Don't Pet the Sweaty Things. An Aug Solo Birthday Trip. Updated 12/4!!

I did EMM in May solo. I had a similar plan - went to a PP first then rode 7 dwarves 8 times in a row then ended with Pooh as the event was ending. I then headed straight to breakfast as I had FP at DHS starting mid morning. I agree with you about solo or small group being best to get more value for this. I enjoyed the breakfast. Nothing amazing but was good variety .
 
Overall I really liked EMM and would probably do it again if I was solo or maybe just with Jim. I don’t think this would be a good event for a large group or with my Mom who moves a bit slower.
Sounds like a good morning. I have always been intrigued by these add on events, like EMM or a dessert party.. I tend to think like you, that it's worth it solo or as a couple, but when I look at the price for a family of four (all adult price) I just don't think its worth it.
 
Sounds like you had a good morning. I love the fact that Mickey Mouse is even on the milk cartons!
 
Admission is available for $69 per adult
I think this seems reasonable - I wasn't sure how much it was - but I get what you're saying about feeling some pressure to get enough rides in to make it worth the money! I'd be anxious about that part for sure (especially since I have a lot of motion sickness issues!)

I headed there next and rode four times in a row. I waited about 5 minutes each time.
Wow!!! Definitely makes the $ well spent.

I filled my plate with one hand and took pictures of the food with the other (I know, such talent!).
::yes::
 


I'm glad you enjoyed your EMM morning! I think you did really well with the amount of rides you got done! The breakfast looks really good too!

It was a lot of fun! I'm not sure though if I'll do it again with the new format. They added some rides and meet and greets so I'm guessing they will increase the number of people. Since most do this for 7DMT I think that line will just increase for that one.

This picture leaves me wishing Jimmy would love 7DMT instead of screaming hysterically and yanking at my arms to hold him in tighter. Sigh.

Sounds like this was a fun event!!

Awe, that's too bad. Hopefully he'll eventually get over that fear and start to like the thrill rides.

I'm sorry as you may have already answered this and I completely missed, but you could tell me what type of fan you bought? It looks absolutely the perfect size!

I got it from Amazon. Here's a link to it:

Handheld Fan

I did EMM in May solo. I had a similar plan - went to a PP first then rode 7 dwarves 8 times in a row then ended with Pooh as the event was ending. I then headed straight to breakfast as I had FP at DHS starting mid morning. I agree with you about solo or small group being best to get more value for this. I enjoyed the breakfast. Nothing amazing but was good variety .

Wow! 8 times on 7DMT! I really wanted to get a few more rides in on 7DMT but my stomach just wouldn't let me.

Sounds like a good morning. I have always been intrigued by these add on events, like EMM or a dessert party.. I tend to think like you, that it's worth it solo or as a couple, but when I look at the price for a family of four (all adult price) I just don't think its worth it.

Yeah, they are pretty pricey events. I've always done them solo or with just one other person. I can't imagine how families manage to pay for these on top of what they already spent.

Sounds like you had a good morning. I love the fact that Mickey Mouse is even on the milk cartons!

It was a very fun event! Those milk cartons were pretty darn cute.

I think this seems reasonable - I wasn't sure how much it was - but I get what you're saying about feeling some pressure to get enough rides in to make it worth the money! I'd be anxious about that part for sure (especially since I have a lot of motion sickness issues!)
Wow!!! Definitely makes the $ well spent.

It's a relative cheap event for Disney and it was a lot of fun. I do wish it had been closer to 2 hours rather than an hour but I still got a lot done. I could have gotten on 7DMT a few more times if my motion sickness hadn't kicked in.
 
Almost Galactic Hero Times 2!

I headed towards Tomorrowland while munching on my croissant and hydrating with some water. It was another scorcher of a day. I ended up using my Space Mountain FP right around 10 am.






