To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[DianaMB333]

Memories that G will have of her childhood are priceless!!
Billie thanks for sharing.! Such an inspiration thr passion and dedication you put into everything!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Friday, October 18th - Swimming, Pottery
Most everyone spent the morning sleeping in after a long party night. I didn't get up until 9:30am. The plan for the day was mostly relaxing. My BIL had an early tee time, so he was off doing that, and we had to pick him up later that day. I spent the morning making some minor repairs to the costume, and trying to make G's shoes more comfortable. Forgot to mention it in the party recap, but that's one of the issues we had with the party is that G's shoes bothered her after 8-9 hrs in costume. She felt like she was developing a blister on her heel, but there didn't end up being anything. So we tried some possible fixes to alleviate that.

While I was fixing the costumes, G and the family went to the swimming pool. Again, it was practically empty for a mid-day swim which is unheard of at other times of the year.



Looks like I showed up just a little after noon, and G and I went to the arcade. We rated the Saratoga Springs arcade a 3/5. It has the good air hockey, and some driving games. It also has a single pinball machine. But no DDR like machine.







She got very close to beating me in air hockey. She wasn't close in pinball though.

Sometime around mid-day is when we all loaded up in the car and went to Publix. We got some additional water since we had flown through our bottled water and the Brita we bought wasn't keeping up with our consumption. After Publix we took some backroads and picked up my BIL from golf. The plan was then to drive to Grand Floridian and rent a boat. But they wouldn't let us park there, and told us to drive to Disney Springs and take a bus to GF. The boats stop at 5pm, and since it was like 3:30-4pm there wasn't a ton of time left, nor did we want to waste that much time. We ended up driving to Contemporary for the same purpose. Since you can't make reservations then it's hard to justify the parking.

When we got to the Contemporary, we were met with a similar denial. But we explained that we couldn't reserve the boats in advance. He decided to call someone, and took about 5 min. Eventually he decided to let us in and park in the general area. Once we parked, we walked into Contemporary and headed to the east side by the lake. Unfortunately, it was too windy, and the sea staff highly recommended not taking the boats out unless you're really experienced. So that was a bummer for everyone.



We loaded back into the car and left the Contemporary. Since we still had time left in the day, we decided to try and go mini-golfing again. This time we went to the Swan and Dolphin course again. But instead of the challenging Fairways course we did the Fantasia Gardens course. This one is similar to the Blizzard Beach courses with the little trick shots. I would say this course is newer and more challenging than the Blizzard Beach course. The cups are also not concave and suck your ball in. If anything they've got a little lip to them that makes it a challenge to get the ball in. Definitely worth the time. I think BIL won again (but I'm suspicious of his score since we've yet to play together), and FIL beat me by one stroke. The biggest change was G was with me and scored in the 80s instead of the 40s like earlier in the week. So either she had a bad day, or there was some stroke shaving going on the last time like I suspected. I would say the Fantasia Gardens course ranks #1 of the three courses we've done on property.

After mini-golf we headed back to the room. The community room was still open, so we decided to paint some pottery. If you're looking for a low cost, long time activity, then this is the one. Each one of our mini pumpkins were only $3. And it took us a good 30-45 min of painting. I think they turned out great.



They've got limited colors, so I had to do some paint mixing to get different shades. Happy with how my Darcy pumpkin turned out.

Afterwards, we all headed back to the room and to bed. I think this is the night I stayed up and watched the Beekeeper with Jason Statham. It's got some recognizable names in it, but it just wasn't a good movie. Ended up going to bed around midnight.

Body Battery - 80 -> 25
Steps - 7,000 (3.5 mi)
Sleep that night - 9:00 hrs
Resting HR - 45bpm

Next - Saturday, October 19th - Boating at Contemporary, Monorail Resorts

 

[DopeyBadger]

Saturday, October 19th - Boating at Contemporary, Monorail Resorts
Slept in again until about 9am. The plan was to go back to the Contemporary again and try to rent a boat. The Badgers vs Northwestern football game was at noon local time. I think we got to the Contemporary around 10am or so, but this time the parking security wouldn't let us park there. So instead we had to drive to TTC and take the monorail. So it took some time, but eventually we made it back to the Contemporary boating area. The winds weren't too bad and so the family was able to rent a boat. They charge you by the minute and so you pay when you return. I get motion sickness, so I didn't participate. Instead I hung back and just watched the football game while lounging in some chairs.

Sounds like they had a good time overall. They were out for about 75 min, and saw just about everything there is to see other than getting to the furthest east side locations.









Afterwards, we got back on the monorail and headed to the Poly resort. We got there just a bit before 2pm. Right before Trader Sam's normally starts doing reservations. But turns out it was 30 min earlier because it was a weekend. So they were a little too late to get a good time. Estimated wait was 2.5 hrs. They had sent BIL and FIL to the bar on the second floor, but they messed it up and instead of getting some seats at the bar, they just sat in the seats outside the bar and waited for others to arrive. By the time SIL got to the second floor with the new about being too late on Trader Sam's there was a huge line to get into the 2nd floor bar. So poor understanding of communication really screwed that situation up. While this was all going on, G/Steph/Me/MIL decided to get some chocolate bacon.



