“All Aboard the Seven Dwarfs Whine Train!” A May 2015/Mother's Day TR! ***TR COMPLETED 2/8!!!

[nilla]

It's not really hard to figure out how Mickey talks. He opens his mouth and talks, like any other humanoid mouse. Simple Biology.

Another great chapter! This is seriously one of the most enjoyable TRs I've read. Keep it up!

Oh, and I love the "we're not going to let the worst CM known to man get us down" attitude! That's the only way to do WDW, IMO.

Thanks for sharing your story!

 

[ursalita]

Love this. I didn't notice the beanstalk at all. It's funny how you can go and take so much in and still miss things.

We’d wished we’d stopped for LeFou’s Brew instead.

We missed it too. I wish we'd gotten a chance to try it.

Keith: (to a little boy with a toy bus) Now, do you have a driver’s license to drive that bus?
Boy: (confused look)
Keith: Well, you need a driver’s license to drive that big ol’ bus!
Boy’s Sister: It’s a toy bus!
Keith: Well, then you need a toy driver’s license!

Oh, he sounds so sweet!

After going in there, we were just a few minutes before being escorted in to see Mickey. But would he talk?
(Spoiler: he did!)

So jealous!

We were both blown away by Talking Mickey. He turned and greeted me by saying, “Great! You’re here!” and Mom and I both had chills. The technology is pretty darn good, even when he asked where I was from he repeated, “Wow! All the way from Canada!” which I didn’t expect. Of course, I was trying to figure out how it worked the whole time, but had to end up chalking it up to good ol’ Disney magic.

How great that you got to experience it.

“I’m not taking your picture, and he’s done, so he won’t take your photo either,” in the absolute rudest tone I’ve ever heard on WDW property.

Wow. I can't believe that you kept your composure.

And as we left, I noted his name tag to take to guest services, and it was marked with his university.

Did you take it to guest services?

I want to keep the attitude and morale positive for this TR just like we did on the trip, because throughout the trip we really focused on the magical parts, but I had to share this incident in full because a) it happened, so it goes in the report and b) it really set Photopass at a very low standard for the trip, and it’s something we often love and feel the need to be honest about.

I know where you're coming from, I try not to be too negative on my report. But I'm glad that you are mentioning it because you're right. It happened.

It's okay if you laugh. I am still laughing to this day. We got back to the resort that night and viewed our photos, and laughed so hard there were tears streaming down both of our faces and we were gasping for breath from laughter. This is probably one of the greatest ride photos/videos we'd ever had (until we got funnier ones at Dinosaur and Splash later in the week!) From the terrified little boy behind us to my sheer excitement and shock to Mom's hair shooting out to the sides like Bozo the clown, there's such a range of emotions here. So wonderful. There's an even worse Splash picture coming your way later this TR. I am still laughing about it

The ride photos and videos are so great. I never laughed so hard. It's part of what makes PP worth it for me.

Apparently, we also saw some ducks. And Mom tried out the zoom on her camera.

Beautiful.

We went to Gaston’s for some LeFou’s Brew.

So you did get a chance to try it! Good for you.

 

[irene_dsc]

Ok, I love how you and your mom both pretended to like a ride for 3 hours, just to not hurt each other's feelings! That's awesome! Glad you finally got to share your true feelings!

And that CM was way too rude!

(And apparently I like exclamation points...)

 

[princessesandpascal]

It's not really hard to figure out how Mickey talks. He opens his mouth and talks, like any other humanoid mouse. Simple Biology.

Another great chapter! This is seriously one of the most enjoyable TRs I've read. Keep it up!

Oh, and I love the "we're not going to let the worst CM known to man get us down" attitude! That's the only way to do WDW, IMO.

Thanks for sharing your story!

Exactly!

Thank you! I'm pretty flattered considering you write some of the most enjoyable TRs I've read as well!

Sometimes you have to just follow the words of queen Taylor Swift and shake it off. It's really all we could do at that point.

Love this. I didn't notice the beanstalk at all. It's funny how you can go and take so much in and still miss things.

Oh, he sounds so sweet!

Wow. I can't believe that you kept your composure.Did you take it to guest services?

The ride photos and videos are so great. I never laughed so hard. It's part of what makes PP worth it for me.

So you did get a chance to try it! Good for you.

Next time you go back, if you go into that gift shop (Sir Mickey's), the giant from the cartoon is where the wall meets the ceiling in one part, like he's lifting the roof up and peeking in. It's really cool!

