rgoble5972
Are we there yet?
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2001
Sunday, December 12, 2004 Forget the wine, man. We need uncrustables!
CAST
Robin 41 Trip planner/recorder
Bill/Dad/Husband of Dianne 66
Dianne/Mom/Wife of Bill 63
Lisa/Sister/Wife of Lemuel/Mother of Michael 43
Lemuel/Brother-in-law/Husband of Lisa/Father of Michael 37
Michael/Nephew/ONLY Grandchild of Bill and Dianne 11
Paula/Sister/Wife of Wes 31 Sparkly Princess
Wes/Brother-in-law/Husband of Paula 31
I was up at my standard 6:00 this morning, noticing that it was wet and overcast outside today. We did our usual morning routines and then met in the lounge for breakfast. They always had a bowl of whole fruit sitting out in the lounge and I had gotten in the habit of taking an apple or orange every time the mood struck me. This morning, Mother was speculating on what she could take home to the children of the neighbors (their mom was helping to watch the house and dogs while we were all gone). She wondered if they might have some of the Mickey Mouse straws in the hotel snack bar, like they do at the food court at the All-Star resorts at WDW. Since we had plenty of time till the park opened (we were going back to DCA today), I volunteered to run down to White Water Snacks to see.
As it turns out, they dont carry the Mickey Mouse straws there but I did almost get in trouble. On the way in to the snack bar, I noticed a big bowl full of fruit. Not even thinking about the fact that I wasnt in the concierge lounge, I picked up an apple and almost left with it before I remembered that, despite the numerous perks of staying concierge, I couldnt just take fruit from any fruit bowl that I wished. How quickly we become spoiled! Im thinking it might have put a damper on the vacation if I were gunned down for stealing an apple from Mr. Eisner.
After breakfast, we went downstairs to look around in the gift shop for a while and to sit in front of the fire while we waited for time to go to DCA. When it was time, we made our way to the private entrance and were again let into the park. We, of course, went to Soarin for a visit with Patrick Warburton. We all spotted the third hidden Mickey (that we knew about anywaythere may be more than that) in the film.
Lisa, Lemuel and Michael all wanted to ride again so, as they hopped back in line, I went to get Fast Passes for the Tower of Terror, and Mom, Dad, Paula and Wes headed to Paradise Pier (since Mom and Dad hadnt been over that way yet).
I got the Fast Passes for the Tower of Terror and then decided to get Fast Passes for Grizzly River Run as well, before meeting up with Mom and her group--after all, I had promised Michael a ride. Its nice that the ride is right by the entrance to the Grand Californian, so you can go and change into dry clothes once youre finished. I also needed to do a little Fast Pass research so Id stay in the good books with Larry Wilmot.
I caught up with the others at Paradise Pier and we looked through a gift shop for a while, as the rides werent open yet. When Lisa, Lemuel and Michael joined us, it was time for our ToT Fast Passes. Paula, Lemuel, Michael and I went to the ToT while the rest stayed behind.
After our many drops on the Tower, we called the rest of the group to see where they were. Turns out, they were still at Paradise Pier. Dad had decided that he wanted to ride California Screamin. I recommended that they get a Fast Pass for it and then meet us at Grizzly River Run so we (the few of us who were brave/stupid enough to do it anyway) could ride that.
Our group arrived first and it seemed that our Fast Passes would not be needed today. Apparently there werent many people fired up about getting soaked when it was wet and cold out anyway--the ride had a 2-minute wait posted. The way I look at it, if youre going to be wet anyway, you might as well be really wet (dry clothes are for wimps!). I asked Lemuel and Michael if they were still up for the ride (Paula said there was no way she was doing it today) and they said yes. So, we stripped off our many layers of clothes down to one shirt each and our pants (burying poor Paula under the load of themshe looked like she worked at a dry cleaners, she had so many clothes to keep) and hurried up the queue.
There was no line to speak of, just a two-minute walk to the loading deck. We were put on a raft with three young men and had a great time trying to decide who was going to get soaked. Actually, thats not a hard thing to figure out if Im in the raftits going to be me! Sure enough, I was drenched by the time we got off the ride, and very, very cold.
