Monday, 05/15

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=82 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #999980;" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="792890903.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#333399" FACE="Monotype Corsiva" ><I><B>SuiteDisney</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Walt Disney Script v4.1" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>  </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>  </B></FONT><B>|</B><B>    </B><A HREF="saturday_night_arrival_0513.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Saturday Night Arrival (05/13)">Saturday Night Arrival (05/13)</A>   |   <A HREF="sunday_0514.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sunday, 05/14">Sunday, 05/14</A>   |   Monday, 05/15   |   <A HREF="tuesday_0516.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesday, 05/16">Tuesday, 05/16</A>   |   <A HREF="wednesday_0517.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wednesday, 05/17">Wednesday, 05/17</A>   |   <A HREF="thursday_0518.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thursday, 05/18">Thursday, 05/18</A>   |   <A HREF="friday_0519.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Friday, 05/19">Friday, 05/19</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="e8590903.jpg"> <div> <I><B>Monday, 05/15</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.suitedisney.com/wdwphotos/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.suitedisney.com/wdwphotos/"><B>WDW Photos</B></A></div> <bR> <div>  <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script>  </div> <bR> <div> It's Magic Kingdom to start the day as we ride over with Jim.  Laura has yet to be at MK with her new camera so Jim and I take off for rides while Laura goes off snapping her pictures.  We immediately hop on the train and take it over to Frontierland.  We walk right on Splash Mountain and it still is my favorite MK ride.  Once the ride was over, there was still NOBODY waiting in line and they allowed us to stay on the ride…too cool…so we rode it again.  We were actually in the third of four seats and on the first ride; there was a family of four in the front two rows. On the second ride, nobody was in front of us and I was quite surprised how the family on the first ride blocked the water….the second ride was much wetter for us than the first….but still a good time.  From there, over to Big Thunder Mountain and again, we walked right on.  I like this ride but it is much better at night.  Afterwards, I called Laura and she was getting ready to ride Peter Pan, as she already rode Snow White and Winnie the Pooh (her favorite ride at MK).  We decided to meet up with her at the Haunted Mansion so we headed on over.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="7879d0fa0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="506" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Laura was waiting for us as the line for Peter Pan was longer than she thought and off to the Haunted Mansion we went.  Afterwards, I suggested the Hall of Presidents as it had been years since I was there and it was nice….I was glad we did it.  We still had some time before we were to meet at The Crystal Palace for lunch so we opted to head towards Adventureland.  With Pirates closed, we headed towards Jungle Cruise but the 20 minute wait looked way too long for me (remember, I don't do lines well) so I suggested a walk through Swiss Family Treehouse as it had been years since we did this.  I have never seen so many people climbing the tree steps...it was a constant line from beginning to end.  I guess with Pirates closed, many folks ended up here…not to mention the longer line than expected at Jungle Cruise.  The Treehouse was cute and Laura got lots of pictures…I know, everyone is extremely surprised to hear that.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="787ad01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Well, now it's time to head over to The Crystal Palace and Laura was able to get Jim and me to pose for a hat pic or two along the way.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="787bd01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="787cd01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jody and her mom were there first so we joined them.  Kelly and her mom followed.  I checked in as the last of the crew showed up…that being Sweet, her kids (Sammie and Julie), and TV Tony.  In addition, Lauren and her gang showed up but they did not have seats with us.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="787dd01f0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="543" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Once we were seated…at two separate tables…there was plenty of room for Lauren and her group to sit next to us at an adjacent table (or two…there were several empty) but for some reason the CM's said they could not do that.  I found that very odd and extremely unDisney-Like as I could see absolutely no reason why that request could not be accommodated.  So Lauren and her group were separated away from us a bit.  Sweet and her kids, Tony, and Jim made up one table as I again was seated with the `sisterhood'…Laura, Jody, Mitzi, Kelly, and Kitty.  I really enjoyed my lunch as I had never been there before. I thought the variety of salads and veggies they had was great.  The broccoli was the big hit at our table as everyone ended up with the recipe as it was coated with a tasty `Japanese type' sauce.  For food alone, I would definitely go back for lunch.  Though as always, pictures with the characters are the main attraction here.  Last time we were here for breakfast, Laura had a meltdown because she was afraid Eeyore was not going to visit her…well he did but it was too late, she was already bawling like a baby.  This time, there was never a doubt Eeyore and all of his pals would be by…and they were.  There were no tears that I saw…that was a relief.