You can spit on Space Mountain from here! An April '13 TR UPDATED 10/19 p. 28

[wdwgirl03]

I'm glad you're still keeping up your trip report. If you think you've been taking a long time, don't check the dates on mine! Kind of lost some motivation there when I got to thinking too much about how long it'll be until we go again. So I sat down and did some calculations to see if we can try for DVC next time, which we can, so maybe I'll be a bit more motivated this week.

Bummer about the DIS meet. It does seem like that sort of thing falls apart a lot. People end up overscheduling, I think.

We're likely going during the Flower and Garden Festival next time, so loving your pictures of that.

Oooh that would be exciting if you get to try a DVC resort! You can't go wrong with any of them!

Yeah, it was disappointing but oh well.

YAY, possibly DVC and the Flower and Garden Festival? That should be awesome!

Hi Sarah! I was excited to see that VB is coming out with the Disney designs. I didn't know it wasn't until later this year. I agree, we'll likely see a whole lot of those bags at Disney parks.

I'm not a fan of the magic bands concept either. I'll reserve judgment until I know more but I would prefer to keep it old school! Which reminds me, you had to trade in your old AP for the new cards. I want to keep my current AP!!! Not sure how that works since my current AP is used at DLR too so I guess I'll see in August.

Great job with the pop quiz at the Seas!! I would have to hide my certificate since I don't wish to be humiliated if anyone saw my score. If the questions are harder than do fish have gills or lungs I may have to pass.

I'm glad you are still updated and sharing your TR! I love seeing your photos from the top of the world lounge at BLT. Very nice!

I still think they should have made them available for purchase during the Flower and Garden Festival but I guess looking back it was good they weren't-I bought way too many souvenirs. Can't wait for them to come out!

I wish they would keep it old school too. LOL. Too many changes.

haha thank you! I wish I could remember some of the questions but dang they were hard!

Glad you liked the pictures from Top of the World!

Yay, so happy your pics are back so I can read the update!

So...I take it you don't like butterflies?? From the podcasts I was listening to about F&G it sounds like there weren't many butterflies to be found anyway, so I'm glad you were able to see the topiaries without running into any!

Sorry the DIS meet didn't work out. I'm going to be there the same time as a few other DISers I have been following for awhile when we go in October, and I hope I'm brave enough to meet up! I get so nervous about stuff like that sometimes.

What a view!! Absolutely gorgeous. What a way to end the night.

Well, I shouldn't say I don't like butterflies. It's more a fear that they'll land on me. For some reason that just creeps me out. As long as they stay away from me I'm good.

I get kind of nervous before DIS meets too. I like meeting new people but I'm just shy. Hopefully your meet works out!

The view was pretty awesome, wasn't it?? It was definitely a treat getting to see that every night.

For me, I immediately think of you when I come across anything Vera Bradley! I still remember how you wrote about it on your PTRs and such, and that was really the first time I really heard a lot about it. Then I remember how I was able to find you that year we met up just because I recognized your bag!

I'm not that interested in the Magic Band things either. I already get a watch tan; I don't want to get another tan! Maybe once I know more about it, my opinion might change.

Aww, it stinks that you weren't able to have that planned DIS meet! Rain is such a nuisance when it ruins plans like that! But thankfully, your view helped make up for that!

haha yes, I do remember you saying how you were able to recognize me because of my bag!

I agree, maybe once the bands are out and we get to experience them they'll turn out to be really cool. We'll have to wait and see!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi everyone! Once again I apologize for the delay in between updates. This week summer school started for me so I've been busy with that. So far it's going well and this week went surprisingly fast.

Before I get going on this update I just had to say 6 months until Disney World!!! Yippee! We can make our ADRs on Sunday. Really the only one I want is Be Our Guest, though according to Dad (he's been checking for availability after Christmas) it's not looking to promising. Sad! I guess we'll just have to wait and see...otherwise I am thinking about Tony's instead. We haven't been there in a couple years. I can't wait to be there to see the decorations-though there's still a possibility I'll be back before December. I did ask Emma to check for room availability in August. So again, we'll see what happens! It would be nice to get my annual pass again...

