I See a Line, I Wait In It ~ A January 2016 TR - Completed 12/29

[SarahDisney]

Before we get to the next update … why did nobody mention that I forgot to post my end-of-day stats for Wednesday? I’ve edited that post to include them, but for those of you who don’t want to go back, here they are:
Wednesday End of Day Stats:
Steps: 21,585
Miles: 9.03
Flights of Stairs: 11

Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled update.

Day 3, Chapter 2: How Many Species Can We Meet? (Part 1)
Thursday, January 7th, 2016​

When we got back to the hotel post-race, we showered, changed, and ate breakfast (cereal and coffee). Once we were packed up and ready, it t was time to head off to our park for the day …

(The border was chosen in memory of one of our favorite DHS character meets, which ended a few days before we got there)

We got through bag check and security with no problems. We had the backpack (rather than individual smaller bags), so I took that through bag check while Beth went through the “guests without bags” entrance. I was chosen to go through the metal detector, but it was no big deal – the CMs were perfectly nice, and I did not set off any alarms or anything (even though I was wearing earrings, a necklace, and a belt).

One of our goals for this trip was to get a lot of use out of our Memory Maker, so we stopped for some pictures:

And, our first pixie dusting of the day…

Since we always seem to be ahead of schedule after the 5Ks, we had some time before our first FP+. Which could only mean one thing …

CHARACTER TIME!

Up first, in the former Sorcerer’s Hat Courtyard, was the star of our medals…

We asked Pluto to sign our bibs (which is what we had Anna and Elsa do last year), but we were told that he can’t sign them due to the legal language on the back. Which was surprising and a little weird, but understandable. Pluto, however, had a brilliant idea … he wanted to sign our medal ribbons. So he did:

Next it was time to start heading towards our first FP+ of the day. But first we had some stops to make:

And, of course, a visit with a favorite character…

Mickey was very excited to see our medals! I told him that we wouldn’t be running his race, though … and I think he was okay with that.

Finally, it was time for our first attraction…

This is actually one of my favorite standby queues, but since we mostly use FP+, I rarely get to see it, which is sad. There are some cool things to see on the FP+ line, though:

We had the pleasure of playing in Mr. Potato Head’s ride vehicle:

Final Score:

Beth won. Beth always wins. The shocking thing is that she won ring toss, which is usually my best game. I was clearly having an off day. I blame 3:30 AM.

Next up was yet another character meet … and this time we were headed to meet the stars of Toy Story! But first, some fun photo ops:

We kinda stopped the photo ops there because there were kids behind us who were very excited to climb on things, and we didn’t want to get in their way. But that’s okay – instead we spent our time talking to their parents about the race that morning and their quest to become Dopes! Yes, that’s right … there were Dopey runners behind us in line. Those Dopes are everywhere!

Finally, we made it to the front of the line and got to meet some toys!

After saying goodbye to Buzz and Woody, we saw one of their friends, so we had to stop for a picture:

Next up was another favorite character meet (and sadly, one that won’t be along for much longer)…

We love you, Mike and Sulley, and we’re sad that you’re leaving.

It was almost time for our next FP+, so we wandered around for a bit and took some pictures, including some in the soon-to-be-gone Streets of America area:

I wanted to check out Pizza Planet before it closed for refurbishment/retheming/whatever, so I went in and took some pictures:

(Continued in next post)

 

[SarahDisney]

(continued from previous post)

Day 3, Chapter 2: How Many Species Can We Meet? (Part 2)
Thursday, January 7th, 2016​

Once we were done exploring Pizza Planet, it was time for our next FP+:

Statler and Waldorf had something to say about this attraction…

Muppet*Vision-3D was … well, Muppet*Vision-3D. I love it, but it’s not something I’ll go on and on about for hours. We enjoyed.

Once we were done with our Muppets, we had some free time, so we headed over to get a picture for Beth to send to her friend (he’s a Star Wars fan, so it was an attempt to make him jealous):

We also saw a PhotoPass photographer with lightsabers, so we stopped for a picture:

If I’m understanding my Star Wars correctly (which I’m probably not), I’m the evil one. Not at all surprising there. I think Beth is Anakin Skywalker, but I’m just saying that because the only Star Wars movies I’ve seen are Episodes I & II and I have a blue lightsaber pen.

Anyway … since we don’t like Star Wars, that was the end of our Star Wars Launch Bay experience.

Or not.

