I Can't, I'm Not Wearing a Princess Dress! - New TR link!!!!

[afwdwfan]

So I read this update awhile ago, but I guess I didn't comment.

Yeah, I know how that goes. I read the comment a long time ago and just now got around to replying.

I'm glad to hear you received some positive news from the doctors. I hope things continue to go that way for your family.

Thank you.

Wow, I'm impressed that your daughter did so well at the conference sessions!

Well, she was tired and she quickly went to sleep. It wasn't that impressive.

That was nice of you to get a reservation at 1900 PF. Haven't been. Boys.

I understand.

Wow, the B team- I wonder how they determine when you get mice and when you get the sisters.

I don't know. Maybe they were short a few face characters that night. I know Cinderella, the Stepmother and Prince Charming kept going offstage what seemed to be more frequently than you usually notice at a character meal.

It is interesting to see the reactions to the different characters from kids your daughter's. You never know what is going to happen.

Yeah, no kidding.

Prince Charming? I thought you said Prince! I can't! I'm not wearing my Raspberry Beret.

That is pretty special to be called twin by Cinderella. I'm so glad to hear your daughter was so thrilled to hear that!

Oh, she definitely thought that was pretty incredible.

Yes, MK.

3:30

Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid, Buzz Lightyear

Little Mermaid

Mickey Bar

Popcorn

Cosmic Rays

Spectromagic

Ferry

Monorail

Got em!

Ah. But then again. No freezing rain is a very good thing.

Huh! Never heard of that before... and it sounds like a really good idea!

It works well. Indianapolis even has one so I thought they were a somewhat universal concept.

$15? $20?

I wish! Then it would definitely be disposable.

I hear ya.
Just posted something similar on my TR.

OMG!!! Did I seriousloy MISS this entirely? I mean not post, or subscribe? Nothing?!!! Gosh, Andy, I suck. I"m so, SO sorry!! I promise I'll read this ASAP, and catch up. I'm sad I"ve been missing out!!!

Um... I thought you had posted here already? Oh well, in any case, I'm glad you're here. Nurse's brain or not.

Ugh...I hate travel in the snow. It makes everything more stressful, from driving to flying. It makes me think about moving south. At least they arrived without any incidents.

Yeah, they made it just fine. They actually started cancelling flights about 20 minutes after they got out of there, so we really lucked out.

In WDW without a wallet!? I think that's OK now. I'm sure Disney has invented some kind of teleportation device that just lifts money out of your wallet. I think that's the next phase of My Magic +. It certainly seems that way when I'm on vacation. ("I could've sworn I had a couple $20's in here, but I that was 4 Mickey bars ago...")

You've got that right! That magicband does a pretty good job of taking your money without you noticing it.

I've read about the strawberry soup and I've been strangely intrigued and disgusted at the same time. I'm really not sure if I would enjoy it or not.

That's kind of how I felt about it. I'd heard great things about it, but I also thought it could be really nasty. I liked it. I wouldn't say it is worth a trip to 1900 PF for that reason alone, but it was good.

For princess meals, I've only done breakfasts at CRT and Akershus. But I have to admit my family were all impressed with Akershus (if it had been for lunch, it may be different, since I have seen mixed reviews on the lunch food). The breakfast food at Akershus was great and I found the character interaction better than CRT. But 1900 Park Fare still seems interesting, especially getting a couple characters not usually in the parks, since Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters are gone from MK now.

Yeah, getting the chance to see Cinderella, the step sisters and Lady Tremaine was the big draw for us. Unfortunatly, that didn't quite pan out and it left us feeling a little bit disappointed. We've done CRT (and a little later in this trip Akershus as well), and enjoy those.

I actually don't know how I would feel about this. The step-sisters are very good, but I think my DD would get a thrill out of seeing Cindy's mice friends too.

At first, I was mildly disappointed, but then figured she won't know the difference and I'm sure she'll enjoy the mice. They quickly changed my tune.

1. Yes, MK, and if I said anything different I might as well just give up now.
2. 2:20
3. Enchanted Tales with Belle, Mad Tea Party, Magic Carpets of Aladdin (I feel like I either just got a goose egg or 30 points with those answers!)
4. Buzz Lightyear
5. popcorn
6. cookie
7. Columbia Harbor House
8. Festival of Fantasy
9. monorail
10. boat

Got em!

Wow, sorry about 1900, it's a bummer that there was no step sisters, they're best.

Yeah, that's what I've heard, and it was a big reason why I decided to try it.

At least you had a good lady Tremaine, she was the same friend we saw in May, loved her.

She was definitely the best character there that evening.

In the end, lackluster or not, it sounds like dd had a good night and that's important. I love that Cinderella called her twin, too cute.

She enjoyed seeing Cinderella and that comment from her on the way out meant a lot to her.

1. Yes, Magic Kingdom

2. 2:15

3. PPF, Winnie, and Under the Sea

4. Peolpemover

5. Popcorn

6. rice krispie

7. Comic Rays

8. FOF

9. Monorail

10. Boat

Got em!

I am soooo behind on TRs, I'm glad I was able to squeak in before the next update!

Oh, you had time to spare. I'm so far behind it feels like I'll never catch up.

I feel like winter flights are NEVER on time.

How lucky!

Actually, I'd kind of been looking at the ADR availability for several different resort restaurants a few weeks before our trip just in case we did decide to try to find something to do one evening. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the availability that I found. Obviously, we got a pretty decent dinner time at 1900 PF, but we definitely had a few other options as well.

Sheer terror when that happens!

PHEW!

I was glad to find it!

I've never been there for dinner, but I REALLY enjoyed their breakfast. Its my favorite breakfast buffet I've been to at Disney. Unfortunately though, Cinderella isn't there for breakfast

I know... I tend to like the breakfast buffets, but we tend to prefer doing a quicker breakfast in the morning or maybe a really late breakfast (lunch) buffet. I just don't think the characters for this breakfast have enough of a draw for us right now.

Isn't it funny how that happens? You feel like its taking forever, and hope its due to some really great interactions, and it turns out to be a dud

Well, I did notice that the face characters seemed to be going off stage a lot. I really don't know what was going on, but I could definitely tell it wasn't because they were spending a long time with everyone. Suzy and Perla never seemed to get a break though.

