So Much Freakin’ Epicness Y'all! A May 2019 Epic DIS Meet TR Updated 11/21 x 7!

I Know What Rock Stars Feel Like Part 1

Originally I had this day scheduled as Animal Kingdom for ¾ of the day with lunch at Tiffin’s and then Hollywood Studios that evening for the Star Wars Dessert Party. Jackie had the Backstage Magic tour booked for the day and then was going to meet me at HS for the Dessert Party.

But a few weeks before our trip, that all changed. As many of you may already know since several others have already written about it, we were gifted a VIP tour for the day by a DISer who asked to remain anonymous. This was an amazing gift and a once in a life time experience for me so I gladly changed my plans for the day. I don’t think there is enough words in the English language to thank our host for this day.

We needed to be at Epcot by 8 am to meet up with our tour guides for the day so Jackie and I were up early and out the door by 7 am. Well at least I was up very early since I am a lot higher maintenance than she is. I really liked the new sliding door between the bedroom and bathroom area. I was able to close it and allow Jackie to sleep a bit longer while I got ready.

While we were getting ready, I got a text from Billie saying that Sarah did have an extra phone cord and that I could borrow it for the week if I needed it. I was very grateful that someone I just met the day before was offering to loan me their phone cord for the week but since I bought one the night before, I didn’t need it.

Jackie is not a big breakfast eater but I need to have something in my stomach to help combat my motion sickness so our routine became for me to run into the food court and grab a bagel to munch on while we waited for the bus to come.

Disclaimer before I continue…. A lot of the photos in this post are not mine and at this point I’m not sure who’s photos they actually are. I borrowed quite a few off of Facebook for this day as I was just too in the moment to take many myself. If you would like to claim one feel free! I do know that this next picture was taken by Kelly @buzzrelly.




She and Liesa @Steppesister were behind Jackie and me in that crazy bag check line. They managed to pick a better line than we did and eventually caught up with us before we made it to the tables. We also found Jenny @Jenny Sanders and her husband Joe in that crowd so the six of us ended up entering Epcot together.

We were meeting at Guest Relations to the left of Spaceship Earth.




There were 19 of us total in the group, me, Jackie (@missjackiemcg), Fallon (@fallonkendra) and her husband Luke, Molly (@Mollydolly334 ), Kara (@paradesintherain ), Su-Lynn (@chunkymonkey ), her husband Steve and sister Su-Queen, Caroline (@disneyAndi14), Billie (@Elevationist), Sarah (@IowaTater), Kelly (@buzzrelly), Liesa (@Steppesister), Lesley (@Lesley Wake), Jenny (@Jenny Sanders) and her husband Joe, Karilynn (@Malia78) and our anonymous host. We had two guides, Jon and Amanda. While Amanda was very nice, she kind of faded into the background compared to Jon. He was an awesome guide who know a ton of Disney trivia. I will say he had a hard time stumping our group of Disney nerds.

With the VIP Tour, we got front of the line access, mostly through the Fast Pass lines, to any rides we wanted so we started off with Test Track that morning. I know I rode with Jackie because she designed our car. I can’t remember who the third member of our group was and I have no ride photo in order to figure it out. I did get a photo in my account but it had other members of our group, not us. I do have a picture of the cute car that Jackie designed. It kind of makes me think of a big pink beetle.




Once we finished up with Test Track, it was time for another once in a lifetime experience at Epcot so we made our way towards the walkway to World Showcase and found a spot facing Spaceship Earth. It happened to be Military Appreciation Month and to celebrate, the Blue Angels were flying over SE that morning.

I decided to video them and on the first pass over SE, I almost missed them. I guess I thought we would hear them before the made it to Epcot but it was so quick I barely had a change to get my phone up.


For their second fly-over, I started recording early so the actual flyover doesn’t start till the last few seconds of this video.



This was a very cool experience and I’m glad we got to take a minute out of our day to witness it live.

Once the Blue Angels were done, we all headed back to WS and over to Norway to ride Frozen Ever After. Once again we were on quickly and ended up taking two boats. I rode with Lesley and Billie on this one.




Our final ride at Epcot was Soarin’. We had almost two full rows on the ride. One of our group in my row (who will remain anonymous unless she wants to chime in) had never ridden the new version of Soarin’ and she was a bit nervous about it. Well if you’ve enjoyed the new version, you will remember that the transitions between scenes can be a bit startling. One of those transitions is a bird that swoops suddenly in front of the scene. A very loud “Jesus Christ” came out of her mouth at that moment which had our whole row laughing hysterically for the rest of the ride.

