Close Encounters of the SQUIRREL! Kind. A Farewell to Wishes Solo Trip Mar 2017 - 10/25 New PTR!

[Pluto0809]

Hello all and welcome to my, hmmmmm, I have no idea how many TRs I’ve written. They are all in my signature if you would like to count. This is actually going to be the third current TR I’m writing! I also have a December 2016 WDW TR and a February 2017 DL TR going, links in my signature. I’m going to try to keep up with all three but it’s going to be interesting.

I’m going to be lazy again and copy most of the personal information from my Disneyland TR. If you’ve read some of my past TRs you can probably skip down past the doggie pictures to where I’m going to talk about how this trip came about.

My name is Ariana, I’m in my early forties and live outside of Atlanta GA with my husband, Jim.



We don’t have any kids but we do have five dogs. Yep, you read that right, we are a little nuts about our fur babies. Here’s some pictures for your enjoyment.

Eddie is a schnauzer and our oldest at 15. I’m honestly not sure how much longer he will be around. He’s been having more and more trouble getting around and he’s been pottying in the house a lot. He also lost both of his eyes to glaucoma and is almost completely deaf. But he’s been my baby since we brought him home at 8 weeks so I just keep cleaning up after him.



Alex is next, he’s a ten year old Schnauzer mix and pretty much my baby too. We adopted him from the local animal shelter where I volunteer.



Sierra is almost 7 years old and is a Schnauzer. She’s definitely a daddy’s girl.



Remy came to us from the shelter at age 4. We were supposed to be fostering him but he never went back. He’s now 7 and spoiled rotten like all of the rest.



Last but not least is our newest baby, Ellie. She came in as a stray to the shelter and looks so much like Alex that we couldn’t pass her up. She is 9 months old and also a Schnauzer mix. If you can’t tell, we love Schnauzers with a side of Yorkie thrown in.



Jim was actually not involved in this trip. He does enjoy going to WDW and had become more of a fan as I drag him again and again. We will be going back in January 2018 where I will be running the 5K during Marathon weekend.

This trip was a solo one and was all about seeing Wishes a few more times before they change the show. I’m not all that thrilled with the move away from lots of fireworks to projections and lasers so I’m not sure what I will think of the new show. When I read that Wishes would be replaced in May I was so sad. I immediately started thinking about a quick weekend trip to see the show again. March was really the only time I could go with my work schedule so despite knowing it would be crowded with spring breakers, I went ahead and booked. Here’s the details.

Dates: Friday, March 17th – Monday March 20th.

Resort: All Star Music. This was my third solo stay at ASMu and it has become my favorite of the values. I booked a standard room and requested to be on the 1st floor and near transportation. I’ll leave you in suspense for now as to whether or not I got that request.

Dining Plan: Quick Service. As much as I love my sit down meals at WDW, I decided to just go with Quick Service this time to save time and money. I had way too much that I wanted to do in three short days to take up time with sit down meals.

Up Next: Insanity at Epcot Bag Check

 

[Pluto0809]

Table of Contents

Friday, March 17th, 2017
Insanity at Epcot Bag Check Part 1
Insanity at Epcot bag Check Part 2
Close Encounters of the SQUIRREL! Kind
The Egg Hunt Becomes an Obsession
Soarin' and Sailing Through the Land Part 1
Soarin' and Sailing Through the Land Part 2
Wishes #1 Part 1
Wishes #1 Part 2

Saturday, March 18th, 2017
Did I Really Do Something That Stupid? Part 1
Did I Really Do Something That Stupid? Part 2
Gorillas and Lions and Dogs Oh My!
Surviving a Packed Magic Kingdom Part 1
Surviving a Packed Magic Kingdom Part 2
Surviving a Packed Magic Kingdom Part 3
Wishes Dessert Party and Viewing #2 Part 1
Wishes Dessert Party and Viewing #2 Part 2
Once Upon A Time and Finishing Out the Night Part 1
Once Upon A Time and Finishing Out the Night Part 2

