2005 Day By Day Diary
2005 Day By Day Diary
March 4th - March 13th 2005
2005 Day By Day Diary
Friday March 4th:
Things started off with a sumptous dinner at Shellys favorite Chinese restaurant Ho Hos around 5:30PM. Then we're off to South Shore Cinema for Disney’s newest hit The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel. A comedy about a Navy Seal with the special assignment of guarding the family of a scientist who was killed by someone trying to obtain an invention that he created. The invention is thought to be still somewhere in the house and the family may be in danger if the people looking for the device come back. Vins job is to protect the family in the event of that happening. The family is not very cooperative and that's when the fun starts. All in all this movie is worth seeing. Vin is on Kirstie’s hunk short list now so he must be doing something right in the movie. After that it was back to The D.T.C. for surprisingly only a couple of drinks and an early bedtime of 11:00 PM to be ready for a change for the 5:15 wakeup.
Saturday March 5th:
Up without a hitch and on the way to the airport thanks to Michelle’s prompt early pickup at 5:40AM. Upon arrival at Mitchell International checkin was very quick, about 15 minutes. We were on our way to D Concourse by shortly after 6:00 AM. One hitch in the security checkin. After Shelly,Kirstie, and Nick had already gone through security Larry was stopped right as he was about to pass through the screener. The security officer waved for Larry to stop right there before coming through. Larry looked at him, he looked at Larry, he said to Larry. "You better zip up sir" Larry sheepishly looked down and sure enough had been walking through the airport with his fly undone. "Thanks" said Larry, "No problem sir" said the guard. And Larry went through amidst Shelly’s laughter. Midwest Flight 890 was already there ready to roll. Hung out on the concourse until about 6:55 AM when pre-boarding started. This didn't mean us as we were in row 2 and 3. The flight departed 5 minutes late because of some connect people that were still rolling in. Once in the air though the pilot picked up the pace and got us at the terminal in Orlando exactly at 11:05 AM as scheduled. Shelly went down to Mears to purchase the shuttle passes to Caribbean Beach while Kirstie, Nick, and I grabbed the luggage. Like four of the first pieces out the chute. This is going way to smooth. We went down to the Mears pickup area where Shelly had just checked us in when she saw us coming down. Now we had about a 20 minute wait till the next shuttle came. We also had to swing over to two other airlines for pickup of other guests at The Caribbean Beach. Once at The Crib check in took all of 5 minutes. Nobody in line so boom boom and we were off walking across the street to round the lagoon to our room in Martinique. We originally were supposed to be in Aruba as Martinique is now considered a premium area because of its close proximity to Old Port Royal. This means more money so we said no and chose Aruba instead. But as fate would have it a large group of cheerleaders took up all the rooms in Aruba and we got put in Martinique for no extra charge. This is going way to smooth. After dumping the bags in the room we headed over to the food court and ate. The kids went for tanning and a swim and we decided to buy the family package for boat rental and bike rental. Larry and Shelly grabbed a water mouse and headed out for a half hour spin on the lagoon. After that we rounded up the kids and headed out for Magic Kingdom. Once there we headed for Future World cause Nick wanted to do Space Mountain. Lines were to long and Fast Pass was for to late so we did Carousel Of Progress to get the ball rolling. After that we headed towards Fantasyland and checked out anything that didn't have to much of a wait because we've got 9 days to cover everything. The attraction turned out to be Mickeys Philharmagic. After that we headed over to Liberty Square for Haunted Mansion, then Hall Of Presidents. Hunger started calling so we went a short way to Columbia Harbor House to eat. Nearing 8:00 PM now so its time to stake out some space on the Spectromagic parade route. Ater Spectro headed over the bridge to close proximity to the castle to watch Wishes and get some valuble footage for a video segment on Wishes for the 2005 video. After Wishes there was still an 45 minutes till park closing so we went on Splash Mountain three times and Big Thunder two times before park closing came. This is going way to smooth. Weather was 74 and sunny during the day and 60s at night. Back to the room by 11:00 PM for get ready for day 3.
Sunday March 6th:
Everyone is up pretty much at the crack of between 9 and 10 am. Out the door at 10:45 AM for a boat trip around thelagoon. This time its Nick and Kirstie in one boat and Shelly and Larry in separate boats. Got to justify that 225.00 for the 9 days of unlimited rentals. After the morning frolic in the boats its back to the food court for grub. Then off to Studios for the day. Beauty & The Beast is first on the list. Then a ride on Tower Of Terror including Nick. No more chicken. Then RocknRoller Coaster. Out of coaster and then off to the Great Movie Ride. Then over to Disney Animation Tour. Then it was time for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. After that we were off to Rosies for food. It was then to late to do Fantasmic so Shelly and I shopped while Kirstie and Nick went back to the room. In bed early because the next morning Shelly and Larry have to do something new.
