled to produce their IDs and hand over the luggage in a quasi-organized but overly excited manner. Fortunately, while it seemed to be a close call none of our luggage was so heavy that it required a surcharge (they did weigh a piece or two, however). I tipped the very pleasant luggage guy, who despite my comments that I already had pre-printed boarding passes, still printed out the traditional boarding passes noting that his were smaller and more convenient. I tossed our paperwork into my carry-on and we then went inside Logan.
Almost immediately, we got into the almost empty security line and we were asked to present our IDs yet again and show our boarding passes. Now I start getting a bit annoyed as I had just shoved it into my bag but no big deal, I go to dig it out and well, fortunately I had pre-printed boarding passes as the guy outside forgot to give us 3 of them. Mike went to run back outside (granted, a short walk but by this time people are flooding into the security lines) but no Mikeer, I had our originals but by now we had a short wait in line although we were shepherded by some nice security people into a rather quick pass through the metal detector. The security was quick and painless although we were joking about having to possibly go through this big puffer machine that some of us had never seen before. I watched some people get spooked as they stepped inside the machine; the air puffed the loose particles of whatever was on them and their clothes, and analyzed the contents. I joked a few times that it was fortunate that I hadn’t spent some time at the rifle range earlier that morning otherwise we might have missed our flight. The people before us evidently either jumped the gun (pun intended) or were asked to remove their shoes but I never saw them actually get searched barefoot and only complained very loudly. Anyway, we weren’t asked or required to the same and we simply went through the standard empty your pockets, place your carry-on luggage upon the belt and walk through the detector. We all flew through security except, well… they kept scrutinizing one of our bags very closely and come to find out it was Tara’s carry-on that was the cause for concern. A security guy put on his rubber gloves, pulled the bag aside and briefly searched it. Tara piped up with what had to be the line of the vacation saying, “What could I put in there? I’m just a kid!” Even the security guy laughed, actually he was very pleasant, and joked that we’d be surprised by what they find (keep in mind it was from Logan Airport that the doomed 9/11 planes took off).
Anyway, by this point we’re home free. All we had to do was get to our gate and wait for the plane to begin boarding. Well, almost home free… Mike decided to take a bathroom break and instead of waiting until we got to the gate he took off now. Okay, fine so let’s all take care of our personal business. Unfortunately, when we all got done doing what we had to do…we couldn’t find Mike! Now, come on… I had just walked by this guy walking into the restroom but now none of us can find him and he’s certainly not still in there, I know… I checked several times! We all start looking around the area but Mike is not to be found. We decided to walk to the gate and hope that Mike would find Mike upon the way. And walk we did…we walked and walked and walked. The Delta terminal is brand spanking new at Logan but well it has to be the longest. At least Atlanta’s Hartsfield & the Orlando Airport have trains or Monorails, respectively. Ultimately, Mike was one step ahead of us; literally, as we found him getting a coffee near the gate waiting for us as we had looked for him. He never saw us make the same pit stop that he did so he assumed that we went ahead to the gate. All is well that ends well with that.
The next hour or so was relatively uneventful as we sat at the terminal waiting for our boarding. As is my usual habit I was basically sit sitting around trying to prepare myself for flight (I have to take sinus medication due to the cabin pressure problems due to congenital ear problems) and we all just sat around, snacking, and talked amongst ourselves (the girls kept wondering how we were going to get on the plane and they were fascinated by the tunnel and accordion-like tube as well as the color scheme of the planes) until they called for boarding group 2 to be called and finally we were. Now it was time to get aboard and get to Orlando.
I must admit that of airlines that I’ve flown in the past that Delta’s Song is probably my favorite. I’ve used Delta, Delta Express, and American Airlines in the past but the Song planes not only look good but they had the best in-flight amenities and it impressed not only my compatriots but me as well. Flight attendants are always polite but the pre-flight instructions were hysterical as a Caribbean sounding singer made pre-recorded safety announcements. We received our obligatory ear bud earphones but I can’t use them as I need to wear Ear Planes ear plugs to take care of the cabin pressure. This seemed to be a problem as well; I wanted to listen to something darn it! Thankfully, I borrowed Tara’s over-the-ear/old fashioned style from her Discman and simply used those. They were going to come in handy over the next 3 hours. This already seemed like it would be a cool flight and that was before I looked through the rather nice menu of possible, for purchase, meal choices. The only downside to the flight is that I was used to having complimentary snack packs and sodas being provided. On Delta Song, only the sodas are free and everything else costs (generally $2.00 for a snack & $8.00 for a meal). I didn’t order anything but the best thing had to be the in-flight entertainment. Keep in mind that none of the girls had flown before and most of the adults aren’t exactly too keen being 50,000 feet in the air but time passed swiftly as embedded in the seats before us were small, free, satellite TVs! Personally, another plus for my trip down was that I was able to switch seats with Jen who due to the random computer assigned seating put her sitting alone while the other 6 of us sat in 2 back-to-back rows, the last 2 rows with me in the last, on the right side of the plane. Not minding being the odd-man-out I took Jen’s seat which was rather providential as although I sat in the isle seat with 2 people beside me the Asian girl in the middle decided to move a row forward to sit beside her friend which left me with a seat in the center, all alone, which I then was able to use in order to spread out a bit more room. It didn’t hurt that the girl by the window was rather attractive and helped pass the time. What also helped pass the time were the aforementioned TV screens. At first, I assumed that TVs were going to be pay-per-view (and there were some movies that were such) but I was able to watch Fox News and the History Channel (incidentally, it was the program “From Ape to Man”) which is probably what I would have watched had I been home. In the vacant seat next to me I put the flight info on the screen. Thankfully, the girl on the end simply slept although annoying she kept the window closed. Hey, if you look that cute I guess you’re allowed to be a little annoying.
Anyway, we had a very uneventful flight (which is good for me as the aforementioned cabin pressure problems can be hellacious…actually, in that regard I had my best flight to date) with little turbulence. However, just as we were taking off Jen let out an ear-splitting scream that I thought was in abject fear. It turns out I was later told that Jen was just excited to be on our way! We disembarked the plane and, I was almost home. Actually, that’s always the first thought I have once I step out of the plane, walk down the tunnel & hit the tile floor of Orlando Airport. We didn’t waste much time dallying around the airport but we did joke that now the kids had seen the Disney gift shop that we could turn around and go home. They also joked about the Hilton hotel that is smack in the center of the airport. Thankfully, we were making use of Disney’s Magical Express so we didn’t have to pick up our luggage but we did have to meet up with the Disney’s Magical Express representatives. Fortunately, they’re not hard to find as their usually uniquely dressed and wearing big Mickey Mouse hands. I found one and he directed me over towards the Disney’s Magical Express table where they verified that we were using the service and stamped my paperwork to get aboard the bus (I had almost left these booklets at home thinking that once I had labeled my bags I wouldn’t need the brochure any more… luckily, I didn’t and I’m fairly an obsessive control freak…hence I held onto each and every scrap of paper and all the documents). With these I hand we stepped into line to board the appropriate bus, loaded our carry-on luggage with the driver, and get aboard to return “home” to the World that Walt built. The bus ride was uneventful but it’s always great to sit on an AC bus (as the heat index was 115 degrees) and watch Disney videos as well as the “news” announcements of what to expect at check-in & such. I’m a sucker for even Disney ads.
Anyway, the Disney’s Magical Express driver had 2 other stops besides ours (Animal Kingdom Lodge and Caribbean Beach Resort, both of which I have visited) and I was actually looking forward to seeing Animal Kingdom Lodge again briefly, as he first indicated that we would stop there first. Unfortunately, in a sense, Pop Century was his first stop as I was looking forward to showing everyone where I the good fortunate to stay last year. Anyway, as soon as I pulled into Pop Century I fell in love with the place (although seeing the unfinished set of buildings was a little disconcerting at first). The themeing to this place is simply adorable, especially the lobby with its glass cases full of period memorabilia from the various decades at the resort. We were just about the first out of the bus and after getting our carry-on bags and tipping the driver it was off to check-in. The whole arrival process was fairly simple and stress free as Cathy and I mostly left the girls with Mike and Sue and we checked in to Pop Century. The only hang up was that they ran out of room key/park pass blanks so that delayed things slightly. I was given room 9320 & Katy got 9321. I was also given 2 lAprilrds with pins but Cathy had me keep those for myself as it wouldn’t work out having only 1 for 3 girls (even if I gave them mine, it was still only 2 for 3). In addition, we received exactly what we wanted: 2 connected rooms in the 80s building with preferably no-smoking. After going through that it was time to finally get some food and get settled in for the night.
What I found slightly unusual about Pop Century is that the gift shop is essentially merged with the food court. I don’t have a problem with this at all but I’m used to them being both in the same building but in different rooms. Anyway, I sat with the girls while the rest got their meals and then it was my turn. I decided to go with the pan-fried salmon on a bed of pasta with a bread stick and a refillable mug of Diet Coke. After that, I went shopping and I picked up most of my pre-planned/ritualistic souvenirs for the week including a golden guest of honor name badge that could have personalized engraving (have you ever tried to find the name BROCK as a standard print run?!) I also picked up 23 postcards, the obligatory magnets and pins, and I had spent enough to get a reduced price picture frame of the Castle. Fortunately, I came down here with a Disney Rewards debit card with $437.00 loaded on it. For the first time I decided to buy an autograph book and go around with the girls getting mine signed.
After this it was getting a bit late so while I was doing my shopping they all went back to the resort ahead of me to take care of their luggage. I vaguely remembered the directions that I was given to get to my room and so I walked, and I walked, and I walked…enjoying all the sights but not exactly endearing me to the idea of walking this at least twice daily. I eventually got to my room and we all joked that there had to be a shorter way to and from the lobby. Anyway, we were surprised to find that our bags had not yet arrived. I called Luggage Services and was told that it can take up to 2 hours or so for our bags to arrive but they should be here within about 45 minutes. In the mean time, since we couldn’t go to bed or even jump into the pool, Cathy, Sueh, the girls, & I went and walked around our area of the resort for awhile. We stopped to ask some questions about how early the busses run and such. I thought that the “computer keyboard” in the ground was a funny touch. The girls seemed to agree as they jumped from letter-to-letter spelling out their names. We didn’t stay out too long as a rather large thunder storm was coming overhead and Jen became very afraid.
By the time we arrived back at our rooms our luggage had arrived. We went to bed fairly early, well most of us, as we were prepared to get up at 5:45 am in order to be read to get to the Magic Kingdom at park opening for a little surprise for all the girls. We ended up leaving the connecting room door open and I slept in 1 bed while Tara & Jen slept in the other. Cathy & Mike shared a bed in the next room while Sue and April shared the other. For the most part that is the sleeping arrangements for the coming week. However, the day was not yet over for Cathy and Sue as when we got back to the resort most of us hit the hay they decided to grab some adult beverages and hit the pool. Unfortunately, Cathy had left her room key in the room and while Sue had hers, I had absentmindedly locked the deadbolt in my room (Sue was technically in my room with Tara while the rest theoretically shared the other room). Hey, they weren’t thrilled and they woke me up but no harm done. :-)
All-in-all, it was a pretty good first day. I’m used to flying out at the crack of dawn but despite some minor glitches the day went very well!

Well, we got up at the crack of dawn, if not before then. I had set wake up calls with Mickey and they came right on time. Actually, it might have been a little too much as I let Jen answer the telephone so she could hear the Big Cheese and I heard Cathy yell over that I could’ve let the girls sleep a little longer. Okay, I could have been told that last night… I mean, hey… isn’t a wake-up call a….wake up call! :-) Anyway, no harm was done and we all quickly got ready and out to the bus. We deliberately skipped breakfast. Unfortunately, I had an inauspicious start and hoped that it would not be a harbinger of things to come but I left my itinerary at the room. Keep in mind that I had 3 copies of this thing and one was supposed to be in my day bag at all times. My itinerary also has our schedule.
