Alpha's 2009 TR - AK, Studios
Alpha
I am what passes for an early riser in our family. I'd rather not get
up when it's still dark out, but it's usually between 6:30 and 7:00 when
I get out of bed, 7 days a week. This makes me the ideal person to
venture out for morning coffee. This morning I awoke pretty early, even
for me. (Of course, we had gone to bed at 8:30 or so.) It was about
6:00 when I decided to get up. I got dressed in the dark so as not to
wake anyone, fumbled around for my room key, and headed over to the food
court. I love the peaceful quiet of Riverside in the early morning.
This morning there was just one other person in the food court (besides
CMs). Another mom, as it turns out.
I stopped by the bakery and picked up a muffin; Dale isn't much for
cereal, and I felt a little guilty about letting him eat one of the
donuts we had in the room for his breakfast. The muffin probably
wouldn't be a whole lot better than a donut, honestly, but it somehow
doesn't have quite the guilt factor built in. I got back to the room
with muffin and coffees in hand and roused everyone for our first big
day!
Our plan today was AK first, then hop over to the Studios to catch the
Indy show. Chip first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark over the summer, and
he was very interested to see the stunt show. We got to the bus stop at
about 8:20 and chatted with a family from Denver. The mom told us that
Denver schools had already been in session for 3 weeks! So they pulled
their daughter out for vacation. The daughter was just about 8, same as
my older son. They were headed for MK that day.
We were on our bus within 10 minutes. This year the bus system worked
out very well for us. Not quite as good as last year, where it always
seemed like WDW was reading our minds and dispatching a bus timed to
arrive within moments of our getting to the bus stop. But no long, long
waits.
This year we went back and forth about whether to get a stroller. Of
course, we haven't used a stroller at home in years, but we've gotten
them at WDW because the distance we typically walk in a day is immense
and exhausting. When we had mentioned it to my sister, her reaction
was, "Are you crazy? Get the stroller!" So we got a stroller. :-)
We waited for the rope to drop, then headed for Kilimanjaro Safari. It
was a great ride; pretty much all the animals were out and very visible,
except I think the cheetahs. Dale was especially interested in
everything; he even paid attention to the poacher storyline, and has
asked about poachers a number of times since we got home.
The next ride on our itinerary was KRR, but it wasn't expected to open
until later in the day. Instead, we headed for Dinoland USA; Chip has
been itching to go on Primeval Whirl since he was denied the chance a
few years ago for being just a little too short, and Dale wanted to go
on TriceraTop Spin. On the way, we noticed that EE's wait time was only
5 minutes. DH was the only one who wanted to go on, so I told him to go
ahead and ride, and meet us in Dinoland. I probably would have gone on
it if the kids had wanted to too, but without them going, I just decided
to pass. DH said EE was awesome.
So the kids and I went on TriceraTop Spin, and since there was no line,
they let us all ride again. DH showed up during our ride, so Chip got
off and went with him over to PW while Dale and I did another few turns
on TTS. (Five times in all!) Chip loved PW and was hoping we'd get the
chance to ride again before the day was done.
Next up, the 10:30 showing of Finding Nemo - The Musical. This show was
a real treat! I think it went on a little too long for Dale's taste,
but the puppetry and costumes were really something. Chip felt the
puppeteers were distracting, but overall thought it was a good show.
Once the show was done, we headed over to Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch.
It was about 11:15. It's very handy that we normally like to eat an
early lunch, because it always makes sense to eat early at WDW parks.
No lines and plenty of tables. Dale didn't find anything he wanted to
eat there, so when I finished my pulled pork sandwich, I took him over
to Pizzafari and asked the guys to meet us there. The pizza came with a
side Caesar salad, which I was happy to have a few bites of. (3 drinks
and 3 pork sandwich meals, $34.30; cheese pizza, $8.51)
We didn't think there would be enough time for us to eat lunch and still
catch the 12:00 showing of the Festival of the Lion King, but as Dale
was finishing up, I saw that we might still be able to make the show.
And as it turned out, they were still letting people in. We took some
of the last available seats.
I know lots of people are crazy about this show, but I have to admit
that I'm not too enthusiastic about it myself. It's high-energy --
really, maybe too high-energy. There's acrobatics and jumping around
and hand clapping and bright colors and fire dancing and flashing lights
and lots of loud singing, and in the end, it all kind of jumbled
together in a barrage of activity. Maybe just a wee bit overwhelming.
When the show was done, we decided to head back to Primeval Whirl. This
time I took Chip on it while DH and Dale went to the Boneyard. This was
the first time I've been on PW. It's a cute ride but a bit herky-jerky.
One of the things I miss about being younger -- never having to worry
about my back!
When we were done, we waited a bit for Dale and DH, and then we all got
some water. (3 bottles, $7.50) It was about 1:20 now, and the heat was
beginning to get to us. As we were standing around thinking about what
to do next, we noticed that there was virtually no line for Triceratop
Spin. Yes, we went on it *again*. Our MK plans call for skipping Dumbo
this year; we have more than made up for it.
Now we decided to try KRR one more time. The wait time was 30 minutes.
In theory, I want to go on this ride. I'm sure it's fun. But in
practice, I always weigh the fact that everyone says you stand the
chance of not just getting wet, but getting absolutely soaked, and I
just have no interest in walking around the park with soaking-wet
clothes. So I decided to skip it and go through Maharaja Jungle Trek.
I enjoyed walking the Trek at my own pace, stopping to look at animals
for exactly as long as I felt like.
Still, there was time to kill when I was done. The KRR wait time had
been pretty accurate. Unfortunately, there aren't many stores to browse
through near KRR, so I just did some people-watching instead. I did see
many drenched people walking out of KRR!
Dale felt that KRR was fun, while Chip and DH felt that the ride was too
short and not worth a 30 minute wait. (In retrospect, they felt that
Gang Plank Falls in Typhoon Lagoon was similar but way more fun.)
