Kids at Heart, Gluttons for Punishment, or just plain Idiots? We report. You decide.

[Akdar]

You say "complain;" I say "gave feedback on a survey." Tomato, tomahto, potato, potahto!

Nice Response!!!!!

 

[Motherfletcher]

And harping when you leave is not harping while you're there so I guess you kept your word.
So I gotta know- did the name tag get you any towel animals or preferential treatment from housekeeping?

 

[bubba's mom]

I asked Roger where you could get warm beer on your grocery stop for your cruise, and he said the grocery stores sell both cold and warm beer and didn’t think you’d have a problem.

Thanks....appreciate the thought! Sounds like you're off to a great start....luv the pix Can't wait to read more!

 

[AlexandNessa]

And harping when you leave is not harping while you're there so I guess you kept your word.
So I gotta know- did the name tag get you any towel animals or preferential treatment from housekeeping?

I hate to say it, but I'm pretty sure it didn't buy us anything. No towel animals or anything out of the ordinary. They did manage to make us a flower out of the tissues at the top of the box ... but the problem was they never replaced them! We had to try to find Housekeeping to get more tissues and that didn't work. Normally not a problem, but toilet paper can be a little rough on the nose after a while. Sounds like you have better luck (or maybe they just like you better!). I do thank you for letting me borrow it!

On a similar note: has anyone noticed that even if you leave your used towels hanging up on the rack, they still replace them with fresh ones? I figure we don't wash our towels every day at home, so every day we'd hang the towels up and every day they were replaced. So much for the "HRH loves the environment" CD that's in the bathroom! Maybe I should start a new thread on this because in all our stays (PBH, RPR, HRH), NONE of them have left the wet towels hanging. I'm not enough of an environmentalist to mention that on my survey though!

I am working on Day 2. Hate to admit that I procrastinated last night, and I have some errands to do today. Thanks for being patient! xx

 

[keishashadow]

must be sweet suite treatment, i had to throw the towels in the tub on 3rd day to get them replaced @ RPR.

speaking of standard room, that suite looks mitey fine to me; the other must of have been really extraordinary!

you live large ...way

must remember the NBA happy hour...have you eaten there, saw pic of strawberry dessert - looks good.

 

[tlinus]

Jodie,

Whoooooo.....yay your trippie!!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[AlexandNessa]

must be sweet suite treatment, i had to throw the towels in the tub on 3rd day to get them replaced @ RPR.

speaking of standard room, that suite looks mitey fine to me; the other must of have been really extraordinary!

you live large ...way

must remember the NBA happy hour...have you eaten there, saw pic of strawberry dessert - looks good.

Hi Janet! I have to say that we only live large on vacation! The other 340 days of the year are a 'hole 'nother story, and QUITE boring!

I don't want to sound like a spoiled little brat as the suite was very nice. We get comped since we're platinum so it's nice to have any suite at all. It's just that we liked the set up of the other suite better. It definitely suited our needs better ... especially the bathroom!

We have eaten at NBA City, although not dessert. We've enjoyed everything we've tried, though we haven't eaten anything adventurous there. We like to get appetizers and burgers so can't comment to any full extent.

We'll be glad to meet you for Happy Hour there on Saturday, December 1, if you're up to it!

 

[AlexandNessa]

We slept in that morning. I think we were up around 10:30 or so. We are not morning people. We don’t make it to the parks at 11 when most people are going. We’re usually there between 12-2. Give or take an hour. It’s not that we’re lazy. Mike and I both work shifted tours which are catching up with us in our progressing age, so our bodies do not have a natural time clock. Some people get up the same time every day without any prompting. Those aren’t people who work 3pm to 11pm one week, 11pm to 7 am the following week, and 7am to 3pm after that and then repeat, but not necessarily in that order. Vacations are time for us to recoup (and many out there I’m sure are saying, “You can tell these people don’t have kids.” Don’t worry. You wouldn’t be alone. My mom says the same thing.)

