Day Two, Sunday February 3

The Plan - MK, Super Bowl, Pleasure Island (?)

Before retiring last night, I left a wake-up call for 6:15. I left it for Michelle's room hoping that she'd catch Mickey's wake-up service (she did). I woke up at 3:45 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. This was probably due to getting to sleep earlier than normal last night. I lay in bed, trying for sleep, until 5:30 when I figured I might as well get up. Barb and I have the larger of the 2 bedrooms (king bed, dressing area with Jacuzzi) and I wandered into the living room/kitchen area to put on a pot of coffee. I tried to be as quiet as possible because Stephen was asleep on the pull out sofa-bed (queen) in the living room. I say "tried" because it's difficult to be quiet when working in a strange room in the dark. To complicate things, our 2BR Villa was exactly the opposite (mirror image) of the one we had last year. I spent the first 2 days walking in and out of the wrong doors.

The forecast was sunny and 76 degrees. Everyone else got up in the 6-6:30 area and we went through breakfast, showers, etc. in our typically orderly fashion. We were at the bus stop at 8:15 where we were greeted by a CM, Sout, who was handling the "Bus On Demand" (BOD) thing through a hand held Palm Pilot-like gizmo. He informed us the last MK bus had come 5 minutes earlier but another would be along soon. It took about 10 minutes for the next one.

Through security and into the queue. No entry until 9:00. I guess the days of opening Main Street early are gone. I'll miss those few minutes of browsing the shops while Barb made the inevitable first restroom stop of the day. We headed directly to Space Mountain where we all rode the left side (walk on). The kids rode a second time while Barb and I got coffee from the Launching Pad and sipped it at a table in the sun.

We then went to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin where I championed the group with 164,000 points while riding alone. I don't think it's a personal best although I honestly can't remember past scores. It's now time for a spin on the TomorrowLand Transit Authority (TTA), which I still call the Wedway. One big mistake here - somehow, as we're loading, we assume that all 5 of us can fit in one car. Before we know it, the door is closing and I'm trying to squeeze into a spot between Barb and the wall. We finally settle on Barb on my lap. It's hysterical to be riding this, crammed into one car, while there are dozens of empty cars all around. Oh, well.

We decide to head toward FrontierLand but stop on the way so Will and Stephen can ride the Teacups. They're both over 6' and barely have room for their legs. They did manage to get a pretty violent ride with both of them leaning into the wheel and spinning their cup pretty fast. On through FantasyLand where we spotted no wait at It's A Small World (IASW). My kids (all 3 of them) HATE this ride but we always make them go on it - and this was no exception. I still maintain, you cannot come off this ride without humming the song (sometimes for days after) and feeling stress-free.

We ambled through FrontierLand stopping at the Haunted Mansion (HM), a walk-in, and for a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR), a 5-minute wait. This is a great ride if you're not too fond of big coasters (like me). The kids enjoy it even though they're after much bigger game.

Next we ride Pirates of the Caribbean (PotC) with a walk-on (I really like off-season). Stephen's getting that familiar WDW twitch, which means he's ready to eat (something he does quite frequently at WDW) and we stop for him to get a Mickey Bar. Barb and I sample the Pineapple-Vanilla Dole Whips, which are great although I went a little fast and managed to get one of those "ice cream headaches".

It's close to noon and the park's getting a little crowded so we stroll back down Main Street and out to the bus stops. Back at BWVR, it's sandwiches in the room followed by a couple of hours of pool time at the quiet pool. It's in the high-70's and there is only 1 other person by the pool. At around 3:00, Will and Stephen head into Community Hall for some table tennis while Barb, Michelle and I head to Luna Park and a frozen Margarita (regulars for Barb and I, a strawberry for Michelle - $6 each and a $4 tip).

I stop at the front desk to purchase our HDD tickets for Wednesday night. Guess which CM waits on me? That's right, it's Sout. He's having a great deal of trouble and is keying in a lot more than seems necessary (I'm reminded of the airline ticket window where they enter 6,000 characters to tell you what seat you're in). He mutters something about a "CM discount" and calls over another, more senior, CM, who also looks concerned and phones someone else to get clarification. At this point, I think I might be getting a CM discount for the HDD - cool. After about 10 minutes, Sout looks satisfied and tells me everything's all set. He then charges me $238 and hands me my ticket for 5 with an amount of $134. Hey, Sout - what's up here?

