From 8 to 80!Seeing the Magic through a new set of eyes-Updated7/15-NEW TR LINK pg 28

[katt789]

The group of the tour departed into Adventureland, Katie pointing out the subtle changes in environment from the Hub as we went. On Keys to the Kingdom they usually do Jungle Cruise as their attraction, but since it was down for refurb, we only stopped to talk about it. The biggest thing that I remember was that when they were building it over in California they couldn’t afford to have the exotic plants actually shipped in, so they pulled up some Orange trees, and planted them upside down along the course of the ride! When guests asked them what they were they had to make up some crazy names to make it seem like everything was real. By the time they built in Florida though, they had enough money, so everything there is authentic.

Since Jungle Cruise was down, the first attraction of the tour was the Enchanted Tiki Room. You might notice, it’s one of I believe, three attractions that actually has Walt’s name in the title. The idea sprung from when Walt and his wife, Lillian were out, I believe, at a garage sale? And she discovered a little stuffed/animated bird that she loved so much that Walt wanted to create an attraction for Disney off of it.

The imaginers spent a WHOLE TON OF TIME trying to animate these birds, and after everything was done and ready to roll, Walt came in to watch the show and seemed to be enjoying it the entire way through, everyone was happy. Until it ended… Walt stood up and simply said “the birds aren’t breathing. They need to breathe.” And that was it. Yup. Complication number one, they aren’t breathing, but they’re not alive…this ended up taking a ton more thought and work until they finally got it right. Someone working on the project was talking to either Walt himself or another imagineer and the person was wearing a nice cashmere sweater that was moving with him and breathing so well and the thought was born! Thus, they created a cashmere outer shell for all the birds in the Tiki room so that they would be “breathing” and not busting open, and it would look realistic. There were also jokes about how the birds were “better dressed” than Walt. Ha1

We also did go through the attraction to experience it after Katie had told us a bunch of the trivia, which was great. It was ncie to get to do an attraction that Mom hadn’t wanted to do again, so we didn’t do, but anything Walt himself has a hand in, I have a soft spot for. Heehee.

Next we went over to Pirates of the Caribbean, where we spent some time outside of it talking about it, obviously it had originated over in DLR, and when they opened WDW, they didn’t plot it into the park. WDW ran for a year or so, and the workers noticed a ton of people were coming over from California and asking about it, and were upset that it wasn’t there. The problem was, the park was already laid out, and the train tracks were set, and there wasn’t enough space for the attraction. Well, Disney does what Disney does, and they found a way to make it work! So, when you’re on pirates, and you’re going down the drop, that’s actually you going down UNDER the train tracks and out of the “park boundary” that they make! Hence why when you exit the ride you are coming back up the escalator.

We took the time to go onto the ride, and discovered that there are many nods to chess in the queue, and that they’re all towards one of the imagineers that created the ride. Also, many of the animatronics on the ride are the same one, with a different costume, as to save both money and time when creating POTC. Katie also let us know a little tidbit that in the first “town” scene after you come down the drop, you see the pirate being pulled out of the well, right? To the left of the well is a pirate in red, with a hook in his left hand, and a sword in his right, behind him, a man in a striped shirt. These guys are a nod to Captain Hook and Smee!! Super awesome!

A question was asked about all the hair on the animatronics while we were on the ride, and Katie said that all of Disney’s animatronics all have REAL human hair on them, to create the authentic look. Where as all of the performers in Disney have synthetic hair, since it’s easier to style and keep styled in humidity and the uncontrollable Florida weather! Lol. And yes, in case you didn’t know/notice, ALL of Disney entertainment performers are wigged, or have a hair piece or head piece that covers their hair. Everyone is wigged with the exception of Prince Charming and sometimes Phillip, the male parade/show performers/dancers, and in Move It Shake It they only have a fake hair piece as well as the hats! Neat to know!

And now, Imma jump to yet a THIRD update of just reading, sorry no pictures, but this next bit, this next bit is reeeeaaallly awesome….just sayin.

 

[katt789]

Our group exited Pirates and took a little bit to answer questions and talk a bit about the attractions we’d experienced before Katie lead us over into Frontierland, and up to the gate. Yup. GATE. Things are about to get INSANE, and I’m pretty sure I was both vibrating and crying at this point, we were on our way backstage!

We all filed through the person sized little entrance in the corner of the big wooden gate that they swing open for parades that’s right next to Splash Mountain. The first thing Katie pointed out that right around the corner, and out of the sight line from ANY guest that might be watching still, is a yellow line painted on the floor. THAT is where the parade performers have to START dancing, or where they are finally allowed to be at rest if the parade ends in Frontierland. It’s also where any characters have to make sure they’re all a go and ready to rock it!

Katie lead us down a bit of a winding road, and as we approached another gate, we saw a bunch of entertainment cast members coming out for the Frontierland Hoedown thing they do every so often, and well, some of the Country Bears were looking a little human like today… By this point, I’m pretty sure you could not have made me stop smiling if you tried, it was amazing to actually get to BE backstage at Disney, and I knew it wasn’t going to be the last, that was for sure. Katie pointed out the HUGE building beside us that was the ride building for Splash Mtn, and talked about some various things with how close everything is backstage compared to onstage. She also pointed out a strip in the pavement that looked like it was made up of a bunch of different ground materials. Well, it was! It’s to help train parade float drivers so that they know what the ground feels like when they’re switching from land to land in the floats.

Then, here comes the best part, we took a trip across a road and over to the PARADE FLOAT HOUSING. I AM CRYING AND DYING AND IT WAS AMAZINGLY MAGICAL.

We saw all the Celebrate a Dream Come True floats, and all the Main Street Electrical Floats! All shut down and in order that they would need to come out for a parade kicking off in Frontierland. We found out that all the floats have different difficulty levels of driving, with the most difficult being the Train at the beginning of MSEP, and the America float at the end! Each float has an emergency stop button on the exterior of it, so that if there is something that a parade control CM sees that the driver can’t, such as a person/animal in the road, or something that can’t be moved quickly, they can push it. The driver loses all control of the float and matienence has to come and “fix” it before the float will move again.

