Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce Go the Distance (a completed Disneymoon TR!)

[RachelNinja]

I didn't know Howard was such a big fan of Danny DeVito?

I kid, I kid!

DH has to put up with me doing the same thing!

Great update! I really love the nostalgia that comes along with riding GMR even though we don't fit it in every trip anymore. I think we will be skipping it again this year because we tried it last year and the gunshots freaked DS out a little, and now he freaks out a LOT at loud noises, so it's probably not worth the meltdown that would result if we tried it.

I love the movie clips at the end too! Especially one of my all time favorite movies, Gone With the Wind!

Haha, Danny DeVito is a role model to all!

Yeah, my mom actually isn't a fan of it because of the gunshots! I would totally say it's not worth it with the kids. I think it'll be so different going with our own kiddies!

I love The Great Movie ride! Olivia doesn't like it but I love the Wizard of Oz part! Great update!

Thanks! It's not my FAVORITE ride, but it's just something that is so representative of DHS for me!

If you knew my father and husband, who pay excruciating attention to detail, you'd know where I got it from. It can be a good or bad thing.

We have yet to stop in the Animation Studio. Considering the animator, you did an amazing job with Grumpy! Thanks for the tour .

I think at Disney, it's awesome to be used to paying to excruciating details!

It's definitely worth a try the next you're there! Animation Academy is nerve-wracking to some degree, but it's also such a unique experience.

Your GMR pictures are wonderful. They are so nicely done with just the right amount of clarity.

Isn't amazing how sometimes when you are starving a burger can be the perfect food?

Beautiful rings.

Fun updates.

Yay for Howard being able to take better pictures each time we go to to Disney! Too bad we don't live even closer or we'd have even MORE pictures!

Haha, we just had a burger for dinner tonight, which was awesome because with my cold, I can't really taste anything. Yet it still satisfied me considering nothing else tastes good to me.

Thank you! I love being able to stop by the store and get them cleaned so that they're all shiny again.

Great updates! I learned a lot about the GMR from you. That hidden Mickey in the window, awesome! I knew about the hieroglyphics one but I've never seen it, same with the OZ in the Wizard of Oz scene.

I love all the little extras that can make a ride even more interesting each time you ride! I still get excited seeing the same hidden secrets. I like feeling that I'm so brilliant being "in the know."

 

[RachelNinja]

Hanging Out with Snig and Oopla

It's been a while since I last updated because this next one is about Hyperspace Hoopla, and I had to filter through tons of Howard's pictures of the show! I made it easier on myself and pretty much just used my pictures and will add a few of the hubby's at the end instead of mixing them together. It works out that I am in bed with a cold, so I have a bit of time as well to force myself to get through this update! I'm just a little nervous because last year at this same exact time, I got a bad cold that seemed to get better and then I was hit with vertigo and a high fever that landed me in the hospital after I fainted at home. So of course, being hit with a cold at the exact same time this year is scaring me, so I'm doing my best to take it easy and rest in especially since I don't have to push myself through school day after school day.

So let's talk about Disney to feel better, shall we?

After eating our quick dinner, we were ready to stake out some spots for Hyperspace Hoopla. I was so excited to watch it because I had seen the past few years of this show on YouTube. The best one included all the pop songs including Spice Girls! If you've never seen it, it's totally worth checking out online becuse it's hilarious to watch these serious Star Wars characters dance! Even if you don't know the characters well, it's still entertaining. It's MUCH better for fans though because they do add in jokes that they would know. Haha, there were times where everyone including Howard laughed, and I was like, "Huh?" Anyway, we walked to where the stage was. Here you can see how it was set up in front of the hat.



We actually got spots fairly close to the stage in comparison to how many people actually did end up watching it. There was a big section set aside for wheelchairs, so we figured being 2-3 rows behind them was pretty good considering I'm so short!



Since we were so early, we decided to sit down and rest. Howard took a picture to post on Facebook and stated that I was an awesome wife for being willing to watch this with him.



I had to take a picture of my ring here because it was definitely something that we were only going to do during our honeymoon. I think I had mentioned it before, but when we had our wedding date pushed back to May, I thought about how we would then be able to go experience Star Wars Weekends, which made me happy because I was excited about just because I knew HE would be excited about it.



Yup, that's what wives do! Haha, it was only a fraction of all the wonderful things he's done for me, and we WERE in Disney, so I was happy to do it!



It was still rather warm there, but the sun was moving away so thankfully we wouldn't be baking and burning. We couldn't help but think about how hot it was for people who were wearing costumes, but this couple was really cute!



Okay, so you know how I said I was happy to do it? Well, I was still willing to be a trooper for my hubs, but I was feeling rather drained even though we were sitting down on the ground. Hubs kept asking if I was okay, and I knew there was no way that we were going to leave and not watch it! There were only a few SWW things that we were DEFINITELY going to do, and this was the biggest one!



