And all at once, everything was different. Literally. *WDW NYE 2019 TR* Updated 4/11x2*COMPLETE*

Chapter Eight Part Two

Obviously our morning started out pretty rough...only riding Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin during a morning EMH?? That's crazy!!

But don't worry about us too much, things would get better!!

We ended up making it into one of the first groups of the day for Haunted Mansion.

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My mood before making onto HM:

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If we ever win the lottery, one of the gazillion things I want to do is recreate Gracey Manor as my house. Can you even imagine??

We were definitely feeling like Happy Haunts after a successful ride through the mansion, and I wanted to go to Momento Mori...I am always looking for the slip on shoes that look like the wallpaper, and they never have them when I am there :sad:

Sadly, Momento Mori was still closed :sad2:

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(but that's ok, we'd try again later!)

Our disappointment was short lived because look at this gloriously empty walkway!!!!!

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Such a welcome respite after the crowds we'd been dealing with.

We just sort of wandered along toward Adventureland, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells and just enjoying being there in general.

I wanted to ride Pirates when we got over there, and even though it was posted at 30 minutes, I knew it wouldn't be that long.

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Even when posted times at PotC are high, my experience is that it's usually half whatever is posted. Every single time. Don't take that as gospel, but I have never waited the full posted time here. That held true once again, and we were on in about fifteen minutes.

Afterward the boys had to keep tradition alive and engage in a little gift shop sword fighting

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Then they got extra fancy and went all in with double swords

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I'm the mean mom who doesn't let them climb on stuff, or sit on walls, or basically anything fun, so they always appreciate that I actually let them play with the swords at Disney World :rotfl:

Even though we go to the parks fairly frequently, it is always our goal to do something new each trip. This time, I was determined to go through the Swiss Family Tree House!!
DH and X went to find a treat (which you'll see in a minute), but L and I started our climb into the treehouse.

How cool is this place?!? I was so mad at myself for never taking the time to go through it before, it was so neat! Here's a ton of pictures I took up there:

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What a view, right? I could handle seeing that out my window every morning ::yes::

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And finally, my throne:

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Sorry for the photo overload of the treehouse, but I just fell in love with it. I plan to go back through in June so DH can see it, I know he'd love it. I feel like it's one of those things where you see something new every time you go through it. I'm such a sucker for Disney details, that it's just right up my alley.

So here is what X and DH were up to:

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Citrus Swirl Floats!! L and I were holding out for a different treat, so we didn't get our own. I LOOOOVE Citrus Swirl, but I didn't really like it in the float form (yes, I actually managed to get a couple of bites!). I'd rather just have it on its own.

After the floats were finished, we took the magical Adventureland-to-Frontierland-Restroom-Tunnel (trademark, LOL) to do one of our Very Favorite Activities: The Country Bear Jamboree!!

My regular followers know my undying love for this show, so I won't rehash that, but please understand that I'm obsessed with this show. Maybe to an unhealthy level, I'm not sure :rotfl:

Because we are Country Bear Whisperers, we caught my best pal Big Al out and about

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Now let's go see us a show!

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I will never ever ever get tired of the Country Bears.

Ever.

After CBs we went back to Momento Mori and bought a few things, then we were all starving and were ready for some food.

We had very specific things we'd planned to eat today, which meant we had to go back HERE:

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:scared1::scared1:

L and I wanted something from Storybook Treats

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so we got in line for that (it was a few minutes before opening time, so we were stuck in line, hence the crooked side view picture of the sign!), while X and DH went to get in line at The Friar's Nook for the rest of the food

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While we were all standing and waiting in line, DH and I realized the kids would be more help if they went and claimed a table for us, so we sent them to do that instead of waiting in each of the lines with us.

What were L and I after??

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The Peter Pan Float! Cute right?? But sooo gross. We ended up throwing them away and getting waters from The Friar's Nook. Now, I'm guessing it was just poorly mixed lime stuff, b/c normally we love sherbet/sprite mixed together. But this softserve left a waxy film on our teeth that coated our mouths and was just horrible. It was bitter and just :crazy2:

Fortunately the loaded tots we got from Friar's Nook was a huge hit with all of us.
DH and I had the Loaded Fiesta Tots:

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and the boys both got the Loaded Pub Tots (which I'm not seeing on the current menu, but it had cheese and bacon and chives), I didn't manage to get a picture, they shoveled them in and loved them.

