The TCD Gang Sails Again!: A Four Night Disney Dream Trip Report

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

All the Right Moves?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, this is it.

 

The end of the cruise photos.

 

I didn't miss the sunrise on Thursday morning, the fourth and last morning of our cruise.

 

I'm not sure what time the ships get back to Port Canaveral, but they've always been docked when I get up.  And I get up early.

 

Here's a look off the starboard side of Deck 12 at 5:52 am.  All of the baggage was being loaded off the ship:

 

 

The terminal never looks as great on the day we get back as it does on the day we sail:

 

 

There are no buses here yet.  But trust me, they're coming:

 

 

While most of the guests are still asleep, not fully comprehending what is about to happen, DCL workers are scurrying around up top already preparing the ship for the next guests:

 

 

 

In just a few hours, a new batch of guests will be lined up to ride the Aqua Duck:

 

 

Looking to the east, the sky is starting to lighten:

 

 

I hung around up top and drank coffee for a while.  A little after 6, I noticed that a Carnival ship was traveling toward us in the canal:

 

 

You can see the ship approaching.  It was going very slow, and you couldn't even hear the engine.  You can also see that new observation tower they're building at the port all the way over to the right in this photo:

 

 

I have never seen a sunrise that I didn't love, but the fact that this one meant our cruise was over made it hard:

 

 

 

At least I got to enjoy that beautiful scene.  Other guests are wasting their last moments on the ship sleeping.

 

There was something very peaceful and calming about watching the huge Carnival ship slowly glide to the dock:

 

 

The sun was putting on quite a show this morning:

 

 

I couldn't stay and watch the Carnival ship dock.  I had to go and get my gang moving, so one last look at the Carnival ship:

 

 

One more look at the terminal from up top:

 

 

Nobody was going to get in a last swim in any of the pools this morning:

 

 

A couple of signs up on deck:

 

 

 

I got the girls up and they got ready for breakfast.  On all of our previous DCL cruises, we've gone to the dining room for breakfast.  They assign you a time for this, and you're supposed to vacate your cabins and take all your stuff with you as you must leave the ship right after breakfast.  This time, we decided to go early to the buffet, then come back to the rooms, get our stuff, and leave the ship.  No schlepping our stuff to breakfast.  That plan worked great.

 

A couple of photos from our porthole while I was waiting for the girls.  Here, you can see that the buses have arrived and are ready to load up and take guests back to Orlando.  It is just 7:10 am:

 

 

One of the ramps for offloading luggage was right beneath our cabins.  We didn't hear a thing:

 

 

Workers frantically cleaning the ship on our way to breakfast:

 

 

 

Our view from our breakfast table.  Note that you can see some RV's parked on the far side of the garage:

 

 

The reason the ship looks spotless when you board is because they clean every inch of it between cruises.  Which is pretty amazing.  Here's a window washer at work as we ate our last breakfast:

 

 

After we ate, we headed back the cabins, grabbed our stuff, and headed off the ship.

 

The only problem with our plan is that we timed it so we were heading off right at the same time the guests with the first breakfast seating were departing.  So, we had to wait in a bit of a line.  These guests were all behind us, though:

 

 

The line moved quickly, and we grabbed a porter to help us load up our luggage and drag it out to the garage.  Here he is loading it all in so we could head home:

 

 

And that was that.

 

We headed straight home.  I don't think I had to even tap the brakes until we were through Tampa.  We were home by noon.

 

The cruise was over.

 

And so is this report.

 

Stick around for the bonus features, though, if you want.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I see the Joker. 

 

What do they serve for breakfast at Cabanas that last day? 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I see the Joker. 

 

What do they serve for breakfast at Cabanas that last day? 

 

Almost everything they serve the other mornings. I noticed that the secret omelet station was not in operation, but that's the only thing I noticed missing.

 

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Hidden Joker!

 

Really looking forward to the bonus features and it's Monday which means we won't have to wait long!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Almost everything they serve the other mornings. I noticed that the secret omelet station was not in operation, but that's the only thing I noticed missing.

