The Zombie Guide to Disney: 9 Days, 8 Nights, 6 Parks, 2 People... 1st Trip! Updated 5/11/17

[Shayana]

​

Once upon a time in a state that looks like a hand, there lived a woman and man. The woman was born and raised in the mitten state, while her husband was imported from California. They had a strange relationship, as they initially met through an online zombie survival game, before meeting in person. In their own demented fairy tale, they fell in love and married a few years later.

The woman, Shayana, was estranged from her family, which had been taken over by her wicked stepmother. After her family went to Disney World, only letting her discover this from Facebook photos, Shayana and her DH decided to go themselves and have a much better time, because they'd be able to do whatever they want, on their own schedule!

And so begins their adventure!

Trip Report Sections

Pre-Trip Report
Day 1, Part 1: Escape from the Winter Wasteland!
Day 1, Part 2: Bus, Boat, and Monorail... Oh My!
Day 2, Part 1: Hair Ties!
Day 2, Part 2: Coincidences, Raised by Fish, and POFQ!
Day 3, Part 1: Braving DH's Wrath... Plus, the One Thing I Forgot!
Day 3, Part 2: The Hunt for Mulan, and Yummy Tummies
Day 4, Part 1: Rodents of Unusual Size!
Day 4, Part 2: Princesses Galore & FastPass Finagling
Day 5: Cheating on Disney, Part 1
Day 6, Part 1: Cheating Continued - Robes, Wands, and a Broken Train
Day 6: Part 2: Reconciliation with Mickey
Day 7: Part 1: Back to the Giant Golf Ball!
Day 7, Part 2: Princesses, Candy, and IllumiNations! (Updated 5/11)
Day 8, Part 1: The Unplanned Park (Coming Soon!)

 

[Shayana]

Day 1, Part 1: Escape from the Winter Wasteland!


The evening of January 31st, I was frantically finishing up editing a book and trying to pack at the same time. Shortly after midnight, I actually finished everything and was able to get a few hours of sleep. I never sleep well before going on vacation anyway, even when I go to bed early, so this isn't really unusual.

February the 1st dawned way too early. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night, it had also snowed. Now, when we left our apartment, trailing our luggage through the evil white stuff, it wasn't too bad. We easily got out of the parking lot and the roads has been plowed and/or salted, so it was great.

Two miles later, we crossed Eight Mile into Wayne County.

Sooooooo.... apparently Wayne County has no plow trucks. And no salt trucks. They're all on strike for low pay and way-too-long hours. When we crossed from Oakland to Wayne County, the road disappeared. What should have been a 15 minute drive to the airport took 45 white-knuckled minutes. Halfway into the drive, I had already passed two accidents.

We finally arrived at Qwik Park, the off-site airport parking lot we always use (I love these guys! They pick us up at our car, drop us back off at our car, and will even jump start your car if needed), and found our way to a parking spot in the back of the lot... we were flying Delta down, and apparently they stick Delta in the boonies. The almost-full shuttle picked us up and we headed toward the airport, which was only about a half mile down the road. Before we even got out of the parking lot, however, the driver got a call over the radio that another passenger needed to be picked up. As the driver heads back the short distance to pick up the other passenger, a woman stands up and starts yelling that she's going to miss her flight, and that the shuttle is full. The driver pointed out that the shuttle wasn't full -- there was room still for the last passenger if people actually didn't take up seats with their purses -- and that she wasn't leaving him behind because hers was the only shuttle running. ONE MINUTE LATER, we were on our way again.

Sidenote: my husband & I were rolling our eyes at the woman. First of all, maybe you should leave early enough so that you're not cutting it that close heading to the airport. She was a single woman traveling along with no children and no apparent disability, other than her attitude. Even with the snow, we arrived with plenty of time because we expected to deal with with rush hour traffic and gave ourselves extra time!

All of the passengers let the wicked witch of the west off the shuttle first when we arrived at the terminal, and we got off last, watching her bowl over other people in her haste. Before arriving at the airport, however, we discovered why our shuttle was the only one running... we passed an accident where a car had hit one of the other shuttles and the third shuttle had just left after picking up the passengers that had been in that one!

