annie
Cast Member
Posts: 321
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 11-18-02 11:19 AM
Cast: annie (me) 30something mom
Pat (dh) 30something dad
Day Two: Fun at the Studios, Romance, and Kungaloosh!
Today we headed over to Disney Studios. We arrived about 9:30, with a plan to ride Tower of Terror after grabbing Fast Passes for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. As we walked by TOT we noted the standby time was 13 minutes. Hmmm. At RnR Coaster there was only a 5 minute wait- a walk-on, so we just went right in instead of getting the passes. I LOVE this ride! The only thing I don't like is that it's way too short. I was ready to go around again but when we got back outside the line had grown to a 30 minute wait, so we headed over to Tower of Terror. There was also a 30 minute wait there, so we grabbed Fast Passes (also 30 minute wait) and explored a bit. We noticed lots of preparation going on for the upcoming Super Soap Weekend. There was a stage and lighting up in front of the Sorcerer's Hat, and we saw a few guys walk by with a camera on a boom. They were touching up the paint on lamp posts, and up over Pizza Planet. Meanwhile Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the Toy Story gang were out, so we watched the kids meeting them for awhile. It was times like this I missed my kids. Since we still had some time we headed into Muppets 3D. I liked it much more this time than last summer, I don't know why but the 3D effects didn't work as well for me last time.
Back to Tower of Terror, my second favorite ride at WDW after RnR Coaster. We were able to allow a little space between us and the bar and got great air time. Too bad they're replacing all the bars with seat belts, although I suppose you could keep your belt a bit loose if you wanted! A benefit of traveling to WDW without the kids is you get to really enjoy the theming of the rides, and I picked up a lot more details of the Hollywood Tower Hotel this time.
We had some time till our lunch PS at the Hollywood Brown Derby, so we went into the Great Movie Ride. I forgot to stay left instead of right (or was it right instead of left?), so we got the same (gangster) show we got last time, we'd hoped for the Western version. At least this time I got to enjoy the ride more than the last time, when I had to keep my tired, cranky 4 year old son from getting nervous!
Lunch time! Brown Derby was great. Pat had a beer and I had a Citron Limeade, and we had coconut shrimp and steamers to start. Very good! My main course was BBQ Chicken Caesar salad, and Pat had the Thai noodle bowl. I thought the salad was a bit bland, but Pat enjoyed his lunch. We skipped dessert, after all, dinner is in 5 hours at California Grill! As we were preparing to leave a character came in wearing a blue zoot suit, and I have no idea who he is, but he was pretty funny.
As we headed out of Disney Studios the streets were alive with performers. We stopped and watched a few acts. Some put on little shows, others just interacted in the midst of the crowd. One performer made silly faces at a giggling little boy who was walking by, was very cute. Sadly the boy's parents were oblivious and calling to him to hurry to catch up with them! They missed a great moment.
We decided to check out Sid Cahuenga's One of a Kind as we left, and came upon some performers, with no one to perform to! They were mid-act when we showed up, though. I got pulled in to help out as a few other people arrived at the shop, helping with some joke telling. What a blast! Really, this is a park to take your time with when the performers are out, I was glad we weren't rushing through!
But we were tired and did have plans for a busy evening, so we headed back to the hotel for a rest. Discovered our housekeeper had left us two towel bunnies. Unfortunately one had only one little sticker eye, but it was a cute little one-eyed bunny. It was chilly the entire day, in fact I wore a light jacket even into mid afternoon, so we scrapped our pool plans and just napped a bit. Then we changed into "resort casual" per the new dress code at California Grill (really, just khakis and nicer tops). We arrived around 4:50, way too early for our 5:30 PS! We explored the Contemporary for awhile (I bought a nice warm sweatshirt for the chilly evening ahead) then headed upstairs. We checked in, first to do so for the evening, and requested a window table. Then we settled into the lounge and had a couple drinks while we waited. At 5:30 we were escorted to a perfect table, with a view of the sun setting over the Grand Floridian and the Magic Kingdom laid out before us. When I'd scheduled dinner there were no fireworks planned for that night, but someone at WDW must like us, because the ended up scheduling fireworks for 6:15 that evening, perfect!
We ordered the ham and cheese flat bread to start (OK, the Serrano Ham, Manchego Cheese, Caramelized Onions and Roasted Pears flatbread!) and I had Goat Cheese Ravioli for an appetizer. That was one big ravioli, and very tasty! For dinner Pat had the Deluxe Sushi Platter, and I had Grilled Pork Tenderloin. It was the most tender pork I'd ever had, melted in my mouth. As we enjoyed dinner the lights dimmed and the music for Fantasy in the Sky started up. We saw Tink's flight and the fireworks were outstanding. I highly recommend doing this if you can, what a great romantic evening!
After dinner Pat had Butterscotch Creme Brulee and I had the Hazelnut-Chocolate Crunch Pyramid. Even the desserts here are extraordinary. But then, eating out for me usually means pizza or Chinese, so maybe I'm easily impressed?
The evening was young, and we weren't done yet! We headed back to our room to... digest... then back out we went to catch the launch from French Quarter to Downtown Disney for an evening at Pleasure Island. After a slight delay at the ticket booth (a young lady was trying to use an altered ID to get in, which was confiscated- she was told if she wanted it back they would call the Orlando police and she could try to convince them to return it to her. She went with the no-drink wrist band instead, good choice I think) we headed right for the Adventurer's Club. Almost immediately we were invited into the library, where I had to try a Kungaloosh. It would be my first and last drink at PI, after a few drinks earlier at California Grill, that Kungaloosh was plenty, thanks! We really had a blast at AC, and stayed for about two hours. But we figured we'd better try to catch a show at Comedy Warehouse, and got in line for the 10:30 show. I have to say the performers were great but the last piece dragged on way too long an stopped being funny after awhile. Just luck of the draw I guess, with improv!
We were both tired and neither of us really dance, so we skipped the other clubs. They didn't do the midnight fireworks due to winds, so we headed for the bus stop. Watched 3 empty busses for Old Key West arrive and leave, while we continued to wait with increasing numbers of people and drivers waiting to start their shifts, for a bus to Port Orleans! Finally after 35 minutes two busses arrived (thank heavens French Quarter is the first stop!) and we dragged ourselves back to our room and collapsed into deep sleep.
"Are the fires of Hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? Who can provide the world with the answer to these pressing questions?"
"The candy man can," Rumsfeld added grimly.
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