After Soarin’ it was time to leave Epcot and head to Hollywood Studios but first we took a quick bathroom break and then had a group picture done.




Then we exited through the backstage doors near the bathrooms. It was raining a bit at this point so we all hurried to the two vans they had waiting for us and headed off to HS. I think the backstage part was the best part of the tour for many of us huge Disney fans. We got to see a lot of the backstage area of Epcot. I was excited to see the construction for Ratatouille, the new Space Restaurant and the Guardians coaster. We also saw some of the Food and Wine booths as we drove around.

By the time we made it to the backstage area of HS near RnRC, the rain was done. As we exited the vans, there were CMs waiting for us with a selection of snacks and bottles of water. I was a little disappointed that there were no chocolate options among the snacks (I know, first world problems, beggars can’t be choosers, etc., etc.) but I guess they would have melted in the heat. I did take a bag of plain Lays potato chips even though they are not my favorite because I was getting pretty hungry at that point. For some reason, I do better with my motion sickness if I have food in my stomach.

Our first destination in HS was Slinky Dog Dash. I realized at this point that I hadn’t taken many pictures so I got out my picture and took this lovely one of Sunset Blvd. You are very welcome.




As we rounded the corner near Starbucks, Jon stopped us for a second to point out something I had never noticed before in HS. In the space between Starbucks and the first store on Sunset, there is a small area with tables. Right above those tables is a billboard that’s somewhat hidden by tree branches. That billboard is actually an advertisement for the Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka Tower of Terror)! Of course I get a crappy picture coming up Sunset but failed to get one of the cool billboard I had never noticed before.

I did take another fabulous picture as we rounded the corner into Toy Story Land.




As we walked through the FP queue, Jon told us some facts about the line that were interesting. I’ve forgotten most of them at this point but I did actually take a picture of the price tag on Rex’s box.



11/22/95, the release date of the first Toy Story movie! Boy that makes me feel old.

We all fit into one Slinky dog vehicle except for one person. Poor Sarah got left behind but then she got to ride in front seat of the next train with our guide Jon. So maybe she wasn’t so unlucky after all. Once again I only have ride pictures from others in our group so I have no idea who I rode with.

Our next stop was going to be Tower of Terror but Jon asked how many in our group were not going to ride and it turned out to be about 4 or 5. I’m not sure how it was brought up but someone suggested SDD a second time. Quite a few in our group had never ridden SDD before and even those of us who had were definitely game for a second ride. So we hopped back in line for another ride through Andy’s back yard. I finally got the ride photo this time but ended up “Mike Wazowski’ing” myself.




After our second ride, we got another group photo and this is were the famous Liesa “Chunky Dump” was born. She’s the one in the front row with the tie-dyed shirt.



We headed back down Sunset Blvd and back to our vans where we loaded up and traveled to Animal Kingdom. While we were in route to AK, Jon had us all log on to MDE and set up an order for Satu’li Canteen. We didn’t actually order at this time, just set it up. He told us as soon as we finished up with Flights of Passage, we should complete the order and then head to the restaurant.

We arrived behind Pandora and I was very surprised to hear how loud the Pandora animal sounds were backstage. The sounds are much more subdued in the park itself but were very loud back where they originated.

Our first stop after entering was for our park #3 group shot. I had sent the first two photos to my Mom and she told me I needed to get out front so she could see me better. Well, I’m tall and don’t want to block people so I stood on the very end to make my Mom happy.




There were a few in our group that did not want to ride FOP so they headed off with Amanda to ride Navi River Journey while the rest of us got in line for FOP. I was slightly nervous because I was pretty hungry at that point and was worried about motion sickness. But I ended up having no issues. We took up an entire room so we had a good time joking around during the boring pre-show.

As soon as we exited the ride which was awesome as always, we all tried to log on to MDE and finish our lunch orders but of course the wi-fi was spotty and some were able to order while others weren’t. I had some issues but as soon as we got out of the building, I was able to complete it.

We had a private section in Satu’li for our group. The previous time I had eaten at Satu’li, I had ordered the beef and chicken bowl with the potato base. I didn’t care so much for the potatoes (too many peppers) or the chicken (kind of slimy) so this time I got beef with the rice base.




And for dessert, I got the chocolate cake.



Once again I wasn’t too thrilled with the base, I was expecting a white rice like my brother got back in October, but the beef was delicious. I think I’ll give the noodles a try next time. I mean, you can’t go wrong with noodles, right? And the cake was amazing as always. I finally got someone to try the red things on top and they turned out to be cherries. Still wouldn’t eat them but at least they are not hot peppers like I thought at first.

