I'M JUST SHOWBOATIN' AROUND THE WORLD! & getting pooped on. Jan 13 TR! NEW TR POSTED!

[arbolita]

That is so cool you were randomly lucky enough to be on the PeopleMover when Space Mountain had the lights on! I'd love to see that once - although not while I'm on the track. I think that would freak me out and make me never want to ride it again haha.

I love the look of the Contemporary rooms, and The Wave is one of my favorite restaurants, but I definitely think the Poly trumps it as far as being the monorail resort I most want to stay in. Maybe once they have DVC and I can rent points...

Ugh, the stroller in the monorail is obnoxious. especially when there isn't even a child in it!

We don't really ever meet with face characters either, for the exact reasons you mentioned. Glad to hear your experience with Rapunzel was a good one though, and I'm guessing she was probably in training so I'm sure she appreciated the interaction also!

I absolutely love that ring!! And that hoodie!! Clearly I need you to take me shopping, because I felt like we had no luck finding good souvenirs when we were there.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha Dinosaur Photo 2 is equally awesome to the first one!

Awwww, you M&G with Dug and Russell is adorable!! So glad you were finally able to meet them!

 

[danimaroo]

Your Dinosaur pictures are THE BEST!!
I laugh and laugh every single time and then chuckle about it the rest of the afternoon!
I swear Matt looks like he is staring down the woman in front of him.

Hahaha, thanks! I'm glad I make people laugh with them because they really are just ridiculous.

Matt totally looks like he is staring down the lady in front of them, while totally ducking out of the way of that dangerous Carnotaurus.

Love the mugs so much! The first trip I had them we didn’t really use them but it’s just so nice to be able to drink coffee on the way to something for FREE daily! Lawl.

How nice of you guys to wait until you were all together to ride the safari! Oh my gosh I KNOOOW! Like, get rid of the plot line for the zebras, and then just kinda pretend that the zebras never happened…..

I liked the poacher plot line, as long as I was paying attention to it! I found a lot of people didn’t understand that there was a story along with the ride and were superbly confused. I still always brace myself for the rickety bridge that no longer exists…. #disneyprobs

Ahahahahahahah dinosaur….the WORST RIDE IN EXISTANCE! I will never accept it.

Aww! Awesome character meet! That’s so great! I’m so glad they brought them back out! We got Dug on one December 11 trip, but that was it. Now we’ve got them both, and I am SO excited for the Wilderness Explorer game they’re rolling out soon!Yay!

Yeah we love them, too! I'm guessing we'll get them again on our next trip, but probably after we switch resorts!

We wanted to make sure we're all together for the safari! Just had to be done! But yeah, that side story was kind of silly, so I'm cool with it being gone.

Dinosaur is just terrifying. But yet I agreed to go on it again?

Yeah, I was super happy to meet them. It should be awesome to have that game! They have something I think kind of similar at Disneyland.

Yet another great Dinosaur ride photo!! I'm totally with you, though, that ride is just terrifying!

Awww, the Russell and Dug meet was probably my most favorite part of your trip video. The joy on your face was just so catching, and I found myself smiling all through this update seeing the pictures. How sweet!

Hahaha thanks. It really scares the crap out of me!

Aw, thanks. That meet seriously made me SO happy! They were so stinkin' adorable.

I would like to be at Disney the same time as you all just so we could go on Dinosaur together and you could be in my ride photo! Priceless.

Hahahaha, I should start charging for being in people's Dinosaur ride photos because clearly I'm entertaining people over here.

As usual, AMAZING ride photo!! haha But hey, I feel your pain, those dinosaurs are scary!

And I love love love your pics with Russell & Dug!! Super cute character meet

Thanks, I really tried SO hard not to get scared but I couldn't do it! I just couldnt.

And thanks so much! They were so adorable and I think one of my favorite character meets ever.

Oh my gosh, your Dinosaur picture made me laugh so hard! I'm with you - I hate things jumping out at me. It's why I won't do haunted houses - why give myself a heart attack on purpose So happy you got to meet Dug and Russell. UP is my favorite, favorite movie - it is just so heartwarming. Absolutely stunning pictures as usual.

Bahaha, I'm glad it's cracking people up as much as it's made me laugh! That stupid ride though, ugh. I don't do Haunted Houses either!! Except, of course, the Haunted Mansion in Disney. But yeah, no thanks!

