Annie'sMom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
Day 5 - Friday, November 10, 2000
Me â 42, Single mom and Disney fanatic. The first question my co-workers ask when I return from vacation is, âÂÂSo, when are you going back?â I live in Central Missouri and typically depart from St. Louis Lambert Airport, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from home.
DD â 4-year-old diva. IâÂÂm serious; this girl has a future on the stage or screen. She loves to sing and dance and loves all things Disney, too.
The plan for today was to return to the Studios to see some more shows and perhaps, catch Bear in the Big Blue House again. I realized that it was the start of Super Soap Weekend, but had read that wouldnâÂÂt affect the lines for the rides and shows. That was partially right. There were lines, but I donâÂÂt think they were particularly related to Super Soap Weekend. We waited about 10 minutes for a bus and arrived at the Studios around 10:00. The only things we needed to do today were HOND, Muppetvision and the Mulan parade. We leisurely strolled back to New York Street and noticed the line for Woody and Buzz was not very long, so we jumped on it. They were in rare form today. They were dancing with a little girl. I guess the style they were dancing in could best be described as toy disco. While we were in line, we saw an actor from All My Children (he plays Jackson) signing autographs. The women in line with their kids for Woody and Buzz were all aflutter. I am not that familiar with the soaps, so I didnâÂÂt get too excited. After getting the pictures, we got in line for the first HOND show. We got excellent seats, beside the ramp in the theater. The preshow was Randy, the Juggler. Last time we were here, we saw Matt. Randy is also very good. Really funny.
I have to say that I think that HOND is the best âÂÂBroadway-typeâ production on property. It is simply fantastic! It ranks right up there with FOTLK as my favorite show overall. I hope this is a permanent addition to the Studios, because it is a quality production. DD got some nice character interaction after the show; although she was really more interested in picking up the confetti from the ground. We headed back to the area around VOTLM and saw Mickey over by the animation courtyard. We got in line to see him. When DD got up to him, I told Mickey that she was trying to stop sucking her thumb just for him. He then pulled her back into a big hug and kiss. We went down Mickey Avenue and met Tigger and Pooh. DD did some great bouncing with Tigger. We doubled back and did a little shopping in the Celebrity 5 and 10. We had left DDâÂÂs GOH nametag at the room by accident, so we bought her another oneâÂÂthis one with Minnie Mouse. It then occurred to me that these would make great souvenirs for the kids at DDâÂÂs babysitter. Most of them had to be specially made, so it took a while. I was correct. The kids loved them and were all wearing them when I picked up DD the first day back! OK, IâÂÂll admit it; I bought one for myself, too. I wore it at a meeting the week we got back and got lots of comments. IâÂÂm sure my colleagues think IâÂÂve gone completely over the edge, but I donâÂÂt really care. It also helped me find another Disney fanatic where I work. We had a long discussion of WDW at the meeting. It turns out that her son got married at WDW several years ago. ItâÂÂs always nice to meet a kindred soul!
By this time, it was getting time for a late lunch. We went to the Studio Catering Company and DD got the lunch box meal, and I had an Italian stacked sandwich. My sandwich was great. DD ate most of her bologna and cheese sandwich, too. We were hanging around the New York area and saw the Genie from Aladdin and DD got her picture taken. We got a Fastpass for Muppetvision and then went to find a place for the Mulan parade. We got an excellent place in front of the statues of TV award winners. The CMs were trying to get the crowd rowdy but werenâÂÂt having much luck. At one point, we were shouting, âÂÂWho let Mushu out? Wooh! Wooh! Wooh!â I must say I was underwhelmed by the parade. Part of it was that I donâÂÂtâ know the characters from Mulan, but part of it was the parade, itself. The characters are so high up; there is very little interaction with the guests. I agree with those who say itâÂÂs time for a change. HereâÂÂs what IâÂÂd like to see. They should have a parade of recent hits at the Studios and then the afternoon parade at the MK could focus on classic characters. That way, all characters are well represented. Just MHO.
