The TCD gang Pops over to WDW

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Well, I was going to comment on listening to a certain singer singing about the need to be woken up as I teased my hair to amazing proportions (I was from NJ!) and walked through clouds of perfume to get just the right amount on.

I was going to reminisce even more about going to college in the early 80's.

But TCD has said no more such talk on his TR.

And we never hi-jack threads on this board.

So I won't.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

as I teased my hair to amazing proportions (I was from NJ!) and walked through clouds of perfume to get just the right amount on.

and just how high did you manage to get that hair.....

some people still walk through clouds of perfume only they aren't concerned about getting the right amount on, just by how many miles away they can be smelled. :rofl2: yes, I am talking about my mother. :rofl3:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, I was going to comment on listening to a certain singer singing about the need to be woken up as I teased my hair to amazing proportions (I was from NJ!) and walked through clouds of perfume to get just the right amount on.

I was going to reminisce even more about going to college in the early 80's.

But TCD has said no more such talk on his TR.

And we never hi-jack threads on this board.

So I won't.

Since when does a request to not hijack get honored on this board?

Usually it has the opposite effect.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Since when does a request to not hijack get honored on this board?

Usually it has the opposite effect.

TCD

Oh goodness, I've got to go to the song stuck in head thread to put in an entry.

"you gotta have faith, faith, faith."

[mmfancipher 31]

Is it?

There are so many lines from Austin Powers movies, but I don't remember this one.

TCD

I believe he is talking to a woman and she says her name is Spitz, but she is also known as Swallow.

Austin then says , "So, which is it? Spitz or Swallow?" And then he gives the camera that dead pan look.

:smug: ya, baby!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

I believe he is talking to a woman and she says her name is Spitz, but she is also known as Swallow.

Austin then says , "So, which is it? Spitz or Swallow?" And then he gives the camera that dead pan look.

:smug: ya, baby!

Yep...she introduces herself as Robin Spitz...maiden name Swallows. Which is it baby? Spitz or Swallows? From the second Austin Powers.

I am a fountain of useless knowledge.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It's time for another update.

We left off with us leaving the MK a bit after 11 on Friday night.

The plan was to get back to the room and get some sleep.

Because of the storm scare, we were considering trying to do a rope drop in the morning so we could get some park time in before the big storms hit. Remember, they had closed Typhoon Lagoon for the day, so WDW management expected the storms would be pretty severe. The weather people on TV were vague as usual. All they would say was that a big storm was on the way, and that it would probably hit in the morning. The radar images did show a very big storm out in the Gulf, and it was predicted to move across the state some time on Saturday.

When we got back to our room we had a surprise.

It was my cousin Yuri.

I hadn't seen him in a long time.

But there he was sitting outside our door.

It's my fault that he found us.

Since I hadn't heard from him in a long time, I started asking other relatives if they had heard anything from him. The people I asked said that they hadn't. But, you know how these things go . . . people started asking around, and somehow Yuri got word of it. A few people knew we were heading over to WDW too, so Yuri found out somehow. Of course, nobody will admit to being the one who told him, so I will never be sure how he found out. I never am. But, here he was.

Since he is allegedly my cousin, I had to invite him in. He helped himself to the beer in the fridge, and we got caught up. It was already late when this all started, and it was getting later with no signs of Yuri moving along, so I took the direct approach and told him that we had a long day and needed to get some sleep. I did not in any way even hint that he was welcome to stay with us. I asked him what his plans were, and he said he was going to head over to Downtown Disney for a while. He asked if he could borrow some money (like always) and I gave him some, as I knew this was the only way to get rid of him. He then asked if he could borrow my camera. Again, I didn't want to give it to him, but I also wanted him to leave, so I said OK. I gave him one of my room keys and told him he could just open the door when he got back and leave the camera near the door before he left.

That ended much better than it could have, and with that, we finally got to bed.

The plan was for me to get up early the next morning. If it wasn't raining yet, then I was going to get the girls up and we would go to rope drop at one of the parks. If it was raining, I would let them sleep in and we would make up another plan after they got up.

