"You Guys Are Cast Members... Right?" - A December 2011 TR

[jecskc]

Isn't is a bummer when the Dis isn't working right ?? Weird that Rafiki was at Epcot. I have to say, WDW breakfast in general just doesn't wow me that much. It is always just OK, nothing special.

 

[PirateKate]

It's been so long since I was on that ride! It sounds like fun, but I'm scared to commit to a forty minute ride with two little guys.

Ugh, I hate undercooked bacon. That bacon looks like it was still raw. Glad Soarin' made you feel better!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

Your Fantasmic commentary cracked me up. I'm not a huge Fantasmic fan, but your post left me really wanting to go see it again. So when I'm miserable and standing in a giant herd waiting to be let into the theater in July, I'm blaming you.

Oh gosh, your Ellen commentary also cracked me up. I've only been on that ride once because, well, 45 minutes of energy-related information (and the possibility of being spit on by a dinosaur) isn't exactly appealing. But you're right. With Test Track down, maybe I'll have to swing by in July. Stupid Judy. Stupid Energy.

I bought that same pink WDW t-shirt in July! I love it!! It pops up in my TR shortly.

I'm totally jealous of Sally's Rafiki M&G. I've never met him, but I've always wanted to. I just wish he had a stick to hit me over the head with so he could knock some sense into me...

Can't wait for more!!

 

[Enchanted88]

YAY! Glad you are back! I loved both of your updates!

Btw "I don’t know why that picture looks like it was taken in the 90’s… by a toddler." hahahahaha That seriously made me laugh!

First off, I'm glad that you started to feel better after riding Soarin!! See, that just proves that Disney is seriously the best medicine!

I like living with the land, too! Ben and I really enjoyed it when we rode it! It's nice an relaxing, and it really is interesting!

That was A LOT of breakfast! haha That stinks that you didn't notice the other yummy stuff they had for breakfast, but there's always next time!

I like the things you bought at mousegears! I bought a picture album there, too! Ours was a honeymoon one, though! Yours is really cute!

BTW, I LOVE your shirt! I have the EXACT SAME ONE!!! (Except mine is lime green!) I wear that thing atleast once a week! It is one of my most beneficial purchases ever! I'm sure you agree!

I also don't hate the Ellen ride! I agree with you, it's not something I have to ride everytime, but I won't say no to it either! Especially if Ben is grumpy, becasue then he can take a nap!

Can't wait to read more! Have a great week!

 

[Merida]

The black sparkle Minnie ears are my favorite. It seems like they're the most popular women's ears and everyone posts them on their TR, making me incredibly jealous.

I have a working hypothesis that Living with the Land is objectively the coolest ride in Future World, but I'm still collecting evidence. I just love boats and fishes and greenhouses and science labs! I wish more of Epcot was a working science facility because awesome (I mean, moreso than LwtL and the Seas since...well, the Seas is kind of not as impressive).

lol Ellen's Energy Adventure. I swore up and down that I wouldn't be that person who fell asleep on rides. Sorry Ellen! Maybe next. The dinosaurs are definitely impressive. I love dinosaur animatronics. And energy!! I'm really actually very obsessed with the connections between energy and society and I have some really great books about it. I think Disney could definitely do some expanding into this type of science & society/science history thing in Epcot. Like expand Test Track into a whole transportation pavilion and then do transportation in the past, Test Track as present transportation, and future transportations (space ships! Mission: Space could totally count for this. Or another PeopleMover! PeopleMovers for everyone!!)? SO COOL.

 

[MEK]

I've gotten a tad behind. Just came back from another fun visit to Williamsburg. I want to move to Virginia!

Fun update. I know exactly what you mean about Ellen. It's fun to see every few trips but you certainly don't want to do it every time you visit.

Cute T-shirt and very cute PP pics!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Soooo, I don't know how I missed your TR! I must have been living under a rock or something! Anyway, I'm really enjoying reading about your adventures, and how much fun you guys were having! Its really putting a smile on my face! Can't wait for more!

 

[marDgreen88]

I can't believe you had so many issues with Disboards! That's ridiculous! It doesn't even make any sense.

I FORGOT ABOUT THE JUMP 5 VERSION OF WELCOME HOLY COW. That used to be my FAVORITE song holy crap. I MISS IT!!!!

If you're thirsty that means you're dehydrated! You must be constantly dehydrated... that's probably not good

Okay I know EXACTLY what song you're talking about and now it's playing in my head. I can picture the video they play with the little bugs on the plants and the machines in the fields and stuff. And I can't find that song ANYWHERE. It's the one song from Disney that I don't have on my iPod.

