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Tuesday – November 2, 2004 - “I don’t
think we’re in Disney anymore”
It’s Election Day and we’re up by 6:00. The four of
us have already voted by absentee ballot. I’m not going to
get into any political discussions here because, quite frankly,
there’s no point. I am, however, very interested in seeing
just how our Presidential Election will turn out.
Sue and Wayne call and say they’re heading to Spoodles for
breakfast. Barb and I have already had our UK muffins so we pass
and say we’ll join them later for coffee. We spend some time
browsing in the Screen Door and adjacent shops then head to Spoodles
where Sue and Wayne are finishing up. We get 2 coffees in those
soup bowls that Spoodles calls coffee mugs.
The plan this morning is Downtown Disney (DD) for some shopping
at the Marketplace. We grab a bus and get there by 9:10 –
and realize the shops open at 9:30. We decide to hit Saratoga Springs
for a quick tour of the newest DVC resort. We had a notice in our
welcome package that DVC members could grab a bus to Congress Park
and go to room 2607 (That’s wrong but close. I’ve forgotten
the #) for a tour and, I’m guessing, a free pin! What I didn’t
remember reading, and Wayne reminded me of later, was that the notice
said it was open from 5-7:00 PM.
Anyway, we camped at the Saratoga bus stop at the Marketplace
and waited, and waited, and waited. There’s a path beyond
the stops that appears to go to Saratoga Springs… but we’re
not sure. The nearby map with the ‘You Are Here’ arrow
basically ends at the beginning of this path.
Being the erstwhile adventurers that we are, we decide to take
the path. It winds around but does, indeed, take you to Saratoga
Springs. We wandered around checking out the buildings, pools, etc.
We have no luck finding room 2607 and finally find a CM to ask.
He directs us to walk a bit further to a building that houses the
DVC Welcome Center.
We hoof it over there and introduce ourselves and get a “Welcome
Home” (my favorite thing). Unfortunately, Wayne was right
and there’s nothing for us to see until 5:00 but feel free
to look around. It’s a very comfortable lobby and there’s
juices and coffee and mini-muffins, etc. We head outside and walk
a bit more of the property to find a bus stop that will get us back
to the Marketplace (we’ve eventually walked ourselves about
2 miles away).
Saratoga Springs is a very nice resort. We live 25 miles from
the real Saratoga Springs and Disney has done a great job of capturing
the look and feel of the area. The resort is, however, spread over
about 6 million acres. If you’re staying in one of the outer
buildings, and would like to come down to the bar or restaurant,
it’s a long walk or a bus ride. I don’t think I’d
consider staying here without a car.
Back to the Marketplace. We all buy a number of Christmas ornaments
in the Christmas store. Barb and I have decided to start collecting
snow globes because we now have one (our son bought it for us).
I also collect Canadian quarters. I think I have 6 now. Anyway,
we are looking at various snow globes and the one that caught our
attention is the Fantasmic boat. Steamboat Willie is monochrome
in the globe and the rest is a reproduction of the Fantasmic boat
with all the characters you see at the end of the show. It’s
$80 so we’re thinking it over.
Barb buys a white Mickey tee. I buy Mickey ice cube trays. On
our last visit I finally bought the Mickey cocktail shaker so…
what’s a Mickey cocktail without Mickey ice? Huh? Now when
I mix a drink for Barb, I can slip her a Mickey. No? What’s
all that groaning about?
Sue buys a box of chocolate truffles. They’re not the same
ones that were in France in 2002 but they’re good and they’ll
have to do.
It’s getting close to lunch so we decide to try the new Earl
of Sandwich. It’s crowded and we get in line. This place gets
a rating of 9 from us. Each of us had a different sandwich (club,
roast beef, etc.) and they were all very good. And the price is
$5-6 per sandwich, which, by WDW standards, is a major bargain.
Try it. You won’t be disappointed.
Fed, we head back to the BW for another turn at the quiet pool.
This time, after swimming we decide to head to the Luna Park pool
bar, Leaping Libations (?), for a Margarita (except Wayne gets a
Tilt-a-Whirl). Once again, it’s 88 and sunny and these are
very refreshing – plus they contain alcohol. Back to the room
for a nap (my favorite thing – I know, I know. I’m getting
old).
At around 4:00, everyone’s rested, showered and dressed.
Kristin and Matt have taken the Keys to the Kingdom tour at MK today.
They called Sue and said they’d be interested in seeing Fantasmic
with us tonight. They meet us at the BW and the 6 of us hem and
haw over how to get to MGM. Boat, walk, boat… we finally decide
that walking is quicker.