I'd say it was nothing special and I wouldn't get it again. After that, we decided we'd eat at the Poly quick service. I got us some tables outside in the Trader Sam's outdoor area around 2:30pm. That area becomes reserved for outdoor Sam's guests at 3pm, so we were ok to finish our food. Once we finished our food, G and I went to find the Poly arcade. We did some walking around, couldn't find it, and then decided to look it up. Turns out Poly doesn't have an arcade. So 0/5 for this one. The arcade existed until 2014, and then was converted into Trader Sam's. Boo!

After this, we decided to go to Grand Floridian instead. Rode the monorail over there. Did a little bit of shopping, but then G and I went to find the GF arcade. It's tucked in a corner, but at least they've got one. A bit of a disappointing one though. Only a few driving games, no air hockey, no DDR like, and no pinball. So we rated this one a 1.5/5. The only arcade we've been to that was worse is at Fort Wilderness. That one was just plain bad.



We did find a cute pair of Mickey overalls, but they're too big for G.



We eventually found everyone else, and then we left the GF to head back to the Contemporary. They gave us an hour to check out the legendary Contemporary arcade. Now this one is huge. It had a ton of games. Three pinball machines, a double basketball shooter, a DDR like, many driving games, but... It had a dated air hockey table in need of repair. It's also not the newer air hockey that spits out multiple pucks. So we couldn't give it 5/5 stars. Instead we gave it 4.75 stars. Replace that air hockey table and it's the best Disney arcade could be.

I think we headed back to TTC around 5pm and then back to the resort. We had dinner in the room, and then some people went to see the movie by the pool with S'mores. They had run out of S'mores, so they just had marshmellows. I stayed back and watched some nighttime college football. Looks like we headed to bed around 11pm.

Body Battery - 97 -> 34
Steps - 9,500 (4.9 mi)
Sleep that night - 10:17 hrs
Resting HR - 46 bpm

Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2!

This time around we tried to schedule less in the morning so everyone wouldn't get tired too soon during the MNSSHP. Additionally, both Steph and I sat down and made lists of all the things we wanted to do during the party. I also went through each of the parade, stage show, and fireworks times to try and figure out when everything was going on in different locations that might be time sucks for others and areas to avoid. We came up with a plan based on each of the different areas of the park, and what time we should be in them working in a counter clockwise manner. The goal was more pictures and to be more efficient in our movements.

I spent most of the morning working on the costumes prep, and the rest of the family spent time at the pool. We wanted to arrive at the party about 15-30 min later because we were trying to catch as much of the Packers game as we could. So we left the resort around 3:30-3:45 instead of 3:15. Drove over to TTC. Headed over to security and saw the same exact guard there. He said it was a bit of deja vu to see us again at roughly the same time of day. I said, same. He wished me a fun time, and then I did the classic dumb thing and said "you too". Steph got stopped for security again, and so we waited a bit for her. G decided the shoes were already bothering her. So we decided to ditch the armor shoes, and just wear normal converse if that kept her in a good/healthy mood for the evening.

Got on the monorail (with my helmet off again) and met a nice family. It was a first time for most of them, but not the mom. So we talked about costumes, and what they wanted to do for the day. Good convos. I think they even took a picture of the inside of the helmet because they had some friends that would love to see it.

We made it to MK around 4:50pm. Goal was 5:00pm, so we did well. No wait at ticket exchange and then we were inside quick. Made a quick stop right at the Train Station hub to get some pictures.







Interestingly, on the bench to my left was a guy dressed as Forest Gump runner with long beard. We learned later that was Adam the Woo (Disney vlogger). Steph was bummed she didn't recognize him at the time. We briefly appear in his MNSSHP youtube video in the background. After this, we decided to go meet Mickey in his non-Halloween outfit because the wait was only 10 min. Jack and Sally was listed as 75 min at that time.

Steph decided to turn on G's costume because the cast members wanted to see it. This is when we realized something was wrong with the Anne hair. I thought the fix would be relatively easy, and I was glad we had the screw drivers, but not something I could fix before seeing Mickey since we were already in the room with him. Mickey seemed to really like our costumes.







Also, Steph remembered her pants this time!

After Mickey, we found a bench where I could try and work on the hair connection. Turns out it was worse then I thought. Not only had it become disconnected, but it had stripped the wire. And the original soldered tips were still inside the connection. So it took a bit of effort with the screw driver but I was able to get the soldered tips out. Steph had to go inside the Town Square building and ran into a cast member that had some scissors. They tried a few times to strip the wire, but couldn't get it done. She said she wasn't allowed to hand the scissors to Steph, but they quietly did it in a corner, and Steph was able to quickly strip the wire. Steph told her that she probably saved the night, and the cast member said in repayment that she has to come find us that night when it gets turned on. Deal.

We lost a bit of time here, but not too bad. We met Mickey at 5:00pm, and then got to the first photopass person on Main St at 5:30pm. So maybe 20 min spent working on the costume fix. We got some of our better daytime group photos here.







We headed over and got our MNNSHP treat bags. We also gave a friendship bracelet to the DJ again and he was actually wearing his bracelet from the Thursday party that G gave him. From here, we made our way towards Tomorrowland again using the path by the restaurant. We got a few pictures with the Stitch statue. The sunlight wasn't right here, so the pictures didn't turn out that great.



On to Tomrrowland!

Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 2

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 2

In Tomorrowland, the goals were get there by 5:30, leave by 6:30, ride Astro-orbiter, ride Buzz, and meet Stitch. So Steph and G headed straight over to Astro. The line was about 30 min long at about 5:30, and they got on the ride around 6:05. I had some of my best guest interactions here. Tons of people came up asking for pictures and wanted to talk shop about the costumes. I pointed a few to this journal because they wanted to know how to make them. One kid was an Amphibia superfan and wanted to replicate what we had done. A few others were going to do serious cosplay for a party in a few days and were geeked to see our costumes. So that was fun. I'd say at least 10-20 groups of people came up to talk in that short 30 min period of time. Thankfully because of my positioning, no one mistook me for a Disney worker. Interestingly, one of the cooks came out from the Lunching Pad restaurant and said all the workers wanted to know who I was. Got that a lot. The most mistaken identification was Emperor Zurg from Buzz Lightyear.



After they got done with Astro, Steph checked on Stitch. The line was short, but he wasn't meeting until 7 (which was an hour). So we decided to skip that. Additionally, the line for Buzz was still long, so we skipped that as well. We were onto Fantasyland by 6:15pm and ahead of schedule.

Fantasyland had the most character picture opportunities. So we had planned the most time in this area at nearly 2 hrs. Something like 7-9pm. This also overlapped with the golden period of time given stage shows and parade with the best possible suck of guests away from other things. They decided to ride Dumbo.



While I waited, I met some additional superfans of Amphibia and talked shop. Then a worker from Big Top Souvenirs came out and wanted to know about the costumes. Said they were all inside trying to ID us. So I went back with him into the store so we could talk about it. They had a little trouble ID'ing the show, but with some clues, they figured it out. Turns out the guy who came and grabbed me actually went to acting school with Justin Felbinger and is friends with him. He's the voice of Sprig (who Steph is dressed as) from Amphibia. SO wild.

After Dumbo, BIL/SIL brought a scooter for FIL to drive around in. Then we headed towards other areas of Fantasyland. Looks like we took some pictures near the rocks in the Ariel area while we still had some remaining daylight.







I like how these turned out. From here we headed towards Mirabel and Bruno. It was close to 7pm at this time, and the wait seemed relatively short. I'd say we waited about 20-25 min at the most. While waiting we crossed the magical 7pm barrier, and thus we could turn everything on. The Anne torso and hair had fresh Energizer Max batteries. So I wasn't worried about those. The Darcy eyes, Darcy dagger, and Anne racket were on the rechargeable lithium batteries. The racket could last exactly 5hrs, and the other two were >5hrs based on the last party. The trickiest were the CR3032 batteries since I didn't replace any of them. So I didn't know how long Anne's gloves or my other eyes would last. So while we stood in line, we turned on the LEDs. Unfortunately, G's shoulder connections were acting up and would flicker every once in a while. But this wasn't an easy fix, so I told G we just have to roll with it.

Bruno and Mirabel were good. A little scattered in the convos, which I guess makes sense. Looks like the pics were around 7:15.



After Mirabel, we got in line to see Alice and the Madhatter. Looks like we waited about 25 min since it was about 7:40pm when those pics were taken. We could tell the cast member in charge of the line was having a day. She cut the line off behind us, and then the guests were too kind to her about that. She kept saying that Alice would return at 7:45. So literally right after they left, they would return. They just didn't want to have a continuous line. Alice and Madhatter were good. I liked how silly Madhatter was, and took some notes on their costumes since G is doing Alice in Wonderland next summer.







We were still ahead of schedule, and it was almost 8pm by this time.

Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 3

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 3



After leaving Alice, we made our way to the Princess Hall treat trail. This is where you could meet Maleficient and Evil Queen (unadvertised). They were just standing there and did minimal interactions. Kind of like you saw them as you passed by. This was around 7:50.



We left the treat trail and then decided to ride the carousel. There was no line, and was around 7:57pm. I think based on pictures is when I lost one of my knee caps on my costume. Because in the pictures with Alice at 7:40 it was still there, but then in pictures with Belle at 8:15 it wasn't. So the most logical place where I bumped it and it came off was when I rode my first ride. I didn't recognize that I had lost the knee cap until later.





From the carousel, we walked over to meet Belle outside of her storybook area. We got there and they had closed the line. But the cast member told us to wait a second and possibly there might be time for one or two more groups. So we waited along side an astronaut costume girl who had lots of questions about our costumes. When the area thinned out, then the cast member did us a solid and let us into line with the other group. She had lots of questions about the costumes as well. She also wanted to know what we were planning for next year. Oh, we've got ideas, but nothing chosen yet. But she had some interesting ideas to ours that she wanted to see us accomplish. Belle herself was good. She had a very thick accent.





After Belle, we met back up with BIL/SIL who had been doing some of the bigger rides, and then we headed towards Ariel grotto. The unadvertised Gaston meet was closed when we got there, and the line for Ariel was way too long. So they rode the Ariel ride instead. I waited in a darker area, so I got lots of looks from passerbys, but few conversations. Afterwards, G and I took a picture by King Triton.



Then we walked towards Frrontierland as we headed towards Haunted Mansion. It was roughly 9pm at this time, and so we were on time.



Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 4

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 4

Before we made it over to Frontierland, we found some additional photopass locations. These were without characters but had some special effects. They did some fun long exposure light effects on this one.





Then they had the Maleficient dragon on some others.









Then a close up shot that I think turned out well.



Anastasia and Drizella were meeting over by the bathrooms here, but the line was closed. That's too bad because they're some of the best characters during MNSSHP.

After these photopass pictures around 9pm, they were ushering people out of the area because of the fireworks starting at 10pm and the windy conditions. So we made our way towards Frontierland. We stopped for some pictures by Rapunzel bathrooms. With the lighting here, these were arguably some of our best pictures.





I really like this last one. And G think it looks like Toad Tower, and a burning building in the background of the picture.



Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 5

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 5
So we made it over to Frontierland around 9:10pm. The line at Haunted Mansion was like 50 min, which was still longer than we were willing to wait. So we passed for then. Instead we decided to walk towards the Moana meet and greet instead. This line was really slow moving. Looks like we didn't get pics with her until 9:45pm. She was ok. A little disjointed.



Made our way back towards Haunted Mansion and ran into a Country Bear. He wanted to check out our costumes. He played around with the tennis racket a bit, and then took some pictures with us.





We saw some cast members staring at us from one of the stores, so we stopped in to chat. It seems like the cast members inside stores are the most inquisitive. They don't get to see everything like the other ones do, and the stores are maybe a little more lightly attended during party hours as people are in go-go mode. So we talked about the costumes, and then they gave us some best costume pins. This might have been the cast interaction where one said, "Best costume tonight", then the next said, "Best costume all season", and then the last said, "It's quite literally the best costume I've seen in my life." So that was cool.

We got in line for Haunted Mansion around 9:55pm. The fireworks started while we were waiting in line. Once we got close to the entrance, the cast member asked us if we could reduce/turn off our lights, and we obliged. The ride broke down a few times while we waited before getting in. Once I got into the Doom Buggy and it slammed by costume, I knew it was a bad idea to ride this. It crunched my knee armor, and that's when I realized the other knee was missing. I thought it had happened at the same time, but later realized based on pictures that it had been missing for close to 2 hrs. The ride broke down while we were on it several times too. So kind of a meh ride. Plus I kept trying to find my other knee armor to no avail. Looks like we were off the ride around 10:30pm. So even with all the breakdowns, it was still only a 35 min ride start to finish. We did find that many of the ride times seemed slightly inflated from reality.



After Haunted Mansion, we made our way back towards the Main St area where we got the good pics by the silhouette. G's hairpiece was acting up again, so we had to unplug it for these pics. Steph liked how these turned out. G was on the verge of tears about her hairpiece though.









Thankfully this time around the fix on the Anne hair was easier, as it just had a loose wire. So took about 3 min to fix. Crisis averted. Looks like this was around 10:50, and we were making our way towards Jack and Sally for the end of the party.

Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 6

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 6
As we passed by the Main hub area, there weren't a ton of other people. Things definitely cleared out because the fireworks were at 10pm and the next parade was at 11:15pm. So we got some good group shots at 11pm near the castle.













Then we made our way down Main St, and made it to Jack and Sally around 11:15pm or so. The listed wait was around 20-30 min. So longer than I got in 2023, but shorter than the 75min wait from earlier. Steph and the rest of the family decided to watch the parade from the area outside the train station. Looks like we met Jack and Sally at 11:42pm. G agreed that they were arguably the best character interaction. The line takes a while because they spent so much time with you. And they have lots of interesting things to say. Jack was confused when talking to me about which eyes he was supposed to be looking into. He also liked how G glowed and wondered if I could do that for him too.







After G and I met Jack and Sally, we made our way to the rest of the family. The parade was ongoing, and since they were in the center of the hub outside the train station we couldn't get to them. The parade was good. The driver for Cruella recognized us and said he saw us the other day. Which was cool. Lots of oohs and ahhs from the dancers too. It was almost time to call it a night. We tried to find the cast member that saved our night by doing the wire stripping at the beginning of the party, but she wasn't in the same store anymore. We saw one last photopass op and G and I decided to stop for it.

Next - Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 7

 

[DopeyBadger]

Sunday, October 20th - Swimming, MNSSHP #2! Part 7

We chatted in line for a bit with some other groups. More questions about the costumes and how we made them. Then it was our turn for pictures. I saw the photopass person side eye us once when we were in line. But then when it was our turn, she explained she was the person that helped Steph at the start of the party strip the wire. She was so happy to see us and see that costumes held up all night. So that was a cool full circle moment. She spent a good bit of time with us because I think she was really trying to capture the perfect shot. She did well.







This was at 12:10am, and everyone else was ready to call it a night. One of these times we're going to have to wait it out a little longer because the park really clears out at like 12:30-1:00am or so and you can get some really good empty Main St shots. But that's for another time.

In all, we collected 9 best costume pins from cast members. So I think the costumes were a big hit.



So let's recap. We took two different approaches to the two parties. Neither being the "right" way to do it, but just prioritizing different things.

Party #1
-Saw stage show
-Saw fireworks
-Saw first parade
-Rode people mover, tea cups, Monsters Inc.
-Did treat trails and collected candy
-Met Jafar, Pluto, Minnie/Daisy/Donald/Goofy
-Got 50 photopass pictures
-Took 33 pictures of our own
--So 88 total pictures

Party #2
-Rode Astro, Dumbo, carousel, Winnie Pooh, Ariel, Haunted Mansion
-Met Mickey, Mirabel/Bruno, Alice/Madhatter, Malecificent/Evil Queen, Belle, Moana, Jack/Sally
-Got 103 photopass pictures
-Took 102 pictures of our own
--So 205 total pictures

I felt like Party #2 was way more efficient. A lot less hopping back and forth across the park. We had an area, we had a timeframe to enter/leave, and for the most part we did well.

Even after two parties, we still didn't get everything done we wanted to. We didn't meet Anastasia/Drizella, Jack Sparrow, or Stitch. We didn't ride Buzz or Pirates. So even after 15.5 hrs combined between the two parties, we still didn't get to do everything. Guess we'll have to go back next year, am I right? And G proposed doing three parties instead... we'll see about that.

Looks like we left around 12:15am. Headed towards the monorail, and in a really weird coincidence, we ran into the same group getting on the monorail from the beginning of the party. We saw them one other time when waiting for people mover. But it's wild that out of all the moment we'd both be headed towards TTC that we would again end up in the same monorail car. Sounded like they had a great time, and they really liked our costumes all turned on. Made it back to TTC, and then to the car to call it a night. Got back to SS around 1am. Since we were resort hopping from Saratoga to Riveria the next morning, I took some time to pack the costumes away. I had packed all my other bags earlier that day. Took me about 1.5 hrs to pack the costumes back up. So I was finally in bed at 2:30am.

Body Battery - 83 -> 9
Steps - 14,000 (7.3 mi)
Sleep that night - 6:14 hrs
Resting HR - 51 bpm

Next - Monday, October 21st - Riviera Resort, EPCOT

 

[DopeyBadger]

Monday, October 21st - Riviera Resort, EPCOT

Didn't get much sleep since I stayed up late to pack my costume. But I'd rather spend the time doing that in the middle of the night than the next morning. Looks like I got up around 8:40am. We had an EPCOT fastpass for Spaceship Earth at 9:20-10:20, and no one knew if we'd make that. But darned if we weren't going to try. So we said goodbye to SS, packed the bags into the rental, and drove to EPCOT. I think we ended up moving the fastpass for Spaceship Earth since we were just going to miss it. I think we got in there around 10:35am or so.

So instead we headed towards our new first fastpass which was Living with the Land at 10:20-11:20. Rode Living with the Land. G took some pictures of plants for her class. They had just learned about Mayan(?) culture and the importance of the cacao bean.

After Living with the Land BIL went to get some food, and the rest of us went to watch the Amazing Earth? video inside that same area. Kind of an interesting video with Phil Dunphy explaining different biospheres as if you're a prospective home buyer. And then talking about the "neighborhood" and keeping it going. Interesting I guess.

Our second fastpass was for Soarin' at 11:20-12:20. Rode Soarin'. We had bad seats far off to the right side and in the middle. So everything was distorted.

After Soarin' we had our third fastpass for Remy at 12:20-1:20 or so. So we hiked over there to make it in time. Ride was good, nothing remarkable. After Remy, we did some shopping in the UK and Canada. Everyone got some ice cream. We did the Moana walk through garden as we waited for our Spaceship Earth fastpass. G found Pua (who she played as last summer) in the rocks.



And then we made our way towards Spaceship Earth for our next fastpass. We still had some time to burn, so G and I played some games inside the exit at SE, and then we found the rest of the group by the fountains.



G and I rode SE together. The ride stopped a few times, but not too bad.



I think after SE we got notice that our Riviera room was ready, so we left EPCOT to head there. I'll leave the next update to talk about the Riviera hotel. But after pool time and dinner, we headed back to EPCOT for the evening.

The priority was getting G's pearls from Japan. A family tradition for every Disney World trip G has been on is to get pearls from either Japan, or a stand in DS/Boardwalk that does pearls. She's up to 14 trips now. We took the boat over there to expedite our movement since the fireworks were at 9pm, and it was 7:15pm when we made our way on the boat. Last boat for the night. The ride was smooth, so I didn't get motion sickness. G always likes to pick the lonely oysters. The ones that seem to have a lot of growth, who are big, but look on their own. She feels like it brings her good luck.



It brought her luck this time, because she pulled twins!



Second time twins for her, and they were a beautiful steely blue/purple. Not the exact same color between the two. So she was pretty stoked.

After Japan, we headed towards Norway. We were looking for Elsa items for G's friend, and then we got some dessert snacks. Delicious! Then we headed towards Mexico to ride the Three Caballeros. Something happened in the boat prior to us, but it wasn't exactly clear what. Maybe someone peed, vomitted, I don't know. But they originally told us rows 4/5, saw the boat, and then told us 3/4 instead. So we just opted out. There wasn't any wait, so nothing wasted. Left Mexico and headed back towards Canada/UK/France. Stopped in a few stores, stopped by Remy and saw the wait was too long. Steph thought she saw one of her favorite bloggers, Dis our Dreams, and tried to chase him down but couldn't catch him. He was clearly trying to bolt before the fireworks started. Turns out after some convos online, it was actually him. So bummer.