So with KRR done, we had seen the attractions we set out to see at AK.
The only thing I still wanted to do was just poke around and look at
stuff. At this point it was quite hot and everyone was getting a little
run down; I appreciated that the kids were willing to go along with my
plan, even though they weren't necessarily into it at first. We took
some of the paths around the Tree of Life and spotted animals on the
trunk and roots; I think spotting the animal carvings got Dale more into
the idea of stopping and looking at things. We also took a look at the
animals, birds, and fish in their little mini habitats. We enjoyed
seeing a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch.
Around 3:00, we decided it was time to head for the Studios. That would
give us plenty of time to get there for the 4:30 Indy show. We were
pretty tired when we got out to the bus stop; the heat does manage to
wear you down.
We got to the Studios by 3:20, and knew we really needed to get
something to drink. I remembered having frozen Cokes from a place near
Echo Lake, so we went to look for it and yay, they still sell them! (3
frozen Cokes, $11.07) We enjoyed those while trying to figure out what
to do until the stunt show started. The Block Party Bash was going on,
but we didn't feel like watching. For the heck of it, we decided to see
how long the stand-by was for Toy Story Mania. Sixty minutes, so that
was out. We ended up just taking a stroll around the Streets of America
and making our way over to Indy.
Once we got there, we learned that the show was supposed to start at
4:15, not 4:30 as I had thought. At 4:00 they let us go in and take a
seat.
It's been 16 years since I watched the Indy stunt show, but it seems to
me that it's pretty much exactly the way it was when I saw it in 1993.
For an 8 year old kid who has just discovered Indiana Jones, this is
pretty much the perfect show. I'm glad we found a way to work it into
our itinerary.
The downside is that the next morning, we discovered that Dale's Stitch-
style Mickey ears were nowhere to be found. The last place we remember
having them is at that show. We contacted Lost and Found while we were
still at WDW and again once we got home, but no one had turned them in.
That was so disappointing to us. First, they don't sell Stitch ears
anymore. Second, it was always fun for him to wear them because people
were always commenting on them. Third, why would someone find a kid's
Mickey ear hat with a name embroidered on it and not turn it in? It
makes me feel a little downhearted when I think about it. This is the
second year in a row that we lost something at WDW and had no luck with
Lost and Found. I really thought we had an excellent chance of getting
them back, but no.
After the show, we decided to have something to eat and figure out what
we felt like doing. We went over to the ABC Commissary, which I know
does not have many fans, but I have to say that we were satisfied with
what we ordered. We had the Asian salad and the chicken sandwich with
apples. Both were fine. The kids had kids meals, which seemed
basically acceptable to them. (salad, chicken sandwich, coke, water, 2
kids meals: $32.06)
While we were eating, a big storm rolled in. We watched people go by,
some with ponchos, some with umbrellas, some just getting soaked in the
rain. We were done eating but just kept sitting there, hoping the rain
would pass. Finally it did let up a bit, so we got out our ponchos. DH
found that his poncho had a tear. I had inadvertently packed every
single poncho we own, so there would be a good one waiting for him in
the room. We have a full set of the old ones with Mickey on the back
and another full set of ones with Disney Parks on the back, plus a
couple of spares.
We decided that we were pretty tired and ready just to go back to the
hotel and take it easy. The bus ride back to the hotel was quick. All
along we were hoping that the storm would let up so we could jump in the
pool, but that wasn't to be. Instead, we decided to go to Riverside
Mill and get some dessert. We split a piece of cheesecake, while the
kids had cookies and Chip got himself some grapes -- still a little
hungry after having a kids meal for dinner. (total, $12.00)
Afterward, we went to Fulton's General Store to get yet another
drawstring backpack! This time, one for Chip. He picked the 2009 one.
And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a case
of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year. :-\ My
sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some cream her
dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and hoped for
the best.
Today's Favorites
Me: Kilimanjaro Safari and looking around at the carvings and animals
DH: Expedition Everest
Chip: Primeval Whirl and Indy
Dale: TriceraTop Spin
Patty Winter
In article <Xns9CC7EBDB099F4...@85.214.113.135>,
Alpha <not...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>Now we decided to try KRR one more time. The wait time was 30 minutes.
>In theory, I want to go on this ride. I'm sure it's fun. But in
>practice, I always weigh the fact that everyone says you stand the
>chance of not just getting wet, but getting absolutely soaked, and I
>just have no interest in walking around the park with soaking-wet
>clothes. So I decided to skip it and go through Maharaja Jungle Trek.
A simple plastic poncho would take care of that concern! I don't think
the ride is as good as Grizzly River Run at DCA, but it's fun.
> Unfortunately, there aren't many stores to browse
>through near KRR, so I just did some people-watching instead.
Did you know that you can stand on a bridge and push buttons to make
elephants squirt the people on the ride? It's fun! Would have been
especially fun to do it to your own family. :-)
Patty
Keane
wrote:
>Tuesday, September 1
>
>I am what passes for an early riser in our family. I'd rather not get
>up when it's still dark out, but it's usually between 6:30 and 7:00 when
>I get out of bed, 7 days a week. This makes me the ideal person to
>venture out for morning coffee.
I won't correct you on the coffee thing...
>Our plan today was AK first, then hop over to the Studios to catch the
>Indy show. Chip first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark over the summer, and
>he was very interested to see the stunt show.
That's depressing. I remember seeing the first showing the day it
opened. The theater was empty. I was a lot younger...
>I know lots of people are crazy about this show, but I have to admit
>that I'm not too enthusiastic about it myself. It's high-energy --
>really, maybe too high-energy. There's acrobatics and jumping around
>and hand clapping and bright colors and fire dancing and flashing lights
>and lots of loud singing, and in the end, it all kind of jumbled
>together in a barrage of activity. Maybe just a wee bit overwhelming.