Sunday, March 19th, 2017
Four Parks, Four Plutos Done! Part 1
Four Parks, Four Plutos Done! Part 2
I Score a Top Secret Souvenir Part 1
I Score a Top Secret Souvenir Part 2
A Plethora of Fast Passes Part 1
A Plethora of Fast Passes Part 2


January 2018 PTR Posts
A Quick Outline for January
January Trip ADRs and Training


Real Life Updates
Saying Goodbye

 

[Pluto0809]

Insanity at Epcot Bag Check Part 1

Like my Disneyland trip, this one started with a super early flight out of Atlanta at 6:30 am. This meant getting up around 2 am so I could be out the door by 3:30 am. Jim was not thrilled with me as he had a late hockey game on Thursday night. I said I had no problem driving myself but in the end he drove me while whining the whole way. He said he was worried about me by myself at the off site parking place we use but I know it was really because he is cheap and didn't want me to spend the money on parking.

I did try to go to sleep a little early the night before but the dogs didn’t cooperate and I don’t think I got more than 4 hours of sleep total. Jim didn’t get home from his game till midnight so he only got about 2 hours.

We left a few minutes after 3:30 am so right on schedule and he dropped me at the Southwest area at 4:15 am. The airport was a bit more crowded that when I went to Disneyland (my flight for that trip was about the same time). I guess it was the difference between traveling on a Wednesday as compared to Friday.

Once again I couldn’t use TSA Pre-Check because it didn’t open till 5 am. There was a small line at security but I was through quickly and on my way to the trains which were not running. This happened on the DL trip too so I’m guessing that the trains may not start running until 5 am. I decided to go ahead and walk to my gate so I started that trek. It was a pretty long walk but I took my time and there were moving sidewalks. There was also interesting stuff to see along the way. One corridor had a history of Atlanta and another had some artwork. My favorite area though was this one.





There were bird and rain noises like you were in the rain forest and the lighting was really pretty.

I made it to my gate with plenty of time to spare and relaxed for a while. A little before it was time to board, I went and grabbed a bottle of Coke. I was already feeling quite tired after my early morning and needed a pick me up.

I always do Early Bird Check in with Southwest and had A27 as my boarding number. This meant that I got on the flight quickly and got a window seat near the front. For some reason it seemed to take a long time to load and leave the Atlanta airport but we still made it to MCO right on time at 8 am.

After a quick bathroom break and walk through of the Earport store, I headed down to the Magical Express. So for those of you reading my December TR, you may remember the massive line Mom and I ran into at DME. Well this trip was completely opposite. I was kind of evil and sent these next two pictures to Mom to show her the difference.





Yep, completely empty this time. I was the only one in my line waiting for a bus.



I thought I had probably just missed a bus and was going to be in for a wait but a CM came over right away and directed me out to a bus. It was already pretty full but surprisingly there was an empty seat only a few rows back so I took it. We left shortly after, I don’t think it was even 8:30 am yet.

I’ve see the DME TV show quite a few times now so I spent most of the time watching out the window. I always love seeing the Gaylord Palms Resort because it means we are almost there.



As we approached the welcome arch, we hit some traffic. But that meant I was able to get a few pictures.









The traffic continued until we were past the entrance to HS. I was getting a little antsy but it really didn’t take that long. I think it was all due to the construction around HS.

I knew we were almost there when we passed the McDonald’s. I always look for it on the way home at night when I stay at the All Star resorts.



All Star Sports was up first and then we headed to All Star Music! I had received the standard “your room is not ready yet” text and e-mail but I needed to make a quick stop at the concierge before heading to the park buses. There was only one person ahead of me so I looked around a bit at the decorations. This one is blurry but I’m including it to show you the St. Patrick’s Day decorations. And, no, I never did go and ask to see that awesome guitar pin board. There was always a line at the desk the times I was in the lobby.



The also had other balloons up.



