Tuesday October 31, 2000
When I woke on this fine Halloween morning, I decided that I wanted to go to MGM today. So... I went to MGM!
More Movie Madness
MGM is the first Disney park I ever visited, back on my first trip in August of 1990. On that trip, and on many since, I have started my MGM day by riding Star Tours, bit today I went instead to the newly-opened Rock-N-Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. As a reformed Coaster Chicken, I felt the need to prove my manhood by getting on this newest Disney thrill ride; I came off the ride swaggering (or was it stumbling?), saying to myself, "That was nothin'!" RnRc is, in fact, a really fun ride, with little or no free-fall, lots of speed, and plenty of loud music, all following a creative and amusing pre-show starring Aerosmith. The coaster's trains are all made to look like stretch limos, and instead of clackety-clacking up a lift hill like an old-fashioned coaster, RnRc begins with a rocket-like launch from zero to sixty miles per hour in 2.8 seconds. Important safety tip: wedge your head back into a corner of the headrest to keep it from being flopped around by the ride, and you will be able to see much more of the details as you go. You'll also avoid whiplash.
After RnRc, I made my way over to Star Tours, the Great Movie Ride, and MuppetVision 3D, all in rapid succession. I love all of these attractions and I never miss any of them when I go to GM.
To the Source
After having hit all of my favorites at MGM, all before noon, I decided to spend a little time at Magic Kingdom. As a single guy with no kids, I find myself spending only a half-day in MK on any given trip, not counting E-ride nights, and I figured that today might be a good day to do some MK stuff. When I arrived at the Transportation and Ticket Center, I decided to eschew the normal monorail ride in favor of the big ferrybboat. I love the boats at WDW; each boat route has it's own unique character and scenery. The ferryboats into MK are wonderful, relaxing rides, which give a view of MK from the middle of the Seven Seas Lagoon that simply can't be seen in any other way. I took some wonderful pictures from the upper level of the boat, including a shot of the docking mechanisms as the boat roared into place at the MK pier.
I wound up only doing a few attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Jungle River Cruise, and grabbing a couple of great castle pictures, before shopping in the Emporium and hopping back over to MGM.
Once I got back to MGM, I rode the Backlot Tour and took the Backstage Pass walking tour, then grabbed a counter-service dinner at Backlot Express, listening to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular going on next to me. After dinner, I rode Star Tours again, then shopped on Hollywood Boulevard before leaving the park at about 6pm.
I drove off Disney property again to drop off some film at Walgreens for developing. But something I had eaten today was working on my stomach in a somewhat less than pleasant fashion, so I decided to go back to the hotel and rest for a while. I took a brief nap, called home, and went back to Walgreens to pick up my film about an hour later. I also picked up a couple of bottles of water to carry with me in the parks; I don't like paying the exorbitant prices that both Disney and Universal charge for bottled water, but I like drinking the bottled stuff much better than the stuff that comes out of Disney's water fountains.
I wound up my evening by watching Crocodile Dundee II, and went to bed at an early 10pm.
STAGE 46
Walk miles: 14.9
Drive miles: 197