Could I have possibly brought any more winter clothes to Florida? Jan26-Feb2 THE POLY

[Saturn23]

Ken loves the different types of Disney transportation. He thinks some are more magical than others though.

MK train – magical
Boats – magical
Monorail – magical
Bus – not so magical

Because of this we took advantage of the boats that go from the Studios to Epcot. It was convenient because it would drop us off at World Showcase, where we wanted to be, so we just considered it another attraction. It was fun but took a really long time since it stopped at all the Epcot resorts along the way.

We arrived at World Showcase and took a few photopass pictures with a pretty view behind us.

removed

I was lucky to see Chip standing alone and took the opportunity to get a quick picture with him. I hate making Ken wait in line for character pictures since he’s not into that, but If we happen to see a free one he’s all for it.

We headed over to the bakery in France, Boulangerie Patisserie. Just outside of Chefs de France there was a man balancing himself on stacked chairs. He had stacked 7 or 8 of them on top of each another and was doing hand-stands above them. It was incredible! We stood to watch for a few minutes but I had horrible visions of the mass of people rushing for the bakery as soon as he was done. We got in line just before he finished. My prediction was correct, and by the time we had ordered the line went out the door, so we were lucky.

I ordered a ham and cheese croissant and Ken got something similar but it was on a baguette and also had some tomato sauce. There were countless pastries behind the glass counter but for some reason I chose the strawberry mousse. Luckily Ken got a Napoleon. The food was great! My croissant had several kinds of cheese and the ham was really fresh too. Ken loved his as well. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the mousse I was kind of full. It was really good but I had trouble finishing my half of it. Ken’s Napoleon was a different story though. I had no trouble with that! It was one of the best I’ve had in recent memory. Afterwards I was kicking myself for ordering the mousse. Why would I choose mousse when there were so many pastries??? I hate making decisions I regret. We figured we would come back and try some of the others later in the trip.

We met up with Ken’s parents after lunch. Ken’s Dad saw me and the first thing he asked was “are you expecting a snow storm?” Yeah, I deserved that, but I was going to be nice and toasty that night while everyone else was shivering!

Ken’s parents had hotdogs at the American Pavilion for lunch. When I heard this I screamed and threw myself down on the ground in a 2-year-old style tantrum. (Nah, just kidding, that’s too extreme even for me!). I just thought it was funny because we left the Studios without using our perfectly cromulent fast passes, just to get great food in Epcot, while they were already in Epcot and ate something that could have been eaten at the Studios! Too bad we couldn’t have organized some type of food exchange. Does it mean that we’re getting old if we care more about the food than the rides? I hope not. We headed to Test Track looking for FPs and were lucky to get them for about an hour or two later. Not bad!

In the meantime I had a sneaky plan. After reading about how awful Beverly was last year, Ken got punk’d. I pretended to like mine so he drank his quickly.

removed
His parents would be my new victims! (I’m such a sweet daughter in law, aren’t I?). We told them that we had tried a wonderful drink during our trip to Italy last summer, and that they just had to try it. We went into club cool and found an empty station. We filled up a cup for Ken’s mom, and then his dad went to a different station to fill his cup. I had my camera ready, and told them not to drink until I said so. (Could I have been more obvious?) I pressed record and waited for the faces….

Ken’s dad had turned sideways, so I couldn’t really see his face. All he said was “it’s weird, what is it?” He didn’t really make a grossed out face.

His mom on the other hand, drank some and her reaction was “mmmm sparkling water”.

What? No, that’s not right, you’re not supposed to say it’s good! You’re not supposed to like it!! You’re supposed to make an awful face and I’m supposed to record it and laugh!

I asked again and she told me once more, “it’s good, it tastes like sparkling water”.

Ken took her cup and tasted it. “Nope, she got a dud. It’s just the water and none of the syrup”

Noooooooo!!!! My evil plan was foiled by a malfunctioning pop dispenser!!!

I imagined what was probably going through her head as she drank this carbonated water. “Why would they drag me here and make such a big deal out of water? It’s nothing special, it’s just water. I thought my kids had better taste than this. I’ll be nice and pretend to like it just so they don’t feel bad”.

We went to another fountain and got her some full-strength Beverly. She’s really sweet so she agreed to let me re-do the video with the proper yuck faces.

Lesson learned: if you’re going to do the Beverly, taste it yourself first to make sure it’s bad!

Next up: Somebody to do all the packing and vacation planning for me!!!

