Characters vs. Pin Traders: It's Heated War! A Pixie-Dusted Nerdventure (COMPLETE)

[BibbitybobityLu]

Okay I just finished reading your whole TR so far! I love it! You are so funny! And I love all your references! Sounds like you had such a super awesome trip!

 

[marDgreen88]

Once again I'm making myself look super lame because I've never seen E.T.! Ashamed, once again. Glad you enjoyed the ride though!

That whole locker thing seems like it must be pretty obnoxious. I mean one of the theme parks near me has lockers too, but I've gotten so used to just taking my stuff with me at Disney. It's so much easier!

Wait, wait... so they have Harry Potter in both Universal parks now?

 

[PlutosRHM55]

How did I manage to miss these many updates???

Seuss landing is so cute!!! HOW???

I'm so sorry Popeye left you soaking wet. That stinks when you don't want to get wet

Idk, how did you?

It is!! Not as cute as the lands of Disney though.

Yeah, but it was my fault we decided to ride that of the three water rides. Next time I'll know better.

Superhero island looks freaking awesome, man.

omg I have so many flashbacks from your Minion Mayhem photos. Basically when my family rode Despicable Me, we got off the ride and Grace (little sis) wanted a minion and there were a bunch of other people buying minions and the woman at the cashier gave each minion a name and gave all of the kids instructions on how to care for them it was great. AND THEN we took a photo with Vektor and the blonde girl with the pink hat (Edith?), and it turns out that the following September I was in a show with the voice actor for Edith(?). Crazy times man.

It is! It's like walking through a comic book.

Haha, that's awesome! We have quite the interesting story about our Minion Mayhem experience too. Wish I had bitten the bullet and bought a minion like your sister, but whatevs.

Aww, it looks like ET had somewhat of a sentimental value to you and I'm so glad you had a good time!!!

I'm a Simpsons fan and honestly I don't like the section of the park. Once you get past the great theming, it's so cheesy and carnival-like. You were right to stroll on past it

Sorry about the Men in Black single rider line... that's always gross, being in a tight space when it's so hot outside.

OH MY GOSH SUSPENSE!!!! Can't wait!!!

I've loved E.T. FOREVER! One of my childhood faves. I used to have an ET doll, but he's disappeared. Sadness. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped about riding it!

Yeah, it wasn't a pleasurable experience. Props to Universal for all the single rider options, but they need to figure out a better way to fit the line in with standby.

Hehehe, I'll be updating... soon.

Okay I just finished reading your whole TR so far! I love it! You are so funny! And I love all your references! Sounds like you had such a super awesome trip!

Haha, thank you and ! Glad you're enjoying it so far! It truly was a wonderful trip.

Once again I'm making myself look super lame because I've never seen E.T.! Ashamed, once again. Glad you enjoyed the ride though!

GUURRRRLLLL, YOU NEED TO GET ON THAT! E.T.... IT'S EVERYTHING! My favorite Spielberg film and one of my all-time faves.

That whole locker thing seems like it must be pretty obnoxious. I mean one of the theme parks near me has lockers too, but I've gotten so used to just taking my stuff with me at Disney. It's so much easier!

Yeah, there's a Six Flags my family goes to a lot and they have quite a messy locker system. Luckily I haven't used it since I don't do the Six Flags coasters, but I think Universal just took that and made it widespread since they don't offer compartments to hold things on the rides. It really stinks.

Wait, wait... so they have Harry Potter in both Universal parks now?

Yup, Hogsmeade is in IoA and Diagon Alley is in the other. The Hogwarts Express is what travels between them.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Hello peoples!

Before I get into finishing up our Universal day, I just wanted to draw attention to a new little flick that was just released into theaters. Maybe you've heard of it?

INSIDE OUT!

Inside Out came out last Friday. I got to see it the night before with a friend... then again with my mom and sister a day or two later... then again two days ago with the same friend and another friend at the drive-in! Oh and I Disneybounded as a different emotion each time. Yup, I'm obsessed. I love Inside Out. I love Lava (*ahem* I lava LAVA!!!!). They are perfect. If you haven't seen them yet, get on that now. And if this hasn't convinced you. Watch my latest vlog of the first time I got to see it:

I also want to add that this week marks one year since this trip happened. Yeah, this TR has taken THAT LONG. So chances are I'm going to be doing double update weeks soon. Possibly next week, possibly later. Just be prepared for this being the last week it will be a single update week.