Mike was first in the bathroom and since it was sort of hard to have 2 of us in there at once, I checked my phone to find a message from macraven. I called her back and we chatted and I went down to her room for a bit to meet up. Mac’s room was the same set up as ours. It was so easy to chat with mac that I began to worry about what Mike was up to. I’m sure at least some of you can relate to your mate calling himself “A Dis Widower.” Mike doesn’t get the whole “meet thing.” He doesn’t understand all the chatting and camaraderie on the boards that comes from being collective red-headed step children. And so, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that I came back to the room to find this sweet love note:

If you can’t read it, it says:

GOT TIRED OF WAITING. ***. DOWN BY POOL. M

Woops. Am I in trouble?

“Why would you think you were in trouble?”

“Oh, I dunno. Maybe ‘***’!”

“I wasn’t mad. I just didn’t know where you were.”

“I told you where I was. In mac’s room.”

“Well, you didn’t bring your cell.”

I wasn’t winning this argument, so I redirected the topic as to what to do next.

We opted to go to the Studios for a bit, come back to lunch at The Kitchen, nap, and then head on to the RIP tour. Sounds like a plan.

Now, I don’t have pics from this portion of our day, but you’ll have to take me at my word and trust that we went to the Studios to do Jimmy. I should say we rode Jimmy. That doesn’t sound any more PG, does it? We experienced the Jimmy Neutron ride? Is that better?

Motherfletcher gave us a MIB cheat sheet. We tried to remember it, but only faired in the 400K range, which is pretty par for the course for us. Nonetheless, we did much better than the kids in the front row, and our scores alone made us Galaxy Defenders. You’d think the kids would show us more appreciation for their unearned title. Hmph.

We also did the Mummy. Rode the Mummy? Experienced the Mummy ride? A favorite as usual. We meandered and took our time, and decided to go back to the hotel to eat some lunch at The Kitchen.

We were pretty sure what we wanted, but somehow got talked in to ordering Calamari for an appetizer. We like Calamari, but we’re not big Calamari people, and this was definitely not the best we’ve ever had … except for the sauce! We are very used to having Calamari with marinara sauce, but The Kitchen served it with a Thai Chili Sauce that was literally out of this world. It was spicy yet a bit sweet and thick, and I tell you we’d order the Calamari again just for the sauce alone. Mike had a chicken sandwich and saved the sauce to dip his chicken in. I had a meatball pizza. And a Bloody Mary. Honestly, not one of the better Bloody Marys I’ve ever had. I like my Bloody Mary to be thick, with a nice mix. I don’t like it to taste like I’m drinking tomato-flavored water so that the drink is thin and runny. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, they wanted nothing of our AP discount, and I didn’t push it, but we figured we’d be properly full and we could go back to the room for a nap before our RIP tour.

I am pretty sure our room was under the club lounge or something. Not sure what exactly was above us, but we always heard what sounded like furniture moving, and it wasn’t much of a nap at all.

We headed over to the Studios for the RIP Tour.

Now, here’s what you need to know about me before you get all excited for my RIP review: I am not an HHN fanatic. I don’t scour the websites before hand. I don’t really read reviews. I can take it for what it is. I can just go and get scared and have fun. I freely admit that other than knowing he’s a scary clown, I don’t know who Jack is. I get some of the houses confused, and I’m more concerned where the next scare is coming from then noticing the details of the houses and all the hard work that has gone into creating them. I can “float in the experience” as opposed to deconstructing and scrutinizing and analyzing it. And, oh, I’m a screamer.

We last went to HHN in 2004, when it was in both parks and a bit overwhelming for first timers.

This year, I decided to join macraven for the RIP Tour. Mike didn’t have a choice.

I figured we were only going to go to HHN for one night. We were going to do it right. No Frequent Fear pass. Quality over quantity.

The RIP tour was the single best decision we made all vacation.

