Old, New & Long Lost Friends, with a Side of Frump! FINISHED! DL TR started 1.20.14!

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hi Theresa, I'm joining in (albeit really late). Looks like I have a lot to catch up on. I can definitely relate to the Gertie obsession though. My mother's name is Gertie, so that Dino is always near and dear to my heart.

 

[Nermel9]

Finally getting caught up!

OMG Raglan Road looks amazing, you really did seem to have the best table there! I mean, I've never actually been there. But it looks nice and cozy from your pictures!

And that bread pudding looks to die for! OMG I'm so going there on my next trip! All because of your bread pudding pictures!

Ugh, I always hate going off property, it doesn't feel right, but at least you guys went to do something fun, to hang out with friends! Whenever we go off property, it's usually go to Walgreen's to stock up on Gatorade and water, so boring!

I love that morning picture of SSR, so pretty!

It looks like you guys had so much fun with the Long Lost characters! I was kind of sad that I missed that week, but I've heard they are doing it again, right? Maybe I'll get lucky and be there the 2nd or 3rd time they do it!

 

[arbolita]

Love your pictures with the Robin Hood crew. Funny that Prince John was the only character from that group you had met before as a kid because that was how it was for me to in the 80s! I had never met any of the other characters beside Prince John. I smell conspiracy!

And is it just me or does Robin Hood look like he's gained a few pounds over the years?

Looks like an absolutely gorgeous day!

Ha, that is funny that Prince John was the one character you remember seeing also! I think you might be on to something about this conspiracy because come to think of it, I believe he's the only Robin Hood character my cousins saw on their trip in the mid-90s. Hm....

What a beautiful morning! Waking up at Saratoga Springs is always nice. Aww I miss it there (SSR is our home resort and we love Congress Park!).

GAH I can't wait to see the New Fantasyland! Only 28 more days to go!

YAY for meeting the Long Lost Friends!

EEEEEEEEEEE You're just a few short weeks away!!! I don't know if you've been looking at pictures or avoiding them, but seriously, it's more amazing in person than you could even imagine.

YES YES YES YES YES YES NEW FANTASYLAND!!! I can't even describe how special it was for me to walk through that castle wall for the first time! That was honestly one of the most exciting experiences of my life and I can't wait to read about yours

I'm glad you appreciated the Limited Time Magic! I wasn't that thrilled with the characters they chose to bring back so I'm happy someone I know enjoyed it! I'm dying to know what the LTM will be during my trip.

You won't have to wait long because work has been closed for the snow storm we're getting today, so I should have time later for a new update!

And yeah, I thought this was a really bizarre grouping of characters for Long Lost Friends Week - I actually thought Pinnochio was still out and about, and you can see Clarabelle Cow at the Frontierland Hoe-Down. And I feel like a lot of people have never seen Robin Hood (they definitely weren't watching it once a week like I was as a kid, haha). It'll be really interesting to see what kind of characters they bring around next!

Your early morning SSR pictures are so pretty! That resort looks so nice.

AHHHHHHH DID PRINCE JOHN REALLY SUCK HIS THUMB??? That would be amazing! So cool that you got to meet all of them!!! I have the Green with Envy Blues song stuck in my head now!

I personally think the next Long Lost Friends week should be end of May... beginning of June... somewhere around that time!

HE DID! I got so excited when that happened, hahaha. Disney knows what to do to keep a girl happy.

GEE MARISSA, IS THERE SOMETHING HAPPENING AT THE END OF MAY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS, MAYBE IN A PTR OR SOMETHING? =P

 

[arbolita]

Haha, Scott giving Scrooge McDuck the money is such a great picture!! I love all the long lost characters they had out but I didn't know that they were doing more. That's so exciting!!! I wonder who it is and when they will be there!

I'd heard some people guessing they were going to do additional Long Long Friends weeks, but it was exciting to hear the CM confirm that it would be happening at least two more times. There are so many characters I would love to see them bring out!

First day in the parks! YAY!! Your view from your room was gorgeous!

Oh man, there's nothing better than an empty bus to MK!! Seriously, I love those mornings.

But that's so weird that it didn't play the music/fanfare! We didn't experience that.. or well, we DID once but otherwise we always got the music/announcements and all that. I'm wondering if they didn't that morning since you were the only 2 on the bus? Lame, that's my favorite part of the bus ride!

