But I don't have anyone to supervise me- a mostly solo November 2017 TR *completed 9/10*

[ariane37]

I was totally not a fan. The things are pretty to look at, but there is practically no storyline and it’s over in a blink of an eye. Other than taking the boys on it when we go back, I have no desire to ride this again.

Not fans of Na'Vi here, either. Pretty, yes. Nice that they have a tame family ride, since many won't be able to do FoP (which we all LOVE). Like you none of us have any desire to ride Na'Vi again so unless I happen to be there with people who haven't ridden and really want me to go, I won't. Glad you didn't wait long for it!

I also feel that it's not really any more exciting to me than the rest of AK, which has such awesome theming anyway.

I think Pandora had so many gorgeous areas however I do agree with you Meghan. There are other areas of AK I find much more exciting and will continue to spend more time in than Pandora Except for FoP!

 

[ChosenBelle]

following.... We were there the same time!

 

[ashw100]

Because it was...

I like the shirts!

Thank you

It is crazy isn't it?

Yeah, so thankful I got those FPs

As someone who felt prejudiced against this land due to my dislike of the movie, I tried to maintain a more open attitude. I totally agree with your take on it though. I'll say that I don't mind this ride and I'd ride it again, but only from the standpoint that it is a dark ride that the whole family can do and, well, there's just nothing else like that in AK. But I'm personally not comping at the bit to ride it over and over and over, for sure.

See and I was not prejudiced at all I really like the movie and was excited for the land

Again... I actively tried to keep an open mind. But I wasn't blown away. You're right, it is a beautiful land, but it is mostly real/fake vegetation and not really places and experiences we've seen in the movie that we can visit like Harry Potter. I hadn't really thought of it from that angle, but you make a really good point!

Why thank you

Great start, I'm joining in!

Thank you and

I'm sorry it didn't do much for you! I enjoyed it, but I have to kind of agree with you at the same time. It was a short ride, and nothing really happens. I'd ride it again if I didn't have to wait in a long line, but I'd never wait for it!

Yeah, I just don't really get it's point I guess

Again, I think I had a better experience than you did, but I still have to kind of agree with this. I knew it probably wouldn't live up to the hype, but I still found myself kinda disappointed with the whole thing. It was cool, but it didn't rock my world or give me goosebumps or anything. I also feel that it's not really any more exciting to me than the rest of AK, which has such awesome theming anyway.

yeah that's the thing I love AK so much for the themeing and I just wasn't blown away by Pandora

Yay! I love this! The safari is one of my favourite things in WDW, and sometimes you get a driver who's just phoning it in and it changes the experience so much. Sounds like your safari was so fun!

I know, I love when they're into it

I'm actually really nervous to visit Pandora. I've never liked the idea, and I just don't want to be disappointed! I also want to walk through the real queue of FoP, but don't want to wait in line!

Yeah I would pass on that line, what in there could possibly be so good that is worth a two hour wait? People kept saying there's so much to look at, but for me if it's juts more of disappointing Pandora, I'll take a pass.

 

[ashw100]

My SO and I argue every time we travel. He is an antsy traveler and I'm much more laid back and we end up clashing. Once we get to our destination and out of the airport he becomes normal again and all is well. So I felt your pain. lol

That it literally us expect I'm the angsty one, I am so grateful he puts up with me

I'm sorry Pandora/NRJ left you disappointed!

Very pretty photos during EMH!

Thank you I loved capturing that gorgeous sun and an empty Afirca

Not fans of Na'Vi here, either. Pretty, yes. Nice that they have a tame family ride, since many won't be able to do FoP (which we all LOVE). Like you none of us have any desire to ride Na'Vi again so unless I happen to be there with people who haven't ridden and really want me to go, I won't. Glad you didn't wait long for it!

Yeah, I am still baffled by this ride, like who thought yes this very short, no story line ride has a place in a Disney park? It almost makes me made this is such a crappy ride.

I think Pandora had so many gorgeous areas however I do agree with you Meghan. There are other areas of AK I find much more exciting and will continue to spend more time in than Pandora Except for FoP!

