The Devil Horns Ride Again! A Rockin’ Jan/Feb TR New PTR Link 10/13!

[Pluto0809]

Oh Ariana, if you love sea turtles that much...you MUST take the Eastern Caribbean cruise!!! You would LOVE snorkeling at Turtle Cove in St. Thomas. Swimming with the sea turtles!!!

@mickeystoontown, thanks for the CBR/Illluminations info. I need to add fireworks from the beach on our day off to my must do list for the trip. I am SO ready to go. Monday, I had it bad. I looked at all your photos on the CBR thread again, and found some videos to watch, and read several articles on CBR, too... just ready to go!!!!

I definitely want to see Sea Turtles in the wild someday! It's on my bucket list.

Great way to start off your day - fist bumps with Baymax! We're heading here at RD in May so I hope we have a short wait too!

Great pictures of the aquariums. And how fun to see the manatees come out in the morning!

I feel bad for the new CM at Turtle Talk...hopefully practice helped!

It was not bad at all at rope drop so you should be fine. Even the day before it was probably only a 1/2 hour wait.

I do hope that poor girl improved as the day went on because she was just awful!

Oh, I so hope Baymax is still there in October. He looks like so much fun.

I've never done Turtle Talk but I love all your pictures of the aquatic animals. I could probably sit there for hours and watch them too.

He was a lot of fun to meet, I hope he is still there for you.

I highly recommend Turtle Talk if you have time! It's a similar premise as the Laugh Floor in MK. But it is a little more unpredictable because they let the little kids as Crush questions and you never know what will come out of their mouths!

Love your TR so far!!

He is so adorable!!! I have a Schnoodle and just love any dog with Schnauzer in it!! Quite an adventure you had dropping those doggies off!!

Too bad it was dry...I love sandwiches on this type of bread...but I guess on it's own it can be dry! The food looked pretty good though..as did the atmosphere!

Thanks! I think all my babies are cute! I grew up with Schnauzers and have always loved the breed.

I was so disappointed with the Beirgarten pretzel bread. The stuff at Le Cellier is so good and I was expecting something like that. But it didn't even come close.

Okay, so I couldn't remember where I left off so I continued from where the thread opened when I clicked it! Lol!
Glad the rain didn't stop you at epcot and you still got lots of character greets done! And that you found lots of food and fun at Biergarten! I don't think there was anyone else with us when we were there? We enjoyed it but it isn't one I need to go back to!
Yay for baymax!

Jim definitely loves to meet characters so he was not disappointed when the rain kept us indoors.

Maybe you had a larger party? The smallest table I saw sat 8 people. Definitely not one I will be running back to but I'm sure that Jim will drag me back again.

 

[Pluto0809]

Hanging with That Purple Dude Part 1

We continued on with our tour of “things not to do first thing in the morning at Epcot because they never have lines” by heading to Journey into Imagination.





Jim only tolerates this ride but he will go on it for me since I love it.





I don’t think I’ve ever noticed the “Pew Pressure Gauge” before.











We played around for about 30 seconds in the exit area before Jim got bored so we left. As we walked through the dump shop I noticed some photo booths. I knew from reading the DIS that some of the booths link with Photopass. I knew for sure that the ones in the Space Mountain dump shop did but didn’t know about these ones. So I walked over and checked them out and one of them did have Photopass! You got to pick the border and then do three poses. We started with a serious pose first.



Then we had to add in the signature Devil Horns.



And then we went for as goofy as possible!



Right next door to the Figment ride was a new experience for me. Captain EO had closed and was replaced by a Pixar short film festival.



The festival consisted of three short films.



I had seen both Get A Horse and La Luna in the theater but I thought it would be fun to see them with 4D effects. Jim gave me his devil horns before the movie and got photobombed in the process.



I took one more picture of the screen and then the CM said no photography so I put my camera away.



Well I didn’t think the theater added a whole lot to the experience but I did enjoy the shows. Especially Get A Horse, that one is a pretty amazing piece of animation. And heck, anything is better than Captain EO!

