I’m up early (I know, I know) and put on the coffee. We have a light breakfast of coffee and bagels. The local news tells us the humidity is only 96% right now. Should I bring a sweater?

I head down to the front desk to check out of one reservation and check in with another. Remember Olga when I checked in? Remember how she had promised a phone call if there would be a problem keeping the same room? The CM lets me complete the check-in process but “the computer” has us moving to a new room and she can’t change it. She will tell Operations about it when they come in at 8:00 AM . I head back to the room and tell Barb that we’re probably moving. This would normally not be much of a problem but I’m a die-hard Jets fan and I really want to see today’s game with Tampa Bay . I know it’s on a local Fox station and I can watch it in the room (if I have a room). The game’s on at 1:00 and, if we move, I may not have a room until 4:00 . My alternative is to queue up at the ESPN club at 11:30 to make sure I get a table near a screen. Then we’ll need to have a four and a half hour lunch during the game.

At 6:50 , Barb notices our message light is on. I check it and it’s the front desk CM asking me to call Operations. Any idea why they didn’t ring the phone instead of just leaving a voicemail? She certainly knew we were up. I call Operations and they’re very nice but there’s not much they can do. The hotel is at capacity, the ‘standard view’ I’m in is booked, etc. OK. I ask if they could please note that I’d like to get a room that’s serviced as early as possible. They agree.

We re-pack our suitcases and bring them to Bell Services for storage. They agree to refrigerate what needs to be refrigereated and we head to the Boardwalk bakery for a coffee. While sitting on the BW, we decide to head to MGM . There’s a boat just docking so we choose that over walking. We almost always make the walk to MGM but it’s so humid, the air-conditioned boat seems like a better idea.

We queue up with a crowd at the turnstiles. I notice that the 2 turnstiles on my left have the entry arrows illuminated but there’s no one in line. I step out and we move up to the front of the line at one of these turnstiles. I look back and can see lots of people looking at us - pointing and chattering nervously. They want to follow but they’re unsure. Do we leave a line that we know will get us in for the promise of a shorter wait? If it doesn’t work, will we have to go to the end of the line? Finally, one group sends a single member up to ask a CM. Having been assured that it is, indeed, a valid line he motions for the rest of his group. Others now breathe a sigh of relief and move to these 2 new ‘renegade’ lines. Peace and serenity are restored.

They opened the turnstiles at 8:45 and, because we were first in line, we entered without a wait (damned MYW tickets). Barb headed to a rest room (typically her first ride of any Disney day) and I went to the Guest Relations office just inside the turnstiles, looking for a Famtasmic dinner package. Nothing doing.

We met up and browsed the shops on the right side until rope drop. A co-worker of Barb had asked if we could pick her up a Mickey charm in 14k gold. She wanted to spend $20-30. I told Barb there were only 2 chances of meeting that request and Slim left town. That was reinforced as we found several silver metal charms in that price range but gold began at around $75 and went up quickly.

At rope drop, we headed to Tower of Terror (ToT). Most of the crowd heads in this direction and, by my unscientific reckoning, about 60% head to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. We walked quickly through the queue and a 1 or 2 minute wait for the library doors to open. After the film, it was a quick walk through the boiler room and on to an elevator. ToT is still a great ride and, I think, we experienced 4 drops in this sequence.

We stopped quickly at the Tip Board and saw that Star Tours had a 20-minute wait so we decided to ride it before the crowds became worse. We walked up there, once again commenting that they need to bring back Superstar Television (how long has that building been idle?) and walked through an almost empty queue. We were stopped at the top ramp, by the conveyor belts, when the 10-15 people in front of us started passing the word back for a party of 2. Hey, we’re a party of 2. We walked past these folks and into a queue where we were in the last 2 seats on the left in the back row. The outermost seats in the back row are, supposedly, where you experience the most motion. I know Barb likes that so I graciously gave her the outermost seat. After yet another aborted attempt at visiting the Moon of Endor, she did say she was thrown around pretty good.

Muppets 3D was next and we caught (almost) the entire pre-show. I (again) could not find the ‘Net full of Jello’. I seem to find it every other visit – are they moving it on me? I must have seen this film 15 times but I still find it fun. What is it about the Muppets that’s so darn entertaining?

We left the Muppets into a light sprinkle that only lasted 5-10 minutes. It was around 11:00 so I decided we should leave so I could get in line at the ESPN Club. We rode the boat back and got off at the Swan. I didn’t really need to stop at the Dolphin and Yacht Club before getting to the BoardWalk.

