Last Day of Vay-cay
Monday, June 9th
~Because I stayed up so late I called concierge and requested to be picked up an hour later. Luggage and I were whisked away to the Hospitality House at 8:45am. I checked out of my room with no extra charges. Did airline check-in. Ate breakfast. Shopped around: bought more soundtracks and started another round of Disney pins for trading. I had forgotten my other Disney pins at home and I'll never understand why I didn't start my new round on Day 1 of this vacation. Had concierge hold my carry on bag for the day.
~Jumped a bus to Hollywood Studios for what was left of my vacation.
~Immediately started pin trading with just about every Cast Member (employee) I came across - which is a LOT! Pin trading is this awesome thing where if you see a Cast Member wearing a Disney lapel pin that you like you get to tell that CM "I'd like to trade you my pin for yours." CMs are not allowed to say no. It's a one for one trade. Once you buy any number of starting pins of your choice (I usually start with the cheap ugly ones) you can begin trading. Then just walk up to any Cast Member (even people who work in regular mall Disney stores) and ask, "May I see your pins, please?" You have a look, if there's one you want, you trade! You never realize how HUGE pin trading is until you're involved in it! And you can trade with park guests, but they're allowed to tell you no. And, I didn't find this out until I got home and read a Cast Member's blog, but I ended up trading for this year's collector's pin - the 2008 one! Outside of pin trading, here is the story behind the 2008 pin (btw: it's sparkly Tinkerbelle on a cloud that says Where dreams come true...): Only a Cast Member can give away the '08 pin. And every time, they give away 2. The CM says 1 of 2 things: "It appears as though you're not having a good time. Why so? Here are 2 Dreams Come True pins. Keep one and remember to believe in the magic. Give the other to someone who looks like they could use some magic." OR "You look like you're having the time of your life. Here are 2 Dreams Come True pins. Keep one and keep believing in the magic. Give the other to someone who could use a little more magic." It's a pay it forward deal. When I read that Cast Member's blog I thought, "This is EXACTLY why Disney is the one and only class act when it comes to vacations."
*whew*
~Got a fast pass for Tower of Terror. Hopped in the single rider line for Rock 'N' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. Less than a 15 minute wait, baby! Just before stepping into the recording studio all the single riders got a gift! FREE MICKEY EARS designed in this year's theme! Rock.On. Then I screamed and sang at the top of my lungs while music blared in my ears on the ride.
~Rode Tower of Terror. I loooooove rides, and this one makes me so giddy that I practically bounce off the walls. The anticipation that builds puts me in Euphoria Land.
*another story*
My senior year of high school I went to Disney World twice in less than 2 weeks. First for show choir, then for spring break. During the show choir trip I rode Tower of Terror with a death grip on Rachel Esther's hand. Fell in love with the ride. Went back a week and a half later with my family. Dad, Nathan, and I are sitting on the ride with other people who have never ridden. In my head I was thinking, "I can totally scare these people. Oh, this shall be fun." So we're riding and about halfway through (just before the dropping in the shaft) the ride stops. In my head, "Perfect. Begin scaring." I say to the people, "This isn't supposed to happen." Dad and half the people look at me and say, "You're kidding." "No. Really. This is not supposed to happen." Those people FLIPPED.OUT. My plan worked. Due to the malfunction we all got the next available car. We get to the place were we had previously stopped, but this time we didn't, so I said, "THIS is how it's supposed to happen!" Commence screaming like sissies. haha
*whew*
~Got another fast pass for Tower of Terror. Walked around most of the park waiting for my lunch reservation. Continued to pester Cast Members for pins. Grabbed a coffee. Sadly, didn't have time for the brand new Toy Story Mania ride. Took pictures of the Chinese Theatre replica. Found an awesome display of my favorite movie ever - MARY POPPINS! So I took pictures.
~Lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Had their 2 signature dishes: world-original Cobb salad and grapefruit cake. Mussels and chorizo for an appetizer.
~Rode the Tower of Terror again. Rode the Aerosmith Roller Coaster again.
~Bused back to Old Key West for the last time. My luggage had already left for the airport hours before. Picked up my carry-on and boarded Disney's Magical Express to the Orlando International Airport. HUGE jet to Atlanta. Got owned while playing the in flight trivia game. Flew home to Fort Wayne. Boooooooo!
~All 5 days of vacation there was not a rain cloud to be found. I'm just that good.
