Hurry Up, You Brats, or I'm Telling Mickey Mouse! An August 2013 TR THE END 1/18

[minniefan65]

You had me at the title. It sounds like you had a great trip. We actually overlapped most of your trip dates. We were there from August 20th until August 26th.

 

[Missyrose]

Great start to your first TR! Welcome to the Annual Passholder's Club, isn't it great that if you want to pop into Epcot for dinner or spend an hour killing time at MK, you totally can because you can now go as much as you want?!?!?! Franklin an I looooove our TiW card, it saves us tons of money each year.

Goofy's Candy Co., yum! I like the pretzel rods, but Franklin is like you , his favorite are the Rice Krispy Treats.

Quick tip about the candy apples, they will slice them for you! Makes them much easier to eat.

Sounds like you had a great morning at AK. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

@Courtneybelle

I've always thought that AK was my least favorite Disney Park, as well. With each returning visit, though, we are loving it more and more. I think we like it more than DHS now. I think it's the most immersive of all the parks and really makes you feel like you really in Africa/Asia etc. and not in a theme park. The amazing detail and beauty is stunning.

 

[courtneybelle]

wow great safari pictures!

I often think about what the animals are thinking - I mean, for us is it exciting but they seem the same jeeps with the same people taking the same pictures all the time

Thank you! And same, I love to imagine what the trained animals in particular are thinking..."Look, I can trick the humans into giving me treats if I just do a backflip."

First stop Expedition Everest??? I totally approve!!! Honestly it took me a long time to first spot Disco Yeti too.

Wait... the zebras are back??

EE is definitely my favorite ride in AK! Love it, love it. HAHA Disco Yeti. One day she shall be restored to her full glory, I hope...

YES! There was no zoom used on that picture believe it or not, he came right up to our car!

You had me at the title. It sounds like you had a great trip. We actually overlapped most of your trip dates. We were there from August 20th until August 26th.

Thank you! The title reveal is coming up soon, and it was definitely one of the funniest moments of our trip.

That's awesome! It was a really good time to go, even though it was brutally hot and rainy.

Great start to your first TR! Welcome to the Annual Passholder's Club, isn't it great that if you want to pop into Epcot for dinner or spend an hour killing time at MK, you totally can because you can now go as much as you want?!?!?! Franklin an I looooove our TiW card, it saves us tons of money each year.

Goofy's Candy Co., yum! I like the pretzel rods, but Franklin is like you , his favorite are the Rice Krispy Treats.

Quick tip about the candy apples, they will slice them for you! Makes them much easier to eat.

Sounds like you had a great morning at AK. Can't wait to hear more.

Ahh Missy thank you for reading along! I LOVE having an AP for that reason! And TiW saved us so much on this trip, and we're doing a ton of TS when we come back in July so I think it's a win all around!

I did not know that about the candy apples! I will have to ask them to do that, it would definitely make it easier.

@Courtneybelle

I've always thought that AK was my least favorite Disney Park, as well. With each returning visit, though, we are loving it more and more. I think we like it more than DHS now. I think it's the most immersive of all the parks and really makes you feel like you really in Africa/Asia etc. and not in a theme park. The amazing detail and beauty is stunning.

AK is definitely gorgeous. It's so green and natural in many places that it's easy to forget that you're in a theme park! I love a lot of things there, but we are a HUGE DHS family

 

[Simba22]

Joining in!

I love your title! You're doing a great job!

APs sound so exciting! Never had one....maybe some day!

I love AK! It's tied with Epcot for my favorite park! I could just sit somewhere shady and stay there for hours, listening to the ambient music or the screams of the hyacinth macaws.... No seriously, I love it there!

Those are some good pin trades! I love that castle one!

 

[mommykds]

Reading along

 

[courtneybelle]

Joining in!

I love your title! You're doing a great job!

APs sound so exciting! Never had one....maybe some day!

I love AK! It's tied with Epcot for my favorite park! I could just sit somewhere shady and stay there for hours, listening to the ambient music or the screams of the hyacinth macaws.... No seriously, I love it there!

