BEST. DAY. EVER. May '17 w/Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby NEW 8/28 x2 THE END!!

[heatherrrrz]

Oooh awesome! I'm so excited to be there at that time! I booked the MNSSHP for Nov 1st, which is our anniversary
I didn't want to pay the premium to actually go on Halloween so we're just going to have a nice dinner somewhere, LOL.

I'm doing the party on the 29th, I definitely didn't want to pay the premium for Halloween either lol

 

[BlvInMagic]

All caught up! The red in your hair is so pretty.... you should definitely keep it like that You're meet with Mulan was so sweet! And she is just so adorable with her little Match-Maker gimmick! We've never met Mulan.... I find we time the World Showcase Character Meet-Ups horribly; either just missing them or they've closed the lines .... **sigh** Also, that Gardenscape photo is SO COOL! I'll definitely be on the look-out for that on our upcoming trip

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 1 Part 5: Frontierland is Magical...

After getting (over) stuffed at 'Ohana we waddled back to the monorail and took it back to MK. We had an FP+ for BTMRR so we headed there first. I then realized that the train was running again! On our last visit it was still being refurbished so we took the opportunity to ride it to Frontierland.

That was nice as I haven't been up at the railroad station on Main Street for a while.

We got off behind Splash Mountain and walked towards BTMRR. I remembered that I had to text @Malia78 (Karilynn) so that we could meet up for Wishes tonight! But I decided that I needed to go to the ladies room before we got on BTMRR, and instead of using the bathrooms back near the train stop near Splash, we decided to use to the ones at Peco's Bill as we were closer. As we were getting ready to leave Pecos, DH motioned to me.

DH: Hey that's your friend!
Me: Huh? What friend?
DH: Your friend you met today!

I turn around, and indeed it is Karilynn walking down past Peco's Bill towards Liberty Square...so I ran after her!

FRONTIERLAND IS MAGICAL. I KID YOU NOT.

Or Maybe it's only Magical in May?

Backstory: Almost exactly 2 years ago to this day, we were at WDW the same time as @Tracy161. We hadn't had any formal plans to meet (I don't know why we didn't just set something up!) so it was entirely by some magical pixie-dusted coincidence that as we were leaving BTMRR after riding it a third time, I felt a tap on my shoulder, "Su-Lynn?" and I turn around and see Tracy in person!! She was basically sitting a few rows behind us on BTMRR. You can read about that amazing impromptu Dismeet HERE.

Back to present day: I ran up to Karilynn and tapped her on the shoulder, and she was just as shocked to see us as we were to see her! Good job DH for spotting her in the crowd!
I told Karilynn about how I met Tracy 2 years ago in Frontierland too. Such serendipitous meetings! Gosh...Frontierland IS Magical!

We made plans to meet up before Wishes while we did our BTMRR FP and Karilynn got some dinner at CHH. But first, some pictures!!

OK Karilynn, how do you have legs that go on forever....I look so stumpy!

It was so fun meeting up like that. I think these happenings in Frontierland were just meant to be...!! ​

BTW you can see my park bag which is the Princess Race Weekend Dooney and Burke I picked up in February. I love the bag but it is not big enough for me, so I won't be using it as a park bag any longer.

After we parted ways, we went to BTMRR.

Before boarding

I managed to get these shots on the ride. Please note, don't attempt this unless you have a camera strap on your phone/camera or something to secure it to your hand! Your camera WILL go flying if you don't!

Haha, I just love this ride. Apparently I ride this entire ride with my mouth wide open! Thank goodness there were no bugs.

As we were coming off the ride we got this PP picture at the bridge area. It just so happens the Liberty Belle was behind us too. The PP photographer was very excited about that.

When we got off we decided to make another FP and we found one for PotC. As we were walking we saw the Country Bear show as about the start. I hadn't seen this in many many years so we decided to cool off a bit and sit inside the theater. I forgot to get a Country Bear Jug that @Raeven got so I'll have to get one this weekend when we're back at WDW!

DH played a round of SotMK

We then made our way to Pirates. Who was there that weekend hoping Johnny Depp would come popping out of his chair at the end scene? The news had just come out that he was at Disneyland and surprised riders there but of course I really wished it was at WDW. Although PoTC at Disneyland is far far better than at WDW.