It was now time for our next FP which was for Character Spot from 10:20 – 11:20 so we headed that way. But we got a little sidetracked by some Chipmunks with a short line.









We finally made it to use our FP+ for the Character Spot. Mickey was up first. All three characters wished Jim a Happy Birthday.





Goofy was quite the gentleman.



Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Hanging with That Purple Dude Part 2





Are you getting tired of the Devil Horns yet? Well you better not because they will continue I can guarantee that!



Last but not least was Minnie Mouse.





We made our way across the park for our third FP for Test Track from 11:20 – 12:20. I’m pretty sure we used it right at the start. We did make a quick stop on the way there at the pin store and Jim bought a couple of pins. I don’t have pictures of them but I think one was Star Wars and one was Ratatouille.

Jim absolutely loves Test Track and loves doing the design so I let him do all the work.



Not very efficient but lots of power!



I joined Jim in the Devil Horns this time. The funny part of the photo though is the guy next to me who looks bored out of his mind.



We spent quite a bit of time in the exit area playing around. We tried the virtual race cars and I had no more luck than I did in November. They are just impossible to steer! Jim climbed all through the Chevy Colorado. His current Colorado is almost 5 years old and he is thinking about trading it in for a newer one. I doubt he will though, he usually keeps his trucks till they fall apart. Jim also took some pictures with his car. You can take these photos and then e-mail them to yourself. I asked him to forward them to me but he never did. So all you get are my pictures of him getting his picture taken.





It was getting close to noon and we were both pretty hungry so we crossed back over to the Land building for some lunch at Sunshine Seasons.

Jim got Fish Tacos.



And Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.



I got my go-to meal here which is the rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes.



Since I had already had my favorite chocolate mousse cake the day before I went with a chocolate cupcake this time.



Our meals were both delicious. Sunshine Seasons is one of the best CS in WDW and I’ve never had a bad meal there. I was a bit surprised to find cherries in the middle of the chocolate cupcake. But maybe I shouldn’t have been since there was a cherry on top. I’m not a fan but they were easy to pick out and the rest of the cupcake was yummy.

Since we were right there in the land building it was a no brainer to go on Living with the Land next. We had to make a visit to Jim’s chickens. If you are new to my TRs and don’t know the chicken story, here’s a link to our Honeymoon TR (from 1998!) that explains the story. The chicken story starts about halfway down the post.

Chicken Story

So of course one of the first pictures I took during the ride was the chickens.















A naked Hidden Mickey!





With Soarin’ closed, we were done with the Land building after LWTL and it was time to head back to World Showcase. The only thing we hadn’t done in Future World (that we wanted to) was Spaceship Earth. I planned on catching it on the way out after dinner that night.

Up Next: Another Afternoon of Character Meets

 

[rteetz]

Figment is always a good time and never really has a wait that is long.

Character spot is a fun time too! I went after my half marathon to get pictures with the characters.

Test Track is my favorite ride in Epcot. I really like the new Colorado. I have the precursor to the Colorado in the S10.

Living with the land is a must for me.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I love the Devil Horns, keep 'em coming!!

Sounds like a perfect morning at Epcot so far. I love the photobooths with Photopass. When did they put those in?? I just added them to my list for December Is it just the two you know of?? Space Mountain dump shop and Figment?

 

[katt789]

Yay!
I love the "things not to do in epcot mornings because they dont have lines" bahahah, like, there's nothing else TO DO in Epcot in the mornings! (at least to me, esp with fp)
Looks like a good morning!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

My SIL would be all over that chocolate cherry cupcake! I like cherries, but I usually skip chocolate desserts.

I love Living with the Land. It's one of those old school Epcot rides that makes me 12 years old again.

 

[missangelalexis]

I definitely need to check out those Photopass photobooths on my next trip!

Love all the character pictures!

I agree, Sunshine Seasons is a great QS spot. Your meal looks really delicious.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So excited that they have finally retired Capatin Eo AGAIN. That movie is just horrendous... not even good for nostalgia's sake.

