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

[nilla]

Another great thing about the Jungle Cruise is it is the location of the official Jungle Cruise starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson FastPass Kiosk (I think), and we're sure to snatch up some Pan FPs (9:50). If we say "bye" to Nana tongiht, we can skip this on Thursday. And say it we do.

But not before hitting up this place:



Formerly the home of the Orange Bird, now the home to this:



No one is passing on those, and they're amazing as usual. Can't beat a Dole Whip!

Alright, what now?

Kristin: "Haunted Mansion?"

Well, I'm not going to argue that. We make our way through Frontierland toward Liberty Square (urine trail view)...look, the Main Street Electrical Parade is going on!

Ok, don't look, because I didn't get any pictures of it. I'm holding Emily so she can see, since we're a few people deep off the curb. And anyway, our camera...well, you know. We don't watch a lot of it...Suzy...Perla...Cinderella...some other stuff. And that's enough. MSEP was a fun change-of-pace when it replaced SpectroMagic a few years back, but the novelty has worn thin for us. Bring back Chernabog already! Or do something new.

We reach the Haunted Mansion, and it's essentially a walk-on, like so much else today. Parks early, swim middle, parks late...it's a winning strategy! FPs help, too. Because they're THE BEST, the fam lets me ride alone again. No photos here, either, just soaking in the supernatural awesomeness. And I don't care about her track record - I would totally marry Constance. I could change her.

And, if I can't, so what? Instant happy haunt, and life's goal achieved. It's a "can't lose"!

After HM, we ride Pan with our FPs, saying "bye" to Nana, as I said earlier. Then, in the spirit of "do everything day", we grab even more FPs. This time, it's Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, at 10:05. But first, we've got some Wishing to do!

 

[mustlovecats]

So I'm very late to the party but I've been reading your trip report since the beginning and I must say I love it!

The baby gorillas were adorable by the way!

 

[nilla]

So I'm very late to the party but I've been reading your trip report since the beginning and I must say I love it!

Thank you! I love writing it, too. Never too late to join in!

The baby gorillas were adorable by the way!

Correct!

Now, back to our story.

We hit the most fabulously themed restrooms on Earth...









Pass on this ride...



...and pause as the fireworks start. We're not anywhere near a remotely good Wishes viewing spot, back by the Carousel, but it is pretty cool watching some of the fireworks shoot directly over our heads.

Not content to make a less-than-ideal situation remain that way, we take the opportunity to escape from the masses, in hopes of catching a shorter-than-usual standby line for the Seven Dwarfs (sic) Mine Train. And we do! This wasn't exactly a walk-on, but it couldn't have been more than a 20-minute wait. And most of that was walking through the queue, unabated. In fact, at times, we had to quickly play with the gimmicks, lest we get passed by the occassional rider behind us.





The queue props at this ride are a lot of fun! But it's easy to lose your spot in line if you dawdle too long. So we don't.

I opt out of photos on this ride, too, but it was a lot of fun at night. Great views of the lit-up castles. I think I prefer it in the daylight, however.

Alright, off to Tomorrowland!

 

[nilla]

Now, either my notes are wrong, or we weren't the most efficient touring family at this point, because the notes indicate that we rode Buzz, then went back to Main Street, then to Fantasyland, and then back to Tomorrowland. What?

I guess it doesn't matter, though, because I didn't take any photos in Tomorrowland that night anyway. So let's assume the notes were correct.

We ride Buzz, and I seem to get worse at this one every time I ride it. I don't know why. I mean, I THINK I'm hitting the targets. And my score's decent, but not the best. Oh well.

Fast forward to Main Street, where we get what EVERY kid should be getting at 10:30 at night...pure sugar!



While we were there, another family was dealing with a small child, maybe age 3, FLIPPING OUT over not being able to get some sort of treat. I don't miss those days. Well, I miss the cute parts. But not the late night meltdowns. Or the mid-day meltdowns. We still get meltdowns, but they're at least somewhat manageable now.

With the kids all hopped up on Mickey's Magical Pure Cane Sugar, we check out the wait for the Princesses at the former Exposition Hall, but it's REALLY long. No, thanks. Let's hit the Mad Tea Party!

But first - Castle pics!









Now - Cinderella fountain pics!





One more Castle pic...



...and now, it's time to spin around a million times and then puke!

In line, I get my first taste of things to come as the CM informs the family in front of us that selfie sticks are not allowed on this ride. He says you can hold the camera up high with your arm, explaning that you are not likely to drop your arm and have it sail into another Tea Cup, striking another guest. Can't argue with that logic!

Meanwhile, there's a bit of controversy within our family, since Emily wants to ride with Dylan, and Dylan wants to ride alone. Lots of empty cups, but in the end, we tell him to ride with his sister. After all, they both love to spin it like crazy:





Kristin and I, on the other hand, have a different approach:



Ok, I realize that doesn't tell you much. But be patient. I'll explain it in good time. And that good time is now.