 

TCD

 

Really!  I don't know how they conned us into going back to Enchanted Garden for that limited menu when we could have enjoyed one last buffet at Cabanas.  Oh well....next time. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I saw the joker too.

 

This TR is ending too quickly!  Looking forward to your bonus features.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Beautiful sunrise pictures! But I have to ask, do you sleep at all? I'm not sure I could stay up as late as it seems you do and be up so early.

 

I can't wait for the bonus material!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Pretty sunrise.  Sad it ended.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hidden Joker!

 

Really looking forward to the bonus features and it's Monday which means we won't have to wait long!

 

Yes, the bonus features will begin soon.  Definitely this week.

 

Really!  I don't know how they conned us into going back to Enchanted Garden for that limited menu when we could have enjoyed one last buffet at Cabanas.  Oh well....next time. 

 

They really don't publicize that Cabanas is open for breakfast the last morning.  I didn't know it for the first few cruises we took.  And even then, we have always gone to the dining room.  But, this was so much better for us.  We went earlier, ate at our own pace, and then just had to go and get our stuff out of our cabins and get the heck out of dodge.  We planned it so we would be out of the cabins by the time we were supposed to go to our assigned breakfast.  That way we didn't hold up the preparation of our cabins for the next guests.

 

 

I saw the joker too.

 

This TR is ending too quickly!  Looking forward to your bonus features.

 

Yeah, the trip ended too quickly too.  We all agreed one more night would have been nice.

 

Beautiful sunrise pictures! But I have to ask, do you sleep at all? I'm not sure I could stay up as late as it seems you do and be up so early.

 

I can't wait for the bonus material!

 

I sleep plenty at home.  But, as I said, for what it costs to go on a cruise, I am burning the candle on both ends.  Yeah, I ended up exhausted at the end of the trip.  And stuffed.  But I'm fine now.  And I'll do the exact same thing next time.  I can sleep all I want at home for free.

 

Pretty sunrise.  Sad it ended.

 

It had to end some time.  I'm not sad.  We had a fantastic time.  Best cruise ever.  We never got rained out of any activity, and the seas were the calmest we have ever experienced.

 

Who knows if we will be able to do it again as a family?  The girls are scattered and busy.  And then there's the cost.   And college is expensive.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Risky Business and Top Gun. 

 

 

Are you kidding?

 

I can think of a bunch off the top of my head: Taps, Risky Business, Top Gun, Cocktail, Rain Man, Born on the 4th of July.

 

Oh, you don't mean Tom Cruise?

 

Nevermind.

 

TCD

 

 

All the Right Moves?

:smartass:

 

There seems to be an extra bitterswet quality to this cruise, knwing that it may be the last one for the whole family.  OTOH, I see the possibility of a TCD family reunion with all the girls with their husbands and children some day in the future.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Yeah, the trip ended too quickly too.  We all agreed one more night would have been nice.

 

I sleep plenty at home.  But, as I said, for what it costs to go on a cruise, I am burning the candle on both ends.  Yeah, I ended up exhausted at the end of the trip.  And stuffed.  But I'm fine now.

It had to end some time.  I'm not sad.  We had a fantastic time.  Best cruise ever.  We never got rained out of any activity, and the seas were the calmest we have ever experienced.

 

Who knows if we will be able to do it again as a family?  The girls are scattered and busy.  And then there's the cost.   And college is expensive.

 

 

All trips end too quickly.  But it's especially hard on a cruise when they herd us off the ship so quickly on that last day.  Geez, you have my money, what am I now -- dog meat? kind of feeling.

 

I'm with you -- I can sleep at home!  I loved your sunrise pictures.  

 

After paying for college expenses for three kids, I feel your pain.  Thankfully we only had one in college at a time.   The first two were paid in cash, but the last one ... I just finished paying off my college loan for him.  It was painful.  He had to go to an out-of-state school for his PGA program, and tuition was over twice what in-state tuition would have been.  But he was worth the expense.  I'm just glad it's over.  Thankfully we had 10 years between our oldest and youngest, so we could scatter the debt out more than you can.  