We learnt that all the MSEP floats light’s are all checked DAILY, they turn every one of them on to examine and replace anything that might need fixing so it’s all ready to go for the evening parade. While everyone else was busy paying attention to our guide talking, not only did I want to REALLY go explore through the floats, but I was scanning EVERY INCH of that warehouse searching for anything that could be awesome and cool! I actually found a neat little schedule on the wall that stated performers had to be ready to go at 1:15pm for the 3pm parade, and ON their floats at LEAST half an hour before the parade was set to kick off. That’s an hour and fourty five minutes you’re just chillin in the parade yard before being FORKLIFTED onto your float…if you’re on a big one…lol.

With that, we left the parade area, much to my dismay, although I was still reeling by the fact that I got to see some freaking awesome stuff and actually be BACKSTAGE at DISNEY WORLD. IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING. Seriously. I am dead.

Katie lead us over through Frontierland to Liberty Square where we arrived at our lunch destination, Columbia Harbor House! When you sign in for the tour in the morning, you pick what you want for lunch later, Mom, Anne and I had all chosen salads, as we had a huge meal after the tour. Keys to the Kingdom puts you in a nice little private room upstairs where you have nameplates with a little keepsake in them marking where you’re sitting for lunch, which is already set out for you by another guide. It was nice to take a little break from the heat of the day and enjoy a meal. The little keepsake was literally, a Key, a pin, but a KEY, that had “Keys to the Kingdom” on it. It went on my pin board when I got home!

After a quick lunch, we continued on to the Haunted Mansion, again, there were tons of nods to chess both outside and inside the attraction, a nod to that same imagineer. The explanation between the difference in the exterior to HM in DLR and WDW is that DLR’s is in New Orleans Square, so it has a much more New Orleans feel to it than WDW’s does.

There are plenty of rumors of what happens “during” the ride for why it goes from all spooky and creepy to all fun, and the truth is; the two imagineers that were designing the Mansion couldn’t decide on a way to do it, after all the fighting and going back and fourth, who ever was in charge said screw it “you do half, and you do the other half” hence why the beginning is all creepy and spooky and haunted and the second half is all goofy and the haunts having fun with you!

Little tidbit: Madam Leota is actually a REAL person, she was one of the imagineers that worked for Disney, although in the crystal ball, she is voiced by the actress who voiced Lady Tremaine/Maleficient. In the end, the creepy doll saying “hurry back” has both her face AND voice! You guys probably know that there are a TON of hidden Mickeys on the ride, but the most prominent one, the plates in the ballroom, isn’t original. The cast members working in the mansion, kept moving it into a Mickey, and then the higher up’s would move it back, and this kept happening until they gave up, and the Mickey remains! Also, because WDW does not do the Nightmare Before Christmas layover like DLR does, cast members have hidden a number of Jack Skellington’s and one Sally throughout the ride! Here:

http://themeparkcanuck.com/2011/10/...-of-hidden-jacks-wdw-haunted-mansion-secrets/

Is an awesome link that describes where you can TRY to find them! After the ride we talked about how you can find Mr Toad in the cemetery, thanks to the fact that Winnie the Pooh opened where his ride once was. They claim it’s because guests couldn’t name characters from Mr Toad, but knew all the Pooh characters, but let’s be serious, Mr Toad’s ride is about him and his friends going out, getting drunk, DRIVING home and literally going to hell. Not great for a family theme park.

Our group continued on through Liberty Square back towards Crystal Palace, it was time for us to go backstage again! This time we arrived at an entrance by the first aid station, and continued down alittle bit before Katie pointed out that the wall beside us, was the Jungle Cruise. It was literally a two minute walk from the entrance to the emporium! SO COOL! We were then lead into a stairwell, and DOWN into the UTILIDOORS! We were in the TUNNELS! SUPER AWESOME. All of you probably have heard the rumour, and it’s true, MK has tunnels. The park is built on the second story, and this next fact will blow your mind, when I was reading my notes it blew my mind as I’d forgotten about it. So, Magic Kingdom is built NOT on the ground, it’s on the second level…makes it a little difficult for the plants…..THEY ARE ALL FREAKING POTTED!!!! EVERY SINGLE FREAKING TREE AND PLANT YOU SEE IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM IS SITTING IN A STUPID FREAKING POT as we are walking on the “upstairs” of the park.

#mindblown

We spent some time talking about the tunnels a little bit, how they help “hide” the show, help cast members get around, the shipping stuff back to the resorts is a million times easier. The rumor about the garbage being sucked down after it’s in the can? Yeah, that one is NOT true. Katie spent a lot of time in the utilidoors talking about how the park came to be, Walt, Roy, the Florida Project and all. I completely zoned out for most of this, I mean, I had read all this already, and all I REALLY wanted to do was go on an epic adventure through the TUUUNNEEELLLS. Plus, I was getting tired, SURPRISE. We did a little bit of a loop in the tunnel, like, we went down the stairs, went ten feet down a hall, turned a corner, and walked say, another like, forty? Feet before we came up to the staircase we were going up in. The walk would take you under a minute if you weren’t stopping to look at everything.

We went in at the first aid by Crystal Palace, and came up behind the Plaza, in the tunnels, we had walked the equivalent of walking from the bathroom back by Casey’s, all the way down to the train station, and back up to the back of the Plaza. INSANE! What else was insane was how POURING the rain was when we emerged back to the sunlight! Katie opted to take this time to answer a few more questions from all of us as the rain died down a bit, we then handed in our headsets, thanked her immensely, and then hurriedly made our way through the not so wet rain out to Main Street. On the way out, I KNOW I pulled Anne aside, as she had been asking about the picture I had with Tinkerbell in my hands, and wanted one. I got a photographer to do the magic shot with her, and SURPRISE, it was missing from our photopass account, and was deemed “un findable after an extensive search” by the photopass team. Thanks guys.