He was the sweetest, he had the strongest southern drawl I'd ever heard which made it even greater!

We barely kept it, and we did take his name in. Hoping something gets done about the attitudes on some of those PP photogs. The ride photos are great, especially the ones with a big car of people where you can see everyone's expressions. I'm already excited for sharing our AK day because our one Dinosaur photo is a total mess of emotions. Imagine almost everyone in the car doing a different pose, and then a genuinely terrified couple is right in the middle. It's so great.

LeFou's brew was really good! We went back one other time, I think. It's great!

Ok, I love how you and your mom both pretended to like a ride for 3 hours, just to not hurt each other's feelings! That's awesome! Glad you finally got to share your true feelings!

And that CM was way too rude!

(And apparently I like exclamation points...)

We laughed about it afterwards! I'll mention it further in the next update, but the reason the truth came out was because we had a FP for it for the next day and neither of us wanted to do it again. I think I was the first to admit I hated it We trash-talked it for the rest of the night after that. It was hilarious!

He was, and luckily I think he was the worst we encountered, other than one more rude PP-related incident on our last day. Everyone else looked AMAZING after that awful attitude!

(as do I! )

 

[nilla]

Sometimes you have to just follow the words of queen Taylor Swift and shake it off. It's really all we could do at that point .

Excellent point. When things go wrong at WDW, I figure I have two options:

1. Dwell on it and let it ruin my entire vacation
2. Get down to this...sick...beat.

I'll take option 2, thank you.

 

[KathyM2]

Love your TR so far!! I can't believe that crappy CM PP...ugh. But I'm glad you were able to shake it off. Ugh. That's so cool about talking Mickey. I'm guessing it's the same sort of interaction as in Turtle talk? I've always been tempted to say something ridiculous just to see what kind of response comes back...but never have the nerve lol. I am so glad you liked LeFou's brew...I want to try that so badly...missed it last time! Your 7DMT video was hilarious.

 

[princessesandpascal]

Love your TR so far!! I can't believe that crappy CM PP...ugh. But I'm glad you were able to shake it off. Ugh. That's so cool about talking Mickey. I'm guessing it's the same sort of interaction as in Turtle talk? I've always been tempted to say something ridiculous just to see what kind of response comes back...but never have the nerve lol. I am so glad you liked LeFou's brew...I want to try that so badly...missed it last time! Your 7DMT video was hilarious.

Thank you! Neither can we... I think it is the same as Turtle Talk, essentially, and there was a bit of a delay before Mickey replied (of course, because he was thinking very hard about what to say next ). It was pretty good, Mom was more wild about the foam than I was but I loved the apple flavour. I'm a huge apple juice fan though.

It still makes me laugh!

 

[princessesandpascal]

Chapter Four: “Did you just hit yourself in the face with a napkin?”, or, Dinner at Chef Mickey’s!
Date: May 4, 2014

When I left off last, we were arriving here:

Chef Mickey’s is one of our Disney traditions. Along with seeing Philharmagic, it’s something that we always have to do on either our first day (dinner) or our last day (breakfast). It’s a WDW staple for us, and I’m relieved to say that we had a great meal here!
This was also our first experience dining with allergies. Mom has a sensitivity to clams, and I have a really weird condition that causes me to be allergic to melons and cucumbers likely due to my severe seasonal allergies. (I have absolutely no idea how it works, all I know is what the allergist told me a couple summers ago. I am the rep of all the weird allergy kids out there.) Our allergies are essentially common sense, but we wanted to make sure that cucumber or clams weren’t snuck into anything or prepared in the same place (because cucumber is a unique allergy, nobody usually thinks twice about it).

We took our picture (which turned out so blurry there is absolutely no point in including it. Another point for Memory Maker!) and then immediately our pager went off. Despite coming into the restaurant about 20 minutes early for our 7:45 reservation, we were seated immediately! Our seats were right next to the buffet, sticking out right at the end before you enter the food area. I thought it’d be awful, but the designers of the restaurant had the common sense to extend the little silver wall around the buffet a couple feet longer than where the tables were so no one ran into us. We liked the location, not as much as when we got seated in the upper area one year, but we still liked it despite it being very much in the middle of things.
Our waitress, Michelle, was fantastic: so energetic and really nice. The chef came out almost immediately, and with the exception of the California roll and one or two of the salads, I could have almost anything, as I expected. (Would have known for the salads, not for the sushi, so I was glad we’d noted it even though I’m not a big sushi fan to begin with.) I think Mom was good for anything but the other kind of sushi and maybe the lobster mac and cheese since we classified it as "shellfish", but I honestly do not remember.
We were able to get up and get food before the characters came. I didn’t take a photo of my first plate but I know I had perogies, broccoli with cheese sauce, potatoes, turkey, some other vegetable item that I don’t remember because I didn’t take a picture. Mom did photograph her first plate (I think after eating some given that blank space):

She had roast beef, perogies, broccoli with cheese (causing us to do our best Keith impression as he talked about all of Mickey’s favourite foods with cheese), eggplant parmesan, parmesan potatoes, and something looks like it could be under the beef but WHAT IS IT?