We went inside with plans to try to meet Chewbacca, who we had been told was a good character meet. We waited about 25 minutes before we got in to see everyone’s favorite Wookie:

He made the Chewbacca noise! I was very excited. I don’t speak Wookie, so I don’t know what he said, but I was glad that he made some sort of noise.

Once we were done with Chewie, we made our way out of the Launch Bay (with some help from CMs because we couldn’t find the exit). We did see some Storm Troopers on our way out …

By this point, we kinda had to hustle a little to get to our next FP+:

As usual, I took some pictures of the show. Here are a few of my favorites (some of these may be Beth’s):

Once the show was over, we were ready for lunch. We had brought tuna packets and PopCorners with us, so we just grabbed a table at ABC Commissary (along with some forks, napkins, and condiments) and sat down to eat our lunch. As we were eating, I started to think about the characters we had met so far that day. I was curious how many different species we had met so far that day, so I made a list:

1. Dog (Pluto)
2. Chipmunk (Chip ‘n’ Dale)
3. Mandrill (Rafiki)
4. Cat (Mittens, Marie)
5. Human (Lilo)
6. Mouse (Mickey)
7. Toy (Woody, Buzz, Green Army Man)
8. Monster (Mike W., Sulley)
9. Wookie (Chewbacca)

Could we make it an even 10? I consulted the Times Guide to see who was meeting, and we determined that our best chance was either Donald or Daisy Duck. When we were done eating, we went to find Donald or Daisy, but unfortunately, neither of them was out. We decided to wait for another dog instead (and hope we could catch a duck later)…

As we were waiting on line for Goofy, we heard the character attendant announce that Goofy would be leaving soon, and Donald would be coming out instead. We knew we were close enough to the front that we’d meet Goofy, but we also knew what we’d be doing next … getting back in line to meet Donald.

We actually sat down for a few minutes in between, but as soon as we were sure that the end of the line would be meeting Donald, not Goofy, we got back in line. And so we met species #10 of the day … duck.

Donald made us do a running pose …

Yeah, my running pose sucks. I think that before my next runDisney trip, I need to practice that pose.

With Donald Duck being species #10 on our list, we were ready to call it a day. Because, really, what else is there to do once you’ve met 10 species?

Oh yeah, we had more plans. If you want to know what they were … you’ll have to wait to find out.

Coming Next: They Killed The Movie!

 

[rteetz]

Awesome update! You met a ton of characters.

Thanks for reminding me about the end of the day stats! I forgot those in my TR too.

That's awesome Pluto signed your bib. I didn't even think of doing that.

TSMM is always a fun time. Even though Beth won it was a close match up.

The green army men are always fun especially when they are on a race course.

I missed muppet vision this trip, hopefully I catch it next time.

I never saw any photographer with lightsabers! I wish that was there when we went by. Awesome photo. I loved meet Chewie.

I have yet to see the frozen sing along. I'm surprised my sisters didn't want to go to that.

I love Donald and Goofy's outfits.

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[afwdwfan]

We got through bag check and security with no problems. We had the backpack (rather than individual smaller bags), so I took that through bag check while Beth went through the “guests without bags” entrance. I was chosen to go through the metal detector, but it was no big deal – the CMs were perfectly nice, and I did not set off any alarms or anything (even though I was wearing earrings, a necklace, and a belt).

Lucky you!

We asked Pluto to sign our bibs (which is what we had Anna and Elsa do last year), but we were told that he can’t sign them due to the legal language on the back. Which was surprising and a little weird, but understandable. Pluto, however, had a brilliant idea … he wanted to sign our medal ribbons. So he did:

That stinks that he couldn't sign the bib, but the ribbon idea seems like a cool alternative.

We kinda stopped the photo ops there because there were kids behind us who were very excited to climb on things, and we didn’t want to get in their way. But that’s okay – instead we spent our time talking to their parents about the race that morning and their quest to become Dopes! Yes, that’s right … there were Dopey runners behind us in line. Those Dopes are everywhere!

Talk about something that is appropriately named...

Next up was another favorite character meet (and sadly, one that won’t be along for much longer)…

They should really move them over to the area outside of Monsters Inc Laugh Floor area. There should be plenty of space underneath the overhang there to set up a M&G.

I wanted to check out Pizza Planet before it closed for refurbishment/retheming/whatever, so I went in and took some pictures:

I hope it is a re-theming. It just doesn't make sense there anymore. They need to re-theme this and build a new and improved Pizza Planet for the new Toy Story land.

