Ah, the Good Old Days!
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The little sister's birthday is looming. One of those that ends in 0. And begins with 5. Bro and I think: What better way to make her feel young when she's thinking about being 'old' than to spend a day at WDW?
So, on The Day, I call her at 7 am, tell her to put on the coffee, I'll be there and then we can go for a walk (a neat way to make sure she has on walking shoes).
Bro arrives about 7:45. We yell "Road trip"! and pile into his car. I 'innocently' ask him if the Alligator Farm (in St. Augustine) knows that we're coming. A diversionary tactic, which lasted until we passed that exit. Once we made the turn onto I-4 sis had a pretty good idea as to the destination, but which park? The jig was up when we turned in to the Disney-MGM Studios parking lot (her favorite of the 4 parks).
Sis went to Guest Services to renew her pass, and I went to another window to get her 'Birthday Button'.
Then we went to make an early PS at Hollywood & Vine, a particular favorite, but Bro has never been there (he favors The Prime Time) and Sis had only been there once for breakfast.
Now, neither of them likes the 'wild' rides, so I knew I wouldn't get to ride the Tower this time. Since the Great Movie Ride was closed, we went to see the newly refurbished Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which Bro hasn’t seen.
It's close to time for our lunch PS, so we get FastPasses for 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire-Play It!' and then stroll over to the Hollywood & Vine. I ask for a table in Tom's section, but he wasn't working that day. The characters have either noticed the Birthday Button or have been tipped off and they all make a special point of coming over to give Sis a hug. At the end of our meal, they bring out a birthday cupcake, balloon, and card signed by Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip & Dale and then everyone sings Happy Birthday. Sis is loving it!
After lunch it's off to the Animation Studio tour and we are first in line for the next tour. While waiting, Bro calls a friend who works there and the next thing we know she (and a supervisor) have come out to say hello and wish Sis a Happy Birthday.
After the tour it's time for our FastPasses at 'WWTBAM-PI!', and again we are the first in line there. Bro strikes up a conversation with CM Daisy (who notices the Birthday Button). Daisy tells us that we just missed seeing someone get the Million Points and indeed, we saw the lucky guy come out covered with streamers and carrying his new 'WWTBAM-PI' leather jacket. After taking our seats, Bro, who is sitting between us, nudges me and says, "I think something special might happen". We see CM Daisy talking to the camera tech and looking in our direction. Sure enough, when they do the camera check at the beginning of the show, when it comes to our section, they focus on Sis and say 'And here's Nancy celebrating her birthday!' Sis is bright pink, but loving it.
So, playing the first game, the contestant goes out fairly early, before the 1,000 point level. During the second game, at the 1000 point level, they do the board check... I'm Number 2! Wow! That's the best I've ever done! And it's a full house that day, too! Wouldn't you know, the guy misses the next question, so I'm thinking that's the show, but wait. The hostess says, "Would you like to play another game?" I have never seen them do 3 games at a sitting, and of course the audience goes 'YES!' So they check the board, and uh-oh, my seat number was at the top of the Board. I looked from the board to the number in front of me and back again. My brother kept elbowing me and saying, "It's you". I vaguely remember tromping on at least 3 people's feet trying to get out of the row (and apologizing like crazy). Well, to make this shorter, I was lucky to remember my name. One question I do remember, at about the 32,000 point level (sometime after the studio was darkened) was "Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?" I heard the whole audience go "Oohhhhnooo", but I knew the right answer! HAH! The section right behind me must've been all Canadians because they went crazy. So, at the 125,000-point level - a George Lopez show question comes up. EEEK. I don't watch it! Had it been a John Ritter show question, no problem. But anyway, took the 50-50 lifeline and then chose wrong. Oh well, got the 10 pins (and lanyard), baseball cap, polo shirt, and a wonderful experience!
How to top that?
With the Muppets, of course. After exiting the Muppet Theatre, we see Woody and Buzz over at Al's Toy Barn. Sis HAS to have her picture taken with them, so we go get in line with about 40 much smaller Buzz and Woody fans (Bro declined to stand in the line and found a place where he could take pictures). A CM notices the Birthday Button and has the whole line sing 'Happy Birthday'. Sis gets B & W to 'sign' her birthday card, too.
We wander back up front, past the Indiana Jones show. I get Bro to pull the rope at the well, but apparently it is not working.
Sis chooses the Rainforest Cafe for early dinner and we head over to Downtown Disney and get PS without a problem and a fairly short wait. This was my first time there and quite frankly I was a little under-whelmed by it. It seemed awfully 'close' inside and the food was just okay.
Now it's time to get serious. Yes, the siren call of Disney merchandise is beckoning and who couldn't possibly be within 50 miles of a Disney store and not go there. And the World of Disney is the Queen Mother of all Disney stores. Bro needs a new Mickey coffee mug. We emerge after over an hour in there with a lot more stuff than one new coffee mug and head home.
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