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

[courtneybelle]

I like to refer to Minnie as "my future boss's boss"

YAY DUMBO! That used to always be our first ride that we'd do at the Magic Kingdom. Now that we are older we head toward the Mountains at rope drop but it's still a very fond memory for me.

People who try to move ahead in line to "catch up with their family" are my BIGGEST pet peeve. I'm a little more sympathetic if it's just one person, but when I went I saw groups of five cutting the entire line to catch up with one person! Come on.

If zooming in on your pin lanyards is wrong, I don't want to be right. I love the Dopey license plate pin!

Crashing into the circus tent would have made for a really short TR...glad there were no casualties for the Dumbo ride.

The Rapunzel pictures are great! So colorful!

I'm very intrigued to see where your FP+ takes you...

 

[FancyNancy]

Great update! I just love Dumbo. The movie makes me cry though every time.

 

[hforman]

Ummm... I don't think so. Even at the fast rate I COULD go at, it would not be done in 13 days no way. Sorry, but I hope you have a wonderful time on your trip!

just kidding

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hahaha, Tomorrowland Terrace was open? That meant it was busy!

Never ridden Dumbo? Wow. That's just crazy.

Wait....let me take a selfie. Isn't Dumbo perfect for that?

Ugh, that stinks that you got that email about the Mine Train. At least you got a wild card.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Love your Dopey License plate pin Did you trade for that one?


Wow what a trip down memory lane. I didn't ride Dumbo at WDW, NF was still in building mode and my last trip was cancelled so it's great to see these in depth photos. I rode Dumbo at Disneyland for the first time in Summer 1956....it wasn't open until after we were there in 1955.....I was terrified...but a LOT younger than you when I rode it first time. and I believed that I was in the movie...I was a solitary child with a vivid imagination (even though I had older brothers, or maybe because of...)


Also Timmy, the grands had me read your tribute to HP and JK on IG....had me in tears, lovely, lovely sentiment and eloquent writing. As a former teacher, creative writer and unpublished author of children's books (by my own choice...once again terminal shyness...) written for my kids and grands, I can only say you have a way with words and an immense talent for weaving a story or sentiment!

(sorry for being so verbose but I felt I had to comment/compliment on this).

Thanks! My friend actually gave it to me for a birthday present last year. Her family are BIG pin traders, but... I did trade it away later on...

You most definitely should now. For someone who only saw it from afar before, it really has grown nicely as an attraction. But that is so cool how you got to ride it in its early days. It must've been super magical then.

Awww, you are just the sweetest. Thank you very much, Tink! I always try my best when I write little tributes like that on IG and on here too. I was very happy with how that one came out so I'm glad someone appreciated it.

You're talking to the KING of verbosity so don't worry. I don't mind one bit.

I like to refer to Minnie as "my future boss's boss"

I guess that works too.

YAY DUMBO! That used to always be our first ride that we'd do at the Magic Kingdom. Now that we are older we head toward the Mountains at rope drop but it's still a very fond memory for me.

Awww, that's so great. I wish I had a childhood at Disney to remember something like that. Either way, rope drops bolting to Space Mountain are great memories too.

People who try to move ahead in line to "catch up with their family" are my BIGGEST pet peeve. I'm a little more sympathetic if it's just one person, but when I went I saw groups of five cutting the entire line to catch up with one person! Come on.

Tell me about it! And that was all I saw. Just huge groups of people cutting the line. I wish there was an easier way to call people out on it so to not make a scene because it is obnoxious and needs to stop.

If zooming in on your pin lanyards is wrong, I don't want to be right. I love the Dopey license plate pin!

Haha, it's totally fine. Someone already said they liked that pin too. I will let you know I did trade it away. I don't know what for, but it is no longer in my possession. :/

Crashing into the circus tent would have made for a really short TR...glad there were no casualties for the Dumbo ride.

Most definitely, but Dumbo is a safe flyer and would never let that happen.

The Rapunzel pictures are great! So colorful!

Thank you Courtney!

I'm very intrigued to see where your FP+ takes you...

I guess you'll just have to wait and see...

