We were up bright and early and on the road before 8:00 a.m.  Our first stop was Carol’s parents where we dropped Zak off for the week.  He looked so sad as he peeked out through the rungs of a dining room chair!  He really tries to make us suffer when we leave him behind.

We were on the expressway by 8:30 and heading west toward Toronto in a driving rain with howling winds.  There were bands of storms, we would drive through one then get a bit of relief before we drove into the next.

We passed through Toronto in mid-morning and managed to miss most of the rush-hour congestion.  By lunchtime we were in our old home city of Burlington and we stopped for lunch at The Thistle, a fish and chip restaurant we really miss.  It was great as usual!  Back in the car and around the end of Lake Ontario – next stop Buffalo.  There was no line at the border and we scooted right through.

Carol had me track down all the Wallgreens stores in the Buffalo area – she was desperate to pick up some Disney themed Halloween inflatables to add to our display at Fort Wilderness in a few weeks.  So we began our trek through the Walgreen stores.  After only four stores (out of a few dozen in the area) she had filled her shopping list.  A “pirate” Mickey, a “bat” Mickey, and a Mickey faced inflatable – plus a few smaller items.  I’m sure you’ll see plenty of pictures in our next trip report, next month.

We checked into the Holiday Inn Express at Buffalo Airport by 3:00 p.m. and had a short rest after a long drive and some frantic shopping!

Carol has been anxious to try dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, so off we went to their restaurant at the Galleria Mall.  It was great, we both enjoyed it.

We were back to the hotel by 8:00 and I went for a soak in the hot tub while Carol caught up with e-mails and played on the computer.

We read and watched some TV until lights-out shortly after 10:00.  We have a 4:15 a.m. wakeup call so we can catch our 6:15 a.m. flight.  What was she thinking when she booked that?

Wednesday September 29

We opened our eyes simultaneously at 4:00 a.m.   “Are you going to get up and turn on the coffee?” She asked.  I just snorted and chuckled a bit, so she hopped up and took care of it.  I was shocked!  She must be excited; she never moves this quickly in the morning.  We were showered, dressed and in the lobby by 4:40 and the hotel shuttle had us to the airport by 5:00.

Good old Southwest . . . our flight left on schedule and landed on time as well.  We headed directly to the carousel to pick up our luggage.  As we approached Carol said she would send her mother a note letting her know we’d landed while I waited for the suitcases.  As she sat down on a nearby bench, the carousel started and our bags were number two and three in the line.  I was back with the luggage before she got the computer booted up.  There was no line at the Alamo desk and by 9:30 we were in our rental car and heading out to the hotel.  I guess this is what she was thinking when she booked that early flight!

Our first stop was our hotel, Port Orleans French Quarter.  We needed to get checked-in in order to get our voucher for seven-day park-hopper passes.  We planned to exchange them for Premiere Annual Passports.  Surprise, surprise, our room was ready at 10:00 a.m.   We didn’t bother going to the room, we headed off to Downtown Disney where we went directly to Guest Services and swapped our passes out.  They don’t do too many of the Premier Passports so it took a while.  We didn’t mind; we were pretty excited to pick them up.  They cover Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Quest and both the water parks.  They are good for any ticketed Disney venue.  As an added, and unexpected, benefit Carol has used them to get a 20% discount on almost everything she has purchased.

Lunch – why it was a sandwich at Earl’s of course and then we hopped in the car to make our way back to the hotel and unpack.  By 2:00 we were napping and by 4:00 we were on our way to EPCOT for our first Tagrel.com meet.  My arthritic old knees have been making me crazy lately so we stopped to rent an electric scooter.  I don’t want to slow the group down!

The plan was to head to the International Gateway at EPCOT and meet there before we began our “Eat, Drink And Be Mickey” trek.  We were going to walk through the various nations in the World Showcase, nibbling and tippling all the way.  As we were walking towards the meet spot we decided to duck into Canada to watch Marty. This show is so much better now. As we were leaving and making our way to the gateway our friend WillCAD and his father Bill caught up with us.  We carried on together and waited together for the rest of the group to arrive.  They straggled in; large groups and small.  Soon the gang was assembled; Carol and I, WillCAD, BillDAD, Tagrel, WDWNJ, Big Red, SusanL, BetsyAnn, Bookwood, Topaz, Robin, Lynner, Photographer, roodad, MinnieLor, sjh801, Carl, Danny, Martha and Briar Rose.  Along the way we were joined by Moley, Zeus, Ripkinsnana and MyBob. 

