Day three, and still no blisters or sunburn!
Following the advice in the Unofficial Guide that the three most
important rules of efficient touring are early, early, and early, we
arose at six and arrived at MGM at 7:20am, in time to be briefed by
Sarge and the Green Army Men about the proper rope drop procedure. We
had not eaten breakfast because our goal was the notorious "Tower of
Terror 2" 
Having been raised in Southern California, and having visited the
survivors of this era of architecture, I have to admit to being
impressed--as usual--by Disney's evocation of time and place. Several
times I thought I recognized something until I remembered that I didn't.
Nice work overall, especially the use of more dust than the Hauanted
Mansion.
                >>
The ride itself? Better storyline than one expects of a thrill ride,
less than one expects of Disney. The story-to-thrill ratio was higher
than Space Mountain, but much less than Splash Mountain. Most of the
drop took place in total darkness, and it was only at the top that you
saw anything. I think they should add a view near the bottom to show how
far you moved. The other effects were very good, if brief.
If you're the type who ride Splash Mountain *despite* the big drop
because you like the songs and story, you may not feel obliged to ride
TOT more than once. We don't particularly plan to go back soon, but we
would recommend you try it once--if you lived through Space Mountain,
it'll be a piece of cake.
After breakfast at Starring Rolls (which serves a pretty marginal
Danish), Voyage of the Little Mermaid (my favorite in this park), and
Muppet Vision 3D (Marta's favorite), we took in the Hunchback of Notre
Dame stage show. A fellow unemployed Humanities major gave an
entertaining juggling act for a pre-show, and then on to the main event.
It was great! Radio mikes reassured doubters that the voices heard were
those of the actors in front of us, and the excellent use of puppets and
marionettes helped speed parts of the show that would have been very
difficult otherwise. My only quibbles are that the timing felt a little
rushed at points and that the aluminum benches aren't comfortable enough
for a show of this length--bring a cushion.
Lunch at the Prime Time Cafe was a hoot. My brothers all tried to pick
on me, but I just picked back and we all had a good time. We found that
a bowl of chili and a float were more than enough food, and kept the
cost reasonable. If 17 bucks for meatloaf strikes you as a little high,
join the club--for lunch or desert instead of dinner. Don't forget to
eat your vegetables, or the whole restaurant may end up shaking their
fingers at you and chanting, "Shame, shame, shame."
A quick escape to visit the outlet stores at Belz Mall on International
Drive and visit with a fellow EchoEar and here family. Loved her, was
disappointed by the shops. (Disney now has two in the complex.) Pretty
good prices *if* they happen to have what you want in your size--not an
adequate replacement for the World of Disney, or even for your average
Disney Store at sale time. I did find the "Rescuers" book I had been
looking for, though, so it was not a wasted trip.
By 3pm, we were back on the property to sample Fantasia Gardens
Miniature Golf. Big disappointment. The golf course itself was of
pedestrian design, with several holes sloped toward the cup--any round
where *I* score three holes-in-one has to make you suspicious. While I
didn't expect tall shade trees at a brand new site, I had been lead to
expect more topiary and other themed plantings. Some of the tees and
fairways were already showing signs of wear, and there was sand on most
of them. For almost $10 and the Disney name, I expected much better.
Next time I'll drive down 192 and putt off-property for less.
Since we were near, we elected to take in the Boardwalk. Friendly cast
members intimidate you at a gate house and suggest the valet parking,
but can drive in and park your own car. Marta has decided that the
Boardwalk hotel has the best Xmas decorations we have seen this week. I
have to agree. She also loves the boardwalk area along the
waterfront--wants to stay there, instead of the Polynesian, when we win
the lottery. She was born in Boston, I in Los Angeles--maybe that's why
I don't get it. I just can't muster enthusiasm for something that
reminds me of something I never saw. Nice, but not emotional trigger.
Who can say? You marry a woman and live with her over 20 years....
Spoodles was our choice for dinner. Strange place--in architecture,
staff attitude, and service style. Ignoring the "Mediterranean
Atmosphere", we ordered three tapas and shared them Chinese style. The
duck sausage pizza was great, the mussel and pepperoni soup was very
good, the artichoke ravioli so-so. Our waiter did a fine job personally,
recommending wines and tolerating our many questions. The server who
delivered the food seemed to have misread the program and taken training
at Denney's University instead of Disney's.
"Who gets the soup, and will you please make some room for it, your
table's crowded." Usually gets a response from me along the line of, "I
said who got the soup when I ordered, I won't bus dishes unless you put
me on the payroll, and if you cleared one course before you served the
next you wouldn't have crowding problems." Sheesh! Sorry, the railway
dining car steward in me comes out roaring some days.  8;-)
Epcot's International Gateway is a short stroll, so we wandered over for
the Maelstroem, Norwegian Danish (well, giant soft pretzels with icing
and slivered almonds, actually), American coffee, and a view of
"Illuminations 25" from Morocco, and a quick escape. Maybe I'm just
jaded, but having seen Illuminations half a dozen times from as many
different directions, I still don't know what people see in the show.
Marta and I agree that the best thing to do of an evening at Epcot is to
take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and watch the fireworks show
there. YMMV.
Early to bed and ready for tomorrow mornings character breakfast with
Tigger and the search for "Stan the Monorail Man".
()_()
 (_)  Bruce (no really, I couldn't eat another bite) Metcalf
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