Touring the Tower of Terror and other Ghoulish Delights! Sept 13 TR | FINALx2 4/17!!!

[RDawn]

We stayed at the WLV last year... I am so happy that you finally gave it a try. Those boats to MK are magical. You can see the electric water pageant from the pool area, & my kids LOVED the bridge over the spring in the lobby. Thanks for another wonderful trip report!

 

[courtneybelle]

That's so awesome that you and Matt have your Disney traditions! SO CUTE. My boyfriend's only been to Disney once when he was little but I hope I can get him back there and we can come up with our own traditions too

Great pictures of the Tangled area!! I love it there so much!

I have a minor obsession with the Tiki Room so I'm glad you enjoyed it! The AC is absolutely glorious as well.

I also refuse to share my LeFou's Brew. I will share the cinnamon rolls from there but not the brew!

 

[blabbermouth]

I can't believe you'd never been to the Tiki Room before! I'm glad you love it, I do too. Nice work on the LeFou's, no sharing allowed!

That's so nice about Matt having traditions, but I'll have to side with your brother on this one, IASW is not a tradition I want to keep, haha.

Awesome that you got the limited edition HM pins! I'd love to see a pic if you've got one.

 

[GatorMommy2007]

I love the Disney traditions!

 

[__disneygirl]

Aww yay Matt. WHAT A KEEPER.

Omg how can Tangled not be someone's thing?! I am so ready for the multitude of Tangled pics in this report.

When you meet the Tremaines you just have to either 1. Badmouth Cinderella or B. Threaten them by saying you're gonna get a prince before they do. Either one will illicit interesting reactions.

 

[khertz]

I've decided I'm just going to live there and no one will notice... though it might be kind of creepy to live inside of the bathrooms.

Okay, so this made me laugh hysterically because I thought of that Episode of Full House when Stephanie decided to live in the bathroom and how badly I wanted to do the same thing in real life because it looked SO COOL on TV!

But seriously... I can think of way worse places to live. Stitch's Great Escape, anyone?? Disney can theme the heck out of some bathrooms, that's for sure! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THESE IN JUST A FEW DAYS OMG!!! Honestly, that may be the very first place I want to go after breakfast on our first morning, and I'm sure the rest of my family will think I'm insane.

Awww, your Matt mush made my heart melt. I know how you feel, because I'm lucky to have a Disney nerd for a husband too. It's so fun to share that kind of passion for Disney with your husband/wife/SO.

Great find on the pins. Looks like you were in the right place at the right time on that one.

Lovely updates, Dani!

 

[Fantasylannd Dad]

Tiki room was a first for us as well. Every year I think I have finally seen all of magic kingdom, but every year I end up being surprised

 

[onelilspark]

Yay! A new Dani trip report!i know I'm late to the party, but I'm here now! Off to get caught up!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Can't beat visiting Pirate's first! We normally go the other direction (habit I think....strange strange habit. Gotta go right), but Pirate's would be a great start.

Splash is looking pretty fantastic after the refurb.

Nice score on Buzz! Once you know where they high scoring targets are, you definitely start wiping the floor with your ride partner. Hehehe.

Selfies with characters. I love it!

I just bought the Little Mermaid on BluRay too! I had it on DVD, but I really wanted it to be in high def.

Nice choice on the fancy ears! Love the color and the design.

You are indeed lucky to have a Disney loving husband in Matt.

The Tiki Room is definitely a great place to relax and cool down. I personally am a Tiki fan, but I think it's also because of my very young age when we first started going.

No, your desire to watch characters interact with people is fine. Because if that makes you creepy, well....then I'm creepy too.

 

[danimaroo]

Been lurking! Glad you got to enjoy glorious AC! I've never done the tiki room, but I am not a fan of birds so I'm not sure how well I'd do.

Your pictures have my husband and I rethinking the week in September that we go. Apparently we're about a week late.

Also, I love Matt's "this outfit brought to you by Oswald" look! Love how much both of you embrace the magic!

I'm glad you commented!! But yes, the AC was glorious inside of the Tiki Room! But you proooobably won't enjoy it if you don't like birds, haha.

