Hijinks & Shenanigans but not much Mayhem@The Dark Side+Disney:Link to DL/Hawaii TR

[natebenma]

Dee, I didn't remember that you had never seen Wishes from inside the park. I am anxious to hear how ya'll liked the dessert party. We went this year but it's late in our trip so I won't get to our review for quite some time.

Despite the rain, you were able to knock out some great attractions! The Peoplemover and Carousel of Progress are our "go to"s when it's raining or super hot.

I know, isn't that a surprising little factoid? I should be able to get the dessert party update done sometime this weekend.

The Peoplemover is always our go-to, but we had already done it back to back and that was enough. It was just way too wet to venture very far.

Yum, CL offerings look yummy.
I know this isn't the first time I've read it, but I'm still so shocked that you had never seen Wishes!
You guys got a lot of attractions done despite the rain!
Aww I kind of like the Carousel of Progress (does that mean I need help??? )
I'm wishing it will stop raining for you guys!

I know, way overdue on Wishes!

I've seen Illuminations about a gazillion times, though, so does that make up for it???

We did ok in the rain, but I'm bummed we didn't get a chance to do Big Thunder that night.

No, I think judging by the responses here about CoP, I am the one who needs help!

Yay! This is where our trip reports overlap now cause that was our last day on our trip as well. It was a pretty crappy raining evening but I was just glad that we got to pack in as much as we could before the skies opened up!
Let's see right around the time you were going to check in to the dessert party, we were in Mickey's Philharmagic

It was a pretty lousy night weather-wise! Kept waiting for the heavy rain to let up, but it just kept getting worse!

Philharmagic is an excellent place to dodge the rain! Unfortunately, it was just a little too far for us to travel.

Yup - that was us. I found the ingredients on line, but when we actually put said ingredients together it didn't quite taste right. But it wasn't really specific about the dark and light rum brands, so perhaps it was a brand thing. We did get to enjoy a TK last month at OKW and it was as good as ever!

I have the recipe saved in my files- I'll have to try it sometime.

Hey, not a bad dinner really.

Um... so... ummmmm... WHAT??!!!!! You'd never seen Wishes???????? I had no idea. How is that possible????? Shhhh, I'll let you in on a little known secret... I kinda like Wishes.

Oh lord, whoever thought metal rings in what is essentially an echo chamber needs to walk the plank.

Don't worry Dee, I think the Buzz ride photo titles are just random so you probably did have the high score.

I think I read somewhere that you like Wishes! In fact, I think that's the reason I finally made it- "This guy Rob said maybe I should check this out and see what all the fuss is"

Glad you know what I mean about the pirates queue- I LOVE the theming in there, but this was pure torture listening to the clanging iron chains. Disney has done some awesome decorations with Styrofoam. Just sayin'!

I swear that was my Buzz score!!!

"Before I proceed, I am going to have to ask a couple of you to step away from the trip report until the next update. I’m about to do a little bit of Disney blaspheming. Brenda, Rob, perhaps a couple of others: you may not want to see this dark side of my family. I’m going to blame it on the rain."

Don't worry Dee, you already committed blasphemy when you admitted to never seeing Wishes.

BAHAHAHAHA!!!

That comment cracked me up!

In my defense, in all of our past trips, we have been up at 0-dark early (I wake up between 4:30 and 5 EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR, vacation or not). We are at the parks by 8 am and we hit them pretty hard. By 9 at night the family has been wiped out!

Heck, I'm not even sure that we had been in MK in the dark until our 2011 trip.

And as long as we are making confessions... The folks over on the Beach & Yacht Club FAQ are mortified that I have never had a lunch/dinner or ice cream at Beaches & Cream. That may or may not get corrected on my one-day solo trip.

 

[natebenma]

Well of course you headed here. Did you really have any other choice?

I gotta admit, I love Rover the never aging dog. The only other Disney dog that never ages in Shadow at the HHI resort. Yup 2 going on 18!

Fun update but please don't let the dessert party get rained out because what is dessert without the fireworks.

Oh - and that club level food - seriously yummy looking!

I suppose I could have gone to Stitch!!!

NOT!

I want a forever dog!

The dessert party was not rained out.

I really enjoyed the offerings that night. Others had told me about the watermelon shooters and I thought they sounded weird, but they were good.

I hate to admit it, but CoP is one of Claire's favorites. We only rode it for the first time ever a few years ago and now she asks to go on it all the time.

