Monday 9th November.
Good morning dear readers.
I hope you are having a lovely day. Well after a night of blissful rest which lasted about five hours, we are ready to hit the parks with a vengeance. So I've checked my Disney app and we are due to go and visit Disney's Hollywood Studios. Now I think I said that I would never call it that because I always think of it as MGM Studio's but hey I can bend, I can be flexible and I can move with the times. It's DHS for me from now on....... See I'm not a stick in the mud. The next big test will be can I call Countdown to Extinction - Dinosaur? Probably not.
The first job, however, was for me to go and re-check in, we have two reservations, one for just one night. That went well and the Magic Band is modus operandi. There was a wee line and it wouldn't be Disney if there wasn't four people at the station with just one person actually doing the checking in. Obviously the other three were doing vital humanitarian work that I just didn't know about.
Then I went to pick up the re-fillable mugs. Hey I have a re-fillable mug. I now know I really am at Disney!!
One of my big dilemmas for this trip is. Do I take my cameras with me to the parks every day? I don't know if you know but about three months ago I started a Blog on Blogger called Photographing Disney. I've always fancied myself as a photographer. I got my first SLR in 1982, I used to take artistic photos of spanners in a line, hay bales and glasses on glass coffee tables with ice in them. Frankly I was pretty rubbish.
However about four years ago I got a bit more serious thanks to blipfoto.com where I started posting photos every day, I did this for over a year and it was a great learning experience. For the past few years I've entered a few photographic competitions and had some luck at getting photos exhibited at the Buddy Holly Center and the Texas Tech University International Studies Center. I even won a blue ribbon for first prize in the "Cute" section of the South Plains Fair. (Hence my little comment about being an award winning photographer. The award being $13 LOL.)
However, things step up a little in June because I am having 25 photos exhibited in the Buddy Holly Center, with an whole gallery to myself of images from the Japan Trip in May of this year. So as you can imagine I'm pretty excited about this. June 5th to July 5th 2015. In the unlikely event you are in Lubbock pop in to the Gallery, let me know and I'll give you a guided tour!!
Anyway I thought I would take lots of photos this trip for the Photographing Disney blog. My son Greg has lent me a really cool wide angled lens for a couple of months. He actually gave me my first serious digital SLR a few years ago and I am really grateful to him for helping me out like this. The bad news is that serious camera equipment is pretty heavy. So I need to find a bit of a mixture of having fun in the parks and photographing them. Not to mention finding time for writing my live trip report. So if I put too many commas in and my syntax is terrible just put it down to tiredness.
Hands up anyone who's spent a week at Walt Disney World and didn't get exhausted. Nope can't see any hands.
OK enough of my personal ego trips lets get down to the fun we had today.
Paula and Wes are staying at the All Star Sports and we are at the All Star Movies, so we decided to go to meet them at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We arrived about five minutes apart. I took a few snaps for the blog and then we all headed over to Pixar Courtyard for our first Fastpass+ of the trip.
So the big question is why oh why am I so rubbish at Toy Story Mania? Robin beat me by thousands, she was just about twice the score of me. I think that I've come last every time. The only time I won was when I did it in Japan and Robin didn't do it. I try to go for the high score targets and then I miss. No strategy and no ability. It's a pretty fun ride though. I had more glory when Who Wants to be a Millionaire was in the building, I ruled that little game.
Paula and Wes went off to see One Man's Dream. We skipped that as it's pretty similar to the Walt Disney World Family Museum that we recently did. Robin and I went to Starring Rolls where we had some breakfast.
The next Fastpass was for Tower of Terror. I tried the single rider line at Rock and Roller Coaster but there were about 50 in line by the door so I decided to back track and meet with the others for Tower of Terror. I think we enjoyed watching the Twilight Zone TV pre-show, well we all seemed to chant the words along with it anyway. Obviously using our own version. The Hollywood Tower Hotel, 1939- a beating for the rich and famous.
I have for some reason brought my Aussi Hat with me, so I'm rather looking like Harrison Ford, so I started to play with it in the shaft making it levitate and rise and fall. I used to do that with Re-Fillable mugs but frankly it was a bit dangerous and I wouldn't want to brain damage Paula or Robin with one leaving blood and brains on the elevator floor.
After our appointment with fear, we went over to Star Tours where we met both Darth Vader and Yoda, it was a name dropping kind of ride today.
Then it was a visit to the Muppets 3D Extravaganza which is always fun in a "The machine has gone fluemmy fluemmy" kind of way.
As we only had five hours sleep we decided to that the intellectual rigors of the Muppets was enough for us and we went for a 30 minute sit down on the ride to Epcot on Friendship 3. It's quicker to walk between DHS and Epcot but it's a lot easier sat on the boat.
Ok now we go over to our Reporter at the Food and Wine Festival, Mrs. Robin Goble Wilmot............
