Please Don't Try to Sleep Here - A Summer 2018 Solo Trip Report - Updated 3/10

[Maleficent Faery]

Following-this report is so great! It is giving me my Disney fix! Can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I absolutely love your trip report! Your pictures are gorgeous!

Thank you!

I am really enjoying your trip report.
I was there July 27-Aug 2, and I can't believe how many empty photos you have! (no people)
I did not see empty anywhere! We were there about the same time! I'm never able to get photos without people in them.

Thank you! It was a matter of luck and sometimes a little patience to get photos with no or few people in them. Mostly luck on touring patterns.

We loved PizzeRizzo when we were there in July. We went without kids this year and loved it! We loved it last year also though with my 10 year old.

I heard they have since closed PizzeRizzo. I am a little bummed about it.

Following-this report is so great! It is giving me my Disney fix! Can't wait to hear the rest.

Thank you!

So I have been busy with work and school. I'm in Winter Quarter now and feeling a bit burnt out on the schedule. I have Spring Quarter left to go and then I'll be done with the classes required to get my library media endorsement. In addition to the two classes per quarter for a year, there's a Practicum that has assignments and a requirement of serving 60 hours in a school library (in addition to teaching in my own classroom). I've been doing that across both Fall and Winter Quarters, and I think I'm just about done with the hours.

I also went to New York City over Winter Break, and I was there for 12 days! It was glorious. I stayed with a friend in Brooklyn. The weather was mild and we did many fun things and took too many pictures.

I have been stuck inside for days due to the weather here in eastern Washington State, so I went through my trip report and I'm working to resurrect it! I actually have most of it pre-written in a Google Docs file! I was looking at my pictures and they just look warm, so that is nice. I need to wrap this trip report up since I'm going back to WDW at the end of next month!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

After checking out my room, I headed out to Disney Springs. I hadn’t been there since it was Downtown Disney, so I was looking forward to seeing it. I also hadn’t ridden the boat for a while. The weather was starting to look a little sketchy, but the boat was still running.

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My first stop was Earl of Sandwich. I love this place. I got my usual, The Original 1762, which is roast beef, cheddar, and horseradish sauce. It’s delicious! While at lunch, I was looking at a list of all the ride lengths in the Magic Kingdom. I was starting to work on my strategy for Disney After Hours!

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After lunch, I went in and out of several stores, and I took some photos of a few things I might buy later, but I ended up only buying a Coronado Springs pin at Pin Traders. I wasn’t collecting the pins at the time I stayed there, and I was glad to find the pin without making a trek out to the resort.

I think I went to World of Disney, which was still in the process of being renovated. I like the new look, and it's aligning with current trend of less-is-more in design. The older store logo looks very busy in comparison, although I like how it was themed to the world.

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I also went to some of the new little market stores, where I found a lot of cute things, but didn't buy anything. The images of Epcot were tempting, however!

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I stopped into Basin, but didn't buy anything. I was amused by the display of bath bomb marbles (tiny bath bombs) in Basin that was sorted by scent. I am not sure what Blue smells like. *shrugs*

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I also visited the Lego store and their amazing displays.

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I was hoping to buy the Lego Cinderella Castle with my annual pass discount, but it is exempted from the discount, so I was a touch bummed. It’s a $350 Lego set, so the 20% discount would have been $70! This, of course, is why you can’t use the AP discount on it. It's too tall to fit in their display case!

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One stop I made was to one of the DVC information kiosks. I wanted to visit the sales center at Saratoga Springs to see the model units and to get more information on purchasing direct. When I bought my resale, I found a contract for 125 points because I wanted to buy 75 direct and 125 resale for a total of 200. 75 direct is the current minimum for getting the DVC benefits, which can change at any time, but currently include discounted prices for annual passes. I knew I wanted this contract to be at another resort, but I hadn’t decided yet which one, which was part of my reason for spending time at the Contemporary the day before.

I was able to make an appointment for the following day, and set up the van to pick me up outside the Magic Kingdom, since that’s where my fastpasses were for the day. They also said that they give daily tours of the Copper Creek cabins at Wilderness Lodge at 2, 3, and 4 daily. It was right around 3, so I thought I just might be able to make it for the 4:00 tour with a little bus luck. I headed over to the bus stop, which is in a new, more spacious location than the old Marketplace stop. It felt farther away, but the walk through the new section was nice.

