At 7am another wakeup call from Stitch, and I don’t know about you but Stacy on the TV is really getting to me, “Mountain Triple Whammy, Space Mountain Big Thunder Mountain Splash Mountain WHAMWHAMWHAM”, it was cool the 1st 100 times, but why in the name of John Galt and Uncle Walt does the TV have to default to that channel?? Anyways, I decided to check out the Animal Kingdom, so after a quick breakfast of the School Bread leftover from Akershus I took the bus to AK. It was pretty cool, equal parts zoo and amusement park. I rode the Safari, which was okay but most of the animals were MIA and the CM didn’t seem that into it. The Kali River Rapids was very wet, and as an aspiring capitalist I didn’t appreciate the stab at the logging company LOL. After that I went to Dinoland to dry off, and rode Dinosaur. The queue was themed very well, and the pre-ride show was cool. The ride itself was very bumpy, I could see how someone could lose their lunch on the ride. The Carnosaur or T-Rex made me jump, so that is something. Then a long trek back to Asia to ride Expedition Everest. The ride from the queue to the mountain itself is all perfect, you don’t feel like you are riding a roller coast, you actually feel like you are climbing a mountain…as for the Abominable Snowman, he is really, really cool lookin’…
After that, there wasn’t much to keep an Ayn Rand Man’s attention, so I took a bus back to the Poly, checked messages, and on a whim called WDW-Dine to check on the availability of dining at Akershus again. There was a slot available on Saturday at 4:25pm, so I asked if there was availability at 1900 Park Fare (I had heard about it), and surprisingly enough, there was a 10:10am slot available. Sweet!! After that I headed over to the Magic Kingdom. For a late lunch I ate at Casey’s Corner, love their dogs…I know it’s just an all beef hotdog with Sauerkraut and spicy pickle relish, but it tasted so good! And I’ve had gourmet brats at overpriced eateries in Chicago and Manhattan, I don’t know if it’s the ‘magic’ or the atmosphere, but they are good! Okay, enough about the hot dogs, on the outside terrace they have a fellow who plays excellent tunes on the piano, he was playing something from “The Music Man” although I couldn’t place it. Then I took a leisurely stroll through Adventureland, past the Aladdin meet and greet where I swore I saw Jasmine throw a knowing look at me (might have been the pickle relish though) and on to Caribbean Plaza to ride POTC again. That is a ride I could do 10 times and not get sick of, the ship and fort battle is superb and Johnny Depp’s alter ego is great. As I left the ride (whoever came up with the idea of having a ride exit into a gift shop is diabolically clever, I want to hire him!!) I saw a crowd gathered around outside the queuing area. There was a pirate named Mack who was talking to the crowd about how to become a pirate, and trying to call out Jack Sparrow. Out of the crowd comes witty Jack, as he walked by he tapped some guy on the shoulder in passing and snuck up on Mack as the other pirate was berating the fact that Jack Sparrow wasn’t there…to which Sparrow corrected him by saying “Captain, captain Jack Sparrow!” The rest was a pirate tutorial that was very funny, and Jack was a dead ringer for Depp. Highly recommended for pirate fans, Depp fangirls and guys who like a good larf. From there I strolled through Adventureland, and at a spot just opposite the Golden Horseshoe Revue was a meet and greet for Donald Duck, in a Davey Crockett hat and buckskin jacket, and the line was short, so I did what any fan of the Duck would do, and got his autograph and a pic. He was very much in character, the kid before me he covered up the mouse ears on the kid’s hat, I got in his good graces by saying that I liked his cartoons better as a kid, he got very animated about that. After the pic and the autograph I said “Remember the Alamo!” as I left. That kind of left me misty eyed, because the trip was winding down and I really and truly got into the spirit of Disney. I made it a point to stay for the “Share a Dream Come True” parade, which I enjoyed, I can tell you that if I saw it several months or even a week previous I would have scoffed at it for being ‘sappy’ but I loved it. I stuck around for another showing of “Dream Along with Mickey” then headed back to the hotel for some cocktails at the Lounge, then hopped on the first bus at the bus stop, which took me to the Hollywood Studios. On an impulse I checked out the “Walt, an American Dream”, it was very insightful, and had some very cool miniatures of the original Sleeping Beauty Castle, Cinderella Castle at WDW, the Disneyland Paris Castle and more, so it was good. I took the plunge and sat through the entire bit of “Beauty and the Beast, the Musical”. The production value was great, and I was amazed at Belle’s singing (and that IS her singing, not pulling an Ashlee Simpson). I actually was chocked up a the climax, and gave the performance a standing ovation. A quick stop by a refreshment stand for a beer, then off to the Animation Courtyard to check out “Voyages of the Little Mermaid.” And yeah, I was the only solo guy there, but y’know what? What happens in WDW, stays in WDW. The opening puppet act with the crab singing “Under the Sea” was great, Ursula was well-rendered and Ariel was wonderful. If this trip has taught me anything, it is that ANYONE can discover the magic, if only for the time they are at WDW. By this time it was getting late, and I decided to head back to the room and order up room service. I ordered up a medium-well 1/3 pound burger, crab cakes and some Heineken and settled in to watch the animated Robin Hood on the Toon Disney Channel…Burger: $15, Crab Cakes: $11.95, 6 bottles of Heineken: $40, delivery charge & gratuity $20, watching a cartoon you haven’t seen in 20 years…priceless.
Theeennn, I got a call from my contact. It appears that some high-ranking mucky-mucks that I was trying to court at the conference wanted to paint the town red, and wanted your Humble Friend and Narrator to join them. I looked at the three empties and the three full ones in the ice bucket and the comfy bed longingly, but business and duty calls. My contact drove (he drank diet-Red Bull, so he was our DD, remember, don’t drink and drive, kids!) myself and our German friends to Margaritaville, where we drank `ritas, listened to Jimmy Buffet and reasonable facsimiles karaoke to his music and tried with limited success to hit on the local female population. I had the most luck of the bunch (at 30 I was the young whelp of the bunch, hey I actually got carded at the door!!) but decided against closing the deal as the young lady in question would have to share a car ride with a carload of intoxicated middle-aged Germans and a younger but still drunk dude. I didn’t get back to the hotel room until 2am, I know I got there but I don’t know how I got to my room or how I got into bed….
Next: Saturday, How Hangovers Hurt More as you get Older, and Why it’s not good to Nurse a Hangover at 1900 Park Fare Brunch…