We also saw a PhotoPass photographer with lightsabers, so we stopped for a picture:

Cool!

If I’m understanding my Star Wars correctly (which I’m probably not), I’m the evil one.

Well, yeah!

I think Beth is Anakin Skywalker, but I’m just saying that because the only Star Wars movies I’ve seen are Episodes I & II and I have a blue lightsaber pen.

Could be Anakin, could be Obi Wan Kenobi. Or really just about any of the Jedi. They used blue or green.

We went inside with plans to try to meet Chewbacca, who we had been told was a good character meet. We waited about 25 minutes before we got in to see everyone’s favorite Wookie:

So you waited 25 minutes for a character meet for a franchise you don't even care about??? I didn't even wait 25 minutes to meet Chewie!

Once we were done with Chewie, we made our way out of the Launch Bay (with some help from CMs because we couldn’t find the exit). We did see some Storm Troopers on our way out …

This was my favorite part of the Launch Bay area. When they stopped to interrogate a foreign tourist who was taking pictures, it was one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed.

We actually sat down for a few minutes in between, but as soon as we were sure that the end of the line would be meeting Donald, not Goofy, we got back in line. And so we met species #10 of the day … duck.

Nicely done!

Yeah, my running pose sucks.

Looks more like boxing.

With Donald Duck being species #10 on our list, we were ready to call it a day. Because, really, what else is there to do once you’ve met 10 species?

Well, you're in DHS and there's been an alarming absence of Sunset Blvd attractions...

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Loved your updates!!! You really described the run in great detail. You know, if I ever get my fat butt out there and walking (with running intervals) I may someday do a runDisney event. They sound like lots of fun and from what you describe, you don't have to run the whole thing! That's good because I definitely couldn't do that. I love how you were able to get that old Duck as your last species! Awesome job!!!

 

[KathyM2]

Wow that's a lot of character meets!!! I'm impressed!! Also TSMM great pics...that's the best ride ever...if only it wasn't always so busy!!!

 

[fallonkendra]

I love your pictures from the line at the Woody and Buzz meet and greet! I actually have a few from there as well, I loved how detailed it was!

I pretty much always lose at Toy Story Midway Mania (and the Buzz Lightyear one...) so I feel your pain!

I felt the same about Muppet Vision 3D - I liked it, but it's not something I'd have to do more than once per trip.

It's so great to find someone else who is clueless about the Star Wars franchise! You have seen more of the movies than I have at least, I've only watched about half an hour of the very first movie (episode 4 I think?). That being said, I do love the Star Tours ride!

That's an impressive amount of characters you guys met that day! After we got home, I received I still have not met a single face character, only the fuzzy ones that don't speak...

It's getting close to your posts about the 10km! I'm looking forward to reading that!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I finally caught up with your trip report. We were in Disney during the Princess half marathon and then had our flight cancelled and had to stay two extra days. It gave us a chance to go over to Ghiradelli's for a hot fudge sundae. I've wanted to go there since you mentioned it in your PTR. Unfortunately, it was a little disappointing since they put a very small amount hot fudge on our sundae. I guess we'll just have to go back for another one.

Oh, and they set off fireworks as each corral starts:

We could hear the Princess half marathon music and fireworks from our hotel room. Now I know why we heard so many sets of fireworks. I think there was an hour's worth of them.

finally reached the mile 3 marker:

Those mile marker signs are really cute. They've made a few changes in the 5K race since DH and I ran it back in 2005. It looks like it is now more of a serious race, with corrals and fancy mile markers compared to the family fun run we did back then. We had mothers with kids and strollers in our race. But it was lots of fun.

And I second Sarah’s motion that the 5K is a great first runDisney experience.

Except for the 3:30am thing, this is a great first runDisney experience.

We asked Pluto to sign our bibs (which is what we had Anna and Elsa do last year), but we were told that he can’t sign them due to the legal language on the back. Which was surprising and a little weird, but understandable. Pluto, however, had a brilliant idea … he wanted to sign our medal ribbons. So he did:

That was really nice of Pluto to sign your ribbons. He is such a cute character.

With Donald Duck being species #10 on our list, we were ready to call it a day. Because, really, what else is there to do once you’ve met 10 species?

You have a lot of great character pictures.