I still don't get it either hahah. Apparently the dis was mad at me for something. I apologized and we worked it all out... we're good now.

Hahaha! I'm glad I could remind you of it. I know right? I used to listen to it all the time too.

Haha that morning, I most likely was. The headache is what makes me think that. I just drink so much water all the time that I'm constantly craving it. I think it's honestly more of a craving than a thirst, as odd as that sounds! But that morning I was thiiiiiirsty!

Oh my gosh. YES. That's exactly it! EXACTLY! That's why I wanted to record it because I love it and I wanted to hear it again! What a mysterious song... why doesn't it want to be on our iPods? Hahhaa.

Yes, we are staying at the CR thus July. I'm so spoiled.

That's so cool. I guess I'll just miss you though! That would have been cool if we were there at the same time.

YAY! I'm so glad you're back! The DIS was down for me for about a day, but after that I was able to get back on. I wonder why it gave you such a hard time? I guess it realized it was your half birthday and it needed to be nice again!

ME TOO! It's been a few days now and I still get a little nervous when I try to get on in case it decides to leave me hangin again! Oh you're totally right. I mean who knows, that could be it? I mean I got a happy birthday email from disboards on my real birthday so who knows? Hahah.

YAY for double digits! We're getting so close to both our trips!

HOORAY FOR BEING AWESOME! I love it when you get prime seats on rides without having to ask.

Oh my gosh I KNOW! It's unreal. In a few days I'll be at three months! Whaaat? And you're even closer! It's all so crazy!

Right??? Being awesome just pays off apparently.

I love Ellen's Energy Adventure! I remember going on that on my first trip in 2007, and being completely BLOWN AWAY when the seats started moving. Like, I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I have only ridden it once since then, but I will always love it for it's initial shock value.

I feel the same way. I couldn't believe what was happening, I think I figured it would be a rotating room or something? No clue, but yeah... it's amazing. Next time I do it I know exactly where to sit so I'll be in the FIRST MOVING CAR! AW YEAH.

I love successful shopping trips in Disney! I had some pretty frustrating shopping experiences on our last trip when I couldn't find what I wanted. That seemed to happen a lot, and it drove me CRAZY.

Oh man, I understand that. A lot of times at Disney I'll just wander around stores gawking at everything and not have a set plan of what I want, but the few times that I DO have an idea of what I want, I can never find it right away! So I was glad that Mouse Gear was so good to me hahah.

HAHAHA what are you doing chilling in Future World, Rafiki? Silly baboon.

I know, I wonder how he got all the way from Animal Kingdom by himself?

Glad you finally got the Dis to work again! I was having troubles with it as well.

Me too! Oh man, I guess a lot of people were experiencing it. It was quite frustrating! I'm glad everything's good now!

Hahaha, I love how you pointed out the hole in your shirt. I would have never noticed. "Yes that's a hole in my shirt, and yes it got bigger throughout the day".

Only the 3rd or 4th pickiest person on the planet huh? I think my niece is the 2nd pickiest person.....

Hahaha I know, I probably could have gotten away without mentioning it, BUT, since it did grow larger I figured someone would eventually notice, so I decided to just get it all out in the open ASAP. You know how these things go.

Hahah really? Her lucky parents. My dad always tells me he thinks there is more food that I don't like than food that I do like.

welcome back!

I just read on easywdw about ellen's energy thingy and I don't think I would ever want to sit through a 40 minute ride! Glad you enjoyed it though!

Thanks! Ehh well, it was actually pretty interesting and it was a nice little break!

So glad you are back!! It looks like you guys had a blast during your morning at Epcot. We met Daisy in the exact same spot on our trip, Stitch was not with her though. I have been curious about Ellen's Energy Adventure, so I'm glad to hear what its all about!! Also, I 100% agree with you that Living with the Land is so interesting! I absolutely loved it! YAY for 99 DAYS!!!

Thanks! That's awesome! Yeah, I did think it was a random pair! I'm glad I could provide you with intellectual insight into Ellen's. I know! It's awesome. I actually thought it would be boring before I rode it, but now I always want to do it! It helps that the line is always so short, too! HOORAY!!! Now I'm at 96 days which is crazy because apparently it took me three days to reply to a lot of comments... goodness, sorry about that!

Great updates! You know how I love Epcot updates!

Isn't it weird how Daisy and Stitch are just right at the entrance of Epcot? I don't care about Stitch, but I LOVE Daisy, so it's nice to know I can meet her there whenever I want! I love knowing where Marie is at all times too. Is that weird?

