Characters vs. Pin Traders: It's Heated War! A Pixie-Dusted Nerdventure (COMPLETE)

[PlutosRHM55]

Such fun times at HS ad now off to Epcot.

My family loved One Man's Dream as well. We did not get to see the movie do to a FastPass for TOy Story Mani but we did snag these...


We got a card at the start with a few questions on it about Walt and at the end we turned it in and signed a little book and got these buttons. Very cool

Oh that's so cool! I wish that had happened to me. I've never even heard of that happening. Wow. One Man's Dream is seriously the best. And you need to see the movie next time, it is quite lovely.

You do know how to pick em, you and the Yacht Club make the cutest couple

Seriously this update has some of your best photos to date...
Oh, and please tell me you didn't trade away the Pluto in the Teacup pin!



As for your DCP, I definitely can see you as a bellhop in the ToT or a Butler in the HM.

Aren't we though?

Thanks and no I didn't! I still have it. I saw it everywhere so even if I did trade it away, I probably would have regretted it and gotten it back.

Thanks Tink! I really hope so. I can't believe it's only a few months left until they start dropping applications for Fall/Fall Advantage 2015.

 

[cindianne320]

Finally getting caught up! And I'm with you- they better not take away Great Movie Ride!!'

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Finally getting caught up! And I'm with you- they better not take away Great Movie Ride!!'

YAY! And YES, I could not handle it if that went away. That's my #1 must-do in DHS. How about get rid of the stupid hat that blocks it instead, amiright?

 

[emmysmommy]

Hey Timmy! I'm getting caught up. I loved your last few updates... Chippy selfies = fun stuff. Bummer that Pluto didn't work out that time.

Anyone who ALWAYS gets the gangster scene on TGMR understands the excitement of the Cowboy scene. I think I've only seen that one twice. It's definitely underserved. Since they removed Mary Poppin's carousel horse they've had an absence of props in the queue. Hey Disney, step it up and get that fixed post haste.

Ahhhh the YC/BC! I can understand your infatuation. Very well deserved adoration for those resorts I should say. Just the smell of the YC is wonderful.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Hey Timmy! I'm getting caught up. I loved your last few updates... Chippy selfies = fun stuff. Bummer that Pluto didn't work out that time.

Anyone who ALWAYS gets the gangster scene on TGMR understands the excitement of the Cowboy scene. I think I've only seen that one twice. It's definitely underserved. Since they removed Mary Poppin's carousel horse they've had an absence of props in the queue. Hey Disney, step it up and get that fixed post haste.

Ahhhh the YC/BC! I can understand your infatuation. Very well deserved adoration for those resorts I should say. Just the smell of the YC is wonderful.

YAY! Awesome! I'm glad you're enjoying them thus far! Chippy selfies are the best.

Totally agree! I still cannot believe I got to see it on my third trip, that almost never happens. And yeah, I mean, there are more props now, but they just aren't as cool as they used to be, the Shakespeare in Love dress included.

YC is everything! OMG, #dreamresort!!!!!

 

[Tink2Day]

Hey Timmy!
I just wanted to alert you to one of your faves.
I know you aren't a fan of horse racing but Saturday Kristin Chenoweth (who I know you ARE a fan of) will be performing "The Best is Yet To Come" at the Breeder's Cup from Santa Anita (CA) at 8ET. It's an encore performance from last year, they loved her so much they brought her back to sing yet again!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Hey Timmy!
I just wanted to alert you to one of your faves.
I know you aren't a fan of horse racing but Saturday Kristin Chenoweth (who I know you ARE a fan of) will be performing "The Best is Yet To Come" at the Breeder's Cup from Santa Anita (CA) at 8ET. It's an encore performance from last year, they loved her so much they brought her back to sing yet again!

YAY for Kristin! I saw some pics through twitter, but I'm more excited about her return to Broadway for "On the 21st Century" because maybe I can go see it and then meet her.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Ignore

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I am so so so so so so so so so sorry that I haven't updated in almost a month. College went into hyperdrive along with everything else and real-life just got in the way. I started writing this update basically a month ago and just could not finish it before Halloween.

Y'all are seriously due an actual real-life update, but I need to get on with this since I'm only at the middle of day two and we're approaching six months which basically puts the finish line for this TR at a year and a half later. I don't want to do that, that's a bit intense. I'll let you know that for the most part I've had an incredible college experience. Academics have been rough, but I've accepted that it's going to take awhile for me to adjust to the rigor and the high level quality of work expected. Also, having to manage my own schedule and prioritize, which has never been a strength (basically everything I've had to do in college in terms of academics has not been my strength). Luckily, I have a great support group of friends as well as the DCP to look forward to (well, applying). Just got to grin, bear it and make it through the rest of this semester. Wish me luck!

Now, let's get on with this MEGA-UPDATE...

Pin Trading Around the World or Nah? Part I
June 24th, 2014

The correct answer would be: We went right. That is if you are following along with the end of my last post.



And what is the first thing in France? Why, you take Fountain photos!





Yes, there is a photo of me with the fountain. No, you will not be able to see it. (It's not pretty.) And there was pin trading going on around this time, but not enough to note any significant exchanges.

