3 sisters + 2 worlds=5 days of Orlando fun! An Aug. '10 TR...final thoughts p. 45

[wdwgirl03]

You know I love that you met Peter and Wendy Also love all of the details in Mickey and Minnie's house. I hope they find somewhere else to put them (like maybe open a new area at DHS.)

haha, I should've known you'd like our meet with Peter and Wendy!

That would be cool if they put them somewhere else. They can't just get rid of them!

I agree, it's so sad to leave MK. It's also sad to think Toontown will be gone the next time a lot of us go back.

I love the black and white HM picture! I find it so hard to get a decent picture of HM because it's hidden by that canopy in the front.

The carousel is so cute, I really need to go on that someday...and I love Philharmagic, it's one of the best things in MK!

It really is and I don't understand why they can't keep some of it. I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to NOT have Mickey and Minnie's houses in WDW.

Yeah, I think my sister might've taken it before we got in line, or else after we rode. But the canopy does always get in the way.

Interesting bit of info about the white horses on the carousel! I haven't read the latest issue yet. Howard brought it over (it's delivered to his house), and I think it's still in the plastic package!

I remember going on the Barnstormer when I was much older too and actually thinking, "Wow, we're pretty high up ... is this really a kiddie coaster?!"

I've never noticed it before in pictures, but there are splotches of the red paint on the floor of Mickey's kitchen that are in the shape of Donald's feet!

LOL, I think it was in the Sept./Oct. issue because I only just started reading the holiday one.

Oh boy, I was completely the opposite...I just remember when it was over being like that's it?! Kind of like we were on the one ride at WWOHP.

Hey, I don't think I even realized that about the paint. Nice!

Yeah, it's a little sad to be losing Toontown. It's such a cute little area and I love all the details, especially in Mickey and Minnie's houses. I'm hoping whatever finally ends up there will be at least as good. And yes, I remember back when it was Starland and Birthdayland too. The show with the Disney Afternoon characters was a must-see for a few years in my childhood.

I agree. I'm anxious to see what the new plans are going to look like when it's all done. That show in Starland was awesome! I really liked that one too.

Trying, and failing miserably. I just look like I'm crossing my arms.

No, we only walked through Mickey's house. We should have gone through Minnie's though. And I don't remember that comment from Emma. LOL!

I must've been thinking of April then because I know me and dad walked through Minnie's house then.

Awww so sad to take a last stroll through Mickey's Toontown Fair...although I'm definitely excited to see what's going there, I agree with you guys that I would NOT feel good about myself after knocking down Mickey and/or Minnie's house!!

I hate that last stroll through the MK Soooo sad

I have a guess where you went next...was it the American Idol Experience?!

It is just too depressing to leave there. If only we could just stay. haha

Hmmm, the AIE...that could be right...

 

[Bridora]

I love empty MK pictures! And the Columbia Harbor House!

to leave MK and say "goodbye" to Mickey's Toon Town--we did the same when we were there in May.

 

[Jennifer48]

DH and I tried Columbia Harbor House for the first time in Sept during the KTTK tour and loved it. We are going to make sure we go back again!

Great empty shots of MK!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I agree with you!!! How can they knock down Mickey's house??!?!? I really, really, really hope they don't. I know all the rumors and whatnot say it's a goner, but I just hope something changes. I think it could still work in the Circusland area of the new Fantasyland just fine...they could maybe change a few things inside to show Mickey and Minnie getting ready to put on a circus act or something! Those houses are just too cute and fun to knock down.

I haven't heard when they are going to close it...but I've been watching various rumor boards regularly!!

Anyway-I hope the misty eyes were dried soon and you have a great night and last full day! I agree with ya though, MK is the hardest to say goodbye to for some reason!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love empty MK pictures! And the Columbia Harbor House!

to leave MK and say "goodbye" to Mickey's Toon Town--we did the same when we were there in May.

Empty parks are always nice.

It's still so strange to think that it's going to be gone soon.

DH and I tried Columbia Harbor House for the first time in Sept during the KTTK tour and loved it. We are going to make sure we go back again!

Great empty shots of MK!

Yeah, we always get in such a rut of eating at the same places. But lately we've been branching out a bit.

