WDW Trip Report - Day 3

Friday - Part 1 - Brazil must be empty today

We decided to try something different for breakfast. We got our beverages then found a nice booth. While Jill made her tea I got my breakfast then she went and got hers. That gives us both enough time to eat and I can finish my coffee before we hit the bus.

We got right on a mostly empty bus which we figured was a good sign. Our hopes were smashed when were greeted by flags and chanting Brazilians. We decided to book it and get a fast pass for Test Track before they got there. No dice. There were a crap load of them at the fast pass machines. We one anyway and headed to the world showcase.

World showcase wasn't open yet so we hung out and enjoyed the quiet. After the rope dropped we shoved our way in front of all the old people and hit up the greatest attraction over there. Maelstrom blew our minds of course and we headed over to Test Track, having forgotten all about tour groups.

About sixty of them hopped into the fast track line which turned it into a fifteen minute wait. It was still better than waiting in the standby line. Great ride. It was just about lunch time so we headed over to the aquatic side of the park which wasn't very popular among the Brazilians. We walked onto Nemo and had a chance to check out the manatees before we ate lunch. We had no idea that the manatees were enjoying a much better lunch than we had in store for us.

Friday - Part 2 - Shit Reef

After waiting about a half hour for our table we got a nice table next to the aquarium. The menu looks mostly appetizing but for some reason I didn't have high hopes. I find it's best to be pessimistic going into a situation so any disappointment doesn't have much of an impact.

We skipped appetizers because we're not fat and went straight into the entree. Jill ordered the Caesar salad and I went for the ever popular New York Strip. I was going to order seafood but the waitress said the NY strip was the most popular menu item which in normal restaurant circles would mean it's the best thing on the menu.

If it was the best thing on the menu I can only imagine what the rest of the menu tastes like. The steak lacked flavor and was easily on par with the steaks at Applebee's. I can chow through just about anything without complaining but not when I'm spending the same money that will buy me one heck of a nice steak back in Nebraska. We would later discover that our rocket scientist waitress punched it in as medium well instead of medium. Idiot. Thankfully the atmosphere made for a pleasant dining experience.

Or so we thought. One of the problems with eating at a place like this is that everybody's kids want to look at the damned aquarium. To do so they need to stand at our table. I did my best to ignore them but one of those little booger eaters decided to use Jill's chair to climb up on the ledge in front of the aquarium. As soon as he started kicking her I yelled at him. After that the kids kept their distance. Lunch was already ruined by the crappy food and our moron of a server. Thankfully the creme brulee was acceptable. I tipped 18% which is lower than we pretty much always tip but I wasn't about to pay her for a job well done. I farted as we left. I felt vindicated as well as relieved.

The tour groups had finally spread out so they could ruin the entire park at the same time so we left the park.

Friday - Part 3 - Hollyweird Studios

Hollywood Studios was pretty crowded too but it wasn't as bad as Epcot. We wandered around and checked out the new stuff. We decided to hit up Rock N Rollercoaster and since it was so good we rode it again. That's all we did there and decided to finish up at Epcot. Crowds be damned.

Friday - Part 4 - Epcot-tacular

We hopped onto Spaceship Earth which is easily our favorite Epcot attraction. Sure Test Track and Maelstrom are the bomb but Spaceship Earth is where it's at. Everybody always asks if we go on Soarin' but I've been riding it for the past 9 years since it's been at Disney's California Adventure since it opened in 2001. It's a great ride but it's just not worth wasting a fast pass or waiting in a long line for it since we can usually walk on when we visit California.

I dragged Jill back to the world showcase because we had never been into the Mexico building. It was pretty swell in there. We went on the Three Cabaleros (sp?) boat ride and had a blast. I love rides.

We made Mission Space our last stop. I figured if it was going to make me sick this would be the time to do it. I picked the pussy side since Jill wanted to know if she could handle it. I'd try the manly side another day. There were plenty of warnings all over the place to scare you out of going but Lt. Dan doesn't scare me. I have no idea what kind of person would get sick on this ride. Piece of cake.

We headed out of the park and there were a butt load of people waiting for the bus. Eventually two buses showed up to take us back to our resort. I'll assume that somebody held something up.

As you can see, day three was a real pant load. Stay tuned for day four.

WDW Trip Report - Day 2

Thursday - Part 1 - Waking up is hard to do.

My alarm goes off but Jill is still in the shower which means she slept in. No biggie. I'll just go back to bed until she fires up the hair dryer. 7 minutes later... WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR... So much for that. Thankfully this shower head is at an appropriate height. I'm not tall by any means but I've had to contort myself under many shower heads and it was nice not to have to do that.

