brad192
11-02-2007, 11:25 AM
10/14/07 - Sunday
Cast – Just Me, 48 Yr. old Disney Nut, engineer, singer, and thespian.
Supporting Cast – All you wonderful Intercot folks!
Dates – 10/9 thru 10/16
Accommodations – Pop Century, 50’s section, room 3434.
After a long day yesterday at Epcot, and a pretty late bedtime, my alarm woke me at 7:30. At 7:32 I realized 2 things: I wasn’t as young as I used to be, and I was really glad I didn’t go to Jellyrolls the previous night. I’d been bopping around the parks for 4 days straight, open to close, and probably hadn’t done this much walking since my last trip to WDW (yeah, I’m pretty pathetic when it comes to exercise), and my body was letting me know about it. Hobbling toward the shower like some arthritic old man, :old: I prepped for the day, grabbed an OJ from the food court, and was at the bus stop for AK by 8:30. A 5 minute wait for the bus, and was at the AK by 8:55 & heading straight for EE & the morning Meet, letting the brisk walk there loosen up all my aching muscles.
Arriving at the Meet, there were only a few folks there, so we waited a little while for late arrivals. A couple more people showed up, but there was a concerted lack of last night’s “Jellyrollers”. Hmmm, maybe too much fun for an early AK start! Now I was doubly glad I opted out. We all got our FP’s, and decided to hit the standby line, as it was still relatively short. I was getting quite excited, as I’d never ridden EE before! We were all grouped together in line, and really enjoying the queue, when we noticed that we hadn’t moved in about 10 minutes. Uh oh, not a good sign. Yup, you guessed it, the “Voice of Doom” came over the PA & told us the ride was down & we’d all have to turn around and exit. :pout: Nuts! I was really looking forward to riding, as one of my goals this trip was to conquer my fear of rollercoasters. We didn’t even get any comp when we left either! Not very Disney-like. At least we weren’t stranded on the ride, like the poor folks in the train halfway up the incline, just sitting there. Turned out, I’d never get back to ride, so I’ve still not seen the Yeti.
After our aborted attempt to ride EE, the group decided to go see the first showing of Nemo. Got great seats about halfway up in the center, and waited about 10 minutes for the start of the show. Wow! I had seen the bits about this show on those Travel Channel specials & thought it would be good, but it was amazing! The music, the costumes, the puppets, the sets, the FX, the…..well you get the idea. It’s gotta be the best stage show in all of WDW. :thumbsup: I laughed, I cried, I left the theater after the show & immediately bought the CD! I think that, with the exception of meeting all the nice Intercot people, this was the highlight of my trip. Of course, I’m a little biased as I do a lot of musical theater myself. Maybe they’ve got an opening for an understudy for Crush. That’d be totally awesome dude!
After Nemo, I was still in a musical kind of mood, so I & a few others headed for FotLK. I hadn’t seen this show either, so I was looking forward to this as well. Got seated in the lion section, and had a fun time. The show was good, but I was expecting a little more from it. I’m not sure whether I was spoiled by Nemo, or that I was expecting a little more drama & less “circus” type performances, but it was a letdown for me. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, or that I wouldn’t go again, but I wouldn’t put it on my “must do” list for future trips. The costumes were gorgeous, however! After the show, it was time for lunch at Flame Tree, so we headed over there. It was prime lunch hour, and the place was absolutely packed. There were about 15 – 20 people in each of the lines, with more arriving every minute. Nobody was willing to wait, except me, so I said my goodbyes to everyone & got in line for some food, thus ending the Intercot portion of my vacation. Thanks everyone! I had a great time! Let’s plan another one! :wave:Anyway…
The wait for food really wasn’t that long, about 20 minutes. I got my order – ribs, beans, muffin, a side of o-rings, key lime pie & another iced tea. I could tell it was too much food the moment I got my tray, but what the heck, maybe I’d eat half of everything. I walked to one of the dining areas there & proceeded to dig in when a big ol’ male Mallard duck started pecking away on the pocket of my shorts, wanting a handout. I looked him straight in the eyes. He stopped pecking & looked back. We stared at each other a moment. Then I told him, in no uncertain terms, “Mr. Duck, you are a duck and need to eat duck type food. I have nothing here for you.” Yes, I honestly said this to him. He looked at me a moment longer, then turned, shook his head, and walked away like he actually understood me! I just sat there dumbfounded with a goofy look on my face. This whole scene was played out in front of a family of 4 next to me who, upon completion of my conversation with Mr. Duck, began laughing hysterically. I thought a moment & then told them that my great uncle was, in fact, Dr. Doolittle. This got another round of laughter, and a thumbs up from mom & dad. What a fun moment! :silly: Stuffing myself to the point of being uncomfortable, I finished what I could of lunch & headed for Dinosaur.