Wes, Mom, Dad, and Lisa came up just as we were coming off the ride. Wes had said earlier that he would ride it with us and he was still game, so the four of us headed back to the ride. Once again, I received the bulk of the moisturejust call me the human sponge.
Did I mention that it was cold today? Yes? Well did I mention that being both wet and cold is a really good way to get a bad case of hypothermia?
Michael and Lemuel werent too wet, so they said they would go with Dad and Paula to ride California Screamin. The rest of us went back to the hotel so Wes and I could get dry. We stopped in at the lounge for some cokes before going back to the room to change clothes and dry my hair.
We decided to try lunch at Storytellers Café in the Grand Californian today, so I went down to the concierge desk and made a priority seating for 1:30. The rest of our group showed up after their ride on California Screamin and we decided to go ahead and go to the restaurant as we were all getting pretty hungry.
We checked in for our table of 8 at 1:00 and were seated within 5 minutes. When the CM took our drink orders, we all just ordered water. Apparently this was a concept that she couldnt quite deal with because, when she took our food order, she checked with each and every one of us asking And with your meal, youll be drinking ?
Water, came the reply from all eight of us.
The food was all very good. I had a pizza, but cant remember what everyone else had. The portions were huge, however and we all wished we had split our entrees between two of us. It was nice to sit down to an unhurried meal with everyone.
After lunch we decided to head into Disneyland, each with our own agendas. Wes and Paula, however, decided to skip the park this afternoon and take a nap instead. Poor Paula, I think the 15-hour day on Saturday had just about finished her off!
Lisa wanted to see Snow Whites Enchanted Musical, which started at 3:00. Mom wanted to go to Frontierland to see if she could find some Pirate swords (one of the boys had just had a pirate party for his birthday) or some of the toy wooden guns like the ones they sell in Florida as the boys were constantly playing cowboys and Indians, or cops and robbers, or grand theft auto or whatever games it is that these crazy kids play with swords and guns today. Dad was just along for the ride, so he said hed go with Mother. Lemuel and Michael wanted to go to the Mad Hatter to see if they could get Michaels name put on a baseball cap that he had bought, and I was looking for Donald Duck merchandise for the son of a co-worker.
We split up as soon as we hit Main Street and I headed to the Emporium where I had absolutely no luck in finding any unique Donald items. I did however, get a fortune from Esmerelda (a coin-operated machine in a store on Main Street). The fortune was very detailed and I got a laugh out of reading it. Sorry, I cant tell you what it said or it wont come trueeveryone knows that!
I had just stepped out of the shop when I got a call from Lemuel and Michael. They had no luck at the hat shop on Main Street and were coming down the street behind me. I stopped and waited for them and we decided wed try the Mad Hatter in Fantasyland, so we headed there. As it turns out, they cant monogram on baseball hats, so no luck there.
We called Mom and Dad who said theyd meet us at Star Tours. Lemuel, Michael and I got there first (stopping along the way for some cotton candy for Michaelcan you believe it? Not a churro!) so we got Fast Passes and then hopped in the stand-by line. Mom and Dad showed up right as we got in line, so Dad joined us while Mother waited. After we got off, Dad went to the pin store to look at pins, Michael stayed with Mom, and Lemuel and I rode Star Tours again, using our Fast Passes this time.
Lisa had joined everyone by the time we finished with our ride. It was almost time for the 3:00 parade (which means it was fast approaching 4:00 oclock), so we decided to try and make our way out of the park before we got trapped in Tomorrowland. Lisa need a bathroom break so Lemuel said he would wait for her and the rest of us went back towards the hotel.
Mom, Dad, and Michael went back to the room but I stayed and looked around Downtown Disney for a while. Lisa and Lemuel showed up later as they *had* been caught by the parade and so were delayed getting out of the park. Lisa hadnt seen the parade yet however, so she was glad for the chance to see some of it.
When I got back to the room, Paula and Wes were up and ready to go. They went ahead and left for Disneyland while the rest of us decided to hang around the lounge for a while.
Apparently *everyone* had the same idea as us because the lounge was pretty crowded when we arrived a little after 6:00 and apparently, everyone was very, very hungry! It was a mob scene and we got quite tickled watching guests jockey for position around the black bean empanadas. Im fully convinced that you could have lost an arm reaching for an uncrustable, or have been stabbed with a fork at the very least. The poor CMs working in the lounge were doing their best to bring wine and drinks to everyone and to keep the food stocked at the same time, but they were fighting a losing battle.