Much more consternation and a consultation with the senior CM. During this, Sout tells me "Sorry for the delay". No problem. Then, "It's not my fault". What? Don't ever tell an inconvenienced customer that it's not your fault. Whose fault is it - mine? Finally, after 20 minutes, I have my ticket and receipt (for $238 - never got that CM discount) and I hoof it back to the room.

BTW, what's up with the BWVR hallways? You could hang meat in here it's so cold. I can almost see my breath. I also use this trip to count the paces from the gift shop off the lobby to my room - 210 paces. At my stride that's roughly 210 yards. Doing the math, and assuming 3-4 round trips per day, I calculate we walk ¾ to 1 mile each day just going to and from the room. That doesn't include walking to and from the parks, around the parks, etc. I could drop 30-40 pounds this week just from the walking!

We decide to hit MGM Studios tonight and to try and be back at the room by 6:30 or so for the Super Bowl. The plan is to order up some in-room pizza for dinner. We head up and are showered and dressed at 4:15 for the walk to MGM. I really love the convenience of the BW. Being able to walk to Epcot and MGM is a blessing - especially after IROE or Fantasmic when the rest of the world does the "Disney waddle" out to the waiting bus stop lines.

Through security and the entrance gates, we head to the Twilight Zone - Tower of Terror (ToT). This is a favorite ride and I really like it's theming. In fact, I think it may be the best themed ride at WDW (and by default, all of Florida). It has a posted 13-minute wait, which I think is suspect - c'mon, 13 minutes? That's cute. In fact, we're in the library in less than 10. There's a new drop sequence, which adds to the ride. I think it's better when you don't know what to expect.

Now it's off to Rock n'Roller Coaster (RnRC). I rode this for the first time last year and, to be honest, I was so terrified that I remember very little. This time, I'm really going to try and enjoy the ride so I try to notice everything. There's a pre-show? Road signs? Must have had my eyes closed last year. What's that? There's music on the cars? I must have had my ears closed last year.

Barb won't do inversions so I ride with Stephen. We're in the pre-show in less than 5 minutes. The start of this ride is still gut wrenching for me. It's very, very quick and before you know it, you're upside down. Road signs fly by. What's that? A loop? Whoa, it's over. I decide that I've now ridden this twice and that once a year will be forever my quota. The kids love this ride but consider it somewhat tame by their lofty standards (aah, the ignorant bliss of youth).

Next up, Star Tours - a walk on. This is one of my favorites - I love making the bombing run - although I agree it needs updating (where are the pod races?). Then it's off to Muppetvision 3D where, for the first time ever, we catch the ENTIRE pre-show. I notice a change here - I believe there used to be 3-4 CMs working this show, now there are 2. One at the entrance and one at the show doors. You now get your own glasses when they used to hand them to you at the entrance.

We exit the Muppets and are looking for a pretzel and a soda but everything, I mean everything, is closed. The Back Lot food spot, the Coke stand - all closed at 5:40. We find a pretzel cart near the Great Movie Ride (GMR) and partake. One last ride on ToT and it's a walk back to BWVR to watch the Super Bowl.

Barb, Michelle, and Will keep walking to Tubbi's in the Dolphin while Stephen and I head to the room. We walk by Community Hall and glance at the TV and see they're just at the coin flip (at 6:30). We get to the room in time for kickoff. At around 7:15, the gang from Tubbi's comes in with dinner - subs for me and Stephen, Chicken Caesar Salads for everyone else.

At various points during the game, Stephen and Will head to the pool for a swim, Will and Michelle head to the BW for ice cream. It's a good game (a great one by Super Bowl standards) and the Patriots (hated Patriots, Stephen and I are die-hard Jets fans) squeak out a 20-17 win on a last second field goal.

After the game, Stephen decides on a Jacuzzi and it's off to sleep for all.

Day 2 Summary - Not exactly to plan. We threw in MGM and successfully hit most of the major rides (ToT twice) while only there for a couple of hours. In deference to the late ending of the Super Bowl, we never made it to PI but that will come.

What I Learned Today - Don't expect a CM discount when you're not entitled to one. RnRC is a once a year thing for me - I'm just not a coaster/inversion kind of guy. Touring the parks in the off-season is great. You can do so much more in a lot less time.

Day 3...

 

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