Trip Reports
02-20-2007, 09:42 AM
Sue Holland -- May 2002 -- Walt Disney World (Offsite, OKWR)
Who/When/Where:
Who: Sue (me - 43), DVC member
Dates: May 24 - 27, 2002
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Leesa's Condo (1nt), Disney's Old Key West Resort (2nts)
Experience: Extremely experienced
INTRODUCTION:
This should be the last of my short trips for a while - soon I can get back to trips that last longer than a weekend! Normally I come up to WDW for the Memorial Day weekend and stay through at least most of the week following the holiday. This year I had to cut it short because I booked a non-Disney trip that begins Friday 5/31. So, this year this trip will be just the long weekend, plus the preceding Friday.
Last month I stated that cancer treatments had not altered my lifestyle at all, and I did not expect them to have any effect on this trip or future trips. At this stage of the game I am less able to ignore the side effects and may try to spend more time taking it easy. The priorities have not changed - spending time with friends, Comedy Warehouse, favorite foods, and enjoying Old Key West! I'll fit in whatever I can, but there is nothing else I really need to do and nothing that can't wait for a future trip.
I'll spend time with Kathy again on Friday, and this time the conference call has been canceled so I will not have to spend an hour of her time on the phone with business! Leesa & I will be at the Comedy Warehouse Friday night, and I will spend that night at her condo before checking in to OKWR Saturday morning. That will leave me "homeless" most of Saturday, unless my studio is ready early, so I will probably do mostly theme park stuff then (perhaps a nice lunch at Le Cellier). My friends Tom & Leanne arrive offsite Sunday before moving into OKWR on Monday for the week, so hopefully we can spend some time together.
The plans (subject to change) so far...
Fri 5/24: Spend day with Kathy, pick up Leesa, Comedy Warehouse
Sat 5/25: Check in OKWR, Epcot, Comedy Warehouse
Sun 5/26: MK, AK late, Mara soup, Comedy Warehouse
Mon 5/27: MGM, drive home
DAY 1 FRIDAY MAY 24, 2002:
Who:
Sue (43), DVC Member
Kathy (dznynut)
Leesa (42), Comedy Warehouse Regular
Tim (44), my ex-husband
Plan: Spend day with Kathy, Pick up Leesa, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I was out the door by 8, filled the car with gas, and arrived at Kathy's around 10:30. We had a wonderful visit, and the day flew by. While I was there a phone rang - during the frantic search to find Kathy's phone I discovered it was my cell phone, lol! Tim had decided to change his plans for tonight and wanted to join Leesa & me for the Comedy Warehouse, so we took care of that. He drives a limo part time, and was taking a party to WDW today. Tomorrow morning he's picking up a party coming off the Disney cruise, and it makes sense to not return to Ft Myers in between the 2 runs. Around 3:30 I rushed out of Kathy's and made the drive to Leesa's in record time!
Once there, we finalized plans with Tim and were out the door within 20-30 minutes of my arrival. Wow, this day is going by quickly! We drove to Downtown Disney and parked at PI, then waited in front of Planet Hollywood for Tim. He had the Excursion - a 38 foot while limo that seats 18 passengers. It's got 3 TV's, 3 bars, fiber optic lights that change colors in the ceiling, and is quite an attention-getter! We rode around WDW property, and through Old Key West (the security guard didn't even question him in the limo), stopping to take some pictures with the OKWR lighthouse in the background behind the car. The company may put one of them on their website.
We returned to PI and parked the limo, then went to the West Side for dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Express. We all pretty much got our "usual" - caprese salad for me, bbq chicken for Leesa, and the chicken finger w/macaroni & cheese for Tim (same as Chris always gets). Tim called Chris to rub it in that he had eaten that dinner, lol! Chris tried giving me a curfew of 9:30 tonight (HA!) - fat chance ;-) Dinner was excellent, and it was a gorgeous night for eating outside. After eating we went back to enter PI, stopping to look at the big soft shell turtle who lives in the water near Planet Hollywood.
We had about 30 minutes to kill, so we sat on a bench and soon saw part of the Ft Pierce family coming up the steps. I waved to Sue & Dan, and they came over to join us. When it was time we got in line, with regulars Bob & Virginia & their guests right behind us - so we all had a nice time chatting. Kelly & Alan from Ft Pierce arrived to complete the party (11 of us). We ended up taking long row, with Dan sitting at the end in the 2nd barstool (behind us).
The show times have changed slightly - you frequent visitors will probably notice the changes <g> but it won't really matter to anyone else. The first show was 7:20, featuring Joy, Brian, Robin, Krista & Greg. They started with a poem - Don't Rat on Me Because I Skipped School, which was pretty cute. The did Fill In The Blank with Brian & Krista playing a married couple at CityWalk - with lots of comments from Greg about how PI is superior to that place. They did an Up Your Alley about taxidermy, with Brian as host Wally Beaver. Joy was a kid who stuffs her pets, Rob was a guy on the Nevada Highway Patrol road kill division, and Greg was an anti-taxidermy activist. The show kind of struggled - the audience was not coming up with many good suggestions, and the actors just didn't seem to be able to turn it around. Tim thought it was good, so perhaps it was - it just wasn't as good as I know it can be.
Outside after the show Carol Stein's father entertained us with a bunch of jokes - her parents come to see her perform quite often and seem really nice. Leesa, Tim & I went back in to long row, and the 8:15 cast was Chris, Greg, Robin, Krista & Joy. This time they did Fill In The Blank with the audience volunteers, and one was a young boy who surprisingly did an excellent job. Joy & Rob were ex-spouses finalizing their divorce and Greg was their little boy caught in the mess. Next came Greg & Krista dressed up as Steve & Edie, a long married couple singing "Can You Do That In The Bathroom Please". Needless to say, the song had quite a few funny references as they made up verses to sing to each other - they did a great job! They did the Letters to the Editor game this show, about shoes. Chris wrote to Mad magazine, Krista to Hot Rod, and Greg to Horse & Hound. They all did great, especially Greg with a snooty accent. Overall the show was very good - so much better than the first one! We talked to Krista after the show, and Greg stopped by briefly, then we headed outside.
The 9:15 show featured Brian, Matt, Krista, Robin & Joy. They did Conducted Story (The Little Butterfly), with 2 really quick deaths. Krista was conducting, and did a good job. Joy died by a lawnmower and then Rob died an opera death by a dead armadillo. Both deaths were funny as well. That left Matt & Brian, and they ended up completing the story together, in different styles called by Krista because neither of them made a mistake to cause a death. It was another great show! Afterwards we visited with Nancy outside while she was on a break, and then went inside for one more.
The 10:30 show featured Greg, Matt, Chris, Brian & Krista. They did Emotions, with Greg & Krista as a couple who'd gotten married on a Jerry Springer show. She was a tough truck driver and he was very gay. They work really well together, and this game was hysterical. Greg's continuing the scene in the emotion of "orgasmic" had us laughing until our faces hurt - I forget what Krista's emotion was at that time, but it was not at all similar to Greg's! Next they did Cliché, our favorite! Chris was tortured & did a great job guessing "Colder than a well digger's butt in a Klondike". The clues were very funny, and overall this show was excellent! We chatted briefly to Matt & Greg on the way out, passed the huge crowds of people buying tickets to enter PI , and went to the cars. Tim's staying at the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird place out on 192. He declared it a typical cheap tacky Holiday Inn - but it's what he could find at the last minute - for $89. Leesa & I headed back to her condo, where I decided to just get the report written & posted before turning in since it's not terribly long.