Oh my...that Strawberry Shortcake from Sunshine Season...YUMMM That stuff is so good! Yeah, I would not have liked finding cherries in my cupcake either, yuck!

Yay, you got a photo of the chickens!! That story will always be funny for me. I don't think I will ever be able to see those chickens without thinking of Jim now. LOL!!

BTW~ miss you guys!!!!! We still need to make it to the Nashville Zoo together! They have done a whole lot of expansion and renovations over the last year. I cannot wait to go back and see all the new stuff this summer! Here is an idea to consider, they have a fantastic Halloween party. Would Jim be more into that than just an ordinary trip to the zoo? Worth considering...

 

[Chicago Mo]

Yes, you need to go to Turtle Talk again. I love that show almost as much as the Laugh Floor.

i just read they will be adding characters from Finding Dory to this!

anything is better than Captain EO!

I cannot agree more.

I took during the ride was the chickens.

I am sure you all were laughing hysterically

A naked Hidden Mickey!

MY EYES!!!!!!!!

 

[BlvInMagic]

Cracking up over the photo-bomber in the Pixar Movie Place -- hee hee! That guy missed the memo to "Smile" because he's at Disney world!

 

[KathyM2]

I'm with you on the Figment love!!! That pic of you guys on TT was so funny - that guy beside you didn't look like he was having a great time...so funny. Doesn't everyone KNOW they take your picture on rides lol

 

[Wood Nymph]

Overall this was a much better experience than the first time we went and I enjoyed it a lot.

I have trouble finding food that I like there, but the music is fun.

As we were walking, Illuminations started. We could see some of it from CBR.

That looks like a nice view. We have never been to CBR but we have it on our list of resorts to tour.

I received a Fitbit as a Christmas present so I was able to see how many steps/miles we walked each day.

I love my FitBit. It really motivates me to walk more. I only use it for tracking steps.

I think the lack of the Mickey towel was the only complaint I had the whole time at CBR.

I haven't seen a Mickey towel in quite a while now. I think the housekeepers are told not to make towel animals anymore.

I knew from reading the DIS that some of the booths link with Photopass. I knew for sure that the ones in the Space Mountain dump shop did but didn’t know about these ones. So I walked over and checked them out and one of them did have Photopass! You got to pick the border and then do three poses. We started with a serious pose first.

I learned about this from the Dis, too. We checked out the Space Mountain booth. Only our funny poses look decent.

Well I didn’t think the theater added a whole lot to the experience but I did enjoy the shows. Especially Get A Horse, that one is a pretty amazing piece of animation. And heck, anything is better than Captain EO!

It was getting close to noon and we were both pretty hungry so we crossed back over to the Land building for some lunch at Sunshine Seasons.

Jim got Fish Tacos.

And Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.

 

[hokieinpa]

We've actually never been on Figment! But we are going to in May so we'll get to experience it too!

Very cute pictures at the Character Spot. A picture that includes both Minnie and the devil horns is just too funny!

I love Sunshine Seasons. I've had those fish tacos and they are pretty spicy!

 

[IowaTater]

I can't wait to spend more time in EPCOT on this trip. I feel like we missed out on so much the last one.

For The Birds is such a cute film. Get a Horse sounds familiar too. Was that one in black & white and color??

 

[Pluto0809]

Figment is always a good time and never really has a wait that is long.

Character spot is a fun time too! I went after my half marathon to get pictures with the characters.

Test Track is my favorite ride in Epcot. I really like the new Colorado. I have the precursor to the Colorado in the S10.

Living with the land is a must for me.

I don't think I've ever waited in a line for Figment!

I do love Test Track but Soarin' is still my favorite. Of course we shall see how the new version is. I'm hoping it's even better than the original.

Jim is on his second Colorado. He had the first one for 7 years until it started having problems.

I love the Devil Horns, keep 'em coming!!

