"Where's My Butt?" -- Mother-Daughter Oct. 2015 TR *complete 2/2*

[phlppians413]

Hey y'all! I know, I know. I've been back from the World for almost 3 months now -- what the heck have I been doing?? Well, I've been doing just about everything other than writing this TR. I didn't even have all the pictures from this trip until a couple days ago! Once I got all the pictures, though, I realized I should get started on this TR. So, here we are.

And now, on with the show!!

Chapter Links
The Cast
Day 1: "I don't have any patience; stop thanking me for it!"
Part 1
Part 2
Day 2: "Where's my butt?"
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Day 3: "Sit down, shut up, and stay put . . .and no laser pointers."
Part 1
Part 2
Day 4: "Nobody gets to fuss at me; it's my birthday week!"
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Day 5: "It's a shower after all!"
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Day 6: "We must just look cute or something."
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
"Did you feel that? You're on your way back to the real world."
[URL="http://www.disboards.com/threads/wheres-my-butt-mother-daughter-oct-2015-tr-update-2-2.3471067/page-2#post-55102348"]Departure Day[/URL]
​

 

[phlppians413]

The Cast​

First up, of course, are the introductions. For this trip, we had a total count of 2: Mom and me.

Me​

I'm basically an exact replica of my mother. Appearance, personality, mannerisms...you name it. It's a little scary sometimes. My favorites . . .

Favorite Character: Tinkerbell
Favorite Animated Classic: Beauty and the Beast or Lion King (I seriously can't pick)
Favorite Ride: BTMRR or Space Mtn
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Be Our Guest or Wolf Gang Puck Express

That's me in a nutshell. Disney has always been mine and Mom's thing; this was my 9th trip to WDW

Mom​

Like I said, Mom and I are basically the same person. She's been my Disney buddy since my first trip in 2003 (and probably even before that). Her favorites . . .

Favorite Character: Sorcerer Mickey
Favorite Animated Classic: Beauty and the Beast
Favorite Ride: Splash Mtn. or Haunted Mansion
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Be Our Guest or Wolf Gang Puck Express

That's Mom. And now for a few pictures, both past and recent.

Judging by my hair, I'm pretty sure this was taken in 2007.


And this one was taken in 2014.


See? Twins.

You'll see a TON of pictures from this trip later on, so I'll just leave it at that. If you want to read about the planning that went into this trip, the link is in my signature. But now, it's time for the fun stuff!

 

[phlppians413]

Day 1: "I don't have any patience; stop thanking me for it!"
Part 1​

It doesn't feel like this trip was almost 3 months ago. But it was. I remember waking up before my alarm and rushing to get ready. WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! First, we had to take DLB to school. His school doesn't get a fall break like mine does (aka one of the reasons I was even getting to go on this trip). We dropped him off and started toward the airport. Dad dropped us off there at 8:40am CT. Mom and I checked our bags and went through security -- quick, easy, painless (for once). We wandered around for a little bit, found our gate and sat for a little bit. At 9:30am, though, we were hungry. So we walked back over to Chickfila to get breakfast and brought it back to the gate with us to eat.

Sometime in the packing and planning before we left, we realized that we were in two different boarding groups. When Mom had done the online check in for the flight, the computer had glitched; I was A60 and she was B54. Well crap. Yes, I could have boarded and just saved her a seat. But I was already having anxiety at just the thought of having to do this by myself. I mean, I would do it if we had no other options, but I wasn't thrilled about it.

A little while before we were scheduled to board, Mom went up to the scary-looking security man and asked if it would be okay if she boarded with me. Much to our surprise, he said it was fine. We took that answer and ran with it.

Around 10:30am, we boarded the plane. The best part about the flight to Orlando is it's like you blink and you're there. We had a little turbulence along the way, but nothing too terrible. We landed MCO at 1:30 DT (Disney-Time ) We made a quick bathroom stop and then went straight to DME with no problems (unlike last year). On our way to DME, we passed a family who had decided to sit in the middle of the walkway. With all their stuff piled up beside them. No joke. Mom and I looked at each other, and I said "Well that's an interesting choice." We walked around them and could see the DME check in (or whatever you want to call it). We scanned our MagicBands with no problems and were able to get on a bus immediately. We were almost home!!


Pop Century was the second stop.


Mom had done online check in and had gotten the text with our room number, so we bypassed the front desk and went straight to the 60s. We were in our room at 2:50pm.


Not going to lie, it bothered me that we were in the 60s, but our room number started with a 5. We quickly changed into the shorts we'd packed in our carry-ons. We realized very quickly that we hadn't made sure to put a change of shoes in that bag...oh well We walked down to the DTD bus stop around 3 and were on a bus at 3:20. We'd originally had an ADR for Rainforest Cafe but were afraid we wouldn't make it, so we cancelled. After looking and seeing that there were still plenty available, we were hopeful we'd be able to walk up with no problem.

At 3:45pm we arrived in DTD and soon after that we were being seated at Rainforest Cafe. No problems.


Mom and I decided to share an order of mozzarella sticks and the primal steak with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.