I agree with you!!! How can they knock down Mickey's house??!?!? I really, really, really hope they don't. I know all the rumors and whatnot say it's a goner, but I just hope something changes. I think it could still work in the Circusland area of the new Fantasyland just fine...they could maybe change a few things inside to show Mickey and Minnie getting ready to put on a circus act or something! Those houses are just too cute and fun to knock down.

I haven't heard when they are going to close it...but I've been watching various rumor boards regularly!!

Anyway-I hope the misty eyes were dried soon and you have a great night and last full day! I agree with ya though, MK is the hardest to say goodbye to for some reason!

I haven't been paying much attention to the rumors but I do remember my sister saying that some of the expansion might not be happening. It sounds like they overdreamed and there's just not enough space for everything they wanted to.

I just saw on my facebook newsfeed that my sister commented on some link that had some new aerial pics of the construction. I should maybe go check that link out...haha

We did have a fun night...working on that update next!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Thursday, August 12, 2010 cont'd (part 4)

OK, time to finish up Thursday...

After we said good-bye to Toontown and the Magic Kingdom, we headed back to the resort for a while to take a break. Since we had not used the pool all week (I know, Florida in the summer and we hadn't gone swimming the whole time we were there ) I decided I wanted to go swimming. So Claire and I went out to take a quick dip for a while. Saratoga Springs has quite a few pools...there's the main one near the Carriage House/Artist Palette and then a couple quiet pools. While it would've been fun to use the main pool we ended up going to the quiet pool near Congress Park. It's a neat location because it's near the walkway to DTD so you have a neat view across the water of some of the stores. Love it. While the water was refreshing, we found that when we got out we were ready to jump back in because it was so humid. But, we wanted to go over to Hollywood Studios for-what else?- the American Idol finale show!

Once we were ready we went to wait for a bus. Since it was still kind of early we were hoping we'd be able to do some other things too.

After checking the wait board, Emma made a suggestion. She wanted to go to the Animation Building again to do the Animation Academy! I seriously never thought I'd hear her say that. Even though I knew she enjoyed it when we did it on Tuesday I didn't think she'd want to do it again. But in all honesty, it is kind of addicting. It's so fun getting to try your hand at drawing the characters. So we all agreed to make our way over there.

When we got into the building we noticed there were a bunch of characters out greeting guests. Woo hoo! Emma spotted Chip and Dale and wanted to get a picture with them. I also think part of the reason we did that was because the next class was already full so we had some time to kill. Emma and I went to meet Chip and Dale while Claire waited in line at the Animation Academy.

After meeting the characters we went back to get in line for the class and by that time they were letting people into the little holding area. We were some of the first few people so we knew we'd get in.

Before long it was time to draw. I was very happy when we walked in and noticed that our instructor was Brian again!!! Woot! Remember we had him on Tuesday. He is seriously the best instructor ever. However, my excitement didn't last long because Brian told us we were going to be drawing Jiminy Cricket. That's one of the characters Dad and I drew on our April trip! But...remember how I mentioned that the first time we did it he asked anyone if they had already drawn that character and then he made some adjustments so it was a little different? Well, he asked the same thing this time. I am pretty sure I was the only one who said I'd drawn Jiminy before so he started asking me how we drew it: Was it a front shot or profile? Did we draw him wearing a hat or without a hat? I think that's so cool he does that because even though I've drawn JC already, I now have two completely different sketches. Here's how we drew him in April:

And here's how we drew him this time:

Personally I think the one I did in April was better but whatever. And then as usual Brian ended the class by asking a trivia question about Jiminy. The person who gets the correct answer then gets HIS drawing. He asked what character Jiminy Cricket played in the Disney Christmas Carol. I felt like a moron because that's the same question he asked in April and I forgot (heck, I still don't even remember...I know it's one of the ghosts though).

At some point we were able to sneak in a ride on Tower of Terror too. But I can't remember when exactly. (I think that means I'm taking too long to finish this report...).