She has been EXCELLENT everytime I've seen her!

She definitely didn't disappoint.

Yeah, thats definitely a bummer, the Step Sisters are usually a riot.

If only we could have seen them as well.

O.M.G.!!! I can almost hear your DD squeal with excitement!

Oh, she was very excited about it!

People often question if bringing children that young to Disney is "worth it" because the chances of them remembering it are slim. But I say, experiences like this one, even if she doesn't remember it later on, are worth every penny!!

Clearly, I agree with this. We've taken our kids multiple times from the age of 7 months up.

1. Do we go to a park on Monday afternoon? (5 points) If so, which park with a castle in it do we go to? (10 points) If you don’t get points here, that’s your own fault.
Yes, Magic Kingdom

2. The convention center sells discounted tickets for entry after 2 or after 4. What time did we arrive at the park?
4:30pm

3. I booked FP+ that morning while sitting in the convention center. What rides did we get FP+ for? (limit 3 answers, 10 points each for correct answers – keep in mind we already have some of the bigger FP+ attractions booked for our scheduled days)
Peter Pan
Little Mermaid
Dumbo


4. What ride broke down while we were on it? (25 points)
God I hope I'm wrong for your sake, but IASW.

5. What was the first snack we bought at the park? (5 points)
Popcorn

6. What snack did I buy to take back to the hotel? (5 points)
Cinnamon Roll

7. At which counter service restaurant did we get dinner? (10 points)
Pecos Bill's

8. What parade did we finally see in its entirety for the first time? (15 points)
Electrical Parade

9. What method of Disney Transportation did we use from the TTC to the park? (5 points)
Boat

10. What method of Disney Transportation did we use from the park to the TTC? (5 points)
Monorail

1. Do we go to a park on Monday afternoon? (5 points) If so, which park with a castle in it do we go to? (10 points) If you don’t get points here, that’s your own fault.
Yes, Magic Kingdom

2. The convention center sells discounted tickets for entry after 2 or after 4. What time did we arrive at the park?
4:30pm

3. I booked FP+ that morning while sitting in the convention center. What rides did we get FP+ for? (limit 3 answers, 10 points each for correct answers – keep in mind we already have some of the bigger FP+ attractions booked for our scheduled days)
Peter Pan
Little Mermaid
Dumbo


4. What ride broke down while we were on it? (25 points)
God I hope I'm wrong for your sake, but IASW.

5. What was the first snack we bought at the park? (5 points)
Popcorn

6. What snack did I buy to take back to the hotel? (5 points)
Cinnamon Roll

7. At which counter service restaurant did we get dinner? (10 points)
Pecos Bill's

8. What parade did we finally see in its entirety for the first time? (15 points)
Electrical Parade

9. What method of Disney Transportation did we use from the TTC to the park? (5 points)
Boat

10. What method of Disney Transportation did we use from the park to the TTC? (5 points)
Monorail

Got em!

Btw, I feel sad that you didn't enjoy 1900 Park Fare. That was one of the highlights of our trip, back in 2007. So, it wouldn't surprise me if the food had changed, since it has been so long.

You know, it isn't that we didn't enjoy it. It just wasn't anything special, really. I wouldn't say I'll never go back, but it just isn't very high on the list. We have too many old favorites and new to us places to visit.

(Fwiw, I had never heard about the strawberry soup back then, so we totally missed it!) I just remember that it had a good variety of food, and some of the better quality of the trip.

I think the quality was good. I just didn't think there seemed to be a lot of variety when we were there.

Of course, we did get the step-sisters, and they were hilarious. I can see where the mice wouldn't be quite the same, sadly. Also, my son actually had a little bit of a bonding moment with Prince Charming, so I guess we appreciated him more than most people?

I know that there are plenty of people who have had great character interactions here. I'm sure it is usually great, because the reviews all seem to indicate that. We were just a little let down by the lack of step sisters, the quick visit from Cinderella and DD's lack of excitement about the Prince and mice.

So, I'm glad you at least had the Goodnight twin moment to make it special!

That really did make it worthwhile.

 

[afwdwfan]

I can hang with the best of 'em.

Good. Cause I'm still not caught up yet.

Patience is a virtue...that I don't have.

Yeah, I probably deserve it after giving you crap.

So... not virtuous. Check.

That's what I was gonna say.

Excellent! This is the one TR I can keep up with.

Looks like Humpty Dumpty is back together again:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trav...versal-hulk-coaster-track-complete-story.html

Virtuous?

Great meme, but the video is way better.

Looking forward to your next update!

Me too. One of these days...

I knew it! It's a conspiracy.

Now that's just cruel. I can see where this is heading...

So funny! Time! With kids!

Yeah... clearly that didn't work out for me.

Wished the same on us?

But while you're riding the boat ride to hell, you're listening to Highway to Hell.

 

[afwdwfan]

Carousel of progress!!! We're running it of rides!!

Jungle Cruise

Dumbo!

Has anyone said Peter Pan yet?

Got em!



Still time for everyone to change their guesses. I'm done giving hints though, so it is your guess as to whether anybody has finally figured it out or not.

 

[Leshaface]

Yeah, I probably deserve it after giving you crap.

Still time for everyone to change their guesses. I'm done giving hints though, so it is your guess as to whether anybody has finally figured it out or not.

Wow really?!?

Hmm, I want to say Astro Orbiters, but I don't know if you ride that because of how uncomfortable it would be due to your height. And can one get stuck on the Speedway??? That would be interesting. Alright. Final Answer (and the answer!): The Magic Carpets of Aladdin!

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow really?!?

Hmm, I want to say Astro Orbiters, but I don't know if you ride that because of how uncomfortable it would be due to your height. And can one get stuck on the Speedway??? That would be interesting. Alright. Final Answer (and the answer!): The Magic Carpets of Aladdin!

The impressive part is that you managed to mention so many different rides and not a single one of them is right!

 

[afwdwfan]

Since I posted the last update before getting the pictures from DW’s camera, here are a couple more from 1900 PF.

I've got the next update typed and will be posting as soon as I get the contest points totaled up from the last one.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

These are too cute I love your DDs crown as well!

 

[Leshaface]

The impressive part is that you managed to mention so many different rides and not a single one of them is right!

Points for impressing you?!

