I'm a Maniac. Maniac. - **COMPLETE!! 5/23** About This Page:

[fifitrixabelle]

I love your TRs so pleased to see another one.
Toy Story looks fantastic looking forward to riding in the summer.
How did you like the BC compared to others you've stayed at?

[belleandmaddysmom]

Princess Sharon-Thanks for the wonderful updates. Your trip reports always make me smile. No, they make me laugh out loud. Thanks again I sure needed a smile today!!

[tammyd_rn]

How cool that you got a backstage tour of TOT. But I think it is only appropriate that you of all people got to be one of the honored guests. Another great update. Looking forward to more.

[MattUGA]

Sharon, I'm pretty sure we sat next to you one day that weekend. My very pregnant wife, Bethany, and I drove down for that AP preview as well. At some point on Saturday, we were on a Friendship boat either going to or from MGM. We sat outside on the boat and I believe next to you! When you stood up, I think your phone was on your lap and it hit the ground and you grabbed it. I looked at your sig photo and thought "She looks familiar!" When I saw where you were staying, when, and why... I am even more sure it was you!

[mattnkatsmum]

I'm loving the updates, Sharon. And I agree that it must be pretty depressing to get your eviction notice before your vacation has even started.

It's comforting to know you have another trip planned so soon though, right?

[coffeechef]

Sharon... you and I could be sisters. THough the closest trips apart for me have been 5 weeks apart. I to occasionaly go on secret trips where only one or two pp know. At Work I too am known as the Disney obsessed person. And have actually had it poined out to me if I am not wearing someting with Disney on it. (usually some jewelry or pin) I , too don't tell the nephews of my more frequent trips as they want to go on everyone of them with me. I have a solo planned in August, thinking about one in OCtber and again in january , then in again in late April early May. I hope at some point our trips coincide and I will get to meet you. SO loving your reports and your Disney obsession

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by pamcarey

One question about BPB... could it happen that you could be sitting in a bad spot where NO floats party, or is it always possible to see one float or another??

Well wherever you are along the route, you'd at least see something. There are floats that only have the entertainers and toy soldiers without any of the major characters, but they're still fun to watch. I think if you sit in front of the hat (facing the park entrance) that's probably the worst spot. You'd get a view of the first float (toy soldiers) from about 100 feet away, and then you'll see the parade go by (still far away) and the second stop will have you at the last float. It's an unobstructed view, but not a close-up one. It's not the worst spot ever, but it would be the last one I'd choose.

I think the best spot would be along Hollywood Blvd. in front of the shops. I was across from the Superstar Theater, and it took a long time before I could see anything, so if you're lined up from there to the end of the route, you can arrive a little later. I found that being on the side I was on (near the lake) I was able to walk behind the guests who were lined up and get a look at the other floats. You aren't able to do that on the theater side.

Originally Posted by AULilBeth

We'll be getting there that same day! It's so weird that I'm such a Disney rookie, and the CLT will be there the same time I am--the experts in the presence of someone as clueless as I am. I already told DH that it will be so weird if I recognize somebody from the boards while we're there!

I'll be on the lookout for you! If you see us, say . Also, I don't know if you (or any other PPers out there) will still be around, but there's an Illuminations meet on June 5. You can see the details for that in this thread.

Originally Posted by MattUGA

Sharon, I'm pretty sure we sat next to you one day that weekend. My very pregnant wife, Bethany, and I drove down for that AP preview as well. At some point on Saturday, we were on a Friendship boat either going to or from MGM. We sat outside on the boat and I believe next to you! When you stood up, I think your phone was on your lap and it hit the ground and you grabbed it. I looked at your sig photo and thought "She looks familiar!" When I saw where you were staying, when, and why... I am even more sure it was you!

I remember!! How

Originally Posted by coffeechef

Sharon... you and I could be sisters. THough the closest trips apart for me have been 5 weeks apart. I to occasionaly go on secret trips where only one or two pp know. At Work I too am known as the Disney obsessed person. And have actually had it poined out to me if I am not wearing someting with Disney on it. (usually some jewelry or pin) I , too don't tell the nephews of my more frequent trips as they want to go on everyone of them with me. I have a solo planned in August, thinking about one in OCtber and again in january , then in again in late April early May. I hope at some point our trips coincide and I will get to meet you. SO loving your reports and your Disney obsession

Well, there's a chance we might meet next May. Otherwise I'm missing you by about a month on your other trips.

