Thanksgiving in my happy place?? Don't mind if I do! (Updated 3/12)

[Stacybaeasm]

I’ve yet to try Steakhouse 71 but that chocolate cake looks EPIC. Yum!

It is epic. Someone said that there isn't any actual chocolate in the cake??? I find that hard to believe because it tastes so chocolatey!! And while I always rave about the cake, the rest of the food there is quite good as well. I love the top sirloin and the mashed potatoes. I didn't like the au gratin potatoes as much but Barb loved them. And I HIGHLY recommend the sea-salt dusted potato brioche for an appetizer.

 

[vamassey1]

I'm late but caught up.

You're having a great trip so far. Lil Bit is so cute. It's great that she was so close to y'all.

I've had Breakfast and dinner at Steakhouse 71 and just need to have lunch there. We used DD 50% off for dinner there too. We also had the steak.

When are you going in May? I'm going with a friend in late May. We're planning some Disney time to see DD but also going to the opening of Epic.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm here and all caught up! We were there at the same time. Now I find myself looking in your pictures to see if I see myself. LOL I'm so glad that you and Barb were able to take the trip together after not seeing one another for so many years. And to meet up with friends as well means this trip is off to a great start.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I'm late but caught up.

I've had Breakfast and dinner at Steakhouse 71 and just need to have lunch there. We used DD 50% off for dinner there too. We also had the steak.

When are you going in May? I'm going with a friend in late May. We're planning some Disney time to see DD but also going to the opening of Epic.

Welcome!!! I have only had dinner at Steakhouse 71 (because CAKE) but each time I think Scotty has had a 50% off coupon. The day I have to pay full price may give me a small heart attack.

I'll be in Disney May 26-June 1. If you around - I'd love to at least say hi!!

I'm here and all caught up! We were there at the same time. Now I find myself looking in your pictures to see if I see myself. LOL I'm so glad that you and Barb were able to take the trip together after not seeing one another for so many years. And to meet up with friends as well means this trip is off to a great start.

Welcome!!! Yeah, it was great to see Barb. My mom is still jealous but... And I think I have Barb convinced to join for part of the May trip as well.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day Three, Part One
Well, we did NOT time that well
​

Today we were starting at Hollywood Studios. The plan was early entry so I could knock out some of the bigger rides. We didn't get Fast pass for cash today because a) Barb can't handle any of the bigger thrill rides and b) we were only staying for part of the day because we had Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that night!! I was up and ready to head out of the door by about 7:30 for an 8:30 early entry. I knew it was a little late, but Barb didn't really want to get up. Could I have left her? Yes. Should I have left her? Also yes but alas, I did not. It was probably 7:45 by the time we walked out the door to head to the Skyliner. The line was LONG. I have never seen it that long. It was back almost to the last building in the 50's section. And of course, I said something like "Damn it. I knew we should have gotten here earlier. I don't think we are going to make it." And Barb said something about calming down and it isn't a big deal. To which I replied "I'm allowed to be disappointed that I won't get on Tower and Rockin this morning." And so, we stopped speaking to each other. Luckily, there was a lovely family in front of us who we talked to or that wait would have been LONG.

We got to Studios and scanned in. I said I was heading to Tower and took off. No time for photo pass this morning. I made it down Sunset to about the Beauty and the Beast theatre and hit a line of people. But I could see the wait time for Tower and it read 13 minutes. No way all of these people were in line all the way out here and the wait was still 13 minutes. Then a CM came down and announced this was the end of the line for people who DIDN'T have early entry. Ahh...got it. So I went around and headed right up to Tower and got my magic band scanned. There was NO line - I walked all the way through the que and right into the library. Once out of the library, I headed to the left like always. Why does no one do this?? Anyway, walked right into the loading area and got my own row!


By the time I got off the ride, it was already a little after 9. Only 1 ride for EE that day but at least I got tower. I headed toward Rockin to see what the wait was, but it was LONG. So I texted Barb to see where she was. She had headed to TSMM and was in line. The line said about 10 minutes. Great. I'll head to MMRR and get in line. Text me when you get there and I'll tell you where I am in line. I figured no problem because the wait there said 80 minutes. However that line MOVED. I don't think we ever stood still for very long at all. Pretty soon, I was close to entering the building. I texted Barb "WHERE ARE YOU????" She was just leaving Toy Story. I said I'm entering the building, are you going to make it? Now, what I should have done was stand by that door and let people go in front of me until she got there. But I didn't think of it. So, in I went. When she finally arrived, she texted "Where are you?" I said, I'm in the final room before we see the cartoon. Nicely ask the CM if you can get in and catch up. But she didn't want to, so I rode by myself. We were really not off to a great start this morning.