​

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I made it to the bus stop a bit after 3, and there were already people waiting, so I figured a bus would be coming soon. Yeah, not so much. The bus did not come until about 4:00, but I figured I’d go wander around the grounds a bit and then take the boat to the Magic Kingdom for the evening. An Incredibles 2 themed bus rolled by as we all waited....and waited...

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I enjoyed my time wandering around the Wilderness Lodge. It has beautiful grounds, and I like the waterfalls, creek, and wildflowers.

​

I was able to swap out my Fuel Rod in the lobby. I also visited their gift shop and got a Wilderness Lodge pin for the same reason I got a Coronado Springs pin earlier. My two new pins for the day, along with an old Disney Institute pin:

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I made my way over to the boat, only to get turned around by several people coming up from the boat, reporting it was not running due to lightning in the area. Sigh. I was not having good transportation luck this afternoon, and I was hoping it wouldn’t storm all evening for the Disney After Hours. The last hard ticket event I attended - Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in 2015 - it had rained on and off all night, and I was hoping to avoid a repeat of that experience. Fortunately, the bus came very soon after I arrived at the bus stop.

I got to the Magic Kingdom and the weather was still looking threatening, yet the castle is still beautiful.

​

I went to dinner at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. I tried out the mobile ordering, which is pretty slick. You have the same menu on the app as in the restaurant, and you skip the line. You order, then you tell it when you are near the restaurant, which is when they prepare your order. You then get an alert when it is ready, and you go pick it up at the designated window - usually it is the far left or far right window. It’s basically a fast pass for the meal line.

​

I was lucky enough to score one of the tables above Small World. I love sitting here and watching it; people on the boats often wave, too!

​

While I ate, I analyzed a park map and the list of ride times. I was slightly miffed with the map. I seem to remember the older versions differentiated the shapes of the numbers to indicate if it was an attraction, store, or restaurant. The current version uses circles for everything on the map, although the list indicates if is food service or a shop. I went through the map and circled ALL the attractions.

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I then made a game plan for the evening and wrote it in my notepad. I also had three fastpasses and the fireworks show that I wanted to do before the event officially began. The circled numbers are the number of minutes in the attraction, based on the list from this link on The Dis. Rides listed to the left were priorities for the evening based on ride length and typical wait times. I wanted to get the most benefit out of the event. Rides listed to the right on the list are long attractions with generally manageable wait times. Also, I think some of those attractions may not have been open during the event.
​

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After dinner, I watched Philharmagic because the line was short, the show is longer than I wanted to spend during After Hours, and honestly I’m not sure it was open then, but also it wasn’t time for my first fastpass and the parks were crowded.

Then, I went to use my fastpass for Space Mountain. On the way there, there was a family of ducks hanging out under a popcorn cart in the Hub, and they were getting a lot of attention!

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When I entered Tomorrowland, over near the fastpass kiosks, they had a station set up for handing out the lanyard badges for the event, so I stopped and picked mine up. I think this was set up at 7, because I picked mine up at 7:11.

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It STILL wasn’t time for my fastpass, so I went on Carousel of Progress. THEN I was able to ride Space Mountain, after which I learned why I had seen a weird pathway with a CM-manned train crossing earlier. They are doing some renovations and you have to exit that way from the ride. By the time they let us across the tracks, the line had backed up almost to the building. There were some Incredibles 2 themed photo backdrops set up around Tomorrowland. I liked this one for how realistic it looks.

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I saw the Joffrey’s Revive kiosk and got myself an iced coffee; I figured I needed some caffeine to make it to 1am! I enjoyed seeing the rainbow, too, although it's a little difficult to see in the photo. We don’t get many of them where I live.

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[portocall]

Yay. You did it. Can't wait for more.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

After my coffee, I rode the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train using my fastpass before it was time for watching Happily Ever After at 9:15. I weaseled my way into the Hub to watch the show, and I only had about 10 minutes to wait before it started. It’s fantastic from this viewpoint, and the crowd this evening was really into it, gasping at times and singing at others. This is a far better spot to watch than from outside the park, but the crowds at the end of the show can be anxiety-inducing!

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Here are some videos from Happily Ever After:

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I had one last fastpass to use before the event officially started at 10 - the Jungle Cruise. I chose the 7DMT and Jungle Cruise for fastpasses this evening outside of the event because of the length of the line (7D) I’d read about for during the event and the length of the ride (JC). It turns out that this was a good strategy; when I saw the 7D line during the event, I think it was 25 minutes. I found out later that this night was sold out - the first one of the summer to do so. I guess they had invited a bunch of bloggers to attend the week prior, and word got out!

