A Bear of a Journey

Howdy! I recently spent two days (3/18-3/19) at WDW with my wife and daughter. We left late because of commitments at work, and arrived at the All Star Sports Resort at 12:30a.m. We slept soundly that evening and headed out early the next morning to DHS. The following day was spent at the MK, from open to close. The weather was very pleasant, with temperatures reaching a high in the low to mid seventies. Thursday was mostly cloudy, and Friday was sunny all day. The crowds at both parks were pretty intense, but it really wasn't a major hindrance. We do not usually go during Spring break, so the longer lines at the attractions were a little bit of an adjustment. We called in an ADR for each park just a week ahead, and we managed to get a table at both parks! I have included a lot of photos, and I hope that no one minds the length of this report as a result. By the way, we are a bit camera shy on the internet, so you will see several shots of my good buddy rsoxbear. He usually hangs around my office at work with an assortment of Red Sox memorabilia, but I thought the trip might do him some good. Unfortunately, he had a hard time adjusting to the rules of proper behavior. More on that later. Well, here comes my trip report...



We arrived late and checked in to the All Star Sports Resort. There were a lot of sports teams and cheer-leading squads at the hotel, but they did not display any of the misbehavior that is commonly reported on this Forum. There is hope for our youth after all! The room was standard, and below is a picture taken before we soiled it with our presence.

This is rsoxbear. He was really jazzed about the room decorations.

Here he is checking out the local action. Worst pick up line I heard on this trip: "Hey baby, can I borrow a towel?" Painful!

It was late, the window decoration turned him down, and it was time for us to get some sleep. Next stop- DHS!!

We arrived at the Studios bright and early. Can you see the excitement on rsoxbear's face. I can!

We hurried to get a Fastpass for Toy Story Midway Mania, and the line to get a Fastpass was twenty minutes long! After taking care of that little chore, we headed over to The great Movie Ride. You can see below that rsoxbear attempted to commandeer the ride vehicle. The little guy's a freak.

Our host for the ride was none other than Joanna, a member of this Forum! I recognized her immediately. How cool was that? We sat up front, and I waited until the ride was through to introduce myself to her. She is a real sweetheart, and she did a great job on the ride. If you know her, tell her to check out this trip report. rsoxbear made his move, but was once again flying solo within minutes.

We decided to have "breakfast" at the Starring Rolls Cafe. Can you spot the hidden Mickeys?

My daughter loves the street shows at DHS. This is Otto VonBonBon. He started to put a choke-hold on rsoxbear, but the little guy knows how to take care of himself. Needless to say, Otto is now singing tenor.

We then headed over to Toy Story Midway Mania to use our Fastpasses. I had to take the controller away from rsoxbear when he started shouting, "die,die" at every panel. Freak.

Continued in next post....

 

[rsoxguy]

I have no particular reason for posting this next shot. I just think its a cool looking sign.

He tried to make bunny ears, I said no, end of story.

I had to include this photo because it was one of the happiest moments of my trip. Enjoy.

I think that this water fountain is so cool. I tried to tell rsoxbear to take it easy on the water. Moments later, Fozzie Bear's flower wasn't the only thing that made the seats wet in the theater, if you know what I mean.

The snowman became a little upset when rsoxbear asked him for "sacrificial snow cone." No manners!

I thought that this was kind of interesting, in a Disney-nerd sort of way. If you look closely, you can see a clipped piece of the Osbourne lights in the tree. So much for recycling.

No reason, just cool to see.

We ate a late lunch at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. I had to reprimand rsoxbear when called some kid Wally Cleaver and gave him a noogie. No dessert for him!

This is my wife's cool looking dessert. I had a sundae, but it wasn't very decorative.

You may be asking "what in the world is that disgusting thing on the Formica table top?" One of my many talents is the ability to tie a cherry stem with my tongue. TA DA!

Continued next post....

 

[rsoxguy]

I have never seen the show American Idol on TV, and I now know that I haven't missed much. This was my first time to see this attraction, and I found the whole thing to be a bit contrived. Two judges were sugary sweet, while the third judge as purposely harsh. My disdain for this attraction did not hinder rsoxbear from trying to get on stage. I think he sang "Bare Necessities." It didn't go well.

