2014 ... Disney, Adventure Is Out There Journal!
2014 ... Disney, Adventure Is Out There Journal!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
2014 Disney, Adventure Is Out There Journal
March 31st a very long day of making sure all the loose ends were taken care of with customers orders and packing etc. for the 2014 trip to Disney. I am cleaned up and ready to start pre-trip party down at The DTC bar around 5:45PM. I watch the Bucks loose yet another one while listening to music and downing 10 beers and 2 shots of Early Times. Sheeesh. Upstairs to bed around 9:30PM.
Tuesday April 1st, 2014
Up at 4:00AM (surprisingly feeling no effect from last night) and ready for our 4:30AM shuttle to the airport with the new kid on the block, Pascal Shuttle with our driver Kirstie. Baggage check in at the airport goes very fast and we’re off to our gate by 4:55AM. The only glitch that happens is Shelly realizes she forgot her Kindle that she was going to read on the way down to Orlando. She dwells on that for over an hour. “Damn, I can’t believe I forgot that” I don’t respond because I’ve been down that road before. She soon forgets and watch’s one of the Twilight movies instead. We had a muffin for breakfast at the airport and some peanuts, graham crackers, and soda on the plane. I did online checkin the day before exactly one minute after 6:00AM so we are in row 5 window and middle seats. Land in Orlando about 10 minutes earlier than expected and are quickly off on Magical Express to Pop Century. The Magic Bands worked perfect at the airport. Arrive at Pop and proceed to Express Checkin. Well, it wasn’t express but not to bad. We first find out our room is a country mile away from Glowackis room so the cast member makes a call and gets us in the same building as them only poolside overlooking the baby pool with a view of the lagoon that separates Pop and Art Of Animation. After arriving at our new room, of coarse the magic bands don’t work. The maid uses a master key to see if the room is clean. It is but the magic band doesn’t work. Back to the front desk in line to get the bands reprogrammed. They do and now the bands work. So Nick and Jake, get your bands reprogrammed at Express Checkin. Your band won’t work right either until they are changed. Out of the room now it’s 12 noon and we’re in line for DAK. The bus arrives at 12:10 and after a short stop at Blizzard Beach we are at DAK around 12:25PM. Stop at a ticket stand and convert our annual vouchers to passes. First stop in the gate is the 1PM show of Finding Nemo The Musical. The cast is stellar except for Crush who has a little problem with the high notes and has to move into falsetto. He is not Victor, if Victor was his name. I think it was Victor. After the show it’s off to Restaurantasaurous for a grilled chicken & fries for me and a angus burger and fries for Shelly. Next we go to Flights Of Wonder and it is fantastic as usual. The star of the show is both the birds and the gay tour guide. I never tire of that show. Next we do standby 10 minutes for Killer Man Jaro. It is very good, lots of animals roaming about and close to the vehicles. A very good driver who really knows is role helps too. When we exit Jammin Jungle parade is approaching so we stop and watch the whole thing. We haven’t seen that for years since Nick was little. During the parade there was a African woman with her husband and two kids watching right next to us. I know this not because they were black but because of their heavy accent. During the parade the little children are asking their mother who the characters are. She either doesn’t respond or gets it right until right at the end of the parade Pluto is on one of the floats and the little boy asks his mother who that is, and the mother replies that is Scooby Doo. Shelly starts laughing and moves away from me as the parade is ending. I catch up with her as we move out of the park and now I see she is really laughing hard. That’s when I hear the story as I didn’t hear it first hand. Next we stop at Mercantile Exchange to see what’s new. That’s the trouble with being a 28 year veteran of Disney, there isn’t anything new. We leave the shop and go to It’s Tough To Be A Bug. The show is great as usual and Shelly doesn’t even step in a pile of puke like last year. We exit DAK at 5:15PM to take the bus to Epcot Center. Arrive at Epcot around 5:30PM and go on Spaceship Earth. Getting hungry to it’s off to Mexico for chicken tacos for me and nachos for Shelly. The tacos are dry and are served with a side of taco chips with nothing to dip them in. Shellys nachos are delicious. I don’t think I will go back there to eat again. It just isn’t as good as before. The Dos Equis I had and the Corona Shelly had were fine though. Next after a quick bathroom break at Norway we do a 15 min standby for Maelstrom. After exit we take a look at a little