Anyway, I came out of the ride and she was waiting by the exit. I volunteered to get back in line and ride again, but she was thirsty and wanted to sit for a minute. I really wanted to ride the Falcon so we headed to Batuu and stopped at the first soda cart to get something to drink and find a spot in the shade to sit for a minute. While we were sitting, Barb asked what we were doing for lunch. I said, probably just a counter service. Well, suddenly she wanted table service (which is weird). I said, ok, let's go into the app and see if anything has availability today. The only thing that came up was Mama Melrose. Barb got excited and said she wanted to eat there. I asked if she knew what the menu was and she said yes and quickly made a reservation in her name for 12:00. That left enough time for us to finish our drinks, I could ride the Falcon single rider, and then we would head to Mama Melrose. But then...Barb looked at the menu. And was like "I don't like any of this. Where's the pizza??" I said "You were so excited to eat here and you sounded like you knew the menu. What do you mean you don't like it?" She said again "Where's the pizza? The really good pizza?" And it clicked - she was thinking of Via Napoli. I was like - wrong park my friend. But now we are stuck with this reservation because the cancellation window is 2 hours and we are within an hour. But Barb was determined to not go. So, she headed to Mama Melrose to plead her case while I headed to the Falcon and rode single rider.

While in line for Falcon, there was a father/son duo in front of me who were clearly on their first trip to Disney and were confused about some things. I don't remember exactly what, but I set them straight on a couple of things and then gave them a couple of tips about something else. Soon I was being placed with a family of 4 to ride. There was some confusion about where I would sit - the oldest daughter and mom were going to be the pilots but the little one couldn't decide between gunner and engineer. I said no problem. I honestly don't care. I just like to ride. Anyway, I ended up as gunner. And off we flew on a mission. That ride is so dependent on the pilots but they did a good job and we had a great time.

Once off, I texted Barb and she was sitting at the tables outside Pizza Rizzo so I headed over there. She had somehow gotten the CM to cancel the reservation without having to pay the cancelation fee so now we had to decide what lunch was going to be. As controversial as this is, I love me some pizza Rizzo. Is it good pizza - no. Is it a quick meal? Also no. But I HAVE to have it every trip. I don't know what I'm going to do when they transform this area. Anyway, Barb told me I had to go in and order for both of us because she didn't want the CM in front of Mama Melrose to see her (I have no idea why.) Off I went inside to order because it didn't seem that busy. Once inside, I was greeted by a CM who directed me to a line to order but said it could take a half hour. However, she said there were mobile order spots available for right now and that would cut the time down to about 10 minutes. Don't have to tell me twice. I pulled out my phone and placed a mobile order for 2 of the meat lovers pizzas, 2 salads (didn't the pizza use to come with a choice of salad or chips??), and 2 diet cokes. Should I have had water instead? Oh yeah and this will come back to bite me in the butt later. Tray finally in hand, I headed back out. Barb asked if I had to make the pizza myself. What can I say - bad pizza, slow service - the hallmarks of Pizza Rizzo.

After we ate, we tried to figure out what was next. There really isn't a lot Barb can ride in Studios and it was BUSY today. We knew we had the Christmas party that night and we wanted to get to MK early so we could get the merch before the line got crazy. So, we headed out of the park and back to the Skyliner to go back to Pop for a rest and a change of clothes.

Up next: Did Santa just say Hi to me???

 

[mickeystoontown]

Day Three, Part One
Well, we did NOT time that well
​

Today we were starting at Hollywood Studios. The plan was early entry so I could knock out some of the bigger rides. We didn't get Fast pass for cash today because a) Barb can't handle any of the bigger thrill rides and b) we were only staying for part of the day because we had Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that night!! I was up and ready to head out of the door by about 7:30 for an 8:30 early entry. I knew it was a little late, but Barb didn't really want to get up. Could I have left her? Yes. Should I have left her? Also yes but alas, I did not. It was probably 7:45 by the time we walked out the door to head to the Skyliner. The line was LONG. I have never seen it that long. It was back almost to the last building in the 50's section. And of course, I said something like "Damn it. I knew we should have gotten here earlier. I don't think we are going to make it." And Barb said something about calming down and it isn't a big deal. To which I replied "I'm allowed to be disappointed that I won't get on Tower and Rockin this morning." And so, we stopped speaking to each other. Luckily, there was a lovely family in front of us who we talked to or that wait would have been LONG.

