**UPDATED FINALLY 12/10x2!!**"Ill be your Pin Pimp!" A very sweaty August 2014 TR!!

[courtneybelle]

Haha yeah that's how I felt about the ice skating too. But it's cool for the locals who don't get to see snow or ice.

So cool that you practically had a whole elevator to yourself!

HOOOO that hag is terrifying.

 

[maddiebee]

Whoa....only two other people with you on the TofT?? That's amazing! What time was that at?

I'm not totally sure...but it wasn't that late. It was pretty cool though! I almost asked if we could just be in our own elevator but I didnt want to push it

I cannot believe there was only one other couple with you on Tower of Terror! I'm sorry about the long lines for the characters, but it seemed it made it a whole lot easier to get on the rides.

It definitely did make the rides easier! Even though the lines were short, we did spend a lot of time just wandering!

Haha yeah that's how I felt about the ice skating too. But it's cool for the locals who don't get to see snow or ice.

So cool that you practically had a whole elevator to yourself!

HOOOO that hag is terrifying.

It was neat in general to walk into an ice skating winter wonderland in florida, but yeah, it was only cool for so long.

The hag is really something. I'm ultimately glad I didn't wait in line to meet her!

 

[maddiebee]

So, we spent most of the Villain's Party wandering around and watching other people meet characters and taking advantage of short ride lines.

We kept seeing people walking around with the special event drinks that had these adorable blinking light poison apples in them. I kept asking people where they got them and got really vauge answers. We finally found one of the two places where they were serving the event drinks and ended up waiting about 45 minutes for them. Luckily we were in line with some really nice girls who I got to talk about Narnia with for most of the time.

We had never seen Fantasmic before and there was going to be a "special pre show" so we headed over that way after getting our drinks.
The "special pre show" was a joke. It was terrible and I was annoyed that I had been so stressed about trying to get there on time to catch it. From what I hear from other people who have seen Fantasmic before, was that it was the same deal they have before every show to keep the crowd entertained while they wait, but it had a "villains twist".
Finally that was over and Fantasmic started.

oh. my. god.

How have I gone so long with out seeing it?!

STEAMBOAT WILLIE
Is there every any opportunity to meet him in the parks!? He is my favorite. Pete and I both want Steamboat Willie tattoos. UGH HE'S SO CUTE.

I loved everything about Fantasmic, but my favorite part was probably Eric's sparkly pants.

After Fantasmic, we went back to wandering around. Ran into some questionable characters.

It was still very hot at this point in the night.

This guy had an AMAZING Ursula costume, but I guess he was clogging up some areas and I had to hastily take a blurry photo as CMs were starting to shoo us away.

We then went to check out the Guardians of the Galaxy dance party. Star Lord and Gamora didn't have a line and fighting the pack to get a picture stresses me out even more, so we just got more pictures of other people with them. I was impressed by how spot they looked!

At this point, Pete had been up over 24 hours and was fading fast, but I just wanted to make it to the fireworks! Pete decided to throw in the towel and crowds were gathering for the fireworks, so we browsed some shops as I walked Pete towards the exit. He stopped at Sweet Sucess and grabbed a cookie and a diet coke and immediately woke up! He decided he could make it through the fireworks and we were both so glad he did.

My Iphone died almost right after they started and these photos do them no justice, but the fireworks were INCREDIBLE. The fireworks made the entire night. The score was so so so good. Even though we didnt' really get to meet any characters and that was the whole point, I'm still really glad we went. It was an overall awesome first day.

At the end of my trip, I wrote Disney an email because I didn't get to report all the great CMs we encountered and wanted to make sure they were recognized. At the end of the email I mentioned that we were a little bummed that the lines had been so long at the villains party but that we still had a great time and loved the fireworks. The next day we got a call from a lovely CM who immediately told me they were refunding our entire ticket cost and that they were going to send us the grab bags (which we hadnt seen or heard about) that were being handed out. I really couldn't believe that they were going to do that and told them it was necessary but they insisted.

I really hope Disney learns from this event but I'm so glad to see that Disney is realizing that people LOVE Villains. More Villains please!!​

 

[KatMark]

Great update, Maddie.

