The View from Scopa Towers

So now that I have fully recovered from "One More Disney Day", it's time to reflect on the event.

Feb. 29th, 2:45 am

I had set my alarm to go off at 3:00 am, but was worried so much that I would oversleep that I beat the alarm, just as I do on the morning of a race.

I took a quick shower, made sure all my essential were in my backpack, most importantly extra batteries, and took off for The Magic Kingdom. Wow, it was quite foggy on this morning.

Feb. 29th, 3:45 am

I parked in the first row at the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) Parking Lot and walked over to the TTC. I found about 150 people already there, waiting for the monorail.

I was there no less than five minutes when a large contingent of guests arrived, which prompted the cast members to make use of the rope queues. I ended up in the right rope queue which moved me about 20 people back from the monorail ramp. It was now about 4:30 am.

Feb. 29th, 4:45 am

I managed to squeeze onto not the first, but the second monorail car headed for The Magic Kingdom. When the announcement came over that we would be among the first to enter the park that day the car erupted with cheers. It was at that moment that the child in me was stirred to excitement...imagine being a child on this day and how excited you would be to go to The Magic Kingdom? That's how it felt.

Feb 29th, 5:00 am

I checked in at the media table to the far left of the turnstiles, received my special wristband, and had my Annual Pass scanned. As I entered the park I received my One More Disney Day Mickey Ears...

...and my special One More Disney Day Button, both of which by now as you read this blog, have already made their presence felt on eBay.

I then waited with some other lucky folks for rope drop. We were on the left side of the Train Station area. The right side turnstiles had hundreds of guests ready to head for their favorite attraction. I snapped this photo of the Train Station to capture the moment.

Now, if you were standing in my shoes and turned about 125 degrees to your right you would have seen Mickey and Minnie in pajamas in front of several media cameras covering this event.

There were several local television stations covering this event and, in fact, there was one right behind me talking to a family and I may have been on local television...or at least my back was on local television.

Feb. 29th, 5:55 am

The Magic Kingdom’s Family of the Day and the Mayor proudly welcomed everyone to The Magic Kingdom and we are allowed to enter. One point worth noting, this opening was very much like any other park day opening as there was no special fireworks or music.

Feb. 29, 6:15 am

Once inside the Magic Kingdom I headed over to the hospitality station at Tony’s where I received my gift…another hat and a OMDD shirt, and enjoyed breakfast with my AllEars colleagues Deb Wills and Deb Koma and my WDWTODAY colleague Mike Newell of MouseWorldRadio.

Feb. 29th, 7:00-9:00 am

After a pleasant breakfast, at which we tried to map out exactly how we would navigate through the day, Mike Newell and I decided to try and do a live stream cast from The Magic Kingdom. With fingers crossed we started at 7:00 am and we were off.

We walked up Main Street, USA and interviewed a few folks and basically took our audience on a tour of the Magic Kingdom on this very special day.

Many of those we talked to said they planned to stay for the entire 24 hours and in many cases had huge backpacks with supplies to help them make it through the day and the night ahead.

We noticed that for the first few hours the park's guests were very dispersed throughout, much unlike Extra Magic Hour Mornings where only certain attractions were open.

We walked around to all the lands and even took out viewers on the Walt Disney Railroad and the Tomorrowland People Mover. It was great knowing that we were helping those who could not be there see what was going on.

As we walked into Adventureland and came across Aloha Isle, several of our viewers suggested that we have a Dole Whip...at 7:20 am. I had a Dole Whip and Mike had cold caffeine to give him a boost.

As I had mentioned, since practically all attractions were up and running at 6:00 am, most of the guests were looking at no more than a 15 minute queue lines. Of course this would change as the day wore on.

This day was certainly a novelty for the Cast Members as well and they seemed to have an extra spark of magic in their step.

Broadcasting and talking for two straight hours can be quite challenging, but on this particular day it was more of a novelty than a challenge. We closed the broadcast just after 9:00 am and headed over to the AllEars Meet at Pinocchio Haus. We told everyone we would try to broadcast later on that day and evening.

Feb. 29th 9:30 am – 11:30 am

We attended the AllEars meet at Pinocchio Haus and with that came visits from old friends and also visits from new friends.

We ran into a couple of guests who planned to eat at every restaurant and counter and experience every attraction and parade during the 24 hours the park would be open. I never saw them again after that meet so I don’t know if they were successful. As I ran down the list of park restaurants and asked if they had ADRs, they nodded their heads "Yes!"

But there is more. They also planned to experience every attraction, every parade, the nighttime fireworks, and every other component of The Magic Kingdom. They picked the right day to try and do this.

I had also heard second hand that there was a contingent of hardcore fans who were determined to experience "100 attractions" that day. I guess that meant attending 100 attraction events as The Magic Kingdom falls short of 100 attractions...slightly.

Feb. 29th 11:30 am

After the meet we seemed to be quite happy just sitting down and watching the crowd. As it was approaching Noon we realized we had been up for at least nine hours already and had 18 hours to go. We were getting tired and discussed leaving the park to rest and get recharged for the big overnight marathon. Before leaving we decided to check the Haunted Mansion. It was then that we realized that the crowds were beginning to build and that wait times would begin to grow. The 15-minute wait for Haunted Mansion at 7:30 am was now approaching 45 minutes at mid-day. Yikes.

I had a concern that the park would hit capacity later in the day and early evening when the other three parks closed.

Feb. 29th, 12:30 pm

I left the Magic Kingdom and headed back to my room. I had parked so close to the TTC I walked to my rental car. The following photo shows how close I actually parked.

Along the way back to my room I stopped for lunch and jotted down some notes regarding what I wanted to accomplish when I returned later on in the day.

My first goal was to make sure I got into The Magic Kingdom.

Feb. 29th, 1:45 pm

I arrived at my room and realized I had been up for almost 12 hours. That plus the fact that I had slept only a few hours the night before in anticipation of this day, made it easy for me to quickly nod off for a very important nap.

Feb 29th, 5:45 pm

No sooner did I fall asleep when my alarm went off. Holy cow, I slept for four hours but it seemed like four minutes. I took a refreshing shower, checked on my supplies, which included an extra shirt, extra batteries, and an assortment of protein bars and water for the long haul.

I was ready for part II of this marathon day.

Today I am continuing with my countdown list of things in and around Walt Disney World which I feel need attention and has been needing this attention for a number of years.

Let's start with:

#7 Carousel of Progress - Diorama Dilemma

Anyone who knows me realizes how important the Carousel of Progress is to me. Having said that, let me add that the importance of the Carousel of Progress is why I feel so strongly that it is in need of some attention. Presently there are several dioramas within this attraction with each diorama showing progress made in the world of electricity and science to that point in time. Each diorama has a timespan of approximately 20 years...well, except for the last two. The difference between the last two dioramas jumps from about 20 years to about 70 years, going from the 1940's to present time. That's quite a jump and we all know that a lot of "stuff" happened between the 40's and the turn of the century.
So I ask myself why hasn't anyone done anything about this? Why has the CoP had next to nothing happen to it for so many years? Well, one reoccurring thought is that this attraction, although so very near and dear to Disney purists, may never be a candidate for a refurbishing because it would need the refurbishment from time to time. Well, yes! Perhaps every 20 years remove a diorama and replace that with a present time display of progress. That should have been something that could have started in the 1980's. Of course this would mean that the original version of the attraction would eventually be retired and never seen again. For me, I think that is what keeps those first dioramas firmly in place.
There is one other theory, there is a fascinating with the story of the Carousel of Progress and how it eventually came to be at the 1964 World's Fair. That and it's tie to Walt himself makes it very hard for anyone to want to change it....or at least the first few dioramas.

