Dec 2010: Mayhem Invades Disney World!!!

[Amy]

Len: Yeah, I wonder about the mysterious cosmic forces that try to keep us there....
And thanks for the compliments.

Mindflipper: We keep in regular contact with the Boilers and can report that they are: (A) Very busy these days... especially with extremes in weather that cause delays in their daily routines, and (B) suffering from serious Disney withdrawal that robs them of the energy and enthusiasm to get back to the Boards.
But Boilerbabe assures us that she misses y'all very much, and will get back in the swing of things here soon.

I had hoped she would be back soon since she did dip her toe back into the waters, so to speak, a few weeks ago. I can vouch for the terrible weather we are having around here

[mindflipper]

Len: Yeah, I wonder about the mysterious cosmic forces that try to keep us there....
And thanks for the compliments.

Mindflipper: We keep in regular contact with the Boilers and can report that they are: (A) Very busy these days... especially with extremes in weather that cause delays in their daily routines, and (B) suffering from serious Disney withdrawal that robs them of the energy and enthusiasm to get back to the Boards.
But Boilerbabe assures us that she misses y'all very much, and will get back in the swing of things here soon.

But hanging with us is a great way to deal with WDW withdrawal! We all can commiserate. Tell her, "Hurry back! Hurray Back! Be sure to bring your.." - no wait, my love for HM took over there for a brief second.

[Amy]

Day 7 - Amy and F1gment at MGM and AK at night!
Started the day getting some breakfast for Mom in the room and then I took off for MGM. I was horrified because the lady sitting next to me on the bus was coughing right in my face for a good portion of the trip I did not want her germs and kept shifting over and turning my head as best I could since she couldn't be bothered to do the same
Second challenge of the day came at the security checkpoints. There were really long lines and I noticed an almost empty lane so I went ahead and went up to it. I could hear people complaining because they thought I had jumped the line. I didn't feel too bad as it was obviously a line and it was simply shorter than a lot of others. I didn't walk in front of anybody in that lane so...
I grabbed a Toy Story FP and the stand-by line was short enough that I decided to go ahead and ride it then too. It broke down for about 5 minutes. Unfortunately I wasn't in front of a screen so I couldn't keep playing, so I took pictures instead!

I love all the attention to theming in this attraction!









Oh how I wish I could have seen the Luxo show when it was running ~ from what I have seen on youtube, it was really cute!!


I wandered the Streets of America and took a few photos on my way to MuppetVision 3D

Hard to believe that these few light strands make up that beautiful blue tree at night






Pretty sure it is ok if I go on in


Gotta love Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker...





My favorite amphibian...



Then it was off to Sounds Dangerous. Mom called to let me know she had arrived by this point so I met her in the Animation Courtyard and rode Toy Story together.

Pooh and Piglet, Chip and Dale, and Minnie for those who like the characters...




I wanted to see if Rock n Roller Coaster was running yet so Mom went ahead and worked her way through One Man's Dream. She must have gone fairly quickly though because she missed seeing Figment Unfortunately RnR Coaster was down again...or still so I found her and we went off to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. That show falls under the "nap-worthy" attractions category for F1gment!

A quick shot of ToT undergoing it's outside renovations. I heard a lot of people wonder if the attraction was open at all with all the scaffolding...


The little girl that helped start the Indy show was adorable. She was so overwhelmed at the size of the audience that she burst into tears. She was a trooper though and managed to answer all the host's questions though she was crying the whole time...




I always find them moving those huge set pieces to be quite fascinating!




Back to the Sunset Ranch for our favorite sandwich ~ pulled pork BBQ. I really wanted some yummy french fries but was sad to see that they only came with the hamburger. Then...I discovered I could use my snack credit for a cup of french fries ~ Yay!!

Looks can be deceiving, it was really cold on this day!


We wandered back down the street and found people staking out spots for the Block Party Bash. It was only a 20 minute wait so we decided to tough out the cold and wait. We were right by the big hat!




The acrobats were pretty amazing!










We headed for the Great Movie Ride and were surprised when we each had a row to ourselves and only about 5 other people in the same vehicle with us.

Hi Mom! How many other people in our car? Five? Yup, that's right!


I think everyone has this picture

Mom stayed awake for the whole GMR (thanks to her short siesta at Indy!)







Does anyone know the story behind these scraggly trees? What kind are they?!


We went to the Art of Disney Animation and drew our Mickey.


The Minnie Rockette window was pretty fun to watch


Still haven't seen Tangled, but I like this little guy


Inside the Art of Animation building character meet and greet...





This might just be an unflattering angle, but this Snow White looked a little on the more "mature" side...


Our animator CM host...


His Mickey Mouse...


My Mickey Mouse...maybe I could be an animator if I had someone showing me step-by-step drawing directions!


After our drawing session, I finally found the RnR Coaster open

At this point, we left to enjoy the EMH at the AK

[Amy]

Day 7 (cont.) - Animal Kingdom



One of Mom's most favorite shows is the Lion King so we decided to go see that at 7 pm. This time we were in the Lion section.



Our section leader ~ enthusiastic! His little helper ~ not so much




I swear this CM, in the front, was here 10 years ago when we last saw the Lion King!






