Three Ladies at WDW-Day 3

[BrerGnat]

Wednesday, February 14

We woke early again today, which is not my favorite thing to do on vacation, but what can you do? Cynthia worked out again this morning (man, she is dedicated!), while Andrea and I got dressed and ready to go.

We were out the door somewhere around 10am and were headed for MGM today. It was a bit chilly today so we brought along our sweaters in case we needed them. We headed straight to the TOT and RnRC. Both had 20 min standby waits, but the TOT had a return FP time for 10:30, so we FP TOT and headed for RnR. The "20 minute standby" line was more like a walk on. We were beginning to get annoyed by these inaccurate posted wait times. If it was a walk on, why don't they just put 5 min as the wait time? We enjoyed our limo ride, but all of us felt a bit shaken up after the ride. It felt a lot more rough than I remember it being, and we all had temporary headaches from being thrown around our cars. We decided we were all good with just one ride. We headed to TOT and saw the wait time was now posted as 30 min, but our FP were not good for another 20 min, so we got into the line. I stopped and asked the CM at the entrance "is it really 30 minutes or is it really zero minutes". He sort of smirked and said "there's really no wait right now". He was right...we walked through the lobby, into the t.v. room, and following that, through the ENTIRE boiler room and boarded immediately. We LOVE this ride! We had a great sequence, with lots of ups and downs, and we all screamed like little girls the whole time. On the way out, we loved our picture, but were upset that you could not add it to the photopass card. They should really let you do this at all the rides. We browsed in the shop for a few minutes, and laughed over some Lost t-shirts. I really liked the one that said "The Others" on the front and "They're coming" on the back, and I would have bought it, but they did not have any in my size. Cynthia found a Driveshaft t-shirt that she thought her ex-boyfriend (they're still very good friends) would love, but again, none in Large. This became a trend throughout the week...no shirts in Large...only lots of Smalls sometimes Med, and a whole lot of XL and XXL.

We exited TOT and then bought some bottled waters at the exit while we pondered where to go next. We decided to take one more spin on TOT, since we wanted to ride again, but didn't want to have to backtrack on our way out. On this ride, we had a funny, but bizarre experience. In our car, right next to us in the front row was a VERY elderly couple. I am talking late 80's, possibly early 90's. They could hardly walk, more like a very slow shuffle. They were both very frail looking, and did not speak a word while we waited to board our elevator. We were all sort of wondering if they really knew what they were in for. Andrea got a bit scared...she really thought they were going to have a heart attack on the ride (and honestly, the thought was totally running through my mind as well). I looked over at them in the middle of a drop and they were both calmly sitting there, hands on their laps, looking as if they were waiting for a train. When the ride was over, Cynthia leaned over to me and asked "are they still alive", and we all giggled, and followed them off the ride (still, they said nothing to each other, just walked slowly hand in hand). At the photo televisions, the elderly man pulled a disposable camera out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the ride photo, then they were on their way. We were most impressed with this couple! We decided that they must be the type that goes skydiving on a regular basis, and that they had both been stuntmen in their younger days. Cynthia said to me "that's you and Angel in 50 years". And really, I hope she's right.

We stopped to take some pictures at this very weird valentine's day photo background that was set up inside the TOT gift shop. Really, it was totally out of place, but we took some funny "prom style" photos.

Our next destination was the Lights, Motors, Action show, which I had seen but the others had not. They enjoyed it, but Cynthia's opinion was that it needed LESS explaining about the stunts and MORE "people on fire".

On the way out, we discussed where to eat lunch and both Cynthia and Andrea requested Pizza Planet. They are both HUGE Galaga fans, and I think they were hoping there would be a Galaga machine in there. We all got the Pepperoni Pizza combos and cookies and rice krispy treats for dessert. We got a table upstairs and enjoyed our lunch. All the food was very good and fresh. We actually liked the pizza, and this is from three girls originally from New Jersey. On the way out, we stopped to use the restrooms upstairs and there it was...the Galaga Machine. Well, let's just say that Cynthia and Andrea decided that was where they wanted to be for the next 30 min, so I went over to Tattooine Traders to see if I could find any toys for Angel (my DH-a huge SW fan). I found a figure that he had been looking for for a long time and bought it for him. As I was exiting the store, I saw the girls walking up. At this point, we had had enough of MGM. We didn't want to see any shows and really just wanted to head back to the hotel to do some stuff online in our room before dinner. We ended up waiting about 15 min for a bus back to WL, but it was a nice day so we didn't mind.

