The Bear and the Bow: Christmas with the Mouses - Update 9/11

[Merida]

OMG I love Hocus Pocus! I bought it a few years ago at Best Buy for like, $10 and I was SO excited! It made me want to live in Salem when I saw it. Actually, I still kind of want to live there. I love that town, it's so cute, I haven't been there in a few years, I need to go back!

Awww, the trolley show! I love watching that, and my DH thinks it's ridiculous!

I love the Mickey's Christmas Carol window! How did I miss that??? You're right, Goofy as Marley is really strange...I really love that cartoon.

Finally Bear is back! I feel like you were wandering around the park forever alone!

Hocus Pocus is definitely the pinnacle of SJP and Bette Midler's career. I wonder if Disney channel still makes all those Halloween movies? I just remember them coming out with SO MANY new ones every year. I was thinking and maybe Sleepy Hollow would be a better Disney match, but that seems a little Halloween Party-ish, with the Headless Horseman and everything. There's just so many great New England ghost stories that they could incorporate!

I love the trolley show. They're just so happy and nicely dressed! It's really cute and I think it definitely helps make Main Street an attraction in its own right (besides just a shopping mecca ). I wish I saw more of the Main Street characters (I've seen pictures of the mayor and I'm pretty sure there's more..?) around. Or had gone inside the fire station before it closed. I never knew there was so much stuff in Main Street!

The Christmas Carol windows are all along the one side of the Emporium, starting by the barber shop. I'm not a huge fan of Dickens in general, but I like the Christmas Carol (especially with Muppets!!) and the windows are really well done with little story excerpts and everything.

Well that lady IS interesting... but yeah... I'm scared of her.

Once again YOUR PICTURES. Just stop it.

YES! BEAR HAS RETURNED! Goodness, he's been gone for weeks.

I KNOW. She definitely does not inspire me to shop (possibly to give an offering to appease her anger? idk, CONFLICTED).

I KNOWWWWW. He was all 'I'll be back in like an hour' and then three hours later he was still gone. I still think the better plan would've been to pay for a cab to take Mr. T to the airport.

 

[Merida]

People totally still watch Hocus Pocus!!! And by people, I mean me. Flawless movie. I love it so! That's a great idea, btw.

Ancient Aliens. OMG. That show has most definitely messed with my mom's head. I can't tell you how often she points out "UFOs" in the sky to me. I mean, I believe there has to be life out there somewhere but there is no way UFOs frequent our house. LOL anyway onto your update!

haha I was going to ask if you were in pain but it seems as though the pain meds are doing well!

I don't recall seeing a trolley show since like 1995. It looks so adorable! Guess I'll have to hang out on Main Street for awhile until one comes along.

"Too bad she was also very scary, which is probably why she has so many Christmas presents." LOL

I envy that everyone gets you Wizard of Oz stuff. My family doesn't seem to appreciate my Disney obsession. Every single year people ask me what I want and every single year I say "Disney gift cards, even if it's just a small amount, it count towards my next trip" and I never receive them. Sure, get me a sweater from Kohl's, that's the same.

OMG!! I can't believe the Mickey's Christmas Carol window display!!! I absolutely love that cartoon and I didn't even notice that! I hope you don't mind, that is so going in my scrapbook.

Yay, Bear is finally back, sans friend!! Now you can finally go on all the rides. Can't wait for more

Hocus Pocus: Halloween classic. 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, my left foot. Critics today have no taste.

I loooove Ancient Aliens. I know people complain about 'the direction' the History Channel has taken with their programming, but that show is pure comedy gold! I love how the main host has slowly embraced his Oompa-Loompa heritage and become decidedly more orange every season.

The trolley show goes on so frequently I feel bad for the performers. Like, it seemed like they would do the show, move down five feet, and then do it again, all while smiling. I wish Main Street wouldn't bottleneck up so quickly because there's cool stuff back there! But it's hard to find a nice spot to sit and watch with the hordes of people bearing down on you.

My family has a weird relationship with Christmas presents, where we all try to one-up each other to give the perfect present. It's very stressful (but I did learn how to wrap presents at a young age). I was in the Wizard of Oz so everyone jumped on that bandwagon really eagerly since it was topical and something different. Now I live a plane ride away, so everyone sends checks. Less fun but way more useful!