The attendant at Delta's check-in asked us about our plans since she noticed the distinctive yellow Magical Express luggage tags, and then we made our way through TSA Pre-Check... where my hubby started our his journey getting randomly selected to go through the body scanner. An hour and a half later, with a Pinkberry smoothie in my stomach, we were sitting in first class on a Delta flight from Michigan to Florida!

Escape!

Zombie Food Possibilities: Not many. Lack of brain activity could mean deficient caffeine intake or brain unsuitable for zombies.

Next: Day 1, Part 2: Bus, Boat, and Monorail... Oh My!

 

[Shayana]

Day 1, Part 2: Bus, Boat, and Monorail... Oh My!

As we flew into Orlando (after four free alcoholic drinks... yay!) and touched down, I turned on my phone to find a text letting me know that my room at Coronado Springs was ready! Yayayayayay.... WAIT. I requested 9A or 8B, upper floor. No other requests, so I thought they gave a lot of opportunity to get it. Or at least some of it.

I received 1st floor, Building 8A. Basically, the furthest building in Cabanas away from check-in/out.

I grumpily got into the queue for the Magical Express as my husband tried to cheer me up. I admit that I wasn't starting out in the best mood. I have a bad knee so I was trying to limit extra walking at the resort for the one night that we were going to be at Coronado and I was frustrated that they gave me the exact opposite of what I had requested, both through my TA and through fax. I decided to make the most of it however. Once we got to the resort, the cast member checking us in was very upbeat and pleasant, and I didn't have the heart to complain to him. We got our welcome information and headed off to the room.

Which smelled like mold.

It was bad.

Thinking that it was just humidity because the air conditioning had been off, we overrode the controls so it wouldn't turn off while we were gone and decided to head out to explore and get dinner.

Leaving the report, we headed to MK via bus... and looked longingly at it from outside security until we caught a ferry to Wilderness Lodge for our dinner reservations at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We had some time to kill so we wandered around the resort for a while and decided that we really liked it!

Dinner was... okay. Our waitress really didn't play much other than throwing straws at our table, and the glaze on my pork was overly sweet. DH seemed to like his meatloaf, though. After dinner, we (meaning I) decided to resort hop. First we took a ferry to the Contemporary Toaster... I'm sorry, it looks like a toaster! I wasn't overly impressed, but the monorail running through was convenient. And I liked the Mickey topiary outside. I snapped a picture... it was already after dark, but it turned out pretty good with Night Mode on!

Things were good until we got on the monorail. We spent the next few minutes, until we got to the Grand Floridian, trying to figure out what the smell was. Urine? Feet? Urine on Feet? Unsure. That was our only time on the monorail for our trip!

We wandered around GF for a while and immediately decided that it's too fussy for us. I can see why some people would like it, but it's just not our style, and the people just didn't seem to be having as much fun as the guests at other resorts... we didn't hear anyone laugh and people looked WAY too serious.

But it was pretty.

After GF, we caught a ferry to the the Polynesian, since I wasn't up to braving the monorail again. I liked the atmosphere of the Poly until I noticed a plethora of large spiders on one of the "You Are Here" signs, along with an egg sac. NOPE NOPE NOPE.

We wandered inside, shaking, until we (meaning I) calmed down. The plan was to go to Pineapple Lanai, get some Dole Whip, and sit on the beach and watch the fireworks. Unfortunately, the line was long and people cut in front of me (one person was holding spots for an entire group... thanks) so I ended up having to leave the line to grab a spot on the beach.

Wishes was awesome. I couldn't hear the music very well from where we sat, but the people behind me badly singing it filled in the gaps. After the fireworks were over, we jumped on a ferry to MK and then joined the swarm heading toward the buses. Got on the bus back to Coronado Springs and... found that the room still smelled like mold.

*sigh*

At that point, I gave up. I was just too tired to contact them about moving, and we were only staying there for one night. I drugged myself up on allergy meds and fell asleep, dreaming of our next day and checking into Port Orleans French Quarter.


Zombie Food Possibilities: While the guests at the Grand Floridian might give zombies indigestion from their stuffed shirts and pretentious ideas, the group that cut in line at the Poly was full of laughter and joy as they ate the Dole Whip I didn't get and would make a great appetizer for a zombie horde.

