'OHANA means CHUNKY! An Aug 2017 Family TR THE END 4/26 - The Last Day and Trip Epilogue!

[ashw100]

I am a bad DISer, didn't realize you had started this. I can't wait to hear how it all went, going back to read now.

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Your Sienna commentary is the best! CHH looks like a good meal. I don't think I've ever eaten there and I don't know why.

 

[Mom2m&k]

Love your report...
CS is adorable in her Disney bounds!
I never rode the great movie ride....Apparently never will now!
I am a little sad they discontinued the express bus...never got to try it and now never will!
You must have been in our 1sr room at YC! It was so far away it was faster to go out the door at the and of the building and walk across to the lobby. Last time we got a referb room that was much closer and was beautiful. It went from my least favorite resort to one of the tops!
Your family is adorable and I love your Sienna narrations... so funny!

 

[chunkymonkey]

This picture made me laugh so hard..... I think that sweet sleepy baby is me every day in Disney at some point! Too funny.

I'm so glad you got to ride TGMR one more time but I have to admit, I teared up looking at the pictures!

Haha I know, right? If only we get to be carried around.
It was a very poignant moment when we rode TGMR for the last time.

We have 15 going in October! I'm enjoying your trip report and love all the pictures!

Thank you! Good luck! You will have much better weather! I wish we had gone in February or sometime when it is cooler!

Great update! Love your comments on the kiddos. Makes me giggle every time. Can't wait to hear about BOG for dinner...the meal I had there for dinner was AMAZING! I hope you took lots of pictures!

Thank you!
Sienna and I...we are on the same wavelength
Haha oh you must expect me to take pictures, LOL.

I think you are nailing Sienna's thoughts!

Great minds think alike.

I can't imagine putting the sweater back on - once it was off, that would be the end for me! I was recently telling someone a story about a middle school band competition we used to go to, at Worlds of Fun amusement park in KC. We would get to run the park all day with friends, and in the hottest part of the day, troop back to the buses and change into our band uniforms - long sleeve black shirts and khaki pants. The last thing you wanted to do was put more clothing on! Then we waited outside in the sun until it was our turn to perform - on the outdoor stage. Good memories

That sounds super hot, and I can't imagine putting more clothes on in the heat. CS...she is a slave to her Disney bounding!

Everyone looks like they're having such a great time! Good thing CS could fill your shoes that morning too I'm so bummed we missed GMR, I was sure it wouldn't close before our trip when I heard the rumors. Maybe it's silly, but we did hit Ellen and I thought the giant ride vehicles were really cool

I'm so happy they were able to do all this stuff in MK even without me. Maybe I am not needed afterall and I'll just sneak off for some solo time...hehe.
I'm glad you got to ride Ellen! I barely remember the ride and I wasn't able to ride it again. But thank goodness for that last goodbye on TGMR. I'm glad I made myself ride it one last time.

I'm glad you were able to ride GMR for the last time. I'll miss it. On our trip last January, we got the cowboy scene for the first time since the '90's. When I realized we were getting the cowboy, I gasped loudly and yelled, "The cowboy!" Rows of people in front of me all turned and stared. Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed!

Haha, I would do that tooo...if we ever got cowboy again! But we never did.

Eva is such a little sweetie! Too bad Caylee wasn't enjoying the character meets as much.

They have totally different personalities but they seem to play well together.

I just learned that Columbia Harbor House removed my favorite, The Lighthouse Sandwich, from the menu. I loved that sandwich and am so disappointed. I don't eat a lot of fried food and that was such a great option.

Oh no. Is that the tuna sandwhich? I saw they still had their veggie sandwich, the one with the hummus and broccoli slaw. I remember I had that once and it was surprisingly good.

Too bad the salad was overdressed. I've run into that a lot at Disney and sometimes ask if I can have the dressing on the side. It takes longer to get it, but worth it.

Yeah I will definitely do that next time! Or maybe just not eat the salad at all. Substitute it with more fries. Yeah!!

That happened to us a few times - I often wondered if they just had left the times up from the night before! But good that you ended up not waiting 55 minutes.

Yeah not sure why the deception but maybe they got a mad rush first thing in the morning and that's what led to the long wait times but it never really is that long first thing in the morning...

