Characters vs. Pin Traders: It's Heated War! A Pixie-Dusted Nerdventure (COMPLETE)

[courtneybelle]

You know I have everything crossed that I can possibly cross for you to get out of submission!!!

Disney dumplings are one of the weird cravings I have. I try to order dumplings other places, and they're just not the same. I need them all the time!!! I'm glad you had a good meal at 'Ohana though. It used to be a must-do for us, but we took a break the last few trips. I want to go back next time though!

Such a great meet with Anna and Elsa!!

I can't wait to see what you think of MSEP!!! I know you're a Spectro enthusiast but I LOVE the Electrical Parade.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

You know I have everything crossed that I can possibly cross for you to get out of submission!!!

And I have everything crossed that I can possibly cross for you to get accepted!

Disney dumplings are one of the weird cravings I have. I try to order dumplings other places, and they're just not the same. I need them all the time!!! I'm glad you had a good meal at 'Ohana though. It used to be a must-do for us, but we took a break the last few trips. I want to go back next time though!

That's basically me with most things that Disney makes lol I refuse to eat waffles unless I absolutely must because they are nowhere near as good as Disney's (well... with candied strawberries... I'm not a waffle person). Anyways, yeah, 'Ohana is awesome! I definitely would return if I didn't have so many other sit-downs I want to try in the future.

Such a great meet with Anna and Elsa!!

It was! As much as I do despise Frozen (the hype is much unwarranted (over-unwarranted actually) in my opinion and has ruined it for me), I loved meeting them. They do, in some regards, deserve those long waits.

I can't wait to see what you think of MSEP!!! I know you're a Spectro enthusiast but I LOVE the Electrical Parade.

Spectro It will always be my fave, but you'll find seeing MSEP this trip lightened the blow of Spectro's demolition a bit for me.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

A Mine and A Mansion, What More Do You Need?
June 25th, 2014

Camera was ready and here we go:

My camera died right in the midst of filming so I pulled out my trusty iPhone and got to take pictures that way. It ended about when the Elliott float (Pete's Dragon) came by.



Some bokeh, if you will.











MORE BOKEH!





So how did I feel now seeing it all the way through?

Honestly...









I liked it.

Spectro will forever hold a special place in my heart as the singular parade to make me fall in love with Disney, but this was very cute and whimsical. I like that, especially when it comes to Disney. Also, it is still a pretty cool night parade and it's a classic and probably the most famous of all the Disney parades. I just wish that its existence didn't result in Spectro's nonexistence. I know over at Disneyland they've been wanting this parade back FOREVER and it kills me that we still have it, we wanted Spectro back, Spectro got destroyed and now DLR is getting a new parade. Yeah, I know, makes no sense at all. But I liked it and could definitely see myself watching it again.

After the parade, I had a brain fart.

Alright, not a brain fart in my touring but my note taking. Apparently I missed a whole SLEW of photos when I was note-taking, not to mention decided to do basically ALL of my notes, the day after I got back so I completely forgot to write about my last ride on...



THE HAUNTED MANSION, DUH!!!

Yeah, completely cut out. Smart move, Timmy. Luckily, a ride on the Haunted Mansion is the equivalent of meeting God in person so yeah, it's pretty much imprinted in my memory. Unfortunately, there was a significant amount lull time between my last photo of MSEP and that first photo of the HM entrance. I have no clue what happened. We might've been fighting crowds, we might've stopped in a store, we might've... WHO CARES?! It was time to ride the Haunted Mansion again! Let's get to that!



Some more bust selfies:





Then, I had to pay my respects to Master Gracey, per the norm.



Say hello to the good ole' Captain!



And then in we went!

So, as you know, so far every night we managed to ride the Haunted Mansion around midnight. Tonight, we were cutting it close since we headed fairly quickly over to HM after the second MSEP, which ended around 11 so we hopped in line around 11:46, which led us right on into the ride until we stopped right at my favorite scene:



Hiya Constance! Did you get any watches along with those beads?

I checked my phone around this time since I had to turn it on to get the photo and lo and behold, it was only a few minutes after midnight.

We had done it again!

