Sue Holland - May 2003 - offsite, Old Key West Resort
Time of Year: Spring
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: Offsite, OKWR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran
Comments: Her 10-day trip earlier in the month was not enough for Sue, so she headed back to the resort for Memorial Day weekend. A trip into Orlando reminds Sue why she hates downtown, but watching a favorite CM in a show makes it worth the effort. Note: As Sue spend time at Pleasure Island and in other adult venues on this trip, this report has some information that may not be appropriate for young readers.
Sue Holland -- May 2003 Walt Disney World (Offsite, OKWR)
Note: As Sue spent time at Pleasure Island and in other adult venues on this trip, this report has some information that may not be appropriate for young readers.
Who:
Sue (me), DVC member
Appearances by:
Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Tracy & Tyger, Comedy Warehouse regulars
When and Where:
May 23 - 27, 2003
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Leesa's condo (2nts), Disney's Old Key West Resort studio (2nts)
Experience: Frequent visitor
INTRODUCTION:
Well, it's Friday so it must be time to head to WDW for another trip <g>. Originally I was going to be in WDW for the whole week since Monday is a holiday and it would only "cost" me 3-4 vacation days. However, when I booked a cruise for June 7th I moved this trip to early May to put more distance between the vacations. A few months ago I decided to at least come up for the holiday weekend (2 nights at Leesa's & 2 nights at DVC) and tried for Beach Club Villas so Leesa could join me and enjoy Stormalong Bay. BCV was sold out, and although I went on the wait list there was still nothing available even a few days prior to arrival. I would be perfectly happy at OKW, but staying at OKW doesn't make much sense for her because we wouldn't have access to Stormalong Bay. I left that decision up to her, and she decided to skip the DVC resort portion of the trip, although she'll come out for Comedy Warehouse on Sunday night and I'll drive her home after the shows.
I thought about skipping Friday night and just arriving Saturday morning since that would enable me to miss one less baseball game. However, it's so much easier getting to Typhoon Lagoon with a 30 minute drive rather than 3 hours I decided to give my tickets to a co-worker! Plus, it gives me an extra night at Comedy Warehouse to replace the Saturday night I will be skipping. Last weekend I made a round trip (not staying over) to see the opening night of a show Layden has in the Fringe Festival this year and had time to see a couple of Comedy Warehouse shows before heading downtown. He's got a talk-show called Chataqua Tonight, and both Krista and Jen B told me they were going to be guests on the show this coming Saturday. Each show is different, based on his guests, and I couldn't pass up the chance to see Layden, Krista and Jen working together! Tracy & Tyger will be joining me, and the tickets were ordered online a week ago so we aren't in risk of being shut out.
Other than the show Saturday night, my plans are to simply relax and try not to sweat to death in the heat! I may spend as much time at Typhoon Lagoon as I do in the theme parks, especially since the holiday weekend crowds will make it busier than normal. It seems the only time I get to catch up on any reading is when I'm at Typhoon Lagoon! Unfortunately this trip is so short I doubt I'll have time to hit many of my favorite restaurants, but I'll try to get to one or two and save the rest for a future trip. Hopefully I'll run into Bill (Major Woody) at CW some night while he's still here.
The plans (subject to change) so far...
Fri 5/23: Work, meet Leesa at Comedy Warehouse
Sat 5/24: Typhoon Lagoon, Atlanta Bread?, Layden's Fringe Show
Sun 5/25: Check in to OKW, Epcot, Wolfgang Puck's Cafe w/Leesa, Comedy Warehouse
Mon 5/26: Typhoon Lagoon, Captain Jack's or Olivia's Cafe?, Comedy Warehouse
Tue 5/27: MK, Drive home
DAY 1 FRIDAY MAY 23, 2003:
Who: Sue, DVC Member
Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Plan: Work, meet Leesa at Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I thought the work day would never end - it's awful waiting to leave on a trip, and since I've been gone so much and had given a couple of my key department heads the day off today I didn't plan to leave until 4pm. Finally I was on the road about 3:45 (couldn't last that final 15 minutes). Traffic wasn't bad and although police presence was heavy for the holiday weekend there weren't any slowdowns. I arrived on Disney property around 6:30, and soon heard from Leesa. Her 5pm ride hadn't shown up yet, and in fact she ended up missing the first show. There's a transportation service for people with disabilities that prevent them from being able to drive, but today it was very unreliable.
I went to the West Side and ran into Marti at the DVC kiosk - it's too funny how often I run into her. She claims I'm here more than she is, lol! I went back to the Marketplace and ran into Tracy & Tyger, so we got a chocolate sample at Ghiradelli before returning to PI. At the Comedy Warehouse I let Susan know Leesa would be here for 2nd show, so she had the count of how many of us would be at the back door for future shows. We got in the regular line and pretty soon Bill and his daughter got in line near us. It was great seeing him again - he's a big CW fan and really nice guy. We chatted until the door opened, then went inside. Tracy, Tyger & I were seated in long row and I went up to check the sound tech board to see who was working and what structures will be done.
The 7:20 cast was Matt, Todd, Brian, Krista & John. The cast looked great, but unfortunately the show got off to a rocky start and then died from there. Todd opened with the phone and got a lady who was being a jerk - refusing to say where she worked, etc, and he just isn't proficient enough to deal with the jerks. So, the interview really dragged and although the song was pretty good I think they may have lost the audience before then. Next they did Fill in the Blank with 2 audience volunteers. One was a young girl (under age 10) wearing a skirt, who sat on the stool with her knees far apart until Matt went backstage to get a blanket to throw over her. The kid didn't have a clue she was flashing to everyone down front. Then, she had nothing to say when tapped to fill in the blank - I hate when they pick kids because this happens too often. Matt & Krista were creating a scene, which we figured would pick the show up because they're so good. However, that wasn't the case tonight. They were on Maui where she was trying to get rid of the stress in her life. The audience wasn't real responsive, but the comedy wasn't as good as it usually is either.
