WDW 2012: The Celebration

[Soarin08]

And mayhem took over at Epcot as well!!!

[NaCler]

*in his best Dreamfinder voice*
The tales continue with a fellowship of Subbers... An order of Chinese dumplings, a sea of red, a lunch by a beach with Soduku in hand, a taste of an old mistress named Beverly. The stories are brief but a happy little tale. Maybe within a lifetime they will be told...

[Len90]

Over the past day I had the pleasure to meet packwingfn, NaCler, mindflipper, and Soarin08. It was exciting meeting these great people at the happiest place. There are pictures to come and stories to be told!

[Amy]

*in his best Dreamfinder voice*
The tales continue with a fellowship of Subbers... An order of Chinese dumplings, a sea of red, a lunch by a beach with Soduku in hand, a taste of an old mistress named Beverly. The stories are brief but a happy little tale. Maybe within a lifetime they will be told...

Oooo, now I'm really intrigued!!

Over the past day I had the pleasure to meet packwingfn, NaCler, mindflipper, and Soarin08. It was exciting meeting these great people at the happiest place. There are pictures to come and stories to be told!

Nice! Had you met packwingfan last trip around for the first time??
Hooray for the pictures yet to come

[Len90]

Yes Amy we met packwingfn last year and even the year before that as well.

[NaCler]

Day 1 - Friday, June 1
Participants: Madre, NaCler, Caleb (oldest son, 9), Andrew (youngest son, 6) and Evan (my nephew, 6)

The Journey Begins...

I got out of work early to head down to WDW and we checked in at Pop Century about 7pm. Originally, the plan was to relax and swim at the hotel. However, I just happened to look at the schedule and saw that the MK was open until 1am! Of course, you know what means to us Disney freaks... We went straight into the park! We got there after 8 and decided to wait for the Electric Parade since the kids love it. We always wait across from Liberty Tree Tavern as there are seats along the rock wall. We got there a little late this time as those spots were already taken, so we ended up across the way next to the stairs of the Golden Horseshoe.

While waiting on the parade I got a text from a fellow Subber that was roaming the park. He stated that he was on his way over to see us and that's when I finally got to meet the INfamous Len90. He was alone as his family wimped out... Actually, they had been up since 4:30am that morning and were pretty tired. We talked about the boards, his recent graduation and his trip from last year. We talked as if we were old friends that had known each other for years. Before we knew it, the music was starting up! I'm an Electric Parade lover and Len is pro-Spectro so it was fun getting together for the show. You could easily tell that we are Disney nerds as we were pointing out subtle changes/upgrades to every float and character. This was the best experience my kids have ever had with this parade as every turtle/bee/snail seem to come right up to them. Several characters came up to shake their hands, such as the White Rabbit, Snow White, several Dwarves and the bad donkey-boys. 

When the parade was over we decided to see if we could meet up with packwingfn as he was working in Agrabba. With awesome luck he was working the front of the attraction so Len and I stopped to talk to him while my kids got in line for the carpets. We were doing fine until a Cast Member asked if these 3 boys were my kids. My first thought was, why, are they in trouble? If so, I don't know them... But it just turned out that they could not ride without an adult! So, I get in line so that the kids could ride. I left Len chatting with Derek and went off to go fly on some carpets. I told the kids before the ride that I better not get spit on by any camels during my flight... So, of course you know what that means... I was spit on 3 times! Including once in the ear! Crazy kids!

When we got done we paused by the tikis to take a quick photo. Sorry, the photo is on Len's camera so there may be a 3 week delay in seeing this pic. We then headed to the Jungle Cruise as I love this attraction at night. We got a pretty good Skipper as it was the last cruise of the night so we got some new jokes and an incredible feat of a jumping elephant! We walked on Pirates then walked to BTMRR and found it shut down for the several-enth time of the day! Mom and two boys went to the Haunted Mansion as Len, Andrew and myself headed to Splash. We only waited about 10 minutes before we were floatin' along. Unlike my late night Splash trip with Amy, we made it through without a hitch (hint, hint). Andrew and I got through with just a minimal bit of wetness while our back row friend Len got pretty wet. Now no matter what story he may try to spin, I had absolutely nothing to do with the amount of wetness incurred by Len. The photographic evidence (once again, possibly 3 weeks out) will show that I was fully upright in the log on the way down and not ducking like a certain man of mystery that will remain nameless.

