SO YA WANNA KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT MOUSEFEST??? - Day 2, part 3: YOU'RE MY FAVORITE...AND YOU...AND YOU...Updated 2/4 About This Page:

[PrincessSharon]

Good to see you chiming in, Carol! Too funny about your DM wanting to join you even though she knew she wouldn't enjoy it. Glad you made it to Orlando safely. Hurry back with more, please.

[Grammy Grumpy]

Carol, I too need that flight-aid of gum for take offs and landings! I can't tell you how I paniced once when I thought I was out of gum and could find none in the airport!!! Fortunately I dug deeper into my carry-on bag and found some sticks that if I had not been desperate I would have discarded immediately. But, you do with what you have, right????

[Disneyphile's Wife]

Glad to hear that you made it down in one piece. Looking forward to more.

[ripkensnana]

I can't tell you how I paniced once when I thought I was out of gum and could find none in the airport!!!

I cannot for the life of me understand why airports, of all places, don't carry gum! It's truly a necessity for some of us.

[RobDVC]

Great start!

[kmurburg]

Loving your TR! You're writing is just as fun as you are in person! Can't wait for more!

[TinkerBelz]

Well I know ONE real thing that happened - we found out what your and Jean's FAVORITE characters are.....hehehehehehe Hope you don't mind if I add a few pics when you get our FABULOUSLY FUN meal together.

[DyanKJ130]

Great start, Carol! You scored a nice seat on DME!! Can't wait to hear more

[DawnDenise]

Great start Carol!! how your mom wanted to go with you to protect ya! Great seat on DME and you've made it WDW!!!

[ripkensnana]

Day 1 (part 2): WHAT THE (BLEEP) IS GOING ON HERE???

So, where did I leave off??? Oh, yeah. I’d just entered my Favorite Happy Place.

The bus pulled in to Pop, and I jumped off and into the lobby. I got in line, hoping against hope that my room would be ready…I mean, it was 1 o’clock and my tush was dragging from lack of sleep and coughing (yeah, the whatever-it-was was still with me…unfortunately, it wasn’t a fluke….) It could happen, right? Miracles happen all the time, right? Wrong! “Your room isn’t available yet.” “Can I at least check in?” “Yes, but I can’t give you the room number until it’s ready.” “Okay, I guess I can wait for a bit…” “All right, Carol ___, room reserved for one.” “Wait…I have a friend coming in tomorrow. Her name should be there, too.” “No, Ma’am. Just one person. You can add your friend after she gets here.” OY!!! I since discovered that this person was in training, and should have at least allowed me to add Jean to my room ressie right then. Apparently, she didn’t know that, and of course, neither did I….

So, since I didn’t want to continue lugging my backpack, I went to bell services and dropped it off. The CM’s there were very nice, and even said that they’d take the backpack to my room later for me.

Well, I was hungry because I didn’t have much for breakfast, so to the food court I went, with a not-too-brief foray into the gift shop. Whoever decided to incorporate the gift shop into the food court was either a total genius or a complete idiot. I still haven’t decided if I like the concept or not….But after browsing for a while and making a mental note of future purchases, I ventured the rest of the way into the food court. I was a bit underwhelmed by the choices, but put a lunch together, and purchased a souvenir mug. At first, I couldn’t see how people could tell their mugs apart, then discovered that there are three choices of handle colors. I was somewhat disappointed that they no longer have the big fat mugs, but this one is nice, although generic, as opposed to resort-specific.

I’d managed to waste about an hour, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and went to the Concierge desk, thinking that I could upgrade my park hopper to an Annual Pass, and also see if my room was ready. Much to my disappointment, the nice CM there told me that I’d have to go to Guest Services to upgrade my pass, but she did check and found that my room was ready for occupancy and gave me the number. Hallelujah! I collected my backpack and hiked to Building 7, fourth floor. At this point I no longer cared that I’d requested Building 10, ground floor (“No, your reservation is part of a group”…).