 

[Saphire5742]

When we got back to the hotel post-race, we showered, changed, and ate breakfast (cereal and coffee). Once we were packed up and ready, it t was time to head off to our park for the day …

I'd have been so tempted to crawl back in bed for an hour (or 2). I applaud you for not wasting any Disney time.

Up first, in the former Sorcerer’s Hat Courtyard, was the star of our medals…

Adorable photo!

Pluto, however, had a brilliant idea … he wanted to sign our medal ribbons. So he did:

Even better

Nothing like getting a hug from a character

I was curious how many different species we had met so far that day, so I made a list:

1. Dog (Pluto)
2. Chipmunk (Chip ‘n’ Dale)
3. Mandrill (Rafiki)
4. Cat (Mittens, Marie)
5. Human (Lilo)
6. Mouse (Mickey)
7. Toy (Woody, Buzz, Green Army Man)
8. Monster (Mike W., Sulley)
9. Wookie (Chewbacca)

With Donald Duck being species #10 on our list, we were ready to call it a day. Because, really, what else is there to do once you’ve met 10 species?

Impressive. Nice grouping them into species like that. Loved all the photos

 

[kathleen27]

Lots of great photo pass and character meets, you made great use of your photo pass. Love that you counted the number of species you met! That's a great idea. Also your tops coordinate really well, I like the color combo!

I'm surprised you went to launch bay. But I guess if you hadn't you would have had to find another species.

I think ring toss is the hardest part of toy story mid way mania!

My daughter was so disappointed that Pizza Planet closed. The food was not my favorite, but we always went there because my kids loved it.

 

[SarahDisney]

Awesome update! You met a ton of characters.

Thanks! We had a really great character day!

That's awesome Pluto signed your bib. I didn't even think of doing that.

He signed the medal ribbons, not the bib. And I stole the idea from someone last year ... I can't take full credit for it.

TSMM is always a fun time. Even though Beth won it was a close match up.

Agreed! I had fun playing, so it doesn't really matter who won and who lost.

The green army men are always fun especially when they are on a race course.

I really hope to one day see the green army men on a race course - I always hear such great stories from the races!

I missed muppet vision this trip, hopefully I catch it next time.

That's sad ... but you should definitely try to catch it next time.

I never saw any photographer with lightsabers! I wish that was there when we went by. Awesome photo. I loved meet Chewie.

Thanks! I always love photopass pictures with props, so I was very glad that we saw that photographer!

I have yet to see the frozen sing along. I'm surprised my sisters didn't want to go to that.

This was our third time seeing it. I've loved it every time. I think it's worth seeing, even if you're not a huge Frozen fan.

I love Donald and Goofy's outfits.

I love a lot of the Hollywood Studios character outfits - there are some really cute ones there!

Lucky you!

Drama-free metal detectors. Who knew it was possible?

That stinks that he couldn't sign the bib, but the ribbon idea seems like a cool alternative.

I was definitely glad that Pluto suggested it, and it was fun wearing the signature around for the whole trip!

Talk about something that is appropriately named...

Before there was an official Dopey challenge, there was an unofficial challenge (5K + Half Marathon + Marathon ... the 10K was introduced a few years ago, which is when official Dopey started). It was called that because you'd have to be Dopey to want to do that!

They should really move them over to the area outside of Monsters Inc Laugh Floor area. There should be plenty of space underneath the overhang there to set up a M&G.

That's a good idea! It would be one of the few things that could get me to go to that area!

I hope it is a re-theming. It just doesn't make sense there anymore. They need to re-theme this and build a new and improved Pizza Planet for the new Toy Story land.

There are some theories that it could become a Muppets-themed restaurant. That would be pretty cool. But yeah, it's not going to make any sense there as Pizza Planet.

Well, yeah!

I'm not evil, I'm just drawn that way.

Could be Anakin, could be Obi Wan Kenobi. Or really just about any of the Jedi. They used blue or green.

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna stick with Anakin, because I like to think that Beth will grow up to become Darth Vader.

So you waited 25 minutes for a character meet for a franchise you don't even care about??? I didn't even wait 25 minutes to meet Chewie!

I like characters!
Also, my mom likes Star Wars. So this one was kinda for her.

This was my favorite part of the Launch Bay area. When they stopped to interrogate a foreign tourist who was taking pictures, it was one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed.

That sounds awesome! We didn't see them do much, mostly just walk around.

Nicely done!

Thanks

Looks more like boxing.

