Let's Start with Art!!! November 2013 Report

[JulieODC]

Fun update! That walk from YC/BC is a nice one -- good thinking!

 

[sue_88]

Fun update! That walk from YC/BC is a nice one -- good thinking!

Thanks! Jane is partial to that hotel too. She and her husband stayed there during last years food and wine fest. They loved it, especially the pool!

 

[sue_88]

So we were still waiting for Donald. I was really looking forward to this character meet because it had been one of my favorite memories from my 2011 trip. Donald was super fun and took a lot of time with me and I hadn't expected to end up being such a Mexico Donald fan.
Here are a couple of photos from that 2011 meet.

I guess it doesn't really show, but Donald and I were close personal friends after that day. He even totally forgave me for wearing a Mickey shirt instead of a Donald one.

As I was saying, we were still waiting. Soon a cast member noticed the line of people waiting and said "Donald is meeting INSIDE today". We all were slightly irritated that we had waited in line for nothing and thought it might have been nice if they would have put out a sign to give people a clue. But we didn't hold any long lasting grudges. When we made it inside there was a fairly lengthy line and Donald was already there. We decided to join the line as did some of the other people we had been waiting outside with.
It wasn't too bad of a wait and we were in the lovely surroundings of the Mexico Pavilion, of course.

The outside greet area has a lot more room and the weather was fine for characters to be outside so I'm not sure why they were doing it that way.

We headed out of World Showcase and dropped by Club Cool to give the new soda flavors a try. It was very crowded in there. I would have taken some photos and written down my thoughts on each choice but we had to try too hard just to get close enough to grab one drink and then back off while others pushed forward. Then we would do it again to try the next flavor. I don't even remember which one I thought was best. One was VERY sweet. I don't remember really loving any but I thought one or two were decent.

We then decided to go on the Spaceship Earth ride.
I enjoy this ride and like it even more now that it is more interactive. It just makes me think "I am here! I am at Epcot!" and I love that feeling. On the ride Jane pointed out the animatronic guy who is asleep instead of transcribing and now I think about how that guy is still sleeping and someone is going past him right now.
For some reason I took a picture of these guys instead.

When we were to the part where the narrator says something like "Your vehicle will now rotate backwards for the return to earth", Jane said "We had left earth??"
Thinking about that still makes me smile.

Here are some photos of our future!

We next went over to MouseGear and I actually purchased these ears!

We then went over to the character spot to meet Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie!

We then went over to ride the Nemo ride. After that we barely survived an encounter with Bruce.

We then had a little finding Nemo photo shoot.
What do you think of my puffer fish hat?

We liked how well Jane matched some of the undersea creatures.

We went back to Pop after that and my feet were hurting. As we walked to our buildings we (of course) came to Jane's building first. I said that it wasn't fair that her room was closer! She said "Well, you could stay with me!" For some reason I thought this was hilarious. I got the giggles and laughed way more than was reasonable. I just thought it was so funny that I might be too tired to walk over just one more building. (Jane and I would be sharing a room as planned a few days later).
I did manage to soldier on and make it to me room with no trouble at all.
I had a mickey rice krispie treat, watched the Big Bang Theory, and then went to bed!

Up next, a studios visit.

 

[disneylvr4vr]

Great update!

 

[sue_88]

Great update!

Thanks a lot!

 

[sue_88]

Jane and I were going to split up for awhile today and each do our own thing. I was planning on making Tower of Terror my first stop!

I could already see my goal before I got to the entrance of the park.

Near the entrance I got distracted by a photopass opportunity.

After that I finally made it in to the entrance of Disney Studios! It wasn't crowded at all yet and I enjoyed looking around and feeling the magic.

I had a fastpass for the Tower of Terror, but I didn't use it. There wasn't any line at all. I took my time and took some ( a lot! ) of photos on my way to check in at the Terror Resort.

I enjoyed the first ride of the day! I held on tight after I hit my arm on the metal wall on the first partial drop. Next time I think I would try to not sit on the end.

I decided to go to the animation building next!

I first went into the shop. This painting was for sale but I didn't really take note of the price.

I really liked this tote but the price was $85! I would have been happy to have it to carry stuff to work in.

I left the shop and looked at some of the animation displays.

Then I found my way to the animation class. I really like doing these. I went twice on my 2011 vacation and was happy to be back!
This time they let everyone vote on which character we would draw. I was kinda surprised that Mickey won the vote!
The instructor did a decent job but I had trouble keeping up as he often had his hand or arm covering the section that I was trying to see so that I could add details to my own drawing.
I ended up not shading in the areas that were meant to be black because I ran out of time.

