Completed 1/13 - Monoraaaaaaaail! - August 2023 Trip Report

[VAtink]

Woah, nice job with all the Guardians rides! What an amazing night!

But back around we went! Ride number 5! And I will stay that we walked out with those girls (who were on their 8th ride) and watched them go right back in through the Lightning Lane, as we headed over to the posted 30 min standby line.

It seems like someone wasn't doing their job correctly if those girls were able to walk right back on. We've always found even during the events that we need to book a return time for DAS, which usually is the posted wait minus ~10 minutes. Not saying this is what happened, but when my friends and I were teenagers and went to Disney together we found that flirting with the CMs at rides was a great way to get to go back on immediately, rode Space Mountain like 15 times in a row that way.

Hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[DVCjj]

Your Trip Report was very fun and I loved read it.

 

[Araminta18]

Searching (in vain for Lorcana) - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 1)​

The next morning the plan was to sleep in, after our late night, and then enjoy Magic Kingdom with hopefully low crowds, since it was a party night. BUT. I don't know how many of you have heard about the new card game, Disney Lorcana? It's basically Pokemon or Magic, but Disney. It's very popular (more than they expected), and it was supposed to come today, and originally they'd said that it would be released at the parks. 2 or 3 days before they'd said "oops sorry just kidding, there won't be any Lorcana cards at the park on release day", but everything was so disorganized there were a bunch of folks heading to the parks just to check and see if it was there. And I was lowkey interested, so when I woke up at like 6:30, I decided "why not!" and decided to head over to Magic Kingdom. Trevor was still sleeping, so I just ditched him. And by 7:05 I was on the monorail.

the monorail is so the best. I love it.

20 minutes later, we were at Magic Kingdom!

I liked this view of the lagoon and the resorts.

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom indeed!

Extra morning hours started at 7:30, so I ended up getting there right as it was opening. Not bad! There was no line for the photographer in front of the train station so you know I had to stop.


Peter Pan! I do love that magic shot.

I went in the park and found that nope, no Lorcana at the Magic Kingdom today. But even so - I was at Magic Kingdom early in the morning! The park was my oyster - I could do whatever I wanted. So I just kind of started wandering. And I found the SuperZoom shot!

I love this - look how uncrowded it is!

And there was another photographer there just hanging around, so I got a few more pictures:


I asked for this shot with the statues. Hi Mickey and Minnie!

It was about 7:40, and I was just kind of wandering into Tomorrowland, so decided to hop on Buzz Lightyear! There was no wait at this time.

Ok, what score do you think I got?

 

[Araminta18]

Trying to be a Galactic Hero - Friday August 18 2023 (part 2)​

Well, sadly, the ride glitched in the first room so I missed the first 100k point target! It put me behind...I only (only) got:

So, you know I went back around:

This time?

Way worse! No excuse...it just...yea. But! Still no line, so back around I went!

I am FOCUSED!

SO CLOSE! and yet so far.

One more time?

How'd I do?

SUCCESS!!

And not only that I think we must have stopped in a spot where I could get a good shot, because I got this on my other gun -

SO CLOSE to maxing it on both! But I'll still take the win -

Next time the galaxy needs saving - go ahead and call me. I got this.

I got off the ride at about 8:10, and now with the park open, Adventureland and Frontierland were open! Where was I heading?

 

[Araminta18]

Early Bird Gets All the Rides? - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 3)​

Adventureland! Big Thunder Mountain was only 5 min, so I figured why not! And it was a good choice - I walked on, but asked to wait for the back row, and the way the lines and crowd worked out - I got a whole train to myself!

Queen of Big Thunder Mountain?

It was pretty epic, to have the WHOLE train to myself. Gotta love it.

Once off the ride, I had a text from Trevor who was like "so....are you at the park?" Oops, sorry Trevor! I called him and we chatted for a bit, and then he was off getting ready to come over and I decided to ride Jungle Cruise! I had bought Genie+ for us but I don't remember what I'd booked first...oops! I think maybe it was Jungle Cruise at like 9ish? I honestly don't remember. Oops!