For the last time and it was glorious. Usually, it's sad when you ride your favorite for the last time, but this really was quite fulfilling. It was the perfect way to end off the Haunted Mansion trilogy of this trip. Don't worry, I'll be hurrying back real soon Master Gracey! Goodbye!

After exiting Gracey Manor for the final time, Nate and I decided to see how the wait was for the Mine Train one last time. I think my iPhone died at this point so I have no photos from our walk over, but I know when we got there, the wait was still at around 75 minutes. I was fed up and said that it was do or die now for Mine Train. We had the worst luck and without a FP this is what we would have to deal with. Nate was nervous since 75 minutes meant that we would ride close to park closing and might be turned away. I told him that park closing means they don't let any more people into the park or for those already in the park onto any more rides so he conceded and we hopped in line.

The line wasn't out into the extended queue, but it was still fairly long. It wasn't an issue, we expected it, the real issue was the people who were line hopping. Within 20 minutes of waiting in line, we were passed by a ton of people who said they were meeting other people in line and it was obnoxious. The line did move, but I couldn't believe how many people had the gaul to line jump. It was annoying. To the point, Nate and I became very verbal about this which allowed us to make friends with a young couple in their 20s who was right in front of us. We talked with them about whatever until we got to the real queue...

Which, yes, is as cool and perfect as everyone says...















They definitely did a spot-on job and making it interactive, it was lovely! I especially loved the water thing where you could put your hand under the spouts and water came out being lit by different colors. The barrels were also pretty cool. It definitely made the time go by getting to look at it all and experience it.

I tried to get a photo of myself with a cooler part of the queue, but ended up with this:



Yeah, I was there, in front of a rock wall. Highlight of my evening.

It was a little after that photo was taken, we finally got into the loading area.



And I'll just skip my usual banter about waiting and stuff and just say, SDMT was fabulous! Yes, it is very tame, but super fun. The animatronics in the mine section were great and I loved the ending/homage to SWSA. It didn't exceed expectations, but I enjoyed it to the point of satisfying expectations. Nate seemed a bit let down by it since I think he expected it to be a bit more intense based on the hype, he still seemed to enjoy it, especially when we tried to get our cart to swing more during one of the last hills. Also, we were seated in the back, which made some of the hills a lot more thrilling.

After we exited (of which involved me tripping on my bag strings (the ride seats are very tight)), we were fully ready to end my night, but we realized the wait was DEFINITELY NOT 75 minutes and still had a lot of time. So what to do with a night still young, but younger than expected?

We'll have to wait and see...

Continued Here​

 

[Newsies]

YES!!!!

FINALLY YOU REACHED THE MINE TRAIN!!!

Oh... and that stuff about the Haunted Mansion and parade was all cool too

In all seriousness, I'm glad you liked the MSEP. It's very cute. It's normally when I meet Tink and Talking Mickey in town square, but still cute

I applaud you and Nate for getting verbal over line cutters. Literally my only peeve at WDW is line cutters. That's it. I don't care about tour groups, I don't care about bad weather- line cutting gets me steamed. Like a carrot, but more red and less orange

 

[courtneybelle]

Pete and Elliott are my FAVORITES so I dig the bokeh.

See, part of the reason why I love MSEP is because while Wishes and Fantasmic get me choked up in parts, MSEP is just fun the whole time. I dig it.

YAY Haunted Mansion at midnight again!!! So perfect for you!

So glad you got to do Mine Train and NOT with a 75 minute wait!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

YES!!!!

FINALLY YOU REACHED THE MINE TRAIN!!!

YES I DID! Definitely worth the wait.

Oh... and that stuff about the Haunted Mansion and parade was all cool too

In all seriousness, I'm glad you liked the MSEP. It's very cute. It's normally when I meet Tink and Talking Mickey in town square, but still cute

And MSEP totally is. Honestly, I would much prefer meeting Tink or Talking Mickey because I have done neither and characters are my thing.

