USRoadTripper

Time to head off to the Mega Mouse Meet! Three years ago, the regular RADP meet plus the annual meets of a few other Disney groups all merged and became Mousefest, including the Mega Mouse Meet. Lots of Disney websites and people like travel agents and guidebook authors can rent space during it just like normal conventions. RADP ended up revolting and saying that we still wanted to have a separate RADP meet, which hacked off a bunch of people involved in planning Mousefest. But since we have lots of friends that work the Mega Mouse Meet booths, we've all made the journey there to see them the last two years. Here I am with Shawna's hubby Scott, and we are bored out of our freakin' minds. I wouldn't even come to the Mega Mouse Meet if I didn't know the people at the AllEarsnet and Passporter booths! Luckily, Magic Kingdom was next! Here's Charlotte cornering Kenny and stealing a hug. Charlotte and John are also from New Orleans, and their house was all but destroyed by Katrina. They had such a rough year, but you'd never be able to tell by their attitudes at the meets. Peter got a little one-on-one chat time with Deb, despite the crowds around her. Not sure what he was talking about, but he sure looks funny doing it. Jennifer and Dave were also out in full-force promoting their guidebooks to the parks and cruises. There were reporters there doing interviews also, most likely for a Podcast of some kind. The man sitting down was yelling into the microphone Home Shopping Network style about how his site is better than eBay. Here are Andrea and Brian working the AllEarsnet booth. They are both contributors to Deb's site (Andrea is Anita Answer). Too bad they were both stuck working and couldn't attend the other festivities. I arrive, check in, and think "Oh my god...is there really going to be so much crap to collect that I need a bag *this* big???" How many RADPers does it take to find the Northern Hemisphere Ballroom? During the walk, we come across a little alcove of water that should clearly have a bridge on it. As light shone down from the heavens, Peter tried to part the waters Moses style, but it didn't work. This is my third favorite pic from the trip! After lunch, we all packed up and headed over to the Mega Mouse Meet at the Dolphin for a bit. Here's Peter taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him. Is this getting old yet?

As the Big Meet was ending, 8 of us decided to head to Beaches N Cream at the Beach Club for lunch. Hey TPR, check this one out. I'm hugging on Tony...maybe I'm dating Tony now? Is this enough proof that I'm not dating Kevin? BTW, Tony's from Allentown, PA so look for him at Dorney! Kevin and I tried SO HARD to get this picture! We were going for a cutesy "sharing a milkshake" photo but neither of us could stop laughing! Tony and Jessie. Believe it or not, Jessie is the most normal among us. Oh who am I kidding, she's insane just like the rest of us. She just got there at a lot younger age! If you think this is the only photo I have of Kevin making a smiley face burger at Beaches N Cream after a Big Meet, you'd be wrong Mmmm...finally the food arrives. Almost all of us got the cheeseburgers with fries and what else...a pickle! Kevin and Peter also get in on the "Take a picture of me while I take a picture of you" action. After about an hour wait, we finally get seated and order. We are so happy that we all take pictures of each other taking pictures. Peter and I got a charcoal sketch done by one of those Michaelangelo machines. It was only $2, and now I have three of them of me with different people! Having never played anything DDR-like, Kevin and I try out this game in the arcade next to the restaurant. As you can see, I am doing so badly that I'm not even standing on any of the pads! Our score was a big fat F! hahaha