Everything was DELICIOUS! The last time I ate at Rainforest Cafe was in 2003, on my very first trip. According to my parents, I cried the entire time because I was terrified. So of course, this time, Mom kept asking me if I was going to cry. The funny thing was, I remembered nothing about the restaurant until we were in there this time. But needless to say, this experience was much better than the last

After we stuffed our faces, we wandered through my favorite store in DTD : World of Disney!! I was proud of myself for not buying anything this first time through. We decided to head back to Pop after that; we had a window to decorate!

 

[phlppians413]

Day 1: "I don't have any patience; stop thanking me for it!"
Part 2​

On our way to the bus stop, we were stopped by a CM taking a survey. We eventually reached the bus stop at 5:34pm and boarded a bus at 5:40. When we arrived back in our room at 6:15, our luggage still had not arrived. We'd been on Disney property for 4-5 (ish) hours. Mom started to majorly stress. She calls the front desk, who put her on hold. After 13 minutes on hold, Mom's reply to the automated hold message: "I don't have any patience; stop thanking me for it!"

I tried really hard not to laugh...I failed.

Mom finally got to talk to a real person who told her the luggage was on its way. So, we sat back to wait. We passed the time by checking the Touring Plans for tomorrow...our first day in the parks! Sometime during this, Mom said "Then we'll go get on the Liverty Square Riberboat." When I started laughing hysterically she said "I meant the Riverty Square -- UGH!"

Our luggage arrived at 6:54pm. Right as we were leaving to go get dessert. Figures. Anyway, we walked down to the food court and decided to split a brownie sundae. We ordered a brownie sundae with no nuts. Instead, we got a sundae with nuts and no brownie. Hmmm...something doesn't seem quite right about this. Once we got that fixed, the sundae was very yummy. Once we finished eating, we headed back up to the room to unpack. After organizing clothes and everything else we'd brought, we decorated our window. This was the finished product.


Sorry, I know the pic is a little dark. When I stepped outside to take this, it was pouring which put a damper (pun intended) on our plan to go fill up our mugs so we could have caffeine/sugar in the morning. Instead we got ready for bed. After all, we had a big day tomorrow!

PS: this is what the Fit Bit app said at the end of today

 

[phlppians413]

Day 2: "Where's my butt?"
Part 1​

Our alarm went off at 6am . . . we actually got up at 6:15. I honestly forgot where I was the first time I opened my eyes. Then I looked around and remembered, I'M IN DISNEY WORLD! That thought pretty much kicked my butt out of bed. Mom and I threw on a pair of shoes and walked down to the food court to fill up our mugs. When we got back to the room, we ate some peanut butter crackers and got ready for our first park day

We left the room at exactly 7:11am (I obsessively noted the time on this trip to help keep my notes straight haha). We boarded at DHS-bound bus at 7:17am. We arrived with plenty of time to spare before morning EMH began, so we stopped to take a picture by the Anna and Elsa topiary (which I absolutely LOVED)


After our photo op, we went to get in line and wait for the park to open. Once the CMs starting letting people through, the people behind us started becoming impatient. Specifically the lady pushing the stroller into the backs of our legs/feet over and over and over. It was as though she was thinking to herself "Maybe if I keep running them over, they'll move." Oh, and did I mention there wasn't even a kid in said stroller? Anyways . . . we made it through the Mickey-stiles (?) and walked with a purpose to TSMM. We hopped in the stand-by line and were soon loading into a ride vehicle.


This round, I actually won!!! That never happens, so I was more than a little proud of myself. We decided to try and ride one more time and were back in the standby line at 8:25am. Not too bad. This round Mom won, and she also got Best in Vehicle! This just meant we'd have to break the tie later in the trip (don't worry; we did).
After our second ride we made a quick bathroom stop before walking down to One Man's Dream.




This was (somehow) the first time I'd ever been in here. Oh. My. Goodness. Everyone NEEDS to walk through here at least once. It was absolutely amazing!!



Once we were back outside, I looked at Mom and asked "Did we miss the memo to dress like you're from the 50s?" Seriously. We saw a ton of people in dresses and suits that looked like they came straight out of the 1950s. I don't remember ever seeing that before, either. It was really cool, but also a little strange. We stopped at a CS place somewhere (no idea where) to get water and we filled up our water bottles. We actually almost got trampled in the street. Apparently, it's a good idea to text/instagram/whatever while pushing a stroller through the middle of a crowded theme park. No biggie.

At this point, our time in DHS had come to an end...for today anyway. We walked back to the entrance and were waiting at the MK bus stop at 10:07am. We boarded a bus roughly 15 minutes later and were on our way to our favorite park!

When we arrived in MK, we of course had to document it, so we stopped and took pics in front of the castle.




What is this even supposed to be? Oh, yes, a heart. Cute idea...poor execution



From there we went toward Adventureland and the FP+ kiosks.



We made our way to the FP+ kiosks and using last year's MBs, secured 3 more FPs.

Haunted Mansion 1:05pm-2:05pm
Buzz Lightyear 4:20pm-5:20pm
Jungle Cruise 2:35pm-3:35pm

 

[phlppians413]

Day 2: "Where's my butt?"
Part 2​

After securing our FPs, we made our way to Frontierland and one of our favorite rides: BTMRR! We got in the standby line, which fortunately wasn't too terribly long. But while we were waiting, Mom and I realized how hungry we were. We tried not to think about it too much, but . . .it didn't work very well. Then, to top it all off, there were two little kids behind us who were literally climbing on everything and everyone around us. This was Mom's response: "If I wasn't about to chew my leg off, maybe I would have a better attitude." You can't make this stuff up, folks.