We got to Studios and scanned in. I said I was heading to Tower and took off. No time for photo pass this morning. I made it down Sunset to about the Beauty and the Beast theatre and hit a line of people. But I could see the wait time for Tower and it read 13 minutes. No way all of these people were in line all the way out here and the wait was still 13 minutes. Then a CM came down and announced this was the end of the line for people who DIDN'T have early entry. Ahh...got it. So I went around and headed right up to Tower and got my magic band scanned. There was NO line - I walked all the way through the que and right into the library. Once out of the library, I headed to the left like always. Why does no one do this?? Anyway, walked right into the loading area and got my own row!
View attachment 944178

By the time I got off the ride, it was already a little after 9. Only 1 ride for EE that day but at least I got tower. I headed toward Rockin to see what the wait was, but it was LONG. So I texted Barb to see where she was. She had headed to TSMM and was in line. The line said about 10 minutes. Great. I'll head to MMRR and get in line. Text me when you get there and I'll tell you where I am in line. I figured no problem because the wait there said 80 minutes. However that line MOVED. I don't think we ever stood still for very long at all. Pretty soon, I was close to entering the building. I texted Barb "WHERE ARE YOU????" She was just leaving Toy Story. I said I'm entering the building, are you going to make it? Now, what I should have done was stand by that door and let people go in front of me until she got there. But I didn't think of it. So, in I went. When she finally arrived, she texted "Where are you?" I said, I'm in the final room before we see the cartoon. Nicely ask the CM if you can get in and catch up. But she didn't want to, so I rode by myself. We were really not off to a great start this morning.

Anyway, I came out of the ride and she was waiting by the exit. I volunteered to get back in line and ride again, but she was thirsty and wanted to sit for a minute. I really wanted to ride the Falcon so we headed to Batuu and stopped at the first soda cart to get something to drink and find a spot in the shade to sit for a minute. While we were sitting, Barb asked what we were doing for lunch. I said, probably just a counter service. Well, suddenly she wanted table service (which is weird). I said, ok, let's go into the app and see if anything has availability today. The only thing that came up was Mama Melrose. Barb got excited and said she wanted to eat there. I asked if she knew what the menu was and she said yes and quickly made a reservation in her name for 12:00. That left enough time for us to finish our drinks, I could ride the Falcon single rider, and then we would head to Mama Melrose. But then...Barb looked at the menu. And was like "I don't like any of this. Where's the pizza??" I said "You were so excited to eat here and you sounded like you knew the menu. What do you mean you don't like it?" She said again "Where's the pizza? The really good pizza?" And it clicked - she was thinking of Via Napoli. I was like - wrong park my friend. But now we are stuck with this reservation because the cancellation window is 2 hours and we are within an hour. But Barb was determined to not go. So, she headed to Mama Melrose to plead her case while I headed to the Falcon and rode single rider.

While in line for Falcon, there was a father/son duo in front of me who were clearly on their first trip to Disney and were confused about some things. I don't remember exactly what, but I set them straight on a couple of things and then gave them a couple of tips about something else. Soon I was being placed with a family of 4 to ride. There was some confusion about where I would sit - the oldest daughter and mom were going to be the pilots but the little one couldn't decide between gunner and engineer. I said no problem. I honestly don't care. I just like to ride. Anyway, I ended up as gunner. And off we flew on a mission. That ride is so dependent on the pilots but they did a good job and we had a great time.

Once off, I texted Barb and she was sitting at the tables outside Pizza Rizzo so I headed over there. She had somehow gotten the CM to cancel the reservation without having to pay the cancelation fee so now we had to decide what lunch was going to be. As controversial as this is, I love me some pizza Rizzo. Is it good pizza - no. Is it a quick meal? Also no. But I HAVE to have it every trip. I don't know what I'm going to do when they transform this area. Anyway, Barb told me I had to go in and order for both of us because she didn't want the CM in front of Mama Melrose to see her (I have no idea why.) Off I went inside to order because it didn't seem that busy. Once inside, I was greeted by a CM who directed me to a line to order but said it could take a half hour. However, she said there were mobile order spots available for right now and that would cut the time down to about 10 minutes. Don't have to tell me twice. I pulled out my phone and placed a mobile order for 2 of the meat lovers pizzas, 2 salads (didn't the pizza use to come with a choice of salad or chips??), and 2 diet cokes. Should I have had water instead? Oh yeah and this will come back to bite me in the butt later. Tray finally in hand, I headed back out. Barb asked if I had to make the pizza myself. What can I say - bad pizza, slow service - the hallmarks of Pizza Rizzo.