We didn’t have to wait too long, but then again any time you’re waiting in line even it he early morning heat, it seems like an eternity. Finally, the bus came and we go on board for the Magic Kingdom. Once we arrived we walked past the Walk Around the World bricks (they seemed to find these interesting especially knowing, as most of them did, that I owned one). We sailed through the security check-in and ended up right in front of one of the turnstiles towards the far right near the stroller pick-up. We got here about a half hour to 45 minutes early so we did have to wait awhile and Jen kept asking where the Castle was… she was very upset that all she could see was the train station and began to think that the Castle didn’t even exist. I was trying to reassure her that it was there and that heck, it’s designed not to be seen from the outside. I don’t think that she understood. The Cast Members at the gate were very pleasant and they were telling us about the early-morning procedures. Once the gates opened I was arguably the first person into the park that morning. I ran over to the strollers and purchased 7 days worth of rentals but well, there was a slight problem as Nicole, the new Cast Member at this area, was having a problem with the register. Ultimately, it took quite awhile but between Nicole and another Cast Member they got the problem figured out, refunded me my payment and only charged me for 6 days with one being comped for my time and hassle. Actually, Cathy and the rest were harping on me wondering what was taking so long as they had finished picking out some early morning essential souvenirs such as a hat for April that the had left behind at the room. Actually, I wasn’t the only one running late as Sue had a problem with her park pass and couldn’t get in at first. It turns out that she left her ticket next to her cell phone all night and demagnetized the thing. No harm was done however as the Cast Member let her in after realizing the problem. At this point, we were running very late for our goal but cutting it close is not missing.
Our until now unmentioned goal (and we successfully kept this a surprise fro the girls) was to get to Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Castle for our 8:10 am priority seating so that we could have breakfast with the various princesses (Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, and Mary Poppins. The Fairy Godmother was downstairs in the throne room when we were leaving). We took pictures with everyone and got their autographs. Actually, I missed a picture with Mary Poppins but hey, I got all the rest. Mike and I really enjoyed the various family-style breakfast items although Cathy and the girls tend to be a wee bit pickier about what they eat so I don’t think that they enjoyed it quite as much. What was funny was that April didn’t seem to take to Belle since she wasn’t wearing the normal pre-princess outfit that April was used to seeing. More adorable, however, was April demanding “My Snow White!!!” This is the ultimate Disney character experience and from the themeing to the characters and, at least in my case the food, this is always a must-do if at all possible!!! We pulled off our grand surprise from the girls but it was not to be the first. Actually, every character meal that I booked (and I booked every character meal in the theme parks) was supposed to be, and was kept as, a complete surprise to the girls.
Fortunately, before going to eat I stopped at the PS check-in counter and had them print out a couple of copies of my priority seatings for the rest of the week, but really I only needed it for the evening. The first attraction that we visited was the carousel out behind the Castle. I kind of squawked at this “waste of time” but only because I wanted to cover some more “important” attractions that hisTaracally have lines that back up to infinity but I was overruled because April simple had to go on the carousel. We knew going into this vacation that there would be this tension between “Tour Guide Brock” (which is part of the reason I was brought on board) and “going with children.” After that, ditto with Dumbo. I wasn’t too thrilled here either but hey, it is the quintessential Magic Kingdom attraction that you see in all the commercials so even I went aboard. Fortunately, things picked up and there never was any sort of crisis as we got those out of our system and I started to shepherd us around the rest of Fantasyland to the biggies like Mickey’s PhilharMagic (which everyone simply adored and vowed to see again, preferably later in the night), It’s a Small World (which I didn’t get to see last year as it was being refurbished, I loved it as always!), Peter Pan, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Winnie the Pooh (which we had Fast Passed as our first Fast Pass of the trip while we went in PhilharMagic…I ran ahead with everyone’s park passes, they gave Sue a temporary one, and got us the passes), and such. I think the only one we missed was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups. Actually, there was a wee bit of child demand here as April wanted to go on a rollercoaster and she was starting to get incorrigible. Thankfully, I convinced everyone to finish off the big ones in Fantasyland and then hike on over to take out Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. What was rather strange was that the Fast Pass for Pooh wasn’t necessary. Honestly, there were virtually no lines for anything and if not a walk-on (like Small World) then the lines were exceedingly fast (such as Peter Pan).
Once we knocked out Fantasyland we hiked over to Frontierland using the little bridge to the right of Liberty Square. I tried to get us to stop in and see the Haunted Mansion but I was overruled. I didn’t mind this time because hey, we were going to take care of the mountain range. Tara, especially, was excited to go on HM but mostly, I think, because she hears me impersonate the Ghost Host voice and she loved the Eddie Murphy movie. Anyway, we went to get a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain while we then went on Big Thunder Mountain but well, Houston…we have a problem. I ran ahead to get everyone’s Fast Passes and well… after I got 6 of them I realized that I’m 1 short. I checked all of my pockets and well, I’m still one short! I ran over to the rest of the gang and was hysterical because somehow, somewhere, I lost a park pass/room key!!!!! Actually, it was Cathy’s pass as well and she was none-too-happy. I was wondering if I dropped it around SM or left it around Pooh but we decided as a group to go on Big Thunder Mountain and worry about it later, despite my feeling like a complete and total fool, because there was virtually no line to speak of and nobody wanted to hike back to Fantasyland in the extreme heat. After Big Thunder Mountain, which everyone loved, I looked around SM and the Cast Member there looked to see if I had left it behind there. I hadn’t but he showed me a bunch of passes that were left in the machines and said that it was likely this happened to me at Pooh. I could only hope!!! None of us were too happy about not having the ability to Fast Pass for the rest of the day!!! We had a dilemma, we had 6 Fast Passes and 7 people so it was decided that Sue, who evidently is wonderful at lying and assuming the Cast Member would be a guy would probably flirt her way into “oops, we must have dropped a Fast Pass” would give the Fast Passes to the Cast Member. Anyway, we didn’t even need that little deception as nobody bothered to count the tickets (a trend that I noticed for most of my Fast Passes this week). The only downside here is that Jen started to cry a bit (she wasn’t so much scared as just didn’t want to do the attraction and would rather go back to the resort at this point, I think). The Cast Member who checked the loading told us that she couldn’t ride if she was crying but it ended up being a hollow threat as we all kept sailing and ended up having a great time on Space Mountain.
After Space Mountain we decided to hike down Frontierland and see the Country Bear Jamboree and work out way back towards Liberty Square. I’ve never seen so many people in Country Bear Jamboree and so many people get interactive with the singing and hand clapping. I kept teasing the girls that my favorite song was the skit about Mama & Buford… if you’ve heard it you’ll understand why I have an affinity for it. If not, just ask. ;) “Mama don’t whup little Buford…..” Once we saw Country Bear Jamboree it was now time for the Haunted Mansion. There was no line here but well, the girls started to get a wee bit scared, including Tara who was so hyper to see Haunted Mansion earlier. Cathy did order me to be nice and to NOT do my very loud, evil, sinister laugh and scare the girls….and I didn’t. Well, after we went through the stretching room, all Hell broke loose as the girls heard about the people being dead and freaked out. I kept trying to calm them down but I really didn’t think that the Cast Members would let them on the attraction. Anyway, we got them calm enough (the people around us were giggling a bit) to go on but Tara had to ride with Uncle Brock. Okay, no problem… okay, well she did have a death grip on me while we sat in the Doom Buggy and that was fine. Unfortunately, at one point she went to hug me & give me a kiss and well, for that I took off my hat. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember my hat when I exited the ride. For the record, Tara ended up not being too scared by the ride but scared enough that just joking that she’d have to ride it alone drove her to near perfect nun-like obedience for the rest of the week. She did say she’d go on it again another time, however.
Okay, at this point my day isn’t going to well…. between forgetting my itinerary, the hold-ups in the morning, losing Cathy’s park pass, and now my hat…. Things are going along just swimmingly, don’t you think?! Actually, on top of that, Cathy made a point of saying, seemingly out of the blue, that if we ever do something like this again that the limo is going to pick everyone up at her house. Now, okay, she does have a point (although I’m certainly not going to leave my car parked at her house when I have a big doublewide driveway in a secluded neighborhood but she’s right, their family is well… more people and thus more bags as well. My only real gripe is that the plan WAS for them to leave their cars at my house and it 1) wasn’t my fault that they had to get the car fixed this week and 2) nobody had ever issued an objection before so this seemed to come out of left field). Anyway, I don’t want to sound like I’m making a big deal out of this to any readers or to posterity since it really was a 2 second exchange but darn it if it doesn’t show you the course of my day so far!
At this point it’s getting pretty close to parade time and shortly after that it’s time for Cinderellabration and dinner so while everyone staked out our spot for the parade I decided to hike back to Pooh to see if I could find her ticket. Well, hike in the heat I did. After getting to Pooh, the Cast Member checked and lo-and-behold…I FOUND CATHY’S PARK PASS!!! THE PESANTS REJOICE! From here I decided that I’d go and get my golden guest of honor name badge engraved so after stopping at the Snow White gift shop and getting directions to walked down through the Castle to Main Street USA and did the engraving. While there I came across a pin that I had wanted going back about a month or two previously when I saw it on a website but it hadn’t yet been released and by the time of my visit, I feared that it would be sold out. What I saw was a pin of “Walt’s Legacy” which showed a photo of him beside an image of Figment. Walt & Figment… 2/3rds of all things wonderful about Disney (can’t forget Mickey for the final 1/3rd). Just before I purchased that I happened to turn around and saw a Figment Guest of Honor name badge so I purchased that and had it engraved (which was funny since the engraver said that the normal way to do it is with Figment hanging upside down but that some guests don’t like it that way so he had to double check. I told him that if that’s the way it should be then that’s the way I want it. That is the way I had it done). I had a very nice conversation with another Cast Member who was ringing me up as he was asking me were I was from, what the weather was like, and turns out he knew our area. While there I was asking about where a particular sculpture may be found. Last year I had scene a statue of Mickey sitting before an easel, looking in a mirror, and painting a self-portrait of Walt Disney. I’ve always loved this picture and I wanted to buy the piece last year but by that point my money was tight. I always had it in mind to pick the sculpture up if I had the cash this year.
After all this was done I left and decided that hey, if I’m this far down Main Street maybe I should check the lost & found in Town Hall to see if I can find my hat. Of course, it was far too early by this point but hey, it was worth a shot. At least they were able to tell me to come back later and the related procedure. By this point it’s getting pretty darn close to the parade time so I hiked back up Main Street and through the Castle. The previous gift shop had suggested stopping in the King’s gift shop to find the aforementioned sculpture and after looking around a bit, and asking a Cast Member, who asked a Cast Member painting some cells (of course I felt like a fool yet again as the piece was virtually biting me in the butt when I asked) but I did find it and it wasn’t all that pricy so I broke out my Disney Rewards debit card and paid for the piece. The only problem here is that after hiking around so much, without a hat, and lately so fast, I was starting to feel ill. I probably hadn’t drunk enough yet and when I bent over to sign my receipt and fill out the shipping label (I was having it sent home ahead of me) I started to get very dizzy and ill. Anyway, that was taken care of so I walked back to our spot in Liberty Square. At this point, I couldn’t find the gang so I got near where we were and kept drinking cup after cup after cup after cup of water but to little avail. I did find them in short order, pretty much where I had left them, but surrounded by dozens upon dozens of guests and getting to them was nigh impossible. Nevertheless, I still had a pretty good view of the parade standing near the bridge between the Castle hub and Liberty Square.