display on the making of Frozen. We grab what seems to be our new go to spot for Illuminations just right of The American Gardens Theatre just before the special events area. I grab a couple of Bud Lights from America for us and we wait an hour. 30 minutes prior to showtime the pre-show music kicks in. Ooops, what is this shit. It’s like a polka band playing Russian folk songs or something. But soon there is a cut or two from the previous music. And then some cuts from even further back. I don’t like it but most of it is stuff we like from the past. Right after the start of Illuminations there is an annoying sound of like a idiot who has his phone on speaker. I ignore for a while but then look over to tell this bozo to turn it off. It’s a cop with a walkie talkie tending to a girl that’s passed out or something. Why couldn’t she pass out somewhere else:) The show is flawless. Perimeter shots never miss, the center torch lights on que, and the music is pounding. After the show we make our way around for the bus. At the bus stop we start up a conversation with a young 20 something couple with a cute little 2 year old girl about my light up pins. They are from Maryland. We’re talking about Disney among other things such as how America is dumbing down with such things as Young Star and liberal idealism. Very nice couple. Before we know it we’re back at the hotel and go to Dave and Brenda’s room to pick up our booze,soda, and snacks. We end up yacking at their room for a half hour before going to the car and hauling our stash back to our room. Once here we end up yacking another half hour at our room. They leave around midnight and Shelly goes for a hot shower while I toil away setting up this web page. I didn’t do anything at home this time so I had to set up the page, write the entries, and publish the first night. It’s 12:31AM now and I am on drink 2. Hopefully in bed by 2, as we have fastpasses at DHS tomorrow starting at 12:40PM. Can’t wait for Nick and Jake to get here Thursday. NIght!
Wednesday April 2nd, 2014
Shelly is up by 8:30AM, I am up at 10:49AM. Transfer some cash over to Nicks Visa for his arrival tomorrow with Kirstie’s son Jake. Mama. Out the door for DHS by 11:20AM. Where to eat? How about The Commissary. Shelly has the Asian Chicken Salad and I have the Chicken Club & Fries. After finishing lunch it’s off to The Great Movie Ride. The Cast member has no shortage of enthusiasm but his accent sometimes sounds Russian but then a little british. He is not very easy to understand. The gangster role is played by a big fat black girl with a very heavy middle eastern accent that’s trying to sound like a Brooklyn gangster. I felt our car should have been in the shape of a plane and her wearing a burka taking the plane over. She was terrible. After that we went on The Backlot Tour. The family doing the stunt show did a pretty good job acting. Next it was One Mans Dream followed by a 3:25PM fast pass for Little Mermaid. I haven’t seen Mermaid in many years and it was very good this time. After exiting Mermaid we go over for 4:15 Beauty & The Beast Stage Show. The cast is completely new and right on the money. Gaston is not the most Gaston looking I have ever seen but he is by far the most impressive baritone I have ever heard. His presence and mannerisms were stellar. When we exit it is 4:45PM and we do a 15 minute standby for TOT. This new fast pass system seems to actually be making the parks run unbelievably smoother than I’ve ever seen. We thought by allowing people such an easy way to get fast pass on their phones and computers that it would eat up the fast passes at a quicker rate than before the new method was in play. What I have observed is that the standby lines are next to nothing now this new fast pass system is here. Disney I think is controlling the flow of guests with this system that is really a huge improvement, not a negative. We next hit the shops on Sunset Blvd. and I get a new button down black shirt with Mickey paradise on the front left and a large image on the back of the shirt. It’s $54.00 bucks before our 10% passholder discount. I will be wearing it as soon as it arrives at the hotel. We get word during shopping that golf tomorrow has been cancelled as Dave has got word his father has taken a turn for the worse. They are immediately driving home cutting short their vacation. I hope things work out for his dad. Nick and Jake agreed to take over in their absence the reservation we had with them at The German Biergarten in Epcot Center. After shopping we do our 6:00PM fast pass for Rockin Roller Coaster. After the ride we go to Rosie’s and split a onion ring angus burger and a 8 piece chicken nuggets and fries. It’s 7PM now so we slowly make our way in to Fantasmic. It’s just has I had researched, there is really no change in the process other than you can’t sit in the two