The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[pkondz]

My favourite Disney parade is HKDL's Flights of Fantasy, which I was surprised has the same tune as DLR's Soundsational! The hot air balloon theme puts it over the line for me though - it makes for some really lovely floats.

Well, I have no clue about any of that!
I'll take your word for it.

With our spare $100k USD

Great! Send a photo of it in your living room.

I looked up the menu to remind myself what it was, but it just says 'champagne presented 3 ways', so I guess we'll never know!

Heh. "champagne 3 ways"... one with red food colouring, one with blue, one with none.

Honestly, I would have preferred the experience without the princesses. But I get that the kids would love it.

I'm right there with ya.

 

[zanzibar138]

Well, I have no clue about any of that!
I'll take your word for it.

Here's some of my favourite photos from over the years:

 

[pkondz]

Here's some of my favourite photos from over the years:

Thanks for those!
Pretty impressive!

This one cracks me up!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 6: In which we get two rooms and nearly see a parade

6.13. I get by with a little help from my LL​

You may remember a few days we had booked some LLs for EPCOT. It was the only way I figured we were going to get to ride anything with the wait times we’d seen! I’d booked a throw away for close to 10:00am – can’t remember what for but I figured it wouldn’t really matter if we didn’t make it. I think Spaceship Earth was booked for around 12pm, so we didn’t rush too much.

We started the day by sharing a brekky platter from the Contempo Café.



Then we hit the monorail.



It was the busiest we'd seen it at that time of morning, and as usual, we had just missed the monorail from the TTC. We still managed to arrive at EPCOT by about 11am, so we were pretty happy with that effort! It wasn’t worth rushing to try to get to our throw away LL, so we just hung out towards the front of the park for a while filling in time. I tried to book another LL after our first window closed, but wasn’t able to. I had read that I would, but it didn’t surprise me that I couldn’t, so I didn’t worry too much more about it. There was no chance of getting Frozen by that time anyway!

We got straight in line for Pluto. It was an estimated 20 minute wait, but we didn’t really have anything better to do lol! As often seemed to be the case for us, Pluto went for a break just before we got to him, and after our last experience at MK, we were a bit nervous about how long we’d be standing there waiting. We got chatting with the CM, who happened to be from Australia too, and just a couple of minutes later saw Pluto making his way back. He was very excited to discover that we’d just gotten married!



We still had heaps of time after meeting Pluto, so we just hung out a bit more, looking at some of the shops. We bought a pack of cute Chinese fan mystery pins, and were excited to get Minnie and Dale (photo taken later).



I’d suddenly realised in the last couple of days that my shopping opportunities were getting kind of limited, so I had another wander around the Creations shop while Ben sat on a bench. I saw a couple of ‘maybe’ items but nothing that really stood out. I did see this cute Figment artwork in the area though, which I assume was something to do with FArts.



Finally it was time for our very first LL! I think Spaceship Earth was up to about a 30 minute wait by then, so we still felt it was worthwhile. After we checked in, I immediately checked for LL availability, hoping that we might get lucky with Frozen, but not to be. Instead, I booked one for Soarin’, since that was another one I thought Ben might enjoy.

The line was very fast moving of course and soon we were boarding our ride vehicles. I really had no idea what to expect from Spaceship Earth, but I found it to be quite an enjoyable ride was glad we’d made the effort. We did get stuck for a few minutes on the way up, so I took the opportunity to get a quick photo.



The little digital activity on the way back down was a fun extra.



We also spent a few minutes checking out the activities at the end. It was quite busy in there, and we couldn’t really be bothered waiting for anything, but we did try the 3D operation game which was a bit of fun.



Our LL for Soarin’ wasn’t too far off, so we exited Spaceship Earth and started heading in the direction of the Land.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

As we walked past the CommuniCore Hall, we noticed there was only a 10 minute wait for the character greeting! We’d only ever seen quite long wait times there, so took full advantage and headed on in. We were so glad we did – it turned out to be some of the best character interaction we had on the whole trip! With short wait times, the characters were quite happy to take their time and each had a great ‘conversation’ with us and posed for several photos.



