Identifying with the Pooh Characters
It was about time to move on to a new ride because we had spent plenty of time with Buzz already. The funny thing is that it seems as if we spent our entire morning there considering all the pictures of the ride, but like I said, the low crowds due to being the end of January made it so much easier to just enjoy what we wanted to when we wanted to. After our brief stay in Tomorrowland, we continued to Fantasyland. It just doesn't change! I tell myself that one day we'll start on the left side of the park, but I think it would make me feel a little uncomfortable, haha.
VIDEO: Walking through Tomorrowland/Winnie the Pooh Queue
As you can see in the video, there was a moment when I thought that Howard actually wanted to switch our FP+ reservation for the Tomorrowland Speedway! I can't see ever waiting a long time for this ride even if we do have kids. Riding it at night, however, is worth it! The first time we did that, I loved the views that we got. It kind of represents a lot of my childhood memories in Disney though. I remember not being able to reach the pedals and my mom or dad having to step on it for me. Okay, I guess if we have kiddos who want to drive, I guess I can't deny them that joy!
While we continued our walk, I did see a cast member with pins! I loved just having the pins on my neck to make it easier to trade. In the past, I used to keep them in two plastic baggies, but it would kind of confusing making sure I put the traded ones in the right back. I would just randomly reach in to grab one and hope that it wasn't one I planned on keeping because then I'd have to reach in and try again. I completely understand the whole lanyard business now! We were able to get the Mickey Nerds head and the Jasmine shoe pins! I know that people suggest going pin hunting in the morning when lanyards are fresh, but it's not often that I find keepers like we did with that one CM. The hunt is a huge part of the fun though, so I think I will just continue trading pins over and over again during each trip without having to buy more for a while! Each trip I come back with about 15-20 that I know I will not trade even years down the road.
When I saw Cheshire Cafe, I immediately thought of Emma's video on apinchofpixiedust.com. She had tried the cake cup, and that was definitely something I wanted to try. As a kid, I disliked cake and cupcakes. I actually wasn't a big fan of sweets. I feel that now I need to make up for all the slices of birthday cake I passed up and the cupcakes at school for classmates' birthday parties that I used to avoid. The sad thing is that I never got a chance to grab one of them during this trip, but I guess in the long run, it's okay since I do see that it has a lot more frosting than cake. I actually really like the cake part more!
My favorite part of the video is when Howard and I both said, "Whoa/Wow!" at the exact same time when we first saw how much progress was made on the Mine Train! Yes, I am aware that at this point that the attraction is up and running, but were in complete awe. I actually think being able to walk past the walls and see the construction is something memorable in and of itself as the parks from our childhood changes over time.
I have to say I really love those trees!
We arrived at Winnie the Pooh and saw that there was only a 5-minute wait. It was actually really fun being able to walk through the standby queue since it has always been something we used to ride using FP only. Now that we have the Magic Bands, I just can't see choosing Pooh as one of the attractions we reserve.
I look at these veggies and think about roasting all of it! My mom didn't use the oven too often except for things that had to be baked like lasagna or baked potatoes. Despite all the difficulties of living in a studio apartment, one of the great things about where we are is that we don't have to pay a gas bill. That means we can use the oven to roast vegetables! I think the first thing I was dying to have when I first got married was Brussels sprouts. After that, we just started roasting everything including zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, and carrots.
I do personally have an issue with all the spelling errors and writing errors though, haha. I know it's part of the Pooh culture, but it's the kind of thing that makes kids think that you can spell mattress without the last "s" because you leave it off for savings. I guess we can take our kids on this ride and make it a game that they should point out the mistakes, haha. Wow, we're gonna be fun parents, aren't we?
I totally just Googled "lettuce growing" because it's kind of funny to see them so spaced out.
