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Day Seven – Friday, January 14, 2005 – Rain,
Rainforest and Wishes as it oughta be
Last full day. Big sigh. The forecasters were right. I woke up
at 5:55 to the sounds of thunder. When it got a bit brighter, I
looked out the window and everything had a yellow tint to it. Very
strange. It was teeming. It was raining as hard, or harder, as I’ve
ever seen it rain. From our balcony, I could see a downspout peeking
out of the BW building and the water was gushing out of it like
a fire hydrant.
We decided to hang out a bit and hit Downtown Disney when the rain
lightened. Will had also expressed interest in seeing the Wilderness
Lodge (WL). Stephen decided to stay back and work out. He would
meet us later.
The rain had softened a bit so we headed to DD at 10:00. Once there,
we changed bus stops, attempting to stay dry, and caught a bus to
the WL. When we got there, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Everyone
was impressed by the lobby. I had given Steph a mission to find
the Hidden Mickey in the fireplace. As she was scanning it, a couple
walked up, apparently intent on finding it. The guy said something
about it being in the “pink part” and almost at once,
we all found it. He asked if we were also looking for Hidden Mickeys
and did we have the book (the Hidden Mickey book was selling prominently
in every resort gift shop we saw). He and his companion were apparently
using the rainy day to visit resorts to see how many they could
find.
We walked outside a bit and stopped at the Overlook. The rain started
to get heavy again so our time outside was cut short. We did a bit
of shopping in the gift shop and thought about lunch in Whispering
Canyon but it didn’t open again until 12 (it was now 11:30).
I suggested the Rainforest Café for lunch so it was back
to DD.
On the bus, we called Stephen’s cell and found him at the
BW bus stop heading to DD. We told him to check us in at RFC if
he beat us there. We arrived, found Stephen standing outside and
he told us they were holding our table. We were seated quickly in
the Elephant Room and enjoyed a mix of burgers, salad, wraps, chicken,
etc. We hit another 10% discount through DVC.
We shopped. Stephen bought a woodcarving from the outside vendor
for his girlfriend. It’s a wall plaque with her name and several
pictures of Tink (her favorite). We spent time in Team Mickey and
World of Disney. We bought a couple of Tink globes and a new photo
album (to match the 2 we already have). The kids also picked up
a number of items. I left them to check out and went outside with
Steph. Barb came out later and said it was a good thing Stephen
was there. She got a 10% discount using his AP – I had hers,
with mine, in my wallet.
We walked back to the bus stops and the rain started to increase
in intensity again. Our bus stopped at the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht
Club, Beach Club and Boardwalk and this time we rode all the way
due to the downpour.
If the weather cleared, we were hoping to hit MGM and Epcot tonight.
As luck would have it, it stopped raining about 4:00 so, at 4:30
we headed to MGM. Steph stayed back because she wanted to go directly
to Epcot. We rode the boat to MGM, just in case it started pouring
again.
Once there, we checked ToT but the wait time was 45-minutes and
all FPs were gone. RnRC had a similar wait so we walked up to see
the Muppets 3D. We caught about half the pre-show and then enjoyed
the “Tribute to all countries but mostly America” once
again.
After Muppets, we were trying to decide what to do next. Michelle
said she really wanted a ride on ToT so I said we should go for
it. Barb and I will be back soon (the beauty of DVC) but it may
be a couple of years or more before Michelle is here again. We walked
back to ToT and I sent everyone on while I hunted up a cup of coffee.
I had resigned myself to a Nescafe (that’s all they were
offering) and paid $1.89 for a small cup. I was at a table behind
Toluca Turkey Legs, attempting to open a creamer, when Barb and
Stephen showed up.
Me: “What happened to ToT?”
Barb: “The wait was too long and Michelle and Will wanted
to see Wishes again so they’re off to the MK”
Me: (In a whiny voice) “But I wanted to see Wishes.”
Off we go. We catch Michelle and Will just outside the gates. The
option is bus stop 11 for a bus to the TTC. Just as we pass the
Contemporary bus stop, a bus pulls up so we backtrack and jump on.
At the Contemporary I suggest taking the walking path to the MK.
Barb asks if I know where it is. “No. But I’m sure I
can find it.” She doesn’t buy that and we head to the
monorail, make 3 stops and arrive at the MK.