Great update! I just love Dumbo. The movie makes me cry though every time.

Thank you!

Same. It is such a cute film, but honestly shocks me with how sad it is. "Baby Mine"

just kidding

Haha, just wanted to make sure.

Hahaha, Tomorrowland Terrace was open? That meant it was busy!

OH yeah. Tortuga Tavern and The Diamond Horseshoe were also open if that gives you an inkling of some of the crowds we faced.

Never ridden Dumbo? Wow. That's just crazy.

Yeah, I know. Shameful, but I finally did it, didn't I?

Wait....let me take a selfie. Isn't Dumbo perfect for that?

Totally!

Ugh, that stinks that you got that email about the Mine Train. At least you got a wild card.

It was really a blessing in disguise when all was said and done, but on that day, it was the worst news we could've gotten.

 

[KelleyK75]

Great pictures! I am glad you loved Dumbo. We rode in March and loved it. We did FP+ with it because my nephews picked that as their first choice of rides (they are 6 & 4) so I didn't want to have to worry about waiting in line. We pretty much walked right on, so we didn't get to see the queue area. It looks really cool though.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great pictures! I am glad you loved Dumbo. We rode in March and loved it. We did FP+ with it because my nephews picked that as their first choice of rides (they are 6 & 4) so I didn't want to have to worry about waiting in line. We pretty much walked right on, so we didn't get to see the queue area. It looks really cool though.

Thank you!

Dumbo is the best! It might be the most magical ride in Disney tbh And you should definitely wait in standby when you go back. They did a really nice job theming the queue, it is so cute!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Quick update for y'all on the Photopass situation! Thank you all again for your responses, they helped a ton. So... I did end up just buying individual downloads. $169 was just WAY too much money to reasonably spend and all downloads are $5 off until the 27th so I had to jump on that bargain and it all worked out fine. I will be posting all the PP photos within updates. All of them are from Character M&Gs so we have a little bit of time before you start seeing them.

In other news, I FINALLY found out who my college roommates are yesterday. And YES, I did say ROOMMATES, I am in a triple with two other guys. Neither are Disney fans, but one's from Nigeria which is pretty cool. I'm just a little over a month away until I move into my dorm so August will be a bit hectic, but I promise to keep these updates coming as consistently as possible.

Until then, here's another update for ya!

Brer Rabbit and the Hunt for Sven... Actually That's Nala
June 23rd, 2014

Okay... where was I?

Oh yeah, Rapunzel's Tower. Well, after admiring that beauty for a bit, we continued on. We still had a bit of time before our FP+ reservation arrived, but our attraction of choice wasn't too far away so we went to see AGAIN if the Haunted Mansion had a shorter wait. Unfortunately, it did not. I did take another quick pic because Haunted Mansion.



I am sure you're all wondering why I am holding up a Pluto vinylmation. Usually this is where I say, "It's a LONG story that I don't have time to tell", but it's not actually. Pluto here, nicknamed College Bound Pluto, was supposed to be the mascot of this trip and I was hoping to take some pictures of him here and there, but it never really got beyond breakfast on the second day. You'll see him a few more times on this day, but he's the Perry the Platypus of this trip report, he don't do much (Although he could easily be a top secret agent without my knowledge). He loves Haunted Mansion so he's worth mentioning!

Moving right along and shoving College Bound Pluto back into my pocket, I took a neat shot of Splash Mountain from Liberty Square. Seriously, my photography game was ON POINT.



Then, Nate and I waltzed our way into Frontierland! (and I don't kid when I say that we actually waltzed... or maybe I am... I actually know how to waltz so you may never know...)



The humidity was pretty bad around this time and it was looking like rain was coming our way although we felt NO drops. In order to escape and try to pass up as much time as we could, we headed into the little Frontierland store by the sign I just posted. We browsed and pin traded for a bit, when I saw a Cast Member by one of the doors that I recognized. She's an Instagrammer by the name of @dcp_er. I don't know what her actual name is, but I had followed her on IG for a bit, but shy me didn't have the guts to go over and say hi so I walked right on past. For someone who REALLY wanted to do some DISMeets, I was pretty awful at them. Let's hope I can fix that upon my return!