I don't mind at all! I have no idea what to do with my pictures (I'm really bad with scissors so scrapbooking's kind of out.) so someone should use them!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Love your pictures of the trolley show!! I always always always get a phone call when that rides down Main Street, so I have to duck away and usually miss part!

Yay that Bear arrived!! Too funny that he wanted to ride CoP instead of Space Mountain! The thrilling circle theater! The stories of ovens that weren't voice-activated! Rotary phones!

 

[marDgreen88]

I'm a little confused... are you going on a new trip?

CoP cracks me up. I mean they had some good ideas about the 21st century. Who knows, maybe one day we will be able to control our ovens with our voices. I do think that the best part of CoP is the concept, though. PLUS, THE SONG.

I agree, I don't mind that Snow White is leaving. I don't really have sentimental attachment to it, and the mine train sounds awesome! Plus, the new ride probably won't include the witch, so that's a plus!

 

[Nermel9]

Haha, I'm confused too, are you going on another trip??

I love CoP, even though it is horribly outdated! It's just so much fun, and I love attractions where the song gets stuck in your head all day!

OMG I'm in love with your Haunted Mansion pictures. I love that building, and I hate that no matter where you look at it from, you can never really see it very well up close.

I hated Snow White for the longest time too, I hated her voice! And she just seemed kind of stupid to me, you know? But when it came out on DVD a few years ago, I gave her another chance, and now I can appreciate her for what she is, she's just a girl who wants to find a prince, I guess that's not so bad. I used to hold that against her, but it is such a Disney classic, I had to look beyond that. (Yeah, I had serious Snow White issues! ) And I love the Dwarves!

I like the Scary Adventures, but I can't wait for the mine train! I can't wait for the new Fantasyland!

 

[Merida]

Love your pictures of the trolley show!! I always always always get a phone call when that rides down Main Street, so I have to duck away and usually miss part!

Yay that Bear arrived!! Too funny that he wanted to ride CoP instead of Space Mountain! The thrilling circle theater! The stories of ovens that weren't voice-activated! Rotary phones!

Oh no! I hate talking on the phone, so I tend to not pick up. Being in front of a live show is just a great excuse for me!

I knoooow. It wasn't like it was his favorite ride from a kid or anything. I still can't figure out why it was so important to do that one first, but it was fun. And, I have to admit, those seats were mighty comfortable after all of the walking around!

I'm a little confused... are you going on a new trip?

CoP cracks me up. I mean they had some good ideas about the 21st century. Who knows, maybe one day we will be able to control our ovens with our voices. I do think that the best part of CoP is the concept, though. PLUS, THE SONG.

I agree, I don't mind that Snow White is leaving. I don't really have sentimental attachment to it, and the mine train sounds awesome! Plus, the new ride probably won't include the witch, so that's a plus!

Haha, I've had our next two vacations planned out since, like, January. I was bored and the weather was gross, so what else was I to do? I have a looong wait at the airport today so I'll probably write up that post anyway, since it'll be mostly text-y and I don't know what internet I'll have.

Yes! It was really cute and I do like history/future-that-never-was stuff. I just think it's funny that they keep pushing forward the date of the final scene, which is both outdated and futuristic all at once. And the dog - he's a cutie.

I know! I like that it will incorporate dark ride elements and roller coasters - it seems unique but still paying homage to ~classic attractions. Plus I LOVE all the images coming from the soft open of circus land (which I was super excited about, I love circus themes. Popcorn everywhere!! And it ties the new Mickey meet'n'greet in with Fantasyland, which is cool) so I think it'll turn out amazing.

Haha, I'm confused too, are you going on another trip??

I love CoP, even though it is horribly outdated! It's just so much fun, and I love attractions where the song gets stuck in your head all day!

OMG I'm in love with your Haunted Mansion pictures. I love that building, and I hate that no matter where you look at it from, you can never really see it very well up close.