On to Morocco!







Followed by Japan!



I wish I had stuck around here for IllumiNations...



Speak of the devil!





Nate's mother is Korean and as a result, Nate is very cultured when it comes to Asia so he is very fanatical about certain things over there, especially when it comes to Japan (although that could be just Nate too...). There was some candy (I forget the name) that he was raving about before we even got to Disney that he had to get in Mitsukoshi. I've heard really cool things about Mitsukoshi so I was pretty excited to see what the hype was about.

In we went!



No photos from inside, too busy maneuvering among the crowds to find Nate's candy, which happened to be all the way at the back of the store. Luckily, the crowds thin out the further back you get, but it was definitely hard. The merch was interesting, but the crowds don't make it the hottest place to be (oh the irony!). He found his candy, had some issues choosing which flavor to get and then he went to go pay for it. The cashier was super nice and loved all our pins. She immediately showed us hers, but I remember we weren't really interested in anything on her lanyard. This was a telling moment since Nate discovered one of his pins was missing from the lanyard and not just any pin, it was a really nice Stitch pin he actually traded for recently. We looked around the area we were in, but it was nowhere on the floor, which meant he lost it back in the central mosh pit. I knew then that it was done for. I tried to coax Nate out of looking for it since someone most likely picked it up or kicked it under something with that crowd. I mentioned that we could probably go find lost and found later too, but he was inconsolable. Eventually, we did end up going back in and looked around, it was no use. It was gone and we left, Nate a little somber. It really was a nice pin and I was sad that that was the one he had to lose so early on. He got over it though thanks to some Disney magic. We'll get to that later though!

First, let's stop and listen to some awesome Japanese drumming:





The intensity with which they do this, just... WOW! So focused and so precise and so strong. There's actually a club at my school that does this and they are just as good and still intense. It's pretty sick. I'm definitely looking to stick around longer next time I see this, but Nate and I had a whole new (not really) world to see.

Next up: American Adventure!



















And no photos. I don't know even have any notes about what happened. I think we stopped for some pin trading, but I don't remember much beyond that. It wasn't a long stop and we continued on to my favorite pavilion in World Showcase: ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



So many great memories on the lovely Italy Isola! I have so many reasons why Italy is my favorite pavilion and found so many more on this trip. I mean, how can you not absolutely love a place that looks like this?



BUT before I got to really look around Italy and admire its majesty, we stopped in the little corner store in Italy and pin traded. The CM we met was super sweet and told us she wished she had as much pins as we did. I could not get enough of these World Showcase CMs. I don't believe we ended up trading with her though, but we had a great little conversation.

And back to the GAWGEOUS land of my ancestors (well, some of them...)!







Eventually we had to leave my beloved Italy and continue on to Germany, another land that harkens back to the peoples who came to the United States and in some convoluted way brought me into life. Not sure how that will be understood, but I'm gonna go with it.



We decided to go take a quick bathroom break here where Nate and I had one of the most interesting encounters. After I got out and waited for Nate at the bathroom exit/entrance, a kid came up to me asking to take a look at my pins. I was a bit taken aback, not because he might've wanted to trade with me, but just being asked in the bathroom. I showed him nonetheless. He complimented me on the amount of pins and how cool they were. I thanked him and then Nate walked over to me after washing his hands and the kid did the same thing. We both walked away a bit weirded out by the location of the interaction and the fact the kid didn't even want to trade. It was just slightly strange and awkward to say the least. We laughed it off and I decided to take some quick pics of good ole' Germany.







In my notes, it says that Snow White was out when we went by Germany and that I almost thought it was Norway for some reason. Yup, weird things happen in that Germany pavilion that's for sure.

Anyways, I've got to give a little #throwbackthursday information from our days in Disney. During the time that we were in Disney, the World Cup was in full swing and in true Disney fashion, they gear certain parts of their parks towards whatever is happening. For the World Cup, EPCOT was all decked out and we were going by one spot in particular between Germany and the African outpost that had a World Cup along with a little soccer field where a CM was out trying to get people to kick some balls around. We didn't join in since there was a little kid playing when we walked by but Nate had to check out the bracket since he was following along pretty closely. Not much had changed apparently which disappointed Nate, but gave me the opportunity to take a photo. You win some, you lose some, ya know?



If you hadn't already guessed, I wasn't into the World Cup and so I moved my keister along through World Showcase and dragged Nate along.

Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Pin Trading Around the World or Nah? Part II
June 24th, 2014





As we crossed the bridge, Nate ended up stopping a custodial CM to trade, which became one of the biggest ordeals of our pin trading endeavors. Apparently CMs, whenever they are asked to pin trade, have to put down everything they are holding to show whoever asked their lanyard and for custodial CMs, they also have to send someone to do what clean up they were about to do when someone asked to see their pins. Nate felt really bad and ended up forcing himself to trade he felt so bad. I'm guessing it happens all the time so it's no big deal for custodial CMs, but we didn't know it so it definitely wasn't our favorite trade of the day.

We didn't let it damper our days as we headed to China!



In China, I always have to stop at the little shop out front to play with the puppets and look who I found...



NORMAN JR.

