"Really, We Don't Work Here" A Not So Scary Adventure

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 5 9/16 Part 2:
Festival of the Lion King

After our safari, we headed over to Asia. It was time to visit our friend, the Yeti. I have no pictures, but I do know it was pretty much walk on. We ended walking on 3 times in a row. After we bid Yeti good bye, we made our way over to Camp Minnie Mickey (RIP). I wanted to make sure we caught the Festival of the Lion King. I knew it was going to be the last opportunity to see it in it's current theatre and I knew it was going to be closed the next time I was planning to go.
I believe we were in the "Mighty Warthog" section. I seem to remember having to grunt like a pig, but I could be wrong lol

















This is seriously one of the most amazing shows on property. Broadway caliber. The signing, the dancing... amazes me every time. I love, love, LOVE the tumble monkeys. I am so glad that they are building a new theatre and that it will be coming back.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 5 9/16: Part 3
"Really, I don't work here."

After the most amazing show in creation, we headed over to Dinoland and visited Dr. Marsh and Grant Seeker once again. Thankfully, we survived our trip back in time and we browsed some of the shops. We were killing time before our 12:30 ADR at Yak and Yeti.
Outside one of the shops there was a display of these little hand drums, you know, like the one in Karate Kid Part 2. Of course we stopped so Allison could play with them lol. There was a CM near by with his manager and we started talking to them. Of course, my interest in Disney came up so they started asking me trivia questions about the Animal Kingdom, which I started answering correctly. The first few were easy, like who are the paleontologists in the pre ride video of Dinosaur, what new land is replacing Camp Minnie Mickey, that kind of thing. Then they became harder, what other shows were in the Nemo Musical theatre, when did the Animal Kingdom open. They asked me like 15 questions and they were becoming more and more impressed and more and more convinced I actually worked for Disney! I swear I don't! LOL
I got a cool little certificate for playing trivia.



As we continued to talk to the CM, he asked where we were visiting from and we said Boston/North Shore he asked where and when we told him, it turns out he was from the same town! He was actually doing his DCP and was at the same college I graduated from! "It's a small world after all." LOL
He was awesome. He saw we were pin traders and he gave us a list of all the pin trading locations in the Animal Kingdom. I knew about some of them, like Guest Relations and the pin bag in Island Mercantile and the vest in the Outpost, but did you know there was a pin trading stroller? I didn't!
He also gave us one last trivia challenge, Name the 10 one word titled animated features (pre- Tangled). It's way harder than it sounds. We got 8 of them easily, but we were stumped on the last 2. He told us to mull it over and come back and let him know if we figured it out. The only condition was, no googling it.
We still had a little time to kill before our ADR, so we headed over to catch it's Tough to Be a Bug. We were going back and forth trying to come up with last 2 movies and we realized what we missed. Mulan and the most obvious one... Cinderella! Boy did I feel stupid I missed that lol. After the show we headed over and told Matt we did it! Yay! We got a picture to capture the moment.



After our fun CM interaction, we hurried over to our ADR. This was our first time at Yak and Yeti. We were seated pretty quickly and were on the first floor. It's so cool in there, but bad me didn't take any pictures. Doh!
Allison got the Seared Miso Salmon and I got the Honey Chicken. Holy moly was that good! Allison really enjoyed hers as well. For dessert, Allison got the Mango pie which she loved. I already knew it advance what dessert I was getting. I was got the Fried Wontons and boy did they live up to their hype. Allison and I both LOVED Yak and Yeti and would absolutely come here again. This ended up being our second favorite meal of the trip, only being beat out by 'Ohanas.
Full of delicious food, we started to make our way to the exit. Of course, we stopped at all the pin trading spots on our way. We even stopped by Stroller Rental to take a look at the pin trading stroller LOL

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 5 9/16 Part 4:
In Which I Make a Miscalculated Mistake...

Our original plan was to head back to Art of Animation and go swimming before our night's adventure. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating and we had a little thunder storm. So basically we went back to the room and just chilled. Pretty sure Allison took a nap, and I changed. Once we were rested and refreshed we headed back out. Yay, it stopped raining! I had to grab a quick picture on the way to the bus.