I agree, Up is amazing, so meeting them was just the best! Now if only they could have a WALL-E robots for me to meet. OMG, I would pretty much die if that happened.

How in the world did I get behind. I've patiently been stalking for a new update, and when I see one posted I then discover that I totally missed the one before it! Ugh! Anyway...about the Toot and Scoot...I laughed so hard I nearly hurt myself...the funny part was the CM feeling the need to explain her disgust...that was just too hilarious to me!

Now, for Art of Disney, I love that store, but I'm a little intimidated by it. We've been in a couple of times, but of course it's always crowded. I've never seen the computer you're talking about, so I must really be missing out. I know I always see people carrying around prints that I love, but then I can never find them myself, and of course I'm mostly too shy to ask. I'm determined to buy something from there someday. I really, really want the Princess and the Frog print by Thomas Kinkade...do you know if they sell any of his stuff there?

Your evening at DTD sounded absolutely perfect. I just love DTD and could go there every day. In fact, sometimes when we go down for races and don't visit the parks, we spend most of our time there. I mean how can you go wrong between Ghirardelli, World of Disney, Basin, Art of Disney and Earl of Sandwich!

And I have to say you are too adorable in your new Mickey hoodie...it's quite awesome.

Lastly, the excitement that you felt when meeting Dug and Russ are totally why I love reading your reports. Reading about that interaction made me smile from ear to ear...there's something special about meeting our favorite characters and having those kinds of interactions with them, and I'm so glad you were able to have that one!

Don't even worry about it! I've fallen behind on EVERYTHING over here. I feel terrible! But I have been so busy at work (though I'm sneaking in some DIS time right at this moment), and then outside of work has been busy or I've been going on walks.. Either way, not a ton of time to DIS. But I'm going to try to write a TON of updates here soon so I can keep posting and make sure this is done before our next trip!

ANYWAY, that toot and scoot incident was hilarious. OMG, that CM was SO angry at the men! Hahaha.

Art of Disney isn't too bad... just the CMs stink. But the computer is towards the left side of the store, and you can go through posters that they don't have in store, but you can order! It's pretty great! I'm pretty sure they have Kinkade paintings/prints there, so I bet you could find something you'd want!

I love DTD, it's so much fun. I know a lot of people don't like going but we definitely do!

Aw thanks, I LOVE that hoodie! I wear it all the time!

THANK YOU! I loved meeting them and it was just wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a cuter character meet, seriously!

Hahha YES. FINALLY yall all got to go to Animal Kingdom together!

AHHH ELEPHANTS! That's basically the only reason I go on the safari! All the other animals are at our local zoo, but no elephants, and they're my favorite! I have to get my elephant fix.

HAHAHA. Another gem of a photo. Amy is just loving that good old carnotaurus!

The Dug and Russell pis are too cute! So glad you finally got to meet them!

Haha, yup! It worked out well!

I love the elephants, especially the babies! They're so cute.

Hahaha, I thought Amy's face was hysterical because WHO goes on Dinosaur for the first time and just smiles like that?!

Thanks! I loved meeting them!

Love your trip reports, you guys are such a fun couple!

I also got that same ring because it was Mickey but not too much Mickey.

Sad part about it was I accidentally threw away my girlfriend ring that my husband had given to me when we started dating. I had worn it every day for 9 years and I took it off and stored it in the diaper bag so I could wear my new ring. Not realizing until 3 days later that it got thrown out in the nightly diaper bag clean out!

Aw thank you so much!!

I agree, that ring is awesome.. Not too in your face, but it's super pretty, too!

OMG, same thing happened to me! I accidentally lost my "girlfriend" ring he bought me, too! I was super sad about it since I wore it for years! But at least I have this now!

Hoodies and shorts... Are you SURE you're not Canadian??

I forgot to mention it before, so it's good that you're wearing it again. That hoodie is adorable. I want one!

Yes I did known they got rid of the Zebras and I was not happy. It was still being built in October and then gone by the time I got there at the end of April. Boo!

OMG, can I just pay you to ride Dinosaur and provide us with ride photos over and over? These are like the new joys of my life. I just finished writing the story of my ride photo in response to your first Dino photo, and then you go and bless me with a new one. So kind of you.

Hahaha, well I AM a Seattleite, and we're pretty close to Canada, so that counts, right?!

Aw thanks! You should try to get one!

