Week at Walt Disney World? More Like Weekend at Bernie's: A July '12 TR COMPLETE 5/23

[princess_momma]

YES they should sell dwarf hats. You ARE brilliant. My hat/crown gripe is that you can rarely find actual Princess crowns. Like, I want the Rapunzel crown SO BAD and they do not sell it. They just sell that crappy one that has a picture of Rapunzel in the middle of it for kids that looks nothing like her real crown. I want accuracy, people! Also, at my store we sell wands (~*sold separately) that go with each Princess costume and that annoys the eff out of me because THE PRINCESSES DO NOT HAVE POWERS. I know it's just another way to make money but ugh create something canon instead, Disney. Sheesh.

I COMPLETELY agree with you!! I hate the crowns they sell. Not only is it a weird picture, but they are all beaded and wirey that makes them stand up and so if you put any amount of pressure on them, they bend and aren't even upright. It's not cool. And the wands...oh man. Couldn't they even just make the packaging of Cinderella's her fairy godmother's wand, since SHE doesn't have one of her own? And like Rapunzel HAD powers but no wand...and her powers are gone now because her hair was cut. But of course, you could never really find stuff with her cut hair. And you can't find any Eugene Fitzherbert stuff, but of course Flynn Rider is all over the place. If I were him, I'd be like "You guys got my nose finally, but now you can't get my name, c'mon!" I get that it's familiarity to the younger crowds and they pull the same crud with like the beast, but it drives me crazy. lol. (Although luckily they are currently selling a Barbie-sized doll that can be the human or the beast.)

 

[MarieTheCat24]

This clearly needs to be on a brochure...

Ahhh I am not a teacup spinner either. I enjoy sitting and letting the natural teacup force move me around....just not into the intense competitive spin off that so many others enjoy.

Wow everyone loves death stares from a little girl...well lesson learned?
Us retirees must take the left over less desirable cups.

I am all for the interactive queues!
Oh those 'Walt would roll over in his grave' types are never happy!
I'd much rather a child have fun off to the side, than be having a mini meltdown for 40 mins right behind me!

Maybe someday Disney will let me be the brochure-writer.

Exactly. The teacups are still fun even without the crazy spinning. Plus, my arms hurt way less when I'm not trying to spin that darn wheel as fast as possible.

Totally. The fewer little kid meltdowns, the better.

"When that happened, I turned into one giant goosebump." LOL OMG that was perfect.

I'm glad your personal space bubble was pleased! Another flawless description.

Yeah, same. My notes are just non existent for the last few days of our Dec trip. I really wanna try and physically write them down next time and like force myself to take a minute to sit down and do that but... I probably won't.

I love that view of Space Mountain from the Speedway! I can't remember ever even doing that ride, I think maybe on my first trip, but I don't know. I love seeing new views of Disney I'm not familiar with.

People who complain about the interactive queues annoy me. First of all... if you have kids you should be thanking high heaven for those queues. And even if you don't, it's Disney... be a kid again and find the Pooh characters in the honey. IT'S FUN, OK? Or just crawl into Eeyore's house. IDK why I didn't do that. You're my role model. And seriously EFF those people for littering at Disney. Jesus. Littering anywhere is a jerk move but at Disney? UGH YOU ARE SENTENCED TO AN ETERNITY AT SIX FLAGS. BEGONE.

AHHH THE FANTASYLAND SUNSET PICTUREEEEEEEEEELKDJHASLK

YES they should sell dwarf hats. You ARE brilliant. My hat/crown gripe is that you can rarely find actual Princess crowns. Like, I want the Rapunzel crown SO BAD and they do not sell it. They just sell that crappy one that has a picture of Rapunzel in the middle of it for kids that looks nothing like her real crown. I want accuracy, people! Also, at my store we sell wands (~*sold separately) that go with each Princess costume and that annoys the eff out of me because THE PRINCESSES DO NOT HAVE POWERS. I know it's just another way to make money but ugh create something canon instead, Disney. Sheesh.

