More Adventures in WDW: June, November and December Trip Reports

[dawnbu40]

Beautiful parade pictures! I almost felt like I was back there

 

[meeko_33785]

Beautiful parade pictures! I almost felt like I was back there

Welcome back Dawn! Hope you had a wonderful trip. Glad that you enjoyed the pictures.

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Great parade pics! We never seem to make time for the parades... your pictures make me want to schedule them in.

 

[meeko_33785]

Great parade pics! We never seem to make time for the parades... your pictures make me want to schedule them in.

Thanks. We're not usually parade people either. We're the type who usually just see a parade maybe once and that's it, but Buzz and I have both stopped for Celebrate A Dream Come True the last couple of times we've visited Magic Kingdom and have enjoyed it.

 

[meeko_33785]

Since we were already in Frontierland once the parade was over, we decided to see the Country Bear Jamboree. We never made it over to this show on our last trip, so we wanted to be sure to see it this time around. When Buzz and I got to Grizzly Hall, we just missed the next show, so we grabbed a bench in the waiting room and relaxed for a bit. It was nice just to be able to sit down in the air conditioning for a while and enjoy the atmosphere. Once the next show was ready we got to go right in.

We ended up sitting pretty close to the front on the left side, so we got a great view of Big Al. It’s amazing how much detail is on each bear.

Teddi Beara comes swinging down from the ceiling.

The whole Bear Band attempts to drown out Big Al in the finale. We enjoyed the show. It’s a bit corny, but it’s pretty fun too.

A quick shot of Pecos Bill on the sign of his Café before heading off to one of the wilder rides in Frontierland- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The wait time was a bit long (I think 45 minutes or maybe more), so I suggested getting Fastpasses and coming back later. Buzz, however, took a look at the queue, could tell that the queue didn’t stretch nearly as far as it should for being the wait time promised and convinced me that we should just get in the standby line. If our wait was more than 10 minutes, I would be surprised. It just goes to show you that you can’t always trust those wait time, I guess. The ride was fantastic- one of my favorites. Next, we decided to head over to Adventureland and see if Pirates of the Caribbean was back open.

On the way, we ran into Pirate Goofy tucked away between the attraction entrance and the Pirates League. He had a really short line, so Buzz and I went to meet him. This was my first time getting to meet Goofy in his pirate ensemble (I think Buzz did at the Pirate and Princess Party years ago while I was meeting Princes and Princesses or something). Even though part of me misses seeing the characters in their classic costumes doing meet-and-greets at the Magic Kingdom, I think it’s really cool to see the characters in more land-specific costumes like Pirate Goofy and Frontierland Donald. They really fit the atmosphere of each land perfectly.

After our Pirate Goofy encounter, we got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean. The line was practically non-existent until about the last turn before reaching the loading station. At that point, it ceased moving and began to build up. It turned out that the ride was still having some technical troubles and an announcement finally was made that it was temporarily closed. We stuck it out in line just in case the issue could be resolved quickly, but finally gave up decided to try again later. By the time we made it back through the queue, the CM manning the entrance told us that we should go back because the ride had just started running again. Sounded like we would get to ride after all! After another walk through the empty queue, we finally managed to be able to board the boats.

After the ride, we did a little exploring around Caribbean Plaza.

I couldn’t remember ever noticing this fountain before. It was tucked away across from the entrance where Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial used to be before moving its stage.


Next, we had decided to head to Tomorrowland and so some more of the attractions there, but along the way, I noticed that the Magic Carpets of Aladdin had a really short wait. We hadn’t been on the Carpets in years, so we decide to give it a shot.

A view of the Swiss Family Treehouse from the Magic Carpets queue. We only had to wait one cycle before we were on the ride. The Magic Carpets really isn’t the most remarkable attraction in the park, but we enjoyed it.

I really think my favorite part of the ride is trying to avoid the spitting camel. It adds something extra to what’s basically just another version of Dumbo. I think the camels here have to be some of Disney’s most recycled set pieces. I can remember them from being a part of the Aladdin’s Royal Caravan parade at Disney-MGM Studios in the 90s and later they were put in the Animation Courtyard in front of the restaurant where Playhouse Disney is now.

Agrabah meets the South Seas Islands.

A few of the many Genie faces that cover the attraction.

After the Carpets, we continued on to Tomorrowland. Of course, we seldom seem to be able to walk across the Hub and past the Castle without taking a few pictures.

Next chapter: Lots of fun in Tomorrowland including a character dance party and playing along at the Laugh Floor 

 

[dawnbu40]

Your Country Bear pictures are great! We skipped that this time around so I enjoyed seeing them in your pics!