Anyways, Trevor was getting ready and I was back at Jungle Cruise, which was indeed a pretty short line. Not quite a walk on, but not a long wait. About 10 minutes?

I'd never noticed this theming before! I love the little skulls around this Carnivorous Plant.

After Jungle Cruise, I headed over to ride Haunted Mansion! It was still a walk on, so honestly, why not.

See? Sooooooooo crowded.


Looking for ghosts!

Once off the ride, there was a photographer there in front of the mansion, so I had to stop. He actually had a bit of a wait, so I was enjoying the ambiance and noticing things I hadn't noticed before.

Like roses in the hearse!

This wasn't new I just really love the angle and the shot.

10 minutes later, my turn! And the shots turned out pretty good too.

Not sure what this pose is but ok.

Looking for a ride!

Trevor texted me just now that they were leaving TTC, so I still had some time before he joined me. What to do?

 

[Araminta18]

Woah, nice job with all the Guardians rides! What an amazing night!


It seems like someone wasn't doing their job correctly if those girls were able to walk right back on. We've always found even during the events that we need to book a return time for DAS, which usually is the posted wait minus ~10 minutes. Not saying this is what happened, but when my friends and I were teenagers and went to Disney together we found that flirting with the CMs at rides was a great way to get to go back on immediately, rode Space Mountain like 15 times in a row that way.

Hope you have a fantastic trip!

Thank you! And thanks for the information - that's helpful. re: the flirting who knows! Maybe! What does it say about me that I'm like dang, that never even occurred to me lol

Your Trip Report was very fun and I loved read it.

thank you! There's still a few days to go but those days are definitely going to be way more posts now that my class is over...oops!

 

[Araminta18]

Magic Kingdom Morning with Trevor - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 4)​

Oh I forgot! I like filming the end of Haunted Mansion to see which ghost I get, and I forgot to put it in the last post:

Anyways! What did I do while waiting for Trevor? No idea! The next picture I have is 15 minutes later, and of us in the line for the Jungle Cruise. I'm gonna guess I used the ladies' room and wandered over to Jungle Cruise. We had a fastpass for it, so only waited about 5 minutes.

The Jungle Cruise is always so fun!

Next up, Pirates! Trevor and I got the front row--we tried to be pirates in the photo.

And bodybuilders behind us!

Off pirates, it was hot and we needed something cool! We stopped at Sunshine Tree Terrace (cause they still have mobile order even though Aloha Isle does not) and got the I Lava You Float: Orange Dole Whip, orange Fanta, strawberry and passionfruit syrups, and popping candies. Yum! Very refreshing.

From there, we were making our way over to Space Mountain. But as we passed through the hub, we stopped and got a superzoom shot together.


These are such fun shots.

From there, we kept heading towards Space Mountain but stopped for a photo at the Mr Toad photo op.



Then we ducked into Monsters Inc Laugh Floor...I don't remember if we had a fastpass or just decided to pop in cause no line and it's a/c and fun.

Still waiting for my churro, Trevor!

Ok, then it was time for Space Mountain! We got the last car all to ourselves.


I can never get this picture exactly right! Oh well.

I always feel like I need a chiropractor after Space Mountain!

 

[Araminta18]

Skipper Canteen Lunch - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 5)​

I was getting lucky with the Anytime fastpasses, so we headed over to Buzz Lightyear!

Our goal, as always - to be galactic heroes!

We didn't make it - I got 560800, and Trevor got 485400. A decent showing, but no galactic heroes.

Next we decided to do peoplemover - it was a 5 min wait and who doesn't love the peoplemover?

Did you even ride the peoplemover if you don't take the foot photo?

After a relaxing ride around Tomorrowland, we decided to make our way over to our lunch reservation a bit early! Where were we going? Skipper Canteen - so yummy!

But as we headed over there, we ran into the Festival of Fantasy parade so of course we hung out and watched it.

We also ducked into Memento Mori and did some shopping. We had them ship it to our house but man I miss that "ship to the front of the park" or "ship to the resort" perk they used to have...

