Two tiger claws from Africa. Wow!
During a Labor Day weekend workday at my parents, Chandler rode a crew around the yard on his four-wheeler. From the front: Keighly, Chandler, Emily, Ian, and my grandmother Moma Flo. Fun!
Becky’s green thumb has paid off with a nice sunflower!
While swinging, Keighly made this limb fall. She-Hulk!
Today: Disney MGM!
Emily will be joining us. She seemed fine in the morning, maybe a little cough.
On our way, we passed this cool shoppe.. Wonder what they serve?
Once there, we did something we hadn’t done since we were in Florida: put on sunscreen!
Ready!
Once inside and pass the security check, you immediately enter a world of everything movies and film. Every genre, theme, style, stereotype, and spoof of anything Hollywood and the movie industry can be found here.
Everywhere you look there are employees going about in character, to add to the ‘movies’ theme.
This scene from Fantasia is sculpted from plants.
Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Cream is a tribute to the original animated dinosaur film “Gertie the Dinosaur” from 1914.
The characters put on full shows wherever they can draw a crowd. This is a film crew looking for talent that they take from the crowd.
Indiana Jones wasn’t ready so we got a fast pass for later. From there we walked around the corner to our first ride of the day: Star Tours!
Me under the AT-AT, just like Luke from The Empire Strikes Back!
Our crew on the AT-AT’s foot. They can’t appreciate how cool this is!
The other half of the outside motif is an Endore forrest/village. Here, our crew leans against a re-creation of an Endor tree (*nerd on* actually it’s a giant redwood from California where they shot the Endor forest scenes *nerd off*).
Hmm.. The back side of this AT-AT isn’t as impressive as the front.
As you enter, you pass the director chairs for the stars of the show: C3PO and R2D2!
Once inside, you get your first glimpse at the Starspeeder 3000. R2 is on top working on it, while C3PO is checking the computer.
Awwwwwww yyyyeeeeeeaaaaaa!
Above and left is a control tower that two Mon Calamari are working and overseeing the droids.
A tighter shot of R2. Heh, you got some carbon scoring there, looks like you boy’s have seen some action!
C3PO at his station, complete with sliver leg (he was made from junk, so everything didn’t match).
At one point during your entry, C3PO goes down a checklist of the ship’s systems with R2. When he gets to “Laser Cannons” suddenly the cannons come on and start firing! Luckily, R2 shuts them off.
After the hangar, you wind around a droid repair area where some Johnny-5 looking robots are repairing various astromech droids.
We’re ready for the jump to lightspeed! (*cue chewy growl*)
This is right before you go in. You watch a little video that explains what is fixing to happen, then watch your Starspeeder get serviced before you enter.
Locked and ready! Star Tours is a motion simulator ride. Once inside you are greeted by your pilot RX-24, or Captain Rex (voiced by none other than Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman). Naturally, mishaps and accidents happen that cause you to go off course. You eventually end up joining the X-Wing squadron as they attack the Death Star, even following them right down into the trench! A fantasy for every 6-10 year old when Star Wars came out, I must say that it still envokes strong feelings in me when the theme music hits and you start diving down into the trench. What a ride! For everything Star Tours, CLICK HERE.
As we exited, we snapped this pic by some posters. This ride still holds up today and is very fun! Note: no Janet or Emily (Janet gets motion sickness).
From the simulator, they pipe you right out into the gift shop. Of all the gift shops we visited, this was the MECCA of all themed gift shops! I have never seen so much Star Wars merchandise in one place!
Here, you can buy an actual lightsaber! They have everything!
As we left the gift shop we noticed a long line wrapping back around to the entrance. It turned out to be for autographs and a picture with Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper! Very cool, but I wasn’t standing in line for an hour. I sneaked above them and we snapped this pic. Close enough!
Later, we found the touristy-me-take-pictures speeder-bike setup and quickly started taking pictures like the popparatzi at a red-carpet runway. Pictured here: Andrew and Chandler.
Chandler with his Donald Duck quacker.
Keighly and Ian.
Keighly. A line is now starting to form behind us.
Donovan.
Ian. The people behind us are now getting pretty restless. How many dang pictures are we gonna take?
Me and Ian. I wanted a pic of me on it by myself, but the other people were getting pretty angry so I figured we better move on.
Time for lunch. Where else? Pizza Planet!
Amazingly we hit it at just the right time. NO ONE was in line at all so we got our food very fast.
Ahh, pizza. Not bad at all for the speed in which we got it. Walking around MGM will really wear you out!
