Expedition Kiboko

Walt Disney World

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Animal Kingdom

My leg felt better this morning (yes, even after all of the walking the day before), so I walked around the hotel grounds while listening to "Rhapsody in Blue".  This was an appropriate soundtrack to all of the musically-themed decor.  Then I got ready for the day, and Linda and I went to the food court.  I had a Mickey waffle and bacon.  Linda laughed because I ate the ears first.  She probably doesn't remember our friend's consideration of this as "so that he can't hear himself screaming".  

Since this was Magic Morning day for Animal Kingdom, there was a long line for the shuttle.  When we arrived at the park, I saw that we were following a cute little girl with a ladybug backpack.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of her backpack, because I want to show the picture to a friend whose daughter's bedroom is ladybug-themed.  

We wanted to make sure to beat the regular crowds to the most popular attraction, so we high-tailed it over to Expedition Everest.  I honestly couldn't remember anything about what anyone had said about this ride before I got there, except that they loved it, and there's a yeti.  Well, ohmygoodnessgracious, if this wasn't the best ride of my entire week at WDW!   The ride was AWESOME!  There's a big yeti.  I wasn't believing the model of the huge footprint until I saw the huge yeti.  But also, we went BACKWARDS!!!!  AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!  That. Was. Amazeballs.  

Yeti Footprint

So, of course, I yelled "AGAIN!!!!" like the baby in "Dinosaurs".  The wait was still only 15 minutes, so we went back into the queue.  The theming of the queue was yeti-ful, and the Mustang Coffee at Expedition Everest is made with Yak Butter.  This fact may not be as funny to you if you don't know about my amusement with yak butter and Tazo Decaf Chai Tea.  I would like to try yak butter some day, by the way.  Not the Urban Dictionary kind.  This is a family website....most of the time.  OK, I'm back.  I somehow got engrossed by all of the internet stuff related to yak butter, like this Tibetan Milking Stool Yak.  I don't know if it's called "Yak" because there's a picture of a yak on it, or if it would actually be of use while milking a yak.  I've typed "yak" far too many times already for the day/week/lifetime.  I've lost my mind.  Anyway....the ride.  A teenager said the Line of The Day (see the end of this post).  I can't remember if this was on the first ride or the second one of the day, but it applies to both.  The second ride didn't disappoint, and I thought of going back many times that day, but calmed the heck down and did other stuff instead.  I bought a shirt as well as our picture from the 2nd ride from a surly CM.  Linda and I didn't not care about his surly-ness because we were still excited about the ride.

We then had time to stroll, so we got a locker.  Their lockers are so totally old school that I felt like I was also supposed to be renting ice skates.  I meant, they use keys!  Those ones with the orange top!   If you don't know already about Linda and her obsession with dinosaurs, you know now.  I knew already because my family and I helped her fulfill her dream of seeing the dinosarus at Cabazon this past November.  So, of course, we headed off for Dinoland.  On the way there, we saw the Meet and Greet for the characters from the 100-Acre Wood, so it was Tigger Time for Linda!  He was hilarious because he was trying to get other people to jump up due to the fitness logo on the gal's shirt.  They didn't get it.  They need to learn character mime, I guess.  We showed him a picture of his topiary at Epcot.  He was quite proud.  He loved Linda because she seemed to understand him, plus she was wearing him on her sweatshirt.  

Tigger & Linda

Our next stop was Dinosaur.  I remember this ride last time as being not-as-exciting-as-Indiana Jones-at-Disneyland, but I didn't want to harsh Linda's buzz, so I didn't say anything.  I thought o Michele from EPCOT being scared of the Carnotaurus.  Our picture reflects that we were a bit frightened, too.  

Yikes!

We didn't do much else in Dinoland, and on our way to our next destination, I saw a group of girls dressed kind of like Disney characters.  They were totally cute, and I told them so.  They are from Japan, and allowed me to take a picture of their cuteness.  Seriously, I would have hung out with them all day if 1) I didn't have other stuff to do; and 2) it wouldn't be so creepy to have me there because I wasn't as cute as them.  

Cute Strangers

We marveled at our favorite ride again, then watched some Siamang apes hang out at the nearby shrine, and ate lunch at Yak and Yeti Anandpour Cafe with our dining plan.  I had the honey chicken, and for dessert, I had banana pudding.  We listened to the black birds near us, which had interesting calls, almost like whistles.  

Best Ride at WDW

Then Linda did a very uncharacteristic thing and agreed to go on Kali River Rapids.  Seriously.  Linda does not do rides in which there is a possibility of getting wet.  Yet she agreed to this one because she figured that she doesn't know if she'd be back anytime soon.  OK, then.  We subsequently got very, very wet.  I was drenched.  I thought of buying clothes from the very well-placed kiosk nearby, but they were expensive and I figured that I could deal with the wet everything somehow.  They did have underwear to purchase, which I very seriously considered, but no.  

We went to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, wherein we were advised that we'd be seeing tigers and bats and birds.  Linda was excited about the tigers.  I was excited about the bats.  This is actually the very first place that I saw bats in real life, back in 2003.  They're so damn cool with the way they hang from their feet and spread their wings and stuff.  I mean, their faces can be so menacingly ugly, but the rest of their bodies fascinate me.  

Bat, Hanging Out in the Sun

Then we saw a tiger napping, but he or she (I don't know) put up his or her head, and posed real pretty-like.  See?

Purrrrr

We did see some pretty birds, but the guide card that they gave us didn't seem to have any of the birds that we actually saw.  Or I just don't know how to translate drawings to real life.  Both could be true.

