A Salute to all things Disney, but mostly Magic Bars; a July 4th 2019 TR*update 11/28 new TR link!

[ariane37]

The whoppie pies looks yummy! It sounds like moving over to Epcot was the right decision!

They were especially the red velvet! But the macaroons at Toothsome still trump them

We found MK oppressive this trip, so crowded, so much scrim and construction, and hot!! I get the impression MK is the only park some people visit, way more busy then the other parks!

I agree; I deal with lots of clients who will either just do MK or choose MK and one other park; then you have locals with kids who usually choose it. And I did think the heat was worse last month than July!

Those look so good! I'd especially love to the red velvet one, too!

That was the best!

Yikes! Transportation issues are the WORST. I hate when I try to make the best call and end up being totally wrong.

Unfortunately there have been a couple times I've insisted I know the best way to go and I'm wrong but Steve actually takes the cake in that dept lol

Well, we've never met. But if we do, I'll be sure to watch out for the woman with giant arm.

Yes please do! I'll be the one parting crowds with my giant appendage
Speaking of having never met I think our trips overlap this month

I've never had a whoopie pie. I've never seen a whoopie pie.

I guess it's a U.S. thing? They've been around at least since my mom and dad were kids

Man those are really good with the leaves in the foreground.

(note to DISBoards; no you don't. magic bars have coconut in them. )

(note to DISBoards; do not listen to pkondz he knows not of what he speaks )

 

[buzzrelly]

First up a little BTMMR for you all:

Food was great and after our meals I got a specialty dessert they were serving:

Whoopie pies! The Mickey one is chocolate and Minnie was red velvet; my fave.

Those are adorable

Hyde Park is about 15 minutes north of me and we've been to his library/museum TONS of times. It's like one of those local field trip places all the schools go to but we've also taken the kids ourselves and I went tons of times as a kid. Probably not interesting to you but I get all stupid when I see or hear any reference to where I live or near it- like when Minnie say's "Where are we, Poughkeepsie?" in "Get a Horse" over at the Pixar Shorts in Epcot lol.

I was listening to my audible book and they said when Walt signed up for the American Red Cross during WWI, he waited in CT before he shipped out to France. I was like, oh my God, Walt was in CT

And now I give you the best of my crappy Illuminations shots; most are of the holiday tag at the end:

They're actually lovely. I still don't know what to do next year but I guess it will depend on whether or not EPCOT has a holiday tag.

It actually said "celebrating the birthday of America" but I figured I didn't need to post "the" and of"!

So cool, and makes me think they might be doing more SSE projections in the new shows?

Getting back to the CR was a bit of a feat; the line for the monorail was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallll the way to the tapstiles to get in and Steve looked at me like I was out of my mind if I thought he was getting in it - not that I wanted to. I then had the great idea of taking a bus to the WL and boating back because surely that would be quicker?? And maybe I could pick up a certain treat there that I may or may not enjoy (note to DISBoards; you need a magic bar emoji) Well. About 45 minutes after we got in the bus line we got on the 3rd bus to show up; needless to say I still had an unhappy DH. We would have done a Lyft but you get those in a parking lot not by the buses, there was a line like 30 people deep waiting for Minnie Vans near us and we figured a Lyft would take awhile too. Even worse is that by the time we got to the WL at 11:25 they were out of my Magic Bars!!!

Oh, no…what a nightmare. It's too bad EPCOT closes after the fireworks because everyone is leaving at the same time. If they stayed open another hour I'm sure some people would stay back and the lines for transportation wouldn't be so bad.

Yay! So ready to finally have a Dis meet!!! Keep me posted!

We'll be there for the 4th next year too!

 

[pkondz]

Yes please do! I'll be the one parting crowds with my giant appendage
Speaking of having never met I think our trips overlap this month

Well, shoot me a PM and if you want to say hi, we'll see if our paths cross.

I guess it's a U.S. thing? They've been around at least since my mom and dad were kids

Maybe? Or maybe my folks just never bought them?

(note to DISBoards; do not listen to pkondz he knows not of what he speaks )

Oh, yes I do. And I have backing!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Really though it wasn't bad at all! No more crowded than when we were there last month other than the 4th and even Epcot that morning was fine. I mean it's nowhere near Thanksgiving and it was less crowded than this years' MLK and Presidents weekends so I would definitely do it again! I also think it was a bit less humid in July than August so that's a plus too

I say that but really if I can go to Disney, I will go! And sadly the times you just mentioned are times we weill be there! Oye! The heat in August was killer for us, though. It really sucked our energy some of the days.