Next: Day 2, Part 1: Hair Ties!

 

[pooksma]

Bhahaha! Keep it coming! Great start!

 

[mdsouth]

Shayana,

I knew your TR would be entertaining! I love how you are adding a little zombie note at the end of each chapter. And this is coming from someone who has not read or even watched anything about zombies for at least thirty some years!

I am sorry your stay at Coronado was not great. The mold issue can certainly affect your health and make you feel miserable - I know it would have been a very long night for me to stay in that room and would have given me a huge headache the next day too.

It is too bad the Whispering Canyon meal wasn't anything special either. But at least you got to see the lodge. I need to visit this resort sometime myself.

Zombie Food Possibilities: While the guests at the Grand Floridian might give zombies indigestion from their stuffed shirts and pretentious ideas, the group that cut in line at the Poly was full of laughter and joy as they ate the Dole Whip I didn't get and would make a great appetizer for a zombie horde.

Yes, I would say it would be fair payback to the group who cut in front of you at the Dole Whip station that they became dinner to zombies!

We wandered around GF for a while and immediately decided that it's too fussy for us. I can see why some people would like it, but it's just not our style, and the people just didn't seem to be having as much fun as the guests at other resorts... we didn't hear anyone laugh and people looked WAY too serious.

But it was pretty.

This is my feeling about GF too. The decor and grounds are lovely but it does not give off the happy, relaxed vibe I am looking for on vacation.

 

[Shayana]

Shayana,

I knew your TR would be entertaining! I love how you are adding a little zombie note at the end of each chapter.

Thanks! I wanted to have a little fun. I'm not into zombies as much as I used to be, but I thought that walking around WDW trying to see it through the eyes of a zombie would be hilarious.

I am sorry your stay at Coronado was not great. The mold issue can certainly affect your health and make you feel miserable - I know it would have been a very long night for me to stay in that room and would have given me a huge headache the next day too.

As you'll see in my next section...

It is too bad the Whispering Canyon meal wasn't anything special either. But at least you got to see the lodge. I need to visit this resort sometime myself.

You should! It's awesome. It's my favorite deluxe so far. We didn't get out to see Yacht Club, Boardwalk, or Beach Club, but it's my favorite of the rest.

 

[Shayana]

Day 2, Part 1: Hair Ties!

The next morning we woke up early... not bright-eyed nor bushy-tailed, though, as I had a headache from the mold smell in the room and had to pop painkillers. Not exactly how I wanted to start the day, but on the bright side I knew my brain wouldn't be a great meal for a zombie at that point, and I was still alive, so all was good.

Shortly after 7am, we checked out and walked our luggage down to the luggage storage area. A woman there was earning her ears, and her trainer's eyes lit up when we said that we were transferring our luggage to another resort, since it was obviously her first time going through that procedure. I noticed her nametag with her college listed and asked how she liked DCP so far. She said that she liked it and asked how I knew. Her trainer replied for me, saying that I obviously had been in the College Program. Nope! I'm just really curious and read a lot of books and blogs while planning to take over Disney!

Escaping to the bus stop near El Centro, we jumped on a bus to Animal Kingdom (eventually... we just missed a DAK bus while we were walking to the stop. This became a pattern over the course of the week.) Once we got to Animal Kingdom, we went through security for the first time (me at bag check and hubby in the no-bag line, though he got randomly selected... something that became another pattern during our trip!) and went inside to wait for rope drop. We collected first time and anniversary (sorry, "Happily Ever After") buttons first and then found our first photopass photographer!

Once Animal Kingdom officially opened, we joined the herd and made our way to Kilimanjaro Safari. No real line, because everyone headed to Everest, I'm assuming. We got to see a lot of animals, including some (censored) ostriches who decided that they needed the road more than we did. We followed them for a while until they finally decided to let us pass!

You know the ostriches were snickering mentally as our vehicle was crawling along behind them...

A mother giraffe passed in front of us, leaving her taller-than-I'll-ever-be "baby" on the other side of the road, and the baby looked at us with disdain.

