The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
We were the last ones in line for the day. 😂 He was super nice. Especially since my questions were mostly about the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. 🤣 He was amazed when I told him I have memories of the original Dreamfinder. I was three when it closed, but yup. Specifically remember the scene with Dreamfinder and Figment riding the machine. Not much else, but very specifically that.

I bought one of his art pieces and he signed it for me. So that's going up.

I met him at D23 in August and he was really nice. I got a picture with him but nothing signed. I forgot to tell him that my dog is named Baxter in his honor.
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I met him at D23 in August and he was really nice. I got a picture with him but nothing signed. I forgot to tell him that my dog is named Baxter in his honor.
He was a popular guy today. You had to either get in a virtual queue or buy an art piece to meet him. I bought a print of one of his pieces and they texted me when to come back. Still waited about 35 minutes. It seemed like he was taking his time with guests as much as he could.
 

Agent H

Well-Known Member
He was a popular guy today. You had to either get in a virtual queue or buy an art piece to meet him. I bought a print of one of his pieces and they texted me when to come back. Still waited about 35 minutes. It seemed like he was taking his time with guests as much as he could.
Can you say anything more about the virtual queue?
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Hardest part about this age is watching your parents get old, your grandparents get even older/pass, and your other relatives and other adults from your childhood age. I'm fortunate because I still have two grandparents left, though I'm starting to worry about my Grandma's mental capacity. Many of my friends have lost a parent already. One of my friends lives with his dad basically because his dad has so many medical problems, he's the only kid, and his parents are divorced. And once again, I am fortunate because my own parents are healthy, but they still can't do everything they did when they were younger, which is hard to watch. Then my aunt has one health issue after the other, so I worry about her (especially because my cousins aren't always the most responsible people).

The role reversal is also strange. Suddenly, you are the adult because you have to be. Like, I was used to the adults in my life always being so capable, and now sometimes I'm the one who has to be the adult. Crowds seem to confuse my parents even in familiar places. My dad sometimes gets confused walking around...Epcot. I'm like, how many times have you been here? I had to talk them through converting our Virtual queue at Tiana's over to DAS for my brother, even though we've done it multiple times. Dad doesn't always read signs, so sometimes going places with him is...painful. Especially airports. Technology escapes both of them. And nagging both of them to go to the doctor...🙄 Sometimes I tell them that they're too young for me to have to be doing this.
The things the I put in bold are things that I see my girls showing signs of concern about me. It hurts me to see because the very last thing I wanted them to do was for them to worry about me. I have been, almost stupidly, trying to overcome the idea that I can still do all the things I once did when I was younger. If you think it is scary to have to witness the decline try for a second to imagine what it is like for the ones it is happening too? Independence, is a word that at some point in our lives was looked at as strength. In many cases is now looked upon as a weak, delusional situation causing concern to people you love. The older you get the more things you have to process and deal with. Personally, I am now the oldest direct relative in my family. No family I grew up with is still around. Good or bad, it is, to use a semi-Disney phrase, the circle of life.

I have been lucky (or unlucky) enough to have have kept pretty much most of my mental capacity intact. At least I think I have, opinions my vary. However, I find myself occasionally standing in the middle of doing something that I have done probably millions of time over close to 77 years, and have this overwhelming feeling that I am not sure what to do next. Fortunately it has passed quickly, so far, but I cannot tell you how scary that is. My physical health decline is probably mostly my fault. It's to late now to go back and correct the crap I did in my youth and it is catching up swiftly. Aging is a very hard pill to swallow and it appears that most of it is very common for everyone. Sometimes it feels like everything is slowing down headed for a complete stop when one gets to the point when almost all the thoughts are either about the present or the past because we don't want to think about the future. Everything changes and sometimes instead of keeping up with it we are just being dragged along unable to completely process it quickly, like in the past.

Sorry for the melodramatic tone to the above post.
 

Mr Ferret 75

Thank you sir. You were an inspiration.
Premium Member
@Figgy1 -- Wah - hooooooooo! :joyfull::joyfull:
Polar Bear Snow GIF
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Thank you so much for sharing!! ❤️. I would have probably gone into total fan girling mode and not known what to say
Lol, I mentally was prepared and had some prepared questions. Basically "Do you have a favorite project?" (He initially said all of them, but then original Imagination and Indiana Jones in Disneyland were the two he mentioned). "Are you still involved with Disney Imagineering?" (Yes, but he was concerned his badge wouldn't work when he came in, and it did. He's part time and mostly focused on his art). "Are you involved at all in a consulting role on the Indiana Jones attraction at WDW?" (No, but the track layouts are exactly the same, and he always wondered why they did Dinosaur here instead of Indy).

I also told him Indy is one of my favorite Disneyland attractions and that I was on it at least once a day last time I was there, and that I actually do remember Dreamfinder on the machine with Figment in spite of only being three when it closed. I guess because it was such a a vivid scene and we probably did it a lot. Definitely an early memory.

I was trying to balance asking questions and listening to his stories while also letting him know about his lasting impact since I'm fairly young.
 

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