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Day 6 Saturday , May 22, 2004:
I got up this morning, and decided to go visit the job fair Lonnie from Epcot had told me about. It was much hotter out today than it had been all week. I
drove over to the casting center , across from DTD Marketplace, and parked. The lot was full, and they had a tent set up. They were handing out sheets, and
offering interviews on the spot, for jobs in transportation, food service, resort and park operations and a few others. I spoke with several people, all of
whom were very friendly. Unfortunately, this fair was geared towards those looking to start immediately, not in the future like I am, so I didn't fill out
any applications. Except for bus drivers, most jobs they were offering were part time. I'll just have to wait until retirement, which is looking to be next April
or May, depending on our current contract negotiations.
After leaving the job fest, I drove back to PO. We brought our dirty clothes to the laundry next to the pool, and while the clothes soaked in the washer, we
soaked in the pool. After finishing up our laundry and our pool time, we went back to the room, and put away the clothes. We then decided to see Shrek 2 at
DTD. We drove down to DTD, and found they no longer give an AP discount at the theater, but there was matinee price in effect for $7. Shrek 2 was even better
than the original, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. After the movie, we browsed DTD West Side, and then decided to revisit the Premium Outlet. We drove back to PO
at about 5:00pm, and picked up our previous purchases at the gift shop, and got ready for dinner.
We then took a bus to the Magic Kingdom, and from there caught a boat to the Polynesian, which is a great way to travel. I love those small boats, and they
are a relaxing way to get around the lagoon. We had a PS for dinner, but still had to endure a 45 minute wait for a table, partly because we wanted to be
seated in the main room, not in the rear part. I guess there are worse things in life than to have to sit and wait 45 minutes in a Disney resort, while enjoying
a cocktail !!!
We had dinner in the main room as requested, and it was tasty as always, but neither of us had the pork. We stuck with the beef and shrimp for the most part,
with Jeanne having some of the turkey. She also had a glass of wine. They still provide the pineapple with caramel sauce after you're done with dinner, which is
a very nice touch ( and also a very tasty one too) . The tab came to $56, with a $10 tip, for a total of $66.
After chow we caught a boat back to the MK, arriving at 8:45pm. Once we entered, the crowds were very large, and we were directed to a backstage path to get up
Main St. This took us behind the shops on the right side of the street, and was very smelly and definitely not "Good Show". We exited the backstage area near
the Plaza Pavilion, and were back in the MK as we know and love it, not an alleyway full of dumpsters and CM's on smoke breaks. I prefer to make my up Main
St via the shops when it's crowded. We cut across Main St, and made our way to Jungle Cruise, which is always best at night. There was a short wait of 5
minutes, and we were on our way. The skipper was named Scott, and he did a fantastic job, he was very enthusiastic in his role. After JC , we walked to
Pirates, and again rode with no wait. We then walked to Liberty Square, and watched Wishes from in front of the Liberty Tree Tavern area. It was a pretty
good spot, even with the large crowds in the MK this evening.
After Wishes was over, we walked through Fantasyland. It smelled really horrible walking past Peter Pan, and then we discovered the sewers were backed up, with
water running out of the manholes. It smelled disgusting, and people were walking through the water without realizing what it was. It stretched from the
far side of Peter Pans queue to the entrance to Mickeys Philharmagic. We then ducked into Philharmagic to get away from the stench, and were seated after a
five minute wait. We enjoyed the show, and when we left, it appeared the manholes were still bubbling up, so we left Fantasyland. We headed over to Buzz
Lightyear, and rode it with only a five minute wait. It was odd, that there were such short waits even though there were large crowds, although a lot of people
did leave after Wishes. After Buzz we made our way back to Liberty Square for the late running of Spectromagic. We staked out a spot right near the bridge
into Liberty Square, across from the Christmas shop. We had a front row spot and didn't have to wait long for the parade. After Spectro, which is a favorite of
mine, we took our time leaving the park, catching a bus back to PO at midnight.