"Why Eric! Run away with you? This is all so... so sudden!" <swoon>
Where were we headed tonight? We were off to Hollywood Studios! They were having EMHs that night and I scheduled a couple of FP+
First up was Tower of Terror of course!



We had a FP+ from 5:25-6:25. We rode it once FP and once standby and then we headed over to RNRC for our FP+
Awesome ride as always!
Now here's where I made a mistake. It wasn't quite 7 yet and we had a FP+ for the first showing of Fantasmic which was valid 7:25-7:45. The Sunset Blvd section was PACKED, as it usually is before Fantasmic. We were getting hungry for dinner but all the lines down here were crazy insane. Since it wasn't quite 7, I had the brilliant idea of running to the Commissary and grabbing food to go and taking it with us to Fanstasmic. Which really should have worked. We ran down and made it there in like 5 minutes. One person ahead of us in line. We ordered burgers and chocolate parfaits and cokes. It was 7;10 at this point. I figured we'd be out of there in 10 minutes, I mean how long should it take right? I'll tell you. It took a good half hour to get our (slightly cold) burgers. Really? Yup. We missed our FP+. We decided we'd just catch the second Fantasmic, no big deal. But still, worst meal we had that trip. But, what can you do. We ate and what do you do to kill time?
First we headed over to the Great Movie Ride.
Next we headed to One Man's Dream. LOVE IT! Really, everyone needs to check this out at least once. Such a tribute. Gives me tears.



Walt's Office!



Disneyland model! (We share a birthday!)



The Florida Project!!!!

As we started to make our way back towards Sunset Blvd, we came across these guys...





Mulch, Sweat and Shears! I love these guys! We stayed and listen for a bit. Then we continues on our way.



We ended up getting great seats. Front row, just to the left of center.







This is such a great show! But... I was waiting for the finale, you know, with all the characters and Steamboat Willie? Yup, didn't happen. All of a sudden all the characters came on stage and stuff and I totally didn't realize it was the finale and only manage to get one crappy picture. Oops LOL



We made the monstrously long trek out of Fantasmic and just kind ofwalked around shopping and meandering, basically just enjoying Hollywood Studios at night.



Mulch, Sweat and Shears again!
We each made a few purchases and headed back.



A little bedtime snack



Today's pin trades
Tomorrow was our last full day but there's still plenty of fun, including Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 6 9/17 Part 1:
Our Last Full Morning

This was our last full day in Disney
Unfortunately they felt the need to remind me by leaving this baby on the door.



We headed to breakfast and got our usual. Pretty soon we were headed here...



EPCOT! They were having EMHs this morning and we got there right before 8am.
I don't have a ton of pictures because it was pretty much getting towards the end of the trip but whatevs
We headed directly to the Land and Soarin'. We had a FP+ for 9-10am but we figured we'd take advantage of EMHs and get a couple of rides in before. It was pretty much a walk on. And then we pretty much walked on again. As we were waiting to board our second ride, there was a family in front of us. We were in row 3 and they were in row 2. There was the cutest little girl who was crying because she was scared about her first Soarin' experience. Allison and I started telling her how cool it was, and all the things she would see, like Tinkerbell and fireworks over Disneyland. We also told her that she could try to kick the kayakers in the head lol. She started to feel better about it, she was still nervous but she stopped crying. So we get the ride and of course we can see the feet of the people in the second row. When the kayaker scene came up, all of a sudden we notice her little feet kicking! Allison and I couldn't stop laughing, it was so cute! We waited for a minute to see how she liked it and she loved it! Yay!
Before we used our FP+, I stopped in Sunshine Seasons because I needed a special little treat, the Berry Croissant Bread Pudding. Yum! So good! After my noms we used our FP+ for our last ride on Soarin'.
Next we had a FP+ for Test Track. But.... Allison and I were talking and since we weren't really big fans of the new version and we had already done it, we decided to skip it. Instead we headed over to...



