Lia & Jess's Hot and Fancy Halloween and Christmas Party Trip! ~ NEW TR POSTED 9/2!!!

[cinderellaurora]

Yeah I love the Deluxes but I would never stay in them exclusively just cause I love ALL the resorts so much!

Thank you! Hope you're enjoying the December report!

Flights cost so much from the UK to Orlando that we figure we may as well just go all out & stay deluxe while we can afford to! That & the fact that sadly we only get to Orlando every 3-5 years so when we do go, we want to go big! I'm sure there will come a time when the pennies won't stretch to deluxe though, & I will then be more than happy to stay at a moderate or value resort instead...It's all Disney so it's all good!!
I have just finished the Dec.2011 report & really enjoyed it I'm ashamed to say that having started your Stuck in Disney report halfway through, it suddenly struck me that I never got round to reading the beginning of it! So clearly I now need to rectify that error immediately!!

Fabulous new updates - Your photos are wonderful...Especially the one with the HM in the distance

Unfortunately I didn't make it into the Beast's castle in May because of the crowds so that's definitely on my to-do list for next time.

Ah - Mickey's PhilarMagic is pure magic. Just wonderful

Looking forward to reading about your hot & fancy evening next!!

Very best wishes,
Siân.xx

 

[Caseheidi]

Joining in. Loved you mentioning the doubletree hotel. Brought back memories for me as DH and I stayed there on our Honeymoon 12 years ago. DH loved the Au Bon Pain and ran down for breakfast each morning.

Love all your photos. Can't wait to see more.

 

[katt789]

YAY!! AND BOG!! So glad you’re getting to eat there! And I totally agree on the strawberry cupcake! It was tied with the lemon meringue cupcake for a while and then I got to try the master’s cupcake, and oh man it is delicious! Definitely my favorite!!

Awwe. THE CM VIBE!! I feel like I definitely get that a lot more when I’m solo than with people, but with some friends the “magic” is totally there and it’s hilarious when people ask if I’m a cm! I didn’t know they’d use the bands instead of a rose! That’s a bummer! Lol. So glad you enjoyed everything! And boo to the snipy cm! When I first ate there in Nov they were all making it very clear that you order, then sit down & your food would be right out, and then go get drinks to help speed everything up! Haha. That cupcake is seriously just my favorite thing, I think it tops the red velvet because it’s just the right amount! I’ll have to look into trying the pork!

The west wing is so awesome, so pretty, I agree with new fantasyland is so amazing and incredible. So many people were all “it’s only one or two rides and some restaurants” but seriously it’s incredible!! I can’t get over how insanely perfect it all is! LOVE the photo with the princess balloon

Ahahaha regina! Lol. I like the park series or Disney character kind of things for vinylmations more! I just recently found out there was a tumble monkey and other folk one and I FREAKED out and my bff now got me the tumble monkey!! AMAZING! I wish they’d do an entire folk series!

OH MY GOD I MISS DISNEY HALLOWEEN SO FREAKING MUCH I AM DEAD

Love the spontaneity in Disney, sometimes those things are the best! Heck, a Disney prince once talked me into a spontaneous auditions, bahah! Also to not rush it, I really enjoy just taking my time now, it helps that I always know I’ll be back, and that I’ll have more time, but sometimes rushing in Disney takes away from some of the most magical moments you’ll have!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh God how completely precious of that guy wondering if the restaurant was all the way up. And God bless him because it sounds like he was gonna do it if it was.

Yeah, I got screwed out of the rose too, lol. Actually they initially gave me one... then took it away and used the band. Oh well, as long as they find me, no biggie.

Strange as it seems like a pretty reasonable question about how they would find you, no need to be snippy. I get that the CM's probably get this question a lot, but I can't imagine most people would just know.

OMG I had an almost identical experience with a little kid explaining the whole rose petal/thunder clap story. Do you think Disney hires these kids and plants them in the West Wing?

Honestly Lia, I think Disney fans already can't use a toilet without thinking of Rapunzel. You just need to convert the non-Disney fans who I will now refer to as morons.

I love the pictures across the River. Did you know there's a rumor floating around about the removal of the Rivers of America????

Can I just say that I love that you want to live everywhere in Disney World? Perhaps you could take out some time shares to make sure you cover them all.

Not sure about Mickey, but I imagine Donald has had his driver's license revoked. You know, road rage and all.

 

[Neeny17]

Be Our Guest just looks so amazing! Its definitely on my list for the trip being planned in my head. Philharmagic was my first Magic Kingdom ride too. I also cried; I just love how it is so...Disney. Ah I love A Goofy Movie!! That kind of bugged me too; I thought Donald, Mickey and Goofy were best pals? Lol. Looking forward to hearing about California Grill!

 

[JessM]

So happy you finally got to eat at BOG! I love their lunch service, so convenient that they bring the food over to you. Kind of a bummer though that they don't use the roses anymore.

It can be so hard to relax and take it easy in disney but relaxed days make for the best days!

