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

[marDgreen88]

This update made me wish I was back in Magic Kingdom so badly! Ahhh. Isn't Celebrate the Magic amazing? All the scenes you mentioned are my favorites! I'm gonna guess that you DID make it!

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[thornton0511]

All caught up! Love the updates, keep them coming lol!!!

 

[arbolita]

Trust me, I think about it ALL the time! If all goes according to plan you will not be waiting that much longer to hear all my thoughts about it.

I love the hidden Steamboat Willie, though I forgot to look for it in person last time I was there. I did get to see the Hidden Nautilus in that very same queue, pointed out to me by a CM dressed as a Haunted Mansion ghost at MNSSHP! So that was quite a moment for me, LOL.

Yes, crying during PhilharMagic does happen to me too. Every single time!
I really hope you made it to Epcot. I am all about squeezing as much in at the end of the night as possible!

I tried looking for the hidden Nautilus, but I couldn't wind up finding it - I couldn't figure out which lagoon area it was supposed to be in. Ah well, gives me another thing to look for during my next trip!

I honestly don't know if Disney has done a better job anywhere than the LM area of New Fantasyland. Well the whole entire area of NFL really. It really is spectacular. That's why I think the Mine Train is going to be mind blowing.

Haha, Buzz ride photos are always precious.

Funny I had just recently been talking about Big Thunder and how it had kind of lost it's luster for me. Then I rode it at night and, WOW, my love totally returned. It's so beautiful. And what a great photo you got with the castle in the background. Love It!

Bahaha, OMG, that is WAY TOO FUNNY with the screensaver.

I agree! I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the Mine Train will be open during my trip in the spring. I'm so excited to see how everything comes together, from the ride itself, down to the little details.

This update made me wish I was back in Magic Kingdom so badly! Ahhh. Isn't Celebrate the Magic amazing? All the scenes you mentioned are my favorites! I'm gonna guess that you DID make it!

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I know - every time I look at my pictures, I just want to be back there so badly! At least now it's under the 6-month mark!

All caught up! Love the updates, keep them coming lol!!!

Thank you! Things were getting incredibly busy with work and school, but my class is finally over so I finally have time to get this one finished!

 

[arbolita]

Chapter 31: Happy 25th Anniversary Illuminations!

When we last left off, Scott and I were racing for the monorail following Celebrate the Magic, hoping to make it to Epcot in time to see Illuminations, as we had missed it earlier in the trip. We had a great view of Wishes from the monorail - although our car was full, so I couldn't get my camera out to be able to get a picture. You'll just have to trust me that it happened, haha.

Not only did we make it to Epcot in time to see Illuminations, we also had enough time to wander around World Showcase to find a decent spot to watch. We grabbed a spot at the railing over by the Italy pavilion, with a fantastic view. As we were waiting, we checked Twitter and discovered two fascinating pieces of information - that tonight was the 25th Anniversary of Illuminations AND that in a few minutes there would be a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral!

The people who were standing next to me overheard Scott and I talking about the rocket launch and said that his sister-in-law was on the team overseeing the rocket launch, and helped us figure out which direction we should be looking to try and watch it. The rocket was scheduled to launch at 8:48 PM, and shortly after, we saw this:

WOOHOO! GO SPACE EXPLORATION!

A few minutes later, as Illuminations started, I was a giant ball of emotion.

Our week in Disney was almost over - we only had one and a half days left. It had been such an amazing week, and I wasn't ready for it to end. Just like it says at the beginning of Illuminations - over the course of the week, my story had come together with so many other people's stories.

We were sharing a place that means so much to us and plays such a huge role in our lives; a place that has given us amazing memories and friendships, made us laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously. I constantly am reminded just how lucky I am to be a part of it.

All that emotion really wears a girl out, so we didn't stay in the park too late. There were still a lot of exciting things coming up on our last two days, and we wanted to be ready for them!

Continued in next chapter
​

 

[arbolita]

Speaking of 25th Anniversaries...

As some of you might possibly be aware, I like Gertie the Dinosaur. (dramatic pause for shock and awe). As I hope you are also aware, she resides in Disney's Hollywood Studios, which opened on May 1, 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios. In honor of their shared 25th Birthday, I want to invite any of you who happen to be visiting WDW during the time frame of April 30-May 4, 2014 to join me in celebration! I'm waiting to see if Disney releases any organized events in honor of the 25th before making official plans, but at some point during that weekend I'll be hosting a Gertie-centric meetup. Yes, there will be party hats!