Ellen's Energy Adventure! Allison is a big fan of Ellen so this is a must do. Pretty soon we were being told there was "no eating, drinking, smoking or flash photography allowed in Ellen's dream."
After "Stupid Judy. Stupid energy." we headed over to Spaceship Earth. We got on, and started our journey and our time machine was defective! No sound, no screen, no future! As we reached the exit we let the CMs know our vehicle wasn't working. They let us go on again, yay! Now we had sound and a future!





Can someone explain these pictures? Why are they always so weirdly shaped?
Anyways, it was getting close to 12 at this point so we needed to motor. We had lunch plans to get to. We decided to head out through the International Gateway because we needed to get to Downtown Disney.



One last picture of Spaceship Earth.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 6 9/17: Part 2
Lunchtime!

We headed out of the International Gateway and headed to the Beach Club bus stop to catch the Downtown Disney bus. We had an ADR at 12;30 for...



T-Rex! This was our first time here and we were definitely looking forward to this. We checked in and after a short wait we were called.









This place was definitely cool. We were seated near the Wooly Mammoth. Every so often, everything would come alive and there would be a meteor shower. It was entertaining.
I got a coke and Allison got a lemonade. We both ordered the Neanderthal New York Strip with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I got the veggies and I think Allison also got the waffle fries. Holy cow were these steaks good! Perfectly cooked and seasoned. Yum! We also both decided to treat ourselves and got drinks. They had these really cool cotton candy cocktails. We both got one. Not sure which Allison got, but I got the Tropical Cotton-tini. Sooooooo good!



They also came with little martini shakers that we could take home. Free Souvenir! Woot!
For dessert Allison got Cosmic Key Lime Pie which she enjoyed. I got the Ice Age Indulgence. Yuuuuuuuuum!!!!!!!!!!!
How did we like T-Rex? It was our second favorite meal of the trip, only edged out by 'Ohana's. Nothing here disappointed us.
Would we could back? Heck yes! This and 'Ohana's are definite must dos when we go back in the fall of 2015.
We started to make our way back to the buses because we needed to start getting ready for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! It starts at 7 but they start letting you in with your party ticket at 4 so that's what we were shooting for.
Of course, we stopped by World of Disney on the way because how can you go to Downtown Disney and not stop in World of Disney?

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 6 9/17 Part 3:
It's Party Time!

When we last left off, Allison and I were heading back to Art of Animation to get ready for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
Now, if you've never been and you enjoy Halloween, you need to experience this. It is the only time adults are allowed to dress up and you get to trick or treat, and there's opportunities to meet some characters that are pretty rare. And it has the best parade and some pretty spectacular fireworks. And of course Trick or Treating. I mean, free candy? I'm on board lol
Allison and I have done this party before. We went in 2007 and 2009, and honestly, while we had fun, looking back, I don't think we enjoyed it nearly as much as we should. We mainly ran from attraction to attraction, barely glancing at the parade and haphazardly trick or treating along the way. Now, I have also done it in 2011 and 2012, when I was on solo trips and because I was alone, I really started to enjoy activities that are only available during the party, and completely fell in love with this time of the year.
In the planning stages of the trip, we sat down and decided that we were going to enjoy what the party had to offer. We were going to make sure we watched the parade, meet some characters and trick or treat. And we were going to dress up!
Now, when we had gone to the party previously. we didn't dress up. We wore halloween shirts and like devil horns and that kind of thing. In 2012, I kind of dressed up. I wore jean shorts and a green tank top and wings so I was sort of Tinkerbell. It was so much fun that I absolutely decided I was going in costume. I has a "Midnight Fairy" costume I had found at Walmart so I was going as a pixie, easy peasy. Allison definitely wanted to dress up but couldn't decide on anything. She definitely wanted something that was going to be comfortable and easy to pack. We were running out of time when she found the most perfect costume... Mickey Mouse! There was a tee shirt costume that looked like Mickey's jacket/shirt and with the accessory pack that came with ears and gloves, she was good to go!
Anyways... we got back to the room and showered and changed.