 

[ArielSRL]

Our next FP was for Splash and then we had one for 7DMT; however right after we rode Big Thunder all outside rides shut down due to lightning in the area You all know what happens when all outside rides are shut down?

1. Your outside ride FP's turn to anytime ones - not too bad
2. The FP lines for all open rides get to be like 2000 people deep because everyone is using their anytime FPs for them
3. This is a PITA and sucks

Yes, this definitely was a PITA but I would venture to say that if this had not happened, July 4th would have been way more easy than most people think.

Food was great and after our meals I got a specialty dessert they were serving:

How did I miss these? Oh yeh, the crazy lines. For some stupid reason, I cannot get Mobile Order to work for me!

while waiting for Renee @ArielSRL who was also in the park to stop by and say hello!

Yay!

NOTHING was up outside as all rides were still closed. There was only a drizzle of rain but I guess lightning was still hanging around. We all agree to do the HoP as Chris had never done it and Ricky didn't really remember it.

I am having such a hard time remembering what we actually did. I know we did CoP and I think we did Philharmagic, but I cannot remember if we did HoP.

Eventually we were able to use our 7DMT FP but those rides were closed for HOURS which is just a downfall of going during the rainy season.

Yes, we saved ours and was able to do it eventually!

I think it is safe to say we won't be going to Disney on the 4th of July!

Honestly, it was not that bad at all. The fireworks were crazy but we had booked the dessert party so that worked out really well. But everything else was totally survivable. And I think it would have really been fine had the outdoor rides not had to close for lightning.

It actually said "celebrating the birthday of America"

That's awesome! If we do it again, I think we might would do things differently...but I guess we shall see.

Getting back to the CR was a bit of a feat

I think getting back to anything was crazy. We stayed at MK past 11 but left before midnight and we definitely had to wait for a couple buses to get back to CSR. Next time, I'm taking a Minnie Van if available.

I loved being there for the 4th and found the crowd at MK totally doable even an hour before fireworks if you stayed away from the HUB and I'm anxious now to go back again for the 4th

Agreed!

I'll be your date. LOL!

Me, too!

Yay! So ready to finally have a Dis meet!!! Keep me posted!

Will do!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Me, too!

 

[Tracy161]

OMG how did I not realize this TR was happening?!

but it's a good representation of me since I'm holding the 2 things I probably love most next to my family: food and drink

Amen to that!

Because what teen boy doesn't want their mom wearing Minnie Mouse headphones in public with them????

Meanwhile, where did you get those?! They are SO cute!

This time he nonchalantly asked for GG breakfast "or another breakfast maybe with characters we never did" and for the super rare times my baby acts like a baby, I meet those requests.

Absolutely. Love the adorable subtlety

I may or may not have told Daisy that Chris LOVED her:

 

[ariane37]

I was listening to my audible book and they said when Walt signed up for the American Red Cross during WWI, he waited in CT before he shipped out to France. I was like, oh my God, Walt was in CT

Now don't EVER move out of CT unless you are sure wherever you're moving to, Walt has visited or it's a step down

They're actually lovely. I still don't know what to do next year but I guess it will depend on whether or not EPCOT has a holiday tag.

I hope they do; I don't think it should matter what the actual show is

Well, shoot me a PM and if you want to say hi, we'll see if our paths cross.

on my to do list!

Oh, yes I do. And I have backing!!

Yeah I GUESS you know a bit lol

I say that but really if I can go to Disney, I will go! And sadly the times you just mentioned are times we weill be there! Oye! The heat in August was killer for us, though. It really sucked our energy some of the days.

That's how I feel and why I do want to go over NYE at some point. Are you going for MLK next year???

Yes, this definitely was a PITA but I would venture to say that if this had not happened, July 4th would have been way more easy than most people think.

I agree because things weren't bad at all until they all went down

How did I miss these? Oh yeh, the crazy lines. For some stupid reason, I cannot get Mobile Order to work for me!

I had seen them before we went down, forgot about them, then when we did mobile ordering they popped up! That stinks you can't get it to work because it saves SO much time and would definitely help on your Thanksgiving trip!

I am having such a hard time remembering what we actually did. I know we did CoP and I think we did Philharmagic, but I cannot remember if we did HoP.

If I go through our texts I can tell you what you did lol

OMG how did I not realize this TR was happening?!

I don't know but I'm glad you're here now

Meanwhile, where did you get those?! They are SO cute!

5 Below!!! I did get them awhile ago but I've seen other cute Disney ones since

 

[ArielSRL]

I had seen them before we went down, forgot about them, then when we did mobile ordering they popped up! That stinks you can't get it to work because it saves SO much time and would definitely help on your Thanksgiving trip!

