Day four, in which our intrepid Tigger hunter venture forth to boldly
shot their chosen prey at 400 ASA.
Our day began with a character breakfast at Olivia's at Old Key West
Resort (formerly Disney Vacation Club). At least it was supposed to.
This was the day of the annual WDW Marathon. Starting at 6:30am (only an
hour before our breakfast appointment), these mad dogs ran a route
through all three major parks--and over most area roads. Orange cones
had sprung up like mushrooms after a Stravinsky score.
By the time we arrived at Old Key West, we had detoured through the
parking lots of Epcot, the Magic Kingdom, and possibly the Orlando
Airport, though the signs weren't very clear. Our quick ten minute trip
took nearly a half hour. Fortunately, cast members were stuck in the
same mess and the restaurant was late opening. All ended well, and
Tigger was very impressed when I pointed out that Marta was wearing an
"I Love Tigger" shirt, Tigger shorts, Tigger hat, Tigger shoes, Tigger
socks, and Tigger ... um, never mind.
If you get to OKW, check out the railroad models in the lobby. One
display case has a steam train of the Florida East Coast Railway (which
used to run all the way to Key West), and another has trolley cars of
the Key West Electric Railway. Both include passenger cars and water
cars--each trainload of tourists had to include a car of fresh water to
help the island's limited supply. Nice models by a guy I know named
William Hitchcock. Gotta write and let him know...
As the race was still in progress and we knew we could get there, we
made the Magic Kingdom our next stop. Saw the Legend of the Lion King, a
mixture of film, actors, and puppetry much like the Voyage of the Little
Mermaid. Not as good, IMHO, but well worth seeing.
After taking in a few Fantasyland attractions just because the lines
were so short, we saw Minnie's Main Street Memories at Town Square. I
believe that this is the shortest Disney stage presentation on record.
Once through "Making Memories" and the characters jogged off the the far
corners of Town Square for greetings. Got another set of hugs.
After a short bit of shopping, we tried to watch the Castle Forecourt
shows, the Guest of Honor Presentation and Every Day's a Holiday. We
failed not because we couldnt get close enough to see but because these
shows were so bad we couldn't take a full dose. Of course, that big pink
castle in the background didn't help settle our stomachs any...
So, we grabbed a pair of Smoked Turkey Legs from the Frontierland cart
and headed for the picnic tables at Discovery Island. For those of you
who don't know about it, DI is one of the nicest places to "get away
from screaming children" without going very far at all. Just a short
boat ride from the MK docks is Disney's original zoological park on an
island in Bay Lake.
While DI focuses primarily on birds, the island's population also
includes alligators, crocodiles, turtles, Galopogas tortoises, lemurs,
tamarins, cavys, and small deer. While it's close enough to the MK to
hear the train whistles, families with screaming children tend to leave
on the next boat because, "There aren't any rides here!" What is there
is a paved path through forest, swamp, and treetops (sometimes 40 feet
off the ground), surrounded by more birds and animals than you expected.
While they are not tame (we were assaulted by one aggressive pelican),
they are calm around tall people (kids spook them), and you can often
approach within a few feet.
Cast members we spoke to about the new Wild Animal Park were uncertain
of the future of DI. While an earlier announcement of impending closure
has been withdrawn, they know that nothing Disney will survive if the
beancounters don't think it's pulling its own weight. My advice? Go--go
now, and if you like it, write to Disney, asking them to keep both this
bird sanctuary and the DI program as an important part of the WDW
experience. It might just give DI a fighting chance against the
beancounters come budget time.
When we had relaxed our fill, the next launch to leave went to the
Contemporary, as did we. This place has the topiary we expected to find
at Fantasia Gardens. Nearly two dozen figures on the Bay Lake side
alone! FG better take some notes. I keep giving the Contemporary a
visit, because so many good people have kind words about it and its
restaurants. I'm sorry, the interior could be a convention hotel in any
major city (with slanting walls), and the exterior is a horrid design
that only a structural concrete engineer or a Freudian analyst could
love. Nice view from the roof, though.
The monorail whooshed us to the Grand Floridian, as long as we were
checking out the resorts. Posh ain't the word, Jack, but it'll do for
now. What can I say except, "Go see it," but read the prices on the
menus carefully before you hurt yourself.
Back to the MK for dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Surprise! It is no
longer the restaurant Birnbaum says it is (but the Unofficial Guide
seems to have had a later deadline and got it right). It's now a
fixed-menu character dining experience. We walked right in at 5:30pm
(guess it's the off season now, huh?). The house was empty enough that
each character visited two or three times. Got so I was tired of picking
the Chip out of my salad, and Marta was doomed to a bad hair day with
all the sloppy kisses she got from Pluto.  8;-)
After dinner, we needed do no more than step out onto the porch to view
the SpectroMagic Parade. Some of you may remember a recent post where I
described SMP as being less than the Main Street Electrical Parade, but
pretty good on it's own. I regret that I must take that all back. The
parade had poor spacing, music out of sync with the floats, several
clearly disfunctional float elements, and a general air of
wear-and-tear. My memory recalls more of the light-headed "Chuckie"
characters throughout the parade--they are now bunched at the beginning
(no loss there). There is still no unifying theme to the parade, and an
eminently forgettable theme that I can't remember only two hours later.
I think it's time for Disney to go back to the drawing board and start
fresh. Sorry, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.
Tinkerbell still flies, and Fantasy in the Sky is still the best
pyrotechnic display anywhere. It was even worth enduring the Main Street
Death March With Screaming Children back to the TTC for the car at
closing time. I just wish I hadn't chosen to view it from the Hub, where
I had to look at that stinkin' pink castle the whole time. Yes, having
seen the castle-cake up close, far away, and at night, I have come to
the conclusion that as far as the prime weenie of the MK is concerned,
1998 cannot come too soon. YMMV, but my mind is made up.
If tonites report seems more lucid than the others, credit the 7:30
closing time--it ain't midnight yet. If you have gotten a half-dozen
reports from me all at once, I'm sorry for the bandwidth bottleneck--it
seems that the sysop who so graciously allowed me access during my visit
has had his Fido hub go down on him for the past few days. If you are
reading this, things are probably back to normal (I, however, may take a
little longer).
()_()
 (_)  Bruce (Save the DI 5000) Metcalf
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 þ OLX 2.1 TD þ "Bother," said Pooh as Tigger bounced him into the mud.
--- FLAME v1.1
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