I tend to agree. I've seen the show once, and haven't been back.
Next time I'm there, I'm planning on seeing it again...
>Now we decided to try KRR one more time. The wait time was 30 minutes.
>In theory, I want to go on this ride. I'm sure it's fun. But in
>practice, I always weigh the fact that everyone says you stand the
>chance of not just getting wet, but getting absolutely soaked, and I
>just have no interest in walking around the park with soaking-wet
>clothes.
On similar raft rides, I've had water pour in the side, down my leg,
and into my shoe... So I've learned to put my feet up high, until the
last time I rode it, when water went down my leg, and into my shoe.
I'm convinced water from those rides can defy gravity, so it can find
it's way down my leg, and into my shoe...
>So with KRR done, we had seen the attractions we set out to see at AK.
>The only thing I still wanted to do was just poke around and look at
>stuff. At this point it was quite hot and everyone was getting a little
>run down; I appreciated that the kids were willing to go along with my
>plan, even though they weren't necessarily into it at first. We took
>some of the paths around the Tree of Life and spotted animals on the
>trunk and roots; I think spotting the animal carvings got Dale more into
>the idea of stopping and looking at things. We also took a look at the
>animals, birds, and fish in their little mini habitats. We enjoyed
>seeing a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch.
Have you ever wandered around AK at night? It's even better...
>We got to the Studios by 3:20, and knew we really needed to get
>something to drink. I remembered having frozen Cokes from a place near
>Echo Lake, so we went to look for it and yay, they still sell them! (3
>frozen Cokes, $11.07) We enjoyed those while trying to figure out what
>to do until the stunt show started. The Block Party Bash was going on,
>but we didn't feel like watching. For the heck of it, we decided to see
>how long the stand-by was for Toy Story Mania. Sixty minutes, so that
>was out.
Only 60 minutes? That's a short wait in the afternoon... :-)
>It's been 16 years since I watched the Indy stunt show, but it seems to
>me that it's pretty much exactly the way it was when I saw it in 1993.
>For an 8 year old kid who has just discovered Indiana Jones, this is
>pretty much the perfect show. I'm glad we found a way to work it into
>our itinerary.
They have shortened the show by about 5 minutes by taking out
the break in the Cairo segment. I haven't compared video to see
what else had changed.
>While we were eating, a big storm rolled in. We watched people go by,
>some with ponchos, some with umbrellas, some just getting soaked in the
>rain. We were done eating but just kept sitting there, hoping the rain
>would pass. Finally it did let up a bit, so we got out our ponchos. DH
>found that his poncho had a tear. I had inadvertently packed every
>single poncho we own, so there would be a good one waiting for him in
>the room. We have a full set of the old ones with Mickey on the back
>and another full set of ones with Disney Parks on the back, plus a
>couple of spares.
Now if you had ridden KRR and gotten soaked, it wouldn't have
mattered, would it? :-)
>And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a case
>of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year. :-\ My
>sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some cream her
>dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and hoped for
>the best.
Has anybody ever gotten to the bottom of this? I've never gotten a
'rash', but have other Sun related problems....
Keane
--
When stars are born, They possess a gift or two,
One of them is this, They have the power to make a wish come true...
-- Wishes
Visit my site: http://keanespics.com
Alpha
> A simple plastic poncho would take care of that concern!
The guys did wear their ponchos, but I've just heard too many stories about
people wearing the poncho and the water just poured right down it. :-)
> Did you know that you can stand on a bridge and push buttons to make
> elephants squirt the people on the ride? It's fun! Would have been
> especially fun to do it to your own family. :-)
Oh gosh. You know, some brain cell did know that, but it didn't speak up
while we were there. Darn!
-- Alpha
Alpha
> I won't correct you on the coffee thing...
:-) Am I just too forgiving of the coffee when I'm at WDW? Is it a matter
of being in vacation mode? Am I just so crazy tired that anything vaguely
resembling coffee gets a thumbs up?
I will say this: even though I don't mind the coffee at WDW, I'm never
tempted by a second cup.
> That's depressing. I remember seeing the first showing the day it
> opened. The theater was empty. I was a lot younger...
I remember my older brother coming home from having seen it and telling me,
You gotta see this movie!
> On similar raft rides, I've had water pour in the side, down my leg,
> and into my shoe... So I've learned to put my feet up high, until the
> last time I rode it, when water went down my leg, and into my shoe.
> I'm convinced water from those rides can defy gravity, so it can find
> it's way down my leg, and into my shoe...
:-) Reminds me of the time we walked around AK in the pouring rain,
getting our sneakers all soaked. Then we walked around Epcot in those wet
sneakers all day, and by the time we peeled the socks off that night, our
feet were all white. I know, that's a big eeewwwwww. :-)
> Have you ever wandered around AK at night? It's even better...
No, I haven't. :-( I *love* the parks at night, but we've never managed
to visit AK after dark.
>>And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a case
>>of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year. :-\ My
>>sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some cream her
>>dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and hoped for
>>the best.
>
> Has anybody ever gotten to the bottom of this? I've never gotten a
> 'rash', but have other Sun related problems....
When I looked into it online, I found that golfers call it golfer's rash,
and walkers call it walker's rash. (I always called it Disney rash,
naturally). I also found out that its real name is apparently vasculitis.
http://walking.about.com/od/medhot/a/legrash.htm
-- Alpha
Patty Winter
In article <Xns9CC8E61D6521F...@188.40.43.213>,
Alpha <not...@verizon.net> wrote:
>Keane says:
>
>> That's depressing. I remember seeing the first showing the day it
>> opened. The theater was empty. I was a lot younger...
>
>I remember my older brother coming home from having seen it and telling me,
>You gotta see this movie!
What movie are you talking about?
>> Have you ever wandered around AK at night? It's even better...
>
>No, I haven't. :-( I *love* the parks at night, but we've never managed
>to visit AK after dark.