We had noticed Emily wiping her eyes all morning. It was at this point we realized something was wrong. Green stuff was matted in there and she just looked terrible. I guess crusading around the Magic Kingdom in the rain two days ago took it’s toll.
After lunch, we walked right across to Muppet Vision 3D, where you sit in the muppet theater and watch a 3D movie about how the muppets came up with “Muppet Vision”. This fountain is right outside the theater.
Andrew gives a big “thumbs up!” as we start entering. We all love the muppets and grew up with them. This is also a great venue to go to since it is basically a theater and can hold lots of people (lines move fast, if there even is a line) plus you sit down in the air conditioning.
As the line snakes around, you are entertained with various sight-gags and vaudville style jokes and spoofs. Here are several movie posters that have been “Muppet-ized”.
Hmmmm.. That pipe looks strangly like Gonzo’s nose! You can’t see the other lens of the glasses drawn on the wall, but together they say “3D”.
The gags only increase once you get inside. This one was my favorite!
Like most Disney attractions, once inside you are assembled in a pre-atraction area where you get some instructions and explanations about what is fixing to happen.
Ian wanted SpiderMan to see in 3D! (Note to self: wipe Ian’s mouth after we eat pizza)
Rock it! 
Here we go! I have determined from these last two pictures that you can’t take an attractive picture while wearing 3D glasses.
TOWER OF TERROR = EXTREME FUN!
After that excitement we went right next door to the Rock-n-Roller Coaster. Luckily we got a fastpass for this ride, and we literally walked right in. Once inside you enter a room where Aerosmith is recording in their studio. They are late to a concert and want you to come with them, if you can catch them! From there you enter the rollercoaster loading area. I remember watching the rollercoaster ahead of us as it took off. It didn’t ease away and go clackity-clack up a ramp, it ZOOMED away at full speed right from the start! Me and Keighly rode in our car and had a super time! The coaster is SO smooth, the loops, twists, and curves are all easily absorbed and you can just enjoy the ride.
Everyone approved of the ride! VERY FUN!
Before leaving, one last shot of us in front of the Tower of Terror.
And a pic of us in front of the giant guitar of the Rock-n-Roller coaster.
On our way home, we passed a NASA themed McDonalds. Now THAT’S a playplace!
this is a test for mobile blogging from my phone. I put a new strap on Strappy (my truck), but it ended up flapping in the wind too much..
Alberto unleashes his wrath.
RAIN.
The morning started with a ‘bang’ as Chandler ran into a sliding glass door. The glass was so clear he didn’t see it, and he busted his lip.
Back at the Magic Kingdom, the rain had stopped long enough for us to think we wouldn’t need our ponchos or umbrellas.
Now used to the routine, we loaded our people mover and headed for the monorail.
My parents were gracious enough to watch Emily for us while we finished up Magic Kingdom. It was a BIG help!
Aw, man! I sat in gum!
Once off the people mover, a quick pit stop for the ladies.
The gate for the monorail (this one is for Epcot).
Unfortunately, once we got off the monorail it was raining again. After getting a loan to purchase official Disney Ponchos (again), we headed back in and down Main Street USA.. This is a bronze statue of Walt Disney and Minnie Mouse, with us behind it blending in to a sea of licensed ponchos.
Yesterday we covered Fantasyland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland. Today we’ll hit Adventureland and Tomorrowland, then go back and ride the good rides we like again
We take a left into Adventureland and go right into the Swiss Family Treehouse. Always a favorite!
From there we pass some Tiki statues that squirt you with water.
The kids enjoyed this, and we didn’t mind so much since we were already soaked from the rain. Here Keighly gets squirt(ed?) right in the head!
We actually got there a little late because of some road work, so we headed for some lunch next. We ate at the Pirates Cove, which served (you guessed it!): Mexican food. Since we were inside, the rain stopped (of course). I charged my camera batteries while we ate, and by the time we were ready to leave it was raining again.
Pirates of the Caribbean was under rennovation (to better match the movies), so next we went to the Jungle Cruise. The line was LONG, and this is probably what most people remember from theme park vacations. Every inch of real estate is maximized for cattling people around.
We rounded the corner we thought was where we get on the boat, but more lines. Ironically, while we were under the pavillion it was sunny outside!
An “exotic” and “adventure” theme complete with African and safari props.
Chandler admiring some African masks and spears.
As we passed a display, we noticed someone wrote an approximation of where we should be based on the Africa map in the display. Shouldn’t we be a little higher, in the northern hemisphere?
Almost there!
The “Ganges Gertie”, one of the boats you ride on.
More motif to set the mood.
