Going Out With a Bang (May 5-17th Trip Report)- Magical Friendship Faire SECRETS!

[Jabroniville]

This is like the best Elsa shows up on my camera, lol.

FANTASMIC!:
-Once more, it's been YEARS since I've seen this! 2014! They even changed it up in the meantime, though I'm not sure what else is new aside from the "Princess Trio" who shows up near the end. The story is that Mickey's dreams become a nightmare as the villains of past films enter his mind and attack- the Evil Queen is joined by Maleficent, Hades, Jafar, Cruela de Vil (lol what does she add to the thing?), and others. Bits featuring Aladdin running around have a guy doing long jumps on a trampoline, there's a Lion King segment with Rafiki, and a long bit with Jafar as a snake threatening Mickey. Finally, Mickey goes "But this is MY imagination!" and fights back- he grabs the Sword in the Stone and zaps Jafar with a firework and we get Princess Gondolas of Ariel, Snow White and Belle, and then three musical numbers- Moana, Pocahontas and Elsa!

Moana actually gets the best reaction- it helps that her soaring bit and "I AM MOANAAAAAAAAAA!" is so incredibly inspriring, and her running across the water has such great effects. Pocahontas gets a good one, too. Oddly, Elsa's might be the quietest despite her status as a Big Deal- people are probably less familiar with "Show Yourself", AND she's kind of hidden away in the darkness while she flails her arms around. I notice that "Snow Queen Elsa" dresses also kind of blend in with her skin tone and she kind of looks like a "Generic White-Dress Character" outside of the Frozen animation style, though. Even on Steamboat Willie's ship at the end she kind of blends in, and she gets TOP BILLING! She's right at the top near Mickey, with nobody around her!

Finally, Mickey defeats the giant dragon Maleficent (this version's never blew up like the Disneyland one did). All the characters are seen on Steamboat Willie's ship with a black & white Mickey piloting it, before Mickey lets off a huge amount of fireworks to end it all. Very good production all in all- an astonishing amount of work goes in to putting on TWO of these.

The funny thing is the ten-year gap between viewings means I kinda forgot how long the trek was- it's a good 4-5 minute walk to go past EVERYTHING and hit the massive theater that kinda wraps around the island where the performance takes place.

A pic of the empty stage, plus Steamboat Willie's vessel. Elsa gets HUGE billing being the only person that close to Mickey.

This show had two performances, and I saw both, owing to the long gap between viewings. 9pm and 10:30pm. This actually made for some big running- as soon as the first show ended I had to BOLT to make my LL for Slinky Dog Dash! I mean MOVE! They of course don't let you run in the park, but as it was super dark I could selectively bolt here and there. I think I made it from the Fantasmic theater to Slinky Dog in about five minutes, which is pretty good considering I went past the Frozen theater before realizing I'd gone the wrong way! I arrived there at literally 9:58pm- VERY shortly before the park closed all lines! I managed to get a good nighttime run of the coaster, then head back to Fantasmic for a second look soon as I was done.

The first performance I didn't get a terribly good seat- still central but kinda high up, as I had to look around for ANY empty space. I got a coke and a cotton candy because I was finally super-hungry at this point. Oddly the cotton candy didn't last overnight (it was BIG and I couldn't finish it)- it turned into a rock by morning, lol. The second performance was much emptier, and I got a better spot. Still, though, my iPhone is NOT up to photographing stuff from far away in the dark- never mind that my camera lens is probably permanently smudged or muddy by this point. None of the pictures look terribly good.

One funny thing is I was hoping to see someone I recognized performing- I follow someone on IG who is a Disney performer, and she had been posting about joining Fantasmic! She has a super-recognizable face, so I'd have spotted her for sure, but she wasn't here. This amused me greatly because the very next day at Magic Kingdom, I immediately recognized her at the Magical Friendship Faire, lol.

Some late night shop photos.

