Who's Turn Is It To Throw Up Today? A Feb 2014 Wedding TR - New TR link 10/27!!

[Pluto0809]

Haha, I can't tell you how many times I never spotted that umbrella. Then I see all these pictures of it, and I feel really stupid. How do I keep missing it???

Well, it's in a very weird place so that's probably why. It's actually at the end of the street kind of facing LMA. As we were walking towards the stadium entrance, I just happened to look back and finally spot it.

I'm the same with with LMA. I think I've only watched it maybe twice ever and after that just no longer had any interest. If I'm wish someone who hasn't seen it, fine, but other than that, it's a skip for me.

Yeah, it got old pretty fast for me. That was Mom's second time and I think she was even a little bored.

I'm in the same boat as Rob, I've never seen the umbrella either! Need to keep my eyes peeled for it haha

If you are walking towards LMA, turn around and look back. It's on the end o of one of the streets.

I've never seen LMA but I don't blame you for being a little bored with it after seeing it so many times already.

It just happens to be one of those shows that has a lot of surprises so knowing all of them is a bit boring. But definitely go see it at least once if you find the time.

Im with the majority.. Can't find the umbrella.. I will be in search of this time around!!!
LMA: Zack's favorite and asks for it.. Like you.. Im in no need for it!

When Zack drags you to see LMA, turn around and look back at the Streets of America. It's on one of the ends facing LMA.

I do like LMA once every 3 or 4 years.

Seems like you're having a great time at DHS.

I think it will be that long before I go back. We did have a very nice afternoon.

I've missed the last few updates with all I have had going on too!

No worries, I'm at least two months behind on everyone else's TRs too.

Great pictures on the Maharajah Jungle Trek! You saw a lot more of the deer than I saw in May (which was 2!).

Thanks, there were definitely a lot of animals out that day.

Yay for getting to DHS in time not only for your TSM FP+, but also for some nice PP pictures. Good score too on TSM.

I was really glad we had better bus luck than the first day at HS.

Thanks for the new HMs for me to look for on GMR! I have seen the R2D2 one before, but I've never been able to get a good picture of it. I had no idea there were Hidden Pocahontas references in the parks!

I had no idea on most of those HM until I bought the book.

I finally found the Umbrella last year, and it was working when I went. And I agree about LMA. I'll be seeing in December though since George has never seen it. But that means that like you I'll be able to get a lot of pictures!

I wonder if they only run the Umbrella during the summer months? You'll have to report back after December. One thing about LMA, there are a lot of photo ops.

 

[Pluto0809]

Hi everyone (well at least I hope there are still some people out there)! Sorry I've been away so long it's been a couple of crazy months at work.

I was also crazy busy after hours and on the weekends trying to help my local Animal Shelter with the 350 dogs they had to seize from a puppy mill. Considering they usually only have about 200 animals max to take care of, suddenly having over 500 was a huge burden. I'm happy to report though that the owner of the puppy mill decided to turn the animals over to the shelter after about a month of trying to fight the charges (I think when the charges went from a misdemeanor to 350+ charges of animal cruelty which is a felony was the deciding factor). I'm happy to report that we adopted out most of the animals in one day and they are now all spayed and neutered and in their forever homes. It was one of the craziest days in my life, I worked at the shelter from 6:30 am till 12:00 am (yep you read that right, over 17 hours). The ones that were not adopted that day were eventually adopted later that week.

Needless to say, I am so far behind on everyone else's threads that I'm a little overwhelmed and have no idea where to start to get caught up. I think it's going to take me at least a month but I will try to get there soon!

So moving on with this TR as my trip with Mom is only 39 days away. I am not going to write a PTR for that trip because I only have a basic outline for each day. Mom is going to 100% drive this trip so I'm leaving most days up in the air so we can do what she wants. She always defers to what everyone else wants so I'm going to let her lead on this trip. I may do one post with the basic outline but that will be it. I do plan on a PTR for my December trip but I won't be starting that one until I get both of the TRs I'm currently writing finished! Moving on.....

We had some time to kill in between LMA and our dinner ADR (which you can probably figure out by the title). Mom wanted to see Indiana Jones but the last show had started while we were at the LMA show. Since we were near the Muppets, John wanted to go there. I love looking at all the props in the waiting area.