After successfully pin trading with every CM in the store and looking at a pin board they had, we made our way out. As we continued through the main Frontierland stretch, we proceeded to pin trade with most CMs along the way until we ended up in front of our destination:



I know the title of this update probably gave it away, but Nate and I had decided to use our SDMT FP+ for...

SPLASH MOUNTAIN!

Obvious choice. It was hot. The humidity was like this: Splash is a water ride. Water cools us down. And it's Splash. AND it just so happened to be listed under the rides we could use our FP+ reservation for. PERFECT!

Of course, we got there a little bit earlier than expected so we decided to head into the Briar Patch. But first, a quick shout-out to Splash's neighbor, Big Thunder!



We'll be seeing you later.

Meanwhile in the Briar Patch, Nate and I decided to pin trade like always. I think Nate traded with every Cast Member, while I browsed most of the time. I also tried to get a good photo of Brer Rabbit's humble abode. It didn't come out great, but it still captured the coziness of the Briar Patch. Most cutely themed shop in Disney, I tell ya!



Once all was said and done in there, we headed out. Our FP was still far off, but we went outside anyway. We mostly paced and did nothing. A rare occurrence, but what do you do when you are very close to your FP time and you're already by the attraction. Whatever, now I am just wasting good TR space with this paragraph. Moving on...

We did eventually get up to the FP+ entrance. There was a bit of a line going on once we made it up there. Some people went right on through, while others were having issues. It sounded like they had FPs for other rides, but just thought it would be totally okay to go on a more logical ride. Ummm, sorry, but that is NOT how it works. We also saw a group of people go through even though the scanner went red. There were so many of them and they bolted through so fast the CMs couldn't do anything, but finally it was our turn.

Nate walked up and touched his Magic Band to the MyMagic+ scanner.

The scanner did it's usual thing then...

It

Turned

Red.

We weren't exactly surprised by this. At least, I wasn't. Our FP was originally for the Mine Train, but Disney changed it to a sort of wild card FP like I explained earlier. Who knows what glitches came up? But what the girl CM holding the tablet that shows if the FP+ reservations are legit, confused me.

"Sorry guys, your next adventure is at Under The Sea."

Yeah, that was weird because we DID have an FP+ reservation for that after our ADR that evening, but to say it was now... It was weird. We talked with the other CM who was manning the scanner and told him about our Mine Train FP and that situation. I showed him the email I got earlier that day. He was very understanding and with a little bit of pixie dust, I put my MagicBand up against the scanner and BAM, we were IN!

The girl CM looked dumbfounded. She was shocked he was able to get us in. I guess MyMagic+ still doesn't fix itself that easily. Lucky us!

While traveling through the queue, Nate and I decided to use our time wisely by stashing all our valuables in his backpack. I would've loved to have given you all a nice round of photos of the queue or the ride, but I just wasn't chancing it. This was a new camera and my phone had been a nuisance so I didn't want to ruin them both so early on. I also think it was for the better because I hadn't been on Splash in a long time and without having to think about taking photos allowed me to enjoy the ride more this time. There are still photos coming your way for other things, just no more in terms of this Splash Mountain Adventure.

Now, I will let you know, this was no ordinary ride on Splash Mountain. Not at all. I've always had fairly normal Splash rides in the past even when the ride was a hit-or-miss because of technical issues (I was there right after they installed the lap bars). This time it was different. The log in front of us was empty, something that the CMs decided to do purposefully, and it was not working a Splash log should. There were many times early on in the ride where we came dangerously close to it. Like right before the down-and-up drop where you can hear Brer Fox's screams, it was right up against us. Luckily, the ride was able to make it so we were evenly spaced out, but eventually we caught up to it again. The final drop also spaced us out fairly well, but after that, there was no way of knowing what would happen when this misbehaving log decided it would climb up on the side of the flume and cause our log to do the same. Being neurotic Timmy, I actually thought our log might flip. That didn't happen, but we got stuck there for a few minutes with the "It seems Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing some commotion upstream. Please remain in your seats until the logs are in motion again." Then, I think they took this log out and we were free to exit. The guy who helped us with our FP+ situation was manning the exit now and we said hi. He was a pretty chill dude.