(to be continued)

[BrerGnat]

We arrived back at the hotel around 4pm and got online to check email and post some pictures of our trip for our friends and families to see.

I had planned on working out, but I had a headache, so we spent a bit of time just lounging on the beds watching t.v. and then we got ready for dinner. We had enjoyed our time at Tambu lounge quite a bit on Monday night and tonight we had an ADR at 'Ohana for 8:10 pm. We decided we'd like to head over early and spend some time having some drinks before dinner. We left WL at 7pm and it took us an hour to get to the Polynesian! We waited quite awhile for a boat to the Contemporary, then got on the monorail to Poly, but we had quite a wait for the monorail as well.

We had time to grab one drink before we were seated promptly at 8:10. Our table was not in the best location, but we had a wonderful meal. We really, really like 'Ohana, and we call it "All You Can Eat Meat". This meal was fabulous, except some of the meats tasted really salty. However, the rest was superb, especially the dessert which we all thought we would not like, but we devoured it in about 5 minutes like a pack of hungry wolves. Cynthia was all over the caramel sauce, and she actually grabbed the little pitcher that had extra sauce in it and ate it with a spoon. She really, really liked that sauce. As she was eating the caramel, she put her spoon down and looked at us with this super serious face and said "what is wrong with this hotel and WHY do they have such good food here?" She had had a couple of drinks, but it was funny.

We left the Poly around 9:30 and it took another HOUR to get back to WL. We hopped on the resort monorail to head back to the Contemporary, where we planned to catch the boat again. However, we stopped at the GF and immediately were told "this monorail is no longer in service, please exit immediately". The CM's on the GF platform looked completely bewildered by this. It then took about 15 minutes for another monorail to come. Then, we got off at Contemporary and were told that the boat was no longer running (although it was just after 10pm and the sign said it would run until 11pm). There was a captain on the boat dock, but he told us that there would be no more boats to the WL, and that we would have to take the monorail back to the TTC to catch a WL bus there (MK had closed at 8pm tonight, so the buses were done).

Anyway, we finally got back to WL and watched some T.V. before going to bed. We convinced Cynthia that we needed to wake up early and be at MK by 9am, and agreed, although she had no idea why we insisted on this.

You'll get to find out in my next installment.

Day 4: The Birthday Surprise

[Duchess99]

Thanks for the report. I think I need to give POLY another try after you talked it up so much. 'Ohana is definitely on my list for the next trip.
Also, I totally agree with your friend on LMA. They spend way too much time discussing the stunts and acting like it's a real movie...I find that all very unnecessary. I too would like to see more guys on fire

[ChipnDaleGal]

Natalie, you three are cracking me up. I am enjoying all your antics. Thanks for sharing.

[faline]

I'm hoping to be like that couple you saw on Tower of Terror - still riding no matter how old I get!

Except for your transportation issues, it was a really fun day for all of you!

[Bethis26fan]

Sounds like a fund day.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[SBETigg]

You're going to have to get Cynthia the recipe for that sauce! Another great day. Weird about the night return transportation issues.

[TKDisneylover]

That elderly couple on TOT bewilders me, I can't imagine sitting through that ride casually. But I have to admit that I would love it if DH & I were still riding when were that old.

Can't wait to hear about day 4!

[BrerGnat]

You're going to have to get Cynthia the recipe for that sauce!

Ha ha...I actually have a story about this for my final day trip report.

Let's just say, Disney has released a NEW cookbook and certain recipes are in there.

[KylesMom]

Nat, that's crazy - an hour each way to get to a resort a mile away? Hopefully these will be the only transportation issues you had to deal with.

The rest of the day sounds great! Can't wait to hear how you surprised Cynthia on her birthday. Thanks for sharing yet another magical day with us!

[aprilisis]

Your trip reports are great! I can't wait for the next one.

[offwego]

Thanks so much for the report it's fun reading about all your adventures. The description of that couple was just hilarious!!

[scottgr]

Sounds like you having a great time

[DizNee143]

another great day...i cant believe it took you guys an hour both ways to get to the poly!! glad you had a great dinner...cant wait to read about the birthday surprise next!!

[ElenitaB]

Nat, who says that riding the monorail isn't a ride?

What a great day... even if you couldn't support WDW's merchandising's bottom line.

[Bethanymouse]

Sounds like a fun day! Glad to hear you enjoyed the TOT! Thanks for sharing!

[sleepingbooty]

The story about the older couple on ToT was pretty eerie - I mean it is the Twilight Zone, after all - are you sure they were really there, or maybe they were some of the hotels original guests!