Tigerinvestigator
05-28-2008, 12:02 PM
The Cast:
ME
DW
DD11
DD6
DD3
Jaxon- Family friend 14yrs old
Uncle Eric- My brother
Thursday May 15, 2008 Day 6
We got another late start today, but we knew we would be staying out late tonight and tomorrow night. We took the bus to Hollywood studios in the hope we might catch a preview of the new Toy Story Mania ride. We arrived at the studios and walked straight toward the new Pixar Place. There were 8 cast members standing in front of the hedges which were being used to shield Pixar Place from the view of guests. I thought it looked promising because why would you have 8 castmembers standing around if you were not going to open the ride at some point. I approached one of the castmembers and got the typical hoopla Disney usually dishes out in this situation "I'm sorry sir but this attraction is not open to the public yet but will be opening this summer" I acted like I was a little smarter than he was giving me credit for and said " I know you have been running previews for AP holders and once for the public already this week so is there a chance it might open sometime today" he replied "No sir this attraction does not officially open...yadayadayada" I wanted to say "look I know what is going on" but you get the picture. This guy is no doubt destined for management and he wasn't budging. We walked to the ABC Commissary where there were no lines and ordered our lunch. Five minutes later the lines were out the door (guessing maybe Indiana Jones had just ended). We had a good meal and wanted to take the backlot tour. We left the ABC Commissary (anybody else love the palm trees outside this place? They create a tunnel effect as you walk in front of ABC and make a great place for photos. We showed Jaxon the inside of Sci Fi Drive in because we were not eating there this trip but he had heard about it. We then caught the backlot tour at the same time the Lights, Motors stunt show was beginning. It was a great view and we got to watch Herbie split in half from the back. It really did add a special spark to the tour. We made sure Jaxon and DD11 got seats on the "wet" side of the tram. Made for a good video and photos when the water came in catastophe canyon. Afterward we really enjoyed the Villiam exhibit and I got a good photo of the family in front of Davey Jones organ. We let the kids play at the Honey I shrunk the kids playground while we relaxed. We walked the studios for awhile and then caught a bus to the Contemporary. I wanted a closer look at the new not so super secret Vacation Club. We arrived at the CR and took some great photos of our girls and Jaxon for our hometown paper. The photo was in the Mickey ears located near the pool. Uncle Eric and I checked out the new tower and walkway and then we let the kids (ok I played also)play in the gameroom. This is nothing like the gameroom I loved growing up at the CR but it is still nice. We took the monorail around the 7 Seas lagoon through the TTC and past my favorite resort the Polynesian. Jaxon got his first look at the Grand Floridian as our train stopped for a moment. We could see the room we stayed in exactly one year ago to this day. It was a room that faced the Poly and beach area. A few minutes later we were gliding into the Magic Kingdom station. DD6 and DD3 were excited they were getting a surprise. DD11 had decided she just wanted to ride the "big rides" with UE and Jaxon. We made our way down Mainstreet again and decided to get a quick bite before the surprise. We ate at Pinnochio's Haus and got a table overlooking Its a Small World as usual. The food was good as always and a welcome change from burgers. After eating we were walking though Fantasyland and guess who spotted us?!? Justin the CMO we had met the day before at Epcot spotted us and called us by name. We visited for a few minutes and then continued our trek. Justin is a great guy and he will be a great asset to the Disney Company. Good luck Justin! It was almost time for our surprise so DD11, Jaxon, and Uncle Eric went off to ride Space Mtn. while we took the girls to Tinkerbell's treasures to get two hairbrushes (didn't realize they sold them at the BBB:confused:). The girls looked at Tink in the drawer and then we took them into the castle for their surprise. They could hardly contain themselves as they chose their packages for BBB. They met the Fairy Godmother who tried to sprinkle me with Pixy Dust (Sorry Granny I don't do pixy dust). There are some things a father of three girls does not do and Pixy dust is one of them. I did stay and talk with the other fathers who were as uncomfortable as I was. We talked about ballgames, hunting, and other manly things as we endured more hairspray and glitter than any man should have to. One of the fathers had his bald head sprinkled with pixie dust and I must admit he was shunned by the rest of us. After a long wait (45mins after our appointment time) they called our girls back. DW and I took turns with each one of them and taking photos. The pics turned out good and the girls absolutely loved the experience. DD6 chose the Diva and DD3 of course chose the princess complete with fake nails. After the BBB we met back up with the rest of our crew and our girls felt so special the rest of the night. We caught Wishes and Spectromagic and Jaxon was very impressed. We visited the Enchanted Tiki room which we haven't done in a few years. It was open late tonight for some strange reason. We also took time to watch the spitting camel in Adventureland! I love this and know someone is controlling him. He got me twice last year and almost knocked my contact out one time. Silly camel, I will not play your games this year. We rode the HM again and POTC. DW and DD6 and DD3 all went to their usual rocking chairs near the entrance to Mainstreet and the rest of us rode Splash Mtn. and got soaked. Jaxon and DD11 took one final ride on BTMR and we all headed for mainstreet. We shopped in the candy shop and hung out until the crowds were gone. We almost missed the last bus to AKL but caught a bus going to Coronado because the driver told us she would drop us off at AKL along with a few other passengers. It took a little longer but we all had seats and it gave DW a chance to see her favorite resort. I had to carry DD3 to the room for the first time because she finally fell asleep before everyone else (It was after 1am). Didn't stay up tonight but fell asleep pretty quick. Tomorrow is the Pirate and Princess Party and we will be out late again.