A posted 20 minute wait was only 5, so I was off to the cretaceous period in no time. I don’t know why people get so freaked out on this ride. Sure, it’s loud, and jerky, but it’s sooo much fun! After returning to the present, I went to ITTBAB. The last time I saw this, my seat effects didn’t work except for the water, so I was hoping for “full effect” this time. Wasn’t disappointed. A great show as usual, especially at the end when the bugs leave first. The poor teenage girl next to me leapt screaming from her seat. It was quite amusing. Bugging out of the theater (sorry, I just had to), I thought I’d try & catch a safari, even though it was later in the day & I wasn’t sure how many animals would be out. After trekking all the way back, I saw the standby was 70 minutes, and FP was done for the day. No way. I’ll save it for the next time. Instead, I decided to catch the last show for FoW. I love this show. Sure, it’s not flashy or fancy, but I love seeing all the birds, and watching people’s reaction when they come zooming right over their heads. Always a fun time. After the show, I did the Jungle Trek & got a couple of really nice shots of the tigers. I was getting a bit tired, so I decided to head toward the exit, wandering around in the Oasis for a bit, getting some pix of the birds & animals before leaving for my 5:30 ADR at Boma. :eat:
Hopped a bus for the AKL, and a very short time later I was there. I had a bit of time to kill before my ADR, so I wandered the lobby, the gift shop, and found my way to the bar for a cold one before checking in for dinner. I was seated almost immediately, and my server Doug explained things to me, since I had never dined here before. Let’s just say I have a new favorite WDW restaurant. The food was, for the most part, incredible! I tried a little taste of probably 25 or 30 items, from salads to soups to vegetables to prime rib. It was all wonderful. Well, almost. The coconut curried seafood stew was the best thing I’d eaten all week, and I need to get the recipe! Of course, I had a zebra dome – yum! The only things I really didn’t care for were a simple rice dish which was uninspired, and the rice pudding dessert. It tasted kinda like my hotel room smelled – not very appetizing. Oh well, it was still the best meal I had all week, and I walked out completely stuffed.
The large amount of food did a number on me, so I decided to make an early evening of it & get some extra rest. All this running around & gorging on rich food was taking it’s toll on me, and I had a very long day planned for Monday, as it would be my last full day, and my last day in the parks. Hopped a bus to MK, then jumped on another bound for Pop, and was back in my room relaxing by 7:30. Tomorrow, a very long, fun, and ultimately melancholy last day.
Cast – Just Me, 48 Yr. old Disney Nut, engineer, singer, and thespian.
Supporting Cast – All you wonderful Intercot folks!
Dates – 10/9 thru 10/16
Accommodations – Pop Century, 50’s section, room 3434.
After a long day yesterday at Epcot, and a pretty late bedtime, my alarm woke me at 7:30. At 7:32 I realized 2 things: I wasn’t as young as I used to be, and I was really glad I didn’t go to Jellyrolls the previous night. I’d been bopping around the parks for 4 days straight, open to close, and probably hadn’t done this much walking since my last trip to WDW (yeah, I’m pretty pathetic when it comes to exercise), and my body was letting me know about it. Hobbling toward the shower like some arthritic old man, :old: I prepped for the day, grabbed an OJ from the food court, and was at the bus stop for AK by 8:30. A 5 minute wait for the bus, and was at the AK by 8:55 & heading straight for EE & the morning Meet, letting the brisk walk there loosen up all my aching muscles.
Arriving at the Meet, there were only a few folks there, so we waited a little while for late arrivals. A couple more people showed up, but there was a concerted lack of last night’s “Jellyrollers”. Hmmm, maybe too much fun for an early AK start! Now I was doubly glad I opted out. We all got our FP’s, and decided to hit the standby line, as it was still relatively short. I was getting quite excited, as I’d never ridden EE before! We were all grouped together in line, and really enjoying the queue, when we noticed that we hadn’t moved in about 10 minutes. Uh oh, not a good sign. Yup, you guessed it, the “Voice of Doom” came over the PA & told us the ride was down & we’d all have to turn around and exit. :pout: Nuts! I was really looking forward to riding, as one of my goals this trip was to conquer my fear of rollercoasters. We didn’t even get any comp when we left either! Not very Disney-like. At least we weren’t stranded on the ride, like the poor folks in the train halfway up the incline, just sitting there. Turned out, I’d never get back to ride, so I’ve still not seen the Yeti.
After our aborted attempt to ride EE, the group decided to go see the first showing of Nemo. Got great seats about halfway up in the center, and waited about 10 minutes for the start of the show. Wow! I had seen the bits about this show on those Travel Channel specials & thought it would be good, but it was amazing! The music, the costumes, the puppets, the sets, the FX, the…..well you get the idea. It’s gotta be the best stage show in all of WDW. :thumbsup: I laughed, I cried, I left the theater after the show & immediately bought the CD! I think that, with the exception of meeting all the nice Intercot people, this was the highlight of my trip. Of course, I’m a little biased as I do a lot of musical theater myself. Maybe they’ve got an opening for an understudy for Crush. That’d be totally awesome dude!
