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Ground / Goofy's HUGE!
/ Trip Report 09/13 to 09/20...Episode I |
VanBrujah
Cast Member
Posts: 421
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 09-25-02 01:25 AM
EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM FLIGHT CREW
Our Intrepid Adventurers for this chapter:
Sergio, 33, theatre guy, musician, smart ass
Cassandra, 25, theatre gal, dancer, my little Tink
Left Cleveland around 1:30 on Friday the 13th. As if 2 days after the 9/11 Anniversary wasn't bad enough. No problems with security.
Due to poor planning on my part, our travel itenerary, courtesy of Northwest Airlines, was to be as follows:
Cleveland to Detroit (the Disneyland of Death!)
1:35 - 2:32 pm
Detroit to Memphis
3:07 - 4:06 pm
Memphis to Orlando
5:20 - 8:21 pm
Left Cleveland on time...arrived in charming Detroit on time. Actually, my dumb remarks to the contrary, the terminal was very clean, and very nice. The monorail, while not Disney, is fun to ride. The hot dogs at the hot dog stand were tasty, and the bonus complimentary cheese-like sauce that was smeared all over the little hot dog box was a nice added touch. Made it to our gate in plenty of time.
Unfortuantely, our flight crew did not. The stories vary. The most common one to circulate through our fellow travellers was that the flight crew were stuck on another plane, due to some sort of regulation which requires them to remain on board until all the passengers have exited the plane. Apparently someone with special needs (not my words) took an extra long time to get off said plane and our merry band of pilots and flight attendants were made to wait, causing us to depart lovely Detroit about 30 min late.
After an uneventful flight, we landed in warm and sunny Memphis around 4:30 - 4:45. This completely blew my plan to spend lots of time to shop for the tackiest Elvis themed gift I could find. I was forced to content myself with a lovely postcard depicting Graceland. (I should probably point out that despite the previous statements, I am a HUGE Elvis fan...)
On the way to our next gate, I had the chance to try the best barbecue I have ever tasted. I can't remember the name of the place, but if you happen into the Memphis Airport, look for the little restaurant with all the pilots lined up outside. Worth the wait.
Onto our next plane, and off to Orlando...well, almost. According to the pilot, we had a little detour AROUND some hurricane induced nastiness. Landed in Orlando around 9:00 -9:15.
Got a very nice rental car from Jorge and Jesus at Budget (thanks, guys!) and we were off...
Except we had no idea where the hell we were going. A few phone calls later...
We were meeting up with 6 or 8 more people (depending on what day of the week you found us) at the beautiful Embassy Vacation Resort Grand Beach, 8317 Lake Bryan Beach Blvd. This resort is literally (I tried it myself to make sure!) a stones throw away from where 535 meets I-4. Our travel time to DTD would wind up being about 7 min.
This is where we meet most of the rest of our cast for the next 7 days:
Toni Ann, eternally 25, Aunt of Cassandra and our sponsor
Lori, 39, Toni Ann's neice, a very nice young lady with
Down's Syndrome
Nikki, 35 , Toni Ann's stepdaughter
Jeff, 38, Nikki's fiancee
Alicia, 11, Nikki's oldest daughter
Andrea, 8, Nikki's youngest daughter
Everyone had arrived earlier in the day, and were beginning to wonder where we were. Immediately Pin Trading ensued, as the girls had gotten their hands on several of the 9/11 pins, and were eager to trade these for some of the pins I had on my hat.
Around Midnight we all went to bed
(no, not together, you sicko!)
Day 2...09/14
Woke up at the crack of 8:00....after several hours of screwing around and eating all manner of breakfasts, Cassandra, Jeff, Lori, Alicia and Andrea head off to Typhoon Lagoon. Your faithfull narrator, not caring for water parks, chose to stay home and nap, eat, enjoy the sunshine, and watch TV. It is my vacation, after all.
Around 3:00 our waterlogged fellow adventurers return home, soggy and happy, regaling us with stories of waterslides and weggies. Suddenly, I hear a voice calling my name...very faintly. I can barely hear it. So I grab Cassandra, get in the car, and head to DTD. The voice gets louder...and louder. As I walk past Planet Hollywood toward the giant Lego Ronald, the voice gets even louder...calling to me...
