Thursday, January 15th, 2004

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Park Hopping - AK & MK Kingdom Day!

Are you having a good time on your vacation? Then you owe a thank you to thousands of cast members. Tell them how much you appreciate it; you will make their day.

In "Dinosaur", we behave for the picture instead of mugging like we usually do. After all, it's someone's vacation shot! We're glad we did because the family that shared our car loved the ride and bought the picture.

We sit up front for "Tough to be a Bug". It's so much fun watching and listening to the audience reactions. And anticipate some reactions like the stink bug. We never sat so close before, and it's fun to be enveloped in the fog! And it's the first time I've seen so few kids cry!

It's such GORGEOUS WEATHER! Made even more gorgeous by the fact that it's 4 DEGREES back home!! (You know home is having bad weather when people quote it to you as national news!)

In Animal Kingdom, we see a 5 year old "big sister" helping her 3 year old little sister to see the meerkats. Later that night, we see a 7 year old big brother help his 4 year old little sister to get in the clear to see the fireworks. Doesn't that make you misty just thinking about it?

Seated behind us at the Lion King show is the family of one of the dancers. It's such a treat to hear them whisper proudly, "That's her! That's her! Look at her!"

I found the Hidden Stitch in Buzz Lightyear!! Oh, he's so cute!

I tease John that if he wants a Disney baby so much, the PeopleMover is a smooth ride with a lot of dark places. He puts his foot down: no kid of his will be named Tomorrowland Transit Authority Blackwell.

Space Mountain: Left side, first seat! YEAH, BABY!

While waiting for "Wishes", we meet a guy who works at Hershey. He said he's put on 20 lbs. since joining the company!

We see a GMC truck parked on the safari. Hmm... sign of poachers?

Surprisingly, even the CMs don't know about the Disney bear backpacks yet. I had one ask me where I got mine!

John thinks they changed "Dinosaur", brightened it. I think he's nuts. This leads to more pinching and purple nurples, and we still don't settle the question.

John asked me this question and it picked at my brain all day! Does the Spanish speaking Pal Mickey have a separate frequency? He must be.

Just looking at my hair gel puts the taste back in my mouth!

How do they work these parking lots?! You see tons of spots closer to the entrance, and you're back at Yakoose 249!

The one day I don't have napkins, and I spill a soda on the tram! It almost rolls right into the people next to us!

I got a sore on one small toe! I buy some moleskin in the gift shop and have to keep my shoe loose so it won't press on it.

I lost my Nemo flashlight at MGM during Fantasmic!!!!!!! WAAAAAH!!!!!!!

Sniff! My last eggroll for this trip!!!!

Poor John's leg is sore, so we cut our re-visiting things in MK short, and get a good spot for "Wishes" to give him a break.

Parking further out today, we jumped on the AK tram. Over the PA system, the CM announced, "All kids under the age of 35 -- um, 10 should be seated in the center."

A little bit after that, she said to me, "Uh, miss? Your bear is looking at me."

As we go through security in AK, the woman notices Kahluá and asks, "Is he returning to his family?" Then, seeing Pal Mickey, she cries out, "Hi, boss! Please don't forget to sign my paycheck!" She even notices my little Dory hanging from my belt. Good eyes!

OK! I'm pale, I know that! Did my husband have to say "You are a white girl!"

So, it's corny, but I grinned when they announced at the end of the safari, "That 2 weeks trip felt like only half an hour, didn't it?"

Teasing me over Pal Mickey, John hugs his "Pal Water Bottle".

Someone with an explosive sneeze in "Tough to be a Bug" makes everyone jump more than the wasp stings!

We've taken 4 hours of video so far! The most ever! John's comment: I can see we're going to be fast forwarding a lot.

John points out to me: "Why does the brown bear have to come out in this heat and hold all your stuff for you while the white bear is laying around our air conditioned room? Racism in Disney bears. You should be ashamed of yourself."

In taking the AK tram back to our car, Gilbert (the speaker) called out to someone who ran in front of the tram (after the basic DON'T DO THAT!), "The tram outweights you by 24 tons. Guess who will lose that match up?"

In throwing in our bags, we noticed our rental car's trunk has an an escape latch! What is that about! (The cup holders are perfect for Disney mugs, though.) And just when we finally recognized our rental car amidst the others in the parking lot, here it was someone else's!! We looked like we were trying to break in! That's it! I'm getting an antennae topper for this thing!

The Magic Kingdom tram guide whispers to those of us on the tram, watching others running up: "We'll wait ‘til these people get close and then pull out fast!" She raised her voice so they could hear her: "If you miss this tram, you'll be using the heel - toe express!"

I stretched up to wave hello to the people in Space Mountain's command center. I figured, they must get bored and would like a friendly hello. John teased: "Someone probably just died because you distracted them from their control panels."