Yeah, that is a bummer for you! If it makes you feel any better, they just kind of stood there on our safari, hahaha.

HAHAHA, yeah, I should just started taking Dinosaur photos and showing them off to keep people entertained. OMG, just can't handle that ride, I swear! I still love your Dinosaur photo giving me a little shout out!

 

[danimaroo]

No one will ever, EVER in the history of TRs, beat your TWO FANTASTIC Dinosaur ride photos!

Your new Mickey hoodie is cute!

Hahaha, that is a bold statement, and I will totally take that compliment!

Thank you very much, I love it!

Hahahaha...you should frame those two reactions. Priceless.

And who knew the Zebras would be the problematic animal! I would have guessed it would have been the elephants or lions!

Bahaha, I should.. even though they are the worst photos of me ever.. they ARE hilarious.

Yeah, I had no idea that the zebras would cause such a ruckus!

Cute photos with the Up characters! Thats so cute it made you that happy.

I love your 2nd dinosaur pic. You description of Matt made me laugh hard!!! I love it.

Thanks! I love them, so I was pretty darn happy.

And yeah, I still am trying to understand WHY he ducked, hahahaha. It was just such a hilarious response!

I love it when you break down the ride photo! Always hillarious! Matt kinda looks like he wants to throw up! So glad you got to meet your up characters!

Haha thank you! He was terrified, and I love that the camera caught it, hahaha. I was so happy to meet Dug and Russell, they were adorable.

Your ride photos are always the best! That Dinosaur photo couldn't be better if you guys had posed for it. I love it how Bruce and Amy always just look happy to be there!

OMG the pics of you with Russell and Dug are ADORBS! I always get weird with character meets (face and fur!) because I'm such an awkward conversationalist. I either get super over hyped and come off like I'm on speed or get super quiet and smile weirdly, or just end up saying something totally ridiculous. Maybe I need to be better prepared, that seems to be the key.

Hahaha thank you! Bruce and Amy are ALWAYS smiling on the rides that are terrifying. It's kind of hilarious.

Aw, I think I am good with the non-face characters. They are just too cute not to gush over and chat with! I try to prepare myself with things to say though, so that makes it way easier and less awkward.

DYING at your Dinosaur photo! Though don't worry, mine would feature me in the fetal position I'm sure!

And so adorable with Dug & Russell! I just love when the characters interact so amazingly!

Hahaha, it's so scary, I swear! And yeah, they were SO cute and I just wanted to be friends with both of them forever.

Love your Russel and Dug pics! I met them back in May and they were both great! I love it when characters spend some extra time with adoring adult fans

Thank you so much! I totally agree, adults want to meet characters, too, and I love when they are just super adorable interacting with you!

Priceless Dinosaur ride photo!! I just can't get over the drastic difference between Amy and Bruce's expressions and your and Matt's reactions. It was like you guys were on completely different rides.

Bahaha, thanks. Their reactions vs. ours crack me up... then again, those two smile at EVERYTHING, even Tower of Terror!

8 trips and I still haven't ridden Dinosaur because I am such a wimp. Your expression in the ride photo is definitely not helping

OMG, so obviously I'm terrified in my photos, but it's not THAT bad. It's just I don't like things popping out at me and especially since you're in the dark... and I have a hard time seeing in the dark. But that being said, I still managed to go on it twice.. and probably would again on our next trip, just to make Matt happy.

OMG! Dug and Russell are too adorable! I can definitely relate to crying when you meet your favorite characters. When I met Eeyore a few years ago, I was definitely tearing up!

Yeah, I'm glad you know what I mean! It just really makes your trip so much more amazing than it already was!

Thank God there is an Earl of Sandwich in NYC or I wouldn't be able to get through life.

Can you believe I've never gotten anything at Ghiradelli? I'm always too full!!

OMG THE MICKEY HOODIE WITH EARS. I NEED. *grabby hands*

OOOOhhh I love your Haunted Mansion art. I only have one thing from Art of Disney, a sketch of Mickey & Minnie, and it's quite lonely!!

I'm seriously dying @ the Asian family behind Bruce and Amy hahahaha

LMAO you on Dinosaur is my favorite thing. Like, if we ever have a Dismeet, I need it to be at Dinosaur, okay? So I can be a part of one of these glorious Dinosaur ride photos.

YAAAYYYY I'm so happy you finally got to meet Russell and Dug! How sweet!!

