Strange Things

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

How far in advance do you show up at the Wishes FP area? I booked it for a day where we're just going to the MK for dinner.

I'm guessing you stayed at POFQ....

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

How sweet of the couple to invite Twin#1 to use their rider switch pass with them.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Is a mess of dapperness like a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows?

[Memphis 105]

You know for a guy who proclaims Wishes FP+ is a waste of FP+ you guys seem to use it a lot.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

You know for a guy who proclaims Wishes FP+ is a waste of FP+ you guys seem to use it a lot.

 

Ha ha ha! True, isn't it? 

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I think TCD is taking one for the team, esp. since he knows enough FP+ hacks that it really isn't costing him anything.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

Now that you are back to your TCD personality, can we get an update here?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Enjoying all the strangeness.

 

 

I love the idea too.  Reminds me of formal nights on cruises.  A lot of people hate them, but I'd do formal every night on a cruise if I could.

 

It is fun to people watch on Dapper Day.  Some people go to a lot of trouble.  It's always interesting to me to see how some people define dapper.

 

Wow! I was thinking the same very thing! You and I think so much alike.

 

 

Oh, wait. No we don't.

 

 

Green? It looks yellow to me.

 

Uh, oh. The internet is about to crack open again.

 

LOL.  I assume you're referring to the white and gold dress.  That was fun for 15 minutes.

 

The Aloha Isle/SST thing SMB.

 

True.

 

I guess I didn't read enough about it... I just thought people dressed up to go.   

 

The dressing up is just part of it.  Then they congregate in huge mobs. It doesn't bother me, but it might if a mob of dappers happened to be congregating somewhere I wanted to go.

 

How far in advance do you show up at the Wishes FP area? I booked it for a day where we're just going to the MK for dinner.

I'm guessing you stayed at POFQ....

 

The earlier the better.  The return times they give you are not very far in advance of Wishes.  For 10 pm Wishes, we've been told to report between 9:40 and 9:55.  The space will be pretty full before that.  We've gone in as early as 8:45 and then sent a runner out to Casey's for some corndog nuggets and drinks to be enjoyed on the hub grass.  If it's a nice night, it's a great place to wait and chill.

 

That's a negative on POFQ.  I made the resort reservations just a couple of days before we went, and the pickings were slim.

 

How sweet of the couple to invite Twin#1 to use their rider switch pass with them.

 

It's a pretty common thing among that age group.  Chances are the 20 somethings you see in the parks are College Program CM's and I think these two were.

 

Is a mess of dapperness like a gaggle of geese or a murder of crows?

 

Yes.  Exactly like it.  Only messier.

 

You know for a guy who proclaims Wishes FP+ is a waste of FP+ you guys seem to use it a lot.

 

You are very observant, Harold.

 

Ha ha ha! True, isn't it? 

 

Yes.

 

I think TCD is taking one for the team, esp. since he knows enough FP+ hacks that it really isn't costing him anything.

 

Correct.  I can afford to waste FP+'s, but some of you can't.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Now that you are back to your TCD personality, can we get an update here?

 

Splendid idea.

 

Check back in a little bit.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Splendid idea.

 

Check back in a little bit.

 

TCD

:waiting2-smiley:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:waiting2-smiley:

 

Nagging isn't going to help.

 

You've been married long enough to know that.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Nagging isn't going to help.

 

You've been married long enough to know that.

 

TCD

Ouch.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Ouch.

 

I share your pain.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Alright, so let's move along.

 

We are now up to Friday, March 20.

 

That's when I was at the airport and snapped the first photo in this report.

 

I was there to pick-up my oldest DD who was going to spend the first part of her spring break with us. 

 

She let us know that she wanted to hit Disney World for part of her break.

 

Originally, I wanted to camp at the Fort, and had a reservation for a campsite and everything.

 

But, other things necessitated that I whittle down the days.