Now onto the update!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

This day was going to be our Epcot day! Even though we had been to Epcot on the trip, we needed to go in the morning so we could visit Soarin and also try out the new Test Track! Emma had off for the day (so she could come to our dinner at the Prime Time Café that evening). The plan was to meet her over at Epcot. After a quick breakfast we headed over to the Contemporary to hop on the monorail over to the TTC.

Good morning, Contemporary!




See that lady in the picture? She was with her husband and young son. They were rushing to get onto the monorail but then all of a sudden, they rushed off. I think they forgot where they were going or something-or suddenly realized they could walk to the Magic Kingdom instead of riding the monorail. It was definitely interesting.

Anyway...

Within a couple minutes we arrived at the TTC! The Iron Man-o-rail was on the express monorail line.



I really loved staying at BLT and getting to take the monorail over to Epcot. I always enjoy the loop around the park before pulling into the station-the mini tour of Epcot is so exciting! It also gave us a different perspective of the Flower and Garden Festival. I posted this picture on Instagram:



I texted Emma to see where she was. I think she got there a little after we did. Because Dad and I had our new APs we had to go to different turnstiles since Emma couldn't use the new ones.

While we waited I took a couple more pictures of the front entrance display. Love it!


Once again they were saying there was a chance of rain for that day. It was cloudy when we got there but as we were waiting, I thought maybe the rain/clouds would stay away because for a couple minutes there was blue sky!



Yeah, that didn't last. It ended up being pretty cloudy for most of the day. Boo!

When the park opened, our first stop was Soarin! We ended up getting fastpasses so we could head over to Test Track before the line got too long. Usually we do single riders there, but because of the refurbishment I sort of wanted to experience the whole thing. Apparently most of the people there had the same idea of doing Test Track first because there were a ton of people already there. But, we were going to wait anyway.





I have to say the new theming and displays in the queue are interesting. Some of them are just plain weird looking. Am I the only one who feels that way?!



So then we're inside after waiting maybe 15 minutes or so and an announcement comes on, basically saying that there's inclement weather in the area and the ride could be stopped at any time. Of course. Though somehow that would be fitting, since the very first time we ever rode Test Track it broke down. Thankfully, the weather decided to cooperate and we were able to make it through without it shutting down.

It was kind of cool getting to design your own car as part of the preshow. Though I have to admit I had no clue what I was doing. So I don't think my car was very exciting. LOL.



Then it was time to ride!






OK, so I hope nobody hates me for saying this but new Test Track is kind of stupid. Yeah, I know the ride is still the same but I just don't care for the new Tron-like theming. I don't get it. I miss the industrial feel of the original version. I do think all of the interactive stuff after the ride is pretty cool and I can see people having fun with that. We tried one of the little racing games but I don't think our card was working. Oh well.

Here's our ride photo. Yep, not impressed.


By the time we got out of Test Track it was just about time to use our Soarin fastpasses. We started heading over toward the Land pavilion. I stopped for a picture in front of all the flowers.

Do you see what I mean about them not looking as pretty without the sun? The clouds needed to just go away.





I guess I shouldn't complain too much, seeing as it wasn't raining. Plus we were about to ride Soarin, which never disappoints!



Gotta love that queue area!

And we're cleared for takeoff!


As usual Soarin was amazing. That ride just makes me happy and I love it when people clap at the end. I mean, seriously, is there any other ride in Disney World where people clap at the end?! Not that I can think of! So awesome.

After our flight we were getting hungry so we decided to get some food from Sunshine Seasons!


up next: More Epcot

 

[marDgreen88]

I love the ride into Epcot from the monorail as well. It's always so exciting! Gotta love Soarin'! One of the best!

 

[FancyNancy]

Yup that's pretty much how my Epcot pics look!

 

[peachmermaid]

Good thing I rode test track before it got refurbed...sounds lame. I liked the old one just fine, thanks. Not that I'd ride it again, but I'm just saying.

Soarin on the other hand, I could ride that all day long. The land pavilion as a whole just makes me happy. Great shot of the balloons!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I too love the ride around at Epcot when you're on the Monorail. It's kind of like at Disneyland.

