"Norway? More like No Way!" Goobers' Jan 12 TR! Up.x2 4/6: FINAL THOUGHTS!

[danimaroo]

What an absolute blast of a launch for the "Gauntlet" ... love that you got the extra FP's for Star Tours (I haven't been to the parks since the update ... is it awesome?) ... I agree with your assessment of ToT ... I picture some huge archaic power switch in the back ... with about 4 settings ... it starts in the morning at "Wheeeeeeeee!!" and at night they trip it to the top with "Hollllyyyy Shhhhhh ... "

Heck yes, we were starting off strong! The extra FPs were so awesome and helpful (you'll see how in a few). STAR TOURS IS AWESOME! Matt thought it was great, though part of him misses the old one (I'd never been on the original). He prefers original trilogy vs. the prequel, but overall he enjoys the updates. Your picture of the switch made me laugh out loud with the WHEEEE and the HOLY SHHHH. It's SO TRUE and accurate! Glad someone else can verify my theory.

You're making me blush! I've missed your TR so much.

Yeaahhh but you're back so it's all good.

I don't think I've ever seen the HM ones. The ones you got so make up for it! PP CD will be here in 7-10 business days!

They were really neat, we saw them last year. But yes, Matt's Donald ears are awesome. Can't wait to see the PP photos!!

Of course I get it and love it! Andy would be the same way I think. He would definitely not sing to me in public, but I think he'd do a kiss. Is it bad that I can't wait to get him to Disney just because I know the characters will pick on him for being reserved around all the "kid stuff"?

Hahaha glad to know Matt is not alone in his feelings about it. I can't wait til you bring him there and he gets picked on... I bet he'll end up liking it, even though he'll never admit it.

You are a true DISser. We actually never saw Mickey in his new digs. We had such great interaction at Animal Kingdom and Chef Mickey's that we didn't feel the need to meet him again I guess.

Hahaha I know, I was laughing that I caught that. The new area is pretty neat, though if we'd seen him elsewhere we probably would've done the same thing and skipped it.

Glad to be back! I think everyone tends to forget about them for some reason. I don't know why because it was nice! It was also a nice change to not be spread out like at OKW and to be in a traditional hotel layout. Just take the elevator down and you're right at the bus stops!

Yeah I think you're right. That would be nice though to not be separated from the normal resort! I was happy we weren't too far from the bus stops, Epcot and the boat dock.

I want to go and order that if they still have it next time!

Yesss you should!

I do get it, and it's so endearing! Haha, I can just picture us riding it together. You two would be like, "Oh what a nice change from the other night." and I'd be the one sitting there like, "Really?? That's it?!".

Hahha I bet this would be exactly what happens if we rode it together.

I found your PTR and TR on Thursday and have read both from start to finish... I'm now caught up...

And I gotta say, I can't wait to read more about your trip!!!

YAY AWESOME! Okay, that is impressive that you read BOTH my PTR and TR! Seriously, glad you are caught up and have decided to join in on the fun! Can't wait to post the next update here in a few minutes!!

I swear, you would be such a fun person to do Disney with! Love this TR!

Haha well thank you!! We definitely have a blast in Disney and just run around like we're kids again. It's such a nice break from real life to enjoy not worrying about anything!

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Nineteen: A little hootie hoo, some cookies, and an epic TSMM battle...
Day 5: January 22nd, 2012​

We headed over to Star Tours, and saw that it was listing a 15 minute wait, but it was looking more like 20 when we walked in. We turned around and asked if we could use our FPs (the FP line wasn't open yet), and they said it was a 15 minute wait, but they could let us through if we wanted to use them. Uh, heck yes we do. They opened the line for us and off we went, and I was glad we did because it was DEFINITELY longer than 15 minutes.They let us through, we got to the loading area, and suddenly I realized.. Uhh, no one ever took our FPs! I've never had that happen before!

No, in case you're wondering, we didn't abuse this and ended up keeping our FPs as a nice memory from the kind CM who gave them to us. After getting another new scene (we only had one more scene we had not gotten!), we headed out, and decided now would be a good time to stop at the Writer's Stop!

Gosh it really is hidden, but people need to go in here. Such a cute little place to sit and enjoy a drink and snack! It reminded me a lot of something you'd see here in Seattle.

Anyway! We stopped because we wanted to buy one thing... CARROT CAKE COOKIES! I've heard people talk about them on here, so I knew we had to try them. The CMs working told us it was their number one item, and has been featured on Food Network and stuff... We'll see in a bit how we felt about them..