I hated Snow White for the longest time too, I hated her voice! And she just seemed kind of stupid to me, you know? But when it came out on DVD a few years ago, I gave her another chance, and now I can appreciate her for what she is, she's just a girl who wants to find a prince, I guess that's not so bad. I used to hold that against her, but it is such a Disney classic, I had to look beyond that. (Yeah, I had serious Snow White issues! ) And I love the Dwarves!

I like the Scary Adventures, but I can't wait for the mine train! I can't wait for the new Fantasyland!

Haha, kind of! Not to WDW (which is the kind of part, we know we're going on a trip, I've already paid the deposits ).

I like Tomorrowland's mix of classic and new attractions. I mean, it's hard to have a 'Tomorrow'land because tomorrow's always changing, so it's interesting to see all of the different tomorrows represented. I know CoP is not a popular attraction but I think Tomorrowland would definitely suffer by closing it down.

And the music is great too!

Yes! I would totally jump the fence if there were fewer cast members around. As nice as the interactive queue is, I think that I would have designed something more like Tower of Terror's (where you get to see so much of the grounds/lobby). But ToT is one of my favorite queues so I would turn every queue into something like ToT's if I had the chance!

Ugh, I hate her voice too. It's not so bad in the movie but I don't really like it in real life character greetings. It's just so high-pitched and I don't know anyone who actually talks at that pitch! It is a nice movie, just one that I fast-forward through to find the scenes that I like (the wishing well, the mirror, most things with the dwarves).

I am much more excited with all the new pictures! Storybook Circus looks so cute (and the bathrooms are gorgeous! )

 

[Merida]

I’m back at home and finally back on EST – TV schedules revolved around me! No more guessing when things will happen! No more having to convert everything to MST! Yay!

Anyway, since my parents are, you know, very interested in our future, I’ve been given a summary of my Five Year Plan pretty much non-stop since the plane touched down. So this has been well rehearsed!

I’ve mentioned before that both Bear and I are in grad school and that we live in Colorado. We’re both nearing the end of our masters’ programs so our schedules are becoming increasingly busy with committee meetings and last minute research and thesis writing (if I ever get to that stage!). So we really won’t have much free time to travel until after the masters’ graduation (the program we’re in distinguishes between the masters’ and PhD programs, which not all programs in the field do).

So of course we need a huge (relatively, we’re still on grad student pay!) vacation for right after graduation (well, technically we’ll be on vacation during the graduation ceremony if everything works out!). Since this may be the only time we’ll live close to the west coast, we’ll be heading to…

Disneyland!

In December 2012 (no exact dates yet), we’ll do a week stay in Southern California; four days at the Disneyland Hotel and then three days at other various sites (we have two choices of itineraries depending on how things work out).

We’ll come back from Disneyland, hopefully all relaxed and refreshed, all ready to pack up everything we own. Because we’re moving late December 2012/early January 2013 to…

Florida!

Yup, we’ve both decided not to move on in our current programs. In a field like atmospheric science, pretty much all post-undergrad education is focused on getting you into a tenure-track position. And the graduate programs reflect this – it’s teaching you how to be a researcher and do your own unique research which, while it can be a very fulfilling and amazing experience, can also be very demoralizing. Neither of us really want to be atmos professors (or spend the rest of our lives writing grant proposals), so atmospheric science PhDs are pretty worthless to us. (Not that I don’t love the field and really my decision was not as flippant as I may make it sound here. I worried about this for ages and I still do, from time to time, because I have ALWAYS – since, like, age five when I realized what a PhD was - wanted my science PhD and thus it is very hard to give that up).

Bear went to undergrad in Florida and there are lots and lots of atmos jobs there (hurricanes, anyone?) so he’ll probably not go back to school. I’m switching programs to a history of atmospheric and environmental sciences in Fall 2013.

But wait, you may say, there is a good time period between January 2013 and Fall 2013. What will you do then?

I’m not very sure; I’m going to apply to some Animal Kingdom Professional Internships for Spring 2013, but I am technically over-educated/qualified so it’s very unlikely that I’ll get one of those (I’m saying this because I want one so much I need to start prepping myself for disappointment now. History of science programs are pretty much prep for museum work – and AK is kind of a science museum! I would also love to eventually go into research admin, especially at a facility like AK. Also I'm pretty much unqualified to get any other normal job because my resume is maxed out for academia, not, you know, the real world).