center Mickey sections unless you are either fastpass or dining program. You still can do it the way we like as in roll in an hour or so early and grab your seats, kick back and have a couple of beers, eat a snack maybe, and wait for the two assholes a half hour prior to Fantasmic to do there stupid show. Fantasmic is a perfect show except for two canoes don’t light there torches. At 9:20PM we are exiting DHS for the bus to MK to see The Magic, The Memories, & You plus Wishes. The park is packed but we make our way up close to the castle. When that ends we go on Haunted Mansion followed by a short restroom break at the new Tangled rest area. Next Shelly wants to go in Mickeys Philharmagic. After we go to The New Fantasyland to see if the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Coaster is running and Little Mermaid Under The Sea. Instead we get side tracked by a cast member to try something called Belles Enchanted Story Time. We have never experienced this so we go in. You first enter what is Maurice’s house with all the furnishings you would find in the inventors cottage. After you walk through you next enter another room only now you are in the Beast’s castle where the dresser that comes alive in Beauty & The Beast is actually there. The voice is very much like the original voice from the movie and the dresser is animated with moving lips,eyes, and mouth. The dresser proceeds to talk to the small group gathered in front of her and explains that they are casting voice parts to help Belle tell her story. They cast two adult men to be guards in suits of armor, a large ominous person that can growl real loud to play the beast (this part they give to a very little cute girl, I’d say 3-4 years old, three other young kids who are totally miss cast on purpose to make it an adorable show. Each player has a mask with their character on it that they stand behind while saying their lines. The tiny little girl is outfitted with a red cape to play the beast. Next everyone is lead into the library of Beast’s castle where an animatronic LuMiere on the mantle takes over telling the tale. We are all told that when Belle enters the room we are all to be real quiet until we get a signal to say surprise. Lumiere dims the lights and the real Belle enters. After the big surprise by us Belle proceeds to tell her story in an abbreviated form with these little kids playing simple roles to help tell her tale. Two male cast members and one female cast member are also on hand to help coach the kids before their parts come up and even whisper it in their ear if they are shy or forget it. Two photographers are on hand taking pictures of each child doing their part and after the story is over the kids names are announced and they get an individual picture with Belle while the audience of parents and friends clap. Belle then announces that she must be off to have dinner with the real beast and she thanks everyone for helping and exits. Really a magical experience especially if you have a little boy or girl. We leave there thinking we have another couple of hours but find out I have my park hours wrong, so we are now exiting at 11:18PM. When our bus arrives at Pop we grab a couple of cold subs and go back to the room to eat. You know what I’m doing. Shelly is up for a half hour before crashing. Nick and Jake will be arriving tomorrow so things will get interesting. Planning some pool and sun tomorrow before taking off for who knows where. It’s 1:09AM and I’m thinking somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00 for me to hit the sack. Night
Thursday April 3rd, 2014
Up at 10:30AM. Go down to the pool for about an hour to tan and take an occasional dip. Come back to the room around 12 noon to clean up and get ready to leave for MK. As we walk to the bus past the pool area a guy signals to me and asks, “Is that your phone over there”, I look where he is pointing and there is my phone laying on the chaise lounge I was tanning on. I say oh my god I’m such an idiot. He says I didn’t have to worry, they were watching it for me. We catch a bus to MK in about 15 minutes. Upon entrance we go to Columbia Harbour House to eat. I have the Anchors Aweigh tuna sandwich with fries and Shelly has the fish basket and fries. Before we had gone to the Harbour House we investigate the restaurant that we always see late at night MK during extra magic hours but never go there because it’s always closed. It’s just over the Adventureland bridge on the right. Well, it may have been a restaurant before but now it’s a meet and greet for princesses. A little further down the road across from PIrates is the other one. It’s called The Tortuga Inn. All mexican food, but we don’t go there as I still am remembering the dried out tacos at Epcot from a couple nights ago. After eating at Harbour House we exit and set up for The Festival Of Fantasy Parade