 

[JoAnnPan]

Enjoying your report - thanks for sharing .
I absolutely love Boulangerie Patisserie - it is a must stop for quiche and a cream puff every trip

 

[BrittBritt]

His mom on the other hand, drank some and her reaction was “mmmm sparkling water”.

What? No, that’s not right, you’re not supposed to say it’s good! You’re not supposed to like it!! You’re supposed to make an awful face and I’m supposed to record it and laugh!

I asked again and she told me once more, “it’s good, it tastes like sparkling water”.

Ken took her cup and tasted it. “Nope, she got a dud. It’s just the water and none of the syrup”

Noooooooo!!!! My evil plan was foiled by a malfunctioning pop dispenser!!!

I imagined what was probably going through her head as she drank this carbonated water. “Why would they drag me here and make such a big deal out of water? It’s nothing special, it’s just water. I thought my kids had better taste than this. I’ll be nice and pretend to like it just so they don’t feel bad”.

We went to another fountain and got her some full-strength Beverly. She’s really sweet so she agreed to let me re-do the video with the proper yuck faces.

Lesson learned: if you’re going to do the Beverly, taste it yourself first to make sure it’s bad!

Very funny!

 

[reelmom]

Loving your TR. Can't wait for more.

 

[kaysmommie]

Subbing to your trip report. It's great so far, you are too funny. Poly is our favorite resort. Love your pics.

 

[Saturn23]

Enjoying your report - thanks for sharing .
I absolutely love Boulangerie Patisserie - it is a must stop for quiche and a cream puff every trip

Thanks! I'm glad you like the report. It's fun to relive it again. That bakery is great! I'll have to try the quiche and cream puffs next time. Unfortunately we never did get back there for more pastries.

Very funny!

It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it to, but at least it made for a good story!

Loving your TR. Can't wait for more.

Thanks! I'm happy you like it.

Subbing to your trip report. It's great so far, you are too funny. Poly is our favorite resort. Love your pics.

Thanks! The Poly is my favourite too but I've only stayed there and at the Contemporary so I don't have many to compare it to. I love how convenient it is though and the theming is wonderful.

 

[Saturn23]

We still had time to kill so we headed for Mission Space. I only do the green version now because I had a bad experience with orange on our first trip. I had heard a lot of stories about people feeling sick after riding it so I was planning on riding towards the end of the day, that way I could just go back to the resort if it didn’t agree with me. However, we entered the park that morning and the first thing Pal Mickey said to us was “Hey Pal, I hear the wait for Mission Space is really short, why don’t we go blast off?” Well, if Mickey wanted to go, then I guess we had no choice since he owns the place. Plus, who can resist a short line? (I didn’t know at the time that the line for that ride was pretty much always short!). Of course we hadn’t eaten breakfast, and we were overtired from EMH the night before, so I was feeling a little queasy to begin with. I think this is the reason the ride made me feel so bad. During the first 30 seconds I thought it was the best ride ever! The following 30 seconds, well, not so much. After that I just wanted it to be over. I felt so bad that I headed for the first food place I saw, Electric Umbrella! (I gave up a chance to eat in World Showcase so I must have been really sick) It took about two hours to get back to normal. So now I’m stuck with not knowing if I felt sick because I was already feeling that way, or because this ride will do that to me every time. I haven’t had the guts to find out which one it is yet.

After Mission Space we wanted to try Spaceship Earth since we hadn’t seen the new version yet. Luckily it was open and we walked in. Mickey always tells the same joke here, something like “Spaceship Earth looks like a giant golf ball but you would have to be over a mile high to play. If I were a mile high I would be playing basketball” Ken loves pointing out the flaws in Mickey's logic. He would be much further from the net if he were that tall, and it would be pretty much impossible to get a basket.

I realized that this was the first time I had ever seen SE without the wand. During my first trips we never made it to Epcot, and the wand was up during the last two. It seems so retro!

Spoiler Alert: I’m giving away some details about the new parts of Spaceship Earth, skip to the end of spoiler if you don’t want to know.



We loved it!! I thought the changes were great! There are two parts I’ll talk about. The first is the scene where you’re in a computer lab from the 60’s. There’s a cool animatronic of a mod-style scientist and she’s wearing knee-high vinyl boots. (At least that's what I remember but I don't have a picture). As we went by her, I said to Ken “look she’s wearing boots too, I’m not the only one!" She kind of gives a nod as the vehicle goes by so I took it as a sign of her approval of my outfit. (BTW, my boots were NOT vinyl, if they were someone would have seen me and already posted my picture in that famous "things that make you go huh?" thread ).

