I Wonder If That's A Dibber... Pt5... MGM & 50's Prime Time

[Dizzy]

Sarah... 40 ... that'll be me
DH Martin... 41... 'I wonder if they're dibbers...dibb, dibb, dibb'
DS Dale... 17... 'This time I cant wait to go'
DD Shannon..10... A Proper Little Madam

DD Lauren... 21... Disney Virgin
DSIL Sion... 23... Deserves a medal

Wednesday 11th October 2006... MGM and 50's Prime Time



I really did not want to get up today but the thought of R'n'R and the Tower of Terror finally got me moving. We arrived at the park at 8.47 and were quickly through bag check. Those who have been before will know that there are queues for visitors with bags and visitors without can just walk through. A lady security guard was directing people and I had to laugh at her comment about how some people obviously suffer from seperation anxiety.


We had a photopass photo taken with the hat in the background then joined the stampede for the big rides. We grabbed FP's for R'n'R Coaster and joined the 7 minute queue for Tower of Terror. Shannon swore on our last trip that she would never go on this again but all that changed when she found out her sister was going on and she announced that 'just for Lauren' she would be brave. We had a different sequence from our previous rides. We didn't even get all the way to the top before we dropped and then shot all the way up and the doors opened. Fantastic ride...it get's better every time.


We had a good look around the shop and then went and bought some drinks, it was already soooooo hot. Took a look at the pin stand and bought some more tradeable pins and then made our way to R'n'R. This is one of my favourite Disney rides.

On our last visit I had told Shannon that she wasn't big enough to go on (a little white lie again) because although she met the height requirement I was unsure about the harnesses and the ride itself and I have terrible memories of holding my son on for an entire ride while going upside down because he was so skinny he was slipping out. This time I had told her she would be big enough to go on it and this was one of the things she was looking forwards to most. She wasn't let down and it is now one of her favourite rides as well. We had a good look around the shop and then grabbed another FP before heading over to the hat to see who we could see.



Journey into Narnia was shut so we decided to see The Magic Of Disney Animation...I love Mushu, he always makes me laugh. Of course afterwards we all had to do the test to see which Disney Character we were most like. Shannon got upset because she was Belle last time (her favourite Princess) and this time she was told she was most like Cinderella. She soon cheered up when she could laugh at Dale being told he was most like Gaston. Dale, Lauren and Sion went and took part in the drawing class while we went to see the Incredibles and have a look around the (very expensive) shop. I could have spent all our holiday money in this one shop.


It was time for our FP's so we went back and rode R'n'R again. Well five of us did, I still couldn't convince Martin to go on even if it is in the dark.


We didn't have time to see Muppet Vision 3D on our last trip so decided to go and watch it now...the pre show seemed to go on for ever but the show itself was OK. Shannon especially enjoyed it and at least we could cool off a bit. The Power Rangers were out when we got back out and Sion wanted to take some photos of them so we left him doing that and went and grabbed nibbles and loads of drinks to have while watching the Lights, Motors, Action stunt show at 2pm. Very impressive although Shannon looked very worried when the biker came of his bike covered in flames.


By the time we got out we knew the crowds would already be huge for the parade so we had to rush to the route. We were lucky enough to find a nice spot near to Indiana Jones. There were new additions since our last trip with the parade being led by Lightning McQueen and Mater. Also we saw the Power Rangers and Darth Vader and the rest of the Star Wars characters who weren't in the Xmas parade.








Lauren and Sion said they weren't bothered about doing Star Tours or the Indiana Jones stunt shows so we shrugged our shoulders (well we had got another 2 and a half weeks to come back) and took a slow walk back toward the hat.


The Queen of Hearts was there. Now Shannon had a list of autographs she HAD to get this time around. She wasn't bothered about getting the others again but she HAD to get the ones on this list. All of the Alice in Wonderland characters were on there so off she ran. Just as she got close it was time for the Queen to go in. Ooopps, try telling Shannon that when she has been waiting nearly 2 years to meet her. She followed her, jumping in front of her at every turn. Luckily the Queen was great with her and Shannon got her autograph and photo before running off to join the queue for the White Rabbit and Alice.