While we were sitting there, Zach (@AMusicLifeForMe) joined us for a little bit. I’ve read and commented on a few of his TRs but I got shy for some reason and didn’t go up and say hi.

After lunch, we headed back to the Safari to take a trek through Africa. When we got there, the FP line was backed all the way up to the entrance so Jon talked to the CM there (I swear he knew every single CM we ran into during the day) and got us in through the stroller area. It still took some time but I know it was much faster than waiting through the massive FP line.

We all got on the same car along with one other family who had no idea what they were in store for. I do know there were some shenanigans, some of it involving the Baobab tree and which side of the vehicle was better to sit on. But honestly, I was focused on the animals and missed most of it. I did pause in my animal watching to pose for a group selfie.




And for once on this day, I took out my camera and used it! There weren’t a whole lot of animals out during the first part of the safari, I think I have about 4 shots of this bird just because it was the only thing around.



Oh, there was also a Rhino and Bongo hanging around.





There was a bit more activity around the Hippo area including baby Augustus. You can see him to the right in the second picture.





Another one of the Hippos was hanging out on the shore.



Some crocodiles. They are always so easy to photograph since they rarely move.



Continued in Next Post
 
I Know What Rock Stars Feel Like Part 2



The painted dogs were back in the shade. I didn’t blame them, it was a hot day!



Giraffe time!







One of the male elephants was right next to the road so I was able to get these next two shots. I can’t decide which is better so I’m posting both.





I didn’t get any pictures of the female elephant group, I think they were all back behind the rocks. But Flamingo Island is always good for a picture or two.



Rhino butt.



And that’s were my photos end abruptly. From what I remember, there weren’t very many animals out at the end.

After the Safari was over, we exited out of Animal Kingdom right near the Safari entrance into the parking lot where our vans were parked. It was really weird to realize that the Pandora area and the Africa area are much closer together than you realize while in the park. Two of our group, Liesa and Caroline decided to stay behind to enjoy AK some more but the rest of us took the vans over to Magic Kingdom.

They had snacks and water for us once again at the Magic Kingdom backstage area. I decided against more salty chips and just got a water. We entered MK through the entrance by the Plaza Restaurant.

We only had time for our group picture and one ride at MK before our tour was up. Festival of Fantasy was coming down Main Street so we made a bathroom stop while waiting for the parade to end. Then we posed for one last group photo. Once again, I stood on the end to please my Mom. And she was definitely happier with the second two pictures!




Our one ride choice for MK was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Jon and Amanda dropped us off at the FP entrance and handed us each a VIP Tour pin before saying goodbye.



Jon told us not to trade this pin and everyone said no way! I did look on Ebay out of curiosity and they are selling for around $50 each but I would never, ever sell or trade mine.

We all thanked our guides profusely and Jackie and I got a picture with Jon. I can’t seem to find it right now, maybe she will post it for me.

I ended up in the front row with Jackie and yay, we got our ride photos this time.






Being in the front row meant that I finally was able to get a good shot of the Old Hag.



She was my nightmare as a child. I have vivid memories of being terrified of her on Snow White’s Scary Adventures. But now she’s one of my favorite villains and I have this outfit already planned for October.



After that, we thanked the DISer who set this all up many times and then we all went our own way. Jackie decided to stay in MK for a while but I wanted to head back to the room for a break and to freshen up a bit. The heat was rough on this trip! Jackie went on to have an awesome adventure with a few characters from Sherwood Forest.

I walked out of the park with a few of the other girls and made it back to the resort pretty quickly. I stopped at the Gift Shop to pick up the brick that I ordered the day before and then crashed in our room for about an hour. I ended up changing into a different Star Wars shirt for the evening but then never got a picture of myself that night.

I think I got back to HS around 5:30 – 6:00 and the skies were looking kind of ominous so I headed to Baseline Tap House for a snack. Once again, I knew I wouldn’t eat any of the savory items at the party and needed something more than sweets in my stomach for the night. And what better way to do that than with a Bavarian Pretzel and California Sunset (Absolut Berri Açaí Vodka, Southern Comfort, Orange Juice, Sweet-and-Sour with a float of Pomegranate Juice).




I did put out a text to Jackie, Caroline and Lesley to see if any of them would like to join me and help with the pretzel but they were all enjoying other activities in the park or still on their way there. So I sat at an inside widow seat for about an hour, slowly enjoying my pretzel and drink and people watching. I think the California Sunset is one of my all time favorite WDW drinks. Luckily the dark skies never amounted to any rain.