Still, I see the attraction confusing many first time visitors as they realize the inconsistency as they come across the final diorama and sooner or later this will have to be addressed. Sooner or later instead of staying pat with the attraction, they will have to give in to...well...progress.

#6 Peter Pan’s Bump…erh Flight

Guests continue to love and flock to Peter Pan’s Flight in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland. So do I. When you think of it, of all the attractions that have resided in The Magic Kingdom, Peter Pan's Flight may be one of the few attractions that has never changed over theyears from opening day. Can you name the others? So why do I have this attraction on my fixit list?
I'm not looking for Walt Disney Imagineering to upgrade it, enhance it, or change anything. There is really nothing wrong with the ride except for one little bitty thing that has been bothering me for maybe as long as eight years.

Imagine yourself getting on this attraction and as you go through each scene you find yourself enjoying yourself so much that the attraction calms you down; relaxes you; makes you happy for where you are.

This is how i feel too. Then it happens. As my ship, as have many over these many years, slowly makes it's way pass Captain Hook calling for Smee my ship gets ready for the final turn and BUMP. That's right! Bump. It's as if someone has slammed on the brakes or there is a misalignment in the rail that the ride vehicle is sliding on but it happens every time. Is it too much to make that a bit smoother? I brace myself every time before that happens…do the small fry riding for the first time know it’s coming? I don’t think so.

#5 Spaceship Earth’s Rude Paperboy

Between the summer of 2007 and February of 2008 Spaceship Earth went through some significant changes. When it reopened there were mixed reviews. Some guests liked the new look while others were puzzled. Of all the comments made regarding the renovations to the attraction the best I heard was that the new look Spaceship Earth was , "...an E ticket on the way up and an A ticket on the way down."

But there was something else that struck me about the attraction beyond the fact that the latest generation of audioanimatronics were added and that the entire ride down from the top would be dominated by a small video screen in the ride vehicles. It seemed minor at the time but over the last three years every time I ride this attraction I shake my head.

As guests ascend the huge geosphere and are told of the story of communication through the years eventually their ride vehicle passes by a section that has a very interesting audioanimatronic figure on the left side of the vehicle. The figure is that of a paperboy who is hawking his latest edition...hot off the presses...read all about it.

My problem? He's not just facing away from the vehicle. He is about as far away from the vehicle as he possibly can and who knows what he's saying.

Now I’ve been told that the boy is supposed to be facing that way…that he is really facing the street. That’s all well and good but he’s the only audioanimatronic that I know of who is completely facing away from the guests. Before the refurb wasn’t he facing? Please give this machine some manners!

For the last three years I keep waiting to someday ride Spaceship Earth and discover that some imagineer has finally realized that they have created a very rude paperboy and they need to fix this issue.

We're only halfway there. We have five more to go.

Stay tuned.

We all have our lists. I have one I'm about to share with you. It's my Walt Disney World Fixit list. This list is comprised of things I'd like "fixed." Now in some cases I may not be mentioning something that is broken per se but let's say, it needs attention. Bear with me as I start my countdown:

#10 Wonders of Life Pavilion - What's up?

For those of us who remember when this pavilion was in its hey day, we found it to be very entertaining. Whether it was that film, "The Making of Me", or Body Wars, my favorite "Cranium Command" or learning about health, this pavilion could easily hold onto guests for an hour or so on every visit. Some people felt that Body Wars was a bit too rough at times but other than that, this pavilion had something for everyone. Since losing its

sponsorship in 2001 (MetLife was the sponsor), the pavilion's fate was pretty much set to eventually close down. Starting in 2004 the pavilion opened only during the peak times of the year which was usually late spring through summer and then around the Christmas holidays. If memory serves me correct the pavilion closed for good in 2007. Now it has been relegated to being the hosting center for both the International Flower and Garden Show every spring and the International Food & Wine Festival every fall.

That's all well and good but it is sad that a part of EPCOT and Future World that brought science, education, and entertainment together, was brought to a close. but I would love to see some health organization or insurance company pick up on the sponsorship and revive this pavilion and make it serve the purpose for which it was originally built, to provide Epcot guests with everything they need to know about living healthy lives. So this pavilion is not broke but it's been on my mind a lot these past few years and every time I see a shooting star I wish that the Wonders of Life would be revived...for the health of it.

#9 Imagination Pavilion - It's Time!

Imagine if we had left it alone. I’m really not picking on EPCOT. This pavilion was fine in it’s original state. In 1998, after some 15 years in operation, the pavilion closed; reopened in 1999 and for two years, had a rough time with guests who found they preferred the original version.

Closure came again and what we have today has been around since 2002. The original ImageWorks was outstanding and there were so many interesting things to do....not so anymore. Bringing back Captain EO last year gave a little boost to the pavilion but surely not enough to interest the masses. It's all too painful to see that this piece of EPCOT has two options in its future. One option is a complete "wipe and load" of the pavilion and the possibility of bringing back Journey to Your Imagination V1.0 which would make many a guest happy. There's something about having a lot of hands on exhibits that make museums real popular. Perhaps that's a formula worth looking at. The other option is tied to the very strong rumor, just a rumor mind you, that there have been plans in the works for over a year to do a complete demolition of this pavilion to make way for a new and exciting addition to Future World. Is there any way to tell if and when this will happen? I don't know. I can tell you this, the next time I'm in MouseGear I will be checking to see just how many pieces of Figment merchandise is on sale. If there is next to none then my imagination will go wild.

#8 Magic Kingdom’s Noodle Station Enigma

To Noodle or Not to Noodle...that's what seems to be the question these days. What many of us still refer to as the Tomorrowland Terrace in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, has been going by the moniker of Noodle Station for about six years now. It's been a rocky six years.
I’ve had the opportunity to eat there maybe twice since then and it’s not because I rarely go to Walt Disney World…I’m there quite often....please check my references. It's just that as much as I have spent some 210 days in Walt Disney World between 2005 and July 2011 I can count on one hand the number of days The Noodle Station has been open for business in those 210 days. Could it be coincidence? Could it be bad luck? Maybe I was not there during the peak crowd times? Is that what you are thinking? Hmmm. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. I've been all those seasons. So why is it rarely open? I've asked questions and have gotten back several answers...or what I think are more like theories. One thought is that there is not enough interest in the food offerings to justify keeping the counter open. Well, there is a lot of traffic that flows through there so traffic is would not an issue. Plus if guests KNOW the eatery is going to be open than perhaps they will visit more often. Again, just a theory. The second theory is that that it's hard to keep quick-service staff. Not buying that one because there are many, many counter-service locations around Walt Disney World and doing very well thank you. That leaves us with the third theory that says that preparation of the different offerings at this location is kind of tricky and preparing the food becomes a challenge to offer the guests good quality...hence closure comes because after a while the food preparation runs into problems. I'm still not clear about this last one because aren't there Asian counter service locations in EPCOT's World Showcase? Well, whatever the reason it would be nice to see The Noodle Station either remain open all the time or at least give the guests an idea of what operating schedule the counter will be following. That's what needs fixing. Now should I say the same for Tortuga Tavern or save it for another time?