When it was my turn, I had the concierge add the Express Transportation to my reservation. You can do it in the parks but I figured it would be quicker to already have it purchased and added to my Magic Band. I decided to try out the Express Transportation this trip since I had limited time and was planning on park hopping every day.

After finishing up that task, I dropped my Stitch back pack with Bell Services then took a few lobby photos before heading out to the buses.









I got in line for an Epcot bus. There was only one family in front of me so I guessed we had just missed a bus. And I was right, it was a full 15 minutes before a bus arrived. There was a scooter to load and the bus was pretty packed but I was able to get a seat since I was one of the first on the bus.

Epcot is not too far from the All Stars so it wasn’t long before I was off the bus and making my way towards bag check. That’s when I ran into this mess.







Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Insanity at Epcot Bag Check Part 2

Wow! I had never seen the bag check lines like that before but I’d also never been there when everyone was being screened. It’s no longer random, everyone has to go through the metal detectors. I was funneled around to the other side of the monorail track to another bag check area that I didn’t even know existed and ran into yet another mass of people in line.





It didn’t take as long as I thought it would, I’m pretty sure it was less than 10 minutes to get through the security check. Lines were a little better to enter the park.



Despite all of that and the traffic on the way in, it was only a few minutes after 10 am when I took this picture.



Yep you read that right. It took me right at 2 hours from wheels down at MCO to entry into a park. I thought that was pretty darn good. I had estimated that it would be entering Epcot around 11 am so here I was with an extra hour to fill. I didn’t mind having that problem at all!

First though I had to stop and get a Photo Pass picture since my favorite dog was right there. The lines were kind of long but I got in one anyways because I didn’t think I would be back up front again. It wasn’t too long of a wait though and I passed the time listening to the lady behind me freak out about all the weird poses the photographer was asking each group to do.

First though, he took some nice pictures of me.





Then he asked me to pose like a dog. I didn’t want to disappoint the lady in line behind me so I went with it. Aw, who am I kidding, I always go with whatever they ask me to do.



Then he asked me to do “thinking man” which turned out to be a hilarious magic shot.



I knew the park was crowded just by the mess at bag check so I decided to head to the one ride I knew would not have a line, Figment! I did make a detour into the old Innovations building to see what the line was like for Joy and Sadness. It looked really long so I decided to try that one later.

So back to Figment. It was a walk on despite the crowds and I took one picture in the line as I walked through.



When I boarded the ride, the put me in the front of a car by myself and a group of four adults in the back row. They were very squished so I offered my big bench and one of them joined me. And of course I started off my trip with lots of ride photos!





















It was about 10:30 am when I finished with Figment so after a quick look around the store I headed out, took a few photos of the area and then headed towards World Showcase.





Up Next: Close Encounters of the SQUIRREL! Kind

 

[Chicago Mo]

I'm here!! Can't wait to read it all!

 

[xlsm]

I'm in for this one, too! I will come back later to look through your first few posts w/pictures but I have to go pick my kids up from school. I'm planning my first solo trip for May so I'm excited to see how your trip went and check out all the Flower and Garden goodness!!

 

[missangelalexis]

Yay joining in! Really looking forward to hearing about your "Goodbye to wishes" trip!

Wow, I've never seen the MDE area look so item! Stark contrast from your last trip!

Great pics going under the arch!

Haha the McDonalds is my landmark when coming back from the parks too!!

Omg that was the bag check line!? Wow! I didn't realize everyone has to go through the detectors now.

Well you can't beat arriving at the park at 10am on your arrival day!

Cute PP pictures, especially with your Pluto shirt on!

 

[rteetz]

I am here! Can't wait to hear all about it!

I just booked a short trip myself for the DIS 20 party...