One little girl was waiting in line by the uncrustable platter (which was empty, of courseeverything was emptyit looked like a horde of hungry locusts had eaten their way through the lounge!). Mother asked her if she was going to get a peanut butter sandwich and she said, Im getting some of everything! which seemed to pretty much be everyones motto this evening.
The uncrustable platter had been empty for a little while and a guest had mentioned it to one of the CMs who said he would bring out some more. A moment later, another guest had cornered him, asking where their wine was. He said he would be right back with their wine prompting Mother to joke, No time for wine, man. We need uncrustables!
Now while I have to admit to occasionally taking a *wee bit* of poetic license and perhaps exaggerating ever so slightly for comedic value from time to time, I swear I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I tell you that there was one couple (just two people with no one joining them later) who had no less than thirty empanadas stacked on a plate on their table. Come on, people.
We ate what food that we dared to brave the ravenous throngs to get and then went back to the room. Mother wanted to get her pajamas on and she asked if Id go down to the lounge for her at 8:00 and bring a few desserts back to the room for her. I, of course, said I would. I downloaded the pictures for the day and worked on my trip report notes until 8:00. I went into the other room and found Mom, Dad and Lisa all in bed and Lemuel and Michael watching TV.
I went ahead and went down to the lounge to check on the desserts for Mom in case she woke up and discovered that they had flan this evening! Yes, Mothers favorite dessert of all concierge loungesFlan! (They also had fruit tarts, mini cheesecakes, several kinds of cakes, and three or four different kinds of cookies.) I made a plate for her and took it back to the room. I stood at the end of her bed and whispered, flan ever so quietly. The woman sprang out of bed like a marine late for reveille, waking Dad and Lisa in the process! Michael and I made another trip to the lounge to bring some more for everyone. I got a few cookies and went back to my room to answer some email.
Paula and Wes came back around 10:15, having had a nice time at Disneyland. I was up at 12:30 again, wandering the lobby for a while, talking a bit, and taking a few pictures before coming to bed around 1:15.
CAST
Robin 41 Trip planner/recorder
Bill/Dad/Husband of Dianne 66
Dianne/Mom/Wife of Bill 63
Lisa/Sister/Wife of Lemuel/Mother of Michael 43
Lemuel/Brother-in-law/Husband of Lisa/Father of Michael 37
Michael/Nephew/ONLY Grandchild of Bill and Dianne 11
Paula/Sister/Wife of Wes 31 Sparkly Princess
Wes/Brother-in-law/Husband of Paula 31
I was up at my standard 6:00 this morning, noticing that it was wet and overcast outside today. We did our usual morning routines and then met in the lounge for breakfast. They always had a bowl of whole fruit sitting out in the lounge and I had gotten in the habit of taking an apple or orange every time the mood struck me. This morning, Mother was speculating on what she could take home to the children of the neighbors (their mom was helping to watch the house and dogs while we were all gone). She wondered if they might have some of the Mickey Mouse straws in the hotel snack bar, like they do at the food court at the All-Star resorts at WDW. Since we had plenty of time till the park opened (we were going back to DCA today), I volunteered to run down to White Water Snacks to see.
As it turns out, they dont carry the Mickey Mouse straws there but I did almost get in trouble. On the way in to the snack bar, I noticed a big bowl full of fruit. Not even thinking about the fact that I wasnt in the concierge lounge, I picked up an apple and almost left with it before I remembered that, despite the numerous perks of staying concierge, I couldnt just take fruit from any fruit bowl that I wished. How quickly we become spoiled! Im thinking it might have put a damper on the vacation if I were gunned down for stealing an apple from Mr. Eisner.
After breakfast, we went downstairs to look around in the gift shop for a while and to sit in front of the fire while we waited for time to go to DCA. When it was time, we made our way to the private entrance and were again let into the park. We, of course, went to Soarin for a visit with Patrick Warburton. We all spotted the third hidden Mickey (that we knew about anywaythere may be more than that) in the film.