OOOOH MAN! I love your photos with Robin Hood and the gang! Too fabulous! That was good thinking to head there first; the lines got insane for the Long Lost Friends!

YAY FOR NEW FANTASYLAND!! It's so fabulous back there. Can't wait to see you explore!

See, that's what I thought at first about the bus - maybe since it was just us, they didn't play the spiels upon arriving to the parks, but we never heard the Magic Kingdom one during any of our visits to that park. I hope they aren't phasing it out, because like you - it's my favorite part of the bus ride!

I didn't really think much about the Long Lost Friends because I'm not very into meeting characters. Haha, I get too nervous because as a kid I used to be scared, so even now, I like looking at them from afar. Anyway, reading about your experiences just got me so excited and into it just because of how eager you were to meet those that were there! Curious to know who else will be there during those other 2 times.

I'm glad I was able to help you get a little excitement about meeting the characters! Truth be told, I'm not usually much of a character person either - I always just feel so awkward talking to the characters, and I'd rather spend my time waiting in line for an attraction or food, lol. But seriously, if you knew how many times I watched Robin Hood as a kid... I just couldn't pass it up!

Yay for getting to meet some of your favorite characters!! Hahaha I love that Scott held up the money to Scrooge McDuck!

Right before we got into line, Scott was all "Do you have any cash???" I seriously could not figure out why he was hitting me up for money then

 

[arbolita]

I don't even like bacon, but Scott's commentary on the opening show was hilarious!

How cool that you were there for Long Lost Friends week! I hope the fall one the CM speculated on happens to be the week we will be there in October. I have this little connection with Prince John because I was a thumbsucker until I was just too old to be sucking a thumb, so my family would always joke when that movie was on that I was going to be like Prince John sucking my thumb into adulthood! It would have been SO FUN to get a photo of him & I sucking our thumbs to send to those family members!

Again, I at Scott giving Scrooge money in the picture! Great character interactions!!

LOL at your connection with Prince John. I really with they would bring some of these characters back on a more permanent basis. Or that they continue doing this kind of promotion even after LTM ends!

That is a wonderful view to wake up too... AHHH.....

What a beautiful morning in MK too!

I still can't get over those views, and I've been home for over a month, lol.

I can't wait to update about the rest of the day - it was a beautiful afternoon and evening too!

Hi Theresa, I'm joining in (albeit really late). Looks like I have a lot to catch up on. I can definitely relate to the Gertie obsession though. My mother's name is Gertie, so that Dino is always near and dear to my heart.

You're not too late - I still have nearly 6 full days to post about!

And WOOOOOO! I love meeting other Gertie fans =)

Finally getting caught up!

OMG Raglan Road looks amazing, you really did seem to have the best table there! I mean, I've never actually been there. But it looks nice and cozy from your pictures!

And that bread pudding looks to die for! OMG I'm so going there on my next trip! All because of your bread pudding pictures!

Ugh, I always hate going off property, it doesn't feel right, but at least you guys went to do something fun, to hang out with friends! Whenever we go off property, it's usually go to Walgreen's to stock up on Gatorade and water, so boring!

I love that morning picture of SSR, so pretty!

It looks like you guys had so much fun with the Long Lost characters! I was kind of sad that I missed that week, but I've heard they are doing it again, right? Maybe I'll get lucky and be there the 2nd or 3rd time they do it!

YES!! I'm so happy you're going to give Raglan Road a try - it is so worth it for that bread pudding.

We've gone off property before to visit Universal for a day, but this was the first time renting a car and not going to one of the other parks. It wasn't a terrible experience, and it was really nice to be able to bring the water back and not have to pay for it in the parks - but I'm okay with not doing it again, lol.

If the CM we spoke to in line is right, they should be doing the Long Lost Friends week at least two more times! If only all the LTM events were this exciting, hahaha.

 

[arbolita]

Chapter 9 - "I See a Hippo Sleeping Up There"

As you could probably guess from the last post, this one is going to completely take place in New Fantasyland, so if you are one of those individuals who still hasn't been and are still trying to keep free from spoilers about the area, MOVE TO THIS POST. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200.











Okay, the rest of you good? Then let's continue!

When I was at Disney in February 2012, I had been able to see a very brief glimpse of the edge of the castle wall, but everything else was new to me!