I'm inclined to agree Sarah. To be honest, I was never a huge TT fan, and the new design, while somewhat cool looking, doesn't make much sense to me. I haven't done the regular queue though. Like before it was a bunch of "tests". Of course the fact that it seems to be broken more than not doesn't help.

OMG I love that everyone claps at the end of Soarin'. It has happened every time I've ridden. I always talk to people about that, so it's funny that you said that. I also LOVE the simultaneous "clicks" of the seatbelt release. It's like part of the experience for me now.

 

[RachelNinja]

I tell myself that I will eventually get to try Be Our Guest, but because they have changed so many menus lately and rid of things I love, I'm hoping they don't get rid of the shrimp and scallops dish that I REALLY want to try before I get there! Gotta go during some off season or something, haha. Too bad we're not locals checking for ADRs every single day!

I agree with you that the new Test Track is stupid! It's really not as fun as the old one. I still like the thrill of the track outside, but it has now been bumped down from being in my list of top 3 favorite rides! Guess it really goes to show that theming makes a HUGE difference!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I love the ride into Epcot from the monorail as well. It's always so exciting! Gotta love Soarin'! One of the best!

Soarin is definitely one of the best attractions. That is one ride that I am glad they stole from Disneyland. haha

Yup that's pretty much how my Epcot pics look!

Aww, bummer! I did get some better ones on Saturday when the sun was shining.

Good thing I rode test track before it got refurbed...sounds lame. I liked the old one just fine, thanks. Not that I'd ride it again, but I'm just saying.

Soarin on the other hand, I could ride that all day long. The land pavilion as a whole just makes me happy. Great shot of the balloons!

It is lame. I just don't get the new theming at all. The old one was a lot better but that's just my opinion.

Me too! That reminds me of one time after we rode Soarin, I heard this one guy say how he wanted to keep riding it. Love it!

I too love the ride around at Epcot when you're on the Monorail. It's kind of like at Disneyland.

I'm inclined to agree Sarah. To be honest, I was never a huge TT fan, and the new design, while somewhat cool looking, doesn't make much sense to me. I haven't done the regular queue though. Like before it was a bunch of "tests". Of course the fact that it seems to be broken more than not doesn't help.

OMG I love that everyone claps at the end of Soarin'. It has happened every time I've ridden. I always talk to people about that, so it's funny that you said that. I also LOVE the simultaneous "clicks" of the seatbelt release. It's like part of the experience for me now.

You're right, it is kind of like the Disneyland one.

OK, I'm glad that I'm not the only one impressed with the new Test Track! I really liked the old preshow where they told you about the different tests. Ugh, why did they have to go and change it?

hahaha oh yes, the simultaneous clicking of the seatbelts. That's pretty awesome too. Oh man, now I want to go ride Soarin!

I tell myself that I will eventually get to try Be Our Guest, but because they have changed so many menus lately and rid of things I love, I'm hoping they don't get rid of the shrimp and scallops dish that I REALLY want to try before I get there! Gotta go during some off season or something, haha. Too bad we're not locals checking for ADRs every single day!

I agree with you that the new Test Track is stupid! It's really not as fun as the old one. I still like the thrill of the track outside, but it has now been bumped down from being in my list of top 3 favorite rides! Guess it really goes to show that theming makes a HUGE difference!

Yeah, apparently they already changed the menu at Be Our Guest, so who knows if we'll end up actually keeping the ADR we got. That's what happens when you're a picky eater like me. Hopefully there's something good when we go though.

No it isn't! It's almost too futuristic for me. I don't know.

 

[emmysmommy]

You are doing great with your updates....at least you have an excuse for any delays with summer classes - me not so much!

I've only done single rider for TT so I've not designed my car but it sounds like Sum of all Thrills in Innoventions where you design your own roller coaster. The concept is good but I'm just there for the ride. Any I agree, the new design where they went to a Tron look is not really an improvement for me.

I love Soarin' but not the lines! It must be worth the wait though to get a round of applause every time the "gliders" land. Disney did such a great job with that technology.

Despite being a cloudy day, your photos with the flowers are still lovely!