First stop was France where Carol joined the throng in slurping down some frozen concoction featuring ice, lemon and vodka.  We shared a sugar crepe and then the procession (a wee bit happier by this time) carried on to Japan where we split a teriyaki chicken plate and I had a beer.  Next stop was America where some folks scarfed down American food (burgers and fries).  Once the scarfing was over we headed on toward Mexico.  Carol dashed in to China and picked up egg rolls, which we split.  We made a brief dessert stop in Norway.  We split an order of School Bread – Yum!

Our international dining and imbibing extravaganza ended at Mexico where we split some nachos and I had another beer while Carol sipped a diet coke.  By this time people were lining the World Showcase Lagoon waiting for Illuminations to begin.  

We were dying for a dunk in the hot tub by this time, so we headed to the exit.  We dropped our friend Topaz off at Port Orleans Riverside.  We changed into our bating suits and joined WDWNJ and Big Red at the hot tub.  Oooohhhh!  It felt good!

After a relaxing soak we put on some dry clothes and headed to Scat Cat’s (the saloon at French Quarter) where John and I tested the quality of their single malt scotch.  Our tests were inconclusive, there were no definitive results so I expect the testing will continue!

We were having such a great time that we were totally surprised when they announced “last call”.  I haven’t been in a bar for last call in many years!  What a great first day!

Thursday September 30th

This was our last leisurely morning for a few days so we slept in.  I met John for breakfast at about 8:00 and then went back to the room and fiddled on the computer for a while.  Carol was up by then and getting ready.  We met John & Cathy at 10:00 and drove to the Polynesian Resort where we caught a launch to the Magic Kingdom.

No one started to pick on me until I picked up my electric scooter, then the name-calling started, “Scooter, Scooter, Scooter – neener, neener neener!”  Some friends hunh?

We made our way slowly back to Frontierland, taking pictures along the way.  We just love all the Halloween décor.  By 11:00 we had met up with the Tagrel.com gang on the bridge at Splash Mountain.  Bookwood gathered all our park passes and dashed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad where she picked up FastPasses for all of us.  Then we moved on to the standby line for Splash.  Carol stayed back to guard all the bags, packs and of course my dandy little scooter!  John picked out a strategic location for pictures and captured us all in motion!  I stayed fairly dry this time, but some of our group got quite a soaking.

After slip-slidin’ through our Laughin’ Place we reassembled and trekked on over to Big Thunder.  They managed to get all 19 of us in together one train and once again John was poised for pictures.  Johnny isn’t much for thrill rides; he considers It’s A Small World to be pretty perilous!

We left Big Thunder Mountain behind and made our way to Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Café for lunch.  Just can’t get enough of their “fixin’s bar”.  There’s just something special about a burger with fried onions and sautéed mushrooms.

After lunch we left the park, hopped the launch back to the Polynesian and drove back to the hotel.  Along the way we swung into the Fort Wilderness Campground to see the restored rail car a camper has on display.  The Fort Wilderness Railroad was shut down years ago and most of the cars have gone to the scrap heap.  One was rescued by a Disney fan who is also a Railroad buff and he has restored it to its former glory.  Wow! 

Back at the hotel we met up with John and Cathy at the pool for a while and soon the sandman was calling us back to the room.

After our siesta we hopped in the car and hurried back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.  We met the gang at Crystal Palace for a group dinner with Winnie the Pooh and his pals.  

After dinner Carol dashed off to Frontierland where she lined up to buy some special Halloween Party pins.  The rest of us meandered over to the Haunted Mansion (with a trick or treat stop along the way).  There was a special show on at the entry to the mansion so we paused to enjoy a few minutes of it before our ride.  Surprisingly, the ride was a walk on even though it was a Halloween Party.

We carried on trick or treating and noticed the short line at Peter Pan so over we went.  I asked a cast member where I should park my scooter and she said, “Park it over there and then take your entire party in the back entrance.”  Wow!  This was better than a FastPass.  Everyone was saying, “Thank you Gary!”  Of course, once the ride was over it was back to, “Scooter, Scooter, Scooter – neener, neener neener!”

We walked behind the castle and through Toontown then walked the trail from the Toontown Train Station to Tomorrowland.  There were trick or treat stations all along the way.  Our bags were beginning to bulge, so we started two fresh ones.