Yeah.
Boxing and running are exactly the same thing, right?

Well, you're in DHS and there's been an alarming absence of Sunset Blvd attractions...

I can't do Tower of Terror (it's a long story related to a strange fear), and Beth doesn't like upside down roller coasters. What else is there to do in Sunset Blvd?

Loved your updates!!! You really described the run in great detail. You know, if I ever get my fat butt out there and walking (with running intervals) I may someday do a runDisney event. They sound like lots of fun and from what you describe, you don't have to run the whole thing! That's good because I definitely couldn't do that. I love how you were able to get that old Duck as your last species! Awesome job!!!

Thanks! runDisney events really are a lot of fun, and I think you would enjoy doing a race. And you definitely don't have to run the whole thing - there are people who walk the whole race and have a lot of fun doing it!

Wow that's a lot of character meets!!! I'm impressed!! Also TSMM great pics...that's the best ride ever...if only it wasn't always so busy!!!

We were really lucky with the character meets!
And yeah, TSMM would be much more awesome if the line was a little shorter. Seriously. I could do it a million times in a row ... but not so much when the lines are insanity.

 

[SarahDisney]

I love your pictures from the line at the Woody and Buzz meet and greet! I actually have a few from there as well, I loved how detailed it was!

Thanks! I really love that M&G area, it's so cool.

I pretty much always lose at Toy Story Midway Mania (and the Buzz Lightyear one...) so I feel your pain!

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who loses!

It's so great to find someone else who is clueless about the Star Wars franchise! You have seen more of the movies than I have at least, I've only watched about half an hour of the very first movie (episode 4 I think?). That being said, I do love the Star Tours ride!

I've never done Star Tours. I don't feel a need to do it. Not until I start caring about Star Wars, at least

That's an impressive amount of characters you guys met that day! After we got home, I received I still have not met a single face character, only the fuzzy ones that don't speak...

Thanks! That's pretty crazy ... we meet a lot of princesses, so those are face characters, but there are definitely a lot of fuzzy characters to meet!

It's getting close to your posts about the 10km! I'm looking forward to reading that!

I think I have one more HS update, and then I'll get to the 10K. I'm interested to hear how my experience differed from what you guys experienced!

I finally caught up with your trip report. We were in Disney during the Princess half marathon and then had our flight cancelled and had to stay two extra days. It gave us a chance to go over to Ghiradelli's for a hot fudge sundae. I've wanted to go there since you mentioned it in your PTR. Unfortunately, it was a little disappointing since they put a very small amount hot fudge on our sundae. I guess we'll just have to go back for another one.

Oh man, not enough fudge? That's sad.
But at least you were at Disney ... not a bad place to get stuck.

We could hear the Princess half marathon music and fireworks from our hotel room. Now I know why we heard so many sets of fireworks. I think there was an hour's worth of them.

The half marathons usually have at least 15 corrals, so it takes at least an hour to get them out. I can't imagine trying to sleep through that!

Those mile marker signs are really cute. They've made a few changes in the 5K race since DH and I ran it back in 2005. It looks like it is now more of a serious race, with corrals and fancy mile markers compared to the family fun run we did back then. We had mothers with kids and strollers in our race. But it was lots of fun.

It's still kinda considered a fun race, but they don't allow strollers anymore. I think they're trying to make it more of a serious race, but still family friendly.

Except for the 3:30am thing, this is a great first runDisney experience.

Yeah, I could do without the 3:30 am for sure.

That was really nice of Pluto to sign your ribbons. He is such a cute character.

Pluto is always one of my favorites - he's awesome!

You have a lot of great character pictures.

Thanks!! We were really lucky with the characters this trip.

I'd have been so tempted to crawl back in bed for an hour (or 2). I applaud you for not wasting any Disney time.

Yeah, the temptation to nap after a race is strong. But I can't nap when there are parks to be explored!

Adorable photo!

Thank you!

Nothing like getting a hug from a character

Yup! Character hugs are awesome!

Impressive. Nice grouping them into species like that. Loved all the photos

Thanks!

Lots of great photo pass and character meets, you made great use of your photo pass. Love that you counted the number of species you met! That's a great idea. Also your tops coordinate really well, I like the color combo!

Thanks! Counting the species was a random idea that popped into my head, but I liked that it worked out well.
The color coordinating was not intentional ... we just both wanted to match the medal, which had purple on it. But it worked out nicely.