After the parade I rejoined the group and we staked out positions near the Castle rotary on Main Street next to the bubblers. We had some time to kill so Cathy and Sue went off to get some Fast Passes for Space Mountain and to get some Poweraides. While they were gone I basically sat slumped on the ground with a towel over my head and simply tried not to black out as an intense headache made me want to die. Cathy came back with an extra Poweraid for me and thankfully after resting awhile and all the drinking I felt half-decent in short order. We all really loved watching Cinderellabration and after this it was time to see Space Mountain but not before we first went on Buzz Lightyear’s Spacer Ranger Spin as we had some time to kill. Here, I probably had one of the best scores of my life but darn it….Cathy had first timer’s luck and hit Zurg just at the right place at the right time and maxed out her score!!!! Suffice to say, we all enjoyed this attraction. Now it was time for Space Mountain but here’s the rub, April was too small to go on here (she made almost every other attraction) and she was a rollercoasteraholic after Big Thunder Mountain so this didn’t go over well (not to mention that she hates being separated from Cathy or Sue). Mike decided to stay out and do a child swap and well, off the rest of us went. Tara and Jen were pretty scared, she was terrified of actually going into space, and we were laughing because Tara was thinking that the shooting stars above us were actually the speeding coaster. Anyway, we got on and despite my getting banged around (as usual) which caused Tara, who sat in front of me to laugh hysterically, we all loved Space Mountain… including and especially…. Tara & Jen!!! They wanted to do it again! Actually, we planned on it since Mike had the child swap coming but well, when we got out we found Mike and April waiting for us in the gift shop. Evidently, April threw such a temper tantrum while waiting for us that Walt Disney World Security actually came over, TWICE, to tell Mike that April would have to stop crying or they would have to leave the area. Suffice to say, we didn’t go on again that night.
After Space Mountain it was getting very close to having to check in for dinner so we made our way over to the Liberty Tree Tavern for our 6:20 pm dinner. This was one of the few character restaurants that I hadn’t eaten in before. Actually, some years ago I did have a PS for it but we cancelled it as well, it is New England food and I’m from Massachusetts… I can get this at home, right?! Well, in hindsight I realize the errors of my ways because I greatly enjoyed this dinner. I did feel bad, however, at one point because well… sometimes I don’t hear quite so well and I was having a hard time at that point and the Cast Member asking for our PS was a very pleasant girl named Amanda Louise who well, appeared to have some disabilities and I think that she thought that I couldn’t understand her due to those when, honestly, I couldn’t hear her due to my problems. Yeah, I kind of felt like a jerk even if you could say that it was nobody’s fault. The girls were bouncing off the walls with anticipation of seeing more characters. The cherry on top of this experience was that one of Cathy’s two favorite characters is Goofy and we got to see him, Minnie, Pluto, and Chip & Dale. The look of sheer, total, and utter delight on Cathy’s face was priceless. Actually, she seemed at one point to be pushing herself ahead of her own children and the kid’s at the nearby table to get to Goofy (yeah, he noticed and chided her for it). However, always the good sport Goofy took pictures with Cathy and the rest of us. We, of course, took pictures with the other characters and got their autographs as well. At least Cathy got to finally have her moment of Disney magic! Now, the only thing left was Cathy getting the ability to touch Mickey. See, Cathy went to Walt Disney World at least once before about 15 years earlier and had never actually seen Mickey up close or touch him in the parks. While eating we dodged a rain storm as it started and stopped while we were eating and thus we avoided each and every drop. Things were going along wonderfully, the dinner was great (even the very picky ones amongst us enjoyed the food, characters, and themeing) that is well, until… I pulled out my wallet to pay for my share of the dinner. Amazingly, much to my horror, my Disney Rewards debit card was missing!!!! I had nearly $200 still left on the card and it was gone!!!!! I saved up my money Disney Reward Dollars from my Disney Visa credit card for over a year to amass this free money and I wasted it!
After telling them that I would meet them “near the Castle” I left the rest of them with some funds for my part of the meal and then I ran off to the Castle gift shop praying that I simply left my card behind hours earlier and that it would still be in the shop, safe and sound….hopefully. I was running like a man possessed and quickly becoming a madman as the various ropes were going up around the Castle making my quick trek a virtual maze. I eventually got to the gift shop, and the Cast Members there said that they had found my card, but they had just very recently given it to lost & found and that it should be making its way to City Hall, if it wasn’t there already. Somewhat relived but still upset not to have the debit card in my big, greedy, hands I ran down Main Street back to City Hall. While there I spoke with a Cast Member named Steve who was very helpful and he checked on both my card & hat but neither was there. He asked me if I was staying for Wishes, the nightly fireworks show, and since I was he told me to come back as late as possible and hopefully I’d be all set then. I retraced the maze, which well had been changed yet again and hunted around for the gang. Of course, I wasn’t very specific so trying to find them was a figurative needle in a haystack. Finally, I should thank April for her very distinctive, high pitched screech, because I was able to echolocate their position near the rotary in order to watch Wishes.
I wasn’t exactly in the best of moods while watching the fireworks but they did help liven things up for me a bit (although I was thinking that my wish had better come true and I need to get my debit card back). The only downside here is that while we were having dinner a thunderstorm passed by, evidently Tinkerbelle doesn’t like to fly when it’s a bit wet outside so the girls didn’t get to see their favorite character that night. After the show, I took off ahead of the group, telling them that I would meet them at City Hall, and I made my way desperately there. Upon entering I spoke with Aude, the Cast Member (from France, I believe) and Steve and when she went back to check my hat was still not found but ALLELUIA, THEY FOUND MY DEBIT CARD!!!!!!!
I met up with everyone else near the rotary down here (Where Roy Disney & Minnie sit) and told them the great news. We headed out to the busses but of course not before returning our stroller (which granted wouldn’t be really note worthy here except…) it gave us a great view and plenty of time to see Mickey Mouse waiving and wishing us a magical goodbye from his perch at the Main Street train station. We headed off t our bus where we expected to stand and wait for quite awhile. We did not get to see most of Tomorrowland or any of Adventureland or Toon Town. It turns out that we were right and the line for the bus back to Pop Century was atrocious. We were crammed in a bus in short order but we weren’t exactly thrilled by it. Thankfully, we had a most wonderful and excellent bus driver named Jim who made our trip seem very short by engaging us in various jokes and sing-a-longs. I think that I’ve had him, or someone very like him, on a trip years past. Jim is certainly a credit to Disney and one of the best Cast Members I’ve ever met. All-in-all the day was actually pretty darn good despite some glaring and horrible exceptions that severely dampened the day. But hey, it’s always good when you can open & close the Magic Kingdom.
I went into the Pop Century gift shop to buy a few minor souvenirs, mostly to double check that my Disney Rewards debit card still had some cash loaded on it! After Meanwhile, they headed to the main pool and when I was done shopping I decided to get ready for bed. While they were swimming, I was taking a shower. I only mention this since well, they had tried coming back to the room but yet again left their room key, well in the room, while I had locked the deadbolt. Unfortunately, they knocked so loudly that it woke up one of our neighbors and they got yelled at. After that we worked well and I didn’t lock anyone out and they didn’t forget to take their keys! :-)

We slept in a little bit today as we had realized that we got to the Magic Kingdom a wee bit earlier than necessary and today’s breakfast wasn’t until 9:00 am so we got up, got dressed, and off to the bus in plenty of time. Today was designed to be an “easy” day compared to marching along from open to close at the Magic Kingdom. We did get to Animal Kingdom in plenty of time well, that is except that by the time we got there, did some early shopping at the outpost gift shop (Mike had forgotten to bring a hat this day so he picked out a cool looking pit helmet and one of the girls had to get sun glasses) and got our stroller rental that we did have to hike at a pretty good pace to make our priority seating with some time to spare.
Today’s breakfast was in Donald’s Breakfastasaurus in Dinoland USA. We checked ourselves in for breakfast and evidently the Cast Members there are supposed to take your picture posing with “Dinoland Institute” props and background (undoubtedly for a future fee) but they were experiencing digital camera technical difficulties so the people ahead of us and we did not get our pictures. Who would have thought that we would miss out by having our names called so soon?! Actually, we were seating very rapidly, which otherwise wouldn’t have been a bad thing. Donald’s Breakfastasaurus was one of the few big restaurants, and certainly in-park character meals (like the Liberty Tree Tavern from yesterday, gee you’d wonder who booked the meals and decided in which order we’d eat?) that I hadn’t experienced during my previous trips. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I absolutely loved the restaurant from its décor to its food (which is always essential isn’t it? Everything is served buffet style with a Southwestern flavor to it. They also boast all-you-can-eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Quite frankly, the various twists on the normal breakfast food were worth the price of admission). Anyway, we had an awesome server named Mike who couldn’t have been more attentive or helpful (as he took several group pictures of us and even played magic tricks and performed gags for us). Along with Donald Duck we also got to see Goofy, Pluto, and the big cheese Mickey Mouse. What was great was that Cathy had commented that she had never been able to touch Mickey before, and now she had her chance! We took pictures with and got autographs from all the characters although it wasn’t very easy to try to eat breakfast and do all the pictures with the entire gang but we did it! Actually, I was finishing up my last few bites and putting my camera away as the rest started getting ready to leave (isn’t the photographer always the last to eat?!) All-in-all, I would never hesitate to eat breakfast here again!
Although we were in Dinoland we thought it best to hit some of the other parts of the Animal Kingdom before coming back here later. We first walked over to Asia to get a Fast Pass for the Kali River Rapids. Everyone was looking forward to this as we love the rapids ride at Six Flags New England. Actually, the stand-by time wasn’t very long but we still elected to wait until later, for although it was already very hot we knew that it would only get worse and the line longer as the day progressed. After that we headed off to Africa to experience the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which was one or the big “must do’s” of any Animal Kingdom visit but more so since Cathy and the girls were really looking forward to this. The line for the safari was surprisingly very short and we were able to get on board in no time. We had a wonderful time on the safari, especially pointing out all the animals to the girls. Fortunately, even though we stopped for breakfast and didn’t to straight onto the safari at opening time it had not gotten so hot, as of yet, that the animals were driven into seclusion (even the lions were out on their rocks and clearly visible, if sleeping…as usual).
After the safari it was time to go back and use our Fast Pass to go on Kali. I loved it as usual but I don’t think that they were quite as impressed as they hoped as there were not as many side jets of water to get everyone as drenched as they hoped. That being said, Cathy and Jen walked off entirely soaked as they had gone down the big fall, backwards. After this we drip dried as we worked our way back towards Discovery Island (it’s the big hub of the park…from which Africa, Asia, Dinoland USA, and Camp Minnie-Mickey branch off…where the Tree of Life is and it acts as the focal point like Cinderella’s Castle) to actually go in the aforementioned Tree in order to see Its Tough to be a Bug. Since everyone loved Mickey’s PhilharMagic I was hoping that they’d enjoy this one as well. I’m pretty sure they did, well… except maybe not Jen since she sat next to me and freaked out at all the special effects (which isn’t unusual since you’re talking about essentially a 4-dimensional experience with insects!!!). After sitting in the AC for awhile (although after being wet) we were quite cooled off but it was back out into the heat in order to stop over at Camp Minnie-Mickey.
While on our way we passed the path to the exit to the park and saw Stitch. Now, I think he’s cute but he’s hardly my favorite Disney character. However, he is most certainly Sue’s favorite character but, unfortunately for her, we were on a tight time schedule. We were marching off to the Camp with a purpose in mind and that was to get in line, in time, to see the Festival of the Lion King (one of Cathy’s favorite movies). I’ve seen this show before but it was excellent then and it was excellent now. The singers, dancers, and acrobats are amazing. This may have been one the highlight of the day for my group and perhaps one of the high points of the entire trip. After the Festival of the Lion King we trekked back down to Dinoland USA.