So, I got up early. I took a peek outside, and it was cloudy, but not raining. I decided that I would grab my camera and head over to the Fort. Since I hadn't gotten there yesterday, I thought I would get over there at around 7 or so, and be at Trail's End when it opened. I would get a breakfast sandwich, eat it on the porch, and then get back to the Pop in time to get on a bus to whatever park we decided to visit.

That was a great plan.

And it was quickly derailed.

I looked in the spot where I expected to see my camera and my extra room key.

And I saw nothing.

Yuri!

I should have known better.

That no good cousin of mine had swiped my camera!

And my room key!

I didn't know what to do.

So I decided to head down to the food court and get some coffee and think about my options.

Guess who I ran into there?

Yep.

Yuri!

He was slumped in a booth, sipping coffee from his illegal 2007 refillable mug. He was clearly hung over. Actually, I think he was still drunk.

He acted happy to see me, and as if there was nothing wrong. Like we had planned to meet here.

He said he stayed later at Downtown Disney than he intended. And had missed the last bus, and had spent all the money he borrowed from me, so he had hitch-hiked back here. And then he realized that he had lost the room key, so he didn't want to bother me by knocking on the door in the early morning, so he said he wandered around until the food court opened and then had been parked here drinking coffee.

I asked him if he had my camera. He felt his pockets, and then handed it over. He smiled and told me that he had taken some pictures that he thought I would like. I didn't bother looking, because I was just glad to have my camera back, and I really didn't feel like discussing any of this with Yuri. He then asked if he could borrow some more money so he could get back home. I handed him some more. And I told him goodbye.

That's all there is to tell about Yuri's visit for this trip.

Hopefully, it will be another long time before I see him again.

All of this had fouled up my plans to head over to the Fort. But, the storms were still holding off, so I went back to the room and got the girls going. Since I had not gotten my breakfast sandwich, I suggested to the girls that maybe we should head over to the MK for rope drop and some cinnamon rolls. That got them moving!

And that's where we will be heading next.

But, to keep things in sequence in this report, I will first need to share with you the photos I found on my camera from the time that it was in Yuri's possession. When I first looked at these, I wasn't sure what these photos were, but upon further study, I realized that Yuri had taken a walk around Hourglass lake in the early morning while he was waiting for the food court to open.

So we are all on the same page, this is an aerial shot of the resort:

That water in the middle of the photo is Hourglass Lake. The buildings to the right of the lake are the Pop Century resort. The buildings on the left are the new buildings for the Art of Animation resort.

Since we talked about this earlier in this report, here's a screen shot of the same area from October, 2005:

You can see that on the other side of the lake from Pop, they had built two of the room buildings, and the lobby building before things stopped. You can see these buildings back as far as 2004. In this photo, you can also see that it looks like they at least had started on the foundations of most of the other buildings, as you can see the building footprints on the ground.

In case you are wondering, if you start at the top right of the lake in the 2012 photo, the first cluster of three buildings is the 50's section of Pop, then the two buildings below, on either side of the big pool are the 60's buildings. The two buildings parallel to each other below the 60's section are the 70's buildings, and then the cluster of three buildings at the bottom are the 80's buildings and the lone 90's building.

Continuing around the lake, the new buildings are laid out as follows: at the very bottom you see the trailer complex. That will undoubtedly be moved once the construction is done. Then, the cluser of three buildings you see next are the Cars themed buildings. The two buildings above those, on either side of the main pool, are the Nemo buildings. The next two are the Lion King buildings, and then the three up top, which include the two old buildings, are the Little Mermaid buildings.

Now that we are all oriented, let's take a look at Yuri's photos.

This first one is pretty cool. It looks like he took this one from outside of our room in the pre-dawn hours. This must have been when he realized that he lost the room key:

This looks like the trailer complex:

And these look like props that are stacked around the trailer complex- they are probably decorations that will be installed around the resort:

This looks like the side of the Cars building:

And this looks like the area in the middle of the three Cars buildings where they are building a pool:

You can see that there are men working on the left in that photo, which is probably why Yuri didn't wander further in to that area.

