Happy Fall Y'all! TCD's September 2013 Not So Scary TR

[Travisma 1,317]

Just to let everyone know, Fall has finally arrived in Florida.

 

Lows of mid 60's and highs in the 80's.

 

Natives have broken out the ski parkas.

 

The pools will be less crowded!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

What is MDE?

 

 

My Disney Experience

 

 

So do you set that up when you get there?

 

 

You can set it up on disneyworld.com and/or in the My Disney Experience app.

It's where you link reservations and customize magic bands. Also where you go to make fastpass+ selections if eligible.

 

 

What if you already have a AP?

 

 

You can link that in the MDE. I linked mine and am able to make FP+ selections when I go down to join doodle on Nov1st.

 

 

Can you do it once you arrive at Disney.

 

 

possibly. but if you do it at home you open up the Fastpass+ options ahead of time. I am not sure the process for linking your AP to he MDE once at Disneyworld. Mayeb at teh kiosks?

 

 

I will add my $.02 to the MDE discussion.

 

In my opinion, Disney had done a terrible job explaining this to passholders.  The only information I've received about it is from this message board, which I appreciate.

 

If you're a passholder, you can go on this site, and "link" your pass.  Whatever that means: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/

 

I was hoping to be able to get my hands on a Magic Band, so I linked my pass a while back.

 

And got nothing.

 

But, when I go on to the MDE site, I can see my pass, and the KTTW cards for my stays at the Fort in May and September on my page.

 

It looks like this.  Well, not exactly like this, because it has my name and all of the TCD gangs' names as well as specific ID numbers under each of the pass/KTTW icons. I removed the identifying information in case there are any murderers reading along who pick their victims from message boards:

 

 

You may notice that there are more names listed than there are members of the TCD gang.  That's because on one reservation, they included the twins' middle initials in their names and on another they didn't.  You will also see that a lost pass is listed in my profile.  I didn't lose my pass. The current pass I have was upgraded from a seasonal to a full pass by me in June.  They list my old pass as lost.  At one time the twins' passes were also shown in my profile, but for some reason they aren't anymore. 

 

I didn't link any of these KTTW cards to my profile-Disney did it.

 

You can click on each of those icons, and a new screen showing the status of the cards is shown.  All of the KTTW cards show as "active."  I think that means I can get FP's with them, but I haven't checked yet.

 

So, getting to Lonestar's question, if you have an AP, you can link it to MDE before you arrive.  If you do, I believe the KTTW card FP trick will work.  If you don't, I don't see how it could. MDE won't know who you are.

 

I don't know of any downside to linking your pass.  So do it.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

great trip report. 

 

Thanks.  Keep reading though, the big finish is coming!

 

I really enjoy the peaceful pics while you did the morning strolling around the Fort. I'm not sure what yoga does, but I'm guessing it has a similar effect as pics of sunrise over the Settlement. Probably even more soothing than frank Costanza's "Serenity now" incantation.

Side note: I'm little behind on my reading, but I am not a fan of the rap either. My only guilty pleasures are RunDMC/Aerosmith doing "walk this way" and Vanilla Ice doing "ice ice baby. Slightly embarrassing yes.

Side note 2: Happy Belated Birthday Big Fella. Hope one of the cast members helped you to get a special birthday call

 

Excellent Seinfeld reference.  Always appreciated.

 

I can't think of many places in the universe that I would rather be than at the shore of Bay Lake at sunrise.  It never gets old.

 

You and I have identical taste in rap music.  I also am fond of The Sugar Hill Gang- Rapper's Delight. They started it all.

 

I wore a BD button all day on my birthday.  Aside from many birthday wishes from CM's it scored me nothing.

 

 

Looking forward to more freak pics.

Cant get enough.

 

It's not nice to call them freaks.

 

But, I like them too.

 

And can't get enough.

 

Lucky for us that I have a few more freak MNSSHP guest photos to share.

 

Including the TCD best MNSSHP costume award winner for September 29.

 

 

Just to let everyone know, Fall has finally arrived in Florida.

 

Lows of mid 60's and highs in the 80's.

