Bargain Betty and Workaholic Starring In:What Are You, A Disney Expert?

[dawnbu40]

I'm finally caught up! *whew*

I loved the MNSSP pics! I hope to go at some point. I'm not into "scary" Halloweens at all, but I do like autumn. The party doesn't seem scary at all!

The trip to the zoo is always good. The light looked great.

Glad Tony's was a good experience; I did book The Plaza, so w shall se how it goes.

I'm sure I forgot a ton of stuff, but I am highly enjoying reading your TR.

Oh, and he line jumper.....the line is CLASSIC. I'm soooo stealing it.

The party is a lot of fun and you're right it isn't scary at all.

We really enjoyed the zoo trip. We hadn't been in years and they had added quite a bit plus the lights just made it extra special!

Glad you're enjoying the TR!

I hope you don't experience any rude line jumpers during your FAST approaching trip!

 

[JOEYDIS]

I just learned that today is Mickey Mouse's birthday! Happy 81st birthday Mickey
We you!

We all sang Happy B-day to Mickey at Earmark. It was really cool. He really looks great for 81.LOL

 

[dawnbu40]

We all sang Happy B-day to Mickey at Earmark. It was really cool. He really looks great for 81.LOL

Aww how cute! That must have been fun!

 

[dawnbu40]

When I left off we were approaching the Pixar area and heard some music. We looked up and saw Luxo,the little Pixar desk lamp, "dancing"!

He was so cute and different kinds of music would play and he would dance, maybe bounce is a better word, to the music.

When the music got too fast for him he hung his head in shame. It was really cool how they took this inanimate object and gave it emotions. The show is very short, maybe 3 minutes?, but it is worth stopping and watching. I read Luxo appears about every 15 minutes so when you're in the Pixar area remember to look up!

After enjoying the little show we had hoped to ride TSM again but our FP weren't good yet. Instead we decided to pass the time by visiting Dale's favorite character of all time....Buzz Lightyear! We went into their meet and greet building and got in a very long line. We were behind a family of 4, 2 parents and their kids a girl probably 6 and a boy of maybe 8? Suddenly, out of nowhere, the girl starts screaming and crying and sobbing! Dale and I looked at each other with what the heck expressions. Her mom asks her "what's wrong?" and she replies, "Daddy hit me". Her father looked like this and mom glares at him! However, dad was not even within arms length of the girl. He starts insisting he never hit her and the girl sobs louder and screams "yes you did!". At that point Dale says "let's get out of here". We got out of there and away from that drama as fast as we could! We never did see Buzz that trip but it's ok we've met him plenty of times

We did bump into this guy just as we steped outside...

There was one character meet and greet though, that I absolutely had to do this trip! We headed toward the Animation Building so I could meet some new friends.

We got there a few minutes early so we stopped and saw Sorceror Mickey. Dale forgot to give the Photopass photographer our camera so we didn't get any pics with Mickey (so we ended up using our free 5x7 that came with our pkg on a pic with Mick) Mickey was really fun and kept posing us different ways and asked how long we'd been married. It was a nice meet and greet. When we finished with Mickey we got in line to meet the new friends. I'm sure you know I am talking about the gang from the recent movie "UP". We thought Up was a beautiful movie, the first half is a touching love story and the second half is an adventure, and we couldn't wait to meet Carl and Russell and of course Dug.

My family loves Dug because he is exactly like our Riley. Riley found us in July when we visited the Humane Society and from the moment we met her she had the Dug attitude of "even though we just met I love you" and we had to adopt her. When we got her home we found she also shares Dug's squirrel obsession and can sit and stare at squirrels for an hour! She even resembles Dug..

So we got in line to meet the Up gang and ended up being behind a cute young couple in matching Carl tees. We started talking because it turned out they were Dissers too! When we got to the front we saw that Russell wasn't there, it was just Dug and Carl. I headed for Dug and he grabbed and hugged me and wouldn't let go. Carl kept trying to pose Dale and I holding hands and Dug wouldn't allow it. It was really cute and fun and made me miss all our fur babies at home!

(This pic is one of my favorites from this trip! I loved Dug but also because the back drop is so cool. Kevin kept switching sides and peeking out which was pretty cool too)

In case you are wondering what Rusell looks like...we stopped back later in the day to try and meet him but the line was crazy! Instead of waiting again, Dale just snapped a pic of him..

When we left the Animation Building we headed for the Great Movie Ride.

The posted time was half an hour which really suprised us since we always walk on this ride. Since we had time to kill before lunch we got in line. The wait ended up being 15 minutes. When we got to the front we requested the cowboy version since we have always seen the gangster. The CM was very nice and had us wait to the side for the next cowboy one. When the cowboy tram was ready to board we were given the front seat which is always nice. It turns out there really isn't much difference between the two but it was good to have experienced something new.