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

TCD,

 

I am home and just finished reading this trip report in one sitting! I have the same feeling that I had after I read about your cruise last summer.........I NEED to go on a Disney cruise!!  It all sounded so perfect and fun!  I was VERY glad you posted that photo of yourself with the beads of sweat on your face from your bike ride on Castaway Cay.........I am pretty sure that is what my face looked like when I met you a few weeks ago in the MK!! Thanks again for sharing and doing all of the work to post these trip reports!!

 

Heidi

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

 

 

Agreed.  The same thing happens at Disney World.  I'm sure we've all heard people in the parks speaking to CM's trying to understand the concept of Fastpass.  Seriously.  They spent all the money it costs to take their family to WDW, and they didn't do the most basic of research?  I don't understand it.

 

 

TCD

 

I have to add to this comment,, about doing some basic research! On our recent trip, I overheard two conversations that totally blew me away. One was a lady asking the CM at the check-in counter about which park she should go to. She was only going to be there for one day and was buying a one day base ticket. She had absolutely NO clue which of the four parks she should bring her kids to!!! Here she was about to spend around 400.00 on 4 one day tickets and hadn't even bothered to look into what the parks offered to pick one that would interest them!!!

 

The other one, was in Epcot. I was sitting on a stone wall/bench near Test Track waiting for my kids. A lady and her two kids came and sat next to me and were going over an Epcot guide map. It was around noontime. After reading a bit, the women said to her kids, "there is ride here called Soarin........you get in a hang glider......that sounds like fun.......lets go ride that" At this point I believe the wait was 90 minutes, not sure what was left for FP's.

 

A few years back we went to Universal for the first time. I spent hours and hours researching all of the rides/attractions. We went to the park with a plan and had an awesome time!! For us good planning is the difference between an awesome vacation and an ok vacation!

[carierraine 1]

Risky Business and Top Gun. 

 

 

Are you kidding?

 

I can think of a bunch off the top of my head: Taps, Risky Business, Top Gun, Cocktail, Rain Man, Born on the 4th of July.

 

Oh, you don't mean Tom Cruise?

 

Nevermind.

 

TCD

 

 

{drum rim shot}  I was just punned by the best two punners here... Thanks guys... 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:smartass:

 

There seems to be an extra bitterswet quality to this cruise, knwing that it may be the last one for the whole family.  OTOH, I see the possibility of a TCD family reunion with all the girls with their husbands and children some day in the future.

 

This has been a bittersweet year for the TCD gang.  Lots of great things have happened.  The girls all graduated and moved on to the schools that were their first choices to attend.  That is huge!  We are all healthy.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  But, we are now living in four different cities.  I certainly hope that there will be more DCL cruises in our future, but planning for one will be beyond complicated.

 

All trips end too quickly.  But it's especially hard on a cruise when they herd us off the ship so quickly on that last day.  Geez, you have my money, what am I now -- dog meat? kind of feeling.

 

I'm with you -- I can sleep at home!  I loved your sunrise pictures.  

 

After paying for college expenses for three kids, I feel your pain.  Thankfully we only had one in college at a time.   The first two were paid in cash, but the last one ... I just finished paying off my college loan for him.  It was painful.  He had to go to an out-of-state school for his PGA program, and tuition was over twice what in-state tuition would have been.  But he was worth the expense.  I'm just glad it's over.  Thankfully we had 10 years between our oldest and youngest, so we could scatter the debt out more than you can.  

 

You captured that last day perfectly.  I expect it now.  Bottom line- they want everyone off the ship as quickly as possible. No sense prolonging that - we just get the heck off.

 

Yes, these next few years will be a challenge for us.  But, we will find a way.

 

 

TCD,

 

I am home and just finished reading this trip report in one sitting! I have the same feeling that I had after I read about your cruise last summer.........I NEED to go on a Disney cruise!!  It all sounded so perfect and fun!  I was VERY glad you posted that photo of yourself with the beads of sweat on your face from your bike ride on Castaway Cay.........I am pretty sure that is what my face looked like when I met you a few weeks ago in the MK!! Thanks again for sharing and doing all of the work to post these trip reports!!