She's a doll

 

[pkondz]

Twins!

Awwww...
Obviously gets her looks from her mother.

I've got the next update typed and will be posting as soon as I get the contest points totaled up from the last one.

I told you it was a lot of work!

 

[Dugette]

Aw, super cute pictures!

 

[afwdwfan]

When Scooters Fly


Monday morning started with a breakfast in one of the ballrooms at the hotel. We had to get up early to be there by 7, but it was a good meal. We’d discussed the possibility of going to Disney World that afternoon the evening before, but still hadn’t decided for sure and were talking it over as we ate.


There was an event going on the Trade Show that afternoon that seemed like something similar to a F&W type of experience. They were going to be serving various dishes, drinks and desserts from different regions of the US. There were some interesting things on the list and we kind of wanted to check it out. We also weren’t sure we wanted to spend the extra money, even if the Disney tickets were discounted.


In the end though, the call of Disney World won out. We knew that only having 3 days at the parks would really rush us to get through all we wanted to do. I thought if we could go this afternoon and knock off some parades, fireworks and a few rides, that would give us more time and flexibility when we come back later in the week. I had brought some cash that I’d received as a Christmas gift from my Grandpa and while it didn’t cover the entire cost of the tickets, it covered enough of the cost to make my mind up for me.


We went to the convention center right after breakfast and headed to the guest services kiosk. I was soon holding 3 discount tickets good for an after 2pm admission to the Magic Kingdom!


We went and sat through a general session where I made FP+ reservations for Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Dumbo on my phone while we were sitting there. We didn’t have any FP+ reserved for any of the Adventureland attractions later in the week so I felt like this would give us a chance to kind of check that part of the park off of our list and maybe give us some time to do a few extra Fantasyland rides.


I want to comment that I did go through the process of creating a dummy MDE account to use with these tickets. I was afraid if I used our actual MDE accounts, there might be confusion about which set of tickets would be used when we showed up at the parks that afternoon. I know there had been issues with this in the past. I don’t know if that has been corrected, but I didn’t want to risk having to take the time to stop by guest services, so a dummy account would do the trick.


In hindsight though, I really don't think I'd have had to do that as long as I made sure to use the actual tickets and not our Magic Bands. Oh well...


After the conference session, we made one last loop through the Trade Show before heading back to our hotel room. We changed clothes and headed out at around 12:30. We had plenty of time to get to Disney World before 2, but we wanted to eat an inexpensive lunch on the way (you know, McDonalds) and I wanted to drive by Sea World since DW and DD would have to go there the next day.


DW hates driving in unfamiliar places. And I’ve got a ¾ ton crew cab diesel truck. She really doesn’t like driving it, especially in city traffic. I wanted to make sure that I showed her how to get around the area and get to Sea World so that she wouldn’t have any problems the next day.


We arrived at the TTC just a little bit before 2. DD needed to make a stop at the restroom there and then we were ready to head for the park!


DD wanted to ride the monorail, but it wasn’t running. She didn’t quite think that was an acceptable response, but we headed for the ferry anyway. Luckily, one was just finishing loading and we were among the last ones on before they closed the gate.


We entered the park at 2:15 and started walking through the Town Square. I was excited to see that even though it was Jan 11, MK still had its Christmas decorations up!!


Our first goal was to see the Festival of Fantasy Parade. We saw just a few floats last year, but we had to leave for our A&E FP and never managed to see the whole parade. I found a CM and verified that the parade would start in Frontierland so we headed that direction. We wanted to see the parade and then quickly be on our way to do other things so we made sure to watch it at the very beginning of the route.


We walked through the hub and caught the last few minutes of Dream Along with Mickey before continuing to Frontierland. We found a spot right at the rope where the parade comes from backstage. It seemed like a good spot and we only had about 30 minutes to wait by the time we got there. DW held our spot and I took DD to get some popcorn.


When we got back, we didn’t have to wait long before the parade began. I have a mixture of pictures from both my phone and DW’s camera and they kind of got jumbled together. We usually don’t take a lot of pictures, but we got 40 of this parade. I’m just going to post a few of the better pictures.

We really did enjoy this parade and I’m glad that we had a chance to get there and see the whole thing, finally. We had a great spot to watch the parade, but my only complaint is that we were really too close. The floats are so huge that I think that there is really some benefit to being a little bit farther back to be able to take it all in. You can see from the pictures that it is really hard to fit everything into one shot when you’re so close.


After the parade, we headed toward Jungle Cruise to use our FP+. It wasn’t quite time yet so we hopped on Aladdin’s Carpets for a quick spin. By the time we finished, our skipper was ready to take us on our cruise!


Our skipper’s name was Cara and she was awesome! She was really into it and did a great job.


We also found out that she does well under adversity.


When we got to the place where the elephants spray water, she threw the boat in reverse to time our trip past the spray. When she went to go forward again, the boat wouldn’t move. She threw the lever back and forth a few times and we had nothing. She told us that we were having boat problems but we’d get going momentarily. She then reached for a radio that was in a bag under the steering wheel to call for help and I think she could tell that some of the people on the boat thought this was part of the script. She looked at all of us with a nervous laugh and said “Really, this isn’t part of the ride. The boat is broke.”


At about this time another boat came around the corner and stopped behind us. The skipper yelled at Cara and she yelled back that our boat was broke. The skipper behind us then told everyone on his boat to point and laugh. It was one of those “you had to be there” type of things, but it was funny. The back and forth between the 2 skippers really made the wait almost seem like an upgrade to the typical JC experience.


Within a matter of minutes another boat was backed up to us and tossed us a line and we were soon on our way. When we got back to the dock, CM’s were handing out paper FP’s that were good for a select list of attractions in MK.


We had FP+ for POTC for about 45 minutes later, but since we had this paper FP, we chose to use that and ride right away so we could head on towards Fantasyland. We changed the Pirates FP+ to IASW.


And to all of you who thought I’d get stuck on IASW… I hate you.


Not really.


Well, not most of you.


After riding Pirates, we headed towards Fantasyland with a stop in the Christmas Shop. DW wanted to buy a few ornaments, and DD and I waited outside and played in the shade of the Liberty Tree while we waited for her.


