Mum and moi take Orlando: the never-ending trip report (aka we are nuts) NEW 5/20 x4!!!

[LifeIsDis]

August 16th (part 2): Cupcakes and ranting aka my life

We went inside the Beach Club and looked around the Marketplace and I found the cheapest pack of strawberries and blueberries in the history of cheap strawberries and blueberries.

JUST LOOK AT THAT INEXPENSIVE PRICE!

We chilled outside of the marketplace for awhile and decided on what we wanted for dinner.

Which took 45 minutes. No lie.

We didn’t know what we wanted and then Mum had the wonderful idea of going to the hot dog cart on the Boardwalk. I swear to god. It took 45 minutes to decide this.

So we went to the hot dog cart and got fried mac and cheese and fried raviolis. We are so healthy.

Yeah so um we are healthy and then we got a cupcake because we are healthy. HEALTHY, GUYS.

HEALTHY.

We got a special cupcake they were selling on this day and it was red velvet with whip cream frosting and it was filled with cream cheese frosting. It was good, but not the best red velvet I have had. BUT IT WAS SPARKLY SO.

We devoured the cupcake and then we just sat there and talked about things for over an hour. I ranted about life per the usual, and yeah. That was that.

Cupcakes and ranting aka my life.

Anyways

We were gonna head back to Epcot but we noticed that a performer was setting up for an act so we went over to watch.

And I am SO happy we did.

His name was Chris and he was really funny. He did some circus-y type acts and little stunt things. It was very entertaining because he was a little cray cray, but that is perfectly alright.

After that act got over, I died because SUNSET. I WAS IN LOVE.

Sunset spam, y’all.

You are so welcome for those.

Another act was setting up and this time, it was some French guy who juggled knives and such. FUN TIMES FOR ALL.

I am very happy that we stuck around and watched the performers. That kind of stuff makes me love Disney. I fell in love with the Boardwalk that night because of all the entertainment. That atmosphere is just incredible.

We had to head back to Epcot because that is where our car was and all.

Before we left, we stopped in Mouse Gear and I got the Jack Alex and Ani. IT WAS MANDATORY.

And I fell in love with Minnie Mary Poppins.

(And can we talk about how I almost just wrote Mary Poopins)​

 

[momplus3]

Some more great photographs from you! I especially love your fireworks photographs.

I hope school is getting better for you. You start back very early! DS15 and DS13 started on August 25. So far so good for both of them but full fledged homework has not kicked in yet!

Can't wait to see more!

 

[KelleyK75]

The tour sounds really cool!

Wow, do people really pay that for strawberries and blueberries at Disney? I think I'd have to pass and buy them for $3.00 at home. LOL.

The food looks yummy!

BEAUTIFUL sunset pictures over the Boardwalk!!

The Minnie's are too much! I want them!!

 

[LifeIsDis]

Some more great photographs from you! I especially love your fireworks photographs.

I hope school is getting better for you. You start back very early! DS15 and DS13 started on August 25. So far so good for both of them but full fledged homework has not kicked in yet!

Can't wait to see more!

Thank you!
Yes, school is getting better. We do! And then we get out in May. Hope your kids are having a great school thus far!

The tour sounds really cool!

Wow, do people really pay that for strawberries and blueberries at Disney? I think I'd have to pass and buy them for $3.00 at home. LOL.

The food looks yummy!

BEAUTIFUL sunset pictures over the Boardwalk!!

The Minnie's are too much! I want them!!

It was really cool!
Probably those prices are ridiculous
It was!
Thanks!
ME TOO!!!!​

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 23rd (part 1): DA BABY GORILLA!

We got to AK and we headed straight for Pangani because of reasons that you will see in a minute.

Some turtles. Yeah.

I didn’t know this before we got to AK but there were TWO BABY MEERKATS!!!! and they are so cute omg.

But the real reason we went to Pangani was for the BABY GORILLA!!!!!