After Nemo, I was still in a musical kind of mood, so I & a few others headed for FotLK. I hadn’t seen this show either, so I was looking forward to this as well. Got seated in the lion section, and had a fun time. The show was good, but I was expecting a little more from it. I’m not sure whether I was spoiled by Nemo, or that I was expecting a little more drama & less “circus” type performances, but it was a letdown for me. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, or that I wouldn’t go again, but I wouldn’t put it on my “must do” list for future trips. The costumes were gorgeous, however! After the show, it was time for lunch at Flame Tree, so we headed over there. It was prime lunch hour, and the place was absolutely packed. There were about 15 – 20 people in each of the lines, with more arriving every minute. Nobody was willing to wait, except me, so I said my goodbyes to everyone & got in line for some food, thus ending the Intercot portion of my vacation. Thanks everyone! I had a great time! Let’s plan another one! :wave:Anyway…
The wait for food really wasn’t that long, about 20 minutes. I got my order – ribs, beans, muffin, a side of o-rings, key lime pie & another iced tea. I could tell it was too much food the moment I got my tray, but what the heck, maybe I’d eat half of everything. I walked to one of the dining areas there & proceeded to dig in when a big ol’ male Mallard duck started pecking away on the pocket of my shorts, wanting a handout. I looked him straight in the eyes. He stopped pecking & looked back. We stared at each other a moment. Then I told him, in no uncertain terms, “Mr. Duck, you are a duck and need to eat duck type food. I have nothing here for you.” Yes, I honestly said this to him. He looked at me a moment longer, then turned, shook his head, and walked away like he actually understood me! I just sat there dumbfounded with a goofy look on my face. This whole scene was played out in front of a family of 4 next to me who, upon completion of my conversation with Mr. Duck, began laughing hysterically. I thought a moment & then told them that my great uncle was, in fact, Dr. Doolittle. This got another round of laughter, and a thumbs up from mom & dad. What a fun moment! :silly: Stuffing myself to the point of being uncomfortable, I finished what I could of lunch & headed for Dinosaur.
A posted 20 minute wait was only 5, so I was off to the cretaceous period in no time. I don’t know why people get so freaked out on this ride. Sure, it’s loud, and jerky, but it’s sooo much fun! After returning to the present, I went to ITTBAB. The last time I saw this, my seat effects didn’t work except for the water, so I was hoping for “full effect” this time. Wasn’t disappointed. A great show as usual, especially at the end when the bugs leave first. The poor teenage girl next to me leapt screaming from her seat. It was quite amusing. Bugging out of the theater (sorry, I just had to), I thought I’d try & catch a safari, even though it was later in the day & I wasn’t sure how many animals would be out. After trekking all the way back, I saw the standby was 70 minutes, and FP was done for the day. No way. I’ll save it for the next time. Instead, I decided to catch the last show for FoW. I love this show. Sure, it’s not flashy or fancy, but I love seeing all the birds, and watching people’s reaction when they come zooming right over their heads. Always a fun time. After the show, I did the Jungle Trek & got a couple of really nice shots of the tigers. I was getting a bit tired, so I decided to head toward the exit, wandering around in the Oasis for a bit, getting some pix of the birds & animals before leaving for my 5:30 ADR at Boma. :eat:
Hopped a bus for the AKL, and a very short time later I was there. I had a bit of time to kill before my ADR, so I wandered the lobby, the gift shop, and found my way to the bar for a cold one before checking in for dinner. I was seated almost immediately, and my server Doug explained things to me, since I had never dined here before. Let’s just say I have a new favorite WDW restaurant. The food was, for the most part, incredible! I tried a little taste of probably 25 or 30 items, from salads to soups to vegetables to prime rib. It was all wonderful. Well, almost. The coconut curried seafood stew was the best thing I’d eaten all week, and I need to get the recipe! Of course, I had a zebra dome – yum! The only things I really didn’t care for were a simple rice dish which was uninspired, and the rice pudding dessert. It tasted kinda like my hotel room smelled – not very appetizing. Oh well, it was still the best meal I had all week, and I walked out completely stuffed.
The large amount of food did a number on me, so I decided to make an early evening of it & get some extra rest. All this running around & gorging on rich food was taking it’s toll on me, and I had a very long day planned for Monday, as it would be my last full day, and my last day in the parks. Hopped a bus to MK, then jumped on another bound for Pop, and was back in my room relaxing by 7:30. Tomorrow, a very long, fun, and ultimately melancholy last day.