May the Porg Be With You! A 13 day November adventure! *COMPLETED 2/23!*
- Thread starter paradesintherain
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paradesintherain
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Yes! They're so delicious... though, for some reason I usually only eat them at Disneyland? I had no idea that they weren't a snack credit, they seem like they definition of a snack credit to me!
paradesintherain
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Day 7 - November 6th - Tea Time!
After a little debate we decided to take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. The monorail spiel is one of my favorite things ever so I was pretty happy with our mode of transportation.
We were a little early for our ADR so we explored the Grand for a while.
We found the big bouquet in the lobby. Seriously, this thing is ginormous, and all real flowers. I wonder how much Disney's flower budget is.
Shebl got fancy on a fancy couch.
The gingerbread house was in the early construction stages when we visited. Gingerbread pieces were only up in the difficult places, like the corners. Only Aaron and Shebl made it back to see it (mostly) finished.
When it was time for our ADR we were seated at a table right by the window. It was a beautiful, relaxing view.
We really wanted to document the experience so we took lots of pictures!
We all ordered the basic tea service. I got rooibos for my tea - it's my absolute favorite, though it's not a real tea.
The first course was finger sandwiches. I loved them all except for the pear one; I switched with Shebl for her egg salad sandwich. My favorite was probably the cucumber or the tomato one.
Then the desserts were brought out.
The scone and tart dish. I love the lemon curd on the scone! Allie and I did tea at the Disneyland Hotel in March and I thought the scones there were much better.
Allie and I both ordered the traditional English trifle for dessert. I didn't expect to like it but it was actually fantastic and SO pretty.
Shebl got the pastry dessert with the puff pastry swan and she bit its head off.
All in all we had a fantastic time at our afternoon tea. Fantastic food, great atmosphere, and plenty of tea. It was great to have this special day to ourselves too.
Up next - Hollywood Studios!
After a little debate we decided to take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. The monorail spiel is one of my favorite things ever so I was pretty happy with our mode of transportation.
We were a little early for our ADR so we explored the Grand for a while.
We found the big bouquet in the lobby. Seriously, this thing is ginormous, and all real flowers. I wonder how much Disney's flower budget is.
Shebl got fancy on a fancy couch.
The gingerbread house was in the early construction stages when we visited. Gingerbread pieces were only up in the difficult places, like the corners. Only Aaron and Shebl made it back to see it (mostly) finished.
When it was time for our ADR we were seated at a table right by the window. It was a beautiful, relaxing view.
We really wanted to document the experience so we took lots of pictures!
We all ordered the basic tea service. I got rooibos for my tea - it's my absolute favorite, though it's not a real tea.
The first course was finger sandwiches. I loved them all except for the pear one; I switched with Shebl for her egg salad sandwich. My favorite was probably the cucumber or the tomato one.
Then the desserts were brought out.
The scone and tart dish. I love the lemon curd on the scone! Allie and I did tea at the Disneyland Hotel in March and I thought the scones there were much better.
Allie and I both ordered the traditional English trifle for dessert. I didn't expect to like it but it was actually fantastic and SO pretty.
Shebl got the pastry dessert with the puff pastry swan and she bit its head off.
All in all we had a fantastic time at our afternoon tea. Fantastic food, great atmosphere, and plenty of tea. It was great to have this special day to ourselves too.
Up next - Hollywood Studios!
Last edited:
missangelalexis
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The GF is such a beautiful hotel, I really need to explore it more! All the pictures from tea are so cute, it looks like such a nice time! 
Bizzie71c
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Bizzie71c
Mom, Wife, RN and Disney Lover
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I've always wanted to do the Tea. My son grew up on British cartoons lol so he loves Tea, I took him to a tea time once at big hotel in pittsburgh and he loved it, he is 12 now, so I don't think it would be up his alley anymore 
/
paradesintherain
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The GF is such a beautiful hotel, I really need to explore it more! All the pictures from tea are so cute, it looks like such a nice time!
It's so gorgeous, and tea was one of the vacation highlights, for me. I think I'd recommend it to anyone!
Thanks! I wish I had seen HEA again, but there's always next time!
