"First Of All, How Dare You" A November 2015 TR! **New TR Link!**

[MarieLightning]

Day 7, Part 4 - That's Fine, I'll Just Be Passive Aggressive About It

We reached Tomorrowland before too long and tried to decide what we wanted to do at that point.

Space had a fairly lenghty wait, even with it being a party night, so we decided to go for something a little more tame.

Buzz!

I love Buzz. Even though I suck at it.

I don't know whose score that was. Probably Amber's. I rarely break the 100K barrier.

My sentiments exactly.

By then, we had done enough wandering around that it was getting fairly close to fireworks, and we knew we'd have to start thinking about getting a good spot.

We headed over past Tomorrowland terrace, onto the bridge area.

We decided that that vantage point was actually a decent view, with the bonus of sitting possibilities as there is a bench along the bridge, so I took a seat and Amber went to gather some more Christmas treats.

She decided to switch to apple slices though. To be honest, the cookies weren't that amazing anyway.

Cast Members did a good job of keeping people moving on the bridge, but before too long people were lining the walls, and then just standing short of the middle. Really, ought to have been expected - people will never stop themselves from standing in front of sitting people, really.

We felt bad about standing ourselves at that point, because the bridge angles out and back in, and we were along the angling out portion, but there were still people sitting a little further back than us. As such, our standing meant we would end up standing in front of those people.

We ended up moving just a little in front of the guy who'd planted himself right in front of us.

Still not in the way of the pathway, though, so we were good, if a little passive aggressive about it.

We enjoyed the fireworks, and although I wouldn't say they're my favorite by any stretch of the imagination, I'm glad we finally got to see them.

Also, although a decent viewing spot, I wouldn't watch the fireworks from the Tomorrowland bridge again. Hearing the music from the land and soundtrack from the PeopleMover mix in with the fireworks' soundtrack is a bit distracting.

Once the fireworks were over, we waited for the area to clear and decided to get ourselves a couple of shots in front of the lit up castle.

And then we started making our way completely out of Tomorrowland to try and find a spot for the second parade. Main Street was already pretty well lined up at that point, so we decided to try and head over toward Frontierland.

We ended up stopping in Liberty Square, because there was a perfect spot right along the road, where the roped area was just small enough for one row of sitting people and one row of standing. Or in our case, sitting as well, because it was right along one of the brick planters, which are right about bench height.

Amber settled down and I headed over to find a snack. I had something specific in mind, which I'd never tried before but had been wanting to try for years now.

The nutella and fruit waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow!

Sadly, I have no pictures because I rushed back to our spot right after grabbing it so that Amber could go get herself more apple slices and a cup of water. Also, I didn't have a plate and it's a pretty huge thing to contain in flimsy paper, so eating it was a bit of a mess. But it was delicious. I'd definitely get one again when I can actually sit down at a table to enjoy it.

We got to see Tiana walking out of her meeting spot before the parade started, so we snatched a picture.

And then...

These two women who were sitting right in front of us stood up for the parade.

And then pretty much the entire front row (save a few decent people) stood up in unison, blocking the back row which probably consisted 90% of children.

Parade etiquette 101, guys.

If you're in the front row, along the rope - You. Sit. Down.

If there's a child standing behind you because you've been sitting all the time leading up to the parade - You. Stay. Seated.

If you don't want to sit down, don't stay in the front row.

I get it - sitting for a long period of time can be rough. I can't sit for too long before my feet and legs start getting tingly and losing feeling.

But if I know I won't be able to sit while waiting for the parade and then during the parade, I stay standing while waiting for it and then sit down when it comes around.

It's not only common courtesy, it's common sense.

Seriously, this has got to be one of my biggest Disney pet peeves. Nobody will ever find an argument that'll convince me that it's not just plain rude to sit in the front row while waiting for a parade and then stand up once it comes around.

So, now that that's settled...

Here comes Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas Parade!

(Pictures of which I took by holding my camera out front, right by the head of one of the ladies who were standing in front of us. Yes, I'm a very passive aggressive person. I hope she got annoyed. I have no shame whatsoever.)

Lovely skaters.

Anna and Elsa coming around.