Oh really? Do you usually go the last week and catch crowds from Food and Wine?

Hahaha, it's so true, he was Oswalded OUT! We totally embrace it and love every second of it.

See, it's reasons like Matt caring about your traditions and both of your just flat out Disney love that makes you my fav Disney couple!! There's nothing "mushy" about that at all. It's simply fabulous.

... Even if it does include IASW. Me and your brother have that in common.

Ahh, I just recently watched Tangled for the first time on Netflix so this area now is even better, so post all the pics you want. Plus, I just LOVE Maximus. Give him ALL the apples.

Did you mock George Dani??? You know you can't do that, lol. Unless it gets you stuck somewhere to get some really good photos.

That settles it. Next trip I'm going to the Tiki Room.

The stepsisters RULE. I love a woman who can make me laugh. Love them.

Yup, I'm also in the LOVE IT category for the Brew.

Aw thank you! It's just nice being with someone who cares so much about his traditions and that we have even started new ones.

HAHAHA, I have to admit, I think it's kind of hilarious you and my brother share such a fear for IASW.

It most definitely was not me, hahaha. I don't mess with George!

Yeah do it! The Tiki Room is delightful... and the AC makes it even more worth it!

LeFou's Brew is so good, I'm such a big fan of it.

can you feel the love tonight? sorry, couldn't resist. Nothing wrong with a little mush!

I cannot wait to see the tangled bathrooms (that always sounds so strange to say). If you feel too weird living in the bathroom, you can come stay with me in the castle. I plan on secretly living there some day. Just don't tell anyone!

Have to try the brew and I am the only one in the family who hasn't seen tiki room. My DH loves it, so it's on the list this time.

I love how empty the parks are! It reminds me of when we usually go in November. I hope they look similar in January!

Hahaha, I can get a whole lot mushier than that! I actually probably will get mushier when our anniversary day comes up..

The Tangled bathrooms really are beautiful. And that sounds good! If things get weird, I'll just come hang out in the castle with you.

LeFou's Brew, my theory is, if you like apple juice, you should like this one! And the Tiki Room is great fun, and that AC... oooh that AC, it's lovely.

Yeah, they were extremely empty! I think you should be okay if you're not going around MLK Jr. weekend!

I have never been to the Tiki Room either. I am going to have to see the show this time. I plan on going to see more shows this visit and will add that one to the list.

You and Matt just make the greatest Disney couple. I love that you have your traditions and that Matt is so invested in remembering them and including them in your trips.

So I am recently obsessed with Vinylmation and have been scouring the Disney Store sale page and I picked up a bunch of those High School ones too. My son Jack was looking over my shoulder when he saw that you traded the bully for that adorable one you picked up he decided he wants to get that one too. I am so looking forward to reading about the Vinylmation Event that you attended on this trip.

Definitely check it out! Especially when you need time away from the sun/heat.

Thank you so much! They're actually Matt's traditions that he came up with, which is why I love him for that. Most men don't really think of traditions in Disney, but he does, and I love him for that.

Haha that is awesome!! I just finished writing about the Vinylmation event (I'm trying to write this entire TR ahead of time to keep updates coming), and I think you'll really enjoy that update! It was definitely an interesting experience.

Congratulations and welcome to the DVC! I am looking forward to reading through this trip report! I love, love, love your report style! Thank you for sharing!

Thank you so much, we are beyond thrilled to be DVC members!! Thank you again, I'm glad you're here and enjoying the TR!

So funny you mentioned IASW and Tiki Room in this set of posts. DD5 HATED IASW on our trip a year ago, but last weekend she went on it twice and would have gone on more if we had more time (and the parks weren't so insanely crowded!). She was singing along before the end of the first time through. And then my mom took her to the Tiki Room and she had a blast there as well.

I can't wait to take her to MK to see the new Fantasyland. It's probably 3 years off as we're doing another week long DLR trip next year, but she'll still love it.

Hahaha that is seriously way too funny! It always amazes me how kids can change their minds about things like that so quickly. You guys will love seeing New Fantasyland, especially since the Snow White coaster will be complete, too!

DAPS.

