"The Stormtrooper Killed My Cupcake!" - An August 2016 TR *5/12 x2!*

[pkondz]

I hope everyone had a good holiday season.

Well....

Marie and I did visiting my family in Michigan and then her family back here in Quebec afterward.

Nice! You got both sides in! I'm impressed. That's often not that easy to do. And you guys do it in two countries.

Of course, my nephew got us sick, so that was less fun but we're better now.

That's too bad. Glad you're all better now, though.

We were actually on a pretty specific mission.

Uh, oh. Two girls on a mission.

Do NOT get in their way!

We were headed over to Storybook Circus.

Specifically over here:

I've still never been over there.

We weren't just heading to Big Top for no reason, we were trying to see Courtney who was still working there at the time. So, we just walked around, bought a pin and did some resting in the air conditioning. But then after 30 minutes we left, and messaged her when she told us she'd been on break and then went home early.

Too bad. Hope you got to meet her later, she's absolutely delightful.

We stopped at the wishing well though to take a picture.

Cute shot!

And despite there not being a line, despite him knowing we're a couple because we specifically told him we're celebrating our anniversary, he sends us on our way.

What?

Which really just rubbed me the wrong way, you know? For me it was like, you went above and beyond to create really sweet pictures for the straight couple ahead of us and didn't put in any sort of effort for us. Which was a first for us at Disney.

No kidding. I'm a little surprised, but.....

I really think the major thing was the sharp contrast between how he treated us and how he'd treated the couple before us.

... I'm going to play devil's advocate.
Had a long line formed while the previous couple was being done? I could see him changing his style just to clear the backlog.
But otherwise... Hmmm.... I wonder if he's gotten in trouble from other (ignorant) guests before.
"That's disgusting! Two women kissing? We have children you know." Which is a shame really, since people like that shouldn't breed.

Dunno, of course. I wasn't there. But.... sorry about that. Crap like that shouldn't happen.

We were second row behind some kids, so it wasn't bad at all. Plus, the view would be a new one for us.

Nice! I almost did the same, except I got up there a bit too late and all the first row was taken too. I didn't have my tripod with me, just my gorilla pod and I needed the rail to clamp it to.

Because a family comes in behind us and starts pushing to try and get forward to see more. The whole time complaining about how people who have already seen the parade should move so that people who haven't seen the parade can see it.

Oh, come on!! Seriously? You want to see? Come early!

Excuse me? Listen, I understand you wanting to see the parade, but we paid the same amount to be here. I just used my time to get here earlier and while I get that it's hard to fit everything into a busy schedule, it doesn't give you the right to just try and push your way past people who have been waiting.

No kidding! Geez.

I was annoyed but not annoyed enough to fight. I figured, eh, I've seen the parade. I'll catch glimpses of it going up Main Street, I'd rather not be trampled by angry people.

Okay... still..... I'm now officially angry.

Spoiler alert: it was the only time all trip we got to see it and therefore, the last time I ever saw Main Street Electrical Parade. I suppose it was a fitting end though. I was annoyed the first time I saw it, I was annoyed the last time I saw it. Full circle.

Okay. Not angry any more. That's pretty funny.

Luckily, a lot of people cleared out after the parade and we were able to move straight up to have a view for Wishes. I didn't take any pictures because we were just about enjoying it, but it was lovely.

And that's really the best way to do it.
I kinda regret taking photos of Wishes last trip. I hardly saw it, I was so focused on shooting it.... and the photos weren't even all that great anyway.

The Hub is the place for Wishes in my opinion, because the buildings get in the way and the lights aren't all the way off at the train station.

This is interesting. For Hallowishes, I agree 100%. But for wishes, I prefer farther back on Main St. Why? Because that's where I saw them for the first time (and second) with my family. So it's got a special spot in my heart.

Honestly, we were going to see if it was still running but then it became really clear to us why it couldn't still be running.

Why?

As one might expect, the lines at Casey's at that time of night were pretty insane.

Yup.

This was not good enough for a guy next to me though. No, no, he started throwing a fit about how Americans are slow and Americans are lazy and everything is too expensive and he wants to see a manager.

Wow. So foreigners are rude and have no manners?

