DrTomorrow
Your Disney friend from the Future!<br><font color
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2003
Day 3 ( Fri 6/2 ): To The Top of the World -or-
If, Perchance, You See a Yeti, Should You Offer It Spaghetti?
Greetings!
After a good night's sleep (which is usually the case at WDW since we always get back to the room dead tired and later than we'd planned) we're up early for a morning at AK - after a MrsT-prepared breakfast of coffee, OJ, donuts, banana and apple. We're big believers in being there for rope drop - which paid off extra-well this day, as I'll explain later. Drive to AK, which is always a lot longer than I anticipate; I know that WDW is a big place, but from SSR to AK just seems to take a while.... Anyway, waiting in line at the ticket turnstyle, we chatted with not one but two DVC families. I've started to notice that the people who are first in line, who use FP, who know which part of the ToT library and HM Stretch room to stand in are quite often 'in-the-know' DVCers. Rope was dropped and we were paced to EE via Asia, and we literally walked right on - probably the second or third train of the day. This is a wonderful ride - IMHO, more along the lines of BTMRR than SpaceMtn or RnRC, but a bit more thrilling. It is a very smooth ride, there are some unexpected moments, and it is a well-done attraction.
We exited, snagged a FP for EE, then went off to the Safari. This was a little bittersweet; in the past, KS was "the" destination at AK; now, even after the park had been open for 15 minutes, KS was pretty much a walk on. Our driver / guide was also "earning his ears": there was another driver sitting next to him, and yet a third right behind him. The safari itself was great; we were worried about the heat driving the animals under cover, but we agreed that we saw more beasts than ever before, including two giraffes that were within arm's reach - we were worried that the driver would bump them, as they had zero fear. MrsT and I made a disturbing discovery: even though we don't ride KS multiple times in an AK visit, we knew the script better than the trainee! There were several times that he missed the cues for "Wilson" to tell us something, and most of the 'poacher' storyline was lost or garbled - the first time 'Little Red' was mentioned was when we saw her in the truck at the end. Having a trainee was good for us, as he drove a bit slower (we had a few 'jeeps' backed up behind us), but if this was the first and only time someone was going to ride KS, it would have been a bit confusing. Still, we realized that the driver has a LOT to do: pointing out all the animals along with the info tid-bits; keeping up with the pre-recorded spiel; and driving the jeep to avoid animals.
We then went back to use our EE FP - by nearly 10AM Standby was at 50 minutes!!! (Thank you rope drop!) EE was just as good a second time; I think that this ride will have a high repeatability factor (I can't get enough ToT, HM or TTA, but one Jungle Cruise, Great Movie Ride or Peter Pan per trip is enough - and one IASW per decade sounds just about right). After EE, we picked up a FP for Kali - it was a hot & sunny morning with so much humidity that you could wring water right out of thin air, so a good day for a potential drenching. Went over to Lion King and caught the first show (we had extremely good timing luck during our morning touring this trip, accomplishing so much in the first 2-3 hours). FOTLK is another show that I sort of mentally dismiss as "Eh" but once it starts I remember how enchanting it really is. We did Dinosaur - amazing how you can go from the end of the group to near the front in the pre-show room if you know where to stand ::hee::. Good, dependable ride - and yes, we managed to bring back the dinosaur. One empathetic note: as we were getting out of the ride car, someone in the row behind us got something on her clothes snagged somewhere on the car. She simply couldn't exit, folks were waiting to exit and to board, and a swarm of CMs were clustered around her; the look on her face showed that she was not enjoying being the center of this attention. We went back and used our Kali FPs and - for those of you keeping score at home - I GOT DRENCHED! Due either to random chance or karmic pay-back, I was going backwards down the biggest drop, and all the water at the bottom splashed up, over and onto yours truly! Oddly enough, MrsT - who was sitting right next to me and sharing the seat belt - only got a few drops..... It was about noon, so a drive home for some lunch, some pool time and a chance to rest our eyes.
Pool time: using the pools while on vacation has become not as big a deal to us, now that we live in AZ, and our condo complex has a pool with hot tub. Still, HRS is a nice place, and MrsT loves the slide. We had no problem finding a few lounges, got our towels (no one looking for room keys, just self-serve) and relaxed a bit. I'll agree that if you don't realize that it is deliberate, the pool does look dirty, but it is supposed to be a SPRING folks - springs don't normally have bright blue sides and bottoms. The pool was busy but not too crowded - lots of little tykes at the zero entry area - and there were absolutely no attractive women in skimpy red-and-blue bikinis that I was watching (not that I'll admit to, anyway
). We got some sun, did the swim-swim, boiled in the spa, then headed back. Note: we DID drive and park at the Springs. We could have walked, but we did have the car anyway, so....