I am so glad you liked Fantasmic. Wishes will always be my favorite, but I'll take Fantasmic over Illuminations any day.

I'm glad the fireworks made the whole night worth it for you guys.

What a great thing for the CM to do for you guys. I know we don't expect things when we write Disney, but if you don't tell them the issues, they can't fix it!

 

[Disneylover99]

My husband also said the Villain's fireworks were amazing. He took the bus from our resort and watched them from outside HS because we didn't have tickets. I'm glad you got a refund.

 

[larslovesyou]

Loving your TR! You and Pete are so adorable!

Also noticed an Alkaline Trio tattoo on his arm. I have the same one on my calf, that I got when I was 18!

 

[IheartDDuck]

It appears I was a few updates behind!

Awesome, pixie dust with your room being ready! I love the Beach Club. We're staying there next September.

Margaritas as the first stop is always a wise choice.

I feel the same way about Big Thunder. I ride it and I go "man, I love this ride!" And then I have a brain fart about loving it later on.

Completely with you on 7DMT. It's a fun ride, but not my absolute favorite.

Man, that's some hefty rain.

I'm loving your Madame Medusa! I was thinking about doing that for the 24 hour party, but ended up picking a full blown costume instead.

I have endless patience at Disney too! I have no idea why, because I have absolutely no patience anywhere else. Maybe because it's my happy place.

Definitely a fan of you taking the creeper approach with your pictures.

Perhaps you received vague answers on the drinks because they've had too many drinks at that point and couldn't remember.

Wow, you guys got a refund too! Just read Missy's TR and she was credited also for the party.

 

[courtneybelle]

I heard really bad things about the Fantasmic pre show too, but I'm glad you liked the actual show!! It is so spectacular. It would be amazing to meet Steamboat Willie in the parks.

That is so awesome that Disney refunded your tickets and sent you grab bags!! I think DHS is a little more challenging for hard ticket events, because it's so much smaller than MK and there aren't many rides, so everybody wants to do the same things. But I'm glad you guys made the best of it

 

[maddiebee]

Great update, Maddie.

I am so glad you liked Fantasmic. Wishes will always be my favorite, but I'll take Fantasmic over Illuminations any day.

I'm glad the fireworks made the whole night worth it for you guys.

What a great thing for the CM to do for you guys. I know we don't expect things when we write Disney, but if you don't tell them the issues, they can't fix it!

Wishes will probably always be my favorite, but now I'm definitely going to make more of a point to catch it a couple times! I love it!!

I really couldn't believe they gave us a total refund! I just hope they got a lot of helpful feedback for future events.

My husband also said the Villain's fireworks were amazing. He took the bus from our resort and watched them from outside HS because we didn't have tickets. I'm glad you got a refund.

Wow that's so smart!

Loving your TR! You and Pete are so adorable!

Also noticed an Alkaline Trio tattoo on his arm. I have the same one on my calf, that I got when I was 18!

Haha thanks I don't remember when he got his but it was a while ago!

It appears I was a few updates behind!

Awesome, pixie dust with your room being ready! I love the Beach Club. We're staying there next September.

Margaritas as the first stop is always a wise choice.

I feel the same way about Big Thunder. I ride it and I go "man, I love this ride!" And then I have a brain fart about loving it later on.

Completely with you on 7DMT. It's a fun ride, but not my absolute favorite.

Man, that's some hefty rain.

I'm loving your Madame Medusa! I was thinking about doing that for the 24 hour party, but ended up picking a full blown costume instead.

I have endless patience at Disney too! I have no idea why, because I have absolutely no patience anywhere else. Maybe because it's my happy place.

Definitely a fan of you taking the creeper approach with your pictures.

Perhaps you received vague answers on the drinks because they've had too many drinks at that point and couldn't remember.

Wow, you guys got a refund too! Just read Missy's TR and she was credited also for the party.

It was so nice that our room was ready but sometimes I almost would prefer it not be so I have more of an excuse to to just take off to the parks

Margaritas are very very important to me, especially Disney ones.

I think a big part of the vague answers were because there were only TWO places where they were selling the special drinks, and I could only really give you a vague answer as to where it was...like by the coca cola and truck that spout water? high octane refreshments?