One thing that stuck out to me about this encounter is the guy wasn't wearing shoes at all. Which was really gross because we were in a food place and if anyone should have been complaining, it should of been everyone else for his lack of footwear.

ew. gross.
So Americans are slow and lazy, but at least have the proper sense to wear shoes?

He did see a manager though and she gave him a free Coke to appease him and send him on his way.

Probably the very least thing she could do to get rid of this moron.

Anyway, we made a fastpass for Buzz starting at 10:55. At that point it was 10:53 so we walked over and got on. Like usual, I won.

"Like usual"? I wonder what Marie would say about that? Hmmm???

For some reason I took a picture of this sign and not the posted wait time. Who knows.

TR fail!

In front of us was an older black woman who got so incredibly excited to meet Tiana, like she was almost crying and it was the sweetest thing ever.

awwwww....

Next we met Rapunzel who asked about our pins.

Looks like she's a tad leery of you.

She was very suspicious of mine.

But excited for Marie's.

Sure. Canadian. totally get it.

The Kiss Goodnight played two more times before we realized that what we were waiting for we'd already had happen.

At which case I couldn't help but laugh and Marie couldn't help but be extremely unimpressed with me.

OMG!

Bonus points for guessing which park we were heading to on day 4.

I'll go for AK.

 

[amberg93]

Nice! You got both sides in! I'm impressed. That's often not that easy to do. And you guys do it in two countries.

Well it helps that my family does nothing at all for New Years Eve but it's a big thing on Marie's side of the family. Next year for Christmas though we're going to stay here.

That's too bad. Glad you're all better now, though.

Me too, starting back at school (tomorrow ) would not be good with a cold.

I've still never been over there.

It's really well themed.

Too bad. Hope you got to meet her later, she's absolutely delightful.

We've met her before and I totally agree, she's a sweetheart.

Cute shot!

Thank you!

... I'm going to play devil's advocate.
Had a long line formed while the previous couple was being done? I could see him changing his style just to clear the backlog.
But otherwise... Hmmm.... I wonder if he's gotten in trouble from other (ignorant) guests before.
"That's disgusting! Two women kissing? We have children you know." Which is a shame really, since people like that shouldn't breed.

Dunno, of course. I wasn't there. But.... sorry about that. Crap like that shouldn't happen.

Oh I thought I had mentioned, no line formed at all. There was no one behind us when we left.

It's sad, but we had a really great two photopass photographers later who made up for this guy.

Nice! I almost did the same, except I got up there a bit too late and all the first row was taken too. I didn't have my tripod with me, just my gorilla pod and I needed the rail to clamp it to.

See fancy things like gorilla pods just get in the way

Oh, come on!! Seriously? You want to see? Come early!

You can't expect people to do that.

Okay. Not angry any more. That's pretty funny.

I'm not angry thinking about it either, I'm amused at the circle of life

And that's really the best way to do it.
I kinda regret taking photos of Wishes last trip. I hardly saw it, I was so focused on shooting it.... and the photos weren't even all that great anyway.

I shot pictures on our last night but not like in a photographer way, in a way where I held out the camera, put it on continuous shot and just held down the button while watching the sky. Some turned out quite nice for the gamble I took.

This is interesting. For Hallowishes, I agree 100%. But for wishes, I prefer farther back on Main St. Why? Because that's where I saw them for the first time (and second) with my family. So it's got a special spot in my heart.

I think that's always the way, I've watched vlogs on Youtube where people say they always watch from behind the Castle or in Frontierland or whatever else. I just like being fully immersed in the moment and I feel it there.

Why?

Fireworks. It wouldn't really do to have the train running during them.

Wow. So foreigners are rude and have no manners?

Exactly.

ew. gross.
So Americans are slow and lazy, but at least have the proper sense to wear shoes?

I'm thinking that wouldn't sell him on Americans.

Probably the very least thing she could do to get rid of this moron.

I'm thinking so too.

"Like usual"? I wonder what Marie would say about that? Hmmm???

"Showoff" is her exact response

TR fail!

Gotta have some.

Sure. Canadian. totally get it.

Canadians, always welcomed more.

OMG!

It was one of those "I'm a really smart person, I swear" moments.

I'll go for AK.

Noted!