We tried earlier this morning to secure a Fantasmic dinner package
but all 3 restaurants were sold out. This happened to me in early
2002 and I was still able to get it by showing up at 4:30 at Mama
Melrose’s. That was the plan.
We hit MGM, walked to Mama’s, went inside and asked the hostess
if we could get the package. She informed us that they weren’t
even accepting walk-ups for dinner. Whoops. So much for not making
earlier PSs.
Not to worry. We walked around the corner and into the Sci-Fi DriveIn
Theater and were seated in a ‘limo’ within 3 minutes.
We had a great waiter here that had a running banter. We ordered
a mix of burgers, steaks, and chicken Caesar salads. The shakes
here are excellent and everyone, except Sue, had one. We got our
check (about $100) and took our time walking to the amphitheater
for the Fantasmic showing at 7:00.
We got there at around 6:10 and it was already more than ½
full. We were part of the traditional wave while we waited for the
show to start. They piped in music that was from Radio Disney. At
the risk of offending many, I’m not a fan. There was a lot
of re-mixed Disney classics (I prefer the originals) and a bit of
‘Rapper Mickey’. I’m definitely not a fan of rap.
IMHO, they should pipe in original Disney classics. I’d much
rather listen to ‘Under the Sea’, ‘Beauty and
the Beast’ or ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”
than the stuff they were playing.
Fantasmic started a few minutes late (not sure why) and I enjoyed
it once again. It seems to affect me much the same way that FotLK
does. I’ll think back on it and almost have a been-there-done-that
feeling. But when I see it, I always enjoy it.
After Fantasmic, we walked back to the BW and into Jelly Rolls.
We first visited this ‘dueling pianos’ spot in 2001.
It was a so-so night, mainly due to the overflowing Lotusphere crowd.
We felt that, with the right crowd, it could be a lot of fun. We’ve
been back twice more and a great time. We were hoping for a similar
experience but, unfortunately, we picked the wrong night.
The first 30 minutes were great as the performers were chatting
with the audience and taking requests. Later we learned that Tuesday
is a special night at Jelly Rolls. It’s Bud splits at 2 for
$2.00. This attracts a large group of locals, mostly early 20s,
that seem to want to yell, scream and act out over-stimulated libidos
in public.
here’s a table between us and the stage that is home to 8
or 10 (it varied) guys and girls – average age about 23. They
were yelling, toasting and clinking things so loud it was difficult
to hear the singer that was miked and 20 feet away. It took about
6 minutes before the first beer was spilled. Their first request
of the performers was ‘Juicy’ by B.I.G. They paid no
attention to the performers and made it difficult for anyone nearby
to hear the songs or the banter.
I’m facing the stage and also the backs of 4-5 these folks.
Directly in front of me there’s a fairly attractive young
girl – low-rise jeans, bare midriff, etc. She’s hugging
and kissing the guy seated to her left. At the same time, the guy
on her right has his hand wandering all over her butt. She appears
to not even notice.
Here’s the highlight: One of the requests comes from a table
full of 20-something guys. It basically says that the guy has had
his heart broken and needs a song to cheer him up. The performer,
Tommy, calls the guy up on stage and sits him on the piano. He then
asks for any girls from the audience that would like to help the
guy, named K.J. by the way, cheer up. Surprisingly, 5 come up on
stage. Most have obviously been drinking and one is damned close
to blasted. Tommy launches into ‘You’ve Lost That Loving
Feeling’ and the Bimbos-5 begin to writhe around K.J. The
almost-blasted one winds up in front of him and begins rubbing her
butt against him, shaking and writhing to her knees in front of
him. I turn to Matt and he says “I don’t think we’re
at Disney anymore”.
Moral of the story – avoid Jelly Rolls on a Tuesday night.
We are certainly not prudes but this was not what we were looking
for. We lasted about 90 minutes and headed out, praying that most
of Jelly Rolls patrons take taxis home.
Kristin and Matt caught a taxi back to CBR. They’re heading
to Universal tomorrow so this is probably the last we’ll see
of them. We headed off to our respective rooms and bed. I checked
the TV for election coverage but most reports said things were still
too close to call with Ohio carrying the distinction of being the
deciding state. We’ll see.
Things I Think I Think
I think Saratoga Springs is very nice but I don’t think
I’d stay there based on its size and location.
I think I need to start making PSs in advance.
I think I really enjoy Fantasmic.
I think I will avoid Jelly Rolls on Tuesday nights.
I think I can’t wait to mix a Manhattan in my Mickey cocktail
shaker with my Mickey ice cubes.
Day 5...
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