-Finally, I end the night. It's about 11 pm by this point and park-goers are DEAD. I did my standard last bit of fun in HS, which is to walk to Guest Relations and look at the pictures on the walls detailing the history of Hollywood. Guests end up coming in a lot to do stuff- mostly find lost items (this must happen a LOT here). One girl was pushing a wheelchair-bound friend/relative who was wiped from the heat and was basically a puddle at that point.

My only big regret is not seeing Max & Goofy. I had only barely found out they were taking pictures, and I was like "I don't really know what to do with Head Characters anyways" and had other stuff to do, so I didn't make it a priority. I thought about making a trip on other park days, but it was too long a journey to go JUST for that. I think discovered about a week or so after I arrived home that Max greets guests here in his POWERLINE outfit. As you can see from the pic to start this day, I was WEARING a pic with Powerline on it! It would have DEFINITELY made Max freak out! Darn! And it'll be YEARS before I can head back, lol.

 

[Jabroniville]

DAY SEVEN (The Magic Kingdom):
-So by the seventh day, I managed to have every park down! This meant that it was essentially time to hunker down in the Big Two (MK, Epcot). I kept thinking about MAYBE heading back to Hollywood Studios, but ultimately couldn't justify the time it really takes to do that sort of thing (leave the park; wait for the bus; head to another park- something like 30-45 minutes). And MK is my favorite of the parks anyways.

Today: A trip through Be Our Guest Restaurant and seeing the Magical Friendship Faire as much as possible!

Thankfully, the weather had mostly turned into "uncomfortably hot" and not "surface of the sun" (I must reiterate that even the native Floridians were miserable so it's not just Canadians complaining, lol). The remainder of the week was pretty survivable. And my sunburn had mostly abated so I looked more "tanned" than "obviously screwed up".

New dancers! Some of these only did 1-2 days for the entire time I was there. Another few I saw nearly every show.

This is a funny one- I enjoyed Fantasmic!, but didn't recognize the person I follow on Instagram. And then I take one look at the Magical Friendship Faire on this day, the third time I'm in MK this trip, and sure enough... I found the person, haha.

I managed to get both Adventure Cavalcades! It was a different Elena & Pocahontas today, so neither recognized me, haha.

I met the tiny Elena again! This had to have been the youngest of the lot. But she was a HUGE fan of being recognized, and we talked about more show lore! This was the second of three times I met the same performer, which was great (my last trip featured meeting the same one three times as well)- both times the Queen ended up hugging me unprompted, which I take to be a sign that I'm not weirding them out by meeting them solo XD.

My sister, on seeing these: "Are those their real noses?"

THE STEPSISTERS:
-Anastasia & Drizella remain a highlight of any character-meeting day. Since all the Princesses are set up to be "nice", it's fun to meet characters that can be selfish, mean and goofy. In this case, I always like to play it up as if the sisters were HUGE celebrities and deserved more attention- play to their egos (or insecurities). I suggested they should get their OWN castle, and of course they agreed. Except each one insisted they needed their own. I made mention that they deserved a parade just for them, on account of their grace and charisma, and Anastasia said "EXACTLYYYYYYYYY!".

 

[Jabroniville]

More Ariel! This time I think she asked me if I was a ship's Captain. I confessed I was more of a "First Mate" type. I also started a thing where I played up how super-strong Ariel is (in the movie, she moves a HUGE boulder to reach her grotto)- she seems to appreciate making a bit deal over how strong and tough she is (I assume most focus on looks/singing/romance, lol). I also pointed out that I had a drawing of her on my MagicBand.

I saw Tiana again! This was a pretty fun conversation- I made fun of Naveen a bit when she brought him up, saying "It must have taken some work to train him as a husband" and pointing out how immature he started out, but she pointed out HE also taught HER- in this case, how to let loose and have fun. I conceded that was a good point (and I'd legit forgot that was a point in the movie, which I haven't seen in years). This might be the longest Tiana conversation I had that didn't involve food.

