Don't Wear Bright Colors: A July 2015 Disney Trip report, Day 3

Day 3: Sunday, July 19, 2015

This day dawned bright and sunny. Perfect weather for celebrating National Ice Cream Day!

Those of you that see my regular facebook check-ins during the summer have probably figured out by now that I’m a fan of ice cream. This holiday has me written all over it! And when I realized I’d be celebrating it in Disney, I immediately started plotting, trying to figure out the best way to celebrate. Yup, I’m a dork..

Once I was ready for the day, I grabbed my stuff and headed for the food court for some breakfast. I decided on a yogurt and fruit parfait, and some Powerade to pre-hydrate. The parfait was surprisingly good.

After I’d eaten, I headed for the bus stop. It was a busy place, but a bus to the Kingdom arrived pretty quickly. The ride over was fairly quick, and, as usual, I enjoyed the music and the good a/c.

By some miracle, I was able to find a spot that was semi in the shade, with an ok view, both of the train station, and for people watching. Now, before the pictures of the scenery and the welcome show, I need to bring up this gem. Most tour groups use flags to direct their masses. Some even use flags with blinking lights on them. This one was a new one. It left me pretty speechless. And I saw them cruising through the park later in the day. It most definitely was the “follow the leader” item. 

Now, onto the scenery and the Welcome Show (which still hasn’t ceased to send chills down my spine every time I see it. It just doesn’t get old).

When the rope dropped, I joined the masses trying not to trample the people that wanted some of the confetti as a free souvenir, and made my way toward Fantasyland.

As I approached the castle, in the middle of the running of the bulls, I heard “AWWW”. Some guy had dropped to his knee to propose in front of the castle, and people were working hard not to trample him and the chick.

Most of my fellow park-goers thought this was the sweetest thing ever. I, on the other hand, was of the opinion that if he’s stupid enough to kneel down in the middle of that moving herd, he really wasn’t very concerned with important things like safety. While a sweet gesture to propose in front of the castle, there are better times of the day to attempt that, and I fear for the sanity of their relationship.

Judging the whole way, I continued on my path to my first attraction of the day: Peter Pan’s Flight. It’s a must do, and a must-not-wait-in-that-never-ending-line. I walked right on, gaining probably an extra 2000 steps just winding my way through the now insanely long queue. They needed it, but I’m not sure they needed the entire thing open right then, when 90% of the people in the park were charging towards Mine Train.

Upon my return from Neverland, I headed deeper into Fantasyland. From the rooftops of London, to under the sea! I walked right on the Little Mermaid ride. I enjoy this ride, but a couple of years ago, I got stuck in the “Under the Sea” section with all of the bright fish spinning around for a good 20 minutes, before they evacuated the ride. Of course, the song continued to work the entire time. Adding insult to injury, as I walked down Main Street to leave the park that afternoon, the Main Street Band was performing...wait for it…“Under the Sea”. I like the song, but that much of it causes the “Small World” effect. So I now cross my fingers when I reach that part of the attraction, hoping that I won’t get stuck.

This was a smooth ride-through, and pretty soon, I was re-emerging onto land in a nearly deserted Fantasyland. Seriously, where are the people?

Once my picture taking was done, I moved on to Tomorrowland to see if I could beat the previous evening’s score on Buzz Lightyear. On my way, I found the people. They were all in the 180 minute Mine Train line. Sorry folks, the ride is just not that good. The amount of people there worked in my favor for Buzz though. Again, my wait was short. I think I beat my score but not by much.

Target practice complete, I decided to check the wait times and discovered that Splash Mountain still had a relatively short posted wait time. Why not? So I hiked over to Frontierland, where I found a giant pile of tour group backpacks and a 20 minute posted wait for Splash. I decided to go for it.

Somehow, despite multiple tour groups cruising through the fast pass lane (Thanks Obama!), the wait still ended up being only about 25 minutes. All too soon, I was splashing down into the Briar Patch, and humming zip-a-dee-doo-dah as I walked through Adventureland.

As I cruised through Adventureland, I decided that while it would probably be a no-go, to check the wait time for Jungle Cruise. I was SHOCKED to find just a 10 minute wait, which turned out to be more of a walk-on.