Around 7:30 I headed over and got us checked in for the dessert party. Jackie and I were on one reservation but Caroline and Lesley each had their own. I asked if we could all sit together and the CMs at check in were easily able to accommodate us. Jackie arrived shortly after I checked us in so we headed inside and found our table. We were in an awesome location, very close to the food tables. Caroline and Lesley got there not too long after Jackie and I had gotten our first plates.

I started out with a drink, I think it was vodka and watermelon? Whatever it was it was very tasty.




I loaded up my plate with mostly chocolate sweets. From the top, chocolate/peanut butter cupcakes (two because they are my favorite and why not), chocolate cheese cake, chocolate/vanilla cupcake and a dark chocolate mousse dome.



I went back for more of the same a few times and also a bowl of the freeze-dried Nutella.



Everything was delicious, this is by far my favorite dessert party of the ones I’ve tried. It was very empty on this night, much less crowded than the over-sold party I went to in August. We also got harassed a lot by the Storm Troopers. Here’s Caroline getting interrogated.



None of us had a desire to visit with Kylo Ren so we just hung out at our table snacking until it was time to leave for the show. We each got a Darth Vader stein to take home but I never got a picture of it. It turned out to be a great gift for Jim to go with the Chewy and Phasma steins I had gotten at previous parties.

The party area for the shows is on the raised platform where the Sorcerers Hat and pin store used to be. It was not crowded at all and everyone stayed seated for both shows which was nice. I loved the new Mickey show, I think it covered every animated movie Disney ever made. I did take a few pictures but then got caught up in the show and put the camera away.






In between the two shows, we took a group selfie. Note to self, you do not need to put your head back in selfies so that everyone can see right up your nose.



I really enjoyed both shows on this night. It was a wonderful, relaxing night with great company, yummy food and spectacular shows.

After the Star Wars show, the park was closed so we slowly made our way out to the buses and back to our respective rooms. I’m pretty sure it was around midnight again when Jackie and I made it to bed.

And finally, Fitbit Stats for the day.




Up Next: A Magic Kingdom Morning
 
We also found Jenny @Jenny Sanders and her husband Joe in that crowd so the six of us ended up entering Epcot together.
This was so incredibly cool that we recognized each other in this massive sea of people at bag check!!!! It was so fun VIPing it with you!!!!!!

Our final ride at Epcot was Soarin’. We had almost two full rows on the ride. One of our group in my row (who will remain anonymous unless she wants to chime in) had never ridden the new version of Soarin’ and she was a bit nervous about it. Well if you’ve enjoyed the new version, you will remember that the transitions between scenes can be a bit startling. One of those transitions is a bird that swoops suddenly in front of the scene. A very loud “Jesus Christ” came out of her mouth at that moment which had our whole row laughing hysterically for the rest of the ride.
Yep, that would be me. :confused3 That darn bird scared the crap out of me.:rotfl2:
 


As many of you may already know since several others have already written about it, we were gifted a VIP tour for the day by a DISer who asked to remain anonymous.
::yes::
What a great gift, though!
Well at least I was up very early since I am a lot higher maintenance than she is.
:)
I was very grateful that someone I just met the day before was offering to loan me their phone cord for the week
I'm not at all surprised. DISers… we're one big happy family. :)
Jon. He was an awesome guide who know a ton of Disney trivia. I will say he had a hard time stumping our group of Disney nerds.
:laughing: I bet!
It happened to be Military Appreciation Month and to celebrate, the Blue Angels were flying over SE that morning.
Yep. And... I got some bad info and staked out the wrong area. Oh well. Still cool seeing them, even though not as cool as seeing them from your vantage point.
I do have a picture of the cute car that Jackie designed. It kind of makes me think of a big pink beetle.
Yes! It looks like it belongs in It's a Bug's Life.
For their second fly-over, I started recording early so the actual flyover doesn’t start till the last few seconds of this video.
Nice one! I love how they fan out.
Well if you’ve enjoyed the new version, you will remember that the transitions between scenes can be a bit startling. One of those transitions is a bird that swoops suddenly in front of the scene. A very loud “Jesus Christ” came out of her mouth at that moment which had our whole row laughing hysterically for the rest of the ride.
:rotfl:
we took a quick bathroom break and then had a group picture done.
Hmmmm… It looks like maybe @Mollydolly334 was the one who started the Chunky Dump...
I was a little disappointed that there were no chocolate options among the snacks (I know, first world problems, beggars can’t be choosers, etc., etc.)
:laughing: You should've skipped the VIP tour and gone straight to get some chocolate.