After class I stayed in the animation building and went over to see Minnie's new greet area.

I was one of the first people of the day and Minnie seemed to want to spend time with each person. I told her I liked her new room and she took me around to look at her things. She had a feather pen and she swished it around and showed it to me and I told her it was pretty. She pointed to her phone and I asked if she talks to Mickey a lot on that phone and she nodded and jumped around. It was sweet.

next: More Disney Studios

 

[sue_88]

Hi, just a little "real time" update. Jane called me this morning and said she is staying at a timeshare with a friend. They went to Epcot yesterday and are going to Magic Kingdom today and Epcot again tonight! I am so glad to be able to imagine all the fun they are having! And the temperature is supposed to be 86 in the Orlando area today. Let's just say that it is going to be no where near 86 in the Kansas City area today!
New updates will be added soon!

 

[sue_88]

So, are you a Wreck it Ralph fan? I had been reading lots of trip reports before my actual trip and I always especially liked the photos of people meeting Ralph and Vanellope. It is just a really cute greet area. Ralph and Vanellope would be out soon so I got in line to finally meet them!
While I was in the que a cast member came through and gave everyone a Vanellope and Ralph trading card. She said that it was because Ralph and Vanellope don't give autographs.

I decided I wanted to do one more drawing class and went over to the waiting area. Before long we were again voting on what character to draw. It worked out well for me because this time Minnie won the vote!
The instructor was easier for me to follow this time and I ended up with a more finished drawing!

Here is a drawing I did from one of the classes I did in 2011. It is a character from "Prep and Landing".

When I exited the drawing class, I could see that the Incredibles were out for a meet and greet. Well, Mr. Incredible and Frozone were there. So I dropped by for a quick visit. Afterall, I did have photopass+ and I might as well get as many photopass pictures as can!

And here I am with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible from 2011.

Next I walked over to Pixar Place and got in line for the Buzz and Woody greet.

I stopped by Echo Lake and was thinking about where I should go for lunch.

Jane later pointed out to me that Gertie is growing out of my ear in this photo!

I had eaten at Prime Time in 2008 with Jane and Alie and really wanted to go there again. Also, I knew that even without an ADR, you could go in and sit at the bar and order off the menu. So that was my plan for lunch!

I decided to get the sampler that had meatloaf, roast, and fried chicken. I thought I would be least interested in the fried chicken but it was my favorite part of the meal. The meatloaf was okay but I don't think I would order it as a meal by itself.

Here is a photo of Jane and Alie from when we ate at Prime Time in 2008! My favorite part of that meal was the vanilla coke! I had been really thirsty and it was just so good!

Next up: Finishing up at the Studios.

 

[sue_88]

I took more photos while I walked around after lunch. I took note that Gertie's was actually open which isn't usually the case when I'm at this park.

I made it over near Star Tours and enjoyed the photo ops and Tatooine Traders shop.

After taking those photos I needed some new batteries for my camera. I asked a cast member at Tatooine Traders and they said that I needed the Muppet Store as they are the closest shop to carry batteries. I liked the way that the CM said that I NEEDED the Muppet store! As if Muppets were an actual necessity. Which, of course, they should be!

My husband and I are big Kermit fans (we also love SuperGrover) and this container of Kermits seemed a bit unkind. Well, I guess it's true when they say "It's not easy being Green!".

I successfully purchased my batteries and ended up at the Monster University greet area. Now for some reason, I am incapable of seeing Mike and Sully without thinking of that scene in Monsters Inc. where they are arguing about Boo and then pretend they are rehearsing for a play when they see they are attracting attention. I just think it's hilarious. So the whole time I was in line I was singing to myself, "Put that thing back where it came from!! Or, so help me..."

It was then time for me to ride my favorite ride! Having Toy Story Mania as your favorite ride seems a bit unoriginal because it is just SO popular. But I love it so much. I am not especially good at it but I love the frantic interactive quality of the game. In 2011 I was riding TSM and it got stopped for a while. It was great because the game kept working and I got to continually play the screen I was in front of for quite a while before the ride resumed. It was really nice to get lots of time without standing in line multiple times! But, no, that extra time didn't make the scores really huge. The game knew not to add all those extra points to the final score.