DAPS TO ARIEL.

omg. daps.

That was so freaking funny to me, and I have no idea why.
just sitting here, in the dark, cracking up. by myself.

You're way more gangsta than I am.

But if you live in the Tangled bathrooms, you can be like some weird Disney version of Moaning Myrtle.

And you say Matt was in an Oswald shirt/hat/lanyard, like he wasn't wearing a different Oswald shirt/hat/lanyard combo the next day.

Y'all are perfection.

Hahahaha, yeah, daps to her. She's my homegirl.

And I laughed really hard at being a Disney Moaning Myrtle. Only I'd be Dapper Dani, because I'd be so happy living there I'd just greet people from the bathroom... on second thought, that'd be creepy.

Yeah, this is quite true. He loves Oswald, so no surprise there, hahaha.

Y'all are the CUTEST! I love the traditions you two share!

I'm very glad you experienced the Tiki Room! Under New Management was the worst!

I have yet to try the brew, but I will be changing that come January!

Aww thanks lady!! I'm glad I got to see the Tiki Room the way it should be, thank goodness!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO TRY IT! I'm sure you are just going to love it. I wish I was going to be there in January, wompwomp.

This morning I was searching youtube for Disney World videos to show our friends next weekend. See, I am in the middle of planning a trip for 13 people next May, and several of them have NEVER been . Next sunday we are all getting together to make an ADR plan & just general expectation plan.

So I watch this video called "Adults are only grown up kids anyway" and I put it on our list of videos for next weekend. It was cute!

Well then I'm in the Disney mood, so I hopped over to the Dis to read some trip reports. The 1st one on the list has a title of Touring the Tower of Terror...well that looks good! So click, and guess who's pictures pop up?

Its that couple from the video I just watched! Hey ya'll look familiar! I double checked and sure enough its you! It says so in your 1st post!

How funny! Now I'm off to read your report! Loved your video! Thanks for making it! I'm sure it will get some 1st timers really excited about their trip!

Hahaha this is way too funny! Usually it's the opposite, people read the TR then watch the video! But I guess it was meant to be that we'd chat. So funny, but thank you! I'm glad you loved the video, and I promise another one will be coming soon! I actually started working on it this weekend and I've made some great progress on it!

OMG the Tangled bathrooms are beautiful! I can't wait to finally see them for myself! Please put up as many pictures as you like, because I personally cannot get enough of them! I just wish that area was something more than bathrooms!

OMG I always forget to look for the ring in the HM queue! Gotta remind myself next time!

The Tiki Room! Not my favorite, but I do like that it's a classic, so that's cool! Glad you liked it!

I am SO excited that you are going back and get to see them so soon!! You are going to love them, haha.

Well the nice thing is you can do that NEXT MONTH when you're in Disney World!!!

Yeah, I just like it for a nice break away from the heat, it's definitely a great spot... and it's pretty cute, too!

 

[danimaroo]

We stayed at the WLV last year... I am so happy that you finally gave it a try. Those boats to MK are magical. You can see the electric water pageant from the pool area, & my kids LOVED the bridge over the spring in the lobby. Thanks for another wonderful trip report!

Yeah, we REALLY enjoyed staying there and the boat was seriously one of my favorite things EVER! It was so convenient!

And yes, we definitely caught the ELP while staying there, as we hadn't seen it in a few years and we both love it. It's a fabulous resort to stay at... and thank YOU for reading this TR!

That's so awesome that you and Matt have your Disney traditions! SO CUTE. My boyfriend's only been to Disney once when he was little but I hope I can get him back there and we can come up with our own traditions too

Great pictures of the Tangled area!! I love it there so much!

I have a minor obsession with the Tiki Room so I'm glad you enjoyed it! The AC is absolutely glorious as well.

I also refuse to share my LeFou's Brew. I will share the cinnamon rolls from there but not the brew!

Aww yeah, I love having them, and I love that Matt has come up with a lot of them. It makes me happy he cares so much about Disney, if that makes sense. I owe it to him that I fell in love with it all over again! I think if you guys start going and he feels that Disney love, you will be coming up with lots of traditions to share.

