"GET AWAY, SCURVY!!" – A May 2017 Whirlwind Long Weekend TR

[missjackiemcg]

N's face on Dinosaur...

I have to agree a rainy Disney day is better than any other kind of day anywhere!!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Just caught up on your trip report. N's artwork is amazing!

Thank you!!

All caught up! Very nice pictures of your resort/room. Just wanted to say Nathan's artwork is amazing! Very cool. Love the Star Wars ones especially

Thank you!! I thought you might like the SW painting. He gets a lot of requests for those, especially at fan conventions.

Can't believe the car rental debacle but at least you ended up with a car. I think taking a cab/LYFT/Uber may have been cheaper though since you already paid for the car and then had to pay on top of that. I'd be so mad, but it is what is is, and you are on your way to Disney so you can't stay mad for long!

Yeah, I probably would have been slightly cheaper in the end to use Uber. Staying offsite and doing so much hopping around we did A LOT of driving in the short time we were there, but even so. I would have missed the convenience of not having to spend time multiple times a day waiting for a car though. And I liked being able to drive myself since I get carsick so easily. But still. Waste of money.

Joining in!!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Hi! I promise I'm not stalking you! Whoa that sounded weird and like I was stalking you...let me start again!

Hi! I saw you joined in on my TR (thanks by the way I love having people join in) and I actually was reading this TR as you posted!

Woah!! This was so hilarious to read!

Also, this might make me sound like a stalker again but I did just read your PTR with all your wedding stuff! It might be because my old job was an event planner and I planned many a wedding, but I do love to read about other people's wedding plans! Plus it's a Disney wedding/honeymoon so even better!

I shouldn't say this, but I kinda don't like weddings. But I LOVE Disney weddings. And I'm particularly fond of small-ish weddings. So I'm pretty excited for mine. I've really enjoyed creeping other people's Disney wedding threads, too. What a cool job it must have been to be an event planner...but I'm sure you dealt with some crazy bridezillas.

And you use U's in Canada!

We do! I try to suppress them on here, but sometimes my native spelling just won't be contained.

How did you do this??

Ohmygoodness I hope so! I'm such a muggle.

It absolutely took some strategy though. The suitcase was like it was made for mice or something. So tiny. Like in the picture the bookbag sitting beside it for size wasn't exceptionally large or anything, it was a child's bookbag.

N's face on Dinosaur...

Right?? Makes me giggle!

 

[MeghanEmily]

"And Then It Started To Rain." A Lot.
Disney Day 1 - Part 2

Up next it was time for our tour. Even as we were checking in and I was asking to make sure it wouldn't be cancelled in the rain, N didn't realize what was going on. Only as they were handing us our name tags (printed on recycled elephant poop paper!)...

...did he clue in that something wasn't normal and ask me what was going on. Surprise = successful!

If you've followed me before you'll know that N and I are big animal/Animal Kingdom fans, and that the safari is typically a must-do for us, so this tour was of real interest to me, especially for the price ($51 total for us both with AP discount!)

They started by taking our group backstage beside the safari area, and we weren't allowed to take any photos backstage until we got to the elephant overlook. We were directed to use cross walks so as not to run around willy-nilly in the middle of actual functioning roads, which felt funny at Disney. We were loaded into a mini-bus and driven a few minutes on the backstage roads. The CM driving the bus talked to us the whole ride about what we were seeing, which buildings housed animals at night or during vet visits, etc. She told us how each animal has a different call they've been trained to respond to to get them to come in, and how typically some animal sleep inside and some don't. She talked about getting to see Pandora on a CM preview, and how amazing it was, and how it was hard to tell the difference between what plants were real and what ones were "Disney real." All the while it continued to rain.

At this point I turned to N and told him I liked Disney tours. It won't be our last one.

When we finally arrived at the area where we could see the elephants, the rain was letting up, so they didn't give us any of the special umbrellas that don't scare the elephants, but some people had ponchos they were wearing. The overlook was covered by trees, so it stayed fairly dry.