After the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness, we stopped for some pictures.



From there, we wandered a little bit, trying to find something we wanted to eat. We eventually stopped at Golden Oak Outpost for some BLT fries. Oh. My. Gracious. They were so YUMMY!


Great, now I'm craving some

At this point we decided that maybe we didn't want to keep that Haunted Mansion FP after all, so we went back to the kiosks and traded it for a BTMRR. From there, we made our way to the Liberty Square Riverboat--a first for me!

After our relaxing ride, we went to another favorite: Mickey's Philharmagic


After the show, we had some time to kill before our lunch ADR. The posted wait for Cinderella & Rapunzel's M&G was 50 minutes, but was actually only 30 according to the Touring Plans app (which is usually pretty accurate). So we got in line.

Well. We waited and waited and waited some more. By the time we reached the front, we had waited almost EXACTLY 50 minutes and were worried we'd be late for our ADR. The CM assured us that we'd be fine, so we stayed put. Finally, we got to see the princesses!





From there we ran (ahem, I mean walked with a purpose) to the Beast's castle -- it was time for lunch! We had a 2:20pm ADR that we made it to with no time to spare. But I was very excited to be eating in the Beast's castle again. We had preordered our meals, so we just scanned the MBs and went to find a table. We ended up in the ballroom this time.

I got the braised pork with green beans and then the Master's Cupcake for dessert.




Mom got the roast beef sandwich and then an orange eclair for dessert.





Everything was absolutely delicious! Definitely my favorite Disney restaurant

 

[phlppians413]

Day 2: "Where's my butt?"
Part 3​

Of course, no trip to the Beast's castle would be complete this picture.


Sigh. Isn't it just beautiful? <3

Anyways, from there we hurried to cross Adventureland before the parade started. We made a quick bathroom stop and went to get in line for our Jungle Cruise FP. After our cruise, we checked the line for Woody and Jessie's M&G but it was long (no surprise there), so we decided to move on. We still had a few minutes before our Splash FP window opened, so we just parked it by the wall outside the FP entrance to wait. When our window opened and we got in line, there was a family in front of us. We heard their son say that they were 45 minutes too early and that it wouldn't work. Uh, no kidding. But his parents brushed off his warning and continued to make their way toward the Mickey-stiles. Finally, their son ducked under the ropes and got out of line repeating, "It won't work."

That is so something my DLB would do (if we were trying to use a FP 45 minutes early...which isn't a thing...but anyway).

So, this ride photo requires a little bit of an explanation. During the planning stages of this trip, Mom and I read several TRs in which Disney-goers had some sort of prop with them in each other their ride photos. We thought this was a fun idea, so we did some looking and found . . . well, I'll let you see it for yourself.



Can you spot us? Yes, those two crazies with the zebra masks? That would be us. Don't worry, we didn't wear them the whole time. We just had them in our laps and then put them on right before the end. Oh, fun fact. Did you know you can actually see the flash of the camera at the top of the drop? I had never seen it before, but my best friend said something about it right before I left. Apparently my eyes have always been shut REALLY tight, but I saw it that time! Just a little bit a Splash Mountain trivia for you.

After our ride, we made our way back toward Main Street for the 4:15 DAwM. I hadn't watched this show since I was a kid, so it was something I wanted to do this time.




I took a video but I can't get it to upload

After the show, we went over to Tomorrowland for the first time this trip to use our Buzz FPs.


Just two zebras protecting the galaxy from Emperor Zurg

From there, we went to the Laugh Floor before going back to Frontierland for our BTMRR FPs. After our second ride on a runaway train, we went back to the FP kiosks for the third time today and got 6:15pm FPs for the Barnstormer. We were in line to use those FPs at 6:27pm. All in all, both waiting and riding took 3 minutes. Three. Minutes.

We made a quick bathroom stop before finding a spot along that back pathway to call the boys, which (to no one's surprise) didn't take very long. We made our way back into Tomorrowland but still had some time before our Space FP window. We'd read about a photo booth inside the Tomorrowland Power and Light Co, so we went to check it out.


I do stupid poses when I'm put on the spot like that

We still had time before our FPs, so we jumped on the fastest, scariest ride in the MK....the PeopleMover! After our high-in-the-sky (ish) tour of Tomorrowland, it was time for our Space FPs! This is one of my favorites rides, although before like 3 years ago, it scared the living daylights out of me.


ooo she wasn't readyyy (sorry; I just couldn't help myself)


again, stupid poses. Sorry, I am not so good at the on-the-spot picture taking

After our zip through space, we walked back toward Fantasyland, stopping at Storybook Treats to refill our waters. Then it was time for Mickey's Philharmagic! (Yes again; seeing Donald's butt hanging out of the wall never gets old)

Okay, now I have to admit that I feel kind of bad for the CMs sometimes. How many times do we hear them say "Please continue moving all the way down, all the way down." It actually became a joke this trip because we heard it so many times. Honestly, I don't really see how it matters in some situations; other times I get it. But, no matter how many times we hear them say "Please move all the way down" or "Fill in all the available space", people still choose to just downright ignore them. Sure, some Disney guests can't speak English, but those that can really have no excuse. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now.