Barb went to the BWVR to check on our room. We figured there was no way it would be ready this early but we may as well check. I continued on to the ESPN Club and got in line, behind 5-6 groups on the side to wait for a table. There were already 25-30 people in line on the right side for bar seating. In 5 minutes, I can see Barb walking toward me and she lets me know our room is ready. It seems that the BWVR staff came through – a room at 11:20 !

We stopped at Bell Services and gave them our room number so they could deliver our luggage. We headed up to room 4050, a much shorter walk from the elevators. We had a view of the Luna Park pool from the balcony – a view that looked very familiar. I later checked a couple of past TRs and learned we were in room 2050 (directly below this one) last November and in 4054 (2 doors away) in 2002. Barb called Bell Services and our luggage showed up in 5 minutes. Unpacking (again) followed and Barb graciously offered to make a run to Tubbi’s in the Dolphin for lunch.

I settled in for some pre-game viewing and Barb returned with a turkey sub for me and a chicken Caesar salad for her. She scored the 20% DVC discount at Tubbi’s. We ‘dined’ while I watched the game (67 year old Vinny Testaverde led the Jets to a 14-12 win). Barb went for a walk and spent time at the pool during the game – she’s not a die-hard fan, thank goodness – and returned to the room right around 4:00 to catch the final minutes.

We freshened up and decided to hit Epcot for some rides and another visit to the F&W Festival. We walked to the IG and made our way through the turnstiles (damned MYW tickets) and on to FW. Test Track had a standby wait of 50-minutes and FP for 8:45 so we passed. We took a ride on Universe of Energy. The attraction was only about half full – that’s probably saying something since the rest of the park was so crowded. I still enjoy this show, and Ellen, but admit that it’s getting a bit tired. It’s definitely not an every trip thing any longer.

After U of E, we walked back to WS and headed toward Mexico . The sun was blazing down and it was very, very warm. We stopped in the Cantina San Angel and I got us 2 Margaritas while Barb found a shady table in the cantina. The place was crowded, as was most of WS. We sat and enjoyed our drinks while we both commented that, as hot as it is, we should be drinking water. We took our drinks to a quiet bench in the gardens outside China and used that time to call home and check in with Stephanie and Stephen. All’s well at home which is a good thing.

We decided to start noshing so we picked up 2 Pot Stickers at the China booth. We took those back to the same bench mainly because it was quiet, uncrowded and shaded. I went back and picked up an order of Chicken Sha Cha with Peanut Sauce for us to share. All were very good.

We thought about getting some sushi and decided that a table in the Matsu No Ma lounge in Japan would be a good spot. We went to Japan , up the stairs (I hate these stairs – the treads and risers are too short) and had to stop at the podium for seating. Just last year, this was open seating. Anyway, we were seated quickly and were perusing the menus for drinks and sushi when it became apparent there was little or no air conditioning in the place. We decided we’d rather be sweating outdoors so I returned the menus and apologized to the hostess before we left.

It was about 6:30 and we were still just a little hungry so we thought about a glass of wine and a small Crème Brulee in France . We walked down there and joined a line of about 12 people at the wine booth. I glanced over at the booth that offered Crème Brulee and saw about 30 people in line. Neither of us felt like waiting that long so we came up with Plan B. We figured most of the football games were near over so let’s head to the ESPN club, get a beer and share a couple of appetizers.

We walked out of Epcot and to the ESPN club where the line for tables was (again and still) out the door. We took our chances at the bar but every table was occupied and every bar stool had a rear end firmly attached. I got us 2 beers at the bar (no easy task) and we milled around trying to identify anyone that looked like they were leaving soon. No dice. After about 20 minutes, we got tired of hanging around and left for the BW.

Now what to do? Wait a minute – ice cream! We walked to Seashore Sweets and got into a line of about 10 people. While in line, there was a little guy (maybe 4) running around the shop touching everything. He put his fingers inside every one of the candy dispensers he could reach while his mom chased after him. Five minutes later, his mom was back in the store searching frantically for him. The Sweets shop connects with Spoodles’ dining room and I had a guess he may be in there wreaking havoc.

The line in this place is very slow and it probably took us 15 minutes so snag a couple of waffle cones. We took them to the BW and found a table to sit while we ate. You needed to be fast because the ice cream was melting quickly. We hung out on the BW for a while and caught part of the magician’s show. We thought about heading back to Epcot for Illuminations but opted instead to just take it easy.

We, eventually, headed back to the room to watch some baseball and call it a night.

Things I Think I Think - I think I used to wonder why folks made so many Advanced Reservations – now I know. I think I’m enjoying the food at the F&W Festival, even though it’s sometimes a lengthy process to get served. I think the MatsuNoMa lounge needs to crank up the AC. I think the waffle cones at Seashore Sweets are very good.

Day 4...

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