Yup, go see Inside Out ASAP and be prepared for mad TR update attacks! Before you do either, read this update. Got it? Okay, bye. Love ya!

The Legitimacy of Minion Mayhem Part I
June 27th, 2014

The sight of people going into Diagon Alley looked very probable so I decided to go ahead and investigate.


Hello Number 12 Grimmauld Place!





I had to get a photo of myself with the Knight Bus and I knew Nate wasn't always down with the selfies so I asked him to snap this one for me:



Needless to say, both of us were pretty happy with that arrangement.

We got all the way across the facade right by King's Cross where the Hogwarts Express picks up and drops off now and the entrance to the actual Diagon Alley is right nearby. There was a crowd right outside and many Team Members milling about, but I mistook this crowd for a group of people getting to go through the gates. Alas, there was no soft opening and no Diagon Alley for anyone. *sad sigh*

After that bit of sad news, I turned around to find this...



You know, a sad reminder of what once was Diagon Alley. RIP Jaws.

We continued on along this side of the Universal Studios lagoon, trying to figure out what our next adventure would be.

Would it be this?



Nope

Or this?





Eh, not quite.

Maybe this?



Yeah, not the way the wind is blowing me.

This?



Nopity nopity nope!

It was already getting close to the time we scheduled for our bus to come get us so whatever ride we chose it would be our last and as we continued along, what did we happen upon?



MINION MAYHEM

A big yes right there. The wait said around 55 minutes, which was pushing it, but we hopped in line anyways. Nate hadn't done this one either (I don't think it was opened last time he was there). We also kind of expected the wait to not be too long as seemed to be the trend with the excessively long waits so far. Also, we had minion movies to watch while waiting!



As we travelled down the line, we noticed something peculiar going on at the far end. Not peculiar in a bad way, but peculiar. When we got close, we noticed that this was going down...



There was a vendor guy. Selling food. In the Minion Mayhem line.

Okay.

It was weird and as enticing as it was, it felt strange. Also, the logical part of my mind said this was a really bad idea to partake in this. It seemed like it would hold up the line. Really, think about it.

At the time, this was the least of our worries. Things were starting to look bleak right now for Timmy and Nate. First, the weather was looking really really dreary. It had been off and on, but when we hopped in line it looked full on awful. Finally, the skies opened up and we found ourselves in a nice Florida rainstorm. Mr. Popcorn Cart guy disappeared by now so I guess it was good timing since we didn't even have to deal with the added temptation of buying food when we got close to him. The storm was pretty violent and at the pace we were moving in the line, I was afraid that we'd have to book it through the storm to get to the exit of the park. Yeah, so this 55 minute wait ended up being what would be our longest wait yet. The line moved ever so slowly and we were stuck behind the two worst possible parties. The party in front of us looked like a duo family trip led by the mothers who were camera happy to the point they had very little respect for those in line, especially those who were a bit anxious and just were taking pictures of everything with their kids. It was obnoxious and not what I needed. Then, behind us we had this big family with two young mothers and many MANY toddlers, one of which kept on running into me for a good part of the wait. I'm a very laidback person so I let it go. At one point though, the kid ended up coming at me right as I was adjusting my leaning position against the rail and I bonked him right on the head. It was the first time I turned around. I apologized, but the mother was more apologetic saying it wasn't my fault. Then, that all ended but the kids were still really rambunctious. All this compiled with the raging thunderstorm overhead and the impending missing of a bus, I was the last person you'd want to screw with. Nate did call Mears while we were in line and they said we could show up at the next time after this bus arrived, just give them our little receipt and names and it'd be no problem, which alleviated a bit of my anxiety. Also, the sky started to lighten up and I finally took a page out of obnoxious family in front of us's book and got my iPhone out to take some photos of the cute queue details.







I mean, I'm pretty down for that.









We finally made it out of the outdoor queue area into the indoor queue, which was themed to Gru's mansion. I got REALLY photo happy here.








Dat booty had me like




I like to call this one Dr. Nefario in his Sunday finest.


"He looks like a girl." "Yes *chortles* An ugly girl." "Mom... Not. Cool."