I was getting tired at this point but I had wanted to try a certain treat over at Starring Rolls Bakery. I had previously noted that the Butterfinger cupcake was getting good reviews and it sounded yummy.

It was good, but I didn't LOVE it. I thought the cake part was very good. The icing was just okay. I would just need to continue on in my cupcake search and hopefully find the perfect one on another day!

At this point I noticed that my sister had called me a few times and I had never noticed. I guess I had been too immersed in surroundings to hear the phone or to think about checking it.
I called her back and she didn't answer so I left a message and then headed for the bus back to Pop.
When I got to the bus stop I got a call from Jane and actually answered it! She told me that she had been trying to call. It turns out she had been at the Studios for a while too and was still there! Well, I wish I would have gone back in and met up with her but at that time my feet were ready for a break that I had already promised them. Jane said she would stay at the park for a little bit longer and that she would meet me back at Pop in a while.

Next up: An AoA visit

 

[disneylvr4vr]

And the temperature is supposed to be 86 in the Orlando area today. Let's just say that it is going to be no where near 86 in the Kansas City area today!
New updates will be added soon!

Did you get a lot of snow? It is very COLD where I'm @! I liked your HS updates! What is gerties? I know about the dino, but I didn't know there was a store or something.

 

[sue_88]

Did you get a lot of snow? It is very COLD where I'm @! I liked your HS updates! What is gerties? I know about the dino, but I didn't know there was a store or something.

We got about 3 inches of snow. From what I saw on the news, those who live a bit further north may have gotten more than we did. Yes! It is very cold!! But at least it appears that people are getting around okay and it's not too slick.
I haven't ever bought anything at Gertie's but from what I saw it is a snack stand inside the Gertie statue/building and has a few snack items. Soft serve ice cream, a few premium ice cream treats, and maybe fruit.
Too bad we are not at Disney Studios today.

 

[lynnirene]

I have loved reading your report so far! I love all of the art. I wish I could go during the Festival sometime, but it doesn't work so well with my work schedule :-/

 

[sue_88]

I have loved reading your report so far! I love all of the art. I wish I could go during the Festival sometime, but it doesn't work so well with my work schedule :-/

Well, if you can ever make it at that time, it really is a great art show! But, I understand about needing to go when you can get away from work. I have gone in November a lot because work is slower for me at that time and I would actually like to go sometime when the Christmas decorations are NOT up!
Thank you for reading and commenting!!!

 

[sue_88]

Once I was back at Pop, I relaxed and looked through some of the photos I had taken so far. After a while, Jane called to tell me she was back and asked to come over! When she got to my room I told her a bit about my day and she shared what she had done too.

We talked about photopass pictures that we had done that day, and some were the same ones!
During my whole trip, each time I had visited a character or photopass photographer I always handed them my photopass+ card. I knew Disney was working towards guests using the magic bands instead of cards for photos but I hadn't used my band at all for this purpose. Part of the reason was because I was used to cards. And part was because it was rumored that pictures were sometimes getting lost on the bands (the CM who activated my card recommended I use the card to make sure photos were not lost).
But while we were apart, Jane just figured that she might as well scan any photopass pics onto her band so that they would be attached to my account. And the band worked just fine. So she surprised me with pics that she added on this day!

It looks like she had a great Disney Day!!

We soon decided that we needed to go have more fun! So we decided to walk over and look at the nearby Art of Animation resort. Jane had already gone over one day but this was my first time.
It was getting fairly dark out so we experimented with flash versus no flash at some of the fun photo ops.
We started off in the Cars section.

Next up: More of the AoA resort!

 

[sue_88]

We soon merged into the Finding Nemo area!

We then went in to see the front desk and inside décor.

And this picture was in the bathroom near the check in area.

We headed back outside and took a couple of fun photos in the Lion King section.

We then made our way to the Little Mermaid area and found riches untold! (How many treasures can one cavern hold?)

We were having so much fun and enjoying all of the props and details.

Jane blended in perfectly! She was able to infiltrate this group and they didn't suspect a thing!

So, we walked back to Pop and talked about what we had planned for the next day. I had managed to get a fastpass for lunch at Be Our Guest and I really wanted to have Jane go with me to Magic Kingdom and BOG. We went to the front desk and asked how to add her to the reservation but they said they really wouldn't be able to help until the next day as they help with those kinds of issues on the day of the restaurant reservation so we should come back tomorrow morning.
We went out and they were showing Aristocats by the Hippy Dippy pool. We claimed some lounge chairs and watched for a little bit before going back to get some sleep!