Those are some good pin trades! I love that castle one!

Thank you so much!

They are super exciting, I hope you get to have one at one point! It's definitely worth it if you're going more than once in a year.

That's awesome! AK is definitely a gorgeous park to look at, and I love the music!

Thanks! The castle one was part of a set, I collected a few more over the course of the trip.

Reading along

Thank you!

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Five: Showtime and Pizzafari

We then went over to Kusafiri to look for cupcakes, but they don’t start serving cupcakes till 11. I don’t know, I was totally ready for a cupcake at 10 a.m.!

This man was playing “Beauty and the Beast.”

Dad picked up a frozen lemonade and then we went over to Flights of Wonder!

I feel like this is a really underrated show but I love it. It was our first interpreted show of the trip! Disney has multiple interpreters, and for AK today Chris and Molly would be interpreting for us. Kylie LOVES Chris because he has been interpreting for us for a long time and he is so nice. We had never met Molly before, but she was so friendly!

Also, if you’re wondering how the interpreting works, pick up a schedule at Guest Relations or online that will tell you which shows are interpreted at what times. Then, just tell the first usher you see that you are here for the sign language interpretation, and they will either send you to the seats closest to the interpreters or find you someone who knows where those seats are.

This bird is stealing money from a man. Smart bird.

America, spread your golden wings…

Owl. He's grilling me.

After flying with the birds, we decided to get some lunch at Pizzafari. It was actually our first time eating here!

Mom, Kylie, and I all got cheese pizza. I was SO happy to have Disney pizza again. I just love it.

Dad got a Caesar salad and he liked it a lot!

We started walking over to Finding Nemo the Musical when my mom saw a woman wearing a shirt that had Mickey signing “I love you” in ASL! Mom decided to chase her down to ask…only to discover she didn’t speak English. Her boyfriend translated and said they got it from a Brazilian website. Womp.

We went to Finding Nemo! Before the show, we told Chris and Molly about the shirt we saw, and Chris said he had seen a pin with the same logo and we should look out for it!

Kylie and Dad with Chris and Molly:

I love Finding Nemo! It’s one of my favorite Pixar movies, and the musical is just fantastic. The music makes me super emotional and the performers are SO talented. Another Disney dream job would be to play Squirt because I could do backflips all day.

Here in this link is a video of Chris and Molly translating a bit of Big Blue World. Even though I don’t understand much ASL, I love watching them interpret the theater shows because you can see them acting out what the characters are doing!

Some show pics:

After the show, we decided to go meet Mickey and Minnie! The wait was inside, which was really nice because Animal Kingdom gets so hot.

Once we got in, I showed Mickey my 2000 autograph book and told him he didn’t look a day older! He was very flattered.

When he went to hand the book and pen to Minnie, he flipped the page for her, and I told him what a gentleman he was! Then they kissed! What a cute couple.

Continued in next post

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[courtneybelle]

Chapter Six: SHUT IT DOWN.

After meeting the main mice, my mom and I decided it was time to split a Kusafiri cupcake! It was a tough choice, but we selected the white chocolate elephant cupcake.

This cupcake has a lot of coconut, which I love, but if you're not into coconut I would pick a different one. The frosting was very good and the elephant was delicious! (That sounds weird. The chocolate was delicious.)

Kylie got a strawberry fruit bar. We were 24 hours into the trip and as you can see she was already 100% done with food photos. Oh well.

Also, I tried opening the My Dazney Experience app to see when Pocahontas was meeting, and this is what showed up:

(I refer to Disney as Dazney when I get frustrated. I do it with love, though.)

After that, we peeked around the shops and did some pin trading.

I cant believe these shirts are still around. I feel like they've been here since the park opened.

At one of the outdoor carts, we found the I love you ASL pin that Chris told us about! Kylie bought one for herself and one to give to Chris. Then, we went off to see him at the next interpreted show...