A brief note, here, on FastPasses: we used them more extensively than ever, and they really do pay off, particularly in the morning. We found it best when there was only around an hour or so until the FP time, as opposed to picking one up at 10AM for 3:30PM. This allowed us to snag a FP, do another ride or two, then use the FP. One thing - there still must be a LOT of people who don't understand FP - we torqued off some folks while using our FP at EE, as someone yelled at us "Hey, no cutting in line!" as we walked past them! But FPs had value, particularly this time of year; also, we've noticed that as DVCers - and in talking to other DVCers - we just won't wait in longer lines. Spoiled? Maybe, but I just can't justify a 40 minute wait for HM, when I know that later - or tomorrow - it will be a walk-on.
Wake up (yes, with about 6 hours of sleep a night and walking a bajillion miles a day and all this heat and non-desert humidity, we usually take a cat nap) and off to dinner and then the MK. Dinner, we are soooo pathetic: McDonalds. MrsT did get a sundae, and we were happy & satisfied. At the MK we began what proved to be the third entry into our Trifecta of Suck with EMH-PM. First of all, it was rainy - not a problem, as we often hope it will clear out the parks. Next, however, was a true odd and unique experience: it was only around 7PM, MK was open until 10 PLUS 3 hours of EMH-PM, yet THERE WAS NO ONE DIRECTING PARKING TRAFFIC!!! I always thought that, just like death and taxes, having yellow-garbed CMs pointing you to the right spot was a given. But no - just a few cones and one-way lanes. I was lost and adrift, dazed and confused, and we actually circled once (and almost went out the exit!) before I figured that I was on my own; we got a good spot, but there was just something missing....
Once in the park, we caught the train to FrontierLand. Amusing note: As we waited on the train platform, we met a delightful English family. The mother was standing there with a MK map; after a few moments, she said "pardon me, but can you tell me where the train goes?" I resisted the urge to say "Epcot" (yes, DrT has a perverse streak bwahahaha) but instead pointed out the stations that were ON THE MAP SHE WAS LOOKING AT. If she'd asked me where the castle was, though..... Anyway, we did a quick HM - I still love that old gal - then strolled over to do the TTA (a highly under-rated attraction, IMHO). The place was wacky crowded, with Fantasyland lines in the 40-60 minute range; once again, EMH-PM is teh sux0r. At around 8:30 we positioned ourselves near Tony's for the 9PM Spectro (my favorite parade: "On this magic night...." Oh. Sorry). Once again, I don't get it. People had been waiting on Main Street nearer to the hub since we got there at 7PM, yet at 8:30 we walked up and got a great view right behind a family sitting on the curb. I think that some people are reading something from somewhere and getting wacky ideas about when/where to wait. Spectro was grand, as usual - Ariel actually waved at me!
One thing - a float was missing: the one with the evil monster furling/unfurling his wings (Chernobog?) wasn't there. Throughout our wait and the show it was lightly sprinkling; afterward, the Train end of MS was still crowded as folks waiting from 9:30 until the 10PM Wishes. During this wait, we got a brief but intense downpour, that sent folks scurrying (fun to watch!). Wishes was great, but I don't know if it was that important to wait where we did just for the view.
After Wishes, we fought the exiting crowds down MS, hoping that the exodus would clear the ride lines - once again, EMH-PM made that a big "No!". Pathways were crowded, lines were long [CoP had a long line!!!], restaurants & shops were busy - good, I guess, for DisneyCo, but not for us. We did the HM again (the lines to this ride seem to have no correlation to any other ride: the park was nuts, but HM was 5 minutes; other times HM is 40 minutes and Splash is 10. Go figure!), did TTA again - and again: we asked if we could stay on after the first time and the exit CM manually closed our little doors. Then a nice walk to the front of the park, dodging those who were lining up for the 11PM Spectro - a crowded monorail to the TTC (Ferry wasn't running during EMH-PM) a brief walk to the car, a cool drive home and into bed. ZZZZZZZ.
Stay tuned - there's more to come!