Now, in SHORT, I would HIGHLY recommend the Keys to the Kingdom tour, especially for those who would like a little bit more “backstage knowledge” of the park and it’s goings ons. I definitely want to take the 8 hour Backstage Magic Tour, and would even do the KTTK again! Also the Marceline to Magic Kingdom! Lol.

Anyways, I’ve babbled on for long enough about the greatest experience of my life, so I’ll let you folks go for now, thanks for reading!

 

[khertz]

DH and I did the KTTK tour a few years ago, and really LOVED it! It's really a must do for anyone who is not only a fan of the parks, but a fan of Walt as well. I got emotional more than once!

 

[Credit Man]

Your discription of the tour is amazing. Thanks for letting us tag along!!!

 

[Pluto0809]

I'm finally back on here and all caught up again! I hope I can stay caught up now as things have slowed down at work.

Mom and I loved the KTTK tour when we did it in February! It was very neat hearing some of the different facts that your guide told you compared to what we heard. And of course you know that we got to see rehearsals for the new parade when we were back stage!

It was nice that your guide let you take some pictures at the beginning of your tour. Our guide told us no photos from the very beginning so I have zero from our tour.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hmm, you went into and through the Tiki Room? Interesting. We never did.

Plus we did the Jungle Cruise and not Pirates and that tid-bit about Hook and Smee is actually something I have always wondered about. Glad to have it confirmed! I also totally would have asked about George, lol

Isn't backstage cool?????? I just wanted to be let loose to explore so bad! How odd are we. All those amazing things and rides and shows in MK, and we want to look at tunnels and junk.

I still miss Mr. Toad. I actually consider that my first "thrill ride", lol.

Before I forget to ask, did Katie do the whole constant "question the group" thing when doing the tour? Or did she just basically do it more in a lecture format? I'd prefer the lecture format.

Great review and recap Katt. You can't apologize for lack of photos since you aren't allowed (at least not backstage). And seriously, how hard is it not to haul out the camera in some of those places just on instinct alone. I would never break those rules, but I came so close on occasion just out of pure habit.

Loved that tour and I really want to do the Marceline Tour mostly because of the backstage HM stuff. Like I NEED to see that!!!!!

 

[katt789]

DH and I did the KTTK tour a few years ago, and really LOVED it! It's really a must do for anyone who is not only a fan of the parks, but a fan of Walt as well. I got emotional more than once!

It really is an amazing tour! There are definitely other friends I would love to do it again with. I know Mom & Anne enjoyed it, but they definitely weren't the emotional ones on this tour! Lol

Your discription of the tour is amazing. Thanks for letting us tag along!!!

Thank you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I did my best to put as much detailing and facts into it as I could, I didn't do the notes til well after we got home that night, but I managed to remember more than I could've! Lol

 

[katt789]

I'm finally back on here and all caught up again! I hope I can stay caught up now as things have slowed down at work.

Mom and I loved the KTTK tour when we did it in February! It was very neat hearing some of the different facts that your guide told you compared to what we heard. And of course you know that we got to see rehearsals for the new parade when we were back stage!

It was nice that your guide let you take some pictures at the beginning of your tour. Our guide told us no photos from the very beginning so I have zero from our tour.

Haha awesome!!

Glad you guys loved it! I still can't believe I didn't think to book one for the weeks before FoF opened just to see the floats! Lol It must have been awesome!!

Weird! Katie didn't even mention pictures until we were headed backstage!

Hmm, you went into and through the Tiki Room? Interesting. We never did.

Plus we did the Jungle Cruise and not Pirates and that tid-bit about Hook and Smee is actually something I have always wondered about. Glad to have it confirmed! I also totally would have asked about George, lol

Isn't backstage cool?????? I just wanted to be let loose to explore so bad! How odd are we. All those amazing things and rides and shows in MK, and we want to look at tunnels and junk.

I still miss Mr. Toad. I actually consider that my first "thrill ride", lol.

Before I forget to ask, did Katie do the whole constant "question the group" thing when doing the tour? Or did she just basically do it more in a lecture format? I'd prefer the lecture format.

Great review and recap Katt. You can't apologize for lack of photos since you aren't allowed (at least not backstage). And seriously, how hard is it not to haul out the camera in some of those places just on instinct alone. I would never break those rules, but I came so close on occasion just out of pure habit.

Loved that tour and I really want to do the Marceline Tour mostly because of the backstage HM stuff. Like I NEED to see that!!!!!

I know we didn't do the main rides, as JC was what we usually did, but it was closed for refurb that week! Awe man!! See, there were totally things I wanted to ask about, but completely forgot, so that would totally be one of them!!

Yup…I wanted to run loose so badly, there were so many other places to explore, the tunnels were neat, but I definitely would've stayed in the parade float area for ages!

She did some questioning, it's been so long I can't really even remember, it was the right balance o both though!!

Haha, thank you so much! I had a blast on this tour and was so happy I was able to do it, and on our last day, it was great to be able to see all that stuff and learn so much. I really do hope to do more tours in the future, especially the 8 hr one!! AND of course the Marceline one, that's the kinda stuff I love!! Lol

 

[pirateprincess1976]

KTTK sounds so cool. I definitely want to take it some day. Those are some cool facts. I'm going to have to pay attention on POTC and look for the pirates that pay homage to Hook and Smee, that's pretty neat. I've been trying for years to find the Jacks and Sally in the Haunted Mansion, some day I'll notice them! I do love the hidden Donald, I think it's one of my favorites.

 

[Miss Potts]

The tour sounds so awesome! I really want to do the KTTK tour but I never want to give up the time to do it!! Decisions decisions!

Too bad the magic shot didn't work out!

 

[katt789]

KTTK sounds so cool. I definitely want to take it some day. Those are some cool facts. I'm going to have to pay attention on POTC and look for the pirates that pay homage to Hook and Smee, that's pretty neat. I've been trying for years to find the Jacks and Sally in the Haunted Mansion, some day I'll notice them! I do love the hidden Donald, I think it's one of my favorites.