 

[khertz]

I'm so glad you finally got to try Be Our Guest! I wanted to try it for lunch on our trip but we never did because the line was always insane when we passed. We did get to eat dinner though (another DIS'er on a solo trip got an ADR for 4 and invited us to eat with him!), and I got the strawberry cupcake because they don't serve the Master's cupcake at dinner. But the strawberry one was really delicious too. Maybe next time we will make it for lunch so I can finally try the Grey Stuff!

I totally agree with you that all bathrooms should be themed after Tangled. I'm convinced it will decrease the amount of violence in the world if everyone has the chance to pee inside the Kingdom of Corona every day!

Adorable picture with the pumpkins!

 

[Blissikins]

*subscribed"!

My DH and I are planning a trip at the same time of year (2015....Sigh...Sooooo far away! ) to see MNSSHP and some of the Christmas festivities, so I am really excited to follow the rest of your trip report!

 

[RDawn]

I've signed up for your hot & fancy trip report. I "met" you during Jess' College Program report & am thrilled to see you both again! Thanks for sharing the WDW magic with those of us stuck in the snow.

 

[__disneygirl]

So glad you finally got a chance to eat at BoG!! We are going back and forth for our next trip if we want to even try to get an ADR for dinner or maybe try for CS lunch at BoG. We have until June to decide though! Glad to know you can "try the grey stuff" if you aren't having dinner!

I vote for CS. It may as well be TS, it's that good. I want to do the TS as well, but having the CS is so great.

Flights cost so much from the UK to Orlando that we figure we may as well just go all out & stay deluxe while we can afford to! That & the fact that sadly we only get to Orlando every 3-5 years so when we do go, we want to go big! I'm sure there will come a time when the pennies won't stretch to deluxe though, & I will then be more than happy to stay at a moderate or value resort instead...It's all Disney so it's all good!!
I have just finished the Dec.2011 report & really enjoyed it I'm ashamed to say that having started your Stuck in Disney report halfway through, it suddenly struck me that I never got round to reading the beginning of it! So clearly I now need to rectify that error immediately!!

Fabulous new updates - Your photos are wonderful...Especially the one with the HM in the distance

Unfortunately I didn't make it into the Beast's castle in May because of the crowds so that's definitely on my to-do list for next time.

Ah - Mickey's PhilarMagic is pure magic. Just wonderful

Looking forward to reading about your hot & fancy evening next!!

Very best wishes,
Siân.xx

Yeah I want to visit the UK so bad but the flights alone

Thank you & Thanks for reading my other reports! I'm sure you will get to BoG next time now that the lines are dying down a little.

Joining in. Loved you mentioning the doubletree hotel. Brought back memories for me as DH and I stayed there on our Honeymoon 12 years ago. DH loved the Au Bon Pain and ran down for breakfast each morning.

Love all your photos. Can't wait to see more.

Aww that's cool that you know the place I was talking about. Every morning I would get a lemonade and chocolate chip cookie from down there. It was always the same guy working and I remember he had a really strong accent and was so funny, I loved him. It's a good hotel.

Thank you!

YAY!! AND BOG!! So glad you’re getting to eat there! And I totally agree on the strawberry cupcake! It was tied with the lemon meringue cupcake for a while and then I got to try the master’s cupcake, and oh man it is delicious! Definitely my favorite!!

Awwe. THE CM VIBE!! I feel like I definitely get that a lot more when I’m solo than with people, but with some friends the “magic” is totally there and it’s hilarious when people ask if I’m a cm! I didn’t know they’d use the bands instead of a rose! That’s a bummer! Lol. So glad you enjoyed everything! And boo to the snipy cm! When I first ate there in Nov they were all making it very clear that you order, then sit down & your food would be right out, and then go get drinks to help speed everything up! Haha. That cupcake is seriously just my favorite thing, I think it tops the red velvet because it’s just the right amount! I’ll have to look into trying the pork!

The west wing is so awesome, so pretty, I agree with new fantasyland is so amazing and incredible. So many people were all “it’s only one or two rides and some restaurants” but seriously it’s incredible!! I can’t get over how insanely perfect it all is! LOVE the photo with the princess balloon

Ahahaha regina! Lol. I like the park series or Disney character kind of things for vinylmations more! I just recently found out there was a tumble monkey and other folk one and I FREAKED out and my bff now got me the tumble monkey!! AMAZING! I wish they’d do an entire folk series!

OH MY GOD I MISS DISNEY HALLOWEEN SO FREAKING MUCH I AM DEAD

Love the spontaneity in Disney, sometimes those things are the best! Heck, a Disney prince once talked me into a spontaneous auditions, bahah! Also to not rush it, I really enjoy just taking my time now, it helps that I always know I’ll be back, and that I’ll have more time, but sometimes rushing in Disney takes away from some of the most magical moments you’ll have!

I had the Strawberry cupcake later on in the trip and yeah the Master's is def my favorite but I love both.

