Using My Powers for Good - 4/29-5/7 - Thread 1 - thru Day 4 About This Page:

[Jillybean]

Love the BB update, Calder! We've never been so it's great to hear what fun it is!

Jill

[MAria R]

Wow, that tour sounds great. Thanks Caulder for the insight on Blizzard Beach, I bet my son would like it.

[Luv2plan]

Thanks for sharing BB with us Calder! Your photos are fab!!

[JulieandChris]

Wonderful trip report Eileen and thankyou Calder for your part.
I`ll look forward to more.

Julie.

[Tara O'Hara]

All caught up with your fabulous adventures! I love Calder's additions as well!! Looking forward to more!

[luvnwdwgal]

Great update Calder!!!

[LongSufferingDH]

<u>The Time:</u>

Stardate: 82388.06

<u>The Place:</u>

Blizzard Beach

<u>The Gang:</u>

Everybody but that crazy CalderCupcake

<u>Day Four, Part 2a.2</u>

Well, lessee, there was a park and some people and water. I remember the water.

There was chaos at the gate when SOMEONE [DStepB] in our party left his, and his son’s, tickets in his “other suit”. Late nights on roller coasters apparently affects the brain. But true to form, in the friendly confines of WDW, there is always a way. A few minutes at the ticket booth and we had new tickets and were ready to get on with the wet. DW would have some fun later on dealing with the paperwork mess, but she lives for that, right?

We breached the gate and found a central spot to dump our goods. I always lock my doors and stuff, so it’s not easy for me to just leave things out and about in public, but everybody smiles at WDW and I guess nobody steals, so tuck it under a towel and off you go.

[flashback effect ~~~~~~~~] Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, when I was in Miami in high school, we went to a water park one sunny day. Being Florida, there was a 20% chance of rain and it therefore rained on the way to the park. 20% chance = 100% when I lived there. SO on the highway there, my friend the driver pulls past a semi and starts to hydroplane. He’s not an idiot, so he steps off the gas and we slow down. Momentum carries us forward, though, and we start floating. In a lovely ballet move, we gracefully swing around and end up going 70 mph, backwards. Facing the semi. Having been in a bad accident in the recent past where I broke the dashboard with my chest and the windshield with my face, I recall thinking quite clearly, while waving to the driver of the semi, that this time, I had my seatbelt on, and it wouldn’t matter. Somehow, we float backwards off the road and I live to tell the tale. We got back on the road and went on to hydroplane our bodies at the water park. [~~~~~~~~~~ end flashback effect]

So I hoped to make good memories of a water park to compete with good times long past.

I did not stay up that night and write notes, so we’ll see what I remember.

We did the Teamboat Springs thing. A nice warm up and good for groups. And you get a tease of the big drops that are above it. The ski lift is fun and you get a nice view on the way up. It also saves some serious hiking, unlike Typhoon Lagoon. But DW can tell you about that later. She just LOVED the stairs there.

At some point the more foolish of us in our party decided it was time to do the Big Thing, Summit Plummet. My son is getting bigger and things like taekwondo have given him courage to try new things. Michael also teamed up with him to encourage each other. So Calder was useless as an excuse to not go. Up the ski lift again. As we started up the stairs for the summit, some stranger asked about what was up there. They were headed for the cushy Teamboat. I confessed I hadn’t done either of the big drops yet, but asked them to pray for me.

Now, I am not a manly man. I don’t watch football, I rarely drink beer. But it’s awfully hard to be the scaredycat when there is a little girl in a pink bathing suit in the line in front of you. She discreetly said nothing as the hairy men around her shook in their boots. This is one of those double-dog-dare-you things. Nobody does this without being dared to on some level. Unless they are a Stupid Judy pink suit wearin’ little girl.

As an aside, I would like to ask if anyone knows of a higher point in WDW where a guest can get a view? Without hard numbers, you will be hard pressed to convince me that the loading platform of Summit Plummet is not the very tallest. We could see the landmarks of all the parks, though the MK castle was small in the distance. Quite a view. It’s almost enough to distract you from why you are up that high in the first place. But there we were.

The larger people would disappear over the edge and reappear a brief moment later at the bottom. The little pink SJ just disappeared. The British fellow behind her was fun to listen to scream on his way down. To be safe, we sent Frank over first. He deserved no less for forgetting the tickets earlier. We figured if he made it, we would go. He made it. Bravely, I sent my son over the edge first. I was the responsible adult bringing up the rear making sure that everybody got on the bus.