I was seated on the bench in the middle of the boat, closest to the front. The skipper was quick to inform me that this was the VIP seat...as in “view is perfect”. Ha! I hadn’t been on this one in quite some time, at least not in its normal form (rode the Jingle Jungle Cruise in December), so it didn’t really matter where I sat. The jokes are the same no matter your view;)

Once the boat made it back to the dock, I realized that between last night and this morning, I’d conquered all of the “big” rides. Since it was still awhile before my lunch fastpass, I decided to kill some time. First stop? TTA to put my feet up!

On my way there, I checked out the newest section of the newly redone Hub. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that there was virtually no wait for the People Mover at 10:45 in the morning. Everyone was still in that 100+ minute Mine Train line.

Once I’d returned to ground level in Tomorrowland, it was late enough to start celebrating ice cream day. First up? A Mickey ice cream sandwich! It was hot (duh) so this would surely not be my only ice cream treat to celebrate today.

Once I’d inhaled my ice cream, I did some wandering, checking out the stores in Tomorrowland and the area once known as Toontown Fair, before hopping on the train for the grand circle tour. It was nice and relaxing. Good views occasionally too.

When the train returned to the Fantasyland station (Shouldn’t it be called Storybook circus station?), I meandered SLOWLY over to Be Our Guest. It was just about time to check in for lunch.

Check in was quick and I was directed toward the castle.

This was my 3rd time eating lunch here, but my first time with the electronic ordering stations. Unfortunately, it was also the first time using these kiosks for the party of 8 that had to keep sending a runner to the dining room to find out who wanted what side, etc. When I finally got to order, I got my usual: the carved turkey sandwich with fries. It was delicious as always.

After lunch, I made my way out of the park, taking some pictures on my way to the monorail station.

It was time for an almost complete resort monorail loop. First stop? The Polynesian for the next frozen treat to celebrate Ice Cream Day. Disney has made a lot of changes lately. While I don’t love some of them, I’ve been able to roll with most of them without being too upset. But the change that I dislike the most? You can no longer get a pineapple float with vanilla ice cream in the Magic Kingdom without having to go to multiple locations (pineapple juice from one location, vanilla soft serve from another).  

When I got to the Polynesian, I poked around in the stores a bit and then headed down to the Pineapple Lanai. They so should have added this area years ago! The resort is so calm and relaxing in the middle of the day. It's really the perfect spot for enjoying a pineapple float. 

Once I'd demolished my float, it was time to get back on the monorail. I had a bit of shopping to do at the Red Roof.

I'm not a fan of the Grand Floridian. It's so stuffy! But it was the first WDW resort we stayed at and mom loves it. Her birthday is in August so I wanted to get her something labeled with the resort.

I was successful in finding a gift in the downstairs store. They had Grand Floridian Tervis water bottles.

Birthday shopping completed, I booked it out of that hotel and headed out to the bus stop to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. Time to go shop in an area where I didn’t feel out of place wearing a tank top and shorts, in Florida in July.

Once the bus arrived at DTD, the shopping began in earnest. I was more than a little confused when I walked into World of Disney and discovered they had moved things around. The room that previously had held food products and coffee mugs had been changed to hold what seemed like dozens of cash register banks. The rest of the rooms didn’t have registers anymore. In some ways this was a logical move. But it does make it less convenient if you’re shopping on the other end of that crazy large store.

I browsed and shopped for quite awhile. Or at least it felt that way. A lovely Florida thunderstorm rolled through while I was there so I wasn’t very motivated to shop quickly and efficiently.

Once the rain had mostly ended, I paid and moved on, cruising briefly through other stores, while I worked my way to the bus stop. I got to the bus stop and found a bus to the All Stars at the stop and figured I wouldn’t make it on this one, but for some reason it was just sitting there, so I made it. Running in 100* heat and the humidity that hangs on after a summer Florida thunderstorm was not on my agenda, so I was very happy.

Once back at the resort I, what else, took a nap for a bit. Yes, I was still surprising myself. Maybe I’m getting too old for running the parks like this? Boy I hope not.