 

[marDgreen88]

WOOO, space exploration! Get down with your bad self. Aww, I love what you said about IllumiNations. So sweet! YESSSSS GERTIE MEET-UP!! I'm so excited! (Oh, I... wait, what? )
Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

WOW, now that is a great warm-up for Illuminations.

Ahh Illuminations is so amazing. I don't get why so many people don't like it. I know it has something to do with the globe and that it's hard to see, but MY GOD that music is EPIC!! It has such an uplifting message too. Beautiful!!

Aw gee, if only the 25th was this year, I was totally there those dates. Maybe I'll have to take my mother for a visit with her namesake, lol.

 

[arbolita]

Day 5 - January 31, 2013

Chapter 32: My Husband, the iPadographer


This was our last full day in Disney =( We had plans to meet up with a friend for lunch at Earl of Sandwich, so we decided to take it easy this morning and do some packing before heading over to Downtown Disney.

I'm still not quite sure how this happened, but somehow we managed to break the RFID reader on our door when we were on our way out, haha.

Fortunately the cover snapped right back on. Phew!

We decided to spend some time wandering around Downtown Disney to do "research" and get some pictures for the article I was going to write for TouringPlans. It was a little chilly (and early), so one of our first stops was Ghiradelli to get a mocha for myself.

As we were walking outside, towards World of Disney, someone stopped Scott and asked if he could take a picture for them. He said of course, and I nearly lost it when they handed him not a camera or a phone, but a giant tablet.

Since we were already at World of Disney, we decided to walk through and take another look at some of the potential souvenirs we could take home.

I loved that they had t-shirts featuring the Disney Afternoon shows!

I also took a look at the book wall. This book is Theresa-approved!

We started to wander around Pleasure Island. I'm really happy that this area will be getting a much-needed facelift during the Disney Springs renovations. Can't wait until we hear more details about what will be coming and when everything will open!

It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens with the Adventurer's Club. I've heard so many great things about people who used to frequent it during their vacations - I only wish I'd been able to witness it first hand!

I took a quick look in the Candy Cauldron - even in their shops, Disney loves to include some amazing details.

And I know your not supposed to take pictures in Hoypoloi, but I couldn't resist - yay Boston Terriers! (It's the only kind of dog my family has owned, haha. Love them).

It was finally about time to meet up with Steven for lunch, so we walked back over to Earl of Sandwich. During all of our trips to Disney we make an effort to try different restaurants, but Earl of Sandwich is one we come back to every single time. There's one in Maryland, but it's about 2 hours away in a corner of the state that basically has nothing else. I mean, don't get me wrong, we've made that trip before, lol, it just doesn't happen frequently.

I ordered the Cannonballs! with no cheese; Scott had the BLT and some chicken noodle soup.

I was really excited for our lunch with Steven - he's worked for Disney for over 15 years, and it's evident just how passionate he is about his job and the company. We spent his lunch break talking about Disney, Twitter (and social media in general), music, and just about everything else you could think of. It's always exciting when you meet someone that you've chatted with online, and they're just as friendly and easy to talk to in person!

After our lunch, we walked back to Saratoga Springs to catch a bus to Epcot. I really loved the walk between SSR and DTD - one of the best parts about the resort!

Even though Epcot was the park we visited the most number of times so far on this trip, it felt like the one where we'd spent the least amount of time! Clearly that had to be resolved.

Continued in next post



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[arbolita]

WOOO, space exploration! Get down with your bad self. Aww, I love what you said about IllumiNations. So sweet! YESSSSS GERTIE MEET-UP!! I'm so excited! (Oh, I... wait, what? )
Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF EXCITEMENT

WOW, now that is a great warm-up for Illuminations.

Ahh Illuminations is so amazing. I don't get why so many people don't like it. I know it has something to do with the globe and that it's hard to see, but MY GOD that music is EPIC!! It has such an uplifting message too. Beautiful!!

Aw gee, if only the 25th was this year, I was totally there those dates. Maybe I'll have to take my mother for a visit with her namesake, lol.

There are people who don't like Illuminations? WHA??? I don't get it either.

And yes, you should! This will be my first time going in May/during the Flower and Garden Festival. I'm not looking forward to the crowds, but it should be a really fun weekend!

