Less Wookies, More Cookies! A Tale of Upgrades, Utilidors, and FUN! 10/23--Complete!!

[PlutosRHM55]

Ooooo... that sunrise is so pretty! I'm really wanting to stay at WL now just to see that sunrise And then there also is more food taunting with Roaring Forks, everything looks so good especially those potatoes!

Wow, you were lucky the bus had come and you made to MK in time for your tour! And what a tour that would be to miss? *gasp* LOL

I love the whole thing about Roy Disney supporting Minnie as he did with the company. That's just great attention to detail and symbolism. I think I'm going to have open a document to note all of this And that's cool, the CMs pick the families at opening that look the happiest to be the Grand Marshalls, if only my dad had been happier when we went to rope drop or if he even came LOL

That's a great story about the whole fire in the Tiki Room. I could definitely feel Walt's spirit working in that situation. Get rid of Iago and the whole Tiki Room is taken down to renew the original and class Enchanted Tiki Room I can't wait to see it when I go in April

Can't wait to read more!

 

[jelloarms]

Just letting you know I am in! My bedroom is Disney-fied as well. I have like 2 posters, a bunch of figurines....Disney stuffed animals...a Mickey Mouse trash can...yeah.

 

[StephaniexMarie]

Beautiful sunrise pictures.

Haha, my mom and I sat in that same spot as you guys while waiting for our tour.

I didn't know it was Iago that got destroyed! Wow! That's so interesting to learn. It's funny how things work out though. Cool facts about Adventureland.

I can't wait for more!

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update! I guess I need to pay attention to the nuances of the WL transportation cause we are staying there in January.

 

[BerrysGirl]

I am LOVING your KTTK Tour Report! We went back in 2008 and I had so much fun. Your facts seem similar (but you're doing a MUCH better job of documenting them than I did) but the addition of the Tiki Room story is AWESOME! I think you rode similar rides too... let me guess, Haunted Mansion was on the roster

 

[Windsor Princesses]

I missed a few days, but I am back on track now. The crowd pictures are so funny. I always like to just sit there and look at people. Last time we went there were some nice people from Ireland behind us and some weird people from North Dakota, we had a good time. Did you get wet sitting so close to the front down there, I always worry about that?

 

[mimiloveswdw]

Ooooo... that sunrise is so pretty! I'm really wanting to stay at WL now just to see that sunrise And then there also is more food taunting with Roaring Forks, everything looks so good especially those potatoes!

Isn't it? Like I said to Stephanie, the sun rises in the east, which is where the beach faces, so it's perfect. MMHMM there have been many mornings when I wished I could just go to RF and get those potatoes!

Wow, you were lucky the bus had come and you made to MK in time for your tour! And what a tour that would be to miss? *gasp* LOL

I know! We couldn't believe it! The MK bus from WL is REALLY convienent (sp?). I would have been so upset if it hadn't come right on time.

I love the whole thing about Roy Disney supporting Minnie as he did with the company. That's just great attention to detail and symbolism. I think I'm going to have open a document to note all of this And that's cool, the CMs pick the families at opening that look the happiest to be the Grand Marshalls, if only my dad had been happier when we went to rope drop or if he even came LOL

The Roy/Minnie explanation was one of my favorite stories of the day. I'd never heard it anywhere else, which is saying something! Aww yeah I bet your family (sans dad) was so happy and excited. I could definitely see you getting picked one day

That's a great story about the whole fire in the Tiki Room. I could definitely feel Walt's spirit working in that situation. Get rid of Iago and the whole Tiki Room is taken down to renew the original and class Enchanted Tiki Room I can't wait to see it when I go in April

I know! It made so much sense! Go Walt! AHH! Yes I'd be excited too! I don't remember seeing the original one, since it was so many years ago.

Can't wait to read more!

Just letting you know I am in! My bedroom is Disney-fied as well. I have like 2 posters, a bunch of figurines....Disney stuffed animals...a Mickey Mouse trash can...yeah.

WELCOME! My room doesn't have enough Disney stuff, as far as I'm concerned But of course it does have touches! So happ you're joining in!

Beautiful sunrise pictures.

Thank you, thank you!

Haha, my mom and I sat in that same spot as you guys while waiting for our tour.

It's the place to be, what can I say?

I didn't know it was Iago that got destroyed! Wow! That's so interesting to learn. It's funny how things work out though. Cool facts about Adventureland.

I KNOW!! I was standing there, giggling like an idiot for five minutes straight at the time because I thought it was so funny

I can't wait for more!