After the safari, we walked the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, met Mickey & Minnie at Adventurers Outpost, got a number of photos by photopass photographers, watched a monkey swinging by overhead, got temporarily trapped by some guy at the DVC booth, and then ate at Flame Tree. The food as good and there was a lot of it! We got a combo meal to share, since we weren't too hungry and wanted to save room for later. I also snapped a couple of pictures of the Tree of Life.

After lunch, I did something bad.

Well... it wasn't my fault. Really!

So, DH gets motion sickness. Usually it's spinning that does it, but I guess also G-forces and also simulations/3D. We watched the YouTube video for Expedition Everest before going, though, and he thought that it wouldn't be too bad.

We were fine pretty much until you get to the part with the broken track, when I heard my husband say "What's with all the hair ties!?!?!" and then the ride starts going backwards. Quickly. DH got really really quiet. When we got off the ride, he told me that his brain was too shaken so we sat down for a while to let him recover, while he threatened (playfully?) to maim me if I ever made him go on another ride like that.


Zombie Food Possibilities: My husband's brain, if the zombies like them shaken, not stirred. Otherwise, lots of animals around, but not so many people!

Next: Day 2, Part 2: Coincidences, Raised by Fish, and POFQ!

 

[Shayana]

Day 2, Part 2: Coincidences, Raised by Fish, and POFQ!

After DH rested enough that he lost the urge to maim me (even though it wasn't my fault!) we wandered a little, and soon after saw a sign for Pocahontas. So far, the only signatures I had were from Mickey & Minnie, so I decided to snag Pocahontas's signature and get more use out of photopass photographers. Hubby decided to sit outside the character meet area, since he had no desire to stand in line, and I soon ended up half listening to a couple of women talking in front of me. When they mentioned the upcoming Avatar Land and started ripping on "unobtainium" I had to jump in.

I mean, seriously... unobtainium? That's a term that usually used in scientific communities when they're talking about something that is fictional or impossible. When something is discovered, standard practice is to actually NAME IT. Leaving it as "unobtainium" just pointed out early on that they'd never actually get it and just annoys the heck out of me. They could have named it for a kid of someone involved in the movie... or anything else, pretty much... but unobtainium?!?!?!

Sorry... rant over. Anyway, all three of us were now chatting, all agreeing on the ridiculousness, when we start talking about where we're from, and I also notice that one of the women (let's call her B) looks familiar. I mention that I'm from Michigan. She mentions that she's from Canada, not far over the border from where I live. Then she mentions that she used to perform at the renaissance festival in Michigan... the same one I worked at for 17 years. At that point we realized that we did know each other, and we had in fact been Facebook friends at one point eons ago, but we hadn't seen each other in a decade!

After that we just had to get a photo together. We all got individual photos with Pocahontas, but also got a group photo. B is on the other side of Pocahontas from where I'm standing.

We ran into DH outside the line and it turns out that B had noticed him earlier because she liked his shirt! It was just awesome.

After that we separated and DH & I went window shopping. I decided to grab a couple of photos & autographs and ran down to meet Flik and Tarzan. When Tarzan met me, he asked me what type of jungle I live in, and I explained that the jungle of Michigan is actually full of lots of lakes and rivers. So he decided that I must have been raised by fish!

I didn't have the heart to tell Tarzan that I hate swimming. Now, a good hot tub is a different story...

(Excerpt: As I'm writing this, DH says "Why did you lie to them?" (them = meaning you, my awesome readers) I replied back, "I HAVE A HEART!!!")

Soon after, we got a text that our room was ready at POFQ, so we grabbed a bus to check in. Yay! Thankfully, our luggage had already made it to the new resort so we were able to just grab it and go to our room.

Remember how Coronado Springs put me in a room that was essentially the opposite of what I requested? Well, French Quarter made up for it! I asked for an upper level room in Building 2, a corner if possible. I got a room in Building 2 on the third floor, and it was a corner! Yay! There was even a towel Mickey on the bed! And it didn't smell like mold! It smelled like happiness!

The photos aren't great, and DH had already closed the blinds so you can't see the garden view outside, but I really like how bright and comfortable this room was.