For a change of pace we hopped on the Wedway/TTA for a great circle tour of Tomorrowland.  As we exited we noticed there was no line for Buzz Lightyear so we took put on our space ranger hats and took a spin.

It was almost time for the Hallowishes fireworks so we made our way over to Casey’s Corner, the best vantage point in the park.  What a fabulous display, it’s our favourite of all the firework shows.

We made a few more trick or treat stops on our way over to Liberty Square where we found a great spot to wait for Mickey’s Boo To You Parade.  This is our favourite parade, we just love the dancing grave-diggers, the hitchhiking ghosts and the skeleton band.

Once the parade was over we decided it was time to call it a night.  We made our way toward the exit, picked up a few more treats along the way, and left the park at about 11:30.  We were at the resort by 12:00 – lights out at 12:01.  Gotta be up and rolling for rope-drop tomorrow!

Friday October 1

Morning came early.  Ouch!  We were up at first light and soon making tracks for Hollywood Studios for a marathon meet – Toy Story Midway Mania followed by Tower of Terror then Rock N Roller Coaster.  We met hooked up and very kindly gave John and Cathy a lift.  How did they repay our kindness?  Just wait, the story will unfold!

We stopped at Oscar’s Garage where I picked up my electric scooter and then rushed off to Toy Story. We assembled our group near Toy Story and soon about 30 of us joined the standby line.  It’s always fun to ride as a group, chatting your way through the lines.  This time there a few “first timers” with us and that adds to the fun.  It’s always a treat to see someone else experience the magic for the first time.

After spinning through Andy’s bedroom and playing with all his toys we stopped for a coffee and a bite at Starring Rolls before continuing on to Tower of Terror.  Pam (Bookwood) had rushed ahead to pick up FastPasses for everyone who wanted to ride Rock N Roller Coaster

I parked the scooter at a handy location just outside the TofT entrance.  There was no line what so ever, it was a “walk-on”.  When the cast member heard the size of our group, shrugged, pointed to the “line-up” area and said, “Pick your seats.”  So we all got to ride where we liked.  Bonus.  When we exited the ride there was still no line so most of us looped back around to the entry and rode again.  Great!

It was at this point in the day that the fecal matter struck the ventilation equipment!  When I returned to pick up my scooter I found that it had been desecrated.  My manly chariot was now festooned with pink balloons and streamers.  A sign on the front introduced me as “Princess Poopyknees”.  There were three signs on the back, one read “I’m Not Handicapped, I’m Canadian”, the second read “Baby Stroller Wrecker Aboard” and the third had a picture of my ruggedly handsome face, wearing a tiara over the words “God Save The Queen”.  Oh yes, there was a stuffed Canadian beaver (named Beaverly) in the carrier basket.  It just breaks my heart when friends turn vicious!

After my traitorous former friends posed me for a few photos I hurried over to Rock N Roller Coaster and caught up with the rest of the gang.  We had a great ride.  Carol doesn’t like Rock N Roller Coaster so she volunteered to guard my scooter.  I don’t know why, I think it was pretty much theft-proof.

After RNR Coaster we were heading back to the hotel, so I took the scooter over close to 50’s Prime Time Café to park it for the afternoon.  I would pick it up in a few hours when we came back for our dinner at Prime Time.

As I was parking it, a man came over and leaned out over the fence I was backing up to.  While he was peering hard to read the signs on the back of my estrogen-dripping chariot the camera hanging around his neck bashed into the fence a few times. 

“Not amusing!” he said.  

I replied, “Don’t worry, it’s just my friends having a bit of fun with me.” 

“It’s not at all amusing,” he said again, “I’m Canadian!”

I told him, “I’m Canadian too!”

“Never would have thought so!” he snorted as stomped away!

I think Captain Canuck needs to lighten up a bit!

We headed back and had a restful afternoon at the hotel.  By 5:00 we were back, and as I suspected, no one had tampered with my scooter.  But hey, who would?

Our gang was soon assembled for dinner.  We had 24 people at three different tables and a good time was had by all.  The cast members always make it entertaining at this restaurant and tonight was no exception.  

By the time we finished dinner it was after 7:00 and the park had closed for the evening.  Carol and I headed off in the car to find a WalGreens and see if we could locate a magazine that was featuring an article about Fort Wilderness. Our Zak dog was pictured in it. We didn’t have any luck with the magazine but Carol was able to get some cold medicine. Then it was time to head to the Beach Club for the Tagrel.com gift exchange.

