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Sunday – October 31, 2004 - Free Rides, Stitch and
a Witch
We’re up early. No surprise there. We set the clocks back
to standard time this morning, so my 4:30 wakeup is really 3:30.
What to do? I brewed up a pot of coffee and we both remarked (again)
that it really sucked. I think it’s the Orlando water and
vow to either use bottled water or pick up a Brita filter for use
in the future.
We drink our coffee, shower and dress and I call Sue and Wayne
at 5:50. Not surprisingly, they’re up and ready. I call the
front desk and request a taxi – either at our building or
the Custom House. They indicate that a taxi or a van to bring us
to the Custom House will be out front at 6:15. Sue and Wayne show
and we take the short walk to the turnaround by the parking lot.
Right at 6:15 a Disney van shows and the driver hops out and begins
to load our luggage. Barb asks me if he’s taking us to the
Boardwalk or to the Custom House for a taxi. I ask him that very
question and get a reply “You’re going to the Boardwalk?
Let me call in”. We hop in and he drives us directly to the
Boardwalk – a short hop, really. But I’m grateful enough
to give him a $10 tip – a bargain considering a taxi would
probably have cost $7-8. We check our bags with Bell Services.
So we’re checking into the Boardwalk (my favorite thing)
at 6:20 and I’m telling Sue and Wayne about our December 2003
trip when we checked in at 6:30 and… the room was ready! As
we sign the forms I ask the CM “Are the rooms ready now?”
He looks at me like I have 3 heads and says they’re not. The
Boardwalk was at capacity last night so they need to wait for checkouts
and room cleaning. But feel free to check back as often as you’d
like. We get our keys and the welcome package... and a “Welcome
Home” (my favorite thing). I bring the welcome packages to
Bell Services and ask them to store them with the luggage. They’d
be a pain to carry around all day.
We decide to try Spoodles for breakfast but learn they open at
7:30. We hit the bakery for coffee and tea (Sue), and an Apple Danish
for Wayne. This is probably an appropriate time to tell you that
my friend, Wayne, eats more and faster than anyone I know. Hell,
he eats more and faster than anyone you know, too. Side story –
we take an annual golf trip with 8 guys. In 2001, we finished off
the day of golf with a dinner at a steak and seafood place. While
at the bar, peeling and eating several jumbo shrimp, Wayne learns
of the restaurant’s specialty – a 46-ounce prime rib.
It’s $46 but if you can eat it all in less than 46 minutes,
it’s free. A challenge. Not only did Wayne consume this half-cow
in its entirety, he did it in 12 ½ minutes - a new record.
People in the restaurant were taking his picture and, I’m
sure, waiting to tell their friends “You won’t believe
what I saw in Lake Placid…”
Back to the Boardwalk. We grabbed a table and chatted, sipped
and watched the joggers until just before 7:00 when we decided to
see if anything at the Yacht or Beach Clubs was open. Turns out
the Yacht Club Galley opens for breakfast at 7:00 so in we went.
We had a great breakfast with a mix of eggs, pancakes, etc. (about
$100).
After breakfast, we walked back to the Boardwalk and continued
out front to grab a bus to Animal Kingdom, or as Wayne calls it,
AnimalLand. A bus was there within 5 minutes and we got to the park,
and through security, by 8:45. At 8:50, they opened the turnstiles
and let us in as far as the Oasis where we waited for the official
opening. Minnie, Goofy and Pluto arrived on the truck and welcomed
everyone. Just before opening they called our attention to Mickey,
who was way off by the Tree of Life waving to everyone.
We usually try to hit Dinosaur or It’s Tough To Be A Bug
(ITTBAB) first thing but today we decided to try the Kilamanjaro
Safari (KS) first (my favorite thing). We walked back to Africa
with the throngs and, essentially, walked through the queue without
really stopping. We had a very good trip. Two rhinos were chasing
each other in circles. It’s amazing how fast and agile they
are for such large animals. The lion was sitting toward the back
of Pride Rock but he was awake and facing (watching?) the ride vehicles.
