I guess I’ll mention this only once. I’m an early riser. So early that if I told you what time I normally get up, most of you would groan and call me crazy. Particularly when I’m on vacation.

So I’m up early and put on a pot of coffee. I step out on the balcony and realize that it’s still very warm and very humid. I find the local news on TV and learn that the humidity is at 100%. What? I think I’ve only seen that during a summer thunderstorm.

Barb and I have a cup of coffee and then head outside for a crisp walk around Crescent Lake . This has me sweating through my T-Shirt in that familiar Hidden Mickey pattern – one that I saw on several dozen other guests during the week. Unfortunately, none were female.

Back at the room we have a second cup of coffee, shower and dress. We were planning to head to Epcot again this morning but we were too early so we stopped at the Boardwalk Bakery for another coffee and took a table on the Boardwalk to sip and people-watch.

We walked to the IG at about 8:40 , went through Security and queued up at the turnstiles. They opened the turnstiles at 8:45 . There were 6 people in front of me and it still took 3-4 minutes before I got through. It looks like everyone doing the finger scan is doing it for the first time. Damned MYW tickets!

We were held at a rope, just before the bridge to France , until 9:00 . Once through we strolled through WS with a moderate crowd and made our way to FutureWorld (FW) and The Land pavilion. The sun was shining brightly and it seemed the temperature was already mid-80s. Couple that with the high humidity and it was very warm and sticky.

Our goal was to take our first ride on Soarin’. We entered the Land pavilion with a steady stream of guests and made our way down to the first level. The Standby wait was already posted at 30 minutes. This is one of the downsides to entering through the IG. The folks entering at the front of the park get there a lot sooner. We picked up 2 FastPasses (FP) for 10:03 – 11:03 and then got into the standby queue where I endured a young lad named Justin who, I think, had a desire to ride in my back pocket. “Justin, stop that.” “Justin, leave that man alone.” “Justin, back up.”

The time passed quickly and we were on the ride in about 25 minutes. We both enjoyed Soarin’. We were seated in the top row, right side of the right-most vehicle. I know a lot of folks gave it a ‘best ride ever’ kind of rating. I can’t go that far but it’s definitely a must-ride for each trip.

When we left, the Soarin’ standby wait had climbed to 45 minutes. We headed to Test Track (TT) but the Standby was 50-minutes and a FP return of 1:35 . We didn’t expect to be in the park that long so we wandered down and rode Spaceship Earth (SE), which was almost a walk-on. As we were entering SE, we glanced toward the front of the park and saw what appeared to be a large topiary of the number ‘10’. We couldn’t figure out what that was for and, because we were viewing it from behind, thought we misread it or didn’t see the entire thing. As we exited the ride (into that large vacant area that needs to be turned into something), I asked a CM. She seemed confused by the question and offered the ‘100 years of Magic’. Huh? Later in the week, we walked out to it and it was the 10 th year of the F&W Festival.

After SE, we made a quick rest room stop and headed back to Soarin’ for our second ride of the day. With the FPs, we were on the ride in 10 minutes – you walk past a LOT of people in the Standby line. This ride we were in the 3 rd row of the center vehicle. Another great ride. As some have said, if you look up you can see the rows of dangling feet but I didn’t feel they were a distraction at all.

We wandered back toward TT, just to see if some miracle had occurred and the Standby wait had become tolerable. The lights were out on the Standby sign so no wait was posted but the line had stretched out the door so we figured it was at least 60 minutes.

It was getting near lunch time (around 11:30 ) so we walked back to WS to give LeCellier a try. The restaurant had just opened and there were two couples seated in the waiting area. There was a guy in front of me that was trying, unsuccessfully, to make a dinner reservation for tonight, tomorrow or Monday. Nothing available.

I noticed a sign at the desk that said something like ‘Le Cellier’s trivia question of the day’. The question was ‘What is the Canadian one-dollar coin called?’ and ‘For bonus points… why is it called that?’ I stepped up and said “The Loonie”. The girl smiled and said “Why?” to which I admitted I had no idea. I did receive a pin identifying me as a Canadian trivia whiz or something but I did not score a table. Nothing available at all and they weren’t accepting walk-ins. Oh, it’s called a Loonie because it has a drawing of a loon on it. D’oh!