When I got off Jungle Cruise, the event had officially started. I began with a ride I’d never ridden before - The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. This is a typical spinner ride, and it was fine. I skipped the Tiki Room - I’m not sure it was open, but a CM was standing outside. I figured I’d ride it the next day since the line is usually short and the attraction is somewhat long. I also had Country Bears on this Short Line/Long Attraction list. The next ride was Pirates of the Caribbean. This was my first encounter of the “load yourself” strategy that was common this night. I got the impression that the people at this event were Disney World regulars who knew about this event from blogs and forums. Nobody was referencing a map, and we all knew how to stage for loading a ride. There were less CMs than normal manning the rides, so they were doing the safety checks and pushing the buttons. Nobody was counting people off and assigning rows; it wasn’t necessary.

With Adventureland done, I headed off to Frontierland. I did Big Thunder twice; this ride in the dark is fantastic. My favorite spot is the end, and I was able to choose the last car both times. Then I went on Splash Mountain once. I love this ride, but it’s really long. I chose to do it anyway during this event because the line was non-existent. It looks like I entered this ride at 10:46, and I was at a popcorn/ice cream cart getting ice cream at 11:12. This snack line was my longest (only?) line of the evening. Popcorn, bottled drinks, and packaged ice cream novelties were free during the event. I started with a Mickey bar.

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I then went on Haunted Mansion, which for some reason seems creepier than normal at night, even though the ride is inside. The next thing I did was the Tangled lantern photo. This line was also longer than I wished it had been. There were only 3 people in front of me; it’s just a slow line, but I figured this was my best chance! By this time it was 11:40. I went on 5 rides in the first hour and nothing so far in the 2nd! Eek!

I chose to do Small World even though it’s kind of long, because now the lines are long all the time. This. was. Creepy. I had a boat to myself and the boat in front of me AND the two behind me were empty. I did not see a single other person until the last room when, three boats behind me, I saw two people. You can barely make them out in this loading zone photo, but the way the ride twists and turns, I could only see them once during the ride.

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I might have done Winnie the Pooh, but I don’t have evidence of this.

Protip for memory books or trip reports: I took a photo of the ride entry for each (almost every?) ride on this trip. It provides a time stamp that helps you put things back into chronological order. The only annoying thing is that sometimes I did this with my camera, and sometimes with my cell phone, which was only annoying because my cell phone had auto-updated the time to Eastern time, but my camera did not.

I headed to the Mad Tea Party; it was now 12:16. Then I went to Dumbo and the Barnstormer.

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I then headed over the Space Mountain. At this point, it was 12:50 and I needed to choose between Astro Orbiter and TTA Peoplemover. I chose Astro because the line is usually much longer than TTA. I love this ride; it moves quickly, has a great view, and you sit like you’re in a bathtub, so it feels relaxing.

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When I got off, I saw a snack cart with a long line and got in it. I got an ice cream sandwich, a Mickey Bar, and a bottle of water!

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I sat down and ate my ice cream. At this point, there were still a few people left, and security was starting to wander to try to clear the park. I head toward the Hub and got a few photos of the castle.

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I saw someone take a photo of their Mickey Bar with the castle in the backdrop and I wanted to do the same. Trouble is, I had no ice cream left - I had just finished mine!

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I started heading down Main Street and there were multiple Photopass photographers with no lines. I stopped at every.single.one. I left the park at 1:45 and got back to Riverside about 2:15. It was a little creepy walking back to my room at that hour through the lush landscaping section that I had requested.

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I had a great time at Disney After Hours. I will totally do this event again if the opportunity presents itself. My only wish was that it was 4 hours long instead of 3; I was absolutely exhausted by the end of it from the sheer amount of walking involved to get from ride to ride quickly. My fitbit reset itself at midnight, but it would have been about 35,000 steps for the day!

I went to bed by 3, with the thought of getting up early for the 8am Beignet Dash at French Quarter.