We had a guide who spent the first half of the "tour" (weird to call it a tour since we mostly just stayed in the one place from that point on) telling us about the elephants, letting us take pictures, and answering any questions people had. He told us to make sure we got our "Elephies," so I took one:

Nice bum, where ya from?

There was lots of opportunity to take pictures. Most of the time the elephants were a little farther away or not facing us, so it was hard to get good ones, but I managed to get a few I liked.

I loved how the safari was taking place, and we were watching the elephants from in behind on the other side, so we would see safari trucks go by and catch them in our pictures.

Apparently their older "baby" elephant, Jabalee, (no idea how he spells that,) who's more of a teenager elephant now still likes to try to nurse from his mother, and once in a while she'll let him get away with it. Elephants are like people in that they don't have udders, they nurse from mammary glands. They demonstrated for us today.

Toward the end of the hour, two female CMs hailing from Africa who were doing the Cultural Representative program subbed in and talked to us about poaching and conservation efforts in their countries.

They told us about how the elephants were stripping farms because of how much produce they eat a day, and so the farmers were hunting them, so there was an initiative to put beehives in the farms and it's currently in its pilot phase with really great results. Elephants aren't scared of mice, but research corroborated the stories from the locals that they're scared of bees! The bees keep the elephants away, and the farmers also get to sell the honey and increase their livelihood.

They also told us about a former CM who returned to Africa and wanted to continue to help with conservation, so he started a project where they collect the metal from poachers' snares and use it to make elephant sculptures that they sell, and profits go toward conservation. It's hard to see in this picture, but they're really neat.

They finished their spiel and still had more time left, so they went on to tell us all about elephant poop...and it's many medicinal properties...and how it's used and consumed in their countries...I'll spare you the details.

They were also kind enough to take our photo:

Baby Stella stayed hidden for a lot of the tour, which was disappointing, but she made a few appearances, especially toward the end.

"And then it started to rain."

Just as the tour was ending and the bus was coming back for us, the heavens opened up again. In true Florida-downpour-style, we were soaked by the time we sat down, and just when I thought it was impossible to feel any wetter, we had to walk in the torrential rain from the bus back to the tour desk.

By the time I got my poncho on it was too late. The damage was done. And of course then it let up as soon as I was better protected.

After our tour we had a FP booked for the safari, but since we'd already seen so much of the elephants, since we were coming back in August and would surely ride it then, and since the rain was starting to let up, we decided to skip the FP and use that window of relative dryness to make our way back to the car. We had somewhere very important to be at Disney Springs that afternoon! As soon as we hopped on the tram in the parking lot, the rain poured down once again. Shocker.

So what's the verdict on the Caring for Giants tour? ...it was okay. We were glad we did it, the price was right, and N thought it was a good surprise. We probably wouldn't ever do it again. Later when we met @ariane37 and they asked whether we'd recommend it, I gave a fairly positive response, and N's was more like an undecided "...weeellll....." It was great to have time to really observe the elephants. The guides were knowledgeable, and seeing backstage was really cool if you're into that kind of thing like I am. But nothing really "happened." We got to the location and then watched the elephants and listened to people talking for an hour. We didn't go anywhere. We didn't do anything. There were no activities. It was just kind of a neat hour-long elephant class standing up outdoors. I could see it getting boring for young kids fairly quickly. And even I was starting to get antsy by the end of the hour when they had to fill time with poop stories. The weather probably also didn't help. If you desperately love elephants, it would absolutely be worth the time and money. If it had been a tour about the giraffes I probably could have stood there all day. (Those who know me know about my giraffe obsession.) So all that said, we enjoyed it okay, we wouldn't do it again, and we give it a mildly good review. ​

 

[MeghanEmily]

"Where is Our Luxury Sedan?"
Disney Day 1 - Part 3
We were off to Disney Springs for something very exciting! ...Cake Tasting! Woooh!