We met back up with my mom and 2 children around the HM and Len decided to head back to his room to dry off and pass out. It was after 11pm, so I definitely understood and knew that we would see him again on this trip. It was really cool of Len to come and hang out with my family, especially since it wasn't planned and I know he had to have been exhausted. We checked on Buzz and it was a 30 minute wait so we decided against it and did the peoplemover instead. When we finished, we figured we would take chance as it looked like to line was down a little. I'm glad we did as it was about a 7 minute wait! 

We decided to head out after that as we were going to try for 2 parks the next day. Uneventful trip back and in bed by 1am.

Up next, Day 2... The Search for more Len...

[Amy]

Nice start to the report! That's awesome that you got to meet Len the first night That must have been their travel day if they had been up since 4:30 am. He's my kind of Disney traveler ~ go, go, go! That's great that you were able to enjoy the parks the first night too ~ and see packwingfan!
Hmmm, I'll be interested in seeing that Splash photo. Sounds like there was some sort of mayhem if Len got that soaked
I hope you're right about those photos of Len's being about 3 weeks out. We can't have him in his post trip depression like last time
Excited to hear what happened on Saturday when there were more MM present

[mindflipper]

It only seems appropriate to do a trip report here as well...

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012

I drove down that morning and parked at the Yacht Club (forgetting Len & family was at the Beach, but I still got by the guard). Oddly enough, my MP3 player randomly selected the opening theme to "Something Wicked This Way Comes" for my arrival. I decided to eat at Beaches n'Cream for lunch before heading over to EPCOT. As I waited there, I was doing a Sodoku puzzle, I looked at and what to my amazed eyes should appear but a family leaving the pool area. My first thought: "Is that Len? He looks smaller than he does in the photos." Turned out I guessed right. It was Len, Mark and their parents. I caught him offguard with the "surprise" greetings.

After lunch, I headed over to EPCOT and was surprised how crowded it was. With TEST TRACK closed and the crowds, Soarin' had a 80 minute standby line and the boat ride 50 minutes! Luckily, I did get a FAST PASS for 6:05 PM! I did find one thing that did not have a long queue line - the Behind the Seeds tour. So, what the heck - I paid the $18 and did the tour. I was actually better than I had expected. The tour guide was Jamie, the self-professed bug nerd:



And here's more pics of the tour:




And if you wonder what's in those hydroponic tanks, here's the secret sauce:



The tour was suppose to be an hour, but it lasted longer than that. Our tour guide was enthusiastic about the topics. I remember years, years ago when I did it it seemed like a tour guide was just desperate to get the tour completed. I did not get the feeling from this guy this time. So, if you're going in the next two weeks and want to do the Behind the Seeds Tour at the Land, ask for Jamie the Bug Nerd. Tell him I sent you and you want the "Willy Wonka" tour. He will only be there the next two weeks before moving to his new internship over at the Animal Kingdom. After the tour I headed over to the Living Seas. It has been a while since I had been there but I did get to see a lot of the dolphin and the giant sea turtle:



After that, I hung out for while listening to the area music (like a non-streaming Subsonic) around the Art of Animation store when I eventually spotted Soarin08. We were the early arrivals. Just a minute or two late was NaCler and his son Andrew. Eventually, Len and Mark and their parents arrived after catching the slow bus from the studios. We all rode Spaceship Earth (after all, it was our meeting point), and here's our "Future" selves:

Len90 and Mark86

L&M's Parents

NaCler

Soarin08 and Mindflipper

The rest of NaCler's clan arrived, and we talked for a while. NaCler and his family headed off in a different direction and the rest of us went to Club Zero and got the two boys to do the Mayhem Marauder initiation - drink Beverly:

Mark86 didn't find it too bad, but as for Len90 - well, you can see he was a bit hesitant at first:

I told him Mousekedude loves the drink and drinks cups of it at a time. Mousekedude wouldn't have others drink anything harmful, so Len90 tried it:

But then the aftertaste kicked in:

Then after that, he fell to the floor, start convulsing but after a few seconds he spit it all out and was as good as new:

The paramedics that arrived on the scene told him that the lime green tint would pass in an hour or two, maybe three...perhaps in a day or two at the latest, but even after that Len90 was ready to try another cup! What a trooper! Their parents loved Club Zero, but they left to get to the Land so they all wouldn't be late for their dinner reservation at the Garden Grill.

We all talked for a long while, and Soarin08 and I had to force L&M to the Land so they wouldn't be late for dinner (we got them there barely in time). After that, Soarin08 was departing to head back home, so I walked with her back to the exit and we said our goodbyes. I then headed back to the Land in order to make my 6:05 PM appointment with my Soarin' Fast Pass. After the ride, I headed back up the escalator and who should I see rotating around into view?

Len90, Mark86 and his family

It was nice to know that getting some good food into Len90 was all that was needed to get rid of that lime green tint to his skin. Shame, though - he could have gotten the part of the Hulk in the next Avengers movie. Anyway, I decided to not to leave the land but get a quick bite to eat before heading back out. Upon leaving the Land who should I run into but:


NaCler and his mighty clan!

We all went to Living Seas to ride Nemo. After the Living Seas, they decided to ride Spaceship Earth one more time before departing the park and heading back to the hotel to see the free film for the evening: Toy Story 3. I met back up with Len90, Mark86 and their parents (which took time to arrange thanks to the wonderful reception the AT&T iphones get in the park) as they were heading out of the park through the International Gateway, which was my same destination too. It was great to meet both Len90 and Mark86, but it was also wonderful to meet their parents as well! We talked for a while back at the Beach Club lobby before I departed back home and they to go out shopping in Orlando.

That's the trip report. Oh, forgot a group photo:

[NaCler]

Nice job mindflipper. I love the pics, especially the group photo. It was a pleasure getting to spend time with you again.

[Amy]

Awww, that was great fun to read! Glad Len recovered from the Beverly. Love the aftertaste kicking in photo
Sounds like a fun day. Amazing how you look just the same as you did a few years back mindflipper ~ not a wrinkle in sight
Thanks for the group photo ~ what a lovely, somewhat suspicious looking, group you made!

[mindflipper]

Awww, that was great fun to read! Glad Len recovered from the Beverly. Love the aftertaste kicking in photo
Sounds like a fun day. Amazing how you look just the same as you did a few years back mindflipper ~ not a wrinkle in sight
Thanks for the group photo ~ what a lovely, somewhat suspicious looking, group you made!

Thanks for the compliment, Amy. I don't remember either Len90 or Mark86 taking any photos during our time with them, so you won't be getting too many photos from either of them when they get back of our meet-up. Maybe it was because Len90 was feeling a bit green under the weather...

Nice job mindflipper. I love the pics, especially the group photo. It was a pleasure getting to spend time with you again.

It was good to meet both you and your mother again! And it was nice to meet the kids too. Now I just got to meet Mrs. NaCler next.

[Len90]

Great report both of you but there are some minor details that will need to be straightened out in the future...

[Amy]

Great report both of you but there are some minor details that will need to be straightened out in the future...

What?? They didn't report the meet-up accurately?? That doesn't sound like them

[Soarin08]

The group photo looks great!! Tale and pale and bony as ever, mindflipper...

[Amy]

The group photo looks great!! Tale and pale and bony as ever, mindflipper...

Bony and pale! Those were the descriptive words that wouldn't quite come to me as I looked at his photo!