I don't know if this is the closure we were hoping for...

It breaks my heart to see Disney close down (or absolutely ruin ::coughfigmentcough::) an attraction that's been around for as long as I can remember. I have this horrible habit of going back and watching on ride videos from 20k, Horizons, and the like. The problem is that I start watching them and start to get really upset that they're gone and will only live on in my memory....and you tube. When I was starting to plot out this post earlier, I realized that it really had the potential to go all over the place. I'll save my thoughts on the closing of Snow White for the 31st when it actually takes it's last run. The post where I go all she hulk and rant and rave about what they've done to Journey into the Imagination will wait for a post of it's own as well.

Aside from the downfall of Figment, there are two other rides that REALLY upset me upon their closing. First, 20k leagues under the sea. The thing with 20k is that as a child, it completely blew my mind. That and the Tiki Room. When I think back on my first experiences in both, which I can actually remember quite well surprisingly, it strikes me as Disney magic at it's finest. The Tiki Room is still there and has thankfully been restored to it's former glory. Sadly I cannot say the same for 20k. Even after they had officially closed down the ride, I spent so long keeping my optimistic outlook that they'd find something equally amazing to do with the lagoon. The first time I walked into fantasyland and found the lagoon filled, I nearly cried. Any chance of anything resembling that magic was gone forever. To say I was ready to start spitting nails when I found out that DisneyLAND was going to be re-theming and reopening THEIR submarines a few years later is a gross understatement.

I know the Nemo ride there isn't the same and never will be the same. I know I'll never see that silly bastard of  a sea serphant's face ever again, but still. It pisses me off. They have SOMETHING left of it. What do we have? A stinking Nautilus carved into a tree at pooh corner. (WHICH I STILL CANT FIND BY THE WAY. DAMNIT.) This brings us to ride #2. The one who Pooh now occupies. The ones those aholes in California also still have access to.

Mr. Toad. Oh, Mr. Toad. May you rest in peace. I miss that ride something fierce. While I am, in fact, a fan of Winnie the Pooh, it's just not the same. I don't mind the Winnie the Pooh ride, I kind of like it. I think the effects are adorable. I get a kick out of the picture hung in Owl's office of Mr. Toad and Owl.

Mr. Toad was also Alexis' favorite ride. She once told me that she loved standing in line and watching the kids coming out crying because they'd just paid the little red guys with the pitchforks a visit at the end. Yes. We are those people. Now, Alexis has been boycotting Pooh for years. She refused to ride because it had taken the place of Mr. Toad. Somehow this past weekend, we convinced her to get on. Thankfully I had the good sense to whip out my camera.

Not all the language in this is particularly appropriate, so you've been warned. It's nothing AWFUL, but this is a Disney blog so I figured I should put up SOME sort of warning.

I don't know if this is the kind of fun Walt had in mind when he envisioned epcot...

My favorite Disney partner-in-crime and I had made the decision a few weeks ago to spend Cinco de Mayo in Mexico. Well...the Mexican pavilion at Epcot, but that's close enough for us. We were joined by another friend and headed over to Magic Kingdom when it opened for some amazing tom foolery. (One of the highlights of our morning will be documented in another post later on.) Around 11, when The World Showcase opened, we hightailed it over to the margaritas.

I'm a big fan of frozen margaritas, always have been. That being said, my trips into La Cava del Tequila inside the Mexican Pavilion have not been numerous. I usually stick to the frozen concoctions they sell outside. This time, however, we were quite excited to try this Blood Orange Margarita we'd heard a lot about. Fabulous decision. We were told that Pepe would take care of us, and take care of us he did. Our other friend tried the passionfruit. It was also super tasty, but heavy on the sweet side. If you like sweet drinks, I definitely recommend it.

The line for El Rio del Tiempo was ridiculous and though this is usually a must do for us, we decided to bypass it for the time being. Margaritas in hand, we continued on our way through the World Showcase. Recently, Draven from DSOD referred to drinking around the world as a bit of a rite of passage. I have to agree. It's actually a rite of passage i've been participating in since I turned 21.

Now let me tell you...Adam and Eve had a snake and an apple. I have Epcot's World Showcase. There is so much variety and pretty much anything you get is amazing. I've been on this ridiculous diet and needless to say, it got shoved aside for the day so that I could partake and do Cinco de Mayo up right. We're nearing the point to this post and why Epcot is probably the most amazing and evil place in all of Disney.

We continued on to Germany where I've recently become a fan of their wine flight. After that, it was onto Italy where we sampled some Limoncello, and then I had the frozen Red Stag and lemonade in 'Merica. This is one of my favorites. They brought it in for the Food and Wine festival last year and decided to keep it around.

Soon enough, we were wandering into France. (If you haven't read my previous post, now would be the time.) We're about half way through our trek around the world and I'm feeling pretty happy at this point. I think that's a nice way to put it. So we start to walk by Chefs de France. In case you've never been there, the entire front of the restaurant is all windows, so while walking by you can see people dining inside. You can also see the waiters taking care of them. I felt the need to look for our new favorite waiter, Kevin. Okay so maybe this was a stalkerish move. I regret nothing. I was peeking inside, walking down the length of the building, trying to catch a glimpse of our favorite French waiter.