I have to get this figured out. But every time I try it while in Disney it doesn't work. I honestly don't get it.

If I go through our texts I can tell you what you did lol

 

[mesgram]

Wow, your boys look so grow up!! Sounds like an awesome morning at Epcot. It's frustrating when everything shuts down due to lightening but you made the best of it. I haven't been to Hall of Presidents in years. Sorry you didn't get your Magic Bar after the long wait for the bus, that's just wrong

 

[Tracy161]

I don't know but I'm glad you're here now

Me too!

5 Below!!! I did get them awhile ago but I've seen other cute Disney ones since

5 Below is where I'm able to get lots of Disney-related trip stuff. I'll have to be on the look-out next time I'm there!

 

[ariane37]

We interrupt this July TR to bring you a rundown of our upcoming Sept. trip in FOUR DAYS I hope you don't mind if I share our plans. First though since I finally got my phone to cooperate I want to share a couple of those pictures from my MIL's "scrapbook" that I made her from our trip to Disney in 2007, the boys' 2nd trip. And BTW that 2nd trip was 3 months after their 1st trip in Oct. 2006! About 2 weeks after we got home from that trip I found Steve on the computer booking the one for January 2007 He has nobody to blame for my addiction but himself!

First we have Chris at 14 months, Eric 15, and Steve with Princess Aurora AND Prince Philip by the castle:



I think now Chris looks just like Eric did then lol complete with mustache And look how young the Prince and Princess looked in 2007! Next were some more characters you don't see around the parks anymore but who were meeting regularly in Adventureland back then:



That's my MIL up there with Chris and Ricky, almost 5, on the bottom. These guys met over by Tortuga Tavern. Don't forget to ignore my very primitive first and last attempt at being a scrap-booker!

One more for today, Chris in Pooh's house in what I believe was called "Pooh's Playful Area" back then. This was across from The Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh where 7DMT is now and was a decent sized play area for the littles:


'
No idea who the kid is behind him but it would be super funny if it was a fellow DIS'ers kid lol!

Thanks for going down memory land with me there; now head in to the future with me if you will beginning with this coming Saturday the 14th when we fly out of Westchester NY and land in Orlando around 10am and head to our home for the next 4 nights:



This time I'm fairly certain we'll be in that outer building garden view room stated on our reservation and not in a suite lol! After dropping our bags we'll head right to Epcot for some F&W eats and drinks with Billie @Elevationist followed by dinner



We haven't eaten here in years so I'm looking forward to this, especially since it's booked as part of the Eat to the Beat dining package so we can see the 2nd performance of Tiffany!!!!



In high school I went between Metallica and pop stuff like this girl and Debbie Gibson I don't know that we'll stay for Illuminations since we're not in love with it and we've been able to see it a few times already this year, plus we'll have been up since like 4am. Instead we'll have a fairly early morning on

Sept 15th - not 7am EEMH early but early enough for our first FP at 8:50 over at MK! Billie is hanging with us this morning too but come early afternoon we'll part was as we move over to Universal to do HHN for the 1st time. We're staying at HRH for the night and we're both REALLY looking forward to both these firsts. Steve has never stayed at a Uni resort but I've stayed at Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls for work. I'm a huge horror movie fan too so this has always appealed to me but leaving Disney for Universal.....is hard. It did give me reason to buy this:



You are correct if you're thinking "but there's no Stephen King at HHN" BUT, I love him. I love him so much that my parents took me to his house in Maine when I was 17 and I went to the Vassar College graduation about 20 years ago when he was the speaker just to see him. Good thing I did too because I got to shake his hand! So regardless this is what I'm wearing to HHN. But since Hot Topic had shirts Buy 2 Get 1 Free I also got this to wear on my October trip:



And a neat Supernatural shirt

I think we'll grab something to eat at NBC Sport Grille before going to HHN? I'll be honest nothing thrills me there at any of the resorts or on CityWalk. If you read either of the reports I did way back after my work trips to Universal you know the food we had was NOT GOOD EVER which has soured me to pretty much eating there at all unfortunately. I do like Antojitos but they don't open until 5 and we need to be to the park by like 5:45 so this is what I've come up with even though I didn't really like dinner there when we ate there for work Oh well, the fact that I can grab some macaroons from toothsome will more than make up for it! I need to do a bit more research to come up with a plan of action for tonight once we get in the park and we do have EP

Sept 16th, Monday, we won't necessarily rush out of Hard Rock as we don't have anything scheduled until 2:30 but we'd like to have a little time to hit a few more F&W booths before doing a Food and Beverage Pairing at 2:30 - pastry and champagne That will be a first for us too as we've never done any of the special F&W seminars.

