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

Ignorance is bliss. I didn't even know this was a thing.
Yep, it is. In case you missed my reply to pkondz (and because I'm lazy):
I wouldn't have known the purple wall was a thing but I happened to see a Disney Parks Blog post about it after the upgraded paint job. FYI, they also have a Purple Wall Slushie and Purple Wall cotton candy. For real. I can't make this stuff up.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/...n-get-your-purple-wall-slush-in-disney-world/

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/...a-picture-perfect-tribute-to-the-purple-wall/

Now, there's a good idea!
It's such a good idea, I actually thought it was a thing that you could use a couple QS credits towards a TS meal. But no, because I asked each place we went. If it were the case, the dining plan might get to a place where it would work.

What does BBQ sauce at the bottom accomplish?
Making it sickly sweet. Maybe they were trying to tone down the fluorescent orange cheese sauce?
I honestly did enjoy the top two-thirds of the dish. The bottom, not so much.
Now there's something for a Yelp review!

Did they try kicking the side of the controller?
No. Just kept staring at the panel and pushing the same buttons over and over. Isn't that the definition of insanity....?

We need a photo on Toy Story Mania.
Ahem. Considering the location of the string and the facial expressions on that ride, a photo might be interesting to say the least. Perhaps NOT a Christmas card photo? :laughing:
 
The Stitch meet is SO cute!! I'm glad y'all were able to squeeze that in before dinner.

I don't get the wall thing either. :confused3 But Disney has certainly latched onto that idea! lol I think there was even a Purple Wall drink of some sort recently.

Well planned Buzz FP for the win! So nice to find something to keep you out of the downpour. I wouldn't have minded the breakdown either since it would give you a little more time out of the rain. We did that a couple times in Universal.

That's great that you timed HEA so well without even meaning to! I still haven't seen it in person.
 
Yep, it is. In case you missed my reply to pkondz (and because I'm lazy):
Wow. You're lazy.

Now, where have I heard that before?

It's such a good idea, I actually thought it was a thing that you could use a couple QS credits towards a TS meal. But no, because I asked each place we went. If it were the case, the dining plan might get to a place where it would work.
You're missing the point. It works....

For DISNEY!


No. Just kept staring at the panel and pushing the same buttons over and over. Isn't that the definition of insanity....?
Um...no comment, but an emoji might be appropriate....
::yes::

Ahem. Considering the location of the string and the facial expressions on that ride, a photo might be interesting to say the least. Perhaps NOT a Christmas card photo? :laughing:
Truth!
 
August 20th – Day 3, Part 1 – 3 minutes should be enough extra magic for anyone

This morning would bring another attempt at actually being inside a park for extra magic hour, this time from 7am-8am. At least that was my demand hint the night before.

We again tried a light breakfast of muffins in the room and were off in our rental car towards Hollywood Studios. It was after 7:00am but there was still potentially time to get some EMH. It might have worked, if not for the insane trek through Constructionland that was required to enter DHS (that’s after you’ve successfully driven your car through Parking Wars: Traffic Cone’s Edge). (credit to Kari @kastoney whose TR title I totally ripped that little joke off from).

After the usual security shenanigans which included a trip through the metal detector to add to the delay, we arrived at the tapstiles at 7:57am. We had a whole 3 minutes to enjoy Extra Magic Hour. If you do it right, 3 minutes should be enough for anyone.

STUDIO_TOYSTORYLANDICON2_20180820_413013785523.jpg

We of course headed to Toy Story Land with the rest of the masses. I think at this point, there really was no EMH and anybody was spilling into the park. We were all excited to try Slinky Dog Dash and didn’t want to wait until our FP later in the week. The stand by wait was 45 minutes, which we felt was reasonable. Although it was only after 8:00am, the sun was already brutally hot and there’s not much shade in that queue.

IMG_0849.JPG

Katie was a little nervous doing a new roller coaster, but in the end we all loved it. I think the coaster itself is more enjoyable than 7DMT (but not as immersive in theming obviously) and it comes a very close 2nd to my favourite ride, BTMRR.