The funniest part is the little game at the end where you choose your future. They ask a few questions and then animate the future you’ll have by gluing your picture onto cartoon stick figures that are living out your dreams. Ken has a new thing where he has to look unimpressed in pictures. He just stands there expressionless, with no smile or anything. So when they cut out our pictures and glued them onto our bodies of the future, I had a big smile and looked like I was enjoying myself, but Ken just had a serious look. I was the one who chose the answers to our quiz so it was my future they were predicting. I chose a life of leisure in the city with vacations in outer space, and said that I liked to plan everything out. (there may have been one more question but I can’t remember what it was). I wish I had taken a picture of the screen because it was hilarious. Your stick figure changes through all the scenes but the face is constant. Ken said “look at how unimpressed I am with your future”. He was going on vacation, traveling through space, and doing a bunch of other exciting things with this blank, unamused look. I laughed so much I could barely hear what they were saying.

The best part was that in the future, there will be robots who will do all my vacation planning for me. They’ll also anticipate the weather at my destination and pack all the appropriate clothes!! YAY!! If only I had one of those robots to pack for this trip.



*****End of spoiler*****

After that I think we used our TT fast passes. Ken’s mom didn’t want to ride so she waited on a bench. I’ve always loved TT but for some reason this time it wasn’t as much fun. I’m not sure why, I guess the novelty has worn off? I used to ride it as much as possible but this time we only went on it once. Ken’s Mom offered me her FP in case I wanted to go again quickly by myself but I didn’t really want to. What’s wrong with me???

We were kind of stuck for what to do next. Our dinner reservations were for 8 PM and it was only about 6:30. I asked if anyone wanted to try Ellen's Energy Adventure but nobody seemed interested. “How about the Vegetable Tour? Any takers?” (Ken’s pet name for Living with the Land). I wasn’t hearing any support for the vegetable tour. I thought Ken really liked it but he said it was more something you did just to get out of the heat in the summer.

Since we had time I suggested we try Soarin. There was a 40 minute wait so it was a perfect way to take up time until dinner. We watched as people played a cute hand waving game on the walls. For some reason ever time the line moved we stopped between panels so we never got to try it. We got up to the boarding area and were separated into our rows when we heard an announcement that the ride was temporarily experiencing difficulties. It turns out the people ahead of us were stuck in the air! In a way that would be cool but quite frightening if they couldn't get it working again and had to pull you down somehow. It took a while but eventually it started running again and we got to ride. I love the orange grove scent and the part where you’re going over the waves surfing. We always ride this at California Adventure, and when the scene with the Disneyland fireworks comes up Ken always says “I wish I was there instead of here”. (He doesn’t hate DCA but strongly prefers DL). This always reminds me of the time Homer was helping his Mom escape from the police and he said he was going to bring her to a safe place where there weren’t any people for miles around, Disney’s California Adventure.

Next up: Are we really giving up Le Cellier for Tutto Italia?

 

[BrittBritt]

The funniest part is the little game at the end where you choose your future. They ask a few questions and then animate the future you’ll have by gluing your picture onto cartoon stick figures that are living out your dreams. Ken has a new thing where he has to look unimpressed in pictures. He just stands there expressionless, with no smile or anything. So when they cut out our pictures and glued them onto our bodies of the future, I had a big smile and looked like I was enjoying myself, but Ken just had a serious look. I was the one who chose the answers to our quiz so it was my future they were predicting. I chose a life of leisure in the city with vacations in outer space, and said that I liked to plan everything out. (there may have been one more question but I can’t remember what it was). I wish I had taken a picture of the screen because it was hilarious. Your stick figure changes through all the scenes but the face is constant. Ken said “look at how unimpressed I am with your future”. He was going on vacation, traveling through space, and doing a bunch of other exciting things with this blank, unamused look. I laughed so much I could barely hear what they were saying.

The best part was that in the future, there will be robots who will do all my vacation planning for me. They’ll also anticipate the weather at my destination and pack all the appropriate clothes!! YAY!! If only I had one of those robots to pack for this trip.

This is something my DH and I definitely have to do. Sounds like a ton of fun!

I sympathize with your bad experience on Mission Space. It too knocked me out.

 

[Saturn23]

This is something my DH and I definitely have to do. Sounds like a ton of fun!