 

Heidi

 

Thanks for posting!

 

Our meeting in the MK will be included in the bonus features.

 

That was certainly a hot day all right.

 

 

 

 

Agreed.  The same thing happens at Disney World.  I'm sure we've all heard people in the parks speaking to CM's trying to understand the concept of Fastpass.  Seriously.  They spent all the money it costs to take their family to WDW, and they didn't do the most basic of research?  I don't understand it.

 

 

TCD

 

I have to add to this comment,, about doing some basic research! On our recent trip, I overheard two conversations that totally blew me away. One was a lady asking the CM at the check-in counter about which park she should go to. She was only going to be there for one day and was buying a one day base ticket. She had absolutely NO clue which of the four parks she should bring her kids to!!! Here she was about to spend around 400.00 on 4 one day tickets and hadn't even bothered to look into what the parks offered to pick one that would interest them!!!

 

The other one, was in Epcot. I was sitting on a stone wall/bench near Test Track waiting for my kids. A lady and her two kids came and sat next to me and were going over an Epcot guide map. It was around noontime. After reading a bit, the women said to her kids, "there is ride here called Soarin........you get in a hang glider......that sounds like fun.......lets go ride that" At this point I believe the wait was 90 minutes, not sure what was left for FP's.

 

A few years back we went to Universal for the first time. I spent hours and hours researching all of the rides/attractions. We went to the park with a plan and had an awesome time!! For us good planning is the difference between an awesome vacation and an ok vacation!

 

 

Listening to clueless guests is one of my favorite pastimes at WDW.  Just when I think I've heard it all, I will hear something truly astounding. 

 

{drum rim shot}  I was just punned by the best two punners here... Thanks guys... 

 

No, thank you.  You set that one up perfectly.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time for some bonus features.

 

Our cruise ended on Thursday, August 8.

 

Twin #1 was scheduled to move into her dorm at the University of Florida on Saturday, August 10.

 

That seemed like no problem when we planned all of this.

 

But, we really could have used a few more days between the end of the cruise and the move-in.  And, maybe I should have eaten a little less and slept a little more on the cruise.

 

Saturday came quick.  We did what we needed to do, and so, here we are in Gainesville late Saturday morning.  These first two photos are for DIT, and anyone else who was at UF in the '80's/90's.  There used to be an old railroad bridge that crossed one of the major roads in Gainesville, and there was a wall next to it that was painted with decades of graffiti.  Now, the railroad tracks have become a trail, and there's a nifty new bridge, and no graffiti on the wall, which you can see in the second photo:

 

 

 

There is very little parking around Twin #1's dorm, and we expected the worst.  Luckily, her room is on the first floor, and we miraculously found a place to park right near one of the entrance doors.  The move in was not bad at all. 

 

I failed on the before photos.  But here's an after:

 

 

Twin #1 painted this herself:

 

 

She also made that bulletin board out of wine corks that you see in the previous photo.  No comment on where the corks came from. Hic.

 

The closet/desk area.  She glued all those marble thingys on that mirror frame. I knocked a bunch of them off while hanging it.  My bad:

 

 

Twin #1 gets cable TV in her dorm.  Twin #2 does not.  Twin #1's free cable includes the station that plays the Rays games.  Winning:

 

 

Twin #1 has a little kitchen area in her room:

 

 

Thankfully, I didn't have to by an Art of Animation shower curtain for Twin #1.  She got hers at Target:

 

 

Mrs. TCD has provided one of these to each of our daughters.  There's a personalized message written on the back:

 

 

A group shot before we left:

 

 

I'm pretty sure these are the first photos ever taken of Mrs. TCD wearing a Gator shirt.  She was a good sport and even did a chomp.  She drew the line at wearing jorts, though:

 

 

So that's how we spent the Saturday after our cruise.

 

That was a day trip.

 

We still had our oldest daughter and Twin #2 in the nest.

 

Until Sunday, that is, when I took my oldest to the airport.

 

Then it was just Twin #2.

 

But only for a week.

 

Twin #2 had been in college all summer.