After we relaxed in the room for an hour or so, we caught Lyft out to Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. OMG this place is awesome. I liked 99.99999% of the food. This was one thing that I didn't like, but I didn't really hate it either. It was just... weird. Strange texture and not a lot of flavor. But we stuffed ourselves silly(er) on so much good food and zebra domes, and then our server brought us out Mickey cupcakes because he noticed our anniversary pins!

We left Boma and caught the bus back to Animal Kingdom. I snagged a fast pass for Kilimanjaro again. It was dark by the time we got there. We didn't see as many animals, but the ones we saw were really great. We saw Nile crocodiles fighting, spotted hyenas chasing each other, and the lions were active... and looking at us. In fact, we paused for so long next to the lions that I made a comment hoping they didn't think we were a food truck, and everyone cracked up. After a rhino crossed in front of us and the lions were distracted looking at him, we left the area. One guy smacked me when he noticed the lights in the distance from the Tree and asked what it was and I told him it was the sunset. He believed me! *snicker*

We exited the safari just as the park officially closed, so we headed up to the Tree to watch the light show, since it continues for a while past close. We got some cool pictures, enjoyed the lights, and then headed back to POFQ to sleep in our wonderfully comfy beds!

Zombie Food Possibilities: I vote for sending zombies after all of the people heading to Boma for dinner so I get all of the food instead! Seriously though, I have to nominate the woman to be zombie chow who apparently wouldn't be able to run away from them, since she was sitting in the stroller WITH her kid (probably 4 years old) on her lap, with her husband pushing both of them. The kid might be able to escape, but apparently mom's legs don't work. I think she was a little old to be in a stroller, personally.

On that note, I also saw a little girl (probably 5 or 6) pushing a stroller that her mom was sitting in, which an older sibling walked behind, looking extremely bored. I don't think the sibling would have noticed if a zombie shambled up behind her.

Next: Day 3, Part 1: Braving DH's Wrath... Plus, the One Thing I Forgot!

 

[thumper*]

Oh goody looking forward to the rest of your TR. LOL Food truck. Small world meeting B.

 

[TXMNie]

Great post!

 

[Emtgirljen]

Another Michigander checking in! Love the zombie report so far!

 

[Shayana]

Day 3, Part 1: Braving DH's Wrath... Plus, the One Thing I Forgot!

Sorry for the delay in posting everyone! I was back to work this week, and then on Friday I went in for my quarterly set of injections. I get Botox for my migraines, and it really does help, but I have to get 31 (yes, 31) injections in my skull every three months, and I always end up with a headache for roughly 36 hours after the injections.

But now I'm almost feeling human again! Not a zombie! <3

------------------------------------

Waking up on Day 3 was wonderful and evil at the same time. There's just something about vacation that makese you want to snuggle under the blankets and sleep in, but that's not possible most of the time at Disney! I was especially excited because this was going to be our first day at Epcot!

One minor thing was keeping this day from being perfect, and that was my missing scissors. When I packed, I made sure to pack two packages of moleskin, to provide our feet and toes so we wouldn't get blisters. Unfortunately, I didn't pack scissors. *sigh* POFQ didn't have scissors, but they did give me a couple of band aids the evening before, so I applied them to the areas most prone to blisters in the hope that my feet wouldn't kill me. Much.

Arriving at Epcot, we made our way through security and into the park. The Epcot bus was late to our resort so we got through the line at exactly the time the park officially opened, so we booked it to Test Track. There wasn't much of a line and it was moving straight through, so we quickly designed our car and got into the queue for the actual ride vehicles. It was awesome! Since there were only two of us, we had a single rider join us and she didn't have a car saved on her MagicBand so I tapped mine for her spot as well so she could be a part of our team.

Our car!

Note to self: Next time, put hair in ponytail before ride starts. Can you guess which one I am?

Our car beat our the others in our group for power. It wasn't very efficient, but we didn't care! After the ride ended, I dragged hubby through the line again (this time there was actually a line but we got through it in about 20 minutes) and we designed a car that was VERY powerful and responsive, which was fun. No picture from that try... photopass glitched and gave us someone else's photo instead of ours, and I didn't care enough to send a request to get the correct ride photo... if I remember correctly, it wasn't all that great anyway.

