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While we sat outside the Old Faithful club eating breakfast, one of the cast members brought us our tickets for that evening´s show of La Nouba. But the catch was that our dinner reservations were mistakenly made. You see, we had the Disney Dining Plan, and it was our understanding that Wolfgang Puck´s was on the plan, so we made reservations for upstairs. But now we found out that upstairs was not on the dining plan, but downstairs was. However, downstairs was booked. It was suggested that we try just explaining, but there was no guarantee that we´d have seats. We asked where else we could go, and our Concierge told us that if we didn´t get into Wolfgang´s, we should walk a little ways down onto Raglan Road. Having heard so much good about it on the podcasts, I asked them to make us reservations - just in case. Problem solved.
Because we did have tickets to the 6:30 La Nouba, we didn´t want to tax ourselves too much, so we headed downstairs to catch a bus for MGM Studios. This was one problem area. Apparently the driver of the bus we were supposed to catch was diverted at the last minute, and it took two phone calls to the dispatch center before (some 40 minutes later) an MGM Studios bus finally arrived. Fortunately it was still before 9 a.m., and the park hadn´t opened yet.
As we wandered the streets of MGM Studios, this time without our honeymoon ears, we were still congratulated by many cast members, as we still had our buttons (good tip - if you have a button for something and don´t want holes in your shirt - try your pin lanyard! It works!) The park wasn´t crowded, so we ambled rather slowly - Great Movie Ride (always fun), Muppets 3-D (a great show - Amber loved the comedy/tragedy Fozzie masks) and Star Tours made up our circle of the left side of the park. Star Tours did upset Amber´s stomach a little bit, so we decided to take it a little easier for awhile.
We crossed the park and headed into Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Play it! Now I am a huge game show fan - I´ve always wanted to be on one. But alas - today wasn´t my day (don´t frown - there´s good news later). But watching the show was a blast for me - it was hugely fun! Next we visited the oft-overlooked "Magic of Disney Animation" attraction - which I, as a Disney art fan, truly loved - adored really. Especially since I am now the proud owner of the Ink and Paint Department´s Limited Edition cel: "Studio Stories", which honors the three films animated completely at MGM (Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, and Brother Bear). The newest cel, to be released in May 2006, is also on my "must-have" list - Jedi Mickey.
After this we headed over to Sunset Boulevard and stopped for lunch at the burger counter. Now we had decisions to make. We still wanted to see several things, but we wanted to leave for the Lodge by 3 p.m. to get changed for Cirque at 6:30. All Amber really wanted to see that was left was the Beauty and the Beast stage show. I, on the other hand, wanted to experience the Tower of Terror (having missed it in 1996). Amber knew it would be too much for her, so she decided to come with me and take the chicken exit.
There was literally no line, and I didn´t get to spend much time in the lobby - but what I did get to appreciate was magnificent. Truly Disney magic at it´s best. The Library scene made my pulse quicken, and I´ll admit to being slightly scared. It was at this point that Amber turned to me and said: "Alright, I´ll try it." I was shocked, but pleasantly surprised. Thank goodness she came, because the actual ride scared the bejeebers out of me! I think I broke two of her fingers from squeezing. But, the ride was easily one of my new favorites - I mean - what Disney did with a simple drop ride is nothing short of incredible. The art - the theming - and then thrill of the outside light showing me that my pin lanyard was literally hovering over my head as we fell!
Then it was off to Beauty and the Beast. Great auditorium - great show - but the show stealers for me (Amber loves Beauty and the Beast, so she loved the main show) was the pre-show acapella group. These guys were great! And they were more than just singers - they were funny! The show itself was a knockout of fun and music - but the pre-show guys were an unexpected surprise.
Now, unfortunately, it was time to head back to the Lodge. We didn´t quite see everything we´d wanted to, but we still had time. A quick bus ride, shower, and rest break, and we were back on a bus to Downtown Disney to see La Nouba. When we got there, it was quite windy and starting to get rather chilly - in addition, I was nursing the mother of all blisters, so the walk from the bus drop off to the Cirque area was somewhat uncomfy, but we made it just fine. When we entered the auditorium, we were both awestruck. What an amazing venue. We´d both seen Cirque in Vegas a number of times, but this was truly cool. The cast member who sat us, told us we had two of the best seats (the first row of the upper level - center stage) and he didn´t lie. But shortly after seating, we got another surprise.