I got it a LOT on my Stuck in Disney trip... it was almost creepy, like the universe was trying to tell me something But being with Jess, it feels like every time we talk to ANYONE they're like, "Are you guys cast members?!" It's crazy. I'm like NO I'M NOT STOP TORTURING ME ALREADY hahaha

OMG I didn't know about the FOTLK Vinyls. That is so awesome. I really need to get the Hula Timon one.

Oh those princes. Rushing definitely takes away some of the magic! I hate doing that! Better to just take it slow

Oh God how completely precious of that guy wondering if the restaurant was all the way up. And God bless him because it sounds like he was gonna do it if it was.

Yeah, I got screwed out of the rose too, lol. Actually they initially gave me one... then took it away and used the band. Oh well, as long as they find me, no biggie.

Strange as it seems like a pretty reasonable question about how they would find you, no need to be snippy. I get that the CM's probably get this question a lot, but I can't imagine most people would just know.

OMG I had an almost identical experience with a little kid explaining the whole rose petal/thunder clap story. Do you think Disney hires these kids and plants them in the West Wing?

Honestly Lia, I think Disney fans already can't use a toilet without thinking of Rapunzel. You just need to convert the non-Disney fans who I will now refer to as morons.

I love the pictures across the River. Did you know there's a rumor floating around about the removal of the Rivers of America????

Can I just say that I love that you want to live everywhere in Disney World? Perhaps you could take out some time shares to make sure you cover them all.

Not sure about Mickey, but I imagine Donald has had his driver's license revoked. You know, road rage and all.

I didn't really mind not getting the rose! It's a very cute detail though. I was probably too excited to care.

LOL yeah I thought so too! It's very rare they bring you your food at CS places so I didn't know. The only other one I can think of that does that is Wolfgang Puck Express.

That's funny! I wonder how many times a day kids do that haha

I will convert them don't worry I have heard that rumor for a looong time. I don't want them to do that at allllll.

GAH I wish I could. I have often wondered how much money it would take for them to let someone actually live there. Like if an eccentric billionaire (aka: me) wanted a room in the Tower of Terror made for them. Which would be kind of awful as a genuine living space cause of all the screaming all the time, but say they wanted it no matter what. I mean if you're a billionaire and that's what you really want and you can just be like "Here's 200 million dollars!" I wonder if they would do it. I think they would but the person maybe couldn't live there all the time, it would have to be like a hotel room they used on trips. Clearly I have thought too much about this LOL

Be Our Guest just looks so amazing! Its definitely on my list for the trip being planned in my head. Philharmagic was my first Magic Kingdom ride too. I also cried; I just love how it is so...Disney. Ah I love A Goofy Movie!! That kind of bugged me too; I thought Donald, Mickey and Goofy were best pals? Lol. Looking forward to hearing about California Grill!

Yes, it is an absolute must do IMO!

A Goofy Movie is amazing, I guess they just wanted to use Mickey and Donald as a little easter egg and didn't want to include a whole backstory for inquiring minds like us hahaha

So happy you finally got to eat at BOG! I love their lunch service, so convenient that they bring the food over to you. Kind of a bummer though that they don't use the roses anymore.

It can be so hard to relax and take it easy in disney but relaxed days make for the best days!

I love it too, it's perfect! If this is where Disney is headed regarding restaurants, I am sooo in.

I agree!

I'm so glad you finally got to try Be Our Guest! I wanted to try it for lunch on our trip but we never did because the line was always insane when we passed. We did get to eat dinner though (another DIS'er on a solo trip got an ADR for 4 and invited us to eat with him!), and I got the strawberry cupcake because they don't serve the Master's cupcake at dinner. But the strawberry one was really delicious too. Maybe next time we will make it for lunch so I can finally try the Grey Stuff!

I totally agree with you that all bathrooms should be themed after Tangled. I'm convinced it will decrease the amount of violence in the world if everyone has the chance to pee inside the Kingdom of Corona every day!

Adorable picture with the pumpkins!

Lucky you got to have dinner there! I'm pretty satisfied with my CS experiences but I really need to get an ADR sometime!

100% accurate!! The government needs to wake up and start forcing businesses across America to build Tangled bathrooms

Thank you!

*subscribed"!

My DH and I are planning a trip at the same time of year (2015....Sigh...Sooooo far away! ) to see MNSSHP and some of the Christmas festivities, so I am really excited to follow the rest of your trip report!

Thanks for subscribing! Sorry your trip is so far away but it will be so worth the wait when it does happen.

I've signed up for your hot & fancy trip report. I "met" you during Jess' College Program report & am thrilled to see you both again! Thanks for sharing the WDW magic with those of us stuck in the snow.

I am stuck in the snow as well I actually like snow but we've gotten a loooot this year. Elsa is going a little crazy with her powers But thank you, glad you've joined in!