The Muppets movie took up the time we needed so we headed to Sci Fi after and checked in for dinner. I requested that we sit in a car and the CM told me she could do that but that it might be a little longer wait. Considering our ADR was pretty early at 5:30 I didn’t think my group would mind waiting so I said no problem.

We didn’t end up waiting very long at all before we were lead to our car. We were off to the side a bit which was fine by us because it meant a 4 seater car instead of 6. We didn’t have any hitchhikers along.



Our waiter, Tony came over very quickly and took our drink orders. He saw me fooling with my camera and asked if we wanted a picture. Of course we did.



Mom wanted me to take some pictures of just John and Jocelyn since Jocelyn was feeling so much better on this day. Mom is still in the backseat there, she just ducked down for the pictures but you can just see her shoulder in the first picture.





I love how this next one turned out.



A few more pictures of the restaurant.





Tony was back before long with our drinks and he spent some time chatting with us. He had worked at the Sci Fi for 23 years and could do the entire movie spiel by heart. Mom got the Shrimp Pasta.



I got a good old fashioned burger and fries.



I didn’t get up to take pictures of John and Jocelyn’s meals but I know that Jocelyn got the House-Smoked St. Louis-style Pork Ribs. I think John got a burger like me.

My burger was out of this world good. I’m not sure what was so different but it was definitely the best burger I’ve had in a long time. The fries were pretty good too. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meal very much too. Especially Jocelyn who was finally feeling better.

Mom got the Turtle Cheesecake for dessert which she said was very good but very sweet.



I was going to get a chocolate milk shake since Sci Fi is known for those but Tony talked me into ordering the Chocolate Bar. I’m going to post two pictures, the second is a cross section so if food with a bite out of it (well I did use a fork) grosses you out, skip over that picture.





While this was very good and I’m glad I tried it, I don’t think I will order it again. It had a spongy texture to it which I didn’t care for. A lot of my pickiness comes from textures rather than taste.

At the end of the meal, Tony showed up with four free glow in the dark Sci Fi cups filled with caramel popcorn. Here’s one of the cups after I got home.



We all ended up deeming this the best meal so far in the trip. We rated it above Le Cellier, Cape May, and BOG. I know Sci Fi gets mixed reviews but for us it was wonderful. The food was excellent and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. Tony made our night with his attentiveness and of course the free cups didn’t hurt. Next time I go back and eat there I’m going to ask to sit in his section if he’s working.

While we were eating, we had noticed people coming in with ponchos on so we knew the rain had started. When we left, HS was closed but we ended up cutting through the ABC Commissary since the bathrooms are shared. We stopped to break out the cheap ponchos I had in my bag. Then of course we had to take pictures.





We ended up walking through some of the stores on our way out and I found a few things to buy. I had been looking for a black and silver watch so I got this Mickey one.





I also picked up this backpack. I don’t use backpacks that often but it’s nice to have one in case I need it and it has Pluto on it so why not?





We headed out and caught a bus pretty quickly. I was texting with Ruthie (Luvchefmic) because I was supposed to meet her and Ed (SunDial) in the All Star Sports food court this evening. They both live in Florida and the rain storm was much worse where they were so unfortunately we ended up cancelling the meet.

John and Jocelyn headed straight back to their room because they were leaving the next day for Universal and wanted to pack. Mom and I played around in the gift shop some more and I bought a few more items. I needed a new luggage tag so I got this one.





And we both got a set of these cute Mickey post-it notes.



We had a pretty early morning coming up so we decided to call it a night after we finished shopping.

Up Next: Keys to the Kingdom Tour

 

[missangelalexis]

I'm glad Sci-Fi was such a success! Your server sounded awesome and how fun that he gave you free cups with popcorn! Cute purchases you made

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, that is incredible regarding the puppies and that must have been something to swell the population that much. That's so great that you helped with that. I'm a huge animal person, and puppy mills just really set me off. How wonderful that they got adopted so quickly.

The Muppets has to be the best pre show in Disney (and that's saying something).

Interesting about Sci-Fi. It has to be the most widely different views around of any Disney restaurant. Also, I had no idea it shared bathrooms with the Commissary.