Guys, we stood there for 5evah. Like I would say 30-40 minutes because we couldn’t get enough of the cutest thing evah.

And the CMs were so knowledgeable about the baby and answered a ton of questions. They were awesome.

Enough of my commentary. BABY GORLLIA TIME!

Oh hi dad.

At this time, the baby was about 3 weeks old and the mother wouldn’t let him (yes, it is a boy) go. It was just the cutest thing ever.

Moving onto more gorillas, which aren’t as cute as Mr. Baby but oh well.

After we died from cuteness, we had a FP to use for Kilimanjaro.

I got like no good pictures on this safari, but here, have one of a hippo and vultures. You’re welcome.

When we got off, it started to rain so we made a run for it and experienced #stuckinharambe2k14. Fun times. I played with stuffed animals and took selfies with bear puppets. Get on my level.

We were stuck in there 6evah but it was better than being outside in torrential rain and basically hurricane winds.​

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 23rd (part 2): The Land of Walls

Once the rain let up, we went down to Pizzafari and just got some breadsticks to split. They were actually pretty good!

Our next FP was ready to use so we headed on over to Asia and can we talk about how many GIANT branches were down? There was like half a tree (ok not really) blocking the path by Flights of Wonder and they had to shut down that path. It was really bad.

We got to Everest though and lived it up.

We went back over to Africa because why not and went on another safari. But only the FP line was open because so many branches blocked standby. It was ridiculous.

We got to pick our own row since it wasn’t crowded AT ALL.

Our CM was SO good. One of the best we have ever had.

Told you guys the storm was really bad.

It was almost park close at this time but I wanted to go over to EE because of reasons.

Everest was still open even though it was after park close so WHY NOT.

Cousin Itt was on this train, as you can see.

Now, the point in staying until close was so I could get some long exposure shots, but it was SO light out that I couldn’t even do it. I need to go on a night in like the winter when it gets light early or on a day when they close later.

But no one was around so that was nice.

LOVE these lights. I had never noticed them before.

We got back to the car and Mum had the BRILLIANT idea of going to DTD. I gave her the death stare but I wanted the new cookie sundae from Ghirardelli so I huffed and puffed and let mum drive on over to Hell.

And when I say Hell, I mean, Hell on Earth aka DTD. True fact.

Now, this is the rant you all have been waiting for. Ok, maybe you haven’t waited for this at all and didn’t even know I was ranting about DTD—but I do all the time so what else is new—but I am so excited to write this.

But first, if you haven’t listened to Pete Werner’s rant about DTD, go listen to it. What he said in that rant is basically what I will be ranting about right now.

So we get to DTD and I saw those cranes. The cranes I hate with a burning passion. The cranes of lost hopes and dream. I am serious.

We get to Casting and CMs are telling people to go down whatever lane and LOL AT THEM because there were no spots left whatsoever.

Mum starts yelling and screaming and cursing at Bob Iger (ok she didn’t but still), and I just sat there and shook my head.

We drove down to Team Disney and found a spot aka like the last one in the whole place.

By the time we got to the DTD area to the time we actually parked, it was about 35-40 minutes later. No lie.

And then we had to walk across the street to The Land of Walls. And I am sorry, but from Team Disney, you have to walk like 1000 miles to actually get to West Side. They have you go through this ridiculous wall maze and it dumps you out by Planet Hollywood.

Remember when they said they were going to have a shuttle from across the street cause I do and we see that lasted long.

We decided to go to D Street because Hipstah Mickey. They added a ton of Jerrod Maruyama’s other Disney artwork which I also LOVE.

I want these magnets so badly.

Next stop was WoD. But getting there was a trip and a half. We had already experienced the wall maze down by Lego, but with the crowds, it was AWFUL.

At least I got to see these cuties in WoD.

Finally, it was time for the cookie sundae and it did not disappoint. Their amazing chocolate chip cookie was all over this thing, but $10 is a little much.

