Top 7: A Study in Humor

Some of you, okay, maybe one of you, might remember a few posts back when I mentioned the kids' favorite channel while we were at Disney World.  The Top Seven!  Well, I've spent a lot of time this weekend reading Disney blogs and websites and rediscovered Netcot.com.

Netcot is a site started by Van, a guy who likes Disney.  He and his sister spoofed Stacy and her Top Seven Must Sees with this video below.  By now you know I have the mad love for Old Key West and that's where they stayed.  I think I read somewhere that his parents are DVC members so they do Disney - a lot!  The first scene takes place in the living area and the flashes back to "Stacy" are filmed on an Old Key West balcony.

That video makes me chuckle.  And it's got some great music, huh?  One of my favorite lines is:

There was so much progress on that ride I nearly lost my lunch!

Although this totally spoofs the real Stacy's Top 7 ("Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy!"), I have to say I agree with them about the monorail, except it should be #1 on the list of Top 7 rides at Disney World ("Zoom!  Zoom!).  And I actually enjoy Living with the Land.  Call me kooky!

Rock On!

Midden Hickeys

Hint:  The Hidden Mickey in the Buzz Lightyear photo is right in the middle.  It's not the typical three-circle silhouette; it's the side profile silhouette.

Does that help?

Remember this side silhouette.  You'll see it again, Mouseketeers!

Incidentally, the three-circle Mickey on the left above is actually visible on aerial maps.  It was formed by a landowner whose property is WNW of Disney World.  (This was a factoid brought to you by someone who spends way too much time on www.maps.live.com.)

Picture:  Mickey Mouse (Myth Series) by Andy Warhol.

Cinder Rindle's Castle AGAIN!

Magic Moment #9 comes to us courtesy of the monorail.  While my companions were waiting for the monorail I went to find a Cast Member to inquire if anyone was waiting to ride in the front compartment.  The attendant said, "You are!"  So I jogged back to retrieve my party and share the good news.  Unfortunately, only four people can ride in the front compartment.  It does not matter how large or small they are.  Four.  Only four.  So MawMaw sat in the compartment behind us.  It had never occurred to me that people were allowed to ride in the front compartment and I never would've known to ask if not for the Unofficial Guide!  [Love that book!  It's sitting beside me right now!]

Here we are going into the Contemporary.  Something I've always wanted to do!  This further confirmed my love for the monorail.  When we arrived at Magic Kingdom the monorail driver gave the boys official monorail licenses.

We met up with CB, got FM#1's chariot, and embarked on our hot/sunny/humid day.  But to that we were accustomed.  Due to the improved weather from the previous day the crowds had increased a bit.

Our park rotation started in Adventureland again because we wanted to ride Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Pirates.  Today we started out with the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  While waiting in line we noticed that, to go along with the Arabian theme, jewels were embedded in the concrete.  Oooh!  Aaah!  This ride was similar to Dumbo except not only can you make your magic carpet rise and fall, you can make it tilt and pitch.  And there's a camel that will spit on you.

Right across from Aladdin are tikis that squirt water.  The boys enjoyed a bit of refreshment and then we headed to Pirates!  While they were in the Pirates gift shop - again! - trying oh so hard to make their way to the queue, I ran down to Splash Mountain and Big Thunder to get Fast Passes.  On my way, Woody and his friends were just wrapping up their parade through Frontierland so I paused for that.

Woody's Roundup!  Can't you just hear the music?

Knowing not everyone would ride both Splash and Big Thunder Mountain, I split our six tickets, 3 and 3, between the two Fast Pass machines and ran back to the Caribbean.  We had a longer wait this day because of the crowds, but it wasn't too bad.  The people behind us kept trying to squeeze in front of us, but we spread out shoulder to shoulder.  Don't mess with Texas.

The boys got another adventure through Pirate land and noticed new and different things this time around.  Again, back to the gift shop.  CB wanted to surprise the boys at Christmas with a gift from here since they loved it so much.  FM#1 got a flag which is hanging in his room.  FM#2 got a set of metal jail keys that he uses as part of his various costumes.  And FM#3 got a sword set that came with sound effects, a dagger, an eye patch, and a parrot.

We bid farewell to Pirates (the coolest ride ever!) and walked quickly (much to the disapproval of my party) to Splash Mountain where CB and I were the only ones wanting to ride.  I donned my rain poncho because I just wasn't in the mood to get wet on such a hot day.  Good thing, too, because when we got to the bottom of the Big Drop, a huge sploosh of water kerplunked on me.

