Kids at Heart, Gluttons for Punishment, or just plain Idiots? We report. You decide.

[AlexandNessa]

See, I always knew we were kindred spirits, Tonia. Remember the "31 Club?" Geez ... how long ago was that?! Anyway, Sunray charged us $60 + tip r/t between the HRH and BWI. We used them from the airport r/t, and by mentioning "the mouse for less" that fare was only $82 + tip.

Last December, our friend Maureen asked me to get her a one-day park hopper because she was joining us down there, and her flight was running late. I bought it, and then went into shock: $119.xx for a one day ticket? I didn't have the heart to tell her how much it cost.

 

[keishashadow]

Yes, Barb, the drug bust was an exciting event! Sorry you weren't there with us!

Janet, I would take issue too with those who park somewhere they shouldn't to avoid a fee, and I totally agree with you on that. But, what's the deal with having to pay a "fee" to be dropped off? No one is parking anywhere. I think they said only Mears cabs don't pay a drop-off fee? I hope we didn't pull a refillable mug from 2002 stunt!

I won't pressure you to meet up at Happy Hour! Suffice it to say that we're usually there just after 4 and leave around 5:30 or so, so if you come, great!

no pressure, r u kidding? If i can't drag them out of the park, i may just sneak over for a quick cool one myself they can have a spiderman marathon.

someone else posted on the main board (senior moment, can't remember who) as to visiting that weekend...maybe a mini meet @ the bar is in order...hey, you guy's it's Saturday!

it's true, only mears transportation avoids the fees for drop offs @ the parks...didn't know it applied to the resorts too? Know mac uses sunray, will have to ask her if she had a problem.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Oh, no, it doesn't apply to the resorts ... we had them drop us off at the BWI to avoid paying the drop off fee at MGM.

A meet would be good, as long as ChrisJo's BF wears that birthday shirt!

 

[JawsCPA]

Jodi - enjoying your report. I'm not sure if I would like HHN or not - as I would be too scared. Maybe you and I can go together and see who pees their pants the most.

 

[bubba's mom]

Maybe you and I can go together and see who pees their pants the most.

Ok....um......ewwwwwww

 

[AlexandNessa]

Glad to hear you had a great RIP tour You deserved that 'fun' nite Oh, and loved the note.... "***"?

Looking forward to the next installment/day.....

Hmmmm, one has to wonder ... was my trippie the final trigger to pull internet lingo censorship? WTH. Does that still work?! We say "Frick" in our house. If you were thinking otherwise, git yer minds out of the gutter!

 

[bubba's mom]

Hmmmm, one has to wonder ... was my trippie the final trigger to pull internet lingo censorship? WTH. Does that still work?! We say "Frick" in our house. If you were thinking otherwise, git yer minds out of the gutter!

Someone musta ratted you out A little 'over the top' i think...after all, it wasn't really a 'word' per say...

 

[keishashadow]

guess i was too slow to catch the "good stuff", now it's gone forever

imo way better to be scared senseless when your feet are firmly planted on the ground as opposed to being strapped in a coaster!

jodie - assume mears has a "sweetheart" deal w/Disney. Rumours as to outsourcing of more % of bus service, etc. We're stockholders & appreciate the profits; yet it's starting to remind me of Wal-Mart driving out the competition.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

See, I always knew we were kindred spirits, Tonia. Remember the "31 Club?" Geez ... how long ago was that?! Anyway, Sunray charged us $60 + tip r/t between the HRH and BWI. We used them from the airport r/t, and by mentioning "the mouse for less" that fare was only $82 + tip.

Last December, our friend Maureen asked me to get her a one-day park hopper because she was joining us down there, and her flight was running late. I bought it, and then went into shock: $119.xx for a one day ticket? I didn't have the heart to tell her how much it cost.

Yes, I do remember. i would say the "31 Club" was about 4 years ago, since I am now 35 .