Well, that's numbers 10, 9, and 8. The countdown continues in a few days.

Chad Emerson usually spends his time teaching Property, Land Planning, and Intellectual Property courses at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law.

A few years ago, as part of his law professor job, he began to put some notes together for an academic paper he was interested in writing…a paper on improvement districts, which are best described as public-private partnerships in which businesses in a defined area pay additional tax dollars or fees for improvements within that district’s boundaries.

One of the primary goals of an improvement district is usually to see an overall upgrading of the district in terms of capital improvements and marketing.

Emerson’s article was focused on the Reedy Creek Improvement District in Central Florida because it was so unique. While doing research on the matter he kept coming across some really interesting anecdotes that weren’t necessarily relevant to the legal and regulatory structure of the district but were fascinating to him as a Disney fan.

The more he found these anecdotes and talked to people who shared these anecdotes he realized that there was more to the project than just an academic tale about the improvement district.

As Emerson puts it, “There is a story here which tells how and why Walt Disney selected central Florida as his sequel to Disneyland.”

So what started out as your run of the mill academic paper would eventually morph into "Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World " and what many have termed as “the best biography on Walt Disney World” to date.

When I first heard of this book my immediate thought was, “Gee how many times will I come across a book that has the same old stuff about how Walt Disney World came about?”

I had recalled in my mind of other books that have talked about how Walt Disney was looking for something East of the Mississippi…a sort of Disneyland East… heard about the stories of August Busch insulting Walt Disney and pretty much negating any chance of a Disney themed resort in St. Louis. I had read several different accounts of those stories. Why read them again? My curiosity for once was a good thing.

I realized after reading just a few pages that this was not another retelling of the story but so much more.

This law professor from Alabama had me hooked from the get go with not just the amazing detail between the covers of this book but more than just that; he was delivering information that I was unaware of; stories I had never heard; and painted for me a portrait of just how involved it was back in the 1960’s to work towards the eventually landing of Walt Disney World in Central Florida.

As I read each page I found both the casual and sophisticated Disney fan that makes up my being begging for more and more information. I consumed each word on each page because with each paragraph came a new avenue of facts; facts I was not aware of…until now.

Within the first 50 or so pages I was thoroughly convinced that “Project Future” had gone where no book had gone before; to bring new material to the table regarding the effort of the Walt Disney Company to bring it’s special form of family entertainment East of the Mississippi and specifically Central Florida.

What had started out as an abstract academic paper resulted in some two years later as an all comprehensive chronicle of how over 12 years the Walt Disney Company conducted research, surveys, secretive on goings and other steps to eventually decide and build what we affectionately call today as the happiest place on Earth…the Walt Disney Resort in Central Florida.

Emerson states that the goal here was to achieve balance between the casual and well-informed Disney fan and in both cases he hits his mark.

This is truly essential and required reading of the biography of Walt Disney World.

Oh I could tell you some interesting and fascinating anecdotes from Emerson’s book but I cannot do his words justice. Within the pages of the book I found some very interesting details…

…About the level of secrecy the Walt Disney Company went through in protecting it’s identity while researching Central Florida.

…How a Massachusetts-based college ownership of mineral rights almost put an end to Walt Disney World’s chances of ever being built in Central Florida.

…how several relatively unknown people, Paul Helliwell and Ray Hawkins, were as vital to the Florida Project, if not more, than Walt and Roy Disney themselves.

Speaking of Helliwell and Hawkins, the author notes, “If it weren’t for those two guys Disney World would not be located where it is and probably not in Florida. They were the two most important people you have never heard have that led to the creation of Disney World.”

I asked Chad Emerson what surprised him most during his research and writing of the book. He is quick to point out that he became convinced early on that if it were not for several key events Walt Disney World would not exist as we know it today.

I don’t want to give away all the information in the book regarding the level of secrecy the Walt Disney Company went through to protect it’s identity and the project but think about the following points:

• All secret tactics taken by The Disney Company to protect its identity were legal back then but certainly not possible today.

• Key figures in Project Future were former members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. These figures were well versed is the importance of discreetness.

• The involvement of Joe Potter and Joe Fowler, both military men, brought to the story, as Emerson so aptly puts it, “…a layer of real life intrigue and experience that would be something in a novel.”

The book spends time describing how the Florida media was kept in check regarding the Disney Company’s need for secrecy and how certain relationships were so critical in making this entire project come to fruition as it did.

When asked what would stick with him the most from writing the book the author mentioned a few thoughts:

• First he was quick to point out that he realized that except for just a few changes in the events during the 60’s Walt Disney World could have very well landed someplace other than Central Florida. When you read the book you’ll find out just how many…some close and some not so close to Orlando.

• He also mentions how a handshake agreement almost sealed the deal in locating Walt Disney World in the Palm Beach area but it didn’t.

• He also repeated again the scope and depth of the secret maneuvers to protect the Disney Company’s identity through the 60’s during Project Florida’s busiest goings on and how these efforts were most intriguing.

• Finally Emerson still marvels at the events that took place following Walt Disney’s passing in 1966 and how his brother Roy provided a steady hand in driving the project home.
Emerson remarks, “…it’s amazing that Roy and the Disney team were able to execute so much even though the creative visionary (Walt) was not there to guide them along the way.”

Writing the book was certainly a challenge because finding firsthand information from that time would be rather difficult. People who had played key roles had passed away and back in the late 60’s there was no such animal as digitized information and so there wasn’t much information readily available.

Emerson wanted to bring new information to the table; information that was reliably sourced. He spent many hours doing research and reading depositions located in the the University of Central Florida Archives, and the State of Florida Archives.

Although he did find a lot of information at those two locations he does like to point out that that it was in a warehouse in Atlanta, Ga. at the National Archive’s Southeast Branch where he found his “diamond in the rough” as he calls it.

The bit of information surrounds a Florida Ranchlands lawsuit, which involved a dispute over commissions.

Emerson had searched high and low for information on this lawsuit and felt that it would be next to impossible to write his story as completely as he needed to unless he was able to piece together information surrounding said lawsuit. He did pull them together…it’s all there on page 133.

As I wrapped up my conversation with Chad I asked him a bit more about moving from an academic article to his book. He chuckled and said when he started writing that article that it never crossed his mind that someday this idea would result in a book.

Emerson likes to affectionately refer to the article as an “early gestation of the book.” You can read the original article here and see for yourself the level of detail Emerson brings to the table.

Finally Emerson said that all along he wanted to make sure that his audience knows that his goal was to write an unbiased story. He did not want to have any Disney influence and thus he did not make a trek to the Burbank archives. He talked with very few current Disney employees.

One major insight that he reflected upon was that during the time Project Future was going strong that much of the Disney company “bandwidth” was so consumed by this effort that he feels it is then understandable as to why mid to late 60’s that the classic Disney creative energy was somehow not focused on films or television as it perhaps could have been.

His final thoughts on what his countless number of hours of research and writing has taught him?