So... remember that my DH gets motion sickness? So... yeah. After twice on Test Track, he wasn't too happy with me. But I dragged him over to Soarin' anyway, since we had a FP+ for it. We were in the front row on the left side, and it was awesome. Well, I thought it was awesome. Some of the scene transitions were a little rough for him. I loved the different scents in the scenes, too! The only downside was the people in front of us in line were rude and annoying and also walked really really REALLY slow in the FP+ line. It's the FASTPASS LINE! MOVE FAST!!

After Soarin', we headed over to Cool Club where I tried Beverly (had to do it once) and failed to convince my husband to try it. Sadness. We both really liked the pineapple flavor and I also liked the Inca Kola one from Peru. We went to the counter to buy some candy and the cast member noticed our anniversary buttons and gave us free blue slushies! Yay!

We wanted a little after that and headed into World Showcase, stopping at the Mexican pavilion first, and went on the Gran Fiesta Tour (Three Caballeros) ride. At first it was really cool... I loved the pyramid and the volcano...

...and then the rest of the show happens. No. That's all I'm gonna say. No.

After we escaped, we headed outside just in time to see a photopass photographer loitering around the Donald Duck meet & greet spot, and she said that he would be out in just a few minutes, so we stuck around and I got his photo & autograph. He signed it "Donald Duck #1" which I had to giggle about. Nice try, Donald.

SIDENOTE: My autograph book was a 5.5 x 8 inch hardcover book (black leatherish cover) with 65 weight paper... nice and thick so the ink didn't bleed through, and big enough that some characters were able to do extra things and write more. I also brought a bunch of clickable sharpies in different colors (no green) so I could try to pick a color to fit the character. It didn't always work out that way, but it gave variety, and the cast members loved the clickable sharpies!

After Mexico, we headed to Norway, where I saw that the line for Elsa & Anna was only 15 minutes, so I headed in while my hubby waited outside. Thirty minutes later, and after having been kicked by the child behind me at least twenty lines (mom apologized, but still) and had another child try to climb up me while I was standing (I am not a junglegym!) I finally made it to the room to see them. I'm not a huge Frozen fan, but I wouldn't resist the urge. Elsa said that my DH should join Kristoff in harvesting ice (since I mentioned that we left behind a lot of ice & snow at home) and Anna decided that DH must be off eating chocolate since he wasn't with me. Finally escaping, DH & I went to Kringla Bakeri og Cafe so I could try the overhyped School Bread, while hubby got Lefse. the Lefse wasn't bad, but the School Bread was nasty. Sorry, but Beverly tasted better to me. I'm sure I'll get tarred & feathered for this, but it was just too bitter. Maybe it was a bad batch? All I know is that there was WAY too much cardamom in the bread and even the custard inside the bread couldn't cut the bitterness.

After I scraped my tongue off, we got a picture of hubby in front of one of his ancestors... okay, maybe not one of his ancestors, but he does have Norwegian ancestry! (Doesn't it look like he's getting stabbed in the back?!?! Hahahahahaha!)

Next we went on a quest to find Mulan. See... the app marked that she was supposed to be doing the whole meet & greet thing outside. But she wasn't there. I ran into a nice couple who was able looking for Mulan and using the app to not-locate her, so we wandered around a while. Hubby & I wandered off after about twenty minutes, planning to come back later. After all, I needed to ask Mulan a couple of makeup questions!

Zombie Food Possibilities: Epcot had a lot of possibilities for hungry zombies! First, the slow people in the FP+ line for Soarin'. Stop loitering and gabbing with your friends and walk. You didn't have any disabilities that I could see except the fact that you were unable to walk and talk at the same time, and you really liked to talk. You're not gonna survive zombies very well at that speed. Second, everyone gabbing on their cell phones in lines and not paying attention to your children. Especially in a line like for Elsa & Anna. If you can't pay enough attention to the world around you to notice that your child is trying to CLIMB UP A STRANGER'S LEG, you deserve to become zombie food... I just worry that they might starve to death.

NEXT: Day 3, Part 2: The Hunt for Mulan, and Yummy Tummies

 

[Shayana]

Oh goody looking forward to the rest of your TR. LOL Food truck. Small world meeting B.