That lasts an hour and then the hope is that we'll be able to meet up quick with Liesa @Steppesister and possibly @docsoliday1 to grab a Blood Mary at Refreshment Port before going to our next park to hang with Billie a bit more. We have fastpasses here, the place where I dance:



I dance with the Harambe acrobats! But this night I'll be riding EE, the safari, and seeing the updated Rivers of Light show with Steve and Billie. Steve and I have only seen ROL once.ONCE, and we weren't impressed but I thought it's time to give it another shot so we'll see. I'm pretty sure we'll be tired after an early morning and late night the day before and a fairly packed day today so after ROL we'll most likely go back to our room.

Tuesday Sept. 17th dawns with one final chance to hang with Billie before she drives off towards the South Carolina sunset as we have breakfast booked at the Grand Floridan Cafe. We've only had lunch here before and Steve may very well sit this one out since he's not a big breakfast eater. Not sure what I'll order but I know I'll get the same thing to drink I had when we ate lunch there:



How adorable was this?? I hope it's something they always do! It will be sad saying good-bye to Billie so I'll drown my sorrows in the Magic Kingdom for awhile. Not sure how long we'll stay or if we'll make another stop at Epcot for F&W treats but we have a dinner planned that night at one of two signature we haven't been to yet. Any clue which one???? I'll give you a hint, it's either

1. Flying Fish

2. Jiko

3. Hollywood Brown Derby

Take a guess guys!! This will conclude our last night unless we aren't too full to go to another park for a bit when we're done; I also wanted to check out the NBA Experience Store for the boys and if we haven't done that yet we might do it tonight. This sadly brings us to our last day,

Sept. 18th

The good part is that our plane doesn't leave until 6pm so we have a good amount of hours before we have to hop the sad ME. I have a FP for TOT around 9 and I'm debating doing the crazy EXTRA EXTRA MAGIC HOURS today. I can sleep on the plane, right??? Steve gets up early anyway and if I can drag myself out of bed I think we'll do it. I like the idea of a couple rides on SDD and more than a few on TOT, and if we get on MF great. I've been reading the thread on peoples' experiences at EEMH and they sound great so far so I'll watch the next couple days too. Theoretically I love the thought of being in the parks early; realistically I detest getting up early FOr example my kids have had exactly 4 days of school so far for which I've had to get up at 6 and I've gone back to bed approx. 50% of the time after they've left lol! So who wants to take bets on whether we do EEMH our last day??????

Regardless we will hit up F&W once more before we go back to the GF for what I'm guessing will be a 3ish pick up. Oh and at some point I'm hoping to meet up with @Cloe Colton but I need to get my butt in gear and message her!!

Thanks for letting me rehash our plans! I'll try to do another July update before we leave!

 

[ariane37]

Wow, your boys look so grow up!!

It goes too fast, Ricky graduates in June

I haven't been to Hall of Presidents in years

We hadn't been either until this past February over President's Day when it was a tad crowded on all other attractions. We did it again due to the rain and the boys not remembering it; it's ok, I didn't need to do it twice in a year lol but some parts are neat.

Sorry you didn't get your Magic Bar after the long wait for the bus, that's just wrong

It is TRULY wrong and I think I'll write myself a letter to WL management

 

[DLo]

I have stayed at HRH twice and staying there again in Nov. The location is great. I never went to Universal with my kids because I thought it was all about roller coasters and my younger one didn’t ride space mountain until he was 15 . I thought it would be a waste of money. I went with my dare devil nephews ( and my brother and sil ) and saw how much more there was. I am making my DH join me this year . I have only eaten at NBC and Toothsome as far as sit down. I liked them both. Still haven’t had a meal in the parks - just snacks .
Looking forward to reading what you think of HRH and where you eat.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Absolutely love the walk down memory lane!!! The pics of the boys are adorable!!!!

we have a dinner planned that night at one of two signature we haven't been to yet. Any clue which one???? I'll give you a hint, it's either

I'm guessing Flying Fish since it didn't work out for us back in May????

I'm debating doing the crazy EXTRA EXTRA MAGIC HOURS today

Joe is planning on doing this one morning while we are there. I told him he's crazy as this chick needs her sleep!!!! So, I will NOT be joining him...

Have a GREAT trip!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to hear all about it. Safe travels my friend.

 

[Wood Nymph]

About 2 weeks after we got home from that trip I found Steve on the computer booking the one for January 2007 He has nobody to blame for my addiction but himself!