He says, “This magical place did not just happen. It is the product of amazing creativity, amazing hard work and amazingly clever secretive maneuvers that on three or four occasions could have just fallen apart; but persistence and determination did not allow that to happen.”

Persistence and determination was also shown in this labor of love by the author and anyone who is curious as to all regarding the creation of Walt Disney World will more than satisfy that curiosity by picking up this complete biography of Walt Disney World and finding out “…the rest of the story.”

Purchase Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World

Alright! You’ve been given some time to think it over. Just how would you be able to navigate through the four Walt Disney World theme parks under the parameters set by yours truly?

It takes some thought; some planning; and probably a little luck.

I’ve put some thought into this and I’m ready to share my thoughts with you.

Here is what I came up with:

• First, if possible, I would try and pull this stunt off on a day that offers both an Extra Magic Hour Evening Hour Morning in one park and an Extra Magic Hour Evening in another park. If both occur on the same day then potentially I am looking at an extra four hours of touring time to complete my park touring requirements. Every minute counts so the strategy here is to look for a way to get more time.
• If there are no days with this combination of both an EMH Morning and EMH Evening then I would look for a day in which either EPCOT or Magic Kingdom has an Extra Magic Hour Evening and focus on that day. The preference here would be the Magic Kingdom because Spectromagic and Wishes would play a big part of my plan but either park will work.
• My thoughts are that it would be wise to use a combination of both a rental car and Disney Transportation to go from one park to another…you’ll understand how when you read my plan later on.
• The more in your travel party the slower you move so my plan says try this with no more than three other friends. If I go beyond four in my travel party then there is a greater chance that there may be times when the party will need to wait to get on certain attractions…not to mention getting around in a car. So to maximize my potential for success, I’m doing this solo or with just one other person.
• I plan to stretch out my eating plans. I’m thinking that I will eat at my resort before going to my first park. This breakfast has to hold me for a long time. I want a lot behind me before I stop to eat lunch. Preferably I want to eat lunch towards the end of my time in park number two but realize that due to attraction queues lunch may happen in park number three and dinner in park number four.

My Attraction Strategy

Before I go into my detailed plan let me discuss my thoughts on how to attack the attraction touring portion of this plan:

• For the attractions I will focus on will be those which I feel move guests in and out of the attraction as quickly as possible. So, I will be looking to ride any attraction that is a constant loading attraction, that is, one with continuous moving ride vehicles thatnever stop.
• The proximity of certain attractions to each other will also play a key role in making the most of my time in the parks. Travel time between parks is important but so is travel time between attractions.
• Now here’s an interesting thought. FastPass may be more of an enemy in this challenge than an ally. Sure early in the morning it may help but come afternoon the FP distribution times usually run from four to as many as six hours out. So it may be better to wait 40 minutes in stand-by as opposed to waiting four hours to make use of a FastPass.
• Diversions. I will make good use of diversions. By diversions I mean parades or fireworks, or anything that draws crowds away from attractions. You’d be surprised as to how much you can do in a theme park during a diversion.

The Plan

I'm not sure if there is any type of barometer that can be used to determine what is the best way to do this little challenge. We all have our favorite parks and favorite attractions so we all have different takes on what would work well for an approach to accomplish this feat.

For me, my thought is to try not to necessarily do this as fast as I can and do so in some commando mode but to try and do it without running from park to park and attraction to attraction.

So after much thought, here is what I came up with for doing four parks in one day:

• The day I've chosen to do this challenge is Thursday, July 3, 2008 because on that day Disney's Animal Kingdom, my first park of the day, will be offerring Extra Magic Morning Hours and that evening The Magic Kingdom will be hosting Extra Magic Evening Hours. So this means that the turnstiles at Disney's Animal Kingdom will be open for me at 8:00 A.M. and later that night Magic Kingdom will be open to me until 1:00 A.M. Sure it may be hot and may be crowded but this 17 hour window offers me the best chance to do this challenge.
• I will get up as early as possible so I can be at the Animal Kingdom turnstiles around 7:30 or so. This means either eating an early and quick meal at one of my resort's eateries or having something in my room. My preference is to have a little breakfast snack in the room...either way I'm pulling into the DAK parking lot no later than 7:00 A.M.

Park #1 - Disney's Animal Kingdom

Here's how I will attack my first park of the day:

1. It's 7:30 and I am already at the turnstiles. When I get into the park I walk over to Expedition Everest and grab a FastPass. I then go to Kali River Rapids. Why? Well everyone else is doing the Safari or Everest so I can get my first attraction (KRR) out of the way real fast. My guess is that I can be out of Kali River Rapids by 8:30. One attraction down.
2. Time to use my Expedition Everest FastPass. Most likely my FastPass distribution time is probably for sometime between 9:00 and 10:00. No problem. If I go on Everest somewhere between 9:00 and 9:30 I will be off the attraction no later than 9:45. Two attractions down.
3. At this point my guess is that my best choice would be Dinosaur. It is one of those attractions which some people do not like because it's loud, rough, and downright scary. That translates into a short queue. It's also not that long of a walk from Everest to Dinosaur.If I can get into Dinosaur somewhere in the vicinity of 10:00 to 10:15 then I could very well find myself leaving Disney's Animal Kingdom around 11:00, if not sooner. One park down.
4. Since I got to the park early I may not need to wait for the traim to take me to the parking lot and my rental car. I may be parked close enough to the park entrance to walk to the car...another reason why I arrived to the park so early.

My next park in this challenge is Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Park #2 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

I chose as my second park of the day because this park is really suited only for being park number two. It cannot serve as my first park because the attractions aren't open until mid morning. It cannot be my third park because that would mean I would be in the smallest of the four theme parks in mid to late afternoon, and of course it cannot replace Magic Kingdom on this day because Magic Kingdom offers Extra Magic Hours in the evening and two diversions which will lower the queues for my targeted attractions.

Here we go:

1. Let's assume that worse case scenario, I am going through the Studios turnstiles at 11 A.M. My first stop is the SuperGreeter Board at the the corner of Hollywood Bvd. and Sunset Blvd. to check out the waiting times. The first bit of information is to determine which of the two attractions, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror or Rock 'N' Roller Coaster, have less than an hour wait. The second important piece of information is to find out what the FastPass distribution times are for both of them.
2. I will grab a FastPass for the attraction with the longest queue and get in line for the other attraction. My guess is that the Fast Pass Distribution time will be somwhere between two and three hours out. So that tells me that in that time I should focus on doing two other attractions and try to eat lunch. The one flaw in this plan is that I really cannot risk eating lunch too soon before doing either the Tower or RnRC.
3. Let's assume RnRC has the longer line. I will then grab a FastPass for that attraction and get in line for the Tower. Now I'm guessing that if it's around 11:30 or so that my FastPass will have a distribution time of somewhere between 1:30 and 2:30. Let's say it's a 45 minute wait for the Tower. I emerge from that attraction somewhere around 12:30-12:45. I should be able to squeeze in attraction #2 before my RnRC FastPass time arrives.
4. I check the board again...what has shorter lines...Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, or The Great Movie Ride? My guess is that it's Star Tours...Toy Story Mania is new and will be crowded...TGMR is always packed in the afternoon during the summer...and compared to TGMR and TSM, Star Tours will almost always have the shorter queue line.
5. The assumption is that I arrive at Star Tours around 1:00 and get on the attraction no less than 45 minutes later. I thus emerge from the attraction around 2:00 and head over to use my RnRC FP. To be fair I must assume that it will still be at least a 15-20 minute wait even with my FP. I thus assume I'm walking out of the attraction sometime around 3 P.M.
6. I need to eat lunch so I stop off at Cantina Eddie's for some pizza and a drink to fulfill the lunch requirement before heading out the turnstiles sometime around 3:45 or so.