Great update! I guess I need to pay attention to the nuances of the WL transportation cause we are staying there in January.

Hmm yes. There's a boat that starts running at 6:45, but after WL it goes to FW then drops you off at Contemporary. The ride to FW is about five minutes there, but ten minutes to CR. So not bad if the boat's right there, but if you need to wait for it and you're running late, the bus is a good bet!

I am LOVING your KTTK Tour Report! We went back in 2008 and I had so much fun. Your facts seem similar (but you're doing a MUCH better job of documenting them than I did) but the addition of the Tiki Room story is AWESOME! I think you rode similar rides too... let me guess, Haunted Mansion was on the roster

Aww thank you! I really wanted to remember what I learned, and I keep my TR notes on my phone, so it's really easy to add quick facts when we had downtime (like lunch, or waiting to see if we could go backstage). I love the Tiki Room story too!! We probably did ride similar rides...HM was on the roster...but due to reasons out of our control, we were unable to ride it. More on that later

I missed a few days, but I am back on track now. The crowd pictures are so funny. I always like to just sit there and look at people. Last time we went there were some nice people from Ireland behind us and some weird people from North Dakota, we had a good time. Did you get wet sitting so close to the front down there, I always worry about that?

Isn't that always the way Disney crowds are? Nice people on one side...then the weirdies You know, we always sit down there, and we never get really wet at all. MAYBE some spray, but you barely notice it. I'm sure the fire is a bit more intense in the front, but we love sitting in the front!

 

[Dream426]

Great trip report so far. Hope you are surviving this hurricane. Can't wait to read more updates.

 

[airplanegod]

Awesome job so far! I just came back a couple of days ago from the Wilderness Lodge, and loved it! With most of the busses, we had to stop either at GF or FW. We also most of the time took the boat to the Magic Kingdom except on the last day, when we took the bus, which was quick! I also tried Rock N Roller Coaster for the first time, and loved it! In fact, I stayed while the rest of my family went back to the hotel, and rode it three times in a row!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm excited to hear about the rest of the tour. I've always wanted to take one, just haven't made the effort to do it.

I love the story about the Tiki Room. I think I'm one of the only people that didn't find it completely annoying the way it was. However, I'll take it either way.

 

[ariel_]

Wow, I am loving your trip report! Especially all your beautiful morning photos and tips and secrets you are throwing in - I've written some of them down so that I can show of to my boyfriend when we are there

I can't believe you planned this trip on your own for your whole family I am a terrible planner and leave everything to last minute. If things were left to me nothing would ever get done properly

Looking forward to your next post!

 

[mimiloveswdw]

Great trip report so far. Hope you are surviving this hurricane. Can't wait to read more updates.

Thank you! We were fine, thank goodness! The only thing that went wrong is a little tree fell down in our front yard, but it was honestly nothing. There's of course some flooding around, but we live on a hill away from any rivers or anything, so it's fine!

Awesome job so far! I just came back a couple of days ago from the Wilderness Lodge, and loved it! With most of the busses, we had to stop either at GF or FW. We also most of the time took the boat to the Magic Kingdom except on the last day, when we took the bus, which was quick! I also tried Rock N Roller Coaster for the first time, and loved it! In fact, I stayed while the rest of my family went back to the hotel, and rode it three times in a row!

Thank you!! I'm so glad you loved WL too; I hope your trip was great! That was the case with our transportation as well. If we needed to get to the MK very quick, we took the bus. I'm so glad you liked RNRC so much! The single riders' line is great! Thanks for reading!

I'm excited to hear about the rest of the tour. I've always wanted to take one, just haven't made the effort to do it.

I love the story about the Tiki Room. I think I'm one of the only people that didn't find it completely annoying the way it was. However, I'll take it either way.

The KTTK Tour was awesome. I would highly recommend it. I would still like to do the Segway Tour in Epcot, if I do another tour.

I loved that story, too! I don't remember the original one, so I didn't have anything to compare it to, but if Walt felt so strongly that he had to intervene in 2011, I trust his judgement

Wow, I am loving your trip report! Especially all your beautiful morning photos and tips and secrets you are throwing in - I've written some of them down so that I can show of to my boyfriend when we are there

I can't believe you planned this trip on your own for your whole family I am a terrible planner and leave everything to last minute. If things were left to me nothing would ever get done properly

Looking forward to your next post!