I'm surprised you went to launch bay. But I guess if you hadn't you would have had to find another species.

Mostly we went to make Beth's friend jealous and a little bit because my mom likes Star Wars. But I'm also always up for a good character M&G, and we were told that Chewbacca is fun to meet.

I think ring toss is the hardest part of toy story mid way mania!

Ring toss is my favorite! I don't know why people find it so hard.

My daughter was so disappointed that Pizza Planet closed. The food was not my favorite, but we always went there because my kids loved it.

We had never been inside before (and we didn't stay inside for very long). I can see why your kids would love it ... it's cute inside, and what kid doesn't like pizza?

 

[natebenma]

Congrats on the 5K!!! Thanks for sharing all the details.

That is a really cool picture of the two of you with the EPCOT ball in the parking lot. Where are the people?

I love when you meet people in line. It can be a lot of fun chatting with new friends.

And friends that you meet for the first time. Stacy's Peter Pan outfit is so cute!

I like your character pictures. Chip and Dale are my favorites! That is cool that you appropriately took a picture with your Nemo friends.

Finally, that is a really great picture of you and Beth at the end of the race with your bibs and medals!

 

[NJlauren]

Great day!

Species haha. Love it and even 10!

Seems like a good day and you are using that memory maker which is great!

I love all the pictures and even if you aren't a Star Wars fan I feel like you have to love chewie!

It's kind of depressing that everything is closed (cars meet) closing soon (monsters inc/university meet) or closing for referb (pizza planet). This park is going to have nothing pretty soon, I guess it needs to get worse before it gets better.

 

[natebenma]

You had some really fantastic character meets and photopass pictures. What a great interaction with Pluto!

The Disneyside one at the entrance is a nice one of you too.

I like the ring toss on TSM, too!

Even though the TSM series is my sentimental favorite of Disney movies since it was the first one my youngest son loved, I have never done the Toy Story meet & greet. The queue and the meet both look fun.

I love the Green Army Men, too, and even got a kiss from one.

Too funny about the visit to Launch Bay. The light saber photo is cool. Wookies are awesome!

Good pictures from Frozen S-A-L. I tried to take some but they didn't come out very well.

I'm glad you got a picture with Donald, and hit double-digit species, but Donald is #1 (not #10)

 

[stacy~**]

I loved all the pictures in the update! Very good use of photopass.

That is kind of weird about the bibs not being able to be signed but the medal ribbon was a great substitute.

I only win at TSM when I ride with Lucy (and honestly it's starting to get close). My favorite is breaking the plates!

I haven't met Buzz and Woody in that spot in forever. What a fun picture....and neat that you were able to chat with other runners while you waited.

Olivia and I did the Frozen sing-a-long and she napped for about 90% of it (granted she had seen it a bunch during the college program) and I had to really fight to stay awake. That darn early race wake up call.

Love the species count. You two are so fun at making up "challenges" on the fly. How great that Donald ended up rotating with Goofy. Now I'm wondering if there were more species later in the day?

 

[SarahDisney]

Congrats on the 5K!!! Thanks for sharing all the details.

Thank you!

That is a really cool picture of the two of you with the EPCOT ball in the parking lot. Where are the people?

Sleeping, probably.
We took that picture in between where you get off the bus and the pre-race area, so it's pretty easy to get a shot with minimal people.

I love when you meet people in line. It can be a lot of fun chatting with new friends.

Yes! We love line friends! And we've found some fun line friends at runDisney events.

And friends that you meet for the first time. Stacy's Peter Pan outfit is so cute!

I really like her outfit!

I like your character pictures. Chip and Dale are my favorites! That is cool that you appropriately took a picture with your Nemo friends.

Thanks! I always love meeting Chip 'n' Dale.
And the Nemo picture was the one picture I had to get at the race - I thought it was very appropriate.

Finally, that is a really great picture of you and Beth at the end of the race with your bibs and medals!

Thank you!

Great day!

Thanks! We really had a lot of fun.

Species haha. Love it and even 10!

My brain comes up with some very strange ideas. Very strange.

Seems like a good day and you are using that memory maker which is great!

We definitely got our money's worth out of memory maker!

I love all the pictures and even if you aren't a Star Wars fan I feel like you have to love chewie!

Chewie was a fun meet, even though I know very little about him.

It's kind of depressing that everything is closed (cars meet) closing soon (monsters inc/university meet) or closing for referb (pizza planet). This park is going to have nothing pretty soon, I guess it needs to get worse before it gets better.