I heard really bad things about the Fantasmic pre show too, but I'm glad you liked the actual show!! It is so spectacular. It would be amazing to meet Steamboat Willie in the parks.

That is so awesome that Disney refunded your tickets and sent you grab bags!! I think DHS is a little more challenging for hard ticket events, because it's so much smaller than MK and there aren't many rides, so everybody wants to do the same things. But I'm glad you guys made the best of it

I think Steamboat Willie would be the only character that Pete would actively freak out about. Ugh he would be so great.

The event in general was hard because the main point was to meet characters so there are just going to be lines regardless unless you have endless characters to meet! They just need to sell less tickets or hold it in like the world showcase where there arent many rides anyway and a lot of people are character hunting.

 

[maddiebee]

So obviously I forgot about the whole point of my title and did not include by first pin experience!

When we got out of Fantasmic and were wandering around, we were asking a CM at one of the kiosks some questions and I noticed he had this pin!

I thought it was so cute and pointed to it, saying hey I just saw Fantasmic for the first time! Then he offered me the pin! I was like oh no that's ok I don't have any to trade yet and he insisted that I just take it! I WAS SO EXCITED! I had never seen this pin before and thought it was so cute and couldn't believe that I could just have it.
AND SO THE PIN BUG BIT ME. ​

 

[kaelalala]

hiiii I'm just joining in but I love it so far! I love your writing style, it's so witty and fun to read ^_^

ahhh isn't Fantasmic the best!! and I agree, Eric's sparkly pants are easily one of the best parts of that show, hahah

so sweet of you to write an email about the CMs, I love to hear when people do that! it's always awesome to be recognized and how cool of Disney to refund your tickets! I hope they do learn from this event like you said and make it more organized in the future!

omg, bitten by the pin bug...I was bitten a while ago and I am so addicted to it now it's ridiculous hahaha

loving this so far, can't wait to read more!!

 

[maddiebee]

hiiii I'm just joining in but I love it so far! I love your writing style, it's so witty and fun to read ^_^

ahhh isn't Fantasmic the best!! and I agree, Eric's sparkly pants are easily one of the best parts of that show, hahah

so sweet of you to write an email about the CMs, I love to hear when people do that! it's always awesome to be recognized and how cool of Disney to refund your tickets! I hope they do learn from this event like you said and make it more organized in the future!

omg, bitten by the pin bug...I was bitten a while ago and I am so addicted to it now it's ridiculous hahaha

loving this so far, can't wait to read more!!

Hi Lovely to have you here!

Honestly writing about the CMs is almost a selfish thing because it makes me feel so good! I worked at a water park for 6 years and have been in the customer service industry so long and I know that getting praise is rare, so I try to offer it whenever I can, especially at my favorite place of all places!

The pin bug is sick. Its terrible. but i love it so so much.

 

[njpyro]

Just joining in, your title caught me... I am somewhat obsessed with trading pins and my husband says I only bring him to the parks so I can trade 4 pins at a time instead of two. That's only partially true.

 

[maddiebee]

So the next morning I let myself sleep in a little and left Pete dead asleep to adventure of to Animal Planet!
I'm a vet tech at home and have heard that if you go to Rafiki's Planet Watch in the morning, you can catch some of their veterinary procedures! I wanted to do this last trip but it just never worked out. I hemmed and hawed about it for a while too, because those morning hours are so precious, but I figured if i tried today and missed it, at least i'd have the rest of the trip to catch it!

I snapped this photo of the Beach Club hallway carpet. It's so cute! It's definitely starting to show some age, but I love when Disney characters are worked in to otherwise non Disney designs.

I had never been to Rafiki's Planet, so I ended up wandering around for a little trying to figure out where it was. AK is probably the hardest park for me to orient myself because of all the trees! You can rarely tell where you are in relation to everything else. Eventually I made it over to the Wildlife Express!

I loved getting a peek at all the backstage stuff where the animals are housed for the night!

Got a peek at a white rhino! Hi buddy!

Rafiki's Planet Watch is such a cute area!!

"Come on in friends!"