at 3:00PM. This parade kicks ass. It is the first day parade in a long time that I would stand out and roast in the sun to see. Fantastic choreography, brilliant colors and costumes, a catchy theme song, and most of all a Fantasmic reminiscent fire breathing dragon a couple stories tall. Even Shelly said she would come back to the afternoon parades at MK because of this parade. When the parade is over we go in The Hall Of Presidents for a little dose of America. After we move to a comfortable bench at the hub in front of Cinderella Castle where we sit for the 4:15PM Cinderella Castle Stage Show. It’s the same one as last year but Shelly loves it. When the show ends we go through all the shops on Mainstreet but buy nothing. I am looking for a hat from the Disney Broadway show Newsies. I haven’t found it yet. After shopping Shelly gets us monster sundaes from the bakery on Mainstreet and we eat them at The Skyway Terrace in the shade overlooking Cinderella Castle. While at the Terrace we begin to here around that two celebrities from Wisconsin have been seen at Pop Century. They’re here!! After finishing our ice cream we go down the street to Astro Orbiter area and have a couple brain freeze drinks and The Launch Pad. I have blue and Shelly has cherry. After the brain freeze we jump on People Mover for a leisurely ride around Future World. Off the Mover and on to Carousel Of Progress to almost fall asleep twice. It’s 6:50PM now and we catch The WDW Railroad for a ride around the MK. We get off where we started at Fantasyland Station and go to Ariels Undersea Adventure. We stop in Gastons to check out the layout. It’s very cool inside but a very limited menu, but great layout like Gastons tavern in the movie. After checking that out we go to the many times must do of any trip to MK Fantasyland, Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Rays Starlight Inn. I have the Pulled Barbecue sandwich and fries and Shelly has just the Pulled Barbecue sandwich. Sonny is exceptionally on with his show tonight. After eating we set up around Casey’s for Electric Light Parade. Not so much to see it but to have a jumping in point after the parade passes to move up the street and get in position for Remember The Magic followed by Wishes. The plan works great. After the parade passes we get behind the parade and move up to the hub for great standing area for the show. When Remember The Magic starts there is a group of seniors standing 5ft from us and they are being fine except one. This 6ft 4inch middle eastern looking dufus and his 4ft 9inch black girl friend are talking, laughing, screaming, and doing every possible thing they can to disrupt the show. I among everyone else around us are pissed, but no one confronts dufus yet. When that ends some people start to leave during the brief break between before Wishes starts. To very large black girls are making there way through to leave and either they bump dufus, or dufus bumps them, I don’t know. The two girls stop in there tracks at something dufus has said and they reply something like “ what you say, no I said what you say” I turn to the one girl who isn’t talking and say loudly, don’t worry this guys been being trouble all night. Now the girl thats doing the talking is escalating the argument. I stick my head in the mix and stare at dufus and say,”Are you gonna shut up during the next part of the show” He says what? I say are you gonna zip it during the next part of the show. All these people came here to listen to the show not you. He says, the show’s not on now. I say right, talk all you want now but shut up during the show. Now Shelly is chiming in with one of the other kids. They’re not doing anything though, it’s just the dufus and his girl he’s trying to impress. Wishes starts and there is no problem through the whole show. When the show ends Shelly says to one of the kids who wasn’t the probelm “thanks for keeping quiet during the show” the kid says no problem and they quickly leave. We’ve all been there. Isn’t it disgusting when the bozo next to you is like the guy on a cell phone during a movie at a theatre. We exit MK for the busses and after playing good samaritan by carrying a stroller on to the bus and off the bus at Pop for a guy and his wife that are totally overwhelmed with more kids and equipment than two parents can handle, we are back at the room where we find Nick and Jake jumping up and down on the beds in their underpants. After a stern talking to I settle in to recording the history of today. Nick and Jake didn’t have any problems other than the same one we had with the room key not working. That got fixed and they appear to be going to stay up as late or later than I am. Shelly is passed out now at 12:22AM. Nick and Jake are going to take Brenda and Daves spot at The German Biergarten tomorrow for 5:15PM reservation. We also have overlapping fast passes for Soarin between 12:40 and 1:40PM. Other than those two events I don’t know how much we will see them except for Illuminations where we will probably hook up. Shelly and I are planning on spending the whole day at Epcot as it’s open till midnight Friday. Drink number 4, anticipated bedtime 2:30AM. Night