After Pirates we made an FP+ for Buzz Lightyear which we had not done in a long time. I checked the wait times and we decided to go to Haunted Mansion as it said 15 minutes. I think we may have ended up waiting a little longer than that.

As we were on line, Karilynn asked if we were going to attempt the Tangled Magic Shot again tonight. I said of course as soon as it got dark enough. She was waiting for some other friends too but we decided to head over after HM and meet her there. Thank goodness Karilynn was already on line because it was very long!! Thanks Karilynn! I felt bad cutting but seriously everyone else was doing it so it wasn't a big deal. Even so, we waited close to 30 minutes I think. It's because everyone wants to do several poses with the lantern, then invite their significant other, their best friend, their kids, then their whole family in the shot. Then one with just the kids, then one with just the girls, etc. So every possible iteration/combination happened until it was our turn. But it's ok because when you wait that long for a picture It think you have the right to do it your way.

Finally it was our turn. My "resting lantern face" did NOT improve since Feb.

Instead it was more "Am I doing it right?" or "You want me to hold it where?"

They kept saying to hold the lantern lower, but that makes me have double chin syndrome. So I kept it higher. LOL.

Here's the one with DH. His resting lantern face did not improve either. OK no more lantern pictures for us!

Karilynn had met up with her friends and we all headed to find a spot for Wishes. They were really nice, I wish we got to know them a little better. We did not know if we'd get a good spot for Wishes but we thought we'd just wing it by heading down Main Street and making our way up as far as we could. We walked around the hub and via the Crystal Palace side. I don't know how we ended up here but I think we just followed the CM's direction and we just kept walking and walking. And soon enough, we had a spot...dead center in front of the castle. I didn't even think we'd be this close let alone dead center with a view of the entire castle. I'm usually stuck behind an umbrella or a tree, so this was amazing. I think this was even better than the FP+ viewing spot we got last year.

There were some annoying people who were lying down or sitting on the ground and wouldn't move though and the CM's kept asking them to at least move their stuff because it was a high traffic area. They had backpacks and stuff lying around, probably to reserve sports for others, and there were lots of people walking around. I kept thinking they are going to get stepped on at some point. This is not the hub people!!

Regardless, we were lucky to watch Wishes one last time from such an amazing spot and we did not wait for hours for the show to start...think it started about 15 minutes later.

I did not take too many pictures but I do have some video which I will upload later. Goodbye Wishes!

On the plus side, I am really excited to see Happily Ever After in person. I know the reviews of the initial show were mixed. Technically it was stunning but they said it wasn't as meaningful to them. Understandably these people had an attachment to Wishes, but I think after watching HEA a few times, and after a few years, it may grow on people and become special in it's own way. You know in about 15 years when HEA has lived out it's time people will say the same thing about it. Hahaha.

MK was open til midnight that night (EMH). After Wishes we all headed to Tomorrowland and we all just ended up chatting in front of Buzz Lightyear. The line was 25 minutes at this time, but we had FP to use so we parted ways with them on standby. I kinda felt like we should have joined them on standby though, but it turns out the wait was a lot longer than 25 minutes.

I have a very determined face on Buzz, which paid off as I beat DH!

I texted Karilynn but I think her phone had ran out of juice at this point. I wasn't sure if they were still in Buzz but I needed a break anyways so I got myself a popcorn bucket and we sat and ate near the exit to the ride.

I love Disney popcorn! Do they put crack in it or something?? #addicted

After I had eaten my way through half the popcorn we decided to head to more rides.

We decided to do the Speedway which had a 5 minute wait.

Unfortunately the person driving in front of me was either driving a faulty car or could not drive properly because he kept stopping and caused a huge traffic jam in Tomorrowland. Hahaha. A CM had to come out and rescue the car in front of me. It was a kid driving, but I'm sure he was able to drive and reach the pedal as they wouldn't have let him on if he was too short. So maybe it was just the car. We ended up going at a snails pace half the time. DH, who was in the car behind me, was so annoyed at the guy behind him because he kept bumping into him. Hard. I thought it might have been a kid but it was an adult man.

