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| Christa Grant's
Trip Report August / September 05 |
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Day 11 - Part 1 Rain Makes You
Wet and Other Fascinating Discoveries!
Was
this really our last day already? Surely someone was playing
a cruel trick on us and at any moment when I opened the hotel
room door, Boomer & Splashboy would come running in to tell
us our trip was just beginning. I hope to win the lottery so
we can all come back very soon.
Of course, I would need to starting playing the lottery…
We only had counter service meals left since we had enjoyed a dinner show and
signature dinner, which used up our table service credits. Other than our one
character breakfast earlier this trip, we had eaten every breakfast in our
room which consisted of peanut butter and toast.
I’m really tired of peanut butter and toast.
Today, we had enough counter service credits left, that we could eat breakfast
in the Movies food court. Goofy Guy had the traditional bacon & eggs breakfast
while I had a fantastic bacon/egg croissant sandwich and fruit cup. Delicious!
I may never eat peanut butter and toast again.
After breakfast, we went back to our room to pack up our bags. Sniff Just
as we were packing, we noticed a baby raccoon outside our window. He had come
up from the bushes to wish us a safe trip home. Being in Disney, I half expected
him to start talking to me.
Goofy Guy said that I was returning to reality today in the knick of time.
With a final inspection of the room for all of our belongings, we left the
room. We felt pretty confident that we weren’t leaving anything behind.
True to form, I wouldn’t be me without leaving something behind. I didn’t
know it at the time, but I neglected to check the hook on the back of the bathroom
door. My shorts were hanging there. You know, the ones I wore in 140F that
hadn’t had the chance to wash yet. I considered phoning Disney upon our
return home to asking them to send us the shorts, but I was too embarrassed
to claim those shorts as mine. Women are supposed to glow, not perspire.
My apologies to the CM who had to dispose of my shorts. Eww.
We checked our bags with luggage assistance and took the bus to Animal Kingdom.
I needed one more Festival of the Lion King fix before returning home. We picked
up a show schedule when we arrived at the gate and noticed that the next show
was beginning in 5 minutes. It’s a bit of a hike to the show so I thought
we would have to wait for the next one. Goofy Guy had different ideas.
He had no intention of staying long in Animal Kingdom today, so he suddenly
took on the role of a Drill Sergeant and said “Move move move, we can
make it, we can make it”. I was a bit stunned by his sudden burst of
authority but I complied. He actually reminded me of the Sergeant in Cranium
Command in Epcot. Lucky for him I liked that Sergeant.
We made it to the show just as the four singers entered the stage. Talk about
perfect timing! I didn’t even mind that we were in the giraffe section.
I was crossing my fingers and toes that my favourite singers from earlier this
week would be there again today. The male singer was the same, but the female
was not. Still, I had high hopes.
The show went on as beautifully as ever and I happily sobbed like a baby. A
little boy in a wheelchair was invited to participate in the little parade.
I pretended not to notice the frightened child sitting next to me. How could
I ever have children of my own when I scare children by simply sitting in a
theatre? Talk about needing therapy!
I was looking forward to the finale with the Circle of Life song. This female
singer was terrific. However, she took so many liberties with the song, that
you could barely recognize the melody anymore. Please don’t mess with
the melody!!
With all my musical critiques in this report, I should start my own business.
I’ll call it, “Sing it My Way or Buy an Accordion”
The sunshine had been replaced with rain during the show. Don’t worry
everyone - I had my trusty poncho with me and I was convinced that by putting
it on, the rain would stop. It’s sad really how powerful I think I am
sometimes.
The rain continued for another 2 hours and everyone got soaked.
I learned my lesson.
Goofy Guy still refuses to wear ponchos. He says that they make him too hot
and once the rain stops, he dries quickly anyway. I think he’s nuts,
but then, I guess it takes one to know one. He did get rather wet today though
and I was sensing he wished he had a poncho too. He’d never admit it
though.
Men!
I wanted to ride Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur before returning to the Magic
Kingdom. It looked like Primeval Whirl was a no-go due to the rain I couldn’t
stop, so I decided to try Dinosaur. Goofy Guy decided to sit this one out too.
No need to make yourself motion sick on our last day of vacation. I’d
never get him to come back.
On Dinosaur, I sat beside a blind boy and his parents. He was having the time
of his life. It warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes.
I was now even running out of toilet paper.
Today we discovered that Animal Kingdom isn’t the best park to explore
in the rain. It put a bit of a damper on our spirits. The best remedy for the
blues is the Magic Kingdom I always say. That is precisely why I must relocate
to Orlando. After I unconsciously (or consciously…) splashed Goofy Guy
with some puddles on the way out of Animal Kingdom, we boarded the bus. It
was standing room only as usual. I guess other people wanted to ride the rain
out in the Magic Kingdom too.
We had a quick restroom break before touring the park. We were both amused
by this young family who were just leaving the restroom. They had just arrived
at WDW for their first time. The oldest daughter was about 12 and the youngest
son was about 4. Together, the 5 of them were singing the “M-I-C-K-E-Y
M-O-U-S-E” song, while linking arms. Now there’s the Disney magic
at its finest! I hope they had a magical trip.
