Exclusive Baby Gorilla Photos! (plus bonus Trip Report) - June '15 - completed 10/23 - Page 31

[nilla]

I decided to sit out on swimming this time, staying back at the room with Dylan. Kristin and Emily went to the pool.

The big news today is that the wifi is finally working! A manager finally called us back in the morning, while we were waiting for the parade at the wrong time, and she said someone was coming out to replace the router.

Or does it? Ugh. It's dropping in and out again. Alright, maybe they're not done yet.

Meanwhile, at the pool...





Lots 'o people! The pool got pretty crowded some of the days we were there, but no matter. We could still throw the water ball Emily got a Five Below before the trip...we just have to aim better.

As part of the afternoon's activities, a CM jumps into the drink, and an impromptu hoops game breaks out.



C'mon, alley oop to the lifeguard! To the lifeguard!



Another pool theming shot:



Kristin gets some photos of the little kids area, before Emily gets ejected for being too big:





And now, it's finally time for the promise that got Emily to buy in to the Coronado-to-Caribbean switch this year. A hair wrap.





Hair wrap in, it's on to the next competition!



And the next!



More pool shots:

 

[nilla]

The girls return, and the sky's not looking too nice.



Oh well, we have to eat! Back to the bus stop. Two more Aruba shots...





And then, some hair wrap shots. Hey, Kristin got one, too!







The bus arrives shortly, and it's back to Hollywood Studios!

We're there by 5:20, and it's straight back to Sci-Fi for our 5:30 ADRs. Well, with a quick stop to grab our 4th FastPass. 7:00, Great Movie Ride it is!

We have a tradition of being inside Sci-Fi when it starts pouring, so a storm now won't be a surprise. But one doesn't hit.

Hey, look - the car's back!

 

[nilla]

We get called in pretty quickly, and got seated in the front row!









Our waiter is great. And the entertainment is some of the best in Disney:







Last night was the re-do for the restaurant that kicked in my illness last year, but tonight is the return to the first one I could actually eat at after that. This place gets a bad rap, but we think the food is really good.

Especially the shakes.





"nilla's camera indoors, in the dark" problems going on here, but bear with us. Dylan and I all got the Oreo shake, Kristin got the Chocolate Cherry shake, and Emily opted for the Vanilla. As usual.

This is Kristin's Flame-broiled New York Strip Steak:



She loved this last year, and loved it again this year. I got the ribs. Also fantastic, and combined with the fried chicken from 50's Prime Time earlier in the week, completely supplements the lack of Hoop-Dee-Doo Revues on this trip.



Like the steak, this one looked better in person. Dylan got the Build-Your-Own Angus Chuck Burger, and lemme tell ya, his idea of "Build Your Own Burger" and mine are completely different, in terms of quantity of toppings. I think his big leap was "mayo". Anyway, here it is, in all its low-light glory:



And Emily got...



Are you surprised?

Now, for desserts. Dylan got the Out-of-This-World Turtle Cheesecake:



That's what it was called. But it was out of this world. And now, the main event.



The House-made Sci-Fi Candy Bar (I copy/paste my menu item names right from Disney, so you KNOW they're legit). And the only good photo I took here. Actually, Kristin probably took it. But the dessert is soooooo darned good!

We had a great meal, and an awesome time! This place went from a novelty to a perennial favorite. The waiter was hilarious, too. And really nice. He even took this picture:



Our check was stamped "speeding ticket". The car next to us got a parking violation. Silliness.

Looking at the menu as I write this, I'm now seeing something I swear wasn't there before:

Sci-Fi Popcorn Treat - House-made Popcorn Soup with Buffalo Popcorn Chicken and Celery Sticks drizzled with Blue Cheese Dressing

Whoa. Yeah, I would have ordered that. I wish I could go back right now to get it!

 

[nilla]

After dinner, we headed over to the Streets of America to see what would become Kristin's favorite moment of the trip.

For some reason, we were under the impression that the carriage from the new, live action "Cinderella" (which Kristin LOVES) was long since removed from in front of the movie theater facade. Not the case, as Kristin found out from a times guide.

