Summer Awakens '16 June 20-28 A Magical BFF Trip

[Rivergirl2005]

Hey everyone! This is my first TR and I am super excited to share my fantastic vacation! So a little bit about me. My name is Emily, and I love Disney! I've gone multiple times with the family growing up. My favorite rides are POTC and Peter Pan! Gotta love the classics! I'm the one on the left and have been a member of the dis for a while now. The last time I went to wdw was three years ago with my grandmother. It was a congrats for being awesome trip lol. The one on the right is my bff Rachel! We were college buddies and disney friends! She has only gone once with her family, and it wasn't a successful trip. However she loved the Jungle Cruise and Space Mountain.

Some background on this trip: I have been begging friends and family to go since I returned three years ago. Luckily, Rachel's hubby planned a guys snowboarding trip, in return we got a girls trip. So guess where we decided to go...of course wdw! I began planning in December due to all the new exciting things happening this summer. We decided to schedule our trip around the nba finals. Crazy I know, but I had a feeling my CAVS were going all the way! AND WE DID!!!! The last possible game would be game 7 on June 19, so we scheduled to leave on the 20th! Crazy I know, but I really had a feeling about this year being our year!

Our trip was scheduled for June 20-28! We were really lucky scheduling with all the new things opening up. HS Star Wars fireworks and SOARIN would be up and running. However, we were nervous about Frozen Ever After but were determined to ride the new ride. We decided to have two missions for this trip. 1- Meet all the princesses, 2- Have a Magical time with no stress

Do we succeed? Did we get to ride Frozen without waiting in lines for hours?You will have to follow a long to find out... More to come

Chapter 1- Arrival Day with a sprinkle of Pixie Dust

Chapter 2- Viewing world showcase and a few princesses

Chapter 3- Pre Park Opening Reservation at Be Our Guest on Magical Morning

Chapter 4- Rope Drop at Magical Kingdom- The Ups and Downs of Buzz Lightyear

Chapter 5- You've entered the Twilight Zone

Chapter 6- Come to the Dark Side!

Chapter 7- Will a PPO at Akershus help us ride Frozen on the 2nd day it opens?

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Already liking your TR!
Soooo, following...

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Following too

 

[Raeven]

Following along!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Chapter 1- Arrival Day with a sprinkle of Pixie Dust

I awoke early Monday morning exhausted but excited for the journey ahead! I was leaving Ohio at 7:55 am and my friend was leaving North Carolina at 8:00 am. We planned on meeting at Orlando airport and take the Disney Express together. To be honest I didn't take pictures at the airport. I was very tired from staying up late watching my CAVS win the NBA finals! I arrived at 11:20 am, and she had already been there 45 minutes prior. Together we walked down to the Magical Express. We arrived by 11:30 am and there was a lot of people in line. We were 3rd for CBR, however other lines were jammed with people. We waited about 15 minutes and we were boarded on our bus.

Thankfully CBR is the first drop off, so we didn't have too long of a ride.


We arrived around 12:30 pm and went in to check in. I had already set up online check in but I wasn't sure what the next steps were, so we waited in line for the check in. I was kind of disappointed because I received a text stating we were going to be in Jamaica. Originally I wanted
Martinique, however I am never one who complains. We waited 5 minutes to check in and we were next to talk to the front desk. As we did a woman, said "excuse me" and went ahead of us. She explained to the lady behind the desk that she was a travel agent through AAA and would like a tour of the resort. Apparently this is a thing lol who knew. My friend and I didn't care that she jumped ahead but ended up waiting 15 minutes for them to return. During that time we talked about our plan of action and what we wanted to do for lunch. The front desk was very apologetic for making us wait. Honestly we didn't care. We were just excited to be in DISNEY! However due to the inconvenience she gave us 3 extra fastpasses to use at Epcot that day! How cool was that!!!

From there we dropped off our things at our room. It was very spacious and very lovely.


