OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...SW Weekends! UPDATE 10/28 last day
- Thread starter OhioStateBuckeye
- Start date
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
Arent you a little short for a Stormtrooper?
-Princess Leia, A New Hope
We got in the FP line for the Stars of the Saga show. Then we got to watch as people in the standby line were let in ahead of us because it took so long to scan all of our magic bands
Yeah Disney, not so great.
We managed to get decent seats in the center anyway, and were soon treated to a hilarious stormtrooper pre-show.
This stormtrooper got a gift from the ewoks. Spoiler...it didn't end well for the stormtrooper.
Then our host, James Arnold Taylor (who I was not in love with at this point) came onstage.
We were treated to a pre-taped message from JJ Abrams.
Don't you mess these movies up JJ...just don't.
Ahmed Best came out first. He was pretty engaging and funny, and he almost (I said almost) made me like Jar Jar.
Next up Peter Mayhew came out.
Then an extra special guest, Jedi Mickey!
He gave everyone on stage Mickey ears.
Overall, I really enjoyed the Stars of the Saga show. The stormtroopers were so funny, and it was good to hear Peter and Ahmed tell some stories.
We left the theater and saw that Queen Amidala's line wasn't very long so we waited about 10 minutes to see her.
I like this picture because I look like I'm very engaged in conversation with Amidala. Most likely telling her to stay away from Anakin, haha.
Next up we wanted to go back and check on the Clone Wars characters. On the way we found a clone trooper wandering around.
We waited about 15 minutes and met...I think this is Cody. I am just now starting to watch the newer Clone Wars on netflix so I don't remember too well.
We decided to just keep looping around in line and 15 minutes later we met Ahsoka.
She taught us a force pose:
Ahsoka was super nice and engaging, she made me want to watch the show.
The CM told us that Asajj Ventress was done for the day, so we missed out on her. I am pretty sure we got a picture with Rex, but I can't find it right now.
We swung by the Jedi Council and got in line for our final council member, Shaak Ti and got Anakin again as a bonus character.
Then it was time to go on a droid hunt. We knew they met with Luke and Leia so we got in line, hoping a droid would show up. No such luck, but we did get to meet Luke.
We watched a little bit of the quiz show with Ashley Eckstein.
It was around 7 at this time and we had become intrigued by James Arnold Taylor when he hosted Stars of the Saga so we wanted to catch his show.
JAT was the voice of Obi Wan and Plo Kloon in the Clone Wars cartoons. He also does 5 million other voices...and did them all during the show in like a 5 minute time period.
And I basically fell in love. What can I say, he is super talented. Now I know why everyone gushes about him on the DIS boards. If you want to discover him for yourself, youtube his show (Obi Wan and Beyond).
I think I'm about at my photo limit...
So next time! We had time for one more character meet, and then you'll see photos from the dessert party and SW fireworks!
-Princess Leia, A New Hope
We got in the FP line for the Stars of the Saga show. Then we got to watch as people in the standby line were let in ahead of us because it took so long to scan all of our magic bands
Yeah Disney, not so great.
We managed to get decent seats in the center anyway, and were soon treated to a hilarious stormtrooper pre-show.
This stormtrooper got a gift from the ewoks. Spoiler...it didn't end well for the stormtrooper.
Then our host, James Arnold Taylor (who I was not in love with at this point) came onstage.
We were treated to a pre-taped message from JJ Abrams.
Don't you mess these movies up JJ...just don't.
Ahmed Best came out first. He was pretty engaging and funny, and he almost (I said almost) made me like Jar Jar.
Next up Peter Mayhew came out.
Then an extra special guest, Jedi Mickey!
He gave everyone on stage Mickey ears.
Overall, I really enjoyed the Stars of the Saga show. The stormtroopers were so funny, and it was good to hear Peter and Ahmed tell some stories.
We left the theater and saw that Queen Amidala's line wasn't very long so we waited about 10 minutes to see her.
I like this picture because I look like I'm very engaged in conversation with Amidala. Most likely telling her to stay away from Anakin, haha.
Next up we wanted to go back and check on the Clone Wars characters. On the way we found a clone trooper wandering around.
We waited about 15 minutes and met...I think this is Cody. I am just now starting to watch the newer Clone Wars on netflix so I don't remember too well.
We decided to just keep looping around in line and 15 minutes later we met Ahsoka.
She taught us a force pose:
Ahsoka was super nice and engaging, she made me want to watch the show.
The CM told us that Asajj Ventress was done for the day, so we missed out on her. I am pretty sure we got a picture with Rex, but I can't find it right now.
We swung by the Jedi Council and got in line for our final council member, Shaak Ti and got Anakin again as a bonus character.
Then it was time to go on a droid hunt. We knew they met with Luke and Leia so we got in line, hoping a droid would show up. No such luck, but we did get to meet Luke.
We watched a little bit of the quiz show with Ashley Eckstein.
It was around 7 at this time and we had become intrigued by James Arnold Taylor when he hosted Stars of the Saga so we wanted to catch his show.
JAT was the voice of Obi Wan and Plo Kloon in the Clone Wars cartoons. He also does 5 million other voices...and did them all during the show in like a 5 minute time period.
And I basically fell in love. What can I say, he is super talented. Now I know why everyone gushes about him on the DIS boards. If you want to discover him for yourself, youtube his show (Obi Wan and Beyond).
I think I'm about at my photo limit...