Thank you, it's such a beautiful area! And I was a big fan of the Tiki Room! It was the perfect thing to do right then.

Hahaha, same here! I was so hot I just wanted my own! No apologies on that one!

I can't believe you'd never been to the Tiki Room before! I'm glad you love it, I do too. Nice work on the LeFou's, no sharing allowed!

That's so nice about Matt having traditions, but I'll have to side with your brother on this one, IASW is not a tradition I want to keep, haha.

Awesome that you got the limited edition HM pins! I'd love to see a pic if you've got one.

I know, kind of crazy, right?! And yeah, no sharing, sorry Matt, hahaha.

IASW is so good though! And oh my gosh, if you ever get a chance to see IASW in Disneyland during Christmas... it might change your mind!

I have a picture of the pins coming up in one of my next updates, as I took photos once we got back to our room!

I love the Disney traditions!

Me too, they make me so happy.

Aww yay Matt. WHAT A KEEPER.

Omg how can Tangled not be someone's thing?! I am so ready for the multitude of Tangled pics in this report.

When you meet the Tremaines you just have to either 1. Badmouth Cinderella or B. Threaten them by saying you're gonna get a prince before they do. Either one will illicit interesting reactions.

I know, he really is the best. I'm one lucky lady.

Hahah I don't know, but I just had to stop and take photos like EVERY time we were there. It's just so so well-done.

Um, well clearly I need to meet them! And now I know what to say, hahaha. Thanks, Lia!

Okay, so this made me laugh hysterically because I thought of that Episode of Full House when Stephanie decided to live in the bathroom and how badly I wanted to do the same thing in real life because it looked SO COOL on TV!

But seriously... I can think of way worse places to live. Stitch's Great Escape, anyone?? Disney can theme the heck out of some bathrooms, that's for sure! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THESE IN JUST A FEW DAYS OMG!!! Honestly, that may be the very first place I want to go after breakfast on our first morning, and I'm sure the rest of my family will think I'm insane.

Awww, your Matt mush made my heart melt. I know how you feel, because I'm lucky to have a Disney nerd for a husband too. It's so fun to share that kind of passion for Disney with your husband/wife/SO.

Great find on the pins. Looks like you were in the right place at the right time on that one.

Lovely updates, Dani!

HAHAHHAA you just destroyed me because I remember that episode and I used to think the same thing when I was little!!

This is so true... AND YOU ARE LEAVING SO SOON! I am SO SO excited for you guys! Paxton is one lucky birthday boy!!

High five for knowing what I mean!! I don't meet many couples who are both passionate about Disney, so when I do, it makes me happy!

Thanks! They were so neat. I have a photo of them in an upcoming update. And thank you!!

Tiki room was a first for us as well. Every year I think I have finally seen all of magic kingdom, but every year I end up being surprised

Oh really?! I thought you'd been there before! But I agree, there was a LOT of new stuff we did this trip and I'm glad we finally got to see some new stuff in the parks!

Yay! A new Dani trip report!i know I'm late to the party, but I'm here now! Off to get caught up!

YAY! Glad to have you here! I hope you enjoy.

Can't beat visiting Pirate's first! We normally go the other direction (habit I think....strange strange habit. Gotta go right), but Pirate's would be a great start.

Splash is looking pretty fantastic after the refurb.

Nice score on Buzz! Once you know where they high scoring targets are, you definitely start wiping the floor with your ride partner. Hehehe.

Selfies with characters. I love it!

I just bought the Little Mermaid on BluRay too! I had it on DVD, but I really wanted it to be in high def.

Nice choice on the fancy ears! Love the color and the design.

You are indeed lucky to have a Disney loving husband in Matt.

The Tiki Room is definitely a great place to relax and cool down. I personally am a Tiki fan, but I think it's also because of my very young age when we first started going.

No, your desire to watch characters interact with people is fine. Because if that makes you creepy, well....then I'm creepy too.

Haha, they say that most people naturally go right! For some odd reason we always head to the left! But Pirates is a great place to start.

Splash was amazingly better than it had been when I saw it in 2012.