Here are some pics at the entrance:

We went through the metal detectors and passed with flying colors. We didn’t have to wait in the normal lines to enter the Studios. We got to go right to the VIP Tour guest entrance where we met our friendly tour guide who took our names, and we signed in. We got instructions on when and where to meet and were let into the park to have fun until the tour started.

We just sort of wandered and took in the atmosphere … and a beer. (Thanks for the glow necklaces, mac!)

We met up with our tour group, which I think was only 9 people. Went over some ground rules (no assaulting the scare actors, stay together, follow the red lantern, bathroom breaks), and we were off!

Now, here is where the RIP tour worked perfectly for us: no planning, no map, no making decisions as to what house to do first. If you can sit back and just let it happen and enjoy it, I highly recommend the RIP tour!

Here is where the RIP tour is also perfect for me: I think of it like a Band Aid that needs to be pulled off quickly so you don’t feel the pain. I genuinely do get scared in the houses, and waiting in any line at all (even the Express Line) gives me plenty of opportunity to ask “is this worth my time to wait?” With the RIP tour, we simply followed the red lantern to the very front of the line. No time to think or chicken out. Just do it!

I don’t remember in what order we did the houses or sometimes which house was which. I know we did whatever one was by Twister first (Home for the Holidays?). So, I do apologize for not going into excruciating detail.

And, of course my favorite houses were the ones typically espoused as the least favorites on the reviews. Camp Blood (Friday the 13th) was actually my favorite (I can just hear all the HHN Vets sighing).

Now, the call of action is for Mike to follow me through all the houses, holding on to my back belt loops. This way I know I know he’s close behind. I’m a screamer. I think many of my tour mates will attest to that.

Camp Blood was one of the last houses we did, and macraven had spent the first few houses pointing at me to let the scare actors know to get me. You’d think I’d have been used to it 6 houses later. I heard this very soft, innocuous “Boo” in my right ear. I laughed softly, and turned around, fully thinking that it was Mike. It sounded just like him and would be something he would do. Instead, I turned around to find Jason. Right. Smack. Dab. In my face. I let out a scream. A big one. And I think I nearly peed my pants. Mike, of course, found this to be very humorous, and there was little mac behind us saying, “Jodie, he was just going to tell you that everything is OK!” Yes, have the Boogie Man assuage my fears! All in all, very funny, yet !

I also loved the Texas Chainsaw Massacre house. There were these burlap bags hanging from the ceiling that you needed to push out of the way to continue into the house. I went to move one out of the way, and thought for sure I felt a body in there, and that would be another fine moment of flipping out on my part.

I'm sure it's no surprise that I also really liked the Nightmare on Elm St house. They did an excellent job on the outside of the house. It was immediately recognizable.

Another highlight of the evening for us was Bill & Ted. There were some reviews on the board that the show wasn’t as good this year. Mike and I both loved every second of it. And I thought they did an excellent job of addressing “current events.” From the “Leave Britney alone!” video, to Britney’s shaved head, To Catch a Predator … plus, we love The Office. We really enjoyed the show. That was the first show we did that night, and it was nice to sit and relax and laugh for a bit instead of being scared to death.

Now, I will agree that the scare zones were a little tame this year (I had to ask if we’d actually just gone through one), but I didn’t care about that. I was scared half to death going through the cornfields in 2004, so personally, I didn’t miss it.

The only part of the evening that Mike and I said we would not do again was the Rocky Horror Picture Show Tribute. This is not to say that the performers weren’t good. They were. You’re either a RHPS person or you’re not. We’re not, and it just wasn’t our taste. We would do the RIP tour again in a heartbeat, and we would never stop anyone from seeing the show. But, if it were part of our RIP tour next time, we’d tell our guide that we were going to sit it out and just meet up with the group after the show. We’d have been a bit happier grabbing a beer and sitting on a park bench to people watch for a half hour. By no means whatsoever did it ruin our evening. We just know for next time, that’s all!