Then, lunch! We got really lucky and got sat (for the first time) in the "secret" room. Our server asked us if we'd eaten there before and when we said yes, asked where we'd sat so we told him the main room and then the Jungle room, and then he was like "and now you get to sit in the last room!" So that was exciting.


The Society of Explorers and Adventurers!

I got the Enchanted Orange Dream for my drink: DOLE Whip Orange blended with vanilla soft-serve and served with an orange candy rim. Yum.

The, we decided to get appetizers for our entrees. First - the Brazilian cheese bread (pao de quiejo).

SO GOOD. I lived in Brazil for 18 months and have had homemade pao de queijo and this is up here. The sauce was yummy too. 10/10, A+.

Trevor got the cachapas:

I got the Dan Dan noodles.

The food was delicious - we always have good meals at Skipper Canteen. And the atmosphere and a/c wasn't bad either! And while we were eating I was able to score a Tron boarding group in the 1 pm drop - woot!

 

[Araminta18]

Skipper Canteen Theming! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 6)​

We took some time to look around the room at Skipper Canteen though - that theming is top notch!


That map with the sea monsters is so neat!

the bookcase that is the "hidden" door!

The SEA hats!

Hey there Jungle Cruise!

Alberta Falls, the Businesswoman of the year!

After lunch though, it was time to head out and back to the room for a nap before MNSSHP that night.

The skies looked ominous - I was hoping the storm would arrive and cool it down!

From the monorail - look at those clouds!

We had good timing - just 20 minutes after leaving the restaurant, we were back at the hotel and looking at this crazy rain. Glad we were under cover!!

Back at the room we collapsed and fell asleep for a few hours. My next picture is us going up the monorail escalator at 4:50, 3 hours later.

Guess our MNSSHP costumes!

 

[Araminta18]

Checking in to MNSSHP - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 7)​

We were going as Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip, but more Disney-bounds than full costumes. You'll see the full reveal in a bit!

Anyways, we took the monorail and made it to the Magic Kingdom about 30 minutes later - not too bad! Would have been faster to walk but monorail! Love it so much.

We saw that crazy line of folks trying to get in for the party and decided nope! And went in on our annual passes instead to get our wristbands in the park.


There's spiders there in the foliage! Kind of hard to see at this angle, but a fun touch!

As we walked in, we ran into one of the cavalcades! That was fun -

Hi Raya!

Hi Mirabel!

Mary and Bert and Marie and Max! Fun bonus - I love all these characters.

We headed over to the check-in line over in Tomorrowland, by what used to be Stitch's Great Escape. There was a bit of a line there too -

It wrapped around the corner to the right and back in there a bit. But thankfully it moved pretty quickly - about 5/10 min? Not bad.

Then it was time for dinner! I'd made a reservation at Tony's Town Square, entirely for the garlic bread. And we'd never been here before, so I figured, why not!

We got seated pretty quickly - like 3/4 minutes? And it was a great seat - would have been an awesome view of the parade, if it had been parade time.

As it was we definitely had fun people watching and looking at all the costumes.

Then food! We definitely went a bit lighter -


I got the burrata. This was pretty good, though I wanted more cheese.

 

[Araminta18]

First Aid Center Rocks! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 8)​

Trevor got the house salad -

And then, the garlic bread!

Fun presentation, and then alfredo sauce is in that tiny pitcher on the side. This was surprisingly good! A little bit crispy/overcooked, but the flavor was good. I'd go back.

Unfortunately, Trevor was getting a headache that just wasn't going away - I think the heat and everything was getting to him. So after dinner, we headed over to the First Aid center and they gave us a little cube for Trevor to lay down in, and some powerade, and a cool cloth for his head. We ended up there for a bit over an hour -

It was really nice - if you ever aren't feeling great at Disney, highly recommend the first aid center. They were super nice and it was a good quiet place to rest. I did offer to have us just leave and go back to the hotel, but Trevor said he wanted to stay. His headache was feeling better (not 100%, but definitely trending in a good direction), so at about 7:15, we headed out. Again, props to those CMs - First Aid is a great spot!