I wanted to refrain from taking pictures during my first walk through, mostly because I couldn't even be bothered to deal with my camera. I was just staring wide eyed at everything with my mouth hanging open. I'm sure it was very attractive.

But let's be real, no one was looking at me anyway - because when you are in New Fantasyland, HOW CAN YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THIS??

Everything about this place is just perfect. It even looks good in cell phone pictures!

I guess it's not too much of a shock that the first thing we did was ride Under the Sea!

The queue for this ride is absolutely mind blowing. Just seeing this makes me that much more excited to see what they do with the new Mine Train queue almost as much as what they do for the ride!

As we were walking through the line, we kept hearing J say "I see a hippo sleeping up there!" I guess I missed that part of the Little Mermaid

Even the details on the ground are amazing over here.

Once we made it inside, the line was moving really quickly. I wanted to stay even longer just looking at everything, but I also REALLYREALLYREALLY wanted to get on the ride, and I knew we'd be back later in the trip for me to stare in awe some more.

The downside to being there at such a slow time of year? We didn't even get to go in this room (although I suppose I probably could have run under the chains and looked at everything anyway. Wait. Why is this only occurring to me now?)

The ride itself is basically everything I love about The Little Mermaid, dark rides and Disney all rolled into one! I laughed. I cried. I took a bunch of pictures and immediately wanted to get back on the ride again.

I just love that you can see Ariel swimming around in Ursula's crystal ball!

Like I said, I was SO.READY to jump back into line to ride it again as soon as we got off, but I managed to restrain myself, since we hadn't even wandered into Belle's village yet!

But first, another picture (or two) of Prince Eric's castle

And a bonus look at some Mine Train construction!

Continued in next post

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[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'm in the same boat......uuummmm......I mean sea shell with you about the Under the Sea ride. I think it's now my favorite dark ride at Disney. We didn't get a good look at the queue because we used Fastpasses. But did I really miss a hippo??

Did you see the trees that they put up on the Mine Train structure this week? I can't wait to try that ride.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Ooohhhh I'm so jealous of you New Fantasyland photos. They're so good. I got to see it on the very first day on Oct. 12 (soft opening), but my pics aren't nearly as good.

 

[__disneygirl]

I JUST CRIED READING THIS UPDATE. OH MY GOD I MISS IT SO MUCH. I still can't believe I was lucky enough to get in several times before opening, but I never got to do it during the day due to CM previews going on... and I can't wait to see this flawless place in the daylight.

I love your bubble picture from Under the Sea so much. Oh my goodness. That was my favorite part of the entire ride, the way they transitioned you going into the "water"... I just... ahhhh I'll never forget that first moment of going on! THE BEST.

 

[beachphotog]

Love, love, love!!
I think I rode Little Mermaid 3 or 4 times in a row!

 

[khertz]

We loved Little Mermaid at DCA, so I am really more excited about seeing the queue in New Fantasyland since I have already gone on the attraction! Prince Eric's castle was always my FAVORITE from the movies, and it's just so gorgeous, I can't wait to see it in real life!!! The attraction is really amazing too, since Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite Disney movies too.

 

[arbolita]

I'm in the same boat......uuummmm......I mean sea shell with you about the Under the Sea ride. I think it's now my favorite dark ride at Disney. We didn't get a good look at the queue because we used Fastpasses. But did I really miss a hippo??

Did you see the trees that they put up on the Mine Train structure this week? I can't wait to try that ride.

Haha, I think the hippo only existed in the mind of a very imaginative three year old =) And over on the Jungle Cruise, but that's a story for another chapter!

I did see the photos of the trees!! It's going to be so exciting once rest of the rest of the external framework is covered and you can start seeing how the ride fits in with the overall landscape.

Ooohhhh I'm so jealous of you New Fantasyland photos. They're so good. I got to see it on the very first day on Oct. 12 (soft opening), but my pics aren't nearly as good.

Thank you! Although I have to say, I think with how beautiful everything is, it's really hard to take a bad picture of that area!

I JUST CRIED READING THIS UPDATE. OH MY GOD I MISS IT SO MUCH. I still can't believe I was lucky enough to get in several times before opening, but I never got to do it during the day due to CM previews going on... and I can't wait to see this flawless place in the daylight.