 

And it got to the point where our best case scenario would be 2 nights, and that would be if I towed the camper with me to Tampa International Airport to pick up my DD and head straight to the Fort from there.

 

That didn't sound like fun.

 

So, I had to scrub the camping idea and try to find a hotel room.

 

Either it was going to be a busy weekend, or Disney was rigging its website again, because I couldn't find a Florida Resident or Passholder rate on a moderate resort.  When a deal popped up at All Star Movies, I pounced on it.   We had a good experience there just a few weeks earlier, so that sounded like a good choice.

 

DD's flight landed a bit after noon, and we were headed east by 1.

 

The traffic on I-4 was bad.  Not as bad as it would be later in the day, but still pretty bad.  As is to be expected on a Friday afternoon this time of year.  There were several times where traffic in all lanes just came to a complete stop.  As far as we could tell, there were no accidents, just too many people on the road at the same time.

 

But, we kept on going and made it to WDW just a bit before 3.  I decided to go ahead and check-in first, so we headed to the hotel.  The twins had beat us to WDW, and I sent them a text letting them know that we'd arrived.  The original plan was for us to meet up in the MK later, but they were ready for a break and decided to meet us at the resort.

 

Anticipating that it would be busy, I had done online check-in for this stay.  There was a line dedicated for On-Line Check in, and there were just two groups of guests in front of me in that line.  But, there was only one CM serving that line, and the guest she was helping had a lot of issues.  The line did not move for 20 solid minutes.  In the meantime, they had four or five CM's serving the regular check-in line, and guests were moving through it at a steady pace.  Finally, the guest hogging the CM finished, and the next guest went.  I have no idea what the heck was going on, but it was the same deal-lots of questions and talking, instead of just picking up a check-in packet.  Five more minutes passed. Then, a concierge CM had pity on us, and called the group immediately in front of me over.  Which meant I was next.  A minute later, another concierge CM came over and got me and said she could check me in.  She asked for my ID, got my packet, and told me I was good to go.  But, wait, I asked her- would my passholder MB open the room?  She said sure.  I asked her if she was sure, as the last time I was here they gave me a grey MB when I checked in, and I had to use that instead of my passholder MB.  She said she would check.  She was gone for about five minutes, and when she came back, she said she would need to get the numbers off of my MB so it would work on the room.  So, after all of that, If I hadn't asked, I would have walked all the way to my room and not been able to get in.  It was now over 45 minutes since I arrived here, and I was still not checked in!   The CM took my band, and did a lot of typing on her computer, and said that it would now work.  I was pretty ticked at this point.  I politely said to the CM that she should not have attempted to send me to my room without verifying that my MB would work.  She apologized and said that she assumed they would work since I had done the online check-in.  I asked her if she was new, but she said no, she'd been there a long time. She asked if I would like to speak to her manager, but I said no thanks, I've already wasted enough time, and I wanted to get to my room  So, what I learned is that idiot managers are not only at the Fort- why don't CM's know how to make MB's work?  And where was the manager when the On-line check in line was not moving?

 

At last, we were able to go to our room.  The last time we were here, I had requested a room on the first floor and close to transportation via on-line check-in, and I ended up in a great location. This time, we didn't.  We did get the first floor, but we were way back in the resort in one of the Dalmatian buildings.  Oh well, at least we were here.

 

The twins showed up shortly after we got in the room, and we all visited for a while.  I had made FP+ reservations way back for this trip, so we had four Mine Train FP+'s at the same time-from 6:20-7:20;  then Space from 7:20-8:20, then Wishes.  The oldest DD hadn't seen the Wishes FP+ viewing area yet, so tonight was the night for that.

 

We left the room around 5, and, just like always, the bus we needed pulled up just as we arrived at the bus stop.  Off we went to the MK.