We continued on, where I spotted this sign and gave out a little "hootie hoo!" to my girl Carla (I'm a big Top Chef fan)...

We then headed back over to TSMM, and the park was definitely starting to get a little busier (for early morning standards, obviously this is NOTHING compared to summer crowds!)

We were definitely glad we had FPs, and quickly made our way through the queue, grabbing our 3D glasses on the way...

We stopped and both got a bit nervous because it looked as if they were going to have us merge with the standby line BEFORE the stairs. The line wasn't really cruising, so I wasn't thrilled by this, but in the meantime I snuck a photo of Matt while we waited.

The family in front of us must have not had FPs or something, not sure, but they turned and went in a different direction towards the standby line. The CM then had us go to the right, into the FP line, where we cruised past everyone and waited for our turn to load!

Within a few minutes, we were ready to go... Matt had his serious game face on..

We battled it out, but eventually, the glory of victory was not meant for me... As Matt ended up crushing me.

Perhaps I just need to work on my arm muscles! We had fun with the attraction, and I was glad we got to ride it once, which is plenty for me! As we left, we noticed the wait time was 50 minutes... and it was only 10!

On that note, can I just state that I'm impressed that in the period of just over an hour, we managed to:

Grab TSMM FPs, take a photo and were given ST FPs, ride ToT, ride RnRC, stop and grab carrot cake cookies, AND ride TSMM.

Not too shabby! Anyway, we headed out of the park, feeling good about everything we'd gotten accomplished. Both of us were a little hungry, so we decided to eat our carrot cake cookies on the way out...

Holy canoli. THESE WERE SO GOOD! They're definitely like a whoopie pie, with a really good butter cream filling. They were also ginormous and way bigger than I expected. EXCELLENT use of a snack credit, and I will absolutely look forward to it again on future trips!

We saw a boat sitting at the dock and decided to run for it, in hopes that it wouldn't leave without us... We lucked out, AGAIN, and hopped right on with no problem! As we left, we noticed a TON of tour groups walking into HS, so we were thankful we got out when we did!

Continued in next post​

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty: "Okay yeah, you need to buy that t-shirt right now."
Day 5: January 22nd, 2012​

Anyhoot, in case you haven't figured it out yet, our second stop was Epcot! We REALLY enjoyed our boat ride over. Did it take us extra time? Probably. But we were trying to enjoy as much down time as possible in between parks, because we didn't want to burn ourselves out too early.

During our trip over, I had my pins out and a little boy turned around and asked if he could trade with me. I told him sure, and let him pick one out, then he gave me one of his (without me really choosing), but I didn't really mind, since it's just fun to trade and see a kid get really excited over a new pin. I think I got Clarabelle, and eventually traded her later on in the trip. It was fun to trade and I thought it was cute how the little boy turned around and politely asked.

Our first stop at Epcot was Club Cool. Why? Matt had seen this one iPhone case that he wanted from there earlier in our trip, but figured he'd just get it later at another store.. Well, we could NOT find it anywhere else! It was really weird. So we made it our first priority to get him this new iPhone case... He was one happy camper, because he had been feeling kind of bummed he hadn't found anything he loved yet.. But we found this! YAY!

We grabbed a little soda then headed over to The Land. On our way, we took our second photo of the day..

Anyway, obviously by this point, Epcot was a bit busier and Soarin' already had long lines, so that wasn't where we were headed. Instead, we walked on over to Living with the Land! Believe it or not, it actually had a wait! Of course the line moved fast, but it did make me laugh that this actually had a line in the first place.

Yes, this was ANOTHER first for me, and honestly, I really really enjoyed it! It was very interesting to learn about how Disney grows and uses this stuff in their meals, and I really enjoyed the sunflowers, since they're my favorite flower.

Anyway, after a nice relaxing ride through, we decided to grab lunch at Sunshine Seasons! We were hungry and figured this would be an excellent choice for lunch. I got the Sweet and Sour Chicken, and of course Strawberry Shortcake, while Matt got the Mongolian Beef and a sugar cookie..

After a delicious lunch, we decided to hop on The Seas with Nemo & Friends, because at this point, it was one of the few attractions with a low wait time. We needed to go on 2 attractions at each park in order to consider a park complete, so this was our choice! I love that attraction though, it's so darn cute! We watched the manatees and dolphins for a bit, then headed over to Mousegears for some quick shopping!