Originally when we planned a DFTW (Disney Fairytale Wedding) and I knew I'd have to have an allergy-friendly cake, I found out it would have to come from Erin McKenna's (unless I wanted everyone else to eat MY gluten-filled wedding cake while I was given a free gluten free cupcake or plate of fruit. Um, no thanks. My wedding, my cake.) and I was kind of bummed about it. I love some of the treats at Erin McKenna's, like the donuts and the quick breads, but the last cupcake I'd had there was kind of dry and bland. I also just assumed that I'd never get to have a cake tasting like many brides do because we'd never get to FL before the wedding. Enter: this trip! I called the bakery and they set up a tasting for me for only $25.

As we drove there, I realized I had forgotten to research which lot to park in. I decided to take a guess and chose the Orange lot. Bad choice! Definitely should have gone with Lime. Now we know. So it was a fair walk to get back to the bakery. We were walking along...

"And then it started to rain."

I was messaging my mom about it and she told us not to worry because online it looked like it was just sporadic showers going through. I told her that that's exactly what it was, in a downpour, every four minutes, all day.

We had been thinking we'd get quick service to split at AK for lunch, but we'd scooted out of there in such a hurry that we'd missed out, so I suggested D-Luxe burger. Yum!!

We both got the classic cheeseburger without onions and with fries. I only ate half of my burger, but by the time we'd finished a cake tasting immediately after I was stuffed and rolling myself to the car...

#burgerporn

Even on a gluten free bun, this was pretty delicious, though N tried both and said it was even significantly better on their regular bun.

We got to the bakery for the cake tasting, after having to hide out from the rain a couple of times.

By "rain," I mean we were almost late to our appointment because of your everyday typical Florida monsoon. No picture could do it justice.

But we made it here:

Then the manager, Brittany, doing our tasting told us she'd rented a conference room, so she walked us halfway across DS and took us backstage (backstage AGAIN! Twice in one day!!) to the Disney Springs offices.

When we got in the elevator there was this security-type man who got in with us who kept asking if we were cast members. We kept saying no, and Brittany kept trying to explain about how we were doing a tasting, but he just kept asking if we were cast members. He never made us leave or anything...just kept asking...and we kept saying no...

So in case you're wondering what backstage was like here...it was like offices. Like offices anywhere. It kinda killed the magic a little, but it was still cool to see.

Then we got to taste our cakes. We had four to try, plus an extra one Brittany had included for us because it went well with the frostings we picked. Cakes: brownie, pumpkin, cinnamon French toastie, carrot, and red velvet. Frostings (L to R): maple, vanilla, mocha, chocolate, cinnamon, and mint.

Yum. Cake.

Originally we were going to get a brownie cake with mint frosting, so that's what we tried first. I liked it quite a bit, but N wasn't sold. So we tried other things. N developed this weird thing where he would put the mint frosting on every single one, and love it. (Of course he loved it on every one EXCEPT the brownie!) His favourite was probably mint on the red velvet! I couldn't get behind that. He's a goof and it tasted funny. He also loved mocha on the brownie, but I'm sensitive to coffee, so we nixed that option. We ended up liking almost all combinations, but we loved red velvet and vanilla, as well as brownie and cinnamon (which was a weirdly unexpected shocker. Not a typical combination.) I was also thrilled that none of the cakes felt dry and gross, and while the frosting had softened up in the heat, it hadn't melted into a gross mess (that was also a concern since it's made with coconut oil which melts at room temperature, and we'd be having a summer Florida wedding.)

We got to talk to Brittany about decorating, and I was pleasantly surprised with how much they could do. All in all, I was thrilled that we'd had a chance to do the cake tasting, and it made me even more excited about wedding planning!

