Mayhem Marauders Meet-up Part Deux!

[Amy]

Come on down Amy. My mom lives alone in a big 3br house so there's room for a renter. Kids in Florida love piano too! Bring f1gment!

Don't tempt me! I imagine now that we are looking at temperatures in at least the 50's these next few days, F1gment will be a bit happier too...although that does mean the furnace won't be running and she is still stuck in the house for awhile

[NaCler]

Not quite off topic since there were some Duffy converts on this trip... But I just saw that he's now defiling the sacred Star Wars name... http://t.co/pt9hnVSf

[Amy]

Not quite off topic since there were some Duffy converts on this trip... But I just saw that he's now defiling the sacred Star Wars name... http://t.co/pt9hnVSf

I can see some of the new Duffy fans on here wanting that costume for their darling little bear friend!
Well dressed your bear will be when you choose this costume

[MadEye]

Not quite off topic since there were some Duffy converts on this trip... But I just saw that he's now defiling the sacred Star Wars name... http://t.co/pt9hnVSf

As long as they don't give the thing a Darth Vader helmet or Darth Maul's makeup, they can do whatever they want with it.

[MmeLeota]

Sorry folks, I've been distracted by al the squirrels...

Not quite off topic since there were some Duffy converts on this trip... But I just saw that he's now defiling the sacred Star Wars name... http://t.co/pt9hnVSf

I showed this to uber-Star Wars fan Cbog40 and he hissed it...
Now, if they came up with a Stormtrooper costume, that might do it...

[Soarin08]

Not quite off topic since there were some Duffy converts on this trip... But I just saw that he's now defiling the sacred Star Wars name... http://t.co/pt9hnVSf

As long as they don't give the thing a Darth Vader helmet or Darth Maul's makeup, they can do whatever they want with it.

Yes indeed... Duffy is not something that bugs me too much.

[Mousekedude]

Okay, I figure we’re way overdue for an update on our trip. Again, my deepest apologies for forgetting almost everything, but at least I can share a few tidbits.
On one of the days following the big meet-up, Mouseoholic and I started the day off bright and early by doing one of our favorite things to do at Epcot: the Segway Tour.




We then transferred to DHS to meet up with the Boilers and her parents. I remember it being very crowded, and our options were limited as far as what to do without waiting in long lines. One of the things we did manage to do was see the Little Mermaid show:







Boilerbabe’s mom wreaking mayhem on a Mickey ice cream bar. She loves those things, and attacked it with gusto. The carnage was too much for Boilerdude, and he had to turn his back (kidding…):



That’s all I can remember about that day. Wish I could at least remember which day it was…. *sigh*.


On another day, we made arrangements with Soarin08 to hang out with her for the day. She’s a sweet, wonderful, generous person, and we had a fantastic time with her. She picked us up at our resort, and we went to AK for the day.
One of the things we did was the Kilamanjaro Safari. Here’s some of the wildlife I saw:



…and here’s some of the wildlife from the safari:




We took in the Dinosaur ride at some point. There’s something significant about these fastpasses, but I can’t remember what it is…. Oh wait, yes I do! Mouseoholic and I had bought into the DVC (the day before, I think…), and they gave us vouchers for something like 24 “anytime, anywhere” fastpasses. This was the first ride where we used them:




It was threatening to rain, so we were looking for a way to stay dry. By sheer good fortune, the Finding Nemo show was about to start, and we got in right before it started to rain cats and dogs. We got pretty good seats right about in the middle, and we enjoyed watching all the rain-drenched park-goers rushing in at the last minute. Finding Nemo is Mousoholic’s absolute favorite show at WDW:










When the show was over, it was still raining a little. Fortunately we had ponchos, and even had a spare for Soarin. We went to Flame Tree BBQ and had lunch, after which the rain finally died down. Then it was off to wander some more and see what other mayhem we could create.

Trying to decide what to do next, and submitting to the tyranny of our personal communication devices (Mouseoholic thought it was hilarious that Soarin and I both checked our texts at the same time without realizing it):




Well, that’s about all I can remember for those couple of days. I really hope that Soarin or somebody can help me fill in the blanks on these portions of the trip.

[mindflipper]

Ahhhhhhh, slaves to the iphone...

[cy1229]

I've never seen the Finding Nemo show... and it's on my list of "must-do's" for our trip in October. I have always heard how the performers fade into the background so all you really pay attention to are the puppets (marionettes? figures? haha) but seeing your pictures makes me understand just how well the performers' costumes help them "blend in." I'm excited to see this show. FINALLY.

[dichuy]

Not quite off topic since there were some Duffy converts on this trip... But I just saw that he's now defiling the sacred Star Wars name... http://t.co/pt9hnVSf

that's soooooooo wrong

[Soarin08]

M-dude!! Wasn't that the day you guys and the Boilers did the Wild Africa trek?????

I love the pics!! And that's funny with you and me checking our iPhones at once- I suspect my mom was texting at that time lol. I didn't even know M-holic took that!

[Amy]

Yay for pictures and a sort of report
Seriously, nice photos again M-dude. I especially love the elephants by the watering hole ~ very nice! And the photo of you two on the Segways is pretty cool
I can't believe you are only now mentioning that you and M-oholic are now DVC members ~ that's pretty awesome!

I've never seen the Finding Nemo show... and it's on my list of "must-do's" for our trip in October. I have always heard how the performers fade into the background so all you really pay attention to are the puppets (marionettes? figures? haha) but seeing your pictures makes me understand just how well the performers' costumes help them "blend in." I'm excited to see this show. FINALLY.