Teeny Rapunzel!

Cinderella!

The Dapper Dans! I honestly barely see these guys at points- usually it's only when I'm waiting for parades and they swing by on the trolley.

 

[Jabroniville]

Also the time I almost died:
* So I think it was Day 4-5 in the Magic Kingdom when this happened, actually... staying out in the sun all day to capture the shows and parades was always a struggle, BUT I generally avoided the worst of it! Until one point when, despite knowing better, I accidentally lost track of time and stopped going to the drinking fountains or vendors "because it's just about time for the next show/parade/Lightning Lane", and my usual "mid-day I Lava You Float" was at the front of a VERY huge line that was wrapping almost out of Adventureland. The heat had driven EVERYONE to doing this.

Suddenly at one point after a parade or something I started feeling REALLY weird- woozy, kind of foggy-headed and in a kind of daze. I pretty quickly realized I was getting too overheated... then realized I'd neglected to have ANYTHING to drink for about two and a half hours! Given it was like 90-100 all morning & afternoon and I'd just been waiting for a parade for 20 minutes then followed it all over the park, this was a bit crazy to do.

Thankfully this was the end of the "things I had to do" for a good while, and I saw the Dole Whip line was short! So I got the float and promptly chased it with a Monster energy drink since I was also tired. And with that healthy concoction, I now felt perfectly fine for the rest of the day!

So mark it on your vacation planning: If you're feeling ill, just drink an I Lava You Float and a 473-mL Monster Energy Drink and it will cure all your problems! It's basically health food!

 

[Jabroniville]

THE FESTIVAL OF FANTASY PARADE:
-I evidently only saw one go-around of this, from a location along Frontierland, facing Liberty Square. When looking at my pictures, I remembered why: this was the day the mechanics seemed REALLY slow and creaky on the main float- everything rotated SUPER slowly, so I didn't get a close shot of anything with the Cinderella/Frozen/Tiana spinning sections. They were just driving by too quickly and I could only get a few pics at random angles! I'm not sure why I didn't use my "chase the parade down Main Street" method of taking an extra set of pics again, unless it was said disappointment over the float being weird.

I was also paying way more attention to "being there" and waving and stuff than taking accurate pictures... judging by the sheer number of pics where heads or cut off or I only get the side of a dress. I could never master "being there" and "taking accurate pictures" and it honestly took me a few days to figure out to hold the camera HIGHER and at an angle (cuz holding it the way you would normally to take pics of things in front of you doesn't take into account the height of a parade float).

I finally managed to clean my camera lens enough to get not-horrible pictures of the legendary ceiling.

BE OUR GUEST RESTAURANT:
* So once more, I managed to net BOG reservations. TWO, actually! Today and another day! Because I hate money! This restaurant has unfortunately fallen on hard times, review-wise, with many popular options dying out and the food taking on an "assembly line"/diner approach to just slapping it on the plates. I must confess I can see what they're talking about- I remember thinking ALL the options for dinner sounded good... this time, I didn't really see it.

This time around, I had escargot again- the only appetizer I really dig... filling as it is, with REALLY strong sauce that tends to stick with you a while, even well after eating. The main meal was the filet mignon. Not that adventurous since I had it before, but I recall the lamb being disappointing.

Dessert is now this little flight of tiny things. I miss the whole "chocolate Chip" with grey stuff in his head. THAT looked fancy. Why'd they get rid of that?

The problem with dining if you value Parades/Shows is that you end up missing some of them because dining takes about an hour. When I was heading back from the Beast's castle I could hear the MFF going on, and so only got there for the final number. Though people spread out enough I still got a pretty good angle of it (some people are just fine with watching this show from MILES away, honestly. They must have better eyesight than me).

I have no idea if that's sunscreen or just my head being super-reflective BECAUSE of the sunscreen, but I evidently reapplied at this point.