I'm guessing none of you are familiar with the Frump TRs, they are the cult classics of the TR boards and unfortunately not many know about them so I will give you some background to Norman Jr.

One of the defining facial expressions for the frumps is the deer face, which is supposed to resemble a deer in headlights. Usually you make that expression a lot in Disney or when you are just happy, excited or full from a delightful meal. In one of the frumps' older TRs, Kristen (Disneyfreak616) found a deer puppet in China that she named Norman. The frumps were all about him, but unfortunately when they went back not too long later, he was no longer there. Instead, they came across Norman Jr., a smaller but similar version of Norman)who I found. I used to read the Frump TRs religiously (*OVEREXAGGERATION ALERT*) and so when I saw Norman I thought he was a bit of a celebrity which meant PHOTOS. Here's our selfie:



After playing with Norman and a few other objects, which probably included the straw hats, Nate and I continued on. I noted that Mulan was out in the China pavilion, but her line was a bit long so we bypassed her and ended up in...

Norway.



Kinda bittersweet right now having to write about this pavilion and although my heart right now is saying to skip over all the Frozen stuff we experienced as it would be a dishonor to... *sniffle* It's memory, but my mind is saying I must document my trip exactly as it happened so here we go. Our first stop was to go check out the Frozen Norsk Kultur in the Stave Church:







Lovely. Hoo hoo!

Back into Norway...





No, I did not buy Schoolbread as I had planned, but a mental note was made. Yes.

We were more distracted by this:





At the time, I was willing to skip over the (now) late Maelstrom so we moved a little bit closer to see the wait time:



My notes tell me "35 minute wait for Maelstrom LOL" and I cry. We didn't ride it this time.





























ALRIGHT! I might as well tell y'all that I'm not happy about the removal of Maelstrom. NOT HAPPY AT ALL. I'm sorry but Frozen does not belong in World Showcase. It's set in a FICTIONAL LAND. Yes, it is based off Norway and the surrounding Balkan region and it's great to see the relationship in the museum, but a ride. No. No, that belongs in Magic Kingdom. Also, I'm SICK, puking-my-guts-out-with-snuffles-probably-thinking-I'm-going-to-die sick of the Frozen craze. It's taking over Disney and causing more damage than good. I mean, it's basically because of Frozen that the princes now only greet during Christmastime and the villains now greet with the princesses during Halloween. It's so disturbing. Also, the amount of Elsas I saw on Halloween and the days leading up to it was scary. I mean, one of my friends went as Elsa and I thought it was fab (because don't get me wrong, I love the movie), it's just... it's everywhere and I'm done. It's about time we all moved on like with every Disney movie because fact is Frozen isn't the greatest thing to happen to Disney and in NO WAY is it the best Disney film of the past decade, not even close. I hope the outrage towards Maelstrom's closing shows that to Disney and the opening of Big Hero 6 will get us all back on the right track thank you very much. End rant.

Back to the reporting at hand, after deciding to skip Maelstrom, we continued our search for a Sven plush for our friend Rishi in the pavilion shop. No Svens, but I found an AWESOME Olaf shirt that I just COULD NOT pass up. Also, I found it in a large child's, which fits me PERFECTLY, so I was able to be frugal in that moment. YAY ME!

Onward from there we went, by a secret agent recruitment center... (unpaid internships... Psssh NO!)



Suspicious... probably works for Elsa...

And came upon the last pavilion before Future World: MEXICO!



Probably the one pavilion I have spent the most time in and more than I care to admit, but it does have the reliably delectable Mexican food as well as the Three Caballeros and SPANISH so why would I not?

We walked by this time around, but I still managed to capture a few quick photos.





After our failings at finding a Sven in the Norway pavilion, Nate wanted to check out the little World Showcase stores that are right by the bridge to Future World so we headed that way. We also spotted the Odyssey all decked out for the World Cup. Nate made sure to let me know we'd have to check that out later.





I also had to make note of how close we were to the awe-inspiring Spaceship Earth. Almost there, my sweets!



Until then, the Sven search continues!





I thought the Duffy globe was adorable, no matter how much I try to ignore his existence.

Same old story though: No Svens. None, finite, zilch. After that, Nate and I decided to give up the search so we wouldn't get too down and out about it and headed to Future World where more fun and magic would surely follow.

Continued Here​

 

[courtneybelle]

Aw, bummer about Nate's pin

ITALY! When I went to actual Italy and then went to the Italy pavilion, I was amazed at how similar they were. I shouldn't be surprised since Disney works so hard to make everything so authentic, but I was wowed.

I know the Frump TRs and Norman Jr. well!! Such a cutie.

Gotta put my unpaid internship with Agent P on my resume, thanks for reminding me!

Honestly Mexico might be my favorite pavilion. Mostly because we're always in World Showcase in the brutally hot summer, so I appreciate being somewhere cool and dark.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Aw, bummer about Nate's pin

Yeah, but it became a thing of the past VERY quickly you'll soon discover.

ITALY! When I went to actual Italy and then went to the Italy pavilion, I was amazed at how similar they were. I shouldn't be surprised since Disney works so hard to make everything so authentic, but I was wowed.