It was a wonderful day - I always enjoy Kathy's company, and today was no exception. The first Comedy Warehouse show was a bit slow, but the rest more than made up for that, and the company was excellent! Skipping the 12:05 show was a good move, as it let me not be up later than I wanted! Hopefully I'll get over to OKWR earlier than I have on the last couple of trips :-)
DAY 2 SATURDAY MAY 25, 2002:
Who: Sue (43), DVC Member
Plan: Check in OKWR, Epcot, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: Without setting the alarm, I was up by 7 - feeling rested & eager to start the day. Leesa had made banana bread, so I ate a little of that with my raspberry hot chocolate and was on the road by 9. The bell services guys spotted me walking up and were quick to welcome me back - it's really nice to have them treat me so well. Angelo was flattering as always, saying I look great and look better & better each time. I had to laugh, because that is not what "cancer patients" usually hear <g>. In my particular case though, nobody would have any way of knowing anything was going on with me just by looking at me - unless they noticed the nasty radiation burn. Friends who have seen me generally are surprised because they expect me to look sick, or at least different in some way - but I don't. Anyway, I chatted with Angelo for a bit and then went to check in.
The line was short - 1 or 2 parties ahead of me. CM Paul took my information, told me my requests had been met but the studio wasn't ready yet and offered to see if he could find one that was ready. There was nothing open, but I didn't care - I had arrived expecting to be "homeless" today, so it was no big deal to not have the studio ready now. I wandered around taking a few pictures for someone at MousePlanet, dropped the laptop off with Angelo and went to the bus stop.
The Buses on Demand cm was there and was able to tell me I'd just missed the Epcot bus. I thought about just driving, but decided to relax and wait for the next bus (ack - could it be possible I'm learning patience??? Most likely it's a fluke <g>). I updated my notes while waiting, and got to Epcot before 10. Epcot's back to the original hours - Future World opens at 9, World Showcase opens at 11. There was a bit of a long line getting through security and the turnstiles, but it moved steadily. Once inside I checked the tip board and saw Living Seas had no wait so I decided to head over there. I skipped the 7 minute movie (boring after a couple of times) and took the hydrolator to where the ride used to be. Now they have guests walk down this little hallway and enter by the merchandise shop on the ground floor. The Manatee area was closed off for refurbishment, so there really was not much of interest to me. I used to enjoy the little ride and then would spend a few minutes looking in the aquarium. Today I just spent a few minutes looking at fish and then left.
I almost forgot to mention - the cm working at the Living Seas was fantastic. He was the friendliest, most positive person I've seen in a long time! He was talking nonstop to the guests waiting, sharing things his mother taught him about treating people right, and how he loves people, etc - he claimed to be 64 years old but I swear he looked about 20 years younger than that! It was nice to run into someone like that to begin the day. After Living Seas I went to Test Track and joined the single rider line. Something was wrong - they were not using the 3rd preshow area that is normally set aside for single riders, so instead they took people from all 3 lines and put us all together. They should have stopped letting people into the single rider line, since it in effect became a 2nd standby line - and it took a good 30 minutes to get on the ride. I like the ride, but it's not worth a 30 minute wait when you've done it before, and had I known it would take that long I would have skipped it.
By now it was after 11, so I headed to World Showcase and left at International Gateway to visit the Beach Club. I needed some pictures and wanted to see how the DVC construction was coming along - and stopped in a restroom to put more aloe on my burn. My choices were to wear tank tops that left some of it exposed or wear shirts that cover it but are uncomfortable from the shirt touching it - it made sense to stick with tank tops! I also called to check on the studio (not ready) and made a priority seating at Le Cellier for lunch today. The construction looks almost done, and I can't wait to be able to get into the Beach Club Villas to see the public areas during my July trip.
I headed back to Epcot and continued around World Showcase starting with France. I stopped in most of the shops this time, which I rarely do. A lot of it is the same type of stuff they've always carried, so my browsing went pretty quickly! In Norway I waited about 10 minutes to ride the Maelstrom, and they were not showing the movie at all. In Mexico I did the boat ride, and then continued over to Canada and checked in about 10-15 minutes early for my lunch. I ended up being seated before my PS time, and was given a booth seat against the wall, facing into the restaurant. It was a good seat, and my server did an excellent job. I ordered right away - my favorite wine and the cheddar cheese soup (hold the scallions). She poured a full glass of wine, and mentioned some Publix stores in the area have sold this wine - I'll have to talk to the people at my Publix, and if I have no luck I can call a bunch of the ones in this area on my next trip. Lunch was delicious - this has got to be my favorite restaurant and favorite meal here at WDW (possibly anywhere else, too). It would have been better to be eating with someone else though, as it was a bit of a rush to drink a whole glass of wine with a small cup of soup. If I'd been sitting around sipping my wine while talking to a dining companion it would have been more leisurely, but I didn't want to tie up a table for 4 people by myself just having wine once my soup was gone. I was going to take the pretzel breadstick with me (Kathy - I behaved....no "Lucy"-like antics for now) but my server tossed it and brought me 3 fresh breadsticks (1 of each kind) all wrapped up to go. The total check after the 20% DDE discount was just under $10, so I rounded it up to $13 and was out the door little more than 1/2 hour after being seated.
People a couple of tables away had a kid and the server was telling them the best dessert is the kid's chocolate mousse dessert - it evidently looks like a moose. I was dying to see it, but they decided they were too full for dessert, lol! I'm sure they would have let me order it if I really wanted to, but the wine & soup were enough.
I headed back to Future World and visited the people in Guest Relations looking for information for a friend, and then rode Spaceship Earth before leaving the park. I think I slept through the entire ride - I remember going up the hill, and fortunately was awake to get up and walk off the ride so the cm's didn't think I'd died on the ride or something, lol! All day the park was not busy at all, which was really nice. The weather was warm, but not oppressively hot and a nice breeze helped a lot!
The OKWR bus came in about 10 minutes and I got off at the Peninsular Road stop and walked back to the main building. It was somewhere around 2:30-3:00 and the studio was ready, so Angelo brought me my laptop, I chatted with him a little more, and then I drove over to building 45 to move in. I like both 45 & 46 - except for my unit because I'm so close to the stop sign I get bus noise. However, it won't be a problem for only 2 nights, particularly with the hours I tend to keep <g>. As I work on the report I can watch the boats float by on the Trumbo Canal, so that's pretty nice. Everything in the studio looks good - no complaints here.
I got settled & updated the report, then spent the rest of the afternoon reading my mail and emailing back & forth with a friend. Leesa IM'd at one point - she & a friend will be coming for the 10:30 show tonight, so we made plans to meet. Kathy made a comment about me being "home" here at OKWR, and she's right - I'm sitting at home Saturday afternoon making impromptu plans with a friend for later tonight - it feels so ordinary & so right to be here!
One other thing I forgot to mention from yesterday - during one of the Comedy Warehouse shows some lady's cell phone rang while Krista was on stage setting up the next game (Conducted Story). The actors hate when people are too careless or rude to turn off their phones, and will often make a comment, but Krista had the lights come up so we could see the woman and insisted she bring her the cell phone. It was the woman's boss, calling her from California. Krista stood onstage and told the guy that she was at a comedy show and the phone was disrupting the show, so the lady was not available now. I guess the guy didn't believe her, because she had us all yell "DIE" to the phone (this is how we "kill" an actor when he makes a mistake during the story). It was pretty funny, lol - then Krista turned off the phone and returned it to the lady.
Tonight I got to PI around 7 and chatted with Darby outside Comedy Warehouse until I was ready to join the line. I got the corner seat in long row, which was perfect. Deb was my server & I decided to have coconut rum & pineapple juice instead of my Bye Bye Blues for a change. The 7:20 cast was Krista, Todd, Joy, Jen B, & Greg. They did Fill In The Blank with 2 audience volunteers, with Todd & Jen working on a bridge. They were a couple, the bridge company had been left to Jen by her dead father or grandfather, and at one point they needed to fill in the blank on why the guy didn't want Todd to have the company "because he is _____". The volunteer said Gay, so Todd started playing it as gaiety and from an earlier era rather than homosexual, but as he was going on about that Greg came swishing out from backstage & said to him "Honey, you forgot your lunch box again" and then took Todd's face in his hands and gave him a big kiss on the lips. Todd (he's not gay) looked like he wanted to die, lol - he kept himself from wiping his mouth off, but turned pretty red. Later in the show Todd created a verse directed at Greg that said "You'll never get me to call you Honey", which was good. Todd & Jen both did a good job with the scene.