I know! It was insane meeting someone that I knew from Michigan ten years ago in the Pocahontas line at Disney World the first full day I'm at Disney.

 

[Shayana]

Day 3, Part 2: The Hunt for Mulan, and Yummy Tummies

After we temporarily gave up looking for Mulan, we kept walking around the world... first through a random (African?) outpost that apparently doesn't get a name or pavilion of it's own, and then to Germany, where we looked at a lot of clocks and met Snow White.

We also saw a lot of tourists who were drunk and sloshing around beer. Lots of beer! But it's Germany, so I wasn't too surprised. I did manage to dodge all of the unintentional beer fountains, thankfully. The most inconsiderate beer drinker I saw, however, was in the line for Snow White. He was a couple of families ahead of me, and he was told to put his beer down before meeting Snow. Of course, afterward the photos were done, instead of walking around the small garden area (maybe ten steps?) he cut in front of the family that was now getting their pictures to pick up his beer and then cut in front of them again to meet up with his family. He really could have just walked around... it would have been less walking in the end and he wouldn't have been getting stealth glares from the photographer!

After that, we wandered into Italy and then quickly wandered back out again, as the Prada Perfume shop almost killed me. It smelled like someone had dumped a crate of perfume on the ground, smashing all the bottles, and then rolled around in it like a pig in mud, spreading it through the entire area... does it always reek like pretension there? The only benefit is that zombies wouldn't be able to smell humans there, because they would have clawed off their noses in self defense!

So we headed back toward China, where I discovered that they had hidden Mulan inside the Hall of Prayer! It would have been nice if someone had actually perhaps updated the app or put a sign out. I jumped into line, even though I was sweaty and tired, and left my hubby outside where he directed others inside who were also looking for her.

No picture of me with Mulan, because I looked like death. Here's a picture of Mulan though, as we were talking about lucky crickets:

And here, have a placeholder image of me:

Mulan was always one of my favorite Disney movies, so I was really happy that I had a chance to finally meet her!

At this point in the day, though, hubby & I were tired, and my feet were killing me. The band aids that the hotel gave me just didn't cut it. So we decided to take a break and head back to the hotel for a bit. We stopped at First Aid on the way and I pathetically asked them if they had any band aids for poor, abused feet. They gave me some that were great for toes and others that were good for heels, etc. Basically, I ended up with a handful of band aids, which still wasn't enough for the entire week!

We limped out of Epcot and caught our bus back to the resort, hungry and wanting to try Sassagoula Floatworks. The food court was recently redone and I was very happy. The lines perhaps got a little chaotic when it was really busy, but even on the busiest night it wasn't bad. I really love the coke freestyle machines. I got the "make your own rice bowl" with Cajun rice, red beans, and catfish... OMG it was so good. I like spice, and this had enough spice to keep my stomach happy without being overwhelming. Hubby had a bacon cheeseburger with fries so he was happy as well. There were some complaints immediately after it reopened that it was pretty bare looking, but they're put more stuff & bling up in the rafters. I saw a couple of larger masks up in the rafters as well, and they had a glass case with a bunch of smaller ones, too, but the really big & scary ones are gone.

Then it was time for a nap! Naps are very necessary, after all!

After a couple of hours, I bandaged up my feet and we headed back to Epcot. It had cooled down, and we wanted to do a little more wandering. Arriving there via bus was easy. Getting to the actual entrance was more difficult, as we arrived just as a HUGE school group was leaving. Of course, they were all running around, jumping, not watching where they were going, and after the third of fourth time I almost ended up flat on the concrete, we were able to escape to the side.

SIDENOTE: We had successfully avoided school groups and the dreaded BTG (Brazilian Tour Groups) to this point. We saw them both at Animal Kingdom and Epcot (earlier that day) but had managed to go in the opposite direction from them each time to avoid them! This time, we were not so successful.