Monday March 7th:
Larry and Shelly up at 8:00 AM because we have to be at Magic Kingdom by 9:15 AM for our 9:30 tour The Keys To The Kingdom. The cost is 58.00 dollars each and includes a very cool limited edition pin exclusively for tour people and dinner at The Columbia Harbor House. First all of we are fitted with an earpiece and a receiving unit so we can hear everything our tour guide "Steve" is saying. We also get a Disney’s Keys To The Kingdom name tag that we can also keep. Steve starts up Main Street telling us insider tips about various things that I for one didn't know. After some interesting items about Main Street we head over to Adventure Land and ride Jungle Cruise. Steve fills us in on design concepts etc. that made it to the final production and some that didn't. like instead of a Jungle Cruise a Cowboy Cruise that would end up with a railroad segment. Well the cowboy part got dropped for the jungle but the railroad part got used for another ride that made out pretty well Big Thunder Mountain. Once past Pirates Of The Caribbean we went through a gate next to Splash Mountain backstage to find that Splash Mountain and Pirates are actually about 50 feet away from each other. Pirates ride segment is in a building right next to building that houses splash. Behind the scenes these two rides look just like a couple of buildings. Also in the back lot area we saw the staging area and storage for the Spectromagic floats. Still backstage we saw the garbage collection system for the park. It is a giant vacume system with tubes 4 feet in diameter. Cast members place the filled garbage bags at hidden collection areas around the park and they are sucked through these high pressure tubes to the collection point behind Splash Mountain where they are compressed in a dumpster and shipped out. Next we headed across to The Haunted Mansion where Steve told us the only secret of the attraction. The dancing ghost sequence is actually two glass compartments. One that you look through and another that periodically projects the dancing images that coincide with the room and its backgrounds. After the ride we were told that some of the names on the tombstones were for imagineers that contributed in one way or another to the attraction. Now it was time to go to the Columbia Harbor House for lunch at 12:00 noon. Once inside all of our lunches were all ready because we had stated at the beginning of the tour what we wanted. Shelly and I were lucky enough to have Steve at our table with just us so I got to do alot of talking much to the dismay of the rest of the group. Soon another cast member Mark who seemed to be senior to Steve was over to and we couldn't stop talking about everything from the lack of music in current Disney movies to the departure of Michael Eisner. Next we travelled down under the Kingdom for a look at the utilidor. A series of walkways that cast members use to supply the numerous shops etc. without interfering with guests on the surface. The utilildors are under all parts of the park except the newer parts such as Splash Mountain,Big Thunder,Mickey’s Toon Town and others that came in development after the park was built in the 60s. Exiting the utilidors by Plaza Pavilion we got some information about such things as the height and weight qualifications for Tinker Bell. She can be anywhere between 4'10 and 5'2 and weigh anywhere between 97 and 107 pounds. Prior to her launch from the top of the castle her and one cast member travel in an elevator just big enough for two people to stand back to back up to the top of the spire. Tink is then hooked up to the line that willcarry her across the park in flight. When its time the cast member inside the spire puts both feet on her back and his back against the wall and gives her as hard a push as he can out the opening which sends her careening down the wire in flight. Once on the bottom on top of Plaza Pavilion there are two cast members waiting on a receiving platform with two sort of gym mattresses much like you would use for tumbling to cushion her impact on arrival. Tink works one hour including her costuming, launch, and landing but gets paid for 8 hours. There were literally 100s of other interesting facts you learn on this tour that you would have to record to remember them all. After the tour we headed over to Epcot where Kirstie and Nick had went on their own after getting up while we were at Kingdom. Once at Epcot according to Nick they first went to eat at the Electric Umbrella. Then they got a Fastpass for Test Track. While waiting for their Fastpass to come up they went on Ellens Energy Adventure. After that a visit to Spaceship Earth. Then a quick icecream on the way to Test Track where it was time to go on. Then they started their travel around World Showcase starting first with Mexico and the Tiempo River Of Time Ride. After Mexico it was off to The American Adventure preceded by The Voices Of Liberty Singers. Next it was the one stop that Nick was thinking about for months. Shopping in Japan for the treasured Blue Eyes Ultimate YuGiOh card which he ended up paying $78.00 for a set of cards that guaranteed him this card. Kirstie took off on her own back to the hotel room while Shelly,Nick and I stayed for The American Adventure, and Crushes Turtle Talk at The Living Seas. Headed over to Mexico for DosEquis and nachos while waiting for Illuminations... Reflections Of Earth. After the show over to Mouse Gear to start getting an idea of what to buy before the week is out. Back at the hotel at 11:00PM.
