Terra Nova Guy and the Raiders of the Lost Park - an August 2018 TR *COMPLETE* 4/28

Jeez, I am FINALLY all caught up AGAIN! Forgive my bad trip report reader skills :crazy2:
No problem, I know life gets in the way sometimes. I wish i could figure out a way to get paid and just read the boards all day!

Me, me! I would MUCH rather do laundry there than come home to mountains of it! There is nothing better than getting home and just unpacking and putting everything away :P
A good point. It took us days to catch up to the laundry once we got home. Definitely pros and cons of both ways!

That's to bad and seems set of silly. I wonder why they do this :confused3
I could never figure it out the whole time. I should have asked a life guard. The first day I thought it may be broken, but it was every afternoon.

I actually did read tips before our trip and then re-read them while standing in line, and I STILL couldn't figure it out :goodvibes
I really find aiming that little red dot hard, especially when there are dozens of red dots all over the place. I have no idea which is mine.

What?? I had no idea! I love that
It seems like very few people know about it. Well, now a bunch more do!

Next time send them with the car or have them Uber there.
I really should have done that. Next shopping day I will have to.
 
I skipped it last time, but with the reports I'm seeing of loads of adults enjoying it, I'm regretting my omission. :( I'd better get a FP for my May trip.
I really can't explain it, but I was looking forward to riding a second time. The first ride, it was my wife and I in the car, I really wasn't expecting much, but we were both giggling like 5 year olds.
But don't wait an hour in line for it or anything.

WHA...........?!?! How did I not know about this?! Crap! Need to do that too now!
It seems like nobody knows about this. I only found out purely by chance on the DDC thread - and it was a guy who barely goes on there, he just randomly came in one day and posted "hey, guess what you can do at One Man's Dream". It must have been fate.

Heh, 1/3 ain't bad.
Well, you got two out of three in the latest questions, so you're doing better!
 
There comes a day in every trip that I dread. A day that makes me question whether I should get out of bed in the morning. A day that could strike fear in to the heart of any man – or at least DISDad. That day – dare I name it? – is SHOPPING DAY.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo.....

The DISDads were well represented this morning with my choice of t-shirt.

Nice work, sir.:thumbsup2

Unfortunately, the SB line for Slinky Dog was already at 60 minutes. But we had all enjoyed it so much that we decided to do it anyway. Even this early in the morning, the August heat was already in full force, and the sun blazes directly into that queue. The wait turned out to be about 40 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad after all.

Wow, playing with fire there. Glad it worked out for you.

It helps that I get a bit competitive and I don’t try to go easy on whoever is sitting next to me. In this case it was Katie, and she’s been improving on this ride over time. I usually get about the same, but still got the highest in the car and that’s what matters :p

::yes:: Victory above all else!

The line was barely moving. I figured it would be about an hour, so we bailed. We noticed that Buzz’s line was shorter, so we got in there.

I saw the same thing. Couldn't justify the wait for Woody and Jessie.

I texted Tish to find out where they were. Turns out they had stopped for Starbucks and hadn’t gone shopping yet, so we had some more time to kill.

Great! Time to finally do the Star Wars Launch Bay!

Something I am embarrassed to admit I had never done before – One Man’s Dream.

Oh. Well, that works too.

You can ask at the entrance of One Man’s Dream to become a Disney Historian, which I did. The CM gave us a list of three questions (a different list for each of us). The answers to the questions were in the displays throughout

Really? I had no idea. Wish I had seen that conversation. Oh well, now I guess I need to go back.

It’s a nice little souvenir. The best part – it was free. 0$. How often does that happen?

Apparently it happens exactly once.

I suggested we could use one of our “throw away” FP I had made for Star Tours. I suspected she might not since we had done it once, but I was pleasantly surprised when she agreed. So we all parted ways again. The FP really wasn’t necessary since there was no wait at all, either FP or SB. But I was glad we did it because we got two scenes I had never done before – Kashyyyk (wookie planet) and Corusant. I know, I can hear you rolling yours eyes now. But for a Star wars geek like me, it was exciting.

