DISNEY: Sneaked Trip

I fixed a sprinkler line Friday after work. I also mowed/edged/trimmed the lawn, met/helped my neighbors, plus got major-bitten by mosquitos, etc. And since my college friend wasn't going to be in town until Sunday morning, Saturday was free, and Saturday I sneaked a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth.

I made it to the parks just after rope drop and headed straight for Space Mountain to get a Fast Pass. The sign said 10 minutes, but the line was out the door, so I decided to just come back to it later, and instead went to ride the Astro Orbiter, which I haven't ridden since 2003; and it had some great views! There I met a family from Clemson, and afterwards we all headed to the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, where I got to ride a Nemo car.

From there, we split. I headed to Fantasyland. Peter Pan had a 15 minute wait, so I bailed and rode Snow White's Scary Adventure. Then I waited for Winnie the Pooh, but there was a "Hunny Spill" and the queue was evacuated. Oh well, then time for another ride I haven't done in a long time... the Made Tea Party. By then I was getting hungry and a little dehydrated, so I took the ride easy.

I figured to re-paced myself because my shirt was pretty soaked by then (wearing a dark cotton instead of the usual light-colored tech-tee). And I headed to Carousel of Progress ("I blew the entire neighborhood again."). Then it was time for Space Mountain. I rode the Alpha track (left-side), and it was rougher than the last couple times I rode Omega. It was still good though.

I took the walkway to ToonTown for a quick visit. I toured Mickey's House then I rode the Barnstormer, which has quite the steep banks. I then rode the RailRoad to the Main Street station and went over to get a haircut at the Barber Shop.

There was a little girl in the other chair getting her hair cut perhaps for the first time; she was really good and got sparkles in her hair. I didn't get sparkles but did get Judy from Indiana to keep my hair long and just clean it up, which she did and thinned the back and trimmed my bangs. I had a guy waiting to get his hair cut to take my picture -- and Judy got out the Barber Shop props (ha!). I liked how comfortable it was there, and I had gotten there in good time too -- no wait when it could've been 1-3 hours when really busy. After that, I went to the castle to Dream Along with Mickey (niiice) before I headed out to walk the resorts.

I took a small boat to the Grand Floridian, and walking through the resort outside (instead of just the main building), I could really see how this is Deluxe. Wow. So clean, white, and majestic. The walkways between the resorts had very low traffic; they were peaceful. I didn't feel butterflies when I reached wedding pavilion. Perhaps it was the fact that by then I was even more uncomfortably sweaty, but I did like how detached the area felt, hidden away for the intimate engagements.

The Polynesian had a lot of great theming; their pool had a huge volcano that encased a slide, and there was a place where guests can rent all types of watercrafts -- which I thought really sold the 'island' feel for me. There were also white-sand beaches. And I took the opportunity to relax a moment on one of the hammocks (it's been so long). There were also a couple more-secluded areas, ideal for mediating or for a wedding proposal. I think that this would be a great place to stay.

Anyways, the treasures that are the Disney resorts warrant a trip on their own. But I had to head home.

As usual, on my way out of the TTC, I stopped by the car care center to pick up some $1 beverages and cheap gas. I noticed that one of my tires was low, and I found their air station -- free for Hess customers (score!) -- another reason to keep up this tradition. Then it was back on the road home.

And I got side-tracked... to DHS.

Why not since I was in the area? It was only 1:30 in the afternoon.

I bee-lined to TSMM, to see if I can get in Single-rider, but the attraction was down. A CM mentioned that this was the second time it was down today (first time was for a couple hours) and to try again later. I went to the line for Backlot Tour, but it was pretty big (yeah, wow), so I bailed and headed the other way. I managed to squeeze into Voyage of the Little Mermaid; I keep forgetting how cool this show is.

After that I checked up on TSMM (still down) and thought that it's also been a while since I've ridden GMR but figured to just take it easy before the Block Party Bash; I waited at the Hollywood Boulevard Party Zone

The parade was the big ball of energy that I've read it was. There were dancers, trampoline gymnasts, people on jumping stilts, and people on electric scooters, not to mention all of the costumed characters. Those performers were really really great for all the energy they put out there. I just couldn't imagine being on their side, trying to get tired crowds to "Jump, Scream, and Dance". The green army men leading each group of floats (Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Bug's Life) were quite assertive, quite the Dom (Hmmm...). Anyways, the show ends with a spraying of small nerf balls into the air. I didn't catch any the first time around, so I walked over to the Echo Lake Party Zone for a second try. And I did score a blue ball (Woo!). Time to head home.

The day-trip out to the parks and resorts was worth it because it did provide a lot of new perspectives, as well as revisited ones. It was good motivation for getting the yard work done early. And I'm glad to finally get a haircut -- and one that I both like and enjoyed.

Anyways, I still have a few posts to catch up on (some running, some movies, and an Oscar Mayer Wiener entry) but it'll probably be next week before any of that shows up. I have friends in town, and we're heading... um, somewhere TBD this weekend. (WOO!).

Alright, pics from the Sneaked Trip can be found below after the agenda.
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Here's what I did this visit:


TTC (PLUTO 13)

Monorail to MK
- [FP] Space Mountain
- Astro Orbiter
- Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
- (Peter Pan's Flight) [bailed]
- Snow White's Scary Adventure
- (Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh) [broken]
- Mad Tea Party
- Carousel of Progress
- Space Mountain
- walkway to Mickey's ToonTown Fair
- Mickey's House
- Goofy's Barnstormer
- WDW RailRoad
- Barber Shop
- Dapper Dans
- Dream Along With Mickey

Small Boat (MERMAID 1) to Grand Floridian Resort

Pathway to Wedding Pavilion

Pathway to Polynesian Resort

Pathway to TTC

Drove Car to Car Care Center (gas, drinks, tire air)

Drove Car to DHS (MUSIC 50)
- (Toy Story Midway Mania) [broken]
- (Backlot Tour) [bailed]
- (Toy Story Midway Mania) [still broken]
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- (Toy Story Midway Mania) [still still broken]
- Block Party Bash
- Block Party Bash (again... I want a ball!)

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Magic Kingdom:

Resorts:

Disney's Hollywood Studios: