I love mickey bars, pixie dust, and towers.
After Dinosaur, we walked over to see what the wait was at Pocahontas. It was a long line and I didn't feel like waiting today. That was definitely a benefit of being at Disney for so long. We had the ability to spread out our priorities!
Instead, we decided to get a Mickey bar to snack on as we wandered out of the park.
I do believe it was more "me" than "we". I remember being hot and knowing that we were going to walk through the park I had time for a snack (a.k.a. pre-lunch appetizer) And one can NEVER go wrong with a Mickey Bar! They are just so easy to eat!
Let's watch while Mama enjoys her Mickey bar...
Really? I don't think anyone needs to see THAT. Oy.
My turn!
Hands down, Mickey Bars are the BEST. The chocolate is so crunchy, the ice cream is so creamy, and it is just pure Disney goodness! Yummy!!!!
And so easy to eat! (remember this for a future update)
Obviously, you can't get them at home, but we've found that Dibs come close in taste!
We walked out lazily, exploring the exhibits in the Oasis, since we never stop to do that. We also found a father/daughter to give extra Expedition Everest FP- so they didn't go to waste. We love giving extra pixie dust where we can!
On the way out, we stopped in Guest Relations. Mama still needed to link her AP to My Disney Experience so that I could make her FP+ reservations for our second week. It took about an hour inside guest relations but the problem was finally figured out! While we were there, we filled out a comment card for both our guest relation CM and Dani (the one who showed us about the instrument.) We try to fill these cards out as often as possible. The guest relations CM tried really hard to get us to not fill one out for her, insisting that it was just a part of her job, but we didn't listen. We can be a bit stubborn
Seriously though - spending an hour with us and really didn't want a comment card? A true CM that enjoys her job. And all the magic band stuff was new and I do recall her enjoying the technology of it all.
I also figured out that my AP could interact with the FP+ kiosks that were inside of Guest Relations. The CMs thought that was really cool and I was prepared to be able to use FP+ at other parks. Later, I found out that I wasn't allowed to do that without an actual Magic Band even though my AP worked!!! (This was August, so still earlier in the roll out/testing phase)
Random observation. As we walked out to the bus stop, we saw a girl basically wearing just a bra and a boy with his shirt hanging open walk up to the gate and then get sent back. Thank goodness. I'm glad that Disney has some standards. Although, I must admit I was surprised by some clothing choices that I saw during this trip!
I have seen some questionable clothing choices but this was beyond family appropriate. If memory serves me correctly it was a white bra looking kind of top. Lauren and I both hoped someone would stop them. And so it was satisfying to know that they were not admitted and sent back to the buses. Good job CMs!
As we were waiting, we met a little boy with his father and grandfather. It was their first trip! We told them about fastpasses and explained that yes, they were free. They looked a little stunned and basically said, "So, we didn't have to wait in that long line for Kali?" "Nope!" Luckily, it was only the 2nd day of their trip, so I'm hoping they had lots more chances to use FP-! We also gave the boy his first ever trading pins. We explained how you can trade with cast members and he looked so excited. He pinned them to his shirt and looked so proud!
Spreading the Pixie Dust!!!
The bus ride back ended up taking about 30 minutes because we stopped at Blizzard Beach. We decided to go for lunch at Sassy's.
We each got kids sandwiches. I had turkey and Mama had tuna. They have a bar with lettuce, tomato, etc. so you could bulk up the sandwich beyond just meat, cheese, and bread.
The meals originally came with carrot sticks but we substituted with grapes.
This lunch was really quite satisfying. The "normal amount" of food and it tasted good. And what is it about cold grapes that taste sooooo good on a hot day?
After lunch, I went to the gift shop and got some more cold meds and pin traded for a super cute Minnie Mouse pin for Mama!
Went back to the room. Did some internet surfing on my phone. Thought about going swimming, but I decided on a nap instead. It was much needed!
We slept for about an hour and woke up at 4:30. We got refreshed, brushed the hair again, and changed shoes.
TIP: I found it very beneficial to change shoes every afternoon. It kept my feet from becoming sore as quickly. If you wear flip flops all day every day or even the same sneakers all day every day, it is very easy for your feet to break down in the same "pattern". By changing shoes, your feet keep readjusting. It really helped me.
We were out the door at 5pm, headed for Hollywood Studios! Our bus ride went through all of the Riverside stops again. This did get annoying after awhile. I didn't remember having to stop at Riverside as much the last time we stayed here.
Hollywood Studios!!! We arrived about 5:30.
It was very funny seeing this Monster's University display. I saw it in April when it was in Epcot!
First stop was Guest Relations because I wanted to try and make a FP+ reservation using my AP. Ummm...the CMs were basically guarding the machines with their lives. In hindsight, it is hilarious. They were like "MyMagic+ Secret Service Agents." At the time, it was really annoying. I was like, I know this will work. But you won't let me! Grrr.
They should have been dressed like The Men in Black and had badges and sunglasses. Perhaps we should have asked for I.D.?
MMSSAs? You crack me up!
On the way up the street, we ran into these awesome photopass guys. I can't quite remember what happened (Mama, can you remember?) but somehow, I ended up with this picture instead:
I know we decided to get a pic with the Hat so we walked up to them as they were chatting away. Such nice guys. And we politely asked for a picture and some sort of joking ensued which ended up with me asking for their picture. They thought that was awesome and happily obliged.
Time to return to my favorite hotel ever! THE TOWER OF TERROR!! We pulled 3 FP- apiece. So I really can't complain about the whole FP+ issue. I just wanted to play with new technology!
After pulling FP-, we rode standby. We basically walked right into the library.
Thank you for joining us. Please, no flash photography, dancing, or holding on to the handrails for the ride. Any questions?
Too late.
OK peoples..... never be afraid to ask questions. This just might be your last ride here at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. (cue scary maniacal laugh)
Took this picture to show some height and also a reminder to look up and all around. Gotta check out all those Disney Details.
Anyone need a little shopping break before heading to the elevator of doom?
TOO LATE!
So....did you not hear the instructions. No holding on to handrails people! Seriously, this is one of the most low energy ride photos ever. Back row represent!
Well, at least I listened to the instructions on this ride (BTMR jog your memory)
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