I got my minion goggles and decided to try and werk those for a moment.



Then, we were let into the Pre-show area. I was surprised by how long we ended up being held up in the indoor queue, but we did finally get to the inner sanctum of the attraction so I think that's worth our wait alone. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed when you were let into the pre-show area so no photos of Gru's mansion any further. I can recap.

This attraction was so perfectly in tune with its film, it was the first time I really felt like I was entering into that world. It was cute, zany, wild and fun. Oh and there were minions! Well, we were minions. Lots and lots of minions. I LOVED IT! However, I would never wait in the wait we did again. It's not incredible or groundbreaking like Forbidden Journey or Spiderman. It's just you're generic 3D adventure boosted by a hit film franchise. I would ride it again, but if it were 50 minutes, I'd sit it out. Your time would be better spent buying up as many minion plushies as possible (or deciding whether or not to). At least, for me.

When we got out of Gru's Mansion, the rain had really subsided. It left quite the remnants, but that was easily traversable. We noticed that we actually could make the bus if we moved really fast, but since we knew there would be one a little bit after we thought we'd stick around for as long as we could. I wasn't really interested on going on any more rides as was Nate. I suggested browsing through the shops (#souvenirjunkie), which was usually how it went. Nate was really pushing for that arcade and I didn't have any reason not to so I was down for it.

Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

The Legitimacy of Minion Mayhem Part II
June 27th, 2014

We found an arcade a little bit further down from Minion Mayhem. Nate was immediately smitten with Dance Dance Revolution and wanted to play. Unfortunately, the machine ate his money up and it wasn't working. He was not having that and asked around for help. Eventually, they directed us to a door in an alleyway quite the ways from the arcade where some maintenance guys could fix it for us. Nate was determined and I tagged along. It actually ended up being a good choice since I saw behind the alleyway the Hogwarts Express going by on a test run. Oh how I longed to be on that train! I'd probably be stealing a flying Ford Anglia right then if I wasn't feeling so pooped out.

A guy came out and he helped us out with the DDR situation. Everything fixed, Nate tried to convince me to play some DDR with him after he got some extra coins out of the whole thing with the maintenance guy. I was really hoping to rest a bit rather than get my cardio on with DDR, I did oblige eventually. I played one game with him, whereas the coins I put in entailed more than one. I wasn't feeling that and kinda jumped out on the second game.

Nate was really put off by this. Like REALLY put off. He full on snapped over the fact that I was just so adamant about not being in an arcade. It was scary the way he got upset over this. I mean, yeah, I might've been not really the best friend in going along with what he wanted to do when he didn't exactly want to do what I wanted to do, but at this point, I was not going to be the game partner he wanted. I could however be the awesome paparazzi he didn't want.





Heh heh

Once Nate had gotten his DDR needs out of his system, we decided to go around the arcade and use up the rest of the coins. Nate gave me a bunch and I thought I had to make it up to him now after that little incident. We played some air hockey and I immediately got in the zone. As much as it seems like I'm not a gamer type, if you catch me in the mood, I am IN. THE. MOOD. And this switch went off and I ended up flying through the coins playing on various types of games and a significant amount of my last few coins went into the crane game. Almost won myself some minion merch as did Nate. It became quite the strategized two person tournament that ended in us both no longer having any more arcade coins.

After that, we decided it was time to head out. I considered stopping at one of the souvenir shops to buy a minion for myself and my sister, but I knew tonight would be spent at DTD so I thought against it knowing how much every penny would count once I set foot there. So we left.

I took a few more photos on our way out.







And thus concluded our adventures for park number two that day. We then went off and found some spots for the classic touristy photos of Universal.

First, the Universal globe!



Quite the classically trained photobomber crew back there.

Next, the Universal Studios courtyard!







That ECV photobomber though.

And it was finally time to say goodbye to the two parks. Hope I'll be seeing y'all again in the near future!



