Thanksgiving in my happy place?? Don't mind if I do! (Updated 6/5)

[Stacybaeasm]

Have things settled/gone back to normal post Metallica concert? DH spent all day Wednesday on campus with a buddy for the concert (I had rehearsal all day, lol).

Hats off to you for all you do! I am SO enjoying your TR!!

Blacksburg was still FULL of folx all day yesterday. But things felt a bit more "normal" this morning. My students who got to work load out had a blast and learned a lot from experienced IATSE crew so hey - even with classes being cancelled, there was a learning experience.

Thanks for the hats off. It always feels like a LOT but I love my students and they make it worth it. My 2nd year MFA student just had her committee review and knocked it out of the park. I'm a proud mama.

 

[amazingact21]

Hope you're able to finish up all the items on your to-do list. I used to work in elementary ed, so a completely different area, but I remember how chaotic the end of a school year is. I actually sent in coffee to some of Evie's teacher's last Friday because I knew they were putting in some long hours.
I'm sure having an upcoming trip helps get through the slog, though! Something positive and relaxing to look forward to.

Philarmagic is a great spot to visit when it's super crowded. Nice to see you got a few character meets you missed earlier!

The train! Another gem. And perfect for getting you to a much more wild train.

 

[vamassey1]

. I do love that show. I really enjoy watching the kids reach out for all the 3-D stuff coming at them.

I love to watch the kids reactions too.

Scotty immediately redirected us over to Fairytale hall so I could say hi to some princesses. We got Tiana

So happy you got to meet some Princesses. Tianna is supper nice.

And Rapunzel

Love Rapunzel too.

He was clearly in the middle of a meltdown, screaming and hitting himself repeatedly. I felt so badly for both him and his parents.

Poor little guy. We've had our fair share of littles meltdowns and sometimes there is nothing you can do but let them get it our.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day 5, Part 3
It is STILL Thanksgiving
​

First - a quick RL update. Yesterday was our graduation celebration for the theatre/cinema majors. We do a special gathering that is just for us since the AAD college and Virginia Tech University ceremonies are so big and impersonal. First, we do a little reception in our blackbox theatre with light snacks and lemonade/coffee/tea. Then, we move into our main theatre space. Families sit in the the audience and the graduates (both undergrad and grad students) sit on the stage with the faculty sitting upstage of them. We do a little processional where they get to march in to Pomp and Circumstance. We then do a faculty speaker (me this year!) who gives a shortish graduation speech. Then another faculty member gets up and reads a short paragraph about each student - what they specialized in (the theatre degree has 4 tracks they can take - general, performance, tech/design, and cinema), what they take away from their time at VT, and where they are heading after graduation. Then their name is announced and they get to stand up and wave at their families. After the celebration, everyone is invited onto the stage for pictures, to mingle with faculty, and get last hugs and tears before our chicks fly our nest. It is very special and every student (and their family) comment on how nice and personal it is. So, officially, the school year is now over. My grades have been turned in and I am in single digits until my upcoming Disney trip. I guess we'd better get on with this report then!

We left off finishing Thunder mountain. We had a reservation for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Diamond Horseshoe at 1:45. We wanted to check in early so we could get that 3rd person added so we started heading over there. Of course, as we passed Country Bears, we decided to catch the next show first. We had about an hour before we needed to check in and Stephen LOVES those bears. I didn't take any pictures this time, just sat back and enjoyed the show. I'm so happy with the update and new show. This will probably get added back into my rotation at MK now.

We headed toward Diamond Horseshoe to check in, with the escort of one of the Country Bears who apparently knew Scotty! Scotty checked us in and got the 3rd person added. They said they were running at least a half hour behind at this point. I mean, of course they are. It's Thanksgiving in Magic Kingdom, at the restaurant that serves the big Thanksgiving dinner. We were in no rush and settled into the area to watch some of the parade while we waited. First came the cheerleaders again. I'm always so happy to see these groups that get to go to Disney and perform. I've taken a few groups myself and I know that Disney makes it a wonderful experience. Watching the main parade with Scotty is an adventure since he is a leader in parades. First - every single performer knows him so we get a special wave. Second - he knows every single thing that happens that shouldn't and comments on it (under his breath so the "normal" park-goers around us can't hear.) And then he saw something (I don't know what exactly because he wouldn't tell me this one) that made his blood boil and out came his work phone and the text messages started flying! This went on for a bit and ended with a meeting being scheduled for the next week.

