Disney Weekend (part seven)

Day Three

Last post about this weekend, I promise.

I went to Epcot to eat lunch at the Food and Wine Fest before going home (wouldn't you have if you were me?). Some how, I missed a cranberry bog in the middle of the park when I was there earlier.

I got Cheese Soup and the Dragon Berry Colada again, and tried a few new things.

I rode Spaceship Earth on my way out. It had an upgrade a few years ago and now the end of the ride has an interactive cartoon staring you. I love it. One of my favorite parts of the ride is the disco scientist. I have no idea what they were thinking, but it makes me crack up every time.

I am finally done retelling the amazing time I had over my long Disney Weekend. My next post will be about the Passholder Preview of New Fantasyland.

Disney Weekend (part six)

I ran around on my own for a while, rode Jungle Cruise, checked on Pirates of the Caribbean (still closed), rode Haunted Mansion, until it was time to make my way to the front of the park for the Main Street Electrical Parade. The parade is super cute. It's definitely worth checking out. Lots of illuminated floats. Tinkerbell, Elliot and Pete, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, lots of characters are represented. I went to the front of the park to watch because I wanted to leave as soon as it was over so I could get to the Polynesian Resort for fireworks. (When I did the Keys to the Kingdom tour, I was told that the beach at the Polynesian was an amazing place to watch the fireworks.)

I made it to the Polynesian with plenty of time before fireworks. I asked the cast members at the concierge desk for info on the fireworks and if the Electrical Water Pageant would take place. Super helpful and friendly (of course, what else should I expect) and they even gave me a lei.

I couldn't pick my favorite photos to post, so enjoy. And, yes, that is the castle in the background.

I love that the octopus looks like its fighting the fireworks

If you can replay the Sam Eagle quote, "A salute to all nations, but mostly America," in your head while you look at them, so much the better.

After the fireworks and the boat parade I went back to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Had to take advantage of the extra magic hours. Then headed back to the hotel room.

Disney Weekend (part five)

Chip and I watched Carousel of Progress and rode the WEDway People Mover (now the Tomorrowland Transit Authority) while waiting for the flag retreat to begin. (Sidenote: Disney attractions change. Sometimes it's a name change (MGM to Hollywood Studios) and sometimes it's a theme change (ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter to Stitch's Great Escape.) Regardless of the change, some people refuse to adapt. It will always be the WEDway People Mover to me and it will always be MGM to Chip.)

The Carousel of Progress is delightful. It follows one family through several decades. Supposedly, there is a cat in every scene. I haven't found them all. If you have, tell me where they are.

The WEDway People Mover is an open air ride on a track that circles Tomorrowland. It's a great way to see the park and people watch. I highly recommend it. Bonus: The line is usually short. Like, non-existent, short.

We also went to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Remember how in the movie, the Monsters realized that human laughter produced more energy than human screams? The attraction takes advantage of this. It is an interactive show that harnesses our laughter to power Monstropolis. Chip always wants to be picked to be "that guy". (They do NOT pick girls to be "that guy" and I keep telling her that.) There are several characters that show up in every show, and part of the humor is that the humans do not know they are going to be picked to show up on screen. (For example, Mike Wozowaski, with one eye. The human is supposed to cover an eye, usually takes a few seconds for him to figure it out. Awkward= funny.) This time, when they picked a little girl in the audience to be Boo, Chip and I got on screen! They showed the little girl, who was dresses as a princess, and then they showed us in our tiaras, and then the guy next to us who was wearing his Duke t-shirt. The joke was that there was lots of royalty in the audience. Who cares!? We made it on TV!
We still had a few minutes before the flag retreat, so we headed to City Hall so I could ask them about a button I saw earlier in the day. Someone was wearing a New Fantasyland button and I wanted to know how they got it. Turns out, there was a cast member preview of New Fantasyland while we were in the park. (I am signed up for the Passholder Preview on November 3; I'm so excited!)

City Hall is near the Barber Shop. I've never been inside, so I decided to check it out. This is the place where they do first haircuts for babies and give the parents a certificate and a lock of hair. Turns out they also do adult cuts. In addition, they will sprinkle pixie dust on you! (look past the tiara)

After I was sprinkled with pixie dust, it was (finally) time to watch the flag retreat. As the script from The Carousel of Progress states, Walt "himself was probably as American as anyone could possibly be." The flag retreat ceremony was amazing. There was a marching band, an  honor guard, and a former Marine participating in the ceremony. I may have gotten patriotic chilly bumps. Excellent job Disney.

