Saturday, January 10

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Magic Kingdom:

Eggroll day. EGGROLL DAY!

(since this is no longer on the WDW Tour channel -- -- I brought the mp3 and did my own tips):

Go to the Disney Today channel and see what your weather will be. Your resort phone also has a weather button for instant access.

Must-do list:

Philharmagic!!! Kim and Dave -- and anyone else who has seen this -- has told us how great it was!

75 InspEARations of Mickey Mouse: we saw the models on the Internet. Now we get to see them live and in full size!

Country Bear Jamboree: not only haven't we seen this attraction in ages, but it's the holiday show! It'll shutdown on the 12^th to the 16^th (looked that up on the PDA just now to be reset with the regular show so this is our one chance.

Wishes fireworks!! Another new thing we haven't seen!

Haircut at the barbershop. We scoffed when we read the article in the Disney magazine about how people come to this place as their regular barber. Then John got his haircut there last year, and said it was the best. While we don't come down here whenever he needs a haircut, we did put this one off until now.

Pick up our rental car at Dollar Rental in the Holiday Inn at Lake Buena Vista

We wake up early, excited by the trip. John was like a little boy in the commerical who opens his curtains to see the castle (yeah, where's that room?) and then hogged the Mickey wakeup call.

John looks out on the lake and gets to see a flock of geese land with the sunrise behind them.

We tore the house apart for days looking for the one camera cord and couldn't find it. Then as we unpack in Disney, we found it in our toiletry bag!! John had packed it early and forgot about it. We had looked in the suitcases for it, but never thought of the toiletry bag!

Food court has nice breakfast selections including John's favorite: Yogurt & granola cup!! Previously only available at Mara's!!

We see the Welcome opening at the Magic Kingdom for the first time! I got misty; so did John a bit. It's so good to finally be here after so much stress and bad times.

John gets another great haircut from the woman at the barber shop. He tells her how much he liked his haircut before and they enjoy a good talk. She even puts "pixie dust" and a blue Mickey Mouse in his hair when I ask her!

While waiting for John, I talked to a few kids. One little boy, not even 2, spots the Dory keychain hanging from my fanny pack. Talk about eagle eyes!!! He also had one of those blankets that has a plush head attached to it and the blanket makes up the body. His was a Mickey Mouse -- a very beloved Mickey! As his mom said, "We go nowhere without Mickey."

Two eggrolls all for me!! TWO!

Crowds are so low! (Perhaps the weather?) I mean, it's Saturday in the Magic Kingdom AND in Fantasyland and every ride is a walk-on! Not complaining, just surprising!

We meet a family from Rome, Italy in the Main St. Bakery (cookie break!). They tell us they will be visiting John's great-grandfather's home of Calabria in the summer and describe how beautiful the area and its beaches are. John appreciates them taking time to give him a glance at his ancestory.

Philharmagic is such a great show!!!

• At first, I was worried. The opening animation isn't "spectacular" which is what you hear about the show, and I was afraid the whole thing was like this. Happily, that's not true.

• Interesting, isn't it? That Mickey is now the Sorcerer who is so powerful and Donald is the apprentice who must try the hat? In fact, the ending scene where Mickey scowls at Donald and Donald scurries over to give back the hat is almost exactly like Sorcerer's Apprentice.

• When Donald gets lovesick eyes over Ariel, I whisper to John, "That would be you, hon."

• I always said they should make an attraction like Star Tours where you're riding on Aladdin's magic carpet through Agrobah (or out of the Cave of Wonders). Watching Donald do it makes me think so all the more.

• A guy behind us was in his full Harley Davidson biker attire, and what a treat it is to watch him be thrilled over this show!

• I love the Minnie and Goofy voices as a warm-up for the show. John thought it was a device to cut down on cast members (to introduce things) but no, there they were, making sure you moved down the aisle etc.

• Couple critiques, if no one minds?

• The show needs more interaction between Mickey and Donald at the end, and in the good animation, not the blurry kind.

• All the characters look fantastic in the new animation!! With the exception of Aladdin and Jasmine; they looked like something out of a Rankin and Bass Christmas special.

• These critiques does not mean we don't highly recommend the show!

We have dinner at Tony's at a table that at first looks like a bad spot. But here, when we sit down, we realize we're right next to a "window" that shows Lady & the Tramp enjoying their meal outside at their private table!

As we leave Tony's we catch the last half of Spectromagic going by. So while we didn't see the whole parade, we saw most of our favorite floats from a great spot and didn't have to wait for it!