 

[katt789]

I feel ya with the falling behind!! I thought I'd only been gone from the dis for a week but I feel SO FAR behind on EVERYTHING!! It's crazy how fast it moves when you're not on lol!!

Love Sci Fi, I've been skeptical on it since last Sept but we ate there last week and i was MUCH more impressed that day!

Glad ya'll had a good time and had ponchos!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Love the Pluto bag and the bag tag.

Sci Fi looks great. Glad you enjoyed your meal there.


And great job on the dogs!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Jocelyn looks so healthy and happy. I felt so badly for her when I met her poor thing ( seems like a few years ago for goodness sakes what a summer it has been ) I have never had a meal there can you believe that ? Always say " some day " and never quite get there. It's always been Mama Melrose or the place opposite Jedi Training, can't remember the name. They have a delicious turkey sandwich over there.

Thank God for volunteers to help those dogs.

So when are you and Mom coming down ? I see your ticker but no calendar in front of me ...sorry if you already discussed your plans, I may have missed it somewhere. Say " Hi! " to Jim for me

 

[disneychic2]

I cannot believe I missed your update with the LMA show! I check over here every once in a while. I must have been zoned out or something!

Love the latest update! Interesting about the Sci Fi experience. You had an awesome waiter for sure! Dan and I had two really bad experiences in a row and said we'd never go back, but several years have passed and we may just have to try it again.

I love your backpack!! That is just the cutest thing! Looks like you did okay in the shopping arena. Good for you! Sometimes I find more than I need to buy and other times it seems I'm searching and searching just to get SOMETHING! Can't go home empty handed, right?

So glad to hear all the little puppies got adopted! I hate when I hear about puppy mills. They don't always have such happy endings. What a loooong day for you and all the others working. But what a great reward.

We leave in 7 days for our trip. Dan has been working 14 & 16 hours days for months now and really needs this time away. Too bad you won't be there at the same time as I would love to meet you and your mom. Maybe one of these days, since you're there so often!

Have a great day!

 

[Pluto0809]

I'm glad Sci-Fi was such a success! Your server sounded awesome and how fun that he gave you free cups with popcorn! Cute purchases you made

It was a great success, we really enjoyed that meal.

Wow, that is incredible regarding the puppies and that must have been something to swell the population that much. That's so great that you helped with that. I'm a huge animal person, and puppy mills just really set me off. How wonderful that they got adopted so quickly.

It was a pretty stressful time for everyone but they got through it. I can't stand puppy mills either. Luckily this one was not on the extreme end of horrible. I mean it was still bad but with a little TLC all of the dogs were able to find new homes.

The Muppets has to be the best pre show in Disney (and that's saying something).

It does have a pretty awesome pre-show. I can't really think of one that's better at the moment.

Interesting about Sci-Fi. It has to be the most widely different views around of any Disney restaurant. Also, I had no idea it shared bathrooms with the Commissary.

It does get a lot of mixed reviews but I've eaten there 3 times now and loved it every time. We didn't realize it connected either till we turned the wrong way and ended up in ABC Commissary by accident!

I feel ya with the falling behind!! I thought I'd only been gone from the dis for a week but I feel SO FAR behind on EVERYTHING!! It's crazy how fast it moves when you're not on lol!!

I know. I have no idea at this point how I'm ever going to get caught up with all of them! I have a feeling you probably started two or three more since I last checked yours.


Love Sci Fi, I've been skeptical on it since last Sept but we ate there last week and i was MUCH more impressed that day!

I think they must have good days and bad since it gets such mixed reviews. But hey any restaurant can have a bad day, look at the meal we had at Le Cellier on this trip!

Glad ya'll had a good time and had ponchos!

I always carry my Walmart ponchos at Disney cause you never know when you might need them.

Love the Pluto bag and the bag tag.

Thanks, the bag tag is really nice and well made.

Sci Fi looks great. Glad you enjoyed your meal there.

It was a very good meal.

And great job on the dogs!

Thanks although most of the credit goes to the wonderful staff at the shelter.