Tuesday March 8th:
Larry up at 10 over to the hot tub and pool for a little bit of soaking in both. Shelly Kirstie and Nick go to the foodcourt for breakfast and lunch before going out for a boat ride on the lagoon. Nick and Kirsties boat was running rather slow so they had to dock and get another one. After I finished with the hot tub I showered up and went to eat by myself. Right after I finished we all hooked up at the bus stop and headed off for Animal Kingdom. Through the gates we headed for its Tough To Be A Bug cause there was no wait. Then we headed towards Asia to see the Wonders Of Flight bird show. This was really good plus one of the few things we have never seen before. After Wonders we headed over to Kali River Rapids and all got seriously soaked. After a frozen lemonade in Asia we went on the Safari in Africa. Now it was 4:30 and we decided to catch the last show of Tarzan Rocks. Atfer Tarzan we caught a bus to Studios . Arrived at 5:50 and staked out excellent seats for Fantasmic 7:00 Show. After Fantasmic we all headed back to the Crib. Upon arrival there at 8:00 PM Shelly and Larry decided to get back on a bus to catch another performance of Illuminations at 9:00 PM. Kirstie did some hot tub action and Nick hung out in the room. We returned from Epcot at 10:30 and I started writing this account of whathas happened so far this year. I plan on making this a yearly thing for us to look back on in years to come to retrace each year along with the usual pictures and video. I wish I had a diary of my first year in 1978.
Wednesday March 9th:
Out of bed at 9:00 AM. Shelly does laundry and gets donuts for us while Ted, (Nick) and Kirstie and I watched Barney and Berenstain Bears. Finally get out of the room at 12 Noon and immediatly go to Animal Kingdom for lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue for ribs. Kirstie insisted on this cause of the the great view over the river looking towards Expedition Everest. After 4 days of sunny weather we were due for rain and today it came. Light rain all day which required a light jacket with a poncho over it. It did not deter us from moving on though. After the Flame Tree we went on Dinosaur and then some shopping at Island Mercantile. Next it was off to Studios for Backlot Tour. This was something we missed last year because of construction of the new attraction being built next to the old Hunchback Of Notre Dame stage. This year construction is complete getting ready for an April soft opening followed by a grand opening in May. The tour takes you right by the stunt car show where they were rehearsing for a small group of cast members. It lookslike it will be pretty cool. The show is already a big hit at Euro Disney where it originated. After that we moved over amidst the showers and first saw The Muppets 3D and then two rides on Star Tours. There was no wait on anything because of the rain. After Star Tours we went in Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carrey. This was pretty lame. Next it was off to Dockside Snacks for shakes,hot chocolate, and frozen lemonade before we went in Indiana Jones Adventure. After Indiana we went to The Little Mermaid Show. It was now 6:50 and getting colder by the minute. Kirstie was feeling queezy so we decided to head back to The Crib. Old Port Royale was pretty busy so we ordered a pizza for delivery to the room. Kirstie is now reading to us from the bible while Nick is singing. We're all going to die. Shelly and maybe Kirstie are planning on leaving within the hour for Downtown Disney so Shelly can return a favor and pickup something one of her co-workers wants.
Thursday March 10th:
Up at 9:30 AM. Went for a boat ride at 10:40 AM and after had lunch at Old Port Royale. Ater lunch headed for Magic Kingdom. Waited in line an hour for Stiches Great Escape. Do not do this. It is Alien Encounter all over again with different characters. Mission To Mars was better in the 80s. At least you got to see what a rocket takeoff from earth would look like from the point of view of the astronauts. After that boring ride it was off to Space Mountain for our first Fast Pass of the day. Then we went to Toon Town to catch the train around the Kingdom before doing a Fast Pass for Buzz Lightyear. After Buzz Lightyear we went to Pirates Of The Caribbean. Next we shopped on Main Street for 30 minutes before heading for Ticket Transportation Center to check out our block. After shooting pictures and video of that we got back on the Monorail for Epcot. Once at Epcot around 6:30 PM we went to China to eat. After eating we went to the movie Reflections Of China in 360 degree theatre. We then made our way around World Showcase to Germany, Italy, America, Japan, France, & Great Britain. Shortly after arriving at Britain Illuminations started and we watched from Britain. When Illuminations was over we headed to the front of the park to get our wrist bands for extended hours. Epcot was open till midnight for resort guests. After getting our wristbands we did Ellen’s Energy Adventure first. Then swung over to Mission Space. Shelly & Kirstie wouldn't go on and waited in the gift shop. Next we went to The Electric Umbrella for a bite to eat. After eating we did Test Track. It was now 12 Midnight and we left the park for our bus back to The Crib. Back in the room about 1AM. All the way back from Epcot Nick was doing a monolog of just about every line from Dumb & Dumber keeping all of us and maybe some of the other passengers laughing all the way back.