STUDIO_SLINKYDOGRIDE_20180820_413013644955.jpg

A note on the Slinky Dog ride pictures – they are annoying. You seem to get just about everyone in your train multiple times, often other than yourselves. Only mine and Katie’s pic showed up this particular time. The picture itself is a bit out of focus. Hopefully it will improve over time.

Katie loved it so much that she really wanted one of those Slinky headbands. I think it definitely became her favourite ride.

IMG_9341.JPG

Our light breakfast from earlier was wearing off and I wanted to try the offerings at Woody’s Lunch Box. I suspected the girls would enjoy the S’more French Toast and I wanted to try the Breakfast Bowl (potato barrels, scrambled egg, sausage gravy).

IMG_9331.JPG

IMG_9333.JPG

You’ll have to excuse the fog on the camera in those pictures. What can I say? Florida. August.
The girls did enjoy the S’mores. I didn’t try it, but despite my sweet tooth, I suspect it would have been a little too much sugar for me that early in the morning. My Breakfast Bowl was OK. A little too salty and onion-y for my liking, but OK.
Side note: had I paid for a dining plan, this would have been a terrible use of a meal credit since they are only $7.99 and $8.49; reason #27 why the dining plan doesn’t work for us.

We decided not to stick around TSL anymore that morning. I had no FP booked in DHS today, so we had no specific plan. Coming out of TSL, we were walking towards Launch Bay and the thought crossed my mind to go there since I am a Star Wars fan. Problem is the girls are not, at all, zero interest. I’m just going to spill the beans now. I didn’t go to Launch Bay. Ever. Not once during the entire trip. I didn’t feel like dragging the girls there. I would have liked to see some of the movie props, but I didn’t have any strong desire to meet any Star Wars characters. I don’t know why. I’m a little disappointed, but I got over it. Anyway, that’s the long way to tell you we didn’t go to Launch Bay.

The other thing we passed by was the Little Mermaid show. Brianna of course wanted to see it, so we did. It was fine. Ariel sang. There were florescent fish. There was a giant Ursula. I don’t have much else to say about it.


IMG_9336.JPG

One thing we wanted to do today was meet Olaf. Brianna was doing a bit of Disney bounding today and had worn a blueish shirt and a single braid, so an Olaf meet was definitely on the menu. So we headed that way and only had about a 15 minute wait.

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_413319125751.JPG


Since we were on that side of the park, and having no real plan, I floated the idea of the Indiana Jones show. I hadn’t seen it in 10 years, Brianna really didn’t remember it, and Katie had never seen it. So we went in for it. I even thought it might be fun to get in the show. I put my hand up when they called, but didn’t get picked. Considering how hot it was today, that’s probably a good thing. I wanted to be taking off clothing, not throwing on a long robe and running around fake Cairo chasing bad guys.

IMG_9347.JPG

The show was, well, it was a show. There were some stunts. There was gunfire. There were explosions. So that was something. But I realized then how dated this show is. The whole “we’re making a movie” shtick is tired and it just does not fit with what this park has become. It also feels much longer than I remember (of course it is actually about 45 minutes). I do believe my wife took a nap during the show. So it’s probably something I wouldn't bother with again, at least in its present form. I love Indiana Jones and hope that IP stays in WDW. Maybe it’s time to bring Indy to Animal Kingdom, do the overlay of the Dinosaur ride and bulldoze Dinoland for an Indiana Jones land that might actually make sense in AK.

Anyway, I think everyone was feeling a bit blah by this point. The girls wanted to do some shopping on Hollywood Boulevard, and I had been messaging another DISDad, Tim, about a possible meet up. I’m happy to say that I had my first DISDad meet up with Tim (he used to be on the boards but I think he’s rarely here anymore).
While the ladies were shopping, I also caught a bit of the Star Wars stage show (A Galaxy Far, Far Away), although I did it from the relative comfort of the store doorway with the AC. I like Star Wars. I don’t like it enough to stand in the middle of Hollywood Studios in the blazing midday sun and slowly melt like the dude from Indiana Jones when they opened the Arc.

IMG_0869.JPG


We headed back to ASMu then before the temperature reached the self-combustion point. We had a light lunch of a shared chicken nugget platter and ice cream. We had a special supper planned that evening so we didn’t want to spoil our appetites.