These guys always impress me along Main Street - I feel like I'd get myself caught in the trolley tracks so much with the 'skis' they have on.

Crazy faces are the best.

Yoo hoo! Big Summer Blowout!

I'm glad we still get to see Vaneloppe and Ralph around. Somewhat. Once in a blue moon.

I wonder if they'll go back to meeting after the sequel comes out? One can only hope, I guess.

This part of the parade always smells so good.

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[MarieLightning]

Day 7, Part 5 - Once Upon A Christmas Time At Christmas

(This is basically all parade pictures, so feel free to skip ahead!)

Goofy coming around! My favorite instance of his float was definitely Halloween 2013, because it was closing up the parade and they handed lollipops around to everybody.

No such luck ever since.

Those horses are so tiny. Tiny horses.

And now, the part of the parade at which we all say - I like them better when they're undead.

Their dresses are still pretty gorgeous though.

Here come the princesses! And re-used Celebrate A Dream Come True float!

At least Disney is pretty good at re-using stuff, I'll give them that.

Always nearly impossible to get a good picture of Tiana all the way up there, though.

And now it's time for toys!

I gotta say, I'm looking forward to Toy Story 4. I'm curious to see what they'll do with it.

Toy soldiers always kinda creep me out.

Reindeers!

That means you know what's next...

It's Santa, of course!

And that's all, folks.

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[MarieLightning]

Day 7, Part 6 - Look At All The Snoap!

With the second parade over and a little under an hour to go before the end of the party, the place started clearing up pretty fast.

Since we were already over in Liberty Square, we decided to go hit a favorite.

Best Haunted Mansion is no wait Haunted Mansion, amiright?

Since there were no FastPasses at that time, and the line was non existent, the two lines connected together and so we bypassed the cemetery. Like the good old days, when you could pick which line you preferred.

Amber then wanted to have a look at the dance party in Tomorrowland, so we headed over to Cosmic Ray's, where it was being held.

She briefly got her dancing on, but we called it good before too long.

At that point, we were both getting pretty tired, and there wasn't really anything we felt we could get done before midnight. Most character lines would be closed at this point, at least for characters meeting outside. We'd done the rides we wanted to do during the evening, so we were good on that point too.

We just started heading back toward Main Street with one last goal in mind.

When we'd done the Christmas party in 2012, we'd somehow missed the snoap on Main Street.

This time around, it was definitely on full blow!

Snoaping with a vengeance.

We stopped for a PhotoPass picture in front of the castle.

Amber had seen the couple in front of us getting a mistletoe magic shot, so she decided to ask for it.

We then headed over toward the entrance of the park for our last big stop before getting out. After all, there was still one major character we hadn't taken the time to meet yet tonight.

The big cheese himself. He only had a 15 minute wait, so we decided we were good with that.

It was our first time going through the new queue. We'd met Mickey in Town Square Theater before, but at that point the queue didn't have quite as much detailing to it.

We were glad to pass the time by having a look around.

Always so many details.

And then, it was time. For the very first time.

To meet Talking Mickey.

And I'm gonna be honest with you guys. It was kinda weird.

It was pretty cool. But weird. Neither of us really knew how to react, I think.

He did tell us a joke (Christmas joke, of course).

It was a fairly short meet, all things considered, and then we were back on Main Street.

We decided to get one last Photopass shot for the road.

And then it was time to say goodnight to the Magic Kingdom.

Overall, here's my take on the parties.

We've done the Christmas party twice. Once in November 2012, and then this past November.

We've done the Halloween party three times. Once in October 2013, and twice in September 2014.

I love Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I could be playing Christmas songs right now, smack dab in the middle of the summer, and I'd be happy.

But I think the Halloween party wins hands down. I think the value for your money is better. I think the fireworks are better. I love both parades, but the Halloween one has an edge to it - for one thing, you can only ever see it during the parties, whereas the Christmas parade will run at Christmas time during non party days as well.

And can we talk trick or treating versus cookies and hot chocolate?

I come back to my room with a big bag full of candy, I call it a win. I can probably drink a cup of hot chocolate twice during the night, eat a couple of cookies, and I'm good.

I'm still really glad we got to experience the Christmas party again. I'm glad we finally got to see the fireworks.