As we left and entered the hub, we saw several photographers so you know we had to stop -

I got the tutu off Amazon and loved it for this costume, though not gonna lie most people didn't get it. But that's ok - I had fun with it!

Weirdly uncrowded hub. Pretty though!

I thought this Oogie Boogie magic shot was fun - they told us to make a serious face.

Our Tron group got called so we were slowly making our way over there, but I kept having us stop at photographers.


Lock Shock and Barrel!

And then they even had a photographer out at the Mr Toad prop! The photographer was awesome and did several shots with us.

Look Ma, no hands!

 

[Araminta18]

Tron and Photo Ops! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 9)​

Then they had us each pretend the other was driving and to act scared - I thought they turned out great!

Then over to Tron we finally made it! We didn't have too much of a wait, so that was nice - maybe 20 minutes total from entering the outside line to getting on the ride itself.

We got to ride the back row, which was awesome!

I tried taking a selfie of us afterwards but...didn't quite get it!

Such a good ride - we always like Tron. And Trevor said he was feeling mostly better, and it didn't make his head hurt, so that's definitely a win. I was a bit worried it would make him worse.

As we got off the ride I got a pic of the canopy turning orange-

So neat!

We didn't really have specific plans for tonight - I wanted to get some of the pictures and try some of the treats, and we wanted to see Broome/Madame Carlotta at the Haunted Mansion, but nothing super huge. So we just kind of meandered over through Fantasyland after riding Tron, and ended up stopping at Cheshire Cat Cafe.

We got the cherry icee again (cause cold. ) And then got to try the MMMummy Treat: flaky pastry filled with chocolate hazelnut filling and topped with white icing stripes and sugar eyes.

Super cute! And delicious, though just a *tad* warm for the night.

Pretty castle! I love this pathway up there, that goes past the wishing well.

Then as we took the path on the other side by Sleepy Hollow, we ran into another photographer! I love this fall leaves effect.

 

[Araminta18]

How Many Pictures of the Haunted Mansion Can One Post Have? - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 10)​

We kept going over to the Haunted Mansion, but we rang into the Headless Horseman and Hitchhiking Ghosts photo ops in Liberty Square, with basically no wait. So of course we did those.


Some day, I promise, we will match the pose of the ghosts - full on facing the camera with our hitchhiking thumbs going the right way. Some day!

Then over to the Haunted Mansion we went.

The lighting for the mansion during MNSSHP is so pretty!


Hello creepy roses in the hearse.



Spiders in the greenhouse! So cool

We didn't see Broome or Carlotta out, and there wasn't even the bench set up like there had been in years past. In talking to some CMs, they said that Broome and Carlotta were meeting in the area right by the entrance, so the only way to see them would be to wait in line. And they weren't out all the time, you just had to get lucky and catch them. And with the long line, we/I weren't willing to wait, especially cause we weren't sure they'd let us just hang out there and watch them. I wish they'd bring them back to the front of the mansion, where you could just hang out and watch them - they're so funny! So that was a bummer. We did get some photo ops though.

 

[Araminta18]

Mickey's Boo to You! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 11)​

One more -

Little fuzzy but I still like that lantern.

At this point it was like 8:55, so we decided to go watch the parade again. We actually got a decent seat in Liberty Square -

Poor sleepy Trevor. He said he was doing ok - I promise I was checking and that he would have said if he wanted to leave.

Once I told him I was taking the picture.

Then it was time for the parade! I got kind of a nice spot, and I was hoping I could just stay seated to watch it, but then the folks who had camped out and were sitting on the bench decided to stand up! I don't understand that - you've camped out, you have an AMAZING front row seat, on a bench, no one in front of you...and you choose to stand?! People are weird man.

Anyways, in case you want another Boo to You video:

Trevor only wanted to see the parts of the parade he liked, so he stayed sitting down for the most part.