OMG. I am so excited for Storybook Circus!!! Ahhhh!!!!! dfkjghlakdjgslkdfjaslkdfj

Yeah, I always have a trip journal and I try to be detailed, BUT I'm lazy and I don't want to spend precious vacation time writing in it. I don't carry it with me in the parks, so I'll journal when we take a midday break or before I go to bed but I'm usually so distracted by Stacey or Rice Krispy Treats or whatever that I jot down the bare minimum and throw the thing off to the side. Then, at the end of the trip, I go back to read what I wrote about all our adventures and I'm just like "Oh crap."

You should totally ride the Speedway sometime. It's cute.

Preach, sister! I wish more people would "be a kid again and find the Pooh characters in the honey".

I agree so much. I hate the crowns they sell. I mean, I guess they're fine for little kids to play dress up with, but there should be an adult version that's not quite so...plastic-y. They sell those princess wands in the parks too and they've never made sense to me. When we were kids, my sister fell in love with one of them (I can't remember which princess it belonged to) during one of our trips and, in the interest of fairness, my parents asked if I wanted one too. I picked a Tinkerbell wand (which I actually still have) because even my seven year old self knew that it was the only logical option.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

JULY 6TH PART SIX: In Which I Sing. A lot.
After Dumbo, we headed back to Tomorrowland since our Space Mountain Fastpass window was approaching.

Katie really wanted to ride the PeopleMover first, so Dad went and did that with her. Mom and I bought a few drinks, found a bench, and kicked back. The Tomorrowland dance party thing was still happening and they played a remixed version of “What Time Is It?” from High School Musical 2. I, being the Disney Channel Original Movie enthusiast that I am, sang along. Loudly.

When Dad and Katie got back, I decided I wasn’t really feeling Space Mountain and would rather just stay back and watch Wishes. I really thought I’d be OK with skipping the fireworks when we got the FP, but I caved. I mean, I’ve NEVER missed the MK fireworks on our first night in the world! What if skipping them brought bad trip karma or something? I couldn’t risk that!

Dad decided to stay back with me. There were still 10 minutes until the show, so we wandered around T-land a bit trying to find a good spot. We wanted nothing to do with the masses on Main Street, but we still wanted to be able to see part of the castle.

Oh! Also, apparently the future smells like cantaloupe. Or at least it did while we were visiting. I don’t know where it was coming from, but it was strong. Like a-truck-carrying-10,000-gallons-of-cantaloupe-juice-upended-three-feet-away-from-me strong. It was weird.

Anyway, WISHES!!!

If you didn't just sing that like they do in the show, we can't be friends anymore.



FIREWORKS!!!



MAGICALNESS!!!



LIKE A BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE, FATE STEPS IN AND SEES YOU THROUGH



Overall, I thought we had a pretty solid view.

I had texted Mom and Katie where we were before the show started, so they met back up with us toward the end. Standing in the middle of Tomorrowland watching Wishes with the family gave me the warm fuzzies for the trillionth time that day.

We hung back a bit after Wishes to give Main Street a chance to clear out. There was a second showing of The Magic, The Memories, and You! scheduled and that’s where we were headed.

Like everyone else around here, I am madly in love with MM&Y!

Opening up my heart and letting the memories begin is one of my most favorite pastimes.

For the summer, they added a special segment featuring our favorite Disney pals doing summer-y things. Like waterskiing. And paintball. And growing up as they walk across a downed tree trunk.

It was really cute.

Here’s a picture I took during the show:


Now that’s quality, my friends.

With our hearts all opened up and stuff, we moseyed on over to Adventureland. *Cue the area loop*





It was Jungle Cruise time, obviously. I had a date with my inanimate object boyfriend, THE BACK SIDE OF WATER. We’re getting married next fall(s). *rimshot*

The Jungle Cruise has one of my favorite queues. I know it seems like it’s just a lot of wood, but there are many jokes/cool details to be found. The radio announcements crack me up. “Attention Skippers…”





Jungle parasites, y’all. Those don’t sound fun.





