Young At Heart: The #BirthdayFestivus13 Adventure!!! 5 UPDATES, 1/8!!!!!!!!!!!!

[__disneygirl]

MAY 15, 2013
Day 3, Part 1 In Which I Test the Track​

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This morning I got up early to do something I have never done before - go to Epcot for opening!

It's something I've never even tried to do because it's way more important to get to MK and Hollywood in the morning, so that's usually the priority. I usually ride Test Track and Soarin' right before Epcot closes to ensure short lines, too. So there's never been much of a reason for me to head over there bright and early, but I was itching to test the new Track!

Jess had to work and Lee-Anne wanted to sleep in. This was fine with me because of course I love my solo time. It also worked out well because I knew Lee-Anne wouldn't go on Test Track anyway, so it was the perfect time to ride it.

Before I even left my bed, I just rolled over and ate the beignet I had saved from the night before. THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO WAKE UP EVER. I highly recommend it!

Here I am walking to the bus stop!

I think I was running late. Oh well, this was definitely gonna be a no-stress kinda trip. I remember Epcot was already open when I got there, but it was only by a few minutes.

Good morning giant ball and pretty flowers!!

I went straight to Test Track. I was really itching to ride it since it was closed during #StuckInDisney12 for refurbishment. I heard all about how you get to design your own car, which I was really only mildly excited for since I don't really care about cars... but I decided to have an open mind and have fun with it!

The wait time was posted at 20 minutes, which was pretty accurate. Usually I would do the Single Rider line, but I didn't because I read on the Dis that if you do that, you don't get to make your own car and I wanted the full revamped Test Track experience!

I really don't like the new queue at all. The old one was leaps and bounds better - so fitting with the theme of the attraction, so much to look at. The new one is very sleek and boring.

Designing the car was pretty cool. I went with this:

Yeah I'm awesome, I know. Apparently this isn't the most practical car to drive... like I care.

The thing I didn't really like was that the designing your own car thing isn't really relevant at all to your ride experience. I figured that because I couldn't understand how, if you have multiple parties in one car, you've customized your own ride experience. Basically as you're riding the ride they just tell you how the car you designed would do during these tests, and then at the end they tell you which car did the best. I imagine this is WAY more exciting for people who are even slightly into cars but I was just basically like, "Oh."

The actual ride is kind of funny because it looked ultra late 80's/early 90's to me with the glowing purple neon and stuff. I could not believe this was the brand new version of this ride! It looks to me like they brought back an original design from back in the day that they scrapped. Trust me, I'm not complaining about it because it reminds me of vintage Epcot, but I much prefer the former version of Test Track.

There's a lot going on after the ride, too. They still have the cars you can sit in and stuff which again, I just don't care about very much. I think some of the games they have set up are pretty cool though, however, when all of Epcot is out there to see... it's not that appealing to stay for more than a minute.

I still enjoy the ride but I am not a big fan of this refurbishment to be honest with you. It's a bunch of elements thrown together, whereas for me Disney attractions usually feel more cohesive. I really prefer everything about the original attraction over the new one.

With the perfection of things like New Fantasyland and Art of Animation, something new was bound to be a bit off. You can't have everything, you know?

After testing the track I followed the path to Mouse Gears so I could Vinylmation trade.

I went straight to the registers to make my trade. I was pretty underwhelmed by my choices and I was contemplating which one to take for maybe a little too long... but I didn't think it was a big deal.

A couple of people got in line and the other CM at the register said something to the CM helping me. I didn't hear it exactly but I think he was telling her to hurry up or something.

Then, the CM I was trading with started yelling at me!

She was like, "Come on, I gotta get back to work here!"

Hmm. Not very Disneyish, lady. Also, helping me with my Vinylmation trade IS part of your work. Maybe it was rude for me to take long with people waiting but it's not like I stood there for 10 minutes. The whole thing probably took 2-3 minutes total and the people weren't in line that whole time. When I walked up to the counter, it was dead in there.

In my store it's not uncommon to spend 5-30 minutes with a single customer. Even when the store was Holiday season busy with a line around the place I was NEVER once encouraged to speed it up. Because we are taught EVERY customer is important and even if they are only spending $9 on a random sale item, we have to go above and beyond to help them. Because happy customers come back.

She was an older lady and it kind of just made me laugh. So I didn't even let it get to me. I traded for this Vinyl that I didn't like at all b/c she put pressure on me in that moment and I was just like AHH OKAY THAT ONE SHEESH

This Vinylmation looks like Hitler. I'm sorry but it does. You can't tell me that it doesn't. Yikes.

Definitely traded that one away later on in the trip.

So that was not a very fun trade at all. I didn't even wanna go back to Mouse Gears to trade again but I did days later and the person was much nicer! And did not rush me I may add.

Oh well, I didn't let that deter me - it was my Soarin' fastpass time!! So I headed back to The Land. YAY!

At some point I saw these flowers (can't remember where) and I took a picture for my mom cause she loves purple flowers, especially lilac.

So pretty! They have tons of little signs like that up everywhere. I imagine people who are super into flowers/gardening were thrilled by it cause they were all over the place!

After my hang gliding adventure through California, I was quite hungry. So I went over to Sunshine Seasons. When I got there I saw a PIN BOARD!!!!!!!!!

That's a really cool one too. I love the ribbon. That would be a nice idea to display your pins like that.

A CM was actually just about to take it down when I asked her to please hang on a second. She said that was no problem and for me to take my time. Now THAT'S what I like to hear!

I examined the board and chose a Disney Dollars pin with Goofy in the middle of the dollar! Anyone else remember Disney Dollars? Guess what, you can still buy them! My parents got me some of them on our 1995 trip that I used to buy stuff on later trips. I thought they were pretty awesome even though there isn't much point to them other than that they're cute.

Once I was done trading I went over to the bakery cabinet and got one of my favorite things ever: a chocolate croissant! I was really craving one after the flawless ones I ate at Crystal Palace that were super soft. I was hoping this one would be too!

