Completed! 1/3 - MNSSHP, Star Wars Land, and a LOT of SotMK - Aug 2019 Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Man alive you did alot!!!! I am impressed. It all looked great.

 

[Araminta18]

Mmmm, a raspberry dole whip?! That sounds wonderful!

And the Fastpass luck continues! Rides on both Frontierland mountains sounds fantastic.

It's a bummer your dinner wasn't the best, but your late evening with fireworks, more attractions, and many pictures sounds delightful. I also tend to ride Dumbo and the Barnstormer during evening EMH - the lines are shorter (or non-existant) and the rides are definitely so pretty!

You had a very late night, but certainly made the most of your day!

Raspberry dole whip is the best!

It was an amazing (late) night. Great minds think alike - I think from now on I'll reserve the kiddie rides exclusively for the evening EMH!

 

[Araminta18]

Man alive you did alot!!!! I am impressed. It all looked great.

Maybe that's why I was so tired lol I just can't seem to slow down at Disney!

 

[Araminta18]

Thursday, August 22, 2019 (part 1):
Last Day!​

My last day!!!!! So sad, but to be a little bit honest, I was just a teeny tiny bit exhausted

So it was probably for the best that it was my last day. Or I could, you know, plan better and not stay up super late...psh, no that's crazy talk.

Anyways, so my last day! My flight was at 5:55 pm; my Magical Express pickup was at 2:45, so I figured I needed to be back at the hotel by 2:15ish? Leave enough time to grab my stuff and so on. That was still several hours though! So. What to do. Well, I'd beat my last game of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom last night, after the fireworks, when the Firehouse was closed. So I decided I wanted to head back to the Magic Kingdom in the morning just to complete my game at the Firehouse: get my extra packs, etc. Don't really know why; it's not like you get anything for going to the Firehouse and saying "I completed it!" but I'm a completionist. Apparently.

The Magic Kingdom opened at 9 am; I was at the bus stop at 7:05am. I couldn't sleep, so figure I might as well get up and go, and maybe the Firehouse would be open early since it's on Main Street and Main Street opens early now! And I was the only one in line that early. Pretty outside though!

By 7:45 I was at the Magic Kingdom. MK is so gorgeous in the morning (and all day really).

They already had photographers out, which I was mildly surprised at, but definitely pleased.

They were already letting guests into the park, but there weren't very many people there (unsurprisingly), so I took a lot of pictures around that first part of Main Street, by City Hall and the Fire House and such. I finally saw the Roy Disney statue!

The Firehouse did not open at 8 am with the rest of Main Street (*sad face*). I honestly just grabbed a seat on the curb by the Emporium in the shade and just watched people enter the Magic Kingdom. The Main Street vehicles were out, so I watched those for a bit too.

No one got in line or on the fire truck, so I decided it was meant to be my chariot up to the castle!

This was my first ride on the Main Street Vehicles ever, and I got a private ride, cause no one else came up and wanted to get on, despite the driver waiting for a few minutes after I got on, just in case. It's a fun little ride - makes you feel like a celebrity being driven up to the Castle. Definitely a good, low-key start to the day.

Once at the Castle, I decided why not get some more castle pictures? I definitely don't have enough of those this trip... While waiting in line though, I ended up chatting with a family who was going to try and rope-drop Mine Train, and was able to point them in the right direction. They were planning to go through the Castle, so I pointed them to the bridge off to the right and told them they wanted to be near the front of the crowd, cause otherwise they'd wait a long time even at rope drop. So after they got their pictures taken they headed right over there and from what I could tell they were near the rope...hopefully they got to ride without too much of a wait! My good deed for the day, done.

I strolled back down Main Street, looking into the Emporium and taking more pictures as I came across photographers.

Afterwards, I just sat back down and enjoyed listening to the music on Main Street and people watching. It was really nice! Taking the time to just sit and people watch and enjoy the themeing and the atmosphere - it was a lovely start to the day.

The firehouse opened a few minutes before 9, and I was able to finalize/complete my game, but the CM seemed a bit grumpy. Other times when I've completed the game the various CMs have given me a celebration button or had me sign the book or given me a bunch of extra card packs. This CM was pretty brusque and just said "oh you're done. Where do you want to start your next game? And here's your free pack for the day. Next." Oh well. Next time I go back, we'll see if I'm able to do a bit better on the hard level!