Now, our tour guide was perfect, because there was a group of 5 of us from the boards who did the tour, and we wanted the emphasis to be on the houses and HHN shows. We didn’t want to be stuck with other tour members who only wanted to do rides or drink all night. Our guide made sure we saw all the houses and two shows (there would not have been time to see all 4), and we only did 2 rides. I never pass up a chance to ride the Mummy and then the only ride I really wanted to do was Jaws. We always go to Universal during non-peak seasons, so we’ve never had the opportunity to ride at night. We made sure we didn’t sit in the back rows so we didn’t get wet, and we loved it! And I have to say that they either turned off the chum barrel for HHN or it wasn’t working, so no matter where we sat, it would not have been an issue.

I know this probably isn’t all the detail you wanted, and for that I’m sorry. Hopefully someone else who did the RIP can give a blow-by-blow description. Suffice it to say, for us, it was WELL worth the $$, and when the opportunity comes, we will surely do it again and ask for the same tour guide.

Our tour guide led us to the front of the park for the exit, and we said our goodbyes right at park closing. It was a really great, non-stressful night. And when I say non-stressful, I mean planning-wise, and let’s forget that there were at least 2 occasions I nearly peed myself.

Mike, mac, and I headed to City Walk for a beer. We tried Margaritaville first, but we just couldn’t get served there. It was too busy and we might as well have been invisible. Mac went to find something to eat, and Mike and I lingered for a bit to see if someone would see us. No such luck, so we moved outside to the Lone Palm, thinking we’d be able to see mac if she came back. We did have a beer, but last call was at 1:20 am, and we headed back to the room. We never did see mac after she left in search of food, and I do feel bad about that.

We decided to order room service since we were a bit hungry. We opted to split a grilled cheese sandwich. How hard would that be to mess up? When I tell you that this was the single worst grilled cheese sandwich we’d ever had, I would be further adding insult to injury that this was almost a $20 sandwich. It was a hunk of cheese, melted in some places, not others. Really thick sour dough bread that instead tasted like French toast (cold French toast), a flimsy tomato, a bit of bacon, and cold fries. Horrible. Really.

We’ll never order that again. Ever. And we eat almost anything.

It was off to bed. Next up: MGM and EPCOT.

 

[Notatourist]

I am so glad that you had a good time. It was a treat to see all of you and am beyond happy that you guys had a great time.

 

[Motherfletcher]

The RIP Tour is THE way to go. Too bad it was sold out when we went. Your guide is a wealth of knowledge and she even let me wear the lighted helmet on my birthday. Bob and I both find B&T most excellent and went twice this year. We skipped the RHPS.
OK, its like a Cardinal rule not to ride rides when you are at HHN but Bob and I rode MIB and had a blast. We did single riders and once ended up on the same car. Bob was in the front seat with a black couple and I was in the back with another couple. Bob could not stop laughing at this black guy but managed about 270k. I was tearing them up and had 931k. We got the suit and the black guy was yelling, "We Agents, baby!" He had to check what everybody's score was so when he asked me I said 31k because he didn't even have that. The guy next to me said "He had 931k!" but I nudged him and the guy up front didn't hear and thought Bob was the best of the best of the best with honors. The guy was telling the agents at the unloading platform how good we did and you could hear him all the way out of the building. The rest of the trip Bob would look at me and say "We Agents! Baby!"
So Mike follows you in the HHN house conga line?
We did Jaws too and the chum barrel was turned off.
Keep writing.

 

[Cara]

I am enjoying your report!

 

[AlexandNessa]

Later in the week, Mike was complaining about some of my other plans and told me that ALL my ideas should be like the RIP Tour. Mike hates "plans," but he said if we do HHN, we're only doing the RIP tour. And if the RIP tour is sold out, we're not going! And, yes, our tour guide is a wealth of knowledge!

MF, sent you back the name tag on Saturday. Of course, in my haste I forgot to send you back the MIB cheat sheet as I kept that with our confirmations and I just realized I didn't send it when I was going through our receipts. Wow, did we have an expensive trip! Matching receipts to our bill folio. Exhausting! I'll send the cheat sheet separately. Sorry!