Let's talk about the wonders of pants/shorts. I used to scoff at these goofy trousers every time I saw some old German guy sporting them. Scoff no more I say. Read on.

It was little chilly in the morning but hardly what Jill and I have gotten used to over the past couple of months back home. It's stupid how the body gets used to temps. Suddenly I find myself reaching for a sweatshirt to protect me from the frigid 63 degrees. Jill and I headed for the food court clutching our mugs. Memories of my last WDW trip circled my head as I headed for a strange, new food court.

Whiskey, tango, foxtrot. Where did all of these people come from? We made a quick circle then decided on a big breakfast so we hit the line with the biggest breakfast possible. The Bountiful Platter. Negotiating the lines was a breeze for us but from the blank stares on everybody else it became clear that many villages were operating sans idiot that day. We managed to find a table outside and tried to get as many warm bites as possible before the arctic temps rendered our breakfasts cold.

We hit figured most of the riffraff had hit the buses earlier so we shouldn't have to wait too long for our ride to the Magic Kingdom. A fat guy rubbed his belly on my arm as he squeezed by. He made up for it by showcasing his Disney knowledge to his wife who unlike him couldn't read.
Edna: "How do you know this is the Contemporary Resort?
Mort: "Because I can read that sign."

Thursday - Part 2 - The Magic Kingdom
We squeezed past everybody and managed to hit screening before they all arrived. It was very nice to be greeted by an empty park. Last time we were there it was full of people. So far so good. We both loathe Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom but everybody said that it was much better after the recent renovations. The seats were indeed more comfortable but that simply forced you to let your guard down. There were a few bumps that felt like a punch to the nose. Thankfully there was no wait so we could forget about it for the rest of the day. Next stop, the People Mover. Love it.

Nothing had a line so we figured we'd go on everything. I got an awesome score as per usual. The one at Disneyland was better but the obnoxious amounts of atmosphere in there made it possible to see your laser beam which was neato. We wandered about for a bit and got our picture taken in front of the castle by one of the photopass goons. I told Jill there was no way I would pretend to hold Tinkerbell. We did allow ourselves to be holding balloons. Lame.

Everybody in the park was waiting for Peter Pan's Flight so we hit up Snow White's Scary Adventure instead. I've always had a soft spot for the dark rides. It's no Mr. Toad's but I still enjoy it.

Another empty queue greeted us at the Haunted Mansion. We grabbed a bunch of pictures before going in. We love this version of the Haunted Mansion. There's a lot more going on here than we get at Disneyland. I try not to compare the two parks but in this case I'll make an exception. It could be that Jill and I haven't done Disneyland's Haunted Mansion in a gazillion years. On our last trips it's either been closed or done up for Christmas.

Big Thunder was looking pretty empty so we grabbed a fast pass then went on it. Another ride that beats the Disneyland version. There's only so much a donkey chewing dynamite will do. After the that we hitched a ride on the other train and road it back to the Main Street station.

Remember those pants I mentioned earlier? They're freaking transformers!!! The lower pant legs unzip leaving me with shorts. I know, it's unbelievable. I'm buying another pair. Jill ran off and changed into her shorts. She should have gotten transformer pants like me. Lunch time!

Thursday - Part 3 - What the fuck is this?
Pecos Bill would be feeding us today. I gave Jill a brief history of Pecos Bill and his tall tales. She thought he was some Mexican guy. I got a burger and Jill ordered a "veggie" burger. There were most definitely vegetables in said burger but it was anything but delicious. After I finished mine I took a bite. Note that I said took a bite. I couldn't bring myself to chew it up. I muttered an expletive as I spit it out. Thankfully the apple wedged were damn tasty.

We rounded the corner and did Pirates of the Caribbean. The queue is much better than what what we get at Disneyland though Anaheim usually offers a very short walk to the docks and once you get on there is a whole lot more ride to enjoy. It is hardly the premier attraction in Adventureland though. The Swiss Family Treehouse is easily where it's at though it will now forever be known as the Swiss Army Treehouse thanks to the wife.

I made Jill do Carousel of Progress because we don't have that in California. It's still as crappy as I remember it being. I'd do it again. Every time I'm introduced to new technology I think of that haunting tune. "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow..."

That was obviously the high point of the day but we managed to hit up everything else we wanted to go on. Throw in the People Mover for the fiftieth time, and another spin on our other favorite rides and that's what I call a full day. I'm pretty sure we had to stand up on the bus when we went back. I even managed to throw on my suit and hit the pool for a little bit. Jill put her feet in the water and a fat kid did a cannon ball right in front of her. Bastard. We hit the sheets and that was it for day number two.

