Cass, Rob & Kira - WDW April 2023 - "Can't you just find my him?"

[Disneybuckeye]

Thanks for sharing your adventures

 

[dcassetta]

Love your TRs!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[DVCjj]

Absolutely love your trip reports and so thrilled a new one popped up. Love to see what adventures you sweet family is up to.

I'm purposely not reading it all tonite because my daughter (50) is having her second hip surgery tomorrow (last time she had massive pain in recovery for many hours which was very upsetting) and your trip report will help me get my mind off of things while waiting patiently. Well, not so patiently.

So thank you for posting. Appreciate it.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Can you tell me your experience with DAS? Most likely my mom (and myself sadly even tho I’m young-as my recent cast mates who are older than me said “you’re a spring chicken with issues but you’re still a spring chicken!”) are going to have to apply this year.

 

[Kanga2Roo]

One thing they need to add for those using DAS...just a freezing cold building with benches that you can wait in. I have found not AC is the same and many spots that are cooler does not have seating. Claire witnessed people being turned away from the Launch Pad since they mentioned to the CM that they were going in to cool off. The CM told them this was not the place for them and told them they couldn't come in.

 

[Timon]

April 2nd, 2023 Part 3

After SDD, Rob and Kira went on Alien Swirling Saucers together since the wait was now only 5 minutes.

We were now 90 minutes into the After Hours party and although wait times had gone down, they weren't as low as I had hoped they'd be.

Before this trip began, I had asked Kira if she was going to ride Tower of Terror. She said, quite firmly, NO!

She loves roller coasters, her fave is Velocicoaster and Rip Ride Rocket over at Universal but because of her anxiety, she has a hard time with rides where she can't predict where we are going. She loves the thrill, obviously, but she needs to know where the ride is going next. Even on Space Mountain, you can see the track and you can, for the most part, know which direction you're headed in.

She rode TOT back in 2018 and she also rode GOTG Mission Breakout in Disneyland in 2019, just to say she did them but she wouldn't ride again.

This made me pretty sad since TOT is my favourite ride. Well, Haunted Mansion is my actual favourite ride but TOT is a very, very close second.

I was hoping to convince her to ride it just once so that I can ride it too.

As we were looking at the wait times and trying to come up with a plan, she said she would try it!

Really????



Yay!!! This made me SOOOOO happy! I just wanted to have that experience of riding it with her at 16.

So, we booked DAS for Rise of the Resistance and headed over to TOT.

On the way, I took the opportunity to get some pics of Roundup Rodeo, at night, with the lights on and no people!

I was so happy, I was practically skipping down this street.

Look how pretty she is!

And the real bonus, there was no wait!!!

I was all hot and sweaty and gross but I still wanted a pic of me and my girl and TOT.

I love everything about this ride. It is THE perfect ride!

We had the BEST cast members that night. This one down below would put her hands on the little windows of the elevator as we were going up and it created this amazing, creepy effect!

Kira was scared out of her mind but she ended up loving it because it was the only ride at WDW that gave her butterflies. We've been doing Universal Orlando the past few years and she's used to big thrill rides so she was really appreciating the fact that it was thrilling.

We ended up buying matching hoodies.

They didn't take those security tags off, Kira thankfully caught it at the airport going home as we were re-arranging our suitcases and we were able to get them both removed at the Disney Store at MCO.

Her pics were all awesome because she was genuinely terrified. She had to hold on to those bars on the seat each time. We tried to do funny things for the photos but she just couldn't because she was scared and had to hold onto those bars, it was awesome!

She loved it so much, she asked to do it again.

This time around, in the library, we had the BEST TOT CM ever!!!!

While we were all in the library, this CM moved really slowly around the room, getting really close to everyone, staring at all of the guests, creeping them out, it was the BEST THING EVER!!!

I took some video of it, she was sooooo good! I wish I got her name, I tried to read her name tag but it was dark and her hair was covering it. I tried to do a Cast Compliment for her but unless you have their name, it doesn't really work.