It wasn't AS soft but it was absolutely delicious. I didn't get a full breakfast cause I knew that World Showcase would be opening soon and I wanted to save stomach space for the Flower & Garden food booths!!

But first I headed over to the Seas to visit my fishy friends.

As usual the ride made me cry. Duh. Perfect ride.

THE EAC DUDE!!!

It was very sad to again not see Our Frogfish Friend Paul in the tanks. :'( I will always love you, Paul!

It was still like 20 minutes until WS opened so I spent some time looking at the other ocean life but it just wasn't the same. I MISS PAUL!!!

I also looked around in the gift shop in here. I love it because it's all sea themed and has mostly Mermaid and Nemo items, making it a flawless store. I bought an Ariel toy for my cousin and started to make my way over to WS.

Ahh, it was a beautiful day.

My first stop was the Florida Fresh stand to get another cup of the delectable Violent Lemonade.

As you can see, this time they put a flower on top of it which was quite lovely. It made me very happy... and so did my view!

This was just a perfect moment. I was very very content.

I had been wanting to try the Pork Tacos in Mexico ever since I saw them the day we got there so the Mexico booth was my next stop.

I can't seem to find a picture of this so I will just re-use Jess's from Day 1...

I LOVE THESE. I usually get hard shell tacos but now I'm addicted to flour tortillas. I used to have them occasionally but I spent like the whole summer getting the flour tortilla meal from our lovely little taco place in town. SO GOOD.

I also thought the pork rinds were a nice addition. I would never ever eat them on their own and I was pretty intimidated by them, but they were good on this dish. I like a little bit of crunch.

Jess and I had been texting me and she was so bummed having to work! I mean... she was at Coronado though so I couldn't feel TOO bad for her. I wish she could have joined us more but it's okay, we had a lot more time together later on in the trip!

The other thing I was craving since Day 1 was a Spring Pancake. The one I had was delicious and I couldn't wait to have another!

I got one at the China stand and then went over to Lotus House to get a seat.

SO GOOD. I really hope these come back.

Can you believe that after that I was full?! Yeah, I don't get it either. I wanted to enjoy more of the booths but I was done for now.

Lee-Anne texted me to tell me she was up. I have no problem with her sleeping in but of course I do advise against it for anyone planning a trip, which I know most of you reading this are or will be in the future. If you aren't an early riser, think about changing your style. Just look at how much I got to do while she was sleeping. The two most popular attractions in the park, pin and Vinyl trading, the Seas, seeing & eating in several WS countries. If you need to get your sleep in, do it in the afternoon AKA the most busy & hot time of the day. Trust me on this one!

I really can't stress it enough. I know what I just said is common knowledge here but you'd be surprised how many dissers still don't do it. To quote Hanson, JUST GET UP AND GO!

And that's my Tip for Today.

I headed out of the park after that and saw a little Boutiqued Belle on my way out. Oh my God this kid was adorable.

Made me smile!

Back at French Quarter....

I found Hidden Mickey on my comforter!

I sat down and checked out some of the pins I traded so far. Man, I was having AWESOME pin trading luck!!!!

SO MANY AMAZING ONES. First of all, THE MICKEY SKELLINGTON that matches the plush from the Pirates store. Oh. My. God. Probably my favorite pin I found all trip. I also love the Jack Skellington birthday pin... SO PERFECT for Birthday Festivus since I decided I was gonna look for Halloween/TNBC/spooky pins! The other really special one of this bunch is the top right Mickey one with the playing cards. I don't know if it's actually from what I'm thinking of, but it reminds me of my all-time favorite Disney short, Through the Mirror. If you haven't seen it, check it out on Youtube. It's always captured my imagination.

Lee-Anne had just got done showering so I took one next cause oops, I was running late and didn't do that this morning!

Then, I gave Lee-Anne her birthday presents cause AGAIN OOPS. Funny story, I forgot to give them to her ON her birthday.

#BirthdayFestivus13 fail. She didn't mind at all though cause she is the best. She had mailed me an AMAZING book, The Art of Tangled for my birthday too which I LOVED so I wanted to get her something that would make her equally as happy!

I got her a plush Mickey Mouse ornament and a Sailor Moon t-shirt. She was thrilled because she is OBSESSED with Sailor Moon. She actually changed her whole outfit so she could wear the shirt and luckily it fit perfectly.

The funny thing was, I also had her CHRISTMAS present to give her. We only saw each other once in 2013 (when we saw a private Hanson show in April...sigh... just thought I'd bring that up since it was one of the best days of my life... sigh I love Hanson...sigh) before Disney because we live like 4 hours apart. I had forgotten to bring it to the Hanson show so there we were. It was a pair of earrings and MICHAEL JACKSON COLORFORMS. I don't even know what colorforms are but I know they were around in the 80's. She is the biggest MJ fan I ever met though, so it doesn't even matter what it is, if it's MJ themed she is there. So she was thrilled with her gifts that made me happy! The rest of the day was off to a great start.​

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[deedee2177]

Yet another great update!! I'm such a fan of your solo outings!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[katt789]

Awesome update!

I definitely agree with you about TT, i liked the old one better lol.

I love that leanne and you are both cool with the way the other person likes to travel, like, that's she's cool with you getting up and heading into a park while she sleeps in! Yay!

 

[khertz]

Lots and lots of fantastic updates!!!

I just want to say, if you enjoyed the beignets at POFQ, you HAVE TO come to New Orleans and have the real thing at Cafe du Monde. I like to have weekends where I pretend I'm a tourist and spend the weekend in NOLA, and beignets are a must.

I can't echo enough how important it is to be up and at the parks early! Lots of people ask me for Disney advice and that's always the first thing I tell them, no matter what time of year they are going!

Also, your review of Test Track has pretty much confirmed what I have been thinking this entire time which is that the new ride is entirely useless. I will still give it a chance when I'm there in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS but I'm thinking it won't be high on my list of things to do again. I keep going over all of the new things we will be doing this trip between the expansions at MK and Universal since the last time we were there, and I always seem to forget about Test Track.