Friday March 11th:
Up at 10:00 AM. Head over to Old Port Royale at 10:30 AM for some hot tub action and swimming. Around 12 Noon go to the food court for lunch. Back to the room to shower up before we go for a boat ride at 1:00PM. Next we are going to Studios. First we went on Tower Of Terror. Then we used a Fast Pass for Rockin Roller Coaster. Next is was Beauty & The Beast with special second row seating because a cast member asked if there were any birthdays in the crowd. I answered yes March 19th so we got preferred 2nd row seating. Before the Beast show the singing group Four For A Dollar performs accapella for 15 minutes. At the end of there performance they announced my birthday to the crowd and had me come up to the stage where they did a short interview and then sang Share A Dream Come True to me. It was great! They also gave me a complimentary copy of their new CD. After Beast we went on Tower two times in a row. No wait. Nick sat outside for both times. Then we went back to Coaster for another Fast Pass ride. After that we set up another Fast Pass and then went to Walt Disney’s One Mans Dream. After the movie that concludes that attraction we did our Fast Pass on Coaster again. After Coaster we made our way to Fantasmic at 6:00 PM to get seats. When Fantasmic was over we came back to The Crib for a swim and beer plus watching Illuminations and Wishes over the tree line at the hotel. Took a walk over the bridge to Jamaica and walked around the promenade of the lagoon. Back in the room by 10:30 PM. There’s a switch.
Saturday March 12th:
Up at 10:00 AM. Went to the pool at 11:00 AM for about 2 hours for swimming and lunch. Larry went on a watermouse and a pontoon boat ride. Nick was the swimmer while Shelly watched and Kirstie hung out on the beach tanning. Left the hotel at 2:00 PM for Studios. At Studios first went on the Animation tour. Then we found out the Cheerleading Nationals were in Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular so Kirstie said we had to go. There were all different age groups performing and it was great. At 3:45 it was almost time for Playhouse Disney so Shelly, Nick, and I went there while Kirstie stayed at the chearleading nationals. After Playhouse Disney Shelly, Nick, & I went to The Commissary to eat. Kirstie stayed at the cheerleader competition. After eating we got Kirstie and went to the 7:00 PM show of Fantasmic. When that was over we hopped a bus to Magic Kingdom. Once there wewent on Buzz Lightyear and The Wedway People Mover before setting up to view Wishes. After Wishes was over we headed over to Splash Mountain for three consecutive rides with no wait. After the third ride we were walking out at 11:05 PM when we noticed thatthere were people above us on the train. We asked if we could still get on and the conductor said last call and we did. Traveled around the Kingdom one more time before arriving at Main Street Station as the 11:00 PM Spectromagic was just finishing up at that location. Caught our bus to The Crib and did a little pre-pack for the morning checkout at 11:00 AM. Final call for bedtimeat 1:30AM. Our pickup from Mears to the airport is at 4:05PM so we will have to decide on whether to swim,do a park, or Blizzard Beach tomorrow for the last hours of 2005... The Disney Zone.
Sunday March 13th:
Up at 9:30 AM. Everyone takes their last shower as Shelly packs the bags with professional precision. At 10:30 we exit the room. Kirstie is going to spend the next 5 hours on the beach tanning and by the pool. Shelly,Nick & I go to Animal Kingdom. Once there we have lunch again at The Flame Tree Barbecue only this time its not raining. After lunch Nick & I goon Primevil Whirl. Then we head over to Dinosaur which we find out is shutdown temporarily. We decide to go over to Kali River Rapids because its pretty hot out. The wait is 20 minutes but after that amount of time we are only just reaching the first building. We decide to wait it out which turns out to be a mistake. The ride is broke down and they don't tell anyone. We decide to get out of line after an hour. On our way out we overhear that the ride is shut down. Next we go to Africa to catch the Safari. It has a 45 minute wait. No way , so we go over to the Wonders Of Flight bird show in Asia and hangout there for a half hour. When the show is over itsaround 2:30PM so we decide to move towards the park exit and do some shopping until around 3:00 PM when we will go to our bus to get back to The Crib for our Mears pickup at 4:05PM. Mears is right on time and we are on our way to the airport. Check in goes smooth and we hangout in the terminal near McDonalds and Carvel Icecream. After stuffing ourselfs one more time its offto Gate 86 B Side where our plane is 30 minutes late. Our scheduled departure was 6:50 PM. The plane boards at 6:45 and takes off at 7:20 PM. Once again as before Midwest cranks up the speed and gets us to Milwaukee only 20 minutes behind at 9:05PM. Michelle is once again right on top of things and we are back at home before 10:00PM Sunday. All that's left to do now is savor the memories of 2005 and start the count down to 2006... A Disney Adventure which on this day March 14th,2005 is
374 days 21 Hours 21 minutes. But whose counting.