 

[Tracy161]

YAY!!! I'm here, too! Can't wait to read about more of your Disney adventures

Wow, you sure made record time getting to Disney property and to a park! That's impressive! Yikes, those bag check/security lines looked rough. Happy to see pictures of Figment - I ride it every trip (usually multiple times) - it's cute PLUS you can always at least guarantee a quick line, if at all

I'm anxious to hear more about the express transportation. I didn't do that in January but was intrigued. Also excited to read more about the All Stars because I'm staying at Movies in August and I haven't stayed at an All Stars in a long time! Usually Pop is my "home resort"

Oh, and if I haven't mentioned this before... I'm SUPER impressed that you're juggling three reports! Go you!!!

 

[xlsm]

He said he was worried about me by myself at the off site parking place we use but I know it was really because he is cheap and didn't want me to spend the money on parking.

This made me laugh, because your husband's secret plan would be the same as MY secret plan, LOL!! In my case, my flight for my upcoming trip leaves at 6am, and I'm making DH take me to the airport to avoid paying for parking all week. On the flip side, I do want him to bring my car to the airport on my return day so he doesn't have to get the kids out of the house so late to come pick me up, since my return plane doesn't get in until around 11pm!

I did try to go to sleep a little early the night before but the dogs didn’t cooperate and I don’t think I got more than 4 hours of sleep total.

This is my life. I have four dogs. They come to bed with us and we close the door, otherwise they go bark out the back glass at any bird or shadow that moves in the backyard, or any noise they hear. If we have to be up early, you can guarantee that they're going to be restless and whiny or need to go out five times. Regular nights, they sleep through and don't make a sound

After a quick bathroom break and walk through of the Earport store, I headed down to the Magical Express. So for those of you reading my December TR, you may remember the massive line Mom and I ran into at DME. Well this trip was completely opposite. I was kind of evil and sent these next two pictures to Mom to show her the difference.

I remember that horrible line from your December report!! Now, THIS is the Magical Express line I've come to know and love. Well, with people sometimes, but not bad. I would have taken a picture and sent it, too!!

I didn’t want to disappoint the lady in line behind me so I went with it. Aw, who am I kidding, I always go with whatever they ask me to do.

Poor lady, afraid of poses, lol!! I'm glad you didn't disappoint her...I wonder if she ended up posing?? I hope her family framed it if she did!

Then he asked me to do “thinking man” which turned out to be a hilarious magic shot.

Figment magic shot??? Oh, I'm going to ask for that one!

So back to Figment. It was a walk on despite the crowds

I actually had to make DH and my 11 year old a fast pass for this in December. They were at Epcot and I was at the resort, and he texted me to see if I could make them some fast passes because the line was about an hour for Journey into the Imagination!


Looks like a nice start to arrival day despite the crowds entering Epcot. I love the pictures of the musicians on the wall at ASMu!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I'm here too. Can't wait to read about Wishes.

 

[ljcrochet]

Great start to your trip. I can't believe it look you 2 hours from landing to a park.

 

[Ladyfish77]

Here! Glad the ME lines were gone when you arrived this time, although it looks like they all landed at Epcot!

Looking forward to the explanation!

 

[Llobal]

I'm here to follow along! I tried to convince my husband to let me take a solo weekend trip. I'm over in central AL near Auburn so it's about 7 hours-- totally doable. But he said it wasn't fair without him and we couldn't afford to take the kids too lol. So I have to miss out. I'll live it through you!

 

[missjackiemcg]

I said I had no problem driving myself but in the end he drove me while whining the whole way.

I know it was really because he is cheap and didn't want me to spend the money on parking.

You cracked me up with this!!! That's exactly how Rob would be!!!

I always do Early Bird Check in with Southwest and had A27 as my boarding number. This meant that I got on the flight quickly and got a window seat near the front.

OK, so we have never flown Southwest since they only fly out of the airport on the south side of the city and we live like 10 minutes from the other airport....BUT, I am trying to save some money so was thinking of trying out Southwest for our runDisney trip. I have no clue how all of this works with being able to choose your seats or early bird check in vs. regular check in. Help me understand!!!!

Wow! I had never seen the bag check lines like that before but I’d also never been there when everyone was being screened.

Our December trip was the first time I'd seen it like that at Epcot and it was just like your pics every single time we went there, no matter the time of day!!