After napping and a long break in the air conditioning, it was time for park 2 of the day. The wait for a bus was short, and pretty soon I was in Epcot. First stop? The Disney Visa meet and greet for my free picture.

Following pictures with Mickey and Goofy, it was time for that Epcot classic: Spaceship Earth. I had a fastpass, but didn’t need it. Hmm...are all the people still in line for Seven Dwarves?

After thanking the Phoenicians, I made my way deeper into Epcot. It was, after all, still ice cream day. My next stop was L’Artisan des Glaces in France, where I got a Croque Glaces. This is a brioche sandwich, pressed warm, filled with ice cream and sauce. I got it with coconut white chocolate ice cream and raspberry sauce. It was pretty amazing. 

Once I’d eaten as much as I could, it was time for a bit of World Showcase wandering, until it was time to line up for my fastpass for Illuminations. I got to the line-up area, or, rather, what had been the line-up area around 8:30, as I had learned previously that this area fills up fast. There was a cast member standing right at the rope, and a sign on the rope said “FP+”. No reason to believe that this wasn’t the right spot.

It wasn’t. And the cast member couldn’t be bothered to ask why I was standing there. Eventually, when the fastpass window had opened, she casually mentioned that the FP+ entrance was on the other side of the building. I made my way around the other side, and found a well filled in FP+ area. But by now it was too late to get a good spot elsewhere, so I entered, and found a fourth row I could join, behind what appeared to be short people.

I was wrong. These short people had somehow spawned giants (we’re talking basketball player height teens), and they joined their parents shortly before show-time. It was quite the disappointment.

When Illuminations ended, I made my way toward the exit, contemplating heading to the Magic Kingdom to watch MSEP, but, my ankle was killing me, so I headed for the bus stop instead, and pretty soon I was back at the hotel, to crash and get ready for the next day.

Don't Wear Bright Colors!: A July 2015 Disney Trip Report, Day 2, part 2

Saturday July 18, 2015, continued.

Once back at the hotel, I changed and relaxed for a few hours. The afternoon rain arrived early, so I chilled (literally) in the room for awhile. Once the rain ended, it was time to hit an actual theme park.

Tonight was the whole reason I had kept the dates of my trip as being over a weekend. Tonight was the night I had managed to score a dinner ADR at Be Our Guest for. Tonight it was off to the Magic Kingdom!

Does anyone else absolutely love the music they play on the bus to the Magic Kingdom? Seriously, nothing says Disney like that bus ride. Once I was off the bus and through security, I entered the park where I found...parade crowds? Huh? It was about 4pm.

Turns out the afternoon parade had been delayed to try to give the ground time to dry before the performers started dancing on it. While I was wandering through the stores on Main Street, the announcement was made that because the ground still hadn’t dried enough, some rainy day entertainment would come through in lieu of the parade. I beat feet out of the Main Street area, because there were a LOT of unhappy campers camped out on that sidewalk.

My first stop? Tomorrowland Transit Authority! There’s just something so nice about gliding above Tomorrowland, in a ginormous personal space bubble, watching the crowds below. Yes, we’ve been doing a personal space unit in the elementary school social skills groups this week!

Once I’d returned to Tomorrowland, I slowly made my way toward Liberty Square, checking out a bunch of stores along the way and stopping for a picture or 2 along the way. I still had some time to kill before my first fastpass of the day. 

I’ll say it now; I love the Magic Bands. I love being able to manage my dining plans and fast passes in an app. But I do NOT love fastpass+. I hate how it has driven up the wait at rides that used to be a short wait even on a crowded day. That being said, I do love being able to get fastpasses in advance of getting to a park. It makes evenings more productive. It would be really awesome if you could only plan FP+ the day before (or day of) your park time, and it was only available on the same attractions that had the old fastpass.

Anywho…eventually I quit wandering through stores, and spent the last 5 minutes until my FP+ opened up waiting just outside Haunted Mansion. In those 5 minutes I watched 2 tour groups enter the FP line. Hmm...am I going to be waiting longer in the FP line than in the (40 minute) standby line?

Somehow, those tour groups got absorbed, and my wait was only about 10 minutes. Now I understand how this attraction used to have such short standby waits! The biggest bottleneck I encountered was, where else...in the dark room where the load area is, where everyone tries to funnel into the same queue after entering as a mass of humanity.