Once more people came and started standing up, we stood up too just because we were pretty packed in there and didn't want to be stepped on. Sitting down around people who are standing is also not safe because of people who might want to pass gas, haha. I know that seems not very proper to say, but being surrounded by bottoms isn't necessarily the best location!



Unfortunately, I did notice that I was going to be blocked a bit by this guy standing in front of me. Oh well, what can you do! If he got there before we did, he deserved that spot! I did feel bad for the mom with the kid because they were much shorter than I was.



TONS of people here at this point just standing! Where else will you find such a massive amount of people willing to stand in one spot for SO LONG? Only in Disney!



Here you can see the cast member responsible for keeping the wheelchair area clear. I can't imagine what it must be like to be one of the CMs that has to keep order when some people are only concerned about themselves. We've seen so much drama at parade crossings too! But I think for the most part, everyone here was pretty well-behaved.



It was time to start the show! Out came Snig and Oopla! I'm 99.99% sure that we had Oopla as our host for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show. I did some research online and saw that others have said the same, so I thought that was pretty cool to notice. I know there are many DISers who are great with knowing and recognizing CMs in their roles, but I'm not the greatest. This was one that I actually figured out!



There was a lot of laughter and fun as the characters just broke out into their dance numbers! Snig and Oopla had some banter in between as well, and Howard had to explain a few things to me. Either way, it was still rather entertaining because you get to watch Chewbacca and Darth Vader bust a move!









I thought I was going to comment on all the photos, but I just have nothing more to say, haha. Here are some of Howard's photos. I had to delete a ton out of my file folder on my computer! I don't know if he's going to have an issue because he didn't edit these at all. He just held the camera up and snapped above his head, so he didn't straighten them or crop. Oh well!



















You might have just skimmed through the pictures, but here are some videos that will give you a better idea of what the show is all about.

VIDEO: Cantina Band
Every year these fellas come out and play their song. I think it's funny, but there's also a part of me that is kind of scared of their large noggins. They do end up dancing later in the video if you want to skip ahead to that.

VIDEO: Dancing
I think this was the finale of the show, which is usually the most upbeat part because there are a ton of songs that lead into each other and all the characters that are part of the show come back out to dance. I like that at 2:30, they used the "Starships were meant to fly ..." song that I only know because of Sam's (xoSamma) trip video with Alicia, Andy, and Brittany!

VIDEO: Closing Out Hyperspace Hoopla with Darth Maul
This Darth Maul ending was really awesome! I'm sure it'd be even better if I actually knew who Darth Maul was in terms of the movies! Haha, I'm not a very good geek's wife. That's what happens when a geek marries a nerd! I think this year's ending was even BETTER though with Jedi Mickey dancing!

Well, that was Hyperspace Hoopla! If we were to ever make it back there during SWW, I think I'd actually stake out spots even EARLIER! I know it sounds like crazy talk, haha. But I'm sure I would have been even more entertained closer to the front without having tall (or normal sized people, haha) in front of me. Just gotta grab some food and eat it there! That'll be the plan if there's ever a next time!

 

[RachelNinja]

Tired at the Mara

Hyperspace Hoopla really tired us out, so we didn't really have plans to do anything except make our way out of the park. In any other situation, we might have taken our time to enjoy DHS at night, but seriously, that wedding made us so "weak sauce"! Because we knew we still had days ahead of us, it only made sense to go back.

Once we got back, however, we were rather hungry! So we decided to stop by the Mara to pick up something to eat. You place your order with the man near the counters and then you get a pager. It was our first experience with counter service, so it wasn't really odd for us. I know not all resort CS places don't do this. If anything, it gave us an opportunity to check out the refrigerated cases to see what other things they offered there.



It felt like SUCH a long wait though because I just wanted to sleep!



We paid and got covers for our food near the condiments section before heading back to our room. We decided to split the Falafel Pita for $8.99. AllEars has the following description: Served on warm pita with sun-dried tomato hummus, cucumber, tomato, and mixed greens with mint yogurt sauce. We were SO tired that I didn't even CARE that we weren't taking a picture. I thought about it, but my bag with my camera in it was not right next to me so I was like, eh, forget it! Of course, it bugs me now that I don't have a photo!

It wasn't fantastic from what I remember, but we were happy to have something different than just a burger or chicken nuggets. We weren't too into having something very new in flavor because it was late, so that's why we didn't try anything else that had strong African flavors. Maybe if I had it again in the daytime, I'd be able to review it a lot better than I did just now! But alas, there was only enough energy in my system to take a shower and go to bed!

 

[khertz]

You are such a good wife to sit/stand out there for so long for the show! I have to say, seeing the crowds at SWW makes me relieved my DH is not a big Star Wars fan. Maybe if the event was in January when the weather is cooler, I could handle that event!