Aw thank you!! You have to say them really off-handedly, like you were born with this knowledge. Speaking of your trip, IT'S SO SOON! And to the WL! So jealous! But I hope you have a fantastic trip! If you don't see this before then, have fun!

Disney planning is what gets me through the second semester. I guess you could say I'm an "over-thinker" in some aspects of my life, so planning a week is a great thing for me haha!

I'm hoping to get a lot done and ready to post this week, so I don't have to worry about it during school.

 

[mimiloveswdw]

This will be a very long post. I’ll apologize now for the lack of pictures. I didn’t want to miss anything while snapping pictures, so I just didn’t take many. Sorry! But there’s still a few! Anyway, after Jungle Cruise, we went into the new-ish Tortuga Tavern. It was in the shade and hadn’t gotten warm yet. We also saw the menu—it looks REALLY good!

Anyway, we were told about POTC and the Pirates movies. POTC was a ride that was never planned to be at WDW. However, during the opening weeks, MANY people asked CMs where it was. It had become such a hit in Disneyland that they were expecting it to be in WDW as well.

After sitting and listening in Tortuga Tavern, Valerie looked at her watch and we had quite a bit of extra time, so we were able to go on POTC! We got our own boat again, but there was almost no one in the queue anyway. It was still fairly early.

It was a bit loud so Valerie didn’t talk as much, but we enjoyed the air conditioning very much!
We learned that the makeup artist that inspired the character of Madame Leota (her name was Leota Tomes, pronounced like tombstones) did the makeup on some of the pirates, notably “The Redhead.” Also, the drop on the ride is to bring you underneath the train tracks of the WDW railroad. The building that houses the ride had to be beyond the train tracks due to space issues.

When we were getting off the ride, we went through a door before the escalator ramp to the gift shop. We took the stairs outside the door and ended up next to the bathrooms by POTC. I had never been that way, but apparently anyone can use it. After that, Valerie said we were going to go backstage! So if you want every bit of magic preserved, skip the parts in red!





Of course, no pictures were taken backstage. However, when I was back there I had the strongest urges to get my camera. It was ridiculous. We went behind the fence by Splash Mountain, where Woody and Jessie come out of sometimes. It’s also where the parade ends. We went back there and cross the train tracks, and then went through a gate. We saw the area where parade performers cool off, and backsides of POTC and Splash Mountain. The two buildings are actually very close together! I wasn’t expecting it, since they’re pretty far apart in the park. We also saw the area that holds all the water from Splash Mountain. It’s also where lost items, like hats or sunglasses, are filtered out. It was HUGE! I couldn’t believe how much water the area had in it.

We went further backstage and saw where all the parade floats are kept. Some old signs (like Mickey’s Birthdayland) have been used decorate the warehouse. It was cool to see the afternoon parade floats right next to the MSEP floats. After we saw all of those, we went back across the train tracks and stood in the area between the gate near Splash and the tracks. There, in the shade, we were told about the characters in costumes. NO, the fur characters (no face) costumes are not air conditioned or anything. They are heavy, and extremely hot. Also, all the princesses or any other face characters have had to spend at least six months as fur characters before they can even audition for face characters.

Also, we learned why the parades all have different times. Mickey cannot be in multiple places at once. He's in the 3 o'clock parade, so he can't be in AK before their parade at 3:45 of course! Also, you'll notice that the only nightime show he's in is Fantasmic!

Although, now that I think about it, isn't he in MSEP?




We went back on stage after that. It wasn’t the last time we were going backstage though! We went through Frontierland and into Liberty Square. The “Liberty Tree,” the one with the thirteen lanterns on it, was actually transplanted from present-day Animal Kingdom.

Walt was hiking in the area and found it, and he insisted that it be his “Liberty Tree.” So they transplanted it to Liberty Square. We were also told that the yellow gravel that winds through Liberty Square is meant to represent sewage thrown from the windows, as would have been done during colonial times. Also, there are no bathrooms in Liberty Square. The ones in Liberty Tree Tavern are technically past the border of Liberty Square and are in Adventureland. The ones in Columbia Harbor House are nearest to Fantasyland. This is done because, of course, there were no bathrooms in colonial times.

The “Presidents” in the HoP are only considered finished when the First Lady says it’s a good representation of her husband. If she doesn’t think it’s good enough, it’ll be redone until it is! President Obama’s audio-animatronic even has a copy of his own wedding ring. Also, the attraction was estimated to be so popular that they would need an outside queue, hence the winding white awning off to the side.