 

[luvslikepi]

Luckily, my trip was discounted. Whew. But what I mean is... the feeling really is priceless in the sense that I can spend more at WDW than I ever would on anything and the cost does not weigh on me because the value is so great.

So there's a big tip if you haven't heard it before: Put clear tape over your celebration buttons to keep the writing in tact! If you don't, they WILL rub off.

Just finished catching up. I totally agree that Disney trips are so priceless. I just wish I could convince my husband how priceless they are for me....he just doesn't quite get it like I do.

Thank you for the button tip. When we went for my birthday in June we had to stop a few times to get the name redone. My almost one year old kept rubbing her arm on it when I would carry her and had black marker all over. I will remember the tape tip from here on out.

Can't wait for more updates. I just returned from my 2 day trip and I'm bummed...I went to MNSSHP and the FW Fest....and my iPod that had all of my pictures decided it needed to be restored. So sad. I'll have to relive my trip through all of your wonderful TRs.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Holy Moly Day 3???? You're on FIRE!!! I guess pre-writing is really paying off. I know I'd be dead in the water without it.

Ahh the Epcot entrance just never looks better than during Flower and Garden.

Your experience with Tron Track is pretty much exactly mine as well. It's fine but not "WOW"!

You know, it kind of breaks my heart a little whenever I hear a story like yours at MouseGears. I'm sure it wasn't a massive deal, but I still hate hearing things like that.

Haha Disney Dollars. I can actually buy some at a local flea market here. I've been SOOOO tempted, but they just want too much for them. I love looking at them though.

I totally love your touring strategy. If the others want to sleep, no harm, no foul. I'll just go solo for a while!

 

[courtneybelle]

I love your car!

My family got super competitive over who had the better car. It was fun, but I definitely prefer old Test Track, I just loved the theme of testing a car and going through all the different scenes.

Oh man, that was a crummy moment in Mouse Gear!

I used to get Disney Dollars ALL THE TIME when I was younger. I actually found a bunch in my room that I used on my 2011 trip! They're so cute.

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 15, 2013
Day 3, Part 2 In Which I Create Timeless Art Yet Again

It was Day 3 and we still hadn't been to Hollywood, CAN YA BELIEVE IT?!

Ah, my beautiful Tower where I reside and will one day raise my children. I love you.

WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD~!!

I was really hungry again. Lee-Anne had gotten food at Port earlier so she was good for awhile. CS at Hollywood isn't that great but I really wanted to try Min and Bill's Dockside Diner because I never have before and I heard that they had good pretzel dogs. I work in a mall so I eat way too many pretzel dogs on the regular, however I was excited to try the Disney version!

So I go up to the window and I ask what I could get with a CS credit here. I don't even know why I asked because I understand the Dining Plan - Drink, meal, dessert. But something here compelled me to ask.

The CM was super funny and silly, which I loved. He kept joking around with me so I wasn't sure he was serious that I could get this giant milkshake as my dessert... but here it is!

I ended up getting all of this for one CS credit!

The pretzel dog is obviously the meal. It comes with a side so I picked chips since I could easily put them in my bag for later (I knew I had to get something portable since there was no way I was gonna be able to eat this in one sitting). The soda was my drink and the milkshake was my dessert.

The milkshake was nowhere near Sci Fi or Beaches & Cream quality but it was still quite good. I shared it with Lee-Anne since again I knew I was not going to be able to finish it.

I enjoyed the pretzel dog, but WARNING they put mustard inside of it without asking. This is a mistake!! I hate mustard so I had to eat around it which was a challenge. Hey Disney, if you're listening, this meal could definitely be improved by asking people if they want mustard inside, on the side, or at all.

Those who like mustard should have no problem though. Oh and quick disclaimer you should like hot dogs and pretzels too. FYI.

This was the view from our table.

And of course I had to take a picture of Gertie for Theresa, our resident Gertie superfan.

We then took some pictures with a PhotoPass photgrapher.

I like the way these came out!

Next, I wanted to go to an animation class and Lee-Anne wanted to go to Voyage, so we decided to head over there and see what the times were like. It worked out that going to Voyage first would be better, but first we spent some time in one of the Animation shops.

AWESOME decor in there. I love the reels!

When we got in line for Voyage, this adorable little girl dressed as Minnie was behind us. I blocked out her face just in case her parents aren't cool with random strangers 1. Taking a pic of their child and 2. Posting it on the internet.

GAH I LOVE HER LITTLE GLOVES MY GOD.

Then we saw Ariel and Eric!!!!

Hard to get good pics in there. Love the show though and don't care that it's dated. It reminds me of my first trip because it's EXACTLY the same as it was when I was 5. And I love that.

Next we went into the Animation Building and the class wasn't starting for a bit longer so we went downstairs and contemplated waiting to meet Sorcerer Mickey but the line was pretty long. I kinda wanna do that next time though because I haven't met him in that costume in years.

Instead I played a "What Character Are You" game! This is the kind of thing I would usually pass by right away but like I've said I wanted to try new things this trip.

Lumiere is the host. He asked me a series of questions focusing on my inner self.

I had trouble answering some of them. Was this a harmless quiz or therapy session from a french candlestick? I don't know.

It turns out I'm most like Tinkerbell.

I disagree. Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Tinkerbell. The only reason people love her is because she's cute. Can we please remember that she tried to kill Wendy? Like she wanted her dead. Jealousy that ends in murder is not healthy, people. Tinkerbell is basically Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.



I mean, I don't hate her or anything but I am quite obviously more like Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine. I could point out the facts behind this but we all have lives to lead so let's move on!



We went in for our Animation class and I was so excited. This was one of my favorite things I did during Stuck in Disney and so I had been anticipating this a long time. The animator was my favorite guy from last time too so that was awesome. He speaks very matter-of-factly and is very informative, I just think it would be hard to do a bad job with him as the teacher.

WE DREW EEYORE!!

Ugh, my God. I am so talented. Who is Picasso? Someone who's legacy is in trouble once everyone gets a load of my talent, that's who.