Park #2 is complete. I drive to EPCOT.

Park #3 - EPCOT

With luck I'm walking through the EPCOT turnstiles no later than 4:30.

I'm glad I stopped for a quick linch at the Studios. It's all attractions for this park.

For EPCOT there are some options I have to consider. To save time I will do eithe the tandem of Test Track and the Gran Fiesta Tour or Oh Canada and Soarin' as ther first two and the last two are relatively close in distance. The other attraction I will focus on is Spaceship Earth because it is a constnat loading attraction.

1. Once again, first stop is the Supergreeter Board to get information on wait times.. Now here is where it gets tricky. It's late afternoon and probably not a good idea to look at FastPasses as they may have distribution times that go into early evening. I will still check but remember it's summer time with lots of crowds. The question that I know I must answer is whether I do Soarin' or Test Track. That decision will determine my World Showcase attraction.
2. I will assume Test Track will have the shorter wait...plus there's always the possibility of getting on quickly via the single passenger line. before getting in line I check the FP distribution times. If it's less than two hours I may go for it, head to Mexico, and possibly try to squeeze in Spaceship Earth too, although I prefer not to backtrack.
3. Let's assume I get into the Test Track standby queue and am out of there by 6 P.M.
4. I head over to Mexico and party with the three Caballeros and step off that attraction by 6:45.
5. With luck I'm entering my Spaceship Earth ride vehicle sometime around 7 P.M.,
6. I should be walking out of the EPCOT turnstiles around 7:30.
7. I need to save time so I head to the monorail and go to the Ticket and Transportation Center and switch to the Magic Kingdom Express Monorail.

Next and final stop is The Magic Kingdom.

Park #4 - The Magic Kingdom

If I can get to the Magic Kingdom before 8 P.M. I'll be estatic but realistically I will probably go through the turnstiles around 8:30.

1. The first thing I do is get my wristband for Extra Magic hours.
2. Time to eat. Where. Columbia Harbor House because it's centrally located in the park.
3. My guess is that everyone is lining up for Spectromagic, one of the diversions I had mentioned earlier. So after I emerge from a quick supper I head over to Haunted Mansion. Hopefully I'm out of the Haunted Mansion no later than 10 P.M.
4. Wishes may be just about to start so while everyone heads to the front of the park to watch Wishes I make my way over to Splash Mountain.
5. I should be able to gauge which of the two, Splash Mountain, or Big Thunder Mountain has the shorter queue. Whoever does have the shorter line will have me as a guest that night.
6. My guess is that it's now about 10:30 to 10:45 and I have one more attraction to do...and it's Prirates of the Caribbean.

And I'm done.

Reader's Comments

The response to this challenge has been overwhleming and I thank everyone for sending me their comments and their experiences. I am trying to read and respond to all the email I have received. Please be patient as I will get to your email. I plan to post a "Mike's Mailbag" edition with my favorite emails.

First an apology for my absence.

Buckle your seatbelts however, because from here until the aftermath of the d2008 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend we are on for quite a ride.

Thoughts on my Tower of Terror Trip

On Friday of my trip Len Testa and I took in the newly refurbished Haunted Mansion. If you plan to go to WDW soon and want to be surprised about the new enhancements to HM then you may want to skip the upcoming bulleted list, if not then read on:

• The first notable change was in the stretching room. The audio seemed to completely surround me. Also as the room starts to “stretch” you could hear squeaking sounds. Oh and our ghost host showed us (with better lighting) his way out.
• One more thing about the stretching room…are those gargoyles saying something?
• Once in the doom buggies the fun really began. As we entered the corridor we saw some stairways with candelabras…that’s new.
• The left side of the corridor/hallway has very long windows and it seems it was thundering and lightning outside.
• There were many new pictures adorning the walls.
• There also seemed to be eyes following us on our journey.
• Then there were the stairs…seemed taken out of an M.C. Escher painting with footsteps appearing and disappearing at the same time…upside down.
• The séance room had a fresh well lit assortment of instruments and Madame Leota…the new Leota…was floating in her crystal ball about four feet higher than I recall in the past. There is a flaw in this room…look for it.
• The attic was very different as special photographs told us about the famous Masey family and we learn quite a bit more about the Widow Masey.

From there we toured the Caribbean with some swashbuckling pirates. We noticed that this attraction has some deliberate debris placed in the water. Look for it the next time you ride this attraction.

We then strolled over to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Light-Year.

Here's proof...

Then while I made a few phone calls Mr. Testa rode Astro-Orbiter.

As we were leaving the Magic Kingdom I was accosted by some wild woman.

Here is one of the scarecrows that adorned Town Square.

We then took off to visit the monorail resorts…first stop the Contemporary…work coming along fine on the new DVC addition.

From there we shot over to the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Neither one of us had ever seen Victoria and Albert’s so we ventured over and looked into the restaurant. If you ever saunter over to V&As to check out the menu bring some smelling salts… for when you gaze at the prices.

From the GF we walked to the Polynesian as were we were meeting friends for lunch.

Along the way as we past by Luau Cove we checked the Scopa family brick…looks worn.

Lunch was at Kona.

From there it was time to head to Pleasure Island to pick up the race packets.

I ran into many friends there.

From there I drove some friends to All-Star Sports to check on the refurbished rooms.

Check them out.

From there it was onto TMK and the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party where I ran into my friends Matt, Marissa, Sara, and Josh.

The party was just like the last two years. We did our trick or treating and did a few attractions and saw the fireworks...

...the Villains Mix and Mingle....

...and the BOO-To-You Parade.

I was kind of fading and had a race to run the next day so I headed back to my room. I did run into Batman and Robin at the Ticket and Transportation Center.

I fell asleep about 12:30 A.M.

Saturday morning I spent in Epcot with a friend who I hadn’t seen in almost two years.

One of the "Can't Miss!" off the beaten path places everyone should visit is the mini-museum devoted to the history of Epcot. It just behind Club Cool.

Be sure to visit this exhibit, especially if you are a Horizons fan.

By mid day we each had commitments to attend to. He went to PI to get his race packet and I met a young lady by the name of Deb Wills for lunch at Fresh at the Dolphin…highly recommended….both Ms. Wills and the restaurant.

After lunch I went looking for some pins in Epcot before going back to the room to rest before the race.

I tried to nap but it must have been the rolling thunder that kept me awake.

The Race

I headed to Disney MGM/Studios around 7 P.M. and met about a dozen of my friends at the start line.

The race was really building up…thought it was going to rain. The weather was mild.

The race was late in starting because of traffic snarls and runners being held up.

The race began just about 9:50 P.M. or 20 minutes later than scheduled. But if you want to be real technical the race started 50 minutes late from the originally scheduled start time.

As expected it was a dark and at times a challenging course. Somewhere around Mile 2 the course was diverted into a gravel road. Thanks to some rain a few days earlier there was a portion of this road that offered a few sections with mud.

