"Norway? More like No Way!" Goobers' Jan 12 TR! Up.x2 4/6: FINAL THOUGHTS!

[jecskc]

My DS loved those nachos, too. We loved the Boardwalk when we stayed there in November. It was the perfect place. Can't wait to try AKL in April (26 more days). I just love DVC. Hoping to make it to Beach Club some day.

 

[JustLikeBelle]

Ooooo! I love that gallery of light! So pretty! I've not seen those before...I will have to check them out when I am there next month (next month! Hooray!)

I love Matt's Rescue Rangers tshirt! That was an amazing show!

I can't believe how many times you guys rode EE in a row! I have to really psyche myself up every time...it terrifies me, but my husband loves it.

I cannot wait to eat another butterfinger cupcake! And your red velvet looks amazing. How's a person supposed to choose between all the delicious flavors?

So sorry about your Cape May meal. Bad service really puts a damper on even the best of meals doesn't it? I hope your upcoming breakfast went much better!

So sad your report is almost over! You'll have to go again soon so you can come back and write another!

 

[danimaroo]

Another fun update!
RED VELVET CUPCAKE! I love red velvet...red velvet cake, red velvet cookies, red velvet brownies, tie-dye cheesecake with scrumptious red velvet crust...maybe it's a southern thing doesn't matter because add that cupcake to the list of my must haves next trip!
I feel for you on the tanning dilemma. I'm Italian and tan easily. My sweet baby girl is red-headed and as fair skinned as Snow White, just like her Daddy! She loves swimming but she hates sunscreen. Oh joy!
Sorry about your bad experience at Cape May. So frustrating when you are really looking forward to something and it completely disappoints. Sometimes I feel like reminding some cast members that they do work in the HAPPIEST place on earth! Glad it didn't ruin your night though

YAY THANKS! I am obsessed with Red Velvet as well! That cupcake is so delightful and I promise you will not be disappointed by it. SO SO GOOD!

Haha it's so weird, I used to tan way more when I was little but now I just get super amounts of freckles. I feel her pain!

It was frustrating. I mean the food was still wonderful but the service was so terrible and unfriendly it was hard to enjoy our dinner. BUT thankfully that was our only crappy experience of the trip, so that's great!

Cinnamon Roasted Pecans! Those are my favorite! I had them about 4 or 5 times last trip.....soooo good!

Sorry for your bad dining experience
an apology makes such a difference, it is strange they played it off like nothing was wrong...
I hope breakfast was better......and you got to see your favorite characters...I guess I'll have to wait to find out! lol

OMG I love those pecans so much. I can't wait to get them again next time we go!!

All we needed was an apology and a nice waiter! This guy had the personality of a rock. I'm not sure how he got a job working for Disney. And yes, we'll find out how breakfast went...

Thanks for the ride advice. It'll probably be 3 years before we get back so either plenty of time to work myself up to the challenge or totally psyche myself out. I've had the cupcake Matt had and totally loved it. Look forward to the next update- I don't want it to end either.

No problem! I think you'll be able to do it and will enjoy it. Plenty of time though like you said to get excited for it. Matt loved that cupcake for sure! They're so huge though! I realized that I totally made it seem like my TR is ending after tomorrow, when we still have 3 more days to get through. I meant to say that basically our final day in a specific park is tomorrow, but we still have lots of time left for fun!!

That is an epic idea. So smart! I'm so tempted to go back and get some more, but we watched an episode yesterday and Riley just isn't old enough for it yet. She wasn't into catching bad guys. I can't wait til she's old enough to be interested though because I'm dying to watch them!

We saw them again at Costco yesterday and I told Matt how you got it for Riley, haha. I'm sure once she's a little older she will LOVE it.

Your antics make me happy! We are so similar.
Haha, of course I know what you mean! We aren't disBFFs for nothin'!

Haha yes, of course, and so glad for that. It's always nice to know someone has my back on my crazy antics.

I am seriously anticipating your cupcake review! I love that you just said chicken nugs because my sister made fun of me (once again) for saying that down there!

Hahaha I also call Chicken Parmesean "Chicky chicky parm parm", because I'm a little obsessed with the show Parks and Rec. Chicken nugs unite!

That hat is perfect for him! I've seen both those shirts already and I love them. So glad you both got them. Thank you, I think Riley's the cutest too, but I'm biased. She still loves that Lady, in fact she slept with her last night! My parents loved meeting/seeing you guys after I had told them about you before the trip and then hanging out in MK. We need a time machine to go back and take insane pictures.