It was turning out to be a bad day for my electronics. I had dropped my camera after taking a photo of the Tree of Life. It looked bad, the battery door popped open, the lens cap flew off But other than a new nick in the housing, that I can look at and think, that happened by the Tree of Life, it seemed ok. Then at the Lion King, there was a family with quite rambunctious children behind us and when the show was over, they bolted over the bleacher seats and knocked my poor little Zoom digital recorder to the floor. It scrambled it's little brains for a minute but seemed to work well the rest of the evening and trip. Phew! Another nick attributed to the Disney trip The thing that bothered me is that the father of these darling little imps, watched the whole scene, and didn't bother to even say a quick "sorry"

Mom was fading quickly at this point and needed food so she decided a burger from Restaurantosaurus would work. I left her there and ran over to ride Expedition Everest. It was much scarier at night! I went back and collected her and found out her burger had been raw in the middle so she didn't eat it. I let the manager know since I didn't think that fit into their safety or quality standards. After asking me a few questions, they offered us another burger or a refund which was nice. Since it was getting on toward 9 and the close of the park, we opted for the refund.










We headed over to It's Tough to Be a Bug. That let out at 9 and the park was now closed so I didn't get to wander around the tree of life paths to take photos. Now that was one of the main reasons I had wanted to come to AK's evening hours, so I was quite disappointed Oh well, next trip!










It was very cold this evening so we headed back to the hotel and got hot drinks in our refillable mugs and called it an evening by 11.

[theBIGyowski]

Amy...I hate that you got stuck during TSMM...but you got some great pictures in there! It's funny how many details you never get to see when you are whizzing past everything to get to the screens.

One of these days DW and I want to get back down there to see AK at night. We were there this past August during EMH Evening but it didn't get dark until 8:30 or so and by then we were at Boma for our dinner.

[Amy]

Amy...I hate that you got stuck during TSMM...but you got some great pictures in there! It's funny how many details you never get to see when you are whizzing past everything to get to the screens.

One of these days DW and I want to get back down there to see AK at night. We were there this past August during EMH Evening but it didn't get dark until 8:30 or so and by then we were at Boma for our dinner.

I was disappointed that there was only one evening MH at AK during our trip. But I can see where that park is probably a little harder to keep open at night, with just a few attractions and shows remaining open. I really wanted to explore the Tree of Life and get some night photos though Looking back, I probably would have skipped the Lion King show in order to have a little more time for wandering and photo-taking.

[Amy]

Oh no! I just read this in the latest MiceChat update...

Micechatter Alert!! This week will be the last extra magic evening in Animal Kingdom for the foreseeable future. Starting next week, two extra magic mornings will be available but none have been scheduled for the evening hours. This is due to the low guest attendance in the evenings and a greater increase in attendance during the mornings.

I'm guessing last minute airfare probably makes it impossible for me to get there tonight

[theBIGyowski]

Noooooo!

The best part about Evening EMH at AK was that no one was there and you could ride EE over and over and over again!

[Amy]

Noooooo!

The best part about Evening EMH at AK was that no one was there and you could ride EE over and over and over again!

I suppose the low attendance was due to the lack of open attractions...plus when the EMH end at 9, most people are probably going to say "why bother" and head to somewhere that is open to at least 10 or 11, with a fireworks show or parade thrown in...

[mindflipper]

...and don't forget no light parade or show like MK or EPCOT either....another "why bother" reason to go to the other parks...

[MadEye]

Noooooo!

The best part about Evening EMH at AK was that no one was there and you could ride EE over and over and over again!

Exactly. And EE looks really cool at night.

[mindflipper]

Noooooo!

The best part about Evening EMH at AK was that no one was there and you could ride EE over and over and over again!

Exactly. And EE looks really cool at night.

I gotta admit, from the pictures I've seen, I agree that EE looks cool at night too.

[Amy]

Noooooo!

The best part about Evening EMH at AK was that no one was there and you could ride EE over and over and over again!

Exactly. And EE looks really cool at night.

I gotta admit, from the pictures I've seen, I agree that EE looks cool at night too.

I think it is due to all the lush foliage, it adds a certain mystery to what is around the bend at night.

[Len90]

Great pictures. I always love to see night pictures from AK. It is something that I never really get to see since I travel in summer and it is not really full darkness during the night EMH. I was there in 2006 during the evening and I do recall it not being well lit. The park was a ghost town and I honestly found it to be the most enjoyable time I have had at the park. I do hope that they try to add one evening/night EMH for the summer as I find it the best time to explore the park.

I am also finding it kind of saddening to see pictures of the now defunct BPB. It was an uplifting parade and from what I have seen of the replacement, it is really sad.

[MmeLeota]

Great pics Amy! Great shots of the details on TSM since one is usually spinning and whizzing by and cannot see them well. I have always loved the theming at Muppet Vision...and was sad that the DCA version didn't have nearly the detail as DHS. (of course there's much less space at DCA as well)
I must also mention the AK pics...I love the nighttime pics and am sad that it sounds like we won't get to experience it anytime soon. The EE pics were AWESOME! Not sure what to make of the crotch shot of the dino though...

P.S. As far as the little guy from Tangled goes, his name is Pascal (sp?) and I fell in love with him long before we ever saw the movie. There was an ornament at the Disney Store of him holding a paintbrush...too cute. Even after seeing the movie, he's still my fave character...though the horse is a close second.