We stopped by Rapunzel’s throne room on the way to Fantasyland. DD insisted she didn’t need to go and didn’t want to go to the bathroom with either DW or myself. DW finally convinced her to go try, but her resistance to go to the potty would become a theme over the course of our week there. She would also refuse to ever let me take her, which I have to admit, isn't all that bad.


We rode IASW with our FP+, and we couldn’t walk past the carousel without stopping for a ride.

After that, DD and I rode Barnstormer twice standby and then rode Dumbo with our FP+.

DD said she wanted a sucker so we went to the Big Top and got her an Elsa sucker.


Our main priority this evening was to see MSEP and Wishes so we could possibly go to DHS the evening we originally planned to do this. We really didn’t expect to accomplish a lot as far as rides go and I think we were pretty happy with what we had managed to get done. We had our Adventureland must do’s out of the way and did a few of DD’s favorites in Fantasyland so it was a great way to whet our appetite for what was to come later.


It was getting close to 6 pm, so we decided we should head towards Main Street. We made a quick stop by Gaston’s Tavern so that I could get a cinnamon roll to take with us to have for breakfast in the morning. While I was in there, DD and DW bought a book in Belle’s Gift Shop… totally blanking on the name.


We headed up to Main Street while the Move It, Shake It! (aka Vamos) parade was in the hub. We headed past and went to find a spot along Main Street. We ended up finding an open area across from the cinema between a light post and a trash can (physical barriers making it easier to hold our spot) and we set up camp. I told DW to go get something to eat and then I’d go get some for me and DD when she got back. That way we could hold the spot and nobody would have to juggle all the food. While she was gone, DD enjoyed the front row seat on the curb watching all the characters and dancers go past while moving it and shaking it and singing that annoying Vamos song.


Personally, I hate that parade. That song is horrible. I swear it gets stuck in my head worse than the IASW song, only this one doesn’t have any kind of nostalgia to it. It is just the word Vamos over and over and over and over. Anyway, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent, @pkondz .


When DW got back with her chili dog, I went to get some corn dog nuggets and fries for DD and me. I wanted to make sure we had plenty, so I got 2 orders of corn dog nuggets. And yes, I ate most of them myself.


And I’d do it again.


I usually don’t like to spend much time waiting for parades. Usually there is somewhere in Frontierland where you can walk right up and get a decent spot, even if not on the front row. But this wasn’t too bad. Having this extra, unplanned day to do a few things really made it feel more relaxed. We didn’t feel quite so rushed and we knew that doing this today would free us up on another evening to do other things. DD and I sat on the curb and waited. DW wanted to go into the Emporium to look at a few things so she went to do that.


As 7pm approached, things got a little more difficult though. DD was getting impatient and threw a little bit of a tantrum that resulted in her throwing her sucker on the ground. And I could hardly move from my spot because there were people ready to encroach on our space. We were literally sitting on the curb with our feet in the street and a family came and stood right in front of us. Thankfully a CM quickly came by and told them they’d have to move elsewhere for the parade.


On a side note, I ended up getting my butt stuck to the sidewalk by the end of the parade because there were tiny broken pieces of sucker everywhere that turned my shorts into a sticky mess.


DW came back and started chatting with the family next to us. They were really nice, about our age and had a little boy about DD’s age. That kind of helped once DD and he started playing a little bit as we sat on the curb.


Right before the parade started a family came and got right behind us. I could gather that they were a little upset that DW and I were in front of their kids through their passive aggressive behavior. I briefly considered moving so their kids could be in the front row. Then I remembered, I’d been holding that spot for an hour… yeah, sorry…


I did scoot over so that the oldest child who wasn’t in a stroller could sit on the curb next to us, but I figured we’d be sitting the whole time so the kids in the strollers could see around/over us and the adults would be and they’d just have to get over it.


The parade started and we just sat and enjoyed it. We usually take a lot of pictures of MSEP, but we’ve seen it a lot. I’m one of the people who preferred Spectromagic, but DW loves MSEP so we always have to see it at least once. But this time I think we were just enjoying the fact that it was an enjoyable, relaxing evening in MK and just wanted to watch the parade. We got a grand total of 0 parade pictures, but I did take a few as we were sitting and waiting.

At the end of the parade we headed out into Main Street. We moved toward Town Square to be closer to the exit but we had a great view of the castle for the projection show and Wishes.


You know, we really didn’t expect to see the Christmas decorations at all. We were a little bummed out that we couldn’t go in December this year as we had done a few times in recent years. Being able to get this extra evening in the park was totally worthwhile just to be able to enjoy the Christmas decorations before they came down and see the castle all lit up.

As Wishes approached, I held DD and she managed to stay awake to see Tink fly from the castle for the first time ever. I really wish they’d put the night time things back to back a little closer. It seems like that dark lull between the parade and the projection show and then the projection show and Wishes is all our kids need to fall asleep so they miss the fireworks almost every time.


After Tink flew, DD asked to get in the stroller with her blanket and she was soon out.


As Wishes ended, we quickly headed for the exit, hoping to get to a monorail or ferry before the line got too horrible. As we were walking around Town Square, I saw 2 people on scooters riding on the sidewalk along the front of the Emporium. The one in front was at one of the cutouts on the curb where it was the same height as the street. He turned and left the sidewalk and got onto the street. The lady following apparently had no concept of where she was, because as soon as he turned, she did too.


I always seem to see something interesting happen with a scooter in the parks. This might just be the best of them.


She drove right off the curb about 5 feet shy of the cutout to the street.


There was some definite airtime!


The scooter landed hard leaning to the left and just kind of hung there. It was like it was in slow motion.


I really thought she was going over. And after what seemed like an eternity, the right wheels came down and slammed into the asphalt. I think she kind of ate the handle bar, but must have been more embarrassed than hurt because she just quickly glanced around and gunned it. I don’t think the guy she was with even knew what happened.


Meanwhile, DW is rubbing her bruised shoulder and giving me a death stare because I’d been elbowing her trying to get her attention so she could see the show too.


We got out of the park and the line for the monorail was already all the way down the ramp.


I think I impressed DW with my Disney knowledge when I headed for the resort monorail and we jumped right into a waiting monorail. 2 stops later, we were getting off at the TTC and we were quickly back at our hotel and in time to watch the NCAA National Championship game.