So next time! We had time for one more character meet, and then you'll see photos from the dessert party and SW fireworks!
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
Now, witness the power of this fully operational battle station.
Grand Moff Tarkin, A New Hope
So we were super hopefuly that my main droid, 3PO, was going to come out soon. The helpful CM with Luke and Leia told us that their line would be closed off around 8, and that if the droids would come out it'd be in the final hour.
So back into line we went again...we did see a droid...
It was a trifecta of characters, but sadly not my favorite.
Luke and Leia's line was closing for the evening and it looked like 3PO was going to be a no show.
Besides this fact, it was time to head to the dessert party and get ready for fireworks.
All the standing tables were taken, so we set up in the far back corner by the fence.
Alcoholic drinks were unlimited, so we may have taken advantage of that fact.
James Arnold Taylor hosted a short stage show where all the characters were re-introduced.
Then it was time for the fireworks!
I thought the fireworks were amazing. They set them off with John William's iconic Star Wars score playing in the background.
We hung around a bit after the fireworks and got some more desserts, then we started the tiring walk back to the Beach Club.
We got back to the room to find that our sophisticated companions (Full House reference, bonus points if you got that) were already tucked into bed.
I'm pretty sure we fell asleep immediately. It had been a really long day. We needed to be rested up for the following day, which was an Epcot day capped off by an Illuminations cruise.
Grand Moff Tarkin, A New Hope
So we were super hopefuly that my main droid, 3PO, was going to come out soon. The helpful CM with Luke and Leia told us that their line would be closed off around 8, and that if the droids would come out it'd be in the final hour.
So back into line we went again...we did see a droid...
It was a trifecta of characters, but sadly not my favorite.
Luke and Leia's line was closing for the evening and it looked like 3PO was going to be a no show.
Besides this fact, it was time to head to the dessert party and get ready for fireworks.
All the standing tables were taken, so we set up in the far back corner by the fence.
Alcoholic drinks were unlimited, so we may have taken advantage of that fact.
James Arnold Taylor hosted a short stage show where all the characters were re-introduced.
Then it was time for the fireworks!
I thought the fireworks were amazing. They set them off with John William's iconic Star Wars score playing in the background.
We hung around a bit after the fireworks and got some more desserts, then we started the tiring walk back to the Beach Club.
We got back to the room to find that our sophisticated companions (Full House reference, bonus points if you got that) were already tucked into bed.
I'm pretty sure we fell asleep immediately. It had been a really long day. We needed to be rested up for the following day, which was an Epcot day capped off by an Illuminations cruise.
BebopAngel88
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2011
Augh... if only they could do this in Disneyland. This looks this was such a fun day.. jealous!! lol
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
Wow! You sure got a lot done in one day! Nice work! Honestly when we were there I had NO idea all that other stuff was even going on.All I knew is that it was BUSY!!
Someday I will do a dessert party. sigh....
I liked this SW dessert party much better than the MK Wishes one...might have been the alcohol, or the fact that I was just on a Star Wars high. Plus the Darth Vader cupcakes and the icing covered rice krispie balls were amaaazing.
I'm pretty surprised DL doesn't have a SW Weekends. They could give you guys Marvel Weekends.
Welcome
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
We were up bright and early at 7 today for our Cape May Cafe breakfast!!
You know, getting up for an early breakfast always seems like such a better idea when your making ADRs 6 months ahead of time.
Somehow you don't realize at that time that you'll have just spent 18 hours at SWW the day before, so maybe you might appreciate a bit of a sleep in.
It was still pretty early in the trip so we all had lots of 'Disney energy' (read: Disney fanaticism) and were able to make it downstairs for our reservation.
We checked in, and seeing how the restaurant wasn't even open yet for another 10 minutes I wandered around taking some pictures of the lobby.
Hidden Mickey seashell!!
About 10 minutes later Cape May opened for the day and we were one of the first groups in.
I really loved these sandcastles. I wonder if that is actual sand and its like...glued together somehow? My family always vacationed at Cedar Point in Ohio every summer, and there was a long stretch where I collected a mini sand castle every trip from the lobby gift shop. So yeah, I really like sandcastles.
None of the characters were out and about yet, so we all got some food.
I thought the food was all right, standard breakfast fare.
Soon enough the characters started coming round. Minnie was first.
I really liked her shoes....
They kinda look like crocs with sea stars.
And then my favorite, Donald was almost here!!
He brought Stephanie a birthday cupcake (she was celebrating her birthday this trip since it had been a week before). Everyone sang and then Donald tried to take off!! I don't think so Donald, it is my mission in life to have my picture with you in each of your outfits, so you aren't getting away so easily.
I always thought one day I might do some sort of multi picture frame with me and Donald in all his different outfits.
Next up was Goofy, I appreciated his water safety precuations and told him so.
Poor Goof has enough accidents as it is, so I applaud him for wearing his life vest...indoors. You never know. He is Goofy.
Another hidden Mickey in the carpet!
And Flounder! I really liked the carpet.
Cape May Cafe Breakfast review:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars. Everything tasted good and fresh, but there were no signature items that really stood out to me that I couldn't get anywhere else. We ate dinner here a while ago and I think I liked the dinner food better.
Characters: 3 out of 5 stars. They came by really quick because we were one of the first tables seated. Even though Donald tried to skip half of us, I liked all their beach outfits and we had good interactions with them.
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 stars. I liked all the sand castle decorations and it really felt like you were at a seaside hotel having breakfast. It also didn't hurt that the restaurant was in our hotel's lobby so it was super easy to get there.