Haha, I was just getting started I guess with Buzz! I was determined to get that darn high score!

It's kind of the best getting selfies with them because they're all sorts of adorable!

Oh man, it really is a beautiful movie on blu-ray! I know people were all upset because there was some error made on the blu-ray with editing... but it didn't really change much in my eyes. I'm just happy we own it and can watch whenever we want!

Yeah, I thought those ears were fantastic. I HAD to get them, and I will most definitely be wearing them around on Halloween!

The Tiki Room is awesome. It was Matt's favorite when he was little, but honestly, I still liked it even though I'd never seen it as a kid! It was awesome.

Hahahaha, it's seriously so much fun watching them, because they're out of control hilarious. I feel the same way about Gaston! We're creeps I guess.

 

[RachelNinja]

I feel that you and Matt are some of the happiest people in WDW I've EVER "known" but that could also be because I know you two are super happy together even when you're not in Disney! Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading along!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Ok, I totally love that you got all mushy about Matt! It's too sweet! I think it's totally awesome that he's that way. I consider myself pretty lucky to, to have a hubby who loves Disney so much!

I have to admit that I've never done the Tiki Room before, but now I feel like I really need to check it out. Glad to know about the AC, too!

BTW, I love the vinylmation that you got! I love seeing all the ones you've collected!

 

[geckodani]

Wait... you? Danimaroo? She of the same awesome first name as me? No prior Tiki Room experience? Does... not... compute...

I'm glad you finally experienced the glory that is the Tiki Room. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I adore the Tiki Room! I have been known to randomly spout quotes from the birds, and my phone may have suffered a Tiki Room ring tone once upon a time.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I love that Matt insists on those traditions. (And you know we're big IASW fans!) I may or may not have just gotten mushy about you guys myself on my own TR...

I do not think it is creepy that you would live in the bathrooms. I mean, they're really serving the function of bathrooms and art studio, what with those paints everywhere. And surely there's room for you to sleep up above them or something. Or in the tower. You could totally pull that off and no one would think you were strange.

We went to Tiki Room for the first time, too! And it was glorious and all you say it was. We've obviously known the whole song for a long time and have meant to go in each trip, but this is the first time we've been relaxed enough in our touring to actually make it there. It was just super cute and comfortable.

Tomorrowland is sort of our new favorite area of the park. However, Buzz and I don't quite get along. You are MUCH better than me!

 

[leshunlenese]

Hope this is not creepy but I love you two. You guys are so sweet and the fact that Matt has some disney traditions and are not afraid to keep them makes me like you guys even more.

I haven't been on IASW on my last 3 trips. on our trip in may, just all of a sudden my kid is scared of it. Turns out he is scared of those little dolls. My mom has our dolls at home and my nephew scared him with one and he is scared for life!

Those bathrooms are so cute from the outside. I have never been in them becasue I never had to go when we are around. I will make a special trip just to look next time all while hoping it is not too creepy.

Great updates Dani!

 

[JDailey]

I love the new Tangled area!!! I can't wait to see it in February!!! My daughter, who is 6, asked me how we would get all the way up the tower to use the restrooms??!!??

I also love the fact that you guys are staying at the Wilderness Lodge that is our home away from home, so I LOVE seeing all things Wilderness.

 

[danimaroo]

I feel that you and Matt are some of the happiest people in WDW I've EVER "known" but that could also be because I know you two are super happy together even when you're not in Disney! Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading along!

AWW! This just made my day! Seriously, thank you so much! We are really happy when we're in WDW... When I tell people it's my happy place, it really is. But anyway! I'm glad you're here again.

Ok, I totally love that you got all mushy about Matt! It's too sweet! I think it's totally awesome that he's that way. I consider myself pretty lucky to, to have a hubby who loves Disney so much!

I have to admit that I've never done the Tiki Room before, but now I feel like I really need to check it out. Glad to know about the AC, too!

BTW, I love the vinylmation that you got! I love seeing all the ones you've collected!

Haha, yeah, it's nice having someone who loves Disney so much, and honestly, he's the one who got me so into it, so I have him to thank for this obsession!