 The cast member who sat us appeared with two glasses of champagne for us, compliments of La Nouba for our honeymoon. As well, we received two Cirque red clown noses, and an out of print program for us to take home as a wonderful memento. What a nice surprise! In addition, if you haven´t seen La Nouba - go get tickets...now. I´ll wait.
There - now that you have tickets - I don´t want to spoil the show for you. So I won´t tell you anything. Just kidding! This is a great Cirque show filled with wonder and celebration (which is what La Nouba translates to: Celebration)! The little girls from China, however, stole the show, as I´m sure they do every night. Just make sure you see it with someone you love - it´s a truly romantic experience to see Cirque together.
A short walk later, we strolled into Wolfgang Puck´s and chatted with the host. He quickly found us a table downstairs and we had probably our most mediocre eating experience of the trip. The food wasn´t anything special, and we had been spoiled by Cirque and Cinderella - no fanfare at Wolfgang´s. All things considered - next time: Raglan Road. But hey - nobody´s perfect.
March 8th
This morning we would head out to EPCOT for the day. I´ve always enjoyed EPCOT, and I knew Amber would like it (what with her being a scientist and all) - so we decided to see if we could take down all of Future World in one day. We succeeded!
We started by taking a look at the Leave a Legacy statues, which if you´ve never really stopped to look at - are quite impressive and fun. Then the classic Spaceship Earth. Turning to the left side of the park, we ambled through Innoventions, which did not really impress us much. I miss Communicore and the talking robot (what was his name again?). But we strolled through and hit Ellen´s Energy Adventure.
Now for an underused attraction (it was at about 10% capacity when we were on it - at most) - I really enjoyed it - as did Amber, since she´s an environmental scientist. I´ve always enjoyed this ride, since it´s very `edu-magical´. But nothing could have prepared me for how much Amber and I enjoyed our next outing: Test Track.
It was a first for us both, and Amber really enjoyed it - in fact, I think it was her favorite thing at EPCOT in it´s entirety. She wasn´t even upset when it stole her sunglasses (when they say hang on to them - they mean it). The entrance queue could use a little work, but didn´t have a line, and so we didn´t have a chance to check it out a lot - but the ride itself is pure enjoyment. Lots of fun. We both chickened out of Mission: Space, and skipped it entirely - maybe next time.
A quick stop at MouseGear for a new set of sunglasses, and we were off to the right side of Future World. First stop? The Land. Now here was something cool: as we approached the pavilion, a cast member called out to us. He told us congrats, similar to others, and handed us a phone. Mickey and Minnie proceeded to make us smile and laugh with wedding wishes! And then the cast member gave us two free fast passes for Soarin´, which we immediately used to skip the 50+ minute line (this was the only long line we saw all week, really). How cool? And how cool is Soarin´? Easily my favorite Future World new experience. What a ride. Loved the music - and the orange smell!
As Amber is an environmental scientist, and I knew she´d love Livin´ with the Land, we grabbed fastpasses, and had lunch. Then we still had time to see the "Circle of Life" show - which was a bit preachy, but fun, and then boarded our boat for our tour of the greenhouses. Mickey shaped pumpkins. Cool!
Now we were off to my favorite pavilion of all: Imagination! I´ve been a figment fan for as long as I can remember and I was distressed to see the state of my little purple friend. The ride was...well...okay. But I have one major complaint: Figment. When he was created the last ingredient was childish delight, but now he´s more of a mischievous imp - causing trouble and being near malicious. That´s just not him. But Honey I Shrunk the Audience - now that was fun - Amber got scared at the ground shaking!
We decided to save the Living Seas, and head back to the Lodge for now - we´d be back soon (like in two hours). Upon our return, we headed straight for the Living Seas (we had dinner reservations with the Coral Reef - Amber´s a water NUT). Okay - Turtle Talk - simply the coolest use of technology I´ve seen in a long while. Both of us were laughing and had a great time! Now to the Coral Reef.
As we were being seated, we watched a man propose to his girlfriend - complete with scuba helper. How cool! And she said yes. Then our menus came, and they were personalized menus! They had the menu, and an artists drawing of two kissing fish above which it read: "Happy Honeymoon Mr. and Mrs. Dichter". How cool of a keepsake is that? We met a nice couple at the next table who bought us our wine, and it turned out they were celebrating their 10th anniversary. Amber´s favorite restaurant by far - and a great dining and romantic experience. What a great end to a fantastic day.
Look for part 3 coming soon!
Photos by Jonathan Dichter
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