Congratulations!!

[blueerica]

I don't know who won what (as a non-participant, I was kept out of the Ranch), but I do know that the Happy Haunts (Ghoulish Delight, Cadaverous Pallor) took 1st in the Invitational, with the UberFej, RalphWiggum, P.O.P/Babette, NirvanaMan group taking 2nd in the event...

So to them I say, "CONGRATULATIONS!" and to those I don't know about, "HOORAY!" And those able to move their fingers enough to get to this site within 2 days of the invitational, I say "WELL DONE!!"

Congrats to everyone who made it through the grueling day!

See you next Fall!!

Add any other winners, etc, from other events, such as the Open. My lack of knowledge astounds me, but I am not without enthusiasm!

[blueerica]

hahaha!!

Everyone must be REALLY exhausted. :D

[Ponine]

hahaha!!

Everyone must be REALLY exhausted. :D
My legs feel as if I were hit by a truck, and I played OPEN!
I know all the Invitational folks were beat. Congrats to everyone who attended! It was great fun.

We made two STUPID mistakes, and cost it for ourselves. NO MORE SMOKERS on the team!

[Mr. Fusion]

Everyone must be REALLY exhausted. :D
OMG. My team and I, as well as the rest of the people in the invitational, must have walked at least ten miles. Having to walk all the way from the Disneyland Hotel to the HoJo on Harbor and back to Critter Country during the final hour was cruel. On the other hand, it was nice meeting David Koenig for trivia at the HoJo. My legs are going to be sore for days however, especially since I forgot to stretch before we started.

I will say YAY! for the Happy Haunts though! I may have been a competitor (insert Brando 'contender' impression,) but I like to enjoy the whole atmosphere instead of bitching over not placing in the rankings. Congrats, guys! :cheers:

(BTW, Spaceballs: The Team took an unconfirmed 4th place we heard. :) )

We made two STUPID mistakes, and cost it for ourselves.
So did we, so did we. :blush:

[SusieP.]

I for one, stayed home today. Had a great time and the invitational was so well done, but man, am I tired!

Congrats to all the winners! :snap:

[Cadaverous Pallor]

:cool:




*sigh of exhaustion and contentment*

Man oh man, that was INSANE. I'm sorry if anyone actually went to the Grand Cal after the event and before the awards looking for us - there was no way in hell we were were going to walk that far and back.

I'm really, really happy we won. It was unbelievable. We were so ready to quit at one point. And I mean QUIT.

I gave props at the Pad to all the organizers but it bears repeating here. Honor those that work their butts off for this. They're crazier than us participants, I think. ;) What an amazing event this was.

It was amazing playing side by side with everyone, gauging where you were in the ranks at all times. Spaceballs the Team was right there with us at one point. Ubergeek's team matched us for most of it. In fact, there was one right decision that we made that made the difference between first and second. I can't imagine racing them neck and neck back from HoJo's, that would have been intense. Big congratulations to them, especially to Babette for pushing through any limitations. :snap: :snap: :snap: to our best competitiors.

Thanks to all our friends that were there to give us a congrats and all of those that stayed afterwards for drinks at the Resort's Official AP Lounge of Tomorrow location. I love all of you and this would be much less fun without you.

Ok, I'll post this and then start writing a huge complete report on the game itself. Prepared to be bored to death. :D

[wendybeth]

Wow!!! Way to go and congrats to all the winners!:snap::cool::snap:

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Oh, and if you want to know exactly what the invitational was all about, read this (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=38736).

[scaeagles]

People submit themselves to this for fun?????

[Disneyphile]

Yes, Congrats to Happy Haunts! Wanted to congratulate you personally, but we had to bail right after the awards ceremony to drive a fellow teammate to a prior engagement.

Anyway, way to go, you two! We're really happy you guys took the gold! :D

[BarTopDancer]

Congratulations to everyone!!!!!

We missed the first check-point and were out at 2:30. Forgetting to get the guides at the gate and a mistake on my part cost us precious time.

I'm sorry I missed everyone at the cememoney. I wasn't feeling well and headed home in search of a back rub and my bed.

[mousepod]

Big congratulations!
CP, I promise I won't be bored - I want to hear every detail.
I've never experienced MA, but the stories from the participants make me feel like it's a crucial part of the DL experience, like POTC or Space Mountain.

Bring on the tales!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

If you didn't compete, I'd recommend reading the rundown I linked to above before reading this so you know what I'm talking about here.

They said "Go!" and the game was on. I didn't realize it was going to start then and there outside the park and hadn't taken a moment to stretch. But suddenly we rip open the envelope and we're off to Downtown Disney.

We scurried around to find answers to price questions and such around DTD. We had to use the store directory to know where to go as the locations were numbered on our papers. I swear, we went in and out of the Jamba Juice 4 or 5 times and could not find the candle. We figured it had to be a trick of some kind. I came up with the idea that the number store we needed was actually off the directory inside the Grand Cal - they have their own directory with their own set of numbers. "Assume Nothing!" we both cried and walked all the way into the Grand Cal. Number 16 on their directory? The pool. We walked around the pool like idiots just in case and went back to the evil Jamba Juice where we FINALLY saw the damn candle.

We did the required math, and it was not even a whole number. We walked around checking all our numbers AGAIN. We realized there was a math mistake, and still came out with a fraction. We thought we must be close and went to the directory near the Tram stop to check the number - of course our destination was on the OTHER SIDE of DTD. By this point we realized that most teams were out of sight already. We were behind and we knew it.

Luckily our number was close enough and we were sent to the Monorail station. We got in line and realized weren't too far behind - we could see Ubergeek's team, the Fellowship just a bit ahead of us. Catherall showed up after we did and got in the line next to us. Of course we had the SLOWEST guy working the turnstile and Catherall actually ended up getting in ahead of us. All of them made it onto the waiting Monorail, except us. There was one family between us and the gate when the Monorail pulled away.

Alex Stroup talked to us as we waited and let us know that there were about 8 teams on that Monorail alone, and that there were others on the one before that. We were way behind. I was really glad he was there, as he was in a good mood, and that was infectious. We probably would have been beating ourselves up a lot more if it weren't for that break talking to Alex and waiting for the next monorail. It luckily wasn't a long wait either.

Greg thought of the Toontown City Hall on the Monorail, so that was a piece of cake. They handed us the Pooh logic puzzle. GD is a logic puzzle fiend so we sat down to work on it. In about 3 minutes we were attacked by two Open teams to get our postcards, and that was done. I couldn't believe that the Open was starting already.

GD messed up the puzzle somehow, so I quickly redrew the logic chart on another paper. He started reworking it. Then he decided to check exactly what we were looking for - and realized that all that work was for nothing.

We were cursing ourselves big time as we walked to ride Pooh. "No more mistakes!" "Assume nothing!" "Read the whole thing first!" "We're acting like amateurs!" As we were walking to Pooh, we passed an Unintelligibles team member wearing a paper hat. She was one full leg ahead of us! We got in line for Pooh. mhrc4's team was just ahead of us in line.

Quick aside - every time I saw another team, I or O, I gave them a grin. At least for most of the game. GD liked to pretend he was going to prevent them from winning by playfully blocking their view for a second or something. We do our best to be in good spirits with everyone no matter how we're doing, but that was to be tested, as you'll see.

We rode Pooh and were doubly annoyed because we KNEW the answer but just had to check. The fact that Eeyore isn't attending Pooh's birthday party but there's a gift from him anyway had been caught by us before.

Ok, posting this before my computer eats it, back in a bit.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Perhaps GD wants to do some posting on this - I feel bad doing the entire run down before he even shows up here. I think he went back to bed. He called in sick but I came in for my half day, which involves very few classes, hence the long posts. I can't emphasize enough how badly all this walking affected our bodies.

GD, wake up and post! :p

[Ponine]

People submit themselves to this for fun?????
Absolutely and without question! :D

[BarTopDancer]

He called in sick

Heh. I was wondering why he wasn't on IM yet...

I wonder who else called in sick. I took a vacation day and it's a good thing I did since I went to bed about 8:30pm and woke up at 9:30am). I commend all of you who went to work today.

[Gemini Cricket]

Congrats, CP & GD!
:)

[wendybeth]

I took the day off, too. It was exhausting reading through all those news alerts regarding Iger, and the tension of waiting for the results to MA took it's toll as well.;)

Seriously, though- wtg! Keep on posting, CP- I've never been to an MA and I like to read what it's like.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ok, so we finished Critter Country and got the next one along with our paper hats, which meant we could seperate. GD divided it up so that he had the majority of the numbers to find, since he was the fast one. He had to go to Fantasyland, Toontown, and Tomorrowland, while I just had to hit Pooh Corner, Adventureland, and Main Street. I had a panicky moment when I thought I couldn't read the lightbulb wattage in the Main Street Cinema, but I finally found bulbs clean enough (or perhaps my eyes adjusted).