We were off to Festival of the Lion King! We were seated in the Warthog section. Before the show, Kylie gave Chris the pin, and he was so grateful!

The show began, and everything looked and sounded amazing, as usual.

Our leader of the warthogs:

Then, right before the tumble monkeys were supposed to come out, the show basically stopped. The music was still going and all the performers were clapping and swaying, but nothing was happening. Then, a man in a polo and pants came out and started fiddling with one of the trampolines. Then, a recording came over the loudspeaker said, "Due to unforeseen circumstances, this performance of The Festival of the Lion King has been cancelled."

THEY LITERALLY SHUT IT DOWN.

Chris and Molly said they'd never seen anything like that before! I was bummed, but we had seen it many times before, so I wasnt too sad.

Since we were in Camp Minnie-Mickey, we decided to go meet our favorite chipmunks! No, not Alvin and the gang...

Dale gave me a huge hug while my sister met with Chip.

Chip then licked my autograph book and rubbed it against my shoulder! CHIPMUNK GERMS! Dale felt very bad and tried to wipe off my shoulder for me. What a guy. I told him he was my favorite.

We snapped some pictures with the chippies and then went on our way.

Kylie wanted to meet Pocahontas, and though she wasn't there yet we knew she would be out soon, so we hopped into line.

The character attendant's name was Bryce, and he was so funny! I traded a Mission Space license plate pin with him that said GO 4 LNCH and my mother assumed it meant "Go for lunch," so Bryce said he wants to go for some lunch with us! We told him we had dinner plans at 1900 Park Fare, and he said that he hangs out with the stepsisters sometimes, and they don't understand that he has a girlfriend. They think that because there's not a ring on it, he's eligible, and so they love him. It was too great! I love meeting CMs who so obviously love their jobs.

Kylie had a nice meet with Pocahontas!

And Dad said hello too.

Continued in next post
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[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I've seen Flights of Wonder. Too long I think.

I really enjoyed Nemo. It was much better than I expected.

Oh No, FOTLK shut down. I've never heard of that happening either. Josh would have been in his glory since they really did shut it down.

 

[Simba22]

Stopping for Disney cupcakes is like my #1 goal of our October trip! I have NEVER had a Disney cupcake! I know! It's shameful! That elephant one looks yummy!

I love Disney pizza too! And Pizzafari is one of my favorite CS places! It's so bright and cheery in there!

Flights of Wonder is one of my favorite shows! We usually go to see it every other trip. I recorded parts of it a few years ago when they brought out this Cockatoo named Pogo...he was sooo cute! I could not stop laughing!

Finding Nemo was WAY better than I anticipated! When we went to see it, it was just to do something once and say we've seen it but it's a repeat attraction for us now! So good!

I wonder what happened during FotLK?? That's so strange!

I hope Pocahontas is still doing Meet & Greets in October! I love meeting new characters!

Can't wait for more!

 

[CarolAnnB]

I want one of those cupcakes now! That is a lot of detail on the chocolate elephant, with the coloring. I didn't notice it so much at the time.

For NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY those pics of Nemo and FOTLK aren't too bad. One of my big pet peeves is flashing when it's not allowed.

Love love love the ASL interpreters. I don't know a lot of sign but it is still beautiful to watch. And they are soooo helpful and willing to answer any questions and always make sure we know their schedule.

 

[heatherrrrz]

joining in! I stayed at the residence inn by seaworld my second half of last trip. The beds are extremely comfy like you said!

 

[khertz]

I decided to check out your TR since I have seen you commenting on a lot of TRs I also follow, and I was hooked from this sentence on...

This is my sister, taking a selfie on an iPad. I'm never embarrassed by my family, except for right now. WE WILL NOT BE IPAD PHOTOGRAPHERS.

Anyway, I'm loving all of the updates so far! Lots of interesting info on the interpreted shows, as well. I don't know much ASL outside of the alphabet and a few other words my grandmother taught me (her grandparents were both deaf so she knows a lot of ASL), but I think it's really beautiful to watch even though I don't know all of the signs.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

 

[courtneybelle]

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I've seen Flights of Wonder. Too long I think.

