The Mellado's Disney Adventure ReportDates: 6/26-7/5, 1999 (ten day trip) Adventurers:
Copyright 1999-2006 |
Day 3: Monday, June 28,
1999 BRRRIIIINNNNGGGGGG. It's 7:00 and two Disney alarm clocks and one Mickey Mouse watch ring bright and early. I watch the three alarm clock owners sound asleep - one alarm clock falls on the floor. I laugh and pick up the clock, while thinking that picking non EE days at the parks is a good decision for us. Thus begins Day 3 at the Caribbean Beach Resort. After a breakfast of cereal and granola bars, we geared up for our day at the MGM Studios. In the backpack went the movie camera, ponchos, wipes, snacks, and extra film. In the fannypack (with neck wallet looped to it) went the room key, park passes, extra aspirin, tums, $$, including the quarters & pennies for the penny presses, and 35mm camera. We also took water bottles strapped to our waists & the mister fan. Dad had a mini version of the mister fan. He & Lucila also took umbrellas instead of the ponchos. We got in the minivan & drove to MGM - Dad didn't want to use the shuttles for some reason. At the parking lot I flashed the AAA parking pass to the CM. We were too late for the parking up close, but got a spot right by the tram pick-up. The AAA pass came in real handy. We got on the tram, and upon arriving at the entrance, saw Pooh right away. He was the only character we saw that day, but it was neat seeing him right off. We all grabbed a park guide. It's so nice to see them all over the place - very convenient. We decided to do TOT first thing before the lines became outrageously long, so we headed right over that way. There was a CM holding everyone back until 9:00 straight up. Dad & Lucila didn't want to ride so we decided to meet back at 10:00 - I figured that we should have enough time to ride & be out by then. The rope dropped and we were off! I lost the kids in the mad Tower dash, and tried to catch up to them, but never did. The crowd streamed to the entrance. It moved quickly, and I only got a brief glimpse of the theming around the ride. Soon enough it was my turn to go in the room for the pre-show. My main thought about TOT was WOW! I really loved this ride, and the special effects that went into building it. Another neat thing was that I basically knew what it was about, but didn't know any of the details, so I was in anticipation the whole time. So, I won't go into the details here and possibly spoil it for someone else. I got to sit in the front row, too. Although I would have liked to ride with the kids, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. At the end of the ride, I walked through the TOT gift shop (of course), and met up with the rascals. It turned out that they had made it to the front of the line (by running the whole way from the rope drop), and had ridden in the first elevator, and got front row seats. You know those scenes in the Brady Bunch where all the kids are talking non-stop at the same time, and you can only catch a word here and there? Well, that's how I felt listening to them. I was so happy that they were able to start their day that way. All the kids were in search of a cap to buy. Kelly picked the cap from TOT - cool, with glow-in-the-dark lightening bolts on it. I glanced at my watch - 9:20. Very cool. We were 40 minutes ahead of schedule. I checked the time for the TOT line, and it was up to an hour, so we decided a second ride at this time would not be a good idea. We went to look for Dad & Lucila. Since I had some time before we were supposed to meet, I went back towards the entrance. There's a store there called Celebrity 5 & 10, where they sell souvenirs with names on them. I got us each a Guest of Honor badge. It was the same price whether you got one already made up or had one engraved - $5. We wore them the rest of our trip. They were especially great for the kids because the CMs would greet them by name, which would cause the kids to smile more. It is such a magical feeling there - HAPPY. We walked back towards TOT and met up with Dad & Lucila. We all decided to go on the Great Movie Ride. We went to the Chinese Theater - looks just like the one at home (except cleaner and without the hordes of people looking at the footprints) This is another great attraction. There was virtually no wait, which was a recurring theme throughout our stay. (We are used to long waits at Disneyland, so this was a pleasant change) We got in these huge moving vehicles and rode through various scenes. I have read about people going through the western and gangster sides. I saw scenes from both, but the gangster approached us, so I guess we went through the gangster side. It was a cool ride, enjoyed by all of us. I think my favorite scene was the one from Wizard of Oz. After GMR we walked to the Hunchback of Notre Dame show, taking in the scenery around us. I had read such great reviews, that I was looking forward to this show. Unfortunately, they were experiencing technical difficulties, and didn't know if they would be showing the next show either, so we tabled it for later. (Unfortunately, we never did see the show) We were close to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, and the kids wanted to check that out, so we adults relaxed while the kids played there. It was set up much better than I had anticipated. There's also an area that squirts water - very much appreciated in the heat. It was hot & humid, but cloudy, so it wasn't unbearable. Plus we had our mister fans and water, so we were okay. After I got the kids out of the playground we headed towards the Indiana Jones show, which was due to start soon. We did have to stand in line for that, and the mister fans were very welcomed. The kids played with their Gameboys, so were entertained while we waited. Kelly sprayed anyone who looked like they wanted to be cooled off. As long as she didn't irritate anyone, I let her. Once we got in, I was relieved to see that the audience was able to sit in a covered area. We all enjoyed the show. It was different than what I expected. The