It was amazing!! There was so much to learn, I know I didn't get it al into the tr, but hey, I can't remember everything! Lol

Definitely keep an eye out for them!! I'm going to have to go back into that link and see if I can remember them next time I'm down there lol!

The tour sounds so awesome! I really want to do the KTTK tour but I never want to give up the time to do it!! Decisions decisions!

Too bad the magic shot didn't work out!

Ahaha, that is totally fair! I booked the extra time to make sure I could do it this trip! I found that we were done by 2 so there was still more than enough time to park hop, and then park hop again and still accomplish enough at the end of the trip!!

 

[katt789]

Woooooot!

That was just a bit of excitement over the fact that we had just been backstage at the Magic Kingdom, more than once, and things were amazing and wonderful and awesome with us! Mom, Anne and I quickly jumped on the monorail to avoid the rain, and arrived over in Epcot shortly. It was still raining a little bit over there but definitely not as bad, since we had more than enough time, and to get out of the rain, we made a stop in the Art of Disney store on the way in!



I REALLY want that, it’s Dumbo, flying over all of New Fantasyland, and it is perfect and adorable.



Also that simply because you never see any Robin Hood in the parks and it’s such an incredible and classic movie! I wanted to buy everything in the store, luckily, Mom was able to restrain me, I mean, I’m not made of money, lol! Our adventure continued through Epcot and over to Canada, we still had enough time before our lunch ADR so we headed into the circle vision movie, starring Martin Short! Lol. The movie really is gorgeous and shows off a lot of Canada areas that people don’t really know about, and the circle vision is a really cool idea. However, this whole circle vision thing, it doesn’t sit well with me! I’m glad I got to half watch it a few trips ago, because this time, it was INSTANT dizzy and naseau, I took the advantage to sit down and lean against one of the pools pretty much right away. A nice little break for me!

The movie ended, and rather than venture out in the rain, Mom, Anne and I headed into Le Cellier to check in!! Originally when I had been booking dining, I was going to add in a nice brunch for Anne and Mom to do alone, and I’d do something else, then we’d do Le Cellier for lunch another day, but then I discovered it was now two dining credits. WHOOPS. Oh well, I love that food enough that that was totally acceptable!

We checked in and were told to wait just a little bit for our table to be ready, and it wasn’t long, which was nice as we had checked in early! During our wait, I witnessed a woman walk up, look at a menu, and when she was told it would only be a twenty minute wait, she turned away. SERIOUSLY?!?! USUALLY YOU CAN’T GET IN MONTHS AHEAD, AND YOU’RE SKIPPING THIS DELCIOUS FOOD?!!?

Our name was soon called and we were lead down into the restaurant to our table, which was “located” in Saskatchewan…neat! Lol. Our server was relatively new to the restaurant/Disney, but she was still super great, and got our bread to the table right away!





If someone could get me a piece of that pretzel bread right now that’d be GREAT! I started out with a cup of the “Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup” made with Moosehead beer and smoked bacon! And also ordered a “Blueberry Tea alcoholic drink….the server came back with a martini. Apparently the bartender didn’t know how to make it…It’s half ounce of GM, half ounce of Amaretto with a pot of Earl Grey tea! The server did quickly get it corrected for me though, so that’s good!





Our server did bring around another basket of bread for us full of just the pretzel bread after dropping off the soup, which of course, was amazing. I was pretty much just using the soup as a dipping sauce, the BEST WAY. Guys, this soup, and bread, they are incredibly delicious, so salty, but it’s the right amount of salt, so creamy, but nothing crazy, and TOGETHER they are BEYOND FANTASTIC!

For our entrée’s, Anne and I both got the Signautre Mushroom Filet Mignon, a “AAA Canadian Beef Tenderloin, Wild Mushroom Risotto, Pickled Pearl Onions, White Truffle-Butter Sauce” however, I subbed out the risotto for some green beans!





Those pictures DO NOT do it justice, at all, this thing is the most gorgeous filet you will EVER see. Mom decided to break the trend and go with the “Peppercorn-crusted Sirloin” Yukon Potato Rösti, Cipollini Onions, Roasted Red Pepper, Arugula, and Steak au Poivre Sauce.



Mom loves all thing peppercorn, if there’s an option for peppercorn sauce on her steak, she’ll take it, so obviously she had to try this. She said it was very good, and she ate most, if not all of it, so I take that as a good sign and would recommend it to everyone. Now, the Filet’s, OF COURSE, were absolutely amazing, cooked to the point of perfection, nice and tender, juicy and all around fantastic meal. The beans on my plate were a little bit on the crunchy side for me, but they were still good! I ended up only eating half of it after filling up on bread and soup, but got it, and the extra pretzel breads all packed up to go for later! We still had dessert to eat! I went with the ever classic 6 year old choice:



CHOCALTE MOOOOOOOSE



Mom had the Crème Brulee, I can’t remember if it was the Maple one or not, but judging by the fact that we were in “Canada” Imma guess yes. The mousse is my favorite as it’s a super light dessert, not too creamy, and not too chocolatey, a great way to finish off such a heavy meal! Mom really enjoyed her crème brulee as well, and all was great with the world! I asked for a bag for my to go box, and wrapped everything up with the hope it wouldn’t leak all over my bag!

Cost:
$9.00 Cheddar Cheese Soup

$44.00 Mushroom Filet x2
$40.00 Peppercorn Steak
$8.00 Crème Brulee
$8.00 Mousse

Total: $153.00 plus booze

I have no idea what drink costs were, though Mom and Anne did have a glass of wine each, so add that all onto the total, and we only paid for the drinks and the SOUP! Worth it, of course!!