Friday April 4th, 2014
Up at 9:30AM because Shelly is talking loud. Jake got hardly any sleep last night because hooter was hooting all night. Nick can block it out and I have the air sound of my mask. But poor Jake has bags under his eyes hanging down to his waist. It’s not like he went to bed late though. He was in bed before me. His 2:59AM to my 3:00AM. We should be out the door for Epcot by 10:30 as everyone seems to be frozen in their beds. I am the only one that showered up last night. Nick and Jake are out the door around 11:00AM and we are out at 11:15AM. Shelly and I arrive at Epcot 11:30AM and go to The Land to eat lunch. I have the Barbecue Pork Chop with Mashed Potatoes and a side order of Potato Wedges. Shelly has the Beef Oriental Stir Fry and a piece of cheese cake. After eating Shelly and I go to Captain EO. After that we meet Nick and Jake for Soarin 12:45PM fast pass. Jake loves it. They leave for parts unknown and Shelly and I go on Living With The Land as long as we’re in the area anyway. Next Shelly wants to go in The Living Seas. Her and Nick have always loved that attraction but I can’t remember ever liking it except back when Kirstie was little and the attraction started with a movie about the formation of the seas followed by descending down to Sea Base Alpha. Next we cut through Innoventions West, boring. I decide to have a coffee on the way to Energy Adventure but instead try my first expresso. I am surprised that the cup is only about a quarter full. It tastes like shit, no, tar shit. I drink it anyway as I paid 3.88 for it. I don’t even get a buzz off it. After we finish Ellen’s Energy Adventure we go to the former Wonders Of Life Pavilion which is now during Epcot Flower & Garden Show a specialty area featuring experts on planting, gardening, etc. Maybe something cool for The Tiki Lounge. Nope!. We make our way around World Showcase and stop at Mexico for a ride on The River Of Time. Roam around the Mexico gift shop and then continue towards America. Stop and listen to the mariachi band for 10 minutes. They are really good. We get to Germany 10 minutes early and Nick and Jake are waiting. 15 minutes later we are ushered in to our table which is center stage, second tier. Shelly has wine and I have Octoberfest beer. We all pig out with full plates the first round. Nick has a second plate and so does Jake. Jake has a third plate plus deserts. Man that boy can eat! As we were seated a show was half way through. After a 30 minute break the band starts up again and we see the whole show before leaving. Jake loves the ambiance of the room along with the entertainment and the food. Next all of us go into The American Adventure for the movie only. The last performance of The Voices Of Liberty was at 5:00PM. The movie is excellent as usual with one exception, the pre-show music that is softly playing while everyone is getting seated continues through the whole movie along with the sound track. So every time there is a quiet part in the movie you can hear this soft music that doesn’t belong in the movie. Must have someone new on sound that doesn’t know what he is doing. After the movie Shelly and I stake out viewing area for Illuminations. The special area for reserved parties that juts out into the lagoon is not being used tonight so we are able to be way out into the water next to the rail. Excellent seats. Nick and Jake arrive 30 minutes prior to show time which is a good thing because we are getting pressured by a group of about 50 teenage high school girls. Jake apparently loves Illuminations too. I tell him his mission when he gets home is to get mama (Kirstie) and papa (Steve) in a room at the same time and quietly say “Mama, do we have to go to Mexico, Can’t we go to Disney instead” he laughs and says I would always rather come here than Mexico. I’d rather stay in this country, unless it was Europe. That I would go to. After Illuminations it’s Extra Magic Hours so we go back to Soarin where the wait is only 20 minutes. We do that again followed by one more time on Spaceship Earth. This time we make sure to send the videos back home as Nick didn’t tell Jake he could do that when they went alone. We exit the park at 10:45PM and get on a bus immediately with no wait. Back in our room by 11:05PM. Nick and Jake are watching NBA and shit on there phones and ipad. Shelly is on her laptop and I am doing what I do. 2 drinks so far and it’s only 11:45PM. Anticipated bedtime, 2:00AM. It’s a full day at DHS tomorrow. Jakes second Disney park and his first Fantasmic. Bye!