 

Natives have broken out the ski parkas.

 

The pools will be less crowded!

 

True.

 

It is 70 degrees out as I type this on Friday morning, October 11.

 

My weather app tells me it's currently 66 at the Walt Disney World Resort.

 

Sweetness.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Looking forward to more! Sounds like a great birthday so far!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's crank up the old trip report again. 

 

We are still at the MK, sitting on Main Street, as the MNSSHP guests trickle in to the park on Sunday, September 29.

 

This is one of my favorite things to do.  I could do it for every Halloween party and never get bored.

 

So far, none of the costumes have been very memorable.

 

I am not sure who or what this lady is supposed to be:

 

 

Devores' buddy, Loud Alex, was able to convince Russell and Kevin to return to him and pose for a photo:

 

 

Loud Alex spent a lot of time posing them:

 

 

Loud Alex works too hard.  He needs to chill.  He doesn't need to shout and make such a commotion.  He isn't being paid a commission, is he?

 

Hey, do you see those goddesses in the corner of the last photo?  That's worth a closer look:

 

 

A family rolled up with a little Belle in the stroller, and a dad in a beast costume, that was cute:

 

 

But what's up with that dude in the boxer shorts there on the right?  Is he here for the party, or is that how he normally dresses?

 

I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's here for the party since he has a skull on his t-shirt- but I don't like his shorts:

 

 

Let's take a closer look at Beauty and the Beast:

 

 

Here comes another Ralph and Vanelope:

 

 

We have seen several of those this year. It's a good idea.

 

Next came a big group.  They were all dressed the same:

 

 

 

 

So what the heck are they?  They have the letter "A" on their shirts, and look like they're wearing burglar masks.  I heard Loud Alex ask them who they were, and I thought they said Aquanauts.  I assigned the TCD twins to Google Aquanauts on their phones, but they came back with nothing. I have since tried to figure out who these people are supposed to be dressed as too.  And am stumped.

 

This bothers me.  A lot.  I understand that I am out of touch with pop culture, but the TCD girls aren't.  None of them had the slightest clue who these people were supposed to be.

 

Can anyone help?

 

A couple of men walked by in very random costumes.

 

One guy was holding a stuffed Herbie:

 

 

They posed for a photo together:

 

 

You need to take a closer look at this:

 

 

So one guy is dressed as Herbie the Love Bug, and is holding a stuffed Herbie, and the other guy is supposed to be Bob Barker?

 

What am I missing?

 

These guys appeared to be together, and apparently had left their wives back at the resort.

 

My best guess is that they're brothers?

 

I don't know- it was confusing.

 

And that guy looks nothing like Bob Barker.

 

Now here's something promising.  A female in a Tinkerbelle costume:

 

 

Oh, and look at that girl pirate waiting for her turn to get her picture taken:

 

 

I liked the girl pirate:

 

 

This was finally starting to get good.

 

But, the girls reminded me that we had an ambitious plan for the afternoon and evening, and we needed to get going on it.

 

I said OK, let's go ride a ride, and asked everyone where they wanted to start.

 

That's when they all did something sweet.

 

They all said they wanted to go to the Country Bears.

 

The TCD girls hate the Country Bears.

 

Every now and then, I force them to go and see the Country Bears, because I am a fan.  But it's been a long, long time.

 

The truth is, the show is kind of lame.

 

But, I well remember the first time I saw the Country Bears.  I was maybe 12 years old, which is the first time my dad drove us down from NJ in our station wagon, and we got to go to the Magic Kingdom.  I thought the Country Bears were awesome.  I loved it when the animal heads on the wall talked.  And, I remember guns being shot, and songs about drinking and blood.  And a raccoon hat that came alive.  And the large girl bear on the swing. And the grand finale.  It was amazing!  My kids have never liked it.

 

But, today, since it was my birthday, they all said they wanted to go.

 

How sweet is that?

 

It's good to be TCD.

 

So we went to Bear Hall:

 

 

In all of my visits to the Country Bears, I have never noticed the floors in the waiting area.  Ironically, it was just a couple of weeks ago that ThrillShakespeare posted a close up of the floor on the Where in the World thread here on ff.net.  I didn't recognize the floor at all.  But here it is:

 

 

Do you see what they did here?