We walked up to the podium outside the Rose and Crown and scored a reservation for 12:10 . While waiting we walked down to the Chefs de France and were told we could just line up at 12:00 and be seated. We considered it but Barb thought she’d prefer the R&C so back we went. We went inside the pub and got two beers – another Stella Artois for Barb and a Boddington’s Public Ale for me. The Boddington’s was interesting – it drew from the tap looking like a vanilla shake but, once it settled, it had a nice brown color and a sustaining head. We found a table and sipped until 12:00 when Barb went outside to check in and was given a pager. We had finished our beers at 12:15 when the pager went off and we were shown inside to a table by a window looking out at the deck and WS lagoon.

Our server was Lynda who was very nice and free with her recommendations. Barb had a cup of tea (I don’t remember which type she chose) and I switched to a Harps. Barb ordered Fish & Chips while I took Lynda’s recommendation and ordered the Cottage Pie. The food was not exceptional but it was good and very filling. We passed on Lynda’s dessert suggestions and settled the bill. This was my first use of the DDE card so we did get 20% off the entire sum.

We left the R&C and began walking back toward the IG when we noticed the WorldShowcase Players had just begun their ‘King Arthur and the Holy Grail’ skit. I’m a sucker for this type of corny humor so we found a shady spot in front of a shop to stand and watch. Once the show gets going, they venture out into the audience to recruit some folks to be in the show. One of the guys started walking through the crowd with a crown in his hand. He was looking for a suitable King Arthur so, naturally, he settled on yours truly. I’m certain it was the regal air that I carry – I really am destined to be a king.

I passed my camera bag to Barb who was smirking viciously and took my place on the wagon – er, throne, as the show continued. I had a couple of small lines – greeting my loyal subjects, etc. The young lady in the show did give me these instructions: When everyone says “Long live the King” my job is to say “Hot-cha-cha-cha”. She demonstrated this accompanied by a hip movement that would have been appropriate in any exotic dancing emporium.

Within a couple of minutes, the crowd was exhorted to shout, “Long live the King”. I gave it my best “Hot-cha-cha-cha” with a terrific Chubby Checker impression. My hip movements would have made The King himself (of course I mean Elvis) envious. I saw 3 women sitting front-row on a curb keel over backwards in full swoon. I’m fairly certain that women as far away as the Magic Kingdom experienced a momentary tingle that just made them stop and go “Huh?” I glanced at Barb and she was laughing her butt off while gleefully snapping away with the camera.

Having completed my thespian duties, and now being the proud owner of a ‘World Showcase Players’ pin, we headed back to the BW for some R&R. We changed into swimsuits and walked downstairs to the quiet pool. There were 6-8 people there so it was nice to swim, visit the Jacuzzi and just lay in the sun for a while.

Suitably refreshed, we planned on visiting MGM and thought we’d take a shot and see if there were any Fantasmic dinner packages available. We stopped at the Lobby Concierge desk (think Guest Services) and were helped by a CM with a fairly serious speech impediment. I’m really not trying to be Politically Incorrect and I’m certainly sympathetic to everyone’s rights - but I wonder why this individual was placed in a position that demands so much verbal communication? Anyway, our only choices were 3:30 at the Brown Derby or 3:40 at Mama Melrose’s, both too early for dinner, so we decided to pass.

We began walking to MGM by heading out and through the Luna Park Pool area where we, for some reason, we decided instead to go to the Magic Kingdom (MK). We walked back through the hotel and out to the bus stop. We waited only a couple of minutes for a bus and made our way to the MK.

We first had to endure a wait at the turnstiles (damned MYW tickets) and then entered a very, very crowded Main Street . We checked at Tony’s to find they were booked up for the entire evening. We walked past the Plaza Restaurant and stopped in the new Noodle Station. The menu there looked fine for dinner later so we continued on up to TomorrowLand (TL). TL was mobbed. Buzz had a 60-minute Standby and all FPs were gone for the day. We didn’t bother to check Space Mountain – just assumed it was similar, if not worse than, Buzz.