 

[DisKH]

Subscribing to this one and currently reading your stuck in Disney report! I have to say that I'm loving that one (especially the friends references "like friday with no two pizzas" )

 

[thornton0511]

Great updates Lia! So glad you finally got the chance to eat at BOG for lunch....YAY! We were able to eat there for the first time this December for lunch and it was AMAZING! So glad that you got to try the master's cupcake. My family had Disney Movie Nights this last year to get ready for our trip and our I purposely made Beauty and the Beast our last one before our trip....and no Be Our Guest Dinner would be complete without the gray stuff! So I made it lol...it was pretty yum. I have the recipe I found on my PTR if you want to try it out sometime when you get a hankering lol. BTW I would pay anything to have Disney make a replica of the tangled rest area in my backyard! I would seriously spend countless hours just doing whatever.....its a dream. Anyways can't wait to hear more

 

[disneyfreak71]

Subbing. I love your style of writing. It makes me feel like I am there walking with you.

Thanks

 

[WizardLarz]

Totally enjoying your report so far. I have to say that you and Jess have a similar writing style.

If some CMs think you are one of them, perhaps that is a clue of things to come.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

LIA!!!!!!!!

I wanted to post here since this one is the one currently running but...

"I'M STUCK IN DISNEY!!!!!!!!" A Delightfully Unliveable TR was the number 4 thread on all of DISboards for 2013!!!

My sincerest congratulations Lia! That is a wonderful and amazing achievement. Of course your girl was number 1, but that one was pretty obvious, lol.
But how cool that the two of you with your intermingling TR's were both in the top 5 IN THE WHOLE OF DISBOARDS! Pretty cool just having 2 threads from the Trip Report board in the top 5 and 3 in the top ten!

I love it!

 

[angelicamy12]

Congratulations Lia!

Stuck in Disney was such an amazing trip report though, so I'm not surprised at all!

 

[__disneygirl]

Subscribing to this one and currently reading your stuck in Disney report! I have to say that I'm loving that one (especially the friends references "like friday with no two pizzas" )

Thank you!! I hope you enjoy that report too, it was a crazy trip!

Great updates Lia! So glad you finally got the chance to eat at BOG for lunch....YAY! We were able to eat there for the first time this December for lunch and it was AMAZING! So glad that you got to try the master's cupcake. My family had Disney Movie Nights this last year to get ready for our trip and our I purposely made Beauty and the Beast our last one before our trip....and no Be Our Guest Dinner would be complete without the gray stuff! So I made it lol...it was pretty yum. I have the recipe I found on my PTR if you want to try it out sometime when you get a hankering lol. BTW I would pay anything to have Disney make a replica of the tangled rest area in my backyard! I would seriously spend countless hours just doing whatever.....its a dream. Anyways can't wait to hear more

Disney movie nights are wonderful that's awesome that you made the grey stuff. They sell cookies and creme mousse at a supermarket near me and it's pretty close. And YES I wish I had unlimited money to build my own disney themed home!!

Subbing. I love your style of writing. It makes me feel like I am there walking with you.

Thanks

That is a great compliment. Thank you!

Totally enjoying your report so far. I have to say that you and Jess have a similar writing style.

If some CMs think you are one of them, perhaps that is a clue of things to come.

We have a similar style in most things it's scary sometimes!

You never know what the future will bring! I would love to do it someday.

LIA!!!!!!!!

I wanted to post here since this one is the one currently running but...

"I'M STUCK IN DISNEY!!!!!!!!" A Delightfully Unliveable TR was the number 4 thread on all of DISboards for 2013!!!

My sincerest congratulations Lia! That is a wonderful and amazing achievement. Of course your girl was number 1, but that one was pretty obvious, lol.
But how cool that the two of you with your intermingling TR's were both in the top 5 IN THE WHOLE OF DISBOARDS! Pretty cool just having 2 threads from the Trip Report board in the top 5 and 3 in the top ten!

I love it!

THANK YOU ROB!!!! It's pretty cool, right? So weird that so many people care to read about my trips. And by weird I mean awesome!!!

Congratulations Lia!

Stuck in Disney was such an amazing trip report though, so I'm not surprised at all!

Thank you so much! It was an amazing trip so I would have really had to suck at writing to make it anything but interesting to Disney fans.

 

[__disneygirl]

OCTOBER 30, 2013
Day 1, Part 8 In Which RAPUNZEL AND JASMINE ARE TOGETHER AGAIN!​

​

I forgot to post this picture I took when I arrived at MK, so I will just include it here because I think it is a pretty edit.

So, I took the MONORAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! over to the Contemporary.

I have a love... I have a deep desire within... for Monorail Voice Guy. I know, I KNOW, the new one isn't as good. I'm still MADLY in love with him. Talk to me talk to me talk to me baby!!!!

Once I got to the resort, I had some time so I walked around the gift shops for awhile talking to CMs, looking at merchandise, and pin trading.

At one point a man who didn't seem to speak a lot of English pointed to Chef Mickey's and said to me, "Is that dog in there?"

.......