Haha, you are very lucky to have it there! Then again, I'm kind of glad they don't have one here because it'd be so tempting to go all the time!

AHHH we always leave room for Ghirardelli.. It's just so good.

Yeah, I LOVE that hoodie. It's super cute and awesome. I think you need one after your MNSSHP costume!

You need more, they have so many awesome pieces... I love when we find a new Haunted Mansion one for Matt, though!

HAHAHA I didn't even notice them, ohhh my God. Attraction photos are the best.

OKAY, we will meet and hang out and ride Dinosaur and then you can laughing hysterically as I try my best to not be terrified on it... which isn't very good.

Aw they were so adorable! It just made my day.

Spent the past couple of days reading your trip report, it's too fun.

This is going back quite a few updates, I don't even remember which one it was, but there was a picture of Matt's backpack and were those Dharma Initiative pins on it?

The little Remy at Les Chefs de France looks like the cutest thing! Definitely something I need to see in the future, I love Ratatouille (even if it took me like three times to figure out how to spell it!).

And that Nutella waffle sandwich look like it might be the greatest sandwich ever.

I love that you have those Haunted Mansions prints up in your house! So cool.

So funny they ended up getting rid of the zebras. I wonder if they'll put other animals there now.

I'm glad you've been reading it AND enjoying it!

YES THOSE ARE DHARMA PINS!! It's actually my backpack, as LOST is my all-time favorite TV show ever. Someone gave me those pins. I've had a few people recognize them.. one of which in 2012 was a Disney CM at Star Tours. We chatted about LOST until we boarded our ship... and then I was chosen as the Rebel Spy, hahaha.

It's ADORABLE and definitely a must-see! It's so cute and the food is pretty good there!

OMG, the Nutella sandwich is just heaven... HEAVEN.

We have those HM prints and also some attraction posters, as well! Disney has slowly taken over our house.

Yeah, I'm curious to see what they end up putting in that area instead of the zebras! Should be interesting.

Haha, I too HATE things popping out at me! I immediately scream. In Haunted Mansion, I squint my eyes in the graveyard scene even though I can see their hidden heads. Sometimes even when it pops out for the doombuggy in front of us, I still get startled. Once a student hid behind the entrance wall of my classroom in the dark and scared me as I walked in. I screamed so loudly and wanted to cry. That kid got in trouble~ haha.

Hahaha, me too! I just can't handle that kind of stuff, my reaction is a terrifying scream! If any student ever did that to me, they'd be in trouble, for sure!

Oh, Dinosaur. It is terrifying, I can't disagree! You couldn't fake a face like that

Hahahaha, nope, sure couldn't. That ride is just flat out scary!

Alright, I've been lurking around loving your report. Coincidentally, my family was at WDW the same time in January!

Anyhow, my reason for coming out of lurkdom is to share a story of my own terror of Dinosaur. First time at AK ever with just me and my cousin. She convinced me to go on the ride. I was so scared of the Carnotaur that I nearly peed myself and cried. 2 years later DH and go for his 1st trip. He begs me to go on and against my better judgment I gave in. Right after that devil-saur starts to roar, the ride stops. We are in pitch black dark and it's very quiet. About a min or 2 later, without warning the ride starts up again with the pee-inducing roar for a couple of very long seconds, then stops again. I was terrified! I knew what was coming but had no idea when. This break was slightly longer, but that awful-taur scared the bejeezus out of me when the ride started again. I could NOT wait to get off that thing!! That is one ride I will never, ever ride again. Unfortunately (or fortunately, really) due to the ride issues there was no photographic evidence to be had.

Sorry for the long post. I am really enjoying your story!!

Oh that is awesome! I wonder if we ever ran into each other without ever knowing it?!

Hahahaha, your story sounds like A NIGHTMARE. OH MY GOD. I can't even imagine that! I would have just died. My photo would just be me passed out in the car, hahaha. Good lord, that sounds terrible!

Thanks for reading along, and sharing that story, because I'm glad to know I'm not the only one scared of an animatronic dinosaur!

I feel the same way you do about Dinosaur! I'm always "yeah I'm not gonna be scared!" And then I end up hiding my face on the person next to me ! Maybe next time...

Hahaha, it's impossible to not be scared! I'm going to try hard not to be on our next trip, though!