It was lunchtime when we arrived, so we hopped on the train and returned to
Pecos Bill. We had loved our chicken wraps from earlier this trip and wanted
to have them again. It’s amazing how in a span of 10 days, you can have
a great experience and a bad experience at the same place. We didn’t
like our wraps this time at all. The dressing was all concentrated at one end
of the wrap so that the other end was pasty and dry. Only my beloved chocolate
mousse brownie dessert salvaged our meal. It was heavenly.
By now the rain had stopped. I realized that I had no powers over Mother Nature.
Goofy Guy grabbed a fruit bar at one of the ice cream stands and we proceeded
to walk through Fantasyland. We noticed that the new Winnie the Pooh playground
area was no longer fenced off, but was only blocked only by temporary bushes.
We actually got a pretty good view of the playground. I couldn’t help
but think how Boomer and Splashboy would have loved to play there. The Honey
I Shrunk the Kids Playground in MGM and the Boneyard in AK had been trip highlights
for the boys so we agreed that this playground would be a hit too. Next time.
Excuse me while I buy that lottery ticket I mentioned before.
Next stop was Space Mountain. After my last experience of riding just after
drinking an African red wine blend (*shudder*), I wanted to ride again
while in tiptop shape. Does anyone know if Space Mountain gets darker on some
days more than others? I can usually faintly see the tracks but today, I saw
nothing. It was quite thrilling! I screamed all the way through.
At least I didn’t cry.
Since we had booked this trip through CAA/AAA, we received a voucher to visit
the infamous AAA lounge in Tomorrowland. We were going to visit with our whole
family, but we kept running out of time. Today was the day! We found the entrance
rather easily and flashed our voucher. We both received a can of pop – coke
for Goofy Guy and cherry coke for me.
Too bad they didn’t have Excedrin.
The lounge was very cheerful and inviting. The couches were very comfortable
too. I sat down to read some of the travel brochures, while Goofy Guy went
to sleep. I was really starting to feel guilty. The guy was simply exhausted.
I kissed him goodnight and started to read all the brochures about cruises,
Europe, All-inclusive Caribbean trips. I was like a kid in a candy store! It
suddenly occurred to me how funny it was how I was planning our next vacation,
while still actually being on vacation. I was glad Goofy Guy was sleeping because
I don’t think he’d share my amusement.
After about 45 minutes, we decided to leave the lounge. Had we stayed longer,
I was afraid I’d never get Goofy Guy out of there. There was a very small
line for Buzz, so we went there next. Goofy Guy wanted to see if he could max
out his score again. We always ride separately on this one for the sake of
our marriage. It never failed that just as I was aiming for the perfect target,
Goofy Guy would turn our car so that I would miss the target completely. He
said it was always an accident, but I think he was worried that the only way
he’d beat me is by cheating.
Today, we rode separately and due to our info from the DIS boards, we knew
of some targets that are best to hit for higher points. The problem was that
other people were following our lead and turning their cars to the same position,
therefore blocking us from our desired targets! The nerve! Our scores were
pitiful. Fanlover did much better than my score today when she went on the
ride with me last week!
We needed to regroup and focus. I couldn’t return to Canada knowing that
Fanlover, not to mention the rest of my family, had beaten us on their first
attempt on Buzz while Goofy Guy and I are supposed to be the “experts”.
We went on the TTA again in order to regroup and relax. After the TTA, we went
back to Buzz. We were on a mission. If anyone got in our way, we’d turn
our laser guns on him or her.
We did worse than before.
The ride must be rigged – plain and simple.
With our tails between our legs, we had to admit defeat. It was time to head
back to the hotel. Sensing our defeatist attitude, the Dapper Dans came out
to sing just as we walked down Main Street. Now, here’s a great singing
group! With the addition of Dapper Dad, they’d be about perfect!
No bias here of course.
Today, a fantastic Saxophone group accompanied them. Dapper Dad also plays
the tuba so they could have quite an ensemble together. We also noticed that
one of the Dapper Dans today, was also a member of the Liberty Singers in Epcot.
Interesting how the performers float around the different parks. Sitting in
my office everyday doing the same work seems rather boring now. Maybe I should
learn to juggle.
We did a little more browsing in the shops before hearing a delightful sound
on Main Street. Mickey's Toontown Tuners were marching down Main Street playing
a familiar Mickey Mouse song. I had never heard them before so I wanted to
check them out (plus, I was eager to stall our leaving). I was careful to put
down the merchandise I was holding before exiting the store. I had been lucky
so far escaping the police this trip, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
We watched them for a few more minutes until the rain started to fall once
more. It may seem like we had a fair bit of rain this trip, but truthfully,
they were normally short bursts of rain here and there. I still came home with
a tan (well, more freckles). We boarded the bus and made it back to the hotel.
We only had a few more hours in Disney and we were going to make the most of
it.
Day 11 - Part 2...
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