Right when we got on the boat it started raining again! I did my best to take some pictures and video (further down). This is a nice waterfall (I think called “Inspiration Point”) representing the Amazon. There were some nice cam-a-tronic butterflies that I could never get a good picture of (check the video, they may show up on there).
Now in the Congo, some headhunters have raided this party’s camp!
A twenty-four foot anaconda!
These silverback gorillas have taken over this camp.
Now in the Nile, we see an African Elephant named George.
Animals that come to the Nile for water. They have ducks over there?
Lions feeding in their den.
An African rhino has the explorers up a tree while the hyenas laugh it up!
Two cam-a-tronic alligators (crocs? Not sure).
Fun!
Watch out for the waterfall! You don’t want to get wet! Er, we were already soaked, so this didn’t have the intended effect.
A plane crash can mean only one thing: people.
Hippos!
The headhunters dance to the drums.
Ambush!
Now back under the waterfall.
Anticipation! A temple cave is coming!
In the temple cave, some king cobras guard golden statues and treasures.
Indian elephants having a party!
More partying from the younger elephants.
This big guy would pop up and spray you! Luckiy he missed us.
Chief Nambee, head protector of the jungle. Good thing he had that umbrella.
Yay! We made it!
Yours truly!
What a great way to end the day! The parade was great, and we got some special recognitions at that! (I’m telling you, she kissed at ME!)
One thing I noticed while watching the parade: somebody was stinky. I wasn’t sure if it was a stranger next to me or one of my crew. Of course, we had been rained on for two days straight plus walked all over the Magic Kingdom. By the end of a long day, hygiene is long forgotten.
We opted not to stay for the fireworks show, and fell in line with the other sheeple as we mass-exodus’ed back down Main Street USA and through the entrance gates to the monorail. This was our last day at the Magic Kingdom, so we thought we may dart into a souviner shop for one last momento. That thought was quickly crushed as there were just way too many people with the same idea.
Things were quiet on the monorail, everyone was absolutely pooped! After the ride, we ended where we started: with the ladies going to the bathroom. From there we got back on a people-mover and watched the fireworks show as we rode back to the van. What we saw was very impressive, it is amazing to think they do these shows almost every night!
A quick one hour drive back to my Aunt and Uncle’s house, and the day is over. Once there, I discovered the stinky source: my shoes! I guess walking around for two days in wet shoes took it’s toll. Tomorrow: flip-flops.
After a very long day, Ian sums it up: exhaustion.
Alberto.
Anticipation: Defcon 5
Kids hyper level: Defcon 11
In a typical Griswold-esque situation, we excitedly entered the Magic Kingdom as early as we could. The kids were absolutely giddy, and I think even the adults were glad to finally get there as well.
Wow! Look how fresh and excited we are!
My Mom and Dad, probably glad to have their new van parked (safe from my driving and kids spills).
Once you park, you head toward the center and a people-mover picks you up. I belive we were actually quite close (the ride was very short).
This is where they get down to business. How much fun can you afford? Everything costs, simple as that. Unfortunately there was a mixup with my business debit visa which delayed us a few minutes.
From there you board the monorail which takes you to your destination. 
Here we are having just gotten off the monorail. Still fresh!
Next, security checks your bags.
Then you go through a turnstile and attach your fingerprint ID to your ticket. I asked my Uncle Chuck about that, and he said it’s a security feature they can use to totally lock down the whole park, then check everybody’s ID (fingerprint) against their ticket until they find the mis-match (or no ticket, etc). Maximum security.
The very tourist-y “picture in front of location’s-logo-in-flowers” picture. I was glad no one walked into frame. That walkway looks great wet, we usually pay extra to have that done before we shoot a commercial.
We ended up renting a ‘hovaround’ style electric wheelchair for my Dad. It ended up being much more entertaining than most of the rides! It has a wee little horn that my Dad kept laying on when people would walk in front of him. Plus, Andrew said he kept accidently doing do-nuts on the slippery surface.
Once inside, you go down Main Street USA (mostly souviner and food shops) which leads to the actual Cinderella’s Castle. Here, we are still fresh and excited and not sure if this is too early to take a picture with the castle in the background.
Along Main StreetUSA are various enterainters, like this sax quartet, that play on and off throughout the day. Good stuff, worth the wait to stop and listen.
Ahh, here we go. Amber, Ian, Donovan, Amanda, and Chandler.
Janet and Emily.
Andrew and Chandler.
Me and Keighly (the 1-Up Crew!) and Ian.