One thought for BOG dinner... not sure how many days you will be at WDW in December but if you are doing your 180+10 ADRs you may try for later in your trip so you have a better chance of getting a time slot. (I know everyone will have that strategy!) I was able to get a dinner time within 45 days of our next trip after incessantly checking.

 

[wisblue]

I've only done single rider for TT so I've not designed my car but it sounds like Sum of all Thrills in Innoventions where you design your own roller coaster. The concept is good but I'm just there for the ride. Any I agree, the new design where they went to a Tron look is not really an improvement for me.

The car design at TT isn't like Sum of All Thrills. On SOAT, your design directly affects your ride experience as the simulator takes you through what you designed.

At TT the ride experience is not affected at all by the design, but the idea is that the car you designed is being tested as it goes through the ride.

When all is said and done, the car design is more of a way to create a diversion in the line.

 

[wdwgirl03]

You are doing great with your updates....at least you have an excuse for any delays with summer classes - me not so much!

I've only done single rider for TT so I've not designed my car but it sounds like Sum of all Thrills in Innoventions where you design your own roller coaster. The concept is good but I'm just there for the ride. Any I agree, the new design where they went to a Tron look is not really an improvement for me.

I love Soarin' but not the lines! It must be worth the wait though to get a round of applause every time the "gliders" land. Disney did such a great job with that technology.

Despite being a cloudy day, your photos with the flowers are still lovely!

One thought for BOG dinner... not sure how many days you will be at WDW in December but if you are doing your 180+10 ADRs you may try for later in your trip so you have a better chance of getting a time slot. (I know everyone will have that strategy!) I was able to get a dinner time within 45 days of our next trip after incessantly checking.

haha, thanks. I wish I could update this TR a little faster. When I first started doing TRs I would update them every other day! I am so slow now. Oh well. Thanks for sticking around!

Yeah, it is a little like Sum of All Thrills but like my dad said, your design doesn't affect the ride at all. Basically your car just gets compared to a different car (or something like that...). I don't like it.

I agree about the lines. That's why we always like to get there first thing in the morning to grab our fastpasses, or just ride it right away (and get FPs for a second ride!).

Thank you. I promise I will have some even better F&GF pictures from our final day.

We did end up getting a ADR for Be Our Guest! It's a little later than we normally eat but that's OK.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great 4th of July yesterday! I was in Madison Friday evening (where we got to see some fireworks) and spent a little bit of yesterday morning there too-I had a lot of fun at the Madison zoo. Then we went to one of my aunt's houses for a barbecue and ended the day with the local fireworks. It was a pretty good day and the weather here could not have been more perfect (last year it was SO hot here...actually, we went to see Brave that day, haha!). I have the day off from summer school so I can get another update done!

Also, as a sidenote, does anyone notice anything new in my signature???

Thursday, April 4, 2013 cont'd (part 2)

When we went to Sunshine Seasons, we got a breakfast platter to split between the 3 of us (we all ate different things). I feel like we might've gotten some other stuff too but I can't remember what. But regardless, everything was good! After our food, it was time to explore Epcot some more.



We started to make our way over to World Showcase. On the way there we stopped to check out the Monsters University topiaries.





So if you have not yet seen Monsters University, you need to see it! The movie was really cute and pretty funny. I think part of why I like it is because Monsters University has the same initials as my school (Marquette!) so in the movie when they say "Go MU! Go MU!" I was like heck yes Go MU! Yes, I am a nerd. Also, if you go make sure you stay through the credits...there might be a little something at the very end...

Our first stop in World Showcase was Mexico!


I think I've mentioned this in other TRs but I really like the feel of the Mexico pavilion. The whole indoor marketplace is so cool.

Since we were there, we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour.






Our next stop was Norway, where we rode the Maelstrom.


Both of those boat rides are so simple yet fun. Back outside the pavilion, I stopped for a random picture. I think on my next trip I need to try to get a picture in each country again. Emma and I did that a few years ago and it was kind of cool.



There were a couple more F&GF merchandise stands, so we stopped to look at one of them. I spotted these adorable Minnie ears.



I love how Minnie's bow is actually two ladybugs! So cute, but I didn't get them. Instead I just took a picture modeling their cuteness.

They also had these little garden stakes.