Thank you! Yeah, it definitely took me by surprise! I love Daisy too, she is too too precious! (Although I love Stitch too!) NO that's not weird! I love knowing where she is too! I STILL HAVEN'T MET HER!!!! Ahhh!

(Ok, I'm not liking how the smilies are all out of order! But I do like this one ! )

Yay Soarin!!! Isn't it great when you get an awesome seat on there just because the CM's realize how awesome you are?

HAHAHA! That one is too funny! I guess they changed all the smilies back to their normal positions... that was a random switch for a few days hahaha!

YEAH! Thank goodness those CMs recognize awesomeness when they spot it.

Wow, you do have some thirst issues!! If you drink that much water in Disney, you should stop at a grocery store or Walgreens or something at the beginning of your trip and buy a case of water, it's much cheaper than buying water in the parks! We do that all the time and it works great! (I don't have thirst issues, but I have migraine issues and heat exhaustion issues, so I try to drink lots of water in Disney...or whenever it's really hot, actually!)

I really do, ahha. I'm thirsty/water craving by nature I guess haha. That's a good idea, thank you!!! This summer we're flying and doing ME, but we thought we'd bring a lot of empty water bottles and fill them up with water at the Contemporary. It probably won't taste as good, but it'll do the job!

I think I'm finally going to give Ellen's Energy Adventure a try in May if I can fit it in! I've never done it, in all my years of going to Disney!

Your pink Disney shirt is so cute! And yay for new mouse ears! I'm having a huge dilemma with which ears I should bring with me on my trip! Disney problems!!

Oh fun! If you do it I hope yall enjoy it! Be warned though, once the ride starts you CANNOT get off until the end. Haha they're pretty serious about it!

Thanks!! I love my shirt and my mouse ears! Hahha honestly, I'm taking all of mine with me! That way I can choose based on my mood (or outfit ) that day! Hahha I hope you can decide!!!!

Glad the Dis is working for you again!!!

So weird you got dropped off in the middle of a random area. That's happened to us before, and I was like, "um?" .

I've never eaten at Sunshine Seasons, but I have heard numerous people say that they've gotten way too much food there. I guess it's a generous breakfast location!

I think I know what song you're talking about at the end of Living with the Land...because I love it too. The one where the pictures of the people with the food pop up? (I couldn't get a clear photo of it last time, so I actually did take a video!)

Thanks, me too!

I know! Oh really?! Okay, that makes it a little less weird... a little. I know right? It's like... excuse me bus driver, do YOU know where we are?

Yeah, it was quite a lot of food. It would definitely be awesome for someone who was really hungry! Next time I'll definitely be trying lunch or dinner at Sunshine Seasons, I always hear good things about those meals!

Yeah! At the very end. I love it! Did you really?!? That's awesome!

 

[marDgreen88]

The DIS wasn't letting me on either, or if it did, it froze. I'm glad it's starting to act right.


Six hours of sleep at Disney is awesome! I have a have time sleeping because 1), it's a strange bed, 2) I'm excited about the next days plans, & 3) I think I'm old

I enjoyed Ellen's Energy, it was a great way to get off the feet and rest mid-day!

Oh really? Wow, I guess everyone was having different problems! I'm glad it seems like it's fixed, at least for now!

I KNOW, very awesome! Hahah exactly! Well, at least 2 out of 3.

I agree! It's actually pretty interesting too! And at this point, the moving seats are cool enough for me to want to go on it again hahah!

Isn't is a bummer when the Dis isn't working right ?? Weird that Rafiki was at Epcot. I have to say, WDW breakfast in general just doesn't wow me that much. It is always just OK, nothing special.

Definitely! I'm glad it seems to be running smoothly right now. I know, it was pretty weird! Yeah, honestly I think I would have been more than happy with a Mickey waffle at the resort. It probably would have been cheaper too!

It's been so long since I was on that ride! It sounds like fun, but I'm scared to commit to a forty minute ride with two little guys.

Ugh, I hate undercooked bacon. That bacon looks like it was still raw. Glad Soarin' made you feel better!

Oh, I can't blame you on that one! Might wanna hold off on that one for a while hahaha.

ME TOO. Yeah, honestly, it kinda tasted like it too! (Yes... I did taste it. Big mistake...) Yeah, that was really nice! The 'wind' was really refreshing and it was really nice!

Your Fantasmic commentary cracked me up. I'm not a huge Fantasmic fan, but your post left me really wanting to go see it again. So when I'm miserable and standing in a giant herd waiting to be let into the theater in July, I'm blaming you.