As soon as I scanned at the front of SM, I logged onto MDE and tried to move my next FP forward. It was for Buzz Lightyear and didn’t start till 10:35 am. But I forgot that SM is one of the few rides that still has a second touch point for FP and you can’t modify the next FP till that one is scanned the second time. I didn’t really have time to mess with it once I scanned a second time because I was pulled fairly quickly to fill a single seat. Unfortunately it happened to be the back seat which I find to be a lot rougher than the front. Guess I’m getting old because I just don’t enjoy these coasters like I used to.



Once I exited SM, I tried again to move the Buzz FP to an earlier time but I had no luck. The park was very crowded already and there were no early times available. Instead I took a spin on the Peoplemover to pass the time. I guess I was savoring every last second of my last day because once again, I took no pictures.

The Peoplemover used up the extra time before my Buzz FP nicely so I was able to head there next. As soon as I scanned my FP, I tried with no luck to modify my Pirates FP that didn’t start until 11:35 am.

I got on Buzz quickly but just before we entered the first room, the ride came to a halt. I realized almost immediately that I was in the perfect position to hit the target on the inside of the orange robot's hand. It’s on the left in that first room and is worth 100,000. Within a minute I had hit that target ten times and my score said this:




There was nothing else to do except slide over to the other gun and try for some more points. And that’s what I did just as the ride started back up. We didn’t stop again but I ended up having one of my best games without any stops. I came sooooo close to scoring Galactic Hero twice in one go around!



I guess double Galactic Hero will have to be a goal for another day. And here’s my lovely ride photo. I’m way too competitive to care about the photos on this ride so I always just look super serious in them.



I had a choice to make at this point. My DME bus was at 2:15 pm so I needed to head out of the park by 12:30 pm at the absolute latest in case I ran into any transportation issues. But it was supposed to start raining around noon and I really did not want to get stuck in another rain storm right before having to head to the airport. I did put an extra pair of shorts and socks in my carry on bag but my first pair of shoes was still soaked even after I tried drying them with a hair dryer. I didn’t have a third pair of shoes with me and really didn’t want to deal with wet feet the whole way back to Atlanta.

In the end I stood in the Buzz dump shop for a few minutes and tried once more to modify the Pirates FP. I tried for a few minutes, flipping back and forth between the different time tabs and finally one popped up that I could use immediately! So I headed straight to Pirates and got to ride my favorite ride as my last ride on my birthday trip. Wow, that was a lot of “rides” in that sentence.

I ended up by myself in the back seat which meant I could take all the pictures I wanted without worrying about blocking people’s view. So that’s what I did. Here’s the beach scene minus the mermaid skeleton.




And here’s some pictures of the new auction scene.





I do think the new quoted phase from this scene should be “A hen for a ten” or maybe “Strike yer feathers dearie, show em your flock”. Both of those stuck with me after the ride was over. Alright then, moving along with more pictures.







And the ever so boring Pirates ride photo. I swear half the people in the boat look like they need a good nap.



After that I headed out. I had originally planned to get some lunch at Columbia Harbor House but I wasn’t very hungry yet plus I wanted to beat that rain. I did take one more trip through the Emporium because I was on the hunt for a T-shirt which was pretty much the last thing in the world that I needed. Someday I need to count the number of Disney t-shirts I have. I have a whole section in my closet plus two under the bed bins that have nothing but Disney t-shirts. Any ways, back to the Emporium. I had forgotten the fact that I would end up a sweaty mess by the end of the morning and hadn’t packed a clean shirt in my carry on. I really didn’t want to go to the airport in the same shirt I had sweated in all day. So the new shirt was necessary, right? I quickly found this one to buy.



And since they were cheaper if you bought two, it was also necessary to get a second one.



After that I really did exit the park and head to the bus stop. I managed to snag my own private chariot back to the resort.





Once I was back at the resort, I changed into the new t-shirt I had just purchased and then headed to the food court for lunch. I got a burger and fries this time and it seems I didn’t get any dessert for some reason. That’s not like me.



And while I was sitting there eating, the skies opened up and it rained for about an hour. Looks like I made the right decision leaving the parks early.