I got back to the meet point we had decided upon - the ODV that sells postcards across from Village Haus. I knew he'd take longer than I would. I had the actual leg paper in my hands, so I figured hey, I have some of the numbers, I can start narrowing down the postcards. I start looking through them. Fellowship shows up and joins me. Ubergeek's team does the same. We're looking and looking and no one is finding it. I realized that none of these cards matched my numbers. The other teams wander away.

GD shows up looking happy when I hit him with the bad news. We head for Main Street and look at postcards at the Photo Shop. We try Frontierland and Adventureland but they don't sell any. We're heading to NOS when GD realizes I have made a humongous blunder.

On the back of the paper is the last step, where you take the numbers you have found and put them together for the barcode you need. I had completely forgotten the back and was using the "raw" numbers on the front of the paper. I'd like to say in my defense that the way it was set up on the front seemed enough, but again, it was entirely my fault and I take the blame on it. It was a crushing blow.

We really started to flagellate ourselves then. We took off our 1st place buttons from a previous MA. "We don't deserve it." "We didn't read the whole thing AGAIN?" The prospect of me taking the entire blame for our defeat was heavy on my head.

We head BACK to the Photo Shop. The card is not there. Another blow. We had to go all the way back to the Village Haus.

On our way there, GD misses a curb and lands badly, hurting his leg. :eek:

I was ready for lightning to strike us. I was ready to quit. I thought we were totally screwed and that we might as well slow down. There was no way that we were still in it. One screw up after another! But we went, bought the postcard, went back to Carnation (MA Central) and handed our stuff in.

I believe it was Adrienne Krock that said to us, "You're in third place."

We actually said "What?" We couldn't believe it. We found out later that the postcard leg turned out to be the worst for most teams and that it really slowed everyone down. The idea that we walked all over the damn place twice, three times, and still were in it was absolutely mind-boggling.

If it weren't for this tiny boost of confidence, we may very well have given up any thought of placing and slowed our pace.

[DwoernAdale]

Congratulations GD and CP!! I saw AVP's post on MP last night and was really happy for you both.

And thanks for the play by play. Having never played in one of these I love reading the reports afterwards. It sounds like a blast, and I hear the Amazing Race theme music in my head as I read them. :)

[Ponine]

You know what I find amusing? As a side note...
Last MA I gave Disneyphile a pen I had on my desk for .... well over a year.. and her team wins.

This year, I wish CP good luck, because I've worked with her, know what she and her sweetheart are like, and had every confidence in them. Yes, I went back and gave luck to all the teams, I wasnt truly rooting for any one team.

But still.... <insert Twilight Zone theme>

In spite on injury, you kept going. I applaud the two of you. Great job.

[Kels]

Congratulations Happy Haunts!! CP, I'm really enjoying reading your play-by-play. :)

[wendybeth]

Hey, Ponine!
I'm going out and picking up a lotto ticket- wish me luck, okay?:D;)

[Sheila]

My most heartfelt congratulations go out to the Happy Haunts for their third First Place Win! Way to go! :) Also, so many of the top finishing invitational teams were *soooo* close in finishing times -- truly amazing there are so many really smart people who know their Disneyland!

My whole body is aching; everytime I swear I'm going to put in for the Monday off from work afterwards and I never do. Owwie. And my voice is gone; for some reason I always get assigned to all the talking duties during MA. :D

Thank god I ran Leg #5 (Evil Lyrics) -- it was one of the few chances I got to chat with everyone as the day wore on.

I was truly impressed with all the teams who hung in there; the first few quests of the Invitational were the hardest and the most humbling part of the competition.

Big hugs for all!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

We bumped into Spaceballs: The Team at the next leg, where I was chosen as the person that could match lyrics to a song. I did indeed know it (the crappy added on song for Jasmine at the Aladdin show in DCA) and we moved on, ahead of Spaceballs, who didn't know it.

Aside: Playing alongside other teams in a real race made this the most exciting MA ever, I thought. Although about 3 times I squinted into the distance and said "Hey look, it's Fellowship, they're ahead of us!" But it'd be 4 tourists in white t-shirts with backpacks. I swear, since Fellowship's win last year, I've gotten paranoid delusions. ;)

After our "3rd place" booster and the victory at the Grotto, we were back in the groove. GD's leg was fine, other than the standard cramping we were both having, thank goodness! The Star Tours thing was a good puzzle, although I think there may have been a typo in the instructions. We went through that at a good pace, then decoded Atlantean. It may have taken a while, but just doing something correctly and as quickly as anyone would do it felt really good to me.

We went on to my favorite one, in Innoventions. We got lucky and got on just as Tom Morrow was beginning his spiel. As soon as we got in we took a right and hit the Google search. The site told us to find an envelope marked with coordinates, but we hadn't seen any coordinates before, huh? We pull them out and GD notices that the room is bathed in blacklight! We find an envelope with the latitude/longitude written in glowing ink and we did the happy hugging dance! :D The MA crew member nearby laughed at us. It was such a cool idea, using the blacklight like that! After writing down the numbers in normal ink and closing the window we were out of there.

We were standing on the balcony of Innoventions when a team brushed past us going in via the exit ramp. We said, "Excuse me? This is the exit." They said "Yeah, we're going in through the exit" with big grins on their faces. They knew very well that it can take much longer to go through the entrance what with the rotation and the spiel. We wrote down their team number, big tattletails that we are, but hey, this was a timed event, damn it.

Ok, so we need to get from Tomorrowland to the Disneyland Hotel. To Monorail or not to Monorail? The line always looks long but it's really not - it's just a matter of when the next train shows up. But we realized that it was not only the fast leg of the Monorail trip, but also that worst case scenario was that it took us about the same amount of time but we'd get to NOT WALK. Endurance was sooo vital to this.

So we got to stand in line, watch little birds take dirt baths in the planter and hop around, smile and breathe and talk and have a snack out of our backpack. It was anxious waiting, but still, what a break.

We felt a lot better when we got to the hotel. But that collage thing....wow. I'd never seen that collage before. In the time we were there tons of other teams showed up. I have no idea how long we stood in front of that case, straining to look at the higher items, trying not to give away the ones we'd found.

There was a bit of levity there though, a few jokes between competitors, and a bit of marveling at the collage itself. I'd like to go back and get some pictures of stuff I remember from my childhood. So many toys and books and junk, an amazing amount of memories.

Going home now, more after lunch :)

[Not Afraid]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY HAUNTS AND TO UBERGEEK, NIRVANAMAN, BABETTE AND RALpH WIGGUM! (and special Kudoos to Babette for making it through with HER injuries!!!)

First AND Second righ here, folks! I wish I remember who else won, I was so content to sis on the side of the stage and roar.

I am looking forward to the official results to come out. I am dying to know where we were. Sheila hinted were were up there in standing - which for me in my physical condition - would make me incredibly happy.

EVERY muscle in my lower body hurts today (ummmm time for 4 more Advil), but, for me, my big personal success was keeping up with the group and finishing. AVP told me at Innoventions that, if I needed to drop out, now was the time. We discussed it, and I was still working hard and doing fine. It wasn't until the last 1/2 hour that I really started to lag and hurt. Thanks, my son, for pulling me along and providing encouragement!) So, for me, I feel successful in just finishing it ALL. We took one hit on a quest and had to get a time-costing piece of advice. The locker quest is what really screwed us up. But, otherwise, we did it all.

Oh, and, as is tradition, we didn't get spirit/costume award. LOL I think I'd throw up if we ever did. It's just one of those things that have eluded us for YEARS. It's doesn't matter. We like being snappy dressers while running around like crazy in the park. ;)

The walk to the GC was like that old diarrhea billboard that was on the 5 (near the Citadel)for YEARS............The Last Mile is the Longest. I actually had to almost fight someone for the couch, but I was so not moving that I was probably doing one of the smiling but rudr things. I'm am so sorry, lady - I'm really not like that. But, our hours of lounging did me good. Oh yeah.

It was GREAT to see everyone who we only see twice a year. I really do LOVE this event - even though it kills me sometimes. We've won or placed enough to know that, winning is fun, but playing is better.

Alex or Sheila, if you're reading this, please send our love and thanks to the entire staff at MousePlanet. You guys are the best and put on the BEST game in the Disney Universe!!!!!:snap: :snap: :snap: :snap: :snap: :snap: :snap: :snap: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: (Extra smilies for Alex ;) )

[mousepod]

So we got to stand in line, watch little birds take dirt baths in the planter and hop around, smile and breathe and talk and have a snack out of our backpack.