Answers to last questions:

1. We’re off to EMH at Hollywood Studios. Do we ride Slinky Dog Dash this morning? Yes
2. Where do we eat breakfast in the park? Woody’s Lunch Box
3. We see two shows at DHS this morning. Which shows? Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular


Next Update Questions for Fun:

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?
 


I’m glad you got to ride SDD and it wasn’t down like it was for us at EMH.

I agree with the dated feel of IJ, still fun every 2-3 years!

I love SW so much! I drag Andi into Launch Bay every trip. SW has a very special place in my heart. My son grew up watching SW with his mom and he loves it so much, ( we hated the Last Jedi) broke our heart haha! Just bad! I wish Jack would come to WDW with us so we could share our SW love and bond together there!

Okay questions, I think I am doing pretty decent with these!
1. Epcot
2. Akershus
3. SE, Soarin, Figment, you use 1
4. Cronut
 
This morning would bring another attempt at actually being inside a park for extra magic hour, this time from 7am-8am. At least that was my demand hint the night before.

:laughing: Putting your foot down! Tentatively.

We again tried a light breakfast of muffins in the room

Tried? How did you do? Some get in your mouth?

if not for the insane trek through Constructionland

oooooh.... A new land! This sounds exciting!

that’s after you’ve successfully driven your car through Parking Wars: Traffic Cone’s Edge

:laughing:

credit to Kari @kastoney whose TR title I totally ripped that little joke off from

Thievery! I shouldn't have laughed!
@kastoney, I'm laughing at your wit.
Jeff's only got about half of that.

We had a whole 3 minutes to enjoy Extra Magic Hour.

You made it!!!


Um...

:rolleyes2

If you do it right, 3 minutes should be enough for anyone.

Sure!
You could bang out all the headliners in that time.

studio_toystorylandicon2_20180820_413013785523-jpg.362946

Why are you stopping for a photo! You only have 3 minutes!!!!

We were all excited to try Slinky Dog Dash and didn’t want to wait until our FP later in the week.

Of course.
I always look at FP as my backup plan to rope drop... and as a way to look smug in front of all the people waiting in line.

The stand by wait was 45 minutes, which we felt was reasonable.

Not long at all for that ride.

Although it was only after 8:00am, the sun was already brutally hot and there’s not much shade in that queue.

Ew... Too soon.


Looks like two of your party have succumbed to the heat.

I think the coaster itself is more enjoyable than 7DMT (but not as immersive in theming obviously) and it comes a very close 2nd to my favourite ride, BTMRR.

Really!! Whoa! Can't wait to try it out in... just under 6 months.

A note on the Slinky Dog ride pictures – they are annoying. You seem to get just about everyone in your train multiple times, often other than yourselves. Only mine and Katie’s pic showed up this particular time. The picture itself is a bit out of focus. Hopefully it will improve over time.

:( Unfortunate.


Cute shot and... kinda really liking the headband. :)

I wanted to try the offerings at Woody’s Lunch Box.

Thought you might. :)
But...

My Breakfast Bowl was OK. A little too salty and onion-y for my liking, but OK.

Ah. I'm not a fan of "potato barrels"... fancy word for tater tots, I guess. I like real hash browns or pan fries. Those taste... processed.

Side note: had I paid for a dining plan, this would have been a terrible use of a meal credit since they are only $7.99 and $8.49; reason #27 why the dining plan doesn’t work for us.

Totally get that.

"Wow! That looks good! Can we eat that?"
"No. It's not a good use of our credits."

Coming out of TSL, we were walking towards Launch Bay and the thought crossed my mind to go there since I am a Star Wars fan.

Makes sense.

Problem is the girls are not, at all, zero interest.

Are you sure they're yours?

I’m just going to spill the beans now. I didn’t go to Launch Bay. Ever. Not once during the entire trip.

Too bad. Some interesting stuff in there.

I don’t know why. I’m a little disappointed, but I got over it.

I know why. Because you're a good dad.

The other thing we passed by was the Little Mermaid show. Brianna of course wanted to see it, so we did.

Guessed that one, right.

There were florescent fish. There was a giant Ursula. I don’t have much else to say about it.

Yep. I've seen it once. That was enough.