This area of the resort is supposed to be opening in the second phase, some time in June. It looks like they are hard at work here:

Also note that they have the Hippie Van from Cars parked there near the pool.

I generally am anti-Hippie, but I do like that Hippie Van, which was voiced by George Carlin.

You can see that they have built a giant wheel over the entrance to one of the buildings, and you can also see the Hippie Van to the right of the pole in this photo:

It looks like they recently finished the side walk all the way around the lake, as it doesn't look like it was there when that aerial photo I posted above was taken. But, you can see the sidewalk here, and the Pop Century buildings across the lake in this shot:

This appears to be a shot of one of the interior hallways in one of the Nemo buildings- notice the starfish room number signs:

This directory sign confirms that there are four sections to this resort, and points to their locations:

It is obvious that the Nemo buildings appear almost ready for guests. This section of the resort will open first, and the opening date is shown as May 31st on the Disney website. This is one of the Nemo buildings, which looks ready to go, including landscaping:

This looks like it is a child's play area at the main pool:

This is the main pool. The lobby building is there in the back. The sculpture there on the right that looks like french fries is supposed to be a sea anemone, and there will be big sculptures of Nemo and his dad peeking out of there:

You can see that Mr. Ray is hanging over the entrance to this building:

Continuing along the lake, it looks like Yuri next passed this area, which shows a Lion King building on the right, and a Nemo building on the left:

We can see one of the Little Mermaid buildings down the path in this photo:

Here's a look at another Lion King building:

The Lion King section will be opening third, after Nemo and Cars, sometime in August.

It doesn't look like this section will have a pool. Kind of like the 70's section at the Pop. These buildings sit in the middle of the Nemo and Mermaid pools, so I guess the guests here can have their pick. These buildings are also closer to the lobby building than the Mermaid buildings.

It is obvious that the Mermaid buildings are built in the same style as the Pop buildings with outside hallways:

This is another shot of the Mermaid buildings, you can see that the stairs have not been covered with a big icon, like they did over at Pop, and at all the All Star resorts:

This shot shows that the Mermaid buildings are going to look exactly like the All Star/Pop buildings:

Even though they used two building shells that were already constructed, the Little Mermaid section of this resort is going to open last, probably not until September. This photo shows that there is still a lot of work to be done in this section. There is no sign of a pool yet:

This is a look at the Pop resort from over here near the Mermaid section:

This looks like a shot across Hourglass Lake from the north part of the lake, looking south. That's the Generation Gap bridge that you see there going across the water, with the Pop resort on the left, and the Art of Animation resort on the right:

This is a look over at the AOA resort from the north tip of the lake:

And, this is one more look at the AOA resort from across the lake. In this photo, the Mermaid buildings are on the far right, then the Lion King buildings, then Nemo, and the Cars buildings are all the way on the left:

So, those are Yuri's photos.

They cost me a lot of money.

And grief.

But I do like them.

I hadn't seen any detailed photos of the current state of the AOA resort before I saw these.

Now I know how things stand over there.

And so do you.

Next up, we will get this thing moving along.

We will be heading over to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop!

And we will try to have some fun before the big storm hits.

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cool pics Yuri!!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Thanks to Yuri! Those are some great pics!

[Lil Lisa 53]

My vote is for a GAG, after all, you are the one footing the bill, right? (My money, my rules)

Now may I rant against the weather people for a sec (Sorry Lil Lisa)

I'm not even gonna talk about the local news/weather guys as they hardly know their ass from their elbow.

But let's talk about The Weather Channel.

IMO, the weather channel should show the weather, just as MTV should show music, right?

I can't count the number times I have cussed at Jim Cantore and any other random weather dude. It seems as if every time we have a nasty storm and/or tornado warning, I turn on the weather channel for info (right before I crawl into the closet with Mason)

and I'll be darned if there is some weather show on. Grrrr......

I think 99% of the info they give is an educated guess, at best.