 

Scratches on the floor.

 

From bear claws.

 

I guess they've been here for 40 years.  And I never noticed.  You have to appreciate Disney's attention to detail.

 

There wasn't a big crowd waiting to be let in to the theater. 

 

It was nice and cool when they let us in.  Everything was just as I remembered it:

 

 

 

Melvin and his crew were still hanging out there:

 

 

Do you know that they shortened this show recently?  I can't remember when that happened, but it wasn't too long ago.  I think I made the girls watch the show with me right before they closed it to make those changes.  I can't really tell what has been cut from the show, but it moves much quicker now.  It doesn't flow as well as it used to.  It seems disjointed.  The finale is still good:

 

 

That was totally worth it.  What a bunch of great robots.  I was glad that I got to see the Country Bears again.  And it was sweet that nobody even complained about it.  I guess it'll be a few more years, if not longer, before I get to go back.

 

We huddled up outside of Bear Hall to decided what to do next.  One of the mountains?  But, we looked at the time.  It was running short.  We still had to get to Epcot, do some grazing, and then get to Hollywood Studios by no later than 8:10 to cash in those TSMM FP's.  So, we decided that we needed to go ahead and hop to Epcot.

 

We headed on out.

 

There was an earlier report here on ff.net that they are serving a special pumpkin/ice cream waffle thing here at Sleepy Hollow.  I wanted to stop and check, but the girls didn't.  What I wanted to know is if it's only being served during MSSHP nights or all the time.  I still don't know:

 

 

The girls had mentioned wanting to get a drink from Starbucks to drink on the way to Epcot.  I told them when pigs fly.  OK, that's a lie. I like Starbucks drinks.  Just not on Main Street.  But, since they were nice enough to let me see the Country Bears with no complaints, I said they could have a drink, especially since a Starbucks drink sounded pretty good to me too.

 

Here we are in the Main Street Bakery, where they have a fabulous display of freshly baked recently thawed goods:

 

 

Please note the CM is reading something. Poor girl. That has got to be the most boring job in all of WDW.  Standing at that case, watching guest after guest walk by to order their overpriced coffee drinks. And not stopping to admire the freshly dusted "baked" items.

 

According to Disney, this is a bakery.  Not a Starbucks.  But, all of the baked items are in that little display case in this huge store:

 

 

We used to love the Main Street Bakery.  We would stop in there for breakfast often.  You could get a giant Cinnamon Roll or breakfast sandwich, and grab a seat in the seating area and enjoy it.

 

Now, there isn't a single chair for guests in the entire place.  Not even a stool.  Or bench.  Nothing. Buy your drink and get out:

 

 

You know what's funny, though?  Do you see how they have all those poles and chains set up for the guests to wait in line?  We've been in here several times since it's opened, at different times of day, and never once has there been anyone waiting in line.  And, every time there's been more CM's standing around trying to look busy than there have been guests.  I guess Starbucks paid a lot of money to have this space, but somebody is losing their butt here.  Dummies.

 

 

I got myself a Grande Salted Caramel Frappuccino.  Just to prove this isn't a Starbucks, the drinks are served in Disney cups:

 

 

Pay no attention to the satanic image on the other side:

 

 

We all got our drinks and were ready to bolt.

 

But as we headed down the street, look what was coming up. Over there by the train tracks. Clam shells:

 

 

I asked the girls to hang on for just a minute.

 

I wanted to see this.

 

And so will you.

 

In the next update.

 

Sorry, but we need to end this one because we're at 30 photos.

 

Next up, Venti Ariel.

 

You won't want to miss this.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

This was a good update. 

 

Is it possible the family in blue shirts has a last name starting with A, and that is the best they could do? 

 

Country Bears = Awesome.  I am sure Melvin was happy to see you. 

 

Satanic Coffee Catastrophe = How could you?? 

