Congratulations!! - Page 2

BarTopDancer · 03-14-2005, 11:39 AM

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 · 03-14-2005, 11:40 AM

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 · 03-14-2005, 11:53 AM

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 · 03-14-2005, 11:59 AM

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!

Ponine · 03-14-2005, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

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

Absolutely and without question!

BarTopDancer · 03-14-2005, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

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 · 03-14-2005, 12:14 PM

Congrats, CP & GD!

wendybeth · 03-14-2005, 12:15 PM

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 · 03-14-2005, 12:18 PM

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.

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 · 03-14-2005, 12:22 PM

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.

03-14-2005, 11:39 AM	#11
BarTopDancer Prepping... Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Here, there, everywhere Posts: 11,405	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. __________________ Spork is the new MacGyver Postcards From My Edge
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03-14-2005, 11:40 AM	#12
mousepod You broke your Ramadar! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,635	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! __________________ "Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, keep it friendly" - Walt Disney
	Submit to Quotes

03-14-2005, 11:53 AM	#13
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	Why we almost gave up. 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. __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
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03-14-2005, 11:59 AM	#14
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	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! __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
	Submit to Quotes

03-14-2005, 12:14 PM	#17
Gemini Cricket ... Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 13,244	Congrats, CP & GD!
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03-14-2005, 12:15 PM	#18
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	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. __________________
	Submit to Quotes

03-14-2005, 12:18 PM	#19
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	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. 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. __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
	Submit to Quotes

03-14-2005, 12:22 PM	#20
DwoernAdale Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: NV Posts: 42	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.
	Submit to Quotes