Hey kids,
I scheduled a trip to see Mickey, Shamu, the Mummy, The Hulk, Homer and the Adventurer's Club crew, not knowing that most of my time would be spent with this lovely lady named Fay.
I originally scheduled the trip to be right before my fall semester at the University of Toledo but since I transferred and applied late, pretty much all of the courses were picked over and closed. So, I'm starting school in January. I was still locked in to my vacation dates, which was good because between now and mid-November I will be tied up with election coverage at my TV station.
Regardless, still had a blast, even though most of the time I was soaked to the bone as Fay made her way with Central Florida. At certain times it felt like I was visiting in October -- Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and The Kraken were all walk-ons. It took longer for me to walk through the queques than waiting for the rides itself.
Funny thing -- Monday evening during magic time at the studios I got into the single-rider line at Aerosmith. Bad idea. The fastpass line ran circles around the single rider line, so I didn't get to ride Aerosmith until Friday and Saturday. I did get to go in Toy Story Mania twice. Very nice ride.
Stayed at the Shades of Green, like I did last October, and did things that I didn't do my last time down in Central Florida. Some things were closed (Spaceship Earth) or under construction (The Simpsons). I was hoping to attend either Aquatica, Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, but no go because of the rain.
Say hello to Fay --
I did, one evening, go swimming at Shades in the pouring rain and wind. That was an experience. Still though, I would not trade this trip in for a hot August week with no tropical systems. But now I can say I survived Fay and she was somewhat tame. She was more like a storm in the Midwest -- just days and days of rain.
I didn't get to do everything but saw things and attended shows I had not seen last time. From who I talked to at WDW and the other parks, I hit Universal, SeaWorld and resort hopped on the days I should have while others tried to cram into DisneyQuest (bad idea since all the virtual games were 5-6-deep and about a 60-80 minute wait EACH).
I have to tell you, SeaWorld was a nice surprise as they let me in for free (Salute to Heroes) and on top of that Budweiser was handing out free samples of their product at the back end of the park. Although you were asked to have two samples of beer, I ended up having nearly 4 -- three selects, and samples of Beach Bum and some clamato-beer concoction (Chelada) that reminded me of a Bloody Mary. Had a nice little buzz Thursday afternoon.
I was fortunate to visit the Adventurer's Club three times and say goodbye to the cast. Thursday evening's show included a Disney castmember who used to work on the Jungle Cruise. He was invited on stage in the library and proposed to his girlfriend, also a castmember, and he did it ALL IN A REFRAIN of When The Saints Go Marching In (the AC's final hooplah! song of the night). Otis, Hawathay, Ms. Perkins and Samantha chimed in with their own refrain wishes - not the normal thing they do to close out the night.
On Friday night, my final night at WDW, I noticed that some of the AC side shows were canceled (the maid sing-a-long and one of the treasure room shows). After the Samatha Sterling Cabaret, there was a new member induction ceremony and then a VERY LONG WAIT (about 30 minutes) before the final hooplah! All the cast vanished and it was rumored that the city and county sheriff were interviewing the staff after a guest slipped down the bottom stairs of the club earlier in the evening.
Here's to my next trip and enjoy the pix!
I scheduled a trip to see Mickey, Shamu, the Mummy, The Hulk, Homer and the Adventurer's Club crew, not knowing that most of my time would be spent with this lovely lady named Fay.
I originally scheduled the trip to be right before my fall semester at the University of Toledo but since I transferred and applied late, pretty much all of the courses were picked over and closed. So, I'm starting school in January. I was still locked in to my vacation dates, which was good because between now and mid-November I will be tied up with election coverage at my TV station.
Regardless, still had a blast, even though most of the time I was soaked to the bone as Fay made her way with Central Florida. At certain times it felt like I was visiting in October -- Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and The Kraken were all walk-ons. It took longer for me to walk through the queques than waiting for the rides itself.
Funny thing -- Monday evening during magic time at the studios I got into the single-rider line at Aerosmith. Bad idea. The fastpass line ran circles around the single rider line, so I didn't get to ride Aerosmith until Friday and Saturday. I did get to go in Toy Story Mania twice. Very nice ride.
Stayed at the Shades of Green, like I did last October, and did things that I didn't do my last time down in Central Florida. Some things were closed (Spaceship Earth) or under construction (The Simpsons). I was hoping to attend either Aquatica, Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, but no go because of the rain.
Say hello to Fay --
I did, one evening, go swimming at Shades in the pouring rain and wind. That was an experience. Still though, I would not trade this trip in for a hot August week with no tropical systems. But now I can say I survived Fay and she was somewhat tame. She was more like a storm in the Midwest -- just days and days of rain.
I didn't get to do everything but saw things and attended shows I had not seen last time. From who I talked to at WDW and the other parks, I hit Universal, SeaWorld and resort hopped on the days I should have while others tried to cram into DisneyQuest (bad idea since all the virtual games were 5-6-deep and about a 60-80 minute wait EACH).
I have to tell you, SeaWorld was a nice surprise as they let me in for free (Salute to Heroes) and on top of that Budweiser was handing out free samples of their product at the back end of the park. Although you were asked to have two samples of beer, I ended up having nearly 4 -- three selects, and samples of Beach Bum and some clamato-beer concoction (Chelada) that reminded me of a Bloody Mary. Had a nice little buzz Thursday afternoon.
I was fortunate to visit the Adventurer's Club three times and say goodbye to the cast. Thursday evening's show included a Disney castmember who used to work on the Jungle Cruise. He was invited on stage in the library and proposed to his girlfriend, also a castmember, and he did it ALL IN A REFRAIN of When The Saints Go Marching In (the AC's final hooplah! song of the night). Otis, Hawathay, Ms. Perkins and Samantha chimed in with their own refrain wishes - not the normal thing they do to close out the night.
On Friday night, my final night at WDW, I noticed that some of the AC side shows were canceled (the maid sing-a-long and one of the treasure room shows). After the Samatha Sterling Cabaret, there was a new member induction ceremony and then a VERY LONG WAIT (about 30 minutes) before the final hooplah! All the cast vanished and it was rumored that the city and county sheriff were interviewing the staff after a guest slipped down the bottom stairs of the club earlier in the evening.
Here's to my next trip and enjoy the pix!