The view across the lake from Flame Tree to Everest is beautiful.
Patty
Steve Russo
> Keane says:
>
> > I won't correct you on the coffee thing...
>
> :-) Am I just too forgiving of the coffee when I'm at WDW? Is it a matter
> of being in vacation mode? Am I just so crazy tired that anything vaguely
> resembling coffee gets a thumbs up?
>
> I will say this: even though I don't mind the coffee at WDW, I'm never
> tempted by a second cup.
>
As bad as the Nescafe is, the worst cup of coffee (by far) I've ever
had a WDW was one I brewed myself at PO-Riverside. It was either the
nasty tap water or the gawd-awful in-room French Roast I used - or a
combination of the two - but it was terrible. (And I *still* had a
second cup. Old habits are impossible to break.)
Rudeney
>
> I am what passes for an early riser in our family. I'd rather not get
> up when it's still dark out, but it's usually between 6:30 and 7:00 when
> I get out of bed, 7 days a week. This makes me the ideal person to
> venture out for morning coffee. This morning I awoke pretty early, even
> for me. (Of course, we had gone to bed at 8:30 or so.) It was about
> 6:00 when I decided to get up. I got dressed in the dark so as not to
> wake anyone, fumbled around for my room key, and headed over to the food
> court. I love the peaceful quiet of Riverside in the early morning.
> This morning there was just one other person in the food court (besides
> CMs). Another mom, as it turns out.
I'm not a morning person by any standards, but I do like to get out
early at WDW, and it does always seem so peaceful without all the
people. Some places,like around the BW can seem downright spooky
without all the people!
> got to the bus stop at
> about 8:20 and chatted with a family from Denver. The mom told us that
> Denver schools had already been in session for 3 weeks!
Yeah, our schools are like that, too. We only get 10 weeks of summer
vacation and they start back in early August. It aggravates me because
they still only have 180 days of classes, so the schedule is peppered
with various off days. Not only do these single off days not give
anyone enough time for an off-peak vacation, many working parents end up
having to pay for day camp for the kids.
> So they pulled
> their daughter out for vacation. The daughter was just about 8, same as
> my older son.
We never pulled DD out for vacation, but we did once with our
granddaughter. We booked a DCL trip around a long Labor Day holiday
when they lived in Georgia, but they ended up moving back to Alabama
before the trip so those were no longer off days. It was just three
days out of school but it was a major hassle and one of her teachers
threatened to report her for truancy! Never again!
> We were on our bus within 10 minutes. This year the bus system worked
> out very well for us. Not quite as good as last year, where it always
> seemed like WDW was reading our minds and dispatching a bus timed to
> arrive within moments of our getting to the bus stop. But no long, long
> waits.
Great!
> This year we went back and forth about whether to get a stroller. Of
> course, we haven't used a stroller at home in years, but we've gotten
> them at WDW because the distance we typically walk in a day is immense
> and exhausting. When we had mentioned it to my sister, her reaction
> was, "Are you crazy? Get the stroller!" So we got a stroller. :-)
Really? For 6 and 8 year old boys? I'm surprised they ride in it!
> Next up, the 10:30 showing of Finding Nemo - The Musical. This show was
> a real treat! I think it went on a little too long for Dale's taste,
> but the puppetry and costumes were really something. Chip felt the
> puppeteers were distracting, but overall thought it was a good show.
I haven't seen it yet. The timing was always wrong on my last trip!
> Once the show was done, we headed over to Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch.
> It was about 11:15. It's very handy that we normally like to eat an
> early lunch, because it always makes sense to eat early at WDW parks.
> No lines and plenty of tables. Dale didn't find anything he wanted to
> eat there, so when I finished my pulled pork sandwich, I took him over
> to Pizzafari and asked the guys to meet us there. The pizza came with a
> side Caesar salad, which I was happy to have a few bites of. (3 drinks
> and 3 pork sandwich meals, $34.30; cheese pizza, $8.51)
Wow! That was expensive! While the pizza at WDW is not bad, I find it
no better than the $1.75/slice pizza they have at Costco. And having
grown up in Alabama where there are two barbecue restaurants on every
corner, I'm fairly particular about my pulled pork. While Flame Tree is
not the worst, it's not worth that price! I've actually had better at
the Winn Dixie deli.
> I know lots of people are crazy about this show, but I have to admit
> that I'm not too enthusiastic about it myself. It's high-energy --
> really, maybe too high-energy. There's acrobatics and jumping around
> and hand clapping and bright colors and fire dancing and flashing lights
> and lots of loud singing, and in the end, it all kind of jumbled
> together in a barrage of activity. Maybe just a wee bit overwhelming.
I think what I like about it is being so close to the acrobats. While
the whole "camp sing along" thing as a bit cheesy, that, and the small
size of the arena makes you really feel like part of th show.
> When the show was done, we decided to head back to Primeval Whirl. This
> time I took Chip on it while DH and Dale went to the Boneyard. This was
> the first time I've been on PW. It's a cute ride but a bit herky-jerky.
> One of the things I miss about being younger -- never having to worry
> about my back!
LOL! You and me both! I never get motion sick, but the older I get,
the more things bother my back.
> Now we decided to try KRR one more time. The wait time was 30 minutes.
> In theory, I want to go on this ride. I'm sure it's fun. But in
> practice, I always weigh the fact that everyone says you stand the
> chance of not just getting wet, but getting absolutely soaked, and I
> just have no interest in walking around the park with soaking-wet
> clothes. So I decided to skip it and go through Maharaja Jungle Trek.
> I enjoyed walking the Trek at my own pace, stopping to look at animals
> for exactly as long as I felt like.
KRR is a fun ride, but given the high likelihood of a complete soaking,
it's not "that" fun. It needs to last at least a minute or two longer
and have more to look at than smoldering rain forest.