I wouldn't do the Christmas party again though, but I would do the Halloween party for a fourth time in a heartbeat.

That being said, both are worth experiencing at least once.


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[heaven2dc]

Loved your Photopass pics esp with the mistletoe! Too cute I've contemplated purchasing the party tickets for our upcoming trip in December next year but now we're thinking of changing the dates to October to enjoy the Halloween decorations and party. I tend to agree with you as far as value for the party - it seems the Halloween party has more to offer plus I love the parade from videos I've seen.

 

[MarieLightning]

Loved your Photopass pics esp with the mistletoe! Too cute I've contemplated purchasing the party tickets for our upcoming trip in December next year but now we're thinking of changing the dates to October to enjoy the Halloween decorations and party. I tend to agree with you as far as value for the party - it seems the Halloween party has more to offer plus I love the parade from videos I've seen.

Thank you ^^ I'm always a bit hesitant with those, because I'm not much for PDA and I hate confrontation (you never know who'll be the nuthead that decides to go off about same-sex displays of anything in a family environment), but Amber is a lot more sensible than I am, so we get cute shots too

There's definitely something to be said for both. I personally have enjoyed the Halloween party more, but at the same time, there's nothing quite like Disney at Christmas time We miss the lit up Castle whenever we go during non-Christmas decoration months. The Fall decorations are really cute too, though. Really, there's no wrong time to go, it always looks gorgeous! But if you do end up going around Halloween time, I hope you enjoy the party The fireworks are nice and the parade is great (that song really gets stuck in your head though!)

 

[jennerjoo]

​

Oh my goodness!!! I'm in your parade pictures!! I'm the one sitting down (red stripey sleeves holding a camera) holding a little girl in her lap with the little boy sitting next to me! That's me and my kiddos! My husband is hiding in the red plaid behind the woman in the white shirt! How fun!! There were a few bloggers/vloggers that were there that week that I kept looking for! I even remember looking at the people at this parade to see if I recognized anyone and didn't see you guys! Such a bummer.

I filmed this entire parade with that camera. Now I'm going to go back and watch to see if I can see you guys! Haha! It's the little things that excite me!

 

[jennerjoo]

Well - Here's my vantage point and I still don't see you guys! You guys must have been hidden by the wall of people!

 

[MarieLightning]

Oh my goodness!!! I'm in your parade pictures!! I'm the one sitting down (red stripey sleeves holding a camera) holding a little girl in her lap with the little boy sitting next to me! That's me and my kiddos! My husband is hiding in the red plaid behind the woman in the white shirt! How fun!! There were a few bloggers/vloggers that were there that week that I kept looking for! I even remember looking at the people at this parade to see if I recognized anyone and didn't see you guys! Such a bummer.

I filmed this entire parade with that camera. Now I'm going to go back and watch to see if I can see you guys! Haha! It's the little things that excite me!

That's so cool! I feel like that's always one of the best parts of trip reporting - other people being able to spot themselves in your pictures, or the other way around!

Well - Here's my vantage point and I still don't see you guys! You guys must have been hidden by the wall of people!

I can pinpoint where we were, but yeah, you can't really see us because if you'll notice - the whole front row of people on the other side is standing up Maybe my hand holding a camera obnoxiously over someone's shoulder pops up at some point though

 

[TheMaxRebo]

First off, i wanted to say you got some really great photopass pictures of the two of you! Really nice, and fun that they had that missletoe magic shot!

Bummer about all the issues with the parades and the people standing in the way. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and say they are clueless and not jerks - but I think in reality a lot of them are jerks. I think a lot of it comes down to courtesy ... take a look around and if you moving or standing or whatever is going to negatively impact someone else who has been waiting, then don't do that. If no one behind you then feel free to do jumpin jacks or whatever

We have never done any party - I think the idea of paying extra just always throws me - though I think I need to consider it for a scheduled non-park day of a longer trip. I would like to try the Halloween party if just for the parade and Hallowishes - though with the price increases seen this year, not sure it will ever happen .... but we shall see. Maybe if we ever do an adults only trip so only 2 tickets not 4 (or 5)

 

[coloredimage]

Woo, finally back and caught up! I love your party pictures. I wish the night parades were lit better so you could get better pictures of the characters who are higher up on the floats. But the pictures you did get came out nicely

 

[MarieLightning]

First off, i wanted to say you got some really great photopass pictures of the two of you! Really nice, and fun that they had that missletoe magic shot!