Chip had to leave at this point, so I continued on by myself. Bye Chip. (No pressure, but move back soon.)

Disney Weekend (part four)

Day Two

One of the nice things about staying on property is when you wake up in the morning, you do not feel the need to rush immediately for the parks. Just kidding, I do not have the ability to turn off the urge to go to the parks first thing. Chip, on the other hand, had to drive home that day, so she made sure to sleep as late as possible.

When we finally made it to the parks, we looked for short lines so we could kill time before our lunch reservations at The Plaza. The Jungle Cruise (which, for some reason I always call the Jungle Book) had an hour line and The Pirates of the Caribbean was closed. (The last time POTC was closed, they handed out stickers. Not so much this time.)

We ended up going to the Enchanted Tiki Room, where the birds sing words and the flowers croon. The Enchanted Tiki Room is a little dated and it is not on my must do list every time I'm there. But, it is in the shade and it is air conditioned, and sometimes that is enough. A while back, I noticed something in the Enchanted Tiki Room that looked like my sorority's letters, and Chip took a picture of it this time. See if you can spot it.

Ok, technically this might count more as a picture of a photo from One Man's Dream. Close enough.

I will admit that having a pass eliminates the pressure to be on a ride or in line for a ride every minute that I'm in a park. We decided to head to Main Street to shop until our reservation time. I ended up buying a Minnie cameo! Every year my Mom invites me to a fundraising event that has a cameo theme, and next time I will able to represent Disney.

Finally lunch time. This is the first time I've eaten at The Plaza Restaurant. It is pretty small and they really pack the guests in. The atrium we were seated in had too many children and not enough noise dampeners. The french fries are amazing. Highly recommend them. I ordered the club sandwich; it was good. I always forget to request club sandwiches without the extra layer of bread. My mouth is too small to fit the extra piece. Oh well, not a big deal to pick out, but I hate waste.

While relaxing in the restaurant after the meal (amazing how easy it was to relax once the children left) I asked Chip to see the times guide she picked up. Biggest Disney recommendation so far in this entire blog- Pick up a times guide! The park maps are helpful, but they only show the rides and parade routes. The times guide shows the little extras that you will miss because you do not know about them or where and when to find them. While checking the time guide, I suggested that we check out the flag retreat ceremony. Chip agreed, but since she had to drive home, that was the last thing she could do before her drive.

Disney Weekend (part three)

After the re-ride, we headed next door to the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith. I have decided it is official. I am getting old. Ordinarily, I like sitting in the back of the rollercoaster. It is a launch coaster and goes from 0 to 60mph in less than 3 seconds. I used to feel that sitting in the last row produced a better ride. Now I feel as though the back is less smooth. Time to graduate to the middle.

After the rollercoaster, we headed to the back of the park to Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. One Man's Dream is a museum of Walt's early life and early successes followed by a film narrated by Julie Andrews. The museum includes concept art and models of the different Disneylands from around the world and New Fantasyland. The film also includes footage staring Walt himself. I get chilly bumps every time I watch it.

Fay had to leave us at this point, grown-up responsibilities and whatnot. Chip and I went to Star Tours, the Star Wars themed 3D motion simulator attration. I have decided from now on to wear an eye-patch on this ride. I can handle 3D or I can handle a motion simulator, but I cannot handle both at the same time without getting nauseated. Solution? Eye patch. This way the movie will still be in focus, but no longer in 3D.

Chip and I headed to Mamma Melrose's for dinner and by the time we finished dinner, it was 9 o'clock. Extra Magic Hours! Remember how I told you that staying on property is a rare treat for me? Well, this was the first time I got to go to Extra Magic Hours. Gotta be honest, it's a little disappointing. Only select attrations and gift shops remain open. (Bummer.) And you have to show your room key to get in the queues for the rides (Minor Hassle.) On the other hand, occasionally someone without a resort id will try to get in line and a cast member will have to explain extra magic hours and how the park is closed to anyone who is not a resort guest (Schadenfreude!)

We watched Muppet*Vision 3D. The signs are hilarous. The bottom of the sign reads "Another timely service from the Muppet Labs Dept. of Wild Guesses."

Favorite quotes from the show:

Sam Eagle: Will you stop this foolishness?
Gonzo: What foolishness would you like to see?