No?


:rolleyes1
I realized at this point that I hadn’t taken many pictures so I got out my picture and took this lovely one of Sunset Blvd. You are very welcome.
:laughing: Beautiful!
Right above those tables is a billboard that’s somewhat hidden by tree branches. That billboard is actually an advertisement for the Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka Tower of Terror)!
Huh! Hope I can remember to look for this.
Of course I get a crappy picture coming up Sunset but failed to get one of the cool billboard I had never noticed before.
:lmao:
11/22/95, the release date of the first Toy Story movie! Boy that makes me feel old.
::yes:: Saw that on @Steppesister 's TR.
We all fit into one Slinky dog vehicle except for one person. Poor Sarah got left behind but then she got to ride in front seat of the next train with our guide Jon. So maybe she wasn’t so unlucky after all.
Hmmm... "No. No. It's all right. You go ahead. I'll make the sacrifice of going later."
I finally got the ride photo this time but ended up “Mike Wazowski’ing” myself.
:laughing:
After our second ride, we got another group photo and this is were the famous Liesa “Chunky Dump” was born. She’s the one in the front row with the tie-dyed shirt.
::yes::
We arrived behind Pandora and I was very surprised to hear how loud the Pandora animal sounds were backstage. The sounds are much more subdued in the park itself but were very loud back where they originated.
Really! Huh. I would've thought it would be the opposite.
Our first stop after entering was for our park #3 group shot. I had sent the first two photos to my Mom and she told me I needed to get out front so she could see me better. Well, I’m tall and don’t want to block people so I stood on the very end to make my Mom happy.
:) How did you feel doing that? Hmmm???
There were a few in our group that did not want to ride FOP
What?????????
I was slightly nervous because I was pretty hungry at that point and was worried about motion sickness.
:hug:
But I ended up having no issues.
Yay! :)
We had a private section in Satu’li for our group.
I didn't even know there was room for that!
I didn’t care so much for the potatoes (too many peppers) or the chicken (kind of slimy) so this time I got beef with the rice base.

Once again I wasn’t too thrilled with the base, I was expecting a white rice like my brother got back in October, but the beef was delicious. I think I’ll give the noodles a try next time. I mean, you can’t go wrong with noodles, right?
Will remember this if/when I go there. No plans to, this time around.
When we got there, the FP line was backed all the way up to the entrance so Jon talked to the CM there (I swear he knew every single CM we ran into during the day) and got us in through the stroller area. It still took some time but I know it was much faster than waiting through the massive FP line.
Man, doing the VIP tour is the way to go!
We all got on the same car along with one other family who had no idea what they were in store for.
:laughing: They must've been so confused!
I do know there were some shenanigans, some of it involving the Baobab tree
Kelly's tree!
Rhino butt.
Butt why not?
It was really weird to realize that the Pandora area and the Africa area are much closer together than you realize while in the park.
::yes::
Just the other day, I was looking at the satellite view on Google Maps and I had a hard time finding Pandora. It's deceptive.
Jon and Amanda dropped us off at the FP entrance and handed us each a VIP Tour pin before saying goodbye.
Very nice. :)
Jon told us not to trade this pin and everyone said no way!
No kidding!
I did look on Ebay out of curiosity and they are selling for around $50 each
:faint:
Being in the front row meant that I finally was able to get a good shot of the Old Hag.



She was my nightmare as a child.
:laughing:
Awww. :hug:
One (or both) were scare of her too.
But now she’s one of my favorite villains and I have this outfit already planned for October.
I like it. :)
The heat was rough on this trip!
:sad2: Yeah...
Once again, I knew I wouldn’t eat any of the savory items at the party and needed something more than sweets in my stomach for the night. And what better way to do that than with a Bavarian Pretzel and California Sunset (Absolut Berri Açaí Vodka, Southern Comfort, Orange Juice, Sweet-and-Sour with a float of Pomegranate Juice).
Ooooohhhh… might just have to copy you.
I loaded up my plate with mostly chocolate sweets.
It all looks good, too. :)
The party area for the shows is on the raised platform where the Sorcerers Hat and pin store used to be.
Oh! I thought it was somewhere completely different. Not sure where, exactly... just not there. Maybe over by where Starring Rolls used to be. Or Brown Derby.
 
That was such a fun day, I loved all parts of it! Andi loves my pin, she is a pin collector, wait until I tell her it is worth 50 dollars, haha!