I like seeing the different scenes, too. Variety is a good thing.

My biggest regret is that I forgot to look for the key under the mat!

D'oh!

After the show we stopped into the “Muppets gift shop” and I put that in quotations because I saw maybe two shirts and the rest was generic stuff.

You're not kidding. There's barely anything in there.

Sadly, I’m not sure if The Muppets are going to survive at DHS.

:sad1: I was thinking the same thing. It's pretty sad.

In hindsight, I should have just dropped them off and gone back to DHS myself. It would have been the perfect time for me to see Launch Bay with no one complaining about “stupid Star Wars”.

Blasphemy!

But yeah, not to say I told you so, but...

I’m an old man, I don’t want or need that much clothes, and most of the men’s clothes out there are made for guys with 6 pack abs.

That drives me nuts. Apparently every other man out there is perpetually 20 years old.

That is not me – I have a different kind of 6 pack belly.

Mine is a keg, or at least a couple of 2-liter bottles.

I’m sure my pictures can’t do justice to the colours in the sky that night, but it was stunning.

Looks gorgeous!

1. We’re back to Epcot. What mode of transport do we use to get there (bus or rental car)?

Rental car.

2. We meet some characters (other than princesses). Which characters?

Geez, I dunno. Joy/Sadness and Baymax?

3. We get snacks at a QS restaurant. Which restaurant?

Refreshment Outpost--the cronut.
 


We have gone to One Man's Dream plenty of times, and I didn't know that about the historian! That's pretty cool. Hopefully I remember that next trip because I think DS would love that. He is a huge fan of the history of Walt and the parks (I have to save Connecting With Walt podcast episodes to listen to when he is in the car with me!).

Good for you letting the girls drag you around shopping. lol

Those summertime storms can be no joke. Bummer it messed with your evening plans, but there definitely is such a thing as too much rain to enjoy yourself, even in Disney World!!
 
Ah yes, I should have mentioned I did have some purpose that day as the pack mule. :rotfl2:

Good to know that terminology is the same where you are...pack mule was exactly what I was thinking.....with the added sound effect of a nasally sounding eeehhh aaaahhh (best I can do with spelling the sound). DH gives that sound at least once every time we have more than 2 pieces of luggage to carry.

Huh... Maybe I'll have to rethink it. I don't like teacups, but... hmmm...

I don't recall if you took a spin on Maters Junkyard Jamboree in DCA - I've seen many folks saying it is the same type of ride. I think the whipping for that is similar to that of a really fast turn on Big Thunder - but lots more of the whipping motion. (I have not been on AS2)
 
Really? I had no idea. Wish I had seen that conversation. Oh well, now I guess I need to go back.
I actually did a search because I couldn't remember who had posted it...it was Ron (who admittedly I don't know that well)
And then Doc did it too after me.

DDC XXXIV: The Original Home Of The DISDads!!!

You're not kidding. There's barely anything in there.
I was really hoping to get another fun Muppets t-shirt, although I figured they wouldn't have anything "making fun" of Star Wars like my Kermit 'come to the green side' Jedi shirt

But yeah, not to say I told you so, but...
I know, I know. Next time I just need to drop them shopping and go back to the parks.

Apparently every other man out there is perpetually 20 years old.
It's annoying. I was in a shop here last week just checking the Black Friday sale and half the men's section was labeled "modern fit" which was described as slim fitting around the waist. Erm...no. I wanted to ask if they had something called "old fashioned fit" or "over 40 dad fit" but I just gave up.

Hopefully I remember that next trip because I think DS would love that. He is a huge fan of the history of Walt and the parks
Sounds like he would enjoy it. I hope you get to do it.