Oh I want to go to Italy so bad! Not just because I've seen the pavilion, but I've always been fascinated by the history. At least I get the pavilion though because Disney really does a good job. I'm only familiar with the Canadian landmarks and they are on-point.

I know the Frump TRs and Norman Jr. well!! Such a cutie.

Haha, YAY! Norman Jr. the bae

Gotta put my unpaid internship with Agent P on my resume, thanks for reminding me!

Yes, most definitely.

Honestly Mexico might be my favorite pavilion. Mostly because we're always in World Showcase in the brutally hot summer, so I appreciate being somewhere cool and dark.

That would definitely be the place to go in that instance.

 

[Tink2Day]

Catching up and checking in.

You have some really nice pictures. It's pretty amazing to see the difference in the pictures from your first report to now.

Reading about Nate and his pin trading, he's addicted yes? How's he doing?
Hope College is treating you well and you're having the time of your life!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Catching up and checking in.

You have some really nice pictures. It's pretty amazing to see the difference in the pictures from your first report to now.

Reading about Nate and his pin trading, he's addicted yes? How's he doing?
Hope College is treating you well and you're having the time of your life!

Awesome!

Thank you! My new camera definitely captured much better photos and Flickr is great for making sure more of the quality is maintained. I'm hoping to go back through these soon and edit some of my favorites.

Oh yes, he's addicted. VERY addicted. And I actually haven't talked to him in awhile. I assume he's doing well.

It always is! Just registered for second semester classes and going to see another play performed by our theater department, so excited!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Normal College Things Like Seizing The Day, Meeting Princesses and Surviving The Apocalypse
Real-Life Update

I promised that I would get y'all all back up to speed on how life has been. I've mentioned it in brief, but some things really deserve an update of their own. It's college, it happens!

A quick review of this roller coaster weekend I've been having (not including today because I'm doing nothing until I go to my friend's apartment to watch the OUAT 2 hour special tonight):

FRIDAY
-Went to see American Medea (my school's theater company's main production). Consensus: Good.
-"Crashed" a cast party. Fun.

SATURDAY
-Grammar discussion. Boring, but the cookies were DELISH.
-Went to see Choreography class showcase. Unique, but very unexciting. I was there to support a friend.
-Did laundry. Laundry wouldn't dry. Locked myself out of my room for an hour. Not fun. Night started off bad.
-Went to a sketch comedy night. Hysterical.
-Invited friends over to watch Little Mermaid. One of my friends was seeing it for the first time and she was so into it. Adorable.
-Fire alarm went off in dorm when I was about to brush my teeth. Forgot to wake roommate up. He slept through whole thing. Almost froze outside. Ready to kill whoever tripped the alarm.

And then we come to today, of which nothing interesting has happened so let's flashback to last week...

I went to go see my school's musical theater troupe (of which I'm a part of) put on their fall musical, which was The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It was super fun and I had a whole row with all my friends. I was hoping to be an audience speller, which is probably the funniest part of the show, but that didn't happen. It's happening again tonight and I was going to try to be one again, but I have other plans. Still, it was very fun.

Prior to that, I went into town to see BIG HERO 6!



I ended up going to see by myself since my friends either had classes or other commitments, but I picked the perfect time. Theater was basically empty and it really allowed me to take the movie in.

Consensus: It was pretty dang awesome! A total 180 from Frozen, but it was very much like the Wreck-It Ralph type fare. I prefer Wreck-It Ralph, but I would not mind seeing Big Hero 6 again. It made me laugh, cry and everything else. Also, the short Feast was so unbelievably precious. It's essentially along the lines of the opening sequence in Up, but with a much happier ending. It was a great prelude to prepare you for the roller coaster of emotion that was to follow.

Overall, I was very happy with seeing Disney still doing amazing things. It's definitely worth it going to see it and I've already decided that I HAVE TO bring some of my friends to go see it with moi again too. I'm also very much looking forward to the new Big Hero 6 meet-and-greet (even at the expense of my beloved Vanellope and Ralph). Baymax is the most adorable and innocent thing ever and Hiro's such a cool dude. I would not mind hanging out with him.

Okay, now back to everything else that's happened.

I'll begin all the way back about mid-October when I got the lucky chance to see...

NEWSIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I went with my friends, Rachel and Pasquale, and we had so much fun. Newsies became literally my life throughout most of October (until Taylor Swift released 1989 that is) and it was this night to thank for that. It was very stressful planning it all out (since the theater was about an hour away), but the payoff was worth it. I mean, we not only got to see the show on it's last night on it's opening gig, but it was also the last night before the new second act solo for the character Crutchie became official (and I'm SOOOOOO unbelievably happy it did, because it is PERF). The only downside to the entire night was how much the cab that drove us up reeked of cigarettes (not to mention the cab driver was smoking out the window). ECK. Of course, the world would have to dish out worse than that to ruin my night.

But enough of my rambling on, I'll let my photos tell the rest of the story:









Almost forgot to mention that I spent $105 on merchandise as a result of them not having any posters for sale (I usually buy a poster for ever Broadway/National Tour show I see). But I got some awesome stuff along with another birthday present for my little sister, which she loved. My whole family came up the following day for parents weekend so I got to give it to her not too long after. I also wore my shirt and hat the day after and have worn them both MANY times since.