We hadn't seen it before we went two years ago cy1229. When we were last there it was still Tarzan Rocks. I really love the show. It has great music, the actors really do blend into their characters and it just really is a nice show all around F1gment likes it too, although she is not above taking a snooze while we are in the air conditioning/heat and we aren't moving for about 20 minutes

[NaCler]

M-dude, nice pics as always. What DVC did you guys purchase? Saratoga Springs?

[Mousekedude]

Soarin: Oh yeah, you're right!! That was the same day we did the W.A. Trek with the Boilers! For some reason I was thinking it was the following day... thanks for jogging my memory! So... minor correction: Yes, after all the events I mentioned up to that point, we met up with the Boilers. We all hung out for a little while, and then we headed over to the entrance for the W.A. Trek and parted ways with Soarin. I'll post the pics of the W.A. Trek next.... whenever I can get to it.

Amy and NaCler: yes, we joined DVC... and yes Saratoga Springs is our "home resort." It was the best value at the time, but it really doesn't matter which resort you choose as your "home resort" because you can stay anywhere. Boardwalk is still our favorite. We didn't mention anything about it because we didn't feel like it was necessary to make a big deal out of it. It only came up now because it factored into the trip report.

[Mousekedude]

And now it’s time for… The Wild Africa Trek!!!

This was one of the major highlights of our trip this year, and the one part I definitely remember completely. It was something new and exciting… and definitely special! I have so much mayhem to share, and so many pictures, that I’m going to have to do this in two posts. This first post is all about the first phase of the Trek, which I think of as “The Jungle Adventure.” So are you ready? Here we go!


After parting ways with Soarin, we (the Boilers, Mouseoholic, and I) headed for the check-in point. The sign was low-key, and definitely doesn’t do justice to the adventure that was to follow!




As we’re checking in and getting acquainted with one of our tour guides, can’t you just sense the impending mayhem?




We had to suit up in special gear:




“This is soooo totally gonna ROCK, Squirt!!!!!”




All right! Suited up and ready to go. They took a pre-trip group shot… our tour guides said it was so they could identify the bodies later:




“Move ‘em out!”




Hmmmm…. This might actually be dangerous….




Trekking through the jungle… burnin’ off those Flame Tree BBQ calories…




As we progressed through the tour, admiring the varied exotic flora and fauna, Boilerdude made an intersting observation. He pulled the four of us close together and murmured, “Hey, you see that one girl over there? I think she’s a spy. I think she’s really a C.M. in disguise, trying to pretend she’s just another member of the tour group. You notice how she’s all by herself (everybody else was there with someone else), and she doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to what’s going on, or to what the tour guides are saying?” We had to agree that there was something suspicious about that. So we kinda kept an eye on her for awhile to see what was up. Now, hold that thought, we’re coming back to it in a minute.

The next part of our jungle adventure involved crossing a couple of rope bridges. These things were scary! First, they had us practice on a mock-up. Mouseoholic was all like, “yeah, whatever… no biggie…”




…but then when we saw the first of the real ones, we were all like “you want us to cross that??!!”




Our tour guide assured us it was safe, so we got buckled into our safety harnesses and got ready. Mouseoholic and Boilerdude grinned as if they weren’t really scared at all… as if…




“… you sure that thing’s hooked up right?!”



Our tour guide went first to show how it was done. “Come on, guys… it’s a piece of cake!”




So Boilerbabe was all, “okay, let’s do this thing! Yeah, it is a piece of cake!”




Mouseoholic: “Oh, yeah, definitely a piece of cake!”




Boilerdude: “Piece of cake?! Speak for yourselves!”




Meanwhile, back on the platform, everyone else had gone and it was down to just me and “suspicious girl.” So I struck up a conversation with her, asking her if she was enjoying this, if she was really all by herself, etc… Well guess what? She confessed! She really was a spy!




It turns out that she was a castmember who worked at AK, and was taking the tour to expand her horizons at the park so she would know more about all the things to do there. I later told B-dude that he was right, and we all congratulated him on his powers of observation. So anyway, back on the platform, it was now “spy girl’s” turn to go:

“Piece of cake, my a$$!!!”




The view was awesome from up here:





Mission accomplished!




Oh wait…! That was just the first bridge… the small one! The second one was even bigger! Boilerbabe wasn’t scared, though, now that she was a pro:





Hmmmmm…. Definitely don’t want to fall off of this one!



I was the last one across, so of course I took my time taking pictures. Here’s one of Boilerbabe taking a picture of me while I take a picture of Mouseoholic saying “hurry up, slowpoke!” (Yeah, whatever… I’m almost there…)




Okay, the rope bridges now conquered, it’s time to move on to the next step. Here’s Boilerdude carefully inspecting the next set of harnesses we had to hook into:




Why so much concern over these particular harnesses? Well, because they would be the only thing preventing us from tumbling off a cliff into…..

….these guys:



….and this guy:




Now, there’s some brave ducks:




“Yeah, we trust our harnesses!”



“What?! We ain’t scared!”



“Fuhgeddaboutit……”




After successfully getting past the pits of dangerous critters, we prepared to exit the jungle. Our tour guides took another group picture to prove that everyone survived this phase of the adventure:




Well, that’s it for part 1! Stay tuned for another post (some day) of part 2, “the Savannah Tour.”