We saw her again but I never got her name. We even asked the CM's at the front of the ride but they didn't know her name either. So, if any of you know it, please let me know! Otherwise, I am going back to WDW in a week for work reasons and I will make sure to get her name and do the CC because she sooooooo deserves it! If I see the CM that did the hand trick, I am getting her name too! These are the kind of people that make Disney truly special.

Here is a still shot of her...

We headed back over for Rise, this was Kira's first time and she loved it! Her favourite part was this room with all of the stormtroopers. She loved trying to pick out the ones that were moving.

We got off the ride just a few minutes before the party came to and end and they were still letting people on the ride so we were all in agreement that we needed to ride it one more time.

The first time, we headed to the front and this time we headed to the back, it's so cool how you can see us leaving Black Spire and then if you watch closely, as we arrive into the First Order ship, you can see some of the troopers gathering in that cargo bay room.

We had a vehicle all to ourselves!

One last selfie to close out the night.

We got back to the room just after 1am and we all passed out. Such a fun day!

This was our first After Hours event and it's tough to review it because what we experienced isn't what everyone would experience necessarily. Mickey & Minnie's was down the entire night, Rise was down for 45 minutes of the event and RNRC was closed for refurbishment. If all three of those rides were open, I think the lines would have been much shorter and would have been more enjoyable for everyone. I was VERY thankful for DAS that evening because there was no way I could have waited 1-2 hours in the lines for any of those rides. Slinky especially since there is no A/C at all, I would have passed out!

We had a blast and the experience at TOT was worth it for us but I think for most people who attended that night, it probably wasn't worth the money. We paid $444 USD for it, for the three of us.

Tune in tomorrow for our first time on Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Enjoying your report! So much so that I went back and am reading some of your previous ones. Looking forward to more!

 

[cntkg1]

Zipper Lady is here and excited to read another Timon Trippie!! I can hardly believe that it's been since last September since I got to read one of your TR's! BTW....that was an awesome TR. Your travel buddies are total weirdo's though.

But, what I really can't believe is that some people don't like your song choices! For the record, I LOVE THEM ALL!!

I really need to check out those shoes you guys bought. I keep buying my $10 Walmart specials which I'm sure are not very good for your feet.

So far I'm loving the Food Porn. Those burgers at Wahlburgers looked awesome!!

On to read more....

 

[cntkg1]

One thing they need to add for those using DAS...just a freezing cold building with benches that you can wait in. I have found not AC is the same and many spots that are cooler does not have seating. Claire witnessed people being turned away from the Launch Pad since they mentioned to the CM that they were going in to cool off. The CM told them this was not the place for them and told them they couldn't come in.

Yikes!!!!

 

[Timon]

Yay for Keke's breakfast!!

Who doesn't love a good Target run, right? Every trip in the states man, doesn't matter where we are lol I didn't know about these $6 tank tops though, need to look out for those next time.

Thank you for explaining what the DAS pass is, of course I've heard of it but didn't really understand how it worked. I'm so glad it came in useful for your trip!! Gosh, that after hours party was BUSY

You can't NOT stop at Target, right?

I'm heading back in just over a week, might have to grab some more if they have them. They are so much better than the Walmart ones that I've been forced to buy the past two years.

It was busy but there's not many rides in that park and three of them were down for all or part of the three hours. I'm sure it would have been so much better with all rides operating.

Thanks for sharing your adventures

Thanks for reading!

Love your TRs!

Why thank you!

Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

Yay! I try to write a chapter a day, if not more.

Absolutely love your trip reports and so thrilled a new one popped up. Love to see what adventures you sweet family is up to.

I'm purposely not reading it all tonite because my daughter (50) is having her second hip surgery tomorrow (last time she had massive pain in recovery for many hours which was very upsetting) and your trip report will help me get my mind off of things while waiting patiently. Well, not so patiently.

So thank you for posting. Appreciate it.

Awwww, thanks for the kind words!

I hope your daughter's surgery goes well and she recovers quickly!

Hello there!

I'm glad to hear that you had a great family trip to Walt Disney World and that it was a wonderful experience for your daughter to explore the parks for the first time. I'm excited to read your latest trip report and hear all about your adventures! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

It's great to have you here, thanks for the very kind words!