Yes totally, I love Africa and Asia so much that I will spend more time there too.

following.... We were there the same time!

Awesome, hope you had a good trip and

 

[momabaarjo]

We were literally in front of each other or behind each other the whole morning it seems! When you mention What we could have been stuck behind...I think I might of been somewhere IN that mess! No, I know I was IN that mess. According to my calculations I was on FOP at 8:10 am without the use of a FP and then on the Na'Vi by 8:40 am after standing in line for about 20 minutes.

 

[ashw100]

We were literally in front of each other or behind each other the whole morning it seems! When you mention What we could have been stuck behind...I think I might of been somewhere IN that mess! No, I know I was IN that mess. According to my calculations I was on FOP at 8:10 am without the use of a FP and then on the Na'Vi by 8:40 am after standing in line for about 20 minutes.

We were, I saw you go through the tapstiles but there was about 20 people in front of us so we couldn't catch up.

 

[momabaarjo]

We were, I saw you go through the tapstiles but there was about 20 people in front of us so we couldn't catch up.

Well darn on that, especially since I was not going at break neck speeds...only trying not to fall over!

 

[ashw100]

It has been awhile for me to not update. Life has gotten crazy these last few weeks. We had FOUR cases of strep throat, a double ear infection, impetigo, colds galore of the last two weeks. Plus just general holiday time craziness, it's been busy to say the least. Hopefully I can get a few more updates out before the holidays though. Also we are starting to finalize some pretty exciting travel plans for 2018, that hopefully I can share soon. But for now, back to my Nov TR for a double update!

Day 2: Part 2
I'm such a good Disney Planner, I know Everything

After our safari, we walked over to Asia to try and get on EE before the park opened for the day. On the way there we once again encountered an empty Africa. I haven’t really spent much time in the Harambe Market, so once again I took a ton of pictures of the place being empty.

I loved how EE looked in the early morning light and fog, so foreboding
​

We rode EE and we actually had time to ride again, but Joe didn’t think he could do multiple rides in a row.

​

We instead walked over to Mickey and Minnie to wait for their M&G to open. I was hoping they would be in their Christmas outfits, but sadly they were not. However, they spent a ton of time with us. Minnie was making a big deal about our anniversary and chastising Mickey for not proposing yet. He even tried to still my rings.

​

It was cute and Mickey and Minnie were totally running away with the whole thing. I think they ended up spending 5 minutes with us. High off our super fun meet, we walked over to Russell’s meet so we could get some fun pictures in our shirts. Sadly, his M&G area was being used as a staging area for the Christmas special tapings, so we met him over next to the stage by Flame Tree. This Russell wasn’t very fun though, it was pretty much hug and a picture.

​

Usually we have great interactions especially when I am wearing my UP ears, but maybe he was just tired this morning. Also before I forget, our shirts got a ton of attention this day. We were constantly stopped by people saying how cute they were. By the end of the day I was starting to get uncomfortable. I don’t really love attention and the people who stopped us were fine, but there was so many more people that would just point and stare. It made some queue lines super uncomfortable, but at the end of the day we ended up with adorable pictures with the shirts. I will look into getting some variation for the boys, I will just know better to prepare myself for the stares.

Anyway back on topic we walked back to Africa to use our FP for EE.

​

We then walked over to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl. I know this ride doesn’t get much love, but I think it’s a nice distraction.

​

At this point we had done a lot and still had awhile until our next FP, so we walked back to the front of the park so we could pay a visit to guest relations. All morning I had been looking for a PP person, and there were none to be found. Which is funny, because I commented in my last TR how there were so many out that day we were there in Jan. I finally saw some out in front of the tree, so we stopped.

​

Being the beginning of the day, guest relations was very busy with people getting their DAS, but I passed the time by calling the boys. When it was finally our turn, we upgraded our tickets to APs!

I also snapped a picture of the setup for the Holiday Special stuff
​

After that we walked back to Dinoland to use our FP for Dinosaur.

Will we make it??


We made it!
​

Because we seemed to have a fondness for walking back and forth across the park, we made our way back to Africa for the FotLK. Joe needed a Mickey bar to fuel his walk over though.