Haha he was looking fabulous. I'm glad we got the shirts, too! She's so cute with her Lady... and I agree, let's just go travel back... NOW!

Those cupcakes look divine! I love heath bar, cheesecake and icing so the red velvet would be for me! Pool time looks relaxing. I love your trip journal too. I take forever to tan and my cheeks get so freckly. You saw how pale I am, haha!

OMG no kidding. Best cupcake! Pool time is the best. I just wish I could tan a LITTLE more, jeesh.

I remember hearing about this dinner. Not up to Disney hospitality standards. I would be expecting a "Sorry for the wait" too! What's the point of their ADR system? Normally it works much better than that. Your waiter sounds like a non-Dis friendly word.

Ugh it was a mega bummer. Just an apology would've been nice, but we didn't get that and our waiter was a poop.

I love photobooths too! They are so much fun, and I'm considering having one at our wedding if we go with a big reception. (Which we probably won't so the photobooth thing is just a fantasy, haha) The Boardwalk is so pretty, and I would love to watch Illuminations from there one day. Those nachos look like a perfect snack for that evening. Calories don't count in Disney, remember? Those pecans are SO good! So warm and delicious.

I thought about putting up a DIY photobooth at our wedding but ended up not having time for it. It would've been cute but our wedding had a LOT of DIY elements to it, so I'm glad we didn't. And yup, calories DO NOT count! I actually didn't gain any weight while we were in Disney because of all the walking!

Tomorrow is our off day so I can't remember for the life of me what you guys did. My brain was in shopping/relaxing mode I guess.

Haha I can barely remember what we did outside of our morning, but we will see! I have to look at my trip journal and the photos for that day.

 

[danimaroo]

Hoooooray for being right! Hahah but feel free to call me Marissa! It's not weird I swear.

HAHAHA I realized when I typed that it looked weird calling Rachel Rachel but not you Marissa. But I also didn't want readers to get confused... Buuut I don't care, I'm now just calling you Marissa, the end.

I feel like if Hollywood Studios is even a little bit busy, it just feels swamped because it's so small.

It's so true! Until you get into the less busier areas, then it's not bad, but gosh, the tour groups just made things seem so much more crowded and they ALWAYS seemed to be at HS.

I KNOW WHAT SHIRT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. Because I have it too! Can we say... UP inspired?

HECK YES! It is my favorite shirt!!!

Be still my heart... Stormalong Bay.

I love it, I can't wait to go back to it and float along in the lazy river.

I can't wait to try a Starring Rolls cupcake! I've heard ONLY GREAT things about them. YUMMMM but I can't decide which one to get yet.

UM YUP, you better try one next trip! I highly suggest the red velvet but I'm also obsessed with red velvet in general. They had so many other kinds that looked amazing that I don't think you can really go wrong.

SPEAKING OF UP... that journal is amazing! That's awesome. And may I say that you have very pretty handwriting! It looks like a font almost.

AH thanks! I love my journal. It makes me happy and even has stickers that came with it! And thank you! Sometimes my handwriting got a little sloppy if I was trying to write quickly, but for the most part it's pretty neat. I think part of it came from when I was majoring in elementary education and wanted to have nice handwriting.

Ughhh, sorry about your bad experience this time! It really bugs me when people aren't apologetic about things, or friendly. Because I personally try really hard TO BE nice and friendly (and apologetic if I did something wrong) and it's pretty much expected when you work in the food service industry. ON TOP OF that fact that you work at Disney! Ugh... whatever. Sorry about THAT paragraph...

UGH yes, definitely our least favorite meal due to the customer service skills MAJORLY lacking here. I worked as a barista for nearly 5 years, so maybe I'm a little harsher on people because I've been in that position and expect high customer service. I literally have no idea how the waiter got his job because like I said above, his personality was nonexistant. WOMPWOMP.

Epcot resorts just look perfect. Why are they so perfect? Ugh IllumiNations is perfect too.

They just are perfect. I love that little loop that you can stroll around. It's so beautiful both at night and during the day!

Woohoo! Yeah right? This TR is too close to being over!

UGH I got super sad about it but then realized that we still have 3 whole days left, so that isn't too awful! I just don't like thinking about it ending because then I have to wait and wait for a long time until our next trip! BOOHISS!