Thank you!! Hahaha, please do blame me. I will take full responsibility, I promise.

Oh gosh, your Ellen commentary also cracked me up. I've only been on that ride once because, well, 45 minutes of energy-related information (and the possibility of being spit on by a dinosaur) isn't exactly appealing. But you're right. With Test Track down, maybe I'll have to swing by in July. Stupid Judy. Stupid Energy.

THANK YOU KARA! Wow, I'm funny. I agree! Judy and energy are equally stupid. Okay... Judy has a slight edge. I'm just not loving this whole 'Test Track being closed down all summer' thing. But if I end up gawking at the amazing moving seats again, I'll probably be okay.

I bought that same pink WDW t-shirt in July! I love it!! It pops up in my TR shortly.

DO I SMELL A STORY ABOUT MATCHING SHIRTS? Okay, I'm excited!

I'm totally jealous of Sally's Rafiki M&G. I've never met him, but I've always wanted to. I just wish he had a stick to hit me over the head with so he could knock some sense into me...

Can't wait for more!!

I'm jealous too! I honestly had no clue that was happening right outside the store. If I had known I totally would have paused mid-shop! RIGHT? Where's his stick?? If you ever meet him, maybe you can find a nearby stick, hit HIM over the head, and when he looks at you and shrugs, you can just say... "IT'S IN THE PAST RAFIKI, DEAL WITH IT." Sounds like a solid plan to me.

YAY! Glad you are back! I loved both of your updates!

Btw "I don’t know why that picture looks like it was taken in the 90’s… by a toddler." hahahahaha That seriously made me laugh!

Hahah thanks girl!

First off, I'm glad that you started to feel better after riding Soarin!! See, that just proves that Disney is seriously the best medicine!

I like living with the land, too! Ben and I really enjoyed it when we rode it! It's nice an relaxing, and it really is interesting!

I was glad too! It was really nice. OMG, DISNEY IS TOTALLY THE BEST MEDICINE! Hhaha love it! I'm glad so many people also enjoy Living with the Land! I'll admit the videos with bugs creep me out a little bit but everything else is pretty awesome.

That was A LOT of breakfast! haha That stinks that you didn't notice the other yummy stuff they had for breakfast, but there's always next time!

I like the things you bought at mousegears! I bought a picture album there, too! Ours was a honeymoon one, though! Yours is really cute!

Oh yes, definitely too much for me that morning! Definitely! I'm excited to maybe try Sunshine Seasons for lunch or dinner on a future trip! Thanks! I bet that honeymoon photo album is just adorable! It's a tradition for me to get a photo album with the year on it.

BTW, I LOVE your shirt! I have the EXACT SAME ONE!!! (Except mine is lime green!) I wear that thing atleast once a week! It is one of my most beneficial purchases ever! I'm sure you agree!

I also don't hate the Ellen ride! I agree with you, it's not something I have to ride everytime, but I won't say no to it either! Especially if Ben is grumpy, becasue then he can take a nap!

Can't wait to read more! Have a great week!

Thank you! I guess that's a pretty popular shirt! I love it. Hahaha oh, good point! I bet my dad could take a nice snooze... although nevermind, he might start snoring. HAHHAA. Thanks girl, I hope you're having a good one too!

The black sparkle Minnie ears are my favorite. It seems like they're the most popular women's ears and everyone posts them on their TR, making me incredibly jealous.

You should get some! I love my pink ones but I wanted some that wouldn't rip, and those are definitely classic, as far as mouse ears go! They seriously look cute on everyone (who is female)!

I have a working hypothesis that Living with the Land is objectively the coolest ride in Future World, but I'm still collecting evidence. I just love boats and fishes and greenhouses and science labs! I wish more of Epcot was a working science facility because awesome (I mean, moreso than LwtL and the Seas since...well, the Seas is kind of not as impressive).

I agree, I love the educational aspect of it (which is not something I normally look for on vacation haha).

lol Ellen's Energy Adventure. I swore up and down that I wouldn't be that person who fell asleep on rides. Sorry Ellen! Maybe next. The dinosaurs are definitely impressive. I love dinosaur animatronics. And energy!! I'm really actually very obsessed with the connections between energy and society and I have some really great books about it. I think Disney could definitely do some expanding into this type of science & society/science history thing in Epcot. Like expand Test Track into a whole transportation pavilion and then do transportation in the past, Test Track as present transportation, and future transportations (space ships! Mission: Space could totally count for this. Or another PeopleMover! PeopleMovers for everyone!!)? SO COOL.

