But Did You Die? A December 2019 TR *COMPLETE 12/13*

[suse66]

At the end of the ride, I was blown away. There have been a few times I have gotten off a ride and just thought WOW, and this was one of them. The effects are so cool and realistic, the only one that I don’t think they completely pulled off was Kylo cutting through the ceiling. I literally just kept saying wow the whole time, as that sums up my experience. This being my first trackless experience, I love that you never know where you’re going to go. My favorite parts of the ride were coming face to face with the AT-ATs and when Kylo Ren forces pushes you back and forth. I couldn’t wait to experience it again, and it was so worth the early wake-up call.

I can't wait to experience this for the first time in July!

Our first stop was for TSMM, the posted wait was 20 minutes, and we waited about that.

Love TSMM!

We had given each child a $50 Disney Gift card and then they had $50 cash from my grandma to spend. But they wanted everything, especially N, so they would have run out of money day one. My rule was if they saw something they wanted and they still wanted it the next day, then and only then could they buy it. We left the store with a long list.

I did the same thing with my three boys....a cooling off period was always helpful in deciding if they really wanted to buy something or not.

The slaw gave it a nice crunch and the sauce was a nice tangy balance to the sausage. I really wished I had gotten that instead.

Yum! It looks delicious!

 

[missangelalexis]

So glad you guys loved RotR! It sounds pretty awesome.

Love all the pics around GE!

 

[ariane37]

Wow that was really a great overview of ROTR! As a non SW fan I'm not TOTALLY excited to ride but I am pretty curious and I think your description is the most detailed I've read. Sounds like a great morning and so glad you enjoyed Galaxy's Edge!

 

[ashw100]

Hello everyone, it has been awhile.


In the beginning of all this, I just didn't want to update. All the news about the virus and then Disney closing and the loss of clients and sanity that came with that. But now honestly, I've just been busy. Between working and distancing learning with the kids, I have so much less time than pre-quarantine. I hope you are all well, my family is healthy and safe at home. So while I have a minute I am going to take us back to a happier time, one without Coronavirus and one with lots of Disney fun.

That’s Where People’s Butts Go

After our breakfast, we explored the marketplace some more.

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The prices were kind of crazy here, even by Disney standards. They wanted $50 for a medium size plush prog, even N said no way Jose when he heard the price. It was fun looking around the shops, but if your claustrophobic or nervous in crowds it can be a nightmare, the shops are so small.

We made our way over to the last area of GE to explore, the Resistance area.

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They just have two stands set up here, but the boys found a lot they wanted.

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Feeling pretty tired given our early start the adults wanted to head out. The boys wanted to do more, so we compromised on one last attraction, Muppet Vision. Thanks to Disney+ all my kids love Muppets now.

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When we were let into the theater and walking to our seats, N had to touch every single seat in our row, which prompted me to say stop, that's where people's butts go. Of course they all got a good giggle at that. That comment hits quite different in a post-CV world though.

They really enjoyed the show, N the most, so I was glad we stayed to do it. Even though it was just past 10 am, we were ready to head out. Even though there wasn’t a practical reason to do so, we wanted to ride the Skyliner.

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N was afraid of the heights.

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We took it to CBR. Having stayed there twice as a family, and once with my family as a kid, CBR feels the most like home to me. It felt so weird to be back there, given how different it is now.

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We got back on and took the Skyliner to Epcot.

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When we got back to Yacht Club, Joe and I force everyone to lay down. The boys weren’t happy about it, and C insisted he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but if we had any hope of surviving this day, we all needed a nap.

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Looks like C was wrong. After resting for an hour and a half, we went down to the pool. We got some lunch to eat and the boys just played in the sandbar area. Having thoroughly rested, we headed to Epcot for the evening.

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I love that the garland reflecting the country.

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We were going to attempt to try some of the holiday kitchens, so we stopped at the Yukon kitchen for the Canadian Wild Rice and ham soup and ice wine flight.