 

Looking forward to Venti Ariel.  I think. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

They are the Aquabats.  Very very stupid kids show.  Its on Netflix. 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

They are also a band and have been on Yo Gabba Gabba a few times before.  I'm not sure what came first.  Their appearance on Yo Gabba Gabba or their own show. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This was a good update. 

 

Is it possible the family in blue shirts has a last name starting with A, and that is the best they could do? 

 

Country Bears = Awesome.  I am sure Melvin was happy to see you. 

 

Satanic Coffee Catastrophe = How could you?? 

 

Looking forward to Venti Ariel.  I think. 

 

Yeah, I feel bad about not honoring the Starbucks boycott.

 

But, as you see from the photos, most people are sticking to it.

 

You definitely don't want to miss Venti Ariel.

 

They are the Aquabats.  Very very stupid kids show.  Its on Netflix. 

 

Aquabats!  Not Aquanauts. Aha!  Good job!

 

They are also a band and have been on Yo Gabba Gabba a few times before.  I'm not sure what came first.  Their appearance on Yo Gabba Gabba or their own show. 

 

A band?

 

Yeah- you're right, they have a video on YouTube.

 

This image I found via a Google image search explains the hand signal in the second photo:

 

 

 

 

This is who those people were trying to be:

 

 

No one in the TCD gang has the slightest clue about any of this.

 

Nor did Loud Alex.

 

I am amazed.

 

So, why are they dressed like burglars?  And what does Aqua have to do with anything?  Wait.  Never mind.  I don't want to know.

 

Does Loud Alex have a wedgie in that photo?

 

Don't answer that either.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Hasn't FWG shown us enough of venti Ariel?!?!

I'm so glad Z has outgrown Yo Gabba Gabba.

[devores 382]

 

Does Loud Alex have a wedgie in that photo?

 

Don't answer that either.

 

TCD

 

Its a reverse camel toe.

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

I have know idea why they are "Aqua" but they are like mystery solvers.  The actual plot of the shows aren't too bad.  It is their horrifically silly behavior that is the problem.  My kids love it and it is so weird I don't let them watch it very much. 

[Jennifer41 19]

SERIOUSLY THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD! 

 

mmmmm caramel frap.....

[Jennifer41 19]

Its a reverse camel toe.

 :laugh: :laugh:

[Jennifer41 19]

I"m going to purposely seek out Loud Alex on our trip...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hasn't FWG shown us enough of venti Ariel?!?!

I'm so glad Z has outgrown Yo Gabba Gabba.

 

Funny you should mention FWG's Ariel.

 

Great minds thing alike.

 

Read on.

 

I am also thankful that Yo Gabba Gabba was not a thing with my girls.

 

 

Its a reverse camel toe.

 

I wasn't going to bring this up, but I'm pretty sure Loud Alex is sporting a Moose Knuckle in the photo I posted of the pirate girl.

 

Dude needs some baggier knickers.

 

 

I have know idea why they are "Aqua" but they are like mystery solvers.  The actual plot of the shows aren't too bad.  It is their horrifically silly behavior that is the problem.  My kids love it and it is so weird I don't let them watch it very much. 

 

Horrific silly behavior?

 

Isn't that every kids' show?

 

I saw some horrific silly behavior in Barney, the Telletubbies, and all the shows my kids used to watch.

 

SERIOUSLY THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD! 

 

mmmmm caramel frap.....

 

I know.

 

How come I never heard of them?

 

I"m going to purposely seek out Loud Alex on our trip...

 

You'll hear him way before you see him.

 

Avert your eyes from the knickers though.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's get to Venti Ariel.

 

In case you don't know, Venti is the largest size drink they sell at Starbucks.  They don't sell small, medium and large like every other merchant in America.  Nope, they're from Seattle.  Where the people are hip.  So they sell Tall, Grande and Venti.

 

This Ariel is a Venti.

 

Here she comes:

 

 

Do you see what is going on here?:

 

 

Mom is Ariel, dad is Prince Eric, and the daughter is Ursula. I wonder if the daughter had any say in this?

 

And, side note- I was not the only one photographing this. That dude across the street is capturing this on his iPhone.