Well, on the upside, there's never a line!

Oh yay - I've been waiting to hear about the desserts party!

And really, what's not to love about the Carousel of Progress. That ride just makes me smile and giggle. Always has.

Dessert party coming up. I may have a picture or two. I'll have to check.

We definitely got our giggles on in the ride.

I'm trying to catch up (it's been a rough week).

I like your "sign" pictures. I try to find new things to take photos of on our trips instead of the same old things and then I forget.

You got a bit done to get you out of the rain.

Oh no...the dreaded COP. As those who have read my TR's know, I really do NOT like that attraction. Spoiler alert: did it with the girls earlier this month and the thing was off sync the entire time. That song stayed in my head for days and loudly too.

Can't wait to hear all about the dessert party.

I know! I have been thinking of you and Mark.

I love Disney signs. I take lots of pictures of them because when I put together photo albums (I actually make large albums from all of my trips)- they are a great filler or introduction picture. I'm just surprised that I took so many in a row.

CoP is not what I would pick for our final MK attraction of the trip, but it turns out that is what it was!

Finally got caught up again (at least with your TR Dee I'm up-to-date ). Life has been so busy lately. Went to the planetarium with my youngest son's class as a parent volunteer-brilliant day and such a lovely bunch of 7 year olds-sheer pleasure and we got to make and fire rockets so what's not to love
Last night was the end of year disco which was held outside BECAUSE it's sunny here in good old Ireland and we cant quite believe our luck
EVERYTHING is happening outside, breakfast, dinner, discos you name it we are doing it outside (ok not quite everything but you know what I mean)
So I'm only reading now and so far I'm with you on putting noisy beings in irons and loving COP simply for the twee factor and the fact that it keeps you dry/cool depending on the weather. It always makes me smile
Cant wait to hear about the dessert party and the fireworks.
Club snacks made an excellent dinner

Sounds like a great end of the year!!! Boy, those last school days are SO busy. Is your son done at school for the summer? My boys are done on Wednesday.

We are on our way to an amusement park for Ben's 7th grade field trip today. Beautiful day! I am more familiar with this park than I was for the band trip. Should be a great day.

Talk soon!

:

 

[MickeyT]

In my defense, in all of our past trips, we have been up at 0-dark early (I wake up between 4:30 and 5 EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE YEAR, vacation or not).

Can't wait to see what California and Hawaii do to your cicada rhythm....This should be interesting!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Kids finish half day Friday and it's own clothes day (even better since it means the uniforms can hit the wash/bin depending on the state of them lol). I look after other peoples children and finish on Friday too for a month do we are having a fun day out to celebrate summer holidays to either mini golf or bowling depending on the weather. Hoping it's mini golf . Ready for school to be over for this year!

How are you getting on with the holiday planning?

 

[natebenma]

Can't wait to see what California and Hawaii do to your cicada rhythm....This should be interesting!

I have been worried about that myself for months! I have been stocking up on some "zombien" as ~NM calls it, but that didn't help me out in Florida last year. Still didn't sleep well. At least I make the most out of my vacation time by dispensing of frivolous stuff like sleep!

Kids finish half day Friday and it's own clothes day (even better since it means the uniforms can hit the wash/bin depending on the state of them lol). I look after other peoples children and finish on Friday too for a month do we are having a fun day out to celebrate summer holidays to either mini golf or bowling depending on the weather. Hoping it's mini golf . Ready for school to be over for this year!

How are you getting on with the holiday planning?

Hope you enjoy those final moments of the school year!

Haven't gotten much further in my planning- I haven't been home much the past couple of weeks- and time is running out!!!

Not one dining reservation made in either DL or Hawaii!



But I have had some emails with tips from a friend who have recently visited Hawaii and plan to talk to another one this weekend (both DIS friends)

 

[hill6]

Dee I finally got a chance to read your entire review. I had looked at parts of it before but never got to read it all. Paid a lot of attention to the dark side as we are going in November and we haven't been in a few years.

 

[natebenma]

Dee I finally got a chance to read your entire review. I had looked at parts of it before but never got to read it all. Paid a lot of attention to the dark side as we are going in November and we haven't been in a few years.

Thank you for reading!



I feel badly that I haven't gotten back to the Universal/Islands of Adventure part of my report, and I'm not entirely sure that I will finish it up which is a shame because I really love IoA and I usually complete whatever I start.