While all this was going on, I heard screaming again. I looked around and it was the same little boy from Big Thunder. I guess the crowds and the noise of the parade got to him?? Either way, he was screaming as loudly and hitting himself just like at the ride. Stephen leaned over and said something about isn't it weird that I had 2 screaming kids in one day and I said - nope, just the one kid but twice. He was shocked that it was the same little and then was concerned about him because of the violence when he kept hitting himself. I think he was going to go over and tell the parents where they could go for some quiet when they moved on.

Our wait for a table ended up being over an hour. It was close to 3pm when we were finally called to go in. Again, I don't get angry about this kind of thing. I've worked a lot of restaurant jobs. I get it. No ones fault and we were just excited to get in and get some turkey. I will say, however, our server ended up not being great. Maybe he was tired, but he brought me iced tea instead of a diet coke - TWICE. Stephen ordered a cocktail and it took at least 30 minutes to get it. We could see it sitting on the bar (and the server came to our table probably three times to bring stuff and didn't grab the cocktail.) There was always a delay in getting the food. And the kitchen can't be blamed for this because we could see where they were expo - ing the food and we watched our stuff come up and just sit, time after time. And for some reason, every time we asked for more of something, they would give us 1 piece. Like, we wanted more turkey and pot roast. They brought ONE slice of turkey and 1 little pile of pot roast. There were 3 of us - why not at least one piece of turkey each? I get not wanting food waste but this seemed a bit ridiculous. However, it's a holiday and I'm sure its been crazy busy all day so we just smile and deal (and also tipped really well. I know even with the not great service I tipped more than 25%). I didn't get a lot of pictures of the food, and the pictures I took of the inside of the restaurant are blurry (even with AI trying to fix them) but here they are anyway.



After eating, we were kind of done with MK for the day. It was crowded, we were stuffed, and we didn't feel the need to do anything else. Scotty suggested getting on the boat and going over to the Grand Floridian to look at the gingerbread house and the tree. That sounded wonderful so off we went.



We did a quick run through the store in the Grand Floridian and then caught the monorail back to the TTC. Scotty and Stephen drove me back to Pop. I went to my room for a bit but about 7pm, I wanted a little something so I headed up to the food court. On the way, I took a couple of pictures of the Pop tree.



I didn't write down what I got, but I'm pretty sure it was something SUPER nutritious like fries and a diet coke. I settled into my room with some social media scrolling and book reading. It was an early bedtime so I could be rested for my last park day.

Up next: Last day at Epcot and Festival of the Holidays

 

[Madteaparty001]

@Stacybaeasm solidarity in the leg pain club. Mine was so bad I couldn't sleep and I would end up walking circles around my house for hours as I had shooting pains that made me feel like I was being stabbed in the thigh and hip. Finally pin pointed the 2 causes: low vitamin B12 and veinous insufficiency. Figured out the low B12 with a blood test checking all of my vitamin levels and figured out the vein problem when they did an ultrasound on my legs to check blood flow. An outpatient procedure for the blood flow problem and some years later I'm still taking supplements and the only time I get leg pain is when I'm lazy about taking my B12. Just something to check into if your doctors haven't yet.