It was along this portion of the course that the runners were provided with entertainment in the form or volunteers who were dressed as insane asylum escapees. I’m sure it was entertaining for many of the runners but for me I questioned why this entertainment was focused on this area of the course when it was most important for the runners to concentrate on the footing…the uneven ground…the mud…and those poorly lit portions of the course.

The 13k (8.2 mile) course finished in the MGM Studios theme park. Runners came in through near Sid Cahuenga's then turned left to go up Hollywood Blvd and down towards the Commissary and the Sci-Fi Drive-In restaurant before heading toward the Lights! Motors! Action! Stunt Show stadium. From there we weaved our way through the Backlot Tour route.

The course also winded through some off-stage areas before coming out somewhere near Sunset Blvd. and then taking a right to go to Hollywood Blvd…then once on Hollywood Blvd. the course headed towards the front of the park and took a left at Crossroads and then made it’s way up the hill to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater and then eventually finishing just behind the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Courtyard.

This race was described as the first Annual Tower of Terror 13K which suggests it will return in 2008.

Hopefully the feedback the race organizers get from this race will provide some improvements in next year’s race.

If in fact this race returns next year here are some suggestions I have for the race directors.

• Regardless of whether packet pickup is at Pleasure Island or Disney’s World of Sports the setup should be such so that the line flow should be packet pickup, shirts, and tickets. This year there was some backtracking involved and people were bumping into one another. I truly think the pickup should be at the WoS.
• Begin the race earlier in the evening. I would suggest moving the start time to 9 P.M. or even 8 P.M. Most of the runners struggled because let’s face it, it’s Walt Disney World and curbing your daily activity to save energy for a nighttime race doesn’t work for everyone.
• Also, for those participating in the race, there was little time to enjoy the party afterwards. With an earlier start there is more opportunity to enjoy those attractions which are open for the party.
• Some consideration should be given to the medals. The 13K participants and the 6.5K participants both received the same medals even though the 13K participants ran twice the distance and paid more for registration. At least maybe change the ribbon color and décor to identify the course covered by the medal wearer.
• Regarding the course, there should be two corrals at the start with the 13K corral up front and the 6.5K corral at the rear. When the race started there were 6.5K participants in the midst of the 13.5K participants. This made for an awkward start.
• I’m sure I speak for most of the 13K participants when I say to scrap the gravel road portion of the race. It is difficult enough to run at night without worrying about an uneven surface. A slight adjustment in the course still allows the finish line to remain where it is.

After the race several of us had a late dinner/early breakfast at Picabu’s at the Dolphin Hotel…at around 2:30 A.M.

I got back to my room around 3:30 A.M. and after a much welcomed shower hit the pillow about 4 A.M. but never really got into a deep sleep.

I was up at 7:30 and spent the morning strolling around Pop Century in search of information regarding the beginning of the Legendary Years Phase for this resort. All I could find was some refurbishing of the Generation Gap Bridge.

I called up Disney Dining and was surprised that I was able to make an ADR at Boma for dinner that evening. I was planning to dine with some friends from the United Kingdom who favor the restaurant.

I headed into Epcot and had lunch with Beci Mahnken of MEI & Mouse Fan Travel®
At the Garden Grill in the Land pavilion. It was a very enjoyable and restful lunch.

I then went on a search to locate a special Halloween pin for my wife but came up short.

In the late afternoon I left Epcot and drove over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge where I met my friends for dinner.

We checked into Boma and waited to be called.

When our little gizmo buzzed and flashed we went to the podium where we were surprised to be announced as “Boma Family of the Night.” This meant we were escorted into the restaurant serenaded by drums and were seated at the front center table and made our way to the food before everyone else.

It was a nice final meal for me as Boma is one of my favorite restaurants and my company was exceptional

We then went to Epcot with plans to watch Illuminations before finishing the night at Beaches and Cream where my companions had visions of attacking the Kitchen Sink.

However after seeing the Oh Canada! film I felt the fatigue suddenly hit me. The past two days were finally catching up to me. I knew that sleeping just seven hours over two days while touring the parks and putting in an eight mile race would lead to fatigue at some point. This was that point.

I bid my friends farewell and would see them again in January for the WDW half-marathon.

I passed through the International Gateway and made my way along Boardwalk, stopping to capture my last photograph of the trip.

It was one of my shortest yet most intense WDW trips because of many factors, mostly of trying to squeeze so much into a few days. If I could have done it over I would not have done the MNSSHP the night before the race. I hope someone besides myself learns from this experience.

However, I came away from the trip with the satisfaction of knowing that I made each moment count as I spent 90% of my time with friends and it seems that more and more that seems to be the most important part of my WDW trips…to share the joy of the Disney culture with those with whom I care about.

One thing for sure….it made me even more excited to look forward to Mousefest.

Speaking of Mousefest

Are you ready? We are less than a month away and those on the Mousefest Organization Committee, Sponsors, and everyone else are working very feverishly to get everything in place for this annual event.

I’ve been making a list of things I have to do and this is the week I need to complete some tasks.

One of my tasks is to prepare for a new meet this year. It takes place on Thursday, Dec. 6th at 1 P.m. at the Tomorrowland Terrace in the Magic Kingdom. The meet is called “Mousefest 101” and it is geared towards helping first time Mousefest attendees understand what Mousefest is all about and how to get the most out of the event. I will be joined by Mark Goldhaber who is co-hosting the event with me.

If you are coming to your first Mousefest please try and attend this meet. I’m sure it will help you enjoy Mousefest.

A Word about January

We are about eight weeks from the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon.

Where should you be? Well, I’m thinking that for those of you planning to run in your first half-marathon that you should be in the 8-9 mile mark right now.

At this point you should be taking note of your pace.

Over the next few weeks we’ll talk about what you should consider as we close in on the race, be it your first half or full marathon.

For now as you get into the 8 or 9 mile workouts consider giving yourself an extra day or two of rest between these workouts. Your body will appreciate the gesture.

Sometime in the next few weeks we will all be receiving race information from the race organizers. This information will include a waiver sheet and a booklet that explains just about all you will need to know about the race.

Keep your eye out for that chunk of mail.

I’ll be back in a few days, and that’s a promise!

We’ve been tring to see the Indiana Jones stunt spectacular at the Studios for a ong time.
Thus today we started out in Disney MGM/Studios.

We got off to a late start but it was not an Extra Magic Hour morning for the park and things don’t start “cooking” until mid-morning in that park anyway.

Well, well…look what new addition we found when we walked into the park.

That wasn’t there a day or two ago. Of course I asked around and I was told, “Oh we’re just fixing stuff.” Hmmm, wonder if the High School Musical gig has something to do with this barrier being up.

We checked out a couple of shops, always looking for that interesting souvenir, and then headed to see my favorite Disney princess.

We then grabbed a Fast Pass for Indy and had lunch at the Backlot Express.

As we left I decided to take this photo of the activity going on next to Star Tours.

Next May is going to be a big month for Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando.

I’m always interested is seeing Indy because it always is just a little bit different each time.

Well tonight we are going to the Pirate & Princess Party which is running from 7:30 P.M. to 12:30 A.M.

We decided that it would be wise to get out of the heat and humidity and go back to our room and rest up for tonight’s party.