They also did Schmeopardy this show, with Jen as host Alexis Quebec. Krista was a school bus driver named Corwina Jensen, who's favorite thing about her job is yelling at the kids. Greg was a British neurosurgeon named Dr. Leonard Cranium, and Joy was Tippie Please, a waitress at Perkins. The entire show was very good, particularly for the first show of the night, and with a fairly small audience. After the show Greg & I talked about his show - when he sends me the latest information I'll post it so people who may be interested in seeing it will know about it (excellent show) and can go see it if they're in the Orlando area next month.
I went outside and was surprised to see the line was not bad at all, so I got in and was seated at the end across from long row (on the aisle). The 8:15 cast was Greg, Matt, Krista, Joy & Jen. They did a 1-act play led by Jen, called A New Pair of Shoes. Joy &Matt were Dorothy a munchkin who taught her how to take care of her 3 kids so she could return home. There were a lot of Wizard of Oz references, and when Dorothy got home, it turned out she had been gone 25 years but the 3 kids (Greg, Krista & Matt) were still there. Krista was like the wicked witch, Matt was like the cowardly lion, and Greg was just kind of quiet <g>. It was a funny scene - it moved quickly and had a lot of clever statements. Forgotten Songs was next, and they were all good. Greg did a sad ballad of his broken marriage, called The Wheels are My Home. I didn't really understand the title, but his song was cute. Krista & Jen were 2 female custodial workers who clean the men's room in Standing At The Urinal. Matt & Joy were a couple who'd been waiting over 24 hours for their baby to be born, singing "I Got The I Don't Know, Hurry Up & Wait Because There's Nothing I Can Do About It Anyway Blues". They had time for a short Should Have Said, with Jen as a casket repair person in Greg's funeral home as Krista & Matt were viewing their deceased relative in the shoddy casket. It was also funny, and the entire show was great! This was easily the best show I saw tonight.
I headed right back outside and got in line for the next show. At 9:15 the cast was Chris, Brian, Jen, Krista & Todd. They did a musical led by Brian, about Masons in Lodi California. It was just ok. In Up Your Alley Krista was host Savannah Georgia and they had 2 experts on Space. Brian was Dr David Biskis, a famous psychiatrist. Jen was his wife, Mrs Biskis, who has space issues because he's always in her face and never shuts up. Unfortunately, almost every audience question for the experts had to mention Uranus, so they were saying "your anus", trying to lead the actors to bathroom humor. It was getting tiring to me, and I could tell Krista in particular was sick of it. They tried discouraging it, and even asking for a question that specifically was not potty humor, but to no avail. At one point Krista commented that the south is well-represented here, lol! The actors did come up with some very funny replies to the questions, but the show would have been better if the audience hadn't narrowed the possibilities by focusing on Uranus like that.
After the show I headed outside to wait for Leesa, and met her extraordinarily good looking friend Mo (wowsa!). We don't share the same taste in men, but I'm not blind to good looks, lol! They'd picked up Cinnabons at City Walk (just a Minibon for me - there's no way I'd eat a regular one) for each of us plus one to send down to Nancy. We ate our buns (lol) and then went in through the back door to take our seats on long row. The 10:30 cast was Brian, Greg, Joy, Chris & Matt. Matt rang the bell for Should Have Said, where Greg got a letter from World Wrestling in a pretty good scene. They did an excellent job at Madrigal Singers. The 4 sayings were Venomous Squirrel Eats Kitty Litter (Brian), Mermaid Found in Sardine Can (Greg), I'm Bigfoot's Love Child (Chris) & Elvis Married My Little Brother (Matt). They mixed it all up really well, and it was hysterical! They did Up Your Alley again, this time with an audience expert (psychology). Joy was host Dixie B Cup, Matt was Al Pacino working on a psychological thriller, and Chris was Flo - author of the 14 or 15 page book called Psychology of Trailer Trash. This was a good show - but the 2nd one was still better tonight. We were disappointed they didn't do Cliché, but they may have done it at the 12:05 show. Matt announced it was Leesa's birthday when he came out, which was nice - Nancy had asked Greg to have someone mention it.
Nancy came out when she got off work and watched the end of the show, then we talked to her for a while before leaving PI. Back at OKWR I was dismayed to find not a single freakin' parking spot empty in the lots for building 45 & 46. I drove down Turtle Pond Road and found 1 space left in front of building 31 and grabbed it! I've never had this happen before at OKWR, and dread it happening tomorrow night because then it'll be a pain packing up the car if it's 1/2 mile away! Oh well, I'll worry about that IF it happens.
Today was a good day - I followed the plan, had my wonderful favorite lunch at Le Cellier, and did a few things in Epcot that I don't normally do.
DAY 3 SUNDAY MAY 26, 2002:
Who: Sue (43), DVC Member
Plan: MK, AK late, Mara soup, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I set the alarm and was up before 7, since there is no point going to the MK if I can't get there early enough to enjoy the first 1.5 - 2 hours before it gets too crowded. Breakfast was frosted cheerios and cappuccino, and I was out the door by 8:30. I forgot to mention last night - to the people who "saw" me online and IM'd to check on me or say something, I wasn't really there! I wasn't ignoring you (I do ignore many IM's but not you guys <g>).
The MK bus got filled to capacity by the time we left OKWR, and I was in the park about 9:15. Once again there was a turnstile completely empty (yet open) that people were ignoring, so after giving the long line of people in front of me the chance to notice, I walked past them all and entered the park - hopefully some of them followed suit! My first stop was Space Mountain to pick up a Fastpass (return time 10:05) and then I pretty much walked right on the Pooh ride before going over and having to wait 5-10 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight. It was becoming obvious today was going to be a very crowded day in the Magic Kingdom --not your typical Sunday, due to the holiday weekend!
I stopped at Liberty Tree Tavern to look for Leslie (trip report reader), but the guy inside said she didn't work there anymore and didn't know her. I headed next towards Big Thunder, but I could see the line was extended outside so I passed it by and rode Pirates of the Caribbean instead (walked right on). I was off the ride just after 10, and according to my Space Mountain Fastpass I was eligible for another starting at 10:10. I hung out on the bridge and watched people riding Splash Mountain, and then picked up a Big Thunder Fastpass (return time 10:45) before returning to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain.
By now the park was very crowded, and I knew I would be leaving soon. Space Mountain was lots of fun, and there was no discomfort like last trip. I got the last seat in the rocket, and the guy in front of me felt the need to let me know he might scream but he didn't think he would throw up - gee thanks, lol! After the ride I stood in line a while to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. You know it's mobbed if there's a line there! By the time I got off it was Fastpass time again so I returned to Big Thunder and bypassed a very long standby line. Big Thunder was also great - I like that ride a lot, and without Fastpass there's no way I would have been able to ride this and Space Mountain on the same day (I refuse to wait in a line longer than 10 minutes).
I left the park and took the bus to All Star Movies, where I wandered around to get a few more pictures for an upcoming photo tour. At the food court I got some butter for my breadsticks, and then returned to the bus stop. The Blizzard Beach bus arrived almost immediately, so I took it and then waited forever for the OKWR bus to arrive. Eventually it did arrive, and I was back at OKWR driving my car back to my own building! I ate the multi-grain breadstick and updated the report, then took care of mail & talked to a couple of friends. Just after 3 I drove over to Animal Kingdom, figuring if it was too hot or too sunny I'd just cut the visit short.
Once in the park I saw the Dinosaur still had a 40 minute wait, which is definitely busier than normal for this time of day. I headed back to Harambe, where the Safari had a 60 minute standby wait. I got a Fastpass (4:55 return) in case I was still in the park at that time, but ended up not using it. On the Pangani Forest Trail I found Gus sitting behind the rocks near the cave, with a couple of the other boys. One took a blanket and hit him, but ran off before I could tell who it was. Eventually Gus came over and sat in his cave entrance for a while. He was watching me, probably wondering where the heck Kathy was - and once he realized I was alone he went inside. Once he was gone cm Mark came over to chat - he recognizes me as a friend of Kathy's and I think I talked to him on my last trip when I spent a couple of hours on the trail.