Saturday April 5th, 2014
Up at 11:30AM. It was truly a night from hell. I did my usual up till 3 in the morning but when I finally make it to bed the Shelly was honking like a flock of geese all night. I would just start to doze off and then her soft rumbling would begin and bring me back to consciousness. But I’m getting ahead of my self. Throughout the evening after we were back in our room I was getting this smell that was growing like a cancer in the room. I eventually came to the conclusion that it was in fact someones feet. No one had taken a shower since we got back and everyone was almost in the sack so I figure in the morning things will get sorted out. But as I sit alone at my computer terminal drinking and researching the Republic Wireless Moto G phone the smell grows and seems to be crawling towards me like an unseen monster. Finally it gets so close it seems behind me. I turn and there it is.Laying on the top of Jakes suitcase, two pair of used socks. These socks I have only heard of in folklore, as they truly could melt the paint off an automobile. I carefully take the two pair and put them in the laundry bag suitcase for Saturdays laundry. I think I’m out of the woods. Two hours later I go into the bathroom area to brush my teeth and realize that the smell has taken over the bathroom even though the socks are inside a suitcase they have power that I have never smelled before. I put the socks inside the plastic bag that was lining the garbage can in the bathroom and within an hour I had things contained. Nick and Jake are out the door at 11:45AM while Shelly and I are out at 12 noon. Our bus arrives at 12:10PM. We are heading out to DHS for the day. When we arrive we go to Studio Catering by Honey I Shrunk The Kids Play area. After eating we go to see The Muppets. Next it’s off to Indiana Jones followed by a 90 minute standby for Toy Story Mania. Shelly can’t seem to get that you have to make fast pass reservations well before you go to a theme park. You can’t try to make them on the way to the park on the bus. Don’t blame me, I don’t have the cool phone. Yet! After Toy Story Mania it’s off to our fast pass for RRC. When we arrive Nick and Jake are also there waiting. We enter with them and ride, Nick and Jake in row 1 and Shelly and I in row 2. After RRC Shelly and I are off for our 4:45PM reservation at Sci Fi Diner. I have the Reuben and fries and Shelly has the Shrimp pasta. We each have a Corona before the food arrives and I have a second. After eating we go through Animation tour and create another two hideous pieces of animation history for the DTC animation book. After Animation we make our way to Fantasmic and get seats in the Pocahontas section. Almost perfect show except for a torch on a canoe again. I sound anal retentive but I just like to give credit where credit is due. When there is a perfect show, there is a perfect show. When Fantasmic ends Shelly and I exit and then get in line for Fantasmic 2. When we get to where the line has stopped we notice about 20 feet ahead of us Nick and Jake in line. We skip through the people and join them. After about a 15 minute wait we are unleashed into the theatre and get seats dead center in the Mickey section. Show 2 is absolutely perfect. Jakes reaction is and I quote.”It was Cool”. After chastising Jake over is quoted response he changed it to “It Was Elegantly Extravagant and Orgasmic” Back at the bus stop around 10:50PM. A short 11 minute ride and we are back at Pop. I stop at the gift shop to pickup my $50 dollar shirt I bought 2 days ago while Shelly goes and gets a couple of monster pizzas for the room. Jake, Nick, and I witness Wisconsin putting the collar on in the NCAA. Now they are watching highlights of MLB and eating pizza. It’s only 12:05AM and I am ready to post todays info. Everyone is still up. Shelly and I are going to sun,pool, and laundry tomorrow in the morning. Nick and Jake are doing MK all day and night. We will join them when we get out of the hotel. Bye!