On our way over, I traded a pin with a CM and ended up getting Rowlf! It made me quite happy. At Mousegears we both ended up buying new t-shirts (which you'll see shortly), and I traded a few more pins in Mousegears... I got a really cute Chip 'n Dale one, along with a cute Mickey Mouse one (and yes, you'll get to see all of the pins at the end of my TR!)

We waved see you later to Epcot, and walked back to Beach Club to take a mid-day break.

Once in our room, I took photos of our new t-shirts!

Matt looking fancy in his NEW Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers shirt:

My new monorail shirt! Okay so, when I saw this, I knew I needed to have it. HELLO, it has the monorail spiel in SPANISH! Such a cute and awesome shirt!

While in the room, I caught up on my Trip Journal (I know, we're on the Disney Gauntlet but with 2 parks down and it only being 2ish, we were in very good shape!), and Matt took a short nap.

At around 2:45, Dug decided to wake up Matt (oh yes, in case you didn't know, Dug DOES indeed speak!)

Ahaha I am so mean. Okay not really because he ended up thinking it was funny. Finally awake, we put our sneakers back on and were out the door, getting ready for park #3.. Animal Kingdom!

Continued in next update​

 

[jecskc]

OMG those carrot cake cookies are soooooo good and Matt's game face was so funny. And his iPhone cover is super cool. I love your monorail T-shirt. My BFF Pixie Princess has one and I keep meaning to buy one. Next time I will for sure. I wish they came in different colors besides gray, though. You know kind of like the monorails themselves. Pink, blue, yellow ... like that.

I have been considering getting an iPhone for the sole purpose of getting a cool Disney cover for it. Sick, I know. But you understand I am sure. Looking forward to the rest of the Gauntlet!!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I'm lovin' this Epic day! It's just so...well, EPIC!!!!

 

[okw19]

I'm so glad I logged on tonight. I can't wait to read more about the Gauntlet day (especially the MK part).

That's awesome that no one took your FPs because now you have them to remember your pixie dust morning. The Writer's Stop is so cute, but very hidden! We stopped in one day and it was packed because people were trying to cool off I guess. My mom got the carrot cake cookie and really liked it!

TSMM time, baby! I love that picture of Matt because his shirt is amazing and it has some of Andy's artwork in the background which is one of my favorite parts of the queue. Your shirt is very appropriate for the ride! Matt's game face obviously worked.

I can't believe you got so much done so quickly this morning! I meant to take the boat from DHS to Epcot, but we never got around to it. We missed so many things on my to do list, but looking back I think it's because there were so many of us and I was trying to please everyone.

I LOVE THAT PHONE CASE! You two officially have the 2 coolest phone cases ever now! I love sketch stuff like that. My favorite mugs are Mickey and Minnie sketchbook mugs. Such a cute pic of you guys in your ears.

Lunch at SS looks divine! That cookie is huge! The Nemo ride was adorable, and I surprisingly wasn't too disappointed with all the changes they've made to the Seas. I do miss the hydrolators (think that's right?) though. Peoples reactions to those always cracked me up!

I can't wait to see all of your pins!
When you need help just call Ch Ch Ch Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers!
Please stand clear of the doors, Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas. And no, I didn't have to look at your shirt to spell that. I know it too well.

Apparently you haven't learned from the frumps that, THERE'S NO SLEEPING IN DISNEY!! Wake up, Matt you have parks to conquer!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hootie hoo! I love Top Chef and I love Carla!

Everything seems to be going your way so far. Love the Ch ch ch Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers shirt! God I miss that show....

Hey, breaking when you did was definitely the right choice. It's all about pacing.

Oh, and the carrot cake cookie is so good. I couldn't help but drool when I saw it.

 

[Joyciemc]

You are making some amazing progress in your Disney Gauntlet! Thoroughly impressed over here!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

First and foremost, RACHEL: you are making the rest of us look bad!

OMG, I TOTALLY FORGOT about writers corner?!?! I'm kicking myself. Those carrot cake cookies look amazing! Where is it again? I've seen a pic and it looks like a fake shop, right?

how sweet of you to blindly trade with that little boy!

I LOVE that phone case! I almost bought one (not that one, I never saw that one!) for mine, but I have a 3gs and I couldn't find one that was "just right". I wonder if they had that one for the 3gs too???

Seriously, you ROCK. I would think you would be running through each park to make sure you got to each park, but you guys SHOPPED?!?! You are my hero.

WAIT...and you went back to the room and napped?!?!? That is crazy! I'm all over this gauntlet, I think Rey & I may have to take a trip and do this!