We went on a few more rides in Fantasyland because they were walk ons.

Dumbo! At first DH and I were supposed to be on separate Dumbos but apparently someone had decided to split their party into 2 Dumbos so DH and I had to share one or wait for the next ride. So we just shared one.

Then we went on the Barnstormer! I insisted on my own car because those seats are tiny!

It was time to leave MK and head back to the Boardwalk for some much needed rest. We walked through the castle:

And got these few shots on Main Street before we departed:

We had a very long but fun day. Hmm, but was it Best Day Ever?

It was an AWESOME day - so many cool things happened but it wasn't the Best Day Ever of the trip, probably a bit too warm for my liking and it was only the first day...the first day can't be the best day, right?
What else would we have to look forward to?

...so you'll just have to keep reading!

Coming up...May the 4th!!!

​

 

[SimplyGoofy]

That was nice as I haven't been up at the railroad station on Main Street for a while.

I really enjoy riding the train! Anika and I did the entire loop in 2015 and even Mom and I went in 2016. It's so nice to relax and see the sights.

FRONTIERLAND IS MAGICAL. I KID YOU NOT.

Yes, it definitely is for you! How great to randomly run into DISers not once, but twice!

As we were on line, Karilynn asked if we were going to attempt the Tangled Magic Shot again tonight. I said of course as soon as it got dark enough.

I love those Tangled magic shots! I hope they're still doing them the next time I go!

And soon enough, we had a spot...dead center in front of the castle.

THAT'S AWESOME! I found myself there as well in 2016, and it really is a great spot to watch the fireworks. It's wonderful that your farewell to Wishes was in such a great spot!

(It's nice that the magic followed you from Frontierland! )

I love Disney popcorn! Do they put crack in it or something??

YES. YES THEY DO.

The Disney popcorn is ALSO magical. I don't know what they do to it, but it is SO DARN TASTY.

We went on a few more rides in Fantasyland because they were walk ons.

Dumbo!

Then we went on the Barnstormer!

I LOVE riding Dumbo and the Barnstormer late at night with hardly any crowds! Anika and I have done that twice during late EMH and really enjoyed it both times!

 

[Malia78]

so I ran after her!

and you caught me thanks to your DH's eagle eyes

how do you have legs that go on forever....I look so stumpy!

Gee thanks ......and no, you are not stumpy. That sounds one of the rejected dwarves which you most certainly are not.

Thank goodness Karilynn was already on line because it was very long!! Thanks Karilynn! I felt bad cutting but seriously everyone else was doing it so it wasn't a big deal.

Should have joined it a little sooner but I didn't realize it was already forming along the wall. However, it worked out pretty good--in this case, don't feel bad about "cutting". In this instance I wouldn't even think of it that way, it was me inviting two of you into my line spot, smaller than a lot of the family groups-- we still waited our 30 minutes.

My "resting lantern face" did NOT improve since Feb

Perhaps not, but it prepped you for an amazing "resting lotus face" !!!!

Karilynn had met up with her friends and we all headed to find a spot for Wishes. They were really nice

Craig (from the DIS podcast team) and his wife Kylie--they are awesome people!

And soon enough, we had a spot...dead center in front of the castle.

Thanks to Craig for this!--he knew the tricks of the process and led us to the best view I've ever had of fireworks.

I kinda felt like we should have joined them on standby though, but it turns out the wait was a lot longer than 25 minutes.

Those posted wait times were NOT accurate--after 25 minutes in the stand by line, we were just getting to the doors of the Buzz building. We conceded and decided to ride the People Mover instead. We did try to spot you as we went around but you might have still been on the ride.

That was our last big hurrah--took one group photo in front of the castle and called it a night. I was at the bus stop at 10:40.

I texted Karilynn but I think her phone had ran out of juice at this point.

So sorry we didn't get a proper good-bye...my phone died in the Tangled line and I didn't get the text until the next morning.

BUT we did have a great time--so awesome to meet you in person Su-Lynn! Hopefully there will be future opportunities...

 

[coloredimage]

Who was there that weekend hoping Johnny Depp would come popping out of his chair at the end scene?