Overall: I'm glad I did it once (especially to meet Donald in his old timey bathing suit) but I'm not sure I'd be too eager to do it again. There just isn't really anything to make me want to go back again soon.
Breakfast only took about 45 minutes so we walked to Epcot and were at the international gateway around 8:30.
Then the security guard decided to play tour guide and spent the next half hour lecturing the waiting crowd on Disney. How Disney operates, what to do, when to do it, what is coming to Disney. It was ok for the first 5 minutes, but then he just droned on and on and was making stuff up and he just really became obnoxious.
So I took some pictures of France, and wondered if anyone ever tried to break into Epcot by swimming the English channel and climbing the fence into France.
We were let in 5 til 9 and we all booked it over towards Soarin. Geez, that is a long walk I never realized it til this day. We could see the front gate people coming so all the international gatewayers picked up the pace so we could beat them.
I have to say...I think if your staying at an Epcot resort, it might be nice to be let in 10 or 15 minutes before the park opens. Kind of as an extra little perk. And since World Showcase is closed early morning, they have to know we're all headed to Soarin or TT and its a longer walk from the International Gateway than it is from the front gate. It'd just be nice to give those people an extra little head start.
Anyway, we managed to be on the second showing of Soarin and we got front row center seats! Yay no feet!
We were trying out a strategy to get a good 4th FP. We booked all our FP as early as we could, so we just headed right back onto Soarin for another ride with our first FP.
I tried to get a picture of Brian with his hero, Patrick, but it came out kind of dark.
Next we were due for a ride on Brian's favorite, Living with the Land. Amazingly enough the line was already 15 minutes this early in the morning Thanks a lot FP+
Living with the Land is full of hidden mickeys.
I had to laugh as I looked back through our pictures for this ride. Brian took so many that I could print them out and make a flip book of the entire ride. I'm not joking. I'd post them all here to prove my point but it would take up about 5+ posts.
Basically I think this whole pavilion is Brian's favorite.
Our next early morning FP began at 10 for SE. There was actually a really long line for SE so early in the morning.
I love the Roman scene.
Sometimes I wonder about all the knowledge that was lost in the burning of the Alexandrian library. I understand that Jewish and Arab scholars had copies of a lot of the stuff (thank you Dame Judy Dench) but they couldn't have had everything.
I'm pretty sure we make these faces every morning while having breakfast.
Our next FP was for MS at 11, so we made our slow way over.
You know, getting up for an early breakfast always seems like such a better idea when your making ADRs 6 months ahead of time.
Somehow you don't realize at that time that you'll have just spent 18 hours at SWW the day before, so maybe you might appreciate a bit of a sleep in.
It was still pretty early in the trip so we all had lots of 'Disney energy' (read: Disney fanaticism) and were able to make it downstairs for our reservation.
We checked in, and seeing how the restaurant wasn't even open yet for another 10 minutes I wandered around taking some pictures of the lobby.
Hidden Mickey seashell!!
About 10 minutes later Cape May opened for the day and we were one of the first groups in.
I really loved these sandcastles. I wonder if that is actual sand and its like...glued together somehow? My family always vacationed at Cedar Point in Ohio every summer, and there was a long stretch where I collected a mini sand castle every trip from the lobby gift shop. So yeah, I really like sandcastles.
None of the characters were out and about yet, so we all got some food.
I thought the food was all right, standard breakfast fare.
Soon enough the characters started coming round. Minnie was first.
I really liked her shoes....
They kinda look like crocs with sea stars.
And then my favorite, Donald was almost here!!
He brought Stephanie a birthday cupcake (she was celebrating her birthday this trip since it had been a week before). Everyone sang and then Donald tried to take off!! I don't think so Donald, it is my mission in life to have my picture with you in each of your outfits, so you aren't getting away so easily.
I always thought one day I might do some sort of multi picture frame with me and Donald in all his different outfits.
Next up was Goofy, I appreciated his water safety precuations and told him so.
Poor Goof has enough accidents as it is, so I applaud him for wearing his life vest...indoors. You never know. He is Goofy.
Another hidden Mickey in the carpet!
And Flounder! I really liked the carpet.
Cape May Cafe Breakfast review:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars. Everything tasted good and fresh, but there were no signature items that really stood out to me that I couldn't get anywhere else. We ate dinner here a while ago and I think I liked the dinner food better.
Characters: 3 out of 5 stars. They came by really quick because we were one of the first tables seated. Even though Donald tried to skip half of us, I liked all their beach outfits and we had good interactions with them.
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 stars. I liked all the sand castle decorations and it really felt like you were at a seaside hotel having breakfast. It also didn't hurt that the restaurant was in our hotel's lobby so it was super easy to get there.
Overall: I'm glad I did it once (especially to meet Donald in his old timey bathing suit) but I'm not sure I'd be too eager to do it again. There just isn't really anything to make me want to go back again soon.
Breakfast only took about 45 minutes so we walked to Epcot and were at the international gateway around 8:30.
Then the security guard decided to play tour guide and spent the next half hour lecturing the waiting crowd on Disney. How Disney operates, what to do, when to do it, what is coming to Disney. It was ok for the first 5 minutes, but then he just droned on and on and was making stuff up and he just really became obnoxious.
So I took some pictures of France, and wondered if anyone ever tried to break into Epcot by swimming the English channel and climbing the fence into France.