[MattUGA]

I wish I had read here before I left. I would have known it was you! I've read almost all your trip reports. You have the best style! I'm glad I got to "meet" you. LOL

[PrincessSharon]

Day Two, Part Two
Who Knew It Was So Hard to Find Popcorn at the Magic Kingdom?

I headed to the bus stop and when I arrived, there were some less than happy guests waiting for a bus. I overheard one woman complaining that she had been waiting an hour for a bus to Animal Kingdom. When I got to my bus stop I figured out that the bus was never coming, since I knew AK was closed. Someone finally talked to her and ended up sending her down to the DTD bus stop. It turns out she was headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge. The person she spoke to told her that the bus doesn’t go to AKL at all and she was mad because she thought that’s what the sign said. (It actually says Animal Kingdom, not AKL, but whatever). Poor thing. It’s unfortunate that there wasn’t a CM present to help people out.

I sat and waited for a MK bus for 25 minutes. This is what I hate about the Epcot resorts. The bus service is spotty. It’s not as bad as it could be, because you can get to two parks without the bus, but people who’d been waiting before me claim they’d been there 20 minutes, so 45 minutes is outrageous (and sadly, not exactly uncommon).

When I finally arrived at the MK, I needed to decide which attraction I should pick up a FP for. I didn’t want to waste time going to one only to find them out for the day, so I thought BTMRR might be a good choice (and incidentally the tip board was completely useless this day – no wait times listed at all and no CM there either).





On the way, I passed the HM with a 20 minute wait, so I decided to ride it. It ended up being only about a 10 minute wait, and I enjoyed the ride as much as ever. I find with the new effects, there’s a lot more to discover, which makes it so much fun.

I was happy to see that there were indeed FPs left for BTMRR so I grabbed one with a return time of 9:20-10:20. My next stop was Pirates of the Caribbean, which had about a 15-minute wait.

Since I was in Adventureland, I felt it was time to get a Dole Whip float.



I knew that the first Spectromagic would be starting soon, so I hoped to be able to get to BTMRR before then. I knew I wasn’t finished with my DWF but I figured I’d at least get to the other side of the parade.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way. I made it to the parade crossing area at the end of the route. I was halfway across the road when a bunch of CMs with carts (selling the light-up toys) came along in a line. The CM manning the line made us (me and a few other guests) come back and then closed off the crossway. I was so close! (Also the fact that it was at least 20 minutes before the parade came by made me a bit peeved. I mean, I was halfway there, she could’ve let us go! ) OK, I need to calm down. It wasn’t really that bad. I decided to finish my DW float while I watched the parade (which, as I’ve established didn’t come by until 20 minutes later, when I was finished with the dang Dole Whip ). Sorry, I guess it bothered me more than I thought.

Anyway, since I was planning to watch the second Spectro with a good spot, I just grabbed a seat back from the route. Next to me was a fence and some bushes, behind which is the backstage area where the parade ends. The parade started and I can’t really say I noticed anything out of the ordinary until a CM (a manager) came dashing across and hopped over the fence. It turns out there were guests who’d climbed over the fence and were watching in the bushes! And even worse, some of them had managed to walk over and climb back down into the parade route.

I’ve seen a lot of guests do a lot of stupid things, but this takes the cake. And you know who was standing there in the parade route? A man. Holding a baby. The stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. You know me. I took a photo.



You can see him still standing there (in the bushes ) holding the kid. The woman in pink is standing right at the railing. It took him much longer than necessary to finally make it back out.

Just as the parade was about to end, I figured I’d make a run for the hub so I could get a spot for Wishes. Things have changed since I last watched Wishes on Main Street. You cannot stand in the middle of Main Street. That’s the area for guest traffic. They have the hub area taped off, and you can stand and watch inside the tape. It’s a smidge closer than I’d like to be, but still an excellent view.



The fireworks started and I decided to enjoy them without taking photos. Until I thought that this might be a good vantage point to see Tink. When she flew by, I got a photo.