I've always wanted to do the Tea. My son grew up on British cartoons lol so he loves Tea, I took him to a tea time once at big hotel in pittsburgh and he loved it, he is 12 now, so I don't think it would be up his alley anymore
I don't know, he might still like it. It's really enjoyable, and the food is super good.
You should, it's a great time! I want to do it again, but I'm not sure it's something my dad would like
paradesintherain
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Day 7 - November 6th - Hollywood Studios
After our very enjoyable afternoon tea we headed out to the Grand Floridian bus stop to catch a bus to Hollywood Studios. It came fairly quickly. The porg was either very excited or very scared to visit Hollywood. Side note, I've now watched The Last Jedi (twice) and I'm happy to report I didn't find the porgs annoying and I can still love them!
The porg got his own seat on the bus.
We arrived at Hollywood Studios, and I was very excited. Tower of Terror is one of my favorite rides, and I'd been at Disney a week and hadn't ridden it yet!
I was so happy to see the decorations up at Hollywood Studios. Ever since my days as a CP I've thought it had the best Christmas feel. And the old-timey Christmas music is so much nicer than the stuff that MK plays.
At some point in the day I had booked us a FP for Tower of Terror, but it wasn't quite time, so we enjoyed the atmosphere and took some PP pics, naturally.
Then it was time for Tower of Terror! This ride terrifies Shebl, and she was pretty nervous about riding it. I booked us a FP for RNR while in the Tower of Terror queue.
Shebl warned me that she might end up holding my hand during the ride... and she did! She was so scared I don't even remember the drops or what happened because I was laughing too hard. You can kind of see her hanging on, and you can definitely see the pure terror on her face!
Favorite ride complete, we decided it was time for some more caffeine.
I ordered my latte for Porg, which the barista loved - see the smiley face?
I had to take a few photos, and some guests stopped to tell me they loved my Porg. Thanks, people! I thought people would think it was stupid to carry around a Porg, but everyone loved it.
Allie set out to take an artsy photo of her tea, and couldn't get it quite right with one hand so Shebl jumped in to help. This went on for quite a while.
]
Allie turned her photo on me, and got the most perfect photo ever. I think it really sums me up.
Up next, we'll ride RNR, and the rest of the group returns!
After our very enjoyable afternoon tea we headed out to the Grand Floridian bus stop to catch a bus to Hollywood Studios. It came fairly quickly. The porg was either very excited or very scared to visit Hollywood. Side note, I've now watched The Last Jedi (twice) and I'm happy to report I didn't find the porgs annoying and I can still love them!
The porg got his own seat on the bus.
We arrived at Hollywood Studios, and I was very excited. Tower of Terror is one of my favorite rides, and I'd been at Disney a week and hadn't ridden it yet!
I was so happy to see the decorations up at Hollywood Studios. Ever since my days as a CP I've thought it had the best Christmas feel. And the old-timey Christmas music is so much nicer than the stuff that MK plays.
At some point in the day I had booked us a FP for Tower of Terror, but it wasn't quite time, so we enjoyed the atmosphere and took some PP pics, naturally.
Then it was time for Tower of Terror! This ride terrifies Shebl, and she was pretty nervous about riding it. I booked us a FP for RNR while in the Tower of Terror queue.
Shebl warned me that she might end up holding my hand during the ride... and she did! She was so scared I don't even remember the drops or what happened because I was laughing too hard. You can kind of see her hanging on, and you can definitely see the pure terror on her face!
Favorite ride complete, we decided it was time for some more caffeine.
I ordered my latte for Porg, which the barista loved - see the smiley face?
I had to take a few photos, and some guests stopped to tell me they loved my Porg. Thanks, people! I thought people would think it was stupid to carry around a Porg, but everyone loved it.
Allie set out to take an artsy photo of her tea, and couldn't get it quite right with one hand so Shebl jumped in to help. This went on for quite a while.
]
Allie turned her photo on me, and got the most perfect photo ever. I think it really sums me up.
Up next, we'll ride RNR, and the rest of the group returns!
Last edited:
paradesintherain
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Day 7 - November 6th - Hollywood Studios, part 2!
We started slowly making our way down Sunset Boulevard toward RNR. Slowly because there were still pictures to take!