We checked the time and our bus still wasn't to arrive for a little bit so we took our time to check out CityWalk. We were starting to get a little bit hungry so we'd thought we'd find a quick place to eat too. First, Nate wanted to go to this watch retail shop because that's where classy children like him shop. I'm not a watch person so it wasn't my speed, but I tagged along. I'm not one to turn down a little window shopping. In the store, Nate ended up turning the sales associate who came up to us to me who really was just there for Nate's sake. I kinda told him I was just admiring them and I'm not really a watch person. Not exactly the right thing to say, but I rather be honest than be dragged around the store by a sales associate talking about something I would never buy (every watch I've owned in my life lasted on my wrist for a day and would end up in some crevice in my house the next). Nate however had some interest and I followed him around before we left. Nate got on me about scoffing off the sales associate. He's not a fan of my "this is how it is" treatment of social interaction.

We checked around for a place to get a quick bite and realized there really wasn't such a place. Everything was sit down or packed to capacity. I guess everyone had the same idea we had except we said we could hold off. We stopped in Billabong just to check it out. If I wasn't so bent on buying souvenirs, I'd probably have bought some stuff there. Also, I was a little too obsessed with a cute sales associate who went by the name Lil' Jon. It was too hysterical and for someone who seemed a bit too surfer for a raunchy rapper's name, I was obsessed. I lost Nate and went to find him to point Lil' Jon out to him before leaving.

We checked out the upper level of CityWalk to see if there were any food places up there. I also wanted to take a seat for a moment and ended up sitting on a wet bench. Nice! I guess the rainstorm totally did not happen. All the food places didn’t pique our interest so we headed back out on the main track to getting out of Universal and to the busses.

We then really headed out this time and were pretty sure there'd be no stops until we passed Bubba Gump. The place itself was packed so we weren't stopping for food, but one of the workers had brought out some jump ropes and was trying to get people to double dutch. Double dutch is pretty dang hard if you don't know so everyone was a bit hesitant. I have done it before and was pretty decent at it, but with what I was carrying I wasn't sure if I was in the mood to possibly embarrass myself. Many little kids found the courage to try and fail, but it was cute so it was fine. And guess who eventually summed up the guts and found his footing enough to try it?





He actually did pretty well and was the only person up until that point to actually double dutch properly for a moment. Of course, it takes a lot to keep a rhythm and he eventually stopped. We stuck around since I was still debating whether I wanted to give it a shot when a woman, a mom, went in and was really rocking that double dutch. She didn't last long and after her, a ton of little kids showed up and they started to be a bit more kid friendly. It was really fun to watch and signified the perfect end to a great Universal day.

As we headed out across the moving sidewalks, I decided to take the opportunity of not having to walk to take a "leaving Universal" video for your viewing pleasure:

After I finished filming, I caught up with Nate who had already walked his way down when our friend Rishi called. He was calling to see how our trip was going. He also was wondering about if we found anything he had asked us to find for him. It was a noisy area and I was trying to keep up with Nate so I wouldn't lose him so it was quite the balancing act. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I had a little mis-step and at the bottom of the staircase I oh-so-carefully walked down, I landed on my foot funny on the last step and my knee went completely out of whack. I guess Universal had not taken kindly to the fact that I was heading back to my true allegiance. I handed the phone over to Nate so I could try and walk it off. I have collapsed arches (flat feet) and I used to run long distance cross country for years so I'm used to when something in my ankles or knees goes awry. Unfortunately, walking it off, the usual answer to the problem, wasn't working for my knee. I tried my best to hide my limp, but it was painful to say the least. I'd be on a bus soon so hopefully sitting down would help. We saw the best way down at the end of the bus stops and went there since we were never given an exact stop. I tried not to let Nate in on how much pain I was in and tried my best to keep up with him. We made it to the stop and tried to get on the bus when the driver told us the stop was actually in another location and he was waiting there until the scheduled time he was supposed to pick us up. We turned around and headed off that way with another group behind us who noticed that we had changed directions after conversing with the driver.

We waited around at that stop for a few minutes as a crowd started to build and eventually the bus came around. We got on with no problems as did most groups behind us until this one big group was having issues. There was room for them on the bus, but they apparently weren't listed to be picked up. It resulted in this long struggle to see if the driver could let them on. The leader of the group eventually got her way and we had a packed bus ready to head back to my true home, hopefully fully healed by the time we arrived.

Continued Here​

 

[cindianne320]

OUCH! What a way to end your day. You missed my favorite Universal ride- Mummy! My DH also dragged me on Rip Ride Rockit- not my fave, but ok. I will have to bring the kiddos to Minions someday- one of the only Universal rides I've never done!