These tots were one of our favorite foods of the trip for all of us.

We were all ready to go back to the resort for awhile, but I had to take some time for castle appreciation, since it would be our final time there this trip.

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We avoided THIS on Main Street

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and cut through the stores, buying several things along the way. We got our MU and Oozma Kappa hats here, but I guess I didn't get any pics of us in them yet.

Once we finally made it out, we ended the MK part of the day the same we began:

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See you real soon, you beautiful home sweet home of mine!!

Next update will be some resort time and heading over to Hollywood Studios for the night...a change in the weather was on the way, which will alter some plans!

See you then!
 
EMH that morning sounded nuts! Is it normal for them to do the second scan farther into the park? I am assuming so since they switched the welcome show to the castle stage.

Thank goodness the madness died down and you all were able to enjoy a few more attractions. But sorry to hear the Peter Pan float was a dud! Man, that's a bummer. I was considering getting one in June but maybe not...
 
it has now been decided that we're going to MNSSHP in September too!!

That is so much fun!! I just love the halloween parade!

It was a 40 minute posted wait with people spilling out all over the place. I had to document on Instagram of course, LOL!!

Ugh...when there is a long wait for IASW you know it's gonna be a busy day at MK...that happened when we were there and it's really discouraging!
 
Swiss Family Treehouse is truly underrated. It's such a cool perspective of the park. I recommend going up there to watch fireworks, it's so quiet and uniquely magical.

Yay for meeting Big Al! I probably have an equally undying love for CBJ and ugh I'm so happy the country bears now are out fairly regularly. Daily Big Al hugs are now necessary af

I'm sorry to hear that the Peter Pan Float isn't as good as you had hoped. It still kinda makes me curious about it. But that's so disappointing.
 


I'm glad the day got better for you!! And it's always fun trying something new- I've never done the Treehouse!

Ahh Big Al! Love the pics!

I'm sorry the Peter Pan float was a disappointment! I'm glad I didn't end up trying it lol
 
Enjoying your TR...my 2 boys will be your kids ages very soon and I'm happy to see they will still enjoy being around their momma!! lol

Does your wax warmer have a removable wax tray? Mine does that sits on top and I always put it in the freezer to harder the wax and make it not so mushy when I try to change scents.
 
Thanks for the write up on the rhino tour. I'm planning a trip with DH and he's not much of a ride person, so I've been taking notes of non-ride things and I think he'd really enjoy the rhino tour, so it's on the list. And it's further up the list now that I've read your write up!
 


Since my brief comments this morning about June and Sept, it has now been decided that we're going to MNSSHP in September too!! Tickets are purchased, and we're ready for some extra Halloween goodness.

So excited!!!

I swear, if a hurricane comes and tries to mess with that September trip, I hope it's prepared to deal with me. I will fight the hurricane. I will somehow develop superhero weather defeating powers and fight. the. hurricane. It does not want to mess with me!!

You get that hurricane girlll.

Yacht Club is the green clover and aloe scent used at many of the resorts, and is pleasant.

This is probably my favorite Disney scent :rotfl:

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Love this!


Nooooo :confused3

I had a bad experience with one brand of Disney candles, and was scared to try these, but eventually I was convinced. They're not bad! They're more expensive than Scentsy, so I won't buy from them often, but I would buy the Soarin' scent again for sure, and the circles.

I had a bad experience with a Disney candle brand before too! I got one that smelled like the Poly but it didn't it just smelled gross. But I'm not much of a candle lover anyway so I don't usually buy any.

I think we're doing three nights of it? We get in on Sept 13 (friday the 13th...cue spooky noises, lol), and I think we're doing fri/sat/sun?

Yes we are!

Because we are Country Bear Whisperers, we caught my best pal Big Al out and about


I want to meet a country bear!
 
EMH that morning sounded nuts! Is it normal for them to do the second scan farther into the park? I am assuming so since they switched the welcome show to the castle stage.