Well, holy crap. Let's go see it!

Kristin is positively giddy in line. This is the actual carriage from the film. And while you don't get to hold the actual glass slipper, you do get to hold A glass slipper, with the actual crystal butterfly from the movie on it. So cool!

As we wait in line, Dylan notices he lost his sunglasses. Sheesh. We send him back to Sci-Fi. He wants me to go with him, but I need to man the camera. So, off he goes.

Finally, we're up front.







Kristin asked the CM if she could sit in the carriage, knowing the answer beforehand. "Only Cinderella gets to sit in there!"

Resisting the urge to inform the CM that she IS Cinderella and posing for A LOT of photos, Kristin, and the rest of us, leave. Including Dylan, who has returned, sunglasses in hand!

Well, some of us leave. But Kristin doesn't want to leave. So she takes more pictures.



The carriage is leaving the very next day, so this is it!







We are FINALLY able to pull her away from it, making a quick stop in for some antiques, deary.



This area is never crowded. Because it's under-utilized.

 

[nilla]

Time to cash in our GMR FPs! Though this ride has sold out to Turner Classic Movies, it can't be THAT bad, and it's one of our favorites. So here we go!





There is a little more recorded narration than before, but the CMs still do a lot. And ours were great. The mobster CM made Kristin almost jump out her seat by suddenly getting right in her face and barking, "what are you looking at??" Which was hilarious.

Plus, the film medley at the end has added the "Help me!" "Shut up!" scene from "Blazing Saddles", which adds two full stars to the ride rating right there.

After the ride, we discuss what to do next. Kristin has an idea - why not go see Cinderella's carriage again? Dylan, of course, is 100% against this, but too bad - we're going back!







Moving on (for the last time - honest!), Emily wants to get a shot where she always wants to get a shot:



Next, we duck into Muppetland, but we're only there for the photos:

 

[nilla]

With some time before the fireworks start, we decide to go ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster again, this time using the single rider line.

We cross the park and get in line, but soon decide that even the single rider line was too long of a wait. So it's back over to Star Warsland (which is right next to Muppetland), where we decide to cap the night's rides off with a trip on Star Tours. And it's only a 10-minute standby!



Hey, Chewie's over there! Somewhere. He kind of blends in with the forestry, doesn't he?



We took a crazy route over there, apparently, since the next photo in the series is the stage, back where the hat used to be:



DJ Lobot is on the cut, but Dylan and I are disappointed that he is not dressed like the Star Wars character Lobot. Or pretending to actually be the Star Wars character Lobot. Or the actual Star Wars character Lobot. Booooo!

We were walking past, which explains the blur in that last photo, btw. Alright, we're inside ST now. and less blurry:





We ride, it was awesome, and we head back out into the still-rainless evening. The weather held up! Cool, because it's almost fireworks time!

Back to Hollywood Boulevard, where we stake out a spot about midway between the stage and the exit. Somewhere under these palm trees:



Star was stuff happens on stage, and the fireworks begin.

...

No photos, but trust me - the fireworks were AWESOME. Not quite Wishes awesome, but close. Fireworks synched up to Star Wars music? How could that possibly be anything but cool?

Our proximity to the exit makes for an easy trip to the bus stops, and it's not really a bad wait at all. We got back to CBR around 10:30. We can't sleep in tomorrow, either, so we want to get in bed before too late.

Star Wars Weekends was great! We didn't do any of the meet and greets, character or celebrity, we didn't buy any merch, and we didn't get to see the whole parade. We didn't sit in on any of the seminars, either. And we really didn't ride that many things. But just being there among it was cool enough. It was a completely different HS experience than we're used to. Kristin and Emily want to watch the SW films now, but Kristin doesn't understand why we can't start with Episode One, instead of the original (Episode Four).

...

As I said, SHE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND

We have one more HS day in another week, and that one is the first day of Frozen Summer Fun!

The best news, of course, is that Kristin thoroughly enjoyed the meal at Sci-Fi, and continued to enjoy it since her stomach issues have seemingly subsided. Sci-Fi cures all!

