Happy Cinco de Mayo!

On day seven, we decided to attack Universal’s Islands of Adventure. One of the perks of Tawnya’s annual pass is 2 free hours of valet parking, which was sweet. On the way, I saw either Jimmy Buffett’s real plane, or a good replica of it. I also noticed that they’re going to open a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant on CityWalk. Once in the park, Roger and Tawnya paid for Express Passes, which gets us to the front of the line. (Thanks guys!!!) [Author’s editorial – I think that it’s crappy for Universal to be charging for a service that Disney provides for free…for now. At least give the annual passholders free Express passes! ‘Nuff said!] We started in IoA (short for ‘Islands of Adventure’) at Seuss Landing, where we went on a carousel, a flying fish ride (complete with squirts of water), the Cat in the Hat ride, and we met Guy. We then travelled to the ‘Lost Continent’, where Kiara and Elijah conquered the ‘Flying Unicorn’, a cute (but easy) roller coaster. From there, we went to ‘Jurassic Park’, where we went on the ‘Jurassic Park River Adventure’, which got us a little wet. I have to admit it was a bit overwhelming a ride, but Kiara hung in there like a trooper. We then hit the ‘Toon Lagoon’. This is where we started to get REALLY wet. With a little ‘creative hairdressing’ by Tawnya and Jennifer, Kiara was able to get on ‘Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls’, which got us wet, then we got on ‘Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges’, which got us SOAKED! Following that, we had to stop for something to eat in order to dry off a bit. Then it was off to Marvel Super Hero Island, where we got on ‘The Amazing Adventures of Spider-man’, which Kiara swore off (figuratively) after getting off the ride. Following that, we headed back to the resort to change clothes and rest a bit. Jennifer, Kiara and I decided to try to get to EPCOT so that Kiara could get a passport and get it signed at all the different world pavilions. I also play a little game called ‘Drunk around the World’, where I have a drink at every country (11 in all). Well, I stopped a bit early when I started to feel it (about 6 or 7 countries in), but we made it thru 10 of the 11 countries. At each country, besides getting the passport signed, Kiara also got to make a mask that had a symbol hanging from it from the starting country that you’re in. Then you get a different symbol at each country. Kiara loved that. Jennifer and I usually get a bottle of German wine (a Disney tradition of ours) and we usually stop to have a sample of Coca-cola products in their gift area (now called Club Cool), but due to the time, all we got to do is watch the fireworks, so we’ll have to try it again at a later date. By the end of the day, Kiara was wiped out.

As usual, the day seven pictures are up on Flickr.

Our day began at Disney-MGM Studios with some quick autograph signings, followed by some pin shopping and a visit to ‘Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage’, next we visited the ‘Voyage of the Little Mermaid’. Following that, we had lunch, then saw the Power Rangers, then Elijah, Kiara, Jennifer and I travelled to the world of Endor on ‘Star Tours’. We watched the parade there, then left to go to EPCOT. Once there, we got on ‘Spaceship Earth’ and then we all got to ‘Leave a Legacy’. Tawnya and Elijah got one picture (and some text) and then Kiara was suppose to get one one her own, but because I filled out the paper wrong (a cast member told me to fill it out that way), Jennifer and Kiara got a picture together. Then we walked to The Land Pavilion to get in a line for 40 minutes to ride ‘Soarin’‘. I think it was worth the wait. This ride actually has smell-o-vision!!! After that, we went back to the resort for some pizza and breadsticks and a latenight video. Most of us fell asleep during the movie. Those of us left behind turned off the movie and went to bed.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the pictures for day six are up on Flickr.

Our day started a bit early (for a vacation) as Jennifer, Kiara and I ran to Wal-Mart to purchase our Disney Tickets. Then we got back, had a quick breakfast, and headed off to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We saw characters, had lunch, went on a safari, partied with the Lion King, and while Jennifer, Kiara and I found out why it was tough to be a bug (featuring the characters from ‘A Bug’s Life’), Tawnya and Elijah travelled to Everest to take on the Yeti. We left at closing, then headed back to the suite, where we had tacos, refried beans, chips and salsa, then we each retired to our rooms to rest up for tomorrow. The kids especially needed the sleep… they got attacked by ‘the cranky monster’.

Our pictures for ‘Day Five’ are up on Flickr. Some of the pictures did not turn out well, especially on the safari and while in the ‘Festival of the Lion King’. The dude on the safari was flying thru, so getting a focused shot was hard, and I was experimenting with the camera in the Lion King. I think that you get the general idea though.

I know that Phil Randolph (and maybe Bruce Hopkins) will blog on this in greater detail, but I just read that the Red Wings are out of the playoffs. I’m stunned.