I applaud you and Nate for getting verbal over line cutters. Literally my only peeve at WDW is line cutters. That's it. I don't care about tour groups, I don't care about bad weather- line cutting gets me steamed. Like a carrot, but more red and less orange

Uggghhh, it never really bothered me before until that point where people literally were so passively able to cut the line saying they had to meet people up ahead when they would literally just jump in right in front of us. Yeah, classy.

Pete and Elliott are my FAVORITES so I dig the bokeh.

I still need to see that movie, but OMG I literally freaked when I saw I managed to capture that bokeh.

See, part of the reason why I love MSEP is because while Wishes and Fantasmic get me choked up in parts, MSEP is just fun the whole time. I dig it.

Yeah, it is. I just prefer a more Wishes/Spectro type of nighttime. They both flowed into one another perfectly. I miss it. :/

YAY Haunted Mansion at midnight again!!! So perfect for you!

Hehe, it was THE BEST! I don't think I will ever be able to ride it at any other time of the day now because HM... at Midnight... WHAT?!

So glad you got to do Mine Train and NOT with a 75 minute wait!

Those wait times are seriously deceiving, not to mention the interactive queue probably cuts the time in half no matter if it's off or not.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Laugh Floor at 1am LOL
June 25th, 2014

The delirium was starting to come on as usual and I had the greatest spur of the moment idea ever!



It was sitting right there, right in front of us when we got off Mine Train so... why not? Nate unfortunately would have to sit it out (his reaction to spinny rides are not health conscious). I could feel he was already done and was only sticking around for my sake so I gave him my camera to take photos while I spun to my heart's content. Here is what he captured:









Yeah, you see that blur right there. That's me. I take my spinning VERY seriously. Ask people, I have perfected the art of spinny rides. I'm world renown hehe



All I can say after that is for those, like me, who tend to skip rides like the Mad Tea Party: You haven't lived until you have ridden it close to closing.

In a complete delirium, I knew it was time we try to make our way out of the Kingdom. Nate wanted to go through Tomorrowland one more time so we did that.



We stopped by Mickey's Star Traders for a second to pin trade and look at the Stitch merch then continued along when we saw this:



Buzz looked like they were closing up shop already so Laugh Floor it was! The CM at the entrance looked as though she was about to close up too, but let us in right at the last minute! WOOT WOOT The delirium was real, yo.



Apparently I am quite fascinated by these at 1 in the morning:











Watching, always watching...





We ended up standing around in the pre-show area before it started and after it ended for some reason. I'm guessing they were really hoping to fill up the theater or they need a certain capacity to run it. I doubt they were gonna get more than the crowd they got. Very few vacation goers are as crazy as Nate and I. Eventually, the blue doors opened and we were let in.

I gotta tell ya, Laugh Floor is VERY interesting at 1am. It's not as lively, but you just giggle at everything. Also, it allows for more of an opportunity to be featured on the screen when everyone's getting to their seats and waiting for the show to start. And yeah, I got spotlighted, I was "the guy that thinks that everyone is watching him." Normally I'd have a sassy response that, but I just giggled. Told ya 1 in the morning is a giggly time!

I mean, I was so giggly, I actually managed to not get annoyed at this lady they chose to say some stupid silly phrase. She just wouldn't say it. It literally dragged so bad because she just wasn't into it at all. It was ridiculous! Everyone was laughing because the monster on screen was jumping around in circles, waiting for her response. I can only imagine what the CMs were thinking, luckily, eventually, that section ended and then we got a fabulous "THAT GUY"! He was great and got us through the rest of the show. That lady really needed to take a chapter out of his book on letting loose a little.

The show then ended after that. It wasn't my favorite time going on it, but it was definitely my most memorable. It was now past closing in MK so out of Tomorrowland. We left.

Before we left, I had to get some photos of and with the sign:





The sass was back!

Goodbye Castle!



The rest of our night was pretty redundant of the previous nights. Nate fell asleep on the bus while I entertained myself with the camera.



It was so kismet I saw Newsies in October. It still saddens me a little over a month after I took that photo, Newsies closed on Broadway. It deserved a much longer run.

Anyways, we got back to the resort. Nate pretty much hit the sack right when we got into the room. I took a shower, set a wake-up call (even though we were pretty much sleeping in) and konked out right as my head hit my Pluto pillow pet.