When I first read this, I thought that the birds were talking to you and snacking from your backpack.
Of course you won! You're Mary F-ing Poppins!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Good morning. :) I hurt.

Umm, please insert all of the requisite thank yous and congratulations here. If you feel I should thank you or congratulate you, then consider yourself thanked or congratulated.

I might as well continue the insne account.

Let's see, collage. We had it down to 3 items, desperately trying to find a tin whistle (which ended up being the one missing), a 25 year service award, or an Olympic Spirit passport. At that point, Ubergeek's team finished theirs and took off! That was frustrating. But only a couple minutes later, we had found the last 2 items we needed to find and took off right behind them.

Lo and behold, we get the next clue...and it involves solving a type of logic puzzle that I do every single day! And, because most people have never seen one of these before, it was a really really easy one for anyone who's done 'em. So I sat down and finished it in mere moments, and headed off to the parking structure, where we were supposed to look for a car with a 5 foot Mickey parked in the handicap section of one of the levels. As we power walked our way over, we passed Ubergeek's team, still working to decipher the puzzle. Knowing how to do those was a BIG advantage for us.

We we went up to Mickey, which is kinda middlish (and had a working up escalator), checked that level, and decided to divide and conquor (we were allowed to split up for this one). I said I'd go up, and sent CP down, we'd meet at the bottom of the escalators. I go up, and found Mickey on the very next floor, so I go straight down, trying to catch CP on the way. I didn't see her. Meanwhile, CP had gone down one level, didn't find the clue, then discovered that, duh, there was only one level below where we started (the original clue had said it wasn't on the ground floor). So instead of waiting at the bottom, she started going UP looking for me. Grrr, so I'm sitting at the bottom, fuming 'cause she wasn't waiting where she was supposed to. I tried yelling for her, but she didn't hear. Fortunately, it only took a couple minutes to meet back up.

So, onto the the tram headed, as instructed by the next clue, to lockers with a string of numbers in hand that Mickey was holding. The numbers were supposed to line up to reveal a locker location and password. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication by the MA crew, and the people who wrote the puzzle wrote it with a 4 digit locker number (0144) while the person who filled in the number at the last minute (because of course they had to get the locker that morning) went based on what the ticket said, which had a 3 digit locker number (144). Fortunately, I noticed that the string of number Mickey was holding had a leading blank space, so we knew something wasn't quite right. So we fudged it and it worked out. On the tram, there was a team next to us (the eventual 3rd place team), but we lost track of them right after we got off the tram and didn't see them again. But anyway, we got to what we hoped was the right locker area, put in the code, and voila, the locker opened and had a stack of envelopes. The next clue told us to go....to the freaking Howard Johnson!!

Holy geez, that was a long walk. And the whole time, we saw no other team either in front of us or behind us. Until we were almost there and we saw a team LEAVING. It happened to be the team that we saw going up the Innoventions exit ramp, so we were none too pleased, to be honest. They gave us a thumbs up from across the street. I think I might have glared back, I don't even remember.

Anyway, we get to HoJo, find the room number (which was revealed by the 2 post cards we had traded for earlier with the open teams). We were given a choice, a word search or...trivia challenge against David Koenig! Our first instinct was, "holy crap, we can't beat Koenig at trivia!!!" But it was pointed out that if we did the trivia, we could give up and switch to word search...but not the other way around. So, while CP kinda stood like a deer in headlights, I decided we'd go do trivia, and let CP take the reins. Turned out to be easy, just a matter of buzzing in faster than David. All she needed was one right, she got the 3rd one right. The one she got was, "What was the first attraction to use sophisticated animatronics," easy enough. So we were in and out quick.

A quick translation of Mara script, and, oh joy, walking ALL the way back to Fowler's Inn! (the McD's fry shack in front of Mansion). Oh, man that was a long walk, but we knew it was the end, so we pushed through the pain and motored our way back into the park. We saw the orange beret's in line getting into the park too, we realized they must have not figured out the locker thing and were headed in to look for more lockers. Felt kind bad for them, so we were happy to find out afterwards that (after taking a hint and penalty) they were able to complete the course.

So we hit Fowlers, and get our time logged. We happened to notice that we were the second team to finish...and we happended to notice that team ahead of us had a 40 minute penalty! It was then that we were pretty confident that we had won, 'cause we knew the team we saw leaving HoJo was not very far ahead of us. It also explained how they got a head of us, because we were ahead of them at the collage, and then saw them ahead of us at HoJo. They must have used their Jump Start on the parking garage one, thus the 40 minute penalty.

So yeah, we finally got to sit down...which was a mistake because then our legs started to tighten up. It must have been quite a sight to see the two of us struggle to climb the Pirates bridge on our way to our locker. We were (and still are) wrecked.

But boy was it worth it. Despite the early headaches (all of our own doing), we had a blast. It was really a brilliantly designed game from beginning to end. What an amazing experience.

[Not Afraid]

No, Jen is not MP, BUT, while walking through Fantasyland, Steph cam VERY clost to being hit my a flying duck. At which poing she yelled FU-K! In Fantasyland no less. My "Son" was teasing her that she shouldn't be yelling DUCK so loudly in FL.


OH! And the other mishap! How could I forget this one!!!! (Because it was me and I'm TRYING to forget.)

We had a quest at the HUGE glass case collage at the Disneyland Hotel. We had to find which one on the long list was NOT in the case. This was a popular quest and there were people 5 deel trying to find things. I ended up in from, on the ground making the that was really a mineature dedication plaque. Suddenly my "Son" said "Lisa, come here". "Why." "Just come here." "Now?" "Yes." "Well, OK then."

I warned those around me that I was about to get up and that, my muscles were a bit weakeded. I got close to being on all 4's as I could in that crowded space and hoisted myself up. Part way up, I go a hottible cramp in my right calf and knee.

Back down I went, against the glass case, only buffered by several people around me. I almost went through the glass case! Ahhh, the memories that would make!

Some slight guy decided to pull me up and I almost pulled how back down on me and into the case. Anyways, I finially just get muself get up the qay I used to when I had Graves and my muscles were severly diminished. But, What fun. I think Alex either got to witness it or got then right after. Alex always gets to see me at my best. ;)

[BarTopDancer]

No, Jen is not MP, BUT, while walking through Fantasyland, Steph cam VERY clost to being hit my a flying duck. At which poing she yelled FU-K! In Fantasyland no less. My "Son" was teasing her that she shouldn't be yelling DUCK so loudly in FL.

I think that duck almost hit me while I was waiting for my team at the Hub! Crazy duck!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

When I first read this, I thought that the birds were talking to you and snacking from your backpack.
Of course you won! You're Mary F-ing Poppins!Too damn funny. I'd mojo you if I could. :)

I'm glad GD got to finish the story for me. The Invitaitonal really lends itself to telling the whole story because it's very linear. The usual MA includes all kinds of sidegames and such to distract you, as well as choices in what to do in what order. I liked the way this was basically one goal only at any one time.

There are so many other things to tell! I'm working on getting our shirts uploaded...

[UvaGirl]

Well done guys! Sounds like it was a great day:)

[Disneyphile]

Although about 3 times I squinted into the distance and said "Hey look, it's Fellowship, they're ahead of us!" But it'd be 4 tourists in white t-shirts with backpacks. I swear, since Fellowship's win last year, I've gotten paranoid delusions. Oh, that was the decoy "team" we planted just to psyche you guys out. ;) MUWAHAHAHAHA. :p

[Cadaverous Pallor]

All ready? Here are our shirts from yesterday.

Here's the front of our shirts. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/codexjen/subsfrontdone.jpg)

Here's the back of my shirt. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/codexjen/CPbackdone.jpg)

Here's the back of GD's shirt. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/codexjen/GDbackdone.jpg)

I would love to hear reports from all teams. The details of the ups and downs are the fun parts. And I'd love to see your shirts! There were some great ones. I really liked Fellowship's - great photoshopping - and I'm a Spaceballs fan so those were a treat. :)

[blueerica]

Oh, that was the decoy "team" we planted just to psyche you guys out. ;) MUWAHAHAHAHA. :p


Hahahaha!!