We were let in 5 til 9 and we all booked it over towards Soarin. Geez, that is a long walk I never realized it til this day. We could see the front gate people coming so all the international gatewayers picked up the pace so we could beat them.
I have to say...I think if your staying at an Epcot resort, it might be nice to be let in 10 or 15 minutes before the park opens. Kind of as an extra little perk. And since World Showcase is closed early morning, they have to know we're all headed to Soarin or TT and its a longer walk from the International Gateway than it is from the front gate. It'd just be nice to give those people an extra little head start.
Anyway, we managed to be on the second showing of Soarin and we got front row center seats! Yay no feet!
We were trying out a strategy to get a good 4th FP. We booked all our FP as early as we could, so we just headed right back onto Soarin for another ride with our first FP.
I tried to get a picture of Brian with his hero, Patrick, but it came out kind of dark.
Next we were due for a ride on Brian's favorite, Living with the Land. Amazingly enough the line was already 15 minutes this early in the morning
Thanks a lot FP+
Living with the Land is full of hidden mickeys.
I had to laugh as I looked back through our pictures for this ride. Brian took so many that I could print them out and make a flip book of the entire ride. I'm not joking. I'd post them all here to prove my point but it would take up about 5+ posts.
Basically I think this whole pavilion is Brian's favorite.
Our next early morning FP began at 10 for SE. There was actually a really long line for SE so early in the morning.
I love the Roman scene.
Sometimes I wonder about all the knowledge that was lost in the burning of the Alexandrian library. I understand that Jewish and Arab scholars had copies of a lot of the stuff (thank you Dame Judy Dench) but they couldn't have had everything.
I'm pretty sure we make these faces every morning while having breakfast.
Our next FP was for MS at 11, so we made our slow way over.
HarkiQuinn
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2013
My goodness, you guys had a fabulous and extremely successful SWW!
I also love the theme at the cafe, Minne is adorable!
I also love the theme at the cafe, Minne is adorable!
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
It was the last weekend of the Flower and Garden festival, and we wanted to be sure to see all the gardens and we had plans to have lunch at as many of the food booths as we could stomach.
We were sure to be right at the MS line at 11. We all decided to ride the baby side. Stephanie and I like the stronger side but we all wanted to ride together.
We successfully 'landed' our ship on Mars. If you can call that a landing. I was the commander, so that one was definitely on the pilot. I always thought it'd be a nice touch if different things happened depending on whether or not your buttons actually got pushed. ...I guess I just really want an option where the shuttle crashes.
Anyway, we headed to the FP kiosk near Mouse Gears to get our 4th FP.
We waited about 10 minutes just to find out that there were no TT or Soarin left for the entire day. Great. Looks like my FP+ early strategy crashed and burned. We were able to get one for Maelstrom at 115.
Everyone was thirsty, so we made our slow way over to Club Cool and checked out some gardens and topiaries.
Lightning McQueen was set up near TT, of course.
Epcot is just so pretty and vibrant with all the splashes of color.
There was a large soccer topiary set up in honor of the World Cup.
Something tells me Goofy has 0 chance of getting that ball in the goal. I mean, come on, I've seen his cartoons. Things don't really work out for the Goof. It'll most likely end up on a roof somewhere or in the water. But he tries, gotta give him credit for that.
We had our club cool stop. I didn't take any pictures but a good, refreshing time was had by all.
This next topiary just reminds me of the one at DHS:
They had a little booth set up to display aquaculture growing methods.
We stopped at a gift shop to search for the vinylmation topiaries. I am pretty obsessed with vinylmations, and I just had to have a Donald. The way they did this set kind of sucked. There was a blind box with a topiary Sorcerer Mickey on top. So every box you purchased, you had to buy a Sorcerer Mickey. It was super weird. No one needs 5 Sorcerer Mickeys.
I ended up getting a regular Mickey in my blind box
I still haven't been able to find a Donald. I was hesitant to buy another because I didn't want 2 Sorcerer Mickeys.
We also saw these guys, which I loved:
Duffy just makes me laugh. I never really wanted to meet him, but one trip my little sister and I discovered his Duffy bedtime story on the WDW resort tv and we watched it on a loop for about an hour straight. I have no idea why, but we just thought it was super funny.
On our last trip, Stephanie and I had tequila at the Mexican tequila bar. I am pretty much a one and done drinker lately, and those drinks were strong. So we decided, in our inebriated state, that it would be fun to go visit Duffy. Things got pretty weird pretty quick. Duffy gave me the longest hug I've ever received. There were many high fives and exclamations. I think Duffy might have known we were a bit tipsy and decided to have fun with it.
OK...enough with the random stories and back to your regularly scheduled trip report.
We had finally made it to our first country: Mexico! Brian was obsessed with the orchids growing outside the pavilion on the secret path.
I tried to take some artsy pictures of the pavilion while Brian was inspecting the orchids.
Can I just say how amazing this pavilion is?! I mean...its night time!! I love the night time! And all the lights and the displays and the fountain and that little parrot in the cage when you walk down. I always pick out a house here and say I'd love to live in it.
I'm also always in awe of the wood carvings. The guy does it right in front of you, and they are all so incredible! Right now in my living room I have a jaguar, and upstairs is a little weird penguin things. I'd buy one on every trip I take, but they can be pricey.
And then we saw the tequila bar line...it stretched all the way from the bar to the fountain at the front of the pavilion!! Geez people. I guess it was a little after noon though, so it was allowed, haha.