I wasn’t quite done with my shopping though. I went back into the store there at the resort and purchased this Halloween shirt. Front:




Back:



I had been eyeing it up since I first saw the Halloween merchandise and I finally decided to pull the trigger and get it. I wore it to work on Halloween and my boss told me I had won Halloween. Granted he’s a huge Disney fan and therefore a little bit biased.

After that, I picked up my carry on bags and sat inside the lobby until the very last minute before heading out to the DME bus stop. No use getting sweaty again after I just changed my shirt.

I ended up having a bit of a rocky journey home. First of all a storm came in as they loaded us onto the plane.




They tried to hurry us before that hit but weren’t quite fast enough. We had to sit on the run way until it passed. Then once I got to my car in Atlanta and on the road home, I hit some nighttime construction that had multiple lanes of the highway shut down. I was able to get off and take some back roads around the construction but it was almost 11 pm when I got home. I went to unpack just the essentials only to discover the top layer of my bag was soaking wet. It had obviously been left out in the rain at one point. I had to hang up everything that was wet before I could head to bed around midnight. Needless to say, work was a bit rough the next day!

I did trade for one pin during that last day. Here’s a picture of it along with my pathetic pin haul for the whole trip.






And my final Fitbit stats along with the full week stats. I’m always fascinated to see just how many miles I walk during a Disney trip.





And that’s the end folks! Of course I still have the October TR going so hopefully I’ll see you all over there. As always, thanks for following along on my adventures.
 
Sounds like an awesome spin on Buzz!

Your persistence paid off! Glad you could ride Pirates as your final ride!

I like all 3 of the shirts you ended up buying!

Thanks for sharing another great TR with us! :goodvibes
 


IMG_7706-L.jpg
In May, you will teach me how to do this!!!! :)

And the ever so boring Pirates ride photo. I swear half the people in the boat look like they need a good nap.

That's why I always like to jazz it up with my finger hook and hand-eye patch :)....much to the embarrassment of my husband!

And since they were cheaper if you bought two, it was also necessary to get a second one.
#DisneyMath

No pin haul can be pathetic when it includes a birthday button actually worn on your birthday!!!!! I am jealous...until May 5th. :)
 
Another great trip!

I haven’t been a galactic hero once and you almost got it twice!

I had my bad left in the rain in January as well. It was at the beginning of my trip though. The concierge at BLT said Southwest tends to do that a lot with bags. Luckily I kept my race clothes in plastic bags so they were all dry.
 
Yay to Galactic Hero status!
I love the Halloween shirt, very cute.
What a fun last morning, Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed your report.
 
I came sooooo close to scoring Galactic Hero twice in one go around!
:worship:

And the ever so boring Pirates ride photo. I swear half the people in the boat look like they need a good nap.
I know! :laughing: I continue to be baffled why they chose that spot.

I did take one more trip through the Emporium because I was on the hunt for a T-shirt which was pretty much the last thing in the world that I needed.
:rotfl: I think we can all relate to that!

So the new shirt was necessary, right?
::yes::

I went back into the store there at the resort and purchased this Halloween shirt.
This shirt is awesome!!!

I wore it to work on Halloween and my boss told me I had won Halloween.
I agree :thumbsup2

I’m always fascinated to see just how many miles I walk during a Disney trip.
I know, isn't it crazy!? I use the mileage to justify all the eating I do at Disney :rotfl:
 
I will although I might be a little scarce till after Christmas. I've got a big project that has to be finished (and that I should be working one right now) by 12/31 so I'm going to be really busy at work for a while.

Good luck with that!

No, I was actually talking about Dinosaur in AK. That's the one we skipped because Jim couldn't see it and I didn't know what it was.

ooooohhhhh....

Well once you get into the theater it's fine, it's only the wait outside the theater that's a bit brutal. FOLK is the only show that I tolerate that kind of wait for. If you haven't figured it out, I love that show. ::yes::

Almost didn't. You were very subtle there.