Yeah, the same crappy blurry photo I always get. But I did take photos of the fireworks, and I got some good ones.











Once Wishes was over, it was time to use my BTMRR FP (actually, it was almost past the time). I still had time to grab this photo.



I used my BTMRR FP (so much fun in the dark ) I wanted to get a spot for Spectromagic, but I also wanted some popcorn and a frozen raspberry lemonade. I walked around forever trying to find a popcorn cart that was open. Most of the food carts were closed up for the night. Even the ones in Frontierland along the parade route. I decided to give up and just get my FB and, you guessed it, the Enchanted Grove was closed too.

I finally did spot an open popcorn cart in the hub. Unfortunately there were at least 20 people waiting in line, so no snack for me. I still had time before the parade reached Frontierland, so I decided to ride another of my favorite nighttime attractions, the Jungle Cruise.

When I arrived, they were holding a boat. The skipper was happy to be taking out the last group of the night and we waited until the boat was full. We even squeezed in to allow a large group to go with us (though we weren’t really crowded – just not as spread out as we had been).

The CM was a riot and was telling us how cool it was that we were the last boat of the night. He even joked around with a few other CMs. Next thing you know, a group of guests come through the queue. The CMs had forgotten to close the line. Well, this set our skipper off and he started yelling at the folks on the dock “You’re all horrible people!” Everyone in our boat was cracking up, and I’m sure the people on the dock had no idea what was going on. So we were the second to last boat of the night.

As I said before, our skipper was hilarious and even told some jokes that I haven’t heard. When we came around the back side of water, we saw the last boat of the night and our skipper interrupted his spiel to yell at them again. “You’re all horrible people!” We were all laughing again, and I was giggling picturing the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot looks on their faces.

That done, it was time to get a spot for Spectromagic. I cut through behind the Magic Carpets and walked along almost to the Liberty Tree Tavern. I claimed a spot of pavement with absolutely no one around, with a great view of the floats as they turned the corner. Perfect.

As expected, I got some great shots without any obstructions.







When Goofy’s float came by, someone sitting next to me started yelling and hooting and waving like a fool. It was so bad that it embarrassed Goofy himself. You can see his embarrassment in the photo I got.



Oh shoot, I just realized that I told you there was absolutely nobody anywhere near me. OK, so maybe I was the one hooting like a fool and embarrassing Goofy (and myself). Hey, that was the closest I got to Goofy the whole trip, so that’s my excuse. I’m such a dork!

Anyway, on with the parade!



























The good thing about watching the second Spectromagic in Frontierland is that the park is usually closed once it’s over, and a good portion of the crowd has already cleared out. I took a leisurely stroll out, pausing for a final look at the castle this trip.



When I arrived at the bus stop, there were only a dozen or so people waiting, and a bus arrived within 5 minutes.

Up Next: Quests Fulfilled and Unfulfilled

[angiek1024]

Wonderful update Sharon! Great firework and parade picture! I can't believe the guy holding the baby in the bushes! Love the Goofy photo! Logan's favorite character is Goofy so I will have to so him that one!!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of Wishes and Spectro Sharon Sounds like a great time in MK (except for the first parade fiasco) More please

[jpod523]

I'll have to try a dole whip sometime. They look good. Amazing pictures of Wishes and Spectro! I'm so jealous of your mad photog skillz. (On a side note, everytime I play Peggle, I think of your skillz because the bonus plays have names like Free Ball Skills. Then I have to remind myself that I don't have skillz. )

[chezp]

Beautiful photos of Spectro Sharon - and some pretty neat shots in there of Wishes as well. As for that incident with those guests during the first parade - some people do make you wonder!

[disney_duke]

What a great way to end the day. Even if there were annoying people in the bushes - just more for you to laugh at!! BTMRR and Jungle Cruise are the best at night, so glad you got to do them both!!

[mestitch]

mmmm a dole whip float! I plan enjoying one of those after midnight at MK EMH on SUNDAY!
Great photos of Spectro. What a nut, that man in the bushes.. some people amaze me.

Don't ya just love BTMRR at night??? LOVE IT!! I still want to ride the Jungle Cruise at night....maybe this weekend......
Can't wait for more!