I stop in front of Ghiradelli and then it all becomes clear. A choccolate malt needs my help! I rush inside, and order it up as fast as possible. The helpful clerk obliges. Within seconds the lonely malt is home where he belongs...in my stomach.
Back to our comfortable logings, just in time to change clothes and then off to Medieval Times.
This place is not nearly as goofy as "The Cable Guy" portrays it. We all had a picture with the King, and then Nikki and Jeff, who planned to marry sometime this week, had themselves knighted or something like that, in honor of their upcoming nuptuals. I especially liked it when the King told Jeff, as he raised his sword over them, "it's not too late...the back door is right over there!".
Inside we were taken care of by the very able and friendly Slave Michael. He was very courteous, filling both my beer and my Diet Pepsi with amazing frequency. This caused me to cheer "Huzzah for Slave Michael" repeatedly. The children, not being familiar with the word "huzzah" found this at first to be irritating, then amusing. Eventually we began to cheer "Huzzah!" at everything we enjoyed. As you will learn in EPISODE III: GERMANY VS. THE THUNDERSTORM - THUNDERSTORM 3, GERMANY 0, not everyone got it. ESPECIALLY the Voices Of Liberty Singers. Stay tuned for that story!
If you have never been there, the Medieval Times show goes something like this:
Guy on horse comes out, tells you what you are going to see
Horses come out and do some tricks
Guy with a falcon lets it fly around the room and scare the hell out of the children
Then the King calls the tournement to order, and a whole lot of guys dressed as knights beat the living crap out of one another with all sorts of weapons. We cheered for the Blue Knight, who did a fair job, only to be killed in the finals. I suspect a fix. Think Wrestling with edged weapons.
Then all the knights came out to fight the Black Knight, who intends to rape the cattle and stampede the Queen and who, being dressed in Black, believes himself to be invincible.
Like in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, he's not.
My favorite part of the evening (and I have been here before) was at the end, when the Red Knight, who was the Champion (dirty bastard...the Blue Knight was MUCH cooler)came galloping out holding the American Flag high over his head.
Sure, it wasn't very medieval, but I liked it. Suspend your disbelief for a few hours, ok?
After that, we all headed off to DTD again, for more Ghiradelli and to gawk at the 500 million or so square feet of sensory overload known as World Of Disney, or as I like to call it "Stuff you don't really need, to be paid for with money you don't have."
I like their title better, however.
Went home around 12:30, headed off to bed.
Tommorrow: Universal Studios Florida, Universal CityWalk, and the answer to the question: What the hell does a guy have to do to get a drink from Jimmy Buffett?
Respectfully Submitted
(hey, I was told not to leave ANYTHING out)
VanBrujah
I wouldn't F*@k RiRi with HOWIE'S Di@k!
and now, name that quote:
"What the F*@k?
You mean you found out I did it?
You can't post that!
I'M TELLING!!"
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Ahnalira
Cast Member
Posts: 433
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 09-25-02 08:04 PM
HUZZAH, HUZZAH! Great reporting!
Hey, I know the "Voice of Chocolate" too; >)... Amazing how you can even hear IT through the sounds of a crowd, n'est-ce pas?
Ahnalira
Grace finds beauty everywhere. Grace is my best friend.
Meet The Our Laughing Place Travel Pixies
Everybody's got a Laughing Place... we'll help you find yours!
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inkydinkydoo
Cast Member
Posts: 112
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 10-02-02 08:24 PM
Great report! I love your style of writing . . . and you're from Ohio, too. Let's hear it for the Buckeyes!
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Abra Cat
Cast Member
Posts: 159
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 10-03-02 09:32 AM
I enjoyed reading your report, and I'm looking forward to the next installment. Hee— my 2 1/2 year old son loves to yell, "Huzzah!"
"A crib is a bed with bars on the side of it. It's kind of like a cage at the zoo. Except with a crib, you can put your hand through the bars. And the baby won't pull you in and kill you."- Junie B. Jones
"There's more than one way to skin a cat. And I happen to know that factually that's true."- Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins, III
"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."- Charlotte Bronte, 1847
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Common
Ground / Goofy's HUGE!
/ Trip Report 09/13 to 09/20...Episode I |
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