Hahahaa, I mean I was there a couple weeks earlier, before it happened, and I wanted Johnny Depp to suddenly just be there. I was also there a couple days after The Rock was seen on Jungle Cruise and wanted him to be MY skipper. Wishful thinking?

Instead it was more "Am I doing it right?" or "You want me to hold it where?"

Mine's a "what is this thing" picture so I completely understand the resting lantern face sadness

What an AWESOME view!

You know in about 15 years when HEA has lived out it's time people will say the same thing about it

That's what I guess too lol. It's also why I don't want to spoil myself - I want to see it fully for the first time in the parks so I can feel special.

My favorite view!

This is a great picture of you!

 

[Nhebron]

Your pics on BTMRR are awesome. I am too uncoordinated for that...even with a strap.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Just bookmarked it to use as I plan. Thanks!!

Feel free to PM me with any questions! I've helped a few other DISers on their Hawaii trips too

A giant message, because my original one got deleted

HAte it when that happens!

I started reading your TR the other night and Df was next to me. He was like, I know them! I know that guy, you showed me his shirt! I had to break it to him, that was your half marathon TR

Hahaha that's so funny! He's probably read more of my TR than my own DH...he's just like, I lived the trip, I don't need to read about it again!

I mean... there's usually like 8 seats in first class. How did she miss you???

I KNOW!!!! Haha. I think she even served me a drink!

DF was very disappointed when I told him this wasn't at a Disney restaurant It looks really good!

Haha could be a stop on your way into the airport or when leaving

This is us every time, because I do all the planning too. God forbid I have to use the bathroom or anything, because then we have to wait until I'm back to check in.

Goodness no, you're not allowed to go to the bathroom during check in! What will your DF do?

I love the look of the boardwalk, except that dang slide. Why? Couldn't they have stuck with the coaster theme for the slide, and just had a smaller scary clown instead?

They didn't get the memo that Poltergeist was the scariest movie of the 80s.

Mmmmm... I think I might like this better than the normal slushies... shhh...

It's so yummy. I love them both. But this one is limited so it makes it a real treat!

This looks really good too! I must go to F&G!

You must! It's amazing.

We watched Gaston meet people for almost half an hour. We should have jumped in line! But his interactions are hilarious.

OMG he's the most hilarious character. I have to meet him again or just watch him for a while.

I think we might spring for this in September, even though we haven't necessarily planned much park hopping at this point.

It's so great. We're gonna get it again this weekend even though it's a short weekend (3 days) but I want to really maximize my time, and if that saves me a few hours then it's worth it to me!

The Peoplemover was one of my very favorite things when we went in January. I don't even know how many times we rode it, because one of us would just be like, the Peoplemover? And away we went!

It's sooo great! My favorite classic WDW ride! Well that and a bunch of others...LOL.

Mmmmmm... Maybe we'll have to make a trip to the Tambu lounge one night for this and

Good idea!!

I'm doing the party on the 29th, I definitely didn't want to pay the premium for Halloween either lol

Cool!

All caught up! The red in your hair is so pretty.... you should definitely keep it like that You're meet with Mulan was so sweet! And she is just so adorable with her little Match-Maker gimmick! We've never met Mulan.... I find we time the World Showcase Character Meet-Ups horribly; either just missing them or they've closed the lines .... **sigh** Also, that Gardenscape photo is SO COOL! I'll definitely be on the look-out for that on our upcoming trip

Thank you!! I did re-dye it red again, but it only shows up where I am growing out my highlights, but I am liking the ombre effect as its more subtle.

Haha I usually miss all the characters in World Showcase too. But I just had to meet Mulan...she's awesome.

The Gardenscape photo is so neat! Definitely check it out, it's near Club Cool.

 

[Raeven]

As we were coming off the ride we got this PP picture at the bridge area. It just so happens the Liberty Belle was behind us too. The PP photographer was very excited about that.

That's a cool picture though! I like how it looks in the background.

I hadn't seen this in many many years so we decided to cool off a bit and sit inside the theater. I forgot to get a Country Bear Jug that @Raeven got so I'll have to get one this weekend when we're back at WDW!

Yay Country Bear jug twins.

Who was there that weekend hoping Johnny Depp would come popping out of his chair at the end scene? The news had just come out that he was at Disneyland and surprised riders there but of course I really wished it was at WDW.