We met with Dug and Russell at AK during our April trip this year and we had a very good character interaction as well. I agree that they were beyond precious. A very loverly experience.

Susan

Aw, that's awesome! They are BEYOND cute and I hopefully will meet them again in September! It was one of my favorite moments of the trip for sure!

That is so cool you were randomly lucky enough to be on the PeopleMover when Space Mountain had the lights on! I'd love to see that once - although not while I'm on the track. I think that would freak me out and make me never want to ride it again haha.

I love the look of the Contemporary rooms, and The Wave is one of my favorite restaurants, but I definitely think the Poly trumps it as far as being the monorail resort I most want to stay in. Maybe once they have DVC and I can rent points...

Ugh, the stroller in the monorail is obnoxious. especially when there isn't even a child in it!

We don't really ever meet with face characters either, for the exact reasons you mentioned. Glad to hear your experience with Rapunzel was a good one though, and I'm guessing she was probably in training so I'm sure she appreciated the interaction also!

I absolutely love that ring!! And that hoodie!! Clearly I need you to take me shopping, because I felt like we had no luck finding good souvenirs when we were there.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha Dinosaur Photo 2 is equally awesome to the first one!

Awwww, you M&G with Dug and Russell is adorable!! So glad you were finally able to meet them!

I KNOW! PeopleMover was plenty close for me. If I ever went on SM with the lights on I'd die... It just looks so scary with the lights on!

I loved staying at the GF and am looking forward to it on a future trip, but the Poly is definitely a place that I would love to stay at at some point. I hope they do have DVC there, because that would be AWESOME.

Yeah, those people were rude, but I guess that's to be expected of some families in Disney!

Rapunzel was great... I don't think we'll be doing a TON of meets with face characters, but I really do want to meet Merida at some point. She's kind of my favorite, right next to Rapunzel. Next trip I'm makin' it happen!

Oh man, we got some good stuff! Let's go shopping and we'll pick out some good stuff!

Hahaha, that photo, I think it's kind of funnier because I was really trying SO hard to not be scared. And FAILED.

AH THANKS. I was BEYOND excited to meet them and almost cried from happiness. I still kind of tear up when I watch our trip video and see that whole meet with them.

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Forty: Rafiki and a little pizza are all I need in my life.
Day 7: January 23rd, 2013

BEFORE I CONTINUE... There was one detail I forgot to mentioned in my last update that I'm totally a dork for forgetting.

On our final ride of Expedition Everest, I was getting ready to be terrified of the Yeti, like I always am, even though he's not swiping at me or anything. Anyway, as we went through the final tunnel... it was completely dark... and the light was NOT on...

Um, THIS WAS TERRIFYING. Knowing that there is a ginormous yeti just sitting above you in the complete darkness is beyond scary. I get super creeped out about hidden animatronics that I can't see on an attraction (like Spaceship Earth, there are hidden animatronics behind curtains, AHH), so knowing he was right there scared the crap out of me. It was also just totally weird that the strobe light wasn't working!

But yeah, it creeped me out to the max and I still screamed as we went under where the Yeti was... because I knew he was there, staring at me in the dark.

ANYWAY! Back to the latest update...

We headed out of Animal Kingdom, and decided to catch a bus to Beach Club, because that was actually closer than taking one to Epcot, where our lunch ADR was.

For no good reason, I decided to take random photos of Matt on his iPhone while on the bus.

Our bus driver evidently forgot where he was going because he legitimately took us the wrong way! Our bus ride ended up taking a bit longer once he realized his mistake, but we were okay with it.

We got to Epcot and made our way over to Italy.

Of course, I had to stop and get a photo of my shadow!

As we were walking, I noticed more characters hanging out between The American Adventure and Italy! Poor Rafiki had NO ONE taking photos with him, and he was just standing there looking kind of sad. So of course I made us stop so I could get a photo with him!

Plus, how often is it that you see Rafiki in Epcot?

I said goodbye to Rafiki, then we finally made it to Italy!

Our reservation was for 11:45, and we checked in and were seated very quickly!

We had a nice view of the ovens, which are seriously my favorite!

We ordered our drinks, which by the way, can I say that Via Napoli has the coolest glasses?

Then they shortly thereafter brought out the wonderful bread with olive oil!

Before too long, all of our food showed up!

Both Matt and I went with the Carciofi pizza, which was truffle oil, cheese, and artichokes on it.