Contest Answers:

1. We went to a park. (5 points) It was Magic Kingdom. (10 points)

2. We arrived at the park at 2:15. Points awarded based on how close you are. Within 5 min, 20 pts, 15 pts < 10 min, 10 pts < 15 min, 5 pts < 20 min.

3. I booked FP+ for Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Dumbo. (10 points each)

4. Jungle Cruise broke down while we were on it. (25 points) I considered negative points for all of you haters who said IASW!

5. The first snack was popcorn. (5 points)

6. I bought a cinnamon roll from Gaston’s Tavern to take back to the hotel. (5 points)

7. We had dinner at Casey’s Corner. (10 points)

8. We finally saw Festival of Fantasy in its entirety. (15 points)

9. We took the Ferry to MK. (5 points)

10. We took the monorail leaving MK.(5 points)



Bonus Points:

Ashw100 – 20 points for being the only one exactly right on the time.

FantasiaMagic – 5 points for being the first to answer

Captain_Oblivious – 5 points for editing out the correct answer, 10 points for the revival of Hulk.

SarahDisney – 5 points for remembering our drunk skipper.

GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes – 5 points for the Marshmallow man.

MissMaryQC – 5 points for the picture even though I think you tried to tell me I look like a gorilla?

Leshaface – 10 points for trying to keep me from living in a van down by the river, because ain’t nobody got time for that.

Vernie822 – 25 points for joining in late



Results for this Round:

vernie822 80

pkondz 75

ashw100 75

Captain_Oblivious 60

cindianne 320 60

MissMaryQC 60

Terra Nova Guy 55

FantasiaMagic 55

amazingact21 55

SarahDisney 50

Franandaj 50

Leshaface 50

vrajewski10513 45

6travel 45

GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 45

Gracefulskinny 40

Jandlinz 40

Chillitsanne 40

Natebenma 25

Dugette 15


Overall Leaderboard:

Captain_Oblivious 275

SarahDisney 259

Pkondz 256

Gracefulskinny 253

Jandlinz 241

cindianne 320 220

ashw100 220

chillitsanne 216

franandaj 207

TerraNovaGuy 204

vrajewski10513 197

6travel 186

FantasiaMagic 182

Dugette 180

GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 176

Natebenma 160

amazingact21 150

Leshaface 125

MissMaryQC 115

SoccerDogWithEars 99

Ursalita 85

vernie822 80



Next update questions:

1. You’ve seen what we did on Monday. Can you guess how many steps I had?

2. What animal will photobomb and scare DD at Sea World? (25 points)

3. What was DD’s favorite part of Sea World? (25 points)

4. Something happened at Sea World that caused the sea lion show to be stopped. What was it? (25 points)

5. Tuesday was my big day at the conference with a meeting that could potentially be all day long. What time did I finally get finished up with my meeting and get back to the hotel? (10 points)

A) 4:00 B) 4:30 C) 5:00 D) 5:30 E) 6:00

6. Did I manage to stay awake for the entire meeting? (10 points)

 

[natebenma]

Since I posted the last update before getting the pictures from DW’s camera, here are a couple more from 1900 PF.

Which one is your daughter and which one is Cinderella?

 

[natebenma]

I want to comment that I did go through the process of creating a dummy MDE account to use with these tickets. I was afraid if I used our actual MDE accounts, there might be confusion about which set of tickets would be used when we showed up at the parks that afternoon. I know there had been issues with this in the past. I don’t know if that has been corrected, but I didn’t want to risk having to take the time to stop by guest services, so a dummy account would do the trick.

Tell me about it! I currently have 4 Magic Bands with 3 different dummy accounts. I have one for my 2014 Beach Club trip with friends, 1 for the class trip and 1 for the 2015 Beach Club trip and one for the January visit with to Florida. My first official MB, on my real MDE account, is coming for my October trip.

We entered the park at 2:15 and started walking through the Town Square. I was excited to see that even though it was Jan 11, MK still had its Christmas decorations up!!

That was such a nice surprise. I wonder if they are still up.

Wow! This picture is amazing- the colors are so sharp!


I am not usually a parade watcher, but FoF was really good. I took a gazillion pictures of it. I can see what you mean about being too close. Good in some ways, but you probably missed the "big picture" view of some floats. Looks like Ariel was waving to DD.

That smile!!!




Who gets stuck on the Jungle Cruise??? That is hilarious!

You had a great night! Not perfect, but as you said, it was all "bonus" time.

I don't know what is wrong with people- too many people are selfish and only care about themselves and their families. Disney would be incredible if there was a way to screen out the jerks. But then, you wouldn't get to witness things like the airborne scooter.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

They were going to be serving various dishes, drinks and desserts from different regions of the US. There were some interesting things on the list and we kind of wanted to check it out.

That sounds cool but...

In the end though, the call of Disney World won out. We knew that only having 3 days at the parks would really rush us to get through all we wanted to do.

Yup, an extra day in Disney is better! That worked out really nicely for you all!

We went to the convention center right after breakfast and headed to the guest services kiosk. I was soon holding 3 discount tickets good for an after 2pm admission to the Magic Kingdom!

How lucky you got a discount of the tickets.

We went and sat through a general session where I made FP+ reservations for Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Dumbo

Good choices, I think I picked at least one of them

I want to comment that I did go through the process of creating a dummy MDE account to use with these tickets. I was afraid if I used our actual MDE accounts, there might be confusion about which set of tickets would be used when we showed up at the parks that afternoon. I know there had been issues with this in the past. I don’t know if that has been corrected, but I didn’t want to risk having to take the time to stop by guest services, so a dummy account would do the trick.

I probably would have done the same thing. better to be safe then to mess up everything else.

We entered the park at 2:15 and started walking through the Town Square. I was excited to see that even though it was Jan 11, MK still had its Christmas decorations up!!

Wow! That's so cool! What a nice surprise!

Our first goal was to see the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

My favorite

We walked through the hub and caught the last few minutes of Dream Along with Mickey before continuing to Frontierland.

It's good you saw some of it now since they are changing it this summer! The new show really does sound great though.

One of my favorite floats in the parade. I am so happy Rapunzel is going to be in the new castle show as well!

Another one of my favorites!

We really did enjoy this parade and I’m glad that we had a chance to get there and see the whole thing, finally.