ME
DW
DD11
DD6
DD3
Jaxon- Family friend 14yrs old
Uncle Eric- My brother
Thursday May 15, 2008 Day 6
We got another late start today, but we knew we would be staying out late tonight and tomorrow night. We took the bus to Hollywood studios in the hope we might catch a preview of the new Toy Story Mania ride. We arrived at the studios and walked straight toward the new Pixar Place. There were 8 cast members standing in front of the hedges which were being used to shield Pixar Place from the view of guests. I thought it looked promising because why would you have 8 castmembers standing around if you were not going to open the ride at some point. I approached one of the castmembers and got the typical hoopla Disney usually dishes out in this situation "I'm sorry sir but this attraction is not open to the public yet but will be opening this summer" I acted like I was a little smarter than he was giving me credit for and said " I know you have been running previews for AP holders and once for the public already this week so is there a chance it might open sometime today" he replied "No sir this attraction does not officially open...yadayadayada" I wanted to say "look I know what is going on" but you get the picture. This guy is no doubt destined for management and he wasn't budging. We walked to the ABC Commissary where there were no lines and ordered our lunch. Five minutes later the lines were out the door (guessing maybe Indiana Jones had just ended). We had a good meal and wanted to take the backlot tour. We left the ABC Commissary (anybody else love the palm trees outside this place? They create a tunnel effect as you walk in front of ABC and make a great place for photos. We showed Jaxon the inside of Sci Fi Drive in because we were not eating there this trip but he had heard about it. We then caught the backlot tour at the same time the Lights, Motors stunt show was beginning. It was a great view and we got to watch Herbie split in half from the back. It really did add a special spark to the tour. We made sure Jaxon and DD11 got seats on the "wet" side of the tram. Made for a good video and photos when the water came in catastophe canyon. Afterward we really enjoyed the Villiam exhibit and I got a good photo of the family in front of Davey Jones organ. We let the kids play at the Honey I shrunk the kids playground while we relaxed. We walked the studios for awhile and then caught a bus to the Contemporary. I wanted a closer look at the new not so super secret Vacation Club. We arrived at the CR and took some great photos of our girls and Jaxon for our hometown paper. The photo was in the Mickey ears located near the pool. Uncle Eric and I checked out the new tower and walkway and then we let the kids (ok I played also)play in the gameroom. This is nothing like the gameroom I loved growing up at the CR but it is still nice. We took the monorail around the 7 Seas lagoon through the TTC and past my favorite resort the Polynesian. Jaxon got his first look at the Grand Floridian as our train stopped for a moment. We could see the room we stayed in exactly one year ago to this day. It was a room that faced the Poly and beach area. A few minutes later we were gliding into the Magic Kingdom station. DD6 and DD3 were excited they were getting a surprise. DD11 had decided she just wanted to ride the "big rides" with UE and Jaxon. We made our way down Mainstreet again and decided to get a quick bite before the surprise. We ate at Pinnochio's Haus and got a table overlooking Its a Small World as usual. The food was good as always and a welcome change from burgers. After eating we were walking though Fantasyland and guess who spotted us?!? Justin the CMO we had met the day before at Epcot spotted us and called us by name. We visited for a few minutes and then continued our trek. Justin is a great guy and he will be a great asset to the Disney Company. Good luck Justin! It was almost time for our surprise so DD11, Jaxon, and Uncle Eric went off to ride Space Mtn. while we took the girls to Tinkerbell's treasures to get two hairbrushes (didn't realize they sold them at the BBB:confused:). The girls looked at Tink in the drawer and then we took them into the castle for their surprise. They could hardly contain themselves as they chose their packages for BBB. They met the Fairy Godmother who tried to sprinkle me with Pixy Dust (Sorry Granny I don't do pixy dust). There are some things a father of three girls does not do and Pixy dust is one of them. I did stay and talk with the other fathers who were as uncomfortable as I was. We talked about ballgames, hunting, and other manly things as we endured more hairspray and glitter than any man should have to. One of the fathers had his bald head sprinkled with pixie dust and I must admit he was shunned by the rest of us. After a long wait (45mins after our appointment time) they called our girls back. DW and I took turns with each one of them and taking photos. The pics turned out good and the girls absolutely loved the experience. DD6 chose the Diva and DD3 of course chose the princess complete with fake nails. After the BBB we met back up with the rest of our crew and our girls felt so special the rest of the night. We caught Wishes and Spectromagic and Jaxon was very impressed. We visited the Enchanted Tiki room which we haven't done in a few years. It was open late tonight for some strange reason. We also took time to watch the spitting camel in Adventureland! I love this and know someone is controlling him. He got me twice last year and almost knocked my contact out one time. Silly camel, I will not play your games this year. We rode the HM again and POTC. DW and DD6 and DD3 all went to their usual rocking chairs near the entrance to Mainstreet and the rest of us rode Splash Mtn. and got soaked. Jaxon and DD11 took one final ride on BTMR and we all headed for mainstreet. We shopped in the candy shop and hung out until the crowds were gone. We almost missed the last bus to AKL but caught a bus going to Coronado because the driver told us she would drop us off at AKL along with a few other passengers. It took a little longer but we all had seats and it gave DW a chance to see her favorite resort. I had to carry DD3 to the room for the first time because she finally fell asleep before everyone else (It was after 1am). Didn't stay up tonight but fell asleep pretty quick. Tomorrow is the Pirate and Princess Party and we will be out late again.