Todd, John & Brian came out next and did something I don't think I've ever seen before. Todd asked for a suggestion and was given "teenagers". Brian sat & beat on bongo drums, John screamed out a poem or something as an obnoxious teenager, and for a long time I had no clue what Todd was doing. He was flailing around and finally I leaned over to Tracy and said "What the HELL is he supposedly doing??" and she replied he's supposed to be doing the mime to go along with what John's saying. If so, it was pitiful. When Josh used to work here he did that really well - but tonight it was not very good at all. I think it would have been funnier without the distraction of the mime, but done well the mime would really add to the humor. Next was Actor's Nightmare, with it being Brian's nightmare. I won't say it was a nightmare for the audience, but I wasn't sorry when it ended. The closing number was a song about the pet peeve of people talking on cell phones while driving. Usually this would have been really funny, but it fell flat. I felt bad for the cast, and thought I was being overly critical, so after the show I asked Tracy if there was anything she thought was good in the show and she quickly replied "not a thing". Thankfully this doesn't happen very often, and the shows the rest of the night were MUCH better!
Leesa was waiting outside so we joined her. The Ft Pierce family was here as well, so we waved as we passed. The 8:15 cast was Todd, Krista, John, Brian & Chris. They opened with the name rhyme game, which livened things up. They did a great job with it, and Brian was the winner. He & Todd played a couple of guys from Iowa who were in the NYC subway system. Chris was a lady in the station who stole Todd's wallet, and John was hysterical walking across the stage as various weird characters. Krista directed the scene, and called different entertainment styles for them to use. It was a lot of fun to watch, and everyone did a great job. Next Krista came out to sing a song called "Gorillas are Free." Bill had commented earlier what a beautiful voice Krista had, and in this song she showcased that gorgeous voice! In the meantime, Brian came out as a gorilla and was hysterical grooming her, throwing poop at the audience, and exhibiting other gorilla behaviors. Krista's beautiful voice and the craziness of Brian as a gorilla worked really well together. They also did Clich, where Todd was the one tortured. He enjoys being tortured, and he did a really good job guessing the clich "Who are you playing for - the Wankies?" Overall it was a good show - and a huge improvement over the first one.
The 9:15 cast was Matt, Philip, Todd, Brian & Karl - the CW All Male Revue! It was nice having just the guys for a change. Matt opened with the phone, and was great fun to watch. He kept things moving and had some weird thing to say about everything the person on the phone said. I commented to Tracy that it's really nice when the interview is as entertaining as the song - and the song was great, too! Most of the rest of the show was Conducted Story, conducted by Brian. It was called "The ball is huge." The story was pretty funny, but the real entertainment is the death scene performed by each actor after being "killed" by the audience for making a mistake. Karl died first, by bunny rabbit slippers. Todd was his 7 yr old son who gave him bunny slippers, but they turned out to be real rabbits played by Matt & Philip. To get revenge for Karl shoving his feet into them, they conspired to run out a low door, killing Karl in the process. Philip died next, in a 1-hour photo booth. Brian was his co-worker and space was so tight he accidentally choked Philip to death. Todd's death was next, and he did a very funny scene dying by a Lite Brite in the style of opera. He eventually fell out of the opera style, but Philip came in and stayed in that style. Matt then wrapped up the story. The closing number was about a guy who's fianc is peeved that he squeezes the toothpaste from the middle of the tube. The song created was great, and Todd in particular was very funny. We talked to him after the show and told him we'd enjoyed him in these last 2 shows. He brought up how awful the first show was, and was glad the other shows were so much fun. I think this was the show Leesa said her stomach was starting to hurt from laughing - always a good sign! Tracy & Tyger left for the night, then Jim Roberts wandered by and talked until after we got back inside and people were starting to be seated on the stools behind us.
The 10:30 cast was John, Chris, Krista, Philip & Karl. They did Emotions, which was a lot of fun. John & Chris were at American Eagle Outfitters at the mall, and had to run through a wide range of negative and positive emotions called out by Krista & Philip. They were both really funny. Up Your Alley about the Simpsons was next, hosted by Krista as the drinking Mrs. Holden. I have never seen the Simpsons and have no desire to watch it, so I didn't understand any of the questions/answers. For that reason I expected to not like this scene, but it ended up being very funny! The people who actually know anything about the Simpsons probably enjoyed it even more than I did <g>. They had an audience volunteer - a very hunky young physically fit man from Scotland with an adorable smile and nice body (except for the 2 visible tattoos). Krista was playing up flirting with him, telling him to call her later, etc. After the show she was still talking about how delicious he was, lol! Philip was somewhat subdued (for Philip) as a writer for the Simpsons show and Karl was very funny as a guy who's real name is Homer Simpson. Overall it was a great Up Your Alley! I forget what the closing number was about - the story wasn't great, but they did the western ballad and the song they created was funny. Overall it was another great show. We said goodnight to Bill on the way out, stopped to chat with Christine briefly, and then were joined by Nancy. We talked to her and then headed out to make the drive to Leesa's.
I saw Adie pop online so I IM'd to tell her I hadn't started the report and to just go to bed! She tried telling me she was only online to check her stocks - yeah, right <g>. We hurled comments back & forth a while, then she left me in peace to start writing the report. I meant to tell her the hunky guy in Up Your Alley was wearing lesbian boots like mine, and he's obviously not a lesbian either.
Today went really well, with the exception of that first show. I hate when the cast has to suffer through a show like that (they all knew how bad it was) and it really gives an unfair impression to any guest who might be there for the first time. The cast is good enough though that they can bounce back from an awful show and create great shows the rest of the night, which is what happened tonight. It was fun running into Tracy & Tyger (the kids) and I was glad to see Bill again.
DAY 2 SATURDAY MAY 24, 2003:
Who: Sue, DVC Member
Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Tracy & Tyger, Comedy Warehouse regulars
Plan: Typhoon Lagoon, Atlanta Bread?, Layden's Fringe Show
Actual: There was no alarm clock, so I opened the blinds slightly to let the sun serve as my wakeup call. Finally around 7:30 I got up and took a quick shower. Leesa has a roommate now, and her roommate also had a friend over, so I wanted to be sure to not be in anyone's way if they might be getting ready to go somewhere. I was able to catch up on all the email and message board stuff, and have breakfast (1/2 asiago cheese bagel & hot chocolate) and still be out the door by 9:30.