It’s in Dinoland that we ran into a wee bit of a soap opera. We all planned on going on Dinosaur except that April wasn’t tall enough. That wasn’t too much of a problem since we were prepared to simply do a child swap. Sue, having seen the attraction before, decided to wait for us. Unfortunately, as we started to go through the queue line for the ride Jen & Tara decided that they were too terrified to go on. Now this was a bit of a surprise (well, all the girls but especially Jen were a bit scared at times but generally we could get them to go on an attraction) and Tara had even promised earlier that she would go on the ride if she could sit with me. I was even talking and joking with some other guests who thought that the scare factor of this ride was highly overblown. Fine, no problem we’ve got a deal. Unfortunately, Tara was going to break that bargain. Cathy and Mike took the girls outside but then quickly came back inside only to yet again take the girls out (although much closer to the actual loading dock, I actually gave up my space in line to wait until the very end to see if they were going to come back…they didn’t). Anyway, I jumped back in line and luckily I was able to quickly go on board as they needed a single rider. As always, Dinosaur was one of my favorite attractions.
Upon getting off the ride and rejoining the group, just exactly where I’d fine them I wasn’t sure and it took a wee bit of looking, I found them out in Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama (which looks, intentionally, like a cheesy carnival area rather than the “Dino Institute” area that we were previously in) as the girls were going on the TriceraTop Spin (Basically, a Dumbo or Aladdin’s Magic Carpet ride). I felt bad for Sue since she mentioned that had she known that Cathy & Mike were going to bolt from the ride that she’d have gone on as its one of her favorites, as well. Anyway, after rejoining them we decided to hit Primeval Whirl. Again, April was too short so we did an informal child swap…an actual one wasn’t necessary since, again, there were no rides and this was a literal walk-on. Tara and Jen adored this attraction, and so much so, that we road it again immediately but this time allowing Mike to join Cathy and Jen instead of Sueh (Tara sat with me). I know that some people really have a visceral hatred of Dinorama, but quite honestly, I’ve always enjoyed it and it seemed that they, especially the girls, loved it! After this, well… most of us didn’t think that there was much left to see and after the long day yesterday the consensus was to head back to the resort. Honestly, we neglected to see Rafikki’s Planet Watch (Conservation Station) or the various more zoo-like attractions such as the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail or the Maharajah Jungle Trek. However, I think that most of us were just tired, really hot, and worn out so since we had no major dinner planned (and since Animal Kingdom closed at 5:00 pm, and it was now about 3:30 pm, and we didn’t want to park hop back to the Magic Kingdom just yet as we had another day planned there later in the week) back to Pop Century we went. It was nice to see the substantially complete Expedition Everest and its progress since June 2004. We did have vague plans to perhaps pop over to see DisneyQuest later in the night, which was something that Mike really wanted to do.
They mostly took a nap for awhile, at least I think, and headed to the pools (which are basically what the girls mostly wanted to do every day, all day. I kept joking that I could have let them use the pool in my backyard for half the price but hey…. I mean, when I was a kid I LOVED pools but I loved doing things in Walt Disney World MUCH more.) :-) Anyway, I wasn’t content to simply lounge by the pool or, much worse, go to sleep so while they cut to the left to go back to the room I exited stage right from the bus as had I decided that I would photo document our resort. Yes, I spent a couple of hours simply going around taking dozens and dozens of pictures of the various aspects of Pop Century. I’m sure that I looked quite insane taking so many pictures of such basic scenery and themeing, but hey…I want to be able to remember were I stayed when I look back on the pictures in 50 years! :-) While finishing up my photos I went through the main lobby, grabbing some drinks (I’m addicted to Disney’s hot chocolate as well as my usual Diet Coke) and taking pictures of the pool area I found the rest of my group. I found out that they already had dinner, whereas I was waiting for them and I had not eaten. Therefore, I decided to go back into the food court, grab some food, and write my postcards that I had purchased yesterday. Dinner consisted of parmesan encrusted chicken on a bed of arugula and tomatoes with my aforementioned soda and hot chocolate. Just after eating, I sat in my booth in the food court and wrote out my, again aforementioned, postcards. After about an hour or two (hey, 23 postcards takes awhile to write out!) I mailed most of my postcards and then rejoined Cathy, Mike, and Sue at poolside as they enjoyed some adult beverages and watched the girls in the pool. After sitting outside until well past dark then went to the gift shop for awhile (btw – an older Cast Member named Cheryl was very cordial to us). We watched as a thunderstorm seemed to be off in the distance and we went back to the resort and got ready for the next day. I don’t think I got to bed much before midnight. It was a pretty good, although short day, with a much longer one to come tomorrow.
As a side note, I tried calling Disney Lost & Found about my hat early in the afternoon but I was put on hold for awhile. Rather than waste my time and cell minutes, I called home and had my mother call so I wouldn’t burn up my cell phone minutes needlessly. My mother called back rather shortly and said that they had found a hat that roughly matched the description but to have me call back tomorrow and verify it. After that, I shut my phone off until I made some phone calls later in the night. To fast forward just a bit, when I did turn my phone on later that night and when I checked my voice mail I found a message from my mother saying that she had gotten a call back on from the Lost & Found and that he was going to put me on a conference call with my mother so we could claim the hat, but well… how was I supposed to know that?!

Today was Epcot day! Normally, I’d make Epcot my first park but with the girls we, of course, had to do the Magic Kingdom as is THE Disney Theme Park. However, I have a slight obsession, as anyone who knows me already knows, with a little purple dragon named FIGMENT!!! I’m also a sucker to find myself on the various Leave a Legacy monuments (As of heading into this trip I had 4 tiles, 2 with photos & 2 with happy birthday messages).
We got up at a comfortable time to get up, dressed, ready, and off to Epcot in order to catch another Princess Storybook Breakfast, but this time in the Royal Akershus Banquet Hall in the World Showcase’s Norwegian pavilion. Despite giving us plenty of time we did have to hike just a wee bit as marching through Futureworld to Norway does take a wee bit of time. We got a kick out of hearing the futuristic music all the way to the turnstiles and I couldn’t help but comment that I’ll have to find me at Leave a Legacy. The sight of Spaceship Earth is as awe inspiring as always and I was ambivalent at the sight of what was Ice Station Cool. Ice Station Cool was totally demolished but you could see the scars on the neighboring buildings. I had looked forward to my ritual drinking of the various foreign Coca-Cola products and initiating everyone into the cult of Beverly! ;) Alas, it was not to be. Anyway, we made a beeline to Norway, which is always a bit eerie, or perhaps special, when the park itself is closed (as neither Futureworld nor the World Showcase was yet open for general business) and you’re virtually alone in the park, checked in for our priority seating, and were taken right away. It was great to show Mike the exterior of the pavilions as well, we’re both a quarter-to-a-half Norwegian. Under the circumstances, it was one of our “must do” things to eat in this restaurant for both Mike and me. I enjoyed the themeing of the restaurant, as well as the family style food service (coming in what appeared to be a big dish with a big pewter spoon and fork…in traditional Norwegian fashion), and there is something to be said about the waitresses, but our server, Eirik, was not horrible but I think we had been spoiled by our other breakfast servers. Mostly, this server seemed to have a language barrier problem or was simply overwhelmed as he was very slow in getting us our food and often forgot entirely. I didn’t think he was all “that” bad but the consensus of our group was that he should have been drawn and quartered on the spot. He wasn’t all that bad but he certainly wasn’t the very high caliber to which we had grown accustomed. We spent a considerable amount of time not just eating but getting photos and autographs of the various princesses: Jasmine, Belle, Show White, and Aurora.
After breakfast we hiked back into Futureworld, (but not before I stopped by a mailbox near Mexico in order to mail one more postcard, to my friend Mandy as well I didn’t mail hers the night previously with everyone else since I had left her PO Box in my room) which had only recently opened about an hour or less earlier, and we had to decide what and how we were going to tackle some of the big attractions. I sacrificed going on the Journey into Imagination with Figment as my first ride but instead I got a Fast Pass for Soarin’ in the Land pavilion (and I rather enjoyed the new themeing although I did miss the water fountain) and headed over to what I noticed had absolutely no line…despite a tendency to back up forever…the Living with the Land boat ride! We jump aboard and despite it being very scientific (down right botanical!) we all enjoyed it. It was funny, but I recognized the boat Cast Member from a trip I took on the attraction last year. We still had a little time left on our Fast Passes so we also went to see Lion King: An Environmental Tale which everyone seemed to enjoy, as well. While the girls took a bathroom break (it seemed that no Mikeer how little the girls ate or drank they were bathroom using machines!) I took the time to take pictures of the new interior of the pavilion. Once we reassembled, it was now it was time for Soarin’! Here’s the one time that I was really glad that we did Fast Passes an attraction as the line did grow quite long. Since this was one of the newest attractions I had never experienced it and it would thus be a first time for us all. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and since most of us weren’t too thrilled about heights even I was a bit apprehensive. The pre-show is rather humorous and the actual ride was wonderful! We were all stunned & amazed at this attraction and it instantly became a fan favorite! We pledged to ride it again, at least once if not several times. We not only loved the sights but also the smells (of pine, orange, etc) and it was great to see Tinkerbelle over Disneyland (I also loved the feeling & sounds of the fireworks as well as the jet fighter formation). Hey, I don’t want to give everything away to whoever might read this but I give Soarin’ my highest possible recommendation!!!! I think it was a first for me as far as I can remember but I was finally asked by a Cast Member at the entrance to carry a lAprilrd through the queue line to another Cast Member at the boarding area in order to help them determine the wait time. As an aside, while walking out of Soarin I asked the Cast Member standing next to the Fast Pass line if this ride had a single rider line. He laughed and said that indeed it did, but only for a few days, when they realized that the single rider line actually became a longer wait than the traditional stand-by line!
After Soarin’ I decided that it was well past time to go see Figment. I didn’t exactly demand that we do it next but I did kind of, well no not whine, but more like “if you don’t mind…there is an attraction that *I* really want to do next now that we’ve hit the 2 biggest.” Anyway, no one argued (or was likely to argue since everyone knows my obsession…besides, Tara and Jen really wanted to see Uncle Brock’s Figment as well) so off to Figment we go! On the short walk, I looked up to the old Kodak film shop and I knew that this is now “Figment’s Place” where you can do a character meet & greet. I looked up and I thought I saw that the door was open but honestly I didn’t want to introduce Figment to the girls until they had seen the attraction. Now, keep in mind that Figment’s Place is a relatively new feature that was not there when I last visited Epcot in June 2004. The last time I had seen Figment was in August 1997 with the Dreamfinder but it had been my last day in Walt Disney World and I didn’t bring my camera with me that day as I had already “done” Epcot. Boy, was I really heartbroken then as I was able to get up close and touch Figment but I wasn’t able to have my photo taken with him. I was not about to let the same mistake happen twice.