After the show, it was time for our 7DMT FPs! I love this ride, probably a little too much, but it's just...perfect!





There's that one steep hill that makes me scream really loud. Of course that would be where a camera is

 

[phlppians413]

Day 2: "Where's my butt?"
Part 4​

Happy 2016 y'all!!! Now, where were we? Right.


After our 7DMT FPs, we wandered back into (Not-So) New Fantasyland and took pictures with Gaston.



Errr . . .Gaston's statue

From there we journeyed under the sea (see what I did there? ) and then went to meet Ariel at her grotto.



And then took a picture with Prince Eric's castle


(The one time I don't put my hand on my hip, Mom does -- figures )

By this time we were hungry and were ready to stake out a spot for the fireworks. Since most food options in MK close before MSEP (as we have discovered), we decided to head back to Main Street and get something to eat at Casey's, something I'd never done that I could remember.

Easier said than done. There were SO many people! Way more than the crowd level 4 that Touring Plans predicted. But we soldiered on, struggling to get back to Main Street. We finally made it, got our corn dog nuggets from Casey's, and then tried to find somewhere to watch Wishes. Basically impossible. I was having major anxiety as we walked around for a good 15-20 minutes trying to find somewhere to be. One time we thought we'd found something, but 30 seconds after we stopped moving a CM yelled at us that it was "her walkway" and we couldn't stand there. Well then. After another 10 minutes or so, we finally found somewhere to stand, eat, and watch Wishes. We were basically behind a tree, but it was better than nothing.

I decided not to take any pictures (not that I could have anyway) and just enjoy Wishes. Once it was over, we got out of the way as much as possible and just let the mass exodus go by. Then we made our way toward the Hub and managed to find a spot RIGHT in front of the castle to watch Celebrate the Magic (aka: one of my favorite Disney shows EVER). Score!

While we were waiting for it to start, another family came and sat a little ways down from us. Mom and I are just sitting and looking through the day's pictures when we both hear "Where's my butt?" coming from the little boy about 5 feet away from us.

. . . I'm sorry; what?

It gets better. Of course, we're both laughing hysterically at this point. But I happened to look towards the little boy that gave me the title for this TR and saw his mom hand him . . . a Buzz Lightyear toy. Yes, he had in fact not said "Where's my butt?" but actually "Where's my Buzz?" . . . this only made us laugh harder.

And that, friends, is how the title of this TR came to be.

Anyways, I again decided not to take pictures during the show and just enjoyed it (aka crying from joy). We stayed to watch the later MSEP and then went to get ice cream. I'd never been to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor (shocking I know), so that was our goal. We decided to split an ice cream cookie sandwich with chocolate ice cream in the middle.



It was so yummy! But so sweet I don't think we finished the whole thing, even between the two of us. After our dessert, we made our way over to Haunted Mansion and jumped in the standby. Once we'd visited with the Grim, Grinning Ghosts, we decided that we would check the wait at the Frozen M&G and then be done for the night.

I literally didn't have to wait for Anna and Elsa. It was THAT late. But it was perfect!




After my magical M&G with the queen and princess of Arendelle, we made our way back to the front of the park and out to the bus stop. We were at the Pop bus stop at 12:50am and boarded a bus at 1:17am. It always amazes me how long the lines are at the stops for the value resorts.

Once we got back to the room we didn't do much before we went to sleep. We still had several days of magic ahead of us!

 

[phlppians413]

Day 3: "Sit down, shut up, and stay put . . . and no laser pointers."
Part 1​

I woke up around 9am (not even 8 hours after we'd gone to bed), but Mom had already been up and showered. I got up, took a quick shower, and got dressed. Then we went down to the food court to refill our mugs to get our morning caffeine/sugar fix. Back in the room, we ate mini pretzels to hold us over for a little bit. When I accidentally dropped a pretzel on the floor, Mom looks at me and says "Do you want to cry about it?"

Sigh. This has been DLB's response to everything lately, and, clearly, it has infected my mother as well.

We got ready to go and made it to the DTD bus stop at 10:51am...and it's raining. Dang it. It wasn't hard, but it was steady enough to get you wet and just be downright annoying. We got on a bus at 11am, and the Harry Potter theme song was playing on the speakers.

Hmmm....something doesn't seem quite right here.

The bus made a stop at Typhoon Lagoon before continuing on to DTD (I have a really hard time calling it Disney Springs). Once we arrived, Mom and I went straight to WPE -- our other favorite Disney restaurant. We decided to split the BBQ chicken pizza and the chicken Caesar salad.




Everything was DELICIOUS! Then for dessert, Mom got a chocolate chip cookie and I got a brownie, but we decided to save them for later.




After lunch, we walked through Mickey's Pantry. Mom would love to redo her kitchen with all Disney stuff, but she thinks the boys might have a problem with it

PSA: Saying "excuse me" but then proceeding to run the person over, does not make it okay.

We knew that there was a walkway that connected DTD to SSR, but once we got to SSR, we realized that we didn't know how to get to a bus stop. Well, crap. We wandered around some and then found a path we thought might be right.