Sunday April 6th, 2014
Up at 12:00PM. Nick and Jake are already out the door for DAK for a 12:25PM Expedition Everest fast pass. 12:43PM Shelly and I are on the way to DAK via Blizzard Beach. Arrive at DAK 1:03PM and head over to Flametree Broiler. I have the Barbecue Pork Sandwich with fries and onion rings. Shelly has The Smoked Chicken Salad. After eating we go for the 3:00PM Finding Nemo The Musical. All second stringers but still enjoyable. When the show is over we have fast pass for Kilamanjaro Safari with Nick and Jake. Not as many animals this time, don’t know why. After the safari Shelly and I leave for MK while Nick and Jake go to the 5:00PM Finding Nemo The Musical. We arrive at MK around 5:00PM and hop on the railroad for a ride over to Frontierland. Stop around Tortuga Inn for a ice cold coke on the way to Pirates. Pirates has a 30 minute wait which might cause us trouble getting over to Be Our Guest restaurant for our 6:25PM reservation. We hop back on the train over to Fantasyland. We get off the train and walk towards the restaurant. We stop in the Big Top gift shop for 10 minutes before entering Be Our Guest. The inside ceiling is very beautiful just like the movie, but the rest of it doesn’t impress me that much. It’s very dim inside so you can’t hardly read the menu. As you enter the person who seats you gives you a Lumiere candelabra to hold as you are guided to your table. We are seated in the main dining hall where Beast dances with Belle. I have the Shrimp and Scallops while Shelly has a steak. She has a beer called Kronenburg 1664 while I have a diet coke. The food portions are small but very rich and very delicious. Our waitress isn’t going to win an award for most bubbly and friendly but it reminds me of other people who aren’t the life of the party, bell of the ball either. For desert they bring a desert cart for you to view the deserts in person. I have the Strawberry Cheesecake and Shelly has the Gray Stuff, don’t believe me ask the dishes. While we are eating our desert the waitress says we have exceeded out credit limit and would we like to put the meal on an other card. I say no, they can check with the desk at Pop Century. We don’t mind waiting. Shelly the night before forgot where she put her new fancy phone let alone charge it. So she has no way to take pictures or communicate. The battery is so depleted that when the phone is plugged in it just sits there frozen on the Android screen with none of the buttons working. Shit!. She is not happy. Well I’ll just take my camera along and that will do the job. After arriving at the front of the restaurant she realizes that she has the camera but doesn’t have the battery for the camera as it is in the charger in the room. I take a picture outside of the entrance but can’t inside because my old phone doesn’t have a flash. No pictures of the whole event. I say don’t worry we can take a picture with Beast on the way out. Complimentary by the way. Anyway back to the charge. Shelly borrows my phone and goes outside where it’s not so noisy and authorizes more charging on our magic bands. While she is gone I get the bill and proceed to fill it out with the tip and such and sign it. She comes back in right as I’m finishing the tab. She says give me that. I say, wait, I’m just finishing up here and have to sign it. I finish and she takes the bill and starts writing on it. And writing on it, and writing on it. I ask three times what she is doing while writing and she just ignores me. Finally on the third time she puts the pen and the bill inside the leather folder and says, “I wrote that she was a bad waitress, and wasn’t friendly, and doesn’t deserve any tip let alone the one we gave her. I’m incredulous, I say, really, you really wrote that on our bill. I say “well I’m outta here because I don’t want to be around when she reads this and might think that I’m actually with you and in on this” I quickly leave and don’t know what went on after I left. Shelly is a few minutes behind me. When she comes out I don’t escalate the situation by talking about it because I think she is an idiot and an argument is not going to solve our difference on the subject. Way over the top in my mind. Now we head to Hall Of Presidents to save seats for Mainstreet Electrical Light Parade where Nick and Jake will meet us. I’m pretty much burned out with the Disney experience as usual so I hold the seats by myself while Shelly goes off somewhere. Around 8:15PM Nick and Jake arrive and sit down for the parade. Shelly arrives around 8:30PM. Jake likes the parade as he hasn’t been spoiled by Spectromagic like the rest of us. After the parade we go to our usual spot on mainstreet via the side path and within five minutes Remember The Memories is on the castle. A short 5 minute break and Wishes begins. Jakes loves that too. I have already decided two hours earlier that it would be in my best interest to get away from this evening so I head back to the hotel and relax while Shelly goes with Nick and Jake till 1:00AM Extra Magic Hours. It’s only 11:35PM now and I’m relaxed and done with my journal. I’m going to stay here all day tomorrow and kick back and relax, and do laundry until the evening where we have four fast passes for Illuminations for Nick and Jakes last night. Bye