:laughing:

I will definitely call next time. I didn't realize I could cancel without an excuse.

Then make one up!
"My hamster escaped and is terrorizing the other guests."
"There's a big spider by the door... a big spider."

:rotfl:I guess I could always say it's for my imaginary kid.

See? Problem solved!

I actually went back to my post to see if I put "hours" instead of "minutes" as the time I waited.

:laughing: Sorry!

I do love me some good BBQ. We have probably 10 BBQ joints close to our house and we've tried them all. Unfortunately not one was good enough to go back for round two. :sad2:

Huh! Well that's... disappointing.
(scratches Atlanta off as a BBQ destination)

They didn't take anything away, just moved the dessert from the CS meal to an extra snack credit. I actually like that because there isn't always a dessert I like at the CS restaurants.

Ah. Actually... that's not bad. I'm often too full for dessert anyways but wouldn't mind something sweet at another time.

I don't think it saves much time either but it was nice to sit and relax rather than waiting in yet another line.

True. I may go and look at the menu and use it if there's a long line.

I didn't even think about them being Cherry's. That does make more sense than peppers. Still wouldn't take the risk though.

Not a risk taker. Check!

Yep, that's about the price if you buy a stand for displaying it.

:sad2:

I do love Pandora in the day and at night but I did want more lights at night.

Actually, that's what I like. The lack of lights.
 
I was up super early again on Sunday,

Wow! You have super powers!

I’m pretty sure I was out the door around 6 am.

Yep. Early.

I explained my dilemma and she said no problem and took me over to the Bell Services desk and took my carry ons. Another family was standing around looking panicked and they came over and checked their bags also. Apparently they had a pre-park opening breakfast and didn’t know what to do about Bell Services being closed.

Nice of him. :)

I headed out to the bus stop at 6:30 but a bus didn’t come until 6:50.

Hmmm... 20 minutes. Still falls in the time frame they mention. But barely.

I still made it to MK with about 25 minutes to spare.

Not bad. :)

I was headed to MK this morning to do Early Morning Magic. For those that don't know what EMM is, here's the description straight from the WDW website:

At first I was "Yeah, yeah, Ariana. We all know what EMH is. Sheesh." Then I did a double take. "Heyyy.... wait a second..."


Like this shot!

In all my research on this event, I somehow didn’t realize that I had to go around to the left of the castle across the Liberty Square Bridge to get to Fantasyland. I wasted a bit of time going to the right and then having to back track.

I had to double check a MK map to make sure I was reading that right. That's... odd.

I veered off and headed to Peter Pan. I think there were two other people who did that along with me.

Niiiice.

Since I was virtually alone on PP I tried out my photography skills which pretty much suck on this ride.

That's a tough ride to shoot. Even with a fast lens.

After PP, I headed over to Winnie the Pooh and went for a spin through the 100 Acre Wood. I swear I have worse luck with pictures here than I do on PP.

yep. Another tough one.

And you know what’s even worse? My pathetic attempt at 7DMT pictures!

Yep again. Even harder. Just as dark and now you're moving even faster.

I headed there next and rode four times in a row.

Whoa! Got your money's worth there!

And my four ride photos.

:laughing: I see a certain similarity.

But alas, my motion sickness starting catching up to me and I was feeling a bit nauseous.

Oh, that's too bad. Sorry to hear that.

I filled my plate with one hand and took pictures of the food with the other (I know, such talent!).

:worship:

Everything was fresh and hot and it filled me up and calmed my stomach.

Good!

So I ended up doing 7DMT 4 times, PP twice and WTP once.

Not bad at all!!

It looked much worse than it actually was. I was on and off the ride by 9:15 am.

Not bad too.


I noticed at first (erroneously) that you had the same young lady in both shots... then realized that it was two different people... both have their hands on their hips.

But when I came back to Liberty Square, I discovered that HM was down.

What???? Noooooo!!!!

:eek: :faint:

You know it's going to be a crowded day if IASW has a line at 9:20 am!

Run away!