Emma spotted this iPhone case with the Flower and Garden Festival logo on it. No joke, she said, "I should get this just because it says it's limited edition." Or something along those lines. So she ended up buying it. Not gonna lie, I am a little jealous of that purchase. I am one of the uncool people who does not have a smartphone/iPhone. Part of me wants an iPhone just so I can get a fun Disney case for it!

As we continued walking around World Showcase, I had to make a stop in Germany to get a treat from the caramel store! I love caramel, so everything in there looks really good to me. But I know a lot of people on the DIS raved about the chewy caramel bar. I decided I should go ahead and take some DISer advice and try it!



I have to say, the chewy caramel bar was pretty good! There was a little bit of a crust on the bottom which I wasn't expecting. But it definitely was a good choice. I don't think you can go wrong with anything in there.

We also admired some more of the topiaries and displays.






The Lady and the Tramp topiaries in Italy are always adorable.


Lotso (who was out front at the main entrance display a couple years ago) was near the American Adventure.



We stopped at the quick service restaurant here so Emma could get something to eat. Apparently on her CP she must try some different things because she said the chicken sandwich there was really good. It must be nice to just eat Disney food all the time (actually I don't know if she eats Disney food all the time...but I do envy her for getting to go to the parks whenever she wants to).

up next: More World Showcase

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

YAY on new trip!!

OK, so I'm already thoroughly impressed with your ability to "go left' into World Showcase. To date I have yet to master that skill. It is a goal of mine though.

Yay Maelstrom., and a Very Harpy 25th birthday to it!

 

[dawnbu40]

Beautiful pics of the topiaries

I bought the Mickey and Minnie yard stakes on our trip. By that time they were half off too

for another trip

 

[FancyNancy]

Ahhhh you are going for Christmas I am so jealous! I'm helping a friend plan her first trip and they are going for Christmas too! I just made her ADR's for her the other day.
My cousin and his wife actually got married at the Wisconsin Zoo

 

[peachmermaid]

I loved those MU topiaries! So cute & fun.

If you can believe it, I've never had anything from Germany outside of the biergarten. I need to try something there. Top faves of yours?

 

[beachmama3]

Hi!! Joining in after seeing your post on the August board! Loving your TR so far- I am almost through reading it. Your camera takes amazing pics!

What do you teach? (Sorry if you have answered that a million times, I didn't read through all the comments!) I teach 6th grade Literacy, so most of our trips are school breaks too. We've gone a few times in Aug but this year we also get to go in November. I bought APs so that means I am going for our spring break TOO!! I am loving your F&G pictures, can't wait to see it.

 

[wdwgirl03]

YAY on new trip!!

OK, so I'm already thoroughly impressed with your ability to "go left' into World Showcase. To date I have yet to master that skill. It is a goal of mine though.

Yay Maelstrom., and a Very Harpy 25th birthday to it!

Yes, it is very exciting!

haha, thanks. It seems like we kind of mix it up by going left or right into World Showcase. You should try going left sometime.

Happy birthday to Maelstrom! Also happy 25th birthday to the Grand Floridian! I saw that that was this week too.

Beautiful pics of the topiaries

I bought the Mickey and Minnie yard stakes on our trip. By that time they were half off too

for another trip

Thank you.

Aww, fun! That's awesome you got such a great deal on them too. They are very cute.

You guys have your Disneyland trip coming up soon too. That is very exciting! I'm hoping to go back there at the end of next year because I want to go to the Rose Parade again.

Ahhhh you are going for Christmas I am so jealous! I'm helping a friend plan her first trip and they are going for Christmas too! I just made her ADR's for her the other day.
My cousin and his wife actually got married at the Wisconsin Zoo

Yes, Dad and I are going right after Christmas (I know, we must be crazy...but I really am dying to see the decorations again!) but the new trip is actually in August!

Ooh, that's cool about the zoo. Was that the one in Milwaukee? I went to the one in Madison which was a lot smaller. I love the Milwaukee County Zoo.

I loved those MU topiaries! So cute & fun.

If you can believe it, I've never had anything from Germany outside of the biergarten. I need to try something there. Top faves of yours?

They sure were. And since we both went to MU, Emma had to stop to have her picture taken in front of them.