 

[RachelNinja]

You are such a good wife to sit/stand out there for so long for the show! I have to say, seeing the crowds at SWW makes me relieved my DH is not a big Star Wars fan. Maybe if the event was in January when the weather is cooler, I could handle that event!

I know he'd totally do it for me! But yeah, doing it in a cooler month would be better. May can be hit or miss with nice weather or sweltering heat! Thankfully, it was later in the day when the sun was going away. I can see how people could get dehydrated waiting for fun events in the hot months though!

 

[RachelNinja]

Who Are They?!?

We spent some time with Star Wars characters the night before at Hyperspace Hoopla, and we were going to spend MORE time with them this morning too! I asked Howard if he wanted to get up really early to catch DHS opening because I had read that the Stormtroopers talk and interact with people as they're on top of the entrance. He didn't care too much about seeing it though, so we didn't set an early alarm. We did, however, want to watch the parade!

So after some good sleep (as good as it could be with the soft mattress that made both of us roll toward the middle), it was soon time to get ready even if we were missing opening! Howard wore his Millenium Falcon shirt that day.



I wore an Old Navy tank top. Haha, is that surprising? It's pretty much ALL I wear in the hot months! As I continued to get ready, Howard snapped a pic of the light fixture in the sink area. By the way, have I mentioned just how much I loved having two sinks! I mean, there are only two of us, but there was space for all of our stuff and we could brush at the same time. Romantic teeth brushing, what can I say!



Out to the bus stop! EVERY time we went there, I appreciated the fact that our stops were in the shade. I absolutely LOVED that we didn't have to stand in the sun. After staying at Pop last December, I can't imagine having to do that in the summer months!



These stop also don't have a queue, so people just hop on the bus in any order. We never had a problem with that since we kind of went at odd times!



We have arrived! And there's the SUN! Man, I miss my long hair!



When we entered, there were a ton of people already settled in to wait for the parade, so there was some space behind the tape near a crosswalk, so we decided to just wait there instead of look elsewhere. Howard was excited, but it wasn't a HUGE deal so as long as we could see, it was fine for us especially since we didn't have to wait too long. But man, that sun was brutal that day!



A CM came by pushing one of these props boxes, and we kind of always take a picture of them and get giddy and follow them whenever possible because we always think there's a small acrobatic Chinese guy in it! Haha, anyone else watch the Ocean's 11 series?



Time for the parade to start! We were wondering how that CM in the Tower of Terror bellhop costume was dealing with the heat though!



That's a Star Wars ... plane ... an X-wing? I'm guessing. Haha, sorry Kathy, I'm writing this while Howard is at work so I don't know for sure! And there's Jedi Mickey! I like this picture because of Stormtrooper Donald because he looks so stout and cute!



Minnie was Princess Leia and Goofy was Darth Vader with red boxers!



Other than the Disney characters dressed as Star Wars characters, there were people from fan groups dressed up as characters. This was the 501st Legion. Howard and I were talking about how much fun this must have been for them to take part in this parade and be seen by others who appreciate the fandom!



I think these people are the ones who live in the desert. Haha, seriously, who are they? I asked Howard during the actual events, and I'd still have to ask him now while typing this up!



Okay, I really don't know the movies because who is that hairy creature? That isn't Chewbacca ... is it his uncle? His dad? His brother? Is he even a Wookie?



I think characters that have tentacles as "hair" really creep me out. I guess it reminds me of when I watched Clash of the Titans in middle school after our mythology unit and I saw Medusa for the first time.



Look, characters I know! It's R2D2!



Ray Park was the first real celebrity that came out. He's Darth Maul for those of you who don't know, the one with the red face, haha. I think that was pretty cool based on all the stunts and such that he's done. He had a segment or something during SWW, but we didn't go to catch it.



And after Ray park's car, you see Darth Maul!



Next was Andy Secombe. I have to look this up because I have NO clue who he is. IMDB says Watto. Sure. It's Watto or the voice of Watto.



Look! There's Tom Kane! He's the voice of um, Yoda in the Clone Wars? Can you tell I don't care enough to figure it out for sure?



That's Ahsoka Tano. I think. Isn't that Ashley Eckstein's character from the Clone Wars?



Either way, there's Ashley Eckstein! She's actually someone I "knew" because she had filmed some promos for Star Wars Weekends. I specifically remember the one where Chewbacca would stand in line every time she did an autograph signing.



This is a recent character I learned! I mistakenly called him Boba Fett, but Howard explained to me that it's actually Jango Fett, who is Boba's father. Boba and Jango. What names. I guess they're a lot better than Jar Jar Binks!



Now THERE'S Boba! Following in his dad's footsteps!



Another car! It's James Arnold Taylor who is Obi-Wan Kenobi from The Clone Wars!