The ride was uneventful, and pretty soon I’d escaped the hitchhiker and had re-emerged outside. I still had some time to kill before my next fastpass, so I decided to wander around a bit. Since it was still overcast, the air temperature was actually less than surface of the sun temperature, so I decided to wander through the Swiss Family Treehouse, and make up for some of the staircases I’d lost out on in my Fitbit count this morning, while it was staying dry in the locker. 

After returning to sea level without killing myself on the stairs, it was time to make my way toward my next fastpass: Buzz Lightyear! I was not pleased to see the fastpass line extending outside and around the corner of the building, but, at least it was shorter than standby? It actually moved relatively quickly, and pretty soon I was refraining from marching to the beat of the music in the inside queue.

After shooting way less Zs than I usually do, I re-emerged into Tomorrowland, where the humidity had skyrocketed, about the same time as my phone started ringing. Nick was calling. We chatted as I walked through Magic Kingdom, for a good half hour or so, until it was time for me to check in for dinner. 

Check in was a bit confusing, as was waiting to be seated. Seriously, restaurant pagers should not play periodic music for “entertainment”. You end up mistakenly thinking it’s your turn to go eat, when it’s really not. Not that I learned anything about this…

Eventually the pager started buzzing, and I was walked to my table in the ballroom. I know a lot of people like the West Wing, but personally, I like to see what I’m eating. I also don’t enjoy thunder. But really, my goal was to just eat at Be Our Guest! So I had no issue with the ballroom, even if there were tables 6” from either side of my table.

My waiter, some fairly handsome guy with a thick accent, appeared eventually. He offered suggestions, but I’d already decided what I wanted, so I ordered, and then spent some time taking in the surroundings. I’ve eaten at BOG a couple of times for lunch, but there are just so many details to take in. I also downed too many dinner rolls, because they were fantastic, and that sea salted butter wasn’t half bad either.

My food arrived fairly quickly. I got the pan seared chicken. It was excellent! The veggies that came with it were a little weird, but the chicken (and the green smear) were excellent. I’d order it again in a heartbeat.

Once I’d demolished my chicken, the waiter came back with the dessert cart. I got the strawberry cream cheese cupcake. He handed me that and a spoon. The spoon was a good idea. The cupcake innards were very pudding like. It was also delicious!

Once I’d finished eating and paid, I headed for the study to meet the Beast. I was relieved to see other solos in (the very short) line. I always feel a little silly waiting in a character line solo. But this is one of those rare ones, so I wasn’t passing up the opportunity. The character interaction here was surprisingly good and the photopass photographer and character attendant were great too.

After hugs and kisses from the Beast, I exited the castle. I still had some time before my last fastpass of the evening, so I made a stop at Philharmagic. This show just never gets old. The doors to the theater were open when I walked in and I was the last one sent into the theater for that showing, so I had absolutely no wait. SWEET!

After singing along with all of the music from my childhood, I started moving toward Frontierland, stopping for pictures along the way.

Once I made it to Frontierland, I headed for Big Thunder Mountain to use my last Fastpass of the evening. I really prefer this ride at night rather than during the day. The wait was fairly quick, thankfully. For some reason, that queue won the “hottest queue award”. I’m pretty sure it was hotter in that queue than it had been outside in the middle of the afternoon. It was brutal.

The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness, in the dark, was a huge relief from that hot, stinky queue. Once the train arrive back at the loading platform, I found a spot on the hill to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade through some tree branches. 

I debated staying for the 2nd parade, but I knew I was toast, and I also felt like I’d seen it plenty of times, so I started walking to the exit. I guess I’m just not as young as I used to be.

My route to the exit took me through Adventureland, alongside where the parade floats enter the backstage area. For several minutes, I was toe-tapping and head-bopping to the music as I continued my walk to the exit. I decided to make my way back to MK on another evening to see the parade.

I exited the park, stopping for a couple more pictures along the way. 

The walk to the bus stop seemed to take forever, but I was greeted by a waiting bus, and just like they promised I was “home soon”. I stayed awake just long enough to shower and set the alarm clock, and then I collapsed into bed.