Bummer about all the issues with the parades and the people standing in the way. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and say they are clueless and not jerks - but I think in reality a lot of them are jerks. I think a lot of it comes down to courtesy ... take a look around and if you moving or standing or whatever is going to negatively impact someone else who has been waiting, then don't do that. If no one behind you then feel free to do jumpin jacks or whatever

We have never done any party - I think the idea of paying extra just always throws me - though I think I need to consider it for a scheduled non-park day of a longer trip. I would like to try the Halloween party if just for the parade and Hallowishes - though with the price increases seen this year, not sure it will ever happen .... but we shall see. Maybe if we ever do an adults only trip so only 2 tickets not 4 (or 5)

Thanks! I think we really did make the most of our Memory Maker, so that's always good

I try to do that too, because I was once a clueless front row parade stander But there were only a couple of people behind us and they moved a step to the side so I wasn't blocking them anymore. Got the shame, but at that point there would have been no use in sitting back down People were definitely being vocal about the standing people this time though, and there was a full second row, so I'm sure at least some of them must have realized what was going on and still not cared.

It is a pretty steep price. I think in a sense, the price is justified just from the fact that you do get eight full hours of park time (which used to be about the amount of time you got in Animal Kingdom in the winter months, before they extended to evening experiences) and if you were doing one or two days park tickets, you would pay a higher price. Plus, of course, all the added experiences. Of course, when it gets added to a longer stay, the value kinda dwindles in comparison. And I definitely don't think we would do it if we had to pay for more than just the two of us, especially since the point is the late stay in the park - so many people leave after the fireworks cause their kids are done for the night. But it is a really nice experience, especially the Halloween party.

Woo, finally back and caught up! I love your party pictures. I wish the night parades were lit better so you could get better pictures of the characters who are higher up on the floats. But the pictures you did get came out nicely

Thank you And yeah, it does make it a bit tricky to get good shots with a subpar camera XD We did get a new one for August (still a fairly cheap one, but it still has better quality, especially for video) for we'll see what happens then. And I only manage to get decent pictures because I use flash and blind the poor dancers I usually try to make sure nobody's too close or facing my way when I take them, but sometimes they make a sudden move.

 

[MarieLightning]

Real Life Update #6

I meant to have a few more updates done by now, but it's been a crazy couple of weeks at work and every day kinda drains me.

Right now we're sitting at the airport, hoping to head off to Michigan for a few days, but flying standby isn't good when flights get cancelled due to thunderstorms. We were unable to get on our planned flights, although there were still 14 seats available yesterday, because so many people had to be reprotected from not flying out last night. End result, every flight from Montreal to Chicago today is oversold.

We're still gonna hope for the best, and so we have a fun day ahead of us of chilling at the airport until we can either get on a flight, or the last flight of the day has left without us (around 6 pm tonight). At least, if all of them do leave today and there's no further cancellation, we should make it on tomorrow. Otherwise, we're gonna have to postpone, and it'll probably wait until Christmas.

In other news, the one silver lining of the day is that we were able to get a reservation for the Star Wars dessert party in August! So, there's at least that

In the meantime, if we do make it, I won't be able to update for a bit longer. But I'll definitely try to have an update underway next Wednesday!

I hope you all have a great week!​

 

[Bubbenstein]

Hi! I've been following along with and enjoying your trip report! Came out of lurking to ask what time you got to meet the princesses with their princes before the party. We're doing two MVMCPs this year and trying to maximize what all we can get done both nights. Being able to hit these sets before the party actually starts would be awesome!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

best of luck with the flights!

And I saw that you got to book the Star Wars party - that is great! We are going next Saturday to it (haven't told the kids yet) and I am pretty excited about it! I am happy with the change moving it inside too since before it seemed like people were waiting ~hour in line to get in to ensure they got the best tables - and now you don't need to worry about that

 

[MarieLightning]

Hi! I've been following along with and enjoying your trip report! Came out of lurking to ask what time you got to meet the princesses with their princes before the party. We're doing two MVMCPs this year and trying to maximize what all we can get done both nights. Being able to hit these sets before the party actually starts would be awesome!

