Very Merry D23 Holidaze Dec 2009 TR - 7 magical park days! updt 7/1

[MyMuse]

Wow! 73% accuracy is really good. I love HS and it sounds like the crowds were good! HS seems to be the only park I always make rope drop. I made it to MK on my Dec trip, but they were filming the parade that day so they only had a VERY small show, (no train) and one tunnel was open. It was a madhouse. But still fun!!

Is it? Cool!

This was the first time I made rope drop to DHS. Actually, I didn't know there was such a thing as rope drop before the DIS. LOL!

I was able to catch rope drop at MK a few times; it's definitely the best one!

I just love the army men! I saw the pixar lamp this trip, but it was as I was rushing to get on TSM. By the time I got off the ride it was gone so I didn't get any pictures.

I was so excited to see them! I didn't want pictures with them, but pictures of them was just fine. Maybe Pixar Lamp someday; I'll keep in mind, that it doesn't stay out long.

I did read your TR yesterday but didn't have time to comment. I hope so today!

 

[KatGarcia]

OK that was a GREAT score on TSM!!!!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I was so excited to see them! I didn't want pictures with them, but pictures of them was just fine. Maybe Pixar Lamp someday; I'll keep in mind, that it doesn't stay out long.

I did read your TR yesterday but didn't have time to comment. I hope so today!

The pixar lamp is actually up on a window landing, so you really couldn't have your picture taken with it. It was over on the left hand side, almost directly opposite the entrance for TSM. I never even knew they had that before, and really wished I had stopped to snap a picture.

 

[MyMuse]

OK that was a GREAT score on TSM!!!!

Really? cool!

The pixar lamp is actually up on a window landing, so you really couldn't have your picture taken with it. It was over on the left hand side, almost directly opposite the entrance for TSM. I never even knew they had that before, and really wished I had stopped to snap a picture.

I did know it was on a landing somewhere. I'd figure if I saw it, then lets of people would have also, so I would know where exactly to find it. That doesn't make total sense, but you get my meaning.

No, I don't need my pics taken with any of the special (non-people) characters in the park; pictures of them would be fine.

So, the Pixar Lamp is still on my list of special characters to hope to catch.

 

[MyMuse]

Well, this is not going at fast as I would have liked.

I got myself a little cold. Which I thought was no big deal, but it seems to have felled me. Oiy.

There was quite a wind/rain storm on Saturday evening and it did a helluva job on my old house. A portion of my siding was ripped off as well as a section of gutters. My shed door is gone and a portion of my wooden fencing. Sooo.....home claim issues are going to drive me insane this week, I can tell.

I hope to still go into NYC to see "Waking Sleeping Beauty". This cold is more annoying than anything else. I can't go to the gym with it, of course, which makes me more grumpy than usual. LOL!!!

Here's to thinking I can get more updates TODAY.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Hope your feeling better soon! Sorry about the house issues. I got stuck driving out the Westchester airport on Saturday in that mess to pick up family, and the plain ended up being diverted to La Guardia. Those winds were just awful!

 

[dawnbu40]

Hope you feel better!

Dealing with insurance claims of any kind is never fun so I hope that goes relatively smoothly for you!

 

[MyMuse]

Hope your feeling better soon! Sorry about the house issues. I got stuck driving out the Westchester airport on Saturday in that mess to pick up family, and the plain ended up being diverted to La Guardia. Those winds were just awful!

Thanks, I am feeling better, thankfully.

The storm has wrecked havoc everywhere! Roads around here are still blocked, big trees still aren't cleaned up and our local rivers are supposed to crest, 3 days AFTER the storm.

Hope you feel better!

Dealing with insurance claims of any kind is never fun so I hope that goes relatively smoothly for you!

Yes, I feel better-ish.

Well, my insurance company basically told me that my claim was received, they know and they'll get to me whenever. So, my hanging siding and falling gutters remain. I guess there are people that need their attention more, so I don't have a big problem with that, I just hope I'm not last.

MY siding, it's dragging a bit more, but this is the gist of it

As you may be thinking, isn't she supposed to be at "Waking Sleeping Beauty"? Why, yes, I was supposed to be. However, I hit a rather large pothole (thanks to the recent weather) and I didn't notice until I got out of work that my tire was flat. So, there I was for 2.5 hours waiting for AAA (apparentely, I am forgottable to auto service & insurance companies) and there was no way I was able to make the NYC screening. I was very bummed, but there was nothing I could do about it. Hopefully, I'll see it when it open.

So, I am home unexpectedly and might as well, use this precious time to update.

