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| Christa Grant's
Trip Report August / September 05 |
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Day 10 - Part 1 Relaxation & Disney
- Isn't that an Oxymoron?
I
could tell that our trip was ending shortly. I was starting to
say things like, “this was our second last night in this
hotel” or “let’s sell our house, put our furniture
on Ebay and move to Florida”. Either Goofy Guy was suffering
hearing loss from Tarzan Rocks, or he was choosing to ignore
me.
I was suspicious that it was the latter.
We had new neighbours too. The nightly silence that we happily associated with
Dapper Dad and Fanlover’s room had now been replaced with the sounds
of seven babies. Well, maybe not quite seven babies. There may have been only
one in fact, but his/her parents should find comfort in the knowledge that
their baby has a healthy set of lungs.
I missed my family! Sob
Today was going to be a relaxing day. Well, at least as relaxing as I am capable
of doing while in Walt Disney World. We were actually going to enjoy our pool
today. You may have noticed that our swims thus far consisted of a quick dip
in the pool after a long day of park hopping and nothing more. Today we were
going to remedy that fact and relax – for as long as I could stand it.
We put on our swimsuits and decided to explore the resort before swimming.
The Mighty Duck pool looked fine, but we decided to swim at the main pool instead.
I liked the little fountain. We grabbed a couple lounge chairs and jumped in.
I really, really tried to relax. While lounging by the pool, I tried to read
my book. Goofy Guy was in need of some down time and I had denied him of it
for 9 days. I was ashamed. I glanced over at Goofy Guy a couple times and it
was undeniable that he loved the relaxation time. He quite possibly was the
happiest I’d seen him all trip.
You
know the expression, “ants in your pants”? Well,
I think it’s a disease and I have it in spades. My symptoms
seem to become most pronounced while in Walt Disney World for
some reason. How can anyone expect me to lie around a pool when
there are four theme parks calling my name? Rockin’ Roller
Coaster was a mere bus ride away yet I’m expected to sit
in my chair and watch OTHER people head to the parks? Have I
finally crossed the line into insanity? It made no sense to me.
All this relaxation was cutting into my vacation. Yet, I’m
quite sure, Goofy Guy could have spent the entire day in the
same position on his lounge chair.
Maybe there is another 12-step program I need to locate - “The Ants Go
Marching One by One ‘R Us.”
Miraculously, I managed to, ahem, “relax” by the pool for a couple
hours. My goal had been to stay there until lunch and I had succeeded. Of course,
Goofy Guy was just getting started with his relaxing, but he knew I had limits.
God Bless him!
Sorry ladies, he’s a married man - but he does have a brother.
We decided to grab lunch in the Movies food court and head to MGM. This was
actually our first time eating in the food court. I had a spicy chicken sandwich
and Goofy Guy had a double cheeseburger. Both were pretty average I’d
say, but we were in for a treat for dessert!
On the dining plan, we were eligible for any dessert offered in the food court.
Naturally, I wanted a mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge sundae. Equally
naturally, Goofy Guy ordered a banana split. I think I’ve given up on
his dessert habits. He’ll never understand that bananas have no place
in dessert. The serving sizes were ENORMOUS!! Despite my best effort, I couldn’t
even begin to eat it all. The difficult thing about it was, I knew that next
week when I’m home and resuming my regular exercise routine, I’d
be running on the treadmill salivating with the thought of that hot fudge sundae
I threw out… *sigh*
We made our way back to MGM where we immediately set out for Sunset Boulevard.
Tower of Terror didn’t have a very big line so I decided to go for it.
Goofy Guy decided to stay back this time. He never did get as sick as ToT sis
on this one (who could?), but he thought that he could only handle one thrill
ride today and his choice was Rockin’ Rollercoaster. Since I didn’t let him relax for
as long as he would have wanted today, I wasn’t going to push it. Plus,
he’s up for sainthood due to his almost 10yrs dealing with my Drama Queen
dramatics.
Had we been British, he would have been knighted too.
I got through the ToT pre-show and took the left line to the elevator. The
right line was full and the left line was virtually empty. There’s the
sheep phenomena for you at it’s finest! I enjoyed the ride as much as
ever, but visions of ToT sis danced in my head. There was a slight delay at
the end of the ride today, forcing us to remain in our seats longer than usual.