Hi, thanks for following along! Glad to see you out of lurking

We didn't actually meet them before the party, but we got in line a little before the 7 o'clock mark. It might be a bit trickier this coming year, seeing as we only had to worry about one side - we knew there wouldn't anything special on Anna and Elsa's side, so we used our last FastPass of the day for them. Next year, probably both sides will have the princes around, so that may result in a bit more wait, unless you do one side per night.

I'd say we got in line probably around 6:30 - 6:45. They start the 'party line' around that time usually, but the meeting itself won't start until 7. I still usually prefer to get in those character lines before the party itself starts, because then you get to meet them practically around the 7 mark, and you won't have wasted any party time in a longer character line.

best of luck with the flights!

And I saw that you got to book the Star Wars party - that is great! We are going next Saturday to it (haven't told the kids yet) and I am pretty excited about it! I am happy with the change moving it inside too since before it seemed like people were waiting ~hour in line to get in to ensure they got the best tables - and now you don't need to worry about that

Thanks, we did end up making the following flight at 1:30! 9 people didn't show up so we lucked out there.

We are definitely excited about the dessert party! I do like the change as well, I think it'll make it a lot easier to handle that day. That's gonna be a great surprise for the kids, too! I hope you guys all have a blast!

 

[MarieLightning]

Alright people, get ready for turbo mode, because I need to get working on this to get it done before we leave! (17 days to go!)

I also terribly need to catch up on reading Trip Reports and Pre Trip Reports, but I sat myself down to write a couple of updates, and I didn't want to postpone it any further because, well, major procrastinator.

I have two and a half weeks left before our departure day, and about ten updates left, so it's plenty doable! So long as I give myself a nice kick in the butt. But ultimately, I think this will probably be the fastest I've finished a Trip Report, so you know, little victories!

Anyway, here we go with the actual update!

Day 8, Part 1 - "How Many?" "Five." "You All Go Ahead Then"

It was definitely refreshing to have a day to just Amber and I, in the same sense as an actual rest day would be.

Still, we didn't have too much drama to worry about for this day, as it was a day the family would be splitting. This had not been part of the initial plan, but this was our return to Epcot day.

And seeing as Aunt Sarah was unwilling to give the park a chance, and Amber and I were unwilling to hear people complain, we suggested they just go somewhere else then. They decided to return to Animal Kingdom. I managed to get them a few FastPasses (this decision was made the previous day, so availability was pretty limited) and off they went.

This is the only picture I have of their whole day there, but at least I can tell you all they did Dinosaur!

Well, Boston and Uncle Butch did. I'm sure they also walked the trails (one of their reason for returning to Animal Kingdom was because the kids love animals and going to the zoo back home, so you know), maybe did the safari. Either way, they seemed to enjoy themselves.

As for the rest of us...

Epcot, here we come!

We expected the park to be fairly packed on that day, as it was the Friday starting up the last weekend of Food and Wine.

We had FastPasses for Soarin' on that day, so we decided to 'rope drop' Test Track. We headed in that direction at a good pace. Grandma told us to go ahead and that she'd head in that direction and look around in the stores, so the five of us tried to make good time.

The line looks daunting, but they'd really just started letting people in. However, we bypassed the standby line and headed to single riders instead. We didn't care about being separated, we just wanted to get on as fast as we could.

We zoomed through the pretty much empty queue, and as we arrived at the loading dock, we were greeted by... emptiness.

We'd gotten in the line early enough that the first group of standby/FastPass people were not yet done with the design station.

So the Cast Member asked how many were in our party, and sent us on our way to our own car.

That was pretty cool.

We then moved on to the car show room area, where I had a different kind of mission. On our first day, Amber had been approached by a Cast Member while looking around, and she gave her information for... I don't know, probably advertizement?

In exchange, she received a very special pin, and I wanted it too.

So we lingered around the cars, trying to look interested, and a Cast Member approached me. Yay!