There was only a 5 minute wait for the 3 Caballeros ride so of course we rode.
I can't say how much I heart the 3 caballeros. I'm not sure what it is about them. If Jose and Panchito were to ever show up at the meet and greet with Donald outside the pavilion one day I'd just lose it. And no one wants to see a 30 year old woman lose it...so maybe that is why they don't meet.
I'd also like to live in this ride. I really love the beach scene where you can see the little pool of water and Donald's outfit and margarita. Can I also have fake fireworks in my ceiling at home? That would be sweet.
Does anyone else always pick out weird places in the park to live? Like I have houses picked out in the Mexico pavilion, Main Street, POTC and Splash.
We were all getting hungry, but it was almost time for our FP+ for Maelstrom so we headed there first.
Norway was having some sort of Norway day celebration. It had an actual name and was some sort of Norwegian holiday but I'm awful and can't remember it, so we'll just say it was Norway day
There were flags all over and CMs were out front doing some sort of praise Norway dance.
When we saw the line for Maelstrom we were so happy to have our FP+, it was a huge line.
We enjoyed our journey back, back over the falls with the trolls and immediately went to a kiosk to see which FP+ were still available. We were a little disappointed to find the only ones available were for Captain EO and Figment at 4. Neither of which need a FP. So we left the kiosk empty handed (or empty magic banded, hahaha).
It was high time to get to eatin at the food booths!!
We were sure to be right at the MS line at 11. We all decided to ride the baby side. Stephanie and I like the stronger side but we all wanted to ride together.
We successfully 'landed' our ship on Mars. If you can call that a landing. I was the commander, so that one was definitely on the pilot. I always thought it'd be a nice touch if different things happened depending on whether or not your buttons actually got pushed. ...I guess I just really want an option where the shuttle crashes.
Anyway, we headed to the FP kiosk near Mouse Gears to get our 4th FP.
We waited about 10 minutes just to find out that there were no TT or Soarin left for the entire day. Great. Looks like my FP+ early strategy crashed and burned. We were able to get one for Maelstrom at 115.
Everyone was thirsty, so we made our slow way over to Club Cool and checked out some gardens and topiaries.
Lightning McQueen was set up near TT, of course.
Epcot is just so pretty and vibrant with all the splashes of color.
There was a large soccer topiary set up in honor of the World Cup.
Something tells me Goofy has 0 chance of getting that ball in the goal. I mean, come on, I've seen his cartoons. Things don't really work out for the Goof. It'll most likely end up on a roof somewhere or in the water. But he tries, gotta give him credit for that.
We had our club cool stop. I didn't take any pictures but a good, refreshing time was had by all.
This next topiary just reminds me of the one at DHS:
They had a little booth set up to display aquaculture growing methods.
We stopped at a gift shop to search for the vinylmation topiaries. I am pretty obsessed with vinylmations, and I just had to have a Donald. The way they did this set kind of sucked. There was a blind box with a topiary Sorcerer Mickey on top. So every box you purchased, you had to buy a Sorcerer Mickey. It was super weird. No one needs 5 Sorcerer Mickeys.
I ended up getting a regular Mickey in my blind box
I still haven't been able to find a Donald. I was hesitant to buy another because I didn't want 2 Sorcerer Mickeys.We also saw these guys, which I loved:
Duffy just makes me laugh. I never really wanted to meet him, but one trip my little sister and I discovered his Duffy bedtime story on the WDW resort tv and we watched it on a loop for about an hour straight. I have no idea why, but we just thought it was super funny.
On our last trip, Stephanie and I had tequila at the Mexican tequila bar. I am pretty much a one and done drinker lately, and those drinks were strong. So we decided, in our inebriated state, that it would be fun to go visit Duffy. Things got pretty weird pretty quick. Duffy gave me the longest hug I've ever received. There were many high fives and exclamations. I think Duffy might have known we were a bit tipsy and decided to have fun with it.
OK...enough with the random stories and back to your regularly scheduled trip report.
We had finally made it to our first country: Mexico! Brian was obsessed with the orchids growing outside the pavilion on the secret path.
I tried to take some artsy pictures of the pavilion while Brian was inspecting the orchids.
Can I just say how amazing this pavilion is?! I mean...its night time!! I love the night time! And all the lights and the displays and the fountain and that little parrot in the cage when you walk down. I always pick out a house here and say I'd love to live in it.
I'm also always in awe of the wood carvings. The guy does it right in front of you, and they are all so incredible! Right now in my living room I have a jaguar, and upstairs is a little weird penguin things. I'd buy one on every trip I take, but they can be pricey.
And then we saw the tequila bar line...it stretched all the way from the bar to the fountain at the front of the pavilion!! Geez people. I guess it was a little after noon though, so it was allowed, haha.
There was only a 5 minute wait for the 3 Caballeros ride so of course we rode.
I can't say how much I heart the 3 caballeros. I'm not sure what it is about them. If Jose and Panchito were to ever show up at the meet and greet with Donald outside the pavilion one day I'd just lose it. And no one wants to see a 30 year old woman lose it...so maybe that is why they don't meet.
I'd also like to live in this ride. I really love the beach scene where you can see the little pool of water and Donald's outfit and margarita. Can I also have fake fireworks in my ceiling at home? That would be sweet.
Does anyone else always pick out weird places in the park to live? Like I have houses picked out in the Mexico pavilion, Main Street, POTC and Splash.