You could just about see his face between openings in the rock formation.
Don’t you think it’s time to retire the Little Red storyline?
We then hit ITTBAB, something we always enjoy. We were coming
up on the next show for Festival of the Lion King (FotLK) so we
walked over to Camp Mickey Minnie and made our way in. I finally
got seated in something other than the Giraffe section and we roared
like a Lion (I’m still hoping to be an elephant because that’s
the one sound I’m actually good at). It’s funny…
I always enjoy this show but, after the fact, I think back on it
and say there’s no reason to do it again. My memory sort of
underplays its entertainment factor. Nevertheless, every trip, we
see it and I am again impressed by the performance. I’m not
sure if that thought will make sense to anyone but it’s something
I’ve noticed. Anyway, FotLK is my favorite thing.
After FotLK, we walked to DinoLand and discovered a 30-minute
wait at Dinosaur so we decided to skip it and try it later. We decided
to head back to the BW and try ESPN for lunch. It’s an NFL
Sunday and Wayne’s team, the Giants, was playing at 1:00.
We joined a line at ESPN at about 12:30. The line was about 12
deep and was moving slowly. At 12:45 we were about 5th in line when
the hostess announced that they were full and there were no guarantees
of a table opening any time soon. Lots of folks would spend the
afternoon there. We decided to give Big River Grill and Brewing
Company (BRGBC) another try. We had dinner there back in 2001 and
were less than impressed.
We were seated immediately at a ‘bar table’ and we
did have a TV nearby showing the NFL pre-game show. My guess is
that these bar tables are fine for drinks and appetizers but they’re
painfully small to accommodate 4 people for lunch. After ordering,
I picked up the 84-page, leather bound drink menu and the various
stand-up advertisements and moved them to a nearby table to try
and give us some more room. I mentioned that, in a recent Trip Report,
I read rave reviews on the burgers here. So Wayne, Barb and I all
ordered the burger. Sue had the quesadillas, just to be different.
Wayne and I sampled a couple of the beers brewed on premises but
I don’t recall which ones – and my notes are sketchy
here (I must be getting older – the memory’s failing).
Anyway, mine was an Irish Red (it’s name was a bit more interesting)
and Wayne, I believe, had a lager. Anyway, we both enjoyed them
while Barb and Sue had coffee and iced tea, respectively. The burgers,
by the way, were very good (about $100).
After lunch, we hit the BW lobby and called about the rooms. It
was about 2:30 and they were both ready. Sue and Wayne got lucky
and got 2050, a Boardwalk view with a balcony above the Screen Door
store. We were in 2045, just down the hall and overlooking the Luna
Park pool (3rd time we’ve had this view). Both rooms were
on the same floor as, and a very short walk to, the lobby. This
is a real first for us as we’re usually forced to walk ¼
mile each way to the lobby. Both were studios which are the basic
hotel room with a queen bed plus a sofa bed and a kitchenette with
microwave, sink, coffee maker and refrigerator. Our studio was also
a bit larger than Sue and Wayne’s. It had a difference in
how the walls were cut as you walked in and just seemed quite a
bit more open.
Wayne and I went to the Screen Door for some essentials (beer,
snacks, milk, etc.). I was looking for butter for my morning English
muffin (do they actually have these in England? What do they call
them? Just Muffins?) but was told they were out and didn’t
expect more until Tuesday.
We called for our luggage and spent the afternoon unpacking, resting,
napping and watching some football in the room. I visited the Front
Desk with a bunch (7) of old Park Hoppers. I knew some had leftover
Plus features that would get us into Pleasure Island during our
upcoming January trip. It turns out that I have a total of 4 Plus
features left. A couple of the cards, from 1996, were actually World
Hoppers, which had no Plus Features – those were the days
of Flex Features (remember those?).
It was Halloween and most of the CMs were in costume. The guy
that handled this for me was dressed as George Burns. He had on
a dark suit and thick horn-rimmed glasses and stayed in character
the entire time. It was cute at first, but after 10 minutes or so,
I was anxious for him to just finish with my tickets and let me
go.
