LifL and DW's TR

Thank you all for your patience. I put a lot of time and effort into these things and I hope that shows. I'm going to try to force myself to sit down and do some work on the TR tonight because it's only going to get busier for me from here.

Tuesday - Magic Kingdom, Special Surprise, and MNSSHP

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom first thing in the morning and it was very special before we even entered the park. Just milling around briefly before rope drop, I got that same feeling of unabated joy - like nothing outside this little magical world mattered. DW was fittingly wide-eyed, but did her best not to jump up and down with glee (she did slip a couple times ). Once inside, we marveled at all the little details. DW was in awe of the whole environment, somewhat overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds. I was really excited about all the fall and Halloween decorations, as to my recollection I had never been to DL or WDW during Halloween. It was funny trying my best to steer DW away from all the MNSSHP signs everywhere. She was so excited, I don't think she took the time to read any of them! A few minutes earlier on the monorail ride in, DW mentioned the Halloween themed characters on the windows, but I was able to play it down and she didn't notice it was a sign for the MNSSHP.

As we stepped onto Main Street USA, my mind was racing with thoughts of all the things we could do and should do first. Since I knew we had the Halloween party later, we didn't need to worry about getting to the most popular attractions first thing. With that, I decided we'd head to Frontierland and get a fastpass for the venerable Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. While it's been around as long as I have, I still find it very exciting. As we arrived in Frontierland; looking around, we realized we were about the only ones there. We grabbed a FP just for grins, then we entered the BTMRR queue. I think the wait read 5min, but they lie...it wasn't even five. As we were getting ready to board, I noticed this was going to be a mostly empty train. Being a coaster nut, I realized the ride might suffer a bit as the lack of inertial energy (from the weight of a full train) will tend to slow things down. Sure enough it was a relatively slow, dull ride. Still fun, but not the wild ride I was expecting.

After our somewhat disappointing train ride, we did some sight-seeing then made our way over to Adventureland. While there is plenty of fun to be had in Adventureland, we (at my urging) made a beeline for PotC. I have probably been on this ride more than any other Disney attraction and it still does it for me. It's just such a perfect synthesis of theming, visual and auditory effects, with that special magic you can't quite put your finger on. I was honestly pretty upset with the PotC movie refurbishment because the ride is near and dear to me; it almost felt sacrilegious. Once I rode it a couple times though (in 06/07), it grew on me and Captain Jack really works well with the rest of the theming. Since the line was Nil, we rode once or twice more. As many times as I've ridden, I still find new details every now and then. One that I never miss is the dirty foot pirate. He has been a favorite since my brother and I were very young. I was thrilled to see he was still there when I returned as an adult. If you're not familiar, look for him next time you ride - can't miss him. As we exited the ride, we decided to spend some time in gift shop before we left the area. We were on the hunt for CM's with pin lanyards and found a very friendly one with pins we liked. As we were getting ready to leave, I noticed a CM behind one of the counters with a lanyard that we had missed. We made our way over to him (an older CM in pirate regalia), only to be greeted by and an "Arr, how ye be!?" (or some such). We just chuckled and went on scoping out his pins. As we stood there, he engaged us in conversation...pirate conversation. As it went on, I kept expecting him to break character as our pleasant conversation wore on but he didn't. We talked to him for five or ten minutes and he managed to keep up the pirate jargon and never even cracked a smile. It was really fun (and he was just a shop CM, not one of the PotC performers).

Our day is just getting started, but I'll stop here as I try to deliver bite-sized bits:) There is much more to come.

Well, I was sure she was going to notice all the signs; I mean they are EVERYWHERE! I think we even heard a commercial for the MNSSHP at one point announcing tickets were still available (on the Monorail maybe?). Lucky for me, she was really taken away by all the sights and sounds - which was a joy in itself. We did have ADR's this day, and it was one of those things that just worked out perfectly. Wasn't my first choice of ADR, but I'm glad it did end up being my choice. I'll cover our table service meal and all the other details soon.

admin - The conversation itself was somewhat typical. After we finished looking at/exchanging pins we talked about how long we had been there, what we had done, and what we had yet to do. It wouldn't have been at all remarkable had it not been so piratey:) Having been so, it was really fun.

Sorry I've been away all. Life and work have both been very busy, then my PC took a header. Still have DW's iMac, so I can rest easy knowing at least that one will work.

Just wanted to say hi and let everyone know I will finish the TR. Status is still much the same; busy and minus one computer in the house. Hopefully I can still remember all the juicy details of our trip at this point. Will post the next day as soon as I can.