*giggles*

After Newsies and parents weekend, it was time to start getting ready for...

HALLOWEEN!!!!

I had gone through some multiple costume ideas and I finally settled on one so the weekend prior to Halloween, a group of friends and I went into town and did some shopping. This weekend also hosted an early trick-or-treat type thing, which should've been known as "Attack of the Elsas", but really. Every little girl on the streets of Downtown Saratoga was dressed like Elsa. It was insane and a bit disturbing. This was also around the time that Maelstrom was closing so it didn't help my growing hatred of the Frozen phenomena any more. There were some really great costumes though. I tried to get pictures, but my phone had no more room so that didn't exactly happen. Oh well.

We took a trip to Wal Mart after grabbing some hot chocolate and cookies. I got all I needed along with some cool new graphic tees I couldn't pass up and I was ready for Halloween! WOOT!

The night before Halloween, in which I got NO sleep, I went to a haunted walkthrough that our school's recycling club put on. It was kind of lame, but I had really fun with the people I joined in with. I was still missing my Haunted Acres adventures with my friends back home, but maybe next year I'll be able to recreate those at HHN for the DCP *knock on wood*

Halloween was a Friday as you know, a school, so my day kinda started out blandly with a class followed by work and luckily some chicken fingers right after. Then, I went straight back to my room and got into my costume. I had a problem set due that day, but my professor's office hours weren't for awhile so it was a good way to spend my time before turning it into him since I'd already finished it. After quite a few readjustments and some make-up. My costume was on and ready...


































Any guesses to who I went as (although I'm sure most saw my IG posts)? Well, I went as Jack Kelly. Predictable, but when I realized I had the perfect button down back home... I couldn't not go as him. Unfortunately, not many people are as familiar with Newsies as I'd hoped and thought I was a chimney sweep even when I had my newsies bag in full view. Oh, people.

After getting into costume, dropping off my problem set, the festivities were ready to begin! I had quite a few plans set up, some more concrete than others. I originally had planned to meet up with my friends Rachael, Celia, Leah and Noa, but they hadn't texted me all day. I then got a text from my other friend Rachel, who I went to Newsies with, to go with her, Pasquale and another friend of mine's, Evan trick-or-treating early. So I ended up going with them.

We met at their house and while I was ready, everyone else still had to get into costume. Pasquale hadn't really planned out a costume and although I said I would zombify him, he wasn't down with putting any face paint on his face or me ripping up one of my white undershirts that I never use. Lame. Instead, he went as pirate ballerina. Super lame. Then, Rachel went as Elsa and Evan went as Maleficent a la Angelina Jolie.

Evan took quite awhile to get ready, but once she was done, we headed on out into town. I wasn't really one for trick-or-treating, but we had to hit this huge mansion that gave out chocolate bars (and $100 bills to a lucky few) so we went that way first. Along the way we passed some pretty cool houses, one that had some epic looking projections, it was SICK! When we got in the hour long line to get the chocolate bar (and hopefully $100), there was a house right next to it where a lady had the most on-point classic Maleficent costume ever. And tbh, she wore it better than most of the Maleficents in Disney today (do not get me started on how much I HATE the new make-up for those ones). Moving on, we had quite a bit of waiting to do so... SELFIE!



Evan and Rachel had plans to go to a party so depending on how long the line was, probably weren't going to stay long. They did have to leave right as we were closing in on the fence around the mansion (Saratoga is a very wealthy town). Pasquale and I waited out the rest. It wasn't too bad since we got to see some of our other friends who were waiting and such. We did get our chocolate bars, a photo with the crazy lady of the mansion who always dressed up as Cinderella. No $100 bills for either of us, but that was fine. We immediately grabbed some apple cider after that Evan had told us was the best, which we both agreed it TOTALLY was. Then, we grabbed our photo and walked back to campus.

Before we left the vicinity, I had to get a photo with Cinderella's coach that they had out front:



On our way back, I ran into Rachael, Leah, Celia and Noa, who were waiting in line too. My plan was to go see a Halloween Dance/Comedy Improv show, which was theirs too so we would meet up like originally planned.

I was freezing since I decided not to wear a jacket for the sake of keeping my costume authenticated and the walk was long so it was really nice when I got inside the auditorium for the Halloween show, unfortunately Pasquale had to split off from moi for food so that was the end of my night with him. At the auditorium, I got a ton of compliments on my costume. LOTS of theater kids recognized it which made me very happy.

The show itself was awesome! They began with both the Dance group and the Improv group performing the Thriller dance. I used to know the whole dance and would spend hours teaching it to myself so needless to say I loved that. The improv games were hysterical and this group was on-point SOOOOO much better than the other group. I mean, at one point they made up new lyrics to "The Confrontation" from Les Mis. It was fantastic!