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Hey - We love that Thai chili sauce too! It is really, really good! If you don't want to get the calarmari again, you can get the Thai lettuce wraps and it comes with that too - or it used to, at least.

I am loving your report. We are leaving on the 8th of November for 4 nights so your report is helping me get excited. I am curious about your Epcot day especially. We are thinking of spending a day and night over there. We have never done Disney and Universal in one trip, but we are suckers for Illuminations and would love to go over for that and a few rides. Not sure how the car service would work out though. Keep writing!

 

[bubba's mom]

Glad to hear you had a great RIP tour You deserved that 'fun' nite Oh, and loved the note.... "***"?

Looking forward to the next installment/day.....

 

[AlexandNessa]

We slept in this morning and arranged for our car service to pick us up at noon to take us over to Disney. Bob from Sunray was driving us today, and we were glad for the break from Stevie Ray Vaughn and Lynard Skynard.

We had Bob drop us off at the Boardwalk Inn. Last time we drove to the WDW parks, we noticed a $10 taxi drop off fee. We asked Bob about this, and he said sometimes they let him thru without charging and sometimes they didn’t. He said he could take us to the gate and turn around if they charged the fee, but we told him not to bother. We’ve stayed at the BWI before and know our way around fairly well.

Honestly, we're not parking so why do we have to pay at all to be dropped off? I find the "drop off fee" ridiculous after what park hoppers cost these days, and I simply refuse to give Disney one more dime than I have to.

The plan was to just take the walkway to MGM. We’ve done it before.

We haven’t done it before when it was 90+ degrees outside; however.

Today was one hot day. Our walk started out fine, but as we approached the park, I had one unhappy camper on my hands.

We decided to do the Rock – N- Roller Coaster first. It was only a 30 minute wait, and we decided just to wait.

Did I mention my unhappy camper?

Nice smile, eh? Feeling the love?

I had told him we could take the boats if he wanted, but as I said, the exercise seemed nice at first thought.

We were in line behind a dad whose 2 teenage boys had not joined him in line initially, and then the boys pushed their way up the line to their dad. Normally, not a big deal, but when you’re rude about it, annoying. I don’t know what it is where teenage boys always seem to want to fight in front of me, but the dad did nothing, and the two boys were bouncing off the walls, and speaking some foreign language the entire time. We had gotten a phone call while we were in line, but could not hear them at all over this family.

We were trying to figure out what language they were speaking. Mike said, you know, I think they’re speaking Spanish, but they look Farsi. I didn’t know someone could look Farsi. This was certainly a new one to me.

Anyway, we primarily ride RNR for the takeoff and find the rest of the coaster anti-climactic. When we left the RNR, we checked the cell phone message to learn that our friend Vinny had planned to meet us in front of MGM because his son works for Disney and had park hopper passes to give us. Too late! But, a very generous offer.

I wandered over to check out Tower of Terror wait times. It was another 30 minute standby, but Fast Passes were being distributed for just less than an hour later, so I grabbed 2 of them instead, because I didn’t want my camper to remain unhappy and irritable.

We decided to grab some water and sit for a bit.

Then I told Mike that we should do the Great Movie Ride because it’s inside and there’s never a wait, and he could cool off. He didn’t remember the GMR in all of our trips, so he actually wanted to go, despite me warning him of its cheese factor.

We didn’t have much of a wait at all, and the CMs were asking for a party of 2, and of all the people in front of us, we were the only pair, so off we went.

Now, let me ask you this: Why, in a crowded bench seat, is there always some idiot man who insists upon sitting with his legs spread wide apart? You could fit 3 basketballs in between this guy’s legs, and there I am trying to scrunch in, because, of course, this was the row the CM wanted us in. The CM told him and his family to move down. They did about 2.5 inches, but the man refused to put his legs together and took up the room of about 3 average-sized people just with his legs alone. So, I did spend the remainder of this ride silently thinking about what a jerk he was and also wishing that I had not wasted calories on half that awful grilled cheese sandwich the night before.