After all the work of moving and starting new schools and jobs, we’re totally going to need a vacation. So...

we’ll be sailing on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise (the St. Maarten itinerary) on the Disney Fantasy!

Hurrah! We’re sailing in December 2013. We’re seriously considering adding on a couple days at Port Orleans French Quarter to the beginning, but that’ll depend on our money and vacation days situation.

I’m pretty positive there’ll be sporadic days at WDW here and there because, hello, Florida resident discounts! Bear has promised at least one day at the 2013 Flower and Garden Festival, which I’m super excited about (since we have to miss this year’s Fantasia theme, and Fantasia is so beyond formative to my childhood that it pains me greatly to miss any event celebrating it).

So yes. That is our next 2 years of vacations. At some point I’ll set up a PTR because I’ll be crowd-sourcing every step of my PI applications you have been warned.

tl,dr version?

In December 2012 we’re going here:

In January 2012 we’re moving here:

In Spring 2013, I will hopefully be working here:

In December 2013, we’ll be on here:

(photo 1, 2, 3, 4)

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

2012 and 2013 are going to be such exciting years for you guys!!!! All of your plans sound so wonderful!

Going to Disneyland, how fun! That's going to be such a fun trip to kick off the rest of your adventures!

It sounds like Florida is a great choice for you guys with your careers (and proximity to Disney!!) That'd be so cool if you were able to get an Animal Kingdom internship too! (But just visiting Disney would be fun too! )

And then sailing on the Fantasy!! I'm so jealous of all of your awesome plans!!

 

[marDgreen88]

I feel like that post deserves more than a wow... but that's pretty much all I can think of to say right now.

WOW! That's all really exciting! I'm jealous that you get to go to Disneyland, I mean hello, that's WALT'S BABY. Hooray for science-y things. Animal Kingdom should hire you for that program based solely on the fact that you're a Diser. It's also just beyond exciting that you get to sail on the Fantasy! I can't believe how beautiful of a ship it is.

So in a nutshell...

WOW!

 

[__disneygirl]

YAY!!! Congrats on all of this!! I am SO excited for you! I hope you'll share more of your plans and stuff with us as they happen!

 

[Merida]

2012 and 2013 are going to be such exciting years for you guys!!!! All of your plans sound so wonderful!

Going to Disneyland, how fun! That's going to be such a fun trip to kick off the rest of your adventures!

It sounds like Florida is a great choice for you guys with your careers (and proximity to Disney!!) That'd be so cool if you were able to get an Animal Kingdom internship too! (But just visiting Disney would be fun too! )

And then sailing on the Fantasy!! I'm so jealous of all of your awesome plans!!

I'm so excited to go to Disneyland! I'm OBSESSED with the Disneyland Hotel. Seriously. It's like the new Port Orleans Royal Rooms mixed with the Contemporary. Sadly we're just going to be in the "cheapo" rooms but the signature suites are mindblowingly awesome (even though I can't pick a favorite! So if anyone wants to go halvsies, you can pick which one to stay in! )

Isn't the Fantasy gorgeous? I never thought I'd want to go cruising and then I saw the Disney boats. They're just too pretty and I looove the stateroom design (there may be a theme here.. hmm... )

I feel like that post deserves more than a wow... but that's pretty much all I can think of to say right now.

WOW! That's all really exciting! I'm jealous that you get to go to Disneyland, I mean hello, that's WALT'S BABY. Hooray for science-y things. Animal Kingdom should hire you for that program based solely on the fact that you're a Diser. It's also just beyond exciting that you get to sail on the Fantasy! I can't believe how beautiful of a ship it is.

So in a nutshell...

WOW!

Haha, yeah, which is why our "planning the next trip" isn't really a "planning the next trip." I get bored and then I need to do all these ridiculously big projects (and I already painted the house, got us involved in cat fostering, and planned a big road trip to Florida so OBVIOUSLY the only thing left was to plan two new vacations while coordinating a cross-county move).

Bear keeps saying that we don't need that many days in Disneyland, isn't it really small? And then I'm all 'NO IT IS MY BABY I LOVE IT ALREADY.' He said the same thing before the December WDW trip and by the end he was planning future stays that were eight or nine days minimum, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to change his mind.