I kept saying that to Josh too Like do you think that one is Johnny Depp? What about that one? I also had a lady behind me the whole time going "wowwww it all looks so real!" on Pirates.

Finally it was our turn. My "resting lantern face" did NOT improve since Feb.

Instead it was more "Am I doing it right?" or "You want me to hold it where?"

It does look like you're saying "you want me to hold that where?". I just tried smiling a lot at the lantern

And soon enough, we had a spot...dead center in front of the castle.

Awesome!

On the plus side, I am really excited to see Happily Ever After in person. I know the reviews of the initial show were mixed.

We saw it in person on the first night, and loved it. I've heard a lot of the negative reviews are from people who haven't seen it in person. Then again I liked Wishes, but had only seen it once or twice so while I did like the story I didn't have a long history of emotional connection with it.

I have a very determined face on Buzz, which paid off as I beat DH!

We have a picture like that too and a similar outcome That's what you get for focusing on the camera instead of the targets.

the first day can't be the best day, right?

Only if you get sick the rest of the days...luckily that's only happened to me once.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I really enjoy riding the train! Anika and I did the entire loop in 2015 and even Mom and I went in 2016. It's so nice to relax and see the sights.

It is! I should do it more often!

Yes, it definitely is for you! How great to randomly run into DISers not once, but twice!

It's amazing, right? Maybe we'll meet one day...in Frontierland!!!

I love those Tangled magic shots! I hope they're still doing them the next time I go!

It will probably be there for a while, it's so popular!

THAT'S AWESOME! I found myself there as well in 2016, and it really is a great spot to watch the fireworks. It's wonderful that your farewell to Wishes was in such a great spot!

(It's nice that the magic followed you from Frontierland! )

It was certainly a magical night

YES. YES THEY DO.

I figured as much. Damn crack popcorn! #ICANTSTOP #IWANTMORE

The Disney popcorn is ALSO magical. I don't know what they do to it, but it is SO DARN TASTY.

See above comment. LOL. I am literally bringing back my popcorn bucket to use on this weekend's trip. I figure within the same month is a good statue of limitations for using the same popcorn bucket right? #GIVEMEMORE

I LOVE riding Dumbo and the Barnstormer late at night with hardly any crowds! Anika and I have done that twice during late EMH and really enjoyed it both times!

I love riding them both more at night than during the day. I've spent countless EMH riding these rides and LOVED them.

and you caught me thanks to your DH's eagle eyes

Yes! As well as the magic of Frontierland...because it has to be magical too, right?

Gee thanks ......and no, you are not stumpy. That sounds one of the rejected dwarves which you most certainly are not.

I must have your legs! They are soooooo long. And I would be ok with being a rejected dwarf...if it gets me those legs!!!

Should have joined it a little sooner but I didn't realize it was already forming along the wall. However, it worked out pretty good--in this case, don't feel bad about "cutting". In this instance I wouldn't even think of it that way, it was me inviting two of you into my line spot, smaller than a lot of the family groups-- we still waited our 30 minutes.

It seems like unofficial rule for that line is, that one person in line represents himself and 12 of his friends who are gonna show up right before the picture. Hahaha. So we were good.

Perhaps not, but it prepped you for an amazing "resting lotus face" !!!!

I think I must have thought this one through too much. Need to be more spontaneous.

Craig (from the DIS podcast team) and his wife Kylie--they are awesome people!

They were great! Are they on the DIS forums at all?

Thanks to Craig for this!--he knew the tricks of the process and led us to the best view I've ever had of fireworks.

Yes! It was awesome. And the best place we could see Wishes from.

Those posted wait times were NOT accurate--after 25 minutes in the stand by line, we were just getting to the doors of the Buzz building. We conceded and decided to ride the People Mover instead. We did try to spot you as we went around but you might have still been on the ride.

Yeah we figured as much, so sad we didnt catch you guys before you left.

That was our last big hurrah--took one group photo in front of the castle and called it a night. I was at the bus stop at 10:40.

haha we weren't far behind.....

So sorry we didn't get a proper good-bye...my phone died in the Tangled line and I didn't get the text until the next morning.