 

[pkondz]

Well it helps that my family does nothing at all for New Years Eve but it's a big thing on Marie's side of the family.

French Canadian? Totally get that. My Mom's side was like that.

Next year for Christmas though we're going to stay here.

And families coming to you?

Me too, starting back at school (tomorrow ) would not be good with a cold.

Nope. I started back to work that way.

It's really well themed.

I keep hearing that... yet I never get there!

Oh I thought I had mentioned, no line formed at all. There was no one behind us when we left.

It's sad, but we had a really great two photopass photographers later who made up for this guy.

Glad you had those other two...but... no line?
Sounds like a jerk, then.

See fancy things like gorilla pods just get in the way

Hey!

You can't expect people to do that.

No. Not at all.

I'm not angry thinking about it either, I'm amused at the circle of life

I shot pictures on our last night but not like in a photographer way, in a way where I held out the camera, put it on continuous shot and just held down the button while watching the sky. Some turned out quite nice for the gamble I took.

Not bad. I may have to steal that idea.

I think that's always the way, I've watched vlogs on Youtube where people say they always watch from behind the Castle or in Frontierland or whatever else. I just like being fully immersed in the moment and I feel it there.

Get that.

Fireworks. It wouldn't really do to have the train running during them.

D'oh! Of course.

"Showoff" is her exact response

It was one of those "I'm a really smart person, I swear" moments.

 

[starousse]

Enjoying your report!

 

[MarieLightning]

So, I've pretty much abandoned Amber to doing this Trip Report all by her lonesome.​

I mean, she's been doing a fab job, hasn't she? Yes she has.​

It's okay, I'll shoulder the next one. Seeing as this one will likely not be done by the time we leave again. Fair's fair.​

Which brings me to shameless self promotion​

Check out our newest, all clean and shiny Pre Trip Report:​

"One week? Why don't we make it two?"

Join in to see what kind of shenanigans we're planning on getting into!​

 

[amberg93]

French Canadian? Totally get that. My Mom's side was like that.

Sometimes French Canadian customs leave me so confused.

And families coming to you?

Nope. We live in a one bedroom apartment, there'd be nooo room for people to come over.

Nope. I started back to work that way.

Yikes. I'm sorry.

I keep hearing that... yet I never get there!

Always something new for next time

Glad you had those other two...but... no line?
Sounds like a jerk, then.

Yeah, he was pretty rude.

Not bad. I may have to steal that idea.

Glad I could help

D'oh! Of course.

Enjoying your report!

Thank you!

 

[pkondz]

Sometimes French Canadian customs leave me so confused.

How long did it take you to figure out the cheek kissing thing?

Nope. We live in a one bedroom apartment, there'd be nooo room for people to come over.

Ah. so a quiet one then.

Yikes. I'm sorry.

Not to worry.

Always something new for next time

Yeah, he was pretty rude.

So we're agreed. Jerk.

 

[amberg93]

How long did it take you to figure out the cheek kissing thing?

I caught on to that one pretty quickly after like one family gathering lol

Ah. so a quiet one then.

Very quiet, I like it too.

So we're agreed. Jerk.

Agreed.

 

[amberg93]

Day 4, Part 1: "Excuse me, sir, is that your banana?"​

​

On our forth day, our wake up call went off at 7:45 AM and we got up. I had a muffin while Marie showered and then we both got ready.

When we got to the bus stop it was almost 9 o'clock and there was a man that was about to get on the bus but where he'd just been sitting there was a banana left over, so before he got on I stopped and asked if it belonged to him.

He thanked me, took the banana, and hopped on his bus.

Meanwhile, it was only a few minutes longer before our bus came along.

Where were we headed?

That's right, our park of the day was Epcot!

I love Epcot, as you all might know, it's my favorite park!

Hey gorgeous.

I really miss Spaceship Earth right now.

Since, the park had just opened at 9 we knew exactly where we were heading.

Yup, we were going to Standby our first time on the new Soarin Around the World.

The posted wait wasn't too bad, but we weren't sure if it would be accurate.

I think one of the things that I like best about the new queue is that they've updated the games to ones you can play on your phone. I know some might have mixed feelings on that, but I prefer it to the old ones they used to have.