The real Darth Vader! Goofy is much cuter, wouldn't you say?



Phew, that was the end of the parade! It actually went by really quickly, and we were surprised once it was over. Okay, where to next because there are tons of people everywhere?!?

 

[livsmom04]

Love the update! Jason would love to do Star Wars Weekend. Maybe next year if we get the AP's we will get to go on his weekend off and take Olivia with us. He can do all the Star Wars things while she and I head to MK to ride all the important rides!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[RachelNinja]

Love the update! Jason would love to do Star Wars Weekend. Maybe next year if we get the AP's we will get to go on his weekend off and take Olivia with us. He can do all the Star Wars things while she and I head to MK to ride all the important rides!

It's definitely an experience for Star Wars fans! There's just so much to see and do even though we only did a small fraction of it.

 

[RachelNinja]

Howard in Streetmosphere!

This is one of the BEST moments of our Disneymoon! I know sometimes readers bypass videos, but this is one of times where it's totally worth watching the videos!

After the Star Wars parade, the CMs in the area actually opened up a set of gates that I had never noticed before! If you enter DHS on the right side, there are the bathrooms in front of you. These gates were to the right of it. It was very smart to do that so that the crowds could disperse easily. It was also exciting for us because we like all these "behind the scenes" type looks even if there isn't much to see.



It's just such a treat to see the space behind what we all know and love and how it looks so ... normal! The path lead us all the way to Sunset Boulevard.



What we were really paying attention to was that there were Streetmosphere characters backstage!



This was the FIRST trip that I was eager to stop and watch Streetmosphere. Seriously, having APs and knowing we were going to hit a park every day gave us the chance to just take in everything that Disney has to offer instead of running to catch FPs of all the big rides.



So we stalked them. Haha, all the way to where they were setting up, we just followed them!



I didn't know what they were going to do or who they were, but I was excited to get good "seats."



These two characters started setting up by placing chairs. They specifically wanted to place that chair with the blue cushion in the shade.



VIDEO: Following Streetmosphere

And THEN all of a sudden, HOWARD WAS PULLED INTO THE STREETMOSPHERE SKIT! They were doing a matchmaker game, and Howard had to listen to 3 women answer questions and choose one!



He was given these cards with questions to read out loud.



Now there's no way that I can explain it well. The videos will have to do because these Citizens of Hollywood characters are so witty and it's hilarious! It was just even more fun to see that Howard was the guy sitting in the chair!

VIDEO: Howard in Streetmosphere Part I
This is where the director, Vladimir Pooey, gets Howard to be in the matchmaker game despite the fact that he knows we're together. Daley Reels also explains how Howard cannot turn around to look at the ladies! For me, it's immediately funny that they just kept saying his name over and over again! You'll also see the 3 women come on set and introduce themselves and see their moves. I believe that they came out of Villains in Vogue. Haha, you just HAVE to watch it! "The back of your head is so attractive!"

VIDEO: Howard in Streetmosphere Part II
Second round with a new question! You can hear at one point that there's a guy standing behind me who's very adamant about voicing his opinion regarding who Howard should choose! Afterwards we watched this at the resort on the laptop, and Howard finally understood the sound he heard when bachelorette #3 tried to get up on her chair.

VIDEO: Howard in Streetmosphere Part III
Time to choose a bachelorette and see what they get as a prize!

After it was over, I really wanted Howard to take pictures with them. Vladimir took this one because he said I should be in the picture too. Here are the two ladies he didn't choose - Mimi Kaboom and Paige Turner. Paige Turner is HILARIOUS in other skits we've seen her in.



Vladimir and Howard! When we see these Citizens of Hollywood characters now, we get giddy because it's like we "know" them!



And there's his pick! Betty Shambles!



It was cute that she was signing autographs.



At first she was really upset because he was married, so that's why she took the picture like this.



Haha, what a cute couple.



After picture, we were ready to move on, but we just couldn't stop laughing and feeling so weird to have been part of something like this!

VIDEO: Streetmosphere Atmosphere

 

[RachelNinja]

Props at Planet Hollywood

We popped into the Planet Hollywood store to cool off and to just talk about everything that went on just a few minutes earlier with the Citizens of Hollywood since Howard couldn't see anything that the audience found entertaining. He was also telling me that the guy behind me that was so insistent on sharing his opinion about who Howard should pick was this BIG guy who looked so macho but was just SO into the game! Haha, it must've been odd sitting in the chair.

Anyway, there were a ton of props in the store, but we snapped pictures of the stuff we knew like Home Alone stuff! This is definitely a movie of my childhood. I just never understood why Kevin didn't call the police or get an adult.