After we ate, we tried to figure out what was next. There really isn't a lot Barb can ride in Studios and it was BUSY today. We knew we had the Christmas party that night and we wanted to get to MK early so we could get the merch before the line got crazy. So, we headed out of the park and back to the Skyliner to go back to Pop for a rest and a change of clothes.

Up next: Did Santa just say Hi to me???

I'm sorry that you and Barb's day didn't start off very well. I've had a tiff or two with a family member before and it does make for a crappy start. I'm glad that you were able to ride a few things before deciding to leave.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I'm sorry that you and Barb's day didn't start off very well. I've had a tiff or two with a family member before and it does make for a crappy start.

I think the big problem is that both Barb and I are used to being in charge (and living alone). And we have the same personality. It's wonderful when it works but when it doesn't - well, it can be no fun for awhile. The biggest thing we did wrong was forgetting that we had told each other that it was no big deal to split off and do our own thing. We will make sure to emphasize that if she comes in May.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I think the big problem is that both Barb and I are used to being in charge (and living alone). And we have the same personality. It's wonderful when it works but when it doesn't - well, it can be no fun for awhile. The biggest thing we did wrong was forgetting that we had told each other that it was no big deal to split off and do our own thing. We will make sure to emphasize that if she comes in May.

Been there, done that too! In my mind, I think we need to be together since we are traveling together. Then crap hits the fan and I realize, nope, we don't have to be together 24/7. LOL

 

[vamassey1]

I'll be in Disney May 26-June 1. If you around - I'd love to at least say hi!!

I'm going to just miss you. We arrive May 17th and leave May 26th. I may be arriving again on June 3rd but it's not a park visit.

I was really feeling you on you late start due to waiting on someone. When you travel far to come to Disney and you only have so many visits a year you want to get the most of your visit. My DD works there so she is never in hurry like she was when she was younger and just visiting. We always have to wait for her to be ready to leave to go to a park now. DH and I are rope droppers and DD is not anymore.

Tower is my favorite thrill ride, so happy you got to ride it. I don't like the pizza at Rizzo's but we usually end up there. DD and I love the salad and the Wedding reception room. I'm going to really miss it.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I'm going to just miss you. We arrive May 17th and leave May 26th. I may be arriving again on June 3rd but it's not a park visit.

Awww...I'm sad I'll just miss you. Maybe another time!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day Three, Part Two
Did Santa Just Say Hi to me??​

We left off headed out of Studios to go back to rest for a bit. On the way out, we passed an ice cream stand and I decided I needed the Mickey ice cream bar. Barb actually wanted one as well so we got one to eat on the way out. Those are so good. I ate mine like it was my job!!! And then we headed out to the skyliner to go back to Pop.

Back at the resort, I decided it was time to start doing what I say I'm going to do every trip - take some time by the pool. I threw on my swim suit and headed out. Usually I go to the Hippie Dippie pool but the bowling pin pool was really close and I didn't have a ton of time so that's where I headed. It was pretty empty - only like 4 other people. I got some towels and laid down on the chair and pulled out my book. Now, I won't post the book I was reading because...I read trash. Like book tok dark romance trash and some of it isn't family friendly. I got in the water for a little bit and then got out again to dry off. I think I was there for about an hour and a half and then headed back to the room to get ready for the evening.

When Barb and I were planning for the trip and decided to do the Christmas Party, I knew we had to get matching shirts and ears. I quickly went online and found us some cute items and ordered them. We put them on and headed to Magic Kingdom for the evening.


Since we are both annual pass holders, we didn't have to wait until 4 to get in. We wanted to get in a bit early and get our wrist bands so we could get merch before the line got really long. I thought they started handing out wrist bands earlier than 4pm but alas, I was wrong. We waited by Stitch for about a half hour before they let us get our bands and ornaments. We then headed back to the Emporium to get our party merch. Now, beating the line was good but having to carry stuff all night was not my best plan. However, the spirit jersey came in handy later in the evening when it got cold and I pulled it over my t-shirt. I know I got the Christmas Party jersey and maybe the pin?? Barb got one of the shirts as well.

Once out, we still had time to kill before the party started. We headed over to People Mover. The line was pretty long but moved quickly. Barb also loves Buzz. When we got off People mover, the line for Buzz still said 45 minutes but they were taking down some of the que links so we jumped in line and got on in about 20 minutes. I didn't record our scores because we both were terrible. I honestly don't think Barb's gun was working at all. We still had some time so we headed over to Philharmagic but it was closed. We then headed over to Little Mermaid and went under the sea and defeated Ursula.