If you haven't been through the standby line to see the queue, it's trivia and you just select the right answers to help your team earn points. They post the information on how to play and it helps pass the time really well.

After around 20 minutes, we were seeing this sight:

Now, guys, let me tell you a secret. They started sending people through and they were sending them straight to the newest terminal and I really wanted to go so the lady went to stop Marie and I and then asked if we'd been with the group in front of us and I lied!

I know, it wasn't a nice thing to do but I really wanted to be in that new terminal.

So, onward we went and when the lady in front asked how many of us there were I said "2 but we want to ride in B1"

Now, this caused some distress for Marie because she says I was being rude. However, I have since found out that we just belong to different schools of thought.

In Marie's mind, you should always ask for something very indirectly, i.e. "Would it be possible if we could maybe wait for B1 instead?" That spells politeness to her.

For me, respecting people's time is the utmost sign of respect. When I was working at an amusement park I had too many things to do to pause every time someone asked me a question, the more direct they were, the faster I could continue on with my very busy job. I don't want to be holding people up, I know that the request is possible and I'm willing to wait for it, plus I answered the question that was asked of me. I said thank you when she told us we'd have to wait but to go forward.

They've actually done studies on this, it turns out, and depending on where you're from, the more roundabout and chatty you are is perceived as either very polite or very rude. Same with being direct but not demanding, to people who are used to chatty and indirect as a direct person you come off rude, but to other people being direct says 'I recognize you're busy and your time is a commodity I do not wish to waste'.

Unfortunately, I think the girl working belongs to Marie's camp because she did not look impressed, but that's okay. I'm not demanding or anything, I just didn't want to waste her time. You win some and you lose some, I suppose.

Now, onto our feelings about the ride after we did manage to ride in B1. Marie and I had different reactions. I enjoyed it though I thought the amount of things flying toward you was a little too much for my taste, but the quality was fantastic and I loved that it ended in Epcot.

Marie desperately misses the original and feels they relied far too heavily on CGI in the newest incarnation of Soarin'. Soarin' was her happy place, so she's a bit heartbroken from the changes.

I'm sure we'll still end up riding it every trip nevertheless.

With our first flight around the world taken care of, we decided that we were going to go for another mode of transport.

We literally walked right on as there was no line at all.

It was nice to see the greenhouses at this time of year because there were things we usually don't get to see in stages we don't get to see from our past trips.

Like cotton.

And sunflowers.

And these things.

After we'd learned how to live with the land, we decided to hop over to Sunshine Seasons where I made a discovery that I'd misunderstood the things that said that it was no longer serving breakfast. I took that as to mean no longer open during breakfast, but oh was I wrong. No, no longer serving breakfast means no longer preparing hot food.

In preparation for this, I'd eaten the aforementioned muffin.

Marie had not and was therefore free to get this goodness:

I was desperately jealous and since Marie is a good wife, she allowed me a (tiny) bite.

Once the shortcake was devoured in its entirety, we decided to move on to our next activity.

Character meets!

And now just any character meets, new character meets!

Immediately we got into a quite lengthy line for Joy and Sadness, one that was very slow moving.

We stood on forgotten memories.

And admired the sights of other memories.

I also put on my cardigan because it was very air conditioned inside and I got cold.

Finally though, it was our time to see Joy and Sadness and the wait was totally worth it. They were very interactive and took their time with us.

Joy took Marie into a hug.

And Sadness showed me her special sad memories, but warned me to only touch the blue ones.

At some point Marie and Joy joined us and we all looked at the memories.

Then we got together for a group picture.

We had entered the line at 10:30 and exited our experience at 11:23. Giving us a grand total wait time of 50 minutes for these emotions.

Worth it.

However, the line for Baymax was also quite long and we knew we wouldn't be able to meet our favorite health care companion just then.

I did snap a sneak picture of him on the way out though.

Marie and I took a moment to rest afterward and allow me to warm up without strutting back into the sun quite yet.

But after a quick warm up, we were off.

I love these things. I have no clue what to call them, but I love them.

I asked Marie if we could stop for some pictures of us in front of Spaceship Earth and she obliged.

Here we are.

Also here.

But we couldn't stick around too long because we had an important place to be.

Yet, I stopped to take flower pictures.

I really love flower pictures.