Once we were finally inside and checked ourselves over to make sure we were uninjured, we headed over to Mission Space: Green (because orange would NEVER happen!) and that was fun. The buttons didn't all work, though. There were a few times that we pushed the buttons when we were supposed to but it did a "computer override" anyway... it happened to both me and the woman sitting to my left. What I really liked, though, was that when we were outside looking at the warnings/information for both sides of Mission Space, a cast member came over to us and asked if we had any concerns. We explained my husband's motion sickness and was generally causes it, and he took the time to actually explain the differences in the green vs orange ride and reassured us that the green should be okay (which it was) based on the information we gave him. It was obvious that he really cared about making sure that we were okay... or at least he was good at faking it!

We wandered over to Canada and I had to convince myself that I really didn't need to buy maple sugar candy when I live less than thirty minutes from the border and can get it from duty free for less money. We wandered around a little more, than watched the show at the water fountain. After that, we headed back into Cool Club because I was thirty and wanted to buy a blue slushy because the one earlier was good. The cast member at the register wouldn't take my money and gave me another free one! At that moment, DH & I decided that we wouldn't wear our anniversary button at Cool Club again, since we didn't want to take advantage. They had already given us three free drinks total... we weren't going to allow a fourth! We had already stopped wearing our "First Visit" buttons after our first day at Animal Kingdom. Pixie Dust is nice, but we didn't want to drown in it!

We grabbed some cotton candy from a kiosk on the way out and took the bus back. Since it was still early, we turned on the TV and watched Legally Blonde because it was on, and then fell asleep.

Zombie Food Possibilities: Lots! Let's start with the school group... with such a large group, no one would have noticed immediately if one or two of them disappeared, and since they weren't paying attention to anyone around them, they would have been bitten instantly. I was so close to them a few times (while trying not to be!) that I could have easily bitten them. Good thing I wasn't a zombie that day.

Next: Day 4, Part 1: Rodents of Unusual Size!

 

[Shayana]

Another Michigander checking in! Love the zombie report so far!

Welcome to my insanity! Where in Michigan do you live?

 

[mdsouth]

Finally escaping, DH & I went to Kringla Bakeri og Cafe so I could try the overhyped School Bread, which hubby got Lefse. the Lefse wasn't bad, but the School Bread was nasty. Sorry, but Beverly tasted better to me. I'm sure I'll get tarred & feathered for this, but it was just too bitter.

I was surprised that someone else feels the same way about school bread that I do. I did not care for it at all.

We went to the counter to buy some candy and the cast member noticed our anniversary buttons and gave us free blue slushies! Yay!

WOO HOO for the anniversary pixie dust!

we headed over to Mission Space: Green (because orange would NEVER happen!) and that was fun.

I am like your hubby and get motion sickness, especially with simulators. So, I have never even tried the green side of Mission Space. I thought about it but was afraid I would feel ill and have a headache the rest of the day. I do take Dramamine and it helps. So, I give your hubby a great big ! He seems to have been a trooper and tried lots of things! Everest for one! Wow! Space Mountain and Soarin! He is a keeper!

And you are right that the people at Disney would be easy pickings for zombies. People just walk around looking down at their phones, they would never even notice disappearing and would not be alert enough until it was too late for themselves.

 

[Shayana]

I am like your hubby and get motion sickness, especially with simulators. So, I have never even tried the green side of Mission Space. I thought about it but was afraid I would feel ill and have a headache the rest of the day. I do take Dramamine and it helps. So, I give your hubby a great big ! He seems to have been a trooper and tried lots of things! Everest for one! Wow! Space Mountain and Soarin! He is a keeper!

He didn't do Space Mountain - I did, but that's a story for another day! But he did go on Everest, Mission Space: Green, Test Track, and Soarin'... at that was just on the first two full days! I'm surprised that I survived!

 

[mdsouth]

He didn't do Space Mountain - I did, but that's a story for another day! But he did go on Everest, Mission Space: Green, Test Track, and Soarin'... at that was just on the first two full days! I'm surprised that I survived!

You really did pack a lot into just two days! And I am sure the frantic fun continued throughout your trip. Looking forward to reading more of your adventures!

 

[Shayana]

I'll have another update soon... I promise! I've just been so busy lately!

 

[mdsouth]

I'll have another update soon... I promise! I've just been so busy lately!

Daily life has to take a front seat sometimes so we can pay the bills. I understand. I am not going anywhere, I will be here to read and talk when you do update.