We headed down to Port Royale to grab lunch. I love the feel of this resort. For those who have not stayed you really should! Its like having your own private beach and pool. I just love the tropical atmosphere. Now, I will say that there was security at the beaches until Wed. By then they had added the signs and fences. Once we got there we decided we weren't too hungry so we should find something to split. We decided to split a chicken nugget meal, you can't go wrong with that. After that we headed for the buses and off to Epcot we went!


Epcot:
ADR: Via Napoli

FP+
Character Spot 2:40-3:40
SOARIN 7:00-8:00
Spaceship Earth 8:00-9:00

We had two major goals on this day. 1- Meet Belle in the Blue Dress, 2- Meet Mulan. I had purchased Kenny the Pirates character app to help us with times. We arrived around 2:30 pm.I had planned to be there earlier but we decided to take some time with lunch. We were so excited to finally be there that we had to take pictures! We stopped and took some pictures in front of the giant golf ball, as Rachel called it! Notice how I am rocking out my Cleveland shirt!
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Before we hit our first FP we saw Daisy Duck! It has been years since I met her so we had to stop. She was very sweet but definitely not our best interaction. I think we were a little rusty and not fully prepared, so it was a quick "Hello" and "Goodbye". Its funny, I forgot sometimes it may not be the easiest to have conversations with characters. Especially when you are no longer shorter than them. However, we definitely got better on the trip especially with our favorites! One of the neat things we did do for this trip is we brought our old autograph books. The characters loved them! I brought mine from 1995 and Rachel brought hers from 2000. After meeting Daisy we headed over to the Character Spot to meet Mickey and friends.
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Mickey was awesome! I found out in line that Rachel has never met Mickey! I was astonished! I told Mickey this was a first for Rachel and he formally introduced himself. He bowed and shook her hand! He made such a big ta-do about it! It was funny to watch! Sadly the photographer missed it. However, I could finally see her warm up and have fun with the greets. Goofy was next and he was also a gentlemen. He loved our autograph books and started to show them to other people in line! Lastly we saw Minnie. She was very sweet and made a big ta-do about our books as well. I told her we are very old and she replied that she was too. It was very sweet!
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We decided we should start to head towards the world so we could meet Belle's meet and greet at 3:50 and it was already 2:50. We walked towards Canada and decided to get out of the heat and watch the movie with Martin Short, since it started in 3 minutes. I have never seen it before but I really enjoyed it! I love watching movies on other countries. Its always so interesting to see other places and learn more about them. We both enjoyed the show but wished it had seating. After checking out Canada we headed towards France...

 

[KnK]

Following along.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

I absolutely love meeting characters!
Sounds like you had a great first day!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Chapter 2- Viewing world showcase and a few princesses

France is one of my favorite countries at Worlds Showcase! I love the atmosphere, the food, the layout and the movie. Its all so beautiful! When we were crossing the bridge we noticed Belle was just leaving, which meant we had 20 minutes to spare. We decided to check out the movie but discovered it was a 10 minute wait and it was a 20 minute movie. We decided to check it out another day and we looked around the shops. I love all the Ratatouille souvenirs! It really is a great movie and sadly underrated. Its the only place to find some Remi items so I picked up a very cute key chain. We found a photographer by the water fountains and I instantly remembered what magical friend could appear.....

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Our first magic shot! And of course it was from my favorite movie, Beauty and the Beast! Chip is very cute and I love that they have this little guy in a beautiful area. Rachel had no idea and loved it when I showed it to her later! It was 3:45 and we decided we should probably get in line for Belle since she already had about eight groups of people in line. She was the longest wait we had our whole trip and it felt longer waiting in the hot sun. We ended up waiting 25 minutes, which isn't to bad. She is my favorite princess and sadly she wasn't the best. I wanted to talk to her about books and what she was reading. However, she decided to talk to us about what magical lands we were from. I think because I had an excellent Belle 3 years ago, my expectations were too high. However she was very sweet and I love her signature!