Can you tell me your experience with DAS? Most likely my mom (and myself sadly even tho I’m young-as my recent cast mates who are older than me said “you’re a spring chicken with issues but you’re still a spring chicken!”) are going to have to apply this year.

Not much to it really, you can apply in person in the parks or up to 30 days before your first park day. Once you enter the park, you can choose one DAS experience in the app, the wait time is almost exactly the same as the current stand-by time, once it's your time to ride, you go through the LL entrance. Once you are fully scanned in to that ride, you can make another one. It only helps if the person has a hard time being in the physical line. You still have to wait the same amount of time as everyone else, the benefit is that you can wait while sitting down or in A/C or in a quiet space, whatever you need. many people use it in conjunction with Genie+ but it's not a replacement for it like some people think.

One thing they need to add for those using DAS...just a freezing cold building with benches that you can wait in. I have found not AC is the same and many spots that are cooler does not have seating. Claire witnessed people being turned away from the Launch Pad since they mentioned to the CM that they were going in to cool off. The CM told them this was not the place for them and told them they couldn't come in.

Oh yes, that would be fabulous! I would even use it in Winter!

Really? Well, that sucks! We didn't go near Launch Bay this trip but normally that is a place I would go to cool down and get away from crowds/heat. I personally wouldn't say anything, I would just go in, there's things to see and do in there, why would they turn someone away? Weird!

Enjoying your report! So much so that I went back and am reading some of your previous ones. Looking forward to more!

Awesome! Well, I've written a few Enjoy

Zipper Lady is here and excited to read another Timon Trippie!! I can hardly believe that it's been since last September since I got to read one of your TR's! BTW....that was an awesome TR. Your travel buddies are total weirdo's though.

But, what I really can't believe is that some people don't like your song choices! For the record, I LOVE THEM ALL!!

I really need to check out those shoes you guys bought. I keep buying my $10 Walmart specials which I'm sure are not very good for your feet.

So far I'm loving the Food Porn. Those burgers at Wahlburgers looked awesome!!

On to read more....

It's been a minute, eh?

I can understand people not liking the music, I choose music that Kira and I both like, it's kind of a bonding thing with us because we do it together and most of it is top 40 so I get it but why would you take the time to comment about it? I'm not making you watch my videos! Like...at any time, you can turn them off or even mute them!

Yeah, those Walmart specials are not doing your feet any favours!

Those burgers are always good! But I had a much better one during the trip. More details to come.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

That is very helpful as my mom does have a hard time without being in relaxing areas especially with the ECV! Thank you! (We have only had experience with DLR and that is a whole different ball game)

 

[erinch]

Joining in! Love your report!

 

[footballmouse]

 

[Timon]

April 3rd, 2023 Part 1

I received an email last night from Disney saying they found our missing ride photos, yay!

Just in time for today, since our first ride on GOTG was one of those missing photos!

Here is our first SDD ride from the night before....

Looks like I blocked myself by taking video

We slept in a little since we went to bed so late and then once we were all ready for the day, Rob and I headed over to the main building.

I took this photo to note when the pool closed each night but I never did make it into the pool. That might be a first for me.

I did bring my swimsuit just in case but I knew this trip would be go-go-go and no time for swimming.

The reason we were here was to get Rob a resort mug. Not only does he need his coffee in the morning but he uses these every day for his coffee at home. Plus they had nice new purple ones.

We also looked for a chocolate croissant for him but they didn't have any. I had bought the fruit and I cleaned it and cut up the strawberries each morning for Rob and Kira. Kira usually doesn't eat until lunch but Rob doesn't do well without eating every few hours. In this heat and humidity and with all of the rides and walking, I could go all day without eating.

Here's the entrance to our stairway that we used every day. It was quite pretty at night.

We slathered on sunscreen, loaded up our cooler (more on that later) and then headed to Epcot.

Kira was freaking out a little about this sign and was watching very closely for alligators.

Rob and Kira are both always asking me if I saw this or saw that. Like a cool shirt on someone or someone's cute back pack, etc., but I never do because I don't look at people, I look at my surroundings, I look at the details of the park, the architecture, the colours, but mostly, I look at the treeeeeees.