Calder went over the edge. I was very proud of his foolish bravery. I was waiting for him to show up at the bottom. I waited. And waited. Even the little pink pastry showed up sooner than this. As my heart rose in my throat and I had nightmarish images of him tumbling down and getting jammed in the pipe, he shows up. Not sliding on his back but running along the pipe with lil’ dink-dink-dink steps. He had made it. Everybody was on the bus. It was my turn.

As I went over the edge and felt my back leave the surface of the slide, as I entered freefall in this near vertical drop, I thought to myself, “YOU SENT YOUR SON ON THIS?!?! YOUR ONLY SON!?!” I also thought, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Opening my mouth was not an option. I was not going to be the first to drown on this thing. I clenched everything I had and thought of my happy place. A mantra of “calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean” was not what I needed though and as the 300 angry children beat on my thighs and backside, I slowed down near the end of the pipe and opened my eyes.

After striking the only pose I had with me that day, I thought, “Where was the lazy river?” I need lazy river. I may have started in the state of Florida, but I landed in a state of shock.



We did the lazy river. We did other slides. We watched as Calder and Michael did the t-bar drag line. I must say that watching the smaller kids not let go and hit the hard stop at the end was nerve wracking. Their little legs would fling up and come insanely close to smacking the hard frame. Then their little hands would be ripped from the t-bar and they would make a very ungraceful backwards flip into the water. The really unlucky ones would flip all the way round and belly flop the entry. Good time, good times.

The boys tried to cross the iceberg and after many tries, they all succeeded, but it was fun watching them from the water try and fail. This kind of thing is what water proof cameras were made for. Anybody caught not bringing one to a park like this is throwing their ticket price away.

This was a fun park. We were headed for Typhoon Lagoon later in the trip, but it wasn’t as fun as BB. The wave pool at TL was great but the slides there were not as fun as those at BB, even if you discount the freefall insanity of SP.

This has been waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much typing, and the Cubs game I was watching while writing this is over, so I now return you to your regularly scheduled Trip Report.

-LSDH

[JulieandChris]

Summit plummit
You`re a very brave man (with a very brave son)!

Julie.

[CJ_Stitch]

Thanks,it was easy JulieandChris(SP).
It(SP) wasn't funny.
It's a DEATH TRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cj_stitch [Calder]

[2princessmom]

I am just getting caught up and can't tell you the number of times your story has brought tears to my eyes! I can tell you had a wonderful time and I can't wait to hear more.

I am curious if Peter Pan shows up on all the Wishes cruises or just the one with Captain Hook? It sounded like they assigned the boat to you.

I can't wait to hear more!

[Caldercup]

[ QUOTE ]
I am curious if Peter Pan shows up on all the Wishes cruises or just the one with Captain Hook? It sounded like they assigned the boat to you.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the characters are only at this cruise because it's a Grand Gatherings event -- not a standard Wishes cruise.

But, it's my understanding that Captain Hook, Mr. Smee and Peter Pan are all standard parts of the GG Magical Fireworks Voyage event.

Thanks for your kind words -- I'm always happy to hear that people like my "version of events" as my DH would say....

Eileen

[Colexis Mom]

What a great update on Blizzard Beach Great picture too

[luvnwdwgal]

Excellent update LSDH!!

[GATechGal]

Fantastic report Bob. I even liked the flashback sequence. I'm originally from Miami, but moved when I was 10. I remember that type of rain.

[zacksmom_1993]

[ QUOTE ]
Now, I am not a manly man. I don’t watch football, I rarely drink beer. But it’s awfully hard to be the scaredycat when there is a little girl in a pink bathing suit in the line in front of you. She discreetly said nothing as the hairy men around her shook in their boots. This is one of those double-dog-dare-you things. Nobody does this without being dared to on some level. Unless they are a Stupid Judy pink suit wearin’ little girl.

[/ QUOTE ]

Eileen, Bob, Calder- you guys are all too funny. I your whole family! When are you guys coming to California again? Heck, when are you coming west of the Mississippi? Zack and I will be there to greet you.

Calder - as soon as I get home today, Zack's going to read about your trip on Summit Plummit. I think his reply when I asked him if he wanted to go on it was something like, "Mom, did you forget to take your meds this morning?" You're a star! Can't wait to read about the rest of your week!

Karen and Zack (in abstentia)