By the time we finished it was 3:10 and we knew we wanted to see Mulan at 4:50 before our dinner reservation. We decided to skip Morocco for now and head over to Japan. By this time it was starting to get hot and we needed to find some place to rest a little. Luckily, Japan has a lot of trees. As we came closer we could hear the sounds of drums. I was really excited to come across the Taiko drum show. I had never had a chance to see, although I have heard it throughout the parks. It really is a must see. I also wanted to check out the pick a pearl section in Japan as well. I have never had the chance to partake but I always enjoy watching the interactions between guests and those helping with the clams. It was fun to watch and learn how to say One, Two, Three in Japanese. San, ni, ichi!!! Very cool experience. Sadly I never had time to purchase one, but you gotta save some things for next time Rachel took some time checking out the Anime items for some family members and after her purchase of sailor moon socks, we moved on to our next adventure.



It was 4:30 and we were ready for China. Last time I went, Mulan was meeting by the actual building. However this time it was different. I didn't see a line anywhere and I wasn't sure where she would meet. A photographer said she was meeting by the pond and would possibly take pictures on the bridge. It was a little confusing since not many people visit Mulan. However, we would find ourselves waiting in the shade with some other older girls. Many of those waiting were our age. It was really funny, but it goes to show you how many little's love Frozen and Cinderella. We were the 2nd group to meet her and she was fabulous. We discussed Mushu and all the trouble he was probably getting into. We discussed her life with her family and Shang and then we talked about our home countries. She was right on point and the highlight for meet and greets on this day. After snapping some "reflections", we headed back to Italy to grab some dinner. I know many people are not a fan of the new outfits, myself including. However, I really liked her dress and how it did look a lot like the original. I think they need to get rid of the hair but then thats just my opinion.

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Tonight we were eating at Via Napoli. I had never eaten there but the dis and other sites raved about it. Rachel is Italian and for her honeymoon she went to Italy. She was very impressed with the atmosphere and could tell me about each building. It was nice to have a tour guide for while instead of being the tour guide lol. We arrived at Via Napoli around 5:10 and was seated at 5:15. The guys are all gorgeous lol. We decided to split the Margarita personal pizza. We are not big eaters and we wanted to save money in places we could. Oh, I forgot to mention. I have an onion allergy, so finding food to eat at some places was a challenge. However it was not a problem here. After downing four glasses of water, our food arrived and it was amazing! One of the best meals we had! The crust was crisp and the cheese was cheesy! I also think after seeing the other size pizzas, you could probably split a personal with two adults anyways. Many families couldn't finish what they had ordered. It was kind of sad to see some much food go to waste. If you haven't tried it please do!! We chilled here for about 45 minutes and then we were on our way


By six o'clock we were ready to start thinking about our extra Fastpasses. At dinner we decided to use two for Test Track, and one for SOARIN. As we walked back to front we paused at China to watch an acrobat show. They had two men on jumping stilts and one juggling in between them. They were fun to watch but we loved the "mask" man. There was a guy who was able to use a fan to change masks. Apparently he had on different colored masks and would take his fan in front of his face and it would be a different mask. It was really cool! We were watching from the back and I still do not know how he did it!

By this time we were crossing into "Froway" or Norway and I was kind of crossing fingers for a soft opening. Sadly, the wall was still up for Frozen Ever After, which worried me since it was to open the following day. We passed Anna and Elsa and decided it was time to ride rides. We'd catch up with them later, even though it was only a 20 minute wait for them. We passed Mexico and Donald and headed for test track. I have never done test track so I was really excited. However I was worried our "gifted" fastpasses may not work. We walked up to the line and scanned our band...and it worked! I loved making the virtual car. I was surprised how much waiting there is with test track even in the fp line. It took us 20 minutes to get to ride, but it was well worth. Our first time we had no idea where the camera, but by ride number 2 we had figured it out!