We don’t know.
This is why I didn’t write an official dining report.

But hey, look! Characters!

Then I think we went back for a bit more food before the PAAARTY! With napkin twirling et al.
Luckily, I did take a picture of my second plate, after I demolished part of it. I am a classy food reviewer in the making.

More parmesan potatoes, some more broccoli, a couple of chicken nuggets, another piece of turkey because it was so ridiculously good, and some cornbread which I’m 90% sure I’d never had before that day. (It was good!) If anything else were on that plate, it's a mystery.

The CM working the carving station was really nice too, he was very friendly and joking with us as we got our broccoli since of course I was teasing Mom a little that the broccoli there was not overcooked and was actually green. (I love my mother, and she’s admittedly getting better at it, but there was a reason I stopped liking broccoli at home as I got older and realized what not-overcooked broccoli tasted like). He gave Mom some tips on what to do “next time” she overcooks it, so of course I was laughing because I am a terrible daughter.
We got back to our seats and were just in time for napkin twirling! Which I cannot do. I’ve taken six Disney vacations and never have been able to twirl a napkin well. What happens is the napkin winds itself around my hand so I’m left waving my fist with a napkin covering it which, let’s face it, just looks weird. Then I tried to hold it differently, and that resulted me hitting myself in the face with my napkin about three times. So now it was Mom’s turn to laugh at me. So I gave up and just went back to eating while Mom waved her napkin to represent our table’s presence at the PAAAARTY!

The characters were okay at best. They didn’t have a lot of energy like they do at Garden Grill or a lot of energy like they did last trip in 2012. We attested that to it being later at night, and frankly, we didn’t care that much. I actually think this was the only time we saw Minnie on the entire trip, and we only saw Goofy and Donald twice because we saw them earlier.

After character time, it was DESSERT TIME!

I got the s’mores tart, the caramel bread pudding, and the red velvet cupcake:

While Mom opted for the caramel bread pudding, the s’mores tart, and the raspberry tart.

We would’ve had more but were really exhausted. I considered going back for ice cream but all I wanted in that moment was to go to bed! We settled the check and headed out of the restaurant. We didn’t go on the DDP so it was expensive for a buffet (like, choked on my own breath expensive), and we agree that if we go sans DDP again we’ll do the breakfast instead since it’s a bit cheaper and we tend to prefer the food a little more.

In summary:
Food: 7/10. We don’t come here for the food: but it’s pretty good for what it is.
Service: 10/10 Michelle was fantastic!! The CM at the carving board was also great, I still am kicking myself for not getting his name! The restaurant handled the allergies quickly and perfectly.
Atmosphere: 8/10 Characters were pretty happy and active and we love it here.
Overall: 8/10
Will we be back?: Of course. It’s a tradition for us and we love our first night or last morning at CM’s.

From there, we hopped on the monorail back to the MK. It was here that we both realized how much the other disliked UtS:JotLM. (Most ridiculous initialism ever). We had a monorail car to ourselves after a lot of people got off at the TTC and spent that time trash talking it. Then we got stopped between the TTC and the Poly. Then we discussed how I can’t twirl a napkin and ultimately rescheduled our FP+ for Ariel’s Weird Neon Experience that we had for the next afternoon in the MK and changed it to Splash Mountain.
Then a family got on with two little kids on the other side of the car, whose kids immediately began swinging around on the poles. That ended very well. (It didn’t. By the time we got to the GF one of them was wailing.)
We continued our quiet Ariel trash-talking, and even though I love Ariel as a princess, our ultimate conclusion was that I should tell Ariel that her ride was terrible. I mean, I didn’t, but I thought about it. The poor girl has gotta know that her ride needs some improvements. Like a completely new ride.

Finally after what felt like the Longest Monorail Ride Ever, we arrived back at the MK and made our way to the buses. Luckily, since it was before 9pm, the line was short and we were on a bus and sitting down pretty soon after leaving. While we were on the bus to Pop (and for those of you who don’t know, Pop’s bus plays songs from the 50s through the 90s, keeping with resort theming), the YMCA started playing.