From here we trotted next door to Big Thunder Mountain.  Arms up the whole time!  We not only used our Fast Passes, but we got a Child Swap so we could Fast Pass it again.  On our way out of the ride a lady handed us each a packet and said something about Year of a Million Dreams.  Yes, Magic Moment #10!  When we got outside we saw that we had received Year of a Million Dreams trading pins and matching lanyard.  Cool!  Now we'd have to start getting pins.

At this point we had convinced MawMaw that Big Thunder Mountain wasn't a roller coaster and that she should definitely ride it so me and FM#1 took her on it using the Child Swap pass.  She wasn't amused.  As we zigged zagged along the track I kept looking back at her and she would say, "This IS a roller coaster!"  She clearly does not know what a real roller coaster is like for Big Thunder is not one.  She survived anyway.

From here we went to a MawMaw favorite - Country Bear Jamboree!  She loves these corny bears.  We enjoyed the respite, A/C, and goofy show and exited across the breezeway for lunch at Pecos Bill's Cafe.  Bill serves up burgers and taco salads, but what is unique about this place is that they have a fixin's bar.  You can add the usuals to your burger, but they also have sauteed onions and mushrooms and salsa.  Yum.

Magic Moment #11.  Upon exiting the restaurant we stepped out onto the sidewalk and the afternoon parade was in full swing.  We had a front row seat.

What timing!  And FM#3 got to see Donald Duck!  So many things would come together during this vacation.

As the last float went by we found our stroller amid the sea of blue and pointed ourselves toward the Haunted Mansion, Round Two.

From this picture all you can see is the mansion.  If you look at aerial maps of Disney World...what?  You've never seen Disney from the air?  Wh-, wh-, I just don't understand.  Don't you spend inordinate amounts of time looking at the Wonderful World of Disney on www.maps.live.com?  Is it just me?  Well, when you do go there - and you will - use the Bird's Eye feature.  You'll see that what is in the picture above is only a facade.  The actual Haunted Mansion ride takes place in a huge warehouse type building.  Does that spoil the magic?  Not for me!  It's fascinating how they have filled your field of vision with only what is necessary to create the illusion.  You are completely convinced that this ride is inside that house!

After picking up our hitch hiking ghost buddy we threatened the boys with It's a Small World.  Mua ha ha!  Aren't we fun parents?  But their begging and pleading for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin was more than we could bear.  Once in Tomorrowland, CB and the older FM's wanted to try Stitch's Great Escape.  My Unofficial Guide strongly recommended to pass up this attraction.  When it first came out it was too scary so they toned it down.  Now it's apparently just bad.  Or 'lame' according to FM#1 and 2.  Stitch burps on you at one point and they said it smelled horrible.  Not a funny horrible either.  Gross, oniony, never gonna ride that again kind of horrible.

So on to Buzz where there was no line!  Again, the bad thing about not spending any time standing in the queue is that you miss the little nuances along the way.  We did spot a Hidden Mickey and took a picture of it while several people went around us.  Can you spot it?

We snapped these pictures just before the afternoon downpour.

Judging from those blue skies in the background you wouldn't think the bottom was about to drop, but it did.

We walked back up Main Street; gazed lovingly at the Crystal Palace where we had enjoyed a yummy breakfast the morning before; peered into the shops; gathered our packages at Package Pick-Up; and headed for the monorail.  Again, we asked to ride up front.  This time CB and the boys got the front row seat.

A good end to a good day.  But was it the end?

Cinder Rindle's Castle

Day:  Three.

Park:  Magic Kingdom.

Crowds:  Parked about three rows back in front lot.  That's how uncrowded it was.

Weather:  Mostly cloudy.  Scattered showers.

Rain ponchos:  ON.

We walked around the row of hedges, under the bridge, and up the hill to the Bag Check and ticket turnstiles.  By now we were quite skilled at:

1.  taking off our fanny packs
2.  unzipping them and holding them open to be inspected
3.  zipping them back up and putting them back around our waist
4.  getting out the tickets while walking to the turnstiles
5.  feeding the tickets through the card readers while sending the appropriate person through with their matching ticket

I kept all six tickets in my fanny pack.  MawMaw's annual pass was easy to spot as it was the only paper ticket.  All the others were plastic like credit cards.  Durable, yes, but they were only distinguishable by the different Disney characters on them.  It was very confusing the first couple of days, especially because the tickets don't have names on them.  We didn't commit our characters to memory (because we didn't know we needed to), plus we really didn't think the finger scanners were that accurate.  I still don't think they are.  This is the way it works.  The first time you use a ticket is when it is marked as an adult or child.  Every time after that an adult has to go through with an adult ticket and put their finger on the finger reading thing.  Children's fingers aren't scanned.