Jocelyn looks so healthy and happy. I felt so badly for her when I met her poor thing ( seems like a few years ago for goodness sakes what a summer it has been ) I have never had a meal there can you believe that ? Always say " some day " and never quite get there. It's always been Mama Melrose or the place opposite Jedi Training, can't remember the name. They have a delicious turkey sandwich over there.

She was doing so much better that day! You should give it a try someday, I've always had great meals there. But I do love Mama Melrose and 50's Prime Time too so it's hard for me to pick between the three at HS.

Thank God for volunteers to help those dogs.

I just wish I could have done more but I was too busy at work to take time off to help.

So when are you and Mom coming down ? I see your ticker but no calendar in front of me ...sorry if you already discussed your plans, I may have missed it somewhere. Say " Hi! " to Jim for me

Sent you an e-mail.

I cannot believe I missed your update with the LMA show! I check over here every once in a while. I must have been zoned out or something!

No worries, I've been so far behind on everyone's it's not even funny.

Love the latest update! Interesting about the Sci Fi experience. You had an awesome waiter for sure! Dan and I had two really bad experiences in a row and said we'd never go back, but several years have passed and we may just have to try it again.

I've eaten there three times so far and it's been great every time. I sounds like the place is hit or miss though as it gets really mixed reviews here on the DIS.

I love your backpack!! That is just the cutest thing! Looks like you did okay in the shopping arena. Good for you! Sometimes I find more than I need to buy and other times it seems I'm searching and searching just to get SOMETHING! Can't go home empty handed, right?

I don't think I've ever had trouble finding something at WDW! I do love the backpack, used it on the puppy mill day to take some extra cloths in case I needed to change.

So glad to hear all the little puppies got adopted! I hate when I hear about puppy mills. They don't always have such happy endings. What a loooong day for you and all the others working. But what a great reward.

It was definitely a sad situation but in the end it turned out great for all those babies.

We leave in 7 days for our trip. Dan has been working 14 & 16 hours days for months now and really needs this time away. Too bad you won't be there at the same time as I would love to meet you and your mom. Maybe one of these days, since you're there so often!

Have a great day!

You are actually there right now! I'm so jealous. I've got about 5 or 6 friends there right now and I want to be there so badly!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Hi Ariana, New computer was delivered. I am just going through the old one printing off things I need and thought I'd pop in here to say hi. Once I get it all set up, I'll answer your email . Not even sure where this new one will go, the cabinet I have everything in now may not work as the new monitor is bigger. That may be a good thing though now that the eyes are older

 

[Pluto0809]

Hi Ariana, New computer was delivered. I am just going through the old one printing off things I need and thought I'd pop in here to say hi. Once I get it all set up, I'll answer your email . Not even sure where this new one will go, the cabinet I have everything in now may not work as the new monitor is bigger. That may be a good thing though now that the eyes are older

Glad you got your new computer! Working on an update to this one but I got interrupted by a meeting. I also did a massive update on my other TR and actually finished it!

 

[Pluto0809]

I actually finished my other TR so I will now have some more time to concentrate on this one. Mom and I leave in 30 days for the next trip so hopefully I'll be able to finish this one before then.

I have a total of three photos for this update as we were on the Keys to the Kingdom tour for most of the morning and no pictures were allowed. This entire update will be talking about the KTTK tour and what we learned on it. There may be some spoilers for some of the magical stuff in MK so if you don’t want to hear all about it, just skip over this update.

I can’t remember what time we got up this day but I know it was early as our KTTK tour started at 8:30. We grabbed our usual breakfast and caught a bus to MK. We had no trouble getting an early bus because it was also EMH at MK that morning. I was a little disappointed that we were not going to be getting in the park before all the crowds but the park hours came out very late for February and I already had our schedule in place.

The storm the night before had brought a change to the weather and it was quite chilly and very, very windy.



We checked in for our tour at the Chamber of Commerce which is to the left of guest relations.





They advised us to use the restroom before our tour so we did that quickly and then it was time to start. I’m not going to mention our tour guides name because Mom and I were not very impressed with her. She tended to ramble a lot and she also lost track of where she was and repeated herself some.