 

Somehow, I don't think that the poor daughter was consulted about any of this.  Mom was running the show.  She directed the prince to go and find a place to park Ursula's stroller, and she marched Ursula down the street:

 

 

Hey. look at this guy's costume.  He's dressed as a chowd-the beard isn't bushy enough though:

 

 

Sorry, let's get back to Venti Ariel.

 

Here she is posing for a photo:

 

 

One wasn't enough.  Here, she and Ursula are reenacting the scene where Ursula takes Ariel's voice:

 

 

Our viewing pleasure was suddenly interrupted by a herd of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

 

 

It was hard to see what was going on.  Darn those turtles!:

 

 

 

Remember TCDMR?

 

I can't say what I really thought about Venti Ariel.

 

But, I guess I can post a photo, right?:

 

 

Am I right?

 

I think I am.

 

Spittin' Image.

 

Anyway, did you see what time it was there on the official Main Street USA clock?

 

It's past 5:30.

 

We still needed to get to Epcot and then to Hollywood Studios.

 

But, first, Konichiwa:

 

 

Then a family came up that we had a hard time figuring out.  We think the kids were supposed to be Phineas and Ferb, and the dad was supposed to be Dr. Doofenschmurtz.  But why is the mom in a blue nightgown?:

 

 

When the family walked by, the mom had put on a white coat.  We still didn't know who she was supposed to be:

 

 

I'm not sure why that grandpa was pushing an empty stroller.  He didn't have a kid with him.  Was he dressed as the 900 loop stroller thief?

 

That's my last photo from the MK from September 29.  It was taken at 5:36 pm.

 

This is the next photo I took, at 5:49 pm.  That's just 13 minutes later.  In that 13 minutes, we had left the MK, boarded the express monorail, exited, and then boarded the Epcot monorail, and now here we are cruising past the MK parking lot gate:

 

 

Anyone who has done that before knows that is pretty impressive.

 

I love the giant pumpkins that they inflate on MNSSHP nights:

 

 

You know what's missing from those last two photos?

 

Cars.

 

Nobody was driving in to the MK for the party.

 

Attendance for the Sunday night party was much, much less than it was for the sold-out party we attended on Friday night.

 

We should have gone on Sunday night.

 

Oh well.

 

We were having fun tonight, and we had just scored a major win by hitting both of the monorails at the right time.

 

Pixie Dust.

 

At 5:52, we began our approach around Future World at Epcot:

 

 

We had made it from the MK to Epcot in less than 20 minutes.

 

As we cruised around, we could see that the entry area wasn't very busy:

 

 

And the World Showcase did not look packed:

 

 

 

This was looking good!

 

You know how Disney told us how great things would be when they ripped out the turnstiles and replaced them with RFID readers?  We would be able to practically walk right into the parks without even stopping.

 

Liars:

 

 

Why did they install 50 RFID readers and then only open 3?

 

Oh well.

 

Go with the flow.

 

Despite the bottleneck at the entrance, it wasn't too busy in here:

 

 

We headed on in to the park.

 

I wanted to hit the food booths, and work our way back to the International Gateway, where we would hop to Hollywood Studios.

 

But the girls saw no line at Spaceship Earth and wanted to ride it.

 

Fine.

 

Shouldn't take long.

 

It took long.

 

Right before we boarded, the whole thing stopped.

 

And it stopped again a couple of times during our ride.

 

And, the stupid camera took crazy photos of me and Twin #2 in our car:

 

 

 

My head does not look like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle in real life.

 

Well, maybe a little.

 

But not as bad as then made it look.

 

Twin #1 and oldest TCD DD's photos came out fine:

 

 

We didn't stop at the cranberry bog when we visited on Friday to get our free craisins.  Twin #1 and I made sure to stop tonight.  The other TCD girls said they didn't like craisins.  Losers:

 

 

 

The old guy in the bog did a terrific job acting like he had just flown in from New England to tend to the bog.  In reality, he probably is from Florida and lives in a trailer park of Hwy 27.

 

On Friday, we took a left when we got to the World Showcase.

 

Tonight, we took a right.

 

I wanted to go to the new Scotland booth first and get a scotch egg.