My mom wanted pictures of everything, so Brittany offered to take a picture for us. This was the picture N suggested we take:

We both agreed that we felt stuffed afterward and like we were in a sugar coma, so I think it was a successful afternoon! We made the long trek back to the Orange parking garage (kicking myself!) and up to our level. I was sure I remembered where the car was, but I didn't see it right away, which led to us doing a little wandering and calling out loudly, "Where is our luxury sedan?" For some reason it struck me pretty funny. Before too long we found it. I changed out my wet keens for crocs, and mildly grouchily re-applied dry moleskin, and we hit the road for our next wedding-planning adventure...​

 

[Raeven]

so they didn't give us any of the special umbrellas that don't scare the elephants,

I have possibly the funniest picture in my head of an elephant being scared by an umbrella.

I loved how the safari was taking place, and we were watching the elephants from in behind on the other side, so we would see safari trucks go by and catch them in our pictures.

When we did the Wild Africa Trek I took a picture of the regular safari because I felt so VIP that day. Like everyone was like "why are those people over there?"

Elephants aren't scared of mice, but research corroborated the stories from the locals that they're scared of bees!

Who isn't scared of bees though?

what's the verdict on the Caring for Giants tour? ...it was okay. We were glad we did it, the price was right, and N thought it was a good surprise. We probably wouldn't ever do it again. Later when we met @ariane37 and they asked whether we'd recommend it, I gave a fairly positive response, and N's was more like an undecided "...weeellll....." It was great to have time to really observe the elephants. The guides were knowledgeable, and seeing backstage was really cool if you're into that kind of thing like I am. But nothing really "happened." We got to the location and then watched the elephants and listened to people talking for an hour. We didn't go anywhere. We didn't do anything. There were no activities. It was just kind of a neat hour-long elephant class standing up outdoors. I could see it getting boring for young kids fairly quickly. And even I was starting to get antsy by the end of the hour when they had to fill time with poop stories.

I'm glad we canceled it. We've done tours and even when I find the tour itself interesting I just get kind of bored or I find myself wishing I could sit down or something but you can't because you're on a tour. I'm also very hesitant to do outside tours when it's hot out because of this. We've done the Wild Africa Trek and Dine with an Animal Specialist. Which were great they really were, but maybe better for someone else. (Although in this case since Josh loved them and it was for his birthday that person was him). I don't dislike animals, but I'm not as huge a fan of animal and nature documentaries as Josh is. During Dine with an Animal Specialist I found the conversation kind of boring and I had nothing to contribute, and I feel like I would feel the same way during this tour. Plus there seems to be a lot of cross over on information as we heard some of this during that and during Wild Africa Trek. Just my two cents on tours. I'm also not a big fan of tours you can't take pictures on and ones that start too early hence why we almost never do tours

 

[MeghanEmily]

I have possibly the funniest picture in my head of an elephant being scared by an umbrella.

When we did the Wild Africa Trek I took a picture of the regular safari because I felt so VIP that day. Like everyone was like "why are those people over there?"

I remember being younger and riding Living with the Land and seeing people on the Behind the Seeds tour and assuming they were some really important rich people. Now I know that they're people with an interest in seeds and $25 bucks to spend. Haha

Being on a WAT tour totally makes you a VIP though, so I'm gonna savor that feeling this summer!

I'm glad we canceled it. We've done tours and even when I find the tour itself interesting I just get kind of bored or I find myself wishing I could sit down or something but you can't because you're on a tour. I'm also very hesitant to do outside tours when it's hot out because of this. We've done the Wild Africa Trek and Dine with an Animal Specialist. Which were great they really were, but maybe better for someone else. (Although in this case since Josh loved them and it was for his birthday that person was him). I don't dislike animals, but I'm not as huge a fan of animal and nature documentaries as Josh is. During Dine with an Animal Specialist I found the conversation kind of boring and I had nothing to contribute, and I feel like I would feel the same way during this tour. Plus there seems to be a lot of cross over on information as we heard some of this during that and during Wild Africa Trek. Just my two cents on tours. I'm also not a big fan of tours you can't take pictures on and ones that start too early hence why we almost never do tours

In that case, I think you made the right call! I'd like to try more tours eventually, but I'm not booking any for August at the moment except WAT (first thing in the morning that day) because of the heat.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Only as they were handing us our name tags (printed on recycled elephant poop paper!)...

