It's gonna take a lot to take me away from this view! 7/10 - Finished!

[teekathepony]

When we left we had a whole lot of evening ahead of us. MK closed at 11 and we wanted to use up every last minute of it.

We were both in picture taking moods so we wandered a bit wit our cameras.

IMG_5287 by teekathepony, on Flickr

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We found ourselves here:

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... so we decided to go in!

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The theatre had already loaded and we were the last people in before the doors closed. As a result we were able to pick our seats without moving all the way to the right, and it was the first time I didn't have to sit behind someone tall!

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Next we rode a near empty nostalgic favourite:
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Be prepared, I tend to overdo the pictures on slow rides.

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I know some people aren't big iasw fans, (Johnny included) but it's one of those rides I need to ride or else I'll feel like I haven't been to Disney.

Short story time!

When I was 5 my family went to WDW for the first time and iasw was one of our favourites. We didn't get back until 16 years later. My dad whistled that song every single day for those 16 years while we wished to get back. For me it's more than just a ride!

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After our happiest cruise that ever sailed, we had a few more pictures we wanted to get. One was the Tangled rest area:

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because it's just so adorable!

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Continued in next post

 

[teekathepony]

And then another ride!

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There was no wait for anything, it was great.

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I tried to get the mermaid but my ISO was just too high and it was still too dark. Turns out my lovely f1.8 needed to be an f1.4! Or bigger!

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Oh well!

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We found the first part of the ride to be rougher than usual and we actually got splashed!

The park was about 2 minutes away from closing, so we hopped in line for the Haunted Mansion, a fantastic choice as (I didn't know it at the time) it would actually be my last ride of the trip!

I didn't take any pictures inside, but I did take one outside:
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With the park officially closed, we took our time taking pictures as we exited.

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You can see the crowd was leaving. We stopped for a PP Pic first:

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And then a little further down the street, we stopped for another. This one's with my camera though, something tells me the photog's wasn't working.

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Continuing slowly down Main St.

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We climbed the steps to the Train Station to get some photos from up there:
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By the time we actually left the park it was 11:30. There was a bus waiting for us when we got to the stop so we headed back to AKL, got to our room and crashed.

Up next: Well, not very much actually. My last day wasn't really worth saying much about so I'll skip through it pretty fast.

 

[PopArtGal]

Like you, we much preferred our first time at the Dessert party. We probably won't be doing it again.

 

[BridgetR3]

What a sweet story about your dad and it's a small world!!

Too bad that the dessert party wasn't what you had hoped it would be. When we went the CM's were very clear about everyone moving to the rail so we expected it but it was still rough with lots of pushing and shoving.

Your upclose photo of the carousel horse is GORGEOUS!!!

 

[KatMark]

You kind of make me happy I couldn't get a Dessert Party ADR. How rude of that man!

Your firework pictures are spectacular, as are your pictures walking around with no crowds!

It's a well known fact that I do NOT like IASW; but your story warmed my heart about your dad whistling the tune all those years.

 

[jedijill]

I had a bad experience with the Dessert Party too. We lined up to watch the fireworks and a family sat down at our seats even though we weren't done with our food. It's just way too much money and I don't think the view is that great.

Your pictures continue to be stunning!

Jill in CO

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I am becoming more and more intrigued with this Dessert Party. I've read quite a bit about it in various TR's, but I can't remember... Do you get a prime table based on the ressie, or when you arrive and get in line?

But then, that was always my other concern. People rushing in front when the show starts making the table location kind of irrelevant anyway. And that REALLY IRRITATES ME!!! I don't mind people with backpacks. I understand their use. I don't even really mind getting smacked (well I do, but I can at least understand how it can happen). But to completely dismiss you like that. NOPE!! That I will not put up with.
I have to really wonder if this would be worth it to me, since I would be mostly in it for Wishes. To have the experience you did (and pay extra for it no less), I may have to think long and hard about it.

SCORE on Philharmagic. Walk right in and take any available seat. NICE!!

Oh come on... Who in their right mind wouldn't be a fan of iaSW???

Splashed on Pirates, eh? Yeah, I have something to say about that as well.

 

[jedijill]

I am becoming more and more intrigued with this Dessert Party. I've read quite a bit about it in various TR's, but I can't remember... Do you get a prime table based on the ressie, or when you arrive and get in line?

But then, that was always my other concern. People rushing in front when the show starts making the table location kind of irrelevant anyway. And that REALLY IRRITATES ME!!! I don't mind people with backpacks. I understand their use. I don't even really mind getting smacked (well I do, but I can at least understand how it can happen). But to completely dismiss you like that. NOPE!! That I will not put up with.
I have to really wonder if this would be worth it to me, since I would be mostly in it for Wishes. To have the experience you did (and pay extra for it no less), I may have to think long and hard about it.

SCORE on Philharmagic. Walk right in and take any available seat. NICE!!

Oh come on... Who in their right mind wouldn't be a fan of iaSW???