Today was hands down my favorite day of the trip. It was basically perfect. I got to do so much along with being able to take a break. I saw Festival of Fantasy, met Jess, I FP'd Princess Anna & Queen Elsa, rode Mine Train finally, rode Haunted Mansion for the third time at midnight, went on my first solo adventure in AK... the list goes on and on. It was a good day and for that I needed a good night's rest to be fully prepared for our last day in the parks. Let's hope the wake-up call works this time though!

Continued Here​

 

[Newsies]

dat 1:00 am delirium tho... hahahahahaha looks like you had a fun time on the tea cups!!!

Looks like a good time in Tomorrowland! I like the sassy photo of you.

Preaching to the choir about Newsies closing. Just seeing that photo of a Newsies ad on the Disney bus makes me sad

Can't wait to read on!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

dat 1:00 am delirium tho... hahahahahaha looks like you had a fun time on the tea cups!!!

Looks like a good time in Tomorrowland! I like the sassy photo of you.

Preaching to the choir about Newsies closing. Just seeing that photo of a Newsies ad on the Disney bus makes me sad

Can't wait to read on!

Seriously though and I most definitely did. Love me some late night teacups!

Haha, thanks and I most definitely did.

I'm still not over it, but I'm so glad I got to see the toursies and prior to the new Crutchie song becoming offish, which makes up for a lot of the sadness brought on by the Newsies' premature Broadway closing.

I'll be updating right after I post this reply.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

The Long Awaited Reunion And Fabled First Row Part I
June 26th, 2014

Today, the wake-up call actually worked! We got up and were on our way. There was morning Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom, but we both felt we had spent a sufficient amount of time at the Kingdom so it was off to get on a bus to EPCOT!











We went out by way of the gift shop and checked out the Trivia board:



I think I know all of the answers, but anyone else want to give it a try?

Okay, you can lemme know later. We went out, got right on a bus and soon we arrived back in the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.



Oooo Hidden Mickey!



You can't hide from me Spaceship Earth...



I got through the gates no problem, though a decent crowd had formed (we got there around an hour after rope drop). Nate had very little issues with his Magic Band this time. I still managed to use the time waiting for him to capture these beauties on film:





Nate was right behind me by the time I got the second shot. I said we should go see if Stitch is in his little hidden meeting spot on the side of Leave A Legacy so off we went!





We didn't find Stitch, but we found someone even better.

Much better.

And who was that?



PLUTO!!!

MY BOY!!!

Yeah, we weren't able to walk up to him just like that. The wait's not important. I was being reunited with my bud. Nate didn't join me on this greet, but he did request I get an autograph for him while he took photos, which I did do for him, of course.

I actually got fairly emotional around Pluto and went right in for the hug. Our interaction was brief, but it didn't matter much I was so happy to see him! And Nate got a ton of photographs, even double fisting it for the purpose of IG.









We had a bit of a struggle with getting the autograph books in the proper place for Pluto to sign (his signature actually came out kinda crummy on my book), but we managed. Then, we took a photo to commemorate our reunion.







I gave him one last hug and may or may not have blown my pup a kiss goodbye thus ending our reunion. I was a little sad, but more happy to have gone to seen my fave again finally and now we had an FP+ reservation to attend to.

Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

The Long Awaited Reunion And Fabled First Row Part II
June 26th, 2014















To answer your question, yes there was some pin trading going down along the way. I think we went in Club Cool for a second too, but no significant trades were made.

And to answer your other question, yes, our FP+ was in The Land and I'm not leading you astray. We did however realize that we still had some time before our return time and Nate wasn't feeling too great this morning so we went to find a place to rest for a moment before going to get in the FP+ line.



We found a little spot in the back of Sunshine Seasons and settled there. I used the time we had over there putting together my pin lanyard since we kinda rushed out of the room. Eventually, I did get up and did some pin trading. I got another compliment on my Dreamfinder pin that day, which was awesome, considering it was from a CM in EPCOT. I think we talked a bit about the original JII and then I took a bathroom break before coming back to get Nate to go get in line for...



SOARIN', of course!