I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

When we got to the place where the elephants spray water, she threw the boat in reverse to time our trip past the spray. When she went to go forward again, the boat wouldn’t move. She threw the lever back and forth a few times and we had nothing. She told us that we were having boat problems but we’d get going momentarily. She then reached for a radio that was in a bag under the steering wheel to call for help and I think she could tell that some of the people on the boat thought this was part of the script. She looked at all of us with a nervous laugh and said “Really, this isn’t part of the ride. The boat is broke.”

I've never heard of that happening before!

At about this time another boat came around the corner and stopped behind us. The skipper yelled at Cara and she yelled back that our boat was broke. The skipper behind us then told everyone on his boat to point and laugh. It was one of those “you had to be there” type of things, but it was funny. The back and forth between the 2 skippers really made the wait almost seem like an upgrade to the typical JC experience.

That is great! Sounds like some unexpected Disney magic

Within a matter of minutes another boat was backed up to us and tossed us a line and we were soon on our way. When we got back to the dock, CM’s were handing out paper FP’s that were good for a select list of attractions in MK.

Nice! Always a plus.

After that, DD and I rode Barnstormer twice standby and then rode Dumbo with our FP+.

AW! She has the cutest smile - pure Disney happiness right there!

I usually don’t like to spend much time waiting for parades. Usually there is somewhere in Frontierland where you can walk right up and get a decent spot, even if not on the front row. But this wasn’t too bad. Having this extra, unplanned day to do a few things really made it feel more relaxed.

That is such a great feeling.

On a side note, I ended up getting my butt stuck to the sidewalk by the end of the parade because there were tiny broken pieces of sucker everywhere that turned my shorts into a sticky mess.

But this time I think we were just enjoying the fact that it was an enjoyable, relaxing evening in MK and just wanted to watch the parade. We got a grand total of 0 parade pictures, but I did take a few as we were sitting and waiting.

Sometimes it's really nice to watch something without taking pictures or video!

Great picture! I see that the crane did not make an appearance during your trip huh? I guess they do that once they are completely done with all the Christmas stuff?

I always seem to see something interesting happen with a scooter in the parks. This might just be the best of them.

As soon as I read this, I knew it was going to be something good!

She drove right off the curb about 5 feet shy of the cutout to the street.


There was some definite airtime!


The scooter landed hard leaning to the left and just kind of hung there. It was like it was in slow motion.

No way! Oh my gosh this is too good. Were you the only one that noticed, or did it seem like other people around you were enjoying the show as well?

I really thought she was going over. And after what seemed like an eternity, the right wheels came down and slammed into the asphalt. I think she kind of ate the handle bar, but must have been more embarrassed than hurt because she just quickly glanced around and gunned it. I don’t think the guy she was with even knew what happened.

She could be in a Fast and Furious movie

Next update questions:

1. You’ve seen what we did on Monday. Can you guess how many steps I had?

Um - 5,000

2. What animal will photobomb and scare DD at Sea World? (25 points)

Shark? He was a brother of Bruce from Finding Nemo - he wanted to take part in the "Disney magic" too!

3. What was DD’s favorite part of Sea World? (25 points)

The Animal show. (Sorry I don't remember the name!)

4. Something happened at Sea World that caused the sea lion show to be stopped. What was it? (25 points)

Since I have no idea, I'm going to make something up - the host of the show fell into the water

5. Tuesday was my big day at the conference with a meeting that could potentially be all day long. What time did I finally get finished up with my meeting and get back to the hotel? (10 points)

D) 5:30pm

6. Did I manage to stay awake for the entire meeting? (10 points)

Nope.

 

[natebenma]

Next update questions:

1. You’ve seen what we did on Monday. Can you guess how many steps I had?

24,567

2. What animal will photobomb and scare DD at Sea World? (25 points)

Dolphin


3. What was DD’s favorite part of Sea World? (25 points)

Penguin encounter

4. Something happened at Sea World that caused the sea lion show to be stopped. What was it? (25 points)

Thunder

5. Tuesday was my big day at the conference with a meeting that could potentially be all day long. What time did I finally get finished up with my meeting and get back to the hotel? (10 points)

A) 4:00 B) 4:30 C) 5:00 D) 5:30 E) 6:00
A)4:00

6. Did I manage to stay awake for the entire meeting? (10 points)
No?

 

[Leshaface]

In the end though, the call of Disney World won out.

It always does

She didn’t quite think that was an acceptable response

Can you blame her?

We entered the park at 2:15 and started walking through the Town Square. I was excited to see that even though it was Jan 11, MK still had its Christmas decorations up!!

I love that they are procrastinators and wait to take the decorations down! That's my style of decorating too

We really did enjoy this parade and I’m glad that we had a chance to get there and see the whole thing, finally.

We did too, totally not expecting to watch any parades at all and we really enjoyed it!

When we got to the place where the elephants spray water, she threw the boat in reverse to time our trip past the spray. When she went to go forward again, the boat wouldn’t move. She threw the lever back and forth a few times and we had nothing. She told us that we were having boat problems but we’d get going momentarily. She then reached for a radio that was in a bag under the steering wheel to call for help and I think she could tell that some of the people on the boat thought this was part of the script. She looked at all of us with a nervous laugh and said “Really, this isn’t part of the ride. The boat is broke.”

Was so not expecting this! I had no idea they could even break down, have never heard of it.

The skipper behind us then told everyone on his boat to point and laugh.

And to all of you who thought I’d get stuck on IASW… I hate you.


Not really.


Well, not most of you.

I'll proudly stand in the 'most of you' group! ...right??

She would also refuse to ever let me take her, which I have to admit, isn't all that bad.

Yep, I had it easy this trip too

We made a quick stop by Gaston’s Tavern so that I could get a cinnamon roll to take with us to have for breakfast in the morning.

I remember how delicious that cinnamon roll was in 2015! And so huge. But I just saw a post the other day on Disney Food Blog about the best cinnamon rolls at the World and Gaston's made one of the top places, but people were complaining about how bad they were Hopefully you report back that they were still just as good as I remembered it being.

While she was gone, DD enjoyed the front row seat on the curb watching all the characters and dancers go past while moving it and shaking it and singing that annoying Vamos song.