I love your bubble picture from Under the Sea so much. Oh my goodness. That was my favorite part of the entire ride, the way they transitioned you going into the "water"... I just... ahhhh I'll never forget that first moment of going on! THE BEST.

Not much longer now before you get to see it in the day!! And the lighting of that area is so amazing at night. I probably could have spent the entire day just hanging out there and been in total bliss.

When Scott asked me why I took a picture of that, I told him "BECAUSE LIFE IS DEE BUBBLES, OKAY?" Some people just don't get it.

Love, love, love!!
I think I rode Little Mermaid 3 or 4 times in a row!

I still don't know how I managed to restrain myself from not going on a second (or third) time right then and there!

We loved Little Mermaid at DCA, so I am really more excited about seeing the queue in New Fantasyland since I have already gone on the attraction! Prince Eric's castle was always my FAVORITE from the movies, and it's just so gorgeous, I can't wait to see it in real life!!! The attraction is really amazing too, since Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite Disney movies too.

As much as I loved the ride, the queue and the surrounding area really is the most impressive part of the attraction. Disney just went above and beyond to make you feel as though you are really a part of that world (ha). I can't wait for you to finally get to see it too!

 

[danimaroo]

I thought I responded to this update, but apparently I didn't! I know I READ it, but what the heck!

New Fantasyland is so amazing! I am so with you, the queue for Little Mermaid is FANTASTIC. Both Matt and I just wanted to keep stopping to look at everything! I can't wait to go back again and go on it again, one of the best dark rides I've ever been on!

 

[arbolita]

I thought I responded to this update, but apparently I didn't! I know I READ it, but what the heck!

New Fantasyland is so amazing! I am so with you, the queue for Little Mermaid is FANTASTIC. Both Matt and I just wanted to keep stopping to look at everything! I can't wait to go back again and go on it again, one of the best dark rides I've ever been on!

Don't worry, I've been doing the same thing a lot recently! Work has been crazy, so I try to read snippets of TRs when I have a quick break, and I have a running list of comments in my head and forget that I haven't actually posted them, haha. I really need to catch up when I'm on spring break next week.

 

[arbolita]

Hey guys! Quick apology to those of you reading who also write Trip Reports - work and school have been CRAZY, so I haven't had a chance recently to keep caught up on trip reports or leave comments. HOWEVER, I work for a university and have off work most of next week for spring break, so you can expect a ton of comments and updates from me then!

And this update will also be somewhat short so that I can go back to some non-New Fantasyland updates that everybody can enjoy! So, once again, if you're skipping New Fantasyland pictures, you can move right on over to the next chapter! =)

Now on with the update!




Chapter 10 - Little toooown, it's a quiet village...



After we rode Under the Sea, we finally went back over to Belle's village get a good look at everything.

I thought having Maurice's Popping Machine was a nice touch, and really looked like something that would have come out of his workshop!

This whole area was really just completely adorable, and it was all I could do to refrain from belting out the words to Belle. I really want to plan a trip to Disney with a group of friends who would participate in a flashmob with me of that area, acting out the entire song. it would be amazing. Who's in??

While everyone else went to use the bathrooms, I decided to check out Gaston's Tavern.

I understand it fits the themeing to have the animals heads and they aren't real but... ehhh.... probably not my favorite aspect of New Fantasyland lol.

As most of you know, Gaston's has limited food options - you can get the pork shank, cinnamon buns (slightly different than the ones that used to be available at Main Street Bakery, but pretty similar), other pastries and the signature drink LeFou's Brew.

Everyone else met up with my while I was in line. K&A ordered a LeFou's Brew for themselves, and Scott got a fruit cup, since he was hungry and we skipped breakfast this morning in order to get to MK for rope drop.

I really only had one thing on my mind to try when we were there!

I really liked the drink, but I'm also a huge fan of most things apple flavored. Of the four of us (J didn't have any), I was actually the only one who liked it - nobody hated it, but the 3 of them felt that wouldn't have been missing anything if they hadn't had it.

In Gaston's there are two seating areas. We went to the one on the left, which I refer to as the game room since it had Gaston and LeFou's dart board.

C'mon LeFou. Get in the game.

If you go to the right after you leave the registers, that takes you to the more den-like area, which I actually liked a little better.