Goofy was very approving of Ben’s choice of ring (we won’t tell him I chose it myself lol!).





Minnie was cute as ever too. She was having all these great interactions with us and then suddenly realised her handler was distracted and hadn’t been taking any photos, so she just stood there tapping her foot until he suddenly realised lol!





We still had plenty of time before our LL, so we grabbed a drink from the little kiosk. And now that Ben had discovered pins, he was keen to check out what they had there. We came away with another mystery pack of the fan pins, which turned out to have… exactly the same 2 pins that we already had

I noticed the JAMMitors setting up, so we found a bit of wall to perch on and watched for a few minutes while we had some of our drink.



Next stop… the Land!



We still had a few minutes until our LL, and it was definitely lunch time, so we checked out the options at Sunshine Seasons and decided it would be a suitable lunch stop after the ride. In hindsight, we probably could have check out Awesome Planet, but it’s not something I feel too bad for missing.

We ended up checking in for Soarin’ a few minutes early, which was fine. The wait time was up to nearly an hour, so we were very happy to walk straight through most of the queue. We probably waited about 10 minutes all up. Although we were sightly to the side, I was very happy to get the first row, as I’ve always been in the back before. We both very much enjoyed it, and it was actually one that Ben would have been keen to do again (but always had too much of a wait!).



We finished up our time at the Land by sharing a Mongolian Beef and chocolate mousse from Sunshine Seasons, accompanied by adult beverages.



We left feeling nice and refreshed for the next part of the day.

Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

Next, we were headed to World Showcase. On our way, we passed by the colour by numbers mural again. This is as close to finished as we saw it.



On our way through, we stopped at Disney Traders and got some Pandora charms – just a couple of the park exclusive ones. It’s a terrible photo of some very pretty charms! In hindsight, we actually should have done a quick detour to the Canada pavilion via some of the art stalls too.



Moving along, we were headed to Norway to wait it out for Frozen, since we’d chosen to prioritise Ratatouille for our LL. It could have been worse. The wait time was about 50 minutes when we got in line. The outside part was getting slightly uncomfortably warm (I have no idea how people cope in the height of summer!), but went fairly quickly.



The inside part was much more comfortable and had all the cute theming to look at along the way.





It was a cute little ride and I’m glad we made the effort for that one too. Ben enjoyed it, even though he looks like he’s meditating in the ride photo lol!



Ben also enjoyed some of the photo opportunities in the area.



We continued around World Showcase, taking the time to look in some of the shops and check out some of the theming and views over the lake.





We finally made it to France, where we managed to find Ratatouille tucked away at the back (I would not have realised it was there if I wasn’t looking for it!). Again, we were a few minutes early for our LL, but were let through anyway. This was a super quick LL – we basically just walked straight through the queue and onto the ride! Must have been good timing. We both really enjoyed the ride, despite the fact that Ben had never seen Ratatouille and it had been a very long for me and I’d forgotten a lot of the movie. It was another one that Ben would have been keen to do again if it hadn’t always had such a long wait!



And with that, we concluded the ‘ride portion’ of the day.

 

[pkondz]

I get by with a little help from my LL

That is not how the song goes!

I’d booked a throw away for close to 10:00am – can’t remember what for

Guess it doesn't matter, then.

Then we hit the monorail.

"And were subsequently evicted from Disney property. We knew they didn't tolerate violence against their staff, but who knew they didn't allow it against their property either?"

As often seemed to be the case for us, Pluto went for a break just before we got to him,

I hope someone followed him with a bag...

We got chatting with the CM, who happened to be from Australia too,

Really! Small world.

He was very excited to discover that we’d just gotten married!

Finally! Someone (or some... thing?) recognized that!

Not sure why, but I really like this shot.

I’d suddenly realised in the last couple of days that my shopping opportunities were getting kind of limited

Tick tock, lady.

I immediately checked for LL availability, hoping that we might get lucky with Frozen, but not to be. Instead, I booked one for Soarin’, since that was another one I thought Ben might enjoy.

A very good alternative.
(And IMHO, a better one.)