Those are really cute pictures of the boys. Time flies much too fast, doesn't it.
I'm not surprised that Steve was the one ready to book a return trip so soon. Dana was always the one booking the trips when the kids were little.

This time I'm fairly certain we'll be in that outer building garden view room stated on our reservation and not in a suite lol!

Had you always planned to stay at GF for this September trip? I hope you have a great time, no matter where your room is.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We haven't eaten here in years so I'm looking forward to this, especially since it's booked as part of the Eat to the Beat dining package so we can see the 2nd performance of Tiffany!!!!

SO jealous!!!!!

In high school I went between Metallica and pop stuff like this girl and Debbie Gibson I

I switched between Pearl Jam & Debbie Gibson. I am more Debbie than Tiffany but would love to see the mall queen.

few more F&W booths before doing a Food and Beverage Pairing at 2:30 - pastry and champagne That will be a first for us too as we've never done any of the special F&W seminars.

I was looking at what was going on when we are there. They don't describe them very well.

at night at one of two signature we haven't been to yet. Any clue which one???? I'll give you a hint, it's either

1. Flying Fish

2. Jiko

3. Hollywood Brown Derby

hmmmm Jiko? Can it be Jiko. I have been debating going there. I would love to here your thoughts.

 

[suse66]

First we have Chris at 14 months, Eric 15, and Steve with Princess Aurora AND Prince Philip by the castle:

Oh my gosh, Chris and Eric are twins!!! So crazy!

One more for today, Chris in Pooh's house in what I believe was called "Pooh's Playful Area" back then. This was across from The Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh where 7DMT is now and was a decent sized play area for the littles:

I remember that area from our first trip in 2009....so cute!

This time I'm fairly certain we'll be in that outer building garden view room stated on our reservation and not in a suite lol! After dropping our bags we'll head right to Epcot for some F&W eats and drinks with Billie @Elevationist followed by dinner

I was sure you would be booked right in to the Walt Disney suite this time....

That lasts an hour and then the hope is that we'll be able to meet up quick with Liesa @Steppesister and possibly @docsoliday1 to grab a Blood Mary at Refreshment Port before going to our next park to hang with Billie a bit more. We have fastpasses here, the place where I dance:

Love it!

How adorable was this?? I hope it's something they always do! It will be sad saying good-bye to Billie so I'll drown my sorrows in the Magic Kingdom for awhile. Not sure how long we'll stay or if we'll make another stop at Epcot for F&W treats but we have a dinner planned that night at one of two signature we haven't been to yet. Any clue which one???? I'll give you a hint, it's either

So adorable. I think you are going to Flying Fish!

The good part is that our plane doesn't leave until 6pm so we have a good amount of hours before we have to hop the sad ME. I have a FP for TOT around 9 and I'm debating doing the crazy EXTRA EXTRA MAGIC HOURS today. I can sleep on the plane, right??? Steve gets up early anyway and if I can drag myself out of bed I think we'll do it. I like the idea of a couple rides on SDD and more than a few on TOT, and if we get on MF great. I've been reading the thread on peoples' experiences at EEMH and they sound great so far so I'll watch the next couple days too. Theoretically I love the thought of being in the parks early; realistically I detest getting up early FOr example my kids have had exactly 4 days of school so far for which I've had to get up at 6 and I've gone back to bed approx. 50% of the time after they've left lol! So who wants to take bets on whether we do EEMH our last day??????

I vote for get up and go. Just think about how many times you could ride ToT!

 

[MinnieWebster]

Sounds like a great first day! How awesome that Ricky was willing to ride Frozen and that they both were willing to do the character meal We have my first character meal booked for our next trip, Garden Grill breakfast (Candlelight Processional dining package).
I'm sure once we start taking family trips we will do more things with the characters so we can get lots of pictures of baby with characters

 

[pkondz]

About 2 weeks after we got home from that trip I found Steve on the computer booking the one for January 2007 He has nobody to blame for my addiction but himself!

No idea who the kid is behind him but it would be super funny if it was a fellow DIS'ers kid lol!

Ohhhh… that would be great if someone said "That's Kim!"

In high school I went between Metallica and pop stuff like this girl and Debbie Gibson

Holy crap!

You are correct if you're thinking "but there's no Stephen King at HHN" BUT, I love him. I love him so much that my parents took me to his house in Maine when I was 17 and I went to the Vassar College graduation about 20 years ago when he was the speaker just to see him.

No. Way. that's … awesome!

Thanks for letting me rehash our plans!

Well... poop. It looks like none of our park days overlap.