By the time we finished both extra FP's it was 7:15. Time to hit up SOARIN! I also had not done SOARIN before because I tend to get motion sickness. I was really worried because even IMAX theaters can make it happen. I had read mixed reviews but decided I'll try once and if doesn't work, well at least I tried. My other friend had just been to WDW the week before and told me we had to pick section B row 1. When we reached the theaters I asked if we could have theater B. He let use go down even though they were on section C. Once we reached the gate area we discovered another A, B, C. So we asked for B again and luckily we also were placed in row 1. I love Patrick! He was hilarious and made me feel more at ease, probably because all I thought about was Kronk as an air pilot. SOARIN was amazing! The film and music was wonderful! I loved all the scenes and places we went. The air in my face helped with the motion and I never had any issues. However we never smelled any scents, which I thought was weird. I found two hidden Mickeys which also put a smile on my face! It took us 15 minutes so we decided, lets ride again! This time we went in theater A, which we could tell was an older theater. We asked for section B row 1 and were granted our wishes. This time we smelled wonderful things. They are found in Africa, India, and the Islands! It was one of my favorite things we did this trip! I was so pleased I had tried it! The reason you want section row 1 is because section B is center, row 1 is the top row. This way you do not see anyone's feet. And don't feel bad asking. They say it happens all the time and its not a big deal. It adds 10 minutes but I think its worth it!

By then it was 8:15, time to hit our last FP. Spaceship Earth was a 5 min wait so, FP wasted. Oh well! We walked on an enjoyed the classic animatronics! By this time, 8:30 pm, we were exhausted so we decided to head back to the hotel. We stopped to get some more photos with the colorful golf ball and we were on our way. We also discovered that at CBR Jamaica is the first bus stop to be let off. How wonderful was that! We were back at 8:55 and in bed by 10! We needed to get up early for our PPO at BOG!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

I absolutely love meeting characters!
Sounds like you had a great first day!

I love meeting the characters! Its always fun to see what kind of interaction you are going to get!!

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

As I was reading this I was filing so many ideas away on my phone's memo! I love the magic shots!

 

[Raeven]

France is my favorite too!

I have to look for some Remy stuff the next time we're there I love that little guy.

Did they completely change Mulan's costume since last year? It looks really different from the one she was wearing last September!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

France is my favorite too!

I have to look for some Remy stuff the next time we're there I love that little guy.

Did they completely change Mulan's costume since last year? It looks really different from the one she was wearing last September!

They recently changed Mulans and Pochaontas costume. I guess over time they updated everyone's look, the princesses, and they were the last two to be updated. I love her sash down the middle of her dress. If you look carefully you can see Mushu!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Chapter 3- Pre Park Opening Reservation at Be Our Guest on Magical Morning

We awoke bright and early for our reservation. We had a pre park reservation at Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. This was to be a test run for the timing for the buses to the park, since the next day we would be going to Akershus before park opening. My original plan was to have the reservation on Thursday, but two weeks before our trip they decided to open the park at 8 am rather then 9 am that day. We wanted to get pictures of the park with no one there, and wanted to ride 7 dwarfs before the rope droppers arrived. So I decided to change reservations to Tuesday and luckily they had some available. We had reservations at 8:25, but we would be allowed in with everyone else at 7:45. I knew it would be interesting because it was also a Magical Morning. I wasn't sure how it would work, but I knew we had to try!

We were up at 6:10 and ready to go to the bus stop by 7:00 am. Sadly we missed our bus, but only waited 5 minutes for the next one. We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 7:30 and I was really worried we would be far behind everyone, we weren't. We were about the first 1/3 of people there. I was picked again to go through the medal detectors, but it wasn't a big deal. I noticed those who were there for MM had big stickers on their shirts. We checked in after the medal detectors and they allowed us to line up to the left gates. Something must have happened that morning because at 7:45, we were still waiting. The crowd was definitely upset. We heard a lot of people complaining that they paid to get in early to ride the rides and they wanted in. We just relaxed and listened to the grumbles. Kids started to get anxious but we kind of laughed it off. At 7:55 we were let in and the MM people started running. It was funny to watch. I loved going early! I have never had the chance to really take in Main Street USA. The streets were pretty empty and we got a lot of pictures of the buildings without anyone. We also decided to stop at every photographer on the way up to the restaurant. I wasn't too worried with time since we ordered online already.