We saw Pirate Goofy too! I didn't know he was appearing there so it was a fun surprise

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Another great update and photos! MK is looking beautiful.

Di x

 

[meeko_33785]

Your Country Bear pictures are great! We skipped that this time around so I enjoyed seeing them in your pics!

We saw Pirate Goofy too! I didn't know he was appearing there so it was a fun surprise

Thanks Dawn.

I knew that Pirate Goofy would be out, but I wasn't sure we'd make it over to see him. I was glad that we did.

Another great update and photos! MK is looking beautiful.

Di x

Thanks Di. The day was just gorgeous up to this point, at least.

 

[jenseib]

One thing I love about reading your reports is all the history you know...like the Camels...I would've never known they were recycled. I get educated every time I read your posts!

 

[Jennifer48]

As always, fantastic photos!

How many castle shots do you think you have? I know we have hundreds and haven't been as many times as you. It has to be the most photographed structure in the US at this point

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Love your Country Bear pictures. I can never get DH to go!

Pirate Goofy is so cool! We've never seen him.

We love the Magic Carpets too. Not super exciting, but a fun ride to snuggle on at the end of the day!

Great pictures as always. I love the genie faces!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, Pirate Goofy, that's cool. I didn't even know there was such a Goofy. haha

Great pictures from CBJ too. We haven't seen that show in forever.

 

[meeko_33785]

One thing I love about reading your reports is all the history you know...like the Camels...I would've never known they were recycled. I get educated every time I read your posts!

Glad to hear that. Sometimes I wonder if those little asides and trivia facts are as interesting to others as they are to me, so it's nice to know that you're enjoying them.

As always, fantastic photos!

How many castle shots do you think you have? I know we have hundreds and haven't been as many times as you. It has to be the most photographed structure in the US at this point

Thanks. I have no idea how many castle shots I have; It must be a bunch though. I think eventually I'm going to end up with a shot of that castle from every angle imaginable.

Love your Country Bear pictures. I can never get DH to go!

Pirate Goofy is so cool! We've never seen him.

We love the Magic Carpets too. Not super exciting, but a fun ride to snuggle on at the end of the day!

Great pictures as always. I love the genie faces!

Thanks Joanna. Maybe someday you'll get your DH to see the Country Bears. I can't guarantee that he'll like it, but maybe someday he'll give in and try it once.

Pirate Goofy was pretty cool. From what I hear, he's been a regular there for the summer and will most likely stay there into the fall and winter, so you'll probably have more chances to see him. He's usually kind of hidden between the entrance to the ride and the Pirate's League, but he's there.

Wow, Pirate Goofy, that's cool. I didn't even know there was such a Goofy. haha

Great pictures from CBJ too. We haven't seen that show in forever.

Thanks. Pirate Goofy is pretty new to the parks (beyond the Pirate and Princess Parties). I think he's a cool addition to the character line up.

 

[KathyRN137]

Hi Meeko!

Just read your entire report in one sitting and it's fabulous, as usual!

Now I'm finally off to bed!


Kathy

 

[meeko_33785]

Hi Meeko!

Just read your entire report in one sitting and it's fabulous, as usual!

Now I'm finally off to bed!


Kathy

Wow, all in one sitting? Glad you enjoyed it.

 

[meeko_33785]

Upon reaching Tomorrowland, our first stop was Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The wait wasn’t bad at all (somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes), so we hopped in the standby line.

I really enjoy Space Ranger Spin. I know that it’s gotten a lot of flak lately since Toy Story Mania opened and is the new interactive dark ride on the block, but I really like that this one uses props and sets instead of just 3D screens. It gives it more of an immersive feel, I think, than Toy Story Mania (outside of the Toy Story Mania queue and loading area which is amazingly immersive).

I did pretty well this time around. By dumb luck I found a few targets with a lot of points on it. If I remember correctly, I was ahead for a while, but Buzz ended up beating me in the end.

Outside, a few of the Little Green Men peer down at us from the claw machine (aka thee kiosk between the ride and the TTA).

Next, we headed over to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor to see the next show.

We arrived just in time and managed to walk through the door to the “monster world” just before the preshow began. The show itself was pretty cute, as always. We did manage to have a first this time- Buzz got picked to participate in the show during the monsters’ retelling of the “Monsters Inc.” story. As the show was going on I noticed a bright light pointing to us and when they introduced “Randall” on the screen, there was Buzz! Buzz really couldn’t be farther from being “Randall” in real life, but he played along and, I think, had a great time.