I knooow.. the AK should totally just hire me right now for being awesome. I've actually started drafting out amusing personal anecdotes to use at any and all interviews I may get. AND my personal statement. I've read that some people apply to over fifteen PIs, but there's only, like, two I qualify for which totally freaks me out. I knew I should've gotten my scuba certification!! Or majored in health information management!

YAY!!! Congrats on all of this!! I am SO excited for you! I hope you'll share more of your plans and stuff with us as they happen!

Of course! Once I get started, I probably won't stop be able to stop talking, actually. I really hope everything works out, if only for practically unlimited (free) access to DIS meets during the professional internship time period (and I'll finally do a Disney trip with my family, since we've never actually all gone before! I really would love to be able to swing a mother-daughter Flower Festival trip sometime. Everyone else's always sound so fun)

 

[Nermel9]

Wow, that all sounds so exciting! Disneyland! A Disney Cruise! Maybe working in Animal Kingdom! That would be amazing! I really hope you can get in, working there would be a dream come true!

 

[Merida]

Hey everyone! Isn’t it so nice for it to be Friday? The weather here is practically perfect and I’m finally able to enjoy it. All of my major stressors from this month (wisdom teeth, family visit to see baby, committee meeting) are finished and somehow they all went well. No teeth complications, my new nephew is cute and we will have to take him to Disney World ASAP when we move down, and my committee was super supportive of my work. Plus I have three packages coming in the mail today!

Anyway, approximately two weeks ago, we stepped off Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The clouds, which had been steadily clearing all morning, were out in full force again. Like true atmospheric scientists, neither Bear nor I had brought any sort of rain gear along so I was getting worried.

And hungry.

Mostly hungry, since it was about 1:00 at this point and I hadn’t eaten anything since 8:00 that morning. Usually I eat lots of small meals throughout the day because I’m either full or starving (and completely devoid of energy). There’s not much of a middle ground. We did have lunch reservations at the Plaza for the godawful time of 1:45PM(ish). And I wasn’t sure I could make it.

“..But I’m hungry..” Apparently neither of us remembered anything about snack credits? But Bear agreed to try and check in early.

Hidden Mickeys​

We cut around the side of the castle (near Rapunzel’s meet and greet, which looked adorable but I had been promised lunch. LUNCH!). By this point, I was practically dragging Bear down Main Street as he tried to take in the sights, sounds, and smells.

“But look at the flowers!” I stopped for maybe thirty seconds to see the confetti; we were so close.

Plaza Restaurant​

And then we were there. It really did look like rain at this point and the little tables outside were deserted. I paced around the courtyard as Bear went to check in.

The Plaza​

Bear came back with a pager, and we stood there staring at it for about 30 seconds before it went off. Sometimes I find the pagers really, really silly – and this was one of those times. When we came down in November 2010, Bear had made two reservations, one for the Grand Floridian Café and one for the Plaza. We were in the Magic Kingdom the day after Thanksgiving (but I don’t remember it being crowded?) and the pager was definitely needed then. We even saw an irate guest! Fun times, fun times.

We were ushered back into my favorite part of the Plaza, the little sunroom that’s painted green on the outside (not that you would ever guess, looking from the street, that the green room is part of the Plaza. At least, not that I ever guessed!).

Ever since Tony’s got rid of the Lady and the Tramp breakfast (why), the Plaza is my favorite place to eat in the Magic Kingdom. I know, it’s only half a step up from counter service and nowhere near “fine dining” or whatever. But (optimistically) 85% of what we eat normally can barely be classed as “dining.” So anything fancier than the Plaza is truly lost on us poor grad students. We have always found both the food and the service to be top notch (two data points is totally a trend).

One and a half sandwiches, some fries, and several lemonade refills later, we were both sated. Deluxe dining may have been wasted on us as well – I can never eat that much food at one time. But I will give it the ol’ college try! The Plaza was our first experience with the dining plan and the joy of getting dessert at restaurants (see: poor graduate students. I’m also one of four kids so we would always do “other” treats after going out for pizza). This was seriously magical and made the entire dining plan worthwhile.