There were about 20 folks there for the exchange and we had a great time in the Solarium as the gifts changed hands again and again.  Sometimes the “stealing” gets pretty intense!  During the festivities Linda, Moley and Sandy surprised us (on behalf of the whole Tagrel group) with some touching tributes to our dear friend and loyal Tagrel Guard Dog Zoë, who we lost last month.   Thank you so much guys.  How is it that people can break your heart by desecrating your scooter and then touch your heart so deeply just a few hours later?  Thanks again guys!

The gift exchange wrapped up about 10:00 p.m. and we were back home by 10:30, tired after a long day!

Saturday October 2

Rope drop again.  Who’s in charge of planning this stuff?  We were up and rolling at 7:00 a.m., had a quick coffee at the Sassagoula Float Works and hit the road at 8:15.  Today’s destination was Animal Kingdom where we planned to take a Safari ride and then scale Mount Everest.

We met at the entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris while Bookwood ran to Expedition Everest for FastPasses.  Soon she was back and about 30 of us hopped in the standby line for our safari.  There was some sort of breakdown ahead of us so we had a short wait, but once we started moving again it was a slow ride so we had plenty of time to snap pictures.  The driver stopped several time to let us get clear shots.  We stopped and watched a very curious young giraffe.  He was intrigued by an eland who was lifting a stick with his horns.  Then we had a chance to stop and see the new baby elephant.  It was a great safari!

We hiked from Africa across to Asia and encountered DeVine along the way.  She had attracted such a huge crowd that it was difficult to get by.

We all rode Everest as a group and then most of us hopped in the “single rider” line and rode again to have another “close encounter of the Yeti kind” .

We still had an hour before lunch so a bunch of us decided to go watch the Flight’s of Wonder show. It is always the same but still one of our favorites. When they asked for volunteers to go up on stage and take a picture of the owl in flight both Carol and Margaret were selected. After the show we all headed over to Flame Tree Barbecue for lunch. We were a little early but everyone was hungry so it worked out well.

We took over one of the shaded seating areas beside Flame tree and had it pretty much to ourselves.  We lingered quite a while after lunch, our time together is winding down and we stayed and chatted for a while.  A bunch of us decided that we needed to cool off with a plunge down Kali River Rapids, so off we went.  Carol spent some time shopping while I got soaked!  Really soaked!

We met up again and headed to the parking lot. We headed back to the hotel where we had a nap and I got into some dry clothes.

We left POFQ a bit early for our dining reservation at EPCOT’s Le Cellier, hoping to wander around a bit, but it was too crowded.  It was the Saturday night and the second day of the food and wine festival.  The place was jammed.  We went slowly, but directly, to Le Cellier and waited in air-conditioned comfort.  The cast members conducted a trivia quiz while we waited; questions about Canada.  The Tagrel group did quite well, we barely had to do any coaching. 

Dinner was terrific as usual.  Once again we lingered and chatted, not really wanting to leave, but finally the time came.  We had to get to Port Orleans Riverside for our date with YeeHaw Bob.  Carol dropped me off at Riverside and went on to French Quarter where she went directly to bed.  She was feeling pretty crumby with a cold.

I grabbed a table in the saloon and soon YeeHaw Bob arrived.  He’s a high-energy entertainer who gets everyone involved in the show.  He plays piano, sings, stomps his feet, claps, blows a horn and has everyone beating their chests, howling, singing, clapping, stomping, marching and having a great time.  Soon Daddio and Cathio joined me, followed by BetsyAnn and SusanL.  We had a good time, but by 10:00 the sandman had located me and it was time to go.  Betsy and Susan drove me over to French Quarter where I flopped into bed beside Carol.  Lights out – flood the rink!  (That’s a Canadian expression – it means Game Over!)

Sunday October 3

Enough of this rope drop stuff!  Well, at least this is the last one!  By 8:15 we were in the car heading out to “The EPCOT Death March” . . . the itinerary was Soarin’, coffee and a snack at Sunshine Seasons, Test Track and Spaceship Earth.

We all met near the entrance to Soarin’ and 25 of us joined the standby line at once.  It was a short wait but we chattered our way through and all too soon we were at the boarding area.  We filled all but three seats on the same pod of seats and as a bonus they gave us the “B Pod” in the middle.  