Thank goodness the madness died down and you all were able to enjoy a few more attractions. But sorry to hear the Peter Pan float was a dud! Man, that's a bummer. I was considering getting one in June but maybe not...

Based on previous experiences, no, it's not normal. I think something was going on with their system, but now I feel like I need to be extra prepared just in case it happens again. I've done several EMH since the change to the castle welcome show, and this is the first time they've done the rescan for every guest.

the PP float usually gets good reviews, so I honestly wonder if it was a first-batch-of-the-day mess up. Especially if it's made like Dole Whip with the powder stuff - like maybe the mix wasn't done right?? It was such an odd sensation of it leaving the waxy feeling on my teeth, yuck!

That is so much fun!! I just love the halloween parade!



Ugh...when there is a long wait for IASW you know it's gonna be a busy day at MK...that happened when we were there and it's really discouraging!

Me too!! The parade is one of my favorite parts of the Halloween party!

Part of me gets excited to see a wait there, like more people are enjoying it, but ugh, yes! When the line is long there it must be bad. Since it was early and the line was long, my hope is that they added some boats to speed things up.

Swiss Family Treehouse is truly underrated. It's such a cool perspective of the park. I recommend going up there to watch fireworks, it's so quiet and uniquely magical.

Yay for meeting Big Al! I probably have an equally undying love for CBJ and ugh I'm so happy the country bears now are out fairly regularly. Daily Big Al hugs are now necessary af

I'm sorry to hear that the Peter Pan Float isn't as good as you had hoped. It still kinda makes me curious about it. But that's so disappointing.

Ooh, watching fireworks up there is a great idea!!! I'm going to have to try that!!

I love having the bears out more!! It used to be such a rare thing, and now we see them every visit. More bears, more bears, more bears!! (Now to get Clarabelle and Horace out and more accessible beyond the hoedown!)

I have to think that it was just a bad mix of the lime stuff?? Surely they're not as popular as they are if they don't taste right, right?? Because the combo should be a winner.

I'm glad the day got better for you!! And it's always fun trying something new- I've never done the Treehouse!

Ahh Big Al! Love the pics!

I'm sorry the Peter Pan float was a disappointment! I'm glad I didn't end up trying it lol

I was surprised by how much I loved the treehouse! I think the only thing left for me to do there now is Astro Orbiter

Enjoying your TR...my 2 boys will be your kids ages very soon and I'm happy to see they will still enjoy being around their momma!! lol

Does your wax warmer have a removable wax tray? Mine does that sits on top and I always put it in the freezer to harder the wax and make it not so mushy when I try to change scents.

Aw, my two are mama's boys - I think boys tolerate mom being around more than girls! I never wanted to hang out with my parents, but mine don't seem to mind.

Some of mine do, I've never had to do the freezer trick with other wax melts before, but may have to with the Magic Candle Co ones. They're just such a mushy mess to get out. All my others just pop right out after hardening, and these stay so soft. On the plus side, it does make it easier to cut the cubes in half with a knife!

Thanks for the write up on the rhino tour. I'm planning a trip with DH and he's not much of a ride person, so I've been taking notes of non-ride things and I think he'd really enjoy the rhino tour, so it's on the list. And it's further up the list now that I've read your write up!

It was such a great tour, and if he enjoys animals and learning more about them, he'll probably really like it. Animal Kingdom is a great park anyway for non-ride people, there's just so much to see. I hope you guys have a great trip!

So excited!!!

You get that hurricane girlll.

This is probably my favorite Disney scent :rotfl:

Love this!

Nooooo :confused3

I had a bad experience with a Disney candle brand before too! I got one that smelled like the Poly but it didn't it just smelled gross. But I'm not much of a candle lover anyway so I don't usually buy any.

Yes we are!

I want to meet a country bear!

Meee too!! I want to see the overlay for PeopleMover, and I'm looking forward to something different than Hallowishes

I will make that hurricane wish it never formed, LOL

It's a good scent! I like that it's not so in your face

the power of portrait mode!

it was such a mess!! I've never seen anything like it. It shouldn't take close to 20 minutes to get to your first EMH ride. If they hadn't given up scanning, there's no way everyone would have made it in the park before regular opening time started.