 

When we got to the scanners, everyone's MB scanned fine, except mine.  The Mickey Head turned blue.  That happens sometimes.  So I scanned it again.  The CM there had me try my finger again.  Then she looked at her monitor and said that something was wrong with my MB and I needed to go to guest services.  What?  I had just checked in to the hotel, and my MB opened my room, what could be wrong with it?  The CM sent me to the little kiosk down by where you can exit to go to the buses, not the main ticket windows.  The girls wanted to meet up with a friend in the park, so I told them to go ahead and I would catch up.  I headed to that little kiosk.  I had to wait for the CM there to finish with the guests he was helping before he could help me.  The guy asked what the problem was, and I told him my MB wasn't working.  He scanned it, tapped on his computer, and said that this MB had been reported as missing.  What?  When?  It's never been missing, and I never reported it missing. He said, well, it has been reported missing, and he couldn't help me.  I had to go to the main ticket windows.  So I marched over there.  And found a line.  Which I had to stand in.  In the hot sun.  None of this was helping my mood.  It took a good 10 minutes before I was called over to a window.  The CM there asked how he could help me, and I had to explain myself all over again.  The CM took my MB, scanned it, tapped on his computer, and said  "this band has been reported missing."  When?  I asked.  He said he couldn't tell from that screen.  Well, I told him, I hadn't reported it missing.  And it hadn't been missing.  He said no worries, he could fix it.  First, I had to show my ID and answer questions about my address, when I had last used my MB, etc.  I was ticked.  I told him I wanted to know how this happened.  He said he couldn't tell.  I said he needed to get me someone who could.  My suspicion was that the CM at All Star Movies had done something to make my MB work as my room key.  Which might be why the last time I was given a blank grey MB instead of using my passholder MB as my key.  The CM left, and came back with a manager type.  The manager type was awesome.  He didn't lie to me,  He told me that the MB had been deactivated by the CM at All Star Movies when she made it in to my room key.  I told the manager how unmagical my day had been so far.  He apologized, and said he'd give me and extra FP for my troubles, and also let the All Star Movies manager know about this.  I said fine, let's just get my MB working, and I'll be on my way.  So, he handed me a No Strings Attached pass, and reactivated my MB, and I was on my way.

 

I finally made it to the hub a bit past 6 pm:

 

 

As you can see, it was a beautiful evening.

 

I love the openness created by the work they are doing here:

 

 

We are all fans of the hub grass:

 

 

I like the looks of the light poles, but now how they block views, but I love the new fountains:

 

 

I haven't had the chance to yet, but sometime, I'm going to watch the fireworks from this spot here:

 

 

Hey look- those two girls are wearing dresses that look like they were made from a mermaid's tail.  That's strange:

 

 

I love that they moved the little character statues from the hub over to the landscaped areas around each fountain:

 

 

One more chipmunk statue photo:

 

 

After the girls were done visiting with their friends, we headed toward the Mine Train.  This is a photo taken over the construction wall of the area closest to the castle-that bridge you see in the background is that bridge that takes you from near the Adventureland entrance into the courtyard behind the Christmas Shop- where Tiana hangs out:

 

 

It's torn up pretty good back there behind the fence at the moment:

 

 

The last time we were here- which was just a week earlier, one of the planters near the Partners statue was still walled off.  Today, they were both open:

 

 

This is a look down Main Street toward the Train Station from up on the castle.  Look how wide open everything around the hub is now- not a tree in sight:

 

 

This is a shot from that same spot, looking over the fence and toward where the Rose Garden used to be.  It's all torn up now:

 

 

We were able to ride the Mine Train without incident.  All of our Magic Bands worked, which surprised me.

 

Then it was time for Space.  But, we had a few minutes to kill, which we decided to do by riding the People Mover.

 

The Hashtag Incredibles Dance Party was going on:

 

 

Every time we've ridden the People Mover lately, there's been a line.  Every time.  Tonight was no exception, and the end of the line was way back here:

 

 

Maybe they should make the People Mover a FP+ choice?