The SW dessert party was so fun, I’m so glad we did this! I filled Darth Vader with candy and gave it to my son Jack, he loved it!
 
I love hearing everyone's different perspectives from this day! It was such an amazing experience :love:

The DHS dessert party looks great! I haven't seen that Mickey show yet. Last time we did the dessert party it was for the Star Wars fireworks and I was kind of disappointed in both the dessert party and show. I might have to give it another chance.
 


I don’t think there is enough words in the English language to thank our host for this day.

Seriously! So darn thoughtful of her!!

I really liked the new sliding door between the bedroom and bathroom area.

Super convenient, love that too!

While Amanda was very nice, she kind of faded into the background compared to Jon.

Yes, but she did a great job of keeping us moving and on track! Jon was just too great!

I guess I thought we would hear them before the made it to Epcot but it was so quick I barely had a change to get my phone up.

Ugh this reminds me they'll probably be waking me up again today. How rude! But it was super cool seeing them at Epcot.

IMG_2925-L.jpg

Love this photo! And all the group photos!

That billboard is actually an advertisement for the Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka Tower of Terror)!

Love that billboard so much!

I swear he knew every single CM we ran into during the day

Right? It definitely seemed like everyone was his pal.

I did look on Ebay out of curiosity and they are selling for around $50 each but I would never, ever sell or trade mine.

Wow, that's a pretty high price!

The party area for the shows is on the raised platform where the Sorcerers Hat and pin store used to be.

Oooh that seems like a great area for the party!

Note to self, you do not need to put your head back in selfies so that everyone can see right up your nose.

:rotfl:
 
We had almost two full rows on the ride. One of our group in my row (who will remain anonymous unless she wants to chime in) had never ridden the new version of Soarin’ and she was a bit nervous about it. Well if you’ve enjoyed the new version, you will remember that the transitions between scenes can be a bit startling. One of those transitions is a bird that swoops suddenly in front of the scene. A very loud “Jesus Christ” came out of her mouth at that moment which had our whole row laughing hysterically for the rest of the ride.
You're nicer than me! I'm totally calling her out on it!
I think I’ll give the noodles a try next time. I mean, you can’t go wrong with noodles, right?
I think they had a bit of a spicy kick to them. But I'm also very sensitive to spice, so if you are ok with them, then maybe you will like those?
After the Safari was over, we exited out of Animal Kingdom right near the Safari entrance into the parking lot where our vans were parked. It was really weird to realize that the Pandora area and the Africa area are much closer together than you realize while in the park. Two of our group, Liesa and Caroline decided to stay behind to enjoy AK some more but the rest of us took the vans over to Magic Kingdom.
Haha - I think they had actually moved the vans while we were on the safari! Theres a parking area behind Pandora and another by the Safari.
In between the two shows, we took a group selfie. Note to self, you do not need to put your head back in selfies so that everyone can see right up your nose.

Haha - it is a cute photo of all of us though!
 
I still cannot get over the amazingness that was the VIP tour. What a wonderful benefactor you all had!

I had no idea you all had done the dessert party that night too. So fun! I would love to do this sometime but its $50 for the kiddo which just seems beyond ridiculous to me.
 
Jon told us not to trade this pin and everyone said no way! I did look on Ebay out of curiosity and they are selling for around $50 each but I would never, ever sell or trade mine.
As you know, I lost mine somewhere between getting it and getting home. But, I called and explained what happened and just got a replacement! I was unbelievably happy and couldn't in a million years imagine trading it or selling it!!! Such a treasure!
 
She and Liesa @Steppesister were behind Jackie and me in that crazy bag check line. They managed to pick a better line than we did and eventually caught up with us before we made it to the tables. We also found Jenny @Jenny Sanders and her husband Joe in that crowd so the six of us ended up entering Epcot together.

That bag check was INSANE!!

Then again, it always is.


This was a very cool experience and I’m glad we got to take a minute out of our day to witness it live.

It might have been my favorite part of the day.

A very loud “Jesus Christ” came out of her mouth at that moment which had our whole row laughing hysterically for the rest of the ride.

That was SO funny!!

That billboard is actually an advertisement for the Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka Tower of Terror)! Of course I get a crappy picture coming up Sunset but failed to get one of the cool billboard I had never noticed before.

I didn't hear that, and will definitely look for it in a couple months!

After our second ride, we got another group photo and this is were the famous Liesa “Chunky Dump” was born. She’s the one in the front row with the tie-dyed shirt.

It'll live on in infamy forever!! LOL!!!