For dinner we decided to eat at the ABC Commissary which was another new place for me. Plus it was nice that it was so close to the AI theater. I remember we finished eating around 6:30 and thought that we'd have no problem getting into the finale show. After all, it still gave us half an hour. Well, when we got over to the theater, the holding area was practically filled! I am not even kidding it was almost the the back fences by the time we got there. We were still able to get in but that came as a surprise to me. I don't think Dad and I got there any earlier in April and it wasn't nearly as crowded. Don't know what was going on that night. I don't have any pictures from the show but it was entertaining as usual. The first guy who performed was awesome! He did the song "Old Time Rock 'N Roll." Such a good way to kick off the show. Unfortunately, I guess everyone forgot about him because the kid who won was only 16 or something. He did "Crush" by David Archleta. While he wasn't bad, he certainly wasn't anything special. This happens all the time when I watch the real show at home. The judges will rave about a performance when I don't even get it. And that's exactly what happened with him. I really think the only reason he won was because after he performed the host asked him what he would do if he won and he said he'd run around the stage. I guess people wanted to see that so they all voted for him. Whatever.

When the finale show was over we headed back to Sunset Boulevard because Claire and Emma wanted to see Fantasmic. When we got over there, there was a huge and I mean HUGE line like they hadn't even started letting people in yet. I thought that was kind of strange considering the show was supposed to start in less than an hour and they ALWAYS let people in super early. But, we got in line anyway. This is what it looked like. Nutty, isn't it?!

The crowd behind us:

We ended up standing in the same place for almost twenty minutes. At that point I was really starting to think something was wrong (I was also getting kind of grumpy because we weren't moving and even though the sun had set, it was still so humid. Yuck!). I was wondering if maybe there were some showers in the area so I called home to Dad and asked if he could check the radar. LOL! He said it didn't look like there was anything. So needless to say we were really confused. Until they finally came on and made an announcement saying that due to technical difficulties, the first show of the night was cancelled. That would explain it! I'm not gonna lie, I had another moment where I thought of Kingdom Keepers (if you've read it you'll know why...)

Not wanting to wait around for the second showing, especially with all those people in front of us and not knowing for sure if it would go off, we decided to head out. I could hear the Rock 'N Glow Dance party (or whatever they called it) going on and kind of wanted to go check that out but that would mean having to somehow maneuver through all those people since it was near the Sorcerer's Hat. So sadly our night came to an early end. As we were walking out I was amazed at how many people were behind us waiting in line for Fantasmic. I kid you not, the line pretty much filled the street all the way down to the Crossroads of the World near the park entrance. It was insane! I ended up telling a few people that the show was cancelled but I don't think they really cared. I'm still curious to know if the second one went off.

up next: our last full day

 

[IheartDDuck]

Totally read the first Kingdom Keepers. I know what you were thinking.....

 

[OhMari]

Catching up.
I can't believe people still stood in line, even though it was cancelled.
Are they still only showing Fantasmic on certain nites?

 

[Cat0727]

I really wish I had some of that Florida humidity right now! It's freezing here!

Brian sounds like an amazing instructor. That's cool he accommodated the character drawing for you. Aww I really like your Jiminy Cricket, he came out so cute Haha I agree with you, Animation Academy IS addicting. I love it.

Whoa, I've never seen a line like that for Fantasmic, ever! Nuts.

 

[ashleighbass06]

I haven't seen Fantasmic since it was every night. I cannot imagine waiting in a line like that! And then they cancelled it? I would've gone crazy!

Can't wait to hear about your final day!

 

[tinkgurl]

Wow..I just got a little teary-eyed reading your Toontown update. It really is sad to see it go, even though I am excited about the expansion.

 

[cbg1027]

OMG that line for Fantasmic is insane!!!

Sorry it got cancelled on you. Guess you'll just have to go back again and see it.

 

[dawnbu40]

Both your drawings are very good! I'm artistically challenged so I am impressed

That Fantasmic line is crazy! I can't imagine being stuck in that crowd and then finding out it was cancelled. How frustrating!

Looking forward to hearing about your last day

 

[wdwgirl03]

Totally read the first Kingdom Keepers. I know what you were thinking.....

haha, have you read all of them? Those books are pretty fun.

Catching up.
I can't believe people still stood in line, even though it was cancelled.
Are they still only showing Fantasmic on certain nites?