I sympathize with your bad experience on Mission Space. It too knocked me out.

It's so funny, you'll love it. I wish I could go back and choose all the options to see what the different outcomes are.

 

[Saturn23]

Next we headed towards World Showcase for dinner. Originally Ken and I were going to eat at Le Cellier, since his parents weren’t supposed to be there until Tuesday. Alfredo’s was one of their favourite places and they asked me why I hadn’t made reservations there. I told them about the changes and that the menu was no longer the same. Also, not being on the meal plan we would end up paying $24 for a plate of pasta. They decided they still wanted to eat there and said they would treat if we would join them. Since we had booked Le Cellier twice during this trip, and it was also getting mixed reviews due to a new chef, I didn’t feel too bad canceling our reservations. Our new ADRs were made the same morning so they were for 8 PM. We got there and the lobby was wall to wall people, not even a spot to sit down! I guess the changes haven’t affected its popularity. We waited for about 20 minutes and then got a large table just on the inside. I’m not sure how much the interior has changed since we didn’t really go farther in.

First we all shared the Antipasto Misto – this was great, it had prosciutto, salami, mortadella (didn’t try that, bad memories from childhood), olives, fresh mozzarella, some seafood and other things. I should have taken a picture. It was huge and enough for all of us.

For dinner I had the Bucatini Gratinati. This was a baked pasta dish full of cheese with peas and small pieces of prosciutto. It was great but really heavy. I could only finish about half of it. Ken had the lasagna, which was pretty close to the one they had at Alfredo’s, since it was made with béchamel sauce.

We shared the dessert called Bugie/Chiacchere. I didn’t know what it was when I ordered it but they called it their signature dessert so I thought we should try it. When they brought it I was happy to see it looked like something my grandmother used to make! They were thin slices of deep fried dough sprinkled in icing sugar. They came with chocolate and apricot dipping sauces. The chocolate sauce was really weird though. It had a strange consistency and balled up and rolled off of the sugar. We took most of them back to our room with us, but didn’t listen to Ken’s Mom when she warned us not to put the chocolate into the take-out box. Let’s just say it made a HUGE mess when it all rolled out. They made a great breakfast the next morning though!

Ken’s parents shared the infamous cannolo. There was a really long thread here a while ago with people being shocked that they were charging $12 for two cannoli. Well, now they’re charging $6.50 for just one. I didn’t try any but it looked really good. I snuck a picture before they started eating.

We also got a great waitress, we loved her, she was so sweet!

Overall we all enjoyed our dinner but it was probably the most over-priced for what we had.

We walked to the monorail at around 10 PM, and the park was completely empty! I tried to take some pictures but my camera sucks at night shots so I didn’t get much. This was the only one that turned out somewhat.

Did I mention that I wasn’t cold during the walk but that everyone else was?

Coming up: My biggest nerd moment ever!

 

[Saturn23]

We woke up and had last night’s left over dessert for breakfast. (I would say that it’s just something I do on vacation but I would be lying since I eat cookies for breakfast all the time. Trader Joe’s chocolate Laceys are my favourite. Pretty much any sweet thing will do though). It was our third full day and we finally got to take the monorail to a park. After we got into the park I picked up my party tickets for that night at guest services. Luckily I didn’t have to go back to the TTC like they told me I would have when I ordered them on the phone. I was pleased to see that we finally got the kind of tickets with pictures on them. Our last two sets were purchased at the hotel front desk so they looked like the boring keys to the world.

We headed for Space Mountain first since that always has a long line later on. We picked up FPs but also thought we should try the stand by line since it said 20 minutes. Well, there was no line! We walked straight up to the FP merge. I love it when that happens! I rode in the front again but this time it was much darker and hard to see the track. We got stopped on the way out to take a survey about the ride and I gave it high reviews. I think I was a little too generous but I was in a really good mood. The line was still short so we rode again, and then possibly once more after that.

Next we tried Buzz because there was barely a line there either. This time Ken only beat me by a few thousand points. I think I had 180000 and he had around 183000. Not the highest scores, but at least better than my embarrassing last try on Sunday! I’m blaming that on the design of the ride. I don’t really like how the guns are connected to the cars and can’t be pulled away. Every time I try to shoot at a target Ken moves the car so that I miss, plus it’s always moving so it’s harder to aim. I like the design of the ride better in DL since the guns come right off and are attached to the car by a long cord. That way you can still aim if the other person moves the car and you just have better control overall.