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After taking a lot of pictures, we walked through the castle. By this time the crowd had left us so we took more shots behind the castle. I know many people say you won't have enough time to eat and be done by 8:45. However, it was so much fun not having so many people around us. How could you not? We checked in at 8:15 and was seated right away. We found a seat in the ballroom by the window and we watched the snow fall as we waited for our meal. Just a recommendation, pre-order your meal. The line to order was outrageous and wasted a lot of time. I was surprise how many seats were available because so many people were still ordering. Our food arrived by 8:25 and we still had a lot of fun time to eat. We decided to split the Feast A La Gaston. It had scrambled eggs, to runny, a side of potatoes and fruit. We also received complimentary sweet rolls and we ordered the Grey Stuff cupcake. The breakfast was a 7/10. Not the best but then we were paying to be on the mine ride quickly and to see the park pretty empty. Overall we agreed we would do it again and order something different. We finished our meal, took pictures of the place and headed out to get in line for 7 dwarfs. I will say, many people who were in the line to order, were just looking for seats as we left. We would be back for dinner later in the week, which I was really excited for! As a beauty and the beast fan, this is a must restaurant! I also suggest going twice because I found each experience was different!


By this time it was 8:50 and we were lining up for the mine ride coaster. The line starts immediately to the right of the bridge along the fence. A CM stood with us and walked us to the front of the ride. There was only 10 people in front of us. There wasn't a lot of people, even though it was a MM. We had to walk the standby which was kind of fun to see all the extra items they added throughout the lines. We only were able to ride once but it was worth it! I really loved the ride! Sure its short, but the animatronics were really sweet! I also enjoyed the added scene at the end. We were in and out in 10 minutes and by that time the rope droppers had arrived. Where to next......

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[disneydaydreamer33]

Following along! How fun to do a BFF trip! It looks like you planned out your trip really well!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Following along! How fun to do a BFF trip! It looks like you planned out your trip really well!

Thanks! It was a lot of fun just to do a girls trip! We got to do things we wanted to do! Planning was def a big part! However, I love to plan and find you get things done a lot more efficiently!!! We did have some down time and magical things happen that were not planned so it was pretty balanced!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Chapter 4- Rope Drop at Magical Kingdom- The Ups and Downs of Buzz Lightyear

After riding SDMT it was time to look over my itinerary I created using touring plans. I love touring plans and I personally felt it is well worth the subscription. Overall I found there lines app more accurate compared to wdw mobile app. I will also say, I found it loaded faster and was easier to use. My plan of attack was to hit tomorrowland and some attractions of fantasy land on this morning. I wanted to head over to Peter Pan first because I wanted to wait in line to see the new queue waiting area. This would have the lowest wait time and allow us to check everything out! We had lot of fun walking through the new area. Tinkerbell flew throughout the line and we really enjoyed playing with our shadows! It was a lot of fun but I could not see myself waiting over 20 minutes in this line. I love the Peter Pan ride! It is a classic ride and I completely understand why the wait time is so long. We were in and out within 15 minutes, off to Space Mountain! It was a ten minute wait which was exactly what I wanted! The standby moved pretty quickly but we discovered it wasn't really going to be ten minutes. More like fifteen. Soon we were loading into our car, off into space! I love how fast it feels in the dark but I am deathly afraid to put my hands up. By the time we were out front, it was a 20 minute wait. We decided to hit up Buzz Lightyear rather than waiting for a 2nd ride!

]

We headed on over and saw the line was really short. Ten minute wait, didn't look like it but we figured ten minutes was not a big deal. Boy were we wrong! This was the first and only time we got to witness Fastpassers. The line was horribly slow because so many fastpassers were returning. Who gets FP at 9:50 in the morning? Apparently a lot of people. For every 30 people with fastpasses, we moved. We were so cranky and it was def throwing me off of my schedule. We started to get irritated and even thought about moving on. However we stuck it out and eventually got to pass the FP guy. I understand FP has to go first, but whoever was in charge on this day, would let 2 groups go from standby, then all of fp and would wait until no one was in line. Once fp was completely out of his sight, then another 2 or 3 standby groups. Just annoying but we got over it. The entire experience was 25 minutes and we were ready to leave Buzz behind and never return. As we walked out of the exit, we find the actual Buzz Lightyear to appear from behind a wall and there was no line. Can you guess what we did next?



Buzz was awesome and one of our top, if not the top of our character meets. We ran up to him and gave him hugs. He was so pumped up to see how excited we were to be the first to meet him that day! We were able to take a lot of great shots because his CM forgot his autograph stamp behind stage. So we were
given a lot of extra time until they returned. We would come up with different poses then he decided to propose to rach and show off his gun show to me. It was great and we were back in our happy moods. Its amazing how one small thing can change everything! He was a highlight for our trip and after talking about Jessis, Woody and the gang it was time to move. With a kiss goodbye, we wandered off to Dumbo with smiles on our faces!

By this time it was 10:20 and we were really off schedule. However it didn't bother me in the least. The plan was to try to do whatever was short from the original plan. When we reached Dumbo it was filled with littles. Luckily, they wanted to play in the tent area rather then fly with Dumbo. It was posted a 10 minute wait but it was only 5. They were running both elephants and soon we were up running. I love this ride. Its very relaxing, a great way to see the park and even better to get a cool gentle breeze. Goofy's Barnstormer stated 10 minutes but looked longer so w decided to go and see our gal Ariel!
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We wandered over to Ariel's Grotto and walked up to the CM. The sign said 20 minutes but the line was out the door. He told us it was at least 45 minutes. We were not going to wait but decided to check out the ride. It was only posted 10 minutes, so off we went! I love the detail in this ride. The shells in the cement, the castle, the ship Ariel at the front and all the other odds and ends you find on the way. My favorite is the painting of her on rock on the side wall right before you get on the ride. One thing I really enjoy about Disney is that the rides tell a story! Ariel's is a fantastic one!
[
By this time we were really starting to get hot and tired. I knew there was one more thing we needed to do before we left, meet Gaston! On my last trip he was hilarious. We argued about reading, how good looking he was and had a thumb war. I knew Rach would love meeting him. There was a small line and we only had to wait 5 minutes before he showed up. I will say, Rachel loved him! I, however, did not think he was as good as the last one I met. They talked about her decorating a new hall for him and his trophies. They mentioned getting Rapunzel to help paint the walls. Their conversation was funny to listen to! We got our autographs and headed out! We did have to stop at B&tB gift shop were I grabbed some goodies!
On the way out we came across the Damper Dans! I have never watched them sing before so we decided to listen to a couple of their songs. They were really good! They would tap dance, play this bell like instrument and had some comedy within their routine. They sang one of my favorite songs from The Music Man- Lita Rose. It was just wonderful! By this time we were tired and hungry. So we decided to head back to the resort, grab a Cuban sandwich and take a small break before heading out to Hollywood Studios!
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[Rivergirl2005]

Chapter 5- You've entered the Twilight Zone

Hollywood Studios

ADR- Mama Melrose with Fantasmic Package- 3:55

FP+
Tower of Terror- 2:50-3:50
Frozen Singalong- 5:00-5:20
Toy Story Mania - 7:00-8:00

We left the resort around 2:30, so that way we would arrive around the time of our first FP+. I was really really nervous for Tower of Terror. Since I have motion sickness, I was not sure how this was going to play out. I made it through Soarin without any issues, but this ride seemed different. We arrived at the gate at 2:50 and I was so not ready. This was one of Rachels favorite rides and I knew I had to at least attempt once for her. When we got there it was a half hour wait, but with FP it was a walk on. I walked slowly through the line, taking deep breaths along the way. With my luck, we were the last ones welcomed into the room. For someone who was already nervous, the Preshow and the interior of the building does not make it any easier. The video was interesting and def sets the mood. Walking through the basement was not pleasant. We took the left hand side because it looked longer, guess what, its a shorter line We didn't have to wait for one elevator and the next thing I knew the ride had started. We were placed in the back row which was easier for me. Not knowing what to expect, my heart was pounding. Soon the elevator opened and I was looking at HS then we dropped, and zoomed up, and dropped, and zoomed up, and dropped again. I love how in our picture I am one of the only ones holding on!!!



