DAY 3 12/27
Today was the morning for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour! (Side note: by this point, I was developing a really nasty head cold as well as some swell (pun intended) blisters on my left foot, but I muddled through!) We arrived at the MK again at about 7:45 and caught the opening again. The family picked to help Mickey open up the MK was not nearly as “magical” as the one the day before, this one seemed really uninterested. Ah well. Also, one of the dancers was clearly an emergency sub, as she missed most of the choreography, but had a great smile and was trying her best. We shopped a little at the MK (they finally brought back full-sized baby Pegasus plush!) and then went to the tour guide garden. We checked in and ordered our lunches, and met our guide Mark. Hint for those wanting to take the tour on a busy day, take the 8:30! We had twelve people, and the 9:30 had 26 scheduled!!! Mark was fantastic. We saw all the pre-requisite backstage areas, rode Jungle Cruise (nice not to have ALL the jokes) and HM (which stopped 4 times!!) and got some info I didn’t know. Here is some scoop Mark gave me over lunch:
1) Even a long-time CM and Roy supporter like Mark thinks that things aren’t as bad as Roy does, and supports what Eisner is doing AND Roy, for doing what he (Roy) thinks is right.
2) There is a coaster coming to Epcot, but they don’t know where for sure perhaps a rain-forest themed on where the Outpost is now.
3) There might be a new WS pavilion that would rotate different countries on a yearly basis, obviously without an attraction.
4) Wonders of Life is getting a huge re-do after going seasonal for a while, the buzz is a Monsters Inc. ride, although that is uncertain as it would be more suited to Energy.
5) There will be a Toy Story attraction themed to the little Aliens, but not where COP is in the MK. CMs were told that COP was closing, only to be saved by Guest feedback.
6) There are no concrete plans on what to do with the 20K lagoon that he knew of, and he said that CMs were told that the FantasyLand skyway terminal would be converted to dining or a shop.
7) Also, the Odyssey will continue to be used for meetings and large gatherings, with no planned changes anytime soon
When we saw the floats for SADCT, I noticed two InspEARations statues that were backstage. Mark said that the sun is fading them at a much faster rate than anticipated and that they are being rotated 2-5 a day to do some touch-ups. We concluded the tour at the Roy/Minnie statue. I will point out that one of the guests on the tour was a man in his late 20’s/early 30’s who had some developmental disabilities and was there with his parents. If I were the CM I would have been very frustrated with him, but Mark was FABULOUS. It would not surprise me to see Mark as the head of all park guest relations within the next 10 years. He is one of the best CMs I have ever encountered.
After heading back to EPCOT for some shopping and some more relaxation at the hotel, we went to Downtown for some more shopping and pin trading. I am not a huge pin trader, but I enjoy it, and am trying to get every Hunchback pin. I was able to pick up one I didn’t have for two of the Disney Store’s millennium series that the other person needed. She definitely felt like I was a sucker, but I really don’t care about making a whole series. Some of the pin people scare me a little bit. I heard one saying with serious pride how she quit her job and now pin trades at WDW seven days a week. Yikes. The Once Upon a Toy Store is neat; I would buy the whole electric Monorail set if I were allowed, which of course I am not. We bused over to AKL for dinner at Jiko. Wonderful as always, and the prices seem to have gone down a little since I was there in 2001. We also were able to find for Amy the new gray hooded sweatshirt with Tinkerbell, that was SOLD OUT at every park, and Downtown. Yay for the AKL being so far from everything that their shop had it!