I found Rachael, Celia and Noa (Leah had split off from them too) and so I spent the rest of the night with them. I'm kinda getting a bit verbose so I'll just let you know, we went straight from the Dance/Improv to an Acappella show. The oldest all girls group and the only all male group on campus performed together and switched outfits. It was so funny, but not unexpected in the least. Here's a selfie from that with Celia and Rachael:



Rachael (far left) went as Holly Golightly (aka Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Celia (middle) went as Olive Pendergast (aka Emma Stone in Easy A). I was very impressed by how spot-on they were with their outfits.

After that concert, the rest of the night was pretty low key. We went to the Spa snack bar for a late night snack then headed back to our dorm to watch Zombieland. I stayed up talking to some other friends in the lobby of the dorm then headed to bed around 4am.

Oh and I almost forgot, a group photo with my final group for the night:



Overall, it was a FANTASTIC Halloween and I was already planning out next year's the following day although that wasn't the end for the festivities. The following day I ended up going to a post-Halloween Hocus Pocus showing at our school. I hadn't watched it yet and that is a MUST-DO for my Halloween so I had to go and I wore my costume again for it. They had a costume contest, but I didn't win. Whatever, it's an obscure reference lol

And that was that.

Oh and I almost forgot, I got to see two more plays (well... one was a musical) the week prior. One was The Addams Family with my friends from Cabaret Troupe and the other was my peer mentor's production of Boom, a post-apocalyptic dark comedy. Both were great and actually became an early start to Halloween week.



AAAAAAAaaaaaaaannnnnnnnddddd.... I think that's all that has happened that you missed. I hope this wasn't too confusing or rushed. I'll have a new update on the Disney happenings of the trip soon enough because, as you know, we need to get this moving along. ASAP.

Until then, have a magical day y'all!



Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

"That's Rancid!" Beverly and Other Mishaps
June 24th, 2014

Having said a quick 'see ya later' to World Showcase, we officially entered into FUTURE WORLD!

Of course, right as we were crossing the bridge, Nate saw these Perry the Platypus pin cushions and had to go trade some pins. I don't think I did this time. World Showcase pin traded me out, which we all know is out of Nate's vocabulary. I instead saw the lovely Imagination pavilion and had to get a photo:



Ooohhh, if only they would welcome back Dreamfinder and open up the second floor of ImageWorks once more. *sigh*

I may or may not have gotten distracted after this by an adorable Chip and Dale Haunted Mansion pin I had been eyeing forever and furthermore bought. Not sure, but it might've happened here. Although that does hint to the fact that something to that extent did occur at EPCOT at one of those booths in front of Spaceship Earth. Speaking of which...

A bit sorrowful after seeing the depressed state of Imagination, I now was blessed with this beautiful sight:



Ahhh, Spaceship Earth, you gorgeous geodesic sphere! Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Art thou more lovely and more temperate.





I could've just sat right there, right in the middle of Future World and stared at it all day. Of course, that would be unproductive for there was still so much to do and a certain beverage was luring me in.

To Club Cool!



Sorry good sir, Club Cool is obviously more attractive than you. Now, let us through!

I'm sure you all know what beverage I was talking about, but just in case... Any guesses?



Let's avoid the suspense and I'll just told you it was the Beverly. It's imperative that any Disney fan, freak, nerd, etc. alike try this and then document it on film. Of course, I did both of these, but unlike for most Disney nerds like myself, I did not have a laid back person on the other side of the camera filming. Nope, I had Nate and Nate expects perfection so I had to drink the entire cupful of Beverly.

Here is how that went down, start to finish. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/7NMC38MdDVM

Needless to say, Nate is an evil human being, but should've I expected not to like it? Oh yeah. Did I care? No. I never back down from a challenge. It just sucked that while trying other sodas I could not get rid of that... RANCID aftertaste. Eck. I only can recall in my notes that I enjoyed Brazil's. That's it.

I cannot wait until I am able to place the Beverly on another unsuspecting victim or suspecting because... you have to try it at least once. Unfortunately, the date of which that shall happen is unknown so for now...



Uh uh! No, the update does not end here. We have more to come.

After leaving Club Cool, we went back to that area we were at earlier in front of Spaceship Earth and the Fountain of Nations. At a closer perspective though.



I then decided I would try to hold both up. It actually didn't end as disastrously as I expected.



It was right after I let my arms rest that the Fountain of Nations began and I had to get a quick clip of it for those gloomy days where you need a reminder of how magical life can be, how flawless the Fountain of Nations is, the Disney water smell or all three.

Those reasons considered, I present to all: The Fountain of Nations!



http://youtu.be/FFaN-cc1aUA

So perfect!

Once I was done admiring the Fountain of Nations (cue Nate dragging me away from another one of my beloveds), we continued our Sven search in Mouse Gear!



Again, nothing. No Sven and not much Frozen merch in Mouse Gear. I was shocked. I did however find my favorite purple pigmented creature: Figment!


"Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horns of a steer, but a lovable fellow, from head to tale he's royal purple pigment and then voila, you've got a figment!"

We were in and out of Mouse Gear and let out right by the Pin Trading Station shop. Nate wanted to check it out and I was starting to get stingy about pin trading again since I refused him anyone in Mouse Gear so I let him have it. I looked around a bit when what to my wandering eye should appear... THE MERRYWEATHER PIECE OF SPECTROMAGIC HISTORY PIN!!!