I really enjoyed Nemo. It was much better than I expected.

Oh No, FOTLK shut down. I've never heard of that happening either. Josh would have been in his glory since they really did shut it down.

It's definitely a hidden gem of AK. I always forget how much I love the show until I get there.

Nemo's so great!

It was so crazy! The only shows I had ever seen cancelled was Fantasmic and Indy for weather reasons...never anything like this.

Stopping for Disney cupcakes is like my #1 goal of our October trip! I have NEVER had a Disney cupcake! I know! It's shameful! That elephant one looks yummy!

I love Disney pizza too! And Pizzafari is one of my favorite CS places! It's so bright and cheery in there!

Flights of Wonder is one of my favorite shows! We usually go to see it every other trip. I recorded parts of it a few years ago when they brought out this Cockatoo named Pogo...he was sooo cute! I could not stop laughing!

Finding Nemo was WAY better than I anticipated! When we went to see it, it was just to do something once and say we've seen it but it's a repeat attraction for us now! So good!

I wonder what happened during FotLK?? That's so strange!

I hope Pocahontas is still doing Meet & Greets in October! I love meeting new characters!

Can't wait for more!

Disney cupcakes are PERFECTION. There's another cupcake review or two coming...but basically I have two words: Starring. Rolls. Best cupcake of my life there!

Pizzafari was so fun to look at! It'll definitely be my go-to CS place in AK from now on.

The birds are definitely adorable!

Nemo definitely exceeded my expectations too. Disney did a great job of condensing the story, it hits most of the main plot points. And the music makes me SO emotional!

I'm still not 100% sure. It was definitely an issue with the trampolines, and I guess they didn't have a contingency plan for continuing the show? Still not really sure.

I hope you get to meet Pocahontas too! She was very sweet to my sister, so I liked her!

I want one of those cupcakes now! That is a lot of detail on the chocolate elephant, with the coloring. I didn't notice it so much at the time.

For NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY those pics of Nemo and FOTLK aren't too bad. One of my big pet peeves is flashing when it's not allowed.

Love love love the ASL interpreters. I don't know a lot of sign but it is still beautiful to watch. And they are soooo helpful and willing to answer any questions and always make sure we know their schedule.

Yeah, it looks so realistic for a piece of chocolate! I'm impressed.

Yeah, I fixed them in iPhoto on my Mac a bit. I hate flash photos on dark rides and shows as well...it totally takes me out of the moment.

This is how I feel about the ASL interpreters:

joining in! I stayed at the residence inn by seaworld my second half of last trip. The beds are extremely comfy like you said!

Thank you for joining in! I really loved the Residence Inn!

I decided to check out your TR since I have seen you commenting on a lot of TRs I also follow, and I was hooked from this sentence on...




Anyway, I'm loving all of the updates so far! Lots of interesting info on the interpreted shows, as well. I don't know much ASL outside of the alphabet and a few other words my grandmother taught me (her grandparents were both deaf so she knows a lot of ASL), but I think it's really beautiful to watch even though I don't know all of the signs.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

Thank you so much for joining in! I just started school so things are a little crazy, but when I have some free time I will definitely check out your TRs/PTR!!

iPad photographers/videographers are among my biggest pet peeves, so naturally I was shocked that I was related to one of them! She didn't take it out in the parks so I forgave her for that one lapse. I saw many of them at Wishes and Fantasmic, and interestingly one man recorded the Enchanted Tiki Room with his tablet...

Thank you! Yeah, I know very little (to be honest, I mostly know Disney words like "princess" haha) but it's still amazing to watch, especially in the shows like Nemo and Beauty and the Beast. The interpreters show the emotions really well in addition to the language.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm hopping on board.

I have to say, that's completely bizarro that they just shut down FOTLK. Very strange.

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Seven: Mickeys Jammin' Jungle Parade

Then, we headed off to see Mickeys Jammin' Jungle Parade! Chris and Molly were interpreting this as well.