I really had no idea what to expect from Spaceship Earth, but I found it to be quite an enjoyable ride was glad we’d made the effort.

Glad you enjoyed it.

We did get stuck for a few minutes on the way up, so I took the opportunity to get a quick photo.

The GoGo boots lady, no less!

The little digital activity on the way back down was a fun extra.

We were so glad we did – it turned out to be some of the best character interaction we had on the whole trip!

Great! I love when unplanned events turn out to be some of the best.

Goofy was very approving of Ben’s choice of ring (we won’t tell him I chose it myself lol!).

Awww...

Minnie was cute as ever too. She was having all these great interactions with us and then suddenly realised her handler was distracted and hadn’t been taking any photos, so she just stood there tapping her foot until he suddenly realised lol!

Do NOT tick off the main mousette!

And now that Ben had discovered pins, he was keen to check out what they had there.

Oh! So he had just gotten into them. I thought he maybe was collecting already.

We came away with another mystery pack of the fan pins, which turned out to have… exactly the same 2 pins that we already had

In hindsight, we probably could have check out Awesome Planet, but it’s not something I feel too bad for missing.

That's okay... I still haven't seen it.

The wait time was up to nearly an hour, so we were very happy to walk straight through most of the queue.

Best part of LL.

We both very much enjoyed it,

Fun little ride.

We finished up our time at the Land by sharing a Mongolian Beef and chocolate mousse

Interesting combination.

Next, we were headed to World Showcase. On our way, we passed by the colour by numbers mural again. This is as close to finished as we saw it.

It's the most finished I think I've ever seen it, too.

Moving along, we were headed to Norway to wait it out for Frozen, since we’d chosen to prioritise Ratatouille for our LL. It could have been worse. The wait time was about 50 minutes

Yikes... but I've seen it much worse for that ride.

Ben enjoyed it, even though he looks like he’s meditating in the ride photo lol!

Om Mani Padme Hum...

Wait... you didn't go in to Karamell Kuche???

we managed to find Ratatouille tucked away at the back (I would not have realised it was there if I wasn’t looking for it!).

Huh. I didn't realise it was that hard to find.

We both really enjoyed the ride, despite the fact that Ben had never seen Ratatouille

I was wondering. I know some people get motion sick on it. Surprised Ben was not only okay, but liked it.

 

[zanzibar138]

That is not how the song goes!

Oops

Really! Small world.

A world of laughter and a world of tears...

Finally! Someone (or some... thing?) recognized that!

We actually started to have some really great character interactions in those last few days of the trip!

Not sure why, but I really like this shot.

Me too

Oh! So he had just gotten into them. I thought he maybe was collecting already.

To that point, he had realised that they existed, and was interested in collecting one from each of the hotels we stayed at. He hadn't realised you could buy mystery packs or that trading was a thing.

I've collected a few pins over the years, mainly from special events etc, but I've also done a bit of trading at HKDL. I had kept forgetting to take my traders with me until that point though lol!

Yikes... but I've seen it much worse for that ride.

Ben loves the boat type rides (although having said that, he wasn't a huge fan of Pirates), so I thought it was worth doing. When we were planning a dessert party for our wedding, we were actually planning to get special entry for that one (they have a thing for private events where you can take your group through the first or last ride of the day with no wait).

Wait... you didn't go in to Karamell Kuche???

We looked through the other shops, but stopped when we got there as it looked too busy. Ben doesn't like caramel anyway.

I was wondering. I know some people get motion sick on it. Surprised Ben was not only okay, but liked it.

Ben doesn't get motion sickness from 3D or motion simulators - for him it's g-force. I was a little worried about myself, but I think it was small enough bits of motion simulator that it was ok.

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 6: In which we get two rooms and nearly see a parade

6.14. The EPCOT finale​

By the time we were finished with Ratatouille, it was nearly time for the first Disney on Broadway show, which was definitely something I’d wanted to see. We arrived quite early and got a shady seat with a decent view of the stage.



I would have preferred of the shows with male and female vocalists, but the guys put on a pretty good show and were very entertaining.