I could not believe it. This pin came out earlier this month and... IT WAS STILL THERE! I couldn't believe it. I had bought the first in this set on eBay and wasn't sure if I'd be able to sum up the cash for another when they all looked so cool. I was considering spending that arm and a leg you have to with the re-sells on eBay for the Merryweather pin but HERE IT WAS! I still wasn't sure since I already spent a lot. So I passed it up.

I got bored after that in the pin trading station, but then noticed where I was along with the position of the sun so I went on another photo spree while Nate did his own thing.




Still not a fan of the idea that Starbucks has now made its way to Disney. Much less now that Frozen is screwing things up.







I then was trying to take a selfie of myself with the fountain. It wasn't working out too well. A nice lady saw me struggling with the photo and offered to take one of me. Usually when I want a selfie I WANT A SELFIE, but this lady had the most adorable Spanish accent and seemed so sweet so I let her take a photo of me. Honestly, this photo actually became one of my faves. Me with my fountain at a pseudo-artsy angle... LOVE IT!



She gave me my camera and I thanked her. I would've asked if she wanted a photo too, but she was by herself so I assumed she didn't and we both went on our ways. Nate had just finished completing a trade and making a purchase so onward we went, deeper into Future World to where but... you'll have to wait until next time to find out!



Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Hello beautiful people who read my TR (and are thus even more beautiful )!

I'm sorry this TR has significantly slowed down and we seem to be stuck on this one day. I mean, I'm enjoying getting to relive my trip from what is now almost six months, but I know it's probably starting to drag. As a result, I decided to go ahead and see how long we had until this day would be complete. I'm happy to let you all know there are only four more updates left including this one. Yes, some of them are rather long, but usually as a result of the insane amount of photos I've taken. Yes, I've worked on filtering them down, but you can only narrow them down so much. We'll hopefully be done with this day by mid-December as I'm hoping to go back to weekly until I fall behind again and then I think we'll be back at a good pace and be able to finish this TR before a year is up. I also really want to get to day three because, in all honesty, THAT was my favorite day of the trip for so many reasons and I can't wait to get to that.

Okay, enough rambling, let's get this show back on the road! Double update coming your way...

The Memoirs of a Lifeguard Starring Earth, Water and Mickey Part I
June 24th, 2014

If that last photo wasn't a big enough hint, we were now on our way to go ride the beauteous Spaceship Earth!







Too many photos of Spaceship Earth?! Pffftt, NEVER!

I also spotted the monorail coming in to the EPCOT station and had to get a photo of that.



Then, it was time to ride!





I tried to get photos of certain things on the ride without flash, but didn't really work out. But here are some photos of our future and yes, I did purposefully make an upset face. Why? I don't know. I thought it would be funny for some reason I guess... DERP.

But really, I missed Spaceship Earth so much! It honestly is my favorite ride at EPCOT. From Dame Judi Dench's impeccable narration to the thought of traveling inside the "golf ball" to the little Newsies boy to the sleeping monk to the go-go boots researcher... It's so perfect! I just love it and it NEVER has a bad wait so there's no reason for me not to ride. Oh, Spaceship Earth, what would I do without you?









Nate and I both sent emails of our futures to ourselves, but I don't know where it went. I barely even remember what direction we even took with our future. Might've been leisure... I don't know, I'm sure most of you will figure it out.

After playing in Project Tomorrow for a bit, we decided to head off in the direction of The Land. We hadn't hit any major headliners so we wanted to check what the waits were for Soarin' and Test Track.

Of course, both were insane and I knew we had FP+ reservations for them both later in the week so we bypassed them and headed to the Seas whilst getting some lovely Land and Imagination photos along the way.





Then, we began our descent under the sea...













A little reminder to what I probably would've been doing right now had I not been magically transported to the beach...



And through the queue we went... and went... and went... Seriously this queue is a bit long, but they do such a good job theming it I don't care. Eventually we made it on the ride to which prompted Nate to say he actually had never ridden it before. YAY ANOTHER FIRST!

By the end though, he wasn't a big fan. I think it's so adorable and that's why I love it, but that's where Nate and I become two very different people. He doesn't have an affinity for cuteness.

I also realized how truly similar this and Under The Sea are. I mean, even beyond the clam shells. The vibe they have is so similar. I don't know which one I would say I prefer, but that's irrelevant. My journey to find Nemo once more with Dory and Marlin was a worthwhile one per the usual.

Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

The Memoirs of a Lifeguard Starring Earth, Water and Mickey Part II
June 24th, 2014

We then checked out the aquarium area, which I fell in love with three years ago on my last trip. I tried to redeem myself with getting higher quality photos this time around and I think I did a good job. What do you think?


I think there was a sea serpent in that photo. Those things are so beyond creepy.


Make a wish and do as seahorses do!


A little dark, but it looks pretty dang cool.





We weren't in there long. Nate and I both wanted photos in Bruce's mouth, but there were so many people crowded around him that we opted out. Nate and I didn't really have much an idea at this point so we headed back into the thick of Future World to figure out our next move from there.

More Land photos along the way...





We'll be back later! I promise.