Dining and food usually isn’t a big part of our life and it was very nice to know everything was already paid for (or, you know, free). No brownie sundae (minus the cherry and whipped cream) ever tasted so good!

The lunchtime indulgence finally came to an end and after profusely thanking our waitress (we usually get stuck in between two larger families in restaurants and the Plaza was no exception so it’s always nice when we get attention). What do after eating something double the size of your normal lunch?

Head off to Big Thunder of course!

Only the parade was starting soon and we got stuck in the crowds on the sides. Rats. And I had sounded so smart convincing Bear to head up there next.

Hall of Presidents​

We squeezed through a break in the crowds and headed up the steps of the Hall of Presidents to regroup.
“Why not try this? Carousel of Progress was fun.” Bear’s suggestion was reasonable. I had liked Carousel of Progress. What was a few more minutes when I’d already been waiting all morning?

The Seal​

The atrium was not particularly awe-inspiring. I mean, it’s not like Big Thunder’s queue is anything to write home about but at least you know that Big Thunder’s at the end! All Hall of Presidents has going for it is the carpet.

The Olive Branch​

Do they ever change the direction the eagle faces, like on the ‘real’ seal in the Oval Office? I’ve always wondered how they do that (especially since it was brought up on The West Wing and then never, ever mentioned ever again. WHY COULDN’T YOU TELL ME, AARON SORKIN??? Is it too much to ask?)

Bear decided that actually, listening to my frustrations regarding the presidential seal wasn’t that interesting and maybe the crowds were a better idea. Our five minute exposure to the Hall of Presidents (~educational~) had come to the end.

Tom Sawyer's Island​

I usually don’t take the main pathway through Frontierland; I like the view of Tom Sawyer’s Island that you have when taking the low road. I’ve never actually been to Tom Sawyer’s Island but I like watching the rafts.

Birds​

The birds are a nice perk, too! I know that they’re everywhere in the park getting in everyone’s way and stealing food but it’s a little more “natural habitat” down by the lake. I had a really great idea for a picture of one of the larger birds and started scrambling around in the mulch, trying to figure out the best way to make the picture happen.

Birds​

The picture never actually happened (stupid depth of field being off. And the birds weren’t being very helpful) but we had a fun ten minutes running around after the cranes (I think? I’m not very good at native Floridian birds. I need a book).

Birds​

As amused as we were by the birds, other families were by us. After I had finally given up on Chester the Crane (he kept bobbing his head, next time I’m giving up and doing burst mode), we were stopped by a nice gentleman and his son.

“We’re not going to use these, and they’re good for now, would you like them?”

“YES.” I love free things. I don’t even care if they’re useful, the fact that I got something for free is totally worth celebrating. Hey, if we weren’t going to use them, we could always pass them on or whatever. But what was the chance that they’d be for something we didn’t ride? There’s only one fastpass ride we don’t like…

“You don’t even know what they’re for..” Bear apparently does not share my enthusiasm for free fastpasses. We thanked the two men and waited until they were a few feet away before flipping them over. Come on Space Mountain, Space Mountain, Space Mountain….

Rats.

“Splash?!”

“You were the one who wanted free fastpasses,” Bear was quick to remind me. “Come on, let’s go look at it, maybe it won’t be that bad.”

King of the Island​

I dragged my feet along the wood planks. I hate Splash Mountain. Stupid fast passes for a stupid ride that’s stupid.

Returning from Splash Mountain​

We stood on the bridge and watched log after log come down the drop.

“People in the back don’t seem to be getting wet,” Bear pointed out. “And it looks like most of the water is just sprayers.”

But just because everyone riding – and the nearby birds - all get through the experience (and stay relatively dry) doesn’t mean I will. Stupid free fastpasses.

We stood there, going back and forth for a few minutes.

“What do you want to do?”

“I’ll ride if you want to.”

“But do you want to?”

“Do you want to?”

This is why we usually plan ahead because we are both horrible decision makers. But eventually (after five minutes of people dropping down to the briar patch and getting out alive) we made the executive decision to let future Merida and future Bear decide about Splash Mountain.

My favorite type of decision!