I walked into the Journey into Imagination, as usual, like the proverbial wide eyed kid in a candy store. When I went on JII back in 1997 I became extremely emotional and nearly broke down in tears (I hadn’t seen Figment since I was six-years-old in 1984) and despite seeing Figment dozens and dozens of times in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, & 2004 I still experience a profound sense of sheer, utter, and pure childhood delight intermingled with a heaping dose of Disney magic. This time it was wonderful to be able to show my favorite attraction to the girls (and most of the adults since only Sue had seen Figment before and she thinks he’s a cute character, if not one of her top favorites). The ride, while certainly not the spectacular and profound monument to imagination of the original, is certainly a wonderful improvement over the disastrous Journey into Your Imagination, which while similar, substantially lacked Figment. Considering that I was probably the only one with a deeply ingrained allegiance to, much less knowledge of, the original JII, I was curious to see what everyone’s reactions would be. Suffice to say I think the girls really enjoyed it and it seemed the adults weren’t disappointed either. We actually spent quite a lot of time playing around the Image Works and of course I went hog wild in the gift shop (my big purchase was a rather expensive Figment snow globe that I had shipped home but I also bought some smaller stuff, such as a bobble head, sent back to my resort, including a Figment postcard for myself and one for Robin, Mandy’s mother whom I also work with and who knew of Figment…and who’s favorite color is purple!). I was very pleased to see that Cathy purchased a small plush of Figment wearing a ballerina’s tutu for April (Tara & Jen as well as Sue all attend dance classes and undoubtedly April will, as well, when she is old enough).
Upon leaving the gift shop I was filled with childish exuberance and anticipation to see my childhood icon so I got my camera and autograph book ready and trudged up the small hill past Honey, I Shrunk the Audience to Figment’s Place with the rest of the gang with me. I approached the door and pulled on the handle yet…it was locked!!! I wasn’t sure if I saw it open or not earlier, but I think it was, yet I didn’t realize that this character meet and greet was only on scheduled times as I hadn’t seen a listing nearby. Instantly my heart sank and I went from elated to depressed. I walked over to a Cast Member (if memory serves her name badge said that she was Chinese) near the stand-by entrance to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and asked her if she knew the times but she did not but walked over with me to another Cast Member, who was also appeared to be Chinese if my memory of her name badge is also correct, and spoke to her in what, I think, was Chinese, but she did not know either. However, this second Cast Member suggested that I go into the JII gift shop and inquire about the times. I marched back into the gift shop and spoke with an older Cast Member behind the sales counter and she was extremely helpful. This Cast Member made a phone call and after awhile she was informed of the time schedule. Unfortunately, Figment must have had a later engagement since there were only 3 more upcoming times and none of them were in the late-afternoon/evening (which evidently surprised the Cast Member). While on the phone, Cathy came in and said that they were going to go see Honey, I Shrunk the Audience while I was waiting, and that was fine by me… I would have wanted to see the attraction with them but it wasn’t fair to tie them up while I was on my crusade to see Figment. Shortly after Cathy left the gift shop the Cast Member provided me with the list of times, none of which were too immediate so I was going to have to return a little later from wherever I was in the park. I left the gift shop still none too happy but optimistic a bit since I did have this list of times in my pocket.
Immediately upon leaving the gift shop, I looked up the small hill and I beheld a nigh miraculous site… THE DOOR TO FIGMENT’S PLACE WAS OPEN!!!! I looked at my list of times and, THIS WASN’T ONE OF THEM, but THE DOOR WAS OPEN!!! I don’t know how and I don’t know why but BY GOD, THE DOOR WAS OPEN!!!!! I couldn’t believe it!!! It was sort of a THE RED SOX WIN THE WORLD SERIES moment :-) By the way – this was all around 12:30 pm for a point of time reference.
As I very swiftly walked to the door I became a little confused and disorientated… no I wasn’t delusional but see the building is made out of darkened but reflective glass which gave me alternating views of both a Cast Member and…FIGMENT!!! As I approached I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to go straight in or bear to the left or to the right. I could just see reflections! As you can imagine my anticipation was building by the nanosecond and I could feel myself reverting 21 years in a Mikeer of heartbeats to a very joyful 6 year old! As I entered the doorway, pretty much peaking my head inside with my eyes as big as full moons, and taking a few tentative steps, I looked to my right (really just to survey the place in order to take pictures as I figured Figment would be deep inside the room at the end of a lengthy corridor) only to see an older Cast Member who smiled at me, pointed ahead of her, to my left, with her hand and said “turn around!” Immediately, I spun on my heels and…well… the walls fell. Rather, instead of an allusion to Jericho it was probably more of a feeling of a secular conversation on the road to Damascus (that’s Saul of Tarsus becoming Saint Paul to anyone who doesn’t know…it’s in Acts of the Apostles, look it up!). Alright, maybe neither analogy is perfect but you darn well get the idea!
If anyone who reads this knows me at all, you’ll probably know that I am not exactly the overly emotional bleeding heart (after all, I am an archconservative Republican bwahahahahaha) but in a flash I was overwhelmed with 21 years of Figment obsession! I became seriously choked up and I dare say that I lost my breath (I might have even started to hyperventilate, yeah I’m not kidding!) The Cast Member, who I would quickly learn was named Emmy, told me to give Figment a hug and well, Figgie wasn’t about to refuse! Okay, this 27-year-old archconservative isn’t delusional or psychotic. I am in full grasp of reality, possess all my senses, and am in total control of my mental faculties. But, you know what? I WAS IN WALT DISNEY WORLD AND I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR BEING A BIG KID!!!! :-) All I really wanted was for Emmy to take a picture of me and Figment…but…darn it…I was still so overwhelmed that I could barely mouth the words, although she certainly understood the intent…and after I feebly tried to explain how to use the camera, with tears welling up in my eyes, Emmy took several poses with me and Figment. Actually, Emmy wasn’t the only one directing the pictures as Figment was pointing and gesturing for several poses of his own design. Emmy was wonderful in that she kept telling me to give Figment a hug, and vice versa, when Figment wasn’t doing it himself. Yeah, I WAS the only guest in the room and both Emmy and Figment made darn sure that I got many photos and certainly got plenty of hugs from my favorite character. When I was regaining my composure I kept trying to justify myself noting that “Figment has been my favorite character since I was 6 years old and first saw him 21 years ago!!!! Meeting Figment was planned to be the highlight of my trip! I tried taking a photo with Figment in 1997 but I didn’t have my camera!” Emmy was wonderful. I have never met a nicer, kinder, more caring and concerned Cast Member in all my 7 trips to Walt Disney World!!! After we took several photos and spent several minutes (Emmy and Figment showed me around Figment’s Place) I figured that it was my time to go so I walked out and sat on one of the benches outside of Figment’s Place next to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, watching other guests go in and see Figgie, and I waited for the rest of the crew.
I didn’t wait long, however, until Figment and Emmy came out of Figment’s Place! They walked over to me and Figment handed me about a dozen or more stickers that bore his picture and stated that “I met the Figment of my imagination!” See, Figment, being a figment of imagination, doesn’t sign autographs but he does hand out stickers (I knew getting an autograph book would come in handy!) Figment and Emmy then walked back inside to get ready to see some other guests. After this I called home and, although entirely composed yet still very excited, I became an emotionally babbling idiot when my father picked up the phone and I tried to tell him what happened. He actually thought that something seriously bad had happened, he could only make out my saying the word “camera” and assumed that I lost my brand spanking new Sony Cybershot 7.2 megapixel digital camera that I bought purposely for this vacation, and passed the phone to my mother since he didn’t have a clue as to what I was trying to say. I was able to speak a proper English sentence in short order, reassured my mother that nothing was wrong, and told her my story. A few minutes later both Figment and Emmy came out side AGAIN and posed with me for some more pictures and sat with me on the bench for a little bit until he and Emmy went back inside to see some more guests. After a few more minutes Figment emerged from his place one final time and waved me into Figment’s Place through the exit door. This time there were a couple of other guests in the room but they were standing around with Emmy and Figment simply chit chatting. Emmy told me that Figment saw me wiping my eyes (hey, it was nearly if not over 100 degrees) and thought that I was crying (I had been a wee bit throughout this experience but it was absolutely tears of joy) and said that Figment wanted me to be happy & not cry! :-) We all laughed a lot and enjoyed everyone’s company. When I told the other guests that this was the highlight of all 7 of my Disney vacations and that it took 21 years for me to see Figment, the Purple One pointed to a phrase on a wall full of various imagination-related slogans…the saying that Figment chose was “NEVER GIVE UP!” :-) Well, I didn’t give up but well it was time for Figment to go do some other things with his imagination so as Emmy closed the entrance and the other guests and I gave Figment a hug (or maybe it seemed 10) goodbye. I told Emmy that I was going to try to come back with my nieces so that they could meet Figment as well. We guests walked out of the room and I walked over to the exit doors of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience to wait for Cathy and the family. After all, I didn’t want to sit on the bench again and make Figment and Emmy think that I was still upset! Actually, by this point I was very well composed although still dancing on the clouds. While I don’t feel that I hogged Figment’s time, after all both he & Emmy were making the time for me… I certainly did spend plenty of “face time” with my favorite Disney character!
As I approached Honey, I Shrunk the Audience I noticed that the exit doors were open but no one was yet emerging and I saw Sue sitting on the floor with Jen. Sue told me how Jen became terrified at the presentation so she had to leave the room. Actually, I believe it was more like Jen ran like a bolt of lightening to the exit with Sue trying to keep up while the rest of the family continued to enjoy the attraction. After everyone exited Honey, I Shrunk the Audience I was a little disappointed to hear that Cathy & Mike weren’t all that impressed with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and found it dated (although they didn’t know that, indeed, it was the oldest 3-D attraction at Walt Disney World). I guess that they were spoiled by Mickey’s PhilharMagic and It’s Tough to Be a Bug, which they all loved! I advocated making the Living Seas our last stop as, well, there isn’t much there to see so instead of knocking off that side of Epcot but since we were in the area we decided to go see it. Honestly, everyone was highly disappointed and everyone wanted to get out ASAP. We didn’t even get to see Crush’s Turtle Talk which might have been the one thing that interested us. I want the Sea Cabs back. With JUST the hydrolators, there just isn’t enough to experience. The girls got cranky here and we didn’t do much more besides look around the first floor aquarium (we didn’t go upstairs) with the Nemo display of tropical fish and visit the gift shop. After this we visited Spaceship Earth as it was “on the way” to the other side of Futureworld and Cathy didn’t want to keep crisscrossing the park. To my great delight, everyone seemed to really enjoy Spaceship Earth, even if it’s not a mega-thrill ride. A bonus was that, like most attractions this week it seems, it was a walk-on! Once we emerged from Spaceship Earth it was over towards Mission: Space in order to get a Fast Pass. Since the Wonders of Life pavilion was closed we went upon the Universe of Energy. Everyone seemed to enjoy this show although the girls kept whining about “there are no dinosaurs, right?!” At first their parents kept reassuring them but I quickly changed the tone. Tara was scared but Jen was especially frightened. After Animal Kingdom, I think they were ruined for anything that even smacked of dinosaurs. We kept joking that EVERY attraction had dinosaurs after this, even It’s a Small World…but evidently the T-Rex must have been full of eating the other children before them. Despite the fear MOST of us seemed to like this attraction, especially the dinorama. I couldn’t help but mention how I got to walk through it once when on the Undiscovered Futureworld tour. After this it was time to head to Mission: Space. Cathy wasn’t too keen on putting the girls on this attraction, I think in part due to their normal skittishness but also due to the horror story of a 4-year-old who recently died on the attraction (although the autopsy revealed that it was not caused by the attraction). Therefore, Cathy stayed off the ride with the girls while Mike, Sue, and I went on board. Jen also was terrified that she was going to have to go into outer space. Are you noticing a trend… the girls are terrified of space & dinosaurs! The line here was very short and a far cry from what I was used to. I was surprised at how very short it was. This time I was personally thrilled to find the old Horizons logo on the big “space wheel” space station that I had missed last year. Anyway, we were all joking about getting sick on the ride as, well… it is noTaraous for that! Luckily, despite having recently eaten breakfast we all came through unscathed. When I road it last year, I didn’t get sick but I did feel a bit off for a minute, this time I came through with flying colors. We spent quite a bit of time in this gift shop, if that’s any indication of popularity, and more importantly it was unanimous, we loved Mission: Space!