Somehow the Florida sun is not as bright as it usually is…

Day four started with a quick breakfast and then we went off to the Marriott Vacation Club Information Center for a presentation on timeshare ownership. Why would we go to one of these things? One hundred dollars in Disney Dollars… I’m rich beeyaatch!!! Anyway, the newest property being built is called ‘Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club at Orlando’. It has a Key West motif, and was not only beautiful and family-friendly, but a nice value overall. I hope that after we move, we can come back down here and get in on this before it goes up any higher in price.

Following the presentation, we decided that today was a good day to just chill out at the resort. That was a good decision, because Tawnya has some homework to do (she’s working on her MBA), and the kids are needing naps. Before I knew it, everyone was resting (or napping) except Tawnya. By the time we all got up, it was around 7PM, so we piled into the minivan and went to the House of Blues for dinner. (Try their Creole Jambalaya!) Then we walked around Downtown Disney West Side to do a bit of shopping. I picked up a couple of cigars for later this week at Sosa’s Family Cigars. Our day ended back at the resort, where we all got quickly to bed (except for me, because I wanted to get this done.) Sweet dreams!

As usual, the photos are up on Flickr in a set called ‘Florida 2006 – Day Four’.

We got up after a great night’s sleep. (Marriott’s are the best! Their beds rock, and everyone seems super friendly.) We then left for breakfast at Denny’s. Our party consisted of our great friend, Tawnya, her son (and hopefully my future son-in-law) Elijah, Tawnya’s father, Jennifer, Kiara and me. After breakfast, we departed for Universal Orlando (When did they drop the word ‘Studios’?). As we hit the exit, I spaced out and didn’t follow the lead vehicle, and I kept going on the freeway, so I had to get off on the next exit and double back. Once our vehicle arrived, we got our tickets (check out the deals online at Universal) and got right in line for a 30 minute wait for Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast. It seems that Universal Orlando has a different clock than the rest of us, or maybe we got caught in a ‘Back to the Future’ time warp, but the ’30 minutes’ lasted an hour. Anyways, after a fun ride and visit to Spongebob Squarepants, we met up with Curious George and Ted (the Man in the Yellow Hat). We then traveled on ‘Pimp my Ride’ type bikes to help out E.T. at E.T. Adventure. Next, we got on Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster. Following that, we headed over to MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack. Kiara missed this ride last year by a couple of inches, so she has been waiting for this for a year. She loved it! Elijah is an old pro at this ride, so he decided to skip this one. Elijah wanted to see Jaws, so we walked that way to get his picture with ‘his catch’. We then decided to head out for the day, but not before taking a picture with Jake and Elwood Blues (the Blues Brothers), and with Shaggy and Scooby-Doo.

In case anyone was wondering, being the wrestling fan that I am, and knowing that TNA Wrestling tapes their show here, I had to check, but alas, they’re not taping this week. Deep sigh.

Our next stop was back to the suite, and then to the grocery store to pick up some supplies. Then we headed back, made some dinner, and went to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

A reminder… You can check out the vacation photos on Flickr. Oh, and just to let you know… I did this update from the patio of the suite we’re in… Mostly sunny, with a temperature of 79 degrees.

After getting up and have a fine continental breakfast, we left the Super 8 in Valdosta, GA, and jumped back on I-75 south toward Florida. About 16 miles later, we hit ‘the motherland’, Florida. Our first stop once across the border was the Visitor Information Center, where we took some pictures, picked up some brochures, had a cup of free Florida grapefruit juice (except for Kiara… she’s allergic), played a little at their children’s area, and visited the restroom. Then we were off again.

Paula Dean from Food Network had an episode of her show where she talked about boiled peanuts. Jennifer and I both wanted to try some, so a few miles later, we had seen a sign for a gift shop where they sold boiled peanuts, so we stopped. They had real alligator heads for sale there! It was sort of neat to hold an actual alligator’s head in my hand, but it was creepy seeing the heads all lined up on this long table. I thought that I was in some sort of horror movie. Jennifer was freaked out, but Kiara was fascinated. (I see a therapy bill in my future for her.) This shop sold fruit and juice, the obligatory Florida gift shop items, and the hot boiled peanuts. We couldn’t decide if we wanted the ‘spicy Cajun’ or ‘regular’, so we got one of each. I mean, come on… Paula Dean likes them, so why wouldn’t we? Well, we found out why. They tasted like what they were…waterlogged peanuts. The texture was the part of it that Jennifer couldn’t get past. I didn’t mind as much, but I still didn’t see why people gush on about them. Kiara wanted to play with them more than eat them. Oh well, live and learn. Now we can say that we tried them.