Done with the firehouse, I headed out of the Magic Kingdom and over to Hollywood Studios: I was feeling me some thrill rides! And one benefit of hanging out at the Magic Kingdom in the morning is that I had pre-booked only one fastpass for today, at the Magic Kingdom, for meeting Tinkerbell at exactly 9 am. By using that fastpass and then heading over to Hollywood Studios, I didn't have to worry about tiering or repeating rides or anything at Hollywood Studios - I could grab all tier 1 fastpasses without having to worry about using up tier 2s or repeat rides without having to use up all 3 of my pre-booked fastpasses or anything. Basically, whatever I could grab as a single rider. Huzzah! So I spent my time on the bus ride over to Hollywood Studios refreshing - availability looked really good, so I grabbed a fastpass for Rockin Roller Coaster. Yay! Side note: the bus to Hollywood Studios was playing the "Titanic" soundtrack. I don't know why that grabbed my attention, but it did. And so I'm sharing it.

I was walking underneath the skyliner at 9:40. They were testing, and they were moving really fast!

Off to Rockin Roller Coaster I went. The line wasn't too bad, but it was long enough for me to grab a Tower of Terror fastpass for immediate use.

I do love Rockin Roller Coaster though. Whee!

I headed over to Tower of Terror, and couldn't resist taking a picture. I love (LOVE) the theming and queue there.

There was a kid in the pre-show with me who was very upset. Why? Not because he was scared, but because "everything is fake!!". Same kid, same. If Tower of Terror was a real hotel, I would definitely stay there.

Or why can't I watch the fireworks from the Tip Top Club?

There were tons of Tower of Terror fastpasses, oddly enough. So I just kept getting them and going back around on the ride. Love Tower of Terror!!!

Yes, that is 4 rides in a row. I know lots of people hate FP+, but as a single rider with no problem burying my face in the app, I LOVE it. It was pretty funny 'cause for the first 3 rides I ended up in the same elevator, loaded by the same CM...he definitely recognized me on the third ride!

After this I was hungry - it was a little after 11 and the slice of leftover chocolate covered bacon from Jock Lindsay's that I'd saved from our second day was no longer holding me. I grabbed a Slinky Dog Dash fastpass for about half an hour later and decided to get a Jack Jack's Cookie Num Nums for brunch. Best brunch ever!

There was a photographer out in front of the Incredibles Celebration Wall, so after I got my food I hopped in that line, but that was maybe not my best idea, since I didn't have anywhere to put my food and yea. Oh well!

See, not the greatest picture? This is how you know I'm a dedicated Dis trip reporter--I'm still showing you this picture.

My cookie happily ensconced in my belly, I wandered through to Toy Story land. The photographer for Buzz Lightyear (I think it was Buzz?) was out, even though Buzz was on break, and she was kind enough to take a picture of me in front of Slinky Dog Dash with no other people in the background! Yay!

 

[Araminta18]

Thursday, August 22, 2019 (part 2):
Would I Ever Get Home?​

I scanned my fastpass for Slinky Dog and headed into the fastpass line. The line was a little backed up, so I immediately hopped on MDE and grabbed another Slinky fastpass for immediate use. Woot!! Literally not 15 seconds later, the ride went down. They didn't clear the queue though, so I decided just to wait, and watch MDE: I had a strategy! When my Slinky Dog fastpass turned into an "Anytime" fastpass, I searched for more Slinky Dog fastpasses and was able to grab another one for 15 minutes later. I figured if Slinky Dog came back soon, I might have enough time before I had to leave to ride it twice. But then 5 minutes later they cleared the queue. That didn't bode well! But they scanned everyone's bands and gave us another Anytime fastpass as we left. So I had 2 Anytimes on my band that were good for Slinky (the one the CM gave me as they cleared the queue, and the one I'd found right after getting in the fastpass line the first time), and the Slinky fastpass for 15 minutes later. Then that Slinky fastpass turned into an Anytime fastpass 'cause Slinky was still down. Boo. So 3 Anytime fastpasses that were good on Slinky...at least that meant I could try and get another regular fastpass, since Anytime fastpasses don't count towards the "only one at a time" limit once you've used the pre-booked ones. And I was determined to save all 3 just in case Slinky came back up in time for me to ride. There was plenty of Toy Story Mania fastpasses, so I grabbed that one and headed over to the Midway.

There was something weird going on with a fire curtain in part of the queue, so they routed the fastpass line a bit weird and I got to catch a glimpse of Mr Potato Head from the fastpass line. Bonus!

I did not do very well. Never ever gonna get best in car! Still really fun though.

I got out of Toy Story at like 12:15, and I (of course) headed back over to Slinky Dog to see if it came back up. And, miracle of miracles, it came back up right as I was on the bridge so I jumped in the standby line 'cause it was basically non-existent! Didn't have to use a fastpass. Woot!