Going through the turnstile matching up adults with the seven dwarves, Mickey, and Cinderella became a real trick.  But leave it to CB to learn that we could get our tickets put on our room cards which have each person's name on them.

Our first official ride was the Monorail.  My favorite.  I've always loved the monorail.  I think we should use monorails in our own towns.  So what better way to start the first day at Magic Kingdom than the monorail?  This route took us past the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.

Once we got to the front gate we boogied down Main Street to the Crystal Palace where we had 8:15am breakfast reservations with Winnie the Pooh and Friends.  We only waited for a couple of minutes before we were called in and seated at the first table in the dining area on the left.  Our waitress was great!  The minute we sat down she poured coffee and orange juice.  I needed the coffee that morning!  She told us it would be a good time to visit the buffet as Eeyore and Tigger were in the other dining area and it would be a while before they came over.  That was very important information as you certainly wouldn't want to be at the buffet just as Pooh comes to your table!

The breakfast buffet was yummy.  I love breakfast buffets.  CB kept joking that we were eating Piglet.  Bacon and sausage.  I highly recommend breakfast with Pooh at the Crystal Palace.  It's a great way to start the day.

Soon after we had our food Eeyore and Tigger came over.  As usual, FM#3 was so excited to see them and acted as if they were old friends.  I discovered that my little FM#2 was becoming quite skilled at posing for pictures and FM#1 wanted to make sure he got his picture taken with Pooh and Tigger because they truly are old friends.

Before breakfast ended they passed out flags and the kids marched around the restaurant in a Pooh parade.  FM#3 wanted to march so his big brother took him around.  What a good big brother he has.

I could've stayed at the Crystal Palace another hour, but Fun was waiting.  We made a mad dash back to Town Square to get the stroller.  There were probably 20-30 people waiting in line!  I joined them and, thankfully, a Cast Member spotted the 6-day rental ticket in my hand.  He ushered me out of line, right to the front, where - viola! - stroller.  Love it!  We were off, but first spotted these guys from Pinocchio who are apparently seldom seen.

We were told that children had to take off their rain ponchos when they visit the characters.  I'm sure this is to keep the costumes in the best possible condition.  Wet children hugging you for 20 minutes can really mat up that fur!  We decided not to fumble with the ponchos as we had just gotten them on (even though Gepetto was right around the corner, too).  However, even though FM#3 was fully ponchoed the characters acknowledged him.

We then trudged back down Main Street and opted for a counter-clockwise rotation through the park which landed us in Adventureland.  Can you spot the monkey?

We started with a tour of Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  Having just read Swiss Family Robinson, FM#1 was critiquing how wrong Disney's movie version was.  He's such a purist.  But both boys loved the treehouse and wished they had one in their backyard.

As we ambled over to Jungle Cruise, we noticed that there was hardly anyone in the park.  We walked down to the loading area and had only to wait for the next boat.  The rain had served as a deterrent!  We had ponchos, so as far as we were concerned - let it rain!

We got a hilarious driver on our Jungle Cruise boat.  His jokes were corny and we all had a great time.  Our rain ponchos were long enough to keep our backsides dry when we sat down in the boat.  I had fallen in love with my poncho.

Poncho.  That's fun to say.

The rain had slacked up so we stopped at the remote control boats next to Jungle Cruise.  And NEXT...

PIRATES!!!

OF THE CARIBBEAN!!!

The long anticipated ride!  Only a slight wait.  As we snaked through the queue, how many times did I hear, "This is so cool!"  My scurvy dogs loved it!  Since they had already seen the first two movies they could pick out the scenes from the movies that were in the ride.  Me, I hadn't seen any of the Pirates movies so I had no idea who Davy Jones was.  Of course, now I am well-versed in Pirates.

We spent much (much!) time in the gift shop deciding what to buy.  FM#1 got a Jack Sparrow hat.  I got Pirates Dice (fun game).  And instead of having our purchases sent back to our room we opted for package pick-up.  They send your packages to the front of the park and you pick them up on your way out.

This is what I did to them for spending so much time in the gift shop...

I love this picture of CB.  Why will just have to be my sittle lecret.  Besides, some of you may blush and my mom reads this.

We meandered to Frontierland and got right on Splash Mountain.  MawMaw stayed with FM#3 while the rest of us walked (again) right down to the loading area.  Although it was no longer raining, I think I kept my poncho on.  This was a log ride after all.  Somebody was going to get wet and I didn't want it to be me.