This was his view - me filming. Poor guy! his clips:

The parade was done at about 9:40, and with the fireworks at 10:30, we decided to wander over to the hub and see if we could just find a spot and rest and people watch. And we did! We grabbed a lovely spot on the left side of the hub, with our backs against the railing. It was awesome.



Hi Trevor!

With such a good spot, I decided to go get something cool to drink, and headed over to Sunshine Tree Terrace for the I Lava You float - cause it was good. But once there I forgot they had a special MNSSHP treat!

I decided to get that, though that plus the float and a water cup made for...very full hands.

But I did it! Made my way back over to Trevor, and proceeded to dig in. The float was good but man this was...not good. 0/10 do not recommend. The flavors were interesting but just...not to our taste. Oh well!

This was our view right before the start of the fireworks. Not bad!!!

 

[Araminta18]

MNSSHP Fireworks! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 12)​

Fireworks time!! Trevor had some fun taking pictures, which I'm now going to share, because it's my trip report and I can.


I literally had no idea he took this til I was putting pictures together for the report. Also look at my magic band lighting up!





My favorite part of the fireworks is the waltzing ghosts - it's the only part I film.

After the fireworks, we wandered back over to the Haunted Mansion just in case what we heard earlier (about Broome and Carlotta meeting in the graveyard near the entrance) was wrong. On the way, we saw the fog on Tom Sawyer Island - so spooky!


I love the castle being all green.

 

[Araminta18]

Trick or Treating! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 13)​

Yea, no Broome or Carlotta for us - hopefully at the next parties they move them back to the front of the mansion! We decided to go after some of the photo ops instead! Into Fantasyland we went, to get pictures with Maleficent!

This second one made me laugh - I was supposed to be scared and Trevor was supposed to be all big and brave.

Too bad he didn't have a sword!

We also found the Tinkerbelle lantern photo op -


After this photo, guess who we ran into?

The stepsisters! Always a fun meet. This was about the time we started doing our trick or treating as well. Pro tip: do your trick or treating at the end of the night - no lines, and you sometimes get handfuls of candy from the CMs!

As we were walking by Ariel's Grotto, the music loop started playing "Ugly Bug Ball", which is one of my favorite old Disney songs, so I started filming just to enjoy the ambiance. And Trevor dancing.

Over by Storybook Circus we found a fun photo op -

Pretty nifty!

Our goal was to hit all the trick or treat stops and then make it back over to Adventureland to see the pirate band. We were doing pretty well, but we made a rookie mistake - trying to get back to Adventureland via the hub when the second parade was going on! Oh well. We camped out on the ground for a few minutes waiting for the parade to pass.


Trevor's backpack (with all our candy) was getting very full!

 

[Araminta18]

Pirates and Main Street Photos! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 14)​

Once through, we only had like 15 minutes left of the party, and I didn't really care about seeing the pirate band (we saw a bit of them the other night), so we split up: Trevor to see the band, and me to loop around Country Bears to get treats! Well, that's a lie - I tried looping Tiki Room but they shut down one of the treat stops so I decided to try my luck at Country Bears and that worked out a lot better. They even kept refilling the treat station at Country Bears - which is something I really appreciate at MNSSHP. Even with only 10 minutes left in the party, the still re-filled the treat stations until the party ended. I got a lot of treats.

Meanwhile, Trevor was seeing the pirates!

They finished up a few minutes after he got there, but at least he got to see them for a little bit. They are a pretty fun show to watch - lots of fun dad jokes.

He also got some pictures from the photographer there by Pirates - I'm so proud!


Then he came and found me at Country Bears, where we did a couple loops together before the party ended. It was a good end!

As we headed out, we of course (sorry not sorry) stopped for photos on Main Street. There were some really fun magic shots this year, and I really wanted to get the one with Huey, Dewey, and Louis.

Ghostly fog!



Yay! The one I wanted!

Trevor *struggled* with this one - the photographer told us to put our hands together and Trevor was just not getting it, for whatever reason. Hence the staring at his hands in the photo.

I dunno, if someone offers me a candy apple I'm not gonna respond like this...probably just gonna take it and eat it.