But I know my upcoming trip is going to set me back in real life, over on the FAQ and in trip report land. I have never taken a 2 week long vacation before and we can just add that concern to the list of anxieties as I lead up to my departure.

But I'll admit- all good problems to have!

 

[natebenma]

We checked in at the Dessert Party. Unfortunately, due to the rain, there was no Photopass photographer there. I would have loved to have a picture of our family and an anniversary photo of Mark and me taken in front of the castle. Instead, at one point I asked Ben to take a picture:





The kid did pretty good!


I had read that you could watch the parade from the viewing area, but again, the weather resulted in the cancellation of that, too. And of course, we could forget about Tink flying right overhead that night!

But, on the plus side, DESSERTS!!! There were plenty of sugary treats to act as consolation prizes.

































We enjoyed our desserts while mesmerized by the changing colors of the beautiful castle:



















Continued in Next Post: The Main Event

 

[natebenma]

Continued from Previous Post

By the time the castle projection show was starting, I believe the rain had either let up quite a bit or stopped altogether. We got up and stood at the rail that was in front of our table. I only took a few pictures and there are really only a couple I am remotely happy with, but we were all blown away with the beauty and creativity of the show. I believe Mark’s comment was “Wow!”






And then, Wishes. I love taking pictures, but I have never had much success with fireworks photos. I have tried different things- night settings, even fireworks settings, and I know the most important thing is keeping the camera steady (i.e. Tripod), but I don’t have one.

I wondered if I should take a video of the show or still photos. I tried once to take pictures and video at the same time of the finale of Nightastic from the Poly beach and I failed miserably!


Who is that idiot ruining my shot with their camera while I am trying to take pictures during the fireworks?

Oh wait. Never mind! That’s MY hand!





I was advised that I should just watch and enjoy the show during my first viewing of Wishes.

But you know what? The new camera that Ben has been using on the trip, a Fuji XP, lets you take photos WHILE you are videotaping!!! I’m in!

I held the camera, as steady as I could- maybe I balanced my arms using the railing, can't remember. I watched the show and not the display screen while it was recording, and snapped away every so often.





I like how the smoke in this picture is in the shape of the castle





































Wishes was incredible! I knew I was going to love it, but what really amazed me was how much Mark and the boys were impressed by the show.

When it was over, we decided to return to the Beach Club. Originally when we thought about our last night at Disney, we had considered staying in the Magic Kingdom and enjoying a couple of attractions before leaving. And to add to the temptation, we had non-expired Fast Passes to Big Thunder Mountain in our pockets, since the ride was down during our ride window.

But the rain earlier had beaten us down- we were done.





The next day would be the last of our trip, and since our flight was not until 7:30 that night, we still had a good amount of time to play.


Next up: I’m Not Proud of What I Did (Well, Maybe a Little)

.

 

[teekathepony]

I'm going to start off by saying: thank goodness! I was so afraid that somehow Wishes would have been cancelled or something. Well I am so glad you guys got to see it and enjoy all the yummy desserts too!
Love that feature on the fujis, to snap stills while recording video. And it worked out well for you! Glad you watched the show, I have a problem watching the screen all too often.
Sorry to hear the rain got you down, but glad you have lots of time tomorrow!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Awww, I think the castle photo is perfect Dee. Plus even more special if you think about it because one of your boys took it.

BAHAHAHA, OMG. I have to admit that this may be the first time I've seen someone photobomb themselves.

WISHES!!!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Didn't you like the fact that you didn't have to wait forever for a spot to watch the castle show and Wishes?! That was the best thing about the dessert party to us. Your pictures turned out really really well and I like the one with the smoke in the shape of the castle too.

 

[dtr_angel]

Dee I was so excited to read this update! I JUST booked the Dessert Party for my 30th birthday not even an hour ago! We had planned on going last May but cancelled at the last minute since it was so late with a baby. The desserts look so good! Did they have fruit? I'm hoping they do for Gavin. It's not really fair that we get to stuff our faces with yummy desserts I love your wishes pictures!

 

[tiggerfan77]

We did our souvenir shopping and had left by the time that the parade should have been going on. So it sucked that we missed Wishes because it is my favorite nighttime show. But now I get to see what we missed
I have problems taking nighttime photos too. I have a canon point and shoot but have tried different settings that they have on it. So you're not alone!
Looks like the dessert part of the night was a success! I might have to try that sometime
Also how excited are you that you will be in Disneyland in a few weeks!!

 

[hill6]

Thank you for reading!