I jokingly asked Ken if we should do Stitch and he thought we should get a FP and also wait in line (the last time we tried Stitch we were a little late for a dinner reservation and the whole time we were locked in there we felt trapped and just wanted to get out!). I think it made so much more sense as Alien Encounter. Now it’s just a waste of space.

We took a ride on TTA before leaving Tomorrowland in search of some lunch. We usually eat at Columbia Harbor House because we’ve found that the food is good as far as CS goes, and that the location is great. Our dinner reservations were kind of early so we just split a ham sandwich with chips and a drink. We sat upstairs where it was almost deserted and watched people through one of the little windows.

At this point I realized that the ballet flats I was wearing were cutting into the backs of my heels like shards of broken glass. I was in a little trouble because I didn’t have any band aids so I ended up walking on the backs of them. It was really fun trying to keep them on my feet and I’m sure it looked great too! So much for my emergency shoes.

We headed for the Haunted Mansion after this, since we hadn’t ridden it yet. I totally forgot about the changes and was really surprised to see all the new additions. I love the staircase room. It reminded me of a cross between an Escher painting and Hogwarts. Although now I can’t really remember what that scene replaced! The changing grooms in the paintings were great too.

It was getting really bright out so when we left the mansion I pulled out my sun glasses and put them on. We walked a little ways until we got to a covered area somewhere near Pirates. Ken had to use the restroom so I waited for him. I noticed a penny press and went over to look at it. (Or as we like to call it, those machines that turn 51 cents into 0 cents). I turned around and there was a man standing behind me. He gave me the strangest look. I thought he was just upset because I was in his way. I was only standing there for 10 seconds, so he couldn’t have been waiting long enough to be THAT upset with me! A few more people walked by and seemed to do a double take. Why was everyone looking at me?

Ken came out of the washroom and the first thing he said was “oh no, your glasses are missing a lens” I had no idea what he was talking about. They definitely weren’t missing a lens. I poked at my right lens and felt plastic. I poked at my left lens and felt….. eyeball!…..oops! I guess they really were missing a lens.

I always knew my left eye was much weaker than my right eye but I never knew the extent of it. How could I not have noticed this when I was in the sun????? Too bad they don’t sell lenses individually or I could save tons of money on glasses. This would probably also explain the scene in Muppet-Vision 3D when the cartoon nose pops out and says “I’m looking at you” but always points to the person on my left.

Feeling like a huge loser, I headed for Pirates. We pretty much walked on and only had one other row of our boat taken. Just outside of the ride I saw the Captain Hook photopass setup. The guy before us was funny because he used his cane instead of the sword. I think ours turned out cute. I managed to keep Captain Hook away from Ken and Mickey.

removed

Next we went to Thunder Mountain. The line said 20 minutes so we got passes and then went to kill time on Tom Sawyer Island. The rafts going there and back ended up being the longest wait of the day, which is funny because it’s usually something easy that you do on a busy day. We walked through the caves for a while and across the barrel bridge. That was fun, especially with my shoes falling off. Last year we found the little fort where they have fake rifles set up pointing towards BTM and the boats going by. I was shocked when I first saw them. I know they’re fake but every kid I’ve seen playing with them has been pretending to shoot all the boat passengers or BTM riders. Seems a little creepy to me.

We got off the island and then went to use our BTM passes. Unfortunately there was no line at all, even though it still said 20 minutes, and both the stand-by and fast pass line were the same. I love it when that happens when I’m in the stand-by line, but if I’ve taken the time to get a pass and then walk back afterwards, I always feel like I’ve wasted my time. We were going to ride again but then figured we should just do it during the party later that night.

Next we went to get a dole whip. The dole whip cravings started at Disneyland when it took me about 5 or 6 trips to actually get one. We used to arrive around 11 AM, and then eat lunch right away. By the time we were hungry again and wandered back to the Tiki Room, it was always closed (I don’t know why but they always used to close it at around 4 or 5 PM). After having this happen to us several times we finally realized we needed to get one either before or instead of lunch. Luckily the MK dole whips aren’t connected to the Tiki Room and we could get one whenever we wanted. It was really hot so I was pretty thirsty. I got the float with the pineapple juice. The whip part was good but my juice seemed sour or something. I don’t know what it was, just a little off.

We still had those Space FPs from earlier and figured they must be useful by now. We walked back over and used them but again they weren’t needed at all. The line still hadn’t built from this morning, something I’ve never seen before except during one of the parties. Never at 4 PM. At least we got to try the right side this time, which seemed much bumpier than the left side.