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The soup was very good, I thought the crunch of the almonds was nice. The pretzel roll was very dry and hard. The ice wine flight was too sweet, and coming from me, that’s saying a lot. We also got the Maple Buche de Noel, a gingerbread cake with cranberry sauce.

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This is like all of my favorite Christmas flavors in a cake and I loved it.

We then stopped for a picture in front of the Epcot Christmas tree.

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[cindianne320]

Hi! Thanks for the update. These sure are crazy times, especially for the travel industry. I am glad you are all healthy- we are here as well. Distance Learning is interesting- as a parent, and as a teacher!
Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[rdkeim]

Good to see an update from you! After your early start, it's nice you took it easy the rest of the day. Weird times for sure - hard to keep the spirits up. We missed our Disney trip scheduled for March, rescheduled for Sept. but now that looks in jeopardy? So surreal. Looking forward to another update!

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad you and the family are staying well and keeping busy.

Sounds like the day continued to be a good one!

 

[ashw100]

Hi! Thanks for the update. These sure are crazy times, especially for the travel industry. I am glad you are all healthy- we are here as well. Distance Learning is interesting- as a parent, and as a teacher!
Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

I don't know how you're teaching and and helping kids. I have always loved teachers, but now more than ever ❤

Good to see an update from you! After your early start, it's nice you took it easy the rest of the day. Weird times for sure - hard to keep the spirits up. We missed our Disney trip scheduled for March, rescheduled for Sept. but now that looks in jeopardy? So surreal. Looking forward to another update!

I am sorry you had to cancel your trip. We were supposed to go in two weeks, we have rescheduled for August, not sure if we'll get to do that one either.

Glad you and the family are staying well and keeping busy.

Sounds like the day continued to be a good one!

Thanks, hope you are well too.

 

[ashw100]

Let’s Play All the Games

We had planned on doing some rides, but then I remembered the previews for the new Epcot experiences and we detoured there first.

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The main room has a white mockup of Epcot that they project images on to reflect whatever they are showcasing.

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The 360 screen shows what is to come for Epcot.

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Outside they have all the cool attraction posters from D23.

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And display cases from the movies that will soon be represented in Epcot.

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They also have cool photo ops for the different attractions coming to Epcot.

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It's a nice distraction, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to do it, if I didn’t have the time.

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Now we were ready to do some rides. I had cancelled the FPs I had made at DHS that day and rebooked at Epcot once we realized we wouldn’t be staying through the afternoon. Our first ride was Figment, Connor was excited to see Wayne Szalinski, since he loves all the Honey I shrunk movies.

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Afterward, we let them play around in Imageworks.

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We spotted the Photobooth in there and of course had to stop for some pictures.

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Next up we had our first FP for Spaceship Earth.

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Once again, we let them play around in the post-show area.

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I thought they did a pretty good job.

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We needed a bubblegum wall in case it goes away before we get back.

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They should be Instagram models, right?

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You could see Innoventions West was almost completely demolished at this point.

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[missangelalexis]

Those photo ops are cute! And I love the photobooth pics!

 

[ariane37]

Disney closing and the loss of clients and sanity

Being in the same "business" I get the loss of sanity and having to move/cancel trips! I was definitely a rough few weeks and I truly hope you didn't actually lose clients but were able to rebook them or at least get them credits they'll use with you in the future I know quite a few smaller agencies really were hit hard, we were lucky and while it certainly hurt we are doing well. And now the last couple weeks things are improving as people realize life will resume and they're going to want to travel again! I hope it's started to pick up for you as well xoxo

 

[cindianne320]

I had no idea that area was even in EPCOT- fun to see what they have in the works! My kids love those distractions after the rides. Me? Not so much. LOL!

 

[ashw100]

Those photo ops are cute! And I love the photobooth pics!

Thanks!