So, any guesses where we were headed? Two bonus points if you get it.

Click for next post​

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad the wait wasn't too bad for Soarin - and good call asking for B1. Personally I think as long as you say it with a smile and it's a request like "we want B1" or "We would like to ride b1" or something and not wording it like it is a demand/expected it is totally fine and get where you are coming from in not wanting to wast time.

I really liked the new one and didn't think the CGI was as bad as I was fearing (only one scene looked really bad to me) though can understand Marie's feelings entirely

The Sunshine Seasons strawberry shortcake is soooooo good!

Totally agree that the wait for Joy and Sadness is worth it ... a bit slow moving but they seem to give everyone a lot of attention and are very interactive and expressive

Nice PP pictures!

 

[pkondz]

I caught on to that one pretty quickly after like one family gathering lol

Yep. That would do it.

Day 4, Part 1: "Excuse me, sir, is that your banana?"

That title cracks me up.

He thanked me, took the banana, and hopped on his bus.

#83 on the list of things I never thought I'd read.

Where were we headed?

Iowa?

Hey gorgeous.

Hi Amber!



oh.... you meant Spaceship Earth.





Totally crushed.

I really miss Spaceship Earth right now.

Me too.
Any day I'm not in Disney I miss it.

I think one of the things that I like best about the new queue is that they've updated the games to ones you can play on your phone. I know some might have mixed feelings on that, but I prefer it to the old ones they used to have.

Well... as a foreign devil who's phone doesn't work in the States...

Actually, I don't mind. The majority of the people will have phones so it's all good.

After around 20 minutes, we were seeing this sight:

Not bad.

I know, it wasn't a nice thing to do but I really wanted to be in that new terminal.

Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Now, this caused some distress for Marie because she says I was being rude. However, I have since found out that we just belong to different schools of thought.

I know where this is going...

In Marie's mind, you should always ask for something very indirectly, i.e. "Would it be possible if we could maybe wait for B1 instead?" That spells politeness to her.

Yep.... that's me, too.

When I was working at an amusement park I had too many things to do to pause every time someone asked me a question, the more direct they were, the faster I could continue on with my very busy job.

Interesting! Hmmm.... Maybe I can be quicker with my politeness.

They've actually done studies on this, it turns out, and depending on where you're from, the more roundabout and chatty you are is perceived as either very polite or very rude. Same with being direct but not demanding, to people who are used to chatty and indirect as a direct person you come off rude, but to other people being direct says 'I recognize you're busy and your time is a commodity I do not wish to waste'.

Hmmm.... I'll.... have to think on this one....

Marie desperately misses the original and feels they relied far too heavily on CGI in the newest incarnation of Soarin'. Soarin' was her happy place, so she's a bit heartbroken from the changes.

I'm more in Marie's camp. I found the CGI to be really obvious (so... distracting) in places. Plus, I sat on one of the side... chairs. The tall buildings that weren't centered were very noticeably tilted to the side.

I'm going to give it another chance from the middle seats and make up my mind.

We literally walked right on as there was no line at all.

Not entirely surprised there....

Marie had not and was therefore free to get this goodness:

mmmmm... been.... at least 8 years though.

cute pic!

I asked Marie if we could stop for some pictures of us in front of Spaceship Earth and she obliged.

I should hope so! It's your favourite park, ya know.

So, any guesses where we were headed? Two bonus points if you get it.

TT

 

[coloredimage]

If you're horrible at remembering to read TRs and you know it clap you hands *clap clap*

Seriously, I've spent the last three days catching up on people's TRs because I fail lol

Which really just rubbed me the wrong way, you know? For me it was like, you went above and beyond to create really sweet pictures for the straight couple ahead of us and didn't put in any sort of effort for us. Which was a first for us at Disney.

That would really bother me too. In the spirit of Elsa, photopass dude, let it go.

The Kiss Goodnight played two more times before we realized that what we were waiting for we'd already had happen.

So, fun fact, this happened to us in Disneyland too, and it's way more obvious in Disneyland (like, Ashley Brown sings this lovely song and everything for the 60th) and we just sat there and were like "well that was neat, I wonder if that was just a pre-show for the parade." It took us TWO DAYS of seeing it to figure it out. The words "kiss goodnight" are in the song.