So for those of you that don’t like IASW you are spared the agony of seeing my pictures.

Yay!

I also would love to do the new EMM at Hollywood Studios for Toy Story Land. I'm hoping it will be offered in May when I'm there.

Hmmm... must look into this...
 
As soon as I scanned at the front of SM, I logged onto MDE and tried to move my next FP forward. It was for Buzz Lightyear and didn’t start till 10:35 am. But I forgot that SM is one of the few rides that still has a second touch point for FP and you can’t modify the next FP till that one is scanned the second time.

I had no idea you could do that. Huh!

Guess I’m getting old because I just don’t enjoy these coasters like I used to.

Join the club...
I think my time on SM has come to an end.

Instead I took a spin on the Peoplemover to pass the time. I guess I was savoring every last second of my last day because once again, I took no pictures.

But... but... but... no foot shot?????

Within a minute I had hit that target ten times and my score said this:


:laughing: That's cheating!
(and I'd do the same thing.)

I came sooooo close to scoring Galactic Hero twice in one go around!

Not bad! Don't know if anyone's done that before.

And here’s my lovely ride photo. I’m way too competitive to care about the photos on this ride so I always just look super serious in them.

As serious as an (almost) double galactic hero.

didn’t want to deal with wet feet the whole way back to Atlanta.

Yeah, I can see that.

In the end I stood in the Buzz dump shop for a few minutes and tried once more to modify the Pirates FP. I tried for a few minutes, flipping back and forth between the different time tabs and finally one popped up that I could use immediately! So I headed straight to Pirates and got to ride my favorite ride as my last ride on my birthday trip.

Nice!

Wow, that was a lot of “rides” in that sentence.

Reminds me of when Sally Ride flew into space.

And here’s some pictures of the new auction scene.

Please. Don't remind me.

I do think the new quoted phase from this scene should be “A hen for a ten” or maybe “Strike yer feathers dearie, show em your flock”. Both of those stuck with me after the ride was over.

:laughing:

I swear half the people in the boat look like they need a good nap.

Well, they all got up at 6am, so...

Someday I need to count the number of Disney t-shirts I have. I have a whole section in my closet plus two under the bed bins that have nothing but Disney t-shirts.

Like me and my Harley shirts. But I think you have me beat by quite a few.

I really didn’t want to go to the airport in the same shirt I had sweated in all day. So the new shirt was necessary, right?

Right!

And since they were cheaper if you bought two, it was also necessary to get a second one

Of course. Makes perfect sense.

I got a burger and fries this time and it seems I didn’t get any dessert for some reason. That’s not like me.

Who are you???

And while I was sitting there eating, the skies opened up and it rained for about an hour. Looks like I made the right decision leaving the parks early.

oooh... Good call!

I wasn’t quite done with my shopping though. I went back into the store there at the resort and purchased this Halloween shirt.

Nice! I like it. :)

I ended up having a bit of a rocky journey home.

Sorry to hear about all that.

I went to unpack just the essentials only to discover the top layer of my bag was soaking wet.

:sad2:
 
So I started walking, and walking and walking. It was quite a while before I ran into any kind of line and then once I did I ended up waiting a total of 9 minutes. Talk about an inflated wait time!

Awesome!

So I got in line at the front desk to see if they could help me. A manager came up while I was waiting in line and asked if she could help me. I explained my dilemma and she said no problem and took me over to the Bell Services desk and took my carry ons.

That was really nice of her.


Once they let us in, I followed the masses down Main Street.


Seem crowded!

Since I was virtually alone on PP I tried out my photography skills which pretty much suck on this ride.

Same. I don't know why I even bother trying.

EMM gave me absolutely no advantage over the regular park guests coming through Liberty Square from the Hub. We merged with them at the end of Liberty Square and then were stopped again at the beginning of Fronterland.



Once the released us and we made our way to BTMR, there was a huge bottleneck at the entrance to the ride.


Yikes!