I had asked my cousin Steve about advice on maximizing our Magic Kingdom experience. We took his advice and headed toward the back of the kingdom first to Fantasy Land. Between the rain and time of day (and just the fact that Steve knows what he’s doing by living down here and frequenting Disney), the lines were not very long at all.
In fact, we did It’s A Small World first. There was no line at all! A great first ride.
None of the kids have been to Disney World before, so they had no idea what to expect. Look at Ian and Emily! Total wonder!
Who can blame them? Seeing this for the first time must be quite the sensory overload. A million cam-driven animatronics all synchronized to a looping childs choir song. 
People pay therapists big money to erase those kinds of memories.
Quickly they realized this was a fun, happy, and easy ride.
Observational note: the Scotland portion of “It’s A Small World”. Interesting use of a tartan pattern for the castle. You can’t see it, but even the coo has tartan legs!
Andrew approves.
More sensory overload. Of all the rides we did, this one was actually a very good time value. It was quick to get on/off. Plus, the ride itself was easy going, air conditioned, and floated along on water. On hot days, I can see why this ride is still a favorite.
Hmm, an arctic piper?
Andrew got a little emotional from our own memories of the ride.
Next we went to Peter Pan’s Flight. Although this ride did have a line, the line moved very fast and we were flying in a ship in no time! Basically a slow-moving roller-coaster, the ride consists of a ship you ride in as you “fly” along following the Peter Pan movie timeline.
The effect of flying is actually quite good, and is accented by miniature models and force-perspective of certain views through blacking out part of the scenery. Good kid stuff! I rode with Ian and he really liked it.
Andrew modeling a potential hat.
After that went to Snow White’s Scary Adventures. Another sit-down ride, it very quickly portrayed the movie through sets you ride past, miniatures, animatronics, and paintings. I got the feeling that it ended rather suddenly, but I haven’t watched the movie in awhile.
Next we got in line for Dumbo the Flying Elephant. It seemed like a good idea, but the line ended up being just too long so we cut out and went somewhere else.
The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm was our next stop. Andrew and Chandler are behind these strangers.
There is Amanda and Donovan. For a small, kid-friendly roller coaster, it was very fun!
Next was the greatly anticipated The Haunted Mansion. Since my Dad was on a scooter, we got to go into the side entrance.
We filed in with a group and went through the first two rooms that set the mood (I was quickly chastised for taking this picture, but I missed the “don’t photograph” speach since I came in the side). One has a painting that changes over time from a young man to a corpse-like skeleton. The next has a room that “grows” taller (or are you getting shorter?) and ends with a frightening site high above. Next it’s on to your individual cars where you are wisked into a dark, cam and cable filled animatronic slight of hand. All of the younger crew really liked it, especially the finale where a “ghost” sits with you in your car! I videod the whole thing in night-vision.
From there we went to the Columbia Harbour House where we got fish sticks and chicken strips.
We really lucked up because there was no line at all when we got there, but by the time we sat down it was packed. While we were eating, the rain really started coming down outside. Although already soaked, we were glad to be eating and not getting rained on.
It was still raining when we were finished, so we went right next door to The Hall Of Presidents. When you walk in, you immediately see a carpeted emblem of the Seal of the United State. E Pluribus Unum, baby!
There are a couple of display cases where you also see President Bill Clinton’s Saxophone, President George Bush’s inaguration boots, President Ronald Regan’s cowboy hat, and other stuff. On one of the display cases and alarm was going off. Andrew said he saw a fellow in plain clothes speaking into his wrist, he must have been security. They take the Hall seriously, and expect everyone to respect the Presidents’ presence (even if it was animatronics). I tried to get the kids excited by saying we were going to see the Presidents! We come in to a very wide theater with blue shimery curtains. We sit on the back row in hopes of getting out easier. The show starts with a movie based on portraits of Presdients set to a moving voice over. At one point, Keighly leaned over to me and said “Their mouths aren’t moving.” The movie ends with the two screens on either side opening to enhance the gravity of the Civil War. Eventually the movie screens are raised and all of the US Presidents are right there! They introduce each one, and then a few get to speak. George Washington starts, plus George W. Bush, as well as Abraham Lincoln. I took video of the whole thing. In the end, a rousing version of Battle Hymn of the Republic was piped in over the speakers. Everyone applauded, though it didn’t seem as jubulant as I would have hoped. For the younger kids they found it a great time to nap and/or relax. For the older generation, we left misty eyed and were feeling very jingoistically patriotic.
Unfortunately, since I videod the whole time (and couldn’t use flash photography), I only managed to get a picure of the Presidents as the curtain was falling. I’ll try to get a better picture tomorrow.