And I love the ones at Epcot!

These little beauties are right in front of the security area and I bet most people don't even see them. I want to live in Florida, just for the trees and the rain! I just have to somehow win that lottery first.

Speaking of security, Rob ALWAYS got pulled over. He carries a lot of metal on him and he always gets checked. In fact, as he goes through the scanner, he just automatically goes over to where you get checked and it's so funny to watch the security guys, whose job it is to direct the people who set off the alarm, over to get checked. Before they can even tell him to head over, he's half-way there and most of them just laugh.

I got stopped a few times but then I started taking out my UV umbrella, thermos and battery pack and holding them out in front of me, that seemed to do the trick.

Kira and I don't like stopping for the Photopass pics, it's just too hot and too sunny to stand in line for that but she's pretty good at letting me snap some quick pics if I ask her.

I had gotten up at 7am to secure us a virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. I also purchased us ILL for it because it was our first time on it and I had a feeling that it was going to be our favourite.

We had just enough time to watch the Jammitors rock it out a bit and then our boarding group was called.

We were very excited! We LOVE everything Marvel, we've watched all of the films on opening day in the theatre and we love us some thrills.

The one perk that DAS offers, that I didn't mention earlier, is that you can convert your VQ into a Lightning Lane. You still need to get a VQ but once your number has been called, you head to a special place near the entrance, with your entire party, and they can convert it for you. They need to scan everyone's band a few times so your entire party does need to be there with you.

This really helped at GOTG and TRON since the line for the VQ, once scanned in, can still be a very long wait, sometimes an hour or two!

If it wasn't for this perk, I don't know that I would have been able to ride either of the VQ rides.

So, we scanned in at the LL entrance and headed in. The entrance here has the best A/C! I often lingered a few minutes at the entrance, it was so lovely!

There was a bit of a line still, I want to say about 20 minutes to get to the big room where they mix everyone in together.

I'm not going to go into detail about the ride, don't wish to spoil it for others.

If you request a certain seat, they send you to the end, out of the way, to wait for what you want. We requested front row for our first ride.

It was the BOMB!!! Instantly, it became our favourite ride at Disney World!

I was just slightly worried about the spin issues because many people report that they can't ride this due to the motion. In early 2021, I lost most of my hearing in my left ear and I had vertigo for four months. My whole world spun for four, very long months and while I don't have the vertigo anymore, I still feel slightly dizzy almost all of the time. There are times when I walk into walls or tip over when I am standing completely still.

I can still do rollercoasters and most thrill rides, but anything that spins is out for me. Thankfully, I had zero issues on this ride and I am so glad because it was so awesome!!

It was funny (there are so many good lines in this ride, you have to ride multiple times to catch them all!) at times, thrilling, smooth and just plain FUN!

There are 6 different songs that you can get, they are all random so you never know what you will get. This first time we got One Way or Another by Blondie, which worked really well with the ride.

The only thing that really didn't make sense to me was the way they designed the exit. They make you go up a huge set of stairs, walk a little and then go down another set of stairs. I'm sure it has something to do with the track and the layout but still. When the ride first opened, there were stories about people falling down these stairs and if you have issues with motion, I can see why now.

There are elevators for those who need it, so if you feel dizzy in the slightest, please use those elevators!

Our first ride. SO MUCH FUN!!!!!

The other thing I didn't mention about DAS is that if you pre-register online, you can pick two pre-selected rides for each park day (only your park reservation park) you have scheduled. These times are subject to availability and they are limited, so you can't choose any of the ILL rides, none of the VQ rides, none of the newer stuff, so no Frozen, no Remy, etc. And you are limited to your actual ride times you get assigned. So if you get Test Track 10am-11am, you have to arrive within that window. Unlike the DAS you get at the park, you can ride anytime after your call back time but if you don't ride it for three hours, you can't get another one until you use your DAS ride time, so you can't stack them like you can with Genie+. Many people don't use their pre-selected rides because often plans change or you might be at Remy when your TT ride time is called and it just doesn't work out. Today, our pre-selected rides were in the afternoon and close by so they worked for us. Our first one was for Test Track, so we hopped over there and rode that.