> Dale felt that KRR was fun, while Chip and DH felt that the ride was too
> short and not worth a 30 minute wait. (In retrospect, they felt that
> Gang Plank Falls in Typhoon Lagoon was similar but way more fun.)
I've stayed drier on Teamboat Springs at BB (and it's longer and more fun).
> It's been 16 years since I watched the Indy stunt show, but it seems to
> me that it's pretty much exactly the way it was when I saw it in 1993.
Yep, and it's probably about time to retire it an replace it with
something new. I had assumed that once the LMA stunt show opened,
that's what would happen. Oh well!
> For an 8 year old kid who has just discovered Indiana Jones, this is
> pretty much the perfect show. I'm glad we found a way to work it into
> our itinerary.
I think it's a great show the fist time you see it. The second is not
too bad because you get to pick up on some of the details you might have
missed, but after that, eh, no thanks!
> The downside is that the next morning, we discovered that Dale's Stitch-
> style Mickey ears were nowhere to be found. The last place we remember
> having them is at that show. We contacted Lost and Found while we were
> still at WDW and again once we got home, but no one had turned them in.
> That was so disappointing to us. First, they don't sell Stitch ears
> anymore. Second, it was always fun for him to wear them because people
> were always commenting on them. Third, why would someone find a kid's
> Mickey ear hat with a name embroidered on it and not turn it in? It
> makes me feel a little downhearted when I think about it. This is the
> second year in a row that we lost something at WDW and had no luck with
> Lost and Found. I really thought we had an excellent chance of getting
> them back, but no.
The only time I've had any luck getting retrieving a lost item was when
Katie left her hat on BTMRR. She had taken it off for the ride and left
it in the seat. We realized it when we went to board Splash, and o we
went back and the CM still had it there on the platform. It was nothing
special (no personalization or anything), but we had just bought it that
morning.
> And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a case
> of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year. :-\ My
> sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some cream her
> dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and hoped for
> the best.
It's funny, I never get that, but my wife does. It makes me wonder if
it's not just a rash, but bug bites. I know at home, she can't go
outside without being covered in bug bites (mosquitoes and nosSeeuUm's)
I think it's because she coats her skin with lotion and that attracts
the bugs. I'd let my skin turn to dust before using lotion - I can't
stand it.
--
- RODNEY
Next WDW Vacation?
Who knows!
Need to know more about RADP (rec.arts.disney.parks)?
Rudeney
Reminds me of a skit (probably from SNL) where the guy drinks curdled
milk from the jug, makes a face, then does it again.
Steve Russo
> Alpha wrote:
>
> > I am what passes for an early riser in our family. I'd rather not get
> > up when it's still dark out, but it's usually between 6:30 and 7:00 when
> > I get out of bed, 7 days a week. This makes me the ideal person to
> > venture out for morning coffee. This morning I awoke pretty early, even
> > for me. (Of course, we had gone to bed at 8:30 or so.) It was about
> > 6:00 when I decided to get up. I got dressed in the dark so as not to
> > wake anyone, fumbled around for my room key, and headed over to the food
> > court. I love the peaceful quiet of Riverside in the early morning.
> > This morning there was just one other person in the food court (besides
> > CMs). Another mom, as it turns out.
>
> I'm not a morning person by any standards, but I do like to get out
> early at WDW, and it does always seem so peaceful without all the
> people. Some places,like around the BW can seem downright spooky
> without all the people!
>
My early rising is well documented here but I can say there's nothing
like the early morning at a WDW resort - be it the Boardwalk, PO-
Riverside, French Quarter, Caribbean Beach, Beach Club... I've walked
them all in the pre-dawn hours. Save for the occasional CM with a
power washer, or someone straightening the beach chairs, or making
muffins in the Boardwalk Bakery, you're all alone at WDW and when else
can you say that?
Alpha
>>I remember my older brother coming home from having seen it and
>>telling me, You gotta see this movie!
>
> What movie are you talking about?
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
-- Alpha
Alpha
> As bad as the Nescafe is, the worst cup of coffee (by far) I've ever
> had a WDW was one I brewed myself at PO-Riverside. It was either the
> nasty tap water or the gawd-awful in-room French Roast I used - or a
> combination of the two - but it was terrible.
Yeah, I tried that too. Horrible!
> (And I *still* had a
> second cup. Old habits are impossible to break.)
:-D Oh man. I couldn't even have a second *sip*!
-- Alpha
Alpha
> Yeah, our schools are like that, too. We only get 10 weeks of summer
> vacation and they start back in early August. It aggravates me
> because they still only have 180 days of classes, so the schedule is
> peppered with various off days. Not only do these single off days not
> give anyone enough time for an off-peak vacation, many working parents
> end up having to pay for day camp for the kids.
My nieces and nephew's school district in SW FL starts in mid-August,
but afaik they also only do the regular 180 days. I wonder if it would
save the school district some money in air conditioning costs if they
would do more to compress the school year rather than expand it.
> We never pulled DD out for vacation, but we did once with our
> granddaughter. We booked a DCL trip around a long Labor Day holiday
> when they lived in Georgia, but they ended up moving back to Alabama
> before the trip so those were no longer off days. It was just three
> days out of school but it was a major hassle and one of her teachers
> threatened to report her for truancy! Never again!
Ack! My older son is in an advanced academic program, and his teacher
keeps them pretty busy. I think last year we could have gotten away
with taking them out of school, but now it would be a burden to him if
we did.
>> This year we went back and forth about whether to get a stroller. Of
>> course, we haven't used a stroller at home in years, but we've gotten
>> them at WDW because the distance we typically walk in a day is
>> immense and exhausting. When we had mentioned it to my sister, her
>> reaction was, "Are you crazy? Get the stroller!" So we got a
>> stroller. :-)
>
> Really? For 6 and 8 year old boys? I'm surprised they ride in it!
My older son didn't use it, just the younger one, and he was pretty
happy to have the ride. It doesn't look or seem like a stroller, so I
don't think they feel any particular stigma about it.
