The TCD Gang Springs Forward at the Fort- A Spring Break 2014 TR

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

Go Gata!

For real. Awesome pics of the Gata!

I am happy to hear you were impresses by the bald eagle.

I have seen them quite a few times in northern lower Michigan, usually when I am out in the woods or down by Bear Creek or the Manistee River. It never gets old.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow. you got that close to the alligator?! Brave man. I'd be hopping on the GC and seeing how fast that thing can go!

 

As I mentioned, I've been closer to much bigger alligators.  This one was just a baby.

 

Still, I might have needed stitches if he put a chomp on me.

 

It wasn't very smart of me to get that close.

 

If you ever see one, stay away.

 

Its only resort reservations, and, if Im not mistaken, only by invite right now. Not everyone has the option.

 

What, you don't get to test it?

 

For free?

 

I will be discussing this more in just a bit, but I believe if you have the link, you don't need the invitation.

 

At least that's what I heard.

Go Gata!

For real. Awesome pics of the Gata!

I am happy to hear you were impresses by the bald eagle.

I have seen them quite a few times in northern lower Michigan, usually when I am out in the woods or down by Bear Creek or the Manistee River. It never gets old.

Heck yes, I love bald eagles!

America!

There was an eagles' nest not too far from my mother-in-law's house a few years back, and the kids and I spent quite a bit of time watching it.

But I've never had an eagle fly right past me like this one did. That is something I'll always remember.

 

TCD

[dvccamper 32]

I thought I read somewhere that cast members would start training on April 13th for the mine train so they hope to have soft openings starting the 20th. I'm sorry, I can't remember where I read it so just take it as an unsubstantiated rumor, which it is.

[devores 382]

 

What, you don't get to test it?

 

For free?

 

I will be discussing this more in just a bit, but I believe if you have the link, you don't need the invitation.

 

At least that's what I heard.

 

TCD

But to get the link, you either have to have an invite or know someone who had an invite.

 

And no, yall think AP holders are the step children of this test. The CMs, the ones who are supposed to know everything about it and be the experts on it, get very little opportunity to actually use the program. We aren't even slated to get our MBs until sometime later this year. If that isn't vague. We have to make a reservation just like guests to get to use the system. We have to make our FP+ selections the day of and hope something is available. Even with a reservation. We cant link our maingates to MDE yet.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I thought I read somewhere that cast members would start training on April 13th for the mine train so they hope to have soft openings starting the 20th. I'm sorry, I can't remember where I read it so just take it as an unsubstantiated rumor, which it is.

 

I know that a press event has been announced for the end of April.

 

For the most recent press events I remember, one for the new Test Track, and one for the new part of Fantasyland they last opened (Enchanted Tales with Belle and the Mermaid Ride), they had soft openings for guests a few weeks before.

 

It seems like they are cutting this one close. So, it may be different from how they did it in the past.

 

But to get the link, you either have to have an invite or know someone who had an invite.

 

And no, yall think AP holders are the step children of this test. The CMs, the ones who are supposed to know everything about it and be the experts on it, get very little opportunity to actually use the program. We aren't even slated to get our MBs until sometime later this year. If that isn't vague. We have to make a reservation just like guests to get to use the system. We have to make our FP+ selections the day of and hope something is available. Even with a reservation. We cant link our maingates to MDE yet.

 

That stinks.

 

And, I don't think it's very smart.  CM's ought to be using the system so they can help guests when they encounter difficulty.

 

Not too smart on Disney's part.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

They say that the journey is the thing.
 
Actually, did you know that saying is attributed to Homer?
 
Who knew that Homer Simpson was such a philosopher?
 
We left our site at about 12:15.  Which is later than we should have left, considering that we needed to arrive at our lunch destination between the specific times of 12:35 and 1:05.
 
Luckily, our pixie dust held, and we could see that an MK boat was just arriving at the dock as we approached.  Perfect.
 
I stopped for a minute to take a photo of this magnificent golf cart.  Go Gata:
 

 
It was right here that I ran into a Fiend I had never met. It was the Happy Redhead, Betsy, and her family.  Nice folks.  And the name fits.
 