I can not imagine but she didn't even look that hot!! I'm sure she was though...remembering how hot I was in a tank top and shorts!

Oh yeah...she was hot. I guess she's used to it though.

So adorable!! Also that is the princess I still have to figure out where she's from...

Haha she's from that TV show on Disney Jr. I think. Elena of Avalor.

My fave!!!

Hey I do hope we can catch up in NYC next week!! I am really just tagging along on my parents' trip so they have made a lot of plans....so I hope we can squeeze it in!! My mom's cousin teaches at Yale and I think it will be fun to visit out there and see the campus...but it's also taking a day away from our NYC time lol Luckily I have been there several times...but there's never enough time in NYC...just like WDW lol

Sounds good! I think we can meet up thursday! I will head into the city after work. I will text you more next week! Have a safe trip down!

I actually had a dream the other night I went on GMR I miss it! I'm glad you got to catch one last ride.

I never though I'd ever see the end of TGMR. I mean, that's like the meaning of Hollywood Studios! They got rid of the backlot tour so now nothing is really reminisce of hollywood.

It looks like she's judging her shoes

Haha, Caylee does have high standards when it comes to footwear.

Caught up and joining in! Love your TR's, glad everyone is having a great time.

Thank you and welcome!!

Love all your pictures from TGMR so upset it's gone. I'm so glad we rode it in May just didn't realize it would be our last time
Same thing with Express Transportation I'm still in denial about this
We used it so much during our March and May trip. It was a life saver for my knee. Especially going to AK it's such a long walk from the buses back to Africa or Asia when your knee is screaming. We got so much more done than ever before. Even though the Minnie Vans are cute still doesn't get you inside the parks.
The princess pictures are adorable.

I've come to realize with Disney that any day could be your last ride on something...I never knew that 3 years ago would be my last ride on the backlot tour!
Express Transport...I'm so sad. It was sooooo easy to park hop and now I feel like park hopping is not really worth it. It does make you go back to the resort more to rest I think.
Thank you!

 

[chunkymonkey]

We always get the gangster! And not only that, but our last few trips I'm pretty sure we got the exact same woman, who kind of mumbled and spoke softly the whole time in that weird "gangster" accent. It was annoying :/

LOL that does sound annoying. A lot of it depends on the CM's interaction and if you can't understand what they are saying that it's not that fun.

I am really excited about the new ride, and I think GMR really needed a facelift if it was going to stay, but I'm still sad we didn't get to ride it one more time. I still haven't really accepted that it's not going to be there next time we go!

I'm actually pretty excited about the new ride too. I mean it's sad they had to replace an old classic with it, but I'm sure the new ride will be pretty cool. I actually didn't think about it before but there is no ride with Mickey and Minnie as the main characters.

Still sad about this one, too! Though honestly, there was almost never anyone on the bus with us, so though it was super convenient I figure they had to be losing money on the cost of actually running those buses. We had planned to use it on our next May trip, but I guess we'll have to go back to doing security like the masses

That's what I thought too, that they are surely losing money because of the empty buses we saw all the time, but then again, we all pay for the privilege of not having to ride a crowded bus. Maybe they will change it up a bit...start charging more and having less rides per day. Sad if they do that but most likely I will pay for it as it was super convenient.

Yum!! So glad that you guys got to do some DHS stuff and that everyone else seemed to have a great time at MK - good plan to do the characters early and use FPs for other things. I love character meets, but some of the big attractions can get crazy, too. Can't wait to hear about dinner at BOG - we still haven't managed to do that one, and I'm curious!

It was a pretty productive day so far for all of us! I'm glad I have not scared them away just yet...
BOG dinner is so hard to get. Actually any meal at BOG is hard. If I don't book at 180 days out I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get any meal there. Sigh. I had to give up our BOG lunch for December because we moved our dates a week later and now no more BOG!

Okay first of all- I LOVE your dole whip tank! Super cute

Thank you! I knew you'd apprecate it

I'm so glad you got to ride it one more time! I'll definitely miss this ride.