>> Once the show was done, we headed over to Flame Tree Barbecue for
>> lunch. It was about 11:15. It's very handy that we normally like to
>> eat an early lunch, because it always makes sense to eat early at WDW
>> parks. No lines and plenty of tables. Dale didn't find anything he
>> wanted to eat there, so when I finished my pulled pork sandwich, I
>> took him over to Pizzafari and asked the guys to meet us there. The
>> pizza came with a side Caesar salad, which I was happy to have a few
>> bites of. (3 drinks and 3 pork sandwich meals, $34.30; cheese pizza,
>> $8.51)
>
> Wow! That was expensive! While the pizza at WDW is not bad, I find
> it no better than the $1.75/slice pizza they have at Costco. And
> having grown up in Alabama where there are two barbecue restaurants on
> every corner, I'm fairly particular about my pulled pork. While Flame
> Tree is not the worst, it's not worth that price! I've actually had
> better at the Winn Dixie deli.
Well, you know how it is. You can't expect AK to come up with a bbq
sandwich that rivals what a real bbq joint will sell you, and you can't
expect WDW not to charge you an arm and a leg. ;-) But I have to
disagree about the pizza at WDW, or at least the pizza I've come across.
It's all that conveyor-belt pizza with the super thick crust. Bleh.
> KRR is a fun ride, but given the high likelihood of a complete
> soaking, it's not "that" fun. It needs to last at least a minute or
> two longer and have more to look at than smoldering rain forest.
I'm trying to imagine what would make me want to ride KRR at this point.
Only if I happen to bring with me a complete change of clothing. DH and
the kids didn't get too wet, but I don't want to tempt fate.
>> Dale felt that KRR was fun, while Chip and DH felt that the ride was
>> too short and not worth a 30 minute wait. (In retrospect, they felt
>> that Gang Plank Falls in Typhoon Lagoon was similar but way more
>> fun.)
>
> I've stayed drier on Teamboat Springs at BB (and it's longer and more
> fun).
lol!
>> For an 8 year old kid who has just discovered Indiana Jones, this is
>> pretty much the perfect show. I'm glad we found a way to work it
>> into our itinerary.
>
> I think it's a great show the fist time you see it. The second is not
> too bad because you get to pick up on some of the details you might
> have missed, but after that, eh, no thanks!
Yeah, that's why we didn't bother with it for 16 years!
> It's funny, I never get that, but my wife does. It makes me wonder if
> it's not just a rash, but bug bites. I know at home, she can't go
> outside without being covered in bug bites (mosquitoes and
> nosSeeuUm's)
> I think it's because she coats her skin with lotion and that
> attracts
> the bugs. I'd let my skin turn to dust before using lotion - I can't
> stand it.
In my case, I'm certain it's not bug bites. It's sore for awhile and
only starts to itch after the healing begins, like how a cut sometimes
starts to itch after it begins healing.
I actually took a picture of my rash to email to my sister, so that we
could compare and see if we had the same thing. I took the picture
after our AK day, but I wish I had taken one after the Epcot day -- wow,
it was just raging, solid red and swollen. Really uncomfortable.
-- Alpha
Keane
wrote:
>Steve says:
>
>> As bad as the Nescafe is, the worst cup of coffee (by far) I've ever
>> had a WDW was one I brewed myself at PO-Riverside. It was either the
>> nasty tap water or the gawd-awful in-room French Roast I used - or a
>> combination of the two - but it was terrible.
>
>Yeah, I tried that too. Horrible!
Well, if it's a true French Roast, it's one step short of...carbon.
It's a very dark roast. (The next darker roast, Italian Roast, *is*
carbon. Burnt to a crisp.)
Light city roasts for me, thanks!
>> (And I *still* had a
>> second cup. Old habits are impossible to break.)
Addiction. It's a terrible thing.
>:-D Oh man. I couldn't even have a second *sip*!
>
>-- Alpha
And you can drink Neca... Nes... That WDW stuff? :-)
Keane
wrote:
>> This year we went back and forth about whether to get a stroller. Of
>> course, we haven't used a stroller at home in years, but we've gotten
>> them at WDW because the distance we typically walk in a day is immense
>> and exhausting. When we had mentioned it to my sister, her reaction
>> was, "Are you crazy? Get the stroller!" So we got a stroller. :-)
>
>Really? For 6 and 8 year old boys? I'm surprised they ride in it!
Hell, Rodney, if I could get someone to push me around, *I'd* ride in
it.
Keane, who'd stop short of wearing a diaper...Maybe....
Keane
wrote:
>
>In article <Xns9CC8E61D6521F...@188.40.43.213>,
>Alpha <not...@verizon.net> wrote:
>>Keane says:
>>
>>> That's depressing. I remember seeing the first showing the day it
>>> opened. The theater was empty. I was a lot younger...
>>
>>I remember my older brother coming home from having seen it and telling me,
>>You gotta see this movie!
>
>What movie are you talking about?
The Adventure of Indiana Jones, Chapter 24. (Alpha already gave
you the more common title. :-))
>>> Have you ever wandered around AK at night? It's even better...
>>
>>No, I haven't. :-( I *love* the parks at night, but we've never managed
>>to visit AK after dark.
>
>The view across the lake from Flame Tree to Everest is beautiful.
>
>
>Patty
Here's my favorite night shot of ExE, part of an interesting sequence
of photos taken on three different trips...
http://keanespics.com/ThemeParks/WDW/AK/200504WDW_EExC27081.htm
Keane
wrote:
>Keane says:
>
>> I won't correct you on the coffee thing...
>
>:-) Am I just too forgiving of the coffee when I'm at WDW? Is it a matter
>of being in vacation mode? Am I just so crazy tired that anything vaguely
>resembling coffee gets a thumbs up?
I think calling it 'coffee' is just too generous a word. I also think
there's a reason Disney put coffee makers in every resort room.