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="787ed01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="787fd01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7880d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7881d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7882d0340.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="564" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> After lunch, many of us went separate ways and Laura and I felt it was time to leave the park as it was starting to get to crowded for us…it is normal for us to get to parks early and leave midday.  Off we go and we decide to take a boat back to the Grand Floridian where we are parked and we miss the first boat and have to wait for the next…and wait…and wait.  It seemed like it was 2 hours of a wait…though in actuality it was about 30 minutes.  And then the boat dock at GF was being worked on so we had to go to the Poly and grab the monorail back to GF.  Overall, this was the low point of my trip…remember, how I hate to wait?!?  It applies to just about everything; not just lines for rides.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="7883d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="7884d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Well off we go and back to the BW to park.  From here, we aren't really too tired so we head over to EPCOT.</div> <bR> <div> We walk over to the International Gateway and head to the left into the United Kingdom.  I need to get some loose tea and a new tea bob.  I got a large tin of my favorite, Earl Grey, a smaller tin of Irish Breakfast tea, and a cute little tea bob in the shape of a small teapot…yeah, I am a tea totaler…what of it!  : )  I meet up with Laura taking her pictures and talk her into a drink at Rose & Crown and we sat outside in their café area for a few minutes.  This time though, Laura was good and had only one drink…only a slight buzz for her.  Off for pictures in Canada.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="7885d0140.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="532" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> It is a really beautiful day with bright sunshine.  That sunshine would later become a problem (for picture taking due to sun glare) as we headed back into it on the other side of World Showcase; but it was so much nicer that the cool, rainy weather happening back home…but we managed.  Mexico and Norway were the next countries we hit and we managed to do both boat rides…El Rio del Tiempo (the twilight zone version of IASW) and Maelstrom.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="7886d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> China was next and of course, time for more tea for me.  I like variety with what I drink and eat; at work, I drink two cups of tea a day and never the same cup of tea in the same day.  A year ago I discovered white tea at the China Pavilion and it was excellent.  It was actually three tea (loose…yes, I am a tea snob) sampler tins.  All three flavors are very mild with a lot of sweetness and depth of flavor…they are actually a whitish grey in color.  This time there were no sampler tins and I looked and looked and finally found a large tin of Bai Mudan White Tea…fortunately, this is my favorite of the flavors so it was great I found it.  I eventually caught up with Laura…you guessed it; she was taking pictures all over China.  We went through the Honk Kong Disneyland display which I had never seen before…I have no idea how long it has been there…it was an interesting look at that park as I did not know much about it.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="7887d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> As we continued on around WS, the sun was extremely bright and created quite a glare for Laura and her picture taking.  From this point forward, she took very few pictures.  We pretty much cruised pass Germany and Italy and as we came upon America, Davey Jones (formerly of the Monkeys) was singing at the stage outside of America.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="7888d01c0.jpg" border=0 width="720" height="540" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> We slowly walked by and ended up sitting near the Kaki Gori stand near Japan to listen to a few songs before moving on. From here, we pretty much called it an afternoon and headed back to the BW for a rest.  Along the way, we contacted Jim to cancel out of dinner at the Brown Derby because we saw the menu yesterday while at MGM and really saw nothing we wanted to eat.  We tried to talk Jim into going to the Maya Grill or House of Blues with us but he did not want anything spicy for dinner.</div> <bR> <div> Back at the BW, Laura ended up taking a nap and I headed down to the pool for a drink and a dip. We decided on the Maya Grill and called Jim again to let him change his mind about joining us. He graciously joined us though he had already eaten sushi at an off-site restaurant.  We really pigged out here as Laura and I each ordered their ribeye, with veggies and a salad instead of a potato...Jim ordered a salad.  We found out from the waitress that the chef overcooked out steaks…we like ours with a little `moo' still in them…which were still not ideal once we got them.  They did not charge us for the salads and then they ended up giving us our potatoes anyway (that we really did not want…though we did eat some of them).  Getting dessert was a mistake as we did not need it but were weak.  Laura ordered a chocolate cake concoction that she barely touched and I split fried cheesecake with Jim…it was pretty good though not great. Again, we really felt guilty about ordering/eating dessert and were sorry we did.  Overall though, dinner was pretty good but not one of our top meals this trip.  </div> <bR> <div> After dinner we were all tired and headed back to the BW for the night…and it had nothing to do with getting back to watch 24...OK, it did...it is one of our favorite shows on TV.  Good night! </div> </td> </tr></table></body>