We hung around near the EPCOT exit by the Skyliner to watch the fireworks, and then when we thought they were getting close to done a little rain sprinkle started so we headed towards the exit. The line seemed long, but it moved quick. Probably waited 5-10 min at the most. Got in line before the crowd did, and the line was much longer after us. Rode the skyliner back over to Riviera and headed to the room.

Next - Monday, October 21st - Riviera Resort, EPCOT #2

 

[DopeyBadger]

Monday, October 21st - Riviera Resort, EPCOT #2

So let's rewind the day's recap and go back to the Riviera resort. We left EPCOT midday when we were notified our room was finished. That's when Steph was like, hey, did we get a preferred view room? Turns out we did without her paying attention at the time of the reservation. LOL! Although once we saw the room we weren't complaining. Our room was in the 8500s in the middle of the west wing. Apparently the parking is more limited on the west side according to the guard, but we found a spot. Got the bags out and took everything up to the room. Again we had a 2-bedroom. The room is a significant upgrade over the SS 2 bedroom.

-SS - 2 toilets, 2 showers, one bathtub, 3 sinks,
-Riviera - 2 toilets, 2 showers, one bathub, one bath/shower combo, 4 sinks

-SS - 2 queen, 1 king, 1 murphy, 1 tv bed
-Riviera - 2 queen, 1 king, 1 murphy, 1 tv bed

-SS - one balcony
-Riviera - two balcony

-SS - no luggage closets
-Riviera - very large luggage closet that fit all my costumes

-SS - ceiling fans
-Riviera - no ceiling fans

-Riviera has more space in the living room
-Riviera has more space in the kitchen
-Riviera's laundry dryer dried clothes in 30 min (one cycle) vs 2.5 hrs (five cycles) at SS
-Riviera's oven gets to 400F in normal minutes vs 90(!) minutes at SS
-SS shower handle broke off while I was taking a shower and thankfully didn't hurt me

But that preferred view is just magical.

















Access to skyliner is nice too. But it's not all good. The lack of ceiling fans is disappointing. The main pool isn't very deep (about 3.5 ft in most areas). The quick service is ok, but lacks a lot of options. Definitely a make your own food hotel.

Definitely had the family wondering about DVC and wondering whether we were going to become Riviera fans instead of SS fans.



Back to the recap, we spent some time at the pool, and then we headed back to EPCOT for the evening as detailed earlier. Looks like we headed to bed around 10:45pm.

Body Battery - 45 -> 32
Steps - 21,000 (10.5 mi)
Sleep that night - 9:57 hrs
Resting HR - 47 bpm

Next - Tuesday, October 22nd - Riviera Resort Swimming, DHS

 

[DopeyBadger]

Tuesday, October 22nd - Riviera Resort Swimming, DHS
Last full day at Disney. Since we were staying at Riviera we decided we'd just lounge around the hotel. Maybe do some swimming, do some bocce ball or chess. G and Steph went to get breakfast and found some turtles in the lake nearby.



After a relaxing morning, we decided to head to the Boardwalk area around 10am. G and I headed to the Yacht and Beach club Arcade. Pretty sure this one stays atop our list of best arcades we've visited on Disney property. It has a DDR like, it has the better air hockey, it has pinball, it has driving games, skee ball, and dual basketball. It's got it all. So we gave it 5/5 stars.

While we were playing these games, I asked G if she had any regrets about the trip. She said she really wished we did another park day. She wanted to go to DHS, but we didn't. Which reminds me, Steph and family had passes to Guardians at EPCOT on Monday, but the ride was down for a period of time and they got refunds because the line was excessive. So Steph was bummed that she missed Guardians for the third straight trip and hadn't done any thrill rides. So when G said she regretted not doing DHS, I said I got you kid. We looked up the wait times around 11am and they were quite low. TOT was only 25 min, RnR was 30 min, TSMM was 35 min. So even with it nearing mid-day the waits were still quite low.

So we wrapped up the arcade, and then headed towards the Boardwalk to meet up with everyone else for lunch. We saw Steph and said, man it's crazy how low the waits at DHS are today. It's only x, y, z for such and such rides. Steph didn't believe me so she brought up the waits. Then came the look. I knew. She knew. No one was committed yet. We decided to take the ferry over to DHS and then re-check the waits. While on the trip I noted that we were going to possibly be at a disadvantage financially because I wasn't sure if we could upgrade our 1 day EPCOT to a 2 day after having visiting the park. So I ask Steph what her make or break cost was. She couldn't give me a number. So then I knew we were going no matter much.

Got up to the window and had a nice chat with the cast member there. We couldn't upgrade but we just bought day passes. Got all checked in, and then we were inside at about 11:45am.



The funny thing was that Steph and G were actually wearing swim suits because that was the plan for the day.

We headed over to RnR, and G/MIL/FIL headed to see some stage shows. The wait for RnR had increased from earlier, but still not bad at 50 min. Got in the single rider lane. Unfortunately the ride went down not too long after getting in line. They don't really give updates, so it's hard to know how long it'll be down for. But I told Steph it's likely to be the shortest it'll be unless they kick us out of line. So we should stick it out. I think it came back online after 15 min or so. Got through the line, and eventually paired up with someone. I get motion sickness, but roller coasters in the dark are things I can barely tolerate. It effected me, but not too bad. Steph had fun. Ended up taking only 50 or so min even with the down time.

After RnR, we headed towards ToT. Line was only listed at 25 min. I can't even remember the last time I've been on ToT. I also now remember why. That one messed me up pretty good. Mostly when the shutters open and the sunlight hits you. I had a major dark spot in my eyes once the ride was done. I had to get some salt and water in me quick. So we went to get a mickey pretzel.

After that we met up with G and family to head towards TSMM.



G wanted to know all the tips and tricks of TSMM. Now that she has her own iPhone she spent some time watching youtube and reading tips.





She wanted to be my partner. When we got to the start of the ride, she gave a friendship bracelet to the cast member doing the distributing. Overall, we did well. G struggled to keep up with some of the tips, but she had fun. My arms were on fire from pulling that string though.



Once we got off the ride, the cast member asked us if we wanted to ride again. We were all confused. She didn't say why. So obviously we said yes. Then she put us on the next ride and Steph/me were teamed up. As we got started Steph and I were trying to figure out why, and that's when we thought it might be because G gave the other cast member the bracelet. Otherwise, I've got no idea. Because it wasn't like our ride was negatively impacted. Whatevs. We'll take it. Did better the second time with Steph.



Didn't get #1 of the hour because someone got 388,000 right before me, but that's a decent two-person score. Can't say where it ranks compared to other years. Of the only pics I could find, this 287,000 was the highest. So maybe a new PR?

Next - Tuesday, October 22nd - Riviera Resort Swimming, DHS #2

 

[DopeyBadger]

Tuesday, October 22nd - Riviera Resort Swimming, DHS #2


Forgot to mention we ate at Brown Derby after RnR and ToT. Didn't have a reservation and they were still able to seat us in about 15 min. The meal was fabulous. Can't remember the last time I had restaurant steak.

After TSMM, which we actually rode twice in the 35 min listed time, we started to realize that the ride times were definitely being inflated at DHS today. RnR was on time despite a 15 min delay, ToT was probably 15 min instead of 25-30 min, and we rode TSMM twice in the 35 min timeframe. Same with Smuggler's run which had it listed around 25 min, and probably took 10-15 min to get through line.





Steph was the pilot with me, and we did better than we've done before. We actually got 2 cores. Not sure if we've done that as a group before. After Smuggler's, we did some shopping while FIL/MIL took a short break. It was clear a third park day in a row was taking a toll on them and they were slowing down.



After a bit of time shopping we gathered everyone and headed towards Muppets. On the way we ran into Din Djarin and Grogu. So we had to stop since G had just bought a Star Wars sweater the other day.





Grogu loved it and was making all sorts of sounds.

After meeting the Mandolorian, we headed towards Muppets. Lightly attended, but we timed it well as the show was just starting as we got there.

After Muppets we went for ice cream, but Gertie's was closed. Probably for the best, because we got to the Frozen show at about 5:15pm for the 5:30pm show. The show was great. The cast members definitely improved based on the crowd responses.

Show ended around 6pm. At some point, here or earlier, we discussed leaving the park and coming back for Fantasmic. We decided not to. Well that ended up being the right choice. Because around 7:15pm (?) or so is when we learned Fantasmic was cancelled for the evening due to wind. G and I did some shopping on the Hollywood Blvd. shops instead. That's where G had one of her best cast member interactions. It was so organic. We went into a shop with clothes, and were discussing one of the outfits. And then a early 20s girl cast member just jumped in high energy and started discussing the outfits with G. Going around and critiquing things. She called G her little mini-me. At one point she said I could leave and come back later while they go around and do their thing. LOL. So I found Steph and got a bracelet and slipped it to G. Alli the cast member was so excited. I think it was a backside of water one, and I think it's a good fit because she would excel as a Jungle Cruise skipper. We said goodbye and did more shopping. Eventually we made our way back to the shop because G wanted to see Alli again and say a final goodbye. So we stopped back in and G said bye to her maxi-me. She gave her another bracelet and Alli almost started crying. I think the bracelet said "World Traveler" and she said it was a perfect fit because she was a EPCOT cast member last year.

I think we hung around the center area and watched the projection show on the Chinese Theater. We also rode MMRR at some point earlier, but I don't remember when. We got ice cream bars for the projection show.



I think that was the end of our impromptu DHS day. We headed towards the skyliner and called it a night. There was a big AI company that rented out EPCOT for the evening. So they were double checking where everyone was headed when getting on the skyliner. They actually were checking where we were headed at the carribbean stop and confirmed we were going to Riviera. So I thought that was interesting. Back to the resort and in bed around 11:00pm.

Body Battery - 81 -> 37
Steps - 18,500 (9.6 mi)
Sleep that night - 9:15 hrs
Resting HR - 47 bpm

Next - Wednesday, October 23rd - Flight home

 

[DopeyBadger]

Wednesday, October 23rd - Flight home

Our flight left from MCO at 3:30pm or so, so we didn't need to leave the resort until about 12:30pm or so. So we spent the morning packing, and then swimming. We also got some lunch at the quick service. G made a new best friend, Olivia. They shared contact information. She lives in Indianapolis. We said goodbye to our turtle friends, and also saw a fish that was easily over 2 feet long.