You should check it out, perfect way to escape the sun/heat for a bit, and it's pretty cute! I'd totally do it again in future trips for sure.

Oh thanks! Just WAIT til you see the Vinylmation event and everything I got there!

Wait... you? Danimaroo? She of the same awesome first name as me? No prior Tiki Room experience? Does... not... compute...

I'm glad you finally experienced the glory that is the Tiki Room. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I adore the Tiki Room! I have been known to randomly spout quotes from the birds, and my phone may have suffered a Tiki Room ring tone once upon a time.

Hahaha, I know! But we finally did it! I think in past trips I'd just seen it as something that I didn't have time for, but this trip we were trying to make sure to do either brand new things, or things we hadn't done in a long time, this being one of them! It's such a fabulous attraction and will definitely be on our list in the future again.

I love that Matt insists on those traditions. (And you know we're big IASW fans!) I may or may not have just gotten mushy about you guys myself on my own TR...

I do not think it is creepy that you would live in the bathrooms. I mean, they're really serving the function of bathrooms and art studio, what with those paints everywhere. And surely there's room for you to sleep up above them or something. Or in the tower. You could totally pull that off and no one would think you were strange.

We went to Tiki Room for the first time, too! And it was glorious and all you say it was. We've obviously known the whole song for a long time and have meant to go in each trip, but this is the first time we've been relaxed enough in our touring to actually make it there. It was just super cute and comfortable.

Tomorrowland is sort of our new favorite area of the park. However, Buzz and I don't quite get along. You are MUCH better than me!

Hahaha, I read this AFTER what you posted in your TR, I just love it. I said it once, but I'll say it again, you're the best!

I think all of your reasoning for me living in the bathrooms are perfect... though the tower sounds even better. So I'm just going to move in up there, cool? Cool.

Tiki Room is just delightful! And that's how we were, we just wanted to do some new stuff in the parks and with the crowds being so low, we were able to get a lot of new things in!

Tomorrowland just rules. I LOVE it as night, especially. The colors of the lights and everything just make me happy. Buzz and I decent friends, or well, we were okay friends at that point, haha.

Hope this is not creepy but I love you two. You guys are so sweet and the fact that Matt has some disney traditions and are not afraid to keep them makes me like you guys even more.

I haven't been on IASW on my last 3 trips. on our trip in may, just all of a sudden my kid is scared of it. Turns out he is scared of those little dolls. My mom has our dolls at home and my nephew scared him with one and he is scared for life!

Those bathrooms are so cute from the outside. I have never been in them becasue I never had to go when we are around. I will make a special trip just to look next time all while hoping it is not too creepy.

Great updates Dani!

Aww it's not creepy, and thank you so much!! Matt is an awesome guy and even better husband, especially with his love for Disney!

Your son sounds JUST like my brother! TERRIFIED of dolls. My mom had a collection and they scared him to death when he was little. He had nightmares about a doll that would spin around in place and slap him in the face... HAHAHA, I mean, I felt bad for him when we were little but that story still cracks me up!

Okay, next trip, hold your pee and make it to those bathrooms. I will be posting future photos of the inside though soon, because I was a creep, hahaha.

Thanks again!

I love the new Tangled area!!! I can't wait to see it in February!!! My daughter, who is 6, asked me how we would get all the way up the tower to use the restrooms??!!??

I also love the fact that you guys are staying at the Wilderness Lodge that is our home away from home, so I LOVE seeing all things Wilderness.

You guys will love it... and I love that your daughter asked that, SO cute!!

Ohhh yes, we really had a fabulous stay there... though I will say, the only problem we had is we weren't there all that much! Because it was the first few days of our trip, we were out running around a lot more than we were later in the trip, but we still really enjoyed our stay there.

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter 10: The Curse of the Green Crocs...
Day Two: September 12th, 2013

After hopping off of Buzz, it was time for my love, the PeopleMover!!!

There is nothing better than kicking back and enjoying a ride through Tomorrowland. It's become one of my absolute favorite things to do in Magic Kingdom, no matter what time of day.