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

I just wanted to draw attention to a new little flick that was just released into theaters. Maybe you've heard of it?

INSIDE OUT!

Arrrrrr! It doesn't come out until the end of July over here! Darn you UK!! Hey, how about you go and see it again for me?

MINION MAYHEM

MINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was a vendor guy. Selling food. In the Minion Mayhem line.

Okay.

That is so random! Like yep the queue really is that long....

I was really hoping to rest a bit rather than get my cardio on with DDR

 

[marDgreen88]

The Minion ride sounds pretty cute! The Gru's mansion part of the queue looks awesome but the outdoor part seems like they're trying to get you to join a cult. 'Become a minion.' 'Join us.'

Hahaha I am with you on the gaming thing. Tbh I've never played an actual video game but when I go to like Dave and Busters I HAVE TO WINNNNN. Also might explain my obsession with Toy Story Mania.

Ouch! So sorry about your knee injury. I hope it didn't affect the rest of the trip!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

OUCH! What a way to end your day. You missed my favorite Universal ride- Mummy! My DH also dragged me on Rip Ride Rockit- not my fave, but ok. I will have to bring the kiddos to Minions someday- one of the only Universal rides I've never done!

Yeah, I guess that's what I get for leaving Disney and going to Universal for a day lol And I was iffy on riding the Mummy, not sure if I'd be ready for it, but I definitely want to ride it for next time. Rip Ride Rock It... someone would have to make a REALLY good case for me to ride that lol You totally need to bring the kiddos for the Minion ride, it's adorable! The perfect 3D experience for the youngins.

Arrrrrr! It doesn't come out until the end of July over here! Darn you UK!! Hey, how about you go and see it again for me?

I seriously have NO problem with that haha

MINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is so random! Like yep the queue really is that long....

Mhm, never going through that again. Ever.

Basically. #FatAmyisQueen5ever

The Minion ride sounds pretty cute! The Gru's mansion part of the queue looks awesome but the outdoor part seems like they're trying to get you to join a cult. 'Become a minion.' 'Join us.'

It is! Yeah, I realized how cult-ish the posters sound after I posted it, but if there is a minion cult, I'm totally down for joining it lol

Hahaha I am with you on the gaming thing. Tbh I've never played an actual video game but when I go to like Dave and Busters I HAVE TO WINNNNN. Also might explain my obsession with Toy Story Mania.

Wow, how have you not played a video game? That's a first, but props to you. They literally took over my life at one point. Stick to TSM, much better than any video game and a lot harder to get addicted to.

Ouch! So sorry about your knee injury. I hope it didn't affect the rest of the trip!

Luckily we had one more day so it didn't affect it as badly as you'd think and I was NOT going to let one screwed up knee ruin my last day in my happy place. Nuh-uh.

 

[Newsies]

Aww, so sorry it wasn't a soft opening

MINION MAYHEM!!! One of my favs!!!

You ever been to Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ? They sell food in every. single. line. Usually people just walk right on by those who choose to buy food, though.

I hope you return to US/IoA soon!

OUCH!!! Sorry about your knee, I hate when that happens

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Aww, so sorry it wasn't a soft opening

It's all right. More reason to go back!

MINION MAYHEM!!! One of my favs!!!

It's the CUTEST.

You ever been to Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ? They sell food in every. single. line. Usually people just walk right on by those who choose to buy food, though.

No, I have a Six Flags two hours away so we go there a lot, but they don't have that. Wow. I feel like I really should utilize the in-line food carts now lol

I hope you return to US/IoA soon!

Me too. *crossing fingers*

OUCH!!! Sorry about your knee, I hate when that happens

It was not a pleasant feeling and took forever to "mend" itself. :/

 

[PlutosRHM55]

First update in a country where I can legally marry! WOOHOO! Now, just to find the husband. #lovewins

My TimeHop has told me today that it was one year ago I started this Trip Report and I think it's about time to finish it up so I'll be doing two updates a week. Thursday will continue to be my usual update day with either Sunday or Monday being the second update. We're almost finished with my last full day and then we'll get right into departure day. Get ready for an explosion of magic and this next update!

From A Universal to Magical Interlude
June 27th, 2014

The bus ride was nice, not just because I was able to rest my leg, but because we were watching this:



Love me some Mulan and Little Brother shenanigans!

