We're ALL 50 here! And maybe a little MAD too.....a 50th anniversary/celebration/ Party TR *WHO 'DIS? Update 12/20*

[pkondz]

I mean nobody needs to know we really live 90 minutes north of the NYC right? So Nnyc? Either way I like my shirt.

Good enough reason. I buy shirts from different cities and ain't from any of them. So it's all good.

were kind of losing steam after being up at 3am for our flight.

Gee I wonder why?

This plaque is under the Mickey and Minnie statues

Very nice touch.

By now you've all probably seen lots of the statues

Nope. None, actually.

There's an icee station there now

Oh really! Good!

I think they offer a larger selection.

Also good.

take for instance Rony at Citricos whom you've probably heard me talk about if you've read any of my previous reports:

when our son Ricky tore his ACL, he remembered 4 months later when we returned and asked about him.

Impressive.

We'd had him twice in the before times but really didn't think we'd made an impression!

Are you sure that's a good thing?????

We said we'd see him there and in August we did!

lo and behold I got to stare at my TOT while eating and drinking:

Nice view.

I told Miguel I wanted something comparable to a dry Riesling and what he served me was on point enough that I had 3 glasses.

That's really good that he could find something comparable. Good knowledge, I mean.

If you are a charcuterie fan you need to order the Spaniard for 2!

Noted! 'Cause I am!

By the time you're done there will not be enough left to feed a baby of 1.

We also finally saw Jen and Joe and even though it had been less than 2 months since we were last together -it's always too long

You guys are like one big happy family.

we were having breakfast here:

Strange for us right?

Yes! Very! Or at least I thought so until I saw your food photos.

we saw the menu on our August trip and it looked good; different for a change! I'm so glad we did as it was really good; hot fresh food and you really can't deny it's adorable inside!

I'm really surprised. I've eaten at a few Rainforest Cafes and the food has always been... dull.
Maybe it's just good for breakfast.

This was probably the best safari we've done in years as we saw babies babies and more babies;

Great!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Yes I want to know if we're there the same night; that would be funny! We'll be with Jenny and Joe and the Stones!

Right now we have a reservation for 12/3 before the Christmas party

 

[vamassey1]

Where are you staying and when are you going? I'm at GDT the 11-16th but for work, so not much free time but I will still be in the parks a bit.

We were going for Thanksgiving week but had to cancel and reschedule for the next week. We'll be there Nov 27th thru Dec 3rd at Music. DD got us a CM discount. The Allstars are the closest resorts to where she is staying.

Enjoyed your pre-50th day. I've never eaten at the Rain Forest in AK, only the DS one. I've never had breakfast there but it sure looked good.

I hope it was too hard to get up early for the 50th after having so much fun the night before.

 

[Steppesister]

All caught up, Ariane. I've wanted to try Toledo forEVER; glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! Such a fun start to the 50th trip!

 

[CruellaNY]

What an awesome safari you had! Love when the giraffes put on a show!

This was truly the best! All the babies; the elephant and zebra were nursing it was adorable! I always say the safari is my favorite attraction in AK and it really is.

We also enjoyed the tacos... they were really good!

We've never not liked anything at Jocks. We used to go so often and I miss that! I need to make it a staple of every trip.

Dock dancing makes an awesome GP night even better!

LOL it did; made the next morning a tiny bit rough but worth it!

We were chatting with Steve and Joe in the lobby while they waited for you. I'm glad we ran into you and met Jen and Joe. I don't think we have any overlapping trips coming up.

I'm glad too Well I'm there in about 10 days for work; then we're there Dec. 3-7th and March 5-10th; that's all I have so far! We're going to Las Vegas in January for a change.

It looks like more of a disaster than the evening water show was.

Ah, well, it kind of is unfortunately. I'm wondering if it's improved at all since the first few days...............with all that room and such a lovely arena you'd think they could do something amazing.