While we ate our ice cream, we laughed hysterically at the hot mess that was Villains Unleashed. And people wondered why I wasn’t going.

We finished our sundae, and headed back to West Side so we could get out of that place.

Now, I understand that they have a ton of construction going on, but the guest experience is horrendous. It makes people angry and upset and it is not an enjoyable time for anyone. The crowds do make it worse, but even if it was dead there, I do not enjoy my time having to go through a wall maze every two feet and deal with no parking. With the parking structure that is taking 10 years, it creates a giant mess. And I am sorry, but this CRAPPIN PARKING GARAGE is made out of steel and that is it. It should not take over a year to make a 4 story parking structure. WHAT THE CRAP DISNEY.

I don’t know what else to say except that the guest experience stinks and going to DTD is a total waste of time. The end.​

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 30th (part 1): Cuckoo for Kevin

PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET

Hi

I am so sorry there haven’t been a ton of updates lately! I have a day off this week from school and I am gonna do a ton of editing and writing.

Before I begin this update, I just wanted to say that there are a ton of exciting updates coming up including MNSSHP and my twin came down to visit! So stick around for that craziness.

I have just been so busy with homework, my school newspaper, and god knows what else. Hope you guys enjoy the updates coming up!

***

AK weekend #2.

We had to see the baby gorilla again. It was mandatory. And plus AK is the best and whoever doesn’t think so can just leave. It is casually moving to my #1 park spot. Best CMs, best theming, best shows, (some of the) best attractions, THE END.

Anyways

Disney flowers >>>>

We visited some animals in the Oasis, until the parrots started going to the bathroom and we were out of there.

And by the way, we got to AK EARLY. We wanted to do something, but first, it was breakfast time at Pizzafari! I saw the new stuff online and it looked delicious.

Mum got the kid’s breakfast flatbread, which was so small. Picky eater, my friends.

I got the croissant sandwich with egg whites, spinach, and some chutney. It also came with potato things. It was SO good and one of the best quick service things I have ever had.

But why in god’s name are we cutting off breakfast at 10:30 to serve disgusting pizza?!

Our next stop was Rafiki’s because we wanted to see if they were doing any animal procedures. In fact, they were!

On rats.

How exciting.

It was actually pretty interesting, I have to say. They were filing the teeth of two rats because if they aren’t in the wild, their teeth just continue to grow since they don’t have anything to file them down, I guess.

They knocked the rats out by putting them in this little tent and then they got down to business.

Poor baby!

After we watched the rats for a little bit, we headed outside and saw that there was a show going on. I think it was called It Was All Started with a Pig but who knows. It had a pig in it and other animal things so

During the show, a CM came over to me and asked if I was afraid of birds. Um, no? He told me that if I wanted, I could come up and “catch” a bird on some pedestal thing. UM YEAH! I was so excited, guys.

Mum got some fantastic pictures. No comment.

It was really cool! The bird came right at me, and I even got a button that I wore loud and proud all day. It said Cuckoo for Kevin. Get on my level.

And I guess Birdy Dude was named Kevin.

Anyways

We were heading back to the train but I noticed my Chippies were out and that was MANDATORY. They were playing with some kids in front of the building and then I played follow the leader with them to their meeting spot. And we all sang Following the Leader. I WAS DEAD.

I showed them my phone case which has Chip and Dale on it and they flipped out. They even recreated my phone case. TEARS.

The baes.

We went back to the train and off to Harambe we went.

Pangani was our next spot because BABY GORILLA! I couldn’t believe how much he changed in a week. His mother would let him roll around on the ground, when before, she wouldn’t even let him go. It was adorable!

Sorry not sorry for the baby gorilla spam.

We had a FP to use for Kilimanjaro so we went right next door to use it.

Next stop was Maharajah to see if the tigers were out.

We looked at the bats for a few and talked to a CM who wouldn’t shut her mouth. She was really nice, but god, I wanted to see the tigers.