I have only had a couple of things from the caramel store. I kept meaning to go but only first made it in there (to buy something, anyway) last year I think. I got some sort of cookie then and of course the caramel bar this year. I have heard really good things about the caramel corn too!

Hi!! Joining in after seeing your post on the August board! Loving your TR so far- I am almost through reading it. Your camera takes amazing pics!

What do you teach? (Sorry if you have answered that a million times, I didn't read through all the comments!) I teach 6th grade Literacy, so most of our trips are school breaks too. We've gone a few times in Aug but this year we also get to go in November. I bought APs so that means I am going for our spring break TOO!! I am loving your F&G pictures, can't wait to see it.

Hello! Welcome...so nice to have another reader and fellow August traveler. I am so glad you are enjoying my TR. Thank you for the compliment on the pictures. I just got that camera as a birthday present this year and so far I'm pretty happy with the quality of the pictures.

I am currently a literacy assistant at an elementary school, so I work with kids who need extra support in reading. Though I really want to be in the classroom as a regular ed. teacher. This will be my 3rd time going in August-to be honest I'd much rather go for spring break or winter break but hey, if it means I get to see my sister again and go to WDW again fine with me! We will have to see about next year's spring break. I seriously love the F&GF...that's one of my favorite parts about going during March/April. I would also love to stay at the Grand Floridian Villas (though I doubt that would even be possible...I have a feeling the waitlist is going to be LOOOONG for that place).

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi everyone! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. This 4-day weekend went by way too fast-I'm not ready to go back to summer school tomorrow. Oh well. Just a couple of random notes:

First, I need some assistance. So I got another email from Photobucket about approaching my bandwidth...which basically means once I hit that, my pictures will disappear again. I created a Flickr account a while ago and tried uploading pictures to that site instead, but I cannot figure out how to post them. I found the link but when I tried copying and pasting it in here I either got a little black box with an X or it said the image wasn't available. I know some of you use Flickr, so if you have any advice I'd really appreciate it! I want to keep going with my TR and don't want to have to wait for my pictures to reappear with Photobucket.

Now onto the exciting stuff...

As some of you said in your comments, YES, I do have another trip planned!!!! It all started when my parents drove down to Florida in June to help Emma move into a new apartment (I don't think I've mentioned it in this thread but she ended her CP early because she was offered a Professional Internship. Her goal was to either extend her CP once it officially ended in August, or get a PI...well, the PI thing worked out so now she'll be down there until January!) But anyway, I tweeted something about how I wished I could've gone with my parents but couldn't because I was still in school. A couple of days later she tweeted back and said how I should come down this summer. Long story short, thanks to her CM discount, I got a really good deal on a room. I'll be staying at Pop Century the 2nd week of August, which will definitely be different from our DVC experiences but it should still be fun (hopefully DVC hasn't spoiled me so much that I've become a resort snob...). And then we booked flights today! YAY! I can't believe I'm going back so soon (and to be honest, I wouldn't if it weren't for the fact that Emma got this new job), but with the December trip too that means I'll be purchasing an Annual Pass again.

If any of you have advice/tips on Pop Century, or things you love/don't love about it please feel free to share!

OK, have a good night everyone! Hopefully I'll be able to get another actual TR update done early this week.

 

[emmysmommy]

Sarah, sorry about your photobucket/flikr dilemma. I can't offer any advice since I just pay for the pro service for my accounts.

I loved your last TR update! I have not seen MU yet but it is likely that I won't get around to it until it comes out on Netflix or such. Glad you can relate to a shout out to MU! Now I'll think of you when I see it!

I'm a fellow August Diser too! (mid-late August for us.) I think you'll be there later in December than me since we'll be there early December. Oh darn! So sorry that you have to renew your AP and look forward to more trips to WDW!

Oh and speaking of Wisconsin in your last update. I've been to Madison many times on business and to visit family. My MIL used to live in New Glarus which is a small town outside Madison. My FIL lives in Sturgeon Bay area. (Been to Baraboo, Green Bay, Osh Kosh, Appleton... gee, I think I've been to a few places in WI!!)

Take care and I hope you have a great week back in summer session.