You know we had to admir ethe High School Musical stuff! The third movie was definitely my favorite even though often times Howard and I sing the corny songs from the second more often than the third movie. I mean, Sharpay at the pool singing that she wants it all? Haha, it's such a "bad" song, but it's so catchy at the same time!



SO SCARY! I absolutely hated the Gremlins as a kid. I think the movies from years ago were a lot scarier than the ones they have now because it's like things coming alive or monsters and such. Now it's all about violent ghosts and psychological thrillers and such, which I DO NOT WATCH because I believe those are scary too, but there's just something about Gremlins as a kid that is TERRIFYING.



Pink Ranger! We watched Flashpoint on Netflix in the more recent months, and we still call Amy Jo Johnson the pink ranger even in the context of that show!



I had to take a picture next to the yellow ranger, of course, because it was the Asian one! I threw up some fobby fingers too, haha.



MICKEY!



And lastly, the hubs saw some Star Wars stuff and checked that out for a bit.



I don't think I've ever eaten at a Planet Hollywood in my life (I can't remember if one of our field trips in middle school included that restaurant or another one), but I understand the lure of seeing all the movie stuff if you love watching 'em. Don't know how the food is at the restaurant, but I'm sure the environment makes it taste better if anything!

 

[RachelNinja]

Shopping at Darth's Mall

Since we were at DHS specifically for Star Wars Weekends, we had to check out Darth's Mall to see what great merchandise they had. It's funny that shopping for SWW was one of the only reasons why we headed underneath this car at Rock 'N' Rollercoaster! We have never ridden this before and don't have the desire to do so. Even being in this area makes me a little nervous. I'm sure the ride would be fun, but I do not like the idea of the countdown and the really fast start off speed! I've been on a coaster like that before, and I did NOT like that feeling!



It's interesting to see just how much space is around the parks that can be utilized for special events.



It also gave us a new view of the Tower of Terror. Yeah, that's not a ride we do either. I've been on it before when it first opened up and they didn't have the scary random drops. I just remember the little "fake" drop and then the big drop down. I also do NOT like the ghosts that beckon you forward!



This isn't what I thought it would like when I imagined it in my head.



VIDEO: Walking to Darth's Mall

There were tons of drinkware available. I think that if we didn't have Disney tumblers and tons of mugs, it would've been nice to have two Star Wars ones. Of course, we weren't really into spending too much on souvenirs.



I didn't expect to find anything that I wanted and was there just to let Howard enjoy looking, but then I found a shirt that I wanted!



It was a cool sketch-like drawing of R2D2, and it was also in a color that I don't really have at home. But it was just too expensive for my tastes, so I didn't get it. I did stand there for a while considering it.



I didn't really think there was so much in terms of different merchandise, but then we saw these things. We definitely didn't see this in the stores closer to the entrance! Haha, I wonder how many people actually go, "Hi, can I get that Chewie costume please?"



I'd understand more if you wanted to get the Darth Vader costume though, haha.



I actually like the Star Wars themed cellphone or phone plan commercial that's out. I have no clue what company it's for, but it comes up when we watch stuff on Hulu. Each member of the family is wearing a Star Wars Halloween costumes. The dad has on a Jabba the Hutt costume and the baby is a tiny Princess Leia strapped to his chest. Anyone else see it?



We spent some time to look at the art that they had for sale.



This was the only one that really turned me off! Haha. The others one look like fun things to put up in your house if you're a Star Wars fan, but this one is scary! Haha, never mind the freaky Gremlins from the previous update; I don't want to be attacked by a family of Wookies! The female one or the "mom" one is the scariest.



Tons of SW Vinylmation!



The Pop Vinyls were really cute. I really like the Disney ones that we saw at the Disney Store. For a while, I thought it'd be cute to have a little Maleficent or something, but the prices were pretty steep for just a toy. When they finally dropped in price, they only had a few options left and that didn't include Maleficent.



There were a lot of people in the area, and it was kind of crowded in some areas.



We left Darth's Mall only having purchased one thing. We found the smallest t-shirt that we could with that year's SWW graphic for our friends' baby. The dad is a BIG Star Wars fan too, so we wanted to just pick up something memorable for his little one.



Personally, I think that if you're not TOO big of a fan, there's really no need to go to Darth's Mall as the other stores have plenty of merchandise too. I mean, Howard was able to find the iPhone case a few days earlier, and we didn't have to go all the way there for it. I'm sure we didn't really examine everything that was offered to compare, but I guess I just didn't care much about buying the stuff, haha.



I cared much more about EATING! I was HUNGRY! Where should we eat?

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Wow! So many updates that I don't even remember what I wanted to comment on!

Looks like you guys had fun checking out all the Star Wars Weekend Stuff (even it was was more for DH than you)!!!

 

[MeMom]

I watched a little of the Streetmosphere fun, but I was listening to all of it as I was pidling around the room. Fun that you have that to keep and share with friends. And you can show your kids someday to make sure they appreciate the mom they got instead of the one they might have had!