Also, I'm totally jealous you can wear the Bauble Bar earrings, they look so cute! Their posts are silver aren't they? I'm allergic so I've always had to look longing at them and then pass them up.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

@Stacybaeasm solidarity in the leg pain club. Mine was so bad I couldn't sleep and I would end up walking circles around my house for hours as I had shooting pains that made me feel like I was being stabbed in the thigh and hip. Finally pin pointed the 2 causes: low vitamin B12 and veinous insufficiency. Figured out the low B12 with a blood test checking all of my vitamin levels and figured out the vein problem when they did an ultrasound on my legs to check blood flow. Turns out if you have low B12 long enough you do nerve damage that can take years to fix and the veins? Apparently some of the veins in one of my legs kept trying to pump my blood both ways, but your body is supposed to flow as a one way street. Had the 'bad veins' removed and years later I'm still taking supplements and the only time I get leg pain is when I'm lazy about taking my B12. Just something to check into if your doctors haven't yet.

Also, I'm totally jealous you can wear the Bauble Bar earrings, they look so cute! Their posts are silver aren't they? I'm allergic so I've always had to look longing at them and then pass them up.

Thanks for the info about B12. I get blood work done about every 6 months because of my psoriasis treatment so, the next time, I'll ask them to really look at my B12 levels.

Umm...I don't actually know what the posts are for Bauble Bar. I'm lucky that I'm not allergic to anything like that so I never check. I will look more closely at my pairs when I get home and see.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Your meal service ugh I know it is Thanksgiving but really they do this meal every single day! Your server did not seem to be organized at all!
I had a Thanksgiving dinner at POFQ the year we were there for lunch and it was delicious worked perfect because Andi does not like traditional Thanksgiving food so she had something else.
I really like the Country Bears new show!

 

[amazingact21]

Hooray for the graduation and almost being on your Disney trip! That ceremony sounds so much more personal and heartfelt. Really recognizes each student and makes them feel celebrated.


I'm sure it has to be interesting to experience the parks with someone who works there and is familiar with the ins and outs. Like a behind the scenes look into the workings of everything.

Oof, busy or not, sorry you had to deal with that level of service at the Diamond Horseshoe. One extra slice for 3 people is a little ridiculous. I can only assume they were running low thanks to the holidays but still.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Your meal service ugh I know it is Thanksgiving but really they do this meal every single day! Your server did not seem to be organized at all!
I had a Thanksgiving dinner at POFQ the year we were there for lunch and it was delicious worked perfect because Andi does not like traditional Thanksgiving food so she had something else.
I really like the Country Bears new show!

Our server was not great. I think that's all I can say. Maybe he was having an off day, maybe he needs retraining? Either way, if we were other people, it could have been a bad thing. But I was not going to stress because it was Thanksgiving and I was at Disney. There are worse things in the world.

In this, I am the exact opposite of Andi. I LOVE traditional Thanksgiving food. Any time of the year. In fact, there is an LTT ressie for next week!!!

Hooray for the graduation and almost being on your Disney trip! That ceremony sounds so much more personal and heartfelt. Really recognizes each student and makes them feel celebrated.

It truly is a great celebration. And I got a Disney quote into the speech, so all is good!

Oof, busy or not, sorry you had to deal with that level of service at the Diamond Horseshoe. One extra slice for 3 people is a little ridiculous. I can only assume they were running low thanks to the holidays but still.

I don't think they were running low on stuff because other tables were getting plenty in their refills. I think (and it's only think) based on what I observed, they have to put in an amount for the refill each time at their computer station. So he was just entering 1 instead of 3?? Oh well, it just ended up making more work for him because he had to run back and forth to us so many times.



In next trip news - yesterday was my FP$$ day (TM DisneyAndi). I got everything I wanted and at great times! So here is the plan (at least right now):
Sunday - drive down, check in, dinner (maybe Bar Riv??) and maybe meet up with disneyAndi14.
Monday - MK - FP$$ for Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates. If I didn't meet up with disneyandi14 yesterday, then find her today before she leaves!
Tuesday - AK - FP$$ for Safari, Dinosaur, and Everest. Definitely lunch at Flame Tree. Steakhouse 71 for dinner that night.
Wednesday - Studios. I'm doing the AH event so I'll probably sleep in and not head to a park until about 5pm. Hopefully see my friend perform in Fantasmic! No FP$$ today.
Thursday - Epcot - first - breakfast at Toppolinos! Also Fancy ride for Guardians (I will ALWAYS pay extra for this ride.)
Friday - MK - No FP$$ today since my aunt is joining and I couldn't make her passes at the same time. That's fine. We will just enjoy the day. Dinner at LTT.
Saturday - Epcot - Fancy ride for Guardians again.