My destination was Typhoon Lagoon, and I had a couple of magazines and a trashy novel to entertain me at the edge of the wave pool while waiting for the bobbing waves to begin. It was busier than I'd seen it in a while today, with every chair taken as far as I could see. I left the bobbing waves a little early, since it was a pain having other people bumping into me. It was also very hot, but that's to be expected this time of year unfortunately! When I left around 1:30 I noticed they were parking people in a back lot I didn't even know existed, so it really was crowded!
Back at Leesa's I took a nice long shower and then caught up online while she showered & got ready to go out. She wanted to get something at Best Buy so we stopped there first and then went for and early dinner at Atlanta Bread. They only had 1 slice of the 9-grain bread left (that's the kind my veggie sandwich comes on), so Leesa chose a different flavor - thank you Leesa! She got the pasta fagiole (sp?) soup and a half turkey sandwich. I stuck with my half veggie sandwich and skipped the soup since none of my favorites were on the schedule for today. Everything was very good. We made a quick stop at Super Target and then went back to Leesa's condo. We each headed to our computers - I chatted with a few online friends and got dressed for Fringe. Around 7:25 I noticed the time and it felt so wrong to not be at Comedy Warehouse! It just didn't seem worth the extra drive for only 1 show, though. Hopefully I don't know anyone in the audience, so I won't hear that it was the greatest show ever performed, lol!
I left for downtown Orlando around 8:30 or so. Leesa decided to skip the show even though it had been moved to a venue that's supposed to have air conditioning. For the benefit of the people who didn't see the report from last weekend, Layden's show is a talk show called Chataqua Tonight. It opened Friday 5/16 and I was there with 8 other friends to see the first show. There was also a loud block party right outside, so the band playing hip-hop music could be heard inside, and there was no air conditioning. It got pretty hot in the audience but it was even worse for Layden under the lights. The report from that night did not get posted to MousePlanet, radp or any aol board, but if anyone wants to receive it via email just let me know. It contains some fairly explicit sexual content, which wouldn't be permitted on aol, so consider that when deciding if you want it appearing in your inbox.
MapQuest gave me directions from Leesa's to Church Street, and my only concern was finding someplace close to park so I wouldn't feel uncomfortable walking the streets of downtown Orlando alone after dark! I ended up getting slightly lost once downtown, and then got lost again trying to leave after the show. Guess I need a driver!
Once I parked the car and figured out how to pay for parking (thank goodness I saw a security guy with a flashlight checking cars otherwise I would have walked off thinking it was free because there are no meters) I walked over to Church Street. Tracy & Tyger were standing outside the new pink venue, which I would have walked right past because I was looking for bunches of pink balloons like last weekend. It was too early to get our tickets so we walked further in and went upstairs to find Patty. She was off seeing a show, which is what a Patron of the Arts is supposed to do, so we left a message & went downstairs to sit a while. We saw Jen Bascom and she came over to join us. We hung out for a while, Patty stopped for a visit on her way back to her office, and finally it was time to head for the venue. I went ahead, and saw Krista, Layden & most of the others already there waiting for the previous show to end. After getting our tickets I joined the line and chatted with Budge until Tracy & Tyger arrived. They had a friend of Jen's with them - Angela - so we became a party of 4. They were late letting people in, but once inside we immediately noticed something wonderful - air conditioning!!
Tyger & I sat in the front row so I could take photos, and Tracy & Angela sat behind us. The seats were not tiered like at the last place, so for me it was important to be at the front because I might not be able to see over the taller people in front of me. The Stage Manager Ellen came out and introduced the show, and Layden as the host. He opened with the same song he performed last time, and did a great job again. I think he's got a really nice singing voice, and I always enjoy the rare opportunities where he just sings without trying to sound goofy. He followed up with a short song about Patty Duke's role in the Miracle Worker - not politically correct, but funny.
He introduced Krista Miller, who served as his co-host for tonight. They traded barbs back & forth and then Krista got ready to sing a song. Layden asked that everyone picture him and imagine him as the one singing. The song was about relationships - how men come & go and there's always another one out there but he may not be any better than the last one but we keep looking. It was actually a serious song, and Krista did such a beautiful job you could hear a pin drop in that room! It was fantastic!
The whole show revolved around Layden regardless of who was on stage, with lots of anecdotal humor and jabs at him. For example, we learned he's secretly a closet heterosexual and he likes women's breasts. He claimed to constantly be "accidentally" grabbing the breasts of the women while doing improv.
The next guest was Budge, whose work I loved at the Comedy Warehouse years ago - I was sorry to see him leave. He's now at the bird show Flights of Wonder at Animal Kingdom and looks great. He came in using a couple of newspaper basket stands as a subsitute walker, just being funny. He immediately commented to Krista that she had really big breasts (using a more slang word) - Krista was a good sport about the many comments made during the show. Layden even told her husband that he'd play with them as if they were marionettes backstage at Comedy Warehouse, lol. Budge & Krista talked about the old days when Krista first started at CW, and evidently although she's excellent now back then she really sucked. Getting drunk with the others enough times at parties & such seemed to really help her, lol, although it's hard for me to imagine she ever really sucked. Budge also told a story about a time he had dinner at Marlon Brando's house - the evening ended with Marlon being late but showing up with a huge tub of ice cream that he sat eating at the dinner table, and then he set his porch on fire - very strange, but a funny story!
Next was the sex toy demonstration. The sponsor of the show is an adult "toy" shop and for their sponsorship there are commercials demonstrating different products. Tonight we had 3 of the favorites - a rubber duck that vibrates, a telephone shaped like a certain part of a man (it moans rather than rings), and a certain sippy cup for adults. I think that's all the detail aol can handle on these items, and there are no photos.