Splash Mountain follows the story of Brer Rabbit.  It's a peaceful ride and quite lengthy, too, as you float through to the song, Zip-a-Dee-Do-Da.  FM#2 was dreading the big plummet.  Around every turn or incline he'd ask, "Is this it?"  When it finally approached he was wishing he hadn't gotten on this ride.  It scared the bejeepers out of him.  My, oh my, it was not a wonderful day!  Both boys for some reason had a fear of hitting their head.  They had this fear on other rides, too.  Needless to say, there was a bit of whimpering from the middle one and a vow to never ride Splash Mountain again.

Next up, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  I love this one!  I can't remember if we Fast Passed it or not, but MawMaw kept the younger ones on this one, too.  I think this ride is my favorite.  We ended up riding it three times during our stay.

Then on to Liberty Square and the Hall of Presidents.  Thanks to our history co-op, I understood and appreciated this attraction much more this time around.  Again, a gift shop visit, where Mom bought me a Mickey snowman for Christmas.

As you can see by FM#3's face, we needed a little sustenance so we grabbed a quick snack and rounded the corner to the Haunted Mansion!  Another of my favorites.  It had just undergone refurbishing so - whew!  Glad it was open this time around!

The boys thought the invisible horse was cool and got a kick out of the animated tombstones outside the door.  Once inside it was just how I remembered it with the stretching pictures on the wall and everything.  The Cast Members working this attraction are very somber as they escort you onto the moving walkway and into your Doombuggy.  I love those moving walkways!  And I love the detail on this ride.  There's so much to look at you can't possibly see everything the first time through.  As I ride through I can't help thinking how they do things like make those doors bow with the zombies trying to get out.  The kids were amazed at all the things on this ride and FM#3 didn't find it the least bit scary.

Our next ride was It's a Small World.  The adults were looking forward to it because it would be a nice, slow, cool, relaxing ride.  The older boys were NOT looking forward to it and had already convinced themselves that the song playing over and over would drive them nuts.  Fantasyland, Schmantasyland.  They tolerated it just fine.

Is FM#2 about to cry?  I think that boy needs some lunch.  Exiting Small World we noticed a ridiculously long wait for Peter Pan so we grabbed Fast Passes and headed for lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus.  At this point we hadn't done a lot of eating in the parks.  A super late dinner at MGM our first night, breakfast this particular morning, and now lunch.  We each ordered a meal and found the servings to be huge.  I had the biggest turkey panini and a ton of fries!  From this point forward the younger boys would share a kids meal and MawMaw and I would split a meal.

We decided to ride Dumbo before using our Fast Pass for Peter Pan.  The line wasn't long, but the wait was, simply because the ride is not continuous loading.  Plus in addition to the visible line there are four queued up groups waiting - two on each side.  Dumbo was fun, even though it's a "kiddie ride".  I'm not good with heights so it gave me a head rush which was fun.

From here we did Peter Pan and Snow White.  CB really liked Peter Pan because we were flying in a ship.  Snow White wasn't as scary as it historically has been.  Decades ago it scared my younger sister to death and she screamed through the entire ride.  No screamers this time around.

We also decided to Fast Pass Winnie the Pooh so we ventured to Tomorrowland until our Fast Pass window rolled around.  We started with the Indy Speedway.  FM#2 has a need for speed and was so excited that he would be able to drive in a car all by himself.

From here we rocketed over to Buzz Lightyear which all would agree was great fun.  Yes, even MawMaw.

Me, CB, FM#1 & 2 rode Space Mountain.  Walked right on!  My recollection of this roller coaster was that it was ultra tame, too tame.  My experience this time around was a bit different.  It was still tame, but for this 43 year old body, it was rough!  I was tossed and jerked around in that roller coaster rocket!  I had to brace myself with my legs and expected to have bruises the next day.

It was still fun!

We then backtracked to the Mad Tea Party.  Everyone wanted to ride this one - except me.  I throw up when I get dizzy.  So the Untrustworthy Ones rode together - the older two and CB.  I rode with MawMaw and FM#3.

When we sat down in our little teacup, FM#3 put his sweet little hands on the steering wheel and thinking it was a table said, "Let's have a tea pahty."  He didn't realize the table made the cup spin until halfway through the ride and even then he gently turned it.  Give that boy a smooch!

Winnie the Pooh was sweet.  It replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and let me just say that the only thing they did was add Pooh scenes and honey pots to ride in.  The track was the exact same track as Mr. Toad - twisty, turny with doors that open suddenly.  This was a very low cost transformation.

Gift shop visit again where FM#3 wanted a lollipop...

...or two or three or eighteen.  He got one bunch which had six Pooh-shaped lollipops.  In fact, he just finished the last one a couple of weeks ago!  The older boys got those huge coiled lollipops.