What we do is clutch the wheel, preventing it from spinning. And, if it does spin, we counter-spin it the other way. I know, I know...we're defeating the purpose, and we're being almost as bad as the Kali River Rapids poncho crowd, but this ride's more for the kids. Plus, I don't want to puke. My stomach's been A+ this trip so far (for once), and I don't want to jinx it.

 

[nilla]

Afterwards, we head back over to Tomorrowland, where we ride the People Mover (no pics!), and finally, Space Mountain. It's midnight now, and we're finally done. But what a day.

We really did it all. To sum it up, here is all we did today, abbreviated:

Pan
Pooh
BTMRR x 3
Splash
Buzz
Space
Mine Cart
Philharmagic
Columbia Harbor House
Swim
Hair wraps
Beer
More Hair wraps
More beer
Crab legs
Splash
Jungle Cruise
Dole Whips
Main Street Electrical Parade, VERY briefly
Haunted Mansion
Pan
7DMT
Buzz
Sugar
Mad Tea Party
People Mover
Space​

WOW. What a day! And for all the FP+ naysayers, we got SIX of them today. Sure, numbers 4-6 weren't exactly marquis attractions (besides Pan, I guess), but still. SIX.

We didn't head over to Boardwalk after dinner, as we originally planned, but I can't say I missed it, in light of what we did do. It was probably as much as we would have done in April or May. FANTASTIC day!

We got to the bus stop, after another unnecessary sprint, and there are a lot of people there. Better make it a super stretch!

And they did. We get one of those double-long buses ("accordian buses") for the first time, and it's back to CBR by 12:30. I load the photos onto the laptop and resize them, and then it's off to bed...late. No worries. We're in no rush whatsoever to get to Epcot tomorrow, since we pushed all of our FPs to the afternoon and evening. It'll be our last day in Epcot this year, so we plan on staying late.

And we're finally returning to Le Cellier. Can't wait! Now, let's get some sleep!

(up next, back to Epcot for Day 9!)

 

[misskma]

We decided to take a resort bus from the Beach Club to Magic Kingdom, knowing full well that "moderate trash" like us are typically not welcome on the buses used by the luxies (that's what we mod rats call people who stay at the deluxes. Well, that's what I call people who stay at the deluxes. As of about ten seconds ago, when I typed it into my Trip Report).

We made it a point to avoid wearing tank tops (for men), ripped clothing, and anything with offensive language or graphics on it, so we just kept our mouths shut and slowly allowed ourselves to be inconspiculously absorbed into the privileged elite.

The gold-chassised bus got priority entry into the Magic Kingdom lot, and the footman rolled out the red carpet as the paparazzi swarmed the vehicle. Luckily, we slipped through the crowd as the actual super-wealthy staying at the Beach Club (we're also known as "dining plan trash", btw) was forced to face the media frenzy. And back into MK we went.

Oh my goodness! This made me laugh so hard! Which is not an easy thing to hide when I'm supposed to be "working". LOL

 

[gluestickgirl]

We did it last year, too, when A&E was the massive queue du jour. With the new theming for Peter Pan, it makes it even better.

I've never been to Disneyland, but a lot of it just looks bizarre to me. It's a Small World...with the queue outside? What?



The long trip helps, but timing things right is key, too. And FPs.

The lines everywhere definitely dampened the magic. The Matterhorn queue wraps around the mountain once it overflows the tiny area in front of the attraction. The entire Haunted Mansion front yard is filled with switch backs. Splash Mountain runs along the walkway (and you can stand and see both the Haunted Mansion and Splash at the same time, which was just WEIRD). I guess I just like my queues fancy and hidden. =)

We've got 8 days in the parks in March - and 2 days for Kennedy Space Center / the beach / the pool. I'm hoping time will be on our side! We're doing parkhoppers for the first time - DH and I will have them thanks to a no kids trip next month, so we figured we'd try it when we only had to pay the upgrade on three tickets.

Love the MK photos - and sugaring up the kids late at night. Only at Disney!

 

[AllysonL]

Afterwards, we head back over to Tomorrowland, where we ride the People Mover (no pics!), and finally, Space Mountain. It's midnight now, and we're finally done. But what a day.

We really did it all. To sum it up, here is all we did today, abbreviated:

Pan
Pooh
BTMRR x 3
Splash
Buzz
Space
Mine Cart
Philharmagic
Columbia Harbor House
Swim
Hair wraps
Beer
More Hair wraps
More beer
Crab legs
Splash
Jungle Cruise
Dole Whips
Main Street Electrical Parade, VERY briefly
Haunted Mansion
Pan
7DMT
Buzz
Sugar
Mad Tea Party
People Mover
Space​

WOW. What a day! And for all the FP+ naysayers, we got SIX of them today. Sure, numbers 4-6 weren't exactly marquis attractions (besides Pan, I guess), but still. SIX.