Hahaha I think it's pretty funny that you fell asleep. Did you dream you were on Jeopardy, at least? You know, they might be doing something like that with Test Track! I heard that part of the new experience will be that you design your car... they might make it so that if you don't design it right you could experience 'problems.' Like there could be a track for the people who design it correctly and then another one for those who need improvement? But it wouldn't be like a "YOU FAIL" kind of thing. Anyways... yeah! Hahah I got carried away I think.

I've gotten a tad behind. Just came back from another fun visit to Williamsburg. I want to move to Virginia!

Fun update. I know exactly what you mean about Ellen. It's fun to see every few trips but you certainly don't want to do it every time you visit.

Cute T-shirt and very cute PP pics!

Don't worry, you weren't too far behind at all! Aww haha, yeah, Virginia is pretty awesome!

Definitely. It was nice to sit back and relax for a little while too!

Thank you! I love that picture (and that shirt!)

Soooo, I don't know how I missed your TR! I must have been living under a rock or something! Anyway, I'm really enjoying reading about your adventures, and how much fun you guys were having! Its really putting a smile on my face! Can't wait for more!

Oh my gosh, fellow Marissa! Thanks for joining in!!! And listen, I'm so glad you commented because I KNEW I had been missing a TR from my subscription list! I think it got bumped off somehow... I don't know what happened! It might take me a couple days to catch up but I'm totally going to! Anyways, I'm really glad you're enjoying! Thanks again!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Yeah! I've finally made it to your TR now! I would whine more about how I haven't been commenting on your TR lately but I've done that a gazillion times trying to help you get on here through Twitter so I won't bother you with that but on to the update...

YAY! EPCOT! Going to a Disney park is a celebration in of its own, right? Of course, right! (Get the reference? A Theater Reference for a hint...) But that's so weird the bus driver dropped you guys off in such a random place. Never heard of them doing that before Well, at least you got to the entrance safely Love the topiaries at EPCOT and that they manage to keep them up for most of the year, so pretty to being TWITTERPATED! Sorry, finally saw Bambi for the first time in years, it was great.

to meeting Daisy! She's one character I've always wanted to meet. And isn't that a great spot for characters over there? People just don't bother seeing characters over by SSE, it's so great! But it's a shame you didn't meet up with Stitch though :/

TIME FOR THE LAND! WOOT! Definitely one of my favorite places in EPCOT to hang around in for awhile. Soarin' + Living with the Land + Garden Grill = HEAVEN! But sorry to hear you weren't feeling to well. At least you made it on to Soarin' okay and it cured you! Wow, Disney rides really ARE magical.

Oooo... Sunshine Seasons looks really good and they have various stations for various breakfast appetizers! Even better. I will have to make note of that place. And of course, it's nice to know the heavenly water is there haha So cool that the CMs randomly came over and sang Happy Birthday to your friend, Ryan! I would love to have my birthday in Disney after how awesome it was to celebrate 8th grade graduation in Disney. Oh, celebrating in Disney

to riding Living with the Land, because as I said before, it makes up 1/3rd of HEAVEN! Love that glass ceiling too, especially when you see an aerial picture of the land after. It just makes it that awesome

Another thumbs up to riding Universe of Energy! I sadly missed that on my last trip. It was a very sad moment, but I got a picture of it. So nice of you to give a ride through of it too. Hopefully one day I will be riding it and getting spit on by Dinosaurs lol NOT in the mouth of course

Love all the new Disney souvies you got and with a nice 20% DISCOUNT! So jealous, I must go looking for those. And I totally am in Desperate need of new Mickey Ears, the ones I have are so very night-only. So annoying! And I can't believe your friend got to meet Rafiki! Not okay that you didn't get to meet him (but yeah he does come out in the middle of Future World occasionally as do a lot of other random characters, it's wicked cool! )

Can't wait to read more!

 

[marDgreen88]

Yeah! I've finally made it to your TR now! I would whine more about how I haven't been commenting on your TR lately but I've done that a gazillion times trying to help you get on here through Twitter so I won't bother you with that but on to the update...

YAY! EPCOT! Going to a Disney park is a celebration in of its own, right? Of course, right! (Get the reference? A Theater Reference for a hint...) But that's so weird the bus driver dropped you guys off in such a random place. Never heard of them doing that before Well, at least you got to the entrance safely Love the topiaries at EPCOT and that they manage to keep them up for most of the year, so pretty to being TWITTERPATED! Sorry, finally saw Bambi for the first time in years, it was great.