I want that Up shirt!

It's wonderful! I love it because it's a combination of two of my favorite things!

My DS loved those nachos, too. We loved the Boardwalk when we stayed there in November. It was the perfect place. Can't wait to try AKL in April (26 more days). I just love DVC. Hoping to make it to Beach Club some day.

Haha I think it just brought Matt back to being a kid and having his nachos, too funny. It is a great place to hang out at during the evening! DVC is the best, and you'll be back so soon! You must try out BC at some point, totally won me over on this trip!

Ooooo! I love that gallery of light! So pretty! I've not seen those before...I will have to check them out when I am there next month (next month! Hooray!)

Yeah you should look for them! I am so jealous you will be there so soon... but you will have a blast.

I love Matt's Rescue Rangers tshirt! That was an amazing show!

Haha OMG, he loooooved that show. It's pretty funny. And he got SO many compliments from guests and CMs about that t-shirt!

I can't believe how many times you guys rode EE in a row! I have to really psyche myself up every time...it terrifies me, but my husband loves it.

We were a determined couple! That and the lines were nonexistant so that helped. Matt does it for me mainly, otherwise I'm sure he could live with only going on a few times vs. 4 in a row.

I cannot wait to eat another butterfinger cupcake! And your red velvet looks amazing. How's a person supposed to choose between all the delicious flavors?

Those cupcakes are amazingly good! I don't really know because even though I went in knowing I wanted red velvet, I was still tempted by some of the others!

So sorry about your Cape May meal. Bad service really puts a damper on even the best of meals doesn't it? I hope your upcoming breakfast went much better!

It's okay, and so true how bad service can just totally ruin a meal, even if the food is good. But we thought they deserved another chance, so we'll see how THAT goes...

So sad your report is almost over! You'll have to go again soon so you can come back and write another!

Welp fortunately there's still 3 days left! But yeah, hopefully before I finish this TR I can happily announce when we'll be going back. Fingers crossed.

 

[Kenai1972]

Looks like a totally amazing trip. I started your trip report yesterday and just finished. I can't wait to see how it ends.

 

[kittylady1972]

Yippee I've finally caught up again! I can't believe we did not get ANY cupcakes on our trip (unless you count the free one I got for my birthday) because that was something I wanted to try. Both of your cupcakes looked AMAZING! Next trip I guess! I gotta get my Trip Report moving now...

 

[danimaroo]

Looks like a totally amazing trip. I started your trip report yesterday and just finished. I can't wait to see how it ends.

Aww it really was an unbelievably fun and wonderful trip. And I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime for the whole trip.

Thanks for reading the entire thing and enjoying it. I'm excited to post more updates, but at the same time a little sad because it's one update closer to it being all over!

Yippee I've finally caught up again! I can't believe we did not get ANY cupcakes on our trip (unless you count the free one I got for my birthday) because that was something I wanted to try. Both of your cupcakes looked AMAZING! Next trip I guess! I gotta get my Trip Report moving now...

Haha glad you've caught up! I love reading TRs in one long sitting, keeps me entertained!

Next trip you most definitely will have to get cupcakes because they are SO GOOD! The ones from Starring Rolls are just unreal, especially that Red Velvet!!

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter Thirty-Five: "Help me Star Tours, you're my only hope."
Day 9: January 26th, 2012​

We woke up at I'm sure a decent hour, but for some reason I don't have it noted WHEN, haha. What I DO have noted, with photographic proof, is that we ran into the scandalous pool ducks from yesterday on our walk to the Marketplace.

This morning was a little laidback, so we grabbed breakfast at the Marketplace. I got a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, while Matt got French toast sticks... For whatever reason he really wanted them, and said they were decent.

After eating breakfast outside, we walked over to catch a boat to Hollywood Studios at around 9ish. While we waited, I took photos of our new t-shirts we'd bought!!

I'm a weeeebit in love with my Up/Castle t-shirt.

Anyway, we finally arrived at Hollywood Studios and decided to make our way over to Star Tours first.

The lines were pretty nonexistant so we strolled right on... After yet another fun trip with our favorite pilot, C3PO, we decided to go over to Rockin' Roller Coaster.

The normal line looked poopy so we decided to do single rider, because there were tour groups. We walked inside and sat around here for awhile, where I waved to Demi Lovato..