Bealls at the Liberty Bell (and Christians, and a Carrier)!
There was a very touristy “stocks” set up for pictures.
Andrew and Chandler.
Keighly and Donovan.
Keighly and Ian (Ian defying gravity with help from Amber).
Amber and Amanda.
The rain finally came down hard enough for my father to put on his poncho. This was almost as entertaining as any ride we did that day!
After taking the Walt Disney World® Railroad around the entire Magic Kingdom, we headed for the big rides. First up: SPLASH MOUNTAIN! Amanda is excited as we finally get to some bigger rides.
Based on the (now considered “politically incorrect”) Brer theme of folk tales, you enter your plastic-and-foam multipassenger log as it floats along through scene after scene from the storyline. A quick 10 foot drop gets you going, and you quickly forget what lies ahead as several Brer folk sing and dance and try to get at Brer Rabbit. Eventually we reach the end and fall 50ft for a massive splashdown! By this time the rain was REALLY coming down, and we got more wet from that than the water we hit with the log.
After clearing up a log jam at the end, we finally exited and went to see what our photo looked like. Unfortunately, the rain obscured the lens and it was just smudges of color, definitely not worth $30.
But, everyone loved it and we snapped this pic in front of the mountain. We were soaked! Everyone wanted to ride it again, and I assured them we would after we finished the rest of the Kingdom.
After that we went to Tom Sawyer Island. Unfortunately, I don’t think most people have read Tom Sawyer, or even remember or know who Tom Sawyer was. Even so, we explored the island while getting rained on. Here is a bad pic of some jewels in the cave.
Amber and Amanda using the rope swing at Fort Sam Clemens.
The Mill, where corn and wheat are ground up.
After taking the raft back to the mainland we had time for one last ride: BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN! I was soaked and decided to sit this one out while me and Ian fed the ducks that are all over the place.
Everyone enjoyed Big Thunder Mountain! That was a definite ride-again-ride.
While heading back to the entrance, we passed this McDonalds wagon that only sells fries.
One last picture on our way out. We are soaking wet, tired, and ready to go.
Mr. Tourist himself, me and Janet.
Hi HOOO! Well, I thought we were tired. I know I am.
Synchronized jumping? Where do they get this energy?
One last picture on the monorail and our day is over. Whew!
We are off to Disney World for a few days!
Our day started very early: 3:30am! Everyone seems ready enough, lets go!
Unfortunately, Emily fell and got a good sized knot on her head over her black eye under Nanny and Papa’s carport. What a way to start a vacation.
We prepared well for the trip, and packed enough snacks and food to stop and have a pic-nick just before Chattanooga.
Woah! Gas is right at $3 a gallon down here.
After many more hours in the vehicles, we decided to stop and eat at a Hardees. We pretty much took up this whole corner.
Using fine artistic brush strokes, Andrew gives the kids some whip-topping moustaches.
Inspector Clouseau and Sgt. Deux Deux if I ever saw them!
The whole crew with whip-topping moustaches!
(we left quickly after this)
We arrived at my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Jane’s house about 10pm local time. What a journey, I’m sure we look like quite a motley crew. From left: Me, my younger brother Andrew (he and I did most of the driving), Andrew’s son Chandler, my Mom, my nephew Donovan, Janet with Emily, Amber with Keighly, Amanda with Ian, and my Dad. We got lost on the way, but did manage to take a quick peek of some of the NASA visitors center (we saw TWO space shuttles!). Once we arrived, we greeted everyone, unpacked, some of us showered/bathed, and then we got ready for bed.
Even though we were basically riding in vehicles all day, no one had any problems falling asleep. We hope to get up at 6am and leave by 7am and get our tickes so we can be at the gates when they open at 9am.
I have my nieces and nephew with us for the summer. We agreed that if they did some help around the compound, I would reward them with various trips and stuff (the ultimate being a trip to Walt Disney World).
After enough work was done, we went to Laser Mania to play a couple games of laser tag. We invited some friends and had a great time! Here we are with Sully at the entrance. From the left: Emily and Janet, Ann and Chris(behind Emily and Janet), Michael, Ian, Donovan, Amber, Amanda, Keighly.
While waiting for our turn, we enjoyed a few arcade games. Chris is playing the Last Action Hero pinball game, a favorite of the crew when we worked there.
Ready for action! From the left: Amber, Amanda, Jennifer, Michael, Ann, Keighly, Donovan, Chris, and Ian.
We all had a blast! In one of our games, I came in first place! Not bad after not using my laser tag skills for many years.
The Incredibealls! 