Poetry, Anchovies, and Pirates

July 22, 2008 (Disney Trip Continued ...)

 

Each morning Jacob wrote a couple of poems for Whitney that he gave her with a small gift. He and Kolbein had made a plan to do something special for the girls each day. The trick was to sneak it past them. To avoid any problems, Whitney's mom went out and bought the treats for them. Jacob made a list of themes for each day which Melinda (Whitney's mom) followed when buying the treats. On Tuesday, the plan was to eat at the Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) where Pooh and his friends greet everyone. We decided against it after arriving, and so Jacob had to try and compensate for it when he wrote his poem for the day:

When you drop by the Thousand Acre Woods

Here is a treat to make a good

First impression with that silly old bear

Here’s a hint – It’s got honey, so you better

“bee” ware!

The first treat was a bag of "Bit-o-Honey". The second treat was to match our plans to eat at EPCOT. We'd made reservations for Le Chefs de France. Here's what he wrote:

If something’s amiss

I can help you with that

The food here, you see,

It’s made by a rat

But that’s okay, he’s a friend of mine

A cousin of sorts, so dig in and dine!

The treat was some candy rats. Jacob was pretty proud that Melinda was able to find something to go along with Ratatouille.

We got up early, like every other day, and jumped on the bus to Magic Kingdom. Ashley and Kolbein weren't ready so we made plans to catch up with them later. It was strange being at the park so early because they would let you in, but most of the park was still blocked off from access. We rode the Winnie the Pooh ride and then made our way over to the Haunted Mansion. Whitney loves this ride! Last year, she was so disappointed that it was closed. We'd learned that there were supposed to be some major renovations and we were excited to see them ourselves.

As we made our way through the house in our Doom Buggy Whitney commented that this was probably her thrill ride for the day. Not riding big rides was tough for her all week long. She was glad that she could at least ride the Haunted Mansion.

We still had some time so we trekked over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Several months before we'd bought Hidden Mickey's, a book that has scavenger hunts for hard to find Mickey shapes and other subtle character outlines in the parks. As we made our way through Pirates we tried to find these clues, but some were more difficult than we thought. Even when we rode it later, we had a hard time. It was fun though. It's a good book to check out!

After meeting up with Ashley and Kolbein we jumped on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The ride is simple; you sit down and it takes you on a tour through Tomorrowland. The best part though is that you hardly ever have to wait to get on, and it's something to do to rest your feet. Well, when we got a longer trip than normal because the ride broke down. We're not even sure how long, but it was a while. This picture above was during that wait. It was fun, but we were glad to get moving again. The breeze always feels so nice!

After a few more things we rushed over to EPCOT. Well, rushed might not be the right way to put it. We waited for a long time for the monorail to take us between parks. We were almost late for our lunch reservations. It was hot too. Whitney wasn't doing very well, and as we rushed to Le Chefs de France, we had to take a break or two, because she wasn't doing well. But she made it and after a short wait, we got into the restaurant. And not a moment too soon either! Shortly after being seated the clouds let loose and everyone outside got soaked. It rained most days. We were glad to miss this downpour.

I don't know why, but throughout this trip Jacob kept ordering fish. He likes to try things he hasn't had before and our trip to France at EPCOT was no different. Whitney got quiche and Jacob sot a salad, but Jacob couldn't just get a "salad." No, he had to get the Tuna Salad. Sounds pretty safe, right? Well, it was a wonderfully large salad with a huge block of tuna, two strips of anchovies placed on top, and something that looked like caviar spread on a small piece of bread. He just had to take a picture:

Whitney knew she had to be careful with fish, but this wasn't something that she would have ever ordered under any circumstances. But she likes tuna okay.

We spent the rest of the day at EPCOT. We spent a while at the French Pavilion where we watched a movie and shopped. Then, we mulled around before it got dark. We watched some of the firework show, and rode on Maelstrom, a simple water ride at the Norway Pavilion. It was a fun day, but a fishy day--A great day at Disney World!

Nobody Here But Us ... Animals?

July 21, 2008 (Continued ...)

We jumped on a Disney bus and rode to Animal Kingdom. We both love the look of this park. It's so beautiful!

We try to figure out what to get Fast Passes for and someone gives us some extra passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari. This was something Whitney was dreading. She loves rides, but was sad to find out that she couldn't even go on the Safari ride because she's pregnant. So, Whitney parked herself on a bench with a book and the rest of us went on the Safari.