This whole single rider thing ended up being a HUGE mistake. Why? Welp, the tour groups of course kept pairing up with the VERY occasional 3rd wheel. Add in the fact that they were NOT listening to CMs, and everything was honestly a huge mess.

Matt wasn't really thrilled with the situation. This was the face he made when I told him to tell me how he felt about tour groups.

You could tell the CMs working were not very happy with the tour groups, because again, they just wouldn't listen.

Finally it was my turn, and I got put on with a boy from the tour group. As we walked over to the assigned loading area, he and his friends ignored the number they told us and switched at last second, while I just stood there staring at them trying to get to my row.

The CM guiding us down looked at me with a "OMG these people are obnoxious and I realize you are annoyed as well" kind of look, and as I smiled at her she said, "Thank you" with a knowing smile.

I think she appreciated gaining some sympathy from someone at that moment, haha. It was just not a fun situation.

After we got off of RNRC, we thought about doing ToT one final time but we skipped it due to a long line, and headed back to Star Tours to use the FP we'd grabbed earlier.

On our way, I decided to stop and take some photos with some of my favs...

Uhh, hello there Betty White, I love you so!

Obviously I also had to give a little love to my favorite Jell-O puddin' pop lover, good ol' Bill Cosby.

And of course, Matt posted with good ol' Walt!

After having fun posing with statues, we made our way to ST and noticed 5 tour groups walking in our direction. NOOOOO! We had a minor wait in the FP line, which was fine so I could take a few photos..

It also allowed me to notice that in the part where the droid is scanning all of the different pieces of luggage, there was one that had WALL-E inside of it!

I was so delighted by that little nod they put in there! Too cute. Look for it next time you're waiting in line!

A few minutes later, we were finally in line and hanging out while the video played outside of our ship..

Suddenly, as I'm sitting there with my backpack on, a CM gasps and says, "WHOA! I LOVE your pins!" And I turned and realized he was referring to my Dharma Initiative pins I have on my backpack.

You have to realize I got VERY excited at this moment because the whole trip people were commenting on the pins and asking what they were from, but no one seemed to be a LOST fan.

So I told him how happy I was that he recognized the different Dharma stations and we talked about our love for LOST.

Anyway, after chatting for a bit and saying goodbye, we were ready to ride! We sat down and got buckled in, and Darth Vader showed up to stop our ship. He claimed he REALLY wanted that rebel spy, while shaking our space ship back and forth.

Then, before I know it, I see MY FACE on the screen...

I AM THE REBEL SPY!

As soon as I saw my dorky face (I love how they catch you making some awkward unsuspecting face, hahaha) on the screen, I screamed and clapped and Matt and I started laughing really hard.

I'd joked before, asking Matt what he'd do if he was the rebel spy, and there I was.

I'm pretty darn sure that the CM I'd chatted with before our ride about LOST chose me, which was pretty awesome.

I know some people think it's random, and perhaps it sometimes is, but I think CMs have the ability to choose the rebel spy, especially after this incident.

Anyway, we narrowly escaped and I was returned to safety, thank GOODNESS. I was so happy that I was chosen on our final ride on Star Tours, so of COURSE we had to get this photo!

Definitely an all-around great memory, between talking to the nice CM and me being chosen!

This actually ended up being our final ride on ANYTHING in HS, and we were happy to end it on such a fun note!

But BEFORE we left, I told Matt we had one thing left to do!

We walked over to Muppet Vision 3D, and I searched around for a specific sign I'd heard about. FINALLY, Matt spotted it..

Hmmm, is it really there?

SURE IS! What a fun thing for Disney to do! I'd heard about this little secret so I had to see for myself, of course!

We waved goodbye to Hollywood Studios, which was a little sad since we would not be back this trip... It's always hard when you have to start saying your final goodbyes to places!

Next update... We eat at one of our absolute favorite restaurants!

Continued in next update​

​

 

[Flo's Mum]

Another update
Never met a tour group in a ride line but they can be quite something when waiting for a parade or Fantasmic.
A rebel spy! I knew you were one of the good guys

 

[marDgreen88]

THAT PICTURE are you kidding me??? It's so beautiful! Okay so THAT is where the term 'watercolor' comes from. Goodness...

Yay the new shirts! I love both of them! UGH tour groups. Why do they have to exist? I mean I'm sure there are amusement parks in South America. In fact I've seen some so... I agree with Matt's face.

OMG I've never seen the Bill Cosby statue? WHAT? I didn't even know that existed! I love that his bust includes a sweater.