I'm super excited. I NEED this vacation. And my pledge to myself is to actually RELAX this trip. The plan for most days is early entry and do stuff until lunch. Leave the park after lunch and go back to POP to relax, nap, go to the pool, whatever. Head back into the parks for the evening between 5 and 6pm and go until I'm tired or park close. It's supposed to be pretty hot so I'm going to pace myself. I also bought a new cooling towel and a rechargeable little fan. AND - to hopefully ward off those insane leg cramps, I'm trying Liquid IV and some Essentia Hydroboost to keep my electrolytes up. 5 more days of work, a day to load the car, and then it's go time.

 

[OUKasey]

Your trip has made me start planning a holiday trip this year

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Your trip has made me start planning a holiday trip this year

See? Disney really should pay me a consultant fee or something. You will have a blast!! I'm already thinking about Thanksgiving. I mean, first I have my trip in 5 days, but then Thanksgiving! Hmm...why do people think I am obsessed with vacationing in Disney???

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day 6, Part 1
Last Day Epcot
​

I woke up today feeling a little sad, knowing it was my last day. I hate the end of the trip blues. But, I was excited to hit Epcot for the first day of Festival of the Holidays. I had a list of things I wanted to eat, plans to spend part of the day with Scotty and Stephen (before they had to leave for a hockey game), and plans to see my student, Eli (the one I saw for a minute at the Christmas Party.) I had a fancy ride for Guardians at 9:05 so I headed off for early entry on the Skyliner.

My first plan of the day was to FINALLY get on Remy. Up to this point, I still had never gotten to be the little rat. I quickly got through International Gateway and headed over to France. The line for Remy at 8:25 was all the way through France and almost into the next country. That's ok - I was going to hit the single rider line because...well...single rider. So, I walked around all those people and up to the front of the ride, only to find out that single rider wasn't open for early entry. Huh. Foiled again. At this point, I think someone doesn't want me to ride this ride. I certainly wasn't going to stand in that line. So, I headed off through the UK and Canada to get to Guardians.

On the way, I stopped in Creations again to look for that Beauty and the Beast water bottle. THIS time, I found a very nice CM and asked where it might be. He took me right to it. It was on an end cap. How I missed it 2 days ago, I'll never know. We talked about the bottle for a bit and he mentioned that he had a different Corkcicle and loved it. I thanked him for helping me and started to leave. Poor guy, looked so sad. I quickly said - don't worry. I'll be back for this. I just don't want to buy it right now and haul it around all day. That brightened him right up.

I headed to Guardians and only had to wait about 3 minutes until I could scan in. Based on the wait a couple of days ago, I told Scotty and Stephen that it would probably be 10 or a bit later before I got done so they could meet me. Of course, this morning I breezed right through the line and the preshow rooms and was on the ride in under 15 minutes. So, off I flew to save the galaxy to the song I Ran.

Once I got off, I texted Scotty and Stephen to say "Guess what? It went so much faster today!" Of course, they weren't ready to leave the house yet so the plan was for them to text me when they got there. I headed over to the land because the wait for Soarin' wasn't too long yet. I quickly got through the line while listening to the family in front of me pick out food they wanted to try at the festival. I quickly pulled up my list on my phone, in case they said something that I wanted to add. One of the daughters? saw me do that and asked what I had. I explained that I had gone through the festival offerings before coming and made a list but that I was eavesdropping on their conversation in case I wanted to add something. The whole family quickly wanted to look at my list. We shared some ideas and soon it was load time.

I had planned to ask for B since I was alone. My Soarin' luck is much better than my Remy luck because I got put in B2 without even having to ask. Woo hoo. Soon, Patrick Warburton was giving us directions and I was soaring through the world. I then started to head to Living with the Land so I could see the holiday overlay. However, the ride was down. Rats. But, I was starting to feel a bit hungry so I figured I would grab a little breakfast in Sunshine Seasons and wait for Scotty and Stephen there.

