so i just wanted to share a couple of great moments that happened while we were in florida for cha, but not necessarily at cha. my favorite thing about going to a show is getting to see friends that you don't get to see on a regular basis – one of my most treasured friends is carol duvall. she truly means so much to me and i respect her so much as one of the industries top icons. i remember being a guest many times on her show on hgtv "the carol duvall show" – man how i miss that show – good craft television if you ask me. well we got to have dinner together one night during the show and it was great fun – lots of laughs, sharing stories and memories, just good genuine conversation. there's nothing quite like an evening with friends…
and speaking of friends, we also got a chance to hang out with some other friends – chuck and michelle. i met michelle through the industry as well a few years ago and as we got to talking more and more my love for disney came up – imagine that? turns out that michelle's husband chuck works for disney and has for over 20 years! can you believe it? talk about my dream job! well michelle and i get to see each other during cha and we keep in touch occasionally via email in between the shows. i got to meet chuck during last cha anaheim when he came out to california to check out disneyland since he works at disneyworld and they mentioned that when cha is in orlando we should get together for dinner…
well plans were made, the date was set, and we met up with them on sunday night after the first night of set up for the show which also happened to be mario's birthday – perfect! they picked us up around 6:00 it was myself, mario, and our friend wendy too – we had dinner reservations for 8:45 – what to do for a couple of hours huh? we made our way to and were told that chuck had a "little something" planned for us. as we parked at the mgm lot we had several conversations during the drive about chuck's job, favorite attractions, etc. well if you're a disney nut like i am one of the best disney attractions at mgm is the tower of terror. sure disneyland has this ride as well, but trust me when i say it's totally different at disneyworld! anyways, we went to the ticket booth for mario to get his birthday button and of course he get's in free for his birthday – what a great thing for disney to do this year! then we were through the gates and into the park and headed straight for the tower. michelle had this look in her eyes that something cool was about to happen…
oh my gosh i can barely keep up with my fingers on this…. so we walked right past the line to get on to tower – yes, we walked in through the exit. i figured this was a cast member thing so right away, i was psyched! but then…down the hallway…stood 3 cast members waiting for us! my heart was beating out of my chest as i could only imagine what was in store for us? our own elevator car ride perhaps? or maybe the front row seating – like priority fast pass? nope…beyond all of that…BEYOND!
we were invited to get a behind the scenes look at the tower of terror! the ride, how it operates, the "tower control" room where they actually operate the ride, see everything on camera, the works – i was speechless! so without even a moment to let it sink in we were whisked away and through an unmarked door we went and then through another into the control room filled with monitors, a lit panel of buttons and switches and our journey began. we were told no photos or video of course, but trust me, i have played this moment back in my head so many times already! we are shown how the ride operates, explained the logistics and layout of this attraction and got to watch as many disney guests experienced the ride, it was so cool. of course i had so many questions about what made this one so different than disneyland and how this particular one seemed to move through the hotel – that's because it does! it actually loads from the back of the tower, goes up, moves forward through the hotel on a floor they call the 5th dimension, and then drops down the front of the tower – incredible! we were also told that there are 4 different ride experiences that are randomly selected by the computer as far as drop sequence, etc. so basically you can ride it may times and experience something totally different. truly disney magic!
then we got to go on a tour throughout the tower, inside the "belly of the beast" so to speak and travel down the hallways, check out the cast member breakroom (trust me, it was so cool for me!) and then we actually got to go outside the building along a catwalk as we made our way back downstairs to the font of the building. then, the most incredible experience of all for me was about to happen…
as the door opened i think i stopped breathing, i mean i was literally holding my breath when i stepped through the door and realized we were actually inside the front lobby of the tower hotel – we're talking totally inside the lobby BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE! you know, the lobby you wait in when you're in line for the ride! the lobby that is adorned with antiques and timeless nostalgia from the 1930's! the lobby that's strewn with cobwebs, stacked suitcases, and other elements of the past! we heard the stories of these artifacts and how so many of them were actually vintage. the detail disney put into this tower hotel lobby is unsurpassed in providing the ultimate experience for the guest. and then, there i was standing at the front desk, the check in desk, in the lobby of the tower hotel inside disneyworld – again BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE – where nobody is allowed! unreal, just a lifetime of memorable unrealness…
as we made our way around the lobby, we then stepped back behind a door, down more hallways, through other doors, and then we were at the elevator to actually go on the ride. seriously there were so many twist and turns, hallways and doors throughout that building one could get lost for days inside there – luckily we had a cast member with us the entire time – oh yes, and chuck knew it all like the back of his hand! okay, we be boarded the ride, all of us, even reluctant wendy who doesn't do rides – i told her she couldn't possibly see all we saw and not even experience what this ride was all about. and experience she did! mario's bruises prove it! she screamed the entire time – what a hoot! so as we stepped off and said our goodbyes, i just needed one more peek at the control room after our tour – all of which made a little more sense now, but honestly not much. i still don't understand how it all works, and the thrill and magic for me was not affected at all. so we were off to dinner but not before another quick ride on the rockin' roller coaster (wendy chose not to ride – shocker!). then we were off to dinner…
for those of you who don't know the tower of terror, here's something from youtube!
so of course after what we just experienced i was in a disney daze and who could think it could get any better! well chuck and michelle did. we went to dinner at ohana at the polynesian resort in disney for a wonderful hawaiian bbq meal. out table was right in font of this enormous glass window overlooking sheer darkness. the restaurant had a fun hawaiian theme and we enjoyed our meals and dessert of course! and then, as if chuck's watch was synced to disney time, he said to me "should be about now"…. and in that instance the hawaiian music piped through the restaurant was soon replaced by a familiar tune to my ears – the sounds of disney's fireworks! no sooner did my ears perk up when the panels of glass right in front of us and the skies around us lit up with spectacular pyrotechnics and even more disney magic! that's right, our table was the prime spot to watch the fireworks ignite over disneyworld's castle in fantasyland – just amazing! seriously, no detail of our evening was overlooked, no hint of the magic we had in store each moment was even spoken of, and no better people to share it with than the birthday boy himself, wendy, and our friends who took the time out of their lives to share an incredibly special evening with us. thank you once again my friends…t!m