Wrong. As we walked, there were more an more trees that made me and Mom think of the Wizard of Oz. "I'd turn back if I were you." Mom deemed it the Flying Monkey Path and said "I really wish I knew where we were going."

We FINALLY found a bus stop and got on a DHS bus at 12:44pm. As soon as we arrived in the park, we made a quick bathroom stop before heading over to the FP kiosks to get FPs for last years bands.

Muppets Vision 3D 1:15pm-2:15pm
Star Tours 2:20pm-3:30pm
Fantasmic! 7:25pm

After we walked away from the kiosks, we realized that we didn't have enough time to do Muppets before B&B, so we went back to the kiosks to change Muppets to 3:35pm. From there, we went down to Sunset Blvd and found seats for the 2pm showing of B&B.

This is one of my absolute FAVORITE shows in WDW! The music and the dancing....

After the show, we started toward Star Tours to use our FPs. We passed a CM leading a group of kids doing to the Jedi Training Academy. I thought I heard her call them "ducklings" which I thought was weird. I didn't realize until later that she actually called them "younglings".

Mom and I very quickly realized why we hadn't done Star Tours the past couple trips. I never used to be one to get motion sick but...yikes! We both had a headache for a while after that ride.

We walked down to Streets of America in search of Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. Mom and I are big Once Upon a Time fans, and I may or may not have squealed out loud when we found his shop. Maybe.







After my fangirling, we knew we wanted to try and meet Sorcerer Mickey and Mike and Sulley, so we went to try and find where they had been moved to. We found them, but their lines were too long for us to do that before our next FPs.

Right about then, DLB texted Mom with a school problem, so she had to stop and take care of that. Then it was time to use our M3D FPs, but we stopped to take a selfie along the way.



After Muppets, we made a bathroom stop. There was water everywhere. A lady walked out and told the CM, "A toilet, like, exploded in there." Greeeaattt.

We walked over to the Frozen Sing Along to use our FPs.



When the doors opened, everyone filed into this holding area of sorts. The CMs kept telling everyone "For your safety, please remain standing."

We read between the lines: when we let you in, you're going to get trampled if you're sitting on the ground.

Soon, everyone was filing into the theater. Mom and I found seats pretty close to the front.

​

 

[phlppians413]

Day 3: "Sit down, shut up, and stay put . . .and no laser pointers."
Part 2​

This show was so cute! It cracked me up that Disney was making fun of itself with the comment about dead parents in a Disney movie.

After the show, we walked past the GMR and stopped to look at all the hand prints and signatures.


I think this is when we took these too. Not really sure though




Then it was time for out VotLM FPs. When we got into the theater, there was a couple sitting in the row in front of us that hadn't moved all the way down the row. A guy walked up to the row with his family and asked him if he could please move down. The guy sitting down looks at him and says "No, you can go around."



After VotLM, it was getting close to time to get in line for our Fantasmic! FPs. I really wanted a carbonated blue raspberry slush, so we walked all the way back to the only place in the park that has them that's back by Lights, Motor, Action! Of course, once we got there, they were closed.

I did find a Monsters University hat (that I'd been looking for ever since we'd arrived), so I bought that while we wandered around looking for a snack and a bathroom. Eventually, we found a restroom, but decided to wait and buy a snack inside the Fantasmic! theater. We used our FPs, quickly got our snacks (Mom got a churro; I got popcorn), and found our seats.



In every single ride/show in WDW, there's an audio recording that plays over and over. "Please remain seated, no flash photography" etc. Well, we heard the one for Fantasmic! so many times that either Mom or I (not sure which) finally said "Sit down, shut up, and stay put . . .and no laser pointers."

We thought it was unusual that there wasn't a pre-show of sorts with the trivia and everything, but listening to hundreds of people sing "oooooo" when "Shut Up and Dance with Me" played was on of the most entertaining things I've ever experienced.

I absolutely love Fantasmic! I don't have anything to say other than that I didn't take any pictures, but they usually don't come out very well anyway.

After Fantasmic!, we went and got in the standby for the GMR. I've finally seen Casablanca thanks to my Classic Films class at school (one of my new favorite movies) so that part of the ride actually made sense to me now.

After our trip through the movies, we stopped for a picture.



We made our way back to the front of the park and to the bus stops. Since our plan was to go over to AoA for dinner, we decided to get on whichever bus (AoA or Pop) came first. We boarded an AoA bus at 9:52pm.

We love the Make-Your-Own-Pasta station at AoA's food court, so that's what we both ended up getting.
I got linguine Alfredo with chicken, spinach, and Parmesan cheese.



Mom got linguine Alfredo with chicken, spinach, garlic, peas, roasted red peppers, and Parmesan cheese



Once we'd eaten ourselves silly, we walked back over to Pop. We were back in our room at 10:57pm and got ready for bed.

I'm pretty sure I was asleep as soon as my eyes were closed.

 

[khertz]

Joining in! I love that it was a girl's only trip. I hope to do one of those with DD one day! You & your mom look so much alike!!

What days were y'all there? We were there October 20-25!

 

[phlppians413]

Joining in! I love that it was a girl's only trip. I hope to do one of those with DD one day! You & your mom look so much alike!!