I feel like a Country Bear whisperer now, we see them all the time, so I will make it my goal to get you to a country bear on our trip!!
 
bringing an end to January 3.

I am super pretending that you went to my favorite part on my birthday on purpose and it's wasn't actually a coincidence :rotfl:

The Bento Box also sounds pretty good.

It is good! I had a version of it a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

Now, I'm guessing it was just poorly mixed lime stuff, b/c normally we love sherbet/sprite mixed together. But this softserve left a waxy film on our teeth that coated our mouths and was just horrible. It was bitter and just :crazy2:

This is the most upsetting. I mean, I don't love lime stuff, so I haven't managed to convince myself to try it yet, but I adore sherbet and soft serve so the idea that it left a waxy aftertaste is sad.
 
So what's been happening around here? Well, DH and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary
I like how the anniversary was an after thought... oh yeah that too... But Disney first!

I also ordered some wax melts and air freshener circles from Magic Candle Co.

I think I will need to leave hints for DH to get me some for Mother's Day.

"Just let them in, it doesn't matter if they're not resort guests, EMH will be over before we get them all scanned at this point", and it was like an insane free for all flood of humanity. It was also about 15 minutes into EMH at this point.
Ugh! I would be so annoyed by that! I mean MOST people were probably resort guest but still.

We were feeling defeated, and annoyed. Our FPs were planned for Hollywood Studios that night, so cutting time short in MK was not what we wanted to do. X and I decided we needed a restroom break, so we worked our way through the crowd and visited the Kingdom of Corona. With about a million of our closest friends.

They are the best bathrooms ever.

My mood before making onto HM:

Ha! I love those statues!

How cool is this place?!? I was so mad at myself for never taking the time to go through it before, it was so neat! Here's a ton of pictures I took up there:
It really is cool. The second time we had done it, the girls had just seen the movie and the loved every second of doing it.

Sorry for the photo overload of the treehouse, but I just fell in love with it. I plan to go back through in June so DH can see it, I know he'd love it. I feel like it's one of those things where you see something new every time you go through it. I'm such a sucker for Disney details, that it's just right up my alley.
Disney Details for sure!




Citrus Swirl Floats!! L and I were holding out for a different treat, so we didn't get our own. I LOOOOVE Citrus Swirl, but I didn't really like it in the float form (yes, I actually managed to get a couple of bites!). I'd rather just have it on its own.
Seriously my favorite! Hands down!


They seriously need to shut down It's a small world, move it back and open up that walkway. It is just too tight for the amount of people in the parks these days!

The Peter Pan Float! Cute right?? But sooo gross. We ended up throwing them away and getting waters from The Friar's Nook. Now, I'm guessing it was just poorly mixed lime stuff, b/c normally we love sherbet/sprite mixed together. But this softserve left a waxy film on our teeth that coated our mouths and was just horrible. It was bitter and just :crazy2:
I bet they mixed it wrong first thing in the morning or maybe the machine hadn't been fully cleaned the night before?
 
Meee too!! I want to see the overlay for PeopleMover, and I'm looking forward to something different than Hallowishes

Me too! Spooky Peoplemover :hmghost:

I will make that hurricane wish it never formed, LOL

Yes!

I feel like a Country Bear whisperer now, we see them all the time, so I will make it my goal to get you to a country bear on our trip!!

I want to see one :hyper:
 
Well, I obviously failed at finishing this thing over spring break didn't I?? But at least I failed in spectacular fashion, as it's been about three weeks of nothingness...so, hooray for me??

Luckily my schedule has lessened by a LOT and I have more time over the next couple of weeks, and I am committed *for real* to finishing up.

I have been working a little bit on the plan for the trip DH and I are taking in June, though!! Fast Pass day for that is Wednesday :dogdance::dogdance:

We are doing a few add ons, more than we would ordinarily do. Oops. Not sure how that happened :rolleyes1
We have Rivers of Light Dessert Party, Backstage Magic Tour, and After Hours at DHS.
If I finish this report I *might* start a PTR for that one, we'll see.

Chapter 8 Part Three

I scrolled back to see where I left off...it looks like we were leaving the Magic Kingdom and heading back to the resort for awhile. This will be a teeny tiny mini update, and then I'll start another where I jump into our evening plans.