Food: 5/5
-Tons of choices, both involving steak choices and other not so meaty dishes
-Appitizers are great and amazing
-Cheddar cheese soup is fantastic and amazing and there is nothing that can compare to anything else
-Same with the filets! I do adore that you can sub out the risotto for something else as I’m just not the biggest fan of it, or the creamy-ness
-Chocolate mousse is a realy delicious and light way to end off the meal, and I mean, it’s a freaking adorable moose too! BONUS!

Service: 4/5
-Server was super nice and friendly, although because she was new, she didn’t have a whack load of product knowledge so she had to ask other people about questions we had, which is fine, I’m sure she’s great now!
-Staff is all super friendly
-Food and drinks all came out quickly, she brought us extra pretzel bread, and made sure my drink got fixed

Ambiance 4/5
-It’s dark, I know I’ve said it before, but it’s a dark place down there, but whatevers, the décor in there doesn’t do much for me, but it doesn’t’ take away from the experience either, so you know, I’m neutral.

Overall 5/5
-I highly recommend Le Cellier for everything, especially the meals, it’s all amazing and great
-I WOULD however if you were there during the Food and Wine festival, just get the filet and soup from the booth instead of using two credits, or paying full price for the meals as they are pretty pricey
NOM. That is all.

 

[katt789]

Where I had last left off Mom, Anne and I were headed back to the Magic Kingdom, why, because you can’t end a trip and not be at Magic Kingodom if you’re me (or at least, I need to say my goodbyes to it before the last day). That, and it had been told that a very exciting thing was opening today, and there was no way I was missing being in there on opening day!





PRINCESS FAIRYTALE HALL!!!!

Which, as you can see from above, I was very excited that it would NOT be “princess roulette” like they had at Disneyland. It will ALWAYS be Rapunzel, and ALWAYS Cinderella, and a princess friend, though the ones posted above are 90% of the times the ones you find, but that’s a story for another trip report! Mom was a bit excited as on the KTTK tour (? I think?) they had talked about it a bit and made it sound like you could find someone exciting inside (ie; Mulan, who might appear randomly), but not today Mom!

Since we’d seen so many princesses already this past week I chose my favorite of the four, and we joined Rapunzel & Snow White’s line!





The queue starts outside as per usual, and curves around a couple of times and then curves twice once you’re in the foyer, and then it’s a straight line down the hall into the princess rooms!











I was honestly BLOWN away with the details, the themeing, and the portraits in the hall, it was amazing, FAR SUPERIOR to their prior set up in Town Hall, and so far it looked way better than the old Toon Town greeting set up!







I particularly liked the detailing within the portratis of Tiana having Ray on her finger, and Snow White actually looking like she was a good foot shorter than everyone else (cause like, she’s 14 or something like that) and Rapunzel even had barefeet, and a different (and gorgeous) dress on in hers!









Cindrella doesn’t have a portrait up on the wall ,but you know, her castle is kinda the centerpiece of the park, bahaha! She also lovingly put her glass slipper on display for everyone to see!





And one without flash!



I did take a note on this day that the line “moved much more efficiently and quicker” but since taking a few more trips down, I don’t believe that’s true. The line doesn’t curve as much as the TST one did, so you don’t FEEL like you’re moving as much as you did in TST. The lines sometimes are super quick, but I still recommend fp’ing it if you can!

We did quickly make our way to the front of the line in under fourty minutes, which by my notes, is probably what it was posted, and since I WAS SO INTO THE HALL, and took so many pictures, I’ll have to continue this! Bahah!

 

[katt789]

As our turn approached, we were let into the actual “princess room” and it was looking like we were the last ones in that set! Mom and Anne opted out of getting pictures, they’d seen enough royalty this week. Mom did even mention in line that they probably should’ve just offered tours the day before officially opening, as I wanted to see the hall, but didn’t really care for the meet and greets again, bahaha!

The interior of the rooms is set up gorgeously, very regal, and of course, with lots of nods to Snow as her ride was removed to put up the Fairytale Hall! Rapunzel was up first!







She was suuuuper spunky and adorable and cute, and just so in character. I know we talked about Pascal, and that he liked to hide in the curtains in the new hall, and he really liked it there. Punzie was super chatty and just plain awesome, a very great first interaction for the PFH! She was sure to have me pose like the blondie’s we are for the pictures too!







And she did the best thing, initiated the hug! Bahahaha! I know it’s more of a kid thing, but it’s just the best to get hugs, especially from princesses, and when they’re the ones that initiate them, it just adds to the magic!



Our group moved on over to Snow White who was being the perfect princess while she waited for us!



Like, just STAHP, how adorable is she?!











Snow was also super chatty and enthusiastic and just plain perfect to end off with! I also noted that she was taller than me…again…this never seem to happen, but twice on one trip! Bahaha!







P.S. I don’t know if I mentioned, but I was Disneybounding as Lottie from Princess & the Frog (aka my one true love and spirit animal!!) today! No one really gets it, but I also skipped Tiana & Naveen that day lol!

Mom, Anne and I slowly made our way out of the room, they were still absorbing in all the details, which I kinda felt bad about. We were CLEARLY the last people of these girl’s set, as there was no one else in the room, or coming in. However it was BEYOND amazing to see that both of them stayed completely in character, movement, voice, everything, it was PERFECT!! Rapunzel specifically was still playing hide & go seek with Pascal with the help of her attendant!

 

[katt789]

Since doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour that morning, Mom had been talking about riding the Carousel of Progress, as we hadn’t yet, and our guide spoke very highly of it! She really liked it and loved that it was an original Disney thing. So, that was where we headed next!

No pictures, but I do have our thoughts on it! Lol. I honestly enjoyed it, I thought it was cute, and something fun to do on a slower day, and honestly, a lovely break from the heat! Mom, well, she was just in it for the sitting, she really didn’t enjoy it and was wondering why our guide had recommended it so highly. Anne really enjoyed it, I think she was in a better age range for the show and really enjoyed some of the things that we got to see change & come to life as she’d had those changes growing up.