Dude, that's my jam. I'm offended as a song lover and a Mexican.


Just kidding, super irritating.

And yes, I ate most of them myself.

And I’d do it again.

We were literally sitting on the curb with our feet in the street and a family came and stood right in front of us.

I just don't get people like this

I briefly considered moving so their kids could be in the front row. Then I remembered, I’d been holding that spot for an hour… yeah, sorry…

Good shot, love how everyone is blurry and the tree is the main focus.

After Tink flew, DD asked to get in the stroller with her blanket and she was soon out.

Wow nice!

I always seem to see something interesting happen with a scooter in the parks.

Oh my gosh, you totally do!

There was some definite airtime!

Meanwhile, DW is rubbing her bruised shoulder and giving me a death stare because I’d been elbowing her trying to get her attention so she could see the show too.

Sharing is caring after all!

Leshaface – 10 points for trying to keep me from living in a van down by the river, because ain’t nobody got time for that.

1. You’ve seen what we did on Monday. Can you guess how many steps I had?

17,284

2. What animal will photobomb and scare DD at Sea World? (25 points)

A Seal

3. What was DD’s favorite part of Sea World? (25 points)

Seeing the penguins

4. Something happened at Sea World that caused the sea lion show to be stopped. What was it? (25 points)

Thunder??

5. Tuesday was my big day at the conference with a meeting that could potentially be all day long. What time did I finally get finished up with my meeting and get back to the hotel? (10 points)

A) 4:00 B) 4:30 C) 5:00 D) 5:30 E) 6:00

A) 4:00

6. Did I manage to stay awake for the entire meeting? (10 points)

No cause you're a slacker like that.

 

[glennbo123]

Do you think this cast member is actually standing? Or do you think her legs are in the fin?

And to all of you who thought I’d get stuck on IASW… I hate you.


Not really.

Who, me? Glad that it turned out to be Jungle Cruise.

She drove right off the curb about 5 feet shy of the cutout to the street.


There was some definite airtime!


The scooter landed hard leaning to the left and just kind of hung there. It was like it was in slow motion.


I really thought she was going over. And after what seemed like an eternity, the right wheels came down and slammed into the asphalt. I think she kind of ate the handle bar, but must have been more embarrassed than hurt because she just quickly glanced around and gunned it. I don’t think the guy she was with even knew what happened.


Meanwhile, DW is rubbing her bruised shoulder and giving me a death stare because I’d been elbowing her trying to get her attention so she could see the show too.

You always have the best scooter stories!!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

In the end though, the call of Disney World won out.

Of course it did. I was never in doubt.

We went and sat through a general session where I made FP+ reservations for Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Dumbo on my phone while we were sitting there.

So that session must have been invigorating.

DD wanted to ride the monorail, but it wasn’t running.

What? WHAT???

I was excited to see that even though it was Jan 11, MK still had its Christmas decorations up!!

Our first goal was to see the Festival of Fantasy Parade.

Son of a...

I like my name for it better, though.

We walked through the hub and caught the last few minutes of Dream Along with Mickey

I thought it was Celebrate Vague Achievements.

Our skipper’s name was Cara and she was awesome! She was really into it and did a great job.

Always good when you get a talented skipper.

She looked at all of us with a nervous laugh and said “Really, this isn’t part of the ride. The boat is broke.”

D'oh.

The skipper yelled at Cara and she yelled back that our boat was broke. The skipper behind us then told everyone on his boat to point and laugh. It was one of those “you had to be there” type of things, but it was funny

I don't know, that sounds pretty funny to me.

And to all of you who thought I’d get stuck on IASW… I hate you.


Not really.


Well, not most of you.

Well, it wasn't like we were wishing this upon you. Ok, maybe a little.

DW finally convinced her to go try, but her resistance to go to the potty would become a theme over the course of our week there.

Oh joy!

She would also refuse to ever let me take her, which I have to admit, isn't all that bad.

I can see how broken up you are about that.

Personally, I hate that parade. That song is horrible.

That must be why I never watch it.

I wanted to make sure we had plenty, so I got 2 orders of corn dog nuggets. And yes, I ate most of them myself.


And I’d do it again.

Dude. Respect.

I usually don’t like to spend much time waiting for parades.

Any time. I don't like to spend any time waiting for parades. Not when I could be on a ride!

We were literally sitting on the curb with our feet in the street and a family came and stood right in front of us.

Right before the parade started a family came and got right behind us. I could gather that they were a little upset that DW and I were in front of their kids through their passive aggressive behavior.

You mean they didn't have a reserved space, just for them?

Being able to get this extra evening in the park was totally worthwhile just to be able to enjoy the Christmas decorations before they came down and see the castle all lit up.

Very cool. It's fun to see the similar pictures we posted.

I really wish they’d put the night time things back to back a little closer.

THIS.

I can't believe they wait till 10:00 p.m. to do Wishes at certain times of year. Little kids just can't make it. I get that it gets dark late in the summer, but 10:00 really seems late for families.

She drove right off the curb about 5 feet shy of the cutout to the street.


There was some definite airtime!

I think I impressed DW with my Disney knowledge when I headed for the resort monorail and we jumped right into a waiting monorail.

Nice work.

Captain_Oblivious – 5 points for editing out the correct answer

Because of course I did. I thought you wouldn't make it by 2:00 p.m. and had a better shot of seeing the whole parade at night.

1. You’ve seen what we did on Monday. Can you guess how many steps I had?

+/- 10,000? Sure.

Oh, you mean an actual number. Uh... 13,384.

2. What animal will photobomb and scare DD at Sea World? (25 points)

Um...a dolphin?

3. What was DD’s favorite part of Sea World? (25 points)

This implies that I have any idea what there is to see at Sea World besides Shamu. You mention the sea lion show below, so I'll go with that, I guess.

4. Something happened at Sea World that caused the sea lion show to be stopped. What was it? (25 points)

A storm?

5. Tuesday was my big day at the conference with a meeting that could potentially be all day long. What time did I finally get finished up with my meeting and get back to the hotel? (10 points)

A) 4:00 B) 4:30 C) 5:00 D) 5:30 E) 6:00

I'll go with B) 4:30

6. Did I manage to stay awake for the entire meeting? (10 points)

Yes. But only just barely.