(I have to save Connecting With Walt podcast episodes to listen to when he is in the car with me!).
I must admit to listening to the first dozen or so episodes, but then it dropped off my radar. I did enjoy the ones I listened to. I should try to catch some more.
These days I just manage to watch the usual Tuesday WDW podcast on a weekend morning.
 


All caught up!


Via Napoli is a great choice for a birthday dinner! I am with you and prefer the pepperoni to the quattro fromaggi.

I feel for you and your search for the plain butter popcorn, you are a great dad.
 
I keep meaning to reply and reply to replies and I just keep getting further and further behind. :sad:

I think a couple folks have mentioned DD makes a better Elsa than Elsa. I whole hearted agree. Have you spoken to her or considered an internship at Disney as Elsa? Since she already does this, might be something she really enjoys and gets paid for it. Not to mention the discounted or free tickets for family. ;)
 
I keep meaning to reply and reply to replies and I just keep getting further and further behind.
No problem, I know you must be busy with the new job and recent move.

I think a couple folks have mentioned DD makes a better Elsa than Elsa. I whole hearted agree. Have you spoken to her or considered an internship at Disney as Elsa? Since she already does this, might be something she really enjoys and gets paid for it. Not to mention the discounted or free tickets for family. ;)
Thanks, I think she does a nice job and most of the kids seem to like her parties.
I would love for her to do a College program at Disney. Unfortunately, it's my understanding that foreigners can only get a "cultural exchange" position at their respective country, due to work permits, so the only option for her at WDW is Le Cellier or serving beer and popcorn at the cart in Canada.
I do know that Disney cruise line is an option for her to be Elsa, or another, but their contracts are 9 months and you're on the ship for that long, so it's really something you could only do before or after university if you take some time off to "find yourself".
 
:wave2: Following and enjoying reading along. A fellow crazy Canuck here - one of those terrible Albertans from the west :eek: ;) :wave:

I'm enjoying reading and seeing about the hot Florida weather. I love the heat, and find myself dreaming of warmer temps- especially during the winter. We have been very fortunate so far this winter, that it has been very mild. I'm sure that mind numbing and skin cracking dry cold will make an appearance for a few weeks soon :cold:. Loving the report so far!
 
:wave2: Following and enjoying reading along. A fellow crazy Canuck here - one of those terrible Albertans from the west :eek: ;) :wave:
:welcome: thanks very much for following along. Always nice to have more Canadians in here, whether from the west or east :p
I've been trying to get out an update once a week, but haven't been doing so well at that. Next one is written, so hopefully very soon I'll have it up.

I'm enjoying reading and seeing about the hot Florida weather. I love the heat, and find myself dreaming of warmer temps- especially during the winter. We have been very fortunate so far this winter, that it has been very mild. I'm sure that mind numbing and skin cracking dry cold will make an appearance for a few weeks soon :cold:. Loving the report so far!
It's hard not to think about warmer weather in the middle of winter. We haven't been doing too bad so far in the far east, no snow on the ground and the little we had melted away. It's been cold and snowy in other parts of Atlantic Canada I think, especially New Brunswick. Hopefully it's not a sign of a bad winter to come.
 
August 22nd – Day 5, Part 1 – It was the worst of times, it was the best of times

Today marked the halfway point of our trip. It is also the point where the consecutive Disney commando days have worn down my family. Although I would have happily gone for another rope drop, I knew a lie-in and later start was needed. Mind you we had a 9:05am FP for Soarin’ so it’s not like we were sleeping until lunch. Let’s not get crazy. But considering most of our morning up to now had us in the parks by 7:30 or 8:00, this morning was low key. Maybe too low key. We were later getting ready than I expected. We had also decided to take the bus to Epcot today, rather than drive our rental car, on account of visiting MK in the afternoon and evening for EMH. This delayed things even more.