We were all getting hungry, but it was almost time for our FP+ for Maelstrom so we headed there first.
Norway was having some sort of Norway day celebration. It had an actual name and was some sort of Norwegian holiday but I'm awful and can't remember it, so we'll just say it was Norway day
There were flags all over and CMs were out front doing some sort of praise Norway dance.
When we saw the line for Maelstrom we were so happy to have our FP+, it was a huge line.
We enjoyed our journey back, back over the falls with the trolls and immediately went to a kiosk to see which FP+ were still available. We were a little disappointed to find the only ones available were for Captain EO and Figment at 4. Neither of which need a FP. So we left the kiosk empty handed (or empty magic banded, hahaha).
It was high time to get to eatin at the food booths!!
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
My goodness, you guys had a fabulous and extremely successful SWW!
I also love the theme at the cafe, Minne is adorable!
Thank you for the SWW compliment! I actually worked really hard on our strategy, since Star Wars is my favorite thing and I wanted to be sure to fit everything in.
I think the best thing we did that day was to switch our breakfast and dinner ADRs. Originally, we'd had both SW character meals that day but since the meals were offered during the week we decided to change them. I think if we hadn't done that we wouldn't have been nearly so successful.
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
Before we left Norway I wanted a picture with the weird, buck toothed troll topiary.
I mean, I guess it is a troll, so its supposed to look weird, right?
We came across a photopass photog so we took advantage with a serious picture:
and a sassy picture:
Awww a panda topiary! So cute!
I skipped these pictures somehow, the photog could also do the Frozen magic shot!
Same picture, but we can't leave Anna out. You know how sisters get.
Then I saw my favorite, Pumba!!
I love him.
Then it was finally time for some food. I we ate at Germany firest and we ended up sitting at the picnic booths at Germany in the hot, blazing sun.
While we were eating Stephanie thought we may as well be the second people in line for Snow White at her wishing well.
We spent our time waiting having a discussion about the Disney Snow White versus the Once Upon a Time Snow. I much prefer the Once Upon a Time version, she is awesome.
This meet and great was kind of weird...Snow White pretty much sounded like Betty Boop. I've never met a Snow that talks like that. I let Stephanie do all the talking because I was still very taken aback by the voice.
After meeting Snow, we saw topiary Snow.
And her little men:
Hey, shouldn't you guys be working on your ride over in MK? We're all waiting for it to open.
Next up was the Muppets topiary.
We finally made it to America and decided to eat at the smokehouse.
But first...
That bad bear. Lotso and I have a history. We met him at the Tower of Terror 10 mile after party. Stephanie and her friend Mary had never met him, so I was trying to explain that no, he was not cute and cuddly, he was an evil, very bad bear. Lotso heard me and decided to mess up my hair and then stick his paw in front of my face for the picture.
This was Brian's meal:
I may have stolen some cornbread. Ok, yeah, I did. It was great.
And this was my choice:
Very tasty.
I also had to get one of these babies just to try it:
I'm really into maple flavoring, but I just thought this was ok. I ended up splitting it with Stephanie.
We also got a frushi to share:
It was super refreshing because it was sooo incredibly hot this day.
We were fairly well stuffed by this point so we took pictures on the way to the international gateway. Our plan was to head back to the Beach Club to have naps and swim time.
We were out of the gateway and quickly back at the hotel by 2:30. Turns out, everyone was so exhausted and heat stroked that we all ended up immediately falling asleep. There was no swim time because everyone was passed out.
In the minutes before we passed out, Stephanie set up her computer to play the prequel to the Little Mermaid. I kept waking up and seeing a few minutes of it and then falling back asleep. It was a very weird movie. I think the only straight to video sequels I ever liked were the Lion King and the Aladdin ones.
Everyone slept until around 5:30, at which point it was time to head out for our super secret night of amazingness!
We had booked the Illuminations cruise as a special surprise for Stephanie's birthday. She had no clue at this point. So we would have to make it through dinner and then somehow get her back to the Yacht Club dock without spilling the beans.
Could we do it!? You'll have to tune in for the next installment.
I mean, I guess it is a troll, so its supposed to look weird, right?
We came across a photopass photog so we took advantage with a serious picture:
and a sassy picture:
Awww a panda topiary! So cute!
I skipped these pictures somehow, the photog could also do the Frozen magic shot!
Same picture, but we can't leave Anna out. You know how sisters get.
Then I saw my favorite, Pumba!!
I love him.
Then it was finally time for some food. I we ate at Germany firest and we ended up sitting at the picnic booths at Germany in the hot, blazing sun.
While we were eating Stephanie thought we may as well be the second people in line for Snow White at her wishing well.
We spent our time waiting having a discussion about the Disney Snow White versus the Once Upon a Time Snow. I much prefer the Once Upon a Time version, she is awesome.
This meet and great was kind of weird...Snow White pretty much sounded like Betty Boop. I've never met a Snow that talks like that. I let Stephanie do all the talking because I was still very taken aback by the voice.
After meeting Snow, we saw topiary Snow.
And her little men:
Hey, shouldn't you guys be working on your ride over in MK? We're all waiting for it to open.
Next up was the Muppets topiary.
We finally made it to America and decided to eat at the smokehouse.
But first...
That bad bear. Lotso and I have a history. We met him at the Tower of Terror 10 mile after party. Stephanie and her friend Mary had never met him, so I was trying to explain that no, he was not cute and cuddly, he was an evil, very bad bear. Lotso heard me and decided to mess up my hair and then stick his paw in front of my face for the picture.