Of course Carol heeded her own advice and did rest while I spent the afternoon reading and answering email...obviously i did not heed my own advice.

We changed into out party wear…basically I had a shirt with Captain Hook on it and Carol had a shirt with a sparkling skull and cross-bones.

We had an ADR at Trail’s End so we were trying to figure out how best to do this. Should we drive to Fort Wilderness and then take the boat to the party? Hmmmm, that would make for a long time getting back to the car at the end of the night. We’d be taking the boat to Fort Wilderness and then would have to take a bus back to the the parking lot to get to the car.

So we decided to drive to the Magic Kingdom and take a bus from the Ticket and Transportation Center or Magic Kingdom or take a boat from the Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness.

It seems like the WDW transportation system is always tweaking with their busses so we were not sure of exactly how our evening would go.

On this particular night we ended up taking the boat from the Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness.

We had a pleasant meal at Trail’s End. We always make it a point to visit that restaurant on every trip and for myself on one solo trip I had lunch there three times. It is off the beaten path and that makes for a nice quiet meal. The price makes it one of the best if not the best deal on all of WDW property.

The signs were up for the Pirate and Princess Party.

We received a “Booty Bag” to use to collect the goodies to be given out during the party. The goodies turned out to be either beads or candy.

I found this party to be so much different than the other parties I’ve attended at the Magic Kingdom, namely Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. There did not seem to be as many party events to dissuade us from attempting to do some attraction touring.

In fact our first attraction of the night was Pirates of the Caribbean and before the night was out we would ride this attraction no less than six times with five of those times seeing us have our own boat to ourselves and each visit to the attraction having no wait time at all.

Ladies and Gentlemen again let me say that his is "The Year of a Million Refurbishments"…

We also rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, watched a few performances by some CMs doing little shows for the guests, and also collected our "Booty."

We continued to squeeze in some attractions that we had not been able to do previously on the trip. We did Snow White’s Adventure, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Peter Pan’s Flight, and just about whenever we wanted to and as many times as we wanted to.

All in all we made 18 visits to attractions between 7:30 and 12:30 and we did not miss the special fireworks or the parade.

We watched the fireworks at the top of Main Street USA. The official park lights for the party seemed to be red.

I enjoyed the fireworks more than anything else during the party.

I took this picture of a Hidden Mickey in Mickey’s Star Traders

All through the park there were pirate images.

The parade was somewhat of a disappointment as the term “Pirate and Princess” seemed out of balance during the parade.

I think there was too much princess and not enough pirate references in the parade.

Before I forget, here’s a homework assignment. Can you find this Hidden Mickey in Fantasyland?

Well after the parade, we watched the late parade, we actually rode another six attractions before calling it a night.

Our hosts bid us a good evening with a wave...

...and a sign.

And once again to point out that the primary color for the evening was red or pink....exhibit 'B."

We got back to our room around 1:15 A.M.

Regarding the party, I found it to be not as enjoyable as MNSSHP or MVMCP. The fireworks was good, the parade seemed to need a bit more, and the other lesser events need work. I am not trying to discourage anyone from going to this party. Carol says it is her favorite of the three parties.

So give it a try.

Finally the day came when Carol could “legally” wear her “Happy Birthday” button.

We decided to try something different today so we went to the dock to take the Riverboat Cruise to Downtown Disney, as mentioned on the WDW Today channel in our hotel room.

The CM who was driving the boat asked us where we wanted to go. We actually wanted to go to Downtown Disney. He said, “Well obviously you didn’t read the schedule because the next boat that goes to Downtown Disney leaves in an hour. I’m going to Riverside.”

I almost said, “Well obviously you didn’t read the fine print in your Disney Employee’s Guide as to how to address guests but I’ll make sure that your supervisor won’t forget to remind you to refresh your memory on your customer skills.”

Of course I didn’t say that but would it have hurt him too much to say, “Well folks the next boat to Downtown Disney won’t be here for about an hour but I’d be happy to take you to Riverside.”

Not only that, you think with Carol wearing her birthday button he would have been a bit more dare I say, “cast memberlike?”

We decided to take the boat to Riverside and checked out the General Store.

We decided to walk back to POFQ and drive to Downtown Disney.

We were spending the morning doing our “official shopping” to get a few gifts for friends, and use our 10% discount from our Annual Passes.

We found a few things but not as much as we have in the past.

By the way, I’m amazed at the success of the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique.

Next month a second one will open in Cinderella Castle.

We finished our shopping and came back to POFQ to drop off our stuff and grab a little bite to eat. It was that time in the trip when all guests begin to say, “Y’know, I’m not that hungry, but I need a little something.”

After our quickie lunch we headed off to the Magic Kingdom.

We had not really hit Fantasyland yet on this trip so we headed straight for Peter Pan and walked right on thanks to some special Attraction Re-entry passes given to us by a friend.

It was another warm day so we were looking for any relief…and it came in the Carrousel of Progress.
Look for that abstract painting of Mickey as the Sorcerer’s apprentice in the last scene.

We rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority a few times and then checked out a few shops for some Disney Halloween pins. Carol likes to be the Disney pin teacher at her school and likes to wear a different Disney Halloween pin every year.

We were meeting friends…I’ll keep it a secret for now…at the Contemporary for dinner.

We took the monorail over to the resort and walked around.

Wow, things were happening.

Take a look at the activity we saw just beginning on the fourth floor.

Some new shops are going in and you may have seen the artist renditions in Jack Spence's report earlier this week.

We met up with our dear friends Steve and Vickie Barrett and had a wonderful dinner at the California Grill.

How’s this for a view of the sunset?

The California Grill folks came over and took our photo because of Carol's birthday.

The folks at CG also gave Carol a special birthday dessert.

We had some very high quality time with Steve and Vickie. We had hoped they could stay to watch Wishes with us both both had an early morning and they also had a fairly long drive home. See you at Mousefest guys, if not sooner.

Another view from the CG

We went out on the observation deck to watch Wishes.

The photos I took do not do Wishes justice simply because of the angle from which we watched the nighttime spectacular. Remember that during Wishes there are several sets of fireworks being fired….those around the castle and those from a barge well in the rear of Magic Kingdom. The best angle to watch Wishes is from directly in front of the castle on Main Street USA.

So Carol had a nice birthday.

Well, the good news is that I woke up early enough on Friday to go out and run. The bad news is that I said to myself, “Let me close my eyes for just another 15 minutes.”

We call that a “mistake.”

Next thing I know its 6:47 and we have an 8:10 ADR at the Grand Floridian Café.

Arrrghhh, another morning without a run.

When we got to the Café they told us that our ADR was for the day before! Huh? First at Hollywood & Vine the night before they had us down for two ADRs at the same time now this!

They honored our time and we had a very nice breakfast. We did not eat everything as we turned down the final course which was Mickey waffles.

We had visits from Tigger, Pooh, Mary Poppins, the Mad Hatter, and Alice.

1900 Park Fare will soon reopen. Our server said that they are hoping that the new 1900 Park Fare will open in late September and it will be able to serve even more guests as the restaurant will be bigger.

We left the Grand Floridian and headed back to Pop Century to do our final packing as we were moving to Port Orleans French Quarter.

We didn’t think our room was going to be ready but surprise, surprise it was.