[libraryvixen]

CP and GD, the shirts were wonderful!! You guys are always so creative and you let Leota throw down some mad rhymes! ;)

[wendybeth]

LOL!!! I love the shirts, and GD's 'Neverland Ranch' is hilarious! Those are just awesome, you two!:snap:

[Disneyphile]

Here is one of the four shirts worn by FOTM: Goofolas (http://pics.livejournal.com/disneyphile/pic/0000bhww/g5)

I'll upload the others later from home. :)

[wendybeth]

Goofolas!! I love it- 'cause I luv Goofy, of course! :D

[AllyOops!]

Let me begin by saying...

:snap: :snap: Congrats, Happy Haunts!! :snap: :snap:

:snap: :snap: Congrats, Fej, Ralph Wiggum, Babette & Nirvanaman! :snap: :snap:

And of course, for all of us Mouse Adventurers? Cheers! We made it! :cheers: :cheers:

We had so much fun! We were The Matt Foley Graduates, and our team members were BarTopDancer, Flubber, Alisa & myself. We participated in the Invitational.

I had an absolute blast & I have so much more that I want to post & share! However, my eyes keep closing as I type. :( I'm still bummin' in jammies & a messy ponytail and I plan on stayin' that way! Plus, I am limping today. My calves, outer thighs and ankles are just throbbing. I have to admit, it's a good kinda pain. We earned it! ( Even if, when players were racing to Howard Johnson for the next clue, we were racing to Mimi's Cafe for viddles! Game over! :p :D )

[Ponine]

Ally!!! You were there???? I have now been near you three times and didnt meet you?????
Oddly enough, I thought for sure I saw a gal I thought was Alisa from her pic, but I couldnt think of her name.... oh woe is me!

[mhrc4]

my........legs.........hurt.........

[DisneyDaniel]

CP and GD: Congratulations on winning first! It's exhausting just reading your play-by-play account! Ingenious shirts as always! :snap:

Also, congratulations to all the other winners and participants, too! :)

[belleh5]

Congrats to all the winners :snap: :snap:

I finally got home this morning around 3am, took a little nap then it was off to work. I can't walk anymore, my whole body hurts.

CP & GD you guys always have great shirts. NA, €, Steph and no longer posting I loved your bright orange hats and your cargo pants( Kim Possible)

Thanks to Zap and his crazy shirts everyone in the park was staring at our team. :snap: :snap:

It was good to see everyone again :D See you in July for the 50th.

[€uroMeinke]

Best Mouse Adventure Ever!

But oh how sore I still am.

Lisa already caught some of our highlights, but hear are a few of my favorites:

Asking early on if there were any penaltiess for guessing - there weren't, other than you couldn'e go down the list eliminating every possibility. That saved us on the collage, once we narrowed it down.
Not thinking outside the box on the locker quest - should have though to shift the digits a space. Instead, we "assumed" the first number was left intentionally blank and that the bank had to end in "zero." Yup we took a hit on that one, but managed to miss the first cut-off, probably the last to do so.
Getting to the Hojo's and back. I kept insisting we take one of the cabs outside the park over. I got vetoed, but I still think I should have sold this stratagy more. It was nice that we could use trivia here, we basicly walked in and walked out passing all the folks doing the word search. Steph's knowledge of Mara enabled her to translate as we walked down Harbor blvd.
The Gear, so much fun to outfit our spy kits which this year included:

Handcuffs, keys missing (actaully originally purchased in Disnyland's magic shop sometime in the 70s - my team mates thought I'd never get them in the park. But I did). But not having keys, we knew we could only use them once unless ubergeek was around.
Flashlights - which came in very handy in the collage quest
Binoculars - also played a role in the collage quest
French Press coffee maker with carabiner handle (plus a baggy full of Peet's) - best coffee I've ever had in the park, borrowing some hot water from the Plaza Inn
Safety Pins - Great for attaching unsticking number tags and having an alternative way of wearing a fry hat.
Medical Kit, including Advil, Bandaids, Cold medicine, and condoms. The advil sure came in handy.
Refracting glasses - made to ride on Pooh so much more enjoyable.

Can't wait till next year - I think my team is sold on the spy angle. There's this cool night vision gogle I want to get...

[MerryPrankster]

Congrats to all the survivors!! :cheers: Sounds like some of you are ready for the next 'Survivor'!!


Special swanky congrats to the Invitational first and second place finishers -- CP & GD and Ubergeek, Ralph Wiggum, Babbette and Nirvanaman! :cool: WOW -- what a super swank accomplishment! :snap: :snap:

[dsnylndmom]

Wow big congrats to CP & GD :snap: :cheers:!!! Loved the shirts pictures!

And congrats to all the other's here that "survived"!! :) :cheers: :snap:

[Not Afraid]

You know, I don't care about anything right now - I am in TOO much PAIN, but, boy we looked cool - even if no one knew our team name. So, I'll tell you now:

The Kim Possible Dream Team


God, we're a bunch of dorks! Chris is loading a really stupid pic of us as we speak. See, we still had the Lawyer thing going referencing OJ.

DORKS! But, we are fun!


And, does anyone else have muscles on the outside of the bottoms of your feet?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ok, at this point, all I'm thinking is "Ow." I got stiffer and stiffer through the day. A jacuzzi visit made us feel a bit better for a short while. I just had a nice nap and I feel just as pained as I did this morning, if not worse. I'm moving as little as possible and using my arms to position my legs before getting up. It's really not cool. :(

GD keeps saying "is it worth it?" but my answer is that what we did to our bodies, we would have done no matter what. We would never choose to not push ourselves as long as we knew we had a chance.

Thanks for all the congrats, everyone. I'm even getting some congrats over at MP from posters that don't even know us. One post said something like "I thought the Ghoulish Delights won?" ;)

[Name]

you think your sore today? its always the second day after that's the worst. :evil:

[lizziebith]

Aww you guys are really dorktastic!! Congrats and tea and sympathy... :snap: :snap:

[€uroMeinke]

One of our "spytools" was a mini-low-rez resolution camera. Here are a few "spy pics:"

The Mystery Man of the Ubergeek Team - NirvanaMan

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam001.jpg

Sheila Greeting the Players:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam002.jpg

Lani in Charge:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam003.jpg

View from the underground:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam004.jpg

Our Team:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam005.jpg

[€uroMeinke]

Ok, here's a real pic of our team (non spycam):


http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/Kim%20Possible%20Dream%20Team.jpg

[Not Afraid]

This is a pic of me at the next MA:

http://www.rascalscooters.com/images/homepics2.jpg

[belleh5]

So that was your team name, cool. Where are the pictures of you guys in front of the Main St. train station, with € wearing green glasses.

[€uroMeinke]

And a few more spycam pics:

Commondeering a monorail:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam009.jpg

Heh, we invited ourselves to ride along with darkbeer's team in the tail cone - Hey they have only three players, you can fit four more!

Once a monorail driver:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam011.jpg

Not Afraid on the last leg - right before rude gesture:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam012.jpg

The Finish Line:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/spycam013.jpg

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Love the super secret spy pics! :D The blurry edges make them seem....edgier.

[€uroMeinke]

Love the super secret spy pics! :D The blurry edges make them seem....edgier.

Heh - It kinds of replicates how it feels to be a participant ;)

[belleh5]

Great pictures!!!

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ooh forgot to post this - this morning I'm driving to work and I'm listening to Indie 103.1's morning show with Dickie Barrett. I only listen for 25 minutes or so, and I happened to catch this.

His sidekick Raoul said he'd been to Disneyland on Sunday. He said he paid his "$110 to get in" and was dismayed to find a scavenger hunt going on with people running around in costumes with clipboards! :eek: He then said with disdain in his voice, "these people want to find the secrets of Disneyland, you know, like the hidden stuff....like if you ride Pirates of the Caribbean and look backwards on the first drop you can see Donald Duck's shadow or something." He complained that it messed up his day at the park. They changed the subject really quickly, and spoke demeaningly about us, but STILL, we were mentioned on the radio! :D :D :D ;)

[blueerica]

This is a pic of me at the next MA:

http://www.rascalscooters.com/images/homepics2.jpg


LMFAO!!!1

[blueerica]

OMG -- this is all just too funny!

[MerryPrankster]

Love the pics! :) I especially enjoyed the "Lark" pictures that NA posted -- major belly laugh and mojo for those! :D

[Stan4dSteph]

For the record, I did not yell ****. It was holy sh!t at the top of my lungs. In the middle of a crowded Fantasyland. I am very sorry to all of the children who are now horribly scarred by my potty mouth. I'm sure someone will start a thread at MP about the rude person in the orange beret who ruined their vacation.

[Not Afraid]

LOL! Chris told me when he got home that it was Holy Shyte that you, in fact, yelled. I am humbled and corrected. How could I THINK that you would say the F work that sounds like DUCK in Fantasyland.