Thanks for letting me vent! Usually only Trevor gets that pleasure.

I have never been to Pop, but I would like to check it out, especially the 70's section.

I can't believe you didn't get around that wall! You're not getting soft on me are you?

:rofl2:

No"real"meteorologist would ever accept a position at the weather channel.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

That Yuri guy sure does get around. It'd be mighty hard not to like him...

[caveat lector 181]

Yuri comes through again. I haven't seen any of this up until now. While he typically shows up to the party empty handed, he also usually delivers in the end.

Bring back Rocky!

[Live4FW 30]

Nothing better than a visit from Yuri (for us that is!)

[stefa70 205]

Is Yuri married? He seems like a great guy with a fun life. What could be better than mooching off of TCD's Disney stay, drinking his beer, borrowing his camera AND his money? Sign me up! (Does he like short, mouthy women with food consistency problems?)

The AOA looks cool, and I would stay there if I was a hotel kind of person. Yuri got some great shots. I especially like the dark parking lot one with the pink sky.

He should visit you more often!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Cool pics Yuri!!

Thanks to Yuri! Those are some great pics!

Great. I'll be sure to let Yuri know that he has a fan club.

:rofl2:

No"real"meteorologist would ever accept a position at the weather channel.

Now, that is a funny statement.

And from what I have seen, true.

That Yuri guy sure does get around. It'd be mighty hard not to like him...

Oh sure, he's the life of the party.

And then you realize that he drank all your beer and "borrowed" all your cash.

Then he's not so much fun to have around.

Yuri comes through again. I haven't seen any of this up until now. While he typically shows up to the party empty handed, he also usually delivers in the end.

Bring back Rocky!

Yuri does have a few redeeming qualities.

And, you're right, Rocky is definitely overdue for a trip to the Fort.

The problem is trying to find time for a trip to the Fort. We had to squeeze this one-night trip in as it is.

Nothing better than a visit from Yuri (for us that is!)

Sure.

It's great for y'all.

You're not the ones supplying the beer and cash.

Is Yuri married? He seems like a great guy with a fun life. What could be better than mooching off of TCD's Disney stay, drinking his beer, borrowing his camera AND his money? Sign me up! (Does he like short, mouthy women with food consistency problems?)

The AOA looks cool, and I would stay there if I was a hotel kind of person. Yuri got some great shots. I especially like the dark parking lot one with the pink sky.

He should visit you more often!

Yes, I think Yuri is married. In fact, I believe he may be married to more than one woman at the moment. He's not big on legal technicalities like divorcing one wife before marrying the next. I'll bet he would love to drink punch with you and Trevor. Let me know when you're going to be at the Fort again, and I'll send him your way.

And, no he should not visit more often.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

If Yuri could find his way into the new Fantasyland area I'd be really impressed. I'd love to see pics from inside the new mine train ride. Tell him that if he can get that done, I will buy him a beer on the porch at Christmas time.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Telling that Yuri story took me a bit longer than I thought it would.

So, let's get back to the trip.

After I got rid of Yuri, I got the girls moving so we could try to make it over to the MK for rope drop.

We had agreed the night before that if it wasn't already raining in the morning, we would get up and go so we could enjoy some park time before the storms came.

It was cloudy, but not raining yet, so we packed up and got ready to head to the MK.

Here is Twin #1 hauling her gear down the inside of a giant Rubik's cube:

Our room was up there under that "n" :

We had Pac Man decorations there on our building.

Bonus points to whoever can tell me the name of that blue ghost.

And extra bonus points to whoever can tell me the name of all the Pac Man ghosts.

We got loaded up fast, moved the car to the main Pop parking lot, and hopped aboard a MK bus, just in time to see the Mayor come out and greet us:

Then the dancers came out and danced and lip synched:

Next came the train:

It was loaded with characters:

I hadn't noticed this before, but the Mickey we had this morning was the one whose mouth moved when he talked. His eyes also opened and closed:

The Mayor introduced the family of the day:

And they began the countdown:

There was confetti:

And fireworks and streamers:

And then we were let loose to enter the park.