We then got in line for photos at the hub, but look at how pretty Main Street looks!

 

[Araminta18]

MK to Contemporary via Monorail! - Friday, August 18, 2023 (part 15)​

The photos turned out pretty good too.


Kind of a weird looking Mickey pumpkin, not gonna lie. But still cute.

We left the Magic Kingdom at 12:31, and were on the monorail at 12:39.

Love the lights on the train station!

Also, the monorail is the BEST! We were in the room at 12:53, 22 minutes total, even with a stop in the hotel to film the lights on the monorail (cause they light up purple and orange).

Seriously, so awesome. Nothing beats the Contemporary for proximity to Magic Kingdom and monorail awesomeness.

So even though the night started a bit roughly, with Trevor not feeling great, the stop in First Aid helped a lot, and then we had a pretty chill night. Got to just enjoy the party and the fireworks and get treats and take pictures...the only thing we didn't get to do was see Broome and Carlotta, but that's ok. We'll just have to come back.

I'll leave you with our treat haul!

Not too shabby!

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 28725 steps (11.3 miles)
Ride count: Tiffany had 14; Trevor had 7 (by myself: Buzz Lightyear x4, Big Thunder, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion; with Trevor: Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Monsters Inc, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Peoplemover, Tron)
Savings due to AP discount: $60.52 (merch + discount at Skipper Canteen and Tony's Town Square)

 

[Araminta18]

Animal Kingdom morning! - Saturday, August 19, 2023 (part 1)​

We definitely slept in for a bit today (I promise today will not be 15 posts!!) - my first picture is at 10:28 am. I did however wake up a bit before 7 am to buy Genie+ and an ILL for Flight of Passage - I really really want them to allow you to pre-book. That 7 am wakeup call is roooooooough. But at least we got back to sleep this morning (probably...I can't really remember. )

Once we did finally get up, it was shaping up to be another lovely (but HOT) day.

Lovely view! The pool is there right behind the trees.

But we were heading to Animal Kingdom this morning, so off to the Contemporary bus stop (for the first time this trip together. ) We made it down there at 10:35, and were on the bus ten minutes later - not too bad! Though we got on and found this ad:

Which I thought was a bit rude, advertising it when it wasn't for sale at the parks yet. LOL

Queen of the bus! (yes that's a Tim Tracker reference...) Thought other people got on so it wasn't a bus all to ourselves, but it was still pretty empty, which was nice.

15 minutes later we were at the park! Since it was a little after 11 am, the lines to get in weren't long, so we made it in and headed towards our fastpass: Kilimanjaro Safaris! We stopped in a bit at first aid cause I was looking for Sudafed (my allergies had started kicking in, I thought), and then we found a photographer on the bridge into Africa, so of course we stopped.


I love Trevor's bucket hat.

Then over to the Safari! The Lightning Lane was a tiny bit backed up:

But it wasn't bad - I think it was only another 5 minutes or so for us to get on the ride.

We got the back row, which was super cool!

It was a good safari - I remember we got stuck at the White Rhinos for a while which was cool.


Hello black rhino back there!

Giraffes!

 

[Araminta18]

Trevor found a hat! - Saturday August 19, 2023 (part 2)​

More safari pictures!

Hi elephants!


the white rhinos!
the ostrich that was causing trouble.

Trevor took some clips, so I put those together:

It was a good safari, though yep, very hot.

Next up, our Expedition Everest fastpass! Trevor's a coaster fan now guys.

You know he is because this is him taking the selfie after we finished riding.

I think we got front row, which is pretty awesome.

But the real highlight for Trevor was the gift shop afterwards - Trevor's a hat person (in case you didn't know ), and they had some nice leather, Indiana Jones type hats. Trevor got it.

Doesn't he look snazzy?

Next up, our lightning lane for Flight of Passage! But as we were heading towards Pandora, we ran into Kevin!


Kevin is awesome. I love that they have her out.

Over in Pandora we took some photos -


I've never seen a photographer with this "plant" before, so that was cool. And they had us do the "bad explorers looking in different directions" shot which made me laugh.