After a couple of photos. We were making great time, it was a little before 4. The bus to Magic Kingdom came pretty quickly. There were a few people dressed up, mostly kids, we definitely got a lot of comments which is always fun.
I sat next to the cutest little girl on the bus and she was dressed as Tinkerbell. We talked about pixies and her trip and all the characters she had meet and all the fun she was having. She admired the pins I had on my back so I gave her a Sleeping Beauty perfume bottle pin which she loved. I also gave her little sister (who was dressed as Vidia) my Tiana perfume bottle pin. I love spreading a little pixie dust, and they were so cute. I bid farewell to my new friends and heading into the Magic Kingdom.
It was just after 4 and we went through the party gate, got our treat bags and headed for fun.
Where were we headed first? To meet Tinkerbell!
We headed over to her nook and waited about 15 minutes before we were shrunk and brought in to meet...



Terrance! He was fun and so excited to see another pixie.



And Tinkerbell! She was spunky and super fun. She got all mad at Terrance because I had a wand and she didn't lol



After visiting our pixie friends we headed over to Tomorrowland. When we were there, Space Mountain had a funky schedule. It was closed for most of our trip but today it would be open! As we headed that way it started POURING! We huddled under the Peoplemover waiting for it to let up. Fortunately it did and the rest of the night was rain free, so no worries!
I was a little nervous about going on Space Mountain with a skirt and pixie wings, as Space Mountain is not exactly the most graceful ride to get in and out of. Fortunately, bike shorts prevented any unexpected wardrobe malfunctions.
We also took a spin on the Peoplemover and stopped by the Laugh Floor.
Next we headed over to New Fantasyland and rode the Little Mermaid and headed over to Gaston's Tavern. Allison was dying for another LeFou's Brew. I opted for a coke. We sat and enjoyed our drinks while waiting for Monsieur Gaston (isn't he dreamy?) to start meeting.





Gaston was his loveable, conceited self.
At this point it was about 6:30 so we headed towards Main Street for the one meet and greet I was looking most forward to.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 6 9/17 Part 4:
A Royal Visit

When we left off, we were heading to my #1 must do and that heading to Town Square Theatre (where the princesses were meeting at the time) because MNSSHP is one of the few opportunities that you get to meet the princesses with their princes. I did this in 2012 and it was awesome! Especially Flynn Rider, oh he is fabulous. I almost love him more then Aladdin, and Aladdin has been my cartoon crush since 1992 lol
We got in line around 6:45 and we told it was going to be about 45 minutes. I was all set but Allison nearly had a break down, she was not amused. I told her that I had said before the trip this was my #1 must do, I warned her, I told her she was more than welcome to go do something else and we'd meet up after. She said no, she'd suck it up. I let her stew for a bit, checked facebook, instagram, texted and took selfies.



Pretty soon we were moving, all in all I think we waited about 30 minutes before we were let in to meet the royal couples.



First up was Cinderella and Charming, they were charming of course.



Next was Snow and her prince. They were so precious and sweet. Adorable.



Lastly were Rapunzel and Flynn. They were amazing, I love them.



I mean really, how perfect are they?





Here he is showing me and Punzie what's in the satchel. I won't spoil the surprise, but if you ever have the opportunity to meet Flynn Rider, don't forget to ask him what's in the satchel.



So cute!!!!
After we bid them goodbye, Allison decided we should go meet Mickey and Minnie. Ummmmm..... yes! I'm ok with that



Line selfies with a much happier Allison!
The wait was probably about 15 minutes, but soon we were meeting the cutest couple ever.



Mickey and Minnie looked awesome in their Vampire and Witch costumes. Very halloweeny.
Mickey and Minnie were very excited to see Allison's costumes, apparently I have no pictures of that so you'll just have to take my word.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 6 9/17 Part 5:
Boo to You!

When we last left off, we had just finished some awesome meets with super adorable couples. We hit Main Street and found a great spot and settled in to wait for one of the best parades Disney has to offer.



Have I mention how much I love Halloween in Disney? I mean look at how cool those balloons are.
The Headless Horseman rode down Main Street. It was so cool, no pictures this time though because I ended up taping it and posting the video to instagram. However this was the first parade so there was another opportunity to get a picture. No worries!
While we were waiting, Phineas and Ferb came out with the Creepa Crew to dance and entertain us.