By this point all we had left to see was Test Track but we still had quite a bit of a wait, dinner wasn’t until 7:00 pm, April wasn’t feeling well, and everyone was a wee bit tired so it was decided that they were going to head back to the resort for a little nap and then they would hop back to Epcot for dinner. I was a little afraid that they might not return but hey, I wasn’t tired enough to go and leave Epcot! I walked into Innoventions and decided to sit down and call Disney Lost & Found to inquire about my lost hat. I described the hat to the operator, who wasn’t the same one that my mother had spoken to, but he verified that one matching the description was put aside after a phone call yesterday. He asked me if I wanted to come to L&F or have it mailed home. Once he said it was free to mail, I took him up on it as L&F was out by the Ticket & Transportation Center and while only a hop skip & a jump over the Monorail I didn’t want to waste my time.
After the phone call I walked through a bit of Innoventions until it was time for my Fast Pass at Test Track. I walked on over and actually instead of using the Fast Pass, which had somewhat of a lengthy line, I jumped in the single rider line (hey, I was there all alone by this point, so why not?!) and enjoyed the attraction, like always! This was my father’s favorite attraction back in 2000 and its still one of my favorites today. I kept thinking how badly that I felt for Mike as he didn’t get a chance to see Test Track, at least not yet, and how it was one of his big “must see” rides. After TT, I had polished off all of Futureworld so it was time to head up into the World Showcase. I actually bypassed Mexico and headed straight to Norway in order to get a Fast Pass. Fortunately, there was no wait time so it made getting a Fast Pass unnecessary. I jumped in line, which unlike usual was also a walk-on, and I enjoyed a little slice of my heritage. Unfortunately, before going on the ride I had just missed some Norwegian musicians and that was a missed cultural opportunity that I have enjoyed on past visits. Again, I felt sorry for Mike that he didn’t get to experience, at least yet, this other “must see” attraction for him. After reveling in Norway’s “Maelstrom” I backtracked to Mexico to visit “El Rio del Tiempo” which, while a little dated, is one of my own minor “must see” attractions. I just love the themeing of inside of the Aztec pyramid with its little shops at restaurant at twilight. After emerging from Mexico I hiked past a few countries (as some don’t have attractions I didn’t dwell on them as a World Showcase veteran, although I did take a moment or two in order to savior the themeing (for this I especially like Morocco for some reason). Those that just have Circle Vision 360 films, well…I’ve seen those and I rarely if ever stop in for a repeat) and went to the American pavilion to experience my last major stop in the World Showcase, the American Adventure! However, my hopes were dashed as I had just missed the latest, and what seemed to be the last, showing of the day. I was a little upset with myself as had I realized the timing I would have hit the American Adventure first before the Maelstrom or el Rio del Tiempo, which do not run on a schedule. Being the super-patriot that I am, the American Adventure is almost as high on my list as the Journey into Imagination with Figment!!! Anyway, I took the opportunity to walk around the rest of the World Showcase back to Futureworld but not before stopping in Japan to hear the drummers (who are awesome) and stopping in Canada to hear the band “Off Kilter!” which, if I can swing it, is the must-see performance (other than Norway) in the WS! This band does traditional Celtic folk music as well as rock n roll and current songs but with a definite Celtic (bag pipe, fife, etc) twist! They’re not only great musicians but they’re hilarious!
Once I emerged from the WS I was so near Figment that I jumped back upon his attraction and then made my way towards the park entrance after getting in touch with Cathy and finding out that they were on the bus and returning to Epcot for dinner. I met them near the fountain between the Leave a Legacy tiles and Spaceship Earth but not before I visited each of my 4 Leave a Legacy tiles and tried to take photos and touch them all. Once we got back together we made our way back to the Land pavilion, grabbed Fast Passes for Soarin’ and then went to dinner at the Garden Grill. I’ve eaten here several times and it’s been a great experience every time, and this was no different. Once we were seated we kept joking that we couldn’t see or feel the restaurant revolving but upon closer inspection we realized that it was. We had a spectacular server named Jeffery who couldn’t have been more wonderfully attentive to our group. Of course, we also had a great time seeing all the characters, even if we had seen Mickey, Pluto, and Chip & Dale before (so no autographs were necessary although we did take photos). The characters fawned over us all, especially the children. I was a little taken aback by the food, however as they had changed their menu and gone to a more upscale faire. I didn’t mind so much but I was really looking forward to my all-you-can-eat catfish (as well as flank steak, veggies, etc) but this time we had all-you-can-eat salad (which a really unusual but very tasty dressing) and bread sticks (which I filled up on as they were also rather unusual and came with butter, cheese, and hummus dipping sauces. I kept going back again & again for the spicy last one!) For dinner I ordered seafood cippione (I know I probably spelled that wrong) but it basically seemed to a shellfish noodle soup. It was very tasty but not very filling. Thankfully, I had the bread sticks. Dessert, however, was a huge hit with everyone as it was chocolate fondue with such items available for dipping such as strawberries, marshmallows, cookies, cake (both chocolate & yellow), and gummy worms. We ate 3 or 4 platters of fondue and what little was left over Cathy and Sue turned into a stick figure of sorts with “Jeff #1” written in chocolate upon the plate!
After dinner we decided to start to go around the World Showcase however, April, the aforementioned ill child, well… needed a change of underclothing so we stopped in the gift shop at the entrance to the World Showcase and Cathy picked up a pair of undies. I pretty much stayed outside while they shopped. In the meantime it was getting rather late so we staked out our positions for Illuminations (I originally stayed behind the gift shop where I was waiting while they shopped but then went to stand with them a few yards away, where they had found some seating for the children but had a bit less visibility. I eventually went back to my original spot although by then I had to virtually hack my way through a sea of people). Once the show was over, which everyone seemed to really like, I caught up with the crew and we slowly made our way out of Epcot and on to our bus. Thankfully, although we had just missed a bus we didn’t have to wait too long and we were able to get a seat upon the next one. Upon coming back to the resort I headed to the food court for some hot chocolate, Diet Coke, and to make a few phone calls (this is when I found out about the aborted hat phone call). Cathy joined me for awhile to do some souvenir shopping for the girls and she picked up Guest of Honor name badges that could be engraved in either the Magic Kingdom or Disney-MGM Studios. After that I believe that they headed to the pools for a short while but we ended up going to bed a little on the early side although I stayed up watching the news once the girls fell asleep. I made a call to Disney Dining this night because neither of the print outs that I obtained on day 2 at Cinderella’s Royal Table showed my Fantasmic! Dinner Package for the next day. After a while on hold I was told that those priority seatings are done differently and don’t appear on those particular print outs. That’s fine, but I just wanted to make sure nothing had gotten screwed up. The woman told me to check in at the gas pumps next to the stroller rental near the entrance to Disney-MGM Studios in the morning to get my meal & Fantasmic! voucher.

Today was in a sense a lazy day, at least to start. We slept in until about 9:00 am and got into Disney-MGM Studios by noon. Before going, however, we stopped for breakfast in Pop Century (I had an adult traditional breakfast… the big plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, etc but with a Diet Coke from my refillable mug. One of the girls commented that it was too early to drink soda around 11 am to which I replied that I’m an adult & I can drink what I want & when I want!) :-) Unfortunately, April still wasn’t feeling that great today. Before leaving the resort I mailed out my last postcard of the trip, to Robin.
Upon first getting to Disney-MGM Studios we went to the stroller rental, as usual, but since that’s at the gas pumps I also I inquired about the Fantasmic! Dinner Package process as we had one planned for 4:00 pm at Mama Melrose. The woman there told us that 1) we didn’t have to wait in that line since we had pre-paid and thus I wasted 5-10 minutes & 2) that the woman who told me to get my vouchers at the pumps was wrong and to go to the Priority Seating booth a few streets up. I didn’t think the pumps were right since I had done a Fantasmic! Dinner Package before and that wasn’t how it was done but hey, that was 5 years ago so things could have changed. Anyway, we walked up the street and I talked to the PS booth and the woman there said that we didn’t need any voucher and to simply check in like normal. At dinner we would be given a voucher for the “secret backstage entrance” for Fantasmic! which is at the gas pumps. Gee, this is EXACTLY like how it was 5 years ago! I never should have even asked! LOL.
Anyway, Disney-MGM Studios is not exactly my favorite Disney park… in fact, it’s my least and the main reason for that is well, I’m not that big of a movie fan, the park is a city and I can see a city anywhere, and this is place is mostly shows instead of rides (while they’re all attractions, I do have a preference). While I do adore such things as the Muppets 4-D and especially Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream Anyway, the other big reason is that I’m not a big fan of thrill rides and as such I scratch off the 2 biggest rides in Disney-MGM Studios: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith! Of course, what are the first 2 things that everyone wants to see… you guessed it!!! But hey, it’s natural and I understand that so I was going to go my separate way for awhile. Actually, we Fast Passed Tower of Terror and as it was exactly time to see the Beauty & the Beast stage show we decided to see that (another “must-see” as it were and we had perfect timing). Unfortunately, the circumstances were not perfect. As we were rather late to get a seat we weren’t seated under the shade but rather out in the baking heat, and it had to easily be one of the hottest days of our vacation. It was so bad that Cathy ended up taking April to the bathroom and didn’t return and Mike ended up taking Jen to get some water. The rest of us simply sweated out a few pounds in the sun. The show was as great as always but it does pay to be early!
After Beauty and the Beast it was time for them to use their Fast Passes for Tower of Terror and I was going to go off by myself but as that would have thrown everything off for the day, since I hadn’t seen the inside of the Tower of Terror, and to prevent the adults from having to do a child swap (as none of the girls wanted to go on Tower of Terror) I decided to walk through the attraction up until it was time to go on the actual ride and then I’d bail out with the girls (of course, I didn’t have a Fast Pass so I didn’t know if the Cast Members would let me. It turns out that it was fine). I loved the themeing for Tower of Terror, which is something many friends of mine have raved about. The girls were hysterical as they were walking through the attraction and they couldn’t get it through their heads that they were not going to go on the ride! The girls were clinging on to me and I practically had to drag them through the queue line! When it came time for the adults to go on the Tower of Terror Cast Members took us to the “normal” elevator and out of the ride area (which scared the girls as they wouldn’t believe it was a real elevator). Anyway, we ended up meeting Cathy, Mike, & Sue off the ride and they had a great experience.
After Tower of Terror everyone decided to jump on the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, which is logical since it is right next door to Tower of Terror and the stand-by line was virtually non-existent. I was going to go through the line here like I did with Tower of Terror but unfortunately April wasn’t tall enough for the ride and evidently it is Disney policy to not allow anyone undersize to even walk through the line, even if they are going to bail out at the end. This time, however, both Tara and Jen went on board. April must have been crushed as she turned out to be quite the coaster friend, as seen in the Magic Kingdom! Anyway, I waited in the air conditioned gift shop; hey I’m not stupid… I wasn’t going to wait in the heat… and April and I played with some Aerosmith drum sticks and shopped for a “Roadie Mickey” plush until the family came off the ride, after which we spent an eternity trying to purchase a ride photo. The elderly Cast Member was very pleasant and quite charming actually but I had to practically tell her how to do her job (in regards to shipping it back to our resort) and she even seemed to “find” someone else’s photo while doing ours.
After Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster we then made our way down towards Star Tours (for Mike who is a huge Star Wars fan) and we passed where Lilo and Stitch were taking pictures but they were just leaving so Sue had to miss her favorite character, for now. We were en route to Star Tours but instead we Cathy and the girls decided to go on another favorite of mine, Muppets 4-D!!! Everyone adored this attraction! After this we got caught up in taking pictures with & obtaining autographs from Toy Story characters. Tara especially loves Jessie so it was fortunate that she was there along with Buzz, Woody, and the Green Army Men. We all joined the girls in the action and had a fun time despite killing a ton of time. After this lengthy interlude we finally got to go upon Star Tours and it was great, except Jen was terrified that we were actually going to go into space. This ride was yet another walk-on and Sue especially loved this attraction as our Cast Member, a young guy named Mackenzie, was not only extremely into his character and interacted very well with both the adults and children but he also was very cute and Sue wanted to take him home as her own souvenir. This was my second opportunity to carry the wait time lAprilrd. After we left Star Tours and while Mike & I waited during a bathroom break I took some pictures of him sitting on a speeder bike from the Return of the Jedi. After this, we made our way back to where we first saw Lilo & Stitch as Sue had noted the return time and we were the first ones in line for photos and autographs. Sue FINALLY got to see and touch her favorite character!!!
After that we got a Fast Pass for Voyage of the Little Mermaid and jumped in line for the Great Movie Ride. The Great Movie Ride actually had one of the longest lines I had seen on this trip. Jen was terrified of dinosaurs being on this ride as well and this time we all played it up!!!! She even asked a Cast Member if there were dinosaurs and I said “of course there are, there are really big dinosaurs that eat children” and he played along PERFECTLY!!!! Jen didn’t know what to say as she was sure the Cast Member would say that Uncle Brock was just teasing her!!! Anyway, after we snaked our way around the line and got to see the cool movie props we got on the ride vehicles and enjoyed the show. Well, most of us… Tara and Jen weren’t too thrilled by the faux gun fire and such but the rest of us thought the ride was adorable, especially the Wizard of Oz portion. What I was personally most happy about is that, to the best of my memory, this is the only time that I had seen “the other” track. What I mean is that instead of a cowboy hijacking the ride instead I finally saw the gangster (and there was a bit of a goof as when the dead body was revealed later in the ride the skeleton was wearing a cowboy hat and not a fedora!) After the Great Movie Ride we tried to see Playhouse Disney but we had long ago missed the last showing and there was little interest in the Art of Disney Animation so we waited a short time for our Fast Pass to Voyage of the Little Mermaid (although, we almost lost Mike as he went for a bathroom break and almost couldn’t get back in the queue area). Cathy and the girls love Ariel so I think it’s safe to assume that they loved this adorable attraction.
After this last attraction it was time to head over to dinner, or at least too late to realistically hit another attraction so we headed down to Mama Melrose (although somewhat circuitously in the savage heat as I couldn’t exactly remember where the restaurant was… it turns out, my first instinct was right, but hey). Actually, it turns out that we got there a wee bit early and they were not yet taking check-ins for priority seating so while Mike kept watching the line for us we headed to some area gift shops in order to get some surprise souvenirs for the girls. It was a little hard trying to buy a ton of Tinkerbelle pins for Tara when she hovers everywhere so on a few occasions I had to virtually yell and bark orders for her to go stay with Sue! :-) Sue ran in looking for Cathy but she had run across the street to the engraving store. Sue relayed the message from Mike that they were starting the check-ins so I told Sue to tell Mike to just give my name (as all the priority seatings were under my name) and I ran to find Cathy. She was almost done with the engraving but it still took a few minutes (we had fun looking at the various engraving and stitching options for souvenirs. One guy, for some reason, kept wanting to get his Mickey Ears stitched in the Magic Kingdom which only does a simple single stitch and not the fancy ones so when he decided to have it done in Disney-MGM Studios he was then told that it would be a 3-4 hour wait and since he wasn’t staying in a resort he couldn’t have it shipped so well, he was out of luck!)
Anyway, Cathy and I bolted from the shop as fast as possible and joined everyone else at Mama Melrose just as they were beginning to call everyone’s names. While they took a seat under the shade I stood by the podium waiting to hear us be called (it seemed almost everyone else was let in but us so we feared we had missed our calling. Similarly, another small group was part of about 70 others who had all been called but them). It turns out that we were on time and didn’t have all that long to wait so we were brought into the restaurant in short order. This was our only real non-character meal but hey, the Fantasmic! dinner package makes up for it in spades and besides it was the least expensive of the 3 restaurants eligible for the package! I loved the buffet and I think most of us did as well, although Cathy and the girls can be picky. The food was rather unusual and Mike & I enjoyed the various seafoods, especially. The overall buffet was great, and I’m a sucker for variety, but the desserts were also to die for. Our server was a young guy named Christopher, and while perhaps not Jeffrey from last night, he was darn good! On the way out I think a woman next to me left her purse behind but as I was alerting Cast Member she came back to retrieve it.
We were in a rather odd position at this point as we had to get to the gas pumps for Fantasmic! by a fairly early time but we also had some time to kill. Here we decided to part ways as I suggested to them that they go see the Backlot Tour (we had really wanted to see Lights, Motors, Action as it’s brand new & Mike is a car fanatic but we didn’t realize the time schedule and had long ago missed it). However, I decided that I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see my favorite Disney-MGM Studios attraction, Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream. This museum piece CANNOT BE MISSED by any fan of Uncle Walt. I spent a considerable amount of time in this attraction carefully reading each sign and studying each hisTaracal artifact (and yes, this is not the first time I’ve seen this attraction. It dates back to my trip in 2002 so this was my third occasion). I did start to get a little nervous; however, as I had missed the most recent showing of the biographical film and I kept watching the minutes tick away on my watch. When it got near the time for the next show to begin I asked the Cast Member how long the film would be and he replied 15 minutes. I calculated that if I hauled myself at top speed down the streets I could meet up with the gang and not be late for Fantasmic! An older couple visiting with their grandson also had the same Fantasmic! dilemma. They had brought the boy along to show him just who built all the wondrous things he experienced over the past week. It was very touching to see the generations not only share the Disney magic but to educate the next generation on Uncle Walt. And yes, I do get a little misty eyed each time I watch the film! Once the show ended I walked very swiftly down to the gas pumps but not before making sure that the other couple was within eyeshot so that I could lead them as they were not sure where to meet for the dinner package entrance.
Upon reaching the gas pumps I discovered that Cathy and the gang weren’t around. I called Cathy’s cell phone but had no response. I was a little upset by this to say the least as I expected to be the one who was late! I called and called and nothing until she finally answered and said that they were literally on the Tower of Terror at that moment! It turns out that they never went on the Backlot Tour but waited in line for Tower of Terror. I asked the Cast Member guarding the “secret” Fantasmic! entrance what could be done since I had the voucher and they did not. She advised me to go on in, and thus not risk myself missing the show, and since Tower of Terror is right next to the main entrance to have them meet me in the VIP seating area after explaining to the other Cast Members that they were with me. It turns out that after I walked about 1/3 to1/2 of the way to the stadium (which btw – is an extremely long walk!!!!) I got a phone call saying that Cathy and the gang were at the gas pumps but the Cast Member, who I had just spoken with, wouldn’t let them through the gate without me and the voucher. I doubled back, got them through the gate and we hiked to the stadium (as an aside I got to pass some of the performers for the show who all looked like high school girls, btw. Geeezh!!!) Although the VIP section was rather full we got seats that were 3 to 4 rows up from the lakeside. We had a little wait but nothing too frustrating (in the mean time I met some fellow Red Sox fans in the row ahead of me. They heard me make a reference about doing the wave, which was seemingly endless in the amphitheater, at Fenway Park. I joked that “it’s great that you’re not Yankees fans” to which they piped up “Yeah, but we’re with family who are!!!” and they pointed out the poor Yanks fans!) What was nerve wracking was that the weather took a serious turn for the worse and it appeared that a big thunderstorm was going to pass overhead. The public announce system even made a cautionary “due to possible inclement weather this performance may be delayed or canceled.” About 5 minutes later, however, we got the 15 minute countdown and the show went off without a hitch. There was no question about it but everyone LOVED the show!
We slowly made our way out of the park using the same exit that we used as the VIP entrance (although we had to pick up any random stroller as they’re not allowed in the stadium and we had to hand carry all our items that were stored inside. Hey, that’s the policy. It just seems odd “leaving” the stroller “behind”). Thousands of us poured out of the exit but we got lucky as the Pop Century bus was just pulling up as we were getting to the stop and we didn’t even have to stand up much less wait in line! Upon coming back I made my now usual ritual by going to the food court and getting some hot chocolate and Diet Coke while making a few phone calls while they stopped at the pool.

Today we slept in until 9:00 am and we were in the Magic Kingdom for a return trip in order to finish off what we left behind in our first trip to the park. Specifically, we had it on the agenda to knock off the rest of Tomorrowland and Adventureland, at the very least. For brunch I had a chicken caesar salad with my usual Diet Coke in the Pop Century food court. It’s kind of funny how the food court doesn’t switch over from breakfast to lunch with uniformity or even with a standard time in the individual areas (even at 10:30-11:00 am sometimes they still serve breakfast & sometimes they switch over to lunch). It was a little funny as before we left to catch the bus but Cathy and I lost Mike, Sue, and the girls somewhere between the food court and the lobby. We looked around but couldn’t find anyone. I walked halfway into the arcade but didn’t see anyone and we even checked the bathrooms. I then walked outside to the bus area wondering if maybe they all went outside and were actually just waiting for us but ultimately they were not outside. However, as I passed some of the stops I heard a voice yell out “Hey, don’t you work at Wal-Mart?!” I replied that I did so they asked “The Dartmouth Wal-Mart?” Um, yes… it turns out that they are frequent customers and remembered seeing me at work. Gee, It’s a Small World after all! Actually, about 2 weeks later I was to find out that this family was actually the brother-in-law and family of town cop that I see almost daily when he & his family come shopping.
When we first entered the Magic Kingdom we did our usual stroller pick up and then headed over to Tomorrowland and Fast Passed Stitch’s Great Escape while we then went back on Space Mountain (again we baby swapped with April so I actually rode it twice). However, it was the first trip on SM that was the most eventful. As we got close to the front of the line we noticed that the ride was not moving. Suddenly, we noticed that actually not only was the ride not operating but THE LIGHTS WERE ON! I only wish I had brought my camera, which was left outside with Cathy and April, so that I could have photographed this anomaly. I don’t know what caused the lights to go on but after several minutes the ride returned to operation and we boarded (which, in hindsight might no have been the smartest thing if you think about it). Anyway, it was hilarious that to kill time Sue, Mike, & I were teasing Jen about the space vampires & dinosaurs. :-) After we got out it was time to go through with Cathy, Mike, Jen, Tara, and I but this time the ride was uneventful. The only noteworthy thing was that I noticed that Tara always seemed to, or had to, sit in front of me. I kept teasing her that I was sick of riding every ride with her! :-)
After that we still had awhile to Stitch’s Great Escape so we jumped aboard Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger spin but unfortunately for Cathy lightening didn’t strike twice and max out her score with Zurg. After Buzz we got in line for Stitch’s Great Escape. We just barely missed the first available viewing so we had to wait at the front of the line for a little bit. We literally were locked out as I was the next person to go through the line. Anyway, while waiting Mike and I got a kick out of the alien language on the walls and we tried to translate bits and pieces. I had never seen Stitch’s Great Escape before as it wasn’t open in June 2004 but I had seen the previous version of ExtraTERRORestrial: Alien Encounter. Now, for years I was hesitant to go on ExtraTERRORestrial: Alien Encounter as I’m not a big fan of scary attractions but when I ultimately did it, I enjoyed it. Now, Stitch is cute but I don’t think any of us was really blown away by Stitch’s Great Escape. It wasn’t that we didn’t like it (and I don’t wan to speak for them entirely, I’m just giving you my impression which could be tainted) but it certainly didn’t get the reaction of say, Soarin. I think maybe I still had a memory of ExtraTERRORestrial: Alien Encounter and this is a mediocre version compared to the scare factor. It’s as if the attempt to make it cute & comfortable made it watered down. That being said I did find the pre-show pretty good and the actual audioanimatronics involved with Stitch are simply awesome.