I think that family had me take a picture of them while we waited. Or they thought I was taking a picture of them. I forget lol



I'm sure you're all wondering why Nate and I didn't get up early enough to do the Soarin' rush and get two rides in. Well, I'm not the biggest fan of Soarin'. I just wasn't as amazed or thrilled by it during my past trips. I liked it. I didn't understand the hype.

I was telling Nate about this along with the fact I had never been in the front row for Soarin'. I always ended up with second or third row. Many DISers had told me that I should request it so I let Nate know that for when we got to the front.

By our luck, we ended up getting placed in the first row anyways! I let out a triumphant "YES" and the CM laughed at me. We also were the last ones to get the front so we were truly truly lucky. Lined up and ready to go, the pre-flight briefing began...







Soarin' to tower, we are ready for takeoff!


I like to call this photo: "Patrick Warburton slays always"

The ride was much better than I remembered so I definitely agree front is best. I really got to enjoy all aspects and the experience felt much more visceral than before. I definitely can understand. Would I call it my favorite? No, but A favorite, yes.

It was really sad on the way out to walk by the old FP kiosks covered up. I tried to get a picture but it came out crappy and you can barely see it. I'm still upset paper FPs are a thing of the past. *sigh*

Well, we still had a lot to do and yet another ADR to attend to.

World Showcase, here we come!

Continued Here​

 

[Tink2Day]

Sorry I have fallen so far behind, but January and February have once again been horrible months for us.

Woot! Front ROW!
I got the front row on my first ride too so now I'm spoiled. It sure reminded me of times gone by, although when I've flown to Disneyland I didn't see anything but the ocean. I probably should have flown into John Wayne in Orange and I might have seen it as I flew in.

Good find on the Hidden Mickey! I love the lights in the sidewalk at Epcot but I didn't see the hidden Mickey in the manhole cover.
You look so happy to see your buddy Pluto!

 

[Tink2Day]

P.S. I'm with you on paper FPs. I happen to have a couple, one from ToT and one from RnR. I was going to give them away but both rides were walk on for our time frame. Yay, even though I would have gifted them if anyone needed them.

 

[courtneybelle]

I don't do the Mad Tea Party for similar reasons to Nate, but if I did, it would definitely be at 1 a.m. when I think, "Oh, I won't get sick this time, great idea!"

I would be the EXACT SAME at Laugh Floor. Just giggling at everything, even the parts that aren't funny.

Your meet with Pluto looks so fun!!! All the pics are adorable.

I kind of just assume there's always pin trading involved wherever you go. And I support it 100%.

Did you see the official announcement that they're refurbing the Soarin' film? I'm really excited about it! The film is in such bad shape and it really needs an update.

 

[Newsies]

Gorgeous photos of AoA, as usual! But I must know... WHY DID MICKEY GO TO OUTER SPACE?

Your M&G with Pluto made me super happy. Don't worry, we ALL know what it's like to be reunited with a character and get emotional.

"Patrick Warburton slays always" had me rolling. Your commentary is on-point all the time.

Don't even get me started on the legacy FPs. I appreciate being able to plan FP+ for slots that are convenient for me, really I do, but I crave the "classic Disney" aesthetic of holding a paper FP. Sigh.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Sorry I have fallen so far behind, but January and February have once again been horrible months for us.

Woot! Front ROW!
I got the front row on my first ride too so now I'm spoiled. It sure reminded me of times gone by, although when I've flown to Disneyland I didn't see anything but the ocean. I probably should have flown into John Wayne in Orange and I might have seen it as I flew in.

Good find on the Hidden Mickey! I love the lights in the sidewalk at Epcot but I didn't see the hidden Mickey in the manhole cover.
You look so happy to see your buddy Pluto!

It's all right Tink. I'm glad to have you back!

There really is no other way to do it. I'm now going to always be asking to sit in the front row when I get to that part of the line.

Oh wow, really? They are everywhere, but I guess it is strange that I'm looking down at manhole covers when Spaceship Earth is just beyond the tree line.