The small fish were interesting because they've clearly been taught by learned experience to watch for humans along the edge. Because they just follow you along hoping you'll drop food. Before long it was time to go.



The drive back to the airport was uneventful. Got there around 1:30. We left lots of time for MCO because it's usually a disaster. It was our first time flying out of Terminal B, and first time on Breeze airlines. It was a breeze (pun intended). There was no line for check-in or checked luggage. The security line was only 5 min. We were at the gate in no time. The plane was nice too. In no time we were back in Madison. I watched Oppenheimer on the flight home. Good movie. Since we only had one vehicle at the MSN airport we had to take shifts to get home. So most everyone took the carry-ons back home once the plane landed at 5:30, and myself and SIL waited for checked luggage. Steph came back with the Mach-E and we loaded the checked luggage in probably the only configuration that would work. And then we drove home. And that was it. The trip was done.

Next - Trip in review

 

[DopeyBadger]

MNSSHP 2024 Trip in Review

All in all a pretty good trip for the family. Definitely towards the top.

-Most everyone did a good job getting along, which is never a guarantee when you've got 6 adults and 1 child sharing a 2 bedroom for 8 night trip.

-G had fun reviewing the arcades.

-Double MNSSHP worked really well. We would have never accomplished everything we wanted in a single party. So someone would have left disappointed. So having the two was able to come close to meeting everyone's expectations.

-The costumes made it to Disney in one piece and everything worked so well for nearly 17hrs of wearing them. Learned some things that need to be improved, but I think we were 99% of the way there.

-Impromptu DHS trip made Steph happy because she got to do some thrill rides.

-MIL did so well without a wheelchair all week and covered a ton of distance. So that had to be a confidence booster.

-Riviera is absolutely beautiful. We'll see if that becomes our new must-do resort, because it was good. It's pricier though, so we'll see what wins out.

Everyone's interested in doing a 2025 MNSSHP trip, so we'll see what it looks like as the trip comes together.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what your favorite memories or pictures were!

 

[jmasgat]

So impressed to finally see the costumes in action. Hope you think they were worth all the effort (750 hours!)

Riviera.....I find it hard to like this resort. It is so vanilla and underwhelming. Besides the view, what gave it character for you? (or was it all about space)

 

[Naomeri]

You all had a great trip! My favorite picture is definitely G vs Dragon Maleficent

 

[DopeyBadger]

These costumes look so amazing in the wild.

Thanks! They definitely were head turners.

I'm so glad to see they traveled well and you didn't have to do any major repairs. And how cool so many people recognized you and appreciated all the work that went into them! Can't wait to hear about the second party.

Me too! I was nervous about the helmet and the Anne hair as those were the hardest to fix. Thankfully both were in tact. Unfortunately the Darcy helmet suffered a little more damage on the trip home. It's flattened out a bit, so I've been trying to work the foam back into form.

Memories that G will have of her childhood are priceless!!
Billie thanks for sharing.! Such an inspiration thr passion and dedication you put into everything!

Most def. Not just the party itself, but all the steps prior as well.

So impressed to finally see the costumes in action. Hope you think they were worth all the effort (750 hours!)

Thanks! I'd say yes. I don't know if the time would have been well spent on only 1 party, but the 2 parties helped. But along the way, the process of making the costumes was enjoyable as well.

Riviera.....I find it hard to like this resort. It is so vanilla and underwhelming. Besides the view, what gave it character for you? (or was it all about space)

I totally understand this. I think a lot has to do with the space in the room. Sharing a 2 BR for 6 adults and 1 child is tight. And the bathroom situation can be annoying. So having up to 3 showers going instead of 2 showers, and even more sinks can be a way to speed everyone up. Plus, the kitchen is just a little further away from the sleeping arrangements in the living room. I'm a decent heavy sleeper. So once I'm asleep, I don't wake up easily. But Steph is a light sleeper and has trouble falling back asleep when she wakes. So when BIL had those early morning tee times, he would wake Steph up prematurely. Whereas I would sleep for additional hours.

The quick service selection is lacking, but the quality is good. But like I said, we like to cook for ourselves. And the kitchen situation (and laundry for that matter) at SS is an issue. That's 2-3 times in a row that the dryer and oven are just sub-par. FIL thinks they're only running 110 volts instead of 220 volts to the rooms. So the lack of selection at QS isn't a big deal if you mostly make your own food.

I didn't go into the quiet pool, but it looks like it might be 4.5 ft deep. G said the family pool slide is really cool.

The access to the skyliner is a plus.

The lack of an arcade is a major negative to G and I. But a hop on the skyliner can eventually get us to either Y&B or POP/AoA.

It's definitely a conversation worth having (and we'll have again) about whether the cost difference is truly worth it.

You all had a great trip! My favorite picture is definitely G vs Dragon Maleficent

Great choice! I kept trying to get her to raise the racket higher, but she was nervous she'd drop it.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Sounds like a great trip! Congrats on the very successful costumes!