I know! Yes the theater is big but there is NO WAY all those people would've gotten into the second show if they stayed (and if it even happened). I do know that that was one of the only nights, if not the only night, they were having Fantasmic while we were there. I remember when we got out to our bus stop we were talking to the family in front of us and they said they had never seen it. That would be a bummer.

I really wish I had some of that Florida humidity right now! It's freezing here!

Brian sounds like an amazing instructor. That's cool he accommodated the character drawing for you. Aww I really like your Jiminy Cricket, he came out so cute Haha I agree with you, Animation Academy IS addicting. I love it.

Whoa, I've never seen a line like that for Fantasmic, ever! Nuts.

haha, I don't know if I want the humidity but some of the heat might be nice. Though yesterday it wasn't too bad here...but I guess it's supposed to be cold next week.

He is such a great instructor and he makes the drawing so easy. I loved how he was able to change the character just a little so it was different.

I can't ever remember seeing a line like that for anything!

I haven't seen Fantasmic since it was every night. I cannot imagine waiting in a line like that! And then they cancelled it? I would've gone crazy!

Can't wait to hear about your final day!

I know, right? I'm wondering too if there were any people on the walkway going into the theater...you know how long that is too. Crazy.

Wow..I just got a little teary-eyed reading your Toontown update. It really is sad to see it go, even though I am excited about the expansion.

I agree. The new additions will be amazing I'm sure but it's always sad to see old attractions go.

OMG that line for Fantasmic is insane!!!

Sorry it got cancelled on you. Guess you'll just have to go back again and see it.

Honestly I wasn't too bothered that it was cancelled. I think my sisters were mad though. We'll probably see it when we go in March.

Both your drawings are very good! I'm artistically challenged so I am impressed

That Fantasmic line is crazy! I can't imagine being stuck in that crowd and then finding out it was cancelled. How frustrating!

Looking forward to hearing about your last day

Thanks Dawn! I'm not really artistic either so I was kind of surprised they turned out decently.

I just couldn't believe how many people were waiting. And we were kind of far up in the line too. To have the line wrap all the way around the corner and back up to the park entrance almost was mind-boggling.

 

[meeko_33785]

How cool that you got to draw Jiminy. Your pictures came out nicely. I really like the one from this trip with him looking up.

That's too bad that you missed out on Fantasmic. I feel really bad for everyone who must have been there hours in advance to line up only to have it cancelled on them.

 

[brookelizabeth]

That crowd for Fantasmic is NUTS! Oh man, that would have drove me crazy walking through it with a stroller. Big bummer about not getting to see Fantasmic-but at least you did make it to the AIE!

I haven't been paying much attention to the rumors but I do remember my sister saying that some of the expansion might not be happening. It sounds like they overdreamed and there's just not enough space for everything they wanted to.

I just saw on my facebook newsfeed that my sister commented on some link that had some new aerial pics of the construction. I should maybe go check that link out...haha

We did have a fun night...working on that update next!

Did you see it's closing on Feb. 11? They just announced it.

As per the rumors, Pixie Hollow is not getting done and I think one of the Princess meet & greets. Ariel and Beast still are, and supposedly there will be a new Snow White ride too-but they haven't announced it! They scaled back the girly factor, which I appreciate. The ariel pics are really fascinating!

 

[Nermel9]

I love your Jiminy pics! I wanted to do the Animation Academy on our trip, but we just kept running out of time! It's definitely on my must do list for my next trip though!

That line for Fantasmic is crazy...and then after all that it got cancelled? Ugh that's so annoying! I've only seen Fantasmic once and I'd like to see it again but I have no interest in dealing with the line or sitting in the theater an hour before it starts.

I really have to read those Kingdom Keepers books, I went to Borders to look for them once and couldn't find them...and I felt too stupid to ask where they were, so I guess I'll just have to get them online!

 

[IheartDDuck]

haha, have you read all of them? Those books are pretty fun.

I have only read the first one, I need to go out and get the other two. I thought the first one was a lot of fun!

 

[jpmandan]

Wow! What a Trip Report.

 

[RachelNinja]

Haha, of course, you know I'm going to love the Kingdom Keepers reference! How funny (and scary) would it be if we were watching Fantasmic and the things that happened in the book started happening on stage?!?