And then a couple a few seats down from us started singing along to the chorus.

Then another family joined in.

Then most of the bus joined in.
Except we were all tired, so it was the least energetic, most-slurred version of YMCA to exist. Either way, it was hilarious to experience.

When we arrived back at Pop, we paused to watch a CM do water paintings in front of the main entrance to the resort. He did Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and was doing one more and wanted us to guess. After a lot of wrong answers, finally, someone correctly guesses it was Olaf.

Surprisingly, it was Mom, which was surprising because she hates Olaf. I mean, I do as well, but I think she hates him more than I do. We are not an Olaf-loving family. We find him really annoying. There should be more Sven merchandise in the parks. Kristoff is not recognized as the true hero he is.

I could go on.

We retreated back to the room, unpacked some stuff out of our suitcases which had arrived, set a wake-up call, and went to sleep, excited for another full day of adventures!

Up Next: "The Damp Hordes of Soarin’!”, or, A Very Wet Epcot Rope Drop!
​

 

[KathyM2]

Great update!! I agree - CM isn't about the food...but the characters are usually great...maybe they were tired...might be better to do breakfast next time. Sorry you both disliked the Ariel ride so much...I didn't mind it...but my DD is 9...and we probably didn't pay as much attention to the details...I will have to look more closely at it next time...I do agree about the plastic/vs fake real hair being a bit weird though. Also, I love cornbread....they don't have it too many places here but I think it's big in the South lol

 

[irene_dsc]

Another great update! I love cornbread, personally, esp if it is nice and moist. Dry cornbread, not so much. Trader Joe's makes a really good, easy mix - but it had a different box the last time I bought it, and I haven't been brave enough to make it yet.

Chef Mickey's is another one I haven't tried. I have to admit, buffet dinner prices is a lot of why we did Tusker House for late breakfast, especially since all 4 of us are considered adults now!

 

[nilla]

The chef came out almost immediately, and with the exception of the California roll and one or two of the salads, I could have almost anything, as I expected.

Isn't Mickey the best? Not only is he a world-renowned chef, but he's also very helpful and compassionate. What's not to like about that mouse?

I love when the CMs do the mop art!

 

[HumblePie]

Enjoying your report, you guys sound like a fun family. But... you hate Olaf? I think we are fighting.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Joining in and Catching up!

“Mom Wants a Quickie with Mickey!”

I can't wait to here the story behind THIS!!!

What better way to stop pining away for those Disney memories than to relive them, right?

Disney is the only reason I will ever tolerate being awake at 4am.

same here!

(It's blurry because EXCITEMENT.)

You'll see a few "excitement" shots of Little Miss in my TR.

(Only to then realize how terrible the DME TV clip is compared to the old one).

Everyone is saying this! I think I need to find it on youtube or something.

We grabbed a map (no idea why, because we know where almost everything is)

Because its habit to grab one and you never know when your knowledge will fail you.

And the Partners statue was all covered up. We’d been recklessly optimistic about it being available to see while we were there, but no dice.

I know! I was bummed too!

Elsa doesn’t count because she is a queen

Valid point!

(for anyone who doesn’t know their Haunted Mansion info: the doors open right under girl-on-the-tightrope!)

Huh I didn't know that But I will try to remember for next trip.

That made the next three-or-so minutes so much fun.

I'm sure!

, I was trying to figure out how it worked the whole time, but had to end up chalking it up to good ol’ Disney magic.

I have found its better to do things that way. Once you figure out how things work the magic tends to run away.

This also started us having incredibly rude college program CMs on this trip, but frankly, that’s a whole other can of worms

You know I noticed that the CPs finished their program while I was there. I wonder if (Not that this excuses the behavior at all) they just got burnt out a bit and that made them less willing to be "magical".

but that could be because we somehow ended up in one of the front rows

I think it might have been, because I don't recall noticing any blurring.

So we both pretended to like the ride for the other’s sake for the next three hours.

Awa poor Ariel. I liked the ride. The first time I went through it I did feel it was a tad disjointed.

Luckily, I did take a picture of my second plate, after I demolished part of it. I am a classy food reviewer in the making.​

I’ve taken six Disney vacations and never have been able to twirl a napkin well.

OMG neither was I! I just held it above my head and went from side to side instead.

Then a family got on with two little kids on the other side of the car, whose kids immediately began swinging around on the poles.