Pin trade! I bought a couple cheaper pins on ebay for the strict purpose of trading them. (And kept reminding myself they were for trading, not keeping!) I traded a Cinderalla castle pin for Patty Cake Lounge!! Excellent!

John in the late morning says we should make this a nostalgia trip: do things you first do at WDW, but not every trip. In this vein, we go see Small World, Tiki Birds, Carousel of Progress, that sort of thing.

Interesting, isn't it? They didn't update "TimeKeeper" to the current year. John thinks it's because they didn't want to take out the shot of NYC with the Twin Towers.

The weather never warmed up as it was supposed to. It started just chilly, so my jean jacket and new sweatshirt jacket was perfect. But at night it got very cold and very damp. I shivered so hard, my back was one huge cramp, and you can see the camcorder video shake with me. Sigh. But John was an excellent husband, holding me so I was warmer, and rumor is that it's going to be what we expected started tomorrow.

In the barber shop, a boy about 10 asked me about my Hidden Mickeys book. I told him I got it off the Internet, and that I couldn't find it in stores. I gave him the URL and then at the end of the night, saw the book in the Gallery (and later in other WDW stores). I felt so bad that I told him it was only online! I hope he found it in the stores!

While it's easy to finish paperwork for our rental car and get back to the parks, it is a huge pain to get to Dollar Rental! We were going to take the resort bus, but first no one at the info booth knows which bus. Then we find out #28 which means standing out in the parking lot and shivering as we wait for it. We decide to heck with this and walk all the way back to get a cab. So a great price and easy rental procedures, but just pop for the cab to get there!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the monorails need to be refurbished! They smell, paint is chipped... it's bad show!! And while they're refurbishing, I think they should go back to the original exterior. So retro and futuristic!! Fits perfectly with the Jules Verne vision of Tomorrowland and looking into the future of Future World.

With the chill in the air, the cab driver still rolls the window down for some "cool air"?! What is it with these guys?!

When we go to the parking lot at the end of the day, I can't find our rental car. Do you know how many silver rental cars there are in a WDW parking lot? And that's after I remember not to look for one of our own cars, but the rental!!

I tried to help a crying kid in the Haunted Mansion by showing off the Nemo flashlight and other toys I have. He's so terrified, he ignored me, and I ended up feeling like an idiot.

Something about the way I've been dressing, I don't know... but I keep getting mistaken for a marathon runner. And while I've been working out so I won't look bad in my bathing suit during the Aqua Seas tour, and needing to lose the pounds anyway, I am in no way capable of running that marathon. I always thank the people who ask if I am running, but as I can't run from the train station on Main St. to the castle (well, maybe), I don't want to -- I don't know -- take away from the people who are running in the marathon.

Guy cuts us off at the MK gate, then cuts everyone off to jump lanes! Where's the Villains when you need them to pulvarize someone?

Parents of crying children, I sympathize with you. If it was me, I'd pull my hair out. But for the love of God, take your kids outside! At dinner, we sat next to a family that let this kid SCREAM for half an hour before doing anything with him! They kept saying, Oh he'll settle down. He got worse instead!

Some idiot woman behind us, waiting for the tram at the end of the night, says, "This is ridiculous! They should have the PeopleMover take you out to the parking lot." Doofus, that's what the tram is!! You'd be waiting for the PeopleMover too! Moron!

As we walk from our room to the food court in the morning, we see a lot of people doing their morning run or talking about being in the marathon, all of them lean and muscled. John sighed and said, "I can't wait for the fat people to come back to Disney World."

At the barber shop, Captain Hook comes in and signs some autographs, acting up for the kids. One of the barbers, a blonde man named Michel, chases him out of the shop to Main Street sprinkling the shop's glitter and shouting, "Pixie Dust! Pixie Dust!" Hook runs terrified, and a little boy joins the barber yelling "Tick Tock! Tick Tock!"

Nathan is our Jungle Cruise tour guide and the funniest I've seen in years!!

• "Come onboard! You'll leave bored (board) so you might as well come on that way!"

• "You spent 4 thousand to get in here. Go ahead and don't laugh if you don't want to."

• "This boat corners like it's on rails, doesn't it?!"

John buys me gloves in the Pirates gift shop. A cast member chats with us, saying somebody must be cold. John tells him how chilly I am, suddenly grabbing my hands and pushing them into the Cast Member's. "Go ahead," John says, "Feel her!" Stunned, the cast member stares into my eyes and we suddenly grin, turning it into a hand shake and a nice-to-meet-you. The cast member grin gets bigger as I say, "Not often, is it, that someones asks you to feel their wife."

At the end of the night, we see a woman with a thin sweater, no blouse, and only one button at the cleavage. While she is very sexy dressed this way, very Krissa, how the hell is she warm? She's not. But she warms up the men who watch her!

John says I'm like the character Rogue in X-Men with my cold hands. I touch him and drain all the heat from his body.

:
WOW!

We're walking up Main Street after John gets his haircut. Because of the slight chill in the breeze, I do the usual cut through the stores -- Emporium on up. But right before the Sports store, John hears the Dapper Dans and wants to go outside. By the way, a mental picture for you:

I am wearing John's new WDW cap (with the new fan logo) so his pixie dust and blue Mickey doesn't get spoiled. I have on a WDW T-Shirt, new WDW sweathshirt jacket, pin lanyard loaded with pins, Pal Mickey, and Mickey sneakers.

John has his Blue Mickey Mouse, and WDW sweatshirt.

As we walk out on to the street, we pass a cast member who turns and says to me, "You're a walking commercial for our resort!" We laugh and joke around for a little bit. It's a great conversation and Dennis asks what our plans are for the day. I mention doing the park and then getting our rental car. Dennis says oh you're not here all day? John picks up before I do that this is a leading question, and says our plans are flexible. As Dennis and I are go back and forth about the rental car, John cuts through to the important point: What would you like? Dennis: How would you like to lead the parade as Grand Marshalls? But I pretty much need you available for the day. Me: Dennis, I'll be available to you all week if you want! Heck, the rest of my life is yours!

: Not only are we one of the two Grand Marshall family, we are the first thing in the parade! And because it's just the two of us, we ride in WALT DISNEY'S PARADE CAR!! This is the electric car Walt built to drive in all his parade appearances!!! There's a plaque inside the car that shows him driving it!!!

We have NEVER, despite all our trips, all our being "walking commercials", ever been picked for Disney travel videos or parades!! Dennis is stunned when we tell him this.

We go through the whole day in an absolute happy stupor not believing we're going to be Grand Marshalls!! When we tell different cast members, they congratulate us, one even saying "Do Walt Disney proud as you ride in that car!" I like to think that we did.

Dennis tells us where to meet, and explains what is expected of us as Grand Marshalls. Basically, it's the same as what is expected of Cast Members: Smile, be enthusiastic, wave, remember your onstage and show that Disney Magic attitude because the people out there for the parade are on vacation and now we're part of the show for them.

Dennis tells us he picked us for our enthusiasm and ability to talk to him with big smiles and laughs. It's why he talked to us for awhile before offering us the first car position.

We're given Mouse Ears with our names embroidered on them!

We get into our car and meet Julie, our driver. Dennis takes pictures of us in the car. John takes a picture of the car's Walt plaque and starts to take one of Julie. She smiles shyly and turns her head. John jokes around with her for awhile, and then says "You're a Cast Member. I'm a Guest. You have to do what I say." Julie bursts out laughing and says "You're right!" She smiles for a picture.

The famous WDW brass band marches behind our car and before the next family. These guys are so friendly!! As they arrive for the parade, they come right up, introducing themselves, and saying how glad they are to meet us and how much fun we're all going to have!

John absolutely loves this brass band. I can't tell you how much video we have of them from all our trips. And how he will walk out of a ride's line and track them down if he catches the merest hint of their music. I tell the band members what a fan he is of theirs (when I see John gets a little shy at actually meeting them). They were starting to turn away and get into place when I said this. They turn right around and walk up, each of them, and shake his hand saying in a variety of ways: Thank you. You don't know how much that means to us to hear that.

Wanting to live up to Dennis' opinion of our enthusiasm, John and I turn on the Disney energy for the crowd. I wave, pick out people in the crowd, wave Pal Mickey's hand to the kids (or anyone with a Pal Mickey or a plush), and when some people don't wave immediately back, yell "Hey, it's cold! Waving will warm you up!" That usually works!! John gets the crowd on Main Street to sing: Who's the leader of the club... and they join in with gusto! It's a blast!!!

Nathan, our Jungle Cruise guide, recognizes us as he walks past on his break, and drops to the ground, bowing over and over in homage.

Sad: I only have one regret. Dennis at first told me I could take video during the parade and I wanted to film the whole thing. Later though, as explaining the importance of remembering we were onstage, he told us one Grand Marshall called her mom on her cell phone, disconnecting her from the crowd. Worried that this would happen if I filmed, I didn't. At the end, I realized Dennis was serious saying leaving the camera running as I waved would have been fine, I regretted not doing it. But as this was a small thing in comparison to it all, I was still too happy to let this bring me down for long.