Upon exiting back into the land of Tomorrow, we noticed a dance party going on, and Mom saw STITCH! We hadn’t seen him yet, and she loves him, so she at least attempted to dance with him a bit!








Sadly he was much more involved with the kids than Timon had been the previous year (for that super awesome and fun story; check out this: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=47145943&postcount=168)

#shamelessplug

BAHA! But, that’s okay.





I tried to urge Mom to dance some more, but she was okay with leaving the dance party, the kids were having fun with Stitch! The “secret” pathway from Tomorrowland over to Storybook Circus was our next target, and we slowly made our way over and browsed through some stuff there, and I decided to get a Mickey Head Cake Pop, as I’d thoroughly enjoyed one in May…well…the difference between the chocolate and the red velvet is VERY APPARENT. The icing on the outside was rock hard and the inside was not too great today #sadface.

We then spent quite a bit of time just well, killing time in New Fantasyland, and I realized I HAD FORGOTTEN TO GE T A PICTURE IN GASTON’S CHAIR WHILE DISNEYBOUNDING AS GASTON. It was seriously a sad sad day!





The sad day was about to be made one heck of a lot better, as it was time for Wishes, and, per Shelly’s advice, we were watching them from over in New Fantasyland, near Be Our Guest.





It’s SO PRETTY AT NIIIIGGGHHHTTTT





Like, seriously guys, I CANNOT GET OVER HOW BEAUTIFUL MY HOME IS! Seriously, it’s insane. The fireworks began, and well, it was probably the GREATEST Wishes experience I have had to date. Sure, my inner child coming out during Hallowishes the previous night was fantastic, and the tears I’ve shed with Paige had been amazing. But nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING compares to the view and show you get when you’re standing right near BOG.

I’m talking, HUGE fireworks going off right above Beast’s castle, you still see Tinkerbell fly, and you do end up spinning around quite a bit to catch the whole show, but it is just as amazing if not even ten times more watching from back there. A few minutes in I ended up face-timing Paige as I knew she needed to see it.





IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE. Just thinking about that evening and how we got to end off our last day at Disney/night at Magic Kingdom was incredible. I HIGHLY suggest watching Wishes from back in the BOG area, (unless you have super small/sensitive kids, as the really big fireworks that go off behind Beast’s castle are INSANELY loud)

By the end of the show, Paige and I were both in tears, naturally, and I told her I’d face time her again for Celebrate the Magic in a little bit, which is where Mom, Anne and I headed to next.

Now, I have no pictures from the remainder of the night, but just some stories, and of course, closing thoughts for the night (even though there are still a few more updates to come!), so I’m definitely finishing off.

We got seats, yes, SEATS, right in front of the castle for Celebrate the Magic, and as the show began, I face timed Paige again. Well, ladies and gents, it was super amazing. I always have loved this show, the soundtrack, the projections, everything together is just so fantastic (AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE LET IT GO SEGMENT #DEAD).

Being super close to the castle was incredible because we could actually SEE everything, and I noticed that in the Tangled section, the first two lanterns actually come from Rapunzel’s parents! And the final two that erupt into fireworks are actually her and Eugene, BEYOND ADORABLE! Mom even commented “did we see this show already?” because she seriously couldn’t see that much of it from where we were the other day. WHOOPS. To comment on the villains segment they had added in for Halloween time, I didn’t particularly like it. I felt like they just reused Fantasmic stuff and threw some projections up there, it really wasn’t much.

Welp, the lanterns got me teary-eyed, and I made it all the way through the show to right near the end, when all is right and magical with the world and I literally DIE the moment Walt pops up on that castle and says the oh so famous words “It was all started by a mouse”

Frick…I can’t type through my TEARS RIGHT NOW.

#butseriously

Walt has always been a strong love of mine in the Disney “world” I mean, the man freaking CREATED this stuff that we get to experience and walk through and just UGH. And to be seeing him up there, on a castle he never got to actually see completed, in a park that has grown so much and so wonderfully, it’s just so much. Not to mention on our last day, and on the day that we did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. Walt was all about dreams, wishes, everything coming true, he accomplished all of this (with the help of Roy, let’s not forget!) his dreams came true, and it’s just insane.

I don’t want to babble on anymore, and I know I’ll end up repeating myself, so, all in all, it’s pretty obvious that I was actually crying at the end of this showing. And through the phone, so was Paige. This was the moment that Mom turned to me when the lights came up and went:

“ARE YOU CRYING?! IS PAIGE CRYING?!” Pointed it out to Anne and then said something like “oh you girls”

After all, she had witnessed Paige’s arrival to Disney, she knew about the tears, just hadn’t really seen it this trip yet, lol.

The park wasn’t officially closed when the show finished, so I wiped my tears, told Paige I’d see her soon, and we took some time to browse through all the shops on Main Street, I had a very important thing to buy!

That’s after I got it home, BUT, it was very very clear that I needed it. I had my eye on it from May onward, and it wasn’t that expensive! If I remember correctly it was priced at $150, which I clearly had no problem paying for it! I did realize I didn’t have enough room in my carry on, and there was no way in heck it was going in my checked bag, so I paid to have it shipped home, which was an extra $100 (though I don’t think it’d be that pricey for shipping within the US).

After buying it, I met up with Anne and Mom again, and it was that time of the trip again. It was the time, where it didn’t matter how cold it was, how tired you were, or how badly you never wanted to see another staircase in your life, you were going up that staircase. I honestly think Mom and Anne were just happy to see chairs up there!

Naturally, we were up at the top of the train station, and it was time to say good bye to the Magic Kingdom. I took a quick instagram video, and took a LONG while just sitting there absorbing it all. It really was a painful good bye this time. People always ask me if the “magic disappears” going so often, but I honestly feel like it gets harder and harder to leave every time, to know that I have to go back to the cold, the job that’s tedious, the place that I don’t feel right at, it just doesn’t work for me.