No such luck. We were about to cut our losses and move on to Vins de France for the glass of Moet someone had been craving for the last two weeks when we walked by the front entrance. There, in all of his glory, was French Kevin. (This is his new name, btw.) The next five minutes were spent bickering about why I couldn't walk in there alone and how someone had to come with me. Finally we all started to walk in together. I was about halfway up the walkway when I ran into the restaurant. I did not walk, I ran. As soon as I got inside, there was Kevin to greet me.

Fueled by my adventures in the World Showcase so far that day, I started to explain to French Kevin that he'd been our waiter for lunch a few weeks ago and that we'd thought he was awesome. He laughed and nodded. "Oh yes, I remember you, you were sitting over there." Stop the presses. He remembered us? I told you it was fate, Kevin. I knew this was something special. I KNEW YOU FELT IT TOO!

This was probably the highlight of everyone's day. It totally makes up for the fact that I'm a class act and dropped one of those "CAUTION: WET FLOOR" signs while giving my friends my personalized tour of the viking church in Norway. It even makes up for the fact that I got my bag completely soaked when I felt the need to go running through the small fountains that were clearly put there for the enjoyment of children under the age of ten. It was amazing.

We finished our trek around the world and color me shocked, ended up back in Mexico. Our grand total of rides in Epcot that day? Two. Maelstrom in Norway and Spaceship Earth, where I passed out mid ride. My nap would have been a lot more enjoyable if Judy Dench would have stopped yammering on in my ear. Our intentions had been to return back to the Magic Kingdom and close out the park, but injuries and disappointment in the "technical malfunctions" on POTC found us making our way out of the park immediately after dinner. SOMEONE forgot to say goodnight to George. Smooth move, guys.

I'm going to leave you with two things. One. Don't run through Norway wearing flip flops after drinking. You will likely end up hurt. SOMEONE on this trip learned this lesson the hard way. I'll give you a hint. It was not me.

Secondly. Go like French Kevin on Facebook. You can do so here. Yes. I went there.

The one where I start flipping out like a 5 year old over my new sippy cup...

Not long ago, over at Fresh Roasted Corn, Hoot posted about the Florida Orange Bird, some of it's history, it's past ties to Disney, and his possible return. You can read about he and Chief's shenanigans here.

He'd posted some pictures that suggested that Mr. Orange Bird himself may be lurking behind some metal covering put up to hide his presence for the time being. My friend and I made a visit to Magic Kingdom today and while walking through Adventureland, I decided to take a gander at the new Sunshine Tree Terrace sign for myself. Sure enough, there they were. What appear to be two little leaves hidden behind a metal cover. Why they would hide his cute little face is beyond me, but that's sure what it looked like. As we were walking back to take a look at the front of the sign again and I was shouting something about how someone needed to get me a broom to knock the damn thing down, I noticed an older couple doing the exact same thing we'd just been doing.

I made a comment to them, excited to see another Orange Bird enthusiast. We talked for a moment and that's when the woman pointed something else out to me. The torches that line the awning of the terrace were lit. She wasn't sure how long they'd been doing that, but they hadn't been lit for a decade. You may not be able to tell by the picture, but I assure you that those babies were burning away.

AND THEN! THEN! She pointed behind her towards the counter and remarked, "Today is the first day they're selling those too." And that's when I saw him, in all of his orange plastic glory. Little Orange Bird sippy cups on sale at the Sunshine Tree Terrace. We took a spin on Pirates and afterwards I promptly ran over to purchase one of my own. $7 for a poorly made, crappy, plastic little sippy cup that I'm sure was intended for children? Money well spent if you ask me!

Much to my dismay, the gentleman that sold me my the most amazing souvenir I've brought home from Disney in a long time had no idea who the Orange Bird even was! "I don't know who he is, but people sure seem to like him!" I just shook my head and walked away happily sipping my crappy lemonade out of the top of my new buddy's head. I'm just hoping there's more to follow!

Random concerns for Disney icons and scaredy cats...

Okay seriously...how does this silly bastard not get his head taken right off? Is this legit? did that actually happen? I'd be seriously concerned that Goofy was facing certain decapitation .

Personally, I was into my twenties before I would allow myself to attempt a ride on Space Mountain. I hate roller coasters. Hate. HATE. The funny thing about it is, it's this big freaky mental thing. I went on Space Mountain. Loved it. I have been on a million times since... Loved every one.
Well...almost every one. I have plans to ride Space Mountain this Sunday. As a result, I am currently a big bundle of nerves about getting into one of those nifty rocket ships and blasting off. Seriously nervous. It happens every time. It's this very reason that I refuse to step foot on Splash Mountain. The panic attack that I'm sure to go through waiting for that drop to come is going to ruin every single aspect of that ride that I know I would enjoy. It's not not worth it to me and it stinks.

Sometimes it stinks being a pansy!