We were also told about this gated doorway

Someone made up a rumor that the stonework on the doorway was from Jefferson’s home in Monticello. This wasn’t true, but it was so accepted by guests that they began to pick off the stone and take pieces with them. Eventually, instead of trying to explain publicly that this wasn’t the case, Disney gated the doorway. Now people believe the myth was true because of the gate, but it isn’t.

After this, it was time for lunch at CHH! It was 11 at this point. Valerie went inside first to make sure our lunch was ready and it was so we went upstairs. We sat in the Flying Dutchman room, and it is reserved most days for KTTKTs. Rightfully, and not coincidentally, it looks out over the HM. With our lunches, we got our KTTKT pin!

We also got our food, of course

On the tour, you have a half hour to eat. While we were enjoying our lunch, I saw that HM had shut down. They even had to evacuate the ride. We finished lunch and went by HM. It was still having technical difficulties, so we wouldn’t get to ride it.

Mysterious Tomes, like Leota Tomes! After that we walked a bit through Fantasyland and went down by the Castle.

We were told where the Castle Suite is located (on the side, there are three narrow stained glass windows side-by-side and those are windows in the Suite.

After that we went through the hub and by the Baby Care Center near the Crystal Palace and Casey’s.

We went through the gate and this is where we were going into the Utilidors! Again, skip the parts in red if you don’t want to know!




We went down a couple flights of stairs (it’s pretty far underground) and it’s basically a system of hallways in concrete. They have colorful signs pointing in different directions, like Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. We were underneath the Emporium when we went down there. Valerie said that it’s quite easy to get lost, especially when the CMs first start. There are little maintenance vehicles that can zoom around the Utilidors. Valerie was able to talk more freely down there, since there were no guests who hadn’t paid to hear what the MK is like backstage.

We saw little display bulletin boards, with a lot of stuff displayed in them. There was one about the Castle Suite, and they even had special KTTW cards made for the Suite, and the ones in the bulletin board had the names Lady Tremaine and Anastasia Tremaine on them. I liked that little touch. One thing about the Utilidors that really stood out to me was how, even though it was just CMs who would see them, WDW still cares about its appearance.

We also had a few glimpses into the rooms that contain the different costumes for CMs. After we saw that, we saw a short video about the costuming process. Let me just say WDW has AMAZING technology for the CMs. We saw the Check-in Computers after the video. I hope there are a lot more than we saw, because we only saw three, and those must be VERY busy in the morning! We walked around some more and I was able to see the Pin Room! It’s a small room with a counter, and it’s where CMs can get pins to trade. That way they trade the starter pins they inevitably get from guests for better pins that guests will want to trade for.




Valerie asked us if we had any questions at one point, and a lady asked a question. I could tell she had waited until Valerie could speak freely (since when we were in the park, she had to use “onstage answers”). The lady asked, “Will Wi-Fi ever be available to use in the parks?” Valerie said that Wi-Fi is in the middle of being tested for resort hotel-wide use, but that the theme parks will most likely never have Wi-Fi for guests to use. I thought it was interesting that the resorts may be getting Wi-Fi!

After some questions, we found our way through some more tunnels and we were led out on the opposite side of Main Street than when we came in. We exited behind the new Fastpass kiosks for the Mickey/Princess Meet and Greets and walked across Town Square to get back to City Hall, where we had begun the tour. Valerie concluded the tour, and we gave her a keychain we had made, since one is not allowed to tip tour guides (they will refuse it; I looked it up before the trip haha!).

The tour ended at 1. I don’t think it would have been longer had Haunted Mansion been up and running, since Valerie took more time in the Utilidors. I was glad since the only complaint I read people having (not on my tour) is that you don’t spend that much time in the Utilidors. We didn’t have that problem at all, but I’m not sure if it was because HM was down.

 

[StephaniexMarie]

Great review of KTTK! I can't wait to be able to do more tours when I'm 16. I really want to do Backstage Magic.
I can't believe people would actually pick off pieces of the stone. That pin is SO cute! On my tour we didn't get a pin, but we got name tags.
That's awesome you got more time backstage. Did you see any characters? I've read other reviews and a few saw a headless Woody around Frontierland....

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Great description and review of KTTK! I really want to do it now. To get to check out the Utilidors and such. I knew about Leota Tomes though. It's her face projected on the crystal ball in the HM and she is the one who says at the end "Hurry back, hurry ba-ack..." Though I don't know about what she did besides that. :/ And it's really cool all these background stuff, especially those Utilidors, I think that would be the part I would most anticipate for me. I really want to check out this tour now, hopefully it'll be more unexpected and I'll forgotten this lol

Can't wait to read more!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Man, that makes me really want to go and do a tour now!