​

I'm glad I woke up and made us go because it wasn't on our plans and I didn't want to screw up the itinerary but I'm glad everyone was able to use the time to go meet the princesses and check a few rides of their list!

UGH still mad about this. Your previous TRs made me so excited to use this service then they go and cancel it a week before our trip! How rude!

​

I was so sad!! Not only do we not get to do it again, but I know I told everyone about this and they go and cancel it and just made me so mad that no one else would get to experience park hopping so easily! Sigh...

Okay I was definitely wondering about that! You mentioned earlier that she wore her cute cardigans in the crazy heat and when we were there I was dying in a light tank top and couldn't imagine how she lived through that!

Haha she's a slave to her disney-bounding!

LOL what a diva! A precious little diva

​

She really is! Loves anything girly and sparkly....

Love this picture!!!

I'd honestly been delaying reading this update, I have been realllly bumming over GMR and wasn't sure I was ready for the pictures! It was bittersweet, you got some really great final photos, but it was still kinda gut-wrenching to see How did the CM do? (emotionally I mean ha) I really was thinking a lot about the CMs during the final days. I'm sure many of them had been doing it for a long time and really mourned it

It was definitely surreal and a little bittersweet. The thing is, all the CMs were business as usual. I'm sure a lot of them were working extra shifts that week and probably just couldn't wait to get home.
I'm sure some of them may be a little sad though but they didn't show it.

Wow, that's awesome! But for your retirement... I don't think so

Darn, I was really hoping I could pass along the reigns...

And also... FINALLY!!!

Exactly what Sienna was thinking!!

Your Sienna commentary is the best! CHH looks like a good meal. I don't think I've ever eaten there and I don't know why.

Haha thank you. She has the funniest expressions.
CHH is a very tasty meal, and we always enjoy it. It's our go to quick service at MK. Definitely check it out next time!

Love your report...

Thank you!!

CS is adorable in her Disney bounds!

She loves her Disney bounding even in the 90 degree weather!

I never rode the great movie ride....Apparently never will now!

Aww, maybe that's a good thing then you don't have any attachment to this ride like the rest of us!

I am a little sad they discontinued the express bus...never got to try it and now never will!

I'm even sadder about this to be honest. This made our days so much easier. It made park hopping enjoyable and fun instead of a dreaded task.

You must have been in our 1sr room at YC! It was so far away it was faster to go out the door at the and of the building and walk across to the lobby. Last time we got a referb room that was much closer and was beautiful. It went from my least favorite resort to one of the tops!

Oh man, we were so far away. We were definitely closer to the Swan than we were to the lobby of the YC!

Your family is adorable and I love your Sienna narrations... so funny!

Thank you so much!!

 

[buzzrelly]

I turned to DH and said, "Let's do it, let's go to DHS right now." It was 7:20am and DHS EMH was starting in 40 minutes. It was the last day for The Great Movie Ride before it closed and since we were here anyways, I thought we'd try and ride it one last time. CS was awake but she decided not to go. Instead I tasked her with following the plan and taking everyone to MK for a morning of rides and character meets before we met up with them at our first FP+ for the day at Buzz Lightyear. Let's hope it all works out!

Awesome! It's not too often you get to be so spontaneous in WDW!

Sophie and Mimi and myself apparently got into the park first because we took some pictures while waiting on the other adults.

So cute!

we ended up waiting only 25 minutes until we were seated for the last time in the large ride vehicles:

Goodbye forever The Great Movie Ride, you will be missed!

Aw, this makes me so sad

There, we all purchased Express Bus for the week. Unfortunately we heard that day that it was to be the last week of Express Bus.

I am super bummed that they stopped this before I even had a chance to try it out!

Chunkysis Disney-bounded as Snow White. Yes it was 95 degrees that day. She did take off the sweater when not in pictures though.

This was Eva's first princess meet! It was wasn't surprising to to hear she LOVED it.

Adorable

Good job CS for keeping everyone on track! I can retire now.

I need a chunkysis!

Someone was really happy:

Sienna: "I love Disney!"

Oh my gosh! She is so stinking cute!

 

[coloredimage]

Ah, Between work and focusing on the DL side of things with my TR I am failing to keep up on my normal TR reading!!!