I will have to look for Wall-E next time I'm in line for Star Tours... when we rode it we just walked through so I didn't even have time to notice! SO CUTE!

YES, the CMs DEFINITELY choose who the Rebel Spy is. I know some people think it's random but I promise it isn't. (Oh my gosh, you literally just said the same thing. I ALWAYS do that where I say something before reading everything. I take notes when I read TRs hahah.) But that's so cool that you were it!

I never knew about the key under the mat! That's awesome. OH THE DETAILS.

 

[kittylady1972]

YIPPEE...LOVE that you were the Rebel Spy! I was posting updates on FB throughout our trip, mentioning that we were riding Star Tours over and over in an attempt to see all of the scenes and her comment was "You HAVE to ride it until YOU are the Rebel Spy"...but after five times neither of us made it. I am very curious as to how they determine that as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they had the ability to choose somebody.

And another thing...I LOVE LOVE your shirt and that's so funny because when we were browsing in all of the shops I managed to take a picture of ONE t-shirt in particular because it was soo cute...and of course YOU are now the owner of that shirt! That Up Castle shirt is just too adorable! I didn't buy it myself...ended up getting two other shirts instead but it was tempting!

 

[Sam33]

I LOVE your TR so far! Some peoples' TRs are just totally not my style of touring and enjoying Disney so they're not as fun to read but you guys have the exact trip I would love to go on! Haha.
FUN

 

[okw19]

French toast sticks remind me of my childhood. Good choice, Matt. Dani, I don't like raisins so you lose this breakfast battle. Sorry.

You two seriously have the most impressive tshirt collection ever! Matt's tour group face pretty much sums up how we felt about them too.

Your pics with the busts are too funny! So happy to see Betty and Bill!

I never hate a small wait at ST because I love the queue. I've never seen the Wall-E, but that's so awesome! Now I remember this day because you were the rebel spy! Yay!

I love that touch in the Muppets. So sad this is your last MGM day. I love that park.

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

We are huge LOST fans, too! Our first year in Africa was the final season and so we would buy and download each episode each week from itunes, which would take 20-24 hours each because of how slow/horrible our internet is here. It was well worth it though because we had to know how it ended!!! (We were disappointed with the final episode, but it was still an awesome show!)

How cool that you were picked as the rebel spy! We are really looking forward to riding that one! My girls have become quite the Star Wars fans over the past couple of years and this year we were even all Star Wars characters for halloween. (Me:Anikan's Mom, Mr.:Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ms.adme, Middlerincess Leia, Little:Ewok & Jr.:Yoda) It was a lot of fun; especially when we had to explain to our tailor (who has no idea what Star Wars is) what we needed him to make in the local language and with our drawings. He did pretty good with a few funny twists like: a tassel on the hood of Obi-Wan's cloak and yoda ears that look more like bunny ears.

 

[jecskc]

Love your UP t-shirt !! Yay on being the rebel spy !! LOL on Matt's face in reaction to the tour groups. You MUST post a photo of your Dharma pins !!!

 

[GatorMommy2007]

I LOVE your TR so far! Some peoples' TRs are just totally not my style of touring and enjoying Disney so they're not as fun to read but you guys have the exact trip I would love to go on! Haha.
FUN

Absolutely! I am so thinking, wow, I would love to go on a trip with them!

 

[smalltowngirl504]

Hello I have not been commenting but I have been reading and I am really sad this TR has to come to an end I've really enjoyed all of it

 

[kimbo0569]

OMG That's so cool about you being the "rebel spy". I cannot wait to see the new Star Tours. I haven't been on in quite some time since my girls were both young the last two times we went and no one wanted to go. But they're both into Star Wars now so we'll be doing that next time.
Ugh, on the tour groups....when dh and I were still dating on a trip to Disney, it was the end of July and there were sooo many of those tour groups, it was crazy!

 

[WDWCPALUM03]

I need to see these LOST pins!!!!!!!!

 

[GrumpySue]

I just read your entire report and loved every minute !! My husband bought me a stuffed DUG and we take him everywhere, I was so excited to see him riding shotgun in youir backpack !!! I have a trip planned for October and after reading your report I CANNOT stand the wait. Thank you for sharing.

We also like to talk to the various ducks, once at the Wilderness Lodge I was eating a sandwich, minding my own business, when a duck came up and BIT MY TOE !!! What kind of duck do you suppose that was ???