 

[kimbo0569]

Those carrot cake cookies looked so yummy, I will definately have to try those on our next trip, even my dh said they looked good.

OMG, I HAVE to find that monorail shirt next on our next trip. I have joked around with dh several times, each time we ride that monorail, that I would love to get a recording of that to have in my minivan...LOL.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Wow, you got a ton done in just an hour at HS!! I was so pleased with the January weather and crowds (except for Obama's MK Friday crowd ). That is awesome that you took the boat over to Epcot - I really did like the relaxing ride, and it keeps you in good shape for the rest of the gauntlet day! That's nice that they didn't merge you before the stairs; I've had both happen.

My mom just recently got her first iPhone and I told her it was too bad that she hadn't gotten a case at Disney. So she got on Amazon and ordered a mickey comic strip iPhone case and loves it - she's so cool. Matt's new case looks a lot like hers - just the colors and the busy-ness.

You guys look like you're having so much fun. Lucky!

 

[marDgreen88]

WARNING: This comment is long. Oh gosh.

I love keeping FPs as souvenirs! Well not like legit souvenirs... but photo album/scrapbook type souvenirs!

Oh my gosh, I can't even handle how awesome the TSMM Q is. It's the most amazing thing ever. I love Disney Imagineers so much. I think I should marry one.

YOU KNOW WHAT? I just realized that Matt reminds me of this one guy who was on American Idol last year, Casey Abrams. SO funny. They look like they could be brothers.

Yall CERTAINLY DID get a lot done! Very nice!

I will say that the carrot cake cookie looks delicious! But I have to ask, what does the cookie/cake part taste like? That may be a very stupid question but I have to ask because I don't really like carrot cake. Darn me and my not liking key ingredients to all the popular food items!

I've never even noticed the friendship boats taking that long! I guess it's because I really enjoy the ride too! In fact, I already told my parents that we're gonna be taking one from Hollywood to Epcot (or vice versa) this summer and making a pit stop at my beloved Beach Club.

Living with the Land with a LINE? Whaaaaaa? Hahah I've always seen it with a zero minute wait, even in the summer!

Oh my gosh the sweet and sour chicken looks good! I didn't know they served rice at Sunshine Seasons! That's the only reason I've never considered eating there because I thought they only had noodles and I'm not a big fan of Asian noodles but now... it's on the list! THANK YOU DANI!

I HAVE THAT MONORAIL SHIRT TOO!!!! I LOVE IT.

Yay for Animal Kingdom next! (Funny, that's the next park I'll be talking about in my TR too!)

 

[laur roo]

Figured I would stop lurking and say hi! I'm really enjoying your TR, I was there in January as well, so it's interesting to see what you did. I want to start a TR but I haven't yet since I'm writing a Dining Report first. It looks like you and Matt had a blast celebrating your anniversary!

And how cute is Dug? I love him! And I have the stuffed Dug as well, I love that he talks!!

Looking forward to seeing how the gauntlet challenge pans out!

 

[danimaroo]

OMG those carrot cake cookies are soooooo good and Matt's game face was so funny. And his iPhone cover is super cool. I love your monorail T-shirt. My BFF Pixie Princess has one and I keep meaning to buy one. Next time I will for sure. I wish they came in different colors besides gray, though. You know kind of like the monorails themselves. Pink, blue, yellow ... like that.

I have been considering getting an iPhone for the sole purpose of getting a cool Disney cover for it. Sick, I know. But you understand I am sure. Looking forward to the rest of the Gauntlet!!!!

I know, they really are amazing! That is his face for a lot of things. I love his iPhone cover, too! And I agree about the monorail shirt, love it but wish there were other colors.

I totally understand why you'd want an iPhone to have a cute Disney color. I posted this in my TR, but this is my iPhone cover and I LOVE it. It's the scene from Tangled, but done by an independent artist (I found it on society6.com):

So, in other words, yes, you should get an iPhone.

I'm lovin' this Epic day! It's just so...well, EPIC!!!!

Haha, yes it is, and it gets even better!

I'm so glad I logged on tonight. I can't wait to read more about the Gauntlet day (especially the MK part).

YAY! I know I can't wait either!

That's awesome that no one took your FPs because now you have them to remember your pixie dust morning. The Writer's Stop is so cute, but very hidden! We stopped in one day and it was packed because people were trying to cool off I guess. My mom got the carrot cake cookie and really liked it!