It was time for a MICKEY BAR!

Hello beautiful. I've missed you.

Kylie got the ice cream sandwich:

I love parades. We always used to skip them and just do rides at the time...but the characters and music just make me happy.

One great benefit of being in the ASL section is that there aren't a lot of people around, so you get a TON of character interaction. I got a big hug from King Louie!

There were a TON of families in this parade, so if you have a dream of being in a Disney parade, this is probably your best shot! I'd love to be in it. The music is so catchy!

Jammin' in the jungle to the rhythm of one!

Then, it was time for some of my favorites! As you may remember, Splash Mountain is my favorite ride, so I was quite happy to see Brer Bear. He kissed my hands!

Then, I got to see BRER RABBIT!!! I love him so much! He came right over to me and I told him how much I loved him, and he gave me a big hug!

Then he twirled me around! This was the moment when I turned back into a five-year-old. I was absolutely giddy. Disney magic turns us all into children.

After the parade, we headed back to the hotel for a bit. I was anxious to get to the Grand Floridian for our dinner reservation, but my dad needed a nap, so we waited for a bit. Kylie took the opportunity to eat some fudge before we went to an all-you-can-eat buffet...what can we say, we're a family of eaters!

I bought this pillow at AK:

And I traded for these pins:

Continued in next post​

 

[courtneybelle]

Chapter Eight: Caketastrophe at 1900 Park Fare

Finally, we were on our way to the GRAND FLORIDIAN!

We drove over to the Grand and valet parked our car since it was raining and that's free with the Tables in Wonderland card! YAY PERKS!

We took some pictures outside of the Grand before we went to check into 1900 Park Fare!

Thank you for being here today!

I had a birthday surprise planned for my mom for this dinner, and she had no idea, so I was really excited.

That is, until we all got up to the check-in, and the cast member said right to my mom, "So, you ordered a cake for this dinner, right?"

My mom was super confused, and I was crushed. I said, "Yeah, it was supposed to be a surprise," and the cast member apologized.

I know it may not seem like a big deal, but I was so upset. My mom has had a really tough year, and I wanted to do something special for her. Plus, my mom has always pulled off these really amazing surprises for us on Disney trips, like an Amazing Race tour around Epcot, and we never had any idea. I was so excited to be the one to surprise her! But that didn't work.

So I cried a little. It happens. It's not vacation till somebody cries is the general rule of our trips. But I pulled it together because I still wanted to have a nice dinner.

Probably the best way to cheer me up is by talking to a character, so I was beyond happy when we sat down at our table and immediately Prince Charming came up and said, "Do you mind if I join you?" NOPE DON'T MIND AT ALL CAN YOU STAY FOR DINNER/FOREVER?

I was never big on the movie Cinderella, but Prince Charming is so dreamy.

Usually Prince Charming is quiet when we meet him, but he was so chatty tonight and I loved it! He told my dad how lucky he was to have three beautiful princesses. Then, Lady Tremaine came over and started staring. Prince Charming asked what she was doing, and she said, "Just judging." Prince Charming said, "Judging them? Don't do that, theyre very nice people." And she said, "No, just judging you." It was too funny!

Prince Charming said he hoped we were coming to the ball, and asked us what kind of dancing we liked. Then he asked about our favorite colors, and said he hoped our dresses would be in those colors. His favorite color is red, FYI. Then he said he wanted my prince to come to the ball, and I said someday he would, and Prince Charming said Cinderella would love that!

After Prince Charming bid us farewell, Drizella came right up! She said she was excited for the ball because she heard that a distant cousin of the prince would be there. She also asked if we would be willing to be her maids.

Cinderella was next, and though she was very quiet, she loved my MickeyWaffles Cinderella Castle bow and said how creative she thought it was.

Lady Tremaine came to the table next, and she was probably the best meet of the evening. She was looking through my autograph book, and I explained that I had it since I was seven. She scoffed at me and said I was making her feel old.