RADP 10 Big Meet and Greet Allison (or The Mighty Paragon) shows off this years meet gift for her Loin Inspection Board members. She also has a three foot long sword called the deLIBerator that she used to bring to meets, but can't anymore because of security Quiet, shy and unsuspecting, Brian was nominated for a beginners registration this year! Sean, being married to a Loin Inspector, seems to be a consistant overachiever, and gets upgraded every year. Bruce also got an upgrade! Thanks for the hard work Bruce! Loin Inspectors Meet time! One of the ongoing RADP jokes is that there is a group of women who, every year, inspect and upgrade or downgrade the loins of the men in the group. Here is Jack getting his upgrade certificate! Every year, Jen and Jeff do a Great Race around WDW. Last year, during the last leg, the boat I was on started sinking in the middle of Bay Lake, and I was immortalized for it on this year's shirt. Glad I didn't run it this year, though. Too tiring. Here are Jan, Tracy, Kenny and Brian. My caption is not long enough for proper introductions of each person! Kevin makes Ben very jealous as he shows off the Scarlet Poohpernel. This was our group that posed for the big collage photo that Randy puts together every year. Good thing everyone was ready when they took the picture. This is Sam. He did the WDW College Program right before I did and worked as a ticket taker at Magic Kingdom. Now he lives in Connecticut and works for ESPN. Yup, another "too cool for his own good" guy! Here are Sean and Pamela. They live two exits down from Disneyland, so remember their faces! You may bump into them some day! Still proud of his acheivement in winning Spaceship Earth Roulette, Kevin proudly displayed the Scarlet Poohpernel throughout the big meet.

Epcot, RADP 10 and Mousefest As we all leave, Kevin is awarded the grand prize, which he promptly names The Scarlet Poohpernel. From there it was off to the RADP 10 big meet and greet! Here was my view during one of the stops. SIDEBOOB! Here is where the ride made its first stop. It made a total of three stops, but Catherine was sitting in The Theater when it stopped first, so Kevin was the winner! Everyone boards, ready to play. Right to left we have Jack with the camera, Marta in tye dye, Bruce in rainbow making you adjust your contrast, Sean covering his face, Bill picking his teeth and Min waving hello. This guy was this year's prize. We weren't quite sure what kind of outfit he was wearing! Next up was Spaceship Earth Roulette! We each pick a scene from Spaceship Earth, then we ride. If the ride stops, the person who chose the scene that the meet host is sitting in when it stops wins a prize. Makes sense? I picked "Jeremy Irons Speaks." Kevin and Shawna were in the back of my car, and I'm pretty sure I rode with Pamela. And another group! Front row: Tracy, Jack. Back Row: Marta, Carol, Erica. Once at Imagination, I ran into a meet I didn't even know they were having! So I had lots of company for my ride on Imagination. Front row: Jack, Jessie. Back row: Sean, Bruce, John, Charlotte. Shrimp! The sea's tastiest critters! Anyway, after Living Seas, I headed off to Imagination before the 10:30 meet at Spaceship Earth. I played with the macro setting on my camera for a bit too. Never knew cuttlefish were this cool close up, huh? My first stop was to check out the renovations at Living Seas. It looks nice, but it didn't seem to be dramatically changed to me. I will miss the The Sea preshow though, as it was the best movie in Epcot! On my way to Epcot, I had the greatest bus driver ever! He was Dave, and he cracked jokes and kept insisting that he was lost the entire time. Everyone getting off the bus took his picture! Kevin was up and out before me on Sat. the 3rd. I had an omlette with potatoes and a biscuit in the food court, which ended up being what I had most mornings, so this was the only picture I took of it. I ate at a Space Invaders table, which rocked.

John, yes, we did see Tarzan Rocks, but all my pictures from it were blurry, so I just didn't mention that we did it. I think it's a shame, as that is a very well done show, and one I always tried to see any time I was in Animal Kingdom. I also spent a lot of time at Adventurer's Club on this trip! You may have been there on the same nights and I never knew it. I have a couple of dozen AC pics on their way. -Julie