 

Here's a nice photo of the area formerly known as the Rose Garden at sunset:

 

 

And another shot of the mess:

 

 

There goes the train:

 

 

Another shot of the torn up Rose Garden just past the Tomorrowland bridge:

 

 

We all made it on to Space with no problems.

 

You know what I need?  A selfie stick. Then this selfie might have worked- that's my eye and Twin #1 in the car behind me:

 

 

From here, we hopped the train and cashed in our No Strings pass at Big Thunder Mountain.

 

Then we headed to the Wishes FP+ viewing area.

 

It was more crowded than it had been on our three previous visits here.  And it ended up that right before the fireworks started, a CM came in and told everyone that they had to stand.  The view wasn't bad, but it's not worth standing in here.  You can stand right outside this area with no FP+ required:

 

 

 

This is the view from the back of the FP+ viewing area, standing.  It may be better to stand back here than to be in the mob in front:

 

 

I am also able to report that this sign:

 

 

(photo credit to Blake)

 

Has been fixed:

 

 

Remember the Chip and Dale statue?

 

Here it is at night:

 

 

You get a really good view of Celebrate the Magic from back here:

 

 

Next up, we decided to check out the new interactive queue at Peter Pan.  The oldest TCD DD hadn't seen that yet.

 

The filthy liars had the standby time posted at 60 minutes, but there was no one outside of the new interactive queue, and it's probably only about 20 minutes once you get to that.  So we went in.  And we found that the entire queue was empty.  They really like to lie about the Peter Pan standby times to try to discourage guests from riding.

 

Some photos from the queue:

 

 

 

 

We were on the ride in ten minutes.

 

It would have been less, but we spent some time playing in the empty queue.

 

Next up, another Mine Train ride, and then we will be heading out.

 

TCD

[bhall 115]

Was in that PP line for 35 minutes.  I didn't see one thing interactive in that line.  Had to look it up on youtube to see what I should've seen. That line is the only reason I got on that thing.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

It was worth the wait. :)

[Humphrey Bear…Rob 42]

Wow! I was thinking the same very thing! You and I think so much alike.

Oh, wait. No we don't.

Green? It looks yellow to me.

Uh, oh. The internet is about to crack open again.

She was wearing a dress? Sorry didn't notice...

Caught up...all I can say is at 84 degrees nothing is going to stay dapper on this old Bear.

I think we need an official FF selfie pole...with a middle finger that can be activated at the appropriate time.

[WannaBeImagineer 98]

Anticipating that it would be busy, I had done online check-in for this stay.  There was a line dedicated for On-Line Check in, and there were just two groups of guests in front of me in that line.  But, there was only one CM serving that line, and the guest she was helping had a lot of issues.  The line did not move for 20 solid minutes.  In the meantime, they had four or five CM's serving the regular check-in line, and guests were moving through it at a steady pace.  Finally, the guest hogging the CM finished, and the next guest went.  I have no idea what the heck was going on, but it was the same deal-lots of questions and talking, instead of just picking up a check-in packet.  Five more minutes passed. Then, a concierge CM had pity on us, and called the group immediately in front of me over.  Which meant I was next.  A minute later, another concierge CM came over and got me and said she could check me in.  She asked for my ID, got my packet, and told me I was good to go.  But, wait, I asked her- would my passholder MB open the room?  She said sure.  I asked her if she was sure, as the last time I was here they gave me a grey MB when I checked in, and I had to use that instead of my passholder MB.  She said she would check.  She was gone for about five minutes, and when she came back, she said she would need to get the numbers off of my MB so it would work on the room.  So, after all of that, If I hadn't asked, I would have walked all the way to my room and not been able to get in.  It was now over 45 minutes since I arrived here, and I was still not checked in!   The CM took my band, and did a lot of typing on her computer, and said that it would now work.  I was pretty ticked at this point.  I politely said to the CM that she should not have attempted to send me to my room without verifying that my MB would work.  She apologized and said that she assumed they would work since I had done the online check-in.  I asked her if she was new, but she said no, she'd been there a long time. She asked if I would like to speak to her manager, but I said no thanks, I've already wasted enough time, and I wanted to get to my room  So, what I learned is that idiot managers are not only at the Fort- why don't CM's know how to make MB's work?  And where was the manager when the On-line check in line was not moving?