Overall I really liked EMM and would probably do it again if I was solo or maybe just with Jim. I don’t think this would be a good event for a large group or with my Mom who moves a bit slower.

I actually loved it with my mom BECAUSE she moves a bit slower :P

Unfortunately it happened to be the back seat which I find to be a lot rougher than the front. Guess I’m getting old because I just don’t enjoy these coasters like I used to.

Same! I ask for anywhere but the back seat on SM. I'll wait if I have to.

I got on Buzz quickly but just before we entered the first room, the ride came to a halt. I realized almost immediately that I was in the perfect position to hit the target on the inside of the orange robot's hand. It’s on the left in that first room and is worth 100,000. Within a minute I had hit that target ten times and my score said this:


OMG, that's amazing! I still can't figure this out >:(

And while I was sitting there eating, the skies opened up and it rained for about an hour. Looks like I made the right decision leaving the parks early.

Smart!

I went to unpack just the essentials only to discover the top layer of my bag was soaking wet. It had obviously been left out in the rain at one point.

That stinks. I've never had that happen, what a pain!

Great end to your trip!
 
While we were standing there, the train pulled into the station. Even without the music and characters, it’s still an impressive sight!

Nice shot with the sun shining through the trees there.

While everyone else headed to 7DMT, I veered off and headed to Peter Pan. I think there were two other people who did that along with me.

Wow, private ride!

I headed there next and rode four times in a row. I waited about 5 minutes each time.

Pretty impressive. Keeping the riffraff out has its perks.

I filled my plate with one hand and took pictures of the food with the other (I know, such talent!).

Such dexterity!

Once the released us and we made our way to BTMR, there was a huge bottleneck at the entrance to the ride.

:scared::crowded:

So for those of you that don’t like IASW you are spared the agony of seeing my pictures.

Oh, thank goodness. :rotfl2:

Overall I really liked EMM and would probably do it again if I was solo or maybe just with Jim.

I can definitely see the perks. I think I'll always be too cheap for it, myself.


Nice! Lucky that you got the ride to stop right there!

I came sooooo close to scoring Galactic Hero twice in one go around!

That would have been awesome!

And the ever so boring Pirates ride photo. I swear half the people in the boat look like they need a good nap.

Yeah, that's not a great spot to put the camera.

I managed to snag my own private chariot back to the resort.

Did they fan you with palm leaves and feed you grapes on the way?

I went to unpack just the essentials only to discover the top layer of my bag was soaking wet. It had obviously been left out in the rain at one point. I had to hang up everything that was wet before I could head to bed around midnight. Needless to say, work was a bit rough the next day!

Oh man, that sucks! Happened to us once with Southwest--they left our softsided bags out on the tarmac in a huge rainstorm. Brutal.

And that’s the end folks!

Great TR! Thanks for taking us along!
 
I guess double Galactic Hero will have to be a goal for another day. And here’s my lovely ride photo. I’m way too competitive to care about the photos on this ride so I always just look super serious in them.

Congrats on the scores! I wish WDW put the scores on the photopass pictures! They do at Disneyland (but the buzz photos there are free but very low quality - you go to a screen afterwards and email them to yourself)

But it was supposed to start raining around noon and I really did not want to get stuck in another rain storm right before having to head to the airport. I did put an extra pair of shorts and socks in my carry on bag but my first pair of shoes was still soaked even after I tried drying them with a hair dryer. I didn’t have a third pair of shoes with me and really didn’t want to deal with wet feet the whole way back to Atlanta.
So... I ended up making the opposite decision in last weekend! Ended up needing to get new socks, sweatpants, and even shoes (though all they had were sandals). So I looked very very classy on that plane flight! My mom just nearly bent over laughing seeing how ridiculous I looked!
 
Well, shoot, now that I am finally caught up, it seems we've reached the end of this lovely TR. :( but it was full of good information and wonderful photos. Thanks for taking the time to write it all up for us!!

I am in awe of your scores on Buzz. I don't think I've ever gotten more than 70,000 or so. LOL!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!










Top