BUT we did have a great time--so awesome to meet you in person Su-Lynn! Hopefully there will be future opportunities...

I had the most amazing time that night. We got the Tangled shot, and saw Wishes from the best possible location and got to hang with some awesome company!! Please tell Kylie and Craig we felt bad for leaving them in the standby line. And Karilynn, it was a pleasure to meet you too. I really hope our paths cross again. And I'm sure there will be plenty more Disney Trips for us in the future where we can do just that!

Hahahaa, I mean I was there a couple weeks earlier, before it happened, and I wanted Johnny Depp to suddenly just be there. I was also there a couple days after The Rock was seen on Jungle Cruise and wanted him to be MY skipper. Wishful thinking?

Totally. I was watching guardians of the Galaxay at disney springs and half expected Chris Pratt to come running out. He didn't.
Hahahaha.

Mine's a "what is this thing" picture so I completely understand the resting lantern face sadness

Haha, I can't seem to get it right!!

What an AWESOME view!

It was!

That's what I guess too lol. It's also why I don't want to spoil myself - I want to see it fully for the first time in the parks so I can feel special.

Yeah. We're watching it this Friday, I'll know for sure what to think then.

This is a great picture of you!

Thank you! I was so exhausted and happy too!

Your pics on BTMRR are awesome. I am too uncoordinated for that...even with a strap.

Haha yeah it took a while to learn how to do it right, LOL

 

[chunkymonkey]

That's a cool picture though! I like how it looks in the background.

It is cool! I hadn't seen it before so we stopped to check it out.

Yay Country Bear jug twins.

Yay! I Can't wait until I get one!

I kept saying that to Josh too Like do you think that one is Johnny Depp? What about that one? I also had a lady behind me the whole time going "wowwww it all looks so real!" on Pirates.

Haha I know right? Just hoping...

It does look like you're saying "you want me to hold that where?". I just tried smiling a lot at the lantern

Haha your shot came out cute! I liked it!!

I didn't have a long history of emotional connection with it.

My point exactly that people who are *****ing and moaning about the new show were really attached to Wishes so they probably not giving HEA the attention it deserves.

We have a picture like that too and a similar outcome That's what you get for focusing on the camera instead of the targets.

Haha Planetary Pilots rule!

Only if you get sick the rest of the days...luckily that's only happened to me once.

Knock on wood that doesn't happen to me....

 

[Raeven]

Haha your shot came out cute! I liked it!!

Thank you!

My point exactly that people who are *****ing and moaning about the new show were really attached to Wishes so they probably not giving HEA the attention it deserves.

I feel like I'm going to end up being really attached to HEA

Haha Planetary Pilots rule!

Knock on wood that doesn't happen to me....

I doubt it would. It just seems to be a thing with me and September. Hopefully third time is a charm this year...

 

[MeghanEmily]

What an excellent day that turned out to be!! How cool that you just ran into Karilynn - Frontierland MUST have special May magic! I wonder if it'll do anything for us Saturday!? Your BTMRR pictures are adorable! Maybe someday I'll attempt them...with a camera strap. And how amazing that you got to see Wishes before it left and in such a great location! Very magical I'll be interested to hopefully see HEA this weekend and make my own judgement call there...I'm very excited for it, but I know there's no way for it to have the nostalgia factor of Wishes for me yet.

 

[cajunfan]

Ahhhh...O'hana...one of my favorites! Thanks for the food porn!

That was some serious pixie dust you have going in Fronteirland!

Can't wait for more!

 

[xlsm]

Who was there that weekend hoping Johnny Depp would come popping out of his chair at the end scene?

Me, completely, 100%.
I rode Pirates so. many. times.

On the plus side, I am really excited to see Happily Ever After in person. I know the reviews of the initial show were mixed. Technically it was stunning but they said it wasn't as meaningful to them. Understandably these people had an attachment to Wishes, but I think after watching HEA a few times, and after a few years, it may grow on people and become special in it's own way. You know in about 15 years when HEA has lived out it's time people will say the same thing about it. Hahaha.

I've LOVED the videos of HEA and have watched them quite a bit. It makes me tear up, I think because of the scenes/songs chosen for the projections...and when I saw that they kept the lanterns from Celebrate the Magic?? So excited. That part ALWAYS makes me cry.