And in the mean time, we would have the much more rewarding experience of a bathroom break and a much-delayed spin on Big Thunder.

Oh and p.s.: I joined up on twitter again! My handle is @jonquillas since I’m still figuring out who is who everywhere and I apologize for missing anyone!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed lunch at the Plaza! I've never been there before, but it looks so cute and quaint! (Although, I'm not sure how you could possibly have a brownie sundae without whipped cream and a cherry!! )

Love that you took a 5 minute break in the lobby of the Hall of Presidents! The perfect little pausing area!

Hmmm...I'm wondering if your future selves used the FP's for Splash. I'm going to go with yes! Why not?

 

[jecskc]

Loving your TR, photography and cerebral writing style. Looking forward to reading more.

Psst ..... most of your chapter links go straight to post #12. I thought I kept mistakenly clicking on the same link, but no ... they all are the same link. I thought you might want to know. I enjoyed scrolling through the whole thing however, so no bother for this Disney fan

 

[marDgreen88]

I love the picture of the Mickey confetti in the flowers, that looks so pretty.

I can understand having the sundae without the cherries, sure, but no WHIPPED CREAM?

Okay WHaaaaa? You don't like SPLASH? Oh my gosh. It's my favorite! To each her own, I suppose!

 

[Merida]

Neither of had actually been back in the Splash Mountain area. It’s not very surprising, since I dislike public toilets and neither of us have (at this point) been to any of the parties or ridden Splash.

So we got lost.

Splash Mountain​

It took a few rather amused cast members pointing us on our way (why didn’t we use our map??) before we found the bathrooms.

FPs​

Because of all of my various accoutrements that I didn’t want to take inside, Bear agreed to a bathroom swap; it takes a little longer but at least you get a nice rest and a chance to people swap.

But we were finally on our way back up the hill – only stopping once to look as the train chugged by overhead. By our standards we were practically sprinting up towards Big Thunder!

I dug through my carefully-organized camera bag, trying to find the correct fastpasses in my stash. I don’t do well with visibly well organized things, I’ve found; I need my own special system that usually gets described as ‘messy.’

Big Thunder Lamps​

I naturally have a very obsessive personality so I tend to spend a lot of energy worrying about why I don’t love all of a certain thing. Like Big Thunder – love the ride, hate the queue. And this is a normal thing, given that the queue is the most boring in the entire world. But it bothers me that I always dismiss the queue so quickly. There has to be something redeeming in there!

So it became my mission to find something – anything – worthwhile in the Big Thunder Mountain queue.

Big Thunder​

It didn’t really work the way I hoped; there are some little details through the windows and up in the rafters but they don’t really tell the complete, intended story.

Irish Blend​

Good choice, old timey miners!

It doesn’t help that everything in there is so brown. There could be tons of details hidden in that building but it is so visually boring. Your eyes just get so tired staring at all that wood that you just tune out on everything. The theming of the actual ride is well done, but the queue does nothing to get you interested or invested in the storyline of the ride.

d2_p154​

It’s a shame because I do think there is something interesting there beyond one of the few “coasters” in Magic Kingdom. Fun ride, yes. But I think it’s a waste of the storyline (though lol forever at the stereotypical Native American curse. Really? And the “reasoning” as to why guests are in the possessed trains is really weak) to leave out more explicit explanations or cues as to why the (admittedly minimal) details in the queue are important and how they connect to the ride.

Bird Cabins​

Before Bear and I knew it we had survived another jaunt on the possessed trains and were shuffling down the exit ramp.

“Splash Mountain?” I asked Bear nervously as we wandered back down towards the main hub of Frontierland.

“How long’s the line?” We stopped to look at the clock; under 20 minutes for standby so fastpass couldn’t be very long at all. “Why not? It won’t take very long at all.”

“Okay. But you have to tell them where we want to sit.” I never tried out asking cast members for a particular seat and I wasn’t going to start right before I went on the worst ride ever.

Lamps​

Can birds actually live in those houses? Or are they stuffed with the speakers? The little noises are genius (especially when compared to Big Thunder) but I’d love if they were actually useful.