 

She just came home the day before the cruise.  Came home Saturday and we cruised on Sunday.

 

But, she had a week more at home.

 

And, she wanted to go to Disney World.

 

TCD
 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Gainesville has sure changed in the last 30 years.  Some for the better, I'm sure.  But I think it also lost some of its character. 

 

That dorm looks NOTHING like my dorm at UF.  I was in Graham...which may have been remodeled since the 80's but back then was an old fashioned dorm with plain square rooms, and communal bathrooms for the whole floor.  In-room kitchenettes and baths??  Kids are spoiled these days. 

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

You and Mrs. TCD are a breath of "fresh air" in today's world which has so many parents that aren't involved in their children's lives.  We "salute" you.

 

Thanks for sharing all the adventures.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

You and Mrs. TCD are a breath of "fresh air" in today's world which has so many parents that aren't involved in their children's lives.  We "salute" you.

 

Thanks for sharing all the adventures.

 

I know where you are coming from, Dave....but have my own perspective.  While I am not diminishing the awesome job TCD and Mrs TCD have done with their daughters....I also think the world isn't nearly as bad off as the media leads us to believe.  Every parent I know is involved in their children's lives, in some ways even more so than my parents and many in their generation were.  We hear about the failures of modern society, and they are many.  But setting those extreme, media sensationalized stories aside, the majority of families in this country I believe are raising a generation of kids right now that will be the salvation of our nation.  The current generation of teenagers gives me hope for our future.   

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Gainesville has sure changed in the last 30 years.  Some for the better, I'm sure.  But I think it also lost some of its character. 

 

That dorm looks NOTHING like my dorm at UF.  I was in Graham...which may have been remodeled since the 80's but back then was an old fashioned dorm with plain square rooms, and communal bathrooms for the whole floor.  In-room kitchenettes and baths??  Kids are spoiled these days. 

 

No doubt that Gainesville today has a lot less character than it used to.  But, there were some pretty rough areas that have been much improved.

 

Yes, kids are spoiled today.  But not so much in Gainesville. You want to see some nice residence halls (they don't call them dorms anymore)?  You should see the new one that just opened at Auburn.

 

You and Mrs. TCD are a breath of "fresh air" in today's world which has so many parents that aren't involved in their children's lives.  We "salute" you.

 

Thanks for sharing all the adventures.

 

Thanks, Dave.  We try.

 

I know where you are coming from, Dave....but have my own perspective.  While I am not diminishing the awesome job TCD and Mrs TCD have done with their daughters....I also think the world isn't nearly as bad off as the media leads us to believe.  Every parent I know is involved in their children's lives, in some ways even more so than my parents and many in their generation were.  We hear about the failures of modern society, and they are many.  But setting those extreme, media sensationalized stories aside, the majority of families in this country I believe are raising a generation of kids right now that will be the salvation of our nation.  The current generation of teenagers gives me hope for our future.   

 

I'll agree that things are not as bad as depicted in the media.  Most of the young people I have met at the schools my daughters attend are outstanding.

 

But, as I've mentioned several times in this report, there is a prevailing sense of entitlement and selfishness that seems to have escalated lately.  That worries me.  Oh yeah, and Miley Cyrus worries me too.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Pay attention to this so you don't get lost:  We dropped Twin #1 off in Gainesville on Saturday, August 10.  My oldest daughter flew back to Alabama on Sunday, August 11.  Twin #2 would be home with us until Sunday, August 18, when we would bring her back to Tallahassee to move in to her new dorm for the school year.  She had to vacate the dorm that we moved her into back in June.

 

Twin #2 wanted to go to Disney World sometime while she was home.

 

I said sure, pick a day that works and we will see what we can do.

 

She said Wednesday, August 14 worked.  I said fine.

 

She let Twin #1 in on the plan.  So Twin #1 arranged to meet us there.  When we said goodbye on Saturday, I thought it would be weeks before we saw her again.  It turned out it would just be days.  But I'm not complaining.

 

Twin #2 and I planned to hit a park for rope drop, so we headed over early.  Twin #1 said she would try for an arrival between 9 and 10, and would meet us there.