I had my name written in Thai by a CM named Saskimol.  She said that my name is a common one for girls in Thailand (the nickname, not the real name).  We encountered the plant woman and I laughed at the guy that swore that she was not a real person.  He was scared out of his wits before she moved.  I took pictures of the Tree of Life at this point, mostly because this was the hippo side of the tree.

Can you see the hippo?

We went to Harambe station to take the train to the Wildlife Conservation Station.  We didn't much feel like seeing whatever was inside, so we rested and I dried myself in the sunlight.  When we got back, we went to the Kilimanjaro Safari.  Kiboko!!!  (That's "hippo" in Swahili).  We saw Okapi, Rhinos, Kiboko, Crocodiles, Elephants, a Lioness, Wildebeests, a big cattle-looking-thing, Giraffes, Ibex and Ostriches.  That was a fun jeep ride, and our guide stopped for a short time at the different animals, so that we could take pictures.  

Okapi

Wildebeests

Giraffes

BabyElephant

Then we walked the Pangani Trail so that I could see the kiboko up close.  Hippos in water!  With fish!

Can you see this hippo?

They don't have nearly as many meerkats at AK as they do at Safari Park, much less on that carnivorous island in "Life of Pi".  But the one we saw was cute and posed happily.

What?

We also saw silver-backed gorillas, and while we were observing we saw that one of them was not getting along with the others.  They were clearly angry at him, although I don't know the reason.  But all of the power of animal of that magnitude was overwhelming, and I was really glad that there was a moat between us and them.  Not that they were angry at us, but I do remember a sign at Safari Park that said not to look straight into the gorilla's eyes, so I avoided eye contact.  They are beautiful animals, but wow, they were scary.  Also, they have a distinct odor, because it was the same odor that I smelled at Safari Park, and that's over here on a different coast.

Their Side

We wanted to make sure to catch the Festival of The Lion King, so we made our way to Camp Mickey & Minnie.  The snack I ordered there (from our dining plan) was the strawberry shortcake.  I received the last one for the day, and was happy to share it with Linda because it was kinda big.  The show was fun (we were Team Simba, which made us happy because we got to ROAR).  I pictured Steven and George from Rockapella in the roles the whole time.  

Go, Team Simba!

It was finally time to really shop, and I finally found a little hippo which was made in Kenya.  I also saw the pretty Ariel bag that I spied at DHS.  CM Barbie helped us, and she happily let me take a picture of the hippo on her apron.  She was really fun and also took a picture with us to commemorate the moment.  She package expressed our purchases to our hotel, and even wrote a little note on the receipt, which I discovered when I finally unpacked my luggage at home.  

With Barbie -- see the hippo on her uniform?

We were done for the day at this park, and got in line for the shuttle to Animal Kingdom Lodge.  While in line, I saw a guy with a t-shirt that had the words "Little Jerry" on it, and a picture of a rooster.  As a huge Seinfeld fan, I immediately got the reference, and told him that I love his shirt.  He was happy that I understood it and let me take a picture of him.  I took a lot of pictures of strangers that day.

We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and saw the animals on the hotel grounds.  Coooolll.  Our dinner reservations were at Sanaa.  We had to wait a long time to be seated even though we were there before our reservation time, but it was worth the wait.  It wasn't Flying-Fish-worth-the-wait, but still, it was yummy.  The Bread Service, which I ordered outside of the dining plan, was YUM.  Naan and chutney!  Chutney and naan!  Happiness.  I was able to order a Mango Lahsi as part of the dining plan, so you know I had to do that.  It was delicious.  I ordered the tandoori chicken.  Linda ordered the same, and we couldn't finish our food (we were full of naan and chutney), so we had the leftovers boxed up by server Michele.  For dessert, I had the Banana Kulfi Sundae, which was like a deconstructed banana split.  The ice cream was in a square shape!  Neato.  Also, Yummy.

Mango Lahsi -- aaahhh, refreshing!

Bread Service

Banana Kulfi Sundae

After dinner, we thought that the shuttle would be able to take us back to Animal Kingdom so that we could take another shuttle to our hotel, but since the park was closed, the bus driver hadn't planned on going there.  We were the only ones on the bus after everyone else got off at some other stop, so the driver kindly took us back to our hotel.  THANK YOU!!!  I had told Linda that we could probably walk home, but she looked at me like I had grown 3 heads.  She was right to look at me like that, because we were really not that close to the All-Star at that point.  It is now a running gag between us: "We can walk it."

What a lovely day at Animal Kingdom and the lodge!  Tomorrow:  people dressed as animals.

Line of the Day: "This is my most favorite ride in all of Walt Disney World!" -- Dude on Expedition Everest, screaming at the top of his lungs

WAR MACHINE ROX

"Iron Man 3" opened yesterday, and my friends and I watched it at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.  We weren't allowed to go into the theater until the posted start time.  I think that it's because the previous show had a surprise appearance by Robert Downey, Jr.  My friend and I overheard someone saying something along those lines as she passed by us in line. I'm totally jealous.  He was there to congratulate the students at the Inventor and Innovator Fair.  He's awesome, I tell ya.  

There was no pre-show for us like there usually is at this theater.  A dancing Iron Man would have been a nice addition.  Or a dancing RDJ.  Or just RDJ standing there as we applaud widely.  Whatevs.  I'm still jealous.   Anyway, on with the movie, which we saw in 3D and VERY loud digital sound.