It's off to bed now, getting ready to hit our fourth park of four with a trip to Animal Kingdom. And you know what that means.

Wait, does anyone know if there is an emoji for bananas?

(Up next, Day 6 and Animal Kingdom!)

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Kristin and Emily want to watch the SW films now, but Kristin doesn't understand why we can't start with Episode One, instead of the original (Episode Four).

OUCH.

 

[nilla]

OUCH.

I'm starting to wonder if she's just doing it now to egg us on. Sort of like my friend in high school, who would get a Van Halen-loving classmate going by saying, "c'mon, you have to admit that 'Hot For Teacher' is the best song Van Halen ever recorded."

 

[Clarf]

Kristin and Emily want to watch the SW films now, but Kristin doesn't understand why we can't start with Episode One, instead of the original (Episode Four).

Yeah, it doesn't work that way. We recently introduced our girls to the SW series and started with the original. You just have to. It's the rule. Plus, if you watched Episodes 1-3 first, you might not want to watch 4-6. I bet Emily would love them, though. Lucy and Maura did. Maura even picked R2-D2 shoes over Anna and Elsa shoes on a recent shopping trip!

Glad you made it to SW weekends. I'd probably feel the same way you did. Cool to be there, but we don't necessarily need to do and see all the SW stuff.

Great pool pics, of course. We always seemed to miss the fun games they do. Looks like Emily had a good time! Yay for hair wraps, too.

The Cinderella carriage is beautiful. I don't blame Kristin for wanting to go back and see it again. Poor Dylan. Dinner looked fun! We need to get back to Sci-Fi. Haven't been there since 2001. I don't think you even needed ADRs back then! I remember Jason and I just walking up and getting a table.

I sense baby gorilla pics coming. Can't wait!

On another note, we have some good friends moving back to PA from Milwaukee later this month. We are talking about visiting them next summer, so I may be asking you for pointers on fun stuff to do. They are going to Harrisburg, but we have other friends in Lehigh Valley (I think you're there, yes?) so will probably stop there too!

 

[Clarf]

Okay, someone just posted this on Facebook. Not sure if you've seen it, but there is a HM part. It's Tiny Hamster's Best Day Ever at WDW.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=635521383243414

 

[nilla]

Kristin and Emily want to watch the SW films now, but Kristin doesn't understand why we can't start with Episode One, instead of the original (Episode Four).

Yeah, it doesn't work that way. We recently introduced our girls to the SW series and started with the original. You just have to. It's the rule. Plus, if you watched Episodes 1-3 first, you might not want to watch 4-6. I bet Emily would love them, though. Lucy and Maura did. Maura even picked R2-D2 shoes over Anna and Elsa shoes on a recent shopping trip!

We might be watching it tonight. And YES, it will be Episode Four!

If you think Kristin wanting to watch E1 first is absurd, let me remind you that we got E2 for free when we bought a new DVD players years back. She called me at work to ask if it was appropriate for Dylan, who was much younger at the time, to watch. Dylan had not seen any of the SW films at this points, so...

NO. IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE.

Glad you made it to SW weekends. I'd probably feel the same way you did. Cool to be there, but we don't necessarily need to do and see all the SW stuff.

Meeting the non-celebrity characters would've been fun, but the lines for those were HUGE. I'll take the 10-minute standby on the Star Wars ride instead, thank you!

Great pool pics, of course. We always seemed to miss the fun games they do. Looks like Emily had a good time! Yay for hair wraps, too.

She gets shy and doesn't want to participate, then jumps in and loves it. Odd girl.

The Cinderella carriage is beautiful. I don't blame Kristin for wanting to go back and see it again. Poor Dylan. Dinner looked fun! We need to get back to Sci-Fi. Haven't been there since 2001. I don't think you even needed ADRs back then! I remember Jason and I just walking up and getting a table.

The carriage was THE highlight for Kristin this year. She would've gone back again had it been there the next week! Can't wait for that one to come out on Blu-Ray. We collectively gasped when we saw the very first trailer last year.

We LOVE Sci-Fi now! Definitely a top 5 for me.

I sense baby gorilla pics coming. Can't wait!