 

We went to Hollywood Studios.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, we weren't there for rope drop, but entered the park at about 9:10.  That shouldn't be a problem. 

 

It was.

 

We got to the Toy Story Fastpass machines by around 9:18.  The return time was for after 1 pm.  Fail.  I wonder what the earliest FP return time was that day?  No way it should have been way out to after 1 pm eighteen minutes after the park opened.

 

We were planning to eat lunch in the MK, so that late return time wasn't going to work for us.  But, I didn't think that through at the time, and got the FP's anyway.

 

Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster aren't usually bad waits this early in the morning, so we headed there.  The RNRC wait was posted as 30 minutes, but the number of guests waiting in the outside queue made it look worse than that.  We passed.  Tower of Terror said 13 minutes (get it?), so TOT it was.

 

It's not easy to snap a photo from the top when the window opens, but I have a lot of experience:

 

 

Our ride photo- we got the back row for a change.  For some reason, we usually get the first row.  I like the back row:

 

 

Next, it was Star Tours.  I tried to get a good photo of the Imperial Walker, but there are too many trees and the sun was in my eyes:

 

 

 

The girls were communicating back and forth while we were in Hollywood Studios.  Twin #1 was due to arrive soon.  We decided that Hollywood Studios was too crowded, and since we planned to eat lunch in MK anyway, we would hop there.

 

We told Twin #1 to just meet us at a resort, and we headed that way via bus at about 10:45:

 

 

I hadn't seen this Modern Family poster before. If you're familiar with the show, it's pretty clever:

 

 

Our morning at Hollywood Studios wasn't a total loss.  Twin #2 and I split a carrot cake cookie on the bus ride:

 

 

We met up with Twin #1 as planned, and made our way to the MK, after a brief delay to wait for this Pirate ship to pass:

 

 

I had one more item of business to take care of in the MK.  I had heard from Heidi that she and her family would be in WDW for a visit in August, and we arranged a meeting so I could give her a genuine Fort Wilderness Railroad spike.  We had texted that morning, and arrange to meet near the Fire Station on Main Street.  I picked a place to wait, and ended up with a front row seat for the Dapper Dans:

 

 

Heidi showed up, and I handed over the spike.  I had put it in my pocket when I went in to Hollywood Studios so it wouldn't be in my backpack for the bag search.  But then I put it in the backpack, and forgot to take it out when we got to the MK.  Apparently, it's OK to bring a big pointy piece of rusty metal into a park.  The Barney Fife who checked my bag didn't say a thing about it.

 

From here, we zipped to Space Mountain and then headed to Be Our Guest to get in line for lunch:

 

 

We timed that pretty good.  Even though it was already a bit after noon, the line was only about half-way across the bridge when we arrived.

 

While we were standing there waiting, Heidi appeared out of thin air and handed us three Space Mountain FP's as a gesture of thanks for the spike.  She must have headed there right at the same time we did, because the return times were within minutes of ours.  Perfect.  Back to back SM rides were now on the agenda!

 

We were inside the castle within 10 minutes:

 

 

Lunch was great. The twins both had the turkey sandwich, which has become their favorite.  I went back to the braised pork after trying the roast beef sandwich last time.  The braised pork was great.  It is definitely my favorite quick serve meal anywhere in WDW.

 

After lunch, we still had some time to kill before our SM FP's would be good.  So, we headed to Adventureland.  I wanted to check on something on the way.

 

This photo was posted just before this trip here on Discamper's Welcome to the '70's and '80's thread, and there was some confusion about exactly where this is in Disney World:

 

 

I wasn't 100 percent sure myself, so I wanted to take a look for those buildings.  We found them behind the Christmas Shop in Liberty Square:

 

 

One more look at that area:

 

 

We don't find ourselves in this area very often.  It's amazing how much effort went into building this off the beaten path area in the MK.

 

We decided to ride the Pirates of the Caribbean.  There is usually little or no wait there, and it's air conditioned.  Nice.