More AK Photos As we left, Rafiki tried to get Kevin to "worship him like the goddess that he his" but Kevin just wasn't buying it! As the train started off for Plantet Watch, it nearly jerked Kevin out of his seat. Either that or he is demonstrating "How not to act on this train ride" like the little stick people in the safety sign. So should I tell the truth, and let TPR know that Kevin was doing the Conga here, and I just snapped the camera at a weird time, or should I let them think this is how he normally looks? Decisions decisions. The last stop of the day was Rafiki's planet watch. After Bugs, we hiked it up to the Pocahontas and her Forest Friends show. It was pretty lame, to be honest, even to be geared towards little kids. And am I the only one that thinks costuming shouldn't shop at Old Navy for footwear? Kevin and I are too sexy for these bug eyes. Too sexy for these bug eyes. We bid a farewell to Dinorama, and headed for It's Tough to be a Bug next. I have entitled this photo "Self Portrait in Clone Queue." After riding these, I have ridden FIVE of the exact same clone in four different parks this season alone! Primeval Whirl. Soak it in folks, because coaster photos are few and far between in this TR! Ok, time for the first coasters of the trip! Ya mon, we be jammin'...no worries here in the Animal Kingdom. It's Nahtazu mon. As you can see here, Kevin just LOVES all things American, especially oversized, silly, patriotic hats. Thinking of you too Eric. Now get off my hands and go back to Kentucky. Thinking of you Mike. Now get of my head and go back to Long Beach. After the ride, it was funny hat time in the gift shop! Kevin models the lovely Chernabog hat here. Kevin is just as scared of Dinosaur as he is of a broken down Spaceship Earth. In case you ever needed to know the chemical compositions of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise...here ya go! This has always cracked me up. Try pronouncing Carnotaurus the way it tells you to...you end up having the thickest southern accent ever! Car-nuh-TAW-rus. Little things amuse me so. As we approached Dinosaur, we encounted a woman using one of those new fangled "Seeing eye kids." I believe the man is teaching the "Seeing Eye Kid" to avoid any movies starring the dinosaur in the background.

RADP's Day at Animal Kingdom Every year, each park gets it's own day full of meets, and the first of this year's festivities was Animal Kingdom. I had the chicken parmesan sandwich, and it was very good! Pretty big too, by my standards! After lunch, the ladies were off for some salon time and Kev and I continued on in the park. Donna and Andrea had to leave soon, so we decided to all grab a quick lunch at Pizzafari. Of course we all had to use the restroom and wash our hands first, in the Pee-Safari. As you can see, Kevin was thrilled. I said that Triceratops Spin was the only ride in Disney World I hadn't ridden, so I wanted to do that too, since we'd already seen Flights of Wonder and were planning on Pocahontas later. Kevin on a pole. If you can think of a better caption, EMAIL DAN! Expedition Everest. Yep, not done yet. Bummer. Hurricane...O RLY? hahaha After the show they let us get really close to a couple of owls too. Afterwards, Kevin, Donna, Andrea and I went off on our own and saw Flights of Wonder for the first time. After hearing the audience gasp at the eagle, Kevin made the observation that Canadians never react that way to maple leaves. Me with Deb Wills. Robb and Elissa, this is the lady you have to overtake to become #9 on that "most popular park website" ranking. I also find it so weird that she has attained such celebrity in the last few years! And here are two rhinos having a scuffle. Now that wasn't so bad, was it? There were so many of us that we filled up two entire safari vehicles! I know that no one wants to see tons of animal photos, so I will keep it to just two. Here is a giraffe. As we were about to board the Safari, the ride op noticed Mickey's button that said "Worship me like the goddess that I am"...so he did! Wonder where I can get one of those buttons? It's Dave and Brian! Dave Marx is the co-author of the Passporter's Guide to WDW, and an active RADPer for years now. Brian was the first RADPer I ever met, back in 1998! This is Jan and Mike. They come from outside of New Orleans and are some of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. They weren't hit too hard by the hurricanes, and all of RADP was very grateful for that! Kevin and I arrived at park opening, and headed straight for Deb Wills' meet at the Kilimanjaro Safari. Once we got there, we ran into just about every mutual RADP friend we have!

Sorry Erik, no Whataburger this time as I was in Gainesville around 9:00am or so! And on the way home, I was too stuffed from my Whispering Canyon all you can eat breakfast to even think about food that soon out of Orlando! I did see signs for it both times though, and wished I had one near me -Julie

Gotta go with the double-down on Kennywood's Jack Rabbit. Most insane pop of airtime I've ever felt. -Julie