Once we were safety on the ground, I felt better. Is it my favorite? No. Would I do it again? Sure. Did I feel like I was going to get sick? Not really. After having a peppermint I was good to go. We decided to take some photographs showing I survived!




We had an early dinner planned so off to Mama Melrose's. Check in was easy and they did ask about my onion allergy. Once seated we discovered a lot of the individuals around was were also apart of the Fantasmic plan! I knew we wanted the plan because its the best way to get great seats without all the wait. Again, we were paying for an experience not so much the food. I have never eaten there before and decided to try the steak. With the package, we each had an appetizer, entree, and desert sampler. I got a Cesar salad, and the steak entree. I will say, our waitress so very sweet about my allergy, but sadly the food was not a good experience for me. I'm not sure what it was but after the salad, and a quarter of the steak. I was not feeling well. Three trips to the bathroom and all I wanted to do was leave the restaurant. It was horrible. Rachel ate our desert but even she could not finish all her food. Her food was ok but she also thought it was greasy. The worst part was the dinner took forever. The service was SO slow. We were seated at 3:45, we didn't leave till 5:30. Maybe its just us, but we want to eat and leave 45-60 mins tops. Overall, I would not go back again. Too much food, too much grease, and not even a good steak. I was really disappointed. Oh, and I never even touched the pasta... Overall experience 3/10. The only enjoyments was the bread, my waitress, and the movie posters.

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Rachel was really worried about me, and our next FP+. I was able to change to the next show-6:00 but I wasn't feeling myself. She offered for us to leave but, I wanted to stay. Fantasmic is my favorite show, more than Wishes, and I knew I could make it, if I keep sucking on peppermint. After paying a hefty bill for not a good meal, again we paid for experience, we walked through some shops to get my mind off of things. We watched a little bit of the Jedi training, we had to see Darth! After another quick restroom break, I knew I needed air conditioning.

So off to meet Olaf. It was posted a 20 minute wait but we only waited 10 minutes. I was surprised with how short of a wait he was, especially with all the Frozen hype going on. He was another wonderful meet. I received one giant warm hug and felt better. He formally introduced himself, shook our hands and starting chatting about what we love to do in summer. He was so friendly and played up the character really well. We also loved his signature! He draws a picture of himself! It was adorable and also an enjoyable meet!

​

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Does anyone know how to make the images bigger? I don't think my images are showing full size

 

[Rivergirl2005]

So with some playing around I think I figured out how to make the images bigger!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Chapter 6- Come to the Dark Side

After meeting Olaf, I was starting to feel better but not 100%. We needed to cool down, and luckily our next FP would allow us to do so. We headed next door to see Frozen the sing-along. We are not huge Frozen fans but I heard it was cute and I do enjoy the music! Rachel was just excited to head inside. We arrived 15 mins early but I was worried it wasn't early enough. There were a lot of people standing around in the waiting area. Our plan was to head to a door in the back and work our way towards the front. The opened the doors, ten minutes before show time, and our plan of attacked worked. We somehow made to the 5th row and we were front and center![URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1656_zps9dcmjbvc.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1657_zpsv146ujxv.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1662_zpsfoywylbb.jpg.html][/URL]