Jen Bascom was the next guest, and Layden greeted her by grabbing her breasts as she went to sit down. I don't think I'm buying this closet hetero thing, though <g> - it's like me and my lesbian boots - completely fake! Jen performed one of her songs from last year's Fairy Tales - the Legend of Tammy Brown. It was a beautiful song about friendship, love, acceptance and loss - and Jen did a beautiful job with it just as she'd done last year. I took a couple of photos at the very start, then just like when Krista was singing I couldn't take another because the audience was so silent listening I didn't want any slight noise from the camera to be a distraction. Tonight would have been a great night for the camcorder, though.
Layden did his anti-Republican song next, which was funnier tonight than last weekend (perhaps because we weren't dying of heat stroke this time). It's totally irreverent, and most of it I can't repeat on aol, but in very general terms - oh crap, there's really nothing acceptable that even paraphrases it, lol! It's a gay man's song, sung by a Democrat, so you can just use your imaginations to figure out what might be the only use for a Republican.
Next was Jim Hopkins, who is a stand-up comic in Minnesota but also Jen's boyfriend. He claimed they came as a package deal - Layden wanted Jen so he had to take Jim too. I honestly didn't expect much, but this guy was hysterical! It was so great and he was very funny. At one point he made a couple of comments about a girlfriend, and tried to correct by saying it was a past girlfriend - not this girlfriend. Jen got up and ran off the stage saying she was going to look for Tammy Brown, lol!
The last guest was Donna (Chiles??), who works with Layden doing Streetmosphere at MGM. She brought out this gift bag and presented it to him, along with lots of adoring comments. Inside was an odd thing - photos are on Ofoto. It's the female portion of some type of palm tree, and along the bottom there were 2 balls from Donna's husband (a juggler). She also sang Layden a song about how much everyone loves him - and had him sit down for this. She pulled his head into her breasts, and then started unbuttoning his shirt. He did not look happy about this, as he realized she planned to undo and open his shirt. He resisted, she told him to stop fighting her, and finally she got the whole shirt unbuttoned and pulled aside his shirt & jacket. The soap stars are always taking their shirt off during SuperSoap, lol, so this really was no different. However, since Layden really seemed like he wished she hadn't done that, there won't be any photos out on Ofoto (or anywhere else). Donna then climbed on top of Layden, causing the chair to start toppling over - it was pretty funny seeing him so out of his element, lol!
Layden then closed the show - clutching his shirt closed with one hand, lipstick smeared all over one side of his face, clothes disheveled. Everyone who attended received a Chataqua Tonight mug, although if I do say so myself they are not nearly as nice as the mug I designed with the Fringe logo and picture of Layden on there. However, it's a nice little souvenir of a terrific show! Tonight's show was SO much better than the one last week and I'm so glad I was able to be in the audience for both the opening and closing shows - but especially this one since it was excellent! I talked to Layden very briefly after the show and he commented it was a very self-serving show, but I think it worked just fine tonight. Besides, I've never known him to have a problem with that, lol - he's usually the center of attention. We talked to Jen after the show, and then headed out.
Tracy, Tyger & I discussed the show on the way to the parking lot. Clearly, the fact that we know most of the people on the show tonight added to our enjoyment immensely. However, each and every one of them was so good, it wouldn't have mattered if we'd never seen them before. There wasn't a single weak or slow moment in the entire show!
After driving aimlessly around downtown Orlando I eventually found I-4 and drove back to Leesa's. I really hate downtown Orlando, lol! I showed her the photos, then got them sent up to Ofoto into the album started last weekend. The url is http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=6814414...03&n=165131191 Once the photos were done I wrote up the report while the details were fresh, and got to bed around 3 - much later than expected.
Today was a great day. I enjoyed Typhoon Lagoon despite the crowds, got to eat at Atlanta Bread, and saw a phenomenal episode of Chataqua Tonight.
DAY 3 SUNDAY MAY 25, 2003:
Who: Sue, DVC Member
Leesa, Comedy Warehouse regular
Plan: Check in to OKW, Epcot, Wolfgang Puck's Caf w/Leesa, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: After the late night it was a little more difficult to get up this morning, but I needed to be up early if I was going to do everything I wanted before it got crowded. At 6:15 I woke up and when I saw what time it was decided I needed to get up the. Breakfast was the other half of the asiago cheese bagel and hot chocolate, which I ate while catching up online and packing up my stuff for the move "home" to OKW. I was out the door by 8 - first stop Animal Kingdom Lodge to pick up a couple of the yogurt/granola things for future breakfasts. From there I drove back to OKW and checked in, happy to get my "Welcome Homes" and see Angelo and the guys. I had no wait to check in, but the studio was not ready. I asked if any other non-handicapped units were ready now, but everything was booked. I left the laptop with Angelo and took the bus to Epcot.
Entry was quick & easy, with little more than a cursory glance into my bag. There was a line at Spaceship Earth but I decided to ride anyway rather than risk it being longer on my way out. The wait was less than 5 minutes, which isn't bad at all. I enjoyed what I saw of the ride, but kept dozing off despite the very uncomfortable seats in there. Next I headed to the Land, where I had no wait to ride Living with the Land. Even though I don't eat most of the things shown on the tour, it's still fun to see how they grow them. Food Rocks was about to start when I got off the boat, so I joined the other 6-10 people in there to see that show. My next stop was Imagination, where I walked right on the latest version of the ride there. I still miss the original, but this one is much better than the last one.
So far Epcot had seemed pretty deserted, but I found the people when I went to Test Track. The single rider line had a posted wait of 30 minutes!! I asked the cm if that was really accurate, and when she said yes I decided to skip Test Track. It's not worth a 30-minute wait in my opinion, especially when I can do it (almost) anytime. It was getting warm, and it wasn't yet time for World Showcase to open, so I decided sitting in Ellen's Energy Adventure gazing at the very attractive Alex Trebek was the best option available to me at this point. The cm at the preshow was really yummy, too - even cuter than the guy from Scotland on stage at the Comedy Warehouse the other night. Of course, he was probably just barely 21 years old - they're all either married, gay, or babies! Anyway, my anticipated 30 minutes of gazing at handsome Alex didn't really happen because I forgot that he's only in a small part of the attraction. I kept nodding off on the ride, too - it was a struggle to stay awake and not look like a freak by sleeping on it. I wasn't bored - just tired. When I got back outside it was very crowded, so it was time to leave Future World behind. I browsed through Mouse Gears and was glad to see more of the smaller shirts for women, but they seem to be made for teens (or preteens) so I didn't consider buying myself one. Someday they'll realize that having a higher age doesn't always mean you have a bigger clothing size!