I finally saw Mirabel! She wasn't meetable on any of my past trips, but now they've axed Merida's Meet & Greet and given Mirabel her own one in that spot, taking advantage of Encanto's popularity. I had a big thing planned where I'd start off wearing my hat and then take it off, repeating the Priest's line "He told me all my hair would disappear, now look at my HEEEEAAAAADDD!", but the photographer missed the moment, haha. Mirabel finished the rest of the line herself (she didn't laugh; I fear I did the Disney equivalent of a "Dad Joke"), then went on about how Bruno doesn't MEAN to cause calamity by making negative predictions about things, then started complaining about Isabela doing stuff and calling attention to herself.

Which is funny because even though that's their relationship in the MOVIE, they end things by making peace and discovering a real connection, so this is kind of out of continuity, haha. But it's a tough role- the characters in that movie are VERY different at the beginning and at the end, and there's no media out there of their post-movie selves. It's like Elsa in Frozen- in the movie she's so fearful, angry, frustrated, genuinely happy, then fearful and self-hating again that there was no "New Default" for the character until Frozen Fever and later Olaf's Frozen Adventure and Frozen 2. Performers were thus left having to "invent" what the character's new normal was.

What a surprise! Went for another late-night Fairytale Hall visit and now it was BELLE in the room! Meeting "Yellow Dress" Belle is nigh-impossible and has been for years, so it's unusual for them to swap her in. I voiced my surprise and we actually talked about Elena of Avalor for a bit ("Did you know her sister is an inventor like my father?" "I DID!"). Then she commented about my various "inventions" and I called attention to having her on my MagicBand, too.

And I ended it seeing Cinderella. We ended up talking about Elena not being there, I think, lol. Cinderella was like "I'll definitely tell her you came by!" or "I'll let her know you're a big fan!". But I actually let slip "I think Belle MIGHT be my favorite, but Elena is really cool!" which might have been rude to say to a non-Belle princess!

They announced the Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride would be opening a couple weeks after I left... about a month before I arrived. Oh well! It sounds like it's always breaking down currently anyways.

Housekeeping did this with the Rapunzel doll I got for my 2-year old niece every time I came back to my hotel room, lol. My niece ADORED this doll, by the way- literally gasped a few times while looking at it, and insisted on sleeping with it that night.

 

[Jabroniville]

DAY EIGHT (EPCOT):
-Back to EPCOT! This is the second of my EPCOT days, but not the last! This day I was supposed to try for the GOTG ride again, but missed the first attempt by a couple of minutes (once it's 7:03, you might as well not bother) and then on the next, I set my alarm for a minute before so I'd be ready... then got distracted by the manatees in The Seas pavilion, so missed it again! Thankfully I'm here multiple days, haha- I didn't want to shell out for an expensive Genie+ pass!

Princess Meets!:
-So with the Princesses out and about again, I met the lot of them. The best interaction I think I had was with a VERY tiny, super-young Princess Aurora, who I finally asked what I thought was a unique question- "after being called Briar Rose your whole life, was it hard getting used to being called Aurora?". I actually forget how she answered, but it quickly turned into a conversation of which of the fairy colors she preferred and if she wanted to try the third one- we both theorized that GREEN would be a nice change!

One thing that's always impressive is how "graceful" the characters have to be- notice how when Elsa turns she has to WHIP her cape trails around so they make these attractive flowing motions and capes. If you watch the characters you'll see they always make sure to twist and turn JUST SO so that their capes and dress trails swirl about in pleasing ways- they don't just plop down on the thing or scrunch it. Every movement has to flow.

THE ROYAL SOMERHUS:
-Back to Anna & Elsa! Different girls the first time! But tiny Elsa is the same as before in one of my two visits this day! Actually I think I saw this one in 2022 as well! The ONLY character performer I think I saw twice, save for the parade ones! According to the staff here, the meet is still quite popular, though perhaps not as much as when the first movie came out.