When we finished touring the movies it was time for our lunch adr but I'll save that for next time.....

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

I am so jealous you got to meet the UP characters

 

[dawnbu40]

I am so jealous you got to meet the UP characters

You'd have loved Dug! I hope Tiana is still there when we go in September!

 

[WrightFamily06]

Sounds like the little Luxo show is adorable , I will def have to look up & watch it the next time we are in the TSM area . Adorable pictures w/ the UP characters , we just got the movie on DVD & My kiddies absolutely love it . Your dog is adorable and how cute that she looks like Dug from UP Can't wait to hear about your meal

 

[thecapells]

Sounds like you guys had fun!
We were very disappointed we missed Luxo Jr. on our last trip.
I guess it's something to look forward to next time.

And we also tried to request the cowboy version of the GMR.
However, the CM's told us they wouldn't be running that one until later in the day so we settled for gangsters.
Is the only different the scene where the tram stops?
I assume the cowboy gets on in the Wild West sequence instead of the gangster sequence...

The Up! gang was indeed a blast though.
They were extremely interactive and you didn't notice that they didn't actually talk.
All of their emotions were "vocalized" through their actions.
Just another fun Disney encounter!

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like the little Luxo show is adorable , I will def have to look up & watch it the next time we are in the TSM area . Adorable pictures w/ the UP characters , we just got the movie on DVD & My kiddies absolutely love it . Your dog is adorable and how cute that she looks like Dug from UP Can't wait to hear about your meal

Luxo was fun but I always enjoy seeing what's new since our last visit. Thanks, we think Riley is pretty cute too! (I can't forgt our other babies...Lucky is cute too as was Zoe ) The upcoming lunch was Dale's least favorite meal of the trip...

Sounds like you guys had fun!
We were very disappointed we missed Luxo Jr. on our last trip.
I guess it's something to look forward to next time.

And we also tried to request the cowboy version of the GMR.
However, the CM's told us they wouldn't be running that one until later in the day so we settled for gangsters.
Is the only different the scene where the tram stops?
I assume the cowboy gets on in the Wild West sequence instead of the gangster sequence...

The Up! gang was indeed a blast though.
They were extremely interactive and you didn't notice that they didn't actually talk.
All of their emotions were "vocalized" through their actions.
Just another fun Disney encounter!

I guess we got lucky that they were running both versions and we didn't have much of a wait. You're exactly right about the difference. I think whatever version you get the key is how good your driver is, just like on the Jungle Cruise.

Glad you enjoyed the Up gang too! We found all the characters to be very good at communicating without using words and a lot of fun!

 

[itradehilton]

It has been great reading your review. My DH is going to love all of the characters.

 

[meeko_33785]

Luxo looks really cool. Thanks for the tip about it coming out every 15 minutes or so.

Dug is awesome! Hope we get a chance to see him.

 

[praisehisname]

I'm really looking forward to seeing the UP characters. I love the love that is portrayed in the movie. DH is a big Kevin fan, so it's definitely on the "must do" list!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

It has been great reading your review. My DH is going to love all of the characters.

Aww thank you! Meeting characters is fun no matter how old you are and it just adds to the Disney magic

Luxo looks really cool. Thanks for the tip about it coming out every 15 minutes or so.

Dug is awesome! Hope we get a chance to see him.

Dug is awesome but I think all the Disney dogs are pretty fun. Pluto is always great and so is Goofy although I'm not sure he realizes he's a dog

I'm really looking forward to seeing the UP characters. I love the love that is portrayed in the movie. DH is a big Kevin fan, so it's definitely on the "must do" list!!!

I just noticed your ticker says 10 days!! Oh my gosh! You must be getting so excited! The Up gang is great and definitely worth a visit!

 

[dawnbu40]

I'm so excited! I just ordered tickets for Disney on Ice We started going to these when Caitlin was just 2 and went every year for many many years. We haven't been in several years so I'm really excited! AND....they sent me a code so I was able to pre-order before they go onsale to the public AND I got opening night which was just 10$ each I ended up with 3 of the 55$ seats for 45$ total! This will help give us some Disney magic as we wait for September

 

[praisehisname]

Woo Hoo! Take lots of pictures and share them with us!

 

[Belle_373]

I'm really enjoying your TR so far!

I've never seen the the cowboy version of the GMR either. Next time I'm definately going to ask.

 

[KennedyMcKenna]

Yay for cute young couple with matching UP shirts!

 

[dawnbu40]

Woo Hoo! Take lots of pictures and share them with us!