Sounds like a perfect morning at Epcot so far. I love the photobooths with Photopass. When did they put those in?? I just added them to my list for December Is it just the two you know of?? Space Mountain dump shop and Figment?

I do know you love those Devil Horns.

No idea when they added the photo booths. Those are the only two I know of for sure but there could be others, just keep an eye out. The one we used in the Figment dump shop said "Photopass" on the side.

Yay!
I love the "things not to do in epcot mornings because they dont have lines" bahahah, like, there's nothing else TO DO in Epcot in the mornings! (at least to me, esp with fp)
Looks like a good morning!

Well, if both Soarin' and Test Track are open I'm usually running to one of those and using a FP on the other. It was nice to slow down and not have to worry about either of those.

My SIL would be all over that chocolate cherry cupcake! I like cherries, but I usually skip chocolate desserts.

I love Living with the Land. It's one of those old school Epcot rides that makes me 12 years old again.

I'm all about the chocolate if you can't tell! I really don't like fruit desserts at all.

LWTL is one of my favorites too. I just love that there is such a variety of things to see. I swear there is something new every time I ride.

I definitely need to check out those Photopass photobooths on my next trip!

Love all the character pictures!

I agree, Sunshine Seasons is a great QS spot. Your meal looks really delicious.

Yes you do, that Photo booth was a lot of fun.

We definitely hit up the characters this trip, lots more to come.

We both loved our meal at SS.

So excited that they have finally retired Capatin Eo AGAIN. That movie is just horrendous... not even good for nostalgia's sake.

Oh my...that Strawberry Shortcake from Sunshine Season...YUMMM That stuff is so good! Yeah, I would not have liked finding cherries in my cupcake either, yuck!

Yay, you got a photo of the chickens!! That story will always be funny for me. I don't think I will ever be able to see those chickens without thinking of Jim now. LOL!!

BTW~ miss you guys!!!!! We still need to make it to the Nashville Zoo together! They have done a whole lot of expansion and renovations over the last year. I cannot wait to go back and see all the new stuff this summer! Here is an idea to consider, they have a fantastic Halloween party. Would Jim be more into that than just an ordinary trip to the zoo? Worth considering...

Hopefully Captain EO is gone for good this time. While the Pixar thing was nice I really hope they do something new and exciting with that area soon.

I'm not one for mixing a lot of flavors. I love chocolate and cherries (although not really in the candied form) but put them together, yuck!

I'm guessing there are a lot of people out there that now think of those chickens as "Jim's". Kind of like how I think of SE as Kathy's Dad's ride.

Yes! We definitely need to make it back to Nashville soon. And maybe the Halloween party will spark Jim's interest to go to the zoo.

 

[Pluto0809]

i just read they will be adding characters from Finding Dory to this!

I cannot agree more.

I am sure you all were laughing hysterically
MY EYES!!!!!!!!

I would love it if they added new characters to Turtle Talk! It's always fun to have something new.

Like I said to Connie, let's hope Captain EO is gone for good.

I knew you would be the one that reacted to my "Naked" Mickey.

Cracking up over the photo-bomber in the Pixar Movie Place -- hee hee! That guy missed the memo to "Smile" because he's at Disney world!

He was pretty funny! I think he might have been annoyed that I was taking a picture in his direction.

I'm with you on the Figment love!!! That pic of you guys on TT was so funny - that guy beside you didn't look like he was having a great time...so funny. Doesn't everyone KNOW they take your picture on rides lol

Figment is just awesome although I did prefer the original version.

He does look so bored, not sure how you can be on that ride!

I have trouble finding food that I like there, but the music is fun.

That looks like a nice view. We have never been to CBR but we have it on our list of resorts to tour.

I love my FitBit. It really motivates me to walk more. I only use it for tracking steps.

I haven't seen a Mickey towel in quite a while now. I think the housekeepers are told not to make towel animals anymore.

I learned about this from the Dis, too. We checked out the Space Mountain booth. Only our funny poses look decent.

I did struggle the first time we went to Biergarten but this time there was more that I liked.