At 4:00, we headed to the bus stop. We had plans to meet Kristin
and Matt at the MK (City Hall) at 4:30 to get ready for MNSSHP.
A word about the Boardwalk buses, and I’ll try not to mention
it again. It was hard to pick up a pattern during the week. We typically
walk to Epcot and MGM, and bus to MK or AK. The buses from the BW
always seemed to pick us up, then stop at the Swan and Dolphin.
Presumably, they stopped at the Yacht and Beach Clubs before the
BW. On return trips, it seemed they would hit the Swan/Dolphin/YC/BC
and then the BW. Not wanting to ride for hours, we always exit at
the Swan and take the short walk back to the BW. Later in the week,
we discovered a path, near the Swan bus stop, that allowed you to
bypass their lobby and head directly to the bridge to the BW –
making the walk even shorter.
So we hit the MK at 4:35. They had a separate entrance to the
right for MNSSHP and we got our orange wristbands there. We found
a waiting Matt and Kristin at City Hall. I got everyone to pose
for a picture on Main Street with the Castle as a backdrop. No one
was costumed for MNSSHP but Sue and Wayne did have T-shirts. Wayne’s
was bright orange and had the eyes, nose and mouth of a carved pumpkin.
He was immediately nicknamed the “Great Pumpkin”. Sue’s
was black with a silver (white?) carved pumpkin on the front. Overall,
the costume of choice was The Incredibles. We saw many families
(mom, dad and kids) outfitted this way.
Our first stop was Mickey’s Philharmagic and we timed it perfectly,
getting there as they opened the doors to the waiting room. We saw
this back in December and it gets better with each viewing. What
a great show. Not to be missed for young and old alike.
We walked through FantasyLand and stopped for a Haunted Mansion
trip. We were in the courtyard, at the front, and I asked everyone
to watch Madame Leota’s tombstone. Just as Sue said “Why?”
Leota’s eyes opened and moved causing Sue to let out a little
“Ooh” as she jumped back. Perfect timing. The CM Host
was exceptional. As he opened the doors, he simply stared for 30-seconds
at the waiting guests. Never left character as he ushered us in
and to the dead center of the room. He kind of glided around the
circumference, behind the guests and everyone kept an eye on him
– expecting him to do something to startle someone.
Next up was Big Thunder Mountain (my favorite thing). It had a 5-minute
wait listed but was really a walk-on. We rode toward the front where
the ride is typically slower but this was pretty quick. Is the grease
warmer at the end of the day? Speaking of warmer, it was in the
high-80s and sunny once again.
Wayne decided to pass on Splash Mountain (my favorite thing) but
the rest of us rode (no wait), had fun and got just a little wet.
It seemed that the park was emptying pretty rapidly. After Splash,
we chatted with a CM near the Liberty Tree Tavern who said they
were trying to get all the MNSSHP ticket holders into TomorrowLand
so they could clear the rest of the park. We dutifully headed there
and joined a pretty large crowd. The party wouldn’t start
until 7:00 so we figured this would be a good time for dinner. We
decided on the Plaza Pavilion and everyone spread out for burgers,
chicken, salads, etc. Barb and Sue claimed they weren’t hungry
and just had soft drinks.
After dinner, we took a spin on Buzz. Now in December, I had maxed
the score at 999,999 and thought I would once again impress my friends
with my prowess as Interplanetary Space Stud. Something was obviously
amiss with my laser cannon as I came in with a paltry 79,800. A
pitiful score but still good enough to trash the yokels I was traveling
with.
We had noticed they were running previews of the new Stitch’s
Escape attraction – the old Alien Encounter. The wait was
listed as 15 minutes so we decided to give it a go. The wait was
more like 5-10 minutes.
I don’t want to spoil it for anyone so I won’t give
a lot of detail. My impression, however, was not positive. It seems
as if management told the Imagineers to make AE more kid-friendly,
then gave them a $20,000 budget to do it (a slight exaggeration).