So, yeah, I get it lol

In Marie's mind, you should always ask for something very indirectly, i.e. "Would it be possible if we could maybe wait for B1 instead?" That spells politeness to her.

For me, respecting people's time is the utmost sign of respect. When I was working at an amusement park I had too many things to do to pause every time someone asked me a question, the more direct they were, the faster I could continue on with my very busy job

I quoted this because it made me laugh so much - this is Jey and I to a T - I'm in Marie's camp and she's in yours. I could picture this whole interaction perfectly!

We stood on forgotten memories.

Wow, that's actually kind of dark. Never realized that before lol.

 

[amberg93]

Glad the wait wasn't too bad for Soarin - and good call asking for B1. Personally I think as long as you say it with a smile and it's a request like "we want B1" or "We would like to ride b1" or something and not wording it like it is a demand/expected it is totally fine and get where you are coming from in not wanting to wast time.

I really liked the new one and didn't think the CGI was as bad as I was fearing (only one scene looked really bad to me) though can understand Marie's feelings entirely

The Sunshine Seasons strawberry shortcake is soooooo good!

Totally agree that the wait for Joy and Sadness is worth it ... a bit slow moving but they seem to give everyone a lot of attention and are very interactive and expressive

Nice PP pictures!

Thanks Phil. Yeah, Marie still doesn't want me to ask for things though anymore.

My problem was all the things just going at my face. Like there was only the golf ball in the old one and now it's like 4 times or something and I just found it really unnecessary.

It is so good. I wish I had some now.

Yup, that's the trade off. If you want good interactions you have to wait a little longer and it was a trade off I was willing to make.

Thank you

If you're horrible at remembering to read TRs and you know it clap you hands *clap clap*

Seriously, I've spent the last three days catching up on people's TRs because I fail lol

*clap clap clap* Although I think it might be more like just being too busy sometimes and that's perfectly fine.

That would really bother me too. In the spirit of Elsa, photopass dude, let it go.

For real.

So, fun fact, this happened to us in Disneyland too, and it's way more obvious in Disneyland (like, Ashley Brown sings this lovely song and everything for the 60th) and we just sat there and were like "well that was neat, I wonder if that was just a pre-show for the parade." It took us TWO DAYS of seeing it to figure it out. The words "kiss goodnight" are in the song.

So, yeah, I get it lol

Yes! I'm glad we're not alone in missing it lol

I quoted this because it made me laugh so much - this is Jey and I to a T - I'm in Marie's camp and she's in yours. I could picture this whole interaction perfectly!

I knew there had to be others that would be in the same camp!

Wow, that's actually kind of dark. Never realized that before lol.

Well that is the floor type area but you have to hand them the details.

 

[amberg93]

That title cracks me up.

In the moment it was said with such seriousness too.

#83 on the list of things I never thought I'd read.

The world is a curious place.

Iowa?

Nah, been there and done that. Not going back.

Hi Amber!



oh.... you meant Spaceship Earth.





Totally crushed.

Now now, you're beautiful too. Just not Spaceship Earth beautiful.

Me too.
Any day I'm not in Disney I miss it.

Same. But how can you not?

Well... as a foreign devil who's phone doesn't work in the States...

Actually, I don't mind. The majority of the people will have phones so it's all good.

You just need wifi to make it work so we were able to play along

Girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I'm glad no one sees me as a monster.

Yep.... that's me, too.

Classic Canadians

Interesting! Hmmm.... Maybe I can be quicker with my politeness.

Of course, I speak from my mindset. Maybe some people like it, but I was always go go go on the job.

Hmmm.... I'll.... have to think on this one....

Different mindsets and the like

I'm more in Marie's camp. I found the CGI to be really obvious (so... distracting) in places. Plus, I sat on one of the side... chairs. The tall buildings that weren't centered were very noticeably tilted to the side.

I'm going to give it another chance from the middle seats and make up my mind.

We purposefully have avoided the sides because we've heard that. But I can understand the CGI complaint, it was fairly obvious here and there.

Not entirely surprised there...

It can get a line too.

mmmmm... been.... at least 8 years though.

8 years?! :O That's too many years.

cute pic!

Thank you!

I should hope so! It's your favourite park, ya know.

