Tragedy & Triumph: Beth’s Trip Report – Day 3: Fantasmic in the Rain? About This Page:

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Thursday, September 7th

Woke up around 6, not in the best of moods (just call me Grumpy). I hadn’t slept real well (maybe it was watching the Barbara Walters/Anne Heche interview that gave me the heebie jeebies). And of course, Steve had slept pretty well. Nothing more annoying than having a crappy night’s sleep while your husband sleeps soundly!

Any way, we had to get moving to the Contemporary for our breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. Made sure I had my Minnie ears on! Steve is not one for character meals, but he indulges me a couple of times. (And he looks real cute spinning his napkin in the air). I love the character interaction and the fact that I can act like a complete idiot and get away with it.

We did have our photo taken, but I didn’t buy it. Just wasn’t good enough to spend $26 on. We were seated in the back of the restaurant towards the kitchen, which was good because I had to talk to the chef. He offered special eggless waffles, but I didn’t take him up on it (I would get more daring as our trip went on). Just had him prepare some toast and bacon that wouldn’t be tainted. (FYI – often my problem is not with the food, but with cross contamination. One person using the same tongs to pick up French toast and then bacon. That’s enough to send me to the hospital). We had a very nice breakfast and got a few good character photos, though sadly, nothing together. (I really need more together photos…this is a big problem for us when we are on vacation).

After breakfast we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom (I completely forgot: A. that you can walk faster from the Contemp to the MK and B. that Thursday is EE day at MK). Monorail made long stops so it took a while to get there. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

But as we finally start down Main Street, Steve proclaims that he’s “home” and all seems sunny and wonderful.

We headed towards Liberty Square. And as we’re walking, I see Goofy and Max skipping our way. I had never seen Max in the parks. I thought this would be a cool photo op for the two of us, but as I was kind of waiting, this woman pushed in and said they’d (her family) had been waiting for Goofy & Max to return. (I don’t know if they had been there before and were coming back, but it looked to me like they were just getting there for the first time). This was the only real rude person we encountered our whole trip (You know there has to be one, right?). Steve didn’t want to deal with it (especially since we’d just been inundating with characters at Chef Mickey’s). So we continued towards Liberty Square.

It was after 9, so that whole park was open. We headed towards one of Steve’s favorites, the Haunted Mansion. Well, as we are heading towards the entrance at CM (from Tom’s River, NJ) tells us that the HM is not open yet. Ok, not a biggie. We head off towards Fantasyland. We were just about to the spot where the old Skyway used to be, when we hear someone calling after us. It’s the CM from Liberty Square. He is yelling that he HM is open now, but he can’t cross over the line from Liberty Square to Fantasyland. Maybe you had to be there, but it was really quite funny. And I thought it was a nice Disney touch that the CM went to all the trouble of coming after us to tell us that the HM just opened.

So the HM is the first ride we do in MK this time. And a perfect way to start off. It seemed to me that I could really smell the flowers on the coffin inside (you know the one the guy is trying to get out of) and the séance room seemed darker so that Madame Leota’s “Head” was very clear and the instruments really did seem to be floating around. On the way out, I noted that the horseless carriage was not there.

Now we head towards Fantasyland (and the bathroom!). First up is Peter Pan’s flight, which is always charming. You really do seem to be flying. IASW was still closed. But Legend of the Lion King was getting ready to start. Since this will be closing soon for good, I wanted to see it one last night. The theatre was really crowded and we sat right up front. Which I thought was actually very cool because you could see a bit “behind the scenes” (things that you are not supposed to necessarily see). Most people probably would be too involved with this great show, but since I’ve seen it many times, I really pay attention to the little details. Because we were up front and towards the right hand side of the theatre, I could see “Grown up” Simba waiting in the wings (on stage right or my left) during “Hakuna Matata”. Also at one point, Simba is on stage and there is another Simba hidden behind a bush for the next scene. Again this is something you’d really have to be close to see and even then you might not catch it. But another little girl close to us must have seen it too because I heard her say, “Which one is Simba? The one there or the one behind the bush?” It cracked me up. (Again, maybe you had to be there!). I really do like this show and am sorry that it is going away, but I’m hearing good things about what’s coming in after, so…

After the show, we moved quickly through Fantasyland (which was getting a bit crowded. I wanted to ride Cinderella’s Carousel, but there was a line) past the Teacups and Pooh into Tomorrowland. We were going to head straight for the TTA, but Timekeeper (which was opened briefly during out stay) was about to start. So we went right in. We always loved this attraction and are glad that we get one last chance (or two) to see it again (it was closed when we went in May and was only re-opened because IASW, HoP and Astro-Orbiter were all down for re-hab).

After Timekeeper, we got our chance to ride the TTA (another under-rated ride – always relaxing, great views and never a line). Despite the fact that Timekeeper was open, the spiel about it was gone from TTA as was the bit about Alien Encounter. From high above, I could see the Tomorrowland Talking Trashcan was out and about. So when we got off TTA, I tried to find it. But the trash was no where to be found! [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

Headed out of Tomorrowland with the intention of heading to Adventureland, but it was mid-day and quite hot. So we decided to head back to the hotel. Of course on the way out, I cannot resist a peek in Kodak’s Exposition Hall to see if there are any characters hanging out in the back. Sure enough there are and no one else is really there. So I get a CM to take photos of Steve & I with King Louie, King John, Donald, Dopey and Launchpad McQuack. We just went from character to character. Which was pretty cool. (Unfortunately, the CM didn’t move from her position so while the first photos started out all right, by the end, the photos are pretty distance and it’s more background than us!).

We take the boat back to our hotel (first it stops at Fort Wilderness, and this was our first glance at this. Something new for us to see, despite the many times we have journeyed to WDW).