Here is Lee-Anne's:

It was awesome drawing Eeyore because he's always been one of my faves and we met him the day before. He was also really easy to draw.



Here I am holding up my masterpiece in my house. I'm posing in front of the glass case that holds (some of) my Oscars.

They didn't all fit in the case but don't worry, more photos of the rest will be coming soon to a Trip Report near you.



I love looking at everything in the room you end up in after the Animation Class, and then the store after that. Really worth a look.



Alice art!

Not as good as my drawing of Eeyore, but there is only so much greatness in the world.



Next we headed down to Pixar Place and onward to the Streets of America.



Mr. Spell was on and working, not that you can tell in this picture. But he was and I was SO excited because that was the first time I ever caught him on!

I LOVE THE GREEN ARMY MEN!

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[__disneygirl]

MAY 15, 2013
Day 3, Part 3 In Which The Backlot Is Boring

Don't you just love all the Muppety touches? I had never noticed this one before:

Wooo, Aerosmith reference!!!

Lee-Anne was getting hungry and decided she couldn't wait until our ADR in a few hours, which was good because we ended up going to Pizza Planet!!!!!!!

I haven't been here since... 2006, I wanna say? 2004, maybe?

I love this pic of us in front of the epic Pizza Planet wall!!!

In front of this wall is where I want to have my wedding photoshoot, basically.

Lee-Anne ordered, you guessed it, a pizza!!!

The great part was she did not want dessert yet again which was no surprise because she is not one to maximize the dining plan. I have tried to get her to but she just... doesn't care. She almost never gets a drink, because she's usually already carrying one in her bag and never wants one for later. She never gets dessert b/c she says her dessert appetite on vacation isn't very high. It's all very confusing to me but I have learned not to question it because this means FREE DESSERTS AND DRINKS FOR ME!!!

While we were waiting for her pizza the Cast Members started hula hooping.

I appreciated this. If only I could hula hoop during down time at my job I would be a much happier person.

One of the CMs noticed me taking their picture and came over to talk to us. He was Japanese and super friendly just like every other Japanese person I have ever met. I read the location on his name tag - Nagoya - and said to Lee-Anne, "Isn't that where you were?" and she instantly started talking to him in Japanese and he was all like OMG but in a Japanese way. It was pretty adorable. Lee-Anne lived in Nagoya for 6 months in college so they had a lot to chat about!

He asked me what my favorite park was and I got into my explanation about how I can not even choose a favorite park or a favorite anything really because I am too obsessed with everything. I think I scared him.

The pizza was done and I was also given my delicious and free cupcake so we went to sit down!

HERE IS MY CAPPUCCINO CUPCAKE!

I had my eye on this puppy for a long time and it did not disappoint! If you like anything coffee flavored you will LOVE it. And if you don't you still may like it because IT'S SO GOOD.

Hula Buzz lasered it in half for me. He is a good guy to have around!

SO DELICIOUS.

I couldn't resist playing an arcade game which was weird cause normally I would never do that in Disney, where there are so many other things to do. BUT IT'S PIZZA PLANET! I had to play... THE CLAW.

I tried like three times to capture a Bullseye toy. I LOVE BULLSEYE!

Unfortunately I was extremely unsuccessful. However, a nearby custodial CM was wowed by my performance and said she had never seen anybody come that close to getting it before. I had the claw around his neck but of course it didn't pull it up because everyone knows those claws are designed to not hold things very well and if it does hold it's a damn miracle. But I proved brainless by wasting my money anyway, however it was pretty fun so I guess it wasn't such a waste after all.

Isn't this the COOLEST ATM EVER?

After using the restroom we headed in the direction of the Backlot Tour. I saw this random ice cream sundae. I don't know why it's there but I appreciate ice cream so why not.

I was excited to see the Backlot Tour again after years away from it. I wanted to do it on my Stuck In Disney trip but it was closed for refurb so I was expecting something cool this time.

I couldn't believe they still had the Pearl Harbor thing playing while waiting on line! They really need to update that. I remember hearing they were going to put a POTC one in, which wouldn't be my first choice but at least it would be slightly better. I think it should either be a video about visual effects in classic old Hollywood films or they should update it with a current film every couple of years.

The pre-show where you get to be in a movie scene was EXACTLY how I remembered it. I was actually kind of bored. :/

The ladies who got picked were really funny though, so that was entertaining.

Next we headed to the ride vehicle and I was hoping the attraction would have some new and interesting things, but I just wasn't very into it.

Topiary of the Earful Tower!

The sun was shining so bright, I couldn't get a good photo of this but it was SO cute. Topiary of Mickey holding a film clapper.

Actual Earful Tower!

My dream is to climb that one day. I mean that ladder is just screaming "CLIMB ME!" Do you think when I am famous they will let me? I mean what a photo op.

My favorite part was seeing this plane which was awesome. Immediately, I was like, "My ride's here."

Catastrophe Canyon

I loved this view of the Streets of America

Walking through the Prop Warehouse at the end is pretty cool too. I've never been in a real prop warehouse, though I have been on many a prop truck. They are usually more organized than this and obviously do not have fencing over them. hahaha

Turned to stone in Narnia!

I loved the old timey Mickey fridge. I don't know what film it is from, but I want this!!!

I really liked the room at the end. Now THIS is what they updated. I didn't remember seeing this stuff before. Lots of great costumes and props in that room.

I had to take a picture with the Titanic poster. FOREVER ONE OF MY OBSESSIONS.

I should have taken more photos in here, but oh well, you just will have to see for yourself. It's pretty cool!

The store at the end is also really great. I love all the movie themed items in here.

And lots of Walt!!!!!!!!!

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[luvslikepi]

I need the Walt shirt....like...right now.

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 15, 2013
Day 3, Part 4 In Which Buzz Is On the Booty and Jess Is Back!!​

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I told you I would show you the other room in my house with the rest of my Oscars. Well here it is.

Walt again <3

They also have this cool thing in the store where you can put your head into various movie scenes and it looks totally real and will fool everyone.