[€uroMeinke]

For the record, I did not yell ****. It was holy sh!t at the top of my lungs. In the middle of a crowded Fantasyland. I am very sorry to all of the children who are now horribly scarred by my potty mouth. I'm sure someone will start a thread at MP about the rude person in the orange beret who ruined their vacation.

I will never forget the look of shock and horror as the words echoed back to you from the castle - but man did we get out of that place fast ;)

[Stan4dSteph]

Good times. I had an awesome weekend. It was great playing and hanging out with people. Wish I could see you all more often. :)

[belleh5]

When we had to wear those white hats. Some one came up to us on Main St.asking if there are any food places near by. Um Hello she was right in front of the coke corner!!!

[dsnylndmom]

Great pictures! I love those spy pictures! :cool:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Heehee. Great pics. Every time, I always wish we had taken pics, but we're usually too focused and tired at the time to care.

And, I mentioned this on MP, but it bears repeating. We got a lot of people coming up to us afterwards saying they thought we were doing really badly and had taken a penalty or something 'cause we looked so pissed off. Let it be known that all that anger and unhappiness that was obviously showing through is NOT a reflection on the game itself. I'd say the game itself was the most well put together ever. Our mood at that point was entirely our own doing. Between screwing up 3 of the first 4 challenges (including making the same mistake twice in a row!) and me falling off a curb, we really screwed ourselves over. We still love the game and everything about it.

The other thing we got asked a lot was, "Well, then, where did you make up the time?" Well, firstly, we didn't take one step towards Main Street to count canon balls. We figured out it was Toon Town before the Monorail even pulled into the station. That was a big moment. Plus, I guess we weren't the only ones who got hung up on the postcard quest. Otherwise, it was simply the fact that from that point on, we didn't make a single mistake. I think we FINALLY learned our lesson after twice in a row not carefully reading directions, so we were able to regain our old balance of speed and accuracy, which we were afraid we had lost.

Turning to the happy notes, my favorite game elements:
* The EXCELENT balance between less explicit instructions, yet quests that were solveable. They hinted that things weren't going to be spelled out for us like in the old format, which gave me visions of the weird Hollywood Backlot quest from last time which was just so open ended that we just were lost as to where to start. But these were great.
* Can't say enough about the invisible black-light ink. Brilliant. I'm just so glad I thought to write it in normal ink before we left!
* As always, they put in some sort of logic or word puzzle that I'm an expert at. One major advantage we have, I do those things for fun. I don't even have to think to solve those
* Not that it was enough, but there were those few built-in respites (monorail rides) in the game. Those were nice.

And everything else everyone else mentioned, I suppose.

[Not Afraid]

I described the way I am walking today as akin to Mickey Rourke in Barfly. I really do look just like him.


"To all my friends.........!"

[Prudence]

I'm finally overcoming my gigantic cloud of jealousy to say CONGRATS! to all who participated. What a lucky bunch of so-and-sos you all are! Keep the stories coming.

[MerryPrankster]

Maybe I missed this somewhere in the thread...but how was the 'Open' game? Ponine -you played that one, right? Was the 'Open' at the same caliber of difficulty as past MAs?

[belleh5]

Does anybody know how many miles we walked yesterday? 20?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Does anybody know how many miles we walked yesterday? 20?It was at least 10. For us, we made so many mistakes, probably close to 12 or 13.

[Not Afraid]

My body says it was 21. But, last week I had an IV in my arm, so that subtracts a few. I can usually do 8 miles no problem, so I'd say more like 14.



Can I give GD bad mojo for getting me singing that Sex Dwarf song every time he posts? ;)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Congrats all!

[Sheila]

The game measured out at about 9-10 miles (including some backtracking hither and yon). I think it just feels longer because you're walking at such a forced pace. Plus, moving swiftly through crowds seems to make the walk longer to me, imo.

The Open game was designed to be much easier this time around as it was thought that all the competitive teams would be over killing themselves on the invitational. But surprisingly, all the newbie teams gave the old-timers a serious run for their money on the Open!

I forgot to say that I really enjoyed being able to chat with so many folks here: BTD, Ally-girl, Flub, CP & GD, the KimPossibles, FOTR, Isaac, belle and awinner, the Fej posse, and oh-so-briefly to MHRC (whose team seem to be contemplating ordering a hit on Shana and me at Leg Checkpoint #5 after they found out the answer).

(And note to self: Wear something form fitting to MA so that when you put the walkie-talkie on your belt, the blouse will not drape over making you look pregnant. Ouch! LOL. Anybody good at Photoshop?)

[Not Afraid]

Sheila, it was SOOOOOOO great to see you - and the big hug at the end was such the icing on the cake! Thanks for all of your hard work - and everyone else.

[DisneyFan25863]

Congrats to everyone who competed!

This was the first MA we missed in 2 years, and hopefully the last one for quite awhile. Though if we had competed, and gone to the Hojo, my parents would have killed me for wandering off property :D

[Alex]

It isn't out of rudeness that I'm not going to do much talking on this subject over here, I just don't want to have to say everything twice.

But I did want to let CP and GD know just how much time they made up. At the conclusion of leg 2, when they got on the monorail they were the 20th (of 26) team to do so. They were a good 35 minutes behind the 4 teams that were on the first one.

And thanks to everybody for the compliments. It hurts a bit that "best ever" would go to the first one in five years I didn't run, but I'll shed my tears in private. Adrienne did a great job and I'm glad to see the response.

[Ghoulish Delight]

It isn't out of rudeness that I'm not going to do much talking on this subject over here, I just don't want to have to say everything twice.
Totally understandable, didn't expect much official word over here.


But I did want to let CP and GD know just how much time they made up. At the conclusion of leg 2, when they got on the monorail they were the 20th (of 26) team to do so. They were a good 35 minutes behind the 4 teams that were on the first one.
:eek: Well, then, we thank you for lying and saying we weren't too far behind!


And thanks to everybody for the compliments. It hurts a bit that "best ever" would go to the first one in five years I didn't run, but I'll shed my tears in private. Adrienne did a great job and I'm glad to see the response.Hrmm, yeah, ouch. That must sting a little. But, to be fair, it's a whole new paradigm, so it may just be the format that's the improvement, not the execution. Any comfort in that?

[Not Afraid]

Eh, they're all the best ever. Don't shed many tears. We did have some great quests this time that were good, challenging and not soooooo frustrating. No "How many blocks" that got Steph cusing again (damn that woman ;) ) We STILL remember that one. This WAS the most physycally challenging. (Or maybe it was just me and my IV a week ago.) But, we always enjoy it. Damn costume prize or not ;)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

But I did want to let CP and GD know just how much time they made up. At the conclusion of leg 2, when they got on the monorail they were the 20th (of 26) team to do so. They were a good 35 minutes behind the 4 teams that were on the first one.Wow. Wow wow wow. Amazing stuff.

And thanks to everybody for the compliments. It hurts a bit that "best ever" would go to the first one in five years I didn't run, but I'll shed my tears in private. Adrienne did a great job and I'm glad to see the response.Don't we say "best ever" every time? I think we do. I admit I just adored the format. But I'll tell you this here: I definitely like the way you announce the winners better than the way AVP announces it. I think, even while rushed in the past, you've done a better job.

Smiley free for Alex

[Alex]

Before anybody takes it too seriously, I am not at all upset about this being called the best event ever.

All I care about is MousePlanet getting a reputation for always doing the best event ever (or failing spectacularly if we do). And I am really happy for Adrienne that it was so well received.

[Ghoulish Delight]

So, I noticed the link to the super secret clue that we invitational teams had to get to in Innoventions was removed from the MousePlanet main page...so I just put "longitude" into the in-site google search. :cool:

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

And I didn't make a dime...

[Morrigoon]

Were it not for the wise addition of the "Rose Bowl Special" into my game-day supplies, I doubt I would have ever crossed that finish line.

Congrats to the winners.

[Matterhorn Fan]

Congrats.

[Ponine]

Maybe I missed this somewhere in the thread...but how was the 'Open' game? Ponine -you played that one, right? Was the 'Open' at the same caliber of difficulty as past MAs?
Ahhh.... I guess I never thought to comment with all the other stuff being said.
Well, my initial reaction if you havent seen my other posts, or I havent talked to you over YM..
1) It was either easier, or now being on my 7th game, I finally have the hang of it.
2) I am done playing with smokers. Either wait till after the game to smoke, or dont play. We had a 1/2 hour left over... we'd have had at least a full hour without smoke breaks.
3) I have finally found my MA ideal partner. I'll take Cordae, sans boyfriend anytime, she smokes less. But I need to keep Panther. We could have ditched the other couple very early into the game.