That is so funny about timing with Mickey. I've never thought about it before, but it TOTALLY makes sense!

 

[ChefDisneyLu]

Loving the TR and Pictures, I can't wait for more!

Thank you for sharing.

Lisa

 

[mimiloveswdw]

Great review of KTTK! I can't wait to be able to do more tours when I'm 16. I really want to do Backstage Magic.
I can't believe people would actually pick off pieces of the stone. That pin is SO cute! On my tour we didn't get a pin, but we got name tags.
That's awesome you got more time backstage. Did you see any characters? I've read other reviews and a few saw a headless Woody around Frontierland....

Thanks! Backstage Magic is like a dream for me. To do EVERY park... amazing! I also want to do the Segway Tour...because I love being in the parks before they're open. And I'm a nerd so I feel like I need to learn how to drive a segway to secure my nerdiness.

Yeah I thought it was cool that we got name tags and pins. The name tags were so cute; they had Mickey and Minnie in the tour guides' uniforms. We didn't see any characters mid-costume. Our guide did tell us that they're quite sensitive around tour groups, and I didn't want to make them uncomfortable, so I was glad we didn't see any actually.

Great description and review of KTTK! I really want to do it now. To get to check out the Utilidors and such. I knew about Leota Tomes though. It's her face projected on the crystal ball in the HM and she is the one who says at the end "Hurry back, hurry ba-ack..." Though I don't know about what she did besides that. :/ And it's really cool all these background stuff, especially those Utilidors, I think that would be the part I would most anticipate for me. I really want to check out this tour now, hopefully it'll be more unexpected and I'll forgotten this lol

Can't wait to read more!

Thanks! I left quite a bit out that I keep remembering now, but this way it leaves some surprise for some that are reading this and want to do it after. Like the whole Leota crystal ball/Hurry back stuff..forgot it while writing, remember Valerie telling us now haha! The Utilidors were awesome. On one hand, they were exactly what I thought they'd look like. On the other hand, they were different than I expected. IDK if that makes sense, but that's how they were.

Man, that makes me really want to go and do a tour now!

That is so funny about timing with Mickey. I've never thought about it before, but it TOTALLY makes sense!

It was a lot of fun! It was a great tour, since it took up only about half of the day, and it was SO much fun and very informative!

That's how I felt after that story! It makes so much Disney sense but it's something that they don't parade around in front of anyone. But it's a fact to share with, say, a little kid who asks how Mickey can be in both.

Loving the TR and Pictures, I can't wait for more!

Thank you for sharing.

Lisa

Thank you Lisa! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 

[StephaniexMarie]

Thanks! Backstage Magic is like a dream for me. To do EVERY park... amazing! I also want to do the Segway Tour...because I love being in the parks before they're open. And I'm a nerd so I feel like I need to learn how to drive a segway to secure my nerdiness.

Yeah I thought it was cool that we got name tags and pins. The name tags were so cute; they had Mickey and Minnie in the tour guides' uniforms. We didn't see any characters mid-costume. Our guide did tell us that they're quite sensitive around tour groups, and I didn't want to make them uncomfortable, so I was glad we didn't see any actually.

I know! When I was on my tour, a lady who was actually from NJ told us she did Backstage Magic and LOVED it. I'm definitely going to do it my next visit to WDW when I'm 16. The Segway tour would be fun, I have absolutely no balance though so I don't know if that'd be the right choice for me.... It would be fun to pretend to be Paul Blart: Mall Cop tho.

Awww, they sound adorable! We had ones with Walt on them. I have them hanging on my pin board now. Oh, that's good to hear you didn't see any then!!

 

[mimiloveswdw]

I know! When I was on my tour, a lady who was actually from NJ told us she did Backstage Magic and LOVED it. I'm definitely going to do it my next visit to WDW when I'm 16. The Segway tour would be fun, I have absolutely no balance though so I don't know if that'd be the right choice for me.... It would be fun to pretend to be Paul Blart: Mall Cop tho.

Awww, they sound adorable! We had ones with Walt on them. I have them hanging on my pin board now. Oh, that's good to hear you didn't see any then!!

OOH I hope you get to do it! I have no balance too but I would love to say to anyone "I know how to ride a segway" whenever I see one. Yeah I think my next update has a picture of the nametags, I'm not sure.