~Because I stayed up so late I called concierge and requested to be picked up an hour later. Luggage and I were whisked away to the Hospitality House at 8:45am. I checked out of my room with no extra charges. Did airline check-in. Ate breakfast. Shopped around: bought more soundtracks and started another round of Disney pins for trading. I had forgotten my other Disney pins at home and I'll never understand why I didn't start my new round on Day 1 of this vacation. Had concierge hold my carry on bag for the day.
~Jumped a bus to Hollywood Studios for what was left of my vacation.
~Immediately started pin trading with just about every Cast Member (employee) I came across - which is a LOT! Pin trading is this awesome thing where if you see a Cast Member wearing a Disney lapel pin that you like you get to tell that CM "I'd like to trade you my pin for yours." CMs are not allowed to say no. It's a one for one trade. Once you buy any number of starting pins of your choice (I usually start with the cheap ugly ones) you can begin trading. Then just walk up to any Cast Member (even people who work in regular mall Disney stores) and ask, "May I see your pins, please?" You have a look, if there's one you want, you trade! You never realize how HUGE pin trading is until you're involved in it! And you can trade with park guests, but they're allowed to tell you no. And, I didn't find this out until I got home and read a Cast Member's blog, but I ended up trading for this year's collector's pin - the 2008 one! Outside of pin trading, here is the story behind the 2008 pin (btw: it's sparkly Tinkerbelle on a cloud that says Where dreams come true...): Only a Cast Member can give away the '08 pin. And every time, they give away 2. The CM says 1 of 2 things: "It appears as though you're not having a good time. Why so? Here are 2 Dreams Come True pins. Keep one and remember to believe in the magic. Give the other to someone who looks like they could use some magic." OR "You look like you're having the time of your life. Here are 2 Dreams Come True pins. Keep one and keep believing in the magic. Give the other to someone who could use a little more magic." It's a pay it forward deal. When I read that Cast Member's blog I thought, "This is EXACTLY why Disney is the one and only class act when it comes to vacations."
*whew*
~Got a fast pass for Tower of Terror. Hopped in the single rider line for Rock 'N' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. Less than a 15 minute wait, baby! Just before stepping into the recording studio all the single riders got a gift! FREE MICKEY EARS designed in this year's theme! Rock.On. Then I screamed and sang at the top of my lungs while music blared in my ears on the ride.
~Rode Tower of Terror. I loooooove rides, and this one makes me so giddy that I practically bounce off the walls. The anticipation that builds puts me in Euphoria Land.
*another story*
My senior year of high school I went to Disney World twice in less than 2 weeks. First for show choir, then for spring break. During the show choir trip I rode Tower of Terror with a death grip on Rachel Esther's hand. Fell in love with the ride. Went back a week and a half later with my family. Dad, Nathan, and I are sitting on the ride with other people who have never ridden. In my head I was thinking, "I can totally scare these people. Oh, this shall be fun." So we're riding and about halfway through (just before the dropping in the shaft) the ride stops. In my head, "Perfect. Begin scaring." I say to the people, "This isn't supposed to happen." Dad and half the people look at me and say, "You're kidding." "No. Really. This is not supposed to happen." Those people FLIPPED.OUT. My plan worked. Due to the malfunction we all got the next available car. We get to the place were we had previously stopped, but this time we didn't, so I said, "THIS is how it's supposed to happen!" Commence screaming like sissies. haha
*whew*
~Got another fast pass for Tower of Terror. Walked around most of the park waiting for my lunch reservation. Continued to pester Cast Members for pins. Grabbed a coffee. Sadly, didn't have time for the brand new Toy Story Mania ride. Took pictures of the Chinese Theatre replica. Found an awesome display of my favorite movie ever - MARY POPPINS! So I took pictures.
~Lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Had their 2 signature dishes: world-original Cobb salad and grapefruit cake. Mussels and chorizo for an appetizer.
~Rode the Tower of Terror again. Rode the Aerosmith Roller Coaster again.
~Bused back to Old Key West for the last time. My luggage had already left for the airport hours before. Picked up my carry-on and boarded Disney's Magical Express to the Orlando International Airport. HUGE jet to Atlanta. Got owned while playing the in flight trivia game. Flew home to Fort Wayne. Boooooooo!
~All 5 days of vacation there was not a rain cloud to be found. I'm just that good.