And, that would not be our last Fiend meeting today.  A big one is still coming up.  Although this was someone we've met before.  But, it's a good one.
 
Then it was on to the boat.
 
We sat out back to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine on this beautiful late winter day in Florida.
 
Here we go:
 

 
Goodbye for now, Fort.
 
A smaller boat was approaching us close to the shoe tree. Because that boat was there, we had to veer over further than normal.  Boo:
 

 
Looking at this boat now, I see it's not a lake patrol boat.  So is it a rental boat?  I didn't know you could get that close to the shoe tree in a rental boat.  If you can, then we can start throwing some of our shoes up there:
 

 
It looks like this is the best photo I was able to get of the shoe tree.  And, you have to look really hard to see any shoes;
 

 
Here's a zoomed in purple crayon version to help you spot the shoes.  There's one way up there, and then a pretty good group of them a bit lower:
 

 
We also passed River Country at quite a distance:
 

 
But, that meant we were close to Discovery Island.  You can't see much on the island anymore since it's so overgrown.  But, you can see that the cypress trees are still brown.  This was a few weeks ago-I'll bet they're already greening up:
 

 
Discovery Island used to be encircled in a nice white sand beach.  You can't see much of it anymore, but here's a little piece of it:
 

 
If you look close in the background of that last photo, you can see a bit of one of the old nets from the aviary.
 
It's kind of amazing that you can still see the shipwreck after all of these years:
 

 

 
That shipwreck used to be surrounded by sand.  Now it's surrounded by a jungle.  And the white sand beaches all around the island are obscured by bushes and weeds:
 

 

 
That big bird up there isn't an eagle.  I think it's an osprey:
 

 
There's Wilderness Lodge:
 

 
A Magic Kingdom ferry was just steaming out now- at 12:39- I guess they were calling in reinforcements:
 

 
Here's your basic back of the boat artsy flag shot:
 

 
Note that you can't see any stars in the blue field.  That's because these flags have a circle of stars with an anchor in the middle.  We discussed this flag thing right here on this board some time back and came to the conclusion that they used these nautical version of the American flag to avoid having to follow flag etiquette.  Which is why I was surprised to see what appeared to be a regular American flag on that Epcot boat earlier during this trip.
 
Here's a look back toward Fort Wilderness.  Fortunately, all you can see is Wilderness.  The Four Seasons building isn't visible from here.  Now, if they ever build that Fort DVC it will be another story:
 

 
Here we go past the Contemporary Resort:
 

 
I like the Bay Lake Tower building, but I think it's a shame how they crammed it in right on the old Contemporary Resort:
 

 
It's still cool to see the monorails cruise through the main building:
 

 
And crossing the water bridge never gets old:
 

 
A look back at the Contemporary.  I have to hand it to the architect who designed this resort. It sill looks good, and kind of modern, 40+ years later.  You can't say that about too much 1970's architecture:
 

 
As you can see, there is major construction going on across the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Polynesian.   They are adding DVC rooms over there:
 

 
I'll have some more Polynesian construction photos to look at later in this report.
 
The Grand Floridian, on the other hand is construction free and looking good:
 

 
Over there in that far corner of the Seven Seas Lagoon, beneath the monorail, they have been working on some kind of construction project.  What I've heard is that they have been building new floating docks for the Magic Kingdom ferries.  They are being built there, and then floated over to the current dock locations:
 

 
There's a bird situation on this breakwater near the Fort Magic Kingdom boat dock. Those look like the same kind of birds that are hanging out all over the shoe tree.  They all need to fly back to where they belong.  Also note in this photo how you can see the roof of the Wilderness Lodge, but not see the Four Seasons, than goodness:
 

 
Looking over at the ferry boat dock, it looks like one of those new floating docks is sitting right there in the foreground of this photo.  You can also see all the new bus stop roofs in the background:
 

 
I think that floating dock is the same thing that I saw when we passed over it back in February:
 
 
 

As we crossed over the canal where they park the EWP barges, I noticed that there was some kind of construction project going on below.  I didn't get a clear photo of it, but it looks like they have a couple of small barge-like boats that could be joined together to make a bridge over that canal.  Then guests could walk to the Grand Floridian.  Is that what this is?:
 

 
Our journey to the Magic Kingdom was now complete.
 