We headed to Space Mountain first.

I always forget that they take your picture in here, so we got caught off guard in a candid shot:

We got a SM Fastpass, and then headed to breakfast at the Main Street Bakery.

Here are some photos for Dave:

As you can see, that's two cinnamon rolls and a egg, ham and cheese croissant. Since I didn't get my breakfast sandwich at the Fort, I went with the croissant sandwich here. I had never tried this. It was great!

After breakfast, we headed to the Firehouse and got some new SOTMK cards. The girls played the game a bit on Main Street. One of the portals brought us down a little alley, which we do not come down very often.

A balloon salesman was hanging out here:

And, down here there is something I had never noticed before:

There's a window on the second floor above the glass shop that says it's a Dance Studio. If you stand there, you can hear what sounds like tap dancing coming from the second floor. Where else but WDW would anyone go to the trouble of including a detail like that? And, in all my visits, this was the first time I had ever noticed it.

While I was waiting for the girls to play their game, I watched this silhouette artist for a while. I never paid much attention to this, but this guy just freehanded these. And, he did a pretty good job:

I never knew that this was how it was done.

I always figured they used a light to make a shadow and then traced the profile or something.

By the time we had eaten and played a bit on Main Street, our Space Mountain Fastpasses were good, so we headed back there.

It was there in Tommorowland that I ran right in to the most interesting thing we saw on this trip.

I kid you not.

It was more interesting than anything I have shared up to now in this report.

Even more interesting than the beard.

And the monorail vinylmations.

And Yuri's photos.

I'll share that in the next post.

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Pac Man Ghosts

[We4mickey 6]

I can't wait to have one of those cinnamon rolls from the bakery, yummo!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

If Yuri could find his way into the new Fantasyland area I'd be really impressed. I'd love to see pics from inside the new mine train ride. Tell him that if he can get that done, I will buy him a beer on the porch at Christmas time.

That's a fantastic offer. But, I don't see it happening. Yuri doesn't have a park pass. And he doesn't follow directions. Plus an offer of free beer probably won't motivate him. When he is at the Fort, he just takes beer out of people's coolers, so he has all the free beer he wants already.

Pac Man Ghosts

I should have said no Google.

But, I didn't.

So, you win.

I can't wait to have one of those cinnamon rolls from the bakery, yummo!

Yummo is right.

Or as Bob would say, "To Die For." (z-snap).

TCD

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

Rats! Carol beat me to it. A trivia fact I actually knew...

Pinky, blinky, inky & clyde reside in our basement. DH's hobby for the first 20+ years of our marriage was collecting arcade games. We've got everything from skeeball and shufflebowl to daytona 500, pacman, spyhunter, and more lining the walls of every room downstairs. No room for furniture anymore but lots of coin-op fun.

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

I love the fact that even someone like you, who goes to the parks a lot more than some of us (jealous), can still find things you've never noticed before.

And I think Yuri gets a bad rap. He clearly risked life and limb, not to mention a possible trespassing charge, just to provide you with some unique, one of a kind photos! He's a very drunken brave soul!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Rats! Carol beat me to it. A trivia fact I actually knew...

Pinky, blinky, inky & clyde reside in our basement. DH's hobby for the first 20+ years of our marriage was collecting arcade games. We've got everything from skeeball and shufflebowl to daytona 500, pacman, spyhunter, and more lining the walls of every room downstairs. No room for furniture anymore but lots of coin-op fun.

Party at Pam's house!!!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Glad to know that one of your other relatives spilled the beans and Yuri was able to track you down. He took some really cool photos.

I was sitting here reading this and thinking there are so many books out there that help you plan your days at the park, but none of them go into the small details like you find on your trips. They all seem to be about getting to the rides or shows. I like the way you approach your trips. I realize that since you live close by and get to visit often this is probably easier for you than someone who lives farther away, but I think whenever we go back I am going to use your method. I am going to seek out all the details as I go along.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Thanks Yuri! Is he former KGB? Stealthy, that guy!