• Love the Mark 42.  Love, love, love it!  (Of course I do.  It's the Answer).
• The dunce cap was funny.  Poor robot.
• I also like the white suit that Pepper was wearing when she met with Aldrich.
• I like Guy Pearce better when he's dressed up and not all stringy-haired.
• Me during the scene at the Chinese Theater: "That's right over there!" and then they showed the El Cap, and I felt the need to point at it, as if anyone was unaware of where we were at the time.
• The crime scene technology was pretty cool, too.  It reminded me of the tech they use to solve crimes in "Bones".
• "Iron Patriot" doesn't sound as cool as "Iron Man".
• "I'm a mechanic.  I fix things."
• Tony's car was really cool, of course.  Too bad they had to go and wreck the pretty thing.
• Sir Ben Kingsley is hilarious when he's not being all serious-actor-y.  He was very funny on The Colbert Report this week, too.
• That Harley kid was cute, especially during Tony's first anxiety attack.
• "I loved you in 'A Christmas Story'."
• I liked that Barrel of Monkeys scene.  I also liked that it was called Barrel of Monkeys in the credits.
• Fanboy in news van.  Funny, and probably what is making the comic book fans so angry at this movie not following the comics.  Sorry, I tend to over-analyze behavior sometimes.
• "Seriously, I don't even like working for them.  They are so weird!"
• Kick some ass, Pepper!
• BRUCE!!!!

This is now my favorite of the IM trilogy. 

Dream Of Us

I like it when I open up our office on Fridays, because that means that I can start my weekend an hour earlier than usual.  On a recent Friday, I got home in time to park my car then walk over to my local movie theater for a show.  In this case, the movie I saw was "Oblivion".

• I know that Tom Cruise has received a LOT of flak lately because of a lot of things, but I still like seeing his movies.  This one was no exception.
• Incredible and imaginative visuals.  Cruise was on The Daily Show recently, and talked about director Joseph Kosinski.  His debut movie was Tron: Legacy, a movie I enjoyed.  Then there's this movie.  That's it.  I'm looking forward to his future work.
• That plane was awesome, although it was a little bit too phallic for me not to think of other stuff whenever it was in a certain position.  
• So was that bobblehead supposed to be Elvis?  Or just some generic musician?
• Wow, that pool.  Not sure I'd want one, but it was pretty.
• I love the place that was his haven on Earth.  Then, because I had just finished reading "The Hunger Games", I wondered if they had to hunt for food with bows and arrows.
• Any rebellion that is headed by Morgan Freeman has my backing.
• I want a King Kong plush from the Statue of Liberty.  I do not want a replica of the statue, because I now think of that one episode of "Doctor Who" that showed scary Liberty.
• Is Tom Cruises' favorite baseball team the Yankees?  Because I've seen him wear that hat in "War of the Worlds", too.
• OK, I knew that I was supposed to see a ring when she looked through that binocular thing, but I didn't see it.  I maybe saw a sparkle.  Was that it?
• Totally thought of WALL-E with that flower.  But Eve would not have been so harsh.

I recommend that this movie be seen in a theater, because the visuals really are spectacular.  

Out Of This World In Many Ways

Walt Disney World

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

EPCOT

My foot felt better in the morning, but I didn't go for a walk as I had planned when I packed for the trip (I had planned to walk every morning because I had a 10K to walk on Sunday and didn't want to slack off).  Linda and I went to the All-Star Food Court for breakfast, and I got a cinnamon roll.

We took the shuttle to EPCOT for our Magic Morning day.  There were a lot of topiaries all over the place because of the HGTV Flower & Garden Festival opening the next day.  Test Track was down, but we got fast passes for later in the day.

Topiary at Entrance -- Time for BBQ!

Our first ride of the day was Mission: Space.  Hello, Gary Sinise!  We chose the Spinning option, although it didn't spin nearly as much as I remember from my first time (I was there for a soft opening in August 2003, and there were many people getting sick then).  I did feel like my face was peeling off, though.  We sent video to each other and to Bro from a program that looked like we were running from aliens on the moon or Mars or whatever.  

Test Track was up when we were done, so we got in the Fast Pass line, but the screen we were using froze when we were designing our car.  We ended up with a default red one instead.  The ride was fun, and there was a lot of interactive stuff available afterward, like using your car to race others on a digital track, and taking pictures which I never actually saw because I'm lame.  Our car reached a speed of 64.9 mph.

Designing Our Car

Yay!  The Jammitors!  They are EPCOT's answer to our Trash Can Trio, and they're fun, too.  I got a sticker.  I was happy.

Jammin'!

Linda needed to see dinosaurs, so we went to the Universe of Energy.  I was thankful for the long-ish ride because we were sitting down after standing up for a while in the morning.  Ellen DeGeneres makes me giggle.  A dinosaur snorted at us.

Pluto and Linda

We shopped around World Showcase, and marveled at the menus showing the special food for the Festival, but none of it was available yet, so that was a bummer.  Or maybe that was a good thing, because we were preparing ourselves for a wonderful dinner that night already.  Anyway, around World Showcase....in Africa, there was a wood carver, but his name was not Andrew, as the sign told us.  He was actually Andrew's brother, named Justus.  He was carving an elephant figurine.  I had my eye on the hippos, and decided to come back later.  By the time we came back, though, Justus was gone, and I decided to wait until Animal Kingdom for hippo stuff.  I also wanted a wall hanging of 4 cool animal masks, but refrained from getting those. We took a lot of pictures of topiaries.  Here are just a few more of them.