We had time, but no time to dawdle, to make it to our lunch reservation.
 
Which is too bad.
 
Because there was something going on in the Magic Kingdom that I didn't know about.
 
And,  I would have liked to stop and take some photos of.
 
I did the best I could.
 
We'll take a look at those photos in the next update, and then head on to lunch.
 
TCD

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

Looking forward to the Poly construction pics.

Discovery Island. What a shame.

[michele j 9]

I love the pictures from the boat. So beautiful. 

 

That baby gator is kind of cute.   Don't have to worry about me getting to close :)  

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I am finally caught up!

You mentioned getting an actual trading pin in your goodie bag from the Muppet event, but you didn't post a picture of it. I saw the "button" pin, but not the trading pin....I want to see it!! If you remember we are big pin traders!

Seems like in your recent trip reports there doesn't seem to be much of a line for the new Ariel ride. is that just at night or has the rides popularity died down? I am just curious. I know the same ride out at Disney's California Adventure NEVER has a wait, morning, noon or night.

I agree with Aaron that they should build a World of Color Show in the Fantasmic Theater. We LOVED that show!

That's awesome about seeing the Bald Eagle. The alligator shot was neat too!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Seems like in your recent trip reports there doesn't seem to be much of a line for the new Ariel ride. is that just at night or has the rides popularity died down? I am just curious. I know the same ride out at Disney's California Adventure NEVER has a wait, morning, noon or night.

 

 

And in their infinite wisdom someone said "hey, let's build another in Florida".  

 

Idiots.  

[LONE-STAR 370]

Nice Gator shot.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Great shot of the gator.

I've never seen any at the World, and I look for them all the time.

We were once at ASMusic waiting for a bus and DD points up and asks what kind of birds are those. I looked up and I said they look like vultures circling. However they were getting closer to us and the funny thing is everyone around us saw me looking up and started looking too. As the three birds slowly started getting closer to us we noticed they were 3 bald eagles. I know I got a picture but I can't find them. I did have about 40 or 50 witnesses. It was really cool.

I too didn't know bald eagles were native to Florida.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

While I was looking for the eagle picture I found this picture from the first time I stepped off the boat at the Fort to go to the HDDR and this is the first thing I see. Site 114

As some of you know I love Christmas yard decorations.

[kampfirekim 260]

I know I am beating a dead horse, but, I do not like seeing the shipwreck being overtaken by plant life.    Booo!   :beathorse:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Looking forward to the Poly construction pics.

Discovery Island. What a shame.

 

Actually, both the Polynesian construction and the abandonment of Discovery Island are both crying shames.

 

I'll explain more about the Polynesian when we get there.

 

I love the pictures from the boat. So beautiful. 

 

That baby gator is kind of cute.   Don't have to worry about me getting to close :)

 

I am glad you appreciate the from the boat photos.  That boat ride might be more enjoyable to me than the actual time I spend in the MK.

 

Yes, stay away from all gators-even the babies.  It is surprising how fast they can move.

 

 

I am finally caught up!

You mentioned getting an actual trading pin in your goodie bag from the Muppet event, but you didn't post a picture of it. I saw the "button" pin, but not the trading pin....I want to see it!! If you remember we are big pin traders!

Seems like in your recent trip reports there doesn't seem to be much of a line for the new Ariel ride. is that just at night or has the rides popularity died down? I am just curious. I know the same ride out at Disney's California Adventure NEVER has a wait, morning, noon or night.

I agree with Aaron that they should build a World of Color Show in the Fantasmic Theater. We LOVED that show!

That's awesome about seeing the Bald Eagle. The alligator shot was neat too!

 

I meant to photograph the goodie bag contents, but forgot to.  Luckily, I believe the goodie bag is still in my backpack.  So, I just need to retrieve it, and I'll post photos of what was in there, including the pin.  Don't get too excited-it's a generic WDW pin.  But, it's not one that I've seen before.