This was Brian's meal:
I may have stolen some cornbread. Ok, yeah, I did. It was great.
And this was my choice:
Very tasty.
I also had to get one of these babies just to try it:
I'm really into maple flavoring, but I just thought this was ok. I ended up splitting it with Stephanie.
We also got a frushi to share:
It was super refreshing because it was sooo incredibly hot this day.
We were fairly well stuffed by this point so we took pictures on the way to the international gateway. Our plan was to head back to the Beach Club to have naps and swim time.
We were out of the gateway and quickly back at the hotel by 2:30. Turns out, everyone was so exhausted and heat stroked that we all ended up immediately falling asleep. There was no swim time because everyone was passed out.
In the minutes before we passed out, Stephanie set up her computer to play the prequel to the Little Mermaid. I kept waking up and seeing a few minutes of it and then falling back asleep. It was a very weird movie. I think the only straight to video sequels I ever liked were the Lion King and the Aladdin ones.
Everyone slept until around 5:30, at which point it was time to head out for our super secret night of amazingness!
We had booked the Illuminations cruise as a special surprise for Stephanie's birthday. She had no clue at this point. So we would have to make it through dinner and then somehow get her back to the Yacht Club dock without spilling the beans.
Could we do it!? You'll have to tune in for the next installment.
IheartDDuck
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
Who wouldn't want a picture with the weird buck-toothed troll topiary?
I love that Frozen magic shot!
I love "Once Upon a Time" Snow also. She's so awesome.
We got the bacon cupcake too, and it was just okay to me. The frosting was perfection, but the rest of it was just meh.
I love that Frozen magic shot!
I love "Once Upon a Time" Snow also. She's so awesome.
We got the bacon cupcake too, and it was just okay to me. The frosting was perfection, but the rest of it was just meh.
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
I really wish they had an Olaf meeting in the parks
That would be so amazing. Even if he is only like the one they have at DL who sits on a roof and talks to people.I think I like season 1 Snow the best. She is particularly bad *** in that season.
I totally hear you on that cupcake. It was so hyped up on the boards, but it was really just ok to me too.
HarkiQuinn
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2013
I've never seen topiary of the Muppets!!
And all your food looks delicious, I want to try a fushi. It looks interesting.
And all your food looks delicious, I want to try a fushi. It looks interesting.
stacy~**
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2006
I love the Cape May review! Your character pictures were all very cute. What a great idea to get picture with Donald in different outfits to be framed!
I have to say I am beyond impressed that you were at the IG Epcot entrance at 8:30 after a character breakfast AND after the insanely busy day you had at DHS.
Living with the Land is one of our favorites too for some reason. We are eating at Garden Grill next week and I am very excited to be eating food from the land (too bad the restaurant isn't spinning....unless its fixed?). Thinking we might try and do one of the backstage tours too but playing that one by ear.
I got the "double Mickey" vinylmation topiaries too. One of my girls got Donald and the other Minnie. My luck!
Cute Olaf magic shot! We need to track one of these down.
Can't wait to hear about your evening surprise!!
I have to say I am beyond impressed that you were at the IG Epcot entrance at 8:30 after a character breakfast AND after the insanely busy day you had at DHS.
Living with the Land is one of our favorites too for some reason. We are eating at Garden Grill next week and I am very excited to be eating food from the land (too bad the restaurant isn't spinning....unless its fixed?). Thinking we might try and do one of the backstage tours too but playing that one by ear.
I got the "double Mickey" vinylmation topiaries too. One of my girls got Donald and the other Minnie. My luck!
Cute Olaf magic shot! We need to track one of these down.
Can't wait to hear about your evening surprise!!
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
Yeah I think the Muppets were new this year.
The frushi was certainly interesting. I know it gets a lot of love on the disboards, and I thought it was good but not fabulous. It was very refreshing on a hot day though, I'll give it that.
I love the Cape May review! Your character pictures were all very cute. What a great idea to get picture with Donald in different outfits to be framed!
I have to say I am beyond impressed that you were at the IG Epcot entrance at 8:30 after a character breakfast AND after the insanely busy day you had at DHS.
Living with the Land is one of our favorites too for some reason. We are eating at Garden Grill next week and I am very excited to be eating food from the land (too bad the restaurant isn't spinning....unless its fixed?). Thinking we might try and do one of the backstage tours too but playing that one by ear.
I got the "double Mickey" vinylmation topiaries too. One of my girls got Donald and the other Minnie. My luck!
Cute Olaf magic shot! We need to track one of these down.
Can't wait to hear about your evening surprise!!
You should totally go on the Behind the Seeds tour! We've done it twice now. It is relatively short and very interesting. The first time we went I spotted a submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea through a window just sitting on the concrete outside the building. I asked the tour guide about it and she appeared a little flustered and said not to take pictures of it. I don't think many people noticed it.
If you end up getting magic maker for your upcoming trip, there are a ton of Frozen magic shots in DHS. Olaf is there, I believe there is a Sven one, and then several others.
Ugh I would have loved that Donald topiary! All the topiaries except for Sorcerer Mickey are going for a lot of money on ebay.
DexLabDeeDee
Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and glitter...
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2008
Our family also picks out places to live in the parks!