Eeeeek! I have to leave for work! I'll post when I get in!

[Stan4dSteph]

Yes, I have discovered that Greg and I have the same geeky obsession for paint by numbers puzzles. Who knew? :snap: for us!

[mhrc4]

It was at least 10. For us, we made so many mistakes, probably close to 12 or 13.


NO KIDDING....

and 2 days later, my legs still hurt OYE And we didnt walk over to Hojos and back! We were eliminated at the 2:30 mark after the souvenier search..... :snap:

[mhrc4]

and oh-so-briefly to MHRC (whose team seem to be contemplating ordering a hit on Shana and me at Leg Checkpoint #5 after they found out the answer).



hahahahhahhahahahha, that was just after the postcard quest, so needless to say we were a little bit OVER frustrated, and then we sent up our musical expert who can acapella sing almost any disney song..... only to be foiled by the stupid show at the hyperion :snap:

oh well, we all applaud the staff for the awesome game put on, and as much as we cursed you that day (and my legs still are) we will definetly be playing again in October ;)

[Ponine]

I thought this would be the sort version of how the Open was... it still ended up being long... oops.
I started this MA thinking.. wow, I have this team member, who I have no idea how helpful he’ll be, and have never done this kind of thing with. Panther, being my ‘One that Got Away “ from THAT thread. We’re pals, but this was a new venue for us.
And the boyfriend of my long time team mate,Cordae, whom I had never met, and he had never been to D-land before. Plus, I was thinking… okay, if I stay in the Open I have a fighting chance at placing. (Yeah, if I don’t make stupid mistakes. Which we did) I also had, for once, kept reminding myself of a compliment paid to me once by a fellow MA’er. That I had the potential to do well, if I just found the right team.

Panther and I did decide just past the halfway point that smokers slow you down. There were two other teams with smokers, but it was their whole team. They stood as a group inside the smoking section and worked. We split up and let them go in, while we stayed out, hoping against all hope that if we were seen as a two-some that the official who spotted us would note that the other two were inside the smoking section, and we were just outside of it.

I think this was an easier event. We spent a great deal of time on the Vowel Trouble puzzle, knew the answer HAD to be in Toontown, and just walked around and around the building.. then we thought.. hmm the firework building did blow up… maybe it’s stuck to another building. (Anyone know where that answer was before the game ‘broke’?) But in so doing we were able to find the Audubon window, so we felt better. It was still frustrating to find out that puzzle was eliminated.
We had the standard evil paragraph, those are always given right to me, I now have a strategy for those.. and thank goodness.
We died on the Star Tours one because no one proofed the answer and Panther ‘over-read’ the question. He saw “What flight is under decontamination after arriving from Endor” so he went with the flight that was under the flight that was decontaminating. Not thinking that if you are decontaminating, you are under decontamination. Yeah well… first timer mistake.

Home Sweet Home..the signs about Home on the Range, I just KNEW that one. Poor LibraryVixen had to deal with me taking pics of every sign when she was down in the fall!

The postcard trade thing… first let me say… I got my packet and did the Packet check.. the sheet said you should have TWO postcards, I only had one, so I went BACK to get my second postcard. It was a typo. BUT.. I had already rushed away once away from my team, and had to run back, I was po’d and thinking, I’m seconds behind already! So, to the FotM, I heard you, I really did. I wasn’t trying to ignore you. I just cant gather, walk, and respond all at once. I need to develop a hand signal so that you know I’m just in concentrating intesly. I owe you BIG for trading with us , and I’m glad we could help each other. I just need to learn not to obsess. No hard feelings!

Tarzan’s Tree house… okay, so we had myself, who cant do that many stairs with my knee, and Storm, who’s deathly afraid of heights, so we got permission to split up, though I had ASKED ahead of time if there was a physical limitation for open!! Anyway.. we had to split.. Panther and Cordae walked up Tarzan’s so they could get to the last book to get the last word, and we waited at the exit. Now… I was annoyed, because as we waited, I saw a team go in the exit, get the answer, and come back out. Now.. what the heck? Alas, that team did get ahead of us because of that. And quite frankly it annoyed me. But .. I let it go.
For some reason Boxed in Frontierland stumped us for a while…

But really.. all in all.. I think it might have been easier. But it still kicked my tush, and I still have sore legs. And she was right.. I have finally found my team, and my niche. Watch out, we’re taking no prisoners next time around.

[Not Afraid]

God Damn Rascal. My muscles are STILL crying for you. ;)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Thanks for the report, Ponine. :) You will be one to watch, next time! :snap:

We haven't looked at the Open yet. Perhaps one day we'll whip it out at the park and give it a go. Would be fun. We didn't get a copy of the Eye Spy, though. Bummer. :(

[Not Afraid]

I LOVE the Eye Spy! I could do Eye Spy all day long.


There was also no trivia! One of our team's personal loves is trivia.

[mhrc4]

Thanks for the report, Ponine. :) You will be one to watch, next time! :snap:

We haven't looked at the Open yet. Perhaps one day we'll whip it out at the park and give it a go. Would be fun. We didn't get a copy of the Eye Spy, though. Bummer. :(

who is up for a Mini, non official MA for all of us invitational teams to do the Open tourney????

[Tenigma]

Hi all.

Just popping in for a quick visit to thank everyone who participated in MouseAdventure on Sunday, and to congratulate everyone for a job well done. Jennie and Greg, you guys were awesome! I don't know if you normally run, but with the distance of the Invitational course pegged at 10 miles, you guys looked like you were still holding up really well by the time you got to our room at Hojos.

Great job. Congratulations on your sweet victory, and for achieving Master status. :)

-- Lani

[Not Afraid]

who is up for a Mini, non official MA for all of us invitational teams to do the Open tourney????

Now, that's a GREAT Idea. Sadly, one of our member is back East, but we could work with the three of us.

I'd be up for it!


Just, not right away. Advil is still too much of a friend.

[mhrc4]

Now, that's a GREAT Idea. Sadly, one of our member is back East, but we could work with the three of us.

I'd be up for it!


its on... look for a new thread ;)

[Tenigma]

There was also no trivia! One of our team's personal loves is trivia.No trivia in the Open division, but those who did the Invitational who weren't swept were given the opportunity to pit their Disney trivia knowledge against David Koenig, as you know first-hand! :)

[Not Afraid]

No trivia in the Open division, but those who did the Invitational who weren't swept were given the opportunity to pit their Disney trivia knowledge against David Koenig, as you know first-hand! :)

Yes! What fun that was! I could do that all day long! (Or maybe it was just the bed!) ;)

[wendybeth]

Lol, NA!!!!

[Not Afraid]

I literally walked in the room, shook hands with Daved, Lani told us to have a seat and I THREW myself on the bed. It was a joyous 5 minutes as I was starting to fade at that point.

[Disneyphile]

I didn't even know that was David whom I played trivia against until Morrigoon told me later. Heh. :D

[wendybeth]

I can't help but wonder what the neighboring rooms thought might be going on in that room......:eek:

How fun, though. I think I would seriously consider participating in MA, just based on everyone's accounts. I would probably suck at it, but it sounds so fun!

[SusieP.]

Oh, and, as is tradition, we didn't get spirit/costume award. LOL I think I'd throw up if we ever did. It's just one of those things that have eluded us for YEARS. It's doesn't matter. We like being snappy dressers while running around like crazy in the park. ;)

Thank goodness we won something!!! We were told twice that we were on the verge of being eliminated, but we just kept trudging along, and we made it to the end. (And we weren't last!) We were walking out to the parking structure seriously contemplating opening the "sudden death" envelope, but we were somehow able to make it back to the locker in the nick of time to get the clue. And then we got to the HoJo hotel and almost got swept up there, but managed to get back on the road with minutes to spare again. My poor teammates were limping by that point and I volunteered to run in for the team, but they were determined to get to the last check in, and so we dragged ourselves up to Fowler's to the finish.

Luckily we got the Toontown thing right away, knew the answer to the Pooh question, and Grumpy4 and mamabot had already scoped out that collage wall the week before, so they were crossing items off the list before we even went inside the DLH. That saved us some serious time, or we never would have made it. (And I publicly admit that it was my mistake that caused us to screw up the postcard thing :blush: )

I'm still tired today. :coffee: More coffee please!

[belleh5]

I didn't even know that was David whom I played trivia against until Morrigoon told me later. Heh. :D


Who is David?