It was about time now for ToT, and so we meandered over there, for what in my opinion is one of the few good rides in all of Disney. I love how the drops are random and they only have seat belts now.

After ToT, I decided I wanted a snack because dinner was not till 7:20 at Le Cellier, where, of course, the “reservation” was made 6 fricking months in advance.

Does Disney inspire neuroticism or do the neurotics inspire Disney? You tell me.

Who knows where she’s going to want to eat 6 months in advance???

I got a cheese stuffed pretzel and a diet coke. Yes, despite my guilt over my caloric and fat intake the night before, you can just never eat enough cheese on vacation. Was it good? No. Worth the calories? Hardly. But it was certainly enough to hold me over until dinner.

It was at this point that we realized that we were being held hostage by a parade. I can take or leave Disney parades. We don’t make a point to watch, but we didn’t have a choice here. We were trapped inside the park until the stupid parade was over. They had CMs towards the front of the park who were asking who wanted to leave, so this must be a common occurrence. They let us know when the parade was over and when it was safe to cross to get out. So make note that it was not a good idea to try to leave the park somewhere between 3-3:30 on Monday, October 8.

Us hostages were finally released, and learning our lesson from earlier in the day, we took the Friendship 3 back to the Yacht & Beach Club and walked to Epcot from there (I almost wrote EPCOT Center … ).

We checked out Soaring first. Soaring is OK, but it is not something that I would ever wait 70 minutes for, and of course all the Fast Passes had been distributed. Mike and I are still trying to figure out what the big draw is for that. It’s new? Everyone can ride? It’s not a thrill ride? It’s relaxing? I dunno. I’ve done Soaring 2 or 3x, and I’ll ride it if we can get FPs or it’s a walk-on, but there was no way in God’s sweet green earth that I was waiting more than an hour to fly over CA and smell oranges for 30 seconds.

Oddly enough, we actually like Mission: Space, and that, thankfully, is usually a walk on. We like the Orange track. The Green track is for sissies. OK, it’s not. It’s just not as fun for us. Face it. Disney seriously lacks good thrills, and the launch is just like watching a movie on the Green side. Big woop.

We also did Ellen’s Universe of Energy, which we hadn’t done in years. They must have a problem with people wanting to leave the attraction early, because they announced that it was a 45-minute attraction twice and if anyone wanted to leave before it started they had better do so right after the announcement.

We did Nemo (a walk on), Turtle Talk with Crush (always a favorite), Journey Into Imagination (which hasn’t been good since 1987), and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (still cute, but could use a little updating, IMHO). We skip Test Track. We think it’s lame.

Aren’t we a fun couple to do Epcot with?!

By about this time, we just exited Future World to go into the World Showcase.

We found that for whatever reason that day, we were having trouble reading the Epcot map, and Mike decided it was best to turn it upside down because that was the only way it made sense to us. We were trying to figure out to go right or left to get to Canada when our friend Vinny who we were meeting for dinner called to find out where we were at. He sent us right, and there was Vinny and his family waiting for us.

Our ADR (I hate that term: ADR. It especially gets on my nerves when a Disney person comes over to the red-headed step children section of the boards to ask if she can make ADRs at Universal. Surely, I’m not the only one who rolls her eyes, but undoubtedly one of the few that will publicly admit that it annoys me. No ADRs are needed at Universal, and certainly not ones that need to be made 6 months in advance. You can make reservations at either one of Emeril’s restaurants, but I’m pretty sure they would laugh at you if you asked Emeril for an ADR … I’m sorry. I think I got carried away there.)

Where was I?!

Oh, yes, our ADR was for 7:20, but I don’t think we were seated till somewhere after 8.

This was our first time at Le Cellier, and since we were seated so late, we had plenty of time to study the menu.