Yeah. I've always been a big defender of Hollywood Studios, especially because of the character meets, but it's getting harder and harder to defend that park. I'm just hoping that when the construction is done it turns out to be amazing.

You had some really fantastic character meets and photopass pictures. What a great interaction with Pluto!

The Disneyside one at the entrance is a nice one of you too.

Thanks!

I like the ring toss on TSM, too!

Even though the TSM series is my sentimental favorite of Disney movies since it was the first one my youngest son loved, I have never done the Toy Story meet & greet. The queue and the meet both look fun.

It's definitely fun and I think it's worth doing, especially if you like cute photo ops.

I love the Green Army Men, too, and even got a kiss from one.

That is awesome!!

Too funny about the visit to Launch Bay. The light saber photo is cool. Wookies are awesome!

I'll have to take your word for that ... I don't know enough about Wookies to know if they're awesome.

Good pictures from Frozen S-A-L. I tried to take some but they didn't come out very well.

Thanks! We got a lot of pictures that didn't come out so well, but it was great to get a few that came out well.

I'm glad you got a picture with Donald, and hit double-digit species, but Donald is #1 (not #10)

Fair point.
Chronologically, he was #10. In all other sense, he is #1.

I loved all the pictures in the update! Very good use of photopass.

Thanks!

That is kind of weird about the bibs not being able to be signed but the medal ribbon was a great substitute.

The bib thing kinda makes sense because it could be a liability issue if they sign something that has legal language. But I'm glad he offered to sign our ribbons instead!

I only win at TSM when I ride with Lucy (and honestly it's starting to get close). My favorite is breaking the plates!

Beth also loves breaking the plates!

I haven't met Buzz and Woody in that spot in forever. What a fun picture....and neat that you were able to chat with other runners while you waited.

Thanks!

Olivia and I did the Frozen sing-a-long and she napped for about 90% of it (granted she had seen it a bunch during the college program) and I had to really fight to stay awake. That darn early race wake up call.

Yeah, it was definitely a bit of a struggle to stay away. The constant picture taking helped with that ... if I'm pushing a button on my camera, I can't sleep.

Love the species count. You two are so fun at making up "challenges" on the fly. How great that Donald ended up rotating with Goofy. Now I'm wondering if there were more species later in the day?

Thanks!
According to the times guide, we didn't have any other species options. But there might have been some out later that just weren't on the times guide.

 

[SarahDisney]

Day 3, Chapter 3: They Killed the Movie
Thursday, January 7th, 2016
​

When you last saw me, we had met species #10 of the day (aka Donald Duck #1). So what was there left for us to do?

The way I see it, Hollywood Studios can be divided into three categories of attractions/activities:

1 – “The big ones” – Toy Story, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours … the things that most people do when they come to Hollywood Studios. When people say that they can only spend (at most) half a day at DHS, it’s generally because they’re only (or mostly) interested in these attractions.
2 – Characters – aka why I love DHS so much. As you know … we hit up a decent chunk of the characters available at DHS that morning and early afternoon.
3 – Shows – these are the things that are time fillers for most people, but there were a few that I wanted to see on this particular day. We had already seen For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along. So what other shows were on our agenda?

We had last seen this show in 2008 (aka our first trip to DHS), so it had been a while. I’m a big Little Mermaid fan, so when we realized we had a little time, we thought it would be nice to see it.

Some pictures: (mostly from Beth’s phone, which did better for this than the camera)

It was cute, but not something I need to see more than once every few years.
Once the show was over, it was time for our last character M&G of the day … ending our character day almost the way we started it (for those of you who are counting, this was our second character repeat of the day):

Chip’s tie was crooked at first. So Beth had to fix it. Because, well, Beth.

See, Beth approves now:

Also, character hugs:

It had been a while since we got general park pictures, so when we saw a PhotoPass photographer, we stopped for pictures:

Next up was a show that I was pretty excited for. I had seen pictures of it on people’s TRs, and everyone said that if I liked the movie, I’d like the show. I love the movie, so I was definitely excited to see …

I’m not going to post any pictures, partly because I don’t have many that came out well, and partly because I’m not excited to post pictures of this show.
I love Beauty and the Beast. As in, it’s one of my top two Disney movies. And I don’t think this show did it justice. I think it killed the movie. Things were out of order and made no sense. Yes, some of the staging and costumes were cool, but that wasn’t enough to save what they did to the story. I would never see this again, and I’m sorry, but I cannot recommend it to someone who loves that movie as much as I do.
I don’t regret seeing the show, because had I never seen it, I still would have thought that I would love it, but I’m not happy that I saw it.