 

[Jabroniville]

I see "taking pictures of people with glasses" is still tricky for even the pros, lol.

FLOWERS:
-Flowers were a big deal at the Flower & Garden Show thing they do. I didn't really actually "stop to smell the roses" much, as they typically put these on major thoroughfares. I always had SOMEWHERE to be! But I made some attempts at reading the things or at least looking at the set-ups they have.

I kinda feel bad about Ariel's teal dress. It's not a movie dress, but the movie dress was very... PINK and didn't mesh with Ariel's hair, and it's a color shared with Aurora. I can see WHY they went with teal, but it's odd and doesn't fit an iconic look.

AKERSHUS (Round Two):
-So yes, I went to Akershus again. I'd loved it in 2019, and then it was gone for 2-3 years after the pandemic, so I was super-happy to get to go again. I was overwhelmed by the huge stack of food I got the first day, but the second I was more prepared for it. I'd been hesitant on this one, as Disney food is EXPENSIVE and I'd already gone and done this character dining, but since I did a poor job getting photos last time owing to my lens being smudged and trying to take pictures in front of the window, so I figured I'd try it again. In retrospect being able to squeeze both of these into ONE visit would have been better (especially on the wallet!), but I knew it was the last time I'd be here for a while, so I went for it again.

It occurs to me they must have a MASSIVE number of performers for each role, because in all the time I was at the parks, I only ever saw duplicates of Elena and Elsa during meet & greets. I mean, TWO Akershus visits meant two separate of five Princesses! Never mind the "outdoor" ones, who were also different on every single day!

Sadly I don't really remember any conversations from this one. It's not just cuz it's taken me 4-5 months to type all this out- even at the time it was a bit "filler"-y and I can't always think of unique stuff to say, haha.

I actually got a DRINK this time, too! A blue one with lots of different kinds of liquor in it! I figured this was a bit of a risk, as I haven't had a drop of alcohol in like five years (since before COVID at least) as it's not usually my thing, so I was afraid this thing with its concoction of booze things would put me under the table! But I stood up after having it... to no ill effects! I was totally fine! Much different than my NYC trip in 2010 where I had a margarita and was like "WOAHHHHHH!" when I stood up. So it finally happened! I'm finally too fat to be wiped out by liquor! HOORAY!

THE SEAS:
* I always liked this place. Apparently they're losing the dolphins soon! I kind of spent less time here than I'd wanted, but about as much as I NEEDED to, I think, as I wanted to hit the place in the daytime to ensure I saw the manatees awake. Though getting distracted by the manatees made me miss picking a GOTG spot, haha. I talked to the manatee attendant about the Steller's Sea Cow- a gigantic sirenian that's now extinct- she figures that's a "bucket list" thing to see the 20+ foot skeleton of one at the London Natural History museum.

MEXICO:
-I spent a lot of time in Mexico this time around. I felt bad about missing it on my last trip- because it was right next to Norway, I was always skipping it for more Frozen Ever After rides or the meet & greet, and then the REST of the park has all the OTHER Face Character meet-ups and things to see, so I was very rarely able to set aside the time... it wasn't until my last day that I realized I'd skipped it! And it's a really lovely pavilion- the pyramid makes it more "inaccessible" than the others, but it's got SO MUCH to see. I love the "small buildings" set-up with the forced perspective and the "balconies" and such, as obviously phony as it is. The darkness and enclosed space creates a completely unique vibe in EPCOT's usually bright exteriors. I wonder if anyone ever actually buys the stuff in the stands here, though. I remember in 2014 they were actually selling the "Hidden Mickey" lookup guides in here, lol.

All in all, this day was rather uneventful but fine, haha. I don't recall burning to death at any point! My chafing issue from the last EPCOT day also didn't happen! The sunburn seemed to mostly heal, too! I don't remember where else I ate, though- I could only get lunch at Akershus so I obviously had to eat somewhere else during the evening... I know I only went to the French ice cream place once on this whole trip, though. Which is too bad- it's one of the best and it was usually a "once per day" thing for me on past trips, but this time it was just too hard to work around the established eating and riding plans!