I need to catch up on yours too though, it is ALL GOOD! I'm sorry... I don't get the reference! Ahhh I fail. Please explain! Maybe it's just slipping my mind. Hah it was definitely odd and slightly creepy. I love Bambi! I was so happy to see those topiaries!

to meeting Daisy! She's one character I've always wanted to meet. And isn't that a great spot for characters over there? People just don't bother seeing characters over by SSE, it's so great! But it's a shame you didn't meet up with Stitch though :/

She's great! Here's a hint, if you want to meet Daisy you can find her in Town Square a LOT! Also, apparently she frequents the entrance to Epcot hahah. She's so precious. It's okay! I've met Stitch before and I will meet him again!

TIME FOR THE LAND! WOOT! Definitely one of my favorite places in EPCOT to hang around in for awhile. Soarin' + Living with the Land + Garden Grill = HEAVEN! But sorry to hear you weren't feeling to well. At least you made it on to Soarin' okay and it cured you! Wow, Disney rides really ARE magical.

Oh man, I've never been to Garden Grill! We had an ADR for it for this summer but we changed it because it didn't really appeal to my entire family. (I'll definitely go there someday though!) Hahha in a weird way, Soarin' really did make me feel better! It was awesome!

Oooo... Sunshine Seasons looks really good and they have various stations for various breakfast appetizers! Even better. I will have to make note of that place. And of course, it's nice to know the heavenly water is there haha So cool that the CMs randomly came over and sang Happy Birthday to your friend, Ryan! I would love to have my birthday in Disney after how awesome it was to celebrate 8th grade graduation in Disney. Oh, celebrating in Disney

I just wish I'd noticed the variety sooner! I know, I would love to celebrate my birthday at Disney too. That would be without a doubt the best birthday EVER.

to riding Living with the Land, because as I said before, it makes up 1/3rd of HEAVEN! Love that glass ceiling too, especially when you see an aerial picture of the land after. It just makes it that awesome

The glass ceiling is awesome. I agree, the Land is such a unique type of building. Disney is such a winner. Even the architecture is awesome.

Another thumbs up to riding Universe of Energy! I sadly missed that on my last trip. It was a very sad moment, but I got a picture of it. So nice of you to give a ride through of it too. Hopefully one day I will be riding it and getting spit on by Dinosaurs lol NOT in the mouth of course

Thank goodness you got a picture! Oh gosh, after the whole 'the water got in my mouth on Pirates' thing, I will be VERY wary of rides with water features... Pirates, Magic Carpets, Splash, Ellen's... the list just goes on!

Love all the new Disney souvies you got and with a nice 20% DISCOUNT! So jealous, I must go looking for those. And I totally am in Desperate need of new Mickey Ears, the ones I have are so very night-only. So annoying! And I can't believe your friend got to meet Rafiki! Not okay that you didn't get to meet him (but yeah he does come out in the middle of Future World occasionally as do a lot of other random characters, it's wicked cool! )

Yeah, it was awesome that we got those coupons! Next time you're at Disney just pay attention to the bottoms of all your receipts to see if you get any! It really helped! I hope you get your daytime worthy mouse ears soon haha! I had no idea about Rafiki but that's definitely a good thing to know!

Can't wait to read more!

More should be coming up... tomorrow! (Hopefully!) Thanks for the comment!!

 

[marDgreen88]

The One With Fire and Ice Cubes
Part 1!

December 16, 2011

We decided to head over to our next stop of the day a little bit early. Our ADR wasn’t for another 90 minutes or so, but we’re no fools! There was no reason to wait until the last minute to leave, because Disney World Transportation tends to be unpredictable, as many of you know all too well.

Along the way…

Yet another adorable holiday themed topiary! I’m in love with those things, they’re just too cute. I wonder what Pluto got for Christmas?

That tree is beautiful. Also, gigantic.

Into World Showcase we go…

Canadian Santa (which is most likely not his official name) was out telling his story. We didn’t stop for very long to listen, but the bits and pieces I heard creeped me the heck out! He was saying something about how they got kids to behave by putting little gremlins under their beds or something. I mean, maybe I was on something that afternoon and heard wrong, but what the heck?? Canadian readers, can you please fill me in?! I’m baffled and scared, which is a weird combination, I tell ya.

ONWARD!

I want you to look at that guy’s face. Hmm… maybe he was getting an awkward call, MEK style?