I was VERY happy, ecstatic to see my boy! I missed him so. I pretty much cried into his armpit lol

P.S. I'm with you on paper FPs. I happen to have a couple, one from ToT and one from RnR. I was going to give them away but both rides were walk on for our time frame. Yay, even though I would have gifted them if anyone needed them.

I have like four. I have two for Space, one for Everest and I think the other might be TSM, but I'm not positive. My most valued possessions. Really hoping I can go to DLR before they phase out of paper FPs.

I don't do the Mad Tea Party for similar reasons to Nate, but if I did, it would definitely be at 1 a.m. when I think, "Oh, I won't get sick this time, great idea!"

I would be the EXACT SAME at Laugh Floor. Just giggling at everything, even the parts that aren't funny.

Your meet with Pluto looks so fun!!! All the pics are adorable.

I kind of just assume there's always pin trading involved wherever you go. And I support it 100%.

Did you see the official announcement that they're refurbing the Soarin' film? I'm really excited about it! The film is in such bad shape and it really needs an update.

Haha, YES! That would probably be the time someone could convince me to ride RnRC lol

The delirium gets so real. Laugh Floor was the optimum attraction for that hour.

It was! I had a major heart-to-heart moment with him and then I got all super awkward. Poor Pluto having such a weird fan like me.

Yeeeaaahhh, it's getting pretty redundant from the TR writing standpoint lol

I didn't. That's awesome! It definitely needs some tweaking. I cannot wait now to see what it looks like all fancified.

Gorgeous photos of AoA, as usual! But I must know... WHY DID MICKEY GO TO OUTER SPACE?

Your M&G with Pluto made me super happy. Don't worry, we ALL know what it's like to be reunited with a character and get emotional.

"Patrick Warburton slays always" had me rolling. Your commentary is on-point all the time.

Don't even get me started on the legacy FPs. I appreciate being able to plan FP+ for slots that are convenient for me, really I do, but I crave the "classic Disney" aesthetic of holding a paper FP. Sigh.

Thank you! And Mickey went to Outer Space because he wanted to go see Pluto. Kind of a crappy joke, but a cute one nonetheless.

I feel like that that's going to be my M&G with him from this now on. I love that pup to death.

I mean... I try. I really do.

I miss the whole strategy that came with the original introduction of FPs. They were there just in case the line was too long for a ride and you wanted to come back later so you would use FPs. It was ingenius and really helped with adding some spontaneity to what usually needed to be a planned out trip. Now you have to plan FPs way in advanced like ADRs and you won't even know if you need them or not. It's annoying. I love Magic Bands and a lot of those perks, but original paper FPs was a much smarter system than the FP+ IMO *rant over*

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Hello lovely people who are still following along with my TR!

I thought I would give you a quick life update. Not a lot has happened, but I don't like to go too long without one. In terms of my DCP, there is no new news. I'm still in submission. Still, many of my friends who applied alongside me have gotten in and I'm so incredibly happy for them, especially considering for a few of them this was their last chance to be able to participate in the college program. So congratulations to all of them (shoutout to the fab courtneybelle)! Spring break is coming up soon and following spring break I'm probably going to be getting mega-busy because of what the second half of this semester entails as well as Urinetown coming up only two weeks after break so I'm thinking about doubling up on updates for next week in case I end up disappearing for a bit. Very excited for spring break, it's been a lot more stressful this semester than I expected and I need the break. Also, it finally reached a manageable temperature up here in Saratoga so I was able to wear shorts again, which is the greatest thing ever since that means spring and summer are basically here. Anyways, onto the update (and Happy Spring Break to those who are about to go on it like myself)!

I Like A World Showcase Part I
June 26th, 2014

We wasted no time heading to World Showcase after getting off Soarin'!

Goodbye Land!



It was lovely seeing you again Garden Grill! I'll be back to visit soon!



We went towards World Showcase in the direction of Figment and Canada, a very unusual way for me.













When we arrived in Canada, we realized that we still had a bit of time before our lunch ADR so we kinda fell into a stroll and just enjoyed the World Showcase right up until we hit our lunch spot.

In Canada, we also hit up a CM for some pin trading. Not sure if any trades were made, but it kinda became a trend for us as we neared the end of of our trip with very few trades being made.