I think maybe this was the day I went to the American pavilion's BBQ place! That's always a big fave for me, as the portions are large for a fair-ish price for a Disney place. Nice decor, too!

 

[Jabroniville]

DAY NINE (Magic Kingdom):
-So now that I'd gone to every park, pretty much every day but one becomes a "Magic Kingdom" day. It's the park with the most to do, and I never felt like bailing mid-day for another park- this often blows an hour or so.

FAIRYTALE HALL:
-I saw Cinderella & Elena of Avalor good & early again. Sadly this is one of those "Why don't I remember what we talked about?" days because this Elena doesn't even look familiar to me anymore, haha. Looking at the pics of the PhotoPass machine makes it clear it was a pretty short chat with Elena, however- since they take pics only every few seconds and automatically do so, it's easy to guess how long your interaction was. This was over pretty quick considering I actually know the lore!

ALADDIN & JASMINE:
-Hey look! Aladdin & Jasmine! I honestly had no idea there was a meet & greet in this part of Adventureland, haha. It's well-covered and very out of the way, and I was just never by here. It's the only chance to meet Aladdin save for 1900 Park Faire (unless he was in Morocco and I missed him). I actually didn't talk to them this time (the timing never worked out and this was the first time I knew they were here), but it's neat to see they're here.

Of course I saw this as many times as possible. Today I managed to be early enough to catch the early-morning preparations, where three different people (including the Dance Captain) check out the stage, making sure there's no debris or condensation. At one point the dancer actually picked something up (like a piece of ticker-tape or paper or something) while one of the two guys was testing the "Elsa show" mechanics and another presumably the lighting.

More Sunny Eclipse! I'm glad I got to see nearly his entire routine (it's only 20 minutes long but I still somehow never quite waited the ENTIRE time to see it all, and got some repeats). And I'm a bit saddened that I never did this during past trips- in 2014 I didn't know he was a thing, in 2019 I don't think I did either, in 2021I think he was broken, and in 2022 I think only restaurant visitors could get in.

For some reason I find the random stuff written in the Jungle Cruise queue interesting. Like a big Ziploc-brand thing mixed in with their themed signing.

I saw the Adventure Cavalcade, perhaps only once? I only have pics of the one time for some reason. Elena was a different performer this time, so she didn't recognize me, nor seem to notice I was trying to get her attention as one of the few people who might recognize her, haha.

And then, wonder of wonders, when I went to Enchanted Tales With Belle... I finally got picked for a role! This almost always goes to a pair of dads and never a solitary guest, so I was shocked! This has never happened before! So during this show, you're actually given instructions by the assistants who monitor everything- we are told to say "Oui!" when Lumiere asks us if we are ready. I, of course, unable to follow directions clearly, say "Yes!" and the attendant immediately goes "Say oui!"

And then when I get home and finally upload all of my photos I take a look and go "Wow, I look a lot older in this one...". And then I realize "Wait, I never put my glasses above my head like that". And that I was wearing a PURPLE shirt! It was then that I realized that the other Knight was an older guy with the same hair & facial hair I had! Only later did I figure out we probably looked related and that's why we were chosen together.

 

[Jabroniville]

How interesting- no Beauty and the Beast! TIANA & NAVEEN head the parade! I shouted "Welcome to the front!" as they came by! Remember the last time, when I noted how poorly the Frozen/Frog float spun? Like how it was creaking as it went by and spun reeeaalllly slowly, wrecking some photo chances? I suspect it must have actually broken, because instead of sticking to one side, they just had an immobile float with Anna & Elsa facing one side, no BATB, and Tiana & Naveen at the front. Though it's possible something was wrong with Belle/The Beast.