My Favorite Topiary

The Longest Topiary

The Coolest Topiary

The fancy restaurant in France had a long wait, so we bought our lunch at Les Halles De Boulangerie et Patisserie.  Yum!  Yes, it was all baked goods, and everything looked divine.  We stuck to our Dining Plan, which is really cool because it includes a drink, an entree, and dessert.  Not everything is on the dining plan, but you can always add stuff if you'd like.  I bought a Croissant Du Jamon (ham croissant), a Frangiopone (almond pastry), and a decaf cappuccino.  The CMs at the counter (most of them) were actually from France, so I made sure to say "Merci!"  Yes, folks, I took 3 years of high school French so that I could thank people in Orlando, Florida.  We sat outside when someone offered us a table because they were leaving.  Merci beaucoup!  Linda had a Napoleon for dessert and it was nice and flaky, like my croissant.  If I lived in France, I'd be fat on croissants and food made with lots of butter.  

Japanese people took this picture for us.  I'm not kidding.

We walked around World Showcase some more, and took pictures of more topiaries.  I heard drums again, so we stopped in Japan and listened to Matsuriza.  They play Taiko!

TAIKO!!!

 I was happy again.  Then, of course, more drums were playing when we arrived at America.  We stopped to watch the full show of the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps.  It was really neat to see them gather a bunch of kids and have them recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  We then went inside to see The American Adventure, and who should be performing in the lobby but the Voices of Liberty!  Drums and a cappella in one day?  Heaven!  I was tired and fell asleep during the actual show.  As we were leaving, one guy said that one of the American Spirits looked like Burt Reynolds.  

Feeling Patriotic

Smokey the Dragon in China

Back to walking around World Showcase....we bought some jewelry made of beads, which themselves were made of recycled Disney paper.  Even the "bag" that Thais used was actually a Disney map, taped up into a little paper bag.  So neat!  Thais was very nice, and said that everyone thought that the beads were Brazilian because her name tag shows that she's from Brazil.  She wants to come to Los Angeles some day in the next year or so.  Yeah, come on over and visit!

In Germany, we bought our Dining Plan snacks at the Caramel shop.  I bought a Werther Chewy Caramel.  Danke!  (That's pretty much all the German I know.  That and "Schadenfreude").Then I decided it was time for me to have some alcohol, so I got a mango margarita in Mexico.  When we sat down to have our snack, I also downloaded a panorama app and took this lovely picture.

View of the World

We then went to The Seas, which I hadn't seen since they added the Finding Nemo effects.  They're pretty much the same ones that were added to Disneyland's submarines, but on this ride, we ride in clam shells.  We checked out the animals in the aquarium, and saw that a dolphin exhibit was about to start, so we watched Rainier match figures of Atlas, Wall-E, and a ferris wheel to whatever the trainer taught him.  Rainier loved showing off for everyone.

Then we walked back to the entrance, and couldn't figure out how to get to the Boardwalk.  We talked to a security guard, then after walking a little bit, decided to go back into the park to catch the boat to our destination.  Oy, if I had just planned this better, we would have done much less walking, but I guess I got my exercise in for the day after all.  We found a restroom at the Boardwalk Inn and changed into more appropriate clothing for dinner, then went to the restaurant.

Flying Fish Cafe is a favorite of our friends, so when we were making our reservations in advance, we planned our days around the available restaurants, as well as the Magic Hours for the resort guests.  Flying Fish was the first reservation we made.  It was the only one on our list that takes up 2 dining plan points, but we didn't plan on using any on the first night, so we saved it for this night.  We were not disappointed at all.  Not during the entire evening. While we were looking at the menu, I was trying to point out the Mac and Cheese.  Linda thought I said "Korean Cheese".  Is there even such a thing?  Our server, Tony, was wonderful to us. The decor was whimsical.  The food -- Oh my goodness, the FOOD!  So here's what we had, and as per our dining plan, we had a drink, an entree, and dessert.  I also added soup because I just couldn't resist it.  

The Fish are Flying with Parachutes!

Sherry's soup:  Soup of the Day:  Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Florida Rock Shrimp, Winter Squash, Leeks, 5-spice Creme Fraiche, Prosciutto Cracklins and Mustard-Chive Oil.  So, so worth paying the extra coin.  I now don't want any other butternut squash bisque but this one.  

Bisque of Joy

Entrees:

Linda had Native Rainforest Pepperberry and Wattleseed-crusted Kurobuta Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with Leek, Fontina, and Truffle-laced Trofie Macaroni & Cheese, Grilled Aspargus with Kiln-dried and Fresh Black Mission Fig, Port Wine, Balsamico, Bermuda Onion, and Trumpet Mushroom Compote.  Linda was very happy.  I had a taste of the Mac & Cheese, and it was way yummy.

I had the "Surf and Surf" Oak-grilled Herb-glazed Florida Coast Cobia and Laughing Bird Shrimp "Scampi" with Wilted Greens, Caramelized Cipollini Onions, Young Squash and Carrots, with an Elephant Garlic and Vermont Butter Sauce.  Divine.  I wasn't able to finish all of my vegetables, but I did a pretty good job with it.  I wanted to make sure to save room for dessert.

Surf & Surf

Desserts:

Linda had Caramel-Chocolate-Brioche Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Praline Gelato, Spicy Pecan Brittle, and a Cinnamon Anglaise Sauce.  I did not try it, but she enjoyed it very much.