We didn't head over to Boardwalk after dinner, as we originally planned, but I can't say I missed it, in light of what we did do. It was probably as much as we would have done in April or May. FANTASTIC day!

We got to the bus stop, after another unnecessary sprint, and there are a lot of people there. Better make it a super stretch!

And they did. We get one of those double-long buses ("accordian buses") for the first time, and it's back to CBR by 12:30. I load the photos onto the laptop and resize them, and then it's off to bed...late. No worries. We're in no rush whatsoever to get to Epcot tomorrow, since we pushed all of our FPs to the afternoon and evening. It'll be our last day in Epcot this year, so we plan on staying late.

And we're finally returning to Le Cellier. Can't wait! Now, let's get some sleep!

(up next, back to Epcot for Day 9!)

What an awesome day!! You really maximized your park time. The system works if you use it properly, you guys certainly have it down to a science

 

[nilla]

Oh my goodness! This made me laugh so hard! Which is not an easy thing to hide when I'm supposed to be "working". LOL

It would be funnier if it weren't true.



Fabricated/embellished class warfare at WDW is one of the many services I offer.

The lines everywhere definitely dampened the magic. The Matterhorn queue wraps around the mountain once it overflows the tiny area in front of the attraction. The entire Haunted Mansion front yard is filled with switch backs. Splash Mountain runs along the walkway (and you can stand and see both the Haunted Mansion and Splash at the same time, which was just WEIRD). I guess I just like my queues fancy and hidden. =)

That does sound odd! I still want to visit DL some time, but don't know that I'd like it more than WDW.

We've got 8 days in the parks in March - and 2 days for Kennedy Space Center / the beach / the pool. I'm hoping time will be on our side! We're doing parkhoppers for the first time - DH and I will have them thanks to a no kids trip next month, so we figured we'd try it when we only had to pay the upgrade on three tickets.

We've never hopped, so I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. And 8-day trip should still be plenty of time to get everything done. Are you going around Spring Break?

Love the MK photos - and sugaring up the kids late at night. Only at Disney!

Thanks! And yep, We can make exceptions in Disney

What an awesome day!! You really maximized your park time. The system works if you use it properly, you guys certainly have it down to a science

I'm not good at much, but Disneying is one thing I consider myself above average at

Hoping to get the first Day 9 update out tonight. I have it partially written, so it all depends on what other nonsense attempts to derail it.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

 

[kadrachb]

Great picture of everyone!

it's time to spin around a million times and then puke!

My mom said when I was little that's the only ride I ever wanted to ride... so she's the poor soul who had to take me on it. Every time we ride it now I take a video to send her for a little memory of that (or what I want to say) great time we had.

 

[Britbrie]

Omg I feel like I missed so much!! Coral Reef looked awesome, I've been trying to convince everyone to go there for years... I'm totally showing them your food pics, and maybe they'll agree! haha.
Wow you guys did a lot in MK!!!! I'm impressed! Love the pics, excellent update as usual!

 

[DisneyElite4]

Been following along for awhile now...I have loved reading your TRs since you started writing them! Love the wit and general humor in your writing - thanks for sharing!

 

[nilla]

My mom said when I was little that's the only ride I ever wanted to ride... so she's the poor soul who had to take me on it. Every time we ride it now I take a video to send her for a little memory of that (or what I want to say) great time we had.

I loved when our kids became big enough to ride alone

Omg I feel like I missed so much!! Coral Reef looked awesome, I've been trying to convince everyone to go there for years... I'm totally showing them your food pics, and maybe they'll agree! haha.

Coral Reef is great! Highly recommended. Also, ask to wait for a tankside table. It's well worth the wait.

Wow you guys did a lot in MK!!!! I'm impressed! Love the pics, excellent update as usual!

Thanks! It wasn't as crowded as our other MK days, but still a lot of people. They just seemed to be everywhere but where we wanted to go, so it all worked out

Been following along for awhile now...I have loved reading your TRs since you started writing them! Love the wit and general humor in your writing - thanks for sharing!

Awesome! Thank you so much for being there from the start!

I'll have updates posted this weekend for sure, since I wrote half of Day 9 last night, but it got too late to post it. Stay tuned!

 

[Clarf]

Whoa, stellar day at the MK! And the pool. And MK again. You got a TON accomplished. I"m with your on FP+. If you know how do scheduled, you can absolutely maximize your use of them.

Those sugar sticks? Yep. We got those this year. The girls somehow convinced us to let them get the huge ones. I think Maura still has some of hers left. Lucy's was gone in 10 minutes. I totally get the appeal of them, though. How could you not want straight up sugar flavored in different flavors?

Dole Whips. Yum.