Vinny and Mike went to get us beers while we waited outside, and I decided on the pork chop which was served over diced potatoes and cabbage. Mike had the linguine with shrimp and bay scallops. Everyone else had some kind of steak. I also ordered a side of asparagus, and Cathy, Vinny’s wife, ordered the side of creamed spinach. Everything was very good. I really liked the creamed spinach, which was so fattening that I began to wonder if there was any nutritional value left in it at all. It was served gratinee style and between the cream and the cheese … well, it was really good. My pork chop was excellent as well, and I know Mike ate most of his dish too. No Molson at Le Cellier, so I forget what we drank. I’m pretty sure it was Moosehead and LaBatt’s.

Since we were seated so late, we had to eat and run because Bob from Sunray was picking us back up at the Boardwalk at 10. That was the easiest place to meet, and it was easy to spot him.

Incidentally, both Bob and Roger had griped a bit about Disney outsourcing their bell hops and that service had gone down considerably since they had done so. I don’t frequent the Disney Resorts Board often, so this may be old news to many of you. They mentioned that they often had to ask bell hops for help at certain resorts, since the bell hops would just stand by and watch Bob or Roger unload the car themselves without even bringing over a luggage cart. They had some other examples as well, but it made me appreciate the Loews hotels where the bell hops are always right there and are always helpful and friendly.

We were glad to be “home” and decided that the night was still pretty young so we went to Margaritaville.

We were sitting at the Volcano bar when we saw two Universal security guards talking to two Orlando cops. We were trying to figure out what was going on and who or what they were there about.

Not long after that, they went to the porch where a couple was at a table. We turned around to watch. They interviewed both the male and female and then started doing searches. I wanted Mike to take a picture, but he told me to grow up … they would surely see the flash, and we’d be the next to be interviewed by the cops. Spoil sport.

He did say he would go outside under the auspices of having a smoke to find out the skinny, however.

He was pretty sure it was a drug bust. At this point, the man was handcuffed and remained seated at the table, and the police were searching the woman’s purse. A friend of theirs came over to plead with the cops that the couple was on their honeymoon and should be cut a break. The cop said something, and their friend hurriedly went away. See, Mike isn’t a half bad spy.

The guy was arrested and allowed to kiss his new wife goodbye before being led off in handcuffs.

Now, I’m sure you can all appreciate that except for sending Mike outside to get the skinny, we were turned around in our chairs to be facing the porch instead of the volcano, drinking our beers, and watching the whole thing unfold like we were in a movie theater. The staff came by to watch with us on occasion and ask what was going on.

We got one bartender to ask security what happened. Apparently, the couple kept getting up to use the bathroom and coming out with white residue under their noses and sniffling. (I asked the bartender: they went to into the same bathroom?! No, they each used their respective bathrooms, but at the same time.) After this happened a few times, a party at a neighboring table called security who watched the situation develop a bit before calling in the police who found the cocaine. The end!

A very exciting night, for sure! We should’ve looked at the local paper the next morning. The moral of the story is: don’t do drugs in public. Do them in the privacy of your hotel room. Kidding. Honestly.

We’d had enough excitement for the day and meandered home with our plastic cups to go:

Next up: water ride day.

 

[bubba's mom]

The plan was to just take the walkway to MGM. We’ve done it before.

We haven’t done it before when it was 90+ degrees outside; however.

Today was one hot day. Our walk started out fine, but as we approached the park, I had one unhappy camper on my hands.

it's the "thought" that counts

We were trying to figure out what language they were speaking. Mike said, you know, I think they’re speaking Spanish, but they look Farsi. I didn’t know someone could look Farsi. This was certainly a new one to me.

We find ourselves doing the same thing...trying to figure out what language (well, when you're "stuck" that is ...we consider it cheap entertainment

After ToT, I decided I wanted a snack because dinner was not till 7:20 at Le Cellier, where, of course, the “reservation” was made 6 fricking months in advance.

Does Disney inspire neuroticism or do the neurotics inspire Disney? You tell me.