I had the signature Flying Fish Cafe "Caramelized Banana Napoleon" with Crisp Phyllo Banana Mousse, Creme Caramel, Exotic Fruit Coulis, and Bitter Chocolate.  It was beautiful.  It was delicious.  We were in foodie heaven.

So. Very. Yum.

Tony and Sher

Tony told us that we were the happiest customers he's ever had, so we totally made his day.  I asked him if the Executive Chef was present because I wanted to pay him my compliments, and he didn't think so.  I don't know how Tony missed him, because he's, like, 15 feet tall or something.  Tony opened his eyes and found Chef Tim, and brought him to our table.  We raved about our dinner and told him about our friends recommending the restaurant.  He remembers our friend because our friend doesn't like cilantro.  So he calls our friend "Mr. Cilantro".  Linda and I now call ourselves "Mr. Cilantro's Entourage".  I asked to see the menus again so that I could write down whatever we had, and Tony let me take both the regular and the dessert menus home.  Yay -- free souvenirs!  

One Last Look

After basking in our happiness for a while, we took the Friendship boat back to EPCOT.  While on the boat, we were told several times when the last boat would leave.  As we got off the boat, one of the passengers asked the CM, "What time is the last boat?" just to be funny.  I laughed.  I was happy and full.  

We walked to the area between Japan and USA to wait for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.  If I wasn't already so happy and full, I totally would have bought the pumpkin spice funnel cake that was being sold nearby.  It smelled really good, and the combination of pumpkin and funnel cake was quite tempting, but I couldn't eat any more that night.  We had a great spot for Illuminations, and we enjoyed the show.  Thank you to my friends for the viewing spot recommendation!

Linda, waiting for Illuminations to begin

We were so happy that we didn't care much about our long walk back to the shuttle.  I was on a quest to find highlighters (to highlight where we'd been on our maps), and we stopped in the last store by the park exit.  CM Michele gabbed with us for quite a while about weather and her experience of being terrified on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom.  She was amusing.  We were tired, and when we got back to our hotel, put our feet up against the wall.  Ah, that felt good.

This was my favorite day of the entire trip.  I heart EPCOT.

Happy Girls on a Happy Day

Line of the Day:  "Her face is kinda messed up."  -- Little Boy at Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Topiary

F is for Florida

Walt Disney World 

Hollywood Studios

Monday, March 4, 2013

Happy Birthday, Cindy!

I got up at 4:00 a.m. to go to Linda's and pick her up.  I couldn't remember the numbers of her address in the proper order, so I passed her house before calling her and turning around to get to the correct driveway.  We parked at The Parking Spot on the roof, which requires you to use your entrance card again for the cheaper rate. We talked to the guy in the elevator about "accidentally" closing the door on people for whom we actually didn't want to wait.  We didn't ride the same shuttle as him, though, because it was red and gold and mentioned the Trojans on the back, and I refused to get on, since there was another perfectly good shuttle bus right behind it.

LAX wasn't very crowded, even though it was a Monday morning.  I wanted to get there early in case the federal sequester would affect the staffing, but it was OK.  I somehow got myself in line behind a family with full-size containers of shampoo, and they were pretty much unpacking a bunch of their carry-on luggage to get it all onto the x-ray belt.  It's good we got there early, or I might have been even more annoyed than I was already.  Oh, and yes, they got through with the full-size items, and also re-packed on the other side of the x-ray machine.  I bought a kid's lunch at the La Brea Bakery kiosk for later.  As the Virgin America attendant called the different boarding groups ("A for Awesome"), I eagerly awaited what they would call us, being in boarding group F.  He disappointed me and called All Boarding Groups instead.  So, of course, I had to mention to the guy that I wanted to hear them call us something, and they said that they were supposed to say "famous" or "fabulous" or "fantastic" but forgot.  Hmmm...perhaps "F is for Forgetful".  Actually, I wanted them to say some other "F" word/phrase, but that was just between me and Linda.  The interior of the plane was pretty. I like the pink lighting and the leather seats with the pillow-ish headrests.  I had an issue with the touch screen, but that's because I'm hella lame.  I ended up adding way more music than I needed to my playlist on the Virgin screen, but that's OK.  At least I didn't have to worry about missing the last part of any movie, as Linda was afraid the guy in front of us would do as he watched one of the Spider-man movies.

Welcome to Orlando, Sherry!

When we arrived in Orlando, what should greet me in the airport lobby, but a picture of my girl Ariel!  We followed our directions to get to the Magical Express line, where we met Zeenat  (her name rhymes with "peanut") and Jan.  I don't know why I didn't get a picture of Zeenat.  She was really cute and friendly!  We got on our bus and I ate my kid's meal (PB&J sandwich with carrots, a little brownie and apple juice), and I saw a guy get on with his luggage.  This sent me into an immediate worry mode because I thought that ME was supposed to get our luggage for us.  I knew that they would deliver to our room, but I was worried that we had misunderstood and we were supposed to pick up our luggage first.  But no, everything was fine.  You know I had visions of us being without luggage a la Liz in Boston.  Then I got jealous of all of the people on the Disney Cruise Line bus because I wish we could do that, too.  But that will be for another day, I hope.

Rock Inn

We arrived at the All-Star Music resort, and met Ryane, whom was on her third day of training at the hotels.  Her trainer was Edward, and they were both very nice.  Ryane really likes Earl of Sandwich, but since we now have one in Anaheim (yay!), we didn't plan on going there.  She circled it for us on the map anyway.  :)  Linda and I had made our reservations for our dinners ahead of time, and Ryane told us how to work the rest of the dining plan that we had purchased.    We then put in a good word for Ryane and Edward, and headed for the dining area to get our refillable mugs before walking to our room at the Rock Inn.  The room felt even farther than it actually was because we had walked around the wrong side of the building, and my left foot/ankle/knee was really hurting by this point.  We considered getting a wheelchair for me, but I decided that I'd be OK for the evening.  I love all of the musical themes in the room, so much so that I hopped into the shower to show off the curtain.