What? I just looked at him for a second and he said, "Chef Mickey, is that dog in there?" and I was like "....Pluto?" and he said, "My son wants to see that dog." So I just said yes, but I told him you need reservations. He didn't know what I meant by that so I said "You have to call, and say 2 people for dinner tonight, let them know you are coming..." and he was like "Oh, oh! I call. Thank you!" I'm just so helpful. I love how guests are just drawn to me for questions like I have a sign on my head that says "I don't work here but I should."

In one of the shops, I loved that they had the...six? dwarves on top of the register!

I traded for a Genie pin and, look!

"We are siamese if you please. We are siamese if you don't please!" So that was a great find. I used to be fascinated by that scene as a child cause it was part of Disney's Halloween Treat TV special, but I didn't know what movie it was from! I know it's weird, but I didn't see Lady and the Tramp for many years as a kid.

In another shop, I traded for Jessica Rabbit, who you don't often see on pins, so that was awesome! Also, baby Dopey.

Aww. He's so cute.

I always love the art at the Contemporary.

One of the CMs told me that Contempo Cafe had a huge pin board which I never knew. I went over there and asked a CM if I could see it. It took a minute because he had to go into the back and get it.

I waited under the Mary Blair mural.

I met a little girl here who informed me all about It's A Small World. I pretended to be amazed by what she was saying, like I had no idea what this mural was of and also knew nothing of the ride. She was SO ADORABLE and so into Disney. I love when kids that young are so enamored with things like It's A Small World, as opposed to just being like "I MET MICKEY!" It really reminds me of myself at that age.

The (very attractive) Contempo CM brought out the pin board and held it up for me. I feel SO bad when the pin board isn't on an easel or something and they have to hold it up! Some flirting may have gone on during this, who knows really. I found two GREAT pins and thanked him so much for going to get it! He seemed to find my excitement over the pins amusing and he asked me what other ones I found. He thought the Jessica Rabbit one was awesome, and we both agreed Who Framed Roger Rabbit is totally underrated!

I got an Adventureland Tiki man:

And Cinderella!

OOH I love it. YAY PRINCESS PINS.

Then I was on my way to meet Jess at California Grill!

I got off the elevator and saw a girl standing there with her back to me.

GUESS WHO IT WAS!!!!!!! IT WAS THE ONE, THE ONLY... JESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My screaming caused her to turn around instantly and also scream. And then we hugged, and jumped up and down, and screamed together. And screamed more! WE WERE ABOUT TO HAVE THE BEST TIME AND WE KNEW IT.

So it was a big giant scene. It's just hard when you have a friend that you can not see on a regular basis. Then you finally see them and oh yeah you happen to be IN DISNEY WORLD TOGETHER.

Get used to this, Disney. WE ARE TAKIN OVER.

The CM at the podium was super nice and excited for us, having witnessed the freak out. She asked what we were celebrating. I mean... just life and being hot and fancy

We were escorted upstairs on the private hot and fancy California Grill elevator which I remembered from my 16th birthday dinner years ago. They were renovating for most of 2013, so I was really excited to see what they did with the place!

Once the elevator opened we were greeted by a guy who was very nice and was all like HELLLOOOO LADIES. We were like HI...OMG OMG CALIFORNIA GRILL OGJSHSHSJAHHH cause we are hot, fancy, and obnoxious.

So we get our pager and go over to the windows to look at the view and oh my GOD. It was absolutely AMAZING. It was like Heaven was literally shining right down on the Magic Kingdom at that moment.

The new look of the restaurant was quite nice, however it didn't look that different to me! I guess what isn't broke doesn't have to be fixed, just spiffed up a bit.

The bar

Booth seating

​

​

​

 

[__disneygirl]

OCTOBER 30, 2013
Day 1, Part 9 In Which We are Hot and Fancy at California Grill​

​

We spent some time staring at the amazing view before our pager went off and we were directed to our table.

The font of California Grill is definitely different, as are the menu and napkin designs.

I know this because my aunt stole one of the napkins for me one time. She is classy! It has lived on my bedside table for awhile now! Quite a lovely souvenir.

Once we sat down we just chatted and chatted away. It had been too long since we spoke in person! We were both SO EXCITED. There is nothing in the world like the beginning of a Disney trip.

Our server was really nice, professional, and efficient. He brought us water and took our drink orders. Then we got fancy butter!

AND BREAD THAT WAS SO GOOD. I could have eaten the entire contents of the bread basket and been like yeah that was an incredibly satisfying meal and I am all set. LOL Oh how I love this restaurant.

Hula Timon liked the bread too. Not as good as grubs, he said, but still pretty decent for all you meerkats out there considering a reservation.

I thought you all needed a bread closeup so here you go.

I mainly just ate the foccacia. I don't remember trying the other one, though I probably did, I mean me + bread = happy happy joy joy!