What days were y'all there? We were there October 20-25!

Thanks for joining in! We definitely hear that a lot I always tease her that she can't disown me!

We were there October 2-7

I would definitely recommend a girls only trip! This was our second, and it is just SO much fun!

 

[phlppians413]

Day 4: "Nobody gets to fuss at me; it's my birthday week!"
Part 1​

Our alarm went off at 6:30am the next morning. I got up and took a quick shower while Mom tried to reload her Disney rewards card. Stupid technology; the site wouldn't let her do anything the first few times she tried, but she did eventually get it to work. We got ready for another day of magic, filled up our water bottles at the food court, and were waiting at the AK bus stop by 7:55am. In our normal Disney fashion, we ate peanut butter crackers for breakfast at the bus stop.

Five minutes later, this pulled up to our stop:



This was my snapchat story from the bus ride. Not gonna lie, I thought I was pretty funny



On our way to AK, we passed a sheriff's car that had gotten stuck in the median. It was covered in grass and mud. Our driver said, "He decided to make a detour through the median. Guess what? He didn't make it."

Soon we saw this pretty sight...


And we stopped for a PhotoPass opportunity at the sign.


I don't know why, but this has always been one of my favorite spots to take pictures.

From there, we got in line at a Mickey-stile. They started letting everyone in at 8:35am, but we could only go as far as the Tree of Life. We passed by a set of FP kiosks that looked like they were working, so Mom went over there to see if she could go ahead and get our day of FPs while I stood around the Tree of Life. Almost as soon as Mom walked away, I heard a CM say, "There's gonna be a pre-show with some birds in a few minutes."

Uh oh.

Let me explain. Mom hates birds. Actually, "hate" is not a strong enough word. Loathes, utterly despises...you get the idea. So when she walked back over to where I was standing, I said, "I don't mean to alarm you, but the CMs just said there's going to be a pre-show with some birds in a minute." Needless to say, she was less than thrilled.

BUT, she had managed to score our 3 extra FPs for the day.

Festival of the Lion King 9:30am-9:50am
Finding Nemo the Musical 10:30am-10:50am
Dinosaur 11:40am-12:40pm

We knew we might be pushing it to try and get from FotLK to FNtM, but we also knew that the FNtM theater usually doesn't fill up, so we figured we'd be okay. Right around 9am, there was a mass stampede toward the Safari. Mom and I got in the standby line with a couple hundred of our closest friends and began weaving our way through the queue.

At one point, there was an older lady in front of us. We started to turn around the rope and keep walking when she stopped in front of us and actually put her hand up in front of my face and said "You're just gonna have to stop because there's 13 of us trying to stick together."

Excuse me?

I mean, I get it. You want to make sure your family all gets on together. So then don't run ahead and ditch them!

We could hear the rest of her family behind us telling her to move out of the way, so we just walked around her. We could still hear her family trying to explain to her that she can't just stop in the middle of the line like that, but she started yelling at them "Nobody gets to fuss at me; it's my birthday week!"

Well okay then.

Mom looked at me and asked, "Why do people come to Disney World with people they don't like?"

Anyways...soon we were boarded our safari jeep-thing. Our guide Kristen was fabulous! Mom and I sat in the front row, so we got to hear everything she said. The people behind us who were talking over her....well, they missed out.




My favorite part about early morning safaris is how active the animals are! The giraffes and zebras are my favorites

After our trip through the savannah, we made a quick bathroom stop before hurrying over to use our FotLK FPs. We were getting hungry again, so we snacked on some mini pretzels in line while we waited. We made it into the amphitheater, but the show was delayed due to technical difficulties. But after 15 (ish) minutes, the show started.


Sigh. I wish I were there watching this right now

Once the show was over, we were fairly certain we wouldn't make it in time to use our FPs for FNtM, but we booked it across the park. We were just a couple minutes passed our FP window but were just in time for the 11am show. There were still plenty of seats in the theater, so the FP didn't really make a difference one way or the other.

 

[phlppians413]

Day 4: "Nobody gets to fuss at me; it's my birthday week!"
Part 2​

After the musical, we made a stop at the restroom before heading over to use our Dinosaur FPs. This is one of those rides that absolutely terrified me as a kid, and still isn't one of my favorites. I ride it because Mom loves it, but it certainly wouldn't hurt my feelings if we skipped it

I'm pretty sure my eyes were completely closed, which is why I'm looking nowhere near the camera

To be honest, the two zebras just look downright bored

So I'm thinking we must have taken this on our way to the bus stops, but I'm not really sure. Stupid notes.



We made our way to the Epcot bus stop and were soon on our way to eat around the world!

When we got to Epcot, we stopped for some pictures.





Our first stop was the F&W Festival Center so that we could grab our food passports and visit the Ghirardelli chocolate station thing. The chocolate thing wasn't exactly what we were expecting, but it was still cool to walk through.

After that, we stopped for another photo op before starting our eating spree.



Our first stop was the Farm Fresh booth, where we got a loaded mac n cheese to share.

This was really yummy! Of course; how could you go wrong with bacon and cheese?

Next was the Desserts and Champagne booth where I got a frozen s'mores.