If, Perchance, You See a Yeti, Should You Offer It Spaghetti?
Greetings!
After a good night's sleep (which is usually the case at WDW since we always get back to the room dead tired and later than we'd planned) we're up early for a morning at AK - after a MrsT-prepared breakfast of coffee, OJ, donuts, banana and apple. We're big believers in being there for rope drop - which paid off extra-well this day, as I'll explain later. Drive to AK, which is always a lot longer than I anticipate; I know that WDW is a big place, but from SSR to AK just seems to take a while.... Anyway, waiting in line at the ticket turnstyle, we chatted with not one but two DVC families. I've started to notice that the people who are first in line, who use FP, who know which part of the ToT library and HM Stretch room to stand in are quite often 'in-the-know' DVCers. Rope was dropped and we were paced to EE via Asia, and we literally walked right on - probably the second or third train of the day. This is a wonderful ride - IMHO, more along the lines of BTMRR than SpaceMtn or RnRC, but a bit more thrilling. It is a very smooth ride, there are some unexpected moments, and it is a well-done attraction.
We exited, snagged a FP for EE, then went off to the Safari. This was a little bittersweet; in the past, KS was "the" destination at AK; now, even after the park had been open for 15 minutes, KS was pretty much a walk on. Our driver / guide was also "earning his ears": there was another driver sitting next to him, and yet a third right behind him. The safari itself was great; we were worried about the heat driving the animals under cover, but we agreed that we saw more beasts than ever before, including two giraffes that were within arm's reach - we were worried that the driver would bump them, as they had zero fear. MrsT and I made a disturbing discovery: even though we don't ride KS multiple times in an AK visit, we knew the script better than the trainee! There were several times that he missed the cues for "Wilson" to tell us something, and most of the 'poacher' storyline was lost or garbled - the first time 'Little Red' was mentioned was when we saw her in the truck at the end. Having a trainee was good for us, as he drove a bit slower (we had a few 'jeeps' backed up behind us), but if this was the first and only time someone was going to ride KS, it would have been a bit confusing. Still, we realized that the driver has a LOT to do: pointing out all the animals along with the info tid-bits; keeping up with the pre-recorded spiel; and driving the jeep to avoid animals.
We then went back to use our EE FP - by nearly 10AM Standby was at 50 minutes!!! (Thank you rope drop!) EE was just as good a second time; I think that this ride will have a high repeatability factor (I can't get enough ToT, HM or TTA, but one Jungle Cruise, Great Movie Ride or Peter Pan per trip is enough - and one IASW per decade sounds just about right). After EE, we picked up a FP for Kali - it was a hot & sunny morning with so much humidity that you could wring water right out of thin air, so a good day for a potential drenching. Went over to Lion King and caught the first show (we had extremely good timing luck during our morning touring this trip, accomplishing so much in the first 2-3 hours). FOTLK is another show that I sort of mentally dismiss as "Eh" but once it starts I remember how enchanting it really is. We did Dinosaur - amazing how you can go from the end of the group to near the front in the pre-show room if you know where to stand ::hee::. Good, dependable ride - and yes, we managed to bring back the dinosaur. One empathetic note: as we were getting out of the ride car, someone in the row behind us got something on her clothes snagged somewhere on the car. She simply couldn't exit, folks were waiting to exit and to board, and a swarm of CMs were clustered around her; the look on her face showed that she was not enjoying being the center of this attention. We went back and used our Kali FPs and - for those of you keeping score at home - I GOT DRENCHED! Due either to random chance or karmic pay-back, I was going backwards down the biggest drop, and all the water at the bottom splashed up, over and onto yours truly! Oddly enough, MrsT - who was sitting right next to me and sharing the seat belt - only got a few drops..... It was about noon, so a drive home for some lunch, some pool time and a chance to rest our eyes.