It was hard to decide what to get. Jess got the filet, and had I not had that last time I probably would have gotten it. What I planned to get was the Bell and Evans Chicken, but I found out they had changed it and now it didn't come with Truffle Mac and Cheese. HmmMM... I was really looking forward to that. I can't remember what the chicken was being served with instead, but I must not have been crazy about it because I remember not being interested.

California Grill is pretty famous for their flatbreads, and I've always wanted to try those and the Goat Cheese Ravioli. The Sundried Tomato and Mozzarella one sounded great to me at the time so that is what I ended up going with.

This was SO fresh and delicious. Big chunks of cheese are beautiful and make my life. It was great and with the bread it was totally enough food to fill me up!

Here is Jess's plate:

She raved about this filet. She had also not been to California Grill in a long time, and was so pumped about it! I love being in Disney with someone who gets as excited as I do.

Here are a couple pictures Jess took when she got up to go to the restroom

HOW IS IT EVEN REAL?!

So then it was dessert time! I am obsessed with Disney Signature Desserts so I was way more into that than the meal itself! I ended up going with the Sundae Sampler, and oh my God was that a fantastic choice.

On the left there was a strawberry yogurty thing with chocolate chip cookie crumble on top. It came with a chocolate covered strawberry covered in GLITTER. What a hot and fancy dessert!!!

In the middle, a Coca Cola float! This was probably my favorite part because it is just adorable to pour coke from a teeny tiny bottle into a teeny tiny glass filled with ice cream.

On the right was a caramel custard dessert with caramel corn on top.

I devoured all three. This was such a delicious and super fun dessert. I am in love with it and would order it again in a heartbeat. I'm sure it was some absurd price but hey, I was on vacation! I wanted a tiny Coke Float and by God I was getting one!!

Jess got some kind of Nutella fudge thing. She loved it except for the white stuff on the top. I remember her making a really funny face when she tried that!

So GET THIS. We had such a good time here and got all caught up on eating fancy food and carrying on that WE FORGOT TO TAKE HOT AND FANCY PHOTOS!!!!!!! I'm mad because we had our cute outfits on and the view was so perfect and we planned on doing like a whole photoshoot. Oh well, at least we have the memory forever but I wanted pictures!

We didn't even go out on the balcony! I seriously don't know what's wrong with me. I have been looking forward to going back out on that observation deck FOR YEARS and I didn't even walk out there once. WHAT?!

I think it's because we planned to come back together and use the receipt to get back up there (No matter what time you eat at CG, your receipt is a pass back up there so you can watch Wishes or just enjoy the view at any time that same day.) We ended up not going back. One thing I've learned from Disney trips is that you should NOT say "Oh, I'll do it later." If you see something you wanna do, do it right then unless you're really going to miss something else great. Because you're going to get all caught up in the action of the rest of your trip and will probably not come back. Which is exactly what happened.

Oh well. I'm sure I will eat at California Grill more times in life, probably with Jess at some point, and will see that view again and can take hot and fancy pictures

For now watching Wishes from out there remains a fantastic memory from my 16th birthday.

After we finished up, we stopped in the bathroom and I took a picture of the trash can because it was hot and fancy.

Only in Disney do I photograph trash cans.

The wall was very cool as well!

And the podium that I was way too excited to take a picture of on the way in.

Overall, I LOVE the new style of California Grill. It is very modern and sleek, while the old version was more classic. I love both, but it's really cool now. It was another great experience there, and I will absolutely be back!

Jess and I went our separate ways after the meal for two reasons.

1. Jess did not have time to pack earlier in the day and she also needed to clean her apartment so she could have that off her mind for the trip.

2. I had been using my phone all day with wild abandon checking wait times on the very battery draining MDE app because I was carrying my portable charger along. Well, my phone was on about 5% when I realized that I brought the wrong cord for the charger, so I couldn't use it and my phone was going to die! There was no way I could be in the parks with no way to contact Jess or anyone else. So I had to head back to Pop Century to get the right wire. Duhhhhh Lia.

Jess and I walked to the parking lot at Contemp, as she and other CMs call it. I don't know if you guys are aware, but CMs do not say the full title of basically any Disney location. Fantasmic is Fant. Rock N Rollercoaster is Rockin. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is Boutique. LOL You will catch on!!!

In the parking lot I was reunited with Jess's lovely and talented vehicle, BROOKE! Jess drove me back to Pop and we were talking so much that it took awhile for me to get out of the car. Luckily we had a whole week ahead of us!

I was telling Jess about Escape From Tomorrow, the really lame movie that was filmed in WDW and Disneyland without Disney's permission. Really just a shady and shameful thing to do, as much as I respect artists who color outside the lines. It was the wrong thing to do and a good movie didn't even come of it. You shouldn't be able to use Disney property and characters to perpetuate your twisted fantasy. Jess hadn't heard about it but then she started telling me about another secretly filmed in Disney movie, the Haunted Mansion Proposal short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M-yetCGm-A

This was also filmed without Disney's permission, which I still do not like at all, but I feel like they succeeded at what the Escape From Tomorrow filmmakers were trying desperately for. They took Disney's creepy side and turned it into an entertaining film.