 

 

When we got to the scanners, everyone's MB scanned fine, except mine.  The Mickey Head turned blue.  That happens sometimes.  So I scanned it again.  The CM there had me try my finger again.  Then she looked at her monitor and said that something was wrong with my MB and I needed to go to guest services.  What?  I had just checked in to the hotel, and my MB opened my room, what could be wrong with it?  The CM sent me to the little kiosk down by where you can exit to go to the buses, not the main ticket windows.  The girls wanted to meet up with a friend in the park, so I told them to go ahead and I would catch up.  I headed to that little kiosk.  I had to wait for the CM there to finish with the guests he was helping before he could help me.  The guy asked what the problem was, and I told him my MB wasn't working.  He scanned it, tapped on his computer, and said that this MB had been reported as missing.  What?  When?  It's never been missing, and I never reported it missing. He said, well, it has been reported missing, and he couldn't help me.  I had to go to the main ticket windows.  So I marched over there.  And found a line.  Which I had to stand in.  In the hot sun.  None of this was helping my mood.  It took a good 10 minutes before I was called over to a window.  The CM there asked how he could help me, and I had to explain myself all over again.  The CM took my MB, scanned it, tapped on his computer, and said  "this band has been reported missing."  When?  I asked.  He said he couldn't tell from that screen.  Well, I told him, I hadn't reported it missing.  And it hadn't been missing.  He said no worries, he could fix it.  First, I had to show my ID and answer questions about my address, when I had last used my MB, etc.  I was ticked.  I told him I wanted to know how this happened.  He said he couldn't tell.  I said he needed to get me someone who could.  My suspicion was that the CM at All Star Movies had done something to make my MB work as my room key.  Which might be why the last time I was given a blank grey MB instead of using my passholder MB as my key.  The CM left, and came back with a manager type.  The manager type was awesome.  He didn't lie to me,  He told me that the MB had been deactivated by the CM at All Star Movies when she made it in to my room key.  I told the manager how unmagical my day had been so far.  He apologized, and said he'd give me and extra FP for my troubles, and also let the All Star Movies manager know about this.  I said fine, let's just get my MB working, and I'll be on my way.  So, he handed me a No Strings Attached pass, and reactivated my MB, and I was on my way.

 

I finally made it to the hub a bit past 6 pm:

  

TCD

Those two experiences don't sound very magical at all. Could you imagine if that was your first trip to WDW? 

 

Even being an annual passholder that would have really driven me nuts, and they give you a fast pass and think that makes it all better?

 

WBI

[The Troll 67]

This is a look down Main Street toward the Train Station from up on the castle.  Look how wide open everything around the hub is now- not a tree in sight:

 

 

 

I don't think I like this one bit. Trees create charm. Lack of trees creates blight.

 

 

Every time we've ridden the People Mover lately, there's been a line.  Every time.  Tonight was no exception, and the end of the line was way back here:

 

 

 

 

I don't like this either. Stupid Magic Bands. Three rides per day...only one of them good...lines at the People Mover and Spaceship Earth...for real?

 

The early shot of Elsa's Castle is off-the-charts good. Is the TCD Photographer Twin imparting some of her expertise?

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

What a pain with your MB! 

 

Another Wishes FP+! LOL! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Was in that PP line for 35 minutes.  I didn't see one thing interactive in that line.  Had to look it up on youtube to see what I should've seen. That line is the only reason I got on that thing.

 

When was that? 

 

They must have had the interactive stuff shut down for some reason, as you should have seen it all if your were in there for 35 minutes.  The effects change, and could be missed if the line is moving quickly.