Lisa, Lemuel and Michael all wanted to ride again so, as they hopped back in line, I went to get Fast Passes for the Tower of Terror, and Mom, Dad, Paula and Wes headed to Paradise Pier (since Mom and Dad hadnt been over that way yet).
I got the Fast Passes for the Tower of Terror and then decided to get Fast Passes for Grizzly River Run as well, before meeting up with Mom and her group--after all, I had promised Michael a ride. Its nice that the ride is right by the entrance to the Grand Californian, so you can go and change into dry clothes once youre finished. I also needed to do a little Fast Pass research so Id stay in the good books with Larry Wilmot.
I caught up with the others at Paradise Pier and we looked through a gift shop for a while, as the rides werent open yet. When Lisa, Lemuel and Michael joined us, it was time for our ToT Fast Passes. Paula, Lemuel, Michael and I went to the ToT while the rest stayed behind.
After our many drops on the Tower, we called the rest of the group to see where they were. Turns out, they were still at Paradise Pier. Dad had decided that he wanted to ride California Screamin. I recommended that they get a Fast Pass for it and then meet us at Grizzly River Run so we (the few of us who were brave/stupid enough to do it anyway) could ride that.
Our group arrived first and it seemed that our Fast Passes would not be needed today. Apparently there werent many people fired up about getting soaked when it was wet and cold out anyway--the ride had a 2-minute wait posted. The way I look at it, if youre going to be wet anyway, you might as well be really wet (dry clothes are for wimps!). I asked Lemuel and Michael if they were still up for the ride (Paula said there was no way she was doing it today) and they said yes. So, we stripped off our many layers of clothes down to one shirt each and our pants (burying poor Paula under the load of themshe looked like she worked at a dry cleaners, she had so many clothes to keep) and hurried up the queue.
There was no line to speak of, just a two-minute walk to the loading deck. We were put on a raft with three young men and had a great time trying to decide who was going to get soaked. Actually, thats not a hard thing to figure out if Im in the raftits going to be me! Sure enough, I was drenched by the time we got off the ride, and very, very cold.
Wes, Mom, Dad, and Lisa came up just as we were coming off the ride. Wes had said earlier that he would ride it with us and he was still game, so the four of us headed back to the ride. Once again, I received the bulk of the moisturejust call me the human sponge.
Did I mention that it was cold today? Yes? Well did I mention that being both wet and cold is a really good way to get a bad case of hypothermia?
Michael and Lemuel werent too wet, so they said they would go with Dad and Paula to ride California Screamin. The rest of us went back to the hotel so Wes and I could get dry. We stopped in at the lounge for some cokes before going back to the room to change clothes and dry my hair.
We decided to try lunch at Storytellers Café in the Grand Californian today, so I went down to the concierge desk and made a priority seating for 1:30. The rest of our group showed up after their ride on California Screamin and we decided to go ahead and go to the restaurant as we were all getting pretty hungry.
We checked in for our table of 8 at 1:00 and were seated within 5 minutes. When the CM took our drink orders, we all just ordered water. Apparently this was a concept that she couldnt quite deal with because, when she took our food order, she checked with each and every one of us asking And with your meal, youll be drinking ?
Water, came the reply from all eight of us.
The food was all very good. I had a pizza, but cant remember what everyone else had. The portions were huge, however and we all wished we had split our entrees between two of us. It was nice to sit down to an unhurried meal with everyone.
After lunch we decided to head into Disneyland, each with our own agendas. Wes and Paula, however, decided to skip the park this afternoon and take a nap instead. Poor Paula, I think the 15-hour day on Saturday had just about finished her off!
Lisa wanted to see Snow Whites Enchanted Musical, which started at 3:00. Mom wanted to go to Frontierland to see if she could find some Pirate swords (one of the boys had just had a pirate party for his birthday) or some of the toy wooden guns like the ones they sell in Florida as the boys were constantly playing cowboys and Indians, or cops and robbers, or grand theft auto or whatever games it is that these crazy kids play with swords and guns today. Dad was just along for the ride, so he said hed go with Mother. Lemuel and Michael wanted to go to the Mad Hatter to see if they could get Michaels name put on a baseball cap that he had bought, and I was looking for Donald Duck merchandise for the son of a co-worker.