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 30th (part 2): THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Of course, the tigers were not out. Too hot. #floridaprobs

So we headed out of the park and drove on over to the TTC because……..

HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS WERE UP AND I NEEDED TO SEE THEM!!!!!!!

TEARS FEELS GAHHH

Obsessed with Halloween. Deal with it.

And dat 50mm though

Next stop = TTA. ♥

Since it was right there, we went into CoP. And by the way, the son in the last scene is still Mike Wazowski. His eye still ain’t working.

We headed into Fantasyland next and saw my love on the way.

I WUV YOU!

I wanted to get a few pictures by the castle and since I am such a photographer, I sit and lay on the ground and of course, I did just that. And sat in a giant puddle. Winning.

We went into Phillharmagic to get some AC and to sing and crap. Fun times.

Dumbo didn’t have a wait when I checked afterwards so WHY NOT! I know Mum just LOVES Dumbo, so this had to happen. And plus, she loves sitting with me in one elephant. The arm doesn’t feel like it is gonna fall off or anything….

 

[KelleyK75]

I was on vacation when you posted your 9/9 post and somehow missed it. Back to that, I LOVE the baby gorilla pics!! There's nothing cuter!

Love the magnets! And that cookie sundae....yum!!!

Yay for being able to see the rat procedure!

How fun to be able to "catch" the bird!

Great picture with Chip & Dale!

Love the Halloween pics!! I wish I could be down there for Halloween this year.

Awesome pics by the castle and of Dumbo!!

 

[cjhinch]

Love reading your updates! Your pictures are just gorgeous!!

Makes me very excited for our upcoming trip in November!

 

[LifeIsDis]

I was on vacation when you posted your 9/9 post and somehow missed it. Back to that, I LOVE the baby gorilla pics!! There's nothing cuter!

Thanks; the baby gorilla is SO cute!

Love the magnets! And that cookie sundae....yum!!!

Cookie sundae >>>>

Yay for being able to see the rat procedure!

YAY FOR RATS!

How fun to be able to "catch" the bird!

it was a lot of fun!

Great picture with Chip & Dale!



Love the Halloween pics!! I wish I could be down there for Halloween this year.

Hopefully you can come down for Halloween next year!

Awesome pics by the castle and of Dumbo!!

Thank you!

Love reading your updates! Your pictures are just gorgeous!!

Makes me very excited for our upcoming trip in November!

Thank you so much!
Your trip is so soon! That is awesome​

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 30th (part 3): Dumbo and stuff idk

Obsessed with Dumbo. Deal with it.

To fully experience the #livinitup definition, we went on the Barnstormer since it only had a 10 minute wait! It had to happen.

45 SECONDS OF FUN!!!

I wanted to go back to main st to take pictures of all of the pumpkins and decorations so I changed my lens and got down to business.

Love this one so much

Center street livin ♥

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 30th (part 4): CURSE THOSE TROLLEY TRACKS!

KIND OF OBSESSED

Best pumpkin of all time

THOSE DETAILS THO

You are so welcome for the Halloween spam.

We headed back to Storybook Circus again because for some odd reason, the Confectionery didn’t have plain caramel apples. Just the over decorated $10 ones.

Caramel apple in hand from Big Top, we headed back to Main St because we wanted to eat our apple on Center Street because Center Street is the best.

We were walking back and right by the wheelchair section for the parade, I tripped and fell. CURSE THOSE TROLLEY TRACKS!

My knee was all scraped up because of course I saved my camera instead of myself.

We headed to first aid and I got some bandaids and a cloth to wipe off the blood. And lol it seriously didn’t even hurt. I had another scrape on the same knee from god knows what and that hurt worse than the Main St Cut. I don’t even know. After I cleaned up my knee, we finally went to Center Street.

Caramel apples are so much more important than cuts that are gushing blood, guys. Duh.