Cue music from "Psycho"

This looks really familiar

We walked to the bus stop and got in line with a woman whom was standing by herself.  We had decided to make Hollywood Studios our first park since the Magic Hours for resort guests were in the evening for this day, and we didn't really need to spend the whole day there.  After all, we come from the land of the real Hollywood, so it's not much of a big deal to us, except for the rides that we don't have in Anaheim.  

Sorcerer Mickey Topiary

At DHS, the Sorcerer Mickey topiary looked like Elphaba from Wicked. After figuring out the map (honestly, why was this so hard for us?), we made our way to the Tower of Terror.  Yes, I know that we have one in Anaheim.  But I love Florida's version.  I rode it in 2003, and it was the first Tower I ever rode, so I was a bit disappointed when the one in DCA wasn't the same.  While in line at the Tower, we talked to a guy and his son about the ride.  They had never experienced it, so I coyly said, "It's an elevator."  Tower of Terror is not as creepy here in the line as it is in Anaheim, because there is only one floor, and the ghost girl or whatever isn't running around behind the walls.  The ride itself is way better than ours.  I know that an elevator isn't supposed to move horizontally, but that is what makes it so awesome for me.  Linda conceded that WDW's is better than DCA's.  This would be the last time that she would concede as such.  Yes, it was only the first day, and the first ride.

Riding the Elevator

We didn't have reservations for the evening because we were saving one of the dining plan credits for the next night's restaurant, which required 2 points instead of just one.  So we ordered gourmet hot dogs at Fairfax Fare, which looks like LA's Farmer's Market, but a lot smaller.  Linda's hot dog had mac and cheese with bacon and truffle oil on top.  Mine had pulled pork and cole slaw on top.  They were yummy.  Linda ended up getting free hot chocolate because their machine broke down and she had to make it out of a package by herself.  So they gave her 2 of them.  I don't know what it is with Linda getting hot chocolate for free <giggle>.

I wasn't sure that we should do a coaster ride right after dinner, but we both felt OK and we were too hungry to wait until after the coaster to eat.  So then we went to the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which was pretty much a walk-on because of the Magic Hours (we had to show our Key to the World cards to get in line).  KICK ASS!!!  The cast member dude at the end of the ride yelled at us, "YEAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" just like a rock n roll fan should say.  This became the line of the day (LOTD was done in tweets for the trip, and will not have its own separate blog entries).  I so totally love that ride!  We got a picture of us on the ride, and I also bought a cool shirt for myself with snaps down the back.  It's black and white and totally me.

Aerosmith in the studio

Linda is a huge movie fan, so she wanted to go on The Great Movie Ride.  I only cared about going on it so that I could see Joseph Fiennes for a second.  While we were walking to the attraction, music from the score of "Shakespeare In Love" was playing around us, and I was very happy.  I got even happier when they showed the snippet of the movie at the end of the ride.  Our tour guide was Rebecca, and we got held up by the gangsters.

That was really all that we wanted to do, as I didn't really feel the need to see The Little Mermaid show (they didn't have any during Magic Hours anyway).  But we saw people in a line at one of the studio set entrances, so we asked what it was about.  The CM told us that it was The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, and there were some really cool special effects, and Johnny Depp shows up and it looks as if he's really there.  Well, OK, then!  It was pretty cool, but the singing mermaid was a bit creepy because it just showed her head instead of her whole body.  I didn't feel like Johnny was actually there, but that's OK.  I was amused by his Captain Jack-ness, and my favorite line was when he talked to the Jolly Roger head: "Thank you, Inexplicably Floating Skull in the Sky."

Linda needed to take a picture of a dinosaur before we left.  The dinosaur was pink and big and I have no idea why he was in that lake, but it made her happy.  

We took bus #2 back to the hotel.  The most crowded one.  But our luggage was there and we were happy.  I iced my foot in preparation for the next day of much walking, while writing in my brand spanking new pretty journal.  

WDW Line of the Day:  "YEAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!" -- CM at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster

The Answer

I had the day off yesterday, so I did lunch with Mich at Wood Ranch BBQ, and after some shopping, I went to the movie theater for "42".

• I liked Harrison Ford's portrayal of Branch Rickey.  He had his reasons for wanting to bring a black baseball player to the major leagues, first saying that money is green and that's the only color he cares about.  But, of course, he had another motive, and it was quite touching.
• Whenever anybody stands up for another person's rights, my heart swells.  I think that's why I love movies like this: a lot of people were behind Robinson's rise, and he could not have done it without people like Rickey.
• "He's a Methodist.  I'm a Methodist.  God is a Methodist."
• I also liked the way that Rickey asked Robinson if he could control his temper when the racist remarks were going to eventually start.
• Chadwick Boseman was a great choice to play Jackie Robinson.  He has the charisma and an awesome chemistry with Nicole Beharie.  I rooted for the 2 of them from the moment she got his call from Brooklyn.  He also had me crying several times when he reacted, or restrained himself from reacting, to the prejudice against him.
• I heard an interview about why Robinson was chosen instead of a different ball player (it was touched on in the film, but the interview revealed much more).  I was hoping to hear about it in the film, but I guess they didn't want to stray from Robinson's story.
• Alan Tudyk did a great job of making me want to punch him in the face.  Actually, all of the actors did a great job of getting me really emotionally involved in the film, whether it be my  loving the romance, hating the racism, or feeling pride for those who changed.
• The scene with Rachel seeing a White Only restroom was particularly telling, because she had never had the experience having grown up in good old Pasadena, CA.  I'm glad I live here.
• "Must have been that elongated heel bone that made him hit it like that."
• The shower invitation scene was hysterical.
• "You're medicine!"
• Poor Pittsburgh.
• Inspiring.  The audience applauded at the end.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I recommend it highly.  Go see it!  Go Dodger Blue!  