Unshockingly, I am in love with her dress!

and I'm BACK to COOL AUNT status again!!

Huzzah!

We got Gangster as usual. I think I've only gotten Cowboy once!

I hit a stretch where we just kept getting the cowboy. I don't know how we managed it - it was usually in like May or June too, before the summer crowds, so I don't know why we kept getting the cowboy, but we did! I'm gonna miss this ride so much...

also I love the Sienna commentary!

 

[pkondz]

I can survive on little sleep too, especially at WDW. Who needs sleep at WDW?

I'll sleep when I get home.

I've never felt such heat and humidity. I'm the sort of person that would rather be cold than hot.

Me too.

I now know who not to call to save me from the dreaded teacups!!

I'll just point and go "Oooh! Someone should save her!"

Wait, CAD doesn't have pennies anymore?

Nope! Not for around 5 years now. So much better.

Amazon! A lot of this random stuff is from amazon. Is there Amazon Prime in Canada?

Yes. Not everything can be shipped to Canada from Amazon dot com, but we also have (less selection) Amazon dot CA.

I know! *hangs head in shame*

It's one of the most absolutely useless and expensive items you can find right now.

Maybe... $20.

It will probably be worth it.

Probably.

Absolutely a shame. This was the one thing that made park hopping so much fun for us the past few trips.

I'll never know. Ah, well.

It's really quite good if you like fish n chips and the like...

I do!

They are so cute at this age, then they have to grow up...

We should put a stop to that!

 

[ariane37]

What we DID NOT expect was we ended up waiting only 25 minutes until we were seated for the last time in the large ride vehicles:

I'm so glad you took one final ride on GMR! GMR The same thing happened to us the day before. We got there about 10 minutes after they let everyone in and went right to GMR - Steve was convinced people would still be hitting the headliners even with it closing the next day - and the posted wait was 60 minutes at 8:55. Everyone wanted to wait except Steve so, we waited lol, and in 25 minutes we were on our final journey through the movies

We got Gangster as usual. I think I've only gotten Cowboy once!

We've had the cowboy scene more than once, but our last 2 rides last month were both gangster and I was a little disappointed.

Goodbye forever The Great Movie Ride, you will be missed!

Very much so!

This was Eva's first princess meet! It was wasn't surprising to to hear she LOVED it.

I love this picture of her with Elena!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I am a bad DISer, didn't realize you had started this. I can't wait to hear how it all went, going back to read now.

Hi Ashley! Great to see you here! I just got caught up on your PTR. I'm so excited as we'll be there at the same time!
Now I have to catch up on your TR. I have read most of it just haven't had a chance to comment yet!

Awesome! It's not too often you get to be so spontaneous in WDW!

Haha, it's sooo rare...

Aw, this makes me so sad

It was a sad day for rides indeed.

I am super bummed that they stopped this before I even had a chance to try it out!

I know! It's so disappointing!

I need a chunkysis!

She was, luckily, responsible enough to get people on the rides and to the meet n greets. Sometimes her head is in the clouds...lol

Oh my gosh! She is so stinking cute!

Thanks! She really is a cutie, when she's not wailing!

Unshockingly, I am in love with her dress!

It is a really great dress!

I hit a stretch where we just kept getting the cowboy. I don't know how we managed it - it was usually in like May or June too, before the summer crowds, so I don't know why we kept getting the cowboy, but we did! I'm gonna miss this ride so much...

also I love the Sienna commentary!

Wow that is super lucky!! In all my years I've only gotten cowboy once.

and thank you! I'm on the same wavelength as her!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'll sleep when I get home.

My motto at Disney!

I'll just point and go "Oooh! Someone should save her!"

I'll remember that!!

Nope! Not for around 5 years now. So much better.

I did not realize that. Steve travels to Toronto for work sometimes. I am not sure if he actually knew this.

Maybe... $20.

I think someone has to pay me 20 bucks for me to carry that thing around!

We should put a stop to that!

Agreed!

I'm so glad you took one final ride on GMR! GMR The same thing happened to us the day before. We got there about 10 minutes after they let everyone in and went right to GMR - Steve was convinced people would still be hitting the headliners even with it closing the next day - and the posted wait was 60 minutes at 8:55. Everyone wanted to wait except Steve so, we waited lol, and in 25 minutes we were on our final journey through the movies

Oh no so Steve didn't get to ride TGMR? Glad to hear you got one last final ride in too!!