In our room we have a message from Steve’s friend Ken. I had arranged for Fantasmic PS for the 3 of us that night. Though Ken lives in the area, he has never seen WDW’s Fantasmic (though he has seen the show in DL). He’s calling to confirm that he’ll meet us in the lobby at 3 PM.

This gives me some time to head down to the pool. Wilderness Lodge has a great pool. Great theme! I loved trying to “swim upstream” and then floating back down. Very relaxing. And it was nice downtime for me to just sit down and relax while reading a good book. Unfortunately, I had neglected to put on any suntan lotion. And I was feeling the heat. So I only stayed out for about an hour or so. Which is fine. I need to go back to the room and shower any way.

I got back to the room around 2. Rinsed out my suit (and myself). When I step out of the shower I notice that it is POURING out. I mean REALLY pouring! And it continued to come down in buckets.

At 3 we went down to the lobby to meet Ken. Due to the weather he didn’t show up until about 3:30. (Ok, who am I kidding? Ken is NEVER on time. But we don’t expect him to be! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] And this time with the weather he had a really good excuse). But the time spent in the lobby is not in vain. I go over to Guest Services to find out about being a Flag Family. It was a good thing we are staying a while (and that I had done this early in our visit) because it’s Thursday, the 6th and the first available opening they have is Tuesday, the 11th. I think about whether to go with that date or Wednesday. But I ultimately decide that Tuesday will be best. I am told that I will need to be in the lobby at 8:15 (I thought it was even earlier) and that a letter will be put under my room door the night before reminding me of the event. While still at guest relations, Steve also purchases E-Night tickets for Tuesday.

Well, once Ken shows up, we stand around talking for a while before deciding that we might as well head over to MGM (yes, this time I had the umbrella and the ponchos!). It’s not raining as we leave in Ken’s car, but when we pull into the MGM parking lot it is again. We all try to put our ponchos on inside the car. Easier said than done.

Even with the ponchos on, it’s raining pretty hard and all of us are getting soggy as we go into the park (very wet shoes). We are just wandering around in the rain. I suggest we go into Star Tours, even though I don’t like simulator rides that much, because I want to get out of the rain. We strip off our ponchos and walk right on. No line, no wait. I just look down at my feet (which barely touch the floor) when I don’t feel good.

After Star Tours it’s on to the absolute BEST attraction in MGM! Jim Henson’s Muppets 3D. I LOVE this show. Let me say that again. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! How can you not love Gonzo tap dancing with a flower pot on his head? Or Sam Eagle introducing Mickey Mouse (“Rat Shmat, they’re tourists what do they know?&#8221 [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Or the 3Ds doing “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon.” (“I’m Max….the agency sent me&#8221 [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] And of course that’s just the pre-show!

After Muppets, we went straight to Mama Melrose for dinner. We were early, but we figured we would get out of the rain and see what happened. We didn’t have to wait too long for a seat. The menu had changed somewhat and they no longer than my favorite salmon dish (bummer). So I spoke with the chef and had the steak instead. We had a long, leisurely dinner. Probably took us nearly 2 hours. Dinner was good, but not as good as it had been in the past. But the company was excellent and we all had a lot of fun.

It was still raining when we got out of dinner and we were wondering if they were going to have the show or not. We kind of just wandered around. Eventually ended up at the Great Movie Ride. We finally got the gangster portion (which I haven’t seen since 1996). There were not a lot of people on the ride and we actually ended up talking a lot with the CM running the ride (who told us about how one girl freaked out in the Wizard of Oz scene because she had a fear of Munkins!). The gangster who took over our car was also really good and was giving the boy behind us a lot of trouble. He kept glaring at him.

Once we were finished with GMR, we headed towards the front of the park. Still raining on and off. But still no word of what they are going to do. The woman at the gate where they let you in if you have the dinner package said that as far as she knew they were still having it. The consensus was that if they were going to call off the show (which was at 8:30) they would make an announcement by 8:15. So we shopped around a bit more, killed some time in Sid Cahuna’s.

8:15 comes and no announcement. So we decide we are going to try it. By this time, Steve’s poncho has ripped, so he has gotten rid of it and is using the umbrella. At the side gate there is no CM, and the gate won’t open, so Ken (who tends to know little secrets about the parks) takes us in another way and we end up on the same path. There are CMs along the road who seem to think that the show is still on.

We probably got to the stadium by 8:20. When we got there, they made Steve put down his umbrella (so we didn’t obscure the view? There wasn’t anyone behind us!). So he wipes off the seat and sits down. It’s raining. The pre-show music is playing and there’s about 800-1000 people in the stadium sitting there waiting. As it gets closer to 8:30, there is more cheering and general noise.

8:30 comes. 8:30 goes. No show.

We wait.

8:35. An announcement is made that Fantasmic is cancelled due to the weather. There was a lot of booing and hissing. We are particularly annoyed. Not because the show was cancelled (heck, we can understand that), but for the fact that they waited so long to tell us. Even with ponchos we are all now pretty wet and unhappy. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

Ken drives us back to the hotel and we make tentative plans to try this again next Thursday (which is actually our anniversary).

We go up to our room. Sitting out in the wet has made me cold. So I take a warm shower and notice how I’ve gotten a bit of a sunburn from this afternoon.

Climb into bed. It’s 9:30 and for the first time I can hear the electrical water pagant going on outside (rain must have stopped – great timing right?). Watch a bit of TV (no spooky Anne Heche interview tonight) before falling asleep with hopes that the rain has finished for a while!

[maggy_1]

Great reports I read all of the 3 days it's great. Can wait to read more [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Chantal [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]