(Above a value, anyway, and I even got them there.) I think even
Disney knows Nesc... the stuff they serve isn't real coffee.
Okay, maybe I'm a coffee snob. I'm even bringing a water filter with
me next time to try to improve on that crappy Orlando water. :-)
>> That's depressing. I remember seeing the first showing the day it
>> opened. The theater was empty. I was a lot younger...
>
>I remember my older brother coming home from having seen it and telling me,
>You gotta see this movie!
Since I saw the first show on opening day, I had no clue. After the
first scene in the movie, I remember looking at my watch thinking that
had to be the end of the movie...
I dunno, I've seen the Stunt Show a half dozen times. It's a fun way
to get off your feet for 25 minutes. It would be better if it had
more comfortable seats and air conditioning, though.
>:-) Reminds me of the time we walked around AK in the pouring rain,
>getting our sneakers all soaked. Then we walked around Epcot in those wet
>sneakers all day, and by the time we peeled the socks off that night, our
>feet were all white. I know, that's a big eeewwwwww. :-)
Documented in my last trip report, is going back to the hotel at
Universal Orlando and using the hair drier to dry out my shoes.
Something to keep in mind...
>> Have you ever wandered around AK at night? It's even better...
>
>No, I haven't. :-( I *love* the parks at night, but we've never managed
>to visit AK after dark.
Take the time. In summer, it has to be during a late EMH since the
park closes early, but do it even if all you do is walk around before
going to another park.
>>>And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a case
>>>of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year. :-\ My
>>>sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some cream her
>>>dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and hoped for
>>>the best.
>>
>> Has anybody ever gotten to the bottom of this? I've never gotten a
>> 'rash', but have other Sun related problems....
>
>When I looked into it online, I found that golfers call it golfer's rash,
>and walkers call it walker's rash. (I always called it Disney rash,
>naturally). I also found out that its real name is apparently vasculitis.
>http://walking.about.com/od/medhot/a/legrash.htm
Thanks for the link. I noticed this:
"The rash is more common in people over 50."
What the heck is with 50? I think I fell apart when I hit 50.
Sandi Femino
<3547da06-2f99-407a...@e31g2000vbm.googlegroups.com>,
Steve Russo <sru...@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
> My early rising is well documented here but I can say there's nothing
> like the early morning at a WDW resort - be it the Boardwalk, PO-
> Riverside, French Quarter, Caribbean Beach, Beach Club... I've walked
> them all in the pre-dawn hours. Save for the occasional CM with a
> power washer, or someone straightening the beach chairs, or making
> muffins in the Boardwalk Bakery, you're all alone at WDW and when else
> can you say that?
Being more of a night owl...I'd have to say at the end of extra hours
at the MK. One night, many years ago, walking through AdventureLand
with my 2 children after riding Splash. We did not see anyone, and the
ambient music interspersed with jungle drums was a tad spooky :)
--
Sandi Femino
Alpha <not...@verizon.net> wrote:
> I actually took a picture of my rash to email to my sister, so that we
> could compare and see if we had the same thing. I took the picture
> after our AK day, but I wish I had taken one after the Epcot day -- wow,
> it was just raging, solid red and swollen. Really uncomfortable.
DD was stricken with this, and it was after a day in Epcot as well. We
went into the first aid station thereand they gave some sort of cream...
--
Lisa Cubbon
some on and it does the trick.
Lisa
Rudeney
I remember walking from the BW to the YC late one night (actually, very
early one morning) after closing down the Belle Vue Room with a few
other RADP'ers. I was the only human around Crescent Lake. It was
serene, yet spooky.
Ginny Favers
> Tuesday, September 1
The muffin probably
> wouldn't be a whole lot better than a donut, honestly, but it somehow
> doesn't have quite the guilt factor built in.
I let Miles eat a giant frosted cookie from the Main St Bakery for
breakfast, once. I figured what's the difference? It's all white
flour, sugar and butter.
> Our plan today was AK first, then hop over to the Studios to catch the
> Indy show. Chip first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark over the summer, and
> he was very interested to see the stunt show. We got to the bus stop at
> about 8:20 and chatted with a family from Denver. The mom told us that
> Denver schools had already been in session for 3 weeks!
Miles has that schedule. Consolation prize is they are out by Memorial
Day and they have full weeks off for all the holidays.
> This year we went back and forth about whether to get a stroller. Of
> course, we haven't used a stroller at home in years, but we've gotten
> them at WDW because the distance we typically walk in a day is immense
> and exhausting.
Miles could do all of the parks by age 4 without one, except for Epcot.
Heck, I need a stroller in Epcot.
> The next ride on our itinerary was KRR, but it wasn't expected to open
> until later in the day.
I hate it when Disney does this. Heaven forbid something be open when
it wouldn't be crowded.
On the way, we noticed that EE's wait time was only
> 5 minutes. DH was the only one who wanted to go on, so I told him to go
> ahead and ride, and meet us in Dinoland. I probably would have gone on
> it if the kids had wanted to too, but without them going, I just decided
> to pass. DH said EE was awesome.
You should take turns doing the single rider line next time.
> Next up, the 10:30 showing of Finding Nemo - The Musical. This show was
> a real treat! I think it went on a little too long for Dale's taste,
> but the puppetry and costumes were really something. Chip felt the
> puppeteers were distracting, but overall thought it was a good show.
Some people just hate the format. I think you're supposed to watch both
the performer and the puppet. The performers are fully in character,
and you could almost run the show without the puppets at all.
> Once the show was done, we headed over to Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch.
> It was about 11:15. It's very handy that we normally like to eat an
> early lunch, because it always makes sense to eat early at WDW parks.
> No lines and plenty of tables.
I totally agree. My times I try to dine at WDW are 11:30 a.m. and
3:30/4:30 p.m.