Roy kept calling for security, while Mickey just stood there laughing. It wasn't a shining moment for rsoxbear.

My camera's battery went dead, but we spent the remainder of the evening going to Rockin' Roller Coaster, The Tower of Terror, and the Beauty and the Beast Show. Whew! We then hopped on a bus to the hotel, and called it a night. My wife's pedometer shows that we walked almost five miles. rsoxbear was wasted.

The next morning we checked out of the room and prepared for a day at the Magic Kingdom. rsoxbear wouldn't let go of the door , so we bribed him with the promise of a date with one of the Country Bears. Sucker!

Words were exchanged, the racket went swinging, and security was called to intercede. I really don't want to talk about it any more.

We rode the monorail to the MK. You can sense the excitement on rsoxbear's grin, can't you? I sure can.

This guy was great! He is originally from Massachusetts. The instant that he saw rsoxbear in my backpack, he grabbed him and put him on his head. I asked if I could take a photo, and he immediately made the face! What a guy!

This water drawing was on the sidewalk near the dining area at the ice cream parlor on Main Street. Very nice.

Hey, its the Castle!

911, I'd like to report a mugging in progress.

Continued next post....

 

[rsoxguy]

I took this photo on Splash Mountain. I was playing with the exposure, and I thought it looked king of cool.

I love the architecture of this building (and the ride ain't bad either).

Below this scene, you would see the innumerable masses. I chose to leave them out of the shot.

We ate an early lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. When rsoxbear started to challenge the patrons to a game of dice, I had put my foot down.

My wife kept ordering the nicest desserts!

It was a little embarrassing when rsoxbear started shouting, "these are my people." What a goof.

I know that a lot of the people on this Forum don't get to go to WDW often, so I've included some random shots for you to see.

Continued next post...

 

[rsoxguy]

We took a load off our feet by riding the train to our next destination. It became uncomfortable when rsoxbear started shouting, "this Space Mountain ride isn't much of a thrill, if you ask me!" I had to "face palm".

The CM in the background was laughing at me! What's so funny about a grown man taking a picture a beanie bear on a ride? You'd think she was labeling me a dork or something! The nerve. Some people wouldn't know "hip" if they had cellulite.

I don't know the guy in front of me, but I think that some Rogain would be in order.

When rsoxbear jumped on the stage, John called security, Sarah screamed, and grandpa started looking for his uber-chic car phone.

He really liked Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. They chose him as "that guy", and he lunged at Roz. The guy's a ham.

More random shots for the WDW deprived. Notice the empty Castle moat.

Continued next post...

 

[rsoxguy]

rsoxhorse?

Him: "I'm not going in there."
Me: "Yes you are."
Him: "I'm not going in there."
Me: "You have to."
Him: "I'm not going in there."
Me: "I'll take you to a Red Sox game."
Him: "What are we waiting for? Let's get in there."

Early lunch = pretzel and soda snack in FrontierLand. He was a happy bear.

A couple of shots taken while riding Bid Thunder Mountain Rail Road, along with Tinker Bell in the rock, the windmill at Tom Sawyer's Island, and TommorrowLand.

rsoxbear wouldn't stop spinning the space ship. He kept saying "I'm in charge here."

Later, he found the biggest body guard he could hire and declared himself ruler of the universe. Talk about a Napoleon complex.

Continued next post....

 

[rsoxguy]

Sing along..... "One of these things is not like the other, one these things just doesn't belong. Can you tell me which thing is not like the other, before I finish singing this song."

We rode the TTA. Some twit decided to jump off during the ride, and we had to sit for about twenty minutes while they rounded him up. Some people prove the need fro frontal lobotomies. At least it was cool and breezy.

This is rsoxbear waiting for the door to open for Philharmagic. You would be surprised how many people would look at you as though your a total loser when you try to take a picture like this, including your wife. Sheesh!

Free photo souvenir at the Hall of Presidents' gift shop. My little way of sticking it to The Man!