How fancy!

I loved how the safari was taking place, and we were watching the elephants from in behind on the other side, so we would see safari trucks go by and catch them in our pictures.

That's so cool! It makes you feel extra special VIP!

Toward the end of the hour, two female CMs hailing from Africa who were doing the Cultural Representative program subbed in and talked to us about poaching and conservation efforts in their countries.

It always makes me sad when they talk about the poaching in the video they play in the line at Kilimanjaro Safari.

They also told us about a former CM who returned to Africa and wanted to continue to help with conservation, so he started a project where they collect the metal from poachers' snares and use it to make elephant sculptures that they sell, and profits go toward conservation. It's hard to see in this picture, but they're really neat.

That's really cool. I'd totally get one of those for my garden!

Baby Stella stayed hidden for a lot of the tour, which was disappointing, but she made a few appearances, especially toward the end.

SO cute!!!

Just as the tour was ending and the bus was coming back for us, the heavens opened up again. In true Florida-downpour-style, we were soaked by the time we sat down, and just when I thought it was impossible to feel any wetter, we had to walk in the torrential rain from the bus back to the tour desk.

By the time I got my poncho on it was too late. The damage was done. And of course then it let up as soon as I was better protected.

At least you got through your "tour" in-between monsoons.

so I suggested D-Luxe burger. Yum!!

UGH, SO GOOD!!! I couldn't finish my burger when we went either.

Then the manager, Brittany, doing our tasting told us she'd rented a conference room, so she walked us halfway across DS and took us backstage (backstage AGAIN! Twice in one day!!) to the Disney Springs offices.

Well aren't we special!?

We both agreed that we felt stuffed afterward and like we were in a sugar coma, so I think it was a successful afternoon!

That's a great way to finish off an afternoon at Disney!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I loved how the safari was taking place, and we were watching the elephants from in behind on the other side, so we would see safari trucks go by and catch them in our pictures.

Awwww, those elephants are SO cute!!!!

I loved being on the Behind the Seeds tour and seeing the Living with the Land boats going by in the background, too. It just feels so cool to be behind the scenes

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad you enjoyed the tour; while not the most exciting I'm sure it was nice as a one time thing. You got some great elephant shots and I'm glad you were able to catch the baby elephant too!

Yuck, more rain!!

Yay I'm glad the cake tasting was such a sucess! Glad you were able to fit that into the trip.

 

[ariane37]

I had still been considering the Caring for Giants tour for Aug. but had pretty much decided against it, and after reading your review and further comments I think I'll stick with no. But it still sounds kind of cool and on future trips you should definitely do more tours! Getting bored/fidgety/HUNGRY towards the end is normal I think because you've been standing/walking/listening for awhile, but so many of the tours down there are great

I can't believe the rain you had all day lol! We had like one shower at Epcot while you were at DS and none earlier at MK while you were at AK! It's funny how some parks stay dry while others are flooding.But I suppose it's funnier when you're in the parks that are dry

 

[afwdwfan]

Only as they were handing us our name tags (printed on recycled elephant poop paper!)

Shouldn't it be in a bio-hazard badge holder?

...did he clue in that something wasn't normal and ask me what was going on. Surprise = successful!

Well played!

At this point I turned to N and told him I liked Disney tours. It won't be our last one.

Sounds promising...

They told us about how the elephants were stripping farms because of how much produce they eat a day, and so the farmers were hunting them, so there was an initiative to put beehives in the farms and it's currently in its pilot phase with really great results. Elephants aren't scared of mice, but research corroborated the stories from the locals that they're scared of bees! The bees keep the elephants away, and the farmers also get to sell the honey and increase their livelihood.

Well, how about that? A win - win! Isn't it crazy how nature can provide in more ways than 1?