 

I think they did a pretty good job with this queue.

 

It was worth the wait. :)

 

Thanks, that's kind of you to say.

 

She was wearing a dress? Sorry didn't notice...

Caught up...all I can say is at 84 degrees nothing is going to stay dapper on this old Bear.

I think we need an official FF selfie pole...with a middle finger that can be activated at the appropriate time.

 

Yeah- some of those dapper people were probably a bit melty.

 

 

 Those two experiences don't sound very magical at all. Could you imagine if that was your first trip to WDW? 

 

Even being an annual passholder that would have really driven me nuts, and they give you a fast pass and think that makes it all better?

 

WBI

 

Passing out free FP's is their answer to everything.  And I agree with you- what if this was my first time at WDW?  There wouldn't be a second visit. 

 

I don't think I like this one bit. Trees create charm. Lack of trees creates blight.

 

 

I don't like this either. Stupid Magic Bands. Three rides per day...only one of them good...lines at the People Mover and Spaceship Earth...for real?

 

The early shot of Elsa's Castle is off-the-charts good. Is the TCD Photographer Twin imparting some of her expertise?

 

Generally, I am in favor of trees, but I kind of like the wide-open hub.

 

Yup- there is always a line at Spaceship Earth and the People Mover now.

 

I did not swipe any of Twin #1's photos for this report.  She hasn't brought her nice camera on any of our recent day trips- too much trouble for her.  Her phone works fine for the important social media photos she needs to take.

 

What a pain with your MB! 

 

Another Wishes FP+! LOL! 

 

Yup- as discussed in another thread- the whole My Disney Experience mess stinks.  I wonder what would have happened if I didn't have my photo ID with me?

 

And yes, that was another Wishes FP+.   That was our fourth time watching Wishes from the new FP+ viewing area. We enjoy the hub grass and not being in a jostling mob to watch Wishes.  But, with each viewing, the FP+ area has grown more crowded. 

 

TCD

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

I will reserve judgement on the hub until i see it in person.

MB/MDE is a pox on all our vacations.

Anyone know when the hub is supposed to be completed?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I will reserve judgement on the hub until i see it in person.

MB/MDE is a pox on all our vacations.

Anyone know when the hub is supposed to be completed?

 

When you're right, you're right.

 

I haven't heard a completion date, but the project has already been under way for over a year.  The areas that they have left to finish don't require as much filling and leveling as the areas in front of the Plaza Restaurant and Casey's so they could be done before summer if they wanted to.  But I'm not sure if they want to.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Update time.

 

We left off on the evening of Friday, March 20th. 

 

We had done pretty good with the rides on this busy Friday night.  And, we managed one more no-wait Mine Train ride via some black market rider switch passes acquired via the CP underground.

 

If you're keeping track, that made two Mine Train rides, Space Mountain and Big Thunder-all via FP.  Plus Wishes FP+ viewing, and a very short wait at Peter Pan standby.  A very successful night.

 

After Mine Train, we headed out through the castle, and saw that the Main Street Electrical Parade was coming up Main Street, so we decided to chill up here and let it pass before trying to make our way out:

 

 

It's pretty neat watching the parade from up here at the very front of the castle.  And the view of the castle isn't bad either:

 

 

From here, we headed out.

 

The All Star Movies bus was leaving just as we walked up.  The TCD bus luck had run out.  Or did it?  Another bus came in less than 5 minutes!  Winning!

 

No one had any trouble sleeping that night.  Which is a good thing, as we had an early start on Saturday morning.

 

I had been able to snag us breakfast reservations at BOG for just the second day ever that they would be serving breakfast there.

 

Mrs. TCD wanted to come over and spend some time with our oldest DD (remember, she had come to WDW with me straight from the airport), so she got up even earlier than us and met us at the hotel.

 

Then we all bused it over to the MK.

 

We arrived right at 9 am, which gave us some time before our 9:40 reservation.