:lmao:

We headed back down Sunset Blvd and back to our vans where we loaded up and traveled to Animal Kingdom. While we were in route to AK, Jon had us all log on to MDE and set up an order for Satu’li Canteen. We didn’t actually order at this time, just set it up. He told us as soon as we finished up with Flights of Passage, we should complete the order and then head to the restaurant.
That was the first time I'd used Mobile Ordering and it was at first pretty frustrating. I didn't see the nuances of how it worked until Steve showed me how. After that it was easier....


WHEN the wifi worked. Which was... not often. :(
 
She and Liesa @Steppesister were behind Jackie and me in that crazy bag check line. They managed to pick a better line than we did and eventually caught up with us before we made it to the tables. We also found Jenny @Jenny Sanders and her husband Joe in that crowd so the six of us ended up entering Epcot together.
Seriously, EPCOT will have to fix this with all of the updates they are doing. It is just terrible right now. There is just not enough room for them to have more security guards.

I had sent the first two photos to my Mom and she told me I needed to get out front so she could see me better. Well, I’m tall and don’t want to block people so I stood on the very end to make my Mom happy.
Such a mom thing to say, and glad to see you listened to your mom! I feel like my girls would have done the opposite of what I said. Of course we are all short, so we are usually in the front anyway

I got beef with the rice base.

The beef alwasy looks so good. I HAVE to finally try this on our August trip.

Once again, I knew I wouldn’t eat any of the savory items at the party and needed something more than sweets in my stomach for the night. And what better way to do that than with a Bavarian Pretzel and California Sunset (Absolut Berri Açaí Vodka, Southern Comfort, Orange Juice, Sweet-and-Sour with a float of Pomegranate Juice).

Baseline is our new favorite place for a drink and snack!

Your whole day sounds amazing!!!! Truely a once in a lifetime event!
 
The VIP Tour sounded amazing! What a great experience for all of you to share together. It's so nice that they included drinks and snacks and it must've been fun to be in all the backstage areas.

Your bowl from Satu'li Canteen looks very good! I don't often see people get beef, but it looks tasty and I know my husband would love it. Hopefully if you try the beef and noodle bowl next time you'll finally have found your perfect dish!

Wow, what a great pin! I didn't know that they gave pins to commemorate a VIP Tour experience. What a great keepsake!

How nice that they combined your reservations at the dessert party! Your cocktail looks super tasty and the desserts delicious as well. I'm glad you had such a great time at the party!

What an excellent day! I'm excited to see what EPIC adventures are in store for you next.
 
Sounds like the tour was so much fun! What an awesome gift :) And sounds like a nice night at DHS and the dessert party!
 
I caught up over the 4th while we were in Disney but didn't get to comment- every time I read someone's recap,of the VIP tour it brings back my jealousy over missing it! But it doesn't take away the awesome fact that you gets got to experience something amazing :)
 
I do have a picture of the cute car that Jackie designed. It kind of makes me think of a big pink beetle.

Yep, looks like a Jackie creation :) Pink. Sparkly. Ridiculous in many ways. Check. Check. Check. :) But I do believe we won Overall!!

As we walked through the FP queue, Jon told us some facts about the line that were interesting. I’ve forgotten most of them at this point but I did actually take a picture of the price tag on Rex’s box.
One other thing I remember him telling us about is that you can actually scan the UPC barcode on the giant glue bottle with your WalMart app, and it gives you a coupon or surprise of some sort!

I finally got the ride photo this time but ended up “Mike Wazowski’ing” myself.

Oops!! :) At least you are facing the right direction. Clearly I do not even know what side of Slinky the camera is on LOL

After our second ride, we got another group photo and this is were the famous Liesa “Chunky Dump” was born. S
I love that this evolved into the Chunky Dump, but I seriously laughed so hard when I read @Steppesister 's original comment on FB "I look like I'm about to take a Slinky Dog Dump." LOL Now, whenever anyone refers to SDD, I have a whole different definition than what they intended!!!

While we were sitting there, Zach (@AMusicLifeForMe) joined us for a little bit. I’ve read and commented on a few of his TRs but I got shy for some reason and didn’t go up and say hi.
You'll get another chance!! He became a CM today working on the Skyliner!

I ended up in the front row with Jackie and yay, we got our ride photos this time.

Yes, where I look like a crazy person because I was trying to keep my phone from flying out of my pocket....I look like I"m in the middle of doing the Macarena!