 

In my experience, the Ariel ride is almost always a walk-on.  They have some long wait times posted on occasion, but when I've been there, you can eyeball the standby queue and see that the wait won't be anywhere near what they have posted.  There have been a few times where there are guests standing and waiting in the outside part of the queue.  That would be a long wait.  But that's rare.  And, I think the long waits only happen when the ride had broken down.  Which happens quite a bit considering this is a new ride.

 

And in their infinite wisdom someone said "hey, let's build another in Florida".  

 

Idiots.

 

Good point.

 

What's with all the copying of attractions?  Actually, the answer is obvious- it's way cheaper than coming up with something original.  But WDW is getting the Mine Train.  Which is the first of its kind.  So there's that.

 

Nice Gator shot.

 

Thanks.  It was worth risking a leg chomp for.

 

Great shot of the gator.

I've never seen any at the World, and I look for them all the time.

We were once at ASMusic waiting for a bus and DD points up and asks what kind of birds are those. I looked up and I said they look like vultures circling. However they were getting closer to us and the funny thing is everyone around us saw me looking up and started looking too. As the three birds slowly started getting closer to us we noticed they were 3 bald eagles. I know I got a picture but I can't find them. I did have about 40 or 50 witnesses. It was really cool.

I too didn't know bald eagles were native to Florida.

 

I've only seen gators at the Fort a few times.  And they're always small, like this fellow.

 

I remember seeing one swimming near the entrance of Port Orleans Riverside, once.

 

I've seen many more gators in the wild at other places in Florida.

 

That's awesome that you saw three bald eagles at one time.

 

I remember hearing that bald eagles can be found in every state, except Hawaii.

 

While I was looking for the eagle picture I found this picture from the first time I stepped off the boat at the Fort to go to the HDDR and this is the first thing I see. Site 114

As some of you know I love Christmas yard decorations.

 

Great photo.

 

I'm glad you got to see those decorations.  I am afraid that we will never see those on site 114 again.

 

I know I am beating a dead horse, but, I do not like seeing the shipwreck being overtaken by plant life. Booo! :beathorse:

I hate to see it too.

But, at the same time, I like how that old shipwreck is still there. And seeing it reminds me of a better time. I hate to see it battling the bushes like it has to, but I'd be even sadder if it wasn't there at all.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

As I mentioned earlier, we had to report for our lunch restaurant reservation between 12:35 and 1:05.  So, we needed to move down Main Street quickly when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom.

 

Devores figured it out- I had been able to score FP+ lunch reservations for Be Our Guest restaurant.  For which I must thank fellow Fiend, GeorgiaDawgFan. From what I've heard, and as Devores said, these FP+ reservations are only for WDW resort guests who get an invitation to participate.  But, GDF posted a link in her TR, and it worked for us.  It didn't work at first.  I tried it many times after she first posted it, but it was glitchy.  Then, one day, really close to the day we would be heading to the Fort, it worked.  I know it also worked for Grumpy Dave, as he and I discussed this when I saw him a the Fort.  When you make the FP+ reservation, you also have the option of pre-ordering (and I assume paying for) your food, or you can just elect to show up and order when you get there.  Since there was always a chance that one or more of us would not make the reservation, I did not elect to pre-order.  I've seen how that works while we have waited on the bridge at BOG during other visits.  The people with FP+ reservations got to bypass the line outside and go right in to the armor room to wait to order.  I figured that was good enough, so that's what I chose to do.

 

Looking back at the time stamps on my photos, I didn't realize how close we cut our arrival time.  That isn't like me.  I didn't know we were so close.  I think I must have thought that we had until 1:15.  I wouldn't have cut it that close.

 

As we walked in to the MK, we noticed that people were already staking out seats on either side of Main Street for the 3:00 parade.  It was barely 1:00.  But today, March 9, 2014, was a special day.  This was the long awaited day when the new Festival of Fantasy parade would first be performed at the MK.  Luckily, it coincided with our planned trip.  I made the BOG FP+ reservations after the parade premier was announced.  So, the plan was to eat lunch, and then find a spot for the parade.  I thought that an hour ahead of time would be enough time, but clearly it wasn't.  At least not for a spot on Main Street.  Oh well, we would try for someplace in Frontierland.  Since the parade traveled through there first, we would have the distinction of seeing it before all those people who would be waiting for two hours on Main Street.

 

In addition to the first-ever performance of the Festival of Fantasy parade, there was something else going on in the Magic Kingdom today.  It was Dapper Day 2014.  What's that?  That's what I said.

 

Apparently, it's a thing at Disneyland.

 

People show up on certain designated days dressed up in fancy old-timey clothes.  It's not an official thing.  It's something that fans get together and agree to do.

 

I'm not sure if there's been a Dapper Day at the Magic Kingdom before, but there was one today. 

 

If you want to know more about this event, I found a website where someone apparently is trying to make a few bucks from the participants by offering to book hotel rooms and such.  And, here's something interesting- they offer discounted park tickets- including what appears to be an after 4 pm pass for $59.  Which is quite a savings over the gate price: http://dapperday.com/march-9-2014-wdw

 

Anyway, this was the thing I referred to earlier as wishing I had more time to stop and take photos of.  There was a large group of these Dappers congregated in the hub trying to take a group photo as we walked by:

 

 

Take a closer look at that group:

 

 

There is a lot going on there.  I wish I could have stayed and taken more photos.  But I couldn't. Which is a real shame, because there were some sights to see.

 

If you are so inclined, and want to see more, there are photos on that website I linked,  Or, if you know how to use Instagram, look at #DAPPERDAY2014.

 

Here's a look back at the hub area- it was a pretty day, and not too crowded:

 

 

Here's your basic castle with a crane shot.  But, there's also a bonus group of guys in a bucket lift there on the left.  I've seen photos since this one was taken showing that they have painted some of those blue castle turrets silver.  I guess those guys in the lift were about to break out the silver paint:

 

 

Also note in that photo that there are plenty of spots in this area left to be claimed for the parade.  We processed that information.  The fact that people weren't camped out here yet meant that there was probably plenty of space in Frontierland.

 

We arrived at the entrance of BOG restaurant at 1:03 pm.  Again, that is much, much closer than I would normally cut things.  I must not have realized that we were supposed to be there no later than 1:05.  No worries though, because we were there.  To use the FP+, you have to check in at the little booth they have at the left of the bridge entrance.  There were two CM's seated there as I approached, waiting to help.  As I walked up, a woman with a huge stroller cut in front of me from the right and barged her way up to the booth, positioning her stroller and her considerable back side in such a way as to block access to both CM's.  The CM's witnessed this whole thing, and one of them gave me a knowing eye roll.  I walked up, and the CM's asked the lady to please move over to one side so that one of them could help each of us.  The lady didn't move.  She instead blurted out that she needed to know where she could get her Fastpasses, because she was staying at one of the resorts, and they told her when she checked in that she could get three Fastpasses, and she would like to have those now.  Seriously.  It was 1 pm.  And this lady was all the way back here in New Fantasyland.  And I assume that she really was staying in a resort, but she stops here, to find out how to get Fastpasses?   That was awesome.  The CM's were great.  They spoke to her in that tone that sounds overly friendly.  Which is really sarcastic, but guests can't complain about it, because they were being super nice and polite. The CM's explained to her that this was the Be Our Guest restaurant, and that they could not help her get Fastpasses.  They directed her to the kiosks over by Mickey's Philharmagic.  And, off she stormed.  I enjoyed that.  The CM's did too.  They both apologized, and asked how they could help me.  I had a print-out of my BOG FP+ reservation.  But, I didn't need it.  They looked me up on an iPad, and handed me a Magic Rose, and told me to take my party and walk across the bridge and check in with the CM at the door.  I snapped this photo at 1:03 pm, as we began to walk down the bridge.  You can kind of see the line of regular guests there on the left, and also you can see the Mine Train there in the background:

 

 

This photo was taken at 1:04, as we walked past all the people standing on the bridge for regular entrance to the restaurant.  We've been in that line many times:

 

 

When we got to the door, the CM saw we had a rose, and sent us in to the Armor Room.  This is where we got a little surprise.  There was one side of the line with no people in it, and that's where we were directed.  This is a look back at the Armor Room which we had just walked straight through.  My camera still recorded the time as 1:04 pm.  We had walked from the bridge entrance to here in two minutes:

 

 

I learned something here.  When I've been out roasting in the sun in that line on the bridge, they sometimes have one side of the armor room reserved for guests with FP+ reservations.  I didn't know that.  Which is good, because I wouldn't have been happy to know that as I was standing out there dying, there was empty space in the air conditioning where I could have been waiting .

 

We got directed to one of the ordering stations immediately, and placed our order.

 

Then we had to hunt for a place to sit.  There were a lot of empty tables, but they were not cleared.  That was the first time we've seen that.  There were no CM's around to clear the tables.  We like to sit in the main ballroom, near the fake snow, if possible, and there were two open tables there.  But, they weren't cleared.  No big deal.  I was a bus boy at one point in my life, and I've cleaned much worse.  So, we moved the crap from one dirty table on to the next, and got a prime seat.  This photo was taken at 1:10 pm:

 

 

We had made it from check-in to here, waiting for our food in seven minutes.

 

Thank you, GDF!

 

And this was a busy day:

 

 

Once we were here, I didn't care how long it took for our food to come out.  We were in the most beautiful restaurant in WDW, the AC was cold, and we were sitting next to a window where there was fake snow falling outside.  Perfect.

 

The girls took and posted the required photos to their respective social media accounts.  This is my oldest daughter's photo of the ballroom ceiling:

 

 

That one elicited a response from one of her new Alabama friends asking where this was?  She couldn't believe that the Beauty and the Beast ballroom actually existed.  She was genuinely excited.  Remember that Beauty and the Beast is an important movie to girls born in the late '80's/early '90's.

 

Here's that snowy window we sat next to.  I know some of you reading along can actually look out a real window today and see real snow falling.  I prefer the kind of snow we have in Florida:

 

 

As you may know, my go-to dish at BOG for lunch is the braised pork.  It is still my favorite.  But, I've had that the last couple of times we've been here, and I was ready to try something else.  My girls love the turkey sandwich, and so do I, but I decided to give the roast beef sandwich another chance.  Again, I have GDF to thank for this.  She mentioned it in her most recent trip report, and said it was really good.  I had tried it once, after it was first introduced to the menu, and did not like it at all.  The first one I got was cold.  And below average.  I had no intention of having a second.  But a couple of people, including GDF, have said they tried it and liked it.  So, I went for it, and here it is:

 

 

That photo was taken at 1:19 pm.  So, from check-in to food on the table had taken 16 minutes.

 

I love FP+!

 

At least for this.

 

The girls all had turkey sandwiches.  And we had to get one of the grey stuff cupcakes, since my oldest daughter hadn't tasted one yet:

 

 

Guess what?  That roast beef sandwich was great!  Way, way better than the first one I tried.  This one was warm and the bread was toasted.  GDF gets props for that too.

 

Our plan was to go and hunt for parade seats at 2.

 

So we had plenty of time.

 

But, at a little after 1:30, the twins started getting nervous.

 

They wanted to go and find seats.

 

I said we don't need to wait out in that hot sun for an hour and a half.  We'll find something.

 

They didn't want to chance it.

 

So, they left my oldest daughter and I and headed out to search for a good parade watching spot.  I asked them to try for something in the shade.

 

They texted back shortly after that to tell us to get our butts out there.  Spaces were going fast.  The shady spots were gone, and the sunny spots were filling up too.  They had some space on the rope across from the Country Bears, and they needed my large body to help fight the crowds.  So we went.

 

They were right- it was starting to get packed. 

 

We claimed our real estate.

 

The sun beat down on us.

 

I hoped the parade would be worth it.

 

About now, I got a text.

 

407 area code.

 

It was my good friend, Lou.

 

He asked where we were.  I told him.

 

A few minutes later, guess who shows up?

 

Lou.

 

How does he do that?

 

Lou arrived just in time to see the two high school bands from Texas march by:

 

 

 

Looks like I caught a couple of geese heading north in that last photo.