WDW Trip Report - Day 1

This is my first ever trip report for Walt Disney World. I've read some other ones and mine will most likely be a little different because I'm a guy.

Wednesday - Part 1 - Travel
Jill and I got up when we used to go to bed. I was all showered up by 3am and we were in the car headed towards the airport at about 3:50am which was about 5 minutes later than we wanted to leave originally. Not too shabby. To be honest we had planned to leave at 3:30am because we were expecting freezing rain. Thankfully nature was on our side as was Iowa's snow/ice removal crews. We got to the parking lot at about 4:20am. The rain stopped just long enough for us to get the bags loaded on the shuttle and get to the airport. We took off some of the cold weather gear and checked in.

I was amazed when I saw an actual line to get through screening. This is not typical for our little airport. We grabbed some food at Kracky McGee's (yes that's what the food place is called) then proceeded to our gate for some people watching. Jill stared at this guy wearing a jacket with the president's seal on it. She thought he was sketchy but I pointed out that he has an Admiral's Club membership so he's probably mostly on the level. She worries. We got situated on the plane and were off to Dallas.

It's a short flight but we're considering flying Midwest next time since they offer a direct flight to Orlando now. It would be nice to just get all of the flying out of the way as quickly as possible.

DFW airport was like a sauna. The people watching was top notch though. We had another quiet flight to Orlando. Woo hoo.

Orlando was pretty easy this time. The Disney crowd was almost nonexistent. We got on a bus quickly and they left within minutes. I think we sat on the bus for a good half hour last time before leaving for the resort.

Wednesday - Part 2 - Resort and Animal Kingdom
We were quite pleased to get there as quickly as we did. I checked the room for bed bugs then we hit the food court for a late lunch.

Our first bus experience to Animal Kingdom was pleasant again mostly because everybody had left earlier. We were greeted at Animal Kingdom by the ambiance we love and crap load of Brazilian tour groups that are now apparently always at the parks.

We hit up Expedition Everest which is one of our favorites. I'm glad that Jill and I were fortunate enough to see the Yeti in it's animatronic glory. There was none of that this time. It doesn't move at all now and there is a strobe light that flickers a few times as you roll by. Thankfully Dinosaur still has a bunch of dinosaurs that move about and scare little children. We rode both rides twice.

We rounded out the evening by riding Primeval Whirl and being told to fuck off by a Brazilian teenager. I also bought a hat with a rolled up t-shirt in it. I just wanted the hat. The rubber band was pretty fun though. I shot Jill in the bum and she got mad at me.

Wednesday - Part 3 - Food Court and bedtime
After a good trip opener we headed back to the Pop Century food court to try "Mom's Night Out" which I think is supposed to be like a frozen dinner because mom is out whorin' it up with her bingo friends. We got a crap load of food. I ate all of mine and Jill's cornbread. I paid the price for that meal.

We slept like the dead that night. The first night for us is always rough since we have a really good bed at home. All other beds are akin to a sleeping bag on the floor. We don't get a king bed too often since most rooms we get have two queen beds. We stay in hotels a lot but they're rarely what most would consider to be classy places. As long as the sheets are clean, the AC works, and the water stays hot we're satisfied. Most people would hate a lot of the places we stay. Jill and I get excited when we find a bargain.

Stay tuned for Day 2.

I'm going to do it all over again...

Why should I have to start doing things differently because the odometer rolls over a new year? I kicked ass in 2009. Let's recap shall we?

I lost weight which for me isn't really a good thing since I've always been obnoxiously scrawny. I'm trying to hang out between 165 and 170. I hit 175 in 2008 and found myself having to try on pants again. What that means is the size of Levi's that I'd been wearing for close to ten years suddenly didn't fit. I dropped down to 160 and thanks to cooking at home I'm holding strong at a good weight for me. I don't see myself decorating my physique with muscles any time soon though. Maybe next year.

With weight out of the way I can focus on money. I plan to continue earning this year. My employer may actually come through with a raise. This didn't happen last year but I did manage to keep my job so I'm not going to complain. I'm coming up on my six year anniversary with them and I don't plan on giving up on them. With earning comes spending and while Jill and I have been somewhat thrifty we can definitely do better. Since my clothes fit I don't need to buy new clothes. If I do I'm going to stick to my new rule of only buying off the sale racks. No garment should cost more than $15. There are household projects on the things to do list but thanks to some new tools I can buy larger pieces of wood and cut them to whatever size I need rather than having to pay for small pieces. Tools kick ass. Besides that I just need food and Jill and I are getting pretty good at stocking up on vittles.

Health is a biggie for me. Jill has been on my ass to see a few doctors about my health. I feel fine for the most part but I'm still mostly out of shape and I'm due for a checkup. Once we're all done with our Disney trip I've got some appointments to schedule.