Food Spending: $36.12
Breakfast: Everything Pop: $8.83
Lunch: Earl of Sandwich: $11.01
Dinner: Pinocchio’s Village Haus: $12.56
Snack: Joffrey’s: $3.72

Souvenir Spending: $26.53
Pop Century Pin: $8.51
Coronado Springs Pin: $8.51
Wilderness Lodge Pin: $9.51 (includes $1 to Wildlife Conservation Fund)

 

[portocall]

Fun night. Put me down for that sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. Looks yummy. And reasonably priced. Can't wait to go in July.

 

[mamamelody2]

I'm coming over to your TR from the MK DAH thread. Great report so far! Love the pics!

I think I would have had a bit of a panic attack all alone in IASW. That is pretty creepy! LOL.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Fun night. Put me down for that sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. Looks yummy. And reasonably priced. Can't wait to go in July.

I'm also really looking forward to going in July, and I'm always up for a visit to Earl of Sandwich!

I'm coming over to your TR from the MK DAH thread. Great report so far! Love the pics!

I think I would have had a bit of a panic attack all alone in IASW. That is pretty creepy! LOL.

Thanks!

It was a bit creepy, but it was also cool to really be immersed in the ride. I find when the boats are full, people are often talking and it's distracting, so this was nice. I actually love hearing how the song changes to match the music of each region in the ride, so I was able to really listen to it that ride.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Sunday, July 29

Original Plan:
8a Beignet Dash at Port Orleans French Quarter
FP+ 10:15 Big Thunder
FP+ 11:20 Splash Mountain
FP+ 12:20 Peter Pan
Lunch: Pinocchio
Back to POR to relax/swim/laundry
Hop to AK or Epcot for the evening

Revised Plan:
Same as above, but add a DVC tour at 2:30

What Actually Happened:

I overslept. By a LOT. I woke up at 10:36 and I had to look at my phone for a bit to even make sense of what was happening. I looked at my fastpass times and I looked at my phone and realized I didn’t stand a chance of making it to Big Thunder, but I was fortunate I’d ridden it twice the night before. I had to go to the Magic Kingdom because that’s where the DVC van was going to pick me up.

I’m not even sure what happened, because I didn’t make my Splash fastpass either, but I wasn’t going to miss Peter Pan! Those are very difficult to get, anytime fastpasses don’t work for this, and I hadn’t ridden it the night before. I think I had not showered the night before since it was so late and I was planning on doing the Beignet Dash in the morning and showering after, so I got a really slow start this morning. I had my Mickey Rice Krispie treat that I’d gotten at Pop for breakfast in the room while I was getting ready.

My plan was to eat lunch at Pecos Bills since I had eaten dinner at Pinocchio’s the night before. I really like the fajita platter at Pecos Bills. However, after looking at the time and my plans, I felt like I did not have time to eat a meal that had Some Assembly Required. I ended up back at Pinocchio with the chicken nuggets again. This time, I didn’t get the Small World view, but I did get a table indoors, which was challenging enough to find. The heat index was showing on my app as 117 and I was wilting. The thought of eating outdoors did NOT appeal.

​

​

I got in line for Peter Pan at 1:02, and I wasn’t getting off until about 1:20. I needed to be at the Golden Oak bus stop for the DVC van by 2:10, so I started heading toward the front of the park. I stopped in the Hub to get a $4.50 Powerade, which was necessary due to the heat and humidity, but I was annoyed because I packed Nuun (electrolyte) tablets and they offer free ice water all over the park, but I’d left the Nuun in my room. Oh well. The Powerade seemed like the BEST THING EVER. I browsed the Emporium and saw a book I just HAD to have, so I got it before heading outside. I was thrilled to find the Dapper Dans setting up right at the door I exited from the Emporium, so I stayed to watch their whole show before scurrying off to the van.

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[Where'sPiglet?]

​

I got to the van at 2:07, so right on time! The driver had the AC on full blast, which was much appreciated! I ended up being the only rider in the van, and we went straight to Saratoga Springs to the Disney Vacation Club Sales Center. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Saratoga Springs, but back in 1996 my family stayed in that location at what was then the Disney Institute, a “Home Away From Home” resort. I think we had what was probably considered a one bedroom villa. On that trip, we took the DVC tour at Old Key West, which was the only DVC property at the time, and it was called the Disney Vacation Club resort. My parents decided not to buy in; at the time we were going to Disney World every 4 years and the minimum buy-in was a much higher number of points than it is now; I think 230.