[Ghoulish Delight]

I don't know if you normally run, but with the distance of the Invitational course pegged at 10 miles, you guys looked like you were still holding up really well by the time you got to our room at Hojos.Ha! Hardly. I think it's just a matter of the part of our brain that would otherwise tell us to stop (aka, intelligence) gets shouted down by the competetive part. You should have seen us the milisecond after we handed our packet in. We were literally shuffling around like convalescent home escapees, it was truly pathetic. Here we are on Tuesday, and I'm still in pain. I've progressed some. Yesterday, certain muscles flat out didn't work. Now, I'm able to walk about 98% normally, but still with a good amount of pain.

[innerSpaceman]

Oh, suck it up, you big wuss!

Um, kidding ... but I'm hardly surprised that you two sacrified later body-functionality and accepted pain and physical torture in order to compete sufficiently well to WIN.

Congratulations, you guys. I am so happy for you. Uber and Bab's and Nirv's team, too. Terrific!

Thanks for all the stories and, KimPossibles, thanks for the kewl spy pics!

Fellowship, please post the other team shirts - - the Goofy one is hysterial. Jen and Greg - - as usual, your shirts are freakingtastic! (Hahahahaha Neverland Ranch!). Oh, and I love that you thought you were sucking at the game and ended up winning. Assume nothing, indeed. I've been through that one before ... but it's a MouseAdventure truism that if you are sucking at the game, so is everyone else. It's just a matter of who sucks less!

You guys suck the least!!!!

[Not Afraid]

Ha! Hardly. I think it's just a matter of the part of our brain that would otherwise tell us to stop (aka, intelligence) gets shouted down by the competetive part. You should have seen us the milisecond after we handed our packet in. We were literally shuffling around like convalescent home escapees, it was truly pathetic. Here we are on Tuesday, and I'm still in pain. I've progressed some. Yesterday, certain muscles flat out didn't work. Now, I'm able to walk about 98% normally, but still with a good amount of pain.

This is soooooooo me. It was like Sheila gave me a hug and that signaled to my body that it could stop trying. I am surprised most about my outside ankles and feet. What freaky muscles to notice, while my "butt muscle" (which was killing at the end) is, and has been fine. i could say that my Yoga has helped, but I think my 3 flus got rid of any of that benefit.

I'm STILL walking like Charles Bukowski.

[Ghoulish Delight]

... but it's a MouseAdventure truism that if you are sucking at the game, so is everyone else. It's just a matter of who sucks less!
Yep, but having not even placed last time, and in the midst of making 3 idiotic amteur blunders, we were just looking at each other like, "What the hell? We've totally lost our ability to play this game!" I think we'd gotten so reliant on our speed advantage that we were leaning to heavily on it and sacrificed the intellectual part of it (which we aren't too shabby at either when we're paying attention) too much. That 2 hours of self-critical hell was finally enough to kick our butts and get us back into our balance of speed and accuracy.

I'm laughin now, 'cause Lani posted on MP that she saw us going through Adventureland, which was just about at our lowest point. We were REALLY not happy with ourselves right then, we must have been quite a sight.

[Disneyphile]

Who is David?David Koenig, author of Mouse Tales. :)

[belleh5]

David Koenig, author of Mouse Tales. :)

Thanks :cheers:

What!!! I knew we should of done the trivia :mad:

[Not Afraid]

I love Greg and Jen. They are so humble. ;)

J/K

You guys have big time bragging rights.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I love Greg and Jen. They are so humble. ;)

J/K

You guys have big time bragging rights.I mean this in the most sincerity:

Anyone, and I mean anyone, that completed this thing should get bragging rights. Plus a week to recuperate. They should have handed us a "get out of work for 3 days plus massage" certificate at the end.

I'm very impressed with N'Ohana's performance, after continually getting told that they would never make it. Very, very impressed. Way to go!

And what of the people that were smarter than us in the early stuff? They all deserve to brag about how they BEAT us (even if it was just for a little while ;) ) The Unintelligibles were in the lead at one point - way to go!

And the Ubergeek/Babette/Ralph/Nirvanaman team - they need to do WAY more bragging. :D Congrats again and again and again!

I have more to post on this but work beckons...

[mhrc4]

I'm laughin now, 'cause Lani posted on MP that she saw us going through Adventureland, which was just about at our lowest point. We were REALLY not happy with ourselves right then, we must have been quite a sight.

Im with you on that one, im guessing part of the postcard quest? yeah, that KICKED our butts, thats how we ended up losing, we just completely glossed over the postcard in the emporium

funny how irony works, after searching every single shop in disneyland, we decided to sit down and figure out what we wanted to do, know where we sat down? right underneath Small World......

OYE

[BarTopDancer]

After looking for the little ODV cart near the castle which was there (I never thought the day would come when I said "dang it! Where's that ODV cart?!") we decided our best bet would be the Emporium and/or the Main St. news stands. The post card was in the Emporium.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The post card was in the Emporium.It was also at the cart in Fantasyland, the one on the edge of Big Thunder Trail.

[SusieP.]

And the Ubergeek/Babette/Ralph/Nirvanaman team - they need to do WAY more bragging. :D Congrats again and again and again!

Seriously! This team kills me- the P.O.P. shows up twice a year and kicks butt every time! :p

[€uroMeinke]

Had to share a few more pics:

First off, a better view of our team:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Team%20before%20the%20train.jpg (javascript:;)

Then, seeking spiritual guidance from Kim Possible:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Ohm.jpg (javascript:;)

The Happy Haunts enjoying an aftergame cocktail:

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Afterwards.jpg (javascript:;)

[Not Afraid]

OMG! The AP Lounge was heaven on earth!

[belleh5]

OMG, I look so dead!!! I still can't believe I drove home.


Thanks for the pictures € :D

[€uroMeinke]

OMG, I look so dead!!! I still can't believe I drove home.


Thanks for the pictures € :D

Here's a better pic to show your fatigue - I can't believe right after this you got into your car and drove home

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Belleh5.jpg (javascript:;)

[belleh5]

Thanks:) It only took 7.5 hours and I was back in Sac. Good I made a few Starbucks stops on I-5 North, otherwise I would of fell asleep behind the wheel.

[mhrc4]

no.... thank.... you

OYE

you look beat, i wouldnt have made it past LAX.....

[FEJ]

I mean this in the most sincerity:

And the Ubergeek/Babette/Ralph/Nirvanaman team - they need to do WAY more bragging. :D Congrats again and again and again!



Thank you...

We were the first team to turn into the postcard, and I think the first to leave the Collage. We lost time at the parking garage and decoding the words in the word search. We didnt know GD and CP were in the room when we got the puzzle. We thought they were much farther ahead. (makes it sting a bit more ;)) It was a lot of fun and the team worked well together. No bragging, except for the rest of my team rocked.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

http://photos.xenarchy.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_Belleh5.jpgWhat setting did you have on your camera that made my hair look THAT good after 5.5 hours of insanity??? :eek: ;)

[jdramj]

We spent a great deal of time on the Vowel Trouble puzzle, knew the answer HAD to be in Toontown, and just walked around and around the building.. then we thought.. hmm the firework building did blow up… maybe it’s stuck to another building. (Anyone know where that answer was before the game ‘broke’?) But in so doing we were able to find the Audubon window, so we felt better. It was still frustrating to find out that puzzle was eliminated.
We had the standard evil paragraph, those are always given right to me, I now have a strategy for those.. and thank goodness.
We died on the Star Tours one because no one proofed the answer and Panther ‘over-read’ the question. He saw “What flight is under decontamination after arriving from Endor” so he went with the flight that was under the flight that was decontaminating. Not thinking that if you are decontaminating, you are under decontamination. Yeah well… first timer mistake.



The postcard trade thing… first let me say… I got my packet and did the Packet check.. the sheet said you should have TWO postcards, I only had one, so I went BACK to get my second postcard. It was a typo.

Tarzan’s Tree house… [clip...clip...clip]Now… I was annoyed, because as we waited, I saw a team go in the exit, get the answer, and come back out. Now.. what the heck? Alas, that team did get ahead of us because of that. And quite frankly it annoyed me. But .. I let it go.

For some reason Boxed in Frontierland stumped us for a while…

But really.. all in all.. I think it might have been easier. But it still kicked my tush, and I still have sore legs. And she was right.. I have finally found my team, and my niche. Watch out, we’re taking no prisoners next time around.

Hey it was great to meet you. You know Panther didn't look all that tall to me ;) .

We did the same thing with the postcard...we even asked invitational teams as we checked about the 2nd postcard, and they were all traded already...UGH!

The vowel one, we sat down to do and I swear my husband thought I was nuts and then I thought he was nuts for this one. We wasted so much time and then gave up only to be told 30 minutes later that we'd just get credit for it. another UGH!