This was one of my favorites last year, and I was really happy to see that they brought it back this year.

From there we moved on to the Dominican Republic, where we got the souffle de yuca (which we forgot to take a picture of ). Mom really liked this one.

Next up was Canada. We got the cheddar cheese soup and the Le Cellier filet mignon. Both were really good, but the soup was just a *tad too salty for me.




While we were sitting and eating, I saw several girls walk by in heels... I'm talking, like, Stiletto-type heels. This is not the first time I've seen this while in WDW, but I have never understood it. Why would you wearing something like that when you know you're going to be walking all day long? Doesn't make any sense to me. Anyways.

From there we made a quick bathroom stop before moving on to France, where we got the boeuf bourguignon. Again, sorry, no picture. But it was delicious!!

 

[phlppians413]

Day 4: "Nobody gets to fuss at me; it's my birthday week!"
Part 3​

Then it was time for us to make our way to Future World. We stopped for some pictures along the way.





Our first stop was the Innoventions building for the Disney Visa photo op.


From there we went to use our Seas with Nemo and Friends FP. After our ride, we wandered around a little before heading back out. We've been taking pictures at this spot since DLB and I were really little, so of course when we spotted a PP photographer, we had to stop.

We headed over to the Land next. We decided to go watch Circle of Life, since we'd never done it before.

Wow. Just wow. There isn't much that Disney does poorly, but yikes. The footage of landscapes from around the world was beautiful, but the rest reminded me of a painful documentary. No offense to anyone who's a fan, but it was definitely not a favorite for us.

From there, we went to ride Living with the Land. Mom really loves this one. When we were riding this time, I noticed something new. Somewhere in the ride, there's a sign that says. . .

"For your safety and to avoid being asked to leave Epcot, please remain seated at all times."

Seriously. I'm not making this upWe laughed so hard at that, I think I cried.

We still had a little bit of time to kill before our Soarin FPs, but not enough to actually go do something else, so we went over to the Soarin area to wait. There was a family nearby with a bunch of kids. I joked with Mom that they reminded me of the Von Trapps. Until this happened . . . one of the little boys, who looked to be maybe 5, got pantsed by his brothers. Over. And over. And over. I felt bad for the kid, but then he started laughing. Clearly he didn't think it was a big deal

We used our FPs and asked to wait for the front row. I think we ended up waiting an extra two minutes, but who cares? No feet! I love Soarin, but the film needs an update. Anybody know if Soarin Around the World is an actual thing or just a rumor???

We decided at that point that since we only had one more FP and had eaten a TON, we wouldn't come back the next day. So we went back to WS to get whatever else we really wanted from the festival.

Our first stop was Mexico. Mom LOVED the chilaquiles de pollo, but it was just a bit too spicy for me. Sorry, no picture for this one

Next up was Italy. I got the ravioli last year, and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to make sure I got one of those. It was sooo yummy!

Next was Belgium, where we got a Belgian waffle with chocolate ganache and whipped cream to share. This was another favorite from 2014 that Mom wanted to make sure we got.

We stopped for a picture by the fountains in France since we hadn't earlier.

Ew. I should've left my hair up.

We started to walk through the UK when I saw the line for Alice's M&G was super short, so we jumped in it. She was so stinkin' cute!



And I had to stop for a picture with the phone booth


Although judging by my hair, this was clearly earlier in the day. Oops

Then it was time for our Character Spot FPs.

First was the main mouse himself



Then his pal Goofy

 

[phlppians413]

Day 4: "Nobody gets to fuss at me; it's my birthday week!"
Part 4​

Then sweet Minnie




At this point, we were done for the day. We'd eaten our way around the world, and we were worn slap-out. We started back toward the front of the park and stopped at the Photo Center to pick up our print from the Visa photo op. Then we headed out to the bus stop, and a Pop bus pulled up right as we got there! (at 7:36pm in case you were wondering )

When we got back to Pop, we were going to stick our feet in the pool, but it was closed. So, we went back to the room and took showers instead. We collapsed and watched The Voice for a while, but, surprisingly, got hungry. We grabbed our mugs and went down to the food court. I got pizza, and Mom got cheesy flat bread with pesto. And yes, we forgot to take pictures.

We took our desserts back to the room with us. I did remember to take a picture of that!

We ate our cupcakes and watched some more of the Voice before crashing.

PS: Not going to lie; I was kinda proud of this insta post

 

[khertz]

We used our FPs and asked to wait for the front row. I think we ended up waiting an extra two minutes, but who cares? No feet! I love Soarin, but the film needs an update. Anybody know if Soarin Around the World is an actual thing or just a rumor???

I know they are updating the film, but I don't know to what. We are going next month and it will be down for the refurbishment, so I think that means the new movie is coming??

Next was Belgium, where we got a Belgian waffle with chocolate ganache and whipped cream to share.

That sounds heavenly!

Great pic of y'all!! I love those fountains, so pretty.

I love all the pics from the Character Spot! I do wish they still had the whole Fab 5 there, though. It was great to be able to meet them all right in one spot and in their classic outfits!

 

[phlppians413]

I know they are updating the film, but I don't know to what. We are going next month and it will be down for the refurbishment, so I think that means the new movie is coming??



That sounds heavenly!