One thing we wanted to do today was meet Olaf. Brianna was doing a bit of Disney bounding today and had worn a blueish shirt and a single braid, so an Olaf meet was definitely on the menu.

::yes::

So we headed that way and only had about a 15 minute wait.

Not too bad. :)

Since we were on that side of the park, and having no real plan, I floated the idea of the Indiana Jones show.

Huh. Missed that one... and I'm a bit surprised. Should have thought of it.

I put my hand up when they called, but didn’t get picked.

Darn. :)

I wanted to be taking off clothing

Thanks for that image that I now can't get out of my head. :headache:

But I realized then how dated this show is.

Oh? Too bad. :(

It also feels much longer than I remember (of course it is actually about 45 minutes).

I forgot it was that long! Whoa.

Maybe it’s time to bring Indy to Animal Kingdom, do the overlay of the Dinosaur ride and bulldoze Dinoland for an Indiana Jones land that might actually make sense in AK.

That's.... actually a pretty good idea.

I’m happy to say that I had my first DISDad meet up with Tim

Yay! DISmeet! Great!

I don’t like it enough to stand in the middle of Hollywood Studios in the blazing midday sun and slowly melt like the dude from Indiana Jones when they opened the Arc.

:laughing: Pretty accurate description.

We had a special supper planned that evening so we didn’t want to spoil our appetites.

Hmmm... Wonder where.

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)

Epcot

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?

Hmmm... Le Cellier

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?

SE, Soarin, MS

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?

Cronut
 
Love the pic of Brianna, Katie, and Olaf. It's adorable!!!

I haven't seen the Indiana Jones show and years, but agree it is in major need of some updating...
 


Hi Jeff! I finally found some time to sit down and read through your TR. Great read so far!

We settled ourselves near the gate for our Orlando flight. It’s not a bad set up in Toronto. There are clusters of tables between the gates, each table has iPads that you can order food from the nearby restaurant, or browse the web, plus charging stations for your devices. If you have to be stuck for a while, it’s not a terrible place to do it.

The renovations to the Toronto airport are a huge improvement. I can't wait until the whole airport is finished as there are still some gate areas that have not been updated and are the old style uncomfortable seats with no areas for charging electronics etc. The updated areas certainly make long waits at the airport much more bearable!

After nearly an hour (!!) they finally said they were moving us to another belt – this one had broken down. It took another half hour before our bags came out.

Ugh, that would be so frustrating! Something similar happened when my brother and I flew back from BC in September. Took ages for the bags to show up and we had to move belts.

We were really looking forward to our planned restaurant – Olive Garden

Nothing wrong with that! We like eating at Olive Garden when in the States as well.


Adorable

We shared two fresh fruit and Nutella waffles.

Those look so good!

I'll get more into this later in the report, but I do miss the Animation building, especially the drawing class.

I feel the same way.

Looking at the Times Guide, we noticed that we could line up Frozen Sing Along, Disney Movie magic, Star Wars fireworks, and Fantasmic! all in a row, with little waiting in between. It sounded like a plan, so off we went.


Nice! Great park touring strategy!


What did I think of my first view of HEA? Fantastic! Do I miss Wishes? Yes. But did I enjoy HEA. Yes. The emotional connection of Wishes is gone, but the HEA projections add to the show.

That was also my reaction. Really enjoyed HEA but miss the emotional connection of Wishes.

I think the coaster itself is more enjoyable than 7DMT (but not as immersive in theming obviously) and it comes a very close 2nd to my favourite ride, BTMRR.

Toy Story Land looks so cute and I am glad that people are enjoying SDD as I am very much looking forward to riding it when I next go back.
 
t might have worked, if not for the insane trek through Constructionland that was required to enter DHS (that’s after you’ve successfully driven your car through Parking Wars: Traffic Cone’s Edge). (credit to Kari @kastoney whose TR title I totally ripped that little joke off from).
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I have a feeling that will become a pretty popular title to riff off of as Star Wars land opens up. That's why I got in early :P

But if the parking lot was anything like the bus stop then you have underestimated it. That place was like a war zone.

At least you got a picture. We got zip, zero, zilch when we rode it.