Yet more pictures Kevin stayed in Epcot for a bit more, and I headed off to Walmart with Peter since I'd forgotten my hairbrush. Earlier, Kevin had paid $10 for 4 AAA batteries at Epcot, and at Walmart we found them 20 for $8.87! On our way out, we paused to watch a bit of IllumiNations. It was freezing cold by this time, so the boys stopped for some hot mint tea in Morocco, while I had a fruit tart, which was very yummy. Thanks to my TPR hoodie, I wasn't as cold as either of them! Peter went in a gift shop to get some batteries for Kevin's digital camera (another reason we like Peter, his cast discount! hehe j/k) so we amused ourselves while we waited. And this is Rob. He's Kim's boyfriend, and lives near Tampa. I've know him since I started on RADP, and he's the only person I know who could rival Wally in beer knowledge and consumption. It's Kim! Kim is one of my closest friends. She's a respiratory threrapist in Pittsburgh, but owns a house in Florida and is in the process of relocating. She's also recently lost 140 pounds! Wow! We got a call from my friend Kim wanting to meet up also, so we wandered a bit before meeting up. After watching the Lights of Winter for a bit, we headed back to Rose and Crown. Hey TPR, check it out...now you can start rumors that I am dating Peter, so you can get off Kevin's back! We hit O Canada next, then got a call from Peter wanting to meet up! Peter is one of my closer friends in the group. He just graduated from CMU, and is working in Imagineering! Yep, he's gotten too cool for his own good! We love him anyway though. The liter of beer finally kicks in in the France pavilion, where Kevin dons his beret and paints a lovely still life. I can't think of a caption that would even come close to doing justice to this picture. As we walked, we caught Miyuki performing. She makes intricate little sculptures out of candy, and she is absolutely amazing to watch! Everyone can rest assured that eventhough RADP will always be my family, I don't have any intention of leaving TPR any time soon Here is the standard Spaceship Earth photo that everyone who's ever visited Epcot has taken.

More photos OMG and it even looks like a butt in the back!!! Someone nominate this woman for a make-over! Quick! Wow...this woman had the hugest hair either of us had ever seen! I don't know about you, but I think this trip report NEEDS MORE COW BELL!!!!! Two of the men even played Alpenhorns. Riiico...no, no, I won't do it! Must resist! Oktoberfest Musikanten was the entertainment during lunch. They were quite good, and gave the restaurant a very festive, if stereotypical, feel. Here I am doing my best Robb impersonation while I eat. I take a sip of the beer, and once again decided that I'd rather be drinking urine. Still appearing haggard from the long flights, Kevin dives into a liter of beer like a real man. *Homer voice* Mmm...German food... Clockwise from the top, we've got tomato salad, chicken schnitzel, potatoes, a roll, spelt, rice and spaetzle (sp?) in the middle. Finally our pager goes off and it's time for lunch. Hey Soren, see all that crap behind me? That's what you'll be selling next year! Neither of us had eaten at the Biergarten in years, so we decided that it was time to go there again. Finally we arrive for lunch in Germany.

An Evening at Epcot Then this viking tried to sell Kevin some weed! Do you believe that? Some vikings really have nerve. I narrowly escaped being axed to death by a viking. We get sidetracked by the Stave Church in Norway, where we get to learn about...VIKINGS! As we passed through Mexico, we noted that "Wunder-Bar" seems to be the only flavor of margaritas they sell. Finally it was time for lunch, so we headed to Germany. *insert random picture of Mexico pavilion here* Disney, take note...this is the kind of picture you get when your photographer poses you facing into the sun! Horrible! Who would buy a picture that looked like this?!?! ...and we both had multiple glasses of our mutual favorite, Kinley Lemon. We stopped at the newly redone Club Cool next. I loved the new design...it was bright and pretty, but did feel a little smaller than before. We both drank the Beverly... Never fear! A maintenance man was there quickly, and fixed whatever the problem was. Did we bee-line for the Biergarten? Of course not since we were too early! So we rode Spaceship Earth first. As you can see, Kevin got kinda spooked when the ride e-stopped on us. Kevin had never seen my Leave a Legacy tile, so I took him to see it. I got it in 2000, with my friend Nick who lived across the hall from me at Vista Way, and who still keeps in touch regularly. Helloooooo Epcot! Long time no see!