Okay, on to happier things …

As you can see, I am in this picture and Beth is not. For reasons that I don’t want to talk about, we decided to wait in the single rider line. It was the wrong decision. The single rider line was longer than the standby line, and we ended up waiting way longer than we were comfortable with. I went ahead with the bag, and Beth decided to take the chicken exit instead of continuing to wait (because she doesn’t like this ride anyway). So it ended up being a little bit of a bad experience, but I still enjoyed the ride.
Oh, and the reason I’m holding on for dear life and look so awkward is because I didn’t put the shoulder harness down far enough, and I was actually a little worried about something happening (even though I know that’s not possible). Thankfully, the g-forces or whatever physics stuff pushed it down further at some point in time, so I was able to relax a bit later in the ride.

After we got off the ride, we stopped by a PhotoPass Photographer:

It was almost time for Fantasmic!, so we hustled over there next. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far, and we had picked up a FP+ earlier in the day. We didn’t have the best seats in the world (all the way off on the side), but we were able to see decently … and sitting is always better than standing. Also, sitting made it easier to eat our dinner (PB&J sandwiches) during the show.

Fantasmic! is my favorite night show at WDW (but not my favorite Disney night show … if you’ve never seen World of Color, get yourself to Disneyland ASAP!), so I was excited. I tried to take pictures, but they didn’t come out so great. Here’s the best of what we’ve got (mostly Beth’s):

Once Fantasmic! was over, we did our best to fight through the crowds to get out of the amphitheater. We were just about 30 minutes away from the start of the Star Wars fireworks, and while we’re not Star Wars people (as previously stated about 15,000 times), we like fireworks. We didn’t need the best spot ever, but we found a decent spot off to the side. There were a few trees in our way, but we figured we’d still have a decent view. I experimented with the best angle for pictures (and by that I mean I tried sitting on a ledge, being down on the ground on one knee, and standing), and the tree was always in my way, but it was fine.

So, again, not the best spot, not the best camera, and not the best photographer. But here are a few pictures that I like:

So, what did we think?
I liked it. I thought the fireworks were stunning and the music matched wonderfully. Even without being a Star Wars fan, I’d see it again. Definitely a great end to the night.

We followed the crowds out to the buses and made our way back to Pop Century. We had another early wakeup on tap for the next day, so we tried to be fast about refilling our water bottles and making it back to the room to get ready for bed.

Of course, before we could go to bed, we had to lay out our race outfits for the 10K.

Sarah (Dumbo-Inspired):

Beth (Snow White):

Yes, there are shorts under Beth’s skirt. It was originally shorts and I turned it into a skirt. Clearly I made the skirt part too short. Don’t be confused by the two skirts pictured above – I can’t sew. I just fake it decently.

Finally, it was time for bed. How early would tomorrow’s wake up be? Stay tuned to find out!

Thursday End of Day Stats:
Steps: 24,728
Miles: 10.87
Flights of Stairs: 4

Coming Next: 10K Recaps!

 

[rteetz]

I don't think I've seen voyage of the little mermaid since 2012. I think I'll have to see it again next time.

I love all of the character outfits at DHS.

I have never seen beauty and the beast at DHS at least I don't think I have. I love the movie but we just never seem to work that show in.

RnRc is a favorite of mine.

I also missed Fantasmic this trip as I wanted to see the Star Wars fireworks and Osborne lights instead. I think it was worth the skip this time. Great pictures though.

I can't wait to hear about the 10K!

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

What a fun day in DHS! It's my second-favorite park mostly due to lesser crowds and Star Wars (I am a SW nut). I haven't seen The Little Mermaid in forever, either, so I may need to remedy that sometime soon. Is the Frozen sing-a-long worth it? We keep getting it as our third FP+ when we do DHS (mostly by default because we usually do RnRCoaster for our Tier 1, then Star Tours for Tier 2, usually leaving the third blank) but despite having it as a FP+ at least three or four times, we just haven't made it to the show.

I was thinking when I saw your and Beth's bibs that we were in the same corral and why didn't I see you? And then I remembered the weather, oof. Looking forward to your 10K race recap - the TR is coming along nicely!