Well we aren't going until February and I'm pretty sure I'll be done with this TR long before that. HOWEVER....Caitlin is eager to start a PTR so maybe she'll have us started on that by then?

I'm really enjoying your TR so far!

I've never seen the the cowboy version of the GMR either. Next time I'm definately going to ask.

Aww thanks Belle! There isn't a huge difference between the 2 but it makes the ride a little more fresh by trying a different version

Yay for cute young couple with matching UP shirts!

Hey there! You two were very cute and I love the pic in your siggie!

 

[pipersmom]

Hooray! For Disney on Ice..I'm sure you'll have a great time, and what a deal on the tix! Looking forward to the next installment

 

[dawnbu40]

When I left off it was time for lunch...I should begin this by saying Dale and I are not big fans of the dining options at DHS. We have eaten at all the restaurants there and aren't crazy about any of them. Our preference would be to hop over to Epcot (which we did in May) and then return to DHS. HOWEVER, since this trip was so short and was supposed to be somewhat relaxing, we didn't have hoppers so that meant eating at DHS. By process of elimination I had made an adr at the

We had eaten there last year on our "girls only" trip and thought the food was pretty good and the theming is fun but I just don't like the seating arrangements. When the 3 of us went my mom was alone in the "back seat" with our backs to her and on this occasion Dale and I were placed in the backseat behind a loud family.


Now that you have the back story, let's begin....

We arrived at exactly our adr time but it took about 10 minutes for us to be seated. We were seated in a car behind a family of 4 and it felt really cramped! I don't even have pics of this meal because we were too crowded together to even try getting the camera out.

After looking at the menu we decided to split a meal since we were doing signature dining for dinner and wanted to be hungry. We chose the spinach and artichoke dip and chips for our appetizer. This was very good and had just the right amount of gooey cheese melted across the top. For our entree we went with the ribs. They were accompanied with fries and slaw as sides. I also thought this was good but Dale wasn't crazy about it.He didn't care for the sauce. For our dessert we went with the apple cobbler which we both enjoyed! HOWEVER, it was so COLD in the SciFi it made it almost impossible to enjoy our meal! It was absolutely FREEZING! At first it felt really nice compared to the 95degree Florida heat but it quickly became bothersome! It was so cold we were both shivering and had goosebumps! We noticed the entire wait staff was wearing sweaters so if you plan to go there, bring a jacket or hoodie along with you!

So that was our DHS lunch. Not much to write home about. The food was IMO good but not great, the service was adequate but not as good as we got everywhere else on property and the place was freezing!

When we finished and got outside it felt WONDERFUL to be back in the heat! We decided this would be a good time to finally use those TSM fast passes and then grab another set. On our way over to Pixar we made a little detour to Monstropolis. Mike wasn't there but we ran into our old pal Sully

I just love how big and cuddly he is

After meeting Sully we continued on toward Pixar. We got to TSM and saw they were out of FP! It wasn't even 1pm! It was September! After all our walk ons, how was this possible?! We were pretty bummed! And the posted wait time.....70 minutes! UGH! I think everyone who was at WDW at that time was at DHS that day and they all wanted to ride TSM because after our 2nd (and last ride) on TSM we headed over toward TOT and RNRC

and they only had 20minute waits. We didn't ride either of those because rides like that give me terrible headaches

We saw that it was about half an hour until the next Beauty and the Beast so we decided to kill a little time shopping on Sunset Blvd. In the kids shop I found an adorable baby Minnie outfit and stuffed baby Minnie for my cousin who was about to have her first girl. (Jayla arrived last month and is just beautiful)
When Dale and I took our first WDW trip together in the late 80's my cousin was a baby and we got her a stuffed Minnie which became her constant companion so it was fun to continue the tradition for her little girl!
When we walked out of the store we stopped and watched some streetmosphere characters. They are always a lot of fun!

After the "show" we continued up the street toward the Beauty and the Beast show. Dale was snapping pics along the way...

When we were in front of the theater entrance a CM stopped us and wished us "Happy Anniversary." He then asked for our camera so he could take our picture. We thought this was really nice and we posed

He then said "We're in Hollywood. We need a better pose than that. Dip her".
This was the second pic he took...

It's not the most flattering picture but it is Dale's absolute favorite of the trip and it makes me smile whenever I see it because it captures the fun of our "parent's only" vacation.


We finished our big Hollywood ending just in time to see Belle and Beast's show. We ended up sitting a little too close though because we could see performers off-stage and well Gaston's "muscles" looked really bad from where we were

Doesn't that blonde look evil?

Be our Guest!

There may be something there that wasn't there before...

and of course a very happy ending!

I think a happy ending is a good place to stop so I'll end here for today. Up next, a signature meal and just how long is the walk from the TTC to the Grand Floridian?