While we were watching a woman behind us asked if her son could sit in front of us, we said sure, no problem! As we were waiting, Allison and I were talking and we decided that we were hungry so let's go eat and watch the later parade. We let the woman behind us snag our spots so she could get to watch the parade sitting with her son.
We headed to Cosmic Ray's to grab some dinner. As we were cutting through the Tomorrowland Terrace, I spotted someone in and AWESOME Ursula costume up ahead of us. Of course I hollered "Hey Urusla!!!!!". He stopped and turned and we caught up with him. I told him how awesome he looked and if I could get a picture of him with Allison (if you recall, Ursula became Allison's favorite villain). He was super nice and said sure!



Look how fabulous he looks! I love seeing how all out and creative people can be, it's one of my favorite parts of MNSSHP.
We headed into Cosmic Rays and I believe we both got chicken nuggets and fries with the chocolate cake for dessert. As we were waiting in line, we were talking to a couple of girls who were CMs and everyone was complimenting everyone else's costumes. One of them tells Allison how cute her costume and gloves are, but of course she must practice every day working on Main Street. Do my ears deceive me, or did Allison just get mistaken for a CM? hahaha
Dinner hit the spot. Now what to do until parade time? Trick or Treat! We hit some of the Treat spot in Tomorrowland and stopped for a few to see the Monsters Inc Dance Party.





We headed toward Fantasyland via the path between Space Mountain and Storybook Circus. This path is home to the best Treat Trail at the parade. There's like 6 or 7 candy stops and they really load you up.
When we got to the end, we noticed Donald and Daisy greeting in their Halloween costumes. We watched Hallowishes while we were in line. Watching fireworks in Fantasyland is pretty cool. Pretty soon we got to meet this adorable couple...


I adore Donald and Daisy! They're so cute!
We trick or treated all the way into Liberty Square and found a spot in front of the Liberty Tree Tavern and settled in to watch the parade. Soon, the Headless Horseman came by and this time I got a picture.



Then the music started and....
Boo to You arrived!!!!!

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 6 9/17 Part 6:
It's Really Not So Scary

More parade pics...






















Is it just me, or are these the orange cones from the Pixar Parade repainted?



After the parade we headed over to Adventureland. It was time to for Allison to experience another first... Dole Whip Floats! We continued to trick or treat along the way, we were making out like a couple of candy bandits lol
Soon these babies were in our hands.



Yum! I can't wait to be back and I can get another one! 16 more days, but whose counting? LOL
Then it was over to the castle for the last Villain Mix and Mingle!







The party was winding down, so we made our way out.







Yup! See you real soon! We'd be back in the morning for some last minute fun before it was time to go home.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 7 9/18 Part 1:
Our Last Morning

We woke up at our usual times. Sad day, today was the day we had to go home. Fortunately our flight wasn't until 6:10pm so we had some time to play. We packed up our remaining things, did a last minute check and made sure we had everything, grabbed our luggage and headed to airline check in. It was pretty quiet and we quickly got our boarding passes and our bags dropped off.
We explored the Cars section before we headed off to the Magic Kingdom.













We stopped by bell services and dropped off our carry ons until it was time to grab the Magical Express and jumped in line for the Magic Kingdom. Notice we haven't eaten breakfast yet? That's because we had an ADR for later.
This is how last day in Disney makes me feel...



Pouty, sad face. Why do you make me go home? Can't I stay forever? Please?
Anyways, I digress. We made Magic Kingdom in time for rope drop.



We had a FP+ from 9-10 for the Little Mermaid and headed that way. We needed to be quick though because we had to make our ressie at 10. Will we make it?
We stopped to say hi to this guy...



And of course a some castle pics on the way to New Fantasyland...











And of course I can't wait for this to open...



And we made it here by 9:15..



It was opening day for the new Princess meet and greet but we didn't have time I will check it out next week though, I can't wait!



We headed out and caught the Trolley Show on the way.





Where were we heading?

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Day 7 9/18 Part 2:
A Grand Breakfast

As you can tell from the title, we were heading to the Grand Floridian for breakfast. We headed up to the monorail and jumped on the resort line.