They finished their spiel and still had more time left, so they went on to tell us all about elephant poop...and it's many medicinal properties...and how it's used and consumed in their countries...I'll spare you the details.

Um... so the name tag was on the more mild end of the spectrum?

So all that said, we enjoyed it okay, we wouldn't do it again, and we give it a mildly good review.

I can understand that. It really is an inexpensive tour so I guess it comes down to what your expectations are. Seems like a great deal if you just want to get backstage for a bit and learn about elephants!

We were off to Disney Springs for something very exciting! ...Cake Tasting! Woooh!

Can't go wrong with that!

I was messaging my mom about it and she told us not to worry because online it looked like it was just sporadic showers going through. I told her that that's exactly what it was, in a downpour, every four minutes, all day.

Because... Florida.

We both agreed that we felt stuffed afterward and like we were in a sugar coma, so I think it was a successful afternoon!

It certainly looks like it. I was a little shocked when you stopped for lunch right before cake testing. I'm glad that the icings and the cakes ended up being good pretty much across the board, it seems. Did you say the brownie/cinnamon combo is the one you chose? I thought I recalled seeing that somewhere, but it might just be me.

 

[MeghanEmily]

It always makes me sad when they talk about the poaching in the video they play in the line at Kilimanjaro Safari.

Me too. It's really good information to know and to have kids aware that these things happen, but it doesn't make it less sad to hear about.

UGH, SO GOOD!!! I couldn't finish my burger when we went either.

So delicious and giant!

I loved being on the Behind the Seeds tour and seeing the Living with the Land boats going by in the background, too. It just feels so cool to be behind the scenes

The whole VIP behind the scenes thing totally gets me! It's like their marketing team is targeting me directly!

I'm glad you enjoyed the tour; while not the most exciting I'm sure it was nice as a one time thing. You got some great elephant shots and I'm glad you were able to catch the baby elephant too!

Thanks! It was really neat to have the extra time with the elephants and to get a glimpse of baby Stella

I had still been considering the Caring for Giants tour for Aug. but had pretty much decided against it, and after reading your review and further comments I think I'll stick with no. But it still sounds kind of cool and on future trips you should definitely do more tours! Getting bored/fidgety/HUNGRY towards the end is normal I think because you've been standing/walking/listening for awhile, but so many of the tours down there are great

Probably a good call based on what you said about the boys, especially Christopher. It was neat though and I definitely don't regret doing it. We're doing Wild Africa Trek this time, and I might even consider adding Behind the Seeds. I'm worried about the heat in the greenhouse in August, but it's only an hour so it might be okay. And then I'm hoping for Marceline for January

I can't believe the rain you had all day lol! We had like one shower at Epcot while you were at DS and none earlier at MK while you were at AK! It's funny how some parks stay dry while others are flooding.But I suppose it's funnier when you're in the parks that are dry

Yeah. So funny. For you guys. lol No, looking back it was pretty funny. At the time it just felt wet. Weird how sporadic and random it can be, even from one park to the next.

Shouldn't it be in a bio-hazard badge holder?

Probably. No, actually we learned that apparently elephants digest very very little of what they eat, so it all basically comes out the way it went in, just slightly chewed and clumped together...you get the pictures.

Um... so the name tag was on the more mild end of the spectrum?

Absolutely. There is smoking, inhaling, wringing out and drinking all involved. I tried to keep an open mind. But...it's poop...so...

I can understand that. It really is an inexpensive tour so I guess it comes down to what your expectations are. Seems like a great deal if you just want to get backstage for a bit and learn about elephants!

Yeah, for what we paid and what we were expecting, it was totally worth it. No regrets.

It certainly looks like it. I was a little shocked when you stopped for lunch right before cake testing. I'm glad that the icings and the cakes ended up being good pretty much across the board, it seems. Did you say the brownie/cinnamon combo is the one you chose? I thought I recalled seeing that somewhere, but it might just be me.