What a fun coincidence. Though I'm pretty sure Sue just lives at the Lodge at this point

Lives at WL and vacations at BC @Wood Nymph lol

Those do look strangely good. I was watching some random cooking show yesterday and they were recreating an egg mcmuffin and this totally remind me of that. I don't think I've had one in 20+ years but between that show and your picture I need some breakfast sandwiches in my life

I cannot remember my last egg mcmuffin and I'm also not a big breakfast sandwich person in general so I surprised myself a bit by ordering these. So happy I did and it was very nice to have something different than the typical Disney breakfast.

I recall a water skiing show at our local amusement park in the 70's and this somehow looks worse than that. Which of course means I want to see it

I mean it really makes that Jungle Book show we watched together there on our first date seem spectacular

 

[CruellaNY]

Well you never know, we haven't really decided yet but trying to work it around my daughter's Spring Break in case she wants to go...and that is the week of March 13th-19th. However my birthday is the 8th so we may go earlier instead. You never know.

Yeah that's Ricky's spring break and we almost went then so he would be home with Chris, but our anniversary is the 8th so that's why we're going earlier.

I'm very tempted to do a quick Florida trip in December as well and if so we will have to book Toledo I'm sure.

Well if you end up there between the 3-7th let me know!

We've never done the Rainforest Cafe at AK or DS since we had 2 in Chicago. Sadly, they both closed during the last couple years. Jimmy's favorite place to celebrate his birthday! I'm thinking we may need to revisit our stance on not bothering with it when in FL!

Aw you should try it then, at least for breakfast!

And Kite Tails, too....I'm hoping it's so bad it's good, LOL

Um, if that's what you're hoping you won't be disappointed

Very nice touch.

Thank you!

Nope. None, actually.

Really? Where you been? I mean, like where the heck do you live-
CANADA????

Are you sure that's a good thing?????

LOL well I guess no impression is better than a bad impression!

That's really good that he could find something comparable. Good knowledge, I mean.

We find so many signature dining CM's are great with this; Rony, and a server at Cali Grill Ryan. It's such a pleasure!

'm really surprised. I've eaten at a few Rainforest Cafes and the food has always been... dull.
Maybe it's just good for breakfast.

I was surprised as well; when we ate lunch there for Ricky years back the food wasn't bad but it was absolutely nothing special. I don't find many breakfasts in Disney to be superb so I was fine going here- figured it wouldn't be worse than any other place- and was super pleasantly surprised.

Right now we have a reservation for 12/3 before the Christmas party

Ah. For some reason I thought you were doing the party the same day we were on the 5th Well when it gets closer we'll go over park plans again!

We were going for Thanksgiving week but had to cancel and reschedule for the next week. We'll be there Nov 27th thru Dec 3rd at Music. DD got us a CM discount. The Allstars are the closest resorts to where she is staying.

That stinks but glad you're still going! Of course we arrive the 3rd though Just miss you!

All caught up, Ariane. I've wanted to try Toledo forEVER; glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! Such a fun start to the 50th trip!

Hey Leisa Happy Halloween! Wish I was caught up on everyone's TR's. I hope you're settled in at your new digs!

 

[pkondz]

Really? Where you been? I mean, like where the heck do you live-
CANADA????

We find so many signature dining CM's are great with this; Rony, and a server at Cali Grill Ryan. It's such a pleasure!

It’s really great when a server knows his or her craft.

I was surprised as well; when we ate lunch there for Ricky years back the food wasn't bad but it was absolutely nothing special. I don't find many breakfasts in Disney to be superb so I was fine going here- figured it wouldn't be worse than any other place- and was super pleasantly surprised

I’d be pretty surprised too!

 

[buzzrelly]

Hello! I'm finally making it over here! I'm so far behind on the dis!

It's fun hearing about our completely parallel trips in which we didn't overlap even once!

So happy you guys had a great trip! We loved it too and it'll go down as one of our favorite trips ever!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[vleeth]

I never even considered breakfast at Rainforest Cafe. Those sliders look great!