I just love the views from the monorail.



Confession time... every time I enter the Grand Floridian, I expect John Stamos to be at the piano playing for me. Really.



We checked into 1900 Park Fare in time for our ADR. We didn't have to wait long to be seated.





Of course I have no pictures of food. I recall I really enjoyed the make your own omelette and Allison really like the blintzes. The food was really good and we had some great character interactions. Pooh and Tigger were fun, Alice was sweet, Mary Poppins was practically perfect, and the Mad Hatter is just AWESOME!
I have my character pictures, there kind of terrible looking. They're from Allison's camera and her camera and the lighting didn't really agree. But... here we go











After breakfast we headed back into the Magic Kingdom. We still had a few more FP+ I have no picture from this point as it was the last day. However we did run into the Mayor again and I did capture that.



We had a FP+ for Splash ending at 11;40 which I'm pretty sure we made. We might have taken one more ride on the Haunted Mansion before we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean. We got out of POTC probably around 1 and it was POURING! Apparently Disney was sad we were leaving. We decided to suck it up and just head out. Of course our rain gear was packed in our luggage. We got soaked heading to Main Street and ducked into the shops by Casey's. I had to stop and buy a hooded sweatshirt. I had left my sweatshirt at home when I left (yup, stupid me) and now my shirt was soaked and I was cold. I bought a basic Mickey sweatshirt and put it on. We crossed over to the Confectionary. I got a pound of fudge to bring home for my uncles and I still had a snack credit so I got myself a Mickey cake pop.
We headed to the exit but first I needed to stop at Guest Relations. I needed to upgrade my park hopper to an annual pass!



Yup! I'm an annual passholder
We headed back to AoA and picked up our carry ons. We got some drinks and just hung out in Landscapes of Flavors until it was time to head back to the airport.
The ride to the airport was pretty uneventful, I might have dozed off, it happens. Its always a mess trying to get through security but we made it. I grabbed a water and a chicken caesar wrap from Au Bon Pain to eat on the flight. The flight home was pretty uneventful. We landed safe and sound, reunited with out luggage and headed home.
It was a fabulous week. We had some pretty fabulous meals, I can't think of anything we wanted that we didn't get to do. MNSSHP is the best. We can't wait to do this again. The plan is for us to return in September of 2015 to celebrate our friend's birthday (it will be said friend's first time!).
Anyways, thanks for letting me share my adventures! Have a magical day!

 

[pirateprincess1976]

A Short PTR...

So I'm going back to Disney World in SIX DAYS!!!!!!
The When: 4/30-5/6
The Where: Pop Century
The Who: ME!
The Why: Because I have an annual pass so why not? Seriously though, originally my sister wanted to go with me and her kids, that's part of the reason I upgraded in September. It saved me a pretty chunk of change if I did that. Life got in her way and a new car was needed so she decided to wait one more year so I'm on my own
I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!
Feel free to follow my trip on instagram. I'm bruinz442
If you're in Disney the same time and you see me, feel free to say hi, I love meeting Disney friends in person

 

[heaven2dc]

I wish I could say I was going to be at WDW the same time as you to say hi but sadly I won't so here's

I'm sad that your TR is over Had so much fun reading about your fun time! But glad you will be leaving soon for your solo trip - hope you see some of your DIS fans while you're there

 

[LindseyLou2222]

Great TR! Loved the costumes! I'm going to start brainstorming for a costume for our trip in the fall.

 

[pirateprincess1976]

I wish I could say I was going to be at WDW the same time as you to say hi but sadly I won't so here's

I'm sad that your TR is over Had so much fun reading about your fun time! But glad you will be leaving soon for your solo trip - hope you see some of your DIS fans while you're there

Thanks for following along! Glad you enjoyed it
And hi to you too!

 

[pirateprincess1976]

Great TR! Loved the costumes! I'm going to start brainstorming for a costume for our trip in the fall.

Awwww thank you, glad you enjoyed it We had so much fun on that trip. And I already have my costume for this years MNSSHP. I may have found it 3 days after I came home