When the first Epcot bus finally arrived at ASMu, it was full. We had to wait for a second bus which came about 15 minutes later. Definitely no patented @pkondz golden transportation express pass this morning. The end of our Soarin’ FP window came and went by the time we got to the security line. I know they give you a bit of grace at the end. I hoped we could still make it. Unfortunately the security people didn’t particularly care about my Soarin’ FP and it was the slowest security line we had all trip.

By the time we got to Spaceship Earth, I was resigned to the fact that our Soarin’ FP was gone. Son of a Beverly! Our first time to see the new Soarin’ and this happens. Plus the stupid Epcot tiers. :mad: I did realize that I made a mistake with my FP choices. I should have done Nemo or Figment or another throwaway first in case we didn’t make it. Maybe I’m just slow to catch on – it wouldn’t be the first time that’s been the case – but I guess I didn’t have this FP thing down as well as I thought.

Our next plan was a Livin with the Land FP. It was still a bit early, but we headed that way. We had never met Joy & Sadness, so we figured that would be a good way to pass the time. The line didn’t seem too bad, and I don’t recall there being any posted wait time. We were in line for a while and it was barely moving. I was worried our FP window would close by the time we were done, so I suggested dropping the meet and just going to LwtL now. Besides me, nobody else was overly excited about LwtL, so we just stayed put. Eventually (and I don’t remember how long, but longer than I had wanted to wait) we did meet Joy & Sadness.

upload_2018-12-3_18-26-4.jpeg

I was definitely more on the Sadness side of the spectrum at this point. Our Livin with the Land FP was gone now too. The planner in me was not happy. Nothing had gone right (and by “right” I mean my way) this whole morning. Yes, I was being foolish and I should have been happy that the girls were content. But I came to the unmistakable conclusion that I had developed Disney Funk. Symptoms include repeating the phrases “I don’t care”, “do what you want”, and “that’s fine”, along with involuntary shrugging of the shoulders. Treatment includes riding BTMRR and eating a Dole Whip or something Mickey shaped. Unfortunately none of these things were in the immediate vicinity of Innoventions.

Exiting the Joy & Sadness meet, the line for the Baymax meet is right there. Katie wanted to meet him too and since I was being a big baby non-committal, I agreed to tag along, while Tish and Brianna skipped it to get their Starbucks fix. Of course the Baymax line was also taking longer than I would have liked, but eventually we got though. I found it an awkward meet, not really sure if I should touch him for fear of popping him and sending him flying through Innoventions like a leaky balloon.

upload_2018-12-3_18-27-42.jpeg

My darling wife became the expert planner this morning. While they were at Starbucks, she had the brilliant idea to get on the MDE app and see if those missed FP could be changed for later. It turns out they can and she did get both a Soarin’ and LwtL FP for a couple hours later. Shut the front door! Seriously? Did I miss a memo on this? I always though if you missed your FP, it was gone, done. I had no idea you could rescue them in the app and try to reschedule.

Thankfully, things were looking up. It was now time for our (originally) third scheduled FP for The Seas with Nemo. We’ve never had any significant interest in this area, but we normally check out the marine life anyway. Nothing special happened here. Nothing bad happened here. Moving on.

Our rescued Soarin’ FP was up next. This day continued to turn around, because for our very first Soarin’ Around the World experience we lucked into row B1 – front and centre. We did not experience any of the Eiffel Tower warping that so many others have noted. For the most part we enjoyed the new show, although we all missed the oranges. I certainly prefer that smell to dirt. The Taj Mahal scene bothered me a little, being so obviously CG. If they couldn’t get permission to fly over it, why not just chose another location? There are other impressive things in this world. But anyway, it was still enjoyable.