[Dizzy]

When we next looked round 5 minutes later the Queen was still there signing autographs for the queue that had built up behind Shannon. Next to visit was Aladdin and Jasmine. Although Shannon had seen Jasmine many times the only time we saw Aladdin before was on the last day of our last trip and by the time we saw him we had been queueing for ages for other characters and Shannon was to hot to want to queue up again. Aladdin told her she looked just like Pocahontas... something to do with her hair apparently.



We didn't have long until our ADR at 50's Prime Time and Lauren wanted to look in the shop at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard. We were still in there when we noticed the 'janitors' had pulled up outside. I don't know the real name for this act but we saw the last 10 minutes of one of there acts last time and they were hilarious so we left Lauren shopping and Sion counting the cost and went outside to watch the act. One of the things I love about Disney is that there really is something for everybody, the shows/acts/fireworks alone can be worth the entrance fee, it really isn't just about the rides. If you get the chance to watch the 'janitors' take time out to do it.


Our ADR was for 5.05pm. Last time we came to MGM we ate here but Shannon wasn't very well on that day and I think that because of that we were left alone a bit... this time was very different. Our server was Tom and he had us in stitches from the moment we sat down.


Shannon remembered that last time they got a kid's picture to color and some crayons and asked where they were. Tom gave her a napkin 'for now' and the crayons and then handed Martin a handful of napkins to stop him 'doodling' on himself. Poor Lauren was thirsty and finished her coke within a few minutes of getting it...while filling it Tom told her 'we call you a camel in the business... you're gonna potty all night'. So you can imagine the comments when Lauren had to go 'potty' half way through the meal...lol. We also had renditions of 'someday the food will come'


All in all we had a great time... even Lauren and the food was great as usual.


Grilled Chicken, 2 Fried Chickens, Meatloaf, Pizza, Chicken Nuggets, 1Build a Sundae, Caramel Sundae, 2 Hot Fudge Sundaes, 1 Smores, 2 Cherry Cokes, 1 kids coke, 1 Choc Shake and a Chardonnay came to $125.52. This doesn't include gratuity which even Martin didn't complain about paying (20%) this time.


It was only 6.50 when we left the restaurant but we knew from last time what the crowd would be like for Fantasmic which was due to start at 8pm so we tried to hurry the Disney virgins along a bit... you have no idea how much time was spent on this holiday trying to get certain people out of the shops. We had another 2 weeks after they had gone home so knew that it didn't matter if we missed anything but they wanted to see the parades and shows but just couldn't seem to grasp that if you spent all your time in the shops you would NOT get a good seat. It was around 7.30 by the time we got to the Fantasmic stadium and at first I thought we wouldn't get a seat. When we finally did get seated we sent Sion for Budweisers and cokes and enjoyed ourselves doing the Mexican wave for a while. Last time we went we sat right at the front and although we were waiting for just over an hour the time passed really quickly and we had a fantastic view. This time we were sitting near the back which meant Shannon had to kneel up on the seat as she couldn't see over the row in front. The show itself was as fantastic as I remembered though


We never rush to get out of the stadium after the show we sit and watch small children getting trampled on and families losing each other before exiting the stadium after the crush. This is the time we normally hit the shops... while everybody else is stuck in the crush to get out of the park.


I wanted to look in the Villains Shop so we spent some time in there and then Martin noticed the Christmas shop... he was soon to wish he had kept his mouth firmly shut. I love this shop and spent ... ermmmmmmmmm, where did I hide that receipt. Lol, needless to say I spent a fair bit and we may need an extra tree this year.


We were back at the villa for 10pm and I actually had half an hour in the hot tub before climbing into bed for an early night.

[Villainlover]

what a great day I was sooo dissapointed in the 'villains' shop last year .. three quaters of it was 'plush and cute at that' and the rest seemed to be nightmare befor christmas

sounds like you had a fantastic day ...

the muppets preshow is my fav part LOL

how was the jacuzzi? make you feel any better and where are the photos of your pool and jacuzzi?

[Claire44]

Another great day Sarah, really enjoying these reports.

[Bob_and_Dawn]

Another great day Sarah and some lovely photos!

Dawn

[kirlie91]

Really enjoying your reports Sarah!

[Chelle27]

Sounds like you were feeling a lot better today Sarah. We love ToT and R&RC too! Wish I was there now!

[Alyson]

Lovely photos and great report

[Jools]

Another lovely day. Did you enjoy that ToT sequence?

[TinkTatoo]

Another great day and some great photos