We walked further into FantasyLand (FL) and the crowds got even thicker. We stopped at Mickey’s Philharmagic and picked up FPs for 6:25 . We then walked a bit further to ride the new It’s a Small World (IASW) after a 20-minute wait. I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than 5-minutes for this ride in my life. Nevertheless, the results of the rehab are obvious and quite nice. While in line, I noticed that Peter Pan had a 60-minute wait with FP available for 10:15 .

After IASW we walked down for an attempt at the Haunted Mansion but were greeted with a 50-minute Standby. We decided to pass and found a bench and a bottle of water in Liberty Square for a while. At 6:25 , we headed back to Philharmagic and, using our FPs, walked directly into the waiting area right outside the theater. The theater was full to capacity and, I’m happy to report, everyone in the theater moved all the way to the end of the row. Philharmagic has become one of my favorite shows and we really enjoyed it yet again.

We decide that we weren’t going to get much done in the MK with the crowds and the best bet would be to head back to the BW for dinner. Making our way out of the MK was no easy chore. Tons of people had set up shop for Spectromagic and there was a steady stream of folks still entering the park and trying to make their way up Main Street . It was almost gridlock.

We finally got to the bus stops and then waited while they loaded two ECVs onto the bus. The people in the ECVs made the ride up the lift, then got out and walked to seats. I saw the women attempt to give the driver some cash, presumably as a tip, but he refused.

Back at the BW, the line at ESPN was out the door and there was nothing available at Spoodles or Flying Fish. We headed to Big River and joined a line. The guy at the podium told the woman in front of us that it would be a 30-40 minute wait but there was probably nothing else available on property – “It *is* Saturday night”. We accepted a pager and the same promise of 30-40 minutes (we had said we’d accept inside or outside seating) and went into the bar. We found one open stool for Barb and she had a Diet Coke while I sampled an Oktoberfest brew (very good). In 5-minutes (yes, only 5) the pager went off. We were seated at a table outside on the BW.

Leslie was our waitress and she was very good. We ordered a couple of their 10-ounce burgers and I asked if they accepted the DDE. She asked if we wanted to waste it on burgers but she had mistakenly thought I meant the Dining Plan. They do not accept the DDE but it was nice of her to offer advice on the better use of the Dining Plan. The burgers were very good and I did have a second Oktoberfest.

I overheard a conversation at the next table while a young lady was offering her tablemates insights into touring WDW. Among her comments were “You can do the MK in half a day” and my favorite “Universal is totally separate. I don’t know why but Disney makes you buy a separate ticket for it”.

We paid the check and I glanced at my watch and saw 8:51 . Could we make it into Epcot in 9 minutes for Illuminations? Sure! We hoofed it over there, had a short wait at the IG’s turnstiles (damned MYW tickets) and took up a spot against the back railing on the bridge to France . The front railing was 5-6 deep. We, once again, enjoyed Illuminations and I took several photos that actually came out pretty well.

We strolled out with the crowd and back to the BW where we figured the Belle Vue Room (BVR) would be a fitting place to close the day. The bartender was Tim and I asked if Alan was still there. Tim said he was and would be working Tuesday – unfortunately, after we leave. Barb had an Amaretto and I chose a Macallans single malt. I did notice that the bartender (Tim, at least) no longer waited tables. The guests all visited the bar to get their drinks. I don’t know if that’s a change or Tim is just a bit lazy. Another odd thing, to use the DDE card here Tim had to call down for a manager to come and run the card. Seems just a bit odd.

We grabbed a table and enjoyed our drinks. When we finished it was back to the room where I learned the Yankees had been rained out. We watched a little news then turned in for the night.

Things I Think I Think – I think I like Soarin’. I think it’s still very hot here – my ears are still sweating. I think it’s also very crowded and we may re-think any future plans for early October trips. I think if I knew it was going to be this crowded, I’d have made more Advance Reservations. I think some people that give advice, shouldn’t. I think Big River ’s burgers are very good. I think I could end every day of my life with Illuminations and the Belle Vue Room (notice the addition since yesterday?).

Day 3...

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