My first stop that morning was the Starring Rolls Bakery, where I got a fabulous apple strudel for breakfast. Starring Rolls is one of the best-kept secrets of MGM; few people go there for breakfast, which tends to leave the outdoor tables empty and quiet. And the food is always terrific.
After I finished my strudel, I limped back to the front of the park, intent on getting some Band-Aid for a blister that was developing on my left foot. I seldom get blisters at WDW, despite the many miles I walk each day, but when I do get a blister I find that a Band-Aid is the most comfortable way to deal with it. I went to the info kiosk at the main entrance to ask where I could get some Band-Aid, and wouldn't you know it, they had some right there, so I bought them and put them in my pocket. But I was so intent on getting into the Great Movie Ride that I forgot to put one on.
The Great Movie Ride wasn't running just yet, so I had a wait of about five minutes, and then got on the very first car of the day. This ride hasn't changed since it's inception thirteen years ago, but since it takes you through movie history anyway, it's not dated at all. In fact, it's a wonderful trip down memory lane, taking Guests through scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Casablanca, Tarzan, Alien, and a bunch of other movies from the 20s right up till the 80s. My favorite part is always the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz segment; I think she's the very best anamatronic figure ever produced by Disney.
After The Great Movie Ride, I finally stopped and put a Band-Aid on my blister. Then I walked over to Star Tours, and again walked right on. By this time I was hungry again; it was about 11am, and I knew I was going to have an early dinner tonight, so I got my lunch early at the Toy Story Pizza Planet. I found the pizza passable, but the salad was wilted and old.
After the animation tour, I went for the Backlot Tour. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the big water tank, and the Pearl Harbor portion of the tour wasn't running; instead, we were ushered right out to the tram stops for the driven portion of the tour.
The heat was beginning to get to me. Even in the shade of the tram stop's overhang, with large fans moving the air around a little, the heat of midday in WDW was taking a toll on me. I drank a bunch of water from my bottle, but it was still so bad that I considered breaking out of line and skipping the tour. We waited about ten minutes for a tram to come in for us (one had just broken down, so they were running only one tram for a while), and by the time it arrived, the queues for were full for the entire tram car. Once we boarded, and the tram got moving, the rush of air cooled me down a bit, and I sat back to enjoy the rest of the tour, including Catastrophe Canyon. Unfortunately, I didn't get wet in Catastrophe Canyon.
Even though it was fairly early, I was in need of a rest. Dinner tonight would be at 'Ohana, in the Polynesian resort, with some of my internet friends, and since I had done all of my favorite attractions at MGM yesterday and today, I decided to leave the park and take a break before dinner.
I returned my locker key, got my car from the parking lot, and drove back to All-Star Sports. After only a minute or two in the car, I could tell just how much I had been sweating that day, so my first action on arriving at my room was to take a shower. Then, I took a nap. I slept about an hour and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. I put on my one and only Hawaiian shirt, which I had bought at the Polynesian some years ago just for the Polynesian Luau, and drove to Poly, where the security guard on duty issued me a 2-hour parking pass. But I still had 1-1/2 hours before dinner; I had timed it that way intentionally so I could ride the monorail around to Contemporary and browse the shops there.
Before going to the monorail, I walked around the grounds of Polynesian taking pictures. I also browsed through the shops a little, then I took the monorail over to the Contemporary.
As time approached for dinner, I made my way back up to the monorail station and back to Polynesian. I was still early, but I figured I could sit in the lobby outside 'Ohana for a little while and rest while waiting for the rest of the group. I arrived to find that PammyK was already there, however; she made pretty good time coming in after work. The two of us sat and caught up for a while, just enjoying the quiet of the lobby, until Ramson (Terry) and her friend Lisa showed up and joined us. Our group was almost complete; at 6, SammieG and her husband Richard and their son Theo arrived, and we went into the restaurant.
I had never eaten at 'Ohana before, and had been wondering what the food was like. As I found out that night, food at 'Ohana is some of the best I've ever had at WDW! 'Ohana is my new favorite restaurant there; it's an all-you-can-eat place, but not a buffet. You start with a rotating tray of salad, stir-fried vegetables, rice, chicken wings, and wontons. The honey and lime salad dressing is fabulous (even to me, and I don't like lime!) Once you've had a good start on the appetizers, the servers bring skewers of roast pork, beef, turkey, and shrimp to your table and push big chunks, kabob-style, onto your plate. During the meal, they come back periodically to refresh your plate, bringing as much as you want to eat. I ate some of just about everything, and did some real damage to the shrimp, which was grilled with some seasoning that reminded me a little of the Old Bay seafood seasoning we use here in Maryland. I'm not one for spicy food, but I found these shrimp mild and sweet compared to a serving of Maryland shrimp steamed with Old Bay. Everyone else thought they were hot. I also loved the honey BBQ sauce, served in a bowl on the rotating tray. I put this stuff on the steak, pork, and turkey, although I left the shrimp alone; it was fantastic all by itself.
During dinner, Richard took Theo, who is about 2 or 3, to play coconut bowling twice. Coconut bowling is something of a misnomer; it's actually more like coconut shuffleboard. All of the kids in the restaurant had lots of fun with it, and most returned for the hula hoop contest later. I was too busy eating to spare the kids much of my attention.
After dinner we broke up and headed off in different directions; Terry and Lisa spent some time exploring the Polynesian, Antyo and I hung out at the outdoor tables gabbing for a while, and PammyK headed home. I think Sammie, Richard and Theo were headed for Epcot, the park that was opened latest that night, before turning in.
Stage 42
Walk miles: 7.1
Drive miles: 27.8
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