We've had the cowboy scene more than once, but our last 2 rides last month were both gangster and I was a little disappointed.

I was convinced the Cowboy was removed and they only did gangster!

I love this picture of her with Elena!

I was pretty shocked she was so into the princesses! She LOVED the character meets!

 

[pkondz]

My motto at Disney!

I'll remember that!!

Uh, oh!

I did not realize that. Steve travels to Toronto for work sometimes. I am not sure if he actually knew this.

Then again... who carries cash?

I think someone has to pay me 20 bucks for me to carry that thing around!

But I can definitely see it for kids.

 

[chunkymonkey]

August 13 Day 2 Part 3: A Stickly Good Time!

After lunch we went to get Dole Whips, and we sat inside the Tiki Room and ate them while watching the show.

Sadly my Dole Whip melted (was eaten) before I remembered to take a picture with it.

We had some more FP to use! I initially booked all the younger kids and their parents on the Barnstormer, but Eva did not want to ride anything that resembled a roller coaster, so they did Dumbo instead. Steve, myself, CS and Kellys' family went on 7DMT.

No panic attacks here!

I'm pretty sure we had a BTMRR FP+ but I decided to just return to the Poly because I felt so hot and gross and I needed a shower. Everyone decided to stick it out in the parks, just because by the time they actually get packed up and the kids out of the park, they had to come right back for dinner, haha. So I believe Steve went with Kelly's family to BTMRR and everyone else just kind of chilled since some of the kids were sleeping. We should have gotten rider swap, but since I had left them at that point, no one knew to ask for it (see what happens when I'm not there!?!)

On the way back to the Poly I ran into a PP photographer who asked if I would like a picture with Mr. Stickly. I said, "Ok, who's Mr. Stickly?" The PP guy whips out, literally a STICK with a CM nametag on it. Mr. Stickly from Big Tree, FL. It was hilarious!

Back at the Poly I wanted to go take a dip in the pool so I got dressed and went out to the quiet pool which was right near Rarotonga. But literally, I'm not kidding you, 30 seconds after I get into the pool the life guard says we all had to leave because there was lightening headed our way. Sigh.

So I got out of the pool, showered and changed and sat in the room and put my feet up while the rain pounded outside.

Meanwhile in MK...

The twins and their families rode out the rain inside the shops while CS when character hopping. It looks like Steve and Kelly's family went on Splash and POC too!

I don't think Steve knew where the new ride camera was.

I waited for the rain to dissipate and then I returned to MK on the monorail. I met the twins in one of the stores on Main St.

Sienna was glad to see me!

We started walking towards Fantasyland and we paused to watch the FoF parade which was starting to make it's way around the hub. Eva wanted me to carry her the entire time. I'm SOOOO the Cool Aunt. A very nice lady let me stand closer to the front so that Eva could get a better view. Thank you kind lady!

Sorry no pictures of the parade as I just couldn't manage!

After the parade we walked toward's Beast's castle. We stopped for a PP picture. These are hilarious, the kids look so uncomfortable!

When we got to Beast's castle, there was a rather long line to check in. Luckily Steve was the 2nd from the front! The person in front of him had some issue so it was taking some time and everything was backed up. Finally we were able to check in. 10 minutes later, we were walking inside of the castle...

Coming up, dinner at BoG!
​

 

[buzzrelly]

On the way back to the Poly I ran into a PP photographer who asked if I would like a picture with Mr. Stickly. I said, "Ok, who's Mr. Stickly?" The PP guy whips out, literally a STICK with a CM nametag on it. Mr. Stickly from Big Tree, FL. It was hilarious!

That's so cute!!

These are hilarious, the kids look so uncomfortable!

Oh, my! That's cannot be comfortable!

 

[ashw100]

Woohoo all caught up! I am loving your TR so far. It is amazing that everything is going so smoothly with all those people, especially a group with little ones. Good job planning this one. I love your dole whip shirt, where did you get it, as if I need more shirts . I am glad you made it on one last great movie ride trip, good thing it was only 25 minutes.