The girls did enjoy the S’mores. I didn’t try it, but despite my sweet tooth, I suspect it would have been a little too much sugar for me that early in the morning. My Breakfast Bowl was OK. A little too salty and onion-y for my liking, but OK.
Side note: had I paid for a dining plan, this would have been a terrible use of a meal credit since they are only $7.99 and $8.49; reason #27 why the dining plan doesn’t work for us.
That's why the dining plan doesn't work for us either. We tried it once when it was "free" and had something like 20 QS credits left on the last day. Jason and I just went to every QS we could find in Epcot and MK, ordered 1 thing, tried a bite or two and then journeyed.

The other thing we passed by was the Little Mermaid show. Brianna of course wanted to see it, so we did. It was fine. Ariel sang. There were florescent fish. There was a giant Ursula. I don’t have much else to say about it.
You should has skipped this and done the launch bay while the girls did the show.

Considering how hot it was today, that’s probably a good thing. I wanted to be taking off clothing, not throwing on a long robe and running around fake Cairo chasing bad guys.

img_9347-jpg.362957
Hopefully for everyone's sake you remained full clothed :rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?
1. Epcot (thanks for the slow ball)
2. Teppan Edo
3. Frozen, Spaceship Earth and Nemo and you only use 2
4. Schoolbread

Thievery! I shouldn't have laughed!
@kastoney, I'm laughing at your wit.
Jeff's only got about half of that.
But in his defense Jeff does come by his naturally while mine is generally hop or grape influenced :drinking1
 
Well, 3 minutes of EMH is better than 0 minutes, right?! :rotfl: I'm glad you were still able to get on Slinky Dog without a huge wait. 45 minutes doesn't seem to bad for a brand new ride first thing in the morning. Really a shame they don't have more shade in that area, though.

I'm dying to try that S'mores breakfast! S'mores is my favorite food group.

Love the Little Mermaid show, but we haven't seen the Indiana Jones show in years. I can imagine by now it is very very dated!
 
This morning would bring another attempt at actually being inside a park for extra magic hour, this time from 7am-8am. At least that was my demand hint the night before.
I would have no luck getting my three out the door that early!

We had a whole 3 minutes to enjoy Extra Magic Hour. If you do it right, 3 minutes should be enough for anyone.
haha!

Katie was a little nervous doing a new roller coaster, but in the end we all loved it. I think the coaster itself is more enjoyable than 7DMT (but not as immersive in theming obviously) and it comes a very close 2nd to my favourite ride, BTMRR.
I love it too, ranks as my #2.

Side note: had I paid for a dining plan, this would have been a terrible use of a meal credit since they are only $7.99 and $8.49; reason #27 why the dining plan doesn’t work for us.
Exactly why we don't do DDP either.

One thing we wanted to do today was meet Olaf. Brianna was doing a bit of Disney bounding today and had worn a blueish shirt and a single braid, so an Olaf meet was definitely on the menu. So we headed that way and only had about a 15 minute wait.
This is a great picture and awesome Disney Bounding!

Anyway, I think everyone was feeling a bit blah by this point. The girls wanted to do some shopping on Hollywood Boulevard, and I had been messaging another DISDad, Tim, about a possible meet up. I’m happy to say that I had my first DISDad meet up with Tim (he used to be on the boards but I think he’s rarely here anymore).
While the ladies were shopping, I also caught a bit of the Star Wars stage show (A Galaxy Far, Far Away), although I did it from the relative comfort of the store doorway with the AC. I like Star Wars. I don’t like it enough to stand in the middle of Hollywood Studios in the blazing midday sun and slowly melt like the dude from Indiana Jones when they opened the Arc.
Shade and AC are my best friends at Disney. I wear a shady hat 90% of the time and that helps a lot.

Next Update Questions for Fun:

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?

1. Epcot
2. Coral Reef
3. Soarin', Mission Space, SE (you use 2).
4. Macaron ice cream sandwich!
 
I love SW so much! I drag Andi into Launch Bay every trip. SW has a very special place in my heart. My son grew up watching SW with his mom and he loves it so much, ( we hated the Last Jedi) broke our heart haha! Just bad! I wish Jack would come to WDW with us so we could share our SW love and bond together there!
That would be fun to have a kid to enjoy SW with! I have tried to get the girls to watch the movies, but they just won't try. I have a feeling they might actually enjoy it if they tried, and they just say no to get under my skin :laughing:
I'm torn about The Last Jedi. I didn't hate it, but the story choices were completely unexpected and didn't "feel" like Star Wars.