Being in the same "business" I get the loss of sanity and having to move/cancel trips! I was definitely a rough few weeks and I truly hope you didn't actually lose clients but were able to rebook them or at least get them credits they'll use with you in the future I know quite a few smaller agencies really were hit hard, we were lucky and while it certainly hurt we are doing well. And now the last couple weeks things are improving as people realize life will resume and they're going to want to travel again! I hope it's started to pick up for you as well xoxo

Thanks, I hope everything turns around quickly. Thankfully, I only use my commissions to pay for my own travel and don't rely on it for income, but it really stinks to have put my heart and soul into a planning a trip only to have to cancel it. But there looks to be a light at the end of the tunnel, for now.

I had no idea that area was even in EPCOT- fun to see what they have in the works! My kids love those distractions after the rides. Me? Not so much. LOL!

Me either, I want to go to the next ride, but it was really nice to slow down and just enjoy.

 

[ashw100]

Finding Marvin

As we were walking through the breezeway I could see Baymax meeting inside. For some reason I thought this had already closed, but since we still had the opportunity to stop, we jumped on it.

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Only Joy was meeting, today.

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I was really happy to get to do this one more time. We were in and out in less than 10 minutes as neither character had any wait. It was a hidden gem for sure. We saw a sign for the new character spot and went to check it out. Again there was no wait, so we got to meet all three super quick.

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Next up, Finding Nemo was a 20 minute wait, which actually means a walk on. Connor saw Marlin as we walked up and said Finding Marvin, I guess he needs to brush up on his Finding Nemo characters.

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The boys wanted to check out the aquariums next, which we never really do.

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We then went over to Turtle Talk, where I invented a new way to wear mouse ears.

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You may look stupid, but I promise you won’t get a headache this way.

C’s streak was finally broken, he didn’t get called on this time. We still had a good time.

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We had one final thing to do in The Seas, which N insisted on, checking out the shark area. I couldn’t’ get all the boys in Bruce’s mouth at once, but I tried.

[]

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We spent about an hour in The Seas, when we got out it was night.

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Our final two FPs for the night would be in The Land, so we headed that way next. Our first FP was for Soarin. Joe took on the burden of my little beauties for a bit.

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And then N.

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Our final FP was for Living with the Land, which had a holiday overlay on it called Merry and Bright. The pictures really don’t do it justice it was beautiful in there.

https://flic.kr/p/2i354DL

https://flic.kr/p/2i354DL

I’ve never seen the Mikey and Minnie shaped pumpkins before, very cool.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2i31Awb]

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I really enjoyed this holiday overlay, but then again, I am not opposed to holiday overlays at all. I also noticed that the film at the end had been updated since we were last there in August. I love LwtL, and its nice to see it getting some love.

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[Isabelle12345]

What a productive meet and greet session!
Looks like you guys had a lot of fun!

 

[rdkeim]

A great evening in Epcot! You got some great character pictures. Your boys look like they were really having fun - lots of smiles!

 

[missangelalexis]

Lots of great character pics! Especially when you didn't have to wait long for them!

Sounds like a fun time at the Seas building!

Hahaha your boys look pretty good wearing your ears!

I didn't realize LTWTL did a holiday overlay- so cool!

 

[tringlomane]

I stopped by today looking for anything on the site that talked about the Shanghai reopening when I stumbled on your TR. Very well done so far!

I'll be curious to find out if any of our days overlapped (12/11-12/17)! We thought about going for leap day or Flower and Garden, sorta glad we didn't now!

 

[cstorm65]

Found your trip report today and enjoyed reading it so far. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. We stayed at
Yacht Club on our last trip and loved it!! Those renovated rooms are great!

 

[Disneynerdz16]

Your TR is funny loved it! Since I been traveling to WDW and DL since I was 4 it feels like a second home. I was in WDW in Christmas/New Years time with my family for 13 days and I would do it again with them. I was in WDW again for spring break which Normally we usually go somewhere cooler since Florida gets hot during that time of the

What I don’t get is why security frets over videotaping a Christmas tree. (Unless someone in witness protection program) its a freakin Christmas tree!

Your boys are funny keep going on the TR!