I went to World Showcase and started with Mexico. There wasn't a wait for the boat ride, and I was lucky enough to get the front seat. Norway I skipped but in China I went in to see the new version of the 360 degree movie Reflections of China. It had been years since I saw the old one, and I enjoyed seeing the updated version today. A lot of it seemed to be the same, but they added film from Hong Kong and one other place. It's not something I'll do often, though. When I got out of the theater I took a chance calling OKW and found my studio was ready (at noon)! I walked the rest of the way around World Showcase but didn't really do much of anything except. I took a few photos I needed for a future article as I left the park, and then headed to the bus stop. The OKW bus came in about 5 minutes, and I was the only one on board for the short trip back to the resort.
I stopped by a very busy Bell Services - Randy saw me and said he'd get my laptop while he was gathering his current guest's luggage. He brought it out and at first refused my tip, saying "you don't have to do that". They're always so nice to me, and I wouldn't dream of not tipping them. My studio is in building 43, which is a great location for me. It overlooks a big pond on the golf course & is right across from the Turtle Pond pool. My grand villa last November was in this building. I'd requested 1st floor this time, and that's what they gave me. Normally I'm always on the top floor but this time I wanted the option of having Leesa be able to spend the night. Today's her birthday and she's got a ride out here later for her birthday dinner and a night at Comedy Warehouse. I called her and suggested that if the person she's seeing tomorrow can pick her up here instead of at home, then she could spend the night here and we can see all 4 shows tonight instead of 3. Mary is only working the last 2 tonight, and I'd like to see them both - but it wouldn't be possible if I needed time to drive Leesa home & get back here unless I wanted to be up until 3am again. Luckily, Leesa's friend was agreeable, so now we have extra CW time and no long drive at the end of the night!
I got settled into the studio, got the trip report updated, and then Leesa arrived. She opened her birthday card, then we headed out for Downtown Disney. We took the bus from OKW to Pleasure Island, then walked to Wolfgang Puck's Caf. We were seated immediately, and although there were many small children around we didn't need the duct tape. I got the bruschetta that Pete had ordered earlier this month, and it was excellent. Leesa got a virgin strawberry daquiri and the rosemary chicken. Her chicken was 2 large boneless breasts, so we took the 2nd one home. Everything was very good, and our server did a good job for us. Neither of us had room for any dessert, although some of them look pretty good!
After lunch we stopped at Candy Cauldron, where Leesa bought some cotton candy. From there we went to the dock behind House of Blues and waited for the boat to take us to the dock at the Marketplace. Once there, we waited for the boat to take us to OKW. Rufus was driving, and we were the only passengers. At OKW we stopped inside to say hi to Marti at the dvc desk. We had a nice visit and she gave me a gift certificate from Ghiradelli - yummm! While we were at Marti's desk cm Ed came over with a hearty "Welcome Home" and handshake. We were talking about points - he knows a member with 4000 points in the immediate family (parents & kids). Their dues would be around $16,000 per year - holy cow!
At this point it had been over 3 hours since we left for lunch - the transportation really can take forever with all of the transfers. We headed back to the studio by walking to the Peninsular bus stop and catching the first bus to our bus stop. I updated the report, Leesa read her book, and we basically just relaxed for a short time. I was nodding off on the bus earlier, and if it wasn't so late maybe I would have tried to get some rest, but there was no time.
Around 7:30 we left the studio and drove to Downtown Disney. Parking was a nightmare tonight, presumably just because it was Sunday night of a 3-day weekend. We finally found a parking spot in the 2nd lot we tried, next to the furthest bus stop. After getting our PI wristbands we had just enough time to get a chocolate sample at Ghiradelli before returning to Comedy Warehouse. The Marketplace was a mob scene - shoulder to shoulder just about everywhere. Leesa stayed at the back door while I ran upstairs to let Susan know we'd be there for all 4 shows tonight. When I got back down David and tonight's lady had arrived, and soon Bill stopped down to say hi.
The 8:15 cast was Chris, Joy, John, Karl & Brian. They did a Fill in the Blank using the entire audience, with John & Joy working in a peanut factory owned by his father (Brian). Brian ended up firing John, and was sexually harassing Joy - it was a pretty good scene. Next Chris asked for a suggestion of an item recently bought that isn't bought often. Some lady said she bought an urn for her dog because she had him put to sleep, and Chris was speechless for a minute. I thought she should have gotten another suggestion, but she took it and created a country song called "I bought an urn because I put my dog to sleep". To me it seemed like too painful of a subject but Chris created a nice song and Karl provided the humor by coming out as a dog wearing angel wings.
They played Up Your Alley, with the subject of aviation. Joy was the host Ivana Littlebooty, Chris was a drunk pilot named Linda Letterin, and Karl was a flamboyant flight attendant on Spirit Airlines named Greg Triggs. He actually sounded like the real Greg briefly at the start, but that didn't last. Brian was excellent as a First Officer from the Starship Enterprise (trekkie Klingon nerd). The closing song was about a guy who leaves his dirty socks balled up (his wife's pet peeve). The suggestion struck me as lame, but the song the cast created was very good. Karl in particular came out with a funny/dirty verse that I would have expected from someone like Brian instead <g>. Overall it was a pretty good show for the first show of the night.