12/1 - An Evening at Epcot 12/2 - RADP Day at Animal Kingdom 12/3 - Epcot 12/3 - RADP Big Meet and Greet 12/3 - The Mega Mouse Meet 12/3 - An Evening in the Magic Kingdom The Adventurer's Club 12/4 - RADP Day at Magic Kingdom 12/4 - Raglan Road and the Adventurer's Club 12/5 - RADP Day at the Disney-MGM Studios 12/6 - Islands of Adventure 12/6 - Universal Studios Florida 12/7 - Busch Gardens Tampa 12/7 - Dinner at Ohana and Adventurer's Club 12/8 - Wilderness Lodge Breakfast and going home Every year for the past 7 years, I've made an annual pilgrimage to Disney World in December. In the fall of '98, I started reading RADP (rec.arts.disney.parks) on usenet, and quickly became a part of the ever-growing family. By December of '99, I was headed to my first official December meet, where I met tons of the people that I now count as close, life-long friends. So fast forward six years, and that brings us to December 1st-8th of 2005...my 7th annual meet, and 10th RADP December meet ever! This meet was really more than just a meet...it's almost like a family reunion! People from all over north America coming together in one spot at the same time, and we all get to talk about the year we had, and what we have planned before next December! Most are people I only get to see once a year, but the friendships never change. Kevin says the annual meet is like summer camp for adults, and I agree! Seeing all your friends and getting to have a great time with them! Kevin and I decided to room together again, so we procured an annual pass discounted room at Pop Century. I also decided to get Kevin a pass to Busch Gardens Tampa as a Christmas gift, so we'd both be having a fun day of coastering too. We made a few plans ahead of time, but not many...lunch at Biergarten, lunch at Beaches N Cream, dinner at Ohana and breakfast at Whispering Canyon were a few, and everything else, we were just gonna wing. I will try to introduce everyone as I see them in pictures, else I will surely forget someone really important! And I apologize in advance if I use any inside jokes that TPR may not get...I'm still relatively a newbie here, but am one of the old-timers there! haha And now...on to the TR! I am sparing you the long boring text trip report, but it will be posted on my website once it's written for anyone who wants to read it. December 1st - Getting there, and the room In an attempt to adjust my sleep patern in one day, I ended up staying awake until 3:00pm on the 30th, then waking up at 10:30pm to get ready to leave. I was on the road at 11:38pm on Wednesday the 30th, with plans of driving through the night to get there before lunch time on Thursday... And the bathroom. Kevin arrived at the room around 1:00pm, and we were both starving by that point, so we hopped on the first bus to Epcot we found! I got to WDW at 10:48am...10 hours and 10 minutes after leaving home! Record speed for me! I got us checked into our Pop Century room, 6167. Pretty standard, but very nice. Here is a nice random photo of the light playing with my windshield and my hand. I was near Valdosta when the sun rose. It didn't photograph very well since the car was moving, but the sunrise was beautiful...a perfect blending from color to color. I don't think many things get prettier than that! By about 5:00am, I was hungry again, so I ate the sandwich I'd packed. It was nummy, as always. I had a quarter pounder and fries for dinner. I also decided to try and take a picture of every meal I ate, since TPR loves food pictures so much! I did pretty well, and only missed a few meals. I made a food stop at McDonalds in Murfreesboro, which is the tradition on my Florida trips. This is all the luggage I took on my 9 day trip! In hindsight, I didn't even use the cooler and could have easily done without it!

I will be more succinct than the last few replies, and only post the parts I really love. Two songs come to mind. First is Elton John's "I guess that's why they call it the blues"...I think it's a beautiful, beautiful song about love. The second is 7 Mary Three's "Cumbersome" I honestly think that is the most symbolic, most incredibly written two lines of lyrics I have ever heard! -Julie

My mom tore the cartilage in her knee jumping out of a Scrambler at the State Fair. Does that count? -Julie

Exactly my thought Stitch. Ex-stickies will always gravitate towards the top since they were obviously pretty popular. Just leaves a little less room for the other random nonsense! I never had a problem with the amount of stickies since they were all actively replied to. -Julie

Hi, I'm Julie, and I'm a Verizon subscriber. Been with them for almost four years and have had no real issues. And any issues we have had have been handled quickly and fairly (like when they dropped Canada from my calling area without telling me, and I had over $100 in calls to Canada during my trip this summer!) -Julie