This trip had so many incredible moments that I was so insanely happy to be able to share with my Mom, and to have gotten to explore with Anne. Bringing a first timer is always so much fun and magical, but it was even more amazing when that first timer is 80 years young and really gets into everything.

The KTTK tour really made an impact on me. I knew a lot of the trivia that we had learnt on it, but to hear someone else talk so passionately about Disney, Walt and especially Roy, was so magical, and I’m so glad I was blessed enough to get to hear it. And like, guys, I got to go BACK FREAKING STAGE in the MAGIC KINGDOM. I know it won’t be the last time, it’s going to happen again, I know it. It needs to.

I think the big picture is that that burning desire and NEED to be down working for the Mouse is just growing stronger every single freaking day. I can only wish and dream so hard, I need to pull myself together and WORK my butt off so that I’m READY for the auditions. I was beginning to lose hope, especially when it came to “face” auditions (aka princesses, fairies, alice, etc), I said I wouldn’t fly to one anymore, and I skipped the Anna/Elsa one that took place on the first day of this trip. BUT (spoiler alert) when we went to the face audition “just because we were down there” in Dec, Jen, the casting director, actually stopped to look at me during the type out. She looked from me, to the Ipad we’d signed in on, over to the height list, and back to me quite a few times. It may not seem like a big thing, especially since we did all get cut first round again, BUT, it really isn’t, having someone actually stop and look at me for something like that was just the little glimmer of hope that I really needed right then. AND second spoiler alert from when I’m posting this, Steven & I were at a CP/Full time audition a few weeks ago, and again, different casting director, but he took a pretty solid look at me while we were dancing, so there is HOPE. They also only kept people two inches taller, or shorter…clearly they need no chipmunks right now…but Steven is in the character pool!!

OFF TOPIC, BUT, tidbit of my current life (I am writing this Jan 29th though, so who knows when it’ll get posted)

That night, standing there, watching all the families and friends exit the park, the Main Street music playing softly in the background, the castle glimmering in the night, I’d never felt more at home, or more at peace. Despite the tears I was holding back (and totally am right now) I couldn’t have been happier.

That’s where I think I’ll end that rant.

Finally, Mom and Anne dragged me away from the train station, and we made our way back to Port Orleans where we stopped quickly to pick up some packages, I bought a new piece of luggage after my fiasco the night before we left, I needed a new one, and we headed up to the room. I typed up all my notes for the day, and nommed on some leftover pretzel bread, that yes, I had been carrying around since lunch, bahah! I threw the half of the filet in the fridge, but ended up leaving it there the next day. I didn’t want it to go bad not being refrigerated, and we had breakfast booked, so it was a sad day that I didn’t get to finish it!

#sadface

Anne also not so sneakily “hid” a present under my pillow while I was typing up stuff (as in, while I was sitting there she RAN up to the bed, threw back my pillow, threw something under it and then laughed as she ran off, bahaha) it was a MONRAIL PEN (which sadly has broken since then) and a Princess Postcard with a lovely and fantastic thank you note written on it. SO CUTE! And not to forget, she had also gotten my Duffy when we were at Epcot!

Ups Of the Day
-Keys to the Kingdom Tour, Katie being great guide, awesome lots of information!
-BACKSTAAAAAGGGEEEEE
-Delicious food at Le Cellier, and just all around!
-Wishes from New Fantasyland, it was just such an emotional experience
-The view and goodbye from the train station

downs: -It was our last day
-So much walking, especially on the tour
-Sore feet from all the walking

FOTD: Le Cellier Filet Mignon & Peppercorn Steak

Well, stay tuned folks, ONE MORE UPDATE

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Omg you are such a good TR updater. I am beyond a slacker!

All of your costumes looked AMAZING for MNSSHP!

Ahh Tink and Terence sound fantastic! I'm so glad Anne got so into being Cruella! Chris and I were both talking about how cute it was that both of them were so into the party and dressing up!

We were so happy to watch the parade with you guys! I had almost forgotten how annoying spots for the parade were! We had been saving more room and people literally just started cramming in! Oh yeah, and that whole tape thing was totally weird but we made it work!

Yay for your mom remembering to get a picture!

You guys were smart to head out when you did! We stayed to do more things and I really regretted having to get up SO EARLY the next morning!

The KTTK tour sounds so so so amazing. I need to do that one day! Thanks for sharing so many details of it with us! I love the Walt story about the Enchanted Tiki Room and the cashmere sweaters! He was so detail-oriented, I love it!

Oh gosh I can't believe you got a picture of us coming out of breakfast! Crazy good timing on your part!

Thanks for sharing all the details of PFT hall! I made the mistake of FP+ing it which meant we didn't get to see all the queue details! I really was impressed with the details though! Your mom's idea for a tour would've been a cool thing for them to do!

Also, thanks for sharing all your audition stories with us! I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and I really do believe that things will happen for you at the right time! I'm so excited for the day we go to WDW and find you performing!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, I remember when that Circle Vision concept was so new and unique. I'm so glad they changed the actual movie to include Marty. He just so wonderfully represents this country.

Ahh love getting a CM for something when they're new. Some may look at it an an annoyance, but I just can't help but think, you're starting on an amazing journey. (You'll know what that's like soon).

Oh wow, I didn't know you got to the Fairytale Hall on opening day!!! That is very cool. Considering their popularity, it's nice they have such a good home. Hard to believe this was once Snow's Scary Adventure.

Yes, character hugs rule!!!

I'm one that does enjoy Carousel of Progress. I do wonder if I would feel the same way had I not grown up with it. Do I genuinely like it, or do I just feel nostalgic for it? No idea.

You know, I'm always fascinated that the dance parties aren't as crazy wall to wall crowded as you'd expect.

THAT is on my list now... to watch Wishes from behind. I absolutely should have done that on my birthday. It's so hard to pull away from Main Street (especially during the lower Wishes count party season), but less crowds and still magical... this needs to happen.

 

[katt789]

Omg you are such a good TR updater. I am beyond a slacker!

All of your costumes looked AMAZING for MNSSHP!