After the show we talked to some of the cast. Brian came over to compare tans with me since he'd been to the beach today, and we chatted with Chris & Joy for a bit. We went back outside briefly until the next show. The 9:15 cast was Philip, Brian, Chris, John & Karl. They opened with the poem "Jump me if you can", which they made about frogs to keep it somewhat clean. It was a cute poem. John rang the bell in Should Have Said, where Philip and Brian were in the morgue. Philip worked there and Brian bribed him to help him take the body of a friend he'd killed, but in doing so they dropped the frozen corpse and it shattered into ice cubes. It was pretty strange, but it was very funny!
They did Clich next, with Philip being tortured at a hot dog stand on Wall Street. He had to guess "A change is as good as a holiday" with all of the clues & answers being sung. He did really well, and actually guessed several of the words pretty early. The cast still did clues for those words, which I didn't understand, unless they thought they needed to stretch the scene out. The clues were great, and Brian in particular was hysterical as various characters (one of the Charlie's Angels, a Fonzie-type guy, & others). His costume & character changes were so quick, and each one was great. Once Philip guessed the clich they ended the show without a closing song because they were out of time. We talked to Chris on the way out, then went outside to the bench. Bill came down so he & I talked during the half-hour break between shows. His daughter had decided to skip the next show, so we added him to our group for the next show.
The 10:30 cast was Mary, Brian, Philip, Joy & Karl. Most of the show was Conducted Story, led by Joy. The story was called "The stale bread that went sour" and the story was actually quite funny but the deaths were outstanding! Karl died first, and got the suggestion of an exacto knife. He ended up letting Brian steal the scene from him and just responded to what Brian started and Mary & Philip continued. Karl was the dad, Brian the precocious young son spilling the beans about drunken mom (Mary) and all of the many men who parade through the house each day. Philip came in as several of the men, acting shocked & retreating when he saw it was Karl there. It was one of those scenes where a lot was going on, all of it very entertaining, and I hated to see it end. The next death was Mary's, who died by potato masher. The person speaking had to be touching the person they were speaking to, and had to touch them somewhere they hadn't touched them before <g>. If this scene goes on too long it could get very interesting, lol! It was a strange death, but they continued some of the characters from Karl's death and made it really funny. Philip died a Broadway musical death by a thong, which was short but also excellent. Brian then wrapped up the story using an audience volunteer to fill in the blanks. It was an excellent show!
Mary came over after the show, so we went down to see her. I introduced her to Bill and we talked briefly before she had to be in a meeting. We had a half hour to wait for the final show, so Leesa & I walked around a bit to kill some of the time. Once we were seated I had a terrible time trying to stay awake - but it doesn't look good in a comedy club to have someone asleep in the audience! At one point I opened my eyes and Carol was at the keys - but I never saw her arrive.
The 12:05 cast was Brian, Mary, Philip, Joy & John. They did Song Cue, where the scene is interrupted 3 times to create a song with the title of whatever was just said. Joy led the scene, where Mary & Philip were a newlywed couple. She'd given him a watch but he'd just gotten one from his son (John) from his first marriage. Philip ended up sending John off to military school to get him out of the way, since he had to choose between his son and his new wife. The scene was kind of mean at times, and pretty weird, but it was funny. They did "This is mommy now" as an alternative style song, "A picture will do" in karaoke style, and "I think things are going to be fine" as a jazz song.
They played Schmeopardy with Mary as host Vanna Beige. Brian was Robbie Bingham - a kind of nerdy guy who tries to be funny but works as a loan closer. Joy was an alcoholic school secretary named Caroline, and John was an unemployed guy named Otto Work. It wasn't the best Schmeopardy I've seen, but maybe if I wasn't so tired I might have enjoyed it more. It seemed to drag a bit at times (the categories didn't solicit particularly funny answers) and even Brian commented after the show that he wasn't happy with his performance in this scene. We thought he was the funniest one tonight though. They ended with an embarrassing story song about a lady who wore a swimsuit with a tube top and didn't realize it had rolled down while on a water slide. Overall this show was pretty good - but not nearly as strong as the 2 shows preceding it.
We talked to Brian & Mary briefly, then headed out. Thank goodness Leesa is staying in the studio tonight, since I really would have been too tired to safely drive her home even after the 10:30 show. I don't normally stay for the 12:05 show, but tonight I wanted to be there since this trip is so short. Overall today was a great day. My studio is terrific, Epcot was fun and I did a few attractions I only bother with rarely. Lunch/dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Caf was very good, and we saw some really good comedy shows tonight.
DAY 4 MONDAY MAY 26, 2003:
Who: Sue, DVC Member
Patty, Patron of the Arts
Plan: Typhoon Lagoon, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: Despite my good intentions yesterday, it was 3:30 before I got to bed. I set the alarm for 8 and figured if I was still tired I might be able to catnap at Typhoon Lagoon later. Breakfast was orange cappuccino (in my Chataqua Tonight mug <g>) and almond biscotti, along with some yogurt/granola thing. Leesa was asleep before her head hit the pillow last night, and she was still snoozing when I left this morning - but Connon wasn't due until at least noon. My neighbors were up, and I could hear them - but I left the tv off because Leesa was sleeping and I think that's why their conversations were so noticeable. The lack of soundproofing is still my only complaint about OKW (and it's an issue at all Disney resorts, but less so at BCV because of the location of the connecting doors). I read all of the messages downloaded last night (this morning??) and answered the last of the emails I was too tired to handle earlier, and was out the door at 9:45 for the short trip to Typhoon Lagoon.
On the way through the parking lot I ran into Jen's friend Angela (she works there), so I stopped to talk with her for a while. She asked again if I was coming to Jen's party after the shows next Friday, and asked if I needed a place to stay that night. She's really nice - especially offering a place to stay to someone she's only met once! I'd told Jen I wasn't sure I'd make it, since I'll be up at 5:25 am that day, and the party won't start until after 1a.m. the next morning - but it does sound like fun so we'll see how it goes on Friday.
Typhoon Lagoon was very busy - guess the holiday brought out a lot of locals or something. I enjoyed the usual routine, and while I was in the wave pool I heard someone call out my name. It turned out to be Sharon from the fortress, who I'd never met before. She & Tommy were enjoying the bobbing waves, but Sharon made sure he didn't overhear any of our conversation. Guess she's trying to keep the kneepads (the official tool of married Fortress women trying to convince hubby to buy into DVC) a secret from Tommy since they're doing the DVC tour tomorrow. Good luck, Sharon!