 

We were right on time to watch the Spring Trolley Show, which the girls wanted to see.  Here comes the trolley now, pulled by a beautiful horse:

 

 

You may have noticed that the dancers are missing from the trolley, but fear not, here they come:

 

 

This show is nice, but the music and singing is taped, and the dancers lip synch.  Which is really lame:

 

 

This African American guy was cracking me up- he was a bit much:

 

 

Then we had time for a quick ride on the Mine Train with more blackmarket Rider Switch passes.

 

Then we reported to breakfast.

 

I already shared these photos on another thread, but this is what $20 a piece gets you there:

 

 

 

 

It was nice for us to all enjoy a meal together, but paying over $100 for a mediocre breakfast wasn't the magical experience I had hoped this would be.

 

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. 

 

After breakfast, we headed over to the Ariel ride.  None of us had been on it since they re-did whatever it was they were redoing in there.  Whatever it is they did, it was very subtle.  The only thing I noticed is that the big "Under the Sea" scene is much darker, and they have some props up in the ceiling which now conceal some of the lighting and the disco ball which previously were out in the open.  I am not sure if I would have even noticed the changes if I wasn't looking for them.

 

Next on the agenda was a 12 noon viewing of the Festival of Fantasy parade.  Poor Mrs. TCD had never seen it.

 

So, we got a nice spot in the shade on Main Street, just about right outside of the Starbucks, and waited.

 

This was the view across from us just before the parade started- please pay special attention to those windows up there:

 

 

Although the parade starts at noon, it takes a while to make its way to Main Street.  At 12:17, a crowd was assembled, and the front of the parade was just about to reach us:

 

 

Remember how I told you to pay attention to the windows across from us?

 

Look at them now:

 

 

Do you see how one of the windows is open now, when it hadn't been just a few minutes earlier?

 

Do you know why?

 

This happens for every parade.

 

There are speakers behind those windows.

 

And they open automatically at the appropriate time to play the musical accompaniment for the parade.

 

Aren't those Imagineers brilliant?

 

Here's a few parade photos . . .

 

Beauty and the Beast:

 

 

The Frozen girls:

 

 

The Shell Girl:

 

 

She needs some more SPF's in her sun-screen.  Here's how she looked last year:

 

 

Peter and Wendy:

 

 

I didn't get any shots of the wheels under the fairies' dresses today:

 

 

These bird guys still have the lame wings:

 

 

Here's how they used to look:

 

 

The dragon let out a nice blast of fire as it was nearing us, but I waited for a closer shot.  Then the thing never breathed any more fire.  Fail:

 

 

Check out those geniuses across from us who stepped out into the street during the parade to take a selfie.  And they didn't even have a selfie stick.  Oh, and iPad guy is over there on the right, in case you were wondering:

 

 

Here comes that crazy Pinocchio float:

 

 

Mickey and Minnie arrived right at 12:30, and that was the end of the parade:

 

 

And that was our cue to bounce.  We were hopping to Epcot.  Which a lot of people hate to do.  But, it's not bad if you have TCD transportation luck.  That Mickey and Minnie FOF photo was taken at exactly 12:30.  From there, we waited for the float to pass, then followed the parade down Main Street.  We headed out and right to a waiting Express Monorail, and headed right to the Transportation and Ticket Center, where we walked across the platform and waited less than one minute for the Epcot monorail to arrive.  Which allowed me to take this photo 24 minutes later, at 12:54 pm, as we began our loop around Future World:

 

 

Look, the Jamitors are down there:

 

 

I love to loop around Future World on the monorail during the Flower and Garden Festival- look at all the flowers:

 

 

 

If you look carefully, you might see some Hidden Mickeys in those flower beds:

 

 

 

This isn't a great place to stop this update, but stop we must, as I'm at the photo limit.

 

Coming up, we will head into Epcot and see some gardens and flowers.

 

TCD

 

[Beckers 1,136]

Did you ever complain about BOG to Disney?