As I was leaving the trail, Tom & Leanne beeped me. I could hear that silly parade, so I had to walk from Africa to Asia (boy, does that sound impressively energetic, or what??) to find a pay phone that would be quiet enough to use! They had just arrived at Epcot, so we made plans to meet in the morning. At this point it was hot, crowded, it was still too long before my Fastpass time, so I decided to leave. I drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge and after a difficult search for a parking spot I went inside and got my soup. The soup of the day was mulligatawny (sp?), which is chicken, apples & veggies. It tasted great except for the veggies, but I stuck with ordering the tomato bisque and took it back to the studio at OKWR. The parking lot was almost full again - looks like I'm using Disney transportation tonight for sure, or who knows where I'll have to leave the car after PI!
The soup was wonderful - I ate it with most of the sourdough breadstick and threw the rest of the bread away (it's only good with soup). Thanks to a Comedy Warehouse friend, I knew ahead of time about the change in show times (8:15 for first show tonight rather than 8:00), so I knew I had some time to kill. I updated the report and hung out online for a little while, then changed into fresh clothes before leaving for Downtown Disney. Since I was not going to move my car from it's parking spot, I walked down to the Hospitality House thinking the Trumbo Ferry would be a nice way to travel. Unfortunately, so did dozens of other people who were already there waiting. Waiting for the 3rd bus was NOT part of my plans, so I went to the bus stop instead.
When the bus finally came, it said Downtown Disney so I got on. It ended up going to every freakin' stop in OKWR including stopping again at the Hospitality House before going to the Marketplace. The entire Downtown Disney area was mobbed!!! It was a pain walking through the Marketplace and I only went into a couple of stores - the World of Disney was awful! I got my PI wristband and walked through the Island on my way to the West Side, which was also mobbed. Each restaurant had a long line of people waiting to get in, which I don't recall ever seeing before at this time of night. Business was definitely booming!
I returned to PI and stopped to chat with cm Susan outside the Comedy Warehouse before going to find a bench to sit on until it was time to get in line. My shirt was causing the burn to hurt, and I was getting tired pretty quickly. A new band was performing tonight - Les Girls, and they sounded pretty good. I sat & listened to them and did some people watching to pass the time. Soon I headed up to check the line, and found I was number 64 already! I took my place and got to watch the band - 3 attractive young ladies with clothing suitable for their good bodies performing mostly disco songs. They had quite a few people watching/listening, and I thought they did a good job - much better than some of the other bands that play there on Frankie's nights off. At one point the woman behind me in line explained to her adolescent daughter - "That's disco music", and I felt really old, lol!
Once inside I was seated on tech row, so I checked the board to see who was working and was glad to see Ed's name. He's the new sub I've never seen, but it sounded like he got off to a better start than the others. The 8:15 cast was Matt, Chris, Ed, Jen & Joy. Joy opened with the phone and got a guy who was being a real jerk (telling lies trying to be funny) but thankfully this time he eventually settled down and started giving her the real answers. They did a good job with it, and I think only 1 actor slammed the guy for being a liar. Next Jen called different entertainment styles while Matt & Ed were working in a gym. Matt had trained with Ed & won the bodybuilding competition, and the entire skit moved quickly and had a lot of funny stuff.
They did Fill In The Blank with 2 audience volunteers, with Joy & Chris shopping for breast implants in the office of Dr. Killer (Matt). Jen came out as a patient who'd just had her procedure, and of course had the huge boobs under her shirt. One of the volunteers was a little girl, and she did a great job. The other was an older teen or young adult male - he said something I didn't hear but Joy refused to take it because it was too crude. Overall it was a really good show. On the way out I chatted with Dee for a little while, and told her I was done for the night.
When I passed the line upstairs it was very long - I would have skipped this show in favor of getting a decent seat for the 10:30 show, but tonight I didn't feel like being out that late so I left. It was another long wait for the OKWR bus - I'm spoiled by using my car for PI on all my trips. Eventually it came, and I finally got back to the studio to finish the trip report and try to clean up most of the mail. I want to be up early so I can meet Tom & Leanne tomorrow, so I should get to bed relatively early tonight!
I heard from Greg at the Warehouse today - his show (Fairy Tales) will be at the Parliament House on June 8, 9, 15 & 16. The Saturday shows start at 7:30; the Sunday shows start at 2:00. I can't wait to see it again - it was just as appropriate for straight people and I've yet to find anyone who saw it who didn't rave about it. Everyone absolutely loved it, from start to finish, and if you're going to be in the area it's worth the trek downtown to see it.
The day followed the plan and even though the parks were crowded and I didn't do very much at AK, it was a nice day. I feel like I just got here though, and hate that I have to leave tomorrow!
DAY 4 MONDAY MAY 27, 2002:
Who:
Sue (43), DVC Member
Tom & Leanne, also DVC members
Kim (their daughter) & Chris (her son)
Plan: MGM, drive home
Actual: I got up early again, thanks to the alarm! I prefer to not have to rush around, so I had a leisurely Cheerio's breakfast, caught up online, packed up my stuff, and left the studio by 8:30. After dropping the laptop off with bell services, I drove to MGM studios to meet Tom & Leanne. Whenever I've left anything with bell services, they've always put a ticket on the item and given me the stub - but today they just took the laptop and said "you know the drill - go have fun". I figured they must know my name and won't give the laptop to anyone else!
Inside MGM it was pretty crowded, but I spotted Tom & Leanne and saw that they had Kim & Chris with them as well! I'd just had dinner with Tom & Leanne while on a business trip to their town less than 2 weeks ago, but I hadn't seen Kim & Chris since December - so this was a nice surprise. We headed to TOT first, so Kim & Chris could ride. The rest of us shopped for golf shirts for Tom, and then waited for their return. We decided to get a Fastpass for the first Millionaire game. They love the game and wish the preshow stuff was shorter or eliminated, while I can't stand the game but at least enjoy seeing Mary do her bit in the preshow, lol! The first game wasn't until 10:50, which seemed a bit strange considering it was a holiday weekend and the park was very busy.
We had about an hour, so we waited for the Backlot Tour to open at 10 (again - why doesn't this open at 9 like the rest of the park???) and were on the first tour of the day. We were seated in the front seat of one of the tram cars, so we got pretty wet - not soaked, but very misted! Once the tour was over we had just enough time to get to Millionaire. Tom ended up in the top 10 several times, and Kim got there once. The rest of us never made it, and none of us got to the hot seat.
By now it was 11:30 and everything in the park was very crowded. We checked the Great Movie Ride, but the line was wrapped around outside. We found the same thing at Star Tours. There wasn't anything else any of us wanted to do in the park (not with the waits), so I decided to head home and they went to Animal Kingdom for lunch and to check out the new Primeval Whirl. I stopped at NY Street to buy a big soft pretzel, and ate part of that for my lunch. I had to stop at OKWR, and the bell services guy greeted me by name and went to get my laptop, and I was on my way home.
SUMMARY:
This was a nice little weekend trip, and I feel like I managed to do a lot in a short period of time. I visited all 4 theme parks, ate a few favorite meals, saw some great comedy, and enjoyed spending time with several different friends during the 4 days. OKWR was wonderful, except for the bizarre parking shortage and some irritating waits for Disney buses. The weather was pretty nice, too! I'd planned on going to Vero next Memorial Day weekend, but may just do Beach Club Villas instead - I can pretend I'm at Vero and just hang out at Stormalong Bay during the day, but at night I'd have Comedy Warehouse available to me!
Right now I've got to get busy getting ready for a non-Disney trip that begins in just 4 days! Chris & I are flying to Seattle Friday 5/31 and then cruising to Alaska the next day, finishing up with a weekend in Seattle before returning home 6/10. After that, Kathy & I are planning a trip the next weekend - if we do enough Disney related stuff I may write a report, but if not the next Disney trip report will be the mid-July trip with our friend Larry from Scotland and his family.