 

[arbolita]

Chapter 33: Note to self: Bring hair ties for Test Track (and Canadians smell weird)​

We didn't make it to Epcot until around 2:00. We'd lucked out nearly the entire trip with catching buses from Saratoga Springs, but not today. We kept seeing buses for Downtown Disney, which just made me shake my head considering you could walk there! I know that not everyone can or wants to walk that far, but it seemed extreme for there to be 3 DTD buses before we saw any for the parks.

I was eager to ride Test Track again, and with only a 5 minute wait for Single Rider, that was where we headed first.

I was still a little unsure about the new version, even after riding it a second time. However, I WAS certain that on any subsequent Test Track visits, I would bring a hair tie. I had forgotten what that ending turn can do to your hair!

We wanted to explore a little more of World Showcase, since most of our time there during this trip had been after park closing.

Obviously if one is going to World Showcase, there's one thing which MUST be made a priority.

I forget who initially pointed it out to me, but I agree with the people who think that one child looks WAY too happy to be gutting a fish.

After going back...back...over the falls, we made a quick stop in China.

We were having absolutely gorgeous weather today - and such low crowds. As much as I love visiting during the Food and Wine Festival, I'd forgotten how nice it could be to just wander around World Showcase without the intense humidity and 20 people bumping into you anywhere you move.

After being admonished by people on Twitter for having never seen the American Adventure, I made the promise that we would watch it on this trip. I knew it was now or never.

I loved seeing Voices of Liberty. I actually used to perform in an a cappella group in college, and it's something I really miss having in my life.

As far as the rest of the American Adventure...well, I'm glad I saw it, so that it's one less thing on the list of WDW attractions I've never experiences, but it's not really something I feel the need to do again. Sorry Disney Twitter!

Next, we went to Japan. My best friend looooove Hello Kitty, so I was basically texting her pictures of everything in the shops in Japan. Side note - she's actually going to Disney for the first time in over a decade next year! I'm having so much fun helping her plan, and getting her excited for it. Those texts definitely helped, haha.

While we were there, I heard a bizarre noise and looked excitedly for Scott.

Have y'all seen this thing? I finally figured out that it was part of the Kim Possible missions, but on our trip in October 2010, it must have been activated about 20 times while we were in the store, but Scott never heard/saw it. He thought I was crazy. I finally was able to prove to him that it was real!

(In case you STILL have no idea what I'm talking about - here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJjUuaJ9U8w)

Phew. Glad they have a koi pond nearby to instill some calmness back into my life after all that excitement.

We continued walking towards the United Kingdom, one of my favorite areas of World Showcase.

I was excited to see they finally added some Doctor Who merchandise!

Another side note: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!

We rounded our way to Canada, where Off Kilter was performing.

And where Scott had to try on some hats.

And where we discovered that Canadians like to smell really weird.

Continued in next post


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[thornton0511]

​

​

Oh...my....goodness! Seriously?! There is no dam beaver in this soap....laughed so hard I snorted. Thank you for this

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Haha, oh Good Lord I do now get the whole tablet as camera thing. I just don't. In this instance it's actually pretty funny. Not so much at parades and fireworks.

I have never seen Voices of Liberty which is just... odd. For some reason they've been popping up a lot lately in various TR's, so it's for sure on my list for December.

Bahahaha, I LOVE our soaps!!!!! Yes, as a Canadian I feel as though I can call them "our soaps". I was literally JUST talking about them and was also pretty shocked at how many people hadn't heard of them. They're so awesome!

 

[khertz]

Oh God, the iPad photographers... WHY is this a thing?!?! I do not understand it at all. And apparently everyone who does it must not use the Internet EVER, because in countless DIS boards threads about it, not one person has said, "I enjoy using my iPad for photos and videos for this reason..." In fact, your husband is a saint, because I probably would have refused to take the picture for them, telling them that I can't possibly be an iPad photographer, even if only for a second! AHHH End rant.

I am pretty sure I always plan for us to eat somewhere else when we are at DTD yet we ALWAYS end up eating EoS. It's just so darn tasty!

Those Canadian soaps seem...interesting?

 

[arbolita]

Oh...my....goodness! Seriously?! There is no dam beaver in this soap....laughed so hard I snorted. Thank you for this

Haha, no problem! There were some other hilarious ones there as well, I should have taken pictures of all of them.

Haha, oh Good Lord I do now get the whole tablet as camera thing. I just don't. In this instance it's actually pretty funny. Not so much at parades and fireworks.