​

While we were waiting to get into the theater there was a woman trying to eat her Dole Whip before it melted and she was complaining about it. Apparently is wasn’t creamy enough for her, so she threw it out! Joe and I were appalled. How do you just throw out a perfectly good Dole Whip?

​

To distract us from the Dole Whip horror we sat in the giraffe section and enjoyed the show. Up until this point, I was kind of in this weird headspace where it hadn’t really sunk in that I was in Disney. Does anybody ever get like that? Like you just can’t believe you’re actually there. Well sitting in that theater watching my favorite Disney show, it finally sunk in. I started tearing up, and I hope this awe of Disney never goes away. I always think to myself one day surely I won’t be as impressed or love it as much, but every time I go back I am proven wrong. Happily ensconced in my Disney bubble I watched the rest of the show.

​

Continued Below

 

[ashw100]

After FotLK, we were feeling pretty tired and hungry. We still had one more FP to use before our ADR, so we walked back to Pandora.

​

I wanted to try one of those drinks you see every where. You know the one I am talking about right?? It’s pink and green with the little orange balls on top. Yeah, so being the amazing Disney planner I am, I knew I wanted the drink, but didn’t know what it was called or where exactly you got it.

​

Well I hopped on the app and saw mobile ordering available at Satu’li Canteen and they had a drink called the Pandora Sunrise, this must be the drink I have seen all over Instagram, right? I thought I was so clever ordering it on my phone and waltzing right up to the counter, only to be handed this…

​

So much for my super planning skills. The drink was good though, very refreshing we sucked that baby down fast. Anyway, we walked back outside and saw Pongu Pongu and a huge line and sadly couldn’t skip this one with mobile order.

​

Joe really like this guy outside.

​

After what seemed like forever we had the Night Blossom in hand, as well as a Pongu Lumpia.

​

The pongu lumpia was cream cheese and pineapple and AMAZING. It was super messy though, the inside just spills out the second you bite into it. The night blossom was good as well, it reminds me of a sweet tart, Joe didn’t agree though. We both agreed it was delicious. We then tried to find the end of the line for FoP and got distracted by finally seeing another PP person out.

​

Once we found the line, we made our way past the 180 minute wait and basically walked right on Flight of Passage.

This is my excited face


​

There was a mother and daughter in front of us and the teenage girl was freaking out about the ride. I guess Soarin had scared here and she was worried this would be the same. I have to say the pre-show part of the ride is long. I get that it’s either waiting there or in the queue line, but it just seemed to take forever. Like they have to basically explain the whole movie, just so you understand the ride. I found this unnecessary, every other movie based ride doesn’t need some long drawn out explanation of the movie in order to enjoy the ride.

​

Other than that I absolutely loved it. I basically knew nothing going into this ride other than it was similar to Soarin, but not really and I have to say I was blown away. I spent basically the entire ride gasping over and over. I loved that they took the banshee breathing into account and you can actually feel it breathing beneath you. The only negative would be that the glasses were distracting. The frames were big and visible while you were wearing them and they kept slipping off. I can only imagine how this can ruin the ride for a child riding. While I did think it was an amazing ride, I was so happy I didn’t have to wait almost 3 hours to ride it, yes even though that meant I didn’t get to see the floating Avatar.

I had to rush Joe through the gift shop and out of the park to make it to our lunch reservation. They had shut off the the easiest exit at the front of Pandora for filming. The family that had won a trip to Disney (I have since found out they were featured in the Disney Channel special) was walking around filming and doing interviews throughout the park. We passed them on the bride to Africa earlier in the day. Honestly of all the filming this was the biggest inconvenience, because it was actually impacting people's days in the park. By the time we got to the car my legs were cramping, I was covered in sweat and out of breath. Thankfully our lunch location wasn’t too far from AK.

​

When we were walking in we saw this.

​

Doesn’t seem like the best place to dry your bathing suits, but whatever. We checked in a little late, but we had time to explore a bit before they called us back.

​

Joe and I had been on a mission to find hidden Mickeys and we found two right after being seated.