I don't know about Star Wars, but I have seen the parade. Can you imagine how hot some of them are in those costumes?

Thanks for giving me a little trip to Hollywood Studios today through your pictures and video.

 

[RachelNinja]

Wow! So many updates that I don't even remember what I wanted to comment on!

Looks like you guys had fun checking out all the Star Wars Weekend Stuff (even it was was more for DH than you)!!!

I figured it's about time I finished this TR because I have 3 other trips that I can write about! I was just stuck on the SWW stuff because there were SO many pictures to go through, so I just made it easier on myself to get through by deleting the majority of them. I have a few more ready to post!

Yup, it was definitely more for DH than for me, haha. But I loved seeing how excited he was!

I watched a little of the Streetmosphere fun, but I was listening to all of it as I was pidling around the room. Fun that you have that to keep and share with friends. And you can show your kids someday to make sure they appreciate the mom they got instead of the one they might have had!

I don't know about Star Wars, but I have seen the parade. Can you imagine how hot some of them are in those costumes?

Thanks for giving me a little trip to Hollywood Studios today through your pictures and video.

I'm so excited that we have it on video! It was the best for Howard to watch to finally understand what was going on behind me that was causing everyone to laugh. We still crack up about certain parts of it now and actually repeat some of the lines too like the way Betty Shambles says, "Geppetto!" Haha, I like your point! Yup, could've had an even crazier mom!

Yeah, those SWW costumes are just crazy! The furriness of Chewbacca really gets to me along with the all black costume for Vader!

You're welcome I'm glad you can enjoy the pictures because I ALWAYS enjoy yours!

 

[RachelNinja]

Reminiscent of VMK: Sci-Fi Dine-In

We were a bit hungry at this point, so we wanted to grab some grub! Instead of heading to a counter service restaurant, we decided to see if there was any way they could squeeze us in to Sci-Fi Dine-In since it wasn't the time between lunch and dinner. When I went up the counter, I prefaced my question by saying that I knew it was a long shot, but it ended up that they would be able to fit us in if we were willing to wait! Since we were in AC, we were totally okay with waiting!



The amount of time that was quoted wasn't at all accurate in a good sense because in just a few minutes, we were being led to our seats. We ended up sitting in the back of a car with a family of four in front of us. I used to think that it'd be weird to be sitting right behind strangers especially with their hair right in front of us, but I was surprised to see that there was actually enough distance between us, and I never felt that they were in our food.



I was proudly showing off my trophy necklace that Vladimir gave to me because I was such a good sport. Howard had gotten a little plastic Academy Award.



The darkness of this restaurant was just so inviting; it helped us cool off pretty easily. I was so thrilled to see what it look like with my own eyes because Howard and I had played Virtual Magic Kingdom years ago. That's where we were first introduced to Sci-Fi! Can you believe we had no clue that it existed beforehand? It was very surreal to be there because when we played the game, we had broken up and were just friends at that point. And now we were MARRIED and enjoying our DISNEYMOON!



Every seat provides a good view for the screen, I think, because of the angles. I really think it would be amazing to have drive-in theaters nowadays. I know some people have access to the few remaining drive-ins still in the US, but we don't. I imagine it'd be fun to have blankets to snuggle if it's cold out and bring all our own snacks! Or PIZZA!



VIDEO: Sci-Fi Dine-In Atmosphere

Whoops, I didn't hold it steady enough especially in the darkness! Let's try that again ...



There we go! Super happy!



It's not very clear, but you know I had to get a ring shot there!



Look up!



Time to decide what to have! Howard ordered a cherry Coke, I believe. It had the real syrup mixed in, and he thought it was good, but I didn't like it. I think it was a bit too sweet for me or maybe a bit TOO much like cherry. I only like real cherries or the bottled cherry Coke. Other than that, I don't like cherry flavored items. Oh wait, I do like maraschino cherries!



I had to try hard not to think about the pictures I had seen showcasing how this place isn't necessarily the cleanest place if you take flash photos of where we sit. Haha. In the dark, it's so romantic though, isn't it?



I love the little speakers too.



We decided not to order any entrees as they didn't appeal to us, and they were pretty expensive too! Instead we ordered 3 separate appetizers to share. First we had the BLT Soup ($6.99). It's described as follows: A creamy tomato basil soup, topped with an herb crouton, shredded lettuce and bacon. It's been so long that I actually don't remember this that well. It was good, but in general, I really like tomato basil soup, so I don't think you can really mess it up other than it being too tart. We enjoyed taking spoonfuls of this in between our other appetizers, but it definitely didn't become one of the best dishes of our entire trip.