After we ate that puppy, we went on the TTA which was just weird. I have no words for what happened. To sum it up, some guy kept “flirting” with me. Like, dude, I am 15. And I am taken by Mickey Mouse. Back off.

Anyways…

Love me some long exposure aka art!

We headed back to Main St because the park was gonna close soon for EMH.

 

[LifeIsDis]

August 31st: In which the Poly is winning

NEXT DAY!

I thought the first Halloween party was on this night but no, it was the next day. Go me. I was so excited to shoot Hallowishes but we can’t have nice things.

We parked at the TTC and went to the Poly to get some food.

We checked out Pineapple Lanai first, which is disappointing the end.

And then we went into Captain Cooks since we had not seen the new one yet. It is nice. I like the art in there, but I wasn’t blown away.

Hidden Mickey!

You guys get the point.

We didn’t feel like any of the food there so we went up to Tambu.

We had a FANTASTIC WONDERFUL AMAZING SPECTACULAR view from where we were sitting.

Yes, wonderful people. That is Kona.

WINNING.

Anyways

NACHO TIME!

BREAD PUDDING TIME!

We decided to take the monorail to the G Flo and looked around for a few.

I still wanted to shoot fireworks even though Hallowishes wasn’t happening.

I wanted to shoot from the 4th floor balcony from the Contemp but people were already there. And it was an hour before. So we went up two floors to one of the stairwell balconies and no one was there. Great.

It was SO cool though because the monorail goes right under you and the CM at the front would wave to us and KSHDKLSHDJKHSDJK.

We had a ton of time to waste so I kicked off my shoes, made myself at home, and danced around. So much fun.

Finally, it was Wishes time!

It is an awesome view, but I definitely like having the fireworks behind the castle, making the TTC a better location. I don’t hate this spot, but I would rather somewhere else.

I packed up my equipment and then we looked around in BVG.

What they use for their Halloween merch set up >>>

We took the monorail back to my fave place aka the TTC and headed home.
​

 

[LifeIsDis]

September 6th (part 1): WE NEED KETCHUP!

We had made an ADR for breakfast at Whispering Canyon because WHY NOT.

Our ADR at was like 10 something so we parked at my house and checked in. We were seated in less than 5 minutes.

Now they give you this ridiculous coaster so you get to pick whether or not you want to have a good time or not. Um, isn’t one of the points in going to WCC the atmosphere?

And you are in Disney World…. Having a good time… I think.

Of course, we picked this side.

Our waiter came over and took our order. He was funny, a little weird, but what do you expect.

We got the breakfast skillet, duh. Everything was delicious but so filling, god. I mean, we did get another skillet and all so that may explain why I was stuffed.

Mum needed ketchup for her eggs so we all know what that means!

After we waddled on out of there, we walked around my house.

This is the cutest little map evah.

While we walked around my house, I looked for spots that would be good for portraits because I was asked by someone to take their family portraits at either WL or BC so I wanted to get an idea for good spots. I had done this before at BC so now I have a decent idea of where I want to shoot at WL. And Mum loved being my stand in for portraits. Loved it.

Anyways

We took the boat to MK and once we got there, we watched the Dapper Dans and looked around in the Emporium.

When we got out of the Emporium, the trolley show was starting and the Fall edition had just started up so we stopped and watch. I am SO happy with how these pictures came out. These performers are fantastic, even though they lip sync…

​

 

[LifeIsDis]

September 6th (part 2): I Love the End of the TTA Car Fan Club

After that awesomeness, we went into Adventureland.

Jungle Cruise was only 10 MINUTES GUYS and Pirates was like 15 or 20. PERFECTION!

We got in line for Pirates and we did end up wait 15-20 minutes.

I decided to use my 50mm on Pirates and I love how these came out.

50mm FTW.

Next stop was Frontierland where we watched these guys.

It was really hot out and we just needed to sit so off to the TTA we went!