Both movies take this perfect and beautiful place and twist it into a nightmare. Escape From Tomorrow is simply absurd, while the Haunted Mansion Proposal takes the foundation of what the Haunted Mansion is and brings it to the next level. Both are completely inappropriate. You shouldn't be able to use a company's property for your own gain in general and I am not fond of anyone portraying Disney, a safe and happy place, as sinister. However, I still find them interesting.

Just a couple movie reviews for ya there, LOL.

I walked through the 80's & 90's sections/Computer Pool to get back to my room. I like it over there but it doesn't have quite the same charm as the rest of the resort in my opinion.

I got back to the room, flipped on Stacey, charged my phone a bit, changed my clothes, grabbed the correct wire for my portable charger, and headed to my beloved Epcot for EMH.

SO HAPPY TO BE BACK IN EPCOT!!!!!!!!!!!

As most of you probably know, EMH doesn't happen at World Showcase and is only for Future World. Don't ask me why, I think it's unfortunate. Who doesn't want late night shenanigans with foreign CMs?!

You all know how much I love Cheddar Cheese Soup and the Food & Wine Festival in general, so I really wanted to get over to WS and grab some soup before WS closed, but I was cutting it really close.

I walked through Future World quickly and once I got to the fountain I saw it was 8:50. Yay! I was going to make it.

I couldn't help but stop into Club Cool and just grab some watermelon soda from China which is my favorite one they have there. I planned on taking it right out and quickly walking with it over to Canada for the soup. When I walked in and over to the soda fountains, I was SHOCKED.

ALL THE SODAS WERE DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(How cute is that sign though? Look at Pluto with the wrench in his mouth LOL)

This is the first time I have ever seen different sodas in here so I was so disoriented. I was in a rush but I just stood there for a moment like, WHAT is this. What is going on?!

I tasted the Zimbabwe strawberry soda and I didn't like it very much. It was sickeningly sweet and I was just so surprised by the change. I don't think you guys understand how much this BLEW MY MIND. I mean, I'm not going to say that it was as dramatic as if the castle had been changed or something, but it was close. I was just in such a rush and expecting to run in and run out of there with my watermelon soda, but when I saw it was all different MY WORLD WAS SHAKEN. What a dramatic start to my Epcot evening!!!

I hadn't even heard this change on the DIS or Twitter or anything, it was really odd! And once I posted about it, people were tweeting me, shocked that it was different. So I think it maybe literally happened that day.

I wasn't happy that I would probably never taste the watermelon soda from China or the orange pepsi (Mezzo Mix) from Germany ever again! How sad. I hear they have brought back Mezzo Mix, so I wonder what the state of things over there is now. ​

​

​

 

[__disneygirl]

OCTOBER 30, 2013
Day 1, Part 10 In Which We Are Party Animals At EMH​

​

I left there confused and then saw THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have ARIIIIIIVVVVVVEEDDD!

I made it to Canada in time... WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my beautiful soup AKA the Nectar of the Gods and noticed this Mickey Mouse award they had for being the #1 marketplace of the week.

WELL DUH how could anything else win with the soup here?! It just totally isn't fair to the other countries. Nothing trumps the soup!!!

Then I walked a bit until I found a decent spot for Illuminations. It was not an easy task since it was starting in like 2 minutes, but I'm a pro!

It was a nice surprise since my original plan for the day was: Arrival, MK, California Grill, Hollywood for Fantasmic, and Epcot for EMH (not planning to see Illuminations that night). I've never seen Illuminations on the first night before and it was a lovely change. It was fun to realize, "This morning I was home and now I'm watching Illuminations. My life doesn't suck."

Illuminations Vine: https://t.co/VmRvhDmfhk

After the show, EMH was officially underway! AWW YEAHHH time to get crazy and ride all the E-Tickets. And by that, I mean head to Imagination.

I really didn't know what I felt like doing, actually. I knew I wanted to go on Soarin, but not until like 10 minutes before closing which is usually how I go on that ride. So I just walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere.

I looked around in Mouse Gear for awhile, where I found this awesome princess shirt:

It's obviously for children but I fit into the child large so I needed it, basically. The only thing that stopped me from buying it was that the redesigned princesses are on it instead of the REAL princesses. Ugh, they just don't look right. Sorry, but you can't bombard me with images of something my whole life, over and over all those years and then change them and expect me to just be like oh yeah this makes sense. IT DOESN'T, and I will never get over it.

What's funny is that when I notice the older princess merch with the real princess looks on them, I usually buy the item right away. They sell gift bags with the original princess looks on them at my local Walgreens and I have bought a few of them. I like staring at them and remembering a simpler time when princesses were not redesigned for no reason. Sigh.

I found these pins at the Pin Station in the middle of FW, which I thought were so adorable.