The second appetizer we ordered was the Buffalo Potato Skins with Blue Cheese topping and Celery Sticks (9.99). It seemed like it'd be perfect because Howard loves the kick of buffalo sauce, and I am a HUGE fan of blue cheese! The moldier the better! Unfortunately, this REALLY turned me off. The blue cheese was very strong, but it just tasted really strange. And trust me, I've had blue cheese that was SO veiny that I didn't think anything could ever make me feel gross. I don't know what it was, but it was just not appetizing to me. I ended up having to scrape off a lot of the cheese to be able to eat it. This is no longer on the menu. If it were, there'd be no way I would order this again.



The last appetizer was the Chicken Wings with Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce, Blue Cheese Dressing, and Celery Sticks ($11.49). I'm normally not that big of a fan of chicken wings probably because of the messiness of eating them, but these were DELICIOUS! They were my favorite item of the meal. They had a nice kick to them without being spicy. The blue cheese to dip was normal, which I appreciated. The wings didn't even need the blue cheese, but I love mixing two strong flavors together.



By the way, I love buffalo wings and such now! I love the spice, and we have Frank's hot sauce in the pantry but haven't made it ourselves just yet. This was a second picture to try to get the chicken in the picture, but it was hidden underneath the celery.



Howard finished the last of the soup, and I had the last piece of chicken, which was GIGANTIC. Look at that! It's about a quarter of the size of my head! Haha.



We took this picture to compare to the spoon so you could see just how massive this piece was.



When looking at the pictures, this one entertained me because it looks like the girl in the passenger seat does not approve of us or something!



We asked our server to take a picture of us so that you could actually see that we were sitting in the car and not just a one-handed shot.



Goodbye backseat!



On the way out, we enjoyed more of the set-up of the stage. Disney really does decorate every spare space!



VIDEO: Walking Out of Sci-Fi Dine-In

We were really happy to have had the chance to eat at Sci-Fi, but it's not really on our list for a return visit. The atmosphere really does make it a fun place to eat, but we're all about the food! Now that we've found the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich from the Studio Catering Company, there's no reason to spend so much more when that chicken sandwich is so gosh darn good! Anyway, back out into the sun!

 

[RachelNinja]

Drawing Donald Duck

We weren't out in the heat for too long because we headed right back into the air conditioning. Due to our Animation Academy experience last time, we wanted to have a redo. We got there when they were just letting people into the waiting area for the next class, so we got to sit at the bench right next to the door.



All smiles and all but just a few minutes later ...



I decided to take a quick nap on my hubby's shoulder because I was so tired. Talk about weak sauce!



I don't think I slept soundly, but it was refreshing to close my eyes for a bit even though I clearly didn't LOOK refreshed. I think I heard the shutter sound from Howard's camera.



I'm not a rule breaker. I actually get really upset when people choose to disregard the rules (I guess that's the teacher in me), but on this day, I decided to be a daredevil and put my foot over the yellow line for this picture. Don't worry. I pulled it back immediately after it was snapped and even felt guilty for doing it!



It does amaze me that, for the most part, people in Disney follow the rules when in front of doors that open automatically. It fascinates me that Disney can make the rules pretty clear for all to understand to keep everyone safe.



When we were finally let into the classroom, we were some of the first ones in, so we were able to snag seats in the first row. I actually like the seats in the front but at the end of the row because then I feel as if there are fewer people behind me staring at my drawing or my behind!



No voting on characters here! This animator was set on doing Donald, which we had actually drawn before, but thankfully we were doing a different angle. The first Donald we had drawn was an angry one. This animator was so fun too because he was asking trivia questions about Donald Duck including what his middle name was. I didn't know it, but when someone answered "Fauntleroy," I realized that I did know it all along because of FauntleroyFAN07 here on DIS!



This stuff is so easy-peasy for the hubs! He's so much more artistic and creative than I am, but I love that in Animation Academy, most people can draw a fairly decent character! When you compare all our characters from our classes, Howard's drawings always look better because he adds some personality to them because he can see how they're going to turn out. Mine are always done EXACTLY the way the animator explains it, so I have a tendency to make things a little too symmetrical and perfect so the characters don't look as "life-like" (well, as life-like as cartoon characters can be). But it's still such an experience that we can't miss!



To this day, this animator is the BEST we have ever had. He not only made it fun with the trivia, but he also explained everything so accurately. I don't like it when they tell us to draw a circle. I like it when they say to draw a circle the size of a golf ball or use some other description to give us an idea. And instead of saying a squished oval, I like it when they say it should look like a kidney bean. The descriptions really make it more manageable. When we saw this animator during a later trip, we were upset that we JUST missed him because he was going to be teaching the class after ours! His name is Brian by the way.