 

[KathyM2]

Trying to get caught up around here! Scooter flying...hilarious!! I can't imagine trying to drive one of those things on a busy day at MK...I'd probably pop a few wheelies too lol. Glad DD caught Tink at last! I agree about the lull...I always wished all the shows would start earlier because we are always so tired after a day at the parks...

 

[MissMaryQC]

She is just the cutest!

We had to get up early to be there by 7, but it was a good meal.

I swear free food just tastes better, even at 7 am.

We also weren’t sure we wanted to spend the extra money, even if the Disney tickets were discounted.

I know that feeling...

the call of Disney World won out.

YAY!!! Disney wins!

I had brought some cash that I’d received as a Christmas gift from my Grandpa and while it didn’t cover the entire cost of the tickets, it covered enough of the cost to make my mind up for me

Nice!

We went to the convention center right after breakfast and headed to the guest services kiosk. I was soon holding 3 discount tickets good for an after 2pm admission to the Magic Kingdom!

We went and sat through a general session where I made FP+ reservations for Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Dumbo on my phone while we were sitting there.

Love the multitasking. I hope that app just gets better and better; so convenient!

I know there had been issues with this in the past. I don’t know if that has been corrected, but I didn’t want to risk having to take the time to stop by guest services, so a dummy account would do the trick.

Good thinking!

In hindsight though, I really don't think I'd have had to do that as long as I made sure to use the actual tickets and not our Magic Bands. Oh well...

That's probably true, but I wouldn't have thought of it first either.

DW hates driving in unfamiliar places.

I don't blame her. Orlando can be rough one even if you know your way around too.

I wanted to make sure that I showed her how to get around the area and get to Sea World so that she wouldn’t have any problems the next day.

Good idea! My DH is, shall we say, directionally challenged. Maybe this would help him!

She didn’t quite think that was an acceptable response, but we headed for the ferry anyway.

Heehee, little ones sure do know what they don't want, eh?

Jan 11, MK still had its Christmas decorations up!!

AWE! I didn't know that! I'm afraid of holiday crowds, but I'd love to see all the great decorations!

We found a spot right at the rope where the parade comes from backstage.

Nice spot!

We usually don’t take a lot of pictures, but we got 40 of this parade.

We really did enjoy this parade and I’m glad that we had a chance to get there and see the whole thing, finally.

It is such a cool parade, I hope the new castle show is as impressive.

there is really some benefit to being a little bit farther back to be able to take it all in.

I agree, it's hard to take it all in when you're so close.

Our skipper’s name was Cara and she was awesome! She was really into it and did a great job.

I love it when the Skippers are into it! Although, I've never had a bad skipper.

The skipper behind us then told everyone on his boat to point and laugh.

The back and forth between the 2 skippers really made the wait almost seem like an upgrade to the typical JC experience.

We had FP+ for POTC for about 45 minutes later, but since we had this paper FP, we chose to use that and ride right away so we could head on towards Fantasyland. We changed the Pirates FP+ to IASW.

Sweet! A free FP, and really not for too much trouble, it sounds like.

And to all of you who thought I’d get stuck on IASW… I hate you.

HAHA!

After that, DD and I rode Barnstormer twice standby and then rode Dumbo with our FP+.

Cutie!

Awe!

We made a quick stop by Gaston’s Tavern so that I could get a cinnamon roll to take with us to have for breakfast in the morning.

Good choice sir!

between a light post and a trash can (physical barriers making it easier to hold our spot)

Noted for future use!

That way we could hold the spot and nobody would have to juggle all the food.

Noted again; good advice!

That song is horrible. I swear it gets stuck in my head worse than the IASW song, only this one doesn’t have any kind of nostalgia to it. It is just the word Vamos over and over and over and over.

Good to know. DH hates the annoying songs, he would not like this, at all.

And yes, I ate most of them myself.

They're SO, SO good! i could eat two cups myself too, with no regrets.

And I’d do it again.

And I could hardly move from my spot because there were people ready to encroach on our space.

We were literally sitting on the curb with our feet in the street and a family came and stood right in front of us.

What is wrong with people? I mean if you don't have want to sit and wait for a good spot, oh well, too bad.

On a side note, I ended up getting my butt stuck to the sidewalk by the end of the parade because there were tiny broken pieces of sucker everywhere that turned my shorts into a sticky mess.

That's no fun, and that candy stuff never comes out!

I did scoot over so that the oldest child who wasn’t in a stroller could sit on the curb next to us, but I figured we’d be sitting the whole time so the kids in the strollers could see around/over us and the adults would be and they’d just have to get over it.

That was nice of you. I hope the kids enjoyed the show, in spite of their parents.

relaxing evening in MK and just wanted to watch the parade

LOVE THIS!

Being able to get this extra evening in the park was totally worthwhile just to be able to enjoy the Christmas decorations before they came down and see the castle all lit up.

SO pretty!

After Tink flew, DD asked to get in the stroller with her blanket and she was soon out.

There was some definite airtime!

she just quickly glanced around and gunned it.

Meanwhile, DW is rubbing her bruised shoulder and giving me a death stare because I’d been elbowing her trying to get her attention so she could see the show too.

I think I impressed DW with my Disney knowledge when I headed for the resort monorail and we jumped right into a waiting monorail. 2 stops later, we were getting off at the TTC and we were quickly back at our hotel and in time to watch the NCAA National Championship game.

Disney knowledge for the win!

MissMaryQC – 5 points for the picture even though I think you tried to tell me I look like a gorilla?

LOL! No, monkey suit always makes me think of that part in Who Framed Roger Rabbit!

Next update questions:

1. You’ve seen what we did on Monday. Can you guess how many steps I had?

Um, 3000?

2. What animal will photobomb and scare DD at Sea World? (25 points)

The mascot in the Orca costume!

3. What was DD’s favorite part of Sea World? (25 points)

The dolphins

4. Something happened at Sea World that caused the sea lion show to be stopped. What was it? (25 points)

A sea lion fight!

5. Tuesday was my big day at the conference with a meeting that could potentially be all day long. What time did I finally get finished up with my meeting and get back to the hotel? (10 points)

A) 4:00 B) 4:30 C) 5:00 D) 5:30 E) 6:00

6. Did I manage to stay awake for the entire meeting? (10 points)

Nope!