Once again, trying to get photographs while actually getting to enjoy the parade in-person and not through a screen means you get a lot of pictures like this, lol. Ariel is PARTICULARLY hard to take pictures of because she's so high up, to the point where angling your camera/phone correctly while looking up is somewhat difficult.

Behold- the only photos I managed to get of any character noticing me and waving at me as the parade went by. This happens a couple of times per parade but actually getting the photo is REALLY hard, haha.

When you follow them right to the gate you get shots like this, where they've been working their pantomime for 20+ minutes but now have to keep it going even when they're past the door- they're not allowed to stop "acting" until they're positive no guests can see them. The pic above is of Elsa doing her quick "twirl a snowflake with her powers" motion.

THE PARADE:
-Today I viewed the parade from the corner of Liberty Square! After the disappointment of the Diamond Horseshoe points, I wanted to capture the "pinch-point" here as the parade floats have to zoom IN and then move to the side, giving you plenty of angles for photography. It worked really well- not only do you get the front of the float from afar, but it zooms right in front of you and then arcs so you get lots of shots as well as close-ups.

When it was over, I cut back through the rear by the Christmas shop and followed it down the Hub until I hit Main Street to view it all over again. APPARENTLY the "elite trick" is to cut through ADVENTURELAND since that one isn't blocked by the parade, but you'd still only get to see it twice if you did that, I think. I'd be less stressful when you get caught behind guys freezing in place while being oblivious to their surroundings, though! The main issue this time was a pretty weak angle (I largely miss the Frozen characters to the "spin" of their float.

Ariel! Apparently she asked about the "gadgets" I had because I'm gesturing to my watch here!

I did a very late-night ride on Peter Pan for some reason. It couldn't have been a mid-day LL selection because I took pictures of the queue.

This was one of two days I went up the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (the next was a Hidden Mickey quest in daytime, though I didn't find any- I wonder if they actually re-did this since the book came out. People obviously recognize those books because I got asked if I was Mickey-hunting while doing so!). It got pretty rainy at night so I was able to just hide under a few awnings and the like while up here. Plus these are among the few cross-park photos you can get.

The late-night Princess meet & greet! The Fairytale Hall typically has VERY low wait-times by the end of of the night owing to less kids being up by 9pm, so I find it good to visit one last time. I recall my previous trip it was MUCH rainier so I often did my visits somewhat earlier, but now it's often very late. As I mentioned before, Elena seems to be in shorter supply this trip, so AURORA was here this time! Once again I dropped the "was it hard to get used to being called Aurora?" line.

Times like this I wish I'd written down whatever we'd talked about (I was anticipating finishing this Trip Report way before- not like six months later, haha), but I think it it was terribly interesting I would have remembered it anyways.

One of my traditional last-hour haunts is the Glass/Crystal shop. I asked the guy there once if this was where almost everyone "just window-shops", but he told me that mid-day people tend to buy things. It's the last hour people who come in just to look- this HAS to be their busiest time, though. With rides closing for the night Main Street becomes the place where most of the late-night visitors get clustered.

Some last minute photography before I go!

 

[CariadMartin]

I would absolutely love to meet Elena!

The giant carry-ons stress me out as well! On our recent flight the overhead lockers opened during takeoff because they were so overstuffed, someone could've been seriously hurt.

 

[Jabroniville]

I would absolutely love to meet Elena!

The giant carry-ons stress me out as well! On our recent flight the overhead lockers opened during takeoff because they were so overstuffed, someone could've been seriously hurt.

Elena is so much fun! And she loves meeting true fans! I kind of feel bad for her having so many people not knowing who she is, and the fact that there's always a chance I've seen her for the last time. That show ended in 2020 and Disney does NOT hype it.

And yeah, that sounds crazy regarding the carry-ons! People often use them as their sole bags (which I GET... I hate having to have a suitcase and stress over that as well) and it's led to an inflation of them. And you can tell airline workers are just defeated over it.