Thanks for reading!
Sue Holland
wdw1972@aol.com
Who/When/Where:
Who: Sue (me - 43), DVC member
Dates: May 24 - 27, 2002
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Leesa's Condo (1nt), Disney's Old Key West Resort (2nts)
Experience: Extremely experienced
INTRODUCTION:
This should be the last of my short trips for a while - soon I can get back to trips that last longer than a weekend! Normally I come up to WDW for the Memorial Day weekend and stay through at least most of the week following the holiday. This year I had to cut it short because I booked a non-Disney trip that begins Friday 5/31. So, this year this trip will be just the long weekend, plus the preceding Friday.
Last month I stated that cancer treatments had not altered my lifestyle at all, and I did not expect them to have any effect on this trip or future trips. At this stage of the game I am less able to ignore the side effects and may try to spend more time taking it easy. The priorities have not changed - spending time with friends, Comedy Warehouse, favorite foods, and enjoying Old Key West! I'll fit in whatever I can, but there is nothing else I really need to do and nothing that can't wait for a future trip.
I'll spend time with Kathy again on Friday, and this time the conference call has been canceled so I will not have to spend an hour of her time on the phone with business! Leesa & I will be at the Comedy Warehouse Friday night, and I will spend that night at her condo before checking in to OKWR Saturday morning. That will leave me "homeless" most of Saturday, unless my studio is ready early, so I will probably do mostly theme park stuff then (perhaps a nice lunch at Le Cellier). My friends Tom & Leanne arrive offsite Sunday before moving into OKWR on Monday for the week, so hopefully we can spend some time together.
The plans (subject to change) so far...
Fri 5/24: Spend day with Kathy, pick up Leesa, Comedy Warehouse
Sat 5/25: Check in OKWR, Epcot, Comedy Warehouse
Sun 5/26: MK, AK late, Mara soup, Comedy Warehouse
Mon 5/27: MGM, drive home
DAY 1 FRIDAY MAY 24, 2002:
Who:
Sue (43), DVC Member
Kathy (dznynut)
Leesa (42), Comedy Warehouse Regular
Tim (44), my ex-husband
Plan: Spend day with Kathy, Pick up Leesa, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I was out the door by 8, filled the car with gas, and arrived at Kathy's around 10:30. We had a wonderful visit, and the day flew by. While I was there a phone rang - during the frantic search to find Kathy's phone I discovered it was my cell phone, lol! Tim had decided to change his plans for tonight and wanted to join Leesa & me for the Comedy Warehouse, so we took care of that. He drives a limo part time, and was taking a party to WDW today. Tomorrow morning he's picking up a party coming off the Disney cruise, and it makes sense to not return to Ft Myers in between the 2 runs. Around 3:30 I rushed out of Kathy's and made the drive to Leesa's in record time!
Once there, we finalized plans with Tim and were out the door within 20-30 minutes of my arrival. Wow, this day is going by quickly! We drove to Downtown Disney and parked at PI, then waited in front of Planet Hollywood for Tim. He had the Excursion - a 38 foot while limo that seats 18 passengers. It's got 3 TV's, 3 bars, fiber optic lights that change colors in the ceiling, and is quite an attention-getter! We rode around WDW property, and through Old Key West (the security guard didn't even question him in the limo), stopping to take some pictures with the OKWR lighthouse in the background behind the car. The company may put one of them on their website.
We returned to PI and parked the limo, then went to the West Side for dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Express. We all pretty much got our "usual" - caprese salad for me, bbq chicken for Leesa, and the chicken finger w/macaroni & cheese for Tim (same as Chris always gets). Tim called Chris to rub it in that he had eaten that dinner, lol! Chris tried giving me a curfew of 9:30 tonight (HA!) - fat chance ;-) Dinner was excellent, and it was a gorgeous night for eating outside. After eating we went back to enter PI, stopping to look at the big soft shell turtle who lives in the water near Planet Hollywood.
We had about 30 minutes to kill, so we sat on a bench and soon saw part of the Ft Pierce family coming up the steps. I waved to Sue & Dan, and they came over to join us. When it was time we got in line, with regulars Bob & Virginia & their guests right behind us - so we all had a nice time chatting. Kelly & Alan from Ft Pierce arrived to complete the party (11 of us). We ended up taking long row, with Dan sitting at the end in the 2nd barstool (behind us).
The show times have changed slightly - you frequent visitors will probably notice the changes <g> but it won't really matter to anyone else. The first show was 7:20, featuring Joy, Brian, Robin, Krista & Greg. They started with a poem - Don't Rat on Me Because I Skipped School, which was pretty cute. The did Fill In The Blank with Brian & Krista playing a married couple at CityWalk - with lots of comments from Greg about how PI is superior to that place. They did an Up Your Alley about taxidermy, with Brian as host Wally Beaver. Joy was a kid who stuffs her pets, Rob was a guy on the Nevada Highway Patrol road kill division, and Greg was an anti-taxidermy activist. The show kind of struggled - the audience was not coming up with many good suggestions, and the actors just didn't seem to be able to turn it around. Tim thought it was good, so perhaps it was - it just wasn't as good as I know it can be.
Outside after the show Carol Stein's father entertained us with a bunch of jokes - her parents come to see her perform quite often and seem really nice. Leesa, Tim & I went back in to long row, and the 8:15 cast was Chris, Greg, Robin, Krista & Joy. This time they did Fill In The Blank with the audience volunteers, and one was a young boy who surprisingly did an excellent job. Joy & Rob were ex-spouses finalizing their divorce and Greg was their little boy caught in the mess. Next came Greg & Krista dressed up as Steve & Edie, a long married couple singing "Can You Do That In The Bathroom Please". Needless to say, the song had quite a few funny references as they made up verses to sing to each other - they did a great job! They did the Letters to the Editor game this show, about shoes. Chris wrote to Mad magazine, Krista to Hot Rod, and Greg to Horse & Hound. They all did great, especially Greg with a snooty accent. Overall the show was very good - so much better than the first one! We talked to Krista after the show, and Greg stopped by briefly, then we headed outside.
The 9:15 show featured Brian, Matt, Krista, Robin & Joy. They did Conducted Story (The Little Butterfly), with 2 really quick deaths. Krista was conducting, and did a good job. Joy died by a lawnmower and then Rob died an opera death by a dead armadillo. Both deaths were funny as well. That left Matt & Brian, and they ended up completing the story together, in different styles called by Krista because neither of them made a mistake to cause a death. It was another great show! Afterwards we visited with Nancy outside while she was on a break, and then went inside for one more.
The 10:30 show featured Greg, Matt, Chris, Brian & Krista. They did Emotions, with Greg & Krista as a couple who'd gotten married on a Jerry Springer show. She was a tough truck driver and he was very gay. They work really well together, and this game was hysterical. Greg's continuing the scene in the emotion of "orgasmic" had us laughing until our faces hurt - I forget what Krista's emotion was at that time, but it was not at all similar to Greg's! Next they did Cliché, our favorite! Chris was tortured & did a great job guessing "Colder than a well digger's butt in a Klondike". The clues were very funny, and overall this show was excellent! We chatted briefly to Matt & Greg on the way out, passed the huge crowds of people buying tickets to enter PI , and went to the cars. Tim's staying at the Holiday Inn Nikki Bird place out on 192. He declared it a typical cheap tacky Holiday Inn - but it's what he could find at the last minute - for $89. Leesa & I headed back to her condo, where I decided to just get the report written & posted before turning in since it's not terribly long.