We started our tour on Main Street and it was quite loud as EMHs were already started. We had to pause more than once as we wandered down Main Street when the Trolley Show got too loud. Our guide started by telling us all about how Main Street was designed like a show. If you think about it, you can’t see the castle till after you enter under the train station. The Train station acts as the curtain and you see posters for upcoming attractions in the tunnel which are your previews. As you enter Main Street, the credits for the show are listed on each of the windows. Our guide spent some time talking about some of the windows. The very first one you see is Walt’s name and it’s actually on the front of the Train Station before you even enter the park. Roy’s name is also very large and one of the first names you see. Every name on every window has some significance to the history of WDW.

We headed down the alley between the Confectionary and the glass store and listened to the dance and music lessons taking place in the upstairs rooms. Our guide spent time telling us about the four keys that each CM follows while doing their jobs, Safety, Curtesy, Show and Efficiency.

We continued to walk down Main Street and she told us about more of the windows. Walt actually has a second window above the ice cream shop that faces the castle. He gets to say hello and goodbye to the guests each day.

Next we headed into Adventureland and stopped at the seating area across from Aloha Isle. She pointed out some carvings in the rocks there that were made by the native inhabitants of the island the Robinson’s were shipwrecked on. I’ve walked by those benches more times than I can count and have never noticed the carvings.

We headed down to ride the Jungle Cruise next. We got a boat to ourselves and our tour guide took over the commentary for the ride. We learned that the boats are on a track and that the waterway was actually very shallow. The water is definitely not as gross as it looks, it’s just dyed brown in order to hide the tracks and keep up the illusion that the captain is actually steering. She pointed out the hidden Mickey on the side of the airplane and also told us that the other half of the plane is in the Casablanca scene in the Great Movie Ride in Hollywood Studios. The Hippos that you see in the water are one of the few things at WDW that are not complete. They have no bottoms to them and the staff call the “Hippobottomuses”. You don’t realize when you are on this ride how close to Main Street you actually are. There is a hidden branch off the main waterway that leads to the backstage area right behind Casey’s. That’s how they get the boats on and off the water to do repairs. Finally, when you exit the ride, check out the sides of the crates for some little holes. There are hidden sensors in those crates that count the number of people that exit the ride each day.

We moved on through Adventureland where she talked a little bit about Pirates. She talked about how it was not one of the original rides at MK but so many people who were familiar with the Disneyland version asked about it, they decided to add the ride. But there was not enough room in Adventureland so they ended up building the ride in two separate buildings. When you go down the small hill you are actually going under the train tracks into the second building. She also talked some about the Animatronics in the ride. She said that there were only so many faces in the parks and you can find repeats if you look. In the room where they are auctioning off the women, check out the last lady in line. She is quite a bit older than the other women and she has the same exact face as the Pirate with an eye patch who is sitting on the wall above the boats. Those two also share the same face with the Grandma sitting in an arm chair in the Ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion.

After a quick bathroom break it was time to head backstage! We headed back through the gates where the parades start next to Pecos Bills. The first thing she pointed out to us was the Sight Line. This is a line draw across the road and it indicates where the parade performers go on “stage”. Once they cross that line, they can be seen by the guests and must be in character.

As we walked, she pointed out the two buildings for Pirates and also talked about the color the backstage buildings were painted. It is called “go away green” because it is meant to blend in with the surrounding trees so that guests in the park do not notice the buildings. She also showed us the garbage shoots where the custodians emptied the garbage and it is sucked away through tubes.

As we approached the parade float building we noticed that they were rehearsing for the new parade! We saw the girls playing the three fairies for the Maleficent float learning how to use the Segway-like vehicles that make them appear to float down the street. They had to control the vehicles while dancing at the same time. We also saw the new Tangled float drive by and then a little later a full cast rehearsal for the Maleficent float. Some of the performers were in costume while others were not.

We went into the huge building where they house the parade floats. Right at the entrance were the old floats from the 3 o’clock parade. Well I should say what was left of the floats as they were in the process of being dismantled. We spent a little time watching them test the lights on the MSEP floats. This is done every day to replace burned out bulbs.

We also saw the Fronterland Ho-Down coming and going. It was interesting to see some of the characters without their heads on! Oh and finally we saw the Move it Shake it parade headed towards the backstage Main Street area.