 

[Pluto0809]

I'm here!! Can't wait to read it all!

Hi Mo! Glad you are here.

I'm in for this one, too! I will come back later to look through your first few posts w/pictures but I have to go pick my kids up from school. I'm planning my first solo trip for May so I'm excited to see how your trip went and check out all the Flower and Garden goodness!!

Oh, I hope you have a wonderful time on your solo trip!

Yay joining in! Really looking forward to hearing about your "Goodbye to wishes" trip!

Wow, I've never seen the MDE area look so item! Stark contrast from your last trip!

Great pics going under the arch!

Haha the McDonalds is my landmark when coming back from the parks too!!

Omg that was the bag check line!? Wow! I didn't realize everyone has to go through the detectors now.

Well you can't beat arriving at the park at 10am on your arrival day!

Cute PP pictures, especially with your Pluto shirt on!

I think it was the time of day for MDE. I was there so early that many flights probably hadn't made it to the airport yet.

That McDonalds is a great way to know you are almost back to the All Stars.

It was just at Epcot that everyone was going through the detectors. But now I see that they've added it at MK too.

Yep, got there only an hour after rope drop. It did make for an awfully long day though.

I had to wear that green Pluto shirt since it was St. Patrick's day!

I am here! Can't wait to hear all about it!

I just booked a short trip myself for the DIS 20 party...

Man, I saw that about the DIS 20 party and was a little sad. I may have tried to come if it wasn't for this solo trip. I don't think Jim would like me going twice!

YAY!!! I'm here, too! Can't wait to read about more of your Disney adventures

Wow, you sure made record time getting to Disney property and to a park! That's impressive! Yikes, those bag check/security lines looked rough. Happy to see pictures of Figment - I ride it every trip (usually multiple times) - it's cute PLUS you can always at least guarantee a quick line, if at all

I'm anxious to hear more about the express transportation. I didn't do that in January but was intrigued. Also excited to read more about the All Stars because I'm staying at Movies in August and I haven't stayed at an All Stars in a long time! Usually Pop is my "home resort"

Oh, and if I haven't mentioned this before... I'm SUPER impressed that you're juggling three reports! Go you!!!

Everything just went so perfectly that morning! I've had other trips that have taken way more time.

As bad as the bag check lines looked, they went pretty fast.

The Express Transportation was awesome, I'll get to that before too long. I think the only small disadvantage with the All Stars is that they sometimes share buses. Not all the time and I haven't quite figured out when the do and don't. That can be a bit of a problem with staying at Movies because it is the third stop. I stayed at Movies in the Dalmatian section a few years ago and I loved it. Music just speaks to me a little more so that's why I stay there.

This three reports thing is hard! I'm keeping up with writing mine but haven't had any time to read other peoples.

This made me laugh, because your husband's secret plan would be the same as MY secret plan, LOL!! In my case, my flight for my upcoming trip leaves at 6am, and I'm making DH take me to the airport to avoid paying for parking all week. On the flip side, I do want him to bring my car to the airport on my return day so he doesn't have to get the kids out of the house so late to come pick me up, since my return plane doesn't get in until around 11pm!

This is my life. I have four dogs. They come to bed with us and we close the door, otherwise they go bark out the back glass at any bird or shadow that moves in the backyard, or any noise they hear. If we have to be up early, you can guarantee that they're going to be restless and whiny or need to go out five times. Regular nights, they sleep through and don't make a sound

I remember that horrible line from your December report!! Now, THIS is the Magical Express line I've come to know and love. Well, with people sometimes, but not bad. I would have taken a picture and sent it, too!!

Poor lady, afraid of poses, lol!! I'm glad you didn't disappoint her...I wonder if she ended up posing?? I hope her family framed it if she did!

Figment magic shot??? Oh, I'm going to ask for that one!

I actually had to make DH and my 11 year old a fast pass for this in December. They were at Epcot and I was at the resort, and he texted me to see if I could make them some fast passes because the line was about an hour for Journey into the Imagination!

