Cont'd
Note: We Didn't hit the boardwalk (went by it though) didn't have time. No PI either. We didn't need it! Plenty to do at the parks and hotels!
Park 2 – MGM
Got to MGM around 12:30 or so, and did a bee-line for TOT. Big line. Grabbed a fast pass and went to Star Tours. This thing really needs something. The queuing area is way cooler than the ride itself. You don’t feel like you’re flying at all. It was cool back in the day, time for a re-jiggering. How about ditching the simulator and creating a Star Wars dark ride ala Dinosaur?
Went to see our pals at Muppetvision, one of my favorite MGM attractions. It started to pour and we jumped in right on time. It was fun, as always. We cruised on over to the TOT area and checked RNR, the line was 60 minutes. TOT was 30 and since we had a bit until our fastpass matured, we jumped on.
TOT is a masterpiece, plain and simple. Donald couldn’t believe it! Myself, and our other compadre, who we’ll call Ape for his love of, you guessed it, apes, were scared poopless! As soon as the elevator began ascending, he starts pleading "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Hold on, man! Wait!" It was hysterical! When the 1,000 points of light sequence hit we were giddily screamin’ like geeks! The we continue up to the floor and leave the track, heading through the hotel on our way towards the plummet. "Yo! YOOOOOO!! Get me off this thing!! STOP! AAAAAAAA!!!" Ha! Awesome!
The car warms up, everything is black, you know you’re close. Since I was the only one who had previously ridden, I let out a "Here we go!!!" and BAM! We’re dropped!
And yanked! Dropped, shaken, was that a blinking eye I just saw? Drop! What’s that smell? Strobes, heat, 2 skeletons sitting on ledge staring at me, what? Was that really there? Shot all the way back up AGAIN, dropped! WOW!!!!!!! Donald says that’s the best ride ever, Ape says he was scared like mad and loved every minute, ditto for moi! TOT truly is an experience! We went back with our fastpass and rode it again, totally different sequence, seemed to have longer drops. Again, WOW!
RNR still had a crazy wait so we split. In retrospect we should have waited the 50 minutes as we never got to ride it. The next time we returned the wait was 100 minutes! I’m not waiting a 100 minutes for anything! Oh well, Ape and I’ve ridden it before. Too bad Donald didn’t get to.
Park 3: Epcot
We bagged a boat to Epcot and headed to Norway for dinner. Hot Norwegian chicks, cool! J They had an all-you-can-eat cold buffet and hot plates you ordered from the kitchen. It’s nice and light grub, so you don’t feel like a slob afterwards. I had eaten there during Christmas a few years back and really liked it. This time, it was so-so. Donald absolutely hated it. "This food is beat!" he kept crabbing. Well, you don’t know until you try it. I like it because, as said before, I don’t feel like a stuffed piggy after eating there.
We headed for the monorail and jumped on Spaceship Earth with no line whatsoever. This is another masterpiece-hope they leave it alone, there’s plenty of other stuff that could use a face lift before this. This was Donald’s first slow dark ride. I was interested in seeing his reaction. He rode up front with Ape, and I chilled in the back. The verdict? "Dude, that’s awesome!" J
Park 4: MK!
Jumped the monorail to TTC and made it to MK around 9, right during Spectro. I blurted "Follow me!" and we bolted through the stores of main street and into Tomorrowland! A nice job of thwarting the crowds! There was only one way to end this whirlwind day…SPACE MOUNTAIN! We rode it twice! 1 on each side. Everyone loved this classic masterpiece! Note: There weren’t any asteroids! Y’know, the big chocolate-chip cookies projected onto the ceiling? They weren’t there. Also, all fed-ex signage is gone.
How’s that for a guy’s first trip to Disney in the sweltering, crowded summer? Do all 4 in one day! What a tour guide they have I said!
We monorailed over to the Tambu lounge for a few cold ones. Then we went to the room, changed and went poolside until almost 2! Boy, we’re gonna be beat tomorrow! I mean, today!
Sunday July 27
MK
Woke up a bit late for early morning at MK, so we decided to grab breakfast at the concourse steakhouse. When you’re not in the mood for rug rats and six-foot mice, this place comes in handy. Breakfast is good here, as you order what you want rather than hit the buffet table. We ended up eating here a couple of times.
Hit MK around 9:30 and couldn’t believe how crowded it was; so much for Sunday being a quiet time at the park! Regardless, it was relatively easy to navigate. We went to Pirates and rode that with a 15 min. wait. Glad to see they didn’t add anything from the movie (which I enjoyed quite a bit) "We want the redhead!" will forever be one of my all time favorite chants! Of course, we all screamed in unison, "Us too!" After all, For a robot, she is pretty hot. Then we cruised over to Splash and picked up a fast pass and took in the Haunted Mansion in the time being. Sure hope they don’t do anything to this ride when that movie comes out; that could be disastrous! Hit Splash and watched as Donald’s eyes lit up! This is one of Ape’s and my self proclaimed "Happy Places." Soon, it would be Donald’s as well. Love those three ‘possums dangling, wiggling their limbs in spastic harmony!