Shebl had really been looking forward to this ride since it's the only ride that goes upside down at Disney World. I, however, was not looking forward to it. Upside down doesn't bother me, but it's also not thrilling, and I think RNR has gotten super rough. My head just constantly bangs back and forth no matter how hard I try to keep my head back. I do like the launch, though.
In the FP queue we saw Shebl's name on one of the advertisements (though they had misspelled it as Shelby, weird) and then we noticed it said her hometown and we momentarily freaked out at the coincidence. I quickly realized it was a MagicBand thing, but still super cool and I hadn't heard about it in this location before.
We decided to do the Porg face for our ride picture. Nailed it! Shebl loved the ride, as expected. I had an instant headache, as expected.
I booked another FP for the three of us for immediately after, but then Dad and Aaron showed up so I canceled it and we decided to head to Launch Bay. The sun was setting at this time, and it was so pretty!
Being the people we are we decided to stop for drinks at the Brown Derby Lounge. They had this weird candy corn cocktail. I think candy corn is gross but the cocktail didn't sound bad.
I didn't get that, though. I went with a vodka cranberry after the bartender's insistence it would be cheaper and contain more alcohol. Sold! I asked if they had Star Wars glow cubes because they had them last time, but they didn't. He said George Lucas didn't want the movies associated with alcohol, which seems like an untrue story to me, especially since he really has no control anymore... But anyway, I had brought my glow cubes with me so I plopped my Death Star glow cube in, and the Porg took a drink.
Drinks in hand, we headed into Launch Bay.
I wanted to meet Chewie before Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular but the line was kind of long and I didn't think we'd have time. We did have time for the Porg to have some blue milk, though. A CM stopped and made sure the Porg was 21, though.
Having accomplished nothing in Launch Bay we headed to claim our spots for the show. We took turns holding spots while others went to grab drinks, which took fooooorever. People started standing up and moving forward and I was worried Dad wouldn't be able to find us, but he got back at the last minute.
Up next: Star Wars!
We started slowly making our way down Sunset Boulevard toward RNR. Slowly because there were still pictures to take!
Shebl had really been looking forward to this ride since it's the only ride that goes upside down at Disney World. I, however, was not looking forward to it. Upside down doesn't bother me, but it's also not thrilling, and I think RNR has gotten super rough. My head just constantly bangs back and forth no matter how hard I try to keep my head back. I do like the launch, though.
In the FP queue we saw Shebl's name on one of the advertisements (though they had misspelled it as Shelby, weird) and then we noticed it said her hometown and we momentarily freaked out at the coincidence. I quickly realized it was a MagicBand thing, but still super cool and I hadn't heard about it in this location before.
We decided to do the Porg face for our ride picture. Nailed it! Shebl loved the ride, as expected. I had an instant headache, as expected.
I booked another FP for the three of us for immediately after, but then Dad and Aaron showed up so I canceled it and we decided to head to Launch Bay. The sun was setting at this time, and it was so pretty!
Being the people we are we decided to stop for drinks at the Brown Derby Lounge. They had this weird candy corn cocktail. I think candy corn is gross but the cocktail didn't sound bad.
I didn't get that, though. I went with a vodka cranberry after the bartender's insistence it would be cheaper and contain more alcohol. Sold! I asked if they had Star Wars glow cubes because they had them last time, but they didn't. He said George Lucas didn't want the movies associated with alcohol, which seems like an untrue story to me, especially since he really has no control anymore... But anyway, I had brought my glow cubes with me so I plopped my Death Star glow cube in, and the Porg took a drink.
Drinks in hand, we headed into Launch Bay.
I wanted to meet Chewie before Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular but the line was kind of long and I didn't think we'd have time. We did have time for the Porg to have some blue milk, though. A CM stopped and made sure the Porg was 21, though.
Having accomplished nothing in Launch Bay we headed to claim our spots for the show. We took turns holding spots while others went to grab drinks, which took fooooorever. People started standing up and moving forward and I was worried Dad wouldn't be able to find us, but he got back at the last minute.
Up next: Star Wars!
Last edited:
shannie102
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Love Porg face for RnR, thats great!! I also don't think that alcohol thing is true the CM told you, but who knows anymore?
missangelalexis
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Awesome photos! I really love that the porg is in everything, especially the ride photos! 