Feeling a bit hungry and having some time before our re-scheduled Livin with the Land FP, I suggested getting cupcakes from Sunshine Seasons. I had read about “the best Disney cupcakes” maybe on Disney Food Blog before this trip. I remembered that several were at Sunshine Seasons. And none of the sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) in my family will turn down a cupcake. Katie and I got a Rose Gold Minnie Ears cupcake (vanilla & Nutella chocolate marble cake, vanilla butter cream, fondant ears), Brianna got a Belle cupcake (chocolate cake with cherry filling, vanilla butter cream), and Tish had a Mickey Whoopie Pie which was red velvet cake with buttercream icing. Other than Brianna not liking the cherry filling, they were all very good.

upload_2018-12-3_18-30-5.jpeg

Finally it was time to go live with the land. I can’t tell you why I have an obsession with this ride. I am not a gardener, nor a farmer. But I was fascinated by this ride on my very first trip when I was 9 years old, and I still am today. I just love it. I also want to live in that farmhouse.

upload_2018-12-3_18-31-30.jpeg

You probably already know, but the address on the mailbox is 82, the year Epcot opened.

We figured since we were on this side of the park, we might as well ride Figment just to say we did. I miss Dreamfinder and the Rainbow Tunnel. I can’t say much else about that ride. I’m just glad I have those faded memories from 1983.

It was mid-afternoon now, and this was the first day we were not taking an afternoon break. Straight to the monorail we went. Since I was in the vicinity of both Spaceship Earth and a monorail, I took the obligatory photo. As per Trip Report Guidelines section 2, subsection 1.4, I am also required to share that photo with you.

upload_2018-12-3_18-32-38.jpeg

Phew. Trip report police off my back again.


Answers to last questions:

1. We’re back to Epcot. What mode of transport do we use to get there (bus or rental car)? Bus

2. We meet some characters (other than princesses). Which characters? Joy & Sadness, Baymax

3. We get snacks at a QS restaurant. Which restaurant? Sunshine Seasons


Next Update Questions for Fun:

1. We watch Happily Ever After, but we did not stand in The Hub. From where do we watch HEA?

2. During HEA, I have a snack that was new at the time (just debuted this year). What snack?

3. Katie does a ride for the first time. Which ride?
 
Really glad you got to reschedule your FP+. Joy and Sadness are a fun meet. I feel the same way about Baymax, not sure if he will pop, lol!

B1 is the place to be for Soarin, it is really distorted in the other concourses.

I love LwtL as well for no apparent reason either:blush:

The cupcakes look very yummy!

Okay questions, I think I did fair with the last ones
1. Fantasy Land
2. The Peter Pan Float
3. Not sure on this one Astro Orbiter??
 
Nice pics with the characters! And it all worked out since you were able to reschedule your FPs!

Great pic from the monorail station!

1. We watch Happily Ever After, but we did not stand in The Hub. From where do we watch HEA? Tomorrowland Bridge

2. During HEA, I have a snack that was new at the time (just debuted this year). What snack? The lime Peter Pan soft serve

3. Katie does a ride for the first time. Which ride? Ahh no guesses here :(
 
I think all of us would be lying if we said we didn't get into that Disney Funk every now and then. It happens, especially when things don't seem to be going your way. But nothing a good cupcake and a FP rescue can't fix!!
 
Thanks, I think she does a nice job and most of the kids seem to like her parties.
I would love for her to do a College program at Disney. Unfortunately, it's my understanding that foreigners can only get a "cultural exchange" position at their respective country, due to work permits, so the only option for her at WDW is Le Cellier or serving beer and popcorn at the cart in Canada.
I do know that Disney cruise line is an option for her to be Elsa, or another, but their contracts are 9 months and you're on the ship for that long, so it's really something you could only do before or after university if you take some time off to "find yourself".

Hello, I have been enjoying your report and lurking. However, I wanted to come out if lurkdom when I saw the thing about the college program. International students have more options than just their home country. I did two programs and worked with students from France and the UK and obviously both those countries are represented in EPCOT. I know they less flexibility on their program dates and lengths, but they said it was easier to do than the cultural representive program (the one where they work in their home country) as there are more job options available m, basically the same ones open to US students. This program is the cultural exchange program. so if she interested there is another option available. Just thought I would let you know.
 

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