Day 2, Jan. 22 DHS
We got up, raring to go and were out the door at 8 a.m. I swear our shower was infused with something invigorating, it was like a miracle shower! We wanted to be at rope drop so we could head to TSMM first thing, that was the focus, so we had nothing to eat that morning (first mistake of the day).
We had a very short wait for the bus, and had a wonderful driver, Salvatore. He asked us trivia questions and got us all singing. If only all the drivers could have been like that!
It was cold! We were in our long pants, long sleeves, warmest coats and gloves. My, oh my, not the Florida weather I was hoping for by any means. We had to wait for park opening, so we used the time to get our 1st Visit buttons, which Im very glad we did. We saw the opening show and headed right for TSMM after rope drop (along with everyone else).
As we were starting to walk, I heard voices behind us saying hi
it was my DISfriend's family! They had been right by us since we entered the park! We didnt really have time to chat, as we were all on a mission! We got into the line for TSMM, and walked through a lot of the line.
I actually wished we had been able to take more time in line so I could take more photos. I loved the movies, and the queue is an excellent match to the movies. I did get a few pics as we were walking. As we came up to a CM, she told us to come up the ramp where no one else was. Okay? I didnt really realize what had happened until I saw that we had skipped a ton of the line! DH said she saw our 1st Visit buttons and had whisked us into the accessible area. It saved us a LOT of time! Thank you nice CM! But that meant we got separated from DISfriend and her family, but we knew we had plans to meet up at Mama Melroses and watch Fantasmic! together.
After TSMM, we got fastpasses for later and then headed for RNRC.
I was so incredibly excited for this ride! DD9 wasnt so sure. I thought she would go on it, but nope. By the time we go up to the loading area, she was in tears. Tears of frustration mostly I think. She wanted to do it, but she just couldnt make herself. She was very worried about it going upside down and/or someone throwing up. I ran into the first snotty CM of the trip right here. There had been a bunch of people in front of us in line that didnt speak English, which must be very frustrating when you work at Disney, but still. We got up to the CM and she saw that DD9 was upset and said very snottily to me, I cant put her on the ride if she doesnt want to go! before I even had a chance to explain that we needed to do a child swap. She pawned us off on another (much nicer) CM who took us through the chicken exit and into the gift shop to wait for DH and DD7. DD7 said she loved the ride, but didnt want to ride again with me. So I got to ride my first Disney roller coaster with some random stranger who wasnt exactly 100% enthusiastic about being there.
RNRC was much more of a ride than I thought it would be. I knew about the acceleration but the rest was great, too! I loved it, but it would have been so much better if we didnt have the circumstances before hand and had all ridden together. At this point I was very concerned that DD9 wouldnt go on ANY big rides all week.
On the way back from RNRC we shopped at the Villain store (DD9 bought a Maleficent dragon and DD7 bought the choose-your-own bulk $47.83 per pound M&Ms). We were all a little cranky and decided we needed food, although it was after 10 a.m. and I hoped we could just wait until lunchtime. But once DD7 had those M&Ms there was no stopping her! We headed over toward the Great Movie Ride, thinking it would be good for calming DD9 down, but bummer. It was closed temporarily. We had fun looking at the handprints in the sidewalk. Okay, remember when you were a kid and your parents would try to explain who celebrities were from back in their day? That was us. And just like when I was a kid, the younger generation didnt care at all.
We got in line at Pizza Planet and who should be in front of us in line? DISfriend and her family! The kids had a good time while waiting for our turn, which took a long time. Who would have thought that the line would move so slowly at 11 a.m.?
After a mediocre lunch, we decided to do MuppetVision 3D. We all love the Muppets (even the younger generation)! We were waiting in the lobby, and someone pushed into me and very rudely said, Excuse me lady! It was my friend BFF (and her family) from home! We werent traveling together, just at the same time, hoping to spend a little time together while we were there. The girls were so excited to see their friends!
My favorite part of the movie was listening to BFF laugh. She has a great laugh. Next we all went to Lights, Motors, Action! together. DH and BFFs husband were so happy about this. While in line for it, a wonderful stranger with the biggest pin collection I had ever seen traded pins with all the kids over and over again. That really made the time pass quickly for them. While we were in the stands waiting for the show to start, DD7 pulled out her M&Ms and offered them to her friends. BFFs younger daughter took a great big handful out of DD7s bag and stuffed them all in her mouth at once! BFF was appalled, but it was hilarious!
After the show we parted ways, and we did Star Tours and then headed off to a supposed Snowbird (January thread) Meet. DISfriend and her family were the only ones there! We gave up, and my family headed for TSMM to use our fastpasses.
We had a Fantasmic! dinner package ADR at 4:00 at Mama Melroses. By this point I was ready to get the heck away from the crowds! I thought it seemed extremely busy at HS. It was also extremely busy at Mama Melroses! That lobby area is tiny and LOUD, but once we were seated, I thought the ambiance was nice. My food was average, DH liked his a lot.
We got to our Fantasmic! seats a little after 6. I was worried that there wouldnt be any room, but the reserved section wasnt very full at all. We noticed on our way into the theater that they had added another show later that night. The Powers That Be must have thought the park was full, too! DISfriend called and we told her where we were. We had a nice time during our wait, although DH didnt talk to them at all! He was at one end and DISfriend's husband was on the other end, separated by the kids and the women. I guess he never really had a chance! But in my opinion, he should have moved down and at least tried to be social. DISfriend and her boys had presents for my girls, and to this day I feel really bad that I didnt have anything for them. My plans in that department just didnt work out because I couldnt find what I needed to make their gifts. If I ever see what I need, Ill be sending them to her boys!
Fantasmic! was impressive, Im really glad we saw it. Afterward, DD7 said, This was the best day ever! We were back to the resort right around 8 p.m.
Our mistakes today included: not eating breakfast, not having a written out plan (just a vague one), we didnt meet any characters (including Mater, my fave), and although this wasnt our fault, the park was busy!!!
I just can't find any Monsters, Inc stuff since the movie is older, so I had to make my own! 
It was funny, but I seriously had to stop reading at that point, and finish my lunch without the benefit of the very scary, very descriptive chapter.
My toes were going numb standing on the train platform.
I'm not happy about the loss of hours, but if it's going to be that nice I'm excited.