DLR LotD 04/12/13

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Friday, April 12, 2013

"The pointy things are in the wrong places." -- Jenn, watching the Pinata Girls in the Soundsational Parade

DLR LotD 03/17/13

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Sunday, March 17, 2013

"Here comes Honey Blue Blue!" -- Genie, at the Hyperion Theater

Not It

Catch Me If You Can

Pantages Theatre

Friday, March 15, 2013

I forgot that I was supposed to see "Catch Me If You Can" last week, but at least I didn't plan anything else for that night.  I met up with my friends Marilee, June and Dene at the Pantages Theatre after work.  Our seats were in the 3rd row of the balcony.  I like the movie and the story, and I had seen one of the songs performed on the Tony Awards.

• This show is like old time Broadway musicals with the music, probably because it's set in the past.
• I like the way that the stage is set, with the runway, and the orchestra's positioning behind it.  Very cool.  Although the drummer seems like he's lonely because he's the only one underneath the runway thing.
• I also like the premise, that the stage show is all in Frank Jr.'s head, as he tells his life story.  "A show?"  (wink!)  
• Stephen Anthony is great in the lead as Frank, Jr.  I especially liked "Goodbye".  Powerhouse!
• Wow, he did all of that because he really likes girls a lot?
• Merrit David Janes is also great in his role as Agent Hanratty.  He really does well with his frustrated character.
• The ink bottle/glue/Swiss army knife costumes were cute.
• Marilee and I think that Aubrey Mae Davis, whom plays Brenda, looks like Megan Hilty.
• I didn't really like it when the female ensemble sang together, because it was a bit screechy.  But when the sang as individuals, they sounded fine.  I wonder if they were all just trying to outsing each other.
• "He said his name was Barry Allen?  That's the Flash!"
• Yay!  Pan Am!

That was a fun show, although I prefer John Williams' score of the movie over this.  The theatre wasn't full on opening night, which is a shame, because it is quite entertaining and humorous.

After Ever After - DISNEY Parody

It's a cappella, it's Disney, it's funny  How could I not share this with you all?  You can also buy the song on iTunes!  

DLR LotD 02/27/13

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Special Edition: The Glenlivet Scotch Dinner at Catal

Rob Roy 
"If my eyes are still a little bit dilated before the Scotch dinner, how will my eyes  know when I'm drunk?" -- Sherry, tweeting to no one in particular

Amuse Buche: Oyster with Cucumber Sorbet
"I'll just put it right down my pants.  They'll never know." -- Andrea

12 Year Old
Whipped Smoked Salmon w/Honey-thyme creme Fraiche, lemon-oat clusters
"It's been beaten and whipped, like my forefathers." -- Andrea

15 Year Old French Oak Reserve
Whisky-Spiced Poached Pear w/Gorgonzola cheese croquette, local honeycomb, wild arugula, candied walnuts, gastrique
"Are you voguing?" -- Matt, to Sherry, after hearing the word "model"

Nadurra 16 Year Old Cask Strength
Seared Day Boat Scallop and Lacquered Pork Belly w/Caramelized pineapple, vanilla-sun choke puree, crushed hazelnuts
"It's a fork." -- Sherry, to Cindy, as Cindy stared with wonder at her utensil

18 Year Old
Braised "smokey" Beef Short Ribs w/ Honey glazed carrots, "tater tots", mascarpone cream, green peppercorn caramel
"The Irish invented whiskey, but the Scotch perfected it." -- Scotchmaster Rick (I don't know why, but my notes say "Ian" -- was it a different guy than on the menu, or was I drunk?)

21 Year Old Archive
Banana-Butterscotch Brioche Bread Pudding w/Scotch-ale gelato
"Andrea, Unchained!" -- Sherry

The D Is Silent, Hillbilly

I didn't make it in time to the theater to see "Django Unchained" after work on Thursday as planned, because of an accident on the freeway.  Stupid other drivers.  But I did make it just in time on Friday night, even with the showtime being 10 minutes earlier.  Yay, me!

• Just like with other Tarantino films, there is a LOT of blood.  I'm used to that by now.
• I'm also used to the fact that I dread the bloody scenes, but QT really is talented, and I like what he's done here with his version of a Western...errr, Southern.
• I'm convinced that Christoph Waltz needs to be in all of QT's films.  He does an amazing job here, as he did in "Inglorious Bastards".  His Oscar nomination is well-deserved.  I mean, I even love the way he would fix his facial hair.
• Tom Wopat?!  That's who that was? No wonder he looked familiar.  Don Johnson, too.  Hey, that's Amber Tamblyn in the window.  I didn't catch her dad, though.  I love that Tarantino loves his pop culture idols.
• "You mean, you wanna dress like that?"
• The scene with the white bags was hilarious! "No, nobody brought an extra bag!"
• Dude, Leo, you are not a good dude in this movie.  
• "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself."
• Also, I think this is the first movie wherein I actually hated Samuel L. Jackson's theater.  What an a- hole.
• "Alexandre Dumas is black."  Loved the reaction.
• So, um, I guess that I've now seen Jamie Foxx's man parts.
• I like this soundtrack!
• I knew it!  According to Quentin at Comic-con, Broomhilda's last name is a reference to "Shaft".

