SSR Monkey Live @ SSR through 5/7/11

[Buckeye Fan]

I've missed you, Monkey! Koala, too! If you guys can sneak away from mom and dad, will you snap a few pics of the new pool for me?

Hope you guys have wonderful weather and a great time! We still have 76 more days to go!

P.S. Hooter scares me. That's one ugly dude. Koala is SO much cuter!

 

[SSRmonkey]

I got a pretzel for dinner at Wetzel's Pretzels. This time it was cheese and pepperoni and it was delicious!!

We had to work a little of that off, so we headed to Fantasia Gardens to play mini golf. There was only one Tiger Woods incident on the course and unbelievably it wasn't anyone in our group that threw the golf club.

I got a high five from the hippo for a hole in one. I'd rather have a tutu than a high five, but she wasn't willing to give up her tutu.

I don't know what kind of horn this guy is playing, but I want one!

Then we made some wine--it didn't turn out that well. It looks a little thick. I'm a little fuzzy in this one.

Koala almost got eaten by a crocodile, but I hit it in the head with my putter and he let Koala go--he owes me one. I'm not sure why he was that close to the crocodile in the first place.

I ended up 5 under par. Koala was 3 under, it was a close game.

Since we worked off our pretzels, I convinced Mom and Dad to head over to
Beaches and Cream. I got a hot fudge sundae and Koala had sherbet with sprinkles--lots of sprinkles. The sprinkles got stuck in his fur, but luckily Beaches and Cream is right by the pool, so Koala took a quick dip.

I was pretty excited that I was able to get in touch with Sam Eagle via Facebook (everyone has a FB page now!) and he hooked me up with what I needed to complete my Salute to America. I only ran into one problem...because I didn't have a permit for a sound variance, I had to keep my Salute to less than 60 seconds. So here are some shots of my 59 second Salute to America.

And the big finale...

My line of credit with Sam Eagle is now maxed out so I might have to go to work at the Banana Company if he doesn't accept my credit card. If I don't pay him back by Friday, he might send Miss Piggy after me.

Koala's fur got a little singed, but at least I didn't set anything on fire.

In between my planning for the Salute, I managed to set up a UFC style cage match with Chip tomorrow. For those of you who don't know about my issue with Chip, please see below.

This happened in 2008 and it's time to settle the score. Mom found out about my planned cage match and didn't approve, so she made me a new tshirt to help me get over my disappointment. We'll just have to see what happens when I run into Chip in the park. Get ready to dance, chipmunk.

Tomorrow we are heading to Epcot. We still haven't had a chance to ride Soarin, so that's my first stop in the morning. Off to dream about UFC chipmunk fighting. (No chipmunks will be harmed in the making of my dream.)

 

[nolanboys]

My money's on SSR monkey over Chip. Hope you were able to get on Soarin'. Loving your TR!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Dont hurt em Monkey!!

Love the shirt!! Koala needs a cute shirt too!

 

[nickspace]

Great job!

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Monkey I am so glad you and Koala are enjoying yourselves with Mom and Dad. Don't let Chip get the best of you. If he tries, hit him below the belt.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

I am really enjoying your trip report - as usual. Can't wait for more!

 

[SSRmonkey]

We’ve never been at Epcot when it opened, so it was nice to see all the characters around the fountain this morning. I couldn’t believe how many people there were and as soon as the rope dropped I think most of them headed right for Soarin. That’s where we headed too and got FP right away. We hopped in line then and were on in less than 10 minutes. And we got in the middle section, middle row! It was a great way to start the day.

We stopped into Innoventions and built our own roller coaster at the Sum of All Thrills. Koala and I named it the Spinning Eagle. A bit of foewarning for some—it will tell you that you’re going 95 miles an hour, but really you’re moving at about 15 miles per hour. There’s an emergency stop button, so what’s the harm in going 95 mph?

We then went to TT and got a FP and headed to the Flower and Garden Festival Pavilion. There wasn’t much happening there because it was still early, so we decided to look at more of the flowers.

We stopped into the butterfly tent.

I think this one may have had an altercation with Chip.

I stopped to smell the roses.

Then we headed back to Soarin to use our FP. We ended up in the middle section, middle row again!

We were hungry, so I got some popcorn and tried to wash it down with some watermelon Coke from the Cool Spot. Gross! So I had to get a Diet Coke--had to balance out the calories from the popcorn.

