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Thursday, May 15, 2003
I was awake at 6:30. The news was saying that we might have a day full of thunderstorms. Not exactly the news I had wanted to hear. Tonight there is a total lunar eclipse and I haven't seen one in quite a
while. I'd never seen one at WDW.
After debating on whether to go to TL or the AK, I chose the AK in the hopes it would be less crowded then my first visit. It was.
I started in Asia and went to the trail. Several years ago I had been told by a CM in the bat area that when the bats end up on the ground
or low bushes, someone has to go hang them back up. I found this quite amusing. What do you do for a living? Oh, I'm a bat hanger! Today I got to see it in person. The man in charge of rehanging came out, donned a large, heavy pair of gloves and picked up one who had fallen or climbed down too far. These bats have to start their flights from a high perch, as they don't have the ability to lift themselves up from the ground. This was the most active I've ever seen the bats. Some were flying around, some were fighting and some were eating. They are fascinating creatures.
Next, it was on to the tigers. Two were sleeping upside down right next to the glass. It reminded me of my own cats.
When I arrived where the gorillas are I got a real treat. Many of them were right next to the glass including the big silver back male. I
have never seen them up close before.
I skipped the rides and headed back to Africa coming across the creeping vine person again. Then I grabbed a Fast Pass for the Safari
and went to have lunch at the Tusker House.
The ride was quite good. We saw many animals including an ostrich that blocked the road.
By now it was 1 p.m. so I decided to head out stopping at ITTBAB before leaving.
I dropped the scooter back at the hotel and left by foot for DTD. There was another fairly long wait for the bus. Almost 30 minutes went
by but at last a DTD bus arrived. At the various stores I bought some souvenirs for the folks at home and a 2003 shirt, red, white and blue
Mickey antenna topper and a few more pins for myself.
By the time I got back to the hotel I was a bit on the tired side. I had foolishly thought about walking the front of EPCOT and watching
RoE from the very beginning of WS but decided that wasn't going to happen with the way my legs and feet were feeling. So instead, I put
on my bathing suit and headed over to the pool. What a nice place. The pool is quite large and it wasn't crowded, at least not while I was
there. The jaguar slide in fun and I went down it several times. There is also a volleyball court, a small bar and a take out restaurant near
the pool as well. Back aches and pains? Try the fountain God back massager. After swimming a bit, I sat by the pool listening to Disney
music on my CD player. Does life get any better than this??!
Then the highlight of the pool area, a giant spa. I stayed there for quite a while and spent some time talking to a nice lady from West
Virginia. Between the hot tub and the fountain God, my back, legs and feet felt brand new when I got out.
I went back to the room, showered and got something to eat. I also spent some time just watching TV and the clock. Finally it was 9:30
and I headed outside to check the sky situation. At first the clouds were hanging tough but they parted and I was able to see that about
1/4 of the moon was gone. I went back in to the room, grabbed my camera and tried to find a good venue for picture taking. It would
have been ideal if the moon had risen behind the pyramid but it was off to the right. I was able to get some shots with the pyramid in the
picture though. I'll have to see what they look like when I get home. Speaking of photos, I brought 30 floppies with me and I only have a
few left. I'll probably need to buy some more if I keep taking pictures at this rate.
After hanging out at the pool for a while, I went back towards my room and got my binoculars. Then I spent the next 30 minutes watching the
eclipse go total. Several people asked to share the binoculars and we all Ooo'd and Ahh'd over the effects. Just as it totaled, the clouds
rolled back in. By then it was 11:15. I wandered back to my room, sleepy but happy that I got a chance to view this wonder of nature. It
was lights out at midnight.
High Points: The closeness of the gorillas. The pool at CSR. The Lunar eclipse. The whirlpool at CSR.
Low Points: Continuing long waits for the bus. The clouds that obstructed part of the eclipse.
Weird Points: A young girl around 18 months who came over and sat with me at DTD and didn't want to leave. The Fountain God back massager in the CSR pool.
Best Point: The bat hanger!
Friday, May 16, 2003
After an abbreviated night's sleep of only 5 1/2 hours, I was awake at 6:30. It was going to be another hot day in the low 90's with a slim
possibility of thunderstorms this afternoon.