After thoroughly examining all the Walt items and watching someone put their head into a Star Wars scene, we started heading out of the park.

I took a picture of Luxo Jr.'s door even though he wasn't out.

For those who don't know, it's extremely rare but sometimes Luxo Jr. comes out of this door and moves around all cute. Here is a youtube video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3-fmotaI3s

I hope to see that someday!

It was almost time to head over to Epcot but I wanted to go to Villains in Vogue so I could Vinylmation trade there first.

Right when I was in front of the hat my cousin Facetimed me. She is 9 years old and was very closely following my Disney adventures on Instagram. It was perfect that she Facetimed me in that moment because not only could I show her the Sorcerer's Hat live but it's also right near Voyage of the Little Mermaid so I showed her that. She flipped out because Ariel is her favorite. And then I told her I bought her an Ariel toy that morning and she freaked out even more. AHH I love making my little cousins happy, it's honestly one of the greatest joys of my life. They are so precious.

We hung up and I went to go find Lee-Anne who had wandered off during our convo. Then I pin traded with one of the kiosk CMs and we headed down Sunset.

AHH my tower. How I wished I could go on... OH MY GOD I was dying to. But we all know about Lee-Anne's aversion to thrill rides and I didn't wanna be rude and leave her high and dry waiting for me.

IT TOOK A LOT OF RESTRAINT!!! I am a good friend.

I am SO HAPPY I decided to go over to Villains because not only do they have like the coolest CMs ever in there, but I FOUND THIS VINYLMATION!!

BUZZ'S FACE IS ON THIS VINYL'S BOOTY!!!

Now what could be better than that?!

Definitely one of my favorite Vinyls ever so that was a rousing success!

Next we headed out to the Friendship Boat and before we knew it my British accent was in full effect!!!

I'm sure that wasn't embarrassing at all. I'm sure my friends love it when I loudly speak in a cockney accent in their presence.

I posted the above photo on Instagram and the CM who had drawn it on the pavement found it later and left me a comment. How cool is that?

We walked to France and took some photos on the way.

Once in the pavilion spotted the amazing Beauty & the Beast topiaries! YAY!

Our dinner ADR was at one of my favorite restaurants, Le Chefs de France!!! We had to wait for Jess though, who was just getting out of work at Coronado. So we looked around in the shops for awhile trying on fabulous scarves and spraying perfume on ourselves. Oui oui.

Jess and I had been texting all day and I think she said about 500 times how much she was dying to get out of work and join us. Even with that I was shocked at how fast she got from Coronado Springs to the Beach Club to France! What a speedy frump!!!!!!!

Jess posted on Twitter:
I HAVE HAD SEPARATION ANXIETY FROM @babybritney FOR ALMOST TWO DAYS NOW AND LIFE IS FINALLY GOING TO BE BACK IN ORDER

hahaha We were so happy to be reunited!

After checking in, we sat on a bench in the waiting area for a minute and chatted about our day. Before we knew it, we were being seated.

I love the little placemat here. I love everything about this place actually. If you haven't tried it before, omg, go.

Our server was hot and French, just like the baguette that he brought us! We dug in (to the bread, not the guy. THAT CAME LATER. *wink*).

(No it didn't.)

(Sadly.)

I of course already knew what I was getting: the Gratin de macaroni. Even though I usually get the prix-fixe here, I just wanted to focus on the macaroni this time because I wanted to finish every delicious morsel of it!

GAH. Just as unbelievably delicious as I remembered, if not better! This is definitely the greatest macaroni and cheese of ALL TIME. It even beats Wolfgang Puck's for me, mainly because I love gruyere cheese so much and there is an abundance of it in the Chefs macaroni dish. The noodles are also just cooked to perfection and the dish is baked just enough that it's a tiny bit crispy on the top and deliciously creamy in the middle. AHH I WANT IT RIGHT NOW. So insanely good.

Lee-Anne was quite full from eating at Pizza Planet, so she only got the French Onion Soup.

I am a huge fan of French Onion Soup, and the one they serve here is the absolute BEST. Even though I didn't get it this time, it's something I highly recommend!

Lee-Anne and I weren't using the DDP for this meal, but since Jess had missed a couple days with us, she had a dining credit to use up! So she went with the prix-fixe and got the Lobster Bisque, Gratin de Macaroni, and we decided on the strawberry dessert together since she knew she was going to be so full, it would be better to share. I was very happy with this decision, since I had never tried that particular dessert here before and I love strawberry.

Jess's Lobster Bisque which she is very very fond of! She gets it often.

And her macaroni and cheese... because it is so good that it deserves multiple photos in this TR.

Illuminations started going off during our meal. We weren't directly by the windows but we could still partially see it. It was magical! I love watching the fireworks from a new location.

I had to go to the bathroom and by the time I came back, the Strawberry dessert was waiting for me!!!

I was surprised that Jess had not even touched it, she was waiting for me!! That considerate frump!

OMG this was absolutely delicious. So much happened during this trip that I honestly barely remember it but I do remember that I loved it. This is the 3rd dessert I have had here and probably my favorite.

Of course before we left I had to pee again because I pee 5,998 times a day. My friends are just like always waiting for me to pee. You're welcome for this information.

@babybritney: Oops we're the last people in Epcot AGAIN. @PrincessJess508

A trend of Jess and I's friendship is that we end up closing Epcot. It was way past closing time now and we were done with our meal so unfortunately we had to leave. Luckily we would be back within hours!

We walked through the International Gateway so we could go get Brooke in the Beach Club parking lot.

@babybritney: I can't even deal with the Beach Club smell

*Sigh* I love that place.

Back at POFQ we had quite an adventure on our hands because Jess had to unload all her stuff into the room. So we found Brooke a nice parking spot and brought all her stuff in, including her 2 birthday balloons. It was the Birthday Festivus afterall! We needed this decor.

We were so excited to finally have the sleepover we had been talking about forever! And it was just the first of many to come!

Once we got settled in and changed into our pajamas we decided it was 150% necessary to go pin trade both in our own lobby and Riverside's as well.