 

[franandaj]

Good for you to get one last ride on TGMR. I'm going to miss that one. Looks like the family had a good time at MK while you took one lat spin on such an iconic ride.

CHH is one of my favorite locations for lunch in MK. Too bad the salad was overdressed. Dole Whips are a great idea, and cooling off in the Tiki Room is a good way to enjoy them on a hot day. I don't blame you for going back to the room, that Mid Day Florida heat is brutal. That stick guy is totally funny!

 

[chunkymonkey]

August 13 Day 2 Part 4: Dinner and a turn for the worse...

We walked into Be Our Guest and were shown a large table in my favorite room, the Library!

At every Table Service meal there was stuff for the kids to color. I think they enjoyed this more than eating.

We were all pretty hungry at this point. Steve and I shared a wine sampler. It was decent but I thought the pours were a little small. I guess it is a sampler size. But I felt like even with all three portions, it would be just shy of a full glass of wine.

We placed our orders and received warm fluffy rolls for the table!

To start I got the French Onion Soup topped with a Crouton and Gruyère Cheese.

Look at all this melty cheese!

The soup was really good that evening with a rich savory broth and tons of melty cheese. It wasn't this good in the past!

CS got some mussels that she split with us too. Marseilles-style Mussels: Steamed in a Smoked Tomato and Saffron Broth served with a Garlic Crostini.

These mussels were delicious! They were so plump and the flavor was great. Honyee also got this and he said they were really good too. I think they were surprised at the quality of food they have eaten so far at Disney and it was only our 2nd table service meal.

As entrees, DH got the Sautéed Shrimp and Scallops: with Lobster, Mushrooms, and Seasonal Vegetables in a creamy Lobster Sauce. I didn't realize they were served over pasta, but I guess it is now. He enjoyed this, and kinda tastes like lobster bisque with seafood and pasta.

I got the Grilled Strip Steak with Garlic-Herb Butter and Pommes Frites. The fries and green beans were great. I wish the steak was more tender but I guess I've been a little spoiled by Yachtsman Steakhouse.

I was sitting across from Kelly so I got a picture of her dish too. She got the Braised Beef Served with Seasonal Vegetables, Baby Potatoes, Balsamic-Caramelized Onions, and crispy Potato Curls. She also got a lamb chop on the side since that is what Honyee ordered and he gave her a chop!

The braised beef is somewhere under the onion curls!

Everyone enjoyed their meals although I'm pretty sure those of us who ordered steak definitely mentioned that it was a little too chewy.

Sienna decided to have some fun with a tired-looking Uncle Steve:

I guess she thought he needed some waking up so she whacked him on the head.

Probably twice throughout our meal we got a visit from Beast!

Soon the dessert truck came around. We got two things to split on our side of the table:

The strawberry cream cheese cupcake and the grey stuff which is now apparently served on some sort of white chocolate torte. The cupcake was pretty good, but I liked the torte better although not as good as the masters cupcake! Wish they had that during dinner. Maybe I should ask next time.

After our dinner some of us lined up to get a picture with Beast. Eva did not as she was not a fan of Beast so she just watched from the sidelines, and Caylee and Bryan didn't care for him either, LOL. Poor beast.

His line was a little long.

But we managed!

After dinner I went over to Tomorrowland while the twins went back to the Poly. I think they were done for the night. I asked Kelly and CS if they wanted to head to DHS for Fantasmic and they said sure, so I told them I'd meet them at the Express Bus Check in.

I had a very special DISMeet...with @KathyM2 and her DD Alexis! We met as they were walking off the Peoplemover and they decided to get back on with me! Yay!

I got this picture on the Peoplemover. I think @KathyM2 has the picture with the two of us that Alexis took after we got off.

UPDATE: I have the picture of our DISMeet! I stole this from Kathy's FB page. Thanks Kathy!

We talked and chatted about our trip so far. It seems like they were having a great time. So nice to meet you and your DD Kathy!

It was the first of a few DISmeets with Kathy that week, which are coming up in my TR!