Hello, everybody. Robin here. I told Larry I was at a bit of a loss because it feels like I don't have anything to do. I usually write a trip report after we get back from any Disney trip, so I take lots of notes while we're there, but, this trip, since Larry's is doing a live report, I don't really have to take notes and so I don't know what to do with myself when we get back to the resort in the evenings. Larry graciously asked if I would write a word or two about the Food and Wine Festival (F&WF), mostly to make me feel useful, I suspect.
Actually, the REAL reason I'm writing about the F&WF is that it's just so not Larry. He's a really good sport about it and he goes along with it to please me but paying upwards of $5 for little plates of food is just not something he particularly enjoys doing.
We had originally planned to use our Disney Dining Plan snack credits for our F&WF purchases, but some of the items are fairly low dollar and, according to the thrifty Yorkshire man, "not a good use of our snack credits." So, we decided we'd use snack credits for the items that we wanted to try that were over $5, and pay cash for anything that cost less.
Our first stop was France for some Sea Salt Caramel Crme Brulee and their Mushroom and Gruyere Gratin (basically, mushroom macaroni and cheese). Both were very good, but I have to give the upper hand to the crme brulee because, hey, crme brulee.
Paula and Wes also got the Escargot Tart (under much protest from Wes who had gallantly agreed to try everything that Paula wanted but forgot that there might actually be snails involved). It was actually very good and Wes manned up and sampled it and agreed that it really didn't taste of snail at all.
Up next were the booths of Brazil and Belgium. We decided to divide and conquer here with Paula and Wes going to Brazil to get the Fried Pork Belly and a piece of the Coconut Candy for me, while Larry and I went to Belgium and got one of each of their waffles (Potato and Leek for Larry, Berry Compote for Paula, and Chocolate for me). We met up in Brazil's excellent dining spot and all sampled each other's items. Everything was quite good although Larry swears the potato and leek waffle was false advertising because it seemed to mostly consist of beef and carrots. Also, it did not photograph well and looked unfortunately like something that our cat might have hornked up on the carpet.
We were all grumbling about starting to get full already so we decided to skip Morocco and Japan and head for the Lobster Alfredo Macaroni and Cheese and warm Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese icing from Hops & Barley in America. Our resolve held through Morocco, but we waivered at Japan with Larry saying he'd like to try the Churashizushi (salmon, shrimp, crab and egg over seaweed salad and ginger rice). He had no sooner gotten in line than I decided that the Gyoza Bun looked good, so I joined him. Then Wes decided that the Spicy Hand Roll was calling his name, so we basically bought 75% of the country's offerings. Nothing like sticking to your convictions.
We did eventually make it to Hops and Barley where Larry declared the Lobster Alfredo Mac and Cheese his favorite offering so far and I licked the warm cream cheese icing off the Carrot Cake plate.
Back to the Studio......
Thanks Robin,
After all that eating of food, I decided that I needed a little walk. Robin headed towards Britain and our meeting with Carolyn and Charlie Brooke Millward. So I went to the Test Track Single Rider line. Wow doesn’t the building look more posh inside now. It's rather like watching an episode of Fringe, the ride seems the same as before, yet it's all different. Like there is an Epcot in a parallel universe. Sorry about the spoiler but I'm glad they kept the truck avoidance swerve in. Though putting blue neon on the old truck doesn't really Tron it up that much. Had great fun on the outside loop as normal. That car does pull a few G's which is cool.
I walked over to the UK. Shocked myself by not eating any Fish and Chips. There we met the Brook Milward clan. We had a great time, we've known them for many years and haven't ever met but it was like we had known each other for ever. They are a sweet couple. Robin kind of blurted out, what I had said this morning. "Well if we don't like them, we can leave and never see them again." Thanks Robin for telling them that. Actually we left making arrangements to see them tomorrow. Varolyn once sent me a consignment of Brown Sauce, so deep down I knew she was a good un.
Wes who doesn't know that "sleep is for wimps" slept most of the hour, including through British Revolution on the concrete floor in his shorts in basically what had recently been a puddle. He really can sleep anywhere.
Talking of rain, we explained to our new/old friends that I have a jacket with me, which is not waterproof at all, yet when I wear it I just sweat and the water won't wick away. I thought I should buy a new one as this is more Gore Blimey than Gore Tex. Robins solution, wear it inside out!!
Well after that we were cream crackered so we left the park, via Mouse Gear where we bought an antenna topper for a dear old chap at church. We got the bus to All Star Sports and had our evening meal there. We all got something different. I got the Turkey Dinner. Then Robin and I walked from the ASSports dining room to the ASMusic, Rock Inn, which wasn't too bad a walk and crashed out here to write trip reports etc.
So that's all for this evening folks. I'm planning on at least 8 hours tonight. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Cheers Your Pal Larry from some Mid Atlantic Point I haven't worked out yet.
Larry Indy Hat.jpg
Bookmarks