PINNED YA AGAIN! I love Nala. I looked for trades but the CMs didn't have any good pins on their lanyard. I asked if they had a pin board or book and one of the CMs told me it was put away for the night. Oh well.

Anyway, I finally decided on Imagination. Usually this is closed later on in the night so I was surprised it was open.

They weren't checking for room keys/Magic Bands and there was hardly anyone there. I felt kind of silly doing an attraction that is never crowded in the first place, nevermind during EMH, but ultimately I didn't care. That's the luxury of having been to Disney so much. I don't feel like I have to use every single minute to my ultimate advantage. I can just go chill at Figment while everyone else is having Mission Space marathons, and I'm cool with that.

So now is the part of the Trip Report where we learn some more personal details about me!

I have always had a crush on Rick Moranis.

LOVE U. If you are reading this Rick, PM me for my number!!!!!!!!!!

I love Eric Idle and Robin Williams too, obviously, I mean how could anyone not? My friend Liz may or may not have video footage of me singing a Hanson song DURING one of their concerts to a photo of Robin Williams.

So once I got to the ride, no one else was there at all, and I got my own vehicle!

YAY FOR EMH! Private rides make me feel like a VIP. Because I am a VIP, obviously, so it's really just that I feel like my normal self.

I feel like I used to not love this ride as much as I do now. For some reason I just REALLY appreciated it this time, who knows why. Also being completely alone, the part where it's pitch black and then there's an explosion of color and sounds with Figment going crazy was slightly creepy, I gotta say.

Imagination Vine: https://t.co/jZ1pl8F5Aa

Once getting off the ride I decided to take my time in the What If labs. You know, what everyone does during EMH.

After fighting the hordes of people, I was able to get on one of the computers. What you do on here is Create Your Own Figment. I never even knew about this because I always pass it by.

It would be better if you got to entirely design your own Figment, but what they have here is a series of options... like different bodies, eyes, hair you can choose from and combine to make Figment. It's very amusing.

I decided to name my creation after the Spanish performer, Charo.

What can I say, she inspires me. From her incredible skill as a guitarist to her gripping turn on VH1's "The Surreal Life", Charo can do it all.

I think the typo in her name just makes it funnier, tbh.

You can have your Figment e-mailed to you, so I gave my e-mail in exchange for Charro. I will now cherish the e-mail forever.

SO... I have a hilarious story about this. Once I got home, I posted my creation of Charro onto Twitter. Someone replied to me commenting how the Charro Figment looked so buff, and that it looked like John Basedow. He is a big fitness guy that sells equipment on TV if you don't know who I'm talking about.

The next day John Basedow replied to both of us on Twitter, LOL! He must search his own name because we didn't @reply him at all. He said something like "Love Figment at Epcot Center" ... it was so funny and random. I was like, oh okay. Hi, John Basedow............................?

There are a LOT of these Create Your Own Figment stations in this room. I thought the other ones would have something else, but it's all the same. They should have some kind of game on some of them that like, teaches more about Imagination stuff. I don't know. I don't run Epcot. BUT I SHOULD.

Jess and I had been texting and at some point she said she was done at her apartment and was gonna head back to WDW. In the meantime, I went over to The Seas!

They were checking Magic Bands there, and some cute CMs commented on how I was a princess. I was like, yeah I know. But it turns out my princess bracelet was blocking my Magic Band, so I moved it and showed I was a resort guest before getting in the non-existent line.

I went on my love, aka the Nemo ride, then looked for the dolphins but as I figured, they were away for the night. I went to the bathroom, looked around in the gift shop, and then Jess texted me to say she was in Epcot! So we met in front of the Land. YAY REUNITED...AGAIN!

I wanted a snack at Sunshine Seasons, so that's where we went. It was hard for me to decide what to get because everything looks SO freaking good.

Jess did not have this problem because she is in love with the Strawberry Shortcake, so that is what she got.

Notice her AWESOME MNSSHP sweatshirt! It is the child one and I really wanted it, but of course when we were actually at the party I totally forgot about it. I keep checking ebay cause I love it!

I finally went with the Creme Brulee because after writing about the free ones we got at Wolfgang Puck's in May, I had been craving it!

We went to sit down and just enjoyed our desserts and chatted about life. It was so much fun! I love how my EMH night was going on rides that never have lines anyway, and chilling with my friend. I know how to do Disney.

Our desserts were delicious and after finishing them we went to get in the Soarin' line. Usually the wait is only like 20 minutes that close to closing, but tonight it was about 30. Not a problem, we still had a lot to catch up on anyway so us chattering away the whole time being hot and fancy definitely made the wait painless.

It was an amazing ride, the perfect way to end the first night!

The park was now closed so headed out to the parking lot to get Brooke and go back to Pop. We brought all Jess's stuff up to the room we would call home for the next 8 days, yay!

On went Stacey and after getting ready for bed we stayed up late which would end up being a trend of the trip! It was really fun to have BFF sleepovers night after night. You know... in addition to the whole being in Disney thing!​

​

​