I'm impressed you and Kristin can still ride the Tea Party. I can't do it. Jason does though, and spins it SO fast.

When you said selfie sticks were banned on that ride, I was thinking, "um, weren't they banned in the whole park?" But that was after your trip. They were banned when we were there and some woman didn't see the 10 million signs they had up about them and was really ticked that she couldn't bring hers in. Do your research, people!

I can't believe you're on day 9 already!

 

[nilla]

Whoa, stellar day at the MK! And the pool. And MK again. You got a TON accomplished. I"m with your on FP+. If you know how do scheduled, you can absolutely maximize your use of them.

Especially if you don't care about missing some once in a while. Which we also did when we had the paper passes with the enforced time window.

Those sugar sticks? Yep. We got those this year. The girls somehow convinced us to let them get the huge ones. I think Maura still has some of hers left. Lucy's was gone in 10 minutes. I totally get the appeal of them, though. How could you not want straight up sugar flavored in different flavors?

I still love pure sugar, so I was definitely sampling from theirs!

I'm impressed you and Kristin can still ride the Tea Party. I can't do it. Jason does though, and spins it SO fast.

It barely spins at all for us. We're good at that

When you said selfie sticks were banned on that ride, I was thinking, "um, weren't they banned in the whole park?" But that was after your trip. They were banned when we were there and some woman didn't see the 10 million signs they had up about them and was really ticked that she couldn't bring hers in. Do your research, people!

We were there pre-ban! It was selfie stick chaos!

Seriously, though, I saw maybe three selfie sticks!

I can't believe you're on day 9 already!

Yes...right now!

 

[nilla]

 

[nilla]

Day 9 - Tuesday - Epcot

Itinerary:

• Sleep in
• Illuminations

FastPass+

• Test Track: 9:35-10:35
• Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot: 10:40-11:40
• Spaceship Earth: 12:00-1:00

ADR:

• Le Cellier: 5:50

 

[nilla]

We're a family that likes its sleep. It sometimes takes a while to get us to bed, with the allure of the adventure, procrastination, and general time mismanagement that come in the late hours of the night. Once there, however, we enjoy it. A lot. And we sleep. Long.

Well, most of us do. Kristin, Dylan, and Emily, average around 21-22 hours of sleep a day. Me, on the other hand, end up getting between 5-6. 7 is a great night for me. Weekends, I can go 8. Because of the allure of the adventure, procrastination, and general time mismanagement that come in the late hours of the night. I do a lot of, "Friday's only three days away, so I'll be fine!" stuff.

But I do love to sleep, when I can.

Of course, in Disney World, sleep isn't always easy to get. Though we did just hit Magic Kingdom hard, clocking in a 9-midnight day. So, yeah, we're gonna sleep.

Except for me. I'm up at 8:00. And I have no idea what I did after that, because the next notes I have read, "to Epcot by 12:30". Which leads me to believe I was up for a while, as the others enjoyed their sleep.

Anyway, I guess we're at Epcot now, and who doesn't have time for a PhotoPass picture?



Certainly not the family that just got really moving at about 11:00.

If you look at our original FastPass+ list now, you'll see that we missed just about all of our FastPasses. Well, we didn't. Becaue we changed them last night:

FastPass+

• Figment: 12:30-1:30
• Test Track: 4:50-5:50
• Spaceship Earth: 7:40-8:40

...which puts us right around Figment time!

 

[nilla]

We duck into Club Cool on the way, and a Beverly later, we were on and off Figment's Ride. Though Kristin and I decided there would be no playing in the extermely weak Imagination play area, we ended up playing anyway:



But not for long! Outside now, for some shots near the fountains:









Great timing on this next one:



Monorail!



A couple more photos:

 

[nilla]

Afterwards, we headed over to Innoventions to check the wait on the Disney Visa Character Spot. Personally, I'm a bit upset we gave up our "Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot" FPs, so I'm happy we may still get to meet the Big Cheese...

...but the line is far longer than we want to deal with. Even while playing "Heads Up".

Dejected, we head over to World Showcase, where Kristin eases the pain with a cronut:



We made our way around World Showcase, stopping briefly to watch Canadians cut wood with sharp things:



Off to the UK next...









...but only briefly. Hey, it's Alice!





One of the CMs at the Agent P kiosk says, "don't fall into any rabbit holes, Alice!", to which Alice replies, "I'll try not to!" I don't think I've ever seen a bad Alice at WDW. But no time to wait in that line, either. It's off to Japan!

Quick photo first:



We've decided that lunch, which we're WAY late for, will just be whatever we find on our travels. And Emily's found Kakigori. I found sushi:



I was a bit hesitant to get this, because I've never had good prepackaged sushi, but this is actually really fresh, and really, really good! I LOVE sushi, but don't eat anywhere near enough of it. So I got another box of it, using another snack credit. Well worth it!