Looks like a nice start to arrival day despite the crowds entering Epcot. I love the pictures of the musicians on the wall at ASMu!

Secretly I didn't want to drive myself and I knew that Jim would most likely do it but I had to at least offer to cut down some of the whining.

Yep, the dogs never want to let me sleep when I really need it!

That DME line in December was just insane. I've never seen it that bad before. It was so nice not having to deal with crowds this time.

I thought about sticking around to see what that lady did but I had too much planned that day to worry about it.

Yep a Figment Magic shot! I had no idea I was doing one at that point, just did what the photographer told me to do.

Wow! As much as I like the Figment ride, I would definitely not wait an hour for it.

I'm here too. Can't wait to read about Wishes.

Welcome, glad you are here!

Great start to your trip. I can't believe it look you 2 hours from landing to a park.

Everything went so smoothly that morning, it was almost unreal.

Here! Glad the ME lines were gone when you arrived this time, although it looks like they all landed at Epcot!

Looking forward to the explanation!

Yep, Epcot was a bit packed that morning! I actually think I was ahead of the crowds at DME.

I'm here to follow along! I tried to convince my husband to let me take a solo weekend trip. I'm over in central AL near Auburn so it's about 7 hours-- totally doable. But he said it wasn't fair without him and we couldn't afford to take the kids too lol. So I have to miss out. I'll live it through you!

Sorry you couldn't do a solo trip. Jim doesn't like it when I go without him but at the same time I don't think he would want to go as often as I do. I did try to convince him to do his own solo trip but he's more of a social person than me and said he wouldn't like it.

You cracked me up with this!!! That's exactly how Rob would be!!!

OK, so we have never flown Southwest since they only fly out of the airport on the south side of the city and we live like 10 minutes from the other airport....BUT, I am trying to save some money so was thinking of trying out Southwest for our runDisney trip. I have no clue how all of this works with being able to choose your seats or early bird check in vs. regular check in. Help me understand!!!!

Our December trip was the first time I'd seen it like that at Epcot and it was just like your pics every single time we went there, no matter the time of day!!

OK, let me see if I can explain Southwest to you.

First off, they open up their booking in blocks. As of right now you can only book through November 3rd, 2017. On May 18th (subject to change so I check frequently), they will open flights through January 7th, 2018. You can find this information by going to the Southwest web site, scrolling all the way to the bottom and clicking on Flight Schedule. Their flights are historically lowest when they first open up so it is good to book right away. The January 7th date is going to be interesting because I'm not sure if we will be flying home on the 7th or 8th. But you can book each leg separately so not too big of a deal. Oh and if your flight goes down in price, you can apply for a credit to use for a future flight. I've never done this so I'm not exactly sure how it works.

Next let's talk about bags. Your first two checked bags are free! This is the biggest advantage to Southwest for me because I almost always check two bags.

Southwest does not have assigned seating. Instead you are assigned a boarding group (A, B or C) and a boarding number (1-60). You have to check in at exactly 24 hours before your flight to get the best number unless you do Early Bird Check In (I'll talk about that next). So boarding goes like this. First is the pre-boarders. This is the group that has some issue and need more assistance with boarding. This does not include families with small children and you have to be pre-qualified for this service but I don't know the process. Next is the A group, there are pillars with the numbers on them that you line up next to in numerical order. A1 boards the plane first and then everyone else in numerical order until the get to A60. Between the A and B group is family boarding. This is for families with children under 6 and most times they say only one adult per child. After that the B group loads and then the C group. Once you are on the plane, you can chose any open seat. So if you are in the C group you are most likely going to end up in middle seats and split from your party.

Checking in right at 24 hours will most likely get you a B number somewhere between B1 and B30. Instead of worrying about that, I always do Early Bird Check in. It's $15 each way which is cheaper than bag fees on most flights plus Southwest is usually cheaper than other airlines. When you do this, you don't have to worry about checking in right at 24 hours and you should get a number in the A group. The best I've ever gotten was A22 and the worst A45.