I was so excited about our lunch that I didn't take a photo of everyone else's! But Bruce got a Ham and Eggplant pizza, while Amy went with pasta.

My pizza was amazing... No wait, AH-MAH-ZING, as Penny from Happy Endings would say. But seriously, it was so good. I wish I could have some right at this moment!

Bruce and Amy also loved their lunches... but I think Bruce had some envy over the pizzas that Matt and I got, haha.

But lunch would not be complete without dessert!!

Matt went with the tiramisu:

Amy and I both went with the pistachio gelato:

And Bruce went with a sundae:

Ermergerd, our desserts were delish. I have a hard time not getting that gelato every time we eat there. It's just that good!

Via Napoli really is my favorite place to eat, alongside Raglan Road. Everything there is amazing; the service, the food, the restaurant. You are missing out if you haven't tried it yet!

Unfortunately, I was starting to get a wee-bit tired, but I pushed through it anyway.

We left Via Napoli and of course went right on over to Norway.

We were feeling like a little Maelstrom action, so we waved hello to my Norwegian fish-murdering child (we'll call him Sven), and away we went.

After a delightful trip, we stopped for some photos because Amy was spending some time looking around the store.

I don't know what is happening in this next photo. I'm fairly certain I was mid-conversation with Matt.. or just making a ridiculously awkward face.

Matt just looked cute in his little Viking helmet.

After Amy bought some fun items, we all decided to head out. Matt and I really needed a little break, and wanted to go swimming. Bruce and Amy really wanted to go see the Indiana Jones stunt show, so they headed over to Hollywood Studios!

We got back to our room and I was all excited to go for a swim... until I promptly fell asleep for an hour in our bed. I must have just been totally pooped! Matt was on his computer while I was asleep though, and so luckily he woke me up when we needed to get ready to head back out.

Sometimes you just hit that wall and your body MAKES you slow down and sleep. This was one of those moments... and I have to admit, when I woke up, I was feeling GOOD! There is something kind of nice about waking up from a nap at Disney, only to get ready to go back out for the night and feeling refreshed. On my to-do list for our next trip? MORE NAPS.

Continued in next post​

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Forty-One: We FINALLY found the family stone!
Day 7: January 23rd, 2013

Anyway, we headed out the door at around 4:15 and caught a bus to MAGIC KINGDOM! YAY! I just love the fanfare music that plays when you're on the bus to MK. It's magical.

We got there at around 4:55, and since we had lots of time to spare, I suggested we go and see if Guest Relations would be able to help us out with hunting something down.

Matt's family bought one of the stones that you see right outside of MK, and we always wanted to try and find it! Matt knew it's general location, but with so many of them, it's kind of hard to find. So since my friend Steph said Guest Relations had helped her find hers, we decided to do the same! The woman was super nice and wrote down the number of the stone for us, and told us where to look for it.

After a little bit of searching, we finally found it!

It had Matt and his two sisters' names on it. I don't know why, but we were super happy when we finally found this stone. I've always found them to be kind of neat!

After we found his family's stone, we headed into the park... but stopped for another photo in front of the train station!

Since we were both wearing our hats, I also made us stop for a fun shadow photo. These always make me happy. We have one from 2012 framed and hung upstairs with all of our other Disney photos!

When we walked into the park, the crowds weren't actually that bad. I mean, this picture might seem crowded, but I have it noted that we were SUPER happy to finally see less crazy crowds.

Our first stop in the park? It's a Small World! I have to admit, it was kind of weird going on it after we'd just been on it in Disneyland back in December.

Disneyland's IASW starts outside, so being inside just seemed odd... but I was happy to welcome this attraction back into my life. I'm a Small World fan, fo' sho'.

AND SO IS MATT... even though he looks like he's bored in this photo.

In fact, he is the one who was pushing for us to go on it! It felt a bit odd going on it so late in our trip, honestly... Next trip we'll be going on it one of our first days!

Evidently the CM decided to yawn instead of wave at me... Someone had a long day!

I don't care what anyone says; IASW is awesome.

AND I EVEN GOT THE HIPPO TO LOOK AT ME.

And she got a little sassy with me, winking and looking saucy.

I know during the ride, we decided to take a photo of IASW and texted it over to Jenn, AKA FantasylandMom, to make sure she showed it to Brynn, who is a VERY big IASW fan. I think they appreciated it!