I have not been to this quick service in probably 11 years. Boy has it changed and not for the better. I remember there used to be a much better selection of items throughout. There weren't a lot of options at all. I settled on a croissant sandwich with bacon, egg, and garlic aioli and a bottle of water. I found an entire empty section so I settled in with my breakfast and Facebook to wait for the guys. The sandwich was so disappointing. I think I ended up pulling off the top part of the croissant, eating the bacon and a little bit of the egg, and giving up. Soon enough, Scotty and Stephen arrived and right at that moment, Living with the Land opened back up. We jumped in line and quickly got on a boat.





Once off the ride, it was 11 and time to hit the Festival.

Up next: Festival eats and drinks and is that Rob??

 

[amazingact21]

Thwarted again with Remy! Hopefully at the end of this month you'll finally get to ride it.

That's a bummer to hear about Sunshine Seasons. Like you, I ate there about ten years ago and remember it being really good.

The holiday overlays on LwtL are great! So happy they've started incorporating them into the attraction every festival.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Thwarted again with Remy! Hopefully at the end of this month you'll finally get to ride it.

Spoiler alert - I actually get to ride it before I leave during Thanksgiving. But I WILL be riding again in a week.

That's a bummer to hear about Sunshine Seasons. Like you, I ate there about ten years ago and remember it being really good.

Yeah. I remember eating there with my niece when we went and it was great. So many options and all of it fresh and delicious. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

The holiday overlays on LwtL are great! So happy they've started incorporating them into the attraction every festival.

I'm excited to see the Flower and Garden overlay next week!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I had to play catch-up so I'll be short and sweet.

Do you know that in all of our 30+ trips to Disney we've never eaten at Golden Horseshoe? We've tried Liberty Tree Tavern though so same same.

What a bummer that you weren't able to shrink to the size of a rat in gay ol' Parie. Maybe another trip.

Guardians of the Galaxy! My fav! Love it!

I am hoping since they are stopping the Food and Wine Festival a little early this year that they'll start the Festival of the Holidays earlier. We've tried ending a trip at Epcot just so we could spend a day at the Holiday Festival but it felt wrong to us since we always end our trips with Magic Kingdom.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Hi everyone! Just got back from my most recent trip. I'll be starting a trip report for that (as soon as I finish THIS one!) Thanks for hanging in while I was gone. I will say I had a great time overall even though it was surface of the sun hot!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Day 6, Part 2
Festival drinks and...is that Rob???
​

Since it was now 11 and the festival was open, we started to head to World showcase (or whatever it's called now. Stop renaming stuff Disney!) On the way, we stopped at Creations and I got my Corkcycle Beauty and the Beast water bottle. Do I need another cup/bottle/drinking vessel? Absolutely not. Is that going to stop my from buying more. Also no.

After that, we popped into Communicore hall. Stephen wanted some gingerbread. And then Scotty showed me the gingerbread ball. How did I not know about this?? We got there just in time to watch the light display.


As I mentioned before, I had gone through the festival offerings and made a list of the things I wanted to try. That list included: mint chocolate mousse wreath, chocolate covered toffee brittle, cocoa candy cane, montanara fried pizza dough, turkey, potato latkes, frozen hot chocolate martini, frozen chocolate orange cocktail (this was the TOP priority), and the fireball cinnamon whiskey float. A daunting list, especially for an alcohol lightweight like me but I was determined! Since the chocolate orange cocktail was my absolute, no holds barred, top priority, we started in Canada and the UK. And soon, this beauty was in my hands.