DAY 4 12/28
Slept in a little and went to the AK at about 8:45. Rode the Safaris (lots of Animals out!) We waited about 5-7 minutes at the end of the ride waiting to unload, very odd! Walked the trail, again lots of animals out, great to go in the morning. We then hoofed down to Dinoland, FP’d Dinosaur (only about a 20 minute standby anyway) and rode Primeval Whirl. I liked it. I know I’m not supposed to, but it was fun! Dinosaur was cool as usual, I forgot about the 2nd time the carnosaur goes for you, and screamed like a little girl. We walked to Asia and rode Kali. We brought towels, changes shirts, and wrapped our backpack in a plastic bag, and of course barely got wet. The guys on the other side of the raft from us looked like they fell in though! We decided to skip “It’s tough to be a bug” because we wanted to head to MGM to play millionaire. We waited a LONG time for the Bus, and then ate at Sci-Fi before playing two games of millionaire, we did not get in the hot seat, although when they checked to top 10 after the 32,000 question, I was 5th! We then headed over to the Grand Floridian Spa for our couple’s massage. $245 was worth it. I spent about an hour chilling almost by myself in the Jacuzzi and steam room. The couples’s room is gorgeous and my therapist Dawn was fantastic. Amy’s therapist was great too, but I don’t know her name! The entire staff was really great. I had requested a large robe before we left the hotel in the morning, and when I got to the spa, the only robe marked “One Size Fits All” (instead of “most”) still didn’t really fit me. I was resigned to wear my swim trunks, but when I got out of the shower, a larger robe was waiting for me on the shower bench. This is the Disney treatment we all come to expect, but boy is it nice. We took a stroll over to the Polynesian to catch the Monorail to the Contmp for dinner. The Polynesian was hopping! Anyway, we got to Cal Grill and were seated right away. Unfortunately, we were seated next to a group of about 12 people celebrating someone’s 50th birthday (not vacationing at WDW it seemed) who were extremely loud and drunk. Now, realize that I am extremely loud myself, so trust me when I say that these people were over the top. We requested to be moved, and got a table right on the window. The crazy people really affected the entire restaurant. When it came time for wishes, they left there table and three women stood in front of a table where a family was sitting, and the kids couldn’t see. When the dad asked them to move, they just said no. The dads had to get up and hold their kids in the air. I loved wishes, but the Cal Grill had some Xmas trees up which kind of glared the window a little. Also, these people were so drunk and loud, that I couldn’t hear the music. Again, the CMs running the restaurant handled it as well as they could have, I really felt for them. BTW, the food was fantastic! I have never eaten as well at WDW. We had planned on going into the MK for some last minutes, but at this point I just wanted to crawl into bed, so we did.
Day 5 12/29
We woke up late and headed to MGM to play millionaire a couple of times. MGM was PACKED! We rode RNR again too. Still didn’t make the hot seat. The CM handling Mickey at the Mickey Ave. meet and greet wasn’t wearing a name tag and was very surly with us. Oh well. Lots of characters were out, including Amy’s fave Rafiki, so it was nice to get some pics. We went back to the Boardwalk and tried to get in a walk-through of the DVC villa. We had gotten an open invitation two nights earlier, but hadn’t had a chance to use it. They couldn’t fit us in, but we sat in the lounge and had some snacks while they prepared an info packet for us. Thanks to Hubert at the DVC for helping us out! I hope we can convince some family members to get us a membership for the wedding! Quicksilver showed up on time to pick us up and we headed back to the drudgery of our lives in NJ. A great time all around as always!!!
Scott
:sohappy: :xmas: :wave:
Today was the morning for our Keys to the Kingdom Tour! (Side note: by this point, I was developing a really nasty head cold as well as some swell (pun intended) blisters on my left foot, but I muddled through!) We arrived at the MK again at about 7:45 and caught the opening again. The family picked to help Mickey open up the MK was not nearly as “magical” as the one the day before, this one seemed really uninterested. Ah well. Also, one of the dancers was clearly an emergency sub, as she missed most of the choreography, but had a great smile and was trying her best. We shopped a little at the MK (they finally brought back full-sized baby Pegasus plush!) and then went to the tour guide garden. We checked in and ordered our lunches, and met our guide Mark. Hint for those wanting to take the tour on a busy day, take the 8:30! We had twelve people, and the 9:30 had 26 scheduled!!! Mark was fantastic. We saw all the pre-requisite backstage areas, rode Jungle Cruise (nice not to have ALL the jokes) and HM (which stopped 4 times!!) and got some info I didn’t know. Here is some scoop Mark gave me over lunch:
1) Even a long-time CM and Roy supporter like Mark thinks that things aren’t as bad as Roy does, and supports what Eisner is doing AND Roy, for doing what he (Roy) thinks is right.
2) There is a coaster coming to Epcot, but they don’t know where for sure perhaps a rain-forest themed on where the Outpost is now.
3) There might be a new WS pavilion that would rotate different countries on a yearly basis, obviously without an attraction.
4) Wonders of Life is getting a huge re-do after going seasonal for a while, the buzz is a Monsters Inc. ride, although that is uncertain as it would be more suited to Energy.
5) There will be a Toy Story attraction themed to the little Aliens, but not where COP is in the MK. CMs were told that COP was closing, only to be saved by Guest feedback.
6) There are no concrete plans on what to do with the 20K lagoon that he knew of, and he said that CMs were told that the FantasyLand skyway terminal would be converted to dining or a shop.
7) Also, the Odyssey will continue to be used for meetings and large gatherings, with no planned changes anytime soon
When we saw the floats for SADCT, I noticed two InspEARations statues that were backstage. Mark said that the sun is fading them at a much faster rate than anticipated and that they are being rotated 2-5 a day to do some touch-ups. We concluded the tour at the Roy/Minnie statue. I will point out that one of the guests on the tour was a man in his late 20’s/early 30’s who had some developmental disabilities and was there with his parents. If I were the CM I would have been very frustrated with him, but Mark was FABULOUS. It would not surprise me to see Mark as the head of all park guest relations within the next 10 years. He is one of the best CMs I have ever encountered.