Always a fun time but Rob and I do miss the original.

Stay tuned to see what song we get for our second ride on GOTG.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What a great start to a report. You all look like a ton of fun and how wonderful that your 16 year old not only still wants to go to Disney but wants to hang with Mom and Dad. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[bcwife76]

No swimming?? I don't know if I've ever read one of your reports where there was NO swimming Though like you said go go go so....

Yay for GotG!!! I'm not a huge thrill ride lover but I really, really want to do this one!

 

[Kanga2Roo]

You look so excited in your GOTG ride photo...and I know why. It's soooo awesome! I remember reading that about people getting sick, but I get motion sick and I really don't think this one is bad at all. Now if I rode it over and over and over...then I might feel it. hahaha.
I still can't believe you never swam the whole trip. It's so not normal.

 

[dcassetta]

I'm glad you were able to ride GOTG. I wanted to love it, but unfortunately, it was a one and done for me.

 

[Timon]

April 3rd, 2023 Part 2

After Test Track, it was time for our ILL for GOTG.

This time we waited for the back row.

While we didn't ride it in any other train except the first or the last, my absolute favourite seat was the very front row. Because you can't see anyone in front of you, I felt completely immersed in the ride. The very back row was also great because it felt more intense but you can see everyone in front of you. So front row, fully involved in the story and the experience of it, felt like you're the only one there. Back row, more whippy but it felt like an actual ride rather than an experience. I also feel like you are more in the storyline in the front row with the dialogue that you hear and the whole timing of it.

I've heard that this ride was engineered perfectly for the middle row so I will test that out on my trip next week.

For science, of course.



We got Conga by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. It was probably my least favourite of the songs we got but still fun!

And just so you that we were dealing with temperatures that were trying to kill us.

And the "feels like" was even hotter!

It was now 2:30pm and Rob was really hungry so we decided to try out the Connections Eatery. We tried to do the mobile order but the order time was for 2 hours from now so Kira and I hopped in line while Rob went to find a table. It took him a very long time to find one and when he finally did, he said in the time that he sat down until the time we arrived, about a dozen people tried to either sit with him or steal his chairs.

Rob got the burger and a mango-coconut shake, Kira got the chicken strips and I got the crispy chicken sammy.

We all really enjoyed our meals but the atmosphere was something else. It was so loud because the Eatery and the Café is just one massive building with a very high ceiling and the chairs that they have in there are so loud when you move them in and out. They reminded me of the old Wolfgang Puck Express chairs at Disney Springs. And if you've ever eaten outside there, you will definitely know what I'm talking about.

Also, the tables are quite close together so we had to kind of squeeze in at the table and we often got bumped when people went by. It was just like eating in the Main Dining Rooms on the Disney ships.

But the worst part, by far, was the smell. At first I thought it was bad B.O. but then I realized it was actually cheese. Like old, stinky cheese. They sell a lot of pizza in there (and it looked quite delicious as they all passed by us). It wasn't horrible on that first visit but all of our subsequent walk-throughs (more on that later) were so bad that we nicknamed it the stinky cheese building.

I checked the wait times as we were eating, they were too long to get a DAS, as we had plans!

We had our second pre-selected ride at 3:30pm and it was Soarin'.

By the time we got over there, the standby time was at 85 minutes! It was longer by the time we got off the ride and the line was out past the entrance. I have never seen it that long. I didn't even know there were switchbacks right at the front entrance! People were getting full meals from Sunshine Seasons and sitting on the floor eating them while they were waiting. It was nuts!

We decided to check out Creations Shop before we left the park. Boy do I miss the old Mouse Gear! I used to never be able to leave that store without a couple hundred bucks less in my pocket! They always had awesome Epcot specific merch and I wanted it all!

I made a quick run through of the entire store but didn't see a single thing that really caught my eye. I'm not a big shopper though. Unless I am 100% in love with something, I don't buy it. And I usually sleep on it for a few days, when possible, if I do find something. Rob is the exact opposite of me, mostly in the Star Wars stores these days though, where he gets these googly eyes and acts as if we suddenly have a money tree growing in our back yard.