The movie took us basically the entire way back, right up until we saw this beauty from afar:



Then, this one:



*sigh* I'm home.

The bus stopped where it did when it picked us up. I got up to get off and immediately the pain came right back. I guess it was going to take a bit more than a bus ride to get rid of this pain. We weren't going to go straight to DTD so I guess I could use that time to relax in my room and heal a bit. Nate already had the same idea considering how non-stop our day had gone albeit still not over. We went straight back (read: under the sea) to Atlantica.



On our way there, we noticed a lovely little sight in the sky...









Say it with me now: "DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY!"

Of course, I was thus distracted by another incredible sight.



This muggle/human stuff. FASCINATING.

I told Nate that I really needed to rest my leg and subsequently charge my camera so I could get some better night time shots than my iPhone would be able to capture. Although Nate said he was hungry, he said we could hold off and he'd head down to check out what our options could be at DTD. While he left for Animation Hall, I propped my knee up with my Pluto pillow pet and turned on some Stacy.

Nate came back not too long after with the DTD guide for us to look at. I had already thought about where we could go and I mentioned Earl of Sandwich as our dinner destination since I heard so many good things about it and never had stopped there before. I also pointed out some others. Nate however was curious to see what Erica, our amazing concierge who helped us last night with the predicament we had for this day, had to say. We rested for another half hour or so and then left. My leg was still not entirely well, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from a night at DTD. Off we went!

When we got to Animation Hall, we quickly found Erica and let her know that everything had gone swimmingly. She seemed very happy about that. We then asked if she had any recommendations for places to eat at DTD. She immediately told us to check out Earl of Sandwich, making our decision for where our dinner would be all that much easier. We thanked her and headed out to the bus... excuse me, motor coach.

We found the DTD stop without trouble. It said on the sign however after a certain time we'd have to take the EPCOT bus to get to DTD. That time was many hours ago so we maneuvered our way over to the EPCOT bus and waited...

A British couple came by soon after us trying to find the DTD stop. We tried to help and they waited with us for a bit. Eventually, the wait became quite the wait and the British couple decided to try and hail a cab. They offered to bring us along, which normally I would say no thank you to, but Nate seemed okay so I went along... right as the DTD bus showed up. We booked it across the front of AoA and caught the bus... erm, motor coach. Yay!

Soon, we were off on another adventure to Downtown Disney. My wallet still cries over this.

Continued Here​

 

[Newsies]

Aww yeah, MULAN!!!

Seems like a pretty chill evening so far, despite your leg. Laying in bed with some TV isn't half-bad when you've had such an adventurous day!

What a sweet couple!

.... Should I be eager to know why your wallet still cries over Downtown Disney?

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Aww yeah, MULAN!!!

Seems like a pretty chill evening so far, despite your leg. Laying in bed with some TV isn't half-bad when you've had such an adventurous day!

What a sweet couple!

.... Should I be eager to know why your wallet still cries over Downtown Disney?

Yeah, it was nice having that break before getting in our DTD fix and I think you know why my wallet still cries over DTD hehe

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Just wanted to say I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July!

An Empirical Essay On The Disney Shopaholic Downtown Disney Stupor Part I
June 27th, 2014

It was a fairly uneventful motor coach ride until we noticed Spaceship Earth starting to peek above the tree line with something else behind it...



IllumiNations was happening! And we could see it. It was amazing how close we were to EPCOT at AoA. I definitely wished I had gotten more footage of when we could see it from our room. That'll be something to remedy on my next visit.

Anyways, we were finally coming upon DTD. The British couple asked us where they had to go to get to the main Downtown Disney area. The motor coaches are pretty separate from the entrance to DTD so we let them know. Then, right as we got off the motor coach they went in the opposite direction. Weird. Glad we didn't end up sharing a car with them.

Yay! We had arrived! And I was so excited to finally have a shameless night of shopping, the first decent photo I got wasn't until the 12 days of Christmas shop.



I am certifiable.

12 Days of Christmas was always my last stop on the way out and we had some hungry tummies to feed so deeper Nate and I ventured into DTD. Nate pin trading a little along the way.



And we ended up at the pin trading store, halting our EoS venture for a pin trading venture. Yes, I succumbed.