I left Typhoon Lagoon around 1, and found a note on the windshield (& everyone else's). It was a Mickey Mouse note card thanking me for spending the day at Typhoon Lagoon. It's the first time they'd done that when I was here, but it's a nice touch. Back in the studio Leesa was awake and waiting for Connan to arrive. I updated the report then showered & got online. I was hungry so I finished the chicken breast from yesterday and had some of the yogurt/granola thing. The ruggedly handsome Connan arrived and soon he & Leesa were on their way to get some computers working & see a movie.
Pretty soon I heard from Patron of the Arts Patty - finally finished working day & night at Fringe. She was wanting to get out of the house and suggested coming over to OKW, which was fine with me! I'd thought about running over to AK for the last hour it was open, but since it's pretty hot out there I did not mind changing those plans at all. Patty came over after General Hospital, and it was her first visit to OKW. We hung out in the studio for a while, then took a walk around the resort. Showing OKW to a first-time visitor always ends up reaffirming what a great decision it was to buy here! We drove to Downtown Disney and headed to the West Side after parking in the usual PI lot. Marti was working at the dvc kiosk again, so we stopped to say hello. It's amazing how often our paths cross! From there we went to Wolfgang Puck's Caf and were pretty much seated immediately. We shared the bruschetta and Patty got some sushi and a beer while I got a glass of wine. It was a great dinner - not too filling, but very tasty.
We went to Pleasure Island next, and found the back door at the Comedy Warehouse was very busy tonight. Bob & Virginia had a party of 10 people, and David was there with tonight's lady. The rest of our gang wasn't going to make it in time for the first show, so Patty decided to skip it to wait for them since she was using her dual person PI pass to get one of them in. I joined David & his friend, and then was joined by a friend of Patty's (Jefferson). Bill stopped down to chat before the show also, so it was a busy back door!
The 8:15 cast was Philip, John, Mary, Joy & Brian. Mary led them in Scene Freeze, where Joy & Brian were tap dancing. She was his teacher and when he proposed to her Philip came in as the jilted lover and shot himself. It was just an ok scene - not bad, but nothing great. Next Brian rang the bell in Should Have Said. John was starting the scene and Brian asked the audience what activity John was engaged in, and some jerk yelled out "waxing his head". So, John began waxing his head and Mary came in as his daughter who was teased at school over his shiny head. It was very short but cute.
The did Madrigal, where each actor has a tabloid headline to sing and then they mix up the words from each to form new titles. It was led by Joy and the headlines were "Batboy kills bin Ladin", "Michael Jackson's nose is falling off again", "1000 year old mummy has baby", and "Elvis sighted at Pleasure Island." They did a good job with this structure, which is almost always funny. I talked to Mary briefly on the way out, then met Patty's other friends Gabby, Louis & Carey. Bill came out and asked if I'd come back in to take a picture of his daughter Jen with Philip (her favorite), so I did that and then rejoined the others.
The 9:15 cast was Mary, Joy, Chris, Philip & John. Chris directed them in a 1-act play. Mary & John were a couple making cheese & he put their pet fish into the cheese. Mary was able to resuscitate the fish and then John ate their pet tarantula. It was a pretty good scene. Forgotten Songs was next, and Chris stole the show with hers. She came out as an elderly lady singing "I like porn". It was out of character for her but it worked really well and the audience loved it. Her song was followed by Philip & Mary as members of the Christian Leaders of Decency (CLOD) from the den of sin known as Comedy Warehouse, going to hell after that last song but singing a church hymn called "I didn't think that could go in there." They were very funny also - and it was a perfect follow-up to Chris' porn song. The other song was a country song called "The dog got loose again", sung by John & Joy.
They did Scene Freeze, where the action is frozen and they switch to a new scene. Chris had fantastic, John had nose picking, Mary had C.S. Lewis, and Joy had Moby Dick. Philip directed the action, and was giving Mary a hard time because she started a scene using the work of someone other than C.S. Lewis by mistake. He made the changes very rapidly, but none of the original 4 scenes was particularly funny so this structure tonight wasn't as good as it usually is. They closed with an embarrassing story about a guy who was embarrassed because he had a "hot camaro" and some fat lady in a van beat him when the light turned green. Although I thought his story was stupid (& offensive to overweight people), the cast created a funny song and some of them made some good jabs at the jerk. We talked to Chris & Mary on the way out, then Patty, Gabby & I stayed for the next show while Louis & Carey went to visit the other clubs.
The 10:30 cast was Jen B, Joy, Brian, John & Chris. They opened with a poem called "The church burned down." Song Cue was next, where the scene is interrupted to create 3 songs from the last thing said. Joy led this, and unfortunately seemed to get caught up watching rather than being focused on interrupting at the right time. She did the first one very quickly, but then the scene went on and on, and what she chose for the next 2 song titles wasn't even funny at all. In the scene Jen & Chris were in a catering service. They sang "I'm totally wasted now" as a country song, "I get it" as a rap song, and "That's fun" as a classical song. The scene had quite a few funny moments but the songs weren't as good due to the titles chosen. They also did Clich, with John being tortured in a Buddhist temple on the top of Mt Everest. He had to guess "A man on a flying horse would never notice." The clues were great, and it didn't take John too long to figure them all out.
We spent a little time in the Adventurer's Club before returning to CW for the last show. I thought the fireworks were a little beefed up tonight, perhaps for the Memorial Day holiday. The 12:05 cast was Mary, Brian, Jen, Chris & John. They opened with the name rhyme game (they asked for one-syllable first names and kept getting names like Amy & other 2-syllable names - it's amazing how stupid people can be when they're drunk), which Jen won. Brian directed the others in a Freeze Dried Musical called Wisconsin! Chris was the lead character named Wisconsin who's dream was to pick up trash. Mary & Jen were Chicago & Newark, the litter fairies. John was an aging hippy who fell in love with Wisconsin, and the play moved to the bedroom where John reawakened Chris' sexuality in a scene designed to "rock the theater world". It was a bit off the wall, but it was funny. They were rhyming a song together and Chris' verse was "I just wanna have sex with you 'til I'm sore". That surprised almost everyone, but it got a good reaction <g>.