Lesley Wake
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Me too! Though the first scene with Chewbacca and the Porgs still kills me! I was so upset and laughed at myself for being upset!
Totally agree! I love the launch, but the coaster was just too rough on my head!
Perfect!!!
paradesintherain
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Thanks! That was one of our better ride photos, I think!
I don't think it's true either! I think they just stopped making the glow cubes for the time being. Pretty sure I saw them in photos at Galactic Nights.
Awesome photos! I really love that the porg is in everything, especially the ride photos!
It ended up being well worth it to carry him around as much as I did! He might as well have just eaten them at that point! hahaha
I swear it used to be a smooth coaster! Or maybe I was just younger?
paradesintherain
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Day 7 - November 6th - Hollywood Studios, part 3!
I am determined to finish this trip report before my next trip in March. So let's move along.
Shortly after Dad returned to us with some drinks Disney Movie Magic started. I'd really heard nothing about this show.
Look, Jack Sparrow is making the Porg face!
I haven't seen Tron but I thought the projections for it were some of the coolest.
BB Groot!
Disney Movie Magic was a fun little promotion for Disney movies, and the projections are pretty cool, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. To pass the rest of the time Allie took moody pictures of Shebl with her drink (I had enough glow cubes for everyone!). I actually don't know what Allie's picture ended up looking like, hmm...
Then Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular began!
]
Luke is my favorite
Also a really big fan of Rey. Love me a strong, female character!
Who invited the prequels?! And speaking of the prequels, I can't believe people are saying that The Last Jedi was worse than A Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. On what galaxy...
Love the classic Star Wars artwork
And one picture of the very minimal fireworks.
So... the new version was ok. I mean, anything with the Star Wars score is automatically good. There's just something about that music. And the projections and lasers and fire were all really cool effects. But the fireworks from the previous version of this show were just incredible. I'm pretty blasé about fireworks in general, but they blew my mind. Just look at them!
I hope once all the construction is done they'll return to a more fireworks-forward nighttime show.
I'll finish up the night in the next post!
I am determined to finish this trip report before my next trip in March. So let's move along.
Shortly after Dad returned to us with some drinks Disney Movie Magic started. I'd really heard nothing about this show.
Look, Jack Sparrow is making the Porg face!
I haven't seen Tron but I thought the projections for it were some of the coolest.
BB Groot!
Disney Movie Magic was a fun little promotion for Disney movies, and the projections are pretty cool, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. To pass the rest of the time Allie took moody pictures of Shebl with her drink (I had enough glow cubes for everyone!). I actually don't know what Allie's picture ended up looking like, hmm...
Then Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular began!
Luke is my favorite
Also a really big fan of Rey. Love me a strong, female character!
Who invited the prequels?! And speaking of the prequels, I can't believe people are saying that The Last Jedi was worse than A Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. On what galaxy...
Love the classic Star Wars artwork
And one picture of the very minimal fireworks.
So... the new version was ok. I mean, anything with the Star Wars score is automatically good. There's just something about that music. And the projections and lasers and fire were all really cool effects. But the fireworks from the previous version of this show were just incredible. I'm pretty blasé about fireworks in general, but they blew my mind. Just look at them!
I hope once all the construction is done they'll return to a more fireworks-forward nighttime show.
I'll finish up the night in the next post!
Last edited:
paradesintherain
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Day 7 - November 6th - DHS & Disney Springs!
At some point while we were waiting for the show I had booked a Star Tours FP for afterward. I was a FP-making fiend, wish I had recorded times a bit better.
We slowly made our way to Star Tours through all the show crowd. I really liked that they brought the Christmas tree inside the park. Can't say enough about how much I loved the DHS Christmas decorations.
The FP line was a bit longer, as was to be expected with all the crowds leaving the show.
Aw, memories!
Porg face!
I was hoping the Porg would get me to be the Rebel spy. No such luck. BUT Shebl was the Rebel spy! We got Hoth and Naboo (gross) for our scenes. I was really glad The Last Jedi scenes hadn't been added yet because I wasn't watching trailers or anything so I'd have had to skip the ride. Immediately after riding I booked a FP for Star Tours again, but Aaron wasn't feeling it so we headed out of the park. But first, PP in front of the Christmas tree!
Allie and I went first, and it's like it got progressively more blurry.