It was a wonderful day - I always enjoy Kathy's company, and today was no exception. The first Comedy Warehouse show was a bit slow, but the rest more than made up for that, and the company was excellent! Skipping the 12:05 show was a good move, as it let me not be up later than I wanted! Hopefully I'll get over to OKWR earlier than I have on the last couple of trips :-)
DAY 2 SATURDAY MAY 25, 2002:
Who: Sue (43), DVC Member
Plan: Check in OKWR, Epcot, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: Without setting the alarm, I was up by 7 - feeling rested & eager to start the day. Leesa had made banana bread, so I ate a little of that with my raspberry hot chocolate and was on the road by 9. The bell services guys spotted me walking up and were quick to welcome me back - it's really nice to have them treat me so well. Angelo was flattering as always, saying I look great and look better & better each time. I had to laugh, because that is not what "cancer patients" usually hear <g>. In my particular case though, nobody would have any way of knowing anything was going on with me just by looking at me - unless they noticed the nasty radiation burn. Friends who have seen me generally are surprised because they expect me to look sick, or at least different in some way - but I don't. Anyway, I chatted with Angelo for a bit and then went to check in.
The line was short - 1 or 2 parties ahead of me. CM Paul took my information, told me my requests had been met but the studio wasn't ready yet and offered to see if he could find one that was ready. There was nothing open, but I didn't care - I had arrived expecting to be "homeless" today, so it was no big deal to not have the studio ready now. I wandered around taking a few pictures for someone at MousePlanet, dropped the laptop off with Angelo and went to the bus stop.
The Buses on Demand cm was there and was able to tell me I'd just missed the Epcot bus. I thought about just driving, but decided to relax and wait for the next bus (ack - could it be possible I'm learning patience??? Most likely it's a fluke <g>). I updated my notes while waiting, and got to Epcot before 10. Epcot's back to the original hours - Future World opens at 9, World Showcase opens at 11. There was a bit of a long line getting through security and the turnstiles, but it moved steadily. Once inside I checked the tip board and saw Living Seas had no wait so I decided to head over there. I skipped the 7 minute movie (boring after a couple of times) and took the hydrolator to where the ride used to be. Now they have guests walk down this little hallway and enter by the merchandise shop on the ground floor. The Manatee area was closed off for refurbishment, so there really was not much of interest to me. I used to enjoy the little ride and then would spend a few minutes looking in the aquarium. Today I just spent a few minutes looking at fish and then left.
I almost forgot to mention - the cm working at the Living Seas was fantastic. He was the friendliest, most positive person I've seen in a long time! He was talking nonstop to the guests waiting, sharing things his mother taught him about treating people right, and how he loves people, etc - he claimed to be 64 years old but I swear he looked about 20 years younger than that! It was nice to run into someone like that to begin the day. After Living Seas I went to Test Track and joined the single rider line. Something was wrong - they were not using the 3rd preshow area that is normally set aside for single riders, so instead they took people from all 3 lines and put us all together. They should have stopped letting people into the single rider line, since it in effect became a 2nd standby line - and it took a good 30 minutes to get on the ride. I like the ride, but it's not worth a 30 minute wait when you've done it before, and had I known it would take that long I would have skipped it.
By now it was after 11, so I headed to World Showcase and left at International Gateway to visit the Beach Club. I needed some pictures and wanted to see how the DVC construction was coming along - and stopped in a restroom to put more aloe on my burn. My choices were to wear tank tops that left some of it exposed or wear shirts that cover it but are uncomfortable from the shirt touching it - it made sense to stick with tank tops! I also called to check on the studio (not ready) and made a priority seating at Le Cellier for lunch today. The construction looks almost done, and I can't wait to be able to get into the Beach Club Villas to see the public areas during my July trip.
I headed back to Epcot and continued around World Showcase starting with France. I stopped in most of the shops this time, which I rarely do. A lot of it is the same type of stuff they've always carried, so my browsing went pretty quickly! In Norway I waited about 10 minutes to ride the Maelstrom, and they were not showing the movie at all. In Mexico I did the boat ride, and then continued over to Canada and checked in about 10-15 minutes early for my lunch. I ended up being seated before my PS time, and was given a booth seat against the wall, facing into the restaurant. It was a good seat, and my server did an excellent job. I ordered right away - my favorite wine and the cheddar cheese soup (hold the scallions). She poured a full glass of wine, and mentioned some Publix stores in the area have sold this wine - I'll have to talk to the people at my Publix, and if I have no luck I can call a bunch of the ones in this area on my next trip. Lunch was delicious - this has got to be my favorite restaurant and favorite meal here at WDW (possibly anywhere else, too). It would have been better to be eating with someone else though, as it was a bit of a rush to drink a whole glass of wine with a small cup of soup. If I'd been sitting around sipping my wine while talking to a dining companion it would have been more leisurely, but I didn't want to tie up a table for 4 people by myself just having wine once my soup was gone. I was going to take the pretzel breadstick with me (Kathy - I behaved....no "Lucy"-like antics for now) but my server tossed it and brought me 3 fresh breadsticks (1 of each kind) all wrapped up to go. The total check after the 20% DDE discount was just under $10, so I rounded it up to $13 and was out the door little more than 1/2 hour after being seated.
People a couple of tables away had a kid and the server was telling them the best dessert is the kid's chocolate mousse dessert - it evidently looks like a moose. I was dying to see it, but they decided they were too full for dessert, lol! I'm sure they would have let me order it if I really wanted to, but the wine & soup were enough.
I headed back to Future World and visited the people in Guest Relations looking for information for a friend, and then rode Spaceship Earth before leaving the park. I think I slept through the entire ride - I remember going up the hill, and fortunately was awake to get up and walk off the ride so the cm's didn't think I'd died on the ride or something, lol! All day the park was not busy at all, which was really nice. The weather was warm, but not oppressively hot and a nice breeze helped a lot!
The OKWR bus came in about 10 minutes and I got off at the Peninsular Road stop and walked back to the main building. It was somewhere around 2:30-3:00 and the studio was ready, so Angelo brought me my laptop, I chatted with him a little more, and then I drove over to building 45 to move in. I like both 45 & 46 - except for my unit because I'm so close to the stop sign I get bus noise. However, it won't be a problem for only 2 nights, particularly with the hours I tend to keep <g>. As I work on the report I can watch the boats float by on the Trumbo Canal, so that's pretty nice. Everything in the studio looks good - no complaints here.
I got settled & updated the report, then spent the rest of the afternoon reading my mail and emailing back & forth with a friend. Leesa IM'd at one point - she & a friend will be coming for the 10:30 show tonight, so we made plans to meet. Kathy made a comment about me being "home" here at OKWR, and she's right - I'm sitting at home Saturday afternoon making impromptu plans with a friend for later tonight - it feels so ordinary & so right to be here!
One other thing I forgot to mention from yesterday - during one of the Comedy Warehouse shows some lady's cell phone rang while Krista was on stage setting up the next game (Conducted Story). The actors hate when people are too careless or rude to turn off their phones, and will often make a comment, but Krista had the lights come up so we could see the woman and insisted she bring her the cell phone. It was the woman's boss, calling her from California. Krista stood onstage and told the guy that she was at a comedy show and the phone was disrupting the show, so the lady was not available now. I guess the guy didn't believe her, because she had us all yell "DIE" to the phone (this is how we "kill" an actor when he makes a mistake during the story). It was pretty funny, lol - then Krista turned off the phone and returned it to the lady.
Tonight I got to PI around 7 and chatted with Darby outside Comedy Warehouse until I was ready to join the line. I got the corner seat in long row, which was perfect. Deb was my server & I decided to have coconut rum & pineapple juice instead of my Bye Bye Blues for a change. The 7:20 cast was Krista, Todd, Joy, Jen B, & Greg. They did Fill In The Blank with 2 audience volunteers, with Todd & Jen working on a bridge. They were a couple, the bridge company had been left to Jen by her dead father or grandfather, and at one point they needed to fill in the blank on why the guy didn't want Todd to have the company "because he is _____". The volunteer said Gay, so Todd started playing it as gaiety and from an earlier era rather than homosexual, but as he was going on about that Greg came swishing out from backstage & said to him "Honey, you forgot your lunch box again" and then took Todd's face in his hands and gave him a big kiss on the lips. Todd (he's not gay) looked like he wanted to die, lol - he kept himself from wiping his mouth off, but turned pretty red. Later in the show Todd created a verse directed at Greg that said "You'll never get me to call you Honey", which was good. Todd & Jen both did a good job with the scene.