SO, that being said...we left MK and took the ferry back to the Polynesian

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Ah, those Grand Floridian views :lovestruc

I also finally remembered to take a picture of our building sign - must. document. EVERYTHING.

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I know it might be weird that I preferred our regular room in Rarotonga to the Hawaii building CL experience in 2017, but for me, location is everything. And you could not beat our room location. It was perfect for us, and it changed my opinion on "never" wanting to stay at the Polynesian. Now it's a favorite, and I'm kind of sad we're not going to be there in June.

Did I mention that we might have done a little excessive shopping at the MK that day?? I felt the need to sort through some of it when we got back to the room, I guess.

Here is our doombuggy:

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This thing is awesome. It's literally a tiny replica of a doombuggy from the Haunted Mansion, and when you press the button the ghosts show up "in" the doombuggy and it says quotes from the ride. I wanted it, DH wanted it, so it came home with us. We don't decorate with a lot of Disney in the house (except a few subtle things here and there) but I was willing to leave this out on the coffee table or something. Well, DH ended up taking it to work and put it on his desk :sad2: I think I might need to pick up another one on our next visit!!

We also picked up this print that I LOVE:

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I know I just said we don't decorate with a lot of Disney, but we do have several prints. Some hang in our closet (it's pretty big), but we plan to move them out into the rest of the house at some point. Obviously this artwork is based on the exterior of the DLR Haunted Mansion, but we are equal opportunity HM lovers around here, so bring on the bi-coastal love! I think the art style is adorable and am eyeing a few different walls for its permanent place in our home.

Another favorite of mine is anything Jarrod Maruyama creates. If you're not familiar with his artwork, he does the Kingdom of Cute stuff. In 2016 I got one of the personalized D-Tech phone cases with his character creations on it and it opened a can of worms. One of DH's developers was in WDW during the Festival of Art when Maruyama was there, and he brought home his Country Bears print for me. Sadly he wasn't able to do the meet and greet and get it signed (it was during one of those super rainy days back in January), but I am just happy to have it. I also got the Kingdom of Cute backpack for my birthday. BUT all that being said, I do collect the KofC series of trading pins, so I purchased a couple of boxes

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I kept the Jungle Cruise boat but since I already had Space Mountain, I set it aside to use as a trader (you'll see what I ended up with later on in the report).

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The eagle was another repeat, so it was also designated as a trader.

While I was in the room taking random photos of Disney merch, the kids were getting ready to go to the pool. I changed once they finished and we spent an hour or so by the Oasis pool. I left my phone in the room to charge, but I feel like this is the day I had another Pago Pago Painkiller ( Myer's Original Dark Rum, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice, and Cream of Coconut) and a Niue Rita (Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila with Cointreau and Lime, Orange, Guava, and Pineapple Juices). I never drink this much on vacation, but there was just something about the Polynesian that said, "drink all the drinks!!"...and I listened!! :rotfl::rotfl:

It was WINDY and switching between blazing sun and cloud cover at the pool, so I was going back and forth from hot and needing a dip in the pool, to wet and freezing on the lounge chair. The sky was darkening the longer we were out there, and rain was in the forecast. I was hoping it wouldn't mess up our evening DHS plans!

After the pool, the kids went to Captain Cook's and picked up some food for all of us. I ended up feeling like a pepperoni flatbread

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Sometimes you just need a Disney flatbread :confused3 (or maybe I just needed to soak up the pool booze??)

We changed and got ready for the bus ride over to Hollywood Studios.

I need to transfer some photos over to Flickr, but after I do that I will start on my next post and have that up later tonight (seriously!)

See you in a bit!!
 
Chapter Eight Part Four

(see?? I TOLD you I'd be right back!!)

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The night I'm writing about was a little stormy and spooky so I feel the Scream gif is fitting. It's also one of my favorite movies so :confused3

(Ooh, by the way, we saw both Us and Pet Sematary over the past few weeks, both very good and I recommend - Us slightly over Pet Sematary, especially if you don't know what you're getting into with P.S)

ANYWAY...

We made it to Hollywood Studios. The Polynesian temporary bus stop was very far away when leaving the park, but thankfully they dropped off an itsy bitsy bit closer (not by much, but every bit helps, right?).