Except we were all tired, so it was the least energetic, most-slurred version of YMCA to exist. Either way, it was hilarious to experience.

 

[Newsies]

This is such a fun and cute TR!!! Following!!!

 

[KGeeLovesDisney]

Awesome, trip report! I look forward to reading more.

And then a couple a few seats down from us started singing along to the chorus.

Then another family joined in.

Then most of the bus joined in.

Only at Disney.
It's little things like that, that can make your trip more magical.

 

[Welovedisney!]

Joining in! Even more excited about our upcoming HalloChristmas Trip!

 

[awilliams4]

Great report. Thanks for sharing.

 

[princessesandpascal]

Great update!! I agree - CM isn't about the food...but the characters are usually great...maybe they were tired...might be better to do breakfast next time. Sorry you both disliked the Ariel ride so much...I didn't mind it...but my DD is 9...and we probably didn't pay as much attention to the details...I will have to look more closely at it next time...I do agree about the plastic/vs fake real hair being a bit weird though. Also, I love cornbread....they don't have it too many places here but I think it's big in the South lol

Thank you! I think that may have been the issue. We haven't done breakfast in a few trips so it'd be nice to do that again either way! Exactly, I would have LOVED it when I was younger, but my early twenties have brought me an unfortunate cynicism The cornbread was really moist and I was pleasantly surprised! Figure it's probably not very good for you if it tasted that good!

Another great update! I love cornbread, personally, esp if it is nice and moist. Dry cornbread, not so much. Trader Joe's makes a really good, easy mix - but it had a different box the last time I bought it, and I haven't been brave enough to make it yet.

Chef Mickey's is another one I haven't tried. I have to admit, buffet dinner prices is a lot of why we did Tusker House for late breakfast, especially since all 4 of us are considered adults now!

Yes, it was really moist and that made it good! I can see how if it were dry that'd be a little worse. I might search out a recipe online when we become Disney deprived again, or hit up a Trader Joe's next time we slip across the border.

Tusker House breakfast is SO good! We did it last in 2011 and I loved it. It's on the list for next trip for sure!! It's especially good with lots of different options, we both loved it.

Isn't Mickey the best? Not only is he a world-renowned chef, but he's also very helpful and compassionate. What's not to like about that mouse?

I love when the CMs do the mop art!

I know right? Is there anything that Mouse can't do?

It's just so cool. Another night we saw one in MK, I think on MS or in the Circus. I don't remember what they were painting that time, though. I want to say Goofy but I also admitted to having no idea.

Enjoying your report, you guys sound like a fun family. But... you hate Olaf? I think we are fighting.

Haha, maybe hate was a strong word! I thought he had couple of funny moments ("I have no skull... or bones..." gets me every time) but I think there's just too much of him! And idk, I always found those massive snowman teeth just a little creepy!

I managed to hold back my feelings on Olaf later in the trip when Elsa wanted to tell me all sorts of Olaf stories. I think I can co-exist in a world with him, but Mom isn't so forgiving on that snowman!

Joining in and Catching up!
I can't wait to here the story behind THIS!!!

Everyone is saying this! I think I need to find it on youtube or something.

You know I noticed that the CPs finished their program while I was there. I wonder if (Not that this excuses the behavior at all) they just got burnt out a bit and that made them less willing to be "magical".

Thanks!

Oh man, that was a funny one! I don't know who was more shocked by her comment, me or Mickey!

I'm pretty sure it's on Youtube! It was a lot more character-centric, and not so much "driving home all the info we knew months ago." The new DME movie definitely caters more to the guests who know almost nothing.

That's what we figured out. My roommate from first year is going back for the DCP again and she flew in the day we flew home, and we met a CP at DTD that said it was her last shift. So it was a period of switching over from one set of CPs to another. Either way, it wasn't pretty.

This is such a fun and cute TR!!! Following!!!

Thank you!

Awesome, trip report! I look forward to reading more.

Only at Disney.
It's little things like that, that can make your trip more magical.

Thank you! It really is, we keep singing YMCA in a really tired voice every time we think about that. It really stuck with us!

Joining in! Even more excited about our upcoming HalloChristmas Trip!

Thanks for joining in! (Ooh, I'm envious! School's prevented me at going that time of year for so long. We already know we want a trip at one of those times once I'm finished all those stages of education!)

Great report. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

 

[Fastpassminus]

Great TR joining in!

 

[roccosmominct]

I'm enjoying your trip report- thank you!! I'll be following along for more adventures!