I feel badly that I haven't gotten back to the Universal/Islands of Adventure part of my report, and I'm not entirely sure that I will finish it up which is a shame because I really love IoA and I usually complete whatever I start.

But I know my upcoming trip is going to set me back in real life, over on the FAQ and in trip report land. I have never taken a 2 week long vacation before and we can just add that concern to the list of anxieties as I lead up to my departure.

But I'll admit- all good problems to have!

Definitely really good problems to have. You will have an amazing trip. I can't wait to return there. Most likely 2016 for our 30th. Now that we have DVC I can see throwing in a few days in CA at Disneyland too. Hopefully we won't have any medical issues or Hurricanes/power outages to deal with.

 

[Pixel Dust]

Hooray! You guys finally got to see Wishes!

And congrats on successful firework pictures. It's tough doing two things at once, and enjoy the show. I bet the photo while recording video helped.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Oops double post-sorry

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Dessert party looks great and I love the photos. The one of you and Mark is gorgeous and the smoky castle one is very cool -I think in one of them it looks like a fireworks heart which is perfect for your anniversary . Looks like it was the perfect ending for your day

 

[MEK]

I'm kind of worried about the name of your next update!

So many yummy desserts!

So many pretty fireworks! Cool little camera that videotapes AND takes pictures. Nice! Pretty view!

It's you last night??? BOOO! But yay for a late night flight. That definitely has its pros and cons. More pros if you ask me!

 

[natebenma]

Why didn't someone tell me about this Wishes thing before???

I'm going to start off by saying: thank goodness! I was so afraid that somehow Wishes would have been cancelled or something. Well I am so glad you guys got to see it and enjoy all the yummy desserts too!
Love that feature on the fujis, to snap stills while recording video. And it worked out well for you! Glad you watched the show, I have a problem watching the screen all too often.
Sorry to hear the rain got you down, but glad you have lots of time tomorrow!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

We are really glad we saw Wishes, and did the dessert party. I'm still not sure that we are ready to fight the crowds and watch it from Main Street proper. It will be interesting to see what the experience is like in Disneyland.

We were done once the fireworks were over. Tired and wet!

I love the little Fuji XP so much that I bought another one when it went on sale. So my current stable of cameras include 3 waterproof point-and-shoot (Lumix and 2 Fujis) and my big girl Canon.

Awww, I think the castle photo is perfect Dee. Plus even more special if you think about it because one of your boys took it.

BAHAHAHA, OMG. I have to admit that this may be the first time I've seen someone photobomb themselves.

WISHES!!!!!

No complaints from me about the photo.

I like to think of it as a "selfie of my hand"- I'm talented like that!

Oh that's right- you like Wishes, or something like that!

Didn't you like the fact that you didn't have to wait forever for a spot to watch the castle show and Wishes?! That was the best thing about the dessert party to us. Your pictures turned out really really well and I like the one with the smoke in the shape of the castle too.

I agree! The reserved spot is what we liked the most. The desserts were great and all, but too many sweets that late at night can be overkill.

Thanks for the kind words about the photos!

Dee I was so excited to read this update! I JUST booked the Dessert Party for my 30th birthday not even an hour ago! We had planned on going last May but cancelled at the last minute since it was so late with a baby. The desserts look so good! Did they have fruit? I'm hoping they do for Gavin. It's not really fair that we get to stuff our faces with yummy desserts I love your wishes pictures!

That's funny! Glad I had a well-timed post.

Was it Mother's Day when you originally had it scheduled?

I don't specifically remember fruit, other than the chocolate covered strawberries and the fruit tart and I don't have pictures of mixed fruit, so I don't know.

Glad you liked the pictures.

We did our souvenir shopping and had left by the time that the parade should have been going on. So it sucked that we missed Wishes because it is my favorite nighttime show. But now I get to see what we missed
I have problems taking nighttime photos too. I have a canon point and shoot but have tried different settings that they have on it. So you're not alone!
Looks like the dessert part of the night was a success! I might have to try that sometime
Also how excited are you that you will be in Disneyland in a few weeks!!

Glad I could bring Wishes to you!

I can't remember if I did any special settings when I took pictures that night but I suspect I just had it on automatic.

The desserts were good. The reserved space was better.

We are very excited about the trip. I'm a little stressed because I don't feel I have adequately planned for either part of the trip, and unlike WDW, I am not really familiar with DL or Hawaii. But we will manage!