We thought we should finish our tour of the world. Here’s what I found in Canada.

Koala has been obsessed with the coverage of the Royal Wedding. In fact, I had to drag him out of the tattoo shop at home last week. Sure, a picture of Will and Kate on his ankle may have seemed like a good decision now—who doesn’t love a real prince and princess (well, except the anarchists). After I told him that his fur would just grow back over it, he decided not to go through with it. Today he saw a “Will and Kate Forever” bumper sticker, but considering he doesn’t have a car, I don’t think Mom would have been too pleased to have that on her Prius. So he settled for a picture with the Queen.

Wouldn’t you think Disney could find a mannequin that looks a little more like one of the actual Beatles rather than just some guy with a Ringo wig?

I ran into Marie. I offered her some cat nip, but she said she can’t have any while she’s working.

Italy had very pretty flowers.

I have always wanted a Panda bear as a pet. Mom and Dad seem to think they wouldn’t get along with me and Koala and the cats, but look how playful this one was!

Who doesn’t want to be tickled by a Panda?

After lunch we washed the car to try to get some of the bugs off and then wandered around Celebration for a bit. I think I’m going to play the lottery tonight so I can buy a house there. The one I really like is only $6 million. I’m not sure what I would do with almost 10,000 square feet, but I bet I could figure something out.

We’re going to try to take some pictures of the new pool this afternoon and then we’ll head to MK tonight.

 

[Chellymouse]

Thank you for all of the beautiful pictures! Looks like you and Koala are having a great time!

 

[helenk]

That pretzel looked so good. I've never had anything from Wetzel Pretzel before, where did you get yours?

 

[kikiq]

OMG, I'm late to SSR Monkey's TR. Love the pictures, nice Tshirt, but please keep SSR together for us. We arrive on the 8th.

 

[SSRmonkey]

Helenk—Wetzels Pretzels is located in DTD. There’s a location by the lake in the Marketplace, but I would recommend the one on the West Side. It shares space with Haagen Dazs right by the big balloon. The pretzels seem to be fresher there than in the Marketplace.

We were able to take some pictures of the new Paddock pool last night. It looks like it’s going to be awesome! I can’t wait to test it out on our next trip.

One the way back from the pool Koala stopped to paint with this guy. Koala’s been watching Bob Ross on PBS every day while I watch Jerry Springer, so his technique has improved a lot! Too bad he uses the walls at home as his canvas and peanut butter as his paint. At least we’re able to get it cleaned off before Mom and Dad get home from work every day. My cat Chloe likes peanut butter so she helps clean up.

We went to Paradisio 37 at DTD for dinner last night. We will definitely be going back. The food was really good and the service was excellent. We started out with the salsa trio which included my favorite—pineapple salsa. Very delicious!

I opted for a jalapeno burger. I’ve never had guacamole on a burger before, but it was really good!

Koala was looking for something on the lighter side, so he had an orange salad with apricots, raisins and almonds. He was very pleased.

I really liked the atmosphere. There was a big door that opened and overlooked the lake toward SSR. Maybe next time I will be able to sit there. This time I just ran under the tables to check out the view.

On our way out, Koala saw the fishing boat from his favorite movie (at the moment), Forrest Gump. I think the only reason he likes that movie is so he can run around yelling, “Jenny!”.

Then we headed to MK. We got to park very close to the ticket and transportation center and walked right on to the monorail. It only took about 25 minutes for us to get from SSR to the front gate. The 9pm parade was about to start so main street was very busy. We headed to TMR to get a FP and then walked on to Pirates.

Koala has been practicing his pirate voice and has pretty much mastered the “Dead Men Tell No Tales” phrase. We counted last night and the pirate in the ride says it 8 times before the hill. No wonder Koala has it mastered. Maybe now I can get him to stop saying it after 8 times…it gets old fast!!

We wanted to get over to Buzz Lightyear, but the parade was still going on so we watched the end of that and then followed it down main street. I felt like it was Christmas time it was so busy!

There was a line out the door for Buzz so we decided to go with a FP and then rode the Peoplemover, a first for me. It was a nice break from being on my feet all day and we got to see some cool stuff on the ride. I didn’t know there was an arcade by Space Mountain! Crazy Taxi here I come!