I went straight in side and while I get why this area doesn't get a ton of action, I thought it all was super interesting! Working at Disney as a vet tech would to be a total dream! I found the area where the vet procedures happened and there was a cm outside of it answering questions and told me that they would be doing procedures on a goat and a hawk in a little bit!
I wandered around and checked out what the area had to offer.

This cm was preparing meals for some of the animals.

I then wandered outside for some affection.

I LOVE PIGS. I just wanted to chase him around but figured that kind of thing was probably frowned upon.

Hi friends!

I thought this pig peeing was hilarious because I am an adult.

I had a nice chat with one of the cms who works with the goats. It was really hot out there, but just hanging out with goats all day must be pretty great. One of them was just leaning against her and really loving getting pet. It was so sweet.

Then Rafiki walked by, so I obviously jumped in line since there really wasn't one at all!

He was lovely! ​

 

[KatMark]

Maddie, fun update. I get disorented at the AK too. I also blame the trees.

You and Pete really need to do the Backstage Safari Tour. We did that last month (no where near that in my TR), but we went into that house with the Rhino and went into the Elephant house. You also go inside one of the hospital rooms, see where they prepare all of the food, etc. We really enjoyed it. Oh, and you get a private safari ride with just the tour attendees.

Love the picture of you with Rafiki.

 

[maddiebee]

Just joining in, your title caught me... I am somewhat obsessed with trading pins and my husband says I only bring him to the parks so I can trade 4 pins at a time instead of two. That's only partially true.

It's so addicting!! Even my guy got really into it! It's honestly embarrassing how much money we ended up spending on pins.

 

[danjoan14]

I also feel the same about AK. It's not one of my favorites, and we don't visit it often. I know we should. DS loves all the animals. I'm thinking we're going to put it into our plans for our summer visit next August. We won't have time during the short Thanksgiving trip.

 

[maddiebee]

Maddie, fun update. I get disorented at the AK too. I also blame the trees.

You and Pete really need to do the Backstage Safari Tour. We did that last month (no where near that in my TR), but we went into that house with the Rhino and went into the Elephant house. You also go inside one of the hospital rooms, see where they prepare all of the food, etc. We really enjoyed it. Oh, and you get a private safari ride with just the tour attendees.

Love the picture of you with Rafiki.

That sounds amazing!! We are going to do at least 1 tour on our next trip. I think I really want to do the Backstage Safari and the one at MK that takes you into the Haunted Mansion!

I also feel the same about AK. It's not one of my favorites, and we don't visit it often. I know we should. DS loves all the animals. I'm thinking we're going to put it into our plans for our summer visit next August. We won't have time during the short Thanksgiving trip.

Everest is one of our favorite rides, so we always make a point to go there, but we don't stay that long usually. This time we tried to do a few new things there and I'm so glad we did!

 

[Joben]

Jeez sorry I missed so many updates.

That was quite a first day especially for someone going on no sleep.

The fireworks at those special celebrations are pretty amazing, almost worth the cost of the ticket...almost

I had to laugh at the poorly dressed women costume. So my wife and I went to the Halloween party our last trip in September. We had gone before and dressed as Imagineers for our first time. I am like Pete and only willing to dress up if it is minimal to nothing, but reluctantly agreed to Imagineers because well who wouldn't. It turned out great, fooled a dew people but really impressed mostly just CM's and die-hards. Most people were like "oh the village people I guess?"

So this year we wanted to go down vague road again. I got an orange jumpsuit and put the name tag T Morrow on it. Perfect little effort, and some people might get it. My poor wife went as the little old lady in the 80's-90's section of carousel of progress. Very doughty outfit, grey hair, blue blockers for her WR goggles, and a power glove looking thing on her right hand and wrist. No one recognized and gave her the worst looks like she had horrible fashion sense. And to make matters worse, carousel of progress was closed. She just walked around all night saying "I'm just an old woman with horrible fashion sense"

Thanks for bringing back that memory.

 

[Joben]

oh yeah Rafiki's planet watch, as a former vet tech yeah that place is awesome. I just spent the whole time talking to one of the CM's who worked there, secretly and jealously coveting her life.