Next she led us into Liberty Square and told us a little bit about the tree there. It was actually transplanted from the All Star Resort area when they built those resorts. Everyone thought it was a magnificent tree and didn’t want to see it cut down. There are 13 lanterns hanging on the tree which represent the 13 original colonies.

Lunch was next at Columbia Harbour House although it was still very early I think only 10:30 am. I guess that’s one of the disadvantages of being on the first tour. We had to pick our food that morning before we started the tour and it was waiting for us in an upstairs room. We were running a little late and the food had sat there a bit and was kind of cold. I think I got the chicken and fish plate and Mom the shrimp plate but I’m not quite sure as I have no pictures. I didn’t want to get in trouble for having my camera out when we were told no pictures! Oh and I do have some more pictures for you that I took after I got home. At lunch we were given the special pin you got for going on the tour. Here’s a picture along with my nametag from the tour.



And a closer picture of the pin.



After lunch we headed to the Haunted Mansion. Our guide took us to the side and spent a great deal of time talking about the HM before we rode. She told us that each Disney Park around the world has a HM and it’s in a different land in each park. She talked about one park, I think the Hong Kong one, where they created a whole new land just so the HM was in a different land than the other parks. When you are in the very first room before entering the stretching room watch the portrait of Master Gracey closely. As it turns to skeleton, watch right between his eyes and you will see a hidden Jack Skellington. She also talked about the design of the HM. It was actually done by two different people. I don’t remember names at this point but the first half was done with a much darker vision while the second half was done with a happier, upbeat vision. They meshed the two designs together to create the HM as it is today.

She also spent a lot of time on the ballroom scene. She talked about the hidden Mickey that is made out of the plates. It was not a part of the original design so it is not always there. It’s kind of a cat and mouse game between the CMs that run the ride and the higher up managers who want the ride to be as it was originally created. She also told us the secret of the ghost figures in that scene. If you look really hard, you will just be able to see large plates of glass in-between the big pillars in that room. The animatronics are actually under the area where the ride vehicles pass and what you see is a reflection on those sheets of glass.

Once she told us all about the ride, we entered through the chicken exit (which was just as well themed as the rest of the ride) and got to ride to see everything she had just discussed.

Then we headed back to Liberty Square for some more time there. She pointed out the two lanterns that represented the lanterns Paul Revere saw. She also showed us the rifles in the window which indicated that the resident of the house was willing to fight for the revolutionaries. She also mentioned the yellow pavement that runs down the middle of the street. This represents the constant stream of waste that would have existed at that time thanks to chamber pots and other stuff emptied out windows.

We also talked about the Christmas Shop. The building is actually representative of three different homes. The first section was the Kepple home. If you know anything about Walt you will know that was his father’s name. The middle section belongs to a family of Woodworkers. And the last section across from Sleepy Hollow? Why that is Ichabod Crane’s house.

We headed back out by Crystal Palace and she had us take a good look at the restaurant. It’s actually in both Adventureland and Main Street. That is why the restaurant looks so different on each side of the doors. On the side towards Main Street, there is an inviting, wide open wrap around porch. On the Adventureland side, it’s all closed in to protect the guests from the wild animals in the jungle.

We headed back stage again right next to the Baby Care Center and we immediately got to see one of the Hippobottomuses out of the water. The guide was right about that, it was only half a Hippo. We also got to see some of the Main Street vehicles including the double decker bus. I haven’t seen that vehicle out since I was a kid. Anyone else seen it out lately?

It was then time to head to the one thing I really was looking forward too, the Utilidors! We headed down in and I was seriously not impressed. They were very utilitarian and smelled horribly like garbage and exhaust. Garbage from the garbage chutes and exhaust from the vehicles that are driven down there. I actually was feeling a little nauseous by the time we exited and could not imagine spending a huge amount of time down there. We did spend a good half an hour walking around and our guide did talk a lot about Walt’s history. I’m afraid I was losing interest at this point since I had just finished Walt’s biography and knew most of the stuff she was talking about. Plus I was seriously distracted by the huge wall of pins they have down there. The most exciting part to me was the huge pin room where the CMs go to get new pins for their lanyards. I so wanted a few minutes (or maybe a bit longer) to browse through that room!