This is the face of a happy Dis-geek who has 3 more anytime fastpasses good for Slinky Dog Dash and just enough time to use all of them before she has to head to the airport. Woot!

And I got the back row!

I got out of that ride and decided to just go for broke: try and use all three of my Slinky anytime fastpasses. I was a bit concerned that the fastpass line might get a bit backed up, but so far so good:

Me and the girl next to me are both really excited.

I guess people were eating lunch or hadn't realized it came back up, 'cause the fastpass line was not backed up at all. Yay!

Yay! Dude, Slinky 4 times in a row is awesome, and I highly recommend it. Basically, if a ride goes down, try and get fastpasses for it that will turn into Anytime fastpasses. Obviously your mileage will vary, but sometimes it can really work out.

I was done with all my rides at 12:55: just enough time to use the bathroom, eat, and head out of the park. Yay! Where did I choose for my last meal? Woody's lunchbox, of course!

I got the kid's grilled cheese meal, 'cause it came with a drink and wasn't too huge a portion. But then I realized a grilled cheese with tomato soup would be HOT, so I got a root beer float too. It was really good. I think Woody's LunchBox is one of the best quick services on property - it just needs better seating. My only complaint was that it was too hot a day for grilled cheese, but still yummy.

On my way out, I ducked into the gift shop and got Trevor a Galaxy's Edge t-shirt: he'd talked about wanting it when he was there, even though he wouldn't be going into Galaxy's Edge, but he talked himself out of it. I was still feeling guilty that I got to go and he didn't, so I bought him the t-shirt.

(How I imagine him )

I was at the bus stop at 1:35, and shortly thereafter back at All Star Movies. I was a bit early so I poked around in the gift shop for a while, and ended up being weak and buying one of the mystery Haunted Mansion Wishable bags. I was hoping for Constance (the bride) and I spent like 10 minutes feeling the bags (it does say "Squeeze Me" so I figure that's fair play).

I did not get Constance, I got Phineas. Boo.

All too soon, the Tragical Express was arriving. Teasing me with a Cruise decal but I was definitely not going on a cruise.

We got to the airport a little before 3:30. I was not happy. Obviously.

Especially 'cause I knew the "See You Real Soon!" was a lie. With my Annual Pass expiring, I didn't (and still don't) know when I'll be back. Tragic.

Now this is where the day got interesting. You wouldn't think so, but trust me. I'd booked my flight home with some Delta points I had, so I had to fly a bit of a roundabout way back to DC. My flight was leaving Orlando at 5:55 pm, landing in Cincinnati at 8:04 pm. Then, my flight from Cincinnati to DC took off at 8:40pm and landed at 10:09 pm. Or at least, that was plan.

So I was through security by 4 pm and waiting at the gate when I got a notification that my flight from Cincinnati to DC had been delayed 15 minutes, now to leave at 8:55pm. That's nice, gives me a little bit of wiggle room to catch my second flight. And then it got weird. The take off time of that flight started getting bounced around, going later and then getting moved sooner again...the first flight landed a bit early (at 7:50), and with the free wifi I had on the plane, I was watching the take off time for the second flight get moved around all over the place. By the time I landed in Cincinnati, it was delayed to 10:11 (from the originally scheduled 8:40pm). I figured that at least gave me time to use the bathroom and get food, so I got Panda Express.

I know you all wanted to see what my orange chicken looked like.

My husband thought my fortune was ironic; I think it's just true. I'm hilarious.

At 9 pm, the gate agent told us that our plane (which was also coming from DC) still hadn't taken off: apparently there were 20 planes waiting to get out of DC (I guess there was a storm or something) and our plane was one of them. But he swore we would definitely fly out that night, even if it ended up being super delayed. I was skeptical - I don't know a lot about airline flight hours and rest requirements, but I figured a 2.5 hour delay ('cause when the gate agent made that announcement at 9 pm, it also included an updated take off time for us for 11 pm) at the end of the day had to be getting close to the crew running out of hours.

At 9:15, the gate agent told us that our plane had finally taken off from DC, and was expected to arrive in Cincinnati at 11 pm. We all cheered, especially when he said they were definitely going to be able to fly back to DC that night.