Disney Squirrels​

“Do you have to go to the bathroom? We’re right here…”

“No more stalling, I want to ride the train sometime today!” Now that we’d actually made the decision, Bear was ready to go and I had to leave my new squirrel friend.

Premium Carrots​

I dragged my feet all the way up to the door, taking pictures of pretty much anything while trying to delay the inevitable. I’m not very good at accepting the inevitable – I am truly skilled at finding every way to put off something for another few seconds.

d2_p159​

But the door was there in front of us, ominously dark and gaping. The poor cast member, standing there innocently clad in blue gingham, didn’t seem to belong to this monstrous ride.

But Bear pulled me forward and we zipped through the line; it was maybe five minutes from entrance to loading. My camera was secured in the bag, I was scrunched down in the seat next to Bear and our log was lurching down the river.

It was only a short while later that Bear was tugging at my arm, trying to get me out of the seat and down to see our picture.

“So? What did you think?” Bear asked, grinning, as we jostled for a good viewing position in the crowd.

“AGAIN, AGAIN!”

 

[Merida]

Wow, that all sounds so exciting! Disneyland! A Disney Cruise! Maybe working in Animal Kingdom! That would be amazing! I really hope you can get in, working there would be a dream come true!

I really hope it works out! If only because it would be fun to get promoted up to salaried cast member and get real benefits and free admission.

But mostly dental insurance.

Maybe.

And having a real life grown up job could be fun! Especially if it's at Disney.

 

[Merida]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed lunch at the Plaza! I've never been there before, but it looks so cute and quaint! (Although, I'm not sure how you could possibly have a brownie sundae without whipped cream and a cherry!! )

Love that you took a 5 minute break in the lobby of the Hall of Presidents! The perfect little pausing area!

Hmmm...I'm wondering if your future selves used the FP's for Splash. I'm going to go with yes! Why not?

It is so adorable inside! Apparently sometimes the Mayor comes in? I've never seen those characters but I think it's nice that they do that. It can get really crowded but we've always been lucky to get families that are very amusing to watch! (Heh, I hate the consistency of whipped cream, so it's usually just a brownie + vanilla ice cream. Bear eats the cherry for me!)

I really meant to see Hall of Presidents but.. it just never worked out. I figure I get plenty of education in normal life that I don't need to bother with even "Disney education" on vacation.

Also, no Alexander Hamilton representation!! Best Founding Father ever.

Loving your TR, photography and cerebral writing style. Looking forward to reading more.

Psst ..... most of your chapter links go straight to post #12. I thought I kept mistakenly clicking on the same link, but no ... they all are the same link. I thought you might want to know. I enjoyed scrolling through the whole thing however, so no bother for this Disney fan

I like 'cerebreal'! It sounds so much nicer and more positive than 'over-thinking' or 'nit-picky.' It's so weird to think that I'm only on day 2 of 6! I really need to dig out my trip journal soon, so I can remember what we did.

Ooh, thank you! I thought I checked most of them, but the DIS was being so slow then I took the lazy way out. I should update it by this point in time anyway!

I love the picture of the Mickey confetti in the flowers, that looks so pretty.

I can understand having the sundae without the cherries, sure, but no WHIPPED CREAM?

Okay WHaaaaa? You don't like SPLASH? Oh my gosh. It's my favorite! To each her own, I suppose!

Thanks! No idea how Bear spotted them but I'm really glad he made me stop.

Whipped cream has the worst consistency I like the idea of it and the flavor, but I can't get past the weird way it feels (same thing re: fruit - which is hard, because I love fruit flavor but not fruit texture. And waffle cones!). At least I eat more than just vanilla ice cream now - it took my parents AGES to convince me to try other flavors (though I still side-eye pistachio like whoa).

Heh, there's nothing wrong with Splash, I just have a very (over) active imagination and since I never saw inside of it, I built up this really intense ride in my mind. Same thing with Haunted Mansion! I'm apparently a very gullible person when it comes to my own brain.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yayyyy I'm glad to hear you survived (and ENJOYED!) Splash!!! How could you not? Seriously, it's such an awesome ride!!

I've only been on BTMRR once, actually, when I was younger. So I don't really remember the queue being dull. (Now we skip it because neither DBF or I are that keen on being jostled around that much!)