A little light reading while you're waiting for Nate... About This Page:

[Elliot'sDragon]

WOW! That is an awesome feat!
I have read most of it and I am in awe of your the patience and determination it took to write this in one seating. WOW! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]
Just a few comments: Mass at Poly- same feeling here. Felt wierd not standing and kneeling. Have you been over to the Shrine to Our LAdy of the Universe. Really beautiful.
Thank you so much for being the first passporter to get a report on the big meet.
I have been dying to read about it.
Thanks for the report.
I hope this acts as motivation for NAte and Joey.

[LLaffinPlace]

Sandy, we also made up special envelopes for the Housekeeping tips last trip and had a day where they failed to take one. So, the next morning we put the previous day's with that day's envelope in the laps of the two Mickeys we had with us and used two rolled up towels to make an arrow pointing to the Mickeys. They sure didn't miss it that day! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Thanks for taking the time to make a report!

[Janet 46]

Sandy, Great report! I just wanted to say that I DID get to the Diamond Horseshoe in Nov. and I was totally disappointed with it. I hadn't seen the show for about 4 (or more?) years and I remembered a show with Slue Foot Sue and dance hall girls doing the can can and Diamond Jim Brady, etc.

This show had 4 comedian/singers who interacted with the audience. They WERE funny but I kept waiting for the REAL show to start. I guess it was those darn cut-backs!

[whoSEZ]

Thursday, November 29, 2001

The plan: Back to MGM for the morning, then a mid-day break, dinner at San Angel Inn, and Candlelight Processional.

Our wake-up call came about 7:00 a.m. Love waking up to Mickey's voice! Lesley went to get breakfast at the Food Court; I had a banana and croissant in the room.

I already had blisters, in spite of the moleskin. Hmpf. Actually, my right foot was fine; it was my left foot as always. I wear a lift in my left shoe, and it rubs terribly on the edge of my foot. All I could do was keep it clean and protected, add another layer of moleskin, and tough it out.

Lesley and I met at the bus stop, and once again had very little wait for a bus to MGM (maybe 10 minutes). Even with the security check, we got to the Studios' gates before they opened, so we browsed a little at the shop on the left-hand side. Then, inside the park, we got to experience our first rope-drop at Hollywood Boulevard. Nothing special, but fun to do every once in a while.

We walked right on the Great Movie Ride, which we both love. We were in the first car of the day, and had an excellent driver and gangster. We'd missed the Little Mermaid show yesterday, so that was next; had a 10 minute wait inside the pre-show area. The theater was only about half full, and thankfully nobody violated the "no flash photography" rule. I really, really enjoy that show!

Next, we went through the "One Man's Dream" exhibit. What neat stuff in there! Lots of memorabilia, quotes, and mini-models of rides, castles, and parks. My favorite display included a letter and story from Joyce Hall, founder of Hallmark: He was on a plane, coming home from London, when he met 3 young girls. During their conversation, they told him they'd enjoyed London, but had really wanted to go to Burbank so they could maybe meet Walt Disney. Mr. Hall asked if they thought of Walt Disney as a "regular" man, or one more like Santa Claus. The oldest girl, about 12 years old, thought about it and said simply, "Both." Made me smile.

Next, we had another walk-on: Tower of Terror, believe it or not. We were in the front row, and the drop sequence was awesome! There were 2 or 3 long drops and 3 or 4 short ones. Then it was time for me to rest my feet (and take some ibuprofen), so I went back to Rosie's Red Hots and had a Coke and fries. Lesley went back for another spin on RnR and then did some shopping.

[whoSEZ]

We went back to ASMu for lunch -- we got pizza and breadsticks from the Food Court and ate in our room -- I realized too late that I should have had a lighter lunch; our Candlelight Processional dinner package included a HUGE meal. (I won't make that mistake next time!) After lunch, I watched a little TV and took a nap (set a wake-up call for 3:00 p.m.). Lesley went for a swim, watched some TV, and then headed off to Epcot to catch Tapestry of Dreams. We planned to catch the second parade that night, but she wanted to videotape it and thought the earlier one would be better for taping. She also likes Epcot much more than I do, so it was nice for her to get some extra exploring time there.