Our Skipper’s name was Madison (omg you guys – an actual detail!) and she was awesome. Lots of fun. We had a bit of a dull boat, but she made it work.

Funny story: As we passed Inspiration Falls, Madison gave the typical “This is usually when someone will ask me ‘Why do they call it Inspiration Falls?’” spiel. She paused waiting for us to respond and I, instinctively, was all faux-excitedly “Why do they call it Inspiration Falls?” only to realize that I was the only one on the boat (which was completely full) who actually played along and everyone else was staring at me. Awkward.

Madison was totes appreciative though. She thanked me and I gave her an “I’m sorry about the rest of these lame-os” eyeroll/headshake/smile combo in return.

I spent the rest of the ride chuckling because those lame jokes get me every time, and some of the lame-os even managed to muster up a smile. Maybe if they’d opened up their hearts a little more during MM&Y they would have had more fun.

THESE ARE JOKES ABOUT ANIMATRONIC ANIMALS, PEOPLE. YOU SHOULD BE FINDING THEM FUNNY. BECAUSE THEY ARE DESERVING OF LAUGHTER. WHAT THEY ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT DESERVING OF IS ARMS-CROSSED INDIFFERENCE.

Ahem.

Once we returned to civilization, I became downright loopy. Does anyone remember the Saturday Night Live sketch where Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig are game show showcase models? They break like the entire time because they’re doing this ridiculous voice. Here's a link in case you haven't seen it/forgot.

Well, I started doing that voice.

And, as I’m sure you know, once you start doing a stupid voice, it’s really hard to stop.

So I spent the rest of the evening ending every other sentence with “That’s the Chicken Man guarantee!”

Things got even loopier when we decided to get in line for the Magic Carpets. There was some serious belting out of “A Whole New World” going on. I also sang “Prince Ali” (and did all the voices) because it’s one of my favorite Disney songs.

Also because of the golden camels.

Always the golden camels.

The Carpets in motion (and Katie’s head):


For giant hunks of fiberglass(?) they sure look soft and comfy.

I took the following picture while we were waiting to take off. It has become my all-time favorite family photo. I plan on blowing it up, framing it, and giving it to my parents for Christmas so they can hang it above the mantle and treasure it forever.



It perfectly encapsulates everything about that evening. I’m a ridiculous ball of energy and everyone else is just kinda over it/ready to pass out/displaying lame-os-on-the-Jungle-Cruise level arms crossed indifference. Good times.



Tassel!



It’s kind of hard to see, but I love the Genie details on the spinner. He’s definitely one of my top 10 favorite Disney characters.

My family decided it would be OK to let me control the carpet (MISTAKE) and I made sure, since my parents were sitting on the outside, to take us right through the camel spit. They got mad and I laughed. Then I took us up as high as the ride goes and went back to belting out “A Whole New World” with my arms thrown up in the air. I didn’t catch a piece of cloud or anything (Way to false advertise, Disney) but I had a lot of fun. Probably the most fun anyone had on that thing all day. Excited four year olds have got nothin' on me.

After the Carpets, we decided to call it a night. The park was open for another 2 ½ hours (and I was ready to run around like a madwoman) but Mom, Dad, and Katie were exhausted and I didn’t want to stay by myself. For me at least, Disney isn’t as much fun when you don’t have someone there to share the experience with.

So we headed for the exit.

I had to get a quick pic of one of the camels first, though.



They all look so smug. It’s probably because they’re golden and we’re not. Those snobs...



Main Street is perfect at night. Well, it’s perfect during the day too, but it is extra special at night.



We had to wait a little while for a bus, but I didn’t mind at all. The Contemporary was all lit up across the way and staring at that in awe did wonders to pass the time. Also, buses labeled "Hercules" kept pulling in and all I could think was "I want to go to there".

Back at POFQ, I took a few pictures of the walk back to our room. Even though there were still quite a few people milling about, the resort was super chill and relaxing at night. It was really nice.









I really miss POFQ. SIIIIIIIIGH.