True, very true.

 

[amberg93]

So, originally I'd planned to update this last weekend. However, instead Marie and I ended up taking a last minute trip to Disney instead and therefore I was far too busy to update this TR.

If you're interested in the adventures we had last weekend though, Marie has started a Trip Report for it that you can find here: "There's Nothing To Do At Disney World"

Otherwise, let's get back to our August adventures.​

Day 4, Part 2: "Free cake? Yes, please."

It was very hot outside, so we decided that we were just going to take the boat across the world showcase.

Sure, it's slow but it does get you out of the sun.

To top it off, there was only a few minutes until the next boat.

We said hi to the ducks.

We took a seat outside since it was still covered but allowed us to have a breeze.

We took a boat selfie along the way too.

And almost ten minutes later, we were pulling into Morocco.

Of course, that wasn't our destination.

As usual, we were headed to our favorite place in all of Epcot for food.

Teppan Edo.

We got seated with a family of four, including two children who appeared to be twins celebrating their birthday, and then a couple who also had someone celebrating their birthday.

Our chef was great and in the end, Marie and I even got some special green tea cake like everyone else for our anniversary.

It was surprisingly good. Neither of us really likes tea so we weren't sure what to expect, but we both found it super yummy.

Usually Marie and I don't bother getting dessert at Teppan Edo, just because there are so many other places that you can get desserts in Epcot (France, anyone?) and I don't think we'd change that tradition but we were glad to have been able to try it.

We made a quick stop to the bathroom and I found this art in the hallway that I liked.

Then we were on our way to our fastpass.

Hey Japan.

It's always great to have Spaceship Earth in sight.

We strolled through America.

But didn't stop for the American Adventure yet.

We did stop to pin trade at the DVC stand and chatted for quite a while. In fact, we decided that we'd go ahead and take a tour after we were offered a $50 gift card to do just that. Once we'd set everything up, we went ahead and continued on our way.

Then went past Italy.

We did decide to take a stop in Germany though.

Marie wanted to get some treats.

I stepped in and then quickly stepped out afterward. Being so full from lunch made the sweet smells of the bakery unbearable.

Once she had her treat in hand (to be pictured later), we continued on our way, for we were on a mission.

Not to China.

Though it's beautiful there and we never spend enough time in that pavilion.

Of course our destination was Norway.

It was here, in fact.

Continued in next post​

 

[amberg93]

Day 4, Part 3: "Where is the storyline?"​

As you could see from the picture the line was pretty crazy.

Even in the fastpass queue we ended up waiting about 20 minutes to get onto the ride.

I will give them this though, the ride queue was well themed.

Then again, it kind of has to be. In the whole time we were in our fastpass line, the standby line didn't move at all. That's 20 whole minutes that the standby was doing literally just that, standing by.

To be honest, I have no clue why people stand by for that long. But then, neither Marie or I was impressed with the ride. Oh, it's beautiful, no doubt that they stepped up the game in animatronics (which, incidentally are very difficult to get a good picture of with not stellar cameras)

However, the whole ride felt like they'd just slapped an overlay on Maelstrom and called it good. We found the story to be severly lacking and that there was really just nothing spectacular about it.

In fact, this is how our ride photo came out.

You can see some people are pretty happy but as for Marie and I....

This was actually our natural faces too, as we'd forgotten the fact that there was a ride photo here. So, no case of posing in this instance. Just our genuine faces.

Overall, I don't foresee Marie and me making a trip back anytime soon. For us, the wait time is ridiculously long for an average attraction at best and with options like Soarin' and Test Track competing for that fastpass, it's just not going to happen.

Maybe when we have kids, but then, maybe not. You see, cause we headed somewhere else next.

Yeah, we went to actually meet Anna and Elsa.

Want to know the wait time there?

20 minutes. No fastpass option either. So, to actually meet the princesses we were spending less time in line than we'd spent in the fastpass line for Frozen Ever After.

The whole queue here is gorgeous as well and we had fun soaking in all the little details.

Details with which I'm about to spam you, so you've been warned.

The line winds around through the house, allowing you to just look at everything the imagineers did such a beautiful job with.

As always, looking up brings good things.

The various art works of the royal sisters were great too.