I was thankful ToT sis wasn’t there with me.
If she had been there, her hat would have been put to use after all…
Next stop was Rockin’ Rollercoaster. While in line, we noticed a very
strong looking, shaved head, tattooed man who was very nervous about riding.
We actually thought he was kidding at first but he then threatened to take
the chicken exit. He was terrified and was not ashamed to vocalize it! His
teenage children pleaded with him to stay and give it a try. They were brave
kids. I know we shouldn’t have, but we found the whole scenario rather
amusing. I would have paid big bucks to watch ToT sis and this man ride together.
It was pouring rain by the time we got out of RNC. We had about 45 minutes
before Four For a Dollar performed so we decided to browse the shops. Nothing
caught our fancy today (or maybe our wallets’ fancy) so we slowly made
our way back to the Beauty & the Beast theatre. Our plan was to record
Four For a Dollar on our digital camera. ToT sis had loved this pre-show so
much that she wanted to see it again. Unfortunately we ran out of time to do
so, so recording it was the next best thing. We didn’t know how the quality
would turn out but we thought it was worth a shot. Goofy Guy deserves a lot
of credit. It was no small feat holding the camera steady for 10 minutes or
so.
I’d buy him a beer but he doesn’t drink much. We were still recovering
from the African Red Wine Blend.
We hadn’t done the Great Movie Ride yet this trip so we went there next.
I really tried to find the Hidden Minnie in the first room, but no success.
We were so rushed getting into our seats, that we didn’t even have a
chance to ask a Cast Member for assistance. I’m starting to think this
Hidden Minnie is a myth designed to drive me crazy.
The Little Mermaid was next in line and we; I mean I, really enjoyed it. Goofy
Guy slept soundly while I enjoyed Ariel’s singing. She had a wonderful
voice – the best I’ve heard at this show. I was a little sad knowing
that Boomer and Splashboy didn’t get to enjoy this show, particularly
the puppets, but I tried not to dwell on it. Goofy Guy’s snoring was
a nice distraction anyway.
We hadn’t seen the film in One Man’s Dream in a while so we decided
to watch it again. I was quite taken with the emotion of the film. Walt overcame
so many obstacles to build his company. His dream has brought so much joy to
our family starting with ToT sis and I as little girls all the way to today
with my little nephews. His dream is still being realized despite his death
so many years ago. Believe it or not, I started to cry.
I ran out of Kleenex long ago so I was reduced to using toilet paper.
During our walk towards the Backlot Tour, we noticed a crowd gathering off
to the side. We decided to investigate. We were more than a bit surprised to
see people fascinated with squirrels. Yes, squirrels! They were laughing and
pointing and even trying to feed them. Since returning home, I am now wondering
if the animal was in fact a degus instead of squirrel, but I’ll never
know for sure. If squirrels really fascinate people, please come to my backyard.
I’ve got a deal for you at $100 per person.
The back lot tour was next. Although the male members of our family sure enjoyed
the Car Stunt Show, during the tour I found myself missing Blanche, Rose & Dorothy’s
old house, not to mention the old Hunchback show – “God Help the
Outcasts, Hungry from Birth”…lalala.
Please excuse my sudden musical outburst; I’m a self-proclaimed sentimental
fool.
During our tour, the car show was preparing for the next show so we got to
see some of the back stage preparations. It was pretty interesting (more interesting
than the show itself for me…but if you tell Goofy Guy I said that, I’ll
flatly deny it). I should have known that seeing these preparations would make
Goofy Guy want to see the show again. Sigh
Despite our running to our seats, we still missed the first 5 minutes. Goofy
Guy wanted to take some pictures of the motorcycles and of the big final stunt
for Boomer. I don’t think either of us had ever seen Boomer as excited
as he was during this stunt show. Equally, I don’t think the females
had been more under whelmed by it. There’s just no denying the differences
between the sexes – at least in our family.
Our Spirit of Aloha reservation was fast approaching so it was time to grab
the Polynesian bus to the Polynesian. We were both interested to see the revamped
Luau. We expected the show to be on the stage, but were surprised to find the
real drama was to take place in the audience.
Day 10 – Part 2...
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