By this time, it was almost 2:30 and I needed to be at Trail’s End by 4:30. I laid down for about a half-hour, then went to the bus stop for MK. I had my MouseFest lanyard and ID on by this time, because I figured that I was now “officially” at MouseFest. As I stood in line waiting for the bus to arrive, the woman next to me asked, “Are you going to the Beginning of the End Meet?” “Yes…” “So am I. I’m Chris – Cshore.” We chatted and soon boarded the bus.

We arrived at the MK and hustled to the boat docks, only to see the boat for Fort Wilderness pulling away. As we waited for the next boat to arrive, who should come strolling up the dock but Dave Card! Wow, Mr. Tagrel himself!! He dug around in his bag and hauled out a huge stack of Tagrel Tags that he’d made up for everyone (complete with green lanyard), and gave us a bunch of Tagrel buttons and pins as well.

Chris (CShore)


Dave Card (Tagrel)

Soon, the boat returned, we boarded, and got to Crockett’s Tavern with plenty of time to spare. There were more Taginators there than I could count! I met so many people I can’t begin to name them all….mainly because I have trouble remembering names these days. They say that memory is the first thing…..what were we talking about????

Barrie Brewer and DaddiO deep in conversation


Mike Scopa chatting while I get a wave from WillCad

At any rate, we had an absolutely wonderful waitress, who somehow managed to keep track of all the drink orders and got the correct checks to the correct diners…very efficient. I wish I could remember her name.

Cathy (BigRed) makes a point while Barrie looks on


A happy Masayo with her husband Mamoru (little suspecting what was to come)

We had a great dinner, then Masayo left her little blue bear, Ponnichi-Kun unattended, and a bit of mayhem ensued…

WillCad kidnapped poor little Ponnichi-Kun when Masayo went for dessert (the sign says "HELP ME")


Will was aided and abetted by someone who's normally a model of decorum...and whose name escapes me at the moment....


Ponnichi-Kun meets a much larger cousin


Poor little Ponnichi-Kun...eventually, he was rescued

A boat voyage and a bus ride later and I was in my room, to discover that DME had delivered my luggage.

A stairwell at one of the '80s buildings at night

I did a little unpacking, rested again for a few minutes, then headed for DTD and the Pleasure Island meets.

I was feeling a bit done in by this time, and told myself that if I was late for the Comedy Club, that I’d just come back to Pop and hit the sack. Well, I squeaked in just under the wire, and made it inside the Comedy Club before the show started. It was cute, but nothing to write home about.

The Adventurers’ Club, on the other hand, was great, as usual. I saw a couple of shows, and had two Kungalooshes. After the second show, some Taginators were sitting in the lounge, being chatted up by the Club Treasurer and another “official”. I’d gotten a little flashlight thingy from WillCad, which I’d lighted and hung from a ring on my vest. The treasurer took notice, and said, “Carol, why is your breast glowing?” I looked down to see what in the world he was talking about, looked him in the eye, and replied, “I guess I must have been turned on…” His jaw dropped, and he sputtered, “Oh, NO, you did NOT!!” And left. I don’t think he was expecting that sort of response, but it got a great laugh from everyone in the immediate vicinity, and my little innocent remark was named the “One-Liner of the Night”.

Something compelled me to take a picture of this statue - I don't know what it was...


I don’t know what time it was, probably about 11, I’m guessing, when I decided to call it a night. I knew that I’d be able to sleep in a little in the morning, because I didn’t have to be anywhere until 10:30. And the coughing thing was starting to wear me out, not to mention the lack of sleep the night before.

Now, I’m sure that you think I’ve been doing a lot of kvetching so far, but you do have to go through some not-so-nice things in order to appreciate the good stuff when it happens, right? And there’s some really, really good stuff coming up, I promise. Right, Jennifer???

Next up, SHIPS THAT ALMOST PASSED IN THE NIGHT and other adventures

[duck addict]

Great start

I thought you were fun when I met you, but remind me to give you a Kungaloosh next time I see you at WDW.

[Disneyphile's Wife]

It sounds like things are starting to heat up!

[wdwlovers]

What a great start Carol! Looks like this is one fun trip!!! Your mother is hilarious!

[Lemap760]

Love the snappy comeback Carol. Can't wait to hear more.

[Colexis Mom]

Sounds like a great day