Oooohhhh, those green Crocs... normally, they're fabulous to wear, but unfortunately in the humidity, my feet were VERY sad in them and blisters were starting to form. This was kind of a bummer, since I was able to avoid blisters for the good part of our January trip, but that wasn't happening now. This ended up causing me issues over the next few days, so the Crocs were banned from that point forward during our trip, haha.

But I was still happy anyway!

EXCEPT for when I started melting! And clearly, I was melting, hahaha... We're kind of big fans of PeopleMover photo shoots.

But seriously, I just love zooming around Tomorrowland without a care in the world!

OH! So, Space Mountain was randomly closed for 2 days each week during the month of September. I believe they were installing some new line brakes or something to make the ride a bit safer (YAY since I always feel like I'm about to fall to my death). This was the second day that week, and that meant the lights were oooon!

It just terrifies me thinking about going on that ride with the lights on... TERRIFYING.

Anyway, we finished up our lovely trip around Tomorrowland, and decided it was time to head out of the park! We were in need of a mid-day break and some lunch.

We were both thirsty, so we grabbed some Starbucks on our way out, too. My choice of drink was an Iced Unsweetened Passion Tea.

We also stopped by the Emporium, where we bought a misting fan (and spoiler alert, we were TERRIBLE at using it during our trip... I don't even know why. It was kind of a waste of money.)

We stopped by the Firehouse to get some Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards, as well! Matt had been wanting to try this out, so we figured it'd be smart to start collecting the cards during this trip. We got a quick tutorial, and I was impressed with how neat the game was.

We then ran over to Town Hall to FINALLY get our PhotoPass+! There was no line, and the guy hole-punched our card for us this time, yay!

On our way out of the park, a CM played Rock, Paper, Scissors with me because of my t-shirt, haha. It was kind of awesome. I think he won, too, darn it.

We waved goodbye to Magic Kingdom..

And caught a boat right away back to Wilderness Lodge. Luck was with us yet again, woo!

While on the boat, I took a photo of the two pins I'd traded for that morning..

I always loved going past the Contemporary to Wilderness Lodge on the boat! It's still not my favorite resort, but I do love going past it and seeing the monorail zoom through it, too.

After a relaxing boat ride back, we started to head back to our room. Lucky for us, the Fire Rock Geyser was going off! I always love stopping to check it out.

Once back in our room, we pulled out all of our goodies we'd picked up during the morning... and I made sure to take photos of them all!

The Haunted Mansion pin set box. It came with 2 mystery pins, and there are 10 in the set.

The Epcot pin set box, same as the Haunted Mansion pin set.

We opened them up together and got these 4!

This was the awesome Limited Edition Haunted Mansion Happy Haunts pin set we bought!

And this guy was exclusive to this exact pin set.

We finally got ourselves going, changed into our swimsuits, and headed down to get some lunch at Roaring Fork!

We decided to split the Roast Beef Bleu Cheese Sandwich, since we'd heard great things about it. Matt wasn't in the mood for chips, so he ordered a side of fries.

This sandwich was SO good. Oh man, I wish I could eat it right now. And it was the perfect size to split between the two of us! If you like bleu cheese, you must try this sandwich. It does not disappoint. The bread is fresh, the roast beef is piled on, and it's made to order, which makes it a fantastic choice for lunch.

AND those chips! They were super good, as they are house-made chips.

I have to say, Roaring Fork had some awesome choices for quick bites to eat, both meal and dessert-wise. Easily beats out other quick-service places we'd seen (like the Beach Club Marketplace) in terms of the entrees they served there.

Continued in next post​

 

[danimaroo]

Chapter 11: Maybe the rain isn't THAT bad... and EPCOT TIME!!
Day Two: September 12th, 2013

After we finished our delicious lunch, we went outside and hopped into the pool, even though it was looking like it was going to rain.

For this trip, I bought a DandyCase for my Galaxy S4 so I could take video and photos while we were in the pool or on wet rides, like Splash Mountain! You literally put your entire phone inside of this see-through case, then it has a sealable top, and you're all set! I'd suggest testing it out first before you stick your phone in there, just to make sure it works properly in keeping all water out... It ended up being a great purchase for our trip, and I believe I only paid around $12 for it.