I mostly browsed. Nate traded. I was sorta hoping that pin wall would be open, but 'twas not to be. No pin buying after the first stop at the pin trading store. We'll see if that changes later in the night.

First, we have to get our food! Off to Earl of Sandwich!

Earl of Sandwich was relatively uncrowded. There was still a line, but it wasn't bad. Ordering did however take a little bit longer than expected. The CM running the register was still earning her ears and was definitely a bit frazzled. Luckily, another CM helped her and Nate and I had ordered and paid for our sandwiches. The wait to get our sandwiches wasn't long either, at least for me so while Nate waited I went off in search of a table.

The place itself was fairly packed so I was nervous we'd end up having to stand or walk outside to search around for a table. Luckily, a group of people got up right as I walked by their table so I snatched that right up and sat down. I waited until Nate got to the table to eat even though the anticipation was killing me. Finally, Nate arrived with his sandwich (for which I do not have a picture or recollection of what type of sandwich it was so it is thus irrelevant) and we ate.

Wait, what? You say I must tell you what sandwich I got. And I haven't yet? Well, I must fix that.

I got the...



...Original sandwich!



So tasty! I long for one every time I see a photo. I ate it up so quickly afterwards too. Still amazes me. Disney... it just does things to me. Not to mention the Dr. Pepper helped a lot. Nate also said he really liked what he got and we both felt sufficiently satisfied after especially since we also got some chips and the like with it. We sat for a moment to fully digest the deliciousness then we got up and headed back out to kickstart the insanity that would be me shopping in Disney.


Thank you EoS for a lovely meal! You far exceeded mine and Nate's expectations.


Where to go next?

Continued Here​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

An Empirical Essay On The Disney Shopaholic Downtown Disney Stupor Part II
June 27th, 2014



Here?



Later.

Maybe here?



I don't think Nate would've been down for that, even if I begged.

How about this place? It only opened like a month or so ago.



I'm sure you can tell how excited I was about going here through the fuzziness of the photo. There was no way for Nate to dissuade me from the Marketplace Co-Op.



I swear that's my photo, not the advert one they've been using forever. Yeah, I know. I'm a pro photographer.

We checked out every store in Marketplace Co-Op and I literally wanted to buy everything in each one even if a purse is not exactly my accessory of choice or make-up my... anything of choice, these were all so on-point and then the emphasis on the vintage. Literally, Marketplace Co-Op was Disney's answer to my merch prayers. We spent a particularly large amount of time in D-Tech. I originally wanted to get a personalized phone case and tried to hold off. Unfortunately, the beautiful Haunted Mansion wallpaper case ruined those plans (in the best possible way (even if now I can't use it because I got an iPhone 6)) so I was left to browse. Nate however found a little station and started playing around with some possible backgrounds. I'm sad I can't return to DTD right now to go make one for my iPhone 6 because... these cases...



How in the world does Disney expect us to just choose ONE of these?!?!?! UGGGGHHHHHH #thirdwaltdisneyworldproblems

Eventually we got out of there not finding anything truly worth spending money on and headed towards World of Disney where I surely would go broke in a matter of milliseconds.



I barreled full speed ahead into WoD, narrowly missing Stitch's spit and ran right into these freakies aka the supporting cast of Poltergeist, the most terrifying movie ever.



Did y'all know these moved and made noise? I for sure didn't. If you didn't, you have been saved.I don't know why I didn't know. They'd always been there just not trying to kidnap me and drag me through a TV into some weird spirit world. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but these genuinely terrified me for a moment. Moving on...

Time to shop around!








Looks like Genie's vacation for freedom brought him to Disney. He knows where it's at.





I promise you I was shopping.

I ended up buying my 2014 t-shirt year to ensure that along with my pin from the year I was at Disney I had the t-shirt to match. I was nervous I didn't have enough money since it was rather expensive, but I texted my mom and she give me the a-ok and we sadly had to leave WoD. TTFN MY LOVE!



Nate pulled me out of WoD in my lack-of-need-but-dire-need-to-shop-and-buy-up-the-entire-Disney-merchandise-enterprise stupor right across the way to the Lego Store. I knew I wouldn't buy anything, but hey that's what a stupor is for. Note I was barely aware of how much my knee still hurt at this point.



We were a bit shocked when we saw this looking around the store.