We did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor as our last attraction of the day before dinner. I love the movie so I was really looking forward to it. It was pretty cute the way they incorporated people into the show, and I loved Mike’s little red cousin. I was surprised that the jokes they said were texted in by people were stolen from Pal Mickey. Maybe Mickey used my phone while I wasn’t paying attention.

As we headed back to our room we went to take one last photopass picture. This turned out to be great timing since it was during Dream Along with Mickey. If you look just behind my head you can see a tiny Mickey and Minnie dancing.

removed

The best one of all was taken just as the fireworks were going off! I love it and the background is quite clear, I just need to photoshop that one guy out using a piece of the photo taken after it.

removed

Overall one of the emptiest days at the MK ever so I was really pleased! I’m sure we did more attractions but I’m just not remembering everything.

 

[Saturn23]

I'm surprised that nobody laughed at my sunglasses. Oh well... I guess I won't be giving up my day job to do a comedy act.

After leaving MK we had dinner at Kona. We ate here two years ago and really loved it. Ken and his parents used to eat there all the time when he was a kid too so it holds fond memories.

I finally had my second girlie drink of the trip (not doing so well with that since it was already day 4), I think it was called an Ocean Breeze but I'm not sure. It was all tropical fruit. Loved it. Not much alcohol in it though, but that's ok.

Originally I was only going to have an appetizer, but then decided to have the shrimp and scallops. The shrimp were great but the scallops seemed a little undercooked or something. Ken tried them and said they were fine so I guess it was just me. Also the wasabi sauce was a little too strong.

For dessert we shared the chocolate macadamia nut tart (I'm pretty sure that's what it was).

Ken's parents had the banana-chocolate creme brulee. Notice Ken's dad has his spoon ready to dig in as soon as the flash goes off. They're really patient waiting while I take pictures of all their desserts.

Sorry for the really short update this time, I'll have a longer one next.

Next up: a really empty Pirate and Princess Party

 

[Saturn23]

After dinner we headed back to MK for the Pirate Party. I was a little worried because it was the only party that week besides Saturday. The Christmas parties I went to last year were running four nights a week so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was amazing how the park was transformed from just a few hours earlier. Tons of people were dressed up and the whole park had this eerie glow. We got our loot bags on the way in. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with mine since we didn't collect any plastic, I’ll probably use it as a jewelry case for traveling.

It was Ken’s parents first MK visit during this trip so we figured we should repeat some of the rides we did earlier. We headed towards Pirates, but passed the line to meet Captain Jack on the way there. I really wanted a picture with him but thought it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else to make them wait in a 40 minute line so I didn’t say anything. There was almost nobody in line for Pirates, and we walked right up to the boats. As we approached, a CM anxiously told us to hurry and get into row 4 of the boat that was just about to leave. We ran in quickly and then realized that she never even filled the last two rows. The people behind us in line got the next boat. So there we were, all four of us, squished into one row right behind a bunch of other people for no apparent reason. Was that really necessary? Couldn’t we have at least sat in row 6 so we didn’t see the backs of peoples’ heads? Whatever, we figured we could just go back on later that night.

Next we went to BTM and the Haunted Mansion. Both had nobody in line. I was loving this party!! They even let us walk to whatever row we wanted on BTM. We exited the Mansion about 15 minutes before the parade was going to start so we decided to stay and watch it. I thought it was really cute but kind of short. I loved all the pirate themed floats and the Jack was the one that really looked like Johnny Depp.

Here are some craptacular pictures that I took with Monstercam. I named my camera Monstercam because it’s so much bigger than my last one. (Yeah, I know it’s weird to name inanimate objects but that’s ok - everyone has already seen my most embarrassing moment two posts earlier so I figure it doesn’t matter what strange things I say anymore). Hopefully one day I’ll learn to use Monstercam. It’s supposed to have image stabilization but I don’t see much of that, in fact they come out extra blurry.

Somebody mentioned wanting to see the Hall of Presidents but luckily for me it was closed. No offense or anything, but that’s definitely not an attraction to see during a ticketed party. Maybe during Spring Break or Christmas, but certainly not when there aren’t any lines anywhere!