After the parade, we hightailed it back to Muppetvision and had a wonderful time there. I just love this show. IâÂÂve always been a big fan of the Muppets. DD didnâÂÂt wear her glasses, but she seemed to enjoy the movie, anyway. Then we hung around the plaza in front of TGMR and got some character autographs, including Belle, Patti Mayonnaise (who seemed to adore DD!), Pinocchio, Snow White, Jasmine and Phil (from Hercules). At this point, we went and got in line for the final Bear in the Big Blue House show. I wanted DD to be in the front row, hoping she would get chosen to dance with Bear. Guess what! She did. CM Kristin knelt down in front of her after we got seated and asked her how old she was. She asked her if she watched Bear on the Disney Channel and then asked if she would like to dance with Bear. I was so thrilled! So was DD! The one thing that was annoying was the parents who let their very small children wander around the front part of the set during the show. The poor CMs had a tough time keeping them away from the steps. DD got up to dance with Bear and she really had a blast. It was too cute. Thanks, Kristin, for picking her!
I neglected to state that earlier in the day, I had seen a notice at the Book Shop that Susan Lucci had signed autographs earlier in the day. Then, as we were heading towards the Great Movie Ride area, we saw a large bunch of people standing in a group. I looked closely and I actually saw Susan Lucci! She was seated in a tall directorâÂÂs chair near the entranceways near the VOTLM. She is such a tiny person. She spent the better part of a couple of hours seated there, although I am not precisely sure what she was doing. It looked like some kind of an interview. I do know that she was being a good sport, sitting there in the boiling sun and chatting with fans. Later, I saw her being escorted towards the back of the park. I took a couple of pictures for a friend of mine who is a huge fan of All My Children.
It was now nearing 5:45 and it was time to head for the room. We waited for a long time for a bus, and by the time one arrived, quite a crowd had gathered. Most of them got off at the Ticket and Transportation Center. We got back to the room by around 6:30 and relaxed for a while. Since we knew Leslea was working tonight, we decided to stroll over to the MK, even though I knew it would be a zoo because it was one of two nights that MSEP was running. The first one was in process when we tried to enter Town Squareâ¦Ha! It was total gridlock. We did catch the tail end of the parade. We tried to find Leslea, she was working the parade, and simply couldnâÂÂt find her. Because of the crowds, it was just going to be impossible to find her. They even added another parade at 8:00, but we just went back to the hotel. I was beginning to think we would never find her! Back at the room, DD had a bath and went to bed. I worked on the trip report a little and just relaxed. I was finally able to talk to Leslea when she phoned me. She indicated that she would be at the turnstiles from 8:00 to 5:45 the next day. I was hopeful that we would finally catch up with her.
Me â 42, Single mom and Disney fanatic. The first question my co-workers ask when I return from vacation is, âÂÂSo, when are you going back?â I live in Central Missouri and typically depart from St. Louis Lambert Airport, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from home.
DD â 4-year-old diva. IâÂÂm serious; this girl has a future on the stage or screen. She loves to sing and dance and loves all things Disney, too.
The plan for today was to return to the Studios to see some more shows and perhaps, catch Bear in the Big Blue House again. I realized that it was the start of Super Soap Weekend, but had read that wouldnâÂÂt affect the lines for the rides and shows. That was partially right. There were lines, but I donâÂÂt think they were particularly related to Super Soap Weekend. We waited about 10 minutes for a bus and arrived at the Studios around 10:00. The only things we needed to do today were HOND, Muppetvision and the Mulan parade. We leisurely strolled back to New York Street and noticed the line for Woody and Buzz was not very long, so we jumped on it. They were in rare form today. They were dancing with a little girl. I guess the style they were dancing in could best be described as toy disco. While we were in line, we saw an actor from All My Children (he plays Jackson) signing autographs. The women in line with their kids for Woody and Buzz were all aflutter. I am not that familiar with the soaps, so I didnâÂÂt get too excited. After getting the pictures, we got in line for the first HOND show. We got excellent seats, beside the ramp in the theater. The preshow was Randy, the Juggler. Last time we were here, we saw Matt. Randy is also very good. Really funny.
I have to say that I think that HOND is the best âÂÂBroadway-typeâ production on property. It is simply fantastic! It ranks right up there with FOTLK as my favorite show overall. I hope this is a permanent addition to the Studios, because it is a quality production. DD got some nice character interaction after the show; although she was really more interested in picking up the confetti from the ground. We headed back to the area around VOTLM and saw Mickey over by the animation courtyard. We got in line to see him. When DD got up to him, I told Mickey that she was trying to stop sucking her thumb just for him. He then pulled her back into a big hug and kiss. We went down Mickey Avenue and met Tigger and Pooh. DD did some great bouncing with Tigger. We doubled back and did a little shopping in the Celebrity 5 and 10. We had left DDâÂÂs GOH nametag at the room by accident, so we bought her another oneâÂÂthis one with Minnie Mouse. It then occurred to me that these would make great souvenirs for the kids at DDâÂÂs babysitter. Most of them had to be specially made, so it took a while. I was correct. The kids loved them and were all wearing them when I picked up DD the first day back! OK, IâÂÂll admit it; I bought one for myself, too. I wore it at a meeting the week we got back and got lots of comments. IâÂÂm sure my colleagues think IâÂÂve gone completely over the edge, but I donâÂÂt really care. It also helped me find another Disney fanatic where I work. We had a long discussion of WDW at the meeting. It turns out that her son got married at WDW several years ago. ItâÂÂs always nice to meet a kindred soul!