After that, we hitched a ride on the Walt Disney railroad over to that kiddy area and walked over to tommorowland, where the lines for Space were huge, so we took in Alien encounter. Did they tone this down a lot or what? Ape and I thought Donald would totally get a kick out of this, as he is into demons and stuff (not actually, more like a running joke since our teens-too much to get into here). He thought it was lame and I had to agree it was more so than I remember.
We took a stroll through Fantasyland where we thought we’d get on the wild and crazy Pooh! But alas, 50 minute wait, so we took in Snow White. "hey yo, does this t’ing invert?" I say to the CM as we board. He cracked a smirk that said "Hey look! Three Dopeys!" We tore-up the road in Snow White and hit the pool. I took a spin on a water mouse boat (they are fun!) and before you know it, I look at my watch and realized it was time to bag on over to Epcot for dinner at Disney’s version of a strip joint: Restaurant Marrakesh!
Epcot
I love this place! I mean, the whole deal, from the to the music to the rides to the food and…to the booze! Yay! We were a little early so we went to the Living Seas to kill a little time. The tank was more beautiful than ever, with lots of divers inside. This was kinda bittersweet, as I am a diver and planned on doing this on this trip when I booked it early this year. That was before I found out I had an AVM in my brain that needed immediate surgery. 4 months later, I’m here and real happy to be alive, but can’t dive for a year. L This fact would also keep me from riding Mission: Space! (More on that later)
We got to Morocco a little after 6 and couldn’t believe how empty it was! I have eaten here a few times and the food was always good and same for the, um, entertainment. Well, once again, the food was real good! Living in Manhattan, I’m fortunate that I get to have exotic foods from time to time and Marrakesh is pretty legit stuff. And the belly dancer! OH, that BELLY DANCER! She’s a hot tamale! A gift from above! Hot as blazes I tell ya! And she wiggles like a worm on a hook! We had a blast! All enjoyed the food, all enjoyed what’s-her-name. Highly recommended.
We jimmy-jammed over to England and grabbed a table for Illuminations: Reflections of acid reflux! Enjoyed a few pints of bass while we waited the hour for the show.
They really blew the joint up! I mean, this is, IMHO, Disney’s best nighttime show and they really went all out like they do during holidays. Lasers were zapping, rockets bursting, the works! Donald was now really getting the scope of how big, how endless Disney’s well of entertainment goes!
Uhhh, what we do next? Oh yeah! Went back to the hotel, grabbed some beers and went to the pool for some well deserved soaking in the hot tub!
Monday, July 28
We woke and decided to chill out by the pool some more. Around 430, we headed to MK for Dinner at Liberty Tree. Now I’m no food snob, and I’ve never had any problems with the grub in Disney: I know where to go if I want a meal to remember (California grill anyone?). But the food at Liberty Tree stunk. I’ve eaten here before quite a few times and it was fine home-cooking type stuff. Blug! The only thing I liked was the Mac N cheese, and the guys hated that! The steak was so fatty, as was the ham, and the turkey was processed. Here’s hoping it was a bad night because I really like this place.
On a fun note, we all discovered our new favorite character, Meeko! When it comes to Disney cartoons, I am a snob, and pretty much hate all the new stuff since lion king, and even that can’t compare to the artwork of the old stuff. So here comes this raccoon following the legendary genius Pluto! We’re like "Hey! Look! It’s…It’s…Um…Hey! It’s the raccoon guy!" This is where, and I don’t care what anyone says, talent really plays a part. Without speaking, with a stone face on, whoever is in this thing really brought it to life! Meeko gives this deadpan stare like "you don’t know who I AM??" I say "um, the raccoon from the woodland scene in Snow white?" He deadpans. "Um, from, uh, Sleeping beauty? Robin Hood? Fantasia???? WHAT???" As the timing couldn’t be better, I hear a kid go, "Look ma! Pocahontas! Meeko! Yay!"
So I say, "I KNOW!! YOU’RE MEEKO FROM POCAHONTAS!" Meeko starts marching around the joint like he won a million bucks! It was a riot! He hung around for awhile acting all goofy, getting in a brawl with Minnie (that hussy!) and we even got him to do this mosh-pit-dance move (which we saw him doing at another table on the way out, so apparently he liked it!)! It was cool! Long live Meeko!"
(TBC...)