We split up as soon as we hit Main Street and I headed to the Emporium where I had absolutely no luck in finding any unique Donald items. I did however, get a fortune from Esmerelda (a coin-operated machine in a store on Main Street). The fortune was very detailed and I got a laugh out of reading it. Sorry, I cant tell you what it said or it wont come trueeveryone knows that!
I had just stepped out of the shop when I got a call from Lemuel and Michael. They had no luck at the hat shop on Main Street and were coming down the street behind me. I stopped and waited for them and we decided wed try the Mad Hatter in Fantasyland, so we headed there. As it turns out, they cant monogram on baseball hats, so no luck there.
We called Mom and Dad who said theyd meet us at Star Tours. Lemuel, Michael and I got there first (stopping along the way for some cotton candy for Michaelcan you believe it? Not a churro!) so we got Fast Passes and then hopped in the stand-by line. Mom and Dad showed up right as we got in line, so Dad joined us while Mother waited. After we got off, Dad went to the pin store to look at pins, Michael stayed with Mom, and Lemuel and I rode Star Tours again, using our Fast Passes this time.
Lisa had joined everyone by the time we finished with our ride. It was almost time for the 3:00 parade (which means it was fast approaching 4:00 oclock), so we decided to try and make our way out of the park before we got trapped in Tomorrowland. Lisa need a bathroom break so Lemuel said he would wait for her and the rest of us went back towards the hotel.
Mom, Dad, and Michael went back to the room but I stayed and looked around Downtown Disney for a while. Lisa and Lemuel showed up later as they *had* been caught by the parade and so were delayed getting out of the park. Lisa hadnt seen the parade yet however, so she was glad for the chance to see some of it.
When I got back to the room, Paula and Wes were up and ready to go. They went ahead and left for Disneyland while the rest of us decided to hang around the lounge for a while.
Apparently *everyone* had the same idea as us because the lounge was pretty crowded when we arrived a little after 6:00 and apparently, everyone was very, very hungry! It was a mob scene and we got quite tickled watching guests jockey for position around the black bean empanadas. Im fully convinced that you could have lost an arm reaching for an uncrustable, or have been stabbed with a fork at the very least. The poor CMs working in the lounge were doing their best to bring wine and drinks to everyone and to keep the food stocked at the same time, but they were fighting a losing battle.
One little girl was waiting in line by the uncrustable platter (which was empty, of courseeverything was emptyit looked like a horde of hungry locusts had eaten their way through the lounge!). Mother asked her if she was going to get a peanut butter sandwich and she said, Im getting some of everything! which seemed to pretty much be everyones motto this evening.
The uncrustable platter had been empty for a little while and a guest had mentioned it to one of the CMs who said he would bring out some more. A moment later, another guest had cornered him, asking where their wine was. He said he would be right back with their wine prompting Mother to joke, No time for wine, man. We need uncrustables!
Now while I have to admit to occasionally taking a *wee bit* of poetic license and perhaps exaggerating ever so slightly for comedic value from time to time, I swear I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I tell you that there was one couple (just two people with no one joining them later) who had no less than thirty empanadas stacked on a plate on their table. Come on, people.
We ate what food that we dared to brave the ravenous throngs to get and then went back to the room. Mother wanted to get her pajamas on and she asked if Id go down to the lounge for her at 8:00 and bring a few desserts back to the room for her. I, of course, said I would. I downloaded the pictures for the day and worked on my trip report notes until 8:00. I went into the other room and found Mom, Dad and Lisa all in bed and Lemuel and Michael watching TV.
I went ahead and went down to the lounge to check on the desserts for Mom in case she woke up and discovered that they had flan this evening! Yes, Mothers favorite dessert of all concierge loungesFlan! (They also had fruit tarts, mini cheesecakes, several kinds of cakes, and three or four different kinds of cookies.) I made a plate for her and took it back to the room. I stood at the end of her bed and whispered, flan ever so quietly. The woman sprang out of bed like a marine late for reveille, waking Dad and Lisa in the process! Michael and I made another trip to the lounge to bring some more for everyone. I got a few cookies and went back to my room to answer some email.
Paula and Wes came back around 10:15, having had a nice time at Disneyland. I was up at 12:30 again, wandering the lobby for a while, talking a bit, and taking a few pictures before coming to bed around 1:15.