I'm sure many of you can relate.

Kira is mostly like me but she definitely had her moments this trip.

She's an amazing kid though and helps out a lot at home so she came home with a few things on her list.

We were still checking out Magic Band +'s but didn't find anything we loved. We did see a few new ones here that we hadn't seen before though.

And I am always quick to spot my favourite little fellow, Timon.

I did a quick run-through and then found a place to sit and fan myself. This is how Rob and Kira saw me most of the trip.

I seriously spent almost the entire time with this fan, set on high, in front of my face. It was the only way I got through this trip. And if you've read my previous trip reports, you might have noticed that I have since upgraded my fan.

This is the newest version and I am sooooooo in love with it! It has four speeds, instead of three, like my old ones and while it is a little bigger, it is so worth it! I had it on so often that I had to charge it at least once per day, sometimes twice! It was a freaking lifesaver! I had many jealous looks from other guests and I also got some weird looks but hey, I don't care. It was seriously the only way I could handle the heat and the humidity. Even with my fan, there were several times when I did overheat and felt awful.

I even brought one for Kira and she used it quite a bit too.

Rob wears pants and hoodies in this weather, so he was just fine.

Here's a link to the new one: BEST FAN EVER

Once Kira was all done perusing, we headed out of the park. Kira asked me if our picture was still in Epcot. I had found our new spot on a previous solo trip, so we headed over so Rob and Kira could see it.

So cool that Rob and I have been in Epcot since 1999.

I'm glad they found an awesome way to use them, they look great!

Back to the car we went. Remember I mentioned the cooler in the previous chapter? Well, I had the genius idea to bring our Platinum Castaway Club gift with us. We filled it with two large ziplocs of ice every morning and I put 4 or 5 cold waters in it and one Gatorade Zero (for Kira) and left it in the car so when we park hopped, we had ice cold drinks! I usually pounded down an entire water myself and then refilled our thermos bottles and Kira usually drank her GZ by the time we arrived to our next park. I also used the ziploc bags, that were still half-frozen, to cool my neck and head down.

This might be the best idea I've ever had.

Our next stop was DHS. Since it was Kira's first time at Galaxy's Edge, I had booked a time for her to build her own droid. She was super stoked about this!

Sadly, only one parent can go with the builder but I was able to position myself to watch (and document, of course!) most of it.

She picked her parts so fast, I had to hurry myself back over to take a pic. You can see me coming in the background.

Rob took some pics of her while she built her droid...

And I spotted something that I have been trying to buy Rob since 2020! The Batuuan Spira Credit Medallion!!!

It's a Disney gift card but also a cool collectible Star Wars coin/medallion. He's both a massive Star Wars fan and a big coin collector.

Back in February 2020, on my first trip to SWGE, I had checked every single day to see if they got their shipments in but they never did and I tried on my last trip here in 2022 but they were sold out so I was chuffed to see it here today! They used to be included when you added at least $100 to the card but now they are $5 each, plus the $100 minimum. The free ones used to be gold but these ones were silver. I didn't care, I knew Rob would love these, so I bought two.

Kira would be building a lightsaber later on anyway, so we were going to spent over $200 just on that sucker.

You can read more about it HERE.

Kira was THRILLED with her droid, whom she name Depot. I mean, SUPER thrilled! She was so happy she was dancing!

My poor kiddo has a lot of issues with anxiety and depression so seeing her this happy meant the WORLD to me!

I knew she would enjoy it but I had no idea that it was going to make her this happy!

Every time he moved or made a sound, she squealed with glee!

Since we knew she was going to build a droid, and the fact that these bags were now $60 freaking dollars ($80 CAD!! For a bag!!!) I made sure to pack Rob's bag from his droid building experience in 2020.

They got a lot of comments by CM's about the bag since the new ones are a little different and grey in colour.

Depot made sounds and moved his head at certain places around the park but he was especially active in Galaxy's Edge.

Stay tuned for Kira's lightsaber building, errrr scrap metal experience!