We headed towards fantasyland and this time it was empty. We went on a few things like Small World and Pooh, and then decided we could sneak in Philharmagic before the fireworks. I love this show! I love the scents they waft out and the flying sensation when Donald is on the magic carpet. Unfortunately I can’t see the 3D effects as well as I should. I never have the urge to grab at the air in front of me like I see other people doing. Things pop out a little, but never enough that I try to touch them. Even so it’s one of my favourite MK attractions.

We went to watch the fireworks and found that there weren’t many people around. Ironically, the longest line we saw all night was at the popcorn stand on the corner of Main St. where we were standing. It got so long that they looped everyone around and we somehow ended up in line. I didn’t really want any popcorn so I got out of line. Ken’s dad said that we should have stayed in line and sold our spots to people at the end

The fireworks were amazing! At one point there was smoke coming out of the castle because it had supposedly been hit by cannons fired by the pirates. A few more craptacular pictures here. Ironically the ones taken on the fireworks setting turned out worse than the ones taken on normal. Why do I even have a fireworks setting?

Ken’s parents left after the fireworks because they were tired so Ken and I went on a few of the FL rides we missed. Peter Pan was walk on! Crazy, I know! There was also no line for Astro Orbiter (is that the right name for it or am I thinking of DL?) We walked right into the elevator with only three other people. When we got to the top the previous ride was just coming to an end. After they unloaded there was an error light that came on and the CM apologized profusely. He said someone should be there shortly to fix it. I felt bad for him because he seemed really upset that he was making us wait. By this time more people had joined us and after about 5 more minutes we all decided to leave. The poor CM seemed so distraught and kept apologizing. Since none of us had actually waited in line we didn’t really care at all that we couldn’t ride.

After all the talk of popcorn earlier we decided we wanted some so we got the souvenir bucket because I wanted to keep it. I’m such a sucker for those things. It’s now sitting in the cupboard and I haven’t used it or even looked at it since the trip. (Coincidently, it’s right beside the souvenir popcorn bucket from the Simpsons Movie).

We didn’t have anything that we needed to do at this point so I asked Ken nicely if we could possibly pass by Captain Jack’s meet area and see if by any chance there was a short line. (He doesn’t like waiting in line for pictures so I had to ask very sweetly). We walked over and saw that there was only a 15 minute wait. Woo hoo! I had read about how the line was always long, starting even before the party and lasting until the end of the night, so I was pleasantly surprised. We were taken through some sort of maze to get to Jack. It seemed like he had more security than the real Johnny Depp would have had. I guess it was to build excitement. Jack introduced himself and asked where we were from. Ken said he was from Tortuga so Jack asked if he was also a pirate. They talked a little about the bars they liked in Tortuga and about pillaging etc. Jack asked if we wanted to pose for a portrait and Ken said he didn’t know if his popcorn bucket would look good in the picture. Jack asked “what’s popcorn? Is it corn that pops?” He was great, he didn’t miss a beat.

removed

Afterwards we walked around sort of aimlessly and noticed the raccoon from Pocahontas standing alone with his handlers (sorry I don’t know his name, it didn’t come up on photopass either). We walked over to take a picture. The raccoon pointed to my necklace and then held out his hands. I asked if he wanted it, and he nodded. I told him I couldn’t part with it and he looked disappointed, so Ken offered him the popcorn bucket. The handler asked if there was anything inside and Ken said it was empty. Poor raccoon, he handed it right back. I guess he didn’t have a collection of them in his cupboard to add to and wanted the actual food inside.

For our last ride we went back to Haunted Mansion. This was great because there were only two other people with us in the stretching room and the CM was great. He gave us all the evil eye while we were in there, he just kept walking from one person to the next, glaring at us. I think I give a rather impressive evil eye so we got into somewhat of a staring contest. He told us all to drag our bodies away from the walls into the dead center of the room. So all four of us squished together in the middle. We watched as the room stretched and then I looked up to see the hanging body. When the lights came back on I screamed, because the CM was glaring at me just an inch away from my face. I had no idea he had snuck up on me in the dark!

I just realized that this party was a whole month ago! I think I need to write faster because at this rate I’m going to get lapped by the people coming back from their summer trips.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

Your trip is amazing!

I love your simpsons references.

 

[BrittBritt]

Wow! I haven't checked in for a couple of days, and I come back to a ton of new posts!
First off, your story of your missing lens IS hysterical! I love how all of these people are giving you strange looks, but you just continue to think nothing of it...That is so something that would happen to me!
I also had never seen that Photopass pic with Captain Hook. Pal Mickey is a great addition to that photo. That's one I'll definitely try to take when we're there in July.
As for cameras, don't you hate it that there's always tons of buttons/settings on them that never seem to work right? My camera has become so complicated that I've just resorted to aiming, clicking, and being satisfied with whatever the results may be. Who even knew cameras came with a fireworks setting? I mean, unless you're at Disney, a normal person would get what, ONE use out of that setting per year?