 

[CruellaNY]

Hello! I'm finally making it over here! I'm so far behind on the dis!

Yay hello! Now go updated your TR if you haven't yet lol!

It's fun hearing about our completely parallel trips in which we didn't overlap even once!

OMG and then not Saturday either! And we miss each other in December. WTH is going on????

I never even considered breakfast at Rainforest Cafe. Those sliders look great!

It was so good! It was a random thought after we walked by there in August and saw the menu. It's nice when a meal surprises you!

 

[kittylady1972]

Yeah that's Ricky's spring break and we almost went then so he would be home with Chris, but our anniversary is the 8th so that's why we're going earlier.

Well if you end up there between the 3-7th let me know!

But of course you know we will likely miss each other...just like December...booked flights tonight for December 9th!

 

[CruellaNY]

Sorry it's been a minute, two busy weekends and work keeping me occupied! On the 22nd we had Chris's 16th birthday plus it was his Homecoming weekend so that was fun and busy:



This is his good friend since 3rd grade Jayden And then his family celebration that Sunday with his brother, SIL 2 nieces and my mom- speaking of here she is with our 2 month old DGD Mia:




And of course Chris got his learner's permit! Unlike Ricky who never wanted to drive my 4Runner Chris has been doing so and I think only needs about 8000 hours of practice before he's ready to take his test And the day before Halloween we went to see Ricky at school. Technically it was Parents Weekend but we just took him to eat and buy sneakers at his request lol:



They both had a good Halloween as well and I hope you all did too!
​

Oct. 1 dawned quick and found me up around 5am. The only time I'm up that early is if we're going on vacation so I guess this wasn't too far off! The 4 of us had agreed to meet at the bus stop around 5:45 ish I think? Regardless we were in the MK and looking at this by 6:30am on 10/1/21:



We were NOT in that crowd as we stayed right up by the flagpole. I'll tell you 3 things right off the bat:
1. today was not nearly as crowded as I thought it would be
2. rides were walk ons just about all day
3. yes the majority of the people were on lines for merchandise!

We just kind of.....waited there until park opening at 8am, taking it all in. I was intermittently feeling awe that I was standing there for the 50th and feeling anxious to get going! Finally when the park opened after a regular, lack-luster, nothing special castle stage show we proceeded in and decided to head to Big Thunder. I ran into a co-worker as a bunch of us were there today and ended up riding Splash with her first-and it was her first ever time ON Splash! That was neat. Then it was walk on BTMRR, HM, IASW and then after a work meet up for a castle photo we did Monster's Inc. with Jenny and Joe. There are a few changes post-COVID and it's as cute as ever!

No wet bangs here!







We did spend a good amount of time finding the 50th statues and besides the Mickey and Minnie dedicated to CM's, there's this guy too!



All in all it was a fabulous morning! Like I said I could not believe the rides were walk on nor could I believe what we were hearing about the lines for merch! Around 11:30 we headed back to the WL for our lunch reservation at Whispering Canyon with Jennie and Joe and their CM Son Timmy joined us again as well. I got a Bloody Mary which was DELISH; not sure what Steve got since I continued to follow my not good dining and drink pics all through the trip but I did get shots of our food! Steve got the Bison burger and sweet potato fries; while he LOVES the Bison burger at Geyser Point he said this was delicious as well. I got the Burnt Ends Nachos and I think I ate nonstop for about 15 minutes without coming up for air they were so good:

​

We went our separate ways after that to nap, work, and just rejuvenate for our park evening. More ride walk ons and a new show debut next!

 

[pkondz]

They clean up real good.

Wonderful photo.

And of course Chris got his learner's permit!

Uh, oh! Stay off the roads!!!

I think only needs about 8000 hours of practice before he's ready to take his test

hey both had a good Halloween as well and I hope you all did too!

I did!