Next was Up Your Alley about coffee grinders, hosted by John as Weatherspoon Flanagan. Mary was Mrs. Coffee, who was mad because Mr. Coffee had run off with Miss Tea. Brian was Mocha Sadamo, a coffee worker with attitude at Starbucks. Jen was a hispanic girl with a big long name - she grinds coffee beans in her high heels. It was pretty crazy at times, but a good show.
We stopped to talk to people on the way out, and Jen told some of us about getting an email today from someone claiming to be a friend of mine (Wilbur - realized the Jen his wife was doing business with on ebay was this Jen. Not to worry, I told her you were a great guy.) Eventually we left, and Gabby joined Louis & Carey to visit more of the clubs, while Patty & I left PI.
On the way out an Orange County deputy was telling a young lady to either give it up now or wait for the female officer to arrive to search her. Hmmm - drugs, maybe? Then, 2 obnoxious young men passed us yelling "Disney can't touch us", followed very closely by 2 PI security men, a manager, and another sheriff's deputy. Eventually the 2 guys did something and other deputies arrived to help take them down to the ground. Soon another wild guy arrived on the scene (this was all taking place in the middle of the street) and he got taken down as well - it took 3 guys practically sitting on him to keep him from flailing around. In the mean time one of the other guys starts doing pushups and rolling around. They handcuffed the worst guy, then Patty & I got in our cars & left. We could only assume the guys were high on something, as they seemed more than drunk.
I was back in the studio around 1:30, and spent an hour or so finishing up the report but did not get online to post it then. Instead, if I get up early enough to get to the Magic Kingdom I'll post it while I'm getting ready. Today was a fun day, and a busy one even though I never made it to any of the theme parks.
DAY 5 TUESDAY MAY 27, 2003:
Who: Sue, DVC Member
Plan: MK, Drive home
Actual: I managed to get to bed by 3, and set the alarm for 7. I didn't feel bad for only 4 hours sleep, and wanted to get closer to my normal hours so I'd be able to get to sleep tonight & be up early for work tomorrow. I posted the report during breakfast, and debated whether to try for a non-DVC Disney resort for cash, OKW on (expensive weekend) points, or the hotel where Jen's party will be for Friday night to avoid the long drive back to Leesa's late at night. Decisions, decisions. I got everything packed up and loaded in the car, and was out the door by 8:30 to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom. While on the bus I called CRO and booked a room at All Star Movies for Friday night. Even if I don't stick around for Jen's party at 1:30 am, after the last show it's just too late to make the drive to Leesa's. She can stay in the room also, and arrange transportation home the next morning.
The entry to MK was very busy but once everyone got into the park it wasn't bad. I don't understand why when there's a shoulder-to-shoulder mob of people there are some who think it's ok to stop and regroup in the middle of the traffic flow! There's a huge area of empty space by the lockers, and these people stand in the crowded walkway disrupting everyone trying to get by - aarrgh. I got to the end of Main Street just before they did the imaginary rope drop to let people go to the attractions. At Space Mountain I picked up a fastpass for 10:15 and then went to ride the Buzz Lightyear attraction. I completely sucked on this today, but since I hadn't ridden in a while it was a pleasant diversion. The Pooh ride is still closed for refurbishment so I continued through Fantasyland and walked onto Peter Pan's Flight. From there I thought about Haunted Mansion, but it was closed due to technical difficulties and I never made it back later to see if it had opened.
I went to Big Thunder and as I approached I saw another group of those teens who would be riding with full open cups of water! Yuck - I sped up to be sure I didn't get seated behind them again, since I didn't feel the need for another shower! The ride was fun, and I beat all of the water kids <g>. It wasn't worth risking getting back in line, so I walked over & rode Pirates of the Caribbean. From there I went back to Tomorrowland and rode the TTA, which is always relaxing. When I got off the TTA it was just after 10, so I went to Space Mountain and went through the standby line with no significant wait at all. I rode the left side, then went out and used my fastpass to ride the right side next. The second time I had some guy in front of me who made noises all the way through - almost sexual sounding, but definitely trying to be goofy about it - it was pretty funny.
I called Leesa on my way out of the park to let her know about Friday's reservation, and was out of the park by 10:30. By now the crowds were definitely too big for me, with even more people still coming in. I rode the bus back to OKW and checked with Disney Dining to see what time Captain Jack's in the Marketplace opens for lunch (10:30). I drove the car over to the Marketplace to save time, and went for a nice lunch at Captain Jack's - getting the Italian tomato salad again. Service was very efficient, and it was nice sitting by the water relaxing a bit before beginning the drive home. As always, the salad was excellent! On the way out I stopped to spend the Ghiradelli certificate Marti had given me, then drove straight home with enough time to finish & post the report before I was due at a baseball game tonight.
SUMMARY:
I had a wonderful time this weekend, feel like I got to do a lot and see a lot of people in a very short period of time. It would have been nice to have a full week of time, but both dvc points and vacation time are not in endless supply! It was so nice to meet Sharon in the wave pool, and hope she is now a DVC member <g>. The Comedy Warehouse was terrific, and it's always nice to spend time with the people there. It was a pain getting to & from downtown Orlando to see Layden's show again, but it was so incredibly great this time it was worth the trouble.
I'll be back up Friday night for Jen's last night at the Comedy Warehouse, then returning home Saturday so I can start getting packed & ready for our cruise the following weekend. The report from Friday won't be written until after I get back to Ft Myers, as I'm not bringing the laptop this time. I'm also only going to send it to the email list and not bother with any internet sites. The next scheduled WDW trip might not be until early August, although I expect to be up there for a weekend in June to attend an offsite event related to Mary.
Sue Holland
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