They also did Schmeopardy this show, with Jen as host Alexis Quebec. Krista was a school bus driver named Corwina Jensen, who's favorite thing about her job is yelling at the kids. Greg was a British neurosurgeon named Dr. Leonard Cranium, and Joy was Tippie Please, a waitress at Perkins. The entire show was very good, particularly for the first show of the night, and with a fairly small audience. After the show Greg & I talked about his show - when he sends me the latest information I'll post it so people who may be interested in seeing it will know about it (excellent show) and can go see it if they're in the Orlando area next month.
I went outside and was surprised to see the line was not bad at all, so I got in and was seated at the end across from long row (on the aisle). The 8:15 cast was Greg, Matt, Krista, Joy & Jen. They did a 1-act play led by Jen, called A New Pair of Shoes. Joy &Matt were Dorothy a munchkin who taught her how to take care of her 3 kids so she could return home. There were a lot of Wizard of Oz references, and when Dorothy got home, it turned out she had been gone 25 years but the 3 kids (Greg, Krista & Matt) were still there. Krista was like the wicked witch, Matt was like the cowardly lion, and Greg was just kind of quiet <g>. It was a funny scene - it moved quickly and had a lot of clever statements. Forgotten Songs was next, and they were all good. Greg did a sad ballad of his broken marriage, called The Wheels are My Home. I didn't really understand the title, but his song was cute. Krista & Jen were 2 female custodial workers who clean the men's room in Standing At The Urinal. Matt & Joy were a couple who'd been waiting over 24 hours for their baby to be born, singing "I Got The I Don't Know, Hurry Up & Wait Because There's Nothing I Can Do About It Anyway Blues". They had time for a short Should Have Said, with Jen as a casket repair person in Greg's funeral home as Krista & Matt were viewing their deceased relative in the shoddy casket. It was also funny, and the entire show was great! This was easily the best show I saw tonight.
I headed right back outside and got in line for the next show. At 9:15 the cast was Chris, Brian, Jen, Krista & Todd. They did a musical led by Brian, about Masons in Lodi California. It was just ok. In Up Your Alley Krista was host Savannah Georgia and they had 2 experts on Space. Brian was Dr David Biskis, a famous psychiatrist. Jen was his wife, Mrs Biskis, who has space issues because he's always in her face and never shuts up. Unfortunately, almost every audience question for the experts had to mention Uranus, so they were saying "your anus", trying to lead the actors to bathroom humor. It was getting tiring to me, and I could tell Krista in particular was sick of it. They tried discouraging it, and even asking for a question that specifically was not potty humor, but to no avail. At one point Krista commented that the south is well-represented here, lol! The actors did come up with some very funny replies to the questions, but the show would have been better if the audience hadn't narrowed the possibilities by focusing on Uranus like that.
After the show I headed outside to wait for Leesa, and met her extraordinarily good looking friend Mo (wowsa!). We don't share the same taste in men, but I'm not blind to good looks, lol! They'd picked up Cinnabons at City Walk (just a Minibon for me - there's no way I'd eat a regular one) for each of us plus one to send down to Nancy. We ate our buns (lol) and then went in through the back door to take our seats on long row. The 10:30 cast was Brian, Greg, Joy, Chris & Matt. Matt rang the bell for Should Have Said, where Greg got a letter from World Wrestling in a pretty good scene. They did an excellent job at Madrigal Singers. The 4 sayings were Venomous Squirrel Eats Kitty Litter (Brian), Mermaid Found in Sardine Can (Greg), I'm Bigfoot's Love Child (Chris) & Elvis Married My Little Brother (Matt). They mixed it all up really well, and it was hysterical! They did Up Your Alley again, this time with an audience expert (psychology). Joy was host Dixie B Cup, Matt was Al Pacino working on a psychological thriller, and Chris was Flo - author of the 14 or 15 page book called Psychology of Trailer Trash. This was a good show - but the 2nd one was still better tonight. We were disappointed they didn't do Cliché, but they may have done it at the 12:05 show. Matt announced it was Leesa's birthday when he came out, which was nice - Nancy had asked Greg to have someone mention it.
Nancy came out when she got off work and watched the end of the show, then we talked to her for a while before leaving PI. Back at OKWR I was dismayed to find not a single freakin' parking spot empty in the lots for building 45 & 46. I drove down Turtle Pond Road and found 1 space left in front of building 31 and grabbed it! I've never had this happen before at OKWR, and dread it happening tomorrow night because then it'll be a pain packing up the car if it's 1/2 mile away! Oh well, I'll worry about that IF it happens.
Today was a good day - I followed the plan, had my wonderful favorite lunch at Le Cellier, and did a few things in Epcot that I don't normally do.
DAY 3 SUNDAY MAY 26, 2002:
Who: Sue (43), DVC Member
Plan: MK, AK late, Mara soup, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I set the alarm and was up before 7, since there is no point going to the MK if I can't get there early enough to enjoy the first 1.5 - 2 hours before it gets too crowded. Breakfast was frosted cheerios and cappuccino, and I was out the door by 8:30. I forgot to mention last night - to the people who "saw" me online and IM'd to check on me or say something, I wasn't really there! I wasn't ignoring you (I do ignore many IM's but not you guys <g>).
The MK bus got filled to capacity by the time we left OKWR, and I was in the park about 9:15. Once again there was a turnstile completely empty (yet open) that people were ignoring, so after giving the long line of people in front of me the chance to notice, I walked past them all and entered the park - hopefully some of them followed suit! My first stop was Space Mountain to pick up a Fastpass (return time 10:05) and then I pretty much walked right on the Pooh ride before going over and having to wait 5-10 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight. It was becoming obvious today was going to be a very crowded day in the Magic Kingdom --not your typical Sunday, due to the holiday weekend!
I stopped at Liberty Tree Tavern to look for Leslie (trip report reader), but the guy inside said she didn't work there anymore and didn't know her. I headed next towards Big Thunder, but I could see the line was extended outside so I passed it by and rode Pirates of the Caribbean instead (walked right on). I was off the ride just after 10, and according to my Space Mountain Fastpass I was eligible for another starting at 10:10. I hung out on the bridge and watched people riding Splash Mountain, and then picked up a Big Thunder Fastpass (return time 10:45) before returning to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain.
By now the park was very crowded, and I knew I would be leaving soon. Space Mountain was lots of fun, and there was no discomfort like last trip. I got the last seat in the rocket, and the guy in front of me felt the need to let me know he might scream but he didn't think he would throw up - gee thanks, lol! After the ride I stood in line a while to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. You know it's mobbed if there's a line there! By the time I got off it was Fastpass time again so I returned to Big Thunder and bypassed a very long standby line. Big Thunder was also great - I like that ride a lot, and without Fastpass there's no way I would have been able to ride this and Space Mountain on the same day (I refuse to wait in a line longer than 10 minutes).
I left the park and took the bus to All Star Movies, where I wandered around to get a few more pictures for an upcoming photo tour. At the food court I got some butter for my breadsticks, and then returned to the bus stop. The Blizzard Beach bus arrived almost immediately, so I took it and then waited forever for the OKWR bus to arrive. Eventually it did arrive, and I was back at OKWR driving my car back to my own building! I ate the multi-grain breadstick and updated the report, then took care of mail & talked to a couple of friends. Just after 3 I drove over to Animal Kingdom, figuring if it was too hot or too sunny I'd just cut the visit short.
Once in the park I saw the Dinosaur still had a 40 minute wait, which is definitely busier than normal for this time of day. I headed back to Harambe, where the Safari had a 60 minute standby wait. I got a Fastpass (4:55 return) in case I was still in the park at that time, but ended up not using it. On the Pangani Forest Trail I found Gus sitting behind the rocks near the cave, with a couple of the other boys. One took a blanket and hit him, but ran off before I could tell who it was. Eventually Gus came over and sat in his cave entrance for a while. He was watching me, probably wondering where the heck Kathy was - and once he realized I was alone he went inside. Once he was gone cm Mark came over to chat - he recognizes me as a friend of Kathy's and I think I talked to him on my last trip when I spent a couple of hours on the trail.