On our journey through the World Showcase, I was just THIRSTY as all get out. If you remember from my last post, I was also really thirsty on the way to the Land Pavilion. I mean, I drink water all the time, so it’s normal for me to crave it. This was different. It was weird and it worried me a little bit. I mean, it was warm that day (all the people in those pictures are extremely overdressed!) but it was in no way HOT out. I was going through my water bottles like I had been stranded in the desert for days without water. Looking back, I bet I looked totally weird. Like I can picture myself doing the full on Ron Burgandy from Anchorman… “IT’S SO DARN HOT. MILK WAS A BAD CHOICE.” Only, it wasn’t too hot and I wasn’t drinking milk. But you get the idea right? ANYWAYS, I kept stopping at all the water fountains and filling up all three of my bottles and just guzzling them down in a heartbeat.

We arrived at the International Gateway and got directly onto a Friendship Boat.

I know some people say that these boat rides take forever, but I love them! I find the ride SO nice and relaxing! I was sitting in the front with Kristen and Ryan and I have to say, I was pretty amazed at the hard work the boat captains (I guess that’s what you would call them?) were doing each and every time the boat docked and then undocked again. It was really cool to watch. The driver would steer the boat into a very precise location, and the other guy had to run off and take the rope and hook it onto the dock/unhook it and run back onto the boat as the driver was steering away. Are yall confused? I’m sorry. If you’ve watched it before, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I just thought it was really interesting. (Clearly I’m a dork.) The ‘runner’ never even slipped once. If I were him, I’d be so nervous every time. I guess he’s used to it though, considering that's his job and all!

Okay, seriously? How long can I talk about this? This is amusing NO ONE.

I didn’t take any pictures on our boat journey, because I was too busy gazing at the Beach Club as we passed it, because I’m in love with it. It was also really cool seeing the Boardwalk, and the Swan and Dolphin so close up.

So if you haven’t guessed by now, we were heading back to Hollywood Studios!
In case you were wondering, yes, I was able to finish off all three of my water bottles over the course of our boat ride. Oof.

It’s crazy how quickly a day can turn from pretty to… well, that. We never ended up getting any rain though, despite the grey skies. Thank goodness!

On our way into the park, I spotted the crew neck sweatshirt I had wanted at World of Disney! It was for sale at one of the little store kiosks at the entrance! I was extremely excited about that and made a mental note to buy it on the way out of the park later that day.

We still had a good amount of time before our ADR at 1:40, so we decided to pay a little visit to the Chinese Theater and our friend Jenelle!

When we got there, she was actually working at the entrance of the attraction. We had been hoping that we could have her as our tour guide through the movies. So, she made a couple calls and was able to make a temporary switch with someone. She was going to be our tour guide! HOORAY!

Jenelle actually had to change outfits to be the tour guide instead of a greeter. A cast member came out and told us to follow him. We actually went through the CM entrance to the Great Movie Ride! We were feelin FANCY, let me just tell you THAT. Although, it was a little weird! We basically went through a random door and instead of going through the normal queue, we went straight to the front of the line. To be honest though, I had been looking forward to going through the queue and seeing the carousel horse that Julie Andrews rode in Mary Poppins! But hey, we were fancy so it was all good. There was pretty much NOBODY ELSE in line for the ride, so I didn’t feel too terrible about skipping to the front. We waited a few minutes, and then we were ushered into our seats to start our "SPECTACULAR JOURNEY INTO THE MOVIES!"

Continued in Next Update​

 

[amandaw]

If you did indeed hear Canadian Santa right about gremlins under the kids' beds, then that is indeed downright creepy!

It sounds like y'all were having a nice day. However, I am still worried about you being so thirsty. I really hope you weren't sick.

That's cool that y'all got through the special entrance for the Great Movie Ride. What fun!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Love all the pictures of the Christmas decorations. I swear if I don't get to go this December I will be bummed! LOL.

haha, that guy in the phone booth! I recently found the numbers for the Epcot phone booths and am so tempted to try calling one of them.

Yay for going in the special entrance at the Great Movie Ride. How fun your friend was going to be your guide.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Ummmmm, "Canadian" Santa doesn't look like any Santa that I grew up believing in and we certainly were never told about gremlins under the bed. Here in Canada kids believe in the same stories as the American kids and our Santa looks the same too, the traditional "Coca-Cola" Santa. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html

I know they were probably just trying to make the Santa in Canada unique as he can't be the same as the American Santa if they want to uphold the "Santa in ever country" thing but come on, really? Then again maybe there is some weird gremlin under the bed lumberjack Santa Claus that I am unaware of???

 

[marDgreen88]

If you did indeed hear Canadian Santa right about gremlins under the kids' beds, then that is indeed downright creepy!

It sounds like y'all were having a nice day. However, I am still worried about you being so thirsty. I really hope you weren't sick.

That's cool that y'all got through the special entrance for the Great Movie Ride. What fun!