OK, that was probably way more information that you really wanted but I like to be thorough. Let me know if there are any other questions you have.

 

[Pluto0809]

Close Encounters of the SQUIRREL! Kind

As I walked towards World Showcase, I saw the Fantasia Topiary. Unfortunately there were a lot of people around and this was the best picture I got.



I then spotted the butterfly house and decided to check it out. It was wall to wall people but I still managed to get a few pictures. Totally unrelated but funny story about my husband. Jim is absolutely terrified of butterflies because one “bit” him when he was little. Nothing anyone can do will convince him that they really don’t bite. Going into a butterfly house would be his worst nightmare. OK, back on topic and on to my photos of the butterflies.









Moving on from there, more beautiful flowers and topiaries.







I headed into one of the stores at the start of World Showcase and picked up an Easter Egg Hunt Map. Basically you had to find a hidden egg in each country and put the appropriate sticker with the corresponding country. After you finish, you take the map back to the store for a prize. The map cost $5.99 to buy.





There were both merchandise and food booths set up for Flower and Garden.





You will see later that I got very distracted by the Egg Hunt so this was the only food booth menu that I took a picture of.



I tried to look around Canada for the egg but it was still roped off so after this picture I moved on to UK.



Pooh and the Gang were hanging out.





Peter Pan was fooling around on the building tops.



It was probably about 10:50 at this point and there was a huge line for the Rose and Crown Pub which opened at 11:00. This was when I realized the full impact of the St. Patrick’s Day crowd. There were people everywhere with green on and later I saw mass consumption of green beer.



Tinkerbell was in a cute Fairy garden.



I searched all through the UK area looking for the egg with no luck. I even walked through the stores really quickly even though I didn’t think they would be inside based on the previous year’s hunt. I was mostly looking at the merchandise and not for the egg.



Even though it was only a little past 11 am, I was starving at this point so I gave up my search and got in line at Yorkshire Fish and Chips. When I picked up my food, the CM saw my map and asked if I had found the egg. I said no I hadn’t had any luck. She said that I needed to look in the stores. I was pretty grateful for that tip because I don’t think I would have gone back into the stores after I ate.

I ordered my usual here which is pretty much the only thing they have, fish and chips!



I also ordered a coke to try to help me stay awake since I’d been up since 2 am.



I was on the Quick Service Plan which no longer comes with a dessert. But you have an extra snack credit so it all balances out. I really liked this change because there is not always a dessert that I like. But if there was, I just used a snack credit to pay for it. Yorkshire is one of those places that does not have a dessert that I like. This was not a problem as I had something special in mind to try in France.

I headed up to the seating area which was about 2/3 full. I headed to a table along the railing because it was the only open table that was shaded. It had been very chilly in the morning but now it was warming up a bit and I had taken off my sweatshirt. It was about this time that I realized I had forgotten to take sunscreen with me, I left it in my Stitch backpack which I checked with bell services. I burn super easy so finding some shade was essential. Finding that seat along the railing became immediately problematic when this happened.



He hopped right up on my table from that wall next to me. It was cute at first and you can see I took the time to snap a photo. But then he started lunging at my food. I was not about to let that happen, I waited too long to enjoy my fish and chips! I tried to shoo him away but he would not give up. I finally had to grab him by the tail and fling him off of the table. Yep, you read that right, miss animal lover threw a squirrel! I did it very, very quickly so I didn’t get bit, I know how those Disney squirrels can be. No worries though, he was just fine and went on to beg off of other tables. Some teenagers (pretty sure they were band kids, I saw quite a few marching bands later that weekend) started feeding him. I hate seeing that but at least he wasn’t bugging me. He did come back one more time to my table when I was almost done eating. This time I poked him with my sunglasses and he left. Probably realized there was nothing left for him anyway.