There is not much different from AE. Very similar pre-show (it’s
still Skippy) but the droid that performs the transportation has
been cleaned up and made to look and sound less evil. When you get
to the main show, you sit in the same seats with the same shoulder
harnesses. The storyline is, obviously, different and less ominous.
Instead of the alien, Stitch appears in the center chamber and ultimately
escapes into the theater – of course, this part occurs in
the darkness so you can get the special effects from your headrest.
It’s cute and certainly better for children than AE, but I
don’t think it’ll be an every trip attraction for me.
The Stitch animatronic is, however, quite good. Oh, and be forewarned
– watch out for the chili dog (you’ll get that after
you experience the attraction). I’d be curious to get a reaction
on this attraction from someone that has never seen AE. It could
be much more positive than mine.
We did stop at a couple of Trick-or-Treat stations but, in my
opinion, the only stuff worth getting were the M&Ms . They were
using the Timekeeper as one of the spots where you could get your
complimentary picture taken so we strolled in to a short line. It
was depressing to see the Robin William’s robot sitting idle
in the front – they used the standing rails as a makeshift
queue area.
It was now past 7:30 and we figured we had missed the ride of the
Headless Horseman – something I wanted to see but not really
a big loss. We made our way around a large crowd in front of the
Castle that was awaiting the first parade. The parade was just beginning
and it was coming up Main Street so we got a peek and heard some
of the eerie music. We took a ride on the Jungle Cruise (my favorite
thing) and had a great skipper. I can’t say if I enjoy this
more at night – it’s always fun. There’s a point
in the ride where elephants squirt some water. Apparently, and I
didn’t know this, the arc of the water is controlled by the
skipper. I’m not sure if that’s right but that’s
what we were told. Anyway, this elephant got a bit too aggressive
and shot a stream into the boat. Sue was sitting just to the skipper’s
left and she caught part of the spray. The woman on his right took
a heftier shot and appeared to be none-too-happy about it. Our skipper
actually tried to place himself into the stream and showed us his
soaked trouser leg as evidence that he “took one for the team”.
After JC, we took a ride with the Pirates of the Caribbean (no
wait and my favorite thing). It was getting close to 9:15 so we
walked back to the front of the park and took some benches in front
of the Crystal Palace. Kristin and Matt decided that they had already
had a long day and were heading back to CBR. I thought it strange
they would leave so close to the fireworks but they were obviously
very tired.
Wayne and I took a few photos of the castle. Wayne thought it would
make a great display to have photos of the castle lit up in each
of its nine (?) colors. At 9:15 we left the Palace’s porch
and found a spot below by the railings. The fireworks were the ‘old’
Fantasy in the Sky with a few Halloween flourishes. Instead of Tink
flying down from the castle, it was a witch and there were several
times when they would shoot fireworks in a full 360 degrees around
the MK. The witch and the 360 were very cool but this just reinforced
how much better Wishes is than FitS.
After FitS concluded, we headed to an uncrowded bus stop and rode
back to the Swan and walked to the BW. We hit Seashore Sweets where
Barb and Wayne had a waffle cone. I walked down to the Bakery and
scored a couple of muffins for tomorrow’s breakfast. I also
asked if they had any butter – the Screen Door was out. They
loaded the bag with enough of the butter packets to last us for
the week. Thanks.
We spent some time at a BW table as Barb and Wayne scoffed down
their cones. We just chatted and people watched for a while, then
headed to the rooms. I watched a little Sunday Night Football and
headed to bed.
Things I Think I Think
I think MNSSHP was good but I don’t think I’d do it
again. I’m not much for parades, or trick-or-treating, and
Wishes is hands down better that FitS.
I think I never tire of hearing “Welcome Home”.
I think I really love the Boardwalk.
I think that with each visit, I seem to like AK a bit more. The
construction is coming along nicely on Expedition Everest.
I think Big River is better than I remembered – might have
been a bad night last time.
Day 3...
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