When we left Gaston's, we checked the wait time for Enchanted Tales with Belle, but it was around 50 minutes already, so we decided to skip it for now and try to do it later in the trip.

One more bonus Mine Train construction picture before we left New Fantasyland and went to explore the rest of the Magic Kingdom!

Continued in Next Post




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[beachphotog]

Count me in!!! That would be so much fun!

I love, love, love LeFou's Brew! I can't wait to have it again!

You got some great pictures of New Fantasyland!

 

[arbolita]

Chapter 11 - Let's join the circus!



After we left New Fantasyland, we thought it would be a good idea to go get some Fast Passes to use later for Winnie the Pooh, knowing how long the standby line can get. While we were there, A was having trouble with her Annual Pass - it had become demagnetized by something in her purse, so one of the Cast Members gave her this nifty looking fast pass that she could use for the day, and then turn it it to Guest Services at the end of the day in order to get a working Annual Pass.

Along with the Winnie the Pooh FPs, we got "surprise" Dumbo fast passes! None of us had seen Storybook Circus yet, so I was really anxious to finally get over there!

Now, I won't gush over this area quite the same way that I did New Fantasyland, but it was SO CUTE. I'll be honest that when I heard they were putting in a circus themed area where Toontown was, I really wasn't expecting much. They totally blew me away with how this area turned out!

When we first got there, K&A wanted to stop in to Big Top Souvenirs to get J some sunglasses.

I'm declaring this the cutest gift shop ever.

Oswald Ears!

And they don't just sell souvenirs in here - they have lots of fun treats you can pick up as well!

They found some sunglasses for J, and apparently putting them on turned her into the life of the party!

Apparently the entire day before we were in the Magic Kingdom, J had been talking to K&A about wanting to ride the Barnstormer.

However once she was finally there, looking at the Barnstormer, she started to get a bit nervous and decided she didn't want to get on it. We tried to convince her it would be fun, but I think in addition to the nerves, she was also starting to get hot and cranky, so she wasn't having it. We had a little bit of time before we could use our Fast Passes for Dumbo, so I suggested that we could do a round trip on the WDW Rail Road. That way we'd be able to get under some shade, get on an attraction AND I'd get to have a quick look over at my favorite area of the Magic Kingdom, Frontierland!

One train had just left the station, so we had a short wait for the next one to come along. Perfect time for a picture with the girls!

Soon enough, the next train pulled in and we climbed aboard!

3

NO DANCING!

As we pulled around through Frontierland, I became SO excited. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is my second favorite Walt Disney World attraction (number one is Tower of Terror - and in case you're curious, Haunted Mansion is number three), and because of the lengthy refurbishment it had just undergone, it had been soo loooong since I was last able to ride it. I got my first sneak peek at this glorious mountain during our train ride and I was happy to see it was looking better than ever!

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. I guess the train itself was having a stressful day, because after we departed, it had to let off some steam.

Have I mentioned that I love really bad puns? Anyway. Moving on.

Once we returned to Storybook Circus, we got into the Fast Pass line for Dumbo.

Sadly, this is the only picture I have of the new interior queue area.

I didn't realize that with the Fast Pass line, you bypass the little playground area, so I was only able to get a really quick look in there as we were walking through our line, and this was the only Dumbo ride we made during our trip. It looked adorable though, and I think it's good for everyone for there to be a place where kids can run around and play in the shade while waiting for the ride.

I just love the new water features they have underneath Dumbo!

Once we were on the ride, I was able to check out some of the story panels they have on the base of the ride - I only saw these two, but would love to see what other scenes they had displayed around the ride.

Riding Dumbo just made me remember how much I used to stalk everybody's video and pictures from their Dumbo rides during the bulk of New Fantasyland construction, haha.

Continued in Next Post





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[marDgreen88]

I've seen all of Storybook Circus except for the store and the meet and greet area, and I have to agree, it's so stinking adorable!

BAHAHA I love your pun. Puns are the best things ever.

Dumbo looks excellent! Oddly enough I just talked about Dumbo on my update as well. Yay for an update I was able to read! I swear that as soon as I get to see everything in person, I'll come back and read all these updates that I missed!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I was a bit wary of the circus theme when it was first announced too, but I think it's so fun there! I love all of the bright colors!

Oswald ears!!! Awesome!

 

[laurenvic1312959]

Can't wait to read more