> As we were standing around thinking about what
> to do next, we noticed that there was virtually no line for Triceratop
> Spin. Yes, we went on it *again*. Our MK plans call for skipping Dumbo
> this year; we have more than made up for it.
Thank you for riding Triceratop Spin today. We know you have lots of
choices when choosing something to go around and around in circles in,
so we thank you for choosing Triceratop Spin.
> Now we decided to try KRR one more time. The wait time was 30 minutes.
> In theory, I want to go on this ride. I'm sure it's fun. But in
> practice, I always weigh the fact that everyone says you stand the
> chance of not just getting wet, but getting absolutely soaked, and I
> just have no interest in walking around the park with soaking-wet
> clothes.
There's turbo dryers in the bathrooms. I swear you can get your
underwear dry, not to mention your outer clothing, with those things.
You should go for it next time. Just wear waterproof shoes.
> Dale felt that KRR was fun, while Chip and DH felt that the ride was too
> short and not worth a 30 minute wait. (In retrospect, they felt that
> Gang Plank Falls in Typhoon Lagoon was similar but way more fun.)
Teamboat Springs at Blizzard Beach is the best raft ride I've ever been
on, though I hear the Grizzly River Rapids attraction at Disneyland in
CA is spectacular.
> We also took a look at the
> animals, birds, and fish in their little mini habitats. We enjoyed
> seeing a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch.
Hey, that's new! Where was that?
> The downside is that the next morning, we discovered that Dale's Stitch-
> style Mickey ears were nowhere to be found. The last place we remember
> having them is at that show. We contacted Lost and Found while we were
> still at WDW and again once we got home, but no one had turned them in.
> That was so disappointing to us. First, they don't sell Stitch ears
> anymore. Second, it was always fun for him to wear them because people
> were always commenting on them. Third, why would someone find a kid's
> Mickey ear hat with a name embroidered on it and not turn it in? It
> makes me feel a little downhearted when I think about it. This is the
> second year in a row that we lost something at WDW and had no luck with
> Lost and Found. I really thought we had an excellent chance of getting
> them back, but no.
They're the same place Miles' Camelbak hydration pack went. He left it
in his seat at MuppetVision, another guest hollered at us that he left
it about ten feet outside the exit doors, we turned back around to get
it, the seats were already filled with new guests and the theater was
going dark, we waited and walked down all the rows we thought we might
have been sitting in as those guests got up and left, didn't find it...
never saw it again. Was never turned in anywhere.
> And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a case
> of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year. :-\ My
> sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some cream her
> dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and hoped for
> the best.
>
What exactly causes that? Is it specific to pavement? Do runners get it?
~Amanda
Alpha
> I let Miles eat a giant frosted cookie from the Main St Bakery for
> breakfast, once. I figured what's the difference? It's all white
> flour, sugar and butter.
Yeah, and plus, it's vacation. I try not to get too worked up about it.
On the other hand, if my kids eat too much junk, they start being not so
fun to be with -- cranky, maybe stomach-achy, lethargic.
> Miles has that schedule. Consolation prize is they are out by
> Memorial Day and they have full weeks off for all the holidays.
We go the day after Labor Day, but the kids don't have 2 full weeks at
Christmas, and they go until mid-late June.
> Miles could do all of the parks by age 4 without one, except for
> Epcot.
> Heck, I need a stroller in Epcot.
I hear ya! That's what DH and I kept saying. I know my younger son
could have done the parks this year without a stroller, but the question
mark is whether any of us would want to be hanging around with him when
he starts getting worn out. He can be a bit... feisty.
> On the way, we noticed that EE's wait time was only
>> 5 minutes. DH was the only one who wanted to go on, so I told him to
>> go ahead and ride, and meet us in Dinoland. I probably would have
>> gone on it if the kids had wanted to too, but without them going, I
>> just decided to pass. DH said EE was awesome.
>
> You should take turns doing the single rider line next time.
I'm not a huge coaster fan, but I would have been willing to try it if
everyone was going.
>> Dale felt that KRR was fun, while Chip and DH felt that the ride was
>> too short and not worth a 30 minute wait. (In retrospect, they felt
>> that Gang Plank Falls in Typhoon Lagoon was similar but way more
>> fun.)
>
> Teamboat Springs at Blizzard Beach is the best raft ride I've ever
> been on,
Yes! I agree, it's awesome and it seems to last forever! Gang Plank
Falls is fun, but you can't beat how long Teamboat Springs lasts.
>> We also took a look at the
>> animals, birds, and fish in their little mini habitats. We enjoyed
>> seeing a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch.
>
> Hey, that's new! Where was that?
There's a path entrance not too far from Pizzafari. The first thing you
see is that giant catfish -- the Paroon Shark-Catfish that Laura
included in her blog on Deb's site. Go in farther, and the kangaroos
were on the right.
> They're the same place Miles' Camelbak hydration pack went. He left
> it in his seat at MuppetVision, another guest hollered at us that he
> left it about ten feet outside the exit doors, we turned back around
> to get it, the seats were already filled with new guests and the
> theater was going dark, we waited and walked down all the rows we
> thought we might have been sitting in as those guests got up and left,
> didn't find it... never saw it again. Was never turned in anywhere.
Argh. People are vultures.
I still can't get over that someone would want a set of Mickey ears with
someone else's name on it.
>> And when we got back to the room, I found out that I already had a
>> case of "walker's rash" just above my ankle. I get it every year.
>> :-\ My sister had gotten it over the summer and passed along some
>> cream her dermatologist gave her for it, so I put some of that on and
>> hoped for the best.
>>
> What exactly causes that? Is it specific to pavement? Do runners get
> it?
From what I've read about it, it doesn't seem like they know too much
about it. It's just some kind of heat rash. I always seem to get it
when I've been on pavement, so I feel like it does have something to do
with heat radiating off the pavement... but then again, golfers
apparently get it, and they're on grass most of the time.
-- Alpha