I honestly don't remember receiving any emails or anything as a result. Which is fine seeing as I have no intention of getting a car any time soon.

But I got this.

Tomorrowland pin! Which basically can no longer be found in stores, and since I loved the movie (so underrated), I was pretty happy to get it.

Of course, we also had to stop in another nearby area...

Amber and I know how to work this stuff.

Gotta look scared of aliens, of course.

Honestly, I feel like so few people stop in this area. Granted, it isn't that special. But it's always pretty fun.

Once we were done messing around, we headed out to meet up with Grandma, and started making our way toward the other side of the park (as usual).

We had our very important FastPass of the day to use.

Well, you know, at that point it was really one or the other.

Now, we get to figure out which attraction to FastPass, which to rope drop, and which to either not do in a day or wait an obnoxious amount of time for. Although, I don't know that Frozen Ever After will become a must do for us at Epcot. Probably more of a, once during a trip, if the wait is reasonable, type of thing. Kinda like the Maelstrom was. I do want to try it though.

Once we were done Soarin' Over California (which we'll never get to do again *sob*) we decided to grab some treats for breakfast, so we made our way over to Sunshine Seasons. We all got something, although we only have picture of our food, and Curtis', so we don't remember what Kameron, Mom and Grandma ate. I'm sure they liked it though - it was most likely just a pastry, since it was more of a snack breakfast.

Amber got the trusty Strawberry Shortcake, which she kindly let me have a bite of.

I'm usually all for that delicious Strawberry Shortcake, but I felt like trying something different this time that also gets talked about a decent amount.

So I got the Whoopie Pie.

I was definitely good. Not overpoweringly sweet, the cake was nice and moist, and the mix of cake, cream and chocolate chips was a good taste and texture combination. But... next time I'll probably go back to the Strawberry Shortcake

As for Curtis... well, he got a bagel.

And then he raided the cream cheese.

We still sometimes tease him about that. Also, this was actually not enough cream cheese for him, but he didn't want to take all that was there, so he made due with five.

We should get him a tub of it for Christmas.

Once we were done eating, we decided to head over to the second best attraction in The Land pavillion.

Living With The Land, of course!

To be fair, we've never actually watched the Circle of Life movie, but I mean... Living With The Land is too awesome to be beat by a movie.

We probably should make time to see it, as I read somewhere it might be going away. Or already has? Oh well, we'll find out in August.

Always gotta take a picture of the baby gators for Veronica.

Cute Fall decorations on display.

There were a couple of kids about Boston and Ramsey's age in the boat with us, and they were just loving seeing all the hidden Mickeys and special things throughout the greenhouse. Which made us once more really disappointed that they didn't get to experience all the great things Epcot holds.

Maybe some day, we'll just take the kids back.

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[MarieLightning]

Day 8, Part 2 - "Thank You! This Is My Favorite Pin!"

After getting off of Living With The Land, we exited the pavillion and made our way to our next FastPass of the day.

Well, you know. You do what you gotta do.

To be fair, we got this one figuring it was a nice family ride everybody could get on.

But since Amber and I don't have the nostalgia of the old Figment ride, we enjoy this one well enough.

We also didn't warn anybody about the skunk smell, so there's that.

We spent a bit of time playing around after we got off the ride.

Always gotta design my own dragon.

We headed back toward the center of the park, getting a picture of the Fountain of Nations along the way.

We spent a bit of time at Club Cool, successfully tricking everybody into trying the Beverley. We were also troopers and tried it ourselves, since it was only fair. Amber drank her whole cup because she's nuts.

We had a bit more time before lunch plans, so we headed over toward Spaceship Earth.

Mom rode with Grandma, Amber with Curtis, and I rode with Kameron.

Kameron and I decided to look cool for our picture, so we both kept our sunglasses on.

As a result, the camera didn't catch either of our faces, and had the cartoon heads in place of our own. It was a very sad moment.

Amber and Curtis had no such problem.

We got off the ride, and then it was time to split up.

I'm not quite sure what Grandma and Mom did for the rest of the day, as they were probably fairly tired, especially Grandma with her foot. We did give them a few suggestions for lunch, and they may have ended up in Germany. Or the UK. They enjoy a good bratwurst, and also fish and chips, so we knew they'd like whatever was available at either of those countries' quick service.