It really bothers me that a WDW (yes it even says that in the corner WDW, not Disney Parks, menu has a DLR picture in it. Get it together WDW!


And then they have this very thoughtful menu addition here, with a glossary
​

We ordered the bread service for a starter.

​

I really only like a couple of the sauces, but man is this thing amazing. I could have just had that, and probably should have, and been happy. For our entrees I got the Tandoori Chicken and Joe got the Tandoori shrimp.

​

It wasn’t as good as I remember, but not bad. The sauce was a little bland. Joe on the other hand loved his. We were feeling very sleepy after lunch.

We found another hidden Mickey on the way out.

​

Joe had originally wanted to go all day, but he quickly changed his mind after lunch.

We drove back to ASM for a little down time.

​

We then settled in for a much deserved rest.

Day 2: Part 3​

 

[Araminta18]

Yay Sanaa! I'm excited to try the bread service there on our upcoming trip. It looks so yummy. And yes, your shirts are *adorable*

 

[MeghanEmily]

Life has gotten crazy these last few weeks. We had FOUR cases of strep throat, a double ear infection, impetigo, colds galore of the last two weeks.

Oh. My. Gosh!

I loved how EE looked in the early morning light and fog, so foreboding

This is awesome! Cool shot!

This Russell wasn’t very fun though, it was pretty much hug and a picture.

​

Usually we have great interactions especially when I am wearing my UP ears, but maybe he was just tired this morning.

Aww that's too bad. But at least the photo is adorable with your shirts. Interesting about how much attention you got with your shirts! We've done a few matching shirts, but nothing super obvious like these ones. We've got a few news ones for this trip, too. I wonder if any of them will take off like yours did. It does remind me though of the way people kept stopping me about my rose gold ears before they restocked them in the parks.

When it was finally our turn, we upgraded our tickets to APs!

​

Yay!!

How do you just throw out a perfectly good Dole Whip?

​

This is heartbreaking.

Up until this point, I was kind of in this weird headspace where it hadn’t really sunk in that I was in Disney. Does anybody ever get like that?

I've been there, too. How amazing when it starts to sink in...

I thought I was so clever ordering it on my phone and waltzing right up to the counter, only to be handed this…

​

So much for my super planning skills.

Oops!

I have to say the pre-show part of the ride is long. I get that it’s either waiting there or in the queue line, but it just seemed to take forever

I thought so, too.

​

Doesn’t seem like the best place to dry your bathing suits, but whatever.

And then they have this very thoughtful menu addition here, with a glossary

Oh neat! I guess I didn't really notice this when we went. It's a great idea!

We ordered the bread service for a starter.

​

Of course you did! Because what monster goes to Sanaa and doesn't order the bread service!??

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like you guys did a lot of fun things at AK! Your pics with Mickey & Minnie are adorable. And I can see why your shirts got a lot of attention, they're so cute and not something I've seen!

If you're dole whip is melting you don't throw it out! You just eat it faster! That lady was doing it wrong.

After some confusion, I'm glad you finally got the drink you were looking for! I really enjoyed the night blossom and am sad I never tried the pongu lumpia!

Sounds like a nice lunch. Seeing people's reviews of the bread service always makes me want to give Sanaa a try!

 

[momabaarjo]

I too love the shirts and I probably would stare at you too! So jealous of the AP upgrade! You kill me with the night blossom mistake...shame shame girl! That darn filming really messed a lot of things up for me on Saturday too...although I did get to see someone I love but at that time I could not stop and watch I was late. As for Sanaa....totally jealous of the bread service. I must get back!

 

[ashw100]

Yay Sanaa! I'm excited to try the bread service there on our upcoming trip. It looks so yummy. And yes, your shirts are *adorable*

You will love it, I'm sure. There are so many flavors, something for every taste.

This is awesome! Cool shot!

Thank you

Aww that's too bad. But at least the photo is adorable with your shirts. Interesting about how much attention you got with your shirts! We've done a few matching shirts, but nothing super obvious like these ones. We've got a few news ones for this trip, too. I wonder if any of them will take off like yours did. It does remind me though of the way people kept stopping me about my rose gold ears before they restocked them in the parks.