After heading back to EPCOT for some shopping and some more relaxation at the hotel, we went to Downtown for some more shopping and pin trading. I am not a huge pin trader, but I enjoy it, and am trying to get every Hunchback pin. I was able to pick up one I didn’t have for two of the Disney Store’s millennium series that the other person needed. She definitely felt like I was a sucker, but I really don’t care about making a whole series. Some of the pin people scare me a little bit. I heard one saying with serious pride how she quit her job and now pin trades at WDW seven days a week. Yikes. The Once Upon a Toy Store is neat; I would buy the whole electric Monorail set if I were allowed, which of course I am not. We bused over to AKL for dinner at Jiko. Wonderful as always, and the prices seem to have gone down a little since I was there in 2001. We also were able to find for Amy the new gray hooded sweatshirt with Tinkerbell, that was SOLD OUT at every park, and Downtown. Yay for the AKL being so far from everything that their shop had it!
DAY 4 12/28
Slept in a little and went to the AK at about 8:45. Rode the Safaris (lots of Animals out!) We waited about 5-7 minutes at the end of the ride waiting to unload, very odd! Walked the trail, again lots of animals out, great to go in the morning. We then hoofed down to Dinoland, FP’d Dinosaur (only about a 20 minute standby anyway) and rode Primeval Whirl. I liked it. I know I’m not supposed to, but it was fun! Dinosaur was cool as usual, I forgot about the 2nd time the carnosaur goes for you, and screamed like a little girl. We walked to Asia and rode Kali. We brought towels, changes shirts, and wrapped our backpack in a plastic bag, and of course barely got wet. The guys on the other side of the raft from us looked like they fell in though! We decided to skip “It’s tough to be a bug” because we wanted to head to MGM to play millionaire. We waited a LONG time for the Bus, and then ate at Sci-Fi before playing two games of millionaire, we did not get in the hot seat, although when they checked to top 10 after the 32,000 question, I was 5th! We then headed over to the Grand Floridian Spa for our couple’s massage. $245 was worth it. I spent about an hour chilling almost by myself in the Jacuzzi and steam room. The couples’s room is gorgeous and my therapist Dawn was fantastic. Amy’s therapist was great too, but I don’t know her name! The entire staff was really great. I had requested a large robe before we left the hotel in the morning, and when I got to the spa, the only robe marked “One Size Fits All” (instead of “most”) still didn’t really fit me. I was resigned to wear my swim trunks, but when I got out of the shower, a larger robe was waiting for me on the shower bench. This is the Disney treatment we all come to expect, but boy is it nice. We took a stroll over to the Polynesian to catch the Monorail to the Contmp for dinner. The Polynesian was hopping! Anyway, we got to Cal Grill and were seated right away. Unfortunately, we were seated next to a group of about 12 people celebrating someone’s 50th birthday (not vacationing at WDW it seemed) who were extremely loud and drunk. Now, realize that I am extremely loud myself, so trust me when I say that these people were over the top. We requested to be moved, and got a table right on the window. The crazy people really affected the entire restaurant. When it came time for wishes, they left there table and three women stood in front of a table where a family was sitting, and the kids couldn’t see. When the dad asked them to move, they just said no. The dads had to get up and hold their kids in the air. I loved wishes, but the Cal Grill had some Xmas trees up which kind of glared the window a little. Also, these people were so drunk and loud, that I couldn’t hear the music. Again, the CMs running the restaurant handled it as well as they could have, I really felt for them. BTW, the food was fantastic! I have never eaten as well at WDW. We had planned on going into the MK for some last minutes, but at this point I just wanted to crawl into bed, so we did.
Day 5 12/29
We woke up late and headed to MGM to play millionaire a couple of times. MGM was PACKED! We rode RNR again too. Still didn’t make the hot seat. The CM handling Mickey at the Mickey Ave. meet and greet wasn’t wearing a name tag and was very surly with us. Oh well. Lots of characters were out, including Amy’s fave Rafiki, so it was nice to get some pics. We went back to the Boardwalk and tried to get in a walk-through of the DVC villa. We had gotten an open invitation two nights earlier, but hadn’t had a chance to use it. They couldn’t fit us in, but we sat in the lounge and had some snacks while they prepared an info packet for us. Thanks to Hubert at the DVC for helping us out! I hope we can convince some family members to get us a membership for the wedding! Quicksilver showed up on time to pick us up and we headed back to the drudgery of our lives in NJ. A great time all around as always!!!
Scott
:sohappy: :xmas: :wave: