Monday, January 12th, 2004

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EPCOT:
Dive day! DIVE DAY!!!

If you are taking a tour, check with Guest Relations as soon as you hit the park to make sure you know exactly where to meet your tour guide. We thought we knew, but we double checked and here we would have gone to the wrong spot!

Must-do list:

Aqua Seas tour!!!

Try new sushi place: Kimonos. They even have vegetable dishes for me, the non-fish eater

Outside Living Seas, not only do I get a pic with the moving Nemo before we go in, we get an official picture with Dory when we come out!

The weather is so much better! The sun is out, and it warms up for T-shirts and shorts weather!!! Hallelujah!

In fact, as the beautiful weather continues from late morning all through the day, I notice my husband, in his dark shirt, can always be found in the shade!

John's Curly shirt gets a lot of attention. Especially in the Britain pavilion where he takes a picture with the real John Lennon shirt next to his Curly version. (See picture) By the way, for those curious, the shirt says on the back "You may call me a Stooge. But I'm not the only one.") So many people want to buy the shirt for themselves, hoping John got it in WDW only to be disappointed that I got it for him from this little store back home. We suggest they check out a 3 Stooges web site.

My "Beauty & The Beast" stained window pin gets a few ooos and aaas. I've always wondered why this pin didn't sell better.

As we get a soda, we see the cast member lists a town not far from us. He explains he's on the college student program "From a school you've never heard of." Of course, we had to ask what college -- I mean, who can let that go by? -- and he tells us, "Neumann College." MY COLLEGE!!!! HEY! They didn't have a college program with WDW when I went there!!!

A woman in a wheelchair has a toy poodle helper dog! I told John we could get our dogs declared as helper dogs (let's not go into his comments about my needing a mental health helper dog). He points out that our dogs, especially little Casey, tends to think she owns WDW and they both, when people approach us, bark first to mark territory, then -- well, Morgan does -- beg for pets. John said to me: "Do you really want to put up with that all day?" and then ignored me when I said yes. (After all, Dollywood lets in dogs!)

Getting on the bus at the end of the night, we meet a whole group of nice people to chat with. This one woman with a broken foot, politely thanks the people who get up in the front seats so she could have them. But she goes to the back of the bus and looks at the window like a little girl, catching the last of Illuminations.

WOW!

The Aqua Seas tour surpasses my every expectation!

Right off the bat, things are better than we thought they'd be. Jim, our guide, lets John do the whole tour with me (except, of course, the dive). He tells us he hates to break up families, and since it's going to be a small party on this tour, it's no problem.

Jim is accomplished, having worked with the Navy, NASA, and other advanced projects in his career. He also is very funny as he explains the filtration system and other areas of the Living Seas. In fact, everyone he introduces us to -- from regular cast to interns -- is thrilled we're here and seeing what they care so much about. It reminds me of our AK backstage tour.

To prove to us how much the vets and CMs care about fish and aquatic mammals, Jim tells us a story about a jack he rescued from sharks. Jim said even he was joking about making fish filets because the jack was so hurt, but the vets and interns jumped in and saved the fish's life.

Which really made me wonder: they saved this fish from being dinner, but um... the restaurant?

The people on the tour with us -- husband, wife & 11 year old daughter -- seem uneasy. The mom and daughter are going into the tank with me. The mom keeps asking about the "possibilities of infection" and "will I be able to really breathe with that tank"? I found out at the end that she barely knows how to swim! No wonder she was scared. But between Jim and Jeremy (Jeremy is our dive instructor), they relax her and she has a ball.

When I see those dolphins, my heart pounds. I so wish there was a dive in with them. There is the tour where you sit on the platform though.

As we get to the tank the first time, it's feeding time! A ray comes up to Karen, one of the divers, and brushes against her like a cat! He even reaches out of the water a bit to gum her hand, trying to get her to hurry up!

They show us a film Disney has made about the Living Seas and its tours (Jim tells interns actually put it together. They did a great job.) Not only does this give us another insight into what's about to happen, it gives the fish time to eat so that, happy and full, they'll hang around and give us a good look.

We go over the few rules. Basically:

• Stay 10 feet away from the gate to the dolphin area.

• Don't touch the coral or the fish. If a fish runs into you, it's the same as touching them.

• I say to John that it's like the marathon: touch somebody and you're out. ()

OK, I admit it. When we were suited up, and Jim told us to go through Seabase Alpha, I strutted through there, dashing up the steps like, as John teased later, "You were going to raise the Titanic!" But, as I pointed out to John, in my defense, Jim told us to remember we were part of the Show while the guests could see us, and we must, like the cast members, give a good show. Jim grinned and said, "You did a good job."

Jeremy gives us instructions on how to put on our equipment. I have a diving license, so I'm very familiar with all this. But as it's been years since I dove, I didn't think I should take Dive Quest with me so rusty. Divers: do you remember when you mixed a little spit with water in your mask to keep it from fogging? Jeremy sprays something instead and I make a joke about, "No more spitting?" Jim jokes: This is special. It's Disney. It's Mickey spit." ()

At last, at last, Jeremy waves a hand out to the tank and "It's all yours". I'm out like a shot, torn between where to go first. What do you do in a foreign land? Get a native tour guide, of course! I immediately see one of the sharks and decide he knows this place better than me. I follow him, watching both his smooth movements and all the nooks and crannys he shows me. He eventually leads me to the Coral Restaurant and then past the observation area. I notice someone filming me and then to my happy eyes, I see that it's John.

I give John a "Peace, Love, Mickey Mouse" (peace sign, hand to heart, mouse ears with my hands to the head) so that he knows for sure which diver is me. But when I ask him, he says "Oh, is that what you did?" I said you knew which one is me, right? John: "Of course I knew you . You were the one waving to everyone." The other two were too shy. ()

After waving to my man, I get another phenomenal tour guide: a sea turtle. He leads me back to the other side, across the corridor where guests are walking and to the gate way of the dolphin tank. I stay carefully back, but can't resist. I stay for a few moments, and get rewarded by not just one, but TWO glimpses of one of the dolphins!

On another pass by John, I pick up a buddy. A little boy who runs window to window so he can wave at me!

Jeremy, as soon as I came up at the end, said to me "You were following that one shark, weren't you?" I grinned and said yeah. Then I named all my tank "tour guides".

After my Aqua Seas dive, John says he can't eat fish. I pat him on the back. "That's right, honey. Fish are friends, not food."

John tells me a joke in the morning and bursts out laughing. "I crack myself up sometimes." Later in the day, Pal Mickey goes into peals of laughter over one of his joke, saying something like "I make myself laugh sometimes." I hold PM over to John like a phone and say, "It's for you."

As we walk through England, the band is playing the Popeye theme song!

Salads for dinner?! We can't believe it either! But we get the Rose & Crown's delicious Mushroom Medley appetizer. Oh so great!!! In fact, I love it so much, I start snarling like a dog over a bone when John tries to eat his share.

John notices I took the pen from our hotel room to make notes. As we "discuss" whether or not you're supposed to take these pens or leave them in the rooms, I say it's like my refillable mug. John replies, "Just as long you know it's a length of stay pen. You can't bring it back forever and get free uses out of it."

Over dinner, John and I talk about my stepfather and Mom who wants to come to WDW, especially Epcot, but my stepfather is too proud to get a scooter and he can't walk because of his bad knees. So they always stay home. John swears when we're senior citizens and can't walk around the parks, he's getting a scooter, no problem, and he'll be singing Rolling into K-Mart! Skinny people, get out of my way!

While we eat dinner, it looks like a helicopter is hovering over Norway. Just as we say, "Isn't this a no-fly zone?", the chopper lands behind Norway! John whispers: "Is Eisner here?"

A little boy, about 6, dashes by calling to his family, Come on, come on! We tell his mother that it's so great to see him that excited to be here and the whole family following his lead happily. His mother says, "Oh yeah, he loves this place. It has his absolute favorite attraction: the Coke station! (Ice Station Cool)"

I mention how much I miss the Tapestry parade. What I actually say is, "I miss the Waila Waila parade. Epcot really needs something that special again." John tells me that they're planning a new parade. I'm thrilled and ask Really? John: "Oh yeah. They're calling it Laiwa Laiwa."

At dinner, I try out my Cockney "‘Allo!" on John who asks me what accent do I think I'm doing.

As we walk past the fountains, this little boy yells "Stop!" Fearing something breakable on the ground or a lost toy, everybody freezes! Very seriously, the boy tells us, "My daddy is taking a picture." (And you should've seen how embarrassed Daddy was!)

At night, we go to ride Test Track again. The cast member calls out, "This is the single riders line! You and your party will be separated!" John tells him: "Good. I've been trying to get rid of her all day."

John said we had to re-visit our disaster spot in Canada where last year all our pictures were deleted from our digital camera. He said "It's necessary so we have closure." And he says I'm weird.

A few times, I can't fit a tall object (like the German clock) in the camcorder's frame. So I turn it on it's side thinking that, like a regular camera, I'm getting it in the frame. And I was... in the viewfinder, but the video itself is all sideways!

Sigh. All this technology and none of the cameras is great at getting night shots.

On the bus back to the resort, John asks the driver how you doing? The driver replies: Just waiting for this to be over. OK, we all have bad days at work where we think the same thing. WDW is no different EXCEPT! You are a cast member! Unfortunately, that carries the burden of being onstage! You do not make comments like this, bringing down the guests!

As we go past Innoventions where the sidewalks light up: "See that pavement up ahead? Why, here at Innoventions, even the concrete has bright ideas!"

Ring around the Mickey [Pop Century, Foodcourt floor]: (See picture)

Blew John a kiss as I left the Living Seas tank. Part "I love you", part "Thank you" for giving me this gift.

Much later, when I went through the trip notes, I found John had put in a note for me to find later: Your husband loves you.

I swore there was a bathroom in France! But after wandering around looking for it, I pulled out the pocketPC and checked the map to find out I must be thinking of that other Epcot's France because there's no bathroom here!

Walk down memory lane:

Speaking of the "waila waila parade" made me think of three very special magical memories.

The trip we took our nephew Greg with us, and the way he laughed when one of the puppeteers snatched the hat off his head & danced around with it.

The time we came out of Canada and I looked up the street from behind the barrier marking the end of the parade. The sight of the figures with all their color, vivid in its special lighting, against the night sky with the air filled with music and people enjoying the parade.

The time a family of four came up as we watched the parade, a parent with their two sons, around 7 and 11. I saw a break in the crowd along the rope, and instead of taking it for us, we gave it to the two boys. Now the 11 year old was at that pre-teen stage of wanting to be above "kiddie" things like Disney parades; but he was starting to fall under a different magic: pretty young women. Not in a "let's go out" feeling, but that stage where young women are these mystical creatures. One such mystical creature came up to them and bowed. Then, perhaps knowing the effect it would have, her demurely downcast eyes snapped up, and she sweetly smiled right at them. For the younger boy, it was as if Santa sent a magic fairy to say hello; for the older, a goddess smiled at him. The boys lit up under that smile, and the parents exchange happy smiles. Then a drummer on his float of fantastic looking drums, turned around and gave the boys some testosterone-club hand gesture that clearly meant, "You are one of us." Their chests puffed out and their backs straightened even as they grinned. When the family left, the parents thanked us for giving the boys the spaces. But we got as much enjoyment out of watching the enchantment in those boys' expressions.

John gets a Grumpy bucket hat!

Kim Possible pin: I've been eyeing this since last August. And it'll be great for the lanyard when we go to MGM (I change pins every day, picking out different ones to fit the park.)

To commemorate my Aqua Seas tour, do I get the Diver Mickey beanie or pin? Why, BOTH!

Downtown Disney:

We see a few people at the Adv. Club that take Krissa to heart; they're dressed just like her!

We make a list on the pocketPC of what souveniers we want to consider. We're actually good through the whole Marketplace, not giving into impulse buys. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? ()

Oh what a great Hoopla at the Adventurer's Club. Every character is on fire!

Samantha starts to introduce Hathaway for a song, but Fletcher interrupts doing the haiku to Spam.

Emil gets up to do a "childhood song" which ends up being The kitty got flattened sing-a-long.

When Pamelia does Old MacDonald, it becomes a group tug-a-war at who can make more fun of who: Pamelia or Otis.

Candle moment (Dex):

I've debated about including this section at all. I don't have a blog because I'm not comfortable putting private things online, and this is very personal. But in the end, I remembered a trip report is for the people who took the trip, a record for them to bring back memories as well as other readers. And for those other readers, maybe you or someone you know has gone through something similar and this will help you to read this.

This really belongs under the 13^th, but as we did this as part of the same night, I included it here.

Last year at this time, we spent the whole long night in an ER while I miscarried our baby. We were warned that the anniversary of it would bring back a lot of the loss. The biggest reason why John chose this week to go to WDW was to get us out of the house and provide a positive distraction, but we wanted to do something to remember the baby we lost. So we found a small, heart shaped candle base (I mean small! It doesn't even take up my palm.) and a little white candle to go with it. We had them wrapped carefully for the trip.

Have you ever tried to find matches in WDW? Not being smokers, we don't carry them and we forgot to bring them. With everything non-smoking, we couldn't find 1 pack of matches. That night, on PI, we went to the cigar shop and got a pack there. The guy looked a little put out that we came to his shop just for that, but oh well.

I wanted to be back in the room for the night, but John insisted we stay out -- again, pleasant distraction. And it works. We're in Adv. Club and I'm filming the Hoopla when I see the camera tick off to 12:26 am -- the exact time the miscarriage started. I choked up and John saw it, squeezing my hand. But then he pulls my attention to the show to keep my mind off the tears.

When the show is over, we go back to our room, quietly holding each other as we leave the Island. We light our little candle, putting it on the nightstand, and just laid there, holding each other, watching that small flame. We talked quietly, sharing memories and thoughts of what happened that night, what might have been; how a couple days ago, we saw a couple at Philharmagic with a baby boy the same age our child would have been if he had lived. And at the end, I told John he was right. This night was poignant, sweet and sad, but at home, it would have been torture. Blowing out that candle was hard because of the significance of its flame going out, but I finally fell asleep.

I did wonder each morning, and especially Tues morning with the candle obviously showing signs of having been lit, if the resort would have a problem with us burning it in our room. (In case of mishap; burning down Pop Century is definitely on the no-no list.) But Elvira never made any comment.

Read Day 4