I'm glad I didn't see that team on Tarzan's treehouse...I would have said something :mad:

My husbnad was funny...he kept getting pissed at seeing teams split up and I had to tell him that they were invitational teams...you guys could split up right?

[Ponine]

Ohhhhhhh.. I so cant wait to get to work and tell him that!!! Though he did say that your husband would look taller because he'd be wearing real shoes with soles... but still.. Cordae and I were over getting called short that day, so I'll be glad to pass it on!

I am glad I went RIGHT back and asked about the postcard, but I learned my lesson last time. I did NOT check my packet before we left base, and had no trivia. THat just broke my heart last game.

THe vowel thing was aggravating, but on the up side, I was working it while they all searched for the windows in toontown. They just led me be the arm, or pushed me. I stopped and bent down at one point or I would never have seen the Audubon window, it was too low for Panther to see!! Ha!!
Tell you honey we agreed with him, that team at Tarzan's made us angry. We didnt see anyone split other than the one other team of half smokers we kept seeing at the smoke areas.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yeah, invitational teams were allowed to split at several points, once in DTD, once in the parking structure, and once in the park. Because there were other quests in the park where we WEREN'T allowed to split, they made us wear those stupid paper hats during the one where we could split, so they knew we were allowed to. The thing didn't hold together very long on my fat head, so I spent a lot of time holding it on with one hand.

[Ponine]

Team pics are up at the Planet in case anyone didnt know yet!

[Not Afraid]

Oy JEEZ! Chris! You doofus!

[Ponine]

Oy JEEZ! Chris! You doofus!
I take it those were not glasses you approved of?

[Claire]

Okay......no way I'm reading all that. :evil:

:snap: But congratulations everyone!!! :coffee:

[Stan4dSteph]

Thanks for sharing those pics Chris! I had no idea you were taking those spy cam shots all day. :cool: Also your team photo at the train station came out better than the one on my camera, so I'm stealing it. :)

[jdramj]

Yeah, invitational teams were allowed to split at several points, once in DTD, once in the parking structure, and once in the park. Because there were other quests in the park where we WEREN'T allowed to split, they made us wear those stupid paper hats during the one where we could split, so they knew we were allowed to. The thing didn't hold together very long on my fat head, so I spent a lot of time holding it on with one hand.


LOL...that explains the silly hat. We watched you walk by (with the hat on of course) and I told my husband who you were....then a few minutes later we saw CP (again with the hat on) walking near the hub and I told him she was your partner. I was so proud of him, he actually remembered seeing you guys at previous MA's.

BTW CP has a wicked power walk! She blew right by us in a flash!

[Ghoulish Delight]

BTW CP has a wicked power walk! She blew right by us in a flash!Heh. When you saw me, my leg was injured and my shoe was probably untied. I didn't stop to tie it until I HAD to stop for a few seconds to count Astro Orbitor cars.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

BTW CP has a wicked power walk! She blew right by us in a flash!Heehee! Thanks for the compliment. I'm usually the slower one of our team, when GD is sans injury and has his shoes tied. :)

Claire, reading IS required, there will be a test later. I buried something in there that you MUST know. ;)

Or rather...I can't believe anyone read all that.

[MickeyLumbo]

just reading this entire thread is a quest!

it sure sounds like fun, and i would love to participate, but, there is no way i would have the required stamina.

1000 points for the Madame Leota shirts!!:snap: :snap: :snap:

[mhrc4]

woo hoo, we made front page of MousePlanet ;)

[Moonliner]

woo hoo, we made front page of MousePlanet ;)

Cool, but who is the invisible man at the back of the picture? Half his face is mysteriously missing.

[Not Afraid]

I want results!!!!! WHINE ;)

[Ghoulish Delight]

According to AVP, tomorrow.

[mhrc4]

Cool, but who is the invisible man at the back of the picture? Half his face is mysteriously missing.

:dunno:

[Stan4dSteph]

Recap and results are up at MousePlanet.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Cool.

A couple observations...Spaceballs: The Team, ouch. 7 seconds out of 3rd place. Brutals.

I also noticed this line...

One Master team, the–mouse.com, took the challenge and was in fact the first to cross the finish line.Geez, it's not like The Denton Affair chickened out.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Geez, it's not like The Denton Affair chickened out.They mention also that one member of the "the other Masters team" (the Denton Affair) played the open with her kid. She "didn't take the challenge."

It still is kind of a crappy way to say it though.

I can't believe mere seconds seperated teams from placing. Amazing.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Amazing.Enchanted.

[Not Afraid]

WOW! We blew harder than I thought.

[Ghoulish Delight]

WOW! We blew harder than I thought.Oh, quiet you. You finished. Anyone who finished did something pretty damned awesome. Hell, anyone that made it half way through did something pretty damned awesome!

This morning while looking at the results at home, I noticed we were actually smiling in our photo at the end. It made me realize that the moment we were announced, I think I completely forgot about the pain for a while. I mean, we were shuffling over the Pirates bridge like a couple of geezers just a little bit before, but I seem to recall moving pretty quickly to get our certificate. Amazing what a little adrenaline can do, eh?

[Not Afraid]

You know, yeah, I'm pretty damn proud of us for finishing and especially for me finishing. One week earlier I had an IV in my arm and I spend most of the week pretty sick. So, personal best - finishing.

Plus, our team played well and had a GREAT time. My muscles are almost ready to give me permission to do it again.

[Stan4dSteph]

Behold! The triumphal return of my ass! (http://albums.mouseplanet.com/MouseAdventure050313/DSC_5077.jpg) (Now 10% leaner)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Plus, our team played well and had a GREAT time. My muscles are almost ready to give me permission to do it again.I hear ya. I'm going to give them a test tonight with unlimited laser tag.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Behold! The triumphal return of my ass! (http://albums.mouseplanet.com/MouseAdventure050313/DSC_5077.jpg) (Now 10% leaner)Heehee! Can we get a before/after? ;)

[Not Afraid]

Behold! The triumphal return of my ass! (http://albums.mouseplanet.com/MouseAdventure050313/DSC_5077.jpg) (Now 10% leaner)

You are such an ass whore! Always have to get your ass in some photo. Sheesh, Miss Team Midget.

[Stan4dSteph]

Heehee! Can we get a before/after? ;)Before (http://www.mouseplanet.com/mouseadventure/MouseAdventureSpring2002Images/MAS2002-KYAssemblingForPhoto.jpg) - note that Lisa appears to be staring at my ass.

Signed,
Miss Team Midget

[Not Afraid]

Before (http://www.mouseplanet.com/mouseadventure/MouseAdventureSpring2002Images/MAS2002-KYAssemblingForPhoto.jpg) - note that Lisa appears to be staring at my ass.

Signed,
Team Midget



How could I NOT!?

[Ponine]

Behold! The triumphal return of my ass! (http://albums.mouseplanet.com/MouseAdventure050313/DSC_5077.jpg) (Now 10% leaner)
hey, I havent even met you after all these years..and heck! You cant see me in the group shot, I'm just outside the picnic table shots, and in seven MA's have never gotten in a pic that wasnt my team pic.
At least they TOOK a picture of your ass!

[Not Afraid]

Eh, that ALWAYS take a pic of Steph's ass. :evil:

[Sheila]

Eh, that ALWAYS take a pic of Steph's ass. :evil:

But it ... er, I mean *your team*, is so photogenic! :p

We just can't help ourselves. ;)

[Not Afraid]

Yes, Steph has the MOST photogenic ass around. :evil:


(This is obvious a running joke for our team.)

I want to know why "my Son" is crying in the group picture and is it because Steph farted?

[Grumpy4]

I'm certainly glad we crossed the finish line. We missed it by 15 minutes. I think we were in the esplanade trying to get into a line to get in. Then of course it took us forever to get to Fowler's due to my hobbling!! Congrats to those that made it in! You so totally rock, Squirt!!

I'm ready to go again! My knee says NO, but I overpower that! Maybe just the Open game soon. Like over Spring Break or something. We should do it before something else changes!:eek: Like the Eye Spy photos.

:cheers: :cheers: and:snap: :snap: to you all!

[Disneyphile]

31 bloody goddamn seconds. THIRTY-ONE!!!!!!


Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! :mad:

Can I cry now?

[Disneyphile]

Here's the link to all of our shirt graphics.

Fellowship T-Shirts (http://pics.livejournal.com/disneyphile/gallery/00005f37)

:D

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Here's the link to all of our shirt graphics.

Fellowship T-Shirts (http://pics.livejournal.com/disneyphile/gallery/00005f37)

:DAmazing (Enchanted?) job on those shirts! :snap: :snap: :snap: Too funny.