Then, she insisted on a photo with my mom and said, "You don't don sparkly rodent ears for nothing!" Too funny.

Anastasia was last in the parade of characters. She noticed we had met her mom, and we told her that Lady Tremaine said Anastasia was her favorite. She said of course she was, as she was prettier, smarter, and more fashionable. She said that our parents probably had favorites too, even if they didn't tell us! When she left, she yelled, "Nice to meet me!" Too cute.

We had met all five characters before we even got to the buffet! Works for me.

We figured our waitress was waiting for the characters to be done before she came over, but she told us that the characters would be coming soon and had no idea we had met them all already. That meant that we would have been waiting about 20 minutes for drinks if the characters had not shown up. So the service was not off to a great start.

We did a couple trips to the buffet. The beef was DELICIOUS. Definitely the best I have had at a Disney buffet. The pot sticker was good, but not as good as 'Ohana. The rice was good too.

My dad got this fisherman's combo, and I thought it was cute. He enjoyed it, but would have liked a bigger portion.

The stir fry was way too salty for my liking.

We decided to hold off on the dessert buffet until the cake got here, as we didn't want to miss it. So we waited and waited for about a half hour. Our waitress actually came over to bring us the check, but at the last minute looked at it and saw there was a cake on there.

To an extent I understand why they wanted to ask about the cake at the podium, and so even though I was upset I wasn't really mad. But this ticked me off. Don't ruin a surprise and then forget to bring it out altogether. That's no bueno.

My dad knew how upset I was, so he went out to talk to the manager, and of course that's when the cake showed up. It was pretty much a fail of a surprise, but the manager was kind enough to take it off the bill for all the trouble.

Service issues aside, the cake was so beautiful! I knew it would be a mini chocolate cake with purple buttercream frosting and a chocolate castle on top, but I had no idea the castle would change colors! SO MAGICAL!

The cake was absolutely delicious as well. It was chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and the frosting was amazing. It was very small, but I knew we wouldn't eat a whole cake and didn't want to bring it back to the hotel so it was just right for what we needed. I would recommend getting two mini cakes or a larger cake if you have more than four people, though.

My mom loved it, and that's what matters most! She said it was one of her favorite moments of the trip, so I guess I did succeed.

We did go up to get other desserts, but I forgot pictures. I got cheesecake and chocolate mousse. Both were good, but the cake took the cake (ha! Puns!)

The waitress brought us the check and we went on our way. I was really disappointed with the service. Not even including the Caketastrophe, the waitress was so slow and we had a lot of trouble getting drink refills. The whole experience made me feel pretty crummy and I don't really want to go back, but it's Kylie's favorite restaurant so we will probably go again. The food was pretty good, though, and the cake was delicious! I ordered it from Pat at the Grand Floridian Bakery, and I thought she was so nice and helpful! I would definitely recommend her based on my experience.

I'm pretty sure the white chocolate castle mini cake is exclusive to the Grand Flo, but you can get the mini cakes from any of the major bakeries. I personally feel that you NEED to have cake when celebrating your birthday, but I didn't want to have to bring it back to the room and I knew the buffet would have desserts, so this was perfect for our needs.

Continued in next post
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[courtneybelle]

I'm hopping on board.

I have to say, that's completely bizarro that they just shut down FOTLK. Very strange.

Thank you so much! I have been meaning to check out your new TR...school just started and my bed is calling me, but I will definitely try to catch up tomorrow!

It was strange. I'm still scratching my head a little bit.

 

[CarolAnnB]

Caketastrophe aside, it was an AWESOME birthday surprise. I am very lucky to have such a thoughtful daughter. Sneaking around the house right under my nose taking calls from the GF bakery! I felt so bad when that hostess ruined the surprise, I mean how dumb is that?? But like she said, in our family, it's not vacation til somebody's crying! But she rallied and we enjoyed ourselves in spite of the poor service. The cake was as delicious as it was beautiful. She has set the bar for the next birthdays we celebrate at the World!