Ahh Tink and Terence sound fantastic! I'm so glad Anne got so into being Cruella! Chris and I were both talking about how cute it was that both of them were so into the party and dressing up!

We were so happy to watch the parade with you guys! I had almost forgotten how annoying spots for the parade were! We had been saving more room and people literally just started cramming in! Oh yeah, and that whole tape thing was totally weird but we made it work!

Yay for your mom remembering to get a picture!

You guys were smart to head out when you did! We stayed to do more things and I really regretted having to get up SO EARLY the next morning!

The KTTK tour sounds so so so amazing. I need to do that one day! Thanks for sharing so many details of it with us! I love the Walt story about the Enchanted Tiki Room and the cashmere sweaters! He was so detail-oriented, I love it!

Oh gosh I can't believe you got a picture of us coming out of breakfast! Crazy good timing on your part!

Thanks for sharing all the details of PFT hall! I made the mistake of FP+ing it which meant we didn't get to see all the queue details! I really was impressed with the details though! Your mom's idea for a tour would've been a cool thing for them to do!

Also, thanks for sharing all your audition stories with us! I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and I really do believe that things will happen for you at the right time! I'm so excited for the day we go to WDW and find you performing!

Ahahaha, its because I really have just stopped caring for bit there, and really wanted to get a move on the Dec one! Baha!

Thank you!! It was such a fun evening, and I'm super glad that we got to meet up with you guys for a bit! UGH, I adored that the two of them got so into it! I mean, I knew that Mom would from the previous year, but to see them both so into it and loving every moment, it really was a fantastic way to contribute to the end of the trip and really convince me that the magic was there!

Oh my god that was seriously a gong show, I don't even know what was going on! AND YES! UGH, Thank goodness the one who doesn't disboard remembered to grab a picture!!

Ahahahaha, it was still a tiring morning the next one, but coffee and pixie dust certainly helped! Ha! I'm a creeper! Definitely do the KTTK tour, it was absolutely incredible, I would totally do it again!

Yeah, it would've been nice to just do a tour, but I'm glad we got some meet and greets in too! I do wish the fp queue was a little bit more themed too! Then agian, I've only seen an actual line up in there on valentines day (when the princes were out) and we got in the back door multiple times that day so it didn't really matter

Thank you!! The amount of support I get from ya'll on here is truly amazing and I can't wait until I can help make magic during your trips!!!

 

[katt789]

Wow, I remember when that Circle Vision concept was so new and unique. I'm so glad they changed the actual movie to include Marty. He just so wonderfully represents this country.

Ahh love getting a CM for something when they're new. Some may look at it an an annoyance, but I just can't help but think, you're starting on an amazing journey. (You'll know what that's like soon).

Oh wow, I didn't know you got to the Fairytale Hall on opening day!!! That is very cool. Considering their popularity, it's nice they have such a good home. Hard to believe this was once Snow's Scary Adventure.

Yes, character hugs rule!!!

I'm one that does enjoy Carousel of Progress. I do wonder if I would feel the same way had I not grown up with it. Do I genuinely like it, or do I just feel nostalgic for it? No idea.

You know, I'm always fascinated that the dance parties aren't as crazy wall to wall crowded as you'd expect.

THAT is on my list now... to watch Wishes from behind. I absolutely should have done that on my birthday. It's so hard to pull away from Main Street (especially during the lower Wishes count party season), but less crowds and still magical... this needs to happen.

Hahaha, it is a really awesome movie!!

Haha, I sure hope so!! I really do hope that this is the year, I don't want to wait much longer, and I REALLY don't want to go through another winter….ugh..lol

I don't think I knew until I was actually down on the trip, and FREAKED over it, Mom didn't really get it, but she went along with it anyways lol!

THEY ARE THE BEST! I honestly love it, I mean, I'm a huggy person most days, and I'm not going to turn down a hug from a princess…or prince... I remember in Jan when I went for Frozen auditions I got hugs from literally every character I saw and was just thrilled about it. I mean, they get paid to hug kids, and that's a normal thing, but I just appreciate it so much when the characters see the "kids of every age" thing. It makes me know that they actually care about and appreciate their jobs!

Lol that's fair!! I liked it, and Steven enjoys it, I'm sure it's one of those nerdy Disney things, I'm sure Jenna won't get it, but hey, that's fine! Lol.

YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO IT WAS MAGICAL AND AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND THERES NO ONE AROUND AND I LOVE IT. Seriously, in my dream world, my dream wedding involves getting married in the courtyard behind the castle, having everyone getting a 1 day park hopper pass, play all day, and then do BOG for the reception, and watching Wishes from back there… lol

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh man! You are almost wrapping this one up here. I was glad to see you note that you will start your December TR soon. I have not started one and don't want it to be lame since I may be forgetting some details since I didn't take great notes.

Ok, I have a lot of catching up to do here so going wayyy back...

Uhhhh seriously, you looked better than Tink at the MNSSHP. You looked awesome! What great interactions with Terrance and Tink!. Anne and your mom's costumes were awesome too. Your mom made her shoes? What were they made out of? You guys are very creative!

I enjoyed your trip video and the interaction with Rapunzel and Flynn.

That was cool that the park guests at the party interacted with each other and posed for photos with each other. That's perfect.

Well, now I've seen a first. Thanks for handing off your camera to get a glimpse inside the men's room at the Tangled restroom area. Why do they get frying pans and we get nothing? Wait, I suppose we get Rapunzel's paint supplies and hand mirror.

That was cool that you were able to meet Dani!

Great job with the details for the KTTK tour! I compared notes and it was pretty much the same spiel. I'm almost at that day in my August TR.

I ADORE Le Cellier's pretzel bread and soup. I haven't had the filet in a couple trips since now they serve the larger dinner size one and like you, I have a hard time finishing that. I'm glad that LC is a consistently great restaurant. I wonder if it's that Canadian charm?

Ok, I met my goal of successfully catching up here.