I had one thing left on my ‘must do’ list for EPCOT, and that was to go back to the Thomas Kincade stall to purchase one of the artworks. We decided to take a friendship boat, which I was surprised to see still running that late. We weren’t allowed to stand on the balcony at that time of day though – had to be inside.



We made it to the stall and I found artwork I wanted. I loved this one as it represented all 4 parks, with the classic characters as well.



Unfortunately it only came in a tiny canvas for about USD $80, or the larger fully framed version, which I think cost USD $400, then we’d also have to pay to ship it home. I ummed and aahed for a while, as I had kind of planned a decent contingency amount to purchase an artwork I loved. In the end, it was just going to be too much (would have come to over $1,000 AUD with shipping), so we went with the tiny canvas. To this day, I’m still not sure if I regret my decision or not. I love the artwork, but the canvas is so tiny, it’s difficult to see much of the detail. I was actually pretty devastated that there wasn’t a medium-size canvas available.

It was really a frustrating experience all round, as we had some pretty terrible customer service too. It was a bit chaotic and no one seemed to really know where to stand for service. We tried a couple of different options which resulted in us either being ignored or told off, and were just about to give up on the whole thing when we were finally acknowledged.

With artwork finally in hand, we started to make our way back around to Morocco, where our dinner reservation would be. We decided to check out the Canada pavilion on the way through, since we hadn’t seen that circle vision movie yet. I immediately regretted not making an effort to get there earlier in the daylight, to be able to see the beautiful landscaping.







It took a while to find where the movie was showing, but we did eventually make it, just in time for the start of the movie. It had been a pretty big day and, when we saw others sitting on the floor, we decided to follow suit!

There wasn’t really much else of interest as we made our way around the lake to Morocco, and we arrived quite early. We found a piece of wall with a nice view and just sat and relaxed for a bit.



Continued in next post…

 

[zanzibar138]

When the time came, we checked in for our fireworks dining package at Spice Road Table. I had actually been half tempted to cancel this, as I’d come to realise that as a party of 2, we would never be seated at any of the best tables with good views. This, of course, was the case again, and we were led to a table for 2 away from the water’s edge.





It was frustrating to have paid extra for a ‘fireworks’ view and be locked into a set meal, but end up with a pretty similar view to the tables just on the other side of that rope. The fence and the pillars weren’t a problem for people on the tables at the edge, but for us, they were going to be a real distraction. I took some practice shots of Spaceship Earth and was disappointed with how unavoidable that fence was.





We tried to enjoy the meal for what it was, but most of the food was too exotic for us. We did enjoy the lamb koftas, but sadly not much of anything else, including the dessert. We did enjoy a couple of mimosas that were included in the package price though!



When it was time for the show to start, I asked if we would be allowed to stand (there was no one else in that area behind us by that point). I found myself a little spot huddled in a corner where I could get a clear shot through the tables of people, pillars and fence. I was pleased with my view of the show in the end, but it wasn’t really any better than we saw other people getting who wandered up to the lake 15 minutes before the show started, and it certainly wasn’t the experience of being comfortably seated while we enjoyed the show that I’d been hoping for.







One redeeming factor was the great service we’d received! However, because the meal was pre-paid, we were only able to tip in cash (which we had inconveniently forgotten to bring with us again – in Australia, we never have any need for cash!). Someone finally came up with a way for us to pay be credit card, and we began the long journey back to the main exit. It's probably no surprise, but I wouldn't recommend bothering with the fireworks package at Spice Road, unless you have a group of 4 and will be seated right on the water. I'd still be interested to see what the fireworks package is like at Rose & Crown - we would have enjoyed the food a lot more there and it looks like generally a better view, but we just couldn't get in there.

One unexpected bonus was the lack of crowds and finally having the space and quiet to be able to properly enjoy the theming of the various areas on the way out.





Being a little behind the main crowds, we also enjoyed a slightly less crowded monorail ride back to the resort, where we did a little last minute shopping at Bayview Gifts before it closed. I considered getting a pretty pair of champagne glasses, and regret my decision not to. We did walk away with a Contemporary Resort pin and a little 2025 baby onesie for my bestie who's just become a grandma! Then did a bit of packing and organising in preparation for our last resort transfer.