I really liked the show and so did Rachel! Eric, one of the narrators was hilarious!! There were many puns and other jokes involved that went way over many of the kids heads! One of my favorites is when Kristoff comes out and they say hey its Luke Skywalker, he doesn't know about his dad, since he still has both hands. Something along those lines... The songs were fun and everyone got into the singing, well mostly everyone... Sadly Rachel had a girl who apparently has seen the show one to many times sitting next to her. She read all the lines of the show two seconds before the characters did. However, she did sing a little bit to let it go, while I pretty much sang to every song! I would definitely see the show again! The characters were fantastic and its an excellent way to cool down!
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By this time it was 7:00 and it was time to ride Toy Story Mania! We headed over to Pixar Place to ride my favorite ride! Wait time was 10 mins with FP. I really wish they would take a picture of our faces while playing because I think they would be hysterical! I couldn't remember the way to make the gun continuously shoot. So, Rachel beat me, again! Very depressing. We checked to see how long a 2nd time would be...45 mins, too long. I checked for FP, nothing. Now during this time, Rachel's husband had been texting her, asking when we would see the Star Wars Launch Bay. I really didn't wan't to tonight, but some times you do what your friends want. The plan was to see The Little Mermaid, but we missed the show. So we ventured off to SW Launch Bay.

The one thing I did not want to do was to meet Kylo Ren. I'm not going to lie, he freaks me out a little. I also saw videos were he has tantrums with the guests. I didn't want to but the wait was only 10 minutes... Guess what line we jumped into? The entire time Rachel is talking about how she is going to stand up to him and tell him she loves him. Me, I just want to meet Chewie. Soon it was our turn and I was not prepared. Instead of having us go in with other groups, we went in alone. The door closed behind and it really felt like we were on the ship. We walked down the hall and I wasn't sure how this was going to go. As we got closer to the photographer, Kylo Ren turned the corner and we was standing right in front of us. He was tall! I was not happy and I am sure my face showed it! Luckily, he went after Rachel. "You, rebel Spy" blah blah blah. I snuck past him from behind and stood on the line. He eventually tells her to stand next to him. The he looks at me and says good or something. The next thing I know they are taking pictures. I quickly think of something and its time to go.
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I survived! On to meet Chewbacca! His line was much longer but as we waited we got to see Storm troopers! I saluted to one and he saluted back! It was very exciting! Chewie was a much better experience! Chewie thought it was very cool that we all had messenger bags! He went through Rachel's looking for something to eat. Then went through mine and found my sunglasses. He was really funny and we enjoyed talking to him. After more pictures and hugs we left with smiles on our faces! Chewie was wonderful and I would def make sure you find time to see him. [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR1_20160621_7723277085_zpsxpjekdjv.jpeg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR1_20160622_7723278168_zpshlkk7bvk.jpeg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR1_20160622_7723278756_zpsdd7ktyjp.jpeg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR1_20160622_7723278757_zps3ardtrnr.jpeg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1697_zpsxovdvfc0.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1700_zps92vcenfr.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1702_zpsuhuzoa5l.jpg.html][/URL]

After meeting Chewie, we saw CM's battling with light sabers! We ran over to ask if we could take photos with them and battle it out. They allowed it, but only because it wasn't really busy! [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1706_zpsfolgzstq.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1707_zps0lp3tkpq.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1708_zpseouaigqh.jpg.html][/URL]

By this time it was 8:20ish and we needed to head over to see Fantasmic! We were able to sit front and center for the show. We decided to sit farther up, so we could exit fairly quickly to see the new Star War fireworks. I love Fantasmic! I enjoy seeing all the characters, the music, and the ideas behind the story! It was wonderful and even though the meal was not great, the seats were amazing! Worth it! The show ended at 9:30, we had 15 mins to find a spot for SW Fireworks. After the show we quickly popped up and went to find a spot. We found one with plenty of time. However, I did not realize you needed to be in front of the towers and we were behind it in order to see everything. The graphics on the buildings were amazing! Sadly most of the fireworks were behind trees but we were ok with it. We wanted to see the projections and we had a great view for them! When the show was over we headed back to the buses! It was another great day! Tomorrow morning would be interesting. ADR at Akershus, would we get on Frozen? I guess we'll have to find out! [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1724_zpsoc3sohil.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1733_zpsmyls5wmj.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1737_zps1oi1tzl2.jpg.html][/URL] [URL=http://s558.photobucket.com/user/emilykenney/media/1740_zpsbfrrjsrn.jpg.html][/URL]​