I got my copy a few days ago and have watched it through twice so far. Gotta say that I love it! I really love the music selections...everything from hard rock, to Michael Jackson to the Gummy Bears theme song! The music kept the DVDs very entertaining. The coaster footage, onride and off, seemed very well done, and the editing was great in my opinion. It had just the right ratio of people footage and coaster footage to make it really fun. Surprisingly, my favorite parts weren't even the park segments. I loved all the segments where Don and Monica are being goofy while camping, teaching us how to cook, touring hotel rooms and getting drunk! Overall I thought it was a great DVD set! It's funny and entertaining, with just enough coaster footage to satisfy the geek in all of us -Julie

Well, I was at Circuit City at 5:00am this morning, and I am very glad I had decided against the computer before I got there! It was shoulder to shoulder in the laptop area, and no doubt they sold out of them within minutes. Can you imagine tha hassle of trying to signup all those people for AOL on the spot :shock: And yeah, if I'm gonna invest any money at all into a new computer, I want it to at least be able to play RCT3 and Sims2. If it won't do that, there is no need for me to upgrade, as far as I am concerned. -Julie

Well, I am proud to admit that I was right out there with them at 5:00am Friday. I'd never done it before last year, but my mom and I did day after Thanksgiving and Christmas sales last year and had a lot of fun both days! We started at 5:00am at Circuit City, with both of us wanting $10 512mb SD cards. We ended up with 4 of them and I got an iTunes gift card for my cousin so I wouldn't have to come back later. In and out, despite the hundreds of people, in 5 minutes. Then we went across the shopping center and waited until 6:00am to get into Target. Once in, we got a $30 microwave for my grandpa for Christmas, my mom got a Willy Wonka DVD, and I got a Ferris wheel shaped picture frame. Again, in and out, in an even bigger crowd, in 5 minutes. Then we headed over to Best Buy, which had opened at 6:00 also. We both got two Shrek 2 DVDs for $6 each and I got a Green day CD for $8, and mom got a Michael Buble CD for my cousin (not on sale!). The line was horrendous by this point, so mom waited in that line while I went down the plaza for Old Navy's opening at 7:00am. At 7:00, I went in and grabbed 3 pair of jeans that fit me like they were custom made for me, for $14.99 each. I also had a $10 off a $50 purchase, so I got some boxers for Kevin for $5.50, which made my total for everything $45.50ish. After waiting in a 45 minute line at Old Navy, I found mom at Best Buy and she was next up at the register. The lady behind her let me jump back in line, so I got my stuff and mom got hers and we were outta there. We stopped for breakfast at Burger King, then mom wanted to stop at Joann ETC for some scrapbook paper. She only needed one sheet for a project, and I insisted that I was *not* waiting in a 45 minute long line so she could buy one sheet of paper! haha She agreed, so we headed home after that. My intention was to make this whole fiasco into a Random PTR, but there were so many people and you needed to find your stuff so quickly that I didn't get a chance to take any pics! But I'm very happy with everything I got, and will certainly be back out there with the other maniacs on Dec. 26th. However, I am staying the hell away from Walmart! -Julie

Mine was Wabash Cannoball at Opryland. -Julie *sniff* I miss you, baby...

Here is my friend Kenny on the ant. Sorry for the bad quality, it is an old scan! -Julie

Those were pretty much the answers I was expecting, but figured I'd ask anyway. I figured that for $199, it was a great deal if it would do what I wanted it to, but wasn't holding my breath. Oh well, it was a nice thought. Thanks guys. -Julie

Thanks for the nasty reply. Just what I needed on Thanksgiving. If you can't be helpful, why butt in and be rude? When was the last time you paid $200 for something that didn't turn on? I will ask again, if anyone knows what kind of video card that computer has in it, and if it would be able to play RCT3, I would like to know. Don't want to wait in line then discover it won't do something basic that I want. By the way, it meets all the other specs for RCT3, it just doesn't give info about the video card, and doesn't give a model number in the ad. -Julie

For anyone who got the Circuit City circular in todays paper...check out the $199 laptop on the front cover. Think it will have a sufficient video card to play RCT3? And if not, how much does a laptop video card cost? Even with the AOL subscription, that sounds like a fantastic deal, but only if it's fast enough to play the newer games. -Julie