As you can probably tell, we didn't love EPCOT, and we were quite pleased to have ticked off everything we wanted to do there, so we could focus on the other parks for the rest of our trip!

 

[pkondz]

A world of laughter and a world of tears...

To that point, he had realised that they existed, and was interested in collecting one from each of the hotels we stayed at. He hadn't realised you could buy mystery packs or that trading was a thing.

Ah!
Well, he's hooked now.

(they have a thing for private events where you can take your group through the first or last ride of the day with no wait).

Had no idea!

We looked through the other shops, but stopped when we got there as it looked too busy. Ben doesn't like caramel anyway.

Ah. No, I suppose not much point, then.

Ben doesn't get motion sickness from 3D or motion simulators - for him it's g-force.

Ohhhh...

it was nearly time for the first Disney on Broadway show, which was definitely something I’d wanted to see.

Didn't know they were doing that... sounds like it was a pretty good show, though.

We weren’t allowed to stand on the balcony at that time of day though – had to be inside.

I wonder why not. Odd.

I like it.

To this day, I’m still not sure if I regret my decision or not.

Oh, you do.

I was actually pretty devastated that there wasn’t a medium-size canvas available.

It was really a frustrating experience all round, as we had some pretty terrible customer service too. It was a bit chaotic and no one seemed to really know where to stand for service.

Hmmm... I wonder if it's because it's a festival and there's more people "just looking"?

We tried a couple of different options which resulted in us either being ignored or told off

hmmm... I'm wondering if your definition of "told off" differs from mine. Told off would be equivalent to scolded. Like "It's not your turn. You'll have to wait in line."

I immediately regretted not making an effort to get there earlier in the daylight, to be able to see the beautiful landscaping.

Epcot in the dark is wonderful.

It had been a pretty big day and, when we saw others sitting on the floor, we decided to follow suit!

Disney takes it out of you.

as a party of 2, we would never be seated at any of the best tables with good views.

Really? That seems... less than fair.

It was frustrating to have paid extra for a ‘fireworks’ view and be locked into a set meal, but end up with a pretty similar view to the tables just on the other side of that rope.

I took some practice shots of Spaceship Earth and was disappointed with how unavoidable that fence was.

Yep... there it is.

We tried to enjoy the meal for what it was, but most of the food was too exotic for us. We did enjoy the lamb koftas, but sadly not much of anything else, including the dessert.

That's too bad.

it certainly wasn’t the experience of being comfortably seated while we enjoyed the show that I’d been hoping for.

Certainly not, if you have to stand to take half-decent shots.

I considered getting a pretty pair of champagne glasses, and regret my decision not to.

More buyer's remorse. You need to go back and buy all the things!

 

[Steppesister]

I actually kind of like that too.

What's not to love about Groovy Chick?!

exactly the same 2 pins that we already had

Oh geez, Louise.

The inside part was much more comfortable and had all the cute theming to look at along the way.

Yep!

We finally made it to France, where we managed to find Ratatouille tucked away at the back (I would not have realised it was there if I wasn’t looking for it!).

Yep, the BEST parts of the pavilions are at the back!!! All of them, except Germany, have cool hidden areas towards the back that offer wonderful photo opps.

It was really a frustrating experience all round, as we had some pretty terrible customer service too. It was a bit chaotic and no one seemed to really know where to stand for service. We tried a couple of different options which resulted in us either being ignored or told off, and were just about to give up on the whole thing when we were finally acknowledged.

UGH! That just wrecks the whole experience. Such a bummer to not have clear process communication.

Spice Road Table. I had actually been half tempted to cancel this,

But, but... the FOOD!

But, I can see if you don't enjoy more adventurous cuisines too.

but it wasn’t really any better than we saw other people getting who wandered up to the lake 15 minutes before the show started, and it certainly wasn’t the experience of being comfortably seated while we enjoyed the show that I’d been hoping for.

Booooo! This makes me so sad for you.