As I was leaving the trail, Tom & Leanne beeped me. I could hear that silly parade, so I had to walk from Africa to Asia (boy, does that sound impressively energetic, or what??) to find a pay phone that would be quiet enough to use! They had just arrived at Epcot, so we made plans to meet in the morning. At this point it was hot, crowded, it was still too long before my Fastpass time, so I decided to leave. I drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge and after a difficult search for a parking spot I went inside and got my soup. The soup of the day was mulligatawny (sp?), which is chicken, apples & veggies. It tasted great except for the veggies, but I stuck with ordering the tomato bisque and took it back to the studio at OKWR. The parking lot was almost full again - looks like I'm using Disney transportation tonight for sure, or who knows where I'll have to leave the car after PI!
The soup was wonderful - I ate it with most of the sourdough breadstick and threw the rest of the bread away (it's only good with soup). Thanks to a Comedy Warehouse friend, I knew ahead of time about the change in show times (8:15 for first show tonight rather than 8:00), so I knew I had some time to kill. I updated the report and hung out online for a little while, then changed into fresh clothes before leaving for Downtown Disney. Since I was not going to move my car from it's parking spot, I walked down to the Hospitality House thinking the Trumbo Ferry would be a nice way to travel. Unfortunately, so did dozens of other people who were already there waiting. Waiting for the 3rd bus was NOT part of my plans, so I went to the bus stop instead.
When the bus finally came, it said Downtown Disney so I got on. It ended up going to every freakin' stop in OKWR including stopping again at the Hospitality House before going to the Marketplace. The entire Downtown Disney area was mobbed!!! It was a pain walking through the Marketplace and I only went into a couple of stores - the World of Disney was awful! I got my PI wristband and walked through the Island on my way to the West Side, which was also mobbed. Each restaurant had a long line of people waiting to get in, which I don't recall ever seeing before at this time of night. Business was definitely booming!
I returned to PI and stopped to chat with cm Susan outside the Comedy Warehouse before going to find a bench to sit on until it was time to get in line. My shirt was causing the burn to hurt, and I was getting tired pretty quickly. A new band was performing tonight - Les Girls, and they sounded pretty good. I sat & listened to them and did some people watching to pass the time. Soon I headed up to check the line, and found I was number 64 already! I took my place and got to watch the band - 3 attractive young ladies with clothing suitable for their good bodies performing mostly disco songs. They had quite a few people watching/listening, and I thought they did a good job - much better than some of the other bands that play there on Frankie's nights off. At one point the woman behind me in line explained to her adolescent daughter - "That's disco music", and I felt really old, lol!
Once inside I was seated on tech row, so I checked the board to see who was working and was glad to see Ed's name. He's the new sub I've never seen, but it sounded like he got off to a better start than the others. The 8:15 cast was Matt, Chris, Ed, Jen & Joy. Joy opened with the phone and got a guy who was being a real jerk (telling lies trying to be funny) but thankfully this time he eventually settled down and started giving her the real answers. They did a good job with it, and I think only 1 actor slammed the guy for being a liar. Next Jen called different entertainment styles while Matt & Ed were working in a gym. Matt had trained with Ed & won the bodybuilding competition, and the entire skit moved quickly and had a lot of funny stuff.
They did Fill In The Blank with 2 audience volunteers, with Joy & Chris shopping for breast implants in the office of Dr. Killer (Matt). Jen came out as a patient who'd just had her procedure, and of course had the huge boobs under her shirt. One of the volunteers was a little girl, and she did a great job. The other was an older teen or young adult male - he said something I didn't hear but Joy refused to take it because it was too crude. Overall it was a really good show. On the way out I chatted with Dee for a little while, and told her I was done for the night.
When I passed the line upstairs it was very long - I would have skipped this show in favor of getting a decent seat for the 10:30 show, but tonight I didn't feel like being out that late so I left. It was another long wait for the OKWR bus - I'm spoiled by using my car for PI on all my trips. Eventually it came, and I finally got back to the studio to finish the trip report and try to clean up most of the mail. I want to be up early so I can meet Tom & Leanne tomorrow, so I should get to bed relatively early tonight!
I heard from Greg at the Warehouse today - his show (Fairy Tales) will be at the Parliament House on June 8, 9, 15 & 16. The Saturday shows start at 7:30; the Sunday shows start at 2:00. I can't wait to see it again - it was just as appropriate for straight people and I've yet to find anyone who saw it who didn't rave about it. Everyone absolutely loved it, from start to finish, and if you're going to be in the area it's worth the trek downtown to see it.
The day followed the plan and even though the parks were crowded and I didn't do very much at AK, it was a nice day. I feel like I just got here though, and hate that I have to leave tomorrow!
DAY 4 MONDAY MAY 27, 2002:
Who:
Sue (43), DVC Member
Tom & Leanne, also DVC members
Kim (their daughter) & Chris (her son)
Plan: MGM, drive home
Actual: I got up early again, thanks to the alarm! I prefer to not have to rush around, so I had a leisurely Cheerio's breakfast, caught up online, packed up my stuff, and left the studio by 8:30. After dropping the laptop off with bell services, I drove to MGM studios to meet Tom & Leanne. Whenever I've left anything with bell services, they've always put a ticket on the item and given me the stub - but today they just took the laptop and said "you know the drill - go have fun". I figured they must know my name and won't give the laptop to anyone else!
Inside MGM it was pretty crowded, but I spotted Tom & Leanne and saw that they had Kim & Chris with them as well! I'd just had dinner with Tom & Leanne while on a business trip to their town less than 2 weeks ago, but I hadn't seen Kim & Chris since December - so this was a nice surprise. We headed to TOT first, so Kim & Chris could ride. The rest of us shopped for golf shirts for Tom, and then waited for their return. We decided to get a Fastpass for the first Millionaire game. They love the game and wish the preshow stuff was shorter or eliminated, while I can't stand the game but at least enjoy seeing Mary do her bit in the preshow, lol! The first game wasn't until 10:50, which seemed a bit strange considering it was a holiday weekend and the park was very busy.
We had about an hour, so we waited for the Backlot Tour to open at 10 (again - why doesn't this open at 9 like the rest of the park???) and were on the first tour of the day. We were seated in the front seat of one of the tram cars, so we got pretty wet - not soaked, but very misted! Once the tour was over we had just enough time to get to Millionaire. Tom ended up in the top 10 several times, and Kim got there once. The rest of us never made it, and none of us got to the hot seat.
By now it was 11:30 and everything in the park was very crowded. We checked the Great Movie Ride, but the line was wrapped around outside. We found the same thing at Star Tours. There wasn't anything else any of us wanted to do in the park (not with the waits), so I decided to head home and they went to Animal Kingdom for lunch and to check out the new Primeval Whirl. I stopped at NY Street to buy a big soft pretzel, and ate part of that for my lunch. I had to stop at OKWR, and the bell services guy greeted me by name and went to get my laptop, and I was on my way home.
SUMMARY:
This was a nice little weekend trip, and I feel like I managed to do a lot in a short period of time. I visited all 4 theme parks, ate a few favorite meals, saw some great comedy, and enjoyed spending time with several different friends during the 4 days. OKWR was wonderful, except for the bizarre parking shortage and some irritating waits for Disney buses. The weather was pretty nice, too! I'd planned on going to Vero next Memorial Day weekend, but may just do Beach Club Villas instead - I can pretend I'm at Vero and just hang out at Stormalong Bay during the day, but at night I'd have Comedy Warehouse available to me!
Right now I've got to get busy getting ready for a non-Disney trip that begins in just 4 days! Chris & I are flying to Seattle Friday 5/31 and then cruising to Alaska the next day, finishing up with a weekend in Seattle before returning home 6/10. After that, Kathy & I are planning a trip the next weekend - if we do enough Disney related stuff I may write a report, but if not the next Disney trip report will be the mid-July trip with our friend Larry from Scotland and his family.
Thanks for reading!
Sue Holland
wdw1972@aol.com