DAY 12 – SUN 18th NOV

phone call from Mickey wakes us at 7:30AM. I am still half asleep so I may have misheard, but I’m sure he says that I have a big doin’s. I’ve been telling everyone that for years.

We catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom and get in a couple of minutes after opening time as the bag search takes a little while. At least the security guards are happy and polite.

We meet Sharon and Evan in front of Main Street station and head off to Tomorrowland, but Buzz Lightyear already has a 20 minute wait. We grab Fastpasses and go to Winnie the Pooh instead.
A word on the crowds today. This is the most crowded park we have encountered so far by a long way. The big rides have one hour lines at one point and even It’s a Small World has a 15 minute wait.

After Pooh we do Snow White and then meet up with friends of Sharon’s to do Peter Pan and Small World. We seem to have an ever-expanding group, as we are now 12 strong for a short while.

Back to Tomorrowland where we pass the talking trash can. I’ve never seen it before and I must say that it really is good fun as it chases various people around trying to make conversation with them.

On to Buzz where I pulverize the puny women with my mighty score of 291,000, which enables me to attain ‘Pleasantly Pleased’ on the Stringer Smug-o-meter. Shame really, another 10,000 points and I would have achieved ‘Disarmingly Arrogant.’
Granny(J) gets a highly respectable second place with 118,000. She says she has used the time-honoured technique of pushing the button as quickly as she can while wildly moving the gun around.
Georgia and Grandma(D) bring up the rear in the shooting stakes.

Jungle Cruise has a long wait so we get Fastpasses and the ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Actually, with a bit of luck and judicious use of the Fastpass system, we achieve pretty much all that we set out to today. This is helped by the fact that we don’t do Space Mountain or Splash Mountain as we know that Granny(J) wouldn’t like them.

Back to the Jungle Cruise for the usual collection of terrible jokes, after which we go to the Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. This is the first time that we have eaten here and, while I wouldn’t rave about it, it is quite good. Lot’s of staple American fare like Pot Roast and Turkey. Grandma(D) forgets where we are and tries to order a beer, which makes me sob in anguish.

After lunch we try the Haunted Mansion, but the wait is 45 minutes and Sharon and Evan have to leave the park in 30 minutes to catch their flight.
We walk back down Main Street to see them off and stop to check out the photo we had taken earlier. It is pretty good so we both buy a copy.

It is finally time for Sharon and Evan to leave and we say our farewells. Poor Sharon is close to tears. I hope this is because she is sad at leaving WDW, but it could be tears of joy at finally getting away from the horrible Stringer family.
We have had a lovely few days together and, as Georgia says later in the afternoon, it doesn’t seem quite the same without them.

We walk back up Main Street and round the back of the castle where we watch a little of the new snow globe parade before it is time to head off to the Haunted Mansion to use the Fastpasses we got earlier.

The Fastpass system seems a little strange here as we all merge into one queue. Not much point having a Fastpass at all. I manage to pick up a hitchhiking ghost again. Well, it’s an improvement on Tam. The chubby one is actually a bit of a looker.

The paddle steamer is about to leave, so we jump on it. This is always a pleasant way to relax a bit in a crowded park. The only criticism I would have of the steamer is that they could have more seats. It would be much more enjoyable if you could rest your weary feet as you float around.

We walk back to Fantasyland to watch Legend of the Lion King, which is packed. Why is it that I can watch something umpteen times and still get goose bumps? The Circle of Life gets me every time.

It is now approaching 5:30PM and we think that we had better stake out decent places for Spectromagic at 7:00PM. It also allows Granny(J) and Grandma(D) to relax a little rather than rushing around the park. We settle on a place in Main Street close to the hub and the ladies settle down while Tam, me, India and Georgia go to ride Big Thunder Mountain using Fastpasses that I had traipsed half way across the park to get earlier on. What a fine husband and father I am.

Big Thunder always seems faster in the dark and we enjoyed smirking at the peasants in the 45 minute standby line as we saunter past. Hey, don’t look at me in that disapproving manner. Admit it, you’ve done it too!

Back to the kerb to sit and wait for the parade. A couple of marching bands come down Main Street before Spectro and a lady behind us seems to know some of the people in one of them. She is hollering and shouting with so much enthusiasm that I look to see if they are handing out free beer. No such luck.
Spectromagic is wonderful. I haven’t seen it for a while and much prefer it to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Granny(J) is impressed.

We wait for Fantasy in the Sky, where I prove that even a seasoned WDW veteran can make a mistake. We position ourselves right in the middle of the hub by the Partners statue. The fireworks start and I suddenly realise that a lot of the lower explosions are hidden by the castle. Luckily it is not really full around the hub so we have no trouble moving to the left to get an improved view.

After the fireworks it is the usual scrum down Main Street, but we have decided to miss the bus crowds by going to the Polynesian resort to watch the Electrical Water Pageant.
This proves to be a sensible decision as the monorail line is swamped with people while we walk straight onto the resort loop train, thus enabling me to regain some credibility after the fireworks debacle.

At the Poly we grab a beer and walk down to the beach via the pool. The new Poly pool looks very nice. The volcano slide is impressive and it must be nice to look out across the Seven Seas Lagoon while you swim.
The good old Electrical Water Pageant is pretty and there are a surprising number of people watching it.

We take a taxi back to the Boardwalk and I grab a hotdog before we return to the room where I have a couple of beers and write up the trip report while the ladies make use of the whirlpool bath.

Oh dear. There has just been a bit of a problem. A scream from the bathroom. The toilet is blocked and overflowing all over the floor. Poor Tammy is panicking and trying to unblock the loo with her hand. Water is still pouring out of the top of the basin, so I have to take the top off the cistern and hold up the ball cock to stop the flow of water.
The loo eventually unblocks itself. It takes a couple of frantic phone calls to get somebody up to the room, but, to give them credit, the room is cleaned and ready for use 35 minutes after the incident. Still, it’s not something you expect to happen in a deluxe resort. I may be having a word with the manager in the morning.

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