I didn't end up getting a redneck photo of us on the ride since Nate still had all my electronics packed away. Oh well, it wasn't anything amazing. I recall being the only person with my hands up and we were in the third row. Nothing special. One day that'll most definitely have to change, but for now, I was just happy to be reunited with my laughin' place.

After not getting a photo of our on-ride photo, we ended up in the gift shop where Nate immediately spotted a CM holding a Brer Rabbit and a pin lanyard. We decided to trade with her. I quickly pulled out my pins from my bag after we got off Splash so I was prepped and ready. I traded for a cool Nala pin she had (that I traded away again... not sure what for, but I'm kinda sad about it). Of course, I didn't ask to trade for a Nala pin, but I said this, "Can I trade for that Simba pin?" The CM said, "Sure", but not without a quick retort, "Actually that's Nala, that's why there is an N." Ooops, I really should've put two-and-two together, but in my haste to get that pin I didn't. Whatever, no issues. We traded and we're off.

Okay, not quite.

Nate had to make a trade too and his pins were buried in his still stuffed backpack so of course, he took it off right then and there, in the midst of oncoming rider traffic to make the trade. He did eventually, but it took quite a bit.

We left the gift shop and found a spot to get our electronic situation handled so Nate didn't have to walk around with a crazy stuffed backpack. Camera in hand, phone in pocket, etc. we were ready to go. We had an ADR somewhere in Fantasyland coming up so we decided to head back that way.



Ta da! Yeah, we got there just like that. Pixie dust. It truly works.

Originally, I had wanted to go see Enchanted Tales with Belle, but...



Our ADR was less than an hour away and we hadn't waited forty minutes for an attraction yet so I didn't plan on starting now. We continued further on into New Fantasyland.



We ended up back by Gaston's Tavern and decided to do some browsing (and pin trading) in the little gift shop right next store (I forget the name). I'm not sure I actually pin traded here, but I was particularly enamored by the Gaston merchandise:





I don't even know why I didn't get one of those shirts. I'd get my Gaston fix later on in the most unexpected way *said a la Jiminy Cricket*.

We still didn't manage to pass much time in there. A lot of the merchandise was pretty cool like the Lumiere candle holder was in there. It took quite the amount of self-restraint not to buy that one, but without my own money I couldn't really buy anything. Nate and I thought it wouldn't be too bad an idea to start checking out some other shops for something to buy for our friend Rishi back home. If you have forgotten, Rishi was the kid who came over to my house to watch Frozen the night before Nate and I left... and now he's obsessed. He wanted some stuffed animal and I knew they sold the Sven plushes here so we went looking for them. I didn't know exactly where to look for them, but I suggested to Nate we check out Castle Couture and Sir Mickey's.

First, we went in Castle Couture, where I saw Cinderella's pink dress and had to take a photo:



Someone please explain to me why she doesn't also greet in this or her scullery maid outfit. I would honestly be booking it her way if that happened. Not to hate on the classic blue dress, but c'mon, this would be cool! It's like if you could meet Aurora in her blue dress in WDW. Like, someone sign me up for that!

We didn't stay inside Castle Couture for long. We realized it really was more for bonafide princesses than a prince and a half prince half princess so we got out of there ASAP. I wanted a photo of Aurora's dress in Castle Couture, but Nate dragged me out and we went across the street to Sir Mickey's.

Sir Mickey's had quite a bit of Frozen stuff, but it was like with what they had at most places and there was no Sven to be found. It was just about time for our ADR and I thought it best to check in early so we made our way out. I noticed some SotMK players were playing it right outside Sir Mickey's and managed to get a decent pic of what was happening in the mirror.



I don't remember what happened at this one, still it was pretty cool looking.

Enough about Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and princess dresses, we had an ADR right around the corner to get to! See you there in a few!

Continued Here​

 

[FancyNancy]

Great update! I do agree that the Brier Patch is one of the cutest merch stores in MK!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great update! I do agree that the Brier Patch is one of the cutest merch stores in MK!