You do get a pretty good view of the high fireworks and the lasers from CBR.

I was hoping my Fitbit would motivate me but it hasn't been as effective as I wanted. But I just found out we will be going to the beach for a few days this summer so that has got me moving on the fitness front!

I totally forgot to check out the Space Mountain ones when we went to MK.

We've actually never been on Figment! But we are going to in May so we'll get to experience it too!

Very cute pictures at the Character Spot. A picture that includes both Minnie and the devil horns is just too funny!

I love Sunshine Seasons. I've had those fish tacos and they are pretty spicy!

Figment is an interesting one that's for sure. The first time Jim rode it with me he was totally confused. But I love it because it has some great childhood memories for me.

Jim didn't mention the spice but he goes through a bottle of hot sauce a week so they probably weren't bad for him.

I can't wait to spend more time in EPCOT on this trip. I feel like we missed out on so much the last one.

For The Birds is such a cute film. Get a Horse sounds familiar too. Was that one in black & white and color??

Epcot is probably my least favorite of the parks but I still love spending time there. And one day is usually not enough to get everything in.

Yep that's the one with the classic characters and switches from black & white to color.

 

[IowaTater]

Yep that's the one with the classic characters and switches from black & white to color.

That's what I thought! I have seen it then. They showed it at the beginning of Star Wars, I think. It is really neat how they did that.

 

[Pluto0809]

Another Afternoon of Character Meets Part 1

Before I start this installment, I found the picture of the two pins that Jim bought on our way to Test Track. I thought it was a Ratatouille one and Star Wars one. I was half right.



We headed back toward World Showcase after lunch via Mouse Gears. I knew that they usually put a big pin board out around 1 pm. It was out so we both did some trading. I also spotted a few items I wanted to pick up but decided to wait till later when we were heading out of the park.

We made a quick stop for some Photopass pictures.







The flowers heading into World Showcase were beautiful, my picture does not do them justice.





We were having dinner at Rose and Crown so even though we already visited the left side of WS, we headed that way again.



We didn’t go back inside the Mexico pavilion but Jim noticed that Donald was meeting outside and wanted to see him again. The line was pretty short and I knew I would be dragging him to see Pluto again so we got in line.
When we got to the front, Jim immediately showed off his Donald Magic Band. Donald was impressed and then had to check out what I was wearing.









We moved on to Norway. This next picture is horrible but I wanted to show how much of Norway was blocked off. You can see the construction walls start right past the bakery and the restaurant.



Jim noticed the Norway church and wanted to check out what was inside.



It was very small and crowded inside so we didn’t stay too long. It’s basically a display of Norwegian culture and how it inspired the movie Frozen.







This next one cracks me up because I wonder if that’s a reindeer skin in his sled. Poor Sven. Yes, I do have a warped sense of humor.



China was next and it was almost time for Mulan to come out. I wasn’t exactly sure where her meet was other than “in the garden” and my plan was to stand around until I saw a line starting to form. Jim wanted to ask so we went into the store. The CM said “somewhere in the garden” which was as much as I already knew. But I am glad we went in there because as we turned to leave, there was a pressed penny machine by the door. We totally missed it the day before and low and behold there was a Pluto penny! I’ll have a picture for you at the end of this day because I took it with my pin trades.

When we made it back to the garden, I spotted the line and we got in it. It was along the farthest garden path to the right when facing the temple. And speaking of the temple, it was undergoing some renovations.



Mulan came out right on time and we were about 5 families back. We talked about my “red” shirt and how that was a warrior color. Jim was disappointed because he didn’t have any red. As you can see, it was finally warm enough for us to take off our sweat shirts. I’m not thrilled with these photos since we are so washed out by the sun and Jim is doing some weird leaning back thing.





We made a stop at the bead kiosk which is right before Germany. For anyone who doesn’t know, the beads at that kiosk are hand made from old Disney park maps. I have several sets and wanted to see if there were any different colors to purchase this time. I did find some and got a regular necklace ($20) and a choker ($15). I haven’t worn either one yet since they are more spring-like colors. I really need to find something to wear with the teal set.