I'd mentioned it was windy and rain was forecast. So how windy was it??

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Look at those palm trees!

I almost lost my ears a few times when it would gust, and it even knocked my chunky self off balance a couple of times. Super windy.

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We started to head on in, but before we got to the tapstiles, I noticed some special friends over to the side. I ALWAYS miss out on characterpaloozas and character trainings b/c of timing (it's the only reason i pay for Kenny the Pirate and I STILL miss it every time, or get turned away b/c they're finishing up), so I was very, very excited to actually make one this time. Can you tell I'm happy??

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I was definitely living my best life right then!! We handed my phone to the boys to take pictures, so I'm really glad we ended up with nice photos...they both have an annoying habit of zooming in as far as possible and handing the camera back with grainy mega close ups of our faces. They think it's hilarious. (I think it ruins bubblegum wall photos while I'm wearing bubblegum wall ears - which is why there isn't one of those in this report :sad2:)

It was a little bit busy on Hollywood Boulevard, but not terrible

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The last March of the First Order was getting ready to start, so we stopped for that

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and then headed toward our first Fast Pass:

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It was the perfect moody weather night for visit to the Tower of Terror!! One of those where you're not sure if the storminess is real, or just what is manufactured for the ride experience.

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Another great ride sequence! We all love ToT so much...we probably talk about it at least once a week, no kidding. X said the other day he thinks it's b/c it's one of the first rides we ever went on as a family. (if you haven't read my first TR, the first rides I took the kids on on their first trip was RnR and ToT :rotfl2: - show no mercy!!)

After our terrifying plunge in the service elevator, we crossed the park for our next FP, pausing to catch Darth Maul

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He's L's favorite

The front of the stage was packed, so it was funny to see the rear so empty. Aside from the stormtrooper keeping guard.

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We had some time to kill before our next Fast Pass, so we decided to visit the Muppets again

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I noticed Gonzo dangling from the clock...have I missed this in the past?? Or is this one of those things that I see every time, forget it, and then it becomes new the next trip?? Anyone else have things like that?? :rotfl:

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I made googly eyes over the Muppet Babies poster one more time

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and then settled in for the drama surrounding a self-absorbed ladypig, a lost bunny, and a random 3D guy that is not a muppet at all.

I'm going to go make dinner and then will be back to finish up this night!!
 
Chapter Eight Part Five

When we exited Muppets 3D it was POURING rain

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We stood there in the big covered area outside the exit of the Muppet theater and waited until it slowed down a little. Everyone was thirsty so we dashed over to Backlot Express. X and I went to get drinks and DH and L went to find a seat.

How do you kill time waiting for a fast pass while it's pouring rain??

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Luckily our destination wasn't far, so when it came time to dash through the rain we weren't dashing very far

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Once again I was NOT the rebel spy :rolleyes::rolleyes:

(I am in my heart though! ::yes:: )

We managed to survive the exit through Tattooine Traders (that store is always crazy!!), and our next dash was to dinner.

It was dark and rainy, so I don't have a picture...in fact, the only picture you get from dinner is this one:

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Why don't we just call it art?? Onion Rings In The Dark.

I vaguely remember what we had...I know we ordered onion rings and fried pickles and started out trying to pass them back and forth between me and X in the front seat and DH and L in the back. We eventually gave up and L and I stuck with the fried pickles. X had the cheesesteak sandwich, and ended up not liking the beer cheese. He sort of picked it apart and ate what didn't have the cheese on it. I had the beef and blue burger, DH had the bbq burger, and L had the classic American burger.

We had hitchhikers in the back of our car, and they were on the dining plan but not quite sure how to use it. Our server's approach was to speak very loudly and slowly to them :rolleyes:

SciFi is one of my all time favorite Disney restaurants, I don't think you can beat the atmosphere.

After dinner, it was time to head toward Toy Story Land and our Slinky Dog Dash fast pass. I was happy to ride it on our VIP day, but was REALLY looking forward to riding it in the dark. Who knew we'd be riding in the dark AND the drizzle??

Snow was falling on the Chinese Theater

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The lights in TSL were so pretty!!