After IASW, we were both pretty hungry, so we headed over to Columbia Harbor House. This is one of our favorite CS places, so we were pretty excited to eat there.... Until we walked up and they randomly were closed? It was super weird, but there weren't open. WOMPWOMP.

We then decided to head over to Pecos Bill's instead. We'd eaten there in 2011 and liked it, but hadn't been back since then.

I totally forgot about how much I love their toppings bar! You can just get all the fixings in there. I got a regular cheeseburger, and Matt went with the Angus burger.. and OBVIOUSLY the fake cheese sauce on the side was totally necessary.

It's so darn good with those french fries! My stomach is growling right now just looking at those photos.

After enjoying our burgers, we OBVIOUSLY had to make our way on over to Matt's absolute favorite attraction in the whole world:

We ended up going on it twice, just because the line was short and I can't say no to the Haunted Mansion (and obviously Matt can't either!).. It's funny how I used to be TERRIFIED of the Haunted Mansion when I was a little girl. You guys know I hate things popping out at me, so I think when I was little I assumed the Haunted Mansion was like those terrible Haunted Houses you see pop up around Halloween. I went on it when I was 6 and hid my face the whole time. My Dad convinced me to look up when the Hitchhiking Ghosts were in our Doombuggy, and I remember I thought that was AWESOME, but I was not a fan of it.

Fast forward to now, and I obviously have become a huge fan of it, due to Matt's love for it. We've even discussed making sure to ease our kids into it so they will (hopefully) like it from a young age... Hahaha.

Anyway, it's become a favorite of mine, as well... But this guy? He LOVES it more than anything.

After our second ride through, it was getting dark out, so I stopped for even more photos because I find the Mansion to look amazing at night.

Have I mentioned how much I can't wait to see it all lit up when we go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party? YEAH.

Also, fun fact I'm throwing at you: Matt is getting a Haunted Mansion tattoo on July 6th. He has wanted it forever, and finally went in and got it scheduled. I will most definitely post photos of it as he goes through the process, but I think it's going to look AMAZING.

Next, we meet up with Bruce and Amy and experience Celebrate the Magic AND Wishes for the first time ever... while at the Wishes Dessert Party!

Continued in next post​

 

[DanniDeer]

Columbia Harbor House is a staple in Johnny's family history. We eat there aaaalllll the time.

You were posting the HM pictures, and I was thinking, "ohhhh mannnnn Matt is getting his tattoo soon!!!!" and then you said something about it. haha.

I cannot waaaaiiiittt for MNSSHP!!

 

[jane2073]

I love your updates!

Are you going to be riding Dinosaur when you come down in September?? They really are some of the most hilarious pictures in your report.

 

[blabbermouth]

This post made me so excited for Haunted Mansion! I feel like the last TWO times I've been to Disneyland it was being refurbed or halloweened. And also, I listened to the music from it the other day, and it's awesome.

Cute shadow pic too

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We ABSOLUTELY appreciated the IASW pic...me as much as Brynn!!

And cheese sauce! You know how I feel about CHEESE SAUCE! Even so, I don't think I've ever taken a picture of it, so kudos to you.

I can't wait to see Matt's HM tattoo. I currently have a tattoo that I am hoping I can transform into something I have in mind that's definitely Disney-related, but I'm not sure it can be done. I must collaborate with an artist soon, because I'd like to have it done before our next trip.

I've never been to Via Napoli. SHAME. Obviously more Epcot time is needed.

And on a related note, I CANNOT BELIEVE WE ARE GETTING SO CLOSE TO SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha Dani, you're too much. Darn those scary animatronics!

Awesome... the random photos have returned. They seemed to be missing for a while (or I just haven't been paying attention).

Oh man I am seriously jealous of that stone. Like seriously jealous. That is just SO COOL!!!

AHHH Small World. I can't. I just can't. This is MY Dinosaur and if they took ride photos, I would look just like your Dinosaur photos. No lie!

Now Haunted Mansion... This is approve. Oh my, you'll LOVE it during MNSSHP. Matt will die (no pun intended).

 

[Miss Potts]

I just laughed right out loud reading the AH- MAH-ZING Penny reference... I heard the show wasn't renewed, my DH and I loved it and find ourselves talking in "Penny" all the time!!

Looking forward to seeing your dessert party pictures.... I'm so torn about adding it to our next trip! I don't know if I can justify the cost!!