We stopped in Germany for a Photopass picture but didn’t go in any of the stores since we had explored them the night before. These once again turned out pretty bad due to the shadows.





We did get a magic shot but once again the shadows pretty much ruined it.



Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Another Afternoon of Character Meets Part 2

We walked quickly through the stores in Italy, there really isn’t much to see in them. They are small and the perfume makes me sneeze. I did stop in the wine store and got a glass of my favorite Rose Regale.



I ended up drinking the wine faster than I wanted to because when we got to America the next American Adventure show was starting soon and Jim wanted to see it.



We got into the lobby just as the Voices of Liberty started so we joined the crowd sitting on the floor.



I even took a quick video for your viewing pleasure (click below). I could sit and listen to VOL all day, they are that good.



After the VOL it was time for the show. I took one last picture as we ascended the stairs/escalators to the theater.



I didn’t take any pictures during the show because I feel like my screen is way too bright and distracting. I wish there was a way to turn it off and still take pictures.

We looked through both the America and Japan stores but didn’t buy anything or take any pictures. I thought about doing Pick a Pearl but the line was huge plus I didn’t want to backtrack to pick up the jewelry later.

As we moved from Japan to Morocco, I noticed that the Illuminations globe was on its way into the lagoon.



We explored the Moroccan stores briefly but once again didn’t buy anything.





Jim had never seen the interesting, um, “sculpture” towards the back of the pavilion so I had to show him. For some reason, he didn’t want his picture taken with it.



As we entered France we saw Belle out meeting. I had planned for her next set but noticed the line had not been closed yet for this one. The line didn’t look too bad so we hopped in. It took about 20 minutes which is the longest we waited that day for a character. But Belle was a must do for me since she was the only Princess I had not met.

Jim immediately started bragging about how he had arm wrestled with Gaston on a previous trip. Belle seemed pretty impressed and was glad Jim had put Gaston in his place.







Our next stop was to purchase me another of my favorite drinks, a Grey Goose Citron Vodka Slush.



We found a table and sat for a while and people watched while I slowly sipped my drink. It was a really nice break from all the walking we had been doing that day.

As we entered the France Pavilion we noticed that there was a PP photographer by the fountain. So of course we stopped. Luckily, Jim is on board for as many photos as possible. He likes to get our money’s worth out of Memory Maker as much as I do.





We shopped though the France stores and also checked out the bakery. In one of the stores, Jim found a few items to buy. First was this Ratatouille cup.





In the same store, he bought some French Dijon Mustard. I think this was the third bottle of sauce he bought on this trip. The boy certainly loves his sauces!



I swear he also bought a Ratatouille magnet but I can’t find a picture. Maybe he ended up putting it back?

Aurora had a set coming up soon and I noticed a line had started to form as we exited the stores. I asked Jim if he wanted to meet her and he said of course. We stood in line for about 5 minutes and then he turned to me and asked “Who the heck is this we are meeting?” He had no idea who Aurora was, he just wants to meet as many characters as possible.

When it was our turn, Aurora called me a Princess which made my day.





We headed across the bridge to the UK and stopped for yet another set of PP pictures. The photographer basically took 3 of the same exact photo so I will just share one.



We were still way too early for our 6:20 pm ADR at Rose and Crown so we checked out all the stores in UK. Jim noticed there wasn’t much of a line for Pooh and Tigger so we hopped in. Right before our turn, they had to go take a short break and Jim got to open and close the chain to let them through. He thought that was the coolest thing ever and took the job very seriously.

Pooh and Tigger were fun as usual. Tigger bounced with Jim for a bit and they both acknowledged his birthday.





We were still too early to check in for dinner so we continued on to Canada to look through the shops. Jim loves the shops here thanks to all the hockey gear. Unfortunately there were no new T-shirts since last time but he did buy a magnet.



Up Next: Dinner and a Date With the Past