This is what I saw when I stepped outside of Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe while my wife spent money inside. The Liberty Tree at sunset.

Aunt Polly's at sunset. No food service, but still a pretty sight.

I couldn't leave out Big Al. rsoxbear was a little intimidated.

Arggg, there be dangerous MLB licensed bears ahead!

The Swiss Family Tree House at night. Yes, people rushed past me and thought to themselves, "freak."

The second worse pick up line that I heard on this trip, "hey ladies, want to hear me do my impersonation of Don Ho?"

Continued next post....

 

[rsoxguy]

Well, the park officially closed at midnight, and we shopped until 12:30. We strapped a very tired rsoxbear into the car, and we headed home. As you can see by my wife's pedometer we walked over six miles through the Magic Kingdom. We actually logged in another quarter of a mile, but it registered for the next day at midnight. Whew!
Well, I hope you enjoyed the trip report. We had a a great two days at WDW, and hope to go back ASAP. Don't forget that every day is a gift from God.

THE END :wave:

 

[erstwo]

Oh Yay! I am so glad to read your trip report. You are so funny (for a Red Sox fan...:lookaroun)!

I remember last week when you finally got your reservations. We ended up at MK on 3/16 - could you believe the crowds? We were shocked. Thought it would be less people.

So glad that you had a great time. Thanks for posting this.

 

[rsoxguy]

Oh Yay! I am so glad to read your trip report. You are so funny (for a Red Sox fan...:lookaroun)!

I remember last week when you finally got your reservations. We ended up at MK on 3/16 - could you believe the crowds? We were shocked. Thought it would be less people.

So glad that you had a great time. Thanks for posting this.

The crowds truly were crazy! I hope you had a good time yourself, and I'm glad that you liked the report.

 

[rsoxguy]

A couple of shots from the trip that I forgot to post!


Still confused, rsoxbear asked if Space Mountain was supposed to look so archaic. Dunce!

Here he is at Splash Mountain.

I took this shot just before the big drop! Cool eh?

 

[HollyBelle]

Love it! I'm a big fan of reports seen through the eyes of stowaways. Thanks for sharing. :sohappy:

 

[Uponastar]

Great report!
Looks like rsoxbear had a wonderful time.
So good to see Joanna in your report. We hear she's doing a great job at GMR. Thanks for including her!

 

[rsoxguy]

Love it! I'm a big fan of reports seen through the eyes of stowaways. Thanks for sharing. :sohappy:

You really do get a lot of strange looks when doing the posing and photography. Men especially look at you as though you're crazy. I did enjoy doing it all.

Great report!
Looks like rsoxbear had a wonderful time.
So good to see Joanna in your report. We hear she's doing a great job at GMR. Thanks for including her!

Joanna was a real pleasure to meet. She seems like a really nice person, and she did the GMR thing as well as anyone I've ever seen.

 

[tiaragirl]

Awesome! Short and sweet, I loved this haha.

Thanks for adding the pictures for the "WDW deprived".. extra shots are always appreciated!

 

[rsoxguy]

Awesome! Short and sweet, I loved this haha.

Thanks for adding the pictures for the "WDW deprived".. extra shots are always appreciated!

My pleasure! Have fun when you go.

 

[Alexx]

Wow I LOVED reading that trip report, it made me laugh so much, looks like you had fun there.

 

[rsoxguy]

Wow I LOVED reading that trip report, it made me laugh so much, looks like you had fun there.

We really did have a blast. I have been to WDW hundreds of times, and I can only think of a few times in which I didn't enjoy myself. I'm glad that you enjoyed the report.

 

[heartodisney]

GREAT pics! I am glad you did meet Jo, I do hope we get to see her when next we are there! Thanks for your report and I am glad you guys had a great time!

 

[rsoxguy]

GREAT pics! I am glad you did meet Jo, I do hope we get to see her when next we are there! Thanks for your report and I am glad you guys had a great time!

Thanks! I've said it before, but I got the impression from our brief meeting that she couldn't be a nicer person. Of course, now that she knows what I look like, I'm going to have to send rsoxbear after her. :drevil: