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

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am a DVC member and a Premium Annual Passholder.  The ONLY reason that I will be getting my magic bands is that I will be staying at the Fort in December.

 

I guess that tells you how grateful Disney is for the $$$ you have contributed to them.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You may have had your fill of Festival Center photos, but I have a whole update's worth left to post, and I'm not going to throw away perfectly good photos, so find some room for these.

 

I promise that there is at least one thing you will find interesting in this update. So keep reading.

 

We left off admiring the artwork.  So far, we have been looking at the small potatoes.  They keep the big stuff here, near the cash register:

 

 

I don't know how much that Donald Duck picture is, because a CM was standing just out of the area shown in that last photo, talking to a couple who were expressing interest in the art.  Wow.  They were in my way.  Based on the conversation I was hearing, they weren't going to be moving anytime soon, so it was me who needed to move. So I did.  That picture has to be over $1000 based on its size alone.

 

There is some cool stuff in this pavilion.  They spent a lot of money on it.  A lot of the cool things, like a giant sculpture of a DNA strand that used to be out front, is gone.  But, this cool mobile is still way up there in the ceiling:

 

 

Everything you see up there spins around.  Supposedly, at some point the discs align to make a Hidden Mickey.  I thought about standing there to try to get a photo, but since Lou is MIA, what's the use?  It's no fun posting Hidden Mickey photos without Lou popping in to holler that it's not a Hidden Mickey.  Anyone remember Lou?  He was a fun guy.  When he took his meds.

 

Considering this is basically an abandoned attraction, they keep it in pretty nice shape.  They have put up new signage, which is used for both Festivals- like this sign for the Spotlight Stage.  The Food and Wine Festival logo you see back there on the wall is just a projection.  They will project something different there for the next Festival:

 

 

In case you didn't notice, this pavilion is a big dome, with displays in the middle and along the outer perimeter, with a walkway that goes all the way around the center displays.  Usually, I make a lap and go.  Today, though, my progress was stopped by these posts and barricades:

 

 

They were setting up for some kind of special event.  Which involved mimosas:

 

 

There was a videographer back here getting set up:

 

 

I wondered to myself what this was all about.  There were no signs or anything advertising what was going on.

 

Whatever it was, I had gone as far as I could, so I turned around.

 

They have a big display of Festival merchandise here:

 

 

This schedule lists the events which will take place on the Spotlight Stage that we just looked at a few photos back.  As far as I can tell, there is no charge for these.  Note that they all refer to tasting:

 

 

This is the seating area for the Spotlight Stage.  Those tables and the names of the events on the schedule suggest to me that there will be food and drink samples provided to the attendees:

 

 

Walking around to the other side of the pavilion, there's a large display of wine for sale:

 

 

Just past here, I ran into a line of people:

 

 

I assumed that this was the line for that special event that they were setting up for.  I wanted to check out the display they had in the back, so I walked past the folks in line.  I think some of them thought I was cutting them.  I enjoyed that they thought that.

 

Near the front of the line, there was this sign, which told me these folks were here for a Sweet Sundays event:

 

 

I didn't know what a Sweet Sundays event was, but I have since checked, and it's basically a seminar with a breakfast buffet that goes for $99 a person.

 

Wow.

 

Over here, in the center part of the pavilion, there's a little theater where they show a video on a repeating loop:

 

 

For the Flower and Garden Festival, the video is one that shows how they make the topiaries and displays.  It's pretty interesting.  I'm not sure what this video is about.  It didn't sound interesting enough to make me want to watch.

 

Back here in the back, there's a small room where they have a display about chocolate.  Dave D. posted some photos from here already, but I have some too:

 

 

Did you read that?

 

According to that sign, all of these sculptures that we're about to look at were made with chocolate.

 

The first one had a Fantasia theme:

 

 

 

The next one was based on Lion King:

 

 

This next one had an Under the Sea thing going, but there were no mermaids or any other indicia of the Little Mermaid movie.  Still, it had a Little Mermaid vibe.  And even a Hidden Mickey:

 

 

I still miss Lou.

 

After those first three, this guy's sculpture looks kind of lame.  Which is too bad, because it's kind of good:

 

 

The next one was a beach-y scene:

 

 

That one had a good title: "Romantic Ocean Sunset;"

 

 

The last one was horses:

 

 

If the point of those displays was to show me how chocolate can be made to look like plastic, then mission accomplished.  Somehow, though, I don't think that is what they were trying for.

 

But, you should still go there if you get a chance.

 

Why?

 

Because you get a free piece of candy.

 

This:

 

 

No, it's not a salted caramel.  But it is chocolate and caramel.  And, sometimes, that is good enough.

 

Plus it's free.

 

I decided to sit down right then and there and eat my candy, so I found a bench and I sat.

 

I decided to look at the free magazine I had picked up off one of the tables at the Intermissions Café.

 

I thumbed through the pages.  Nothing much interesting.  Just nice pictures of food and glasses of wine.

 

But then I came to this:

 

 

Cool!

 

But look at that cabin.  They have pine straw all over the sidewalk out front.  And, it looks like it's all by itself in the wilderness, not sitting on a loop with a bunch of other cabins packed in all around it. Plus, I think the porch is on the wrong side. I only know of one cabin in the fort that has the porch on that side, and this is not that cabin. Interesting.

 

And that smaller photo?  That's Jeannie's site on the 700 loop for sure.  But that photo is old.  The new decorating rules don't allow decorations that close to the road, so Jeannie's display is much less majestic than it used to be.

 

Oh well, it used to look like that, so it's not exactly false advertising I guess.

 

Whoever put this magazine together liked Jeannie's decorations.  But, Doug is the boss and he says no.  So that's that.

 

Here's the text of the article:

 

 

Does anyone know this Bill Lake guy that they quote?  Sounds like a fake name to me.

 

As I sat there reading my magazine, the folks who were in line all filed in to the seating area that we saw being prepared.  I walked over to take a look. There was a lady on a PA system welcoming them and telling them what they would be enjoying over the next couple of hours. You can also see the buffet line.  For $99, I would have expected more:

 

 

Also in this area is another large seating area that is called the Vineyard:

 

 

Here's the schedule for what goes on in there.  I guess it's all wine tasting.  You have to pay for this:

 

 

Since I visited here when the Body Wars attraction still existed, I know that this is the old entry way to that attraction:

 

 

The  queue to the simulators you rode in were behind those doors, there on the right:

 

 

Had I wanted to, I could have walked over there to see if those doors were locked.  But, I didn't feel like outrunning a Disney Security Guard today, so I resisted the urge.  Even thought they're all very easy to outrun.

 

That's enough Wonders of Life photos.

 

Time to move on.

 

Plus Twin #1 would be arriving soon.

 

I headed back to Innoventions to meet her.

 

And I discovered something interesting that has been hiding in plain sight for the past 3 years.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I miss Body Wars!  

 

Looks like they have more going on in the pavilion this year than they did last year.

 

Sorry I've not been commenting enough.  It's been a hectic week.  

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Disney tends to flip images in their pictures of the Fort.  I remember when the website had a picture of a motorhome with the awning and door on the street-side.  The idiots who lay out the magazines and websites don't even think anyone will notice. 

[devores 382]

For anyone not familiar with Body Wars

 

http://youtu.be/F5dfNEy-hMI

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cool video

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I guess my comment was misleading.

I was merely trying to say that I only had about $50 on me. Not that I would spend even $1 of it on you.

Sorry for the misunderstanding and for getting your hopes up.

Plus, who said anything about you? I said it was for a certain Snow White loving Fiend.

Maybe I was talking about someone else.

TCD

Yea! Sure you were!

[DramaMama .......... Janet 75]

Disney tends to flip images in their pictures of the Fort.  I remember when the website had a picture of a motorhome with the awning and door on the street-side.  The idiots who lay out the magazines and websites don't even think anyone will notice. 

I was looking in the pic for any numbers or letters that were backwards.  But why the pine straw?  Really? 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I miss Body Wars!  

 

Looks like they have more going on in the pavilion this year than they did last year.

 

Sorry I've not been commenting enough.  It's been a hectic week.  

 

Truth be told, I was never a huge fan of Body Wars.  I don't really like simulator rides.  At least not that kind.  The new Star Tours attraction with the 3D effects really shows how out of date Body Wars was.

 

You are right- there does seem to be more in the Festival Center than in years past.  It seems as if they've increased the size of the venues they are using for presentations, and they moved the Chase VIP lounge out of there.

 

I'm not even sure if I went in there last year.  The chocolate display (and free sample) was new to me.

 

Disney tends to flip images in their pictures of the Fort.  I remember when the website had a picture of a motorhome with the awning and door on the street-side.  The idiots who lay out the magazines and websites don't even think anyone will notice. 

 

I remember that. 

 

And also photos with extra trees and such photo-shopped in.  I guess those pine needles might by photo-shopped.  I don't know why they flip the images like they do.

 

For anyone not familiar with Body Wars

 

http://youtu.be/F5dfNEy-hMI

 

Thanks for sharing that Dave.

 

It shows the old entrance area pretty well.

 

I didn't watch the whole thing though- too long.

 

I was looking in the pic for any numbers or letters that were backwards.  But why the pine straw?  Really? 

 

I guess whatever CM was in charge of photo-shopping the photo was told to make it look more Wilderness-y?

 

So, enter the pine straw, and a few extra trees, and they must have removed the views of the cabins crammed in around the loop.  It looks pretty nice.  Not realistic, but nice.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time to move along with the bonus content.

 

We left off in the Festival Center.

 

One last look at the big mobile up high in the dome:

 

 

This is one of the windows on the outside:

 

 

I really like the way this pavilion was designed.  It is very unique.  I don't think they would ever build anything like this again, so I hope that at some point it gets renovated and reopens, rather than getting torn down and replaced with some generic big box with a fake rock façade, like they like to do nowadays.

 

Here's a look at this quiet corner of Epcot from the ramp outside the old Wonders of Life pavilion:

 

 

I always thought the Universe of Energy pavilion was cool.  And it is.  But, I can only stand to visit there maybe once a year. What they have going on there is so out of date:

 

 

 

Remember that Brazilian guy we saw at the entrance earlier? It turns out he was part of a group after all.  I ran into two BTG's (that's Brazilian Tour Group in case you're not hip to the lingo) outside of the Mission Space pavilion:

 

 

As you can see, these were not the groups of obnoxious chanting teens that take over the parks in the summer.  They were a little quieter, and a little less obnoxious adults.  But  they were still BTG's.

 

Here's another photo of the Fastpass mess at Test Track- the return time was now extended further out into the evening, but it didn't turn out in the photo:

 

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I had heard from Twin #1, and we had agreed to meet in Innoventions East.  That's the side that Sum of All Thrills is on.  I told her I would meet her by the benches outside the exit for the home of the future tour.

 

This is the area I'm talking about:

 

 

I can't say that I ever noticed that banner hanging there before.

 

I think I remember the clear domes hanging down.

 

What the heck is a Nanooze break?

 

I didn't know.

 

Do those domes blow out ozone or nanooze or something?

 

What are they?:

 

 

It turns out that they're speakers:

 

 

There are some videos playing on a screen across from the seating area, and these domes focus the audio to the seating area right beneath the speakers.

 

It sounded like something educational to me, so I moved over to a bench away from the domes and waited for Twin #1.

 

As I looked at these photos in preparation for posting them to this TR, I decided to Google Nanooze to see if I could find out what it was.

 

It turns out it's a thing.

 

Something from the National Science Foundation.

 

They apparently helped to pay for this little exhibit.

 

They have a press release about it on their site:  http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116457

 

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

 

A new long-term exhibition at the Walt Disney World Resort® in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will bring visitors face to face with the nanoworld.

Housed at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®, the exhibition Take a Nanooze Break features a series of interactive, continually updated displays that allow visitors to manipulate models of molecules, study everyday items at the nanoscale, and interact with scientists and engineers who conduct the latest nano research.

 

 

It turns out this exhibit opened in February 2010.

 

I've been this way many times in the past 3 1/2 years that it's been open.  And never once stopped to listen to the information about nanotechnology.

 

Also of note is the press release says this was all paid for by two grants.

 

And, If I'm reading right, those two grants totaled over $477K.

 

Like almost a half million.

 

For this?

 

Somebody got over on the NSF.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

There is no way the government spent $477,000 on that display.  That was probably just for the banner and one speaker. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

There is no way the government spent $477,000 on that display.  That was probably just for the banner and one speaker. 

 

No kidding.

 

I need to get in the grant writing business.

 

They make this thing sound great.

 

I would be surprised if there is one person who has ever learned a thing from it.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's move on with the bonus content.

 

Twin #1 finally showed up and saved me from the Nanooze zone.

 

She was enjoying a package of Craisins when she arrived.  She had stopped by the bog.  That was funny, because she and I had made a point of that on our last visit to Epcot.

 

For now, though, it was time to cash in those good anytime FP's at Test Track.

 

And we did.

 

It was really crowded.

 

We were the only guests in the FP line without Magic Bands.  And the line was busy.  Nobody could have gotten a paper FP for this early, since the machine was spitting them out for late afternoon since the get-go today.

 

The FP line doesn't go so fast at TT anymore.

 

The FP line used to bypass the design room.  Now they have you go through that process.  Which means there's a wait to get in the room.  And then a wait while you design your car.

 

Here we are waiting to get in the design room:

 

 

I let Twin #1 design our car.  Here's what she came up with:

 

 

Our ride photo:

 

 

Yeah, I'm wearing an Auburn shirt.  Auburn had just defeated Texas A&M the night before.  UF had lost to Mizzou.  I didn't feel like being harassed, so I went with Auburn.  So did Twin #1.

 

We were finished with TT by a little after 11.  That gave us about an hour to walk around the World Showcase before finishing up at Soarin'.

 

We started at Brazil.  Twin #1 had tried the pork belly the day before, and it was her new favorite Food and Wine Festival item.  Even though it wasn't even noon yet, there was a line at Brazil.  I may not like their tour groups, but I like their food:

 

 

I took this photo immediately after that one to show how unpopular Argentina is:

 

 

Sorry, but I don't have a pork belly photo.

 

We consulted our guide and decided that our next stop would be China.

 

So on we went.

 

We stopped in Norway to check on something.

 

The princesses from the movie Frozen are going to be having a meet and greet area in Norway.

 

We weren't quite sure where.

 

But I think we found it.

 

The Puffin's Roost, which was the last room that you would walk through before exiting the Norway gift shop, was closed:

 

 

Inside, there's a construction wall that blocks off the room, and guests now exit one room early.

 

The construction wall wasn't all the way to the ceiling.  Nor was it taller than my outstretched arm.  So:

 

 

 

All the display cases and stuff are out of there.  But nothing else appears to have happened yet.  Stay tuned.

 

The Frozen merchandise is out.  We looked at this cautiously.  We remember how we saw the Brave merchandise before the movie came out, and they had a doll of the mother that turned into a bear.  That kind of was a key surprise in the movie that we would have been better off not knowing.

 

But nothing looked too surprising here.  There apparently are a couple of goofy sidekicks:

 

 

 

and two princesses and two princes:

 

 

The Disney beancounters are probably hoping that two princesses mean double the merchandise sales.

 

I'm glad my daughters are past the stage of wanting princess dresses.

 

At least I hope they are past that stage.

 

Next stop was China.  I know that China is going to one day take over the world, but you would think they would have sprung for one more CM to take orders on this semi-busy day.  There's just one CM at the end of this line, but two more unused cash registers:

 

 

While waiting for the line to move, I looked back at Norway.  Do you see that tall building?  That's called the Stave Church.  For years, there has been a display in there about Vikings.  The great thing is that I think I'm the only one who knew about that, as every time I've gone in there, I've had the place to myself.  Now it's closed, and they are making a display about the making of the movie Frozen.  It's not going to be a secret that you can go in there anymore:

 

 

It was getting kind of cloudy.  But that was a good thing, as it was a warm day, and the sun being behind the clouds helped me from roasting too bad:

 

 

One of the girls had tried the shrimp from China on a previous visit and told me that it was a big portion.  That was good information:

 

 

We also got some pot stickers.  They were OK, but not as good as the all you can eat ones at 'Ohana:

 

 

Next stop was Germany.

 

Believe it or not, I passed on the sausage, and instead tried the Schinken Nudel:

 

 

Twin #1 had the Apple Strudel:

 

 

I had heard good things about the beef waffle from Belgium, so I stopped and tried one of them:

 

 

We used to feed the dog we had before we got Rocky Pedigree dog food.  You know what?  Let's not go there.

 

The waffle was OK.

 

By the time we got to France, we decided we had had enough.

 

I thought about maybe getting a Fisherman's Pie in Ireland or the steak in Canada, but when we got there, neither one of us really wanted it.

 

So, that was it for the Food and Wine this time around.

 

On to Soarin'.

 

We got the bottom tier.  Which means dirty feet:

 

 

I tried to get a photo of the golf ball that flies toward you in this scene:

 

 

There's a Hidden Mickey on the golf ball.  You can see it clearly if you focus on the ball as it flies toward you.  If you've never seen it, make a point to look next time.

 

It was 12:58 when we finished our ride on Soarin'.

 

Time to hop.

 

Next up, we try the KTTW FP trick at the Magic Kingdom.

 

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

While I will be sad when my kids are old enough to go off to college, I am going to console myself by going the Food and Wine festival, during the week.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The Puffin's Roost, which was the last room that you would walk through before exiting the Norway gift shop, was closed:

 

 

Inside, there's a construction wall that blocks off the room, and guests now exit one room early.

 

The construction wall wasn't all the way to the ceiling.  Nor was it taller than my outstretched arm.  So:

 

 

 

All the display cases and stuff are out of there.  But nothing else appears to have happened yet.  Stay tuned.

 

 

Has Disney ever before, in the history of theme parks, voluntarily reduced the size of a gift shop? 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

What did you think of the schinkennudeln? It was one of my favorite dishes my German mother made for me as a kid.

[LONE-STAR 370]

I think you will still have 3 very expensive princess dresses to buy. And the color is white.

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

All caught up.

I am not looking forward to my first taste of FP+.

I hope i am wrong about it and it works out, but i think i will be right.

Looking forward to the MK report.

[Starbuc71 162]

If only he had taken the time to grab a fastpass instead of killing his friend....

 

At first look I thought the Dinosaurs were standing on the dock at Clementines beach looking at Discovery island

The festival pavilion either needs a revamp or tear it down. Does it look as cheesy in person as it does in pics? So 80's and put together half a$$

[fortpartyof4 108]

I think you will still have 3 very expensive princess dresses to buy. And the color is white.

 

No Kidding!!!

 

And those princesses have some very nice taste!  I have noticed many little things in his TR's over the years that tell me they know what they like and how to get it.

 

I've also noticed what a loving, doting and involved Dad he is.  You know those weddings are gonna be nothing but the best.  And probably include some kind of Disney theme, or a hidden Mickey in the cake at the very least.

 

Between the college tuition bills and the 3 weddings, I believe we may see TCD a lot in the parks once he retires.  As a CM trying to pay it all off!

 

That is, if someone doesn't overthrow the great "Lord" of the Fort and put him in charge of that instead……..

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

What did you think of the schinkennudeln? It was one of my favorite dishes my German mother made for me as a kid.

 

I've had it before- and it was great.  I'm not sure what the real version is like.  This is basically mac and cheese with ham.   I bet your mother's was a lot better.

 

I think you will still have 3 very expensive princess dresses to buy. And the color is white.

 

I don't even want to think about that.

 

Do you realize how many wedding and bride shows there are on cable?  And my girls love watching them.

 

They all have big plans.  Hopefully, that's all a ways off.  Probably not far enough though.

 

All caught up.

I am not looking forward to my first taste of FP+.

I hope i am wrong about it and it works out, but i think i will be right.

Looking forward to the MK report.

 

Dave doesn't want to hear it, but when it comes to FP+ you have to adapt or die.

 

I think it will be alright too, but you definitely need to be ready for it.

 

Pay attention to how things went for us in the MK.  It might be useful.

 

At first look I thought the Dinosaurs were standing on the dock at Clementines beach looking at Discovery island

The festival pavilion either needs a revamp or tear it down. Does it look as cheesy in person as it does in pics? So 80's and put together half a$$

 

You're right- that does look like Clementine's Beach.  Which means that meteor hit right where the MK was eventually built.  It's amazing that caveman DIT was there with his Instarock camera to get that photo.

 

I disagree strongly about tearing down that pavilion.  I think the whacky 80's architecture needs to be preserved.  I think people should be able to enjoy how ridiculous some things were.

 

No Kidding!!!

 

And those princesses have some very nice taste!  I have noticed many little things in his TR's over the years that tell me they know what they like and how to get it.

 

I've also noticed what a loving, doting and involved Dad he is.  You know those weddings are gonna be nothing but the best.  And probably include some kind of Disney theme, or a hidden Mickey in the cake at the very least.

 

Between the college tuition bills and the 3 weddings, I believe we may see TCD a lot in the parks once he retires.  As a CM trying to pay it all off!

 

That is, if someone doesn't overthrow the great "Lord" of the Fort and put him in charge of that instead……..

 

I wish I could even think of retiring.  For the reasons you mentioned, it is apparent to me that I will be working until I drop. But, I don't have it so bad.

 

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Finally checkin back in... seems i have some posts to go back and read...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

While I will be sad when my kids are old enough to go off to college, I am going to console myself by going the Food and Wine festival, during the week.

 

Hmmm.  Something funny is going on here- my comments to these two quotes didn't post.

 

Anyway, I think what I said was that I haven't felt the urge to take a solo trip yet, but a solo trip to the Food and Wine Festival would be fun.

 

Has Disney ever before, in the history of theme parks, voluntarily reduced the size of a gift shop? 

 

You're right.

 

I can't think of this ever happening before.

 

Somebody is going to get fired over this.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Now let's move on to the Magic Kingdom portion of the bonus content.

 

I don't have photos from the first part of our visit to the MK.  That's because we were on a mission.

 

On our way to the MK, we consulted with the My Disney Experience App.  Unlike Epcot, the Fastpass return times at the MK seemed to be normal.  We were heading there a little after 1 pm, and it looked like the big attractions all had about a 45 minute to an hour waits, and FP return times in the 4 to 5 pm range.

 

We had the 4 KTTW cards and our annual passes.  That meant potentially that we could have six FP's simultaneously- enough for three attractions.  We were going to see if we could do it.

 

So, when we arrived at the MK,  Twin #1 took the two passes and headed to Big Thunder Mountain.  I took the four KTTW cards and headed to Space Mountain.  I also wanted to try for FP's for one other attraction.  But, which one?  DIT will probably flip over this, but we chose the Little Mermaid ride.  The plan was for us to go and get the FP's and then meet back on Main Street for a cold drink.

 

The plan worked flawlessly.  I was able to pull two FP's for Space Mountain, and then headed way over to the Little Mermaid FP machine where I got two LM FP's.  Then I went to our meeting spot.

 

DIT is going to hate this too.  But this was our meeting spot:

 

 

The Main Street Bakery!

 

Which I am supposed to be boycotting.

 

But I am weak.

 

It had gotten really hot out.  And, I had just done quite a bit of walking.

 

And, the AC in there is sweet.  And, there's never anybody in there buying anything, so you can hang out.  You can't sit, because there is no place to sit, but you can hang out in the cool air.

 

As long as I'm confessing, I'll also admit I had a salted caramel Frappuccino.  I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

I actually had beat Twin #1 back to the meeting spot.  She had the bright idea to take the train from Frontierland to Main Street, but gave up after the train never came.  Both of us were very hot, so we stood around trying to cool off. 

 

There really isn't anyplace to stand in there.  But we tried.  As we sipped our drinks, we compared notes on our FP score.  We now had FP's for Big Thunder, Space Mountain and the Little Mermaid ride. The return times overlapped.  The first one to be good was Big Thunder, which was at 4.  Then Space Mountain was good at 4:10, and the Little Mermaid was good at 4:25.  That meant we had just over an hour window to use our FP's for those three attractions.  It seemed do-able. 

 

It was around 2:30 as we stood there in the bakery.  That meant we had an hour and a half to find things to do before the FP marathon session.  We considered the 3:00 parade, but we both agreed that we wanted to be in some air conditioning.  We considered our options.  Where could we go that it would be nice and cool and we could take a little break?

 

Believe it or not, we went here:

 

 

Ah, the Hall of Presidents.  It cannot be beat on a hot day.  I may have even rested my eyes a bit.

 

That was a great break, and we were nice and cooled off when it was over.

 

We came out to find the 3:00 parade heading by.  It was going the opposite direction that it normally goes.  We had talked about Jiminy Cricket a bit back in this thread. Look, there he is:

 

 

You may have noticed from that last photo that the MK was a little crowded.  It was.  Which made our FP score pretty sweet. Without the extra KTTW card FP's, we would have only been able to ride one of the main attractions.

 

We still had time to kill.

 

That parade meant we needed to stay in this area.

 

We could get to the Haunted Mansion easily.

 

So we headed there.

 

And found that the line was all the way out to the entrance.

 

That was a good 45 minute wait, at least.

 

Not for us.  It seems that since they've added FP+ here, the wait is always longer.

 

Twin #1 suggested Small World.

 

Why not?

 

They have good air conditioning in there.

 

And I've been known to rest my eyes there too.

 

So we went.

 

If you're keeping track, we have so far enjoyed what may be the two most boring attractions in the Magic Kingdom.

 

We emerged from the dark cool air into the bright humid air.

 

And still had some time to kill.

 

I said let's enjoy the Rapunzel rest room break area.

 

It was right there:

 

 

Twin #1 wants to make some of these flags and lanterns to hang in her dorm room.  I think it can be done:

 

 

A guy in a cape and orange horns:

 

 

He was soon joined by a witch:

 

 

 So you see how people just plug their phones in those stumps and leave them?

 

We found one of the lizards:

 

 

There still isn't a sign there that says how many lizards there are to find.  I think they need to let us know how many there are so we can tell if we've found them all.

 

More folks enjoying the seating area and charging their gear:

 

 

Do you see all the MagicBands that guests are wearing?  Everyone has one.  Except me.

 

Finally, it was time to go to Big Thunder:

 

 

We got the very first car in the train.  Which isn't the best.  It's too slow in the front.  The back is where it's at:

 

 

From here, we walked right across the hub and to Space Mountain.

 

The guy in the back must know where the hidden camera is.  I wish I did:

 

 

So that worked good.

 

Walked right on to Big Thunder and then Space.  On a busy afternoon.

 

Now Ariel.

 

There is a new weather vane on a building behind the Mine Train construction wall:

 

 

 

I tried to take a photo of the standby line to show how long it was, but the waterfall got in the way.  Trust me, it was long:

 

 

We finished the Ariel ride at about 5:15.

 

Not bad.  We just rode three attractions that each had over an hour standby wait time in just over an hour.

 

We were out of FP's now.  And it was getting late.  We had to discuss dinner and leaving. This was just a bonus day trip, remember.  I had to head back home, and Twin #1 had to drive to Gainesville.  And we always tell the girls we don't want them driving alone late at night.

 

Twin #1 came out of the blue and suggested a Giddyap And Go.  I said she was just saying that to make me happy- wouldn't she rather east someplace here in the MK.

 

No, she said, let's go to the Fort.

 

That girl is a chip off the old block.

 

So, we decided to make our way to the front.

 

But we couldn't leave just yet.

 

There was another MNSSHP tonight.  And the guests were starting to arrive.  We had to watch.

 

We headed toward Main Street.

 

This side of the Mine Train still has a long way to go:

 

 

It seems like they've bumped the construction wall further out into the walkway- and you can see roof lines of some smaller buildings just on the other side of the wall.  More gift shops no doubt:

 

 

We started to see MNSSHP guests in the hub.  Here's a Peter Pan family:

 

 

I may have already mentioned this, but Devores told me that the Peter Pan theme seems to be the most popular theme chosen by families- even now.  I guess there are plenty of options with that theme.

 

More incoming costumes:

 

 

The dad and kid in this family are doing good- it's Rex and Woody, but then the mom put on a Snow White dress.  No, mom, you needed to be Jessie or Bo Peep:

 

 

Where's Waldo?:

 

 

Did you find him?

 

He's right here, by the trash can:

 

 

I need some help with these costumes.

 

At first, I thought these people were astronauts.  But, then I saw that the others in their group are dressed as sea creatures, and they had stuffed animal fish and stuff in their pockets.  Is this another show or group I don't know about?:

 

 

 

We stationed ourselves at the entrance to enjoy the guests coming in for the party:

 

 

There didn't seem to be as many costumes as the last couple of parties we were here to see the beginning of.  I'm not sure if this guy is trying to be a Gator fan in jorts, or if he really is a Gator fan:

 

 

There was a lot of variety this evening. Here we've go a solo M&M, a Jersey Girl/Witch, and a boxer:

 

 

 Here's another fail- a prisoner with Buzz Lightyear.  That makes no sense at all:

 

 

Here comes a lady in an Evil Queen costume.  Well done:

 

 

I guess this is a mad scientist?  And his creation?:

 

 

There are no groups of 20-somethings tonight.

 

Must not have been a CM discount night.

 

Plus it was a Sunday.

 

So the costumes weren't as good.

 

But it clearly wasn't going to be anywhere near as crowded as the party we attended.

 

We stuck around for a little longer.

 

I have some more costume photos to share.

 

Then we're heading to the Fort.

 

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

 

20,000 Leagues maybe?