As we graced Port Orleans with our Fall 2013 Runway Pajama look, I said, "This is REALLY frumpy." and Jess replied, "But it like needs to be done."

She was correct!

We walked to Riverside first and it was so much fun. I LOVE walking to Riverside and back and it's even more enjoyable with a frump in tow.

Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with this entire resort? Yes? Okay well I'm going to repeat myself.

The Riverside lobby is so freaking beautiful and really seems like a deluxe to me. I LOVE IT IN THERE!

Next we headed back to FQ but passed our room to go pin trade in the lobby. We hit up Sassagoula Floatworks next where all these desserts were out waiting for us. We called ahead.

Just kidding... unfortunately for some reason they didn't know we were princesses and didn't prepare trays of treats for us. EVERYONE IS FIRED!!!!!!!!

We went back to the room and hopped into bed. Of course we put on Stacey for a little while and then set our wake up call. We discussed the new Monster's University wake up call and I said I preferred the Mickey and Stitch one. I can't remember who had the idea, but we decided it would be awesome if they had several different character wake up calls and you could select the one you wanted. So I imitated the voice of Disney Phone Lady and said "Touch 1 for Mickey." and Lee-Anne goes "Touch 2 for Jafar" due to her Jafar obsession. Jess and I cracked up and we were like YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD WHO WOULD CHOOSE JAFAR.

She's a Jafar-loving frump what can I say.

After that hilarious moment we drifted off to dreamland laughing... It seems we had all found our laughin' place!​

​

 

[MyPrinceWillCome]

Ok, I am about to legit sound like stalker buuuuuut....
I was looking at Jess' instragram and ended up on yours. I saw you posing with a Little Vincent's Pizza box. Were you at the one in Huntington, NY?! I live in the village! I'm basically around the corner from the Paramount theater. I would have freaked out if I ran into you! Like, I probably would have approached you and been weird and made you all sorts of uncomfortable freaked out!

 

[JDUB]

I'm in too! Loved all your TRs and can't wait to hear all about your exciting experiences of firsts!!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Aww that little girl is too cute in her Minnie outfit. It's funny because as I was scrolling I just caught the happy face and thought, what a peculiar mask??? Good call on hiding her face though.

See THIS is why I love your TR's. You have the ability to equate Tinkerbell to Glenn Close. That, my dear, is talent.

I've still not done the Animation Class, but absolutely plan to next trip. My goal is to hopefully draw someone who does greets and then get a photo with him/her/it holding my masterpiece.

The backlot tour bores me too and I'm not in show business, so I totally get your point. And it never changes. I loved it the first time, but it's now a take it or leave it. Much like Lights Motors Action. Haven't seen that in years.

OMG I had NO IDEA that Luxo Jr. came out like that. I wonder how many people walk by without even noticing? Maybe it doesn't happen anymore? That is so cool.

 

[cinderellaurora]

Hi Lia!

Sooooooooo having visited the Dis boards for several years, I have finally taken the plunge and registered!...and all because I felt it was about time I let you know how much I love reading your trip reports!

I confess I was a bit of a latecomer to the party and only discovered your last trip report half way through...the title drew me in because who wouldn't want to be stuck at Disney?! I was hooked by your style of writing and the humour you inject into it. Your enthusiasm for all things Disney is totally infectious!

I had been particularly looking forward to reading about this latest trip because I'm pretty certain I walked right past you at the Beach Club on May 25th!! I was staying there with my family and as we were leaving the resort to head to Epcot for dinner, you were entering with your 2 friends! I actually did a double take and was tempted to say hello but didn't because a) we were running a bit late for an ADR and b) you would have had absolutely NO idea who I was and it could have proved more than a bit awkward!

Anyhow, I love the title of this trip report because I don't think I'll ever truly grow up...my friends despair of me sometimes!!!! I'm loving what you've written so far and looking forward to reading more!

So thank you for all the time you put into sharing your adventures on here...It makes for great reading!

xx

 

[__disneygirl]

Ok, I am about to legit sound like stalker buuuuuut....
I was looking at Jess' instragram and ended up on yours. I saw you posing with a Little Vincent's Pizza box. Were you at the one in Huntington, NY?! I live in the village! I'm basically around the corner from the Paramount theater. I would have freaked out if I ran into you! Like, I probably would have approached you and been weird and made you all sorts of uncomfortable freaked out!

Yes I was! Hanson played the Paramount so of course I had to be there.

I'm in too! Loved all your TRs and can't wait to hear all about your exciting experiences of firsts!!!

Thank you! You reminded me that I forgot to list the firsts of Day 3! Oops.

Aww that little girl is too cute in her Minnie outfit. It's funny because as I was scrolling I just caught the happy face and thought, what a peculiar mask??? Good call on hiding her face though.

See THIS is why I love your TR's. You have the ability to equate Tinkerbell to Glenn Close. That, my dear, is talent.

I've still not done the Animation Class, but absolutely plan to next trip. My goal is to hopefully draw someone who does greets and then get a photo with him/her/it holding my masterpiece.

The backlot tour bores me too and I'm not in show business, so I totally get your point. And it never changes. I loved it the first time, but it's now a take it or leave it. Much like Lights Motors Action. Haven't seen that in years.

OMG I had NO IDEA that Luxo Jr. came out like that. I wonder how many people walk by without even noticing? Maybe it doesn't happen anymore? That is so cool.

OH MY GOD ROB. That is such a great idea!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Drawing the character and then get a photo). Omg.

I have never seen Lights Motors Action! I just... eh. Like I said, I've seen this stuff happen while movies were actually being made so if the option is the LMA stunt show or going on ToT for the 2983928th time... obviously I am choosing the latter.

I think Luxo does still come out. I vaguely remember Jess saying something about it when we were there. I also recall reading some post on here about how Luxo is extremely sensitive to water. So if there is ANY chance of rain, which obviously there almost always is, they won't bring him out because he'll be ruined. Don't know how true it is, but it makes sense since all other animatronics are located inside.