Day 7 Sunday , May 23, 2004:
We got off to another late start today, sort of lazing around after the late night the previous evening. We finally got in gear, and caught a bus to MGM at
noon. The park was very crowded and there were long waits for everything. We went a got a FP ( 1 each, since Jeanne doesn't ride either) for Rock & Roller
Coaster and Tower of Terror, with return times of 3-4pm for RnRC and 5-6p for TOT. We then stopped by the dining info booth, and made a PS for the 50's PTC
for a 2:30pm lunch. We had time to catch the 1:30pm Millionaire show, so went inside, timing it just right so we didn't have to wait. The interior of the show
was freezing, the a/c was on full blast, and it was so cold it was uncomfortable. The show opened with a fastest finger question, spelling the word
lime, which was one of the easiest I have ever seen. The winner made it in 0.7 seconds, which was remarkable. Usually if it's that quick, it's someone who just
hit the keypad randomly, but the winner actually spelled it out, or so he said. He went along pretty good, and as the score progressed, I was at the top of the
leader board at 32,000. I then got the next one wrong, which had something to do with which country in South America is not bordered by Brazil. The hot seat
contestant also got it wrong, and then the show was over, so I wouldn't have made it anyway after getting one wrong. I was glad to get back outside in the
warm air.
We then walked over to the BAH, and browsed the pins. We didn't have time to buy any, as it was nearing chow time at the Prime Time Café. We walked over, and
gave our name to our cuz at the front desk. Unfortunately, our familial connections didn't amount to much, as we still had to wait 20 minutes for a
seat. We were waited on by Big Brother Scott, who did a fine job keeping us in line. We had the fried cheese appetizer, two chocolate malteds, I had the fried
chicken, and Jeanne had the chicken sammich. The total came to $45, with a $9 tip, for a grand total of $54. As always, the portions were very large, and we
left stuffed.
After finishing with our grub, it was back to the Rock & Roller Coaster. There was a huge line, but thanks to my trusty FP, I was on in no time, while Jeanne
waited for me outside. I took the front row once again, and had a great ride. After the ride, I met Jeanne outside, and we walked to the backlot for the tram
ride. It seemed rather short with out the residential section, and they only briefly addressed the upcoming new stunt show stadium. After the backstage ride,
we walked back to the BAH. I saw another guy ask for and receive his AP MGM commemorative coin. I thought they had run out weeks ago, so I had never
bothered to ask for one. We each showed our AP's and got a free MGM Anniversary coin in a nice sealed package, and best of all, it was free!! And you know the
old saying about freebies, the only time you say no, is when they ask if you've had enough! We also bought an MGM 15th anniversary LE pin while we were there.
We then headed over to the sweets shop, and I bought a strawberry slush drink. We then hoofed it over to the TOT, and I rode it with my FP, while Jeanne waited
outside. Once again, the standby line was huge, and the FP saved the day. I rode mine in the front row, and enjoyed it thoroughly. After TOT, we decided to head
back to PO. On the way out we stopped at the Five & Dime ( I think that's what it's called), and Jeanne bought an embroidered cat towel, with the Cheshire Cat
and her daughter's name on it. It was somewhere around $20, but I'm not sure exactly as she paid for it. The bus was packed, even though it was not closing
time. We arrived at PO at 6:00pm, and hit the pool for awhile before heading out for the night.
We then left the pool, got dressed, and hit the boat dock to take a boat to DTD. The ride was nice and relaxing, and we arrived at 8:30pm. We walked over to PI,
and found they had instituted a new, and in our opinion, not so good policy. They removed the ticket turnstiles, so anyone can wander around PI, even without
a ticket. Anytime you enter a club, you have to show a pass, which created lines at AC, and later slowed down entry to CW. It was very annoying to have to
produce our AP and ID every time we re-entered a club. In addition, there were hordes of people milling around, with no real attempt at control. It seemed like
the outdoor bars were doing a booming business, as anyone of age could purchase a drink, even without a PI ticket. The only people hurt by this change are the
passholders and those who pay to enter the clubs. The clubs were not any busier even though the streets were more crowded. In fact, it seemed a hindrance if you
wanted to enter a cluband were a non-ticketed guest enjoying the sights, you had to go down to the old ticket booth, buy a pass, and then return to the club. You
can not buy a ticket at a club, even though they have turnstiles at every club now. We subsequently spent 15 minutes at the AC, then went over to CW for the
9:15pm show, which featured Joy ( Jeanne's favorite), Mary, John, Rob, and Brian. We also stuck around and caught the 10:30pm CW show, which again featured
Joy ( still Jeanne's favorite), Christine, Jake, Mary, and Brian ( who gets my vote for most cerebral of the cast). After that show, we caught the bus back to
PO, and it was packed to the gills. And to top it off, the bus driver decided to do PO-R first, even though the normal route is PO-FQ 1st. We finally got back to
PO-FQ at midnight, and decided to forego the river path walk tonight.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
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