After the show, Buzz and I got our first taste of the Summer Nightastic festivities at the Club 626 Dance Party at Rockettower Plaza. We didn’t really join in and dance along, but it was fun to see the characters dancing away in their Tomorrowland outfits. Goofy seemed to have switched from pirate to spaceman since the last time we saw him.

Pluto and Stitch were on hand too.

Stitch doing the Sprinkler.

Space-munks Chip and Dale joined in as well.

After a while, we decided to leave the dance party and take a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (which since out trip, from what I hear, is officially being called the Peoplemover again). On our way, we checked out this robot that appears to print your newspaper for you while you wait.


The TTA didn’t have a line, which isn’t too surprising since it seldom has one. We enjoyed our Peoplemover ride. The views of Tomorrowland as dusk was falling were great. It was also nice to hear that “Paging Tom Morrow” has returned to the spiel, though now in Space Mountain and not near the Carousel of Progress as it once was.


It was about dinner time, so we decided to head to Cosmic Ray’s to get something to eat. This was another restaurant that we had never eaten at before, so we were looking forward to the new experience. From reading about Cosmic Ray’s before the trip, the one complaint that kept coming up was that it was always crowded and that the lines for food were so long. We must have hit it at just the right time because there were little to no lines at any of the stations. I ended up getting the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with French fries which I thought was pretty good. Buzz got the chicken nuggets and thought they were good.

We managed to get a table in the main dining room and, while we were eating, enjoyed the song stylings of lounge lizard Sonny Eclipse.

Sonny was such a great part of the restaurant. It was nice to have some classic Disney animatronic entertainment to really add some character to the place.

As we were enjoying our meal and watching Sonny Eclipse, I began to realize just how great the day was so far. Everything had gone so smoothly so far and we managed to see everything we wanted to see- and more- aside from the Electrical Parade and fireworks. It almost seemed too perfect.


That’s when it began to rain…



Next chapter: Will our Summer Nightatic plans get rained out?

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm caught up from being away. Let's see if I remember what I wanted to say.

#1. I love your parade pictures. I like the Castle float too, it is very pretty.

#2. Belle's dress in the parade looks like curtains, I have never seen it that close up before.

#3. I'm not a fan of Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. It's confusing to me, I feel like I never know where I'm shooting but I get what you are saying about being more immersed with the sets.

#4. I thought the Tom Morrow segment had been moved, thanks for confirming that for me.

#5. Sonny Eclipse reminds me of the show Dinosaurs, I think that was the title. Just the style of his look reminds me of that show.

Phew. I think that is it!

 

[dawnbu40]

Great pictures from Tomorrowland. It looks like that dance party would be fun for the little ones.

Glad you were having such a wonderful day! I hope the rain didn't cause the fun to end!

 

[coneygoil]

Pirate Goofy! How awesome a find! I'll have to keep an eye out for him on my next trip.

That's right about the Aladdin camels. I remember seeing them in the parade at MGM so many years ago. That was a fun parade. Thanks for the reminders.

 

[meeko_33785]

I'm caught up from being away. Let's see if I remember what I wanted to say.

#1. I love your parade pictures. I like the Castle float too, it is very pretty.

#2. Belle's dress in the parade looks like curtains, I have never seen it that close up before.

#3. I'm not a fan of Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. It's confusing to me, I feel like I never know where I'm shooting but I get what you are saying about being more immersed with the sets.

#4. I thought the Tom Morrow segment had been moved, thanks for confirming that for me.

#5. Sonny Eclipse reminds me of the show Dinosaurs, I think that was the title. Just the style of his look reminds me of that show.

Phew. I think that is it!

Belle's dress really does look like curtains, doesn't it? I don't know why they added those huge tassles on it unless they were purposely going for the curtains look.

I think I only do marginally better on knowing where to shoot on Toy Story Mania than on Buzz Lightyear, so I guess that's not as big of a deal for me. I don't think I'm great at it on either ride.

Soony does look a little like one of the Dinosaurs. I never thought of that before.

Great pictures from Tomorrowland. It looks like that dance party would be fun for the little ones.

Glad you were having such a wonderful day! I hope the rain didn't cause the fun to end!

Thanks. I'm sure the dance party would he a bit with the kids. Those characters always know how to work a crowd. Even all of us adults got a kick out of the characters trying to out-do each other by doing the sprinkler, the shopping cart, the robot, etc.

Pirate Goofy! How awesome a find! I'll have to keep an eye out for him on my next trip.

That's right about the Aladdin camels. I remember seeing them in the parade at MGM so many years ago. That was a fun parade. Thanks for the reminders.

I hope you find Pirate Goofy. He was a little hidden between the ride entrance and the Pirates League, but if you're looking for him, he shouldn't be too hard to find.

Glad that I could help ou remember about the camels.