So I was very excited to try it out while we went swimming.

I totally made Matt turn around so I could snap a photo of his Haunted Mansion tattoo. He finally got to show it off a bit in Disney World.

I feel like I look so weird without my glasses on, hahaha.

Though this pool is not anywhere near the size of Stormalong Bay, it was still really nice! I especially love that the waterfall went right into the pool.

While we were floating around, a man asked me about my phone case, and we then ended up just getting into a conversation about Disney Vacation Club. He and his wife owned points and had just come in from Vero Beach, which they said was great! They were a very friendly older couple, and we really enjoyed chatting with them about DVC!

Unfortunately mid-conversation, we saw lightning and heard thunder and knew it was time to get out of the pool. We only got to stay in for 10 minutes, too, wompwomp. We dried off and changed quickly, when the rain started to really fall. Fortunately we got back to our room before really getting stuck in it, and decided to just relax for a bit.

I stepped outside to take a quick photo of the rain/our view (which was non-existant, but we obviously didn't care)... aaand my camera was hit with humidity. This ended up happening a LOT during this trip, which was kind of frustrating. AC to heat = FOGGED UP LENS!

And no matter how many times I wiped off the lens, it just fogged up again for the next 10 minutes, haha.

On my way back inside, we noticed this card sitting on our TV stand.

Those always make me happy!

We put Stacey on, I ate my leftover Magic Cookie Bar, and we laid in bed... Matt read for a bit while I typed up notes in my trip journal.

Sometimes it's nice to just have some quiet time in your room... so we enjoyed that for a while, then finally got ourselves ready and out the door to head over to Epcot.

For some reason the bus took FOREVER to show up, but then it finally did, and it was a new bus!

Look at that bus, lookin' all fancy and grey.

We cruised on over to Epcot, arriving at around 5ish, and it was actually really nice to walk into Epcot through the main gate. It'd been so long since we'd done that, and I missed seeing Spaceship Earth from that angle.

We decided to go and get Fast Passes for Soarin' first, so off to The Land Pavilion we went!

It felt so good to be back in Epcot. It's such an amazing park, and hearing the Future World music loop as we walked made me even happier.

After getting Soarin' FPs, we decided to stop and get some Starbucks, duh! We were both so happy that the Starbucks happened to open at Epcot RIGHT before our trip. TWO Starbucks in Disney World?! The only thing that could be better is when there is one in each park!

I went with my Iced Passion Tea again, and Matt went with either an iced vanilla or iced toffee nut latte. We also decided to split a peanut butter brownie, since it sounded pretty good!

And it was! It was moist and fresh and really the perfect snack to split.

We hung out inside for a bit by the window, enjoying the view and the AC.

There is no seating inside of this Starbucks, either, but you can always hang out by the windows for a few to get out of the heat!

After cooling off, we strolled on over to Test Track and got another set of Fast Passes for later.

Matt and I love some shopping, and MouseGear was calling our name, so we looked around for a while. MouseGear is easily my favorite place to shop. I like that it is huge yet not overwhelming and confusing. Plus, they always have great stuff that I feel like I have a hard time finding other places.

I really wanted to trade a Vinylmation, so while Matt looked around, I went over and chatted with the CM. She was very nice and maaay or may not have guided me towards a good number, where I got:

Sebastian from The Little Mermaid series!! I already had him in my collection, but it was still nice to get a good trader instead of something crappy.

I found Matt, who wanted to show me a mug he'd found... An Oswald one, to be exact, that matched his Oswald shirt he'd bought in California Adventure at Oswald's (probably his favorite thing about California Adventure, hahaha).

He didn't really want to carry it around, so I insisted on taking a photo so he wouldn't forget to pick it up at some point.

We did more looking around, where we found Haunted Mansion coasters. I'd heard of these selling out in the past, so I told Matt this was one of those things we should buy now, just in case.

I also decided to buy a new Epcot shirt, as seen here in a photo from later in the day:

Next, we become BFFs with a bunch of Test Track CMs, FINALLY make use of our PhotoPass+, run into some DISers, and have a fantastic night in Epcot.

Continued in next post​