[LLaffinPlace]

Day 12 - February 17, 2002: Our Final Trip to the Parks and We Head For Home

Today we went directly to D/MGM and began in our usual fashion: ToT twice, then RnRC. I have pondered how I would describe the ToT experience and am not sure I am up to it, but here goes:

The theming is just tremendous and the special effects are spectacular. The "scenes" leading up to the drops are some of Disney's best. [I will not describe them in detail as they are best experienced--I think--without the foreknowledge.] Thereafter, the number of drops and the timing has varied from trip to trip. There is often a short drop to get a reaction from the riders for the digital picture (Bob and I are mostly just laughing in these), and then some loooong drops followed by a surge upwards, one drop that is preceeded by a bit of special effects, and this time, an extremely well timed upwards move followed by a long drop that lifted us up off the seat slightly (you're not going anywhere--there's a bar) where we hung for what seemed to be a pretty long time (the so-called "hang time"--Woohoo! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ). On some of the returns to the top, the elevator doors open so you can catch a glimpse of the park outside. It is all very, very smooth and quite a bit more nervous-making in the anticipation rather than the riding, IMHO.

How'd I do?

We were determined to get Bob in the Hot Seat, so we got a WWTBAM FP and then got in line for the 10:50 AM show. UNBELIEVABLY, for the 3RD TIME when time was called, BOB was once again at the top of the Top Ten List!!! [img]graemlins/cry2.gif[/img] [When the list was checked at the 1000 point level, I was #6, but was soon out of it.] When we left that show we immediately got in the FP line for the next, but no joy that time either. [img]graemlins/pout.gif[/img]

We lunched at the ABC Commissary for the first time: fish and chips all the way around. We tried to get into WWTBAM in the standby line, but were about 40 people to late, so we got a FP for the next WWTBAM show and went to Starring Rolls for dessert--Fudge Cake (yummy!) for Bob and me, and cheesecake for Marti.

Returning to WWTBAM, your intrepid addicts were all three on the board at 32,000 points (#'s 3, 4, and 5) and at the end, Marti was #1 when time was called!!! [img]graemlins/pout.gif[/img] I should mention the gum-chewin', mama cheatin' Hot Seat girl from NY [Thanks, Bob!] was considerably helped by the audience on the 32,000 point question. Early on her Mom had a coughing fit on one of her answers, which the host, Anja, made a passing--and quite polite--reference to and how something might be done if it happened again!

When we left I paused to buy a WWTBAM mug, and we headed out of D/MGM for the final time this trip. We boarded the bus for CBR and were soon back. We had already packed and put the luggage in the car, having had to check out before setting out to D/MGM, so we were already out of Room 2354 in Martinique. It was a nice location with a courtyard view and reasonable proximity to the Food Court in Old Port Royale. After grabbing our mugs for some refreshment, we stopped briefly in Marti's room to say farewell to Tinkle Bell for the last time [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] and then headed for the car.

On our way, we heard a rumbling sound, but it was a CBR golf cart pulling grey linen trolleys. I mentioned that it sounded like a Disney ride--Bob and Marti agreed--and then I started laughing. They looked at each other-- was that dread in their eyes ?--and asked, "What?" I said, "It is a ride--'THE TOWEL OF TERROR'!", whereupon I broke up. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] They politely humored me....

So, at around 5:00 PM, Bob and I bid Marti and WDW a fond farewell and headed for Alabama. [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img] We have a reservation at a Comfort Inn in Tifton, GA for the night, and so had about 4 hours of driving. We made good time--there was no heavy traffic as the Daytona 500 was ending as we left CBR.

We stopped at an IHOP in Valdosta for dinner. The service was very slow (we ain't in WDW anymore [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] ) and Bob's pancakes were lukewarm at best. For the record, I had a swiss, bacon, and mushroom omelette. We bought some gas across the street. The weather was beautiful, BTW.

We checked into the Comfort Inn at Tifton, GA at I-75 Exit 63A shortly after 10:00 PM. The room was okay, but had some of the poorest lighting--both for reading and for journalizing--that I had ever seen. I quickly gave up due to the combination of bad lighting, bad pen, and black paper.

Coming Up: We See Our Intrepid Travelers Safely Back

[ 03-24-2002, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: LLaffinPlace ]