This is gorgeous!!

 

[wdwnut61]

Wow you guys had a full day
Great job your DH spotting Karilynn.
I love the pics you took on BTMRR and thanks for the disclaimer I would have tried that and been waving goodbye to my iPhone
What a great spot you got to watch Wishes love the pp shots in front of the castle.

 

[chunkymonkey]

What an excellent day that turned out to be!! How cool that you just ran into Karilynn - Frontierland MUST have special May magic! I wonder if it'll do anything for us Saturday!? Your BTMRR pictures are adorable! Maybe someday I'll attempt them...with a camera strap. And how amazing that you got to see Wishes before it left and in such a great location! Very magical I'll be interested to hopefully see HEA this weekend and make my own judgement call there...I'm very excited for it, but I know there's no way for it to have the nostalgia factor of Wishes for me yet.

I wish you all the best for Saturday! We'll be in AK that day - let's hope for no rain!
I had my point and shoot with a strap with me for this trip. Back in 2010 I had a big DSLR and brought it on, wrapped the strap around my hand and took pictures on BTMRR. I strongly DON'T recommend that, hahaha. It would have been a very expensive loss.
Hope you enjoy HEA! I'm so excited to see it in person!

Ahhhh...O'hana...one of my favorites! Thanks for the food porn!

You're welcome! There can never be too much Ohana food porn.

That was some serious pixie dust you have going in Fronteirland!

It's uncanny, I know! But it's just a magical place!

Me, completely, 100%.
I rode Pirates so. many. times.

Sigh...if only...

I've LOVED the videos of HEA and have watched them quite a bit. It makes me tear up, I think because of the scenes/songs chosen for the projections...and when I saw that they kept the lanterns from Celebrate the Magic?? So excited. That part ALWAYS makes me cry.

I loved the videos too! I loved the part with the lanterns and it did remind me of Celebrate the Magic. The part with the Up balloons reminded me of World of Color.
Oooh can't wait to see it!

This is gorgeous!!

Thank you!!

I was just catching up on your TR because, as usual, I'm way behind So I'll continue reading but saw this post and wanted to say 1.Safe travels tomorrow and 2. I'm looking forward very much to meeting up!! Whether it's Epcot Friday, AK Sat. or even HS on Sunday, it'll happen I'll be in touch

Yay!! See you real soon!!

This is so exciting!! I look forward to hearing about this. The dessert parties seem like such a good idea...food...great view...what more could one want?

Yes, very expensive desserts, but you pay more for the privilege of a decent viewing spot.

Are they not letting people do FP's for the rides during the preview? I guess not..I hope you manage to do both..I wonder how crowded it will be? How many people go to these previews? I definitely can't wait to hear your reviews of these...especially the river ride...those boat rides are my fave.

They give you a time to enter for the park and it shows up on our MDE app. Our preview is 6-8pm but they are allowing us to come in at 5pm. From what I hear, they give you a paper FP for the FoP ride and then the Navi River ride you can just go at any time.

Your post made me think maybe it's time to start describing my day to day plans for our trip so that I can maybe get some feedback and tweak as needed before my FP+ day....do you know if they have started allowing people to book FP's for the new Pandora rides?

Yup once your 60 day window opens (think ours is in mid June) then you can do so. However both the Pandora rides are tier 1 so you cannot pick both for the same day. The rest of AK rides makes up the 2nd tier I believe. Have not even really thought about FPs much for Pandora because most of the kids can only ride the Navi River. I may just FP the FoP for the adults and we'll do standby for the river ride. I hope it loads quickly like pirates.

Wow you guys had a full day
Great job your DH spotting Karilynn.
I love the pics you took on BTMRR and thanks for the disclaimer I would have tried that and been waving goodbye to my iPhone
What a great spot you got to watch Wishes love the pp shots in front of the castle.

We did! It was a full, exhausting but wonderful day. This is how we do Disney and I love it. We'll be doing something similar on Friday!
Yes please don't try the iphone pics on BTMRR, hahaha.
Thank you! It was a great last Wishes show!