We head in and it’s surprisingly empty – I’m
guessing the rain has kept everyone away. We call Steph on the cell
and tell her of our change. She’s at Epcot searching for a
mug as a gift for her boyfriend. (Oops, she may read this. He’s
not really a boyfriend, yet. Just a guy she’s seeing. Casually.
Very casually. That should save me some grief.) Anyway, she’s
at Epcot and will stay for IROE. We say we’ll meet her because
Wishes is at 7:00 and we should make it there by 8:00.
We find several open tables outside the Plaza Restaurant. I grab
a coffee for Barb and me – I had to dump the Nescafe I bought
at MGM. Will grabs a Casey’s hot dog, Stephen a chocolate
sundae. At 6:55 there’s no one around. I worry. I ask the
CM by the patio if Wishes is cancelled. Nope. On schedule for 8:00.
8:00? Yep. Man, did I screw up. No wonder all the tables are empty.
We call Steph and I apologize profusely. We won’t be able
to join her at Epcot. The new plan is to forsake dinner and hit
Beaches and Cream for a Kitchen Sink. I’ve always wanted to
do that and I think the 6 of us can polish it off (Stephen and Will
are my secret weapons). We agree to meet Steph on the bridge to
the Beach Club around 9:00.
I ask the group what they’d like to do for an hour. Will
suggests Mickey’s PhilharMagic (my new favorite). Off we go.
They’re putting up ropes in FantasyLand, presumably to keep
the area free from guests during Wishes. It’s confusing but
we find we can still get into the next show. We enjoy it yet again.
Michelle, Will and Stephen take another ride on Space Mountain
while Barb and I wait. When they come out, it’s 7:45 so it’s
time to head back down to Main Street.
The area by the Plaza Restaurant is more crowded but not terrible.
However, Main Street doesn’t look too bad so we head there
and take up a spot right in the center (actually we were about 8”
to the right of center which really ticked me off). We watched Wishes
from there and it was perfect. All the fireworks were centered around
the Castle and we could hear the soundtrack perfectly. Michelle
is the sentimental type and she admits getting a bit teary-eyed
at IROE. I’m not sure if this got to her or not but I expect
it did. I told her that last night, from our very bad vantage point,
“you saw fireworks. Tonight you saw a show”. The only
thing that detracted from it were several dozen people trying to
make their way out of the park, by heading down the center of Main
Street during the show.
After the show, we strolled out and quickly boarded a surprisingly
uncrowded Boardwalk bus. We walked to the BW and up toward the Beach
Club where we met Steph. I felt a bit guilty about abandoning her
during Wishes, and wished she had been able to see it with us, but
she was fine on her own. She’s probably the most independent
of the three and she enjoyed her time at Epcot and did buy a mug
from Germany.
We walked over to the Beach Club. As we passed a strolling family,
I overheard them discussing the surrounding resorts. ‘Dad’
said that “That’s the Boardwalk hotel” (pointing
toward the BW) and “this is the Boardwalk suites” (motioning
toward the Beach Club. ‘Grandma’ said, “No. This
is Old Key West”.
We needed to take a circuitous route to Beaches and Cream, due
to come construction for the rehab of parts of Stormalong Bay. When
we got there, I checked with the podium and was told it would be
a 45-60 minute wait for a table. No one was comfortable with that
so we hoofed it back to the BW, stopping on the bridge briefly to
watch some of the fireworks from IROE. We ‘settled’
for waffle cones from Seashore Sweets – not a Kitchen Sink
but very good. Oh, and I split a warm pretzel with Steph. And Will
had some pizza from Spoodles take out window. Not a gourmet meal
but very satisfying.
We hung out on the BW for a bit and spared Michelle from the ‘fat
Monica’ dance. I think she was getting a bit tired of it.
We returned to the rooms to begin packing. It’s home tomorrow.
Things I Think I Think – I think I need to read the Park
Schedules better. I think everyone should see Wishes once from the
center of Main Street. I think I may need to arrange another whole-family
trip just so we can order the Kitchen Sink. I think I’ve now
seen PhilharMagic 4 or 5 times and I can’t seem to get enough
of it. I think I hate packing for the trip home.
Day 8...
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