This movie is not for the squeamish, but I liked it.  I could watch that white bag scene many times.  That and listen to Waltz recite all of his lines.

C'est Vrai

I saw "Amour" at the Laemmle theater as part of my quest to see all of this year's Oscar Best Picture nominees.  Since the film isn't being shown in very many theaters, there were quite a few people there to see it, and I arrived just in time, so I sat in the second row.

• Sometimes I try not to read the subtitles when I'm watching something in another language.  I didn't need to read for all of the film, but there were a lot of words that I didn't know or didn't remember.  I need to brush up on my French.
• The film opens with the end of the story, so I'm glad that I was on time, or I wouldn't actually know what was happens since they didn't show it again at the end of the film.
• I liked the banter between the two leads (before she was too ill to speak, of course).  Just like an old married couple should be: sweet and  funny.
• I'm guessing that he's the cook, because he still kept eating pretty well after she got sick.  Then I thought of French cooking and got hungry, crazily wishing my popcorn would be replaced by haricots verts.  That would be messy, though, since I didn't have a fork.
• Ohhhhh...she was a piano teacher.
• So....what did he do with that last pigeon?
• Where did he go when he walked out the door at the end?
• I felt like she was selfish for not allowing him to take her to a hospital or a nursing home.  But his devotion to her was incredible.  It made me wonder about my parents.  I know that my mother would not want my dad to take care of her like that, but if he needed to, he would.  And here I am, crying again.  It's like his story about seeing a film and not crying about it until he told someone about it later.
• A woman arrived late to the movie and sat 2 seats away from me.  She had mannerisms that annoyed me (they were mostly audible mannerisms), and afterward, she felt compelled to tell me that this is why she loved French films: because they are so real.  Ergo, the title of this post.  
• I can see why both Trintignant and Riva are so beloved in France.  Wonderful acting.

The Obsession That Started It All

My friend Cindy gave me the book "New Kids On The Block: Five Brothers and a Million Sisters", the authorized biography by Nikki Van Noy.  Thanks, Cindy!

I finished reading the book this morning, and I really liked it because it told the story from the guys' points of view, as well as from that of the fans.  I wasn't as young as most of the NKOTB fans were when they got big.  I'm about their age, less than 5 years older than them, so my experience wasn't like a lot of the other fans whom were going through adolescence at the height of the madness, but I was still obsessed.  Many of them looked at NKOTB as the escape from whatever was wrong at school or at home.  I was done with college, so I could drive myself to venues and not look as obvious when I was stalking...er...looking forward to running into them somewhere.  I bought the teenybopper magazines with money I earned while they used their allowance.  It was different, but my level of obsession was just as crazy.  They screamed at decibels higher than what many animals can hear, and I had my alto-flavored "whoo!". Oh, Mercedes.  Such memories we had, girl.  I wonder if you think of me whenever you hear about NKOTB these days, like I think of you, wherever you are.

When NKOTB made their comeback, the fans got to feel young again, scream again, and cry tears of joy again.  Now all of us are 20 years older, and the guys are more accessible, and they've gotten to know a lot of their loyal fans.  

As I was reading, I thought of Rockapella and how thankful I am that I've been able to talk to them (kinda) at the beginning of my fandom, or at least when I started following them around to different venues.  I remember telling Barry once that I hope they never get so big that we don't get to talk to them, and he said that he felt the same way.  I'm at the point now (and I'm sure a lot of the diehards are) that I'm confident that even if Rockapella became huge, they'd still remember me and wave from the stage and smile.  But NKOTB is such a worldwide phenomenon that I'm amazed at how they remember a lot of their fans and know their stories and have reached the same intimacy that we Rockapella fans have with our guys.  It's been a lot more difficult for NKOTB because they were mobbed so much, and I admire how they all still tried to get to know their fans by reaching out to them, before at meet and greets at the malls, and now through Twitter and Facebook and their VIP tickets.  (Actually, they interact more with their fans on the social sites more than Rockapella does).

It also interested me that many of the NKOTB fans have gotten to know each other through the years and have become lifelong friends because of the group.  That sounds very familiar.  I wouldn't know some of my wonderful-est friends today if not for the Pella.  Our mutual love for the guys has allowed us to be crazy together, to cry together (in happiness and sorrow), and to have memorable trips that I'll cherish forever.  I know that the Rockapella fan community is minuscule as compared to the Blockheads, but the parallels are intriguing to me.  

I'll be seeing NKOTB in July, and I'm even thinking of seeing them twice because they've added a show in the area, but I won't go the VIP route, because that kind of money goes toward Rockapella shows.  :)  I'm excited to see them and Boyz II Men.  I'm ambivalent toward 98 Degrees, as I was toward Backstreet Boys, which is why I didn't go to the last tour, but I'm really excited about the B2M thing.  I have a much longer wait before I see Rockapella, and it makes me crazy.  But at least when I see them, I'll have a better chance at talking to them and spending time with them in my own PellaPusher way.  Until then, I'll keep myself preoccupied with my first 5-guy obsession.  And at least I'll still get to see my Posse a few times before then, too.