We tossed our bags onto the bed, stashed our water in the frig, and headed over to the Magic Kingdom.

As we entered the town square I scooted over to City Hall to ask for a birthday button for Carol and also a brochure for the Pirate & Princess Party.

We are not going until Tuesday evening but it’s never too early to plan how best to navigate the park for this party.

There are some general guidelines I suggest to families going to any of the MK parties, be it Pirate and Princess, Mickey’s not So Scary, or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Here they are:

• First and foremost grab a party brochure a day or two before going to the party.

• Review the brochure and put together a plan as to how you will navigate the park during the party.

• Get your MK attraction fix the day before the party because you don’t want to put attraction touring at the top of your list…remember, you are paying extra to get into the park at this time for the special events…not the attractions.

• If possible do the Extra Magic Hour Evening the night before the party. Stay out late because you really should think about sleeping in on the morning of the party.

• Take it easy in the morning, perhaps go to DisneyQuest for a few hours, and then have an early dinner, say no later than 5 P.M.

• Wear a watch with a lighted dial so you can keep track of the time.

• Try to arrive at the Magic Kingdom at least 30 minutes before the start of the party.

• If you can, do the later scheduled events such as a show or a parade because it will be less crowded than the earlier ones.

• Plan any attraction touring around the special events. That is, if you can fit in Big Thunder Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean around your schedule then go for it. Remember that you are paying for these special events so make sure you get the most of the party.

The last few days have been somewhat hot and we have felt the need to hydrate as often as possible. We grabbed light lemonade at Casey’s.

We then made our way over to Adventureland to finally ride Pirates. The wait time was about 75 minutes. No thanks.

We rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpet and then took in the Tiki Room.

There was a guest sitting next to us who had what looked like baby who was no more than a few weeks old.

Not only was the baby probably the youngest person to se the Tiki room, he/she may have been one of the few chosen to be nursed by his mom too….yes…but discreetly.

Homework Assignment: next time you're in The Magic Kingdom look for this sight.

Pirates was still full so we visited the Country Bears.

We then watched the “Disney Dreams Come True” parade.

It was getting close to our Crystal Palace ADR time so we strolled over to Main Street and looked in the shops.

I was selected by a cast member to participate in the flag lowering ceremony. Unfortunately I am not a veteran so I had to turn them down.

Dinner was at Crystal Palace.

After dinner we watched the castle show…twice.

We then took in the Hall of Presidents. It’s a favorite of Carol’s because it was one of the first attractions we ever saw. Back in the mid-70’s when the HoP opened it was FREE. Back then you used tickets A thru E and HoP was free for a whole year.

From the presidents we went to Mickey’s Philharmagic.

Then we got our wristbands for EMH and then took in Small World.

Are you as tired as we were becoming?

We grabbed lemonade and made our way to Tomorrowland. We rode the TTA and when we got into the Space Mountain potion of the ride all of a sudden the lights in Space Mountain came on…pretty spooky.

We asked to stay on the ride and we rode it again and once again got to see the insides of Space Mountain.

Then the TTA broke down for about 10 minutes…seemed it was not the night to be in Tomorowland.

We headed to Main Street to watch “Wishes.” About 4 minutes into the show someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to move because his girl friend could not see.

Huh?

I was stunned at first but decided to hold my tongue and I stood behind Carol instead of next to her.

As I stood there watching:”Wishes” I thought, “Okay, now what do I do if I’m blocking someone else’s view?

Gee, do I ask the dad in front of me to take his son of his shoulders because I can’t see?

Carol had a good point. No one is tall enough to block the fireworks; she wanted to see the castle.

I’m such a softie.

After the fireworks we headed to a special spot to watch Spectromagic, the late parade.

It’s been some months since I’ve seen Spectro but I noticed the Spectro Men are gone, and I could have sworn the three fairy godmothers used to be on one float not three separate floats and finally Chernobog’s horses used to be all one color…blur, right? Now they are different colors.

Wow, it was late. My day was already 18 hours long and it wasn’t over. Also, my aching ankle, yes the one I broke during the 2006 WDW half-Marathon was talking to me and saying, “Mike, I thought we had an agreement. I would give you no problem while running if you refrained from walking on me in excess of 12 hours a day!”

He had me there.

We went over to Pirates. There was no line….because the attraction was down.

So we decided it was time to call it a day.

We got back to our room around 1:15 A.M. and found this waiting for us.

It is a very thoughtful birthday gift to Carol from some very dear friends and I thought I'd just post a picture before we "made use" of this wonderful gift.

Thank you dear friends. You know who you are!

So now you know why this blog entry is a little late.

More tomorrow.

So here I am in Walt Disney World and I thought I'd share my trip experiences with you for the main purpose of helping you plan your next trip to Walt Disney World.

I'll reflect on some things that work for me that save me money, time, and stress. Call them tips if you like.

I'll also mention a few interesting things I have noticed on this trip that you may want to look for or experience on your next trip.

The Early Bird

Yes I am an early bird. I take the ealiest flight I can. Why? Well if I plan on taking a later flight there is a better chance of that flight being delayed simply because of the domino effect that occurs when flights are delayed.

Also, for some reason early morning flights seem to make better time than the later ones.

Join the Club

If you rent a car while in Orlando always try to join that car agencies club or whatever allows you to bypass the counter.

As we rolled along with our luggage Carol saw the line at the National Car counter and said, "Yikes! Look at that line!" She forgot i was an Emerald Aisle member. We went right up and grabbed our car and was off.

How much time did this save? Well we were rolling our luggage into our room at Pop Century approxiamately 75 minutes after our plane touched down in Orlando.

It is well worth it to do whatever you can to save time.

As an Annual Passholder (and I realize not everyone is) I always try to get AP rates for the room. This vacation has me spliting my time between Pop Century (I know...blasphemy...but Pop Century should not complain...i'm approaching my 100th night there) and Port Orleans French Quarter...both with AP rates.

Another AP advantage is the Disney Dining Experience card which offers me a 20% discount at most of the sit-down restaurants and also Everything Pop (Pop Century's foodcourt).

When we got to the TTC we took the Admiral Joe Fowler Ferry to The Magic Kingdom

Here's a few topiaries for you to look for on your next trip to the Magic Kingdom.

The Haunted Mansion

Now look at this photo...tells you that Haunted Mansion is really closed for refurbishing erh?

However, Master Gracey left us this note...

...which informs us that he's traveling the netherworld in search of new spirits.

Here's another picture of the Haunted Mansion "under wraps" and going through a face change.

Keep yer fingers crossed that this attraction will be up and running in 6-8 weeks.

Be on the Lookout for...

Here's something for you to look for the next time you ride the Magic Kingdom riverboat. Look for the dog standing in this boat and watching this fish jump out of the water...and I mean this fish does jump out of the water.

I have two other bits of information to share with you before I end this very long day.

The next time you visit the Carrousel of Progress you may want to check out each scene very carefully. One of them includes an image of Mickey as the Sorceror's Apprentice...but which one? And where in the scene is this image?

Finally, the next time you are in The Magic Kingdom and you see this sign in front of the City Hall...

...please take it with a grain of salt.

I suggest that you both call Disney Dining and also take a chance and walk up to the restaurant's podium and check for an opening. It actually works more often that you would think.

That's it for now. See you next time everyone.