You sense right!

On another note, we have some good friends moving back to PA from Milwaukee later this month. We are talking about visiting them next summer, so I may be asking you for pointers on fun stuff to do. They are going to Harrisburg, but we have other friends in Lehigh Valley (I think you're there, yes?) so will probably stop there too!

No problem! There's always something going on in the Valley. Right now, it's Musikfest, Bethlehem's week-long food and alcohol festival. Oh, there's music there, too

Okay, someone just posted this on Facebook. Not sure if you've seen it, but there is a HM part. It's Tiny Hamster's Best Day Ever at WDW.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=635521383243414

AWESOME! HM and the Dole Whip were the best parts of that video. Thanks for posting this!

 

[Clarf]

Musikfest sounds a lot like Summerfest in Milwaukee.

 

[DisneyAndrew]

I love bananas...especially dancing ones. Haha

Awesome TR so far

 

[nilla]

Musikfest sounds a lot like Summerfest in Milwaukee.

Somewhat, but Summerfest has far bigger names. Musikfest seems to be stuck in a time lag....the big names this year are Reba, Snoop Dogg, Culture Club, Jerry Seinfeld, and ZZ Top. We mostly check out the smaller acts, which are free.

Oh, and Summerfest has this:

http://summerfest.com/artist/radkey

This band is PHENOMENAL.

 

[nilla]

I love bananas...especially dancing ones. Haha

Awesome TR so far

Thank you!

What dates were you in WDW? We were at the Beach Club for dinner on 6/15.

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, Jon (took me a bit to catch up; the kids were in town and we went to the Cubs game over the weekend and a lot of packing on Sunday).

You treat Star Wars weekend like we do...hit the rides and maybe catch the parade. I saw the first three and couldn't tell you a thing about them now.

I'm glad you at least caught part of the parade.

You are right...Studios is very lacking in QS. Our go to now is always Starring Rolls...great sandwiches and awesome cupcakes.

I'm glad the wi-fi was somewhat rectified for you.

The pool does look very crowded.

I remember seeing Cinderealla's coach when we were there in May. I'm trying to remember if it was still there in July or not. I have a vague feeling we saw it but the lines were insnace. Maybe I'm wrong. I'll have to check my photos when I get home (which still aren't downloaded to photobucket).

I'm glad Sci Fi rectified itself with you guys. We really enjoy it there. It's not gourmet food, but we've only had one bad meal there (and that was my fault for ordering the pasta dish). We stick with burgers/reubens and onion rings...and we are happy people.

That must of been cool to have fireworks to Star Wars music (I loved it when they did it to the Frozen soundtrack).

 

[ksromack]

I am so sad we won't be able to see Cinderella's Carriage....it looks so beautiful!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

I'm starting to wonder if she's just doing it now to egg us on. Sort of like my friend in high school, who would get a Van Halen-loving classmate going by saying, "c'mon, you have to admit that 'Hot For Teacher' is the best song Van Halen ever recorded."

"Kokomo: greatest Beach Boys song, or GREATEST Beach Boys song?"

My middle child is sincere when he says he is "sad we can't watch the movies in numerical order." (My youngest agrees but is a born troll and I doubt his sincerity.)

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Great update!

Pool days are always fun. Our first full day in Disney (this Sunday!!!) will be spent lounging at the Poly pool. Then dinner at California Grill. Just takin' it easy that day.

This year we are eating at Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch but I wish we were eating at Sci-Fi. Every time I see a picture of that Sci-Fi candy bar dessert it makes me drool. I'd love to try it!

That picture of you & Emily by the carriage is adorable!

We introduced Emily to Star Wars last year...and she watched them in the appropriate order. She loved them and even has these posters hanging in her bedroom:








And here's some trivial trivia for you: Jake Lloyd, the actor that played young Anakin, went to high school in our area and also worked at a mall close to our house.

 

[stackyallred]

I'm joining in! I have a lot of catching up to do but I am following your signature over here from my TR. I love your introductions and your reference to "Monkey's Uncle." That is one of my favorite songs! Now excuse me while I go read your last 16 pages...