 

Way back in July, Mo posted a link to an article from the Disney Food Blog where they reported that one of the items which would be offered in the brand new Scotland booth would be Scotch Eggs.  Here's a link to that exact post: http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/8822-food-wine-festival-2013/?p=283479

 

Imagine my surprise when I got to Scotland and looked at the menu board:

 

 

It turns out that the scotch eggs got scratched in favor of vegetable haggis.  Vegetable Haggis?  Who do they think is going to buy that?  Dummies!

 

Did you notice that there's no one in the Scotland line?

 

That salmon they're trying to sell stunk.  Literally. Bad too.  I smelled it when I walked by the Scotland booth on Friday night, and then again tonight.  Nasty.

 

Scotland, you done goofed.

 

No worries, the filet in Canada was better than ever:

 

 

I give that an A+.  It's expensive.  But it's worth it.

 

From Canada, we headed on to the UK.  It was a little busy in this area:

 

 

But we've seen much worse.

 

We pressed on.

 

Next stop is Ireland for some Fisherman Pie.

 

But, you will have to wait for the next update for that, because we have reached the photo limit.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

The poor little girl. Why couldn't she be Ariel and the mom be Ursula. What little girl WANTS to be Ursula?

 

And why did you post that picture again?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The large mom as Ariel and the little girl as Ursula.  That there is some Juxtapositional Irony. 

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Spending time on a Friday afternoon catching up on a TCD TR while dh has taken most of the kids to Home Depot is not a bad thing at all.  It is no sunrise at the Fort, but it is not bad at all.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Does Venti Ariel not know how she looks?!?

 

Glad you got a good filet in Canada.  Last year at F&WF all I got was a bowl of fat.  At least the mushrooms were good.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The poor little girl. Why couldn't she be Ariel and the mom be Ursula. What little girl WANTS to be Ursula?

 

And why did you post that picture again?

 

That's what I'm saying.

 

No way that kid wanted to be Ursula.

 

That poor kid.

 

And I feel sorry for the prince, too.

 

Sorry about the picture.  But, it needed to be done.

 

 

 

The large mom as Ariel and the little girl as Ursula.  That there is some Juxtapositional Irony. 

 

You can say that again.

 

Whatever that means.

 

Spending time on a Friday afternoon catching up on a TCD TR while dh has taken most of the kids to Home Depot is not a bad thing at all.  It is no sunrise at the Fort, but it is not bad at all.

 

Sounds like the next best thing.

 

Does Venti Ariel not know how she looks?!?

 

Glad you got a good filet in Canada.  Last year at F&WF all I got was a bowl of fat.  At least the mushrooms were good.

 

Obviously, that woman has no idea how ridiculous she looks.

 

She was sauntering down the street, like she was all that.  And a couple of bags of chips.

 

I've met her type before.

 

That kid is going to need therapy.

 

Prince Eric needs to man up.

 

Sorry you got a bad filet.  But, you're the only person who ever got a good cinnamon roll at Gaston's Tavern, so you have that.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

That's what I'm saying.

 

No way that kid wanted to be Ursula.

 

That poor kid.

 

And I feel sorry for the prince, too.

 

Sorry about the picture.  But, it needed to be done.

 

 

 

 

You can say that again.

 

Whatever that means.

 

 

Sounds like the next best thing.

 

 

Obviously, that woman has no idea how ridiculous she looks.

 

She was sauntering down the street, like she was all that.  And a couple of bags of chips.

 

I've met her type before.

 

That kid is going to need therapy.

 

Prince Eric needs to man up.

 

Sorry you got a bad filet.  But, you're the only person who ever got a good cinnamon roll at Gaston's Tavern, so you have that.

 

TCD

 

:rofl2: We'll probably get another cinnamon roll next month, and then I'll be able to complain about it too.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:rofl2: We'll probably get another cinnamon roll next month, and then I'll be able to complain about it too.

 

You'll be sorry.

 

TCD

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

I feel bad for Ursula.

Starbucks SMB.

The cartel should be thrown out by force.

I want my dadgum MSB cinnamon roll.