We walked back through Fantasyland and rode Cinderella's Carousel and saw Mickey's Philharmonic, another fun Disney 3-D.  The boys had some fun while waiting for the next show...

We strolled past Cinder Rindle's Castle, down Main Street.  Gazed fondly upon the Crystal Palace, home to our delicious breakfast hours earlier.  We located the package pick-up building, got our goodies, and returned the stroller.

With bags in tow and a mist in the air, we opted for the quiet ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon.

Back at Old Key West, I had the concierge put our tickets on our room cards.  We played Pirates Dice that night.

Aaaah, Home

Back home at Old Key West.

We stopped at the Hospitality House to pick up our packages from the previous day's shopping at MGM to find that only 2 of the 3 gifts were there.  The one child who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his X-wing was about to be horribly disappointed.  CB was the bearer of the bad news and while FM#2 was crushed, in true Storm Trooper fashion, he would shake it off and forge ahead.  Besides, there was swimming to be done!

We were starving.  While everyone rested back in the room, CB and I went up to the Hospitality House to grab lunch at Good's - the counter-service restaurant.  While waiting I overheard a lady asking whether certain items on the menu were included in the Dining Plan.  See, there were a lot of people using Disney's Dining Plan during our visit.  Disney had a promotional offer earlier in the year -- if you booked your vacation by June, everyone in your party got free dining plans.  That's free food, folks.  The dining plan includes one free full-service meal, one free counter-service meal, and one free snack.  Did you notice all those free's?  We would've loved to take advantage of this offer, but to book a vacation that far in advance is metaphysically impossible for us.

So we pay.

By the time lunch was over, FM#3 was asleep and MawMaw and I were close behind.  The other two were jumping up and down to go swimming so CB suited up and took them.  They had a great time!  They said the slide was super fast!

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/okw59.jpg

Can you spot the Hidden Mickey?

When they returned we headed back to EPCOT...

...where we cashed in our Fast Passes for Soarin'.  By now the wait time was about an hour and a half.  The Fast Pass line was about 15-20 minutes.

I 'heart' Fast Pass.

Unfortunately, halfway through the line we discovered FM#3 was not tall enough to ride.  CB elected to take him and wait for us.  This allowed us to experience the Child Swap feature.  With Child Swap, one adult can stay with the child while the rest of your party rides.  When your party returns, you swap the child, take your Child Swap Pass, and go directly to the Fast Pass line.  Yes, this still requires your party to wait in line twice, but the pay-off is that you get to use the Fast Pass line PLUS the Child Swap Pass allows you to take (I think) up to three additional people with you on the ride.  So when we got off the ride, CB took the older boys with him and they got to ride again.

As for the ride itself, Soarin' is so freakin' peaceful.  I realize those aren't very eloquent words, but it's the stone cold truth.  You sit in what closely resembles a 7-seat hang glider.  Your glider then takes off, and depending on which row you're in, rotates up several (many) feet off the ground and suspends you in front of a giant movie screen.  The gist of it is that you're hang gliding through various locations - white water rapids, Grand Canyon, ocean, golf course, orange groves.  The glider, of course, tips and pitches to simulate the actual feeling of flying, uh, soaring.  And it all comes complete with wind, smells, and epic Disney music.

MawMaw could've stayed on Soarin' for the rest of the trip.

We then made our way to Test Track where we used those Fast Passes CB picked up earlier in the day!  FM#2 was apprehensive about this one because of the speed.  I really don't understand his trepedation.  He rides in the car with me, after all!  But we managed to get him on and he...loved...it!

Late breaking news...Young red-headed boy says Test Track is "The most awesomest ride ever!"  He liked it better than Mission: SPACE and Star Wars and the stunt shows.

CB liked it, too.  Me.  Eh.  The actual track part of it was good, but there's a lot of lead-up, as with many Disney rides, that takes too much time.  Would I ride it again?  Of course!

In the showroom we enjoyed the fancy GM cars and spent way too much time in the gift shop.

Exiting Test Track we were right next door to Mission: SPACE.  FM#2 wanted to take MawMaw on it.  She chickened out earlier in the day because she was afraid the ride would make her motion sick.  After riding it ourselves, we assured her that wasn't the case.  Of course, the repeated offers to exit the ride before it actually began did freak her out a bit..."Are you sure this doesn't spin around?"

Don't worry MawMaw.  Just wait til we get to Magic Kingdom!

But she hung in there and had a ball!  What a trooper!  FM#2 thought it was pretty cool that she rode it, too.

It was becoming early evening and we were slowing down.  The boys played in a car wash water spray outside Test Track then we made our way over to the Imagination pavilion where the boys played in even more water.

And FM#3 made a friend.

Good night.