Splashed on Pirates, eh? Yeah, I have something to say about that as well.

Table assignments are done by the order you book in.

Jill in CO

 

[amazingact21]

I'm sorry to hear that people were so inconsiderate at the dessert party. It seems like guests are becoming ruder and ruder during the nighttime shows. Even the most patient person can get completely fed up with that nonsense.


It only takes one or two families to stand and move to the railing before EVERYONE thinks they need to....



It's good to see, though, that you were able to get a lot of attractions in before park closing, though! And I LOVE your carousel pictures. Oh my goodness, they are fantastic.

 

[JessseJ]

I'm WAY behind on page 15 and reading about your contact lens debacle...I also switch between my glasses and my contacts so I feel your pain! However, I have to tell you, my most favorite vision correction goggles would be my pair of prescription sunglasses--they are SO WORTH the money!!

 

[MidnightParade]

Geez Louise, Just have to say it again your pictures are amazing! I know its your profession, but still, so fantastical!

I have gone back and forth about maybe doing the dessert party. I feel less like I am missing out now. I know I know you had a great time before. But for our upcoming trip its just not going to work for us and I feel less guilty now. lol.

So sad that your TR is coming to an end! Yay for PTR though!!

 

[MEK]

I have never had a big interest in the dessert party and your story makes me glad about that. Ugh to the man with the backpack. How rude and annoying. I am not good at positioning myself and I tend to get shoved out by people constantly.

My last trip I had this lady actually tell me her baby couldn't see Illuminations because of where I was standing. A baby -in a stroller - behind a railing that they could not possibly see over - but somehow I was in their way.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I've always found when I've done the dessert party that I've gotten front and center every time we've been a party of two. It's worked out pretty well.

OMG, you're so right with everyone rushing to the wall. I just don't understand why people do that! Like, you can totally see it fine from your seat. I don't even go to the wall anymore. I just stay in my seat. And that guy with the backpack. I would have gone nuclear.

I totally got splashed on my last trip. Pretty wet actually, because I was sitting in the front.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We had a very similar experience for our second Wishes Dessert Party where everyone crowded up at the railings while I had taken the kids to the restrooms. We ended up watching from the our table with some partial obstruction of the view. All of this was preceded by a woman who brought in her strobe flashing Mickey balloon and decided to park that balloon right in front of our table hence completely obstructing our view of the Castle. I had to ask her if she wouldn't mind storing her balloon in the stroller parking area just like all of the other guests had done.

I think it's worth trying once but after our second not-so-great and rather stressful experience I decided that we wouldn't be going back anytime soon. That led to us trying out the Pirates and Pals Cruise which I enjoyed a lot more even with the fireworks being rained out. We may be headed back for the cruise before the dessert party.

Way to pack all those attractions in during the final hour of the park time!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Wendy! I'm finally getting caught up. Looks like you are almost ready to wrap this one up.

Going way back... sorry about the Sci-Fi dinner. I love the theming but the food isn't anything special. I tend to stick with the burgers which I do enjoy. I hear they have good milkshakes but like you said, it's hard to mess that up.

Your rainbow pony painting reminded me of your pony! You are creative both behind a camera and in front of a canvas. You've got some talent girl! Congrats on selling your artwork.

Oh my gosh Osborne Lights!!!! I saw them for the first time last December. Just amazing. Like you I love the Trans Siberian Orchestra's version Carol of the Bells. It is probably the most dramatic of all the dancing light songs. I'm bummed, we didn't see Santa Goofy either time we saw the lights. One night it was raining hard so that would make sense he wasn't there.

What a nice relaxing AKL morning with relaxing in the hot tub in the rain and finding the adorable baby giraffe!

Darn! Sorry the Dessert Party wasn't more enjoyable. I've only been once and it was really crowded at the rail too. You would think that someone who has a backpack on would sense that they are smacking into someone or at the very least say, oh, so sorry.

 

[geckodani]

Aw, what a bummer about the idiot with the backpack! To pay for that space and then still have to deal with the crowding. Argh. I'm glad you made the best of it, but how frustrating!!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Ah, that's such a shame about your experience at the dessert party not being as great as last time. That person smacking you with the backpack should know better

Love the party pics, especially the desserts!

Aaw, I love the memory background associated with IASW

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

I also was not that impressed with the Dessert Party it stinks that you pay for space and in the end you still get crowded.

The man with the backpack would have seriously annoyed me it's just common courtesy to be mindful of those around you!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Table assignments are done by the order you book in.

Jill in CO

Thank you So Much Jill!!!

 

[natebenma]

We did the dessert party during our July trip. It was our first time watching Wishes, so for that alone, it was special. I am a couple of chapters away from the review on my trip report, but, SPOILER ALERT!

Wet!

Just lovely pictures of the castle, and the fireworks, and the carousel and pirates and haunted mansion and main street! Going up to the train station for a few shots was an awesome idea.