 

We were surprised to find that the line was all the way out and weaving around the entry area that we normally walk right through:

 

 

We joined the line anyway, since we had nothing better to do.

 

We soon found out why the line was so long.

 

They had one of the entrances reserved for the guests who were testing the new Magic Bands:

 

 

So, all us regular slobs stood in this long line, while half of the queue sat empty waiting for the occasional guest who was stupid enough to waste a Fastpass+ pick on Pirates.

 

Oh well, it gave us a chance to look at stuff that we normally rush right past.  Like this sign announcing the name of the Fort that we are entering:

 

 

After we finally got into the real queue, we doubled back and had to weave our way through some new chains they had set up to accommodate the long stand-by line:

 

 

This is a problem.

 

They have added Fastpass+ to a lot of attractions that never had Fastpasses.  So that means they have to make room for Fastpass+ guests in queues.  And this is the result.  Standby lines will be longer.  And extend outside of attractions where the wait used to be inside in the queue.  This is progress?

 

All in all, the Pirates wait wasn't bad.  We just had to weave through a longer line.

 

We still had some time to kill after Pirates.  It was hot so we were thinking air conditioning.  Someone suggested the Laugh Floor and that fit the bill.

 

On the way there, I picked up some Little Mermaid Fastpasses.

 

They have also added Fastpass+ to the Laugh Floor. What a waste of a Fastpass.  And, us standby guests now will be waiting outside, because a chunk of the inside queue has been walled off to make a place for the Fastpass+ guests to come in.  I'm sure you have never seen guests waiting outside of the Laugh Floor, well now you have.  Welcome to the future:

 

 

They have added some Monsters University references to the Laugh Floor, but you need to pay attention, or you'll miss them.

 

After Laugh Floor, it was finally time for us to use those Space Fastpasses.

 

On the way there, we passed a group of adult women in Princess costumes.  I did not have the camera ready so I missed all but one of them.  You can see her here, just right of center:

 

 

Our two Space ride photos:

 

 

This is the Gators doing the chomp, and Twin #2 protesting:

 

 

Next it was mermaid time.  The back entrance to New Fantasyland has been open all summer, thank goodness:

 

 

The Mine Train continues to take shape.  You can see lots of rocks and even plants growing on the rocks above the construction wall:

 

 

If you want to sneak in behind the construction wall some time, all you need is an orange vest and hard hat:

 

 

These buildings on the side of the Mine Train mountain seem to match up with the décor of the Little Mermaid ride- look at the tiles on the roofs:

 

 

 

Those tiles are the same as the tiles on Prince Eric's castle, right? :

 

 

There appears to be some kind of quick service stand with a canvas awning right behind the construction wall:

 

 

We now know that is Prince Eric's Lemonade Stand and Pickle Emporium.  But we didn't know it at the time.

 

The more they work on the Mine Train ride, the more you can get an idea of what this area will look like when the construction walls come down.  I think it will all look pretty good when it's done:

 

 

Next, we pay a visit to Ariel.

 

Then, we will be paying a visit to the Fort!

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

A first floor dorm room... I know how important that is when moving in because mine didn't have an elevator. Fun times.

 

It surprises me that one FL university would have cable and another wouldn't. 

 

I love the sign Mrs. TCD writes on. Cute idea and something they'll always remember. 

 

Speaking of Mrs. TCD, I admire her ability to wear the other schools' clothing etc. Z is allowed to go to Georgia Tech (especially if he wants to be an engineer), but there's no way I'm wearing GT gear. In family rivalries keep things fun though. 

 

Loving the bonus features so far!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Caught up.

 

First floor dorm room and cable with her favorite baseball team.  That does not SMB.

 

Nobody knock the pickle emporium.  I bet the pickles are fresh which is more than you can say for the cinnamon roll you can purchase nearby.

 

Nice trade off.  You get rid of a giant contraband spike and get SM FPs in return. 

 

Good thing the zombie apocalypse didn't happen while you were there though.  That spike might have come in handy.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I love that Twin#2 got in touch with Twin #1 and let her know the day for the planned Disney World trip. So glad that Twin #1 was able to meet you there.