Today was the start of Star Wars Weekends and I was off to MGM to get one or two pins. I arrived about 9:30 and the crowds were already
moderate. By 10:30 they were bordering on ridiculous. I checked out a few of the displays. There were people dressed up like SW characters
for meeting and lessons on how to use a light saber. Then I went on Star Tours which was a walk on. The big line was going into the store
at the end of the ride. I hoped to avoid it by doing the ride and then just walking into the store but no such luck. If you wanted the
limited edition pins, it was out to the line you went. Some 40 minutes later, I was buying the 2 pins I wanted the most. One had Star Wars
Weekends on it with a picture of Mickey and Yoda. The other one spins showing C3PO on one side and the SW logo on the other. Seems Disney could have handled the crowds at the store somewhat better.
By now it was 11:30 so I went to the ABC Commissary for lunch and then decided to scooter over to EPCOT via the pathway. I had missed the guest stars parade (Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams) at 11 a.m. because I was waiting in line at the store. I saw several colorful
turtles on my drive over to EPCOT in the canal. The sun was really blazing down on me. By the time I got there, I needed air conditioning
ASAP so I went to France to watch the movie. IMHO it's the best of all the movies at EPCOT and the music is wonderful.
Then I decided to go back to the hotel. On the way I got a Flower and Garden T-Shirt that is really beautiful and a print of a drawing of
EPCOT for a friend. The people who do these prints are located in the merchant's area of the F&G show. There are many different views of the various countries. They are working on sketching every country at WS.
While out at the bus stop, I noticed a car in the parking lot. Someone had written EPCOT or Bust on the back window. A true EPCOT fanatic!
Back at the hotel, I slept for 90 minutes and then got ready to return to EPCOT to see the Turtles. It seemed even hotter. On the way to the
bus, I saw the cormorant again. I've been trying to get a good picture of this bird since I arrived with no luck. I went over to the marina
area to get closer. Then, right in front of me was a mother mallard and 5 little babies. They were so adorable. I got some fish food and
they came right over and ate from my hand. They even let you touch them. A little boy of about 2 came over while I was there and he was
all wide-eyed looking at the babies. I shared my fish food with him so he could feed them too.
After another too long bus wait, I was heading down to the American theater. I had brought my pins and pictures but no one was displaying
any pins. I have some really old photos of EPCOT including one of the SE under construction. I brought the pictures over to the CM's at the
pin station and before long 3 or 4 were checking them out. Next I stopped at JIYI for another ride and then picked up a FP at TT. That
worked out well as my return time was 8:10-9:10 and that's when I would be leaving. Just as I was heading down to WS, my song played at the fountain so I zipped over to hear it. I got a seat at the theater
and walked over to see the Japanese drummers. It was there I first started feeling somewhat odd. Light headed and queasy. I watch the
Turtles perform. It was OK but certainly not the same caliber as Paul Revere and the Raiders. By the time it ended, I was feeling down right
awful! The heat? Maybe. Then it dawned on me that it was 7:30 p.m. and I hadn't eaten since 11:30 a.m. I probably hadn't been drinking enough water either. So I went to the food area in America and got supper. That helped a bit.
I began to head out but did use my FP at TT. We were at the part of the ride where it looks like you're going to hit the truck when the
ride broke down. Even though we were stopped, we kept hearing the glass breaking and the screech of the tires. It wasn't as bad as being
stuck in IASW but it got pretty annoying after the first few times. After about 5 minutes, we were moving again. There was also another
mini stop at the end of the speed area too.
I rolled back to CSR about 9:20. Got some ice cream to see if that would perk me up and then passed out at 10:30.
High Points: The turtles in the canal between EPCOT and MGM. Getting 2 LE SWW pins. The F&G T-shirt. Hearing my song at the EPCOT fountain again. TT at night. The hot air balloon over CS in the morning.
Low Points: The heat. Forgetting to eat. Feeling like I was going to pass out at EPCOT. The line at the Star Tours Store.
Weird Point: All the non-CM's dressed up like Star Wars characters at MGM.
Best Point: Feeding the baby ducks at Coronado Springs!
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