We get a certificate and last pictures with Dennis. It was a fantastic, absolutely wonderful experience!

At the end of the parade, I ducked into the ladies room by City Hall and John prowled around. He runs into the woman from the barbershop who says she also recognized us going by in the parade and was cheering us on! Pointing us out to customers!

Being a Grand Marshall has taught me two things which I'm passing along:

• If you are ever picked to be a GM, be enthusiastic! Nothing is worse than a boring family riding by.

• If you are in the crowd and the Gms go by, wave and shout to them! It's a bummer to be in that car, so excited to be picked, and the crowd looks at you like you're a flea.

It outta be a pin:

Last August, as I mentioned before, my friend Kim and I came to WDW for the Mission: Space Passholders preview weekend. After meeting a woman who took her kid out clubbing on PI until 1:30 in the morning, then didn't care if he had gotten on the bus back or who he was sitting next to (I can't tell you how appalled everyone was on the bus. Every guest instantly tracked down where this boy was and if he was ok, including the nice man who sat next to him the whole trip, watching for when the boy's mother left so the boy left with her.) After other ignorant Guest behavior, Kim and I decided there should be special pins -- The Stupid Guest series. They would include:

• Baby's first bar hop: for those guests who do the above with their children. It features Baby Herman partying on Pleasure Island.

• Gate Blocker: for those guests who block entrances to look at their park maps or decide if they really are going on this ride (or see this attraction), causing a huge bottleneck of people who are trying to get through. This pin would feature the hippos from "Fantasia" in a huddle under the entrance sign for Space Mountain as Donald Duck throws one of his famous temper tantrums.

• Lovebug pin: Not a Stupid Guest pin, but a fun one. If you have ever visited WDW during lovebug season, you know exactly what I'm referring to. The bugs that look like fireflies (lightning bugs) and come out in the millions to mate! We got caught one September during this season and could not believe the fog of bugs that existed everywhere!!! This pin commerates this experience for the guests who have lived with it. It features Donald again with an old fashioned pump bug spray Flit gun in a cloud of bug spray and lovebugs, linked end to end with a little heart covering their fannies.

I now add this new Stupid Guest pin for the idiots that feed the birds and then complain when all the birds swoop down and flock around them demanding the food!!! This pin features Dopey throwing popcorn to Scuttle and other famous birds while Grumpy, next to Dopey, complains as Iago pounds on his head.

First, let me read to you this excerpt of a letter to Disney Magazine, the Winter 2003 - 2004 issue:

"My girlfriend, Amanda, and I visit WDW often. When I showed her your article on Pal Mickey, well, she just had to [get] one. [snip] It was all over for me. She had a new boyfriend. Ninety-five percent of our trip pictures were of Amanda and her new ‘man'."

John read this to me, sighed, and said, "I know exactly how this guy feels". I dubbed it the "Pal Mickey Widower" syndrome after the term "Football widow". ()

I couldn't wait for him to talk to me again! (I turned his power on 6pm the night before. How geeky is that -- I made a note of it! () By accident, my jacket covered his nose (his receiver), not to mention we walked through shops to avoid the cool wind. So he didn't have anything to say until the top of Main Street (when I realized what I did wrong). BUT! What he first said was so great, it became my favorite of the day: "Wow! What should we do first!" He then went on to list things like Pirates, Aladdin's flying carpets in Adventureland, and more in this excited little voice.

Favorite pictures (click thumbnail for larger photo):

Zippered hooded sweatshirt with the new logo on the back. Oh, I needed this to deal with the cold. I had a sweatshirt and my peacoat back in the room, but for the most part of the week, this sweatshirt was exactly the right weight for evenings and early mornings.

In the late afternoon, we get John WDW sweatpants. He loves them!

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Pleasure Island:

I said this in the other trip report, but I'll say it again: The lit street signs at Downtown Disney area are a great idea.

Monkey Nut!!! This is a new souvenier the Adventurer's Club is trying out. A hollowed coconut to hold drinks that is carved on the front to look like a monkey. In a burst of whimsy, we buy one!

Adventurer's Club: a husband asks his wife if she wants to go to the next Library. She says: "Yes -- sh*t!" The curse was because she discovered she left her purse in the ladies room, but in that second, we all stare then burst out laughing. The actors quickly pick up on it, saying "Yeah, that's how we feel. Show in the mask room -- sh*t!"

The Comedy Warehouse show is lame again! It's getting to be that I hate the thought of going in because it's a waste of time!

Attendance at both Epcot and Pleasure Island is so low. Yeah, it rained a bit today, but it's June! Peak Season! No complaints, but where are all the peaks?

Read Day 2