After our California fly-over we stopped for a group picture where WDWNJ got some great shots of the back of our heads!  Then it was on to the Sunshine Seasons food court next door where we spent about 45 minutes yakking, slurping and eating.

Somehow we managed to keep the group together all the way across Future World and we all arrived together at Test Track.  Once again the line moved too quickly and then it was Clickedy-clack, bumpedy-bump followed by zoom zoom!

Last stop was Spaceship Earth.  We occasionally laugh that we should all hold onto a rope as we walk around the parks, but once again we kept the group intact.  We stopped at one point for stragglers to catch up and Carol managed to get a picture of BetsyAnn, Briar Rose and I in our scooters, three abreast, blocking traffic!  I hate it when others do that, but it just happened so easily and we were so unaware of it.  I guess I’ll be a little more understanding of others in the future . . . no, probably not!  

We arrived at Spaceship Earth and about 20 of us joined the line at the same time.  We really enjoy this attraction, which our pal WDWNJ refers to as “The Great Make-Out Ride” . . . by the way, we noticed that WDWNJ was riding with AmyMouse!    Hmmmmm!

This time Carol chose the “Health” option for the little video they put you in at the end of the ride.  When the video started and we saw her spring out of bed and prance around, full of pep, first thing in the morning we howled with laughter!  That just doesn’t happen!  Never will!  That video is a keeper so we e-mailed it home.

Click the image above to watch the video!

Some of our Tag friends decided to ride Mission Space after Spaceship Earth, but our time had come to leave.  There were some hugs, tears and sad farewells before we left Spaceship Earth.  We probably won’t make it to Tag-O-Mania next year so it will be quite some time before we see many of these friends again.  

We made a few quick shopping stops on the way back to the hotel and then had a leisurely afternoon.  We both had a nap and then Carol joined me at the hot tub.  She stretched out in a lounge chair while I soaked away some aches and pains.

Soon we were cleaned up and heading out for dinner at ‘Ohana.  John and Cathy and their children Lizzie and Chris joined us.  We had a wonderful meal and a great time with friends.  We lingered long after dinner (and a second serving of bread pudding) was finished.  I think John & Cathy were feeling the same as Carol and I, we didn’t want the vacation to end.

We agreed to meet at the hot tub back at French Quarter and we had just arrived when they showed up.  Naturally the relaxing soak in the tub had to be followed by a nightcap – a nice single malt at Scat Cat’s Lounge.

We said our final good-byes about 11:00 and headed to the room where we crashed and burned!

Monday October 4

Hooray, no rope drop today.  This is our day to relax and unwind after running around like maniacs during Tag-O-Mania.  I slept in until 7:20 and Carol rolled out of the sack about 8:00.  We savoured a few cups of coffee in the room and then headed down to the food court where we sat outside and did some people watching while we enjoyed coffee and muffins.  John and Cathy soon wandered by with their luggage.  After they had checked it in with Southwest (what a great service to have at the hotel) they joined us.  We talked some more about our Panama cruise coming up in January, and then it was time to be on our way.

By 10:00 we were walking in to Typhoon Lagoon for a day of sun, sand and surf.  Carol dashed ahead to find us a spot with shade for me and sun for her.  I dragged my ratty old knees along behind!  Soon we had our gear spread out on our chairs and lounges and off we went to the wave pool.  After that giant wave tossed us around a dozen times we took a break and sat reading and people watching.

After a brief recharge we grabbed a tube and took a float around the lazy river, very relaxing!  After one lap of the water park  we sat and dripped off for a few minutes, then walked over to Leaning Palm’s for a bite of lunch.

Back at our little personal Shangri-la we sat some more and then I headed back to the wave pool.  Carol had been buffeted around enough.  Soon we headed back to the lazy river for another bobbing trip around the park.  Once back to our chairs we dripped off a bit and then wandered over to Crushin’ Gusher.  I hoped that there was enough left in my knees to get me to the top once and sure enough there was.  We took a wild ride down Pineapple Plunge!  Carol refused to ride with me . . . I wonder why?

By 2:00 we were pooped and we had had enough sun so we had a quick shower in the change rooms and headed back to the hotel.  Naps ensued!

Our dinner reservation was at Raglan Road so at 3:30 we hopped in the car and headed to Downtown Disney.  We headed to Disney Quest, in the West End.  This five-story complex is jammed packed full of video games, virtual reality experiences and lots of other stuff.  We have never stopped here before, but since it is covered by our new Premiere Passports we thought we’d look in.  Wow, in very short order Carol and were going head to head in the Mighty Duck’s Pinball Game.  Ouch - It’s hard on the knees!  Then we moved on to another area where I wrecked some race cars.  All too soon our dinner time was approaching so it was time to leave.  We’ll be back to Disney Quest!