Hi Lia!

Sooooooooo having visited the Dis boards for several years, I have finally taken the plunge and registered!...and all because I felt it was about time I let you know how much I love reading your trip reports!

I confess I was a bit of a latecomer to the party and only discovered your last trip report half way through...the title drew me in because who wouldn't want to be stuck at Disney?! I was hooked by your style of writing and the humour you inject into it. Your enthusiasm for all things Disney is totally infectious!

I had been particularly looking forward to reading about this latest trip because I'm pretty certain I walked right past you at the Beach Club on May 25th!! I was staying there with my family and as we were leaving the resort to head to Epcot for dinner, you were entering with your 2 friends! I actually did a double take and was tempted to say hello but didn't because a) we were running a bit late for an ADR and b) you would have had absolutely NO idea who I was and it could have proved more than a bit awkward!

Anyhow, I love the title of this trip report because I don't think I'll ever truly grow up...my friends despair of me sometimes!!!! I'm loving what you've written so far and looking forward to reading more!

So thank you for all the time you put into sharing your adventures on here...It makes for great reading!

xx

Hi there! That's awesome that you finally got an account. Thanks for reading my TRs!

Yeah, I was at the Beach Club on the 25th with Jess and Gina so you definitely saw me. It would have been okay if you said hi. Other people did during the trip. As long as people don't follow me around, I'm good. LOL. (The only reason I say that is b/c I've heard of it happening before D

Thanks again!

 

[Cinderella16]

LOVE this TR so far. I will be driving under the beautiful arches tomorrow and reading this latest update just made me super giddy for what is ahead!!!!

LOL at the idea of a Jafar wake up call...you should pitch that idea to Disney!!

 

[__disneygirl]

MAY 16, 2013
Day 4, Part 1 In Which Captain EO Is A Fastpass

Hellooooo readers! I realized I forgot to list the first of Day 3 in my last post. So I will include them here!
#BirthdayFirstsivus13: The Firsts of May 15
~Went to Epcot for opening
~Went on the new Test Track
~Ate at Min & Bill's Dockside Diner
~Took the "What Character Are You Most Like" quiz at Animation
~Drew Eeyore
~Saw the refurbished area at the end of the Backlot Tour
~Saw Mr. Spell on and working
~Ate the Cappuccino Cupcake
~Played THE CLAW at Pizza Planet

WOO! Another day jam packed with firsts. And just wait until you read about Day 4, because holy moly did we do a LOT OF STUFF!

Let's get right into it, shall we?

Today was my first FULL day in Disney with Jess and my last full day with Lee-Anne! She was leaving the next day, can you believe it?!

So we let her choose what she wanted to do the most which was of course the most popular attraction in Disney World after the Swiss Family Treehouse, Captain EO. She also wanted to see New Fantasyland again and meet Aladdin and Jasmine.

We got all ready and Jess and I were done way before Lee-Anne. I love her, but we have very different park touring styles as I learned during our first trip together. She has that leisurely vacation mentality whereas I have the I WANT TO GO RIGHT NOW AND SEE EVERYTHING LET'S GO mentality. I even curled my entire head of hair even though I knew it was going to melt instantly upon me going outside just so I could occupy myself. Jess was like "Whooaaa you look like a movie star!" so that was nice for 5 seconds until it completely flattened out in the Florida sun when we walked to Sassagoula Floatworks while Lee-Anne finished getting ready.

Jess wanted to use up a CS credit so she got a Mickey waffle. YUM.

She said it was good but she was not a fan of the syrup at Sassagoula. I thought that was odd because I assumed the syrup was the same at all the Disney food courts. Maybe she just got a bad batch this time.

I didn't get anything. I know, how very unlike me to not stuff my face. But I wanted to save room because we had an early lunch ADR and trust me, it was worth waiting for!

I tried some of the White Iced Tea in my refillable mug. First of all when I took a sip it was WARM which wouldn't have been that bad if the flavor was better. It was too sugary. Once I watered it down a LOT and added ice, I liked it a lot though.

Before leaving the room I had asked Lee-Anne if she wanted anything and she decided on a fruit cup. So we brought that back to the room and left shortly after that.

French Quarter is so pretty.

So once we are finally leaving the room, I grab my cards (ticket, photopass card, gift cards, room key, etc) but I forgot one of my lanyards. So Jess saw it sitting there and says "Don't forget your pins!!" So I went back to get the lanyard.

We get down to the bus stop and I double checked for everything.

IT TURNS OUT that when I went back to get the lanyard I put the cards down for a second, so I had to run back to the room to get that. Crap.

I never do things like that so I was super annoyed with myself. When I got back to the room Mousekeeping was there and she seemed really nice but I was rushing.

I ran down to the bus stop and of course saw a Magic Kingdom bus was just pulling away. Our plan was to go to MK first to beat the New Fantasyland crowds. That wasn't happening anyway cause of how long it took to even get out of the room, but with me having to go back and get my ticket and stuff, it was totally a lost cause.

Once I got back, we decided to just skip MK and go to Epcot first. We'd go to MK after that. A bus pulled up in the meantime but the bus driver didn't put the park name up on the marquee, so everyone was just in a confused crowd around the bus and it was so annoying. This was not the awesome morning I was looking forward to! We should have been all the way to Magic Kingdom by now, not still at the resort. Bahhhh.

So finally we figure out that it's an Epcot bus and it was one of the older ones too. Ahh vintage Disney. So we pile on and off to Epcot we go!

BEHIND THE SCENES OF DISNEY COLLEGE PROGRAM FRUMP STYLE: Here we have Jess writing notes on her iPhone.

We got to Epcot and it was the most crowded I have ever seen it in my LIFE. We had to wait so long at Bag Check and at the turnstiles and it was really frustrating.

I said, "Why is it so crowded?" and Lee-Anne immediately deadpanned, "Captain EO" We cracked up.