Once in the room, we settled in for the night. Somehow I decided it would be fun to do the stupid SNL Showcase voice while brushing my teeth and got toothpaste everywhere, but it was funny. After that, I curled up in bed, watched some Stacey, and fell asleep thinking about the seven more days (well, technically six and a morning) of magic that lay ahead.

 

[onelilspark]

I love the picture of your family. When I first took my husband with me to WDW, I have a self-shot picture where I'm super excited and he looks as bored as can be. It's also blurry. And it's one of my favorite shots of us.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Oh God, you're such a Jungle Cruise skipper. What a fantastic pun!! (next falls. LOL) I'm very impressed.

I have those Jungle Cruise announcements on my iPod. It's like a 53 minute loop. I'm not mad.

Thank you for posting that SNL clip because it kind of made my day

 

[marDgreen88]

I love that there are SNL clips readily available to watch WHENEVER. I'd never seen that one. HAHAHAA.

WHY DON'T PEOPLE LAUGH ON JUNGLE CRUISE? Go big or go home yall!

Sounds like such a fun night!

 

[princess_momma]

People who don't get/appreciate Jungle Cruise humor are people I do not want to be friends with. How could you fold your arms in indifference to pure comedic bliss? Come on, people!

OH MY GOSH. Thank you so much for sharing that video. That seriously made my day! HILARIOUS!! I always think I wouldn't be good at improv because I would be laughing my hiney off. But hey! If Kristen Wiig laughs, then I don't feel so bad. That is pure magic. What a fun job they must have! Let's start a Disney improv club. Yay for laughing, Disney, and fantastic voices!

 

[LifeIsDis]

I don’t understand the people who sit there like losers and not laugh on the Jungle Cruise. Don’t these people understand this is DISNEY WORLD? It’s not Universal for cryin’ out loud. Why don’t people get it that it’s the HAPPIEST place on EARTH?

Your family picture on the Magic Carpets is awesome. It captures the moment perfectly!

Main Street at night is like my favorite thing in the entire world. Aaaahhhhh….pure heaven.

 

[__disneygirl]

Opening up my heart and letting the memories begin is one of my most favorite pastimes.

Same. I heart you. And oh, what a great view of Wishes from Tomorrowland! AHHHHHHHhhhhh. 43 days, Lia. Get through the next 43 days and you will be there!!!

Okay, how can people not be into the Jungle Cruise jokes? Just how dead does one's soul have to be?

LMAO that is just the best family portrait I've seen. Ever. You should have someone paint it in watercolor. Just so you can have multiple versions of it hung in your home.

I just love SO MUCH how much fun you were having and just letting go and singing and doing crazy voices and all that. It's so good to read about how awesome it was for you, especially after last time! <3

Btw, I love every word of this TR... but I'm getting anxious, I must know what the title is all about. Just when do you start lugging a dead body around WDW? When is Andrew McCarthy gonna show up? I need to know these things.

and P.S. I love the story about you picking Tinkerbell as a child to be more accurate with the wand deal. THAT is why we are friends. I mean, many other reasons, but that's a biggie.

 

[__disneygirl]

I COMPLETELY agree with you!! I hate the crowns they sell. Not only is it a weird picture, but they are all beaded and wirey that makes them stand up and so if you put any amount of pressure on them, they bend and aren't even upright. It's not cool. And the wands...oh man. Couldn't they even just make the packaging of Cinderella's her fairy godmother's wand, since SHE doesn't have one of her own? And like Rapunzel HAD powers but no wand...and her powers are gone now because her hair was cut. But of course, you could never really find stuff with her cut hair. And you can't find any Eugene Fitzherbert stuff, but of course Flynn Rider is all over the place. If I were him, I'd be like "You guys got my nose finally, but now you can't get my name, c'mon!" I get that it's familiarity to the younger crowds and they pull the same crud with like the beast, but it drives me crazy. lol. (Although luckily they are currently selling a Barbie-sized doll that can be the human or the beast.)