Who knows where she’s going to want to eat 6 months in advance???

Exactly!!! When we did Disney, DH was like "You mean I have to decide what I'm in the mood for for dinner now and our trip isn't for 6 months?" Uh...yeah.... Turns out, we "walked" up to LeCellier and were seated (without ADR) within 5 minutes....it is an excellent steakhouse and worth every cent. DH had LaBatts...no lager

We checked out Soaring first. Soaring is OK, but it is not something that I would ever wait 70 minutes for...... I’ll ride it if we can get FPs or it’s a walk-on, but there was no way in God’s sweet green earth that I was waiting more than an hour to fly over CA and smell oranges for 30 seconds.

Couldn't agree more!

Oddly enough, we actually like Mission: Space, and that, thankfully, is usually a walk on. We like the Orange track. The Green track is for sissies. OK, it’s not. It’s just not as fun for us. Face it. Disney seriously lacks good thrills, and the launch is just like watching a movie on the Green side. Big woop.

Ditto!

We got one bartender to ask security what happened. Apparently, the couple kept getting up to use the bathroom and coming out with white residue under their noses and sniffling. (I asked the bartender: they went to into the same bathroom?! No, they each used their respective bathrooms, but at the same time.) After this happened a few times, a party at a neighboring table called security who watched the situation develop a bit before calling in the police who found the cocaine. The end!

How cool!!! Why can't that excitin' stuff happen when we're there
Lookin' forward to wet day!!

 

[keishashadow]

great details

OT - would luv to try & make happy hour @ NBA on 12/1...as long as I can drag the old man & DS (send him off to the video games ) away from the park . We need to wake up @ 4 am to catch flight down (who booked that flight lol); figure we should be on our 1st ride around noon if all goes well. wonder how long the parks will be open Saturday? hope until 9 pm

i digress...luving the gory details especially HHN; DH sez he wants to visit it next year instead of our usual Dec. thinking Columbus Day week or prior one.

As for BW taxi fee, bizarre??? I do have an issue with off-site guests parking in the main lot (the one closest to resort) when they should be using the overflow across the street (same as BC/YC) just so they can skip paying the parking fee @ MGM/Epcot...different if they are actually using the BW area though. We have to use valet when we stay @ BW (since the self-parking is always full). While we get valet free - the tipping adds up daily. Noticed mostly the same employees parking the car @ WL in June...they hustle there/run for the car & double their tip lol.

pretty soon they'll be outsourcing their CMs

As for the ADRs, agree - even since the DP; they've been hard to snag. They are eliminating the appetizer & tip beginning in January; think it will have a positive effect.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Yes, Barb, the drug bust was an exciting event! Sorry you weren't there with us!

Janet, I would take issue too with those who park somewhere they shouldn't to avoid a fee, and I totally agree with you on that. But, what's the deal with having to pay a "fee" to be dropped off? No one is parking anywhere. I think they said only Mears cabs don't pay a drop-off fee? I hope we didn't pull a refillable mug from 2002 stunt!

I won't pressure you to meet up at Happy Hour! Suffice it to say that we're usually there just after 4 and leave around 5:30 or so, so if you come, great!

 

[highlander447]

Hi, Enjoying your reports, have to say on our visit to RPR felt the standards where way below usual as well

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Jodie, can I ask you how much the fee from HRH to BW would be? We have stayed at the BWV too, and I think that would be a perfect place for drop off. That is ridiculous about the fee though - Disney really has a knack for getting every cent out of your pocket. I am starting to wonder how much a day trip to Disney will be - towncar, Epcot tickets, food, ect.

Am loving your trip report - I always send Steve to casually walk by and spy on situations like the drug bust at Margaritaville. Then he comes back with vague observations, and I have to go "casually" walk by too. We really do have to team up sometime. Steve doesn't understand the DIS stuff either. When I met Damo last year, Steve was like "who the heck is Tigerlilly's Mom?". Ummm...that would be me! He doesn't get it either. Next day please!!