Then I Mike Wazowski'd poor @fallonkendra

Oh, I forgot you got this shirt!!!! I LOVE it!!!!

ackie went on to have an awesome adventure with a few characters from Sherwood Forest.
YES. That was so exciting because I really thought I had already missed them!!! When I saw Prince John walking around and then actually got to run into Friar Tuck's arms for a hug, I seriously felt like a six year old. There may have been tears....ok, there totally were!

I did put out a text to Jackie, Caroline and Lesley to see if any of them would like to join me and help with the pretzel but they were all enjoying other activities in the park or still on their way there.
Gah!! Your drink (and that pretzel) looked amazing!!! And I SO wanted to meet up with you!!! That was when I was stuck in the definitely not 15 minutes as posted line to meet Mike and Sulley! I was very sad you had to finish the pretzel without me!!!
 
Sounds like such an awesome day!!

It really was. Probably one of the best days I've ever had at Disney.


This was so incredibly cool that we recognized each other in this massive sea of people at bag check!!!! It was so fun VIPing it with you!!!!!!
Yep, that would be me. :confused3 That darn bird scared the crap out of me.:rotfl2:

It was a really fun day. I love how they've changed the bag check now to make it less crazy.

I still giggle every time I ride Soarin' and get to the bird scene. You really made my day with that one.


What a great gift, though!

It really was!

Yep. And... I got some bad info and staked out the wrong area. Oh well. Still cool seeing them, even though not as cool as seeing them from your vantage point.

That's too bad you got incorrect information. Luckily we had the best tour guide ever and he knew where to have us stand.

Hmmmm… It looks like maybe @Mollydolly334 was the one who started the Chunky Dump...

I think maybe she did but Liesa sure did perfect it!

You should've skipped the VIP tour and gone straight to get some chocolate.

I do love chocolate way more than I should but probably not enough to skip a VIP tour. :rotfl2:

How did you feel doing that? Hmmm???

I was fine standing on the end to please my Mom. As long as I wasn't blocking anyone with my height.

I didn't even know there was room for that!

There really wasn't but we were in a tiny area to the left when you first went in the doors. There was probably only five or six tables there. I'm guessing it's designed for the very reason we were there.

Just the other day, I was looking at the satellite view on Google Maps and I had a hard time finding Pandora. It's deceptive.

I bet it does blend in pretty well. AK has so much foliage I bet you can't see much from above.

Ooooohhhh… might just have to copy you.

That pretzel is pretty darn good. Sacrilege I know but it's definitely better than the standard Mickey pretzel and I do love those too.
 
That was such a fun day, I loved all parts of it! Andi loves my pin, she is a pin collector, wait until I tell her it is worth 50 dollars, haha!

The SW dessert party was so fun, I’m so glad we did this! I filled Darth Vader with candy and gave it to my son Jack, he loved it!

Hopefully she didn't want to sell it! Jim did love his Darth Vader stein. He has quite the little collection of those now.

I love hearing everyone's different perspectives from this day! It was such an amazing experience :love:

The DHS dessert party looks great! I haven't seen that Mickey show yet. Last time we did the dessert party it was for the Star Wars fireworks and I was kind of disappointed in both the dessert party and show. I might have to give it another chance.

I love the party now that it is indoors and has seats. Jim and I did it when it was outdoors which wasn't too bad other than standing all the time.

Seriously! So darn thoughtful of her!!

It really was. I still can't figure out what we did to deserve such an awesome gift.

Super convenient, love that too!

I really love the renovated rooms. I can't wait till All Star Music is done, it's my favorite value and I may never want to stay anywhere else.

Yes, but she did a great job of keeping us moving and on track! Jon was just too great!

She was really good at the background stuff. I'm sure she did so much more than any of us noticed that day to keep the tour organized.

Right? It definitely seemed like everyone was his pal.

It sounded like he had been a CM for a very long time and worked in multiple roles. What an awesome dream job!

Oooh that seems like a great area for the party!

It's not a bad spot to view the show from. Maybe a tiny bit close for the high fireworks but further back you don't see the projections as well.

You're nicer than me! I'm totally calling her out on it!

She did call herself out below my post.

I think they had a bit of a spicy kick to them. But I'm also very sensitive to spice, so if you are ok with them, then maybe you will like those?

Oh boy, I'm not a fan of spice. Might not be the best option for me. I might just have to stick with my favorite Flame Tree at AK.

Haha - I think they had actually moved the vans while we were on the safari! Theres a parking area behind Pandora and another by the Safari.

Ah, OK. I swear they were in the same spot as when we came in but then I wasn't really paying that much attention to the parking lots. :rotfl:
 

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