I am so jealous! We won't get to see Pandora or the new MK fireworks until August. However, we leave for Universal and the 2nd day of opening for Volcano Bay the end of next week.

I'm jealous of you! Am so excited for Universal in Sept. We're not doing Volcano Bay but we're doing the Orlando Informer meet at night for the Harry Potter rides.

Sounds like some good plans for a short trip! I like the idea of the express bus pass. Whenever we get back we might try that!

Someday before I go back to WDW, I'll need to watch the Avatar movie!

Haha definitely, express bus is a must.
And Avatar is overrated in terms of story but visually it is stunning.

Ooh, I'll be excited to hear about this! We loved our Wishes dessert party last year, but I think they upped the price yet again after last summer, so I've been hesitant to book it again. We debated doing it for this trip since it's my in-laws' anniversary, but we booked Tusker House instead So excited for the new show! I can't wait

Ooooh Tusker, another fave. I hope you enjoy dinner and get to watch HEA during the trip!

Seems like you can hang out basically as long as you want from what I've read - I'm kind of hoping this means we'll be able to grab a snack or dinner at the canteen during our preview since it starts after lunch. But it depends on how much we want to hang around Pandora

Yeah I wonder how long we want to hang out in Pandora after doing the rides and eating. But I think 2 hours is a good time frame. I heard the stores are PACKED. I am not sure I even see anything I like yet. But I haven't been paying that much attention to the merchandise.

Yay! We'll have to play it by ear - I know we want to catch Happily Ever After at least once, and maybe try to hop for the fireworks. But otherwise it sounds like we both had brunch plans so Sunday Epcot meet should work well either way

Sounds like a plan! I'll let you know if we end up at DHS on Sat night.

So soon! Have a great trip!

Thanks!

Okay so the Wishes dessert party had all kinds of non alcoholic beverages and milk which I thought was nice since the HS one only had milk for coffee and I like milk with chocolate. They had the area we were in which had dark chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry tarts, brownie cheesecake things, mickey oreo tarts, red velvet HEA cupcakes, assorted macarons, a pineapple upside down cake type thing, a villains chocolate cupcake (which was my favorite I think it was actually a really good cupcake). I'm going by pictures and I think that was it there. In the other room for it near the bathrooms there were cheese cubes of different types, sugar cookies, make your own sundaes, and some other design your own cupcake type thing. The desserts were better than when we did the Hallowishes one, and I would say close to what we had at SW. Josh got a very nice GF plate there which never happens at dessert parties it's usually all prepackaged stuff that's just okay. There definitely wasn't that one big "had to have" item like the bread pudding and nutella stuff at SW, but the desserts were better than I thought.

Thanks for this! Gives me an idea of what to expect. You can't go wrong with chocolate strawberries, and I do like milk with my desserts too but I am unfortunately kinda lactose intolerant. So sad. But I may have a small cup. Am soooo excited!!! Was the view great?

We normally do this, but this last trip we ended up leaving 3 hours early because we were ready to go and just sitting in the lobby doing nothing (we couldn't get on ME last minute so they got us a complimentary taxi which was really nice because it was kind of our fault for not booking ME because we don't usually use it). I would normally vote for Ubering over, but we actually just barely made it through the airport with enough time to eat something quick before the flight because it was really busy and we ended up stuck in traffic for awhile.

Hmm, yeah if we do get an Uber it would only be 40 minutes after ME leaves, so not sure if it's worth it. We'll just have to play it by ear I guess.

 

[Raeven]

Thanks for this! Gives me an idea of what to expect. You can't go wrong with chocolate strawberries, and I do like milk with my desserts too but I am unfortunately kinda lactose intolerant. So sad. But I may have a small cup. Am soooo excited!!! Was the view great?

The strawberries were good oh no that is so sad but they do have other things to drink! I liked the view from the gardens better than when we did the terrace one I thought it was very good. And since we went the first night of HEA it was nice not having to hold a spot for hours. We only got to the spot a half hour before showtime.

 

[thumper*]

I love in your Wishes pics that the couple in front of you were so cozy with each other.

 

[KathyM2]

I hope it loads quickly like pirates.

I was wondering about this - ie: if it loads quickly - because someone (maybe you?) said that FEA at Epcot was really slow loading..