YES it bothers me that the Beast is out in the parks with Belle. I know how it goes though, like the kids saw him throughout most of the movie looking like that so that's how they recognize him, but ahh the whole point of the movie, that he learned the meaning of true love/inner beauty and therefore got to shed his beastly image... does not match up with that. But I guess that whole point/message is more of an adult thing anyway. I mean, a 4 year old wouldn't get that as much and would expect to see the Beast. They probably wouldn't get it if he was looking like a Prince at the parks. The Eugene/Flynn thing is a WHOLE other story... especially bc Rapunzel repeatedly calls him Eugene as soon as she hears it's his real name which is like halfway through the movie... I think everyone should call him that and it should be on the merchandise! Again, it's a big plot point. Wow, I'm going on about this too long. I JUST LIKE THINGS TO BE CANON, OK. hahaha

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I love the picture of your family. When I first took my husband with me to WDW, I have a self-shot picture where I'm super excited and he looks as bored as can be. It's also blurry. And it's one of my favorite shots of us.

That's awesome. You should probably get yours framed to hang above the fireplace too.

Oh God, you're such a Jungle Cruise skipper. What a fantastic pun!! (next falls. LOL) I'm very impressed.

I have those Jungle Cruise announcements on my iPod. It's like a 53 minute loop. I'm not mad.

Thank you for posting that SNL clip because it kind of made my day

That is like the greatest compliment ever.

Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I watch SNL clips. They cheer me right up. Especially the Digital Shorts. Everything Andy Samberg does kills me.

I love that there are SNL clips readily available to watch WHENEVER. I'd never seen that one. HAHAHAA.

WHY DON'T PEOPLE LAUGH ON JUNGLE CRUISE? Go big or go home yall!

Sounds like such a fun night!

Seriously. Thank god for the internet.

People can just be so uptight which I don't understand. I mean, how do they ever have any fun in life? If they don't find fake hippos hilarious, what do they find funny?

 

[MarieTheCat24]

People who don't get/appreciate Jungle Cruise humor are people I do not want to be friends with. How could you fold your arms in indifference to pure comedic bliss? Come on, people!

OH MY GOSH. Thank you so much for sharing that video. That seriously made my day! HILARIOUS!! I always think I wouldn't be good at improv because I would be laughing my hiney off. But hey! If Kristen Wiig laughs, then I don't feel so bad. That is pure magic. What a fun job they must have! Let's start a Disney improv club. Yay for laughing, Disney, and fantastic voices!

A Disney improv club is a fantastic idea. Disney-loving people are fun and energetic, so we'd be hilarious and everyone would love us.

I don’t understand the people who sit there like losers and not laugh on the Jungle Cruise. Don’t these people understand this is DISNEY WORLD? It’s not Universal for cryin’ out loud. Why don’t people get it that it’s the HAPPIEST place on EARTH?

Your family picture on the Magic Carpets is awesome. It captures the moment perfectly!

Main Street at night is like my favorite thing in the entire world. Aaaahhhhh….pure heaven.

Seriously. You're at Disney World, people. Cracking a smile or two won't hurt.

Mine too. Well, really all of WDW at night is my favorite thing in the entire world. There's just this feeling I get when wandering around after dark that's unlike anything else.

Same. I heart you. And oh, what a great view of Wishes from Tomorrowland! AHHHHHHHhhhhh. 43 days, Lia. Get through the next 43 days and you will be there!!!

Okay, how can people not be into the Jungle Cruise jokes? Just how dead does one's soul have to be?

LMAO that is just the best family portrait I've seen. Ever. You should have someone paint it in watercolor. Just so you can have multiple versions of it hung in your home.

I just love SO MUCH how much fun you were having and just letting go and singing and doing crazy voices and all that. It's so good to read about how awesome it was for you, especially after last time! <3

Btw, I love every word of this TR... but I'm getting anxious, I must know what the title is all about. Just when do you start lugging a dead body around WDW? When is Andrew McCarthy gonna show up? I need to know these things.

and P.S. I love the story about you picking Tinkerbell as a child to be more accurate with the wand deal. THAT is why we are friends. I mean, many other reasons, but that's a biggie.