This was a frozen hot chocolate with orange juice and orange liqueur. I quickly whipped out my collapsible straw and started drinking this. Yes, I bring my own collapsible straw with me. I hate those paper straws (but save the turtles!!!) so I have a metal straw that folds down and goes in my backpack. You can kind of see the end of it in the picture. Anyway, THIS WAS AMAZING!!! I might be drooling a little thinking about it right now. Oh my I was so happy with this. I drank this like it was my JOB! In fact, I think it was gone by the time we got to France. Scotty looked over at me and said "It's gone?? You never drink anything that fast." Well, this one I did. Of course, now I was a little dizzy and in no shape to have anything in France. So, I crossed off the hot chocolate martini (and also said no to a grand mariner slushie) and we continued on.

We got to America where the turkey was located. And I felt like some real food in my stomach might be a good idea so I jumped in line. As we were getting a table, I hear my name. Who here knows me?? My friend Rob!! He was here with his wife and her family. We stopped and chatted with them for awhile and generally caused a ruckus. Because noise and laughter follow wherever Rob is. And I can't believe I didn't get a picture of us. Oh, and the turkey was well, turkey. Not much to say. It was decent and it helped me recover a bit from chugging my drink.

We continued moving around the world and soon came to Italy. I wanted to do the pizza balls and Scotty wanted to do the cinnamon covered pizza dough. We got one of each and shared. The pizza balls were terrible - not hot, the marinara was watery, and just not a lot of flavor. The cinnamon sugar dough balls were delicious!! Ok, one out of two. But again I say - why is the food in the Italy booth always bad at every festival???? I just don't understand.

We kept moving through and I passed on several things on my list. There just wasn't room in my poor tummy. We did go into the Odyssey building to see Santa. While there, I got the mint chocolate mousse wreath (delicious) and Scotty and Stephen got the apple crumble cake (also delicious). Coming out, we started our 2nd loop moving through Canada and the UK. Scotty wanted to get a beer in the UK so he popped into Rose and Crown. Stephen and I went into the tea shop to look around and ran into Rob and family again. That UK tea shop may never be the same but it was certainly filled with laughter for about 10 minutes.

We finally got back to France again. Scotty and Stephen had to leave soon to get to the hockey game and I was getting tired. I mentioned that I still hadn't ridden Remy so we ran up to see if the single rider line was going. And it was! Scotty and I jumped in and I finally rode the rat!!! What a cute ride. Coming out, I ran over to Les Halles to grab another baguette and then it was time to say goodbye to the guys. I jumped on the skyliner and headed back to Pop. I spent the evening packing, relaxing, and going to bed early because the drive the next day was going to be a long one.

And just to wrap up, the drive home on Saturday was long and full of traffic. Mentally, I was prepared for it because...Saturday after Thanksgiving and all...but wow. The number of times I was in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic was insane. And the number of car accidents I saw because people can't just be patient was sad. My go to when you hit that kind of traffic - get in the far right lane behind a semi and just go with the flow. It worked each and every time. The drive took close to 13 hours and of course, it meant I hit the mountain pass after dark, but I made it home in one piece and had Sunday to recover before it was time to go back to school and finish the semester.

All in all, it was a great trip! I didn't come close to doing everything on my list (does anyone ever??) or eating all the things but that's what future trips are for. I did get to cross off a Christmas party and finally riding Remy. And I know some things I will do differently in the future. I would say for next Thanksgiving but unfortunately, since I got back from my May trip, life handed me some dental work that needs to get done that is expensive enough that my Thanksgiving vacation fund is spoken for. So, no trip this year but that's ok. I'm one of the lucky people who knows I will be back eventually so I'll just wait and plan for that.

Thanks for following along on my Thanksgiving adventure. I will be starting a report soon for my May vacation. I hope you join me over there!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a great way to wrap up the last day at Disney! I always have a mental list of all the foods I want to try during the festivals and then up just having a few. Every. Single. Time. My mind is way bigger than my stomach, I guess.

After Thanksgiving Traffic! I know exactly what you mean. It once took us three and a half hours to go less than 100 miles because we were just sitting there inching along.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Sounds like a great trip! Looking forward to hearing about your most recent one

 

[disneyAndi14]

I loved the gingerbread SE, it was really cool! I missed out on the fun hot chocolate drinks last December!
I’m glad you got on the rat, haha
I’m looking forward to your next TR