That's really it. I can't think of anything else that needs to be changed.

So this is what a white Christmas is like.

I've been living in the Midwest for three winters now and this is easily the most obnoxious. My first winter here was ridiculously cold. Last year was pretty mild except for one big storm that we missed while we were in California and some freezing rain that caught me by surprise. This year is another year of firsts for me.

We got a pretty good helping of snow in October while I was in California but I figured there would be more when I got home. Nope. No sign of any until December. November was pretty easy. There were some pretty warm days and getting around for Thanksgiving was a breeze. Then December rolled in and all bets were off.

Out here it's a well known fact that it's very hard to predict the weather because we sit right where everything seems to meet up meaning it could be any number of things depending on which way the wind is blowing or which storm system is stronger. Last year they sat on their hands and waited for things to happen before reporting for fear of being wrong. The result was a lot of people getting caught with their pants down while nature kicked their asses. Admittedly most people out here get their weather forecast by looking out the window and head out on even the worst of days. I think they really enjoy seeing their car in a tree or ditch on the news later in the evening.

A lot of people probably think Jill and I are a bit too obsessive about the weather. We're over-planners to begin with so it's only natural that we watch the radar prior to making any weekend plans. If it's going to be bad we stay in, canceling plans if needs be. It's just not worth the risk. Tangent over.

I've been through my first few blizzards and I think we're very fortunate that the snow accumulated the way it did. There's something magical about taking 30 minutes to quickly blow the little bit of snow from the driveway and sidewalk while the people across the street spend hours clearing their snow. Some do it in shifts. Others half-ass it and then drive through it for fear of breaking a sweat. Only one of them does his like clockwork. Here comes another tangent.

We have a neighbor we refer to as Gary Gone Wild since he spend his first summer here topless. He works out of his garage doing odd jobs fabricating things for people. He does okay with it. We have to listen to him grinding metal all day long but he does close shop in the evenings. Aside from the pile of junk he stores in his driveway he's one of my favorite neighbors. He's usually the first one out clearing snow. Like me, he does his entire driveway and sidewalk while everybody else just does their driveway since nobody gets ticketed for neglecting to do their sidewalks. I wish the rest of our neighbors had the same work ethic as Gary. Tangent number two complete.

Even though I've spent a great deal of my vacation trapped at home it's been really nice. The snow gives me a reason to go outside and stay busy rather than napping the day away. I say, bring on more snow as long as it continues to fall everywhere but my driveway.

Let it snow... for hours on end... and have it make the news.

My adorable wife took pity on me and suggested a snow blower this year. We shopped around and looked at a few. We were hesitant to take the plunge since they're expensive and we figured we'd have time to make an educated decision since there were plenty to choose from. The next day we heard on the news that we had 8 inches to look forward to on Tuesday. Snow on Sunday kept people out of the stores so we headed out Monday during my lunch break to buy one. There were just a few left so we lucked out. I'm sure there were a lot of disappointed people at Lowes that afternoon.

I figured out the trick to it pretty quick. I'm still adjusting to not having a completely clear driveway and sidewalk but I'll live. It's really nice to be able to effortlessly clear snow while my neighbors take a few hours to do theirs or half of theirs.

After a quick clearing the snow started to really fall and blizzard rumors were confirmed. Rather than worry about how much I was going to have to do the next day I chose to watch my neighbor instead...

Around midnight we saw lights and a Hyundai warming up in the driveway, surrounded by heavy snow. At the end of the driveway was a pickup sliding back and fourth. It was parked behind the Hyundai earlier. Their mother was visiting for the day and decided it would be a good idea to drive home that night. The real story however was the douche in his pickup. Rear wheel drive and deep snow don't compliment each other. Come to think of it neither does front wheel drive. A moderately intelligent person would have grabbed a shovel and cleared the driveway but this guy decided to just spin his wheels. His wife even came out with a shovel and instructions. Rather than listening he started pointing to where he wanted her to dig. She then threw the shovel into the yard and went back inside.

He was slightly peeved by this because from what I gather it's her job to do the shoveling. He dug a little bit hoping that if he could just get some momentum he would make it all the way up. Nope. He continued to spin his wheels for another half hour or so and even tried to find alternatives to shoveling. None of them worked of course. The mother and wife came out later and there was a brief argument. The wife then got behind the wheel and the mother and douche pushed the truck. She went up the street and was gone. We'd find out later on the next day that the truck was abandoned around the corner. The mother picked up the wife and they hopefully made it to wherever they were headed.

There is nothing better than watching my neighbors be dumb and they never disappoint.