I left the room about 3:40 p.m., and wandered around the resort taking a few pics before heading for the bus. Had another short wait for the bus, and had enough time when I got to the park to ride Spaceship Earth (walk-on). On my way to the World Showcase, I watched a little bit of the fountain "show" and then caught some music by "Cast in Bronze." Lesley and I had planned to meet in front of the pyramid in the Mexico pavilion, and I could see her there (pin trading!) as I walked closer. It was still a little early, so we did a little shopping in the crystal shop inside the pyramid. LOVE that store.

We had 5:00 p.m. reservations at the San Angel Inn; neither of us had eaten there before, but we were both really looking forward to it. The only problem was, I was still full from lunch. ::sigh:: We checked in and were immediately seated; what a beautiful restaurant! Bruce would love it. (I kept thinking it would be a great location for a wedding reception. I could almost see him rolling his eyes at the thought, LOL.)

I'd been told that our CP dinner vouchers didn't include drinks, but when we ordered Cokes, our waiter told us they were included. We shared an appetizer of nachos and ordered entrees (I was given a special vegetarian menu with 4 options; I chose the enchiladas and beans). I think I ate 2 bites of mine -- literally -- before I was too full to eat anything more. The poor waiter came over a couple times to check if something was wrong; I just kept telling him I was simply too full to eat any more. He offered to box it up for me, but I knew we weren't going right back to the hotel, so I declined. (We didn't have a refrigerator there anyway, so I would have declined regardless.) Our meals included dessert, but we didn't even consider ordering any more.

After dinner, we waddled ( [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ) over to El Rio del Tiempo (walk-on), and then over to Maelstrom (another walk-on). We had to wait a while for the movie, but we were sitting so my feet didn't care. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[whoSEZ]

When we left Norway, it was perfect timing for Tapestry of Dreams -- we ended up standing next to the family we met yesterday while getting our Guest of Honor badges (Emma, Leah, Ian, and their parents). Everybody now, "It's a small world after all . . ." I loved this new Tapestry parade as much as the old one. I like that the CMs interact even more with the guests in this version. Got lots of great pictures.

We stopped at the crystal cart in Germany, and I bought a tiny crystal Dumbo for my friend Becky. We watched a story-telling St. Nicholas for a few minutes, then headed over to the American pavilion to stand in line for the Candlelight Processional. We heard the last bit of the show before ours, and knew right away we'd love the whole show.

We stood in line for quite a while, and then started wondering if we'd be able to see the shuttle launch from there. A passing CM told us we'd be able to see it (from the American pavilion, he pointed toward the Mexico pavilion and said it'd be in that direction), but then someone behind us said he'd heard the launch had been postponed. Bummer!

We ended up in the third row, only about 4 seats from center. What an awesome show! Marlee Matlin and her interpreter were both very, very good. She looked like she was having a blast -- dancing and singing along, turning around to look at the choirs, huge grin on her face. I took a year of American Sign Language in college, and I enjoyed watching her narrate the story. The concert ended with "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (the crowd was asked to sing along, and it was hard for me not to cry right then), and Marlee spoke a bit about what a good time she'd had being a part of the Candlelight Processional. She thanked the conductor for teaching her to "hear music with [her] eyes." Very cool! I used the sign for "applause" (shaking both hands over your head) and she saw me and signed it back to me, with a big smile on her face. I think her family was sitting in the front row on the other side, as she kept signing special little things to them. What a great night!

After the show, we stopped at the carts on the walkway to see if they had any CDs left of the show, and they did. The CDs were recordings from last year's show, narrated by Phylicia Rashad. I bought 3 -- one for my mom, one for Bruce's mom, and one for myself.

We decided to get out of the World Showcase before the Illuminations crowd left, and on our way out, we stopped in the UK pavilion for a little shopping. We were almost as far as the fountain in Future World when the lights went out and BOOM! went the first fireworks from Illuminations. Startled the you-know-what outta me. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

We slowly wandered out to the bus and ended up getting a wild-and-crazy kind of bus driver named Adrian. He kept us entertained all the way back to the hotel, asking us all kinds of questions and threatening to stop the bus if somebody didn't answer his questions.