Umm Disney, isn't that movie a major competitor for you? Disney, you drunk, go home.

Nate joked about getting the set because he finds that stuff hysterical (seriously, someone could do the funniest thing ever as scientifically proven and he'd still think him joking about buying a big lego set would be funnier) and then we left. Not without of course taking some pics of the Disney themed Lego sculptures outside and the necessary Brickly photo.


"Now you shall deal with me, your prince, and all the powers of hell!"

Hiya Brickly!







The volcano going off totally diverted our attention for a moment and I had to get some shots of the DTD lagoon.





Why is everything in Disney so much prettier at night? It's unfair!

We checked our times guide and realized that DTD closed at like 10 or 11, one of which was nearing so we started to slowly make our way out.

First stop on our exit from DTD, Ghirardelli!





Necessary.

We also got some music courtesy of the DTD DJ who was playing on the stage where Nate and I performed with our high school chorus three years and some unimportant number of months earlier. I remember this guy from the last time we were there and got a quick video of his take on "Let It Go", which was not completely detestable and obnoxious at the time:

Anyways...

Second stop was to Guest Services, which we got to through the Marketplace Co-Op. Nate heard they had a pin board so he had to check it out before we left. When we got there, we found that there really wasn't much on their pin board and left without trading. We then went back to pin traders to try to see if there were any good trades there now (and if the pin wall was finally open for us late nighters).



We traded with basically every Cast Member in the store and one of us bought a pin in the end. I also checked out the Hidden Mickey Pin Sets display case to see how I was doing with my Pluto set. I was and still am two short of the entire week. Hopefully I'll still be able to complete it when I return.



I saw the Lady and the Tramp topiaries as we headed out of the Pin Traders store and forced my camera into Nate's hand for a quick photo.



Done.

And we continued on, making the usual quick stops at Art of Disney and Design A Tee (and the 12 Days of Christmas Store for good measure), torturing myself. I literally need both those stores in my future house. Especially Art of Disney. I swear one day Thomas Kinkade is going to break me.





In light of the fact they don't like you taking photos in Art of Disney, here is a photo of me trying to capture the magical essence of the pixie lights hidden in the DTD trees.



Ooo Aaah We Out!

Goodbye Downtown Disney! Thanks for a wonderful final evening!



The motor coach stop area was already starting to get crazy even if DTD wasn't officially closed yet. We also had some difficulty finding where the AoA stop was, but we eventually found it... with a line... which meant I had to stand... GAH!





I think the pain of standing on the motor coach and no longer being in that Disney shopaholic stupor made me numb to the fact that this was our last night. Normally, these last motorcoach rides are where I start falling into that Pre-Post Disney Depression zone, but tonight I wasn't because I was more concerned with the fact on how my leg would affect our last day on top of the other stresses of the last day, which included packing, getting up early enough to enjoy one last park, etc. It was very different from what most of my last nights have been. Not that that was a bad thing, I just wish I could've had a longer moment of reflection before our last day.

We arrived back at AoA and I hobbled back to our room from the bus. I believe my gait might've looked something like this.



Just throw in some 'ASANTE SANA SQUASH BANANA' and I probably would've been the living embodiment of Rafiki.

When we got to the room, Nate immediately started getting ready for bed while I was fully prepared to stay up. I got into my pajamas while Nate showered, turned on Stacey and started packing. The depressed feeling of having to leave my favorite place on Earth was finally setting in. Nate went out the minute his head hit the pillow. I struggled to stay awake as I got most of my packing done. My last ounce of energy went towards what probably was very lackluster toothbrushing and setting up the wake-up call. I made sure everything was organized one last time, all electronics plugged in and clothing that should be packed away packed away, before watching a few more seconds of Stacey then finally conking out, dreaming of the amazing last hours I would have tomorrow.

Continued Here​

 

[Newsies]

That's an AWESOME night at DTD! Great food and tons of great pics of great stores... it's all great!

 

[Starlynne]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[cindianne320]

Yum! I definitely need to try Earl of Sandwich in the near future!

I love DTD at night! Glad you had fun shopping, but BOO to it being your last night!

 

[marDgreen88]

Mmmmm nothing like a good night at DTD shopping! AND of course EoS! Yummmm.

Don't you hate it when you've been having such a good time and suddenly you realize oh. I'm leaving. WORST.