As for the rest of us, we had a reservation to make. But we still had a bit of time ahead of us, so we stopped to get a few more Photopass pictures.

We asked the guy if he had some magic shots for us, and he told us to have someone pretend they were holding on to balloons.

We definitely knew what to do with that.

The Photopass Photographer seemed a bit confused with our interpretation. Which is odd to me, because whenever I've seen this magic shot, it's always someone flying away.

With that, we headed over into the World Showcase and the Food and Wine crowds.

It wasn't actually that bad. I've seen worse F&W crowds during October.

And where would our lunch plans take us?

To Japan, of course!

I don't know if there will ever come a time when Amber and I do not go to Teppan Edo during any given trip. That time has not yet come. And I don't foresee it happening any time soon, either.

We had an awesome meal, as usual. Kameron and Curtis really enjoyed it as well, so we were glad they had joined us.

During the meal, Amber headed over to the bathroom, and while she was washing her hands, she came across a little girl, probably around eight.

The little girl asked her if she could see her pins, and got really excited when she saw the Tomorrowland pin she had. Exact quote is "You have a Tomorrowland pin?! If I had a Tomorrowland pin, it would be my favorite!"

She then asked if she was trading it, and Amber apologized, saying she was not. She returned to our table and told us about it, which of course we all 'awwwwed' over.

Not too much later though, she got back up without saying where she was going. She ended up going looking around to see if she could find the little girl again, and when she did, she gave her the pin. She was really happy about it (the title of the chapter is her response, after being like "Oh my Gosh, really?!"), so that was good, and ultimately we still have the one I got, so we didn't need two of them. Right now our pins are on separate boards, but after our next trip we may need to get a third board anyway, so we might mix them up.

We finished up our meal before too long, and headed back outside.

Since it'd been a year and a half at that point since we'd gotten stuck inside Mitsukoshi for over an hour because of a downpour, Amber was willing to enter the store again.

First though, we went in and had a look at the Kawaii exposition.

It was, obviously, pretty cute.

Always gotta take a picture of cute Duffys.

We spent a bit of time looking around the store, as the boys wanted to explore a bit. We ended up getting some snack and food items while we were in, including a few different flavors of Pocky.

Cookies and cream, strawberry, and banana cream were the three we got. The banana cream ones were really addictive, I ended up getting a second pack later.

I also got some Japanese fruit flavored candy (spoiler alert - tastes the same as any other fruit flavored candy) and peach soda. The kind that comes in a glass bottle, and you have to push down the glass bead that keeps it closed.

And once you open it, you just have to drink it all cause there's no way to close it back up.

It was pretty good. Once I finished it though we came across a problem. Glass containers are not allowed in parks, and as such, there's no recycling set up for glass. We stopped a custodial Cast Member as we pondered this, and she was as puzzled with it as we were, because, well, no glass in the parks. We ended up putting it in the regular recycling, figuring it'd be better than the trash.

Problems you never thought you'd encounter at Disney World, right?


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[KnK]

Cute Fall decorations on display.

Bonus hidden Mickey.

 

[coloredimage]

I've always wondered why they sell Ramune in parks when you can't get rid of the bottle. I missed Soarin' last time we were there I'm kind of sad that I'll never get to do Soarin' Over California again but I guess it's fitting that my last time seeing it was at DCA. It seems fitting I guess lol.

 

[disvisitorkim]

Just finished bingeing on all of your TRs and I've loved them all! I'm not much of a commenter normally, but I feel as if we have a connection now, haha . So interesting to see the different sort of trips you guys have taken, and how your "traditional" approach to the parks is! My typical park partner is my sister, and I feel as if we do things the same way! I've also looked into different places to eat thanks to your reports, and have been subtlety slipping in the ideas to my sister [as she is the main planner but appreciates when other people take a certain interest!] You guys have also inspired me to attempt writing my first TR! I haven't done any in my 4 visits in the past year and a half [shame!] but we'll see! I'll be following along in this report, of course!

Glad to see you're having a magical time! Family drama is never fun, but you're taking the right approach in just letting them go off on their own and enjoying yourselves!