After Stitch’s Great Escape we gave a thought to going to see the Timekeeper but it was closed so instead we made a run for Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. I wasn’t sure how everyone would take this attraction but for me it’s a must do since it’s virtually one of Uncle Walt’s originals. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the seats were almost packed to capacity and it seemed that the rest of the gang really enjoyed themselves. Tara kept seeing “A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” for hours if not days to come. After coming off this we went aboard the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Now, okay if any “ride” was going to get a yawner it was probably this one but both Sue and I wanted to go aboard so, well we did. Actually, despite Jen being a bit scared about possible dinosaurs or going into outer space we enjoyed the bird’s eye view & sneak peak of the various Tomorrowland attractions. TTA is one of those small but “must-do” attractions for me. After TTA I wanted to go and use our AAA VIP voucher for a free drink in their lounge but unfortunately there were no takers as nobody wanted to take the time and in the heat everyone wanted Poweraid, not Diet Coke. :-)
After this we had polished off Tomorrowland so we hiked on over to Adventureland. On our way I was truck by inspiration…I’ve always talked about getting, but I’ve never actually remembered to buy….a DOLE WHIP!!! Now, okay, it’s a very small thing but darn it, I’ve always remembered to buy one AFTER I got home and not while I’m on vacation and in the Magic Kingdom. For those who don’t know, a Dole Whip is sold in a shop on the way to Adventureland from the Castle and it is essentially soft serve pineapple ice cream. At first it didn’t seem like Cathy wanted to stop but I said that I was going to get one and Mike wanted to try one as well (actually, he got a Dole Whip float which is the same but on top of pineapple juice). Cathy and Sue got a Dole Whip and let the girls share one. It was a nice little treat that we all seemed to enjoy and it enabled me to finally do a little something that I’ve wanted to do for years but always absentmindedly forgot. After our snack we first stopped to get a Fast Pass from the Jungle Cruise but there was absolutely no line and it was a total walk on, so well… we did! While they seemed to enjoy it, I was a little disappointed as we had a nice older Cast Member but she seemed to forget or fail to deliver 80% of the various jokes that I’m used to hearing on the cruise. After we left the Jungle Cruise we immediately hopped over to Aladdin’s Magic Carpets which I rode with Tara.
Upon exiting that we jumped in line for the Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management. We must have just missed a show so we had a little wait. When we first approached Mike asked me “is this all there is?” but he then quickly realized that we were just standing in line. Once we went inside and sat down we not only enjoyed the air conditioning but we also LOVED the show! In fact, April didn’t want to leave and thought that the birds were just joking when they told us to get up, get on our feet, and get out! :-) I was very happy to see the Tiki birds make such go over so well! At this point we dodged a rain storm that passed overhead while we were in the Tiki Room and thus we never got wet. Next up was the Pirates of the Caribbean and we all were looking forward to this attraction as they were fans of the film (and yes, at first they wondered if they would see Captain Jack Sparrow). I was surprised to see the left side walk way be closed off but we all funneled into the right and geezh, this attraction was also a walk on! We all seemed to enjoy this classic and Cathy and Sue spent quite some time in the gift shop. While I sat outside the shop I felt a little bad as in the scorching heat I saw some child dressed entirely in black with jeans and some sort of black, bio-chemical fallout containment suit, hood. I don’t know what his problem was but not only for that but for how hellacious it must have been I’m surprised he was bouncing around the Magic Kingdom like that. Actually, I noticed (as I usually do but this time it seemed even more pronounced) a great many Make a Wish & similar organizations and families with children in the parks this week.
By this time we were quite well into the afternoon and we since we had fulfilled our agenda for today, plus a little extra, so Cathy let the girls decide what attractions we were going to see next. As such, we went crazy on Big Thunder Mountain and then on Splash Mountain (April was being paranoid about getting wet so Cathy and Sue made extra special sure to keep her dry while I rode with Tara) and then back on Big Thunder Mountain! On this final time when we were putting the girls in the stroller a young Cast Member named Summer was nearby, came over, and was joking around with the girls. Summer certainly had a sunny disposition and was a quintessential Cast Member. After this we decided that it was getting close enough to hike back down Adventureland towards the Castle.
As we barely passed Splash Mountain and in a moment of virtual de ja vu from earlier in the day I heard a voice yell out “BROCK! BROCK!!” As I spun around I indeed saw someone whom I knew. It was Steve Sullivan, the head of the Dartmouth’s Water Department whom I know from my various political activities in the town. Evidently, he and his family spent 2 weeks in Walt Disney World and were heading back home on the following day. I know that I said it before but IT IS A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL! Actually, by the time we got to our destination we were a wee bit early to check-in at the Crystal Palace (our final character meal of the week and one that Cathy had been waiting for all week so that she could see Eeyore, her other favorite character!). They found seats by the shade while I checked us in and took a seat on the benches under the fans along side the waiting area for CP. I didn’t get a chance to sit too long as my little buzzer went off and I waved everyone up & over to be seated. I’ve always loved this buffet and I think that most of us did as well. Of course, the highlight of the meal was meeting, as well as getting autographs and photos from, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Actually, the last character was the subject of intense debate over just what gender he was. I insisted male some of them thought that “he” dressed rather feminine. Ultimately, I think I prevailed. :-) Also while eating Cathy, Sue, and Mike were looking over my digital pictures and they laughed hysterically and almost endlessly at the vast number of shots that I took of Pop Century. Hey, I want to photo document my new experiences!!! :-)
After dinner we thought that we’d finally take the girls to see Toon Town but as we approached, actually walked almost all the way through, Cinderella’s Castle a Cast Member had just erected a rope line that prevented us from getting by. Rather than walk around, Sue lowered the rope and walked through while the older Cast Member was busy talking to some other guests. However, she noticed that Sue had done she outright screamed at Sue and ordered to step over upbraiding Sue for rules are rules and are not made to be broken. While I can certainly understand and see the Cast Members point I did find her extremely rude and most unbecoming a Cast Member. From Sue’s point of view the line was erected arbitrarily just as we were about to pass and well, there wasn’t a buffer zone on either side of the rope as a safety area so just what the heck was this half-inch rope keeping us from anyway? Oh well, we walked around the Castle but I thought that it would be nice to bring the girls to see Ariel in her grotto in order for one more photo and autograph as she’s probably the only princesses with whom we had not yet had some face time. As we approached the line we could see people in line but that the line itself had been closed. This was the last straw for Cathy who scrapped the idea of going to Toon Town entirely. Actually, it was getting a bit dark so it wasn’t a bad idea to wind things down however it was unfortunate that the girls missed one of their favorite princesses and the homes of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc. We never did visit Toon Town as it was decided that we would get ready to see Wishes. However, in the mean time we did have a little bit of time to kill so Cathy was going to let the girls pick which rides in Fantasyland to see next. Hoping to avoid another trip on the carousel I highly suggested, and almost downright demanded, that we go and see Mickey’s PhilharMagic as that was a family favorite and we never did make good on the pledge of seeing it a second time on our visit the other day. After PM we decided to stake out our place for Wishes. Now yes, we had seen it before but on that night Tinkerbelle neglected to fly and Tinkerbelle just happens to be THE most favorite of all 3 girls (and most especially Jen who had been upset not to see Tinkerbelle, as we sort of promised she might see, the other night). However, this time they were not to be disappointed as Tinkerbelle flew and the show was great, and similarly great was our view this time.
After the fireworks we all slowly made our way out of the Magic Kingdom, returned our stroller and got to wave goodbye to Mickey who was standing at the train station yet again. When we got to the bus we were extremely hot and tired but faced a very very long line. The driver was actually going to cram us on as the last 7 people on board but Mike first suggested, and we all concurred, that we would wait for the next bus and grab a seat (which is exactly what we did). Thankfully, the next bus didn’t take too long at all. Once I got back to the resort I did my usual routine of sitting in the food court with some drinks and phone calls while they went back to the room. The only low point of the day was that I was supposed to meet up with a friend of mine, Kristina, who lives in the Orlando area but she couldn’t make it due to the weather. We were going to get together for Wishes.

Today was an unusual day as it was the first of two days where we had absolutely nothing preplanned! Cathy, Mike, & Sue decided to spend the day taking the girls to Typhoon Lagoon while I elected to sleep in a wee bit, while they took off a little earlier, and I think that I got up around 10-10:30 am or so and after grabbing some brunch in the Pop Century food court consisting of chicken penne alfredo with a break stick and some Diet Coke I ended up, in all places, Disney-MGM Studios for awhile. Now, okay, I know that is said that Disney-MGM Studios is my least favorite park but darn it, there was still plenty that I hadn’t seen from our visit the other day so I figured that it deserved a return trip today. I was probably in park by 12:30 pm.
When I first got to the park I checked the time schedule for Lights, Motors, Action and decided that I probably had plenty of time to visit the Backlot Tour as, well, it IS right next door to the stadium for Lights, Motors, Action. I did go on the tour but well, I cut it far closer than I ever wanted to! I hadn’t been on the Backlot Tour in quite awhile and I’m always impressed by this as it was “the” thing that I wanted to see back in 1997 when I visited Disney-MGM Studios for the first time. However, despite the stand-by clock claiming that I had a 5 minute wait I ended up not getting through the line in time and was stuck with many dozen of my closest fellow guests and had to wait 15-20 minutes or so until the next showing. I was staring at my watch for awhile sweating it out wondering if I made a bad decision. I nearly jumped out of line, as several others did, but I decided to stick it out. Ultimately, I’m glad I did as I not only got to enjoy a attraction (and Catastrophe Canyon, alone, is worth the wait, imho) but I had JUST enough time to virtually run from the Backlot Tour over to the entrance to Lights, Motors, Action then snake my way with countless other ALMOST late-comers and scrambled up several flights of stairs to join an ocean of people already seated for the show. Fortunately, I was able to get a fairly decent seat (and boy were the Cast Members cracking the whip to squeeze every last person in) just before the festivities kicked off. Now, I’m not much of a car man… I mean, I own one…I like mine, but I’m not a car aficionado. However, I still greatly enjoyed the stunt show! Once it was over I decided to hike on over to the Art of Disney Animation. I must say that I was greatly disappointed by the Art of Disney Animation. I didn’t see this attraction last year (I was in line but jumped out due to the wait & heat, if my memory serves me correctly) but I love Disney animation and I wanted to make sure that I saw it this year. I had seen the Art of Disney Animation a couple of times in the past and I simply adored the attraction. However, this year, I had heard that Disney shut down their in-house working animation studio in Disney-MGM Studios and that as such this attraction was severely degraded. I’m sorry to say, it was. I actually was extremely disappointed to see the former working studio all shuttered and all I really got to see was the characters from the upcoming “Chicken Little” movie. I found that strange, however, since “Valiant” was opening this very weekend and I did not see any hype for it in Disney-MGM Studios as I had in the past for such films as “Atlantis.” Of any Disney attraction that I experienced this vacation the Art of Disney Animation was my biggest disappointment.
After the Art of Disney Animation, since I was in the area and since I had the time just right, I decided that I would walk into Playhouse Disney. This is something that the girls wanted to see the other day and well, I was a wee bit surprised to see that we had to sit u