By this time, it was getting time for a late lunch. We went to the Studio Catering Company and DD got the lunch box meal, and I had an Italian stacked sandwich. My sandwich was great. DD ate most of her bologna and cheese sandwich, too. We were hanging around the New York area and saw the Genie from Aladdin and DD got her picture taken. We got a Fastpass for Muppetvision and then went to find a place for the Mulan parade. We got an excellent place in front of the statues of TV award winners. The CMs were trying to get the crowd rowdy but werenâÂÂt having much luck. At one point, we were shouting, âÂÂWho let Mushu out? Wooh! Wooh! Wooh!â I must say I was underwhelmed by the parade. Part of it was that I donâÂÂtâ know the characters from Mulan, but part of it was the parade, itself. The characters are so high up; there is very little interaction with the guests. I agree with those who say itâÂÂs time for a change. HereâÂÂs what IâÂÂd like to see. They should have a parade of recent hits at the Studios and then the afternoon parade at the MK could focus on classic characters. That way, all characters are well represented. Just MHO.
After the parade, we hightailed it back to Muppetvision and had a wonderful time there. I just love this show. IâÂÂve always been a big fan of the Muppets. DD didnâÂÂt wear her glasses, but she seemed to enjoy the movie, anyway. Then we hung around the plaza in front of TGMR and got some character autographs, including Belle, Patti Mayonnaise (who seemed to adore DD!), Pinocchio, Snow White, Jasmine and Phil (from Hercules). At this point, we went and got in line for the final Bear in the Big Blue House show. I wanted DD to be in the front row, hoping she would get chosen to dance with Bear. Guess what! She did. CM Kristin knelt down in front of her after we got seated and asked her how old she was. She asked her if she watched Bear on the Disney Channel and then asked if she would like to dance with Bear. I was so thrilled! So was DD! The one thing that was annoying was the parents who let their very small children wander around the front part of the set during the show. The poor CMs had a tough time keeping them away from the steps. DD got up to dance with Bear and she really had a blast. It was too cute. Thanks, Kristin, for picking her!
I neglected to state that earlier in the day, I had seen a notice at the Book Shop that Susan Lucci had signed autographs earlier in the day. Then, as we were heading towards the Great Movie Ride area, we saw a large bunch of people standing in a group. I looked closely and I actually saw Susan Lucci! She was seated in a tall directorâÂÂs chair near the entranceways near the VOTLM. She is such a tiny person. She spent the better part of a couple of hours seated there, although I am not precisely sure what she was doing. It looked like some kind of an interview. I do know that she was being a good sport, sitting there in the boiling sun and chatting with fans. Later, I saw her being escorted towards the back of the park. I took a couple of pictures for a friend of mine who is a huge fan of All My Children.
It was now nearing 5:45 and it was time to head for the room. We waited for a long time for a bus, and by the time one arrived, quite a crowd had gathered. Most of them got off at the Ticket and Transportation Center. We got back to the room by around 6:30 and relaxed for a while. Since we knew Leslea was working tonight, we decided to stroll over to the MK, even though I knew it would be a zoo because it was one of two nights that MSEP was running. The first one was in process when we tried to enter Town Squareâ¦Ha! It was total gridlock. We did catch the tail end of the parade. We tried to find Leslea, she was working the parade, and simply couldnâÂÂt find her. Because of the crowds, it was just going to be impossible to find her. They even added another parade at 8:00, but we just went back to the hotel. I was beginning to think we would never find her! Back at the room, DD had a bath and went to bed. I worked on the trip report a little and just relaxed. I was finally able to talk to Leslea when she phoned me. She indicated that she would be at the turnstiles from 8:00 to 5:45 the next day. I was hopeful that we would finally catch up with her.