YAY! AAA has arrived, albeit 150 min later

 

[MyMuse]

I updated Day 6 with the rope drop video, but I'll also place it here as well:

 

[MyMuse]

The last I left you, we were finishing up Toy Story Mania (my first time on this ride!) and saw some Green Army Men.

Our next journey was the Magic of Animation, where they had pretty decorations and a billboard of Princess & the Frog. Thankfully, they had separate lines for character meets and the animation film, so we didn’t have to sit through it again. Off we go to meet the one that I wanted to meet.

I finally got to meet Sorcerer Mickey!!, which if you remember from the beginning, was a wish of mine. I probably ruined the surprise by changing my avatar, but go with it.


waiting for da mouse

You can't see but there is a little one running to Mickey!

Stopped a moment for the "Up" boys

However, we did not have time for Animation Academy because we had our lunch ADR at Sci-Fi!

At this point, I ran into Mickey’s Emporium to use the 20% off coupon that I received earlier. I used it to buy the Hollywood Studios Vinylmation Holiday Tin (needed to be used before 12noon); I also picked one up for Mary, so it came to $22.07 at 11:13am.

You've already seen the Epcot Holiday Vinylmation in its tin box, so here is the DHS Osborne Lights Holiday Vinlymation in its tin:

closer shot of the vinylmation itself

This streetomsphere performer was in a middle of a skit in the store!

After my quick stop at the store (Mary & her mom headed off to Sci-Fi to check-in), I couldn’t resist another PP pic of front of the hat.

Then some area pics:

I then ran off to join the others for our lunch at Sci-Fi. I had the cheeseburger & finished my ice tea from breakfast. My friend Jennifer also crashed our lunch! I can’t believe she made it! WOW.

my fav place to eat at hollywood studios..adr on time!
11:32 AM Dec 9th

Catching up with tweets:
finished first ride on toy story mania, it was very cute! got 63500 & 73% accuracy.
11:33 AM Dec 9th

Inside Sci-Fi:

I also have many more videos and pics from Sci-Fi in my May 09 trip report.

 

[dawnbu40]

So sorry to hear about your insurance co issues! We pay those companies a lot of money "just in case" and seems like when something happens they should be more responsive.


Nice update! The pictures of you and Sorceror Mickey are really cute! Glad you enjoyed your lunch too!

 

[MyMuse]

Happy St. Patty's Day!

​

This wonderful St. Patrick's day themed photo is of Walt Disney, Pat O'Brien and Brian Connors promoting the Disneyland TV show "I Captured the King Of the Leprechauns" from 1959. In this scene Pat O'Brien (left) shows a leprechaun pipe to Brian Connors, King of the Lleprechauns and a skeptical Walt Disney.

Credit

and more contemporarily,

​

 

[praisehisname]

I've never taken the time to do the treehouse, but your pictures really make me want to explore it!

Those triplets were so cute!

Awesome updates! I can't wait until you start your March report!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Ugh for the wait from AAA. I swear if your not stuck in the middle of the highway, they take their sweet 'ole time getting to you.

One of these days I want to try Sci Fi. I never want to seem to give up my Brown Derby ADRs though.

 

[MyMuse]

I've never taken the time to do the treehouse, but your pictures really make me want to explore it!

Those triplets were so cute!

Awesome updates! I can't wait until you start your March report!

I love the Treehouse!! It's super quick and you can see up high. It shouldn't take too much time out of the touring schedule. and it's right next to aloha aisle and some dole whip snack!

I'm trying to get this one done, but my days are conspiring against me. LOL!

Ugh for the wait from AAA. I swear if your not stuck in the middle of the highway, they take their sweet 'ole time getting to you.

One of these days I want to try Sci Fi. I never want to seem to give up my Brown Derby ADRs though.

There's alot of flooding and detours around here, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. they did apologize. But missing "Waking Sleeping Beauty" really killed me. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

I want to dine at Brown Derby! I'm hoping to do 'Dine with an Imagineer' next trip. I've been to Sci-Fi twice now, so I think it is time for someplace new.

 

[MyMuse]

We finished up our Sci-Fi lunch with a party crasher BFF Jennifer. She had called to say she’s going to try to meet me, but I didn’t hear her calling (and for some, god forsaken reason, she doesn’t have text on her cell). I was shocked to see her!