It was right as we were walking into Future World I noticed that the Character Spot had only a five minute wait. I'd already met Goofy and Mickey on this trip, but Minnie I had not and I'd actually never met Mickey nor Goofy in their classic outfits. Nate seemed hesitant since he isn't one for meeting characters, but there was really no reason not to go in so we did.

We ended up being really the only people in line. The five minute wait was just so the CMs could control traffic of those actually going into the M&G area. Basically, as soon as we were let in, we got to meet the characters.

Goofy was being quite mischievous upon our arrival...



First, we had to meet the HMIC (Head Mouse in Charge) himself: Mickey!

I've mentioned before my meets with Mickey have really not the been best. Even the one earlier today wasn't great, but this really made up for it. Mickey came right up to us with a handshake. Nate obliged, but I wanted a nice Mickey hug and with my luck, it was caught on camera:



Then, he had to take a look at our pins. Nate had a Mickey pin, but I didn't at the time. My lanyard was covered in little red Mickeys so I pointed that out and he gave me the thumbs up.



Then, he set us up for what I think is the coolest photo ever. I wasn't originally all for this one, but it's so perfect I have no clue what I was thinking.



Mick, you are a visionary. And with that, we said our goodbyes, a very bittersweet moment.

These photos make me so emotional. This ended up being the last time I'd meet Mickey on this trip and it was such a great meet. I don't know when I'll be back in Disney, but if I get into the DCP Fall 2015, these will be my last photos with the mouse. I really hope they are just as telling of how much Disney means to me and how much I want to work for the Mick that they are a sign for what's to come. *crossing fingers* *waiting anxiously for February*

Moving on, we were now going to meet the Goofster!

Goofy was having a grand ole time tonight and was very excited to see us. He immediately went to looking at our pins. I don't think either of us had him on our lanyards, but I told him he was too special to risk losing (I actually did acquire one Goofy pin so I wasn't lying).







Then, he had us do one of the weirdest poses ever. I'm still not sure what the point of it was, but it's Goofy so it's fine.





Then, he pulled us in for a group hug!



Oh Goof, you are a gem!

We walked away from him rather quickly to which he chased us down for some high-fives. Being awkward me, I tried to do the high-five hand grasp thing that I do randomly for some reason. It wasn't what should've happened so ended our meet with Goofy on an awkward note.

And in the midst of that, I was shoved right along to meet Minnie. I hadn't gotten her signature so I was frantically trying to get my autograph book together. The CM, a nice little old lady, commented on my inability to properly prepare myself for meeting Minnie as I handed her my camera and got my autograph book in order.

Nate ended up meeting the Mickey's Missus on his own. Unfortunately the photo came out a bit blurry.



It was then my turn! Minnie was being so adorable and greeted me with a nice hug. Then I handed her my autograph book all topsy turvy. I apologized, but she figured it out. Good for Minnie!



Nate then came back with his autograph book for Minnie to sign.



And we got our photo together. I nailed my Prince pose so it came out perfect!


"Gosh, Minnie, you'll always be a princess to me!"

I thanked Minnie and blew her a kiss on my way out, thoroughly satisfied with my care... I mean, meet and greet!

I guess Big Hero 6 was going to weed its way in here one way or another lol

*ahem* Anyways, Nate and I were now once again presented with the question of "Where to next?" After a quick deliberation, we decided to head back towards World Showcase.

We'll meet you there in a bit.

Continued Here​

 

[Tink2Day]

EEK! Things are coming fast and furious now!

Loved the College update, looks like you are having so much fun....oh and getting an education along the way.

The Beverly. I pulled that same trick on my sister when we went. (she had been to WDW so many times and never to Club Cool) I directed her to the tasty drinks first, made the reaction to the taste of Beverly so much better.

Wow some great angles of your beloved Spaceship Earth! Actually I loved your expression in the photo. (and Nate almost accidentally had a full smile)

Love the pictures of the aquarium. The one of the seahorse is worthy of framing. exceptional lighting.

I just had time to hit the high points, will be back to read in full later. Also I can't wait for Day 3, since that was your fave.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

EEK! Things are coming fast and furious now!

Loved the College update, looks like you are having so much fun....oh and getting an education along the way.

Yup and today I'm going home for the first time in months! It's going to be such a nice break (even if I got assigned work over break. Ugh.)

The Beverly. I pulled that same trick on my sister when we went. (she had been to WDW so many times and never to Club Cool) I directed her to the tasty drinks first, made the reaction to the taste of Beverly so much better.

OMG, that's clever! I'll have to do that next time. Beverly reactions are too hysterical.

Wow some great angles of your beloved Spaceship Earth! Actually I loved your expression in the photo. (and Nate almost accidentally had a full smile)

Thanks! And yeah, ALMOST. -_-

Love the pictures of the aquarium. The one of the seahorse is worthy of framing. exceptional lighting.

Thank you, you are too kind. I was definitely happy they came out significantly more nicely than on my previous trip where I got so many disgustingly awful ones.

I just had time to hit the high points, will be back to read in full later. Also I can't wait for Day 3, since that was your fave.

Awesome and I can't wait to hear what you think of the last part of the update. Hopefully we'll get to day 3 soon enough!