That's funny because I thought of your TR and the rose gold ears that day. I love the shirts so much, so I don't want to not wear them, I just know what to expect next time.

This is heartbreaking.

I know right

Oh neat! I guess I didn't really notice this when we went. It's a great idea!

It is very helpful if you are unfamiliar with the dishes

Of course you did! Because what monster goes to Sanaa and doesn't order the bread service!??

Sounds like you guys did a lot of fun things at AK! Your pics with Mickey & Minnie are adorable. And I can see why your shirts got a lot of attention, they're so cute and not something I've seen!

Thank you, I did love that they were unique

If you're dole whip is melting you don't throw it out! You just eat it faster! That lady was doing it wrong.

I know something clearly wrong with this lady

After some confusion, I'm glad you finally got the drink you were looking for! I really enjoyed the night blossom and am sad I never tried the pongu lumpia!

Well definitely put it on the list for next time

Sounds like a nice lunch. Seeing people's reviews of the bread service always makes me want to give Sanaa a try!

You definitely should, it's so easy to get to on an AK day, I highly recommend.

I too love the shirts and I probably would stare at you too! So jealous of the AP upgrade! You kill me with the night blossom mistake...shame shame girl! That darn filming really messed a lot of things up for me on Saturday too...although I did get to see someone I love but at that time I could not stop and watch I was late. As for Sanaa....totally jealous of the bread service. I must get back!

Thank you I know bad TA right, I don't do as much research for my own trips as I do for clients. Did you see Darius Rucker that day? Still pretty cool you got to see someone you like, even if it was just in passing.

 

[AV007]

Yay found your new TR!! So excited to follow along.

 

[ashw100]

Yay found your new TR!! So excited to follow along.

thanks for coming by.

 

[chunkymonkey]

All caught up now!

Joe informs me once we get into the car that he needs gas. Okay, no big deal, we should still have plenty of time. Our flight wasn’t until 8, but I had pictured this very relaxing scenario of having a stress-free airport experience, no rushing, and a nice dinner free from the kids. Well our first attempt to get gas was unsuccessful because the lines were crazy long. So we hobble along the highway looking for a place to stop and at this point the gas light is on. We were on the access road, but I could see how bad the traffic was on the highway. Joe assured me it was just people merging onto another highway and it would clear up. We only moved to the DFW area about six months ago, so I was not well versed in the rush hour traffic patterns. But Joe, who up until that week worked right across the highway from Love Field, should have known how bad the traffic was, so I trusted he was right. We finally find a place to get gas and get back on the highway at which point traffic is at a stand still. Traffic going into the city on a Friday night is apparently really bad and Joe some how never noticed this. Time started slipping from us, and my nice relaxing airport experience has fading fast. It was not a pleasant car ride for sure. We were fighting and it definitely put our trip off to a negative start. Finally when we got closer to the airport, we realized Siri was giving us bad directions. We got lost and turned around further delaying our arrival. We finally got to the airport around 6:45 and then we had to walk to the terminal which seemed like it took forever.

Sorry your "relaxing" car ride didnt' turn out to be relaxing. I always hate Friday after work traffic. It's the worse around NYC too. You always want to start out a trip right and it's so annoying when traffic gets in your way!!

A teenager sat down next to me and it was an interesting experience to say the least. He was very polite in some regard, but then also had no respect for personal boundaries. At one point he started bragging about how his friend can sneak him into the Disney parks whenever he wants. And then he asks me if I have heard of that Avatar thing opening in the summer of 2018.

Oh wow imagine that, summer of 2018?!? Did you correct him or just let him think he was right?

We also saw some really cool lightening. We weren’t able to capture it in a photo, but it was a cool experience. About halfway through the flight I started to feel a tickle in my throat and dread in my heart. I had worked so hard all week to rid myself of a sinus infection that I had all thanks to copious amounts of Sudafed and a Neti Pot. I was finally feeling better just days before the trip. Unfortunately at that same time, the boys were battling colds. It seems that the cold had finally found its way to me. I just had to hope and pray it wouldn’t be too bad.

We saw lightning too on the way down from NYC!
I always use sudafed to prevent colds! This year though, it didn't help.

We used Silvercar rental this time and I can’t recommend this place enough. It was only roughly 30 more for the week to book them, than to do the other guys with an economy car. Joe had used them in Dallas when he was going for job interviews and loved the process. Basically, you tell them via the app that you download that you are ready to be picked up. They pick you up and take you to the rental place which is a few minutes drive from MCO. There you pick the car you want, sync it with the app and you’re good to go. Every car is a silver (hence the name) Audi A4, which at that price point is pretty awesome. There was a slight issue with our rental just because it was past midnight so technically the day after we were supposed to start our rental, the rental guy figured it out quickly.

Thanks for the info! I'd love to drive an Audi as a rental car!

He always takes a picture of our shoes and has some clever caption with it .

​

What was this caption?

I was totally not a fan. The things are pretty to look at, but there is practically no storyline and it’s over in a blink of an eye. Other than taking the boys on it when we go back, I have no desire to ride this again. The Shaman AA was pretty impressive, but not enough to warrant the waits for this ride. Give me Pirates over this any day.

Haha it is definitely boring in Pandora aside from FoP and Satuli. It's more just a visual playground than an actual playground.
And agree on the NRJ!

We instead walked over to Mickey and Minnie to wait for their M&G to open. I was hoping they would be in their Christmas outfits, but sadly they were not. However, they spent a ton of time with us. Minnie was making a big deal about our anniversary and chastising Mickey for not proposing yet. He even tried to still my rings.

​

Haha so cute!! LOVE your shirts btw. I'd probably be one of those people pointing and staring!

Being the beginning of the day, guest relations was very busy with people getting their DAS, but I passed the time by calling the boys. When it was finally our turn, we upgraded our tickets to APs!

​

Yay congrats!!
Mine's ending Jan 2nd.

While we were waiting to get into the theater there was a woman trying to eat her Dole Whip before it melted and she was complaining about it. Apparently is wasn’t creamy enough for her, so she threw it out! Joe and I were appalled. How do you just throw out a perfectly good Dole Whip?

What! Blasphemy...
#bannedfromDISBoards

The pongu lumpia was cream cheese and pineapple and AMAZING. It was super messy though, the inside just spills out the second you bite into it. The night blossom was good as well, it reminds me of a sweet tart, Joe didn’t agree though. We both agreed it was delicious. We then tried to find the end of the line for FoP and got distracted by finally seeing another PP person out.

Yum!! I do like the night blossom! I tend to not like sweet things but that is one exception.

Other than that I absolutely loved it. I basically knew nothing going into this ride other than it was similar to Soarin, but not really and I have to say I was blown away. I spent basically the entire ride gasping over and over. I loved that they took the banshee breathing into account and you can actually feel it breathing beneath you. The only negative would be that the glasses were distracting. The frames were big and visible while you were wearing them and they kept slipping off. I can only imagine how this can ruin the ride for a child riding

Glad you enjoyed the ride! I agree about the glasses, they are too big!

​

I really only like a couple of the sauces, but man is this thing amazing. I could have just had that, and probably should have, and been happy.

Oh yum, that is a beautiful picture!!!

 

[ashw100]

Sorry your "relaxing" car ride didnt' turn out to be relaxing. I always hate Friday after work traffic. It's the worse around NYC too. You always want to start out a trip right and it's so annoying when traffic gets in your way!!

I know, so frustrating. I didn't think it would be bad going into the city

Oh wow imagine that, summer of 2018?!? Did you correct him or just let him think he was right?

Oh I had to, I was like, "that's already open"

We saw lightning too on the way down from NYC!
I always use sudafed to prevent colds! This year though, it didn't help.

Sorry, we've had an awful year for sickness here

Thanks for the info! I'd love to drive an Audi as a rental car!

Then you would love this, it was a very nice experience

What was this caption?

Something like these shoes will we walking down the middle of Main Street tomorrow

Haha so cute!! LOVE your shirts btw. I'd probably be one of those people pointing and staring!

Yay congrats!!
Mine's ending Jan 2nd.

SAD

Oh yum, that is a beautiful picture!!!