Great pic of y'all!! I love those fountains, so pretty.

I love all the pics from the Character Spot! I do wish they still had the whole Fab 5 there, though. It was great to be able to meet them all right in one spot and in their classic outfits!

I'm glad they're updating it! I hate that it will be down while y'all are there though
The waffles were SO good!!
I agree; I wish all 5 still met at the Character Spot. But I suppose 3 in one place is better than waiting in 5 completely separate lines

 

[phlppians413]

Day 5: "It's a shower after all!"
Part 1​

Our alarm went off 6am, but it was closer to 6:20 when we actually got up and got ready. It was roughly 7:15am when we left the room. When we got to the bus stop, Mom started talking about how we needed to be thinking about starting to . . . *shudders*

Pack.

I told her that that was a four letter word, and I didn't want to hear it again.

When the MK bus pulled up to the stop, it was one of those big fancy tour buses; kind like the cruise line bus, but taller. Riding in style 2 days in a row? Don't mind if I do.

We arrived at MK at 7:55am, which meant we had just enough time for some pictures before our breakfast ADR.




This one (above) is actually one of my favorite pictures from this trip




We had about a million different Tinkerbell magic shots throughout the trip (apparently that's like the go-to?) but this one was my favorite



After our pictures, we made our way to Fantasyland and the Beast's castle to check in for our ADR. We were pretty excited to try the BOG breakfast.

We found a table in the ballroom.



I got the eggs Florentine.



Mom got the quiche.


And then, of course, our pastry tray.


All in all, everything was pretty good, but we were glad that we'd gotten a free DDP deal. It didn't really seem to be worth the roughly $20 per person to us. Lunch and dinner are definitely better in my opinion.

After breakfast, we went to the nearest FP kiosks to book our day-of FPs.

BTMRR 9:05am-10:05am
Tinker Bell M&G 10:10am-11:10am
Space Mtn. 12:00pm-1:00pm

The next order of business was to use our 7DMT FPs. Normally, we don't do FPs that early in the morning, but we knew we wouldn't be there all day and wanted to make sure we got to ride.

I'm only posting the one ride photo because, honestly, the other one was downright boring.


Sorry, Mom, but your face is pretty dang hilarious in this one

From there we moved into Adventureland and got in the standby for PotC. We hadn't been able to ride earlier in the trip because the wait had been an hour or longer. For Pirates. Since when is that a thing? Anyway, we did finally get to ride

We still had a few minutes before our BTMRR FPs, so we got in the standby and literally did not wait (other than walking through the queue). AND WE GOT THE FRONT ROW!!

I love BTMRR no matter where I sit. It's one of my absolute favorite rides. But riding in the front? It's just 10x better!

And then we got to ride AGAIN, this time using our FPs

From there we went over to Tomorrowland (we did a lot of crisscrossing today) to use our Space FPs (we'd already had one and then got another). Unfortunately, the camera was down, so no ride photo

 

[phlppians413]

Day 5: "It's a shower after all!"
Part 2​

After our trip through space, we decided to have another try at the photo booth.


If you can't tell, in the fourth picture we are laughing hysterically at the fact that Mom looks drunk in the third picture.

Then it was time for our Tinker Bell M&G FPs. We made our way down main street, probably still laughing at the photo booth pictures.

Here's a disclaimer before I go any further: I have always had a . . .fascination? obsession? . . .with fairies. I swear Tinker Bell is like my twin. I mean, we're both blonde, little, and sassy. We're basically long-lost twins. Except she has wings.

Anywho....



After my reunion with my fairy twin, we wandered through the Emporium a bit before deciding to head over to Liberty Square and, more specifically, the Haunted Mansion. When we got in line, we received the red badge of honor.

aka the red card. I know we got it several times this trip, I just didn't write down when. OOPS

We'd read that Tiana's M&G location had been moved to the Heritage House, but we weren't really sure where that was. When we got off the Haunted Mansion, we were walking through Liberty Square when I just happened to spot a sign over a door that read "Heritage House." Hmmm...I wonder if that's what we're looking for?

Sure enough; it was! And there was nobody else in line! I'm thinking people don't realize she's there. But I'm glad we found it, because this was probably my favorite character interaction of the trip. Once she heard where I was from, she got all excited, calling me a Southern Belle and talking about southern comfort food. It was so cute and fun and I just loved it!




Then it was time for our PPF FPs. This is one of those classics I adore, but wouldn't ride if we didn't have a FP for.

After our ride, we went to the FP kiosk and got a FP for Winnie the Pooh at 12:20pm. That's another classic that we don't ride without a FP.

Then we were headed back to Tomorrowland and Space Mtn for our second FP time.

This picture prompted the joke: "We're just two zebras taking over the world!" I know, I know; we're hilarious.

Of course, we made another stop at the photo booth.

We came to the conclusion that Mom is just really bad at photo booth-ing. So, of course, we had to try again.


This one was a little better

At this point, we knew there wasn't much else we'd have the energy for today, so Mom called to change our 8:10pm ADR to 2:35pm (late lunch instead of late dinner). Then we moved on to use our Winnie the Pooh FPs.

From there, we went on to ride Dumbo standby and Under the Sea. We stopped for some pictures outside Eric's castle and got a new magic shot!