audience participation part was funny, and the stunt effects were interesting. After IJ, it was time for our PS at 50's Prime Time Café. This was probably the longest we had to wait for a restaurant - about 15 minutes. We were seated in a room, and Big Sister Lisa waited on us. For a fun restaurant, I highly recommend the 50s Prime Time. All of the patrons are 'cousins from____' and it's like one big happy family. However, if a person (especially an adult) in your party does not like attention, then I recommend eating someplace else. This is definitely a restaurant for those who like to be involved and have fun. The kids couldn't contain their laughter when I got into trouble. The food was 'okay.' The kids all had chicken fingers & cherry coke (a staple in their diet), and Lucila & I had the meatloaf & mashed potatoes, which was pretty good, and Dad had the fried chicken, which he didn't care for too much. From Primetime, we walked around. I was really impressed with New York Street. When you're at one end, the skyscrapers at the other look so real, and so big. It's a great street of illusion. We also saw a cool umbrella - when you stand under it, it starts to rain. By this time, the Beauty & the Beast show was getting ready to start. Again, there was virtually no line, and we had 45 minutes before the show. We sat down in the theatre to wait. The kids wanted to ride TOT again, and I told them if the line was 30 minutes or less, then they could go. I didn't take into account that the attraction lasts 10 minutes. When B&B was close to starting (10 minutes), Lucila was too worried about BJ, so she decided to go wait for the kids. Dad didn't want her to go by herself, so he left, too, and told me to watch the show, & they'd meet me later. Well, I couldn't just sit there by myself, so I got up, too. There was 5 minutes to the show, and people were coming in, so I just resigned myself to the fact that this was one show I'd most likely miss. By the time I got to where the parents were, the kids were coming out of TOT - they would have just made the B&B show, but I really cut it too close by letting them go on the ride so close to the show. Learning lesson for me. After this the parents decided to go back to the resort. So we headed back and relaxed a bit. When we got to the room, Nick's Donald Duck hat was sitting in the window with a sign saying that we were missed, and hope we had a nice day. That was a nice touch, and made all of us smile. (This is a hat that my son got when he was younger, and brought with the sole intent to squeak the bill and drive me crazy-kids! Gotta love them) The kids headed for the pool, and Dad went to watch them. I rested in the room, and took a little nap. After the swim & rest, we decided to go back to MGM. Lucila was too tired, so dad, the kids & I drove back. We made sure to have the ponchos with us in preparation of the afternoon rains. We got there in time to watch the Beauty & Beast show - it was nice. By now it started to sprinkle, but not hard enough for us to put on the ponchos. From there we headed towards the Backlot Tour, and ran into the Doug show. BJ wanted to see it, and there was no line, so we went. It was a cute show. I enjoyed it, but if the kids had known ahead of time what it was about, they would have opted for rides instead. It was nice & cool in there, though, and that was a welcomed relief from the heat outside. After Doug we headed towards the Backlot Tour, but ended up getting turned around and were right by the Animation Studio. We decided to go in there. That was an impressive place, where you see where the animators actually work. We enjoyed that. By now, we were getting really hungry, so we went to Rosie's All American Café, near the entrance to Fantasmic. We all got cheeseburgers & fries, except for Kelly who got a turkey sandwich. The burgers were delicious - or we were just very hungry. We had an enjoyable meal and people watched a bit. We saw the huge crowd leaving Fantasmic, waited a bit, then got in line. We didn't wait for too long. By now it was about 10:15 or so. I'm used to the area at Disneyland, which is kind of like the parade route - you find a good spot & sit. Here they had a HUGE amphitheater set up for the show. About a half hour before the show or so, a couple of guys pretending to be bellhops came down and entertained us. They were wonderful and so talented. One walked down the entire steps on his hands. There were a lot of 'don't do this at home' type things they did, but they did them so well, plus they were funny - we enjoyed them. The Fantasmic Show was, well, FANTASMIC! As usually, Disney put on a spectacular show. We thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn't help but notice the difference between this one and the one at DL. The one at DL has more space, so they're able to do Fantasmic on a grander scale. This one is a good show, though. At the end of the show, a little girl, probably 8 years old, was there w/her parents - she threw her arms around her father and exclaimed, "Oh, Thank you, Daddy, for bringing me here!!" It was really touching. By this time we were ready to head back to the resort. It had been a long day. There were things we missed, like Star Tours - which we have seen several times at DL, so it was no big deal - the outdoor theming at MGM, though, is better than at Disneyland, and I did enjoy that. Although we missed some of the shows and a couple of attractions, we had such an enjoyable day. I would much rather spend a fun day, than get worn out trying to fit everything in the schedule. Although there were so many people, we were out of there, and on the tram in a short time. Disney really handles their crowds so well. We trudged to the minivan (having one of those car beeper thingies on the key chain sure helps a lot), and were soon on the road to the CBR. We knew we had to get to bed right away because our next day would be another early morning. Day 4 coming up - Animal Kingdom & E Night
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