Getting off Mermaid, we still had about 20 minutes until the party started. We headed up to the cookie stop that is close to Little Mermaid. Barb's whole focus of the party was getting the cookies. I was ok with that but also wanted the parade, fireworks, and maybe a few character meets. Character meets went out the window quickly because Barb does not like them. Anyway, we were going to wait outside the first cookie place until it started and then make our way around Magic Kingdom.

One of my recent students is down doing the CP and was working CRT. She was working that night so, before the party started, I ran down to give her a hug. We had a chance to catch up for a bit (and I learned she had made the choir for the Christmas Processional but wasn't performing while I was there. Soon, she had to go back to work and it was time for the party to start.

It was about now that not getting water at lunch started to haunt me. Those crazy leg cramps were starting. They weren't terrible right now, but I was worried. I really didn't want to deal with this for the not so in-expensive Christmas party. I was guzzling water at this point and just crossing my fingers that we were going to get through without tragedy. I headed back up to the first cookie stop which was gingerbread and eggnog. I am not a fan of either but Barb really wanted the gingerbread. She was also afraid to ask for more than 1 cookie. Not me. I have no shame. I went through the line and asked for 2 cookies and then head out to give them to Barb.

We decided to keep going counter clockwise around the park and headed over to Columbia Harbor house for cookies. While we were over there, we jumped on Haunted Mansion.


I think we also grabbed a water from the fruit stand place and sat again for a bit. I was feeling so horrible. I just felt like we were wasting party time while I sat to keep the leg cramps at bay but also, I couldn't do too much because...trying to keep leg cramps at bay. I was starting to not have a good time and I was getting really depressed. We headed toward the next cookie stop across from Pirates and got cookies. And then rode Pirates.


We headed toward Jungle cruise. I think there was a cookie stop down there. We then jumped in line for the Jingle cruise. I always love this ride and the Christmas overlay is fun. The line for this was fairly long but we really wanted to do it so...45 minutes later, we got off. By this time, the first parade was kicking off. We weren't seeing the first parade because Scotty had worked some magic and gotten us special seating for the 2nd parade. We ended up sitting somewhere so we could cross over mainstreet and get the rest of the cookies.

I'm going to end here before we get to the parade because I have lots of pictures for that. Stay tuned!!

 

[vamassey1]

Back at the resort, I decided it was time to start doing what I say I'm going to do every trip - take some time by the pool. I threw on my swim suit and headed out.

I always say I'm going to have some pool time and very rarely get it.

Cute pictures.

One of my recent students is down doing the CP and was working CRT. She was working that night so, before the party started, I ran down to give her a hug. We had a chance to catch up for a bit (and I learned she had made the choir for the Christmas Processional but wasn't performing while I was there.

This is great. I know that time of year is really hard for the CPs because they're missing home.

It was about now that not getting water at lunch started to haunt me. Those crazy leg cramps were starting.

Oh noooo!

I'm going to end here before we get to the parade because I have lots of pictures for that. Stay tuned!!

Looking forward to it.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I always say I'm going to have some pool time and very rarely get it.

Do it!!! I have made a commitment to enjoy pool time every day I'm down there from now on. I understand people who don't get down often needing to go, go, go. But I go down plenty and the point of a vacation is to relax. So, pool time it is!

This is great. I know that time of year is really hard for the CPs because they're missing home.

They are. Those CPs work so hard and give so much. And they get yelled at so much by people who just don't know. I always try to engage with ALL CPs when I'm down there - asking what they are studying, etc. Just so they feel like someone cares about them and all the magic they bring!

 

[vamassey1]

Do it!!! I have made a commitment to enjoy pool time every day I'm down there from now on. I understand people who don't get down often needing to go, go, go. But I go down plenty and the point of a vacation is to relax. So, pool time it is!

I'm planning on taking advantage of the free water park day on arrival in May. I've never been to Typhoon Lagoon. We did go to Blizzard Beach way back in 2007.

They are. Those CPs work so hard and give so much. And they get yelled at so much by people who just don't know. I always try to engage with ALL CPs when I'm down there - asking what they are studying, etc. Just so they feel like someone cares about them and all the magic they bring!

I'm so happy to hear you do this. I know they really appreciate it. My DD use to send me pictures of some of the small gifts she got and tell me stories of the nice guests she interacted with. I got some of the horror stories too but the good ones mean so much.