I know, it's quite delightful! We have a few leftover FPs from the trip that I'll do something fun with... And yes, it really is cute but hidden. I'm surprised it was packed one day though! When we went in it was super dead, but also like 9am.

TSMM time, baby! I love that picture of Matt because his shirt is amazing and it has some of Andy's artwork in the background which is one of my favorite parts of the queue. Your shirt is very appropriate for the ride! Matt's game face obviously worked.

So basically that photo is awesome. And I know! What's even funnier is I'm wearing that t-shirt right now as I type this! Yes, his face worked, and I was not happy because I don't enjoy losing!

I can't believe you got so much done so quickly this morning! I meant to take the boat from DHS to Epcot, but we never got around to it. We missed so many things on my to do list, but looking back I think it's because there were so many of us and I was trying to please everyone.

It was kind of insane when I looked down and saw what time it was. We took the boat I think from HS to Epcot once or twice? I can't remember. It's hard when you have a large group with you though. Hopefully next trip you can get more done on your list!

I LOVE THAT PHONE CASE! You two officially have the 2 coolest phone cases ever now! I love sketch stuff like that. My favorite mugs are Mickey and Minnie sketchbook mugs. Such a cute pic of you guys in your ears.

Haha thanks! We do have some awesome cases. Matt loves the sketch stuff, too, so that's why he totally fell in love with it! And yeah, I like that picture, too.

Lunch at SS looks divine! That cookie is huge! The Nemo ride was adorable, and I surprisingly wasn't too disappointed with all the changes they've made to the Seas. I do miss the hydrolators (think that's right?) though. Peoples reactions to those always cracked me up!

It was very good! And that cookie WAS huge. I enjoy Nemo and then watching the manatees afterwards. Matt said he missed those as well and thought it was cool how they made you feel like you were moving. You two crack me up with your old school Disney talk/knowledge! I love it.

I can't wait to see all of your pins!
When you need help just call Ch Ch Ch Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers!
Please stand clear of the doors, Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas. And no, I didn't have to look at your shirt to spell that. I know it too well.

I know I might need to take closer pictures of them! And yes, I can't tell you how often we sang that song during our trip. And of course you knew it all! A TRUE DISER RIGHT THERE!

Apparently you haven't learned from the frumps that, THERE'S NO SLEEPING IN DISNEY!! Wake up, Matt you have parks to conquer!

Hahah I totally thought of the frumps while we were relaxing in our room and Matt was sleeping. They would be so disappointed... but if I didn't let him sleep I don't think he'd have made it through the rest of our day!

Hootie hoo! I love Top Chef and I love Carla!

YAY I'm glad someone else noticed the Carla love! I actually tweeted this photo at her and she gave me a little shoutout back.

Everything seems to be going your way so far. Love the Ch ch ch Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers shirt! God I miss that show....

It was going pretty darn well thus far! I love that shirt and when we saw it I told Matt he MUST buy it, stat!

Hey, breaking when you did was definitely the right choice. It's all about pacing.

Yeah it was very necessary. Our feet were hurting and I wanted to catch on my TJ while Matt napped.

Oh, and the carrot cake cookie is so good. I couldn't help but drool when I saw it.

OMG yes they are. I can't wait to have another one next trip.

You are making some amazing progress in your Disney Gauntlet! Thoroughly impressed over here!

Thank you! We were actually doing it at a great pace that didn't leave us running around with our heads cut off. We had time to shop and eat and everything! Another reason I love Disney in January!

 

[danimaroo]

First and foremost, RACHEL: you are making the rest of us look bad!

Hahaha I laughed out loud at this comment. That's my DIS BFF right there!

OMG, I TOTALLY FORGOT about writers corner?!?! I'm kicking myself. Those carrot cake cookies look amazing! Where is it again? I've seen a pic and it looks like a fake shop, right?

It's okay, just another thing to add to your list for next time!! It's on Commissary Lane I believe, and it was on our walk back from the ST area to the main hub that we decided to stop. It's definitely hidden and we had to initially ask a CM nights before where it was located. It's so cute though!

how sweet of you to blindly trade with that little boy!

Yeah he was pretty cute and I was just happy he'd asked so nicely. He picked a pin I didn't have much attachment to so I didn't really mind what I got in exchange.

I LOVE that phone case! I almost bought one (not that one, I never saw that one!) for mine, but I have a 3gs and I couldn't find one that was "just right". I wonder if they had that one for the 3gs too???

I know what you mean, it's tough to just pick one! I saw a few for the 3G/3GS model still out, but it looked like most of them had switched to the 4/4S models. Some of them were very hard to find, like Matt's, while others they had plenty of in other stores.