See, super blurry. Weird cause it was on a tripod, and they were standing still.
I admired the cute little deer (reindeer?).
And I think I tested out my camera zoom and took a picture of Tower from really far away. I know we didn't go down that street. This was maybe the first night that Tower had projections for the nighttime lighting and it looked really cool!
We had no dinner plans so I suggested Disney Springs for Wolfgang Puck Express and everyone agreed. The DHS bus stop area is a confusing MESS. But we eventually found the makeshift Disney Springs bus stop that didn't look like a stop at all.
Soon enough we were making our way into Disney Springs, and Dad had to lead the way because I still don't get it.
Allie and I took the Porg for a stroll.
When we finally found Wolfgang Puck Express (seriously it's so hidden!) I decided on the meatloaf sandwich!
Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf - Smoked Mozzarella, Garlic Aïoli and Crispy Onion Rings served with House-made Chips
I've had this sandwich before and really enjoyed it, and tonight was no different. Although it didn't end up settling well with me and I woke up super nauseous in the middle of the night. I believe Aaron woke up nauseous as well, and he had finished my sandwich, so...
We browsed around the Marketplace a bit more and I saw this Millennium Falcon that I'm pretty sure I need.
We were pretty tired so we headed back to AKL. I wrote that there were two giraffes, ankole cattle, and bonteboks outside our balcony! There were always animals at night, such a bummer that it was next to impossible to get a picture of them.
To be continued at Epcot!
At some point while we were waiting for the show I had booked a Star Tours FP for afterward. I was a FP-making fiend, wish I had recorded times a bit better.
We slowly made our way to Star Tours through all the show crowd. I really liked that they brought the Christmas tree inside the park. Can't say enough about how much I loved the DHS Christmas decorations.
The FP line was a bit longer, as was to be expected with all the crowds leaving the show.
Aw, memories!
Porg face!
I was hoping the Porg would get me to be the Rebel spy. No such luck. BUT Shebl was the Rebel spy! We got Hoth and Naboo (gross) for our scenes. I was really glad The Last Jedi scenes hadn't been added yet because I wasn't watching trailers or anything so I'd have had to skip the ride. Immediately after riding I booked a FP for Star Tours again, but Aaron wasn't feeling it so we headed out of the park. But first, PP in front of the Christmas tree!
Allie and I went first, and it's like it got progressively more blurry.
See, super blurry. Weird cause it was on a tripod, and they were standing still.
I admired the cute little deer (reindeer?).
And I think I tested out my camera zoom and took a picture of Tower from really far away. I know we didn't go down that street. This was maybe the first night that Tower had projections for the nighttime lighting and it looked really cool!
We had no dinner plans so I suggested Disney Springs for Wolfgang Puck Express and everyone agreed. The DHS bus stop area is a confusing MESS. But we eventually found the makeshift Disney Springs bus stop that didn't look like a stop at all.
Soon enough we were making our way into Disney Springs, and Dad had to lead the way because I still don't get it.
Allie and I took the Porg for a stroll.
When we finally found Wolfgang Puck Express (seriously it's so hidden!) I decided on the meatloaf sandwich!
Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf - Smoked Mozzarella, Garlic Aïoli and Crispy Onion Rings served with House-made Chips
I've had this sandwich before and really enjoyed it, and tonight was no different. Although it didn't end up settling well with me and I woke up super nauseous in the middle of the night. I believe Aaron woke up nauseous as well, and he had finished my sandwich, so...
We browsed around the Marketplace a bit more and I saw this Millennium Falcon that I'm pretty sure I need.
We were pretty tired so we headed back to AKL. I wrote that there were two giraffes, ankole cattle, and bonteboks outside our balcony! There were always animals at night, such a bummer that it was next to impossible to get a picture of them.
To be continued at Epcot!
Last edited:
missangelalexis
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Sounds like a Star Wars filled night! I do agree that I wish there were more of the awesome fireworks they used to have!
The tree at DHS is so pretty! Cute PP pics!
The tree at DHS is so pretty! Cute PP pics!
paradesintherain
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Star Wars nights are the best nights!
I agree, it's a wonderful tree! Now if Animal Kingdom would bring their tree in the park too.
Thank you! I have many more Porg photos to share!
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