We exited out of the Utilidors and that was basically the end of the tour. We turned in our ear pieces right at 1:30 pm which was when the tour was supposed to end. Overall I really enjoyed the tour although Mom and I both agreed we wished the guide was a little better. Hope that long update with no pictures didn’t bore you too much. Lots of pictures coming up, I promise!

Up Next: A Magical Time with the Big Cheese

 

[missangelalexis]

This was so interesting, thanks for sharing! I feel like this is a tour I would love to experience one day. I would've loved to see all the parade stuff! I'm sorry the guide wasn't as up to par though

 

[marDgreen88]

Thanks for talking about the tour in such detail! I've read several updates about this tour before, but I learned some new stuff thanks to your update! Sorry you didn't have the greatest guide though.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for sharing. I would love to do that tour at some stage. It just hasn't been possible on the previous trips because DS isn't 16 (yet).

Pity about the Utilidors. That's what I would love to see.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Great update! I took the KTTK tour a year ago, and heard a lot of the same facts you did. We only got to ride HM though, as Jungle Cruise was being refurbished then. We also had the opposite problem with our food, as it wasn't ready yet so we sat there for 10 minutes waiting while our guide panicked as we would be behind schedule.

Sorry you didn't like your guide much

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Love love love Keys to the Kingdom, but aww boo that you didn't get in before the crowds. That's one of the cool perks I think.

Wow, you saw a lot of cool stuff backstage.

Interesting as you're the second one I've read about that denied all pictures. When I did it, it was just for backstage. Weird. Maybe they're cracking down.

You took some great notes Arianna, or you have a great memory. Either way, well done. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect, but I was so giddy in the Utilidors (no not from the fumes). Just the idea of them and being in them was just a treat to me. Loved this tour.

 

[KatMark]

I am too far behind to comment much (and have to get my TR done by Monday since we leave next Friday).

Looks like you had fun at Sci Fi. How did mom like the Shrimp Pasta? It was awful when I had it and they took it off my bill. From now on, only burgers for us.

I'm sorry you didn't have a better guide for the KTTK tour. Ours was fabulous; I'd do it again, but I'm afraid we'd be disappointed after our first experience since she was so great.

 

[Pluto0809]

This was so interesting, thanks for sharing! I feel like this is a tour I would love to experience one day. I would've loved to see all the parade stuff! I'm sorry the guide wasn't as up to par though

I think anyone who is an avid Disney lover would really enjoy this tour! Even though I did know some of the stuff the guide talked about there was still some new stuff. And of course there was way more than I wrote about. That was just the stuff I remembered!

Thanks for talking about the tour in such detail! I've read several updates about this tour before, but I learned some new stuff thanks to your update! Sorry you didn't have the greatest guide though.

And there was tons more that the guide talked about, there was no way I could remember it all!

Thanks for sharing. I would love to do that tour at some stage. It just hasn't been possible on the previous trips because DS isn't 16 (yet).

I would definitely take the tour once he turns 16!

Pity about the Utilidors. That's what I would love to see.

I had read they were kind of boring and drab but of course I still wanted to see them. If they hadn't smelled so bad I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Great update! I took the KTTK tour a year ago, and heard a lot of the same facts you did. We only got to ride HM though, as Jungle Cruise was being refurbished then. We also had the opposite problem with our food, as it wasn't ready yet so we sat there for 10 minutes waiting while our guide panicked as we would be behind schedule.

That was a bummer you didn't get to ride Jungle Cruise. I'm surprised they didn't sub a different ride. I remember reading a TR where the group went in the Tiki Room when the Jungle Cruise was closed.

Sorry you didn't like your guide much

She wasn't totally awful but she rambled so much it just got a little frustrating at times.

Love love love Keys to the Kingdom, but aww boo that you didn't get in before the crowds. That's one of the cool perks I think.

I was really bummed about that. I have no idea what happened last year with the February hours but they came out well past the 180 day mark so I had to make all of our plans and ADRs blindly.

Wow, you saw a lot of cool stuff backstage.

We did, that was my favorite part of the whole trip! I deliberately skipped the new parade when I was there in May so that Mom and I can watch it together next month. We are both excited to see the finished product!

Interesting as you're the second one I've read about that denied all pictures. When I did it, it was just for backstage. Weird. Maybe they're cracking down.