Okay questions, I think I am doing pretty decent with these!
I think you are. I had thought to do an actual contest in the beginning, but I didn't want anyone to feel obligated to answer.I figured "just for fun" was the best way to do it. But at the end, maybe I'll go back through all the answers and see who got most right. :)

This is a great picture and awesome Disney Bounding!
Thanks! A little spoiler - she steps up her Disney bounding a bit in the evening and puts in her full Elsa braid (it's a hair extension she uses for the parties at home). I guess it's pretty obvious who she planned taking a picture with that night!
 
I think the coaster itself is more enjoyable than 7DMT
I agree, and I do enjoy 7DMT but Slinky has a tad more "thrill" to it. More than I actually thought it would, I was very pleasantly surprised! In fact I think Chris may think twice about riding when he first sees the height of the track lol but I'm not giving him a choice :laughing:

Aw, I love the LM show. I agree about Indiana Jones though and it makes me a little sad because when we started bringing the kids back in 2006, it was still exciting for them. I hate the idea of IJ leaving the park so if they do anything it'll hopefully just be some kind of update.

I am so bad at guessing but, here goes!

Next Update Questions for Fun:

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?

1. Going out on a limb here and saying....Epcot :P
2. Akershus?
3. Frozen, Spaceship Earth, Mission: Space, and you only use 1
4. going with my Epcot favorite, Schoolbread
 
studio_slinkydogride_20180820_413013644955-jpg.362948


A note on the Slinky Dog ride pictures – they are annoying. You seem to get just about everyone in your train multiple times, often other than yourselves. Only mine and Katie’s pic showed up this particular time. The picture itself is a bit out of focus. Hopefully it will improve over time.

We had issues with our photos here, too! Or at least that what I assume happened, since we never received any photos at all. :confused3

One thing we wanted to do today was meet Olaf. Brianna was doing a bit of Disney bounding today and had worn a blueish shirt and a single braid, so an Olaf meet was definitely on the menu. So we headed that way and only had about a 15 minute wait.

photopass_visiting_studio_413319125751-jpg.362956

Awesome! Great photo! I love the subtle Disney bound.

I even thought it might be fun to get in the show. I put my hand up when they called, but didn’t get picked. Considering how hot it was today, that’s probably a good thing. I wanted to be taking off clothing, not throwing on a long robe and running around fake Cairo chasing bad guys.

Yeah, I think you're right that you dodged a bullet there! I remember thinking about how sweltering hot all the volunteers must have been when we watched this in August.

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)

Epcot

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?

Garden Grill

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?

Frozen, SE, Nemo, and you use two.

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?

The frozen ice stuff from Japan.
 
Tried? How did you do? Some get in your mouth?
Well...we tried seeing if this kind of breakfast worked for us. I didn't. We decided after this morning we were happier forgetting about dining plan credit "value" and getting breakfast in the food court, snacks through the day, and then a meal sometime between lunch and supper. Which is how we normally eat without a dining plan.

oooooh.... A new land! This sounds exciting!
It is! If you enjoy long walks through tarpaulins and traffic barriers.

I always look at FP as my backup plan to rope drop... and as a way to look smug in front of all the people waiting in line.
::yes:: I rarely have the chance to look smug. I take it where I can.

Really!! Whoa! Can't wait to try it out in... just under 6 months.
I really liked it. I should mention again that I'm not a "big" roller coaster guy - I'll do RnRC and Everest once but I'm good then. I'm not a fan of the "stomach drop" feeling. So take my assessment of Slinky Dog with a grain of salt.

Ah. I'm not a fan of "potato barrels"... fancy word for tater tots, I guess. I like real hash browns or pan fries. Those taste... processed.
I guess Tater Tots is a trademark? That's why Disney calls them potato barrels? I agree with you, hash browns or pan fries are better. I don't mind tater tots if they're fresh and crispy. The Woody's Lunch Box ones were a bit soggy, probably sitting in the country gravy for a while.