As a side note, the reason I had not started collecting pins from each of my resorts stays was because of the Disney Institute. All the other resorts are still open, and I could go get pins from them for prior visits, but the Disney Institute is closed and has been for years! I would never have a complete collection, and that bothered me! Enter the magic of eBay, where I found a Disney Institute pin, and I've now collected a complete set of all my resort stays to date. Here they are, along with a few of my runDisney pins:

​

The set-up they have is very nice. At the entrance, there is a photomosaic picture of the castle. All the little pictures are of families on vacation.

​

There is a waiting room with some light refreshments and stained glass artwork of the different Disney castles around the world.

​

I met with my guide; they have many little conference rooms and we discussed the point system and the costs to buy in at different resorts. We went to tour the model units, which are a short walk outside. It has a lobby and a hallway that looks like a hotel hallway with different rooms, except each room is set up to match a different resort. They had Aulani, Copper Creek, and Polynesian rooms set up. It was really cool to see the different layouts and designs. I think it was a Polynesian studio, an Aulani one-bedroom, and a Copper Creek two-bedroom lockoff (combination of a studio and one-bedroom).

Polynesian:​

Copper Creek:

Aulani:

​

They also had this cool model of Aulani:​

When my guide and I were about to leave, it started to absolutely pour. It was that kind of rain Florida often gets for about 15 minutes, so we decided to wait it out. It just kept raining though, so we ended up having to make a run for it back to the Sales Center. They had good umbrellas, so that helped somewhat. Also, part of the walk is under a cover.

We went back to the little conference room. He could have sold me Copper Creek immediately, but I decided I wanted to buy at Bay Lake Tower, which has a waitlist. I was added to the waitlist and then went to get my free ice cream.

​

The van then took me back to wherever on property I wanted to go. I chose to go back to Riverside. I wanted to swim, but it was still pouring. I ended up doing laundry, which was right next to the pool outside my room, so that was very convenient. I had packed a Tide Pod in my luggage; that machine was $3 and they only take credit cards. While the laundry was going, I just relaxed in my room.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

After the laundry was done, I went to Hollywood Studios.

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Because of the rain, the park was not very crowded. I got Darth Vader chicken and waffles for dinner at Backlot Express, and I was glad to find a table inside. Their outdoor tables are covered, but they were still quite wet.

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After dinner I walked around a bit and went to see Fantasmic. It was a beautiful night after the rain.

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I then went over to the Chinese Theater to see Disney Movie Magic and the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks show. I enjoyed both. The Star Wars show was really intense, including a battle scene!

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After the shows, I stopped in the shops on Hollywood Boulevard and found an adorable Jim Shore figurine of Stitch reading The Ugly Duckling and I had to get it. The cost was more reasonable than I was expecting it to be. Then, I headed back to Riverside for the night.

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Food Spending 7/29: $32.56
Lunch: Pinocchio’s Village Haus: $12.56
Snack: MK Cart Powerade: $4.50
Dinner: Backlot Express: $15.75

Souvenir Spending: $46.85
Emporium: Book: $8.51
Celebrity 5 & 10: Stitch Figurine: $38.34

 

[portocall]

Fun. I was waiting for you to get to your DVC tour. Chicken and waffles look yummy. I love Pecos Bills. I hope you got there eventually.

Florida rain. Gotta love it. My favorite memory from high school was when we hosted a band competition and we has kids from Washington State in watching in horror. They kept asking if it was normal and how long it would last. Maybe they were worried it would flood?

 

[Lsdolphin]

​

I got to the van at 2:07, so right on time! The driver had the AC on full blast, which was much appreciated! I ended up being the only rider in the van, and we went straight to Saratoga Springs to the Disney Vacation Club Sales Center. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Saratoga Springs, but back in 1996 my family stayed in that location at what was then the Disney Institute, a “Home Away From Home” resort. I think we had what was probably considered a one bedroom villa. On that trip, we took the DVC tour at Old Key West, which was the only DVC property at the time, and it was called the Disney Vacation Club resort. My parents decided not to buy in; at the time we were going to Disney World every 4 years and the minimum buy-in was a much higher number of points than it is now; I think 230.

As a side note, the reason I had not started collecting pins from each of my resorts stays was because of the Disney Institute. All the other resorts are still open, and I could go get pins from them for prior visits, but the Disney Institute is closed and has been for years! I would never have a complete collection, and that bothered me! Enter the magic of eBay, where I found a Disney Institute pin, and I've now collected a complete set of all my resort stays to date. Here they are, along with a few of my runDisney pins:

​

The set-up they have is very nice. At the entrance, there is a photomosaic picture of the castle. All the little pictures are of families on vacation.