If you made it through the video, you already saw the ice cream stick that was growing among the lettuce. Isn't that just absolutely irritating? Whoever it was finished the ice cream and just decided to chuck it over thinking it wouldn't matter? Or thinking that someone else would come and clean it anyway? Stuff like that bugs me to no end. I mean, the other day I was waiting in the long line at Old Navy. The man in front of me was looking at all the random things that they sell next to the line like the cell phone cases and makeup bags and lunchboxes. He picked something up and something else fell on the floor. He placed the item in his hand back on the rack, looked down at the floor at the object he dropped, and then just turned around. Um, we weren't moving anywhere. The line was still long, so it's not like he could have used the "excuse" that he had to move up in line. I was so annoyed by that! I'm the kind of person who goes to put things back where they belong even when I'm not the one who messed it up in the first place. That was the only reason why I actually thought it'd be fun to work retail!
This bag of "kerits" reminds me of an "argument" I had with the daughter of my dad's friend when we were younger. Being from California, she kept saying that my cousin Karen's name was pronounced "Keh-rin" while I was saying that it was "Kah-rin." I just wanted to be like, "Um, hello? She's MY cousin." And if anything, I would be pronouncing it the right way because she too lived in New York! I know that my NYC accent can be really strong at times, but I was bugged by that because she was so insistent.
This is probably one of my favorite parts of the queue because it reminds me of the toys that were always in doctor's offices when I was a kid. Of course, I didn't often play with them because I was convinced the world was germy especially in a doctor's office! I think I'll gladly buy one of those for my own kid and enjoy it myself! I love how Howard captured the whimsy of this in the picture when in reality, it doesn't look TOO exciting.
It's funny to me that we walked through this queue almost entirely separate as he was snapping pictures and I was recording the video!
The time on the FP+ computer says 9:37am, so we were good with timing!
It's pretty clear that the following photo was taken by me, haha. The blurriness is something that I don't mind posting because the ride vehicle itself is fairly clear! I know I will be pointing out how clever the ride vehicles are to our own kiddies. I don't think I paid much attention to them as a kid other than the fact that we got on a ship when riding Peter Pan.
In my first trip report years ago, I actually used Pooh character to introduce my family members. I considered my dad to be the Rabbit of the family because he was always way too concerned about every little thing and kind of the person who couldn't just enjoy what was happening. Haha, I think to some degree I have those tendencies too, but at that time, I identified with Tigger at least when we were vacationing at the happiest place on earth! Part of me is curious as to how the characters are used in the Tao of Pooh, which I had heard about when I took a World Religions class in college, but I guess with so many other books that could be read (I just started reading Divergent!), I wasn't really interested in reading about Taoism.
I have a cousin who we used to tease all the time because she was the kind of person who felt the need to touch everything. This was something we used to talk about even when she was in college! It would make sense if she were still a kid in elementary school, right? Well, if I were showing something at church, she'd want to hold it in her hands. I don't quite know why she felt the need to do that, but for some strange reason, I see these cups, glasses, and plates, and my first thought is, "I want to touch those." Haha, I don't know that I've ever really seen those either because when we're in Owl's house, I just look for those picture frames that pay homage to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
And now here's Tigger!
In the video of the ride down below, I make a comment about the time that we got stuck mid-jump in this scene during our trip with our friends. Even when our ride vehicle wasn't moving, the Tigger next to us kept bouncing. I was unable to actually capture a picture even on that day, but Howard was able to snap one as we were moving through the ride! Now that's some skill!
I know that this was a picture that Howard tried to get year after year. In the past, he was only able to capture the dreaming Pooh, so this one is quite an imnprovement!
Haha, I feel that I make that face rather often. I guess I am my father's daughter!
We did stop at this point, so that's why Howard got great shots of this scene even though it's the darkest room in the entire ride. I kind of really enjoy it when rides stop! I don't want to get stuck on a ride and waste time just sitting and waiting, but it gives Howard an opportunity to get clear pictures. The jerkiness from the ride start and stop is different than normal too!
In the midst of a storm, Pooh can only think about eating. I can't blame him. When I'm upset, I want to eat. When I'm bored, I want to eat. When it's snowy out or rainy out and we're snuggly in the apartment, I want to eat. Hmm, maybe I'm more like Pooh nowadays!
(continued in next post)