 

We were parked on the pavement right across from the Country Bears.  CM's were keeping an area there open.  I think just so they could clear guests from the street.  I thought maybe when the parade started, they would let guests fill in that space:

 

 

I took this photo at 2:40- It was pretty full:

 

 

There go two Dapper Ladies walking down the street.  I'm not sure about wearing high heels to the Magic Kingdom:

 

 

Frontierland was now officially packed:

 

 

When the Main Street Philharmonic came by, I knew it wouldn't be much longer:

 

 

 

Even though this was a completely new parade, they still used this car to carry the honorary Grand Marshalls for the parade:

 

 

Then we heard some new music.

 

Some suits popped out across the street and stood in front of the guests who had waited for over an hour:

 

 

The anticipation and excitement was palpable:

 

 

The parade had arrived!

 

As you might expect, I have a lot of photos of the parade.

 

It looks like two updates worth.

 

So there's going to be two updates full of Festival of Fantasy parade photos.

 

If you haven't seen the parade and want to be surprised by what's in it, avert your eyes.

 

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Glad you made it to BOG in time.

We still haven't been.

We have rezzies for June (dinner). But since you can get FP+ for lunch now we might do that. Or both.

Which do you prefer?

As far as site 114 at Christmas... I hope to bring my yard decorations with me when we retire. All 36 inflatables and 50,000 lights and accessories. Lol. I hope there's enough electricity.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Parades SMB. 

 

But I secretly think this one looks pretty cool. 

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

 

I'll do what I can.

 

But if I do, you had better get your priorities straight and read it, and not be wasting your time at work actually working.

 

Deal.

 

And I can't remember saying this in the past and actually meaning it but, go gata. Like go away you little baby gator and leave me be :) Wow, feels strange to utter those words and it not be sarcastic.

 

Impatiently waiting for parade pics....

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Boo to the rude stroller mom. 

 

I'm so glad that FP+ worked out for you at BOG! See, more people should read my trip reports. There's some good info there! I'm also glad you liked the roast beef sandwich. I'm hungry so the picture of it made my mouth water.

 

Heals in the MK would SMB! 

 

I can't wait for parade pictures! 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

If you look carefully at the picture of the ceiling at BOG restaurant, you can see the cherubs who were modeled after Bobby and myself. I cannot explain why they are looking fondly at each other and holding hands, as I don't swing that way.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

If you look carefully at the picture of the ceiling at BOG restaurant, you can see the cherubs who were modeled after Bobby and myself. I cannot explain why they are looking fondly at each other and holding hands, as I don't swing that way.

 

Not that there's anything wrong with that. 

[dvccamper 32]

I was at BOG with my 3 daughters the week after you were there and it appears we sat at the same table you did. We went for dinner, though. I was nervous after reading mixed reviews but we agreed it was the best meal of the trip. I actually had a fast pass for lunch there two days later as well but we decided to let it go. We had reservations for the GF tea later that day and opted to stick with that instead (I know how some of you fiend men just love the tea, ha!)

[kampfirekim 260]

 

I hate to see it too.

But, at the same time, I like how that old shipwreck is still there. And seeing it reminds me of a better time. I hate to see it battling the bushes like it has to, but I'd be even sadder if it wasn't there at all.

 

TCD

 

 

True.  At the same time, seeing it like that reminds me that it will left to rot and then it won't be there...and that will SMB.

 

Be Our Guest is something I'd enjoy.  Maybe we can do it this year if we're not broke as joke by the time we get there.

 

Averting my eyes.  I want to be surprised about the Festival of Fantasy Parade.    I am pro-parade.  Especially new ones I have never seen before.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

True.  At the same time, seeing it like that reminds me that it will left to rot and then it won't be there...and that will SMB.

 

Be Our Guest is something I'd enjoy.  Maybe we can do it this year if we're not broke as joke by the time we get there.

 

Averting my eyes.  I want to be surprised about the Festival of Fantasy Parade.    I am pro-parade.  Especially new ones I have never seen before.

 

Lunch is fairly reasonable. I actually enjoyed my lunch better than my last dinner. But my first dinner was AMAZING.