​

There is a waiting room with some light refreshments and stained glass artwork of the different Disney castles around the world.

​

I met with my guide; they have many little conference rooms and we discussed the point system and the costs to buy in at different resorts. We went to tour the model units, which are a short walk outside. It has a lobby and a hallway that looks like a hotel hallway with different rooms, except each room is set up to match a different resort. They had Aulani, Copper Creek, and Polynesian rooms set up. It was really cool to see the different layouts and designs. I think it was a Polynesian studio, an Aulani one-bedroom, and a Copper Creek two-bedroom lockoff (combination of a studio and one-bedroom).

Polynesian:​

Copper Creek:

Aulani:

​

They also had this cool model of Aulani:

​

When my guide and I were about to leave, it started to absolutely pour. It was that kind of rain Florida often gets for about 15 minutes, so we decided to wait it out. It just kept raining though, so we ended up having to make a run for it back to the Sales Center. They had good umbrellas, so that helped somewhat. Also, part of the walk is under a cover.

We went back to the little conference room. He could have sold me Copper Creek immediately, but I decided I wanted to buy at Bay Lake Tower, which has a waitlist. I was added to the waitlist and then went to get my free ice cream.

​

The van then took me back to wherever on property I wanted to go. I chose to go back to Riverside. I wanted to swim, but it was still pouring. I ended up doing laundry, which was right next to the pool outside my room, so that was very convenient. I had packed a Tide Pod in my luggage; that machine was $3 and they only take credit cards. While the laundry was going, I just relaxed in my room.

Wait a minute! You did the tour and bought into the DVC and all they gave you was a free ice cream????! When I was staying at Poly 3 yrs ago they offered me $100 to go on tour (I didn't do it) and over the last 2 yrs I know they were offering 3-5 FP+per family member for people doing their tour.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Fun. I was waiting for you to get to your DVC tour. Chicken and waffles look yummy. I love Pecos Bills. I hope you got there eventually.

Florida rain. Gotta love it. My favorite memory from high school was when we hosted a band competition and we has kids from Washington State in watching in horror. They kept asking if it was normal and how long it would last. Maybe they were worried it would flood?

I think I heard they discontinued the Darth Vader chicken and waffles from the updated Backlot Express menu!

Yes, the Florida rain is very different from the Washington State rain. Wa rain is typically more of a drizzle.

Wait a minute! You did the tour and bought into the DVC and all they gave you was a free ice cream????! When I was staying at Poly 3 yrs ago they offered me $100 to go on tour (I didn't do it) and over the last 2 yrs I know they were offering 3-5 FP+per family member for people doing their tour.

I don't think I was eligible for the gift card this time because I've gotten a few from DVC in the past. I had considered buying into DVC for a long time - quite possibly close to a decade - but I don't recall ever going to the sales center. I did get 3 anytime Fastpasses that were good for a few days.

I didn't buy DVC on the tour; I just got put on a waitlist, which I'm still on! I had bought DVC via the resale market before going on my trip. The contract only closed a couple weeks before my trip, and I don't think there was DVC availability, so I kept my reservations for Pop and Riverside.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Saturday, July 28

Original Plan:
New Orleans
Fly to MCO and get in at 5:35
FP+ 7:25 Space Mountain
FP+ 8:30 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
9:15 Happily Ever After
FP+ 9:30 Jungle Cruise
10p-1a Disney After Hours

Revised Plan:
Change resorts to Riverside
Take it easy
Follow the original plan for the evening

What Actually Happened:
I was up early and heading to the bus around 6:30. This was my check-out day, but I figured I had enough time to hit the 7a EMH rope drop at Hollywood Studios before returning to finish packing and check out by 11.

I got a bus fairly quickly and would like to say it was an uneventful ride, but it wasn’t. I was sitting near the front and chatting with the lady next to me when there was a commotion. A mom was screaming in panic “Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” while holding her limp child, who was probably around pre-school age. Her sister, who looked to be around 6, was quietly sobbing. The bus pulled over and at about this same time, the child regained consciousness. I’m not sure if she had a seizure or what. Some people speculated she hit her head on the metal window frame and passed out. I think the bus driver offered to have EMS meet the bus and the family may have declined since the child was awake. We rode the rest of the way to the park in awkward silence and the family rushed off the bus. It appeared that security may have escorted them to first aid, which fortunately is at the front of the park at DHS. I hope the child is okay. What a horrible way to start a day, especially on a family trip to Disney. A lady, who I believe was unrelated to the family, was consoling the sister and praising her for how brave she had been. I was impressed.