We take the ferry back to the parking lot, and all of a sudden stop for quite some time. We joke that the Polynesian will have to send outriggers for us! (Truth is, we had to wait for the other ferry to clear.)

As I moped my way out of Magic Kingdom, feeling like I let go of my dreams (Wishes put that in my mind), I asked John if he wasn't sad. He said, Yes, because he had seen a way too heavy woman in a thong at our pool today.

Walk down memory lane:

On a trip with the Turbervilles years ago we bought passes for E-ticket night. We dashed on to Thunder Mountain, and just as our train car broke out of the mountain tunnel, fireworks lit up the night sky right over our heads. Magic.

As we mistakenly walked down the path by the saddlebills, he said something like, "We went down this trail before, pal." John stared at me and said, "That's just spooky. He's freaking me out, Erin."

Favorite pictures (click thumbnail for larger photo):

Pots and pans Mickey: [See pic]

Romantic moment for a PDA (Public Display of Affection)

The waterfall in the Oasis -- it's made for that tender moment.

I cry a little as we leave Magic Kingdom, and there's Mickey waving goodbye. John reaches over, wiping away my tear, and quotes from "The Fantastiks": "This tear, this tiny tear..." to make me smile.

This is about how my little computer helped us:

Checked the time for "Wishes". This time, John didn't turn around and ask a cast member if I was right.

I break down and buy the pen with the clapping Mickey hands on the top. I've been eyeing it all week. Oh boy, this saves my hands some wear and tear!

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Pleasure Island:

We got our favorite Macaroni & Cheese at Puck's West. Mmmmm....

Another good show at the Comedy Warehouse and the return of familiar faces such as Mary!

Comedy Warehouse: Our story was picked for the embarrassing moment song! It's a good story too: how John took a "shortcut" from the Polynesian to Epcot, ended up in the cast member area and then off property, unable to find Disney World again.

Comedy Warehouse: as part of the above song, they lamented Roy Disney's resignation. I was impressed by their sense of loss when he didn't even head up their entertainment division.

Comedy Warehouse: my clapping Mickey hands work great! And no sore palms for me!

Out on the street and in the Adv. Club, people recognize us from the Comedy Warehouse Embarrassing moments, plying John for details.

Saw a Reedy Creek fireman with this shirt: R.C.F.D. Protecting the Magic...

Because of the "Wishes" fireworks, John and I spend time in the Adv. Club salon on a philosophical discussion on dreams and pursuing them. This goes a lot better than my thoughts on the subject when I left the Magic Kingdom because I've had a couple hot Peppermint Patties. Yum!

Attendance at both Epcot and Pleasure Island is so low. Yeah, it rained a bit today, but it's June! Peak Season! No complaints, but where are all the peaks?

We suddenly realize no one is picking us up from the train when we get home and make plans to beg my mom the next day.

Because of more and more rude conventioneers swarming the Island, we keep getting bad seats in the clubs. What's worse, they don't pay attention to the club around them, ignoring the comedians on stage at the Warehouse, and the performers in Adv. Club to talk loudly about their stupid meetings and whatever.

John fell asleep in "Hoopla". How can anyone fall asleep during the "Hoopla"?!

Hey! Those people walking up Pleasure Island look like Kim and Dave Turberville! Dang, they said they couldn't make this trip!

Adv. Club: in one of the few bright spots, Pamelia encouraged people to go into the Hoopla, saying, "Push and shove weaker, smaller adventurers out of your way!"

Adv. Club: other bright spot, they had the "Heads of the Presidents Lotion set", splashing John with Lincoln which reeked of baby powder. You could smell John five blocks away! As I laughed at this, Fletched Hodges went by and "poofed" me with a big makeup pad.

Just a note:

Through this whole week, our maid, Elvira, has been having a lot of fun with Kale. We looked forward to seeing what she came up each night as much a part of our "magical" day as anything else we did. Some things she did included:

Making Kale a couple of buddies to hang out with: bunnies made from washcloths. The bunnies joined everybody in the window display.

Kale filling out a Disney Visa application. Hey, if he gets it, he gets a pin!

Kale swinging on the curtains in the window!

Kale holding the remote control and the TV channel listing.

   

I lamented that we hadn't gotten What Would Walt Do pins this trip (Elvira definitely earned one) or the maid envelopes available online. This night, I remembered Disney had a way for guests to commend good cast members, and went to the desk to find out. If you've had a cast member treat you well, definitely do this yourself. Send a letter with their name and what they do to:

Guest Communications
Walt Disney World
(Specific park, hotel, etc. In this case, it was Pop Century)
PO Box 10,000
Lake Buena Vista FL 32830

Then you can copy it to: http://www.whatwouldwaltdo.com - a place to recognize good cast members as well.

Read Day 7