I am starting an I Love the End of the TTA Car Fan Club cause end of the car >>>

It was about 2:30 at this time and I wanted to shoot FoF with my 50mm because I wanted to see how parade shots would come out with it aka I had to decide which lens to bring to MNSSHP for Boo to You.

I have to say, using my 50mm with FoF was the best decision I have ever made. I don’t know why but I think these are my best FoF shots I have gotten. I love my 50mm anyways but I loved not having to zoom in for one aka I could focus on the floats and performers, and for two, DAT BOKEH. ME LOVE DAT BOKEH.

So enjoy!

 

[LifeIsDis]

September 6th (part 3): STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE

Someone’s excited.

Hi there!

Flora is like STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE

I can’t.

 

[LifeIsDis]

September 6th (part 4): In which everyone loves Jesus

Oh wow I have a lot of FoF pics. I am so not sorry.

Photobomb by the Mad Hatter.

Hope you guys enjoyed that FoF spam. You guys probably did. Let’s be real now.

I was dying of thirst so we got some watah at Cosmic Rays and sat down for a few.

They had Halloween cups out!

Next stop was Big Top. Idk why. I know I tried on some tails. Yes, tails. I know you’re jealous.

SEXY AND I KNOW IT

Moving on from that odd stuff

Love these!

We chilled in the awesome seating area for a bit with the awesome furniture that is gonna get ruined.

And by a bit I mean an hour because it wouldn’t stop raining.

After ten years of nonstop rain, we walk around the Enchanted Forest and such.

We got to Be Our Guest and we noticed that the ADR booth wasn’t open and people were just walking in. We asked a CM if they were serving dinner and since Night of Joy was going on (…), they were doing quick service. But, we had to go in now if we weren’t going to Night of Joy because they were cutting the line off for non religious people in like a minute.

We walked up to the door and the CM asked to see our wristband so we explained to her we weren’t going to Night of Joy but the CM said we could still eat. She tried to page a CM at the front but couldn’t get a hold on them so she let us right in. YAY!

It was the weirdest thing ever. There was no line, we didn’t have to wait at all, and we were the only non religious people in the place. And the Rose Gallery was closed off just for Night of Joy peeps. Not that I wanted to sit in there, but what was in there that was so special? Jesus came to eat at Be Our Guest? I don’t know.

(And before I get any comments, we are not religious whatsoever; I am just joking. Not making fun of Jesus or whatever. Just had to say that in case any of my readers are part of the I Love Jesus Fan Club or something. No offense to any of you).

After we ordered, we found a seat in the Ballroom.

Now, we weren’t even that hungry. We just wanted to eat at BOG, duh.

Couldn’t pass up French Onion soup and a strawberry cupcake though

We said so long to all our new Jesus loving friends and left the joint.

We headed out of the park and of course, we had to walk past the crowd in front of the castle.

I have never seen so much security in my life.

Which doesn’t really surprise me after stuff I have heard that goes on in like the back of the Phillharmagic theater.


But I LOVE how Z88.3 sponsors Night of Joy. Any of my Orlando locals will get that!

#safeforthelittleears

Anyways

We took the boat back to WL because our car was still there.

Once we got back, we decided to drive on over to MGM to see the Frozen fireworks.

We had a ton of time to kill so we looked around Hollywood and Sunset and that was it since everything was either closed or had a wicked long wait. Hollywood Studios, ladies and gentlemen.

I set up my tripod by Echo Lake since we had nothing else better to do. Once again, Hollywood Studios, ladies and gentlemen.

This is the only firework shot I am going to post because of the amount of smoke for the rest of the show. Let’s just say that I was not thrilled.

After that wonderful show got over, we talked to another photographer who was there for awhile and then we drove on home.​

 

[LumosQ102]

1. your photos are getting better and better and better, but today's are just perfect. I'd kill for your talent.

2. The NoJ comments

 

[dramadrew]

Please somehow merge your two FoF photos to somehow get excited Anna and excited Elsa in the same picture. That would be hilarious!