Once we finally got into the park and the crowds went in all their separate directions, it wasn't that bad. I thought it would be good for us to get Soarin' fastpasses since Lee-Anne had never been on it before and obviously it is a can't-miss attraction. After I explained it to her though, she decided she didn't want to go on. This was kinda sad since Soarin' isn't really a thrill ride. Like, I understand why she says no to something like Rock N Rollercoaster, but Soarin' is just such a beautiful experience that I think everyone should do at least once. Lee-Anne is totally her own person though, something I love about her, so it really just didn't matter.

So we go over to EO and of course they just let everyone in for the show and it would be 20 minutes until the next one. BLERG.

@babybritney: CAPTAIN EO IS A FASTPASS.

Thank God, or else how would we get past the hoardes of people?!

We went to the bathroom and then back to EO where we waited and waited and then finally went in. I have to say the show ended up putting me into a great mood. I love Michael so much, even though there's about 50 other things I'd sooner do in Epcot than EO at this point... I still like it. I do miss Honey I Shrunk the Audience though.

After that we headed to the World Showcase so we could hit up Aladdin and Jasmine's first M&G of the day!

They were in their indoor temporary location due to the construction of a new restaurant in Morocco. We headed to the back of the pavilion to get in line, which wasn't very long at all yet.

Picture time! With sunglasses...

Or without?

Soon we were let into the room and I have to say I actually like this as a greeting location more than outside by the lagoon. I think the Agrahbah background is really cool.

At this point we started acting like fangirls, giggling and chatting excitedly. If you have read even like one page of Jess's TRs you know that she is beyond obsessed with meeting Aladdin and Jasmine to the point where if you banned her from their meet & greet I think she would need to join a 12 step program and a support group. She wants to be Jasmine and marry Aladdin. For me, Aladdin is one of my all time favorite movies and Aladdin was always my favorite prince (until Eugene came along) and my biggest childhood crush.

Jasmine was always one of my favorite princesses and I used to dress up like her constantly. The necklace was my favorite, omg I wore that thing out. Anyway. I LOVE ALADDIN and so does Lee-Anne so we were quite excited ourselves and mixed with Jess's manic (yet adorable) need to meet characters 9330 times each we were certainly an interesting group.

Once Aladdin and Jasmine came out I think we said "Oh my God" 74 times. Each.

The dude friends with Aladdin at this time was PERFECT. He was born to do this. We listened in on the people meeting them before us and Aladdin remembered every line of the movie flawlessly as if these events had all just happened. No matter what anyone said he always had an immediate and extremely accurate, true-to-character response. It was amazing.

During our whole wait we were talking about what we would say to them. Lee-Anne had been quoting the movie like the whole trip, especially the part where Genie says, "Can I call ya Al? Or maybe just Din." So I told her she should say that to Aladdin. She agreed this was a brilliant idea.

As soon as it was our turn they saw my shirt and Aladdin goes, "LOOK JASMINE! IT'S US!!!" He was super excited about it and I was just like what are you doing later dude.

So Lee-Anne goes, "Can I call ya Al? Or maybe just Din!" and right on cue in the Genie scottish accent Aladdin goes, "OR HOW ABOUT LADDY?!" Omg. It was perfect. We were like about to cry. I couldn't even deal with this dude's perfection. I was like HONESTLY STOP.

Look at me staring at him here like I'm watching Mick Jagger on stage. I'm an embarrassing, Aladdin-loving frump.

Next he started going on and on ENDLESSLY about trying to catch Abu. We were like whoa dude, what? He was hilarious.

Like most characters do, Jasmine asked what kingdom we were from and we told her our hometowns. Then Aladdin asked how we got to Disney and he mentioned something about a GPS. He clarified that he was talking about a Genie Positioning System which is how he and Jasmine find their way apparently. He was just reallyreally adorable, it was like sickening.

The PhotoPass photographer was so weird. He was all annoyed about having to use Jess's camera and Lee-Anne's phone in addition to taking pics for my PhotoPass card. It really bothered Jess and she got super pissed. He had such an attitude and it really didn't make sense that he would be mad about taking pictures since his JOB IS TO TAKE PICTURES. Must have been having a bad day.

After looking around in the Morocco shops a bit we made our way around the showcase...

Arriving in...

CANADA!!!!
That's right, baby!!! We had a LE CELLIER RESERVATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think we all know that my TRs are not as much stories about my Disney trips as they are just my personal ode to Cheddar Cheese Soup.

You may remember the saga that occurred the last time I went to Le Cellier in 2010. If you have not read that in my McLovin TR, WHAT is going on with you?! Get over there!!

That report is probably way better than this one. FYI. That's the OG,

This time we did not need to weasel our way into Le Cellier because it is WAY easier to get a reservation now. I would soon see why. DUN DUN DUN.

Seriously though, I don't know if any of you youngins' member, but just a few short years ago Le Cellier was very hard to get an ADR for. If you didn't have one months in advance you were screwed.

Not the case these days!

We took some pics in front of the GORGEOUS landscape here. I've always said this is one of the prettiest places in Disney. I love it.

We were gonna do two of us at a time and one of us taking the picture, when a lovely Canadian guest shows up. She was the nicest person ever, like most people from Canada, and offered to take multiple pictures of all three of us on all of our various devices. It was great!

I said to her, "You're so nice!" and she was like "Well yeah... I'm Canadian! Of course!" It was hilarious.

YAY! LE CELLIER!!!

​

 

[cinderellaurora]

Hi there! That's awesome that you finally got an account. Thanks for reading my TRs!

Yeah, I was at the Beach Club on the 25th with Jess and Gina so you definitely saw me. It would have been okay if you said hi. Other people did during the trip. As long as people don't follow me around, I'm good. LOL. (The only reason I say that is b/c I've heard of it happening before D

Thanks again!

Hi again!

"As long as people don't follow me around, I'm good. LOL. (The only reason I say that is b/c I've heard of it happening before D: )" Really? That is seriously scary :-s

Living in the UK, sadly I don't get to visit Disney World that often as it works out too expensive, but if we ever do end up being there at the same time again and our paths happen to cross, I will say hello!

Best wishes,

S.xx