 

Jacob was a little disappointed though. Where Whitney and Jacob had seen animals in the past, there weren't any. The ride is simple. You and about twenty of your closest friends jump onto an oversized jeep and drive through a "wildlife preserve" until being derailed on an adventure to trap elephant poachers. It was sad though. There were animals at the end, but either way Whitney wasn't there and it just wasn't as much fun.

When we got off we found Whitney near the parade route for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. She needed some water, so Jacob went to get some for her. These are some of the pictures he took along the way.

We rode a train to our next stop. Kolbein helped us to get a deal on our trip because his boss' daughter works at Disney World. We went to see her at Rafiki's Planet Watch and to thank her for all she did. She told us about her job training small alligators. It was fascinating. She held it in her hands as we talked. Each of us got to touch the gator's tail.

The year before Animal Kingdom started showing Finding Nemo: The Musical. We hadn't seen it, but made sure to see it this year. It was something else! The music was fun and the theatricality was spectacular. We both have a fair degree of experience with theatre and we loved it.

The rest of the night we wandered around the park. We had some Chinese food for dinner and made our way around. Jacob kept trying to take pictures in the dark, but without any luck. All in all the day was a wonderful adventure and so, so much fun. Our first full day--what a wonderful day! A great start to an amazing vacation!

Back to Neverland!

Around 9pm on July 19th we jumped into a car with two of our friends and started the sixteen hour trek to the Happiest Celebration on Earth! It was our third trip to Disney World--once a year for the past few years. We love Disney, but this trip was different. Whitney is pregnant and we knew that was going to change everything.

The drive down was pretty uneventful. We (Whitney and Jacob, Ashley and Kolbein) got reasonable gas prices, the car worked fine, we didn't get caught in any construction.Kolbein and Jacob drove most of the way.

We stayed in the 1950's building of the resort. This was outside of our room.

 

July 20, 2008

We got to our hotel, the Pop Century Resort, around 2pm or so the next day and just relaxed. For dinner we rode the bus down to Downtown Disney and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. We were all starving. Jacob got a burger and promptly forgot what that meant so when he dropped his fork on the floor he asked the waiter for another one--even though he didn't need one. Embarrassed, he ate his whole burger with the replacement fork. Naturally, Whitney laughed and made fun of him and probably called him a "dork."

After dinner we made our way over to EPCOT to watch their firework show, IllumiNations. We got there a little late and so the best spot was sitting on the ground behind several large groups of tourists. Naturally, when the show started they all stood up so we couldn't really see anymore. Unfortunately part of Disney is having to accept that you aren't there alone. Oh well. We still had fun.

 

We slept well that night and got ready for the next day--the first full day of our adventure!

 

July 21, 2008

First on the schedule was going to Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney MGM Studios). Even though we'd been here several times before, this was one of the most enjoyable days we'd ever spent there! Once we arrived we headed straight over to Toy Story Mania, the newest Disney ride, to get fast passes. Then on to the rest of the park.

We did some of the classics like The Great Movie Ride and Muppet Vision 3D. While watching the 3D show Jacob was careless with his sunglasses and ended up leaving them behind. Someone found them and asked Kolbein if they were his. He didn't know Jacob had lost them, so he said no and they were lost in time. Jacob tried to find them, but no luck. We'd end up getting him new ones later.

After some shopping we went on to the Back Lot Tour. As we stood in line we were asked to be part of the special FX show. Jacob and Kolbein agreed and were taken back stage. As part of the show they dressed us up as crew members of a boat that was about to be attacked. They call this show, "Harbor Attack." Kolbein and Jacob played the Wild and Crazy Tech Crew. Our job was simple: react when water cannons shot up around us representing bombs and bullets, and then point to what was supposed to be a torpedo. We had a lot of fun, and got soaked enough to enjoy ourselves despite the heat.

One thing we wanted to do on this trip that we hadn't done before was eat at some of the nicer restaurants. For lunch we had a reservation at 50's Prime Time Cafe. The idea for this place was really fun. The place is designed so that every group feels like they're eating in their own kitchen and the servers are supposed to treat you like an overbearing parent. Whitney wanted me to encourage our waitress so I intentionally didn't eat the "greens" on my plate. After a few cracks, she finally got the attention of everyone around us and asked for their help. She asked everyone to make airplane noises as she flew the food around and into my mouth--like an airplane. It was fun and Whitney got a good laugh at it. The fried chicken wasn't that bad either!

To be continued ...