I have never seen Voices of Liberty which is just... odd. For some reason they've been popping up a lot lately in various TR's, so it's for sure on my list for December.

Bahahaha, I LOVE our soaps!!!!! Yes, as a Canadian I feel as though I can call them "our soaps". I was literally JUST talking about them and was also pretty shocked at how many people hadn't heard of them. They're so awesome!

I agree, the tablet photography is amusing in a case like this, but obnoxious during parades/fireworks/rides. People, think about how big the screen is - nobody standing behind you wants to be forced to watch the show through your screen!

I'm a big a cappella fan, so Voice of Liberty was fun to watch, and they are SUCH a talented group of performers. And I like that they change up the songs during each performance, so there's some variety if you see them on more than one trip.

Oh God, the iPad photographers... WHY is this a thing?!?! I do not understand it at all. And apparently everyone who does it must not use the Internet EVER, because in countless DIS boards threads about it, not one person has said, "I enjoy using my iPad for photos and videos for this reason..." In fact, your husband is a saint, because I probably would have refused to take the picture for them, telling them that I can't possibly be an iPad photographer, even if only for a second! AHHH End rant.

I am pretty sure I always plan for us to eat somewhere else when we are at DTD yet we ALWAYS end up eating EoS. It's just so darn tasty!

Those Canadian soaps seem...interesting?

I don't get it either! Not just taking pictures with them...but WHY would you want to carry around something so big/expensive/fragile all over a theme park with you?

We're the same - EoS is just so good, and you know that even if there's a line, it never takes too long to get your food. There's actually one about 90 minutes away from us at a highway rest stop, and we've debated driving up there just so we can get a sandwich, lol.

 

[arbolita]

Chapter 34: Tardis Cake and #CultofCornbread

After departing Canada, I wanted to do Test Track one more time so that I could go through the full queue. The line was 25 minutes, but Scott didn't feel like waiting so he went back towards Innoventions.

I have to say, I LOVE the look of the new queue compared to the old one - and THANK GOODNESS they changed the music.

I was also really excited to finally enter the design studio and have the opportunity to completely customize my car. Even though the ride was overall enjoyable without getting to perform the advanced customization, it really does add a lot to the entire experience.

My vehicle:

And my final score for my car - 215! Not bad, considering I had no idea what I was doing, haha.

While I was on Test Track, Scott wound up doing Habit Heroes, LOL. He'd heard so much about the 'controversy' surround its initial opening that he was curious to see what it actually was. He didn't really have much to say about Habit Heroes, but while he was there a Cast Member who was working at Vision House noticed his Doctor Who shirt and enthusiastically told him that he HAD to go on her tour of the house. I managed to meet back up with him before her tour left, and since neither of us had done Vision House before, we figured why not?

The reason the Cast Member was so excited for Scott to do the tour? A Tardis Cake!

I'm not going to lie, this actually makes me really want a giant chalkboard somewhere in my house, haha.

Also - I love those owl prints, and the bed sheets! And it kind of cracks me picturing an Imagineer decided just how messy to make the bed, haha.

Vision House was not something we would normally do, but it's also fun when you have a Cast Member so enthusiastic about where they are working, especially when it's not one of the big attractions.

It was time to say farewell to Epcot and hop on a bus to take us over to Fort Wilderness to meet up with some friends for dinner at Trail's End! We'd never been to Fort Wilderness before, and I realized mid-bus ride that I actually had NO clue how to get to the restaurant once we arrived! So of course I asked Twitter for advice, lol. Fortunately someone was able to direct us on their bus system, and after a long and cold wait, we arrived at Trail's End! We met up there with Lindsay and her sister Leah, as well as two other friends, Kendra and Jeff.

I'd heard so many good things about the buffet here, and I was excited to finally try it for myself. Of course, I had to sample a bit of everything.

Plate one: Various salads, shrimp, some vegetables and maple crusted salmon (which was delicious)

Plate 2: Baked and fried chicken, ribs, pulled pork, CORNBREAD and mashed potatoes. This cornbread is DELICIOUS. It goes perfectly with...

Plate 3 (okay, fine, Bowl 1): Trail's End Chili! I probably could have been content just eating the chili and cornbread, they were both SOOOO GOOOOD.

Plate 4: Baked potato with bacon and green onion. This plate is less than exciting, but I can't resist a toppings bar.