After Peoplemover we parted ways but we would be meeting up later that week at Epcot nighttime EMH. I went over to the Express Bus and met with Kelly and her family, Steve, and CS. Now here's one very odd encounter we had with a CM. We knew the time of the next bus to DHS and we got there right before it was to board. But for some reason the CM made us wait for the next bus, even though we saw a few people go backstage, obviously to ride the DHS bus. It was barely a handful of people so I don't know why she didn't let us through, it's not like it was full. She had one of those fake annoying smiles that customer service people have when they are obviously not listening to you and just saying whatever is written in front of them. We kept telling her, "We need to get on this bus, it's boarding now!" but it's like she didn't hear us. It was the weirdest interaction, almost like talking to an alien. Then 5 minutes later, I think she realized her error and she apologized to us saying we could have got on the bus, which had apparently just left. Kelly was livid. She is not the sort of person who deals well with inept people and she let her know that we now had to wait another 30 minutes with her restless kids thanks to her. The CM still maintained the annoying smile and pretending like there was nothing wrong with having to wait an extra 30 minutes. This was the only unfortunate incident I've had with an express bus CM. Boo.

Anyways, we decided to just let off some steam by walking around Tomorrowland. I went to refill my popcorn bucket, which was the same one I had used back in May. Luckily it was too dark for them to realize that the color of them had changed since then, but the CM filled my bucket anyways. CS and Sophie went to get pressed pennies in Buzz Lightyear, and Honyee took Mimi to the bathrooms near Space Mountain. When she came out, about 5 minutes later she realized she was missing her magic band. Oh no!

So we had to backtrack and walk all over the place to try and find it. They went looking for it in the bathrooms, on the floor, even near the express bus. I think Kelly even made it known to the CM that because of the delay, her kid had lost their MB. Still no sign of concern from the CM. What planet is she from? She told us to just go to guest services, which is what I told Kelly, but it was the extra inconvenience of doing so that really pissed her off and rightfully so.

Anyways, the MB was never recovered and we just went to wait for the DHS bus because of course we didn't want to miss this one! We were cutting it close to to the Fantasmic time at this point and I knew we'd probably get some seats all the way up and in the back.

On the Express Bus with Sophie. It is obviously sooo crowded.

When we got of the bus, we headed straight for the theater, parked the stroller and managed to get some seats all the way on the top right corner. At least it made for an easy exit. What's nice about Fantasmic is that I don't think there's a bad seat in the house, really, although we couldn't' see much of Pocahontas.

There were several rounds of the wave before the show started which I thought was pretty funny. I only notice then when the theater is really crowded, there are times I've been during low season and we were able to get great seats in the middle and when people start the wave it kinda dissipates because there wasn't enough people! But not today, it was packed!

I don't have pictures from the show except this one.

But if you've never seen it, I suggest you watch it at least once.

The kids enjoyed the show, and at the end we were walking out and heard the Star Wars music in the background, so we went to Hollywood Blvd and watched a few minutes of the Star Wars fireworks. Then we headed to guest services to see about Mimi's band. They told us that if it gets turned in they would contact Kelly but most likely our hotel can just give us a new band. It wasn't like she had charging privileges on it anyways. Mimi's concern was that it wouldn't be purple.

We made our way out of the park but the kids were starting to get really tired and cranky, and of course the stroller they brought was only a single stroller because they didn't think 9 year-old Sophie would need it but apparently 9 year-olds have limits too, so Sophie and Mimi took turns in their stroller of course fighting every minute. The bus line for the Poly was long and we waited for a while for a 2nd bus. Of course there were no seats upon first entering but some nice people pointed out the last two corner seats in the back row and they both promptly sat in them and passed out.

If I had to do it all over again I would have just headed straight out after Fantasmic! and to the buses, but nothing ever turns out the way you think it will, especially when the buses are concerned!

Finally we were back at the Poly and Honyee had to carry a sleepy crying Mimi out, while a very tired Sophie slumped out. I felt bad for them but everyone else on the bus was in the same boat. This was not a good bus experience and I'm pretty sure Kelly had sworn off the buses at this point! I'm relieved that the rest of my family did not have to go through this as they would probably never leave the resort if it meant taking a bus like this!