This was our second dinner at Raglan Road, and once again we were disappointed.  The food was okay, but there are so many places at Walt Disney World that we really enjoy, we will not be rushing back to Raglan Road.

After dinner we headed to the Magic Kingdom to see the Main Street Electrical Parade.  As soon as we arrived we rode the train all the way around the park, then we headed to Adventureland and boarded the Jungle Cruise.  Full of corny jokes, we carried on to Liberty Square and found a spot in front of the Tavern to watch the parade.  We spent about a half hour chatting with a family of die-hard Disney fans from San Antonio, and then it was parade time.  We both love this parade, the music is so bouncy and catching.

After the parade we wandered through Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan before heading to Tomorrowland.  Wishes was underway as we boarded the WEDway People Mover and we enjoyed the fireworks during our ride.  We walked past Buzz Lightyear but the line was too long.  We ducked over to Main Street, through the Tomorrowland Terrace.  There were so many people leaving the park after Wishes that Main Street was blocked and they were detouring people through the back entrance behind the Plaza.  We decided to stop and linger over an ice cream.  It was 11:30 when we finally left the Magic Kingdom – way past our bedtime!

Tuesday October 5

Woohoo – Carol and I both slept until 8:00.  We took it slow this morning.  Carol finished up the packing and we hauled the bags down to the resort lobby where we checked them in with Southwest. 

Then we were off to Animal Kingdom.  We arrived about 9:45 and meandered over to the Tree of Life and enjoyed It’s Tough To Be A Bug.

We slowly made our way to Camp Minnie-Mickey for the 11:00 Festival Of The Lion King Show.  This high energy musical is always entertaining! 

Then we wandered back to Africa and took another tour with Kilimanjaro Safaris.  There were plenty of animals out and we had a great view of the baby elephant as he tried to climb over a fallen tree. 

We got to Tusker House just in time for our 12:45 lunch reservation.  After a great meal we were undecided what to do, so we took a slow trip across to Asia , hoping to see DeVine.  She was not out, so we ducked in to see another show at Flights Of Wonder.  Carol was selected (for the fourth time) to sit on the stage for the owl’s flight.  This time she managed to get a picture which included the owl . . . practice makes perfect!

Alas, it was time to leave the park and head to the airport.  We gassed up the rental car and dropped it off then checked in for our flight and headed to the departure gate.  Our flight was delayed about 15 minutes, but we were in the air by 7:10 and had an uneventful flight.  Yes, of course there was a screaming child, but this time she was about 6 rows back.

We were walking off the plane in Buffalo by 9:50, quickly grabbed our luggage and hopped in the hotel shuttle to pick up our car.  We arrived at the Buffalo/Fort Erie Peace Bridge Border Crossing at 10:30 and there were no cars in sight.  They asked the normal questions:

“Where do you live?”

“ Kingston .”

“How long have you been away?”

“A week.”

“Are you bringing back any alcohol or tobacco?”

"No.”

“Do you know Danny Johnson?”

“No.”

“Welcome home and drive safely!”

Traffic was light and after a couple of Tim Horton stops we pulled into our driveway at 2:05 a.m. 

It was a great trip, lots of fun . . . but now we need to rest!

Random Thoughts

1. Why do we have so many meets at rope-drop?  Of course we do it to avoid long lines and waits . . . but much of the fun at the meets is the time we spend chatting with our friends.  Most of the chatter takes place while we are in line.  Do we need to re-think the rope-drop strategy?

2. Sunday night, as we were leaving the Polynesian after dinner, I stopped for a brief job in the men’s room.  I couldn’t help but notice the man at the urinal next to me.  He was busily texting with both hands.  My first reaction was to check my shoes . . . nope, still dry!  Then I started thinking - What message is so important that it can’t wait one minute until he finishes his business? – The person receiving the message, do they know what was going on while he composed it? – Was he sending someone a picture, and if so, what picture?  So what are your thoughts on urinal texting?

3. I’m the last one who should be commenting about overweight people but . . . shouldn’t there be signs posted at Typhoon Lagoon stipulating that if you weigh more than 300 pounds you are not allowed to wear a thong?