I know right, I need this in my life again

 

[Rista1313]

Just joining in! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[ashw100]

Day 2: Part 3
Pink Pajama Bottoms

During our downtime Joe took a nap. We really only had about 30 minutes to nap and there was no way I could fall asleep quick enough for that to be beneficial, so I spent that time unpacking and just basking in the cool A/C. After a very quick nap we went to Cinema Hall. They had a fun red carpet set up and a Rogue One background and the DVC CM kindly offered to take our picture.

Pew Pew
​

We stopped in the shop to look for a water bottle. I had been planning on bringing a water bottle and filling it with CS water throughout the trip, but I forgot it. Normally we get a case of water, but there was no way I would finish on myself and I wasn’t about to pay $3 a bottle every time I got thirsty. Sadly there was none there, but Joe did find a Last Jedi shirt he liked. He didn’t buy it then as he wanted to see all Last Jedi merchandise before he made a decision. I also stopped to pick up happily ever after buttons for our anniversary. We left Cinema hall and got in line for the bus to MK.

​

This was our first time coming into MK with the new security checkpoints and I have to say it is so much nicer this way. The lines aren’t nearly as long and it just seems less chaotic. I have never been to WDW during the holidays and I was so excited to see MK decked out in its Christmas finest.

​

Of course I teared up seeing it all for the first time. Joe has worked in retail basically his entire adult life, and of course that meant we could never come from November 1-January 1 every year. Joe had no real desire to leave retail, he loved it, so I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be seeing the holiday stuff for, at the very least, a very long time. I was just so happy to be there I can’t even tell you. We saw the Dapper Dans out in their holiday attire, singing Christmas songs .

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Of course the first thing I had to do was get a picture by the tree.

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We also got more PPs on Main Street.

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This is my favorite picture from the whole trip. I think the CM told us to kiss and Joe must have said something silly, which caused me to make this face. I have never seen a picture capture our relationship so perfectly. Joe is the silly one and even though I am not as silly, he always makes me smile despite myself. ​

We could see Julianne Hough and an unidentified male filming something for the holiday specials.

​

We had gotten a FP for Jingle Cruise, but we had plenty of time before we could use it. The park was very crowded that day, much more than we are used to and the waits were all too long for our liking. So we did what anyone who wants to avoid a wait does, rode the Carousel of Progress.

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Joe told he wanted to do this attraction, because last time he fell asleep. When we got off, he told me he remembered why he felt asleep last time. This one has no appreciation for the classics. It was so crowded that even Peoplemover had a decent wait, but it’s our favorite so we got in line.

Ahh, some much needed rest
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After Peoplemover, we were kind of at a loss of what to do and feeling a little discouraged we wouldn't be able to get on anything. We tried to switch our FP to something else, but there was very little options. We decided to see Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor and that was a great decision. We laughed so hard during this show, I was not expecting it. At one point the monster, this guy

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Calls on a woman in the audience and he tells her to say pink pajama. Then pink pajama bottoms and on and on it goes pink pajama, pink pajama bottoms, pink pajama, pink pajama bottoms and on and on. He was saying it kind of sing songy, but she was just repeating it normal. Finally he just starts singing it alone and you can hear a rythym but not really place it until the camera that was on her pans next to her and the guy is wearing a Lion King shirt and the monster switches from pink pajama bottoms and belts out the Circle of Life. So basically he was singing pink pajama bottoms in place of the chanting section of the Circle of Life. Go on and try it at home, I’ll wait….

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Did you do it? Well you should, once you hear it, you can't un-hear it. It was so unexpected the entire theater explodes in laughter. Even the monster starts laughing and he can’t stop, which just made it even funnier. He actually apologized and said he didn’t expect to find his own joke so funny. The whole show was just amazing, I need to remember to make time for this in future trips. With stitches in our side, we decided to walk to the other side of the park to see if we would have better luck over there. I stopped quickly to take picture of the holiday set up for the taping.

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The castle looked so beautiful with the setting sun, so we stopped for more pictures.

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We got an awesome CM, who went out of our way to get some good shots.

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Day 2: Part 4​