We still enjoyed the beauty of this pavilion.


Chateau Frontenac NOT Hogwarts


Love me some WS trash bins




I most definitely want to eat here one day.



I love it when people think I am taking a photo of them and get so appalled. I'm surprised a tumblr hasn't been created around this because I know I'm not the only one who has managed to capture people's reaction to my scenic photography.





Now, we're in the UK!





Nate wanted to go inside to look at the tea selection and maybe trade pins with a Cast Member. We got to trade with Emmy, who had the most adorable British accent (if it weren't for the fact that I'm just in love with the everything that is Italy, the UK would be my favorite pavilion solely based on accents). She was super sweet and complimented us on our pins. I think we did end up trading with her or at least one of us did. I also think Nate got a few teas and then we were back out on the streets of the UK.





Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I Like A World Showcase Part II
June 26th, 2014

Then, we hit the International Gateway bridge (in the non-literal sense)!



I realized as we were walking over that I had yet to get a picture on the bridge so I asked Nate to take one of me with the Eiffel tower in the background.



I asked Nate if he wanted one, but he didn't seem too worried about it. I think he was more satisfied with the fact I asked him to take a picture of me and not scoff him off with a selfie.

Into France, we venture!



We saw Belle making her exit from a set. I made a mental note to go visit her later.



I am just realizing now, we never ended up exploring this pavilion much especially in the area of food. I'll definitely have to be more proactive about that when I return because I'm really trying to spend more time in World Showcase more and more with every trip.

On to Morocco!





I think my biggest regret was bypassing meeting Al and Jas here. I'm definitely looking forward to those character hunting days CPers seem to go on all the time. I have a lot of ground to make up for.

Japan began right where Morocco ended (as if that makes any sense)...



Then, the American Adventure pavilion, right after. I still need to go back inside to watch the Voices of Liberty and see the show. It really became the most underappreciated pavilion of this trip to be honest.



Finally, we arrived at our destination: Italy!



We saw Sergi out with the soccer balls as we entered in.



Ahhh, so in love with this pavilion!



Unfortunately, I didn't have time to enjoy all the beauty that is the Italy pavilion and watch Sergi, we had a dining reservation to get to at...



VIA NAPOLI!

This reservation was one I made after asking everyone what some of their recommendations were. I hadn't even considered it on my list of places to eat and everyone was giving me the same recommendation. I even had Tutto Italia, the original Italy restaurant, on my list and yet this won out. I was going with gut feelings before and this time I went with a DIS fave.

We walked on and it was pretty crowded upon entry.



I ended up having to wait in line to check-in. I think some people were trying to do walk-ups and it just wasn't happening. Luckily I booked this ADR months in advanced so I ended up getting to skip the line eventually.

The lady I checked in with was really nice, but it took a bit longer for her to check us in, mostly because I had to spell my name for her. We eventually were checked in and she actually asked us if we were celebrating anything, which was the first time I heard that this whole trip. I told her our graduation and she congratulated us. Before that moment, I thought they might've phased out of the celebration thing so it was awesome to know they didn't. I'll definitely have to be more up front about that.

We didn't wait too long before they called us. They used my first name here so it took me off guard and I was craning my neck as the waitress walked us to our table to make sure it was me because I'm a bit nervous like that. It kinda made for an awkward greeting, but what was more awkward was when she told me that our table actually wasn't ready after calling us in so we headed back to the waiting area. Then, we were called back just as we were about to settle into wait again when no later did she call for us again.

We were seated and ready to mangia!

Continued Here​

 

[Tink2Day]

You're making me wait for FOOD PICTURES???

I am so hoping you make it into the CP. If not this year, as I said before, maybe you can apply next year. That might even be better for you, but I'm sending pixie dust your way!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

You're making me wait for FOOD PICTURES???

I am so hoping you make it into the CP. If not this year, as I said before, maybe you can apply next year. That might even be better for you, but I'm sending pixie dust your way!

Haha, I felt it was a very effective way to keep you in suspense.

Thanks Tink! I'm still keeping my hopes up, but I'm totally fine waiting another year to apply. It really might be for the best.