Yeah, I'm not sure why we weren't allowed to take pictures on stage. Maybe it's just easier for them to police it if they say no photography for the whole thing.

You took some great notes Arianna, or you have a great memory. Either way, well done. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect, but I was so giddy in the Utilidors (no not from the fumes). Just the idea of them and being in them was just a treat to me. Loved this tour.

I wrote down a lot of the stuff after the tour but believe me there was a lot more info than that!

I am too far behind to comment much (and have to get my TR done by Monday since we leave next Friday).

Whoo Hoo you are so close to your trip! I saw that you finished your TR over the weekend, now I need to get there and get caught up!

Looks like you had fun at Sci Fi. How did mom like the Shrimp Pasta? It was awful when I had it and they took it off my bill. From now on, only burgers for us.

She loved it and ate every bite. Maybe you just had an off night? My burger was very good and I'll probably stick with that too.

I'm sorry you didn't have a better guide for the KTTK tour. Ours was fabulous; I'd do it again, but I'm afraid we'd be disappointed after our first experience since she was so great.

I remember reading about your tour guide and was hoping we had the same one. I'm pretty sure it wasn't though!

 

[Pluto0809]

When we finished the tour, Mom said she was a little hungry and wanted to get a Dole Whip. But first I had a very special FP+ I wanted to use. I had three for the day since you have to make all three but the other two were during our tour and of course we didn’t use them. When Jim and I were there in October, we tried to meet talking Mickey but the line was always really long. So I didn’t want to miss him this time. The FP+ was for 1:00 – 2:00 so we headed straight there after the tour.

We only had a few families in front of us but I’m glad we did so we could watch the interaction. It was one of the coolest things ever to hear him talking! Even Mom who is pretty reserved was grinning ear to ear. Want proof? Let’s take a look at some pictures!







Yep, grinning like a couple of kids!

Mickey went and got some cards and did a magic trick for us. He asked me to pick a card and show it to the camera while he looked away.



Then he told me to look deep into his eyes….



And he guessed that my card was the queen of hearts!



Then it was Mom’s turn.



Mom thinks the next picture is silly but it’s one of my favorites from the trip. This is the shot that the PP photographer got when Mickey told Mom to look deeply into his eyes.



Well it turned out that Mom got the queen of hearts too and all the cards were the same! Then we posed for some shots with Mickey.





All and all quite the wonderful, magical experience and I am so glad I insisted we go see him!

Next on the agenda was a snack since Mom was hungry. I’m not a fan of Dole Whips (I know, sacrilege, right?) so we stopped in the confectionary and I picked up a cupcake.



Then we headed back into Adventureland and Mom got her Dole Whip. Looks like she got orange and pineapple.



We sat in the little alcove next to Aloha Isle and enjoyed our snacks. I swear even when the park is crowded there is no one sitting in that little area. We were pretty much done with MK for the day so we decided to head out via the Emporium as there were a few things we wanted to buy. As we were headed that way though we realized that the Move it Shake it party was about to start. Since we just saw the floats backstage, we decided to sit on the curb on Main Street and watch.



Do you see the jackets on those CMs? I wasn’t kidding when I said it was chilly that day. Oh, and you will notice that there were no stilt walkers in the parade either because of how windy it was.













We didn’t walk down to the hub to join in the dancing but instead headed into the Emporium to do our shopping.

I can’t remember at this point what Mom bought but I got quite a few things. I got a sweatshirt.





Awesome thing about the sweatshirt? It has pockets! I absolutely love it and can’t wait till it gets cool again so I can wear it.

I also got a frame. If you’ve read my other TRs you will know that I buy a frame every trip. I have a whole shelf at work of pictures from my Disney trips. I used one of the ones from the first day at HS for this trip.



I got a pack of pins because I was really hoping to get the Pluto one. I was very lucky this time and actually did get him!





Funny thing is though, I actually traded for the Oliver and Co. pin earlier in the week.

Lastly I got this cute Mickey head key chain for my car key.



I will say I was a little disappointed with it. It’s still on my car key but it’s gotten pretty chipped up so it isn’t the best quality.

Shopping done, we headed out and on to our next destination.

Up Next: How the Heck Do We Get to Epcot?