 

[enchantedrosex]

Ahhh I'm still so in love with your TR!
Seriously, every time I see you've post a new update I drop everything I'm doing to go and read it.

Those Via Napoli desserts had me drooling hardcore, ugh. I'm craving Disney food more than ever!

Ps...Matt kind of reminds me of Seth Rogen! Does he ever get that?

 

[blklotus]

ERMEHGERD, VIA NAPOLI! I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE their pizza. Srsly, this is me after I've had a Via Napoli pizza: I'm pretty sure my sister has a kind of "ehh...whatever" attitude about it so it's going to be a fight to get her to go there in January, but I'm sure I will prevail because, I mean, IT'S VIA NAPOLI!! Also, how cute are you and Matt, for realsies? Seriously, it's got to be so amazing to be with someone who has the same kind of passion as you do about Disney! My boyfriend loved Disney afternoons as a kid, so that's a start I suppose...I'll have to work on him some more.

 

[rachel09985]

Yay for Wishes dessert party next!

I have never taken a nap in disney! I admit, it would be soooo nice. I would love to do that but I never have time!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Oh my goodness-I thought about you and your TR twice today! Once while I was out running errands and someone (in a past life, I'd say crop dusted us, but now I'll say) pulled a toot n scoot! I did NOT find that amusing! but thinking "toot n scoot" did make me laugh.
Then I went to pick up our youngest daughter from preschool. She was still napping when I got her and between carrying her to the car and buckling her into her carseat she woke up. She is not very happy when she gets woken up and when we tried to talk to her, she made the grumpiest, poutiest face and told us "DON'T. TALK. TO. ME." Now, we don't know you, and we live halfway across the country from you, but I think it's possible she's been taking some lessons from Bruce!
Then I get online tonight and you've updated your TR....that's gotta be serendipitous, right? anyway, just had to share!

 

[LisaAnn06]

Mmmm pizza!

Oh a haunted mansion tattoo will be so cool! Where is he getting it at?

Funny story...I was on YouTube the other day looking at Disney World videos and just briefly glanced at the ones on the side of the one I was watching and did a double take cause the still pic of it was you! I just happened to stumble across your video from this trip on accident! And felt like a creeper for recognizing you from a brief glance at the picture lol.

 

[Nermel9]

AHHH too much to comment on, I'm never going to remember everything!!

I LOVE Via Napoli! That pizza you guys got looks insane, I didn't even know that existed, usually I'm boring and get pepperoni pizza! And the desserts! They are all so good! Brandon wants to eat there in December and so far, I don't have an ADR, but I should really try to squeeze one in...so what if all we do in Disney is eat?

Aww, poor Rafiki, all alone, it's so sad seeing characters all alone! It's such a great time to meet them! I would love to meet Rafiki, I think I was going to try during MNSSHP, but the line was too long!

Napping in Disney is fantastic! I don't care what people say about not sleeping in Disney, I love to stay out late and get up early in Disney, but to do that, napping is essential!

(Although I have to admit, I'd REALLY love to stay at a park ALL DAY...I just know Brandon would never go for it! )

Yay MK! I wish my parents got one of those bricks in MK years ago, we went so many times when we were kids, it would have just made sense! Glad Matt was able to find his!

The Haunted Mansion is so beautiful, especially at night, you are going to DIE when you see it during MNSSHP!! It's all lit up and smoky, and they have that creepy woman talking to you...OMG it's so amazing, I want to go back for Halloween SOOO bad!!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

Via Napoli is next on our list. Your pizza looked delish!

Columbia Harbour House is one of our faves too!

I can't wait to see Matt's HM tattoo! That is going to be epic!

 

[stimmons]

I find it extrememly awesome that Matt has a stone outside of the MK with his name on it! That is too cool! I'm the weirdo that actually reads the stones as I'm walking.

I can't wait to see the HM tattoo! I think there is a thread around here that is for Disney themed tattoos. He'll have to add his ink. Can I ask what design it will be?

And I have never eaten at Via Napoli but your pictures have convinced me to try it.

 

[DharmaLou]

I, too, was terrified of HM as a kid. Ok, even as a TEEN! But now I love love love it - ESPECIALLY the DLR one all decked out with Jack at the holidays (does WDW do that too?)

Liquid cheese. You can never have too much liquid cheese. My friends and I have even given it its own element name: LiCh