Back at the room, we did a little packing, watched some TV, and fell asleep.

[TINKN]

Great report! Thanks for letting me live the absentee magic. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[whoSEZ]

Thanks, everyone. I'm glad you're enjoying my report.

Tiki -- I'm a "Sandra" too, but I much prefer "Sandy." You can definitely get a GoH badge made; just take it to the desk in the back. There's no extra cost for engraving, and you can get it on any color/character you want. And thanks for the double chin hint! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

DisneyNutMary -- Thanks! I'm not sure I had a chance to welcome you last month, so ... welcome! I hope you enjoy it here.

Forti -- I know what you mean! I can't remember exactly how she said it -- I think it's something like "dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirepus," with most of the "syllables" in order, but reversed, except "Super" was actually backward. Must have taken her weeks to practice saying it fast enough! By the way, be sure to notice all the Mickey Bar references, especially added for you-know-who. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Minnie'mized -- thanks! And welcome to you too! Where in Wisconsin do you live? Are you close enough to the Twin Cities to consider a PassPorter meet?

Belle* -- I agree, next time! How much fun would that be?! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

LBV -- it was great meeting you! I wish I could have spent more time with all of you. Next time, I'll just have to stay longer. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Joe -- I'm not sure it was patience and/or determination. Maybe something more like temporary insanity. I haven't been to Mass at the Shrine, but I've seen pictures! Beautiful.

Llaffin -- Ahhh, beating Mousekeeping at their own game! I love it! Welcome to the boards.

Janet -- sorry to hear you were disappointed with the Diamond Horseshoe show. Maybe I didn't miss anything after all? [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I missed the show in March, too. ::sigh:: Next time!!

TinkN -- you're welcome! Glad to send a little magic your way.

PS -- Glad you enjoyed it. Can't wait to hear about your stay at the Yacht Club in May!

Now, if I only had a scanner, I could share some pictures too! Are you all sitting down???? Not only have I finished this trip report ... I already have the photos organized in an album!!! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Not sure what got into me. LOL

Thanks again, everyone. I'm glad you've all enjoyed reliving my trip as much as I have.

[Fortissimo]

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[ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Fortissimo ]

[BelleFan]

Awesome report! Thanks for sharing the details.

[PS - I LUV WDW]

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

[arielsmom]

Sandy-Great report!!! It took me right back to our trip in October. And I'm glad to hear that your resort hopping was successful. I want to try to do that on our trip next year.

[Wondcat]

I wonder if the people you heard talking about Donny & Marie were the same ones we heard!LOL!!

[marylandmickeymom]

Hi there! I am really enjoying your report and just had to tell you that we had breakfast at the castle the same morning with Jay as our server. We were sitting in the window with a couple of single gals behind us with BIG ORANGE JUICE GLASSES! Could that have been you guys? I think our ressies were for 8:55 or something like that. Our son and daughter were 2 and 6 and our son, Jacob, was dressed like Prince Phillip. Our 2 year old daughter had a Princess Minnie hat on. Does that ring any bells?? If so, it IS a small world after all, LOL.

[whoSEZ]

Jen! That's too funny! I'm racking my brain trying to remember who was sitting near us. I know the family to my left had 3 kids; the daughter spilled her orange juice and the father kept getting up and taking our pictures with the characters (we hadn't even asked him to!). My sister is scanning some of my pics for me; I'll be sure to post the link ASAP and you can tell me if you're in my pictures! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I do remember one little guy dressed as Prince Philip, and the Minnie hat sounds familiar too. Our PS time was 9:00 a.m., I think! Our table was in the far right corner -- as you come up the stairs or elevator to the dining area -- I was the taller of the two, sitting so that I faced the dining area with the window to my right. I wore a dark blue t-shirt and denim shorts. Lesley was wearing a white t-shirt, I think.

Okay ... now I'm convinced: I need to buy a PassPorter nametag! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]