Thankfully we were back in the rooms in minutes, and rested up, only to do it all over again the next day...stay tuned for our Epcot day!!
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[Reflections of Earth]

To start I got the French Onion Soup topped with a Crouton and Gruyère Cheese.

I had this for the first time in July and it was delicious! BoG is always amazing.

I cannot believe the interaction you had with the CM. Most of them go above and beyond.. and then there are others like her. Glad you didn't let it ruin your night, that you still managed to get seats for Fantasmic!, and that everyone enjoyed it!

 

[KathyM2]

The soup was really good that evening with a rich savory broth and tons of melty cheese. It wasn't this good in the past!

That soup looked really good. I always mean to get that but worry I will be too full for dinner if I have it as an app.

Probably twice throughout our meal we got a visit from Beast!

That's so cool that he went around the dining room. I don't think he did that when we were there.

The strawberry cream cheese cupcake and the grey stuff which is now apparently served on some sort of white chocolate torte.

I was debating the strawberry cupcake too but had to have the grey stuff. I wish they would just serve a bowl of that alone lol

I had a very special DISMeet...with @KathyM2 and her DD Alexis! We met as they were walking off the Peoplemover and they decided to get back on with me! Yay!

This was so much fun! I'm glad we got to hang for a bit and what better than on the PM!

I got this picture on the Peoplemover. I think @KathyM2 has the picture with the two of us that Alexis took after we got off.

Yes I do...but if I could only get picture posting to work!!! It's on FB of course lol

But if you've never seen it, I suggest you watch it at least once.

I still haven't seen Fantasmic. It just never worked on this trip. Next time!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

After lunch we went to get Dole Whips, and we sat inside the Tiki Room and ate them while watching the show. ​

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Mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it...

On the way back to the Poly I ran into a PP photographer who asked if I would like a picture with Mr. Stickly. I said, "Ok, who's Mr. Stickly?" The PP guy whips out, literally a STICK with a CM nametag on it. Mr. Stickly from Big Tree, FL. It was hilarious!

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That is AMAZING!!!

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We walked into Be Our Guest and were shown a large table in my favorite room, the Library! ​

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I've never eaten in here! I tried to on our last trip but there was a CM guarding the door and said it was closed. Literally 5 minutes after we sat down they opened the curtain and let people in -.-

The strawberry cream cheese cupcake and the grey stuff which is now apparently served on some sort of white chocolate torte. The cupcake was pretty good, but I liked the torte better although not as good as the masters cupcake! Wish they had that during dinner. Maybe I should ask next time.

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Ooooo that looks so interesting! Maybe I'll have to give BOG dinner a try just to have one.

After Peoplemover we parted ways but we will most likely be meeting up later that week at Epcot nighttime EMH. I went over to the Express Bus and met with Kelly and her family, Steve, and CS. Now here's one very odd encounter we had with a CM. We knew the time of the next bus to DHS and we got there right before it was to board. But for some reason the CM made us wait for the next bus, even though we saw a few people go backstage, obviously to ride the DHS bus. It was barely a handful of people so I don't know why she didn't let us through, it's not like it was full. She had one of those fake annoying smiles that customer service people have when they are obviously not listening to you and just saying whatever is written in front of them. We kept telling her, "We need to get on this bus, it's boarding now!" but it's like she didn't hear us. It was the weirdest interaction, almost like talking to an alien. Then 5 minutes later, I think she realized her error and she apologized to us saying we could have got on the bus, which had apparently just left. Kelly was livid. She is not the sort of person who deals well with inept people and she let her know that we now had to wait another 30 minutes with her restless kids thanks to her. The CM still maintained the annoying smile and pretending like there was nothing wrong with having to wait an extra 30 minutes. This was the only unfortunate incident I've had with an express bus CM. Boo.

That is so strange! I wonder why she made you wait. Boo, indeed!

I went to refill my popcorn bucket, which was the same one I had used back in May. Luckily it was too dark for them to realize that the color of them had changed since then, but the CM filled my bucket anyways.

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Okay so I was tempted to buy a popcorn bucket because I am a popcorn fiend, but I wasn't sure how they worked. So they're only supposed to be good for your stay and not for a whole year?

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