Oct. 1 dawned quick and found me up around 5am. The only time I'm up that early is if we're going on vacation so I guess this wasn't too far off!

Regardless we were in the MK and looking at this by 6:30am on 10/1/21:

Wow! Still so dark!

rides were walk ons just about all day

Really! Surprising.

yes the majority of the people were on lines for merchandise!

Not so surprising, I guess.
Must've been a shock for people who just happened to be there that day without any idea that anything special was going on.

Finally when the park opened after a regular, lack-luster, nothing special castle stage show

Really? Disappointing.

it was her first ever time ON Splash!

How did she like the drop???

Nice group shot.

I got a Bloody Mary which was DELISH;

Thanks for the tip!

I got the Burnt Ends Nachos and I think I ate nonstop for about 15 minutes without coming up for air they were so good:

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Goodness you've been busy. Great photos. Love the one of your Mom and Granddaughter especially. Fairly quiet halloween here but all good. My wee grandson went trick or treating or "round the doors" as we call it and he loved it!
Sort of shocked they didn't have a special opening show for the 1st Oct and yeah-I heard about the shenanigans in the shops but hey at least that made for shorter ride queues I suppose.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

3. yes the majority of the people were on lines for merchandise!

It was crazy to hear that, that was the case but it also makes sense. The people there were people who had come many many times.

Finally when the park opened after a regular, lack-luster, nothing special castle stage show

Did people really boo? I think I heard that.

I got the Burnt Ends Nachos and I think I ate nonstop for about 15 minutes without coming up for air they were so good:

Those nachos! I want to try them!

 

[buzzrelly]

Our morning was similar too yours, but we waited in a couple merch lines! The morning one moved fast and we chatted with people around us to kill the time. Everyone was just so excited to be there!

I like that you took an afternoon break. We thought about it but then decided to hang…I won't say too much because I'll talk about it in my TR, but maybe that wasn't the best idea!

It was such a thrill to just be there though, wasn't it?!

 

[kittylady1972]

Great report and adorable photos!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Love all the family pics

I still can't believe they literally did nothing but a stage show the morning of 10/1! I was so excited to get out of school and take to social media to see all the amazingness I had surely missed during the day.....what a letdown! Awesome for ride times though

We have only eaten at Whispering Canyon once before. We were going to try that in December with my parents, but couldn't get a time that worked on either day we were looking. Man, those nachos have me regretting that now though!!! Maybe I better keep looking

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We also finally saw Jen and Joe and even though it had been less than 2 months since we were last together -it's always too long

Only about 4 weeks to go...

Here's a BIG fungus for ya @kastoney!

LOL!!!

and Jock Lindsay's with Jen and Joe where I failed to get pictures of our drinks (food delicious as always) but Jen turned me on to one she's had the day before that was a new seasonal offering! Timmy (their CM son) joined us as well and I enjoyed talking with him about his job.

I have a pic!!!! This was the best drink of the entire trip!!!

the drink Jenny and I had was this:
Autumn Smash
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Lemon Juice, Pear Nectar, Simple Syrup, and a touch of Cinnamon

YUM! Miss this. Joe and I need to make it at home.

The 4 of us ended the night at our beloved Geyser Point! I had sworn it would be an early night since the next day was the 1st and would be an early morning and while it wasn't super late, it did involve dock dancing, drinking (drinking before dancing lol) and a viewing of the new 50th anniversary EWP floats which all equaled lots of fun! My pictures of the EWP came out horrible but I'll share the best of the bunch:

You didn't mention the twerking, lol! THis was such a fun night!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Happy belated birthday to Chris. He looks all grown up in his homecoming picture. Mia is adorable and that is a very nice picture of your mom.

How is Ricky enjoying his sophomore year of college? Is it mostly back to normal now?

I think people expected more "special" things for Oct 1st instead of just some merchandise. I sounds like it was a good day for rides and a bad day for shopping. We were at WDW last week and we saw very few people wearing 50th Anniversary shirts in the parks.