I definitely would like to stay in the fireworks scene from The Grand Fiesta Tour. Also, I have picked out a place in Anandapur. And there are several places in Spaceship Earth. And even though I'm not a huge princess fan (minus Belle - I LOVE Belle), I wouldn't mind kicking back in the castle!
My mom has a place picked out in Peter Pan's Flight. My sister is going to live in Japan and I wouldn't mind that either.
When I was little, I also wanted to live in a hotel as well as picturing myself living in Mesa Verde.
I definitely would like to stay in the fireworks scene from The Grand Fiesta Tour. Also, I have picked out a place in Anandapur. And there are several places in Spaceship Earth. And even though I'm not a huge princess fan (minus Belle - I LOVE Belle), I wouldn't mind kicking back in the castle!
My mom has a place picked out in Peter Pan's Flight. My sister is going to live in Japan and I wouldn't mind that either.
When I was little, I also wanted to live in a hotel as well as picturing myself living in Mesa Verde.
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
I always like to say that the castle doesn't count because it kind of trumps everything else.
I like all of those places you listed! Oooh and I forgot Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. So many places to live hahaha.
Well I haven't updated this in a while. Life has got a bit busy. We are trying to decide if we want to move to Florida or Texas. Brian just doesn't have a lot of engineering options here in Ohio that he can find, so we were going to give another state a try. Texas has way more engineering opportunities but if we go to Florida I get to try to work for Disney...so I think you all know which one I'd pick.
Anyway I want to get this report back going because I have tons of fun stuff I want to write about...
-like the upcoming Illuminations Cruise
-the 24 hour day at MK
-my best Disney day ever
and a lot more...
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
So last we left off we were all napping at this wonderful place:
Our alarm went off at 5:30. My stomach wasn't feeling great so I lagged behind a bit. I try to eat pretty healthy at home with very few carbs and little sugar that is not natural sugar so I always get slightly sick the first few days at WDW when I eat whatever I want. Ah well, small penalty to pay for Mickey bars.
So I lagged behind and took pictures on the walk to Epcot. I found no lack of inspiration.
I got a couple new topiary pictures that were by the bridge to France.
Then I soon arrived at our dinner destination: Spice Road Table.
It was an easy choice since Spice Road doesn't take ADRs and there was no wait. The restaurant is very pretty, we were seated outside next to the fence separating us from World Showcase. The food was all very good! I don't know why this restaurant isn't more popular.
We ended up getting a lot of food and desserts to share among the table.
Spice Road Table dinner review:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars. I loved being able to try new things. It turned out to be a very good idea to just order a lot of appetizers and different things and share among the table. I also had an alcoholic drink here and the bartenders were not stingy with the alcohol.
Characters: N/A
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 stars. I loved being able to sit outside and enjoy the lovely evening. It was also interesting to people watch while we waited for our food.
Overall: I would go back again. I liked that we could walk up to this restaurant and not have to wait too long or have an ADR for it months in advance. I enjoyed all the food a lot.
We were done with our meal around 7:15. At this point the three of us (minus Stephanie) gave varying excuses about being tired or feeling sick and said we wanted to head back to the hotel.
I think Stephanie was slightly confused at this, since she is used to my commando touring but she didn't put up a fight and we headed back out to the International gateway. I also was the recipient of the 'worst actor' award in my high school's video class...so yeah there is that.
We found an adorable baby bunny hanging out in the flowers.
The Beach Club is just the prettiest shade of blue.
We stopped back up in the room to grab some sweatshirts. We told Stephanie we wanted to walk around and explore a bit. This was our room's view:
I loved the seashell chairs in the lobby.
Our alarm went off at 5:30. My stomach wasn't feeling great so I lagged behind a bit. I try to eat pretty healthy at home with very few carbs and little sugar that is not natural sugar so I always get slightly sick the first few days at WDW when I eat whatever I want. Ah well, small penalty to pay for Mickey bars.
So I lagged behind and took pictures on the walk to Epcot. I found no lack of inspiration.
I got a couple new topiary pictures that were by the bridge to France.
Then I soon arrived at our dinner destination: Spice Road Table.
It was an easy choice since Spice Road doesn't take ADRs and there was no wait. The restaurant is very pretty, we were seated outside next to the fence separating us from World Showcase. The food was all very good! I don't know why this restaurant isn't more popular.
We ended up getting a lot of food and desserts to share among the table.
Spice Road Table dinner review:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars. I loved being able to try new things. It turned out to be a very good idea to just order a lot of appetizers and different things and share among the table. I also had an alcoholic drink here and the bartenders were not stingy with the alcohol.
Characters: N/A
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5 stars. I loved being able to sit outside and enjoy the lovely evening. It was also interesting to people watch while we waited for our food.
Overall: I would go back again. I liked that we could walk up to this restaurant and not have to wait too long or have an ADR for it months in advance. I enjoyed all the food a lot.
We were done with our meal around 7:15. At this point the three of us (minus Stephanie) gave varying excuses about being tired or feeling sick and said we wanted to head back to the hotel.
I think Stephanie was slightly confused at this, since she is used to my commando touring but she didn't put up a fight and we headed back out to the International gateway. I also was the recipient of the 'worst actor' award in my high school's video class...so yeah there is that.
We found an adorable baby bunny hanging out in the flowers.
The Beach Club is just the prettiest shade of blue.
We stopped back up in the room to grab some sweatshirts. We told Stephanie we wanted to walk around and explore a bit. This was our room's view:
I loved the seashell chairs in the lobby.
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