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

[marDgreen88]

Hahah AWW, thank you for doing that! You're too sweet. ONLY SIX WEEKS!!!! Considering it's already been about six months of avoiding these pictures... I can totally do this. Thanks again!

So, do you know if all the parks are using the RFID scanners at the entrances now? I haven't been keeping up with the progress on that. Looks awesome!

OKAY I CLICKED THE LINK, I'M GOOD! I think your 'Brickering' shots are great! Gotta love an empty park at night. And the Kiss Goodnight looks wonderful!

 

[cheekypoppins]

brickering ahaha I love it!!!his pics r cool but i have more of a love for Sarah's dresses!!!!

 

[tiffany41108]

Lets be friends! Can't wait to read the rest of your TR!!

PS, we arrived the day you left.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great New Fantasyland updates! I FINALLY got to see it (I just returned last week) and thought everything was awesome. Enchanted Tales with Belle was absolutely adorable and it was a lot of fun to just watch the show.

Love the night pictures as well.

 

[WDWFigment]

Nice shots, regardless of the point & shoot.

The Kiss Goodnight is definitely a Must Do. With the exception of the TTA, it's the "attraction" we experience most each trip!

 

[Reddog1134]

I just found (and read) your trip report. We also live in Maryland and fly Airtran out of BWI, so thanks for the tip about the security check.

I'll return the favor. When we stayed at SSR last October, my wife was clever enough to ask one of the cart drivers for directions to our room. He told us to hop on and drove us there just as she had planned.

 

[arbolita]

Great updates! Had to smile seeing the understudy dad playing the role of the Beast and being a good sport about it even though the cape was two sizes small for him.

Love your pictures from after park closing which is something I would love to try. How much past closing time were these pictures taken? And were the CMs trying to usher you out at that point?

Thanks! It was so much fun watching the dad; he completely took it in stride. The Extra Magic Hours ended at 11:00, and we left around midnight; the Kiss Goodnight happened around 11:30 I'm guessing? But you'd be surprised how quickly people clear out of the park. We didn't have any issues with CMs while we were there! I was actually joking around with some of them while we were in Adventureland and I was waiting for Scott to use the restroom.

Awesome updates!

Thanks, glad you are enjoying them!

I totally read the title as "Enchanted Tales With Belle and BICKERING" and thought to myself, "Uh oh!" I'm glad you were actually Brickering, not bickering. I had never heard of that myself, but it looks like fun! Love those ones you got looking down Main Street.

Also loved the photos from New Fantasyland at night. I can't wait to see it all in person!!

Heh, oh there were definitely some moments of bickering on the trip, just not this evening.

I can't wait for you to see it in person too!

 

[arbolita]

Hahah AWW, thank you for doing that! You're too sweet. ONLY SIX WEEKS!!!! Considering it's already been about six months of avoiding these pictures... I can totally do this. Thanks again!

So, do you know if all the parks are using the RFID scanners at the entrances now? I haven't been keeping up with the progress on that. Looks awesome!

OKAY I CLICKED THE LINK, I'M GOOD! I think your 'Brickering' shots are great! Gotta love an empty park at night. And the Kiss Goodnight looks wonderful!

No problem! You've lasted so long without spoilering yourself, I definitely don't want to be the one to inadvertently spoil you!

I think the week that we were there was the first one that all the parks were using the RFID entrances - they basically had all WDW resort guests go to one side (with the RFID scanners) and all other park guests go to the opposite site with the traditional turnstiles. Not sure if that's still the same set up or not.

Thanks! It was so much fun running around the empty park. Now if only they'll let me stay in the castle, so that I don't ever have to leave.

brickering ahaha I love it!!!his pics r cool but i have more of a love for Sarah's dresses!!!!

Yessss. I love Sarah's dresses too! And her hair - I need to know her secrets for how her hair constantly looks perfect in every photo!

Lets be friends! Can't wait to read the rest of your TR!!

PS, we arrived the day you left.

Glad to have you here!

How bad were the crowds the week you were there? We were in Magic Kingdom for a bit the day we left and I couldn't believe how crowded it was getting.

 

[arbolita]

Great New Fantasyland updates! I FINALLY got to see it (I just returned last week) and thought everything was awesome. Enchanted Tales with Belle was absolutely adorable and it was a lot of fun to just watch the show.

Love the night pictures as well.

Thank you! Yay, I'm so glad you were finally able to see New Fantasyland in person!! Pictures of the area are fabulous, but isn't it amazing just how much you feel like you're in those worlds as you are walking through the area?

Nice shots, regardless of the point & shoot.

The Kiss Goodnight is definitely a Must Do. With the exception of the TTA, it's the "attraction" we experience most each trip!

Thanks! For being a P&S, that was a nice little camera. I was really disappointed when it crapped out on me after we got home (although I'm so glad it at least waited until after we returned from Disney). Let's hope I have enough of a handle on the new camera when I'm at Disneyland in August to get some equally (or preferably more) impressive shots.

I just found (and read) your trip report. We also live in Maryland and fly Airtran out of BWI, so thanks for the tip about the security check.

I'll return the favor. When we stayed at SSR last October, my wife was clever enough to ask one of the cart drivers for directions to our room. He told us to hop on and drove us there just as she had planned.

You're welcome for the security tip! I was so happy when we first found out about the lower level - saved us so much time and stress we would have had otherwise if we waited in the upstairs security lines.

That's great to know about SSR! Since we were dragging around our luggage, it definitely would have been nice to have a more direct route to the room, although I am somewhat happy it gave us a chance to walk around and see the resort, since we didn't do much of that later in the trip.

 

[__disneygirl]

I'M SO JEALOUS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!! So happy for you and not at all jealous I mean!!! LOL. Seriously though that is SO awesome. I have never even been there and I can hardly believe that. Hopefully in 2014.

*sigh* I'm not going to ride that puppy. LMAO. This is what the depressed, dejected Stacey would say. If she existed. Which thank God, she does not.

I am so happy you got to meet up with Jess. I am so excited to see her IN 24 DAYS!!!!!!!

"I love Disney World. And I love you, Mom." AWW. If my kid said that I'd be like "My work here is done." hahaha

Your camera honestly takes better night photos in Disney than mine does. Like i would be THRILLED if they came out like that LOL. I am upset because I really wanted to get a new one before my trip but I want a really good one that takes awesome pictures in lowlight and I don't think I can afford it with the trip. WAAAH! But really what would my TRs be without crappy photos?

 

[cheekypoppins]

ya know come to think of it you're right ,never seen a single pic of her with bad hair ever

 

[arbolita]

I'M SO JEALOUS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!! So happy for you and not at all jealous I mean!!! LOL. Seriously though that is SO awesome. I have never even been there and I can hardly believe that. Hopefully in 2014.

*sigh* I'm not going to ride that puppy. LMAO. This is what the depressed, dejected Stacey would say. If she existed. Which thank God, she does not.

I am so happy you got to meet up with Jess. I am so excited to see her IN 24 DAYS!!!!!!!

"I love Disney World. And I love you, Mom." AWW. If my kid said that I'd be like "My work here is done." hahaha

Your camera honestly takes better night photos in Disney than mine does. Like i would be THRILLED if they came out like that LOL. I am upset because I really wanted to get a new one before my trip but I want a really good one that takes awesome pictures in lowlight and I don't think I can afford it with the trip. WAAAH! But really what would my TRs be without crappy photos?

Hahahahaha, thank you! I basically feel the same way about your Birthday Festivus trip, since it seems like just about all of my favorite DISBoards people are going to be there at the same time! I can't wait to see all the pictures and hear the stories!

I imagine if Disney ever decided to do the unthinkable and replace Stacey (BLASPHEMY), she'd walk around the parks doing sad, lackluster versions of some of her most quotable moments.

I'm happy it worked out for us to meet up with Jess too! Especially since it was before she started her training, so it wasn't as difficult to find time when she was free to hang out.

Right? I just wanted to go over to that mom and say "Parenting - you're doing it right."

Haha, this is true. I actually took about four times as many pictures as the ones I posted because the majority of the others turned out horribly.

 

[danimaroo]

Hahaha I love the photo of you scanning your card with the RFID! I wanted to use it but we couldn't because we had APs, wompwomp.

Your photos of Storybook Circus are fabulous! I can't wait to see your photos with your new camera!!

Haha, I am planning on "brickering" on our September trip... well, to at least see the Kiss Goodnight! I can't even wait. Your photos look fabulous though!! Oh man, your new camera is going to give you amazing photos!! I LOVE the shot of the Partners statue with the castle behind... Like, your photos are making me SO excited to take photos when everyone is gone from the park.

 

[arbolita]

Hahaha I love the photo of you scanning your card with the RFID! I wanted to use it but we couldn't because we had APs, wompwomp.

Your photos of Storybook Circus are fabulous! I can't wait to see your photos with your new camera!!

Haha, I am planning on "brickering" on our September trip... well, to at least see the Kiss Goodnight! I can't even wait. Your photos look fabulous though!! Oh man, your new camera is going to give you amazing photos!! I LOVE the shot of the Partners statue with the castle behind... Like, your photos are making me SO excited to take photos when everyone is gone from the park.

That just means you have one additional new thing to experience on your next trip to WDW!

Thanks! I had one good day of photography, and then was having issues with it again this weekend. I hope I figure out what I'm doing soon!

Yay, I'm glad I'm able to help add to your excitement!

 

[arbolita]

Chapter 15: Scott Becomes Obsessed with Pin Collecting

Hello all! Can I have a quick WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO due to the fact that I am now DOUBLE DIGITS away from Disneyland! We've finally narrowed down our potential hotel choices to 4. It's a little too expensive for us to stay in one of the Disneyland Resort hotels, so we're opting for one of the hotels that is directly across the street. Hopefully we'll have settled on one by the end of the weekend so I can cross one more thing off my list! Now, back to Orlando...

Since this morning we did not have any Long Lost Friends we had to meet as soon as the park opened, we decided to take it a little easier. Now, that doesn't mean we slept in or get to the park late, it just means we actually wandered over to the Carriage House to actually get breakfast this morning.

Hey look, another fun light fixture at Artist's Palette.

Scott and I both eat relatively light for breakfast, so we each picked up an item from the grab and go area. He selected a container of pineapple, while I opted for the apple turnover.

I'd seen a lot of pictures of the turnovers before, but had never actually tried one, so I was really excited for this - and it did not disappoint. It was full of delicious filling with large chunks of apples, and the pastry dough was so light and flaky.

So, where were we off to this morning?

@GertietheDino89 Quick breakfast, then EPCOT! So excited to experience Test Track 2.0 and listen to BGMs and run around the Fountain of Nations.

We arrived at the park right around park opening, which was 9:00, but I got stuck in the bag check line which was moving SOO SLOOOOW this morning. I am very envious of the boys and girls who manage to get everything they need for the day in their pockets; I'm not sure I'll ever manage that.

As with Magic Kingdom the night before, Epcot had some of their RFID entrances working this morning (and we actually were able to use them at each park during the remainder of our trip). They had these signs up to direct us where to go:

I was having some issues with my finger on the biometric scanner this morning, so they sent me just inside the entrance to a Cast Member who was holding an iPad. She brought my information up on her iPad, and to verify my identity, she asked which resort I was staying in and which park I visited the day before. I was obviously able to answer her questions, and after a quick stop in front of Spaceship Earth for a necessary picture, it was time for Scott and I to make our biggest decision of the day: Run and get a Soarin' Fast Pass, or check out Test Track 2.0??

Our curiosity of the changes to Test Track won out, and I felt great about our decision when we walked over and saw that it had a ZERO MINUTE WAIT for the Single Rider line!

So, aside from the much shorter wait, something to be aware of if you do the Single Rider or FP line is that when you arrive at the car design kiosk, you do not get to go through the full design process. I wasn't aware of this, and was really confused the first time we went through, thinking that I just didn't understand how the kiosk was supposed to work, haha.

Since the KTTW cards are all RFID enabled (or if you have upgraded your AP to an RFID enabled one), you can use that to store your car design information. All other guests will receive a white card prior to entering the design studio that will be dropped off as you exit the ride.

I love this dude. If you look past ScaryFace McGee over there, you'll also notice that the car loading area hasn't changed too much, aside from the color scheme.

I didn't take any pictures on my first ride through, since I wanted to really see and experience the ride, so all you get for now is a a look at the new cars and the back of my husband's head. THRILLING!

I was really conflicted on how I felt about the Test Track makeover after the first ride through. I wanted to like it a lot more than I actually did, and at this point I was still feeling frustrated/confused about why I couldn't fully design my car. Since I'm obviously updating this TR pretty slowly, and I didn't get a chance to go through the full queue until later in our trip, I'll toss in a note here that after I waited in the full queue and got to fully design a car, I had a MUCH greater appreciation and enjoyment of the update! So keep that in mind if you do Single Rider/Fast Pass the first time you go on Test Track 2.0.

I was able to tell after the first ride what a huge improvement the post show area was. As soon as you exit the ride, using your RFID card, you can see how well your vehicle scored overall, and how it did with recent riders, as well as the highest scoring vehicles of the day.

As with the previous Test Track post show, there are lots of fancy schmancy cars you can wander around and lust over.

They also have the World of Motion logo on the trash cans!

Yes folks, that was me getting excited about a garbage receptacle (of motion).

From the time we arrived at Test Track to when we exited the post-show area had only taken about 20 minutes. Not a bad was to start our first morning in Epcot! It was now time to make our way over to my favorite Future World pavilion, The Land. As we made our way over, I had to make a quick stop by my favorite fountain.

Once we arrived at The Land (and after I stood near the entrance enjoying that awesome Land smell), we went with everyone else in the building toward the Soarin' fast pass machines and got tickets with a return time of 12:00. Once we had our FPs, we made our way to Livin' With the Land. I'm sure there are some people who find this ride really boring, but I adore it, even more so after one of our previous trips where we did the Behind the Seeds Tour - I definitely recommend it if you're also a fan or LwtL and have an extra hour to spare in Epcot one day.

I love all the Hidden Mickeys they have on this attraction.

Also - This has got to be the most awesome tree name EVER.

Scott works in IT and is very interested in technology, so when I'd mentioned to him that IBM had a new exhibit in Innoventions, he was pretty eager to check it out.

But first I needed one more picture in The Land.

*sigh* I love that place. My other true love in Future World is the Innoventions plaza background music - Come on friends, sing it if you know it! Ba ba ba BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA dodododo DO do!

There are two parts to the exhibit - a short film and a room with interactive displays, all involving current technological innovations and their practical applications.

They also had a game you could play.

When you got a right answer...

You won a pin!

Well, Scott loves winning things, so he became enthralled in trying to get every combination to collect all the pins, hahaha. While he was busy doing that, I was having a very important conversation via text message...

Continued in next post...

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[danimaroo]

Yay for Epcot! It's so much fun. Good choice on doing Test Track! I am still not sure how I feel about it... But I do like the outside part, so it still gets a thumbs up from me!

Haha fun fact: we have monkey puzzle trees here in our area! They grow to be HUGE and they are the coolest trees ever... And super sharp, too.

 

[marDgreen88]

Yay Epcot! Oh love. I don't know why, but I keep forgetting about Test Track! Possibly because I haven't been able to ride it since 2010 (gasp). So yay! OH INNOVENTIONS LOOP! How I adore thee.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I had the same impressions about the new Test Track. We took the FP lanes and encountered the same issue with the car designs. On top of that, our card failed to scan our selections when we boarded our vehicle. So really didn't get the experience of testing out our own car.

Our DS loves Living with the Land. He loves all boat rides. It's a good thing too since he's not tall enough yet for Soarin'.

 

[khertz]

No matter how many accounts of the new Test Track I read, I just can't get excited about it! And we will probably be riding through the Single Rider line since we have DS, so that really does not bode well for me liking the new attractions.

However, TT aside, it looks like you are having a fabulous morning in Epcot! And I learned something new about Lasik surgery.

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!