And finally - Plate 5: DESSERT! I couldn't decide between the red velvet cake and the bread pudding, so naturally I got both. There was also a soft-serve ice cream machine with ANOTHER TOPPINGS BAR, so I had to go there as well.

I think a lot of people miss out on Trail's End, since with being at Fort Wilderness, it can feel pretty far out of the way. But it's one of the more reasonably priced dinner buffets at WDW, and the food was amazing. It also allowed us to watch the Electric Water Pageant after we finished eating!

We all went outside, and OH MY GOSH, it was so cold! I didn't even know it was possible to be that cold while in Florida.

Standing near the water really didn't help things, haha. But the EWP has a dinosaur, so clearly it was worth it.

Rather than bus hopping to get us back to SSR, Lindsay and Leah were nice enough to drive us back over there...for our last sleep at Disney =(

Continued in next post



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[DisneyKid4Life]

So strange that if I had read this before my just completed trip I would have said I really didn't care for Test Track 2.0. But I have to say that after riding again, I really enjoyed it.

Also, I HAVE to add that I took a photo of Gertie with you totally in mind.

 

[marDgreen88]

NOOO, not last sleep! Good thing we have a Disneyland TR to look forward to.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[arbolita]

So strange that if I had read this before my just completed trip I would have said I really didn't care for Test Track 2.0. But I have to say that after riding again, I really enjoyed it.

Also, I HAVE to add that I took a photo of Gertie with you totally in mind.

It definitely seems like a ride that grows on you, and I do think it's an upgrade and has more of an EPCOT feel than the original version did.

And that's awesome! I subscribed to your TR (even though I don't comment on other reports much). Can't wait to read along!

NOOO, not last sleep! Good thing we have a Disneyland TR to look forward to.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I promise that one won't take a year to finish!

 

[arbolita]

Hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Eve! One of my resolutions for 2014 is to get this trip report finished, so let's get to it!
Day 7 - Friday, February 1, 2013
Chapter 35: "Oh no, not the Wookie planet!"

Scott and I woke up early again so that we could drop off our bags at airline check-in. That process went very smoothly, but waiting to catch our first bus to the parks did not. We were going to DHS, and we saw two buses for every other park before one for DHS finally arrived. It was also FREEZING this morning - I know we had to prepare to head back to Maryland weather, but couldn't we get a few more hours of sunshine and warmth first?

About 10 minutes before official park opening, they were letting people in, so I ran to Toy Story Midway Mania to get fast passes. We weren't going to be at DHS for very long, so the fast passes were going to be just in case the wait was too long in the morning. We had plans to head over to the Magic Kingdom around 10:30 AM, and I lucked out and secured Toy Story fast passes for 10:20!

However, I didn't need to worry about long lines in the morning, because when we arrived the wait time was only at 15 minutes! PROOF:

If you remember, Scott and I came up with a theory that whoever using the green controller in the ride vehicle will have the highest score. He was not impressed when I tried to finagle my way into getting that seat again.

So I let him have green; sure enough, he had the high score!

When we got off the ride, I saw I had a message from Twitter user @pinkbunnyr. We were both in WDW that week and had tried to meet up with each other, but nothing had worked out yet. Luckily, we were both finally in the same park at the same time! The crowds were starting to get heavy over by Toy Story, so we told them to meet us at the entrance to Star Tours. Since we had gotten the same ride sequence during both our rides on this trip, we wanted to try one last time to get something different.

While walking toward Star Tours, we passed Lightning McQueen and Mater just hanging out with absolutely NO one in sight. I don't just mean in line, I mean in that entire section of the park. My nephews are OBSESSED with Cars and the characters, so I had to run over and get a quick picture with Lightning and Mater to show off to them.

Since we had been slightly delayed, PinkBunny and her husband were waiting for us at the entrance. I was so excited to meet them! They are Disneyland locals, so this was only their second visit to Walt Disney World. They were telling us a lot about the differences in the parks, and it made me even more excited to try and make it to Disneyland ASAP. So glad we were able to make that a reality just a few months later!

As you can probably guess from the title of this chapter, our attempt at getting a different variation on Star Tours was all for naught, because we got the exact same ride sequence AGAIN! C-3PO said "Oh no, not the Wookie planet," my response was - MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY.

We mentioned that to one of the CMs as we were leaving, and they told us that maybe we should play the lottery, heh.

After we said our goodbyes, I went to Echo Lake to get one last glimpse of my girl.