Honestly, this line was one I didn't mind waiting in at all because there was just so very much to see.

There were a few gorgeous tapestries too.

Finally though, it was our turn to meet the royal sisters.

First up was Anna.

I love this picture because there is just so much going on between the three of us.

She asked us about joining her sled racing team to try and beat Kristoff (and hinted that Elsa might give us a little bit of an edge).

Overall, she was lovely.

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[amberg93]

Day 4, Part 4: "He's so squishy!"

Next we were to meet the queen.

As you can tell, we were a bit awestruck by her.

She noticed our buttons and asked us if we were love experts, which was nice.

I love her dress too.

By the time we'd finished meeting the royal sisters we were ready for a break.

So, we made our way to the front of the park.

And I took a few pictures of Spaceship Earth because everyone knows it's practically law.

Then we decided that we might as well get some pictures of ourselves in front of Spaceship Earth too.

Afterward, we went out to catch our bus and waited about 10 minutes for one to show.

Since it was mid-day, POR was sharing with POFQ and I waved to my resort love as we stopped in.

Marie got off at the South Depot to stop and pick up a package and I got off at the East Depot to stop by the room and get her mug.

We met up together at the food court, filled her mug and then headed out.

We also saw this guy along the way.

Maybe sometime we'll do a carriage ride at Port Orleans, I bet it's beautiful.

We stopped by the marina to pin trade at the board located there (something we did every day) and were approached by none other than @abarriger who was checking out but wanted to tell us she read our trip reports and that she'd just gotten engaged to her then girlfriend! It was so nice to be able to meet her and have a quick chat. She snapped a photo, but was in a huge hurry so we didn't get one before we were waving goodbye and heading back to the room.

When we got into the room we discovered that I'd made a mistake that morning. See, I'd taken out some money and I'd ended up leaving $20 sitting on the dresser, which was gone when we got back.

To be honest, I was pretty annoyed by this. I know that usually leaving out money makes it fair game for a maid, however, Marie and I left out a clearly marked envelope containing a tip and that was gone as well. So, I don't understand why someone would think we'd leave both?

We decided that we'd stop by the lobby after and see what could be done.

For right then though, it was time to relax.

Marie broke open her chocolate caramel rice krispie treat and I just kicked back and rested.

After a couple of hours, we made our way to the lobby, explained the $20 situation and ended up with a room credit for the amount (and an internal reminder to make sure to always put money away).

Then we got back on the bus and headed back to Epcot where we were meeting up quickly with Hayley of magical ribbons.

She was in the Land catching a bite from Sunshine seasons and we were just planning on doing an exchange of product.

We'd ordered a Gryffindor flower crown from her and a Hufflepuff one as well (my Hogwarts house and Marie's respectively) but she'd accidentally sent us a Ravenclaw instead of a Gryffindor, so we were there to change out the proper ones so we didn't have to go through the process of mailing things.

For a few minutes we chatted and then we decided that it was time to go and see another friend that we'd missed seeing earlier.

Here's a hint.

No?

How about this?

That's right, we went back to see Baymax.

The line only took about 15 minutes before we reached the front, at which point we were told we had to remove all of our pins and backpacks because he was so fragile.

Everyone, hugging Baymax is an experience I wish for all.

He's so soft and squishy and you can hear the air going around inside of him.

Best decision ever.

But after we took some pictures with our favorite health care companion it was time to move on.

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[felynn]

I love Beymax. Our hug photo did not turn out as good as yours.

 

[Cara]

.

This was actually our natural faces too, as we'd forgotten the fact that there was a ride photo here. So, no case of posing in this instance. Just our genuine faces.


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This, though!!!! LOL! Totally awesome!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad you got to experience Frozen Ever After - I think we liked it a bit more than you - but you can tell it is just an overlay of Maelstrom. My though is that given the decision to do the ride in that location as an overlay did they did about as well as could be expected - but definitely not some great new amazing experience

Do love your ride photo as you both seem to be thinking "what the what?"

Fully agree about how great all the detail in the queue for meeting A&E is!

Bummer about the $20 - totally agree that with your clearly marked mousekeeping envelope they shouldn't have also taken the $20

That's cool you got to meet one of your readers - and right after she got engaged!

Great picture of you two hugging Baymax!