And as always, I love this place because of the desk! I've mentioned it in a TR before, but in Virtual Magic Kingdom, you could only get the animator's desk and chair from a code on a trading card in the park or resort or something. Of course, there was no way I could get it, so I actually tried to trade for it. I really loved how it looked and wanted it for my room (I know, it sounds so serious for being virtual!). I started a thread here on DIS, and someone private messaged and said that she had a code for me for free! So not only did I get the desk I loved, but I also got it out of an act of kindness! It's nice to remember the moments of kindness in the game as opposed to when a kid "stole" my Inferno magic on the last day of the game ... but let's not get into that.



Here was my final drawing! His beak is a tiny bit odd because of the size or the angle, but if you pretend Donald is making a duck face like girls do in selfies, then it looks appropriate! Yup, that's what I was going for ...



Can't be an artist for a living, but I can be an artist for half an hour at DHS!

 

[Nermel9]

Haha, you're so funny with the thrill rides...the take off part of RnRC is what makes it so much fun! I remember when ToT only had one drop too, it was awesome but I prefer it the way it is now! If I could just go up and down on ToT all day, I'd be the happiest person alive!

Darth's Mall looks awesome! I love Star Wars, so I'd go crazy spending $$ in there! I love that R2D2 shirt!

 

[RachelNinja]

Haha, you're so funny with the thrill rides...the take off part of RnRC is what makes it so much fun! I remember when ToT only had one drop too, it was awesome but I prefer it the way it is now! If I could just go up and down on ToT all day, I'd be the happiest person alive!

Darth's Mall looks awesome! I love Star Wars, so I'd go crazy spending $$ in there! I love that R2D2 shirt!

Haha, I know how people LOVE that anticipation of RnRC, but I think I might start crying!!! I've been on coasters where I'm like, "Why am I on this? What's wrong with me?!?" all the way up to the highest point. And yes, I do say it OUT LOUD to the person sitting next to me! I'm just so afraid of being dizzy because a few coasters have made me feel that way, so I figured there's no point risking feeling sick. That's why I haven't tried Expedition Everest even though I would LOVE to! I just can't risk that backwards part. Think about it this way ... if people like me avoid the rides, it means it frees it up for people like you! Haha.

Whoops, I just realized I kept typing "Maul" instead of "Mall" when I saw your comment. I was on a roll with typing up updates, and I must have forgotten to switch my spelling! And it's funny cuz I love how they used mall instead of Maul!

Ooo, I didn't know you were a Star Wars fan! Yeah, that R2D2 shirt was SO cool!

 

[jelloarms]

I actually watched all 3 of the videos of your experience with the Citizens of Hollywood characters, it was hilarious! That's so cool that Howard got to be a part of that.

I too don't like cherry flavored things. Maraschino cherries are the only cherries I will eat. I find most artificial cherry flavoring to be a bit...cough syrupy.

Aside from the UBER expensive Star Wars goods, was there anything in Darth's Mall that couldn't be found in any of the other gift shops in HS? I remember in 2008, being all excited to go to the $10 and under store in Downtown Disney but ended up thoroughly annoyed to find out that everything in there could be found anywhere else. There was nothing special about the store, they had just consolidated all the cheap stuff into one space.

 

[RachelNinja]

I actually watched all 3 of the videos of your experience with the Citizens of Hollywood characters, it was hilarious! That's so cool that Howard got to be a part of that.

I too don't like cherry flavored things. Maraschino cherries are the only cherries I will eat. I find most artificial cherry flavoring to be a bit...cough syrupy.

Aside from the UBER expensive Star Wars goods, was there anything in Darth's Mall that couldn't be found in any of the other gift shops in HS? I remember in 2008, being all excited to go to the $10 and under store in Downtown Disney but ended up thoroughly annoyed to find out that everything in there could be found anywhere else. There was nothing special about the store, they had just consolidated all the cheap stuff into one space.

Aren't they just so talented? We now make a point to stop and watch any characters we see in DHS! We find that it's some of our favorite memories. The fact that he got to be a part of it before we knew any of the characters was just perfect because we had no idea what to expect!

Yeah! I think the same thing about grape stuff too though. It all reminds me of Dimetapp. I didn't mind taking the medicine because it didn't taste like medicine, but then all candy stuff reminded me of it.

There probably were things that you could only find at Darth's Mall, but I'm going to say more of the expensive stuff. I know there were tables set up with more unique merchandise. We glanced at it really quickly, but that was it. I don't remember seeing that stuff in the stores. Of course, I didn't really look at the stuff that carefully, so I can't really say for sure. The more popular things can be found in both places though. That's why we were so surprised that Howard found the limited edition iPhone cover just in a random gift shop because we had thought it'd only be at Darth's Mall.

I feel the same way about that $10 and under store! I thought it'd be a great place to grab some souvenirs, but it wasn't anything special! I think the kids would appreciate the mystery grab bags I've seen there, but other than that, it's not even worth a stop considering all the great stores at DTD.