I wonder if a one day Epcot ticket would be less than a hopper? I really should venture over to the Disney boards. I hate to though, because it induces so much anxiety in me, seriously. That is why I love Universal, you can actually relax, not plan, wake up whenever on your vacation - instead of having a binder, stopwatch, and a priority seating spreadsheet.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Oh, yes, a regular one-day ticket is cheaper than a one-day park hopper. Somewhere around $80? Still, I think a little scary. May be cheaper to buy a tkt with greater days, and then just get the non-expiry option if you think you'll go back?

I need to get started on water ride day!

 

[RVGal]

I'm here and I'm reading...

Looking forward to more...

 

[Motherfletcher]

Mike was going to the pool. I thought it was Where's The Float?

 

[loribell]

Oh my gosh Jodie & Barb got censored! You guys are bad!

I have to ride the green side of MS because Ally won't ride the Orange side. We were there trying to get her to go on it the day before that little boy died on it in 05. She was all set, we were seated and they had to open the doors back up for some reason (I think someone found a full barf bag). Anyway, once those doors opened it scared her and there was no getting her to ride it. I felt terrible because I gave her a real hard time about it. Normally I don't do that but since she had been excited about riding I felt like she needed to. Then found out that little boy died the next day and felt like a terrible mother.

We really like Soarin but we will not ride it without FP's. Actually we are pretty much that way about all rides, unless the wait is 20 minutes or less.

Can't wait to hear about the water day!

 

[AlexandNessa]

The rest of the trip Bob would look at me and say "We Agents! Baby!"

I've been meaning to say that would make a great tag!

So would Where's the Float?

 

[AlexandNessa]

We decided to take it easy today as we were going to have a long and busy day tomorrow. This made it a perfect day for “Water Ride Day.” I’m sure many of you do the same thing. Some of you probably call it “Wet Day.” Same thing, different title: pick a day, dress appropriately, do only water rides, get drenched, waddle home, hope for no chaffing.

This always includes the same rides, and in the same order, from least wet to most wet. First up: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Mike hates it when I make him ride this since we are often the only two adults without children who are riding. It’s part of Water Ride Day … he doesn’t have a choice. This trip, Mike took to calling this ride Kaballah Fish, Muslim Fish.

Next up was Jurassic Park River Adventure. We rode with a father and son from England. Lots of people from the UK this trip. I am one who hates the drop, and I squeeze my eyes tight as soon as I see Rex, but before I did, I saw that the little boy next to me actually had his head down and eyes closed. I was worried that he’d totally hit his head and wind up with a concussion, but he wasn't my kid. That's what his dad is there for, right? He survived just fine, and even told me he liked it after the ride was over.

We were off to Dudley Doo Right next. We always get steered to the front of the log. We like to make people think we’re being nice by offering them the front by switching with them. This seems to work every time. Anyway, we left this ride with one sentiment: THE LAP BAR SUCKS. They were uncomfortable, and we felt too confined. It took Mike forever to get in and adjust the bar. He’s no skinny Minnie, but he’s not exactly pooh sized either. He hated it. I did too. Suckity, suck, suck, suck, SUCK, SUCK!!

We rounded out Water Ride day with Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges, and had fun on that as usual. We always seem to be the victim of guests with too many quarters aiming their squirt guns at us. I always wonder if any of them have read our trip reports and just don’t like us.

That was enough for today, and we thought we would stop by the Beach Club on the way back to the hotel since no one seems to notice you’re wet and icky at the Beach Club. We had a beer at the bar, and then waddled up to the room to shower and head out for the evening.

Since we never carry a camera on Water Ride Day, perhaps I can entertain you with some pictures that were hanging in the room:

It would seem that I forgot to bring our camera that night as well. I went through our pics, and I can’t seem to find any from Tuesday. A lost day, I guess.

I know we went to NBA City first to squeeze in the last 30 minutes of Happy Hour. Anyway, we were sitting at the bar, and these 2 guys seemed friendly enough at first, and they asked us if we knew the Happy Hour specials since the bartender (Axe) had stepped away for a second. We told them and they were asking what we thought they should order. Mike always tells them Coors Lite, and I like to tell everyone that Coors Lite is a sissy beer because it has no taste. I asked them where they were from, and they said “the UK.” I asked innocently, “which part?”