Thanks! Isn't it? That store is beyond adorable and to put it in the location they did, it's perfect!

 

[cas714]

Following Along

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Following Along

Awesome!

 

[MeridaLove]

Oh my gosh, You. Are. Adorable! Love your trip report!!
I've had so much fun reading and sharing in your Disney joy!
Can't wait to read all about the rest of your trip!

 

[Tink2Day]

Timmy you should have purchased the gray Gaston shirt it fits you to a tee (accidental pun).
Speaking of tees, were you able to get the Tower of Terror tee? We purchased öurs today, we almost missed them.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Oh my gosh, You. Are. Adorable! Love your trip report!!
I've had so much fun reading and sharing in your Disney joy!
Can't wait to read all about the rest of your trip!

Awww Thank you! You are too sweet. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I'll update ASAP.

Oh and

Timmy you should have purchased the gray Gaston shirt it fits you to a tee (accidental pun).
Speaking of tees, were you able to get the Tower of Terror tee? We purchased öurs today, we almost missed them.

Haha, I really should've, but I got an even better one later! You'll really like that one (although you might know which one that is already lol )

No, I didn't. I was thinking about it, but after spending the money on the Photopass downloads, I decided it was better not to. They looked pretty cool though!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Another awesome update!

Aw, I'm glad you were able to finally ride Dumbo! Like you said, there's just something about that ride that's so magical. And if we're admitting secrets about rides here, I've never watched Country Bear Jamboree OR the Tiki Birds. Woops!

I'm glad the Splash log didn't end up doing any damage to yall!

 

[KelleyK75]

Yay for another great update. Sounds like you had fun on Splash, and I'm glad you didn't have any issues with the other log. It sounds like you had a lot of great pin trading.

 

[LB1122]

Yea caught up again and loving it all. I so understand looking at every cast member lanyard for pins...my hubby and daughter did that to me during our holiday trip.

Glad your survived your Splash ride (this is one I have never been on)
and finally rode Dumbo

I am sure you are getting excited about college. YEAH!

 

[courtneybelle]

YAY ROOMMATES!!! Oh man, you are going to love college. I'm counting the days until I go back.

SPLASH!!! MY TRUEST OF LOVES! Sorry your ride was so chaotic, though!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Another awesome update!

Aw, I'm glad you were able to finally ride Dumbo! Like you said, there's just something about that ride that's so magical. And if we're admitting secrets about rides here, I've never watched Country Bear Jamboree OR the Tiki Birds. Woops!

I'm glad the Splash log didn't end up doing any damage to yall!

Thank you!

It is SOOO magical, I love it! *gasp* No CBJ OR Tiki Room?! *double gasp* You need to get on that. Those are both musts for Disney fans. So classic and fun, you'll like them a lot.

Seriously.

Yay for another great update. Sounds like you had fun on Splash, and I'm glad you didn't have any issues with the other log. It sounds like you had a lot of great pin trading.

Thanks! It is always fun, I just wish I was able to do it without worrying about that stinkin' log URGGHH. And yes, we most definitely did, so many great pin trading stories to come.

Yea caught up again and loving it all. I so understand looking at every cast member lanyard for pins...my hubby and daughter did that to me during our holiday trip.

Glad your survived your Splash ride (this is one I have never been on)
and finally rode Dumbo

I am sure you are getting excited about college. YEAH!

WOOHOO! OMG, I don't know how you guys do it. I prefer the quick drive by then ask, but I really should ask more often now.

You've never been on Splash? *gasp* You need to ride it. That's all I'm gonna say.

So pumped, but so nervous too. There is just so much going on in my life right now I don't know what to do with myself lol

YAY ROOMMATES!!! Oh man, you are going to love college. I'm counting the days until I go back.

SPLASH!!! MY TRUEST OF LOVES! Sorry your ride was so chaotic, though!

I'm so excited for it! But I have SOOOO much to do before move in day. Ugh, August is going to be such a stressful month.

It was fine. I still love Splash. I just wish it had been a less uneventful ride so I could take in more. Oh well, always next trip.