 

[Saturn23]

Your trip is amazing!

I love your simpsons references.

I'm happy you like it! Thanks for posting The Simpsons just seem to fit into everything somehow.

Wow! I haven't checked in for a couple of days, and I come back to a ton of new posts!
First off, your story of your missing lens IS hysterical! I love how all of these people are giving you strange looks, but you just continue to think nothing of it...That is so something that would happen to me!
I also had never seen that Photopass pic with Captain Hook. Pal Mickey is a great addition to that photo. That's one I'll definitely try to take when we're there in July.
As for cameras, don't you hate it that there's always tons of buttons/settings on them that never seem to work right? My camera has become so complicated that I've just resorted to aiming, clicking, and being satisfied with whatever the results may be. Who even knew cameras came with a fireworks setting? I mean, unless you're at Disney, a normal person would get what, ONE use out of that setting per year?

YAY! I'm glad you think the story is funny, I was beginning to think I had a completely warped sense of humor when nobody laughed! Now I know that if everyone is giving me weird looks there must be a reason. I thought the guy who wanted to use the penny press was the weird one, not me!

The Captain Hook is right outside of Pirates, you'll see a photographer with the camera pointed towards the wall. She was a little hard to notice, I just saw her by chance so look closely when you're there. She was to the left of the entrance if you're facing the ride.

Yeah, cameras have so many settings that it's impossible to even use them because it takes so long to set that by the time you've done it the photo op has long past. It never works if you're yelling "wait! hold that pose I just need to adjust the ISO speed, hold on.. don't move..." I'm like you, I just point and shoot and hope for the best. Do you ever wonder how they would have turned out if the settings actually worked?

If it wasn't for Disney I don't think I would have even noticed that there was a fireworks setting. It's probably only meant to be used with a tripod but there's no way I'm lugging one of those around! Poor Ken has enough to carry.

 

[Saturn23]

Before I continue with the rest of my trip report I have to mention a few things. There are several pictures of Ken holding Pal Mickey, and just for the record I want to let everyone know that Ken had absolutely nothing to do with the purchasing or carrying of our tour guide. It was all me. If Ken is holding him in a picture it's because I've just handed him over. (I just figured he would want everyone to know that ). I got him on our first trip in October and loved all his jokes and info. By now he's getting a little repetitive but I figure his only purpose in life is to guide us around Disney World. If I don't bring him, he could end up on the Island of Misfit Toys and that would just suck. I did notice that there were far less people carrying one on this trip than on my last two trips though.

Mickey's first beer:

removed

One interesting thing about Pal Mickey is that all the characters love him. When I would go to take a picture with them they would always squeeze his hand to hear a joke. Everyone except Donald that is. He took Mickey from me and put him behind his back because he was jealous and didn't want him in the picture. Also, I was so used to the characters wanting to interact with Mickey that when I went up to this bear, I handed him Mickey thinking he would make him talk. Instead, he tried to eat him!!

One last thing, the cutest thing Mickey says is "You know what makes this the happiest place on earth? Spending it with you". Hee hee. Ken really hates it when Mickey acts like a suck up.

Coming up next: our much debated day off. The only definite plans we had were dinner at California Grill during the fireworks. Everything else was just spontaneous. (What? A whole day that's not planned down to the minute?) I really wanted Tonga Toast for breakfast but that required making it to Captain Cooks by 10:30 AM

 

[BrittBritt]

I like how Ken comes with a Pal Mickey disclaimer! What a good sport he was about holding it when you asked him to.

 

[Honeymooner04]

Coming in late here but just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your report! I'm loving all the Simpson's quotes! Great job!

 

[Saturn23]

I like how Ken comes with a Pal Mickey disclaimer! What a good sport he was about holding it when you asked him to.

I put it in there for my own good. If he ends up reading this the disclaimer will cut down on any possible embarrassment. (He told me I could post pictures though). Yeah, he really is a good sport about things like that. He humors me all the time, that's one of the things l like about him

Coming in late here but just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your report! I'm loving all the Simpson's quotes! Great job!

Thanks! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, it makes it more fun to write. Thanks for posting!