Okay, maybe just one more glimpse...

SO LONG FOR NOW, GERTIE! I HOPE YOU ARE STILL THERE AND NOT TAKEN OVER BY STAR WARS CONSTRUCTION THE NEXT TIME I'M IN TOWN!

I had been texting with Morgan this morning as well, and she and her dad were on their way to DHS. Scott and I wanted to make sure we had enough time to get to Magic Kingdom for lunch, so I told her that if they got to the park before we left, they could have our Toy Story fast passes. I really wanted to see her again before we left, and figured it couldn't hurt to try bribery!

Before we left, I wanted to fit in one more ride on my beloved Tower of Terror. As I was standing in line, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was being had by the people in line behind me. A mom was there with her two sons who had never been on Tower of Terror before. One of them really wanted a snack, and the mom said to wait until after the ride. I chuckled, and the mom had heard me and responded, "See? She knows!"

The boys were asking me what the ride was like, and I gave them a brief description, not wanting to give too much away. This turned into a discussion about roller coasters and other theme park rides. It was a really fun conversation, and I was happy that they wound up sitting behind me in line. I was excited to see and hear their reactions!

As they were exiting the ride, the older son said "That was it? ...Oh wait. My stomach feels weird." See kid? Sometimes parents DO know best!

Morgan was arriving to the park just as we were leaving, so we met up with her just outside the gates. We talked for a few minutes, and she was very excited that the Fast Pass return window had just opened, so they didn't have to wait in either the regular line or Fast Pass distribution lines. You're welcome, Morgan! We said goodbye with a huge hug, then Scott and I waited for a bus to the Contemporary so we could take the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom.

While we're on the subject of the Contemporary, allow me to take a second here to talk about how I FINALLY GET TO STAY THERE!!! Granted, it's just going to be for the first night of our trip, since the friends we are staying with at Animal Kingdom Villas won't arrive until the next day, but still. We have a Lake View room booked, and I CANNOT wait!

While on the monorail, we happened to catch a glimpse of the storage area for the Electric Water Pageant floats, which I thought was pretty cool

As soon as we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, we went straight for our lunch destination - BE OUR GUEST!

Continued in next post




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[arbolita]

Chapter 36: BE OUR GUEST!

As you can see, I'm not even bothering coming up with a clever title for this chapter, because I was just so excited to finally enter the Be Our Guest restaurant!

It was around 11:30, and the line was already all the way past the bridge, but it moved pretty quickly. We were inside the main doors around 11:45.

As you can see, it was absolutely packed!

As you move through this room, there were kiosks which displayed all the menu items so that people can already know what they want to eat once they arrive at the touch screens to order their food.

Since there were so many people trying to look at the screens, and I already had a general idea of the menu items, I figured I would finalize my decision once it was our turn to order.

However, I was really thrown off when they sent us over to order at a regular register. I WASN'T PREPARED FOR THIS! I blanked and wound up ordering the first thing that came to mind, which was the least exciting thing on the menu, the carved turkey sandwich. Scott ordered the steak sandwich, and we decided to share a triple chocolate cupcake.

After we ordered and received our rose, we finally were able to walk into the dining rooms! OMG they looked AMAZING. I could not get over it.

Snow falling outside the windows!

The West Wing was really impressive - however we decided not to eat there because it was pretty dark and a little cramped. I loved walking around and checking out the details though.

We decided to eat in the Rose Room - I wish I had spent more time walking around to check out all of the artwork on the walls.

I liked the way they bring out food to your tables - you can get a look at all the other possible items you didn't order and get an idea for next time!

Cupcake cross-section

All of the food was great, although I do still wish I had ordered something a little more interesting. Guess that'll have to wait until next time!

As we were leaving Be Our Guest, a Cast Member asked us if we wanted to see one of the Hidden Mickeys in the area. Of course we said YES, and she told us to look over the left side of the bridge.

Yep, that Mickey-shaped water is an Imagineer designed Hidden Mickey! Love it!

This reminded me of another hidden object that I'd heard was near the entrance to New Fantasyland, so I had to spend a few minutes trying to see if I could locate it. It was harder than I thought it would be to find, but I finally had success! Here is the official Hidden Oswald of New Fantasyland!

Fantasyland started getting really crowded (I was so happy we only had to deal with these crowds on the last day of our trip!), so Scott and I decided it was time to embark on a little Adventureland challenge...

Continued in next chapter

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