By the time we were done with that, it was almost time for fireworks so we walked over to be close to the Hall of Presidents. We were able to see Tink go down the zip line from the castle. I didn’t realize it was a real person who went down the line. That looked scary!!

We went back to TMR. That ride is so much fun in the dark. Last night, though, Koala convinced Dad to buy him a lightsaber, so he was waving that around while we were riding so that put a damper on things a bit. I took the batteries out last night when he wasn’t looking.

On the way back to Buzz we rode the Tomorrowland Speedway. Mom rode that with her Dad a long time ago and remembered that it was really hard to steer. This time it wasn’t so bad…she’s a much better driver now (at least in her own mind).

Buzz was a walk on then so we didn’t need our FP. We rode two times right in a row. It wasn’t my best game, but it was after 11pm. My bed time is usually 10:00, so after that you never know what might happen!

After a quick stop for some Celebration Fudge we headed to the monorail and back to SSR.

Today I think we’re going to hang out at SSR and head to Epcot this afternoon. It’s supposed to rain today, so I need to get my poncho out!

 

[Cee]

I love the laugh out loud moments when reading and enjoying an SSRMonkey trip report! Keep up the great shenanigans....I mean, WORK.

 

[helenk]

Thank you for the tip about the Wetzel's Pretzels. We will be in WDW in 2 weeks, I know where I am going for a snack one afternoon.

 

[SSRmonkey]

You're welcome helenk. Take your DVC Member card--you get a discount!

Off to Epcot I go!

 

[mecllap]

SSRMonkey -- you may very well be my favorite trip report writer ever! (I hope you and Chip make up -- love your t-shirt). Hope you have many more trips in your future, and can keep up the same level of reportage!

 

[SSRmonkey]

We saw the Village People today!!! Ok, it was just a bus from The Villages.

This morning we slept in a little bit. We knew it was going to be a busy day in the park and that's where we wanted to end the day, so we went to get a FP for Soarin for this evening. While Mom and Dad went there, I went to meet up with Figment. I wanted to surprise Koala with some Figment Pigment. I tweeted Figment last night and he said he would hook me up with a tube of his reserve stash of pigment. Koala will be so excited that he doesn't have to use peanut butter to paint anymore. My cat Chloe might lose some weight (since she helps clean up) and I can stop telling Mom that I ate five peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. That's really not where the Jif goes!

After we were all finished with our mission, we went to the Florida Mall because it was raining for a bit this morning (not too much, but nobody wants to smell a wet monkey--Koala, on the other hand, smells like cookies when wet. Wish I was that lucky!). Just like at home, Mom fell asleep on the 15 minute ride back from the mall. She shops hard!

On the way, we passed the Otis Spunkmeyer factory. I tried to get some free dough for my easy bake oven while Koala tried to get the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies. We were both unsuccessful.

I wanted to get my face painted but i wasnt sure if it would wash off and clorox bleach pens scare me. So i convinced an artist to do a caricature of me.

Is my forehead really that big?! I figured out that they don't ask for id when you use a credit card so that worked out well. Its my mothers day gift to mom.

I got my annual banana from living with the land. I will have to let it ripen a
bit.

There were some really pretty sunflowers too!

This made me hungry for some salad.

We hopped on Soarin'--we were really glad we had a FP, the wait time was 75 minutes. After that we headed to Nemo again and had one last stop at Figment. Then it was back to SSR.

We've had a great week here and are sad that we have to leave tomorrow. I'm glad Mom and Dad have jobs to go back to so we can keep coming back to the happiest place on earth. I'll be happy to see the evil cat--too bad she won't be glad to see me.

I guess I better go pack so none of my shirts get left behind. Thanks for sharing my trip with me. I'll be back in September for MNSSHP!

SSRmonkey--out!

 

[BRERALEX]

And I thought my wife was nuts taking over 500 pics with Sock Monkey around the World recently. SHE'S NOT ALONE! Love the pics. They remind of our trip of few months ago where I would hide while my wife took pic after pic with Sock Monkey. Eventually the whole gang of 20 or so got in on the action.

Monkeys have to stick together!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Love your Mother's Day Gift!!!!

 

[Disney Princess]

Love your caricature picture! Thanks for bringing us along on the trip. Sorry you are going home so soon.