When we got to Orlando, we drove around to find the Wal-Mart we knew about, and picked up some shorts for me (the washer and dryer keep shrinking mine…right!), other clothes, some food, and other miscellaneous items. We then stopped off at Hooter’s by the airport for some chicken strips and to watch the end of the Pistons/Bucks game. We then headed to the Orlando Airport Marriott, where we met up with our friends. We went up to our room, watched some Saturday Night Live (Robert Smigel, you’re a genius!), then went to bed.

Again, pictures can be found on Flickr.

Our trip actually started on Thursday evening with a fine dinner and a Cask-conditioned beer at Fort Street Brewery. (Brewmaster Doug… the ‘Bock and Blue’ needs to be on the regular menu!) After that, we got on I-75 heading south for Florida. We rode and rested and rode and rested and rode and rested. We traveled (and rested) for 16 hours! We stopped in Atlanta to visit the World of Coca-Cola, where I proceeded to try 41 different soft drinks in about 20 minutes! (Each glass was about 5 to 6 ounces, and I actually tried a few of them more than once.) We also tried Coke Blak, which is a fusion of Coca-cola and coffee. It’s like an old drink I used to get called a Bolt (not to be confused with Jolt Cola). Needless to say, my body was angry at me for a while. We then continued to travel to Valdosta, Georgia, where we stopped over for a well deserved night’s sleep at the Super 8 Motel. This morning, we are going to continue to Florida, and meet up with our friends, who will be flying in tonight.

If you want to see photos from day one of this trip, take a look at my Flickr page. I’m going to try to add descriptions as I go, and will have a new set of photos there each day.

Yes, I’m going to Florida. Yes, I’m going to be on vacation. Yes, I’m going to have a great time. The only thing that stinks is that I’m going to miss A TON of stuff:

– Tuesday, May 2nd: Detroit Notes Professionals (User Group) Spring DominoFest featuring Ed Brill, Rob Wunderlich and Lisa Sarkady (Ed, I’m going to have to give you a raincheck on the tour of Detroit.) Go to the website to register… Don’t miss this one!!!

– Thursday, May 4th: the world premiere of ‘Farmer’s Tan’ and ‘Otay’ at my favorite brewery, Fort Street Brewery

– Saturday, May 6th: National Homebrew Day (Big Brew). Usually there are things happening at Adventures in Homebrewing (my favorite homebrew store), but this year, Brewmaster Doug is brewing at Fort Street Brewery starting around 1PM. Another opportunity to brew with the master missed.

Of course, I’m also going to miss my family and friends…

My friend, Tawnya, asks a question on her blog based on a recent incident, "Is Superior Service Gone?" That’s a great question considering what happened to ‘the pride’ while out over the weekend.

We stopped off at McDonald’s to buy a quick dinner. Jennifer noticed that they had a ‘adult’ Happy Meal containing a new salad they had just released, a bottle of water and a DVD with some exercise routines. Jennifer ordered that, but when we sat down, she noticed that she had not received the DVD (per the signs…plural!) around the restaurant. She went to the front counter to inquire about the missing DVD, and the register person (who wasn’t getting Jennifer’s part of the order right to begin with) said, "Oh, we don’t have them yet." Jennifer sat down, dumbfounded, and asked me if, during the 6 plus years I worked for ‘the Golden Arches’, I ever placed a sign up promoting something that wasn’t available yet. I mentioned the number of times that we placed signs up early, but always placed a smaller sign on it mentioning when the promotion started, plus I made sure all of my cashiers knew to tell the customer before ordering that the promotion started at a later date. (It eliminated confusion with the customer.) By this time, Jennifer is angry, and wants to speak to a manager. It takes no less than 6 employees screaming for a good 3-4 minutes to get the manager (Barb) to ‘come out from her hiding place’ (the employee’s words, not mine) to talk to Jennifer. What Barb gave Jennifer is bunch of excuses on how she (Barb) doesn’t know why ‘they’ put up the sign. (Who’s ‘they’? Oh, that’s right… YOU, BARB… THE MANAGEMENT OF THE RESTAURANT!!!) Barb also stated that the DVDs would not be in until Tuesday. That’s all Barb said. Jennifer knew that she wasn’t going to get an apology or her money back for doing a fast food ‘bait-n-switch’, so she grabbed the receipt and would contact the regional office (right down the street from me right now) to get this settled. (I’ll keep you posted.)

I admit that I was taught about customer service very early in life (maybe too early), but it just seems like no one cares anymore about the customer. All Jennifer wanted was an apology and an explanation that wasn’t passing blame on someone else. So I will ask the same thing Tawnya did… Is Superior Service Gone?