Mary & her mom went off on their own; I had no interest in Indiana Jones show. Jennifer and I continued on. Our first stop was Star Tours. This attraction definitely needs some love & attention, but I think it’s still worth a visit. To my surprise, there was actually a bit of a wait! Jennifer completely freaked out on this ride. I have a problem with roller coasters, which is mostly a fear of safety & heights than actually fear of the ride itself, but get me into simulated rides and I’m allll goooood. But she got through it whilst crushing my hand. LOL

Our next attraction was Muppet Vision 3D. The show didn’t start yet, so I was able to wonder around and get some photos.

NJ! woot! woot!

good to know

fanciness on top of screen in theater

Some area pics:

Mama Mona?

HM at the fountain!

and OF COURSE, stopped for a PP!

We then met up with Mary & walked through the Streets of America. I wanted to see it in daylight as I knew I would see the Osborne Lights during Magic & Merriment.

There is also LOTS of HMs to see during the day

if you turn your head sideways, you may be able to see....

...the HM!

if you squint, you may be able to see....

...the HM!

way way up there.....

...there it is!

HMs hide in the oddest places...

..who would have thunk?

I was able to stop for a minute to get a picture of me under the “Singing in the Rain” umbrella. This is tucked into a far corner at the Streets of America. I’m glad, I did this, since now there is a picture of my mother, myself and niece Jenna in the same pose, all at different times.

My mom from Dec 1999

Me from Dec 2009

(the string barrier was making it a bit difficult to do exact pose. grr.)

Jenna from May 2009

Sent out tweet:
after sci-fi lunch, did star tours (was a wait!) then muppet vision & now backlot tour!
1:53 PM Dec 9th


Next: Backlot Tour! It's finally open!

 

[MyMuse]

After seeing the Streets, into the Backlot Tour we go. Mary’s mom went back to Bay Lake Towers to rest a bit. And there’s no wait! I got some pictures, but we went too fast in the exhibits area and I wasn’t able to get shots in there. But we rode in the tram and got the fire, explosion & water experience. All in all, it was good!

uh oh

fire!

water!

tram takes you past...

After we hit TSM to us our 2nd FPs from earlier in the day. Jen declined to go on. My score was better! but my accuracy declined considerably. I'm guessing I was Player 1.

on toy story mania for 2nd time, the fp line is HUGE!
2:31 PM Dec 9th

Mary then left to meet her mom at Bay Lake Towers. Jennifer & I continued on to Animation Academy via the Character Greet line since I didn’t want to go through Magic of Animation-gotta see the film line. The wait was 8 minutes, so all good. We had Dopey this time. The CM here went really fast & rushed (disappointing! Guess he drew the “you have to teach class short stick?”) and mine did not come out well.

After, we looked through the Gallery to see all the pretty art.

this is what dopey is supposed to look like...

Gallery prettiness to be con'd....

 

[MyMuse]

at the Gallery...

Snow White - goddaughter's fav (and she's German!)

We walked through One Man’s Dream, a little too quickly, but I will spend much more time here next trip.

We stopped at Great Movie Ride to see about getting cowboy version but had to inquire inside. Ultimately, the answer was no, so we left.

I was getting a little nervous about time since it was heading on to 4pm and I needed to park hop to Epcot for ADR at 5:05pm. I decided to start exiting – checked couple of gift shops, checked out Streetomsphere group, Public Works, and, of course, did a PP!!

didn't quite manage it

MAGIC SHOT!!

So happy we got the magic shot. How cool was that!

...to be continued....

 

[MyMuse]

As I mentioned, I was getting a little nervous about time since it was heading after 4pm and I needed to park hop to Epcot for ADR at 5:05pm. I started exiting – I already checked couple of gift shops, checked out Streetomsphere group, Public Works, and, of course, did a PP with a fab magic shot!!

Some area photos:

another streetomsphere performer

Since my car at diamond parking was to the far right, I completely forgot to take a proper pic & close-ups of the DHS tree!

no proper pic of studios tree since i never got to the front. forgot & rushed to car in diamond parking for epcot. sorry.
5:06 PM Dec 9th

from my car

I saw Jennifer to her car as she parked in diamond parking too (there’s no one there to really stop it). I then headed off to my car & handy-dandy GPS got me to Epcot around 4:40pm. I was able to park in diamond parking and able to find a spot in 2nd row! Someone must have recently left.

Ok, Hollywood Studios, next time I see you will be at Magic & Merriment weekend! WOOT!

 

[dawnbu40]

Great Update!!

I love the pic of the 3 generations all taking the same picture! Very sweet!

Your Dopey is great! I'm impressed! I have no artistic talent and my picture was awful

The pp shots of you and Jennifer and really cute and the Mickey/Minnie border is adorable!