Yeah, eating beforhand was probably not one of my best ideas. There was just so much to eat at Disney and so little time!! We did kind of end up with the brownie and cinnamon. We're doing a small cake with cupcakes and doing half red velvet/vanilla, and half brownie/cinnamon....which, as I told N, means that since we're the wedding couple we can gorge ourselves on BOTH flavours if we feel so inclined!

 

[Raeven]

I don't know how I read the one about the tour but missed the cake tasting post completely Cake tasting sounds like so much fun But I guess eating cake at any time is fun so that could be why.

 

[MeghanEmily]

"Now I See Why We Took Breaks"
Disney Day 1 - Part 4

Hello, friends! A very Happy Father's Day to all the DisDads out there, and also to all the moms and other family members who play both roles. You should all be celebrated every day of the year!

Now...where were we...

After having our delicious cake tasting, we were off on our way to the Grand Floridian for a very important meeting. When I'd learned that we might be in Orlando for the weekend, I got in touch with our wedding officiant, Reverend Kevin Knox (aka RevKev) to see if there was any way we could meet him and talk through our ceremony. Being a long distance bride, my only option prior to this point had been to talk things through with him over skype, so I was hoping to take advantage of this opportunity. He was busy most of the weekend with weddings, but he told us if we could meet him at 3:30 at the GF between two of his ceremonies that he'd be happy to squeeze us in. Brilliant!

As we were driving to the GF, I accidentally missed the turn that takes you to the resorts and ended up heading to the TTC instead. I figured that wasn't a big deal, and it might have actually worked out for the best since sometimes they don't let guests park at the monorail resorts anyway. I parked the #luxurysedan and we hopped out.

"And then it started to rain."

We left the #luxurysedan and took a monorail to the GF, reasoning that since we had plans to go to Epcot that night we'd just travel by monorail the rest of the day and pick up the #luxurysedan from the TTC at the end of the night.

Now this is the part where my priorities come into question. This is a text-heavy post because I have zero pictures of our meet with RevKev...but I have multiple photos of my trip to the super fancy GF bathrooms! What's the matter with me!? Anyway, we arrived early, and so I went to find a place to pee, and this is the oasis I found. There were even roses. (In my TR notes, it says: "I peed fancy." )

I could tell that the fatigue was starting to hit N pretty hard. At one point he turned to me and, referencing our past two Disney trips, said, "Now I see why we took breaks." Bless his heart. Yes, we seemed to be in rough shape by abandoning the afternoon break, especially since this May weekend happened to be hot as Hades due to the heat wave rolling through. So I left N to nap on one of the soft fancy couches, asked him to pull up our wedding ceremony outline on his tablet before he hit the hay so I could peruse it when I got back, and I went to kill a little time exploring.

I didn't get too far, but I did manage to stop somewhere I'd been hoping to visit for a long time:

Basin White!

I had never been to a Basin store before, and I took far too much joy in perusing the many many soaps I decided I needed to have, and in trying the different scrubs.

I used some kind of almond-scented scrub that I fell in love with. I also started plotting about how I'd buy myself the waffle cone soap (which smelled irresistible!! <3) and I'd get the Ariel one for my Ariel-obsessed bridesmaid...and one with Mickey heads for the other bridesmaid...and one for my mom...before I stopped myself to remember that this was supposed to be a budget trip, which hadn't included the purchase of a dozen 6-dollar soaps. I left empty handed. But now I already regret the decision, so I'll definitely be going back in August. N has already asked me to choose a couple of little things I want to treat ourselves with for our Disneymoon. Soap totally counts.

It's astounding how much I now feel I need the waffle cone scented soap in my life.