Hahaha, I agree!

It was a nice morning for sure, but yeah, I was definitely having some issues.

It was pretty fancy, I won't lie. It was almost pointless though because there was nobody in line. Hahaha!

Love all the pictures of the Christmas decorations. I swear if I don't get to go this December I will be bummed! LOL.

haha, that guy in the phone booth! I recently found the numbers for the Epcot phone booths and am so tempted to try calling one of them.

Yay for going in the special entrance at the Great Movie Ride. How fun your friend was going to be your guide.

Thanks! Oh I know, I hope you get to!

ME TOO. I so want to do that! You should totally call them!

We're fancy. Hahha. It was really cool that they were so accommodating to us! I mean, we would have been fine if we had to have another tour guide, but it was really cool that they switched it just for us!

Ummmmm, "Canadian" Santa doesn't look like any Santa that I grew up believing in and we certainly were never told about gremlins under the bed. Here in Canada kids believe in the same stories as the American kids and our Santa looks the same too, the traditional "Coca-Cola" Santa. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html

I know they were probably just trying to make the Santa in Canada unique as he can't be the same as the American Santa if they want to uphold the "Santa in ever country" thing but come on, really? Then again maybe there is some weird gremlin under the bed lumberjack Santa Claus that I am unaware of???

I'm sorry. I don't know. I got the idea that the gremlins were supposed to be elf-like. I didn't get to hear any more story tellers on this trip but I believe the point was to show the history of holidays around the world. In America it wasn't "Santa Claus" but it was Saint Nicholas, who would leave small gifts for the poor. Through the years that actual man was made into more of a myth with the reindeer and the elves and the cookies and the chimneys. It's weird to think about the origins of things. Anyways, I don't know, I hope I didn't offend you or anything. It's just what I heard!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'm sorry. I don't know. I got the idea that the gremlins were supposed to be elf-like. I didn't get to hear any more story tellers on this trip but I believe the point was to show the history of holidays around the world. In America it wasn't "Santa Claus" but it was Saint Nicholas, who would leave small gifts for the poor. Through the years that actual man was made into more of a myth with the reindeer and the elves and the cookies and the chimneys. It's weird to think about the origins of things. Anyways, I don't know, I hope I didn't offend you or anything. It's just what I heard!

No, no, you didn't offend me. I just think it is silly when different countries get stereotyped and maybe when they created these stories and storytellers they weren't really thinking about that. It can have effects though, when I lived in the States I can't tell you how many people asked "what kind of houses do you live in?", "does it really snow all year?", etc. Of course, Canadians can be just as bad about their stereotypes in reagrds to Americans. In regards to the presentation of the Epcot Canadian Santa I laugh at how ridiculous it looks more than get offended. I was actually more put off by the silly lumberjack outfit that they put the "Santa" in than by the story.

ETA: I watched a youtube video of the Canadian pavilion storyteller. While there were some stereotypes and his costume was awful, he talked some about the customs up north with the Inuit. A very small percentage of the population of Canada but still Canadian so I will have to give Disney a bit of a pass. The majority of Canadian children though celebrate Christmas the traditional "North American" way which is a blend of European traditions.

 

[jecskc]

Dang, you do drink a lot of water. You aren't diabetic are you ?? It is one of the main symptoms. Just checkin' on ya, making sure you are OK.

Oh ... and here's a photo for you

 

[emma212010]

Pretty pictures! I enjoy the boat rides too! It's jut so relaxing and great for sight seeing! How cool your friend gets to be your guide!!! I love the Great Movie Ride! It's so muh fun!

 

[kgoodb00]

I know some people say that these boat rides take forever, but I love them! I find the ride SO nice and relaxing! I was sitting in the front with Kristen and Ryan and I have to say, I was pretty amazed at the hard work the boat captains (I guess that’s what you would call them?) were doing each and every time the boat docked and then undocked again. It was really cool to watch. The driver would steer the boat into a very precise location, and the other guy had to run off and take the rope and hook it onto the dock/unhook it and run back onto the boat as the driver was steering away. Are yall confused? I’m sorry. If you’ve watched it before, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I just thought it was really interesting. (Clearly I’m a dork.) The ‘runner’ never even slipped once. If I were him, I’d be so nervous every time. I guess he’s used to it though, considering that's his job and all!
​

I so agree with you on how hard the captains work! I was there last weekend and was so fascinated by it!They are flawless and I was wondering to myself about how many times do they do that each day??? I also love watching hand signals from any CM while they are doing their job. I was watching them let peopel across Main Street during the MSEP and its fun to watch their little signals to eachother!