--In the meantime, if you're a DVC owner, please see my new thread. Planning for our next trip has begun.

I had planned on doing some work on the ole TR this weekend, but lucky me I got sick again. I usually only get sick once every couple years, but I got food poisoning two weeks ago and yesterday got something similar again. I don't eat out much, so even that is pretty rare for me. This time, it may have been some sort of stomach flu but symptoms were similar to severe food poisoning. Not a fun time.

I am feeling better, but not quite normal yet.

Sorry for the long delay friends. Funny, as I was preparing to write this I was reminded how exciting it is to recount our adventures and write these (just as it is when I read those of others).

Tuesday - Magic Kingdom pt. 2

After our memorable experience at the pirate shop, we headed out to explore the rest of Adventureland. As the sun was nearing its peak (or apogee for Z), it was getting quite warm. Accordingly, we meandered over to the Enchanted Tiki Room for some levity and AC. We must have gotten there just as the prior show was beginning because the wait was quite long. The pre-show was relatively fun, but not enough to watch it again (before the show). Once inside, I had one of those special Disney experiences where I began to remember things I had no idea I remembered! Interestingly, the things that struck me as familiar were small details like background characters and theming along the walls and ceiling. As we were enjoying the show I was giggling to myself about how Iago still makes me smile. He is the most likable 'bad guy' ever, if you ask me. Oddly enough, with all the memories and familiar bits, I didn't even consider the show itself was quite different (until just now in fact). While the show was fun, for me the best part was the memories it brought back and the overall nostalgia. As we walked back into the heat of midday, we decided it was time for a Dole Whip! We took our time making the short trip to Sunshine Tree Terrace, stopping to check out the Aladdin themed scenery in the area and the wide-eyed kiddos. As delicious as Dole Whips are, there is something special about enjoying one on a beautiful (albeit hot) sunny day in Adventureland. After slurping every last remnant of Dole Whip from the bottom of the cup, we decided to check out he Jungle Cruise. Walking up, we were please to see that the wait was minimal. I did not remember much about the JC and wasn't even sure if I had ridden it as a child. This was one of the more pleasant surprises of the trip, for me. I did not recall the skipper being a big, if not paramount, part of the attraction. It was corny, silly, and right up our alley. It was one of those things where it was funny...even when it (the skipper) wasn't very funny. LOL, you know like when someone tells a joke that is completely lame, but so much so it's hilarious? The skipper wasn't all that funny on his own but mixed with the scripted aspects, environment, and fact that he was a heavyset fellow who could not keep his shorts up...it was a hoot. I can't wait to ride it again with a different CM.

Looking longingly at Space Mountain, closed for refurb

All morning I'd been keeping close track of the time because I've got big plans for my sweetie, but I've had to do so without her knowing I am! As we walked away from the JC I calculated we had some time to kill but didn't want to venture too far from where her big surprise would begin (behind the castle). Given the aforesaid, I suggested we check out the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. This was another one of those attractions that was neat because it was so familiar. I hadn't seen it up close since I was a child, and at Disneyland. We took our time walking through and taking lots of pictures. I had hoped to spend enough time here to lead into the big event, but it wasn't quite enough. So I took DW over to the Haunted Mansion because I figured we could be in and out. Sure enough, we walked right on. This is one of my all time favorites and it never disappoints. There are so many elements I remember well, but there are plenty of surprises as well. Both elements from the refurbishment as well as little details that were missed. I have to say, I think the Imagineers outdid themselves with this refurb. I'm sure we can all relate to the nervous feeling as you are about to ride an old favorite ride that has just been updated. Not only did they not detract from the appeal of the attraction, I think they improved it significantly (which I wouldn't have thought possible). We really got a kick out of the new attic scene.

Hope everyone is still enjoying the trip report. I'm doing my best to include all the fun minutia from memory, but it's tough after six months. I am motivated to get the rest of this done though because I want to start a new trip planning thread, but I promised myself I wouldn't until this was done.

Once the ride got started, it did all seem familiar. It's funny though, as a young child it was all about the "animals" for me. I don't think I paid much attention to the skipper at all back then. As an adult, that's the best part!

Whelp, I set aside some time (actually, I just stole it from sleepy time ) to update the TR but I wanted to upload some pictures to share. Since that has taken longer than expected (had to go through lots of pictures, then upload a bunch to PB since we hadn't yet), that will be my update for the evening. I'm going to update the existing posts with relevant pictures. Hope you guys enjoy.

Alright, I've finished with the first chunk of pictures. Hope you might enjoy re-reading the first couple entries with the photos. Time for me to hurry off and sleep fast; work comes soon.