I got into the park right around 7; my time stamp for Slinky Dog shows 7:08 at the time I entered the line. I believe it was already about a 25 minute wait, but I didn’t expect it to get any shorter.

I loved the details in the line. I have a dachshund and the phrases were pretty funny. “He’s a short dog and a long dog.” “Slinky Dog’s bowl is the goal!” - Dachshunds LOVE to eat!

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I also really liked that the ride sounds like the slinky dog toy, which has a metal slinky and makes kind of a funny sound. It sounded like a metal slinky, AND the tail was wagging from the slinky at the back, just like the toy does!

I have the slinky dog toy and my dogs are kind of terrified of it. I don’t know if it’s the big eyes or the funny sound it makes, but they are not amused. Here’s a picture of my dachshund Brownie with Slinky Dog, and a picture of my not-dachshund Anabelle grinning about something.

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As for the ride, I enjoyed it, but it’s relatively tame for a coaster and isn’t my favorite ride. I was seated near the front; someday I’ll have to try it again from the back.

After this, I happened across a Fast Pass kiosk that was having some sort of computer problem. I was amused by this, although I wouldn't have been if I was trying to use it!

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Computers apparently don't play favorites and are equal opportunity nuisances!

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I then rode Toy Story Mania three times. I got best in vehicle one of the times, but I still didn’t break the 200,000 mark! The last time I got in line, it was 8:09, so I guess going to DHS for an hour was worth it!

Really?! 586,100?!

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I consistently got the electrocuted cat icon. ​

After my third ride on TSM, I went back to Pop Century. I had intended to maybe take a short power nap, but that didn’t end up happening. I stopped to get some breakfast. I got the Mickey Waffle meal, which came with sausage and bacon. It was at this point that I realized my phone was not saving all the photos I was taking. I realized it when I was looking back through my photos while eating. I knew I had take a photo before I started eating, but the photo wasn’t in my gallery. I took another one, and realized it wasn’t saving when I was leaving the camera app too quickly.

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I walked back to Pop through the 90s section and took a few photos of the buildings. I like the old 1990s phone and computers. The computer is actually pretty interesting because it is a really bulky laptop like from the 90s, and it has images from the internet at the time Animal Kingdom opened. Again, Disney with the details.

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Before I left the room, I put the Edna Mode bobblehead back in the middle of the safe.

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OMG I stayed in that same room with the Edna Mode Bobble head in the safe! I left it there in the safe when I left and I have been looking for one just like it ever since!!!! I asked in every shop I went into in every park and in DIsney Springs!!! I even googled Edna Mode mini bobblehead when I got home and have been unable to find one!!!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

OMG I stayed in that same room with the Edna Mode Bobble head in the safe! I left it there in the safe when I left and I have been looking for one just like it ever since!!!! I asked in every shop I went into in every park and in DIsney Springs!!! I even googled Edna Mode mini bobblehead when I got home and have been unable to find one!!!

That is CRAZY coincidence, and I like that the bobblehead was at least replaced in the safe for multiple guests! That's hilarious!

I am fairly certain the bobblehead was one of the toys in the McDonald's Happy Meal set for the Incredibles 2 promotion. Good luck finding one!

 

[Lsdolphin]

That is CRAZY coincidence, and I like that the bobblehead was at least replaced in the safe for multiple guests! That's hilarious!

I am fairly certain the bobblehead was one of the toys in the McDonald's Happy Meal set for the Incredibles 2 promotion. Good luck finding one!

Oh no that promotion is long gone but thanks for letting me know. I'm going to be watching those Happy Meals from now on!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Oh no that promotion is long gone but thanks for letting me know. I'm going to be watching those Happy Meals from now on!

It looks like eBay has some, so if you really want one, you might still be able to find one.

 

[luvmychaos]

I binged your review tonight and love it! The good thing about binging is you don’t quite how long it’s been since the last update(for my still learning-the-Dis-ropes-brains anyways)but I’m glad you’re back! I second(and 3rd & 4th) all the others that have applauded your photo skills, and writing!