Sam Eagle: It's called "A Salute to All Nations, But Mostly America".
Of course, anything Waldorf and Statler say.

Overall, very satisfying Day One.

Disney Weekend (part two)

After eating and drinking around the world for hours, the three of us headed to Hollywood Studios. The first ride everyone heads for (and rightfully so) is Toy Story Mania.  It is a 3D shooting ride and the newest ride in the park. Since it is so interactive, one can go on it again and again without getting bored. Fay had never been on it, so she and Chip rode it together. I sat by myself and managed to unlock a new section of the board. So exciting! Chip had the highest score out of the 8 possible players. Good job, Chip!

After that, we headed for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Chip and I know the ride by heart. We try not to talk over Rod Sterling as he does his introduction, but sometimes we get carried away. This was one of those times. Once the introduction was over, we headed for the inside queue. Chip was pointing out hidden Mickeys to Fay (which is really strange, because Fay is the only one to have actually worked at Disney) and I was suggesting we do our sorority hand symbol when the camera takes our picture. We got to the front of the queue and were told we would have to wait for the next car. No big deal. So, I start talking to the cast member, Henry about the usual stuff, like, can we please sit in the front row, how do you like your job, etc. Funny guy! The Tower of Terror is basically a yo-yo. Henry said his job has its ups and downs. I am a sucker for lame jokes, love ‘em! Naturally, I laughed way too hard and way too long. Apparently, he was entertained by us, because he gave us fastpasses to re-ride. I have never had a cast member give me a fastpass before. Highlight of the day!

We rode, we threw our “gang symbol”, we exited. On the way out, a different cast member stopped us, and said we’d “been requested.” Yikes! Fay thought we were in trouble for throwing our gang symbol.  

Chip uses her phone to take pictures of the ride photos, so I had to run to the exit to grab her. The cast member took us through the back of the ride, and back to the loading area. He dropped us off with Henry, who sat us in the front row and we got to re-ride. Nice!

Disney Weekend (part one)

I love Disney World. I have a seasonal pass (1. It’s cheaper than the annual. 2. The blackout dates are for times when I would not want to be there anyway. Summer? No thank you!) I live pretty close, so I often make a day trip to The Happiest Place on Earth. This past weekend I actually stayed on property, a rare treat. My Disney buddy, Chip, moved away and came back for a wedding. But, really, I’ll take any excuse to go to Disney.

As soon as we arrived at Walt Disney World, we went straight to Disney’s All-Star Music Resort. As resort guests, we were able to participate in extra magic hours at the parks, and I didn’t want to interrupt the fun to check-in later. I wanted to see if they could issue us our resort ids. Of course, this being Disney, the Cast Member at the front desk offered to check us in to the hotel room instead, 6 hours before check-in time. The room had wash-cloth monsters in the window and a towel Mickey on the bed. The shampoo in the bathroom had Mickey ears. I love the extra magic that comes with staying at a Disney hotel.

October is a great time to visit the parks. The weather is a little nicer and the parks are a little emptier. This is also the time of year that Disney makes an extra effort to entice out-of-towners to visit with the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

Naturally, first stop was Epcot for lunch. Chip is a vegetarian and this is the first year they had an all Vegan option. She ordered the Chili (ho-hum) and the Chocolate Cake with Passion Fruit Sorbet and Coconut Foam (so good!). The Berry Smoothie was also a big hit.

My favorites of the day were the Bacardi Frozen Dragon Berry Colada, Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce, and the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. The biggest miss of the day was the Bohae Black Raspberry Wine, it tasted like part raspberry, part vinegar.  Chip wanted to try it because she remembered the name from years past, but couldn’t remember if she liked it or not. The good news is, the colossal wine failure inspired us to pick-up a tasting notebook so we could keep a record for next year.

I have had a smart phone for a few months now, and cannot remember what life was like without one. I checked Facebook while we were drinking and shopping, and saw that Fay, a sorority sister we had not seen in years, was in the next country over. I messaged her and we met up. We ended up spending the rest of the day together.

I recommend that anyone who spends as much time at Disney as I do apply for a Disney Chase Visa. There are discounts and perks that come with the card. My favorite perk is that you can get a private meet and greet session with characters, and a free photo. The line was pretty short, so we did that before leaving Epcot.

First post.

Here we go. Off to Neverland.

Hey Katrina! Can you see this?