Pool time: using the pools while on vacation has become not as big a deal to us, now that we live in AZ, and our condo complex has a pool with hot tub. Still, HRS is a nice place, and MrsT loves the slide. We had no problem finding a few lounges, got our towels (no one looking for room keys, just self-serve) and relaxed a bit. I'll agree that if you don't realize that it is deliberate, the pool does look dirty, but it is supposed to be a SPRING folks - springs don't normally have bright blue sides and bottoms. The pool was busy but not too crowded - lots of little tykes at the zero entry area - and there were absolutely no attractive women in skimpy red-and-blue bikinis that I was watching (not that I'll admit to, anyway
). We got some sun, did the swim-swim, boiled in the spa, then headed back. Note: we DID drive and park at the Springs. We could have walked, but we did have the car anyway, so....A brief note, here, on FastPasses: we used them more extensively than ever, and they really do pay off, particularly in the morning. We found it best when there was only around an hour or so until the FP time, as opposed to picking one up at 10AM for 3:30PM. This allowed us to snag a FP, do another ride or two, then use the FP. One thing - there still must be a LOT of people who don't understand FP - we torqued off some folks while using our FP at EE, as someone yelled at us "Hey, no cutting in line!" as we walked past them! But FPs had value, particularly this time of year; also, we've noticed that as DVCers - and in talking to other DVCers - we just won't wait in longer lines. Spoiled? Maybe, but I just can't justify a 40 minute wait for HM, when I know that later - or tomorrow - it will be a walk-on.
Wake up (yes, with about 6 hours of sleep a night and walking a bajillion miles a day and all this heat and non-desert humidity, we usually take a cat nap) and off to dinner and then the MK. Dinner, we are soooo pathetic: McDonalds. MrsT did get a sundae, and we were happy & satisfied. At the MK we began what proved to be the third entry into our Trifecta of Suck with EMH-PM. First of all, it was rainy - not a problem, as we often hope it will clear out the parks. Next, however, was a true odd and unique experience: it was only around 7PM, MK was open until 10 PLUS 3 hours of EMH-PM, yet THERE WAS NO ONE DIRECTING PARKING TRAFFIC!!! I always thought that, just like death and taxes, having yellow-garbed CMs pointing you to the right spot was a given. But no - just a few cones and one-way lanes. I was lost and adrift, dazed and confused, and we actually circled once (and almost went out the exit!) before I figured that I was on my own; we got a good spot, but there was just something missing....
Once in the park, we caught the train to FrontierLand. Amusing note: As we waited on the train platform, we met a delightful English family. The mother was standing there with a MK map; after a few moments, she said "pardon me, but can you tell me where the train goes?" I resisted the urge to say "Epcot" (yes, DrT has a perverse streak bwahahaha) but instead pointed out the stations that were ON THE MAP SHE WAS LOOKING AT. If she'd asked me where the castle was, though..... Anyway, we did a quick HM - I still love that old gal - then strolled over to do the TTA (a highly under-rated attraction, IMHO). The place was wacky crowded, with Fantasyland lines in the 40-60 minute range; once again, EMH-PM is teh sux0r. At around 8:30 we positioned ourselves near Tony's for the 9PM Spectro (my favorite parade: "On this magic night...." Oh. Sorry). Once again, I don't get it. People had been waiting on Main Street nearer to the hub since we got there at 7PM, yet at 8:30 we walked up and got a great view right behind a family sitting on the curb. I think that some people are reading something from somewhere and getting wacky ideas about when/where to wait. Spectro was grand, as usual - Ariel actually waved at me!
One thing - a float was missing: the one with the evil monster furling/unfurling his wings (Chernobog?) wasn't there. Throughout our wait and the show it was lightly sprinkling; afterward, the Train end of MS was still crowded as folks waiting from 9:30 until the 10PM Wishes. During this wait, we got a brief but intense downpour, that sent folks scurrying (fun to watch!). Wishes was great, but I don't know if it was that important to wait where we did just for the view.After Wishes, we fought the exiting crowds down MS, hoping that the exodus would clear the ride lines - once again, EMH-PM made that a big "No!". Pathways were crowded, lines were long [CoP had a long line!!!], restaurants & shops were busy - good, I guess, for DisneyCo, but not for us. We did the HM again (the lines to this ride seem to have no correlation to any other ride: the park was nuts, but HM was 5 minutes; other times HM is 40 minutes and Splash is 10. Go figure!), did TTA again - and again: we asked if we could stay on after the first time and the exit CM manually closed our little doors. Then a nice walk to the front of the park, dodging those who were lining up for the 11PM Spectro - a crowded monorail to the TTC (Ferry wasn't running during EMH-PM) a brief walk to the car, a cool drive home and into bed. ZZZZZZZ.
Stay tuned - there's more to come!
We always packed an extra in dry ice for the trip home when we went to Chicago. Can they possibly be as good out of their natural habitat?
reading your reports and having a great time! Looking forward to the rest. 