At 10:30, the plane landed, the passengers debarked, and the gate agent canceled our flight, cause "sorry folks, the crew ran out of hours and can't legally fly anymore til they get some rest". BOO. Everyone had to have known; why they didn't cancel the flight earlier instead of making us wait another 90 minutes in the airport I'll never know. And they blamed it on weather so no food or hotel vouchers. But because I was skeptical, I'd been looking up nearby hotels on the Marriott app ('cause that's where I have rewards points) and was able to book a hotel for the night using my points. Yay for the night being free, boo because that's not how I wanted to use my points. But I'm grateful I had them and didn't have to sleep in the airport. And I was able to get the airline to give me taxi vouchers to and from the hotel because the hotel shuttle had stopped running an hour before (also dude, an airport shuttle that doesn't run 24 hours? That's how you know you're in a smaller town).

I will say I do appreciate everyone having apps now: I was able to see all the available rebooking options and rebook myself super easily. I rebooked for the next direct flight to DC, late afternoon the next day. At least I could sleep in! By the time I arrived at the hotel, it was nearly midnight, so I just fell into bed and slept. So tired! It was lovely to sleep in though, and the hotel was newly built/opened, so that was nice - it was a Fairfield Inn in Cincinnati. For anyone who is interested, my messy hotel room:

(the movie is "My Girl" - the famous funeral scene, hence the enormous cross on the wall!)

The lobby did have a cool fireplace - it was just a projection, I think, but it looked really neat!

Also, my souvenir-buying came in handy 'cause otherwise I would have run out of shirts.

Luckily, this flight back home was uneventful - no more delays, thankfully! I landed around 3 pm, so my husband couldn't pick me up (darn work). Had to take the metro from the airport to his work (which thankfully his office building is only a few blocks from the Metro station) and then I bugged him at work until it was time for him to leave and he drove us both home.

Whew! So definitely a more arduous trip home than planned, but I made it safe and sound. And it was a great trip. I loved being able to go to the Halloween Party with Trevor, and to meet Grumpy with him. And Star Wars land was amazing, as evidenced by my what, 5 posts dedicated to it? And even just having the time to myself to play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom and people watch and ride rides as a single rider - it was a great way to end my time as an Annual Passholder. I don't know when I'll be back to Disneyworld, but at least I have my Disneyland trip planned for this September, so I'll get at least a little Disney fix! We'll see if my fastpass luck/strategizing holds with Disneyland's MaxPass.

Fun with Metrics (Thursday):
Steps walked: 18,329 (8 miles)
Ride count: 11 (Main Street Vehicles, Rockin Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror x4, Toy Story Mania, Slinky x4)

Fun with Metrics (Overall):
Steps Walked: 155,757 (66.1 miles)
Ride Count (Tiffany): 81 (Main Street Vehicles, Winnie the Pooh, 7DMT x9, BTMRR x4, Jungle Cruise x2, Peoplemover x2, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion x3, Tea Cups, Tomorrowland Speedway, Splash Mountain x3, Space Mountain x3, Peter Pan, Carrousel, Princess Fairy Tale Hall, Pirates, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Little Mermaid; Star Tours x2, Toy Story Mania x4, Slinky Dog x8, Tower of Terror x7, RnRC x4, Alien Swirling Saucers, Millennium Falcon Smuggler's Run x4; Everest x3, Navi River Journey, Flight of Passage x2, Kilimanjaro Safaris, It's Tough to Be a Bug; Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Frozen, Soarin x2)
Ride Count (Trevor): 17 (Winnie the Pooh, 7DMT, BTMRR, Jungle Cruise, Peoplemover, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Tea Cups, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Space Mountain, Star Tours x2, Toy Story Mania x2, Slinky Dog x2, and Tower of Terror)

Souvenir shot!

Thank you all for following along! I mostly write these for me but I hope they're at least semi-enjoyable to read as well. I so appreciate all your kind comments! My next trip will be to Disneyland in Sept 2020 - I've started a PTR here but I'm discovering there's way less planning involved for Disneyland than for a WDW vacation. That's probably good - gives me time to write up what happened on our Germany/London trip last September to visit my in-laws in my journal! Anyways, thank you all again! The DIS is awesome.

 

[DisneySweetTooth]

Great trip report! Have loved reading along! Am amazed with your fastpass use. Well done!

 

[quietly]

I loved this report and I’m so sad it’s over! I hope you get a chance to go back soon as I’d love to read more from you (and your amazing fast pass luck!). Thanks for reporting!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

and the Fire House and such. I finally saw the Roy Disney statue!

They move poor Roy all over the place.

Yes, that is 4 rides in a row.

Impressive! When were you there again? It was so nice and low crowds for you.