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The crowds were very manageable, and the standby wait for Slinky was only 50 minutes.

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Considering the fact that every other time we were near it, it was well over double that, 50 minutes seemed reasonable!! Reasonable or not, we had our FPs, so we didn't have to wait. When we got up to tap in for our FP, the group in front of us tried to tap in, but Mickey turned blue. The CM said, "I'm sorry, sir, it says you don't have any fast passes for today".

The guy FLIPS OUT and starts screaming and swearing at the CM, yelling over at his wife, "This bleepbleep says we don't have any fast passes! What the bleepbleep is he talking about??" Etc...Another CM came over to back him up, and I hope they were able to diffuse the situation.

We snuck by and scanned in, and made our way through the line.

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Front row, woo! :dogdance::dogdance:

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Riding at night was super fun. I just love this little coaster!!

After riding Slinky, we were planning to leave the park. I was feeling sad b/c the whole reason we were ending our trip with DHS was to see Sunset Seasons Greetings again, but I knew no snoap would be flying in the rain

(OMG, can you imagine how slippery it would be?)

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When we passed Midway Mania, the wait time wasn't bad, so we decided that's how we'd end the night instead!

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We ended up cruising through the line until Mr. Potato Head, so we got to listen to his stand up routine while we waiting. We also struck up a conversation with the family in front of us. They were almond growers and were eating their flavored Blue Diamond almonds in the line, and shared with the boys. (not gonna lie, I couldn't help but think, "what if the boys had a tree nut allergy?")

I loved this sketch:

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And UGH, this is why we can't have nice things!!

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I was a little shocked by how much damage was already done at several points in the TSMM line.

After a little friendly carnival game competition, we started making our way to the front of the park. It was pretty empty and kind of creepy after leaving Toy Story Land, before we got back to the central area of the park.

I took one last blurry picture on Hollywood Boulevard

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and then it was off to the bus stop and back to the Poly.

Our last park night is always bittersweet!

The next update will be our departure day! Grand Floridian Cafe and Dole Whips!! I'll have that up in the next couple of days. See you then!!
 
Huge catch up session..... I was behind!

We ended up making it into one of the first groups of the day for Haunted Mansion.
No better way to start the day!

We were definitely feeling like Happy Haunts after a successful ride through the mansion, and I wanted to go to Momento Mori...I am always looking for the slip on shoes that look like the wallpaper, and they never have them when I am there :sad:
Oh! I would love those shoes!

Afterward the boys had to keep tradition alive and engage in a little gift shop sword fighting
Haha, my boys did this when they were younger too!

Even though we go to the parks fairly frequently, it is always our goal to do something new each trip. This time, I was determined to go through the Swiss Family Tree House!!
I did this om my March trip! I love all the deytail and there are some great Hidden Mickeys!

After the floats were finished, we took the magical Adventureland-to-Frontierland-Restroom-Tunnel (trademark, LOL) to do one of our Very Favorite Activities: The Country Bear Jamboree!!
The Country Bear Jamboree is the best!

The Peter Pan Float! Cute right?? But sooo gross. We ended up throwing them away and getting waters from The Friar's Nook. Now, I'm guessing it was just poorly mixed lime stuff, b/c normally we love sherbet/sprite mixed together. But this softserve left a waxy film on our teeth that coated our mouths and was just horrible. It was bitter and just :crazy2:
Oh no! You must have had a bad batch. I had in March and it was super yummy.

We are doing a few add ons, more than we would ordinarily do. Oops. Not sure how that happened :rolleyes1
We have Rivers of Light Dessert Party, Backstage Magic Tour, and After Hours at DHS.
If I finish this report I *might* start a PTR for that one, we'll see.
Same here....for our anniversary trip we have EMM at Toy Story Land, Keys to the Kingdom, afternoon tea at Garden View Tea Room, dinner at V&A's, etc etc. We are definitely splurging!

Did I mention that we might have done a little excessive shopping at the MK that day?? I felt the need to sort through some of it when we got back to the room, I guess.
Disney shopping is fun!