Seriously, you ROCK. I would think you would be running through each park to make sure you got to each park, but you guys SHOPPED?!?! You are my hero.

Hahaha, we were making good time and I think it would've just not been us if we were running around. We are just kind of laid back like that and MouseGears was calling our names!

WAIT...and you went back to the room and napped?!?!? That is crazy! I'm all over this gauntlet, I think Rey & I may have to take a trip and do this!

Haha I was sitting here thinking.. Man, if Karen had a problem with us shopping wait til she gets to the part where Matt took a nap and I updated my TJ! We had to do it, and I mean, though we did less crazy rides at Epcot, we still technically completed it and definitely were in need of a break! You guys just might have to give it a shot.

Those carrot cake cookies looked so yummy, I will definately have to try those on our next trip, even my dh said they looked good.

OMG, I HAVE to find that monorail shirt next on our next trip. I have joked around with dh several times, each time we ride that monorail, that I would love to get a recording of that to have in my minivan...LOL.

They are so good and you must give them a shot. I couldn't believe how HUGE they were though! It was a great use of the snack credit!!

Hahaha, I saw that shirt and knew I had to have it! You should definitely get it. And that would be AMAZING to have a recording of it in your car!!

Wow, you got a ton done in just an hour at HS!! I was so pleased with the January weather and crowds (except for Obama's MK Friday crowd ). That is awesome that you took the boat over to Epcot - I really did like the relaxing ride, and it keeps you in good shape for the rest of the gauntlet day! That's nice that they didn't merge you before the stairs; I've had both happen.

I know, it was so great! Outside of that Friday and maybe one or two other times, everything was extremely manageable and didn't bother us much. I love taking that ride to Epcot; it's a nice break from the craziness and like you said, gave us a break to keep us going for the rest of the day!

I was so happy we didn't merge, the line was NOT moving and we were hoping to get on it rather quickly. I think they let us through because there was no one in the FP line ahead of us at all.

My mom just recently got her first iPhone and I told her it was too bad that she hadn't gotten a case at Disney. So she got on Amazon and ordered a mickey comic strip iPhone case and loves it - she's so cool. Matt's new case looks a lot like hers - just the colors and the busy-ness.

You guys look like you're having so much fun. Lucky!

That's awesome! There are so many awesome iPhone covers that you can find outside of Disney. I posted a photo of mine in a response above. I found that off of a website that has independent artists' work on iPhones. society6.com... It's nice having a cover that you don't really see anywhere else in the parks!

We were having a blast.

WARNING: This comment is long. Oh gosh.

Haha don't even worry about it, I LOVE long comments! Rachel always leaves me long one and they make me happy!!

I love keeping FPs as souvenirs! Well not like legit souvenirs... but photo album/scrapbook type souvenirs!

Yeah exactly! I think that's my plan once I get back our PP photos, to make a fun scrapbook of everything and put out leftover FPs in there.

Oh my gosh, I can't even handle how awesome the TSMM Q is. It's the most amazing thing ever. I love Disney Imagineers so much. I think I should marry one.

It really is adorable. There's so much artistic details that went into it all! I agree, you should marry one. It just would make sense!

YOU KNOW WHAT? I just realized that Matt reminds me of this one guy who was on American Idol last year, Casey Abrams. SO funny. They look like they could be brothers.

Hahahah I think his Mom told him that once. It's so funny. It's definitely the beard and the hair, for sure!!

Yall CERTAINLY DID get a lot done! Very nice!

I will say that the carrot cake cookie looks delicious! But I have to ask, what does the cookie/cake part taste like? That may be a very stupid question but I have to ask because I don't really like carrot cake. Darn me and my not liking key ingredients to all the popular food items!

It really is good! It's pretty carrot cake-y, but firmer than normal carrot cake. Like definitely more like a pumpkin cookie, where it's kind of cake-y, if that makes sense. Honestly there's a lot of creme, too, that cuts into the taste of the carrot cake. You should make split it with someone in your family on your next trip so you can try it, and if you don't like it they can enjoy it! That's what Matt and I did with the school bread (but we both ended up loving it )..

I've never even noticed the friendship boats taking that long! I guess it's because I really enjoy the ride too! In fact, I already told my parents that we're gonna be taking one from Hollywood to Epcot (or vice versa) this summer and making a pit stop at my beloved Beach Club.