I was at the bus stop at 1:35, and shortly thereafter back at All Star Movies. I was a bit early so I poked around in the gift shop for a while, and ended up being weak and buying one of the mystery Haunted Mansion Wishable bags. I was hoping for Constance (the bride) and I spent like 10 minutes feeling the bags (it does say "Squeeze Me" so I figure that's fair play).

Squeezing them to figure out what they are is literally half of the fun!

I love the bag you got! Is that from inside Galaxy's Edge?

 

[Araminta18]

Great trip report! Have loved reading along! Am amazed with your fastpass use. Well done!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it

I loved this report and I’m so sad it’s over! I hope you get a chance to go back soon as I’d love to read more from you (and your amazing fast pass luck!). Thanks for reporting!

Aw, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it Hey, I want to go back too...we'll just have to see!

They move poor Roy all over the place.

Wait, really? I didn't know that! Why?

Impressive! When were you there again? It was so nice and low crowds for you.

mid/late August? It was amazing.

I love the bag you got! Is that from inside Galaxy's Edge?

The one in the back that says Star Wars is the Galaxy's Edge reusable bag, and you can (or could) only get it there, I think. The one shoulder bag in the front with the Star Wars blueprints was from World of Disney

 

[disneyAndi14]

I really enjoyed following along.
I love your enthusiasm it really comes through in your reports!
I am very impressed with your FP skills and thank you for telling us about the 1FP in MK. I never thought about that but makes perfect sense. I will definitely use that strategy.
You really rode a lot of rides and did a whole bunch of miles!
I hope you have a wonderful trip to DL, we are thinking about going there in August.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Wait, really? I didn't know that! Why?

WE got our picture with Roy with the Castle behind us. I think because it is a bench, they can just pick it up and move it. Our last trip it was over by City Hall.

The one shoulder bag in the front with the Star Wars blueprints was from World of Disney

I love that one. I might have seen it along the way. I just have so many bags.

 

[Araminta18]

I really enjoyed following along.
I love your enthusiasm it really comes through in your reports!
I am very impressed with your FP skills and thank you for telling us about the 1FP in MK. I never thought about that but makes perfect sense. I will definitely use that strategy.
You really rode a lot of rides and did a whole bunch of miles!
I hope you have a wonderful trip to DL, we are thinking about going there in August.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it I hope you go - I've been watching a bunch of Disneyland vlogs and it just has made me so much more excited. Looks so much fun!

Right? If you've gone enough that you don't need to lock in the headliner fastpasses in advance (and are at a low crowd time where there's lots of day-of availability), it can be really nice to just ride one ride over and over.

WE got our picture with Roy with the Castle behind us. I think because it is a bench, they can just pick it up and move it. Our last trip it was over by City Hall.


I love that one. I might have seen it along the way. I just have so many bags.

Oooh, I'm sure that's a lovely photo! That makes sense - seems a bit of shame to move someone so important to completing the park around though.

Me too....too many bags but I love them all!

 

[Lotjestar]

I had the best time reading your adventures! Thank you so much for the effort you’ve put in writing this witty and picture-loaded trip report.

 

[Araminta18]

I had the best time reading your adventures! Thank you so much for the effort you’ve put in writing this witty and picture-loaded trip report.

Aw, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Wow, how did your Fastpass trick at HS work?! You don't need to pick three Fastpasses in order to start acquiring others? (Also, as usual, your Fastpass ability and luck is incredible!)

It stinks when their airlines can't get their act together and inform passengers about their flight in a timely fashion. I'm glad you found a hotel and got vouchers, but it's still annoying when you're not able to get home.

Thank you so much for telling us all about your trip! It was great fun to read!

 

[Araminta18]

Wow, how did your Fastpass trick at HS work?! You don't need to pick three Fastpasses in order to start acquiring others? (Also, as usual, your Fastpass ability and luck is incredible!)

It stinks when their airlines can't get their act together and inform passengers about their flight in a timely fashion. I'm glad you found a hotel and got vouchers, but it's still annoying when you're not able to get home.

Thank you so much for telling us all about your trip! It was great fun to read!

So, normally you're right - gotta use your three fastpasses before you start acquiring duplicates. But if you don't prebook any and then book and use a fastpass in one park (on the day of, nothing in advance) and then switch to another park, that essentially eliminates all the rules with regards to tiers, duplicates, etc. You can't hold more than one fastpass at a time (as opposed to if you pre-book you get to book 3), but for me, on the last day, when I had ridden everything already and didn't need to make sure I got a fastpass for something or other and was ok with just whatever popped up, it worked for me.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate your commenting and following along.

 

[raraavis]

loved reading your report!

 

[Araminta18]

loved reading your report!

thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it - i liked writing it