Too bad. Some interesting stuff in there.
I know. I do regret not getting there. But it seemed like the right thing at the time.

I know why. Because you're a good dad.
Thanks. I could have split and gone off myself. They probably would have understood and been fine. I just would feel guilty doing it.

That's.... actually a pretty good idea.
I do enjoy Dinosaur. But I like Indiana Jones more. I think it needs to be in one of the parks. Maybe it makes more sense in AK.
 
Well...we tried seeing if this kind of breakfast worked for us. I didn't. We decided after this morning we were happier forgetting about dining plan credit "value" and getting breakfast in the food court, snacks through the day, and then a meal sometime between lunch and supper. Which is how we normally eat without a dining plan.

So.... was the dining plan a good thing, or a bad thing for you guys?

It is! If you enjoy long walks through tarpaulins and traffic barriers.

ooooh!!! Tarpaulins and traffic barriers!?!?! They've thought of everything!!!!

::yes:: I rarely have the chance to look smug. I take it where I can.

:laughing:

I really liked it. I should mention again that I'm not a "big" roller coaster guy - I'll do RnRC and Everest once but I'm good then. I'm not a fan of the "stomach drop" feeling. So take my assessment of Slinky Dog with a grain of salt.

I like coasters, but not if they're kidney bruising or neck whiplashing rough. My favourite is easily BTMRR. So I guess I'll see how I like this one. :)

I guess Tater Tots is a trademark? That's why Disney calls them potato barrels? I agree with you, hash browns or pan fries are better. I don't mind tater tots if they're fresh and crispy. The Woody's Lunch Box ones were a bit soggy, probably sitting in the country gravy for a while.

soggy.... ew.

I know. I do regret not getting there. But it seemed like the right thing at the time.

::yes::

I do enjoy Dinosaur. But I like Indiana Jones more. I think it needs to be in one of the parks. Maybe it makes more sense in AK.

I think you're right.
 
I agree, and I do enjoy 7DMT but Slinky has a tad more "thrill" to it. More than I actually thought it would, I was very pleasantly surprised! In fact I think Chris may think twice about riding when he first sees the height of the track lol but I'm not giving him a choice :laughing:
That track seems very high, a bit deceptive when you'r on the ground looking up, but it's not so bad. I don't like big drops, but Slinky was fun!

Yeah, I think you're right that you dodged a bullet there! I remember thinking about how sweltering hot all the volunteers must have been when we watched this in August.
I thought at first it might be fun to be picked. But then was somewhat relieved when I remembered the volunteers had to stand out in the sun in robes and run around.
 
But if the parking lot was anything like the bus stop then you have underestimated it. That place was like a war zone.
It was nuts. Traffic cones and concrete barriers everywhere. Plus a very long walk between rows of green tarps. They tried to dress it up with posters, but it was a mess.

At least you got a picture. We got zip, zero, zilch when we rode it.
I hope they improve this. It seems like many people didn't get any picture at all. We got half of the pictures we should have.

That's why the dining plan doesn't work for us either. We tried it once when it was "free" and had something like 20 QS credits left on the last day. Jason and I just went to every QS we could find in Epcot and MK, ordered 1 thing, tried a bite or two and then journeyed.
Yep, I've only had the dining plan twice, both times "free". We also had a ton of meal credits left on the last day. I have never, and will never, pay for it.

You should has skipped this and done the launch bay while the girls did the show.
Oh man, why didn't I have you planing my trip?! I totally should have done that. They probably would have been fine with it.

But in his defense Jeff does come by his naturally while mine is generally hop or grape influenced :drinking1
:rotfl:
 
Even though you didn't make it for EMH, 45 mins for Slinky Dog isn't terrible! Glad you enjoyed it!

1. We change parks again after our afternoon break. Which park? (hint: let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. There’s one park we haven’t been to yet. I’m lobbing slow balls at you folks.)- Epcot

2. You’ve hopefully figured out which park. We have an ADR – a special ADR for Katie’s birthday supper – which restaurant?- Akershus

3. We have three FP this evening. What are the FP and how many of the three do we use?- Frozen, Spaceship Earth, Figment- you use 2

4. I go on the hunt for a snack this evening. What is that snack?- Mickey Bar
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top