Monday April 7th, 2014
Up at 12:00 Noon. Shelly is at the pool and doing limited laundry and having lunch at The Pop Century Food Court. 2:00 PM Shelly is off to Downtown Disney to shop and eat later at Earl Of Sandwich. I am Steve. In bed all afternoon watching tv. Nick and Jake were gone earlier this morning for Splash Mountain at MK and then Mission Space and Energy Adventure at Epcot. I finally leave the room at 5:30PM and am off to Epcot. Arrive at Epcot at 5:45PM and go on Spaceship Earth, then over to The Electric Umbrella for something to eat. Bacon Cheeseburger and Fries. After eating it’s over to The UK for a Bass Ale and a little entertainment watching The British Invasion. During the set Nick and Jake show up with fish & chips and watch the rest of the set too. When the music’s over they head towards France and I head over to the UK beer stand for another Bass. Then it’s off to fast pass at the entrance to World Showcase for Illuminations to get primo seats. I am the first one in line so I’m in the first row. Nick and Jake show up around 8:30PM and move up to the front with me. Shelly stays in the room for cocktails and her book. The fireworks are really close at this location but the smoke drifting into the location sucks. I think I will not be here again and instead go to our usual location right of American Gardens Theatre. Almost as close and no smoke. Plus the leisurely walk out after the show is nice especially if it’s the last night. On the way out Nick asks if any parks are still open. Almost like he wants to stay longer. I say I wish I was leaving the next day as I’ve had my fill. He says he wishes he could trade places with me and stay another day. Once at the bus stop two busses are waiting so we’re back at POP before 10:00PM. We all get something at the food court and eat it there also. Out of the food court it is raining pretty good as we go back to the room before 10:30PM and end up watching Silence Of The Lambs and a biography of Jeffrey Dahmer. Totally vacation fare entertainment in the room:) Shelly is the first passed out by midnight followed by Nick at 2:00AM followed by me at 3:00AM and Jake, who knows when he hit the sack.
Tuesday April 8th, 2014
Jake is the first one up and out the door for Downtown Disney. Says he is going to do some shopping. Shelly is up reading and NIck is still passed out as I go to shower up. I want to get a picture of the block, hit two Fantasmic shows tonight or one Fantasmic and one Wishes as we have a fast pass for Wishes. Other than that no specific plans. Nick and Jake will get picked up by Magical Express at 4:30PM. Overcast but warm, so I don’t know if they will follow through with their plan to hang by the pool till it’s time for the airport. Well, we head over to MK as I thought. Ater we get off the bus we catch a boat over to The Polynisian. After we dock we walk over to the block at entrance to Ticket Transportation Center. It still looks pretty good. Kirstie’s name is starting to wear a little. It’s been raining all day on and off but nothing really hard. Next we get on the monorail for Epcot. At Epcot we take the boat across to Morocco, then the boat from International Gateway to Yacht & Beach Club. After a short five minute wait we are in Beaches & Cream. I have the Angus burger with smoked bacon, bleu cheese, barbecue sauce, an onion ring, lettuce, tomato, on a fresh baked bun plus fries. It is possibly the best burger I have ever had. For desert we split a Fudge Mudslide (Brownie covered in hot fudge with caramel, whipped cream, shaved dark and white chocolate, and a cherry. We waddle out of Beaches and take the boat back to Epcot where we catch the last Voices Of Liberty Show. They do This Land Is Your Land, Oh Susanna, and Let it Go from the Disney hit Frozen. One other song that I can’t remember. Shelly is the Oh Susanna girl during the song. I got a pic posted on facebook. After the Voices we go inside for The American Adventure. When the movie is over we take the boat again over to DHS where we setup for Fantasmic 8:30PM show. Shelly goes for a couple of beers while I get the seats, Pocahontas section row P dead center. I hate to be picky but, no giraffe, and the snake doesn’t move during the show, other than that the show is perfect. We leave Fantasmic 30 seconds early so we can be the first ones on the bus for MK. We have fast pass for Wishes and want to make sure we make it. At MK we get to the fast pass area before Celebrate The Magic castle show. Did I say fast pass area, I meant shit pass area. They let you into the pathway right of the castle that leads down and eventually back up towards the castle. There are trees in the way, plus it’s a side view of the castle. When that show is over we leave the “Shit Pass” area and go into the street in front of the castle like always and have a perfect view. We get a bus back to Pop and arrive before 11:00PM. Stop in the food court for some food and go back to the room. It’s 11:56PM now and we are packed up for tomorrow morning. Having drinks now while watching Seinfeld. Be in bed by 2:00AM as we must be out of the room by 11:00AM tomorrow morning. Planning on going to DHS tomorrow for two fastpasses for Tower Of Terror and RRC. Hope to see a Beauty and The Beast show also. Back in Milwaukee tomorrow evening.