Another favorite of mine is anything Jarrod Maruyama creates. If you're not familiar with his artwork, he does the Kingdom of Cute stuff. In 2016 I got one of the personalized D-Tech phone cases with his character creations on it and it opened a can of worms. One of DH's developers was in WDW during the Festival of Art when Maruyama was there, and he brought home his Country Bears print for me. Sadly he wasn't able to do the meet and greet and get it signed (it was during one of those super rainy days back in January), but I am just happy to have it. I also got the Kingdom of Cute backpack for my birthday. BUT all that being said, I do collect the KofC series of trading pins, so I purchased a couple of boxes
Now I am obsessed with this line. So cute!

Sometimes you just need a Disney flatbread :confused3 (or maybe I just needed to soak up the pool booze??)
Food delivered to you pool side when you are in a tipsy state is possibly the best thing ever!

I'd mentioned it was windy and rain was forecast. So how windy was it??
So windy!

We started to head on in, but before we got to the tapstiles, I noticed some special friends over to the side. I ALWAYS miss out on characterpaloozas and character trainings b/c of timing (it's the only reason i pay for Kenny the Pirate and I STILL miss it every time, or get turned away b/c they're finishing up), so I was very, very excited to actually make one this time. Can you tell I'm happy??
That is fabulous!!

We stood there in the big covered area outside the exit of the Muppet theater and waited until it slowed down a little. Everyone was thirsty so we dashed over to Backlot Express. X and I went to get drinks and DH and L went to find a seat.
Yikes!

SciFi is one of my all time favorite Disney restaurants, I don't think you can beat the atmosphere.

After dinner, it was time to head toward Toy Story Land and our Slinky Dog Dash fast pass. I was happy to ride it on our VIP day, but was REALLY looking forward to riding it in the dark. Who knew we'd be riding in the dark AND the drizzle??
We love Sci Fi too and SDD in the dark is so fun!

When we passed Midway Mania, the wait time wasn't bad, so we decided that's how we'd end the night instead!
Great choice!

Our last park night is always bittersweet!
Isn't it though.....
 
I see Kingdom of Cute everywhere and never knew it had a name to it. I didn't even know there were pins, WOW. I might need some prints for my future home.

A trip that involves a need for one to try every drink at the bar is a trip going very VERY well.

Ugh, Scream is THE BEST. Up there in my top faves. Wes Craven's best. I def need to go see Pet Sematary and Us asap. I never saw Get Out in theaters and I love the original Pet Sematary (though I doubt this one will compete since it looks like they cut out having a cute little demon Gage).

So glad to hear you caught a Fant meet. AND WITH PLUTO AND MINNIE? That's like Disneyland level randomness wow

I'm sorry to hear it was so rainy. That's no fun, but it def probably helped with emptying out the park.

Lol your first rides at WDW were ToT and RnRC... so glad you weren't my mother or I probably would've hated Disney lol #formerridechicken

MuppetVision looks so sad with so much theming being removed. I know the balloon on the tower has been gone awhile but it still makes me sad. Never noticed Gonzo before up there though. Interesting.

Yas for rebel spies in spirit! (One day though, ONE DAY.)

Omg, that's wild that crack in the paint and wall at TSMM... what are people doing in those queues? Yikes. This is why we can't have nice things.

So sad it's your last night. Truly is bittersweet, but they always end on the bus notes, don't they?
 
We stayed in Rarotonga at The Poly and loved it. It was just a stones throw away from the Ceremonial House, very nice. Your last night looks so fun!

I love ToT and Sci-Fi! We had a great ride this past trip, the poor little girl with her parents by us did not! She was screaming a guttural noise that was quite creepy.

Some people at the FP line, ugh! I see so many just try to walk on or get mad at the CM’s when told they don’t have a FP! The poor CM’s!
 
Love that Haunted Mansion print! And of course you know I love the Kingdom of Cute series too :)

Yay Pluto & Minnie- such a cute pic!

Woo those skies look ominous!!

I really want to ride SDD at night!
 
I noticed Gonzo dangling from the clock...have I missed this in the past?? Or is this one of those things that I see every time, forget it, and then it becomes new the next trip?? Anyone else have things like that?? :rotfl:
Have to say I've never noticed Gonzo up there :rotfl:

The lights in TSL were so pretty!!
Love seeing TSL all lit up at night! So pretty! And SDD at night is very cool
 

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