After that rather eventful lunch, I headed back into the UK stores and finally found the Easter egg. SPOILER ALERT, if you are planning to head to Disney in the next few weeks and want to do the hunt yourself, you may want to quit reading now. I will be posting pictures of all of them which will give away the locations.

I found the UK one way in the back of the stores, right near where Pooh and Tigger used to meet. Sad thing is, I came in that door right next to it earlier and totally missed it.



I was done with UK then so I backtracked to Canada. I had two reasons for heading that direction instead of France. Firstly I had a very important meet and greet to do near the entrance to WS and the times worked that I needed to head there soon. Secondly I wanted to finish up my circle around WS in France so I could have the snack I mentioned before. My goal was to end up in France by 2:00 pm in order to line up with my FPs that afternoon. So I only had about 2 ½ hours to make it all the way around. I did have a FP for Spaceship Earth from 1:05 – 2:05 pm but had already decided to skip it. I knew I could get on SE pretty easily without a FP despite the crowds.

I didn’t spend a lot of time in Canada. I did browse quickly through the store to see if there were any new hockey shirts. There wasn’t so I walked further up into the pavilion looking for the egg. I saw people coming down with their maps so I figured I was heading in the right direction. And I was, Thumper was very easy to find near the waterfall.



Right past Canada, I noticed a booth that was selling Wind Spinners. I had seen them at Disney Springs in the past but decided that now was the time to purchase the Pluto one.



I have no idea what I’m going to do with it. I don’t really have a good place to hang it outside plus I don’t want it to get ruined by being out in the elements. For now it’s just sitting in my Pluto room. I was able to send it back to the resort so I didn’t have to carry it all day. I still hadn’t received my room number but the CM said that didn’t matter.

Right across from the Wind Spinner booth, I spotted a Photo Pass photographer and had to stop. I had pre-purchased Memory Maker and knew I would have to get a lot of photos to make it worth the cost. I ended up with about 200 over three days. I think I did OK.





It was now time to get in line for the must do meet and greet I mentioned earlier. And if you guys know me at all, you know who that character is. But first a few pictures I took while in line.





And the pictures from the Pluto meet and greet. He really loved my shirt and bag and I got lots of hugs and doggy kisses.







Up Next: The Egg Hunt Becomes an Obsession

 

[missangelalexis]

Great Flower & Garden pictures!

Wow that squirrel got really close! I can't believe you just flung him away! I probably would have ran off

Adorable pictures with Pluto!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Nothing anyone can do will convince him that they really don’t bite.

I... Cannot... Stop... Laughing..
and think of this:

MOTHRA!!!

Moving on from there, more beautiful flowers and topiaries.

I really want to go during the flower festivities! it's so beautiful!

There were people everywhere with green on and later I saw mass consumption of green beer.

Is there something wrong with this?
I mean we die our river green!

I realized the full impact of the St. Patrick’s Day crowd.

It's St. Patrick's day. One of the best holidays there is!

It's kinda a big deal around here too..

miss animal lover threw a squirrel!

I am still dying over here!!

And the pictures from the Pluto meet and greet. He really loved my shirt and bag and I got lots of hugs and doggy kisses.

That's where Duffy used to be... SAD!

but adorable pictures with Pluto!

 

[missjackiemcg]

OK, that was probably way more information that you really wanted but I like to be thorough. Let me know if there are any other questions you have.

THANK YOU! This is more than helpful!!! I definitely feel like I have a better handle on it now. I really like the idea of the free bags, too, because I'm an overpacker. I'll be watching for those flights to release, so I can see how much we'd save by flying out of Midway.

Jim is absolutely terrified of butterflies because one “bit” him when he was little.

I choked on a pretzel when I read that. HILARIOUS.

I finally had to grab him by the tail and fling him off of the table. Yep, you read that right, miss animal lover threw a squirrel!

This time I poked him with my sunglasses and he left.

I couldn't stop laughing just picturing all of the squirrel shenanigans!! I'm glad you weren't bitten!

Awwwww!!!! I love this one!! Is this the framer from this trip!?