I never notice it either so it never bothers me. I always see it as an opportunity to relax and enjoy the view of all the beautiful resorts in that area! You should absolutely take the boat from HS to Epcot and visit your fav.! I think that's a sound plan!

Living with the Land with a LINE? Whaaaaaa? Hahah I've always seen it with a zero minute wait, even in the summer!

I KNOW! It was SO bizarre. I think a tour group had just gone on before us and backed things up, surprise surprise. Otherwise I cannot think of a good explanation for this odd line!

Oh my gosh the sweet and sour chicken looks good! I didn't know they served rice at Sunshine Seasons! That's the only reason I've never considered eating there because I thought they only had noodles and I'm not a big fan of Asian noodles but now... it's on the list! THANK YOU DANI!

It's pretty tasty! And yes, they totally have rice so you have the option of the rice OR noodles! It's nice they give you a choice. Glad my food photos helped you out for next time!

I HAVE THAT MONORAIL SHIRT TOO!!!! I LOVE IT.

YESSSS BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST!!

Yay for Animal Kingdom next! (Funny, that's the next park I'll be talking about in my TR too!)

Haha that is really funny that you are heading there, too, in your TR! I love AK.

Figured I would stop lurking and say hi! I'm really enjoying your TR, I was there in January as well, so it's interesting to see what you did. I want to start a TR but I haven't yet since I'm writing a Dining Report first. It looks like you and Matt had a blast celebrating your anniversary!

YAY! Thank you so much for coming out of lurkdom and saying hi! I encourage everyone to say hello at least once. Were you there the same time as us?! We LOVE going in January! I hope you do a TR, though I hear how that's hard when you're doing a dining report! I'm kind of doing it all at once I guess. We had the BEST time on our trip!

And how cute is Dug? I love him! And I have the stuffed Dug as well, I love that he talks!!

Dug is the best! He was just cute to resist, so now I make him talk to my real dogs.

Looking forward to seeing how the gauntlet challenge pans out!

I'm so excited to share more here in just a few minutes!!

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-One: "REALLY? You just made my DAY! Come get a photo with me!"
Day 5: January 22nd, 2012​

We hopped on the bus, which came immediately (seriously, was this real life?)... and had the whole thing to ourselves!

With my stunnah shades on, I was ready for more of our epic Disney Gauntlet day..

Okay so, side note. Today was a day that AK was open until 7 instead of 5. This meant that I would actually get to ride EE at night for the first time ever. We had always planned on doing AK this evening for this very reason, so we worked it into our Disney Gauntlet of course!

Upon arriving at AK, we immediately made our way back to Asia and to Expedition Everest. Except of course, we uhhh, stopped for some jalapeno cream cheese pretzels to bring along on our little dash... What? I can almost feel you judging me as you read this.. but, we needed a snack since it'd been awhile since lunch, we were eating a late dinner and.. hello! JALAPENO CREAM CHEESE PRETZELS!

So, we got to Expedition Everest and? 40 minutes. Wompwomp. We decided to grab FPs immediately, as the return time was only about 50 minutes away. As I'm getting my FP, the CM working the FP stations muttered something about a nearby woman who was annoying her, I think. I laughed and said I was sorry she had to deal with it. The girl said thanks, noticed mine and Matt's anniversary pins and told us to hold on a second... She went to a Fast Pass machine and popped out 2 extra FPs for us! Then another one accidentally popped out, but she told us we could have it anyway.

She wished us a happy anniversary, and I thanked her like 5 times for the FPs... Aaaaand made her get in a photo with me.

See guys, I am telling you, PIXIE DUST all up in our faces throughout this trip! Unbelievable.

After thanking the CM again, I finished up my pretzel, and we turned around to see that EE was now only a 20 minute wait. Score, we're fine with that! We hopped in line and it wasn't bad at all since the queue is so great. We enjoyed an excellent ride on my favorite attraction, came around the final bend after scary yeti is in your face... and then... we stopped.

WE WERE SO CLOSE TO THE EXIT! So we sat, and waited.. and waited.. and looked up and felt terrible for these people, who were waving down at us..

A CM walked past us and muttered something about "someone doing something bad".. AKA, some buttface totally stood up on the ride and caused it to stop... FAIL. WHY do people think it's a good idea to stand up?! I don't understand.

Anyway, about 15 minutes of waiting and we were moving again. Not NEARLY as bad as our Splash incident, but they still gave us EE FPs good for the whole week.

Okay, so yes, if you've been counting, we now had 7 FPs for EE, for the two of us..