One of them rolled his eyes and said “Wales. Most of you Americans think the UK is just England.”

Jerk.

That was the end of our conversation with them. It would’ve been fine if he said it nicely, but he was a snot about it, so we were done with him. Plus, he didn’t leave any tip whatsoever for our guy Axe, so he was a double jerk. And I silently wished a pox on his house. (So I hope he's not related to anyone reading this!)

Another friendlier family from Wales came to the bar, and they started chatting with us. The mom and kids grabbed drinks to go, but the dad stayed at the bar with us. I managed to convince him to switch from Coors to Miller (not that Miller is that great, but they don’t have Yuengling Lite which is what I normally drink). Axe immediately knew what I was up to, and asked our new friend if I was that convincing. We got to talking about TV and which shows “crossed the pond,” and our new friend told Axe to buy us a round of drinks. When he got the tab, however, he realized he was $1.50 short. So, he said he’d be right back as he was just going outside to get the cash from his wife. We told him not to worry, we’d cover it. Then we realized that he also hadn’t left any tip at all, so our free round of drinks wasn’t a free round at all.

We left a tip under his tab, and told Axe that was his tip from “the Brits.” He said he knew it wasn’t, but thanks. Seems they dread the UK invasion as many do not tip, and there was a big influx of them that week. Seemed the airfare was reasonable that week, at least according to a few families we spoke to. We learned the Columbians are also bad tippers or no tippers. Think some of them just feign ignorance. I don’t get that, though. If I were going to a foreign country, I’d be sure to learn the basics. Tipping is a basic of USA travel, and with the Internet these days, how could they not know? Or at least learn while they’re there? That’s just me, but I don’t get it.

Axe had said that he got his revenge though when we went backpacking through Europe. Seems the bartenders there love Americans because they typically leave extra money on top of the tab. When the bartenders over there would ask Axe if he wanted to leave anything extra on top of his tab, he’d smile and say, “Nope!” Good for him.

I don’t mean to offend … I know there are visitors from the UK who do tip, but from what we were hearing and seeing, the tippers were in the minority.

We wanted it to be an early night since we had a long day the next day. We went to Margaritaville for some dinner and headed “home” around 9 or so.

Sorry this was not so exciting. Tomorrow is a much busier day with lots of pics!

 

[highlander447]

A good water day, Bluto was down when we where there, with regards UK tippers I really think its a more a case of those who don't tip are complained about and its made more noticeable, over the years I've seen many nationalities US incl not tipping either

 

[bubba's mom]

Axe had said that he got his revenge though when we went backpacking through Europe. Seems the bartenders there love Americans because they typically leave extra money on top of the tab. When the bartenders over there would ask Axe if he wanted to leave anything extra on top of his tab, he’d smile and say, “Nope!” Good for him.

Good for him! I'm tellin' ya...."what goes around, comes around"

So, what I'm getting out of today's report:
*You's got wet
*You don't like the lap bars on Dud?
*Thought you were gettin' free drinks, but uh-uh......

 

[keishashadow]

DH will be happy to hear they have Coors Light on tap, do they have Michelob by chance

Can you run a tab on room key @ NBA? We couldn't use it @ NASCAR, even though I requested they give it a shot after they said "they never work" ; glad we had a CC with us or we'd be washing dishes.

 

[RVGal]

I'm not sure I got a true sense of your feelings toward the new lap bars on Dudley.

So, you asked what part of the UK the guy was from and he gave you a speech about Americans assuming Wales isn't part of the UK??? What's up with that? Ummm... you know that whole Prince of Wales thing is SO confusing. Just makes us lump Wales in with England since they made that distinction. Queen of England... Prince of Wales... we's to stoopid to see the difference. And of course, all Irish (Northern or Republic of) and Scottish are the same too... and not part of the UK at all.

:::sniff, sniff::: Smell that? That was sarcasm.

 

[Akdar]

I have to agree about the lapbars, real confining. I def liked Dudley better without them!