Your trip will be here sooooo soon! AHHHHHHHH!!!

I really think even Voldemort would find the Jungle Cruise funny. I mean, he'd at least appreciate the "You'll always come out ahead" shrunken head joke.

A painting is a great idea. I'm gonna need something to pass onto my kids.

Yeah, this trip was the complete opposite of last year's. It felt great to run around WDW like a crazy person again without a care in the world. I needed that. Badly.

The Weekend at Bernie's reference is coming soon. It happened at the end of Day Two, so we're almost there.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

JULY 7TH PART ONE: Morning in the French Quarter
I had a really hard time getting out of bed on this morning. I wasn’t really tired or anything, I’m just plain terrible at waking up early. It took a scalding hot shower, half a Mickey Rice Krispy Treat, and some more of the stupid SNL showcase voice to make me me again.

While I was struggling to wake up and get ready, Dad went for a walk and took a bunch of photos around the resort.

Instead of adding my own commentary, I’m just gonna let the photos speak for themselves.

So sit back and scroll through the beauty...

















































Now, don't all call the reservation line at once.

 

[beachphotog]

Your dad took some great pictures! We stayed at POR on my first legit trip back to the world in 14 years.... And I think I ended up spending more time at POFQ cause the detailing is amazing!

Also, I was moving and must have missed an update!! I come from a family of bad joke-tellers, ok just my dad, really, and I LOVE Jungle Cruise! I mean, how can you not laugh at those jokes??? Do these people even have souls!?!

 

[LifeIsDis]

Fench Quarter is just beautiful. We have DVC but I would LOVE to stay there at some point.

 

[marDgreen88]

Your dad took some beautiful pictures! I've never even seen French Quarter in person, but it's gorgeous and definitely my favorite Mod!

 

[Stefjp]

I'm staying at POFQ in April. Soooooooooooo excited I could pee

 

[__disneygirl]

I really think even Voldemort would find the Jungle Cruise funny. I mean, he'd at least appreciate the "You'll always come out ahead" shrunken head joke.

CRACKING UP. This reminds me of after my friend Lee-Anne and I saw Deathly Hallows pt. 2 for the first time, and we were just deliriously obsessing over Harry Potter... somehow Phil Collins came up and she said, "Everyone loves Phil Collins. Well, except for dementors." And I have been dead ever since.

OK onto your update. I love how often you are updating btw. Omg I hate when I feel the way you felt when you woke up. Like, my mind is all YOU'RE AT DISNEY GOGOGOGO and my body is all NO.

W...T...F. I don't even understand how amazing POFQ looks. I WANT TO GO TO THERE. haha, It's just too perfect that Tina Fey got that line from her daughter looking at the Disney World website and saying it. ACCURATE.

 

[flyergrad09]

Oh wow, POFQ is beautiful! I always assumed that it was, but these pictures completely validate my assumptions.

I hate it when a "I want to sleeeeeeep!" mood hits when I'm at Disney. I blame the comfy beds.

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Your dad took some great pictures! We stayed at POR on my first legit trip back to the world in 14 years.... And I think I ended up spending more time at POFQ cause the detailing is amazing!

Also, I was moving and must have missed an update!! I come from a family of bad joke-tellers, ok just my dad, really, and I LOVE Jungle Cruise! I mean, how can you not laugh at those jokes??? Do these people even have souls!?!

I don't blame you, the detailing is amazing.

I don't understand those people. Maybe they're robots offended by us humans pointing and laughing at their own kind? IDK.

Fench Quarter is just beautiful. We have DVC but I would LOVE to stay there at some point.

I hope you do get to stay there sometime!

Your dad took some beautiful pictures! I've never even seen French Quarter in person, but it's gorgeous and definitely my favorite Mod!

It's my favorite Mod, too. I'd suggest going and visiting sometime even if you're not staying there, but that would require giving up park time and I don't know if I can advocate that.