We decided to take a break since our FPs still needed time, and went to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek. On our way over, we took our Stop #3 photo..

Anyway, the trek! We missed this last trip, and gosh, I am glad we decided to do it this time! SUCH a cool area to check out! The bats were awesome to watch..

As were the tigers..

But Matt and I both loved the ruins and the flags. So so cool.

Continued in next post​

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Twenty-One: "REALLY? You just made my DAY! Come get a photo with me!" CONTINUED
Day 5: January 22nd, 2012​

After a really great walkthrough, we headed back for EE and decided to ride it standby since the wait was short. Of course I felt SO COOL getting to bring this up...

While in line, I wanted to get rid of the extra FP we had and give it to someone who could use it... One girl asked me what time it was for, which was weird since it was already good to use but just "expired" (meaning it was technically after the return time), but she clearly didn't know that you can come back any time after the beginning time on the FP, because she told me nevermind, she didn't want it.

A lady overheard me and said her family needed one more and they'd gladly take it. I handed it over and she was very thankful. YAY! I love giving FPs away when I can.

The sun was beginning to set on this trip, which provided a pretty photo..

This time we took SENIOR PICTURES on our second trip! We do this all the time; randomly yell out "SENIOR PICTURE!" and then make some ridiculous pose that you see in high school senior yearbook photos. We make ourselves laugh a lot...

However because I was so busy posing, my hat literally FLEW BACK and I somehow grabbed it before it flew away. Haha, thank God I had a pony tail keeping it on my head!

We hopped on EE again with one set of our fast passes, then decided to sit and waste some time so the sun would go down a little more for our final trip. We wanted it to be darker! While sitting, we spotted a little bunny rabbit!

We finally decided to just go, even though it wasn't super dark, but because we had an ADR to make PLUS another park to go to, we just went on! EE at night is such an awesome experience though!

It was fun seeing the mountain lit up, and I'm glad this is something we did because I'd always thought EE looked like a blast to ride at night, and it was!

We headed out of AK, enjoying the park lit up on our way out...

Next up.. Dinner at my favorite restaurant, our FINAL STOP OF THE DISNEY GAUNTLET... and... a DISMEET!

Continued in next update​

 

[IheartDDuck]

Well you've definitely had some pixie dust on your side my friend. I'm amazed at what you've gotten accomplished. And how awesome that CM gave you guys FPs!

Why on earth would that girl turn down a FP? Amateur, clearly. I love giving mine away too! I like making someone else's day brighter.

 

[okw19]

I want to quote everything from your replys, but if I did I would always take up like the whole page. I just can't shut up.

I know, it's quite delightful! We have a few leftover FPs from the trip that I'll do something fun with... And yes, it really is cute but hidden. I'm surprised it was packed one day though! When we went in it was super dead, but also like 9am.

Yeah, we went at like 2 on a hot afternoon. Poor choice because I felt like we couldn't relax as much as we wanted to with so many people in there.

So basically that photo is awesome. And I know! What's even funnier is I'm wearing that t-shirt right now as I type this! Yes, his face worked, and I was not happy because I don't enjoy losing!

Yay for alien shirts! I was glad that I dominated everyone at that game.

t was very good! And that cookie WAS huge. I enjoy Nemo and then watching the manatees afterwards. Matt said he missed those as well and thought it was cool how they made you feel like you were moving. You two crack me up with your old school Disney talk/knowledge! I love it.

It was really neat. I think we could talk for hours about it and basically recreate all of 1990s WDW for you, haha.

Stunna shades and an empty bus?! Score!
You are taunting me with these pretzels again? I have to try one next time.

40 minutes? Lame. That is so awesome that you guys just keep getting pixie dusted!

WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP STANDING UP ON RIDES??? WHY???
Holy cow you guys have quite a few FPs there. I like how those are printed sideways because I'm a loser that would point something like that out and get excited about it, haha.

Bats and Tigers and Flags! Oh my!! That's not how it goes, is it?
Good pictures from the jungle trek!

Another time card? You are racking cool points up this week. My mom got one later in our week too. Yay for FP sharing! I did that a couple of times and people acted very confused.

This picture may be the best one yet! I love the senior picture idea! Glad you didn't lose your hat!

Thumper?!
EE and all of AK is SO pretty at night!

DISMEET WOO HOO WOO HOO!!!

 

[okw19]

First and foremost, RACHEL: you are making the rest of us look bad!

Karen, I just saw this.
Danielle is my Dis BFF! We talk a lot and I was down there the same week so I can't help but rant on her TR!