Up next: A BOG lunch!

 

[lynnirene]

Looks like a lot of fun! I love all of those statues, they make for great photo props

I am excited to hear about the BOG lunch and fp...if all goes well, we will be doing the same next Sunday!

 

[sue_88]

Looks like a lot of fun! I love all of those statues, they make for great photo props

I am excited to hear about the BOG lunch and fp...if all goes well, we will be doing the same next Sunday!

Yay! I'm glad you are going to be there soon!! BOG is such a good memory for me. I was pretty sure that I would enjoy it but it was even better than I imagined. I hope you have a really great time and take some great photos to preserve the memories! Let me know your thoughts after you go.

 

[sue_88]

On this day, Jane was checking out of the room she had and was going to come over and share with me.
After I had gotten up and taken a shower this morning, Jane called and asked if she should go ahead and bring over her stuff to my room. I thought this was good timing and said Yes! And, see you soon!
She arrived a few minutes later and not long after that we were out the door. We decided to skip talking to a CM at Pop about the Be Our Guest lunch and instead go right to Magic Kingdom.
At MK we walked over to New Fantasyland and saw that there was already a super long line to try to get in to BOG for lunch.
There is a small kiosk by the fastpass entrance on the bridge to the Beast Castle and we went there to explain the situation to the CM. He added Jane to the fastpass in no time at all!!
We headed across the bridge and snapped this cute pic on the way.

We went right in and took photos while getting into a very short que to place Jane's order and to pay for the order that I had preordered on-line.

I think it is strange how unhappy the people behind us looked! If you can't be happy in an enchanted castle at Disney World, where will you ever find a bit of happiness?

Well, Jane had eaten here once before and she had loved it. She had sat in the ballroom and enjoyed the snow falling outside the windows. We tried to get a decent photo of the snow but my camera wasn't really up to that challenge.

I told Jane that after I had viewed photos of each dining room, I had mostly wanted to eat in the green room that has the Belle and Beast music box in the center of the room and the paintings on the walls. Jane wasn't sure what I meant and told me there was the ballroom and then there was the dark west wing dining room. I was excited to realize that she had missed the "green" room on her first visit and was glad we could see it for the first time together! I spotted the entrance to the room and we went right over.

Jane was a bit disappointed that we hadn't gotten the rose that the CM's sometimes use to keep track of guests in the restaurant. But we were instead told that they would use our Magic Bands to know where to deliver our food. Our orders arrived soon after and we enjoyed our food and the lovely and empty (except for us) dining room.
I had gotten the Braised Pork lunch and Jane went with the Tuna Nicoise. I got the Masters cupcake (gray stuff frosting!) and Jane got the strawberry. We cut them in half so we could each try both!
I was having such a good time that I called our mom to tell her where we were and what a good time we were having!

We enjoyed touring the rooms for a bit after we were finished eating.

I especially liked the Beasts fireplace.

We then took the usual stained glass photos!

The food, the service, the really fun atmosphere, this was a top notch and magical lunch.
The strawberry cupcake was instantly my favorite!! Jane thought they were both really good too but she maintained that her favorite cupcake was still the Darth Vader one she had gotten over the summer.

Up next: More Magic Kingdom fun!

 

[cjwross]

I finally got a chance to come back and catch up on my favorite sisters trip report. I am also quite excited today to think that it is now 2014 so maybe my favorite sister will be coming back to meet me at the happiest place on earth again next year.

This was quite funny

For some reason, Buzz seemed totally shocked to see us there.

Good job spotting the Hidden Sister

I like how Jane is in the picture as a reflection in the mirror.

I remember how glad we were to get this awesome shot of such an exciting background.

This guy did seem to be having a bad hair day.

Not to be outdone, I made a friend that was even more sad looking than the one that Jane befriended.

Another Hidden Sister Spot. I did not realize I was dressed like a fish.

Jane blended in perfectly! She was able to infiltrate this group and they didn't suspect a thing!

I haven't read much of that book I bought in Japan. It was a little corny for me.
I am really enjoying your report and love that you include shots from past trips. I will try not to get so far behind again.

 

[disneylvr4vr]

I am all caught up! I enjoyed your trip around AoA. Jane really did match those fish! Aristocats is one of my favorite movies! Marie is my favorite character!! Your lunch at BOG looks delicious! When I went there, I ate in the west wing and it was absolutely breathtaking!