kevin_standlee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kevin_standlee) wrote2006-08-23 12:33 am
kevin_standlee) wrote2006-08-23 12:33 am
Entry tags:
Arrgh, My Feet
The original plan for today was for us to stay at California Adventure until only 5 PM or so; however, the plans changed over time. CA was less busy than Disneyland. This actually led to us wanting to ride things more, because the queues were shorter. We ended up riding California Screamin' three times. I found myself appreciating the coaster more on the third run-through. We went through the Tower of Terror twice, and as luck would have it, we ended up on the second trip in the half of the ride we hadn't been in on the first run.
We did head over to Disneyland for our 1:10 lunch reservation at the Blue Bayou. The crowds were thick, but the Pirates of the Caribbean was empty. Aha: they'd shut the ride down, and the crowd milling about were all of the people who had been dumped from the queue. Arriving at the restaurant, I asked if we could get a riverside seat -- I'd neglected to ask this ten years ago when Lisa and I visited during our honeymoon, and she's never let me forget that they seated us somewhere around Fantasyland. They said it would be an extra wait. I was willing. As luck would have it, they seated us five minutes early! The food was pretty good, too, including one of the better Key Lime Pies I've had. (I couldn't have had that except that my blood sugar has been stable in the safe region lately, and all that walking around in the parks has kept it under control.)
As we ate our lunch, we watched various cast members walking around through the backdrops of the section of Pirates on which the restaurant sits. I noticed that the water suddenly started running faster and said to Lisa, "I think they've restarted the ride." Sure enough, soon after that came empty boats, and about fifteen minutes after that, full boats.
After lunch, we headed back over to the Convention Center, and ran across![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bovil and kproche and his sister, Kelly. We had crossed paths with them at the start of the day, and they had the same idea I had of registering this afternoon. I was much taken by the coincidence that Kevin's sister's name is Kelly, on account of my sister's name is Kelli. We all went to Program Participant Registration and checked in. There had been delays in program participant packet production, so people whose names started with "S" and later had to wait a little longer, but not that long. Taking our registration materials back to the room, we headed back to California Adventure for the second and third cracks at the roller coaster and second crack at the Tower of Terror.
Coming out of the Tower of Terror after our second run, I asked the cast member running that portion of the ride, who had made a funny crack, "Do they hold you to a rigid script?"
She said, "No, I pretty much say whatever comes into my head."
I told her that I appreciated her humor. Indeed, Lisa and I did come away very happy from these two days of dealing with pleasant people who seemed to enjoy their jobs and did them well, rather than surly people who act like they're doing us a big favor by noticing that we're trying to give them money for a service. I know Disney works hard to develop that attitude among their employees, and I'm glad of it. I wish more people had such a good attitude.
I will spare you all further discussion of amusement park rides, other than to say that the twists and turns of Mullholland Drive may be good preparation for the Business Meeting. Also, while wrapping my little toes in Band-Aids kept them from blistering, I've ended up with blisters on other parts of my feet instead. Normally I don't have blisters on my feet until the end of Worldcon. Ouch! If you see me limping about the stage at the Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, you'll know that I'm not acting.
We did head over to Disneyland for our 1:10 lunch reservation at the Blue Bayou. The crowds were thick, but the Pirates of the Caribbean was empty. Aha: they'd shut the ride down, and the crowd milling about were all of the people who had been dumped from the queue. Arriving at the restaurant, I asked if we could get a riverside seat -- I'd neglected to ask this ten years ago when Lisa and I visited during our honeymoon, and she's never let me forget that they seated us somewhere around Fantasyland. They said it would be an extra wait. I was willing. As luck would have it, they seated us five minutes early! The food was pretty good, too, including one of the better Key Lime Pies I've had. (I couldn't have had that except that my blood sugar has been stable in the safe region lately, and all that walking around in the parks has kept it under control.)
As we ate our lunch, we watched various cast members walking around through the backdrops of the section of Pirates on which the restaurant sits. I noticed that the water suddenly started running faster and said to Lisa, "I think they've restarted the ride." Sure enough, soon after that came empty boats, and about fifteen minutes after that, full boats.
After lunch, we headed back over to the Convention Center, and ran across
bovil and kproche and his sister, Kelly. We had crossed paths with them at the start of the day, and they had the same idea I had of registering this afternoon. I was much taken by the coincidence that Kevin's sister's name is Kelly, on account of my sister's name is Kelli. We all went to Program Participant Registration and checked in. There had been delays in program participant packet production, so people whose names started with "S" and later had to wait a little longer, but not that long. Taking our registration materials back to the room, we headed back to California Adventure for the second and third cracks at the roller coaster and second crack at the Tower of Terror.Coming out of the Tower of Terror after our second run, I asked the cast member running that portion of the ride, who had made a funny crack, "Do they hold you to a rigid script?"
She said, "No, I pretty much say whatever comes into my head."
I told her that I appreciated her humor. Indeed, Lisa and I did come away very happy from these two days of dealing with pleasant people who seemed to enjoy their jobs and did them well, rather than surly people who act like they're doing us a big favor by noticing that we're trying to give them money for a service. I know Disney works hard to develop that attitude among their employees, and I'm glad of it. I wish more people had such a good attitude.
I will spare you all further discussion of amusement park rides, other than to say that the twists and turns of Mullholland Drive may be good preparation for the Business Meeting. Also, while wrapping my little toes in Band-Aids kept them from blistering, I've ended up with blisters on other parts of my feet instead. Normally I don't have blisters on my feet until the end of Worldcon. Ouch! If you see me limping about the stage at the Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, you'll know that I'm not acting.