Monday, August 21, 2023
We woke up at 7 to get the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy and discussed how long we could go back to sleep. The estimated time for our ride was 11, so I said 8:45 and Keith said 8:30, and I agreed that 15 extra minutes of sleep wasn’t worth rushing. Keith went immediately to sleep. I took about half an hour, but I got there. I woke up about 8:15 and read. I didn’t want to start packing and wake Keith, and I already showered at night – because weather like we have been having does not make for clean people at the end of the day.
I was reading along, waiting for Keith’s alarm. I decided to check the virtual queue and it said our wait time to be called was approximately 30 minutes – and it was 8:42! Keith decided that extra 15 minutes sounded pretty good.
So, there was a scurry. It didn’t matter one iota if we missed the ride, but why not try?! You have an hour slot, then a 15-minute grace period. We got there at 10:10 (almost an hour before it originally told us!!), ten minutes late for our grace period, and they were all nice and let us in. We thoroughly enjoyed our ride.
We had a leisurely lunch, then went to World Showcase. We listened to the Voices of Liberty and went to the American Adventure. Rob went earlier in the week and didn’t care for its up-with-America-America-is-great vibe at the end, since it’s 2023 and everything isn’t so rosy. They have updated the movie periodically by adding new events to the movie over the past 40 years since it opened, but the general flavor remains the same. I have been thinking about his review, since the American Adventure has always been a very favorite. I watched and listened today, wondering if it would hit me differently. It didn’t. I still loved it.
As we were walking out, toward the big ramp out of the theater, there was a 12ish-year-old boy (on his own) crawling on the floor. Once everyone was mostly down the ramp, he started doing a log roll down the ramp. I snapped a quick picture and sent it to the family text, saying “Thanks for not being the kid that rolls out of the American Adventure.” Alexander replied immediately, “There’s still time.” Benjamin chimed in with, “Yep, don’t count it out.”
We got back to the hotel with plenty of time to get ready to go. And by that, I mean showering! After sweating around the park all day, I couldn’t imagine sitting on the plane in those clothes, so I packed fresh clothes in my carryon, and we went to the pool restroom to shower and get cleaned up. It was one of the nicest showers I’ve ever had. We shared a Dole Whip, wrote a postcard, traded a pin and called a Lyft driver. He dropped off a family, then pulled 30 feet forward and picked us up. I love it when a plan comes together.