I also browsed one of the shops and looked at Dooneys. Then I went back for N and gave him a little shake. We looked through the wedding ceremony plan together, and then we headed downstairs to keep an eye out of RevKev. We met him in the lobby and he sat with us for around 20-30 minutes, asking us about how we met and getting to know us as a couple, going through what to expect in the ceremony, and giving us some advice about what to do and what add-ins/wording might be nice for certain things. His mantra for us was: Two hands (always hold hands during the ceremony), two smiles, and two kisses (I already forget where the second kiss is supposed to go. Does that mean we'll fail the ceremony?) He told us a little about himself, too. And we were happy to hear that he went to seminary school, was ordained, and had served in several churches, since there are aspects of our faith that are very important to us. We liked him a lot, and we thought N's parents would like him too, which was a nice bonus that made me relax a little. When we described N's parents to him, he joked about how we'd better not tell them about his earrings and his neck tattoos! (He has none.) N's parents are fairly traditional and "religious," but they also like to tease and joke around, especially his dad, so Kevin was the perfect balance! We found he had a really nice calming way about him, a good/cheesey sense of humor, and a nice speaking voice. I wish I'd thought to take a photo with him while we were there, but since I didn't, here's his photo (with his wife, who's also an officiant) that I creepily pulled from Google for you:

When he left to go meet his next couple before their wedding, we took the monorail back to the TTC. We'd done the majority of our "work" for the weekend...now it was time to PLAY!

When we got to the TTC we hopped onto the Epcot monorail, only to hear our first of many messages about how they were currently stopped waiting for traffic to clear...so we waited...and waited...and waited. And we were stuck. I don't know what "traffic" was "clearing," but we weren't going anywhere.

#DisneyIsBroken.

And it was HOT. The doors of the monorail were staying open, but even when they were closed most of the time this trip the AC wasn't working very well. (#DisneyIsBroken.) At this point, I was messaging @ariane37 because we had hoped to meet her and her husband at Epcot that evening. It turns out they had ended up leaving Epcot early to go back to MK because they had had a FP for 7DMT and Steve didn't want to miss out so they went back to use it. We were sad to miss them, but totally understood.

We continued to sit on the monorail, and I was getting restless. Then I had a thought...the doors were open...could we just...get off?

I asked N and he seemed confused. We did have plans to go to Epcot, after all. But Ariane and Steve were just minutes away in the MK, and we had no idea how long we'd be stuck on the monorail...N got on board with the idea pretty quickly (he's MUCH more open to spontaneity than I usually am,) and we switched monorails. I messaged Ariane back that we'd had a change of plans and were on our way, and in minutes we were entering the Magic Kingdom for the first time of the trip... ​

 

[ariane37]

our wedding officiant, Reverend Kevin Knox (aka RevKev)

Whenever I see this written out I think of Reverend TimTom from "The Middle" Very happy it worked out that you got to meet and I think it's important you hit it off and felt comfortable with him!

But Ariane and Steve were just minutes away in the MK, and we had no idea how long we'd be stuck on the monorail...N got on board with the idea pretty quickly (he's MUCH more open to spontaneity than I usually am,) and we switched monorails. I messaged Ariane back that we'd had a change of plans and were on our way, and in minutes we were entering the Magic Kingdom for the first time of the trip...

We're so, SO happy N is spontaneous!!! I'm getting to our meet in my dining report - let's see who gets there first lol!

 

[Raeven]

I've peed in that bathroom before!

But now I already regret the decision, so I'll definitely be going back in August. N has already asked me to choose a couple of little things I want to treat ourselves with for our Disneymoon. Soap totally counts.

They sell Basin items online if you want to order some from home!

And it was HOT. The doors of the monorail were staying open, but even when they were closed most of the time this trip the AC wasn't working very well.

We were in a super hot monorail from Epcot to MK one day.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I'm getting to our meet in my dining report - let's see who gets there first lol!

It's a race!!

They sell Basin items online if you want to order some from home!

This could be dangerous...

 

[missangelalexis]

The soaps all look so adorable and I bet they smell even better!

Glad your meeting with RevKev went well!

 

[MeghanEmily]

The soaps all look so adorable and I bet they smell even better!

Glad your meeting with RevKev went well!

The soap all smelled lovely! And the scrubs they had were pretty scrumptious, too. I only tried the one because there was a little girl there who was obsessed with playing in the sink.